Woolworths in Te Awamutu was briefly closed on Tuesday afternoon.Google maps
Woolworths says its supermarket in Te Awamutu closed briefly on Tuesday afternoon after diesel fumes entered the rear storeroom while the sprinkler system and generator were being tested.
A spokesperson said staff working in the affected area were assessed by ambulance staff and no further treatment was required.
They said no customers were impacted and the store is now trading as usual.
“A full investigation will be conducted to prevent a recurrence of this type of incident. We apologise to customers for the inconvenience and any alarm caused,” the spokesperson said.
Fire and Emergency said two trucks attended the callout to the supermarket shortly after 2.30pm and cleared the store for re-opening by 3pm.
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A woman who arrived at Christchurch Hospital’s emergency department in acute pain died the next day after staff missed signs she had sepsis.
The 65-year-old patient died of urosepsis, a life-threatening complication of a urinary tract infection, in January 2022.
In a report released on Tuesday, deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Carolyn Cooper said the hospital failed to provide reasonable care, making “severe departures from standard practice”.
“I concur that there was a failure to recognise urosepsis in a timely way, which subsequently led to a lack of appropriate treatment being provided to [the woman],” she said.
Health NZ completed an adverse event review (AER) into the woman’s care and also found delays in the recognition and treatment of urosepsis.
The report said the woman had a history of high blood pressure and Crohn’s disease, with a previous bowel resection, small bowel obstructions and a kidney stone.
The woman was diagnosed with renal colic after being assessed in the ED and given pain relief.
She was then transferred to the hospital’s urology unit.
The report said the woman was experiencing prolonged hypotension by the next morning.
“Throughout the day, [the woman] received intravenous fluid boluses as the primary intervention for her hypotension. However, her [blood pressure] did not respond to this adequately,” the report said.
“The AER found that a lack of response or improvement from the fluid should have triggered a challenge of the diagnosis and consideration of other possible differential diagnoses or causes. However, this did not occur.”
Medical reviews at the time suggested the woman’s hypotension may have been due to the effects of the pain relief.
Clinicians noted the woman was “chirpy and chatty” throughout the day and that she did not have a fever but clinical notes also recorded instances of the woman shivering, a symptom of sepsis, the report said.
“The AER found that clinical staff exhibited anchoring bias – that is, there was an over-reliance on the absence of a fever, which normally is present in urosepsis, despite the lack of improvement over the day,” the report said.
“While the nurse in charge, the house officer, and the registrar were informed of [the woman’s] deterioration, there is no evidence of a senior medical officer consultation (after the initial ward round at 8am), consideration of involvement of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) team, or a rapid response call being made when [the woman’s] observations were in the red and blue zone, as required by the mandatory escalation pathway.”
The deputy commissioner found an “early warning score” chart had several incomplete observations throughout the day, with the total score also not recorded, which was not in line with Health NZ policy.
Cooper criticised Health NZ’s failure to follow its mandatory escalation and urosepsis policies and the renal colic protocol.
“Had these policies been adhered to, the delay in the diagnosis of urosepsis may have been avoided,” she said.
Cooper recommended Health NZ Waitaha Canterbury apologise to the woman’s family.
She also recommended developing an education and training plan for staff around diagnosing urosepsis and the importance of medical documentation.
Health NZ told the commissioner it had changed its renal colic protocols to highlight the need to consider an alternative diagnosis, run an education refresher on sepsis and run an education session for urology nurses.
In a statement, Health New Zealand chief medical officer Te Waipounamu Alan Pithie said patient safety and quality of care was a top priority.
“On behalf of Health New Zealand, we would like to say how sorry we are for what happened and extend our sincerest condolences to the patient’s family and friends for the loss of their loved one. We are deeply sorry for the distress caused and recognise that the patient’s death in 2022 has had, and continues to have, a profound and long-lasting impact,” he said.
“We acknowledge the deputy commissioner’s findings and have provided the family with a written apology. We have also implemented changes to improve our services including amending the renal colic clinical pathway for care, rolling out a national sepsis action plan, and updating processes for recording clinical information on deteriorating patients.
“Work is also underway to implement refresher education for urology nursing staff on early warning scores (EWS) and adding more functionality to the digital adult EWS pathway.”
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For flowering plants, reproduction is a question of the birds and the bees. Attracting the right pollinator can be a matter of survival – and new research shows how flowers do it is more intriguing than anyone realised, and might even involve a little bit of magic.
In our new paper, published in Current Biology, we discuss how a single “magic” trait of some flowering plants simultaneously camouflages them from bees and makes them stand out brightly to birds.
How animals see
We humans typically have three types of light receptors in our eyes, which enable our rich sense of colours.
These are cells sensitive to blue, green or red light. From the input from these cells, the brain generates many colours including yellow via what is called colour opponent processing.
The way colour opponent processing works is that different sensed colours are processed by the brain in opposition. For example, we see some signals as red and some as green – but never a colour in between.
Bees see their world using cells that sense ultraviolet, blue and green light, while birds have a fourth type sensitive to red light as well.
Our colour perception illustrated with the spectral bar is different to bees that are sensitive to UV, blue and green, or birds with four colour photoreceptors including red sensitivity. Adrian Dyer & Klaus Lunau, CC BY
The problem flowering plants face
So what do these differences in colour vision have to do with plants, genetics and magic?
Flowers need to attract pollinators of the right size, so their pollen ends up on the correct part of an animal’s body so it’s efficiently flown to another flower to enable pollination.
Accordingly, birds tend to visit larger flowers. These flowers in turn need to provide large volumes of nectar for the hungry foragers.
But when large amounts of sweet-tasting nectar are on offer, there’s a risk bees will come along to feast on it – and in the process, collect valuable pollen. And this is a problem because bees are not the right size to efficiently transfer pollen between larger flowers.
Flowers “signal” to pollinators with bright colours and patterns – but these plants need a signal that will attract birds without drawing the attention of bees.
A walk through nature lets us see with our own eyes that most red flowers are visited by birds, rather than bees. So bird-pollinated flowers have successfully made the transition. Two different theories have been developed that may explain what we observe.
One theory is the bee avoidance hypotheses where bird pollinated flowers just use a colour that is hard for bees to see.
In evolutionary science, the term magic trait refers to an evolved solution where one genetic modification may yield fitness benefits in multiple ways.
Earlier this month, a team working on how this might apply to flowering plants showed that a gene that modulates UV-absorbing pigments in flower petals can indeed have multiple benefits. This is because of how bees and birds view colour signals differently.
Bee-pollinated flowers come in a diverse range of colours. Bees even pollinate some plants with red flowers. But these flowers tend to also reflect a lot of UV, which helps bees find them.
The magic gene has the effect of reducing the amount of UV light reflected from the petal, making flowers harder for bees to see. But (and this is where the magic comes in) reducing UV reflection from a petal of a red flower simultaneously makes it look redder for animals – such as birds – which are believed to have a colour opponent system.
Red flowers look similar for humans, but as flowers evolved for bird vision a genetic change down-regulates UV reflection, making flowers more colourful for birds and less visible to bees. Adrian Dyer & Klaus Lunau, CC BY
Birds that visit these bright red flowers gain rewards – and with experience, they learn to go repeatedly to the red flowers.
One small gene change for colour signalling in the UV yields multiple beneficial outcomes by avoiding bees and displaying enhanced colours to entice multiple visits from birds.
We lucky humans are fortunate that our red perception can also see the result of this clever little trick of nature to produce beautiful red flower colours. So on your next walk on a nice day, take a minute to view one of nature’s great experiments on finding a clever solution to a complex problem.
Adrian Dyer previously received funding from The Australian Research Council.
Klaus Lunau previously received funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer in International Studies in the School of Society and Culture, Adelaide University
Five years ago, on February 1 2021, Myanmar’s top generals decapitated the elected government. Democratic leaders were arrested, pushed underground or forced into exile.
Since then, the economy has spluttered and foreign investors have headed for the exit. The only growth industries – mostly scam centres, drugs and other criminal activities – enrich those already well-fed.
The military junta has kept its stranglehold via draconian curbs on civil and political liberties. It has bolstered its fighting forces through ruthless conscription, including of child soldiers. They now face rebellions in almost every corner of the ethnically diverse country.
It helps that the military brass can still depend on international support from Russia. China, meanwhile, is playing a careful game to ensure its interests – including prized access to the Indian Ocean for oil and gas – are secured.
And US President Donald Trump’s second term in office has introduced newly unpredictable and detrimental elements to great power politics.
The US government last year cited “notable progress in governance and stability [and] plans for free and fair elections” as justification for removing the Temporary Protected Status designation for immigrants from Myanmar. Although a federal judge blocked this decision a few days ago, this may eventually force previously protected Myanmar citizens to return home.
However, far from being free and fair, the month-long elections that just concluded in Myanmar have been devoid of meaningful democratic practice.
They will entrench the junta and provide little more than a patina of legitimacy that anti-democratic major powers will use to further normalise relations with Myanmar’s military leaders.
Myanmar’s deeply flawed election
The multi-stage elections were being held in only a fraction of the country currently under the military’s authority. Elections were not held in opposition-held territory, so many otherwise eligible voters were disenfranchised.
As such, there is no serious opposition to the military’s proxy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Civil and political space is also heavily restricted, with criticism of the election itself being a criminal offence.
The main opposition would be the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which has won by a landslide in every national election it has participated in since 1990. But it has been banned, along with dozens of other opposition political parties. Its senior leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, have been imprisoned.
Despite recent military gains by the junta, supported by Russian military technology and Chinese government pressure, the lines of control may be starting to solidify into an eventual Balkanisation, or break up, of Myanmar into hostile statelets.
The prospects for a future federalised democratic Myanmar seem increasingly remote.
Since, the coup there are many areas now under full opposition control. Take, for instance, a recent declaration of independence by a breakaway ethnic Karen armed group. While they represent only one part of the Karen community in eastern Myanmar, this could well precipitate a flood of similar announcements by other ethnic minorities.
Other groups might declare themselves autonomous and seek backing from governments and commercial and security interests in neighbouring countries such as China, Thailand, India and Bangladesh.
Most neighbouring countries will be uneasy about any further fracturing of Myanmar’s territorial integrity. Some, however, see potential benefits. China, for example, supports some ethnic armed groups to protect its strategic economic assets and maintain stability and influence along its borders.
Will international rulings have any impact?
While the conflict continues at home, Myanmar’s military leadership is defending itself at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. It faces claims it committed genocide against the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority, particularly during the massacres of 2017.
Given the disdain for international law shown by Russia, China and the Trump administration in the US, any finding against the junta will have limited practical impact anyway.
What next?
Meanwhile, some countries in the the ASEAN bloc appear to be softening their opposition to the junta.
Recently, the Philippines foreign secretary met with Myanmar’s senior military leadership in the country’s first month chairing the bloc. This highlights the conundrum faced by regional leaders.
In the years immediately after the coup, ASEAN sought to keep Myanmar’s junta at arm’s length. But a number of key ASEAN players, particularly the more authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia, would prefer to find a way to normalise engagement with the generals.
From that perspective, the flawed elections are a chance to embrace superficial democratisation and renewal.
This leaves the Myanmar people – millions of whom have fought hard against the coup and its negative consequences – with invidious choices about how to best pursue their independence and freedom.
There is little positive economic news on the horizon. The IMF projects inflation in Myanmar will stay above 30% in 2026 with a real GDP fall of 2.7%. This would compound an almost 20% contraction since the coup. The currency is worth around one quarter of what it was five years ago at the time of the coup.
In practice, this means many Myanmar families have gone backwards dramatically. An untold number are now entangled in illicit and often highly exploitative businesses.
The military’s proxy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), will undoubtedly form government after the elections. But unlike the USDP-led government that formed after the similarly flawed 2010 election, this new administration is unlikely to pursue political and economic liberalisation sufficient to entice opposition forces to play along.
The people of Myanmar have now been betrayed and brutalised by the military far too often to believe their easy promises.
As a pro vice-chancellor at the University of Tasmania, Nicholas Farrelly engages with a wide range of organisations and stakeholders on educational, cultural and political issues, including at the ASEAN-Australia interface. He has previously received funding from the Australian government for Southeast Asia-related projects and from the Australian Research Council. Nicholas is on the advisory board of the ASEAN-Australia Centre, which is an Australian government body established in 2024, and also Deputy Chair of the board of NAATI, Australia’s government-owned accreditation authority for translators and interpreters. He writes in his personal capacity.
Adam Simpson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Outgoing Blues coach Vern Cotter revealed today that his deal with the Queensland Reds was too far advanced for him to consider the now vacant All Blacks head coaching role. Cotter will leave the Blues for Brisbane at the end of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season and said he was as surprised as anyone when he heard the news of Scott Robertson’s sacking earlier this month.
“I was a bit blindsided by the Razor thing,” said Cotter.
“Probably nobody thought that was coming. There was a review, and after two years and two years before the World Cup, that’s what happens.”
Cotter, who originally agreed to a two-year contract with the Blues and extended for this season, said that he had committed to the move to the Reds to replace Les Kiss by the time NZ Rugby (NZR) had made their decision regarding Robertson.
