Source: Radio New Zealand

People living and working in Auckland’s central city are making their opposition to forcing out homeless people known.

On Thursday night, about 30 rangatahi took their sleeping bags to Karangahape Road to protest the government’s new move-on orders.

The government confirmed this week that it would give police the power to move on rough sleepers, beggars, or people displaying disorderly behaviour, not just from Auckland CBD but from all town centres in the country.

Those who did not comply could be fined up to $2000 or jailed for up to three months.

Musician and activist Jazmine Mary organised the sit-in at St Kevin’s Arcade.

“We’ve got signs that say ‘homes not handcuffs’, ‘care not criminalisation’, ‘sleeping is not a crime’, we’ve got people reading books and sitting on sleeping bags and having conversations about how things can change.”

They said it was important to show solidarity with the unhoused community on the street.

“That’s a part of why we’re here to show that community that we’re on their side. And we’re also here to show any businesses in this area that aren’t on that side that we care, and we’re here, and we actually have a lot of power. And to ask the government, our public servants, to listen to us.”

Another protestor, 24-year-old Mars Cook said the issue was personal for him.

“I’m using my privilege as a person who was formally homeless and now has housing, so I can be here and sit here and do a little bit of civil disobedience and raise awareness.

“This issue is perhaps the biggest issue that we have in the CBD and in Auckland in general, which is a lack of access to affordable, safe housing.”

Ricki Dewstow, 23, was also outraged.

“This hits particularly hard for me. I’m not able to pay my rent this week. I’m so lucky to have a lovely friend that’s helping me.

“Being homeless and sleeping on the street could happen to anyone in a matter of hours. Being told to move up the street isn’t going to help you. It’s going to further stigmatise you and make you angry.”

Auckland City Mission’s chief executive, Helen Robinson, updated the Auckland Council on homelessness and her concerns about the move on orders on Thursday.

After the meeting, she told RNZ she feared the move would push those who needed it away from support services like theirs in the CBD.

“The Auckland City Mission and our building here, Homeground, is located smack bang in the centre of the central city. We’re a block from Sky City and two streets up parallel to Queen Street. Should the move on orders come, and let’s say someone is in the middle of Queen Street and they’re asked to move on a reasonable distance, which is what we understand the legislation says at the moment, that could mean they wouldn’t be able to access our building.”

She said the City Mission was looking at applying to be a legally recognised place of refuge so people issued move-on orders could legally access its premises.

She believed the government’s plan would not be effective in reducing anti-social behaviour.

“I do really acknowledge the genuine intent of the legislation proposed to support a good law and order move, the Auckland City Mission wants that. And what we’re genuinely saying is the answer is homes and support, not move-on orders.”

Speaking to media in Auckland yesterday, Prime Minister Chris Luxon did not share Robinson’s view.

“I disagree completely. What we’re doing here is giving police the tools to deal with disruptive and anti-social behaviour in our CBD. And it’s one tool that they have. Each individual circumstance is actually very complicated and complex, and police will make the assessment as to whether they exercise the move on order or plug the person into social services.

“But we want our families, visitors, and the public to be able to come into the city and not be abused, threatened, and intimidated.”

But Aucklanders like 30-year-old Audrey May, who took part in the Karangahape Road protest, were not backing down.

“It’s deeply wrong and unfair to allow people to be fined $2000 that they probably can’t afford or a three-month prison sentence. It’s kind of ludicrous, to be honest.

“I’m lucky that I can choose to come and sit down here for a few hours, whereas people born into different circumstances don’t get that choice. They’re sitting on the ground because they have nowhere else to sit.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Transpower is questioning why early warning systems during disasters do not rate as essential infrastructure under an overhaul of emergency management legislation.

The overhaul has reached the crucial stage of submissions to a parliamentary select committee, in a years-long one-step-forward-and-another-back effort to replace a 24-year-old Civil Defence Act that multiple inquiries have poked holes in.

Submitters said they broadly backed the push but questioned where was the likes of decisionmaking power for Māori, who so often stepped into the breach amid storms, where was alignment with climate change policies, and where was the money to make real change happen.

“The core question for us is straightforward,” Christchurch City Council’s Civil Defence manager Brendan Winder told the MPs, “If Parliament wants higher and more consistent capability across the country, who will fund that uplift?”

‘Brutally tied to best endeavours’

Transpower asked where flood protection services and early warning and monitoring systems were at.

The bill would set up a new schedule of emergency infrastructure providers with new obligations to protect things like celltowers, power lines and emergency broadcasting.

“We consider that the failure to include ‘flood protection services’ and ‘early warning system services’ in Schedule 3 from the outset would have potential negative implications, effects, and costs,” said its written submission.

The lack of warning of rampaging floodwaters that swept people away in Esk Valley near Napier has trigger repeated angry calls by locals for change.

“All of those warning systems are not hard-coded or identified anywhere in any legislation as being important,” Transpower’s senior principal engineer Andrew Renton told the committee this week.

“And therefore councils and everybody else are brutally tied to best endeavours.”

Transpower made its own efforts, including under other laws and regulations that already demanded this: flood protection services had reduced the risks for its Edgecumbe Substation, while monitoring of the Poorman Valley Stream had cut it for its Stoke Substation.

‘New ways to be punished’

Cyclone Gabrielle was a nadir among several low points over two decades of emergency responses marked by individual heroism and systemic failings, with inquiries later on calling for urgent changes.

However, the government has maintained that since Gabrielle local responses had improved a lot.

It scrapped an earlier, drawnout approach by the previous government to overhaul Civil Defence.

The size of the stick wielded under the new law – going as far as criminal offences with fines or imprisonment – had Engineering NZ (ENZ) worried.

“We are concerned the bill adds new ways to be punished during emergencies,” it said in its written submission.

It would give a Director-General of Emergency Management the power to issue compliance orders and duties, then crack down.

“For councils and essential service providers already stretched, penalties could pull money and people away from response and recovery,” ENZ said.

Warnings and guidance would be better, it said.

‘Without new funding mechanisms’

Hamilton City Council was among those that said they backed the intent of the bill, but threw in a ‘but’.

“As it’s written new statutory duties are being introduced without new funding mechanisms,” said mayor Tim Macindoe.

Tougher still, this coincided with a government move to cap rate rises.

Winder from Christchurch made a similar point, and added the new bill had little to say about reducing the risks and readiness, though these mattered most and cost the least at local level.

“The bill gives little weight to these two areas. It leans heavily towards response and recovery,” said Winder.

“That misses the chance to prevent the very outcomes that drove these reforms.”

Long plans on high shelves would make little difference, he added, and it was people at ground level the legislation had to empower.

Kiri Allan for the National Iwi Chairs Forum Pou Take Ahuarangi said Māori had never been embedded in the legislation before and the bill went a long way to correcting that.

