Interim Chatham Islands council boss Bob Penter.supplied
The interim Chatham Islands council boss says any chief executive will not be using a credit card until the council’s spending oversight policies are tightened up, in the wake of a scathing report.
Bob Penter also wants all sensitive spending by the mayor and chief executive to pass through councillors on a sub-committee, rather than be signed off by the mayor, or deputy mayor.
An auditor-general report, released last week, said former chief executive Paul Eagle’s actions over a project to upgrade his own accommodation were unacceptable and misleading, after costs blew out by more than $250,000.
It found Eagle, a former Rongotai MP and Wellington mayoral candidate, had created or edited contracts and quotes for the house upgrade, effectively had sole oversight of the project, and approved most of the spending.
The authors wrote the report raised “serious integrity questions” for the council, including pointing to its processes for managing credit card spending and reimbursement, calling them “ineffective”.
When asked about excessive credit card use, Penter told RNZ he could not comment on individual employee circumstances, but said the council was taking the Auditor-General’s report “extremely seriously”.
That included more intensive scrutiny of sensitive spending, including credit card use for things like travel, accommodation or food, he said.
“At this point I can confirm there is no chief executive credit card, so we’re not using the credit card at this time, until we get the strengthening of policies that we’re putting to the council next week in place.”
Penter said he would not be using a credit card while in the interim role, because he was not a big fan of them.
He said he would make a number of proposals at next week’s council meeting, aimed at improving processes around expense monitoring, fraud, bribery, corruption, and procurement risk in light of the report.
The Auditor-General’s report pointed to some credit card spending by Eagle that was “unusually high” or lacked an explanation, including $979 on food over five days in May 2024, $580 on a digital design store in Hamilton in September 2024, $351 on the Favona Fun Run in November 2024, and $591 on Anzac groceries.
Former chief executive Paul Eagle.Supplied / Jenny Siaosi
The report also said that most of Eagle’s expense claims forms had been signed by the mayor, but there was not a date accompanying the forms.
It said the office of the auditor general was told the mayor always sought confirmation before signing expense claim forms from the deputy mayor, but it did not see evidence this had occurred.
Penter said he wanted all mayoral and chief executive sensitive expenditure to go through a council sub-committee – a performance, audit and risk subcommittee – rather than through a one-up process signed off by the mayor or deputy mayor.
He said he would bring this as a proposal to the council next week.
The Serious Fraud Office’s counter-fraud centre, a prevention arm of the office, was helping the council to improve its policies.
The Serious Fraud Office confirmed to RNZ it was “evaluating” the auditor-general’s report for whether there were sufficient grounds to open an enquiry or criminal investigation.
Penter did not answer questions about whether he considered there should be a criminal investigation into the issues raised, or whether he felt, as the interim chief executive, betrayed by Eagle’s actions.
He said he could not comment on past actions by Eagle or the council over the accommodation project, and that he was not working at the council at the time.
But he said the council was holding workshops with council staff and councillors, to make sure they understood the expectations required.
The council was feeling “very positive”, after the release of the report, he said.
“The feeling is we absolutely take the findings – the serious concerns in the OAG report – extremely seriously, but we are positive in terms of our approach to it, we are taking it in a head on way, is what I meant by positive – it’s working to now put in place and rebuild the trust and confidence by ensuring that our systems and processes are fit for purpose and appropriate to address the concerns that’s been raised.”
In a letter included in the report findings, Eagle, who resigned last month, apologised and said his actions did not meet the standards expected of himself and his role.
“I started as chief executive of the council in late 2023, three months earlier than planned and, because of the illness of the outgoing chief executive, did not receive a formal, structured induction process covering the policies, processes, systems and documentation expected of the role.
“I wholeheartedly accept now that I should have sought clarity and support for this process.”
Eagle said that documentation and information provided to explain his actions to the inquiry also “fell short” of expected standards.
“In hindsight, I recognise I panicked when I realised documentation was incomplete and I tried to fix this. I deeply regret that those actions did not meet the standards I expect of myself and my role.
Eagle was contacted for comment.
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Holly Shervey is the creator, writer and star of Crackhead.Matt Klitscher
Warning: This story covers topics including sex addiction and suicide.
New Kiwi dark comedy Crackhead turns real-life addiction struggles into sharp humour – with Holly Shervey starring and husband Emmett Skilton directing.
Holly Shervey was just six-years-old when her mum died of cancer.
She was her everything, and once she was gone, Shervey began drifting down a destructive path of anxiety – including fears that murderers were lurking outside her bedroom – before an eating disorder, addiction and suicidal thoughts took hold, eventually leading to psychiatric care while she was still at university.
It’s an experience that would break many, but the New Zealand actress has turned that deep pain into a gripping dark comedy, Crackhead, which has just premiered on Kiwi and international screens.
“When I went into psych care, I couldn’t find someone or something to connect my journey with, except Girl Interrupted [an Oscar-winning movie, starring Angelina Jolie],” Shervey tells The Detail.
“It was the only way I could see what was going on for me and someone else going through the same struggle, and it made me feel less alone.
“So, my hope is that anyone who is going through something similar can feel less isolated in their own struggle. Yes, it’s dark, but we have tried to match it with enough comedy so it’s digestible for a wider audience as well.”
A familiar face to Kiwi audiences, thanks to roles on Shortland Street, Auckward Love, and Head High, Shervey moved to New Zealand from Australia with her parents and siblings when she was young. But not long after, tragedy struck when her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
“You lose that stability at that age … and I created these anxieties as a kid. I would have been about 7-years-old, and every night before I went to sleep, I would have to check around the outside of our house to make sure there weren’t murderers hiding.
“You are in survival mode as a kid because you don’t have your mum to look after you.”
A still from the series Crackhead, which has just premiered on Kiwi and international screens.Matt Klitscher
As she got older, she turned to food, alcohol, and sex to numb her pain, and “things sort of just spiralled from there”. More than once, she contemplated suicide.
“You are trying so hard to feel normal, but your thoughts are so jagged, part of me was so desperate to not have those thoughts, that spiralling going on for me anymore, and so part of me reached out for help.”
She connected with her family, who organised psychiatric care. It proved lifesaving and life-changing.
And the experience ultimately formed the basis of her plot for her dark comedy, Crackhead.
Shervey wanted to turn her pain into gritty humour, so she created Frankie, a hard-partying, drug-taking, sex-loving, self-destructive 30-something who ends up in rehab.
A hint of her behaviour: in the opening scene, viewers meet her drunk dancing in a nightclub before she hooks up with a stranger in a bathroom cubicle, then vomits in the toilet while insisting her new male friend continues the sex act.
It’s confronting, raw, and gripping, all at once.
Before the end of the first 22 minutes, a hungover Frankie misses her father’s funeral, has a drunken car accident, and burns down part of her sister’s home before landing in court-appointed rehab, where she battles a colourful cast of patients and staff – played by the likes of Miriama Smith, Ana Scotney, and Sara Wiseman.
An in-your-face, did-that-really-make-it-on New Zealand TV “emergency defecation situation” makes it into the next 22 minutes, but it’s probably best that it’s left here.
All up there are eight episodes, which took Shervey and her husband, actor and director Emmett Skilton, eight years to bring to the screen.
For Shervey, bringing Frankie to life was, at times, “so much fun – the parties and drinking”, but other scenes proved “heartbreaking”.
“Playing Frankie felt real, but we definitely have different vices. She’s more of an addict than I was. I struggled more with an eating disorder and suicidal ideation, so there are similarities, but mental health is different,” says Shervey, who never contemplated anyone else playing the role.
“I think if someone else had played her, it would have broken my heart, because that was like my soul on that paper, and it was too hard for me to think of someone else having that voice.
“And the journey of Crackhead has been hugely cathartic.”
Her husband Emmett Skilton, in his role as the show director, admits it was heartbreaking to watch his wife relive her trauma, but he gained a full understanding of what she had been through years earlier.
“When we met, I fell in love with her very quickly and asked her to marry me very quickly. Her first instinct was to make sure that I was aware that she was in psych care.
“So, that being introduced into our relationship in a major way, cut to a decade later, and we are making Crackhead, it was almost like I was starting to understand what all that meant to her, and what all that was.
“So, the scenes that we explored that were the hardest hitting were the ones that were very very close to home in regard to close to the real events that occurred.
“Watching Holly re-live those things, and it was very painful for her, and watching it and guiding her as a director, but also supporting her as a husband, was quite relieving that it was me doing it.”
Shervey fought hard for her story to make it to air – “initially networks weren’t into it, it was too much of a risk” – and then to keep control of the narrative and the title.
“It’s such a powerful name… but there were people who weren’t willing to advertise the show because it’s such a bold name,” she says. “And there were definitely moments when we explored trying to have another title for the show. But nothing felt right.
“Crackhead matches the energy of what the show is. And it’s a crunchy, visceral word, and it’s a crunchy visceral show.”
The show is now airing on Three on Thursday night, plus on demand, and is already reaching international audiences through HBO Max Australia.
“With international audiences, we have had a few people who have already seen it and have nothing to compare it to,” says Skilton, who initially considered acting in the show before committing to director-only. “They said we haven’t seen something like this yet. We even have New Zealand audiences saying that.
“I think the importance of it is that it’s true and honest. You go to some very very dark places, and I think especially New Zealand audiences find those things more digestible when you are laughing at the same time. Or when they have just laughed, two or three seconds previous, you shock them with something very truthful and deep.”
Because sometimes humour is the only way people survive the hardest chapters of their lives. And sometimes telling the truth – even the ugly parts – is the bravest thing a storyteller can do.
Crackhead isn’t polished. It isn’t polite. But that may be exactly the point.
Where to get help:
Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason
Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends
Tanah Body celebrates a freakish try against Canberra Raiders.Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
NRL: Newcastle Knights v NZ Warriors
Kickoff 5pm, Saturday, 21 March
MacDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Live blog updates on RNZ website
Knowledgeable NRL commentators and armchair critics alike are taking a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror, wondering what they missed about Tanah Boyd.
Those feelings of regret are probably amplified, if you’re on the Gold Coast Titans football staff, who let the unheralded halfback slip through their fingers and across the Tasman last season, landing at NZ Warriors HQ.
After five years and 69 first-grade games for the Titans, Boyd needed a change of scenery, and signed a two-year deal that saw him buried on a depth chart and initially consigned to reserve grade.
Twelve months later, the apparent journeyman has the keys to an attack that has piled 40 points onto two of the competition’s leading contenders – the most in club history over the opening two rounds – while making his doubters eat their words.
Serving up humble pie is not on Boyd’s agenda.
“Not at all,” he insisted. “I just worry about me and this team, these four walls and what happens here – that’s all I worry about.
“I feel like my confidence is really high at the moment, and I just want to keep it that way and keep going well.”
Tanah Boyd scores the Warriors’ opening try of the season against Sydney Roosters.Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
When first-choice half Luke Metcalf fell to a season-ending knee injury last June, Boyd inherited a team that had probably peaked too soon and were running on fumes, as they neared playoffs.
He was unable to spark a revival, as they lost six of their last eight games, including a limp, one-and-done effort against Penrith Panthers in the first week of the post-season, but the new season has brought a different perspective.
With Metcalf still a few weeks away from a return, Boyd has had an entire summer to consolidate his starting spot.
“I just think I’m a lot clearer on my role and the boys are responding to me a lot better,” he said. “I think having a full pre-season and getting the reps with them has really helped, and made them a lot clearer as well.
“Everyone’s on the same page at the moment and we just have to keep it going now.”
Coach Andrew Webster has seen the continued development of Boyd’s game across the two seasons.
“Last year, he was in contention for round one and he did his calf 4-5 weeks before the start of the season,” he said. “He started the season in reserve grade and he was outstanding, but just couldn’t get an opportunity through good form and us winning games.
“He got his chance and right at the end, in the finals, I think you saw him growing in confidence and the team were really confident around him. The last two weeks, he’s been dominant.
“When he runs the footy, we look good. When he tackles, we look good, and he kicks well.
“It’s not an easy game, but those three simple things we want him to be good at.”
After two weeks, Boyd led the competition in scoring (32), try assists (4) and linebreak involvements (3), and his early-season form has changed the whole narrative around the Warriors halves. He’s no longer just keeping the jersey warm for Metcalf’s return, but has created a genuine contest for both positions.
“You don’t have to pigeonhole halves that can only wear the seven jersey,” Webster hinted after the season-opening win over Sydney Roosters, which he agreed was Boyd’s best showing in a Warriors uniform.
“Everyone’s getting a bit better at being a six or a seven, or you just look at them as two halves.
Tanah Boyd’s early form has created a genuine contest for selection when Luke Metcalf returns.Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
“I’m not suggesting anything at the moment. I’m just grateful we have four really good halfbacks at hand.”
Boyd’s current job security has been amplified by the early attrition among his competition, with Te Maire Martin (broken leg) and Chanel Harris-Tavita (concussion) joining Metcalf on the sidelines.
This week, Webster will roll out fifth-string half Luke Hanson, who may still have missed out to first-choice fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, if he had been available.
Boyd and Hanson bring a tried-and-proven combination from last season’s triumphant reserves campaign, and started both pre-season trials together last month.
“It’s a big advantage – similar hairstyle, similar size,” Webster quipped. “They’ve played a lot of games together and won a lot of games together, and while it’s not at NRL level, they’ve built that confidence in each other.
“They know what to do, they know each other’s game and I’m sure they’ll lean on each other at the right time.”
Boyd is looking forward to pairing up with his old mate at the next level.
“I love playing with Lukey,” he said. “He’s a fast player and loves to run the footy, so I love creating space for him and I feel like he plays his best footy when he’s got space.
“He’s a tough little bugger and they’ll definitely go after him with his defence, that’s for sure. I’m so excited for him, so pumped and he’s had a great pre-season.”
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Westerners are about to start paying a lot more attention to the war in Iran as massive US-Israeli escalations point to a coming energy crisis set to impact on the whole world.
Now that a major red line for Tehran has been crossed, retaliatory strikes have already begun pummeling the energy infrastructure of US allies in the region, with Qatar reporting that its primary gas facility has sustained “significant damage” from an attack after Iran issued evacuation warnings for energy facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Fuel prices are already surging. If Middle Eastern energy infrastructure starts taking extensive damage on top of the already hugely significant Iranian blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, this war could end up affecting virtually every corner of human civilisation in one way or another.
Westerners are largely apathetic about US military explosives landing on populations on other continents. But once it starts having a direct impact on their personal bank accounts, you can expect them to get a lot more interested in US foreign policy.
This war has been a bit odd for me because as an anti-imperialist peacemonger I’m not yet entirely sure what my role is in my commentary here.
Normally I’d be begging Westerners to care about another horrific act by the US war machine, but as things stand it looks like Westerners are going to be forced to care about this one whether they want to or not.
Normally I’d be writing furiously about how people should not support this war, but the war has exceptionally low public support already.
Normally I’d be trying to help everyone open their eyes and recognise the US warmongers for the psychopaths that they are, but the Trumpanyahu administration is openly waging an unprovoked war of aggression while constantly thumping its chest and boasting about how it’s showing the Iranians “no quarter, no mercy” and saying it can kill whoever it wants with impunity.
Normally I’d be writing about how the mass media are churning out war propaganda to manufacture consent for more US military butchery, but the mass media keep putting out stories about how the US government is lying about a war that should never have happened while Trump administration figures have public tantrums about how the media isn’t churning out war propaganda for them.
President Trump is on social media babbling about how news outlets “should be brought up on Charges for TREASON” for not reporting on an embarrassing story about a US aircraft carrier fire the way he wants, while Secretary of War Pete Hegseth gave one of his fire-and-brimstone podium sermons bitching about how “an actual patriotic press” would be framing this war in a more positive light.
Do you see what I mean? What am I supposed to do with this? Where does that leave dissident fringesters like myself? All I can do is clear my throat and sheepishly go “Uh, yeah, I uh . . . agree with CNN.”
