Source: Radio New Zealand

The government wants taxpayers to pay for a new liquefied natural gas import terminal, but is promising lower power prices will come as a result.

It is estimated the new terminal, expected to be ready next year at the earliest, will save New Zealanders around $265 million a year by reducing price spikes and lowering the risk premiums.

But a new levy will be charged to get it built.

The government is touting it as a solution to New Zealand’s energy woes.

“It will mean that Kiwis will not need to suffer through an endless series of winter bill shocks,” energy minister Simon Watts said on Monday.

‘Vital part of the overall puzzle’ – Energy Resources Aotearoa

The idea is that it will reduce the risk of shortages during a dry year.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be imported at large volumes, stored, and then ‘regasified’ to be sent out for use.

John Carnegie, chief executive of industry body Energy Resources Aotearoa, said the terminal would be a useful insurance policy for when the weather did not play ball.

“LNG will be useful as a vital part of the overall puzzle of New Zealand’s energy system security,” he said.

“LNG can be expected to take the heat out of the electricity market when renewable fuels like wind, water, and the sun don’t turn up when they’re needed. It will place downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices and reduce the risk premium in the out years.”

Last year’s Frontier Report – commissioned to review the performance of the electricity market – warned it should only be used as a last resort.

The report said using it just to meet dry year risk made no economic sense, as the large fixed costs would be spread over a relatively small amount of output.

But Carnegie said LNG provided a “virtuous circle” to support the development of more renewables, and pointed the finger at the previous government’s ban on offshore oil and gas exploration as a reason why power prices were spiking in dry years.

“More wind and solar and batteries are great, but also the conundrum is their growth exacerbates the problem of being too weather dependent. So we need a reliable fuel to fill the gaps which domestic gas previously filled. And so New Zealand’s energy system, I believe, will be at its most effective when renewable generation and firming fuels like LNG and domestic gas work in harmony.”

A separate study by gas company Clarus, along with the four gentailers, found it was feasible but would likely be costly, and only needed occasionally.

Following the announcement, Clarus’ chief executive Paul Goodeve said it would increase New Zealand’s energy resilience and increase the range of markets it could draw from.

“At the moment, the coal that we import is relatively restricted where it comes from. The global market in LNG is vast and diverse, and appears to be continuing as we speak.”

Goodeve was confident it could be financially sustainable, and the government’s involvement in the procurement system made sense.

“It appears as though they’ve got work done by financial advisors who pointed out the benefits to the overall New Zealand energy system, but particularly the electricity system, of having LNG in the mix.”

Details on the shortlist of six were being kept under wraps, but all were in Taranaki.

Port of Taranaki chief executive Simon Craddock said it was a great opportunity for the region, and while the port was not an LNG developer, it was keen to support it.

“The current terminal developments, as I understand it, are all focused on the Taranaki region, and the reason for that is largely proximity to the Maui gas pipeline. But the developers are international companies who may or may not partner with local interests.”

Craddock said there was nothing the port had seen that could have major adverse effects on its current trade.

“The port has a number of advantages… the proximity to the pipeline, we’re the only deep water port on the West Coast. So this is the sort of thing we do day to day, where our main customer to-date has been Methanex. We also have other petrochemical customers on the port, so it really is within our core business suite.”

ACT’s energy spokesperson Simon Court said it was a “sad but necessary bookend” to the oil and gas exploration ban.

“Labour promoted the view that gas is something to be ashamed of. It’s not. Gas is a practical, reliable option when hydro lakes are low. Gas keeps factories running, heaters humming, and lights buzzing. And the environmental case for gas is strong too, because when we can’t burn gas, we burn coal,” he said.

‘It’s cooked’ – Green Party

On Monday, Watts said discussions were commercially sensitive but it would cost “north of a billion dollars” to build.

To pay for those infrastructure costs, the government will charge users an electricity levy of $2 to $4 per megawatt hour.

But Watts was keen to point to the net benefit, with advice showing the facility was expected to cut future prices by at least $10 per megawatt hour.

“So straight away, we’re in the money in regards to benefits versus costs, and our expectation of having that certainty of supply takes away the price spikes that we saw, for example, in 2024.”

That has not convinced the Green Party.

Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the government was guaranteeing added costs to New Zealanders, while relying on “hopes, wishes, and prayers” for future savings.

“I think it’s absolutely bonkers for power bills, for the planet, for our country’s energy resilience. The only people who want this are the fossil fuel industry and seemingly the National Party. Whatever claim, whatever remaining claim the Nats have to being economic managers is now, frankly, up in flames,” she said.

“Honestly, it’s cooked. Christopher Luxon has once again chosen to throw New Zealanders’ money at fossil fuels, which is bad for power bills, energy security and the planet. This is Christopher Luxon’s New Zealand. Profits are flowing offshore, while New Zealanders are paying handsomely for it.”

‘Gas tax’ – Labour

Labour, meanwhile, is calling it a “gas tax”.

Leader Chris Hipkins said households were already struggling with the cost of living, and he did not believe it would reduce power prices.

“I think, if anything, they’re trying to make the argument that this will decrease the rate of increase in power prices. There are other ways to do that. A billion dollars would buy you a hell of a lot of solar panels and batteries, which would save households a significant amount of money.”

Hipkins dismissed questions over whether Labour would terminate any agreements, or put the costs onto the energy companies and take away the levy on households, as “hypothetical.”

The prime minister’s assertion it was a levy, and not a tax, was criticised by the Taxpayers’ Union.

“You don’t make electricity bills cheaper by taxing them. Dancing on the head of a pin over what is a tax and what is a levy is a Labour Party talking point. Luxon should spare us the spin and abandon this folly,” said spokesperson James Ross.

Climate change advocacy group 350 Aotearoa was previously one of twenty signatories that sent an open letter to Luxon and Watts, urging against the new terminal when it was first signalled in October.

Following the confirmation, co-director Alva Feldmeier said while she agreed with the government that New Zealanders were feeling the squeeze with their power bills, the terminal was not the solution.

“Essentially, what they’re doing now is putting a new tax on every New Zealander’s power bill to subsidise an expensive sunset industry,” she said.

Feldmeier said LNG-generated electricity was double the price of new renewable electricity, and the risk of importing and being reliant on international fossil fuels was that New Zealand could also import international price shocks.

“This is a political choice this government is making. They’d rather kowtow to the fossil fuel and the gas lobbies and keep us hooked on gas for longer, than explore how we’re going to get off it, and how we’re going to make some tough decisions in the next few months and years.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

John Campbell makes his return to RNZ, joining Ingrid Hipkiss as the new co-host of Morning Report on April 13.

RNZ’s Chief Audio Officer Pip Keane said the field of applicants for role on the flagship news programme was impressive but Campbell stood out .

“John’s experience as a journalist and host is exceptional, but equally important is his passion for pursuing the stories that matter and our audience values this strong journalism. He’s also a highly skilled interviewer, and that’s crucial for Morning Report.”

Keane says he will be a key part of RNZ’s dedicated audio plan, which aims to grow RNZ National’s audience.

“We know John can build an audience; he added 50,000 listeners to Checkpoint’s audience during his time on that programme.”

Campbell says he is thrilled to be returning to daily news.

