Source: Radio New Zealand

A New Zealander living in Hong Kong says the deadly apartment building fires have left him feeling he’s had a lucky escape.

The blaze that spread throughout a massive Tai Po housing complex ripped though bamboo scaffolding and mesh netting put up for renovations, [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/580234/hong-kong-s-deadliest-blaze-in-decades-kills-at-least-83-scores-missing

killing more than 80 people, with hundreds more still missing.

In Hong Kong, bamboo has long been the material of choice for scaffolding because it’s cheap, abundant and flexible.

Michael Rudman said he and his family live in a high rise that’s part of group of nine buildings which have recently been renovated.

“They were also clad in bamboo and the net scaffolds for about a year and a half, that was only taken off three or four months ago,” he said.

“When the bamboo’s up, you don’t really think about that, it’s only when a disaster happens you think … that could have been my building.”

Rudman lives on Lantau Island, on the opposite side of Hong Kong.

“I was just relieved that my family was safe, but I really feel for those guys and everyone in Tai Po,” he said.

Rudman’s neighbours are renovating their property at present, and they have bamboo scaffolding up while the air conditioning is being replaced.

He understood the bamboo scaffolding industry was on its way out, and there would be a transition to metal, but he was not sure when.

During renovations it was normal for the entire building to be clad, he said.

“They basically block all the windows so you have to look through nets,” he said.

In March, the Hong Kong government announced half of all new public works contracts would use metal scaffolding, following the deaths of more than 20 bamboo scaffolders between 2019 and 2024.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Albert-Eden Local Board’s chairperson says they’re are not opposed to more events at Eden Park after being put in the firing line by businesses.

The government is seeking feedback from the public and the council on its plan to increase the number of gigs at the venue to 12 large and 20 medium concerts a year.

On Thursday, the Dominion Road Business Association criticised the Local Board for not supporting the proposal.

The Local Board’s Margi Watson, however, told Morning Report on Friday that the business community and the public’s reaction was based on an incomplete record of information.

“We very much supported a lot that was in the proposal, there was nothing that we opposed,” Watson said. “What we raised was some concerns that we had about some of the things that pop up on a regular basis related to large events at Eden Park, and we asked that was considered and looked at.”

She said the mix-up may have arisen from people seeing an initial document put up on the council website, but did not read what the board’s view was in totality that was later loaded on the website.

“I think there’s some hysteria about what we’ve said and the views,” she said.

Watson raised concerns about traffic management during events.

Watson said large events would often blocked off access for some people in the neighbourhood, and required the diversion of key bus routes.

She said she’s not sure if Eden Park’s suggestion to provide carparking to 1500 cars on site would improve congestion.

Watson said they want to see a review of the traffic management plans, and they’d like to see more done around “integrated ticketing” – such as when tickets to big events would include bus and train fares.

She said she understands that Eden Park is planning to have conversations next week about reviewing the traffic management plan, and she looks forward to what comes out of that discussion.

Watson said Auckland Council will be sending feedback to the minister, including the Local Board’s view around noise and traffic, and an economic report – covering “assumptions about economic growth in the area” – and a noise report abut the impacts of moving from 12 large events to a greater number of small to medium events.

She said the Local Board has historically supported a range of changes at Eden Park, including the increase to 12 concerts which was approved last year, the later finishing of sporting events and concerts, and the diversifying of the use of the venue.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Seven fire crews and heavy machinery will be heading to a vegetation fire near the Otago town of Palmerston that burnt through the night.

The fire started at around 2.30pm on Thursday and was fought by ground crews and four helicopters.

A small crew remained overnight.

A crew has also been at a fire near the Southland town of Mataura.

State Highway 96 is closed between State Highway 1 and Waimumu due to the fire, which FENZ said is contained.

High winds and hot temperature have fanned the nine fires that broke out across Otago and Southland.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Painfully slow recruitment processes within public hospitals are masking the true scale of the dire workforce shortages in the health system, frontline workers warn.

Health NZ data, obtained by the PSA under the Official Information Act, showed it was taking up to 30 weeks for Health NZ to even approve recruitment to begin for frontline vacancies at hospitals in the Wellington region, including for doctors, nurses, technicians and support staff.

PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said this meant that staffing levels were unsafe for patients.

“These figures show there is a recruitment freeze and it is being done to save money. It would be understandable if recruitment was delayed due to lack of applicants, but these figures show that vacancies are not even being approved to be filled when vacancies arise.

“There should be no barriers to filling vacancies. They should be advertised automatically and filled.”

A specialist at Wellington Hospital, whom RNZ has agreed not to name, said his own service had several vacant positions currently – but it really needed at least double the number being advertised.

“We know that there are many departments saying they’re short-staffed – but the reality is it’s not quantified.

“What we have is the ‘funded’ vacancies, but there is a much larger number of unfunded vacancies.

“Even when it is a funded position, when people leave it can take much longer to advertise that vacancy if the speciality is not top of the priority list.”

No-one in a local management role seemed to have any power to work out how many staff each department needed – nor the authority to find the funding, he said.

That meant clinicians were having to develop their own “business cases” and lobby for vacancies to get approved.

Health NZ says recruitment ‘timed carefully’

Health NZ executive regional director for central Chris Lowry said hospitals continued to “actively recruit to vacancies”.

“In an organisation of this size it is normal to have a significant number of vacancies at any given time, and we work continuously to ensure our services are safely and appropriately staffed.”

There were a number of reasons why recruitment might be “timed carefully”, she said.

“This can include accommodating new graduate intakes, pausing to avoid repeated unsuccessful recruitment rounds, temporary staffing arrangements that meet short-term needs, or aligning with organisational change processes. We also manage recruitment volumes to ensure our teams can progress roles efficiently.

“We do not always immediately go out for recruitment to some roles, but this does not mean there are no other arrangements in place to fill gaps in the short term.”

These could include fixed term or contractor appointments, extension of hours for part time staff, and “movement of resources internally to ensure the workload is well managed”.

Health workers say ‘go-slow’ deliberate

In his letter of expectation to Health NZ, Health Minister Simeon Brown has said he wants to see the removal of red tape and faster recruitment for frontline clinical roles.

However, health workers said the recruitment go-slow appeared to be core policy.

Whangārei Hospital emergency nurse Rachel Thorn, a Nurses Organisation delegate, said budget restrictions meant services within a region were having to compete with others for the limited number of new recruits allowed.

“It’s still ‘business case by business case’, and often they’re not even approving to recruit when people leave. They’re seconding people into senior positions, but not backfilling them.”

A front-line worker in a large Auckland hospital – who asked to remain anonymous – said following a directive last year, permission to recruit needed to be “escalated” through several levels of management.

