Wednesday 18th of March 2026 08:38:16 PM
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‘Ens…ification’ blamed as Kiwis feel down about internet

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Sixty percent of Kiwis use AI weekly, but 68 percent are ‘very or extremely concerned’ about it being used to produce harmful content. File photo. 123rf

Fewer and fewer New Zealanders are feeling positive about the internet, despite many spending hours online per day.

A study by Internet NZ has found that only 72 percent of Kiwis think the positives of the internet outweigh the negatives, despite nearly half spending four or more hours online a day.

InternetNZ chief executive Vivien Maidaborn said that figure had been slowly declining from 90 percent in 2019.

“The concern is potentially increasing because of what’s now being called the ‘enshittification’ of the internet by the big players who are really prioritising profit over user experience.”

Maidaborn said the research showed the increasingly complex relationship people have with the internet.

“Love it or hate it, we’re all using the internet a great deal… it’s become so integral to our day to day. But that doesn’t mean it’s something we enjoy engaging with.”

Attitude towards AI

The research also found kiwis were feeling increasingly confident in using artificial intelligence, but concerned about its potential to produce harmful content.

It found 60 percent of Kiwis used AI weekly, but 68 percent were ‘very or extremely concerned’ about it being used to produce harmful content.

AI could amplify some of the worst parts of the internet, Maidaborn said.

“Scamming phishing, targeting of particular groups with harm. All of those things can happen way faster than human speed with AI.”

The findings reflected the pace at which AI has grown in the past few years, Maidaborn said.

“In a very short time, we’ve gone from most people having a very limited understanding of what AI is and what it can do, to it being in use every day in almost every household.”

AI also brought opportunity, but more policy guidance was needed from the government so that people were not using unregulated tools, Maidaborn said.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

2026 Taite Music Prize finalists announced

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Marlon Williams, Geneva AM, Tom Scott and Jazmine Mary are among 10 finalists for the 2026 Taite Music Prize.

The award, named in honour of late Dylan Taite, one of Aotearoa’s respected music journalists, recognises outstanding independent New Zealand albums released in the past year.

The award will be presented on Wednesday, 29 April at the International Convention Centre, Auckland, at the same time as the NZ On Air Outstanding Music Journalism Award, IMNZ Classic Record and the Independent Spirit Award.

Marlon Williams will tour NZ in 2026 before taking a break for a ‘wee while’.

Supplied

I’m educated and a fan of science, so why do I follow superstitions?

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Source: Radio New Zealand

As kids, many of us are told that if we go outside with wet hair, we’ll catch a cold. And as adults, we might spend an extra few minutes drying our hair before stepping out.

Many tall buildings in Anglo countries don’t label the 13th floor, while buildings in East Asia often skip floor four.

If a player I barrack for is having a winning streak, and a commentator mentions it, I might feel like the player is “jinxed” and their winning streak will end.

We can be quite creative in how we assemble information, in ways that are totally incompatible with science.

Unsplash

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

Meet the ‘Old Mother Goose’ from NZ’s subtropical prehistoric past

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nic Rawlence, Associate Professor in Ancient DNA, University of Otago

During the early to mid Miocene period, 14 to 19 million years ago, a vast lake covered much of what is now Central Otago.

Along the shores of Lake Manuherikia, whose remnants are found near present-day St Bathans, lived crocodilians, turtles, and bowerbirds, as well as early relatives of bats, moa and kiwi, and a rich diversity of waterfowl such as ducks and swans.

This lost ecosystem is known today from the famous St Bathans fossil deposits, which preserve one of the world’s richest records of the Miocene and offer a rare window into Aotearoa’s warmer, more subtropical ancient past.

Our newly published research adds another waterfowl species to this remarkable menagerie. It also sheds important new light on the origins of New Zealand’s recently extinct giant, flightless geese of the genus Cnemiornis.

NZ’s long-lost waterfowl

Spanning 5,600 square kilometres, Lake Manuherikia was ten times the size of New Zealand’s Lake Taupo. It was a dynamic habitat that supported a diverse range of waterfowl, including five stiff-tailed ducks, one swan, two shelducks, one dabbling duck and our new goose.

While many of these waterfowl are incredibly common in the fossil deposits around St Bathans, others, including the largest species, are quite rare.

Our team reexamined the remains of all the bones previously identified as belonging to geese. We then compared them with other large waterfowl bones from the deposits and a broad collection of comparative bird skeletons housed in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

We determined that the bones included an undescribed species the size of a small goose.

We named our new bird the St Bathans goose Meterchen luti, as a play on the nursery rhyme “Old Mother Goose”. In our case, an ancient goose rises up out of the mud of the fossil deposit. Meterchen means “mother goose” in ancient Greek, while luti is Latin for “of the mud”.

The ancient lake mud around St Bathans, Otago, is a rich source of fossils that give palaeontologists unique insights into Zealandia’s past biodiversity. Alan Tennyson/Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, CC BY-NC-SA

With ten unique species of waterfowl now described from the fossil deposits, across a range of sizes, Lake Manuherikia was clearly a very productive and dynamic lake system, supporting a large and complex ecosystem.

Not as ancient as first thought

Our St Bathans goose is only based on fragmentary remains but there is enough preserved to show that it is not a close relative of the giant flightless Cnemiornis geese, nor their Australian cousin, the Cape Barren goose Cereopsis novaehollandiae.

An artist’s impression of the St Bathans goose that once lived in New Zealand. Sasha Votyakova/Te Papa Tongarewa, CC BY-NC-SA

Recent genetic research is showing the evolutionary origin of New Zealand’s birds is more dynamic than previously thought, with influxes from Australia, South America, the Northern Hemisphere and places unknown.

Throughout geological history, many birds arrived in Zealandia, the now-mostly submerged continent that includes New Zealand. But the ancestors of some of our large birds only arrived here surprisingly recently – in the past 4-5 million years – including takahē, the Eyles or Forbes’ harrier and the giant Haast’s eagle.

An earlier theory argued that the St Bathans goose represented the direct ancestors of giant flightless Cnemiornis geese, implying this lineage had been present in Zealandia for at least 14 million years.

However, this conflicts with genetic evidence suggesting the ancestors of Cnemiornis arrived from Australia only 7 million years ago, which proponents of the earlier theory discarded.

Our reassessment, based on a much broader set of comparative bird skeletons, rather than single exemplars, does not support the earlier-arrival hypothesis and instead supports the later arrival.

Turnover and transformation

Increasingly, our multidisciplinary research is showing that there have been considerable levels of biological turnover throughout Zealandia’s history.

While the ancestors of the St Bathans goose no doubt arrived in Zealandia earlier than 14 million years ago, no descendants survived, with the ancestors of the giant Cnemiornis geese colonising much more recently, only for their descendants to go extinct shortly after human arrival due over-hunting and predation.

Artist’s impression of an extinct giant flightless New Zealand goose in its open habitat. Paul Martinson/Te Papa Tongarewa, CC BY-NC-SA

The relatively recent evolution of the giant flightless Cnemiornis geese offers another striking example of the rapid morphological change that can occur within a short timespan on islands, where evolution can run rampant. At one metre tall and weighing up to 18kg, these were the largest geese in the world.

By using all the scientific tools in the toolbox, we can reconstruct how the dynamic geological, climatic and human history of Zealandia has shaped the evolution of Aotearoa’s fauna in ever more detail.

Each new discovery is a reminder that the story of New Zealand’s birds – and of Zealandia itself – is very much still being written.

– ref. Meet the ‘Old Mother Goose’ from NZ’s subtropical prehistoric past – https://theconversation.com/meet-the-old-mother-goose-from-nzs-subtropical-prehistoric-past-271722

From high-tech greenhouses to fruit netting: how protected cropping can shield crops from climate extremes

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Bacic, Professor of Plant Biology, La Trobe University

For many of us, food is something we buy at a supermarket or order at a cafe. We usually give little thought to the complex systems required to produce and deliver it – until they stop working.

It’s not common to think of Australia as a place at risk of food insecurity. It has vast tracts of fertile land and the capacity to feed its population many times over. Around 70% is exported.

But the searing southeast heat and widespread northern flooding this summer demonstrate the very real risks to food production. Temperature extremes, heatwaves, droughts, floods and shifting seasonal patterns are worsening as the climate changes.

People can seek refuge indoors. But the plants and animals we rely on for food have no such protection. In response, some orchardists and farmers are taking up an approach known as protected cropping, where crops are shielded from threats. As South Australian persimmon and avocado grower Craig Burne told the ABC:

without misting and netting in place, I don’t think we’d successfully grow either of these crops in this climate any more

As climate change intensifies, protected cropping could better safeguard some crops. Overseas, nations such as the Netherlands have taken up protected cropping to drastically boost fruit and vegetable exports. But it’s early days in Australia. To grow, the sector will have to overcome barriers to growth.

Protected cropping methods such as this polytunnel at Stepping Stone Farm in NSW can extend growing seasons and shield crops from some threats. Mick Tsikas/AAP

What defines protected cropping?

Protection is broadly defined. It can range from low-tech solutions such as shade houses and netting to medium-technology polytunnels (hoop-shaped plastic covers) through to highly sophisticated automated glasshouses.

Countries facing land constraints such as the Netherlands have been the most enthusiastic in taking up this approach. Guided by the principle of “twice the food using half the resources”, Netherlands farmers have turned to high-tech glasshouses.

The result has been remarkable: a country with extremely limited agricultural land has become a top exporter of fruit and vegetables.

Emerging in Australia

In Australia, protected cropping is gaining popularity off a small base. In 2023, around 14,000 hectares of fruit and vegetable crops were growing under some form of protection. That’s around 17% of the total area.

Most of this area relies on low-tech systems, however. Just over two-thirds (68%) of all protected cropping areas relies on low-tech shade houses or netting, mainly in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Medium-tech systems such as polytunnels and polyhouses account for about 30% of the total. These systems are found mainly in Tasmania, northern Queensland and Western Australia.

High-tech glasshouses account for only 2% of the total. These are primarily found near bigger cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

To date, farmers have relied on protected cropping for high-value crops such as tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers, berries, leafy greens and more expensive tree crops.

In 2022, Australia’s protected cropping industry was worth an estimated A$100 million to farmers. Demand for workers in the sector is growing at 5% a year, and around 10,000 people worked in the industry as of 2022.

Protected cropping has been used on import-reliant Christmas Island to boost self-sufficiency. Bianca De Marchi

Real benefits – at a cost

For farmers, protected cropping offers clear advantages across low-, medium- and high-tech approaches.

These methods can create an environment favourable to year-round plant growth, improving the consistency and quality of yields. By controlling factors such as temperature, plant nutrition, humidity, light and pests, protected cropping reduces production risks and increases crop yield and quality.

For farmers, being able to control their environment in a predictable way is particularly valuable in an uncertain climate. Protecting crops means less (but not zero) risk from extreme weather. Other benefits include more efficient use of land, water, fertiliser and energy.

Crops can also be cultivated closer to markets. This improves food freshness, lowers transport emissions and strengthens domestic food security.

For exporters, produce grown in protected systems is more likely to meet stringent biosecurity and quality standards of overseas buyers.

Innovation is essential to unlock these benefits at scale. Advances in plant breeding, sensors, automation, data analytics, controlled supply of nutrients, lighting systems and biological controls for pests and plant diseases can significantly boost farm production, profits and sustainability.

A high-tech greenhouse using LED lighting, hydroponics and automated sensors to optimise crop growth. Red and blue LED lights reduce energy use while maintaining high yields and crop quality. Anthony D’Agatha/La Trobe University, CC BY-NC-ND

What’s stopping protected cropping?

Australia’s farmers are highly exposed to extreme weather events and the changing water cycle. Protected cropping would seem to be a logical way to control some of these risks.

To date, protected cropping hasn’t achieved scale in Australia. That’s because the horticulture industry is dominated by small businesses with limited capacity to invest in new systems.

High-tech protected cropping systems offer the best results, but the cost is enough to put off many farmers. Finding and keeping skilled workers is another challenge.

Scaling up won’t just happen

Protected cropping is an excellent solution. But it’s out of reach for many farmers who would benefit.

In nations such as Sweden and the Netherlands, governments have worked to encourage uptake of protected cropping and boost exports of fruit and vegetables, through world-class research and innovation precincts.

Australia’s federal and state governments could accelerate uptake by setting targets to expand protected cropping areas, encourage adoption through policy levers, investing in joint infrastructure and incentives to cut installation costs.

A good start could be to focus on areas where high-value crops are grown in unprotected environments and work to create regional clusters of expertise, shared infrastructure and skilled jobs.

Governments can’t do it without buy in from industry bodies, researchers and farmers. Translating innovation from laboratory to field is never easy. But it can – and arguably must – be done, as Australia’s farmers face a very uncertain climate.

Protected cropping is not a silver bullet. Polytunnels can’t protect against floods, for instance. But other countries have successfully used these methods to boost yields, safeguard local food production and create new higher wage jobs. It could do the same here.

– ref. From high-tech greenhouses to fruit netting: how protected cropping can shield crops from climate extremes – https://theconversation.com/from-high-tech-greenhouses-to-fruit-netting-how-protected-cropping-can-shield-crops-from-climate-extremes-272162

Back at uni? How to help your wellbeing while you study

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew J. Martin, Scientia Professor and Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW Sydney

University can be a time of great opportunities, but it can also be very stressful. Many students need to support themselves financially and may be living away from home. Students are also under constant deadlines and, if in their final years, need to prepare for life and work after uni.

My colleagues and I research how students can succeed and thrive in their studies.

So, as classes begin for semester one, how can you be proactive about your wellbeing and find a healthy balance between work, study and friends?

Academic and personal wellbeing

There are two interconnected parts of life that are particularly challenged at university. These are academic wellbeing and personal wellbeing.

Academic wellbeing is about your learning and achievement, and how motivated and engaged you are with your studies. Personal wellbeing is about your mental health, self-esteem, life satisfaction and sense of meaning and purpose.

This is where “buoyancy” – sometimes called everyday resilience – comes in. Buoyancy is students’ ability to bounce back from challenges, difficulties and setbacks. It helps them navigate the ups and downs of university life, from competing deadlines, to exam stress and the demands of paid work.

