Liberal candidate Raissa Butkowski has drawn top position on the ballot paper for the May 9 Farrer byelection, in a field of a dozen candidates.

While she will be at the top of the ballot paper Butkowski, a lawyer with a community legal service and an Albury councillor, has a massive struggle in the contest. The byelection is to replace as member former Liberal leader Sussan Ley, who quit parliament after being ousted from the leadership.

The frontrunners are Independent Michelle Milthorpe, who has an education background and won 20% of the vote at the last election, and One Nation’s David Farley, an agribusinessman. Milthorpe has drawn second on the ballot paper, while Farley is at eighth spot.

Preferences are expected to be crucial to the outcome.

A defeat for the Liberals would be a setback for Opposition Leader Angus Taylor.

The Nationals’ Brad Robertson, who has a military background, has drawn fourth place, while the Greens’ Richard Hendrie, a mental health and disability advocate, is at sixth place on the ballot.

Also contesting are candidates from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Family First, Gerard Rennick People First, Legalise Cannabis, Affordable Housing Now – Sustainable Australia Party, and two other independents.

The Nationals are homing in strongly on the deep local concerns about health and hospital services in Albury, running a health forum with frontbenchers this week.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan said it was obvious the local hospital upgrades “are more about budget, rather than community needs”.

“It is clear we need adequate services and we need to invest in the community of Farrer,” he said.

– ref. Liberal candidate draws top of ballot paper in Farrer but faces mammoth battle – https://theconversation.com/liberal-candidate-draws-top-of-ballot-paper-in-farrer-but-faces-mammoth-battle-280587

The planning and policy committee of New Zealand’s largest city today voted decisively to investigate sanctioning companies listed by the UN Human Right Council that are alleged to be complicit with the illegal Israeli occupation and settlements in Palestine Territory.

Auckland Council is the local body governing a “super city” with a population of more than 1.8 million people — almost a third of the country’s total population.

The council’s policy, planning and development committee voted 14 to 2 to call for a staff report by July about sanctioning UN listed companies over Israeli war crimes.

“Israel has been stealing Palestinian land and moving Israeli settlers onto the land in defiance of international law,” said Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) co-chair Maher Nazzal.

“The local Palestinian community and our supporters sincerely thank the Auckland councillors who today have voted for steps to refuse to procure goods or services from any of the companies involved in building and maintaining these settlements,” he said in a statement.

“Auckland ratepayers deserve to know their rates are not being used to support Israeli war crimes, as designated by the UN General Assembly, Security Council, international conventions and the International Court of Justice.

Councillor Julie Fairey moved the resolution and rejected the arguments of councillors who opposed it, arguing that the council should “stick to its knitting”.  She said decisions should be made so that “the needles and the wool don’t have blood on them”.

Councillor Maurice Williamson voted against the resolution.

However, as a cabinet minister of the Key/English government at the time, he stated he had supported New Zealand co-sponsorship of UN Security Resolution 2334 in 2016, calling Israeli settlements “a flagrant breach of international law”.

Williamson then went on to attack the UN Human Rights Council, falsely claiming it was chaired by Iran, when in fact the president represents Indonesia.

“Already six different local bodies have taken this step — it’s good to see Auckland following along the same path,” Nazzal said.

New Zealand’s third-largest city, Christchurch, voted to sanction Israel in October 2024.

A strong contingent of supporters for the Auckland resolution were present for the debate and delighted with the result.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A Catholic leader says Donald Trump’s comments about the Pope are totally wrong and unjustified.

Donald Trump is criticising Pope Leo after the head of the global Catholic Church preached against war and urged peaceful solutions to conflict.

Cardinal John Dew took part in the conclave that elected Pope Leo.

He told Checkpoint Pope Leo has a right to plead for peace and a moral duty to oppose the destruction of war.

That comes after President Donald Trump called Pope Leo weak on crime, terrible for foreign policy and suggested he stop catering to the radical left.

Trump also claimed if he was not in the White House, Pope Leo would not be in the Vatican.

The comments have drawn wide criticism from religious and other leaders.

But President Trump’s doubled down saying he would not be apologising.

“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s okay to have a nuclear weapon, we don’t want a pope that says crime is okay in our cities. I don’t like it I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo.”

Trump’s statements on social media followed Pope Leo’s Sunday prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica.

There was no mention of the United States or President Trump.

But the Pontiff spoke of the power of prayer.

“It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” Pope Leo said.

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”

Pope Leo was not backing down either.

“The message of the church, my message, the message of the gospel, blessed are the peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political, a politician.

“I don’t want to get into a debate with him, I don’t think that the message of the gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.

“I will continue to speak out loudly against war hoping to promote peace, promoting dialogue in all bi-laterial relationships among the states to look for just solutions and promise.

“Too many people are suffering in the world today, too many innocent people are being killed and I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way to do this.”

Cardinal Dew said that he and many others believed Trump’s comments about the pope were totally wrong.

“The pope has a right to speak up on issues that affect the world, issues such as world peace.”

Prior to the conclave, world peace was a major issue because of the war between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and the Palestinians, he said.

“Pope Leo certainly heard from the cardinals that working for peace and speaking out for peace was something that he would need to be doing and that he is doing very clearly and strongly with the message of the gospel behind everything he says.”

US Vice President JD Vance, who is Catholic, told Fox News that the pope should “stick to matters of morality”.

But Cardinal Dew said that war was a moral matter.

