Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are asking the thief of former rower Les O’Connell’s Olympic gold medal, which was taken in home burglary, to anonymously return it to any police station.

Les O’Connell’s home was burgled over the weekend, with thieves stealing a vehicle full of work tools, as well as entering the house and taking his Olympic gold medal.

O’Connell won the medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, rowing in the men’s coxless four, and was appealing to whoever pinched it to give it back undamaged.

He said the medal was gold coated but was largely made of silver.

Detective Nigel Thomson said the gold medal held “immense personal and sentimental value”.

“The Olympic gold medal is a significant piece of New Zealand sporting history, and is irreplaceable for Mr O’Connell,” Detective Thomson said.

“We understand that Olympic medals are often difficult to sell and are frequently recognised once publicly reported. For that reason, police are urging anyone who has information on the medal’s whereabouts to please come forward.

“If you are in possession of the medal – we urge you to return this immediately and without damage,” Detective Thomson said.

The medal can be returned anonymously by being dropped off to any police station, including by a trusted third party.

Can’t be replaced – Les O’Connell

Les O’Connell earlier told Checkpoint that no loss was stinging harder than the medal.

“All those other items, that’s what they are, they’re just pure items that can be replaced, this can’t.”

“All of that pale’s comparison to the gold medal.”

O’Connell said the years of work he put in prior to getting the medal was part of what had made the loss hit even harder.

“It’s something I’m not going to win again and it’s a whole process. You know, I was a world champion for two years before the Olympics, so it was a whole build-up to winning a gold medal… it was hard fought.”

O’Connell was holding out hope that the thieves would see some sense and return the medal back to its home.

“If they could put it somewhere and let someone know or phone into something and say, it’s here. Even if they just hide it somewhere and later on they let someone know… even post it back somewhere.

“I just don’t want it disfigured or thrown away and lost forever.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A homicide investigation has been launched in Napier after a man assaulted outside a nightclub last week died.

Andy Winitana, 46 from Hastings, died in hospital on Wednesday after sustaining injuries during an assault early on Sunday.

A 21-year-old man has appeared before Napier District Court on a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and has been remanded in custody.

Further charges are now being considered.

He is next due to appear in Napier District Court on 25 February.

Police said they wanted to hear from anyone who may have footage or have witnessed the assault on the Napier wharf area between 12.30am-1.30am on Sunday 1 February.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The small beachside community of Mangawhai is traditionally associated with surfing and a legendary pub, but in the last few months of 2025, it became New Zealand’s petrol price hot-spot.

The Northland town has never been a cheap place to visit, let alone live, but residents and visitors have, over the past few months, been treated to some of the lowest petrol prices in New Zealand.

Mangawhai is home to a number of petrol stations, a Mobil near the town’s New World Supermarket, another closer to the heads, a G.A.S station and a new self-serve Gull across the road from the town’s museum.

According to the Gaspy App, which monitors fuel prices across the country, since the self-serve station opened in September, the price of 91 has sat at $2.33.9 except when dropping for discount days.

The director of Gaspy, Mike Newton, says the town is a bit of an outlier since the Gull station opened in September.

“They’ve had it really good, pretty much since then. They’ve just steadily been 20 cents lower than that national average, which is pretty impressive, especially for Northland, I don’t think they’ve generally have it that good.”

AA spokesperson Terry Collins said this type of competition shouldn’t be limited to Mangawhai.

“What we’re seeing here is a perfect example of competition driving prices down. The Commerce Commission has talked about it from time to time, about how when we do see lower prices, we see them in areas with the most competition.”

‘A lot of discounting going on’

The day First Up visited Mangawhai, the average price of petrol across the country was $2.55.9 per litre. Mangawhai’s Gull had the third lowest price at $2.33.9 per litre – only bettered by the Allied pump at Opua Marina and Westgate’s Costco.

Newton said the months of lower prices at the Gull forced Mangawhai’s other stations to compete, but the lower prices were not usually as sustained as they have been since September.

“If those other stations don’t compete, they won’t get any business. When the price is that much lower, if they’re sitting across the road and their price is 20 cents higher, why would anyone go there?”

Collins said they saw fluctuations in prices depending on demand during an average week.

“What we’re tending to see lately is a lot of discounting going on, people chasing on particular days, Tuesdays and Thursdays kind of thing, before the weekend and after the weekend where the demand is slacking and because they want volume they’ll make these discount offers to drive sales.”

As for Mangawhai Gull station’s other products, Newton said they were not as much of a bargain. “It’s really only the 91 price that is the significant outlier, diesel and 95 are pretty much tracking the national average, there’s really not much to be saved there”

He said the price of petrol nationwide has been pretty steady. “We haven’t seen any of the huge shifts we saw like when Russia headed into Ukraine, those sort of global [events] which see massive price changes, it’s really been steady as she goes.”

As for Mangawhai’s low prices, Collins said it was all good. “I’m not sure if they’re doing it in this case to encourage tourism, I think basically it has been ignited by the arrival of Gull and the competition it brings, but no, long may we enjoy it.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

An Auckland North Shore resident who was stung by a yellow-legged hornet while gardening is calling on her community to stay vigilant and report sightings to help eradicate the outbreak.

The number of yellow-legged hornet queens found in Auckland has risen to 49, and 51 nests have been destroyed since the sightings in October last year.

The majority of nests were found in the Glenfield and Birkdale areas, however most recently, new nests had been found in Takapuna and Forest Hill.

Biosecurity New Zealand had laid 1080 traps, and radio tracking technology was introduced in December last year to trace worker hornets back to their nests – already contributing to identifying 10 nests.

Niki Sherriff has had two nests removed from her property on Roberts Road in Glenfield over the past three months.

She was trimming a dense bush in front of her house two weeks ago, when she was stung by a hornet after unwittingly disturbing a hidden nest.

Sherriff said she was stung through her gardening gloves, and was lucky to not be allergic to stings.

