Source: Radio New Zealand

• Nurses sick of being used as “chess pieces” by Health NZ
• Partial strike exposing existing gaps
• Health NZ expects “a small number” of cancellations for planned care treatments and appointments
• It’s raised concerns with the union over high number of sick days during strike and failure to provide life-preserving services as agreed in some areas

Nurses across the country are refusing to work extra shifts or fill roster gaps, forcing hospital managers to cancel planned care and reduce ward beds in some places.

More than 37,500 members of the Nurses Organisation – including nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants and kaimahi hauora – are in the second week of a fortnight of “work-to-rule” strikes to highlight what they call unsafe staffing levels.

Health NZ says it has plans in place to ensure patient safety – but it has raised concerns with the union over the “unusually high number of sick days” in some areas and accuses some striking members of refusing to provide life-preserving services as agreed.

Whangārei Hospital delegate Rachel Thorn said by refusing to step in and do extra shifts – or back-fill for other departments – nurses were simply exposing the chronic gaps that already existed.

“Nurses are sick of being used as chess pieces by Health NZ, just slotted in wherever.

“It’s not acceptable to have specialist nurses taken away from their own patients to fill gaps in other departments.”

Thorn, a clinical nurse co-ordinator in the emergency department, said it was a relief in some ways to not be constantly sending messages and phoning staff on their days off to find cover.

“You really feel like you’re harassing the staff all the time to do more, it’s a horrible feeling.

“This has given people a bit of a breather and a re-set to give them permission to say ‘no’ and push the responsibility for patient safety back uphill to management, where it should be.”

However, while hospital managers had the option of cancelling some elective procedures and “closing” beds to fit the available staffing, ED had no control over who walks through the door, she said.

Thorn, a union delegate, said the ED was in Code Red for most of Tuesday, meaning it was over 135 percent capacity.

It was only at the end of the day that she had a chance to enter the data for patients treated over the day and work out exactly how many staff they were short.

“We were missing 12 whole nurses [over the day] and we only have 13 nurses on the morning shift altogether, so we were half staffed. It was absolutely nuts.”

Earlier this month, a coroner’s inquiry into the 2020 death of Taranaki man Len Collett found he died as a result of a preventable fall in the overloaded ED.

In his report, Coroner Ian Telford said that in May this year, the ED at Taranaki Base Hospital had 15 fewer full-time nurses than when Collett died, and warned Health NZ that under-resourcing meant there’s high risk of another catastrophic event happening there.

Thorn said after 14 months of contract negotiations – including 40 days of face-to-face bargaining – Health NZ continued to “deliberately use short-staffing to save money”.

“People are suffering and probably dying because of understaffing. I could name numerous instances of close calls.”

Public health system running on ‘good will’ – nurse

A poll of 1020 people commissioned by the Nurses’ Organisation found 83 percent of New Zealanders believed patient safety was at risk because there were not enough nurses.

Ninety-five percent agreed that addressing staff shortages in health was important.

Rotorua ED nurse Lyn Logan, another union delegate, said many nurses in the department had been doing 12-hour shifts this week because there was no-one to replace them.

“We have had patients waiting over 12 hours in ED waiting to be transferred to beds on the ward.”

They had been able to shift some patients to a “bridging” ward, she said.

“Otherwise all those patients would still be waiting in ED at this rate.”

The public health system had become reliant on the goodwill of nurses, healthcare assistants and other staff to be moved around the hospital to plug the gaps in other areas, Logan said.

“You don’t want to let your team down, and you don’t want to leave patients without care either.”

Nurses were still waiting for the National Executive to sign off on a new calculation for nurse staffing levels, which had been repeatedly delayed, she said.

“There was the ‘pause’ and then the ‘not pause’ but then the delay. So we haven’t had an increase in the FTE for 18 months, probably coming up two years.”

Health NZ responds

Health NZ national director people culture health and safety Robyn Shearer said staffing levels and “care capacity demand” calculations were part of the ongoing bargaining process with the union.

“To be clear there is no hiring freeze for frontline clinical roles and we are committed to strengthening our workforce and continue to actively recruit to vacancies.”

Plans were in place to ensure the continued delivery of hospital services during the partial strike, using staff not covered by the strike action where necessary, and life-preserving services (LPS) in line with the adjudicated decisions.

“Patient safety remains our priority throughout the strike.

“During the strike action we have additional procedures in place for the intensive monitoring of patient flow, acute demand, capability and capacity to ensure we have the right resources in the right place.

“This also ensures, as per normal business, that we meet acute needs before undertaking elective or deferrable procedures.”

She expected that the partial strike action would result in “only a small number of cancellations for planned care treatments and appointments”.

“We have raised some concerns with NZNO about some striking members refusing to undertake LPS [life preserving services] as adjudicated and also instances of an unusually high number of staff taking sick leave in some districts.”

Apart from the ongoing dispute with nurses, Health NZ is also in a deadlock with Association of Salaried Medical Specialists representing 6600 senior doctors and dentists, who have gone on strike twice this year.

It is waiting to hear whether the Employment Relations Authority will agree to its unprecedented request to over-ride the bargaining process and decide the terms of the settlement.

Physiotherapists and lab workers settled for 2 percent payrises on Wednesday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The founder of a CCTV register in Australia says a similar scheme in New Zealand may have allowed police to find a young woman much faster than the three months she was missing for.

The Safer Places Network was developed to help police identify and contact the owners of private and commercial security cameras across the country.

It allowed police to view a map of security cameras after a crime had occurred, and message owners to ask if anything was caught on their cameras.

Twenty-five-year-old Te Anihana Pomana was spotted on CCTV in Auckland’s central city three months before her body was found roughly 50km away in dense bush near Pukekohe.