“It’s a moral issue when people are being attacked, when whole nations are being threatened … which means that people are losing their lives, their livelihood, their homes are being completely destroyed and left homeless – that’s a moral issue.”

The pope and others have the right to speak out for peace and plead for peace, he said.

Many people heeded Pope Leo’s call to pray for peace, he said.

Even in New Zealand last weekend many people gathered to pray for peace, over and above the usual Sunday masses and services, he said.

Pope Leo did not specifically mention Donald Trump or the war in Iran in his comments, but Dew said the pope was “political enough to know that he shouldn’t be mentioning the president by name”, he said.

“But he is making a point that affects the whole world that the world needs to stop and think about why there are wars and are they being caused by greed or selfishness or wanting more land which again are moral issues.”

Dew said it seemed that democracy was being ignored at the moment.

“So the pope is saying look we need to think of these values, these things that shaped our world for so long and have helped us to live in ways that everyone is respected, that people are cared for and that all people look after one another and they’re not just attacked for no reason.”

Dew said leaders should not declare a war with no consultation simply because they believed it was the right thing to do.

“The threats of people just being annihilated are not the way that any leader should be running a country or speaking about any other countries in the world.”

Dew rejected that Donald Trump had anything to do with the election of Pope Leo.

Dew thought that Trump should apologise to Pope Leo.

“Yes I think he should but I don’t think he’ll get it … I don’t think anyone has the right to speak about another world leader in the way that the pope has been spoken about.”

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

Auckland Council says geotechnical assessments are underway at the site of a slip in Muriwai, west of Auckland.

Fire and Emergency was notified of the slip on Domain Crescent at 2.49pm on Tuesday.

The council’s general manager of engineering, assets and technical advisory, Paul Klinac said the slip had partially blocked the road and had been coned off.

He said the road was still passable and FENZ had since left the scene.

“Auckland Transport has also despatched a team to assess the site and a further geotechnical assessment will be carried out in the morning.”

Two volunteer Muriwai firefighters, Craig Stevens and Dave van Zwanenberg, died after being hit by a landslide on Motutara Road during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.

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Listed healthcare provider Green Cross Health has confirmed it is in discussions with third parties about a potential transaction involving its medical division, but says there is no certainty those talks will result in a sale.

It follows reporting by the Australian Financial Review, which said three private equity firms, including Sydney‑based Adamantem Capital, were competing to acquire Green Cross Health’s medical division.

“Green Cross Health confirms that it is engaging with parties regarding a potential transaction involving the Medical division,” the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

“There is no certainty that this engagement will lead to any transaction.”

Green Cross Health said it would continue to keep shareholders informed in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations.

The medical division operates 65 medical centres under The Doctors and Local Doctors brands, with around 415,000 enrolled patients across the country.

The wider group also owns pharmacy brands Unichem and Life Pharmacy, with more than 300 stores operating throughout New Zealand.

Craigs Investment Partners investment director Mark Lister said private equity firms were increasingly looking at smaller companies on the New Zealand share market, after years of relative under performance left some listed companies trading at attractive valuations.

“The smaller end of town doesn’t get the same sort of attention – it’s not in the same spotlight – and that can mean mispricing opportunities,” Lister said.

He said private equity firms loved to “turn over rocks and uncover opportunities” they might profit from by buying at low prices and adding value.

“Private equity investors love to take a slightly longer‑term and more contrarian view than fickle sharemarket investors, who can be very short‑term at times,” he said.

Lister said that, beyond pricing, the healthcare sector was appealing because of New Zealand’s ageing population, although it was not without risk.

The company did not comment on the size or structure of any potential transaction, nor whether it would involve a full or partial sale of the medical division.

Shares in Green Cross Health rose 18.5 percent to $1.47 following the announcement.

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

• Coroner Erin Woolley is investigating the deaths of 19 people who died in 2023 as a result of Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods.
• A number of independent investigations into how Hawke’s Bay local authorities responded to the cyclone found major failings in their ability to plan for, and respond to, extreme weather events.
• So far the coronial inquiry has heard emotional apologies from civil defence and emergency services, revealed failures in communications and technology, and listened to harrowing 111 calls from victims.

The harrowing stories of people who narrowly survived Cyclone Gabrielle and lost their loved ones are being heard in the Hastings District Court this week.

Cyclone Gabrielle’s youngest victim was two-year-old Ivy Collins, whose mother Ella says would still be alive if authorities had warned them of the flooding risk in February 2023.

“We wouldn’t have been there. We would never have put our babies to bed that night if we had any understanding of what was coming. We would have left,” she told the court.

But instead, reassured by Facebook posts from local councils and civil defence, the Collins family went to sleep on 13 February with no idea they were in harm’s way.

Ella woke at about 4am on 14 February 2023 to the sound of water gushing, and stepped into ankle deep water.

Within 30 minutes their beds were floating, and her husband woke their two children – four-year-old Imogen and two-year-old Ivy to tell them they were “going on an adventure”, but that they would be okay.

With the kids on their shoulders, Ella and Jack decided the safest place was their neighbours two storey house. In the darkness, using the light of their cellphones, they set off on what should have been a quick walk to safety.

But as they crossed a driveway, the floodwaters suddenly changed. It became much deeper with a stronger current that swept them off their feet.

Ella choked back tears as she described what happened next.

