Great Barrier Island fire contained

The Great Barrier Island bush fire remains contained.

There were no major flare ups overnight and firebreaks have been strengthened with helicopters dampening hotspots, and heavy machinery moving debris.

Navy personal arrived last night on the HMS Otago and are available to assist with ground operations today.

Forty five volunteer rural firefighters continue to work on the fire’s containment perimeter and helicopters remain on the Island to provide support.

No properties are under threat.

Weather conditions remain dry and winds are predicted to get stronger this afternoon, possibly reaching 40km/h.

Auckland Council’s Rural Fire team continues to lead the response with help from the Fire Service, National Rural Fire Authority and the Police.

A small fire also broke out early this morning in steep terrain in the Hunua Gorge in the southern part of the Auckland region.

The fire closed the main road. It is under control and in mop up stage, and expected to be fully extinguished shortly.

Further media updates will be provided today.

Ends

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Arguably Reassuring: Inspector-General Finds GCSB "Arguably" Legal

Of the 88 individuals:

• 15 cases involving 22 individuals did not have any information intercepted by GCSB.

• another four cases involving five individuals were the subjects of a New Zealand Security Intelligence Service warrant and the GCSB assisted in the execution of the warrants. The Inspector-General is of the view that there were arguably no breaches and the law is unclear.

• the Bureau only provided technical assistance which did not involve interception of communications, involving three of the individuals, so no breach occurred.

• the remaining cases involved the collection of metadata, and the Inspector-General formed the view that there had arguably been no breach, noting once again that the law is unclear.
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