“We were so far down the track with the Reds, it would have been hard to make myself available for the All Blacks. It’s timing and it didn’t work out.”
The 64-year-old, who has had an extensive coaching career at both test and domestic level, admitted that things could’ve been different had they lined up better.
“I’d love to coach All Blacks – I applied in 2011. That’s a long time ago, but, but once again, I had given my word and I don’t want to go back on it. I’m not letting people down.”
Cotter said he hadn’t discussed the end of season player review, that proved so critical in Robertson’s fate, with any of his All Blacks squad members.
“What we can gather from it is that there’s a very clear idea of what they want to happen next. The (NZR) board, David Kirk and whatever. So we’re not privy to it the players aren’t really either… we certainly don’t like asking and that belongs to them and that (All Blacks) environment.
Cotter ruling himself out of contention seemingly narrows the field to Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie as likely leading candidates for the All Blacks role.
New Blues CEO Karl Budge said the process to find a replacement for Cotter was already underway.
“This has been part of planning for quite some time,” said Budge.
“So we’ve had loads of chats with Vern. He’ll tell you that timing is always pretty important, and this is a club that’s well planned out. We wanted to look out to the future and I think the work with Vern has allowed us to do that.”
Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu holds up the trophy as the Blues team celebrate winning the Super Rugby Pacific final.Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Budge praised Cotter for “teaching us how to win” after guiding the Blues to the 2024 title, their first in a full Super Rugby format in 21 years.
Meanwhile, Cotter remains focused on the upcoming Super Rugby Pacific campaign, as they try and repeat that 2024 championship run. He confirmed today that All Blacks Beauden Barrett and Patrick Tuipulotu will be missing from the first few rounds, with Barrett on mandatory rest and scheduled to return in round four against the Crusaders.
Tuipulotu is still recovering from a shoulder injury and is expected back by round six.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Farmers came from far and wide for the the Parapara-Makirikiri Sheep Dog Trial Club auction.supplied
Organisers of a long-standing North Island working dog auction are in disbelief after $320,000 changed hands at their latest sale.
With sheep farming riding a wave of record lamb prices and strong international demand, buyers arrived at the auction near Whanganui last Saturday with extra money in their back pockets.
Hundreds attended the annual Parapara-Makirikiri Sheep Dog Trial Club auction held on a rural property near Whangaehu which featured more than 60 dogs up for sale.
Inclement weather on the day did little to slow the bidding.
Fierce competition pushed heading dog Trix to the top price of $12,200, bettering last year’s best by nearly $3000.
Jonathan Smailes shows his 11-month-old Wedge to the crowd at the Parapara-Makirikiri Sheep Dog Trial Club auction. She sold for $9800.supplied
The top huntaway Mufasa from Taihape’s Peter Wilson sold for $10,500 – with the young farmer selling three more prized working dogs Spud, Shaggy and Queen. This topped last year’s top huntaway of $9800.
And in a strong run of prices, seven huntaways and two heading dogs sold for at least $9000 on Saturday.
Club spokesperson Brenda O’Leary said the scale of the prices had taken organisers by surprise.
“People can’t believe how much money we have turned over at the sale,” she said.
“There’s a shortage of quality farm dogs.”
O’Leary attributed some of the success of the sale to farmers having less time to break dogs in.
And top-priced Twix certainly fitted the bill.
Taihape farmer Peter Wilson said it’s hard to let your best friends go to another home.supplied
She was described in the run down as “honest, good natured, easy to work and have around”.
Mufasa meanwhile was also fully broken in and “a nice powerful dog”.
Wilson conceded it could be hard to let dogs go to a new owner.
The sun came out only briefly on the day of the sale.supplied
“I’m pretty adamant that these dogs have to go to a good home. At the end of the day they’re good mates of mine,” Wilson said.
“They do a lot for you. But when someone’s paying top dollar like they have been, they’ve got to look after them.”
On average huntaways fetched higher prices with an average of $6500.
That pipped the heading dogs average of $4700.
The event is run as a fundraiser for the Parapara-Makirikiri Sheep Dog Trial Club. O’Leary said the auction entry fee of $150 per dog will now help with the club’s running costs. She said most of the funds will be used to host their annual hill country trial held at Parikino which includes the cost of getting sheep to the trial.
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The logbook of presidential flights in Indonesia reveals an unusual pattern — from the Merdeka Palace to the Land of the Bird of Paradise.
By 2023, then President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had set foot in Papua at least 17 times — a record in the republic’s history, surpassing the total visits of all previous presidents combined.
Each touchdown of the presidential plane on the land of Papua or at the new airports he inaugurated was more than just a working visit. It was a statement of presence as a political message: Papua is no longer marginalised; it exists on Indonesia’s main political map.
Yet, behind the roar of the presidential plane and the welcoming traditional dances, lies a critical question: Has the physical presence of a national leader, accompanied by the rumble of massive infrastructure projects, touched the core issues of Papua?
Or has it merely become a grand symbol of integration, while social fractures, injustice, and sorrow continue to flow?
This analysis evaluates the multifaceted impact of President Jokowi’s dozen plus visits and draw crucial lessons for the new administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka (Jokowi’s Son) in weaving a more just and sustainable Papuan policy.
The multidimensional impact of Jokowi’s visits From a national political perspective, the frequency of President Jokowi’s visits to Papua, was a smart and unprecedented political communication strategy. Each landing in the Melanesian land has not merely been a routine agenda but a powerful symbolic political performance.
Handshakes with tribal chiefs, meetings with traditional leaders in public arenas, and speeches amid crowds function as direct counter-narratives to long-standing issues of marginalisation and separatism.
This physical presidential presence is an undeniable visual declaration: Papua is an inseparable part of Indonesia, and the nation’s highest leader is consistently present there.
This presence serves as a potent tool of state legitimacy, shortening the psychological distance between the centre of power in Jakarta and the easternmost Melanesian region, while demonstrating the intended political commitment. However, beneath this symbolism, the legitimacy built through physical presence is temporary if not supported by real structural change.
The critical question often raised by the community, especially Indigenous Papuans (OAP), is simple yet fundamental: “After the president’s planes and helicopters leave and the protocol frenzy subsides, what has truly changed for our lives?”
The narrative of integration through presence and physical development often clashes with demands for self-determination and historical grievances still alive among indigenous Papuans, as reflected in the ongoing armed conflict in the Central Highlands, indicating that this approach has not fully addressed the deep-seated roots of dissatisfaction.
The most visible legacy of the Jokowi era in Papua is none other than the infrastructure revolution — thousands of kilometres of the Trans-Papua Road cutting through wilderness and remote mountains, the magnificent Youtefa Bridge in Jayapura, and airport modernisations like Ewer Airport in Asmat, Wamena Airport, and the construction of the trans-Wamena-Jayapura road, Wamena-Nduga road, and other physical developments.
The government’s logic is that connectivity is an absolute prerequisite for growth. With good roads, the price of necessities in the interior is expected to drop, tourism can develop, and public services like health and education can become faster and more equitable.
Data from the Ministry of Public Works and Housing indeed records significant accessibility improvements. However, behind this physical progress, reports from organisations like the Pusaka Foundation and Greenpeace Indonesia warn of massive and often overlooked ecological impacts.
The opening of certain segments of the Trans-Papua Road is judged to accelerate deforestation, threaten Papua’s unique biodiversity, and disrupt watershed areas.
More profoundly, the issue of community involvement and consent in land acquisition processes often becomes a source of new conflict, sparking tension. As Indonesian human rights activist Usman Hamid has stated, infrastructure development is like a double-edged sword: on one side, it opens isolation and shortens distances, but on the other, it paradoxically erodes customary land rights, damages the environment that is the source of their cultural life and subsistence, and ironically, is enjoyed more by new settlers with greater capital and networks.
On the socio-economic level, the government vigorously distributed various social assistance programmes such as the Indonesia Health Card (KIS), Indonesia Smart Card (KIP), and various forms of Direct Cash Assistance (BLT).
These affirmative policies aim directly at catching up on welfare gaps and, statistically, have succeeded in reducing poverty rates in cities like Jayapura, although they remain the highest nationally. Sectors like Youtefa Bay tourism also show rapid growth. However, the economic growth created is often enclave-like and not inclusive.
Maria, a small business owner in Jayapura, illustrates this reality — large infrastructure projects are handled by contractors from outside Papua, hotels and medium-scale businesses are often owned by non-Papuan investors, while local SMEs struggle to compete due to limited access to capital, training, and marketing networks.
The structural gap between OAP and non-Papuans in ownership of means of production and access to quality job opportunities remains wide. Consequently, many Papuan sons and daughters only become manual labourers or contract workers on the grand projects building their ancestral land, an irony that deepens the sense of injustice.
In the socio-cultural realm, President Jokowi’s presence, often adorned with Papuan cultural ornaments and humbly participating in traditional dances, was a powerful form of symbolic recognition. This gesture sent a national message that Papuan culture is respected and valued at the highest state level.
However, this symbolic recognition on the political stage often does not align with the daily reality in Papua. The late Papuan peace figure, Father Neles Tebay, once described that in Papuan cities, “two worlds” often coexist but do not integrate: the modern world of migrants dominating the formal sector and modern economy, and the world of indigenous communities, often marginalised in culturally insensitive development processes.
Ethnic-tinged horizontal conflicts that have occurred, such as in Jayapura and Mimika, are clear indicators of how fragile social harmony is and how deep the unresolved socio-cultural gap remains.
The darkest and most challenging point of this entire development narrative lies in human rights issues and the unending armed conflict. Although presidential visits often include a conflict resolution agenda, incidents of human rights violations and armed clashes between security forces and the TPNPB (West Papua National Liberation Army) continue to recur, with unarmed civilians often becoming trapped victims, as in the tragedies in Nduga and Intan Jaya highlighted by Komnas HAM and LBH Jakarta.
An approach relying almost solely on physical development, unaccompanied by sincere efforts towards historical reconciliation and fair, transparent law enforcement for past human rights violations, is considered by many in Papua as merely “covering a festering internal wound with a bandage”.
This unresolved historical pain and injustice continues to be the main fuel for resistance and demands for independence, proving that concrete and asphalt roads alone are not enough to build lasting peace and justice felt by all the nation’s children.
Valuable lessons for the Prabowo-Gibran era The current administration under President Prabowo Subianto and Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka must not continue the Papuan policy with business as usual. The previous administration’s legacy offers a clear roadmap, as well as warnings about dead ends that must be avoided.
Four critical lessons should form the basis for transitioning from symbolic development to substantive, just transformation.
First, policy focus must undergo a paradigm shift from mere physical development towards the holistic empowerment of Papuan people. This means massive investment in quality education with curricula relevant to social contexts and local potential, as well as vocational training that equips Indigenous Papuans with skills to manage the economy on their own land.
Firm and measurable affirmative schemes must be designed to ensure Indigenous Papuans are not merely spectators, but the primary owners and managers of strategic economic sectors, from culture-based tourism and organic agriculture to creative industries.
Without this step, magnificent infrastructure will only become a channel for an extractive economy controlled by outsiders, perpetuating dependency and disparity.
Second, the government must enforce the principle of absolute harmony between development, cultural preservation, and environmental protection. Every major project, especially those touching customary lands and indigenous forest areas, must undergo credible, participatory, and legally binding Environmental and Social-Cultural Impact Assessments (AMDAL & ANDAL).
Development must no longer sacrifice local wisdom and ecosystems that are the soul and identity of Papuan society. Development models imported from Java or Sumatra must be reviewed and replaced with approaches born from dialogue with local ecology and culture, so that progress is not synonymous with environmental destruction and cultural marginalisation.
Third, this new era must open space for conflict resolution through a courageous approach of dialogue and reconciliation. The government needs to initiate inclusive dialogue involving all elements of Papuan society, including pro-independence groups willing to discuss peacefully, to address the roots of historical and structural dissatisfaction.
This complex issue has been comprehensively formulated by the Papua Peace Network. The establishment of an independent and trusted Papua Truth and Reconciliation Commission could be a monumental step to heal past wounds and build a foundation for sustainable peace, recognising that true security is born from justice.
Fourth, Special Autonomy must be revived in its meaning and spirit. A comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of the Special Autonomy Law, along with its trillions of rupiah in fund flows, is a necessity.
These funds must be shifted from physical projects that are often off-target to investments in enhancing the capacity, health, and economy of indigenous Papuans. More importantly, Special Autonomy must be interpreted as a political recognition of the special rights of Indigenous Papuans.
This means strengthening traditional institutions and providing real and decisive participatory space in every strategic decision-making at the provincial and district levels, so that policies are no longer felt as something imposed from Jakarta.
Ultimately, the main challenge for the Prabowo-Gibran administration is to demonstrate that commitment to Papua goes beyond rhetoric and showcase projects. Success will be measured not by the length of roads built, but by the fading of tension, the reduction of disparities, and the rise of self-confidence and economic independence among Indigenous Papuans.
Only by making these four pillars — human empowerment, harmony, dialogue, and living autonomy — the foundation of policy can Papua be truly integrated into the Republic of Indonesia in a dignified and sustainable manner.
