Source: Radio New Zealand

Two people stuck on a cliff in the Auckland suburb of St Heliers have been rescued two hours after they fell.

Emergency services were called to the accident shortly after 9pm this evening.

Fire and Emergency says its specialist lines team managed to reach the pair from below and took them to shore via boat.

St Johns said two patients in a serious condition have been taken to hospital.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Growth in the national school roll slowed this year, as the number of primary school enrolments fell.

Education Ministry figures showed 856,412 school students at the start of July, 5413 more than the same time last year.

Rolls increased in Auckland and Canterbury, but fell in regions, including Northland, Taranaki and Wellington.

The growth was focused on secondary schools, which grew by 6490 students to a total of 311,743, and composite schools, up 2519 students to 73,144.

Primary schools dropped 3835 students to 466,682 at 1 July.

The overall growth was significantly less than in 2023 and 2024, when immigration caused student numbers to jump 15,887 and 19,961 respectively.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Tenants Niral Dedhia and Jagdev Snider said property owner David Williams made racist comments, such as “go to Mumbai”.

A landlord has been accused of subjecting tenants at two rental properties to racist messages, including telling one couple to “go to Mumbai”.

Darren Williams has appeared before the Tenancy Tribunal twice this year, both times for the way he has treated tenants at two Auckland properties.

Tenants Niral Dedhia and Jagdev Sinder rented a property Williams owned in Birkdale. They told the tribunal the relationship between the parties soured towards the end of the tenancy in April last year.

Dedhia and Sinder said Williams tried to demand money for items in the house they had not broken and, when they refused, he applied “psychological pressure”.

They told the tribunal he made baseless accusations and racist comments, such as “go to Mumbai”, “why did you vote for National?”, “now go to Winston Peters”, along with other derogatory remarks about the tenants’ parents and their nationality.

The tenants also claimed Williams came to the house without permission, took a pair of expensive slippers and potplants, and threatened to enter the property when they were not home.

In defence, Williams said the potplants caused the deck to rot in winter and denied taking the slippers.

Dedhia and Sinder provided the tribunal with evidence of all the communications between the parties, which contained references to several nationalities.

In a decision released in September, tribunal adjudicator Joon Yi said the messages from the landlord “can be best described as rambling accusations and conspiracy theory-type remarks”.

Despite this, Yi said he didn’t order Williams to pay compensation to his tenants for the messages, because he was suffering from a “somewhat evident mental condition” at the time.

Yi did order him to pay $500 for the potplants and slippers for what he called a “serious invasion to the tenant”.

‘Bizarre’ remarks

In another decision from the tribunal, released this week, Williams was found to have made remarks with a racial undertone to a tenant at a property he owned in Beach Haven.

The tenant moved into the rental in August 2024 and paid $700 a week. In March, Williams advised the rent would increase to $765 per week.

When the tenant told him that was illegal under the Residential Tenancies Act, he agreed to delay the rise until August.

In April, the power tripped at the property. The tenant left for safety and told the landlord, who – according to the decision – then accused the other man of causing the damage and made “bizarre” remarks that caused him distress.

When the tenant requested an invoice for a water bill he had paid his landlord for, Williams responded with “more strange comments, including one implying racial undertone”, according to the tribunal’s decision.

Williams sent the tenant a picture of a screw and demanded an explanation, demanded money and then threatened to take his dishwasher away.

After his tenant reminded him that a landlord must give 24 hours’ notice before entering a property, the decision said Williams sent more derogatory and racially suggestive messages.

Within a week, Williams entered the property without permission and allegedly threw the tenant’s belongings out, including a $4000 computer.

The tenant applied to be released from his fixed-term contract at a hearing last month. He provided photos of his belongings on the street, along with Williams holding his desktop computer.

The tribunal adjudicator said Williams didn’t disagree with his tenant’s version of events. He instead said he wished to apologise and was suffering mental health issues at the time.

Yi, who handled both tenants’ applications, said while he took into account the landlord’s mental health, it didn’t completely excuse his behaviour.

“Although this explains his bizarre acts, it does not do so to the extent of it completely excusing his actions,” Yi said.

“The effect of the acts of the landlord had made the tenant fear for continued stay and had personal belongings thrown out through an extreme invasion of privacy. The perplexing messages and emails with reference to the tenant’s race were such that it amounted to harassment.”

Yi ordered Williams pay his tenant $1500 for exemplary damages for breaching the tenant’s quiet enjoyment and $3000 for disposing of the tenant’s goods.

In 2020, Williams was ordered to pay more than $6000 to two tenants, after unlawfully entering the Birkdale property, and taking away the front door, damaging or causing the tenants’ possessions to be wilfully damaged, and serving them with an unlawful trespass notice.

This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A search and rescue mission is underway for a person missing in the water near Cape Reinga – the northern-most tip of the North Island.

Police say they received a report of a person needing help in the water about 3.30pm, after falling from rocks near Tapotupotu Bay Beach.

They say they’re still searching.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Trampers are warned that upgrades to the Pouākai Tarns boardwalk in Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki – the final phase of the Taranaki Crossing project – could mean they are delayed and may not get that special photograph they are after.

Department of Conservation Hauraki-Waikato-Taranaki regional director Tinaka Mearns said the tarns were a sensitive and significant wetland feature within Te-Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, offering visitors dramatic views of both the Pouākai Range and Taranaki Maunga.

“For many enjoying the walk, it’s a chance to get the iconic image of the maunga reflected in the tarns’ water. It really is a fabulous peaceful location, which makes it so popular with visitors.”

Mearns said about 120 metres of boardwalk across the tarns would be replaced. At 1.2m wide, the new boardwalk would be nearly twice as wide as the existing structures and would be elevated above the sensitive tarns at heights between 20-90 centimetres.

Construction would take about nine weeks – weather allowing – and would mean staged closures of different sections of the boardwalk, while work was completed.

No detours would keep visitors off the sensitive plants, which were found across the tarns, and people enjoying the walk were asked to alert contractor staff to their presence.

“We do want to acknowledge the replacement of the boardwalk will mean some delays and visitors may not be able to get that special photograph they’re after, but we’re confident the investment and this part of the project will deliver a memorable experience for visitors, who’ll be out naturing when the work is completed – and we’d encourage them to come back another time.”

Taranaki iwi representative Jacqui King said the start of the final stage of the Taranaki Crossing infrastructure upgrade was an exciting milestone for all partners involved.

“Mana whenua have been working tirelessly with our DOC and Kānoa teams to ensure each project – within the broader Taranaki Crossing project – is focused on protecting ngā maunga, and providing manaaki [support] for manuhiri [visitors] throughout their journey.