In November last year, she reported a hornets’ nest in the corner of her covered deck, and was already familiar with what the insects looked like through leaflets from the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI).

It did not take long for her to recognise the insects flying in and out of the bush, and she immediately reported it to the MPI hornets hotline.

Sherriff said MPI officers exterminated the colony, and have been regularly taking samples from a trap they had put in her lemon tree.

However she was still worried that not everyone in the community was aware of the threat and the need to report sightings, and hoped that eradication and education efforts could be further ramped up.

Sherriff said she felt there may be less awareness of the hornets oubreak among renters and people who did not normally do gardening.

“MPI just can’t do this on their own, they really just need everybody to keep their eyes peeled and be vigilant, they’ve got really good resources on their website about what a hornet looks like,” she said.

Sherriff said she was worried that hornets were in leafy communities like Glenfield, where there were many hedgerows and places for them to build nests.

To date, MPI had received more than 11,060 public reports of sightings.

Biosecurity NZ’s commissioner north, Mike Inglis, said radio transmitters attached to woker hornets had helped to succesfully track 10 yellow-legged hornet nests.

Surveillance and tracking had also scaled up as the summer progressed, he said.

He said the radio trackers had been useful as hornets began to build larger secondary nests high up in the trees, where they were less visible to ground searchers.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Social services say they are seeing alarming numbers of rough sleepers in the capital, with a constant stream of new people trying to get help.

It comes as an announcement by the government about move on orders for the homeless looms – with legislation expected to be introduced soon.

In the last two quarters of 2025, outreach teams dealt with between 30-40 people “never seen before”, Downtown Community Ministry’s chief executive Natalia Cleland said.

Before that, from the end of 2023 to the beginning of 2025, there was a 40 percent increase in rough sleeping each quarter, she said.

About 160 people were sleeping rough in Wellington within the past three months, Cleland said.

“I feel that whilst the numbers of people rough sleeping is high and it’s terrible, it’s actually quite disheartening as well to see new faces coming through the doors asking for services.”

Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge agreed.

“There’s no question in my mind that the need we are seeing in our community, and the desperation of people’s circumstances is greater than we’ve ever seen before.”

Edridge said in the year since the mission’s community hub in Newtown Whakamaru opened, 70,000 people had walked through its doors – though some of these would be repeat visitors.

About 30,000 hot meals had been served, with about 5500 people using the showers, and 6500 shopping at the social supermarket.

“Every day I see people I’ve never seen before in our cafe.”

‘Jail’s my home’

Marcus Pohio, 57, said his most recent stint on the streets had been about two months.

He said he was housed by Downtown Community Ministry for years, but lost his house when he went to prison, and had since been shoplifting “to survive”.

Pohio said he had been in and out of jail for the past decade, and when he went to court again on new theft charges, he would ask to be sent inside again.

“I seem to have more of a home in jail than I have out here. Jail’s my home, in the last 10 years I’ve probably done about 13 legs – just through drug addiction and theft, mainly theft, and through misbehaviour.”

He now sits outside a supermarket on Lambton Quay asking for money for food, he said.

Downtown Community Ministry said it had been in touch with Pohio, who was under the Housing First service and was in the process of getting back on the social housing waitlist.

Pohio said he had seen a lot of new rough sleepers in the capital recently.

“There’s a lot of familiar faces, but there’s a lot of new people popping up, from Upper Hutt and Porirua, all over the place – the Auckland crowd are here, a lot of my mates from Auckland are here, they’ve come from Auckland because they want a better life here.”

He heard police had been moving rough sleepers away from Courtenay Place.

“All my mates have left the streets of Courtenay Place because they’ll be moved by police, police will move them along… they say take your shit and go – go, go go.”

But Police area prevention manager Jason McCarthy, said they did not move homeless people on in Wellington.

“Homelessness is not in itself a criminal matter, but rather a complex social issue that requires a multi-agency approach.”

McCarthy said police were sometimes called on to deal with disorder, intimidation and substance abuse, and these matters were handled on a “case-by-case” basis.

“Police are aware of a number of locations across the Wellington area that are frequented by unhoused people, however there is no particular location currently that gives cause for any additional Police resources to be utilised.”

Bradley Mohr said he was homeless in Wellington for a year and eight months about two years ago, but now lived with his sister.

He was asking for money outside New World on Willis street, saying he was trying to clear a debt, when RNZ stopped to talk to him.

Mohr said he had noticed new rough sleepers on the streets too.

“There’s just a lot more hustlers around… it’s just all increased – maybe they were getting no money in their town, so they come to Wellington.”

Rough sleepers appearing in new areas of the city?

Cleland said Wellington’s central city was still the main place where the street commmunity slept.

The agency had had recent reports of others seeking shelter in Charles Plimmer Park, in Mount Victoria.

Rough sleeping in different parts of Wellington’s town belt was not new, Cleland said, but fluctuated depending on the weather.

A person in the Shelly Bay area told RNZ he had seen a homeless camp at the start of Shelly Bay Road in Miramar in the past two months, but the people had recently packed up and left.

Andrew Wilson, Salvation Army core officer in Newtown, said rough sleeping and anti-social behaviour in the Wellington suburb of Newtown had improved since a concerning spike last year.

“We’ve seen some of our rough sleepers be housed now for longer than they have been for a long time – some of them receive proper mental health support and are practically thriving now that they’re receiving the support they need.”

Others had moved to different areas of the city.

Wilson said drugs were “rampant” in Newtown last year, but the police had done an “amazing” job cracking down on the suppliers.

“There is a risk that some of that starts to pop up again, and so we are working closely with police to ensure it stays out of our community, because that was a large driver of the anti-social behaviour we saw in our community last year.”

Unclear how far ‘move on’ orders could apply

The Prime Minister has said a decision about “move on” orders in city centres would be announced shortly, with legislation expected to be introduced in the House.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith would not respond to RNZ questions about whether move on orders would apply to city centres throughout the country, or be limited to Auckland.