She vanished, despite 30 cameras covering Victoria St West, according to Auckland Transport.

Safer Places Network founder and former Australian Federal Police detective David Bartlett said the register would have allowed police to collect CCTV faster.

“That’s a good example of where police can quickly and efficiently send out multiple requests to people in the vicinity and ask them to upload the last 30 minutes of their footage,” he said.

“They might think that there’s nothing of importance on their cameras but there might be a car or there might be a bike, or might be something that’s known to investigators that’s of value.”

Bartlett said about two to five hours were spent looking for CCTV per incident, which made up roughly 70 percent of investigations.

“When you bring that out into a time saving estimate, we bring something that would normally take about four hours down to taking about four minutes,” he said.

“You can see from that that police are already stretched with resources, they can take something out of their day that they no longer have to do.”

The register acts like a rolodex of CCTV cameras, and allowed remote access to businesses and commercial cameras.

Bartlett said he’s in early talks with New Zealand police to set up the register here.

“It’s early days, haven’t committed to anything yet, but they’ve been very, very open which is nice to hear.

“The infrastructure is ready to go, it’s ready to be used in New Zealand, we just need some backing from the police and obviously need the backing from the community.”

He said people in Australia had been surprisingly open to sign-up to the register.

“We don’t collect credentials or passwords, we do not have a direct link to people’s cameras, but we’ve got about 23,000 registered cameras now across the country.”

That was a mix of commercial and residential cameras, he said.

He wanted to reassure the public they had no intention of asking for remote access into personal home cameras.

“That’s not on our agenda at all,” Bartlett said.

Auckland Transport said it had over 1300 CCTV cameras in the Auckland Central area, and more than 5600 across the city.

However, while police’s Matt Tierney confirmed in a statement they had met with the Safer Places Network, he said there were no current plans to implement a CCTV register in New Zealand through the company.

“Technology is a critical part of modern policing, and we regularly look at potential or new products that may be able to support our work and enhance community safety.”

Bartlett hoped something could be set up in New Zealand early in 2026.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington’s mayor says it’s more likely the region’s councils will become a super-city following reforms announced by the government this week.

Andrew Little said the government’s reforms are another step towards Wellington, Greater Wellington, Porirua, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt councils merging into one.

“I think the intention of this particular part of the reform – the whole thing about regional councils – is about putting further pressure on councils to think about amalgamation. So yes, I think that will happen.”

While he said he doesn’t want to predict it definitively, a combined Wellington council was “more likely than not” to form as other services, like water, were shared.

“I think many of us would still say there needs to be a level of public support required before you go down that path, but I think we are heading that way.”

Under the government’s proposals, regional councillors are gone by mid-2027, replaced by city and district mayors who will take over their responsibilities for the environment, transport and emergency planning on Combined Territory Boards.

The boards must then develop a regional strategy for how they will work together in the long term, including potentially amalgamating some councils, or setting up agencies to take over transport.

These plans will require consultation with local communities, iwi, and other stakeholders.

Porirua mayor Anita Baker said she wants to see the five councils merge before the next council term in three years’ time.

“This is our chance to do it and do it once, and do the full amalgamation side of it, so that we’re not having to have all these separate boards.

“I think this is just the next step of being grown-ups and saying well actually, there’s four mayors in the region, adding in Greater Wellington, there has to be one person…I have no problem, losing my job for a better service and a better council.”

She said a separate authority should be set up for Wellington’s transport.

Porirua and Lower Hutt councils held referenda about whether residents wanted a discussion on amalgamation during the election, with a majority supporting the discussion in each city.

Lower Hutt’s mayor Ken Laban said there’s an appetite for change in the inter-connected region.

“Wainuomata is a case in point, Wainuomata is the biggest ward in Hutt city with close to 20,000 people, there is virtually no industry in Wainuomata – so everyone works in either Lower Hutt or Wellington.

“And of course the public service in Wellington, the 32,000 people that are on the trains every day that move between Masterton, Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt.”

He said there would need to be consultation with the public on any proposal for a Wellington super-city.

Upper Hutt’s mayor Peri Zee said she’s open to discussing amalgamation, but doesn’t want to see progress undone if a new government ditches the reforms.

She disagreed with Wellington, Porirua and Lower Hutt’s mayors, who all told RNZ amalgamation, at some point is an “inevitability”.

“I think there’s a concern in the community that we would lose our local voice, and I think that for Upper Hutt, that’s something that’s really important to us.”

Zee said a larger council size didn’t necessarily mean efficiency, and pointed to Auckland, where she said there were 147 elected members in total.

RMA (Resource Management Act) Reform Minister Chris Bishop said the point of this week’s proposals is to give the region a chance to sort out amalgamation plans for themselves.

He said legislation would be required for a Wellington super-city, which is still hypothetical.

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) vice-president and Gisborne district mayor Rehette Stoltz said discussions about amalgamation were for local communities, and LGNZ did not have a formal view on it.

Stoltz said it was still unclear what the RMA reforms could mean for councils and whether bigger entities were being envisioned by government.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Education officials should have done more over the disappearance of two children, who were later found murdered and hidden inside two suitcases at a storage facility, says a child protection advocate.

Yuna and Minu Jo, aged eight and six, were registered with a GP and attended a local primary school before they were murdered by their mother Hakyung Lee in 2018.

But it was four years before their bodies were found.

While their school made initial attempts to track them down, an advocate for children says the ministry could have done more and needs to improve its safeguards.

Lee was sentenced to life imprisonment for a minimum of 17 years by Justice Geoffery Venning in the High Court at Auckland on Wednesday.