“I had been pushed under the water. The water lifted Ivy off my shoulders and as I came out of the water I saw her floating face down away from me … along the current … I screamed to Jack ‘I’ve lost her’. I screamed ‘I’ve lost Ivy’,” she said.

Jack pulled Ella and Imogen onto a hedge he had managed to grab, then he dived into the water to find Ivy.

“With Jack gone into the darkness, and unsure if I’d ever see him again … I could hear him howling … my focus shifted to just getting Imogen to safety.

“Fortunately we were reunited sometime later after he managed to make his way back to us, which is nothing short of a miracle. We just continued fighting to survive.”

The trauma from that night will haunt the Collins family forever. Jack is unable to return to work as a mechanic after breaking his spine trying to get them onto a roof, and Ella said seven-year-old Imogen struggles daily with the loss of her sister.

“We lost two girls that night. She’ll never be the same. Our family is broken in ways I can’t articulate.

“The worst part is that our tragedy, our grief and our trauma all could have been prevented,” she said.

Ella wants to see more timely evacuation orders and communications about flood risks, which Coroner Woolley agreed was needed.

“I do hope something good can come of this and I certainly agree with you there needs to be a more proactive evacuations.

“To my mind that is how you stop people from suffering in flooding… is to make sure they are not there when the flooding is happening,” the coroner said.

Ella said she did not accept evidence provided by Hawke’s Bay’s Civil Defence group controller at the time, Ian Macdonald, who said issuing too many civil defence alerts risked ‘desensitising’ the public.

‘We’re going to die’

During the cyclone, Gareth Jones was further up the Esk Valley, house-sitting with his friend Susane Caccioppoli.

When the river broke its banks and water started pouring into the house, they smashed their way into the ceiling cavity. As the water kept rising they managed to escape onto the roof.

“We weren’t scared… but (we thought) ‘we’re going to die, there’s no way we’re going to get through this’.

“Sue said to me, ‘it’s okay, I’m with you I’m happy’. And we talked about our children,” he recounted.

Then they heard a horrendous crash and saw a shipping container fly past, soon after the roof they were clinging to tipped up like the Titanic and threw them into the raging torrent.

Gareth found a piece of driftwood and was holding onto Susane as they were swept towards a shelterbelt of trees where he was forced to let go of his friend.

He was in tears as he recalled that awful moment.

“All I can remember as we went towards it, was something hitting me across the head and something grabbing my foot.

“When it grabbed my foot it just pulled me under water with such force.. all I can remember doing was raising my arm.. and I had to let Sue go.. I tried so hard,” he sobbed.

He washed up downstream in a quarry, somehow alive, but Susane didn’t make it.

Gareth told the coroner he hopes sharing his traumatic experience, will make a difference as he doesn’t want anyone else to needlessly die over something so preventable.

“Hearing accounts from people like you and others, I think it’s very lucky more people didn’t lose their lives,” the Coroner responded.

“Thank you so much for having that strength to give evidence today, it’s certainly been very valuable for me,” she said.

Susane’s daughter Bianka-Lee Bryan also gave evidence, telling the court it took five days for police to confirm the body they had found was her mother.

“I have been thinking a lot about how that week went for me and my family… I do not think it’s okay to leave people stressing for that long.

“Hoping that mum was still alive, frantically searching for her, hearing rumours and information through media and nobody official telling us anything.. without support or communication, those days will haunt us forever,” Bryan said.

The inquest will continue for the rest of the week in the Hastings District Court, where the families of the 13 people who died in Hawke’s Bay during the cyclone will also be giving evidence.

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

A film and television production village in Queenstown has been given the go ahead under the government’s fast-track approval process despite negative environmental effects.

The Ayrburn Screen Hub will include film and television studios, offices and 201 accommodation units on the Ayrburn Farm property in the Whakatipu Basin.

Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said it took an expert panel five months to approve the project that was expected to inject about $280 million into the local economy and support about 640 jobs across Otago.

“The screen sector makes a significant contribution to the economy,” Bishop said.

“Once complete Ayrburn will allow Queenstown to attract international productions and provide high-quality facilities for local filmmakers. Purpose-built infrastructure will help New Zealand compete for high value international productions.”

The panel assessed landscape, traffic, noise, servicing, ecology and cultural effects.

“It found that while some landscape effects would be more than minor they are not significant, will reduce over time and could be managed through conditions,” Bishop said.

The developer Waterfall Park Developments Limited is a subsidiary of Winton Land Limited.

Winton’s Queenstown general manager Lauren Christie said the project would deliver employment and economic growth for the region and strengthen New Zealand’s film and television infrastructure while also providing improvements to water quality.

Film Otago Southland chair George Dawes said it was an exciting development for the local screen industry and the Ayrburn Screen Hub would bring a much-needed purpose-built world-class screen studio to the lower South Island.

“This development will further unlock the potential of the screen industry in the region and cements Queenstown’s position as a premier location for local and international filmmakers,” he said.

It is the second project in the Otago Region that has gained fast-track approval after the Homestead Bay residential development of 2800 homes and a retail precinct in Queenstown was granted approval in February.

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The first New Zealand woman to play in the WNBA, Megan Compain, still remembers meeting Charlisse Leger-Walker as a toddler.

Now, nearly three decades after breaking new ground herself, Compain has watched Leger-Walker make history, becoming the first Kiwi woman drafted into the league.

Leger-Walker was selected 18th overall by the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Draft in New York on Tuesday, in a landmark moment for New Zealand basketball.

