TONIGHT ` A WORKER IN MANAGED ISOLATION TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, AFTER CATCHING THE VIRUS WHILE WORKING AT THIS AUCKLAND HOTEL. THE WORST FLOODING IN DECADES. PARTS OF NEW SOUTH WALES INUNDATED, COMMUNITIES TRANSFORMED INTO SEA AND THE RIVERS ARE STILL RISING. AND THE HUNT FOR THE AURORA AUSTRALIS, A SPECIAL FLIGHT TAKING SKY-GAZERS TO A SPECTACULAR LIGHT SHOW CAPTIONS BY MICHAELA CORNELIUS AND SALLY HARPER CAPTIONS WERE MADE WITH THE SUPPORT OF NZ ON AIR. WWW.ABLE.CO.NZ COPYRIGHT ABLE 2021 KIA ORA, GOOD EVENING. WE BEGIN TONIGHT WITH WORD OF A POSITIVE COVID CASE AT THE BORDER INVOLVING A STAFF MEMBER AT A MANAGED ISOLATION HOTEL IN AUCKLAND. IMOGEN WELLS JOINS US NOW WITH WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR. WHAT CAN IT ASK? IN THE PAST HOUR, THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH HAS CONFIRMED THAT SOMEONE WHO WORKS AT AUCKLAND'S GRAND MILLENNIUM HOTEL, HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19. THEY WERE ASYMPTOMATIC, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN ROUTINELY TESTED. THAT'S WHERE THE TEST RESULT HAS POPPED UP. THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO CONFIRM TOO MANY DETAILS. THIS HAS COME QUITE LATE IN THE PIECE THIS EVENING. THEY WERE ABLE TO SAY THAT THE PERSON ALONG WITH THE IMMEDIATE HOUSEHOLD CONTACTS ARE ISOLATING TONIGHT AT HOME IN AUCKLAND. FURTHER TESTING AND GENOME SEQUENCING WILL BE UNDERWAY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THERE ARE NO NEW LOCATIONS ARE OF INTEREST UPLOADED TO THE GOVERNMENT'S WEBSITE YET. AUTHORITIES SAY INVESTIGATIONS ARE GETTING UNDERWAY. I CAN CONFIRM IN WELLINGTON AT THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH, THE TOP FLOOR, ALL OF THE LIGHTS ARE ON. AUTHORITIES ARE IN FOR A LONG EVENING AS THAT INVESTIGATION GETS UNDERWAY. HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION FOR YOU TOMORROW. IF YOU'RE HOLDING YOUR BREATH FOR A TRANS-TASMAN BUBBLE, KEEP HOLDING IT. CABINET WON'T MAKE A CALL ON IF IT'LL EXPAND NEW ZEALAND'S BUBBLE UNTIL APRIL 6TH. AND THAT'S TOUGH NEWS FOR TOURIST OPERATORS DESPERATE TO GET QUARANTINE-FREE TOURIST TRAFFIC. HERE'S POLITICAL EDITOR JESSICA MUTCH MCKAY. THIS ROTORUA TOURISM OPERATOR CAN'T WAIT TO AUSTRALIANS ZIPPING ACROSS THE DITCH. IT'D BE MASSIVE. IT'D BE INCREDIBLY HUGE FOR US. RIGHT NOW, WE'RE RUNNING 60 PEOPLE A WEEK. TWO YEARS AGO IN THIS WEEK, COS LAST WEEK WE STARTED GOING INTO LOCKDOWN, WE WERE RUNNING 600 A WEEK. SOME OPERATORS LOSING PATIENCE, AND SOME AUSTRALIAN STATES STARTED LETTING KIWIS IN QUARANTINE-FREE FIVE MONTHS AGO. COMPLETE FRUSTRATION AS TO WHY IT HASN'T HAPPENED, AND IT'S GREAT TO HEAR THAT THERE IS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT IT HAPPENING NOW. BUT NO START DATE YET. THAT'S ANOTHER TWO WEEKS OFF. YOU'VE HAD A YEAR ALREADY, THOUGH. YUP, AND IN THAT TIME, ON AT LEAST 12 OCCASIONS, WE'VE MET AS NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIAN TEAMS TOGETHER TO WORK THROUGH A NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA ARRANGEMENT. THE PRIME MINISTER SAYS IT'S COMPLEX TO DO IT STATE BY STATE RATHER THAN THE WHOLE OF AUSTRALIA, AND WE'LL NEED TO BE ABLE TO CONTACT-TRACE VISITORS. IT'LL ALSO MEAN THAT IF THE BORDERS CLOSE WHILE YOU'RE AWAY, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN. THERE WILL BE AN ELEMENT OF 'FLYER, BEWARE'. A LOCKOUT IS A SCENARIO THE INSURANCE COUNCIL SAYS THERE'S NO COVER FOR. THAT IS A RISK THAT NO INSURER ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD CAN ANTICIPATE WHAT THAT RISK IS, AND THEREFORE THAT CANNOT BE COVERED. IT'S A SYSTEMIC RISK RIGHT ROUND THE WORLD. SO WILL YOU HEAD OVER? WE'VE GOT LESS CORONAVIRUS THAN THEM, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? THEY'VE GOT MORE. THEY'LL BRING IT ALL OVER HERE. YEAH, PRETTY EXCITED, TO BE HONEST, COS WE'VE BEEN LOCKED UP HERE FOR QUITE A WHILE. PEOPLE ARE ALREADY SEPARATED FROM THEIR FAMILIES, SO IT SHOULD BE OPEN NOW. ACROSS THE DITCH, SOME ARE SAYING DON'T RUSH IT. US KIWIS SIT HERE IN AUSTRALIA, AND WE WATCH EVERYONE BACK HOME REALLY LIVING THEIR BEST LIFE. YOU KNOW, IN MELBOURNE, THEY'RE STILL WEARING MASKS. AS SOON AS YOU WALK INTO A SHOPPING CENTRE, A MALL, YOUR MASK GOES ON. WE'LL KNOW AFTER EASTER WHEN WE CAN SHARE OUR BEST LIVES WITH OUR AUSSIE MATES. JESSICA MUTCH MCKAY, 1 NEWS. ACROSS THE TASMAN, NEW SOUTH WALES IS TONIGHT STILL UNDER SIEGE FROM THE ELEMENTS. THIS TIME THE EASTERN HALF OF THE STATE POUNDED BY RELENTLESS DOWNPOURS, AND TONIGHT THE OUTSKIRTS OF SYDNEY ARE AT THE CENTRE OF THIS CATASTROPHE. WE'LL GO LIVE TO OUR AUSTRALIA CORRESPONDENT ANDREW MACFARLANE SHORTLY, BUT FIRST WE'LL SHOW YOU THE LATEST FROM CHANNEL 9'S DAMIEN RYAN. FROM THE AIR, THE SHEER MAGNITUDE OF AN UNFOLDING DISASTER, THE HAWKESBURY RIVER HAS BECOME AN INLAND SEA. AND WINDSOR, LIKE AN ISLAND, IS KEEPING ITS HEAD ABOVE THE WATER. IT'S ALSO A CLOSE CALL FOR DOZENS OF RURAL PROPERTIES ALONG THE OLD RIVERBANKS. AND IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS, RESCUERS WADING INTO WAIST DEEP WATER TO LEAD A HORSE TO SAFETY. THE PREMIER WANTED TO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF, BUT THE MISSION WAS OVER BEFORE IT BEGAN, ABORTED BY THE WEATHER BEHIND OUR LATEST CALAMITY. I KNOW FOR MANY PEOPLE, THEY WILL FEEL LIKE IT'S A BREAKING POINT. SOME COMMUNITIES WHO WERE BATTERED BY THE BUSHFIRES ARE NOW BEING BATTERED BY THE FLOODS. THIS IS OUR KITCHEN AND LIVING AREA. CURRENTLY 1.2 METRES UNDER WATER. PUT A LOT OF EFFORT IN AND` LOOK IT IS. BUT YOU JUST GOT TO SAY TO YOURSELF, WELL, LET'S COME BACK IN A FEW DAYS AND CLEAN IT UP. ANOTHER DOWNPOUR ` THIS IS WHAT MAKES THIS WEATHER EVENT SO DIFFERENT TO OTHERS THAT HAVE PLAGUED THESE COMMUNITIES OVER THE YEARS. THE RAIN HAS BEEN FALLING PERSISTENTLY SINCE THURSDAY, AND THE FORECAST IS IT WILL BE HEAVY AGAIN TOMORROW. MAKING