In our research, we have identified psychological and interpersonal ways to help students maintain their academic and personal wellbeing. We call them “the 6 Cs of buoyancy”.

1. Confidence

We have found students who believe in themselves to do what they set out to do tend to respond well to difficulty. Boosting self-belief, or confidence, involves two important things.

  • Focus on the positives: recognise what knowledge and skills you already have. Avoid negative thinking traps. For example, give yourself credit for positive results instead of thinking the “lecturer went easy on me”.

  • Develop a broader view of success: view success not just in terms of marks, but also in terms of learning new things and personal improvement. This helps you recognise more of the things you do well, so you receive confidence-boosters more often.

2. Control

Our research shows students who feel as though they are “in the driver’s seat” are not as easily affected by adversity. There are two helpful ways you can feel in control.

  • Focus on the three things in your control: these are effort (how hard you try), strategy (the way you try) and attitude (what you think of yourself and the challenge).

  • Seek out feedback: this is information or ideas about how to navigate a challenge or improve next time. You can get this from teachers, a student advisor or trusted peers.

3. Commitment

Staying focused on your goals can help you persist through tough times. There are two ways to support this.

  • Set clear goals and a plan for meeting them: so you know what you’re doing, why, and how to do it.

  • Seek support: remember there are people who can help you if you are unsure about something, such as academic staff and student support services.

4. Coordination

Having a clear plan also helps you to navigate your way through challenges. There are two ways to do this:

  • Look ahead: what challenges are on the horizon? Are there assignment deadlines on the same day? Be proactive and get onto them early so you finish them by the due date.

  • Have a timetable: make a realistic and achievable weekly timetable so you can balance the different things you need and want to do.

5. Composure

Academic anxiety typically involves worrying excessively about poor results, performance in an upcoming test or presentation, meeting deadlines and getting on top of difficult coursework. Managing your academic anxiety is an important part of maintaining academic and personal wellbeing.

  • Have stress management and relaxation strategies: find strategies that work for you. This may be meditation, exercise, reading or connecting with nature.

  • Make lifestyle adjustments: create healthy habits, such as an improved diet, less alcohol, more sleep or staying off social media channels that “wind you up”.

6. Connection

A sense of belonging is a buffer against stress. Good relationships are also a protective factor in tough times.

  • Get more involved: participate in classes, labs and tutorials. Say “yes” to social opportunities such as a coffee after a lecture. Look for a university club or society you can join. Go into uni a little more than being online.

  • Keep in touch: socialise with good friends from school or other parts of life outside of uni.

What if I am struggling?

The 6 Cs are helpful for navigating day-to-day challenges at university. But it is important to reach out to a mental health professional on or off campus if you need more support.

If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

– ref. Back at uni? How to help your wellbeing while you study – https://theconversation.com/back-at-uni-how-to-help-your-wellbeing-while-you-study-276854

New study finds 6 types of ‘discouraged’ workers in Australia – and why they stop job-hunting

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sora Lee, Lecturer in Ageing and End of Life, La Trobe University

When we hear that Australia’s unemployment rate is low, it sounds like good news. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines an unemployed person as someone who is not working but is actively looking for a job and available to start.

But there is a broader group not fully captured by the statistics, whom we call “hidden workers”. They include people who:

  • are unemployed but not counted because they are not currently looking

  • are underemployed, working fewer hours than they want or need

  • or who have given up looking altogether, known as discouraged workers.

This article focuses on that last group: discouraged workers.

They still want to work and are available — but have stopped searching. We know surprisingly little about who they are or why they give up. My new research aims to answer some of these questions.

Untapped talent matters for the economy

You might wonder: if they are not looking for work, why should we care?

Because they represent unused talent, sitting on the sidelines of the economy. Discouraged workers are part of what economists call labour market slack. That simply means spare capacity: people who could work if the barriers in front of them were removed.

If slack is larger than the official unemployment rate suggests, then the job market is not as strong as it looks.

And that matters.

The Reserve Bank of Australia relies on labour market data when deciding whether to raise or cut interest rates. If there are more people on the sidelines than the headline figures capture, wage growth may be weaker than expected. Inflation pressures may be lower than assumed. Economic strength may be overstated.

In short, when we miscount workers, we misread the economy.

A wide range of profiles

Using national data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey (HILDA), we analysed 1,091 discouraged workers. This is the first in-depth national analysis of discouraged workers in Australia, and the findings are revealing.

Instead of treating discouraged workers as one single group, we used a statistical method called “latent class analysis”. It helps us see hidden subgroups within the broad category.

The six profiles we identified were:

Young, low-educated adults (mostly men) (25.3%)

This is the largest group. They are under 45, rarely married and often left school early. They report more health issues and face limited qualifications and weak attachment to stable work.

Older, low-educated adults with chronic health problems (20.4%)

Almost all are over 45. Many did not complete secondary school. Most have long-term health conditions. Here, low education and poor health combine to reduce job prospects.

Older single adults with health and financial strain (17.0%)

These people are often educated but single, with high rates of chronic illness and financial hardship. Education does not protect them when health and money pressures are severe.

Older, well-educated adults (mostly men) (16.6%)

These are mainly people over 45 who are married and relatively well educated. Many report some health problems. Their discouragement appears linked to age bias in hiring and moderate health limits, rather than low skills.

Mothers with heavy care and financial strains (13.9%)

These are mostly women under 45 with dependent children. Many also provide unpaid care to someone else in the family. Financial stress is high.

Highly educated married women facing structural barriers (6.7%)

This is a smaller but striking group. They are well educated and generally healthy. Many are married and have children. Their discouragement reflects the strain of combining paid work with care.

Caring duties and health issues were some of the barriers facing women. Brooks Rice/Unsplash

The myth of the lazy jobless persists

A common myth is that people stop looking for work because they are unmotivated.

Our findings show something different.

Discouragement often emerges at the point where repeated rejection, health limits, childcare costs, age discrimination or household pressures make further job searches feel pointless. As one interview participant put it,

When you keep receiving rejection letters, it becomes rational to stop applying.

The evidence suggests discouragement is rarely a sudden decision. It is more often the end point of accumulated disadvantage — where multiple barriers build up over time until withdrawal feels like the only realistic option.

We identified clear life-course patterns among women at different career stages.

Younger mothers are pulled out of the job market by childcare demands. Older women encounter age bias and health limits. These women are not “choosing to drop out” from the workforce. They are responding to structural pressures at different stages of life.

We see similar patterns among men, as well.

A significant group of young men face intersecting disadvantages early in adulthood. Weak educational foundations combined with health issues limit their attachment to stable work. Older adults — particularly those with low education and long-term health conditions — face persistent barriers.

Finding policies that work

Activation policies are employment policies designed to “activate” people who are out of work by pushing or encouraging them to search for jobs more actively. The underlying idea is that the problem sits with the individual: search harder. Try more. Be more motivated.

Our findings suggest the barriers often sit elsewhere.

Older workers need health support and age-inclusive hiring. Care-burdened mothers need affordable childcare and genuine flexibility.

Young men with low education need strong training and stable entry pathways. Highly educated, married women need workplaces that offer flexibility and don’t penalise career breaks.

Discouraged workers are not a single silent mass. They represent many different stories of stalled potential.

If we want a stronger, fairer labour market, we need to see them clearly – and design policies that respond to the real reasons they stopped searching in the first place.

– ref. New study finds 6 types of ‘discouraged’ workers in Australia – and why they stop job-hunting – https://theconversation.com/new-study-finds-6-types-of-discouraged-workers-in-australia-and-why-they-stop-job-hunting-276758

Person dies in crash, car submerged in river

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Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Nate McKinnon

A person has died on State Highway 1 in Taihape, to the north of Spooners Hill.

Police were advised at 7.25am on Sunday that a car had gone off the road and into Hautapu River.

The car was found submerged in the river with significant damage from the crash.

It was removed from the river on Sunday afternoon.

The driver was the sole occupant.

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

‘Ens…ification’ blamed for as Kiwis feel down about internet

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Sixty percent of Kiwis use AI weekly, but 68 percent are ‘very or extremely concerned’ about it being used to produce harmful content. File photo. 123rf

Fewer and fewer New Zealanders are feeling positive about the internet, despite many spending hours online per day.

A study by Internet NZ has found that only 72 percent of Kiwis think the positives of the internet outweigh the negatives, despite nearly half spending four or more hours online a day.

InternetNZ chief executive Vivien Maidaborn said that figure had been slowly declining from 90 percent in 2019.

“The concern is potentially increasing because of what’s now being called the ‘enshittification’ of the internet by the big players who are really prioritising profit over user experience.”

Maidaborn said the research showed the increasingly complex relationship people have with the internet.

“Love it or hate it, we’re all using the internet a great deal… it’s become so integral to our day to day. But that doesn’t mean it’s something we enjoy engaging with.”

Attitude towards AI

The research also found kiwis were feeling increasingly confident in using artificial intelligence, but concerned about its potential to produce harmful content.

It found 60 percent of Kiwis used AI weekly, but 68 percent were ‘very or extremely concerned’ about it being used to produce harmful content.

AI could amplify some of the worst parts of the internet, Maidaborn said.

“Scamming phishing, targeting of particular groups with harm. All of those things can happen way faster than human speed with AI.”

The findings reflected the pace at which AI has grown in the past few years, Maidaborn said.

“In a very short time, we’ve gone from most people having a very limited understanding of what AI is and what it can do, to it being in use every day in almost every household.”

AI also brought opportunity, but more policy guidance was needed from the government so that people were not using unregulated tools, Maidaborn said.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

One killed in Ruapehu crash

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Emergency services were called to the scene in the Ruapehu District just after 11pm on Sunday (file image). RNZ / Richard Tindiller

One person has died after a three-vehicle crash on State Highway 4 in the settlement of Erua on Sunday night.

Emergency services were called to the scene in the Ruapehu District just after 11pm.

One person died at the scene. Another person sustained critical injuries, and four others minor.

The Serious Crash Unit examined the scene and enquiries were ongoing.

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

Rugby: All Blacks halfback Cortez Ratima re-commits to NZ Rugby to after next World Cup.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Will Jordan celebrates with Cortez Ratima after scoring. Wallabies v New Zealand All Blacks, 2024 Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup test match, Accor Stadium, NSW, Australia, Saturday 21st September 2024, Copyright David Neilson / www.photosport.nz David Neilson/Photosport

All Blacks halfback Cortez Ratima has re-signed with New Zealand Rugby and the Chiefs to the end of 2028.

The 24-year-old said it was an easy decision, especially after the recent birth of his second son.

“I have a new baby at home and being in one place and having a stable home life is good for our family,” Ratima said.

“I love this club and how they have supported me and my family. I’m loving what [Chiefs coach] Jono [Gibbes] and the other coaches are doing and there’s no place I’d rather be.”

Cortez Ratima of New Zealand All Blacks during series against England, 2024. PHOTOSPORT

Ratima has played 38 games for Waikato and 60 for the Chiefs since his Super Rugby debut against the Crusaders in 2022.

He has played 21 tests since making his All Blacks debut against England in 2024.

Ratima said with the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia getting closer, competing for a place in the All Blacks was a huge motivator.

Gibbes was delighted Ratima was staying with the side.

“It’s great to have a player of Cortez’ ability stick with us. It shows his faith in what we are doing and where we are heading, which is terrific. It’s also a reflection on the culture we have here at the club.

“Cortez is a talented young man and it is exciting to know he and his whānau will be a part of the Chiefs for another three years, at least.”

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

Iranian NZers ‘incredibly hopeful’ attacks will lead to swift regime change

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Source: Radio New Zealand

People mourn the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US and Israeli strikes, in Tehran AFP / ATTA KENARE

As strikes and retaliations continue in the Middle East, there has been a mixed response from Iranian-New Zealanders – but some see the US attempt to instigate regime change as an opportunity for Iran to reinvent itself.

The Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed yesterday amid US and Israeli strikes, but in response the regime has vowed “heaviest offensive” in its history.

Iranian-born former Green Party member Golriz Ghahraman told RNZ many in the Iranian community were celebrating US action towards regime change, but some are already concerned about what comes next.

“What’s happening in Iran… is terrifying by any standards. It’s pretty mixed, but distressing emotions for any Iranians,” she said.

“It’s our homeland being bombed, but of course we’ve seen some incredible, unprecedented violence by the Islamic regime against protesters earlier this year.”

Iranian-New Zealanders were “waiting with bated breath” to see what the outcome would be, she said.

“There are some who are incredibly hopeful that this will lead to swift regime change, some are deeply worried that what will happen is what we’ve seen happen to other nations in the region – which is that they’ll be devastated and then the previous regime will be reinstated.”

She was alluding in particular to Afghanistan, which has been under Taliban rule since shortly after the US withdrew https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/446161/us-exit-leads-afghans-to-rue-decades-of-war troops from the region in 2021].

New Zealand-Iranians with family still in the country were naturally “deeply worried”, she said.

Ghahraman, who was also a former UN human rights lawyer, said that although a lot of Iranian expats shared the US desire for regime change, the strikes were still illegal according to international law.

“There’s no such thing as a lawful pre-emptive attack on a sovereign nation. The United States knows this.

“This is just absolute fiction in terms of being able to bomb a country because you perceive them as a threat.”

Although the Khamenei government had been incredibly violent and oppressive, it was still hard for some Iranians to see the US as a liberating force, she said.

“We do have a very difficult situation in terms of enormous human rights abuses being committed by both sides, and the Iranian people being caught in the middle.”

She was calling on New Zealanders to support the Iranian community during this time.

“What we would like is to know that we live among communities that see our humanity, and know that the lives of our people, freedom, human rights for our people also matter.

“It’s nice to know that in our little communities in Aotearoa, that we are seen”, she said.

‘We don’t call it a war’

Iranian man living in New Zealand Reza Farhour said he did not see the attack on Iran as a war, but as other countries helping the Iranian people.

Reza Farhour told RNZ that he was happy about Iran’s supreme leader being killed.

“We don’t call it war. It’s not against our people. It’s to help our people to get what they want.

The death of Khamenei was an opportunity for Iranians to govern Iran they way they would like, he added.

The conflict would not be over until the regime was gone, and Iran established a secular democracy, he said.