She was found guilty in a trial by jury in September.

Lee had concealed the children’s bodies by placing them in suitcases and storing them in a storage unit, before leaving the country.

They were discovered after Lee’s storage payments lapsed and the unit was auctioned off online.

The students had attended Papatoetoe South School, and were remembered by teacher Mary Robertson, who gave evidence at Lee’s trial.

Robertson described Yuna as “beautifully behaved” and Minu as a “joyful bubbling boy”.

Papatoetoe South School principal Caroline Chawke told RNZ in a statement the school had tried to track down the children at the start of 2018, but was unsuccessful.

“When we received no response from contact numbers, home visits were made,” she said.

“After 20 days of unexplained absence, we followed the Ministry of Education’s established process. The MoE guarantees follow up, but they do not report the outcome of their enquiries to schools.”

Chawke said her thoughts were very much with those who knew and loved Yuna and Minu.

The last time Robertson saw Lee was when she came in to inform her of her husband Ian Jo’s death in late 2017.

Lee told Robertston she had plans to return to Korea after the trip to Australia, where they would all be supported by family.

She told the children’s teacher she was yet to make up her mind on whether they would come back to New Zealand at all.

Safeguarding Children chief executive Willow Duffy said what happened to the children was heartbreaking.

“When I read about the way that they died, without anybody realising, it’s really upsetting for everybody, not just myself. It’s dreadful to think about children in that situation,” she said.

Duffy said the Ministry of Education had the opportunity to establish a protocol or memorandum of understanding between itself, police, and Oranga Tamariki to ensure an investigation into whether missing children were safe was carried out.

“There’s a memorandum of understanding between Te Whatu Ora, the police, and Oranga Tamariki, there needs to be another memorandum of understanding between education, police and Oranga Tamariki,” she said.

“I just feel as though this is an opportunity to improve our system because it’s happened once that we know of, there will be similar situations happening again where children are missing and they may be taken overseas and exploited, we don’t know do we.”

More could have been done, Duffy said.

“I would like to think that there is more curiosity and investigation from the Ministry once that information goes to the Ministry, and there will be people, and there will be families, where the children are just safe, but when you’ve got a situation like this – more could have been done, and those children deserved that more should have been done.”

She wanted the Ministry of Education to consider reporting concerns about absent children to police, to make sure they were safe.

“It’s a safeguard, it’s just checking to make sure that the children are safe, and in all cases when a child has been harmed, or has died, or murdered in this situation, it’s a real opportunity to look at the processes and procedures, policies, and guidelines, and I would encourage the Ministry of Education to consider actually putting that in their processes.”

Ministry of Education operations and integration leader Sean Teddy said the ministry had cross-agency information-sharing agreements with the Ministry of Social Development and Immigration for situations where contact details are missing, and was working to establish an agreement with police.

“These arrangements help determine a child’s whereabouts, including whether they have left the country, and reflect a co-ordinated approach to ensuring children are accounted for and supported,” he said.

“Safeguarding children is a shared responsibility across government agencies, schools, communities, and parents. The Ministry of Education’s role is to make sure every child has access to education and to work closely with schools and other agencies to support student well-being and respond when concerns arise.”

RNZ asked the ministry if it had alerted the police to Minu and Yuna’s absence, but was told the answer needed to go through an Official Information Act request.

The Ministry of Health was also approached for comment, as the family were enrolled at a local practice in Papatoetoe.

The Ministry of Health also said GPs were required to try to contact patients prior to dis-enrolment. However, if they were unable to contact the patient or their caregiver (in the case of a child), the individual may be removed from the enrolment list.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said he had requested further information from Health New Zealand on current enrolment processes to ensure they were fit for purpose.

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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 proposal to expand mining operations on the Denniston Plateau pits the economy against ecology, leaving the Government facing a high-stakes decision.

A proposal to extend mining on the Denniston Plateau has triggered a flashpoint on the West Coast, with conservation groups taking on the company behind the plan.

More than 12,400 people have now signed a petition to protect the Denniston Plateau, stating that the conservation land should be reserved for native species, not for fast-tracked coal mines.

“Denniston hosts unique ecological associations which, if destroyed, cannot be recreated,” reads the Forest and Bird petition, which passed the “milestone” number of 10,000 last week.

“Denniston is rated by Department of Conservation scientists as one of the top 50 most ecologically valuable sites in Aotearoa. This public conservation land should be permanently protected for nature – not destroyed by a massive coal mining expansion.

“A proposed large-scale opencast coal mining expansion would dig up an area equivalent to 1700 rugby fields, completely destroying the ecosystems which are present.

“This project is a financially reckless gamble betting on a dying industry. There is a high risk of it becoming a worthless stranded asset while leaving New Zealand taxpayers to pay the multi-million dollar bill for the inevitable environmental cleanup.”

Mining company Bathurst Resources wants to expand operations, extracting more high-grade coal to export for steel production.

Supporters say it would secure hundreds of jobs and provide a crucial economic lifeline for the region, which has long relied on mining wages and royalties.

Bathurst currently employs 317 people, another 72 full-time contractors, and pays salaries and wages of $27.8 million.

The project has been approved for application under the Government’s fast-track legislation, meaning ministers could sign it off with fewer opportunities for public challenge.

But to date, Bathurst hasn’t applied.

The delay has surprised Newsroom’s political reporter Fox Meyer, who has covered the story for more than a year, and he tells The Detail, it’s changed his thoughts on whether the proposal process and consent will be a smooth transaction.

“If you had asked me that when the fast track became law, I would have guessed that it would have been a relatively quick approval for the project with some protest action on the side,” he says.