“As kaitiaki [guardians] of this whenua, we hold a deep responsibility to care for this special place that sustains us all. This unique wetland is a taonga – a treasured ecosystem, rich with life and meaning.”

King said, over time, the growing number of visitors had placed stress on the delicate environment and ensuring it remained healthy for future generations was important.

“The extended and renewed boardwalk will allow people to continue to experience the beauty and mauri [life force] of this special place, without harming the fragile Taiao [water, soils and habitats] that lie beneath.”

King said the project partners looked forward to welcoming visitors, who shared their respect of this unique landscape – those who walked gently, who listened and who understood that true connection to the natural world came with care.

“Patience and support from manuhiri [visitors] during this time of rebuild will help us improve the infrastructure to protect this special place, so it can continue to thrive and inspire all who visit for generations to come.”

The Taranaki Crossing project was a partnership involving DOC, Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit, Ngā Iwi o Taranaki and hapū, which involved several tracks across Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki being upgraded and the Pouākai Hut replaced.

It was funded by the Provincial Growth Fund ($16.4 million), which was administered by Kānoa, with additional funding provided by DOC ($5.2m).

A Taranaki Crossing feasibility study in 2017 identified the project was expected to generate $3.7m annually for the region’s economy.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: This article discusses sexual abuse and may upset some readers.

It was not the sexual violence or years of trauma that finally broke a victim’s silence, but a chilling moment in adulthood, when her perpetrator stood in her kitchen, boasting of being “proud” of his life.

The remark felt so brazen, it ripped open the locked boxes of pain she carried and gave her the courage to report Geoffery Miller to the authorities.

Now, Miller, 53, has appeared in the Whangārei District Court for sentencing on historical sexual abuse charges relating to two victims in separate decades.

Earlier this year, he was found guilty by a jury of 12 charges, including rape and supplying methamphetamine to one of his victims.

Miller’s first round of offending occurred when he was 14 years old and repeatedly sexually abused a girl.

The court heard he violated her with objects and, on one occasion, he plied her with alcohol, until she passed out, and then raped her.

Decades later, Miller’s sexual offending continued, but he had a new victim.

Miller repeatedly touched that girl sexually and gave her cannabis. He also supplied her with methamphetamine and smoked it with her.

Miller touched her inappropriately and spoke to her sexually, as a form of payment for the drug.

Both victims, now adults, read their victim impact statements to Miller, while he stood in the dock at his recent sentencing.

The first victim said that, when she was younger, she was scared of Miller’s dark moods and he was intolerable to be around.

She said she felt safer on the streets, in the dark.

“I had to grow up real fast to survive you,” she said.

For years, she lived with post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and had more than 20 clinical bouts of depression, as a result of his offending against her.

When she encountered Miller in her adult life, she became triggered by something he said.

“You stood in my kitchen one day, in front of my teenage kids, and said, ‘I’m really proud of my life’,” the woman recalled.

“Those words triggered me and sickened me. How could you be proud of what you did to me?

“All the locked boxes in my brain, all the tucked-up pain came out, piece by piece.

“That event is what brought us here today. Your words set me free.

“I finally felt the courage to stand up tall and do the right thing.”

The second victim also lived a life with mental health challenges linked to Miller’s offending and battled a drug addiction, which took hold, after he had supplied her with drugs when she was younger.

“I’m constantly living the same thing, repetitive memories take over my mind that I never asked for,” she said in her victim impact statement.

“I had so much more potential than what I’ve been and what I am now. I don’t remember ever feeling happy or, let alone, good enough.

“Instead, I felt like a worthless piece of meat.”

Her statement had some parting words for Miller.

“I hope you f****** rot in sh**.”

Continued denial of offending

Crown lawyer Danette Cole said both victims had reported Miller was also physically violent towards them.

“Both victims came forward and said how they thought their life would turn out differently, but because of the offending, their lives have taken a turn for the worse,” Cole said.

Miller’s lawyer, Chris Muston, made no oral submissions at the hearing.

Judge Keith de Ridder noted Miller had denied the offending, when speaking to pre-sentence report writers.

“You make no admission whatsoever of any offending and deny any offending of any sort,” the judge said.

“The report touches briefly on your upbringing and your employment history with some sense of self-pity arising from, what you say, were the actions taken against you by the victims’ families.”

Judge de Ridder said the offending, particularly with the first victim, was premeditated, violent and intrusive.

“There were threats made to her, in particular, if she told anybody about this offending. The jury obviously also accepted her evidence that you would become physically and verbally abusive towards her.”

The judge considered the act of supplying drugs to a child to facilitate offending against the second victim as an aggravating feature.

He sentenced Miller to five years and seven months for the rape of the first victim, and imposed an additional cumulative four‑year term for offending against the second.

Miller was sent to prison for nine years and seven months.

This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

Where to get help:

Sexual Violence

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Prolific documentary and filmmaker Costa Botes – who found fame creating mockumentary Forgotten Silver alongside Peter Jackson – has died after living with cancer for nearly a decade.

Botes won multiple awards for his work on Forgotten Silver in the late 1990’s as well as short film Stalin’s Sickle (1988) and later with Saving Grace (1999) and Lost in Wonderland in 2010.

His Screenography on New Zealand On Screen credits his involvement in more than 40 productions between 1980 and 2023.

He told the website he grew up in Wellington – after being born to Greek parents on the Turkish Island of Imbroz – and dove into filmmaking after diverting away from being “bored witless” by his English Literature degree to study film at Ilam School of Fine Arts in Christchurch.

He went full time into film making making in 1985 and would continue working on projects until shortly before his death in Wellington’s Mary Potter Hospice on 21 November.

Continued to work until his final weeks

His partner of 14 years Debs Botes said her husband was proud of his entire body of work but found particular satisfaction in his independent productions.

“The latter documentaries that he made on his own – on a shoe string budget – and cobbled together with the help of friends and colleagues and really made something of.

“I think he liked being the lone wolf because he kind of made the decisions at the end of the day.

“He was very proud of When the Cows Came Home and some others like The Last Dogs of Winter, Angie, Act of Kindness. There were quite a few – in the last 15 years – he was very proud of,” she said.

Shortly before his death, Botes had completed the first cut of a new film that she hoped a colleague would be able to “whip into shape” for release next year, Debs Botes said.

Botes was well known amongst musical circles in Wellington both as a player and an enthusiastic listener.

In his last weeks he bought his dream guitar, a Gibson Les Paul, and posted pictures of himself playing the instrument from his hospital bed, she said.

An enduring fascination with people and stories

Arts and entertainment writer Sarah McMullan said Botes inspired many with his no nonsense attitude and generosity of spirit.

McMullan said she and Botes bonded over his work on 2011 documentary The Last Dogs of Winter.