“These were existing roles people had left, not new positions. Some were running or scheduling vital life-saving services. In my opinion, it puts services at risk and puts current staff and managers under immense pressure.

“At one point they couldn’t even recruit bureau staff, who cover for short staffing or staff who are sick or on leave.”

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– 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

Since 1933, Auckland’s Santa Parade on Queen Street has been a destination for festive crowds with its big floats and performances, and of course, the jolly old man in the red suit.

But Ben Mai thinks something has been missing.

“It was the Santa Parade 2024, and we realised that not only in 2024, but for many years, it had been a Christmas celebration without Christ. And we thought, maybe we can do something about that.”

Mai is the general manager at the Auckland Church Network, and for Christians like him, the most important part of Christmas is the story of their God becoming a baby in a manger.

“Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. And he didn’t come as some king figure on a throne. He literally came as a baby, helpless, vulnerable, born in a stable surrounded by animals.”

And so Mai set out on a mission to build a Christmas nativity float for 2025.

This Sunday, a float carrying angels, Mary, Joseph, and a baby Jesus doll, accompanied by a choir will be parading down Queen Street.

“There’s about 50 in the choir singing Christmas carols as they walk down Queen Street. There’ll be about 15 or 20 on the float or walking alongside the float on the day itself. Then there are others who are supporting them, their families who are releasing them to be part of this as well. And then of course, there’s many, many people from across different churches and others across Auckland who are chipping in to fund it as well. So all up, probably it’s almost several hundred people involved in it, which is exciting.”

It has taken a lot of fundraising and help from the community to make it happen.

A Givealittle page has been set up to collect donations, while more than $35,000 has been raised, the organisation is still a few thousand dollars short of covering the cost.

Mai said it costed $20,000 to enter a float into the parade – a charity rate they received from the organisers. Then the materials to build the float, hire a trailer and put together some small gifts for children will cost another $20,000.

Working with Mai to achieve the dream is Daniel Bell at Elim Christian Centre, who is leading the design and build of the float.

The float has been on his mind for months: “Most waking moments and half of my sleeping moments, dreaming it through as well.”

“We’re really trying to find that balance of sacred and humble and victorious but simple, and trying to capture all of that in the float. Lots of volunteers have been coming in, wanting to be involved in this. So it’s been great to see.”

Bell also has to pay attention to the measurements.

“The star is 3.6 metres at the base, so plus another 800 (centimetres). It’s just underneath the restriction of five metres on the float.”

The plywood structure shows the town of Bethlehem where all the rooms are full. There’s a detailed flock of angels wings, and above the manger sits a very bright star.

Bell is proud of all the upcycling work.

“The pads are actually old drum seats. We’ve been saving them over the years, not throwing them out. It’s that classic ‘oh I can’t throw that out that could be useful one day’, and the joy that a man finds when they find a use for something that everyone else told them to throw away, it’s delightful. They were perfect, we just needed these drum seats to support the angels on the float so they won’t fall off, and they can be comfortable for their trip. They came in handy in the end. Very, very excited about that.”

But building a float is not easy. They’ve been working on it since June.

“So many different engineering obstacles to get through, trying to make a six-pointed star that has points coming out of every side, and having that tied together, and having it lit up, and having it transparent, but not breaking and how do we hang that. There’s been no end. And we’re still encountering little design challenges here and there as we do the final details. But that’s what makes the project fun, is to encounter those design obstacles and find creative solutions through it.”

And now, the star is alight, and the Christmas nativity float is ready to join this year’s Santa Parade.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

About 100 critically endangered Mahoenui giant wētā have been released into the Rotokare Sanctuary in Taranaki this week as part of efforts to preserve the taonga species.

Despite being one of the world’s largest insects – females weigh in at about 25 grams and are about the size of a mouse – the “gentle giants” are vulnerable to mammalian predators.

First discovered during the 1960s in remnant tawa forest at Mahoenui in the King Country – from which it takes its name – the ingenious wētā was later found taking refuge in gorse.

Department of Conservation (DOC) Mahoenui giant wētā technical advisory group leader, Amanda Haigh, said the wētā had come up with a cunning plan to defeat their predators.

“What was an accident of a piece of hill country that had some goats in it, some gorse left to go wild, these wētā moved in and because gorse was so dense and they could hide in it and it meant the rats and the mice couldn’t climb in and eat them. It created this little haven for them.”

But unfortunately that plan had come unstuck.

“What has been happening in about the last 10 years is we’ve had a massive decline in the population and the habitat is changing and the predators are starting to take hold, so what we’ve been doing is starting to do translocations to get new populations established in other places and spread the risk.”

Landcare Reseach Manaaki Whenua scientist and Mahoenui giant wētā expert Corrine Watts said there was no denying the insects were large, but that wasn’t all that was special about them.

“Females are about the size of a mouse. They range between 20 and 25 grams. The males are smaller, maybe 18-20 grams.

“But what’s really amazing about the Mahoenui giant wētā compared to other giant wētā that we have in New Zealand is they have two colour morphs, so you can get a very dark brown colour morph and almost like a speckled yellow colour and that’s quite different among giant wētā.”

Efforts to translocate Mahoenui giant wētā had proven difficult and populations have only survived in predator-free environments similar to Rotokare at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, Mahurangi Island off the Coromandel and on private land at Warrenheip, near Cambridge.

Watts was the designated handler for the four larger wētā released at Rotokare.

She had no qualms about handling the wētā which were almost the size of her hand.

“The feel cold and so quite often they’ll sit on your hand to gain warmth from your hand because they’re cold-blooded, so they feel cold.

“And they are not going to try and jump too much because something that big could really hurt themselves, so I just think of them as gentle giants really.”

Watts said she’d never been bitten by a giant wētā.

Conservation manager at Rotokare Fiona Gordon said the translocation had been years in the planning.

“When we first started the conversation there were so few individuals in the Waikato reserve itself that a wild to wild translocation didn’t really seem feasible and has now been made possible thanks to the captive breeding programme at the Otorohanga Kiwi House, so we’re immensely grateful for their support and the work that’s gone into preparing those individuals that are able to be here today.”

Gordon said the majority of the wētā being released were three-quarters of the way to be adults.

“A couple of them are a little bit bigger, so they’ll be being released directly into trees and hopefully in years to come we’ll be encountering them across the forest but that won’t be for a few years.”

Otorohanga Kiwi House wētā keeper Danielle Lloyd had a soft spot for the creatures and it was a bittersweet moment to see them released.

“They all have their own little personality. I know they’re just insects to most people, but because I spend almost everyday with them I learn all of their little ticks and what makes them go and what makes them happy.

“They’re just awesome creatures. If you look at their little faces they’re actually quite cute. They do have spiky legs and they can look a bit scary, but if you actually give them a chance they’re great.”