“The government has made decisions and will make announcements soon. All details will be revealed then,” a spokesperson for his office said.

Edridge said the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet had sought his comment on move on orders for rough sleepers before Christmas.

He said Wellington City Mission would actively oppose any move on orders if they were implemented without support services, but he was hopeful that would not be the government’s approach.

The Prime Minister has previously told Morning Report move on orders would be considered alongside support for the homeless.

“If move on orders aren’t created or imposed alongside a range of support services, then they’re absolutely ineffective and absolutely abhorrent for our community,” Edridge said.

“The idea that we would move somebody because we don’t want them there, or because we’re somehow offended by their circumstances or behaviour, but don’t do anything about seeking to address that behaviour is just wrong.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Sharon Brettkelly visits Ōpōtiki and Te Araroa to see how the towns are faring after the devastating January floods

The ancestral mountain of Te Araroa on the East Cape is still moving nearly two weeks after a devastating storm brought slips crashing onto roads and homes.

“Scary? I wouldn’t say scary, no,” says Robin Hapeta, whose family home is in the shadow of the towering Whetumatarau.

“I go back to that saying of the old people, ‘I am the land and the land is me’. If the land is moving it’s telling a story, really.

“It’s a warning shot, that’s what I reckon. It’s moving because there’s problems.”

The Detail is speaking to Hapeta after landing at the Te Araroa airstrip for a brief visit. He has pulled up on his ride-on lawn mower outside the mānuka factory as a convoy of work vehicles drive past.

The group have been clearing up at nearby Punaruku, where a family with small children were trapped on the roof of their home for several hours as flood waters and debris rushed past.

Everyone in this settlement is part of the clean-up, he says.

The main road to Gisborne, State Highway 35, is now open, though Waka Kotahi says the area is still fragile and it may need to close at short notice for safety reasons. But whānau are still cut off on the other side of Te Araroa, around Hicks Bay and Onepoto, due to several slips. Many homes in the neighbouring settlements have been red-stickered.

Hapeta says he’s “devastated for our whānau over the hill. But in saying that, they’re pretty strong, pretty hundy out there.”

Families have also been stranded on the road to the East Cape Lighthouse after two big slips blew out culverts.

“They can swim around at low tide or get a boat and some of the younger ones have got their four wheelers.

“But it’s still dangerous, the mountain is still moving.”

A pop-up kura has been set up at a marae in Te Araroa, catering for children of all ages, some of whom can’t attend school in Hicks Bay.

Tani Atkins-Waitoa has just pulled up in her ATV, and says she’s grateful that her three children can attend the school while she delivers 60 lunch packs to people “contributing mahi towards the cause”.

“We’re the road workers, plumbers, septic cleaners and we go round dropping off all their lunches,” she says.

More than 160 kilometres along the East Coast in Ōpōtiki, the town is undamaged but it has been hit hard by the closure of two main roads to Gisborne, SH35 and Waioweka Gorge, from two separate storms.

Waka Kotahi says Waioweka will stay shut for several weeks as it works to clear 40 slips.

“The Waioweka is a lifeline for Gisborne, products going to Port of Tauranga, our products, businesses from both sides, families affected. You have the commercial pressure that’s coming on but I’m comfortable that Waka Kotahi have done a very good job,” says Ōpōtiki mayor David Moore.

Moore says nothing can future proof the steep and winding gorge which is prone to slips.

“We need to mitigate these long term closures. We are very lucky in Ōpōtiki and Tai Rāwhiti, we have some very experienced roading companies [and] earth works companies based in Ōpōtiki. We cannot afford to lose them, those are the guys that are going to open this.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m not a big believer in centralisation and [that] big is better.

“With the ministers involved, I’m confident they realise the seriousness of this. They want to get us back on track, well they need a track to get back on track and I think you have to have local voices standing up and pushing that if we don’t see it.”

Listen to The Detail to hear Moore explaining the impact of the road closures on his town’s economy, the need for government support for projects like the planned marina and the financial troubles of Whakatōhea Mussels, an open ocean farm and factory.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Plans to fix coastal erosion caused by increasingly big and powerful waves pounding the Waitaki coast could cost $70 million before 2050, with another $80 million needed to protect the entire Ōamaru sewage system by 2125.

In a report commissioned by the district council in late 2024 and publicly released this month, engineering firm BECA found three roads, a railyard, pump stations, a pā site and urupā were at risk.

The report described some locations as extremely vulnerable and others at risk from the next major storm.

BECA’s recommendations included relocating Hampden Cemetery, closing two coastal roads and accepting the loss of private property and land in northern Ōamaru over the next 24 years.

Waitaki District Council has weaved many of the suggested measures into its long term plan.

Mayor Mel Tavendale said the council faced some tough decisions and community feedback was important.

“We’re a coastal community, we are going to be having these challenges and they’re ongoing. We do need to have some brave conversations and work out what’s important to us and what’s not as important because it’s going to get more and more challenging,” she said.

She said not all the land in the report was council-owned, so the council was trying to share the cost with other agencies, such as KiwiRail and the Transport Agency, where possible.

“I guess in a lot of ways the district cannot afford a $70 million spend. We need to prioritise the council-owned land and then we need to work with the community on other strategies,” she said.

“There are a few sites where [the erosion] is always going to be a bit further or a bit less than expected but it’s a well-known issue. How we solve the issue, that’s not as well-formulated at this stage.”

Peak wave heights expected to rise from 2m to 3.5m

The BECA report predicted 100-year peak wave heights could rise from under 2 metres to over 3.5m along parts of the coast by 2125.

Coastal scientist Martin Single said parts of the eastern South Island had been eroding for 12,000 years because of sea-level rise since post-glacial times, accelerated by climate change.

Single, an environmental consultant with Shore Processes and Management, said more storms were expected to hit the coast each year.