“He loved life and he loved people. That’s why he made such beautiful films – he was so interested in people – and, I think, that’s how he managed to achieve that level of intimacy that made his films so special,” McMullan said.

She said she loved discussing almost any element of filmmaking with Botes who would liked little more than to talk over the pros and cons of films, shows and documentaries.

He took that passion to stints teaching filmmaking and scriptwriting at the NZ Film and TV School, and Victoria and Massey University, she said.

“I wish everybody had the chance to have watched Jaws with an audio commentary from Costa because his in depth analysis of how that film is made is incredible. It just completely opens your eyes to – what is a brilliant film – but it’s just [his awareness of] the detail and nuance which just speaks to his talent as a filmmaker,” McMullan said.

Late last month filmmaker Zoe McIntosh wrote on the Women in Film & Television website of the profound affect Botes had when he worked alongside her to make Lost in Wonderland which would go on to screen at international festivals and win Best Documentary at the Qantas Film and Television Awards.

“I was 22, broke, and living in a damp Wellington flat where rice was both dinner and décor. At a depressing documentary hui, out of sheer desperation and delusion, I pitched my first documentary idea to filmmaker Costa Botes. I expected a polite brush-off. Instead, he said, ‘I’ll shoot it. Let’s just go make it’.

“No funding applications. No contracts. No catch. That offhand ‘yes’ changed everything,” McIntosh wrote.

She said Botes’ faith in her work and forthright critical honesty help shaped her confidence and vision for her work and career.

“He was always there, always honest, sometimes brutally so. But he never let me lose sight of my vision. He’d say, ‘You’ve got half a film here. The other half’s still hiding. You gotta dig deeper’.

“Costa gives his time generously, quietly, without agenda. He doesn’t chase credit; he’s allergic to self-promotion. He’s the guy at the back of the screening checking sound levels while everyone else basks in applause. Motivated by people and, always, by story,” McIntosh wrote.

Shining lights on the dark corners

Wellington Musician Carol Bean worked in crews on Botes’ films and also played alongside him in bands.

She said she admired his skill as a musician and also his witty and, at times, cutting sense of humour.

“He had a bite. He didn’t suffer fools but deep down very compassionate person.

“He had a lot of time for an authentic, regular person who wasn’t blowing their own trumpet. He said he liked ‘shining lights in the dark corners’ with his films. Bringing people out, bringing the story out, the real true story, the best of people,” Bean said.

Costa Botes spent the last weeks of his life in the care of the Mary Potter Hospice in Newtown Wellington.

Debs Botes said she was hugely grateful to the staff who kept him comfortable and accommodated his much loved dogs, bedside editing suite and guitar.

“He knew what was happening and he knew that it was the best place for him to be because they would keep him comfortable and they did that to the very last moment,” Debs Botes said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: This article discusses sexual abuse and may upset some readers.

It was not the sexual violence or years of trauma that finally broke a victim’s silence, but a chilling moment in adulthood, when her perpetrator stood in her kitchen, boasting of being “proud” of his life.

The remark felt so brazen, it ripped open the locked boxes of pain she carried and gave her the courage to report Geoffery Miller to the authorities.

Now, Miller, 53, has appeared in the Whangārei District Court for sentencing on historical sexual abuse charges relating to two victims in separate decades.

Earlier this year, he was found guilty by a jury of 12 charges, including rape and supplying methamphetamine to one of his victims.

Miller’s first round of offending occurred when he was 14 years old and repeatedly sexually abused a girl.

The court heard he violated her with objects and, on one occasion, he plied her with alcohol, until she passed out, and then raped her.

Decades later, Miller’s sexual offending continued, but he had a new victim.

Miller repeatedly touched that girl sexually and gave her cannabis. He also supplied her with methamphetamine and smoked it with her.

Miller touched her inappropriately and spoke to her sexually, as a form of payment for the drug.

Both victims, now adults, read their victim impact statements to Miller, while he stood in the dock at his recent sentencing.

The first victim said that, when she was younger, she was scared of Miller’s dark moods and he was intolerable to be around.

She said she felt safer on the streets, in the dark.

“I had to grow up real fast to survive you,” she said.

For years, she lived with post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and had more than 20 clinical bouts of depression, as a result of his offending against her.

When she encountered Miller in her adult life, she became triggered by something he said.

“You stood in my kitchen one day, in front of my teenage kids, and said, ‘I’m really proud of my life’,” the woman recalled.

“Those words triggered me and sickened me. How could you be proud of what you did to me?

“All the locked boxes in my brain, all the tucked-up pain came out, piece by piece.

“That event is what brought us here today. Your words set me free.

“I finally felt the courage to stand up tall and do the right thing.”

The second victim also lived a life with mental health challenges linked to Miller’s offending and battled a drug addiction, which took hold, after he had supplied her with drugs when she was younger.

“I’m constantly living the same thing, repetitive memories take over my mind that I never asked for,” she said in her victim impact statement.

“I had so much more potential than what I’ve been and what I am now. I don’t remember ever feeling happy or, let alone, good enough.

“Instead, I felt like a worthless piece of meat.”

Her statement had some parting words for Miller.

“I hope you f****** rot in sh**.”

Continued denial of offending

Crown lawyer Danette Cole said both victims had reported Miller was also physically violent towards them.

“Both victims came forward and said how they thought their life would turn out differently, but because of the offending, their lives have taken a turn for the worse,” Cole said.

Miller’s lawyer, Chris Muston, made no oral submissions at the hearing.

Judge Keith de Ridder noted Miller had denied the offending, when speaking to pre-sentence report writers.

“You make no admission whatsoever of any offending and deny any offending of any sort,” the judge said.

“The report touches briefly on your upbringing and your employment history with some sense of self-pity arising from, what you say, were the actions taken against you by the victims’ families.”

Judge de Ridder said the offending, particularly with the first victim, was premeditated, violent and intrusive.

“There were threats made to her, in particular, if she told anybody about this offending. The jury obviously also accepted her evidence that you would become physically and verbally abusive towards her.”

The judge considered the act of supplying drugs to a child to facilitate offending against the second victim as an aggravating feature.

He sentenced Miller to five years and seven months for the rape of the first victim, and imposed an additional cumulative four‑year term for offending against the second.

Miller was sent to prison for nine years and seven months.

This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

Where to get help:

Sexual Violence

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Defence Force is checking to see if any information has been exposed to hackers, after Australian media reports of cyberattacks on contractors in the country’s defence supply chain.

Some reports say Iranian-backed hackers posted classified plans of a new infantry fighting vehicle.

Government defence plans call for greater integration with Australia.

“The NZDF is making inquiries to determine if any NZDF information has been exposed,” a spokesperson told RNZ.

“We will not be able to comment, until we have ascertained what, if any NZDF information is at risk of being exposed.”