Marina Rauputu – in whose gorse bushes the wētā were discovered in Waikato – accompanied Mōkau Ki Runga hapu members for the handover to Rotokare manuwhenua Ngāti Tupaia.

It was a full circle moment for her.

“It’s very special because I’m from Taranaki. I’m from Whakamara where my grandparents settled, so in a way it’s like a merging of not just the wētā but almost like two iwi coming together at this one spot at Rotokare and it’s like coming home for me.”

Mahoenui giant wētā are tree-dwelling omnivores with a lifecycle of about two years. Females lay eggs in the ground at about 100 a time.

The Rotokare Scenic Sanctuary release was the first of many planned for the predator-fenced sanctuary with the aim of establishing a permanent Mahoenui giant wētā population.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Šroubek, also known as Jan Antolik, is still in New Zealand seven years after then Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway ordered his deportation
• He used a false passport, smuggled in drugs and has been in New Zealand for 22 years
• He has lost an appeal to judicially review the decision, after a tribunal ruled against him

Analysis: “This will go to court. It will be tied up for years. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Karel Šroubek by any measure.”

That’s how National MP Michael Woodhouse summed the 2018 debacle in which the drug-smuggling kickboxer was on the cusp of being deported, then granted residence and then facing deportation again – all in the space of 10 weeks.

The Court of Appeal has now rejected Karel Šroubek’s latest attempt to avoid being sent back to the Czech Republic.

But in keeping with the pitch and sway of his storied existence, there may still be avenues which he could go down to stay in New Zealand.

His case hit the headlines in 2018 when former immigration minister, Iain Lees-Galloway, was asked whether to deport him – and instead granted him residence.

That was despite his jail time (five years, nine months in 2016 for importing nearly 5kg of MDMA) and being wanted by Czech police.

The long-running saga began more than 20 years ago, when Šroubek used an alias and forged passport of fellow kickboxer Jan Antolik to visit New Zealand in 2003.

That was because under his real name, he was wanted for assault in a fatal shooting in Prague. Also unbeknownst to authorities he had not yet served a (four-and-a-half-year) jail sentence for assaulting two police officers and a taxi driver in 1999.

Four years after arriving in New Zealand, he was given police diversion for possession of a knife and, in 2008 and 2009, he faced charges of assault, but was subsequently acquitted.

Meanwhile, Šroubek had been granted residence in 2008, under his false Antolik name.

That fraud was eventually discovered, and in 2011, he was found guilty at trial of possessing a false passport and giving false information.

Why is he still here?

He told the court he had no convictions in the Czech Republic and that he was genuinely fearful of returning there.

The judge granted him a discharge without conviction – meaning he could avoid authorities attempts to deport him – unaware that between 2007 and 2009, Šroubek had returned to his homeland on three separate occasions.

In September 2014, Šroubek was charged with the drugs offences that landed him in jail and made him liable for deportation. In 2018 he appealed to then immigration minister, Iain Lees-Galloway.

The minister took less than an hour to not only reverse the deportation order, but to also grant him residence in his real name. It emerged the minister knew of his Czech convictions when he made his decision.

He “urgently reviewed” the residence approval when a political firestorm erupted, and Šroubek once again faced deportation – this time because the government judged him as an “excluded person”, whose visa was granted in error.

Further adding to the murky decision-making were claims Šroubek’s then wife had engineered the revelations through National Party MPs during the couple’s marital breakdown.

Enter the lawyers

Meanwhile, Czech authorities tried to extradite him. Šroubek’s previous immigration lawyer Simon Laurent told RNZ the deportation could be challenged in court as abuse of process or double jeopardy as the minister knew of the pertinent information when he made his first decision.

The case had been inching its way through multiple tribunal and court appeals in the intervening years, partly because of Covid-related delays.

In January 2023 Šroubek filed an application for judicial review in the High Court at Auckland of the deportation decision and the tribunal rulings.

But he was barred from appealing part of the decision because of statutory time limits, and took that fight to the Court of Appeal.

That legal argument played out in March this year, and the decision to dismiss his appeal came out on Monday.

In 2018, former immigration minister Michael Woodhouse said the minister had left the government vulnerable to a legal challenge that “Mr Šroubek’s lawyers will drive a bus through”. His suggestion the case would be tied up in court for years are as prescient now as they were accurate then.

The judicial review may leave Šroubek with only the chance of a legal challenge to argue that he has ‘exceptional’ humanitarian grounds to remain here.

With so many twists and turns so far, it does not seem likely Šroubek’s fated story in New Zealand will come to a quick end. It may not even be the beginning of the end.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand was once a world leader in getting people to give up cigarettes, but we seem to have pulled up the brakes

In 34 days we hit the deadline for our world-leading ambitions to get our smoking rate down to less than five percent of the population.

To reach that Smokefree 2025 target we need 120,000 people to quit smoking pretty much immediately.

“That’s about 63,000 Māori, 21,000 Pasifika, 35,000 Europeans needed to quit,” says Chris Bullen, Auckland University public health professor and a leading researcher in the smokefree Aotearoa sector.

We’re not going to make it, but have we failed?

It depends on who you are, says Bullen.

“It’s come down and spectacularly so for certain populations,” he says.

Pākehā women living in high income suburbs have already reached the goal – that demographic is well below five percent.

For Māori it is three times the five percent target, Pasifika smokers are double the desired number.

Today, The Detail looks at why we missed the goal, the impact of this government’s removal of smokefree protections introduced by the previous Labour government under the Smokefree Action Plan, and what is next in the tobacco control battle.

When Smokefree 2025 was launched around 2011/2012 after a recommendation from the Māori Affairs Selection Committee, around 16.4 percent of adult New Zealanders smoked.

The latest figures from the annual NZ Health Survey show that figure is now 6.8 percent, similar to the previous year but down from 11.9 percent in 2019/20.

Some say we should celebrate what we’ve achieved, and they rubbish the latest rankings in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, which has seen us plummet from second to 53rd place.

But dig into the numbers and they reveal deep inequities with Māori smoking rates at 15 percent and Pasifika at 10.3 percent.

“It’s an absolute failure and I think the present government’s been particularly bad in doing it,” says Anaru Waa, associate professor at Otago University based in Wellington. His research focuses on how we can eliminate tobacco-related harm among whānau Māori.

He’d like to see our Smokefree aim shifted out to 2030, and for it to be not just smoke-free but nicotine-free, because of all the new nicotine products on the market.

Bullen says the launch of Smokefree 2025 around 13 years ago was a breakthrough.

“It was an important lesson for me was that setting goals and targets can be very powerful,” says Bullen. “But it was also a lesson in that it seemed so far away, that for politicians on a three-year electoral cycle it was somebody else’s issue to grapple with.”

