Source: Radio New Zealand

Follow Kākāpō Files on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Kākāpō are one of the rarest birds in New Zealand, with an adult population of just 235 individuals.

Imagine then, the pressure on Auckland Zoo vet Adam Naylor when he arrived at a nest to discover a young chick, named Huhu-A3-2026, looking floppy and an unhealthy purple colour.

“My vet training kicked in, and I started doing some very tiny CPR,” Adam told the Kākāpō Files podcast.

“I just blew gently into its mouth, to try and get some air into it and get it breathing again. And after a minute or so it suddenly took a breath.

“It was a scary moment for all of us, including the DOC [Department of Conservation] ranger,” said Adam, “[but] by the next day, I’m happy to report, it had bounced back remarkably well.”

It was not the only time on his trip to Whenua Hou / Codfish Island that Adam’s ER skills were called into action. He was also able to save the life of a 12-day old chick, Rakiura-A2-2026, which was found in the nest with a significant wound.

“It was actually a pretty deep and fresh laceration at the base of the neck, right across the jugular vein,” said Adam.

After cleaning the wound, Adam closed it with stitches, which he described as “pretty tiny sutures”.

He reports that by the end of the day the “chick was as happy as anything and begging for food, so I walked up and popped it back on the nest again”.

Chick Rakiura-A2-2026 is a bit of a celebrity, having been the first egg that watching members of the public saw laid live on the Kākāpō Cam live feed, on the 25th January. Chicks are named after their mum, their clutch and egg number, and year of birth. Rakiura-A2-2026 is being raised by various foster mothers, while its mother Rakiura fosters another chick, Nora-A2-2026, as interested YouTubers watch on.

Adam was assisting with kākāpō management on Whenua Hou, which lies just off Rakiura / Stewart Island, and is one of the three predator-free kākāpō breeding islands – the other two are in Fiordland.

With 78 females nesting across those islands, a huge milestone was reached earlier this week when the 100th chick of the 2026 breeding season hatched. This cements its status as the biggest ever kākāpō breeding season on record.

Plus, a handful of remaining fertile eggs are expected to hatch over the next few days, meaning it will well surpass the previous 2019 record of 85 chicks hatched.

Unfortunately though, not all these chicks will make it.

Kākāpō Recovery Programme ranger Sarah Manktelow told the Kākāpō Files podcast that seven chicks have died so far. “We have to expect to lose some chicks,” she said.

Four chicks have also been transported to Dunedin Wildlife Hospital where they are currently receiving treatment.

Those who manage kākāpō are hoping these record-breaking numbers will ultimately help boost the total population. However, because there are many potential pitfalls for the newly hatched chicks, they don’t get counted as adults until they reach 150 days of age, and are independent. For the first chicks hatched this year, that’s around mid-July.

To get regular updates about this record-breaking breeding season, follow and listen to the Kākāpō Files podcast.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fire and Emergency is urging residents in storm-affected areas to be ready to evacuate if necessary, following a night of heavy rain.

A red weather warning remains in place for Northland east of Kaikohe from Doubtless Bay to Whangārei, with the worst of the downpours expected to hit on Thursday afternoon.

Marae in the region have been opened for those in need of support, and Fire and Emergency has deployed 19 specialist rescue personnel to Northland and Auckland.

MetService said the heaviest rain and largest volumes were likely to be in the upper North Island, from Northland to western Bay of Plenty.

Downpours, flooding, and slips were also possible on Thursday and Friday.

Fire and Emergency assistant national commander Ken Cooper warned residents in upper parts of Northland to be ready in case the situation deteriorated.

“For that upper part of Northland, the intelligence we’ve got is there’s a large amount of rainfall over a very short period of time. I would certainly advise people to be prepared, if they’re in low lying areas or near rivers, be prepared to move.”

Cooper said anyone concerned about a risk to life or property should call 111.

Northland Civil Defence expected the worst of the rain to hit the northeast coast on Thursday night.

In a post on social media, it warned residents not to go into flood water, to avoid unnecessary travel, and to be aware of slips.

“Leave immediately if you notice cracks in the ground, leaning trees or power poles, unusual sounds, or sudden changes in streams,” it said.

Follow the latest updates in our live blog above.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Specialist rescue teams are being deployed to Northland as the region hunkers down for the worst of the severe weather.

A red weather warning is in place, with the worst of the downpours expected to hit on Thursday afternoon.

Marae in the region have been opened for those in need of support.

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) assistant national commander Ken Cooper told RNZ it had prepared its response across the region, pre-deploying crews to where they would be most needed.

“We are pre-positioning our specialists water rescue team, and some urban search and rescue teams,” he said.

“These are severe situations that our people are going to be encountering so we want to ensure that we’ve got the right people in the right place.”

Cooper said 17 specialists would be deployed to Northland, while eight would be in Auckland.

FENZ had to pre-position crews strategically, he said.

“We get informed that it’s going to impact a very large geographic area, so it’s always very challenging for Fire and Emergency to pre-position exactly where a storm is going to hit and where the impacts would be.”

His advice for locals was to keep an eye on news and alerts put out by authorities, and to get out if the situation turns dangerous.

“If people feel that life and property is endangered or at risk then please do call 111.

“For that upper part of Northland, the intellegence we’ve got is there’s a large amount of rainfall over a very short period of time. I would certainly advise people to be prepared, if they’re in low lying areas or near rivers, be prepared to move,” Cooper said.

Meanwhile, residents in Northland were facing the oncoming storm.

Max Thompson lived in Mokau, near Ōakura, but the creek crossing to get to his house had been washed out.

He was staying in a campervan at Mokau marae said most people knew they could come to the marae if need be.

“These weather events have prompted our communities, our marae communities, to get into action and to build capacity for when they happen,” he said.

“I don’t want to sound too blasé, but I’m quite comfortable and confident that we’ll ride this storm out.”

Robynne Cooper owned the Whangaruru beachfront camp and said the weather had made it a difficult summer season.

“We should still have quite a few campers out there,” she said.

“It hit us in peak season, so we’ve lost a lot of income and a lot of campers, that’s for sure. We’ve had pretty much 80 percent cancellation.”

Robynne Cooper said she was worried about the sustainability of the business.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens, I haven’t lost any sleep over it, I’m not that person that’s going to stress and kill myself with a heart attack, but it is going to be a very, very tough year that’s for sure.”

Ngātiwai kaiwhiriwhiri Jude Thompson lived in Tūparehuia/Bland Bay, in the north of Whangaruru.

“It’s probably one of the safest areas on the flat. In saying that last time my house flooded, so I’ll probably be staying up quite a bit through the night just to see what happens here. Most of the communities out in this area last time were individually cut off for one reason or another, either through trees falling or through slips. So everybody needs to be ready to be independent and look after themselves.

“All of our marae have stood up and are just absolutely amazing and have everything that we need to keep our whānau safe.”

She said it would be a very long night. Rain had been falling throughout the day, but began to intensify once night fell. Her power went out around 9.30pm. As of 10.30pm, Northpower reported around 1500 homes without power, including in Aranga, Mamaranui, Kamo and Whangaruru.

Thompson said many residents were tired and quite anxious following January’s widespread and destructive flooding. Punarurku, to the west of Whangaruru Harbour, was hit with 285.5mm of rain over a day during the January floods. That was more than the approximately 260mm that typically fell over the area over the whole of summer.

January’s severe weather also caused a significant slip at the southern end of Whangaruru which would take months to clear, and had left those entering from the south during the day having to drive in convoy following a pilot vehicle.

“It’s quite a long road, it’s gravel, it’s windy, there’s some quite significant drop-offs, and it’s having quite an impact on people’s vehicles.”

Many residents were very anxious about the forecast rain, and warnings about the incoming storm had left many on edge.

“People are anxious about this event and given it’s a red warning that does come with a risk to life so we have to be very vigilant to take it so seriously.

“We’ve seen since the event in January that the impacts on people’s mental health, the rise in anxiety, the psychosocial effects have been significant, right across Whangaruru and with our whānau who are up in Whangaroa who were very impacted as well.

“A couple of days ago when the forecast was communicated and as it’s got closer and we went to a red warning today, people are really, really anxious and feel quite triggered given what they went through.

“Some of our whānau arrived at the marae literally in just what they were standing in. They had lost absolutely everything. Everything had washed away and they were just standing in wet clothes. So to hear even the sound of rain since then … has been really difficult.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Specialist rescue teams are being deployed to Northland as the region hunkers down for the worst of the severe weather.

A red weather warning is in place, with the worst of the downpours expected to hit on Thursday afternoon.