He estimated between 80 and 90 percent of Iranians were calling for the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi to become the leader – the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who was the last shah of Iran.

Last month, millions of Iranians had rallied across Europe, North America, and Oceania in response to a call by Pahlavi.

United States president Donald Trump said 32,000 were killed in Iran as a result.

“He’s [Pahlavi] a very democratic person. He has been saying from the beginning: I don’t want to be a king, only the leader of this transition until we have a free election to choose what kind of democracy people want.”

The wall has ‘finally cracked’

Dr Forough Amin – an Iranian woman in New Zealand – told RNZ she was celebrating after the death of Iran’s supreme leader, and that she would not be the only person feeling relief on Sunday.

“This Supreme Leader has been the symbol of a system that has brought enormous suffering to our people for 47 years,” she said.

“Thousands have been imprisoned, have been executed.”

Khamenei was the core of an oppressive regime controlling every aspect of Iran – including politics, economy, and culture, Amin said.

“He, as the central figure of this system, has disappeared.

“We feel like the wall that has stood over this country for decades has finally cracked.”

She was hoping Israel and the United States would completely end the regime, and Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi would take over.

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‘Enshittification’ blamed for fewer NZers feeling positive about the internet

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Sixty percent of Kiwis use AI weekly, but 68 percent are ‘very or extremely concerned’ about it being used to produce harmful content. File photo. 123rf

Fewer and fewer New Zealanders are feeling positive about the internet, despite many spending hours online per day.

A study by Internet NZ has found that only 72 percent of Kiwis think the positives of the internet outweigh the negatives, despite nearly half spending four or more hours online a day.

InternetNZ chief executive Vivien Maidaborn said that figure had been slowly declining from 90 percent in 2019.

“The concern is potentially increasing because of what’s now being called the ‘enshittification’ of the internet by the big players who are really prioritising profit over user experience.”

Maidaborn said the research showed the increasingly complex relationship people have with the internet.

“Love it or hate it, we’re all using the internet a great deal… it’s become so integral to our day to day. But that doesn’t mean it’s something we enjoy engaging with.”

Attitude towards AI

The research also found kiwis were feeling increasingly confident in using artificial intelligence, but concerned about its potential to produce harmful content.

It found 60 percent of Kiwis used AI weekly, but 68 percent were ‘very or extremely concerned’ about it being used to produce harmful content.

AI could amplify some of the worst parts of the internet, Maidaborn said.

“Scamming phishing, targeting of particular groups with harm. All of those things can happen way faster than human speed with AI.”

The findings reflected the pace at which AI has grown in the past few years, Maidaborn said.

“In a very short time, we’ve gone from most people having a very limited understanding of what AI is and what it can do, to it being in use every day in almost every household.”

AI also brought opportunity, but more policy guidance was needed from the government so that people were not using unregulated tools, Maidaborn said.

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Official advice about Ehlers-Danlos syndromes and hypermobility spectrum disorder labelled ‘incredibly damaging’

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Some patients with a rare disorder experience complications and have to rely on feeding tubes, intravenous fluids and strong pain killers. 123rf

People living with a rare connective tissue disorder say new Health New Zealand guidance about their condition is misleading, with some fearing it could leave them without treatment that keeps them alive.

Te Whatu Ora published the updated information on Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) on its website last week, following “a review of current evidence-based EDS information.”

On Friday, it told RNZ the information was written in plain English and only meant to provide a high level overview.

EDS is a group of inherited connective tissue disorders, often defined by stretchy skin, hypermobile joints and tissue fragility.

Patients often live with chronic and debilitating musculoskeletal pain and gastroenterological problems. They also commonly have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), dysautonomia issues, and Mast Cell Activation Disorder (MCAD), requiring multi-disciplinary and complex medical care.

There are only a handful of specialists who diagnose and treat EDS in New Zealand and dozens of patients have told RNZ they faced years of misdiagnosis, or being told their symptoms were in their head.

Patients and advocacy groups say parts of the HNZ guidance are incorrect and potentially harmful.

“It’s quite alarming that our own [health] agency can’t even provide the correct information,” said Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes Aotearoa New Zealand (EDSANZ) chief executive Kelly McQuinlan.

“We’re already struggling to get the care that we need and this is incredibly damaging.”

The HNZ information linked to EDSANZ’s website giving the impression it endorsed the guidance – which it did not, said McQuinlan.

“We were not consulted, nor were internationally recognised EDS experts in New Zealand.”

She called for HNZ to remove the information until it had carried out “meaningful consultation.”

“The revised material should include appropriate citations that are aligned with current international standards,” she said.

RNZ is aware of at least two formal complaints already made to the Health and Disability Commissioner about the information.

What the guidance says

The HNZ guidance states there are only 12 subtypes of EDS, omitting the most common type hypermobile EDS (hEDS) which it conflates with hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD).

It also states that hEDS/HSD is “not due to a collagen alteration”, implying it is not a genetic condition.

The 2017 international classification of Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes distinguishes hEDS as a separate condition from HSD. While a precise genetic mechanism for hEDS has not yet been identified, hEDS is classified within the group of heritable connective tissue disorders involving collagen or collagen-associated conditions.

HSD is not included in the umbrella of EDS subtypes, and it is not always linked to collagen defects.

It is estimated that around 4000 people in New Zealand have some form of EDS diagnosis.

Prevalence in patients ranges from 1 in 2500 to 1 in 5000, though some geneticists think hEDS could be as common as 1 in 500. The HNZ guidance says fewer than 1 in 20,000 people have altered collagen EDS.

“It really highlights how much our government and our health system don’t understand or care about the differences,” said Grace Vernal, who lives with hEDS.

Most doctors already knew little about the condition and wrong information could make it worse, she said.

“It just makes something that’s really complicated and stressful, even more complicated and stressful.”

Some people with hEDS can develop life threatening complications, including abdominal vascular compressions, where blood vessels are squeezed, restricting blood flow causing pain, nausea, vomiting and malnutrition.

Some patients experiencing these complications rely on feeding tubes, intravenous fluids and strong pain killers. Several have sought extensive surgery overseas, because they could not get treatment in New Zealand.

The HNZ guidance cautions against patients paying for private international surgery and it “did not recommend” patients with HSD/hEDS be given intravenous fluids, artificial feeding or opiate pain relief.

“There is increasing evidence in medical literature that people with HSD and associated conditions are at risk of being provided medicines and offered invasive treatments that cause more harm than good,” it stated.

Doctors divided

Doctors are divided about the medical evidence for abdominal vascular compressions in hEDS patients. Specialised scans identifying multiple compressions are often obtained privately using novel radiological techniques, and they are not always accepted by doctors working in the public health system.

The Vascular Society of Aotearoa New Zealand said the scientific evidence linking hEDS and vascular compression syndromes was limited. It was aware of patients being harmed by unnecessary treatments.

“Once a patient has confirmed diagnosis of hEDS, the question remains whether these patients increasingly suffer from vascular compression disorders. There is not sufficient evidence yet in the literature to support this at this point,” it said in a 2024 position paper.

It recommended patients be cared for within a multidisciplinary team, including gastroenterology, radiology and psychological assessment.

Rachel Weatherly had to give up a US college football scholarship because of hEDS complications. She relies on a feeding tube for nutrition. Justine Murray

Rachel Weatherly, who had surgery for multiple compressions in Australia last year, said the HNZ wording around treatments was frightening.

The surgery resolved all her pain and had dramatically improved the quality of her life, she said. She still required tube feeding as her stomach had trouble processing food because it had dropped so low into her pelvis. She is hoping further surgery might be able to fix this.

“The treatments they said are not recommended are literally keeping us alive at the moment -the intravenous fluids, the tube feeds,” she said.

Jemima Thompson and her mother Rachel McKenna. Supplied

Rachel McKenna’s daughter Jemima Thompson was funded by Health NZ to travel to Germany in 2023 for vascular compression surgery after becoming bedridden and unable to swallow.

“Without the surgery, she wouldn’t be here. She’d be dead and I have no doubt about that,” McKenna said.

After surgery, Thompson was able to finish high school and had just started university this year.

McKenna, who co-founded a support group for patients dealing with compression complications, does not believe any other hEDS patients since have been successful in seeking HNZ funding for multiple vascular compression surgery overseas.

Surgery ‘innovative and experimental’

A 2023 review by HNZ’s Northern Regional Clinical Practice Committee concluded surgery for multiple vascular compressions was not well founded in scientific literature and any surgery being offered should be considered “innovative and experimental”.

“There will thus be a risk that surgical release in a given patient may provide no relief of symptoms other than a placebo effect,” it said.

Surgery treating multiple compressions is being offered in several countries including Australia, Germany, Spain and Germany, though the techniques used vary between countries and surgeons.

RNZ has spoken to two patients who suffered extensive complications after surgery in Germany, which did not resolve their pain or symptoms.

Health New Zealand National Chief Medical Officer Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard supplied

Health NZ’s ‘plain English’ approach

HNZ did not answer RNZ’s questions about who wrote the updated guidance, which research it was based on, or who was consulted.

“Following a collaborative effort of a range of clinical experts, information for the website was written based on an evidence review conducted by Health NZ to incorporate the best quality international evidence,” Health New Zealand National Chief Medical Officer Dame Helen Stokes-Lampard said in a statement on Friday.

She said a plain English approach was used so the information was accessible. It did not attempt to capture clinical nuances such as subtypes or other technical information.

“For those who want more in-depth reading, links to EDSNZ and Rare Disorders websites are provided.”

McKenna sent an urgent complaint to HNZ, Health Minister Simon Brown and HDC on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, she received a response from Dame Helen, seen by RNZ, stating HNZ did not intend the information to be distressing.

“However, if there is significant concern raised we will review/remove content pending further review.”

She copied in the Minister’s office and HDC to her note saying the matter was a HNZ “website matter that will be addressed swiftly by us.”

HNZ said an EDS working group set up over a year ago had since transitioned to the Rare Disorders Reference Group, which oversaw the review of current evidence-based EDS information.

It had now established a national multi-disciplinary committee to assess patients with vascular compressions, but it had yet to receive any direct enquiries.

Rare Disorders New Zealand Chief Executive Chris Higgins said it was “disappointing and concerning” there had been a lack of consultation about the review.

“We share Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes Aotearoa New Zealand’s frustration. Consumer engagement adds huge value to understanding the lived experience of health conditions, and this is particularly valuable for rare disorders where clinical information is often scarce.

“We expect that as the implementation of the Rare Disorders Strategy progresses, we will see improved engagement between health agencies and the wider rare disorder community,” he said.

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Basketball: Will next NZ Breakers coach be homegrown talent?

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Judd Flavell and Aaron Young have been assistant coaches in the Australian NBL. Photosport

A worldwide search for the next NZ Breakers head coach could end closer to home.

Breakers president of basketball operations Dillon Boucher said the club would advertise globally to replace Petteri Koponen, who left at the end of their recently completed Australian NBL season to continue his coaching career closer to his family in Finland.

In 23 seasons, the Breakers have had nine head coaches and only two of them have been New Zealanders.

Despite limited opportunities in the main job, top New Zealand talent has occupied assistant coach roles in a couple of NBL teams who could step up, should the Breakers come calling.

Current Tall Blacks head coach Judd Flavell is very familiar with the NBL, after 17 seasons in assistant roles.

Flavell spent 13 seasons with the Breakers, followed by three seasons with South East Melbourne Phoenix, before re-joining the Breakers coaching staff at the start of the 2025/26 season.

Aaron Young is another who has worked with national age-group teams and is a current Perth Wildcats assistant coach.

His first role in the NBL in 2014 was as the Breakers’ video co-ordinator, before going on to coaching roles in New Zealand.

Flavell and Young have both worked closely with up-and-coming local talent, as well as some of the NBL’s biggest stars during their time in the league.

Short-lived stints

NZ Breakers coach Jeff Green during the club’s first-ever game in October 2003. Andrew Cornaga/Photosport

The Breakers owners, who took control in March last year, have backed bringing New Zealand talent back to the club, on and off the court, but having a local coach has not ended well in the past.

The club’s inaugural coach in 2003, Jeff Green, lasted just two months, before resigning.

Former Tall Black and Breakers captain Paul Henare coached the team for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, and left in murky circumstances, when he turned down a contract extension, following an ownership change.

Paul Henare was the second Kiwi to coach the Breakers. Photosport

In the last seven seasons, the club has had three different head coaches, but none had worked in the NBL, before arriving at the Breakers.

Koponen spent two seasons with the Auckland-based club in his first professional head coaching gig. He was signed at short notice, when Israeli-American Mody Maor quit during the 2024/25 pre-season for a big-money contract coaching in Japan.

Maor had stepped up from an assistant role to coach the team in the 2022/23 season, following a three-season stint by Israeli Dan Shamir.

The Breakers’ longest-serving coach, Australian Andrej Lemanis, was in the role for eight seasons from 2005 and won three championships.

Americans, Australians and the Finn

Sydney King’s coach Brian Goorjian. Kerry Marshall/www.photosport.nz

Across the NBL, which enters the post-season this week, seven of the 10 head coaches were not born in Australia.

Other than Koponen, the remaining six were born in America.

However, Sydney Kings coach Brian Goorjian has been involved with Australian basketball since the late 1970s, and Brisbane Bullets interim coach Darryl McDonald has been a player and then coach since the mid 1990s, so could be considered Australian-Americans.

The NBL is both a stepping stone to other coaching roles and a place experienced coaches return to.

Coaches usually arrive with varying experience in Europe or America.

Like Koponen, Illawarra Hawks coach Justin Tatum had no head coaching experience with professional teams, before he took over the Hawks in 2023 and ultimately guided them to last season’s championship.

Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth. Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

Former NBA player Scott Roth was the inaugural coach of the Tasmania JackJumpers in the 2021/22 season and was recognised as the NBL Coach of the Year that season, before the team won the championship in 2024.

Roth had years of experience in both America and Europe, before joining the NBL.

Coaches also bounce around the league, with 72-year-old Goorjian first coaching the Kings in the early 2000s, before switching to the now-defunct South Dragons for a season, returning from Asia to coach the Hawks and then moving on to his current role with the Kings.

Australian Adam Forde, currently the Cairns Taipans head coach, has also had involvement with the Kings and Perth Wildcats.

