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What we’ve learned from citizen science: 5 projects that made a difference

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Signe Dean, Science + Technology Editor, The Conversation

Scientists can’t be everywhere all at once, as much as they’d like to. Many of the problems citizen science helps solve are concerned with spreading the net wider – or getting more helping hands on the task.

Biosecurity managers can’t make it to every regional town in their state. But if members of the public report suspicious species, such as through the popular iNaturalist app, they can take action.

Astronomers need more eyes to sift through vast databases of stellar explosions. Climate scientists can learn from our history, but deciphering the records takes time.

Below we introduce five citizen science projects where large numbers of people have contributed impactful results, or yielded new knowledge. Some of them even have new project stages you may be able to participate in.

Science lives far beyond the lab, and it’s not just done by scientists.

In this series, we spotlight the world of citizen science – its benefits, discoveries and how you can participate.

Atlas of Living Australia’s Biosecurity Alerts Service

Andrew Turley, Team Leader – Applications and Biosecurity – Atlas of Living Australia, CSIRO

Australia is one of the world’s most biodiverse continents, but we’re constantly at risk from introduced and invasive species. Even with current border controls, some pests, weeds, and diseases inevitably slip through.

The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is the nation’s largest open source biodiversity data source. In partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, a Biosecurity Alerts Service was set up to connect this trove of data – much of it collected through citizen science – with biosecurity managers across Australia.

The service delivers weekly email notifications to biosecurity managers about new reports of introduced and invasive species of concern in their area. In 2020, this led to the first report of globally invasive Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus). In 2024, an iNaturalist user recorded the first report of the invasive freshwater gold clam (Corbicula fluminea). Early detection allowed biosecurity managers to monitor and mitigate these species’ spread to other areas.

In 2025, an iNaturalist citizen scientist recorded Siam weed north of Brisbane. This record was more than 1,000km from the nearest known infestation, near Townsville. The resulting alert allowed Biosecurity Queensland to eradicate the new infestation. Likewise, reports of the tree cholla cactus, red imported fire ants, honey fungus and many other species have triggered local responses.

This work ultimately helps protect our environment and agricultural systems from the impacts of these introduced and invasive species.

The Biosecurity Alerts Service is ongoing, and every week we send alerts to biosecurity managers across the country. If you use one of the ALA-linked apps – such as iNaturalist, eBird or FrogID, among many others – and choose to share your data publicly, the data you collect will be automatically checked as part of the service.

If you’re lucky, you may even be contacted by a biosecurity officer for more information or to collect a sample to help confirm the species. To get involved, just be curious, visit the outdoors with a biodiversity app, and make sure to record anything that looks odd or out of place.

Person's hand holding a small pinkish crab.

The Asian shore crab was detected in Victoria thanks to reports such as this one on iNaturalist. Melissa Allen/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC

Climate History Australia

Linden Ashcroft, Senior Lecturer, Climate Science and Science Communication, University of Melbourne

There are millions of valuable weather observations scattered across the world that only exist on paper. It would take thousands of lifetimes for scientists to transcribe these precious records on their own.

But with the help of citizen scientists, we’ve been able to rescue these vital observations from being lost to time. The data they provide have improved the coverage and accuracy of global data models used to understand how our climate is changing.

Climate History Australia was modelled on similar projects from the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Scanned images of historical weather data from the National Archives were split into chunks, allowing people to help us rescue these observations in a manageable way at home.

Across two projects in 2020 and 2021, more than 1,700 citizen scientists transcribed at least 67,400 weather observations recorded in the 19th century. The journals contained meticulous weather data including descriptions of the clouds, type of rainfall, and other activities of the day. The project attracted amazing volunteers, including students, historians, and people who wanted to contribute to climate science.

Thanks to the recovered data, we have now filled gaps in weather observations in Adelaide and Perth, allowing us to build near-continuous records of the weather of these two cities back to 1830 and 1843 respectively. We now know more about extreme weather events in Australia, which is so important because changes in the extremes are what will affect us the most as the world warms.

The rescued data have also fed into global weather and climate datasets, improving our understanding of weather and climate change in the entire Southern Hemisphere. While there are no active Climate History Australia data rescue projects, similar activities are happening in Ireland, Africa and Italy.

Weather observations such as these journal pages from the 1840s have helped reveal the past climate of South Australia. National Archives of Australia

Kilonova Seekers

Duncan Galloway, Associate Professor in Astrophysics, Monash University

Since 2023, the Kilonova Seekers citizen astronomy project has been sharing the excitement of transient astronomy, engaging citizen scientists in the discovery of some of the most exciting and energetic events in the universe.

Transient astronomy refers broadly to the study of cosmic objects that vary with time. Many types of normal stars, particularly those that have an orbiting companion, vary in brightness.

But of particular interest are short-lived explosive events that produce gamma-ray bursts, such as the supernova explosions of massive stars, or rare collisions between pairs of neutron stars.

Kilonova Seekers provides observations from the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) telescope network to members of the public. GOTO collaboration members Lisa Kelsey from the University of Cambridge and Tom Killestein from the University of Warwick built an image comparison platform on the popular Zooniverse website.

To contribute, participants were invited to play “spot the difference” by comparing new images to old and looking for changes. This work helps astronomers to distinguish genuine new objects in the sky from imaging artefacts and other spurious signals.

Animation of the GOTO0650 outburst, made from GOTO’s all-sky survey images. GOTO, T. Killestein, University of Warwick and K. Ulaczyk

The project has attracted thousands of volunteer observers and yielded more than 200 discoveries to date. A major discovery was published last year – an extremely bright star explosion, GOTO0650, captured as it took place. Once flagged, astronomers were able to look at it more closely with Earth-based and space observatories. The object was so bright, amateur astronomers could capture high-quality images, too.

Kilonova Seekers has just gone through a hardware and software upgrade and relaunched in February this year – so you too can have a hand in trying to discover new objects in space.

Mozzie Monitors

Craig Williams, Professor and Dean of Programs (STEM), Adelaide University

Mosquitoes are the world’s deadliest animal. It’s crucial for health departments and local governments to keep up mosquito surveillance to protect public health. But it takes a lot of resources to do so, leading to gaps in the system.

Launched by the University of South Australia in 2018, the Mozzie Monitors program comprised two main activities citizen scientists could help with. The first was setting low-tech mosquito traps at home and taking photos of the collections so experts could identify them remotely. The second was submitting mosquito images to the project page on the iNaturalist platform. It has been an amazing collaborative effort nationwide, with thousands of records submitted.

Originally, the program aimed to expand mosquito surveillance in Australia, detect exotic mosquitoes entering the country, and educate the public about mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.

It has since evolved to assisting remote communities in exotic mosquito surveillance, tracking mosquito-borne viruses, and running an education program in South Australian and Northern Territory schools. Hundreds of students aged 5–17 have participated in learning activities and even trapped some mosquitoes.

We designed and built Mozzie Monitors as we went along. It’s led to new mosquito trapping methods citizen scientists can use, has taught the participants a lot about mosquitoes, helped to establish a mosquito database with new species records, and even led to the discovery of mosquitoes not previously known to be in Australia.

The project continues to grow and evolve. In the Northern Territory, the small town of Tennant Creek has experienced repeated invasions of exotic dengue mosquitoes. Currently, readers in the Northern Territory anywhere between Katherine and Alice Springs, can become involved in Mozzie Monitors Tennant Creek. While Tennant Creek is the focus, we would dearly love to have participants across the region.

Citizen scientists on iNaturalist can report observations of exotic mosquitoes, such as Aedes aegypti which carries dengue. grace-murray/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC

WomSAT: Wombat Survey and Analysis Tool

Julie Old, Associate Professor in Biology, Zoology and Animal Science, Western Sydney University

Hayley Stannard, Associate Professor in Animal Anatomy and Physiology, Charles Sturt University

Wombats are ecological engineers – they dig burrows to sleep in during the day and protect them from predators, but these burrows also provide shelter for other animals. Turning over the soil when they dig their burrows also helps plants grow, moving nutrients and water through the soil.

Due to their importance to ecosystems, there is a need to understand more about wombats and where they live, so that we can manage threats and aid their conservation. Sadly, wombats are at risk from several threats – these include collisions with vehicles, a devastating disease called sarcoptic mange, and habitat loss.

Started in 2015, WomSAT is a citizen science program that allows the public, researchers and wildlife carers to record evidence of wombats across Australia. It collects real-time data on wombat sightings – dead or alive, the location of their burrows, and whether they appear to be affected by mange. Wildlife carers also use WomSAT to track the treatment of sarcoptic mange.

To date, the impacts have been significant: WomSAT has been pivotal to determining roadkill hotspots and tracking sarcoptic mange, and even the factors that affect mange occurrence. In collaboration with the Wombat Protection Society of Australia, the project also created online training courses for the public who have an interest in wombats and wish to learn more, and for wildlife carers on how to safely treat sarcoptic mange in the field.

WomSAT is an ongoing project. Anyone can become a “wombat warrior” by logging sightings of wombats on WomSAT to help identify roadkill hotspots and track the occurrence of sarcoptic mange. You can also follow #WombatWednesday on social media.

– ref. What we’ve learned from citizen science: 5 projects that made a difference – https://theconversation.com/what-weve-learned-from-citizen-science-5-projects-that-made-a-difference-279096

Kiwis aren’t getting their five-plus a day – vege boss

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Process Vegetables New Zealand chair David Hadfield said there has been a significant drop in the demand for frozen vegetables. Unsplash/ Yoav Aziz

At a time when both Wattie’s and McCain have announced factory closures, supermarket retailer Woolworths says sales of frozen vegetables have been declining.

Process Vegetables New Zealand chairman David Hadfield said there has been a significant drop in the demand for frozen vegetables, noting that diets and demographics are changing in Aotearoa.

“With Uber Eats etc, there’s not a lot of vegetables in the package that you get to eat. You know there will be a piece of meat, potentially some rice, or you might have potato and a sprinkling of vegetables on top – not the amount that you would have if you cooked the meal at home.”

Hadfield added that they were pushing through programmes in schools to teach year seven and eight children how to cook vegetables, but despite this “consumption seems to be dropping”.

He said with the current cost-of-living pressures they expect demand for cheaper frozen vegetables will increase, but added supermarket profit margins were not helping the situation.

According to Woolworths, 62 cents of every dollar spent in stores went to suppliers, describing their business as “low-margin, high-volume”.

“We keep about 2.3 cents and the remainder goes to paying wages and other operational costs, and investing in our store network,” a spokesperson said.

According to Stats NZ, the cost of fruit and vegetables combined [https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/selected-price-indexes-february-2026/

increased by 9.4 percent between February 2026 and the same time last year].

Meanwhile,Ministry of Health figures for the 2024-2025 year showed just 6.8 percent of adults on average were eating the recommended portions of vegetables.

President of United Fresh New Zealand Incorporated and 5+ A Day, Jerry Prendergast, said he had not seen a drop in demand for fresh vegetables, but he echoed Hadfield’s comments about having to compete with more processed fast food options.

Prendergast said he felt for families under pressure and there was a place for the likes of Uber Eats, but said fresh produce from supermarkets or other retailers remained a cheaper and healthier alternative to takeaways.

“There’s some exceptionally good value out there. Right now you’re into the change of seasons with your autumn crops, so we’re seeing more of the celery, silver beets, spinach being available [and] cabbages and cauliflower and even broccoli at this time of year.

“So, utilising what’s in season is the ideal for consumers to reduce their cost of living.”

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

Car crashes into hedge in Auckland’s Stanmore Bay

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Hato Hone St John says it was notified of the incident on Vipond Road, at 10.26am today. RNZ/Nick Monro

Emergency services have rushed to a single vehicle crash in Stanmore Bay, on the Whangaparāoa peninsula north of Auckland.

Hato Hone St John says it was notified of the incident on Vipond Road, at 10.26am on Wednesday.

It responded sending one ambulance, one operations manager and one rapid response vehicle to the scene.

Hato Hone St John says it was notified of the incident on Vipond Road, at 10.26am today. RNZ/Nick Monro

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

A high-risk bird flu strain is circling the globe. How prepared is NZ?

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jemma Geoghegan, Professor and Webster Family Chair in Viral Pathogenesis, University of Otago

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 – particularly the 2.3.4.4b lineage – has transformed the global disease landscape over recent years.

What was once largely a poultry disease causing occasional severe illness in humans is now a multi-species threat, affecting wild birds, mammals and increasingly, entire ecosystems.

Despite more than five years without incursion, H5N1 2.3.4.4b is edging closer to New Zealand, raising questions about how long our isolation will hold.

Importantly, spillover events – when a virus jumps between species – have become more common, with large outbreaks reported among poultry and dairy cattle in North America.

Human infections remain rare and are mostly linked to close contact with infected animals. But every spillover event gives the virus another chance to evolve, even without sustained human-to-human transmission.

Why hasn’t it reached Oceania yet?

The current H5N1 strain is unprecedented in both scale and scope.

Its host range now spans hundreds of bird species and an increasing number of mammals, including foxes, mink, cattle and marine mammals. This expansion reflects increased exposure and the virus’s ability to adapt to new hosts.

Geographically, the virus has spread across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and, more recently, the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions, with sustained transmission among wild bird and mammalian populations.

Yet Oceania has so far remained free of H5N1 2.3.4.4b. This is largely due to geography and bird migration patterns. Many migratory birds that carry H5N1 move along northern hemisphere flyways and do not typically reach New Zealand.

However, New Zealand hosts large numbers of migratory birds via the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, including shorebirds that can carry avian influenza viruses, although they are considered a lower-risk reservoir.

This map shows locations where confirmed or suspected cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Antarctica and subantarctic islands have been reported to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, CC BY-NC-ND

There is also the possibility of a “growing our own” problem. Low pathogenic influenza viruses circulate naturally in wild birds in New Zealand. Under the right conditions, particularly in poultry, these can evolve into highly pathogenic forms.

This risk is not hypothetical. A recent poultry outbreak in New Zealand caused by an H7N6 subtype likely arose from local low pathogenic viruses in wild birds.

While distinct from H5N1 incursion, the consequences could be similarly devastating. Although this outbreak was contained to a single farm, it underscores how quickly events could escalate if early transmission is not controlled, stretching resources and prolonging response efforts.

Given the close proximity of New Zealand’s poultry and cattle populations, transmission to dairy cattle could challenge our key primary industries. This has happened independently on several occasions in North America.

Risks to New Zealand’s wildlife

New Zealand’s wildlife is particularly vulnerable to H5N1. Many native species are already under pressure from habitat loss, climate change and introduced predators.

The arrival of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus would add a new and potentially severe threat, particularly for small or isolated populations.

Taonga species, including seabirds, shorebirds and endemic waterfowl, may be especially at risk. New Zealand wildlife has had little to no exposure to these viruses, and therefore limited opportunity to develop any resilience.

Species that breed in dense colonies, such as tītī, albatross and penguins, could be particularly vulnerable to rapid spread and mass mortality events.

The risks are not confined to birds. The impact of H5N1 2.3.4.4b on marine mammals has been severe. This is well illustrated by the plight of elephant seals.

Recent deaths of northern elephant seals in critical breeding colonies in California are concerning, but the impact of the virus on southern elephant seals threatens the viability of populations in South America and the sub-Antarctic.

Transmission between marine mammals may be important, highlighting risks to other vulnerable populations.

Southern elephant seals and pakake, the New Zealand sea lion, share similar habitats, including beaches in New Zealand’s South Island. An outbreak of H5N1 in breeding colonies in the sub-Antarctic and populations in Otago and Rakiura could set back recent conservation efforts.

Why vigilance is NZ’s best protection

Vaccination has been explored internationally, particularly in poultry, as a way to reduce disease burden and transmission.

In New Zealand, precautionary vaccination programmes have been implemented for a small number of taonga species held in captivity.

However, vaccination is not currently a practical or effective option for free-ranging wildlife populations. As such, prevention and early detection remain the primary tools available.

Wildlife surveillance has increased in recent years, including targeted sampling of wild birds and environmental monitoring at high-risk sites. To date, there is no evidence of H5N1 2.3.4.4b in New Zealand.

However, surveillance systems are limited in their ability to detect rare or early incursions. Ongoing vigilance, including public reporting of sick or dead wildlife, will be critical for early detection and response.

Ultimately, New Zealand’s strongest defence remains time and preparedness

The country’s geographic isolation has bought it a window to strengthen surveillance, improve coordination across wildlife and agricultural sectors and build public awareness. But that window will not remain open indefinitely.

The global trajectory of H5N1 suggests that incursion is a matter of when, not if.

Ensuring rapid detection, strong biosecurity measures and the capacity to scale interventions will be critical to limiting impacts on Aotearoa’s wildlife, primary industries and ecosystems.

– ref. A high-risk bird flu strain is circling the globe. How prepared is NZ? – https://theconversation.com/a-high-risk-bird-flu-strain-is-circling-the-globe-how-prepared-is-nz-278541

Do you have travel plans this year? What you need to keep in mind

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Christopher Walsh, the founder of the financial advice website Moneyhub, is halfway through an extensive business and pleasure trip through Europe, Africa, the US, and various stopovers in between, including Qatar.

When I first spoke to him for this story, he was in Sierra Leone. By the time I got around to asking some follow-up questions, he was in Liberia.

The Middle East conflict and the resulting fuel price surge have upended his trip, just as they have for other New Zealanders overseas. His return flight is – or was – through Qatar, under bombardment of Iranian drones and missiles. The result is a closed airspace and limited flights through what is normally a busy travel corridor for New Zealanders.

Christopher Walsh, the founder of personal finance website, Moneyhub, at a restaurant in Liberia during a recent trip.

supplied

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

Hunt for the Wilderpeople: Ten years of ‘the most New Zealand film ever made’

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Sam Neill has seen iconic New Zealand film Hunt for the Wilderpeople twice. The first time was its premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, and the second was last night at a 10th anniversary screening in Auckland.

“You had no idea what was going to happen there [at Sundance], whether the American audience are going to respond to it at all, but they were amazing,” Neill told RNZ at the Auckland cinema screening on Tuesday night.

The film tells the story of young urban misfit Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison), who sparks a national manhunt when he and foster ‘uncle’ Hector (Neill) escape into the bush.

New Lynn Reading Cinema was packed with fans for the special event, some young enough to be seeing the Taika Waititi-directed film for the first time.

A rollcall of stars showed up to mark the occasion including Waititi and actors Neill, Rachel House, Rima Te Wiata, Rhys Darby, Oscar Kightley, Troy Kingi, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Cohen Holloway, Mike Minogue and Hamish Parkinson.

Noticeably absent was the film’s young star, Julian Dennison, currently overseas filming How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Rhys Darby said the movie struck a cord with international audiences because it captured the Kiwi spirit in a way few had.

