nz-council

name	nz-council
description	Query NZ council events and public recreation facilities (pools, leisure centres) for Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Rotorua, Hamilton, Dunedin, and 10 other NZ council areas. Optional --browser mode uses CloakBrowser for public pages that direct HTTP cannot fetch. Not for rates, consents, payments, or bookings.
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires Python 3.10+ and network access for live data
metadata	{"thecolab.category":"government","thecolab.source_owner":"Participating councils and public venue operators","thecolab.source_type":"mixed","thecolab.auth":"none","thecolab.access_mode":"public-api","thecolab.data_class":"public","thecolab.writes":"false","thecolab.browser":"true","thecolab.risk":"medium","thecolab.cache_ttl":"24h","thecolab.schema_version":"1","thecolab.skill_type":"public-api","thecolab.pack":"nz-public-data","thecolab.source_url":"https://www.eventfinda.co.nz","thecolab.allowed_domains":"127.0.0.1,clm.perfectgym.com.au,pools.huttcity.govt.nz,portal.hastingsdc.govt.nz,recandsport.ccc.govt.nz,terauparaha-arena.co.nz,wellington.govt.nz,www.aquaticshastings.co.nz,www.aucklandleisure.co.nz,www.bellblockaquaticcentre.co.nz,www.clmnz.co.nz,www.dunedin.govt.nz,www.eventfinda.co.nz,www.h2oxtream.com,www.hamiltonpools.co.nz,www.hastingsdc.govt.nz,www.hbaquatic.co.nz,www.hepunataimoana.co.nz,www.kapiticoastaquatics.co.nz,www.mounthotpools.co.nz,www.napier.govt.nz,www.napieraquatic.co.nz,www.nelson.govt.nz,www.npdc.govt.nz,www.pncc.govt.nz,www.qldc.govt.nz,www.rotorualakescouncil.nz,www.splashplanet.co.nz,www.tasman.govt.nz,www.tauranga.govt.nz,www.taurangapools.co.nz,www.wdc.govt.nz,www.wharenuisportscentre.co.nz","thecolab.last_verified":"2026-07-19","thecolab.health":"healthy","thecolab.maintainer":"@adam91holt"}

NZ Council

Goal

Use a small read-only CLI to look up two NZ council public-information domains:

• council-area events and what's-on listings
• council recreation facilities, especially pools, leisure centres, gyms, hours, contact details, pool details, and public lane availability where exposed

This v1 is deliberately narrow. It is not a general council-services skill.

Use this when

• The user asks what is on in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Nelson, Tasman, Napier, Hastings, Hamilton, Whangarei, Palmerston North, Tauranga, Queenstown Lakes, Dunedin, or across NZ council areas.
• The user asks for council-listed concerts, markets, exhibitions, kids' activities, festivals, or free events.
• The user asks for public pools, leisure centres, gyms, recreation centres, hours, pool contact details, pool facilities, or pool lane availability.
• You need a quick JSON feed for council-area events or recreation facility listings; use optional --browser only when direct public HTTP is blocked by a public-page edge challenge

Do not use this for

• Rates, consents, LIMs, rubbish, recycling, bins, water, dog registration, parking fines, permits, or complaints.
• Booking classes, reserving lanes, buying tickets, joining gyms, payments, account logins, or changing bookings.
• Private events, private gyms, hotels, non-council venues, or non-public recreation data.
• Emergency alerts or Department of Conservation data; use a more specific NZ public-data skill for those.

