Friday 9th of January 2026 11:53:24 PM
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NetSafe warns Manage My Health users to be suspicious of emails including personal details

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons. RNZ

Netsafe is warning people to be extra cautious with emails they receive including their private information, as hackers threaten to release more than 400,000 stolen health documents.

They took the files from the online portal Manage My Health, and 120,000 people are affected.

The Tuesday morning deadline for Manage My Health to pay the US$60,000 ransom passed without the files being publicly shared, but unverified reports appeared to put a new deadline at 5am on Friday.

Manage My Health has identified general practices whose patients have had their private health information breached, but it is not yet clear when those patients will be told.

Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons said it’s difficult to know what to watch out for while it’s unclear what’s been stolen.

But he said people should have a “raised level of suspicion” about any communication containing their private data.

“Even names, addresses, dates of birth, family members, we hear talk about maybe even scans of passport details,” he said.

Hackers could include that information in an email and claim to be their GP, Manage My Health, or another agency, Lyons said.

“So that kind of … ‘I must know who you are because I hold your NHI number, or I know your address and date of birth, therefore I must be from the agency that I say I am’,” he said.

“So it really is being extra cautious around anything that contains your personal information and asking for more, for money, for more information.”

Lyons said dodgy emails may also apply pressure on people, like giving deadlines for a response or payment, or threatening people that they’re at risk of prosecution or breaking a law.

“Don’t give in to that pressure, contact the agency that somebody says they’re from directly, don’t use any of the communication methods, numbers, email addresses, whatever that they give you.”

People could also contact Netsafe for advice if they are unsure, he said.

Anyone who Manage My Health says has been affected by the data breach has the right to ask the company for more information, Lyons said.

“It’s important that we know what it is that we should be looking out for, to what extent that information of ours has been breached, and what we might need to do to … shore up our privacy position based on it.”

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

Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine: is the UN failing?

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Juliette McIntyre, Senior Lecturer in Law, Adelaide University

The United Nations turned 80 in October last year; a venerable age for the most significant international organisation the world has ever seen.

But events of recent years – from last weekend’s Trumpian military action to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine in 2022, to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza – represent major challenges to the UN system.

Many are now asking whether the United Nations has any future at all if it cannot fulfil its first promise of maintaining international peace and security.

Has the UN reached the end of its lifespan?

The UN Security Council

The organ of the UN that plays the main role maintaining peace and security is the UN Security Council.

Under the rules established by the UN Charter, military action – the use of force – is only lawful if it has been authorised by a resolution from the UN Security Council (as outlined in Article 42 of the Charter), or if the state in question is acting in self-defence.

Self-defence is governed by strict rules requiring it to be in response to an armed attack (Article 51). Even then, self-defence is lawful only until the Security Council has stepped in to restore international peace and security.

The Security Council is made up of 15 member states:

  • five permanent (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – also known as the P5)

  • ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

Resolutions require nine affirmative votes and no veto from any permanent member, giving the P5 decisive control over all action on peace and security.

This was set up expressly to prevent the UN from being able to take action against the major powers (the “winners” of the second world war), but also to allow them to act as a balance to each other’s ambitions.

This system only works, however, when the P5 agree to abide by the rules.

Could the UN veto system be reformed?

As aptly demonstrated by the Russians and Americans in recent years, the veto power can render the Security Council effectively useless, no matter how egregious the breach of international law.

For that reason, the veto is often harshly criticised.

As one of us (Tamsin Paige) has explained previously, however, self-serving use of the veto power (meaning when a member state uses its veto power to further its own interests) may be politically objectionable but it is not legally prohibited.

The UN Charter imposes no enforceable limits on veto use.

Nor is there any possibility of a judicial review of the Security Council at the moment.

And herein lies one of the most significant and deliberate design flaws of the UN system.

The charter places the P5 above the law, granting them not only the power to veto collective action, but also the power to veto any attempt at reform.

Reforming the UN Security Council veto is thus theoretically conceivable – Articles 108 and 109 of the charter allow for it – but functionally impossible.

Dissolving and reconstituting the UN under a new charter is the only structural alternative.

This, however, would require a level of global collectivism that presently does not exist. One or more of the P5 would likely block any reform or redesign that would see the loss of their veto power.

An uncomfortable truth

It does, therefore, appear as though we are witnessing the collapse of the UN-led international peace and security system in real time.

The Security Council cannot – by design – intervene when the P5 (China, France, Russia, the UK and US) are the aggressors.

But focusing only on the Security Council risks missing much of what the UN actually does, every day, largely out of sight.

Despite its paralysis when it comes to great-power conflict, the UN is not a hollow institution.

The Secretariat, for instance, supports peacekeeping and political missions and helps organise international conferences and negotiations.

The Human Rights Council monitors and reports on human rights compliance.

UN-administered agencies coordinate humanitarian relief and deliver life-saving aid.

The UN machinery touches on everything from health to human rights to climate and development, performing functions that no single state can replicate alone.

None of this work requires Security Council involvement, but all of it depends on the UN’s institutional infrastructure (of which the Security Council is an integral part).

The uncomfortable truth is we have only one real choice at present: a deeply flawed global institution, or none at all.

The future of the UN may simply be one of sheer endurance, holding together what can still function and waiting for political conditions to change.

We support it not because it works perfectly, or even well, but because losing it would be much worse.

Should we work towards a better system that doesn’t reward the powerful by making them unaccountable? Absolutely.

But we shouldn’t throw out all of the overlooked good the UN does beyond the Security Council’s chambers because of the naked hypocrisy and villainy of the P5.

Tamsin Phillipa Paige received an Endeavour Fellowship from the Department of Education in 2014 (in effect through 2015 and 2016), funding her work on the UN Security Council.

Juliette McIntyre 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.

– ref. Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine: is the UN failing? – https://theconversation.com/venezuela-gaza-ukraine-is-the-un-failing-272703

Deadline for Manage My Health ransom moves to Friday – reports

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Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Finn Blackwell

It appears the deadline given by the Manage My Health hackers demanding a US$60,000 ransom for hundreds of thousands of stolen medical files could now be later in the week.

A timeline had been set for about 5am on Tuesday, but the hackers have not released any further data.

Unverified reports now appear to put the new deadline at 5am on Friday morning.

RNZ has approached police for comment.

Manage My Health said late on Monday that the ransom demand was a matter for police, and it would not be making any comment about a ransom while an investigation was ongoing.

The platform apologised for pain and anxiety caused to health providers and patients, and acknowledged it could have communicated better.

“However, our priority was to secure patient data and work on the accuracy of all information before providing it to practices and patients.”

It said it will publish daily updates with all the information it can share.

Health Minister Simeon Brown has announced an urgent review into the breach.

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

The 5 stages of the ‘enshittification’ of academic publishing

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martina Linnenluecke, Professor at UTS Business School; Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience, University of Technology Sydney

When writer Cory Doctorow introduced the term enshittification in 2023, he captured a pattern many users had already noticed in their personal lives.

The social media platforms, e-commerce sites and search engines they were using had noticeably deteriorated in quality. Many had begun to prioritise content from advertisers and other third parties. Profit became the main goal.

Doctorow frames this decline as a death spiral: the online platforms once offered value to their users, but slowly shifted their focus to extracting value, with little regard for consequences.

But our recent research, published in Organization, shows that enshittification isn’t just confined to the online world. In fact, it’s now visible in academic publishing and occurs in five stages. The same forces that hollow out digital platforms are shaping how a lot of research is produced, reviewed and published.

The big business of commercial academic publishing

Academic publishing has grown substantially over recent years.

Between 2016 and 2022, the number of papers indexed in major databases rose from 1.92 million to 2.82 million. The industry is estimated to generate more than US$19 billion annually.

In this sense, academic publishing rivals the music and film industries. Some publishers report profit margins comparable to tech giants such as Microsoft and Google.

This expansion has brought signs of enshittification. The rise of large open-access and predatory journals prioritise profit over scholarly integrity. This has led to a surge in low-quality publications. Many of these are disguised as contributions to “special issues”.

These trends mirror the degradation seen in online platforms, where user value is sacrificed for financial gain. The parallels prompted us to investigate the forces reshaping scholarly communication.

Research as a commercial commodity

Since the 1980s, academic publishing has become increasingly commodified. It is now shaped by profitability, competition and performance metrics. Universities have adopted market-based management practices and rely more and more on performance metrics to assess their staff.

Science is bought and sold, and is increasingly shaped by corporate funding and managerial logic. Scholars have described this shift – exemplified by commercial academic publishing – as “academic capitalism”. It influences what research gets done, how it is evaluated and how careers progress.

The open access movement was originally meant to make knowledge more widely available. However, major publishers including Wiley, Elsevier and Springer Nature saw it as a way to push their production costs onto authors – and earn extra money.

Publishers introduced article processing charges, expanded their services, and launched new titles to capture market share. When the highly prestigious journal Nature announced its open access option in 2021, it came with a per-article fee for authors of up to €9,500 (roughly A$17,000).

The shift to “article processing charges” raised concerns about declining research quality and integrity. At the other end of the spectrum, we find predatory journals that mimic legitimate open access outlets. But they charge fees without offering peer review or editorial oversight.

These exploitative platforms publish low-quality research and often use misleading names to appear credible. With an estimated 15,000 such journals in operation, predatory publishing has become a major industry and is contributing to the enshittification of academic publishing.

These trends intensify (and are intensified by) the long-standing “publish or perish” culture in academia.

Academic enshittification

Based on these trends, we identified a five-stage downward spiral in the enshittification of academic publishing.

  1. The commodification of research shifts value from intellectual merit to marketability

  2. The proliferation of pay-to-publish journals spreads across and expands both elite and predatory outlets

  3. A decline in quality and integrity follows as profit-driven models compromise peer review and oversight

  4. The sheer volume of publications makes it difficult to identify authoritative work. Fraudulent journals spread hoax papers and pirated content

  5. Enshittification follows. The scholarly system is overwhelmed by quantity, distorted by profit motives, and is stripped of its purpose of advancing knowledge.

Reclaiming academic publishing as a public good

Our research is a warning about enshittification. It is a systemic issue that threatens the value and development of academic publishing. Academia has become increasingly guided by metrics. As a result, research quality is judged more by where it is published than by its intrinsic worth.

But why are users (and academics) not simply leaving their “enshittified” experience behind? The answer is the same across various online platforms: a lack of credible alternatives makes it hard to leave, even as quality declines.

Countering this trend demands interventions and the creation of alternatives. These include a reassessment of evaluation metrics, a reduced reliance on commercial publishers, and greater global equity in research.

Some promising alternatives already exist. Cooperative publishing models, institutional repositories and policy initiatives such as the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment all advocate for broader and more meaningful assessments of scholarly impact.

Reclaiming academic publishing as a public good will require a return to not-for-profit models and sustainable open-access systems. Quality, accessibility and integrity need to be put ahead of profit.

Change is needed to help protect the core purpose of academic research: to advance knowledge in the public interest.

The Conversation

Martina Linnenluecke receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) as well as the Australian Investment and Securities Commission (ASIC) for the project “Climate Related Financial Disclosure – External Capacity Building”.

Carl Rhodes 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.

– ref. The 5 stages of the ‘enshittification’ of academic publishing – https://theconversation.com/the-5-stages-of-the-enshittification-of-academic-publishing-269714

How smart home materials can shield us from extreme heat and cut energy bills all year

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Md Jaynul Abden, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Western Sydney University

Robin Kutesa, CC BY

Australia is getting hotter. Climate change is driving more frequent and prolonged extreme heatwaves and our homes are struggling to keep up. Alarmingly, many Australian houses – especially older ones – weren’t designed for these harsh conditions.

During a heatwave, large parts of the country’s interior can soar above 40°C. That’s not only uncomfortable but also dangerous, as extreme heat puts residents at serious health risk.

Heatwaves have caused more deaths in Australia than any natural disaster combined.

That’s where smart materials come in. They can significantly change some of their properties in a controlled manner in response to external stimuli, such as temperature. And they are being incorporated into materials such as bricks and roof cladding to make homes more resistant to heat fluctuations.