“I think this is the most New Zealand film ever made in some ways because of the comedy, because of the plethora of characters… how we kind of interact with each other,” Darby said.

“It’s so New Zealand and I think that really resonated with everyone overseas because it was like, ‘wow, these people are different, but they’re funny’.”

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

Gurjit Singh murder: Rajinder sentenced to 17-year jail term

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Rajinder was found guilty of murder following a High Court jury trial last year. RNZ

The man who murdered Gurjit Singh at his Dunedin home will spend at least 17 years behind bars.

The 35-year-old, known only as Rajinder, was jailed for life with a 17-and-a-half year non-parole period, when he appeared in the High Court on Wednesday morning.

Justice Dunningham told Rajinder he callously killed a man who trusted him.

She also ordered him to pay more than $8000 in reparation payments.

Singh, 27, was found dead on the lawn of the property in January in 2024 after being stabbed more than 40 times.

Rajinder was found guilty of murder following a High Court jury trial last year.

During the trial, the Crown said Rajinder left DNA evidence at the scene and lied to police, while Rajinder’s defence lawyer called the evidence flawed and said his client had no motive for murdering his former employee.

A complicated love triangle was aired during the trial involving Singh, his widow Kamaljeet Kaur and Rajinder.

Prosecutor Richard Smith said Kaur rejected Rajinder’s marriage proposal through a broker in 2022 before marrying Singh the following year, and Singh had also rejected Rajinder’s plan to marry his sister.

He said both rejections were motive for murder, with the killing happening shortly before Kaur was due to arrive from India to live with Singh.

But Defence lawyer Anne Stevens KC called the argument a Crown “fantasy”, saying Rajinder was not upset to find out she had married Singh and it was instead Kaur’s family who approached his family twice to pursue a marriage.

She said he had been happily married since January 2023.

Smith said the day before the murder Rajinder had bought a “murder kit” including gloves, a knife and neck gaiter, but Stevens said it did not make sense for her client to buy the items using his own bank account, suggesting they were brought for his work as a fibre-optic cable technician.

In summing up, Justice Dunningham said there was no dispute that Singh was violently attacked but the jury needed to decide whether Rajinder was responsible.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Rajinder’s wife Gurpreet Kaur admitted getting rid of evidence in the murder investigation.

Evidence of her involvement was suppressed during the trial until she pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at the High Court.

She admitted hiding her husband’s shoes in a bathroom bin after police visited her workplace and told her Rajinder was being charged. Tiny fragments of glass consistent with a shattered window from the murder scene were found on the shoes.

Gurpreet Kaur will be sentenced in July.

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

Allbirds set to be bought by American Exchange Group

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Allbirds footwear company was founded by former All Whites and Phoenix footballer Tim Brown but is now based in the US. Supplied

New Zealand-founded but US-listed footwear company Allbirds is set to be bought by American Exchange Group, a brand management company known for acquiring under-performing consumer labels.

Its US valuation once peaked at US$4.2 billion, but the company was recently threatened with delisting from the Nasdaq after years of falling sales and widespread store closures.

Allbirds’ board has accepted a US$39 million offer from the group, though shareholders still need to approve the deal. The deal is worth around $NZ69m.

The sale would see the Allbirds brand, its intellectual property, and parts of its operations transferred to the buyer – and the listed company wound down.

Allbirds, known for its merino wool sneakers, was founded in 2015 by former All White Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger, and listed on the Nasdaq in 2021.

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

Beauty pageant contestant breaks norm, busting out hectic moves

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A Thailand beauty pageant contestant is making waves on social media after busting out some bold dance moves on stage.

Darathorn Yoothong, a professional dancer, made headlines around the world for going against the tide in the scene as fellow contestants stood swaying to the music in their spot during the swimsuit segment dance.

More than 70 contestants from various provinces in Thailand were competing for a chance to represent the country at the Miss Grand International competition.

“I just truly be myself but this is honestly unbelievable than i ever imagine,” Yoothong wrote on her Instagram after seeing all the attention online.

“Thank you so much for the love from everyone all around the world. I promise I’ll be back stronger and even more fun.”

The judges placed her withing the top 20 of the final rankings.

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

Business pressures mostly out of owners’ control – survey

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Insurer Vero’s annual SME Insurance Index indicates more than one in five (21 percent) businesses were not confident in their own business. 123RF

Business confidence is under pressure, with nearly two-thirds of small- and medium-sized businesses experiencing a drop in revenue over the past year – with income down a quarter for a further 17 percent.

Insurer Vero’s annual SME Insurance Index indicates more than one in five (21 percent) businesses were not confident in their own business, with just 36 percent feeling confident.

Vero executive general manager Sacha Cowlrick said businesses were under pressure to cut costs, but warned against dropping insurance.

“Having adequate [insurance] cover could be the difference between folding under pressure and finding a way through.”

External concerns dominate

The survey of 550 SME business owners found most were experiencing pressures outside of their direct control, including increasing costs (88 percent) and the economic downturn (83 percent).

Political upheaval was also a concern for many. Changes to tax policy (69 percent), regulatory changes (61 percent) and political instability (61 percent) were top of the list.

“This is compounded by the current volatile global landscape, adding another layer of unpredictability to an already complex operating environment for SMEs,” Cowlrick said.

“There is no doubt that there are very real macro-pressures concerning SMEs, but it’s critical that business owners focus on the things they can control in order to give them the best chance of weathering the storm.”

Resilience tested

Nearly half (47 percent) of businesses said they never or rarely conducted formal risk analyses, with more than half (53 percent) operating without any structured risk management framework, though six in 10 businesses expected to face at least one major operational risk this year.

The survey found about a quarter (24 percent) believed their business was very resilient.

“Business resilience isn’t just about bouncing back after an event. It’s about understanding your exposures and making informed decisions before something happens,” she said, adding that an insurance broker could help businesses develop a resilience strategy.

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

Commerce Commission receptive to $1.14 billion Cook Strait power cable request

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Three power cables run across Cook Strait and Transpower would like to add a fourth. Supplied / Transpower

  • Commerce Commission set to approve $1.14 billion replacement of the Cook Strait power cables
  • National grid operator Transpower needs regulator approval to spend
  • Current cables 35 years old, near end of life
  • Transpower wants to add fourth cable to improve capacity and resilience
  • ComCom seeks public submissions

The Commerce Commission says it is inclined to approve a Transpower request to spend $1.14 billion to upgrade, replace, and expand the Cook Strait power cables.

The state-owned national grid operator wants to replace the current 35-year-old cables, which are coming to the end of their operational life, and add an extra cable.

Major capital spending by Transpower and electricity lines companies must be approved by the regulator to ensure they do not take advantage of their monopoly positions.

Associate Commissioner Nathan Strong said the cables were critical electricity transmission infrastructure and vital for national security of supply.

“Installing a fourth cable at the same time unlocks an additional 200MW of capacity, which can reduce long-term electricity market costs and enable the development of lower cost renewables generation in the South Island.”

The commission is asking for [https://www.comcom.govt.nz/regulated-industries/electricity-lines/projects/hvdc-link-upgrade/

public submissions] on the proposal.

Strong said approval of the first stage of the project now would allow necessary ordering of equipment and cable and for work to start in 2028, and cable replacement in the early 2030s.

“The investment would be added to Transpower’s total asset base and recovered gradually over the many decades the equipment is in service.

“Under the benefits based pricing method, these costs would be shared between electricity consumers and generators who benefit from the HVDC (high voltage direct current) link,” Strong said.

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

‘Not an easy decision’: Corrections chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot leaving organisation

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Source: Radio New Zealand

National Commissioner of Corrections Jeremy Lightfoot. RNZ / Diego Opatowski

Corrections chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot has been appointed as the new boss of the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport.

Lightfoot, who has held the role since 2020, emailed staff on Wednesday morning saying he wanted to “share some personal news”.

“This has not been an easy decision, and it is not an easy message to write.

“What makes leaving hardest is, without question, the people. Over my time in Corrections, I have had the privilege of working alongside exceptional people in every part of this organisation; people who care deeply, work hard in often demanding circumstances, and make a real difference through the critical work we do each day.”

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

Lightfoot said Corrections was an organisation with a “serious purpose”.

“The work we do matters enormously, for public safety, for the people in our care, for whānau, and for the communities we serve. That sense of purpose, and the commitment of our people to it, is something I will carry with me always.

“After more than six years as chief executive, I believe the time is right to hand over the reins to someone new. There is never a perfect time to leave a role like this, but with some really important foundations now laid, and a clear direction for where the organisation is heading, I believe Corrections is well set for the future”.

Lightfoot said his focus remained on supporting a “good transition, maintaining momentum, and doing all I can to leave the organisation well”.

“I know I will not have the opportunity to see and thank many of you personally before I leave, and I regret that. So, I want to say this now, clearly and sincerely: thank you.

“Thank you for what you do. Thank you for the professionalism, resilience and humanity you bring to this work. And thank you for all you have contributed during my time as chief executive.”

Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche announced Lightfoot as the secretary and chief executive for the new Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport in a statement.

He said the new ministry would “will tackle many of New Zealand’s major economic and environmental challenges, working to unlock the potential of our cities and regions to drive economic growth, resilience and quality of life”.

“The secretary for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport will lead the new ministry, working with local government, Māori, and the private sector to coordinate planning, investment, and regulations to deliver local solutions.”

Sir Brian said Lightfoot was an “impressive, experienced leader with a reputation for delivery”.

“Mr Lightfoot has led large workforces, including front‑line and multi-specialist workers. He knows how to bring that mix of skills together to achieve results,” said Sir Brian.

“He understands how to get policy, funding and delivery working in step and has worked closely with councils, Māori and communities – experience that matters for the challenges the Ministry has been established to address.”

Lightfoot has been appointed for five years and will take up his new role on 27 April.

According to Corrections’ website Lightfoot joined Corrections in May 2010 as the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Director for the Wiri Prison Project where he was responsible for the design, development and procurement of New Zealand’s first PPP to combine design, build, financing and operation of a prison.

“He’s since held various leadership roles within Corrections, including general manager of Finance, Technology and Commercial, and National Commissioner, where he was accountable for the operation of 18 prisons and 165 community corrections sites. Before his appointment as chief executive, he was deputy chief executive, Corrections.

“Jeremy has extensive public sector and commercial experience both in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.”

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

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Restrictions on Good Friday, Easter Sunday alcohol sales could be gone by weekend

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Alcohol sale restrictions could be gone by long weekend. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Some restrictions on Good Friday and Easter Sunday alcohol sales could be gone as soon as this long weekend.

A member’s bill from Labour MP Kieran McAnulty would amend the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act to allow allow premises that are already open on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Anzac Day morning, and Christmas Day to sell alcohol under normal licence conditions.

Currently, bars or restaurants can only sell alcohol if the patron is “residing or lodging” on the premises, or “present on the premises to dine”.

McAnulty said the legislation would clear up a “confusing law” that had been in place for a long time.

“Just because something’s always been that way doesn’t mean that that’s a good reason to keep it,” he said.

The general requirement is that patrons have to order a ‘substantial meal’, but McAnulty said that was not defined, and patrons were not required to eat it anyway.

“That is a bit of a farce of a situation. So all we’re doing is clearing it up that those businesses that are already able to operate anyway can do so under normal conditions, and those that can’t like off-licences and supermarkets, they remain restricted, but for those on-licences that are already operating, they can do so normally.”

The bill is up for its third reading on Wednesday. Exactly when depends on other legislation scheduled to be debated first.

If the bill passes, it is possible it may receive Royal Assent on Thursday, in time for Good Friday.

Kieran McAnulty RNZ / Angus Dreaver

McAnulty said the timing was a “sticking point,” but as some government bills were scheduled to receive Royal Assent on Thursday he was hopeful his could be included alongside those.

“It’s quite fortuitous timing, I think, the way that it’s played out. And really, we’re at the mercy and availability of Her Excellency, and I’m not of a mind to flick a text to the Governor-General and ask for a solid, so I’m quite happy with the way that it’s played out, and hopefully it does follow through.”

Parliament treats alcohol legislation as a conscience matter, meaning MPs vote according to their personal view or what they think is best for their electorate or community, rather than as a party bloc.

It means some of McAnulty’s own Labour colleagues may choose to oppose his bill, but the MP was optimistic he had the numbers across the House to pass.

McAnulty’s original intent was to allow any premises that was allowed to operate on those public holidays to sell alcohol, which would have included supermarkets but not bottle shops.

But he said it was changed to keep things simple, and only apply it to on-licence venues.

“It’s proven to be the right decision, because we’ve maintained enough support in Parliament,” he said.

“I know that if we’d stuck with off-licences or supermarkets, there are people that would have withdrawn their support, and it probably wouldn’t have passed.”

An amendment proposed by ACT MP Cameron Luxton has been adopted into the bill.

ACT MP Cameron Luxton. VNP / Phil Smith

Luxton’s amendment means bars can open after midnight on Anzac and Easter holidays. McAnulty said that was consistent with the intention of the bill, and he was happy to support it.

“I know that the hospitality businesses in Christchurch are very happy about that, because when their stadium opens and people leave, they won’t have to then be kicked out of the hospitality businesses at midnight because it’s Anzac Day the following day.”

McAnulty, a Catholic, was less concerned with religious opposition to the bill, but understood why people might be opposed on health grounds.

“It’s a valid concern, but because the bill only targets those on-licensed premises that are already able to operate, it’s actually not going to expand the number of premises that can provide alcohol. It just means they don’t have to jump through these ridiculous hoops in order to be able to do it.”

This is not the only piece of legislation that would liberalise alcohol trading laws to pass through Parliament this term.

The government is working through its own piece of legislation to allow restaurants with on-site retail spaces to sell take-home alcoholic beverages, if they also sell takeaway food or non-alcoholic beverages prepared by the business.

Luxton’s own member’s bill to repeal alcohol restrictions on Good Friday and Easter Sunday was voted down at first reading in 2024.

Another bill by National’s Stuart Smith to allow winery cellar doors to charge visitors for samples and add off-licence categories for wineries holding an on-licence passed successfully through the House in 2024.

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Easter weather: Calm before a possible storm – heavy rain forecast for parts of country

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Source: Radio New Zealand

MetService said it had “moderate confidence” a heavy rain warning will be needed for the ranges of central and northern Westland. Julia Sudnitskaya / 123RF

A calm start to the Easter break will be followed by potential heavy rain to parts of the country, forecasters say.

“It’s a little bit windy at the moment but that southwesterly is starting to ease and then we get to bask in the calmness of high pressure for the next couple of days before the high moves to the east on Friday,” Heather Keats, MetService head of weather news, said.

“There will be a couple of little features leading up to the weekend with the next series of fronts approaching the South Island on Friday. Those fronts move over the island on Saturday.”

That will allow a “northwesterly flow over southern and central New Zealand to strengthen ahead of a series of fronts approaching from the northwest”, MetService said in its severe weather outlook update.

“There is low confidence of rainfall accumulations reaching warning amounts during the second half of the day in the ranges of Westland, also also for southern Fiordland.”

[embedded content]

In the lead-up to the long weekend, Wednesday will see isolated showers nationwide, but otherwise “quite settled” weather.

“Thursday, which this week is the new Friday, is even better with the only real showers likely for Fiordland and for Stewart Island,” Keats said.

“On Friday … the North Island is still fairly decent, but those showers develop in the west of the South Island early in the day and will turn to rain later in the day.

“And on Saturday, those fronts will dish up heavy rain to both western and eastern parts of the south. Could be some watches and warnings for the start of Easter.”

The forecast for Sunday, 5 April. MetService

MetService said it had “moderate confidence” a heavy rain warning will be needed for the ranges of central and northern Westland, and low confidence for southern Westland and Fiordland before noon.

“There is also low confidence of heavy rain for central and southern Canterbury, eastern Otago and northern parts of Central Otago.”

On Sunday, the bad weather will move slowly north across the South Island.

“There is low confidence of warning amounts of heavy rain during the first half of the day for the ranges of central and northern Westland, and for all of Canterbury. There is also low confidence of heavy rain for northwest Tasman and Buller, but this continues all day.”

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Australians ‘getting better deal on Easter eggs’

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Source: Radio New Zealand

An economist has compared the price of New Zealand Easter eggs with those in Australia. Cybèle and Bevan / Unsplash

New Zealanders are paying more for their Easter eggs than shoppers across the Tasman, one senior economist says.

Westpac economist Satish Ranchhod has compared the price of Easter treats in New Zealand with those in Australia.

He found a chocolate bunny had the biggest price difference – one that was NZ$9 here was NZ$5.99 in Australia.

A bag of mini chocolate eggs was NZ$7 in New Zealand and the equivalent of NZ$5.39 in Australia.

A 10-pack of chocolate hollow eggs was 73c cheaper in Australia.

Even hot cross buns were 73c cheaper across the ditch. A multi-pack of cream-filled mini chocolate eggs was NZ$1.61 cheaper in Australia.

Only a single cream-filled chocolate egg was cheaper in New Zealand. It was 40c dearer in Australia.

Earlier, RNZ reported that Easter egg prices this year are higher than last year’s, probably on the back of higher prices for ingredients.

Ranchhod said he considered whether the difference in price could be due to GST but that did not seem to explain it.

“It could be that there’s higher import costs in New Zealand, since we’re slightly further away from some of those big markets. But it’s quite surprising that the Aussies are getting these better prices for these sweet treats at Easter.”

He said items seemed to be on special at the same time in both Australia and New Zealand, so it was also not due to different discounts.

Waiting a bit longer could help reduce the price, he said.

“We do tend to get a little bit of last-minute discounting for these items, and if you’re really frugal, maybe you can wait till Tuesday after Easter and pick up a few bargains on those items that didn’t sell.”

Ranchhod said people who wanted chocolate and weren’t worried about what it looked like could save money by buying traditional blocks.

“If we looked at the price of that chocolate, it was still a much better deal to get a block than it was to go get the chocolate eggs or the bunnies. It’s not as much fun, but it’s much better value for money.”

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Trucking firm says fuel bill has increased 110% due to Middle East conflict

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The trucking and tourism sectors are struggling with rising fuel costs. RNZ / Unsplash

A trucking sector veteran says the soaring price of diesel is the worst he’s seen in his 35 years in the industry.

The US and Israel’s ongoing war on Iran has caused a global fuel crisis which is now in its fifth week as Iran continues to block most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz which is used to transit about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas.

It has hugely disrupted key supply chains and pushed Brent crude oil over $115 a barrel, pushing up prices at the pump.

The price of diesel has nearly doubled in the space of a month since the conflict in the Middle East.

In New Zealand on Wednesday morning, the Gaspy website showed the price of diesel was $3.51 on average – more expensive than the price of unleaded 91 priced at $3.43.