“Only by making four pillars — human empowerment, harmony, dialogue, and living autonomy — the foundation of policy can Papua be truly integrated into the Republic of Indonesia in a dignified and sustainable manner.” Image: Laurens Ikinia/APR
A revolutionary approach model To translate the lessons from the previous era, the current administration requires a radical change in its approach model, moving from a centralised development paradigm towards participatory governance based on Papuan native institutions.
This ministry is not intended to manage regional administration, but specifically to guarantee the fulfilment of indigenous Papuans’ rights, as mandated in the Special Autonomy Law.
By placing the Governing Body for the Acceleration of Special Autonomy Development in Papua (BP3OKP) and the Papua Special Autonomy Acceleration Executive Committee under it, the government can create centralised, strong, and accountable coordination, thereby avoiding programme overlap and leakage of Special Autonomy funds.
This institutional revolution must be supported by data-based governance and authentic participation. Every policy and fund allocation, especially the massive Special Autonomy funds, must arise from rigorous data studies and in-depth dialogue with the community, rather than just technocratic planning in Jakarta.
Transparency and accountability in fund use must be guaranteed through independent oversight mechanisms that actively involve representatives of traditional councils or institutions, religious institutions, and local NGOs as watchdogs. Only then can the allocated funds truly become an instrument of change, not merely an instrument of expenditure.
Another key pillar is building equal and formal partnerships with Papuan traditional institutions, such as the Papuan Customary Council (DAP) and various stakeholders. These institutions are not merely ceremonial objects but must be recognised as strategic government partners in every stage of development, from planning and implementation to evaluation.
As socio-cultural anchors, understanding the pulse and real needs of the community, their involvement can prevent social conflict and ensure development programmes align with local wisdom and customary rights.
Furthermore, meaningful decentralisation becomes a prerequisite for success. Local governments in Papua must be given substantive authority and massive capacity building to independently manage natural resources and public services.
Moreover, the development approach must start from the grassroots, making participatory development at the village level the standard method. This method ensures that community aspirations are heard directly and the projects implemented truly address their priority needs, not merely pursuing physical targets.
Ultimately, this approach aims to reverse the traditional relationship between the central government and local governments in Papua. From a relationship that has so far seemed patron-client, to a partnership based on the sovereignty of indigenous communities and substantive justice.
Thus, development is no longer felt as something given from above, but something built together from below, creating a sense of ownership and sustainability that will become the foundation for long-term peace and prosperity in Papua.
Indonesianising in the Papuan Way Reinterpreting the term “Indonesianising” Papua is a main task for the current administration. This concept must no longer be interpreted as an assimilation process erasing distinctive identity, but must transform into an integration that respects uniqueness.
True integration is not homogenisation, but an effort to embrace diversity as a strength. In this context, Indonesia is not a single mould, but a mosaic that gains its beauty precisely from the differences of each piece. For this, a multidimensional approach grounded in four main pillars is required.
First, in the field of education, the national curriculum must become more flexible and inclusive. Enrichment with local content — such as the history and wisdom of Papuan tribes, local languages, and inherited ecological wisdom — should not be merely supplementary, but the core of the learning process.
Schools must become places where Papuan children are proud of their identity while mastering global competencies. Second, in the field of the economy, self-reliance must be built on local strengths.
Easily accessible micro-financing systems, entrepreneurship training, and strong marketing support for flagship products like Wamena arabica coffee, sago, matoa, or high-value marine products will create a sovereign economy that empowers, rather than displaces, the indigenous people.
Third, recognition at the legal level is the foundation of justice. Recognition of the customary land rights of indigenous communities in land and natural resource governance must be guaranteed and integrated into national regulations. This is a concrete step to prevent agrarian conflict and ensure development benefits return to the rightful land owners.
Fourth, building intensive cultural dialogue through student, artist, and youth exchange programs between Papua and other regions, or other countries. This direct interaction will break the chain of prejudice, build empathy, and strengthen a true sense of brotherhood as one nation.
Towards a ‘Just Papua’ The legacy from the previous period is ambivalent. On one hand, there is magnificent infrastructure and symbolic integration strengthened through physical presence; on the other, deep disappointment remains due to unbridged gaps and a persistently pulsating conflict.
The Prabowo-Gibran administration now stands at a historical crossroads. The choice is between continuing the visually spectacular yet often elitist “concrete development” model or taking a more winding yet dignified path: namely, the Papuan human empowerment model, which places indigenous Papuans as the primary subject and heir to the future of their own land.
This strategic choice will be fate-determining. It will measure, later at the end of their term, whether presidential and vice-presidential visits to Papua are still met with cold protocol performances, or with new hope and genuine smiles from a people who feel recognised, valued, and empowered.
Ultimately, genuine national integration can only be realised when Indigenous Papuans can stand tall with all their identity and dignity, not as a party being “Indonesianised,” but as fully-fledged Indonesians who also shape the face of the nation.
The future of Papua is not about becoming like others, but about being itself in the embrace of the Bird of Garuda.
Laurens Ikinia is a Papuan lecturer and researcher at the Institute of Pacific Studies, Indonesian Christian University, Jakarta. He is also an honorary member of the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN) in Aotearoa New Zealand, and an occasional contributor to Asia Pacific Report.
A cordon is up and armed police are in the suburb of Awapuni in Palmerston North while armed officers search for person who fled police after their vehicle’s tyres were spiked.
The police said they were told about a stolen vehicle on Main Street, Roslyn, at about midday.
It was spotted on a nearby street and officers watched the vehicle before deploying road spikes.
The driver then fled on foot, and police are trying to find them.
A gun was found in the abandoned vehicle.
A cordon is up on Alexander Street, and the public is being asked to avoid the area.
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More than 10,000 more withdrawals were made from KiwiSaver for hardship reasons last year than in 2024, and providers say there’s no sign of the rate slowing.
Inland Revenue data shows there were 58,460 withdrawals for hardship reasons in 2025, 10,000 more than were made for a first home.
In total, $514.8 million was withdrawn from KiwiSaver because of hardship, and $2.1 billion for a first home.
In 2024, there were 47,390 hardship withdrawals to a total of $403.8m
Dean Anderson, founder of Kernel, said it showed the two-speed economic recovery that New Zealand was experiencing.
The level of first-home withdrawals up a third year-on-year for the month in December, while hardship withdrawals were up 12 percent.
“On one end, sustained economic pressures, both at the household level and business level – such as in the hospitality sector – have forced Kiwis who’ve exhausted other means to tap their retirement savings just to get by,” he said.
“On the other end, three years of falling house prices, plus price stabilisation through 2025, and falling interest rates have opened the door for first-home buyers – many now in their mid-to-late 30s with a decade-plus in the workforce and substantial KiwiSaver balances built up.
“Combined with government first-home support, KiwiSaver is proving a key deposit tool, and we should expect these withdrawals to keep rising as balances grow… The data underlines that KiwiSaver is serving a dual role – supporting home ownership and acting as a financial release valve for those under pressure – but that growth masks a deeper trade-off: every dollar withdrawn today is a dollar not compounding for retirement.”
Pie Funds’ chief executive Ana-Marie Lockyer said there had been no meaningful slowdown in hardship withdrawals.
“The number of approved applications has remained relatively static over the past year rather than trending down.
“That suggests financial pressure is still present for a consistent group of members, even as broader economic indicators begin to stabilise. While we’re not seeing an acceleration, we also aren’t seeing clear signs of easing yet.”
Koura founder Rupert Carlyon said he expected the rate of withdrawals to continue.
“I think there’s three things. There’s clearly the economic climate, which is making life difficult for people. I think you’ve got larger balances, which mean that people all of a sudden are starting to think about it a whole lot more.
“And then the third thing is there’s a greater awareness that you can actually make withdrawals.”
He said a big question would be whether, if there was a shift to make KiwiSaver compulsory or add incentives, the rules on withdrawals had to be tightened.
“At the moment it’s a voluntary saving scheme without any incentive, so you kind of go ‘it’s people’s money’. It’s kind of hard to argue that they can’t get it out for all this stuff. If we move into a different type of scheme, which I think is what a lot of people are starting to talk about, then yeah, what happens to all these withdrawals?”
Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson said the data showed that more New Zealanders were having to dip into KiwiSaver to deal with immediate financial pressure.
“Households are clearly under strain, but early withdrawals come at a real long-term cost because people lose the compounding investment gains that help fund a decent retirement. KiwiSaver is designed to support people later in life, so accessing it early should remain a last resort.
“Our 2025 Review of Retirement Income Policies highlighted that New Zealand still lacks consistent data on the range of reasons why these withdrawals are happening. Without better information, it’s difficult to design targeted solutions to try to reduce hardship withdrawals and improve financial resilience. Better data collection is essential if we’re to protect New Zealanders’ long-term retirement outcomes.”
Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Carolyn Cooper.Supplied
The health watchdog has criticised inadequate staffing at Ōamaru Hospital’s emergency department after investigating the death of an elderly woman.
The 93-year-old was given the wrong amount of saline as a result of a prescribing error in November 2023.
Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Carolyn Cooper said while she was concerned about the care provided to the woman after multiple errors by different staff, a postmortem found the prescribing error did not cause her death.
“While I acknowledge that individual staff were involved, I consider that the workload at the time meant that staff could not carry out their respective roles adequately,” she said.
Cooper found Waitaki District Health Services, which managed the hospital at the time, bore the responsibility of ensuring safe staffing and had breached the woman’s right to health care that minimised the potential harm and optimised her quality of life.
“I am critical that the ED (emergency department) did not have adequate staffing levels to manage high patient numbers and that this had an impact on the standard of care provided to Mrs A by multiple staff,” she said.
Cooper recommended Waitaki District Health Services apologise to the woman’s family and noted the organisation had continued to recruit and employ more staff and boosted training for nursing staff on the infusion of IV fluids.
She said Waitaki had guidelines in place relating to saline but steps had been taken to make the information more widely available.
A sole doctor on a busy emergency department night shift
The woman was seen by a hospital doctor who diagnosed her with pneumonia, urinary retention and severe hyponatraemia, or abnormally low sodium levels in her blood, in November 2023.
He prescribed her 100ml of three per cent saline at a rate of 200ml per hour before his shift finished and a different doctor took over her care.
Waitaki District Health Services acknowledged to the commissioner that the emergency department was busy.
“Dr C was the sole doctor covering Ōamaru Hospital on night shift and was responsible for all ED patients, the acute medical/ward patients, arranging transfers, speaking to consultants at Dunedin Hospital, and taking phone calls from nursing homes, as Ōamaru Hospital provides all urgent care to the region after hours,” the report said.
A registered nurse found a 1000ml bag and showed it to a nursing student, who told him the chart was wrong and it should read 1000ml not 100ml.
The night shift doctor prescribed a 1000ml bag to run over 10 hours because he believed it was a more cautious approach and asked for her levels to be checked in a few hours.
The doctor acknowledged he was not overly familiar with prescribing the saline solution and told the commissioner that there were no hospital guidelines and staff had not raised any concerns about his decision.
Staff noted there was an audible crackle while she was breathing but her condition did not appear to have deteriorated and she was alert.
It was not until the night shift doctor checked her sodium levels just before the morning handover that he realised the rise was too rapid, telling nurses to stop her fluids immediately.
When her original doctor arrived at work, he realised the error and started reversing the sodium correction but the woman soon became unresponsive and died.
A postmortem found she died from pneumonia and sepsis and the sodium correction had not been too rapid.
Cooper raised concerns about the night shift doctor’s actions because he prescribed the larger saline bag despite being unfamiliar with the solution and did not look up the hospital’s guidelines.
“Severe hyponatraemia in a severely ill elderly respiratory patient is such a red flag, and ultimately Mrs A’s care was the responsibility of Dr C despite his suggestion that staff did not raise concerns on reading his prescription,” she said.
Cooper said the woman’s treatment was a moderate departure for the accepted standard of care because the prescribing error was not responsible for her death and the workload was “at the limit of what can be considered safe”.
She also criticised the shift leader and nursing student who administered the dose despite concerns the prescription was incorrect, saying the shift leader did not adequately supervise the student.
Cooper found the woman’s deteriorating condition might have been noticed earlier if her vitals had been better assessed and documented.
She recommended Health New Zealand Southern, which took over operations at Ōamaru Hospital in July 2024, provide training for emergency department staff and rural hospitals on managing abnormally low sodium levels, update the commissioner on staffing levels, confirm different saline bags were kept in separate places and show it was improving its documentation.
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Ten-year-old kākāpō Marian incubating three eggs in her nest on Anchor Island.Kākāpō Recovery Programme DOC
Conservation lovers glued to a black and white livestream from a remote island off the coast of New Zealand on Sunday can safely claim to be the only people to have seen a critically endangered kākāpō lay an egg in real time.
The images beamed to the world from a large cavity beneath a rātā tree on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island showed 23-year-old Rakiura laying her second egg of the season, the product of a dalliance with Kōmaru a week earlier.
