Source: Radio New Zealand

Commercial and recreational fishing for crayfish off Northland’s east coast will be banned from 1 April next year in a bid to stop the species’ rapid decline.

Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones said the closure of the rock lobster fishery was needed to give the species a reprieve and allow stocks to build up again.

Most commercial fishing for spiny rock lobster – better known as red crayfish – off Northland’s east coast had already stopped under a voluntary industry closure.

The recreational limit for crayfish on Northland’s west coast would be reduced to two per day, Jones said.

“This fishery is a priority for me and I’m aware people have concerns about low spiny rock lobster numbers. Rock lobsters play an important role in the marine ecosystem by helping keep kina numbers in check. The changes I am making will help restore balance by increasing the numbers and size of spiny rock lobsters in the fishery.”

Jones commended the industry for already taking action to stop the decline in crayfish numbers.

However, he believed further measures for commercial and recreational fishers were needed to give the fishery the best opportunity for recovery.

With the inner Hauraki Gulf already closed to spiny rock lobster fishing earlier this year, the new restrictions will put the east coast and most of the waters from Northland to Coromandel Peninsula off limits to anyone hoping to catch crayfish.

To prevent fishers simply switching to packhorse crayfish, Jones said he had set a nationwide recreational catch limit of three packhorse crays per person per day.

More than 600 submissions were received when Fisheries New Zealand consulted on the closure between August and September.

The new rules, from 1 April 2026, will be:

• The CRA1 (northern rock lobster fishery) closure will extend from Ohao Point (just south of North Cape), including Pārengarenga Harbour, to Hauraki Gulf at Cape Rodney.
• The recreational daily catch limit for spiny rock lobster will be reduced to two per person per day in the rest of the CRA1 fishery, which includes the west coast of Northland.
• A portion of the CRA2 fishery will also close between Te Ārai Point and the inner Hauraki Gulf. The inner Hauraki Gulf fishery is already closed.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government has announced additional funding will be allocated to help eradicate yellow-legged hornets in Auckland.

More than 30 queen hornets and 22 nests have been located and destroyed so far in the region, with trapping and ground searches expanded significantly across the city’s North Shore recently.

Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard said the government has committed $12 million to cover the cost of the response to 30 June 2026.

“This funding gives us the best possible chance to eradicate yellow-legged hornet,” he said.

“The hornet is a predator that poses a serious threat to honeybees and, by extension, to New Zealand’s agricultural sector and overall economy. It’s crucial we prevent it from establishing here to protect what matters most to New Zealand-our environment, our primary industries, and the livelihoods that depend on them.”

Biosecurity New Zealand will contribute $2m from its baseline funding, while the remaining $10m would come from reprioritised funds.

Hoggard said the government would consider further funding if costs were to rise.

He said Biosecurity New Zealand was working with industry partners as part of the agreement, as well as with beekeepers and their groups.

“I’m confident that strong and swift measures are in place to deal with the hornet, and we will continue to draw on the knowledge of our local and international experts who are guiding our work,” Hoggard said.

He urged the public to be vigilant, and to report any sightings of the yellow-legged hornet to Biosecurity New Zealand.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman who developed a rare blood clot in her brain more than four months ago says she’s stuck in limbo and unable to work while ACC investigates her case.

Chilean national Nataly Vitreras had been in New Zealand for three years on a work visa when she experienced a medical emergency in Queenstown on 28 June.

“I was at work and suddenly had a severe headache, vomiting and a feeling of loss of control.”

She ended up in Dunedin Hospital for seven days where doctors confirmed she had a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis – a blood clot in her brain.

Vitreras said she had begun taking the contraceptive pill Cerazette shortly before she became ill and ACC was now investigating whether it could be related to the cause of the clot.

A letter from Te Whatu Ora, seen by RNZ, noted Vitreras had recently started the oral contraceptive pill.

A discharge letter from Dunedin Hospital said she was started on a blood thinner and should repeat an MRI in three to four months.

It noted she should not use a combined oral contraceptive again and progesterone contraceptives should not be used until after attending neurology clinic, as there was a “small but significant increase in venous thrombosis risk in some studies”.

Since then, Vitreras said she had been unable to access proper follow up care due to the cost and was unable to return to work.

“It’s all on hold pending the ACC investigation,” she said.

ACC told her the investigation would take four months, but had since asked for more time, Vitreras said.

Finding out there was a clot in her brain had caused her a large amount of emotional distress and she said she felt “very afraid”.

“The system is so slow. Since I wasn’t considered urgent, they [ACC] said it could take months. It’s been traumatic.”

Vitreras said she had since been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by her GP and a psychologist.

Her request for occupational therapy had been declined by ACC while the investigation continued, she said.

Vitreras had been relying on financial help from her parents in Chile and her partner in New Zealand since she became unwell.

She’d been unable to return home to Chile as doctors told her she couldn’t fly with the clot.

Vitreras said she still had near-constant headaches, and it was taking a huge toll on her mentally and physically.

“I feel lost in a system that doesn’t seem to care… I just want to walk, work and live normally again. To have my life back.”

A complex investigation

ACC’s head of service operations Phil Riley said Vitreras had put in a claim for a treatment injury which could be “more complex” than typical physical injury claims.

“We acknowledge this wait has been difficult for Nataly, particularly as she has been unable to work and the financial impact this is having.”

Riley said ACC was focused on getting her a clear outcome as soon as possible.

On average, it took 44 days to make a cover decision on treatment injury claims, he said – but complex cases where the cause of injury wasn’t clear could take longer.