Preferred workflow

1. Start with events for what's-on questions. Eventfinda public pages are the primary cross-NZ source because the official Eventfinda REST API requires authentication.
2. Use event <id> only with an event URL/path returned by events --json.
3. Use pools --council akl --json for Auckland pool lists with parsed hours.
4. Use pool "Tepid Baths" --json for a single Auckland pool, including public lane availability when Auckland Leisure exposes it.
5. Use Wellington City recreation commands for basic Wellington pool/recreation-centre listings; open linked WCC pages if exact opening times are needed.
6. Use pools --council rot --json or pool "Rotorua Aquatic" --json for Rotorua Lakes aquatic facilities.
7. Use pools --council npl --json for New Plymouth public pool listings, including Todd Energy Aquatic Centre and selected seasonal/community pools.
8. Use pools --council npr --json for Napier Aquatic Centre / Onekawa Pools.
9. Use pools --council has --json for Hastings aquatic recreation facilities, including Splash Planet and Aquatics Hastings pools.
10. Use pools --council ham --json or pool "Waterworld" --json for Hamilton Pools facilities, including Waterworld, Gallagher Aquatic Centre, and current seasonal partner pools.
11. Use Wellington region council codes for aquatic facilities beyond Wellington City: hutt, porirua, uhutt, and kapiti.
12. Use pools --council whg --json or pool "ASB Leisure" --json for Whangarei Aquatic Centre. ASB Leisure is treated as a legacy/search alias for the current Ewing Road aquatic-centre source.
13. Use Nelson and Tasman recreation commands for council-sourced static facility details; open linked council/operator pages for current hours.
14. Use pools --council chc --json, facilities --council chc --type pool --json, or pool "Jellie Park" --json for Christchurch Recreation and Sport facilities. The CLI reads public recandsport CCC endpoints and public facility pages; it does not book sessions or use authenticated portals.
15. Use pools --council pmn --json or pool "Lido" --json for Palmerston North council-listed swimming facilities, with PNCC details and public CLM hours where linked.
16. Use pools --council tga --json or facilities --council tga --type pool --json for Tauranga City Council aquatic centres operated by Bay Venues, including current closed-status notes where exposed.
17. Use Queenstown Lakes recreation commands for QLDC pools, Queenstown Events Centre, Wānaka Recreation Centre, Paetara Aspiring Central, and Alpine Health and Fitness.

CLI

Run from this skill directory or point directly at the script:

python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py --help

Every data command supports --json and optional --browser. Browser mode imports CloakBrowser only when requested and is intended for public council/facility pages where direct HTTP is Cloudflare/Akamai/Incapsula/Radware challenged; it does not book, log in, submit forms, or bypass CAPTCHA/challenge pages.

Commands

python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py events [--council akl|wlg|chc|rot|npl|nsn|tdc|npr|has|ham|whg|pmn|tga|qldc|dud] [--from DATE] [--to DATE] [--category SLUG] [--free] [--limit N] [--json]
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py event <id-or-url> [--json]

python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools [--council akl|wlg|chc|rot|npl|nsn|tdc|npr|has|ham|hutt|porirua|uhutt|kapiti|whg|pmn|tga|qldc|dud] [--region central|east|north|south|west] [--limit N] [--json]
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool <name> [--council akl|wlg|chc|rot|npl|nsn|tdc|npr|has|ham|hutt|porirua|uhutt|kapiti|whg|pmn|tga|qldc|dud] [--json]
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py facilities [--council akl|wlg|chc|rot|npl|nsn|tdc|npr|has|ham|hutt|porirua|uhutt|kapiti|whg|pmn|tga|qldc|dud] [--type pool|gym|leisure-centre|library] [--region central|east|north|south|west] [--limit N] [--json]

Examples

python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py events --council akl --from 2026-05-23 --to 2026-05-24 --limit 5 --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py events --council wlg --from 2026-05-24 --to 2026-05-24 --limit 5 --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py event /2026/some-event/auckland --json

python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council akl --region central --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Tepid Baths" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py facilities --council wlg --type pool --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council rot --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Rotorua Aquatic" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council npl --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Todd Energy" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council npr --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council has --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Onekawa" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Splash Planet" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council ham --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Waterworld" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council hutt --limit 3 --json --browser
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Naenae Pool" --council hutt --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council kapiti --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council whg --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "ASB Leisure" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council chc --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Jellie Park" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council pmn --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Lido" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council tga --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Baywave" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Baywave" --council tga --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council qldc --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pool "Alpine Aqualand" --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py facilities --council qldc --type leisure-centre --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py pools --council nsn --json
python3 skills/nz-council/scripts/cli.py facilities --council tdc --type leisure-centre --json

