Source: Radio New Zealand

Māori All Black and Highlander Shane Christie has been diagnosed with a brain disease likely to be connected with repeated head knocks by a pathologist at the University of Auckland’s brain bank.

Dr Clinton Turner found the former Tasman Mako captain had “high stage” chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) before his death by suspected suicide at the age of 39 in August 2025.

A report by a second pathologist Dr Michael Myskow noted Christie suffered several significant concussions during the course of his playing career.

RNZ is able to report on the pathologists’ opinions with the discharge of an interim non-publication order.

Christie’s former teammate and close friend Billy Guyton, who died by suspected suicide in 2023, was the first New Zealand-based professional rugby player to be diagnosed with CTE.

Christie retired from professional rugby in 2017 because of severe post-concussion symptoms.

He had spoken publicly about his belief he was suffering from CTE, which is linked to repeated head trauma, and can only be definitively diagnosed after death by examining brain tissue.

Myskow said Christie’s brain was donated to the University of Auckland’s brain bank, as per his wishes, and examined by Turner, an Auckland Hospital pathologist.

“Note is made of the fact that [Shane] was a professional rugby player who had suffered several significant concussions during the course of his playing career,” he said.

“In summary Dr Turner confirms the diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which he characterises as ‘high stage’.”

Player welfare a priority – New Zealand Rugby

New Zealand Rugby interim chief executive Steve Lancaster said support for players with post-concussive symptoms was a priority.

“Our thoughts are with Shane Christie’s whānau, friends and former teammates for their ongoing grief following his passing, especially during difficult times like this,” he said.

“New Zealand Rugby acknowledges the CTE pathology results for Shane Christie confirmed by The Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank. We also acknowledge and respect the role of the coroner to determine the nature of any inquiry they may hold examining the cause and circumstances of Shane’s passing.

“We share the concerns about the potential long-term effects of repeated head knocks in rugby and support the need for ongoing research into this.

“NZR recognises an association between repeated head impacts and CTE and takes this issue seriously.

“We are working with researchers to strengthen the understanding of CTE, recognising that further research to look at the brains of individuals who have not played contact sports is needed, before a definitive link can be established.

“While research into the long-term impacts of head injury is ongoing, our focus remains on the support we provide to our rugby community now.

“We take a precautionary approach focused on reducing injury risk at all levels of the game. Education, sanctions and, initiatives like Head Injury Assessments, flashing mouth guards, mandatory recovery periods, and brain health services for players reflect a growing commitment to safety across all levels of the game.

“Support for players who do experience post-concussive symptoms, mental health issues, or cognitive difficulties is a priority, regardless of any pathology that may or may not be identified later.

“With community rugby registrations now open, we know many parents will be giving some thought to their children’s safety. Community rugby is very different from the professional game, with an emphasis on fun, non-contact options, and a gradual, age-appropriate introduction to contact. This means the risk of concussion is significantly lower with the average rate of one concussion per 700 games for under-12s.

“We appreciate the public interest in this matter. Due to the circumstances surrounding Shane’s death, this matter was referred to the coroner, and as confidentiality obligations apply, we will not be commenting further during this process.”

Diagnosis confirms Shane Christie’s belief he had CTE

After Guyton’s death, Christie co-founded the Billy Guyton Foundation to try to prevent and raise awareness about brain injuries in rugby, while calling for increased duty of care in the sport.

Christie posted several stories on social media documenting his battles with concussion and fears that he was suffering from CTE.

In March 2024 Christie said he believed he was suffering from the same neurodegenerative brain condition that was diagnosed in Guyton’s post-mortem.

Christie said his own well-being plummeted following Guyton’s death.

“My concussion symptoms had significantly worsened since learning of Billy’s tragic death on May 13, 2023,” he wrote.

“Over the months of May to September 2023, I gradually exhausted my brain’s energy and cognitive capacity, pushing myself to a point where I became delusional and paranoid.

“During a critical 12-day period in early to mid-September, I experienced four manic, psychotic events. These events not only exacerbated my symptoms but also became increasingly radical and difficult to comprehend.”

After years of struggling with fatigue, anxiety and suicidal thoughts post-retirement, Christie came to the following conclusion: “As I now understand the effects that concussion had on Billy’s brain and witnessing the drastic changes in his life, I can only assume that I’ve developed CTE myself.”

In April 2024 Christie said he was trying to show “New Zealand Rugby, Players Association, ACC how players are having issues for multiple years about having concussion problems”.

“When you go to a specialist and you’ve had ongoing concussion problems, we’re not getting treated with CTE diagnosis or probable,” he said.

“And it means the treatment is non existent, instead of getting daily plans of how to recover or things that we need to do to monitor our health, reducing cognitive overload or stress, things like that, that can be practically implemented into our lifestyles, we just get told there’s nothing you can do about it.”

‘Desperately looking for help and misunderstood’

Christie’s former partner and friend Holly Parkes said the pathologist’s diagnosis did not come as a surprise.

“He would be like, ‘I told you, you should have listened to me. I was trying to tell you’,” she said.

Parkes, who first met Christie in 2010 and later spent time as his carer, said she knew he had CTE in 2023.

If Christie had not chosen to donate his brain to the University of Auckland’s Sports Human Brain Bank they would not have received the confirmation that he was suffering from CTE, not just poor mental health, Parkes said.

“The public thought that Shane had just sort of lost his mind but now to know that something was physically, biologically wrong with his brain, not psychologically wrong with his brain, it does vindicate his last years where he became a completely different person and everybody was very confused by his behaviour,” she said.