Asked if integration increased the risks, they said the Defence Force’s “appetite for risk” was determined by NZ Information Security Manual and Protective Security Requirements, which had a process around approving operations.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

“Easing the cost of new and used imported vehicles” was the pitch of transport minister Chris Bishop’s media release last Monday.

The means to that end was slashing by 80 percent the clean car standard – which incentivised sales of low- or zero-emission vehicles – by the end of the week.

$265 million in penalties would not now be charged on ‘ordinary’ cars, Bishop claimed.

On Monday, Newstalk ZB’s host Ryan Bridge pitched this as a promise of cheaper cars to come – and Bishop listed savings for selected makes and models set out in his media release.

Soon after, TVNZ’s political editor Maiki Sherman ran through those herself on 1News, even displaying the savings on the screen.

“This Corolla would see charges reduced by more than $6500,” she said, in the manner of a car yard commercial.

But on RNZ’s Morning Report the next day, Ingrid Hipkiss noted the minister’s figures for savings on different makes and models were only estimates.

“We’ve carefully caveated the words because it’s complex. Every vehicle importer will be in a different situation when it comes to penalties and credit so it will really depend on the particular type of car and the situation they’re in,” Bishop explained.

Bishop also said the changes would only have a minimal effect on emissions – and the main reason for changing the law now was that “the bottom’s fallen out of the EV market.”

“There just simply hasn’t been the demand there and they also haven’t been able to get the supply. It’s a double whammy.”

Among things that might affect demand – recent media reports about EV safety.

Safety fears hit headlines

Last week The New Zealand Herald reported a retirement village on Auckland’s North Shore – Fairview – had banned new electric vehicles.

“One resident who did not want to be named told the Herald he was pulled into a meeting with other residents where ‘management tried to scare us’ (about) the supposed fire risk electric vehicles posed,” the Herald reported.

“They’re concerned about the risk an EV fire would pose to the busy communities, residents and homes,” RNZ’s Lisa Owen explained on Checkpoint the same day.

But why, when there are no restrictions on parking or charging them anywhere else?

“As soon as there’s an EV that blows up or catches fire, it’s on the front page or it’s on the six o’ clock news. If it’s a diesel or a petrol car, you won’t hear about it,” Retirement Village Residents Association chief executive Nigel Matthews told Checkpoint.

“I’ve seen the YouTube clips where things have exploded, whether it be an e-bike or an EV of some sort that’s being charged and then just caught alight. But I’ve also seen it with cell phones. At what point do you actually stop and say we need to have a bigger holistic look at this?” he asked.

When 28 cars were set alight in Whangarei Hospital’s car park a month ago, it was dry grass on a hot exhaust that started the blaze. But plenty of online speculation suggested an overheated EV could have started it.

A day later the driver of an electric bus died after it was engulfed in flames following a collision with a petrol powered car on Tamaki Drive in Auckland.

The busy road was closed for almost a day.

“Due to the bus’s electric battery, the area could remain hazardous,” a Police statement said.

That prompted keyboard warriors to conclude batteries in the buses were not just a hazard – but could have caused the fire.

Some also cited a bus colliding with an Auckland railway station building earlier in October. Nobody was hurt in that, but smoke was seen emerging from the top of

the bus.

Alarmed by what he called ‘misinformation’ about the Tamaki Drive crash – and “bizarre anti-EV propaganda” – Auckland City Councillor Richard Hills then took to social media himself.

He pointed out that Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) had confirmed the fire started from the petrol vehicle that hit that bus on Tamaki Drive, and bus company Kinetic found the electric bus’s batteries were undamaged.

“But all I saw everywhere was: ‘Told ya, told ya – EV buses and EV batteries’,” Hills told the Newstalk ZB Drive show.

“But this cannot happen again if we have an electric bus that has a crash on Tamaki Drive. You cannot shut a road for 24 hours,” ZB host Heather du Plessis-Allan responded.

“If you thought it was because it was an electric vehicle – it was. We did some extensive looking into it for you,” she told ZB listeners.

“Once they got on the bus, what they saw was battery packs hanging through the roof and so they were worried about that.”

She also said firefighters saw gas leaking and were worried lithium batteries were starting to disintegrate.

“Actually it was an aircon problem, but again, they were treating it differently because it was an electric vehicle,” she said.

But those details were not in any news story published by Newstalk ZB or its stablemates at the Herald at the time. Or any other media outlet for that matter.

There’s been no official FENZ incident report about the incident made public yet. FENZ has not yet responded to Mediawatch’s request for further information.

The risks and the reality

It is true that fires involving electric vehicles can be harder to suppress and take longer to make safe.

On [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/video/herald-now/auckland-bus-fire-should-we-be-worried-about-lithium-batteries/OGYBS4PTGQJCANRCBPAVSVWZTQ/ the

Herald Now show] AUT professor of electronic engineering Adnan Al-Anbuky explained the reaction known as ‘thermal runaway’ – heat can excite a lithium battery cell causing ignition or even explosion in neighbouring cells in extreme circumstances.

But it still wasn’t clear how likely that is to happen on the road – or in a garage.

Ten days after the Tamaki Drive crash, another Auckland Transport electric bus caught fire when it struck an overpass.

There were no passengers and the driver got out safely that time, but dramatic images of the flames in the underpass were widely viewed on social media, sparking more speculation about the fire risk of electric buses.

That prompted an explainer from Stuff the next day: ‘[https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360874741/no-electric-buses-arent-catching-fire-because-their-batteries No. Electric buses aren’t catching fire because of their batteries.’

Australian fire safety expert Emma Sutcliffe – who researches battery fires for Australia’s Department of Defence – told Stuff there had been only eight such fires in

Australia in three years to 2024, at a time when there were more than 180,000 EVs in use there.

While Auckland has had three events in a row, they are unconnected, she said.

“It’s just unfortunate that they’ve happened in a bit of a cluster,” she told Stuff.

“You should be far more concerned about the cheap lithium-ion batteries in your house than the ones powering your bus to work,” Emma Sutcliffe added.

Not for nothing did Fire and Emergency New Zealand launch a campaign about that last month, with slogans like: ‘Warning! Using an incorrect battery in your e-bike can cause violent fire in seconds.’

But sometimes, the media give people the wrong idea.

Last year RNZ reported a Wellington man’s claim that his neighbour’s Tesla burst into flames in the garage next door. Eventually, FENZ ruled out electric vehicles or lithium-ion batteries as the cause. RNZ updated the story accordingly.

Earlier this year a fire destroyed a boarding house in a Sydney suburb. The Sydney Morning Herald said it was not clear if the blaze began as an electrical fire, but lithium ion e-bike batteries “had contributed to the fire’s rapid spread and intensity.”