The Breakers want to winning more NBL titles and securing the right coach will be crucial, but in the NBL, there is no one pathway to getting a winning coach on board.

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Nangs in corner dairies: ‘Should we be stocking this product at all?’

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Taking nangs off the shelves is “the first starting point to make sure that you’re safe”, says Retail NZ. File photo. AFP / BENJAMIN POLGE

Dairies and convenience stores need to pull nangs from the shelves, the retailers’ association says.

Police have been warning that problems around the huffing of nitrous oxide products – known as ‘nangs’ – have escalated to people “playing chicken” and seeing whether they can drive without blacking out after inhaling the gas.

They are reminding retailers it is illegal to sell nangs for recreational use.

But a Checkpoint investigation has revealed it is easy to purchase nangs in large quantities from dairies, vape stores and convenience stores with virtually no checks.

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young says she would only expect them to be sold by wholesalers, to supply hospitality customers for whipping cream.

“If it’s a convenience store or a small corner store, that’s actually not your marketplace, that’s not where they’re going to be bought for legitimate use,” she said.

“It needs to be for commercial use only, and if you’re selling it to an individual, especially if you’re selling multiple sales to one individual, you need to be stopping and questioning what they’re asking to buy it for, and whether or not you should be selling that… should we be stocking this product in our store at all?”

Young said retail crime was a concern, especially for retailers who refuse to sell nangs to anyone they think is buying it to get high.

She suggested retailers could say they do not have any stock – or make sure their stock is hidden.

“Certainly taking off the shelves is the first starting point to make sure that you’re safe and your store is safe from being attacked by, potentially young people that are really focusing on getting high.”

Retail NZ had sent guidance to members outlining their responsibilities, Young said.

Police said they were taking a “graduated response” to their growing concerns around the supply of nangs, by focusing on “engagement, education and encouragement”.

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Young farmer eyes first home dream as KiwiSaver rules change

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Liam Herbert, a 25-year-old farmer on a sheep and beef station in Wairarapa, said the changes would allow him to buy his first home and pursue his career by living on a farm. RNZ/Anneke Smith

A young farmer is looking forward to supercharging his savings towards a first home, now that KiwiSaver withdrawal rules are changing.

The government is tweaking KiwiSaver laws so workers with ‘live in’ job residences – such farmers, rural teachers, country cops, and defence personnel – can use their accounts to buy a first home.

Workers in service tenancies have effectively been locked out of first home withdrawal because their jobs require them to live in employer-provided housing.

“[That’s] not fair, so we’re making a technical change to the KiwiSaver Act to ensure workers in service tenancies aren’t denied the opportunity to put a foot on the property ladder,” Finance Minister Nicola Willis said.

“The change will allow service tenancy workers to use their KiwiSaver for a first home purchase without having to live in it.”

The coalition is also changing the law to allow first-time farm buyers to put their KiwiSaver balances towards the purchase of a farm through a commercial entity they majority own, where it will be their principal place of residence.

Change will help young farmer achieve his ‘dream’ of home ownership

Liam Herbert, a 25-year-old farmer on a sheep and beef station in Wairarapa, said the change would allow him to buy his first home while pursuing his career by living on farm.

“When you live on farm and you want to grow your career, putting money away to buy a townhouse that you have to go and live in will then impact your career so you’re not going to get where you want to get to as fast as you can.

“I was quite reluctant to put big amounts of money in [my KiwiSaver] just because I didn’t want to live in town, 65-years-old is a long way away, and that was not in my five to 10 year plan.”

Herbert said his approach would change though once the law was tweaked.

“I’ll have a go back through and probably put up my percentage going into my KiwiSaver and have a talk to my employers, they choose to match, then that would be fantastic.

“I’ll just try and actually put some money in there because I can see where this is going to end up going and where I want to go. By the time I’m 35 or 40-years-old there should be a nice lump in there to actually help me with my dream.”

Legislation giving effect to the changes – fought for by National MP for Rangitīkei Suze Redmayne – will be introduced to Parliament in the middle of the year.

Redmayne, who is also a sheep farmer, said the idea came from her stock manager, who had saved enough to pay for a deposit, but he was not allowed to use it because he lived and worked on the farm.

“I know young people in town who are putting eight or ten percent into their KiwiSaver, because they can see that goal on the horizon, whereas young farmers attempt to either not put anything at all, or to just put the three percent minimum, because 65 is a lifetime away,” she said.

“So I think it’s a … great motivator, and a great incentive.”

Financial Services Council chief executive Kirk Hope has raised concerns the changes weaken withdrawal rules – risking trust and participation in long terms savings behaviour.

“Anytime you widen the scope for withdrawals it really undermines the scheme. The scheme is a retirements savings scheme so each time you add additional reasons for people to withdraw, or ability to withdraw, that undermines the integrity of the scheme.”

It is not clear how many people might stand to benefit from the changes – Willis estimating it could be hundreds if not thousands.

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Labour still ahead on cost of living, neck and neck with National on economy – Ipsos survey

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Labour is seen as most capable on three of the top five issues, and equal with National on a fourth. File photo. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Labour remains ahead on most of the key issues in the latest Ipsos Issues Monitor, but National has improved its ratings on the economy and the cost of living.

The rating of the government’s overall performance has also rebounded from its record low in the previous survey.

The quarterly survey asks a thousand New Zealanders what they think are the three most important issues facing the country, and the political parties they believe are most capable of handling them.

Labour is seen as most capable on three of the top five issues, and equal with National on a fourth.

In total, Labour leads in 14 of the top 20 issues.

Respondents believed Labour had the best handle on inflation/the cost of living, healthcare, and housing.

National is still seen as most capable on law and order.

While Labour overtook National on the economy in the previous survey, the parties are now neck and neck.

IPSOS Issues Monitor

In the rest of the top 20, Labour is also ahead on unemployment, poverty/inequality, drug/alcohol abuse, petrol prices/fuel, education, immigration, household debt/personal debt, race relations/racism, transport/public transport/infrastructure, taxation, and population/overpopulation.

National is seen as most capable on defence/foreign affairs/terrorism, the Greens are ahead on climate change and environmental pollution/water concerns, and Te Pāti Māori is seen as most capable of handling issues facing Māori.

IPSOS Issues Monitor

The cost of living and inflation remains New Zealanders’ number one concern, with 59 percent of people identifying it as a key issue, down from 61 percent in the previous survey.

35 percent of people believe Labour is the best party at handling the issue, a slight dip of one percentage point.

National has risen to 28 percent, up from 24 percent.

IPSOS Issues Monitor

Healthcare is still the second most important issue, but decreasing again on previous surveys, with Labour on 37 percent.

National is on 25 percent, closing the gap from 19 points in the previous survey to 12.

On the economy, both Labour and National are on 32 percent.

Petrol prices has entered the top 10 issues, while immigration has risen four places to joint 11th.

Despite the country being affected by devastating weather events over the summer, there was no increase on climate change as an issue.

Overall, the government’s performance was rated 4.2, up from a record low of 3.9 in the previous survey.

This brings the government back to the same rating as the February 2025 and August 2025 surveys, though still not as high as the 4.7 it rated in October 2024, and well off the survey’s record high of 7.6, which the Labour-led coalition reached in May 2020.

IPSOS Issues Monitor

The study was conducted using online research panels between 11 and 18 February 2026, with 1,000 New Zealanders aged 18 and older asked what the top three issues were facing the country today. Quotas were set to ensure representativeness.

The total New Zealand results have a credibility interval of +/-3.5 percentage points.

See the full survey here.

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‘Good sleep’ is new flex for 2026

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Brian Sciascia is all about measuring progress. As the owner of a Wellington gym, his days are spent encouraging people to keep tabs on their health and fitness choices. As the dad of a seven-year-old and a 10-month-old, his nights are all about sleep, or rather how much of it he’s getting.

“A good night’s sleep doesn’t have to be hours. It has to be uninterrupted. Ideally a good sleep for me would be like a steady, not much interruption, for like seven-and-a-half hours.”

“Numbers orientated” Sciascia, 42, was gifted an Apple watch from his partner for his 40th birthday. He has always “sucked at sleeping” and sleep is the only thing he tracks daily on the device. It shows him nightly interruptions, and the “frustrating” fact that his partner falls asleep faster than him.

Brian Sciascia and his sons.

Supplied

Transmission network already threatened by climate hazards, data shows

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Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ

Thousands of high-voltage pylons and other national grid sites are exposed to flooding, along with hundreds of kilometres of transmission lines, data provided to RNZ shows.

Network owners say increasingly frequent severe weather driven by climate change is heightening the flooding risk to distribution infrastructure too, along with damage caused by high winds and treefall.

Transpower is already pursuing plans to raise the height of some transmission sites, or even move them, while lines companies are pushing for increased powers to deal with ‘out of zone’ trees they currently cannot trim.

But together with sustainable energy advocates, they say having more distributed energy sources, such as solar panels and batteries, could also help to keep the lights on during weather emergencies.

Hundreds of people in the lower North Island went all of last week without power, after a storm brought down hundreds of lines in Wellington, the Wairarapa and Whanganui-Rangitīkei areas.

That followed prolonged power outages in Southland and Otago after a severe storm in late October.

Clutha Valley farmer Richard Hunter was among those affected, after the storm brought hundreds of trees down across his property, including onto power lines.

Hunter said the clean-up had been lengthy and expensive.

“We’ve employed an extra person to help with fencing, we’ve had a digger come through to lift a lot of trees off fences and clear fencelines, and that work’s still ongoing.”

Since the storm, he has increased generator capacity on the farm and would “possibly” be better prepared for another long outage.

“But you just don’t know how widespread the next event might be.”

Clutha Valley farmer Richard Hunter says the clean-up on his property is still going, four months after a damaging storm. RNZ/Calvin Samuel

Data published by Earth Sciences New Zealand (ESNZ) last year showed that 46 transmission sites such as substations are exposed to a flood hazard – more than 20 percent of the 216 sites around the country.

Additional data, released exclusively to RNZ, shows that more than 3800 pylons, towers, and other national grid structures are also exposed (10 percent), along with 1235km of the country’s transmission lines (11 percent).

The proportion of transmission infrastructure exposed is projected to rise with every additional degree of warming.

Some regions are more vulnerable than others.

The largest number of affected transmission sites and structures are in Canterbury, while the proportion of both lines and structures exposed in Bay of Plenty is among the highest of any region.

Of the 470km of lines in Bay of Plenty, 16.8 percent are exposed, while 17.5 percent of the region’s more than 1800 structures are at risk.

ESNZ principal scientist Emily Lane said the exposure was high, even before taking the effects of future warming into account.

“We’ve got quite a lot of our infrastructure in these vulnerable areas.”

Just because an asset was exposed to flooding did not mean it would fail, though.

“Oftentimes there will be a flood and the power poles might be just sticking out of the water and that’s actually not a problem,” Lane said.

“But if you’ve got high velocity [water] you might get scour. If you’ve got debris, the debris might pile up against the pylon and that could increase the scour or increase the loading on it and that’s when you start getting problems.”

A damaged power pole in the Waiau River, Southland after a severe storm over Labour Weekend 2025. MainPower

There were also indirect threats.

“If a structure gets damaged by another hazard and that’s in a flood-affected area, you can’t get to it because of the flooding – you can get these cascading impacts.”

The modelling was unable to take into account any mitigation or other protective features, such as elevated floor heights at substations, she said.

“What our hope is, is that Transpower is using this and going, ok, these are the places we need to check out.

“It might be that they go, we actually already knew about this and we’ve built the floor height to this level and so we’re comfortable that that’s ok.”

Building a more resilient network

Transpower’s strategy, performance and risk manager Julian Morton said climate resilience had been part of Transpower’s asset management approach for more than a decade.

The transmission network ran through “some pretty rugged country” and flooding, land stability and access were all risks.

“We know climate change is increasing the threat to some of our sites,” he said.

The state-owned enterprise had a list of 12 substations that were high-priority for being adapted or moved to better protect them from future flooding.

First off the blocks would be Redclyffe substation in Hawke’s Bay, which failed during Cyclone Gabrielle when it was flooded.

The Commerce Commission granted approval late last year for Transpower to go ahead with plans to redevelop the substation on the existing site, but with raised floor heights to keep it above future floodwaters.

Transpower considered, but rejected, a plan to move the entire substation to higher ground, at an estimated cost of $280 million.

The approved plan is expected to cost $44m.

Redclyffe substation was left caked in silt after being flooded during Cyclone Gabrielle RNZ/Lauren Crimp

Other locations might require more drastic measures as time went by, Morton said.

“We’re looking at … what are our future options at those sites like South Dunedin where we know that we’re going to run out of runway where just elevating may not tick the box.”

The ESNZ data, produced as part of a wider project to map inland flooding risk across the country, only included national grid infrastructure.

It did not take into account local distribution networks.

However, Electricity Networks Aotearoa (ENA) chief executive Tracey Kai, whose organisation represents the 29 lines companies in New Zealand, said climate change was starting to test them too.

“We build infrastructure for 100-year events, but those 100-year events are not only happening more frequently, but they’re more severe than when we forecasted them initially,” Kai said.

After Cyclone Gabrielle, her organisation analysed the causes of local network outages to 240,000 people and found a fairly even split between tree damage, older infrastructure failing, and flooding.

Cyclone Gabrielle cut power to about 240,000 people. RNZ/ Alexa Cook

A “bugbear” for ENA’s members was not being able to manage trees that were outside minimum clearance zones but still posed a threat to lines, Kai said.

Legislation had been drafted that would restrict new planting around lines, and that would help, she said.

However, lines companies were pushing for further changes that would shift the onus of trimming and managing trees onto commercial and public owners of trees, such as forestry companies and councils.

“Network companies are fine looking after what we call mum and dad trees, so trees outside my house, outside your house,” Kai said.

“But those that derive a return from that tree planting should be bearing that cost really.”

The role of ‘distributed energy’

Sustainable Energy Aotearoa innovation pathways manager Gareth Williams said frequent severe weather events were showing up “just how vulnerable the networks are”.

Improving the resilience of that infrastructure where possible was important, but some of the options were “horrendously expensive”, he said.

“There are definitely fixes, but at what cost?”