He said ACC relied on medical professionals providing detailed clinical information and the current pressures on the health sector affected how quickly this happened.

“In Nataly’s case we are waiting on one final specialist report.”

A treatment injury was an injury caused because of seeking or receiving medical treatment, Riley said.

“For us to accept a treatment injury claim, the person must have suffered a personal injury and there must be a casual like between the treatment and injury.”

Visitors to New Zealand could access ACC support if they had a covered claim, Riley said, but no support could be given until there was an accepted claim.

ACC suggested Vitreras speak to her GP as there could be other agencies who could provide support.

“We’re in regular contact with Nataly to ensure she knows what’s happening to her claim.”

The cause of the clot

Pinning down the specific cause of a blood clot could prove very difficult, the chairperson of the NZ Blood Clot Foundation Trevor Johnston said.

“I’d say the emotional and mental aspect of having a blood clot… is extremely high. Some people can really struggle because of the lack of practical information given to you by the system.”

Dr Emma Jackson, NZ vice president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecolgists (RANZCOG), said it was important to note published evidence said there was no increased risk of a blood clot while taking the progesterone pill (mini pill).

“It is increased by the combined pill, but the risk is greater during pregnancy,” she said.

“The current data on the mini pill shows no association.”

Jackson said often women who were at a higher risk of clots were put on the mini pill opposed to the combined.

“Women on the mini pill or any contraception should feel comfortable taking it. The risks of a clot from contraception are less than in pregnancy.”

Jackson urged anyone with concerns to see their health provider.

Vitreras started a Givealittle to raise funds for an MRI scan, private neurology consultation and living expenses while recovering.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

More total fire bans on open air fires have been put in place for parts of Hawkes Bay.

They apply to the Southern Hawke’s Bay Coast and Porangahau zones of Hawke’s Bay.

Fire and Emergency’s district manager Tony Kelly said the new prohibited fire season zones will join the Ahuriri-Heretaunga and Tukituki East zones of Hawke’s Bay, which are already in a prohibited fire season.

“There is also no rainfall forecast for the coming weeks, which means the risk of a fire starting and getting out of control has become too great.”

During a prohibited fire season, no fires are allowed in the open and all fire permits are suspended.

Hawke’s Bay’s Tararua East zone is also moving into a restricted fire season from today.

Kelly said that meant anyone who wanted to light an open-air fire will need to obtain a permit.

“This area has also seen consistently warm days and not much rain, and this is set to continue.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: This story contains content some may find disturbing.

The family of a 13-year-old who died by suspected suicide after contacting multiple helplines is making a plea for better information sharing by crisis services.

Annabelle Daza died on 19 September, 2024.

Her devastated parents are still waiting for the coroner’s inquiry to give them answers about what happened to her – but meanwhile, they are advocating for change.

Her mother, Zoë Daza, said they were always very open with their daughter about mental health.

“We always told her the important thing is to reach out for help.

“So that’s what we try and hold onto, that she did kind of do what we told her to do, by reaching out to the helplines, she did try.

“But she just didn’t try with us, unfortunately.”

In August last year, Annabelle’s parents noticed she seemed run-down.

“Annabelle was always such a kind person, followed the rules, straight-laced, into dance,” the mother said.

“Her grades never dropped, she totally kept up appearances with us. The only thing we knew is that she wasn’t sleeping.”

She took her to their GP, who prescribed melatonin to help her sleep.

Soon after that the teen made a secret late-night call to Lifeline. Her parents have seen the transcript.

“Lifeline counsellors were amazing,” said Zoë Daza.

“So they did keep her engaged for a long time, kept trying to get more information from her, didn’t take her word for it when she said she was going to go and get help, and told her ‘We fear for your safety, and we’re going to escalate it to the police’.”

The police phoned Annabelle, but she gave a fake name and address, and told them she was 8-years-old.

An ambulance went to the address she had given – the vacant lot next door to her home – but there was no further action.

The same night, she texted Youthline saying “Hey I need help” but did not respond further, so the conversation was closed.

On 5 September – two weeks before her death – Annabelle contacted Youthline again and disclosed two recent possible suicide attempts and daily self-harm.

The log shows no response for 15 minutes.

It is not known at this stage whether the counsellor was seeking advice or dealing with other texters, Zoë Daza said.

“When they finally came back they said ‘Oh, it sounds like you’re going through a really tough time – have you thought about speaking to a doctor?’ And she said ‘No, I don’t want to’, and they said ‘Well, how can we help you tonight?’.

“She said ‘I don’t know, I just wanted to tell someone.’

“Then they just left it.”

Annabelle also tried to contact the 1737 helpline three times.

“Each time they were just shut by a bot even though she said she required urgent care. It said ‘We’re too overwhelmed to help you at this time’. It was just automatically closed.”

Miguel Daza said young people were constantly told the helplines were there to help.

“But that’s not exactly the case if a bot’s closing it, or you get asked ‘Have you thought about going to your doctor?’ Who would say that to a 13-year-old? Most 13-year-olds don’t even know who their doctor is.”

In Annabelle’s case, so many agencies had a piece of the picture, but no-one could put it together.

If there had been any information sharing or common protocols, someone could have identified the pattern and sounded the alarm, he said.

“I think we need to streamline it: either simplify it and have one line, or have all lines tied together. But either way, the left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing.”

Helplines not designed for acute crisis situations – coroner

In October, coroner Meenal Duggall released her findings into the 2023 suicide of a young Canterbury man, saying his multiple interactions with online services raised wider concerns about their role and capacity and the public’s understanding of their limitations.