“So I guess they thought they’d just get a free ride because smoking was going out of fashion and by 2025 it would be a thing of the past. Of course it’s not.”

Bullen says there’s been cross party support for the idea and ongoing tobacco tax increases and regulations such as smokefree cars and indoor spaces all add up to incremental changes.

“But it was not until Ayesha Verrell (former Labour Health Minister) took up the cause and said 2025 is almost upon us, we need to do something. And that’s where the action plan was promoted and became law, very briefly, until it was repealed when the coalition government took power.”

Labour’s Smokefree 2025 Action Plan included three key measures; banning the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2009, slashing the number of tobacco retailers and cutting 95 percent of the nicotine from cigarettes.

But before the measures came into force the legislation supporting them was repealed by the Coalition Government.

Bullen says the policy was supported by the majority of New Zealanders in polling and by the vast majority of healthcare professionals. The repeal mobilised protestors with placards to the streets.

He says the repeal cannot entirely be blamed for the failure to hit the Smokefree target across the population but it sent a subtle message to smokers, “to say, you know our foot’s gone off the accelerator pedal, maybe it’s not so bad”.

The removal of targets for GPs and hospitals to give brief advice and support to people to quit smoking, also had an impact.

“Different governments do these things for various other reasons but that has had a measurable decline in the number of referrals coming to smoking cessation services from GPs.

“The whole system has to work together and I don’t think we’ve had a co ordinated, focussed system that’s really messaged loudly that we have got a goal as a nation and it’s something we can do collectively to support each other to get to that goal. That voice hasn’t been shouted loudly enough.”

The associate health minister Casey Costello has defended the government’s policies and called the Smokefree target ‘ambitious’. She has pointed to the latest figures that show that smoking among young people is below 3.2 percent as the best news.

“That’s exactly what we wanted our young people to see. We wanted our young people not to start,” she has said.

But Anaru Waa says New Zealand’s policies are not keeping up with the new products that are constantly being developed by the tobacco industry designed to hook young people.

“Nicotine drinks, nicotine gummy bears, you name it, just shove nicotine in it and you’ve got a hooked population.

“These aren’t nicotine replacement therapies with low nicotine ….. nicotine is a very highly addictive drug and the industries are awfully good at making it palatable and easy to get addicted to very quickly, then you tend to have the addiction for life.”

He says to achieve the Smokefree goal the measures that were scrapped by this government need to be returned but he also wants strict policies to extend further to products including vapes, with the ultimate aim of shutting out the tobacco industry.

“For some people who can’t quit it (vaping) might be an alternative but we also know that most of the people taking up vapes are youth and young adults and a lot of them have never smoked at all.

“These are the new generation of people using nicotine products and I’m thinking in 20 or 30 years time they’ll wonder why they were thrown under the bus at a time we could have prevented that.”

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– 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

The lack of a full and proper tally of how many schools are testing positive for asbestos from coloured play sand has stunned principals and a teachers union.

Initially, RNZ was told by the Ministry of Education that no count was being kept.

It was later able to provide what it said were incomplete figures after its minister, Erica Stanford, said a tally was being kept by the ministry.

Nine schools or early learning services have so far returned positive asbestos tests, while 39 have returned negative results.

Results for another 129 are either not known, or still being waited on.

The Ministry of Education cautioned the figures were based on voluntary reporting and therefore “should not be taken as a full picture”.

“Schools and early learning services are not required to report testing or share results with the ministry, as their immediate priority is keeping students, children and staff safe,” operations and integration leader Sean Teddy said.

But others said a complete picture was exactly what was needed and that there should be a full and official tally.

“This is shocking, it really confounds me that the ministry has not got more of a handle on this situation,” Principals’ Federation president Leanne Otene said.

“The guidance has been ambiguous and it has made it really difficult for schools to respond consistently and confidently,” she said.

She said principals have acted with appropriate caution and prioritised health and safety when commissioning testing at their own cost.

“But that has not been alongside clear, consistent messaging from the Ministry of Education,” Otene said.

“I am absolutely blown away that we have not been given more direct guidance on ensuring that we keep adequate records of when we have sent any product in to be tested, and the results of those tests, and we have not been asked to write incident reports that can be then presented to the ministry, to be put into our school boards’ meetings so that in 30 years, in 20 years, in 10 years there’s a record of action that that school took in relation to the advice and guidance and the results of those tests.

“I’m really concerned that there is no advice around that,” Otene said.

Trying to find how many schools have tested positive

RNZ asked ministries and the agency involved in the ongoing play sand recalls for overall numbers on how many schools and early learning centres had got tests.

It also asked for how many positive results had been returned.

WorkSafe said it did not hold information on test results in educational facilities.

“The Ministry of Education is best placed to advise how many schools or early childhood centres are responding or actions taken,” it said.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment had a similar response.

“This responsibility would sit with Ministry of Education,” it said.

The Ministry of Education initially said no count was being kept.

“We are not keeping a register of the number of tests commissioned by schools or early learning services, nor have we requested to be advised of the results of the tests they may commission,” it said.

RNZ then asked Education Minister Erica Stanford about her ministry not keeping a record of positive results.

“My expectation is that’s exactly what the ministry is doing. They have been out in the regions with all of their regional managers contacting every single school and I have been getting daily updates on which schools have it, which ones are open, which ones are closed, which ones need cleaning, so we have all that data and it is my expectation that the ministry is holding it and tracking it,” she said.

When RNZ said the ministry had said there was no register, the minister said, “Well, I’ve got that information so I’ll be happy to give it to you.”

Stanford’s office then referred RNZ back to the Ministry of Education, which earlier said there was no central register.

It was then that it was able to provide the figures on the information it had, warning it was incomplete and not a full picture because it was based on voluntary reporting.

Why is a count of positive tests important?

Terri-Ann Berry is an associate professor at AUT and also board chairperson of the Mesothelioma Support and Asbestos Awareness Trust.

She said having a central register was important, and the lack of one was very concerning.

“We can’t undo what has already happened unfortunately, but what we can do now is we can start looking at providing good evidence so that if anything in the future does happen, if anybody does develop any symptoms, that we can actually have good notes and reporting to be able to get ACC funding to help with any treatment,” she said.

Berry said there was no understanding at the moment of how likely it was that children have inhaled the fibres.

“I really think it’s important that we do actually find a way to bring a list together, there really should be some action plan to my mind where we’ve got systematic testing so that we actually know what the situation is and it doesn’t just rely necessarily on the voluntary test,” she said.

“All that tells you is that nine schools have got a positive result, and those parents are probably understandably worried, but what about all the other schools? Just because there is no result doesn’t mean that there isn’t a contamination, so no I don’t think the voluntary system is enough in this circumstance.”