Yet it still did not deliver the essential decisionmaking power, she said.

“Time and time again” disaster inquiry reports had found Māori were crucial in the aftermath – even down to the micro-level of fixing dips in a road that flooded and isolated homes – but were “often not seen”, and though they were included in operational groups they were excluded from decision-making, Allan added.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The former Interislander ferry Aratere has spent five months in New Zealand waters since being retired, with the foreign crew onboard earning below minimum wage, as it waits for permission to enter India.

KiwiRail retired the ferry last year and announced in October it had been sold to a buyer who would deliver it to a specialist recycling shipyard in India.

The ship has since been renamed Vega, the Interislander logos painted over, and flagged to Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. Contracts show it is registered to Jahaj Solutions (F.Z.E), which is based in the United Arab Emirates.

Since December, it has been anchored in Tasman Bay and it is still unclear when it will leave New Zealand.

Earlier this month, the Maritime Union of NZ said it had serious concerns about the pay of the foreign crew onboard the Vega, which it said was significantly below international and domestic benchmarks.

Associate Transport Minister James Meager said the Maritime Labour Convention, an international treaty that New Zealand has signed, included standards for seafarer’s pay.

“How these standards apply to the crew of the Vega is up to the country where the ship is registered. The Vega’s flag state is Saint Kitts and Nevis so the responsibility for the application of these standards sits with them.”

Meager said the government took the safety of seafarers seriously and he had been told by officials who had visited the crew onboard that no welfare concerns had been raised with them.

A Maritime NZ spokesperson said it recently undertook a welfare and safety check of the vessel and found the crew was being adequately provided for and their needs were being met. It was maintaining contact with all parties involved and would continue to monitor the situation.

Immigration New Zealand visa director Peter Elms said the crew of the Vega held visitor visas that permitted them to work on that particular vessel, as it intended to leave New Zealand.

What are the crew being paid?

RNZ understands there are around 20 crew from India on board who had signed new contracts since the union first raised concerns about their pay.

The old contracts viewed by the union showed an able seaman on board the ship was being paid a basic wage of US$206

(NZ$340) per month.

That was significantly below the ILO minimum basic wage for an able seafarer, which rose to US$690 (NZ$1140) per month on 1 January 2026.

New Zealand is a founding member of the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency dedicated to promoting social justice and internationally recognised human and labour rights.

While the organisation provides international standards and guidance on minimum wages, it is up to individual countries to apply these through their own laws.

Maritime Union of New Zealand national secretary Carl Findlay said he had been told the crew had signed new agreements in line with ILO standards, but the union said that was still not good enough.

“Their pay rates are still well below what New Zealanders would be paid to work in the waters on their coast.”

He said the seafarers onboard the Vega were in a tricky situation as they were stranded in New Zealand with no date for departure, which was a real concern.

Reflagging vessels involved changing a ship’s registration to a different country, often to a “flag of convenience” with lax regulations to avoid strict environmental, safety, labour, or sanction laws.

“This is happening all over the world, on a daily basis, it’s a terrible, terrible problem and we don’t want it to creep any further into New Zealand or Australia.”

In 2012, the government announced that all foreign-owned fishing vessels operating in New Zealand waters

needed to be flagged to New Zealand, to address labour, safety and fisheries practice concerns.

Findlay said action needed to be taken to do the same for other foreign-owned vessels and the Maritime Union would be lobbying the government to make changes.

Why is the Vega still here?

The Vega is due to be dismantled in India, a practice considered sustainable as it allows materials to be recycled, although there are documented concerns over the environmental, health and safety standards in the industry, and the risks to workers in developing countries where health and safety regulations are poor.

In New Zealand, the Environmental Protection Authority is responsible for making sure the country meets its obligations to the Basel Convention – an international treaty which controls the movement of hazardous waste.

A spokesperson for the EPA said the application for the ship’s export was complete but it still had not received an update from the Competent Authority in India about the requested import consent.

Until that had been received and an export permit issued, the vessel could be exported.

RNZ understands there are plans for the Vega to come into Port Nelson towards the end of the month, for re-provisioning and refuelling.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A local diver says he will eat shellfish from the south coast after the mayor has tried some kina from the sewage spill hot spot.

Wellington authorities have decided it is safe enough for swimmers to make their own calls about whether to jump in but kaimoana is a different story.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Public Health strongly advised people not to collect and consume shellfish from the south coast area as they could be contaminated for weeks after exposure to sewage.

But Wellington diver Eugene Ryder said on Thuirsday the mixed messaging was confusing and people should keep out of the water all together.

“Even if you are swimming, the water is gonna get in your ears, your nose and your mouth.

“It just doesn’t make sense that you can do one and not the other, I think it’s preferable that everyone waits till we’re allowed to collect kaimoana before you even get in to swim.

“I thought the mayor was pretty courageous jumping in there yesterday.

“I definitely wouldn’t.”

But MPI said it was not quite that simple.

“Shellfish they filter water.”

MPI’s deputy director general of food safety Vincent Arbuckle said that was what made it different to swimming.

“A mussel will filter up to 70 litres of water a day, and they condense bacteria and viruses and contaminants. So that’s very different from taking a quick dip in the water.

“If you eat something that’s filtered 70 litres of water, you’re getting a condensed version of whatever’s in the water.”

And in the water there had been millions of litres of untreated sewage.

It was a similar story for grazers paua and kina.

But because the south coast had been closed, those still keen to get in the water had been travelling further afield.

“All the divers are going to Makara, to Titahi Bay … Some are going around to Ngawi and further around on the other side. But it’s put pressure on those areas.”

Some divers had instead been encouraging each other to use the rāhui to check and update their gear, rather than be in the water.

“But unfortunately, there’s been quite a few people going into west coast of Wellington and just hammering it.”

He said in one area he had seen 50 boats out at once which was hugely unusual.

But until south coast kaimoana was on the menu, that would likely remain the situation, Ryder said.

MPI’s Arbuckle said that would take at least three weeks in a perfect world.

“From a sewerage release, around 28 days is normally the period that we would say it’s usually safe if nothing else has happened.”

Dave Drane from Dive Wellington did not think his usual south coast hot spot, Shark’s Tooth, will be back by then.

He was hoping slightly further afield might come back faster.

“We’ll stick to gathering kaimoana off Red Rocks and places like that.

“It’s pretty tidal and it would take a lot for any sewage to reach there. It’ll go out to sea before it reaches there,” Drane said.

Ryder had a different plan.

“When we see our mayor eating a kina that’s been collected from Princess Bay, then, yeah, then we’ll have a look at it.

“But we’ll wait to see what effect it has on his health first.”

Ryder said he had never heard of Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) until Wednesday and divers were untrusting of what local authorities were reporting.

According to MPI, so far there had been no reports of people getting sick from contaminated kaimoana.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

When Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston announced the World Surf League Championship Tour was coming to Raglan it caught many locals by surprise and the reaction has not been completely positive.

