Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022 Tonight ` how to navigate your way after a massive flood. - I really feel like we've been let down. - We've got tips that could save you thousands. - I worry, how bad is it gonna get? - This is the weather that makes me nervous. - And the sprayer cleaners that say they kill 99.9% of germs. - That's very specific. What do they test it against? - Plus, the toy story that needs a happy ending. - Sentinel under attack! - It's the cornerstone of the collection, which is just missing. - Just wasn't good enough. - Tena koutou katoa. welcome to the show. Extreme weather events are frightening. We've got little control over them or their horrific impact. - And NIWA says climate change means river flooding is expected to increase in most areas of New Zealand. - Our inbox is bursting with a lot of you frustrated and exhausted from trying to pick up the pieces ` like these next viewers. Here's Alistar. - # I can't stand the rain... # against my window. - This is the weather that makes me nervous. - The anxious wait. - It says it's gonna be a certain amount of rain, but you actually never know. - They do know it's coming, the relentless downpour. - (THUNDER RUMBLES) And it has been relentless all across Aotearoa, like in Whakatu Nelson, and a few weeks ago at the Urliches' home in Waihi. - The water would come down the driveway probably about this deep. - You'd wade through it. - You'd wade through it. - Get a kayak. - They've been flooded seven times. And then, I guess, all end up down by your garage. - All in our garage, yep. Coming down the driveway at one point, running like a stream. - New Zealand's largest insurer, IAG, has called for an immediate and multi-organisation approach for our flood-prone areas. But while they wait for a plan, where does that leave these families? - Well, now we think, 'Here we go again.' And you just kind of shrug your shoulders and give up. You know, you can't... You can't beat water when it's coming at you from three sides. - The Urliches have literally got water coming at them from multiple sides ` from the front, from their neighbour's house, and from behind their property. They say part of the problem is the Hauraki District Council drainage out the front on their street, which can't handle the water, so then it rolls down the driveway and ends up in their front yard. The garage bears the brunt of it, and they do what they can. - We have bought sandbags and sheets of plastic and tubes of silicone to try and seal up the garage. And we try and pump it away, but there's only so much one pump can do. When it's really bad, we've tried getting a generator and another electric pump in and pumping it away with two pumps. But even that, you know, that's not enough. - It's flooded so many times here, they've learned many a lesson about keeping things high and dry. - Some shelves that are steel, so it's all up off the ground. We've put in a big retention tank to help catch the water that falls on our roof, so that doesn't get to the ground. - That water was so powerful it lifted the tank up out of the ground. The Urliches say they've been trying to get council to help them with drainage since 2018 ` another major year of flooding. They say the council has sent people out to assist their property and plans for drainage were drawn up, but nothing ever comes of it. - We had a visit from the mayor. Um,... he's been very good. From the service side of things, and the actual actioning of getting anything done, I really feel like we've been let down. - They've had to lean on their insurance company a lot. - Every time we've been flooded, it's cost us at least $1000 on insurance excess. - Not to mention the mental toll. The Insurance Council understands the frustration and has this practical advice ` if you have a flooding event, call your insurer first. Do it early. Take photos of anything you need to dispose of. Mark on the wall where the flood waters come up to. Take extra care around electrical equipment and wiring. If you can, move your car to higher ground before any forecast weather event. Down south in Rangiora... - I worry, how bad is it gonna get? - ...Karmel and her whanau only moved into their home this year, and they've already flooded twice. - The water will travel down our driveway towards the garage door, and gets really quite deep there. - Her front lawn, a mini pond. - I understand that there's so much happening around at the moment with flooding, and in comparison, ours could be considered minor. However, I feel that the council need to step up and be accountable for their side of it. - She's talking about Waimakariri District Council, who handles the drainage out on the lane she lives down. Karmel says the flooding stems from the pipes that can't handle the water. Karmel asked the council for help after they flooded in February. - I got a phone call maybe about three weeks later saying that they were looking into it, but they were really behind. - After plenty of chasing, Karmel emailed Rangiora's mayor. - Only because of that, I