Marae in the region have been opened for those in need of support.

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) assistant national commander Ken Cooper told RNZ it had prepared its response across the region, pre-deploying crews to where they would be most needed.

“We are pre-positioning our specialists water rescue team, and some urban search and rescue teams,” he said.

“These are severe situations that our people are going to be encountering so we want to ensure that we’ve got the right people in the right place.”

Cooper said 17 specialists would be deployed to Northland, while eight would be in Auckland.

FENZ had to pre-position crews strategically, he said.

“We get informed that it’s going to impact a very large geographic area, so it’s always very challenging for Fire and Emergency to pre-position exactly where a storm is going to hit and where the impacts would be.”

His advice for locals was to keep an eye on news and alerts put out by authorities, and to get out if the situation turns dangerous.

“If people feel that life and property is endangered or at risk then please do call 111.

“For that upper part of Northland, the intellegence we’ve got is there’s a large amount of rainfall over a very short period of time. I would certainly advise people to be prepared, if they’re in low lying areas or near rivers, be prepared to move,” Cooper said.

Meanwhile, residents in Northland were facing the oncoming storm.

Max Thompson lived in Mokau, near Ōakura, but the creek crossing to get to his house had been washed out.

He was staying in a campervan at Mokau marae said most people knew they could come to the marae if need be.

“These weather events have prompted our communities, our marae communities, to get into action and to build capacity for when they happen,” he said.

“I don’t want to sound too blasé, but I’m quite comfortable and confident that we’ll ride this storm out.”

Robynne Cooper owned the Whangaruru beachfront camp and said the weather had made it a difficult summer season.

“We should still have quite a few campers out there,” she said.

“It hit us in peak season, so we’ve lost a lot of income and a lot of campers, that’s for sure. We’ve had pretty much 80 percent cancellation.”

Robynne Cooper said she was worried about the sustainability of the business.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens, I haven’t lost any sleep over it, I’m not that person that’s going to stress and kill myself with a heart attack, but it is going to be a very, very tough year that’s for sure.”

Ngātiwai kaiwhiriwhiri Jude Thompson lived in Tūparehuia/Bland Bay, in the north of Whangaruru.

“It’s probably one of the safest areas on the flat. In saying that last time my house flooded, so I’ll probably be staying up quite a bit through the night just to see what happens here. Most of the communities out in this area last time were individually cut off for one reason or another, either through trees falling or through slips. So everybody needs to be ready to be independent and look after themselves.

“All of our marae have stood up and are just absolutely amazing and have everything that we need to keep our whānau safe.”

She said it would be a very long night. Rain had been falling throughout the day, but began to intensify once night fell. Her power went out around 9.30pm. As of 10.30pm, Northpower reported around 1500 homes without power, including in Aranga, Mamaranui, Kamo and Whangaruru.

Thompson said many residents were tired and quite anxious following January’s widespread and destructive flooding. Punarurku, to the west of Whangaruru Harbour, was hit with 285.5mm of rain over a day during the January floods. That was more than the approximately 260mm that typically fell over the area over the whole of summer.

January’s severe weather also caused a significant slip at the southern end of Whangaruru which would take months to clear, and had left those entering from the south during the day having to drive in convoy following a pilot vehicle.

“It’s quite a long road, it’s gravel, it’s windy, there’s some quite significant drop-offs, and it’s having quite an impact on people’s vehicles.”

Many residents were very anxious about the forecast rain, and warnings about the incoming storm had left many on edge.

“People are anxious about this event and given it’s a red warning that does come with a risk to life so we have to be very vigilant to take it so seriously.

“We’ve seen since the event in January that the impacts on people’s mental health, the rise in anxiety, the psychosocial effects have been significant, right across Whangaruru and with our whānau who are up in Whangaroa who were very impacted as well.

“A couple of days ago when the forecast was communicated and as it’s got closer and we went to a red warning today, people are really, really anxious and feel quite triggered given what they went through.

“Some of our whānau arrived at the marae literally in just what they were standing in. They had lost absolutely everything. Everything had washed away and they were just standing in wet clothes. So to hear even the sound of rain since then … has been really difficult.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Lincoln University has confirmed plans to cut 40 full-time equivalent jobs, as the union raises concerns about the speed and impact of the changes.

The university informed staff today it was calling for early retirements and voluntary redundancies, before beginning formal processes in the middle of this year.

A Lincoln University spokesperson said the move was to maintain financial stability in 2026 and beyond, “and to position the university to continue our focus as a specialist university for the land-based sectors”.

Tertiary Education Union (TEU) delegate Professor Cor Vink said the news came as a bombshell.

“People were surprised, they’re obviously upset, people are worried about increasing workload as well as it doesn’t sound like if anyone takes redundancy that they would be replaced.”

Staff were told the university was losing some of its government funding and enrolments had not hit targets, Vink said.

The university revealed the plan at an all-staff meeting this afternoon, where it announced all permanent staff would be offered “enhanced retirement and enhanced voluntary cessation packages,” and had until 23 April to apply.

There was a lack of detail in the announcement, Vink said.

“There wasn’t a lot of clarity in the messaging at the meeting. There was supposed to be a memo for people to have a look at after the meeting, but that didn’t come out for another hour, so we’re sitting around twiddling our thumbs wondering what it’s all about.

“There is a degree of vagueness about the whole thing.”

The union would prioritise clarifying details, including information on how and why it had come to this, he said.

The university invited staff to propose ideas to save money, increase student numbers or improve the university’s finances, but Vink said he did not believe it was staff’s role to propose those type of solutions.

“The Vice Chancellor said if anyone can think of ideas to come to him, but I would think that’s why he gets paid the big bucks, because he should be thinking of those sorts of things.”

Questions were raised about the university’s capital programme, which included a number of new buildings, and whether those works could be stopped or put on hold.

“I know students don’t come to a university to see the buildings, they come to university to be taught by the experts. That’s certainly how I remember my university – I really don’t remember the buildings much at all, I remember the inspirational lectures I had.”

The speed of the process was worrying, especially given existing concerns about workload, Vink said.

“This is all supposed to be decided on in late May and wrapped up by June.

“That gives us just over a month to try and figure out the workload the people leaving have had and then be able to school up everyone else who’s got to carry the burden on how to do those jobs before the person leaves.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former Interislander ferry Aratere is expected to arrive in Port Nelson later this week for the first time in nearly four months.

RNZ understands the ship, which has since been renamed Vega, will undergo a crew change and be restocked with fuel and provisions.

KiwiRail retired the ferry last August and announced in October it had been sold to a buyer who would deliver it to a shipbreaking yard in India.

Since being renamed Vega, the Interislander logos had been painted over and it is now flagged in the Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

It is still not known when the ship will leave the country.

It has been anchored in Tasman Bay since early December with a crew from India, who had been onboard since October.

A Maritime NZ spokesperson said inspectors last visited the vessel in mid-February while it was in Tasman Bay, and planned to do so again while it was berthed in Nelson.

Inspectors had been regularly engaging with Vega, its operator and flag state regarding crew welfare and compliance with international requirements, Maritime NZ said.

“During these visits, inspectors speak directly with crew and assess compliance with relevant international conventions and flag state requirements relating to crew conditions and vessel safety.”

The Maritime Union has previously raised concerns about the wages and living conditions of those onboard.

Nelson branch president Paul Stewart said he understood Vega was coming in to Port Nelson this week for a crew change, to get rid of rubbish and resupply with food and water.

The union was planning to board the ship, if the captain granted permission, to check on the crew’s welfare and ensure they were being paid correctly, Stewart said.

There had been lots of rumours floating around so the union were keen to speak to the crew directly, he said.

“We haven’t had any contact with them. You hear rumours floating around that they’re not getting paid right or one member wants to jump off because the conditions are bad and that sort of thing. So we just want to get on board just to verify everything, pull the crew aside and just have a chat with them and touch base – see how they’re actually doing and get some definitive answers.”

The union had previously said the crew were being paid “significantly below international and domestic benchmarks”.

Whether the ship would leave for India after coming into port or return to anchor in Tasman Bay was the “million dollar question”, Stewart said.

RNZ understands some crew had been swapped out from the ship, with one person flown home to be with a sick family member, while a delivery of five pallets of food supplies was made several months ago.

RNZ understands issues with paperwork for the ship’s entry to India are the reason it had not left New Zealand.

The Environmental Protection Authority last month said the application for the ship’s export was complete but it had not received an update from the Competent Authority in India about the requested import consent.