“3 News, Campbell Live, Checkpoint and Breakfast were all daily shows. In total, I hosted or co-hosted them for over twenty years. I’ve missed the racing heart and the urgency and the way broadcast journalism can respond in an instant to the political cycle, and to breaking news.”

Campbell said he’s listened to Morning Report since it began.

“My parents woke up to it. My childhood mornings echoed to the sound of it. That makes this programme really special to me. My first understanding of journalism would have been from Morning Report. It gives voice to the less powerful and holds a mirror up to New Zealand life. To be able to do that, every weekday morning, with neither fear nor favour, is a such an exciting opportunity.”

His start date is to be confirmed.

He replaces Corin Dann who is stepping down from the role to become RNZ’s new Business Editor.

Dann will replace Gyles Beckford who is retiring as business editor and moving to a new part-time role as Economics Correspondent.

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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 rural health expert says increased access to pain relief and blood clotting medications will improve medical outcomes could be life-saving for patients in remote areas.

Pharmac on Monday announced new funding for emergency treatments in rural communities from 1 March.

The funding specifically provided an extended list of medications available to midwives assisting in home births in remote locations, and Primary Response in Medical Emergency (PRIME) services – specially trained GPs and nurses who are first responders for trauma and medical emergencies in rural areas where ambulance services are not readily available.

Rural Health Network clinical director Rebekah Doran told Morning Report having an extended list of medications will make a huge difference.

Those in remote locations had often needed to wait several hours for the right treatment, even for things like pain relief, Doran said.

The Rural Health Network was particularly pleased to see the quickly-administered pain relief methoxyflurane, colloquially called the “green whistle”, added to the list of funded medications for PRIME services, she said.

“It’s something you can inhale and acts as a really quick pain relief for moderate to severe pain, and certainly that will be great for those people involved with trauma or severe pain who are in a rural community and having to wait a while for an ambulance to come.”

Intravenous tranexamic acid – a blood clotting agent – would also be provided to rural midwives assisting in homebirths, which could be used to prevent severe bleeding, she said.

“When women have very heavy bleeding after giving birth it can make the difference [between life and death], so the earlier it’s given, the better outcome.”

Pharmac director strategy policy, and performance Michael Johnson said the increased funding was aimed at ensuring those in remote areas were given the same access to emergency healthcare as those in urban centres.

Pharmac would also fund ketamine for uncontrollable pain in people receiving palliative care in their communities, he said.

“Ketamine is currently funded for palliative care in hospitals, but not in the community.

“Ketamine will be available by prescription or pre-stocked in rest homes and hospices so that people can get it when they need it.”

List of drugs to be funded

PRIME services:

• Droperidol, glucose (5% 100 ml bag and 10% 500 ml bag)
• Ketamine, methoxyflurane
• Intravenous tranexamic acid
• Enoxaparin 100 mg

Home births:

• Intravenous tranexamic acid for postpartum haemorrhage

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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 KiwiRail contractor is “mortified” after eight welds which join the rails together tested faulty.

Auckland train services on both the Southern and Western lines have been restored after the faults were found between Waitematā and Newmarket.

The Parnell rail tunnel was closed overnight after deficient track repairs were carried out over Waitangi Weekend.

Auckland Transport said the fault has now been fixed and that all train services are running as normal.

“The track issues found overnight between Waitematā and Newmarket stations has been fixed.

“All trains will operate as normal from the start of services.”

Replacement buses are no longer required.

The Eastern line was also operating to Waitematā as normal.

KiwiRail chief metro officer David Gordon told Morning Report it became clear on Monday some of the welds that join the rails together had tested faulty.

The contractor had found six with faults – and with a further 18 to be tested – the decision was made to close the tunnel overnight, as the work would not be completed in time for the morning services.

But all were able to be tested overnight and with only a further two found faulty, the work could be done.

By “good fortune”, the tunnel could be opened on Tuesday.

But Gordon said eight faulty welds out of 28 was still a “very high proportion” and why it had happened would need to be investigated.

Gordon said the contractor involved was “mortified” and had done all it could to help to fix the issue.

It had also voluntarily said it would not do any further work until the issue was worked through.

Gordon said KiwiRail had used the contractor it would not name for many years and never had this issue before.

Gordon said there was no impact on safety as a result of this issue.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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It sounds like an impossible task – eradicating all stoats, rats and possums from more than 110,000 hectares of South Westland and keeping them out.

But that’s the aim for Predator Free South Westland, a collaborative project with these three pests in its crosshairs.

Its ambitious goal is now nearing completion, and it could provide a template on how to approach large pest removal projects in Aotearoa.

Backcountry beginnings

The project area stretches from the Tasman Sea to the crest of the Southern Alps and is bounded by the Whataroa and Waiau rivers. It covers shoreline, nature reserves, farmland, townships, and lots of rugged, remote backcountry.

But there’s only one way to eat an elephant, and the first ‘bite’ was the Perth Valley. It was here that the project began in 2018.

Tackling its target pests in this rugged backcountry terrain involved 1080 toxin aerial drops. Once that was done, mopping up stragglers and continuous monitoring for reinvasion became key.

It is remote and challenging terrain, further complicated by the West Coast weather, but it became like a second home for field rangers such as Chad Cottle.

“There’s a lot of ephemeral creeks that can come up out of nowhere if you’re not aware of them,” he says.

“So we got used to the ones that came up and weren’t crossable after some rain and ones that went down really quickly. So we know where our boundaries were if we were going out during a rain day we’d know we better not cross that one because we won’t be able to get back across it if it keeps raining.”

Those early days involved chew cards and trail cameras, with rangers then classifying camera images in the hut at the end the day, but along the way the project has embraced new technology.

Now a network of 1200 AI cameras are spread across the project area. These were developed by Zero Invasive Predators, one of the project partners, alongside the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Next Foundation.

The thermal-sensing cameras are trained to identify the three target species and alert the team by email when one is spotted. Pests are lured to the area using mayonnaise, dispensed automatically from a system that creates its own hydrogen gas to put periodic pressure on a plunger. In practical terms, these technological advances mean fewer trips to the backcountry, and therefore lower costs.

Once a pest is spotted, the team jumps into action. Decision-making on how to respond depends on what has been sighted, and where. A breeding population of rats in the backcountry would likely trigger an aerial drop. A possum could be hunted down by a species dog and dispatched with a rifle, or a live capture cage could be set for it. A stoat might be targeted with toxic rat bait.

But the backcountry is only one part of the project area. Around the small towns of Whataroa, Ōkārito and Franz Joseph the team is also working with private landowners, with a very different approach.

The end in sight

Following its early work in the Perth Valley the project area was divided into large distinct blocks of land to tackle one by one. Now it is down to the last section – around 10,000 hectares of farmland around Whataroa – which it aims to complete this year.

Here aerial toxin drops are not an option, so bait stations and trapping become key tools.

Pouri Rakete-Stones, the rural elimination team lead, has been working with farmers and landowners in the community, answering questions about what the project operating on their land would mean for them. And though many of the conversations often start with scepticism, Pouri says in general people are on board with what it’s trying to achieve.

“Most people can’t believe, they don’t believe that we can do it. First thing they say, you’re never going to get rid of rats. You know, there’s too many rats. You might be able to do it with possums, you’re never going to do it with stoats,” Pouri says.

“So trying to have that conversation about what tools we use, what techniques we do, how we go about work.