“I think it’s good to see that these reports are being written to identify the financial ramifications of coastal erosion around the country and the significance to infrastructure, and where a lot of money is actually going to have to be pushed into either protecting these assets or relocating them,” he said.

Long-time Ōamaru resident Peter De Reus said he remembered playing on fields at Waitaki Boys’ High School that had since washed out to sea.

He hoped the council would consult with ratepayers before deciding whether to abandon or reinforce an at-risk site.

“Obviously, you cannot guard the whole coast. It’s just not feasible to do that but areas where a lot of the town drive and routinely travel, those areas should be hardened and protected, armoured,” he said.

Beach Road future debated

One site in the BECA report, Beach Road North, has already been closed to traffic for several years, partly because of erosion and partly because of excavation work to remove historic waste.

The council had set up temporary fences for walkers and cyclists while it decided whether to reinforce and reopen the scenic coastal route or keep it closed permanently.

BECA estimated road reinforcements would cost almost $12m, while keeping it closed and relocating services would cost about $4m.

De Reus said the temporary closure came as a surprise to many people and there was little support for a long-term closure, even though it was a cheaper option.

“We’re a tourist town and the area landscape around us is critical for us to market the town as for the tourist town. This road was a real big bonus for Ōamaru,” he said.

Ōamaru Ratepayers and Residents Group chair Ray Henderson said he also supported reopening Beach Road, noting it functioned as a backup to State Highway 1.

“Some years ago there was an accident on Mill Bridge [near the town of Herbert], a car actually got jammed on the bridge and that basically brought State Highway 1 to a halt. There’s nowhere else to go,” he said.

Other work ongoing

A Waitaki District Council spokesperson said the BECA report did not include recent work to tackle historic waste at risk of erosion.

‘Project Reclaim’ removed thousands of tonnes of waste from two fly-tip sites on Beach Road North and the former Hampden landfill, they said.

The council had also been reinforcing the coastline, carrying out rock armouring at the Ōamaru breakwater and replacing sections lost during storms.

“In 2025 we had to replace some on the north side of the Holmes wharf following some rough seas and some alongside the Orwell Street pump station when required,” the spokesperson 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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: This story discusses youth mental health and suicide.

Youth mental health services and wait times have improved in the years since Tauranga teenager Maddie Hall took her own life, Health New Zealand says.

The 16-year-old died in March 2023, almost three years after she was first taken to hospital following an attempt to end her life.

During that period she attempted suicide more than 40 times, was seen by clinicians dozens of times, and faced delays in getting certain support and treatment.

In findings made public on Tuesday following a 2024 inquest, coroner Marcus Elliott found Maddie died by suicide but there was “no aspect of the medical care which can be said to have ‘clearly linked to the factors that contributed’ to Maddie’s death”.

As a result, he had no power to make any comments or recommendations about Maddie’s death.

But Maddie’s parents Gareth and Leanne Hall said clinicians could have been done more for their daughter and they wanted changes to the mental health system.

A serious incident review was completed after Maddie’s death and “service improvements” were identified.

Health New Zealand national director of mental health and addictions service enhancement Phil Grady said work on implementing the review’s findings had been started and there had been material improvements to services since 2023.

A child in Maddie’s situation could expect faster assessment and access to support today, he said.

“The independent review took into account how we receive and assess referrals in terms of the multidisciplinary team in that district and looked at ways of improving triage assessment and ensuring that we’re shortening the distance and prioritising those most in need to make sure that they are receiving a service,” Grady said.

“We’ve taken those things into account and continuing to work on them.

“In addition to that our overall wait times as a country have improved over the years since Maddie was engaged in working with services and her tragic death. So we know child and youth are receiving a more timely response, but there’s still work to be done to achieve the target of 80 percent being seen in three weeks.”

At present about 75 percent were seen within that timeframe.

Grady said every parent had the right to expect their child’s life could be saved when they entered the mental health system at a time of crisis.

“I would accept that every parent would expect that,” he said.

“We’ve got a range of services that parents, if they’re worried, can reach out to. We’ve got access and choice in our general practices. We’ve got free counselling and support services. We’ve got Whakarongorau 1737, a range of online tools, and we’ve got our specialist services. So my message is to families that may be worried about their young ones there is help available.”

He extended his condolences to Maddie’s family and loved ones.

“Every life lost to suicide is one too many,” Grady said.

“As a parent myself, I know that losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare and my thoughts are with Maddie Hall’s family, whānau, friends and all those that have loved her.”

Grady backed the state of the country’s mental health system.

“We’re working to improve our services as a whole. I think we’ve got very strong and growing ICAMHS (Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services). We’ve got around 6500 clinicians working across our mental health and addiction services doing terrific work every day,” he said.

“So I think they are absolutely fit for purpose, really strong clinical leadership, strong clinical services across the country, and I really back our staff. In fact, I’d say it’s a great, great service.

“That being said, we recognise that actually there is some pressures on our services in terms of the amount of need out there in the community and we’re always looking to improve.”

In responding to the coroner’s findings, Maddie’s parents said they hoped their daughter’s death could be a catalyst for change in the mental health system.

“Maddie would have wanted a change and improvements in the mental health system, she hated other kids suffering and we don’t want other kids to suffer like Maddie did either. So if something good can come from Maddie’s passing I think that will help us,” her father Gareth said.

“People don’t understand how much these kids suffer and that’s the thing that still burns us is how much Maddie suffered. There has to be something done to prevent these kids suffering as much as they do because if it was a medical disease you know everything in the doctors’ power would be done to try to reduce the suffering.”

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202.
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666.
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.
• What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds.
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254.
• Healthline: 0800 611 116.
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155.
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463.

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

After a night of heavy rain, Wellington Water has started discharging raw sewage off the city’s south coast, and issued two other wastewater discharge notices.

Wellington Water said a mechanical failure at 3am on Wednesday caused it to start an unconsented discharge of untreated wastewater from its Moa Point treatment plant.