Stephanie Mills, the NZEI national secretary, was also critical of a voluntary approach to reporting.

“It is a failure of regulatory systems, and so it is not good enough to take a voluntary approach when we are dealing with asbestos which is a banned substance, which causes long term illness to people, to which we’re now exposing children and teachers and other educators,” she said.

“I don’t think we have seen a responsible enough approach from government centrally, and what we now need is to know more but we also need to put in place steps so that this does not happen again.”

Coloured sand recalls now at five

Another children’s sand product was recalled on Thursday, the MIKI Sand Art Set, of which 570 were sold in 2023 between July and December.

According to MBIE, it is supplied by Australia-based Sax International.

The ministry said testing had found unidentified mineral fibres that were consistent with asbestos.

The other products with recalls were the Rainbow Sand Art Toy, the 380g Craft Sand, the 14-piece Sand Castle Building Set and Blue, Green and Pink Magic Sand from Kmart, and Rainbow Sand and Creatistics products.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The daughter of one of the victims of the Erebus disaster is disgusted that a memorial will be built in Christchurch.

It has been 46 years since the Air New Zealand scenic flight crashed into Mt Erebus in Antarctica, killing 237 passengers and 20 crew.

After decades of back and forth, the government has announced a memorial would be erected at Cracroft Reserve in Christchurch.

Simone Bennett, whose father David was one of the crash victims, lives in Auckland and is furious that the memorial will be so far away.

However, the Air Line Pilots’ Association (NZALPA) is thrilled the memorial is finally being built, and in Christchurch.

The preferred site for the memorial is Cracroft Reserve, but the Avon riverbank is being held as an alternative option.

Andrew McKeen, a 787 pilot and president of the association, said the long-awaited memorial would finally honour victims of New Zealand’s worst aviation disaster.

“Christchurch serves as New Zealand’s gateway to Antarctica and was the intended stopover point for TE901’s return to Auckland,” he said in a statement.

“Since the tragedy many of our members have retired or passed on. Others still remember the turbulent months that followed that day in 1979 and the efforts NZALPA made to defend the professional reputations of their colleagues from unfair conjecture and blame.”

McKeen reiterated that Captain Jim Collins and First Officer Greg Cassin had been cleared by a Royal Commission of any suggestion that negligence contributed to the disaster.

“We will now have a permanent national memorial. Erebus will forever be remembered by our industry and especially our members.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A world-first study of New Zealand’s aquifers reveals that some wells contain groundwater that is 40,000 years old with scientists warning they’ll be put at risk if too much water is taken.

Earth Sciences New Zealand has developed a series of maps and models identifying the source and flow patterns of our aquifers and large river catchments, as part of a six-year research programme.

It’s found that groundwater provides 40 percent of our drinking water, and has discovered that more than 80 percent of the water flowing through our rivers, streams and wetlands when it’s not raining, is from aquifers.

“That is far, far more than we previously thought and underlines the importance of the inter-connected management of groundwater and surface water if we want to ensure our streams continue,” said Principal Scientist Catherine Moore.

Earth Sciences New Zealand developed the innovative National Groundwater Age Map from more than 1000 groundwater samples to give an overview of groundwater age and groundwater/surface water interaction across the country.

It found that most wells contain water between one and 100 years old.

However, some deep wells in the Taranaki and Marlborough regions hold water that’s over 40,000 years old because it takes so long for surface moisture to seep down into the aquifer.

“The danger is if it takes a long time to replenish we are at risk of taking too much water too quickly. Where water is very old we need to take less water and also look for where water is younger and take water from those areas,” said Moore.

Areas such as the Wairau, which had the youngest groundwater – taking only two weeks to move through the aquifer system. However the scientists warned that this also presented a challenge as younger systems could be vulnerable to contamination from live pathogens and nitrate loads, whereas older water presented a challenge with nitrate contamination potentially taking decades to work its way through the aquifer.

“Knowledge of water age and flow rates is important for managing potential contamination of drinking water. We’ve created a drinking water protection zone guideline to help protect wells

from pathogens in the fast-flowing groundwater found in some of our aquifer systems, such as the Heretaunga Plains,” said programme co-lead and principal scientist Uwe Morgenstern.

The Heretaunga Plains were used as a case study for the modelling, as the Paritua Stream at Bridge Pa in Hawke’s Bay dried up in 2021. Community spokesperson Robert Turner said the stream levels had been declining for years and it’s made it harder for iwi to collect mahinga kai.

“We lost a lot of our kokopu. Eels were stuck in holes. If you look at it in Māori eyes, our river is calling for help,” said Turner.

To understand why it ran dry, the project team gathered historical evidence, including inforamtion around the 1931 Napier earthquake, land clearances, gravel extraction, surface water diversions adn irrigation.

And what they found was a surpirse, as the strongest influence on the flow of Paritua Stream was actually rainfall – not groundwater from the nearby Ngaruroro River as previously thought.

Catherine Moore said that’s given scientists ideas for how to help the stream.

“A wetland restoration engineered a certain way, or directly putting water into the stream, would be sufficient to get that stream to flow if the rate at which that was done was high enough,” she said.

The newly created National Groundwater Model was expected to cut costs for councils, by giving them quicker access to data that could inform decisions around how much water can safely be taken, and from where.

The interactive map includes data such as geology and soil characteristics, climate, surface water hydrology, groundwater levels, and groundwater age. It can zoom in from national to regional to local scales and can be used to test different scenarios.

“These tools allow decision-makers to build models more cost-effectively, so that they can answer environmental management questions more quickly, wherever they are needed,” said Moore.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

• Mental health and public health nurses, allied health workers and policy staff will strike from 1pm to 5pm
• Hospitals and mental health units remain open, but some clinics and home visits cancelled
• PSA accuses Health NZ and the government of failing to deal with under-staffing and under-resourcing
• Health Minister calls on management to improve recruitment timeframes for frontline clinical roles

About 17,000 healthworkers are striking today for the second time in a month after mediation failed between the Public Service Association and Health NZ.

Meanwhile, nurses and senior doctors remain locked in their own long-running disputes, as the upheaval in the health sector appears set to continue to be a giant headache for the government heading into election year.

PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the government needed to “enable Health NZ to come to the table with a fair pay offer” for members, including allied health staff, policy specialists, mental health and public health nurses and healthcare assistants.

“So far all of the offers are taking us backwards and don’t represent the safe staffing levels that we know hospitals need,” she said.

“This strike represents a frustration with the inability of the government and Health NZ to properly staff our hospitals and offer a pay increase that keeps pace with the cost of living.

“These workers are striking reluctantly in support of the public health system they want for New Zealanders.”

Patient safety the priority – Health NZ

Health NZ executive national director, people & culture and health & safety, Robyn Shearer, said she could reassure the public that plans were in place to ensure the continued delivery of hospital and community health services during the strike.