With Ukraine the mass media fell all over themselves to hide the West’s role in provoking the conflict, framing Putin as an evil maniacal Hitler figure who just spontaneously flipped out and invaded a country on Russia’s border because he hates freedom.
With Gaza the Western press gave nonstop narrative cover to Israel’s genocidal atrocities, constantly dragging public attention into an endless conversation about antisemitism and Jewish feelings whenever opposition to the slaughter got too hot.
That’s just not happening with Iran. It’s the first US war I’ve ever seen where a big chunk of the imperial power structure just refuses to get on board. The media’s not playing along, US allies are telling Trump to get stuffed when he asks for military assistance with the Strait of Hormuz, and the public’s not buying the lies.
This is a frightening time to be alive — but you can’t say we’re in a period of stasis. Things are moving faster and faster.
They might get a whole lot worse. They might get a whole lot better. They might get a whole lot worse and then get a whole lot better. But it seems a safe bet that the situation won’t remain the same.
“The Brumbies are a terrific side and the Force next week will be tough in Perth, so this is a good mini tour for us. If we get things right, it will help set us for the rest of the season.” – Head coach Jonno Gibbs.
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New Zealand bowler Ben Sears sends off South Africa captain Keshav Maharaj.Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
The Black Caps have cantered to victory in the third T20 against South Africa at Eden Park.
Openers Devon Conway and Tom Latham put on 96 for the first wicket, setting up the crushing eight-wicket win in Auckland.
After being asked to bowl, the Black Caps restricted South Africa to just 136, Kyle Jameison, Bean Sears and Mitch Santner all taking two wickets apiece.
The target would prove not nearly enough.
A blistering opening stand would all but take the game away from the Proteas, though with the century partnership in sight, Conway fell for 39 with New Zealand still needing 41.
Tim Robinson got the hosts within one, before he was out LBW for 17.
Nick Kelly got the required single and with Latham, who finished unbeaten on 63, saw the Kiwis home with 22 balls to spare.
The Black Caps now lead the five match series 2-1.
See how the game unfolded in our blog:
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Two people have been seriously injured in a house fire in Christchurch.
Firefighters were called to a fire in the Christchurch suburb of Aranui on Friday evening.
Fire and Emergency said the house on Bournemouth Crescent was well ablaze when crews arrived.
It said the fire had since been extinguished and all people were accounted for.
Nearby residents posted on social media that they had heard a “huge explosion” and others reported their house shaking as a result.
Bournemouth Street resident, Scott, said he was listening to loud music at home when he felt that his house shook.
He went outside to have a look at what happened, only to discover that a nearby house was on fire.
“There was actually a guy screaming, because he was actually on fire, and he ran out of the house from what I saw, and someone aimed him with a fire extinguisher,
“And you could see the flames from one of the down stair windows as I was walking towards it, starting to leap around inside the house, and from there the fire pretty much took off and crept out a window.
“Thankfully by then there was about half the street out, going what the hell is going on, and they were calling fire brigade and the cops.”
Scott said the house on fire was one of two, two-storey units that are linked.
He said he heard there was a family living in the linked unit, who managed to get out safely.
St John ambulance said two patients in a serious condition were transported to Christchurch Hospital.
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“The Brumbies are a terrific side and the Force next week will be tough in Perth, so this is a good mini tour for us. If we get things right, it will help set us for the rest of the season.” – Head coach Jonno Gibbs.
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Police want to identify the man in the fawn cap – the photo on the right shows him without the hat.Police/Supplied
Police are looking for the public’s help to identify people involved in a pub brawl in Hastings.
Detective Sergeant Heath Jones, Hastings Criminal Investigation Branch, said a fight involving both men and women took place inside the Common Room bar between 1.30 and 2am on Sunday 8 March.
Several people were injured, some seriously, with one requiring hospital treatment.
“Police are disappointed at the aggressive and careless behaviour on display at the Common Room that night and will be holding any offenders to account,” Jones said.
“We are asking the public for information to help identify the offenders and anyone else who was there at the time who may have suffered injuries or witnessed the fight.”
Police have released images of one of the people they wish to identify, a man wearing a fawn ‘Gucci’ baseball cap with a white shirt.
Information can be reported to Police by calling 105 or online using the file number 260308/6292, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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The seven-year long Sheep of the Future project started off with a flock of Romneys and the fifth generation in the programme is ready for mating.Jess Burges Photography
Climate change, increasing costs, fussier consumers and changing rules have researchers and breeders working hard to develop a sheep that will not only be economic to farm but good for the planet.
Kapiro Farm in Northland is five years into a seven-year project to breed the sheep of the future.
The Sheep of the Future programme is a $10.5 million collaboration between the Ministry for Primary Industries, Pāmu and its subsidiary Focus Genetics.
How well the sheep grow on the feed they’re given in Northland’s warm and sticky climate, which other regions will likely increasingly experience, is being measured.
Sheep on the Sheep of the Future programme standing in yards, their bodies displaying shedding wool traits.Jess Burges Photography
The animals that do best are the ones to breed from, and there are other traits to balance too, including the animal’s resilience to disease like facial eczema and the amount of methane it emits.
Reducing costs for the farmer within a struggling wool industry has been a big consideration for the breeders.
“With the way the world’s heading with global warming and whatnot, [we’re also aiming for] an animal that is easy care, that has an element of shedding about it,” Kapiro Farm manager Ian Leaf told Country Life.
“An easy care sheep of the future that can handle what the future has in store for us.”
With wool prices strengthening of late Leaf said there was not as hard a focus on 100 percent shedding ability, ” more like 30 percent.”
The fifth generation of ewes culled from the original 2000-strong flock of Romney sheep are being mated now.
Over the programme, at least 12 different breeds have been mated with the Romneys, including Dorper sires, Damaras, Exlanas and Wiltshires. They “basically chucked every shedding or no wool sire into the paddock,” Leaf said.
The Romney-based flock has had sires from at least 12 different breeds of ram including the Dorper, Damara and Wiltshire.Kara Tait Photography
The Damara from Namibia, known for its hardiness in arid climates and maternal instincts, was the first breed to be culled out, as much for its looks as anything, Leaf said, pointing out the final sheep must be acceptable to the market.
“They resemble a lot a goat. They have a lot of goat traits. They grow horns. They’re a bit bit more slender of a build. They hold their fat stores in their tail.”
“Moving forward, there’s always a visual aspect that you look to adhere to. A lot of people are going to have their own impressions and judgements visually before looking at data. So just cleaning that up and getting a nice uniformed animal that everyone’s used to seeing.”
The main breeds coming through now include the Wiltshire “definitely for the shedding ability,” UltraWhites and Exlanas, low maintenance sheep developed in Australia and the UK respectively.
“We’ve had our struggles with the Wiltshire with their feet. They don’t tend to have very good feet, so just making sure we’re mixing them in the right volumes of Wiltshire.”
They also want to end up with an animal that “gives you a decent lamb at weaning.”
“There’s a little bit of Texel in there … for the meat and carcass production.”
Ian Leaf, Kapiro Farm manager.RNZ/Sally Round
The ram lambs are methane-tested every year.
“That all has a huge impact on the selection process.”
So will there be a perfect sheep of the future at the end of the programme in two years’ time?
Lesf said they were starting to see a “nice, uniformed animal now … that is growing, well, growing at competitive rates to where we were as a Romney-based flock.”
He was interested to find out what the animals could do further south ” in the land of milk and honey”, saying there’s always room for improvement.
“What [the programme] is bringing is insurance on the data. The data is there. We now know exactly how much these guys emit in methane. We know exactly how much feed they take to convert into a kilo of carcass.
“What this Sheep of the Future has done is it’s given you actual facts, ‘what is’ not ‘what ifs’.”
Learn more:
Learn more about the Sheep of the Future project here
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Victoria University of Wellington Students Association president Aidan Donoghue displays empty boxes at the association’s foodbank.SUPPLIED
Student association leaders warn more students are struggling to make ends meet and rising prices will make the problem worse.
Victoria University’s student association says its food bank shelves are being cleaned out every week, AUT’s association says international students are especially hard hit, and Lincoln University’s association says demand for financial assistance has remained high since the pandemic began in 2020.
Their comments accompanied the launch of a study that found a marked increase in student hardship across several universities in the past five years.
The report by an Otago University student during an internship with the Green Party said there had been sustained growth in the use of foodbanks and hardship grants at several universities since 2019.
It said numbers were highest during the height of the pandemic in 2020, but remained above pre-pandemic levels last year.
The report said international students, single parents and female students were more likely to seek help for food insecurity.
It said the the number of students using a foodbank at AUT jumped from about 100 in 2020 to more than 1800 last year, about three-quarters of them foreign students.
At Victoria University, the student association’s spending on its food bank jumped from about $7000 in 2019 to more than $13,000 last year.
The report said Otago University Students Association provided about 250 food bags in 2019 and nearly 700 last year.
The three associations awarded on average $20,000 each in hardship grants last year, less than at the height of the pandemic but about double the figure in 2019.
The report’s author Anika Texley said the students’ associations collected different data about student hardship, but the overall picture was of growing demand for help.
“They’re struggling to meet their needs and their most basic needs. So things like rent tend to be prioritized over groceries,” she said.
Texley said students were struggling with rising expenses across the board.
“It’s not just groceries, it’s also bills, rising utility, rent is going up, and it’s consistently going up. So it’s an ongoing issue,” she said.
Texley completed her report while working as an intern for Green Party MP Francisco Hernandez.
He said students had been struggling for years and the report showed that the situation had worsened.
“And sadly, things are only going to get worse with the war ongoing in Iran. The cost of everything, gas, energy, groceries, rents, will spike up even further,” he said.
Hernandez said all students should be eligible for an allowance, rather than having to borrow for living costs through the student loan system.
The cupboard is bare
Victoria University of Wellington Students Association president Aidan Donoghue said its foodbank cupboards had been cleared out by hungry students.
“This Monday we had an order to completely fill out that food bank and it’s completely gone already,” he said.
“We’ve seen an increase of us having to order from roughly once every fortnight to once every week to now twice a week.”
Donoghue said the association received about $10,000 a year from the university to stock the foodbank and it would need double that sum to keep up with demand.
He said the fund ran out before the end of the year in 2025 and this year it has cut back on non-food items.
“We’ve had to cut all of our non-food expenditure. We’ve really just had to keep it to the basics of rice, pasta, food in cans,” he said.
“There’s no more toilet paper, there’s no more toothpaste, there’s no more deodorant, because all that costs far too much, and we need to stretch the food bank as far as it will go.”
Donoghue said about 100 students a week were visiting the food bank and many more students were struggling to pay their bills.
“Students are facing the toughest time they’ve had in years when it comes to just meeting the basics of rent, power, public transport,” he said.
He said students could receive up to $320 for living costs from the student loan scheme or as a student allowance if they qualified but needed roughly a further $100-200 to make ends meet.
AUT student association president James Portegys told RNZ students were coming every day for food vouchers or food bank packs and rising prices were making the situation worse.
“Obviously, the prices were already high, and now they’re increasing, so it’s quite a few students are now struggling,” he said.
Portegys said last year some students stopped coming to university because they could not afford the bus fare and the association successfully campaigned for discounted fares for students.
“We heard evidence of students choosing between paying rent, eating, or coming to campus. And what are you going to do? You’re going to choose to pay your rent and eat food,” he said.
Lincoln University students association president Zara Weissenstein told RNZ
“We had a huge increase in all of our financial assistance fund applications during COVID-19, of course and that consistently stayed quite high,” she said.
Weissenstein said the university ran a food bank and the association had noted an increase in students attending events with free food.
“Food is a really big thing because that’s often the first thing that students won’t prioritise because you have to prioritise your general expenses first, so your rent and your utilities that happen every month,” she said.
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Sir Bill Birch says 1979 was a very similar crisis to what was happening now, but current conditions were “a wee bit different”.RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Former minister Sir Bill Birch is the first to say he copped criticism over the carless days of the late 1970s and early 80s.
They’re the days that drivers, with coloured stickers on their windscreens, chose to keep off the roads during another global oil crisis sparked by events in Iran.
Sir Bill, who was Energy Minister, said the scheme “wasn’t perfect” and “wasn’t very pleasant”.
“But it sort of allowed people to have some use of their vehicles but to do it on a basis of choice in which days they used their cars and which they couldn’t use their cars.”
And it was better than the other option on the Cabinet table, he said.
“Nobody in the Cabinet was very keen on rationing, some of them could go back to the war years when rationing was a bit of a nightmare,” he told RNZ.
“So we adopted the system of carless days.”
Sir Bill believed a lot of people still criticising the scheme today were doing so political reasons.
He does not regret it, he said.
“I mean, we pulled the rug as soon as we had confidence that supply had increased but I think, and I still believe, that it was a better mechanism than rationing.”
‘Ineffective and expensive’
Basil Sharp, an energy economist emeritus professor at Auckland University, remembers the system well but said it did not work.
“And so it just became a huge nuisance for people and it was very, I’d have to say, it was ineffective and it was costly because you’ve got to enforce these things.”
Sharp likens the response to what was seen during Covid.
“Did we get 100 percent compliance with Covid? Of course not. Some people don’t follow the rules and they’re going to try to find ways around the rules,” he said.
“So in the end… it just became ineffective and expensive and so I think rightly so, the government ditched it.”
Sharp said it was a different economy at the time.
“That was an economy based on regulations – interest rates, prices, the cost of electricity, you name it,” he said.
“And so the mindset at the time was ‘well, let’s regulate driving’.”
The regulation did little to lower fuel consumption, which is said to have dropped only about 3 percent.
There were other measures too like cutting the open road speed limit to 80 km/h, and restricting when service stations could sell fuel.
A number of stickers from the ‘carless days’ in the late 1970s.Chris Kitzen
Alan Webb, from the Tauranga Mini Owners’ Club, said people quickly found ways to get around the coloured stickers.
“People started doing what was referred to as portable stickers, what they would do is put the carless day sticker on a thin piece of perspex and then they could transfer it from one car to another which meant then they could use any car any day of the week,” he told RNZ.
“It was never really closely inspected, so it wasn’t that successful.
“People were quite angry, quite annoyed about it and some of them just blatantly ignored it, that’s what they did, they blatantly ignored it.”
Drivers were also able to get exemptions from the scheme, and a black market for exemption stickers cropped up.
There were also forgeries, which all made enforcement a problem.
Households with two cars could simply choose different days to be carless.
Sir Bill Birch.Supplied
Sir Bill Birch said 1979 was a very similar crisis to what was happening now, but current conditions were “a wee bit different”.
“Any government has got to go through the options that are available today, and it sort of hangs on supply and demand,” he said.
“It’s the government’s responsibility to manage that, there’s nobody else that can have the authority to work their way through a crisis of that nature.”
He said the current crisis would be front and centre of Cabinet.
“And they’ll have to work out how much storage they’ve got, what the shortage in supply is going to mean to price, how much increases in prices we’re going to see, how damaging that’s going to be to the inflation and cost of living,” he said.
“And all of those things are very complex that he government’s got to work their way through and consider the impact on the inflation index and cost of living.”
Sir Bill said the current crisis had made him think a lot of the past.
He said the government needed a longterm energy strategy to deal with times when supplies are pinched.
“And my advice to them is to do exactly what we did and that is to engage with people outside of the government who are going to be affected.”
Sir Bill said shortages affected industry, production and jobs.
“And so there’s a whole lot of people in the community that you need to really touch base with and talk to about how it’s going to affect them and what their views are on how it’s managed by the government, so it’s not just a simple decision by the government,” he said.
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The Christchurch City Council has received a please-explain over sewage being discharged into the ocean around Banks Peninsula.
The Canterbury Regional Council issued the abatement notice on Friday following a recent series of unconsented sewage discharges into Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour and Akaroa Harbour.
Christchurch City Council has until 1 June to provide the regional council with a comprehensive management plan showing how it will manage the problem.