Kākāpō Cam shows Rakiura just after she laid her first egg of 2026.SUPPLIED/DOC
The pair are among just 236 of the flightless parrots alive.
More than than 20,000 people have tuned in to watch Rakiura in her nest since the feed went live on 23 January.
Kākāpō only breed every two to four years and this year’s season could the best yet following a bumper mast, or mass fruiting of rimu berries.
They are predominately based on Whenua Hou, three kilometres west of Stewart Island/Rakiura, with two other breeding populations on Fiordland’s Pukenui/Anchor Island and Te Kākāhu/Chalky Island.
Department of Conservation (DOC) ranger Jake Osborne told RNZ’s Kākāpō Files podcast that monitoring technology allowed experts to keep an eye on the eggs and learn more about the elusive parrot’s nesting behaviour.
Kākāpō technology project lead Jake Osborne working on the Kākāpō Cam set‑up.SUPPLIED/DOC
While Rakiura has returned to the same nest in each of the past seven breeding seasons, the only way to confirm she would commit this year was to wait to see if she would lay her first egg there.
He said DOC staff and volunteers were able to watch that happen on 22 January.
“We’ve all been quite thrilled to be able sit and watch her in her natural nesting behaviour and for the first time we think for anyone alive today, [watch her] lay a couple of eggs. It’s pretty cool to see in full high definition,” he said.
Kākāpō technology project lead Matt Robertson working on the Kākāpō Cam set‑up.SUPPLIED/DOC
Rakiura’s livestream did not go live until the following day, though the footage of her first egg can be seen here.
She laid another egg on on 25 January.
Kākāpō have been known to lay five eggs but Rakiura has more commonly had two to four egg clutches, usually laid about three days apart.
After mating with Kōmaru on 15 January, she was artificially inseminated on 21 January.
Osborne said getting the monitoring and streaming equipment to the remote island sanctuary was no easy task and involved a lot of effort and trial and error.
“It’s one thing to get a camera to work, it’s another thing to keep the camera working in an environment like that, with a stable connection to get enough power to run it all night and all day requires a lot of solar power, some pretty big batteries, some computers, routers, all sorts of things that let us monitor it remotely,” he said.
Osborne said Rakiura’s nest is down a dark valley, making solar power impossible, so the equipment is powered from a hill top 300 metres away.
This year’s live stream set up involved four solar panels, 26kg of batteries, 300m of cable, satellite internet, routers, voltage converters and more.
Kākāpō have also been transferred to Pukenui/Anchor Island and Te Kākāhu/Chalky Island in southwest Fiordland, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari in Waikato, North Island, and Coal Island/Te Puka-Hereka. Once abundant, by the late 1800s the birds had come under attack from humans and pests.
An early bid to preserve the kākāpō saw several hundred relocated to predator-free Resolution Island in Fiordland, then wiped out when stoats arrived just years later.
By the mid-1900s, only a few birds survived in the most isolated parts of the country, according to a DOC history of efforts to save the world’s heaviest parrot.
By the late 1970s, multiple expeditions had turned up just two dozen of the birds in Fiordland, all male, but the discovery of a large population on Rakiura Stewart Island in 1977 has formed the basis of conservation efforts since.
The birds were initially evacuated to three offshore island sanctuaries, Codfish Island/Whenua Hou, Te Hoiere/Maud Island and Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island to stem attacks from feral cats which were decimating the colony.
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ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on January 27, 2026.
Australia is turning the spotlight on financial abuse in relationships. What can NZ learn? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Barrett, Professor of Taxation and Commercial Law, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington It’s a problem as old as marriage and money: one spouse, usually the husband, using financial control to dominate the other. From restricting spending and hiding debts, to forcing someone into
Vanuatu citizenship sales strong despite currency hassles and integrity issues By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific bulletin editor With all the setbacks of recent years, Vanuatu’s citizenship sale schemes should be dead in the water — instead they are thriving, and geopolitical chaos is playing a part. The citizenship-by-investment sector is the biggest single revenue earner for Vanuatu’s government, but lingering issues of integrity cast a
Most AI assistants are feminine – and it’s fuelling dangerous stereotypes and abuse Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ramona Vijeyarasa, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney In 2024, artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistants worldwide surpassed 8 billion, more than one per person on the planet. These assistants are helpful, polite – and almost always default to female. Their names also carry gendered connotations.
Does your child want a part-time job? Here’s what the law says about kids at work Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kerry Brown, Professor of Employment and Industry, School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University Boston Public Library/Unsplash For teens, a holiday or weekend job is a good way to earn pocket money and learn a new range of skills. But given the historical and ongoing exploitation
Ending duty-free tobacco sales would be good for health – and health budgets Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janet Hoek, Professor in Public Health, University of Otago Getty Images Until recently, Aotearoa New Zealand led global tobacco control innovation. Evidence-based policies, including sustained tobacco excise tax increases, saw large reductions in smoking rates, which will save thousands of lives. Yet duty-free tobacco sales remain a
ChatGPT Health promises to personalise health information. It comes with many risks Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Ayre, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Sydney Health Literacy Lab, University of Sydney Many of us already use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT for health advice. They give quick, confident and personalised answers, and the experience can feel more private than speaking to a
Did the kids stay up late in the holidays? 3 ways to get sleep routines back Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yaqoot Fatima, Professor of Sleep Health, University of the Sunshine Coast Catherine Falls Commercial/ Getty Images For many families, the holidays mean sleep routines go out the window. Bedtimes drift later, screens stay on into the late evening, sleep-ins become the norm. But as term time rolls
Back to school: what are the money lessons to teach your kids at every age? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance, RMIT University Atlantic Ambience/Pexels As parents prepare for another school year, there’s one subject that often gets overlooked: money. Financial literacy isn’t just about numbers. It’s about building skills that will shape your child’s future decisions, from buying their first car to
In ancient Mesopotamia, what was a ziggurat? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides, Associate Professor in Ancient History, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Macquarie University The ziggurat of Ur is in modern-day Iraq. حسن/Unsplash A ziggurat (also spelled ziqqurat) was a raised platform with four sloping sides that looked like a tiered pyramid. Ziggurats were common in ancient
Why the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis is so significant – expert Q&A Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Shanahan, Associate Professor of Political Engagement, University of Surrey Federal immigration agents in the city of Minneapolis are accused of having wrestled a 37-year-old intensive care nurse called Alex Pretti to the ground and then shooting him dead. The killing took place just over a mile
Shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis has put America’s gun lobby at odds with the White House Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Gawthorpe, Lecturer in History and International Studies, Leiden University Another US citizen has allegedly been killed by immigration agents in Minnesota, raising tensions between state and federal governments. The actions of the federal agencies involved has drawn fierce criticism not only from former Democratic presidents Barack
Eroding trust in Fiji politics – lessons of 2025 and beyond ANALYSIS: By Shailendra B. Singh “You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.” Although made in an American context, this observation by President Harry S. Truman has universal appeal. It highlights the unpredictable and treacherous nature of politics, whether it’s the chameleon-like antics of politicians or the fickleness of voters. The precariousness of politics
Chris Hedges: We sowed the wind, now we will reap the whirlwind COMMENTARY: By Chris Hedges The murders of unarmed civilians on the streets of Minneapolis, including the killing of the intensive-care nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti, would not come as a shock to Iraqis in Fallujah or Afghans in Helmand province. They were terrorised by heavily armed American execution squads for decades. It would not come as
A man, who turned himself into to police on Christmas Day in relation to an ongoing double homicide investigation in Ruatiti, has pleaded not guilty to two unrelated charges.
The man, who’s identity is supressed for legal reasons, was not required to appear in the Whanganui District Court on Tuesday and made the plea via his lawyer.
The nature of the charges he faced was also suppressed.
It was the man’s second appearance in recent days.
On Friday, he appeared before a bail hearing.
All details of that hearing are also suppressed.
The man was due to reappear for a case review hearing in March.
The bodies of 56-year-old Brendon Leigh Cole and 54-year-old Trina Michelle Cole were found at a rural property in Ruatiti, west of Ruapehu, on 13 December.
No charges had been laid in relation to their deaths, and the homicide investigation is ongoing.
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A woman who arrived at Christchurch Hospital’s emergency department in acute pain died the next day after staff missed signs she had sepsis.
The 65-year-old patient died of urosepsis, a life-threatening complication of a urinary tract infection, in January 2022.
In a report released on Tuesday, deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Carolyn Cooper said the hospital failed to provide reasonable care, making “severe departures from standard practice”.
“I concur that there was a failure to recognise urosepsis in a timely way, which subsequently led to a lack of appropriate treatment being provided to [the woman],” she said.
Health NZ completed an adverse event review (AER) into the woman’s care and also found delays in the recognition and treatment of urosepsis.
The report said the woman had a history of high blood pressure and Crohn’s disease, with a previous bowel resection, small bowel obstructions and a kidney stone.
The woman was diagnosed with renal colic after being assessed in the ED and given pain relief.
She was then transferred to the hospital’s urology unit.
The report said the woman was experiencing prolonged hypertension by the next morning.
“Throughout the day, [the woman] received intravenous fluid boluses as the primary intervention for her hypotension. However, her [high blood pressure] did not respond to this adequately,” the report said.
“The AER found that a lack of response or improvement from the fluid should have triggered a challenge of the diagnosis and consideration of other possible differential diagnoses or causes. However, this did not occur.”
Medical reviews at the time suggested the woman’s hypotension may have been due to the effects of the pain relief.
Clinicians noted the woman was “chirpy and chatty” throughout the day and that she did not have a fever but clinical notes also recorded instances of the woman shivering, a symptom of sepsis, the report said.
“The AER found that clinical staff exhibited anchoring bias – that is, there was an over-reliance on the absence of a fever, which normally is present in urosepsis, despite the lack of improvement over the day,” the report said.
“While the nurse in charge, the house officer, and the registrar were informed of [the woman’s] deterioration, there is no evidence of a senior medical officer consultation (after the initial ward round at 8am), consideration of involvement of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) team, or a rapid response call being made when [the woman’s] observations were in the red and blue zone, as required by the mandatory escalation pathway.”
The deputy commissioner found an “early warning score” chart had several incomplete observations throughout the day, with the total score also not recorded, which was not in line with Health NZ policy.
Cooper criticised Health NZ’s failure to follow its mandatory escalation and urosepsis policies and the renal colic protocol.
“Had these policies been adhered to, the delay in the diagnosis of urosepsis may have been avoided,” she said.
Cooper recommended Health NZ Waitaha Canterbury apologise to the woman’s family.
She also recommended developing an education and training plan for staff around diagnosing urosepsis and the importance of medical documentation.
Health NZ told the commissioner it had changed its renal colic protocols to highlight the need to consider an alternative diagnosis, run an education refresher on sepsis and run an education session for urology nurses.
Health NZ has been contacted for comment.
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The woman was sent to the maternity ward at Waitākere Hospital in West Auckland.RNZ / Dan Cook
A woman’s baby was stillborn after multiple errors were made and risk factors overlooked in a stretched Auckland health system.
The Health and Disability Commission said the baby’s parents were failed by Health NZ Waitematā, which runs Waitākere and North Shore hospitals.
The woman had repeatedly raised worries with health staff before she lost her baby at 38 weeks pregnant in 2021.
Deputy commissioner Rose Wall’s report outlined how, at various times in her pregnancy, risks were not properly acted on.
They included the woman’s large uterine fibroid, the baby’s small size, a small amount of amniotic fluid, and abnormal heartbeat at hospital.
The situation escalated when she went to hospital at about 38 weeks pregnant, worried about a lack of movement.
After monitoring, she was sent home but returned the next day. Her baby had died.
The woman told the commission the lack of attention, repeated mistakes and poor communication caused “irreparable harm”.
“These human errors ultimately led to the death of my baby,” the woman told the commission.
Deputy commissioner Rose Wall.LANCE LAWSON / SUPPLIED
“I did everything I could to raise concerns and advocate for my wellbeing and that of my baby, but I was not heard … This has not only been a clinical failure but a deeply personal tragedy that has left lasting emotional and psychological damage.”
The mistakes began early, shortly after the woman was found to have a large fibroid – a benign uterine growth that is often harmless but usually needs extra monitoring.
Her midwife referred her to an obstetrician – but not enough plans were made to monitor the baby’s growth in the weeks to come.
If that had happened, the baby’s small size may well have been identified early, Wall said in her report.
The woman told the commission she had repeatedly asked for an ultrasound from 28 weeks gestation but her midwife did not refer her until 37 weeks when the midwife became concerned about the baby’s growth.
It took 10 days to get an emergency ultrasound.
That scan showed the baby was small and had a low amount of amniotic fluid but the radiologist’s report contradicted itself, saying in one place that the fluid was normal and in others that it was low.
The next day, the woman told the midwife she had not felt her baby move since the scan.
What happened at hospital
The woman’s midwife rang the hospital to tell them the woman was on her way, having warned her she may need to be induced or have a caeserean.
She went to Waitākere Hospital where the baby’s heart was monitored.
It was found to be normal in general but there had been one instance of it dropping suddenly and recovering slowly.