The country should also be rolling out distributed energy, where generation and storage happened locally through technologies like solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles.

That could play “a critical role” in making households and communities more resilient, he said.

“If there’s an upstream [outage] and there’s enough solar and batteries, essentially you can create the network as a whole series of little microgrids so each microgrid can operate independently.”

It was unlikely to provide enough electricity for people to run their power as usual, but it would keep the essentials going, Williams said.

“You could have a microgrid providing a basic electricity supply for lights, televisions, refrigeration, phone-charging, internet – for quite an extended period.”

Tracey Kai said as more renewables were rolled out, it made sense to have “everything, everywhere, all at once”.

“If you have distributed energy, whether it’s your electric vehicle or solar or batteries, if you can afford the upfront cost of those things, not only will it bring your power bill down in the long run, but also it provides resilience.”

Kaitaia College in Northland is among a number of schools around New Zealand that have already instlled solar panels. Photo / Supplied

She would go “one step further” than just individual installations.

“Solar on marae, solar on schools, they’re all options because it means that it’s not just a household that benefits or a neighborhood, it means that anyone who’s affected, they can kind of stand that up as a place of refuge and safety while services are being restored.”

Six reviews since Cyclone Gabrielle had talked about the importance of community hubs, Kai said.

“That is something that would make a real difference.”

A resilient network would still be needed, though.

“You will still need supply from the grid. And if you are exporting back in and selling your excess power, you’re still going to need a network to transport your electrons on.”

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Truckers surprised by update of NZ’s 50-year-old manual on bridge building

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Close up of a truck wheel. siwakorn / 123RF

Truckers are worried that they will not be allowed to drive over bridges being built on the government’s Roads of National Significance.

Two bridges built recently on State Highway 1 in Auckland and a third in Waikato are off limits to the heaviest haulers.

They are also concerned by the way NZTA Waka Kotahi is overhauling the country’s half-century-old bridge design model.

Heavy Haulage Association Jonathan Bhana-Thomson says his members’ huge trucks transported the massive beams that hold up the three highway bridges built near Hamilton, Puhoi and Matamata in the past three or four years – but they did not realise they would never even get to drive over the bridges.

“The beams on the Waikato Expressway and the Puhoi, so all those would have been constructed somewhere else and then transported there by members of our association, of our industry, that now can’t get the heaviest loads over them,” said Bhana-Thomson.

“For them to be limited for, yes, they are heavier loads, but for us to have to detour off those onto essentially lower graded State Highway routes was a real surprise for us.”

Heavy Haulage Association. chief executive Jonathan Bhana-Thomson. RNZ / Phil Pennington

The bridges are:

  • Mangaharakeke bridge on the Hamilton section of the SH1 Waikato Expressway – opened July 2022
  • Puhoi Viaduct on the SH1 Northern Gateway Toll Road – opened June 2023
  • Manawapou Bridge on SH27 – opened April 2022

The laden trucks instead had to detour through Hamilton city or the old SH1 at Puhoi, said Bhana-Thomson.

“So it takes a lot longer.”

The truckers asked the transport agency how this came to be, but remained none the wiser.

“They didn’t anticipate all of the vehicles that would need to go over it, including our specialized overweight ones.

“Possibly at the heart of that is… they’re relying on the bridge manual that was determined in 1972 and the vehicles that were around at that time.”

That bridge manual sets the rules around the models of bridge design and how to assess how to build stronger to last longer, or to determine what is too weak.

Bhana-Thomson only found out from talking to RNZ last week about NZTA’s latest design moves – when it issued in January some new ways to calculate loads – and did not like what he read in NZTA’s notes and statement.

Transport NZ head Dom Kalasih was also surprised to learn of the January change from RNZ, and it suggested to him that NZTA might not have taken on board his industry group’s years of campaigning for a more thought-through system of better, stronger highways overall.

“If you go and put a bridge in a place where that is the constraint, that’s the choke point,” Kalasih said.

“If a truck can’t bypass that bridge relatively easily, right, then it’s got to take an alternative route for that journey.”

Transporting NZ represents the next heaviest lot of truckers, High Productivity Motor Vehicles (HPMV trucks) with specific permits that boost them from 44 tonnes to 58 tonnes. They number in the thousands – while perhaps only 200 heavy haulers operate on any given day – on both long-haul down-island routes and, more commonly, doing inter-region hauls of supplies like fuel and food.

Kalasih voiced fears that NZTA was going to be too conservative again, like at Puhoi and the Mangaharakeke bridge, even though the government’s RONS aims seemed to demand that productivity be put on par with durability.

The bridge debate comes just after the Infrastructure Commission put out its annual report, which said New Zealand was worse than most OECD countries at building, upgrading and managing infrastructure.

The bridge manual itself has not had a complete overhaul in half a century.

NZTA had acknowledged it had “reached its limits in terms of providing for future growth”.

“The model also has specific scenarios where the loading is known to be unconservative” – which means that some bridges did not have enough leeway for carrying big trucks.

Kalasih said trucks were bigger and better designed, and trucks with larger loads had them better spread over more axles to spread the weight, but bridge design standards had not kept pace with that reality.

The latest new calculations on bridge loading were issued in January under an NZTA overhaul project, which has been underway since 2022.

In its notes to engineers in 2022, NZTA talked about “extensive” changes being brought in to load calculations.

It also said it gave them a “far better” picture of how trucks impacted bridges, including convoys of trucks.

But the agency told RNZ that for new bridges, it meant only some “small design changes”.

“The measures being introduced are primarily an update of existing rules and regulations and are not anticipated to have a significant impact on existing bridge stock or the construction of new ones,” it said.

Kalasih said this was a real missed opportunity to futureproof bridges. “Because if it’s not going to make much difference, how is it better?”

Transporting NZ had made submissions that new bridges should be able to take maximum loads of about 62 tonnes in future. That would cost more than building to the current HPMV limit of 58 tonnes, but “the public has to pay for the infrastructure regardless. So they can either pay for it to be done unproductively or they can pay to get it done productively”.

NZTA told RNZ the new measures were “a response to changes in bridge designs (longer continuous spans) and to accommodate the heavier trucks that are now more common on New Zealand roads and highways”.

Bhana-Thomson was not reassured by that, and shared Kalasih’s fear that transport authorities were being overly conservative.

NZTA’s approach to pulling bridge design into the new century seemed to leave heavy haulers out of the picture, contrary to what they were promised months ago, he said.

“That’s what they’ve said to us. But we have no proof of it.

“It is concerning, especially because we’ve got the new roads of national significance being constructed and designed right now,” he said.

“These will be the ones we’re using for the next 50 years, so we need them to be up to standard.

“We will contact the structures people in NZTA to ensure that the roads of national significance will be modelled for our specialist overweight loads.”

If that did not work, they could go to the minister, he said.

The NZTA notes said “extensive amendments have been made to the live loading and evaluation process for determining the capacity of existing bridges”.

“The loads are more complicated than previously used but will far better replicate heavy vehicle traffic on the highway network.

“It is possible that there will be a number of bridges on the network where the capacity is found to be less than currently known and these findings will need to be managed.”

But the agency also told the industry it was not intended that large numbers of existing bridges “will suddenly need new posted weight limits”.

And it told RNZ: “For old bridges there is currently no repair or upgrade work planned or underway to address these changes.”

Bhana-Thomson pointed out it would only take one bridge on a busy truck route to be down-rated for it to potentially throw the whole route into disarray.

Kalasih also said this was an issue: “In the absence of any further information, my initial reaction is, yes, one of concern, that bridges will be downrated.

“That’s certainly a risk.”

The transport agency emphasised to RNZ in its statement that it had a programme of routine maintenance, inspection, strengthening and replacement that gave it a good picture of the state of all bridges, with safety its number one priority.

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Iran attack sparks warning for KiwiSaver, fuel, inflation

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Investors can brace for share market volatility and potentially higher fuel prices. RNZ / Dan Cook

Investors can brace for volatility over the coming days as markets digest the impact and implications of attacks on Iran, as well as potentially higher fuel prices.

“We’re expecting when markets open on Monday there is going to be a bit of volatility,” Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said.

“Usually you see stocks drop so I wouldn’t be surprised if people were looking at some of the investments they mighty have – their KiwiSaver balances… you might see a bit of red ink coming through there.”

He said investors would be wondering what could happen next. “The world is more frightening than it was a couple of days ago. You’re going to see a shift towards less risky assets, that run for safety around gold, probably the Japanese yen, maybe the US dollar.”

Defence stocks could lift.

“The US has just used for the first time one-way effective suicide drones, that’s a piece of kit they hadn’t used before.”

On the domestic market, he said there was not likely to be much impact on individual stocks on the NZ market. “It’s more that you might see a pullback in general on the NZX50.”

Dean Anderson, founder of Kernel, said the key question for markets was what happened next. “We are in the very early stages of this conflict and as is often the case, speculation and incomplete information are driving much of the narrative. Not surprisingly, investors should expect heightened volatility as global markets work through the noise and asses the direction of travel. I expect we will see gold jump.”

Rupert Carlyon, founder of Koura said he was concerned markets would react “strongly”.

“It also doesn’t help that markets are already fearful and volatile. Investors have been nervous for the past 3-6 months due to AI, interest rates and inflation – now they have something real and tangible, thy may react strongly.”

Fuel prices

Olsen said another consideration was fuel prices.

“There’s a pretty strong view that oil prices will spike and show a bit more volatility – although we’ve said that every time there’s been conflict, and it didn’t really happen last time.”

But he said this time could be different for a few reasons. “You’ve seen the head of Iran killed alongside a number of other political and military leaders. It’s very unclear what further retaliation by Iran might look like. Might they strike oil-based facilities? Quite possibly. No one knows what the rule book is now.

“You’ve seen parts of Bahrain, Kuwait struck as well. Normally those actors are not part of it, they haven’t been in the past… those quite well-off countries that are often talking about stability, they’ve driven a lot of their economies through oil and general energy funds. They’re not as safe as they might have originally thought. The fear factor will be running rampant a bit more in the markets heading through tomorrow.”

Insurance rates for travel through the Strait of Hormuz were elevated. “No one really wants to go through and risk their cargo ship or oil tanker being blown up. Given that 20 percent of the world’s energy goes through there, there’s definitely a risk at that point.”

Olsen said some market traders were predicting oil prices could hit US$100 a barrel.

“The two big unknowns at the moment are that one, this isn’t done. The US has made it clear in comments form the US president that this is a week-long bombing mission that will continue.

“With the Iranian supreme leader dead and no clear understanding of command and control in Iran, who’s calling the shots and what they might be wanting to do, everyone’s quite unsure of whether there is further escalation and retaliation.”

Mike Taylor, founder of Pie Funds, said oil prices were his main concern.

“The new conflict raises three potential transmission channels: Energy supply disruption, shipping and insurance risk in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, and a broader risk-off sentiment through oil and inflation expectations.”

He said historically markets would either behave as they did in the 2003 Iraq conflict when prices spiked briefly but supply and shipping continued, and markets recovered quickly – or the 1990 gulf crisis when oil prices rose persistently and shipping was disrupted. That created more market disruption.

“At present we are too early to know which template will dominate.”

He said he would also be watching credit spread behaviour and whether there was any further escalation in the conflict.

What about inflation?

Olsen pointed to the recent Reserve Bank statement which noted geopolitical risk as a factor in tradeable inflation.

“You’ve already got inflation outside the target band. Expectations were that inflationary pressures would continue to soften. If you see a spike and generally higher pressure on oil prices continuing because of this ongoing conflict, that not only raises the cost to households to drive around but it means the cost of transporting everything becomes more expensive which could put further pressure on foods. We’re just a little cautious on the inflationary risk that there might be if oil prices did spike and hold higher. At the moment all of this is a huge if.”

Anderson said the Strait of Hormuz was a critical route particularly for India and China. “Any meaningful disruption to supply could send oil prices higher an din turn more inflation. That said, there are contingency mechanisms and alternative supply responses that could help cushion the impact. Their effectiveness all depends on the duration and scale of the conflict.”

What should investors do?

Olsen said day traders might see an impact on their investments but other people would need to take a longer view.

People should generally be invested in a fund that fits their risk profile, so if they need their money soon, they should not be in a fund that moves a huge amount with market movements.

“Put it this way, I won’t be looking at my KiwiSaver this week,” Olsen said.

Anderson said it was too early to be drawing conclusions. “It’s best to remain informed and for investors to avoid making decisions based on early speculation and noise. Regardless of the political outcome, even a contained conflict is likely to mean an extended period of strain for the region and its people.”

Carlyon said there were reasons for KiwiSaver investors to be excited. “A market downturn makes a great buying opportunity.”

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

Live: Israel says its airforce strikes Iran again, Iran continues to retaliate

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Residents watch from the roofs of their houses as plumes of smoke rise following reported explosions in Tehran AFP / ATTA KENARE

Follow the latest with our live blog above

Israel has begun a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, targetting the Iranian leadership, its air defences and its ballistic missile capabilities.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the attacks on Saturday, which US President Donald Trump said were aimed at overturning Tehran’s government.

The strikes have killed hundreds of people in Iran, according to Iranian state media.

Iran has launched retaliatory missile strikes against American military bases across the Middle East, as well as Israel.

New Zealanders in Dubai say they are trapped in the country, with the airport shut down.

Follow the latest with our live blog at the top of the page

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Critics say weak NZ response over US-Israel attacks on Iran a ‘disgrace’

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Asia Pacific Report

New Zealand’s weak response to the unprovoked and illegal United States and Israel attacks on Iran at the weekend has stirred strong criticism from many quarters.

A former New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark, who also held a top United Nations position for eight years, labelled the government’s response “a disgrace”.

“In the absence of an imminent threat to the security of the United States and Israel, their armed attacks on Iran are illegal under international law,” she said. “They have no legitimate claim to invoking a right of self-defence.”

Clark was a Labour prime minister in New Zealand from 1999 to 2008 and administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) from 2009 to 2017.

Other critics of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ joint statement today condemning Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel and on US assets in the Gulf States included the opposition Green Party, a geopolitical strategic analyst, and a Palestine justice advocate, warning that Washington and Tel Aviv were risking a risky power vacuum in Iran and chaos across the Middle East with democracy unlikely to succeed.