Parkes said research had already established a link between repeated head trauma and CTE.

“New Zealand Rugby and the Players Association want to keep their head in the sand and not admit that this is really a problem, they don’t want to implement the research,” she said.

“The current pathway… led Bill and Shane to the grave, essentially, because it’s a series of specialists and doctors who basically tell the boys that it’s mental health issues,” she said.

“To be told that there’s nothing wrong with you, but there’s something very, very wrong with you, it’s a painful experience to go through as a human.”

Parkes said Christie began experiencing concussion symptoms after the Māori All Blacks played the Harlequins in London in 2016, which was the last game of rugby he ever played.

“His full-time job became dealing with his concussion symptoms for those nine years and desperately looking for help and being misunderstood every year about his brain injury,” she said.

Before his death, Parkes said Christie was desperately searching for treatment and support, not only for himself but for other players in the same situation.

“I watched a man lose parts of his personality, I saw him slip into psychosis, I saw him having paranoid, psychotic episodes, not able to remember even a lot of our relationship,” she said.

“Before he died he was speaking to the Concussion Legacy Foundation overseas, desperately looking for help, desperately trying to be an advocate for other people so that their concussion injuries didn’t need to turn into CTE the way it did [for him].”

“He was really standing up and yelling and shouting, something very bad happened to Billy, my best friend, and now it’s happening to me. Can we please change? Can we please listen? Can we please implement the research?”

Since Christie’s death, Parkes has continued his work, advocating for better access to support and treatment for people dealing with the effects of head injuries sustained in contact sport.

She had started KnockStop, to provide early intervention, clear guidance and a pathway to proper care for the crucial 24 to 72-hour period after concussion.

The aim was for concussion kits to be available in pharmacies around the country, with instructions on how to manage a concussion, supplements to minimise post-concussion symptoms and links to different clinics that could treat brain injuries.

Parkes was also raising money for people to access treatment so they did not have to go overseas.

More work needed to make rugby safer

Nelson-based lawyer Craig Morice first got to know Christie in 2017 when he worked with him during negotiations with New Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand Rugby Players Association at the end of his career.

Morice said the CTE diagnosis provided a lot of answers.

“It confirmed what I’d always thought was going on in Shane’s head, but [the report] was hard to read and hard to take in,” he said.

“He’s right, he wasn’t crazy, he had a brain disease.”

Morice said Christie had complained to New Zealand Rugby about how his debilitating concussion injuries had been managed during his career and pushed for his treatment to be investigated.

A 2019 report by judge Jeremy Doogue made five recommendations, saying New Zealand Rugby needed to address a culture of under-reporting concussions and downplaying concussive events, standardise a concussion rehabilitation plan, establish a protocol for escalating serious cases and closely monitor scientific developments around the link between concussion and long-term degenerative conditions.

Morice said Christie had been motivated by a desire to make rugby safer current and former players and children but he felt increasingly shut out of conversations with the governing body.

“If there are recommendations made to make the game safer for everyone, why would New Zealand Rugby for years and years continue to not agree to release those?” he said.

“Shane loved rugby. He didn’t want to destroy it. He felt there needed to be a discussion about making it safer in respect of concussion and repeated concussive knocks.”

Morice is a former Tasman Rugby Union director, an age-grade rugby referee, and an advocate for player welfare.

“I’ve got two young boys who play rugby and my 15-year-old had his first concussion two years ago and Shane helped us through that,” he said.

He had heard from former All Blacks and other Super Rugby players in recent months, asking about the results of Christie’s brain scan and when the findings would be made public.

“Those players are battling their own demons, as they call them, and similar symptoms to Shane but there’s no cast or bandage and people can’t see what they’re battling with,” he said.

Christie played 29 matches for the Highlanders between 2014-2016 and was part of their Super Rugby-winning side of 2015, although he spent most of that campaign sidelined with injury.

He also played 73 times for Tasman over seven seasons before retiring because of concussion-related symptoms. He skippered Tasman to the team’s first NPC title in 2013.

The coroner’s inquiry into Christie’s death is ongoing.

Where to get help:

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

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

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Ngāi Tahu wants to see tougher restrictions on exporting pounamu after a mother and son were found guilty of attempting to illegally export pounamu to China over the legal limit.

It is the first successful prosecution of its kind by New Zealand Customs after Boyuan Zhang and his mother Xin Li were found carrying almost 18 [17.9] kilograms in their luggage in 2024.

While not a party to the case, Ngāi Tahu holds legal ownership of all naturally occurring pounamu within its tribal boundaries since 1997 under the Ngāi Tahu Pounamu Vesting Act.

Ngāti Māhaki ki Makaawhio is one of the kaitiaki or stewardship hapū of Ngāi Tahu with a particular whakapapa connection to pounamu.

Representative Susan Wallace told Morning Report pounamu is a sacred resource and taonga recognised by many New Zealanders, not just Māori, who wear it and have a connection to the stone.

Descendants of Ngāi Tahu attended the trial in the Manukau District Court last month, and Wallace said the verdict was an emotional moment for them.

“It does serve as a warning that attempts to export pounamu without permission can and will be prosecuted so it’s a huge outcome for us.

“The case also highlighted a number of areas where the export regime could be strengthened, and that includes the current weight threshold. You can currently export up to five kilograms out of the country – this case showed that you can’t get around that by sharing the weight amongst a group of people, which is what happened in this case.”

Wallace said Ngāi Tahu had been working with Customs and the police.