“What I have been surprised to see is that they haven’t even applied yet, this has taken longer, the protest action has been more dramatic than I thought it would be, and the decisions that the fast-track panels have been making have not been complete environmental overrides.

“They have worked within the confines of that Act, in a way that seems to be, to me, pretty reasonable, which is good, that’s a good thing to see.

“What I can tell you is it won’t be smooth sailing, there’s no way. How contentious this is already, is going to continue.”

Bathurst Resources wants to keep mining coal on the West Coast for another 25 years and is proposing to extend its mining operations via the continuation of existing consents and securing new mining areas.

Environmental organisations say the proposal threatens one of New Zealand’s most distinctive landscapes. The plateau is home to rare wetlands, unique plant species, and threatened birdlife, including great spotted kiwi and fernbirds.

And they argue that once these habitats are disturbed, they cannot be meaningfully restored and warn that the project is incompatible with New Zealand’s climate commitments because the coal would be burned overseas.

“The coal in this area is going to be a target for someone, always, no matter what,” says Meyer. “The legislation of the day may make it easier or harder to get to, but this issue will keep burning for as long as we are burning coal.”

Ministers are expected to decide in the coming months. For the West Coast, the outcome represents more than a single project – it could shape the region’s economic direction for decades and decide the fate of one of its most fragile and contested landscapes.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Court of Appeal has rejected Karel Sroubek’s latest attempt to overturn his deportation to the Czech Republic.

But the convicted drug smuggler can still bring a judicial review.

The former kickboxer has been battling against deportation for seven years, when former immigration minister Iain Lees-Galloway allowed him to stay, and then reversed his decision.

Sroubek was wanted by Czech police after he was convicted of assaults on police, and in connection with an alleged assault during a murder more than 20 years ago. He fled Prague shortly after.

He is still known by some people as Jan Antolik, the fellow kickboxer whose passport he used to fly to New Zealand in 2003, and to apply for residence four years later.

Subsequent offending included the continued passport fraud and drug offences in 2014.

Further revelations emerged about Sroubek’s past and Lees-Galloway was forced to change his controversial decision to grant him residence.

Following failed appeals, he was due to be deported by March 2023. But within days of the last tribunal decision – now almost three years ago – he filed an application for judicial review in the High Court at Auckland.

The Court of Appeal on Monday agreed he was ‘time-barred’ from judicial review of Lees-Galloway’s decision. A judicial review of a humanitarian appeal is still possible.

Timeline

• 1999: Attacks against police officers and taxi driver, for which he was convicted but did not serve his 54-month prison sentence
• 7 September 2003: Vladimir Domacka was killed (Sroubek was wanted by Czech police on suspicion of assault)
• 16 September 2003 and 29 November 2003: Arrives visa-free on Jan Antolik’s passport; granted three-month visitor’s permit at border, travels in and out as visitor
• April 2005: Applies for work permit and visa under the Work to Residence, Talent – Sports Category
• November 2007: Residence application under Residence from Work, Talent – Sports Category, under Antolik identity
• June 2008: Residence approved
• October 2009: Czech police contact NZ police to advise that Sroubek was living in NZ under the Antolik identity. Interpol notice advises he’s wanted in Czech Republic in connection to the 2003 murder
• November 2009: Arrested for offences against the Immigration Act 1987
• November 2011: Jury finds him guilty of immigration offences
• February 2012: Discharge without conviction on immigration charges after completing 200 hours community service
• April 2012: Immigration NZ (INZ) advised of pending charges
• 2012: Relationship begins with a New Zealand citizen
• May 2013: Case placed on hold awaiting outcome of pending charges
• 17 September 2014: Separate drug offending committed (importation of MDMA/ecstasy)
• 20 September 2014: Arrested. Earlier drugs charges did not result in conviction
• June 2016: Sentenced for importing ecstasy
• December 2017: Court of Appeal dismisses Sroubek’s appeal
• October 2017: The High Court approves settlement of asset seizure derived directly or indirectly from the proceeds of criminal activity. Sroubek paid $190,000 plus interest.
• 29 March 2018: INZ writes to Sroubek through his lawyer seeking to comment on deportation liability
• 19 September 2018: Decision made by minister to grant new resident visa with conditions imposed
• 28 November 2018: Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway announced Sroubek is liable for deportation when he is released from prison
• September 2020: Sroubek released on parole
• July 2021: Appeal at Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT) adjourned after he changed lawyer, then by Covid-19 lockdown
• April 2022: First appeal at the IPT
• December 2022: Decision on second appeal; IPT rules he should be deported by March.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Two New Zealand women have been charged with allegedly importing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine into Melbourne.

The women, both aged 22, were selected for a bag exam at Melbourne Airport after flying in from Malaysia, Australian Federal Police (AFP) said.

Australian Border Force (ABF) officers found a white crystalline substance in each of the women’s suitcases, totalling about 36kg. Initial testing returned a positive result for methamphetamine, so the illicit drugs were seized.

The matter was referred to police for investigation and the women were arrested at the airport.

They were each charged with a count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, and one count of possession. Both offences carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Police said the seized drugs had an estimated street value of more than AU$33 million (NZ$37.8m) and could have been distributed as 360,000 street deals if it had reached the community.

The women faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday and were remanded in custody to appear before court on 13 March, 2026.

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Jarrod Ragg said the AFP and its law enforcement partners worked together to combat attempts by criminal networks using air travel as part of the international drug-trafficking chain.

“Methamphetamine is linked to domestic violence, assaults on medical professionals, and violence on our streets. The AFP stands ready and able to respond to those who are willing to risk this social harm for a personal profit and greed.”