After more monitoring, the heartbeat returned to normal and the woman was sent home. She was told to come back two days later for further monitoring unless she was concerned before that.
But the next day she returned because she could not feel her baby move.
The registrar did an ultrasound and could not find a heartbeat.
“Sadly, Baby A had died,” the report said.
Fault with Health NZ
Deputy commissioner Rose Wall said care provided to the mother by Health NZ Waitematā was inadequate.
“No action was taken in light of the large fibroid; information that was provided by the [woman’s midwife] was not passed on; there was a failure to recognise that a normal-sized baby was unlikely to have low amniotic fluid volume; and it was not recognised that Baby A was a small for gestational age baby because the estimated fetal weight was plotted … incorrectly,” she said.
“These errors were made by multiple staff, for which I hold Health NZ Waitematā responsible.”
An expert who reviewed the case found the woman’s midwife had repeatedly tried to communicate to hospital staff about the baby’s risk factors – including when the hospital sent her home.
There were multiple chances to identify that the baby was small, the expert said.
“He said that if it was known that Baby A was small, then the clinical management of the acute presentation would have been different, as an small for gestational age baby with reduced fetal movements, low amniotic fluid volume, and an abnormal [heart scan] would have led to admission, if not delivery,” the report said.
Wall also criticised the radiologist for including contradicting information about the amniotic fluid in her report.
A stretched hospital
The woman would ordinarily have been sent to North Shore Hospital but it was too full when her midwife called so she was sent to the smaller maternity unit at Waitākere.
The senior obstetrician at Waitākere that day told the commission they were not consulted or informed about the diversion order.
“They became aware of it only when patients started to arrive from North Shore Hospital,” the report said.
There was normally only one senior obstetrician on duty there, but she requested back up and Health NZ had sent a junior doctor to help.
Health NZ responds
Health NZ said it fully accepted the findings and recommendations in the report.
Its director of operations at Waitematā, Brad Healey, said it aimed to provide excellent healthcare and was deeply sorry it did not in this case.
“We have apologised to our patient for the failings identified in the report, the ongoing distress and acknowledged that this apology is likely to be of limited comfort after such a tragic loss,” he said.
Health NZ Waitematā had made process changes including to ensure abnormal findings or urgent issues are escalated as soon as possible, he said.
The commission’s report said the organisation also had contingency plans in place if maternity patients had to be diverted to other hospitals.
The mother told the commission she wanted to see change.
“I hope that this reaches the outcome it deserves so that no other mother or family has to experience the same preventable heartbreak,” she said.
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American rapper and record producer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, took out a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal on Monday to apologise for antisemitic remarks that drew years of backlash.
“I lost touch with reality,” Ye wrote in the ad, attributing his behaviour to an undiagnosed brain injury and an untreated bipolar disorder.
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people,” he added.
Ye also voiced regrets for past expressions of admiration for Adolf Hitler and the use of swastika imagery.
The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks antisemitism, issued a statement describing his apology as overdue and noting his prior antisemitic remarks.
“Ye’s apology to the Jewish people is long overdue and doesn’t automatically undo his long history of antisemitism – the antisemitic ‘Heil Hitler’ song he created, the hundreds of tweets, the swastikas and myriad Holocaust references – and all of the feelings of hurt and betrayal it caused,” an ADL spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.
“The truest apology would be for him to not engage in antisemitic behaviour in the future. We wish him well on the road to recovery,” the statement added.
Ye’s next album, Bully, is due out on Friday, according to the Spotify website.
The rapper referred in the full-page ad to his struggles with his mood disorder over the years.
“Bipolar disorder comes with its own defense system. Denial. When you’re manic, you don’t think you’re sick. You think everyone else is overreacting. You feel like you’re seeing the world more clearly than ever, when in reality you’re losing your grip entirely,” he wrote.
Ye wrote that 25 years ago he was in a car accident that caused significant brain damage that he said wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023. He added that the medical oversight caused mental health problems that led to his bipolar type-1 diagnosis.
The songwriter said that being in “a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour” in early 2025 destroyed his life.
Ye added that he “hit rock bottom a few months ago” and had thoughts of not wanting “to be here anymore”.
The ‘Gold Digger’ rapper also addressed the Black community with both appreciation and more apologies.
He said it was “unquestionably, the foundation of who I am. I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us”.
The ‘Stronger’ rapper previously said he was on the autism spectrum rather than having a bipolar disorder. However, looking through Reddit posts of other “manic” people helped him feel “not alone” and understand that he has a chronic mood disorder.
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Barrett, Professor of Taxation and Commercial Law, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
It’s a problem as old as marriage and money: one spouse, usually the husband, using financial control to dominate the other.
From restricting spending and hiding debts, to forcing someone into legal or financial arrangements they don’t understand, financial abuse has long been a tool of power and coercion within intimate relationships.
While laws that once treated married women as legal minors have been dismantled, financial abuse remains widespread – and largely hidden. Increasingly, it is being recognised not just as a private harm, but as a systemic one, shaped by legal, tax and corporate systems.
There is no reason to expect the problem is any less severe in New Zealand and the case for closer investigation and policy attention is just as compelling.
As Australia moves to reform its systems, the question for New Zealand is what lessons can – and can’t – be imported.
What is financial abuse?
Broadly, financial abuse can include stealing money or property, failing to repay loans, or coercing someone into handing over assets or selling property for another’s benefit.
Unlike in New Zealand, Australia has a dedicated Tax Ombudsman with statutory powers to investigate whether tax administration benefits the community.
The Australian Treasury has also launched a public consultation on tackling financial abuse linked to coerced or fraudulent company directorships.
Together, these initiatives signal growing concern about how legal and financial systems can inadvertently enable abuse, even as the true scale of the problem remains unclear.
One particular issue stands out: fraudulent or coerced directorships, in which people are unknowingly or unwillingly made legally responsible for companies they do not run.
Under Australian law, this can carry severe financial consequences. While the Australian Tax Office is normally treated as an ordinary creditor when a company is liquidated, it also has the power to issue a director penalty notice, which can make company directors personally liable for unpaid tax.
In some cases, this liability takes immediate effect. In others, directors have just 21 days to pay outstanding PAYG (equivalent to PAYE in New Zealand), GST and superannuation debts before enforcement begins.
While these strictly enforced penalty notices act as a strong deterrent to directors who genuinely control companies, they can be highly problematic for innocent people who have been coerced into directorships or appointed without their knowledge.
Consider the example of “Anna”. After she receives a large inheritance, Anna’s husband sets up a company and secretly appoints her as its sole director, without taking on that role himself.
When the business runs into financial trouble and fails to pass on tax deducted from employees’ wages, Anna – who has had no involvement in running the company – becomes personally liable.
Because she is listed as the director, the Australian Tax Office can issue her with a director penalty notice, putting her inheritance and personal assets at immediate risk.
What this means for New Zealand
Different rules apply in New Zealand. Inland Revenue currently has no equivalent power to issue director penalty notices and must generally rely on the liquidation process to recover unpaid tax from insolvent companies.
While the tax department ranks ahead of many creditors, personal liability for directors arises only if a court considers it just: a high threshold.
In practice, it is highly unlikely a court would order compensation from someone who played no role in managing a company and was coerced into becoming, or fraudulently appointed as, a director.
This suggests that the specific weaponisation of company directorships observed in Australia may be far less prevalent in New Zealand. But it does not mean financial abuse is any less common, only that it may operate through different legal and institutional pathways.
Indeed, New Zealand company law arguably treats dishonest directors too leniently, while Australia’s tougher enforcement regime highlights how blunt legal instruments can unintentionally compound harm for abuse victims.
Recent Australian investigations acknowledge this tension, but also reveal how difficult it is to design systems that deter wrongdoing without trapping the innocent.
In New Zealand, we know that financial abuse is common – it is a normal consequence of a power imbalance in an intimate relationship. But we must also understand how it is happening before it can be alleviated. Australian experience doesn’t provide simple answers.
Jonathan Barrett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The three chairpersons of the three Tauranga iwis Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pukenga.NICK MONRO / RNZ
The iwi of Tauranga say their first priority is to support emergency services before considering a longer rāhui at the site of the deadly Mt Maunganui landslide.
The chairpersons of Tauranga’s three iwi, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pukenga held a joint media conference on Monday afternoon.
Ngāti Ranginui chairperson Charlie Rahiri said their thoughts and prayers remain with the families of the victims at Mauao and Pāpāmoa.
The slip at Mauao, Mount Maunganui as seen from the air.Screengrab / Amy Till
When asked about a longer term rāhui, Rahiri said for the moment they would align with the health and safety requirements at Mauao, but they intended to hold a hui to discuss the future of the mountain.
“We understand that there is some damage all around the mountain, so it could take some time to repair that damage. Outside of that we haven’t had a hui as iwi, we haven’t had a hui with our kaumātua to discuss what the long term plan for Mauao is.”
The current rāhui extended from the police cordon back to Mauao and included a rāhui on swimming on both sides of Mount Maunganui.
Updates were being shared by iwi radio station Moana Radio on behalf of Mauao Trust.
Ngāi Te Rangi chairperson Charlie Tawhiao said emergency services at the site were working under difficult conditions and he was proud of the iwi team who had been providing cultural and spiritual support.
Tributes at the cordon.RNZ / Lauren Crimp
There’d been an outpouring of grief from the community in the wake of the tragedy, he said.
“There are a lot of people here that feel very strongly about the loss of people that they don’t even know, but they are visitors to our place.
“There’s been an overwhelming outpouring of grief from Tauranga Moana not just from iwi but from all of the community,” he said.
“The affinity and passion for the maunga doesn’t only sit with iwi, the community of Tauranga Moana, whether we’re Māori or whether we’re non-Māori have a huge affinity to the mountain and those of us who climb and walk the mountain often feel its presence and the spiritual enticement that the maunga brings for all of us.”
Mauao was a part of their whakapapa, their history and would be part of the future, it would be here long after they were gone, he said.
Rahiri said the iwi team on site had been working in close proximity with the whānau of victims.
The recovery continues.RNZ/Nick Monro
“We see each other quite regularly, often we chat and often we share, often we share our experiences and they share theirs.”
Ngāti Pukenga chairperson Kylie Smallman said multiple marae across Tauranga opened their doors to both iwi members and the general public.
“That’s just inherent in what we do. We done the same in the Covid response we didn’t have any resources but we all opened up our doors to anyone who needed it… We had a huge response from the community and a lot of thanks for us for doing that because we’re it on the sniff of an oily rag but we’re doing it, and we’re not waiting around for support.”
Rahiri said the iwi intended to be actively involved in the review.
“Our expectation is that iwi are at the table as we move towards recovery in the wider Tauranga area, from Pāpāmoa to Otawhiwhi there has been significant damage to homes, to roads, to infrastructure and we look forward to being part of the conversations around that as well.”
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Police found the body of an elderly woman at a Burnham property after being called out to reports a teenager had allegedly assaulted another person inside the home.
A 19-year-old has man been charged with murder and two charges of assault in a family relationship in relation to the incident. He will appear in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Emergency services were called to an address on Burnham School Road about 3.05am after a report of disorder.
RNZ understands a relative of the 19-year-old called police after she was allegedly assaulted and she barricaded herself in a room.
It’s understood that on arrival police tasered the 19-year-old.
They then found an elderly woman’s body at the property.
Detective Senior Sergeant Karen Simmons said in a statement that a 19-year-old had been charged with murder and two counts of assault in a family relationship.
RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon
The property is on a long rural road surrounded by farmland.
Neighbours told RNZ it was usually a quiet district and they did not hear anything overnight.
One woman, who did not wish to be named, said the death was “incredibly sad”.
“It’s actually a really lovely road to live on, neighbours all wave out to each other and I never heard a thing so it’s a real shock,” she said.
“There are properties scattered around this road and a busy preschool down the road.”
RNZ/Nathan Mckinnon
Another neighbour said she woke up early to flashing police lights but did not hear anything unusual.
One man believed a family lived at the property. He said he had met them a couple of times over the years and they were pleasant.
He found out about the death after checking the news on Tuesday morning.
A blue police tent has been set up and the property has been cordoned off as forensic officers examine the scene.
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Rogers, who was widely considered to be the frontrunner for the role, was announced as the other Deputy Commissioner on Tuesday.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers also announced the appointment of Cassandra Anderson as the Chief of Staff.
Chambers said Rogers was “an outstanding leader of people, is strongly connected to the communities she has worked in, and has dealt with some particularly challenging operational matters”.
He said Anderson had “extensive experience” working at Police since 2007, including as chief of staff to former Police Commissioner Mike Bush.
“She returned to Police last year after two years in a Tier 2 role as a deputy chief executive at Oranga Tamariki. She has a strong knowledge of the public sector environment and takes on a key role in the executive team.”
Chambers said the appointments meant police began 2026 with a “stable and strong executive”.
Superintendents Corrie Parnell, Jeanette Park and Tim Anderson will also begin as Assistant Commissioners from 9 February.
“I have full confidence in my refreshed leadership. They bring the experience, competence and integrity that is needed to deliver on the priorities of Police.