Air-conditioning can’t save us

The default fix? Turn on the air conditioner. But cooling our homes with machines comes at a cost. Our growing reliance on air conditioning creates a dangerous feedback loop: more heat leads to more energy use, which ultimately drives up carbon dioxide emissions if no solar power is available.

You might be surprised to learn that buildings are responsible for around 40% of global energy use and nearly one-third of carbon dioxide emissions. In Australia, up to 50% of household energy is consumed for heating and cooling depending on the climate zone – and demand peaks during heatwaves.

To reach net-zero emissions by 2050, we need more than just efficient appliances and rooftop solar. We need to rethink how homes interact with heat – and that’s where smart materials can make a real difference. Instead of simply blasting air-conditioning, we can build homes that actively respond to their environment.

An office building covered in air conditioners in Brazil.
An office building covered in air conditioners in Brazil.
Bran Sodre/Pexels, CC BY-ND

Homes that regulate themselves?

Imagine a material that passively absorbs excess heat during the day and releases it back into the home when temperatures drop at night, with no switches, no electricity and no noise. That’s the magic of phase change materials, a type of smart material. They are made from materials such as waxes, salts, fatty acids and plant-based oils, and come in the form of thin panels, microcapsules, and liquid-filled pouches.

These materials absorb heat as they melt and release it again when they solidify, acting like a thermal battery embedded in your roof tiles or walls. A thermal battery stores energy in the form of heat instead of electricity. This means your home can “charge” with heat when it’s warm and “discharge” that heat when it’s cool.

In summer, phase change materials absorb indoor heat during the day, which keeps living spaces cooler. At night, as outdoor temperatures drop, they release that stored heat. In winter, it’s the opposite.

Phase change materials can offer even greater thermal mass than traditional materials like brick, stone or concrete. And studies show they can reduce average building energy use by around 37% across various Australian cities.

But they do have a limitation under extreme or prolonged heat. If overnight temperatures remain high – as often happens during multi-day heatwaves – the material may not cool down enough to solidify. Once fully melted, it can no longer absorb heat, making it temporarily ineffective.

Reflective coatings

Like slipping on sunglasses on a sunny day, reflective coatings shield homes from the sun’s harsh rays. When applied to rooftops, they can lower indoor temperatures by up to 4°C. This means less reliance on air conditioning and lower energy bills – a simple, cost-effective way to beat the heat.

But there’s a catch: what works brilliantly in summer can backfire in winter. These reflective surfaces also bounce away the warmth you want during colder months. And instead of absorbing heat, your home gets chillier.

To build homes for a warming world, we need solutions for all seasons – smart materials that respond to their environment by blocking heat when it’s hot, and absorbing it when it’s cold.

The future is adaptive

Our homes need layered strategies. Imagine a roof that not only reflects intense summer heat but also works with phase change materials to absorb and regulate indoor temperatures year round.

In a recent study, led by this article’s lead author, Md Jaynul Abden, reflective roof coatings combined with phase change materials embedded in roof tiles and gypsum board were found to significantly improve home performance during simulated Australian heatwaves.

The results were striking: indoor temperatures dropped by 7.9–9.7 °C across cities, and energy savings reached up to 80.6%. Most importantly, indoor environments remained significantly more comfortable. This is a critical benefit during heatwaves, especially for vulnerable communities without air-conditioning.

By carefully balancing the reflection and absorption of materials, we can ensure they perform optimally. These solutions aren’t mainstream yet, but as heatwaves intensify and the demand for energy efficiency grows, adaptive roofing systems are likely to become common in new builds and retrofits within the next decade.

The Conversation

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How smart home materials can shield us from extreme heat and cut energy bills all year – https://theconversation.com/how-smart-home-materials-can-shield-us-from-extreme-heat-and-cut-energy-bills-all-year-254614

Alpine search tech deployed in hunt for missing tramper

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Graham Garnett, 66, was meant to return on 30 December. Supplied / NZ Police

The radar technology being used to search for a tramper lost in the Kahurangi National Park has long been used on ski-fields, but is now increasingly also used for other searches, the Mountain Safety Council says.

Police will be using a helicopter mounted Recco radar system in their search for 66-year-old Graham Garnett on Tuesday.

Garnett was expected to return from a tramp in the Baton/Ellis River area of Kahurangi National Park on 30 December.

Police will use a helicopter-mounted RECCO technology radar to assist with search efforts, and have asked other people to steer clear of the search areas.

Mike Daisley, chief executive officer of the Mountain Safety Council, said the radar picked up on people with the specific Recco strips in their gear. The system had long been used in ski fields and alpine environments, particularly to find people caught in an avalanche, he said.

“Within New Zealand, using it in a wider land based [search], that’s a fairly new thing.

“That’s mainly based on the different types of clothing and equipment manufacturers now putting this in more general items, rather than just in very specialist alpine clothing.”

Daisley said the radar would easily pick up the gear with the specific RECCO strips, but could also pick up other metal.

“Small parts of backpacks have often got little pieces of aluminium and other metals, or even in your rain hood of your rain jacket, and they may be detected. That’s why police are asking other people to stay out of the area.”

Drone used in second search

Another search is underway near Lake Ōhau in the Mackenzie Basin for 20-year-old Connor Purvis, who has not been seen since he went to climb Mt Huxley on Tuesday last week.

Connor Purvis. Supplied / NZ Police

Police said they would be deploying a drone to assist search efforts, as long as weather conditions held.

Daisley said drone use was also increasingly common by LandSAR and police in searches.

“Overseas they have been used for some time, but as drone technology has become a bit more approachable in price and the range of this equipment has increased, it is growing in its use.”

Drones could be easier to deploy than a small plane or helicopter, but still had limited range and were much more impacted by the weather conditions, he said.

Daisley said the main bit of advice for people heading out on tramps, particularly for those doing longer trips, was to take some form of emergency communication device and not just rely on cell phone technology.

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

Fisheries NZ investigating report of illegal fish dumping

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A video shows a number of fish found dead in the water near Great Barrier Island (file image). RNZ/Carol Stiles

Fisheries NZ is investigating a complaint after a number of fish were found dead in the water near Great Barrier Island.

A video posted to social media shows some upset fisherman making the discovering.

One of the fisherman calls the sight “just bloody terrible”.

Fisheries NZ regional manager Andre Espinoza said they had identified a fishing vessel operating in the area and were investigating.

“Fisheries New Zealand has received a complaint, and we are looking into it to establish whether any fisheries offence has occurred,” he said.

“Illegal discarding of fish from commercial vessels is relatively rare because of the prevalence of on-board cameras on many vessels and because we are able to track the movements of vessels in near real time. However, we do receive complaints from time to time and follow up on each on.”

Espinoza said they would review the vessel’s onboard camera footage, catch reporting and GPS vessel tracking.

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

Government boosts mental health funding to support prevention, early intervention

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Four organisations are set to receive more funding through the government’s Mental Health Innovation Fund, to scale up the support they offer.

For the second round of the fund, the government lowered the $250,000 matched funding threshold to $100,000.

The initiative was funded $10 million over two years to support non-government organisations or community providers.

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey said the funding would remove barriers to support, help people access the right support earlier, and ensure communities and workplaces could get mental health support when and where it was needed.

“I have been very clear that this government is not only focused on ensuring the right support is in place to treat mental health issues, but also on preventing Kiwis from reaching that point,” he said.

“That’s why we are investing more in prevention and early intervention, and we know grassroots organisations play a vital role in increasing access to support.”

Among the new recipients is support co-ordination service Hearts and Minds, which will expand early intervention services in Auckland’s Waitematā.

Christchurch community hub The Loft would receive funding for a new digital service, which would assist an additional 200 people.

MATES in Construction, which also received funding in the first round of the fund, would get extra funding to reach an additional 3000 construction workers across 19 regions.

Finally, Asian Family Services, which provides culturally-tailored health support for Asian New Zealanders, would receive funding for its mental health and addiction practitioners in Auckland and Wellington, as well as its nationwide telehealth service.

In November, Barnardos, Netsafe, the Graeme Dingle Foundation, Ki Tua o Matariki, and Whānau Āwhina Plunket were announced as recipients of second round funding.

MATES in Construction, The Mental Health Foundation, YouthLine, Wellington City Mission, Rotorua Youth One Stop Shop, and the Sir John Kirwan Foundation all received funding in the first round.

Organisations wanting to access the fund have to match the amount they are seeking.

The original $250,000 threshold was criticised by Labour.

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

ManageMyHealth hack could re-traumatise sexual violence, family harm victims

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Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Finn Blackwell

Sexual violence and family harm victims will be living in terror that their private details could be among a cache of hacked medical information, an advocate says.

More than 400,000 files have been stolen from the Manage My Health platform.

It was a shocking data breach of highly sensitive information involving about 15,000 patients’ records, independent advocate Claire Buckley said.

“The problem with that is that anybody who has used that system will now be vulnerable and potentially re-traumatised and potentially unnecessarily re-traumatised because their data may not be part of the hack. And so that’s the harm that’s being caused – it’s not just to the people that have been hacked and whose data is vulnerable. It’s also to anyone who uses that system whose data may not have been hacked, but they are living [with] the terror that it could have been.

“And I mean terror. People who have been through these kind of horrific traumas are not people who are feeling secure at the best of times. And so something like this, where their personal data could get out there is something that is more terrifying than to your average person who may have their medical records out there. There’s a really big difference between, oh, ‘did you know that this person was on statins?’ versus, ‘this person had an horrendous sexual assault, and they have permanent damage in this way’, which would all be documented within those doctor’s notes.”

Buckley said abusive ex-partners could find their family’s addresses, or other criminals could track down their victims.

“This kind of information may be able to lead their partners to find them, so that will be terrifying for them. And then anyone who’s had any kind of severe trauma in the family relating to a homicide, for example, all of that’s documented in their health records. Often they need counselling. And so all of those things are now going to be, you know, on the dark web, accessible to people who have the nefarious means to access that.

“And it’s just so re-traumatising to anyone who’s been through any kind of severe trauma, particularly one that may be ongoing in terms of a case that may still be pending and in terms of someone who is still trying to keep away from an abusive spouse.”

A ransom deadline had been set for Tuesday and victims would have that at the front of their minds.

“Everyone who has been through that kind of trauma, whether it be family harm or sexual assault will be saying ‘pay the ransom – it is completely worth it to protect my privacy’. And that’s the problem. A lot of companies do pay it specifically to try and avoid the harm that can be caused.

“The problem, of course, is that the bad guys who are doing the hacking know that companies are willing to pay now because of the level of harm that they are causing. And so it becomes this kind of vicious cycle. If we pay them, then they know they can be paid. Therefore, they will keep trying to get into these systems and take the data for ransom again.”

A worrying possibility would be that it could make people think twice about what they tell their doctor.

“And that would be the worst part of the situation, would be people who are in desperate need not wanting their information to be stored on the system. Because you can imagine if you have been the victim of a sexual assault and it is quite graphic in nature, you are not going to want your doctor to be documenting that in a system that is not considered reliable enough to ensure that your personal security and privacy is protected.”

Manage My Health said late on Monday that the ransom demand was a matter for police, and it would not be making any comment about a ransom while an investigation was ongoing.

The platform apologised for pain and anxiety caused to health providers and patients, and acknowledged it could have communicated better.

“However, our priority was to secure patient data and work on the accuracy of all information before providing it to practices and patients.”

It said it will publish daily updates with all the information it can share.

Health Minister Simeon Brown has announced an urgent review into the breach.

Where to get help:

  • Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason
  • Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357
  • Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends
  • Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202
  • Samaritans: 0800 726 666
  • Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz
  • What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds
  • Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, and English.
  • Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254
  • Healthline: 0800 611 116
  • Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
  • OUTLine: 0800 688 5463
  • Aoake te Rā bereaved by suicide service: or call 0800 000 053

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

Sexual Violence

Family Violence

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

Manage My Health breach: ‘A lot of queries’ from patients as anxiety about stolen data grows

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The hackers, calling themselves ‘Kazu’, posted on Sunday morning that unless the company paid a ransom within 48 hours, they would leak more than 400,000 files in their possession. Supplied

Patients are anxious to know whether they’re affected by the Manage My Health hack – and there’s a pressing need for the company to tell people if their data’s been stolen, GP owners say.