“Patient safety will remain our priority throughout the strike.”

Hospitals, emergency departments, crisis and acute mental health services and most community services would remain open, but some “routine” clinics and home visits would be cancelled.

Anyone with a hospital or community appointment should attend unless they were contacted directly to reschedule.

“Looking forward we believe further bargaining is the best way forward to resolve outstanding issues.”

Health minister wants HNZ to cut red tape – while unions appeal to PM

Meanwhile, Health Minister Simeon Brown has called on Health NZ to “rapidly devolve decision-making” to its four regions and 20 districts.

In his publicly released [https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/2025-11/health-nz-letter-of-expectations-27-11-2025.pdf

letter of expectations] to Health NZ, he said that included “removing unnecessary bureaucracy and improving recruitment timeframes for frontline clinical roles”.

However, all the major health sector unions – including the PSA, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists and the Nurses Organisation – have signed a joint letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon urging him to help resolve impasses with their respective collective bargaining.

Together with public sector unions representing teachers, principals, firefighters, home support workers and 111 emergency dispatchers, they said workers were frustrated with the lack of progress at a time when the demand on their frontline services was increasing.

NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter said there was “a concerning common approach to bargaining from the coalition government”.

“For this reason, we believe it is appropriate for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to step in and meet with workforce representatives to explore ways forward and settlement options.”

More than 100,000 essential workers held strikes throughout the country last month.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The transport network between Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast will be under some pressure this weekend with State Highway 1 Transmission Gully closed to southbound traffic, and Metlink trains being replaced by buses.

NZTA would close the southbound side of Transmission Gully after it postponed its closure last week while it revised its roadworks and traffic plan.

The revision came after an earlier closure on Transmission Gully caused significant congestion and delays.

NZTA said the southbound closure would be in place from 10am on Friday until 4.30am on Monday, weather permitting.

Southbound traffic would need to detour via State Highway 59 while the closure was in place.

It said there would also be a northbound lane closure on the motorway, which was expected to cause delays for northbound traffic.

Mark Owen, regional manager for lower North Island/top of the South, said people needed to prepare for long queues and travel delays, and should try to avoid the peak congestion times expected on Sunday afternoon.

“These are major works on a key part of our state highway network. An impact on traffic is unavoidable, and it is essential that drivers are prepared for it.”

He said NZTA had identified problems, such as pinch points on the SH59 detour route, and taken steps to address them.

“We will have extra staff on duty to manage traffic, and we will close off the SH59 Link Road, which we saw added to congestion for traffic trying to use the detour route,” he said.

But he said now was the best time for them to do the roadworks.

“This must be done during the warmer summer weather. It cannot be done during winter, as the repairs would not work. We also want to get the drainage work completed so the motorway can be open to traffic during the busier Christmas/New Year holiday period.”

Metlink senior manager of operations, Paul Tawharu said buses replacing Metlink train services on the Kāpiti Line this weekend were due to KiwiRail making “vital improvements” to the rail network.

He said as NZTA was also carrying out maintenance on Transmission Gully this weekend, buses replacing trains during this maintenance would be detoured with all other traffic.

“We strongly encourage Metlink passengers to plan ahead and expect delays this weekend. They can keep up to date with service changes on the Metlink website or app.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Authorities are warning residents in the Otago town of Palmerston near a pine tree blaze to keep their windows and doors shut due to smoke.

The fire started at 2:35pm on Thursday near Goodwood Rd and had been fought by ground crews and four helicopters.

It was now contained, but burnt through 25 hectares of pine.

Fire and Emergency said there was no risks to homes but smoke may blow towards the town on Thursday night.

“People in the vicinity of the fire should keep windows and doors shut and stay inside if possible.

“Remember to also keep the ventilation systems in your house and car turned off.”

Fire crews were expected to mop up the blaze on Friday morning.

It was one of nine fires across Otago and Southland on Thursday which had all been contained or extinguished by 9pm.

Near the Southland town of Mataura, State Highway 96 would remain closed over Thursday night between State Highway 1 and Waimumu due to a now contained fire which was 300 x 200m in size.

Nine fire trucks and two helicopters tackled the fire at a forestry block.

It would be extinguished on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, four crews were called to a paddock fire in Papakaio in the Waitaki district sparked by a trampoline blowing into powerlines.

Two crews were working on a smouldering tree near Whitstone.

The wind blew three branches onto two cars in Oamaru but Fire and Emergency (FENZ) said a dog in one of the cars was not hurt.

A paddock fire that broke out on Johnston Rd on the outskirts of Balclutha about 1pm had been contained.

FENZ said 30 firefighters on the ground and two helicopters with monsoon buckets were now working to put it out.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Aucklanders are overwhelmingly against a plan to trial fortnightly rubbish collections.

Auckland Council received 5086 submissions on a proposed trial to halve the number of kerbside collections in Te Atatū, Panmure, Tāmaki, Clendon Park and Weymouth from February to August.

About 80 percent of written submissions were against the trial.

Auckland Council’s general manager of waste solutions, Justine Haves, said there were some common themes.

They included worries about managing fuller bins, smells, hygiene and whether they would have enough bin space, particularly in big households.

The council had ideas about to help, he said.

“If the trial goes ahead, we will offer additional and larger bins at no cost, support households with higher waste needs, and provide a one-off rates remission for participating ratepayers,” he said

There was some positive feedback.

“Supporters highlighted the need to reduce waste to landfill and the opportunity to test the service before any wider decisions are made,” he said.

“Some also noted they don’t produce enough rubbish to need a weekly collection,”

The trial was part of a plan by the council to reduce household kerbside waste by 29 percent by 2030.

There were 2377 written submissions from the trial area, with another 2090 from other places.

About 5 percent of people made face-to-face submissions, with those people more likely to be evenly split.

A decision on whether to go ahead would be made next month.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Dunedin City Council will ask for expressions of interest to set up a housing outreach service in a bid to help address a growing homelessness crisis

.

The council was originally discussing setting up an in-house service immediately for $270,000, but a new motion opted to ask for proposals from community providers and report back to council with the options instead.

The vote narrowly passed by eight votes against seven.

A report tabled at Thursday’s council meeting said homelessness and housing insecurity were rising among Dunedin’s young people, and the city’s transition home was under increasing pressure with a long and growing waiting list.

During the debate, different councillors flagged the horror stories they knew about in the city – mothers living in cars with babies, tents set up in parks and reserves, and a family of seven sleeping in two cars.

Councillor Andrew Simms put forward the new motion, saying it was clear the elected members all believed that council had a role to play in addressing homelessness in the city, the debate was around how to achieve that.