Luxon and Peters singled out Iran for criticism in their statement while virtually ignoring the fact that Israel and the US had initiated hostilities with their sudden attack, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior regime figures, while Washington was still engaged with Tehran in negotiations about a possible nuclear agreement.

“We condemn in the strongest terms Iran’s indiscriminate retaliatory attacks on Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan,” they said. “We cannot risk further regional escalation, and civilian life must be protected.”

In Clark’s response, she also shared on social media a statement from The Elders, an independent advocacy group linking senior public figures including herself, which condemned the military strikes by the US and Israel as a “threat to regional and global security”.

“History shows that wars to force regime change deliver neither democracy nor stability,” said The Elders chair Juan Manuel Santos.

“Trump and Netanyahu’s unilateral attack on Iran must be condemned as an illegal and unprovoked act against the people of the region and any genuine pathway to peace,” opposition Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said.

“This latest escalation in aggression is part of a decades-long pattern of behaviour of the US dragging the region into more wars, violence, and bloodshed.”

“First the US kidnaps the president of a sovereign state after killing more than a score of civilians on the open seas without warrant or evidence of wrongdoing,” said 36th Parallel Assessments director Dr Paul G Buchanan. “Now it kills the head of state and supreme religious leader of another sovereign state, teaming up with a regime credibly accused of committing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank in order to do so.”

He said the “selective unilateral application of force” without imminent threat from either country “demonstrates two things: 1) the US and Israel have gone rogue; and 2) in doing so they have set a dangerous precedent for others to follow suit (think China with regard to Taiwan)”.

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) co-leader John Minto compared the current crisis with 1951 when Iran held its first democratic elections and elected its first democratic government led by Mohammad Mosaddegh as prime minister.

“Two years later the US and UK put in place Operation Ajax which overthrew this democratically elected government because the Iranians had nationalised the extraction and export of Iranian oil.

“How dare the Iranians take control of their own resources!” Minto added in a statement.

“This first democratic government in Iran was replaced by the autocratic rule of the US-friendly Shah.

“Today the US and Israel have attacked Iran yet again because Iran supports the struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom from Israel’s genocidal occupation of Palestine and its ethnic cleansing and theft of Palestinian land.

“The US and Israel have never been interested in the democratic freedoms of Iranians. They want Iranians to live under the dictatorship of a US-bought leadership — just as the people of Arab countries across the Middle East suffer today.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Trump and Netanyahu want regime change, but Iran’s regime was built for survival. A long war is now likely

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus Professor of Middle Eastern Studies, Australian National University; The University of Western Australia; Victoria University

The joint US–Israel strikes on Iran, which killed the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Israel and neighbouring Arab countries have again plunged the Middle East into war.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said their aim is to bring about a favourable regime change in Iran. The implications of this for Iran, the region and beyond should not be underestimated.

Although Khamenei’s killing is a significant blow to the Islamic regime, it is not insurmountable. Many Iranian leaders have been killed in the past, including Qassem Soleimani, Tehran’s regional security architect, who was assassinated by the US in January 2020.

But they have been replaced relatively smoothly, and the Islamic regime has endured.

Khamenei’s departure is unlikely to mean the end of the Islamic regime in the short run. He anticipated this eventuality, and reportedly last week arranged a line of succession for his leadership and that of senior military, security and political leaders if they were “martyred”.

However, Khamenei was both a political and spiritual leader. He has commanded followers not only among devout Shias in Iran, but also many Muslims across the wider region. His assassination will spur some of them to seek revenge, potentially sparking a wave of extremist violent actions in the region and beyond.

A regime built for survival

Under a constitutional provision of the Islamic Republic, the Assembly of Experts – the body responsible for appointing and dismissing a supreme leader – will now meet and appoint an interim or long-term leader, either from among their own ranks or outside.

There are three likely candidates to be his successor:

  • Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the head of the judiciary
  • Ali Asghar Hejazi, Khamenei’s chief-of-staff
  • Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Rohullah Khomeini.

The regime has every incentive to do what it must to ensure its survival. There are many regime enforcers and defenders, led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its subordinate paramilitary Basij group, across the country to suppress any domestic uprisings and fight for the endurance of the regime.

Their fortunes are intimately tied to the regime. So are a range of administrators and bureaucrats in the Iranian government, as well as regime sympathisers among ordinary Iranians. They are motivated by a blend of Shi’ism and fierce nationalism to remain loyal to the regime.

Mourners react following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran. Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

Trump and Netanyahu have called on the Iranian people – some 60% of whom are below the age of 30 – to topple the regime once the US-Israeli operations have crippled it.

Many are deeply aggrieved by the regime’s theocratic impositions and dire economic situation and took to the streets in protests in late 2025 and early 2026. The regime cracked down harshly then, killing thousands.

Could a public uprising happen now? So far, the coercive and administrative state apparatus seems to be solidly backing the regime. Without serious cracks appearing among these figures – particularly the IRGC – the regime can be expected to survive this crisis.

Smoke rises in central Tehran after the US-Israel attack. Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

Global economic pain

The regime has also been able to respond very quickly to outside aggression. It has already hit back at Israel and US military bases across the Persian Gulf, using short-range and long-range advanced ballistic missiles and drones.

While many of the projectiles have been repelled, some have hit their targets, causing serious damage.

The IRGC has also set out to choke the Strait of Hormuz – the narrow strategic waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean. Some 20% of the world’s oil and 25% of its liquefied gas flows through the strait every day.

The IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz on February 16, nearly two weeks before the US-Israel attacks. Sepah News handout/EPA

The United States has vowed to keep the strait remain open, but the IRGC is potentially well-placed to block traffic from going through. There could be serious implications for the global energy supply and broader economy.

Both sides in this conflict have trespassed all of the previous red lines. They are now in open warfare, which is engulfing the entire region.

A prolonged war looks likely

If there was any pretence on the part of Washington and Jerusalem that their attacks would not lead to a regional war, they were wrong. This is already happening.

Many countries that have close cooperation agreements with Iran, including China and Russia, have condemned the US-Israeli actions. The United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has also urgently called for de-escalation and a return to diplomatic negotiations, as have many others.

But the chances for this look very slim. The US and Iran were in the middle of a second round of talks over Tehran’s nuclear program when the attacks happened. The Omani foreign minister, who mediated between the two sides, publicly said just days ago that “peace was within reach”.

But this was not enough to convince Trump and Netanyahu to let the negotiations continue. They sensed now was the best time to strike the Islamic Republic to destroy not just its nuclear program but also its military capability after Israel degraded some of Tehran’s regional affiliates, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and expanded its footprint in Lebanon and Syria over the last two and a half years.

While it is difficult to be definitive about where the war is likely to lead, the scene is set for a long conflict. It may not last days, but rather weeks. The US and Israel do not want anything short of regime change, and the regime is determined to survive.

With this war, the Trump leadership is also signalling to its adversaries – China, in particular – that the US remains the preeminent global power, while Netanyahu is seeking to cement Israel’s position as the dominant regional actor.

Pity the Iranian people, the region and the world that have to endure the consequences of another war of choice in the Middle East for geopolitical gains in an already deeply troubled world.

– ref. Trump and Netanyahu want regime change, but Iran’s regime was built for survival. A long war is now likely – https://theconversation.com/trump-and-netanyahu-want-regime-change-but-irans-regime-was-built-for-survival-a-long-war-is-now-likely-277193

Golf: Kiwi Daniel Hillier wins 105th New Zealand Open

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Daniel Hillier celebrates his win at the New Zealand Open. Chris Symes / www.photosport.nz

Kiwi golfer Daniel Hillier has won the NZ Open for the first time, finishing two shots clear of Australian Lucas Herbert.

The 27-year-old Wellingtonian handled gusty and cool conditions at Arrowtown’s Millbrook Resort, near Queenstown, to secure the title.

Hillier sets up for a putt at the Millbrook Resort. www.photosport.nz

Hillier led by one shot heading into Sunday’s final round, finishing at 22-under par for the tournament.

He takes home prize money of NZ$360,000 and becomes the first New Zealander since Michael Hendry in 2017 to lift the silverware.

Hillier said winning the New Zealand Open capped an incredible week of celebration.

“Oh, mate, that is the second best day of my life behind my wedding last week,” he told SkySport.

“It’s a lot more stressful coming down the stretch there, but this has just been the absolute best week of my life.

“To break the Kiwi drought is pretty special and to do it in front of my family, all my friends, my wife.

“I’ve been dreaming this for a long time and I knew I had the game to do it.

“It was a matter of not getting ahead of myself and I’m pretty proud.”

LIV golfer Herbert was second at 20-under. New Zealand’s Kerry Mountcastle finished in a tie for third, with Japan’s Tomoyo Ikemura, on 17-under.

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

Bipartisan support for US attack on Iran, but Greens says it is ‘abhorrent’

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

The Albanese government has backed the American strike on Iran, while confirming Australia was not given prior warning.

Federal cabinet’s national security committee met early Sunday. Although supporting what has been done, the government is emphasising Australia is not a central player in Middle East issues.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after the death of Ayatollah Khamenei was confirmed that “his passing will not be mourned.”

In a joint statement, Albanese, Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: “It has long been recognised that Iran’s nuclear program is a threat to global peace and security.

“The international community has been clear that the Iranian regime can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

“We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security.”

Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson told the ABC: “A coordinated attack to address what has been an ongoing build-up of their nuclear programme is something that’s very good for international peace and security. Of course, we hope the situation is contained.”

Shadow foreign minister Ted O’Brien said: “Our position is clear: Israel has the right to defend itself and Iranians have the right to live free of oppression.”

But Greens leader, Larissa Waters, said: “The Greens condemn these illegal, abhorrent and unilateral attacks. Australians do not want to be dragged into another US-Israeli war.

“Australia’s support of Trump and Netanyahu’s illegal attack last night was disgraceful. We cannot bomb our way to peace.”

A sceptical note from within the Coalition came from Nationals senator Matt Canavan. He told The Conversation “not a single regime change war has left the world a better place in my lifetime – not sure why this would be any different”.

Canavan said it was great to see the Ayatollah gone. “But it was great to see Saddam and Gaddafi gone too. Now things are much worse for those countries and the region. Add the Taliban to that list too.”

Shadow industry minister Andrew Hastie, an Afghanistan veteran, said: “As a veteran of the so-called forever wars, I’m very suspicious about regime change by force. But Iran has a terrible regime – they’re a proxy, they’re underwritten by Chinese and Russian tech,” he told Sky News.

The Iranians orchestrated two attacks in Australia in 2024, one of them the firebombing of the Adass Synagogue in Melbourne. Iran’s ambassador was later expelled.

Asked whether the weekend attack was legal and whether he was concerned this might erode further the international rules-based order, Albanese said those judgements were for the US and those involved directly.

He said he hoped the actions taken would lead to a “swift  resolution”.

Wong said Australia did not want to see the situation escalate into a wider regional war. “We seek the resumption of dialogue and diplomacy”, she said. “We join our partners in calling on all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law.”

On whether Australia had any prior warning, Wong said: “We weren’t told in advance. You wouldn’t expect us to be.

“We are not at the centre of the issues in the Middle East but we obviously play a role in the international community.”

Quizzed on whether Australia supported regime change, Wong said, “We stand with the people of Iran in fighting against  an oppressive regime. Ultimately, Iran’s future must be determined by the people of Iran.”

Australians in Iran continue to be advised to leave if it is safe to do so, which is difficult given the air space is closed.

The government said its ability to provide consular assistance in Iran was “extremely limited”. The Australian embassy is closed.

As well as being advised not to travel to Iran Australians are also advised not to travel to Israel, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, among other countries in the region.

Australians requiring urgent consular assistance can contact the Consular Emergency Centre 24/7 on 1300 555 135 in Australia or +61 2 6261 3305 from outside Australia.

The local Iranian community in Australia numbers some 50,000, with many anxiously trying to contact family and friends in Iran.

– ref. Bipartisan support for US attack on Iran, but Greens says it is ‘abhorrent’ – https://theconversation.com/bipartisan-support-for-us-attack-on-iran-but-greens-says-it-is-abhorrent-277187

Pesta Babi – ‘Pig Feast’ . . . a vivid new film exposing Papua’s political ecology

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REVIEW: Jubi Media

Yasinta Moiwend was startled when, on a quiet morning, a massive ship docked at her village pier in West Papua.

The vessel carried hundreds of excavators and was escorted by military forces. It was the first convoy of 2000 heavy machines to arrive in Papua under a National Strategic Project for food production, palm-based biodiesel, and sugarcane bioethanol.

Yasinta, a Marind Anim woman in Merauke, never realised that her village had been chosen as the ground zero for what would become the largest forest conversion project in modern history — turning 2.5 million ha of tropical forest into industrial plantations under the guise of “food security” and the “energy transition”.

Vincen Kwipalo, from the Yei community, was also shocked when his clan’s land was suddenly marked with a sign reading: “Property of the Indonesian Army.”

Only later did he learn that the land had been seized for the construction of a military battalion headquarters, at the very moment when sugarcane, a plantation company, was also encroaching on his ancestral forest.

Threatened by the same project, Franky Woro and the Awyu community in Boven Digoel erected giant crosses and indigenous ritual markers on their land. Known as the Red Cross Movement, this form of resistance has spread among Indigenous groups across South Papua.

More than 1800 red crosses have been planted to confront corporations and the military—both physically and spiritually. Though a Christian symbol is central to the movement, local Church prelates condemned it as not part of the church.


The Pesta Babi trailer. Video: Jubi Media at Café Pacific

Pesta Babi (“Pig Feast”) combines detailed field recordings with in-depth research to examine the power structures behind the operation.

It exposes how government and corporate entities — collaborating with military and religious groups — advance international and national goals of “food security” and “energy transition” at the expense of Indigenous communities and landscapes.

The documentary illustrates the networks of Indonesian elites, oligarchs, and multinational corporations that benefit from the project, providing a vivid depiction of the political ecology of Indonesian governance in Papua.

Pig Feast serves as a record of colonialism that remains intact today.

This film is co-produced by Jubi, Ekspedisi Indonesia Baru, Greenpeace, Yayasan Pusaka, and Watchdoc Documentary. It is being screened as part of a weekend of West Papua Solidarity Forum events organised by West Papua Action Tāmaki Makaurau.

