Source: Radio New Zealand

The coroner has found that the death of a man who was struck and killed by a falling boulder on Taranaki Maunga was accidental, but is reminding mountain climbers to take care to mitigate risks.

Christoph Heinrich Huelsmann died on 23 April 2023 aged 57.

The coroner has found his death to be was accidental resulting from blunt head injuries caused by impact from a falling boulder.

In his report Coroner Ian Telford said Huelsmann and his partner Esther Feldmann, who were experienced hikers, had hiked to the summit of Mount Taranaki earlier that day and were descending the mountain when the accident occurred.

“Around the same time as Mr Huelsmann and Ms Feldmann reached the scoria section of the summit track, a climber above them was making their descent from the rocky ridge, known as the ‘Lizard’. The climber was moving between rocks when they stepped on a large rock, approximately one metre in diameter, and it moved,” the report said

The report said when the climber stepped off the rock and it dislodged and began to roll down the mountain towards the trampers below.

“Ms Feldmann heard screaming and looked upwards. She saw other hikers above the rocks and several large rocks tumbling down the mountain at speed. One of the rocks was falling in the direction of Mr Huelsmann,”

“He started to run to avoid them but was struck in the back by one of the rocks causing him to fall down the mountain for about 20 metres.”

The Department of Conservation (DOC), the agency responsible for the national park and maintenance of the summit route, launched an investigation into the death in the form of a Learning Team process in 2023.

“The report noted that Taranaki Maunga is a very volatile environment with high rates of erosion. There have been many instances of rockfall and landslides on the mountain. The scoria slopes of the mountain were unstable in late April 2023.

“There had been a great deal of heavy rain in the prior few months and an early snowfall, all of which further destabilised the ground. It also rained heavily on the previous day, 22 April 2023.”

The report stated that the Mount Taranaki Summit Route was an advanced tramping track until Tahurangi Lodge and then an expert route from there to the summit, however the Learning Team Process group believed that the incident would have been difficult to prevent – a view shared by the Police Search and Rescue liaison officer.

However it was noted that there was little visitor information provided on rockfall risk at that time, and it was possible that signage or other visitor information on rockfalls could have heightened Mr Huelsmann’s awareness of the hazard.

DOC has since implemented a number of actions to provide information about the hazards on the summit route, both prior to visiting and on-site.

They include installing warning signs about rockfall at key danger points, updating the visitor website and brochure with rockfall danger points, and on the website also showing images that provide realistic depictions of the terrain and experience rather than marketing images.

“I do not consider that specific coronial recommendations are indicated, particularly as, in my view, this accident was not readily preventable,” Telford concluded the report.

But he said he remained mindful that deaths occur with some regularity in mountain environments.

“I therefore consider it important to highlight to all those using our mountains for recreational purposes, regardless of experience, of the importance of being familiar with the risks specific to their environment before setting off.”

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

Health NZ has discovered 180 patient radiology reports, some dating back to 2023, that weren’t sent back to the doctors who requested the scans.

A memo seen by RNZ, sent to staff in Te Tai Tokerau/Northland on 8 April, says the reports will now be sent, but their arrival had been delayed.

“If you feel harm has resulted from the delay in sending the imaging report, please submit a referral,” the letter says.

Health New Zealand Te Tai Tokerau group operations director Alex Pimm said in a statement it was caused by an IT error related to the system used to share radiology reports with requesters.

“A senior radiologist has reviewed all affected reports, and any further action will be taken where appropriate,” he said.

“Initial investigation has not identified any significant harm to patients, although we appreciate that any delay in providing diagnostic results can be anxious for patients and their whānau.”

Most unsent scans occurred in June 2025, but some dated back to 2023.

The underlying problem had been resolved to prevent a recurrence, and the reports had been shared with GPs and the requesting clinician this week.

“We apologise for this delay and for any impact this has had on patients and clinicians.”

What are radiology reports, and why do they matter?

Northland GP Dr Tim Malloy explained radiology reports were written summaries of things like CT scans, x-rays or MRIs, usually requested by a GP or specialist, to diagnose a particular issue for a patient.

The requester would generally notice if they never received the report they requested, and patients would generally follow up if they didn’t hear back with their results.

But copies of reports requested by specialists were often sent to a patient’s GP as an FYI. Malloy said in that case, the doctor who requested it would be the one to action it, but the GP who didn’t receive their copy wouldn’t know to check for it, or to chase it up.

So the situation was “low risk, high significance”, he said – it wasn’t likely a missing report wouldn’t be followed up by the requesting doctor, but if it wasn’t, those results wouldn’t make it to the patient.

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

Firefighters have described clashing with police over who should rescue a woman trapped on a cliff above the sea north of Auckland last month.

A couple walking on the beach had taken refuge from the advancing tide but she became stuck at Tāwharanui Peninsula near Warkworth on the evening of 23 March.

A call log showed Police suggested Fire and Emergency (FENZ)’s lines rescue team stand down, even though it had responded much faster than their team.

“Essentially we’ve had the victim stuck on the side of the cliff, clinging to a flax bush for an extended period of time needlessly,” said FENZ team leader Michael Manning.

Police waited half an hour to alert FENZ when the emergency call came in at 7.21pm.

The logs show despite this, the specialist team of firefighters skilled with ropes and harnesses got there well before a police team and hoisted the woman up.

“She was in an extremely precarious position,” said Manning.

Manning and colleagues said such choke points were recurring and Police needed to sort it out with FENZ.

Decisions were being made “at the expense of the New Zealand public who require a capability to be able to intervene in their greatest time of need”, said a lines rescue trainer Josh Nicholls, speaking as an Auckland union representative.

Police said it was up to them as lead agency to deploy resources – they considered using the Eagle police chopper, Coastguard and ropes – and this rescue went by the book.

“We were and rightly remained the lead agency” at Tāwharanui.

Internal FENZ emails showed last year it had talks with police in which they agreed several rescues had been sub-par and a FENZ deputy national commander said he had been calling on agencies together to work it out. Nicholls said nothing had changed since.

‘We should stand down’

On 23 March, both Police and Fire and Emergency sent lines rescue teams to Tāwharanui peninsula.

Call logs show Police took two hours and 49 minutes to get their crew there.

FENZ took just an hour and four minutes.

Once Police alerted FENZ at 7.51pm, Manning’s crew took seven minutes to set off. A quarter hour later, Police were still discussing deploying their team.

As they drove to the peninsula an hour north from Auckland, Manning said they were told to stand down.

“Police have put some messages across the shared channel … stating that they will be the lead agency for the event and that they were going to try and mobilise the police search and rescue team … and we should stand down from the call.”

The police told RNZ their log showed their search and rescue (SAR) coordinator advising FENZ at 8.03pm to “stand down if not deploying”.