David Hill, general manager of Hawke’s Bay’s Emmerson Transport, said their fuel bill had gone up 110 percent, and they had no choice but to pass that on to their customers.

“In the 35 years I’ve been involved in the road transport industry, we’ve never seen increases of this magnitude,” he said.

“Most operators obviously are having issues with funding that,” he added.

The huge increase in the price of diesel is hitting the trucking sector. 123RF

Hill said prudent operators would take into account the “Fuel Adjustment Factor” (FAF), and set their rates at the end of the month for the following month.

However, he said some operators were on fixed price arrangements – such as quarterly pricing – and would not be able to adjust their prices.

Hill said his company had taken a hardline approach to FAF, and their customers had been understanding.

“Most responsible corporates these days accept what the situation is and work with their providers… because we’re gonna do nobody any favours the stakeholders or our staff – if we go outta business due to the fact that we’ve not recovered the fuel FAF.”

Hill said the current situation was comparable to the diesel spike during the Global Financial Crisis – but he added that even then, the New Zealand currency had a stronger exchange rate to the US dollar than now.

Tour bus operator forced to implement fuel surcharge

Meanwhile, a tour bus operator has had to implement a fuel surcharge to accommodate for the growing diesel prices.

Ready 2 Roll offers tours and airport transfers in the central North Island.

Director Carleen Dahya told Morning Report they had seen nearly a $100 increase at the pump in just over a week.

“Already a vehicle that was costing us $140 to fill up a week and a half ago is now $250.”

Dahya said they were currently charging a 12 percent surcharge, but the effects would take time to flow through.

“We’re not going to start to recover that until sort of a month’s time because we’ve honoured bookings that we’ve already got because it’s not their fault – it’s not our fault, but we’re the ones who have to wear it.”

She said even with adding the 12 percent on, with the cost of diesel, the numbers were tight.

“It’s going to be an interesting process moving forward, how many times we have to increase our surcharge to keep up with the fuel increases.”

Dahya said the current situation was a nightmare.

“With the diesel prices as well as road user [charges], it’s going to kill us.”

She said they were also seeing a trend of people cancelling due to disruption the fuel crisis was having their travel plans.

Finance Minister says tax relief won’t work

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has rejected any tax relief for the transport industry saying it would not work.

Nicola Willis faces questions on the fuel crisis last month. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

She acknowledged the diesel price was very high saying it reflected the fact that diesel was one of the fuel’s that had been most disrupted by the crisis in the Middle East.

“It’s cost to get into New Zealand has gone up considerably and that’s where you’ve seen the biggest price rises.”

Diesel users pay their road tax through the road user charge, where as petrol users just pay it at the pump as the tax is added to the price of their fuel, she said.

“The challenge we face is that if we were to take away that tax that would put a half billion dollar hole in our road funding which would only multiply every time you extended that reduction … and then we would simply not have enough funding available to maintain our roads.”

She said officials have also been clear that there may come a time when road users would be asked to conserve fuel.

“Our officials have been very clear that sending a price signal that you’re taking away a tax at the same time as you’re asking for restraint doesn’t make sense, it’s very contradictory.”

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New Zealand WWII pilot’s watch found in Germany more than 80 years later

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The watch found in Germany. Supplied

When Tom Metcalfe left for England to fly bombers in the second world war, he took a watch given to him by his parents for his 18th birthday in 1941.

His little sister Sandra was just 12 when he left. She is now 97, and does not like to talk on the phone. Her daughter Louise Taylor, who lives with her in Kaitaia, told First Up Sandra’s memories of her brother leaving are tinged with sadness: “She didn’t see him after that.”

Metcalfe and his crew were killed when their Wellington bomber was shot down near the German city of Cologne as they returned from a night raid in September 1942.

Their bodies were buried near Cologne before being moved to the Rheinberg war cemetry.

Years, possibly decades later, a local man found a mangled watch with an inscription in English. “Tom, from Dad and Mum”, with the date 18th of July 1941.

After the man died, his widow saw Uwe Benkel being interviewed on TV about his work identifying servicemen who were missing in action. Benkel’s helped recover more than 150 aircraft, including the remains of 60 missing crew members. It was a deeply personal mission for Benkel. Two of his uncles were killed on the eastern front in World War Two, he was able to locate the grave site of one shortly before his father’s death.

“When I told him where his brother is buried in the cemetery in Russia, he was crying like a little kid,” Benkel told First Up.

He was tasked with finding the owner of the watch, but was incorrrectly told it was from a Wellington bomber that had crashed much later in the war.

“I didn’t get a connection from the crash to the watch, so I kept the watch in my archives until nine years later,” he said.

On the other side of the world, New Zealander Paul Kercher was doing his own research. Kercher’s great uncle Walter was another casualty of the Second World War.

Walter had been a frontgunner in a Wellington bomber, and several years ago Kercher found an online article stating Walter’s plane had crashed near Cologne, with a reference to a watch being found years later.

Late last year, Kecher found another German website with details of the crash, including his great uncle’s death certificate. Through that he got in touch with Manfred Weichert, another german crash researcher, and Benkel.

They were able to work out the flight number, and the crew list. The pilot was listed as Thomas Metcalfe, and his birthday matched the date on the watch.

“All of a sudden those pieces connected like a puzzle,” said Benkel.

The next task, establishing if Metcalfe had any surviving relatives. Kercher put a post on the New Zealand Remembrance Army Facebook page.

Soon he was in touch with Greg Bennett, Tom’s nephew, who then put him in touch with Louise and Sandra, Tom’s sister.

The precious watch was currently on its way to Kercher from Germany. Kercher planned to personally hand it to Tom’s sister Sandra this month, with Anzac Day a distinct possibility.

“It’s still hard for us to believe” said Louise Taylor. “I think it’ll be more believable for us when we actually get it in our hands.”

For Benkel, he was glad the watch could finally be returned: “We don’t make no difference if it was Germans, Americans, British, New Zealand, because they all were young guys and they had to fight and they had to give the only thing they had, they gave their lives.”

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

Murderers, money troubles and Malcolm: April’s Best TV

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Margo’s Got Money Troubles

This new dramedy from uber-TV producer David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, Big Little Lies) stars Elle Fanning as Margo, a college dropout navigating unexpected motherhood and a mountain of debt. To make some fast cash, she launches an OnlyFans account, which quickly gains success after she uses pro-wrestling branding tactics learned from her estranged father.

Based on the novel of the same name, the show has spared no expense assembling a powerhouse cast that includes Nick Offerman as Margo’s wrestling dad, Michelle Pfeiffer as Margo’s mum and Nicole Kidman as a family mediator.

Michelle Pfeiffer and Elle Fanning in Margo’s Got Money Troubles.

Apple TV+

Watch: Apple TV+

When: 15 April

Should I Marry a Murderer?

Well, no, obviously. But what if you didn’t know the love of your life was a murderer until after all the wedding invitations had been sent out? Still, a no to be honest, but this is the horrific question Caroline Muirhead had to face after her fiancé confessed that he’d literally gotten away with murder.

This new true crime series investigates the case of ‘The Vanishing Cyclist’ named after a charity rider who disappeared in the UK without a trace, and shows how Muirhead covertly gathered evidence against the love of her life and the emotional turmoil his confession wrought.

Caroline Muirhead in Should I Marry a Murderer?

Netflix

Watch: Netflix

When: 29 April

Kevin

Breakups are never easy, yet for all the debate over who “gets” the pet, surprisingly little thought is given to the animal’s own preferences. This new adult animated comedy runs with that idea and sees the titular house cat choosing to break up with both of his owners after their relationship implodes. The show follows his journey into independence as he navigates life as a freshly single cat.

The voice cast is impressive. Aubrey Plaza, the show’s co-creator, voices one of the spurned owners and is joined by Jason Schwartzman as Kevin, alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Amy Sedaris, and John Waters. With the talent involved, Kevin should be the cat’s pyjamas.

Adult animated comedy Kevin.

Amazon Content Services LLC

Watch: Netflix

When: 20 April

Euphoria

The show that was a lightning rod for controversy due to its unflinching, high-fashion and, some would say, gratuitous depiction of teenage life, returns after a four-year break.

The eight-episode third season follows the original cast members, Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, and Jacob Elordi, as they leave their wild teen years behind and transition into a (presumably) more mature adulthood.

With series creator Sam Levinson teasing a new film noir aesthetic, the addition of Natasha Lyonne and Sharon Stone to the cast, and themes of sobriety, student debt, ongoing trauma and the trifecta of drugs, sex and love, it sounds like the show has no plans to settle down.

Zendaya in Euphoria.

Neon

Watch: Neon

When: 13 April

David Lomas Breakthrough

The veteran investigative journalist returns with a brand new series that, admittedly, is a lot like his previous shows. Once again, Lomas accepts the seemingly impossible cases and helps New Zealanders solve lifelong mysteries or track down their long-lost loved ones.

Expect plenty of emotional journeys as Lomas looks for the breakthrough that will bring closure, relief or reunite people.

David Lomas Breakthrough

ThreeNow

Watch: Three

When: 14 April

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair

Hot on the heels of the Scrubs revival, another beloved noughties sitcom returns to our screens. This four-part miniseries finds an adult Malcolm, now a father himself, reluctantly returning home for his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary.

With the original creator back at the helm and most of the original cast returning (bar a recast Dewey), initial reports are promising that the revival has successfully recaptured the show’s manic, middle-class chaos, already sparking rumours that a full new season could be on the cards.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair.

Disney+

Watch: Disney+

When: 10 April

Extra Viewing

My House My Castle

Comedian Hayley Sproull looks for the funny in the housing market while experts help regular houseproud Kiwis renovate or relocate.

Comedian Hayley Sproull.

Matt Dwen

Watch: Three / Three Now

When: 8 April

Apex

Charlize Theron stars in this high-stakes survival thriller about a woman being hunted by a ruthless predator through the Australian wild.

Taron Egerton as Ben and Charlize Theron as Sasha in APEX.

Kane Skennar/Netflix

Watch: Netflix

When: 24 April

The Great British Bake Off

The 16th season of the popular baking competition show pops out of the oven as new contestants look to impress the judges with their sweet delights.

Presenters and judges on The Great British Bake Off.

Laura Palmer

Watch: TVNZ 1

When: 9 April

Karl Puschmann is an arts and entertainment journalist, and also runs Screen Crack, a popular Substack dedicated to deep-diving into film and television. screencrack.substack.com.

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

Peaky Blinders The Immortal Man: why mythic figures like Tommy Shelby continue to captivate us

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adriana Marin, Lecturer in International Relations, Coventry University

Tommy Shelby returns in Netflix’s new Peaky Blinders film, The Immortal Man, a figure defined by control, composure and calculated violence. He navigates risk, trauma and conflict with an almost unnatural endurance. No matter the pressure, he adapts, survives and remains in charge.

The Immortal Man follows Shelby as he navigates a tightening web of political intrigue and criminal threats beyond Birmingham, forced to operate at a higher, more dangerous level while struggling to maintain control. As power shifts and new alliances form, he is pushed into more dangerous territory, balancing strategy, loyalty and survival, while his past continues to shape his decisions.

Irish actor Cillian Murphy delivers a masterful performance, capturing Shelby’s authority while hinting at the strain beneath the surface.

As the film’s title suggests, Shelby reflects a broader cultural archetype: the “immortal man”. He is not literally invincible, but rather resilient – a character who absorbs damage without collapsing, who endures where others fall apart.

This figure appears consistently in crime drama – Vito and Michael Corleone in The Godfather, Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas, Tony Soprano in The Sopranos – and its popularity reveals something important about how we understand crime, masculinity and power.

Criminology has long challenged the idea that criminal figures are inherently irrational or chaotic. The “enterprise model” of organised crime reframes criminal activity as structured, profit-driven and responsive to market conditions.

From this perspective, participants resemble entrepreneurs operating within illicit economies rather than criminals. Tommy Shelby fits this model closely. His actions are calculated, with violence deployed as a means to an end rather than an impulse.

The emphasis falls on strategy, recognising opportunity, managing risk and consolidating power in ways that echo legitimate business practices. This framing shifts crime away from images of chaos and unpredictability, presenting it instead as controlled and methodical. Yet rationality alone is not enough to account for his appeal.

Masculinity, control and contradiction

Cultural criminology, particularly the work of Jeff Ferrell, draws attention to the symbolic and emotional dimensions of crime. It is not only about material gain, it is also about identity, meaning and representation. Shelby is not just an economic figure but a cultural performer. His authority is constructed through style, symbolism and reputation.

Control, in this sense, is not only exercised but communicated: his presence, speech and appearance are tightly managed, projecting authority through restraint as much as action. This stylisation makes organised crime seem structured and, for some audiences, appealing. The “immortal man” is therefore not just a survivor, but a figure who appears to master both his environment and himself.

This performance of control is inseparable from masculinity. Sociologist R.W. Connell’s concept of “hegemonic masculinity” (the dominant form of masculinity in society that shapes expectations of how men should behave) helps explain Shelby’s appeal.

He embodies authority, emotional restraint and the capacity to command. He leads decisively, conceals vulnerability and maintains dominance across different spheres of life. Yet what makes the character compelling is the tension within this model. Shelby’s authority is shaped by trauma – war, loss and psychological strain.

He aligns with the ideals of dominance while simultaneously revealing their cost. The “immortal man” is defined not by being invincible, but by his ability to endure and keep going under pressure.

In this sense, masculinity is not just power, but the ability to maintain control while carrying internal damage. Shelby intensifies this model, presenting a form of dominant masculinity rooted in survival, where dominance is sustained through emotional containment rather than the absence of vulnerability.

This tension reinforces a familiar expectation: that masculinity is proven through resilience without visible collapse. At the same time, it adds complexity, presenting strength and fragility as intertwined rather than oppositional.

An older man and his son sitting in a garden talking.
In The Godfather both Michael Corleone and his father Vito exhibit the same tight control in terms of their own emotions and the people around them. Pictorial Press / Alamy

Sociologist Robert Merton’s strain theory suggests that when access to legitimate success is limited, individuals adapt by pursuing alternative routes.

Shelby’s trajectory reflects this logic. He does not reject the pursuit of wealth, status or influence, but he reworks the means of achieving them. Organised crime becomes a rational response to constraint, blurring the boundary between legitimate and illegitimate enterprise.

This is what gives the figure such resonance. Shelby appears to overcome structural limits while maintaining control, offering a version of success that feels both transgressive and recognisable. His appeal lies not only in what he achieves, but in how he achieves it: with certainty, authority and self-possession in contexts where those qualities feel increasingly scarce.

The endurance of this figure reflects wider cultural anxieties. In periods of instability, characters who impose order and act decisively become especially attractive. At the same time, as traditional models of masculinity are questioned, the “immortal man” offers a reassertion of clarity: an identity grounded in independence and dominance.

Shelby represents more than a criminal figure. He becomes a cultural response to uncertainty, embodying a form of masculinity and authority that promises control, even as it quietly reveals the strain required to sustain it.

Rethinking the ‘immortal man’

The issue is not that audiences engage with these narratives, but that their underlying assumptions often go unexamined. The “immortal man” ties together masculinity, power and violence in ways that appear natural but are, in fact, constructed. Authority is best demonstrated through domination, that emotional restraint is a marker of strength, and that success justifies the means by which it is achieved.

These associations are reinforced through repetition. Criminological research offers a more complex picture. Organised crime is rarely as stable or controlled as it appears on screen. It is often characterised by volatility, exploitation and harm, frequently directed at the most vulnerable.

What figures like Shelby offer, then, is not a reflection of reality, but a compelling simplification of it, one that continues to resonate because it speaks to enduring questions about power, identity and control in uncertain times.

There is, ultimately, nothing immortal about men like Tommy Shelby. What endures instead is the narrative itself: a story that continues to resonate because it speaks to persistent anxieties about inequality, control and the limits of legitimate success.

– ref. Peaky Blinders The Immortal Man: why mythic figures like Tommy Shelby continue to captivate us – https://theconversation.com/peaky-blinders-the-immortal-man-why-mythic-figures-like-tommy-shelby-continue-to-captivate-us-279417

Why has it taken so long to return to the Moon?

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Domenico Vicinanza, Associate Professor of Intelligent Systems and Data Science, Anglia Ruskin University

At 13:24:59 Central Standard Time on December 19 1972, the Apollo 17 command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, about 350 nautical miles south-east of Samoa, concluding the last mission to the Moon.

During his career, Apollo 17’s commander, Eugene A. Cernan, logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in space, of which more than 73 hours were spent on the surface of the Moon. Cernan was the second American to have walked in space, and the last person to leave his footprints on the surface of the Moon.

The conclusion of the Apollo 17 journey marked not only the end of a mission, but the close of an era. Between 1969 and 1972, 12 astronauts walked on the Moon over the course of six separate landings.

Half a century later, Nasa is preparing to return under its Artemis programme. For the Artemis II mission, set to launch on April 1 2026, four astronauts will travel in a loop around the Moon in Nasa’s next-generation Orion crew capsule.

More than 50 years is a long gap, and it is only natural to ask if Americans could reach the Moon routinely in the early 1970s, why did it take so long for them to try to go back?

The Apollo 17 mission in 1972 marks the last time humans set foot on the Moon. Nasa

The answer is not simple. It has little to do with technology and much more with how politics, money and global support work. The place to start is with Apollo itself: its model of exploration was not built to last, and was clearly not sustainable.

On May 25 1961, before a joint session of Congress, President John F. Kennedy committed the US to the goal, before the decade was out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.

After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson ensured that this Moon landing goal was met. But rising costs from the Vietnam war and domestic reforms reduced his appetite for further space investment.

John F Kennedy’s speech at Rice University in 1962 reaffirmed America’s commitment to landing on the Moon. JFK Library

In fact, Nasa’s budget peaked in 1966 and began falling even before Apollo’s success, undermining prospects for sustained exploration. Further funding was declined, planned missions were cancelled, and Apollo ended in 1972 – not because it failed, but because it had accomplished its task.

Sustainable exploration (in space as on Earth) requires stable political commitment, predictable funding, and a clear long-term purpose. After Apollo, the US struggled to maintain all three at once.

Policymakers began to ask what direction Nasa should take next. In 1972, President Richard Nixon directed the space agency to begin building the space shuttle. It would lead Nasa to shift its focus away from deep space exploration towards operations in low-Earth orbit.

‘Space truck’: the shuttle was marketed as providing affordable access to low-Earth orbit. The reality was somewhat different. Nasa

Marketed as a reusable “space truck”, the space shuttle was intended to make orbital access routine and affordable. However, it would turn out to be a vehicle of incredible complexity, marred by technical failures and human tragedies – the Challenger and Columbia accidents in which 14 astronauts’ lives were lost.

Eight years into the shuttle programme, some in the space community believed it was time for the US to once again set its sights on the Moon – and the tantalising prospect of a landing on Mars. On July 20 1989, the 20th anniversary of Apollo 11’s first Moon landing, President George H.W. Bush announced the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI).