“I know they will serve the frontline and staff of New Zealand Police and the communities of New Zealand well.”
Chambers earlier announced the focus for 2026 was on the four priorities he outlined a year prior: core policing, supporting the frontline, leadership and accountability, and fiscal responsibility.
Specifically, he had set specific goals around service, safety and trust, including getting trust and confidence up from 69 percent to 80 percent.
The other benchmarks included getting satisfaction for services to 80 percent from its current 71 percent, a 15 percent rise in resolutions for retail crime, and a 15 percent reduction in violence in public places.
He also pointed to a 20 percent increase in Māori at police over the past five years.
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BNZ’s employment report with jobs platform SEEK showed job ads up around 7 percent from a year ago.123RF
The jobs market is showing early signs of improvement, according to BNZ, which it said should lead to lower unemployment by the middle of the year.
The latest unemployment statistics are due next week, but the most recent data from the September quarter showed the jobless rate at 5.3 percent – the highest level since late 2016.
BNZ head of research Stephen Toplis said monthly employment indicators showed modest growth, and Stats NZ’s fourth-quarter household labour force survey was also expected to show slight growth.
BNZ’s own employment report with jobs platform SEEK showed job ads up around 7 percent from a year ago.
“It will take a while before the unemployment rate drops, because it’s one thing seeing growth and people being hired, but it’s got to catch up with growth in the supply in labour.”
He expected the catch-up to happen “in a quarter or two”.
“Certainly mid-year, but there’s a difference between better and good,” Toplis said. “For a lot of people who are currently facing unemployment, it’s not clear that the jobs that will be created are going to be consistent with the skillset that they’ve got.”
He also noted there were many households already in work, but looking for more.
“We know that the household sector is struggling, so if you can’t get pay increases you work more hours, so there’s an awful lot of people.”
Economic recovery and weak US currency help Kiwi dollar
The Kiwi dollar is often called the “flightless bird” in financial markets, but its recent performance has been anything but.
Since the start of the year the dollar has flexed its wings, becoming the best-performing major currency against the US dollar.
Westpac head of New Zealand strategy Imre Speizer said the weakness of the US dollar was only half the story behind the NZ dollar’s recent strength.
The recession dampened investor appetite for the NZ dollar, but he said the economy bottomed in October and has improved steadily since then.
“The market has changed its tune on this, and it’s recognised the economic recovery is well in motion, and is likely to persist for the rest of the year,” Speizer said.
“It’s now one of the choice destinations for going long in currencies.”
Kiwi Property is selling ASB North Wharf building in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter to Precinct Pacific Investment for $205 million.
The sale price represented a 3.3 percent discount to the September 2025 book value, and included Kiwi Property’s commitment to complete $2.2m of capital works to the property.
Precinct will be responsible for any additional expenses associated with the extension of the 15-year lease to ASB.
Precinct chief executive Scott Pritchard said the purchase of ASB North Wharf aligned with its strategy for investments in high quality, well located commercial property.
“This is a strong endorsement of the Wynyard Quarter precinct, and we look forward to working with ASB as they refresh their premises to reflect their workforce’s needs,” Pritchard said.
Kiwi Property chief executive Clive Mackenzie said last year’s extension of the ASB lease to 2040 helped to position the asset for sale.
“The sale of ASB North Wharf is a significant milestone for our capital recycling programme and is the third property transaction we have agreed in the last three months,” he said.
“Our balance sheet is now strongly positioned to support growth, aligning with a property market that is showing clear signs of recovery.”
He said the proceeds of would be reinvested into further growth initiatives, including potential acquisitions and development at Kiwi Property’s key mixed-use assets.
Completion of the sale of ASB North Wharf was subject to the consent of the Overseas Investment Office, with settlement expected in the first half of 2026.
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Some Mecca customers have been left disappointed with its loyalty programme. (File photo)Unsplash / Allison Saeng
Cosmetics retailer Mecca is likely to be able to shake off any ill will created by customers disappointed with its loyalty programme and discounting, experts say.
Newsroom reported Mecca was apologising to customers after they were sold products up to a decade old during Boxing Day sales, and an “extra beauty treat” for people who reached a certain level of spending turned out to be a tote bag that transferred dye on to some people’s clothes.
Gemma Rasmussen, spokesperson for Consumer NZ, told RNZ’s The Panel she would not consider a tote bag to be a beauty treat.
“We think Mecca has potentially been a bit misleading and could have breached the Fair Trading Act as well,” she said.
She said Mecca shoppers tended to be “pretty dedicated”. “If you get an email saying spend more, a treat is coming, it’s hooking people in and pretty deceptive marketing.”
Bodo Lang, a marketing expert at Massey University, said reward schemes like Mecca’s could be a powerful driver of customer acquisition and long-term loyalty.
“Which is why so many major retailers invest heavily in them. Think Air New Zealand Airpoints, AA Smartfuel, or loyalty programmes from banks, credit card providers, New Zealand grocery retailers. Even local shops use them to secure a greater share of wallet.
“But when a rewards programme delivers a disappointing experience, especially one that violates basic consumer expectations, such as offering products manufactured more than a decade ago, it can harm brand trust and make shoppers think twice about returning. Trust is hard to build and easy to lose.”
But retail consultant Chris Wilkinson, of First Retail Group, said Mecca’s scheme was strong.
“Mecca’s scheme is a big draw for customers and the brand is well known and enjoyed for its rewards and giveaways – particularly younger consumers who are entering the world of cosmetics and fragrances.
“These schemes, like Farmers Beauty Club, are popular – especially as these products are expensive so any potential saving or ‘value add’ are sought after and often the tipping point in terms of making a purchase.
“Mecca’s scheme introduces new products and playfully encourages its customers to experiment with their beauty regimes – reflective of its predominantly younger audience.”
Wilkinson said its success was noticeable with an expansion of store numbers.
“In all other world markets category leader Sephora ‘owns’ this space, whereas in Australasia, Mecca dominates and Sephora has been retreating.”
He said the value of free gifts in the sector had been a contentious issue for a while.
“However the brand does have some pretty strong goodwill and a store experience that continues to evolve and engage – new stores, new products and ‘hot’ brands like Charlotte Tilbury, so I don’t think goodwill will too badly affected – maybe only till the next ‘freebie’ message arrives in customers inboxes.”
The campground will close on Friday before the lease officially ends in late February.Supplied
People who live at a troubled campground in Gore have until the end of the working week to leave.
The Gore District Council said the lease for the Gore Motor Camp is being terminated and the campground will close on Friday.
The campground hit headlines last year, with the council saying it had received ongoing complaints about people’s safety and the condition of the site.
The campground was intended for stays of up to 50 days but people had been living there, the council said.
4 Trades Direct owner and lessee Nicholas Irons has previously said that he would not turn anyone away because they had nowhere else to go and the camp was providing a valuable community service.
Council chief executive Debbie Lascelles acknowledged that it was a challenging and uncertain time for the people staying at Gore Motor Camp.
“We want to thank occupants for the respect, patience and cooperation they have shown while these matters have been worked through. Our focus now is ensuring the transition is handled as smoothly as possible,” she said.
In September, Lascelles said that the issues had not improved despite working with the leaseholder for years and the council had advised residents they had 50 days to find different accommodation with support from government agencies.
Gore mayor Ben Bell said it had been a long-standing concern for many and he was pleased the situation was being resolved.
“We can now look forward to further community discussion about the best use for this site moving forward,” he said.
The lease will end in late February.
RNZ has contacted Irons for comment.
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins.RNZ
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has labelled the government’s so-far refusal to rule out joining US President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ an “absolute disgrace”.
Invites have gone out to dozens of world leaders, including those of Russia, its ally Belarus and Saudi Arabia. No invites went to any countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Canada’s invite was withdrawn, and several Western nations – including France, Germany, Spain, the UK, Sweden, Ireland and Italy – have said ‘no thanks’, some fearing it was intended as a replacement for the United Nations.
The Board of Peace will be chaired by Trump, according to its founding charter. It claims to be “an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”.
“It’s going to have people like [Russian President] Vladimir Putin on it. The idea that New Zealand would even consider being part of that would be an absolute embarrassment and an absolute disgrace on New Zealand.”
Putin – generally considered an autocrat – has led Russia through its war with neighbouring Ukraine, which began with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and ramped up with the full-scale invasion of 2022.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on countries whose leaders decline to join the Board of Peace. Hipkins said any threat of tariffs on New Zealand for not joining would not sway him.
“Donald Trump does not respect anybody who just simply sucks up to him. He doesn’t respect anybody else, regardless.
“New Zealand has to be principled, we have to be consistent. We have a very strong reputation around the world for being consistent and principled in our foreign policy – all of that is being thrown away by this government.”
Christopher Luxon with Donald Trump.Supplied / Christopher Luxon via X
Asked for an update on Tuesday, Luxon said New Zealand was still considering its invitation and the accompanying charter.
“There’s a whole range of things that we just need to work through and really understand what it’s actually there to achieve,” Luxon said. “Can we make a difference? What value can we add? That’s where our focus is. So we’ll have those conversations and consider everything.”
Hipkins said New Zealand needed to be “a bit more nimble and more fleet-footed” in its diplomacy “in an environment where those big international organisations are struggling to bring countries together”.
“So countries like Canada, Australia, the UK, many European countries, and many countries in our own neighbourhood that we can work with, and we should focus on the areas where we can work with them and really get some momentum behind that.”
Trump recently outraged allies and friends by suggesting their troops did not pull their weight in Afghanistan. Late last week, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the remarks “insulting and frankly appalling”.
Luxon called them “incredibly disrespectful and wrong”. Speaking to media, Luxon said New Zealand sent 3500 troops to Afghanistan and lost 10 lives.
“I thought it was incredibly disrespectful,” Luxon said. “It’s up to him to work out whether he wants to apologise. What I want the New Zealand Defence Force and veterans to know is that they are deeply cared for and deeply supported, and we are very grateful for their service to our country.”
No one has been charged over the killings, both of which were caught on camera, video evidence contradicting statements by federal government officials.
“Under Labour, New Zealand will be consistent in our foreign policy. So where we criticise other countries who we also have constructive working relationships with, when they violate human rights, we should criticise the United States when they violate people’s human rights,” Hipkins said.
He called immigration officers’ actions in Minneapolis a “violation of people’s human rights”.
“You’ve got the minister of foreign affairs out in the world saying that we’re going to pull out of the World Health Organization, constantly sending contradictory messages to what our prime minister is saying. That’s embarrassing for New Zealand,” he told Morning Report.
Hipkins said Labour would “absolutely not” pull New Zealand from the WHO. Former foreign minister Phil Goff on Monday said it cost New Zealand a little more than $2m a year to be a part of the WHO.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters.RNZ / Mark Papalii
Hipkins said Luxon was a “total pushover” in setting up the coalition with ACT and NZ First (Peters’ party).
“He signed National up to supporting things that only weeks earlier he had been very clear with the New Zealand public the National Party would not support. I think that’s a betrayal of the people who voted for him.”
Luxon said he would never consider pulling New Zealand out of the WHO because of the “great value” it provides.
“If you think about the work that we do together in the Pacific, particularly. If I think about the work that was done in measles around Samoa, there’s some really good value the World Health Organisation provides.
“We spend anywhere from $1.5 million to $4 million a year in partnership with them. They do some amazing work.
“But equally, as I’ve said, right from the beginning, there’s a need for our… global institutions, to continue to innovate, to overhaul, to make sure they are focused, they’re efficient and they’re effective.”
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls unveil their 2026 Formula One liveriesJOE GALL / AFP
New Zealand driver Liam Lawson admits to a cautious start to pre-season Formula One testing.
The first day of the behind closed doors Barcelona Shakedown has been completed with a number of drivers having their first outings in their new 2026 cars.
Cars this year are smaller and lighter and no longer use the Drag Reduction System. Fifty percent of the power output will be from battery with the other half from the internal combustion engine.
Lawson got to drive the new Racing Bulls car today.
“I definitely haven’t got my head around it fully yet,” Lawson said afterwards.
Racing Bulls are using the new power unit developed by Red Bull along with Ford.
“It’s something that we’ll keep learning over the next few days and weeks when we go to Bahrain as well. But it’s very, very different,” the 23 year old said.
“It feels like there’s a lot more we can do as drivers potentially to make a difference, which is good.
“But right now, it’s very early days. So it’s very hard to know where we are. But for now, just trying to learn how to optimise the car. I’m enjoying it so far.”
Lawson’s former team-mate Isack Hadjar was quickest of the seven drivers which took part.
Lawson was fourth fastest and completed 42 laps.
McLaren and Ferrari did not take part today.
There is another day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya before the teams head to Bahrain for two testing sessions ahead of the season opening Grand Prix in Australia in early March.
“The main thing is reliability at the moment. We’ve done a good number of laps today, only a few little things. And honestly, the only issues we really had today were safety precautions, not really any actual issues,” Lawson said.
“So far, honestly, on the power unit side, it’s been very, very good. But again, it’s hard to know compared to everybody else where we’re at.”
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A police employee allegedly stalked a woman he regularly worked alongside after she rejected his advances.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) released a summary of an investigation into the allegations on Tuesday.