The 24-year-old guard is just the second New Zealand woman to reach the world’s premier basketball league, following Compain, who played for the Utah Starzz in 1997, but was not drafted.

Compain was team-mates with Charlisse’s mother Leanne Walker across two Olympic Games campaigns with the Tall Ferns.

Compain, who watched the draft on livestream while holidaying on the Gold Coast, said it was an “incredible moment for New Zealand basketball”.

“It’s such a proud moment, obviously first of all for her and her family, she’s got an incredible basketball lineage and I can’t even imagine how proud they are of her. But what this means to New Zealand basketball and the sporting community, it’s just an incredible moment and we’re all super proud,” Compain told RNZ.

“I’ve been messaging her throughout, I can only imagine how many messages she’s been getting, I’m sure she’s been inundated and she always manages a message back, which is special, I certainly feel like I’m on the fangirl bandwagon.

“She’s an incredible young athlete, an incredible person, comes from a great family and I couldn’t be more happy for them.”

Leger-Walker’s selection comes on the back of a remarkable college career in the United States, culminating in an NCAA championship with the UCLA Bruins women’s basketball last month – the first time a New Zealand woman has achieved the feat.

A record six players from one college, including five in the first round, were drafted from the championship winning UCLA side.

Compain believes Leger-Walker will thrive at Connecticut Sun.

“The UCLA roster was absolutely stacked and she is someone that makes everyone around her better. Charlisse is an extension of the coach on the court, that’s what I’ve heard a lot of people from the US say about her.

“She’ll do what is asked of her, the Connecticut Sun have a great college programme, a really strong basketball market in Connecticut, and I think she’ll do really well.”

The WNBA is about to celebrate its 30-year anniversary and Compain, who played in the inaugural season, said the league was vastly different to when she was playing.

In the last few years the profile of the league has sky rocketed thanks to once in a generation athletes like Caitlin Clark, who have helped grow the visibility of the game.

“I think these athletes know what it takes to become a professional on and off the court and the scrutiny that comes with that. The spotlight is on them like never before and the rise of the WBNA has coincided with the rise of women’s sport, it was just a matter of time.

“The opportunity for fans to get to know and be exposed to players through different platforms without necessarily having to go to games is what’s different now verses back in my day.

“Where the league is now verses 30 years ago – it’s the best of the best competing every day. The athletes have got everything like strength and conditioning wrapped around them and that’s a big difference to what we had available so the quality of the athlete and the performance is a huge step up, which is attracting fans to the game.”

Leger-Walker, who debuted for the Tall Ferns at just 16, has 42 caps for New Zealand.

Compain said although the WNBA is built around international windows, it will be more difficult for Leger-Walker to juggle the Tall Ferns.

“The WNBA has stars from all international teams and they manage to go back and play for their nations but it becomes more of a challenge.

“She will also likely play somewhere else professionally in the off-season of the WNBA, which a lot of those professionals have to do. It’s not necessarily just the WNBA, it’s what does it look like to be a professional women’s basketball player, supplementing your income in other leagues, and then fitting in your international commitments around that.

“Charlisse has always had a huge desire to play for New Zealand, she’s always been there when she possibly can but we would fully support just like we do with [NBA veteran] Steven Adams, putting your career first and hopefully the black singlet can fit in around what’s best for Charlisse.”

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Fire and Emergency (FENZ) are at the scene of a landslide in Muriwai – a coastal settlement west of Auckland.

FENZ said it was notified of the slip at 2.49pm on Tuesday and one crew was on site.

It referred RNZ to the Auckland Council for all further questions.

A council spokesperson says staff are still trying to find out what’s happened and where.

Two volunteer Muriwai firefighters, Craig Stevens and Dave van Zwanenberg, died after being hit by a landslide on Motutara Road during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.

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The Taxpayers’ Union wants the Government to release daily fuel stock updates, saying the weekly figures aren’t an accurate representation of the country’s supply.

The Ministry for Business, Innovation, and Employment releases data on fuel stocks twice a week, including the amount on board ships heading to New Zealand.

Monday’s update used data from April 8 that showed there were 59.7 days of petrol, 49.1 of diesel and 50.7 of jet fuel.

Tory Relf told Checkpoint information that was a week old, was neither timely nor transparent and people needed daily updates so they could plan their lives.

“It’s very different if you’ve got 20 days of petrol left versus 50 days of petrol left how you might plan your business or plan your personal life.”

Relf didn’t believe the situation was necessarily worse, but said transparency was an issue.

She said the figures shouldn’t include fuel that was en-route to New Zealand but still outside the country’s exclusive economic zone.

“Because we can’t gurantee that they’ll be coming to New Zealand.”

Relf said as yet, all ships bound for New Zealand had arrived.

MBIE said in a statement it releases the data just one working day after it is received and it is a “verified data snapshot at a fixed point in time, rather than a live operational feed.”

“Data collected by importers at 11.59pm on Wednesday is supplied to us on Friday afternoon. MBIE validates and aggregates the data, and publishes it the following Monday. Data collected at 11.59pm Sunday is received by MBIE on Tuesday and published on Wednesday,” it said.

“Our decision to publish data on a regular schedule rather than in real time is a deliberate choice. Shipping schedules change frequently due to weather, port congestion and discharge rates. Updating figures every time a ship moves would introduce volatility without improving accuracy. Instead, we publish confirmed, importer‑reported data on a predictable timetable, so figures are reliable and comparable over time.”