The authority told RNZ this week it was unable to provide an update.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Getting an annual influenza vaccine can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke by a third, according to the Immunisation Advisory Centre.

The centre said there was a growing amount of evidence which showed that getting the vaccine was about as effective as using common heart medication.

Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death in New Zealand, accounting for 12,000 deaths per year.

Since 2003, strong evidence has emerged demonstrating that the flu vaccine offered substantial cardiovascular protection.

This protection comes directly from reducing the risk and severity of influenza, plus likely further non-specific immune protection.

Dr Philip Shirley from the Immunisation Advisory Centre told Midday Report that it had been known for about 100 years that in a really bad flu season the number of people having heart attacks and strokes increased.

“More recently we’ve been able to show that if you take a swab of someone in the community and they have influenza, they’ve got a six to 10 times the base rate of having a heart attack for the next seven to 10 days after they’re proven to have influenza.”

That happened for two reasons, he said.

The first was if you catch the flu it goes into your nose and then your chest, he said.

“From there the virus can actually relocate, so into your heart and when it gets to your heart it can cause conditions like myocarditis, peridcarditis, kind of inflammation of the heart, but even more concerning it can actually move into the blood vessels.

“When it’s in the blood vessels it can disrupt plaques that are here and disrupted plaques are what causes heart attacks because they rupture, they block the blood vessel, and that’s a heart attack. If it happens in the brain then it’s a stroke.”

Another issue was that the lungs of those suffering from severe influenza did not transport oxygen as well as usual, he said.

“And because your lungs aren’t working properly your heart starts beating faster and harder and that’s a problem – that increases your risk.”

The main way that the influenza vaccine protects people is because it protects you from getting influenza which can cause heart attacks and strokes, he said.

The influenza vaccination also “changes the way that the heart responds to stress and inflammation”, he said.

“They did some really interesting studies where people undergoing open heart surgery, some of them had an influenza vaccine the week before, some of them didn’t.

“And when you measure their inflammatory markers after the operation, the people who had the flu vaccine had less inflammation and they showed less signs of heart stress, after one of the most stressful things you can do to your heart.”

A third way the vaccine helps protect people was with “trained immunity”.

“I think of it like this – if our immune system is responding to things frequently, if we’re getting vaccinated regularly, then the immune system gets stronger, not just against the target disease, but it protects you from a wide range of bio-illnesses.

“Nearly any illness you catch can increase your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke – not as badly as influenza, but it can a bit. And getting the flu vaccine every year seems to protect you from lots of respiratory illnesses.”

Dr Shirley said the biggest benefits of getting the vaccine would be for those with chronic health conditions or were over the age of 65, but there were also benefits for healthier people.

“If you’re a healthy person, getting influenza is no picnic. Your rate of heart attacks and strokes might be low, but even increasing a low risk of heart attacks or strokes by six or 10 times isn’t something I would want to be doing.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former Interislander ferry Aratere is expected to arrive in Port Nelson later this week for the first time in nearly four months.

RNZ understands the ship, which has since been renamed Vega, will undergo a crew change and be restocked with fuel and provisions.

KiwiRail retired the ferry last August and announced in October it had been sold to a buyer who would deliver it to a shipbreaking yard in India.

Since being renamed Vega, the Interislander logos had been painted over and it is now flagged in the Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

It is still not known when the ship will leave the country.

It has been anchored in Tasman Bay since early December with a crew from India, who had been onboard since October.

A Maritime NZ spokesperson said inspectors last visited the vessel in mid-February while it was in Tasman Bay, and planned to do so again while it was berthed in Nelson.

Inspectors had been regularly engaging with Vega, its operator and flag state regarding crew welfare and compliance with international requirements, Maritime NZ said.

“During these visits, inspectors speak directly with crew and assess compliance with relevant international conventions and flag state requirements relating to crew conditions and vessel safety.”

The Maritime Union has previously raised concerns about the wages and living conditions of those onboard.

Nelson branch president Paul Stewart said he understood Vega was coming in to Port Nelson this week for a crew change, to get rid of rubbish and resupply with food and water.

The union was planning to board the ship, if the captain granted permission, to check on the crew’s welfare and ensure they were being paid correctly, Stewart said.

There had been lots of rumours floating around so the union were keen to speak to the crew directly, he said.

“We haven’t had any contact with them. You hear rumours floating around that they’re not getting paid right or one member wants to jump off because the conditions are bad and that sort of thing. So we just want to get on board just to verify everything, pull the crew aside and just have a chat with them and touch base – see how they’re actually doing and get some definitive answers.”

The union had previously said the crew were being paid “significantly below international and domestic benchmarks”.

Whether the ship would leave for India after coming into port or return to anchor in Tasman Bay was the “million dollar question”, Stewart said.

RNZ understands some crew had been swapped out from the ship, with one person flown home to be with a sick family member, while a delivery of five pallets of food supplies was made several months ago.

RNZ understands issues with paperwork for the ship’s entry to India are the reason it had not left New Zealand.

The Environmental Protection Authority last month said the application for the ship’s export was complete but it had not received an update from the Competent Authority in India about the requested import consent.

The authority told RNZ this week it was unable to provide an update.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

More needs to be done to discourage the use of super-sized vehicles in urban areas – and not just because they guzzle far more petrol at a time when there are growing concerns over price and supply, says a University of Auckland professor.

Double cab utes and SUVs are regularly among New Zealand’s top selling new vehicles.

Their capacity to guzzle fuel is in sharp focus at the moment with prices rising at the pump, along with concerns about diesel which largely keeps industry moving, including freight and farming.

Those concerns have led to calls for more regulation to discourage people buying supersized vehicles.

Professor Alistair Woodward – from the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences – told Checkpoint that while bigger vehicles are still widely used in rural areas and by tradies in the cities, the big rise in buyers in recent years had been in urban areas.

“They are becoming used more and more as the family vehicle, so their use is pretty widespread.

“What has changed is that they have become very popular as an alternative to cars.”

Woodward said more people needed to be aware of how inefficient the bigger vehicles were – “A Ford Ranger uses roughly twice as much fuel per kilometre as a Toyota Corolla.”

But he said the bigger vehicles created a number of other challenges beyond the petrol pump.

“They are bad for the climate with twice as much carbon monoxide, and they are very nasty if they run into you and cause problems.”

He cited a recent study in the US which found that if a child was struck by a light truck, they were seven times as more likely to die than if they were struck by a car.

He said two ways to discourage the rising number of bigger vehicles on urban streets were things like higher sales taxes, and resisting pressure to supersize parking spaces.

“As these double cab utes and other vehicles get larger, they really have difficulty fitting in what used to be an adequate carpark, they cause overhangs and cause frustrations for drivers.

“Rather than taking up more space for parking, we should do something about restricting the use of supersized vehicles in urban areas.”

But Woodward said there did not appear to be much enthusiasm in the current government to make these kinds of moves.

“The previous government introduced incentives for lower emission vehicles and by implication higher costs for people who buy double cab utes. The present government felt that this was not justified, and they have removed that discount scheme.

“So we’re waiting for good moves, but in the 1970s we downsized our cars because of the oil shocks, so maybe we’ve got something to learn from 50 years ago.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

After a million hours of labour, Te Rua – Archive New Zealand’s brand new Wellington building – is now open.

The 10-level, $290 million building is described as one of the world’s most technologically advanced archive protection facilities and forms part of Te Kahu, a new heritage campus.

The campus, which sees Archives New Zealand and the National Library physically joined, includes Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and the Alexander Turnbull Library in its wider net.

Delivered on budget and on time, Te Rua has been held up as a win for public-private partnerships, but where the nation’s archives will ultimately be stored – and how much it will cost to do so – remains unclear.

Preserving windows into the past

Under the bright lights of the brand new Te Rua facility, research archivist Shaun McGuire points to a cluster of carefully laid out black and white photographs of the 488 Squadron.

“It was a fighter squadron that was sent to Singapore prior to the outbreak of hostilities with Japan. As you can see from their general posture, they’re green as grass and not particularly military,” he said.

“This chap here playing in the puddle – because it’s monsoonish – is Pete Gifford and the fellow playing with him is Len Farr. They’re both pilot officers.”

McGuire said the Brewster Buffalo planes they flew were outdated by World War II, and while Peter Gifford survived the war, others were not so lucky.

The photographs of the young men are but a taste of the historical material that will eventually be housed in Te Rua.

The bronze-accented state-of-the-art archive facility – boasting more than 19,000sqm of floor space and 90km of storage under tightly controlled environmental condition – will ultimately be home to millions of photographs, films and records, documenting the nation’s political, cultural and social history.