“We are elimination, we’re not suppression. So we are looking at targeting the last one. Having that conversation, telling those stories, getting them comfortable around what we can do. And then once we get on the ground and start doing the work, they can see the results pretty quickly.”

Maintenance

The project area was carefully chosen for several reasons. A high proportion of conservation land, a region home to several threatened native species, and geographical features that would help the mission.

While pests like possums have at times been spotted at surprising altitudes, the peaks of the Southern Alps seem to be forming an effective barrier against reinvasion.

The Whataroa and Waiau rivers also allow some protection, but roads and bridges across these are weaker points. Pest-proof gates have been installed on the swing bridges in the back country, but low river flow, or perhaps rat stowaways in vehicles mean that reinvasions continue to occur.

The area is thought of as having a ‘core’ that is free of targeted pests, with a buffer zone around it, into which rats, stoats and possums will stray.

Rapid AI camera recognition and response are how it deals with such incursions, but in addition, having identified the rivers as the weak point, the team is now running targeted operations on the other side of the rivers, to limit pest numbers there.

The goal now is to make this maintenance phase as affordable as possible. Nate St Hill, operation coordinator for Predator Free South Westland, says it is close to $30 a hectare, so an annual bill of $3 million (it has cost $50m to do the eradication). The agreement is that the maintenance will be supported by DOC through the Tomorrow Accord. It will continue to work to get that cost down, says Nate, by further embracing technology, thereby reducing labour time, and helicopter costs.

Seeing changes

While rats, stoats and possums are not the only introduced pest mammals in the project area, getting rid of those targeted three is leading to positive changes. Those working on the project for several years, as well as local eco-tourism operators, are reporting increases in both bird and plant life.

More kākāriki and kea have been sighted in the back country, there are reports of large flocks of kererū, and the only natural population of rowi, New Zealand’s rarest kiwi, are now starting to move beyond the Ōkārito Kiwi Sanctuary.

Dion Arnold is managing director of White Heron Sanctuary Tours, which operates in Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, near Whataroa.

The reserve is home to country’s only white heron kōtuku breeding ground, and Dion has been working here for almost three decades.

In recent years, Dion says, native species have been flourishing in the absence of pests.

“Just seeing those regenerating plants on the forest floor, areas that would have looked like a lawnmower had been through the forest in the past, in the last few years has come back with growth all across it,” he says.

“And the same with the bird life all around us. We’re hearing tūī and bellbird, grey warblers, the fantails and tomtits are around. And to see the number of those birds about having flocks of 30 or 40 of them in the trees above us is just incredible.”

The family-run business has been trapping in the area for a long time, but he says the intensive work to get rid of pests in the surrounding region means its traps are mostly for education now.

“Now we can go months and not have a catch in any of our traps out around here. It’s fantastic.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

More university students are getting into financial trouble because they are being bombarded by sports betting companies, the Problem Gambling Foundation says.

Stories were emerging of flats of students gambling rent money and student allowances on sporting fixtures.

PGF Services, also known as the Problem Gambling Foundation, was launching a campaign and claimed gambling was becoming increasingly embedded in sport, with young men being increasingly targeted and exposed to betting promotions.

Health promoters from the foundation would be visiting university campuses around the country during O-week.

Director of Advocacy and Public Health Andree Froude told First Up young people were being lured in before they began their tertiary studies.

“We’ve even heard of school students on a bus in uniform talking about the bets they were going to place on sports teams. We’ve heard stories of them openly gambling on their laptops when they’re walking between classes at university,” she said.

“It seems almost like a rite of passage that when they turn 18 they put the Betcha app on their phones.”

There had been examples of students watching games during classes to see if students had been successful with their bets, Froude said.

“Gambling in flats, one person might place the bet but others might be watching and egging them on. There’s a peer pressure element there,” she said.

“Losing rent money, gambling away student allowances. Unfortunately, we’ve heard it all.”

Parents, who were often unaware of the seriousness of the problem, were urged to have conversations with their adult children before they left for university.

“It’s really easy for them to get hooked into it. Once they do become addicted, it can become problematic really quickly,” she said.

Froude said tougher restrictions needed to be introduced on largely unregulated gambling advertising.

“[Students] are being bombarded with ads.

“We would like to see gambling advertising banned but there certainly needs to be much tougher restrictions,” she said.

“They’re being offered inducements to open accounts. There’s ‘live play betting’ which is really harmful as well. There’s things that can be done to protect students and it needs to happen.”

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour told First Up whilst he had some sympathy for his former employer PGF Services, “personal responsibility” also needed to be underlined.

“We’re talking about university students who are receiving a huge amount of taxpayer money, on the basis that they’re smart and have a future that we should invest in as taxpayers,” he said.

“Casting them as victims incapable of making better choices doesn’t help either.”

Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden was due to introduce gambling legislation to the house this week, Seymour said.

The law would seek to block overseas websites and license a restricted number of online gambling sites, including regulations on advertising.

“[Students] can make choices too. They should know about gambling and that the house always wins. If it didn’t the house would no longer be in business and they wouldn’t be gambling with them.”

Seymour said that although addiction should not be taken lightly, it was not impossible to overcome.

“It almost sounded as though [university students] are completely hapless victims. That’s not how I see New Zealanders.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

It sounds like an impossible task – eradicating all stoats, rats and possums from more than 110,000 hectares of South Westland and keeping them out.

But that’s the aim for Predator Free South Westland, a collaborative project with these three pests in its crosshairs.

Its ambitious goal is now nearing completion, and it could provide a template on how to approach large pest removal projects in Aotearoa.

Backcountry beginnings

The project area stretches from the Tasman Sea to the crest of the Southern Alps and is bounded by the Whataroa and Waiau rivers. It covers shoreline, nature reserves, farmland, townships, and lots of rugged, remote backcountry.

But there’s only one way to eat an elephant, and the first ‘bite’ was the Perth Valley. It was here that the project began in 2018.

Tackling its target pests in this rugged backcountry terrain involved 1080 toxin aerial drops. Once that was done, mopping up stragglers and continuous monitoring for reinvasion became key.

It is remote and challenging terrain, further complicated by the West Coast weather, but it became like a second home for field rangers such as Chad Cottle.

“There’s a lot of ephemeral creeks that can come up out of nowhere if you’re not aware of them,” he says.

“So we got used to the ones that came up and weren’t crossable after some rain and ones that went down really quickly. So we know where our boundaries were if we were going out during a rain day we’d know we better not cross that one because we won’t be able to get back across it if it keeps raining.”

Those early days involved chew cards and trail cameras, with rangers then classifying camera images in the hut at the end the day, but along the way the project has embraced new technology.

Now a network of 1200 AI cameras are spread across the project area. These were developed by Zero Invasive Predators, one of the project partners, alongside the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Next Foundation.

The thermal-sensing cameras are trained to identify the three target species and alert the team by email when one is spotted. Pests are lured to the area using mayonnaise, dispensed automatically from a system that creates its own hydrogen gas to put periodic pressure on a plunger. In practical terms, these technological advances mean fewer trips to the backcountry, and therefore lower costs.

Once a pest is spotted, the team jumps into action. Decision-making on how to respond depends on what has been sighted, and where. A breeding population of rats in the backcountry would likely trigger an aerial drop. A possum could be hunted down by a species dog and dispatched with a rifle, or a live capture cage could be set for it. A stoat might be targeted with toxic rat bait.