MBIE said collecting the data at a fixed point in time “ensures everyone is looking at the same snapshot, taken at the same moment across the whole system.”

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A seasoned Australian homicide detective says New Zealand can soften the blow of fire bombed shops and violent organised crime seen in Australia, if black market tobacco is stamped out now.

An RNZ investigation last month found black market cigarettes were being openly sold in Auckland shops at huge discounts.

Now, Retail NZ has released a report calling for the establishment of a taskforce to stop the illegal sale of tobacco, which it says is putting communities at risk.

It said the situation across the ditch was a stark warning of how a booming black market can undermine decades of public health progress and trigger a rise in violent crime.

Illicit tobacco accounts for an estimated 50 to 60 percent of the Australian market share, according to statistics cited by Retail NZ.

Retired Australian homicide detective Charlie Bezzina said the genie was out of the bottle over the Tasman sea.

“Given the fact that we’ve let this ferment, and it’s fermented, it’s grown, it’s spread, it’s like a cancer, and then to try and then start implementing resources is quite difficult,” he said.

“If it’s in its infancy in New Zealand, you have to learn by our mistakes.”

Bezzina said New Zealand law enforcement should speak with Australian law enforcement, who possessed a wealth of information on the issue.

He said Victoria’s state government had been slow to respond to the organised crime element.

“They’ve got no powers to shut down shops, they’ve got no powers to address the landlords who are happy to put illicit people into their premises … so we are losing the battle there.”

Dr James Martin is an associate criminology professor at Melbourne’s Deakin University. He said illicit nicotine was now worth more to organised crime groups than cocaine, cannabis, heroin, and ecstasy … combined.

“We’ve seen really a nationwide crime wave,” he said.

There had been over 280 arson attacks on both legal and illicit nicotine retailers, he said.

“There have been multiple homicides, kidnappings, torture, and what government has described as countless instances of intimidation and extortion of the retail sector.”

Martin New Zealand’s efforts to move smokers onto vapes has helped reduce smoking rates.

“More than 95 percent of the vaping products sold in Australia are now illicit as well,” he said.

“That’s a critical harm reduction difference in policy that I think has been much better implemented in New Zealand, and this is helping prevent some of the worst effects that we’re seeing here.”

He was not surprised to seeing the illicit trade in New Zealand.

“Australia has the number one highest tobacco taxes in the world, and New Zealand is number two, so it’s not surprising to see, even though your tobacco trade is much diminished now because of the success of your vaping policy, it’s not surprising to see some of the similar dynamics taking place albeit on a smaller kind of scale.”

Retail NZ’s chief executive Carolyn Young told RNZ a multi-agency taskforce should be set up, made up of police, Customs and health professionals.

Chief customs officer for fraud and prohibition Nigel Barnes said they were continually investing in intelligence and targeting measures to adapt to organised crime groups, but he would not be drawn on a potential task force.

“Customs has long regarded illicit tobacco smuggling as a transnational organised crime issue, and these networks are vast,” Barnes said.

“I won’t speculate on the suggestion of a taskforce but what we do know is that it takes a network to defeat a network, and we have been working with our partners, domestically and internationally, to that end.”

They did not want what was happening in Australia to make its way over here, Barnes said.

“The Australian market is something that we definitely want to avoid, and it’s been mentioned before, is that we don’t want to end up in that situation,” he said.

“If we do everything within our power then we would hopefully would be able to avoid that.”

Last month, RNZ visited an east Auckland store selling cigarettes for less than half the amount of excise required by law to be paid.

Those caught selling illicit cigarettes, could face a six-month prison sentence, a $20,000 fine or both.

Importing cigarettes without paying the excise duty is illegal under Customs law.

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Despite the mega-commentary about the Israel-Iran war, and especially the United States’ participation in that war, almost nothing is being debated about how the war is being funded.

I’ll make some comments about Iran later. But we need to focus on the United States, which is by far the most profligate party to this war. And Israel is being funded, like a charismatic and entitled teenage brat, by its (American) sugar daddy.

Most of us should have noticed that, with the exception of new tariffs which are not a significant source of United States government revenue, there has been no move to raise taxes. (The President has clearly invoked the use of tariffs as means of leverage through extortion; though he doesn’t properly appreciate that these taxes are paid by American residents.) Nor has any explicit ‘war loan’ or ‘war bond’ been floated in Wall Street.

The United States is ‘printing money’ to fund the war. This expression is both pejorative and a misnomer. Because printing money is an unmentionable, it’s hardly ever mentioned! Though it should be, because it’s an important financial mechanism, and it is not as sinful as it’s made to sound.

‘Printing money’ is not a literal expression; actually printed (or photocopied) money, counterfeit money, is illegal. Printing money, a figurative moniker, is in fact the day-to-day business of banking, with billions of dollars printed every day (and a near-similar number of dollars unprinted). The technology of printing money is that of double-entry-bookkeeping. Money is a social technology, as is double-entry bookkeeping.

What matters most to us is the role of the central bank – the Reserve Bank – in creating new money. And in particular the relationship between the Reserve Bank and its privileged customers, most of which are governments’ Treasuries and commercial banks. Even more particularly, we are interested in the most highly privileged relationship of all, that between the United States Federal Treasury and the United States Federal Reserve Bank. This exceptional relationship arises because the United States Dollar is the world’s reserve currency.