According to Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden, the new facility could not come soon enough.

“I think it’s a really awesome day for New Zealanders because it means that our nation’s history will be preserved. And I have to tell you, a couple of years ago when I went to visit the old archives building I could feel for myself that it was damp and that it was falling apart.”

She said it was “wonderful” that country will have preserved archival material for centuries to come.

“For all our children’s children.”

A public-private partnership

Van Velden, who is also deputy leader of the ACT Party, heralded the facility as a win for public-private partnerships over successive governments, with the contract signed under the previous Labour government.

While the taonga within the building and its fit-out is publicly owned, the building base and land belongs to Canadian Mutual Fund, PSPIB/CPPIB Waiheke Inc. and is managed by Australasian real estate assets manager Dexus – also the developer.

The 25-year lease agreement with the Crown has the option to extend for another 25 years.

A spokesperson for the Department of Internal Affairs said the rent has been fixed – with yearly increases agreed upfront and budgeted for – but the amount can’t be made public due to commercial sensitivity.

Van Velden said given the building’s specifications it would be unlikely for the lease not to be renewed.

She said collaborations between business and the public sector, highlighted the private sector’s expertise.

“Government has a lot of interest and expertise in particular areas, but they’re not building things all the time. They’re not experts in seismic strengthening.”

Dexus portfolio manager for New Zealand Phill Stanley said the Kaikoura earthquake in 2016 was a “learning curve for everyone”.

The site, which previously housed the quake-damaged Defence House, now featured a building on 36 base isolators that could drift up to 1.3m horizontally and up to 300mm vertically, during an earthquake, he said.

In order to meet UNESCO standards, climate control within the building must hold within ±1°C for at least 48 hours in the event of a power failure.

“In layman’s terms, we have built the most beautiful chilly-bin on base isolators.”

He said the project had been a career highlight and hinted at more partnerships with the Crown in the pipeline.

Space for taonga unknown

The relocation of more than 150,000 containers of historical material from the Mulgrave Street facility is currently underway.

A massive undertaking, that chief archivist Poumanaaki Anahera Morehu hoped would be completed by December this year.

However, Te Rua won’t be able to hold all the material – and how much it can take remains to be seen.

National Librarian Te Pouhuaki Rachel Esson said while there were estimates, they won’t truly know until the material has been shifted.

“Part of the process of bringing things over is we’re rehousing them. So some things have been in boxes that aren’t quite as good as they could be, so they’re being put in new boxes.

“Sometimes things have been crammed into a box so they might be split out into two. We’re just not quite sure yet exactly.”

Morehu said the new facility was never going to house everything contained in Mulgrave Street and anticipated the wider heritage campus – Te Kahu – would absorb overflow.

She said access to the archives was just as important as preservation.

“It’s all good to preserve it and hold on to it, but it’s no good if nobody’s got access to it.

“This is creating that opportunity and the campus is creating that opportunity, while it opens the doors to other facilities to think about how we play a role as archives and libraries in making this more collaborative and sharing.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Two bodies have been found inside a car that was discovered upside down in a stream in rural Wellington this morning.

Police, Fire and Emergency and Wellington Free Ambulance were called to the crash in Mākara just after 8am.

Fire and Emergency shift manager Alex Norris said crews arrived to find a car partially submerged in the stream on Mākara Beach Road – a narrow, winding road between Karori and Mākara Beach.

The bodies were found by police when they arrived at the scene.

The road was closed for several hours but has since reopened.

A local resident who did not want to be named said they could see the crash site from their home.

They said they saw at least four police vehicles, two ambulances and a fire appliance attending the crash as well as white blanket laid on the ground.

“Usually you hear stuff a night but we didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. Our neighbour told me it’s quite a common place where people go off there’s about a two to three metre drop from the road down to the stream.

“I’ve witnessed cars having a head on collision on the stretch before and a bunch of near misses. I haven’t really had a chance to let it sink in. I’ve talked to some of the locals this morning and they’re really shocked” he said.

The road skirts a small stream bordered by wire fencing down the bank from Mākara Road.

Mākara Village cattery owner Cody Stephens said he saw police cars and a fire engine fly past his property this morning, heading towards the beach.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The local makers of a temporary, reusable dam say it’s got the potential to protect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure across the motu from flooding.

Two councils that have dealt with the fallout from devastating storms time and again have bought Tarpaulin Makers’ ARK flood barriers, which they say are a quick and easy alternative to sandbags.

Wairoa civil defence crews deployed them for the first time last month, when the Hawke’s Bay town was forecast to be hit hard by a storm.

It escaped the worst of the weather so the barriers were not needed, but Mayor Craig Little said it was a good exercise.

“It just gives people a little bit of security,” he said. Plus, it was far easier than filling and lugging hundreds of sandbags around town.

“The cost of the damage from flooding afterwards far outweighs the cost of having those,” said Little.

The 14.5 metre long PVC tubes join together to create a continuous barrier, equivalent to 160 sandbags.

Once they’re filled with water – via a fire hydrant or water truck, in about ten minutes – they’re half a metre high, heavy and strong.

After a flood, they can be emptied, rolled up and stored.

Klint Brittain-Freemantle from Tarpaulin Makers is the brains behind the gear.

Well before he joined the Tauranga-based company he’d seen similar products overseas, but couldn’t find anything home grown so took up the challenge himself.

Living in Napier, he’d witnessed homes under water time and again, and then Cyclone Cook hit in 2017.

“I drove in from home and deployed it out the front of my workshop across our big front roller doors and office.

“The water came right up to the doors, and it basically stopped it getting flooded, the places next door to us got flooded, all through the workshop floors, but we weren’t.”

What’s now known as the ARK flood barrier, sold by Tarpaulin Makers, was born.

Brittain-Freemantle urged local authorities to consider them.

“It’s almost soul-destroying at this point because we’ve got this product that’s so good and we know it works so well, and seeing people getting flooded around the country, like the recent ones in Wairoa [after Cyclone Gabrielle] … something like 400 houses got flooded.

“Even if we would have saved a fraction of that, that’s huge for those people.”

Tarpaulin Makers owner and general manager Beni Hafoka said many communities had big plans for flood resilience infrastructure.

“They might take ten years to put in place, and in the meantime, communities need some short-term solutions,” he said.

“That’s what ARK is.”

While the product would not prevent major flooding, it could be used strategically, he said.

“In [Cyclone] Gabrielle, there was a particular power station that only just flooded up a couple of hundred mil.

“So if we had ARK wrapped around that power station, we save that power station.”

Tairāwhiti civil defence made the first purchase.

For controller Ben Green, it added an element of speed to flood response.

“You don’t have time, you’re dealing with something that’s situational, and the ability to rapidly deploy… that type of equipment … can be quite a game changer,” he said.

Green said they bought 10 at about about $4000 each, but the cost would come down for larger orders.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Filmmakers across indigenous cultures the world over are gathering in Ōtaki on the Kapiti Coast this week to connect and collaborate at the Māoriland Film Festival.

The film festival, which runs until Saturday, is now in it’s 13th year, having grown from simply a place for indigenous filmmakers to come together to screening more than 100 short and feature films this year.

Isobel and Dakoda are two young indigenous filmmakers from Australia who have been staying at Raukawa marae in Ōtaki as part of a cultural and filmmaking exchange between Victoria and Aotearoa.

“It feels very safe for us and I feel very connected to everyone here. We’ve been sleeping in the same room and we’re mainly outside just playing and that, so it’s good,” said Dakoda a Yorta Yorta, Wemba Wemba, Barapa Barapa and Wiradjuri woman.

Isobel a Djadjawarung woman from Gunditjmara land in Victoria said it’s been inspiring to see how connected Māori are to their culture.

She created a headpiece from emu feathers, echidna quills and kangaroo leather as a gift for former Māoriland festival director Libby Hakaraia who helped make their film a reality.

“So we put it into a headpiece just to show our culture and our connection to land to give to Libby.”

Head of Funding at the New Zealand Film Commission Ainsley Gardiner (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pikiao, Whakatōhea, Te Whānau a Apanui) said it was cool to see the students from Australia bring their films to Aotearoa.

“What’s incredible about that is that rangatahi who have been taught here at Māoriland how to make films have then gone over to Australia to teach other young people about how to make films and they’re also sharing culture. So it’s just this really dual, multifaceted experience for these young people.”

Bringing filmmakers together is one of the most successful things Māoriland does, she said.