The IPCA said it oversaw a police investigation into an allegation a police employee “crossed professional boundaries” and created a conflict of interest by “conducting an inappropriate relationship with a female member of the public he regularly worked alongside”.
Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz
“The employee and the woman met through the employee’s work and developed a friendship, having similar interests and some life experiences in common.
“After some time, the employee incorrectly assumed that the woman was interested in more than a friendship and attempted to move the relationship onto a romantic footing. This was not something sought by the woman, who was married, and she ended the relationship. The woman alleged the employee then stalked her and his behaviour also made it difficult to work together when needed.”
The woman complained to police about the employee.
Police found the employee had engaged in serious misconduct.
“The authority agrees with police decision-making in this matter and the outcome reached.”
Police have been approached for comment.
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With all the setbacks of recent years, Vanuatu’s citizenship sale schemes should be dead in the water — instead they are thriving, and geopolitical chaos is playing a part.
The citizenship-by-investment sector is the biggest single revenue earner for Vanuatu’s government, but lingering issues of integrity cast a shadow over it.
In 2024, when Vanuatu became the first country to lose its European Union visa-free access over concerns about its golden passport scheme, there were fears it would be a huge blow to the sector.
But designated agents for Vanuatu’s citizenship programmes have told RNZ Pacific this has not necessarily hurt them much, as their product has other benefits and passport holders can still apply to access Europe.
However, Vanuatu’s continued inclusion on an EU anti-money laundering blacklist hurts more, Francesca Grillon of approved agent Yawha & Associates said.
Currency hassles Grillon said the decision to stop visa-free entry was not a major downfall for the citizenship programme.
“I think the main issue we are having is the blacklisting from Europe, because that that is an obstacle for receiving funds in foreign currency,” she said.
This issue came to a head last September when the Commonwealth Bank of Australia — which served as the correspondent bank for the National Bank of Vanuatu — advised it would no longer facilitate transfers for certified agents in the citizenship programmes
Melten Menauke of Smart Citizenship Vanuatu explained that this left the government in a bind over how it collects the donations and fees that foreign applicants pay.
“The National Bank is still looking for a correspondent bank to accept US dollars. I don’t know what is happening with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
“US currency was the first one they blocked, and now they are no longer accepting [Australian dollars]. They’re only accepting Japanese yen,” he said, adding that this created costly hurdles for agents and applicants alike.
Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila . . . integrity issues are not just creating pressure on Vanuatu’s citizenship sector internationally. Image: RNZ Pacific
But integrity issues are not just creating pressure on Vanuatu’s citizenship sector internationally.
‘Nobody trusts anyone’ A Commission of Inquiry into the citizenship programmes was initiated by Vanuatu’s government in 2024 following concerns about corrupt practices involving the sale of citizenship and misuse of the programmes for personal and political gain.
But the inquiry report has still not been made public, eight months after it was officially handed to the government. As calls for its release continue, Jenny Ligo, the chairperson of Women Against Crime and Corruption in Vanuatu, said citizenship schemes had been misled by political interests.
“That programme needs to be taken out totally. Because most of the projects under programmes in Vanuatu, it always ties in with pollitics and politicians,” Ligo said.
“This is all wrong. We need neutral people to run these programmes. But at the moment nobody trusts anyone.”
Vanuatu’s government has had a lot to contend with in the last few years, including responding to major disasters — earthquakes and cyclones — and the challenge of creating much-needed political reform. However, addressing the integrity problems of the citizenship-by-investment schemes is high on its priotiy list
Grillon said the government had been taking the right steps to improve compliance with regulations and rules, including strengthening the Financial Intelligence Unit which screens applicants.
“There’s a lot of effort, both from the high level government and directorship and public servants, in trying to really follow the international advice, and the newly introduced laws and doing everything properly.”
In demand Overall, the sector is doing well. According to the Vanuatu Daily Post, citizenship sale receipts made up the bulk of the US$31 million in revenue in the past year — 24.3 percent more than what was forecast, with around 2000 foreigners granted citizenship last year.
Interest remains strong in several foreign markets, Norman Joseph of JG Marketing, Consulting and Recruitment Agency said.
“We have Chinese, we have Indonesians, we have Russians. Most of them are from different countries but they also have passports from different countries,” Joseph said.
“So they come in, for example, some might be Chinese but they also have a Mexican passport, so they apply from a Mexican passport.”
Vanuatu flags . . . the passports are attractive for a variety of reasons. Image: RNZ Pacific
Ros Stanford of designated agent Stanford Knight said the Vanuatu passport was attractive for a variety of reasons.
“So, either for visa free travel — so global mobility is one option; for those that actually physically want to reside for tax benefits; and then we have a lot of clients currently who just want a safe like a Plan B, a safe alternative residence, in case things turn to custard globally.”
On the latter reason, Stanford said they had seen an uptick in the last couple of years, a reflection of ongoing ruptures in the global geopolitical order.
Even without visa-free access to Europe, and despite the concerns of ni-Vanuatu about its commodification, Vanuatu Citizenship is in demand — and agents tout it as one of the fastest citizenships to get any where in the world.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Spreading the power load could help to defer or avoid increasing demand capacity.123RF
A quarter of New Zealand’s peak electricity use could be shifted to times of lower demand, lowering household bills and saving up to $3 billion in infrastructure investment, a new report has found.
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), which commissioned the analysis, said lower network costs from shifting demand should flow through to households and businesses.
Households had the most potential to shift their demand, but some industrial processes and manufacturing could also make changes with the right financial incentives, the report found.
Upgrades to accommodate growing demand could cost tens of billions of dollars, EECA chief executive Marco Pelenur said.
The electricity network is built to handle peak demand, which only occurs a few times a day for short intervals. Spreading the power load could help to defer or avoid increasing demand capacity.
“This [analysis] shows we could save billions as a country just by moving when we use power.”
Rooftop solar and batteries could help shift household demand, but much lower-cost measures – that would also save households money – were also available.
That included Wi-Fi-enabled devices that could be retrofitted to most hot water cylinders and heat pumps for a few hundred dollars.
The devices, which are being trialled by EECA in hundreds of households at the moment, allow users to control appliances remotely, such as switching on a heat pump in the late afternoon before peak demand kicks in, so a house could already be warm when people arrive home.
“The early results from the pilots show households are saving on their bills right now – and that doesn’t include the system benefits of deferring network upgrades,” Pelenur said.
Peak demand savings would be even bigger if flexible energy use were enabled at scale, and people were paid directly for shifting electricity use off-peak, EECA said.
University of Auckland professor Nirmal Nair said demand-side flexibility, as proposed in the report, had been “widely touted”, but if households and other retail customers were being encouraged to change their usage, then what they were charged should be revisited.
“Expecting [retail customers] to invest in more technologies to give value to other upstream agents like electricity retailers and distribution companies appears unreasonable, if not unfair.”
Major electricity users surveyed as part of the report said continued production was their top priority, but many were open to more flexible electricity use if it did not disrupt production, or cost more money than it saved.
The report identified food processing in Bay of Plenty, Waikato and North Canterbury, farming in Canterbury and Waikato, and offices in the main centres as having significant potential.
That could be achieved with similar technology to households, such as battery installation and ‘smart load controllers’ to defer electricity usage to lower-demand periods, when it was possible to do so.
The report suggested a “robust reward system” to compensate industries for their participation. That could include direct payments, along with long-term energy cost reductions, it said.
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Pay-TV provider Sky has expanded its content partnership with US media giant Paramount.
Sky said the partnership would bring premium US drama, procedurals, kids and comedy content to Sky and its Neon streaming audiences.
“Paramount’s Yellowstone was a standout for Sky customers in FY25, and this partnership ensures we build on that success by securing the shows that matter most,” Sky chief executive Sophie Moloney said.
Moloney said the deal represented a “significant step” in its updated entertainment strategy, with data-driven focus on delivering content.
“We know what our customers watch and value, and we’re building on those insights to curate the content that resonates most with our audiences,” she said.
The deal came into effect immediately, and included exclusive access to shows from Showtime, Paramount + and CBS for New Zealand viewers.
Over the past year, Sky announced a number of major content deals, particularly in sports.
In October, it secured exclusive Olympic Games rights, and prior to that it extended its Formula 1 and NZ Rugby deals.
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The RNZ-Reid Research result – out Tuesday – puts the party in the number three spot and on the cusp of double-digits, its highest score in the series since July 2017.
And more fortune: the lift is also reflected in its leader’s personal standing.
Peters now attracts 12.6 percent support as preferred prime minister, putting him within seven points of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
More remarkable, the surge is coming despite – or perhaps because of – a general backdrop of pessimism and disenchantment.
While sentiment has nudged up since the gloomy lows of September, it remains entrenched in negative territory.
Only 36.3 percent of voters believe the country is headed in the right direction.
And no wonder why. A convincing majority say they’re finding it harder to cope with the cost of living than a year ago.
A measly 6 percent say life is getting easier. And just 12 percent feel more flush.
Typically, those sort of results would indicate a classic change election, with frustrated voters looking for an alternative to those currently in power.
But no.
Despite the sour mood, the coalition has increased its overall support since the last RNZ-Reid Research poll and retains majority support, even if only just.
And that is largely thanks to NZ First.
The three coalition party leaders: From left – David Seymour, Christopher Luxon, Winston Peters.RNZ
Since last election, National and ACT have bled support and now appear to be stagnating. They are bearing the brunt of the blame for the persistent cost-of-living pressures.
If this was the result delivered on 7 November, National would lose eight MPs and ACT two.
NZ First, on the other hand, would grow its caucus from eight MPs to 12.
Despite being just as much a part of the government, NZ First is not receiving the same blame, nor punishment.
Why?
Scrape beneath the surface of the poll results and you can see that NZ First supporters are struggling far more than their National and ACT counterparts.
Six in 10 NZ First supporters say they’re finding the cost of living harder to manage than in January last year. More than half say they’re worse off financially.
Accordingly, they are also markedly more pessimistic about the country’s trajectory, with more saying it is on the wrong track than the right one.
Those voters want a change in direction – but they are not looking to the opposition parties. They are looking to NZ First.
This is new territory for a party with a bruising history in government. In both 1996 and 2017, NZ First saw its support fall away after entering Cabinet.
On each occasion, NZ First was subsequently ejected from Parliament altogether.
This time around seems different. Peters has been successful in differentiating NZ First both from its governing partners and the government as a whole.
In both cases, disenchanted voters are searching for inspiration outside the mainstream parties.
Clearly there is an appetite for a more maverick approach, one sceptical of immigration, climate and so-called woke policies.
Peters has long-standing links to Farage and met with a Reform UK board member visiting New Zealand just last week.
“We take lessons from everybody that knows what they’re doing,” Peters told inquiring media. “Mind you, they take lessons from us as well.”
Labour let down by others on the left
Labour leader Chris Hipkins.Samuel Rillstone
It would be wrong to paint NZ First as the sole beneficiary of the general malaise.
Labour has lifted yet again in this poll, its fourth consecutive increase, securing its position as the country’s most popular party.
That’s quite a turnaround for a party trounced at the last election. This result would secure it an extra nine MPs.
Some in government had assumed, or hoped, that Labour’s momentum would stall once it began rolling out policy, but the arrival of its capital gains tax does not appear to have hurt it.
It is Labour’s friends on the left that have let it down.
Both the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori have endured terrible terms.
The Greens initially weathered a series of scandals, but their support now seems to be slipping away and a rapid staff turnover seems to have taken a toll on strategy and focus.
Right now, he needs Te Pāti Māori’s numbers, but he will be mulling whether Labour could perhaps swallow them whole and take those votes for itself.
Watch for more results on that question later in the week.
All polls come with a caveat that they are only ever a snapshot of a single moment in time.
Much could yet change over the very long runway Luxon has set by opting for a November election.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announces the general election will be held on 7 November as National’s caucus meets to start the 2026 political year.RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon
His hope is that improving economic forecasts will have come to fruition by then, and that voters will migrate back to National from either Labour or NZ First.
It’s worth noting that the polls are not shifting around dramatically. Every poll from every pollster is telling effectively the same story: a tight race, tipping marginally one way or the other.
That stasis may well represent a lack of engagement, meaning the numbers could shift around as November draws closer and voters start to pay more attention.
In 2023, Labour shed about 10 points between the first Reid Research poll and the eventual election, following a series of ministerial mishaps.
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic turned the election on its head and saw National plummet a whopping 17 points over the year.
And in 2017, party support lurched wildly as a string of leaders stepped aside – themselves influenced by the polls.
All of that is to say: these may be the starting positions, but there’s plenty of race still to be run.
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Blues coach Vern Cotter.Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Vern Cotter will leave the Blues at the end of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season. He confirmed a move to the Queensland Reds from 2027, therefore ruling himself out of the current search for a new All Black coach.
Cotter was an outside chance to replace Scott Robertson, as he fits all the criteria set out by NZ Rugby for the successful applicant. The news comes hard on the heels of Joe Schmidt and Tony Brown both reaffirming their commitments to the Wallabies and Springboks, respectively.