Such services were not designed to manage acute mental crisis situations, she said.

Whakarongorau, which operates 1737, told the coroner it had made key changes to policies and training, including lowering the threshold for escalation when suicidality was involved.

The helplines involved in Annabelle’s case declined to comment to RNZ while the coroner’s inquiry was underway, nor did they respond to questions about whether they had capacity to identify repeat callers or share information with other agencies.

Lifeline provided this response: “At this stage we are unable to go into detail around our process for responding to frequent callers as Lifeline is an anonymous and confidential service.”

Whakarongorau Aotearoa said it acknowledged the terribly sad and tragic situation for Mr and Mrs Daza and its deepest sympathies were with them.

The organisation would look closely at any recommendations that came from the coroner – and any lessons to be learned.

Its clinical lead psychiatrist, Dr David Codyre, said services across the sector were seeing more people presenting at risk of self-harm and suffering isolation, anxiety, financial and relationship issues at the same time as they were grappling with workforce shortages.

More young people were seeking mental health support, preferring digital channels.

“The complexity of calls to helplines and other services is increasing, which means longer interactions, and at times, more people waiting, longer that we would want.

“While digital services play a critical role in supporting tens of thousands of people each year, who are experiencing mild to moderate distress, people who are experiencing a high or imminent level of risk should contact a local crisis service or call 111.”

A different model?

A 2016 study based on calls to Lifeline Australia, found fewer than 3 percent of callers accounted for 60 percent of calls.

Researchers proposed a new service model with a dedicated service for frequent callers, and better linkages between helplines and other services providing mental health care, particularly GPs.

Auckland University Professor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Terryann Clark, said there was merit in the idea.

“If we know that someone is ringing up different sources, they’re clearly seeking some support and they’re looking for help.

“So it would be good to join up multiple calls to one helpline, but also between helplines.”

While anonymity was really important to some young people, others needed a personal connection, she said.

“We should have a suite of options so no matter what door people are wanting to enter that there will be someone there willing to walk them through the process and connect them to the support that they need.”

Youth mental health researcher Seungyeon Kim from Koi Tū Centre for Informed Futures said helplines could play a key role for young people in distress.

“Especially if they’re feeling they don’t have anyone else in their life to talk with, then the helplines in these immediate brief interventions are filling that role for them. And I think that’s very important.”

According to the Mental Health Foundation, one in four young people experience moderate to severe mental health challenges – rates that have nearly doubled in six years – but one in five struggle to access support.

Nearly 15,000 people have signed its petition so far calling on the government to take urgent action on child and youth mental health.

Meanwhile, the police have told the Daza family they are finalising their deposition and hope to provide it to the coroner on Tuesday.

Miguel Daza said waiting for the inquiry to progress had been gruelling for them – but they are hoping for recommendations that prevent future tragedies.

“While this investigation has been held up, the youth are vulnerable and could very well be falling through the cracks, just like Annabelle has.”

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202.
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666.
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.
• What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds.
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254.
• Healthline: 0800 611 116.
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155.
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463.

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Government agencies are confident the herbicide glyphosate is safe, despite the retraction of a widely referenced study due to corporate meddling.

The 2000 study by Gary Williams, Robert Kroes and Ian Munro had long been treated as an authoritative source on the safety of glyphosate, but court documents released in 2017 revealed it had been substantially ghost-written by employees of agri-tech giant Monsato, now under Bayer.

But further studies had backed up its findings, and the New Zealand government said it didn’t need to reassess glyphosate’s safety.

The Williams study wasn’t retracted until 2025, when New Zealand-based scientist Alexander Kaurov formally requested it while working on a broader study about corporate ghost-writing.

“We didn’t plan to go for glyphosate specifically, we were interested in corporate influence on science,” he said.

Dr Kaurov chose to use the Williams paper as a case study, but discovered it had never been retracted.

“We wrote to the editor of the journal asking why it’s not retracted and it turns out we were the first people to ask for a retraction,” he said.

“In this particular case it’s important because glyphosate is the most popular herbicide on the planet, so if we want to keep scientific records around glyphosate straight it’s important to keep it straight from the beginning and correct all the problems right away.”

Dr Kaurov said the highly influential study was in the top 0.1 percent of most cited papers on the topic of glyphosate, and had influenced government policy around the world.

“The problem is a lot of science since 2000 has been built on top of this review, so essentially you’re out the brick at the bottom of the pyramid … Probably it will be fine but if you take out a couple more, then it will be a problem,” he said.

Shaun Presow, manager of hazardous substances reassessments at the Environmental Protection Authority, clarified the Williams study hadn’t influenced any decisions.

“This paper has not be used by the EPA in making any decisions on glyphosate,” he said.

“It was referenced in an EPA report in 2016, but only as part of a broader overview of the science of glyphosate at the time.”

But Presow said the retraction was noteworthy.

“It reminds us that we need to be careful when considering information and making sure the conclusions they make are backed up by multiple studies,” he said.

He said the EPA wouldn’t reassess glyphosate.

“We decided in 2024 that there weren’t grounds to reassess glyphosate, and this was based on a large amount of more recent data that is publicly available… And this decision remains valid,” he said.

“The retracted paper has no effect on this so there’s no reason to reassess that decision.”

Meanwhile, NZ Food Safety said the maximum residue levels it set for glyphosate were supported by international data, which was backed by the World Health Organization, and the retraction wouldn’t influence its decision making.

It said international bodies agreed that glyphosate posed a very low health risk from food when it was used as directed.