But the backcountry is only one part of the project area. Around the small towns of Whataroa, Ōkārito and Franz Joseph the team is also working with private landowners, with a very different approach.

The end in sight

Following its early work in the Perth Valley the project area was divided into large distinct blocks of land to tackle one by one. Now it is down to the last section – around 10,000 hectares of farmland around Whataroa – which it aims to complete this year.

Here aerial toxin drops are not an option, so bait stations and trapping become key tools.

Pouri Rakete-Stones, the rural elimination team lead, has been working with farmers and landowners in the community, answering questions about what the project operating on their land would mean for them. And though many of the conversations often start with scepticism, Pouri says in general people are on board with what it’s trying to achieve.

“Most people can’t believe, they don’t believe that we can do it. First thing they say, you’re never going to get rid of rats. You know, there’s too many rats. You might be able to do it with possums, you’re never going to do it with stoats,” Pouri says.

“So trying to have that conversation about what tools we use, what techniques we do, how we go about work.

“We are elimination, we’re not suppression. So we are looking at targeting the last one. Having that conversation, telling those stories, getting them comfortable around what we can do. And then once we get on the ground and start doing the work, they can see the results pretty quickly.”

Maintenance

The project area was carefully chosen for several reasons. A high proportion of conservation land, a region home to several threatened native species, and geographical features that would help the mission.

While pests like possums have at times been spotted at surprising altitudes, the peaks of the Southern Alps seem to be forming an effective barrier against reinvasion.

The Whataroa and Waiau rivers also allow some protection, but roads and bridges across these are weaker points. Pest-proof gates have been installed on the swing bridges in the back country, but low river flow, or perhaps rat stowaways in vehicles mean that reinvasions continue to occur.

The area is thought of as having a ‘core’ that is free of targeted pests, with a buffer zone around it, into which rats, stoats and possums will stray.

Rapid AI camera recognition and response are how it deals with such incursions, but in addition, having identified the rivers as the weak point, the team is now running targeted operations on the other side of the rivers, to limit pest numbers there.

The goal now is to make this maintenance phase as affordable as possible. Nate St Hill, operation coordinator for Predator Free South Westland, says it is close to $30 a hectare, so an annual bill of $3 million (it has cost $50m to do the eradication). The agreement is that the maintenance will be supported by DOC through the Tomorrow Accord. It will continue to work to get that cost down, says Nate, by further embracing technology, thereby reducing labour time, and helicopter costs.

Seeing changes

While rats, stoats and possums are not the only introduced pest mammals in the project area, getting rid of those targeted three is leading to positive changes. Those working on the project for several years, as well as local eco-tourism operators, are reporting increases in both bird and plant life.

More kākāriki and kea have been sighted in the back country, there are reports of large flocks of kererū, and the only natural population of rowi, New Zealand’s rarest kiwi, are now starting to move beyond the Ōkārito Kiwi Sanctuary.

Dion Arnold is managing director of White Heron Sanctuary Tours, which operates in Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, near Whataroa.

The reserve is home to country’s only white heron kōtuku breeding ground, and Dion has been working here for almost three decades.

In recent years, Dion says, native species have been flourishing in the absence of pests.

“Just seeing those regenerating plants on the forest floor, areas that would have looked like a lawnmower had been through the forest in the past, in the last few years has come back with growth all across it,” he says.

“And the same with the bird life all around us. We’re hearing tūī and bellbird, grey warblers, the fantails and tomtits are around. And to see the number of those birds about having flocks of 30 or 40 of them in the trees above us is just incredible.”

The family-run business has been trapping in the area for a long time, but he says the intensive work to get rid of pests in the surrounding region means its traps are mostly for education now.

“Now we can go months and not have a catch in any of our traps out around here. It’s fantastic.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington’s mayor can’t say if ratepayers in the broader Wellington region will foot the bill for the failure of the Moa Point wastewater plant.

It could be months before the plant returns to full operation after nearly 80 percent of its equipment was damaged by a backflow of sewage.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little met with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Local Government and Energy Minister Simon Watts on Monday night. Little said they both agree an independent inquiry into the failure of the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant was needed as soon as possible.

Little told Morning Report that he agreed any review needed to be independent.

Wellington Water manages the region’s water infrastructure on behalf of Wellington, Hutt Valley, Porirua and South Wairarapa district councils.

Tiaki Wai Metro Water, the new water services entity for the Wellington metropolitan area, is set to take over from Wellington Water on 1 July 2026. Little said the new entity won’t pick up liability if Wellington Water is found culpable.

Little said the Moa Point plant is a Wellington City Council asset. He said it will deal with who pays once the plan to get the plant back online is in place.

In the meantime, the council would foot the bill.

“If there’s been a breach of obligations, a breach of duties, then that, to me, has to be sorted out between the parties. In the meantime, the critical thing is to get the [plant] recovered, fixed and back operating. The Wellington City Council will no doubt underwrite that cost,” Little said.

“We want to know what went wrong, where the responsibility lies and if we can recover any costs, then obviously we want to do that.”

Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty told Morning Report on Monday there’s been under-investment over a long period at the Moa Point plant and backs an investigation.

Dougherty said there have been a couple of incidents over the last few months that he suspects may have been early indicators. He also backs an independent investigation into the failure.

“I worry that there may have been some early warning signs that there were troubles with the discharge and we missed those. But everything needs to be on the table,” he said.

Little said he wasn’t aware that early signs may have been missed, adding that was “concerning” to hear.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland train services on both the Southern and Western lines are being restored after a fault was found between Waitematā and Newmarket.

The Parnell rail tunnel was closed overnight after deficient track repairs were carried out over Waitangi Weekend.

Auckland Transport said the fault has now been fixed and that all train services are running as normal.

“The track issues found overnight between Waitematā and newmarket staions has been fixed.

“All trains will operate as normal from the start of services.”

Replacement buses are no longer required.

The Eastern line was also operating to Waitematā as normal.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Olympics feature Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling and Japan is famous for sumo – but in South Taranaki it is schwingen that rules supreme.

Dozens of competitors clad in special canvas hosen have been grappling for New Zealand’s default national title at the Taranaki Swiss Picnic in Kaponga.

Schwingen – derived from the German to swing – is a national sport in Switzerland also known colloquially as hosenlupf or breeches lifting which perhaps better describes the action.

Thomas Werder was in charge of the sawdust ring.

“The idea is you put on these kind of lack old sack shorts, you hold on [to your opponent’s shorts] with your two hands and one wrestler has to have one hand on at all times or else you restart the match.

“If you go off the sawdust you restart the match and if two shoulders [of your opponent] hit the sawdust the match is over instantly.”

Schwingen was a professional sport in Switzerland, but here it was for allcomers.

“I grew up as a five year old competing in it and I really enjoy it. I think even for the little kids it helps build confidence and getting out there.

“In Switzerland it’s very serious, but here we try and make it as much fun as possible. Some people here don’t even have Swiss line in their family but they have a Swiss connection somewhere and that’s what is really cool, everyone is welcome.”

Taranaki Swiss Club president Othmar Hebler said it was a special occasion for the community.