Asked why there was such a large black market for pounamu, Wallace said she believed it was because pounamu was not mined here to the extent it was in other countries.

“So we’re fortunate to be able to have quite a lot of pounamu that is available. As a result of that, others from overseas are coming in quite regularly to take and export pounamu. We’re actually wanting to tighten that up – we think that the weight needs to be lowered significantly.”

Exporting pounamu in quantities over five kilograms was only permitted with the approval of the Customs minister.

Public fossicking for pounamu was only allowed on West Coast beaches, and the size of pounamu allowed to be taken was limited to something you could carry in one hand.

Rivers were able to be fossicked by Ngāi Tahu whānau members, but only with a collection permit granted by the kaitiaki (guardian) rūnanga.

Wallace said the case showed there were areas of the law that needed to be tightened up, including the weight limit for exporting pounamu.

“We’d love to see it reduced down completely and that there is a special permit that might be given that would enable it to be taken out legally, but actually with the support of Ngāi Tahu rather than it being something that is, I guess, managed through the government.”

Ngāi Tahu had an authentication process in place for buyers to check the authenticity of their taonga, she said.

“So we have a unique traceability code from the seller, you can enter that into the Ngāi Tahu pounamu website and trace back where that particular piece of pounamu came from.

“It’s a shame that despite this case there [are] so many online listings for illegally sourced stone, so it is showing the scale of the black market pounamu trade at the moment.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The former media executive who admitted paying a 14 year-old for sex and fought to keep his name secret can now be named.

Gregory Rex Hornblow was sentenced in March at the Auckland District Court to 10 months home detention and ordered to pay reparation payments of $3000 to the teenager.

The 60 year-old was the chief executive of One Roof – the property arm owned by the New Zealand Herald publisher NZME – when he was charged with receiving commercial sexual services.

NZME’s chief executive Michael Boggs has confirmed Hornblow was under an employment investigation over other complaints at the time and was sacked when the company learned of his arrest.

In a statement, he said Hornblow was facing disciplinary action and was alleged to have “demonstrated inappropriate behaviour” at a work function and he received a final written warning.

A formal complaint was then made against Hornblow that included accusations he had made “inappropriate comments” at meetings and in the office.

It was during this process, in November, that NZME learned of his charge.

“When we learned of the charge, we immediately terminated his employment. Due to the suppression order we have not been in a position to provide any further detail until now,” Boggs said.

In the coming days Hornblow pleaded guilty to a charge of receiving commercial sexual services from a person under 18.

Details revealed in Court by Judge Kathryn Maxwell show Hornblow referred to himself as a “sugar daddy” and met the 14 year-old on Snapchat in September, 2025.

He bought her Ubereats in exchange for intimate photos and videos, Judge Kathryn Maxwell said.

Over the course of three weeks, she sent 12 photos and 19 videos of a sexual nature, including a short video of her in her school uniform.

He paid $1000 to the teen to come to his house, where the two engaged in unspecified sexual activity in his bedroom, Judge Maxwell said.

The man told the girl he couldn’t pay her for sex, and instructed her to say she wanted to have sex and he had just given her the money.

Judge Maxwell said the victim felt disgusted by her interaction with the man.

She said he had effectively enticed her to prostitute herself, and coached her to avoid the application of the law.

“I do not accept the offending was less serious because the victim consented,” she said.

Under the Prostitution Reform Act, no one under the age of 18 may be contracted for commercial sexual services. The legal age of consent is 16.

Judge Maxwell said the victim was underage for what he intended, and he knew it.

Judge Maxwell refused Hornblow’s application for a discharge without conviction, as well as his permanent name suppression.

A law change last year meant the victim had to agree to the man’s identity remaining suppressed, which Judge Maxwell said she did not.

She gave discounts for his guilty plea, remorse, and reported good character.

He was convicted and sentenced to 10-months of home detention as well as the $3000 in emotional harm reparations.

At the time, Judge Maxwell granted interim suppression for Hornblow which has now lapsed.

At his sentencing in March, Hornblow’s lawyer, Graeme Newell asked the Court to discharge his client without a conviction. He said Hornblow believed the girl involved to be 17-years-old.

But in reality she was 14.

Newell said Hornblow would find it hard to find work and the conviction would impact his family.

When Judge Maxwell declined to grant name suppression, Newell said there would be an appeal.

However, on Thursday, the Auckland District Court told RNZ the appeal had been abandoned, opening the way for Hornblow to be named.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

KiwiRail says higher than usual freight and passenger numbers are leading to delays on Interislander ferries.

But the ferry provider said it expected services to return to schedule by the weekend.

The Interislander website showed delays of up to three hours and 45 minutes for ferries departing during daylight hours over the past two days.

Night-time sailings appeared less affected, averaging over three-quarters of an hour late during the same period.

Further delays were expected to continue on Thursday.

The hold-ups came as Bluebridge’s Connemara ferry returned to service last night after being sidelined for nearly 11 days following a technical fault.

Many passengers and freight services affected by the ship’s failure were forced to rebook aboard Interislander services.

Interislander’s Taru Sawhney said large passenger and freight numbers – stemming from the cancellations – were slowing their ferries turn-around times in port.

“If any sailings do run late, impacted customers are contacted directly and kept informed.

“We typically see a drop-off in freight volumes over Easter, which means lighter vehicle deck loads. We expect the fleet to be on time by the weekend.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Aviation Industry Association says life-preserving services such as aeromedical, search and rescue, and firefighting need to be prioritised as part of the government’s fuel response plan.