The deadline is now thought to have passed for a $US60,000 ransom for hundreds of thousands of files taken from the online health portal, affecting more than 120,000 patients.

The hackers, known online as ‘Kazu’ have not leaked any further data after the deadline for the ransom had passed.

General Practice Owners’ Association chairperson Angus Chambers told Morning Report GPs don’t know who’s affected, or what information’s been taken.

General Practice Owners’ Association chairperson Angus Chambers. Supplied

“There’s a lot of patients who are worried that their privacy’s been breached, and they still don’t know, and there’s people who have had their privacy breached, and they don’t know either,” he said.

“There’s a lot of anxiety, and it’s actually creating a lot of work for GPs, because there’s a lot of queries, a lot of explanations, so we feel that we need to get that anxiety put to bed.”

That was Manage My Health’s job, he said.

“GPs are involved to a degree, but … it looks like it’s their responsibility, their fault, we feel it’s on them to be doing informing.”

Chambers said practices must be prudent about cyber security and protecting their patients, but it was not as simple as switching platforms.

In many practices, Manage My Health was closely connected with practice management software, and changing that was a massive job, he said.

Manage My Health said late on Monday that the ransom demand was a matter for police, and it would not be making any comment about a ransom while an investigation was ongoing.

The platform apologised for pain and anxiety caused to health providers and patients, and acknowledged it could have communicated better.

“However, our priority was to secure patient data and work on the accuracy of all information before providing it to practices and patients.”

It said it will publish daily updates with all the information it can share.

Health Minister Simeon Brown has announced an urgent review into the breach.

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

Fears many sport clubs don’t realise they’re about to be dissolved

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Tennis clubs are among those who need to register. RNZ / Bridget Tunnicliffe

Fewer than half of New Zealand’s incorporated community sport organisations (ICSOs) have registered under new legislation, with the deadline just 13 weeks away.

The New Zealand Amateur Sport Association said Companies Office data showed just under half of the around 7000 ICSOs were registered under the 2022 Incorporated Societies Act.

By 5 April, sports clubs need to register under the 2022 Act or experience involuntary dissolution and loss of incorporated status, which exposes members to personal risk and limits a club’s ability to raise funds and enter into contracts.

Before re-registering, clubs have to rewrite their constitutions and include additional procedures like dispute resolution processes and submit it with the Registrar of Incorporated Societies.

The registrar will reject it if it is non-compliant and clubs would have to start over again.

Over the next 13 weeks, the association estimated the average daily registration rate (based on the actual registration rate over the eight weeks to 31 December 2025) needed to increase three-fold, for all ICSOs to continue to have a legal identity.

If the current registration rate was maintained between now and “dissolution day”, it estimated 36 percent of currently registered ICSOs would cease to have incorporated status, affecting many sporting codes and communities.

The association believed many ICSOs were still unaware of their legislative obligations or oblivious to their impact, with many ICSOs likely to continue operating in an unincorporated state once they had been involuntarily dissolved by the Registrar of Incorporated Societies in April.

While there had been an increase in registrations over the past eight weeks, since the association undertook its last analysis, most sport codes had fewer than half of their clubs registered under the new act.

Lawn and Indoor Bowls had achieved the greatest compliance, with around three-quarters of all clubs registered. Only one in 10 equestrian clubs had taken the necessary steps to remain registered.

Some of the country’s biggest codes – cricket, netball, and rugby union – all languish among the sports with lower rates of registration.

The association has asked the minister for commerce and consumer affairs to extend the deadline by at least a further 12 months to avoid the unintended consequences for local communities, which relied on volunteers to deliver sport throughout New Zealand.

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

Fears many sport clubs don’t realise they’re about to be dissolved

By -

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tennis clubs are among those who need to register. RNZ / Bridget Tunnicliffe

Fewer than half of New Zealand’s incorporated community sport organisations (ICSOs) have registered under new legislation, with the deadline just 13 weeks away.

The New Zealand Amateur Sport Association said Companies Office data showed just under half of the around 7000 ICSOs were registered under the 2022 Incorporated Societies Act.

By 5 April, sports clubs need to register under the 2022 Act or experience involuntary dissolution and loss of incorporated status, which exposes members to personal risk and limits a club’s ability to raise funds and enter into contracts.

Before re-registering, clubs have to rewrite their constitutions and include additional procedures like dispute resolution processes and submit it with the Registrar of Incorporated Societies.

The registrar will reject it if it is non-compliant and clubs would have to start over again.

Over the next 13 weeks, the association estimated the average daily registration rate (based on the actual registration rate over the eight weeks to 31 December 2025) needed to increase three-fold, for all ICSOs to continue to have a legal identity.

If the current registration rate was maintained between now and “dissolution day”, it estimated 36 percent of currently registered ICSOs would cease to have incorporated status, affecting many sporting codes and communities.

The association believed many ICSOs were still unaware of their legislative obligations or oblivious to their impact, with many ICSOs likely to continue operating in an unincorporated state once they had been involuntarily dissolved by the Registrar of Incorporated Societies in April.

While there had been an increase in registrations over the past eight weeks, since the association undertook its last analysis, most sport codes had fewer than half of their clubs registered under the new act.

Lawn and Indoor Bowls had achieved the greatest compliance, with around three-quarters of all clubs registered. Only one in 10 equestrian clubs had taken the necessary steps to remain registered.

Some of the country’s biggest codes – cricket, netball, and rugby union – all languish among the sports with lower rates of registration.

The association has asked the minister for commerce and consumer affairs to extend the deadline by at least a further 12 months to avoid the unintended consequences for local communities, which relied on volunteers to deliver sport throughout New Zealand.

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

Cricket: Black Caps’ India series about ‘getting information’ ahead of World Cup

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Glenn Phillips of New Zealand www.photosport.nz

Missing the first part of the summer through injury should work in Glenn Phillips’ favour as he prepares for a busy couple of months of cricket.

Phillips had groin problems last year while playing franchise cricket and missed the white ball series’ against Australia, India and the West Indies.

He returned to the Black Caps’ side for the second West Indies Test at the Basin Reserve in early December.

Phillips was also happy to get a couple of Super Smash games in for Otago after Christmas.

Glenn Phillips in action, 2025. Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025

“The energy levels are high and the body held up nicely,” he said.

The first group of players, including Phillips, have headed to India for three ODI’s and five T20 internationals. Eight games in 20 days.

“It’s a quick turnaround between games so recovery will be key, and hopefully the body just keeps improving as we keep going,” he said.

The T20 World Cup, hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will start a week after New Zealand’s final T20 international against India.

“The preparation side of it is going to be fantastic, but it is going to be about staying as fresh as possible for the biggest event of the year.

“The conditions may be a little bit different to what we actually get in the World Cup, you never quite know what pitches will be produced especially if we are playing subcontinent teams.

“They tend to produce something that is a bit more spin-friendly [for World Cups] but in the T20 and ODI tour they tend to produce pitches that are really quite good.

“Chennai could spin quite a bit, whereas in Ahmedabad it could be a lot flatter and a lot faster, so it is about getting as much information as possible heading into the World Cup.”

A number of the Black Caps could be away as long as two months if the team progresses deep into the World Cup, and while there will not be much time for anything else other than training and playing, Phillips said he had packed his computer games – including his flight and golf simulators.

Otago Volts Glenn Phillips batting against Central Stags, 2025. www.photosport.nz

“It is definitely about keeping that life balance as much as possible. Stay fresh, stay happy with the boys getting around each other to make sure that we’re all in good places and making the most of our time together and enjoying each other’s company off the field.”

Phillips said they were not always seen as the enemy in India, as many of the locals viewed New Zealand as their second-favourite team.

“There is a lot of support, even though first and foremost they’re cheering for their Indian side. We do get a lot of love, which is fantastic.”

Black Caps schedule in India

  • 1st ODI 9pm Sunday 11 Jan, Baroda
  • 2nd ODI 9pm Wednesday 14 Jan, Rajkot
  • 3rd ODI 9pm Sunday 18 Jan, Indore
  • 1st T20 2:30am Thursday 22 Jan, Nagpur
  • 2nd T20 2:30am Saturday 24 Jan, Raipur
  • 3rd T20 2:30am Monday 25 Jan, Guwahati
  • 4th T20 2:30am Thursday 29 Jan, Vizag
  • 5th T20, 2:30am Sunday 1 Feb, Trivandrum
  • T20 World Cup India and Sri Lanka, 7 February – 8 March

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

Stratford road blocked after debris falls from truck

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Police urged motorists to avoid the area and expect delays (file image). Pretoria Gordon / RNZ

Debris is blocking a major road in Stratford after it fell from a truck.

Police said on Tuesday morning the northbound lane of Broadway/State Highway 3 through the Taranaki town was blocked, and would be for “some time” while it was cleared.

No one was injured, they said.

Police urged motorists to avoid the area and expect delays.

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

Kenepuru urgent care clinic short-staffing unfair on community – union

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Kenepuru Community Hospital in Porirua. Google Maps

The senior doctors union says Health NZ needs to better staff Porirua’s Kenepuru Accident & Medical Clinic (KAMC), after it was left without a doctor overnight on Sunday.

Health NZ said the accident and medical clinic was without a doctor between 10.30pm on Sunday and 7am on Monday because the rostered staffer was sick, and they could not find anyone to cover the shift.

Instead, nurses assessed patients and decided whether they could wait until the morning, or needed emergency care.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) executive director Sarah Dalton said it was unfair on the communities serviced by the clinic.

“Of course people get sick, but the question is why the employer is running the service in such a way that it’s impossible to cover… particularly at short notice,” she said.

“We think that the people in those communities have the same entitlement to after-hours care as people who live just 20 minutes further south or across in the Hutt Valley, both of which have fully commissioned emergency departments available to them.”

Sarah Dalton. LANCE LAWSON PHOTOGRAPHY / Supplied

Kenepuru Hospital, and KAMC service about 120,000 people in Porirua, Tawa, and the Kāpiti Coast.

They are major urban areas being treated the same way as a remote and hard to staff centre like Dargaville, Dalton said, a d ASMS members had become used to making do with “substandard” staffing levels.

“Normal staffing levels or budgeted staffing levels are not sufficient to allow for sickness, leave, other things that pop up in the normal line of people’s lives.”

She worried that inadequate staffing at Kenepuru’s overnight clinic could increase pressure at Wellington Hospital’s already squeezed emergency department.

Health NZ Capital Coast & Hutt Valley operations director Jamie Duncan said people could still access the clinic for lower-level care on Sunday night, and it was staffed again on Monday night.

“It has had stable coverage of the overnight shift for 18 months,” he said.

“The KAMC is an after-hours clinic for urgent care, which would escalate all emergencies to Wellington Regional Hospital ED and Hutt Hospital ED regardless of staffing of the clinic.”

It was difficult to staff the clinic at short notice during this time of year, said Duncan.

There was “no noticeable increase” in people seeking care at the Wellington or Hutt Hospital emergency departments on Sunday night, he said.

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

Drone to be used in search for tramper missing near Lake Ōhau for a week

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Connor Purvis. Supplied / NZ Police

A drone will be used today to help in the search for a tramper missing near Lake Ōhau in the Mackenzie Basin.

There has been no sign of 20-year-old Connor Purvis since he went to climb Mt Huxley on Tuesday last week.

Police say the Search and Rescue team are working to refine the search area, and are being supported by teams from the greater South Island and the Alpine Cliff Rescue team.

They are also planning on deploying a drone to assist search efforts, as long as weather conditions hold.

On Sunday, Otago coastal search and rescue co-ordinator Sergeant Matt Sheat said helicopters had scoured the area.

They have been looking through huts and camp sites but have found no sign of Purvis.

“We ask anyone who has climbed Mt Huxley or has been tramping or hunting in the Huxley River South Branch between 28 December and 2 January to make contact with Police if they haven’t already,” Sheat said.

“We also want to hear from anyone who may have seen or spoken to Connor in the South Temple, Ahuriri or Huxley valleys in that same timeframe.

“It’s a large-scale search over a large area, and the smallest piece of information could make all the difference.”