At 8.04pm the coordinator advised “police leading. Police ropes team will deploy”.

Manning said a FENZ duty commander also told them to stand down.

His response? “Absolutely not … the woman is still trapped on the side of the cliff and is far from being rescued.”

Abseil down, hoist up

Manning’s six-person lines rescue team got to the car park at the peninsula road-end at 8.55pm.

This was still about half an hour’s walk away from the cliff top through locked gates.

“You’ve got to appreciate, mate this is a pretty time-critical rescue,” said Manning. “This lady had been on the side of the cliff now for about two hours exposed to the elements and I needed to get my team forward to effect the rescue.”

It was not until over an hour later, at 10.10pm, that the police SAR van got to the car park. The team had only two lines rescuers among its seven members.

At 10.18pm the FENZ team was waiting to abseil down to the woman.

“It was howling a gale,” said Manning. “She was wet because her and her husband had been enveloped by the tide at one stage.

“She was on a 50-metre cliff, approximately 20 metres from the top.”

Her phone had helped pinpoint her position.

Several volunteer firefighters and three non-lines team police officers who had arrived between 8 and 8.30pm had found her first but they needed a specialist rescue crew.

It was after 11 when the FENZ crew hoisted her up, getting her to the road end at 12.22am.

The call log mentioned ‘onset of hypothermia’ but Police said she did not need to go to hospital.

Manning said they heard next day from their communications centre that Police said they might simply not tell FENZ at all about such jobs in future.

The police told RNZ they had no record of this.

“This comment does not reflect police’s position.”

Considered chopper, launches, ropes

RNZ asked FENZ and police for interviews but they instead issued statements.

FENZ said its crews responded promptly and committed significant resources at Tāwharanui.

It added incidents could be complex, and Police were the lead agency and responsible for requesting help from FENZ.

Police said they led all ‘category 1’ operations (the vast bulk of search-and-rescues). “This gives police the lead in determining what assets are tasked and forming the rescue operation,” they said.

They looked at sending a chopper but at 7.30pm the police Eagle helicopter said the weather was too bad for it to go. The Eagle is primarily a surveillance machine.

They looked at sending the police patrol boat and also talked to the Coastguard but at 7.50pm the latter said conditions were “not great” and it could not reach the woman.

They alerted FENZ at 7.51pm, but then police coordinators determined they did not need the agency’s help and “this was passed onto the FENZ lines team. The team advised they were going to continue on to the informant’s location”.

“The SAR on-scene coordinator was happy to involve the FENZ ropes team once at the location, as although not required they were already there.”

This was all according to standard procedures, Police said.

But Manning questioned how police waiting so long to notify FENZ in the first place or trying to stand them down could be a good standard – he called it “a choke point”.

‘Opportunities to improve’

Police told RNZ there might be opportunities to improve.

They and FENZ had “committed to meeting further to assess whether there are opportunities to improve inter-agency communications or clarity of communications when one agency is seeking to establish available resources as part of deployment planning”.

The record of events on 23 March showed Police decided early on that it was not an advanced lines rescue – before a single officer or firefighter got to the cliff. They said FENZ acknowledged this.

The woman’s husband told them by phone at 7.46pm about being “in good spirits, calm and well equipped for the weather, has food and drink”.

Both Nicholls and Manning called for talks to sort it out.

They said Police should stay in charge and lead searches, but that when responders knew just where someone was, like at Tāwharanui, it was a rescue not a search, and FENZ specialist rescuers would often be there faster.

“It’s the old adage, it’s better to be looking at capability than looking for capability at the expense of the person that is in distress,” said Nicholls.

“It’s all about the welfare of the victim at the end of the day, right?” said Manning.

“It doesn’t matter who does the job. The person needs to be rescued.”

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

Fire crews have rescued a person using a rope, after their car plunged 100 metres down a cliff in Coromandel.

Fire and Emergency were called to the scene on State Highway 25 and Manaia Road in Kereta, just before 1am on Tuesday.

Crews from Manaia Hauraki, Coromandel, Tapu, Thames and Tairua attended.

There was only one person in the car. Their condition was not known.

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

A woman was declined a benefit to help her care for her young son, despite his doctor explaining his life-threatening condition requires intensive, around the clock management.

The Ministry of Social Development will now grant her the Supported Living Payment after being contacted by RNZ, saying it made a mistake and did not fully consider the expert advice.

It follows the story of a Porirua family who battled through months of back and forth with Work and Income – and made a call to the media – to get an unwell man the benefit he was entitled to.

The woman, who RNZ’s agreed not to name, applied for the Supported Living Payment – Carer benefit in February.

Her four-year-old son has celiac disease and type 1 diabetes, requiring multiple daily insulin injections for survival. He’s also hypo unaware, meaning he doesn’t show symptoms when his blood sugar drops, which can be fatal.

“It is essential that all individuals involved in [the boy’s] care are appropriately trained and confident in the management of his diabetes,” a Starship doctor wrote in a letter accompanying the woman’s benefit application.

It included nine bullet points detailing the constant, intensive care and monitoring the boy needed, and life-threatening consequences if that care was not delivered.

Despite that, the woman was declined the Supported Living Payment – though she only found out when she called Work and Income about another matter.

“It was more of sort of a side question of, ‘by the way, what’s happening?’” she said.

“And somebody told me that it had been declined because its level of care wasn’t considered to be high enough.”

She never received a written decision or explanation and decided not to argue the case.

“I just sort of figured they’ve decided it’s diabetes, they don’t cover diabetes and that’s the end of it.”

However she contacted RNZ after reading a similar story and RNZ’s inquiries have revealed MSD was mistaken.

She was frustrated by that.

“I don’t think that it was reviewed properly because the information that I gave them and the certificate from the doctor… said that, ‘no this was something that would require a lot of additional care’.

“He is in hospital quite regularly and that sort of thing that seems to meet their criteria,” she said.

“I don’t know who is reviewing these things, what qualifications they have and what understanding they have of the conditions that they’re considering.”

In a statement, Ministry of Social Development’s client service delivery group general manager Graham Allpress said the woman should have been granted the benefit.

He said she was originally declined because it was considered the level of care her son required didn’t meet the “institutional-level care” threshold.

“We apologise to [the woman] and her son and will work with them to correct this decision,” he said.

“On review, the information from the doctor and paediatric expert outline the significant level of care her son needs, and that this requires her to be present and available for him throughout the day.”

That was not fully taken into account initially, he said.

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

Fed-up tour operators are sounding the alarm on Cook Strait ferry services, claiming tens of thousands can be lost from a single disrupted sailing and that perceived unreliability means tourists are skipping the Wellington region and the Top of the South.