The regional council’s director of operations Brett Aldridge said it was the first step in preventing the issue in future.
“Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour and Akaroa Harbour have immense cultural and ecological value for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and the wider community,” Aldridge said.
“These marine environments are home to numerous native species and are also highly valued by recreational users.
“This abatement notice makes it clear we want assurance that critical wastewater infrastructure is being managed appropriately around Whakaraupō and Akaroa Harbours.
“We know these discharges have been distressing for the community and for our treaty partners who are rightfully concerned about the impacts to water quality, kai moana and the ability to swim safely along our coastline.
“It’s our responsibility to ensure CCC is operating its wastewater systems to the standard set out in its resource consent, including making improvements to the network to prevent further breaches in the future.”
It followed an abatement notice being issued to the Christchurch City Council last month for the putrid stench coming from Bromley’s damaged sewage treatment plant.
The plant was damaged by fire in 2021 and has since regularly caused a strong sewage smell to waft across eastern parts of the city.
The smell has been markedly worse in eastern and central Christchurch since the start of the year.
At the time of issuing that notice, the regional council said it had received more than 4500 complaints during the past month describing a “putrid, sewage-like smell”.
Follow all the Super Rugby Pacific action as the Hurricanes take on the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
A blockbuster derby awaits as the competition leaders head under the roof in Dunedin to meet the Highlanders. The game will see a plethora of mouth-watering matchups including Jordie Barrett against Timoci Tavatavanawai, Peter Lakai squaring off with the rising Lucas Casey and two of the competition’s form wingers in Caleb Tangitau and Fehi Fineanganofo. Expect a slobberknocker in the deep south.
Kick-off is 7.05pm.
Team lists:
Highlanders:
1. Ethan de Groot 2. Jack Taylor 3. Angus Ta’avao 4. Oliver Haig 5. Te Kamaka Howden 6. Sean Withy 7. Lucas Casey 8. Hugh Renton (cc) 9. Folau Fakatava 10. Reesjan Pasitoa 11. Jona Nareki 12. Timoci Tavatavanawai (cc) 13. Jonah Lowe 14. Caleb Tangitau 15. Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens
Bench: 16. Soane Vikena 17. Josh Bartlett 18. Sosefo Kautai 19. Tai Cribb 20. Veveni Lasaqa 21. Adam Lennox 22. Andrew Knewstubb (debut) 23. Tanielu Tele’a
“Every game that we play is a real arm wrestle for us, if we can play our best rugby then we are in with a chance.” – Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph.
Jackson Ford and Tyson Frizell will face off, when the Warriors take on the Knights.Photosport/RNZ
NRL: Newcastle Knights v NZ Warriors
Kickoff 5pm, Saturday, 21 March
McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Live blog updates on RNZ website
Analysis: For just the fourth time in club history, NZ Warriors have a chance to start an NRL season with three straight wins – but so do Newcastle Knights.
The Auckland-based outfit have succeeded in that aim just once, when coach Stephen Kearney guided his team to five consecutive wins in 2018.
Both teams are unbeaten, but both are also hit hard by injuries.
Here’s what you need to know:
History
Newcastle Knights remain one of the Warriors’ most beatable opponents – in 53 previous outings, the Warriors have 27 wins and the Knights 25, with one draw.
They also have 27 wins against North Queensland Cowboys across just 49 games.
The 18-18 draw against Newcastle came in 2000, before the introduction of Golden Point.
The rivals are 5-5 over their last 10 meetings, but the Warriors are 4-1 in the last five, including both games last season.
Their last encounter was the memorable 20-15 finish at McDonald Jones Stadium, where the Warriors trailled 15-14 into the final seconds. Tanah Boyd’s field goal attempt was charged down, but the ball fell to teenager second-rower Leka Halasima, who rolled 40 metres for the winning try.
The Warriors lost their next three games and limped into the playoffs, winning just one of their last eight. Two weeks after the Halasima miracle, they lost in identical circumstance against the Dolphins.
Meanwhile, the Knights would lose their next six games by an average of 33 points.
Newcastle’s biggest win of this rivalry came in the very first encounter, when they inflicted a 48-6 hiding in 1995 round nine. Centre Nathan Barnes had three tries and Andrew Johns kicked 8/9 from the tee.
Leka Halasima rumbles to a gamewinning try against Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium.David Neilson/Photosport
Four years later, the Warriors had a measure of revenge, matching the winning margin and hold their opponent scoreless in a 42-0 win at Ericsson Stadium (Mt Smart). Lock Jason Death scored two tries and Matthew Ridge kicked 7/8, while also finding the tryline.
Form
Unbelievably, both these teams are unbeaten after two rounds of the 2026 NRL.
Maybe you can believe the Warriors going unblemished, even though they have faced title contenders Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders early.
Somewhat against expectations, they have put 40 points on each of these heavyweights and restricted them to a combined 12 second-half points.
Their 82 points are the most the club has scored in the opening two rounds of any season and their +58 points differential is bigger than at any time last season.
They rank among the competition leaders in set completion (84 percent), possession percentage (56) and post-contact metres (1280).
Newcastle were last season’s wooden-spooners with six wins and 18 losses, after winning their opening two games and three of their first four.
Their two victories this season have come against North Queensland Cowboys and Manly Sea Eagles, who are both winless over the first two weeks.
According to official NRL stats, they somehow lead the competition in try assists (12), despite scoring only 11 tries.
Warriors half Tanah Boyd lead the competition in scoring, with a try in each of the first two games.Andrew Cornaga/Photosport
Teams
Warriors: 1. Taine Tuaupiki, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Ali Leiataua, 11. Leka Halasima, 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 6. Luke Hanson, 7. Tanah Boyd. 8. James Fisher-Harris, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Jackson Ford, 12. Jacob Laban, 17. Marata Niukore, 13. Erin Clark
Interchange: 14. Sam Healey, 15. Demitric Vaimauga, 16. Tanner Stowers-Smith, 18. Morgan Gannon, 23. Mitch Barnett, 20. Alofiana Khan-Pereira
Reserve: 22. Jett Cleary
Late change in the Warriors line-up, with centre Adam Pompey remaining in Auckland on babywatch. Halasima will step into the midfield, with second-rower Marata Niukore promoted into the starting line-up.
Co-captain Mitch Barnett nears a return to play, after suffering a season-ending knee injury last June. He was named among the reserves and has made the extended interchange bench.
With Chanel Harris-Tavita and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad under concussion protocols, Luke Hanson is named at five-eighth for his NRL debut, while Taine Tuaupiki takes the fullback spot.
Interchange: 14. Thomas Cant, 15. Mat Croker, 16. Pasami Saulo, 17. Francis Manuleleua, 19. Harrison Graham, 21. Cody Hopwood
Reserves: 22. James Schiller
Newcastle coach Justin Holbrook has lost his two marquee players – Kalyn Ponga (hamstring) and Dylan Brown (knee) – in injury. Fletcher Hunt will start at fullback, but five-eighth Fletcher Sharpe has also succumbed to injury and will make way for Tysson Gamble.
Newcastle will be without Kalyn Ponga for a month with a hamstring injury.Chris Hyde
The Knights still have plenty of firepower among the backs with international wings Greg Marzhew (Samoa) and Dom Young (England), and Origin centre Dane Gagai and Bradman Best.
Player to watch
With playmakers Ponga and Brown sidelined, the keys to the Knights are held by Sandon Smith, who played 47 games for Sydney Roosters, but was shuffled out the side door last season, as Daly Cherry-Evans arrived in a limo and walked the red carpet out front.
He took over the goalkicking, after Ponga limped off last week, and victory was well in hand (30-10), when Brown didn’t return for the second half, so the pressure will be on him this week.
Kiwi player to watch
Hooker Phoenix Crossland has played every minute of the opening two games and led the Knights in tackles (48) in their Vegas win over North Queensland.
With no specialist dummy half on the Knights interchange, he can probably expect a heavy workload again against the Warriors, but strangely, he has made exactly no dummy-half runs this season.
They said it
“You can definitely see they’re confident, they’re happy with the way they’re playing and they’re definitely playing with a lot of spirit.”
Warriors coach Andrew Webster assesses the Knights’ turnaround
“Plenty, but only the obvious ones and that’s wise, so everyone’s clear on what they have to do, when they get called upon, and we don’t miss a beat.”
Knights coach Justin Holbrook tested a few halves combinations in the pre-season.
What will happen
Big difference in the quality of opposition for these two teams so far. McDonald Jones is a formidable home venue for the Knights – but it won’t be enough.
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White Ferns take series lead with six wicket win in Auckland.
Some big-htting by the middle order has given the White Ferns a lead in the T20 series against South Africa courtesy of a six wicket win in game three in Auckland.
Chasing 150 for victory, White Ferns number four batter Sophie Devine scored a quick-fire unbeaten 55 runs off 38 balls and was backed up by Maddy Green who scored 34 off 25 as the hosts recovered from losing three wickets in the first 10 overs.
The run chase was over in in the 19th over at Eden Park as a misfield by the South African wicketkeeper allowed the ball to run away to the boundary.
Earlier South Africa had won the toss and opted to bat, but lost early wickets to be two down for 9 runs in the third over.
Devine took two wickets as did Suzie Bates.
Game four of the five match series is on Sunday in Wellington.
See how the game unfolded in our blog:
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That’s the word from newly reinstated Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi who said she was yet to speak with her party’s leadership team following months of internal ructions and a bitter High Court battle.
In a wide-ranging interview with Matahost Mihingarangi Forbes, Kapa-Kingi said since returning to Parliament, all the she had received from party co-leader Rāwiri Waititi was a text message asking if she would be available for a short, 10-minute kōrero, and had not spoken to the party’s president John Tamihere since November 2025.
“Rāwiri messaged and asked if I was available at a particular time… we haven’t managed to pull that off.” she said.
“My view is it requires more than 10 minutes, tāku nei whakaaro. Nothing [has been] offered up, no real significant or important conversation set aside yet.”
Kapa-Kingi was reinstated to the party last week, after the High Court ruled her suspension and expulsion from the party was unlawful.
In a press statement released shortly after the court ruling was made public, the party said it would make no further comments on the matter.
Kapa-Kingi told Mata she was also yet to receive an apology.
Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Mihingarangi Forbes.RNZ
“The silence is deafening, e pono ana, and I would say their press release probably reflects where their thinking is at and their practice.
“I would expect that at the least, which means there’s time and there are acts of remorse shown. Those things have to be evident going forward.”
Asked what accountability would look like for her, Kapa-Kingi said the “ball” was “in the court of the membership now in terms of the party” and suggested an SGM (Special General Meeting) should be on the table.
“There is clearly 55 pages of evidence to say this occurred and it was unlawful. Any right thinking Māori in a membership or even individually should recognise that we need to do something with this… we need to act on this.”
In late November, a meeting was held between Taitokerau iwi and party members to decide how the electorate should respond to their MPs expulsion. They called on president Tamihere to step down and for Kapa-Kingi to be reinstated to the party instead of remaining as an independent MP.
Kapa-Kingi said her electorate executive still supported her being in Parliament, but were concerned about whether she would still be “valued” in the party.
Rāwiri Waititi.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Asked if she had a “deadline” to decide if she wanted to remain in Parliament, Kapa-Kingi she did not but could feel the “tension” around it.
“When I first ever spoke about this, I talked about Te Tai Tokerau as voting for me, pushing for me, requiring me to do the right job for Te Tai Tokerau, to show up, to do the work, to represent with all my heart and mind present to it.” she said.
“The kaupapa itself, I don’t think belongs to any individual alone or even any party.”
Asked if the ructions within the party had taken a toll on her whānau, a tearful Kapa-Kingi said it had.
“I do fancy myself as a bit of a tough girl… but also vulnerable. This could have been figured out better.” she said.
“Not everybody’s suited to it, leadership. My message [to the leadership] is we should have done better. And we can, we can do better, we need to.”
The full interview is available on the RNZ website and on Youtube.
RNZ has approached Te Pāti Māori for comment.
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Slipper Island, an exclusive chunk of land off the Coromandel Coast is up for grabs.
It is estimated that it could sell for more than $10 million.
It is one of fewer than two dozen private islands in Aotearoa.
Slipper Island is a short boat ride from Pauanui, with white sand beaches and resort style accommodation.
Supplied / Paul C Schrader
Diana Cussen is selling the property through Barfoot and Thompson and also lives on the island.
She told Checkpoint the island offers clear waters, along with white and pink sand beaches.
Supplied / Paul C Schrader
“It’s absolutely magical, just imagine just coming up in your boat… you can dive in and it just makes you feel fabulous.”
The island is being sold alongside a number of different accommodation options, all set up for holiday accommodation.
The sale will include an old style lodge, a two bedroom chalet, two one bedroom chalets, along with two safari style tents.
“All you need is your food and your favourite bikini and a towel and you’re away.”
Supplied / Paul C Schrader
With such a high price, the buyer pool may be small, but Cussen expects it will be a local that ends up calling Slipper Island their own.
“Kiwis are pretty good at making waves in the world and all the technology and their businesses. So more than likely, you know, it’s going to be a local, local Kiwi and there is a bit of money around in New Zealand.”
“But it’s going to come down to who would love to be the next custodian of Slipper Island.”
Supplied / Paul C Schrader
The government’s introduction of the ‘golden visa’ scheme means overseas investors could also easily buy the property.
The scheme offers a fast tracked residency process to investors willing to spend at least $5 million.
Supplied / Paul C Schrader
“There are checkpoints in place there to make sure that if there was an overseas buyer… what would they contribute to the community? How they would look after the island?”
There are 10 properties on the island, including the ones for sale now.
Across the island’s 217 hectares, seven hectares are shared across nine lots, which feature five houses and five semi-permanent residents.
Getting to the island only takes around 20 minutes by boat from Tairua or Pauanui, and if the buyer has a little more change in their pocket, they can take an half an hour plane ride from Auckland, Hamilton or Tauranga.
Slipper Island is being sold by tender, which will close on 15 April.
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A man has been found guilty of sexually violating a teenager at his Canterbury bach over 30 years ago.
The victim, who was aged about 18 at the time of the offending, told the Christchurch District Court he was so intoxicated when he was assaulted he thought he might have been drugged.
A jury unanimously found the 68-year-old guilty on Friday afternoon following a week-long trial.
The man’s name suppression will be revisited by the court next week.
Judge Paul Kellar remanded the man in custody.
The judge thanked the jury for their service, saying he could tell they had not found the process easy.
“It is very difficult to sit in judgement on someone. It’s my job and I still don’t find it easy,” Judge Kellar said.
The victim gave evidence that when he was a teenager he would regularly meet with the older man after school to smoke marijuana at the man’s house.
The victim knew the man was gay but had no concerns the man’s motivations were sexual until the night of the attack, the victim said.
The man will be sentenced in May.
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Israel’s bombing of Iran’s South Pars gas field has sent shockwaves through global energy markets.
The South Pars gas field is part of the world’s largest gas field, known as North Dome, shared by Iran and Qatar.
Until now, nations on both sides of the conflict have confined their attacks to civilian infrastructure, where the damage is unlikely to affect critical services.
But Israel’s attack on South Pars, and Iran’s retaliatory strike on Qatari gas infrastructure, represents a major escalation in the Middle East conflict.
So why is energy infrastructure being targeted? And how might this affect global energy prices?
Remind me, who’s attacking who?
Israel has been vocal about its campaign to destroy critical infrastructure, such as electricity and water services, as a way to cripple Iran, both economically and militarily.
Earlier this week, Israeli forces bombed the South Pars gas field, a crucial part of Iran’s domestic energy sector. South Pars accounts for about 70% of the country’s total gas production and 90% of its domestic energy use. It’s also a key processing site for Iranian gas exports, which mainly go to Turkey and Iraq.
The bombing of the South Pars gas field is the first time either side of the US-Iran conflict has attacked energy infrastructure used to produce fossil fuels.