“Pesta Babi” (The Pig Party) . . . the West Papuan documentary film being world premiered in New Zealand next month. Image: Jubi Media

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

At a glance: US-Israel attack on Iran

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Digital Storytelling Team, The Conversation

The US and Israel have launched joint coordinated attacks on Iran, prompting retaliatory strikes from Iran on Israel and US military bases in the region.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years, has been killed in the strikes, Iranian state media reported.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says he was killed early Saturday morning at his office. Satellite imagery shows significant damage to parts of the Leadership House compound, which is Khamenei’s office in Tehran.

Iranian school struck

More than 100 children have reportedly been killed by US and Israeli air strikes on a school, according to Iranian authorities. They say the strikes hit a girls’ elementary school in the city of Minab in the country’s south.

Video has emerged of crowds of people searching through the rubble.

“Hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured as a result of the aggression and atrocious crime of the United States regime and the Israeli regime, and the deliberate … targeting of civilian infrastructure,” Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

– ref. At a glance: US-Israel attack on Iran – https://theconversation.com/at-a-glance-us-israel-attack-on-iran-277186

Motorsport: Kiwi Scott McLaughlin on pole for Indycar’s St Petersburg Grand Prix

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Scott McLaughlin celebrates his IndyCar pole position at St Petersburg. Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire

Kiwi Scott McLaughlin has grabbed pole position for the IndyCar St Petersburg Grand Prix in Florida on Monday NZT.

After a horror 2025 campaign that saw him finish 10th in the standings, with no race wins and just one pole, McLaughlin was quickest around the 2.9km street circuit, clocking 1m 00.5426s to edge Swede Marcus Ericsson (1m 00.5621), who will join him on the front row for the main race.

“Raul [Prados], my new engineer, gave me a great car, but we have a lot of experience here with a great car, as well,” McLaughlin said.

“Just really pumped. Everybody knows the slog we went through last year, so to start on this note is fantastic.

“Bloody good, bloody good.”

The three-time Australian Supercars champion had shown good form throughout the weekend, finishing fastest in the first practice session (1m 01.1020s) and seventh in practice two (1m 01.7921s).

After putting his car into a wall during practice, Kiwi veteran Sir Scott Dixon (1m 01.2109s) will start 16th on the starting grid, while countryman Marcus Armstrong starts seventh, recording 1m 00.7820s in qualifying.

McLaughlin has won pole position on two previous occasions at St Petersburg, winning in 2022 and finishing fourth last year.

The 290km race begins at 6am Monday NZT.

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

Iran strikes: ‘We don’t know when we can leave’ – Kiwi restaurateurs trapped in Dubai

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Restaurateurs Sid and Chand Sahrawat are in Dubai on business. File photo. Babiche Martens

A prominent Auckland couple is trapped in Dubai after airspace closures and reported strikes across the city.

Restaurateurs Sid and Chand Sahrawat are in Dubai on business, and were due to fly out on Monday to begin a culinary tour in India.

Chand Sahrawat said they received a text alert just after midnight and heard explosions soon afterwards.

“We heard a couple of booms,” she said.

“And we’ve just woken up to news that the airport has been hit and the Burj Al Arab has also been hit.”

Sid Sahrawat said one hotel in the city had reportedly taken a hit earlier, which he described as “scary”.

The couple said roads were noticeably quieter after the alerts went out, with many people staying indoors as a precaution.

“It just feels very surreal and unreal,” Chand Sahrawat said.

“We’ve never been in a situation where a country has had to lock down because of a war.”

She said they had registered their details on the New Zealand government’s SafeTravel website, but had not had direct contact from officials.

It was difficult to access reliable information as English-language local news coverage was limited and they had been relying on international outlets and online reports.

All airspace across parts of the Middle East has been disrupted amid escalating regional tensions.

Chand Sahrawat said the closure of Dubai Airport was particularly worrying.

“It’s one thing to close airspace for protective reasons,” she said.

“But to actually hit the airport is scary. We don’t know when we can leave.”

The couple’s children were in New Zealand. Chand Sahrawat said explaining the situation to them had been difficult.

For now, they plan to remain where they are until flights resume, as neighbouring countries have also been affected by airspace closures.

“It just feels like a different world.”

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

Neither preemptive nor legal, US-Israeli strikes on Iran have blown up international law

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shannon Brincat, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the Sunshine Coast

The joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran represent a further erosion of the international legal order. Under international law, these attacks are neither preemptive nor lawful.

Israel and the United States launched Operation Shield of Judah and Operation Epic Fury while diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Tehran were actively underway on Iran’s nuclear program.

Just two days earlier, the most intense round of US-Iran talks concluded in Geneva, with both sides agreeing to continue. US President Donald Trump indicated he would give negotiators more time. Then came the bombs.

The illegality of the attack

Israel said the strikes were “preventive”, meaning they were to prevent Iran from developing a capacity to be a threat. But preventive war has no legal basis under international law. The UN Security Council did not authorise any military action, meaning the sole lawful pathway for the use of force for self-defence was never pursued.

Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Preemptive self-defence, as we have argued previously, has extremely narrow prescriptions under the Caroline doctrine. It requires a threat to be “instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means”. No such conditions existed with Iran on February 28.

Central to the current crisis is that it was Trump who ended the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, which had regional support for controlling Iran’s nuclear program. The US director of national intelligence testified in March 2025 that Iran was not pursuing nuclear weapons, which the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency affirmed.

US intelligence also reportedly indicated it would take three years for Iran to build a nuclear weapon. Moreover, US and Israeli strikes on Iran last year had put the program back by months. Trump claimed Iran’s nuclear program had been obliterated.

Regime change by force is unlawful

Trump said the attacks were intended to end Iran’s nuclear weapons program and bring about regime change. Trump urged Iranians to “take over your government”, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the goal was to “remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran”.

Forcible regime change violates the foundational principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention under the UN Charter.

The strikes targeted Iran’s supreme leader, president, and military chief of staff, as well as military infrastructure. Deliberately targeting heads of state also crosses a threshold that distinguishes military operations from acts of aggression.

Attacking heads of state is illegal under New York Convention, for obvious reasons of stability. With the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the power vacuum will only increase the hardship on the ground for Iranians.

In addition, promises to return the shah – Iran’s previous monarch – have not considered the authoritarian implications of such rule.

Reports that an airstrike on an elementary school in Minab killed at least 100 girls aged between seven and 12 underscore the human cost of unplanned regime change.

US and Israeli statements imply that regime change is prioritised over any plans of a replacement. But just like the aftermath of the death of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi that saw slavery return to Libya, or how Islamic State filled the power vacuum after the death of dictator Saddam Hussein in Iraq, regime change requires extremely careful planning.

In this case, there is no obvious plan to rebuild or stabilise Iran after these strikes. Western allies have expressed concern that Washington lacks a coherent strategy for the aftermath of the attacks, noting the minimal preparation for post-conflict reconstruction and government transition.

As Mexico’s representative stated at the UN Security Council following recent US actions in Venezuela, the historical record of regime change shows it has only “exacerbated conflicts and weakened the social and political fabric of nations”. According to The Atlantic, “complete chaos” is likely.

Diplomacy as deception

Launching strikes during active negotiations violates the principle of good faith in Article 2(2) of the UN Charter. As the Arms Control Association noted, Iranian policymakers had already accused the US of bad faith after the June 2025 strikes disrupted previously scheduled talks.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry denounced the February 28 attacks as striking during negotiations, violating international law.

World leaders’ response

We should be dismayed by the worrying acceptance of increased brazen illegality by Western leaders, including our own prime minister. Anthony Albanese has supported the strikes as “acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon”. This places Australia, once again, in open contradiction with basic principles of liberal international order.

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement urging Iran to negotiate a solution, condemning Iranian retaliatory attacks. However, they did not directly comment on the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Their silence is deafening.

Russia and China criticised the US-Israeli actions and urged an immediate end to military operations and a return to diplomatic negotiations.

The international legal order is now in free-fall. When powerful states conduct illegal wars under the guise of prevention, weaponise diplomacy as cover, and openly pursue regime change, the “rules-based order” is literally dead.

– ref. Neither preemptive nor legal, US-Israeli strikes on Iran have blown up international law – https://theconversation.com/neither-preemptive-nor-legal-us-israeli-strikes-on-iran-have-blown-up-international-law-277173

What is duty sex and how do you stop having it?

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Source: Radio New Zealand

It’s the end of a long, exhausting day and you’ve finally crawled into bed.

Rest is imminent.

But your partner is in the mood.

Understanding what is getting in the way of you wanting or enjoying sex is helpful to reflect on.

Unsplash

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

How March Madness may make your Monday morning commute longer

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Source: Radio New Zealand

March heralds the busiest traffic patterns of the year in many big cities. RNZ / Lucy Xia

Explainer – If your Monday morning commute feels a little madder than usual this week, it’s not just you.

The peak transport season known as ‘March Madness’ kicks off around the country, with the University of Auckland starting its new year on 2 March and many others following suit.

“More people use Auckland’s transport network from February until early April than at any other time of year,” Auckland Transport (AT) group manager of public transport operations Rachel Cara said.

Why exactly is March Madness a thing?

It may be a couple months into the new year, but between the confluence of universities, schools and the last stragglers from holiday getaways all returning, it always puts a strain on transport systems.

“It’s basically the highest level of transport demand that exists,” director of transport advocacy website Greater Auckland Matt Lowrie told Nine to Noon recently.

“One of the things that happens is that we get lulled into a false sense of security of how easy it is when the traffic is low and during those school holidays.”

In Auckland, AT predicts more than 2 million passenger journeys each week – with buses, trains and ferries making 13,500 trips a day.

Cara said that Auckland’s “network will be the busiest on weekdays during peak times, between 7am-9am and 3pm-6pm, with Wednesdays generally the busiest weekday.”

Discounted fares for Auckland university students have also been increased this year.

“We do anticipate higher spikes during March after tertiary concessions recently changed from being 25 percent to 40 percent,” Cara said. “We’ve already seen a 25 percent uplift in trips compared to same time last year, and this is likely to rise as university students come back.”

Lowrie said “we’ve often forgotten how bad it was at this time last year because even throughout after April when March Madness normally runs through to about Easter, it does drop off for sort of the rest of the year”.

RNZ / Rayssa Almeida

Does it happen everywhere or just in lucky old Auckland?

It’s definitely not just a JAFA thing, and is seen around the country – especially in areas with universities.

“We would definitely say March Madness is a phenomenon also experienced across Otago,” said Otago Regional Council implementation lead for transport Julian Phillips.

“Each February and March, public transport networks in Dunedin and Queenstown experience significant seasonal variations in demand at peak times.”

Like everywhere else, school, university study and returns from summer leave add up to put pressure on networks, he said.

“Travel patterns, particularly for school students, also take a few weeks to settle as families establish new routines.”

Wellington also has a busy month ahead.

“We expect patronage to lift on Metlink buses, trains, and ferries during March,” Metlink senior manager of operations Paul Tawharu said.

Wellington reached 2.6 million bus boardings in March 2025, he said.

State Highway 16 full of slow moving morning traffic as the sun rises. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

How do transport agencies prepare for it?

Auckland has added larger buses on 37 popular routes, an additional eight school bus services for Term 1, and has “banker” buses ready to deploy as needed.

Higher load services include the NX1 on the Northern Busway, which offers 3300 seats per hour capacity during peak time.

In Otago, “we are closely monitoring services, adjusting vehicle allocations where possible, and prioritising high-demand routes to support customers,” said Phillips.

“We appreciate passengers’ patience during this peak period and remain focused on getting everyone to their destinations safely and on time.”

The long-awaited $5.5 billion Auckand City Rail Link (CRL), the country’s most expensive transport infrastructure, is expected to open later this year, and AT is gearing up for it.

“With new trains arriving ahead of CRL we are now operating over 40 peak trips, including school trips with six-car trains,” Cara said.

However, the rail network is still expected to face some periodic shutdowns as CRL work and testing continues this year.

“These will be limited to weekends and public holidays as much as possible, however we are asking Aucklanders to be prepared for longer closures in the April school holidays,” Auckland Transport director of public transport and active modes Stacey van der Putten told RNZ.

Once the CRL is fully up to speed, she said it will make a difference for March Madness and madness all the rest of the year.

“It is expected to lead to less congestion on our roads, than if it had not been built, based on analysis at the business case stage.”

The CRL will allow easier access by train and improved connections, van der Putten said.

“This will benefit those who do need to drive by reducing congestion, delays and wear and tear.

“The reason we invest in better public transport is to attract more choice users – this frees roads up to be used by people who genuinely need them.”

Public transport use can decrease road traffic. Photo/Auckland Transport

Is there any way I can avoid all this traffic madness?

If you’re driving, take the extra volumes into account.

“Plan ahead and allow extra time,” Cara said.

In Auckland, the AT Journey Planner app can help plan your trip. Other local apps or Google and Apple maps can also be useful.

“If possible, car-pool with family, friends or colleagues so you can travel on T2 and T3 lanes to reduce journey times and help disperse traffic,” she said.

In Wellington, Tawharu said public transport can ease the pain.

“We encourage our region’s commuters to reduce congestion and transport emissions by leaving their cars at home and catching Metlink services.”

Greater Wellington also has an annual Movin’ March programme, in partnership with local councils and primary schools, celebrating the benefits of walking, scooting and biking to school.

With packed buses and trains, Cara said being considerate will go a long way – and don’t forget to tag on and off with your payment or AT HOP card.

“Please be patient. You may need to wait for the next bus on our high frequency corridors.

“If standing on a busy bus or train carriage, move down as far as possible, filling every seat to create as much room as possible for more people to get on board. Do not leave belongings on the seat next to you and move down in buses and train carriages to create space for others.”

It’s not required, but it doesn’t hurt to thank the driver too as you leave. After all, for them, March Madness can often feel like it runs the whole year long.