The plan aimed for a long-term commitment to construct Space Station Freedom, return astronauts to the Moon “to stay”, and finally send humans to the red planet.

However, the high estimated costs of SEI, reaching hundreds of billions of dollars, led to its downfall. Weak support in Congress along with other factors led to its cancellation under Bill Clinton’s presidential administration.

The ISS became a symbol of scientific cooperation, but consumed resources that might have been used for deep space exploration. Nasa

During the 1990s, the International Space Station (ISS) project cemented low-Earth orbit as the priority for human exploration. The space shuttle was the US’s means of building the station and transporting crews to and from the orbiting outpost.

The ISS became a symbol of scientific cooperation and technical prowess. Experiments carried out on the station generated valuable insights into everything from medical research to materials science. However, it also soaked up resources that might otherwise have supported deep-space exploration.

The Columbia disaster in 2003 – in which a space shuttle broke up over Texas with the loss of its crew – led to another rethink of America’s direction in space. As a result, President George W. Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration.

The aim of this proposal, which would give rise to what was known as the Constellation programme, was to rebuild Nasa’s capability for reaching the Moon, with Mars as its longer-term goal. But independent reviews warned that costs and schedules were unrealistic. Congress never really gave full financial support to Constellation, leading to its cancellation in 2010 during Barack Obama’s presidency.

This repeated cycle of cancelled space projects exposes some inherent limitations to the system for funding lunar exploration. A sustainable Moon programme needs strong multi-sector commitment, and mechanisms in place for guaranteed multi-decade funding.

Constellation would have sent astronauts to the lunar surface on a lander called Altair. Nasa

But such large programmes must compete each year with defence, healthcare and social spending. Electoral turnover and shifting committee leadership in the US further weaken the prospect of continuity.

Lunar exploration has also suffered from an unresolved strategic question: why go back at all? Apollo’s purpose was largely geopolitical, and after the cold war no equally compelling justification really emerged.

Scientific returns from human space missions are limited compared with robotic exploration. Commercial prospects remain uncertain, and prestige alone rarely sustains or secures large budgets.

Maybe a more fitting question is: why does Artemis appear to have escaped the pattern? Well, Nasa argues that sending astronauts back to the lunar surface – and in particular, establishing a sustained presence there – will help researchers learn “how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars”. That is true, up to a point.

Nasa also emphasises that Artemis will be built through commercial partnerships and international cooperation, creating the first long-term human foothold on the Moon.

With Artemis, has Nasa finally found a rationale to maintain a more enduring presence on the Moon? Nasa

The programme seems to sit at a carefully crafted intersection of US government leadership, commercial launch capabilities, and a broad coalition of international partners brought together under the Artemis Accords. The accords are a set of common principles regarding the use of the Moon and other targets in outer space, agreed between the US and other countries.

The main difference from previous promises to return to the Moon is that this, at least in theory, spreads risk and widens the base of political support. In practice, though, Artemis remains costly and exposed to shifting budgets and priorities.

There is also a cultural dimension to this question. Apollo created a powerful – albeit fragile – myth of swift, heroic technological advance. Artemis is building its large technological base in societies and democratic contexts where investments and commitments tend to evolve slowly, shaped by negotiation, compromise and competing interests.

If Artemis succeeds, it will be because all the political, economic, societal and scientific incentives have finally aligned in a durable way. But until that alignment is proven, the 50-year gap between Apollo and Artemis is less an engineering puzzle than a reminder of how difficult sustained exploration is for modern democracies.

– ref. Why has it taken so long to return to the Moon? – https://theconversation.com/why-has-it-taken-so-long-to-return-to-the-moon-274640

The Emperor’s New Clothes – a fairy tale for our times?

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Welsh-Burke, Sessional Academic in Literary and Cultural Studies, Western Sydney University

In mid-March, an activist group in Rutland County, Vermont, held its usual weekly rally protesting the actions of US president Donald Trump. One protester, Marsha Cassel, led the crowd, dressed as a naked Trump wearing a crown and holding a staff. Cassel was followed by another protester holding a sign proclaiming “THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES!”.

This is not the first time Trump has been compared to Hans Christian Andersen’s bumbling emperor, who marched naked through the streets while claiming to be dressed in finery – a fiction many of his subjects willingly indulged.

Who was Andersen, what aspects of his life informed this particular story and why might this be useful to know in the age of Trump?

Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1805. While his grandfather supposedly claimed noble origins for the family, Andersen’s father was a cobbler and his mother an illiterate washerwoman.

Goodreads

After his father died, Andersen moved to Copenhagen for work, where he found a patron, theatre director Jonas Collin, who paid for his education. Andersen started writing after graduating from university, becoming well known for his fairy tales, which he began publishing in the 1830s.

The Emperor’s New Clothes is in his 1837 work, Fairy Tales Told for Children, which featured other memorable tales such as The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Little Mermaid.

The story follows a vain and clothes-obsessed emperor who commissions clothing from two travelling conmen. These men, posing as weavers, visit his court to show off a new kind of material, which is supposedly rendered invisible to a man “unfit for the office he held”, or “extraordinarily simple in character”.

Afraid to reveal that he cannot see the material, the emperor sends in several aides to review the process, who all lie about being able to see the clothes being made.

llustration by Edmund Dulac from Stories from Hans Andersen, published 1938. Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Once the “outfit” is finished, the emperor dons it and parades naked through the town. The townsfolk compliment the garments, until a small child bursts the bubble, yelling out that the emperor has no clothes.

Unable to admit this, the emperor continues on his way. But the townsfolk now laugh.

This simple tale powerfully criticises rulers who tell untruths, performing intelligence and leadership, as well as those who uncritically allow this.

An outsider looking in

Like many fairy tales, the origins of this one stretch back centuries. Older versions date to medieval times. All feature people in power being duped by conmen who play on their vanities about their own intelligence. Literary scholar Hollis Robbins suggests Andersen’s version reflects a newly-emerging working class culture where “professional competence” was “quickly overtaking legitimacy and heritage as a source of aristocratic anxiety”.

In his book The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films, fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes claims Andersen was “embarrassed by his proletarian background” and “rarely mingled with the lower classes” once he found success as a writer.

Andersen never married and more recently, has been understood as a bisexual man. He had infatuations with both men and women, including Edvard Collin (the son of his patron Jonas) and Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind. After a fall in 1872, from which he never recovered, he died in 1875.

Hans Christian Andersen in an 1836 portrait. Wikimedia Commons

Andersen’s lower class background, argues Zipes, meant he was particularly well suited to biting cultural commentary about the difficult path for those escaping poverty.

In one translation of The Emperor’s New Clothes, the child who proclaims the nudity of the emperor is called “the voice of innocence” by his father. This voice spreads through the crowd, leading to the comical image of the naked emperor’s aides striving to lift the invisible train of his outfit even higher.

Regardless of one’s position in life, this story suggests you cannot escape “suffering, humiliation, and torture,” writes Zipes.

Indeed, many of Andersen’s tales feature characters (often frail, young women) who suffer immensely before dying nobly. The Emperor’s New Clothes, with its child character as the voice of reason, has an ending that, while not “happily ever after”, is as lighthearted as Andersen gets.

The power of fairy tales

The fairy tale is one of the most recognisable literary genres. We hear them from such a young age it is almost like we were born knowing them. Beginning as oral folktales, many of the tales we know today were first written down in 16th and 17th century France, Italy and Germany as social commentary and educational stories.

It is difficult to identify the “originals” of many tales, given their folkloric origins. Still, while it is almost stereotypical now to note that the “original fairy tales” (before contemporary Disney adaptations) were surprisingly dark Andersen’s are noticeably, and notably, bleak.

The Emperor’s New Clothes has been retold many times, with print, screen and musical adaptations. As Donald Trump, in the words of one pundit, continues to “construct a narrative, declare it to be true and relentlessly force the world to submit to it”, the story resonates today.

Indeed, literary academic Naomi Wood has argued that in a post 9/11 world, a “terrifying possibility” emerges in readings of the tale.

The truth of the fairy tale is not its glorification of the voice of innocence, free from corruption and untruth. Rather, it is that adults will continue to believe their own lies, even when they are clearly revealed. As a result, we allow the parade to continue, even while knowing it is farcical.

– ref. The Emperor’s New Clothes – a fairy tale for our times? – https://theconversation.com/the-emperors-new-clothes-a-fairy-tale-for-our-times-279558

Jane Ward Tost was a trailblazer in natural sciences – until history forgot her

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Melville, Senior Curator, Terrestrial Vertebrates, Museums Victoria Research Institute

In the 19th century, natural history was a field dominated by men: collectors, curators and naturalists. Names such as John Gould and John James Audubon are well known for their contributions to ornithology.

Far less familiar is Jane Catherine Tost (nee Ward, 1816–1889), a skilled taxidermist and naturalist who worked alongside leading figures of her era, and became the first woman employed in a professional role at an Australian museum.

Recent archival research has brought new attention to Tost’s life and career, revealing the extent of her contribution to 19th century natural history. While, to our knowledge, no images of her have survived, many of her works are still in museum collections.

Tost’s story is the subject of my new book, For Her Love of Birds, published by Museums Victoria.

Early life in London

Jane Catherine Ward was born in 1816 into a family closely connected to the London bird trade. Her father was a bird breeder, and her older brothers, like Jane, were taxidermists.

In 1825, her eldest brother, James Frederick Ward, entered a partnership with the young naturalist John Gould. Operating from Golden Square, London, the pair advertised themselves as “bird stuffers to the King”, preparing specimens for elite clients.

Evidence uncovered for this book confirms James Frederick Ward was Gould’s first business partner, a detail not recognised in previous histories. The partnership ended in 1828 after Gould was appointed to a curatorial role at the Zoological Society of London.

But the Ward family remained active in scientific circles. They developed an association with the naturalist John James Audubon, and Jane’s brothers travelled to the United States to assist him in collecting bird specimens. Her brother Edwin Henry Ward accompanied Audubon on his first trip into the Florida Territories in 1831.

Jane remained in London, where she developed her own expertise as a taxidermist. By 1838, at the age of 21, she was working for Gould, preparing bird specimens for his projects – including those from his travels across Australia.

A Tasmanian masked owl (Tyto novaehollandiae castanops), from the John Gould Collection, at the time Jane Tost worked for Gould in London. Jon Augier/Museums Victoria

Her position was unusual, considering how few women worked in paid scientific fields back then. Indeed, in 1838, of the 18 taxidermists listed in the trade directories, none were women.

But in the 1841 census, Jane listed herself as a taxidermist (or bird stuffer, as they were known then).

Hardship and emigration

Jane married Charles Tost, a Prussian-born pianoforte maker, in 1839. Yet she continued working while raising a family.

During the 1840s they experienced financial hardship. And, like many others living in London during this period, they faced the threat of disease, instability, and personal tragedy.

Moving from London to Nottingham 1850, Jane opened her own business, advertising herself as a leading naturalist and using her maiden name “Ward” alongside her married name. Her work as an independent, professional naturalist gathered considerable attention in the local papers.

Newspaper advertisement introducing Jane Ward Tost’s new business as a naturalist and ‘bird stuffer’ to Nottingham. Published in the Nottingham Journal, August 16 1850. British Library, St Pancras – London.

In 1855, the family emigrated to Australia. Although it has been previously reported they travelled to Australia on the Indian Queen, research for this new book uncovered documentation they sailed on the fast-clipper Schomberg, bound for Melbourne.

The voyage was fraught with problems, which came to a head on a stormy night two days after Christmas when the ship wrecked on the Victorian coast. Although all passengers were rescued, the ship was lost.

The Tost family eventually continued on to Tasmania, all their belongings at the bottom of the sea.

Schomberg leaving Liverpool, 1855. Colour Lithograph by T G Dutton

A new career in Australia

In Hobart Town, Jane began working for the Royal Society of Tasmania, preparing specimens for their new museum, which would later become the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. Her work was well regarded, and she contributed to displays that would be shown internationally, including in an 1862 exhibition held at the Crystal Palace.

Seeking broader professional opportunities, Jane moved her family to Sydney. There she established a taxidermy business and undertook work for private clients and public exhibitions. Her work, including a well-publicised display of alpacas that won medals at the International Exhibition in London in 1862, helped establish her reputation.

Her most significant appointment came when Australian Museum director and curator Gerard Krefft employed her as a taxidermist in 1863. She was paid £10 per week, the same wage as the men. In this role, she repaired and prepared specimens for display when the museum’s collections required extensive restoration.

Her employment marked a milestone: she was the first woman appointed to a professional position at the Australian Museum, and likely one of the first at a museum globally.

The Australian Museum in Sydney, 1860s, with Gerard Krefft (right) pictured in the skeleton gallery. Henry Barnes Snr © Australian Museum (only for use with this article)

Her legacy

Despite her achievements, Jane’s career was not free from difficulty. Heated disputes within the museum led to the dismissal of her husband, who had also been employed there, and she subsequently lost her position. The family again faced financial strain.

Irrawaddy squirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus) specimens prepared by Jane Tost while she worked as a taxidermist at the Australian Museum, Sydney, in the 1860s. Photo by M. Dean-Jones © Australian Museum (only for use with this article)

Following further tragedies, Jane and her daughter Ada established a taxidermy business opposite the museum. Over time, it became one of the leading taxidermy establishments in Australia, supplying specimens to museums and private collectors globally.

Jane continued working until her death in 1889, exhibiting at international exhibitions in London, Paris, Calcutta and Chicago.

Although her name faded from mainstream accounts of scientific history, Jane Ward Tost played a significant role in the development of natural history collections in both Britain and Australia.

The full extent of her life – spanning professional achievement, migration, personal loss and resilience – is finally being fully documented.

Her story offers a new perspective on the people who underpinned 19th century museums and natural history, and on the women whose expertise helped build museum collections that still exist today.

Plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) specimen prepared by Jane Tost while she worked as a taxidermist at the Australian Museum, Sydney, in the 1860s. Photo by M. Dean-Jones © Australian Museum (only for use with this article)

– ref. Jane Ward Tost was a trailblazer in natural sciences – until history forgot her – https://theconversation.com/jane-ward-tost-was-a-trailblazer-in-natural-sciences-until-history-forgot-her-276764

How Taiwan is viewing the Iran war – and what it reveals about US credibility

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bonnie Yushih Liao, Assistant Professor of Diplomacy & International Relations, Tamkang University

The United States and Israeli strikes on Iran have become increasingly concerning for the world due to the risks of further escalation and the impact on energy markets.

In Taiwan, however, the focus has shifted in a different direction.

Rather than treating the war as geographically distant, Taiwanese political leaders and analysts are viewing it as a real-time indicator of how the United States operates under strategic pressure.

The key question is less about whether the United States would act if a conflict with China were to break out in the Indo-Pacific region, and more about how it would manage competing pressures if multiple crises unfolded at once.

A test of limits, not intentions

There is growing recognition in Taiwan that US resources are not unlimited.

The Middle East war has caused energy prices to fluctuate and stoked fears of rising inflation in the United States, demonstrating the domestic costs of military operations.

US President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have also taken a hit, with some in his own party now questioning his rationale for going to war.

Some reports have indicated US supplies of interceptor missiles are running low. The US military has, for example, had to move some THAAD missile interceptors from South Korea to the Middle East. The US has also struggled to defend against Iran’s use of asymmetrical fighting tactics.

This has direct implications for the deterrence Washington has long maintained in the Indo-Pacific. This deterrence depends not only on US war-fighting capability, but on the expectation this capability will remain intact under strain.

Conflicts elsewhere may not weaken the US resolve to intervene if China were to invade or pressure Taiwan in some fashion. But they can drain American resources and influence where these items are prioritised.

Shifting thresholds for the use of force

The US has also framed its strikes on Iran as a “preventive” action aimed at mitigating a future threat rather than responding to an imminent attack. This raises broader questions about the changing threshold for the use of force in the Indo-Pacific.

For Taiwan, this is not an abstract notion. If the threshold for military action is lowered from imminent threat to potential risk, the strategic environment becomes less predictable in the Indo-Pacific.

This broadens the range of circumstances under which force by the United States may be justified.

The speed with which the Trump administration has acted in Iran has also increased uncertainty for regional partners like Japan and South Korea in assessing when and how the United States would act against China.

The US’ NATO partners weren’t told about the Iran strikes before they happened. This could make Japan and South Korea similarly worried about a lack of communication on potential US actions over Taiwan.

South Korean protesters rallying against the US and Israel attacks on Iran in Seoul on March 24. Ahn Young-joon/AP

Wars rarely follow anticipated pathways

The Iran war has also raised broader questions about how the United States adapts as crises evolve.

Much of the discussion around Taiwan has traditionally centred on the possibility of a large-scale Chinese invasion. However, recent developments suggest escalation may be less linear than this.

Rather than following a single, predictable pathway, conflicts can develop through a sequence of smaller decisions, the ambiguity over signals sent by an adversary, or rapidly changing political conditions.

This has contributed to a shift in strategic discussion in Taiwan. Recent defence policy debates and security forums have increasingly examined scenarios in which China pressured Taiwan with grey-zone tactics, blockades and incremental escalatory moves, rather than focusing solely on full-scale invasion.

As a result, attention is shifting to how such pressure might build over time – through cyber operations, maritime restrictions or limited military actions – and possibly spiral out of control.

The current crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has been watched closely in Taiwan as an example of how disruption of a strategic chokepoint can quickly impact the world. This raises questions about whether similar dynamics could emerge in the Taiwan Strait, and how prepared external actors – including the US – would be to respond.

The US has also been unable to prevent the Iran war from spilling over into the Persian Gulf states. This raises questions about whether a war over Taiwan could be contained or produce wider regional effects.

The USS Antietam (CG-54) conducting operations in the Taiwan Strait in August 2022. US Navy handout/EPA

The risk of misinterpretation

For Taiwan, the most immediate challenge comes from how China interprets US actions in Iran. If Beijing concludes that diminishing military resources or domestic pressures would limit the US’ ability to wage a sustained conflict in the Indo-Pacific, it may reassess the risks of applying coercive pressure on Taiwan.

This does not imply immediate conflict is likely over Taiwan. However, it increases the likelihood that China would try to pressure or coerce Taiwan just below the threshold of full-scale war.

History suggests that escalation is often shaped by how situations are interpreted by adversaries, rather than by clear shifts in power. When states believe conditions are more favourable than they actually are, the risk of misjudgement increases.

For Taiwan, the challenge is therefore not only to assess developments in the Middle East, but to ensure that its own position is not misunderstood. This involves:

  • maintaining credible defensive capabilities
  • reinforcing internal cohesion against possible threats
  • signalling clearly that any attempt at coercion would face robust resistance.