“Today is the annual Swiss Picnic which has been held since 1953 and there’s probably around 400 people here today and we have Swiss music, Swiss wrestling and we’ve got Alphorn and we’ve also got shot put and bottle-fishing and pony rides for the kids.”

Hebler said the first Swiss arrived in Taranaki in the mid-1800s before a later surge.

“Back in the 1930s and 40s a lot of farmers from Switzerland – because they had small farms – they came to New Zealand and they settled around here in Taranaki and mainly around the southern side of the mountain and that’s why there’s the big community here. So we’ve got second, third and fourth generations of Swiss now in our club.”

The picnic – as the name suggests – was not all about music and sports.

Leo Danz was in charge of the high-end sausage sizzle.

“That’s wiener and it’s just got a bit more taste than a Kiwi sausages have. I don’t really know the recipe of the things but that’s veal mainly and veal and pork. No bread in it. They’re quite spicy, salty and this is cervelas [the national sausage of Switzerland] and bratwurst they call it. One is completely beef and the other veal and pork too.”

Pauline was suitably impressed.

“My dad and my uncle Don used to make them years ago when we were kids, but these are the best they’ve had here for the last couple of years. More spicy and yummy. They’re very good on a BBQ actually better on a BBQ. Normally you just heat them up in hot water. You don’t actually boil them, but they’re actually better on the BBQ.”

It would not be a Swiss get-together without a bit of alphorn.

Taranaki Alphorn Group member Alan Beck said it took him three months to get the first note out of his instrument.

“Since then the attraction has grown like gravy pouring off meat. As people have a go and find that it’s not that hard they then get captured by the ability to make beautiful music harmonies and when you hit it you know and if you know you know.”

For the record, up and coming rugby talent Shay Smith-Luond could now lay claim to being New Zealand’s schwingen champion.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A Northland couple denied Earthquake Commission (EQC) cover for their landslip-damaged home finally got a payout after bringing in their own expert three years later.

Even so, they came close to losing out entirely when engineers hired by EQC, now called the Natural Hazards Commission, backed its original call that it was not landslide damage.

But those engineers had not visited the site and after being told to do a visit by the commission changed their decison.

A newly released ruling from the Chartered Professional Engineers Council unpacked what went on and the lessons for engineers and home owners.

It was not a trival matter, said the ruling – the situation “had the potential to create an outcome in which insured homeowners were deprived of their entitlement to damage repair”.

“The respondent ought to have either undertaken a site visit or ensured that the report was caveated, identifying its limitations on that basis.”

It took three years for the home owners to reverse EQC’s original decision, and get some cover.

Their expert, Whangārei geotechnical engineer David Buxton, spent another couple of years over his official complaint against the engineer who oversaw the report that backed EQC’s original decision.

“Imagine your house is badly damaged and EQC says it is not landslide damage without the engineer coming to look at it,” he told RNZ. The stakes were too high to not be more careful, he said.

The complaint has now been finally dismissed for a second time on the grounds the engineer had retired, the industry could learn from the case and “the alleged misconduct is insufficiently grave to warrant further investigation”.

‘Widespread cracking of gib’

Home owners have cover for the first $300,000 of landslide damage from the commission.

In Northland, the unidentified couple noticed cracks and movement around their home near Whangārei in 2018.

They lodged a claim a year later but EQC knocked it back within a week, saying it was not damage from natural hazards.

Initially they accepted this, and got some drainage work done.

But more damage occurred, and in 2022 Buxton visited and concluded it was landslide damage.

EQC reopened the case, and its own senior assessment specialist took photos and records of the damage.

“Main part of house is causing widespread cracking of gib and ceiling from centre of house to the east end of house,” the specialist recorded.

“Driveway has pulled away from the curb … outside decking is buckling up.

“Ongoing slippage will require extensive home site land stabilization [sic] and extensive repairs/replacement of pilings.”

EQC called in private consultant engineers WSP; it had two or three firms at the time it relied on to do a lot of assessments.

At WSP, an unnamed senior engineer took charge. He handled all “specialist service requests” from EQC at the time, and in the Northland case, reviewed the work of a more junior geotechnical engineer.

He was sent the specialist’s photos.

However, while his workplan allowed for a site visit, no visit was made, the November ruling said.

In June 2022, he signed off on a two-and-a-half-page draft report that rejected landslide as the cause.

“The homeowners were living in a stressful situation,” the ruling noted and “had been presented a report that could have greatly undermined their confidence in the engineering profession”.

A spokesperson for WSP told RNZ it acknowledged the ruling, that it regularly reviewed its technical and quality assurance practices, and had further strengthened its processes since this period.

“The complaint regarding the engineer involved was dismissed, and there has been no finding of professional misconduct by WSP or its staff,” it said in a statement on Monday.

“The case does, however, underline the importance of robust assessment processes where natural hazard damage is complex or disputed.”

The Natural Hazards Commission, formerly EQC, on Monday defended its processes as robust and fair, while providing for accurate and fast decisions on claims.

“If the evidence clearly suggests a landslide, an onsite assessment would generally be required,” it said.

“However, in this case the cause of the land damage was not initially clear, including whether it resulted from a sudden landslide event, which may be covered under the EQC Act, or from a slow moving land movement, which is not covered.”

‘The damage to the property is landslip damage’

The Chartered Professional Engineers Council’s ruling in November said it appeared the supervising engineer was of the opinion that long-term subsidence exacerbated by a high groundwater table was to blame.

“There is evidence to suggest that this was not a sound conclusion to have been reached, or at least reached unequivocally, given the documentation available,” it said.

Buxton challenged the engineer’s draft report immediately in mid-2022.

“They can decline all insurance cover. So that means this is when they should be the most careful to take a look at it,” he told RNZ this week.

EQC told WSP to do a further report.

“EQC instructed WSP to undertake a site visit,” the ruling issued in November 2025 said.

The new report issued in September 2022 was 10 pages long, had additional sections on property damage following the site visit and did not get the geology of the site wrong as the June 2022 report had.

It also reversed the finding: “Concludes that the damage to the property is landslip damage as defined by the EQC Act.”

What the home owners had contended back in 2019 had been upheld, and the site visit was key.

A comparison of the June and September 2022 reports “is demonstrative of the difference that undertaking a site visit made to both the quality of the assessment and the conclusion reached”, the ruling said.

‘Careful and competent manner’

But Buxton was not finished.

He had “concerns about the flaws in the WSP June 2022 report. In particular, the use of the term ‘subsidence’ and failure to undertake a site visit”, the ruling said.

“Visiting a site provides an understanding that is not readily possible from written reports and photos,” Buxton told adjudicators.

He laid an official complaint in 2023 with Engineeering New Zealand (ENZ), questioning what went on and the reasons for it and seeking to confirm the supervision at WSP was adequate.

ENZ’s investigating committee dismissed his complaint, saying the case was about a “difference of engineering opinion”, among other reasons. It resisted Buxton bringing up technical evidence.

The committee chair considered the WSP overseeing engineer “acted in a careful and competent manner; and that he carried out the work required” and EQC accepted his report.

Buxton appealed that dismissal to the Chartered Professional Engineers Council.

Its ruling in November 2025 said, “The appeal panel is not in the position of determining whether the opinion formed and the report content was the standard expected but considers there is sufficient substance to the allegation it fell short through either negligence or incompetence.”

However, it was far from conclusive.