But the headline on that – ‘Jet-like flame’. E- bike batteries fuel Sydney boarding house fire– created the impression the batteries were the cause.

Channel 7’s TV news report also suggested batteries as the cause of the fire, but one of the distressed residents could be heard off-camera telling the reporter: “I had a candle going. Maybe it was the candle.”

[embedded content]

Call for context and ‘pre-bunking’

Co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists – Dr Troy Baisden – was alarmed by how recent news reports described the risks of EVs and the possibility of ‘thermal runaway.’

Dr Baisden took to social media himself to point out that none of the recent vehicle fires were caused by EVs or their batteries.

But if the risk is real – albeit remote in normal circumstances – how should media report incidents like the ones in Auckland recently?

“We know there’s a risk of EV myths and misinformation spread. The most interesting thing about these stories is that there were stories about EV fires that contained … no EV fire,” Dr Baisden told Mediawatch.

He cited New Zealand Herald and RNZ’s Checkpoint coverage of the Fairview community’s dilemma as failing to make clear that EVs pose a much lower fire risk than combustion engine vehicles.

A recent peer-reviewed study of four nations found more people believed misinformation about EVs than disagreed with it – including vehicles being more likely to catch fire.

But if it was reports of the recent bus fires that prompted the Fairview residents and management to discuss the issue, news editors can not ignore that context?

“They could have said the risk of EVs catching fire is about 60 times less than an equivalent petrol or diesel vehicle. Adjusted for the mileage, it’s maybe 20 times less,” Dr Baisden told Mediawatch.

“There’s other information that you could think about. Anything that can move you hundreds of kilometres in two tonnes of metal is going to have a lot of energy stored in it, so it can create a fire.”

“I feel like the retirement village residents – and the decisions that were going on there – were really let down by our information ecosystem.”

Checkpoint‘s coverage of the Fairview controversy stated right at the start that EV fires are rare but they can be harder to put out.

Both things that are true – and an online story carried a link to an RNZ article from 2019 all about that.

Is that sufficient ‘pre-bunking’ – informing people of facts before they’re exposed to contrary opinions, misinformation or fringe views?

“Probably not. I still don’t think that’s the most relevant thing – which is risk reduction. Fires are scary and historically vehicle fires used to be much more common than they are now. The other issue is: are we ready to deal with EV fires? That’s actually a more important issue.”

“It’s important where there are a lot of EVs – or particularly really big batteries like the bus batteries – that those firefighting methods are known and ready to respond.”

“It also points out we’re not great at working through risk – and the information to support journalists reporting these risks in New Zealand isn’t great.”

“Consumer magazine in New Zealand is a great trusted source. But where news organisations responding to headlines and trying to come up with an angle and a story, need to make sure journalists or the editors can find those.”

“This is a classic gap. We’re talking about something that actually hasn’t happened. There’s been no EV fire that’s been caused by an EV in New Zealand as yet.”

But we know that this is not a ‘zero risk’ technology. When fires occur, batteries can become a specific fire hazard which needs special treatment.

“Everybody’s home has a number of risks. The risks associated with a barbecue. Storing that in a garage with a car and other things that can catch on fire is a problem. Maybe take it from a scientist who’s run large laboratories with a lot of dangerous things in them: Don’t put the dangerous things that can catch on fire together.”

Baisden is an environmental scientist who researches carbon emissions and is in favour of low and zero-emission technologies. Does he have a bias which might prompt him to minimise the risk associated with them?

“I am keen to see the uptake of electric cars. I’ve had one for a number of years. I don’t have any vested interest in it. But here we’re talking about … at least 20 times less risk associated with EVs than conventional cars. It’s difficult to say that I’d be causing more bias than that.”

“I really don’t want to be a regular performer on the radio talking about EV fires again – and there’s still been no EV fires.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A tribunal has found Chinese-media outlet Skykiwi did not discriminate against an Auckland forum user because of her political opinion when it deactivated her online blogging account.

May Moncur has been suspended from using the FML forum since 2021 when she wrote a message suggesting the forum’s moderation was akin to Chinese Cultural Revolution-era censorship.

The thread was removed and Skykiwi later froze her membership, preventing her posting further messages.

She took the company to the Human Rights Review Tribunal (HRRT), alleging Sky Media (trading as Skykiwi) was using ‘selective’ censorship and discrimination – as it allowed content about Western governments and politics.

The company maintained that its forum rules stated users should not make political posts, and many replies to Moncur’s post had “included extensive political discussions and content related to the Cultural Revolution”.

The repressive Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 70s aimed to enforce communist ideology and resulted in the censorship and purge of intellectuals and former leaders, leading to widespread persecution, social upheaval, and political instability.

Skykiwi said it had warned Moncur, who moved to New Zealand from China more than 20 years ago, several times about her posts.

The tribunal heard her final post criticised Skykiwi, saying New Zealand should not tolerate “cultural revolutionary style behaviour”. Her account was muted, with a warning a permanent ban would follow if she violated the forum’s rules again.

Swatting the fly

On the same day as Moncur’s critical post, an admin post appeared, alluding to ‘Boss Lady’ as ‘Like a moth to flame, Stirring noise across the forum’.

It finished: “Like a fly in the living room – I always try to guide it out. But if it refuses to leave, a single swat ends it. And even then, I find myself sighing, “Wasn’t it better to just say [sic] alive?” Alright, fine. Had I lived through the revolutionary era, I’d probably be the first to confess under pressure as a self-preserving traitor. And maybe that’s not so bad. Adapt to survive. Victory is what matters. Methods? Who cares. Heroes? Villains? It’s all blurred. After all, isn’t this a world where petty people reign?”

The post also suggested she was courting attention or looking for clients.

Sky Media said the post was not a reference to Moncur – an employment law advocate – and denied the company had breached the Human Rights Act through its forum actions.

When Moncur also posted the company lawyers’ response to her allegations on the forum, her account was frozen by Sky Media’s project manager, who told forum users ‘everyone was prohibited from mentioning Ms Moncur’s account and the complaint made’.

The tribunal concluded administrators were in fact referring to Moncur with the ‘fly and moth’ post, and that the action in posting it and blocking her original cultural revolution post amounted to refusal or less favourable treatment.

But it did not believe the decision to freeze her account was discrimination arising from Moncur’s political opinion. It ruled the cultural revolution post itself was not political opinion, and agreed Skykiwi had instead removed it because of the political comments the thread generated. It suggested that Skykiwi may instead have breached contract law.

Moncur said she was very disappointed by the decision. “I commenced these proceedings because, for me, this is discrimination based on political content and selective censorship. In my submissions and also in my evidence, I touch on the issues which I think every Chinese user here in New Zealand understands what I’m talking about.