Deterrence depends not only on what a country can do, but what others believe it will do — and whether those beliefs discourage risk-taking.

– ref. How Taiwan is viewing the Iran war – and what it reveals about US credibility – https://theconversation.com/how-taiwan-is-viewing-the-iran-war-and-what-it-reveals-about-us-credibility-279102

I’m close to retirement age. What are my options for drawing on my super savings?

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Johnson, Senior Lecturer, Finance and Financial Planning, Griffith University

Retiring well means making a series of decisions to ensure a financially secure post-work life. One practical step is to work out the income you need each week to survive and thrive when you stop working.

If you are one of the many Australians still working and growing your super, knowing more about tailored retirement income products might help to plan.

There are two main ways to use super savings in retirement:

  • through products that provide an income stream, and/or
  • through lump sums.
CC BY-NC

It’s easy to put off thinking about superannuation when retirement is years away. In this five-part series, we ask top experts to explain how to sort your super in a few simple steps, avoid greenwashing, and set goals for retirement.

Account-based pensions

The most common product for a retirement income stream in super is an account-based pension. These can be set up outside super, but there are advantages inside super. Around 80% of retired super fund members have one or more account-based pensions in super.

These products offer flexibility, control and continued exposure to investment markets. They allow retirees to convert part, or all, of their super balance into an income stream while keeping an allocated sum invested.

More than one can be set up, at different times, and with different investment choices, so your investment balance keeps growing while providing income in the short-term. Retirees can choose how much they withdraw, as long as they meet the government’s minimum withdrawal requirements.

Arguably, the greatest advantage of an account-based pension within super is its tax effectiveness compared to investments outside super. Once a super member is fully retired, both the investment earnings and income drawn from an account-based pension in super is tax-free.

One of the disadvantages of account-based pensions in super is that the age-based minimum drawdown rates might not suit your investment timing or income preferences. Investment returns are not guaranteed, and you don’t know how many years of income will be needed.

If you die before the funds are fully drawn, however, your beneficiary can receive the remaining money.

An older couple doing gardening
One or more retirement products can provide steady income for retirees. Greta Hoffman, Pexels

Another option for regular income: annuities

Retirees can also use their super to buy another type of income product called an annuity. There are a few main types of annuities and you can choose if you want the income payments:

  • guaranteed over a fixed period of time
  • investment-linked over a fixed period or for life, or
  • guaranteed for the rest of your life, typically adjusted for inflation.

The cost of the annuity will vary depending on these factors. Annuities provide more certainty both in the payments and timeframe for income, regardless of investment market performance.

In Australia, fewer than 5% of super member accounts are annuities. But that may be changing, as more retirees realise the advantages of including an annuity in their super income planning.

Annuities can be bought using super or non-super money, but using super has the advantage of tax-free earnings and income.

In addition, for age pension eligibility, Centrelink only takes into consideration 60% of the value of a lifetime annuity compared to 100% of an account-based pension. This favourable treatment means your super savings can last longer, because your retirement income will be supplemented with more age pension.

On the downside, annuities have less flexibility. Once you have committed a lump sum of super to purchase the annuity, you cannot convert that back into a lump sum.

The income from annuity returns may also not be as high as in an account-based pension, because there is a trade-off between investment returns and guaranteed income.

Choosing the right mix for your circumstances

Retirees may benefit from a retirement income strategy that includes a combination of account-based pensions and annuities, depending on their personal needs and circumstances.

Once aged 67, retirees will also be eligible for the age pension, within asset or income limits. More than 60% of retirees receive at least some age pension, around 40% as their main income.

There is a maximum amount that can be transferred to pension phase within super, regardless of whether you choose an account-based pension or annuity, or a combination. That cap currently sits at A$2 million.

What about lump sums?

Once a super fund member reaches preservation age, usually age 60, and ceases at least one job, they may be able to access some or all their super as a lump sum. Alternatively, a member can access some or all their super as a lump sum when they turn 65, regardless of their employment.

With more people heading into retirement with mortgages, lump sums can be used to pay down debt, or for home repairs, holidays or even gifting.

How the lump sum is used may affect your age pension. In 2025, the average lump sum taken out by newly retired members was around $58,000.

While income stream products have a range of advantages within super, taking at least some super as a lump sum is common, even later in retirement. More than $71 billion was paid out in lump sums from superannuation in 2025 across 2.26 million member accounts.

Advice can help

Getting advice on coordinating super income streams and age pension entitlements can make a big difference to maximising your income while managing risk. Licensed financial advisers are in high demand, either within or outside your super fund.

Super funds can provide a range of valuable information, calculators and support. Other online tools are also available that can help with retirement income planning, including taking age pension eligibility into account.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and is not intended as financial advice.

– ref. I’m close to retirement age. What are my options for drawing on my super savings? – https://theconversation.com/im-close-to-retirement-age-what-are-my-options-for-drawing-on-my-super-savings-276377

Family ‘devastated with worry’ over French man Antoine Richard who’s missing in central Otago

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Antoine Richard hasn’t been seen since 21 March. Supplied / NZ Police

The family of French national Antoine Richard is appealing for more help in the search for the 21-year-old who was reported missing in Cromwell on the weekend of 21-22 March.

Richard was last seen on 21 March, around 11.45pm at the Victoria Arms Hotel on the corner of Achil Street and Melmore Terrace.

A statement issued by police on behalf of the family on Wednesday said: “An enormous amount of work has already been carried out by the police, the Search and Rescue team, Carrick winery where he worked, his friends, the Cromwell Rugby Team, local residents, and everyone who has taken part in the search.

“We are infinitely grateful to them.”

The family, Hervé, Marithé, Claudine, Elise, Noémie, Valentin and Corentin Richard, said they were asking for people’s help with these aspects of the case:

  • A Croc shoe that had been found
  • If you or someone you know owns a property in Cromwell, please check your surroundings, gardens, and outbuildings
  • If you have a security camera, please review the footage from after 11:30pm on 22 March
  • Anyone who gave a lift to Richard in the early hours of 22 March

“We have been devastated with worry since we heard the news.

“We are writing on behalf of his entire family, his friends, his colleagues in France and New Zealand, and all the people he loves, in the hope of finding him as soon as possible.”

Police are also appealing for residents to check their properties and any CCTV footage which can be uploaded here.

They also want to hear from anyone who may have seen a person matching Richard’s description either hitchhiking or walking in Cromwell in the early hours of 22 March.

Supplied / NZ police

Detective Phill Hamlin said searches have been conducted by LandSAR members from throughout the Otago and Southland area, police, Coastguard and many members of the community.

“We remain dedicated and focused on locating Antoine,” he said.

The Police National Dive Squad will also search areas of Lake Dunstan.

Search teams located a grey rubber Croc branded sandal from the shore of Lake Dunstan and would like to speak to anyone who may have seen somebody wearing the footwear.

Richard was last seen also wearing light coloured knee length shorts and a black t-shirt, police said.

Anyone who has seen him or has information regarding his whereabouts, is urged to contact police via 105, using the reference file number 260324/5771.

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Will medicinal cannabis help my mental health? Here are the evidence and the risks

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Nielsen, Professor and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University

Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are among the most common mental health conditions for which Australians are prescribed medicinal cannabis.

Most prescriptions for mental health conditions, and for other conditions more broadly, are for products containing higher levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). This is the part of cannabis that causes a “high” and can affect thinking and mood.

Many of these prescriptions are for inhaled products, such as dried leaf or flower that people smoke or inhale.

This pattern of use – of inhaled, higher-THC content for mental health conditions – appears to be partly driven by prescribing trends among 18 to 44-year-old men.

For anxiety alone, there are almost three times more approvals for the products containing the highest levels of THC than for products containing only CBD (cannabidiol).

But this prescribing pattern doesn’t line up with the best available research. Most higher-quality clinical trials for anxiety have tested CBD-based products, not THC.

This is just one example of how Australians are using medicinal cannabis to treat mental health conditions without the best available evidence to back it.

Let’s start with anxiety

Anxiety is the most common mental health reason people seek medicinal cannabis in Australia.

There is emerging evidence CBD may help some people with anxiety, but the findings are inconsistent.

The largest and most comprehensive systematic review on medicinal cannabis and mental health found it did not meaningfully improve anxiety symptoms. The authors said we still need larger, high-quality trials, and studies that reflect how people use medicinal cannabis in the real world.

Evidence for THC is even more mixed. In our previous article we described how some people find THC makes them feel calmer, but others say it worsens their anxiety. As few trials have investigated THC for anxiety, it is hard to draw firm conclusions.

CC BY-NC

Medicinal cannabis prescriptions have skyrocketed in Australia, mostly for legal but unapproved products we don’t even know work or are safe. In this series, experts tease out what’s fuelling the rise of medicinal cannabis, the fallout, and what needs to happen next.

How about PTSD?

The evidence so far for using medicinal cannabis to treat PTSD is limited.

While some people report benefit, the findings from the small number of high-quality randomised controlled trials (the gold standard for medical evidence) are mixed.

In one very small study, only five people completed the entire protocol. This tested vaporised cannabis containing either a combination of 10% THC and 10% CBD, or a product with mainly 10% THC.

Both products appeared to improve PTSD symptoms in the short term, but the trial had trouble recruiting participants. A larger study would be needed to know if the results are reliable.

Another trial tested smoked cannabis with three strengths: 12% THC, one mainly containing CBD, and one with equal amounts of THC and CBD. There was no change in the severity of PTSD symptoms for any of the products compared to placebo. Smoking cannabis, including medicinal cannabis, is also not recommended because of its well known harms.

The limited and uncertain evidence is one reason the Department of Veterans’ Affairs has decided not to fund medicinal cannabis to treat mental health conditions, including PTSD.

What about depression?

There is even less high-quality evidence for using medicinal cannabis to treat depression. A recent systematic review found no relevant randomised controlled trials.

A small pilot study tested 150–300 milligrams a day of CBD alongside standard treatment for bipolar depression. CBD was well tolerated, meaning it didn’t cause serious side effects, but it didn’t help symptoms.

Studies for different types of depression are mixed. Some show possible benefits but also unfavourable effects including worse symptoms or acute mental health effects such as psychosis, suicidal thoughts or anxiety. It is also unclear whether unfavourable effects are due to the product or underlying mental health condition.

Is medicinal cannabis safe?

Emerging evidence shows psychosis has been reported among people using medicinal cannabis containing higher levels of THC.

Australia’s medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (or TGA) says products containing THC are generally not appropriate for people who have a personal or family history of psychosis or schizophrenia. This caution also extends to people with past or current mood or anxiety disorders.

This is largely because THC can worsen or trigger symptoms in people who are already vulnerable to these conditions.

Why the increased risk?

Is this due to the THC or were these people already at higher risk? It’s likely a mix of both.

Daily or near-daily cannabis use (which is common with medicinal use) is linked to a higher risk of psychosis, or it may contribute to developing it.

Young people may be particularly vulnerable to side effects after taking medicinal cannabis (and cannabis in general) for mental health conditions as their brains are still developing.

Other research shows higher-strength THC products appear to carry higher mental health risks for everyone. People who use frequently, or for long periods, are at further risk.

So the emerging picture is that the product used, how it is used, and the person matter and can influence health outcomes. Higher THC products raise risks across the board, but those risks are increased in people who start young, use often, or continue long term.

What happens when I stop taking it?

Some people whose mental health symptoms increase when they stop taking medicinal cannabis see that as evidence their medicine was working. But that’s not necessarily the case. They could be experiencing withdrawal from cannabis.

Many people who use cannabis (medicinal or otherwise) experience a rebound in symptoms – such as anxiety or sleep difficulties – when they stop. This can feel very similar to the symptoms that prompted them to seek treatment.

We also know around one in three or four people who use cannabis medically will develop cannabis dependence and are likely to experience withdrawal symptoms if they stop using it suddenly.

So, cannabis withdrawal may be more common than people realise, and may well explain symptoms that emerge when someone stops taking it.

How do I know what is right for me?

Many studies that look at whether medicinal cannabis could help different mental health conditions are low quality or have conflicting findings. So the evidence is not yet strong enough to recommend it as the best treatment for any mental health condition.

So talk to your trusted, regular medical professional to help you weigh up the potential benefits and risks of medicinal cannabis, especially if you have a history of mental health concerns.

Given the mixed evidence and the TGA’s cautions, it’s really important to seek personalised medical advice.

If you or someone you know is struggling with anxiety, mood changes, or any mental health concerns – whether or not these relate to cannabis use – the following support is available: Beyond Blue (24/7 support): 1300 22 4636 and Lifeline (crisis support): 13 11 14.

– ref. Will medicinal cannabis help my mental health? Here are the evidence and the risks – https://theconversation.com/will-medicinal-cannabis-help-my-mental-health-here-are-the-evidence-and-the-risks-271196

Cutting fuel excise is a sugar hit – we need a plan to slash dependence on imports

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hussein Dia, Professor of Transport Technology and Sustainability, Swinburne University of Technology

As fuel prices spike, many Australians are understandably anxious. Photos of empty bowsers, long queues, and high prices create the impression of a system under strain.

What we are seeing isn’t a collapse of Australia’s fuel supply chain. Shipments are still arriving and most deliveries continue as planned. While some cargoes have been disrupted, governments and industry have actively secured alternative supplies. What this crisis shows is the lack of a clear, long-term strategy to reduce dependence on fuel shipped from conflict zones thousands of kilometres away.

Because Australia is so reliant on trucks running on imported fuel, rising diesel costs are now flowing through the economy and pushing up the cost of freight, food and everyday goods.

The federal government has moved to underwrite fuel imports, relax fuel standards and tap reserves. The government has also flagged the possible need to ration fuel if supplies keep shrinking in its new fuel security plan.

These are sensible responses to a disruption more complex and potentially longer-lasting than first thought. But they are not a long-term plan to end reliance on importing fuel in a very uncertain world.

Victoria makes public transport free as fuel prices climb.

No unifying strategy

Australia’s plans for the future of transport include a national electric vehicle strategy and the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard.

These steps are necessary. The problem is, they tend to exist in silos. There’s no clear roadmap aimed at a practical outcome: reducing dependence on imported fuels and strengthening our long-term energy security as part of the transition to net zero.

Electrification at scale

Every kilometre travelled using electricity is one that didn’t depend on a tanker arriving from overseas. Unlike oil, renewable energy is not exposed to global supply disruptions in the same way.

Electric vehicles aren’t just a question of consumer choice. Electrifying transport is a full system transition.

Waiting for households to gradually switch to electric cars will be slow. Working to electrify high-impact segments such as urban freight, commercial fleets, buses and government vehicles will be much faster. Over time, this should reduce the hundreds of tanker shipments needed to keep the country moving each year.

Fastest response? Reduce demand

The quickest way to cut fuel dependence is to reduce how often we drive.

Around the world, governments and businesses are already encouraging reduced travel, flexible work and more efficient use of transport.

These temporary measures should become a core part of long-term strategy, as they can deliver immediate and lasting reductions in fuel use at very low cost.

Public transport as resilience

Every trip taken by train, tram or bus reduces demand for imported fuel. The same applies to walking, cycling and micromobility options, such as electric bikes or scooters.

Victoria and Tasmania have moved to make public transport free – and reduce demand for fuel.

If Australia had an integrated transport system in which public transport, cycling and other alternatives get a boost, it would give people viable alternatives when driving becomes more expensive or difficult.

Rethinking fuel reserves

The International Energy Agency requires member countries to hold 90 days of fuel reserves. Australia has long struggled to meet that benchmark.

Decades of economic stability left Australia underprepared for fuel security challenges. Australia has long relied on continuous global supply of fuel, stocks held by the private sector and relatively lean inventories. While efficient under normal conditions, this system has little buffer when supply becomes uncertain.

To boost fuel security, authorities should expand onshore storage, diversify import pathways, and strengthen distribution networks so fuel can reach crucial regional sectors and communities when supply is disrupted.

Policy coherence matters

Even as Australia’s power grid runs more and more on renewables, policymakers continue to approve more and more investment in fossil fuels.

With one foot in each camp, it’s hard to have a coordinated strategy to shift rapidly to forms of transport that don’t rely on long fuel supply chains.

Policy discussions around reducing incentives for EVs and introducing distance-based road user charges for EV drivers risk sending mixed signals to consumers and industry.

A credible transition to a new technology requires a clear sequence: first, give incentives and support, and move to pricing reform only once the adoption trend is established.

Avoiding ‘quick fixes’

In every energy crisis, bad ideas come back from the dead.

The move to temporarily halve the fuel excise is one such idea.

The move will lower petrol and diesel prices by around 26 cents per litre. While this provides short-term relief, it also weakens the price signal. Making fuel cheaper will simply encourage people to use more of it – a bad idea in a supply crunch.

Economists are warning the move could push fuel consumption higher and prolong inflationary pressures.

The temporary fuel excise cut will provide short-term relief but does little to shield households from ongoing volatility in global oil markets.

Other countries are already reducing fuel dependence

China has linked industrial policy, renewable energy and EV deployment into a coordinated transition, demonstrating how scale and coordination can reduce reliance on imported fuels.

Singapore has taken a whole-of-system approach, linking energy, transport, land use and infrastructure into a coordinated transition to reduce emissions, manage demand and limit reliance on fossil fuels.

Japan maintains large fuel reserves well beyond minimum requirements, equivalent to 254 days of domestic consumption.

None of these models is perfect. But they show reducing fuel dependence is a matter of economic resilience and national security, not just environmental policy.

A moment to reset

The modern world has long been built on oil. This crisis shows how fragile that system is.

Despite widespread fears, Australia isn’t running out of fuel. But even this tightening of supply shows how quickly global disruptions can affect us. Short-term interventions won’t be enough, while sugar hits such as cutting fuel excise will have the opposite effect.

Policymakers should use the crisis to build a transport system less exposed to less reliable supply chains, built on locally produced electricity and aligned with a low-carbon future.

– ref. Cutting fuel excise is a sugar hit – we need a plan to slash dependence on imports – https://theconversation.com/cutting-fuel-excise-is-a-sugar-hit-we-need-a-plan-to-slash-dependence-on-imports-279556

From spaghetti harvests to fake news: why the glory days of April Fools gags are over

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Phoebe Hart, Associate Professor, Film Screen & Animation, Queensland University of Technology

April Fools’ Day is a funny one. Developed over centuries, it’s a tradition that gives people the permission to prank. Some leg-pulls are delightful – while others can cause distress and damage, especially if they’re rolled out on a large scale.

There’s a fine line between jokes that charm and those that harm. This overstep, especially in regard to the media and politics, warrants close attention.

A cheeky pasta prank

Historians conjecture the mischief most likely began in earnest in the 1500s in France, when the Julian calendar – which started the year on April 1 – was replaced by the Gregorian calendar we use today.