“They bring together emerging filmmakers from around the world and they’re doing at a really grassroots level what we as a funding agency are trying to do at a really top level which is bring together filmmakers from around the world to make films together, to find ways to make co-productions.

“So there’s just a really kind of essential foundational thing that happens here which is about building those relationships which actually go on to make a real difference in our industry and in the industries around the world.”

Gardiner said despite the fact it was a really tough time for filmmakers at the moment she was never surprised by how good indigenous filmmakers are.

“It’s always quite tough to be a filmmaker. I think when I was starting out and when young people are starting out, the thing to remember is that filmmaking is not a career pathway. It’s an art form and actually finding your people and finding your tribe and actually making your stories and telling your stories with the people who understand them, for people who long to hear them, is the most important part of the process.

“So while the industry itself really struggles, I don’t think filmmaking as a kind of storytelling art is ever at risk of going away.”

It’s filmmaker Taniora Ormsby’s second year at the festival but first time with a film as part of the programme. He said one of his favourite things about Māoriland is how it brings so many different indigenous people together.

“Last year I was lucky enough to speak with people all the way from the other side of the planet, which I’ve never been able to do anywhere else except for here. To me, that’s part of the appeal, part of the reason why I came back, and to have my film shown amongst all these other amazing filmmakers, it’s a privilege.”

Ormsby’s horror short film Devil in the Gat is playing at Māoriland, exploring the ambitions of a young Māori musician, how far he’s willing to go to achieve his dreams and “how bloody they can be.”

“For Devil in the Gat, that’s where I started. I feel like the story of a young artist trying to break out into an industry is such a universal idea that when you naturally add the te ao Māori elements into it, it feels strangely like a good fit,” he said.

Ormsby said Māori were natural-born storytellers, so recontextualising the stories they had been telling for years would allow filmmakers to break out into different genres, like horror.

“A big kaupapa of mine is seeing Māori in genre spaces. I feel like we can tend to tell the same sort of colonial stories when it comes to movies, short films and TV. So I’m always excited to seeing us in different spaces like Māori horror, for instance. But who’s to say that we can’t be in a sci-fi or a comedy or all the other genres out there.”

“Māori horror” had recently drawn attention with the release of Mārama, which was directed by Māoriland alumni Taratoa Stappard.

Māoriland director Tainui Stephens (Te Rarawa) said it’s hard to believe how far the festival had come in 13 years, it started out simply as place for filmmakers to meet and get together.

“It’s an extravagant mix of cultures and beliefs. But everyone’s united with one aim, and that’s an indigenous heart. To do things for our young people, to tell stories that bring light and entertainment and meaning to our world.”

Stephens said more and more collaborations between indigenous peoples are happening in film and TV, pointing to the series Chief of War as one example. https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/screens/tv/a-hawaiian-epic-made-in-nz-why-jason-momoa-s-chief-of-war-wasn-t-filmed-in-its-star-s-homeland

“This is a chance for people to meet, swap ideas, to dream of collaboration. They leave here and many of them do it. It’s a beautiful thing to see,” he said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The local government minister has called Wellington’s mayor for an explanation of the huge water bills that residents are facing – and are forecast to hit almost $7000 a year by the end of the decade.

Wellington’s new water entity Tiaki Wai is a council-controlled organisation taking over Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua City Councils water assets from July.

It announced this morning that residents will face an average nearly 15 percent hike in water charges this coming financial year – from $2100 to $2400.

Those bills may rise by nearly a quarter the following year – and keep increasing – to reach an estimated $6800 per year for water services by 2036 as the water entity tries to fix old, failing infrastructure.

Local government minister Simon Watts said those costs were higher than he was expecting.

“I’m concerned for Wellington ratepayers again, you know we’ve got a long string of issues in this area.”

Watts said the plan that Tiaki Wai presented to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and the water regulator last year did not forecast such high costs.

He said he phoned Wellington’s Mayor Andrew Little about this today.

“I outlined to him that we received a plan from you which outlined a profile of cost increases, and as a result the entity has now published a price which is not in the plan, which is much higher, I need to understand, and have an explanation around that.”

A Tiaki Wai spokesperson said the Water Services Delivery plan it presented in August last year was based on the best available information at the time, and the organisation will continue to review its costs as investment plans develop.

Little said Tiaki Wai was responsible for what it sent to DIA last year, and he did not control or veto the organisation’s decisions under the new system.

He said he shared the minister’s concerns about bills, but the government campaigned on this model under its Local Water Done Well policy.

He said he will be scrutinising Tiaki Wai’s performance and pricing closely.

“If the increases follow the path that Tiaki Wai are saying, then people are going to expect high quality, that leaks are repaired quickly, also that they can contact their water company, at any time of the day.”

He wanted the Commerce Commission to be granted the power to intervene if water entity’s bills became unreasonable.

Watts did not confirm if the Commerce Commission would have the power to step in over sky-rocketing bills, but said he had called in the commission in this instance to work with Tiaki Wai and the councils over the projected prices.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said bills reaching nearly $7000 a year in a decade were horrendous, and could drive people away from the region.

“At those sort of prices, who’s going to be living here? I can’t pay $6000 in water, and $6000 in rates… we have to do something.”

She said while she supported the establishment of the water entity, and understood the scale of the work at hand, water charges still needed to be affordable.

Wellingtonians divided over jump in bills

Some Wellingtonians RNZ spoke to were worried about the charges due to cost of living pressures, while others said the region’s assets had to be fixed.

Dale said she did not look forward to the future knowing those charges lay ahead.

“That sounds pretty crap. I’m 28, so the way it will be, by the time I am 38, that doesn’t sound like I’ll be living a great life.”

But another resident Daniel Freese said the city had ignored failing assets for too long.

“I think it has to happen, I think we’re paying for under-investment over many years, and although it’s not good news, we just need to suck it up and pay for it.

“If we don’t pay now, we’re going have to pay later, and it’s going to be more.”

Resident Tom Arkell said he was keen to see water meters brought in for the city.

“I’d like to think we could bring in some pay-per-use water monitors, that we can actually incentivise people to use less water, and to track, and therefore they could pay within what they’re comfortable, rather than getting a fixed bill no matter how much water you use.”

Tiaki Wai is considering water meters, and the organisation expects they will take up to seven years to roll out across Wellington, and cost $590 million in total.

Peet yesterday told reporters the dire state of the region’s infrastructure could no longer be ignored after decades of under-investment.

“We know we’ve got a lot of leaks, we know we’ve got compliance issues with wastewater, and we all know that stormwater continues to be a significant challenge for many cities – but Wellington in particular.”

Peet said fixing the failed Moa Point plant – which has been spewing raw sewage into the sea for nearly six weeks – will be a top priority.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

More than four million New Zealanders are missing out on modern medicines languishing on Pharmac’s drug wish list.

A new report commissioned by Medicines New Zealand – a group representing the pharmaceutical industry – has shown hefty delays in funding medicines.

It found that 137 modern medicines have spent an average of six and half years on Pharmac’s ‘Options for Investment’ list – the drug buying agency’s top priority medicines list.

The report said 83 percent of those medicines are standard-of-care drugs in other countries, meaning they are the go-to treatments.

Medicines New Zealand is calling for ongoing material increases to the drug budget, so Aotearoa can catch up.

Chief executive Graeme Jarvis told Checkpoint it was the result of 30 years of under-investment in the medicines budget.

“We invest about a third of what the rest of the OECD does in their medicines budgets in terms of the publicly funded medicines budgets. So we’ve really got to look at a long-term corrective action that needs to be taken to try and get us towards that OECD average.”

From gathering publicly available information, including information from Pharmac, Jarvis said it will cost about $328 million to clear the priority medicines list.

“We think a step change approach should be looked at, and it’s really the year-on-year increases that we’re going to need to do.”

Jarvis said it would only take about one percent of Vote Health – the primary funding mechanism for the country’s public health system – to clear the list.

“At the moment, Pharmac’s getting about 4.9 percent of the vote health. So moving it to 6 percent of vote health, would actually see you in one year clearing that OFI list.

“Then you can start dealing with some of the other newer medicines that are coming through that have yet to be ranked as well.”

That would mean around an increase of $50-$100 million year-on-year to start moving towards the OECD average.

Jarvis said funding would potentially have to be reshuffled from other areas to cover the cost.

“Governments do this all the time and they move money around and, you know, internally within budgets or vote health would be in this case.

“The other option is that they have got operational allowance still available, despite what’s going on with the recent announcement around the potential relief. So there might be the potential to put $50 million in this year and then look at doing something next year as well – there is existing funding that is available for that.”