MATTERS WORSE, THE WATER FROM THE UPPER PARTS OF THE NEPEAN RIVER, WHICH FLOODED PENRITH, WILL FLOW INTO THE HAWKESBURY AROUND RICHMOND AND WINDSOR THIS EVENING, WHICH WILL CAUSE FLOODING DOWNSTREAM TO LAST FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. AS MANY AS 300 RESIDENTS IN THE HAWKESBURY SO FAR CORRECTION: 3000 BEEN FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES. MOST WALKED OR DROVE OUT. TODAY, THEY PADDLE BACK. OF THE BRAND NEW WINDSOR BRIDGE, IT WAS ALMOST NOTHING TO SEE. APPARENTLY FLOOD PROOF, IT VANISHED UNDER THE FLOODWATERS. IT DIDN'T STOP A DENTIST ON AN EMERGENCY CALL OUT. IT WAS THE ONLY WAY ACROSS WAS THROUGH THE WATER. SO SS HAD BEEN KIND ENOUGH TO HELP OUT. A CHOPPER WAS BROUGHT IN TO ASSIST FOR ANOTHER EMERGENCY, A PREGNANT WOMAN AIRLIFTED FROM THE FLOODWATERS. AND IT WASN'T JUST PEOPLE WHO NEEDED HELP. WE'VE PULLED NINE HEAD OF CATTLE OUT. NOW WE'RE ON TO THESE HORSES. IN WILBERFORCE, A NUMBER OF SHEEP HAD TO BE RESCUED BY BOAT. A FEW KILOMETRES AWAY AT OAKVILLE, A WHOLE FARM HAD TO BE EVACUATED AS THE WATERS CLOSED IN. CHICKENS, DUCKS, DONKEYS MOVED TO SAFER GROUND. THE ANIMALS HAVE TO COME FIRST. THAT'S IT. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO IN THIS. AND THIS RABBIT LOOKED ALL AT SEA, WAITING TO BE RESCUED. THE ARMY IS SAID TO BE ON THE WAY. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, POLICE HAVE STEPPED UP. SANDBAGS AND GOOD LUCK THE ONLY LINE OF DEFENCE. JOINING US NOW IS AUSTRALIA CORRESPONDENT ANDREW MACFARLANE IN SYDNEY. ANDREW, HOW ARE THINGS LOOKING THERE NOW? AN UPDATE IN THE LAST FEW HOURS, SCOTT MORRISON HAS CONFIRMED HE EXPECTS NEW SOUTH WALES TO MAKE A FORMAL REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE FROM THE DEFENCE FORCE IN THE COMING DAY ALSO. THAT'LL BE A REQUEST THEY WILL FOLLOW THROUGH WITH. THIS IS GOING TO BE A BIG CLEANUP. THE RAIN IS STILL FALLING BEHIND ME TONIGHT. THE BIG FOCUS WILL BE THE RIVER ON THE WESTERN SIDE OF SYDNEY. IT IS EXPECTED TO FLOOD SOME OF THE PROPERTIES SIT IN DOWNSTREAM. THIS IS A STORM SYSTEM THAT HAS LASHED NEW SOUTH WALES IN THE PAST FEW DAYS. IT ALSO PROMPTED AN UNUSUAL WARNING FROM SOME OFFICIALS IN NEW SOUTH WALES ABOUT SNAKES AND SPIDERS, THOSE QUINTESSENTIAL AUSSIE CHARACTERS. THEY ARE SANE BECAUSE FULL IF YOU HAVE GONE BACK TO A PROPERTY YOU HAD TO EVACUATE FROM. THOSE SNAKES AND SPIDERS WILL BE TAKEN SHELTER IN THE DRY PLACES. THERE WANTS PEOPLE TO BE ON HIGH ALERT. THE VACCINE ROLLOUT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MOVING INTO HIGH GEAR OVER THERE. HOW HAS THAT BEEN AFFECTED? THE WEATHER HAS TOTALLY AFFECTED THE VACCINE RELATIVE TODAY. FROM TODAY, PEOPLE MORE ABLE TO GO TO A GP IF THEY WERE IN THE OLDER CATEGORY AND GETS A VACCINATION IN NEW SOUTH WALES. UNFORTUNATELY, THE REPORTS ARE THAT SOME PEOPLE HAVEN'T TURNED UP BECAUSE THEY HAD TO EVACUATE. UNDERSTANDABLY PEOPLE HAVE TO PUT THEIR PROPERTY FIRST. THEY ARE URGING THAT YOU