But not everyone got the memo; those who continued to celebrate the new year on April 1 were branded “April fools”, and were often sent on fools’ errands. Some examples, according to folklorist Nancy Cassell McEntire, include being sent for:

a left-handed screwdriver or wrench, a board-stretcher, a stick with one end, a bucket of striped paint, a bucket of steam, pigeon milk, a jar of elbow grease […] or a fallopian tube.

There was often a subversive edge to the hoaxes, which grew in scale over time.

Fast forward to the 20th century and the advent of broadcast media. Industry and governments began to hold advertisers, television and journalists accountable for dishonesty and deception.

Even so, respectable media organisations joined in on the condoned capers offered by April Fools’ Day. The BBC was famous for its ornate hoaxes, which borrowed the conventions of conventional reportage to pull the wool over viewers’ eyes.

One classic example was the “spaghetti harvest” segment broadcast on the channel’s current affairs show, Panorama, in 1957. The three-minute bit claimed to show Swiss farmers plucking pasta directly from trees.

It’s thought to be the first April Fools prank ever pulled on TV.

When the Opera House was sinking

In Australia, institutions such as the Australian Broadcasting Commission (now Corporation) also began a lighthearted tradition of fooling the public on the first day of April.

The ABC’s flagship current affairs program, This Day Tonight (1967–78), reported on serious issues every other night of the year (although it also ran satirical content).

But in 1970, the April 1 program included a fishy report on a new invention called the “Dial-O-Fish” – a device guaranteed to aid even the most inept angler.

A few April Fools’ later came the bogus story on how the iconic Sydney Opera House, which opened in 1973, was sinking into the harbour. There were shots of divers inspecting the foundations underwater; it was convincing.

Then, in 1975, the program announced Australia would soon be converting to “metric time” following on from the introduction of metric currency in 1966. According to an ABC report, “under the new system there would be 100 seconds to the minute, 100 minutes to the hour, and 20-hour days”.

The segment featured shots of Adelaide Town Hall with a new ten-hour clockface. South Australian Deputy Premier Des Corcoran took part in the prank by heartily supporting the change on camera.

Audiences were divided. Many called the station. Some were amused, while others upset. More than a few were confused.

Importantly, these jokes were psychologically benign – and the reveal came quickly before any real damage was done.

Routine April Fools’ Day ruses still occur on television breakfast shows, commercial radio and in advertising – but news broadcasters walk a trickier tightrope.

No longer laughing along

The key difference before and after the digital revolution is how production, platforms and audiences have transformed.

Broadcast news audiences used to be large and trusting. Millions gathered in front of television and radio sets every evening and believed most of what they saw and heard.

Now, when everyone and anyone has the means to film and publish a story on their mobile phone, audiences are fractured and suspicious. News is suffering a crisis of confidence in an era of misinformation, and many in the industry are loath to do anything that might instil more distrust among the public.

Moreover, attention is a scarce commodity on social media, where information is delivered with less context. Short video clips, deep fakes and fake news jostle for space – and all too often, April Fools’ jests backfire.

Last year, Australian-born British ITV presenter Georgina Burnett made a social media post pretending to be pregnant as an April Fools’ prank. Instead of generating excitement, she ended up offending a lot of people – including people struggling to start a family.

On the same day, Queensland politician Ryan Murphy’s misjudged post claimed Brisbane City Council had annexed the neighbouring shire of Redlands.

The language was official – alluding to Donald Trump’s proposed annexation of Greenland. And the reaction to the post was harsh and swift; the good folks of Redlands didn’t like the idea of paying higher rates, nor being governed by another wealthier city.

Pranks in a post-truth world

Jests about personal sovereignty and safety never seem to land well, especially when issued from a source of authority. Gone are the days of the Aussie larrikin who could transgress without a care.

In the past, most forgave this (usually white, male) character when others become targets of his hazing.

Today, onlookers are digitally-savvy. They are aware they’re living in a world with entrenched inequality, scammers and bad actors, immoral leaders and elites, and corruptible institutions. No wonder we’re quicker to denounce lies and insensitivity.

– ref. From spaghetti harvests to fake news: why the glory days of April Fools gags are over – https://theconversation.com/from-spaghetti-harvests-to-fake-news-why-the-glory-days-of-april-fools-gags-are-over-279331

‘No actual change’: Chris Bishop downplays scaling down of Auckland housing plans

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Housing Minister Chris Bishop. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

The housing minister says nothing has fundamentally changed as the government scales back Auckland’s minimum housing target even further.

Auckland Council had been progressing a plan to accommodate up to 2 million homes in the next 30 years. But in February that was reduced to 1.6 million, and on Tuesday that dropped again to 1.4 million homes.

The council opted out of medium-density rules that apply to most major cities on the proviso it set up zoning for 30 years of growth, instead adopting its own process called Plan Change 120. RNZ previously reported this approach was made under pressure from proponents of heritage homes, who raised concerns about further intensification in character areas that were already seeing major development.

Chris Bishop told Morning Report on Wednesday 1.4m was the new legal minimum, but with upzoning around the City Rail Link (CRL) stations and other areas, officials were expecting to settle closer to 1.6m.

“We’re just making sure we can get some certainty into the Parliament and into the community. And I think hopefully – he says, crossing his fingers behind his back – that this will settle the issue once and for all… Nothing’s actually fundamentally changed. It’s still the same process. And actually, what Auckland Council’s doing right now, they can just charge on with because there’s no actual change to any of that.”

In response to a suggestion it was a “bit confusing”, Bishop responded: “Yeah, well, tell me about it.”

“On the margins, the 1.4m will allow the council a bit more flexibility, but I’m told that with all of the legal requirements around the national policy statement, urban development, rapid transit stations, for example, and the CRL, that the practical effect will be the council ends up at about 1.6m, which is a big improvement on the status quo and will make a significant difference to housing and development opportunities in Auckland, which is ultimately what I’m trying to achieve here.”

He said much of the debate around PC120 last year was “not exactly that helpful”, and the original target of 2m homes “became a bit of a lightning rod”.

“Everyone wants Auckland to grow, but we want to make sure it grows in the right places. We want to make sure that there’s a social license and community consensus around density. There’s no point having endless debates without making a lot of progress. And so that’s what I’ve been focused on, actually making progress.”

As for which suburbs might see less or more development under the latest plan, Bishop said that was up to Auckland Council.

“Having made this decision, we are now kicking the issue into Auckland Council’s hands and saying, ‘It’s now over to you. You wanted more flexibility over the medium density standards, we’ve given you that. You wanted to take the number down, we’ve given you that. It is now over to you and Auckland communities and constituents and councillors to work out exactly where density in Auckland happens.’ So it’s now over to the council…

“And 1.6m is a big advance on the current Auckland plan, the Auckland Unitary Plan, which is about 1.2m. So we are making progress in Auckland.”

Mayor Wayne Brown. RNZ/Marika Khabazi

Mayor Wayne Brown said in a statement on Tuesday the change would give Auckland more flexibility to grow into the city it wants to be, “a global city, not embarrassingly the world’s biggest suburb”.

“This has been going on for years, over successive governments. If we waited for everyone to agree, we’d never get anywhere. It’s time to stop the talk, for Wellington to get out of the way, and let Auckland get on with building Auckland.”

He also noted it would give greater ability to downzone for natural hazards and retain intensification where it makes the most sense, such as along major transport routes and the CRL.

National’s coalition partner ACT wanted fewer homes built if they were not going to be greenfields developments.

“The council has said they don’t want to do that. I think that’s really disappointing. They’ve said that they want most development to be within 10km of Queen Street,” leader David Seymour said.

“That’s their right and their choice as a council, but it’s also caused a change in the target number that the government has set.”

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

‘Needed more than ever’: Living wage rises to $29.90 per hour

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The living wage was set by Living Wage Aotearoa NZ. (File photo) RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

The living wage will rise to $29.90 per hour from 1 April, a 95c increase from the previous $28.95.

The living wage is independently calculated by the Family Centre Social Policy Unit and released by Living Wage Aotearoa NZ, a coalition of unions, faith, and community groups.

The organisation argued higher fuel costs were putting extra pressure on low-paid workers, many of whom were shift workers with no choice but to drive to work.

Muriel Tunoho, the coalition chairperson, said: “Right now, in a cost-of-living crisis that seems to be getting worse every day, the Living Wage is needed more than ever.

Muriel Tunoho. (File photo) RNZ

“Low-paid workers are struggling to keep their heads above water and to cover the absolute basics like rent, power, and kai.”

More than 340 employers were accredited Living Wage Employers.

There was no legal requirement for employers to pay more than minimum wage, which is $6 below living wage.

The living wage increase was double that of minimum wage, which also rises to $23.95 on Wednesday – an increase which did not keep up with inflation.

Living Wage lead organiser Finn Cordwell said the living wage would help struggling families live a life of dignity which was not possible currently on the minimum wage.

“We would like the government to reflect on how out of step the minimum wage has become for low-paid workers and whether anyone around that Cabinet table could actually live on $23.95 an hour.”

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Nuts about food science: Torere Macadamias partners with Riddet Institute

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Riddet Institute acting director Paul Moughan and Torere Macadamias general manager Vanessa Hayes discuss macadamias at the Riddet Institute Agrifood Summit in Wellington in February. Supplied / Riddet Institute

A partnership between Torere Macadamias Ltd and the Riddet Institute is aiming to grow the presence of Māori in agribusiness.

Torere Macadamias Ltd is an organic macadamia nursery, orchard and nut company based in the small settlement of Torere in eastern Bay of Plenty.

General manager Vanessa Hayes said the partnership began with a PhD research project by Faruk Ahmed, supervised by Riddet Institute scientist Ali Rashidinejad, to investigate macadamia husks, shells and leaves for bioactive compounds that could be used in functional food products or pharmaceutical supplements.

Hayes said her interest in the husks was sparked by an observation of some of the local animals.

“The cows on our neighbouring property kept pushing the fence over to eat the husks of our macadamia nuts when they were harvested and in bins. So I knew that they were highly attractive to the cows who just couldn’t stop eating them.”

The results of the research project to date had demonstrated that macadamia husks contain major phenolic compounds (a potent source of antioxidants) with considerable potential for future applications.

Hayes said the results had been so significant that Riddet were keen to continue the partnership for another five years.

There had also been interest in research on using macadamia shells for smoking food, in the same way that manuka wood chips would be used, but Hayes said macadamia shells had a “light smoke flavour” that did not overpower the food.

“There’s so many exciting things that we can use from our macadamia. So that’s the husks, the shells, the oil and the kernels. We haven’t got to the leaves yet.”

Macadamia honey muesli produced by Torere Macadamias Ltd. The company has formed a strategic partnership with the Riddet Institute to further advance innovations. Supplied/Hannah Jairam photography

Hayes said getting more Māori involvement in agribusiness had been another goal of hers for years.

“I wasn’t any different then just leasing out my block for maize to pay the rates. And that doesn’t give you any empowerment to use your own block for probably better food production that, you know, Māori are all good at growing food, or used to be. So taking back ownership of our land and utilising areas and just gradually building from there is what I’ve been trying to encourage our Māori landowners to do.”

The overall strategic plan was to involve Māori groups of growers under collectives. At this stage, they already had one set up, based at Waihau Bay and Raukokore, she said.

Through the partnership with Riddet she hoped to establish career pipelines for rangatahi Māori into agribusiness.

“So that’s the first step, is to basically train and get our Māori participants to learn about growing macadamias, get them qualified, make them feel confident in what they’re doing. We also, through the Riddet Institute, have a relationship with the Pūhoro STEMM Academy and they do more than just the agribusiness.”

The Riddet Institute is an internationally recognised Centre of Research Excellence in food science and related disciplines, hosted by Massey University in Palmerston North.

The Institute’s acting director, Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan, said the Riddet Institute was delighted to collaborate with Torere Macadamias Ltd to explore new frontiers in high-value food and ingredient development.

The partnership would promote local expertise and indigenous know-how, together with cutting-edge science, he said.

“This strategic partnership is a powerful example of how indigenous enterprise and advanced food science can work together to generate real economic and social impact.

“Macadamias present exciting opportunities for future foods and bioactive ingredients, and we are extremely proud to support the aspirations of Torere Macadamias Ltd and Māori capability building through research projects that connect young rangatahi to meaningful careers in food science.”

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

What’s going wrong for New Zealand small businesses?

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Source: Radio New Zealand

123RF

New Zealand small businesses have ranked last out of 11 Asia-Pacific countries in terms of their growth, for the second year in a row.

CPA Australia has released the results of its 18th small business survey. It found only 38 percent of New Zealand small businesses reported growth in 2025, up from 36 percent last year.

The average across other countries was 62 percent.

Rick Jones, CPA Australia’s regional head, said it highlighted persistent challenges.

“While small businesses across most of the Asia-Pacific are growing, New Zealand remains at the bottom of the table. In Vietnam, 84.5 percent of small businesses grew last year. In Singapore, the figure was 43.5 percent. In New Zealand, it was 38 percent. The https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/583808/nz-s-low-productivity-is-often-blamed-on-businesses-staying-small-that-could-be-a-strength-in-2026 gap is significant and it’s not closing].”

Only 5 percent of businesses had plans for a new product or service this year, compared to 29 percent across the survey.

Only 7 percent were planning to hire this year, compared to 36 percent across the region.

New Zealand small business owners also tended to be older. Businesses whose owners were under 40 were much more likely to be reporting growth.

“Of the over 300 New Zealand small businesses that were surveyed, 68 percent of those were aged over 50.

“What we’re seeing from the survey is that those respondents aged under 40, for example, are more likely to adopt new technologies. And it’s certainly not an age thing in isolation, but we want to encourage younger New Zealanders to start a business or potentially acquire an existing one.

“But we also need a comprehensive small business strategy, to lift the overall performance… we need a comprehensive strategy to support business owners of all ages, particularly around the digital support programmes.”

But 79 percent of small business owners said they were satisfied with running their business.

“The data tells a clear story. New Zealand’s small businesses are falling behind their Asia-Pacific peers, and the gap is widening on the measures that matter – growth, innovation, technology adoption and job creation.

Businesses have been under pressure and the recent fuel price increases were another hurdle. Nick Monro

“Growth doesn’t have to mean rapid expansion. For many small businesses, it’s about having the tools and support to take the next step – whether that’s hiring another employee, moving sales online, or investing in a system that saves them time.

“Lifting small business technology adoption should be a central priority. Our data consistently shows that businesses which invest effectively in technology grow faster, hire more people and are more likely to innovate. Countries like Singapore have demonstrated what targeted digital support programmes can achieve – there are proven approaches in our region that could work here.”

Jones said businesses had been under pressure and the latest fuel price increases were another hurdle.

“It is tough and increasing costs is a challenge and that was noted even in last year’s results. And then you add that to the current fuel crisis, which is only escalating that problem.”

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

New Zealand relies increasingly on migrants to pay our tax: Is that a problem?

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A paper written by a Treasury principal adviser has found that people born elsewhere are becoming increasingly important for the country’s tax base. RNZ

People who were born overseas and migrated to New Zealand are paying an increasing share of the country’s tax, a new paper shows.

The paper, published by Treasury to support its long-term fiscal statement, but not necessarily reflecting the view of Treasury overall, was written by principal adviser Tim Hughes.

It finds that, in aggregate, people born elsewhere are becoming increasingly important for the country’s tax base.

“Foreign-born people made up 24 percent of the population in 2000, also paying 24 percent of individual tax on market income,” Hughes noted.

“Since then, the foreign-born’s share of the population has grown, and their share of tax paid has grown even faster. In the tax year ending March 2024, the foreign-born made up 32 percent of the population, and paid 38 percent of the tax.”

He said that was partly due to the fact that they tended to be younger than the population born in New Zealand.

“However, age composition alone does not explain all the difference, and there is also substantial variation in the amount of tax paid by different migrants.”

He said it showed the growing importance of migration policy settings for the country’s fiscal sustainability.

Treasury has been warning about the increasing pressure that an ageing population will put on the tax system, through higher health and pension costs.

Murat Ungor, a senior lecturer in the Otago University department of economics, said the paper followed on from Hughes’ earlier work that showed up to 30 percent of people born in New Zealand were living overseas by the time they were 30.

He said it had been identified that New Zealand had a productivity problem, and relying on migration to help fill tax gaps created vulnerabilities.

“Treasury research highlights a key tension. New Zealand invests heavily in human capital, yet a significant share of that investment leaves the country through emigration.

“Previous Treasury research shows that New Zealand loses approximately $4 billion in public investment in human capital each year through emigration, with 25 percent to 30 percent of each birth cohort living overseas by age 30. That is a substantial drain on the taxpayer investment that raised those New Zealanders.”

He said the issue was not immigration itself but structural reliance on it.

“When fiscal sustainability depends on a steady inflow of skilled migrants, the country becomes exposed to global competition for talent, policy volatility, and domestic pressures on housing and infrastructure.”

Migration would remain part of the solution, particularly in addressing short-term labour shortages, he said.

“However, relying on population growth as the default economic lever is inherently risky. So, is it a problem that New Zealand increasingly depends on inward migration to support its tax base?

“Yes, not because migration is undesirable, but because over-reliance on any single lever creates vulnerability.

“The larger challenge is to build a more productive and resilient economy. That means prioritising long-term productivity growth, with automation and innovation at its core.”

Another option would be to pursue productivity advances through automation, he said.

“If New Zealand accelerates the adoption of artificial intelligence, robotics, and process automation across sectors such as agriculture, logistics, finance, and public services, it can increase output per capita without needing rapid population expansion. A sustained lift in productivity would materially strengthen the country’s fiscal position. Automation is one pathway to achieving this.”

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

Start-up asked for regulation changes to allow controversial marine carbon storage

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Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ

An international start-up has been pushing for regulation changes to allow it to carry out controversial marine carbon storage in New Zealand waters.

The company, Gigablue, says its technology could be game-changing for the climate, with the potential to store ‘gigatons’ of carbon in the deep ocean and create local jobs.

Its latest trial off the Otago coast is underway right now.

But experts in marine science and law are urging New Zealand to proceed with caution, saying that type of technology is hard to prove, hard to measure, and, at worst, unsafe for the environment.

The company says it needs to be able to carry out ocean research to build its evidence base – but wants to be able to generate carbon credits, in order to fund its work.

It says commercial viability is essential but for now it is prioritising the generation of scientific evidence.

Documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act show that in meetings with the Ministry for the Environment last year, Gigablue proposed changes to marine regulations that would allow it to go ahead without consents.

The company was assisted in its lobbying by former climate change minister James Shaw, who told RNZ the climate crisis was bad “and we should explore all scientific options that might help us to stop it getting even worse”.

Privately, though, officials appeared frustrated as their questions about gaps in the research and evidence base, and how these would be filled, went unanswered for months.