On a hot sunny day when the tide was out, RNZ went to the beach and village in Raglan to get the local perspective.

Surfer Edward Wheeler was leaving the water and heading up the beach to wash off his board.

First thing’s first – how was the surf?

“Out there was quite nice, the water temperature’s beautiful at the moment,” he said.

Wheeler could see why the World Surf League had added Raglan to its tour.

“The break is definitely worth the World Surf League, definitely, but it’s more the hidden town we just don’t want to lose,” he said.

RNZ heard this tension between the pros and cons of the 10-day event in May 2026 from most people it spoke to.

It would bring the biggest elite surfing event ever staged in New Zealand to a keen surfing community.

But it could also bring up to 20,000 people and expose the village to millions more watching on television.

“It will be good for Raglan in some ways of course for businesses and this sort of thing, but Raglan, as everyone knows, is a protected little place and when the world is watching it … there will be people that will have money and will think ‘that’s a lovely little place’,” said Wheeler.

Chris Perry was not so worried that the event might introduce the world to Raglan. He swam or blokarted at the beach nearly every day.

“Raglan’s world renowned now, it has a reputation, and I think all this will do is enhance the town,” he said.

Whether the announcement was a shock seemed to depend on how connected residents were to the surfing community.

RNZ spoke to two locals, Linda and Barrie, up in the village.

Linda had been surprised when she heard Raglan was joining the tour.

She had concerns, especially about the management of wastewater with so many visitors in town.

“I [want] it shipped out of town – completely … it has to be shipped out, it cannot be kept here because it will be a nightmare,” she said.

But Barrie Rogerson owned B.rex Photo Design in the village, specialising in surf photography, and was in the ‘surf loop’.

“I kind of heard early on there was something happening in that regard,” he said.

Around the corner, Sam McGlennon was ordering a coffee at a humming local cafe.

He could understand why people were nervous about bringing such a big competition to a town which he said could already struggle to cope with its visitor numbers.

“Even a major long weekend in summer here already has an impact on town, on being able to move around and get from place to place and finding a table in the sun to enjoy a coffee for example. I think it’s just going to be an extension of that.”

McGlennon said some locals were already making plans to leave Raglan for the 10 days.

“A lot of people I know are renting their houses out for Air BnB’s, so in a way there’s ways to benefit from it as well. But it’s a pretty small town, some of our infrastructure is already pretty stretched, and like a lot of places around the country this just places some extra pressure on that.”

Concern over the strain the event would put on housing, roading, and wastewater infrastructure was raised several times.

Eloise Doller was operations manager at Raglan Refuel and a community board member.

She said there was plenty of time and resources to answer everyone’s questions.

“We’ve had a meeting up at the hall last Thursday with the [World Surf League] team, everyone’s getting well prepared for it and they’re giving us great information and support as well,” she said.

Waikato District Council had also set up a dedicated webpage with event information and answers to some of these pressing local concerns.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman who complained to the Teaching Council about being sexually abused by a former teacher says its investigation was badly handled and traumatic.

The woman RNZ agreed to call Ellen said she lodged a complaint in 2023 about abuse that happened 30 years ago at a secondary school and is backing recent calls for an overhaul of the organisation’s treatment of victims.

Ellen said her interaction with the council’s investigators was badly handled and traumatic.

She contacted RNZ after a critical review of the council highlighted gaps in its treatment of victims, including lack of specific training for working with the victims of abuse.

Ellen said the secondary school teacher she complained about was no longer registered as a teacher but she wanted to ensure he never worked with children again.

She said the council’s Complaints Assessment Committee – which makes an initial investigation of complaints about teachers – decided her case should proceed to a full Disciplinary Tribunal hearing.

But on the day that was the deadline to confirm if she wanted to go ahead with a hearing, Ellen told RNZ her experience with the council made her reluctant to go further.

“I went into this process to try and protect other kids. And I feel like I failed them. I feel like I failed the kids in my community by not seeing this through. But at the same time, I don’t know how much more I’ve got to give,” she said.

Ellen said she decided to proceed to a hearing but the investigation of her complaint was poorly handled.

“To be honest, the whole process has been really traumatic right from that first contact,” she said.

“I submitted my complaint online and I was phoned at work asking for his address and details to complete their form. Now I’ve moved cities to get away from all of this and I don’t want to know anything about him and I was really shocked that was the first sort of interaction that I had.

“Another example is I was randomly emailed photos to confirm where the abuse occurred. Imagine when you’re just going about your day and this pops up in your email, seeing the photos of where the worst things in your life have happened. I think anybody would understand that it’s very traumatising.”

Praise for police

Ellen said the behaviour of the council’s investigator was in sharp contrast to police, who investigated but decided not to lay charges, and the Accident Compensation Corporation which agreed she had been abused and qualified for support.

She said police were sympathetic and supportive and made it clear what would happen with her evidence, where it would be stored, and who would have access to it.

She said none of that was true of the Teaching Council.

Ellen said in the past four years she had been interviewed 10 times by three different agencies about the abuse she suffered.

She said they needed to find a way of sharing evidence so victims were not re-traumatised by repeated interviews about their abuse.

“You can’t move on with your life when you’re constantly reliving the worst thing that happened,” she said.

Ellen said she understood that if she agreed to continue to a tribunal hearing it would hear the evidence she gave police so she would not have to repeat that.

However, the former teacher’s lawyer would be allowed to cross-examine her.

“Given the interactions that I’ve had with the Teaching Council today, I don’t feel safe that my interests will be looked after in that setting,” she said.

She said the council needed to improve because its role investigating complaints was particularly critical in cases where there was no conviction or prosecution.

“When you’re talking about very serious crimes against children with potentially long-term jail sentences, the threshold for conviction is really high and subsequently, the threshold at which police can prosecute, where they’re confident that they can go ahead and secure a conviction, is very high,” she said.

“For historical cases like mine, where there’s no digital record or physical evidence, that can be really difficult.

“Then this leaves the teaching council as the only quasi-legal body who can prevent predators from being allowed to work with children again. That’s why I made my complaint to them.”

She said the Teaching Council’s approach felt weighted in favour of teachers.

“All of my interactions corresponding to the Teaching Council focused heavily on principles of natural justice and fair treatment of the teacher when their focus should absolutely be on how can we eliminate abuse from our profession,” she said.

Ellen said the council’s investigations should be faster, it should be absolutely clear about what happened with sensitive evidence, and it should be able to use evidence provided to other agencies so victims were protected from repeating their testimony.

“Ultimately, we need that coordinated approach. How can we stop victims and survivors from having to give evidence multiple times to different government agencies,” she said.

Ellen said she was gutted when she saw reports about the independent review of the council, but also relieved because it proved she was not imagining her experience.