The aviation sector has been calling for a specific crisis plan around fuel for flying as the prices of jet fuel and Avgas have shot up as conflict continues in the Middle East.

Chief executive Simon Wallace said since the beginning of March jet fuel had gone up about 70 percent – from around $1.60 to $2.80 a litre – and Avgas had increased around 100 percent, from around $2.60 to $5.00.

He said those fuel increases needed to be able to be passed back to the agencies they were contracted by.

“This is why the association has really emphasised the importance of all these services, because actually, as operators, they can’t absorb these costs and they can’t continue to provide these services if they are not reimbursed,” he said.

“So we don’t want these services to be a threat and provided they are prioritised in the fuel plan and they’re at the top of the list then these services will be maintained.”

Wallace said they were working closely with agencies.

“Fire and Emergency New Zealand has allowed our operators – like our helicopter operators, for example – to be able to impose a fuel surcharge, which they have to do because of the increases.”

Another area of aviation they wanted to see the government prioritise was agriculture, Wallace said. He said between March and May was a critical time for top dressers putting fertiliser down.

“So it’s really important that they can do that, that they have access to fuel.”

He said it was also important for animal welfare.

“I think the concern for the Aviation Industry Association is that a lot of the smaller operators, particularly agriculture, but also the emergency services, are not overlooked in the development of an aviation-specific plan,” he said.

“We acknowledge the real importance of international air connections, and they are vital not only for passengers and cargo, but we have domestic aviation services which connect the country to itself, and these need to be part of any prioritisation. “

Meanwhile on Morning Report on Thursday morning, Associate Transport Minister James Meager said he was not concerned yet about the jet fuel supply in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s jet fuel stocks have dropped since the last update, leaving about 46 days of cover.

Meager said that was within the normal range, and it was natural that the supply could go down temporarily while the country waited for more fuel to arrive.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

By Anya Feilding

Palmerston North Hospital is a step closer to welcoming a new surgical team member – a robot.

A fundraiser for a surgical robot has received a $500,000 private donation this week.

The Palmerston North Hospital Foundation has been fundraising for one at its regional hospital since February. Spokesperson Shivarn Stewart said the aim was to raise $2.5 million by the end of the year.

“And given that we’ve already raised more than half-a-million in under a month, we absolutely know that goal is possible.”

An anonymous donor gave $500,000 this week, but the local community has also raised over $30,000.

The fundraiser has been shared through the local Manawatū Chamber of Commerce.

A local grower, Gaye Fell, planted an acre of sunflower and worked with Mitre 10 Mega to raise nearly $9000.

Shivarn explained the robot would have a massive impact on surgical and cancer care for the more than half-a-million people Palmerston North Regional Hospital served around the central North Island.

Operated by surgeons through controllers, robotic arms and 3D scanners allow for greater precision – especially in areas such as the throat or pelvis, where traditional surgery was difficult and often damaging.

This precision had ripple effects, leading to reduced risks from infection, complications and surgeon fatigue, and speeding up patient recovery.

“One of the best descriptions is instead of using BBQ tongs, it’s like using tweezers,” Shivarn said, comparing the advent of surgical robots to the development of keyhole surgeries.

“Surgical robots are really becoming the benchmark for talented surgeons. Within Palmerston North Regional Hospital, there’s already some staff that are fully trained in this.”

Robotic surgery was best suited to cancer surgeries, such as removing tissues or tumours. John Chaplin used surgical robots exactly for this purpose at his private practice.

“In the surgery that I do, which is surgery to the base of tongue or tonsil for cancer, it offers the same sort of advantages in that you’ve got a very close-up view of the tumor. You are able to get clear margins on the cancer.

“You’re able to get really good access and a view of the base of the tongue, which is often a really hard area to view directly because it’s at an angle you have to almost be upside down to look at it. Previously, people have had to have their jaw split open and tracheostomy tube and major surgery and reconstruction to have these tumors treated.”

Matthew Clark, a general surgeon and member of the governing council of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, had conflicting feelings.

“Look, I think it’s both great and sad. It’s great that they’re doing it. I think getting more robots into the public health system is very much a good thing.

“It’s sad that we need to resort to fundraising for public healthcare for some of these initiatives that are absolutely the right thing to do for New Zealand society.”

There is currently a single surgical robot in the public healthcare system nationwide, at the Southern Cross North Harbour Hospital in Auckland.

He said robotics might not be cost-effective in every healthcare scenario, but he hoped New Zealand could adopt robotics as other nations had, such as the US, UK and Australia, while also learning from their teething problems.

He said not only was this technology needed, but it could also help with brain drain.

“If New Zealand doesn’t keep up with some of these things, then some of our youngest, best and brightest will inevitably be kept overseas once they learn these techniques.”

Health New Zealand spokesperson and clinical director of surgical services for MidCentral Alberto Ramirez agreed with this.

“It is difficult to have an edge for those to look at us as a preferred place to come and work. Therefore, recruitment is very difficult – and retention, too.”

He said fundraising was a good option to get the equipment.

“Although robotic surgery has proven enormous benefits worldwide and is becoming the gold standard for many surgeries around the world, the investment in robotic systems involves an enormous amount of money.

“Each of these systems costs around $3 million – plus everything that goes around it.

“Some hospitals will need more than one because obviously they will have many teams and one will not be enough to go around.

“So, you can imagine if you multiply that by the number of hospitals around New Zealand, it’s very, very difficult to justify… such a large purchase.”