“Stepping back, the Appeal Panel sees this as a matter in which an otherwise experienced CPEng [chartered professional engineer] appears to not have adequately supervised and reviewed another engineer’s work,” said the ruling.

“There is evidence to suggest that his actions or inactions were below the standard expected and, without intervention of EQC and the appellant, [Buxton] could potentially have had significant consequences for the homeowner.

“However, there also appears to be the possibility of explanations being available that mean his conduct would not be seen as conduct worthy of sanction.”

‘Fair, accurate natural hazard assessments’

WSP’s spokesperson told RNZ the firm was “committed to high professional standards and fair, accurate natural hazard assessments”.

“Since the period relevant to this case, internal guidance and peer review have been further strengthened to support assessments that are appropriate to the circumstances and agreed scope of work, and to ensure professional judgement is clearly documented.

“Site visits are an important assessment tool, but whether they are required depends on the specific circumstances of each claim, the information available, and the scope agreed with the client. There is no single approach that applies in every situation, and professional judgement is used to determine the most appropriate methodology.”

The Natural Hazards Commission’s (NHC) chief recovery officer Kate Tod said in the Northland case, it had no privacy waiver so she could not speak in detail, but that the initial decision in 2019 rejecting the claim was based on the information provided at the time.

“When the homeowner provided new information, we sent a qualified engineer onsite to carry out an assessment,” she said in a statement.

All claims were assessed with “significant input” from experts either based on information from home owners, or “if it was complex” the agency might send an engineer onsite.

Asked if it had looked back at any other assessments following this case, Tod said the NHC had a “comprehensive claims quality assurance programme that monitors and reviews technical assessment quality”.

“Based on this, we have not identified wider issues in past assessments,” she said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Transport authorities are warning of delays for Auckland rail commuters on Tuesday morning, after KiwiRail discovered faulty track work carried out by contractors.

Auckland’s Western and Southern line trains are running at a reduced schedule, with no trains between Waitematā and Newmarket.

Chief metro officer David Gordon said the faulty work carried out by contractors over the Waitangi Weekend network closure meant the Parnell rail tunnel has had to be closed.

The track was assessed overnight and repairs would be made as quickly as possible, Gordon said.

“KiwiRail is investigating how this faulty work happened,” he said.

“We appreciate how frustrating this is for Aucklanders. Safety is our first priority and we will aim to have the tunnel reopened so that trains can run normally for the afternoon peak.”

Until then, Auckland Transport said the Southern line would run from Pukekohe to Newmarket, and Western line from Swanson to Newmarket – however, both would run every 20 minutes instead of every 10 minutes.

The agency apologised for the inconvenience. It advised travellers to use its Journey Planner to find the best alternative bus services and allow extra time for journeys.

“There will be rail replacement buses on the whole Western line while customers can also transfer at Newmarket to the 70 or InnerLink bus from 7203 Stop A Newmarket to get to Waitematā and buses will accept train tickets. The InnerLink also passes Parnell station. Customers travelling to the city from south of Ōtāhuhu can transfer from the Southern line to the Eastern line at Ōtāhuhu station to reach Waitematā,” it said.

The Eastern line would continue to operate to Waitematā as normal.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

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Source: Radio New Zealand

He called 111 struggling to breathe.

But by the time an ambulance got to Johnathon Taituma, 43, about an hour and 40 minutes later, he was dead after what a coroner said was a cascade of errors.

It was not just Taituma who called for help.

His neighbour did too after he went to her for help still struggling to breathe.

Both times a wrong priority was recorded.

Now, an associate coroner has urged St John audit itself to see if the delay was an aberration of care, or if they were happening in other cases as well.

They had also referred the botched callout to the Health and Disability Commissioner.

St John said an audit was underway along with several other steps, and said it was deeply sorry and that it had committed to change when it fell short.

What happened

Two weeks before Christmas in 2024, Johnathon Taituma rang 111 from his Manurewa address – he said he was alone and having trouble breathing.

He was assigned an ‘ORANGE2’ priority, a level Associate Coroner James Buckle said was wrong.

It should have been ‘RED2’ and would have meant an ambulance would have arrived an estimated five minutes after dispatch.

But there was no dispatch, and no ambulance was assigned.

Taituma made his 111 call at 4.35pm.

About nine minutes later he went to his neighbour’s back door repeatedly hitting his chest, struggling to breathe and trying to take in large amounts of air.

He asked the neighbour to call an ambulance and told her he had already called one and had collapsed.

At about 4.47pm the neighbour made the call and it was identified that Taituma had earlier called himself and collapsed and that he was still struggling to breathe.

His case was not re-triaged, and he remained on the ORANGE2 priority.

Associate Coroner Buckle said the neighbour’s information showed Taituma deteriorated since his earlier call and he should have been re-triaged.

If that had happened, he said, he would have been given a RED priority in the least.

An orange priority is for a callout that appeared serious but not life-threatening, with an ambulance sent as soon as possible at normal speed.

A red priority is for something immediately life-threatening, with an ambulance or ambulances dispatched straight away under lights and siren.

When Taituma made his call he was told help was being arranged.

His neighbour was told the same, but the associate coroner said this was wrong.

“As with the first phone call, Initial Assign was not launched and an ambulance was not dispatched,” they said in findings released on Tuesday.

Taituma and his neighbour stayed together for 10-20 minutes.

He got up and walked home.

Standard St John operating procedures required welfare checks every 30 minutes “on all active emergency ambulance incidents”.

If there is no contact, then time is re-set to five minutes.

If three consecutive welfare checks are unsuccessful, the case is escalated to a a Clinical Support Officer.

The associate coroner said three attempts were made to contact Taituma, the first some 51 minutes after he called 111.

Another was 39 minutes after the neighbour’s own 111 call.

No contact was made with Taituma on the first call and follow-up calls, while timely, were made outside the five-minute timeframe.

There was no evidence suggesting St John tried to contact the neighbour, Buckle said.

There was also no evidence the case was sent up to a Clinical Support Officer.

An ambulance was dispatched at 6.05pm.

At 6.15pm, the neighbour went to Taituma’s home and found him lying face down in the living room.

She looked for a pulse and rang 111 again three minutes later.

Ambulance staff reached him by 6.22, he was not breathing and had no pulse.

The crew could not resuscitate him.

It would later be found he died from an acute coronary embolus.

The coroner could not say what the chances of Taituma surviving were if crews had turned up sooner to treat him with electric shock.

“Therefore, I cannot be satisfied that the cascade of errors by Hato Hone St John caused Mr Taituma’s death,” Associate Coroner Buckle said.

“Neither can I be satisfied that they contributed to his death.”

The associate coroner said despite this, it was appropriate he made recommendations to reduce the chances of further deaths.

“This is because the chances of survival in cases of heart attacks are significantly increased by the timely attendance of, and treatment by, ambulance staff and dealing with the errors that arose in Mr Taituma’s case will increase the chances of timely attendance and treatment,” he said.

Part of a trend

The associate coroner asked St John what remedial action had been taken, if any.

It replied a review of call-handling errors resulting in adverse events of a year-long period found a “trend of errors”.

This was in the management of subsequent calls and welfare checks, it said.

“Subsequently, there is ongoing consideration of recommendations to minimise these errors in the future,” St John told the Associate Coroner.