feel I got a response. - She says they sent out a drainage expert, who basically said council wouldn't be able to fix the issue for a few years. - I haven't heard anything since. - She's done her bit, stocking up on potting mix, but it won't stop the water from coming. Back at the Urliches' house, three years of back-and-forth has seen some movement. Last year council installed more pipes, which took care of the flooding at the front, but not at the back of their house. The council explains... - In many places, the road network is used as the pathway for the overflow. In this case, due to the low-lying nature of the land, the overflow goes through private property. - But it says last year's storm-water upgrade should reduce surface flooding. - Since that was put in, we haven't had any water come down the driveway. And the neighbours have said that they haven't had any water from there as well. So in that respect, it has worked. - And finally, the action they've been waiting for. - How deep are they going? - While Fair Go were filming with the Urliches, council contractors showed up to dig behind their house. But this is four years in the making. The hill behind their property has no drainage. - It's a swamp, basically. Yeah. - Water flows down here into the properties. A council contractor drew up plans in 2018 to reinstate a drain here that was covered over. - What we want ` and judging on the last couple of days, I think we're gonna get ` is for a drain that used to be on the property behind us to be reinstated. We see that as the ultimate fix, for us, to stop the water coming into our property. - The council says it's not normally responsible for controlling that runoff. - However, last week council, after giving the adjacent landowners' approval, installed a swale and drain. - Time will tell if it really is the fix they've been waiting for. And for Karmel in Rangiora, the Waimakariri District Council says she's one of 1300 flooding requests for it to investigate. But a result for Karmel? - I had the mayor of Rangiora and a town planner come along, and then they've agreed to have a surveyor come out in the next two or three weeks, and then hopefully they will have the drainage sorted by Christmas-time. - That's awesome news. - Yeah, we are so pleased. I had contacted a number of times, and there was not really much of a response, so I'm so grateful to Fair Go for coming out. - All these families want is peace of mind. - I wanna be able to go away in wintertime, and when I see on the weather forecast that we're gonna get... we've got a rain warning or something, I wanna be able to know, sweet, we're happy as. - That doesn't seem like too much to ask. - Not at all. And the weather, as we know, has been unrelenting ` more than a thousand insurance claims for homes in Nelson so far. - Yes, we've got some tips that we'll put up on social media about what you can do to protect your house. - E haere ake nei, coming up ` spray cleaners, and the claims they can kill 99.9% of germs. - Like, if it's not actually 99.9%, how can they advertise it like that? - It's a good marketing ploy. - That's very specific. What do they test it against? - And the missing item from the collection. The only thing it's collected is dust. - New Zealand hasn't got theirs. What's happened? - Sentinel under attack! - Nau mai ano. Hi, friends. Nice to see you. Welcome back. Now, we are seeing it everywhere, on those little containers ` the claim that they kill 99.9% of germs. It's on hand sanitiser, spray and cleaners, everywhere. - Yes. Ever wondered how they got to that figure? Well, it certainly got one viewer thinking. Here's Gill. (REGGAE MUSIC) - If you're a student living on Castle Street, Dunedin, you probably know how to party. But do you know how to clean? This is Death Star, the boys-only block. Apparently this is the best it's looked for a whole month. Mums and dads, look away. We're going in. - You've actually caught everyone on probably one of the best days that we might even have this year. So, yeah. And it's still not actually that good. - Ah, inspection day. That explains it. - Dude's not gonna clean! (LAUGHS) - But we're not here to judge. We just want to know what they use to get the job done. - Probably it, to be honest. (LAUGHS) - So, what's this? - The cheapest bottle of dishwashing liquid we could get. - But if price wasn't an issue, would claims of killing 99.9% of germs appeal? - I'd probably go for the 99.9% germ one. - Why's that? - Just as what it says on the label. - Next door, in a less grubby girls' flat,... - We have a vacuum, which is good. - (BOTH LAUGH) - ...the same response. - You want a clean area, and I guess the more germs that are gone, it would feel cleaner. - But what does 99.9% kill rate even mean? I haven't deeply thought about it. (LAUGHS) - Further south, in Waihopai Invercargill, somebody else has. - Some of the statistics being quoted, I thought were just perhaps a little too good to be true. - Graeme has lived and breathed so-called germs for years. - I had over 50 years in a medical laboratory. - He