To donate or learn more about the project, you can visit [www.pnhospitalfoundation.co.nz www.pnhospitalfoundation.co.nz].

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Northland MP Grant McCallum says local investors could come to the rescue of Kaitāia’s beleaguered timber mills.

Earlier this week RNZ revealed Japanese owner Juken New Zealand had put the two mills up for sale, and would likely close them down if a buyer couldn’t be found.

McCallum said that would be devastating because Juken is a major employer in Kaitāia, with around 200 workers across its Northland and Triboard mills.

However, the MP said he had since spoken to a consortium interested in buying the mills as a going concern.

At this point he would not say who was behind the potential buyout, but the group included New Zealand and Northland investors.

McCallum said he was devastated when he first heard the mills could shut down – but not entirely surprised, because they had been struggling for some time.

“I completely understand the significance of that workforce, 200-odd people, plus all the downstream workers and businesses that would be affected in a town the size of Kaitāia. It would have been potentially disastrous,” he said.

“So I’m very hopeful of there being a successful purchase, because I understand the significance.”

However, McCallum said he would not celebrate until a deal was “signed and sealed”.

Earlier, Juken NZ managing director Hisayuki Tsuboi said the company had started consulting staff about the mills’ future.

That was a result of falling demand in key export markets and increasing operating costs, such as power.

Tsuboi said the company was exploring whether the mills could stay open under a different structure, including a potential sale or joint venture.

Far North mayor Moko Tepania said mill closures had been “devastating” for other rural areas around the country, such as Kawerau and Ruapehu, and called on the government to intervene.

News of the potential Kaitāia mill closures came just days after Heinz Watties announced it was shutting down manufacturing sites in Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland, as well its frozen packing lines in Hastings.

Other mills to have closed recently include the paper production line at Kinleith Mill in Tokoroa (with the loss of 230 jobs), Eves Valley Sawmill in Tasman (140 jobs), and Karioi Pulpmill and Tangiwai Sawmill in Ruapehu (200 jobs).

Kaitāia has a population of around 6000 people, with about 200 directly employed by the two mills. The only organisation with more employees in the town is Health NZ, which operates a hospital serving the top of the Far North.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi is moving some of their noho and on-campus classes online in response to concerns from tauira (students) that rising fuel prices would impact their ability to attend classes.

Chief executive Professor Wiremu Doherty (Tūhoe, Ngāti Tāwhaki, Ngāti Awa) told RNZ decisions are currently being treated on a case-by-case basis where the impact of fuel costs is the greatest.

The majority of students are located out in the regions and will come together for noho wānanga anywhere from every four weeks to every eight weeks, he said.

“We’ve made a decision to shift two noho scheduled to occur last week and this week to online, and it was largely at the request of students. And we’re dealing with people out in our rural and our remote communities where things are pretty tough, you know, before we were hit by the extraordinary increases in fuel.”

Doherty said the Wānanga draws students from as far as Te Hapua and Te Kao to Invercargill, and the cost is not being felt evenly across the entire student body.

He said some 10 percent of the student body have raised concerns, but he believes almost every student will be feeling the pinch from the cost of fuel.

Auckland university students have launched a petition calling for free public transport and financial support, saying fuel prices are impacting university students disproportionately.

At the Wānanga the School of Undergraduate Studies has contacted their tauira to say that all teaching for those programmes will move online from 1 April until the end of June and the situation will then be reassessed for Semester two.

“Whilst we are all on shifting sands at the moment, we can extrapolate out if costs were to remain as they are today, we could then extrapolate out that for the end of the year. But that could be irrelevant if, you know, if the costs continue to increase,” Doherty said.

The Wānanga’s two key goals were to support students to ensure that they still have access to study and staff still have the wherewithal to be able to deliver courses to students, he said.

“To a certain extent it is reacting, but it’s reacting at a pace and time that we are, you know, we’re controlling. You know, we’re not having it sort of forced over the top of us, but, you know, arguably, I guess, in one sense we are with the price setting, but it’s how we choose to respond that… I think it gives us a little bit of comfort.”

Lessons from Covid

Doherty said the Wānanga learned a few lessons from the Covid pandemic about delivering courses online, one of them being that “the world wasn’t going to end if you deliver things online.”

“We’ve always had a particular tension there within particularly Te Ao Māori where, you know, a lot of our practices require a in-person, in-situ, face-to-face medium.”

It also fast forwarded the infrastructure required to deliver courses online, Doherty said there are no structural issues in the way should they decide to go completely online again, at least for a period of time.

“But I think unlike Covid, this one is a little bit more, I guess, measured in the way that we feel we’ve got more control and have the ability to make the decision. And I think that changes things quite a bit and it also gives us the ability to respond to what the needs of our community are,” he said.

“As we saw through Covid, you know, not everyone is in the same situation and we have to be mindful, you know, some of them might be feeling it more keenly than others and we’ve just got to be mindful and, you know, revert back to our common principle and, you know, that’s look after each other and, you know, make sure we’re all doing okay.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland Transport are warning commuters there could be disruptions to scheduled train services after a major outage on Thursday.

All train services were suspended on Thursday morning but most were able to resume from about 10.15am.

AT said while some train services are restored, it’s encouraging commuters to take a bus that connects to the rail network.

An AT spokesperson said while some scheduled train services were starting to run, there would be delays and cancellations as trains and crews were repositioned to manage the afternoon while commuters head home from work.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Detailed texts about Tom Phillips’ last hours from a top police comms manager to the head of a documentary crew have been revealed.