“Additionally, new educational platforms have been introduced imbed [sic] learnings from reviews for continued professional development.”

The associate coroner said they were satisfied St John was moving to avoid a repeat.

“However, I also have concerns about the welfare checks made by Hato Hone St John,” Buckle said in his findings.

“A welfare check was made by calling Mr Taituma approximately 51 minutes after he first rung Hato Hone St John.”

The call was made 30 minutes after the neighbour’s first phone call, he said, noting it was outside of the 30-minute timeframe in St John’s procedures.

“This could be explained by staff dealing with other calls and not being available in the mandated 30-minute timeframe, which would be an understandable and reasonable explanation,” the associate coroner said.

“However, the purpose of the calls seems to be to contact either the patient or someone that can speak for the patient … the welfare calls that were made do not seem to have fulfilled their purpose.”

The associate coroner recommended St John audit its welfare check phone calls with a view to finding out whether the delay in calling Taituma back was an aberration or whether there were delays in other cases.

They also said the audit should determine if the current system was fulfilling its purpose.

“If Hato Hone St John establishes that there are systemic issues causing delays in contacting patients then they should identify those systemic issues and rectify them,” the associate coroner said.

The associate coroner said there was an arguable case St John breached the Code of Health and Disability Consumer’s Rights by not giving Taituma “an appropriate standard of care”.

“In the circumstances I am satisfied that it is appropriate to refer the matter to the Health and Disability Commissioner,” he said.

St John responds

St John told RNZ it extended sincere condolences to Taituma’s whānau and that it would address any systemic issues found.

“When we fall short, we are committed to learning, improving, and making necessary changes to better support our patients and communities,” John-Michael Swannix said, St John’s integrated operations manager for primary triage and dispatch.

“We reiterate how deeply sorry we are to Mr Taituma’s family and acknowledge the neighbour who tried to help. We remain committed to improving our processes so people across Aotearoa can continue to trust the care they receive when they call for help.”

Swannix said St John accepted the Associate Coroner’s findings and recommendations.

It said it had undertaken a number of steps:

• A review and individual coaching with the emergency call handlers and dispatchers involved in the incident.
• Introducing new training platforms using anonymous case studies to embed learnings into ongoing professional development.
• Reviewing follow-up calls and welfare checks, testing new scripts and processes to improve situation awareness and recognition of deterioration.
• Updating national standard operating procedures in partnership with Wellington Free Ambulance to ensure consistent practice across the country.
• Increased paramedics to review incidents waiting for dispatch to mitigate risk to patients.

St John said it was auditing welfare checks to see if delays in Taituma’s case were isolated or systemic, in line with the associate coroner’s recommendations.

This would also look at whether current processes were effective.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

WorkSafe says it intends to revisit an Auckland aquatic centre after two people were injured on a hydroslide.

It said it was first notified after a man was injured at the Mt Albert Aquatic Centre in late December.

Less than a week later, a 12-year-old boy was hurt.

WorkSafe said improvements had been made when its inspector visited the centre two days after the man was injured.

A spokesperson said an inspector would go back to the aquatic centre this month.

Auckland Council said the slide had been inspected twice within the last six months. Head of service partner delivery, Garth Dawson, said the council would continue to work with operator Community Leisure Management and the slide manufacturer to ensure it was safe.

Community Leisure Management’s director Kirsty Knowles said it was improving signs at the hydroslide.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Court of Appeal will hear from the lawyers who would have represented Brenton Tarrant if he went to trial.

The 35-year-old white supremacist is seeking to overturn his guilty pleas for the March 2019 massacres at Christchurch’s Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre.

He now claims he only pleaded guilty as he was irrational due to the solitary nature of his prison conditions.

The court heard the terrorist told his then-lawyers that he always intended to plead guilty.

But the terrorist disputed that, telling the court he planned on representing himself at trial and running his own defence.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

More than 700 Education Ministry staff who work with disabled children will try to win back the pay they lost during a partial strike last year.

The Educational Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI) said members working in the ministry’s learning support area lost 10 percent of their pay because they refused to take on new cases or work beyond their contracted hours for about three-and-a-half weeks.

NZEI spokesperson Conor Fraser said the union sought an injunction last year to stop the deduction but failed.

She said the penalty did not feel fair.

“It was just such an over-reach by the ministry when we’re just trying to look after ourselves and do the best we can in our jobs,” she said.

“They were saying we were refusing to do our contracted duties but the reality is for a lot of people working in learning support at the moment we are so far over our capacity and it’s not fair when we feel like we’re not doing the best in our jobs because we’re just over-worked and people are burning out.”

Fraser said NZEI would on Monday ask the Employment Court to order full reimbursement of the deducted money so that its members were not out-of-pocket.

“For some people it was a really significant amount… to lose 10 percent of your pay, it just had a real impact and the stress on some people was really unwarranted at a time when we were really trying to be vocal for how much help we need to fix this system so that our kids have a better time in education,” she said.

Fraser said the affected staff included speech language therapists, physiotherapists and special education advisors.

She said their refusal to take on new cases allowed NZEI members to focus on the children they were already working with and did not result in members working less than their contracted hours.

Fraser said its members’ collective agreement had still not been settled.

The Education Ministry said it was not appropriate to comment on the substance of the case while it was before the court.

However, it said new partial strike provisions provided for deductions to be made from pay, and the Ministry applied the standard 10 percent deduction provided for in the legislation.

NZEI said the hearing was scheduled for four days.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A lawyer has told a Judicial Conduct Panel removing a judge is done to protect the judiciary, as the inquiry into acusations a District Court Judge disrupted a New Zealand First event begins.

Judge Ema Aitken was appearing before a Judicial Conduct Panel in Auckland on Monday, accused of disrupting a function at Auckland’s exclusive Northern Club in 2024.

She was accused of shouting that NZ First leader Winston Peters was lying.

Judge Aitken said she didn’t shout, didn’t recognise Peters’ voice when she responded to remarks she overheard and didn’t know it was a political event.

Presenting the allegations of misconduct to the panel, Special Counsel Tim Stephens KC said the panel was responsible for reporting on the Judge’s conduct, finding the facts, and ultimately recommending if the Judge should be removed.

He noted it would not be up to the panel to remove the Judge.

“Whether to remove the Judge is a decision for the acting Attorney General and not the panel,” Stephens said.

“But the attorney is only able to remove the judge if the panel concludes that consideration of removal is justified in the panel’s opinion.”

Stephens said the removal of a judge was not a disciplinary matter.

“It’s not a punitive or disciplinary measure,” he said.

“Rather, its function is protective, it protects public confidence in the judicial system, it protects the impartiality and integrity of the judiciary.”

It came down to a matter of fitness for office, Stephens said.

He spoke about the legislative history and grounds that formed the basis for considering removal of a judge, including existing legislation from Australia.

“My overall submission in terms of the law is that the panel may form the opinion that consideration of removal is justified,” Stephens said.

“If that’s met, the panel may form that opinion, if the attorney, acting lawfully and in accordance with the purposes of the Act, could conclude that removal was an available outcome.”

Late on Monday, the panel heard argument from Judge Aitken’s lawyer David Jones KC, who took issue with what he described as undisclosed evidence, which took the panel through to the end of the day’s hearing.