Within hours of the South Pars attack, Iran launched a retaliatory missile strike on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City. Ras Laffan is the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facility, producing about 20% of global supplies. Qatar primarily exports reserves from Ras Laffan to China and Europe.
According to QatarEnergy, the country’s state-owned petroleum company, the damage from Iran’s strike has reduced its processing capacity by about 17% and will potentially cut its revenue by US$20 billion. It will likely take between three and five years for the site to become fully operational again.
In the days since, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apparently agreed not to attack any more Iranian energy infrastructure, at the request of US President Donald Trump. In a social media post, the president suggested he did not know Israel was planning to target Iranian gas infrastructure.
How will these attacks affect global energy markets?
On a regional level, the South Pars and Ras Laffan attacks have escalated already heightened tensions in the Gulf region. And it’s likely to trigger further retaliatory strikes on key energy infrastructure.
Of particular concern is Saudi Arabia’s 1,200-kilometre Yanbu oil pipeline and Abu Dhabi’s Habshan–Fujairah pipeline. Both pipelines bypass the Strait of Hormuz, allowing countries to keep exporting oil even when this crucial shipping route is closed or disrupted. But as regional tensions rise, it is unlikely the Strait of Hormuz will be opened any time soon.
From a global perspective, the impacts of the South Pars and Ras Laffan strikes are serious and far-reaching.
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, Europe has increasingly sought to reduce its dependence on Russian gas after relying on Russian supplies for more than 25 years. As a result, Europe has turned to Qatar as its main source of liquified natural gas. So, for an already energy insecure Europe, Iran’s attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility is calamitous.
The prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz is affecting economies around the world. The closure has already cut an estimated 20% of global oil supplies, and this is reflected in surging oil prices. At the time of publication, the price of brent crude oil has surpassed US$106 a barrel.
This 20% drop in global oil supplies, coupled now with the 17% loss of Qatari liquified natural gas exports, is driving this surge in oil prices. But perceived oil and gas shortages are also contributing. And the threat of further attacks on energy infrastructure will only reinforce this perception.
These strikes will not only impact fuel prices. The International Monetary Fund has already warned if oil prices remain elevated for more than a year, this will boost global inflation and slow economic growth. This would also raise the price of as crucial commodities such as food and fertiliser.
What does this mean for Australian fuel prices?
When it comes to gas, the recent strikes on Middle East energy infrastructure may have little effect on Australia. This is because we produce the vast majority of the gas we consume.
However, oil is a different story. Here in Australia, we import almost all our oil. So surging oil prices, exacerbated by Israel and Iran’s latest attacks, will likely increase the cost of almost every commodity.
Australian farmers are already bearing the brunt of fertiliser shortages, with many struggling to sow or harvest their crops. And many people, in Australia and around the world, are facing higher fuel, food, energy, and transport costs.
This raises the broader, but no less urgent, question of whether Australia has enough liquid fuel to survive such crises. Over the past decade, refinery closures, poor oil production and the transfer of our strategic oil reserve to the US have weakened our liquid fuel security.
We currently have enough liquid fuel, which includes petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel, to last just over a month. This may be adequate in peacetime. But that’s unlikely to be the case in times of disruption or, as we are now experiencing, war.
We are now three weeks into the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, which has grown to engulf much of the Middle East. There are few signs the conflict will slow down or stop anytime soon.
For airlines, these factors mean higher operating costs and reduced capacity. For many travellers, that means fewer options and higher prices.
Some travellers may be in a position to revise, delay or cancel upcoming travel plans. But many others who need to fly for work or personal reasons face high costs or may even be considering complex, unorthodox routes.
There are some important implications for how global air travel functions, right now and in the future. But there are also some general practical tips for ordinary travellers to help navigate the uncertainty.
Fuel costs aren’t the only factor. For Australians looking to travel to or through the Middle East, the removal of millions of airline seats from flight schedules has pushed serious demand onto other routes.
Unsurprisingly, many major airlines have hiked their international fares significantly. And they may go up further still. Qantas, for instance, this week said it would review its international airfares every two weeks.
Some tickets have appeared at an extraordinarily high price. Cathay Pacific attracted attention for advertising business class tickets from Sydney to London (via Hong Kong) for close to A$40,000 return.
This is obviously very expensive. However, it is a natural result of the way most airlines use “dynamic pricing”. In essence, airlines are trying to identify (typically by analysing your flight searches) the highest price you’re willing to pay, so they can sell you a ticket at that price.
In a crisis, some might see this as taking advantage of vulnerable passengers. But airlines could argue the system ensures there is a seat there for someone who desperately needs it.
Unfortunately, they rely on the price consumers are willing to pay to demonstrate that level of “need”.
Stuck in a holding pattern
More broadly, the conflict has dramatically altered airlines’ ability to predict their costs. That’s a problem, because seats are usually for sale up to nearly a year in advance.
Will we see a shift in popular flight routes around the world if this conflict drags on? It’s hard to say.
The Middle East is geographically well-positioned to access nearly the entire world with a non-stop flight. It sits at the intersection of several popular international travel corridors, and its airline ownership models typically include government backing (which can help carriers stay operationally and financially stable).
However, if this conflict threatens those advantages in the long term, other airlines may step in, perhaps able to lower their fares over time by boosting their capacity.
The Middle East is home to some of the world’s biggest travel hubs, such as Dubai International Airport.Adam Schreck/AP
Going the longer way around
Airlines based in Asia are particularly well placed to serve Australians travelling to Europe, though high demand for these routes has driven up airfares.
Another option is to sequence together multiple tickets on different carriers. This can lower costs and may add an element of “adventure”.
However, there are some significant risks that could undo any cost savings. For one, the “extras” can really add up. A sequence of self-organised tickets often means additional expenses for:
overnight transits
multiple baggage fees
more meals on the road.
Travellers should also be mindful of visa requirements in transit countries, and any visa fees that apply.
Crucially, the “do-it-yourself” approach often means you are not protected from the impacts of delays or cancellations across multiple tickets on different airlines.
For those who are planning travel in the next couple of months, most carriers based in the Middle East are selling tickets with a reduced flight schedule to accommodate operational restrictions.
But given ongoing uncertainty, these schedules may not be as reliable as passengers would typically expect.
Buying flexible fares and travel insurance can help alleviate the effects of travel disruptions. But they introduce added costs.
What about those already booked, but anxious about whether they’ll be able to fly? Some airlines have cancellation or rebooking policies for passengers affected by the conflict for travel within a specified window of time.
Airlines may offer fee waivers, free rebooking or penalty-free cancellations.
But those whose dates aren’t eligible shouldn’t proactively cancel their flights themselves. Waiting for the airline to formally say, “we can’t take you there” gives you the best chance of ensuring it remains responsible for rebooking, a refund and other accommodations.
Joel Lam made his Moana Pasifika debut last weekend against the Blues.Alan Lee / www.photosport.nz
Former Crusader Joel Lam is expecting plenty of banter as Moana Pasifika get set to meet his old side.
Lam has been handed halfback duties for Moana in Saturday night’s round five clash, his first start in Super Rugby, against the side he earnt his first cap with.
He anticipates a few verbal jabs to be thrown his way on the pitch.
“I’ve got a a lot of mates in the Crusaders team that I went to the academy with straight out of school, so definitely a lot of familiar faces in that line-up, so, there will probably be a bit of chat.”
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Lam, who started the year without a Super Rugby contract.
“I got brought in on a player interim contract for the pre-season block and managed to secure myself a few more weeks after the pre-season. Last year was full of challenges and growth, it was actually quite funny the way it played out.”
Lam wasn’t even playing the same code in 2025, before Samoa came out of nowhere to offer him an international debut.
“I got a bit of a taste of playing hooker at league and said, ‘why not?’ So signed up to the Hornby Panthers, played a few club games there, and then moved over to the ditch to Brisbane and played for Souths Logan Magpies. Then got a call from Manu Samoa and I was back on tour.”
Lam scoring a try for Samoa in 2025.Stephen Parker / www.photosport.nz
The 23-year-old made his Samoa debut in a loss against Tonga last year.
He said the reconnecting with his cultural roots had been special.
“Jack, my cousin, skipper of Samoa. He has been a great mentor to me. Being exposed to Samoa has obviously led me down the path of reconnecting with that side of my family.”
Lam comes from rugby royalty, Pat, AJ, Ben and Jack among the famous names in the game.
“There’s a good chunk of us, 350 plus of us, granddad’s a brother of 21. There’s a lot of us in our aiga, which is pretty cool and special to me.”
After making his mark for Samoa, Moana came calling.
“They had always known I was from the Crusaders region, there’d been a few conversations along the way, they said, ‘we’ve seen and heard about you. We’re really keen to get you in.’ And as soon as I stepped in the door, I’ve just felt welcomed. It definitely feels at home here.”
Lam said his time in league helped sure up his defensive skills.
“It definitely gave me some, I don’t know if I can say this, but it gave me some balls. Making tackles off the back fence.”
Back in union, Lam has already spent more time on the field for Moana, having only played ten minutes off the bench for the Crusaders in 2023.
Lam’s rugby journey began in the Canterbury academy.Chris Symes / www.photosport.nz
Despite limited opportunities, he looks back on his time in Christchurch fondly.
“The standards that they hold is something that I still carry to this day and how I go about my professionalism. I’ve taken a lot from what the organisation preaches.”
But after his time in the 13-man code, the nuggety number nine said his game has evolved.
“Moana Pasifika flair suits me more. The aggression, energy, and collisions.”
Lam gets the chance to unleash that new-found aggression on some old team-mates, who he said will be sure to remind him of his Crusader’s roots.
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Dame Kerry Prendergast had her licence returned last week, with a remaining 60 demerits on it.123RF
A former Wellington mayor has admitted to having her driving licence suspended after getting caught speeding five times.
Dame Kerry Prendergast told Nick Mills, the host of Wellington Mornings on Newstalk ZB live on air that she had lost her licence for three months before Christmas.
Prendergast admitted it while discussing whether speeding fines should be raised to reduce road deaths.
She told RNZ that she was “shocked” when her licence was suspended as she had not noticed the demerit points adding up over two years,
“Suddenly, you get a letter and you’re not allowed to drive,” she said,
NZTA suspends licences after 100 demerits are accumulated in a two-year period.
Prendergast had her licence returned last week, with a remaining 60 demerits on it, as the points gradually taper off.
“I’ve learnt my lesson and I won’t be speeding because I cannot go through the trauma of losing my licence again,” Dame Kerry said.
She said she struggled with the loss of independence and was upset with herself for speeding.
She had to rely on her husband to get around and walked a lot while she was not allowed to drive.
Her grandchildren were “shocked to find that their grandmother had been caught speeding not just once but five times”.
“They didn’t think it was funny at all.”
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Forensic accountants are continuing to find “areas of concern” as they look into the accounts of the failed Du Val Group.
Statutory managers have released their latest six-month report into the group of about 70 entities that collapsed in 2024 owing more than $300 million to hundreds of people.
Its founders Charlotte and Kenyon Clarke have had their personal assets and passports frozen.
In the latest report, the statutory managers said they could not give many details about their latest discoveries because they did not want to prejudice any formal action that may come later.
The Financial Markets Authority was also investigating the group and had the power to pursue charges if warranted.
Today’s report showed the statutory managers still had many unanswered questions – the Clarkes had refused to be interviewed and had gone to the Court of Appeal seeking the right to refuse.
The managers said extensive forensic accounting analysis needed to continue partly because of the group’s “materially incomplete” accounting records.
“While investigations have progressed and further related issues have been identified for analysis, to ensure that any potential subsequent formal action is not prejudiced, no further information is currently able to be disclosed regarding our ongoing investigations into these areas of concern,” they said.
Broad concerns identified in earlier reports remained, including about GST transactions and the lack of clarity about goods paid for by the company but possessed by the Clarkes.
Since the last report, the debt owed by the group had fallen from $268 million to $226 million.
That was partly because some of its property developments had been sold including the Earlsworth, Sunnyvale and Edmonton residential projects.
None has been sold for a high enough price to cover the debt owing on them.
Investors in Du Vals Build to Rent Fund were likely to receive about 41 cents in the dollar on their investment after the sale of the fund’s residential properties in May last year, the report said.
Work was underway to sell to more developments, it said.
The report also gave an update on a British legal case against some Du Val entities that had wound up in New Zealand’s courts.
The British courts ordered Du Val to pay $1.35m (NZD) in damages and $164,205 (NZD) in costs.
The person awarded the costs was seeking to have the judgement recognised in New Zealand but the statutory managers opposed that in the High Court, the report said.
The judgement was pending.
The statutory managers are John Fisk, Stephen White and Lara Bennett.
They had previously been working under the PWC banner but the company sold its business restructuring arm to the global firm Teneo earlier this year.
The Authority said today it could not provide any update on where its investigation was at for “legal and confidentiality” reasons.
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan M. Sawyer, Professor of Adolescent Health The University of Melbourne; Director, Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Adolescent Health; and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The University of Melbourne
Australia’s world-first national legislation to restrict access to social media accounts for children under 16 years old has been in force for about three months. New data from a survey of 1,070 Australian adults provides tantalising evidence of some positive effects.
The YouGov survey found many parents had noticed several positive behavioural shifts in their children aged 16 and under since the law took effect on December 10 2025. This, however, wasn’t universal, with some parents also reporting negative changes in their children’s behaviour.
So what exactly do the results of the survey show? And how should they be interpreted?
A first step
Before we can assess any effect of the legislation in preventing online harms we need to know whether the age-assurance processes are working.
Initial figures gathered by Australia’s eSafety Commission indicated social media platforms had removed 4.7 million accounts of children under 16 last December.
This figure reportedly includes a number of inactive and duplicate accounts. As a result, it may not be an accurate representation of the actual number of young people affected.
Young people are also reportedly circumventing age verification restrictions. And a report by Crikey, based on new data by parental control company Qustodio, showed social media usage among under-16s had dropped only marginally in the first three months of the ban.
Parents see some positive impacts
The YouGov survey took place online on January 12–14 this year – a little over a month after social media age restrictions took effect.
Among parents of children under 16 years old, 61% observed between two and four positive effects. Some 43% noticed more in-person social interactions, while 38% said their children were more present and engaged during interactions and 38% reported improved parent-child relationships.
But these parents also reported negative impacts. Some 27% noted a shift to alternative or less regulated platforms. And 25% observed reduced social connection, creativity or peer support online.
Two thirds of adults in this survey believed greater parental involvement could make the ban more effective. And 56% agreed stricter enforcement and age verification would improve its effectiveness.
This suggests many parents understand the complex challenges around implementation of effective age-assurance processes.
Limitations of the survey
Disappointingly, the proportion of parents in the YouGov sample is not reported, nor is the exact age of their children.
Given the survey took place in the middle of the summer holidays, it is hard to know what contribution this may have had, as social media use generally declines then.
We also do not know whether the reported behavioural changes were observed among young people who had been “kicked off” their social media accounts.
We are involved in an ongoing study that aims to evaluate the impact of social media age restrictions. This study directly measures how much time young people actually spend on different social media apps using passive sensing technology, in addition to more common self-reported questionnaires.
Our baseline data (collected before the new rules came into effect) from 171 young people counters the prevailing narrative that “all teens are against the social media restrictions”.
In fact, 40% of 13–16-year-olds were either supportive of or indifferent to the legislation, suggesting a more nuanced examination is warranted.
Young people also showed insights into their own experiences of using social media. Watching short videos was the most frequently reported activity. But only 16% thought it was a good use of their time.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has also committed to a comprehensive evaluation of the Social Media Minimum Age Act.
A collaboration between the eSafety Commission, Stanford University’s Social Media Lab (the lead academic partner), and an 11-member academic advisory group, this evaluation aims to assess how the minimum age requirement is being implemented and examine both intended and unintended impacts.
A major element of the eSafety evaluation is its longitudinal design over at least the next two years, with perspectives from over 4,000 young people aged 10–16 years and their parent or carer. The participants include enough young people from certain groups, such as those living in the country, or who are neurodiverse, to take a closer look at whether restricting access to social media has a disproportionate impact on them.