At the world’s leading travel trade show – where exhibitors from more than 180 countries spruiked everything from luxury tour packages to adventure travel to medical and health tourism – the Middle East crisis was a hot topic of coversation this year.

But it was not the only one dominating the discourse at ITB Berlin.

According to a New Zealand-based tour operator, chatter about Cook Strait ferries was unavoidable last month and disruptions were causing “significant and lasting” damage to the country’s reputation as a world-class travel destination.

The issue, Jens Schlotzhauer said, demanded attention at the “highest political level”.

The Tourism Minister, however, said nothing had been raised with her directly, while the Rail Minister directed RNZ to the ferry operator.

Schlotzhauer’s concerns came in the wake of disruption caused by a technical fault on Bluebridge’s Connemara, which had been out of action since 21 March but resumed sailing on 1 April following a period of detainment and an inspection by water safety regulator Maritime NZ.

The Interislander has also had delays and disruptions in recent months, with stormy weather and technical problems forcing ferries out of service.

Tour operators told RNZ this season’s disruptions were not isolated, with some providing disclaimers about the ferries’ reliability to travellers or choosing to exclude the Cook Strait from their tour itineraries, while others were considering making back-up bookings for sailings next season.

KiwiRail, which runs the Interislander, and StraitNZ Bluebridge said they understood how frustrating disruptions could be and were “genuinely sorry” and “apologise unreservedly” for the inconvenience caused, but that from time to time problems arose in complex marine systems.

Cancellations hitting overseas companies in the pocket – tour operator

Nature Trailz Discover New Zealand specialised in active holidays for the German-speaking market, managing director Jens Schlotzhauer told RNZ.

The hiking, cycling, and kayaking trips were sold through German tour operators and, according to Schlotzhauer, the Cook Strait ferries were gaining a reputation among his European contacts, who aired their grievances at ITB Berlin.

“The Cook Strait ferry situation emerged as a notable talking point … raised by numerous European tourism companies who regularly send their clients to Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Our European contacts – many of whom book their clients through us – have asked us to speak on their behalf regarding this more local issue.”

Schlotzhauer said the ferries’ notoriety at the global trade show behemoth – which had been running for 60 years – was notable.

Last month’s trade show coincided with a particularly difficult time for services between Picton and Wellington, with more than half the days in March down either one Interislander or Bluebridge ferry due to a technical fault. On 12 and 13 March, two out of the four ferries that cross Cook Strait were out of action.

Schlotzhauer said while Nature Trailz was only affected by three cancellations (two due to technical faults) and three delays during the 2025/26 summer season, the downstream consequences of a disrupted sailing could be significant.

In one such example, Schlotzhauer said kayak and boat tours in the top of the South Island had to be scrapped entirely along with pre-booked accommodation when a cancellation saw a group arrive in Picton from Wellington three days behind schedule.

He estimated the cumulative financial hit to be $21,000 – including additional accommodation, revenue loss by the South Island tourism companies, and the 500 Euro refund per guest the German-based tour operator was required to cough up.

He said under European Union Travel Law, EU-based tour companies were liable for cancelled services.

“This is not an isolated event. Ferry cancellations due to technical defects represent a systemic risk with real and recurring financial consequences.”

New Zealand-based Nature Trailz staffer, Rita Baker – who was personally caught up in March’s cancelled sailings – said ensuring tour vans and drivers were rescheduled on the same service as their tour group could require significant effort.

“I’ve been on the phone to Interislander and Bluebridge for the last couple of months for hours on end trying to get our tour groups across.

“How many tour companies are there in the country that are in the same boat? In terms of tourism being New Zealand’s second-largest earner, I think it’s a very bad look.”

In March this year, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston celebrated Stats NZ data which showed toursim spending in 2025 was up $1.5 billion on the year prior and that tourism remained the country’s second highest export. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/tourism-drives-billions-new-zealand-economy

When contacted about the concerns raised by tour operators, Upston’s office told RNZ such issues had not been raised directly with the minister.

‘What the heck are we going to do now?’

One tour group operator – who asked not to be named for fear of hurting relationships with ferry operators – told RNZ disrupted services meant the company had planned tours that avoided Cook Strait altogether.

They said it was not the majority, but some clients who booked tours through them were choosing to fly groups between the islands thereby excluding Wellington and the Top of the South from itineraries.

“One of our clients … learned that the Cook Strait was a risk. They had one tour where people had to fly from Wellington to Christchurch.

“No big discussions but next thing you know Wellington and the ferries are off the itinerary for the next year.”

The operator said there would be a handful of disruptions in a typical six-month tourist season.

“When it happens it’s huge. Some days we get away with it because we haven’t got a tour affected, but we talk to our colleagues and they are affected. It would be six to 10 times a season that there’s a significant panic … first thing in the morning, ‘Right what the heck are we going to do now?’”

They said it was not just cancellations – delays also caused a logisitical nightmare in a tight schedule that had to account for 10-hour breaks for drivers and guides.

Avoiding the Cook Strait was something Real Kiwi Adventures owner and managing director, Peter Rickard-Green was increasingly noticing in the rentals business.

“We offer campervan rentals that are one-way from North to South Island or vice versa. But we’ve noticed that, that has been … incredibly difficult to arrange because of the instability of the ferry crossings.”

The company issued a disclaimer that it could not guarantee ferry prices or availability and Rickard-Green said some tourists were skipping one island completely.

In his opinion, government intervention was required, while the tour operator believed three Interislander ferries was the only solution.

“A strategy of having two ships instead of three is a strategy for failure. With this set up … there is no back up [for maintenance or disruption]. If just one ferry fails during peak periods it could take weeks to clear up the back log.”

‘Complex marine systems’

KiwiRail said it was “genuinely sorry for inconvenience experienced by tour operators and their customers” in early March when Kaiārahi was out of service for half a week due to a technical fault.

“During that disruption, we worked closely with all our customers including tour operators to move them to new sailings,” a spokesperson said.

They said eight additional sailings were added to the schedule and almost all tour groups and accompanying vehicles were “moved within 24 hours of disrupted sailing”.

KiwiRail said it had improved fleet resilience and, excluding weather, reliability had been above its target of 98 percent over the past 12 months thanks to its proactive maintenance regime – however, “intermittent faults can still occur in complex marine systems”.

Interislander general manager of operations, Taru Sawhney said the fleet would drop to one ship between 22 June and 26 September to allow for Kaitaki to head to Singapore for dry dock maintenance, following three weeks of local wet dock maintenance on Kaiārahi.

Sawhney said the maintenance had been timed with a period of low demand and that Interislander was working with customers to plan ahead for it.

He said the work was essential to keep the ships going during the transition to the new fleet in 2029.