That frustration was shared by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which turned down two applications from the company to carry out research within New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone in late 2025.

It had previously allowed two much smaller sea trials to go ahead.

In documents provided to RNZ, the EPA concluded that Gigablue’s plans to deploy 1000 tonnes of its proprietary particles into the ocean amounted to dumping, which is illegal under domestic and international law.

The agency was also concerned about the environmental effects, and not convinced that the company’s plans amounted to scientific research – for which an exemption can be granted.

However, earlier this year it agreed to “a significantly modified activity”, which began in March and will finish later this week.

Co-founded by four Israeli entrepreneurs, Gigablue says its ‘microalgae carbon fixation and sinking’ (MCFS) technology stimulates a natural cycle where tiny organisms in the water, called phytoplankton, absorb carbon dioxide from the surface ocean through photosynthesis.

When these microalgae die, some sink – taking the carbon into the deep ocean, where slow-moving currents mean it can stay stored for decades, centuries or longer.

In turn, this allows the surface ocean to suck more climate change-inducing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Phytoplankton are at the beginning of the marine food chain and need light and nutrients to grow. Dick (@willapalens), CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, via Flickr

It is one type of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR), a growing field of research that proponents say could help to limit or even reverse global warming.

The company said its technology had undergone comprehensive scientific review, and was “measurable, scalable, and environmentally responsible”.

It intends to sell carbon credits for the extra carbon it manages to store, and has already signed an agreement with aviation services provider SkiesFifty to sequester 200,000 tonnes of CO2 by 2029.

However, marine and climate scientists and maritime law experts who spoke to RNZ expressed similar concerns to those voiced by officials.

They said that, based on publicly-available documents, the technology was indistinguishable from ocean fertilisation, a type of carbon removal that involves encouraging algal blooms and is currently commercially prohibited under international protocols.

Gigablue said its technology was neither ocean fertilisation nor marine dumping, and that it had the backing of local scientists.

It claims it can “responsibly scale its technology toward gigaton-level impact”.

But experts said that even if the company could legally go ahead, proving that any marine carbon removal technology actually worked was fraught with difficulty.

They also pressed the need for updated regulations, but said efforts should be focused on allowing genuine research, not commercialisation.

“In theory, it can sequester carbon,” University of Tasmania marine biologist Lennart Bach said. “We have lots of model studies that can show that.”

The difficulty was proving it.

“Whenever I hear gigaton, I’d be very careful.

“I think it needs to be shown [for] one tonne, 1000 tonnes, 10,000 tonnes. And if you show a million tonnes is reasonably feasible, then maybe you can start talking about a gigaton.”

Current regulations a ‘hindrance’

Gigablue first began operating in New Zealand in 2024, when the EPA gave it permission to conduct two small-scale ocean trials to test how its particles would drift and then sink.

It chartered a vessel from crown research institute NIWA (now part of Earth Sciences New Zealand) to carry out the second trial and also contracted the institute to review its methodology.

However, by 2025 it was looking for a more permissive way to conduct its activities, with an eye to selling carbon credits to businesses wanting to offset their emissions – known as the voluntary carbon market.

As well as the contract with SkiesFifty, it recently raised US$20 million (NZ$35m) in venture capital.

ESNZ (formerly NIWA) vessel Kaharoa II was used in Gigablue’s second trial, in October 2024. Supplied / NIWA

The company first met with senior MfE officials, including the ministry’s chief of staff, in early March 2025.

In a follow-up letter, Gigablue co-founder and chief technology officer Sapir Markus-Alford said the current regulations were “a hindrance” to marine carbon removal, because it was so new that it was not recognised in New Zealand’s system.

The company’s suggestion was to make it a new type of ‘permitted activity’ under EEZ regulations, meaning Gigablue’s activities would not need a consent. Further regulatory changes could follow in future.

But officials had identified a problem.

What Gigablue was proposing sounded extremely similar to ocean fertilisation, in which iron (and sometimes other nutrients) is added to areas where it’s scarce – including large parts of the Southern Ocean – to encourage more phytoplankton to grow.

Other than for “legitimate scientific research”, ocean fertilisation is prohibited under international law, via a 2013 amendment to the London Protocol, the main international agreement governing marine dumping.

In 2023, a protocol meeting agreed that ocean fertilisation “has the potential to cause deleterious effects that are widespread, long-lasting or severe”, such as harmful algal blooms and affecting marine food chains.

New Zealand has not ratified the amendment, but agreed to it, and is a member of the protocol. Under domestic EEZ laws, marine geoengineering and marine dumping are also not allowed.

“However, marine scientific research is considered a permitted activity,” one official noted. “The EPA has allowed Gigablue to undertake research in line with these requirements.”

Gigablue says there are crucial differences between its methodology, and ocean fertilisation, and gave RNZ a document prepared by Tonkin + Taylor outlining the distinctions.

Instead of adding iron directly to the ocean, it is ’embedded’ in small particles designed to accumulate the microalgae as it grows – therefore containing and controlling that growth.

The substrate is then meant to sink quickly to the ocean floor before the algae can decay or be eaten.

Gigablue says this method will store much more carbon than just encouraging free-floating phytoplankton blooms.

University of Canterbury law professor Karen Scott, who specialises in marine law, said the description was “clearly ocean fertilisation” under the protocol.

The ban remained non-binding, Scott said. “But it is arguably persuasive in terms of how states should respond to it.”

University of Canterbury marine law professor Karen Scott University of Canterbury

Efficacy evidence ‘top of the list’ – ministry request

In May 2025, MfE officials and Gigablue met for a two-day series of in-person meetings, with Gigablue executives flying in from overseas, joined online by James Shaw and Gigablue’s advisors for Māori engagement.

Personal notes taken by one adviser were punctuated with sceptical remarks about some of the science and environmental claims the company made: “questionable”, “skimmed over” – even “lol”.

Following the meeting, the company provided a summary of the scientific methodology review from ESNZ, along with some studies the company had commissioned from the Nelson-based Cawthron Institute.

After reviewing the documents, the same adviser emailed colleagues with a long list of gaps and assumptions she had identified, for both the environmental effects and for how much carbon would be stored, for how long.

ESNZ had found that the methodology was “scientifically sound and consistent with current scientific understanding of marine carbon dioxide removals”, but stated it had not considered the regulatory framework, environmental thresholds, or the operational scalability, she said.

The Cawthron studies on environmental safety noted “low statistical power” and that the trends should be “interpreted with caution”, she wrote.

Notes from a May meeting with Gigablue show some ministry officials were still sceptical of the company’s claims. RNZ / Kate Newton

There were other ocean-based mCDR start-ups operating overseas, using various different technologies, but they provided “much more public documentation of their methodology and research”, she said.

Not all her colleagues were so sceptical. In emails debriefing the meetings, one senior adviser said she found Gigablue “very inspiring”.

“It’s a cool idea and I found myself very persuaded.”

More emails and phone calls followed, with officials pressing the need each time for further information about existing and planned research.

In early July, a senior official emailed Markus-Alford a page-long list of what the ministry wanted, including high-priority items that officials felt were “unsighted to peer review”.

“The efficacy evidence is top of the list for us,” the official said.

In mid-September, the adviser who had reviewed the initial documents asked her manager if Gigablue had provided “any of the information we requested a few months ago”.

No, he replied. “At this stage until they share anything with us I don’t think we need to be doing anything.”

EPA turned down larger trial

At the same time that Gigablue was engaging with ministry officials, it was also seeking permission from the EPA to go ahead with a much larger trial offshore from Otago, starting in late 2025.

Marine scientific research can go ahead without a consent, but the agency still has to assess whether it meets the criteria for a “permitted activity”.

In Gigablue’s pre-activity notice filed in February 2025, it said the volumes of particles it had used in its two previous field trials – a few tonnes each – had been too small to track into the deep ocean.

This time, it wanted to release up to 1000 tonnes of particles, in five lots.

Modelling showed that by the time the particles made it to the seafloor, they would be “a scant, scattered presence” and were not expected to smother any sea life, the application said.

“Adverse effects on seabirds, fish, zooplankton and marine mammals are also unlikely.”

The authority asked for further information, including a more detailed environmental impact assessment.

The company finally provided a draft summary assessment in late September, but the authority was unmoved.

In a formal notification, the EPA’s compliance manager said the company’s plans – including a second trial it filed details of in August – could not proceed as permitted activities, because the disposal of particles fell within the definition of dumping.

The authority was also concerned the environmental effects were underestimated, and not satisfied that the proposal fell within the definition of marine scientific research.

“That was not the response we were hoping for,” a Gigablue executive wrote back. The planned research would have to stop, “with a significant cost”.

EPA told RNZ its discussions with Gigablue were “ongoing” and the company submitted a “significantly modified activity” in January this year.

That activity was given permission to go ahead, “strictly in accordance with the description provided and that all mitigation measures are fully implemented and adhered to”.

Instead of the 1000 tonnes it proposed releasing last year, the smaller trial involved just 55kg of substrate, contained within ‘pens’ that would drift up to 180km before being collected.

No change – for now

Although it has only so far applied to carry out research, the MfE documents make it clear that Gigablue wanted to start verifying carbon credits.

An early discussion between officials shows some uncertainty about how to define the company’s activities: “Are they still classified as research or have they shifted to commercial?”

In July, Markus-Alford shared its legal advice with officials “to help us understand the legal state of using the data from a scientific experiment activity for the registration of credits”.

In an interview with RNZ, she said all of Gigablue’s planned activities were still research, but it was “essential” to get carbon credits verified to fund voyages, equipment and expertise.

“These are all research activities that need to still be somehow paid [for].”

It was up to New Zealand to decide how to classify that.

“Our conversations with the New Zealand government is to figure out what the regulator in New Zealand will think is most appropriate, and we will follow it.”

Senior marine scientist James Kerry has been following Gigablue’s progress for several years and believes the company should be focusing on smaller-scale, contained trials. Supplied / James Cook University

James Kerry, a senior marine scientist at European NGO OceanCare and adjunct research fellow at Australia’s James Cook University, said there were plenty of much smaller-scale lab or tank-based studies the company should be doing to demonstrate the basics of its approach before it moved to any kind of open ocean trials.

“It’s certainly possible to begin to gain confidence in your claims or in your expectations without going to what was proposed in one of the requests for a permitted activity, which was to deposit a thousand tons of particles in the ocean.”

An MfE spokesperson told RNZ there was no current work happening to change EEZ legislation or to develop a regime for marine carbon dioxide removal.

There had been communication with Gigablue since October over a proposed visit, and the company had provided some further information, which the ministry was reviewing.

The ministry did not have a position on the efficacy or environmental safety of Gigablue’s technology, nor whether it met the definition of either marine geoengineering or ocean fertilisation, a spokesperson said.

Despite the delayed voyages, the benefit for Gigablue of operating in New Zealand – apart from access to the Southern Ocean – was one of perception.

“We actually came to New Zealand because of its strict environmental approach,” Markus-Alford told RNZ.

Gigablue’s website and public material still lean heavily on the involvement of New Zealand agencies.

The website features photos of the ESNZ vessel at sea during the 2024 voyages, and chief oceans scientist Mike Williams – who declined an interview with RNZ – appears in a promotional video.

A sub-heading says Gigablue’s activities are “Permitted by the EPA”.

Gigablue told officials there were added benefits to New Zealand, too, “including job creation, infrastructure investment, and enhanced global positioning”.

James Shaw told RNZ he saw a clear benefit from allowing Gigablue to continue its activities here.

“If the science proves out … then New Zealand will be well-positioned to take an early lead on removing CO2 from the atmosphere in the ocean as well as on land,” he said.

Why New Zealand?

New Zealand was not the only country that Gigablue was interested in operating in, Markus-Akford told RNZ.

“There are countries out there that promote and even have in place already regulatory frameworks to be able to host those activities and to act as leaders in this space.”

However, the company had found “amazing partners” in New Zealand.

“We found here really a treasure of people and communities that we are really enjoying working with.”

Gigablue CTO and co-founder Sapir Markus-Alford says the company was attracted to New Zealand because of its “strict environmental approach”. Supplied / Gigablue

Among them is Cherie Tirikatene (Ngāi Tahu), the Rekohu/Chatham Islands general manager for Māori-led carbon farming organisation Tāmata Hauhā.

Now also Gigablue’s strategic and iwi engagement manager, she got involved when the company sought help consulting with iwi.

What the company wanted to do was “super exciting”, but it was their open and early engagement that won her over.

“I’ve attached my whakapapa to this because I do believe in it and I believe in their authenticity.”

There were huge opportunities from allowing the company to operate in New Zealand, including local jobs and research opportunities for young people, she said.

However, that could all be lost “if this gets too hard”.

“If we were to lose this off our shores and they go to another country to operate, I would be gutted.”

Tirikatene believed the technology was “a game-changer”.

“What we’re proving now is the scale.”

Robust research and monitoring essential – experts

Late last year, in collaboration with the carbon removals monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) company, Puro.Earth, Gigablue published a 170-page methodology for microalgae carbon fixation and sinking.

That would require field-based measurements at each stage of every deployment, Markus-Alford told RNZ.

“The measurement of this technology is based on ground-truth data, not on modelling.”

Helene Muri, a senior scientist at Norwegian climate and environmental research institute NILU, co-authored a European report late last year into MRV for marine carbon dioxide removal.

“We concluded that no mCDR method today has a sufficiently robust, comprehensive MRV system to support safe, large-scale deployment or crediting,” she said.

“We are still in the knowledge-building phase, not in a stage where large volumes of credits from marine interventions can be considered high-confidence climate solutions.”

Gigablue’s contract to deliver 200,000 carbon credits by 2029 was therefore “very ambitious and, from a scientific standpoint, most likely premature”, Muri said.

Norwegian climate scientist Helene Muri says there is no mature system to monitor, report and verify any kind of marine carbon dioxide removal yet. Stig Larssæther/NTNU, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The ESNZ scientific review and the Puro.Earth methodology were both important steps, but not sufficient on their own, Muri said.

“They are not a substitute for public, peer-engageable evidence, independent third-party verification, and regulatory judgment on environmental acceptability and legal consistency.”

Gigablue has not yet published any research, though it provided RNZ with the same one-page summary of the ESNZ review that was supplied to MfE, together with the unpublished study from the Cawthron Institute.

It also supplied a full version of the environmental impact assessment it gave to the EPA in draft form, which said the adverse environmental effects were “expected to be low to negligible”.

Last month, it presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting, the flagship conference for ocean sciences, and Markus-Alford said it had a research paper going through the review process.

She said the company agreed with the need for published research – which is why Gigablue wanted to scale up its activities in New Zealand.

“We are really eager to create those evidence-based results, to be in the ocean, and to prove to anyone … that our activity is safe.”

James Kerry said the collaboration with institutions like ESNZ was positive, but the underlying research and reports had not been made available.

“That makes it difficult for the wider scientific community to assess what was actually evaluated, under what conditions, and how far the conclusions can really be taken,” he said

From what he could see, the research so far had been limited to small-scale field trials and a small set of “relatively limited” lab studies, he said.

“Each of these can provide useful insights, but none of them individually or collectively are anywhere near sufficient to demonstrate that the approach works as intended or is environmentally safe.”

What next?

Markus-Alford said for now, the company was able to proceed with its immediate research plans under the current EEZ regulations.

It still wanted to verify carbon credits, but the timeline for that was “a matter of the developments with the regulations”.

Karen Scott said New Zealand should allow mCDR research to take place in its waters, but it should do it in line with the London Protocol.

That provided “quite a robust international framework” for assessing which research activities could go ahead, which New Zealand should follow.

“That’s not to say that you need to ban it altogether, because there is potential within this,” she said.

“But … we’re a very long way from the stage where you could convincingly deploy it.”

University of Tasmania marine scientist Lennart Bach Supplied / Lennart Bach

Helene Muri said New Zealand and other states should take a “staged and precautionary approach” to any mCDR projects, and resist rapid commercialisation.

Lennart Bach said governments should “constructively regulate” marine carbon dioxide removal.

He believed there was a place for start-ups to be involved, because they were more inclined to test boundaries.

“Working in the space myself academically … we don’t necessarily overthink it, but we also are hesitant to make the next steps,” he said.

The risk was that an “unhinged” start-up could move too fast. “The intent is good. [It’s] the regulation that is missing.”

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

KiwiSaver payments have to rise – but earners shouldn’t be penalised if they can’t afford it

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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron Gilbert, Professor of Finance, Auckland University of Technology

The 2020s haven’t exactly been a golden age for getting ahead.

First came COVID, when job security evaporated overnight. Then the cost-of-living crisis, when everyday expenses surged far faster than incomes. Now, global instability is pushing fuel prices higher again, squeezing household budgets even tighter.

For many New Zealanders, “getting ahead” has quietly become “just getting through”.

And when money gets tight, people make trade-offs: power bill or groceries, doctor’s appointments or school supplies, rent or savings. Today or tomorrow.

Which makes the latest change to KiwiSaver understandable but potentially problematic.

From April 1, default contributions rise from 3% to 3.5% for both employees and employers. On paper, this is a good move. At 3%, most people were never going to build a retirement balance that delivers anything close to financial security.

Contributions will rise again to 4% in 2028. But some observers have argued they need to rise to around 12%. Even at that level, others have said, four in ten people still won’t retire with enough.

So yes, we need higher contributions.

But here’s the problem: increasing contributions assumes people can afford to save more. Many can’t, which means KiwiSaver changes from an incentivised saving scheme to a financial penalty.

The flaw in the system

When KiwiSaver was introduced, policymakers made a deliberate design choice: employee contributions would be the key that unlocks the door to savings support.

If you don’t contribute, you don’t receive employer contributions or the government tax credit. We have created an all-or-nothing system.

On the face of it, that makes sense. Tie incentives to behaviour and people will make the “right” choice. But that logic was built in 2007 – a very different economic environment.

Back then, the challenge was convincing people to give up a little consumption today for a better future. A growing number of households face a very different choice today: save for the future or survive today.

Over 14% of New Zealand children live in households experiencing material hardship. On top of that, a significant proportion of struggling households are not traditionally “poor” – they are working, earning and still struggling.

These are the households KiwiSaver is quietly losing. And this creates perverse outcomes.

Those who can afford to stay in the system continue to receive employer and government support. Those under the most financial pressure are locked out entirely.

Take a household already stretched by the cost of rent, food and transport. A small increase in contributions – even half a percent – might be enough to tip the balance.

So, they take a savings suspension and their KiwiSaver contributions stop. In turn, this stops their employer contributions (effectively part of their total wage compensation) and their government contributions.

Investment service InvestNow looked at the cost of a one-year savings suspension for someone aged 35 earning NZ$80,000 per year. Thanks to the temporary suspension, they would reach retirement with $20,000 less in their fund.