The eSafety evaluation will also directly track how much time young people spend on different apps and when they do so.
Measuring success in years, not months
The next few months will no doubt be the toughest for the eSafety Commissioner as she works with each of the technology platforms to ensure they are taking the “reasonable steps” required by the law.
There will be much global interest in the public compliance report that the eSafety Commission will soon release, which will detail these steps.
Technology companies face fines of up to A$49.5 million for failing to comply with the law. For many, the financial cost may be less of a concern than avoiding damage to their reputation, as evident in recent court cases in the United States where Snapchat and TikTok settled out of court.
Rather than anticipating immediate benefits in young people who have already enjoyed access to social media, we may see stronger effects in the next generation of children, whose parents are yet to provide permission for them to access social media accounts.
In this regard, the true benefit of Australia’s legislation may be whether it changes social norms among parents about the “right” age for children to have a phone and around what role social media should play in young people’s lives.
Such changes will be measured in years, not months.
When Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, was assassinated in the opening stages of the US-Israeli war against Iran, I didn’t mourn.
Khamenei was not someone who deserved to be mourned notwithstanding my contempt for the increasing use of assassination by aggressor nations; in this case the United States and Israel.
Having said this, had either US President Donald Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu been assassinated I would have “not mourned” them even more.
On the other hand, along with thousands of residents in the Iranian city of Minab a mass funeral, I did privately mourn for the at least 165 schoolgirls and staff killed in the opening hours of the US-Israeli strikes when one of their missiles hit a girls’ elementary school.
Two words distinguish Iran from United States and Israel Understanding what distinguishes Iran from both the United States and Israel begins with two uncomplimentary words — repression and genocide.
Repression is the action of subduing someone or something by force. This can include suppressing thoughts or desires in people so that they remain unconscious. Iran’s theocratic political system is unquestionably repressive.
If, in some way, you question the regime or the governing values enough there is a high risk of repression. Keep your head down and you are likely to be safe. If not then you are likely to be in danger.
In contrast, genocide is the deliberate and systematic killing or persecution of a large number of people from a particular national or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.
Bodies on display at Murambi memorial site on February 23, 2003 in Murambi outside Gikongoro, Rwanda. About 800.000 mainly Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in about one hundred days in 1994, and about 100.000 prisoners accused of the genocide are still in prison awaiting trial. Rwanda is currently trying to cope with these huge problems and some prisoners that confessed to crimes can be tried in village trials, known as Gacacas.
” data-medium-file=”https://politicalbytes.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/genocide-getty.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://politicalbytes.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/genocide-getty.jpg?w=612″/>Bodies on display at Murambi memorial site on February 23, 2003 in Murambi outside Gikongoro, Rwanda. About 800,000 mainly Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in about 100 days in 1994, and about 100.000 prisoners accused of the genocide are still in prison awaiting trial. Rwanda is currently trying to cope with these huge problems. Image: politicalbytes.blog
Genocide a characteristic of Israel and US government policies Israel’s policy of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homeland now incorporates genocide as the main means of achieving this objective, particularly in Gaza which is there for all to observe.
While Israel is the practitioner of genocide in Gaza, the United States is the enabler and main funder. This is in terms of both funding weapons supplies and political support for Israel’s brutal military occupation of this small remaining piece of Palestinian land.
Without this US support there would be no genocide in Gaza; like the West Bank, just ongoing repression.
While it is right to condemn repressive actions by the Iranian government, it is mindbogglingly immoral for these genocide supporting governments to make any judgment call on Iran, let alone declare war on the country.
Understanding the Islamic Republic As discussed above, the Islamic Republic is a repressive government towards those who oppose it in some public way. But repression is not its only characteristic.
Iran comprises a diversity of ethnicities and religions. Image: politicalbytes.blog
Iran is a highly diverse nation. While 61 percent of its population are Persian, there are more than 20 ethnic groups in total. Major minority groups include Azeris (16-24 percent), Kurds (7-10 percent), Lurs (2-6 percent), Baloch (2 percent), Arabs (1-3 percent) and Turkmens (2 percent).
As many as 99 percent of Iranians in the Republic are Muslim, predominantly Shia (90-95 percent) with the remainder comprising the Sunni minority.
While the Islamic Republic state is dominated by Shia Islam, there are recognised minority religions which are granted reserved parliamentary seats. These include Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism.
An exception is the Baháʼí faith, a world religion was founded in the 19th century mainly in Iran. It may be the second largest non-Muslim religion in the country.
Many Iranian Baháʼí have a previous Muslim background and are subjected to persecution. However, this is an inherited persecution that goes back to the mid-19th century.
Iran is not repressive towards minority ethnic groups because of their ethnicity. Azeris, for example, are not repressed because they are Azeris; only if they “put their heads above the barricades” so to speak.
The same can be said for Sunni Muslims and non-Muslim religions, except for Baháʼí whose repression is historical, predating the Islamic Republic by over a century.
But if the Republic is only seen as despotic, then an entire historical legacy explaining so much more than this is lost.
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilisations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to the 5th century BC.
In spite of invasions by foreign powers, such as the Greeks, Arabs, Turks, and Mongols, the Iranian national identity was repeatedly asserted and preserved despite several changes in its dynastic empires.
The Pahlavi dynasty legacy In 1925, Reza Khan established the Pahlavi (and last) dynasty. Following a military coup he became the new dynasty’s first Shah. In 1941, however, he was overthrown with his son Mohammad-Reza becoming the second and last Pahlavi Shah.
Initially there were hopes of a constitutional monarchy. However, in 1951. Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq got sufficient parliamentary support to nationalise the British-owned oil industry.
In response, Mosaddeq was briefly removed from power in 1952. But, due to a popular uprising in support of him, he was quickly but reluctantly reappointed by the Shah. This enabled Mosaddeq to briefly exile the Shah in 1953 after surviving a subsequent failed military coup.
However, in August 1953, Mosaddeq was deposed by a successful US-supported military coup that was also actively supported by Britain.
The Shah then returned to power ruling Iran as a brutal autocracy with strong US support until the 1979 revolution and the Shah’s final overthrow.
Oil was central to the Shah’s policies. His government entered into agreement with an international consortium of foreign companies which ran the Iranian oil facilities for the next 25 years, splitting profits 50-50 with Iran. However, Iran was not allowed to audit the companies’ accounts or have members on their board of directors.
The Iran that the Islamic Republic inherited in 1979, on the one hand, had never been colonised; unlike much of Africa and Asia, for example. It had a proud national identity. On the other hand, under the Pahlavi dynasty, particularly in its last 25 years. it had become subservient to the United States and the oil companies.
The Shah’s autocratic regime was overthrown by a powerful mass popular movement. Among the forefront of this unstoppable movement were those that came to lead the new Islamic Republic.
The republic was the consequence of this popular will. While today there is strong internal Iranian opposition to the leadership of the Republic, there is also strong internal support for it
“Ayatollah” Donald Trump in an Oval Office religious ceremony (White House) . . . Iran isn’t the only “theocracy”. Image: politicalbytes.blog
In 1979, Iran’s political system had changed from an autocracy to a theocracy. But there was more to it than this.
The hated legacy, under the last Shah, of the interests of Iranians being subservient to that of US imperialism, was powerful. In no small part this shaped the Islamic Republic’s politics. It was reinforced by US support for Iraq’s protected war against Iran in the 1980s.
Further, whereas the Shah held openly expressed racist views on Arabs, the republic saw it differently.
In particular, it intuitively supported Palestinian self-determination which put it at odds with Zionist Israel.
Iran also empathised with countries with quite different political systems, such as secular Cuba, that had been subjected to continuing US hostility and shared Iran’s antipathy towards US imperialism and supported for Palestine.
While your enemy’s enemy may not be your friend, nevertheless there may be principled shared interests.
Understanding the United States and its imperialism Imperialism put simply is a policy of extending a powerful country’s economic power, exploitation of, and influence over other countries. Historically this has been through colonisation, invariably by the use of military force.
Historically the biggest imperialist power was the British Empire which, by the early 20th century, included much of Africa and Asia (and beyond).
The United States is now the world’s strongest imperialist power.
The United States began as an imperialist power in the early 20th century, particularly in Central America, the Caribbean, and the Philippines. Since the Second World War it has become, by far, the biggest imperial power reinforced by the most powerful military.
Put simply, capitalism is an economic system relentlessly driven by the maximisation of wealth accumulation. Imperialism is the highest and most extensive form of capitalism.
In this context, particularly since 1953, Iran under the Pahlavi dynasty was a complicit pawn willingly exploited by US imperialism.
This ended in 1979 by the popular will that led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic; something US imperialism has never forgiven and the republic has never forgotten.
In other words, the US-Islamic Republic relationship is a recipe for continuous conflict and has reached its highest point with the current US-Israel initiated war.
False confusing justifications for the US-Israel war The failure of the United States (and Israel) to acknowledge the above discussed escalating conflict to the point of outright war between them and the Islamic Republic has led to their muddled and changing false justifications for the war.
The truth of the matter is that the war centres on the republic’s firm opposition to US imperialism and support for Palestinian self-determination. The use of deceitful justifications is a public relations attempt to fudge this truth.
One false argument is that Iran was close to developing nuclear weapons. However, in the short war last June, the US and Israel boasted that they destroyed Iran’s nuclear weapons capability.
What is the lie — what they said then or what they now say? More likely it is both. After all Israel is the only country possessing nuclear weapons in the Middle East. Further, unlike Iran, it isn’t a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In fact, there is only one nuclear power in Middle East — Israel. But while Israel is ignored, Iran hypocritically is the focus of deceitful accusations and intense pressure, and now war.
Another false justification is that the US, in particular, wants to save Iranian lives by ending the repression. It is barely worth the time rejecting this claim from supporters and practitioners of genocide.
Further their bombing has already killed more than 1400 Iranians (a reported 30 percent are children) and rising. More than 17,000 have been injured including over 1000 children. Hypocrisy at its peak.
A related occasional justification is restoring democracy. But the Islamic Republic is more democratic than the outright autocracy it replaced and no less democratic than the ruthless US ally Saudi Arabia; admittedly they are both low thresholds.
Joe Kent’s resignation as Director of the National Counterterrorism Centre has severely damaged Trump’s credibility. Image: politicalbytes.blog
Perhaps the most damming indictment of the claimed justifications is the recent resignation of Donald Trump’s Director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, Joe Kent.
Explaining this dramatic decision, Kent referred to his concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran. These included that, despite Trump’s claims, there was no imminent threat from Iran and that the US was “manipulated” by Israel.
Consequently Kent advised that he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war against Iran. Both optimistically and bravely he urged the President to end it.
In fact, Trump’s disingenuousness and underestimation of the strength of Iranian resistance and fightback have made a ceasefire improbable for some time.
Iran already agreed to a ceasefire in June. But the US and Israel broke it even though diplomacy discussions were underway.
US, Israel can’t be trusted Why would Iran agree to another ceasefire just to give the US and Israel enough time to regroup and start another war against a combative but weakened Iran.
Iran now believes that the US and Israel can’t be trusted and it would be better to try to further weaken them instead. After all, what does Iran have to lose!
Words like reaping and sowing come to mind!
Since the mid-1980s successful New Zealand governments have had an independent foreign policy.
US-Israel war against Iran has implications for New Zealand’s economic recovery. Cartoon: Slane, Listener
However, especially under the current government, we have drifted back towards being aligned with our former position of being a United States lapdog.
This observable drift was further escalated by the government’s response through Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (in an embarrassingly mashed way) and Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
US military bases located around Iran. Map: politicalbytes.blog
In summary, while maintaining a loud silence on the US-Israeli bombing of Iran, they condemned Iran’s own bombing response in those neighbouring Arab countries with US military bases.
These US bases would be akin to Iran having its own military bases in Canada and/or Mexico (perhaps Cuba; just saying).
There has been considered media coverage of the government’s response to the war beginning with Bryce Edwards’ Democracy Briefing (March 1): How should NZ respond to the US bombing Iran.
Christopher Luxon fumbles and flounders in toe-cringingly style
To complete this considered coverage was international relations expert Professor Robert Patman, also in Newsroom (March 3): Risky Iran attack gamble.
However, it took former Prime Minister Helen Clark to demonstrate the type of political leadership we deserved to have (having herself demonstrated this over the disastrous US-led war in Iraq nearly two decades ago).
Her uncompromising criticism of the government’s response included calling it a “disgrace” (March 1): Government response a disgrace.
Being a US lapdog doesn’t protect NZ from the war on Iran. Cartoon: Emmerson, NZ Herald
While Clark didn’t use the term “lapdog” to describe the government’s position, if she had she would have been right.
Repressed by Iranian government – but terrified of regime collapse The insights of Iranians critical of the Islamic Republic’s repressive nature but even more critical of the US-Israel bombing of Iran are invaluable.
Below is an extract from a Facebook post (March 2) from an Iranian man’s YouTube channel. Consistent with the theme of my comments above, this Iranian expresses the paradox Iranians involuntarily now find themselves in — caught between an internal repressive regime and external narcissistic warmongers.
In his words:
“As an Iranian, I can tell you the situation is no longer just political — it’s existential. We are trapped between two collapsing structures: one internal, one external. On one hand, we face a deeply dysfunctional government, led by the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic’s unelected institutions.
“Decades of economic mismanagement, suppression of dissent, and brutal ideological control have alienated multiple generations. No one believes in reform anymore — because every attempt has either been co-opted or crushed.
“But here’s the paradox: We are also terrified of regime collapse — because we’ve watched the aftermath of Western intervention in countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan. Each was promised freedom; each descended into chaos, civil war, or foreign occupation.
“So no, we don’t trust the US or Israel. Not because we support our regime — but because we know how imperial powers treat ‘”liberated” nations in the Middle East.
“Freedom, in their language, often means vacuum, fire, and permanent instability. Right now, many Iranians live with three truths at once: The Islamic Republic is morally and politically bankrupt. The alternatives offered by foreign actors are not liberation — they’re collapse.
“A bad government is survivable. No government is not. We are not silent because we agree. We are cautious because we’ve learned — too well — what happens when superpowers decide to “help”.
“In a sentence: Iran is a nation held hostage by its own regime, but haunted by the fate of its neighbors. We are stuck in a house we hate, surrounded by fires we fear more.”
The final word — and what a word it is Sahar Delijani is an Iranian American author most known for her internationally acclaimed debut novel, Children of the Jacaranda Tree. It has been translated into 32 languages and published in more than 75 countries.
In her own courageous and insightful words:
I was born in an Iranian prison. My parents were held in their jails. My uncles lie in their mass graves.
Nothing you can tell be about the crimes of the Iranian regime that I haven’t lived in blood and bone.
That does not mean that I want my people bombed, maimed, killed, their homes in ruins.
If your vision of liberation is only through the destruction of innocent lives, then it’s not freedom you’re after.
These words are more than eloquence; more than heart rendering. They convert complexity into simplicity; they are powerful; they speak truth to power.
They deserve to be the last word in this article.
Ian Powell is a progressive health, labour market and political “no-frills” forensic commentator in New Zealand. A former senior doctors union leader for more than 30 years, he blogs at Second Opinion and Political Bytes, where this article was first published. Republished with the author’s permission.
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Analysis by Keith Rankin, 20 March 2026.
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
The human world changed twice during the twentieth century. The first transition lasted from 1914 to 1945. The principal cause of World War Two was World War One. So, to understand the drivers of that long transition, indeed a great levelling event, it is necessary to investigate the causes of World War One. What happened between those wars was not inevitable, of course. But those inter-war events formed part of a comprehensible transitional sequence.
The next transition began, I would argue, in 1967 and lasted until 1980. Though key pre- and post-transition events took place in 1948, 1953 and 1956; and 1989/1990. The 1967 to 1980 transition significantly involved both Israel and Iran. As a result, the post-war world of cold war and decolonisation gave way to a neoliberal world order in which the new financial and political elites increasingly ruled under the titular covers of ‘liberal democracy’, ‘global rules-based-order’, and the ‘unipolar moment‘.