saw ads like this one for laundry liquid. - It removes 99.9% of germs, even in cold water. - Claims on hand sanitiser. Claims on cleaning products. - So, here's one ` 99.9. - Oh, that's the... Yeah. Uh, where are we? 99.9. - I thought, 'Hello. That's very specific. What do they test it against?' And what is the 0.1% that it doesn't kill? And how dangerous are those? - Let's start by looking at the small print. - You've got to use a magnifying glass. - These surface cleaners that claim a 99.9% kill rate specify what gets zapped. Take Dettol. Cold and flu viruses. And bacteria? - With the germs, It's E coli, salmonella and staphylococcus... - ...aureus. - So, hold on. That suggests... - They're not 99.9% of everything. They're 99% of... testing bacteria ` in this case, three of them. This one might be two. It doesn't mention fungi, and it doesn't mention mould. Grain of salt, I think is the old saying. - They need to clean it up, don't they? - Yeah. (LAUGHS) Oh! Oh, that is shocking. - It's got the students going. - Well, if it's not actually 99.9, then how can the advertise it like that? - It's a good marketing ploy. - All the companies say their products comply with international regulatory standards. Dettol's marketing agency explains there are trillions of microorganisms, too many to test, so products are studied by independent laboratories against a few common indicator microbes. Kill those, and that gives confidence others in the same class will be killed too. It adds claims aren't for 100% kill rate because of the limits of detection. So what do Otago University's experts think on the subject? Professor Krause has no doubt the products passed the test but says we don't need a killing spree every time we wipe the kitchen bench. - So, you have to be careful about killing 99% of what may be relatively friendly bacteria, because if you get rid of friendly bacteria, there's the potential that you might be replacing them with less friendly bacteria. - So we get a little bit too obsessed with getting rid of all the germs that there are? - We're not meant to be germ-free. That's not to say there are some good uses for sanitisers and disinfectants ` you know, if you've had somebody in your house who has an infection with an antibiotic-resistant bacteria and you want to sanitise that area. But in general, if you're cleaning up at home, my feeling is soap and water works just as well. - OK, we're gonna put these babies at the test. It's a very basic, unofficial test. But it gives the general idea. We're testing two products claiming a 99.9% kill rate; one simply saying it's antibacterial; one with no such claims at all; and good old liquid hand soap. - So, we do this to sterilise the loop. - On goes the cleaning product. - I think these will all work. - And off assistant Kara trots to get them incubated overnight. And ta-da! All the cleaners prevent E Coli growth to some extent. Each dish is covered in bacteria. The letter shows where each cleaner stops the bacteria growing. So this D shows growth inhibited by Dettol, and the W by Earthwise. Both those claim 99.9% kill rates. The C is by the antibacterial Ecostore. And the A by Ajax, which doesn't make a claim. Oh, and the S is by a squirt of soap. Now, Ecostore points out its bathroom cleaner is superior to soap. It explains soap can't cut through scum, isn't as good on hard surfaces, hasn't been rigorously tested, and can go bad over time. Earthwise echoes this, saying soap won't kill bacteria to the same high rate. Professor Krause doesn't disagree, but his personal preference still stands. - I think soap and water does a really good job. - So we've been doing it right, then, have we? - You've been doing it right. - Wow! (LAUGHS) - Those marketing claims still take some beating, though. - Probably soap and water wouldn't be as effective. - Are you saying your professor is wrong? - No! (LAUGHS) - (LAUGHS) - I wouldn't say that. (LAUGHS) - Ooh! - They certainly look happy - enough in those flats. But, oh, the state of that boys' flat! (SHUDDERS) - I think they need a spray that kills, like, 108% of germs. Anyway, e haere ake nei, coming up ` he paid for a limited-edition action figure. So where is it? - We're the little old country that's at the bottom of the world, and they sorta bypass us a wee bit. - Just wasn't good enough. - System meltdown! Whakapiri mai ano. Welcome back. It's a limited-edition action figure so exclusive only a certain number were made for paying fans from around the world. - And one Fair Go viewer put his money in, so where is his collectable? In fact, why did all of New Zealand miss out? Here's Kaitlin. In the world of a collector, there's always room for more. - It's about the many. We've got the Scarlet Spider, we've got Future Foundations Spider-man, we've got Spider-man's girlfriends too ` that's pretty important. - Yep, all part of the figurine family. But after 20 years, there's still a hole in Wade's collection. And it's a big one. Hm, think bigger. More like... 67cm. That's the size of the biggest Marvel Legends action figure ever