His motion was not shutting the door on an in-house outreach service, but sought to hear from trusted and established providers about what they could do before they examined all of the proposals, he said.

He believed there could be more cost effective ways of creating an outreach service than the proposed $270,000 in-house service that included two full time equivalent staff and a moderate operating budget.

The passed motion allows the chief executive to develop the terms for service including an initial three year service starting in April, performance measures and community outcomes, and annual reporting, before staff ask for expressions of interest to deliver the service.

Councillor Marie Laufiso did not support the motion, instead foreshadowing that she would support setting up a council-led housing outreach service immediately.

This service needed to be built yesterday and it was frustrating that they had not been able to give staff the resources they needed to set one up, she said.

Councillor Christine Garey said the message from the community on the frontline was they were looking to the council for leadership.

She called for a bold, courageous decision, saying they needed to put their money with their mouth was and should go with an in house model.

Councillor Russell Lund, who supported the motion, said it was naive to think that the council could provide the same kind of service that established organisations offered in such a short timeframe.

Councillor Lee Vandervis also backed the motion, saying it potentially gave them the best of both worlds by ensuring those with expertise were involved, allowing for local sponsors and had the potential to get up and running quicker.

Councillor Jules Radich called the proposal “practical”.

Councillor Brent Weatherall said he believed the problem was out of control and existing outreach services were the most cost effective option.

Councillor Mandy Mayhem, who voted against the motion, said they needed urgent and immediate action.

Councillor Steve Walker said it was clear they wanted a solution, but they were getting bogged down on how to get there.

He backed setting up an in house model before considering possible transitions further down the track.

Mayor Sophie Barker supported the plan to explore different proposals, saying they needed to make the right decision rather than a fast one.

In the original proposal, the council said the new service would connect people to the appropriate support service, help them use the services, respond to people at high risk of harm and work with emergency services to de-escalate situations.

During the public forum, Aaron Hawkins from the Otago Housing Alliance told the council that more public housing was needed in the long term, but right now more support was needed for people experiencing homelessness.

“There’s no outcome of any review that won’t tell us that this outreach service is needed and needed urgently in our city,” he said.

The government had acknowledged that the need existed, but they had not gone far enough, he said.

The report said the Ministry of Social Development had recently funded Catholic Social Services to support people experiencing homelessness and help to link them to the Ministry’s services.

That initiative was expected to run for up to one financial year.

The Alliance surveyed council candidates ahead of the election with the overwhelming majority stating they believed the council had a role to play in addressing homelessness in the city, he said.

“This is the first opportunity you have as elected members to make a meaningful contribution to that work.”

He would love for central government to see this as a core part of its responsibilities and resource it adequately.

“But they don’t and we can’t wait for government to come and save us, we need to be in control of our own destiny.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The construction of a controversial sewerage pipeline near a Rotorua lake is set to head back to court.

The Rotokākahi Board of Control (RBOC) was taking the Rotorua Lakes Council to the High Court over the Tarawera Sewage Scheme which would connect about 440 Lake Tarawera properties to the public wastewater network.

Part of the pipeline, 1.4km of it, would run along Tarawera Rd parallel to Lake Rotokākahi an area considered wāhi tapu by mana whenua, with tūpuna (ancestors) buried nearby during the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption.

The construction of the pipeline had been intermittent, with protests, an occupation of the area and seven arrests for trespass in February 2025.

Speaking to RNZ in February, Rotorua Lakes Council chief executive Andrew Moraes said the scheme would remove the need for properties in the vicinity of Lake Tarawera to have septic tanks which often leak into the lake.

“We have almost 20km of pipe throughout the district of similar type and construction that is installed a similar distance from our other lakes and we’ve had no incidences of those pipes leaking in the history of this district,” he said.

Board spokesperson Te Whatanui Leka Skipwith said the council’s refusal to honour genuine consultation with mana whenua had pushed this into the courtroom.

“We welcome our day in court – because we’ve had enough. Council has ignored consultation, disrespected the process, and pulled last-minute legal stunts whenever we pushed back.

“On December 1, they’ll have to front. No more hiding behind rushed paperwork, closed-door deals or political convenience. This is a chance for mana whenua to finally challenge the council on neutral ground – and to make it clear that we will always protect Rotokākahi, no matter who tries to silence us.”

Skipwith said the message from the RBOC consultation must be real, legal obligations must be honoured and mana whenua decision-making must be respected.

A previous bid to stop the pipeline being installed had failed in the Environment Court.

The hearing at High Court at Rotorua was set to begin on Monday, December 1.

RNZ approached Rotorua Lakes Council who said as the matter was before the courts, it would not be appropriate to comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Bioeconomy Science Institute is planning to ask for voluntary redundancies from all permanent staff.

The institute – formed in July – saw the merger of AgResearch, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Plant & Food Research and Scion into a single organisation as part of an overhaul of the science sector.

CEO Mark Piper said the proposed voluntary redundancy offer was part of a financial improvement process to support the new organisation.

It employs 2300 people and its headquarters is at the Lincoln University Campus in Canterbury.

Piper said voluntary redundancy, “would give individuals space to reflect on their own aspirations as we shape the next phase of our institute”.

“These steps will help us build a more connected and resilient organisation, positioned to support our partners and continue delivering research that matters. Our priority through this process remains maintaining continuity across our research and supporting New Zealand’s bioeconomy.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Millions of dollars have been spent on a new speedway track at Auckland’s Waikaraka Park, with drivers calling it “a win” for the motor sports community.

An $11 million construction project has finished just in time for the first Auckland race of the 2025-2026 speedway season on Saturday.

Speedway New Zealand, the governing body of the sport in Aotearoa, certified the safety of the new track on November 26.

It was the first new speedway track the country had built in the last 25 years.

Midget car driver Ben Morrison was stoked to test out the track for the first time on Thursday, a year after the upgrades were first announced.

“We’ve all followed the progress on social media and seen how it’s tracking. Huge credit to the people who have been building this in the wettest months of the year, and they got it done just in time.

“It was a whole lot of fun out there. I think it’s got potential to be the best track in the country.”

In October 2024, Auckland Council made the controversial decision to end nearly 100 years of speedway racing at Western Springs and move all speedway to Waikaraka Park in Onehunga.

Sprint car driver Luke Brown, who also owned and worked on his car, said it was sad to see speedway end at Western Springs.

“It is sad that Western Springs is gone. Awesome place, awesome venue, awesome history.”

But he said the new track was a massive improvement from what the city had to offer before, and it made more sense to have a single venue for motorsports.

“For me, I think it’s a vast improvement in terms of spectator viewership and potential sponsorship. It’s one facility run by two different groups. It’s the best of both worlds; you can pick and choose which [speedway] classes you want or don’t want to see.

“The facilities are good, and they’re only going to get better. Overall, I think it’s a win.”