A spokesperson for Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, defended its involvement in the Williams study.

“Monsanto’s involvement with the Williams et al paper did not rise to the level of authorship and was appropriately disclosed in the acknowledgements. The listed authors had full control over and approved the study’s manuscript,” they said in a written statement.

“Two prior inquiries into the study previously found that the paper was appropriate, including the European Food Safety Authority and Williams’ former employer.”

They reiterated that further studies had corroborated glyphosate’s safety.

“Glyphosate is the most extensively studied herbicide over the past 50 years. Thousands of studies have been conducted on the safety of glyphosate products, and the vast majority of published studies had no Monsanto involvement,” the spokesperson said.

“The consensus among leading regulatory bodies worldwide is that glyphosate can be used safely as directed and is not carcinogenic.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: This story contains content some may find disturbing.

The family of a 13-year-old who died by suspected suicide after contacting multiple helplines is making a plea for better information sharing by crisis services.

Annabelle Daza died on 19 September, 2024.

Her devastated parents are still waiting for the coroner’s inquiry to give them answers about what happened to her – but meanwhile, they are advocating for change.

Her mother, Zoë Daza, said they were always very open with their daughter about mental health.

“We always told her the important thing is to reach out for help.

“So that’s what we try and hold onto, that she did kind of do what we told her to do, by reaching out to the helplines, she did try.

“But she just didn’t try with us, unfortunately.”

In August last year, Annabelle’s parents noticed she seemed run-down.

“Annabelle was always such a kind person, followed the rules, straight-laced, into dance,” the mother said.

“Her grades never dropped, she totally kept up appearances with us. The only thing we knew is that she wasn’t sleeping.”

She took her to their GP, who prescribed melatonin to help her sleep.

Soon after that the teen made a secret late-night call to Lifeline. Her parents have seen the transcript.

“Lifeline counsellors were amazing,” said Zoë Daza.

“So they did keep her engaged for a long time, kept trying to get more information from her, didn’t take her word for it when she said she was going to go and get help, and told her ‘We fear for your safety, and we’re going to escalate it to the police’.”

The police phoned Annabelle, but she gave a fake name and address, and told them she was 8-years-old.

An ambulance went to the address she had given – the vacant lot next door to her home – but there was no further action.

The same night, she texted Youthline saying “Hey I need help” but did not respond further, so the conversation was closed.

On 5 September – two weeks before her death – Annabelle contacted Youthline again and disclosed two recent possible suicide attempts and daily self-harm.

The log shows no response for 15 minutes.

It is not known at this stage whether the counsellor was seeking advice or dealing with other texters, Zoë Daza said.

“When they finally came back they said ‘Oh, it sounds like you’re going through a really tough time – have you thought about speaking to a doctor?’ And she said ‘No, I don’t want to’, and they said ‘Well, how can we help you tonight?’.

“She said ‘I don’t know, I just wanted to tell someone.’

“Then they just left it.”

Annabelle also tried to contact the 1737 helpline three times.

“Each time they were just shut by a bot even though she said she required urgent care. It said ‘We’re too overwhelmed to help you at this time’. It was just automatically closed.”

Miguel Daza said young people were constantly told the helplines were there to help.

“But that’s not exactly the case if a bot’s closing it, or you get asked ‘Have you thought about going to your doctor?’ Who would say that to a 13-year-old? Most 13-year-olds don’t even know who their doctor is.”

In Annabelle’s case, so many agencies had a piece of the picture, but no-one could put it together.

If there had been any information sharing or common protocols, someone could have identified the pattern and sounded the alarm, he said.

“I think we need to streamline it: either simplify it and have one line, or have all lines tied together. But either way, the left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing.”

Helplines not designed for acute crisis situations – coroner

In October, coroner Meenal Duggall released her findings into the 2023 suicide of a young Canterbury man, saying his multiple interactions with online services raised wider concerns about their role and capacity and the public’s understanding of their limitations.

Such services were not designed to manage acute mental crisis situations, she said.

Whakarongorau, which operates both Lifeline and 1737, told the coroner it had made key changes to policies and training, including lowering the threshold for escalation when suicidality was involved.

The helplines involved in Annabelle’s case declined to comment to RNZ while the coroner’s inquiry was underway, nor did they respond to questions about whether they had capacity to identify repeat callers or share information with other agencies.

Lifeline provided this response: “At this stage we are unable to go into detail around our process for responding to frequent callers as Lifeline is an anonymous and confidential service.”

Whakarongorau Aotearoa said it acknowledged the terribly sad and tragic situation for Mr and Mrs Daza and its deepest sympathies were with them.

The organisation would look closely at any recommendations that came from the coroner – and any lessons to be learned.

Its clinical lead psychiatrist, Dr David Codyre, said services across the sector were seeing more people presenting at risk of self-harm and suffering isolation, anxiety, financial and relationship issues at the same time as they were grappling with workforce shortages.

More young people were seeking mental health support, preferring digital channels.

“The complexity of calls to helplines and other services is increasing, which means longer interactions, and at times, more people waiting, longer that we would want.

“While digital services play a critical role in supporting tens of thousands of people each year, who are experiencing mild to moderate distress, people who are experiencing a high or imminent level of risk should contact a local crisis service or call 111.”

A different model?

A 2016 study based on calls to Lifeline Australia, found fewer than 3 percent of callers accounted for 60 percent of calls.

Researchers proposed a new service model with a dedicated service for frequent callers, and better linkages between helplines and other services providing mental health care, particularly GPs.