Police director of media and strategic communications Juli Clausen messaged Dame Julie Christie – the chief executive of a documentary production company – while on board a flight to Hamilton to give her a “heads up” that Phillips had been shot.

Phillips died following a shootout with police after they were called to reports of a burglary in September 2025.

It was earlier revealed a film crew from Dunedin-founded NHNZ Productions had been following the hunt for fugitive Phillips and his children for more than a year, gaining exclusive access to the investigation. The documentary would be streamed on Netflix.

On Thursday RNZ obtained a series of documents by police under the Official Information Act.

RNZ earlier revealed that police’s director of media and strategic communications notified the CEO of the documentary production crew of the “critical incident” by text at about 6.15am.

This was at least an hour before family were notified.

The documents released to RNZ included a series of messages between Clausen and Christie.

Clausen’s text at 6.14am on September 8 began “I’m on a flight to Hamilton now”.

“I wanted to give u a heads up.. T [redacted] were involved in another burglary this morning. T has been shot – we have [redacted] We will do media but every man n dog there.”

Christie and the documentary crew appear to have been at the police station by 8am.

Clausen told Christie she had asked if they would be allowed to film the prep for the 11am media conference.

Just before 8am, Christie also asked if they could film Police Commissioner Richard Chambers arriving at the scene.

Christie was going to visit the scene with the officer in charge of the police investigation, dubbed Operation Curly.

That evening, Christie asked Clausen to have a word about a media query about the documentary.

The pair then met at a restaurant.

The day after Clausen text Christie to let her know she was “about to get a call from Claire Trevett who is my acting exec director (boss)”.

On September 15, Christie asked if they could join the team looking for another camp.

Clausen replied: “I think we need to leave some air space for now. People v sensitive. I’m hoping to talk to them tomorrow hopefully”.

Christie said she hoped it was realised the filming showed “how hard the police team always worked to recover those children. It would be disappointing not to be able to complete that story in the best possible way. I’ll keep in touch. So grateful for everything so far.”

In another message, Clausen told Christie police had received “a few OIAs”.

“Our normal process would be to consult u as part of reviewing for release. Wont be a quick turn around as we’ll need legal advice re contracts. But I do need to check one thing with u as soon as you can call. Thanks.”

‘Not always handled in line with protocols’

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said on Thursday he had “consistently supported the documentary as a way to highlight the work Police was doing in the search for Tom Phillips”.

“There were strict conditions in place to protect the children and sensitive police operational information. I believed it was an important story to tell and that this format was a good one to allow that to happen.

“However, the information that has now come to light has raised questions about how the documentary project was handled by police.”

He said there was a “constructive relationship” between police and the documentary team.

“However, it has become apparent this documentary was not always handled in line with the usual protocols and processes that apply to documentaries police take part in.

“That included decision-making and oversight around the access the documentary crew were given at various points.

“I would not have allowed access to what was an active crime scene and had not been aware that was happening ahead of time.”

He said had he known it was to happen he would have stopped it.

“I am also disappointed the documentary team was told ahead of the family and of other media about the events of the night Tom Phillips died.

“The strict conditions that applied to the documentary project did give Police the ability to protect any sensitive information and that meant the documentary team could be given more access to Police operations than media would usually be given.”

Chambers said he would be concerned if there were any instances in which the documentary’s interests meant media did not get information or access they would otherwise have got.

“That does not serve the public interest. This was a high-profile investigation and, in my view, it is crucial police share as much as they possibly can with the media during such investigations because of the legitimate public interest.

“I have asked for further information to be sure this was handled appropriately at all stages and to allow us to consider whether police need to reassess the way we engage in such projects.”

He said police had a long history of cooperating on documentaries or programmes involving ongoing investigations.

“They offer unique and interesting insight for the public into police work and into the investigation in question.

“I do not want that to change in the future, however I do want to be certain we have robust processes in place to ensure they are handled well and fairly.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are investigating an unexplained death in Wainuiomata, in Lower Hutt.

A body was discovered on Wainuiomata Road around 9am on Thursday morning.

Emergency services remain at the scene, and cordons are in place along Wainuiomata Road including Reading Street and The Strand.

Police are advising the public to avoid the area.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Two people have been arrested following an incident that earlier prompted Auckland’s Glenfield Mall and surrounding schools into lockdown.

Police said they were called to a reports of a single vehicle crash on Downing Street, around 11.20am.

“Two people have fled the vehicle, and one was sighted carrying what appeared to be a firearm,” police said in a statement.

A spokesperson said Glenfield Mall, schools and childcare centres in the nearby area were temporarily placed into lockdown. These have now all been lifted.

Police said they will have an increased presence in the area while enquiries continue.

• Do you know more? Email us iwitness@rnz.co.nz

In a statement on social media, Glenfield College had asked people to avoid the school.

“Please do not come to the school or phone the scool as you will not be attended to and this may cause disruption to the management of this incident and could potentially place yourselves and/or our staff and student’s safety at risk,” the post said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The government will put more than $20 million towards additional diesel storage capacity at Marsden Point.

The arrangement – funded through the Regional Infrastructure Fund – will support 90 million litres of storage at the import and storage terminal by recommissioning storage tanks that have been unused since the closure of the refinery in 2022.

Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones said the tanks could hold around eight days’ supply, and refurbishment work was expected to begin within days.

“This is an ambitious but do-able project which will help ensure New Zealand is well-placed to weather the fuel supply issues New Zealand faces,” he said.