HAVE A BOOKING TO TRY AND STICK TO IT. THANKS, ANDREW MACFARLANE LIVE FROM SYDNEY. THE CORRECTIONS MINISTER HAS LAUNCHED A BLISTERING ATTACK ON HOW AUCKLAND WOMEN'S PRISON HAS BEEN RUN AFTER A NUMBER OF DISTURBING INCIDENTS. THE MINISTER, KELVIN DAVIS, HAS VOWED TO OVERHAUL THE WAY WOMEN ARE MANAGED IN PRISONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. ZION DAYAL REPORTS. INHUMANE AND DEGRADING. THAT'S HOW A HIGH COURT JUDGE DESCRIBED THE TREATMENT OF THREE INMATES AT AUCKLAND WOMEN'S PRISON. THAT TREATMENT INCLUDING PRISONERS FORCED TO LIE ON THE GROUND BEFORE GETTING FOOD, BEING KEPT IN ISOLATION FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME AND PEPPER SPRAY BEING USED ON AN ASTHMATIC INMATE. UNRESERVEDLY APOLOGISED TO THOSE WOMEN. WE LET OURSELVES DOWN. WE DIDN'T FOLLOW OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. AND IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT I'M NOT HAPPY WITH WHAT I'VE READ. THE FINDINGS OF AN INTERIM REPORT ALSO HIGHLIGHTING SYSTEMIC FAILURES OVER THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PRISON. WAS IT NOT CLEAR BEFOREHAND THAT SOMETHING NEEDED TO BE DONE? I THINK A LOT HAS BEEN DONE. THE MINISTER IN CHARGE NOW ORDERING AN URGENT REVIEW AND OVERHAUL OF WOMEN'S PRISONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. INAPPROPRIATE FOR WOMEN IN PRISON TO BE TREATED AS IF THEIR NEEDS WERE THE SAME AS MALE PRISONERS. CERTAINLY A REVIEW IS NEEDED, BUT WE WILL WAIT TO SEE WHAT ACTIONS FOLLOW FROM THE WORDS. THE REPORT REVEALS SOME GUARDS DID HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT HOW INMATES WERE BEING TREATED, BUT DIDN'T FEEL CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE PRISON MANAGEMENT. SO, YES, WE DID, YOU KNOW, WE DID WRONG BY THOSE WOMEN. BUT DO I THINK THERE'S A CULTURE ISSUE ACROSS THE SITE? ABSOLUTELY NOT. YES, I DO BELIEVE THERE IS A CULTURAL ISSUE THAT, FOR SOMEONE TO SAY THAT THE HUMAN IN ME THOUGHT I SHOULD BEHAVE IN ONE WAY, BUT THE CORRECTIONS OFFICER IN ME THOUGHT I NEEDED TO ACT IN ANOTHER WAY. I THINK THAT CORRECTIONS OFFICERS NEED TO BEHAVE IN A HUMAN WAY. WHILE CORRECTIONS SAYS CHANGES HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE TO PREVENT A REPEAT OF THESE FAILURES, KELVIN DAVIS WANTS A DETAILED PLAN TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS OF ALL WOMEN'S PRISONS. ZION DAYAL, 1 NEWS. AS PRESSURE MOUNTS ON GLORIAVALE, 1 NEWS CAN REVEAL THERE'VE BEEN 17 POLICE INVESTIGATIONS INTO PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE AT THE COMMUNE SINCE IT WAS FOUNDED. FORMER MEMBERS SAY THEY'RE SURPRISED THE NUMBER ISN'T HIGHER AND CLAIM ABUSE IS RIFE IN THE COMMUNITY OF JUST 600 PEOPLE. RYAN BOSWELL HAS MORE. SPEAKING OUT AFTER SPENDING A LIFE IN SILENCE. I CANNOT SILENCE MY CONSCIENCE ANY MORE. I CANNOT CONVINCE MYSELF THAT ANYTHING'S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. THIS WOMAN GREW UP IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNE OF GLORIAVALE BUT LEFT AFTER ONGOING ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN. THIS ISSUE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN A PART OF GLORIAVALE'S HISTORY FOR DECADES. NOW WE'VE DISCOVERED THAT GLORIAVALE HAS BEEN INVESTIGATED BY POLICE FOR PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE 17 TIMES. WHILE THE COMMUNITY WAS FOUNDED IN 1969, FIGURES SHOW THE FIRST OFFENCE HAPPENED NEARLY 30 YEARS LATER ` BUT POLICE DID NOT RECEIVE THE FIRST COMPLAINT UNTIL 2015. I'M INCREDIBLY SURPRISED IT ISN'T 117 OR 217. THEY ARE TAUGHT THAT YOU DON'T TALK TO THE POLICE. THEY ARE TAUGHT THAT YOU MUST FORGIVE PEOPLE. CHARGES WERE ONLY LAID IN FIVE OF THE 17 INVESTIGATIONS. THREE RESULTED IN CONVICTION. TWO ARE ONGOING. I KNOW THAT FOR FAMILIES IN THERE, IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO WANT TO GO AHEAD WITH CHARGES. YOU LITERALLY CAN'T REMAIN LIVING AT GLORIAVALE IF YOU ARE SPEAKING TO POLICE AND THE POLICE ARE CONSIDERING LAYING CHARGES. THIS PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS HISTORY SAYS AUTHORITIES HAVE TO TREAD CAREFULLY GIVEN THE MASS SUICIDE OF A U.S. CULT IN THE LATE '70S. IN THE CLASSIC CASES LIKE JONESTOWN, THE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION ` HEAVY-HANDED AND APPEARED TO BE ATTACKING THE VERY VALUES OF THE COMMUNITY, PUT THEM INTO A HEIGHTENED STATE OF TENSION THAT ACTUALLY LED TO MORE PROBLEMS. INCREASINGLY UNDER THE MICROSCOPE, GLORIAVALE'S TRUST HAS CALLED IN TWO LAWYERS TO INVESTIGATE, BUT THE FINDINGS ARE LIKELY TO BE KEPT PRIVATE. LAST YEAR, POLICE LAUNCHED OPERATION MINNEAPOLIS, TARGETING THE COMMUNITY; AND GLORIAVALE ALSO FALLS UNDER THE SCOPE FOR THE ROYAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO ABUSE IN CARE. RIGHT, ARE WE SUPPOSED TO WAIT UNTIL 2023, WHEN THE REPORT'S DUE? SO WHAT AM I MISSING? WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN ABOUT THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS? THOSE WHO HAVE ESCAPED GLORIAVALE ARE PLEADING FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO MOVE WITH MORE URGENCY, SAYING LIVES ARE AT RISK NOW. RYAN BOSWELL, 1 NEWS. E HAERE TONU NEI ` STILL TO COME ` THEY MAY LOOK SMALL AND CUTE, BUT THE HUNT IS ON FOR HEDGEHOGS. HOW THEY'VE TURNED INTO UNLIKELY PREDATORS. AND THE KIWIS CARVING IT UP ON THE SLOPES, LANDING PODIUM PLACINGS AS WELL AS A RECORD FOR THIS 19-YEAR-OLD. A NOCTURNAL VISITOR TO URBAN GARDENS IS MAKING AN UNWELCOME APPEARANCE IN THE SOUTH ISLAND'S HIGH COUNTRY. HEDGEHOGS ARE A THREAT TO SEVERAL OF OUR NATIVE SPECIES, ON THE HUNT FOR A KILLER, DEEP IN THE GOLDEN TUSSOCK OF THE MACKENZIE BASIN. IT'S QUITE THE TASK WHEN THE CULPRIT CONCEALS HIMSELF SO CUNNINGLY, BUT ONCE THE HEDGEHOG'S HIDEOUT HAS BEEN DISCOVERED, HE DOESN'T PUT UP MUCH OF A FIGHT. THEY'RE PROBABLY THE NICEST ANIMAL TO DEAL WITH IN TERMS OF PESTS IN NEW ZEALAND. THERE'S NO DENYING HEDGEHOGS ARE SUPER