The War

Here are two quotes from Al Jazeera’s This is America: War on Iran: Cost of weapons and shift in the nature of warfare, 1 April 2026

Richard Gaisford: “It’s a significant contribution being made to the US economy by the defence industries. The last figures we have were for 2024, and that showed that it generated [?] something near one trillion dollars …”.

This comment reflects a wide belief that money is made by economic activity, and that the United States makes money by making, among other things, military hardware and software. The reality, of course, is that the money is made first, and is then used to purchase such hardware and software.

Interviewer: ‘Who has got the means to keep fighting at those levels the longest?’ Kenneth Katzman (a former senior analyst on Iran at the US Congressional Research Service): “The US Dollar is the main reserve currency of the globe, which means that the United States basically has the capability to manufacture money. Your viewers may not understand the mechanics of it, but basically the United States can print money.” (Actually, not only the United States.)

He goes on to address the military asymmetry between Iran and the United States: “The United States is a 28-trillion-dollar economy; Iran is a 400-billion-dollar economy”. Here he is talking about each country’s capacity to produce goods and services; not its capacity to manufacture money. Any amount of money can be made by any country’s banking-government nexus, and at trivial cost.

The interviewer (New Zealand’s Anna Burns Francis), and the other panellist did not respond to that seemingly provocative comment about printing money; there was no further discussion about how the war is being financed, only about how much it is costing. Discussion about the mechanics (and constraints) of printing money would go against the grain that most of us are fed. The public is not supposed to know – and generally does not know – that money is itself costless and can be manufactured, at will, in smaller or larger quantities.

Kenneth Katzman’s comments are not controversial; they are a statement of fact that no economist would disagree with. All countries’ banking systems (of which the central government is a component) have the capacity to print money; indeed, the New Zealand system (and other countries’ systems) necessarily did so in 2020.

The United States has fewer constraints on printing money than do other countries, but not zero constraints.

We note that money, like all financial and financialised assets, is not wealth; it is claims on wealth. So, the affordability of money – in practice – is measured by the ability of the economy to meet those claims, in the event that those claims are presented. (Indeed, the world can afford an octillion dollars’ worth of financial claims if it can be 100% certain that those claims will not be exercised; will not be spent on goods or services. The current world is awash with massive private holdings of financialised assets which, for the most part will not be spent on anything other than other financial assets. In technical language, such money has a very low ‘velocity’.)

We note also that newly printed United States’ dollars permeate into New Zealand through exports, including New Zealand made supplies to America’s war industry; to the United States’ military/industrial complex, which includes the space industry.

How does a country fund a war by printing money?

There are two key issues: rationing, and responsiveness.

The liberal critique against governments’ printing money is a general claim that governments are untrustworthy and spendthrift. In the eighteenth century when the liberal critique emerged, one principal concern was government adventurism in the form of warfare. This classical liberal critique presents one consequence of such government largesse as inflation (extra spending coming up against finite resources), and also presents any instance of general price increases as a consequence of government largesse. When governments consume relatively more resources, then – through the catalyst of inflation – private households and businesses consume relatively less.

The classical liberal critique emphasises this rationing issue, known as crowding out; in doing so, that critique presumes that private spending on goods and services is, per se, more efficient than public sector spending and redistributive transfers. There are two parts to this rationing argument: first, private parties are deemed to better assess (compared to bureaucrats and politicians) which items of spending translate to greater utility (ie happiness); second that relatively more private spending can be classified as ‘investing’, meaning spending for future rather than for present happiness. (Neither of these two propositions is generally true.)

The second issue, less emphasised by classical liberals, is responsiveness or ‘supply elasticity’. Classical liberals tend to assume that spending enabled by printed money does not elicit new production; ie does not bring-about a supply response. While this is true by definition for a hyper-taut economy, for the most part, economies are not hyper-taut and are indeed responsive to additional spending.

In the present case of the United States, the Israel-Iran War – on the pro-Israel side – is being funded substantially by new money printed for the United States government by the United States federal banking system; in the public accounts, this shows up directly as a huge increase in the United States’ fiscal deficit.

While prices are rising faster in the United States than before, this increase in general prices would appear to be substantially due to the supply-side cost-impact of the war itself, and not by increased aggregate demand inside the United States and the countries the United States imports goods and services from.

The United States domestic economy is not as supply-elastic as it might have been, given what ICE is doing to that country’s labour force. Nevertheless, the United States’ economy has been sufficiently depressed that it is now able to increase output without much difficulty. Hence, extra United States’s government spending has not in itself caused consumer prices in the United States to rise. The present chokehold on imports – a result of the war – is however causing CPI-inflation in the United States and the rest of the world. Prior domestic underemployment is one reason why money-printing may not be inflationary.

The second component of a country’s economic responsiveness to wads of newly printed money is that much production can be outsourced to the rest of the world. Thus, United States’ imports increase, the United States’ current account deficit increases, and the rest of the underemployed world gets to benefit from this as an economic stimulus. So, if the New Zealand banking-government nexus refuses to print money as a form of stimulus, the present Trump-printed money does create an alternative stimulus in New Zealand.

Certainly, New Zealand has very high visible and hidden unemployment, so (at present) is easily able to respond to the Trump stimulus. On that basis, New Zealand’s economic growth this year may not be as slow as is widely anticipated; though domestic confidence – in itself, a form of stimulus – may be countering the stimulus coming from the United States. In New Zealand too, any rise in CPI-inflation will be almost entirely due to the global supply chokeholds, and not to the American president’s money printing largesse.