“It’s too late to change what happened to me, but I’m trying to make it less hard for… the people to come after [me].”

Council responds

The council told RNZ it acknowledged the courage it took for survivors to come forward, particularly where allegations were historical.

It said its investigators were assigned to cases based on the complexity of the file.

“Investigators assigned to complex cases have experience in trauma-related practice. Where possible our investigators do seek to rely on information and documentation already provided by other agencies,” it said.

The council said it had a dedicated contact pathway for historic allegations, including a specific phone line (0800 002 458) and support information for people affected by sexual harm.

“We recognise concerns raised publicly about timeliness, and complainant experience. We are prioritising strengthening our complainant engagement and communications,” it said.

The council said if a teacher was convicted for child abuse, that would result in the teacher’s registration being immediately cancelled.

“If a disciplinary case was undertaken following a conviction, it would normally be presented on the basis of the evidence heard at the criminal court.”

“We encourage anyone with concerns about a teacher to come forward and contact us. Our priority is safeguarding children and young people and maintaining trust and confidence in the profession.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Rule changes for putting a granny flat on your section cut very little red tape, but move questions of liability from councils to homeowners

No garage conversions, no house extensions, no old materials or relocated cottages, no DIY practitioners, no mezzanine floors and no accessible showers.

And no building consent needed.

The government’s new rules for building a granny flat, or ‘minor standalone dwelling’, on your own property cut through one layer of paperwork and will likely save plans from being clogged up at council level, but they’re still complex, full of restrictions and just as expensive as they always were.

The real change these rules bring, say experts, is that when things go wrong, they shift the burden of responsibility from the council to homeowners.

Karel Boakes is the president of the Building Officials Institute of New Zealand, an organisation with around 1200 members who deal with building surveying, controls and regulations in both the private sector and in councils.

From what she’s seen in the month or so since the law came in, there’s been no rush to build these standalone dwellings – she says licensed building practitioners appear to be wary of shouldering the burden of responsibility for any failures.

“They’re concerned,” she says.

“They’re concerned for the homeowners and potentially the risks that they might be taking on if they choose to follow this route.”

“Obviously they’re not against efficiencies where they can be made. That’s common sense and we’re all on board with that. But we’re also trying to weigh up the level of risk that people could be exposed to if buildings are built in a way that’s not compliant or in a way that [poses problems] financially with insurance or what have you.”

Boakes says officials want to make sure people go into these processes with their eyes wide open, understanding the risks.

“There’s definitely a shift of liability.”

Before the regulation changed there was a level of surety in council checks, but we saw from the leaky building crisis that meant that councils were often the “last man standing” – the only organisation still around answering questions of liability when builders and developers went bust. Now the responsibility for any issues down the line falls on the homeowner, and those licensed building practitioners who supervised the job.

The only council responsibility comes right at the start of an application for a standalone dwelling when it issues a PIM – a Project Information Memorandum – which details information about the land or the project that they need to take account of, such as unstable land or flood plains.

“The council won’t be taking any liability any more in terms of assessing, or checking, or inspecting,” says Boakes.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has put out comprehensive information about the processes involved.

It says the granny flats building consent exemption allows small standalone dwellings of up to 70 square metres to be built without a building consent, if it has a simple design and meets the building code; homeowners notify the council before they start building and when they’re finished; the work is carried out or supervised by licensed building professionals; and all the exemption conditions are met.

You can download the seven forms required from the site, read the three checklists, five step-by-step guides and five fact sheets, and there are links to 12 professional groups that might be involved.

So there’s no excuse for winging it.

Bill McKay, a senior lecturer at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland, tells The Detail that when the rules came out, he was taken aback by the level of requirements – “all the things that you do and have to worry about”.

“One of the questions I’m mostly commonly asked is, ‘can I build it myself?’

“Short answer – absolutely not,” he says.

He says not having to get a building consent will save time, with the council unable to put off its issuing of a PIM. But a building consent is one thing – “you’ll still need building advice from someone who can draw up plans for you and that sort of thing. We might still need a resource consent, and this is a pitfall for lots of people.

“You can’t build just anywhere you want in your back yard. We have certain rules about minimum permeable and impermeable area so that rainfall will soak away, which is all good. And we have distances that we have to keep from neighbours … all that sort of thing as well.

“The government will change that with a thing called the new National Environmental Standard, but work on that is still ongoing and that won’t kick in till who knows when.

“I think a lot of people will just sort of leap into it without doing their homework first and doing it properly, and that could get them in trouble from various angles.”

Then there’s the sting at the end – while it varies throughout the country, most councils will charge a development fee, and in some places that could be around $25,000. Your rates will go up too, having added another bathroom and more square metres to your estate.

Meanwhile McKay has picked out an aspect of the regulations he calls ‘ironic’ – even if your little house is for granny, you can’t have a recessed shower, where you could wheel in or get in without tripping over if you were unstable on your feet.

“The reason for that is, they haven’t developed a class of LBP who can do that.”

That means the supervisory aspect of the project couldn’t be met – so accessible showers are on the no-go list.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Voting for Fish of the Year opens on Saturday.

The competition run by the Mountain to Sea Conservation Trust celebrates New Zealand’s weird, wonderful, and often overlooked marine life.

Much like the well known Bird of the Year, the competition spotlights native species and raises awareness about their conservation status.

“People might not realise that so many of our fish in New Zealand are actually endemic, which means they’re found only in New Zealand waters,” said co-director of the conservation trust Samara Nicholas.

Last year the blobfish, which back in 2013 was declared the world’s ugliest animal, beat the odds to win the competition.

The blobfish was not a contender this year, but there were plenty of other fish in the sea.

“There’s some really interesting deep water fish like orange roughy to some of our highly threatened banded kōkopu for example,” said Nicholas.

“Then some really weird and interesting fish all in between, like the sunfish, which is the heaviest fish in the world, and the torrentfish, which is really well adapted to living in rivers where there’s high water flow.

“So it’s a great opportunity to learn more about the fish that call New Zealand home and to get engaged and excited and try and make your favourite fish win.”

Voting runs from Saturday 28 February – Sunday 15 March.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Public Service Association is warning hospital IT outages will keep happening due to cuts to Health NZ’s digital team.

Auckland and Northland hospitals were hit by an outage on Thursday afternoon.

It disrupted the transfer of radiology images – including X-rays, CT and MRI scans – for two hours across both regions.

PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons described the outage as “critical”, forcing clinicians and radiographers to text and phone each other scan results.

“The impact of clinicians needing to resort to text and phone to pass on vital information is that mistakes are more likely, it takes longer, and when you’re dealing with patients in ED or in operating theatres, time is everything.

“It is absolutely critical that these systems are of a modern standard and that these outages don’t keep happening.”

Health New Zealand said the outage was resolved quickly on Thursday afternoon, and standard back-up processes were used while it was happening.