It said the sewage would emerge at the short outfall into the ocean at Tarakena Bay and may cause the water to appear cloudy or murky.

The water agency said it had discharged screened wastewater into Karori Stream at 10.45pm on Tuesday. That would also flow into the sea on the south coast.

About half an hour before that, fully treated sewage was released at 10.18pm into Waiwhetū Stream in Lower Hutt, which flows into the sea near Petone beach.

Water monitoring body Land, Air, Water Aotearoa advises people to stay out of the sea for two or three days after heavy rain.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Education Ministry has proposed shutting down a struggling boarding school for children with extreme behaviour problems due to fears for their safety and education.

This week it opened consultation on closing Westbridge Residential School, one of just three residential schools for students with disabilities.

Accompanying documents showed the Auckland school had been under close scrutiny for at least two years and had a roll of just six students in the middle of last year.

“Despite ongoing interventions and governance support, significant concerns remain regarding the ongoing health and safety of students and the quality of education that is provided at the school,” the consultation paper said.

The school’s future has been in doubt for several years due in part to low enrolments and to criticism of residential schools generally.

The Education Review Office (ERO) warned of a high number of physical assaults and property damage in a 2023 report and again in 2024, with a follow-up report in 2025 saying those problems had continued though at a reduced level due to the school having fewer students.

A briefing for Education Minister Erica Stanford said ERO recommended at the end of 2024 that enrolments stop until the school could confirm it met the needs of its students, prompting the acting Secretary for Education to personally take over responsibility for approving enrolments.

The ministry appointed a limited statutory manger to the school in March last year, escalating to a commissioner in June that year.

The briefing said Westbridge had previously enrolled children aged 8-12 years, but that changed to include 13-15-year-olds.

“These older students have more complex and challenging social, and/or learning needs (including drugs and alcohol use), and also require the school to provide access to NCEA pathways,” it said.

The report said students typically enrolled at the school for a few months and over the past five years its roll averaged 9-10 students.

The school had shared a board of trustees with another residential special school, Halswell in Christchurch, but the board found it difficult to manage two separate sites and last year asked to be split into two separate boards.

The briefing said previous Westbridge students had lodged historic abuse claims which the school’s commissioner was dealing with.

The briefing said ERO last year found improvements at the school following earlier criticism.

It said that included training for staff, ensuring students’ access to psychological and specialist services continued after they arrived at the school, and monitoring students’ social and behavioural goals.

But it also concluded that student health and safety remained a problem.

“Assaults and property damage continue. Some incidents, such as continued physical aggression towards teaching staff are not always documented or recorded by staff,” it said.

“Despite some improvements, the curriculum at Westbridge is not currently fit for purpose for secondary students.”

The briefing said the ministry was confident students currently at the school were not at the same level of risk as at the end of 2024.

It said incidents involving students would remain a challenge and it questioned whether Westbridge was providing effectively for students.

Consultation would close on 15 March and Westbridge could be shut down by July or August this year.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The upcoming election for the Papatoetoe subdivision of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board is shaping up to be a crowded and closely watched contest.

Eight new candidates have joined 12 individuals that campaigned for a seat in last year’s void election, with one person declining to stand again after nominations closed on 28 January.

Voting opens on 9 March and closes at noon on 9 April, with ballot papers posted to all eligible voters.

The election follows a District Court ruling in December to void the 2025 Papatoetoe subdivision result after irregularities were found on some ballot papers, giving voters another chance to choose their local representatives.

In October, police confirmed they were making enquiries after receiving complaints about alleged electoral fraud in the area.

Police were unable to provide any update on the investigation last week.

However, the four winning candidates from last year’s ballot have filed a petition seeking a High Court judicial review of the District Court ruling.

A court hearing has been scheduled for 17 February.

Among those standing in the upcoming ballot is the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team, which swept all four seats in last year’s election.

Paramajeet Singh topped last year’s poll with 4338 votes, followed by Sandeep Saini on 4318, Kushma Nair on 4001 and Kunal Bhalla with 3832.

All four are contesting the new election.

“We are confident and encouraged,” Bhalla told RNZ.

“The level of community support we are seeing has been strong and very visible, with many local leaders, residents and small business owners stepping forward publicly,” he said.

Bhalla said the new election was significant because it gave Papatoetoe residents the opportunity to confirm their democratic choice.

“We believe voters deserve the opportunity to confirm their mandate freely and fairly, without confusion or distortion,” he said.

He said the new election was also about continuity, with the team keen to continue its work without disruption.

Bhalla said he had full confidence in the legal process and that the team was engaging respectfully with the judicial review.

“The judicial review is about ensuring clarity, fairness and due process,” he said.

“We categorically deny any wrongdoing and believe the issues raised will be properly tested and resolved through the courts.”

Bhalla said the team’s strong showing in last year’s ballot had been driven by grassroots engagement, inclusion and unity.

“We were visible, accessible and encouraged participation from across the community, particularly people who had not previously felt represented or engaged in local elections,” he said.

He said he was expecting a higher voter turnout this time.

“We are seeing strong conversations on the ground and increased awareness, which we believe will lead to a solid turnout,” he said.

Labour-affiliated candidates are also returning to the contest, led by former Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board deputy chair Lehopoaome Vi Hausia, who lodged the District Court petition challenging the 2025 election results.

“It’s really encouraging to see a mix of returning candidates and new people stepping forward,” Vi Hausia said.

“Papatoetoe deserves the best, and a strong, fair contest of ideas helps ensure we have high-quality local board members representing our community.”

He said the Labour-aligned team included former local board member and ex-Labour MP Ashraf Choudhary, as well as Avinash Kaur Dhaliwal and Raj Pardeep Singh.

In last year’s election, Vi Hausia placed fifth with 2493 votes, followed by Choudhary with 2100 votes, Dhaliwal with 1864 votes and Raj Pardeep Singh received 1645.