ABF Acting Superintendent Ian Beasant said officers would use any available means to prevent the movement of illicit substances across the border.

“Our ABF officers are seizing significant quantities of illicit drugs at and beyond the border, wresting profits from the hands of criminals and intercepting anyone that may pose a threat to the community,” he said.

“Organised crime groups share one motivating factor for their nefarious activities and that is accumulating profit.”

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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

Three people have been arrested in Christchurch after allegations of selling cannabis illegally while having a license to cultivate it for medical use.

Police have alleged the trio were working as part of an organised crime group in the area for about five years.

They believed the group were illegally disturbing cannabis in Canterbury under the guise of a medical cannabis license which allowed them cultivated cannabis legally.

One person was arrested during a search warrant on Wednesday and was taken into custody while two others were arrested during prior search warrants throughout this month.

Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Brad Grainger said the medicinal cannabis licensing system existed to support patients who required cannabis-based products for health reasons.

“The alleged actions of these individuals undermines the public trust in that system, and exploits a framework designed to help vulnerable people.”

A 26-year-old man appeared in Christchurch District Court on Wednesday, while a 35-year-old man was due in the same court on December 18.

Both faced charges related to selling cannabis and participation in an organised criminal group.

A 46-year-old man was due to appear in Christchurch District Court on December 2, charged with failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A man has died after being pulled from the water at a Mount Maunganui beach.

Emergency services were called to the beach at 6.10pm to reports that a man had been pulled from the sea unconscious.

Police said despite efforts to deliver CPR, the man died at the scene.

The death was expected to be referred to the Coroner.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A native freshwater fish thought to be lost from Auckland’s wetlands has resurfaced after more than a decade of searching.

Populations of the endangered Waikaka, or black mudfish, have been relocated in a small corner of Helensville in the last couple of months.

Auckland Council’s senior regional fresh water advisor, Matt Bloxham said the finds of the small eel-like critters in October were surprising.

“We’ve been looking since 2014, spreading the net as it were to other areas… mudfish have really specific requirements in terms of habitat so not every wetland is going to hold habitat useful to mudfish but finding them has proven harder than than we expected.

“It was this year that we found two new populations so it’s been quite an amazing year for us.”

He said the latest finds were located in a small body of water of only a few metres, the space likely created by roaming deer.

Bloxham said there’s a number of pressure points that have strained black mudfish numbers like introduced flora and pest fish, but the greatest threat is the loss of about 90 percent of our wetlands.

“Unfortunately you know, they are wholly reliant on on their habitat remaining good in order to make a living.

“Wetlands are slowly becoming modified by nutrients and sediment and the encroachment of the smothering vegetation.”

Black mudfish populations have been reduced to pockets in between Waikato and Northland, he said.

The precarious nature of their existence is such, that Bloxham said the small strip of water they were found just weeks ago had now mostly evaporated.

Auckland Zoo ectotherm keeper, Julie Underwood said the native fish would’ve since secreted themselves into the mud, lying dormant.

“They have abilities like surviving out of water so they don’t have scales they have leathery skin with a mucus layer and they can actually absorb oxygen through that as long as they’re damp.

“So when the wetland dries out they can hunker into the mud and kind of survive that dry period when all the other fish have to leave the area so it’s a good survival technique.”

Underwood had been part of Auckland Zoo’s breeding programme which started in 2015 after black mudfish (Neochanna diversus) were brought to them from mana whenua in Hikurangi, Northland.

The zoo had been working in collaboration with local iwi and a collective of hapū kaitiaki from the North Island, Ngā Kaitiaki o Ngā Wai Māori.

She said the work had been a success.

“So we’re 350 fish later and we’ve run out of room so we’ve actually stopped active breeding and now we’re just sort of gearing up and looking for places to release them back to the wild.

“The idea was to basically create tiny wetlands a really naturalistic habitat step back and try and let the fish do their thing and then we more step in with looking after the eggs and raising the fry so that’s the trickier bit.

“For us luckily if we put the fish in together we generally get eggs but it’s kind of following that through and raising those fry to adulthood that’s a little bit more technical.”

Underwood said it was a good example of what could be done for conservation without needing to spend a whole lot of money or use a lot of technical equipment.

Auckland Zoo ectotherm team leader, Don McFarlane said the next step was now the greatest challenge, finding these native fish a suitable home away from pests and human influence.

He said partners like Ngā Kaitiaki o Ngā Wai Māori had been learning how to care for the fish at Auckland Zoo, with the aim to re-release the zoo’s Waikaka back to where they came from.

“What we’re looking for is, first and foremost, is the hapu from Hikurangi, Ngā Kaitiaki o Ngā Wai Māori, choose that site and that it’s a site that is in their rohe and a site that they can protect and have guardianship over.

“Because the site needs to be protected, but not just a few months or a few years, but in perpetuity. That’s quite an ask.

“We are struggling with council and our hapū friends in Hikurangi to find a suitable place to put them.

“And that tells you everything about the state of the wetlands in New Zealand. We’re a little bit restricted further because we want them to go back from whence they came.”

McFarlane said New Zealand’s wetlands were diminishing despite their importance ecologically.

“Where on earth do we find a pristine wetland that we can protect, that has oversight long term to protect? It’s less than 10 percent of wetlands left. In that is the answer to our problem. We’ve got to protect what’s left, basically and that’s with government.”

“We may have to consider, like many other international conservation organisations are starting to look at, sites that are still protected that are actually not from where the animal originally came from, simply because you have no choice.”

“They can’t live in zoo situations or captive situations forever.”

He said one of the greatest tragedies in the story of New Zealand’s black mudfish, is the fact they were once one of our most abundant fish.