A spokesperson said patient care was not compromised.

Fitzsimons said no IT outage affecting critical clinical information was minor.

“These are important systems that clinicians rely on, and that need fixing because they are not set up to a modern standard, and we’ve lost the experts who know how to patch them quickly.”

She said it was the second failure in less than a month, after clinicians were forced to use pen and paper for 12 hours overnight in late January.

“More [outages] will occur, because we’ve lost the data and digital experts from Health New Zealand, after government-imposed funding cuts.”

She wanted Health New Zealand to launch a review into this outage, as it had for the [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/585415/staff-public-deserve-answers-after-major-it-outage-at-hospitals-union-says

incident on 28 January].

Health Minister Simeon Brown said he was aware of a “brief IT issue” in the northern region on Thursday.

“I want to thank staff for resolving the issue swiftly and ensuring there was no disruption to patient care.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A study into thousands of ambulance callouts for mental health shows most were non-urgent, and should have been managed in the community.

It found “most callouts [89.8 percent] were of low acuity, with a notable proportion of repeat callouts, suggesting unmet need for mental health care”.

That, and the fact that many – 32.8 percent – did not need to be taken to hospital, “suggest that many mental health callouts may be managed outside emergency settings”.

The study, published in the NZ Medical Journal on Friday, analysed 26847 mental health callouts – that was 5.7 percent of total callouts between July 2022 and June 2023 – before police began to retreat from mental health callouts.

Events which counted towards the study included attempted suicide, self-harm and anxiety.

The study also showed inequalities based on ethnicity. Māori accounted for 22.1 percent of these callouts, and Pacific people for 4.6 percent.

There is a disproportionately high rates of mental health related callouts among younger Māori and Pacific people compared to younger non-Māori or Pacific people, and higher proportions of callouts in areas of lower socio-economic deprivation.

Nearly a third (30.8 percent) of mental health callouts occurred in the most deprived areas (quintiles 9 and 10), with the highest proportions among Māori (47.7 percent) and Pacific peoples (49.9 percent).

Female patients accounted for over half of these callouts across all ethnicities.

“Continued reliance on emergency services suggests inadequate access to or insufficient community-based support,” the report says.

One of its authors, Gabby Harding, a lecturer in paramedicine at Auckland University of Technology and a paramedic herself with Hato Hone St John, said the low number of people taken to hospital means many would have been referred to community-based care.

“So it suggests that people are seeking support when other services aren’t available. As we know, people ring 111 when they are at a crisis point or in distress.”

Repeat callouts, where people called back within the year, suggested there may be a gap in continuous, accessible and culturally safe care, she said.

She said it was an opportunity to develop links between ambulances and community-based mental health services.

Ambulance services could refer people back to community services, but people’s access would still rely on those services being available, which was different by area.

Recommendations from the report

The study says future mental health policies should make it a priority to ensure appropriate systems, services and support for Māori and Pacific peoples were in place.

It also points out that addressing socio-economic determinants of mental health, like financial strain, unemployment and poor access to healthcare services, could improve people’s mental health.

“Addressing these issues requires comprehensive policy changes and a targeted approach to mitigate stressors such as racism, socio-economic inequities, stigmatisation and systemic barriers to healthcare,” the study says.

Wellington City Mission says sometimes people just need to talk

Pip Rea from the Wellington City Mission said people experiencing mental health distress could be having suicidal thoughts or a panic attack, and at that point, “they don’t know where to go, they don’t know what to do”.

“Something that’s ingrained in us as New Zealanders is to call 111, ask for an ambulance, and they will help us, they will know what to do – and so that’s what people do.”

Often by that stage, people had tried places like their GP or talking to someone, and had reached crisis point.

She said the City Mission had a good relationship with Wellington Free Ambulance, meaning people could be redirected to their Crisis Cafe, which was open all hours.

“A community, peer-led response – that’s what works, not a clinicalised model such as ED.”

It also meant repeat callers had somewhere else to go, rather than calling 111 in future.

Their service was “not over capacity, but we definitely are busy”, with numbers increasing month-on-month. In the Crisis Cafe’s first 11 months of operation, they had had more than 750 people through the doors, she said.

Minister says people reach out for loneliness and stress – issues which are ‘serious’ but ‘non-urgent’

The Minister for Mental Health, Matt Doocey, said his office’s own work had shown similar trends to this recent study.

“When we started working toward a mental health response to 111 calls, we started by examining the data. What we found was that a significant number of calls were being coded as “1M” by police, a category used for mental health,” he said.

People were reaching out, some repeatedly, for issues like loneliness, stress about housing or finances, or other social challenges.

“While these are serious and important issues, they are not always situations requiring an immediate response,” Doocey said.

He said this data backed the need for the government’s rollout of mental health co-response teams, which would work alongside police or ambulance staff to respond to 111 calls.

“I recently visited a co-response team who spoke about the value of having a joined-up response, particularly in dealing with repeat callers, as they know the person well and can respond accordingly,” he said.

Health NZ says more work to do, but investment is being made

Health NZ national director for mental health and addiction Phil Grady said the agency was committed to providing faster access to primary and specialist mental health and addiction services while growing the mental health workforce to meet increasing need.

Investment so far included:

• The $10 million Mental Health Innovation Fund, aimed at supporting faster access to a greater range of community-led support, like Ki tua o Matariki to run peer support groups for expectant mothers aged 15-24 in Auckland.
• A $61.6m investment, announced in late 2025, to expand crisis recovery cafés and peer support in emergency departments.
• Money from Budget 2025 was being used to roll out co-response teams and expand telehealth capacity.
• $3.5m annual funding boost to specialist mental health services for infants, children and teens in Tairāwhiti, Counties Manukau, and Waitematā.

Uptake was increasing for community-based services, with the Access and Choice programme having provided more than a million sessions since it began in 2020.

An additional 6072 people had received specialist services compared to the previous year, Grady said, and an additional 557 full-time-equivalent mental health workers had been recruited since March 2023.

“This is promising – but we know there is more to do, and we remain committed to improving services to meet the needs of communities,” Grady said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wētā Workshop co-founder Sir Richard Taylor has been recognised for his contributions to the visual effects industry at the 24th Annual VES Awards on Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Global professional honorary society the Visual Effects Society (VES) awarded Sir Richard the VES Visionary Award. Previous recipients include Christopher Nolan and J.J. Abrams.

“I’m honoured by this recognition from the Visual Effects Society, a community of artists and practitioners that I feel blessed to have been a part of since its inception,” Sir Richard said.

“I accept this award on behalf of all of our crew at Wētā Workshop, whose work has always been in creative service – using practical effects, design, and physical craftsmanship to help expand what’s possible in collaboration with VFX and film-making teams around the world.”

He said the award reflected the dedication, ingenuity, and generosity of spirit by the many artists who had joined him on his journey over the past 38 years.