Vi Hausia said the court’s findings of irregularities, including fraudulent voting, meant the previous result did not fully reflect the true outcome.

“This [new] election is important for Papatoetoe, and for local democracy in New Zealand,” he said.

“I know it’s frustrating for our community to be in this situation in the first place, but the cost of losing trust in our democratic system would be far worse.”

He said what mattered most was that Papatoetoe voters could make a free and fair choice about who represented them.

“What happened at the last election is an unfortunate chapter in our local history,” he said.

Independent group Independently Papatoetoe is also mounting a comeback, led by former local board member Albert Lim and returning candidate Peter Dons.

Dons shared a similar view to Vi Hausia.

“This new election is very important not only for Papatoetoe but for the whole country, and I don’t think due recognition has been given to what actually happened there,” Dons said.

The team included new candidates Chris Webb and Alison Weakley.

“We’re very confident because we are very well known in the community, and we have strong new candidates,” he said.

In the previous election, Lim received 1896 votes, while Dons secured 1483.

“I believe our votes will go up and the Action Team’s votes will drop dramatically,” Dons said.

Dons said his team was planning to run a strong campaign with a different outcome this time around.

“We’ve got a very interesting situation, and as far as our team is concerned, we’ll be watching everything very closely,” he said.

“We’ll be doing our very best to have a good and robust campaign, and we’ll see what happens.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Christchurch woman says she walked out in anger more than once from a community meeting about a putrid-smelling sewage plant.

Offensive odours have plagued the city’s eastern suburbs after a fire destroyed the Bromley Wastewater Plant in 2021.

But the latest stench has locals complaining of nausea and headaches – and residents have been driven indoors.

Christchurch City Council said the recent heavy rain had affected the health of the oxidation pond, and it was using all available tools to improve water quality.

The council has been approached for comment.

Local musician and community advocate, Rebecca Robin, said the meeting with council staff in Bromley on Tuesday night got heated.

She said residents felt their suffering had been dismissed, and she wanted to see the stench treated as a public health issue and for there to be on-the-ground support.

“People are angry, they’re worried about the health effects, they’re not getting any immediate relief,” Robin said.

“I’m hoping this meeting has made them want to do more of a health response for people, rather than telling them to call their GPs or nurse practitioners. They need to be out here knocking on doors and checking on people.”

Robin said while some people could escape the smell, others couldn’t, and there was a financial cost to the odour for those who could no longer hang out washing.

“People [are] going, ‘Hey, we need to go to the laundromat,’ and … I think the point they’re missing is that the laundromat costs money.

“All of those things, they add up.”

Linwood Ward councillor, Yani Johanson, who represents the Bromley suburb, was pushing for a register to record residents’ stench-related health issues, and also for free medical visits.

“Fundamentally, cost is a barrier. Why should this community, who are suffering, have to pay to go and see a doctor, when through no fault of their own, they’re getting sick?”

He said the stink was not new, but the social and well-being response had been missing for years.

Johanson believed the commitment to establish a team focussed on supporting people was a step in the right direction.

A council information sheet given to meeting attendees included comment from National Public Health Service medical officer of health Dr Annabel Begg.

She said exposure to hydrogen sulphide odour from the plant could cause nausea, headaches, eye and throat irritation, skin irritation, sleep disturbance, and worsening asthma symptoms at relatively low concentrations.

“If people exposed to the odour don’t experience physical health effects, continued exposure to unpleasant or nasty, noxious odours can still have an adverse effect on people’s mental wellbeing,” she said.

Begg said long-term health effects were highly unlikely, but said those experiencing health issues should seek advice from their healthcare provider.

The information sheet included the details for free services – Health Improvement Practitioners, Pae Ora ki Waitaha Support, and Healthline.

The council said the recent stench was likely the result of a combination of high-levels of rain and changing wastewater loads arriving to the ponds.

It said the temporary plant had a narrow margin for error and while the ponds were showing signs of improvement, the recovery depended on algae growth.

The council said it was reviewing the data to see if factors other than weather and “high load” were factors in the stench, and was using every tool available to improve the health of the oxidation ponds, including using jetboats to increase dissolved oxygen.

It said replacing the fire-damaged trickling filters with an activated sludge reactor would fix the odour issues. The programme was expected to take three years, with commissioning targeted for 2028.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Travellers are warned to be on the alert for dengue fever, with cases on the rise in the Pacific.

The Cook Islands have been particularly affected, with more than 500 cases reported since the outbreak began in May last year.

Other countries reporting increased dengue activity include Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati and American Samoa.

The government advises travellers to countries where mosquito-borne illnesses are able to spread to use insect repellent, wear protective clothing, and stay in lodgings where there are mosquito screens on windows and doors.

People who become unwell during or within three weeks of returning from their trip are advised to seek immediate medical advice.

More cases in New Zealand

Dr Matt Reid, Public Health Medicine Specialist for the National Public Health Service, said there had also been an increase in cases in New Zealand as a result of the outbreaks.

Eighty-six people in total have contracted the disease, with 75 of them associated with travel to the Cook Islands.

“These cases have been continuing to grow week on week,’ he said.

“People travelling to these areas where dengue is widespread should take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes and follow local public health advice,” Reid said.

“People over 60-years-old and children aged 10 and under are also at greater risk of severe illness from dengue.”

New Zealand does not have mosquitoes able to transmit dengue, nor is there a vaccine available domestically.

Clinician says one in four people infected with dengue will get sick

Clinical Director of Etu Pasifika, Dr Maryann Heather, has recently treated a patient with dengue fever.

“The main thing is to have a high index of suspicion, especially since there are ongoing outbreaks in the islands,” she said.

Dr Heather said dengue could present as a vague viral illness, often accompanied by symptoms like headaches and pain behind the eyes, abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, muscle and joint pain, skin rash, general lethargy, tiredness, and high fever.

“Symptoms can last up to two to seven days and can be mild or severe. One in four people infected with dengue will get sick.”