The drugs on the list covered a wide range of different conditions.

“Cancer drugs, there are rare disorder drugs, there are neurology drugs for mental health, epilepsy, chronic diseases like diabetes as well, heart failure drugs.”

Jarvis said that without the medicines, these diseases were having a massive material impact on the rest of the health system.

“So we’re ending up with essentially, unfortunately, our hospitals being literally the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

“It is well established that medicines can actually keep people in a primary health setting through GPs and community and away from what is the expensive end of town, which is really into the into the hospitals.”

While the cost to fund all the medicines may sound high, Jarvis said any medicine that had made the list was on there for a reasonable price.

“The medicines that are on these priority lists, there has been health technology assessment done. They’ve been found to be very cost effective and therefore they are value for money.”

Many of the drugs on the list were up to 15 years old.

“We’re talking often about products that are generics, you know all genericized, so they’re quite old, they’re not what we would call new medicines.

“Other countries that are poorer than us are very happy to fund these medicines because they see they are valued for money.”

Health Minister Simeon Brown’s office said he was not in a position to comment on funding as discussions were sensitive ahead of Budget Day.

He pointed to a record $604 million investment in Pharmac in 2024.

The minister said that money covered 33 new cancer medicines and 33 treatments for other conditions. But he said there was more to do to expand access to life saving and life extending medicines.

The Minister responsible for Pharmac David Seymour acknowledged that funding of medicines still took too long.

While Pharmac was achieving better outcomes for patients and increasing access, he said there was room for improvement.

He said when Pharmac was given the money it needed, it acted quickly.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Allegations of bullying against one of the most senior staff at Corrections were raised more than a month ago.

RNZ earlier revealed Corrections commissioner of custodial services Leigh Marsh was facing an employment investigation in relation to allegations of bullying.

On Wednesday, Corrections chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot confirmed the concerns were raised on February 15.

“No other formal concerns have been raised about this individual, and they have not previously been subject to an employment investigation.”

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

After receiving the concerns, advice was sought from the human resources team and support was put in place for the staff member who raised the concerns, Lightfoot said.

“The decision was then taken to undertake a formal employment investigation.”

Lightfoot said it was important staff felt confident raising any concerns.

“And as an employer I have a duty of care to ensure the ongoing privacy and wellbeing of those involved.

“For these reasons, it would not be appropriate for us to provide further details about this employment matter at this time. I acknowledge the public interest in the conduct of our senior leaders and Corrections is committed to being transparent about the findings of this investigation at the appropriate time and in line with our obligations under the Official Information Act and Privacy Act.”

In response to questions about the inquiry into Marsh earlier this week Lightfoot told RNZ he expected “high standards of all our staff and take any allegations raised about their conduct extremely seriously”.

“Corrections can confirm that concerns have been raised about one senior leader that will be investigated by an external independent investigator.

“The concerns raised relate to alleged conduct around management processes and bullying within the employment relationship.”

The staff member who raised the concerns with Lightfoot was “being supported while this employment matter is ongoing”.

He also confirmed three operational deputy chief executives, including Marsh, would be undertaking six-month secondments into different DCE roles within Corrections.

“I had already been considering moving the operational DCEs into each other’s areas later this year. This is because I believe these secondments will allow each operational DCE to deepen their understanding of each other’s respective areas so we can continue building a coherent, cohesive organisation. Their employment agreements were developed to allow such secondments to take place.

“The decision to do this now was brought forward to ensure that a thorough and fair employment process for both parties in relation to the above complaint can be carried out.”

The secondment sees Marsh move to DCE of Pae Ora.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

People who are not eligible for the government’s fuel relief package – including beneficiaries or those living in rural communities with no children – say it is a “kick in the guts”.

The government announced on Tuesday that more than 140,000 working families with children will get an extra $50 a week to help counter rising fuel prices, with another 14,000 families qualifying for a part payment.

The government said the payment will target those struggling the most, but people living by themselves, without children, receiving the pension and living rurally feel as though they have been squeezed out.

A Christchurch single mother – who works part-time and receives a benefit – said she was left with just $93 for food after her bills were paid and her petrol tank was filled up.

“That doesn’t even take into account if someone needs a pair of shoes, or the car breaks down. $93 is all that is left over, with this increase in petrol.”

Sarah* said the $50 boost would have made a big difference to her family.

“It means that you’re constantly having to mentally juggle what choices you can make and what you can afford. Everything has to be calculated because it is so expensive.

“You end up eating the same thing over and over and having to make a batch of bolognese and that just goes for a whole week.

“My poor daughter has to moan and groan because there’s hardly any food for lunch boxes.”

In the past three weeks, Sarah has had no choice but to go to her local food bank, twice.

“We don’t buy takeaways at all, so there’s no stopping for an ice-cream on the way home, obviously the ability to buy clothes is non-existent.

“I had to buy my daughter a pair of sports shoes on Sunday, that money had come out of the power and internet that’s due, so I have to find that somewhere which is probably going to come out of food.”

A mum living in rural Mid-Canterbury, who did not want to be named, said she has to drive more than 100 kilometres each way to get to work, costing her $180 per tank of petrol.

But because she and her partner’s combined income added up to $130,000, they were just over the threshold to get the $50 boost.

“We’ve cut the shopping bill, luckily we have a decent amount of land, so we grow our own fruit and vegetables.

“But there will be more of a focus on growing as much of a winter crop as we can, although we are an alpine village so we get a lot of snow, so that cuts down on what we can grow.”

A woman living in rural Otago – who also did not want to be named – receives the pension and works part time, alongside caring for her elderly mother.

She has to drive 20 kilometres into town often to take her mother to her GP appointments, but it meant she would have to cut down on other things to be able to afford petrol for the week.

“It will be like blankets and jerseys and going to bed early, rather than having the heating on, but here down south it does get pretty cold in winter.”

Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston was asked on Tuesday at Parliament about the assistance beneficiaries can access if they were struggling with fuel costs.

“One of the requirements at the moment is that they are fulfilling their obligations and if they have challenges meeting, for example, fuel costs, there is assistance available through MSD.

“I would always expect them to be talking to their case manager and to MSD about any challenges they face.”

But Sarah said it felt like a kick in the guts that the government had not taken single people and retirees into account.

“I just thought that was so offensive and a kick in the guts to block out, especially single parents who do work part-time, as non-working Kiwis.

“What’s the problem in supporting a parent to be a good parent? Is that not a form of work? I think to be excluded from that bracket was just so uncaring and humiliating.

“It feels like the sentiment is that being on a benefit is a choice, when it’s not a choice.”

The temporary $50 top up is being delivered through a boost in the in-work tax credit starting from April.

It is set to last a year or until the price of 91 octane petrol drops below $3 a litre for four consecutive weeks.

*Name changed to protect identity

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Source: Radio New Zealand

An Auckland man has died after being arrested by police in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill this morning.

Acting Auckland City District Commander Inspector Grant Tetzlaff said a critical incident investigation was now underway after the man’s death in custody.

The man was arrested shortly before 10am this morning on Morrie Laing Avenue, after officers responded to several reports of “a disorder”.

He was arrested without incident and taken to the Auckland District Custody Unit, where he collapsed.

An ambulance was called and first aid was given to the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tetzlaff said next of kin had been informed. He said support had been provided to the family, as well as police staff who had been involved.

“Several investigations will now get underway, including the critical incident investigation, which will examine the course of events this morning.

“As part of this process police have notified the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Conservationists in Otago are celebrating the return of whio to the Rees Valley after more than 50 years.

Southern Lakes Sanctuary staff spotted a pair of the endangered blue ducks on a recent trip to install a new trapline in the valley, north of Glenorchy.

Southern Lakes Sanctuary chief executive Paul Kavanagh said the sighting was very significant and exciting following years of predator control work by his organisation, the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust, Rees Valley Station, Ngāi Tahu and the Department of Conservation.

“Our staff were lucky enough to be watching a pair of takahē feeding beside a pair of whio on the river. It’s so exciting and I guess it’s validating for the work we’ve been doing in partnership with many people for quite a long time,” he said.

“This why we do this sort of mahi, so we’re absolutely delighted.”

Takahē were released in the Rees Valley last year but the whio had returned of their own accord, Kavanagh said.

“Whio are really good indicators of healthy waterways but also the threats that face whio are the same that face takahē and the same that face kea, so the work that we’re doing to protect takahē do have that kind of cascade impact,” he said.

Iris Scott, who has lived at Rees Valley Station for more than 50 years, said it had been a personal dream to see whio return.