Auckland University Professor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Terryann Clark, said there was merit in the idea.

“If we know that someone is ringing up different sources, they’re clearly seeking some support and they’re looking for help.

“So it would be good to join up multiple calls to one helpline, but also between helplines.”

While anonymity was really important to some young people, others needed a personal connection, she said.

“We should have a suite of options so no matter what door people are wanting to enter that there will be someone there willing to walk them through the process and connect them to the support that they need.”

Youth mental health researcher Seungyeon Kim from Koi Tū Centre for Informed Futures said helplines could play a key role for young people in distress.

“Especially if they’re feeling they don’t have anyone else in their life to talk with, then the helplines in these immediate brief interventions are filling that role for them. And I think that’s very important.”

According to the Mental Health Foundation, one in four young people experience moderate to severe mental health challenges – rates that have nearly doubled in six years – but one in five struggle to access support.

Nearly 15,000 people have signed its petition so far calling on the government to take urgent action on child and youth mental health.

Meanwhile, the police have told the Daza family they are finalising their deposition and hope to provide it to the coroner on Tuesday.

Miguel Daza said waiting for the inquiry to progress had been gruelling for them – but they are hoping for recommendations that prevent future tragedies.

“While this investigation has been held up, the youth are vulnerable and could very well be falling through the cracks, just like Annabelle has.”

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202.
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666.
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.
• What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds.
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254.
• Healthline: 0800 611 116.
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155.
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463.

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Read the bag’s label

Can I use a washing machine?

How do I hand wash and remove stains?

How do I dry the bags?

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A crash between a car and a minivan at Lake Rotoma, near Rotorua has seen a dozen people taken to a number of hospitals in the North Island.

Emergency services, including two helicopters, responded to the crash shortly after 10pm on Thursday.

Fire and Emergency says the Rotoma, Rotorua, and Kawerau crews were called to the scene.

Nobody was trapped in either vehicle.

Hato Hone St John says 12 patients were treated and taken to various hospitals in the region.

One person in a critical condition was flown to Waikato Hospital, while a second person with serious injuries was flown to Tauranga Hospital.

Nine people suffered moderate injuries – two of whom were taken to Whakatāne Hospital while seven were transported by ambulance to Rotorua Hospital.

One person with minor injuries was also taken to Rotorua Hospital.

St John says six ambulances, two helicopters, one rapid response unit, two road managers, and one major incident support unit attended.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A school principal facing a $90,000 bill for cleaning up asbestos-contaminated sand says she urgently needs more detail on a new scheme for financial support.

The Ministry of Education is setting up a scheme in January, to provide money to schools which were having to spend thousands of dollars replacing contaminated carpet, curtains and other items.

The ministry said in a bulletin that a “fixed sum of money” had been set aside for the “one-off, time-limited” support scheme.

It advised schools affected by the issue to complete a survey by Wednesday 17 December, describing the financial impact of the asbestos-contaminated sand.

Only schools “experiencing financial difficulty” would receive reimbursement for asbestos-testing costs.

Early learning services were not being included in the support scheme, the ministry said, as they were privately owned entities co-funded with government subsidies and parents fees.

Lynda Stuart, principal of Auckland’s May Road School, and member of NZEI Principals’ Council, said she welcomed the announcement of a support scheme as a “move forward”, but said it lacked key details.

Stuart said she still did not know how much funding support was on offer, or whether she would qualify.

“It worries me, that it’s one of those things that will just drag on, and we will be being asked to pay invoices – and in fact I’ve already had to start paying invoices, and those funds will be out of the schools’ bank accounts.

“And what does that mean for 2026?”

Stuart said the asbestos-saga had been an “absolute nightmare” for her school, estimating the total costs of testing, removal, and remediation could be around $90,000.

That included removing carpeted tiles and wall coverings, as well as replacing any furniture with fabric – and employing extra teacher aides to deal with the disruption of temporarily closing the school, she said.

“We just don’t have the funds for this, any spare money we have, we actually put in to providing staffing for the school.”

Stuart disagreed that only schools in financial stress should qualify for asbestos testing costs.

The testing so far had cost the school about $6000, she said.

“I just think all of the costs should be covered, it should be recompensed. It’s through no fault of the school, and it’s one of those things that’s happened…it’s really tragic actually. It’s just come from left-field.”

Stuart said she was still awaiting a definite answer on her school’s insurance claim, but had heard from other schools their claims would not be accepted.

She said “it wasn’t good enough” that she was going into the summer break without knowing if she would receive any financial support or how much.

“It needs to be – this has happened – and we’re [the ministry] going to take the hit on it, and we’re going to attempt the recover the money from those who caused the issue. I know that is complex and hard but the Ministry of Education and government will have the legal teams to do that, schools don’t have that support.”

Funding level still unclear – ministry

The Ministry of Education’s Helen Hurst would not say how much funding would be available for schools, until it worked out how the funding would be distributed.

“We will report on funding allocation decisions when these have been made.”

Hurst said the details of the support scheme were being designed now, and the voluntary survey of schools was to give ministry information on the scale of the financial impact.

Asbestos testing costs should generally be covered from a school’s operational grant, and that was why it was outside the scope of the scheme, Hurst said.

“It is good practice that schools maintain a level of available operating cash to meet unexpected costs should they arise.”

Hurst said it was early learning services’ responsibility to manage unforeseen operational costs given their funding arrangements.

“We also expect that early learning services have business continuity insurance arrangements in place to manage unforeseen events.