Censored, blocked or punished

“Skykiwi routinely allows overtly political posts about political issues. But this has to be New Zealand political issues, Western leaders, global political issues. Any contact touching on China in a negative light, culturally or indirectly, is immediately censored, blocked or punished,” Moncur said.

“This is a pattern, a very established pattern. This kind of inconsistent censorship has been imposed on all the users like me. And such an inconsistency I believe is inherently discriminatory.”

The company’s website said it had 480,000 registered users, reached 93 percent of the NZ-Chinese community, and had 1.75m monthly visits to its site.

“Skykiwi is the biggest Chinese website in New Zealand,” said Moncur. “And it’s like the public square for Chinese Kiwis here in New Zealand, and even probably overseas. So prohibiting people like me to participate in this kind of a social platform in my view, is putting a cap on free speech and also undermines democratic engagement and the ability of Chinese New Zealanders to speak openly on social issues – and the social issues sometimes could be political.”

She said the ‘fly and moth’ post showed how the company enforced its views. “Not only discrimination is rampant, but also personal attacks, online attacks conducted by the administrators on behalf of the website,” she added. “It’s concerning because such behaviour is condoned by the website and has a very eroding effect on the participation of ordinary members on this website, particularly if they target you and attack you personally. And yes, it’s very harmful, and has a chilling effect.”

Her account remains deactivated seven weeks after the ruling, Moncur said.

The tribunal decision last month concluded: “Sky Media was at pains to repeatedly say at the hearing that the suspension of Ms Moncur’s account was temporary, applying only for the duration of the [tribunal] legal proceedings. We observe therefore that there seems to be no reason why Ms Moncur’s account with Sky Media should not be re-activated, following the conclusion of the proceeding.”

Skykiwi has not replied to requests for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are investigating after a fire broke out in the basement of a central Auckland nightclub early on Sunday.

Emergency services were called to Karangahape Road around 1.40am after an automatic fire alarm was activated.

The road was blocked for around an hour while Fire and Emergency worked at the scene.

Crews from Auckland City, Grey Lynn, and Parnell responded to the 40m by 20m fire in a two-storey building.

The blaze was extinguished within 20 minutes, but a fire investigator remained at the site until 2.30am.

Ambulance staff assessed one person.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The trucking industry is urging the government to grant stronger powers to impound unsafe vehicles after an Auckland operator was jailed for manslaughter.

Ashik Ali kept his truck on the road despite it being banned, and its failed brakes caused it to roll away and fatally hit a roadworker last year.

National Road Carriers Association chief executive Justin Tighe-Umbers says the system needs more teeth.

He says the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) needs the ability to impound dangerous trucks.

“They used all available levers, but there wasn’t a significant lever to get this truck off the road – therefore, it’s a system failure.

“NZTA needs the ability to impound trucks, which they don’t have at the moment. So they need more teeth.”

He said there were signs that next year the system will be strengthened by police and WorkSafe to keep out bad operators.

The case against Ali outraged the trucking industry, triggering calls for greater accountability for dodgy operators and regulators.

WorkSafe said it did not give any advice to its board or minister about the case.

NZTA previously rejected an industry accusation the death resulted from systemic failure.

The truck remained on the road for years despite multiple safety checks and warnings to Ali.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

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Source: Radio New Zealand

“The word ‘sorry’ would have gone a long way,” a judge has told a woman whose driving on the way home from Rhythm and Vines caused a crash that killed her friend.

On New Year’s Day last year, Jasmine May Donaldson and Jade Nicole Richards were travelling back to Rotorua from Gisborne after spending four days at the music festival.

The car Donaldson and Richards were in, with a third friend and front-seat passenger, moved out of its lane, struck a rock wall and flipped on SH30, 20km northeast of Rotorua near Ruato Bay.

Donaldson, the driver, and the front passenger were able to get out, but Richards, who had been in the back asleep, died at the scene.

Donaldson was charged with careless driving causing death, which she defended at trial, claiming she was sunstruck, and, at the same time, an oncoming vehicle frightened her.

However, Judge John Berseng found her guilty, finding there were signs of fatigue, and describing the decision to drive as “flawed” and one that led to “tragic consequences”.

This week, Donaldson appeared for sentencing in the Rotorua District Court, where, through her lawyer, Roderick Mulgan, she sought a discharge without conviction.

Mulgan said a conviction would end her aspirations to join the Australian army, something the now 20-year-old had been working towards since she was 13.

The police opposed the application, pointing to her apparent lack of remorse.

This prompted a discussion between Judge Bergseng and Mulgan over whether Donaldson had expressed remorse or merely regret.

The judge referred to victim impact statements read by family members.

Richards’ twin brother said he had been waiting for her to return from Rhythm and Vines so he could help her unpack her bags and cook her dinner.

Instead, he was visited by police who told him his sister had been killed in a crash.

He spoke of seeing the wrecked car, his sister’s blood, and her lifeless body in the morgue, all as things that he “cannot unsee”.

Richards’ older sister said she no longer enjoyed doing the things she and her sister, whom she referred to as her best friend, used to do, and the trauma of washing blood from her sister’s clothes.

Richards’ mother gave a detailed account of the day she learned her daughter had died, her struggles to cope, and the mental image of her daughter’s “beautiful face lying dead in the morgue”.

All of Richards’ family members spoke of the grief of losing her just as she was preparing to start university.

The other theme was that Richards’ family felt Donaldson had shown little remorse and had not taken responsibility.

They all urged the judge not to grant a discharge without conviction.The judge noted that in Donaldson’s affidavit, it was clear she regretted what had happened, but he thought it needed to go further.

Richards’ father, Mark Richards, told the judge it would have helped his family to see Donaldson take ownership.

He said that while she may have written about her remorse in her affidavit, it was never verbalised or expressed directly to them.

His voice cracked as he said, “Not one of our family has ever seen a word from her”, and said it seemed to have been dragged out for “self-preservation”.

“And that’s what hurts the most … It could have been a way different outcome if we got closure two years ago. We could have sat in a room and all just grieved together.”

Donaldson’s lawyer said that her pleading not guilty didn’t mean she didn’t accept she made a driving error, but she had a right to test whether that error met a criminal threshold.

When it came to sentencing, the judge said there was “no doubt that Jasmine has suffered from knowing that her driving failure caused Jade’s death”.

But other than an offer of $10,000 emotional harm reparation, there was “little that can be taken as an expression of remorse”. She hadn’t undertaken any driver training or voluntary work, for example.

The judge said Donaldson’s approach to expressing remorse was “likely a consequence of her youth and her immaturity”.

“While I can’t speak for Jade’s family, it seems to me that the word ‘sorry’ would have gone a long way towards addressing the hurt that they feel,” the judge said.