Essentially, the United States is funding its war through its twin deficits: the United States fiscal deficit, and the United States current account deficit. The war is being funded through increased utilisation of underemployed resources throughout the world. In New Zealand’s case, we can see this easily and directly, by observing New Zealand’s increased exports to the United States.

How easily can other countries print money?

Technically, it’s as easy to print money in New Zealand as it is for the United States. However, the New Zealand dollar is not a global reserve currency, so a flood of new New Zealand dollars into the global economy is likely to generate financial risk; or at least perceptions of financial risk. ‘Investors’ – that is, financial traders – out there most likely would be more cautious about holding large quantities of New Zealand dollars (or $NZ assets) than they would be about holding large quantities of United States dollars. That caution generates an exchange rate risk; a risk that would be communicated to financial-asset-holders by the New York based rating agencies such as Standard and Poors.

When the exchange-rate risk is not widely seen as a matter of concern, New Zealand benefits mainly through its routinely-high current account deficit; that is, just the same way as the United States is able to benefit from printing money and enjoying the economic bounty of the world.

If the exchange rate risk becomes a concern however, the world would discount New Zealand dollar assets, and New Zealand would experience high levels of domestic inflation; that is, higher inflation than most other countries. The resulting low New Zealand dollar would confer a ‘competitive advantage’ on New Zealand; the current account deficit would close, exports increase, and reduced imports would create an increased demand for New Zealand- made goods and services.

The issue then becomes how responsive (ie supply elastic) the New Zealand economy is. If the domestic economy is able to respond to these new circumstances (which is the more common experience of other countries), then New Zealand would recover and soon prosper. The alternative is that New Zealand would go into an inflationary tailspin; that is, if its productive system is so hamstrung that it cannot respond to the stimulus of a low dollar exchange rate. One bad sign is over-dependence (as distinct from over-reliance) on imports. A dependent economy cannot switch away from imports. A country which relies on imports by choice, because imports are easily funded by exports, can usually pivot – if required to do so – towards more ‘tradable production’.

So, New Zealand can print money too, though printing in the proportion that the United States does certainly would be unadvisable. However, if a country overprints money, the normal situation is that the extra money just sits there in the banking system. (The brief real estate boom of 2021/22 has been widely attributed to excessive printed money stimulating a process of real estate speculation; though the unique circumstances of that few months – including labour and capital pandemic lockdowns – have not been properly researched. The government could easily have borrowed and then parked that money, but chose not to.)

Generally, the rest of the world is accommodating when some countries print more money (though not when all countries print too much money). The world has been very responsive to the United States for the entirety of post-WW2 history; it was American spending of new money that drove the economic growth of the capitalist world for 80 years.

The present US money printing to fund a globally-significant regional-war can be expected, sooner or later, to encounter an inflationary wall of its own making. The consequences of this war are to make the world economy much less responsive (ie are breaking the world’s economy) just as the American military-industrial complex – indeed the world’s expanding military-industrial complexes – are placing so many extra demands on the world’s economic environments.

War funding under pressure

Countries’ invaded or otherwise attacked on the perception that they are ‘easy meat’ tend to be much more capable of defending themselves than is widely understood. Their monetary systems are not integrated into the orthodox channels of the wider capitalist system; but their domestic monies work to keep domestic economies fully employed while on a war-footing. Yes, Iran will be printing money, and Iranians will be facing substantial visible and suppressed inflation. For Iran, that monetary process is a necessary part of its own defence. Money printing facilitates both necessary rationing in favour of the public sector, and also necessarily pushes the production system to its limits.

War times, historically, have shown that our economic systems are generally much more responsive than we presume them to be. Surprisingly often, the bullies neither win nor even achieve a limited range of objectives. Syria may be coming right today, despite rather than because of the nation which set off that 2010s’ war; a war which cruelly sandwiched the Syrian people between foreign bullies and a consequently more oppressive domestic tyranny.

We note that, when the United Kingdom was under threat during the first years of World War Two, it was able to import much on credit – especially from the United States, which was then a neutral country. China has played a large role in facilitating the United States’ more recent wars, through its current account surpluses. This time China will be helping to fund Iran’s war; as well as accommodating the United States through its ongoing – almost infamous – trade relationship with that country.

Indeed, when the Israel-US-Iran War is eventually over, it will be China’s version of the Marshall Plan which will revive the degraded world economy; part of that revival will be to write-off war debts, just as the United States – through plenty of printed money – eventually accommodated Germany’s reparations bill after World War One, and the West’s war debts after World War Two.

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Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

• Kiwibank says rate hikes would be “reckless”
• ANZ forecasts three rate hikes this year
• The RBNZ has said there won’t be a knee-jerk reaction to Middle East conflict

The economist community appears to be split over the Reserve Bank’s interest rate path, with one bank saying “reckless” rate hikes are unwarranted.

Kiwibank economists were blunt in their view, warning another RBNZ-induced recession could be on the cards if rates were to be lifted.

It comes as other banks bring forward rate hike expectations amid fears the Middle East conflict and rising fuel prices could stoke inflation.

The most recent OCR call change was by ANZ, which has forecast three rate hikes this year, starting from July.

In a note, Kiwibank economists Jarrod Kerr and Alexandra Turcu said the RBNZ’s best option was to watch and wait before deciding its move.