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

ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for March 1, 2026

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ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 1, 2026.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled Iran with defiance and brutality for 36 years. For many Iranians, he will not be revered
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Thomas, Lecturer in Middle East Studies, Deakin University Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years, has been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on his country, Iranian state media reported. As one of Iran’s longest-serving leaders, Khamenei was almost as ubiquitous in Iranian society

Iran will respond to US-Israeli strikes as existential threats to the regime – because they are
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Javed Ali, Associate Professor of Practice of Public Policy, University of Michigan After U.S. and Israeli missiles struck Iran’s nuclear sites in June 2025, Tehran responded with a limited attack on the American airbase in Qatar. Five years before that, a U.S. drone strike against Qasem Soleimani,

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled Iran with defiance and brutality for 36 years. For many Iranians, he will not be revered
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Thomas, Lecturer in Middle East Studies, Deakin University Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years, has been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on his country, according to US President Donald Trump. Iran did not immediately confirm his death. As one of Iran’s longest-serving

Marilyn Garson: Waking up to terror in this new world of impunity
COMMENTARY: By Marilyn Garson Look around this morning. America and Israel, nuclear-armed states have attacked Iran. Israel, which has never declared its nuclear stockpiles nor its borders, has spent 2.5 years committing genocide against Gaza, a trapped community with no significant defensive weapons. Israel has bombed six countries which are not at war with it.

NZ rally slams Five Eyes intelligence ties hours before US-Israel attack on Iran
Asia Pacific Report Speakers at a pro-Palestine rally in central Auckland Tamaki Makaurau today were highly critical of the erosion of New Zealand’s once proud nuclear-free and independent foreign policy. They also warned against being tied into a United States that is pivoting a hostile policy towards China, New Zealand’s major trading partner. Ironically, just

Iran has been attacked by US and Israel when peace was within reach
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bamo Nouri, Honorary Research Fellow, Department of International Politics, City St George’s, University of London US and Iranian negotiators met in Geneva earlier this week in what mediators described as the most serious and constructive talks in years. Oman’s foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, spoke publicly of “unprecedented

US-Israeli attack on Iran risks plunging the world into turmoil
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, Professor in Global Thought and Comparative Philosophies, Inaugural Co-Director of Centre for AI Futures, SOAS, University of London The US and Israel have launched extensive, coordinated attacks on numerous targets across Iran, prompting retaliatory strikes in the region. Donald Trump neither tried to obtain Congressional

Filipino photojournalist Alex Baluyut: An extraordinary sense of truth in an ailing society
OBITUARY: By Joel Paredes Having known the Filipino photojournalist Alex Baluyut, who died yesterday aged 69, for nearly half a century, I feel that looking at his photos — how he documented the events that unfurled during his lifetime — reveals his own lifelong search for himself. By documenting the rawest parts of human existence,

Papuan activist leader Wenda accuses Jakarta of ‘lying’ over shot down plane
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan leader has accused the Indonesian government of lying over its operations and “masking” the military role of some civilian aircraft. Disputing an Indonesian government statement about reported that TPNPB fired upon an aircraft in Boven Digoel, killing both the pilot and copilot, United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP)

‘We warned you,’ says Iran’s national security chief after Israel-US attacks
Asia Pacific Report “We warned you,” says Iran’s national security commission head after Israel-US missiles attacks on the capital Tehran and other cities. Al Jazeera reports comments from Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the national security commission of the Iranian Parliament. “We warned you!” he wrote on social media. “Now you have started down a

Search on for fisherman swept away near Piha

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Lifeguards, Coastguard and police have been searching for a fisherman missing from rocks at Union Bay on Auckland’s west coast. Supplied/ Auckland Council

A search is underway for a man swept off rocks south of Auckland’s Piha.

The man was fishing at Karekare’s Union Bay when he was swept away, a police spokesperson said.

The incident was reported about 10.15am on Sunday, and searchers were sent from police, Coastguard and Surf Lifesaving.

But by 1.45pm the man had not been found, the spokesperson said.

Surf Lifesaving New Zealand (SLSNZ) said the man was washed away at Farley Point: “A witness to the incident raised the alarm with surf lifeguards from Karekare Surf Life Saving Club.”

Lifeguards searched the area between Karekare Beach and Mercer Bay using four rescue watercraft/jetskis and an inflatable rescue boat, while the Piha search and rescue squad was also sent. However lifeguards had been stood down at 1pm, SLSNZ said.

Further searches were expected to be carried out at low tide.

It comes after the body of a kayaker was found in Auckland’s Waiwera on Sunday.

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

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled Iran with defiance and brutality for 36 years. For many Iranians, he will not be revered

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Thomas, Lecturer in Middle East Studies, Deakin University

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years, has been killed in US and Israeli airstrikes on his country, Iranian state media reported.

As one of Iran’s longest-serving leaders, Khamenei was almost as ubiquitous in Iranian society as his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979.

And despite the fact Khomeini authored the Iranian Revolution, some say Khamenei was actually the most powerful leader modern Iran has had.

In more than three decades as supreme leader, Khamenei amassed unprecedented power over domestic politics and cracked down ever more harshly on internal dissent. In recent years, he prioritised his survival – and that of his regime – above all else. His government brutally put down a popular uprising in December 2025–January 2026 that killed thousands.

Ultimately, though, Khamenei will not be remembered by most Iranians as a strong leader. Nor will he be revered. Instead, his legacy will be the profound weakness his regime brought the Islamic Republic on all fronts.

A man walks past a mural depicting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (left) and late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (right) during a funeral ceremony for security personnel killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, January 14 2026. Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

Khamenei’s rise through the ranks

Khamenei was born in the city of Marshad in northeastern Iran in 1939. As a boy, he began to form his political and religious world view by studying at Islamic seminaries in Najaf and Qom. At 13, he started to embrace ideas relating to revolutionary Islam. These included the teachings of cleric Navab Safavi, who often called for political violence against the rule of the shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Khamenei met Khomeini in 1958 and immediately embraced his philosophy, often referred to as “Khomeinism”.

This world view was informed by anti-colonial sentiment, Shia Islam and elements of social engineering through state planning, particularly when it came to preserving a “just” Islamic society. Khomeinism stipulates that a system of earthly laws alone cannot create a just society – Iran must draw its legitimacy from “God Almighty”.

The concept of velayat-e faqih, also known as guardianship of the jurist, is central to Khomeinism. It dictates that the supreme leader should be endowed with “all the authorities that the Prophet and infallible Imams were entitled”.

Essentially, this means Iran was to be ruled by a single scholar of Shia Islam. This is where Khomeini, and later Khamenei, would draw their sweeping power and control.

From 1962, Khamenei began almost two decades of revolutionary activity against Pahlavi (the shah) on behalf of Khomeini, who was exiled in 1964. Khamenei was arrested by the shah’s secret police in 1971 and tortured, according to his memoirs.

When the shah was overthrown in the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Khomeini returned from exile to become the new supreme leader.

Khamenei was selected to join the Revolutionary Council, which ruled alongside the provisional government. He then became deputy defence minister and assisted in organising the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This military institution – initially created to protect the revolution and supreme leader – would become one of the most powerful political forces in Iran.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (sitting on chair), Ali Khamenei (middle), and Khomeini’s son, Ahmad Khomeini (left), pictured in 1981. Wikimedia Commons

After surviving an assassination attempt in 1981, Khamenei was elected president of Iran in 1982 and again in 1985. He held the presidency during the majority of the Iran–Iraq war – a conflict that devastated both countries in both human and economic cost.

Although subordinate to the supreme leader, Khamenei wielded significant power compared to later presidents, given the revolution was still very young and the Iraq war posed a great threat to the regime. But he remained in lock-step with Khomeini’s wishes. He also managed to build a close relationship with the IRGC that would go far beyond his presidency.

Then-President Ali Khamenei during a state visit to China in May 1989. Forrest Anderson/Getty Images

A surprising choice for supreme leader

Khomeini died in June 1989 after a period of deteriorating health, with no clear successor.

Khomeini had initially supported Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri to be his successor. However, Montazeri had become increasingly critical of the supreme leader’s authority and human rights violations in the country. He resigned in 1988 and was put under house arrest until his death in 2009.

Khamenei had the political credentials to lead. He was also a steadfast support of Khomeinism. However, he was seen a surprising choice for supreme leader when he was elected by the Assembly of Experts, a group of Islamic clerics.

In fact, his appointment sparked a significant amount of controversy and criticism. Some Islamic scholars believed he lacked the clerical rank of grand ayatollah, which was required under the constitution to ascend to the position. These critics believed the Iranian people would not respect the word of “a mere human being” without a proper connection to God.

A referendum was held in July 1989 to change the constitution to allow for a supreme leader who has shown “Islamic scholarship”. It passed overwhelmingly and Khamenei became an ayatollah.

Khamenei’s position had been consolidated on paper, but despite being president since 1982, he did not enjoy the same popularity as Khomeini within both the clerical elite and general public.

The constitutional amendments, however, had given Khamenei significantly more power to intervene in political affairs. In fact, he had far more power as supreme leader than Khomeini ever enjoyed.

This included the ability to determine general policies, appoint and dismiss members of the Council of Guardians, and order public referendums. He also had enough power to silence dissent with relative ease.

Consolidating power over the decades

Khamenei worked with his presidents to varying degrees, though he exercised his power to undermine legislation when he disagreed with it.

For example, he largely backed the economic agenda of President Hashemi Rafsanjani (who served from 1989 to 1997), but he often stood in the way of Mohammad Khatami (1997–2005) and Hassan Rouhani (2013–21). Both had attempted to reform Iran’s political system and foster a better relationship with the West.

Khamenei’s most famous intervention in domestic politics occurred after the first term of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005–13). After Ahmadinejad claimed victory in the disputed 2009 presidential election, thousands of Iranians took to the streets in one of the largest protest movements since the revolution. Khamenei backed the election result and cracked down harshly on the protesters. Dozens were killed (perhaps more), while thousands were arbitrarily arrested.

An Iranian protestor clenches her fist during an opposition rally in Tehran, Iran, on July 9 2009. AP

Khamenei later clashed with Ahmadinejad and warned him against seeking the presidency again in 2017. Ahmadinejad defied him, but was later barred from running.

After the death of hardline President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in 2024, Khameini continued his manoeuvring behind the scenes. After the reformist Masoud Pezeshkian won the presidency, Khameini immediately blocked him from negotiating with the United States over sanctions relief and used his influence to thwart his economic reform agenda.

And when protests again broke out at the end of 2025 over the struggling economy, Khamenei again ordered them to be crushed by any means necessary.

Iranian protesters blocking an intersection in Tehran during the anti-government demonstrations in Iran on January 8 2026. AP

A tarnished legacy

Thanks to the powers vested in him in the constitution, Khamenei also had extraordinary control over Iran’s foreign policy.

Like his mentor, Khomeini, he staunchly supported the regime’s resistance to what it considered “Western imperialism”. He was also a key architect of Iran’s regional proxy strategy, funding militant groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and others to carry out Iran’s military objectives.

Khamenei had, at times, been amenable to cooperation with the West – namely negotiating with the US over Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.

During the first Trump administration, however, Khamenei returned to a staunchly anti-Western posture. His government railed against Trump’s scuttling of the 2015 nuclear deal, the reimposed economic sanctions on Iran’s energy sector and the assassination of the head of the IRGC’s Quds force, Qassem Soleimani.

After Trump returned to office in 2025, Iran grew even weaker. And Khamenei’s anti-Western posture began to look increasingly hollow. Iran’s defeat in the 12-day war with Israel in 2025 shredded whatever legitimacy his regime had left.

In the months that followed, Khamenei ruled over a population increasingly resentful of the Iranian political system and its leadership. In the 2025–26 protests, some openly chanted for Khamenei’s death.

When Khomenei died in 1989, his state funeral was attended by millions. Mourners pulled him out of his coffin and scrambled for sacred mementos.

Though Khameini served longer, Iranians will likely not show the same grief for him.

– ref. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled Iran with defiance and brutality for 36 years. For many Iranians, he will not be revered – https://theconversation.com/ayatollah-ali-khamenei-ruled-iran-with-defiance-and-brutality-for-36-years-for-many-iranians-he-will-not-be-revered-259268

Hurricanes lose first-five for rest of Super Rugby campaign

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Brett Cameron, while playing for the Hurricanes in 2024. Aaron Gillions / www.photosport.nz

The Hurricanes have lost one of their lynchpins for the rest of the Super Rugby season.

First-five Brett Cameron is due to undergo surgery after sustaining a significant knee injury during last week’s match against Moana Pasifika.

“It’s obviously hugely disappointing to lose one of our best players in game one, especially given it comes after an ACL injury on his other knee,” Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw said.

“We’re here to support and help him through it, initially with the surgery and then with the rehab.

“We know it’s a tough road ahead, but we also know that he’s up for it and we’re up for it to support and rehab him so he can get back to playing as soon as possible.

“As tough as it is, we have amazing medics, a great facility and we know how to rehab players really well, so we’ll get on with that once the surgery has been done,” Laidlaw said.

Cameron has been a Hurricanes player since 2023, after being at the Crusaders between 2017 and 2020.

He played one test for the All Blacks in 2018.

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

How To Dad’s Jordan Watson: ‘Cheap and cheerful is what’s worked for me’

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Back in 2015, wearing stubbies and a bush shirt, Jordan Watson (Tainui) made a joke video for a friend from work who was about to become a father.

Two years later, he went full-time making social media videos as How To DAD. Keeping it real and ignoring the Instagram fashion for “everything so polished and shot in 4K with amazing drones and colour grading” has been key to Watson’s success on social media, he says.

“The cheap and cheerful is what’s worked for me, and that’s how we just keep it … I just wake up, and if I have a funny idea while I’m in the shower or making breakfast, I’ll write it down, I’ll shoot it and post it,” Watson tells RNZ’s Music 101.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

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

Lanes cleared after serious crash blocked Auckland’s Northwestern Motorway

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Emergency services workers at the scene of a serious crash that blocked traffic on Auckland’s North Western Motorway on Sunday. RNZ

Lanes on Auckland’s Northwestern Motorway have now reopened following a serious crash.

An RNZ reporter said one car was wrecked in the Sunday morning crash, and by 11.30am traffic was built up as far as Hobsonville Rd.

Police said one person was seriously injured in the two-vehicle collision and two lanes had been closed.

By 2pm, all lanes had reopened.

RNZ

RNZ

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

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