“The conduct to date has shown that as far as the end result is concerned, and if that’s a brief of evidence, so be it, there could be other material that qualifies that evidence,” he said.

“And that is something that needs to be disclosed in the interests of a fair hearing and natural justice for someone who is fighting for their judicial career.”

The panel and counsel were expected to visit the Northern Club as part of a site visit on Tuesday.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Traffic’s on the move again though the Waioweka Gorge – slowly – via a single lane and with a guide vehicle.

The chunk of State Highway two between Ōpōtiki and Mātāwai has been closed for more than two weeks, with 40 worksites along the road including eight spots with severe damage due to slips and flooding.

From Monday, a convoy is operating three times a day in both directions; that is Gisborne bound and Ōpōtiki bound.

Pilot vehicles are leading the way and controlling the speed.

NZTA’s warning its only for people who need to travel and the highway could close at short notice if conditions change.

Waioweka Gorge resident, farmer Anne Redpath hasn’t been unable to go far with the road largely off limits.

She told Checkpoint the convoy was good news.

“It means it’s quite safe and we are not going to interfere with any work that’s being done.”

She has been travelling by tractor, foot and her push bike.

“I have to push [the push bike] through the mud,” she said.

Redpath has not had a car for two weeks due to damage to road access, alongside many others.

She has lived on the farm for 40 years and said she just accepted the slip and flood damage as part of life.

“That’s all about you can do and in this situation, no building were damaged, no people were hurt, just farm roads and tracks and fences and that sort of thing.”

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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 three-year-old child has suffered severe facial injuries after his father crashed while doubling him on a dirt bike in Northland, police say.

The crash has highlighted the danger of dirt bikes being used on city streets – and an alarming trend of riders taking young children for high-speed joyrides, almost always without helmets.

Senior Sergeant Clem Armstrong, area prevention manager for Mid North police, said the Kaikohe crash involved a three-year-old boy and his father.

The child was seriously hurt and the 22-year-old rider was facing child welfare and driving charges.

Armstrong said the child was being doubled at the time of the crash.

He was unable to say more given that the case was now before the courts.

RNZ understands the child’s injuries included a broken jaw and facial lacerations.

Dirt bikes were a problem in Kaikohe in particular, but there were also regular incidents in Whangārei – including the death of a rider in March last year – and in Auckland, where a group of about 40 bikes sped across fields where children were playing sport on 1 February.

“A big problem is the fact that a lot of these bikes are not warranted. They’re not registered, they’re not roadworthy. The riders themselves are not licensed, and some of the driving behaviour is just dangerous, reckless and unruly,” he said.

“There’s no consideration for members of the public and other road users, and it’s just a huge safety concern for us. I’ve seen first-hand people who have been seriously hurt, and the absolute last thing we want is for somebody to lose their life as a result of this sort of stuff.”

An alarming trend involved riders taking young children as passengers.

“A lot of the bikes that we come across, they don’t have brakes, they don’t have tread on the tyres. So there’s just so many risks, ultimately it will lead to more people being seriously hurt.”

A Kaikohe resident, who did want to be named for fear of retribution, said dirt bikes tore past his home frequently.

They created noise and nuisance and the riders put themselves at risk by pulling wheelies in traffic, but it was the danger to small children that made him “deeply, deeply anxious”.

“Parents, mothers and fathers alike, will take a little, tiny baby for a ride down the street, and the child is sitting in front of them, with no restraints,” he said.

“They’re doing at least 50k, if not more, and the child thinks it’s an absolutely wonderful thing. But they have no idea what would happen if they suddenly hit something. They would just go flying like a bag of cement and have to be scraped off the road 20 metres ahead.”

That has already happened with the severely injured three-year-old, he said.

“That still hasn’t stopped them. You still see it. Those small children don’t have an opportunity to say, ‘No, this is dangerous, and I don’t want to do it’. And parents are giving them what they think is a good time.”

Armstrong said no particular age group was involved, and many of the riders fancied themselves as experts.

“A lot of them, in their own minds, believe they’re really good riders, but a lot of the time they’re actually poor. They don’t have the knowledge or experience, and they haven’t gone through any sort of proper learning.”

Armstrong said police took the offending seriously and would hold people to account through the courts, with tools such as CCTV used to identify offenders.

Bikes could be impounded for 28 days up to six months.

Any rider signalled to stop should do so, because fleeing could lead to charges of dangerous driving or failing to stop.

Consequences for those who stopped could be less severe, such as education.

Armstrong said thrill-seeking was often their motivation, and many had no access to bike tracks or other places to ride so they took to streets and footpaths.

“They may think it’s a fun thing to do, but it’s not fun when we’re dealing with seriously injured people, especially kids,” 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

A significant jump in the recreational use of nitrous oxide, or nangs, has community leaders worried, with claims big canisters of the gas are being marketed to children.

Nitrous oxide is a colourless gas, known as laughing gas, which is used as a painkiller in medical and dental procedures.

It is also used in catering to make whipped cream.

If inhaled recreationally nangs can have dangerous long-term side effects like nerve damage in the brain and spinal cord.

Under the Psychoactive Substances Act it’s illegal to sell the product for recreational use.

In recent weeks, dozens of the discarded canisters have started turning up in the Hawke’s Bay prompting a crisis meeting.

Stewart Whyte of Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga called the hui and told Checkpoint they were made aware of the issue through a retailer in the area.

“We just got a contact through one of the retailers here that actually works with oxygen bottles for dive supplies and things like that… and he had collected quite a few apple bins [worth] over a short period of time.”

Whyte said the largest canisters they had found had been around the size of a large thermos flask.

“They’re marketed in such a way that they’re very colourful and obviously aimed at young people. They certainly don’t look like industrial canisters for making whipped cream.”

While medical grade nitrous oxide is mixed with oxygen, Whyte said these canisters are purely nitrous oxide, making them extremely dangerous.

“These big canisters, I believe, have about 300 hits within each one.”

Whyte is worried the problem is bigger than what anyone is anticipating.

“It seems to me that it’s gone under the radar for quite a long period of time. I think the use of this particular substance though has spiked. Certainly the evidence of the empty canisters turning up at this company would be evidence of that.”

“There are huge side effects, quite dangerous to people’s health for the use of this product. So it is quite concerning.”

He said with evidence that nangs have contributed to fatalities on the roads, it is clear the gas is already affecting whanau.

“There is impacts already that can evidence people have been seriously hurt, the nervous system’s damaged, people have been blacking out for 30 minutes or longer,”

“While it might be a short-term, 30-second hit for a young person, what we need to do really quite clearly and quickly is to inform our community that these products are out there and at the moment they’re readily available through retail outlets with very little law to protect our young people from the danger that they present.”

A meeting with community leaders was held two weeks ago to discuss the issue.

Whyte said leaders landed on a two-step approach to addressing their concerns.

“One is educating and informing our community of the danger of this particular product. The second one is to try and get our retailers together that are offering this product to see if there’s a willingness for them to not supply it.”

“That would be the best outcome that we could achieve.”

He said they also want politicians to look at the law around selling nitrous oxide, banning it from dairies and vape stores, and making it available only from licensed premises that deal in catering.

“I think that would be the logical next step, but it’s a longer-term project.”

“There’s no reason for them to be in a dairy.”

Whyte said their number one priority is to spread awareness within the community, something that he said he has already seen rising.

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