“We understand that this situation has created challenges for many early learning services, particularly those operating on tight margins or within the not-for-profit sector.

“While the ministry is not providing financial assistance for asbestos remediation works in early learning services, we will continue to provide guidance and support to help services navigate this issue.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Principals say the Education Review Office isn’t giving schools in poor communities enough credit for the challenges they face.

They say the review office makes no allowances for the fact many of their students come from disadvantaged backgrounds and start school performing at levels several years behind that expected of their age group.

Leaders at one school, which RNZ agreed not to name, said ERO reviewers told them they had witnessed excellent teaching but could not say that in the school’s report because its attendance and achievement rates needed to improve.

ERO said it has the same high expectations of every school.

Earlier this year the Principals Federation warned the [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/561095/principals-worried-by-ero-report-changes

review office was being too hard on under-performing schools] and the office’s most recent annual report called for stronger consequences for schools that did not improve.

Secondary Principals Association president Louise Anaru said some of its members felt ERO reports had become more punitive and the situation was creating anxiety.

Anaru said the principals believed ERO did not give sufficient attention to their school’s context or to students’ progress.

“Many young people may be progressing more than a year in any given year, however may still be behind the expected level or outcome, so some of the concerns are around that schools are able to show accelerated progress and significant improvements however the review focus has just been on outcomes or the expected levels where students should be at,” she said.

Anaru said that resulted in schools getting a negative ERO report that did not reflect their hard work.

She said potential consequences included more frequent reviews, requiring schools to seek support for aspects of their work, or statutory intervention such as limited statutory managers or commissioners.

Anaru said it might take a school two or three years to accelerate a student’s achievement to the point where they were achieving at the expected level and ERO should acknowledge that progress and support.

“The focus now is more around outcomes than the progress that’s been made and it’s important to look at both,” she said.

Principals Federation president Leanne Otene said schools should not be held accountable for wider social problems that were the government’s responsibility.

She said schools in poor communities kept records of student progress so they had hard evidence of the difference they made for children.

Otene said some schools also recorded the achievement of students who remained with them for three or more years because transient pupils often had poor results that dragged down average achievement but were not a fair reflection of the school’s work.

Asked if it was taking a less forgiving line on socioeconomic disadvantage as a reason for under-achievement, the Education Review Office said it took schools’ contexts into consideration.

“However, we deliberately have the same high expectations for every school in every community. Every learner has the right to a great education that sets them up for success. It shouldn’t matter where in New Zealand you grow up, you should have access to the same high-quality education,” it said.

“Our school reports detail a bespoke action plan for every school. These are all focused on the things that matter most for learners – attendance, achievement, the quality of teaching and learning, leadership capability – but the plan is designed for that individual school and the areas we have identified that need immediate attention.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The man who murdered five people by lighting the Loafers Lodge blaze will be sentenced in the High Court in Wellington on Friday.

The 50-year-old, Esarona David Lologa, set the Wellington boarding house alight in May 2023.

Michael Wahrlich, Melvin Parun, Peter O’Sullivan, Kenneth Barnard and Liam Hockings were killed.

In September he was found guilty of five counts of murder and one count of arson.

He had been on trial at the High Court in Wellington for five weeks.

His defence argued he was insane when he lit the fire.

The Crown called around 100 witnesses over its four weeks of evidence.

They included Loafers Lodge residents who described their harrowing escapes from the blaze, firefighters who fought tears recounting their experiences, and crucially, five mental health professionals who believed Lologa was not insane when he lit the fire.

The experts said Lologa did know his actions were morally wrong.

They pointed to Lologa’s own comments to police and psychiatrists, including that he had “done nothing wrong”, as evidence he understood the difference between right and wrong.

During the trial psychiatrist Dr Krishna Pillai, testifying for the defence, believed the man was insane when he lit the fire, and was experiencing a serious psychotic relapse.

Pillai told the court the man’s hallucinations – hearing voices telling him to light the fire – rendered him incapable of knowing lighting the fire was morally wrong, which is a threshold required for an insanity defence.

Esarona Lologa – also known as Esa – was born in Wellington in 1975, but was raised by his grandmother and uncle in a small village near Apia, Samoa.

He was initially educated in Samoa but moved to Wellington when he was about 13, where he lived with his uncle. He attended high school in Lower Hutt.

As a young man, Lologa had a relationship with a woman almost 20 years his senior, who had a teenage son.

In 2009 Lologa was convicted of attempting to murder the son with a machete, after he believed his partner was cheating on him.

Lologa had 50 previous convictions – including the attempted murder and an attempted arson in 1996, after he broke into a butcher and tried to burn it down.

He had also been found guilty of common assault and fraud.

He first came to the attention of mental health services in 1999, when he was 24. He was hearing voices in his head that were swearing at him.

Lologa was diagnosed as having schizophrenia, and was first admitted to a mental health facility in 2000.

The court heard details about Lologa’s clinical history spanning more than two decades, including nine hospital admissions.

During adulthood, Lologa lived in Wellington and Auckland. He stayed in social housing and boarding houses, as well as his car and the street, psychiatrists told the court.

Lologa absconded from a mental health facility on 21 April, 2023, three weeks before the fires, and there was a warrant out for his arrest.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A coroner has criticised a disability service for not urgently addressing a mother’s safety fears for her autistic, non-verbal son who was later found dead in a pond at his home in rural Gisborne.

Five-year-old Khyzah Tawhai Raukaponga DeLaCroix went missing from his home at Mangawehi Station in the Hangaroa district of Gisborne on 11 August last year.