He said he was incredibly grateful to the VES for celebrating the creative and collaborative journey of him and his colleagues and their efforts to bring imagined worlds to life.

The VES Visionary Award recognises an individual who has uniquely and consistently employed the art and science of VFX to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries by way of artistry, invention, and groundbreaking work. The society selected Sir Richard Taylor for his undeniable impact on the VFX industry as co-founder of the Wētā companies.

Wētā Workshop has provided the design and physical effects for more than 160 films, including the globally acclaimed The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Avatar trilogies, as well as Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong, the Thor series and Black Panther.

It has won five Academy Awards across three disciplines, special effects makeup, VFX, and costume design. Sir Richard has also received four BAFTAs and more than 35 national and international awards for his work within the creative industries.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A New Zealand woman who reportedly disrupted a mosque prayer session being played over a loudspeaker in Indonesia could face deportation.

According to the South China Morning Post the woman disrupted a Qoran recitation night session at a musalla (a small prayer room) near her villa on Gili Trawangan due to the noise.

It said she was unfamiliar with the traditional celebrations that could last until midnight and a meeting had since been held with her to provide understanding.

However immigration officials said her tourist visa expired in January, which could be grounds for deportation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it’s providing consular assistance to a New Zealander in Indonesia.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A person has died after an incident in Christchurch last week which involved individuals from two gangs.

Police were called to a property on Hoani Street in the suburb of Northcote about 9.30pm on 18 February after an altercation.

Four people were injured.

One was in a critical condition and police said that person had now died in hospital.

Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves said the individuals involved were associated with Black Power and Mongrel Mob, but to date the investigation had indicated this was not a gang-motivated attack.

It appeared to be an isolated incident between specific individuals, Reeves said.

Reeves warned any form of retaliation would not be tolerated.

“Anyone considering taking matters into their own hands should expect an immediate and firm response.”

There was no information to suggest there was any ongoing risk to the wider public, she said.

Police would maintain a visible presence in the area.

Three men, aged 19, 31 and 40, have been charged with aggravated wounding and aggravated robbery.

Reeves said further charges would now be considered against them.

They have been remanded in custody and are next due to appear in Christchurch District Court on 17 March.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A Dunedin man who drove his vehicle towards officers and avoided police on Wednesday, has been charged.

Superintendent Jason Guthrie, Southern District Commander said the 46-year-old was arrested in Fraser’s Gully after his attempts to avoid Police, during which Police fired a shot which did not injure anyone.

“The man faces charges of assaulting Police, failing to stop for Police, driving a motor vehicle in a dangerous manner, and driving while disqualified third and subsequent.”

Officers involved in an operation to locate the man had seen him at a commercial premises on Kaikorai Valley Road at about 6pm and tried to apprehend him.

Police had been looking for the man in relation to a series of offences in the Otago coastal area over recent days.

Guthrie had previously said the man had fled in the vehicle but was later found in Brockville where police successfully deployed road spikes.

The man fled into the bush but was found soon after by a police dog team in the Fraser’s Gully area.

Earlier on Wednesday, police had cordoned the area near Three Mile Hill and Brockville as officers searched for the man.

He is due in Dunedin District Court tomorrow and an investigation into the events of Wednesday night remains ongoing.

The incident will also be referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority as is standard procedure when a police firearm is used.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland and Northland hospitals were hit by an IT outage on Thursday afternoon.

Health New Zealand says the outage affected the transfer of radiology images at hospitals across Auckland and Northland for two hours.

The Public Service Association said the outage was “major”, and the system affected manages all medical images including x rays, CT and MRI scans.

National Secretary Fleur Ftizsimons said it’s the second critical failure in less than a month and put patient safety at risk, after clinicians were forced to use pen and paper throughout the night in late January.

“The PACs system impacted by the outage is a critical function of our hospitals which clinicians rely on to access images so they can assess and treat patients needing urgent treatment in EDs, in operating theatres and elsewhere.

“The outage means clinicians and radiographers must communicate by text and phone to pass on vital information from scans.

“Without a doubt this will slow down treatment, compromising care,” Fitzsimons said.

Fitzsimons said the government needs to immediately review funding for health digital services and IT infrastructure.

A Health New Zealand spokesperson said the outage was resolved quickly without affecting patient services.

“During the outage standard back-up processes were used for the reviewing of radiology images.”

The spokesperson said services were fully restored within two hours and patient care was not compromised.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Automobile Association says the government’s proposal to bring in a number of new road rules will clarify the situation for road users to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

AA chief policy and advocacy officer Simon Douglas told Checkpoint the government was trying to address the fact that there were now more drivers, more cyclists, more scooter riders and cities were increasingly more densely packed.

“So just a bit of a reset of the rules of the game so that everyone’s on the same page around some of these points of rub is a really good idea.”

One of the rules proposed by the government was to introduce a mandatory passing gap of between one and 1.5 metres, depending on the speed limit, to give motorists clearer guidance when passing cyclists and horse riders.

It is already recommended that motorists do not pass a cyclist closer than 1m, but Douglas said currently there was no enforceable rule around the correct distance for a driver to pass a cyclist.

“So what this gives us the opportunity to do is to say very very early in teaching young drivers to drive, there’s a rule that says that there’s a passing distance, a minimum passing distance.

“Setting that up as a rule, as an enforceable rule, really just says ‘you know we’re serious about this, this is one of those things that you need to learn to put into practice as a courteous driver’.”

It would be useful for everyone to know there was no equivocation about this in terms of whether it was a rule or a recommendation, he said.

“So we see it as a way of clarifying, removing doubt and just a way to help enforce good etiquette from a very early age.”

Another proposal is to require drivers travelling under 60km/h to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops.

Douglas said a recent AA survey found that about half of respondents thought you had to give way to a bus that was pulling out but the other half either thought you did not have to give way or didn’t know.

“At the moment the law isn’t, doesn’t say that a bus has right of way,” he said.

Driving was a complex task, he said.

“You’re in that moment where you’re think ‘well the bus is pulling out, does he or she have the right of way, do I scamper in front of them, do I wait behind them?’”

Currently some of the time there was a lack of certainty around what the rule was, he said.

Douglas acknowledged that sometimes people were just not driving courteously.

“One of the things about this set of rules is that it will give the opportunity for enforcement behaviour.

“So if you’re not giving a cyclist the right distance or you’re not letting the bus go past and there’s a police officer nearby, it gives them a tool and they will undoubtedly be able to levy a fine.”

That way drivers do not need to make a decision about how to act, he said.

“You just know, the bus has right of way, I will let the bus in.”

The government is consulting on two packages for rule changes, the first focuses on lane use and everyday road rules, while the second focuses on heavy vehicles.