He weighed Donaldson’s culpability as a driver and the consequences of a conviction.

“This was a mistake made by an 18-year-old driver,” he said.

Donaldson had been tired and shouldn’t have driven, but she hadn’t been “brazen”; it was the “product of youth” and her limited driving experience.

And there had been many “what ifs”.

“Unfortunately for Jade, she was effectively in the wrong place at the wrong time because of the consequences of Jasmine’s driving.”

The judge said it was clear a conviction would be an “absolute bar” to entry into her chosen career path in the Australian military, which she was accepted into before the crash.

Judge Bergseng granted the discharge without conviction, but Donaldson received a 10-month driving disqualification, was ordered to do a defensive driving course within four months, and was ordered to pay $10,000 in emotional harm reparation.

However, the judge noted he had placed “very little weight” on the reparation offer when considering the discharge application. “Out of all of this, Jasmine, there are no winners,” he said.

“You have heard what has been said [by Jade’s family]. They would be very much helped by a very overt expression of remorse, no matter what might be the state of the relationship. I can’t force that. That is a matter I leave with you and your counsel.”

* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

“Easing the cost of new and used imported vehicles” was the pitch of transport minister Chris Bishop’s media release last Monday.

The means to that end was slashing by 80 percent the clean car standard – which incentivised sales of low- or zero-emission vehicles – by the end of the week.

$265 million in penalties would not now be charged on ‘ordinary’ cars, Bishop claimed.

On Monday, Newstalk ZB’s host Ryan Bridge pitched this as a promise of cheaper cars to come – and Bishop listed savings for selected makes and models set out in his media release.

Soon after, TVNZ’s political editor Maiki Sherman ran through those herself on 1News, even displaying the savings on the screen.

“This Corolla would see charges reduced by more than $6500,” she said, in the manner of a car yard commercial.

But on RNZ’s Morning Report the next day, Ingrid Hipkiss noted the minister’s figures for savings on different makes and models were only estimates.

“We’ve carefully caveated the words because it’s complex. Every vehicle importer will be in a different situation when it comes to penalties and credit so it will really depend on the particular type of car and the situation they’re in,” Bishop explained.

Bishop also said the changes would only have a minimal effect on emissions – and the main reason for changing the law now was that “the bottom’s fallen out of the EV market.”

“There just simply hasn’t been the demand there and they also haven’t been able to get the supply. It’s a double whammy.”

Among things that might affect demand – recent media reports about EV safety.

Safety fears hit headlines

Last week The New Zealand Herald reported a retirement village on Auckland’s North Shore – Fairview – had banned new electric vehicles.

“One resident who did not want to be named told the Herald he was pulled into a meeting with other residents where ‘management tried to scare us’ (about) the supposed fire risk electric vehicles posed,” the Herald reported.

“They’re concerned about the risk an EV fire would pose to the busy communities, residents and homes,” RNZ’s Lisa Owen explained on Checkpoint the same day.

But why, when there are no restrictions on parking or charging them anywhere else?

“As soon as there’s an EV that blows up or catches fire, it’s on the front page or it’s on the six o’ clock news. If it’s a diesel or a petrol car, you won’t hear about it,” Retirement Village Residents Association chief executive Nigel Matthews told Checkpoint.

“I’ve seen the YouTube clips where things have exploded, whether it be an e-bike or an EV of some sort that’s being charged and then just caught alight. But I’ve also seen it with cell phones. At what point do you actually stop and say we need to have a bigger holistic look at this?” he asked.

When 28 cars were set alight in Whangarei Hospital’s car park a month ago, it was dry grass on a hot exhaust that started the blaze. But plenty of online speculation suggested an overheated EV could have started it.

A day later the driver of an electric bus died after it was engulfed in flames following a collision with a petrol powered car on Tamaki Drive in Auckland.

The busy road was closed for almost a day.

“Due to the bus’s electric battery, the area could remain hazardous,” a Police statement said.

That prompted keyboard warriors to conclude batteries in the buses were not just a hazard – but could have caused the fire.

Some also cited a bus colliding with an Auckland railway station building earlier in October. Nobody was hurt in that, but smoke was seen emerging from the top of

the bus.

Alarmed by what he called ‘misinformation’ about the Tamaki Drive crash – and “bizarre anti-EV propaganda” – Auckland City Councillor Richard Hills then took to social media himself.

He pointed out that Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) had confirmed the fire started from the petrol vehicle that hit that bus on Tamaki Drive, and bus company Kinetic found the electric bus’s batteries were undamaged.

“But all I saw everywhere was: ‘Told ya, told ya – EV buses and EV batteries’,” Hills told the Newstalk ZB Drive show.

“But this cannot happen again if we have an electric bus that has a crash on Tamaki Drive. You cannot shut a road for 24 hours,” ZB host Heather du Plessis-Allan responded.

“If you thought it was because it was an electric vehicle – it was. We did some extensive looking into it for you,” she told ZB listeners.

“Once they got on the bus, what they saw was battery packs hanging through the roof and so they were worried about that.”

She also said firefighters saw gas leaking and were worried lithium batteries were starting to disintegrate.

“Actually it was an aircon problem, but again, they were treating it differently because it was an electric vehicle,” she said.

But those details were not in any news story published by Newstalk ZB or its stablemates at the Herald at the time. Or any other media outlet for that matter.

There’s been no official FENZ incident report about the incident made public yet. FENZ has not yet responded to Mediawatch’s request for further information.

The risks and the reality

It is true that fires involving electric vehicles can be harder to suppress and take longer to make safe.

On [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/video/herald-now/auckland-bus-fire-should-we-be-worried-about-lithium-batteries/OGYBS4PTGQJCANRCBPAVSVWZTQ/ the

Herald Now show] AUT professor of electronic engineering Adnan Al-Anbuky explained the reaction known as ‘thermal runaway’ – heat can excite a lithium battery cell causing ignition or even explosion in neighbouring cells in extreme circumstances.

But it still wasn’t clear how likely that is to happen on the road – or in a garage.

Ten days after the Tamaki Drive crash, another Auckland Transport electric bus caught fire when it struck an overpass.

There were no passengers and the driver got out safely that time, but dramatic images of the flames in the underpass were widely viewed on social media, sparking more speculation about the fire risk of electric buses.

That prompted an explainer from Stuff the next day: ‘[https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360874741/no-electric-buses-arent-catching-fire-because-their-batteries No. Electric buses aren’t catching fire because of their batteries.’

Australian fire safety expert Emma Sutcliffe – who researches battery fires for Australia’s Department of Defence – told Stuff there had been only eight such fires in

Australia in three years to 2024, at a time when there were more than 180,000 EVs in use there.