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

Neighbourly gets injunction to stop release of hacked information

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Neighbourly was temporarily shut down on New Year’s Day after the breach was uncovered. Screenshot

The owner of a hacked social media platform says they have a court injunction to stop private information being released.

Stuff Digital owns Neighbourly and co-owns the Stuff news website, which is reporting they have been granted a High Court injunction to stop the information being shared.

The Neighbourly website was temporarily shut down on New Year’s Day when the breach was discovered but is back online.

An IT security expert has previously told RNZ that the hack has included GPS details which could identify people’s homes.

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

Neighbourly gets injuction to stop release of hacked information

By -

Source: Radio New Zealand

Neighbourly was temporarily shut down on New Year’s Day after the breach was uncovered. Screenshot

The owner of a hacked social media platform says they have a court injunction to stop private information being released.

Stuff Digital owns Neighbourly and co-owns the Stuff news website, which is reporting they have been granted a High Court injunction to stop the information being shared.

The Neighbourly website was temporarily shut down on New Year’s Day when the breach was discovered but is back online.

An IT security expert has previously told RNZ that [] https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/583175/be-very-very-suspicious-neighbourly-breach-makes-users-vulnerable-expert the hack has included GPS details which could identify people’s homes].

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

13 people injured in crash in Northland

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Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / REECE BAKER

More than a dozen people have been injured in a crash in Northland.

Emergency services were called to the scene on Lamb Road, near the town of Pukenui, about 7.45am on Tuesday.

Hato Hone St John said it looked at and treated 13 people in conditions ranging from minor to serious.

It said six had been taken to Kaitaia hospital, two in a moderate condition.

Police were at the scene.

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

ManageMyHealth breach: ‘A lot of queries’ from patients as anxiety about stolen data grows

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Source: Radio New Zealand

123RF

Patients are anxious to know whether they’re affected by the ManageMyHealth hack – and there’s a pressing need for the company to tell people if their data’s been stolen, GP owners say.

The deadline is now thought to have passed for a $US60,000 ransom for hundreds of thousands of files taken from the online health portal, affecting more than 120,000 patients.

The hackers, known online as ‘Kazu’ have not leaked any further data after the deadline for the ransom had passed.

General Practice Owners’ Association chairperson Angus Chambers told Morning Report GPs don’t know who’s affected, or what information’s been taken.

General Practice Owners’ Association chairperson Angus Chambers. Supplied

“There’s a lot of patients who are worried that their privacy’s been breached, and they still don’t know, and there’s people who have had their privacy breached, and they don’t know either,” he said.

“There’s a lot of anxiety, and it’s actually creating a lot of work for GPs, because there’s a lot of queries, a lot of explanations, so we feel that we need to get that anxiety put to bed.”

That was ManageMyHealth’s job, he said.

“GPs are involved to a degree, but … it looks like it’s their responsibility, their fault, we feel it’s on them to be doing informing.”

Chambers said practices must be prudent about cyber security and protecting their patients, but it was not as simple as switching platforms.

In many practices, ManageMyHealth was closely connected with practice management software, and changing that was a massive job, he said.

ManageMyHealth said late on Monday that the ransom demand was a matter for police, and it would not be making any comment about a ransom while an investigation was ongoing.

The platform apologised for pain and anxiety caused to health providers and patients, and acknowledged it could have communicated better.

“However, our priority was to secure patient data and work on the accuracy of all information before providing it to practices and patients.”

It said it will publish daily updates with all the information it can share.

Health Minister Simeon Brown has announced an urgent review into the breach.

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

Holiday road toll rises to eight after further death

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Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / REECE BAKER

The holiday road toll has risen to eight.

The official Christmas and New Year period ended at 6am Monday and the road toll was seven at that time.

But the provisional figure can change when someone injured during the period dies later.

A death in a crash in Auckland’s Papatoetoe late Sunday night has since died.

The Christmas holiday road toll is still down from 15 the previous year, and 22 in 2024.

The director of road policing, Superintendent Steve Greally, said police were not celebrating the drop in deaths over the past few years, because even one death is one too many.

“We’re not going to celebrate until we have zero deaths on our roads, but this is trending in the right direction.

“We want everyone to keep in mind that one death is one too many.”

Greally said police will continue road policing operations and patrols, especially in higher risk crash areas.

“We’re all responsible for road safety, and while our officers are doing all that they can on the roads to reduce the number of serious crashes, we need drivers to do their part.

“Make sure you are always driving free from alcohol, drugs, and fatigue.”

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

Holiday road toll rises to eight after further death

By -

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / REECE BAKER

The holiday road toll has risen to eight.

The official Christmas and New Year period ended at 6am Monday and the road toll was seven at that time.

But the provisional figure can change when someone injured during the period dies later.

A death in a crash in Auckland’s Papatoetoe late Sunday night has since died.

The Christmas holiday road toll is still down from 15 the previous year, and 22 in 2024.

The director of road policing, Superintendent Steve Greally, said police were not celebrating the drop in deaths over the past few years, because even one death is one too many.

“We’re not going to celebrate until we have zero deaths on our roads, but this is trending in the right direction.

“We want everyone to keep in mind that one death is one too many.”

Greally said police will continue road policing operations and patrols, especially in higher risk crash areas.

“We’re all responsible for road safety, and while our officers are doing all that they can on the roads to reduce the number of serious crashes, we need drivers to do their part.

“Make sure you are always driving free from alcohol, drugs, and fatigue.”

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

Kenepuru Community Hospital’s short-staffing unfair on community – union

By -

Source: Radio New Zealand

Kenepuru Community Hospital in Porirua. Google Maps

The senior doctors union says Health NZ needs to better staff Porirua’s Kenepuru Accident & Medical Clinic (KAMC), after it was left without a doctor overnight on Sunday.

Health NZ said the accident and medical clinic was without a doctor between 10.30pm on Sunday and 7am on Monday because the rostered staffer was sick, and they could not find anyone to cover the shift.

Instead, nurses assessed patients and decided whether they could wait until the morning, or needed emergency care.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) executive director Sarah Dalton said it was unfair on the communities serviced by Kenepuru Hospital.

“Of course people get sick, but the question is why the employer is running the service in such a way that it’s impossible to cover… particularly at short notice,” she said.

“We think that the people in those communities have the same entitlement to after-hours care as people who live just 20 minutes further south or across in the Hutt Valley, both of which have fully commissioned emergency departments available to them.”

Sarah Dalton. LANCE LAWSON PHOTOGRAPHY / Supplied

Kenepuru Hospital services around 120,000 people in Porirua, Tawa, and the Kāpiti Coast.

They are major urban areas being treated the same way as a remote and hard to staff centre like Dargaville, Dalton said, a d ASMS members had become used to making do with “substandard” staffing levels.

“Normal staffing levels or budgeted staffing levels are not sufficient to allow for sickness, leave, other things that pop up in the normal line of people’s lives.”

She worried that inadequate staffing at Kenepuru’s overnight clinic could increase pressure at Wellington Hospital’s already squeezed emergency department.

Health NZ Capital Coast & Hutt Valley operations director Jamie Duncan said people could still access the clinic for lower-level care on Sunday night, and it was staffed again on Monday night.

“It has had stable coverage of the overnight shift for 18 months,” he said.

“The KAMC is an after-hours clinic for urgent care, which would escalate all emergencies to Wellington Regional Hospital ED and Hutt Hospital ED regardless of staffing of the clinic.”

It was difficult to staff the clinic at short notice during this time of year, said Duncan.

There was “no noticeable increase” in people seeking care at the Wellington or Hutt Hospital emergency departments on Sunday night, he said.

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

Do I have to rinse out my swimsuit after the pool? A textile scientist has the answer

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carolina Quintero Rodriguez, Senior Lecturer and Program Manager, Bachelor of Fashion (Enterprise) program, RMIT University

Summer means sunshine, beach days, and afternoons by the pool … which means wearing swimwear and looking after it. But while we enjoy those carefree summer days, pool chemicals, UV rays from sunlight, sweat and salt water are quietly damaging the delicate fibres of our swimwear.

The good news is a simple habit can make a big difference. You may have heard you should rinse out your swimmers after you’ve been in the pool so they don’t fall apart. Here’s the science behind this advice.

What swimwear is made of

Modern swimwear isn’t just fabric. It’s an engineered material made of a sophisticated blend of synthetic fibres designed to perform under demanding conditions.

It combines polyester or polyamide (typically nylon) with elastane fibres, commonly known by brand names like Spandex or Lycra. Typically, swimwear materials contain approximately 80% polyester or polyamide blended with 20% elastane to provide stretch.

Polyester and polyamide dominate swimwear fabrics because they ensure the swimwear will hold its shape when wet, and dry faster than other types of fabrics would.

However, it’s the elastane that helps to ensure swimwear stays on our body during swimming and lets us move with comfort.

All these fibres respond differently to environmental conditions. While polyester generally resists chlorine really well compared to polyamides, elastane remains the most vulnerable component in any swimwear fabric. At the same time, elastane is absolutely essential for achieving the body-hugging fit that makes swimwear comfortable.

Chlorine, sun and saltwater can all do damage

Pool chlorine might keep the water safe and disinfected, but it wages chemical warfare on fabrics.

Chlorine exposure causes severe and progressive degradation of swimwear materials. After 300 hours of exposure to chlorine and sunlight – equivalent to approximately 35 days of summer – the strength of swimwear fabrics may drop by 65%.

The rate of polyamide (nylon) degradation depends on the acidity of the water, with degradation most pronounced at pH levels below 5.0. This pH sensitivity means pool chemistry matters – improperly balanced pool water will speed up how fast your swimwear breaks down. The acceptable range for pool water pH is between 7.0 and 7.2.

UV radiation from the Sun also increases degradation. Elastane fibres are easily damaged by heat, light, atmospheric contaminants such as humidity, moisture and temperature, and chlorine.

Elastane is known to lose strength when exposed to UV radiation for long periods, and direct sunlight while the garment is drying can break down the fibres, leading to loss of stretch and faded colours.

While saltwater is less damaging than chlorine, it still contributes to fabric degradation over time. High salinity causes oxidation and other chemical reactions, which lead to discoloration and degradation of materials. In synergy with sun exposure, this speeds up fabric breakdown even more.

Salt and UV exposure together make the swimwear fibres degrade faster.
Kindel Media/Pexels

How can I make my swimwear last, then?

Given the constant contact with chlorine, saltwater and UV rays, proper care becomes essential to extend the life of your swimwear.

The single most important tip for keeping your swimwear in good condition after the pool or the ocean is to rinse it immediately in cold or lukewarm water. This removes chlorine, salt water, sunscreen and body oils that would actively degrade fibres.

Never rinse with hot water, as heat makes fibres brittle and stretches the elastane components.

After rinsing, the best way to wash your swimwear is by hand, with a mild detergent. Avoid highly acidic or alkaline detergents, and never use bleach, as elastane fibres will lose stretch and turn yellow.

Fabric softeners should also be avoided, as they leave a coating that clogs fabric pores, trapping odours and bacteria while also degrading the elastane.

Air-drying is essential to extend the life of swimwear. Dry your swimwear in the shade away from direct sunlight, as UV rays continue breaking down elastane and fading colours even after swimming.

Remember to lay garments flat to prevent the stretching and deformation that occurs when hanging wet fabric.

Finally, never use machine dryers, as heat causes elastane fibres to become brittle, causing swimwear to lose shape and become loose or saggy.

Can swimwear be made better?

You may have seen swimwear marketed as chlorine-resistant, long-life, or made from newer materials such as PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), Econyl, Repreve, FishTale, EcoLux or others.

Although these innovations claim to improve durability and performance, they’re not invincible. Even the best fabrics still need proper care to achieve their longevity potential.

It may not seem like much, but your swimwear is actually a sophisticated piece of textile engineering designed to stretch, support and survive water exposure.

To make it last, treat rinsing as a non-negotiable part of your routine. That quick 30-second habit could help your swimsuit stay bright, stretchy and supportive for many summers to come.

Carolina Quintero Rodriguez 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.

– ref. Do I have to rinse out my swimsuit after the pool? A textile scientist has the answer – https://theconversation.com/do-i-have-to-rinse-out-my-swimsuit-after-the-pool-a-textile-scientist-has-the-answer-270982

What is autistic burnout? And what can you do about it?