“Timing is always important in this game, and it feels like the right moment for both me and the club to plan for what comes next,” said Cotter.
New Blues CEO Karl Budge said the decision to announce Cotter’s future ahead of the season was important, with the coach finishing his original three year deal with the team. Cotter had immediate success with the Blues, guiding them to a landmark title win in 2024. The 2025 season was initially rocky, with the Blues struggling through the first half, before a massive resurgence saw them make the semi-finals.
New Blues CEO Karl Budge.Photosport
“This has been part of a long-term strategy, and both Vern and the club felt it was the right thing to be open and clear before the season begins,” said Budge.
“We hugely appreciate everything Vern has done and continues to do for the club. He has delivered exactly what he was brought in to do. The Blues have a strong performance environment, clear DNA of how we want to play and know what it takes to be champions.”
Budge said that the process to find Cotter’s replacement was well underway, while Cotter was proud that his initial goal was achieved at the Blues to establish a winning culture.
“Over the past few years we’ve had a lot of mature, honest conversations about where the club was and where it needed to go,” Cotter said.
Rieko Ioane with Blues head coach Vern Cotter.Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz
“The landscape has changed significantly since I came in, and it genuinely feels like the club is well set up for its next phase of evolution. There has been a lot of good during my time here, and I’m proud of what we’ve built together. This club has a proud history and a special connection with its people. Right now, my focus is firmly on the 2026 season and doing everything I can to help this team perform at its best and leave the club in a strong position.”
Cotter said he was focused on repeating the Blues’ 2024 success.
“People should expect my full commitment to the Blues this season,” he said.
“I’m 100 percent locked in for this season. My focus is on this group, this campaign, and making sure we finish strong. Other clubs should be watching closely.”
The Blues open their Super Rugby Pacific campaign against the Chiefs at Eden Park on Saturday 14 February.
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One offender was wearing a black beanie, a dark coloured sweatshirt, long pants, and a blue cloth covering their face.NZ Police
Police are investigating a spate of armed robberies in the Hutt Valley, including one where armed offenders threatened staff at a bar in the Hutt Valley before fleeing earlier this month.
The police said that since 10 December 2025, three Hutt Valley bars have been targeted in similar ways where offenders have used weapons, including a firearm, to demand money and other items.
Detective Senior Sergeant Todd said police believe these robberies may be linked.
On Saturday, 10 January, Police were notified of an incident at a bar in King Street in Upper Hutt at about 1.30am.
Todd said two people unlawfully entered the premises with weapons and threatened employees.
“Thankfully, the employees were uninjured, but this incident has understandably left them shaken.
“After making various demands, the offenders fled in a stolen vehicle later located abandoned on Sinclair Street.”
One person was wearing a black beanie, a dark coloured sweatshirt, long pants, and a blue cloth covering their face.
The second offender wore a beanie, a ‘Nike Academy’ sweatshirt with distinctive white stripes, dark coloured pants, distinctive coloured shoes, and wore a cloth over their face.
The second offender wore a ‘Nike Academy’ sweatshirt with distinctive white stripes.NZ Police
Police are seeking information in relation to the robbery, including CCTV or dashcam footage in the King Street and Sinclair Street areas.
“We would also like to hear from anyone who may know someone who wears or has worn a Nike brand Men’s Dry Academy Soccer Track Jacket with black and white colouring, similar to the one pictured.”
Todd said one offender’s shoes were quite distinctive and appeared to be a silver/metallic/chrome coloured sports shoe with a reflective logo or marking on the back of the heel. The brand is unknown.
“If you know someone who has worn these shoes previously, please contact us,” Todd said.
The shoes one of the offenders wore.NZ Police
“There are some similarities in aspects of these incidents, which indicate they are likely linked.
“We are always concerned with any offending where firearms are involved and the investigation team is determined to hold these offenders to account.”
Police have contacted a number of bar owners in the Hutt Valley and wider Wellington District to offer support and talk to them around staff safety procedures.
Anyone with information, or who recognises the clothing in these images, should contact Police online at 105.police.govt.nz or call 105.
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A $5 per-hour parking fee at some popular tourist spots including Aoraki-Mount Cook raised $214,000 in its first month.
The Department of Conservation (Doc), began charging at Punakaiki, Franz Josef and Aoraki-Mount Cook in December, as part of a trial.
DoC’s operations manager at Aoraki-Mt Cook Sally Jones, told Morning Report, said at this stage the parking fee was working and $214,000 in a month had been a “great result”.
Jones said free parking was still available in the area on Hooker Valley Rd if people did still want to choose to park somewhere unpaid.
“We anticipated that it may become more of an issue with the introduction of the paid parking pilot so we brought in more staff who are trained on traffic management to manage that road throughout the day.”
Jones said parts of the road could also be closed off it was too dangerous due to being too narrow.
Along with the parking fee, Jones said speed limits had been lowered and an electronic board helped people find if there were any carparks free.
International visitors and locals alike did not seem to be phased by the charge, Jones claimed.
“In fact, some have asked us if that was all. I think they accept the fact that paying to reinvest in a site like a national park seems reasonable.”
Recently, there had been issues with tourists on the Hooker Valley Track ignoring warning signs and closures, but Jones said this too had lessened over Summer.
“I think people don’t want to be seen on camera,” Jones said.
“Also, I think because of the challenging Summer we’ve had people have not been able to see Aoraki so they haven’t been inclined to want to get a better view of it.”
Jones believed this Summer had been one of the worst they’d had in a long time and there hadn’t been many days when Aoraki-Mount Cook was visible.
“So your time on the track would be less than it normally would, so you’re less inclined to want to get around that fence or over the river to get that beautiful Instagram shot… it’s just not there.”
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Advanced Technology Institute board member Professor Cather Simpson. (File photo)supplied
The government is spending $1.35 million to see how New Zealand’s expertise in quantum and photonic research can be used to create jobs, attract investment and grow a high-tech, high-value economy.
“It’s huge for New Zealand’s economy and for New Zealand’s future and productivity,” Advanced Technology Institute board member Professor Cather Simpson said, who is also a professor of physics and chemical sciences at Auckland University.
“These things (quantum technology and photonics) are on the verge of allowing us to do everything from diagnose cancer earlier and better, to even being able to predict earthquakes two weeks ahead of time, instead of 30 minutes to an hour.
“And that all comes from being able to measure things like time more precisely — to be able to link things together.”
The funding would be used over the next six months by recently established Institute for Advanced Technology to identify the best way to use New Zealand’s expertise to develop products for the second generation of quantum mechanics, known as Quantum 2.0.
Quantum 2.0
Quantum mechanics has been around for more than a hundred years and used to develop such things as transistors, the Internet, cellular phones and other photonic devices like lasers and sensors.
“And so in the lingo, that’s all called Quantum 1.0. Quantum 2.0 is what we’re on the verge of right now,” she said, adding New Zealand had a lot of theoretical and experimental expertise in the Quantum 2.0 space,” Simpson said.
“And that’s the whole purpose of this public research organisation.
“Quantum is one of the areas that we think has a tonne of potential, because we have this research strength.”
She said the research will look at what it would take to accelerate and apply that expertise.
“I should emphasise that we don’t just have expertise in that laser space. We have expertise in the kinds of cold, single atom types of research that are used to make these next generation clocks and measurements of time and behaviour that will lead us to say better earthquake detection.
“We are starting to see our first patents emerge from this space. And I think we’re right on the cusp of moving into the world economy here.
“And that all comes from being able to measure things like time more precisely. To be able to link things together.”
Quantum 2.0 was expected to see advances in computing, communications and sensing, and offered opportunities to solve complex problems and create secure information systems, advanced materials and ultra-precise measurement tools.
For example, in Australia, quantum gravimeters were recently used to detect subtle variations in the Earth’s gravitational field, leading to mineral discoveries valued at nearly $7 billion (A$6b).
Quantum sensors also made medical imaging much more precise to allow for more accurate surgery and help with the early detection of diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.
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New Zealanders are booking more international trips than ever, with House of Travel reporting surging demand, shifting destination trends, and a rebound in corporate travel.
The agency said demand for 2026 is its strongest on record, with early bookings rising sharply as travellers lock in trips well ahead of time.
It said forward bookings for the year were at record levels – both in dollars spent and in the total number of travellers.
Chief operating officer Brent Thomas stressed that these trips were “two‑way,” meaning those travellers would return home afterwards.
Australia was the top destination, accounting for half of all bookings.
But Thomas said travel patterns were changing, with more people opting for Asia – where the weaker New Zealand dollar went further – and Europe.
Bookings to the United States had dropped, which he said was “mostly” due to the strong US dollar, making it more expensive to travel there.
Thomas said New Zealanders’ appetite for international travel remained remarkably resilient.
“They have a budget, so when the dollar is down slightly, they may say instead of going for 14 days, they’ll go for 11 – or, as we’re seeing, more are choosing Asia where the dollar goes a little bit further.”
Airlines continued to add flights into New Zealand, giving travellers more choice, which supported booking numbers, he noted.
Thomas said travellers were also booking more than just airfares – they were purchasing “everything” through the agency, including hotels, sightseeing, and cruises, which had grown strongly over the past decade.
Corporate travel rebounds ahead of 2026
Alongside growing holiday demand, House of Travel also saw a rebound in corporate travel – something Thomas described as an “economic canary in the coal mine”.
“Corporate travel is easy to switch off when things are down, but what we’re seeing going into 2026 is that corporates are definitely spending more,” he said.
Thomas said more business travellers were heading overseas, signalling increasing confidence in the economy as companies restarted face‑to‑face visits to reconnect with suppliers and customers.
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Gavin Baxter walking the length of New Zealand to raise money for foodbanks.SUPPLIED
A retired Salvation Army pastor is battling blisters and hunger as he walks the length of New Zealand to raise money for foodbanks.
It comes as food charities [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/580728/foodbanks-warn-of-closures-if-government-fails-to-give-ongoing-funding
call for urgent ongoing government funding] as they face unprecedented demand during the cost of living crisis.
Gavin Baxter is a ‘nobo’ – north bound – tramper, he doned his boots at Bluff on the first day of the year and expects to spend six months on the Te Araroa Trail.
“There are times when I’ve been walking that I’ve been hungry but it just helps me relate to the real need that there is even in New Zealand.”
Half a million people in New Zealand are turning up at food charities needing help every month.
“It’s staggering, it’s deeply moving to think that these are the people who have actually got the courage to turn up. How many more are out there that are in deep need of assistance and perhaps don’t have that courage.”
Baxter has a sponsorship website up and running and aims to raise $10 for every kilometre he walks – so far he’s on track.
Blisters on his feet and a heavy pack are no deterrent, he recently made it to Queenstown.
“There’s a whole thing in the hiking industry about ultra-light, I think I’ve gone into ultra-heavy.”
Gavin Baxter at Lake Hawea as he walks the length of a country to raise funds for foodbanks.SUPPLIED
Top of his mind are those who are hungry because they cannot afford food after paying their household bills.
Baxter was the pastor at Greymouth’s Salvation Army and has recently had surgery to overcome prostate cancer.
The Salvation Army has 60 foodbanks across the country, its food security manager Sonya Cameron said there has been continued high demand for food parcels so far this year.
“Our centres are saying that they’re seeing a lot of new whanau needing support. I spoke to Cameron Miller who’s the core officer at Hutt City Salvation Army, he said that they’ve worked all the way through Christmas and the new year and that demand has been very high,” Cameron said.
“He said that they’ve got the basics but nothing more.”
It’s a similar story elsewhere.
“Whakatane were saying that they’d seen 24 whanau in just three hours the other day. They said that they’d never experienced that before at this time of year.”
The Salvation Army, Auckland City Mission and Food Network are among the organisations that received one-off grants till mid-2026, through the Food Secure Communities programme.
Late last year they warned of substantial closures if the government does not provide ongoing funding this year.
“For us, stable long term funding would allow us to plan with confidence, retain our staff, invest in infrastructure and respond to community need,” Cameron said.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) is evaluating the effectiveness off its one-off funding, including which households benefit from the programme.
A report is due to be provided to the Minister of Social Development and Employment next month.
MSD group general manager of insights, Fleur McLaren, said the evaluation has been done through interviews and a survey of organisations that have received the funding.
“It will examine how FSC infrastructure investment has made a difference to sector capacity and capability to support households experiencing food insecurity,” she said.
“It is also looking at which households benefit from FSC, in what ways and in what circumstances.”
Tracey Watene chairs the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance, which has been interviewed as part of the evaluation.
“We’re hopeful that this will inform decisions about how crucial this funding is and the value it gives to communities across Aotearoa,” she said.
“Budget 2026 will be a key decider. We’re preparing to engage fully as that process unfolds.”
Meanwhile, Gavin Baxter is sticking to his quest to raise money for foodbanks, his wife Bev is his support along the way, driving a campervan so they can stay together when the trail meets a town.
Baxter’s view as he walked from Arrowtown to Macetown.SUPPLIED
“Because Bev’s with me every day, she’s my trail angel.”
He aims to raise $30,000 dollars during his six-month tramp.
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