“They were a source of food for Māori once, so there’s a cultural heritage loss here as well, which is undervalued and underappreciated.”

“There’s deep cultural associations with this fish for many Māori, many Iwi, and it’s disappearing. How do you value these things? It is very difficult. Uniqueness is important, I think it’s fair to say, and it is fast disappearing.”

“The world is becoming a very bland place when diversity is lost, and the thing is they are the canary in the mine for the habitats in which they’re associated.”

The discoveries were fantastic, McFarlane said, but it was a reminder of the habitats they were reduced to existing in.

“We must do what we can to take action to save what’s left,” he said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

There will not be a risk of health data being misused as a result of a new AI navigation tool, says the mental health minister.

Telehealth provider Whakarongorau Aotearoa will develop the tool, which people would be able to access after they put in information about the issues they were facing.

It would help navigate users to health support in their area, and in some cases allow them to book directly.

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey told Checkpoint the project will be approved by Health New Zealand’s AI governance group to insure there was no misuse of information.

“Most messages are signed off and it’s important that you get access to those services, so there won’t be any risk of that going open source with AI.”

Doocey said the tool would be very effective.

“Quite often when I talk to people they’re not aware of the available services at either at their GP or Health New Zealand provided community services.

“So I think it is going to be a real game changer in providing faster and real time access to that support.”

He said people should only put information they feel comfortable putting into the page.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Marine researchers in Auckland have discovered what is making up the majority of microplastics in New Zealand’s ocean.

They found tiny pieces of vehicle tyres were polluting coastal waters and almost half of the rubber that shed on our roads ended up on the environment.

The tyres contributing most to the problem were found on both EVs and Utes.

Dr Samantha Ladewig, a marine microsplastics researcher at the University of Auckland, told Checkpoint, the size of the particles could get down to nano size and could not be seen with a microscope, while larger fragments could be as big as one to two millimetres.

Ladewig said there were very few stormwater treatment devices that were able to capture such tiny particles which would go directly from our roads through a stormwater pipe and into the coast.

“Over time you may realise your tyre tread reduces in size and that material goes onto the roadways and half of it ends up staying there and the other half goes into our environment.”

Ladewig said this amounted to about 5000 tonnes going into the environment every year.

She said the study looked at a few bays in Auckland including Coxs and Saint Marys Bay.

“We tried to sample areas that were right next to the road or by a motorway, and I can confirm we saw them [tyre particles], in every single spot in both the roadside sediment and the coastal sediment.”

The research lab was exploring what that would mean for marine life and found the particles were being picked up and eaten.

“Even our selective feeders are eating them too… these particles and the chemicals attached to them can change the way our ecosystems work and support us.”

Ladewig said there were a range of solutions to look at and noted it was an issue worldwide.

“Other places around the world are starting to think about this too… It’s thinking about the design of these tyres and looking at stormwater treatment devices that can filter out these fine materials.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Waikato police say a person has died after two trucks collided on State Highway 2 near Maramarua.

Emergency services were called to the crash shortly before midday.

Police say one other person was treated for minor injuries.

State Highway 2 remains closed between Monument Road and Heaven Road with diversions in place.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

More than $26,000 has been raised so far for the family of a Wānaka-based mountain guide who died on Aoraki Mt Cook.

Wānaka’s Thomas Vialletet and a United States client were in a party of four, roped together in pairs, climbing from Empress Hut to the summit when the two fell from the mountain’s west ridge on Monday night.

The other two climbers – a New Zealand guide and their client – were flown from the mountain early on Tuesday morning, while the bodies of Vialletet and his client were recovered at midday.

Vialletet, a married father-of-two, co-owned mountain and ski guide company Summit Explorers.

A family friend set up a Givealittle page for Vialletet’s family with $26,230 donated by 5.30pm Wednesday.

“Thomas was the core provider for his family and their financial security was dependent on the income generated by their small guiding business. His sudden loss means Danielle and the children face the immediate challenge of losing their main source of income, compounding their immense grief,” the page said.

“Through his guidance, kindness, and professionalism, Thomas profoundly touched the lives of countless clients, mentees, and friends. His expertise and passion for the mountains earned him deep respect across the entire guiding and climbing community. His absence will be hugely missed by all who knew him.”

Vialletet grew up in the French Alps where he had been climbing, skiing and exploring mountains for over two decades, according to the Summit Explorers website.

“His quest for mountain adventures brought him to New Zealand and he immediately fell in love with the wilderness of this country,” Vialletet’s biography said.

Vialletet was a climbing instructor before becoming a fully-certified International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations mountain and ski guide.

From 2009 and 2012, he was part of the French National Young Alpinism Team.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

More than half of adults have a low fear of crime, according to new data.

The annual Crime and Victims survey last year introduced a new set of questions about the public’s perceptions of crime and the justice system.

The 2024 results out on Wednesday showed 56 percent of adults had a low fear of crime, 23 percent have a moderate fear, and 22 percent high fear.

Those aged 30 to 64, Asian and Pacific, and those living in lower socioeconomic areas or in financial stress were more likely to have higher fear of crime.

The survey also found just under half of New Zealanders have “full trust” (14.4 percent) or “quite a lot” (34.8 percent) of trust in the justice system, while about a third (33.4 percent) had “some trust”; 12.6 percent “not much trust” and 4.8 percent “no trust”.

Māori were least likely to trust the legal system (36.1 percent) compared to the New Zealand average (49.2 percent), while Asians (62.5 percent) were most likely to report trust in the legal system.

A smaller proportion of adult Māori (33 percent) were likely to trust the fairness of the justice system even when they felt safe than non-Māori (52 percent).