made. And it should be here, at Wade's home. Instead, the only thing he's collected is dust. And like that for a while. - Yeah, um, a good seven or eight months. - The mystery figure usually only causes trouble in fiction ` based off a major villain, the Sentinel,... (ENERGY ZAPS) ...feared throughout comic strips and cartoons in the X-Men series. (EXPLOSIONS BOOM) Even Hugh Jackman gets a hard time. On screen, the robots are three storeys high. Not quite what fits on Wade's shelf. So, figurines are all about scale. Where do we fit into this? - Well, these ones behind us, they're six-inch scale, which is generally your standard action figure scale. But they can go up to a metre tall. - So in 2020, he cleared a space for the latest model Sentinel. - In terms of a centrepiece, it's right up there, in terms of, you know, size. - Only matched by the price tag - $800! Major toy manufacturer Hasbro was selling them. - It's not the sort of thing you'd go into an American Walmart and find a $1000 action figure lying on the shelves. - Each figure is crowd-funded, needing a certain number of people to back it in order for it to actually get made. And you were part of the crowd? - I thought I was part of that crowd. - 22,000 fans from around the world, each paying a $400 deposit for the Sentinel. Kiwi customers had to order through EB Games, which had the exclusive rights to the New Zealand market. Finally, after waiting more than a year, the robots were ready. - Oh my God! Wow! - This may be a two-person job. - The new-toy smell. - Everywhere it seems, but here. - New Zealand hasn't got theirs. What's happened? - Wade's questions to EB Games went unanswered for months. Until in July, EB Games told Wade there had been a supply issue. The New Zealand order cancelled. - It's the cornerstone of the collection, which is just missing now. - EB Games refunded Wade's deposit and threw in a gift voucher and merchandise for free. You got your $400 back. Why isn't that good enough? - It was something specific that was for fans to have. The fact that we actually thought we had ordered it, but weren't part of it, it just wasn't good enough. - And to make matters worse, limited stock had pushed online prices right up. - You're looking at about, maybe $1500 to $1600. So it's essentially double the retail price now. If anyone understands what Wade's feeling, it's Alan. He's been collecting for 40 years. - It is addictive. Yeah. You're always looking. - His toys live at the New Zealand Museum of Toys and Collectibles. But he says you'd be surprised at what Kiwis are hiding behind their doors. - Every second house seems to have a collection. But they kept it to themselves. (LAUGHS) - But like Wade, he's missed out on some gems. - We're the little old country that's at the bottom of the world, and they sorta bypass us a wee bit. - So it pays to have friends in far-off places. - I've got rellies in the States, and we'll get orders over there and get it sent to them, and they'll send it to us. - Case in point ` I can't tell you where I am or how I got here, but we've tracked down what might be the only Sentinel right here in New Zealand. The owner had a mate in Australia who bought it on his behalf. Happy days. And there might be more of them, after Fair Go got in touch with EB Games and Hasbro. - Sentinel under attack! - EB Games says when its Sentinel order didn't arrive, it tried all means possible to secure stock. - As investigations can take time, we felt it was in the best interest of our customers to refund their orders immediately and compensate them for the inconvenience. Halt! - Hasbro admitted it didn't pick up on a system error until it was too late. - System meltdown! This was an unfortunate incident from all perspectives and certainly not an outcome we wanted for our customers. We have since reviewed our process to ensure it doesn't happen moving forward. - It says it never stopped working on a solution behind the scenes. - Ejecting power core! - And now,... - We have managed to source enough items to cover the NZ backers ` 25 units. We will be advising EB Games to reach out to these customers in the coming days. - Oh, wow! (CHUCKLES) That's incredible. - The kind of ending we like for a toy story. - Power failure in five, four,... three, two... - Oh, great job, Kaitlin, and great result. Fantastic. - Yeah, that's just so awesome. - You know, Alan was saying that one out of evert two households is a collector's household. And I'm trying to think, is it you or is it me? - My mum does have a teaspoon collection that I'm mighty fond of. - Aha! (LAUGHS) - Anyway, we gotta go, but we're lurking in all the usual places. Yes, we're all over social media. In fact, we're taking over TikTok. You can go to our webpage, which is tvnz.co.nz, email us ` fairgo@tvnz.co.nz ` or write to us ` PO BOX 3819, Auckland 1140. - Thank you for watching. See you on TikTok. Just gotta remember my login ` not sure there. - Until next week,... - BOTH: Po marie. Have you got a...? I forget my password. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2022