StraitNZ Bluebridge spokesperson Will Dady said the company had been working “one-to-one” with groups to reschedule them as quickly as possible during Connemara’s technical fault.

“We are extremely aware how disruptive this is for our customers, many of whom are long term and very loyal, and we apologise unreservedly to all of them.”

He said from time-to-time things went wrong with “large and complex ships sailing multiple times a day between the Islands”.

Back-up bookings floated

Schlotzhauer said Nature Trailz was keen to speak with both ferry operators about practical solutions to cancellations and was considering booking a back-up sailing for each tour group next season.

“One possibility we would like to discuss is a dual-booking arrangement, whereby we secure two departure dates for each planned crossing, with the flexibility to cancel one at short notice without penalty.

“However, we firmly believe that the broader issue demands attention at the highest political level.”

He said the tourism industry depended on a reliable Cook Strait ferry service for both domestic tour operators and international companies “bound by the consumer protection laws of their home countries”.

“For the vast majority of visitors, a trip to New Zealand is not simply a holiday – it is a life experience.

“Guests save for it, dream about it, and return home eager to share it with family and friends. When things go wrong, particularly due to infrastructure failures that are beyond anyone’s control, that experience is diminished – and word travels.”

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

Follow Our Changing World on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts

Anaesthetic, horse tranquilizer, illicit party drug; and now one of the most promising medicines for those with treatment-resistant depression, according to some New Zealand psychiatrists.

First synthesised in 1962, ketamine is by no means a new drug, but research across the last three decades has revealed its potential to help some people with stubborn mental health disorders.

Now a team are hoping that their New Zealand-developed tablet will meet regulatory approval in the US, to help this treatment become more widely available.

The kick-starter Yale study

Ketamine was first approved for use as an anaesthetic in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until the late 1990s that Yale psychiatrist Dr John Krystal led a study investigating its effects on people with major depression.

The work was published in 2000 and showed that even single doses of ketamine could result in rapid improvements for some of these patients.

“It was an absolute revelation” says Professor Paul Glue of the University of Otago. “It’s having an effect on the glutamate system in your brain. That is the most common type of neurotransmitter in the brain. But up till that point nobody had even thought about there being something abnormal with glutamate transmission in the brain.”

Because it was so new and unexpected, psychiatrists and researchers in the field were sceptical, but then five years later another, larger study showed the same effects. “So it wasn’t a fluke,” says Paul.

Having researched antidepressants in the UK and worked on them in the pharamceutical industry, Paul returned to New Zealand in 2008 and began investigating ketamine himself.

One of the first projects he ran in Dunedin involved injecting ketamine in patients with terminal cancer who were also depressed. Some of the results astounded him, “the first patient that we admitted had been depressed on and off for probably 15 years… and within an hour of dosing she was well. And if we continued dosing every week, she stayed well.”

Further studies across Dunedin and Christchurch followed, revealing a potential for ketamine to help patients with treatment-resistent OCD, PTSD and anxiety.

But while 60-70 percent of patients seemed to be responding positively to the ketamine in terms of their symptoms, there was a major downside to the ketamine injections – the considerable side effects.

The game-changer metabolites study

“People are very spaced out for a half hour after the injection” says Paul.

“They have to sit in a big lazy boy… often they’re very sleepy as well. And having those sort of side effects means it has to be given in a clinic where you’ve got medical and nursing supervision.”

This means treatment that is potentially offputting and unpleasant for patients, and time-consuming and expensive for health professionals to administer.

But some research in mice was about to show up that would change the game.

A 2016 University of Maryland study demonstrated that it wasn’t ketamine that was doing the heavy lifting when it came to improving depressive symptoms, but its metabolites – the products released when ketamine is broken down in the liver.

Researchers, such as Paul, switched to trialling oral doses of ketamine instead of injections. They found that although the response was slower, the oral dosing did work for a similar number of patients.

This prompted Paul to begin discussions with New Zealand healthcare company Douglas Pharmaceuticals about developing a ketamine tablet.

And the early results were positive, says Paul “really from the first time we dosed it in healthy volunteers and then in a small group of patients, it performed brilliantly.”

The regulatory hurdles

Named R-107, the idea is that this slow-release tablet could be taken by patients at home, once or twice a week, to keep patient’s ketamine metabolites levels high for as long as possible.

To give it the best chance to get to market a San Francisco-based company, Tasman Therapeutics, was spun out. It’s tasked with raising funds for and running the next batch of clinical trials, to gather the evidence needed to get Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The FDA approves drugs for use in the United States, explains Paul, and in terms of economic return that’s the best market to be in.

But they want to be assured of the efficacy and safety of the tablets first. Ketamine is also illicitly used in many countries as a party drug, including here in New Zealand.

Repeated high doses can lead to bladder damage, and addiction.

With their study design now approved by the FDA, Paul is hopeful they can find the investment to get the trials underway. If they go well and the drug proven safe and effective, Paul estimates it could be approved in the US in about two and a half years, with New Zealand approval likely following a few months after.

Treatment-resistant depression is defined as depression that has not responded to two or more treatments.

Over one in four of us will experience moderate to high anxiety or depression in our lives. About a third of people with depression, and about half of people with anxiety, will not respond to treatment, says Paul. It adds up to an estimated 300,000 New Zealanders, 60-70 percent of which would likely respond to ketamine treatment.

This, Paul says, is what motivates him.

“These people often, when they’ve failed a couple of treatments or a course of psychotherapy, will get discharged back to the GP and will sit at home… not be able to function.”

“And the options for them are pretty grim. So being able to help this group of patients would be massive.”

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The coroner has found that the death of a man who was struck and killed by a falling boulder on Taranaki Maunga was accidental, but is reminding mountain climbers to take care to mitigate risks.

Christoph Heinrich Huelsmann died on 23 April 2023 aged 57.

The coroner has found his death to be was accidental resulting from blunt head injuries caused by impact from a falling boulder.

In his report Coroner Ian Telford said Huelsmann and his partner Esther Feldmann, who were experienced hikers, had hiked to the summit of Mount Taranaki earlier that day and were descending the mountain when the accident occurred.

“Around the same time as Mr Huelsmann and Ms Feldmann reached the scoria section of the summit track, a climber above them was making their descent from the rocky ridge, known as the ‘Lizard’. The climber was moving between rocks when they stepped on a large rock, approximately one metre in diameter, and it moved,” the report said

The report said when the climber stepped off the rock and it dislodged and began to roll down the mountain towards the trampers below.

“Ms Feldmann heard screaming and looked upwards. She saw other hikers above the rocks and several large rocks tumbling down the mountain at speed. One of the rocks was falling in the direction of Mr Huelsmann,”

“He started to run to avoid them but was struck in the back by one of the rocks causing him to fall down the mountain for about 20 metres.”