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Arnold, Senior Lecturer in Psychological Sciences, Western Sydney University

Many autistic people face challenges in their daily life while navigating a world made for neurotypical people.

Think about a trip to your local cafe. You might have patrons crammed into small spaces, bright lights, strong odours and sounds of noisy coffee machines, scraping chairs on hard surface floors, and crockery and cutlery clattering.

This escalating cacophony can easily become overwhelming for someone with sensory processing sensitivities, which are a common characteristic of autism.

Social interactions can also be draining for autistic people. A simple conversation may require complex, rapid decision-making. They must work to interpret non-verbal cues, manage their own emotional expressions, and may feel they have to “mask” or “camouflage” their autism.

These stressors can mount up over time and result in fatigue or periods of “autistic burnout”.

Burnout is different to a meltdown

A meltdown can occur when an autistic child or adult becomes overwhelmed and has an outpouring of energy that is relatively short-lived.

The person might first feel intense emotional dysregulation, irritation, frustration or sensory overload.

Some autistic people can be very literal. If they say “That music is just too loud, I feel sick, it’s too much, I need to get away”, they probably feel like they’re going to vomit or need to flee.

The meltdown might then involve crying, flapping or pacing, zoning out, lashing out or running away. Most people would have seen depictions of autistic meltdowns on TV shows and movies.



Read more:
Parents are increasingly saying their child is ‘dysregulated’. What does that actually mean?

With the autonomy of adulthood, some autistic people can better identify when a meltdown might be approaching and may have the opportunity to mask or move to a private area, given the social cost of a meltdown in public. But a child may not be able to leave the situation.

There is little literature on meltdowns from the perspective of autistic people themselves. But some notable exceptions highlight the shame of having a meltdown. As one autistic doctor explained, “even the word meltdown is humiliating”.

While a meltdown is an outpouring of energy, our research shows autistic burnout is a dearth of energy.

Masking autism is exhausting

Autistic people often have difficultly understanding the unwritten social rules. They may monitor themselves to try and meet these social rules, for example, making eye contact when talking (but not too much), waiting for their turn to talk, standing still and relaxed, not moving their hands too much, or engaging in small talk before making large requests.

Masking is a key stressor for autistic people. A long day at work can be exhausting for anyone, but long days of work that also require continuous masking can lead to autistic burnout.

Masking can be especially taxing if a social faux pas earlier in your life led to embarrassment, bullying or worse, causing an additional layer of stress during unexpected social interactions.

Autistic people might find it easier to interact with other autistic people, around whom they don’t feel they need to mask their autistic traits and can communicate authentically and discuss topics of interest.

Interacting with non-autistic people can be more difficult as there’s a greater likelihood of misunderstandings and communication breakdowns.



Read more:
What are ‘masking’ and ‘camouflaging’ in the context of autism and ADHD?

What does burnout look like?

Burnout occurs when a person has been cognitively overloaded and overwhelmed, and the person’s energy levels have depleted to the level of physical and mental exhaustion.

In our research, we identified commonalities across autistic adults’ experiences of burnout. The person may have difficulty communicating, be confused, experience memory problems and find their autistic traits may become more intense. They may experience extreme fatigue and withdraw socially.

They may lose their ability to work or study, and may lose relationships in the process.

A burnout can last days, weeks, months, or even years. Some people never completely recover or reach their level of functioning before their burnout.

Autistic burnout is a new area of research. We still need to answer questions such as how long an autistic person needs to feel fatigue before it becomes burnout, or whether autistic burnout is a type of depression – so far it appears not to be, but more research is needed.

What if you’re in burnout now, or supporting someone who is?

If a person is experiencing autistic burnout, our research suggests they may benefit from having time alone, away from the demands and expectations of others and away from over-stimulating environments.

In our study, participants found rest and relaxation helped initially. This meant more sleep, spending time with pets and getting out into nature.

As the person’s energy rebuilds, they may gradually spend more time engaging with their passions, establishing routines and reconnecting with the world, their way.

To help manage meltdowns and avoid burnout, young autistic people also recommend:

  • open communication (talking through the emotions)
  • collaborative regulation (being sensitive to each other’s emotions and using strategies to regulate emotions)
  • individualised coping strategies (which can range from moulding clay and hanging out with a pet, to reading, playing music, sports, deep breathing or spending time alone).

Connecting with the online autism community, at places such as Wrong Planet, can also help.

Non-autistic carers and family can work with the person to enable these things. But if an autistic person says “I just can’t take this anymore”, be the ally who listens deeply and with an open mind to understand their experience.

Work together to problem-solve: would time off work, a change of environment, or extra support around the house reduce their stress? If they want, help connect them with an autism-informed mental health practitioner.

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

Samuel Arnold previously received funding from the Autism CRC.

Julianne Maree Higgins previously received funding from the Autism CRC.

– ref. What is autistic burnout? And what can you do about it? – https://theconversation.com/what-is-autistic-burnout-and-what-can-you-do-about-it-257819

Women have fought hard to be recognised as farmers. There’s still more work to be done

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucie Newsome, Lecturer, Business School, University of New England

pixdeluxe/Getty

When we think of an Australian farmer, we often still conjure up an image of a bloke in a hat, perhaps leaning on a fence post. If women make an appearance at all in this picture, it’s usually as a support to the male farmer.

Women’s labour has long been central to the success of Australian farming. But farming itself is still largely seen as a “masculine” job. That’s why the Australian women in agriculture movement has fought hard to change this perception.

Our research has reviewed the story and impacts of this movement over the past 40 years.

There have been some big wins for women – particularly in terms of cultural recognition. But they still do not have equal access to the economic rewards of farming.

Not just the farmer’s wife

Australian farmers get much less government support than in other advanced economies, including very low subsidies for agriculture.

The viability of farming in Australia has long been reliant on the flexible and often underpaid work of family members, including wives, daughters-in-law and daughters.

Even so, this contribution hasn’t always been visible or officially recognised.

In the 1990s, rural women started meeting and formulating agendas for change at what were known as the “Women on Farm Gatherings”.

Recognition as farmers was at the top of the list. But before making demands to be recognised as farmers, they first needed to self-identify in this way.

As one participant, Elaine Paton, is quoted as saying:

I went to a Woman on Farms Gathering as a farmer’s wife and I walked away a farmer.

In 1994, the movement was successful in challenging the existing legal status of women on farms as a “sleeping partner, non-productive”.

This impacted women’s position in divorce and injury settlements, impinging on their claims that they were contributors to the farm business and deserved recognition as such.

The movement was making gains in disrupting the masculine idea of what it was to be a farmer. But it also faced backlash.

For example, when Tasmanian Women in Agriculture formed in 1994, it was reportedly “seen in some circles as either a threat or a joke”.

Progress stalls

Like many Australian women’s movements, the momentum of the rural women’s movement stalled from the late 1990s onward.

The movement had been supported by the establishment of rural women’s units in state and federal government departments from the 1980s onward. These were focused on building the skills, recognition and confidence of women in agriculture.

But access to policy makers in the government via these organisations became constrained. Agriculture itself was undergoing a policy-driven economic restructuring at this time. Government supports, subsidies and services for farmers all declined.

Farmers were encouraged to “get big or get out” to maintain farm viability. They were also encouraged to become more professional and entrepreneurial.

Recognition, but few rewards

Effectively making claims on the government depended on rural women’s groups supporting the broader agricultural policy of economic restructuring.

The rural women’s movement argued it was a “valuable, Australian resource” that could help the agriculture sector and rural communities adjust to this change.

Policies targeted at women in agriculture and women in rural areas focused on tapping into rural women’s potential to make farms professional and less reliant on government support.

This included building skills related to the farm office. These programs helped to legitimise the policy of economic restructuring, as it was seen to be empowering for women.

These programs did little to improve women’s access to the economic rewards of agriculture. Key politicians still appeared to see women as secondary farmers.

For example, in 2013, then federal agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce said agriculture would “fall flat on its face without the prominent and incredible role that women play”, but then described that role as “basically as the assistant farm labourer, with the partner or with the husband”.

Where we are today

Women’s on and off-farm labour is crucial for family farm viability in Australia, but they still do not share equally in the economic rewards of farming.

The flexibility and underpayment of family labour is arguably one of the key reasons Australian farming remains largely in family rather than corporate hands.

Our research has explored how contemporary Australian government policies targeting women in agriculture present women in three ways:

  • the supportive wife holding the farming family together
  • the entrepreneurial farm partner
  • the builder of resilient rural communities.

This does not recognise women as independent farmers in their own right. It also reinforces and normalises women’s contribution to agriculture and rural communities as underpaid or unpaid.

It also fails to recognise the diversity of Australian agriculture and the role of the construct of the white middle-class farming woman in colonisation.

Future proofing the Australian agricultural sector will rely on governments recognising that the sector is reliant on women’s work and introducing policies that aim to strengthen women’s economic positions.

Danielle Miller is affiliated with QUT Online as Academic Delivery Lead.

Lucie Newsome 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.

– ref. Women have fought hard to be recognised as farmers. There’s still more work to be done – https://theconversation.com/women-have-fought-hard-to-be-recognised-as-farmers-theres-still-more-work-to-be-done-270076

Not just a ‘woman’s hobby’ – why more men are picking up sewing, and why you should too

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology

Unsplash/Wiktoria Skrzekotowska, CC BY

Men have started sewing up a storm, driving a culture shift that challenges the traditional notion of sewing as a “women’s hobby”.

The COVID pandemic drove a resurgence in home economics, with many people – including many men – picking up skills such as sewing and knitting.

This trend has since grown, even as lockdowns have ended. And it disrupts the dominant narrative that men stick to stereotypical masculine identities – particularly in rural Australia, where social pressure to behave a certain way can feel amplified.

The rise of mens’ sewing

The term “performative male” has been used to describe a sub-group of men who try really hard to appear “non-masculine” – usually for the purpose of attracting women. Is picking up the sewing just another performative male trick?

The research suggests not. Instead, it reveals a subculture of men who are genuine fashion enthusiasts taking up the skill.

Globally, men’s sewing groups have also been established as a way to foster community and improve mental health.

Gen Z’s members in particular are not shying away from personalising their style – and finding ways to customise their wardrobes on a budget.

These young men are not as strongly influenced by trends flowing down from runways. Instead, they leverage social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to share their passion and influence others, bringing more young men into the fold.

The rise of men mending and sewing clothes has also been linked to broader societal awareness of sustainability and overconsumption issues.

Tailoring influences

While sewing has long been (and arguably still is) viewed as a typically feminine pursuit, there is some historic precedent for the rise of sewing among men today.

Throughout history, tailoring and suit-making have been seen as acceptable professions for men – and still are in many cultures such as in Pakistan, South Korea, Italy and Hong King.

In London, Savile Row and its famous menswear tailoring businesses have been operating for almost 200 years. These establishments have dressed many royals and celebrities. Savile Row was also the starting place for many famous designers such as Alexander McQueen.

In Australia, Rip Curl founders Doug Warbrick and Brian Singer were both driven to clothing production as a result of surf culture.

Australian designers such as Christopher Esber, Martin Grant and Toni Maticevski have all been influenced by complex tailoring practices which have supported their broader fashion practice.

Women shaping fashion

So how did making clothes end up being labelled as women’s work? Well, Australia does have a long history of women in fashion. Even today, the fashion sector is made up of 77% women.

From the 1800s, and becoming widespread in the 1920s, we saw the rise of a bundling manufacturing system in which prominent brands would send bundles of garment pieces to home sewers to sew and return. The sewers were often paid per bundle, or per garment.

Then in the 1940s and 1950s, the second world war created economic conditions (including clothing rations) that led to most Australian women learning dressmaking skills, with many sewing their own clothes.

Female textile employees sewing garments on industrial sewing machines in the 1950s.
Museums Victoria, CC BY

As women were tasked with filling labour shortages left by the war, sewing was considered “simple” work women could easily undertake. Of course, anyone who does it themselves will know this isn’t quite true. Sewing has always required a complex set of skills, and has historically been undervalued.