After its facelift, Waikaraka Park now sported a wider track, new lighting and toilet facilities, and an improved speedway safety wall and catch fence.

A new pit area had been built, fitting up to 130 racers at a time, 40 more than before. The pit would also be open to fans during racing, for them to mingle with drivers.

There was also a new heritage wall, honouring the track’s history from when speedway racing started there in 1967.

Auckland Stock and Saloon Car Club, which hosted speedway events at Waikaraka Park, said at the moment, the venue could accommodate 4500 spectators at a time, with 3000 in the grandstand.

Club promoter Bruce Robertson said the new track, designed by an architect who is a former speedway driver, was similar to international speedway tracks.

“We’ve really got a great facility here for racing and the track’s banked as well, which is unusual for a New Zealand track; there’s only one other that has a banked track. This is something they’ll get used to and enjoy American-style racing.”

He said the consolidation of speedway in Auckland to just one venue means drivers and fans would have a better experience.

“There’s still some thinking Western Springs [speedway] should continue on. But if this [upgrade] wasn’t done, they would have nowhere to race.

“I’ve invested a lot in Western Springs, unfortunately, but times have changed.”

They were expecting sell-out crowds for their upcoming events.

Waikaraka Park had a lease in place until 2051, with the club, which would now host all four-wheel speedway classes, including the open wheel classes that previously raced at Western Springs.

Meanwhile, the Western Springs Speedway Association was taking Auckland Council to court.

Spokesperson Jason Jones believed having just one venue for speedway would not help the sport’s growth.

“We’re happy for Waikaraka, but it’s not a solution for the entire sport whatsoever.

“Anyone who says it’s a great thing for speedway moving forward is not being truthful.”

He argued Western Springs could accommodate larger crowds, which would attract more money from sponsors.

“A key aspect of the business model with motorsport is sponsorship, if you own a car or your race, and that’s solely based around bums on seats. The less people you have at a venue, the less exposure you have for your branding, and the less likely it is for you to gain sponsorship.”

Celebrating the opening of the new track, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) chief executive Nick Hill said focusing on Waikaraka was the right call.

“Not everybody has been supportive of these changes and the consolidation, but that’s the history of all sporting venues when they consolidate or move somewhere new.

“People are very passionate about their experiences with sport, and there’s a lot of history with the [speedway] venues. But this secures the future of speedway in Auckland in one place, and at one venue.”

TAU were looking at adding more spectator seating at Waikaraka Park in the future.

Auckland Council was expected to make a final decision about how Western Springs Stadium will be used going forward early next year.

Racing will return to Waikaraka Park from Saturday, November 29, for stock and saloon cars, followed by open-wheel racing on Saturday, December 13.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A proposed 66 house subdivision near the shores of Lake Whakamaru in Waikato has sparked a land occupation by a local hapū.

But the issues Ngāti Te Kohera were fighting for go much deeper than the one development; and they might not be easy to solve.

When Jonathan Quigley set about asking for his land to be rezoned from rural to rural-lifestyle, he thought he did everything right.

“We consulted extensively with iwi and they helped, through conversations with them, they helped essentially inform the end result,” he said.

He said the feedback from iwi leaders he engaged with was that the consultation had been well done.

“So, you can imagine our surprise when we then had an occupation start on the end of the first day of the [plan change] hearing,” he said.

Ngāti Te Kohera hapū representative Craig Ahipene said they had problems with the proposed development culturally, environmentally and legally – and thought it would just be an eyesore.

However, many of the group’s concerns go back to the history of how the land fell into private hands, and to the way the crown developed the hydro lake in the first place.

“The river was flooded to form the new hydro lake that is there today. Unfortunately, the crown at the time didn’t allow us, and other hapū, to remove our dead,” Ahipene said.

This meant any development near the lake which might result in pollution of the river was deeply concerning to the hapū.

“Human waste that goes into that river is a grievous cultural harm to the mana and tapu and mouri of our dead ancestors, and ourselves as well because we are the protectors of that.”

Quigley said the proposal took that concern on board and had been developed so no sewage could get in the river, along with mitigating other environmental concerns.

Local Hope Woodward was against the development and said it might be well planned but the lakeside was not the place for 66 houses.

“It’s going to be an environmental experiment basically and this space just doesn’t need it,” she said.

She wanted the area to be protected as undeveloped land.

“We don’t have a lot of spaces like this left around our country and this is only going to set a precedent for further developments.”

The occupation was not on Quigley’s land but on the public land reserve right in front of it.

He said he’d been told the area was now under a rāhui and restrictions apply to when and how he and his family could use the reserve.

A South Waikato District Council spokesperson said it was aware of public access being restricted to the site and had seen reports of an apparent rāhui being put in place for part of Lake Whakamaru Reserve.

“However, this has not been officially communicated to us in any form. Raukawa, as the iwi who carry mana and responsibility for the hapū currently occupying the area, are the appropriate body to work with the group on this matter,” the spokesperson said.

The council said it respected the group’s right to peaceful protest, with maintaining public access to the site and the safe management of any fire present being its key concerns.

Both Quigley and those occupying the land said interactions at the lake are generally respectful, though online things have got personal.

“I’ve received death threats via Facebook, so that’s not fun,” he said.

Quigley felt lies had been spread about him and the development online, and it was an enormously stressful situation for his whole family.

“My wife is pretty strung out knowing what I’m going through, my kids are old enough to see that it’s having an effect, and it’s all for stuff that’s not actually accurate.”

Jacinta Rata had been occupying the land since day one and said the occupation was affecting those taking part.

“We’ve all had to sacrifice a lot to be here on the ground,” she said.

She said it wasn’t a situation anyone wanted, even those taking part in the occupation.

“But you know, I think if we didn’t do it, it would be harder to live with… if we didn’t do anything,” she said.

Ahipene said regardless of the outcome of the proposed development, the hapū expected the occupation to continue until they could preserve the land.

And that’s bigger than Quigley.

“The crown basically has created this problem through its processes in history and so the crown needs to be part of the solution as well,” said Ahipene.

Not that he had much faith in the current government. His faith was with where he felt the mood of the public was.

“The majority are against this [government’s] attack on the environment, we’re against this attack on Māori rights,” he said.

The proposed plan change was now with South Waikato District Council planning commissioners, and a decision was expected in the next few months.

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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 man has been charged with arson in relation to a house fire in the Southland town of Waikaia that happened almost two years ago.

Emergency services were called to the home on Elswick Street on 21 February 2024, where the blaze caused extensive damage.

On Wednesday police charged a 35 year old Dunedin man with arson who was due to appear in Gore District Court on 17 December.

Detective Sergeant Brian McKinney thanked members of the public who provided information to police for their investigation.

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