The Department of Conservation (DOC), the agency responsible for the national park and maintenance of the summit route, launched an investigation into the death in the form of a Learning Team process in 2023.

“The report noted that Taranaki Maunga is a very volatile environment with high rates of erosion. There have been many instances of rockfall and landslides on the mountain. The scoria slopes of the mountain were unstable in late April 2023.

“There had been a great deal of heavy rain in the prior few months and an early snowfall, all of which further destabilised the ground. It also rained heavily on the previous day, 22 April 2023.”

The report stated that the Mount Taranaki Summit Route was an advanced tramping track until Tahurangi Lodge and then an expert route from there to the summit, however the Learning Team Process group believed that the incident would have been difficult to prevent – a view shared by the Police Search and Rescue liaison officer.

However it was noted that there was little visitor information provided on rockfall risk at that time, and it was possible that signage or other visitor information on rockfalls could have heightened Mr Huelsmann’s awareness of the hazard.

DOC has since implemented a number of actions to provide information about the hazards on the summit route, both prior to visiting and on-site.

They include installing warning signs about rockfall at key danger points, updating the visitor website and brochure with rockfall danger points, and on the website also showing images that provide realistic depictions of the terrain and experience rather than marketing images.

“I do not consider that specific coronial recommendations are indicated, particularly as, in my view, this accident was not readily preventable,” Telford concluded the report.

But he said he remained mindful that deaths occur with some regularity in mountain environments.

“I therefore consider it important to highlight to all those using our mountains for recreational purposes, regardless of experience, of the importance of being familiar with the risks specific to their environment before setting off.”

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

A senior police staffer’s internet usage is “under assessment” relating to potential misuse following an audit of senior staff and leaders in wake of the Jevon McSkimming scandal.

There have been 19 police staff investigated in total to date following audits of internet use, four of whom have resigned.

RNZ earlier revealed that the police’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT) had agreed to look at internet usage for staff in senior leadership positions over a 12-month period.

The audit followed a rapid review of staff internet usage sparked by McSkimming’s resignation as Deputy Commissioner after child sexual exploitation and bestiality material were found on his work devices.

RNZ has obtained a series of emails in relation to the audit of senior leaders under the OIA.

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

This includes an email from Chambers to senior leaders on 1 December last year.

In the email, Chambers said the ELT had agreed to additional internet usage checks over all existing staff in senior leadership positions.

“This will include myself as Commissioner, Assistant Commissioners, Executive Directors, District Commanders, Directors, and the leadership of the Firearms Safety Authority and Next Generational Critical Comms (NGCC).

“These audits will check staff internet usage and search histories on police devices for the past 12 months.”

Those who were in contention to be Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners had already undergone an “extensive audit” as part of the selection process, Chambers said.

In response to questions from RNZ, police’s Chief of Staff Cassandra Anderson said on Monday that the audit of senior staff and leaders had now concluded.

“There were no concerns about the usage of the Executive Leadership Team, the Senior Leadership Team, and District Commanders.”

However, two “matters of potential concern” were identified among the “wider cohort of senior staff who were included in the audit”.

“One matter relating to potential misuse is under assessment.

“The other was a minor issue which was investigated and has been resolved.”

No other usage of concern was identified across senior staff, Anderson said.

“Ongoing regular checks of all staff device use, including leaders, will continue and have been implemented as part of NZ Police’s routine practice.”

Checks on staff seeking promotion to the ranks of Superintendent or above would also be conducted, in line with the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s recommendation.

“The Commissioner is confident the tighter controls implemented after the Rapid Review and the use of alerting and regular auditing has greatly strengthened our ability to quickly detect instances of inappropriate content and misuse of police devices.”

Anderson said that in total, police had investigated 19 cases following audits of internet use.

“To date, 11 have been resolved through disciplinary action or performance management. Four staff have resigned through the process.

Three staff remain under investigation for potentially objectionable and inappropriate searches. Three staff have been stood down.”

No charges have been filed to date, Anderson said.

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

A road in the West Auckland suburb of Te Atatū South is closed after a fatal crash.

One person has died following the two-vehicle crash on Tirimoana Road at about 7pm on Monday.

Police are urging motorists to avoid the area while the Serious Crash Unit examines the scene.

The road remains closed with diversions in place.

Two unoccupied parked cars were also damaged during the collision, police said.

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

Warning: This story contains content some may find disturbing.

A Tokoroa man has been sentenced to nearly 5 years imprisonment for possession and distribution of objectionable material, including bestiality-related abuse and content involving infants.

30-year-old River Nathanile Foster appeared for sentencing in Tokoroa District Court on Friday 10 April , after pleading to 15 representative charges for his distribution of over 8000 objectionable images and videos.

His imprisonment follows an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs’ (DIA) Digital Child Exploitation team.

Among the material were files depicting severe child exploitation, including the sexual abuse and exploitation of young children and animals.

Investigators also found objectionable computer-generated imagery in Foster’s possession.

DIA said computer-generated content was becoming increasingly common among offenders.

“Computer-generated objectionable content is not a loophole, it is illegal and harmful. Distributing it to others, as happened here, fuels an ecosystem of exploitation and is deeply concerning,” Tim Houston, Manager Digital Child Exploitation Team, said.

The DIA said an investigation into Foster was launched after the Department received referrals from the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which indicated that he had uploaded child sex abuse files onto an online platform.

It said Foster was also detected re-offending while already under investigation by the Digital Child Exploitation team.

“This prosecution reflects the two enforcement actions taken in response to his continued offending.”

As part of Foster’s sentence, he will be registered as a child sex offender and all devices used during the offending will be destroyed.

The DIA said in 2024, the Digital Child Exploitation team conducted 69 investigations into child exploitation and helped to safeguard 14 New Zealand children from harm, while the Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System blocked over one million attempts to access websites hosting child sexual abuse material.

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

The High Court has dismissed an appeal from a former Ports of Auckland chief executive who was found guilty in relation to the death of a worker.

A stevedore, Pala’amo Kalati, aged 31, was killed by a falling container in August 2020.

Tony Gibson was then prosecuted by Maritime New Zealand under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The maritime watchdog filed charges accusing Gibson of breaching his duties as an officer and making decisions which jeopardised the safety of port workers.

He was found guilty after a trial in the Auckland District Court in 2024, fined $130,000 and ordered to pay a further $60,000 in legal costs.

The High Court has now upheld the verdict and the sentence.

Maritime New Zealand Director Kirstie Hewlett said she was pleased to see the High Court reinforced that Gibson did not exercise his due diligence responsibility to ensure the port complied with its health and safety obligations

“Mr Gibson had the knowledge, influence, resources, and opportunity to address safety gaps and ensure that appropriate systems were in place at the port, but failed to do so,” she said.