It sparked a huge search involving hundreds of local people, specialist search teams, rescue dogs, and a helicopter.

Coroner Meenal Duggal found that Khyzah’s death was accidental, and that he died on 11 August by drowning in a large pond about 180 metres from his house.

She said a meeting Khyzah’s mother had with disability service Your Way Kia Roha, in which she asked for safety locks on windows and doors, should have sparked immediate action.

The search

Khyzah had been diagnosed with autism before his death, and was non-verbal. He had developmental delays and did not have a “typical sense” of danger, safety or pain, Coroner Duggal said.

He had been referred to Your Way Kia Roha by his paediatrician, a service which was contracted by the Ministry of Social Development’s Disability Support Services.

“Khyzah liked to leave the house to explore and was particularly attracted to water as well as a shed where he liked to play among items stored there. On several previous occasions, he had made his way to the main road,” Coroner Duggal said.

He had been home watching a movie at 2.00 pm in the afternoon when his mother was showering and she heard the door out from the laundry opening. His mother left shortly after Khyzah, estimating she was about one minute behind him.

Police were called at 4.00 pm and a Land Search and Rescue operation started about 5.30 pm. By this time, Khyzah’s father and his employer had searched a 400 metre radius of the house including the water holes, Coroner Duggal’s report said.

The search continued into the night, and resumed again the next morning – the national dive squad found Khyzah’s body in the pond covered in green algae about 3.40 pm.

Coroner Duggal’s report said there were several routes from the house to the pond which were “easily accessible” for a 5-year-old who was good at climbing.

‘Mother’s safety concerns required urgent action’ – coroner

Coroner Duggal said Khyzah’s mother had met with Your Way Kia Roha in June and expressed concerns about his safety, saying that he could run off, and asking for locks on windows and doors.

Khyzah’s mother was told to speak to a neurodevelopmental therapist to ask for a safety assessment for the home.

“It is concerning that Ms DeLaCroix’s concerns about Khyzah’s ability to get out of the house were not proactively addressed.

“This raised immediate safety concerns which in my view required urgent action.”

She said it was a “reccurring” theme from families with health and disability issues that services were not joined up, and they often needed to repeat concerns to multiple agencies or providers.

While the coroner accepted the disability service was not directly able to provide safety assessments, it was part of Your Way Kia Roha’s agreement with the Ministry of Social Development that “immediate safety concerns were to be proactively addressed with urgency”.

She said given Khyzah’s mother lived rurally, and she was trying to look after a child needing full-time daily help, as well as two other small children, any safety concerns she raised should have been “actively addressed”.

In her report, Coroner Duggal said Your Way Kia Roha accepted the response to safety concerns was not sufficiently prompt, but said it was not due to systemic issues or a lack of training.

It said it had taken measures to strengthen compliance including drafting a formal risk matrix for urgent actions, and undertaking enhanced training.

Coroner Duggal said she endorsed the steps Your Way Kia Roha had taken.

In a statement, chief executive of Your Way Kia Roha, Megan Thomas, said the loss of a child was an unimaginable tragedy, and their thoughts and condolences were with Khyzah’s whānau.

Thomas said the Coroner’s findings acknowledged the organisation’s position that it had robust systems and processes in place to identify and respond to risks, and had endorsed, as part of the recommendations, steps taken to strengthen safeguards and training.

“However, in this circumstance, we recognise that a more proactive approach – particularly involving Child Development Services to assess the home environment – could have provided additional support.

“We remain committed to learning from this experience and to continually improving our processes, so that families receive the most responsive and coordinated care possible,” Thomas said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A former teacher at Gloriavale School has applauded the Education Ministry for effectively closing the school, but says it has been a frustratingly slow process.

The Secretary for Education has cancelled the school’s registration, effective from 23 January.

Ellen MacGregor-Reid wrote to the West Coast Christian community’s private school in October, advising that she was considering the move after a second failed Education Review Office (ERO) audit in as many years.

July’s ERO report found Gloriavale Christian School had not met three of eight registration criteria and was not a physically and emotionally safe space for students.

Hopeful Disciple, who left Gloriavale four years ago, said cancelling the registration of a private school was fairly unprecedented.

“But there’s just been so much evidence,” he said. “That they’ve taken so long to act on that, it has been a bit frustratingly slow.”

Disciple said everything in the school was governed by or part of the community.

“Teachers are teaching their own children, their nieces, nephews [and] other teachers are also leaders in the community.

“It’s all interlocking, and so it sets up a really enmeshed situation, which it becomes impossible for the teachers to actually be professionals,” he said.

Spokesperson for the Gloriavale Leavers’ Trust Liz Gregory said it had raised a number of concerns with the ministry about the school over the last six years, from sexual misconduct to education being used as indoctrination.

“Six years is a long time when you’re concerned about children’s safety and children’s educational provision,” she said.

She said they had been less than patient at times.

“I think it’s been difficult with the harm levels that have occurred inside the community for us to sit back and wait for a courageous government department, but I want to thank them for the courage they’ve shown.”

MacGregor-Reid said the Ministry of Education had provided considerable support to the board and staff of Gloriavale Christian School over the last two years.

“Despite two notices to comply and ministry and external support, the school has been unable to demonstrate full compliance and there is insufficient evidence of progress,” she said.

“I remain concerned that these students are not being educated within an emotionally and physically safe school environment. After a period of engagement with the school and community, and consideration of the evidence, I have decided that cancellation of the school’s registration is necessary.

“We are absolutely committed to the education of Gloriavale students. Support will be provided for students and families during the transition so that education is in place for term 1 2026.”