While Auckland has had three events in a row, they are unconnected, she said.

“It’s just unfortunate that they’ve happened in a bit of a cluster,” she told Stuff.

“You should be far more concerned about the cheap lithium-ion batteries in your house than the ones powering your bus to work,” Emma Sutcliffe added.

Not for nothing did Fire and Emergency New Zealand launch a campaign about that last month, with slogans like: ‘Warning! Using an incorrect battery in your e-bike can cause violent fire in seconds.’

But sometimes, the media give people the wrong idea.

Last year RNZ reported a Wellington man’s claim that his neighbour’s Tesla burst into flames in the garage next door. Eventually, FENZ ruled out electric vehicles or lithium-ion batteries as the cause. RNZ updated the story accordingly.

Earlier this year a fire destroyed a boarding house in a Sydney suburb. The Sydney Morning Herald said it was not clear if the blaze began as an electrical fire, but lithium ion e-bike batteries “had contributed to the fire’s rapid spread and intensity.”

But the headline on that – ‘Jet-like flame’. E- bike batteries fuel Sydney boarding house fire– created the impression the batteries were the cause.

Channel 7’s TV news report also suggested batteries as the cause of the fire, but one of the distressed residents could be heard off-camera telling the reporter: “I had a candle going. Maybe it was the candle.”

[embedded content]

Call for context and ‘pre-bunking’

Co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists – Dr Troy Baisden – was alarmed by how recent news reports described the risks of EVs and the possibility of ‘thermal runaway.’

Dr Baisden took to social media himself to point out that none of the recent vehicle fires were caused by EVs or their batteries.

But if the risk is real – albeit remote in normal circumstances – how should media report incidents like the ones in Auckland recently?

“We know there’s a risk of EV myths and misinformation spread. The most interesting thing about these stories is that there were stories about EV fires that contained … no EV fire,” Dr Baisden told Mediawatch.

He cited New Zealand Herald and RNZ’s Checkpoint coverage of the Fairview community’s dilemma as failing to make clear that EVs pose a much lower fire risk than combustion engine vehicles.

A recent peer-reviewed study of four nations found more people believed misinformation about EVs than disagreed with it – including vehicles being more likely to catch fire.

But if it was reports of the recent bus fires that prompted the Fairview residents and management to discuss the issue, news editors can not ignore that context?

“They could have said the risk of EVs catching fire is about 60 times less than an equivalent petrol or diesel vehicle. Adjusted for the mileage, it’s maybe 20 times less,” Dr Baisden told Mediawatch.

“There’s other information that you could think about. Anything that can move you hundreds of kilometres in two tonnes of metal is going to have a lot of energy stored in it, so it can create a fire.”

“I feel like the retirement village residents – and the decisions that were going on there – were really let down by our information ecosystem.”

Checkpoint‘s coverage of the Fairview controversy stated right at the start that EV fires are rare but they can be harder to put out.

Both things that are true – and an online story carried a link to an RNZ article from 2019 all about that.

Is that sufficient ‘pre-bunking’ – informing people of facts before they’re exposed to contrary opinions, misinformation or fringe views?

“Probably not. I still don’t think that’s the most relevant thing – which is risk reduction. Fires are scary and historically vehicle fires used to be much more common than they are now. The other issue is: are we ready to deal with EV fires? That’s actually a more important issue.”

“It’s important where there are a lot of EVs – or particularly really big batteries like the bus batteries – that those firefighting methods are known and ready to respond.”

“It also points out we’re not great at working through risk – and the information to support journalists reporting these risks in New Zealand isn’t great.”

“Consumer magazine in New Zealand is a great trusted source. But where news organisations responding to headlines and trying to come up with an angle and a story, need to make sure journalists or the editors can find those.”

“This is a classic gap. We’re talking about something that actually hasn’t happened. There’s been no EV fire that’s been caused by an EV in New Zealand as yet.”

But we know that this is not a ‘zero risk’ technology. When fires occur, batteries can become a specific fire hazard which needs special treatment.

“Everybody’s home has a number of risks. The risks associated with a barbecue. Storing that in a garage with a car and other things that can catch on fire is a problem. Maybe take it from a scientist who’s run large laboratories with a lot of dangerous things in them: Don’t put the dangerous things that can catch on fire together.”

Baisden is an environmental scientist who researches carbon emissions and is in favour of low and zero-emission technologies. Does he have a bias which might prompt him to minimise the risk associated with them?

“I am keen to see the uptake of electric cars. I’ve had one for a number of years. I don’t have any vested interest in it. But here we’re talking about … at least 20 times less risk associated with EVs than conventional cars. It’s difficult to say that I’d be causing more bias than that.”

“I really don’t want to be a regular performer on the radio talking about EV fires again – and there’s still been no EV fires.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A crash in the Canterbury town of Rakaia has partially blocked the main road.

There were delays on State Highway 1 between the intersection with Dunford Street and the Rakaia River Bridge on Sunday morning.

NZTA advised motorists to follow the directions given by traffic controllers on-site.

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Seafood New Zealand says claims from commercial fishing is allowed in two of 12 new High Protection Areas (HPAs) is misleading.

A convoy of recreational fishers travelled across Auckland in a rally on Saturday morning, towing boats. The One Ocean protest, co-organised by fishing enthusiast Ben Chissell, targeted aspects of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Act and other proposed fishing reforms.

The law, which came into effect in October, created a group of new marine protected zones while also allowing exclusive use of two highly protected areas by commercial ring-net fishing operators. Protesters wanted the marine reserves to apply to everyone.

Seafood New Zealand chief executive Lisa Futschek said one exception was made for five small-scale ring-net fishers who provide kaimoana to local communities and marae.

She said claims from protesters that commercial fishing was allowed in two of 12 reserves was misleading.

“[Five small-scale ring-net fishers] have been given a just transition. They are able to fish within a very small section of two of the HPAs, but it’s a grandfathered provision – so that means when all of those individual fishers exit, they can’t be replaced. They can’t pass on that exception.”

Seafood NZ assured One Ocean protesters the government was not planning to add any species to the quota management system.

She said what was being proposed was if marlin or some reef fish were caught as by-catch, they would be able to be kept and sold.

“What is on the table are two proposals which would see certain species, marlin and some reef fish, able to be sold commercially when they are caught as bycatch by commercial fishers. So that’s a very, very different thing.”

Despite concerns of traffic congestion, by 10am Saturday, the hundreds of people driving in part of the convoy had mostly passed over the Harbour Bridge with minimal disruption.

Fisheries Minister Shane Jones previously said it was “a bit late” to protest, as recreational fishing lobby group LegaSea had “signed up to this policy some years ago”. LegaSea denied this. Chissell said the One Ocean Protest was a separate entity.

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