Hewlett hoped the case would warn other chief executives to ensure their health and safety obligations were met.

“They need to understand the critical risks at their businesses, assure themselves through reliable sources that there are controls and systems in place, and verify that these controls and systems are working effectively to improve safety.”

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

A road in the West Auckland suburb of Te Atatū South has closed after a serious crash.

Police were called to Tirimoana Road around 7pm on Monday.

Initial indications suggest there have been injuries.

Diversions are in place and motorists are being urged to avoid the area.

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

Northland and Waikato have ended the states of emergency activated on Saturday ahead of Cyclone Vaianu’s arrival.

Declaring a state of emergency grants councils extra powers during a local crisis.

Whakatāne remained under a state of local emergency, but those who were evacuated were allowed to return home if they felt it was safe to do so.

States of emergency had also been lifted for Tauranga, Hawke’s Bay and Western Bay of Plenty earlier on Monday.

Vaianu moved away from the mainland after bringing destructive winds, rain and heavy swells on Sunday, causing damage to state highways and cutting power to thousands.

Northland’s civil defence said they were shifting to clean-up.

“There are still some welfare, roading, and clean-up issues to work through in parts of Northland, including issues from previous events that have been exacerbated by this weather,” Northland CDEM group chair Colin Kitchen said.

“While Cyclone Vaianu did not impact Northland as severely as some predictions suggested, and the majority of emergency powers were not required, the declaration meant we were ready to respond quickly and keep people safe if the situation had escalated.”

Kitchen thanked Northland communities for being prepared and listening to warnings, saying preparation was preferable to reaction “especially when severe weather can change quickly”.

Waikato’s civil defence group says declaring an emergency early helped prepare for the worst.

“Going early gave people the ability to evacuate ahead of time, especially those who live in areas that usually see storm impacts,” Waikato CDEM Group joint committee chair Emma Pike said.

“The cyclone had the potential to be seriously impactful. If people hadn’t prepared, stayed in place and heeded the warnings, the outcome may have looked really different,” said Pike, who is also a councillor.

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

Housing advocates want an independent certification system so that landlords can’t just mark their own homework and say that their properties meet healthy homes standards.

Since July last year, it’s been compulsory for all rental properties to be up to scratch with the standards, which set minimum requirements for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage.

But with no qualification needed to tick off each of the standards, anyone is able to call themselves a healthy homes assessor.

It’s raised questions as to whether the standards are doing what they’re meant to – ensure rental properties are safe, warm and dry.

In Wellington’s Aro Valley there’s a street known by locals as ‘The Devon Street Ditch’.

It’s home to a row of run-down villas tucked away in a gorge below the road.

Many of the houses there are owned by the same landlord.

Amy* (not her real name) lives in one of these houses along with five other flat-mates in their early twenties.

When signing her lease at the start of this year, her landlord had ticked off each of the Healthy Homes Standards.

But after she moved in, Amy said it was clearly not a healthy home.

“There’s gaps in the walls between windows, windows don’t lock that you can enter through, there’s insulation out in the ceilings and it’s freezing.

“It’s so cold and it’s damp and mould is appearing everywhere.”

Between them the six flatmates pay $1200 in rent every week, that’s $200 dollars each.

Amy said the price didn’t reflect the state the flat was in, as one of her flatmates had found out the hard way.

In one of the bedrooms, the corrugated plastic roof wasn’t properly connected to the wall.

“When we had those storms come through, she’d wake up with rain on her laptop.”

The flat’s bathroom also ventilated into a room next door, rather than outside.

Amy said they’ve asked their landlord to fix some of the problems but have been told it’s up to them to sort it out.

They’ve considered laying a complaint with the Tenancy Tribunal but decided it’s not worth the effort.

“We’ve read up on this landlord and it’s not really worth all the hassle we don’t think, especially because we’re only here until November.”

“Obviously we’d love to go to the Tribunal and get it fixed, but with everything that’s happened with him and what other people have had to put up with, we don’t exactly see us getting a successful outcome.”

‘Unacceptable’

Volunteer with Wellington Central’s Citizens Advice Bureau Audrey Fell-Smith said despite the new Healthy Homes Standards, they were getting as many complaints as last year from unhappy tenants.

“Unacceptable drafts coming through from wherever, heating issues, plumbing issues, people wanting to get out of a tenancy because they can’t get their landlord to actually fix the issues that are making them sick.”

Fell-Smith said some companies assessing compliance with the Healthy Homes Standards weren’t reliable.

“I did one on my last place, I got four different assessors to come in and they all came out with different ideas of what the capacity should be for the heat pump.

“So that tells you that we don’t actually have any real tool.”

Loopholes remain that need to be closed

Dr Lucy Telfer-Barnard from the University of Otago’s public health department said while the standards were a step in the right direction, there remained loopholes that needed to be closed.

“Their home is still going to be cold, because it’s exempt from having the insulation in the ceiling and in the floor.

“It needs to be much more clearly sign-posted for tenants, so that when they’re moving in, they know that the property although it is obeying the rules, it’s not going to be a warm home or it’s going to be much harder to heat.”

She said there needed to be an independent system to make sure those carrying out inspection reports were actually qualified.

“These days a lot of landlords do pay assessors to come through and lots of property managers will require it.

“There is certainly a need for some sort of certification system so that you know that if you are paying someone to go through, they are properly trained and know what they are doing.”

Failure to meet the Healthy Homes Standard could see landlords who own six or more rental properties hit with a $50,000 fine.

Smaller-scale landlords could face fines of up to $7200.

The Ministry of Housing said the government decided not to introduce a rental warrant of fitness in favour of developing the Healthy Home Standards.

Moving to a WOF scheme would have significant costs and impacts. 

The Healthy Homes Standards focus on minimum standards that will have the greatest impact on the warmth and dryness of a home without imposing an unreasonable burden and cost on landlords.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said if tenants thought the property they were renting was not up to standard, they should speak to their landlord.

“If they are still not satisfied, they should put their concerns in writing to the landlord giving them a reasonable time to fix any issues.

“If the landlord still doesn’t fix the issue, they can make a complaint on the Tenancy Services website or apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for a work order.”

MBIE said most landlords want to do the right thing and were providing more than the minimum standards.

Property management company responds

Checkpoint reached out to the property management company and owner of the property mentioned in this story.

The property management company said they were holding Healthy Homes documentation provided by the owner and it confirmed the property was compliant.

All Healthy Homes documents were given to the tenants as part of their tenancy agreement.

*Name changed to protect identity

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

Kiwifruit growers have come through Cyclone Vaianu relatively unscathed.

It has been less than 24 hours since strong wind and heavy rain lashed the North Island.

Colin Bond from Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated told Checkpoint that he had not heard of growers having much damage as a result.