Other proposed changes in its first package include allowing e-scooters to use cycle lanes, allowing children up to age 12 to ride their bikes on footpaths and clarifying signage rules so councils can better manage berm parking.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are warning that problems around the huffing of nitrous oxide products or nangs have escalated to where people are “playing chicken” and seeing whether they can drive without blacking out after inhaling the gas.

Nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, has legitimate medical and catering uses – including being used to whip cream.

However, if inhaled recreationally, the gas can have dangerous long-term side effects like nerve damage in the brain and spinal cord.

And while it is illegal to sell for huffing or recreational purposes, a Checkpoint investigation previously found stores were selling large canisters of the gas, which contain hundreds of hits, with virtually no questions asked.

Tusha Penny, assistant police commissioner of road policing, told Checkpoint police had seen drivers huffing from balloons in eight districts across the country. She also said she had been sent a message from a road user in a rural area who had seen a driver huffing from a balloon on the road.

“It has gone from just individual-use, sitting behind a shop and huffing, [to] getting in a road and almost playing chicken to see whether you can black out and still drive the car,” she said.

“That has really escalated the potential for harm.

“We really want parents and people on the road to ring us, to let us know.”

Penny said police suspected at least one or two fatalities had been caused by huffing nitrous oxide products and driving.

These cases were still under investigation, she said.

“If we look at the Bay of Plenty, for example, since New Year, we know there’s been some absolutely fantastic work when they’ve highlighted this.

“There’s been an investigation done and a number of drivers have actually been prosecuted and are being dealt with at the moment.”

Despite that, Penny said police had decided to focus on “education” when it came to retailers selling nitrous products illegally.

“What we’re now asking them to do is work with us because we cannot have this amount of community harm that could happen from the illegitimate sale of this item.

“We’re sitting down, we’re giving them the letter, but we’re really explaining it to them,” she said.

“That is the approach we think is best to take at the moment around prevention for a short time, engagement, asking people to work with us.”

When asked how many prosecutions of retailers allegedly selling nitrous oxide products illegally police had taken, Penny was unable to say.

“We’re being really clear on the enforcement approach that we’re going to take, and then we will move to enforcement.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

All motorists know what it is like learning to drive – the endless attempts to parallel park, the grinding gears, the lurches and the stalls.

Now one instructor believes he has found a way to confine those teeth-clenching experiences to the past, with a virtual reality programme that can help teach learners to drive without even getting into a car.

Ashley Gore runs VR lessons in Auckland and Napier through his company MintEDVR, and is now hoping to expand his virtual driving school across the country.

When he first came across virtual reality technology five years ago, Gore started thinking about its implications for learner drivers and the huge number of people who fail their tests, often multiple times.

“[In one year] 46,000 fails, 7000 failed because they didn’t stop at a stop sign, 37,000 drove too slow on their practical licence, let’s get rid of all these thousands of people who don’t have a license.”

The set up looks identical to one used while playing VR video games, consisting of a headset that covers the eyes with two small controllers held in each hand.

Once the headset goes on, the user is in the driver’s seat.

But with joysticks instead of pedals, and no actual steering wheel to grab onto, it is a system quite different to traditional car controls.

However, Gore said most people catch on quickly.

“Couple of sessions, it’s just familiarisation, it’s a bit like when you jump into a different car, if you’re used to driving a small hatchback and then you jump into a ute, just the whole dynamics, the controls are a bit different.”

There are different scenarios available to practice things like right-hand turns, parallel parking and T-intersections, along with the rest of the skills needed to pass a practical licence test.

While the simulation features other cars on the road, road signs and markings, and all the buttons and the lights you’d find in and on a real car, the scenery resembles something closer to a video game than real life.

At around $15 per lesson, it is a cheaper option than practical driving lessons, which Gore hopes will make the tech more accessible, not just for first time learners, but also people wanting to brush up on their skills.

The VR tracks the users movements, picking up on errors such as failing to stop, driving too fast or slow, or forgetting to check a blindspot.

Although it offers virtually every experience you get while being in a car, Gore said it is not a replacement for driving.

“The VR is there and it plugs and plays anywhere in your driving journey, and it’s never going to replace driving on the road.”

However, Gore said he believes the VR training should count towards the driving hours learners are recommended to undertake before their practical test.

“I would like to see the hours that you do in VR count towards your driving hours because you are learning, you’re getting important skills, you still need that experience on the road but I think it should count.”

It comes soon after the government announced changes to the driver licensing system, including increasing the learner period for those under 25, and removing the requirement to sit a second practical test.

While Gore is now marketing his technology to driving schools across the country, AA spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said the organisation is tentative.

“The thing you need to spend lots of time doing is actually driving a real car in the real world, and that is the major thing that people need to put the time into, but we certainly see potential for the tech to work as a nice additional practice tool.

“Those hours of practice should be for hours spent in a real car actually driving in the real world, that is the key thing.”

The New Zealand Transport Agency told RNZ there is no substitute for on-road training and experience.

“Our position is based on evidence which shows that learners do not gain the same level of skill or competence in a simulated environment, without real-world experience, and there is potential for over-confidence which can lead to novice and learner drivers being at greater risk of crashes.”

It said it is not possible to replicate the complex real world driving environment using a simulator.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Growth in Hamilton is leading the council to consider lowering the speed limit on part of a major city road.

Up to 2,500 new homes are planned for the northern end of the city in a new neighbourhood, called Te Awa Lakes.

Hamilton City Council has asked for feedback on lowering the 80 kilometre-an-hour speed limit to 60 km/h for a 460-metre section of Te Rapa Road.

As part of the approved development, the Te Awa Lakes developer was required to install a signalised pedestrian crossing on Te Rapa Road at their cost.

Council’s Network & Systems Operations Manager Robyn Denton said the road is an arterial route in a semi-rural area; but that is changing.

“People can already see a lot of earth works in there, but they are going to see buildings and that sort of thing,” she said.

The new homes would increase the number of people walking, cycling, and catching the bus in the area.

“The whole area will get busier,” sad Denton.

The council was looking for community feedback on the lower speed limit.

It consulted recently on other speed limit changes and Denton said Hamilton residents had shown they are thoughtful and engaged when it comes to considering the impacts.

“We found that people had thought about the issues and weren’t highly emotive about it but actually put some good, reasoned thought to us which was really useful for helping us and our elected members make decisions,” she said.

Denton said change was to be expected given that Hamilton was the country’s fastest growing city.

“This is one of the many things that happen in a growth city… we’re trying to respond at an appropriate time to get the right sort of outcome for those people who are moving into that area,” she said.

Public feedback would be presented to the council’s Transport Subcommittee in late May and if supported by elected members the proposal would then require approval from the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

The public had until 9 April 2026 to have their say.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Otago Regional Council is aiming to deliver an overall zero percent rates rise in the upcoming financial year.

The council has been preparing a draft annual plan which will be put up for adoption in April.