The school board said it would challenge the decision.

“We believe this decision is unjust and does not reflect the significant efforts we have made to address concerns raised. The position taken by the ministry is not accepted and will be challenged.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A homicide investigation has been launched in Hamilton.

Police were called to a house in Lake Crescent at around 6:15pm, where they found a seriously injured man, who died at the scene.

A second person has been taken to Waikato Hospital with an arm injury.

Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Ambler says cordons are in place and residents can expect to see extra police in the area.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

More than $1 million in assets including property, luxury cars and thousands of banned vapes have been seized in raids in Wellington and Auckland.

Police have been investigating the proceeds of a criminal’s drug-selling activities across the North Island and have executed search warrants in Upper Hutt, Wellington, Tawa, Pauatahanui and Auckland.

Detective senior sergeant Karen Heald said the large number of vapes containing the banned substance etomidate was particularly concerning.

The drug can cause involuntary muscle jerking, breathing difficulties and loss of consciousness.

“It goes without saying that drugs cause so much harm in our community – not only to those who become addicted, but to the families of those people who get hooked, and the people who then become victims of the crimes they commit to feed their habit,” Heald said.

Other assets seized include two Ferrari convertible sports cars, five motorcycles including a Harley Davidson, two Victory motorbikes and a quad bike and residential property.

“It’s remarkable to think of the harm the offenders impose on our communities and the luxuries they are then affording themselves in the process,” Heald said.

A Mongrel Mob member and four associates have been charged with multiple offences and police said further arrests were likely.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Nearly two months on from a sewage spill that completely destroyed their crops, Mahurangi oyster farmers are still waiting to see a full compensation package.

More than a thousand cubic metres of sewage overflowed from a Watercare pump station in late October contaminating thousands of oysters in the Mahurangi river and preventing the farmers from harvesting for nearly a month.

Watercare agreed to give a million dollars in compensation to 10 affected farmers, who split it between them.

The organisation also promised to provide a second payment before the end of the year.

But as that date creeps closer the farmers are still waiting and getting increasingly desperate.

It has been around two weeks since Tom Waters was able to reopen Matakana Oysters.

It means he has only been able to farm for around six weeks of this year.

With little time to harvest, his bills and debts have quickly built up, and the $100,000 in compensation he got for October’s sewage spill was gone in 48 hours.

He has already considered closing the doors on his business twice this year, and if Waters does not see more compensation soon, he is not sure how he will carry on.

“This year’s been diabolical, I wouldn’t even be in business if it hadn’t been for lovely people who had donated and kept me going”

But Waters said even the money can’t quantify the damage done to his business.

He is worried the reputational impact is also too much to bounce back from.

“[The spill] was just devastating, I personally just struggled a lot after that spill, it was the worst feeling, because we’d just been trying to get the reputation back up again because all of us have suffered from people not wanting Mahurangi oysters because they’re legitimately concerned about their safety.”

Both sides agreed to an independent loss assessor reporting on how much further compensation was needed.

A few days after the report was lodged, Watercare came back with a request for more information from the farmers.

However, the farmers said they have already given them all the information they have.

Jim Aitken from Mahurangi Oysters said he is close to losing all faith.

“They’re stalling, they’re not believing us, we’ve sent an email saying no we’ve given you everything you’ve asked, they’re simply not believing us, come and see us if you don’t believe it. We’re here, we exist, these are all our oysters, and we’re sick and tired of jumping through hoops for Watercare.”

Much like Waters, Aitken’s compensation went straight into paying off debt incurred from the sewage spill.

While he was able to finally reopen his farm two weeks ago, the spill means they have missed out on the peak season and lost thousands of oysters.

“Without that money you just sit there in the red looking at your debt get bigger and bigger because quite simply even if we are open, it’s not like we can sell every oyster we have right then and there, we have to start this whole new process, get customers confidence back.”

While Aitkin said he has lost all confidence in Watercare, he is still hopeful that they will pay up.

“I want compensation to make up for the fact that I’ve had to stop two roles because I can’t afford to pay them, so I want compensation to be able to employ people so they can continue to work and keep the farm running.

“I want to make sure that this never happens again… and actual accountability from Watercare, so if this ever happens again it’s just an immediate fine.”

Chair of the Mahurangi oyster farmers association, Lynette Dunn said she is disappointed by the back and forth with Watercare.

She said they were originally promised compensation by the 19th of December.

“We’ve been fighting for the last seven years, we’ve been going into more and more debt. So with that last payment sort of income that came through that just got gobbled up into paying all our expenses that had occurred over quite a period of time, so there’s nothing in our accounts to get us through the next three months, four months.”

As the clock ticks on Watercare’s promise the farmers have all agreed on one thing.

They have got a long road ahead, not just to recover financially, but also revive their product’s reputation.

In a statement to Checkpoint, Watercare chief operations officer Mark Bourne said they expect the loss assessment report to be finalised in the new year.

He said Watercare acted quickly and in good faith to respond to the impacts, by first providing $1 million to the oyster farmers affected, and then appointing an independent loss assessor with aquaculture expertise.

“The assessor has met with the oyster farmers and is now assessing losses on an individual, per-farm basis. This is a complex process, and care is being taken to ensure assessments are thorough and fair.”

He said with the information in the report they will be able to confirm the next steps and timing.

This will involve Watercare contacting the oyster farmers individually to discuss outcomes and arrange any final payments.

Bourne said they know the overflow caused considerable stress to the farmers, who they reassured that Watercare will learn from the incident.

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