One in the Bay of Plenty had lost some part of their crop – while some in Northland, Coromandel, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay had also sustained some minor damage.

Bond hoped that the record crop that it was forecasting still eventuated.

But told Checkpoint the biggest concern was wet feet – where the soil is saturated for too long – or skin rub from the wind.

“So as the fruit moves on the vine – rubbing against each other – and then making it difficult for that fruit to be sold as an export quality piece of fruit,” he said.

Bond said it was possible that some of the fruit would no longer be top-grade.

“The challenge will be after this wind event, just to make sure that growers can still maximise their packouts, but we’ll have a process through our post-harvest operators to make sure only the very best fruit gets to market.”

Bond said five million trays of the red variety had been packed and shipped, while the gold variety was about 40 percent of the way through, and the green variety was about 10 percent.

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

Thousands of homes are still without power but most are feeling like they dodged a bullet after Cyclone Vaianu swept across much of the country.

All evacuation orders have now been lifted and many communities feel they dodged a bullet with the storm.

However the wet weather isn’t over yet, with heavy rain watches still in place for Northern Taranaki, Waitomo, Taumarunui and Taupō west of the lake.

While in the Bay of Plenty town of Ohope, the cyclone provided an opportunity for local surfer Mathew Barnfield.

“I’m going to head out soon, it’s clean as. Will probably go for a surf now I think.”

It’s a welcome return to normality after the Whakatane area took a direct hit from the cyclone on Sunday.

Large parts of Ohope were evacuated and Barnfield said although he respected the authorities decision, he decided to stay put.

“I made my own call and felt I was going to be safe at home and stay with my house, see how it goes and ride out the storm really,” he said.

Dave and Katrina Madsen also stayed put, they’ve been living in the Coromandel’s Kauaeranga Valley for 35 years and are well used to floods.

“The first one scares ya and the next ten don’t, you just go through the motions,” Dave said.

“It’s not great and you know you’re going to be left with a mess… it’s more the animals you worry about and just making sure they’re out of the flood zone,” Katrina added.

Over on the East Cape, about 2,750 homes are still without power. Te Araroa Holiday Park owner Bill Martin told RNZ he had fired up the generator.

“We realise we did dodge a bullet, but every dog has its day and our day wasn’t today… but we had our day a couple of months ago.”

The community is still cleaning up from January’s floods and had been feeling anxious about Cyclone Vaianu.

“We were nervous, we were prepared for it and sandbagged… we were lucky, yes,” Martin said.

Down the coast in Ruatoria, Leanne Morice said while the storm wasn’t as bad as forecasted, it was a wild windy night and there were trees and branches strewn across paddocks and roads.

“Like eveyone kept saying, this is not our first rodeo so we’re usually well and truly prepared and this seemed to be case this time as well,” Morice said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Morning Report that parts of State Highway 35 on the East Cape is moving into the ocean and it might be time for some residents to consider relocating.

“SH35 has really disparate and isolated communities, they are having conversations within those iwi to say ‘look this is the 7th or 8th time we’ve been smashed by these sort of events and maybe we need to have some braver conversations about where we might relocate to’,” said Luxon.

Gisborne’s mayor Rehette Stolz told RNZ that Luxon’s comments came as a surprise and she’ll be talking to iwi about it.

Stolz said there hasn’t been enough investment over the years into roads like State Highway 35, and although she knows the Government has a limited pot of money, there is always talk of ‘roads of national significance’.

“And I appreciate that, but I do think we need to make sure our rural lifelines also get the investment so they can keep on contributing to this nation’s economy,” she said.

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

A Far North man has been arrested after a ram raid at an aerodrome wrecked a flying club’s gliders and left members with a $250,000 repair bill.

A vehicle was used to smash into a hangar at Kaikohe Aerodrome, leaving the aircraft parked inside severely damaged.

Senior Sergeant Clem Armstrong, of Mid Far North police, said two vehicles and an $80,000 tractor mower were taken in the raid, which was reported on 27 March.

Adding insult to injury, about 100 litres of diesel and petrol were stolen, along with batteries from the club’s solar power system.

Armstrong said Kaikohe Aerodrome was built in 1942 as a United States Marine Corps bomber base.

He said it had the largest grass airstrip in the Southern Hemisphere, with the Kaikohe Gliding Club responsible for mowing and maintaining it.

“This is a volunteer group who rely entirely on goodwill. This has been a massive blow and has really hurt them.”

Armstrong said the club was “over the moon” to hear police had arrested someone.

The 28-year-old man had been charged in relation to the road and was due back the Kaikohe District Court on 21 April.

He faced 21 charges relating to a series of rural thefts in the Mangakahia and Awarua areas, south of Kaikohe.

The charges included burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, intentional damage, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, receiving and theft.

In a social media post shortly after the raid, a Kaikohe Gliding Club spokesman said it was a huge blow that would be difficult to recover from.

He said the club, which was one of the cheapest and most accessible gliding clubs in New Zealand, would not be operating for the foreseeable future.

The club had always operated without insurance to keep membership costs low.

“Unfortunately, this has left us extremely vulnerable, and this loss is something we simply cannot absorb.”

Even if the club had the money, there was a shortage of certified gliding engineers in New Zealand, so repairs could take many months or even years.

He said the club was entirely volunteer-run and supported local youth, including by hosting cadets from Kaikohe to Kaitāia.

Meanwhile, Armstrong said police investigating the aerodrome raid had also located stolen industrial drill parts valued at $40,000.

The equipment, imported from the United States by a local company, was returned last week.

“It’s great to be able to recover these expensive and crucial pieces of equipment and return them to their rightful owners.”

Armstrong said the aerodrome investigation was ongoing with police looking for others who may have been involved.

The damage to each aircraft was expected to cost around $60,000 to repair. The vehicles had since been recovered.

Armstrong urged people to report thefts in rural areas, no matter how minor they seemed, saying it helped police build up a picture of what was happening in an area.

* Kaikohe Gliding Club has set up a Givealittle page to help pay for repairs.

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

A Rangitikei farmer who caused the death of more that 140 animals has been sentenced to more than nine months’ home detention and and indefinitely banned from owning animals.

David William Newcombe, 50, was sentenced in the Marton District Court after pleading guilty to eight charges under the Animal Welfare Act, following a prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

MPI said when Animal Welfare inspectors visited Newcombe’s property they found evidence that 86 contract grazing wagyu cattle had died from underfeeding and being affected by parasites.

It said the remaining 60 wagyu cattle were also in poor body weight condition and underfed, but quickly regained weight after being properly feed.

MPI said a thousand sheep were underfed and many were suffering from worm burdens, and at least 15 sheep had to be euthanised to prevent further suffering.