Are we today in a new transition, away from neoliberalism; maybe into a bleak zero-sum order (or negative-sum) of right-wing identity politics? An order in which national or cultural identity groups seek to harm other such groups more than they benefit their own group. An ultra-Hobbesian world in which individuals and groups gain pleasure directly from the pain they cause to others? Or will such gratuitous and predatory behaviour be limited to a transition now under way? While such behaviour happened markedly during the last years of the 1914 to 1945 transition, there were also substantial precursors to it in the lead-up to World War One. Not least the Judeophobic pogroms in Ukraine and some of its neighbouring territories.
These remain open questions. My aim here is to outline the 1967 to 1980 transition, noting some parallels between that transition and present times.
Before that, I’ll just mention that, in 1948, Israel and Palestine were both granted, by the new United Nations, the status of sovereign nation states. The Palestine nation was stillborn, for a number of reasons, one of which was that the eventual borders of Israel split the Palestinian territories. And I’ll mention that, in 1953, the United States instigated a political and military coup in Iran, converting a developing independent democracy into an absolute monarchy whose role was to acquiesce to Washington’s stated and unstated interests.
Suez Canal: the First Crisis
Most wars start with a pretext, an event manufactured or exploited by the true belligerent to justify its aggression.
One country which had been subjugated – indeed occupied – by the United Kingdom for many years was Egypt. That’s why Egypt came to be so important for the New Zealand military in both WW1 and WW2.
The critical strategic asset in Egypt was the Suez Canal, built by French interests, opened in 1869, and effectively wrested by the British from 1882 (though France maintained a strategic interest). For the steamship age, that canal became the critical conduit for the British Empire, connecting London with India (which included modern Pakistan and Bangladesh), East Africa, the ‘Middle East’ (meaning the Persian Gulf), the ‘Far East’, and the Australian colonies which became Australia.
The Egyptian Revolution took place in 1952, and Egyptian president Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal in July 1956. The result was a war in the latter part of 1956, in which the British and French persuaded Israel (only created in 1948) to invade Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. (These events were covered in an episode of The Crown.) The Israeli attack took place as Operation Kadesh. Less than two days after this pretext, presented as a threat to Israel’s security, Britain (and France) started bombing Egypt at Port Said, in an operation to ‘secure’ the Canal.
The end result was an ignominious defeat for Britain and France, unsupported by the US, but with no meaningful withdrawal by Israel; the Israel-Egypt border had become permanently militarised, noting that Gaza had been (by agreement) under Egyptian control since 1949.
The Suez Canal was closed for nearly six months, until April 1957.
Suez Canal: the Second Crisis
Ten years later, in June 1967, Israel went for broke. This was the much bigger second crisis for the Suez Canal. In six days, Israel conquered the entire Sinai Peninsula – therefore including Gaza – meaning that Israel had annexed the eastern side of the Canal. In addition Israel conquered East Jerusalem, which in 1948 was supposed to have become the capital of an independent Palestine, the West Bank (which the State of Tennessee, in an act of appeasement towards Israel, now wants to call Judea and Samaria; refer Bill requiring Tennessee to use ‘Judea and Samaria’ instead of ‘West Bank’ advances, Fox17, 6 March 2026), and Syria’s Golan Heights.
The principal consequence was that the Suez Canal, an even more important waterway than the Gulf of Hormuz, was closed from 1967 to 1975.
With hindsight, we can see that the global economic crisis of the 1970s began in 1967. It is understood as a crisis of inflation which morphed after 1973 into a crisis of stagflation; for an overview, biased towards the US and towards the received narrative, refer to The Great Inflation, in Federal Reserve History.
The closure of the Suez Canal had little impact on oil prices. But it did lead to a surge in the cost of international transportation, as Asia to Europe trade had to be diverted to the South African and Panama routes. The other two drivers of that inflation-surge in the late 1960s were the escalations of the Vietnam War, and the prevalence of a corporate structure – outlined by John Kenneth Galbraith in The New Industrial State (1967) and Economics and the Public Purpose (1973) – which made the global marketplace less responsive towards increases in global spending. That last point means that large corporate firms, like today’s energy companies, became predisposed to respond to increased demand by raising prices rather than by raising the quantities of output supplied.
Wartime is almost always associated with inflation, because it both raises costs and constrains the supply of consumer goods. (American wars since the 1970s can be an exception, because they are financed by instant money and readily-available imports; by US government-deficits and US economy trade deficits. Deficits which the rest of the world is eager to facilitate.)
Israel 1967 to 1973
With the partial exception of Syria’s Golan Heights, Israel did not formally incorporate the other conquered territories. This retention of these territories as subjugated territories was partly due to international pressure to not recognise conquests, but was probably more to do with their implications for the demographic balance of Israel. Integration would have led to the possibility of Jews becoming a minority of Israel’s population, and Arabs a majority.
(We should note that, for the secular Jews who run Israel, to be Jewish is understood more as an ethnicity than as a religious faith. Hence, Israelis tend to juxtapose Jews and Arabs, whereas people in the rest of the world juxtapose Israelis (understood to be mostly Jews) and Palestinians. Israelis favour the word ‘Arab’ over ‘Palestinian’, because of a popular Israeli narrative that the indigenous population of Palestine is descended from immigrants from Arabia.)
The 1973 Arab-Israeli War happened in October 1973, beginning with a surprise attack by Egypt, during the Yom Kippur holy day (and noting that the 2026 attacks on Iran occurred during Ramadan, Islam’s holiest period). Basically, Egypt wanted its Sinai Peninsula back, in part so that it could reopen the Canal. Other nearby countries joined-in, especially Syria, but also Jordan and Iraq. Not Iran, which was then under United States hegemony.
Despite Egypt’s initial advantage of surprise, Israel not only fought back defensively, but counterattacked. The counterattack included an Israeli army contingent crossing the Suez Canal and marching on Cairo; ie approaching the Nile River. Potentially this war could have led to the creation of a Greater Israel; from the Euphrates (in Syria and Iraq) to the Nile. But again, the problem of conquest becomes the problem of having to incorporate supposedly ‘inferior’ populations into the expanded nation state.
(We note that surprise attacks often do not bear fruit; noting the American president’s tasteless and quasi-triumphant comparison between 28 February 2026 with the ultimately unsuccessful attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. See Trump jokes about Pearl Harbour in meeting with Japan’s PM, TVNZ, 20 March 2026. For a brief moment, I wondered if the President was going to refer to the surprise attack of 6 August 1945, or that of 10 March 1945.)
Further, the international community had interests other than appeasing Israel. The biggest of these concerns was the price of oil. In the end the international community got its way, but at a cost of making Israel itself into a significantly more belligerent state than it had been hitherto.
Oil Prices
The 1973 Oil Crisis led to a quadrupling of crude oil prices by 1977, most of that taking place in 1974. Given the general inflation, much of it instigated by the oil price increases, real oil prices only increased by 150 percent in United States’ dollars.
The main reasons for the huge price increases of oil were the roles of the likes of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – through the Vienna-based OPEC cartel – being able to push back against the encroachment of the Zionist project in their region, by using their effective near-monopoly power. In turn, these high prices led to the further development of the petroleum industries in the Persian Gulf, and of the Gulf States themselves. Additionally, we should note that oil was underpriced prior to the 1973 war; much as it can be argued that oil was underpriced in January 2026.
This had a much bigger economic impact on countries like New Zealand than anything we’ve either seen or projected in the present March 2026 crisis. (In my case, it brought forward my OE plans. At the end of 1973, for $400 I bought a ticket to sail to England via Acapulco, Panama, Curaçao and Barbados. By time the ship sailed in April 1974, the fare had been subject to two surcharges and I ended up paying more like $480. It could have been worse if the ship had not had access to cheap Venezuelan fuel in Curaçao.)
The result was a series of massive financial imbalances across the world; between oil-importing and oil-exporting countries, and also within larger oil-producing countries such as the United States. (New York’s loss was Texas’s gain.) While those 1970s’ financial challenges were navigated by the world’s finance ministers and central banks with a large measure of pragmatic success, the turmoil of the times let in a new and simplistic narrative around money and inflation; an unnuanced narrative that harked back to the classical stories about money during World War Zero (that’s the Napoleonic Wars of 1798 to 1815).
That new narrative was monetarism/neoliberalism, and placed itself perfectly to exploit the economic crisis – the Great Inflation– to create the neoliberal anti-intellectual hegemony which has ruled over the western world and hence over the whole world since the early 1980s. The guru of monetarism was a Chicago School economist; Milton Friedman. As an academic, Friedman and his acolytes had been plugging away through the 1950s and 1960s; well-placed to take advantage of a good crisis, especially a crisis centred around the word ‘inflation’. Chicago School economists experimented on Chile following its 11 September 1973 military coup.
If Israel had simply returned Sinai to Egypt in say 1970 – in circumstances similar to the eventual return of Sinai – allowing the Suez Canal to reopen, then the 1970s and 1980s could have turned out very differently.
Revolution, and Oil Prices again
One of the consequences of the political crisis in the Middle East was further crisis in the Middle East. Various latent nationalisms in the region intensified markedly; these intensifications turned for inspiration to the common faith in the region, Islam.
Hence, there was a direct – albeit convoluted – pathway from the 1973 war to the 1978/1979 Iranian Revolution. In February 1979 the Imperial State of Iran gave way to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(I could have gained a personal glimpse of revolutionary Iran. Returning from my OE in September 1978, my partner and I were on a PanAm flight from Rome to Istanbul. The flight originated in New York, and terminated in Tehran, and was running late. Many of the passengers were agitated, because the flight was now projected to arrive in Tehran during the evening curfew. I guess it was always possible that PanAm would take the decision to overfly Istanbul, in order to arrive in Tehran on time. The plane did land in Istanbul, later than scheduled, so I know not about what dramas may have unfolded in Tehran later that evening. I expect that the return flight out of Tehran was fully booked, given the deteriorating situation there for American citizens.)
An important result is that oil from Iran, a founding member of OPEC, came off the world market for a few years. (Although, Aotearoa New Zealand, in its own pragmatic navigation of the crisis, came to do a swap deal with Revolutionary Iran. Despite the fact that, for a few years instances of capital punishment in Iran came to exceed those in the United States, New Zealand negotiated a sheep-meat for oil swap, thereby saving this country’s critical sheep-farming industry.)
The result of the loss of Iranian oil from the word market led, in 1979, to a further doubling of the world price of crude oil. In the second half of the 1970s, many countries – including New Zealand and United States – cut their speed limits to 80kph (or 50 miles per hour). (I still remember, in October 1976, riding in a Greyhound Bus in Pennsylvania, watching big trucks traveling very slowly along the United States’ interstate motorway system.)
In 1979, the crisis became so difficult that the New Zealand government made the sensible though since-derided decision to ration petrol by requiring motorists to observe carless days each week.
Governments in oil-importing countries made the pragmatic decision to both conserve oil and, for balance of payments’ reasons, to develop their own oil, gas and exportable reserves. New Zealand electrified its North Island Main Trunk Railway, doubled its aluminium production capacity (in order to export renewable energy), substantially expanded its oil-refining capacity, developed the Maui gas field; and developed the Glenbrook steel mill as a means to gain export receipts from the sale of west coast iron-sand.
Eventually, in 1986, the world oil price collapsed, ushering in a new (and environmentally discordant) era of cheap oil. Inflation-adjusted oil prices in 1999 were even lower than in 1972.
The Great Deception
World price-inflation was on a substantial downward path once the leading economies’ central banks allowed interest rates to fall (through liberalising monetary policies) in the years 1983 to 1985, and once cheap oil resumed. But in some countries high consumer-price-inflation persevered until the end of the 1980s’ decade, especially as they shifted towards goods and services taxes.
New Zealand pioneered a particular form of illiberal monetary policy in 1989, when inflation was already falling back to normal levels; and claimed that the new simple-minded monetary policy was the sole cure. This policy, which was in fact very much associated with the aforementioned monetarist project, became akin to a biblical truth; and was successfully exported to the consolidating globalised political and financial elites, making this new quasi-biblical truth into a bedrock policy-of-faith in the post-1980 world order.
Today, we can easily observe how false this ‘truth’ of faith is. By looking at the United Kingdom and Australia, two countries which have minimally reduced interest rates since 2022, we can see how their inflation rates have remained stubbornly higher than those with lower interest rates.
The next political and financial world order?
Are we in a new transition? Probably yes. Will it take a decade or so? Probably yes. While there are many calamities that could happen – and remembering that the world faced the possibility of global nuclear war early in both the cold war world order and the neoliberal world order – an optimistic take is that the world will move into a multipolar principles-of-engagement world order in which no single polity (or alliance) can dictate terms to the rest of the world with apparent impunity.
A unipolar world order is an illiberal geopolitical monopoly. Present events may either entrench or destroy the forces pushing for geopolitical illiberalism. Multipolarity is geopolitical liberalism.
The next world order should not be reliant on cheap oil nor indefinite economic growth nor the idolatry of money. Money is a means, not an end; it is a technology, not a commodity. Capitalism can become a peaceful private-public partnership. If enough of us want it to be.
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Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
New Zealanders are really starting to feel the pinch from the United States and Israel’s attacks as fuel prices get close to $4/litre at the pump.RNZ / Quin Tauetau
Analysis – An unexpected address from the Prime Minister in Wellington this week spoke volumes about the economic crisis the government is staring down the barrel of.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis and the minister responsible for fuel security, Shane Jones, have been doing the heavy lifting on what the impacts may or may not be for New Zealand’s economy if the conflict in Iran drags on.
Already suffering a cost of living crisis, New Zealanders are really starting to feel the pinch from the United States and Israel’s attacks as fuel prices soar past $3 at the pump and the flow-on effects mean almost everything else – food, services, flights – also climb to unaffordable levels.
It’s an attack on the economy and that’s an issue National has pinned its electoral hopes on in November after promising in 2023 to get the country back on track.
Late last year Labour surpassed National as the party most trusted to respond to the economic challenges, and in the most recent Ipsos Monitor this month the two parties were neck-and-neck on the issue.
Labour is also seen as more capable on inflation and cost of living.
That’s no small concern for the major governing party as it prepares for a tightly-contested election, while simultaneously dealing with an economic shock not of its own making.
Enter Christopher Luxon.
While the foreign affairs’ nuances of the war in Iran are certainly not Luxon’s forte, on the economy he feels more comfortable and has a reputation at least as a former chief executive for knowing what he’s talking about on that front.
But until Thursday he wasn’t doing the talking – Willis and Jones were.
Luxon had tasked the pair with leading the work and then jumped on a plane for four days to the Pacific at about the exact time the situation reports got bleaker back home.
The ministerial advisory group is having online meetings every morning to get updates from officials, and Willis has been doing blanket coverage media interviews and press conferences for the past couple of weeks.
Jones has taken the lead on the fuel security element and has been very much second in command.
So not surprising Luxon chose to high-tail it down to the Beehive for a face-to-face meeting with his officials on Thursday morning about what the state of play is.
For the seven days prior he’d only been receiving updates via reports and phone calls and was keen to hear the lay of the land from those at the coal face of the government’s response.
It led to a last-minute decision to hold a media conference at Parliament, alongside Willis, where the substance of what the government was doing hadn’t changed but the tone certainly had.
The purpose of the media conference was two-fold: tell New Zealanders they need to be realistic about what might be coming down the line and how bad it might get, and put the prime minister in charge of a looming crisis.
The hope for National is that it can claw back the narrative of being a safe pair of hands when the economy is in choppy seas, but the flip side is that if things do get worse before they get better and things haven’t improved at all for Kiwis’ backpockets come the election, then it’s Luxon and Willis who will wear all of it.
The war coming to an end soon is crucial to their success because even if it does end in the next week or three, the lag effect is such that it will still take time for the economy to bounce back.