“Households and businesses who’ve already seen their costs rise don’t need a rise in interest rates to dampen their demand – because this is not a demand story, this is not Covid,” they said.

“Raising interest rates risks a repeat of past mistakes, potentially inducing a recession. It could be reckless.”

ASB and Westpac NZ also believed rate hikes could occur from September, although it could happen earlier.

“I am open to the idea that it could occur as early as May depending on how things evolve,” Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said.

Kiwibank said there was uncertainty around the duration of the Middle East conflict, and it was causing households and businesses to bunker down.

“Confidence has been hit, and so to have investment intentions and hiring,” Kerr and Turcu said.

“Raising interest rates is tone deaf, and potentially reckless. Because both businesses and households are struggling with increased costs, not surging demand.”

Kiwibank expected to see a contraction in economy activity in the current quarter, although noted the data was still months away.

“Q2 CPI (inflation) isn’t out until July, after the RBNZ’s decision, and to know if inflation sticks around we really need to see Q3 data at the very least,” they said.

“In our view, the RBNZ’s best course of action is to watch, wait, and weigh up the facts once they have the information in front of them.”

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

After consecutive Commonwealth Games Bronze medals, Selina Goddard wants gold.

The 31-year-old lawn bowler was among the first crop of athletes named to compete at Glasgow 2026, after the New Zealand Olympic Committee on Tuesday named a 12-strong team to compete at this year’s Commonwealth event.

It marks a return to the city where she made her Commonwealth Games debut as a teenager.

“I was just reminiscing on my first games in Glasgow, 2014. So full circle kind of going back there now. It was a bit of a journey. I wasn’t even on the long list at the time that I got selected. I was 19 and I turned 20 on the opening ceremony.”

At the 2014 Games, Goddard picked up bronze in the fours and four years later took bronze in both the pairs and fours.

However, she is not content with runner up.

“Safe to say I’m ready for a bit of a shinier medal now. We got silver at the World Cup and we’re gutted by that. I think that’s a good thing just because we know that we are capable of performing the absolute best. To be in that position to try and get that gold is incredible and now I’m going to be doing absolutely everything possible to make that happen.”

It was a whirlwind ride for Goddard from Takapuna to Glasgow, where she found herself calling idols teammates.

“What was just so special was being in a team with people that I absolutely looked up to in the game and had done these incredible things. I’m entering a team with legends Joe Edwards and Val Smith. And I’m 19-year-old coming in, not really knowing what to expect. They really just showed the grit and resilience that we do have as a team.”

The two Kiwi icons happily took Goddard under their wings.

“I learned a lot about what makes New Zealanders great on that bowls green. I remember I came back from that games so hungry.

I came back with a total different perspective of where I wanted to be. Even when I think of the 2022 games, I came back way more hungry as well. You’re forever wanting to lift your game when you come into those scenarios.”

Now set for her third appearance at the games, Goddard survived a rigourous selection process.

“It’s super tough. So typically we would see a team of five and this time it’s a team of three. So it was very intense and to be named in the three is just incredibly special.”

However, it still feels strange for Goddard to call herself a veteran of the team.

“We get cap numbers and I have the oldest cap number now. I definitely don’t feel like that, but that’s how our game’s evolving. Age is no factor in our game. Any ability as we’ve seen can play this sport, any age can play this sport.”

As well as reduced number of sports, the 2026 Games will see several innovations to bowls, including taking the game indoors for the first time in history.

“The main factor there is the environmental influences. The aim of the game is still the same, but because there’s none of those influences, it should allow you to get closer, be a little bit more precise.”

Goddard first stepped onto a green at five years old, but despite her parents both being experienced players, the game did not come easy for her.

“I wasn’t naturally gifted. I put a lot of time in when I was really young, not really knowing where it would take me. My sister, naturally gifted, beautiful delivery. Does she play the game? No way. So yeah, I always have felt like I’ve had to work really hard at everything and I really enjoy that as well.”

The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games Bowls and Para Bowls competition will take place from 24 July to 2 August 2026.

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New Zealand’s rarest endemic bird – the black-headed tara iti/fairy tern – has had a boost in numbers, according to the Department of Conservation.

The department (DOC) said a census at the end of March showed the population of the small coastal bird had increased about 15 percent.

It said compared to 1983 when there were only three to four breeding pairs – now, there were nearly 50 birds more than one-year-old in the wild and 11 breeding pairs.

DOC said there was now a higher chance of spotting tara iti on Auckland and Northland’s beaches between Bream Bay, Te Tai Tokerau/Northland and Pākiri, Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, or in the inlets of the Kaipara Harbour.

Auckland Zoo’s curator of birds Juan Cornejo said the zoo’s head start programme had had its most successful year to date – hatching, rearing, and releasing 10 chicks.

DOC programme lead Ayla Wiles said the increase in numbers had been a team effort with volunteers working to protect the bird in the wild.

“What we’re seeing is a net increase off the back of two good seasons, she said.

“Next breeding season’s numbers are looking promising with the potential for 15 (or more) pairs, in comparison to 11 this year, plus up to 10 more fledglings to join the adult population.”

She said the goals ahead of next summer were to monitor more breeding sites, reduce predation and secure more fish supplies for the zoo’s breeding programme.

DOC said despite increasing numbers the tara iti still faced many threats including predation by rats and harrier hawks, storms, and the public and dogs entering protected areas.

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