“I remember seeing them when I first started farming here in the 1970s,” she said.

“Seeing whio again is beyond what I’d hoped for.”

The return of the river birds followed that of the western weka last year, which also had not been seen in years.

Southern Lakes Sanctuary trustee Estelle Pura Pērā-Leask (Ngāi Tahu, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Ruanui) said the return of the native species was of deep significance to mana whenua.

“For Ngāi Tahu the return of species like whio reflects the restoration of relationships between people, whenua and waterways and the responsibility of kaitiakitanga to protect them for future generations,” she said.

Kavanagh said conservationists hoped the whio would draw others to the area though it was too early to know if the whio were a breeding pair.

Whio were vulnerable to stoats and the new trapline in the alpine – consisting of 50 traps – would play a key role in protecting them, he said.

“Our conservation efforts, it just has to keep going. You can’t take your foot off the gas so hopefully this pair of whio stay in the area, others naturally return and we get a breeding population of whio soon.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A plan is needed to ensure Aotearoa’s food production is protected, says Eat NZ.

McCain announced yesterday it will close its Hastings frozen vegetable plant early next year.

Wattie’s has also proposed stopping all frozen vegetable production, as well as some other food products, which would see three manufacturing plants close.

Growers have also been feeling the bite from both rising fuel and fertiliser prices, and Angela Clifford – chief executive not-for-profit Eat New Zealand – says now is the time for a national food security plan.

“We tend to lurch from crises to crises without doing the work in between times to make us more resilient for the next time these crises arrive.”

Clifford highlighted the Hunger Monitor report, which showed that one in three Kiwi families struggled for food in the past year, and she says New Zealanders are losing access to their own food.

“That is often framed as our fault because we can’t afford it, but I would argue that there is also an opportunity for supermarket to ensure our own food remains on our shelves to create better long-term security for our country.”

Clifford said more and more of the food New Zealanders eat was imported, such as US butter being sold in supermarkets as the cheaper option, as well as the sourcing of supermarket homebrand lines from overseas.

When asked about this, Foodstuffs said nearly 70 percent of the products that it sourced for its own brand Pams was from New Zealand.

A spokesperson told RNZ that Wattie’s was a significant supplier of Pams frozen vegetables and other items and it was now looking for alternative suppliers.

Foodstuffs said it was always looking to work with local producers.

“At the same time, any supplier needs to be able to deliver consistent quality, reliable volume at scale, and good value for customers. Where New Zealand producers can do that, they’ll absolutely be part of the mix.”

Woolworths said about 45 percent of its own brand frozen vegetables were grown in New Zealand, and Wattie’s and McCain are not among the suppliers.

“Across our Own Brand range we will always look for New Zealand-sourced products where we can find solutions that meet our customers’ needs and offer them value.”

It added that it was a low-margin, high volume business.

“Of every dollar spent in our stores, around 62 cents goes to our suppliers. We keep about 2.3 cents and the remainder goes to paying wages and other operational costs, and investing in our store network.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A traditional symbol of connection will embrace visitors when they enter the arena at the $50 million Tūparikino Active Community Hub when it opens in New Plymouth racecourse in 2028.

With groundworks and design work done and the project on budget, the district council said, construction will begin in May.

The indoor arena will host sport, recreation and cultural activities, and feature six basketball or netball-sized courts that can be configured into 12 volleyball courts, 16 badminton or pickleball courts, or three futsal courts.

The façade design symbolises two interlocking hīnaki (woven eel nets), traditionally used by mana whenua to gather tuna (eels) from the nearby river.

Ngāti Tūparikino spokesperson Rita Rukuwai said it acknowledged the shared history of Ngāti Te Whiti and Ngāti Tūparikino, reflecting both the past and the future of the site as a place where communities came together.

“Tuna was a staple food source for Māori and represents the relationships woven over time between the two hapū, and the importance of their connection to the local landscape and waterways.

“We felt this represented not only the historical significance of this site, but also the connections that will continue to grow within the Tūparikino Hub. This place will see many different groups of people coming together for health, well-being and prosperity.”

New Plymouth firm Clelands Construction was awarded the construction contract for the indoor arena which would include an upper-level community space for local organisations and groups, a café, and event facilities.

Mayor Max Brough said the project was significant for the local economy.

“This will support jobs for more than 20 local subcontractors and suppliers at a time when the construction industry is feeling the pinch, so the benefits of this building work will flow back into our community.”

Brough said the stadium had been designed as a flexible and accessible space that could support a wide range of activities, from grassroots recreation and school groups to cultural performances, regional tournaments and everyday community use.

Additional playing fields inside the racecourse would be developed as further funding became available.

Sport Taranaki chief executive, Michael Carr, said the Tūparikino Hub would have far-reaching benefits for the region’s sport, recreation and well-being.

“Tūparikino will be a place that inspires people to be active, to connect and to belong.

“It will bring together people from across codes, activities, ages and backgrounds. The benefits will extend well beyond sport. It’s about health, confidence and community spirit.”

At a glance:

• The Tūparikino Hub will have a new indoor stadium and sports fields that could hold national sports tournaments and events such as kapa haka.
• Cost $50m.
• Groundworks started in late 2024
• Opening early 2028.
• An energy-efficient, low-maintenance building.
• The hub will share the site with Taranaki Racing, which has a 33-year lease.

Follow progress on @tuparikinohub on Instagram or find out more at npdc.govt.nz/Tūparikino.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Families of those killed in the Pike River Mine disaster fear the government’s proposed health and safety law changes will remove worker protections and risk another tragedy.

Sonya Rockhouse, who lost her 21-year-old son Ben, and Anna Osborne, who lost her husband Milt, told the Education and Workforce Select Committee on Wednesday they wanted health and safety laws strengthened.

A methane-fuelled explosion ripped through the Pike River coal mine in the rugged Paparoa Range on the South Island’s West Coast on 19 November 2010, killing 29 workers.

The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament last month and the government said it was intended to reduce death and injury rates while also cutting compliance costs by focusing on the most serious critical risks and reducing confusion.

But critics said the changes could weaken worker protections and result in more workplace injuries.

Osborne said her husband’s death was preventable, it was not bad luck or an act of God.

“He was killed by a company that put its profit ahead of his life and the lives of 28 others, and that was allowed to happen by years of people, sitting in the same seats you are now, weakening the health and safety laws and regulations again and again,” she told the committee.

“This should never have happened and the travesty of justice that followed is a blight on New Zealand’s soul.”

‘This bill takes that away’

Workplace health and safety laws were strengthened in 2014 after the mining disaster, which had kept workplace deaths and injury rates at bay despite the population of the country growing larger, she said.

“People could be confident in speaking up and employers began to feel they needed to listen,” she said, of the 2014 changes.

But that was still not enough and Osborne and Rockhouse wanted to a corporate manslaughter charge introduced in New Zealand law.

“Milt always looked out for his people – he was a volunteer fireman, a local councillor – I have always thought that among all the bad that came from Pike he would have taken some heart in the fact his death helped keep others safe even just by a little bit,” Osborne said.

“This bill takes that away. It takes it away from every person at work in New Zealand and it takes it from the memory and the legacy of Milt and all the men he is lying with in that shithole of a mine.”

The pair made the submission on behalf of Stand With Pike outlining their concerns with the proposals in the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill.

Rockhouse said Ben was a intelligent, articulate, gentle boy who believed people were good.

“I don’t know what he would have made of how hard we’ve had to fight for truth that should have been ours by right. We should never have had to fight, protest and campaign for justice, accountability or truth,” she said.

“I don’t even know what to think of this right now, of the fact that we are having to come here again to tell people yet again about the consequences of taking people’s rights to health and safety from them.”

Osborne and Rockhouse met with Workplace Safety Minister Brooke van Velden at Parliament last November on the 15th anniversary of the disaster.

The minister, who admitted she had not read the Royal Commission’s report on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy, and did not support the introduction of a corporate manslaughter charge, instead preferred to focus on “upfront guidance” for businesses.

Rockhouse said everyone had the right to go to work in the morning and come home safely.

“It feels like the authors of this Bill have failed to learn from history, they have wilfully ignored it and it makes me sick and angry”, Rockhouse said.

“To wind back health and safety despite the price our men and us – their families – have paid, despite the fact that all of New Zealand has seen that cost? Shameful does not even begin to describe it.”

‘Absolute conflict of interest’

Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March asked the pair about their concerns with the law change.

Rockhouse said both her sons – Dan was one of just two survivors from the disaster – told her if they tried to raise issues around health and safety, no matter how big or small, they were told to “just shut the F up and get on with your job, basically that was the mentality”.