She said dengue was caused by mosquitoes, specifically those that bite during the day, which transmit the virus to others.

“While dengue can be confirmed through blood tests (dengue serology), it is mostly clinical and awareness of dengue fever outbreak in Pacific countries,” she said.

She said there was no specific treatment for dengue, but supportive care was important, including rehydration and taking paracetamol for fever, aches, and pains, along with taking time to recover.

“If you aren’t improving or concerned, you should seek medical attention, especially if you think you have dengue fever after returning from the islands.”

She said dengue was most common during the wet season in the islands, when there was a lot of rain.

“Prevention focuses on reducing mosquito exposure by eliminating stagnant water around the house, wearing light-coloured clothing, and using insect repellent.”

“It’s crucial to educate and warn people travelling back to the islands so they are aware that dengue fever is present, especially since it is seasonal.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that in 2025, in response to requests from four Pacific Island countries, New Zealand’s International Development Cooperation assisted in the response to dengue outbreaks and prevention and preparedness efforts for dengue. This included providing funding and deploying professionals.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A boy has suffered a minor injury after another student struck him with a pocketknife at school on Tuesday morning.

The incident happened at Ōtūmoetai Intermediate School, with its principal detailing the event in a social media post addressed to parents and caregivers.

Henk Popping said a pocketknife was pulled out by one of the boys during an altercation, and struck the other student’s forearm.

“This caused a minor injury and both boys’ caregivers have met with myself, school leaders and police constables who were notified as a follow-up.

“Both boys have been removed from the school for the remainder of the week which will be followed up with a re-integration process assisted by the Ministry of Education and our Police Community Constables.”

The school has also taken steps to support students and staff who have been affected by the incident, Popping 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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Over $170,000 of desperately needed money has been raised for whanau in parts of the flood ravaged East Cape of the North Island.

But chair of Manaaki Matakāoa, Tina Ngata said residents were in for a “long slog” when the initial response died down and the community was left to ready themselves for the next bout of heavy weather.

Community ‘overwhelmed’ by response

Ngata said the Matakāoa community had been “overwhelmed” by the generous response to the devastating flooding and landslips.

She said – in the week following the storms – nearly $75,000 had been put towards the community’s immediate needs.

“Supporting people to get home, medical evacuations, people who are separated from their animals, families who are separated from each other, food drops, power resources, tank refills – people have had their water lines disrupted. There’s a lot of immediate investment needed,” Ngata said.

Ngata said nearly every one of the 350 households in the stretch from Pōtikirua through to Kiwinui Hill had been affected in some way by the storms.

She said the funding was important but – at the early stage of the recovery – the “people on the ground” putting in long hours cleaning, organising and volunteering their help were hugely appreciated by the community.

“There are so many people who are showing up voluntarily with shovels, with wheel barrows and those for us are absolute heroes. Even when the army has shown up – it’s given some of our people a great rest – but I’m still seeing a lot of our people working past one o’clock in the morning.

“We’re really thankful for all of New Zealand for every single donation – so that we can support these families – but also support the people who are supporting our families. We really want them to be recognised, the people on the ground.”

‘Blown away’ by community support

Further south in Tolaga Bay – a community that was no stranger to the impact of extreme weather – locals raised just over $56,000 in a single market day to put towards the Manaaki Matakāoa relief fund.

Tolaga Bay teacher Shanan Gray said donated goods and items were auctioned and raffled off while local artists and entertainers chipped in to help create an exciting and enjoyable day.

“When we got to the final figure we were blown away. It just shows how much love, commitment and dedication that our community has [for] the rest of the communities up and down the coast,” Gray said.

Defence Force personnel and helicopters assist

A spokesperson for the Defence Force said over 140 personnel had been deployed about the Hicks Bay and Te Araroa areas to help with the clean up under the direction of the local Emergency Operations Centre.

“Personnel in Te Araroa and Hicks Bay have been working on a range of tasks including clearing culverts, improving drainage, removing debris and silt from properties, and felling hazardous trees.

“Air transport has been provided by Royal New Zealand Air Force NH-90 helicopters transferring water, fuel, stores such as rubbish bags, chainsaws and health equipment, as well as transporting personnel into Hicks Bay and Te Araroa. Reconnaissance has also been conducted of roads to determine access.”

Difficult discussions ahead

But Tina Ngata said – once the army, Civil Defence teams, politicians and media had left – the community was in for a “long slog” as they navigated the complex problems exposed by the storms.

“We know that this is not going to be the last time. We have new slips in places that have traditionally never slipped so we need a lot of geo-tech expertise around where are the safe places to put homes and more long term infrastructural support – support around roading – and economic support for our whanau as well,” Ngata said.

Ngata said there were many “difficult discussions” ahead as climate change rearranged past assumptions about areas previously considered safe by generations of whanau.

“Funding or no funding we’re going to do what we need to do – as a community – but it’s going to be a long slog and it’s going to be very expensive. Because it’s not just about that first cash injection. The impacts and the problems are very complex,” Ngata 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

Source: Radio New Zealand

With most schools back in action, student attendance rates are once again in the spotlight. One Auckland school is even buying its own van to help transport chronically absent students to and from school.

Provisional figures from the Ministry of Education show the number of students turning up to school regularly has improved. In term 4 of last year, 57.3 percent of students attended school more than 90 percent of the time. This was up from 56.4 percent in term 4 the previous year.

The government has set a goal to have that regular student attendance rate at 80 percent by the end of 2030. But a breakdown of the data show despite the upward overall trend, Māori and Pacific student attendance continued to lag significantly.

In term 4 of 2025, just 39.5 percent of Pasifika students and 43 percent of Māori students attended school regularly. The rates were 41 percent and 42.5 percent, respectively, for term 4 of the previous year.

Bert Iosia is the principal of Auckland’s Kelston Intermediate School. He has a school roll of about 420 students, most of whom are Pasifika and Māori.