Resources

• CLI: scripts/cli.py
• API notes: references/api-notes.md

Notes

• Events use public Eventfinda website pages at eventfinda.co.nz; the documented Eventfinda REST API at api.eventfinda.co.nz/v2 returned 401 Incorrect authentication details supplied without credentials.
• Auckland Council events are discoverable on OurAuckland at ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/events; v1 uses Eventfinda for a single cross-council event path.
• Wellington City events point users to an Eventfinda calendar, so the same public Eventfinda event path is used for Wellington.
• Christchurch City Council's direct events page was protected by an Incapsula challenge during discovery, so Christchurch event queries use Eventfinda public pages.
• Auckland pools and leisure facilities use aucklandleisure.co.nz public location pages and the public Auckland Leisure portal resource-availability page when present.
• Wellington City pools and recreation centres use public wellington.govt.nz listing pages.
• Rotorua Lakes pools and aquatic facilities use public rotorualakescouncil.nz recreation and park pages plus the CLM Rotorua Aquatic Centre operator pages.
• New Plymouth pools use NPDC public pages for Todd Energy Aquatic Centre, Inglewood Pool, and Waitara Pool; Bell Block uses the public Methanex Bell Block Aquatic Centre site.
• Nelson pools use the public Nelson City Council swimming pools page, which links to CLM detail pages for Riverside Pool and Nayland Park Pool.
• Tasman facilities use public Tasman District Council swimming and sport/recreation pages for Richmond Aquatic Centre and Motueka Recreation Centre.
• Hamilton pools use hamiltonpools.co.nz, a Hamilton City Council site, for Waterworld, Gallagher Aquatic Centre, and seasonal partner pool listings. The current Hamilton Pools source does not list Founders Memorial Theatre Pool as an active pool.
• Hutt City pools use the Hutt City Pools and Fitness public site. Direct HTTP is Cloudflare-challenged in some environments; the CLI probes direct HTTP first, can fall back to the legacy local Chrome DevTools endpoint, and supports explicit --browser to use CloakBrowser for that public page fetch when installed.
• Porirua Arena Aquatics uses the public Te Rauparaha Arena aquatic pages.
• Upper Hutt H2O Xtream uses public H2O Xtream pages. Some direct requests are Akamai-denied in Python, so the CLI can use the same local CDP fallback.
• Kāpiti Coast pools use public Kāpiti Coast Aquatics pages.
• Whangarei recreation uses the current WDC parks/recreation landing page plus CLM's Whangarei Aquatic Centre pages. The old wdc.govt.nz/Services/Sport-and-recreation/Pools-and-leisure path returned a WDC 404 during discovery, and asbleisurecentre.co.nz did not resolve.
• Palmerston North swimming facilities use the PNCC Parks-recreation/Swimming-pools listing page, linked PNCC detail pages, and public CLM contact pages for opening hours where PNCC links them.
• Tauranga pools use Tauranga City Council's swimming-pools page plus taurangapools.co.nz / Bay Venues location and detail pages; Mount Hot Pools uses mounthotpools.co.nz for current closure and pool detail text. The CLI tries direct fetch first and falls back to a local CDP endpoint at 127.0.0.1:5100 only when a fetched page looks bot-walled; explicit --browser uses CloakBrowser for those fallback public page fetches.
• Queenstown Lakes pools and recreation facilities use public qldc.govt.nz/recreation pages. Direct requests may return Radware captcha pages, so QLDC facility records are source-linked snapshots from public pages rather than live parses.
• Napier aquatic recreation uses Napier City Council's current Napier Aquatic Centre page. The centre is also commonly known as Onekawa Pools.
• Hastings aquatic recreation uses Hastings District Council's current swimming-pools page plus linked Aquatics Hastings and Splash Planet public pages. Frimley Pool is retained as a closed facility because HDC's current page records the September 2024 closure decision.
• Christchurch recreation and sport facilities use public recandsport.ccc.govt.nz filter endpoints plus linked facility detail pages for pools, gyms, centre details, opening-state text, and public swim/lane summaries where exposed.
• Christchurch supplemental pool entries use public He Puna Taimoana and Wharenui Sports Centre pages when those facilities are not returned by the recandsport listing endpoint.