Local manufacturing and home sewing by women declined between the 1970s and 1990s due to the removal of government tariffs, and the industry’s inability to compete with the low-cost fast fashion market.

How to start

If you’re looking to pick up sewing as a hobby this summer, don’t worry about finding a fancy machine with lots of features.

All you need is a machine that sews straight lines; you might even find one collecting dust in a cupboard. Start simple with some basic up-cycling, before jumping onto your first garment from scratch.

Depending on where you live, you might have access to in-person beginner sewing lessons. But if you don’t, don’t worry – surveys suggest some 48% of Gen Z members have taught themselves a new skill through TiKTok, and 42% through YouTube. So that could be your first point of call.

@CorneliusQuiring, @glory.allan and @zoehongteaches are just a few of many TikTok accounts to help get you started.

Who knows? You could be the next Christian Dior or Cristóbal Balenciaga. It’s just a matter of practice, and finding joy within the challenge.

Jye Marshall is affiliated with Home Economics Institute of Australia (HEIA), and a scholar of the King and Amy O’Malley Trust.

– ref. Not just a ‘woman’s hobby’ – why more men are picking up sewing, and why you should too – https://theconversation.com/not-just-a-womans-hobby-why-more-men-are-picking-up-sewing-and-why-you-should-too-271191

Second seed Navarro and former US Open champion Stephens beaten at ASB Classic

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Great Britain’s Francesca Jones during the 2026 ASB Classic Women’s Tennis Tournament. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

Second seed Emma Navarro has been beaten in the first round of the ASB Classic in Auckland.

The American was beaten in three sets by Francesca Jones of Great Britain (7-5, 2-6, 6-4).

For 72nd ranked Jones, beating 15th ranked Navarro was the biggest win of her career.

“Of course, she’s a phenomenal player, and I love her game style, but I think more so, because it’s the first match of the year as well,” Jones said.

“So to come out to here and play with that level is amazing.

“Obviously Emma will have stuff that she’s still working on. First match of the year, everyone’s a bit rusty, but I’m just proud to start the year like that.”

Jones tried to stay aggressive against Navarro and also mixed up her shots, throwing in powerful crosscourt forehands, with deep slices to put the American under pressure.

“I couldn’t have asked for more really, but obviously, the result is amazing,” Jones said.

“For me, the main thing is just trying to start the year with a good attitude, which is always difficult. Everyone’s nervous and not feeling their best.”

Navarro wasn’t the only name player to be beaten with former ASB Classic champion Sloane Stephens of the United States beaten by Mexico’s Renata Zarazua (5-7, 6-4, 6-2).

Stephens was the 2017 US Open champion.

In the doubles, Elina Svitolina and Venus Williams were beaten along with the New Zealand pairing of Monique Barry and Elyse Tse.

In action on Tuesday is singles top seed Svitolina and the doubles top seeds of Asia Muhammad of the USA and Erin Routliffe on New Zealand.

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

One in five home-buyers in Queenstown are first-timers, despite soaring property prices

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The number of first-home buyers in Queenstown has climbed to an 18-year high, despite soaring property prices and thousands of people on waitlists for affordable housing schemes. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Gold Rush: Who’s Cashing In on Queenstown? An RNZ series examining the money flowing into Queenstown – and who’s missing out.

The number of first-home buyers in Queenstown has climbed to an 18-year high, making up 19 percent of all the district’s property purchases in 2025.

That is despite soaring property prices and thousands of people on waitlists for affordable housing schemes – with one buyer facing a $600,000 average increase in house prices since he first started looking.

The figures, from property analytics firm Cotality, follow a year in which the district hit a record asking price of $1.6 million, up nearly 20 percent on the previous year.

Christian Belmont, who has lived in Queenstown for more than a decade, said it was far from easy to buy a house in what was now the most expensive district in New Zealand.

“I think I have like 60 to 80 percent of all the real estate agents’ phone numbers on my phone, because I’ve been to dozens and dozens and dozens of open homes and talked with every single real estate agent that I possibly could,” he said.

He and his fiancé have been looking for a house since 2020, after he returned from a short stint in Auckland.

“It’s a long process and I totally recognise a lot of people are in the same boat. We’re very lucky to even have the opportunity to be in this process, very lucky to have the opportunity to even live here. But it still can be frustrating.”

Christian Belmont. RNZ / Katie Todd

Belmont, a teacher, said his main motivation was simply to get away from the uncertainty of the rental market, but his hopes had been dashed time and again by undisclosed body corporate fees, or other issues “under the hood” that locked him and his fiancé out from buying.

“There are a lot of real estate agents. There are a lot of opportunities. There are a lot of really beautiful houses that you go and see, and something means that you can’t get it or somebody can beat you out for it,” he said.

The couple had resigned themselves to a 10 percent deposit, saying 20 percent was simply out of reach.

Still, putting that together – while living with his partner and mother in a rental – had been “pretty darn hard”, Belmont said.

‘Overwhelming’ demand for affordable housing scheme

Many in Belmont’s position had turned to an affordable housing scheme run by the not-for-profit Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust.

It had built 30 houses in Arrowtown on land provided by the council, with another 38 to go, partly aimed at making it easier for buyers to get a foot in the door.

Its Tewa Banks development included social housing, affordable rentals, rent-to-buy houses and ‘assisted ownership’ houses – where people could purchase the house, but the land would be retained in perpetuity by the Trust.

To sign up, people had to live and work in Queenstown, not own any other property, and have a maximum household income of $130,000.

More than 1600 households were on the waitlist, chief executive Julie Scott said.

“We’ve had overwhelming demand for these homes. I mean, Arrowtown in itself is such a desirable location, but just it’s been extraordinary, the demand,” she said.

The first residents came from a wide range of backgrounds, Scott said.

Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust chief executive Julie Scott. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

“We’ve got a high school teacher just in one of these [houses] with his son. We’ve got a lot of tradies, we’ve got some senior housing up the front for senior retirees who don’t obviously own in other income or assets. We’ve got a heap of families and they’re just working all the jobs that keep the town functioning.”

Scott said when it came to meeting the demand for affordable housing in Queenstown, she was hopeful the government would work with councils.

“One thing that we would like to see is a really good regional deal that gives us tools to help level the playing field for, for workers and lower-moderate income households,” she said.

“I think government support for all sorts of housing programmes, for the last couple of years, has been fairly limited. There’s been five Community Housing providers across the country that have been chosen to partner with the government to deliver social housing. There’s probably about another 90 of us sitting in the back wings across the country, kind of scratching our head thinking how do we help the people in our communities?”

First home buyers looking further afield, or to new developments

Bayleys Queenstown sales manager Dee McQuillan said despite the sharp rise in house prices, buying a property under $1m in Queenstown was “absolutely” still possible.

She said there had been rising optimism among first-home buyers as interest rates fell.

Some first-home buyers had been looking further afield to sections in Kingston, while others had been taking an interest in developments like Frankton’s Five Mile Villas, she said.

“Interest is mostly going to those new offerings and building a bit further away,” she said.

“And from time to time, we do get something a little bit unusual that’s very old and maybe needs some work, that might be just under or just around that $1 million mark as well, in areas like Frankton or Fernhill.”

Buyers competing with holiday homes, short-term rentals

Data from the previous census showed just over a quarter of Queenstown’s houses were empty at any given time, including holiday homes and properties used for short-term rentals.

The website AirROI showed AirBnB listings that made up about the equivalent of about 15 percent of Queenstown.

Belmont said as a prospective first-home buyer, it could be frustrating to see how many homes were being bought by investors for use as holiday homes or short-term accommodation.

“In my experience, tourists don’t just come for the beauty, which is obviously a huge piece of it, but the vibe of Queenstown is what keeps people coming back, how friendly we are to them, how accommodating the Kiwis are, and locals are, to tourists. And sometimes I get frustrated with tourists, like they took that house for Airbnb,” he said.

“The frustrating thing is that how long can this go on before the community actually isn’t that desirable to come to … I feel like there’s a critical mass that we’re approaching.

“We’re trying to have it both ways and maybe if we keep on trying to have it both ways, we won’t be able to have it either way. If that makes sense. It’s scary to me as someone who’s super, super invested in Queenstown as a place and wants to keep it amazing.”

Despite that, he said he was set on living in Queenstown, and driven to be a part of its future.

“We even looked at Oamaru actually, we were really down to move to Oamaru. We were very close to it. But … we really think of Queenstown as our home. My partner and I met each other here. We are committed, we’re getting married here next year … our family is here. Our careers are here and also – you don’t want to betray the town that you love by leaving in many ways because you think you can add value to the town as well. So we both want to stay and help fix it.”

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

The hidden river that shapes central Wellington

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The only section of the Kumutoto stream that is still above ground in the Kumutoto Forest near Victoria University. RNZ / Mark Papalii

These days only one small section of the Kumutoto stream still flows above ground, the rest is culverted and piped running under the motorway and central city streets before emptying into the harbour.

Where the stream once met the harbour was also the site of one of the main Māori villages in central Wellington, also named Kumutoto.

The manager of Māori heritage recognition and engagement at Heritage NZ, Dennis Ngawhare (Taranaki), said it was just one of many waterways Wellingtonians walked or drove over every day.

“One of the fascinating things with the Kumutoto is that, despite it being buried and culverted and piped from the 1860s onwards, it still leaves its presence in the landscape,” he said.

Heritage NZ has designated the sole remaining above ground section of the river in the Kumutoto forest near Victoria University of Wellington as a Wāhi Tīpuna on the New Zealand Heritage List.

Manager of Māori heritage recognition and engagement at Heritage NZ Dennis Ngawhare. RNZ / Robin Martin

“But regardless of whether you can see the awa or not, you can really see its influence on the landscape and how the city was built around it and over it. And that, unbeknownst to most people in Wellington, that underneath our feet this river is still flowing, albeit through the old pipes and culverts that have been developed over the century and a half at Wellington has been here,” Ngawhare said.

Native fish such as kōkopu, kōaro and perhaps even tuna (eels) still swim in the waters of the Kumutoto, at least in the part in the open air.

Ngawhare, paraphrasing the poet and scholar Dr Alice Te Punga Sommerville, said “no one has told the eels to stop acting like eels.”

“We can bury our streams in pipes and culverts, but eels and other fish life are still going to find their way up and in. And so I think it’s, for any waterway, it’s a really positive sign when we’re seeing life in our streams. And especially in central Wellington, a central city stream, we’re still seeing life.”

Small fish still swim in the Kumutoto, barely visible in the upper centre of this photo. RNZ / Mark Papalii

The path of the river

Ngawhare remembers while doing his undergraduate degree at Victoria University sitting outside on the marae at Te Tumu Herenga Waka he could hear a “bubbling brook” where there was none visible.

He asked one of the university’s kaumātua who told him that was the Kumutoto, that is where his interest in the awa began.

The stream begins beneath Pukehinau Ridge, in the area now occupied by Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.

The source of the Kumutoto is in the water table beneath Te Tumu Herenga Waka Marae at Victoria University. Ted Whitaker, Victoria University of Wellington

“And so from essentially under the marae at Te Herenga Waka, but down the middle of Kelburn Parade is the culvert or the pipes that kind of gathers all that water from the water table. It flows down Kelburn Parade to a sharp right at Salamanca Road. And those of you who’ve been to Wellington and Victoria University and on Kelburn Parade in Salamanca, it’s quite a sharp right-hand bend. And that essentially, when the road was developed, it followed the course of the awa itself. And just, again, giving shape to the roads that have been built that we travel upon,” Ngawhare said.

From there, it drops down beneath the Kelburn Tennis Court into the Kumutoto Forest, which is a part of the Wellington town belt.

From the glade it then enters into another culvert that runs alongside the Terrace Tunnel and underneath the Northern Motorway. Then cuts to the right underneath The Terrace out to Woodward Street.

After emptying into this culvert the Kumutoto remains underground until it empties into Wellington Harbour. RNZ / Mark Papalii

It then exits out to Lambton Quay, which was once the waterfront of Wellington, and crosses over several roads out to the harbour at what is now called Kumutoto Plaza.

Ngawhare said you could still see the influence of the Kumutoto on Wellington’s streets, like where the Terrace Tunnel plunges into the gully which now contains the motorway.