The survey found feeling safe significantly improved confidence in fairness by 20 percentage points for non-Māori, whereas it improved confidence in fairness by a non-statistically significant 13 percentage points for Māori.

Māori adults were also less confident that the criminal justice system was fair regardless of whether they faced financial stress.

People who had been a victim of a crime were significantly less likely (44 percent) to have high trust in the legal system than the average, and highly victimised adults even more so (36 percent).

Services for victims (75.9 percent) and Police (72.8 percent) were the most highly trusted within the Crime and Justice System, the prison service (44.8 percent) and parole boards (42.3 percent) were the least trusted.

Māori (31 percent), Europeans (43 percent), bisexual (34 percent) and LGBTQ+ adults (34 percent) had significantly lower confidence in the fairness of the criminal justice system than the New Zealand average (47 percent), while Asian adults (64 percent) and those aged 65 and over (54 percent) had significantly higher confidence.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Across New Zealand there are 55,000 kilometres of paper roads, a term which may not be familar to many.

While these roads won’t appear on Google Maps and aren’t maintained in the same way as the rest of the roading network, they still carry the same right of public passage for anyone to use.

Dot Dalziell, a regional field adviser with Herenga a Nuku Aotearoa (the Outdoor Access Commission), told Afternoons, while these roads may look a little different they’re still there for the public to enjoy.

Dalziell wasn’t a fan of the name paper roads and said she preferred the term unformed legal road when referencing the tracks.

“It’s a bit more accurate than paper road. The reason we don’t like paper road as a term so much is it sounds like something you could write down on a piece of paper, screw up and throw in the bin.”

What is an unformed legal road?

Dalziell said when talking about an unformed legal road or paper road, what was meant was that while these roads counted legally as part of the roading network, these were not maintained by the roading authority in an area, usually the district council.

But, these roads did carry the same right of public passage as any other legal road.

Many of these roads were formed before colonisation, Dalziell said, as tracks and trails to connect up between people and places.

“For instance, there’s an ancient waka portage that goes from Waiuku all the way to the Waikato River and I’ve heard kaumātua talk about that as the original State Highway One. So these are connecting lines that have been around for a long time.”

In the 1800’s, future towns and roads were drawn, and while some of these towns were never built, some tracks were formed.

“Some of them have fallen into less use once cars became more prevalent,” Dalziell said, “other roads were created for combustion engines…”

Unformed legal roads were not on private property, Dalziell said, and were strips of public land which belonged to everyone.

How do I find them?

The best place to find paper roads was by using Herenga a Nuku Aotearoa’s mapping system, Dalziell said, which could be found on its website.

Dalziell said Herenga a Nuku Aotearoa also had an app called Pocket Maps which would allow people to download maps and take them into the wilderness to help navigate the unformed legal roads.

She said the roads could be found by looking for purple lines on the maps.

A lot of erasure of the roads had gone on over the years, Dalziell said.

“Partly what’s happened is because no one is actively looking after them the public may have forgotten that they exist.

“It only takes a generation or so for local knowledge to be forgotten.”

People needed to get around, Dalziell said, and these roads had existed for a very long time.

“They may not even look like a road you may drive on, but they’re still there for all of is. They’re a fantastic resource.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Three police staff investigated in relation to “misuse and inappropriate content” have been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Last week, police confirmed 20 police staff were being investigated, three of whom were facing criminal investigations. In total, six staff had been stood down.

On Wednesday, Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers told RNZ police continued to make inquiries in relation to 17 staff identified in a rapid review of police’s information security controls.

“Of the 20 initially identified, three cases were found to involve work-related searches and have been excluded from the inquiry.”

No charges have been laid in relation to the three criminal investigations.

RNZ understands one of the staffers being investigated is an award-winning detective based in the Auckland region.

The detective, and police, have been approached for comment.

It’s understood he has been stood down.

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

It follows an audit of staff internet usage sparked by the resignation of former deputy police commissioner Jevon McSkimming who recently pleaded guilty to possessing objectionable publications, including child sexual exploitation and bestiality over a four-year period.

Rogers told RNZ last week the staff that had been stood down were investigated for “serious matters” that ranged from potentially accessing objectionable material, or accessing inappropriate material while also subject to separate misconduct matters.

Some of the staff being investigated may have had legitimate purposes for accessing material, which police would verify through their inquiries.

“Criminal investigations are being conducted into three of the cases.”

Police were not able to disclose the ranks of those under investigation.

Rogers earlier confirmed to RNZ a police officer had been stood down from duty for “inappropriate content on a police device”.

“The officer is under employment investigation for serious misconduct, relating to inappropriate, but not objectionable, material on a police-issued device. The alleged misconduct was uncovered through following recent audits of staff internet usage.”

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers earlier told RNZ the misconduct being investigated was uncovered as a result of the new monitoring measures introduced following the rapid review of the settings for police devices, launched after McSkimming’s resignation.

“I sought that review because of my concern that such conduct was not being detected. This offers some reassurance that we now have the necessary tools to detect potentially inappropriate behaviour.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A man has serious injuries after an incident in West Auckland’s Henderson.

In a statement, police said officers were called to Edsel Street, in the main town centre, at 2.40pm on Tuesday afternoon.

The man was found with injuries and has been taken to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition.

Police are in the area making inquiries and trying to locate the offender involved who left the scene, police said.

“Our inquiries are still in the early stages as to what has taken place this afternoon.

“Anyone with information can contact police on 105 using the reference number P064587277.”

Hato Hone St John said they sent one ambulance, one rapid response vehicle and one operations manager to the scene.

“One patient was assessed at the scene and transported to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A Christchurch chef who sexually harassed four teenage workers has been fired, with his former boss saying he would’ve done so sooner had it not been for a “misunderstanding”.