He had been assured by Channel Infrastructure, which owned and operated Marsden Point, that it could get the tanks ready within two months.

“While we are acutely aware of the importance of petrol and jet fuel, it is diesel that is the lifeblood of our economy. We know we have a secure supply until the end of May,” Jones said.

“If the opportunities arise for New Zealand to secure diesel supplies over and above what we are expecting, we need to be able to store it.”

RNZ reported last week that the government had received a proposal to boost storage at Marsden Point, with Jones wanting advice back as soon as possible.

At the time, Channel Infrastructure had told him there was potential to store 350 million litres of imported oil, on top of the 300 million litres of storage already in service.

The $21.6m support has been found through projects that had been approved in principle, but were not likely to go ahead.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland’s Glenfield College and Wairau Valley Special school have gone into lockdown, with armed police seen running into the nearby Glenfield Mall.

In a statement on social media, Glenfield College asked people to avoid the school.

“Please do not come to the school or phone the scool as you will not be attended to and this may cause disruption to the management of this incident and could potentially place yourselves and/or our staff and student’s safety at risk,” the post said.

Police say they’re responding to an unfolding incident in Glenfield.

• Do you know more? Email us iwitness@rnz.co.nz

More to come…

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Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand has not joined in the latest international call for responsible use of AI by the military, but has been taking part in the UN talks about autonomous weapons.

AI has been used in unprecedented ways in the war in Iran, for instance in drawing up hit lists and targeting missiles, according to overseas media reports.

Forbes has called it “the first AI war”.

Australia, Canada and the UK were among this country’s Five Eyes group partners that endorsed the non-binding call issued by the third summit on “responsible artificial intelligence in the military domain”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said no one was sent to the summit in Spain in February, unlike the second summit in 2024 when the NZDF had someone there.

“Although we observe when resourcing allows, New Zealand is a not a member of REAIM,” MFAT said.

The US endorsed an earlier call from the 2024 summit of REAIM, a European government initiative.

The summits have been trying to nut out a blueprint for armies using AI but there remains no international law or legally-binding treaty that bans the use of lethal autonomous weapons.

Their calls to action have been described as “modest”.

The latest call said military AI “can and should” contribute to peace and security, for instance, by reducing exposure of military personnel and civilians to danger, and helping decisions to be faster and better.

But its risks had to be corralled within frameworks of international humanitarian and human rights law, it said.

In March, NZ permanent mission staff in Geneva took part in the UN talks on lethal autonomous weapons, MFAT said.

These revolved around work by a group of government experts on the conditions where autonomous weapons could be developed and used legally.

The March talks referred to a new report by a leading Swedish thinktank that said militaries must change their AI weapons buying practices to build into them political commitments to responsible use.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in the US the Pentagon had previously stressed that its flagship Replicator initiative – to build fleets of thousands of drones focused in the Indo-Pacific – was based on policies for ethical use of AI.

But it added, “the tension between acquisition speed and thorough legal, safety and ethical review remains unresolved in public documentation.”

More recently, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has hit the accelerator on emerging tech development, while at the same time deriding “stupid rules of engagement” aimed at reducing mistakes and civilian casualties.

The Stockholm study said militaries seeking speed were turning to commercial AI solutions rather than the traditional approach of ordering what they need, custom-made. This was leading to the fielding of “minimum viable capabilities” often without a whole lot of pre-testing.

“States may even knowingly accept governance trade-offs under acute security or operational pressures,” it said.

The commercial, minimum viable approach has been gathering pace at the New Zealand Defence Force in the last year.

The study said governments should invest in evaluation mechanisms for military AI, and strengthen that by clear thinking in the military about what they want the AI they buy to do, backed up with solid ways to assure commercial suppliers’ tech was set to meet political obligations.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Parts of the Far North are still cleaning up and some whānau are unable to return to their homes one week after a major storm battered the district.

The settlement of Whirinaki was worst hit in the deluge of 26 March, but many other areas around the Hokianga Harbour – including Wekaweka Valley, Waimamaku, Panguru and Pawarenga – were inundated and isolated.

Months’ worth of rain, more than 300mm, fell in 48 hours.

That was despite last week’s red heavy rain warning applying to the northeast coast, not western areas such as Hokianga.

Ruth Tautari, who is leading the recovery for the Whirinaki Trust, said the river burst its banks and flooded a roughly 2km stretch of State Highway 12 through the middle of the settlement.

The speed with which the water rose shocked even those who remembered the infamous 1999 floods.

“Within a 10 minute period, the water went from touching the road to running fully down the centre of the main highway, a metre high. It was pretty crazy.”

Tautari said 65 homes had been affected.

“Nine whānau homes were lost or damaged where the water went through. We have three whānau who are in emergency accommodation, we’ve got another three who are living with their whānau off site, and the other ones are living in the drier parts of their homes.”

Much of the clean-up was focussed on removing a deep layer of silt.

“In some parts it’s quite deep. About mid-thigh height, deeper in some places. We’ve got workers on diggers clearing access ways, clearing silt from whānau homes, and then we’ve got another couple of work crews in the river, removing some of the debris and slash that’s come down.”

Tautari said the silt had been contaminated by flooded septic tanks and was causing health problems, especially now it was drying out and turning to dust.

“There’s obviously respiratory issues and coughing, and a couple of people have gone down with sicknesses … The smell is gross.”

She said everyone had been evacuated safely before water swept through their homes.

Tautari said locals were grateful for the “huge support and awhi” they had received.