The entire path of the river from the university to the harbour can be traversed in about an hour and a half, he said.

“It’s just a real fascinating juxtaposition of coming from the university into the bush and then exiting out on the motorway, travelling underneath tunnels and just following the path of the awa. It’s a really interesting and fascinating walk.”

The influence of the stream on Wellington can still be felt, such as in the gully which is now occupied by the motorway. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Kumutoto Papakāinga

Established by Wi Piti Pomare of Ngāti Mutunga in 1824, Kumutoto Pā was a settlement founded at the old mouth of the stream, where Woodward Street and The Terrace meet.

In 1835, ownership was passed over to the tupuna Ngātata-i-te-rangi of Ngāti Te Whiti, Te Ātiawa. Ngawhare said when Ngāti Mutunga left Kumutoto they ritually burned their houses, thereby relinquishing their claim.

“The Kumutoto Papakāinga itself was only occupied for around 30-odd years, but it was quite a significant settlement at the time, not only for the people that were living there, and there were multiple other settlements around the harbour settled by refugees from Taranaki,” he said.

The subway beneath The Terrace where it meets Woodward Street features a soundscape by artist Kedron Parker imagining what the Kumutoto might have sounded like. RNZ / Mark Papalii

“But the Kumutoto itself was also the heart of the Wellington flax trade, and so flax traders had set up for a few years there at Kumutoto, and that was an important part of the early trade development from Te Whanganui-a-Tara, that Māori were engaged in with English traders.”

By around 1852, most people had moved from Kumutoto and relocated themselves to other places in the region such as Ngauranga, Petone and Waiwhetu, he said.

Ngawhare said the name Kumutoto is said to refer to Māori birthing practices. It was known as a place where the wāhine of that early settlement period would go to have their children.

This 1842 sketch of the harbour of Port Nicholson and the town of Wellington by William Mein Smith shows Kumutoto Pā roughly in the centre of the image at the small point where the Kumutoto stream once emptied into the harbour. Day & Haghe (Firm). Smith, William Mein Ref: Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington. Ref: PUBL-0011-16-1.

Daylighting

When asked if the Kumutoto could potentially be “daylighted,” ie making the stream visible again, Ngawhare said regardless of what humans do to redirect and to bury waterways, water will always find a way.

He said there had been talk of daylighting other streams, like the Waitangi stream also in Wellington or the Horotiu which runs beneath Auckland’s Queen Street.

“It would be difficult. And for some of these streams, infrastructure won’t really allow us to do it. But wouldn’t it be great to be able to see these streams flowing through our cities again?”

This map of Lambton Harbour shows the culverted streams and pā sites beneath the city. RNZ / Mark Papalii

And while it may initially seem impossible it has happened in other cities around the world, such as in Seoul where an elevated motorway was removed in order to daylight the Cheonggyecheon stream, which has since become a popular park.

Ngawhare said one important process of listing the stream at Heritage New Zealand, was not only to acknowledge its historical significance, but it was also an opportunity to recognise the significance and importance of the waterway itself, so that perhaps in the future that people may look at daylighting this stream and other streams that there is a body of evidence there.

Kumutoto Plaza where the stream enters Wellington Harbour. RNZ / Mark Papalii

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

The meal base that can turn a foodbank parcel into a one-pot meal

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Demand on foodbanks increased in 2025, with no sign of letting up. 123rf

A meal base that can turn almost any assortment of vegetables and proteins into a one-pot meal is being distributed to foodbanks.

The New Zealand Food Network has teamed up with Nestlé to help families in need make a nutritious meal from scratch with food parcel ingredients.

The network’s chief executive Gavin Findlay said it’s a concept that has been successful with foodbanks in Australia.

“It’s a good healthy product that’s easy to use. A lot of our community’s access and capability of cooking can be challenged if they’re in transitional housing or hotels/motels while they’re waiting,” he said.

Nestlé is manufacturing and donating the meal base sachets, which can be used as a soup or to make a hearty casserole.

“You’re not making a meal per se, it’s a dried sachet product that you’re just adding water to. If you’ve got a kettle and a cup you’re there,” Findlay said.

“This is intentional giving, this is a company saying what can we do to help your community who’s struggling.”

Nestlé New Zealand chief executive Susan Catania said the one-pot meal base had been a success with foodbanks in Australia.

Supplied

“We know that food insecurity is real and is increasing but we’ve also learned through the partnership [with the NZ Food Network] that food relief often depends on what’s available in any given week,” she said.

“That means people might not know what to do with the mix of items that they get. We really wanted to create a product that would create a versatile meal no matter what mix of proteins, vegetables or pantry items you had on any given week.”

Over the past five years, Nestlé has donated more than 497,000 kilograms of food for the Food Network to distribute to 65 foodbanks and food charities – the equivalent of over 1.1 million meals.

Catania said the meal base would be part of their ongoing partnership.

“We know that now is the right time because the holiday season can be a tough time for a lot ofpeople so this really helps make it a little easier for families to put food on the table.”

Demand on foodbanks has been increasing with no sign of let up – and food charities have been calling for ongoing government funding instead of one-off grants.

The Food Network began in 2020 during the pandemic when the country needed a national organisation to collect and distribute surplus edible food that manufacturers and growers cannot sell.

The network then shares the food amongst food charities that distribute parcels to their communities.

It received a $5.8 million grant from the Ministry of Social Development but does not know if that will be extended past July 2026.

Shelves of donated food in the south Auckland storage and operations warehouse of the New Zealand Food Network. Bonnie Harrison

Findlay said more edible food would go to landfill if they could not maintain the current level of service.

“The baseline of people needing some form of support is actually quite high. We thought it was going to drop down post Covid but the cost of living environment means that hasn’t happened and in fact has trended up slightly,” he said.

“We see no let up in the need for helping those that require food support.”

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

Diesel spill from fuel truck crash closes Aotea Quay in Wellington

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Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / REECE BAKER

A diesel spill has closed Wellington’s Aotea Quay.

Police were notified of a single-vehicle crash involving a fuel truck about 2.45am on Tuesday.

The on-ramp heading northbound was blocked, but motorists could still get off State Highway 1 via the off-ramp.

Police said it will remain closed throughout the morning, and Wellington City Council warn that ferry access and egress would also be impacted.

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

Auckland held to draw but extend A-League lead

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Lachlan Brook of Auckland (third left) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal. DAN HIMBRECHTS

A-League leaders Auckland FC have been held to a 1-all draw by Macarthur FC last night in Sydney with the hosts extending their unbeaten run to six matches.

The result was the first ever draw between the two sides and lifted Macarthur to third in the A-League standings, level on points with second placed Sydney FC, with Auckland now two points clear at the top of the table.

Auckland had the first real chance to score when midway through the first half but Logan Rogerson’s shot was saved by Macarthur defender Walter Scott.

Not long after the hosts had their first opportunity on the counterattack but Luke Vickery’s shot went wide.

Auckland broke the deadlock as halftime loomed with Lachlan Brook scoring his fourth goal of the season after running on to a nice through ball before beating Macarthur goalkeeper Filip Kurto one on one.

Auckland could have scored again early in the second half but the header from Nando Pijnaker hit the post and a follow up header went over the crossbar.

Macarthur also missed some prime opportunities to score before Tomi Uskok levelled the ledger after a set piece move.

Neither side could find the match winner with the game finishing in the first ever draw between the two sides.

“A little bit disappointing not to get the three points. I feel like we controlled the game for the majority of it. We had chances, myself included, to finish it off,” Brook said after the match.

“I think it was just missing chances. I had a few that I should have buried as well and I think if one of those go in we can see out the game comfortably.

“It’s obviously not an ideal goal to concede either. I thought we were controlling the game so, on that front, disappointing, but at the end of the day, a point away from home, it’s not the end of the world.”

Auckland remain on the road for their next match against Brisbane Roar on Friday.

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

Hobson Bay residents fed up with sewage overflows

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Hobson Bay in central Auckland. Supplied / Shaun Lee

Residents of a central Auckland suburb are fed up with frequent sewage overflows ruining what should be a picturesque coastal view.

A community group in Hobson Bay, just east of the city centre, says the council is responding too slowly to the flood of faeces.

Rain or shine, local woman Margot Nicholson said sewage was a regular sight.

“We have dry weather spills, which are from broken pipes and blockages and things. Those are happening almost all the time,” she said.

“In wet weather, the phrase we use is: if it’s wet enough for your hair to get wet … there will be spills.”

Margot Nicholson, right, says sewage is a regular sight in Hobson Bay. Supplied

Hobson Bay and the neighbouring Judges Bay had been haunted by frequent wastewater spills for several years.

Much of the surrounding residential area still used combined waste and stormwater pipes that were over 100 years old and prone to leaks.

Most recently, the 2023 storms broke the wastewater pipeline in Judges Bay necessitating a $13 million repair that is still ongoing.

Nicholson, who serves as a spokesperson for community group Hapua Thrive, had to warn people not to swim in faeces.

“I was going for a walk and there was a woman there with her little boy racing across the mud flats, very excited to get into the water, and I had to say to her: ‘look, do you know what the situation is?’”

Wastewater biologist Gemma Tolich Allen said the amount of sewage flowing into the bays was extreme.

“When there are high flows into the harbour, the bacterial levels are extremely high and they’re the sort of levels that I would see entering a wastewater treatment plant,” she said.

“We’re actually seeing the harbour doing the treatment of the sewage waste that should actually be going to a wastewater treatment plant.”

Allen said Hobson and Judges Bay were effectively acting as an open-air treatment plant, which wasn’t fair to ratepayers.

“When we’re charged on our wastewater bill … when you have large volumes of water not being treated, expecting the local environment to treat it, then you’re actually short changing the community.”

Nicholson said enough was enough and it was time for council to do something about it.

“I don’t believe they are doing enough. They’ve known about this forever, they’ve got the projects there, and there are fixes available. There’s been a lot of work in monitoring, which is great, but they know the problem, they know what they need to do, and they need to get on and do it,” she said.

“I don’t think our clean, green reputation is deserved … it’s not okay for Hobson Bay to be effectively a wastewater treatment plant.”

Auckland Council’s Watercare had invested $8 billion into upgrading and repairing Auckland’s wastewater system over the next decade.

The centrepiece of that work was the Central Interceptor, which head of wastewater planning Andrew Deutschle claimed would reduce overflows in the western isthmus by 80 percent.

Hobson Bay is in the east and wouldn’t benefit directly, but Deutschle said the $1.6b project would help ease the load.

The benefit it provides for Hobson Bay, for Judges Bay, and for other parts of the eastern isthmus is it takes some of the load off our Orakei Main Sewer,” he said.

“By taking a load off that, that allows other sources in the eastern isthmus to better utilise that asset.”

The Central Interceptor was due in late 2026, but Nicholson had her sights set on a different project.

The Newmarket Gully was originally promised for 2016, but still hadn’t left the feasibility stage almost ten years later.

“There was a plan that there would be a tunnel, or a storage tank, that would reduce the overflows in this area by 50 percent. That still hasn’t been done, that’s still in the planning process,” she said.

That project would redirect overflows to a storage tunnel to reduce leakage into Hobson Bay.

But Deutschle said it wouldn’t be completed until 2033.

“The current timing for the Newmarket Gully project is working towards completion by 2033, with our large-scale complex projects we find that they often take some time and we need to really carefully consider or sometimes reassess options.”

Gemma Tolich Allen had witnessed frequent spills into Judges Bay over multiple decades and said work on the Newmarket Gully had been too slow.

“I believe, as a wastewater biologist, that the environmental cost can be reversed…. but when you’re looking at 40 years of Judges Bay still being contaminated, that’s a whole generation of people who have been unable to use it,” she said.

Watercare said it planned to eventually replace all of the old combined waste and stormwater pipes with separate lines, but the process would take decades.

Until then, projects like the Central Interceptor and Newmarket Gully would reduce the frequency of spills, and Watercare would prioritise areas that were at a higher risk of overflows.

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

What do Kiwis think about going barefoot in public?

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Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand has a global reputation as a country that is pro-barefoot. Many a traveller has commented in wonder – and disgust – at seeing barefooted persons in areas where shoes are typically worn: the grocery store, a cafe and on urban streets that are far from sand and water.