It said there was also evidence that another 40 sheep had died or had been euthanised because their fleeces had not been shorn for between 18 months and two years, leaving them recumbent.

“This was serious offending. Mr Newcombe failed to live up to his responsibilities to provide enough quality feed and timely veterinarian care for his cattle and sheep and as a result animals suffered and died,” said Shane Keohane, MPI district manager Animal Welfare and NAIT Compliance Central.

Newcombe was directed under the Animal Welfare Act to make urgent changes including selling surplus lambs and destocking excess cattle within seven days, but MPI said when an Animal Welfare Inspector and Veterinarian checked back, they found he had not sold all the lambs and had not destocked any cattle.

“Most farmers do the right thing by their animals, but Mr Newcombe clearly did not. This was compounded by the fact that under his grazing contract he had access to free veterinarian but did not appear to use them,” Keohane said.

MPI said animal welfare was everyone’s responsibility and it strongly encourages any member of the public who was aware of animal ill-treatment or cruelty to report it to the MPI animal welfare complaints freephone 0800 00 83 33.

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

Christopher Luxon says he’s happy to be labelled woke if it means New Zealanders are not losing their lives in the recent cyclone.

The Prime Minister held a briefing with reporters in Auckland on Monday afternoon, after Cyclone Vaianu’s course shifted away from Hawke’s Bay late on Sunday.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Napier, Hastings, and Central Hawke’s Bay councils declared local states of emergency for coastal areas before midday on Saturday, but Wairoa mayor Craig Little refused – saying “we’re becoming woke as a country when it comes to states of emergency”.

Luxon said states of emergency were not woke.

“No, they’re not. I love Craig, I’ve spent a lot of time with him given he’s had some major weather events in Wairoa over the last few years, and so I’ll happily wear a woke label this time if it means we didn’t lose anyone’s lives,” he said.

“This was a significant event with 10 local states of emergency actioned, and in a number of regions there were road closures, power outages and flooding.”

He said the government had worked “incredibly well” with Mayor Little in the past including supporting dredging at the harbour entrance, and “I’d sooner be prepared than talking to you about an event that we were underprepared for”.

He said the response got better “each time we have one of these severe weather events”.

“The joinup and the teamwork that we saw between local and central government, NIWA and civil defence, iwi and marae, rural support and first responders and emergency management is truly inspiring.”

The second iterations of Dunedin flooding and fires on the Port Hills had been much better handled than the first time around, but “sadly the same thing’s been happening with our weather events,” he said.

Luxon said it was incumbent on households to prepare for the worst.

“Think about an evacuation plan, make sure we have a container full of our key supplies, don’t go driving through floodwaters because that’s how we’ve been losing lives.

“I think New Zealanders are taking it more seriously, we’re getting better at responding, and that’s all good.”

He said he wanted to thank the New Zealanders who “heeded the call to take personal responsibility and actions to keep themselves and their family safe in this event”.

‘Adult to adult’: Fuel rationing plan to take weeks to finalise after business feedback

Luxon offered reassurance New Zealand had “sufficient” fuel after the latest official numbers from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, but it would take “a few more weeks” to finalise the phase 3 and phase 4 fuel prioritisations.

“One of the learnings out of Covid is we don’t want to do this to industry, we don’t want to be operating in a parent-child manner, we want to be operating in an adult-to-adult manner working with industry.

“And they have many of the solutions that we need in order to make sure that we could manage ourselves… if needed,” he said.

“We’ve just had the submissions come in, there’s 2000 of them, we have a series of forums and groups we’ve worked with from day one, we’ve worked with diesel users, we’ve worked with importers, we’ve worked with big key CEO groups and we need to digest all of that.”

While fuel stock numbers were slightly down on the previous update, it was within normal fluctuations, reflecting distribution around the country and “no material issues” with incoming shipments, he said.

“We also do welcome the ceasefire and we hope seriously for constructive negotiations between the parties involved to stop this conflict, but we have all seen how volatile and unpred this conflict has been and how fragile this ceasefire is and negotiations are.

“We continue to call for the Straits of Hormuz to be reopened. The longer shipping in the strait is disrupted, the more it impacts New Zealanders here at home… it is urgent to find a diplomatic solution.”

He refused to confirm further targeted support for those struggling with high fuel prices.

“Our prices at the pump are really set by global prices, as you’d understand… price of oil today is probably $20 lower than what it was just a week ago, we expect those prices to flow through within a week or two.

“Equally, those prices can go up or down very easily based off what’s happening with the conflict.”

Luxon repeated comments that New Zealand could not afford untargeted spending to cushion the blow for all New Zealanders after “reckless Covid spending” had “used up the rainy-day fund and maxed out the credit card”.

He said he thought the government had done well handling the fuel crisis.

“I think we’ve done a very good job. We already had an essential treaties agreement with Singapore for example … I’ve spoken with the Singaporean Prime Minister again but also the South Korean President as well where the vast majority of our supplies come from.

“Those refineries have been doing a good job of trying to find alternative feedstocks and that gives us great confidence and that’s why I say to you, I want to reassure New Zealand, that’s what you’ve seen, New Zealanders are reassured, they know that there is supply of fuel in the country and I think that’s because we’ve done some good work on it.”

Luxon batted away concerns about rising inflation, after ANZ’s prediction earlier in the day of three OCR hikes before the end of the year.

“By the ANZ’s own admission it’s pretty uncertain and there’s a lot of economists with a lot of views about where inflation will go and where economic growth will go… our job from day one as I’ve been saying has been to make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes of Covid.

“We want to be economically responsible economic managers so we actually protect the long-term economy for New Zealanders.”

India FTA talks with Labour ‘very constructive’

Top exporters represented by Business NZ have also signed an open letter calling for all political parties to back the India free trade agreement Luxon announced at the end of last year.

The deal had not been supported by New Zealand First, so support from the opposition will be needed to pass the related legislation.

Labour has not yet agreed, saying there were inconsistencies between National’s public statements about the deal and what the text of the agreement said.

Luxon said conversations with Labour about the deal were “very constructive and good”.

“It shouldn’t be about politics, I don’t think it is, we’re having constructive conversations with Labour – but [they should] get on board because it’s a bipartisan thing, trade.

“Very constructive and good conversations undertaken I think with a tremendous amount of goodwill, we’ve made our ministers and officials available to the Labour side in many meetings now, there’s been an exchange of letters and it’s just essentially alleviating their concerns… helping them understand why we think this is such a fantastic deal.”

He said India was the most populous country in the world and the deal would be looked back on in future as a good one.

“This is about benefiting regular everyday New Zealanders. One in four of them have their jobs tied to trade, in a crisis like we’re experiencing now you want to create more optionally so that our traders and our exporters have more markets to move product to.”

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