CUTE; THE ISSUE IS THEY'RE SUPER DEADLY TOO. I KNOW THEY ARE CUTE, BUT FOR EVERY MOMENT THEY ARE AWAKE AND NOT HIBERNATING, THEY ARE JUST GUZZLING UP NEW ZEALAND'S INVERTEBRATES AND SKINKS AND GROUND-NESTING BIRDS. THAT'S WHY THIS TE MANAHUNA AORAKI RESEARCHER HAS TAGGED 30 OF THEM OVER THE SUMMER, CLIPPING THEIR SPINES TO ATTACH GPS TRACKERS SO EVERY LETHAL MOVE CAN BE RECORDED. THEY CAN ACTUALLY MOVE REALLY BIG DISTANCES. THIS SIGHTING, ON AN INFRARED CAMERA NEARLY 2000M UP A MOUNTAIN, PROVES THAT. IT WAS QUITE A SURPRISE TO BE FLICKING THROUGH CAMERA FOOTAGE FROM ABOVE 1900M AND TO SEE A LITTLE SPIKY HEDGEHOG WANDER BY. JUST LAST MONTH, A TRIAL PROJECT WAS LAUNCHED TO COMPLETELY ERADICATE HEDGEHOGS FROM A 2500ha AREA USING 560 TRAPS. SOME FINE-TUNING NEEDED, WITH MANY HEDGEHOGS WEIGHING MORE THAN A KILO. WE'VE JUST HAD TO INCREASE THIS ENTRANCE SIZE HERE SO WE CAN CATCH THE LARGE HEDGEHOGS. THEY ARE A BIT OF A PRICK OF A THING TO CATCH. BUT THE KILLING SPREE NEEDS TO STOP. IF WE DID REMOVE THEM, THERE COULD BE TWICE AS MUCH BIRDLIFE OUT THERE. THE ULTIMATE GOAL ` A 300,000ha PREDATOR-FREE ZONE OUT HERE. WE'VE ALREADY TAKEN A PRETTY BIG HIT OUT OF THE HEDGEHOG POPULATION. THEY WON'T REST UNTIL THIS PRICKLY LITTLE PREDATOR IS ERADICATED FROM THIS TUSSOCKLAND. LISA DAVIES, 1 NEWS. SHE'S DONE IT AGAIN. ALICE ROBINSON HAS WRITTEN HER NAME INTO THE GIANT SLALOM HISTORY BOOKS WITH A THIRD WIN ON THE CIRCUIT, THIS ONE AT THE SEASON ENDER IN SWITZERLAND. AND IT WASN'T TODAY'S ONLY KIWI MEDAL ON THE SLOPES, AS NEW ZEALAND'S STOCKS ON THE SNOWSPORTS SCENE CONTINUE TO RISE. DEWI PREECE REPORTS. TEARING OUT OF THE STARTING GATES FOR THE FINAL RUN OF A LONG SEASON. AND WHAT A RUN IT WOULD PROVE TO BE FOR ALICE ROBINSON. IN THE FINAL WORLD CUP GIANT SLALOM EVENT OF THE YEAR, ROBINSON TRAILED THE REIGNING OLYMPIC CHAMPION, MIKAELA SHIFFRIN, BY MORE THAN THREE-QUARTERS OF A SECOND. BUT JUST LOOK AT THOSE GREEN SECTIONS ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE, AS SHE KEPT FINDING MORE SPEED ON THE MOUNTAIN. BEING ABLE TO FINISH THE SEASON LIKE THIS IS SUPER EXCITING, AND I GAVE IT EVERYTHING I HAD. AMERICA'S SHIFFRIN THE ONLY ONE WITH A SHOT, BUT EVEN SHE COULDN'T MATCH ROBINSON ON THE SWISS SLOPES. I'VE SHOWN TODAY TO MYSELF AND TO OTHER PEOPLE THAT WHEN I, YOU KNOW, SKI MY BEST, I'M RIGHT IN THERE. AT JUST 19 YEARS OLD, SHE'S THE FIRST SKIER TO WIN THREE GIANT SLALOM WORLD CUP EVENTS BEFORE TURNING 20 IN ALMOST 35 YEARS. SUPER EXCITED AND HAPPY, AND IT'S A PRETTY COOL LITTLE MILESTONE TO REACH. IT ALSO MEANS SHE'S JUST ONE WORLD CUP WIN SHORT OF CLAUDIA RIEGLER'S ALL-TIME NEW ZEALAND RECORD OF FOUR. LONG-OVERDUE FAMILY REUNION, ALTHOUGH ROBINSON HAS ALREADY GOT HALF AN EYE ON NEXT SEASON. I JUST WANT TO IMPROVE ON MY CONSISTENCY. LIKE, I'VE PROVED THAT I CAN WIN, BUT IT'S JUST A MATTER OF BEING ABLE TO DO IT EVERY COMPETITION. TALKING OF DOING IT AT EVERY COMPETITION, NICO PORTEOUS MADE IT