An unscientific survey at my kid’s school assembly drove the point home. On one of the coldest days of the year, the deputy principal asked for a show of hands of those not wearing shoes (it’s not uncommon for parents and grandparents to tell their Kiwi kids that going barefoot is better for their feet, which does have a grain of truth to it, but more on that later).

At least 100 out of a possible 800-plus students proudly raised a hand.

Get your finances sorted in 2026: Save money

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Whether you’re cringing when you look at your bank statements or just want to put aside a bit more next year, there are a few ways you can save. @heyjasperai

Is organising your money life on your New Year’s resolution list in 2026? In this five-part series, money correspondent Susan Edmunds guides you through the basics. Catch up on Day One: Set a Budget. Next up: Saving money.

Saving money is probably near the top of people’s New Year’s resolution lists.

We’ve just got through Christmas, when children’s present wishlists tend to stretch even the most lenient of budgets, and there’s the extra costs associated with Christmas parties and maybe catering for friends and family on the day.

Whether you’re cringing when you look at your bank statements or just want to put aside a bit more next year, there are a few ways you could do it.

Channel your inner Marie Kondo

Sorted’s personal finance spokesperson Tom Hartmann says people should think about the home organisation guru Marie Kondo if they’re looking for ways to save.

Kondo talks about only holding on to things that “spark joy”.

“We can do the same thing with the things we spend money on,” Hartmann said. “For example with your subscriptions – there’s no way you get the same level of happiness from all the things you subscribe to. For me Spotify is up the top, I’d rate that a five out of five but Netflix is lower down.”

He recommends rating the things you spend your money on between one and five out of five and cutting or reducing the things that are a two or a one.

“It makes it easier to cut things back and you don’t end up feeling deprived because you keep the things that really give you joy – ice creams for the kids, for me that’s way up high.

“Often it’s the cheap and cheerful things that end up staying in the budget.”

Match your spending with saving

This requires a bit more money, but can be really effective.

The idea is that if you spot something you want to buy, you only make the purchase if you can put the same amount of money into investments or savings.

If you want some jeans for $200, you have to also put $200 into Sharesies, for example.

This slows your spending a lot but also means you have some saving happening at the same time.

Pay yourself first

Don’t decide you’ll wait until the end of your pay cycle and save whatever is left over. Put the money into savings as soon as it arrives in your account.

“Set up an automatic transfer to take money out of your account each payday and put it in an account that is not shown on your internet banking. Send it to an account in a different bank to keep it even more out of sight. You will be surprised at how even a small amount saved each week will quickly grow,” said financial coach Liz Koh.

It’s that aspect of paying yourself first that makes KiwiSaver so successful. If you can channel that same “out of sight, out of mind” approach into other savings, you might be surprised at how fast the balance can grow.

Emma Heaps, financial wellbeing programme manager at Westpac, said people should not be afraid to start small.

“If you’ve found it a challenge to put savings away regularly, start small instead of trying try to start big. Even if it’s just a dollar a day for a week or a month, if you keep that up you’re creating a habit that will most likely stick, and over time you can increase the amount and frequency you’re putting money into saving.

“Do that for about 90 days and that habit will stick around for long time.”

BNZ general manager of everyday banking Louisa Powell said people should consider a term deposit if they would not need their money immediately.

“While you’ll have limited access to these funds, you could earn more interest than in a regular savings account – it’s about making your money work as hard as you do. Another great tip is to choose compounding interest on your term deposit so you can earn interest on you interest.

“Consider your savings across different accounts based on your goals. Having separate accounts for different timeframes – like short-term expenses versus longer-term savings – means you can choose accounts with features that match each purpose.”

Round up

Your bank might offer you the ability to round up your transactions and put the difference into savings.

You can often choose how much you want to round up, whether that’s to the nearest $1, $2 or more. That might mean if you buy a coffee for $5.50, for example, the transaction is rounded to $6 and the difference saved. Even small amounts add up this way.

There are other apps, such as Feijoa, which automate “rounding up” by sending the difference to your KiwiSaver account.

No spend

If you’re feeling really motivated you might choose to have a “no spend” month, week or even day of the week. This means that for that period of time, you resolve to not spend anything. This could take some planning – but it’s not effective if it just means you shift your spending to other times.

There are Facebook groups that provide support and tips for people working on these challenges. That could be a good place to start if you need more motivation.

Don’t forget to track your success and celebrate milestones along the way – it can help you stay motivated.

Sign up for Money with Susan Edmunds, a weekly newsletter covering all the things that affect how we make, spend and invest money.

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

Manage My Health data breach ransom deadline arrives

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The hackers, calling themselves ‘Kazu’, posted on Sunday morning that unless the company paid a ransom within 48 hours, they would leak more than 400,000 files in their possession. Supplied

  • The day of a deadline for a ransom demand in the massive Manage My Health data leak has arrived.
  • It is believed the deadline expires at 5.37am New Zealand time.
  • It comes as communication from the country’s largest patient portal is criticised by a former intelligence officer.

The deadline has arrived for the ransom being demanded after hundreds of thousands of medical files were stolen from the country’s largest patient portal.

Manage My Health is still grappling with the massive data breach affecting more than 120,000 of its users.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said the government had a long-standing position that ransoms should not be paid.

Manage My Health said late on Monday, ahead of the deadline, that any ransom demand was a matter for Police.

It said it would not be making any comment about a ransom while an investigation was ongoing.

The platform said it was sincerely sorry for pain and anxiety caused to health providers and patients.

“We acknowledge we could have done a better job at communication,” it said in a statement.

“However, our priority was to secure patient data and work on the accuracy of all information before providing it to practices and patients.”

It said it would be publishing daily updates with all the information it was able to share.

Simeon Brown, speaking after announcing an urgent review into the breach, said he had raised communication with the platform.

“I spoke to the CEO last week, made my expectations incredibly clear around the need for Manage My Health to be clear and transparent with its communications to the public and its users and to work closely with agencies and to make sure that they are following their advice,” he told RNZ.

Brown described the data disappearing as “pretty unacceptable”.

Health Minister Simeon Brown. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Luke Hogan, a senior technical manager who works at Intellium, said he could not see Manage My Health recovering.

“I don’t know how they’re going to come back from this, it’s a bit tough,” he said.

“For me it’s really, really disappointing that basic cyber security has not been taken seriously.

“From my perspective, health data is right up there with financial data, some of the most critical data that needs to be protected,” he said.

“It’s just very, very disappointing and a little bit shocking as an IT professional to hear that this has happened”.

Will ransom be paid?

While Manage My Health would not be drawn on the ransom, a former intelligence officer said in general they should not be paid.

Antony Grasso had also worked at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the United Kingdom’s intelligence, security and cyber agency.

He himself was a Manage My Health user.

“I personally would advise not to, even if it was my own data that was going to get released, which it may be,” he said.

“It’s a tough call without giving the full context but the general rule is not to pay the ransom, that’s the general rule.

“I mean, you’re bargaining with effectively criminals or thieves, and there’s no honour amongst thieves, we know that, and they may release it anyway and it also means we’re a soft touch.”

Grasso said he had not seen Manage My Health take many tangible actions after the breach.

“You know, just as a general bod on the street, I don’t feel like they will necessarily have had a good plan for the response,” he said.

“I haven’t seen a lot of transparency and I haven’t seen a lot of action that I would expect for a company that’s holding that much private information.”

Grasso hoped security companies used by the platform would be dumped and have nothing to do with it in the future.

“Because clearly, somebody’s dropped the ball.”

‘Rumours for some time’ – Deputy Privacy Commissioner

Deputy Privacy Commissioner Liz MacPherson told RNZ she believed issues had surfaced in the past.

“As I understand it there have been rumours for some time but the issue we’ve got is that there are white knight hackers and others out there who do raise these issues, quite often it’s very difficult to know whether these people are actually hackers themselves or whether they are white knights, so it’s difficult to police,” she said.

A white knight is a hacker who acts with good intentions to get vulnerabilities fixed.

“So as I understand it, these issues have been drawn to Manage My Health in the past and I think to some media outlets as well,” MacPherson said.

Liz MacPherson. RNZ / Dom Thomas

She said the Office was irked by widespread complacency around cyber security.

“The frustration for us at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner is that we continue to see complacency from, and this is across the board… a continuation of the ‘it’ll happen to somebody else, not to me’ type approach,” she said.

“And you have to ask the question, is the lack of a penalty regime part of that?”

MacPherson said fines in Australia used to be around $3.3 million but had risen significantly.

“So the major breaches risk fines of up to greater than $50m AUD, which is three times the financial gain from the breach, or 30 percent of the company’s turnover.

“I guess what I’m saying to you is that we didn’t even have the lower level fines that they had, which were around 2 to $3 million,” she said.

“We don’t have any penalties, we do not have a civil penalty rating.”

What Manage My Health says

Manage My Health, in its latest update, said it wanted to reassure the public that its team had been working tirelessly through the holiday period.

“Secondly, we have been working as part of a cross-sector group to implement processes to begin communication with affected practices and patients,” it said.

“We acknowledge that this delay has been a cause for concern.”

The platform said it welcomed the review launched by the Health Minister and it would fully cooperate.

It said its international team was monitoring known data leak websites and was prepared to issue takedown notices immediately if any stolen information was posted.

It had also obtained a High Court injunction preventing third parties from accessing data posted as a result of the cyber attack.

The High Court in Wellington has confirmed to RNZ it received an application for an injunction.

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

The Housemaid is dark, sexy and seriously satisfying

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Based on a bestselling novel by Freida McFadden, The Housemaid is a dark, sexy and satisfying thriller with plenty of twists to enjoy along the way.

Millie (Sydney Sweeney) applies for a job as a housemaid for the wealthy Winchester family.

We first meet her as she pulls up to the grand Winchester house in her run-down car – a gated mansion with echoes of the sinister and mysterious Manderley in Hitchcock’s Rebecca. What secrets might be contained behind these gates? Millie is about to find out.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

Top spots to take a dip around Aotearoa

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Source: Radio New Zealand

If you could choose anywhere in Aotearoa to have a swim, where would you pick? For Nicola McCloy, author of Jump In – An Insider’s Guide to New Zealand’s Best Beaches, Lakes, Rivers, Pools and Hot Springs, the answer is easy.

Hands down her absolute favourite place to go for a swim is Te Hāwere-a-Maki – Goat Island, McCloy told RNZ’s Summer Times.

Located within Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve, about 80km north of Auckland, Goat Island is thought to have been the first gazetted marine reserve in the world, she says.

“It all came about because Auckland University set up a marine laboratory up there in the 1960s and recognised that, because there’s so many different marine environments within that small area, recognised the degradation that was happening and decided that the best way to study the area was to protect it,” she says.

Goat Island north of Auckland.

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

Coroner wants internet restrictions, after teen dies imitating online acts

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Australia has recently imposed a social media ban for under-16 users. RNZ

A coroner is calling for restrictions on the internet, after a teenager accidentally died, while imitating acts he saw online.

An inquest by coroner Michael Robb found the Bay of Plenty teen had become interested in violent pornography and had made “troubling” internet searches the day before his death in 2024.

He was found dead, after disappearing overnight, and Robb believed he had attempted to imitate what he had seen on the internet.

“I consider he [was] in some way endeavouring to mirror what he had seen in the internet searches in some kind of experimental or exploration context,” Robb’s report said.

The coroner referenced Australia’s recent decision to ban children under 16 from accessing social media platforms and that the New Zealand government was discussing a similar bill.

“It does not appear to have been his accessing or ability to access social media platforms, but rather the open access to the internet that is available to any person, child or adult, who has access to any internet-enabled device.”

Robb said the teen’s death “highlights the need for internet access restrictions being imposed, where a youth might access the internet” and that parental controls on residential modems didn’t go far enough.

“While controls can be applied to the device, the risk remains that tech-savvy youth can work around this,” he said.

“I acknowledge it can be difficult to imagine what the potential harms are, what might be searched, what might spark interest in the young, but in my view, [the teenager’s] avoidable death represents an example of the dangers of open internet access.

“It represents the reality that the consequences can ultimately lead to the preventable loss of a young life.”

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

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