Sumeer Thapa was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday to four months’ home detention after a jury found him guilty of seven counts of indecently assaulting four girls aged between 15 and 18 between 2021 and 2024.

Thapa was a chef at Lazeez Mediterranean Grill, where he continued to work since the employer first became aware of the investigation in December 2023.

RNZ contacted Lazeez Mediterranean Grill for comment after sentencing but the manager was unavailable.

On Wednesday, Lazeez Mediterranean Grill director Varun Kanda told RNZ Thapa was “no longer a part of the team” and his employment had been terminated, effective immediately.

“Our business has a strict zero-tolerance policy on harassment or bullying. When the issue was first (and only once) reported in December 2023, Thapa received a formal warning immediately.

“Shortly after this report the police were involved, and we co-operated fully with authorities throughout the investigation. At no point did we attempt to protect him.”

During sentencing, Judge Deidre Orchard was critical of the restaurant for continuing to employ Thapa, saying they needed a “wake-up call”. She also said the employer had provided a testimonial to the court.

Thapa was allowed to continue working at the restaurant while the case went through the court but Kanda said he warned him that he would lose his job if he was found guilty.

“He asked for the employment and since he was working here for long, he can follow the recipes and he knew the food so I gave him the employment. At that time I told him ‘if the case goes against you, I will no longer keep you in work’.”

Kanda said there was a “misunderstanding” about the conviction. He said he got a message from police about the convictions in September, but when he asked Thapa, he told him he could carry on with work until sentencing.

“He should of told me the right thing. If he had told me the right thing I would of fired him straight away,” Kanda said.

Kanda said his team received abuse on Tuesday.

“We deeply regret the incident and remain committed to the safety of our staff and customers. We are a small community-based business, and recent harassment calls following the article have caused concern.”

During sentencing, Judge Orchard said Thapa would make flirtatious and improper comments towards the teenagers, such as calling them “hot”, “sexy” and “baby”.

He told two of the girls he wanted to get drunk with them and would buy them alcohol, despite them being underage.

He asked one of the teens whether she would be his Māori wife, and another to send him “hot pics”. He also asked whether one of the girls had sex with her boyfriend.

Thapa would also touch the women on their back, thighs and buttocks when he would move past them.

While Judge Orchard noted the touching was brief, she said on one or two occasions his hands would linger.

She said Thapa was not a good candidate for rehabilitation because he did not accept that he had done anything wrong.

“He needs to come to terms with the fact that his behaviour does amount to sexual harassment – not just the touching, but obviously the way he speaks to young female employees at all is totally unacceptable.

“He needs to adjust his behaviour because if he doesn’t, he will end up taking the consequences.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Six weeks after a woman was killed in Pahīatua, police are continuing to search for her son who is wanted in connection with her death.

Karen Gilbert-Palmer, 74, was found dead at a home in Arthur Street on 15 October by a friend who had been unable to contact her.

A homicide investigation then began, and her son Jeremy Robertson was identified by police as a suspect.

Gilbert-Palmer’s car was found at the Blue and Green Lakes lookout in Rotorua the following morning. However, six weeks on, Robertson remains missing.

On Wednesday, Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Thompson told RNZ police believe Robertson is likely still in that area.

“We have been making a lot of enquiries to locate Jeremy, and we are planning further police activity in that area in the coming weeks.

“I want to thank the members of the public who came forward with information in the early days of the investigation, including the call that led us to the car within hours of it being parked up.”

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

Thompson said work to find Robertson had not stopped.

“Our focus remains on seeing justice served for Mrs Gilbert-Palmer, and finding Jeremy is key to that.”

Mother’s concerns

RNZ earlier revealed Robertson, who is believed to have had a history with mental health services, was planning to leave the home on the day she died and take a bus to Rotorua.

Gilbert-Palmer’s niece, Barbara Evans, earlier told RNZ her aunty, who she called Narnie, would regularly message her talking about her son and his mental health.

Evans, who was adopted at birth, reconnected with Gilbert-Palmer and her grandparents about 30 years ago.

Evans said it appeared Robertson’s behaviour was “escalating” in the weeks before Gilbert-Palmer’s death.

Evans shared a series of messages she exchanged with Gilbert-Palmer.

On 8 October, a week before she died, Gilbert-Palmer messaged Evans and said “I tell u wat, he was better when he was on the drugs and vape, more chilled out. More aggressive now. [sic]”

She said her son was “dead against drugs now”.

The following day, Gilbert-Palmer said her son “has been nice for one day, now back to wat [sic] he was”.

In another message she wrote Robertson “can be so nasty at times”.

Gilbert-Palmer said she wished her niece didn’t live so far away so she could go and spend a few days with her.

Later that evening she messaged that he had “settled down”.

Then, on 12 October, Gilbert-Palmer told Evans that her son was going to Rotorua by bus on 15 October.

“He decided on hus [sic] own, to much stuff going on down here, having a go at people verbally.”

Gibert-Palmer said she would “fill in” her niece once Robertson was gone. It was the last time Evans heard from her.

In September, Gilbert-Palmer told her niece he was back home living with her as there was “nowhere for him to go”.

He’d previously stayed in Feilding but was “rude” to people there and “out does his stay”, she said.

Evans said she was “absolutely devastated” when she heard her aunty was dead.

“I was going down on the Monday after he’d left. I was intending to go down and spend some time with her.”

She wanted to know what involvement mental health services had with Robertson.

Police say anyone who sees Robertson should not approach him. Call 111 immediately and advise police.

Non-urgent information can be passed to police via 105. Please quote file number 251015/6286.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

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