The Long Term Plan forecasted a close to nine percent increase for the same year.

Chairperson Hilary Calvert said councillors sought to keep rates as low as possible while protecting the environment and providing public transport.

“We’re confident we can deliver for Otago’s people and environment within the zero-budget increase proposed,” she said.

“Factors helping to reduce rates include cost savings and efficiencies in work programmes, extended timeframes for some work and finding alternative revenue sources.”

A directive from the government to pause planning work meant that the council would spend less than expected this financial year and would use some of the surplus to pay for work next financial year.

The average residential property in Dunedin, Clutha, Waitaki and Central Otago would see a slight rates drop, but Queenstown Lakes properties would see an increase due to a public transport rate, Calvert said.

Councillors have opted not to consult the community on this annual plan, saying no significant changes had been made to what was consulted on in the 2026/2027 year of the Long Term Plan.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Child poverty activists say families are having to make impossible decisions and go without life’s essentials following the release of new Stats New Zealand data.

The statistics agency said one in seven kids are living in material hardship, according to research conducted between July 2024 and June last year.

Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston has said reducing child poverty was a priority and that the government is making changes to improve the lives of families.

Advocates were calling for change after the latest data on child material hardship did not show a statistically significant difference compared to 2024 and 2018.

But it did show a statistically significant increase compared to 2022.

The Children’s Commissioner said the data shows there are 47,500 more children in material hardship in 2025 than there was in 2022 (169,300 compared to 121,800).

Children’s Commissioner Claire Achmad said affected kids were going without key life essentials.

“I’m talking about things like access to fresh fruit and vegetables, being able to go to the doctor or the dentist, being able to have a good bed to sleep in.

“I think we can all agree no child in New Zealand should be going without these things.”

Dr Achmad said half of the children in poverty had parents that were in work – so it was important people have pay that can lift kids out of deprivation.

She said child poverty needs to be a priority for successive governments.

“Children cannot wait for our economy to improve. Children get one chance at childhood, and we’ve got to act and get this right now.”

Child Poverty Action Group communications manager Isaac Gunson said some families were being forced to make ” impossible decisions”.

“They are paying power and rent so they can keep the lights on and keep a roof over their head, and they are going to see if there is anything for them at the foodbank.

“No one in this country should be having to make decisions like that.”

Social advocate and BBM founder Dave Letele said there needed to be change.

Unless support was provided, Letele said the conditions kids lived in would deteriorate.

“The New Zealand that our grandkids grow up in will be even worse. It is going to be seen more unsafe.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the current stats weren’t good enough.

“We want to see a reduction in child poverty, but I also have to acknowledge it has been an incredibly difficult time.”

Luxon said it was important the economy was run well for low-income New Zealanders.

Upston said reducing kids’ material hardship was a priority in the government’s child and youth strategy.

Upston said they have made a number of changes to improve the lives of Kiwi families such as the in-work tax credit and introducing their FamilyBoost policy for childcare.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The wives of two firefighters killed in a landslide during Cyclone Gabrielle have recounted the moment they learned their husbands had died.

Volunteer firefighters Dave van Zwanenberg and Craig Stevens were buried while responding to slips on Muriwai’s Motutara Road on 13 February 2023.

Stevens was freed from the pile but later died in hospital, while van Zwanenberg was found dead after two days of searching.

A coronial inquest into their deaths is being held in Auckland.

Van Zwanenberg’s wife, Amy, said she first heard that her husband was trapped as she was preparing to evacuate their home at about 2.45am on 14 February, several hours after the slip fell.

“I had just started to pack the car to leave when members from FENZ (Fire and Emergency NZ) arrived to tell me what had happened. They were fairly vague on details other than that Dave was missing. They were searching for him and conditions were obviously incredibly challenging,” she recounted.

“Under an hour later I was told that they had called off the search due to the severity of the conditions, high risk to search personnel and low chance of Dave’s survival.”

She said the following days were extremely difficult.

“We spent that night in an odd sort of horrific limbo without much hope but the distressing thought of Dave, whether alive or dead, alone in a pile of mud and rubble still waiting to be found,” she said.

“You can imagine how difficult and heart-wrenching that was to explain to our six-year-old son.”

Van Zwanenberg’s body was recovered on 15 February, two days after the slip.

“I was told at about 10.45am on the 15th of February that a body dressed in FENZ uniform had been located and later that day this was officially confirmed as Dave,” van Zwanenberg said.

“I was told I was not allowed to see or touch him, which was very hard to hear, but I was granted the privilege to go to the site and say goodbye from the outside of the undertaker vehicle. On its departure, men and women who’d been involved lined the exit in a guard of honour, an incredibly touching salute.”

Amy van Zwanenberg said she was proud of her husband’s work as a volunteer firefighter, which he did alongside working as a vet.

“While adjusting to life without Dave has been very painful and my two young children are now growing up without their dedicated father, a life-long loss, they can be proud of who he was and the respect he’s been given even in death,” she said.

Steven’s wife, Lucy, echoed that sentiment.

“When Craig left [that day] both his mum Marianne and I talked about how proud we were of him being out there in the cyclone helping the community,” she said.

“I never saw him conscious again.”

Stevens died in hospital on 16 February, three days after the slip, surrounded by his family.

“Finding out Craig wasn’t going to make it and then having to tell the boys they were going to lose their dad was the hardest and most distressing moment of my life,” Lucy Stevens said.

She described Stevens as a perfect husband and father.

“My six-year-old said the other day, ‘I at least needed one dad, and that one was perfect.’ The deep loss of their perfect dad and my loving husband and partner in life will remain with us forever.”

Stevens’ mother, Marianne, was visiting Muriwai from the United Kingdom when Cyclone Gabrielle hit.

Lucy Stevens read a statement written by Marianne to court.

“As a mother every fibre in your being wants to protect your child, and I was unable to do that,” she said.

Coroner Erin Woolley was visibly emotional as she thanked the women for giving evidence.

“I’m always grateful when family members have the courage to give evidence. I find it moving just listening to you so I admire you for having the ability to do that and thank you very much for doing so,” Woolley said.

The Cyclone Gabrielle inquest will move into its next phase in mid-March, with a focus on the events in Hawke’s Bay.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

There are serious injuries after an accident between two cars and bus in Auckland.

It happened on Jervois Road in Ponsonby just before 4pm

St John treated four people at the scene after sending three ambulances and two rapid response vehicles.

Two have been taken to Auckland City Hospital in serious conditions, while another is in a moderate condition.

Police believe all of the injured were from the cars, and that the bus was empty and not in service.

Auckland Transport (AT) says it is aware of the incident but doesn’t have details.

On Wednesday there was another accident involving a bus and a car in the suburb of Grafton.

Four people were taken to hospital from that crash.

AT said it appeared the car turned on a red arrow.

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