With an election just shy of eight months away, it isn’t a lot of runway.
The biggest take-away from Thursday’s update was the work being done to prepare cost-of-living relief for some people if the pain at the pump, the supermarket, and almost everywhere else, continues.
Willis has signalled she’s tasked Inland Revenue with finding the best way to get targeted, temporary, and timely funding to those working Kiwis who will be impacted the most.
The biggest problem she has isn’t how to administer it, but when to pull the trigger on it.
Go too early and the government books end up looking worse for longer, but go too late and voters feel like they’ve been abandoned.
Expect discussions on the specifics of that payment to be high on the agenda at Monday’s Cabinet meeting.
National has talked a big game on being fiscally prudent.
If there’s even a whiff of Willis and Luxon sliding into cost-of-living relief creep to try keep as many voters as possible happy in the months ahead, it will be deputy prime minister and Act leader David Seymour shouting the loudest.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Town of Waitangi on Chatham Island.Vk2cz / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)
Chatham Island council is meeting this afternoon to try and come up with a way to soften the blow as diesel prices jump a dollar a litre for the isolated community.
Meanwhile, in Waiheke Island, petrol prices are sitting [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/590158/foodstuff-s-petrol-stations-continue-to-offer-discounts-despite-stores-running-dry close to $4 and the main Waiheke ferry is making some timetable changes to accommodate increasing fuel costs.
Petrol stations across the country are seeing a bump in drivers filling up amid fears over the Iran war and potential shortages, but Chatham’s runs slightly differently.
The islands ship petrol and diesel to the island. It’s heavily reliant on diesel as the main form of fuel to power the island.
Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust chief executive and council interim CEO Bob Penter said diesel was at $2.29 per litre and petrol at $4.50 per litre before the conflict in the Middle East.
He said they have capacity to store 400,000 litres on the island, but the problem will arise when they have to buy more at the current prices.
“Diesel has experienced much greater price increases rather than the increases we are seeing with petrol, so diesel is where we are experiencing most of our pressure at the moment.
“The higher prices are starting to flow through to what we need to purchase to top up our on island supplies, so we will have to consider over the next few days, looking at when we need to announce price adjustments and the price is obviously likely to increase.
“It’s risen about a dollar in purchase cost.”
But Penter is determined not to put that increase directly on islanders.
“The main concern for us is if we are able to soften the blow for Chatham Islanders, rather than the price climbing up a steep faced waterfall, if we can have a bit more of a gentle slope with gradual increases rather than a sudden shock.”
“We will give people as much forewarning as we can of any price changes. It won’t be a price at 11.59pm and another price at 12am and they don’t find out till morning.”
He said because the island had some resilience with storage and stock levels there was hope.
“We can potentially absorb some of the price increases from the new stock coming in as we release the old stock, so its just how we manage that in terms of a timing pathway and ensuring that we are meeting our purchase price that we have to pay.”
Chatham Islands was already the most expensive place to buy petrol in New Zealand before the conflict at $4.50.
He said it had to be that price because it was a expensive and dangerous process to get it.
“Petrol is probably ok at the moment because we do have some reserves… we are watching it really closely… if the current pricing structure we are seeing for petrol in New Zealand continues then I’m afraid inevitable it’s going to flow through to the Chathams and what we are able to price petrol for.”
As for the Hauraki Gulf, ferry company Fullers said despite the rising costs they have no current plans to make changes to the pricing.
It said they will make timetable changes to some destinations so they can ensure a reliable and sustainable service.
Fullers said it will revert to its off peak timetable slightly earlier than planned, starting Saturday.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 20, 2026.
I’m a kidney surgeon. Here’s why I hope I never see you Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Dat, Consultant Urological Surgeon and Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Surgery, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University As a urological surgeon, I meet many patients with chronic (long-term) kidney disease. Sometimes, I see patients that have progressed to the point where their kidneys do not work at
Labor set for landslide in final South Australian polls with One Nation ahead of Liberals Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The South Australian state election is Saturday, with polls closing at 6:30pm AEDT. The 47 lower house seats will be elected in single-member electorates using preferential voting.
Bacterial meningitis is deadly, but can also have life-altering long-term effects – new study Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Octavia Calder-Dawe, Lecturer in Health Psychology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Bacterial meningitis is once again in global headlines, with recent cases linked to the University of Otago in New Zealand and a fast-growing outbreak at the University of Kent in England. Bacterial meningitis
Many tourism hotspots are ‘de-marketing’ – with mixed success. We researched the smartest ways to do it Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Hardy, Adjunct professor, Tourism, Southern Cross University Those who watched the recent Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics probably placed Italy high on their travel bucket lists. Global events frequently generate abrupt spikes in visitor demand. This is a boon for many tourism operators and business
Keith Rankin Analysis – Turkmenistan: The Hermit Autocracy in the Centre of Eurasia Analysis by Keith Rankin, 17 March 2026. Iran is a crucial country in Southwest Asia. Not only is it strategically placed with respect to maritime transport, it also has land borders with seven countries. Most of these countries have been in the world news in the last decade, generally in relation to some conflict or
Why Iran is attacking Gulf energy infrastructure Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Powell, Teaching Fellow in Strategic and Air Power Studies, University of Portsmouth Iran targeted energy facilities across the Middle East on March 18, including the world’s largest liquefied natural gas hub in Qatar, in retaliation for Israeli strikes on an Iranian gas field hours earlier. Iran
Why drawing eyes on food packaging could stop seagulls stealing your chips Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Kelley, Associate Professor, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter The increasingly urban lifestyles of seagulls in the UK and around Europe has made them experts at grabbing food from unsuspecting outdoor diners. Herring gulls in particular are gaining a reputation for food theft in
Return of the oil shock: lessons from a crisis New Zealand has seen before Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Basil Sharp, Professor of Energy Economics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau The world’s energy situation is growing more volatile by the day. The US-Israel war on Iran has effectively shut one of the world’s most important oil choke points, the Strait of Hormuz, sending the price
What does One Nation actually believe in? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kurt Sengul, Research fellow, Far-Right Communication, Macquarie University One Nation’s unprecedented surge in the polls raises important questions about whether a party built on grievance can present coherent policies to voters. While a Pauline Hanson-led federal government remains highly unlikely, One Nation now sees itself as a
Indigenous Australians always come off worst in disasters. This needs to stop Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bhiamie Williamson, Research Fellow in Disaster Resilience, Monash University Indigenous communities are often the worst hit when major disasters strike. The recent floods across the Northern Territory are a case in point. Last week, residents in the regional centre of Katherine were either evacuated or sought shelter
Some kids stop swimming lessons too early. How well can your child actually swim? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Graefe, Adjunct Research Fellow, Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University As the weather starts to cool down and outdoor pools shut, are you thinking of pressing pause on your child’s swimming lessons, or even stopping altogether? If your child has reached a certain level,
Fines alone won’t stop big tech behaving badly. Here’s what might work Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren C. Hall, PhD Candidate in Psychology, University of Tasmania As countries around the world look to follow Australia’s lead and implement a social media ban for kids, many are also considering fines as an enforcement mechanism. This is part of the playbook when it comes to
What is Flumist, the new flu vaccine for kids that’s sprayed in their noses? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allen Cheng, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Monash University Many kids are scared of getting needles, and this can stop them getting vaccinations that protect that against the flu. Less than one in four Australian children were vaccinated against influenza in 2025. This winter, Australian families have another
How does your super balance compare to other people your age? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Peng, Lecturer in Accounting, The University of Queensland If you have ever checked your super balance and wondered whether you are “behind” for your age, you aren’t alone. To see where you truly sit, you should ignore “averages”, which can be skewed by a small number
Shifting more healthcare to the private sector calls for a clear government plan – where is it? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robin Gauld, Executive Dean, Bond Business School, Bond University Access to public elective services such as hip replacements or cataract surgery has long been inadequate in New Zealand, with extended wait times and exclusion of those not assessed as high priority despite genuine clinical need. Workforce shortages
Seattle tried to guarantee higher pay for delivery drivers – here’s why it didn’t work as intended Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Garin, Associate Professor of Economics, Carnegie Mellon University If you’ve ever ordered food through DoorDash, Uber Eats or Instacart, you may have realized the person who delivers it isn’t a salaried employee. They’re gig workers – independent contractors who pick up delivery tasks through an app,
China’s growing grip on the fragile Solomon Islands media sector SPECIAL REPORT: Reporters Without Borders Since the Solomon Islands established diplomatic relations with China in 2019, the Pacific country has become a strategic arena for Beijing’s influence. By capitalising on the economic fragility of the local media sector, China has stepped up conditional funding, editorial partnerships and influence programmes to disseminate its narratives. Reporters Without
Australian charities funding Israel’s illegal settlements ‘untouchable’, says Labor govt The Labor government has told the Senate that Australian charities don’t have to comply with international law, nor will they be compelled. Michael West Media reports. SPECIAL REPORT: By Stephanie Tran The Albanese government has rejected a proposal to strip tax-deductible status from Australian charities found to be supporting illegal occupations, amid mounting scrutiny over
Grattan on Friday: Chalmers is trying to make economic uncertainty a springboard for reform Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When he talks about the May 12 budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers always stresses that what’s done on things like the capital gains tax discount will be a matter for cabinet. It would be more accurate to say the fate of
Heading to Bali, Vietnam or Thailand? Why a measles vaccine is more important than ever Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Niall Johnston, Conjoint Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney If you’re planning an Easter holiday to Bali, Vietnam or Thailand, it’s a good time to check if you and your family are vaccinated against measles. These are among destinations in Southeast Asia with ongoing measles outbreaks,
Cook Islands PM Mark Brown and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters held an informal discussion at Peters’ private residence in Auckland on Friday, 20 March 2026 Supplied / Minister of Foreign Affairs
Winston Peters has met “informally” with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown at Peters’ home in Auckland.
Four days ago, Peters’ office said they had no plans to meet Brown while he was in New Zealand.
In a joint statement, they said they discussed “fundamental challenges facing the New Zealand-Cook Islands relationship over the past 18 months” though there appeared to be no resolutions.
“Political dialogue between the two countries will continue in the coming weeks in order to determine whether these challenges can be resolved in the present circumstances,” it stated.
“In the meantime, the Governments of the Cook Islands and New Zealand will not be providing further comment.”
Christopher Luxon said on Thursday that he would not meet with Brown in any capacity, preferring to keep it between officials.
“I’m confident we’ll get to a good place in the end, we’ve made some good progress recently, but I’m going to let our officials handle that progress,” he said.
Addressing a room of dignitaries on Wednesday, Brown said his country was “growing in influence” globally on its “voyage of statehood”.
“Our desire to pursue our own policies and interests have been reflected in our growing participation on the international stage,” Brown told a room of dignitaries.
“There are times when we must pause and consider whether the conventions and evolved understanding between our freely associated states remain aligned … we find ourselves in such a moment.”
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Dat, Consultant Urological Surgeon and Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Surgery, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University
As a urological surgeon, I meet many patients with chronic (long-term) kidney disease.
Sometimes, I see patients that have progressed to the point where their kidneys do not work at all. This leads to the toxic build-up of waste products, meaning they need regular dialysis or a kidney transplant.
While these treatments are lifesaving, access to them is becoming increasingly challenging.
As more people are newly diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, the larger the demand for dialysis. By 2032, it is expected dialysis rates in Australia will surge by almost 86% compared with rates in 2022.
So my colleagues and I are increasingly working in a health-care system at capacity caring for people with kidney disease.
Clearly, it would be better for patients and the health system if we detected kidney disease early and treated it before it progressed.
Kidney Health Australia’s action plan provides a practical blueprint of how to get there.
The cost of kidney disease
An estimated one in seven Australian adults have indicators of chronic kidney disease, the vast majority not knowing it.
About three out of four Australian adults have at least one factor that increases their risk of chronic kidney disease. This includes diabetes or high blood pressure.
Chronic kidney disease is associated with a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and premature death.
It also has a significant public health impact, costing Australia A$9.9 billion a year.
Remind me, what do your kidneys actually do?
The kidneys are two fist-sized organs that sit at the back of the abdomen and perform some of the body’s most essential tasks.
They are best known to filter waste and excess fluid from the bloodstream to produce urine.
They produce hormones that help support red blood cell production and bone health. They also regulate blood pressure by maintaining the balance of salts and minerals in the body.
But kidney disease can start and progress for a variety of reasons.
For instance, high blood glucose (sugar) levels and high blood pressure can damage kidney blood vessels and nephrons (filtering units). This affects the kidneys’ ability to filter blood.
Kidney disease is often ‘silent’
Kidney disease is often described as “silent”. That’s because kidneys can lose up to 90% of their function before development of symptoms including:
fatigue
swelling in the legs and ankles
persistent high blood pressure
shortness of breath
needing to urinate more often, especially at night
foamy urine.
Unfortunately, kidney damage is often irreversible by this stage. So we need to focus on preventing kidney damage in the first place.
What you can do now
Not all causes of chronic kidney disease are easily preventable. However, there are ways to reduce the chance of kidney disease:
avoiding excessive use, over long periods, of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as ibuprofen.
How do we catch kidney disease early?
Kidney Health Australia proposes GPs perform a “kidney health check” on people at higher risk every one to two years. This would include:
people with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or who are obese
First Nations people
people who smoke or vape (or who have done so in the past)
people with a family history of kidney disease
those aged over 60.
This check would include a blood pressure reading, blood test for kidney function and urine test checking protein levels.
It has been estimated early detection and treatment of kidney disease could prevent more than 38,000 premature deaths, generate 165,000 extra years of healthy life, and deliver a saving of $45 for every $1 invested over the next 20 years.
The best dialysis is the one you never need
By the time many patients reach specialists like me, the damage to their kidneys is advanced and irreversible.
Many causes of kidney disease, however, such as high blood pressure and diabetes are largely preventable.
Greater awareness of how to look after your kidneys, simple screening and early intervention could stop many Australians progressing to kidney failure.
The catastrophic failure of the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant may have been caused by air trapped in the pipes, a report has revealed.
The Wellington plant failed last month, flooding the facility and sending millions of litres of raw sewage into the sea each day.
Wellington City Council on Friday released the first report into the ongoing saga.
Wellington Water commissioned the engineering report on 5 February – the day after the failure – to understand how the plant could be operated during the recovery.
Experts from Stantec used software to develop a hydraulic model of the plant, and replicated the likely flow of water running through the plant when it failed.
While the report was not commissioned to identify the cause, it revealed valuable information, Wellington Mayor Andrew Little’s office said.
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said the report was just one piece of the puzzle.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
“The report found that air can become trapped in the wastewater bypass pipeline, particularly when there is a high flow of wastewater passing through the plant.
“It is possible that trapped air could disrupt the flow of wastewater, pushing it backwards and flooding the plant.”
There was a “significant risk” of the air being trapped in the system, causing a “choke point” the report said.
And if it did happen, it would be “a likely cause of the flooding”.
The bypass system allows screened wastewater to bypass further treatment – like disinfection – and be discharged out to sea when the plant is at maximum capacity.
The experts suggested Wellington Water install additional air release equipment at specific locations in the system.
Wellington Water chief operating officer Charles Baker speaking to media following the release of the report.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
“This is expected to provide some improvement to the issues identified until the design of a new bypass pipeline alignment and connection can be developed and implemented.”
The report was just one piece of the puzzle, Little said.
“There are other areas of interest that require a more detailed investigation, and Wellington Water has commissioned an external specialist to conduct a wider investigation into these other factors.
“It’s natural to want a quick answer, but it’s important that we take the time to uncover all the facts and not draw conclusions too early.
“Wellingtonians deserve assurance that our recovery addresses the root cause and any related factors, so we can be confident we’re preventing this from happening again.”
The Wellington plant failed last month, flooding the facility and sending millions of litres of raw sewage into the sea each day.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Air pocket ‘burping’ seen since
The report revealed that Veolia, the plant operator, told Wellington Water at a meeting this week that crews had observed the burping of air pockets during the storm on 3 March when there was a high level of water running through the system.