Whirinaki’s usual evacuation centre at Moria Marae was cut off by floodwaters, so Kōkōhuia Marae in Ōmāpere opened its doors to the evacuees until it was safe to go home.

Marae were also continuing to feed workers involved in the clean-up.

Green MP Hūhana Lyndon spent days visiting storm-battered settlements on either side of the Hokianga Harbour, including Whirinaki.

“All the debris, all the trees, all sorts came down. The river broke its banks in five places. It flooded right through the middle of the valley and cut off roads, services and flooded out homes. There’s massive silt damage across many homes and some are completely uninhabitable.”

If that was not bad enough, Whirinaki had also been hit by fire.

One of the flooded homes burnt down on Sunday night in a blaze thought to have been caused by water getting into the wiring.

“So the haukāinga have now commissioned an electrician to do a full assessment of the water-logged homes, because you need to start repairing or finding alternatives for these whānau. And you can’t do that if the blinkin’ house burns down.”

The soaring price of fuel was putting more pressure on flood-affected residents.

“We’re trying to keep whānau at home so services get out to them, and they don’t have to go looking for kai and access to supermarkets and driving to Kaitāia when the roads are so bad.”

Lyndon said some residents were getting the “0800-number merry-go-round” as they tried to contact the many different government agencies they needed to deal with.

After the January flood in Ōakura, the Whangārei District Council ran a series of highly successful “drop-in clinics” where people could talk to all agencies and service providers in one place.

She urged the Far North District Council to do something similar.

Areas that recorded the highest rainfall included the isolated Wekaweka Valley, just north of Waipoua Forest.

Max Osborne said he had seen many storms since he moved to the valley since 1974, but none as damaging as last week’s deluge.

He said the force of the water piled up rocks three metres deep against a bridge, diverting the river and flooding homes further downstream.

After being cut off for days, Osborne and a neighbour walked around the buried bridge and a major slip, then hitchhiked to the nearest town for supplies.

Power and communications were out for days and the road reopened on Tuesday night, five days after the storm.

Osborne said he was fortunate because his home was undamaged.

Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board member Jessie McVeagh said she had been door-to-door with Civil Defence crews to check on residents in places like Wekaweka Valley.

Further downstream, in Waimamaku, the whole valley had filled up a like a lake.

Some people still lacked basic necessities, she said.

“There’s places now that still don’t have water and we’re calling in for drinking water and tankers now. And containers to collect it, because some people have lost everything.”

Ruth Tautari said the past week had been tough, but the storm had brought out the best in her community.

“Everyone’s been helping each other, and we’ve been really resilient, but you can see the toll and the trauma and the heartbreak in our whānau and it’s heartbreaking to see. The positive side of it, it’s really good to see the strength of the community working together.”

The Far North District Council said it was now clear the west of the district had suffered the worst effects of the storm.

Rapid Response Teams and the Defence Force had so far distributed food and water to nine towns and settlements, from Kaitāia in the north to Waimamaku in the south.

As of Wednesday, 377 homes had been assessed, and portable toilets, skips and septic tank assessments had been provided.

All 99 roads affected by flooding or slips had reopened, but 11 still had restrictions in place such as being reduced to one lane.

The council was due to decide on Thursday whether to extend the state of emergency in place across the district since the 26th of March.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Home and community support workers will receive a temporary 30 percent increase to their mileage rates to help offset rising fuel costs.

The 30 percent increase means mileage rates will go from 63.5 cents to 82.5 cents per kilometre.

The changes work out to be an extra $19.05 per 100 kilometres of travel.

Health Minister Simeon Brown made the announcement on Thursday.

“Home and community support workers play a critical role in delivering essential services to some of our most vulnerable New Zealanders, and we deeply value the meaningful work they carry out in communities across the country.

“Their role requires frequent daily travel to provide care in people’s homes, and we are acting quickly to ease the pressure of rising fuel costs caused by conflict in the Middle East while they carry out this vital work.” Brown said.

On Tuesday, the care workers’ unions said they are taking legal action against Health NZ, with carers in remote areas saying the price of petrol is so high they are losing money visiting their more remote clients.

The Public Service Association (PSA) and E Tū jointly filed an Employment Relations Authority claim against the health agency on the basis that it is illegal for employers to dictate how workers spend their money, yet the agency requires workers to pay for fuel and car maintenance.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A police employee misused a police vehicle by taking it to go camping with a friend, despite it being booked for a search and rescue exercise, the police watchdog has revealed.

The employee’s actions were revealed when emergency services were called to the van in a no camping, no fishing area after a gas cooker caught fire at the back of the van and caused an explosion.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) released a summary of a police investigation it oversaw on Thursday.

The allegation was that a Christchurch police employee used a police vehicle for “personal use, knowingly impacting a police search and rescue exercise”.

“The employee signed out an unmarked police van, overriding an earlier booking for a multi-agency search and rescue exercise. He then used the van to take a civilian friend on an overnight fishing and camping trip.

“This deprived the exercise attendees of their transportation and equipment, created logistical issues and forced police to make alternate arrangements at short notice.”

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

The IPCA said later that night emergency services were called to the van.

“In a no camping, no fishing area after a gas cooker caught fire at the back of the van and caused an explosion. No one was hurt and the van sustained no damage.”

“Police found there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the employee for conversion of the van.”

Police found the employee had been “dishonest” and that his actions amounted to serious misconduct.

He resigned before an employment process was concluded.

“The Authority is satisfied with the police investigation.”

Police have been approached for comment.

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