ANOTHER PODIUM FINISH FOR NEW ZEALAND, THIS TIME AT THE FREESKI HALFPIPE WORLD CUP IN ASPEN, COLORADO. STILL PINCHING MYSELF AFTER EVERY SINGLE RESULT. A THIRD-PLACED FINISH MEANS HE'S MADE THE PODIUM IN ALL THREE EVENTS HE'S COMPETED IN 2021. IT FEELS REALLY NICE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME GIVES ME THE HUNGER TO KEEP WORKING HARD, SO THIS COULD POTENTIALLY HAPPEN NEXT YEAR. NEXT YEAR, WHICH JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE WINTER OLYMPICS IN BEIJING, WHICH, BASED ON TODAY'S EVIDENCE, SHOULD SEE PLENTY OF KIWIS IN CONTENTION. DEWI PREECE, 1 NEWS. THERE'S BEEN SOGGY SCENES ACROSS THE TASMAN, OUR WEATHER NEXT. PLUS, CHASING THE SOUTHERN LIGHTS ` ALSO KNOWN AS THE AURORA AUSTRALIS. AND THE DRONE'S EYE VIEW OF ICELAND'S EXPLODING VOLCANO. YOUR WEATHER SHORTLY, BUT FIRST, A BUNCH OF KIWIS CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF AN AIR NEW ZEALAND FLIGHT WITH NO DESTINATION. THEY'RE THE PEOPLE CHASING THE ATMOSPHERIC LIGHTSHOW KNOWN AS 'AURORA', AND THANKS TO AIR NEW ZEALAND AND VIVA EXPEDITIONS, SEVEN SHARP'S RACHEL PARKIN GOT A SEAT ON BOARD. HE'S A MAN ON A MISSION HEADING ON THIS AIR NEW ZEALAND DREAMLINER. THIS IS FLIGHT NZ 1916, NOW BOUND TO THE SOUTHERN LIGHTS. YES, WE ARE OFF TO SEE HER ` AURORA AUSTRALIS. THE AURORA WILL IN FRONT OF US, AND IT WILL BE IN THE SOUTH AND WILL SLOWLY GET HIGHER IN THE SKY AND HIGHER IN THE SKY UNTIL SUDDENLY IT'LL BE SURROUNDING US. BUT FIRST, ACTION STATIONS. ARE YOU GETTING YOUR WHOLE FACE IN THERE? JUST THE CAMERA. FULL DARKNESS ON THE INSIDE KEY TO THE LIGHT SHOW ON THE OUT. IN A FIRST ON THIS FLIGHT, THEY'RE TURNING OFF THE OUTSIDE LIGHTS. AND THIS HAS BEEN A SPECIAL PERMISSION BECAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER FLIGHTS IN THE AREA. WEAVING IN AND OUT OF THE AURORAL OVALS. THE MATERIAL FROM THE SUN IS CALLED A SOLAR WIND, AND IT'S PARTICLES THAT WHIZ OFF AT ABOUT 600 KILOMETRES A SECOND. AND WHEN THEY WHEN THAT HAPPENS, THEY PASS THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE, THEY BUMP INTO ATOMS, AND THOSE ATOMS ARE MADE TO GLOW. I THINK IT'S JUST THE THRILL OF GETTING THE DIFFERENT COLOURS. IT'S ABOUT SORT OF THE MAGIC OF CAPTURING SOMETHING ON CAMERA THAT YOU CAN'T SEE 100% WITH YOUR EYES. AND LOOK AT` MY WORD, ANOTHER ACTIVE REGION. LOOK, IT'S GETTING BRIGHTER, LOOK! AFTER SIX HOURS OF ACTION AND MINIMAL SHUT-EYE, THEY EMERGE BLEARY-EYED BUT BUZZING. IT WAS AMAZING. AMAZING. IT'S A ONCE IN A LIFETIME. WHAT A NIGHT. FANTASTIC. TIME NOW TO PROCESS. TO TOMORROW'S WEATHER, WITH "CLOSE TO ME" BY ELLIE GOULDING, DIPLO AND SWAE LEE. THAT'S ALMOST IT FROM US HERE ON TONIGHT, WE'LL LEAVE YOU NOW WITH SOME STUNNING DRONE FOOTAGE OF ICELAND'S ERUPTING VOLCANO. THANKS FOR WATCHING, GOODNIGHT. PO MANAHAU. CAPTIONS BY MICHAELA CORNELIUS AND SALLY HARPER CAPTIONS WERE MADE WITH THE SUPPORT OF NZ ON AIR. WWW.ABLE.CO.NZ COPYRIGHT ABLE 2021 (ELLIE GOULDING'S 'LIGHTS')