“The operator … observed burping of large air pockets and large splashes from the outlet chamber during the initial pumping sequences,” it said.
That showed the air release capacity of a vent pipe downstream had been exceeded at times, the report said.
More risks identified
The experts identified other potential risks at the plant and made a number of technical recommendations.
“Wellington Water should address the potential risk of a blockage or debris in the outfall section of the pipe and implement monitoring of operating pressures in the ocean outfall (during the recovery phase at a minimum).”
The company should also review the condition of existing air and isolation valves, and replace them if necessary, the report said.
CCTV from the pipeline showed the polyurethane liner had eroded and cement mortar had potentially degraded in some sections, it said.
“This has occurred due to high velocity super-critical (shallow and fast) flow impacting on the liner.
“This flow regime presents risks to the long-term durability of the effluent pipeline liner and structural steel which warrants additional review and investigation.”
An independent Crown review into the failure is also underway, and its final report is expected in August.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
The South Australian state election is Saturday, with polls closing at 6:30pm AEDT. The 47 lower house seats will be elected in single-member electorates using preferential voting.
In the past few days, we have had SA polls from Newspoll, DemosAU, YouGov and Fox & Hedgehog. These polls all suggest a Labor landslide, with Labor’s primary vote at 37–40% and the Greens at 11–12%. One Nation is in the low 20s, supplanting the Liberals (high teens) as the main right-wing party.
Breakdowns from the DemosAU, YouGov and Fox & Hedgehog polls suggest Labor is doing particularly well in Adelaide. The Liberals will likely beat One Nation on primary votes in many Adelaide seats, but if Labor wins these seats, it won’t count for the Liberals. In regional seats, One Nation is likely to beat the Liberals and win the seats.
On these polls, the Liberals could be wiped out in the lower house and be replaced by One Nation as the main right-wing party. But Labor would win a landslide.
Eleven of the 22 upper house seats will also be up for election by statewide proportional representation with preferences. A quota for election is one-twelfth of the vote or 8.3%.
In previous SA elections, only ordinary votes cast on election day have been counted on election night. However, legislation passed in 2024 will allow pre-poll and postal votes to also be counted on the night.
By the end of the night, we will have a much higher share of the overall vote counted than at previous SA elections. However, the pre-poll votes will take much longer to count than those cast on election day.
This article also includes a New South Wales Resolve poll that has Labor’s primary vote slumping eight points since January to 29% as One Nation debuts with 23%.
SA Newspoll
A SA Newspoll, conducted March 12–18 from a sample of 1,048, gave Labor 40% of the primary vote (down four since the mid-February Newspoll), One Nation 22% (down two), the Liberals 16% (up two), the Greens 12% (steady) and all Others 10% (up four). No two-party estimate was reported.
Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas’ net approval was down six points to +34 (65% satisfied, 31% dissatisfied). Liberal leader Ashton Hurn’s net approval was up four points to +8 (43% satisfied, 35% dissatisfied). Malinauskas led Hurn as better premier by 64–22 (67–19 previously).
SA DemosAU poll
A SA DemoaAU and Ace Strategies poll for InDaily, conducted March 12–18 from a sample of 1,242, gave Labor 37% of the primary vote (down six since the early February DemosAU poll), One Nation 23% (up four), the Liberals 17% (down one), the Greens 11% (down one) and all Others 12% (up four). No two-party estimates were provided.
Malinauskas’ net positive score was +29 (49% positive, 20% negative), while Hurn was at net zero (21% positive, 21% negative). One Nation’s lead upper house candidate Cory Bernardi was at net -16 net (36% negative, 20% positive).
SA YouGov poll
A SA YouGov poll for The Advertiser, conducted March 9–17 from a sample of 1,265, gave Labor 38% of the primary vote (up one since the mid-February YouGov poll), One Nation 22% (steady), the Liberals 19% (down one), the Greens 12% (down one), independents 5% (down one) and others 4% (up two).
By respondent preferences, Labor led both One Nation and the Liberals by 59–41, a one-point gain for One Nation vs Labor and steady against the Liberals.
Malinauskas’ net approval was down three points to +33, with 63% satisfied and 30% dissatisfied. Hurn’s net approval was steady at +7 (42% satisfied, 35% dissatisfied). Malinauskas led Hurn as better premier by 62–23 (64–20 previously).
SA Fox & Hedgehog poll
A SA Fox & Hedgehog poll, conducted March 6–16 from a sample of 1,008, gave Labor 38% of the primary vote (down two since the early February F&H poll, One Nation 21% (up one), the Liberals 18% (down one), the Greens 11% (down one) and all Others 12% (up three).
By respondent preferences, Labor led One Nation by 59–41, a four-point gain for One Nation. They led the Liberals by 60–40, a one-point gain for the Liberals. In a three-party preferred, where Green and Other voters are asked to choose between Labor, the Liberals and One Nation, Labor had 52% (down two), One Nation 26% (up one) and the Liberals 22% (up one).
Malinauskas’ net approval was up two points to +33 (52% approve, 19% disapprove). Hurn’s net approval was up three to +10 (25% approve, 15% disapprove). Malinauskas led Hurn as preferred premier by 55–22 (54–22 previously). Bernardi’s net approval was down five to -9 (23% disapprove, 14% approve).
Federal politicians included in this SA poll were Anthony Albanese (down six to -15 net approval), Pauline Hanson (down five to +5) and Angus Taylor (up six to -1).
NSW Resolve poll: Labor slumps as One Nation debuts with 23%
The New South Wales state election is in March 2027. A Resolve poll for The Sydney Morning Herald was conducted March 9–14 from a sample of 1,100. Unlike most previous NSW Resolve polls, this was conducted in one week, not over two months.
Labor had 29% of the primary vote (down eight since the December to January Resolve poll), the Coalition 25% (down two), One Nation 23% (not previously asked for), the Greens 10% (steady), independents 8% (down three) and others 5% (down ten).
Resolve doesn’t usually give a two-party estimate for its state polls, but analyst Kevin Bonham gave Labor about a 53–47 lead over the Coalition. Optional preferential voting in NSW hurts the right as there’s a split between One Nation and the Coalition.
Despite Labor’s slump on voting intentions, Labor incumbent Chris Minns held a 38–17 lead as preferred premier over Liberal leader Kellie Sloane (40–18 in January). On the NSW state outlook, 30% said it would get worse in the next year, 19% better and 51% said no change.
This poll contrasts with a NSW DemosAU early March poll that gave Labor 34% of the primary vote, the Coalition 23%, One Nation 21% and the Greens 15%.
Federal Morgan poll and further Resolve questions
A national Morgan poll, conducted March 9–15 from a sample of 1,654, gave Labor 28.5% of the primary vote (up two since the March 2–8 Morgan poll), the Coalition 24% (up 1.5), One Nation 22.5% (down one), the Greens 12.5% (down two) and all Others 12.5% (down 0.5).
By respondent preferences, Labor led the Coalition by 54–46, a 0.5-point gain for the Coalition. By 2025 election preference flows, Labor led by 52–48, a one-point gain for the Coalition.
I previously covered the national Resolve poll for Nine newspapers. In additional questions, respondents were pessimistic about the near-term economic outlook, with 44% expecting it to get worse in the next year and 21% better and more pessimism about shorter horizons. But in the next five years, “get better” led by 33–30.
On the rising cost of living, 40% thought the federal government most responsible, 17% global factors, 10% state and territory governments, 6% businesses and 6% the Reserve Bank.
Danniverke Carriers owner Nigel Castles expects further price rises for fuel are inevitable.123rf
A rural transport company carting stock to the meat works couldn’t get the fuel it needed at two North Island commercial truck stops.
Pumps ran dry in Wairoa and Eltham on Thursday when the Stephenson Transport truck and trailer units from Central Hawke’s Bay were on a freezing works run.
Owner Bruce Stephenson said it’s a situation he’s never faced during his seven decades in the business.
“We had stock trucks on the road obviously all over the place. We couldn’t get fuel in Wairoa and we couldn’t get fuel in Eltham,” he said.
“They were loaded with stock heading to the works, so we had to stretch things out a bit – it gets a bit tricky when you’re doing that sort of thing.”
He fielded phone calls from his concerned drivers wondering what to do next.
“I’m talking about truck stops where we fuel up and where we get our contract prices from. That’s where access is relatively easy for a big truck and trailers with crates on.”
“So we had to go to service stations and find one we could get under the canopy of.”
Danniverke Carriers owner Nigel Castles is also coping with the swiftly evolving situation.
His company also carts stock around the country and he’s concerned about the massive spike in prices.
And his family-owned business can’t absorb the soaring fuel prices alone.
He’s reluctantly passing these increases on to farmers and estimates his fuel bill is up 20 percent from the start of the year.
The company filled its tanks last week, and he hopes the next delivery will arrive in a week.
With no signs of tensions easing in the Middle East, he expects further price rises for fuel are inevitable.
“The next lot of fuel supply is actually going to go up again,” he said.
“Definitely out on farm there’s a lot of worry, and as transporters we certainly don’t want to come to a grinding halt either.”
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Bacterial meningitis is well known as an acute, deadly illness. The World Health Organization estimates about one in six infected people will die – even with prompt medical care and antibiotic treatment.
While this frightening statistic makes headlines, less well understood is what happens to those who survive this highly contagious infectious disease.
Much of the existing research on bacterial meningitis tends to follow a similar pattern, focused on the acute phase when people are hospitalised and receiving treatment.
While this makes sense, it also bolsters the idea that bacterial meningitis is a short-term illness that is effectively dealt with by the time patients leave hospital.
This is not the case. Emerging international evidence suggests a majority of patients experience ongoing and life-altering physical, psychological and social impacts well beyond the acute treatment phase.
Our new research with people who survived bacterial meningitis is the first of its kind conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand.
With support from the Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand, we collated exploratory survey responses from 16 adult participants, followed by in-depth interviews with ten of these people.
This allowed us to build a nuanced, personalised picture of what life after meningitis is actually like. Our findings show significant and long-lasting impacts of infection.
Ongoing impacts long after acute illness
Participants emphasised that bacterial meningitis was a long-term illness with far-reaching impacts.
Far from being “cured” at hospital discharge, participants described experiencing multiple chronic after-effects, including fatigue, difficulties with concentration, memory and emotional regulation, persistent headaches, and issues with mobility, vision and hearing.
These after-effects were permanent for some and persisted for years for others.
Ongoing symptoms had major implications for how participants were able to live their lives. They affected their ability to work and support themselves, to study and to maintain relationships with others.
In turn, this had serious downstream effects on mental health. Participants linked their experiences to anxiety, depression and suicidality. As one reflected:
I thought my life was absolutely done and dusted.
Lack of guidance and support
In the context of these life-changing impacts, participants described an absence of accurate and useful medical advice about after-effects and recovery trajectories.
This information vacuum made the adjustment to living with lasting impacts especially difficult to understand and cope with. Interviewees described feeling abandoned and did not know whether and where they could access help.
Those we interviewed were not offered mental health follow-up despite having faced a life-threatening medical diagnosis – a known risk factor for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Many described leaving hospital in shock, with no accident compensation cover and no ongoing primary care plan or specialist referral in place. One participant explained her experience like this:
When I was eventually discharged, there was no support. There was no brochure to tell me that I could go and talk to someone or a list of potential after-effects.
Reflecting the focus on acute care, participants were typically treated by healthcare providers as if they were recovered and would be ready to resume their normal activities soon.
Several participants were told by doctors to return to work or school within weeks.
This proved to be alarmingly inaccurate advice. Most of those we spoke to experienced after-effects that affected their ability to work, study and socialise for months or years.
Without access to formalised aftercare, close family and friends filled the gaps. Many participants described being discharged from hospital while unable to feed themselves, and unable to move unassisted. In these situations, support from loved ones was vital.
Our findings demonstrate that bacterial meningitis is much more than a life-threatening infection. It is an acute disease with serious, chronic after-effects which are poorly understood and often go unrecognised.
Alongside efforts to raise vaccination rates and improve symptom recognition, we need to do better by those living with the impacts of this cruel disease.
Our recommendations highlight that patients and families need realistic information and responsive support to help them adjust to life after bacterial meningitis.
Those who watched the recent Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympics probably placed Italy high on their travel bucket lists.
Global events frequently generate abrupt spikes in visitor demand.
This is a boon for many tourism operators and business owners, but it often leads to short-term yet significant pressures on destinations, resulting in concerns regarding overtourism.
Some destinations are therefore actively trying to reduce tourism – with mixed success.
We recently researched how tourism destinations could do this successfully without causing major disruptions.
Rather than using the traditional “4 Ps” of marketing (price, produce, place and promotion) to attract tourists, de-marketing uses them to keep people away.
Tasmania’s Overland Track: a case study
Our soon-to-be-published research shows de-marketing risks failure if it ignores trends and pressures in society.
We found successful de-marketing cannot be conducted from one angle, such as changing the way a location is marketed. This is because attractions, businesses cultures, residents, heritage assets and natural areas all form the tourism system – when one is altered, the entire system is affected.
The Overland Track in southwest Tasmania, Australia, illustrates this well.
Hikers walk along Tasmania’s Overland Track with Barn Bluff in the distance.Adam Cooper/AAP
Following extensive consultation, in 2011 the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service introduced a suite of measures:
a booking and permit system
a track fee
capped daily departures
the introduction of free mid‑track access for Tasmanians to maintain local recreation opportunities.
In 2011, hiker numbers were at 8,260 per year. Since then, there has been modest increase, and for the past three years numbers have stabilised at around 11,000 per year.
Using permits and capped daily departures slowed the growth of visitors, while track fees provide revenue from which rangers are employed and improvements to trails, huts and toilets can be made. This in turn reduces track erosion and environmental impacts.
Sometimes it backfires
Ironically, as destinations have tried to de-market themselves, media coverage of their actions can cause these attempts to backfire.
Locations such as Venice, Barcelona and Amsterdam are recent examples.
Its “stay away” campaign targeted young British men searching online for terms like “stag weekend” or “pub crawl,” aiming to deter tourists seeking party trips.
The campaign backfired.
Some businesses began selling “stay away” t-shirts and promoting rebellious “stay away weekends” while the campaign was parodied on social media.
Instead of discouraging this market, the message became a meme – and, for some, a reason to visit.
Why there is often pushback
De-marketing can be successful. But how can destinations that have had major investments from private and public stakeholders suddenly slow down business without triggering economic instability and resistance?
Not surprisingly, there is often pushback from businesses. Sudden halts to tourism hurt the hip pockets of those whose livelihood depends upon it. In Venice in 2021 for example, a ban on large cruise ships from entering the Venetian lagoon was met with resistance from local business leaders.
Regulating tourist behaviour, banning short-term rental accommodation and tourists taxes are popular responses to overtourism but are often ineffectual.
Iceland introduced a tourist tax in 2024 but what followed was a rise in tourist numbers.
Taxes can create revenue to repair environmental damage but they do not reduce people’s desire to travel.
How it can be done successfully
Our research shows successful de-marketing requires simultaneous use of soft and harsh responses.
Harsh responses include caps on visitor numbers, complete bans, regulations on visitor movement and raising pricing or taxes.
Soft responses include changing the types of attractions on offer (to attract certain tourist segments), codes of conduct, educational campaigns and using social media to promote initiatives.
Both soft and harsh responses must be co-designed with the tourism industry and community.
Technology can also be used.
Majorca, in Spain, has implemented an AI-powered platform to help tourists plan trips. At the same time, it recommends alternative attractions when tourist attractions are crowded.
Travellers can also contribute: staying longer rather than taking short, high-impact trips, avoiding peak periods and looking beyond algorithm-driven “must-see” lists can reduce pressure.
The most responsible travel choices are rarely the most “Instagrammable”. And sometimes, the most sustainable decision is not where to go, but when, or whether to go at all.