Several miners told her they had been worried about an explosion at the mine and the chief executive had said, “if you don’t like it there’s the door, leave, you’re not in Australia now”, she said.

“It’s very hard in that context to think the CEO would have identified the appropriate critical risks under the financial pressure they were under.”

Osborne said methane levels in the mine peaked over 19 times in the two weeks before the explosion.

“Those 19 times the men should have been out of the mine and, until that mine re-ventilated, they should not have been allowed to work but [Peter] Whittle and the managers there wanted production to happen,” she said.

“It was almost like they were playing a game of Russian roulette – production over safety.”

Stand With Pike advisor Rob Egan said the Bill assumed the workplace health and safety regulator could police and provide guidance and consultation to employers.

“That’s exactly what happened at Pike River … it is an absolute conflict of interest,” he said.

Earlier this year police said they were nearing the final stages of the criminal investigation into the disaster.

Detective superintendent Darryl Sweeney said the investigation was legally complex and police had been working with the Wellington crown solicitor for more than 18 months.

Further investigation was still needed and an update was likely to be several months away, he said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A man linked to a religious organisation who is facing charges including rape and strangulation will keep his name secret for now.

The 45-year-old was granted interim name suppression when he appeared via audio-visual link in the Christchurch District Court on Wednesday.

The court heard 14 charges, including unlawful sexual connection, indecent assault, strangulation and rape, had been laid against him.

They related to four complainants, but the court heard other complainants had also now come forward.

The church the man was connected to had a presence in several south Pacific countries.

The man was remanded in custody without plea and would reappear next month.

Detective Senior Sergeant Colin Baillie said, on Tuesday, the man’s arrest followed several allegations.

“It is possible there may be other allegations that we are not yet aware of and I strongly encourage any survivor to speak with us,” Baillie said.

“Your voice matters, and you will be treated with respect. Our staff who work in this space are specially trained and any reports will be made in confidence and we will provide wraparound support.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 105 or use the online service referencing Operation Aurora or file number 260319/8197.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Firefighters have extinguished a blaze at a wreckers yard in Upper Hutt, but will still be there for some time.

Shift manager Murray Dunbar said they were called to the scene on Goodshed Road at 1.30pm, and at its peak, there were 13 trucks in attendance.

He said the fire was largely extinguished and the crews were moving into the mop up phase, dampening hotspots that might still be smouldering.

Fire and Emergency said crews would be on the scene for a while, assessing the burnt area inside the wreckers.

Dunbar said electric and petrol vehicles were at the yard.

Emergency services said there was traffic congestion in the area and was asking people to avoid the streets surrounding the incident.

Goodshed Road, Blenheim Street and Seddon Street were still closed

Meanwhile, a local nearby said the air was filled with thick black smoke combined with the sound of bangs and pops as bits exploded in the heat in the fire at the wreckers yard.

The witness said everyone was standing on Blenheim Road while Goodshed Road was evacuated.

He said it appeared the fire was mostly out now and crews were packing up.

The local said there was some traffic build up in the area as a result of the road closures.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Alarm bells are sounding about harsh reductions in appeal rights for migrants which could lead to families being separated by deportation.

Overseas right-wing sentiment, reporting of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) crackdowns in the US and fears about domestic migration could be factors driving policy change, says a top immigration and refugee lawyer.

Legal experts say strict rules already exist for migrants seeking to overturn deportations, and they fear that axing humanitarian appeal rights for temporary visa holders will potentially harm children caught in the crosshairs.

Law Society Immigration and Refugee Committee convener Simon Graham said current policy balanced individual rights and the public interest, but the proposed legislation would shift the goalposts against vulnerable people, especially children and families.

“You could have a child born here, only ever gone through the New Zealand educational system, seven, eight years of age, all the formative years, and then that child is now being asked to return back to a country, [with] language barriers, different educational system, whatever that might be.

“When a child is into that seven, eight-year period, a fundamental shift occurs. Generally speaking, child psychologists will say this is going to cause or this has the potential to cause a problem for this child. And these are the types of things that currently the system looks at and weighs up in the balancing exercise. But if that’s removed, who’s going to consider this issue or weigh it up?”

Concerns were widespread in the legal community, he added, and he was worried other governments’ policies could be creeping into New Zealand’s thinking.

“I do wonder, stepping back from it all, whether there is some overseas influence as we see in other jurisdictions. It’s a sort of hardening line in a lot of these areas, probably for good reason, in certain European countries and America, where there’s this excess and it’s causing problems, whereas I think New Zealand is different from that. I don’t think we have the same tensions – but possibly our policy choices are now potentially mirroring or lining up with some of these overseas jurisdictions.”

Deadline over appeals

The Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT) – which hears appeals against deportation, as well as residence and asylum application refusals – has seen a large increase in cases, as migration numbers have risen. In terms of deportation appeals among temporary migrants, its latest annual report shows 188 people lost and 174 won their cases.

Graham said a 42-day deadline already limited who could appeal, and the tribunal weighed up humanitarian circumstances against public interest concerns.

Under the Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill, migrants classed as visitors – which can include renewable partner and parent visas – would not be able to appeal on humanitarian grounds to the IPT at all.

“From a legal perspective, I think it’s unnecessarily harsh and unnecessary because there’s already systems in place to weigh the balance. This seems to be shifting the balance unnecessarily in one direction without any real justification for it. So it’s certainly harsh and it could potentially create very harsh and unfair outcomes in a certain percentage of cases.

“What parameters or safety nets are going to be put in place to substitute for the Immigration and Protection Tribunal process? Has that been thought about? And if it has, what is that process and who oversees it?”

The ‘Mama Hooch’ clause

Another proposal would extend the ability to deport people from 10 years after they become residents, to 20 years. Non-residents, such as temporary workers and students, would lose their chance to appeal deportation if they committed a crime.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford last week said New Zealand had “one of the most lenient criminal deportation liability regimes” compared to Australia, the UK, Canada, and Ireland, saying those countries all made residents liable for deportation indefinitely, including for relatively minor convictions.

She cited the notorious sex offending ring in Christchurch operated by rapist brothers Danny and Roberto Jaz who have been in New Zealand too long to be deported, under current laws.

Graham said that framing did not acknowledge the new law would strip appeal rights from less serious offenders, or who had immigration question marks.

“I noticed the minister made reference to the Mama Hooch guys as a general sort of overlay as to justify some of these changes to the policy, and being not able to deport these guys for serious criminal offending,” he said. “And that’s a legitimate question and consideration, I understand that. But I believe that the proposals also incorporate all the other reasons which would trigger deportation liability, which encapsulates for example, providing misleading information to immigration as part of a visa process.”

Auckland University’s Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies co-director, Professor Jay Marlowe, worried discussion about the bill and amendments also blurred important distinctions between migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.

The Jaz brothers are the children of Australian migrants, and arrived about 25 years ago as teenagers.

“I would be cautious about how the Mama Hooch case is being used in this context. It was an extremely serious case, but one that involved harm occurring over time within New Zealand, and raises serious concerns about how institutions responded to women’s complaints. Linking that case directly to asylum policy risks conflating different issues and shifts attention away from the need to address those underlying failures.

“Extending deportation liability to 20 years means we may be dealing with people who arrived as children and have grown up here, raising questions about responsibility and belonging. There are parallels with Australia’s section 501 deportations, which New Zealand has criticised – and it raises a fundamental question about whether we are managing harm here, or shifting responsibility elsewhere.”

Stanford has been approached for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Rain has set in across Northland ahead of a major deluge expected – though so far it’s steady rather than torrential.

Northland Regional Council data shows rain everywhere but the southern half of the Kaipara District.

• What’s the weather looking like at your place? Email us iwitness@rnz.co.nz

The MetService red heavy rain warning applies to the entire east coast from Doubtless Bay to Whangārei, from 4pm Wednesday afternoon until 4am on Friday. The rest of Northland is under an orange heavy rain warning.

Whangārei District Council is urging some people to leave their homes today.

Up to 320mm of rain is forecast, with downpours of 20-40mm/hr possible.

Northland Civil Defence expects the worst of the rain to hit the northeast coast on Thursday night.

A number of other watches and warnings are in place across the country in what MetService is calling an “impactful” weather event.

Heavy rain, potentially bringing dangerous river conditions, flooding and slips, could pose a threat to life, MetService has warned.

Residents are urged not to enter floodwaters, avoid travel, and evacuate quickly if you see rising water.

Follow the latest updates in our live blog above.

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