For the past few years, the school’s regular attendance rate has sat around 52 percent.

While that “wasn’t great” Iosia told Checkpoint,, the school had managed to have “some success” with students who were “at the chronic end of being absent from school”.

More plans were in place to ramp up that work and engagement, he said, including the purchase of a van dedicated to transporting students identified as “serious concern” because they’d missed 15 days or more of school.

“Where we know the background story and we understand what’s on top of the whānau – it becomes challenging for them to get kids there – this van could be a little bit of a lifeline to pick the kids up and get them through.”

The school van was due to be up-and-running by the end of the month.

Iosia, who is also the president of the NZ Pasifika Principals’ Association, said it was difficult to pinpoint the exact causes of lower attendance rates among Pacific and Māori.

“There’s lots of issues that go on for our whānau that are almost difficult for non-Māori and Pasifika to sort of understand.

“Within our communities, there are just families that are just doing it hard.

“They may need some of the little ones to sort of help out with baby, new bubba – that’s sort of popped up as well.”

Anxiety for students also contributed to absenteeism, he said.

“Intermediate is quite an interesting space because it’s a two-year period. So transitioning into intermediate can be quite challenging for some of our anxious kids.”

Anxiety was also a problem for students leaving and moving onto high school, Iosia said.

“The movement to high school can be quite daunting. So especially come the end of the year … you can see some of that absence that sort of sits around our children of serious concern.”

Iosia said increasing attendance rates required ongoing engagement and connection with students and families.

He said the school year had started well. The school had also set an ambitious goal of getting 70 percent of students attending regularly – or more than 90 percent of the time – by the end of the year.

“My board, and my attendance team, and staff – we’re pretty committed to that.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Social media giant Meta says banning young people from its platforms won’t work, but supporters of a law change are crying foul, saying the owner of Facebook and Instagram is using the same tactics as big tobacco.

The National Party last year launched a members’ bill pushing for a youth ban. The law change is also supported by Labour.

The bill aimed to protect under-16-year-olds from harm on social media.

Meta vice president and global head of safety Antigone Davis was in Auckland on Tuesday, showcasing Instagram’s Teen Accounts.

They feature built-in restrictions on content, as well as time limit reminders and ways for parents to monitor who their teen is chatting with online.

Davis said banning platforms for under-16s wouldn’t solve the problem.

“It sounds really good, it feels like it’s going to solve the problem, but you can’t make a ban for the entire internet. So what you do is you make it for a set of apps, and what we’ve seen already in Australia is teens download other apps. They try to go around the system,” she said.

There was room to look at how to address the issue, Davis said.

“Even in New Zealand, I think there’s a little bit of a step back,” Davis said.

“‘Okay, this ban sounds interesting, it makes sense to us, let’s take a little bit of time to think about it,’ I think in that time is a real opportunity to think about what we’re trying to accomplish and how can we do it best.”

Meta said it had data showing the majority of parents they surveyed in New Zealand wanted to decide if their under-16-year-old had access to social media – not leave it up to the government.

That was in contrast to recent polls showing support for a ban.

The B416 campaign had been pushing for restrictions and its academic advisor, Dr Samantha Marsh of the University of Auckland, said Meta was using the same strategy as big tobacco.

“Trying to put the onus on the individual, the parent or the child, and with respect to social media, they frame it in a way that it sounds like it’s empowering,” she said.

She said an age restriction of 16 is an important first step.

“Alone, I wouldn’t expect a massive change in behaviour or anything like that, and it’s not going to be perfect initially, it’s going to need lots of tweaking, and Australia is well aware of that,” Marsh said.

“But they were quite clear that we can’t wait for this to be perfect before we implement it, and I think that’s really important, and that’s the approach that we should be taking in New Zealand.”

Marsh said there were many things that needed to go along with age restrictions.

“Just like big tobacco, these companies want to continue to not have the responsibility placed on themselves but place it on the individual, which allows them to go continue to make money, and profit off the harm that’s being caused to our children.”

Meta and other social media platforms have been on trial in the United States over claims their apps were designed to be harmful to young people.

Senior University of Auckland law lecturer Joshua Yuvaraj connected the case to what was known as dark patterns, designed to confuse or manipulate users. He said algorithms had a big part to play.

“It’s a question of does the social media company actively target, [and] are they aware of the particular vulnerabilities of the populations which make up their users?” Yuvaraj said.

Antigone Davis said Meta had launched tools to help users tailor their algorithm to what they want to see.

“One of the things that we’ve recently launched is something called Tune Your Algorithm,” she said.

“It’s for both teens and adults. What it does is it allows you as a user to say ‘I want to see more of this and I want to see less of this’.”

“We already have transparency tools in place so people can see exactly how their algorithm is working, but we want to give people a sense of being able to really control that experience.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said he would introduce the bill before this year’s election.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A moggy with a taste for mince is on the prowl in Kerikeri.

Keen hunter, Bella the cat burglar, has been bringing home a surprising midnight feast for her owners – sausage rolls in brown paper bags.

In a bizarre series of gift-giving that might sound unbelievable, Bella’s sausage roll deliveries have happened not once, not twice, but three times, prompting a post on Facebook in search of answers.

Bella’s owner Siran Young said they are “absolutely bizarred out of our brains”.

“We’re curious, we want to know where our cat is getting these sausage rolls from,” Young said.

She said over the last three weeks, they have gotten three deliveries of sausage rolls around midnight from Bella.

“I mostly sleep through them and my husband gets up to a wailing cat who presents us in our bedroom with a sausage roll in a bag,” Young said.

“The first one was half-eaten and the other two have been intact, and we have no idea where they’ve come from.”

Young said they live near a high school, kindergarten, supermarket and bakeries – any of which could be where Bella is nicking the rolls.

She said they are thinking of putting an Apple AirTag or a cat camera on Bella.

“She’s definitely a cat that dances to the beat of her own drum,” Young 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