That is not because they made a poor decision, it’s because they didn’t have a choice.

From nudging to punishing

New Zealand doesn’t need to penalise already financially struggling households.

Australia’s superannuation system does it differently. Employer contributions are compulsory (and higher than for KiwiSaver) and continue regardless of whether employees are themselves actively contributing. That means households continue to save for retirement even when under financial pressure.

But there is another, less obvious consequence of the KiwiSaver design. By tying employer contributions entirely to employee contributions, the scheme shifts risk away from firms and onto workers – and ultimately onto the state.

Employers benefit from a system where their retirement contribution obligations disappear the moment an employee is under financial pressure. In effect, the lower the financial resilience of the workforce, the lower the employer’s contribution costs.

This creates a longer-term problem. Workers unable to maintain contributions today are far more likely to reach retirement with inadequate savings – increasing future reliance on New Zealand Superannuation and other forms of public support.

In other words, part of the cost is simply being deferred. And when it arrives, it won’t be paid by firms. It will be paid by taxpayers.

There are simple ways the system could be made more flexible:

  • allow a minimum level of employer contributions to continue during savings suspensions

  • when employees opt to maintain default contributions at 3%, require employers to contribute 3.5% so that employees are still saving more

  • maintain some level of government contribution for households experiencing hardship

  • at the very least, create a category of suspensions where those genuinely struggling are not penalised for it.

Let’s consider our 35-year-old taking a one-year suspension who would currently have $20,000 less at retirement. If their government and employer contributions continued during that suspension, they would be down only $10,000 at retirement.

Over the population, that represents a substantial reduction in the harm financial hardship is likely to cause in retirement.

– ref. KiwiSaver payments have to rise – but earners shouldn’t be penalised if they can’t afford it – https://theconversation.com/kiwisaver-payments-have-to-rise-but-earners-shouldnt-be-penalised-if-they-cant-afford-it-279327

Christchurch council staff back away from mayor’s proposal to pump sewage into sea

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Pegasus Bay. Supplied / Todd Group

Christchurch City Council staff are backing away from a controversial plan to pump millions of litres of sewage out to sea as councillors prepare to vote on proposals it is hoped will take pressure off the city’s struggling treatment plant.

A plan put forward by the mayor to send partially treated sewage out to sea which prompted concern and condemnation has not been recommended by council staff.

Instead, staff backed a plan to increase aeration in the oxidation ponds, which would be more cost effective, less ecologically damaging, had mana whenua support and was easier to build and operate than the plan the mayor mooted.

Putrid stench plagues city

Residents in the city’s east have been plagued by the stench since a blaze destroyed parts of the Bromley wastewater treatment plant in 2021.

Diggers working at the burnt-out Bromley wastewater treatment plant to remove rot from inside its filters on 10 June, 2022. Christchurch City Council

Complaints began to surge in October, with the regional council receiving more than 7600 reports from the east and city centre over summer.

The city council said heavy rain reducing oxygen and algae in the ponds worsened the smell.

In late February, the regional council issued an abatement notice to the city council requiring it to provide a comprehensive plan to comply with its resource consent or face prosecution.

Days later, mayor Phil Mauger proposed pumping around a third of the city’s sewage – between 45 to 55 million litres a day – into Pegasus Bay via the existing outfall pipe.

Mayor Phil Mauger RNZ/ Anna Sargant

At the time, the regional council’s director of operations Brett Aldridge said the council was “surprised and concerned” by the comments.

On Tuesday, Aldridge said he was confident the council had now provided all the information required.

The regional council would do “a little bit of due diligence” and have its experts look at the council’s plans, Aldridge said.

“We will leave it to the city engineers to really get into the nitty gritty of what that design is and how it will be implemented.”

Aldridge confirmed the council’s two recommended options were not included in the response to the abatement notice.

The council had signalled longer term options were under development with a wastewater specialist, but did not set out specific options or proposed pathways, he said.

Bromley’s fire-damaged wastewater treatment plant was discussed at a public meeting with residents in Christchurch on 5 April, 2024. RNZ / Anna Sargent

Two recommended options

In its report to councillors, council staff offered six options but said only two were viable and cost effective – increasing aeration to the ponds, or increasing aeration and diverting some partially treated wastewater around the ponds and out to sea.

Staff warned neither option addressed odours caused by excessive sewage loads or chemicals, equipment failures, those caused by extreme rain events or by things other than biological oxygen demand (BOD) – a measure of how much oxygen was needed to break down sewage into CO2 and sludge.

High BOD levels in the plant’s ponds were just one reason for the stench, but were the most significant cause, according to the report.

Increasing electrical supply to power the additional aerators could take four months, and staff proposed using diesel generators in the interim.

Staff costed the recommendations between $7.7 million and $11.2m to add differing levels of aeration, or between $12.2m and $16.6m to add aeration and then divert 400 litres a second of partially treated sewage to sea, either as needed (18 to 60 days a year) or year-round.

The most expensive option, to divert almost 2000 litres a second of partially treated sewage to sea for 243 days a year would cost $18.3m, had a very high risk of failure, and would take five months to implement.

Staff noted the partially treated wastewater would include BOD, enterococci, TSS (total suspended solids) and chlorine which could have effects on the ocean and public health, but that there had not been time to assess the ecological and health impacts.

If councillors backed aeration, the only resource consent needed would be for the temporary diesel generators.

If they chose one of the diversion options, they would need a new consent, which would be processed with priority and under the new wastewater regulations that came into effect in December, Aldridge said.

Two abatement notices in less than a month

Residents around the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant’s oxidation ponds have been complaining of the stench coming from the plant. Christchurch City Council

In March, the regional council issued another notice over a series of illegal sewage discharges into Whakaraupō Lyttelton and Akaroa harbours.

The breaches prompted Banks Peninsula hapū Ngati Wheke to consider legal action over the failures and lack of communication from the council.

Ecologist Dr Mike Joy said discharging sewage to the ocean, rivers and estuaries was “Victorian”.

“We should be way past this kind of attitude that it’s all right just to dump the waste.”

Terms such as “treated wastewater” needed clearer definitions, he said.

“.. the word treatment can mean anything from just taking the lumps out to completely taking it back to drinking water.”

Assurances about the safety of chlorine did not relate to environmental impact.

“They mean safe in that the chlorine will kill bacteria that are harmful to humans – that doesn’t mean it’s safe for the environment or safe for the ecology of the near shore environments.”

Sewage discharge caused an influx of nutrients which drove algal blooms and potentially cyanobacteria blooms, resulting in “dead zones where the water becomes deoxygenated, and no life in any form can survive without oxygen”.

The idea the sheer quantity of water would disperse sewage was outdated, Joy said.

“This is this old saying when there were a hell of a lot less people on the planet that the solution to pollution is dilution, but it’s not that at all – the solution to pollution is assimilation.”

Nor did he think the council’s altered proposal was much of an improvement.

“It’s just another ambulance at the bottom of the cliff thing. To treat this discharge properly we need to create an industrial-type wetland where you grow flax and raupō and you harvest and compost it.”

Ecologist Dr Mike Joy. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Concern over new national wastewater rules

The proposal underscored the increased nutrients and pathogens that could be discharged under the new wastewater standards, Joy said.

“It was a completely backward step, and I think the city council’s trying to take advantage of the weakening of national regulations to allow more stuff to be dumped into the ocean.”

Joy disputed claims the standards would improve performance.

“The only performance that will improve might be the economic bottom line for these councils because they’ll be able to get away with dumping more of the stuff without treating it. It’s quite clear analysis … that much more of these contaminants will be allowed under this new legislation.”

Some bypass events could go on for weeks or months and could go completely unnoticed.

“The actual wastewater treatment plants in many cases are OK, but the infrastructure that feeds into it is old and worn out and has illegal connections so when you get a heavy rainfall event you get a massive increase and they don’t have anywhere to store it.”

Sewerage infrastructure would come under more strain as climate change caused more extreme weather events, he said.

“It’s a massive and growing problem in New Zealand and it’s just another one of these [issues] of lack of spending on infrastructure that’s now coming back to bite us.”

Upgrades urgently needed

Taumata Arowai criticised what it called “[https://www.taumataarowai.govt.nz/home/articles/wastewater-standards-separating-myth-from-fact

misconceptions]” about the rules.

Taumata Arowai’s Sara McFall. Supplied / Taumata Arowai

Spokesperson Sara McFall said more than 20 percent of the country’s wastewater plants were operating on expired consents and around half of underground wastewater networks were rated as in poor or very poor condition, so it was important to make the urgently needed upgrades affordable.

The council’s wastewater treatment plant operations manager Adam Twose presented to the Waitai Coastal-Burwood-Linwood community board in mid-March, and was clear the council was only able to consider the diversion plan because the regulations were “significantly more relaxed” than current consent conditions.

“Under the new wastewater standards, there’s the option to go a lot looser, so you’re allowed to discharge more contaminants to the environment,” he told the meeting.

He told the board there was a “high level” risk of the stench increasing if the council did not act, as well as risks to the plant itself, which had been operating “at maximum capacity and minimum redundancy” since the fire.

More oversight, more support

City councillor Yani Johanson. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

City councillor Yani Johanson said it was obvious the plan to put partially treated wastewater into the outfall pipe was not realistic.

“There are too many risks around it, too much concern around environmental impact, too many unknowns.”

He was frustrated aeration had not been suggested earlier.

“Many of us around the council table have asked for options to address what was going on and what was causing it for years. I welcome the idea that we can do more, but it’s frustrating it’s taken this long to get to that point.”

Johanson wanted better council oversight of the activated sludge plant project, due to be completed in 2028.

“While there’s some things being done, there’s no clear plan that the community can look at to hold us accountable for mitigating the impact on their health and well-being.”

He also wanted staff to prepare a plan to reduce the impact on the community.

This could include free GP visits, a register of vulnerable residents or distributing air purifiers, he said.

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

‘Shouldn’t come as a surprise’: No extensions to incorporated societies deadline, minister says

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson says there will be no extension for the more than 3000 clubs, charities and other groups to re-register as Incorporated Societies by Easter Sunday.

Incorporated societies – including clubs, charities, unions and political parties – will be dissolved if they fail to submit a new constitution to the Companies Office by 5 April.

Moran Law special counsel Louisa Joblin specialises in not-for-profit law and has been working with incorporated societies to manage the change for years.

She said any who missed the deadline would see “an impact from day one”.

“These clubs and organisations and things – our whole not-for-profit sector – is a core part of what keeps our society trucking, really,” she said.

“We’ve heard from banks that they are basically turning off access for societies that have been removed.

“It’s those really practical things like not being able to access bank accounts, not being able to pay accounts, not being able to pay staff, not being able to pay rent – those things will immediately interfere with a society’s ability to do business.”

Societies that were dissolved could also lose their name, and would lose the ability to contract. Charities could also face being removed from the Charities Register, although that was a longer process and they might have time to negotiate.

Figures provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed as of Monday – with just five days remaining – 3302 incorporated societies were yet to re-register, about 15.5 percent of the more than 21,000 total.

Tracking of the trend suggested about 12 percent would still be non-compliant by the 5 April deadline.

Simpson told RNZ that was a success.

“To have about 85 percent of those entities having re-registered, I think it’s a pretty good effort,” he said. “I think that is a success.”

Based on a survey by Charities Services, he said about 430 intended to stop operating and about 640 planned to change to a different structure.

A further estimated 750 did not have a plan, and 750 more intended to re-register but were unlikely to be able to do so by the deadline.

Simpson said there would be no extensions.

“Easter Sunday will be with us in literally a few days time, in about five days. So no, I’m keen that we push on with it.

“We needed to put a deadline in place so it would act as a motivating factor … this is not a new or a sudden requirement, they’ve had the best part of three and a half years to get underway, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

Joblin said after the “horrifying” stats at the beginning of March showing about 8000 were yet to re-register, 3300 was reassuring but “still a really large number”.

Moran Law special counsel Louisa Joblin specialises in not-for-profit law. Supplied / Moran Law

She said dissolved societies that owned land or buildings they wanted to retain could place “quite a bit of demand on the courts to help navigate that”.

There was a backup option of applying to have the society restored on the register if they missed the deadline, but they must pay over $200 for the privilege – and still complete the process of submitting a constitution that complied with the new law.

Simpson said it was fairly straightforward.

“It’s the same process that would have occurred had they done it before the 5th of April. It just means that for the period between the 5th of April and whenever they finally do re-register, they will have lost the benefits of incorporation.”

Joblin said the Companies Office had only communicated restoration would be an option in the past couple of weeks, but it was a “simpler, smoother” process than had been expected.

“Hopefully that will mean that for those that meant to continue operating, and they just haven’t been able to do it in time, there will be a relatively straightforward process.”

But some of the groups – which were typically volunteer-run – had found the process of writing a new constitution legally technical and difficult.

Simpson advised anyone facing dissolution to contact the Companies Office, which had information on what to do and been contacting incorporated societies to encourage re-registration.

She hoped the Office would provide more resources to explain the process, and said any incorporated societies likely to miss the deadline and unable to afford legal advice should access Community Law for help.

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

The resurrection of the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme is back on the table, after industry players formed a private planning group. Flickr / Shellie Evans

The same government that scrapped the Lake Onslow pumped hydro project has put it on the fast-track list. But whether this country can pull off a project of its size is another question.

It was hyped as the answer to the country’s energy anxiety – a giant “battery” in the deep south that could keep the lights on when the lakes run dry.

But when the coalition government was voted in, the project was voted out, deemed too big and too expensive.

Now, the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme is back – or at least, back in the conversation – thanks to a private consortium group, and somewhat ironically, the government has agreed to refer the scheme for possible fast-tracking.

“There’s a view that the fast-track system makes it a lot easier to consent to a lot of different things, but this is a really big project,” says Newsroom senior political reporter Marc Daalder, who has been covering the story.

“It’s hard to overstate how significant this would be, both in terms of its broader energy system and national economic impact, but also just in terms of the actual size of the thing they are proposing to build.

“And that’s the real question, right? People often say it’s hard to build things in New Zealand. Well, this is a really big thing. Can we build it?

“Recent history would suggest no, not without significant cost overruns and significant regulatory difficulty. The government likes to think that they have tackled those issues. I guess we will find out.”

Today, The Detail looks into the pumped hydro scheme concept, which is deceptively simple: pump water uphill when electricity is plentiful, then release it when it’s scarce, with energy stored at a scale never seen before in New Zealand.

Supporters say it’s exactly what’s needed to tackle the country’s biggest vulnerability – the dreaded “dry year”, when hydro lakes drop, gas runs tight, and coal-fired generation has to ramp up.

The Labour government liked the idea, but when they looked into it, the bill was around $16 billion, with years, likely more than a decade, before anything tangible would be delivered.

So in 2023, not long after being elected, the coalition government pulled the pin.

“The theory was, at the time, that the opposition to Onslow was that it was creating too much uncertainty in the market because it would have a really significant effect on the electricity market,” Daalder says.

“It would basically be buying a lot of power when power prices are low, in order to charge up the battery as it were, in order to pump that water up the hill, and then when power prices were high, it could be used to depress those because you could flick it on, like with the flick of a switch, and generate power.

“So it would bring up the low prices, but cap off the high prices; it would have quite a significant effect on the markets. There were concerns that people weren’t investing in new generation, as a result of that.”

But it turns out the project wasn’t dead in the water, with industry players circling and forming a private planning group. The Clutha Pumped Hydro Consortium includes former Meridian Energy chief executive and Transpower chairperson Keith Turner, former environment minister David Parker, Christchurch lawyer John Hardie, and Reserve Bank board chair Rodger Finlay.

Turner told RNZ’s Morning Report that they estimated their build would cost around $8-10b, and if successful, it could be up and running by 2035. International investors had already shown interest in the project, he said.

And now their plan is being considered for fast-track consenting that could, in theory, bulldoze through years of red tape – thanks to the same government that axed the scheme.

“I asked the Energy Minister, Simon Watts, who has spoken before about the chilling impact that the Lake Onslow project had on the electricity market, whether he was worried about it having a chilling effect,” Daalder says.

“He said ‘no’ but he said it is different because this is the private market, rather than the government making its decisions.

“I don’t know if that logic fully holds. We know that private players in the energy market can have significant impacts on investment decisions, so, for example, we often hear how the uncertainty over whether Tiwai Point would stay or go for five years – between 2019 and 2024 – meant that people weren’t investing in new generation because they thought if the smelter was going to close there would be all this power available.

“It’s hard to see why you would get a different result or a significantly different result, depending on who is actually funding it.”

Lake Onslow Shellie Evans 2014/Wikipedia

In limbo

So, where does this leave Lake Onslow? Right now, it’s in limbo. Not quite dead, not quite alive, but very much in the realm of unfinished business with fast-track in its sights.

It was hyped as the answer to the country’s energy anxiety – a giant “battery” in the deep south that could keep the lights on when the lakes run dry.

But when the coalition government was voted in, the project was voted out, deemed too big and too expensive.

Now, the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme is back – or at least, back in the conversation – thanks to a private consortium group, and somewhat ironically, the government has agreed to refer the scheme for possible fast-tracking.

“There’s a view that the fast-track system makes it a lot easier to consent to a lot of different things, but this is a really big project,” says Newsroom senior political reporter Marc Daalder, who has been covering the story.

“It’s hard to overstate how significant this would be, both in terms of its broader energy system and national economic impact, but also just in terms of the actual size of the thing they are proposing to build.

“And that’s the real question, right? People often say it’s hard to build things in New Zealand. Well, this is a really big thing. Can we build it?

“Recent history would suggest no, not without significant cost overruns and significant regulatory difficulty. The government likes to think that they have tackled those issues. I guess we will find out.”

‘Too much uncertainty’

Today, The Detail looks into the pumped hydro scheme concept, which is deceptively simple: pump water uphill when electricity is plentiful, then release it when it’s scarce, with energy stored at a scale never seen before in New Zealand.

Supporters say it’s exactly what’s needed to tackle the country’s biggest vulnerability – the dreaded “dry year”, when hydro lakes drop, gas runs tight, and coal-fired generation has to ramp up.

The Labour government liked the idea, but when they looked into it, the bill was around $16 billion, with years, likely more than a decade, before anything tangible would be delivered.

So in 2023, not long after being elected, the coalition government pulled the pin.

“The theory was, at the time, that the opposition to Onslow was that it was creating too much uncertainty in the market because it would have a really significant effect on the electricity market,” Daalder says.

“It would basically be buying a lot of power when power prices are low, in order to charge up the battery as it were, in order to pump that water up the hill, and then when power prices were high, it could be used to depress those because you could flick it on, like with the flick of a switch, and generate power.

“So it would bring up the low prices, but cap off the high prices; it would have quite a significant effect on the markets. There were concerns that people weren’t investing in new generation, as a result of that.”

David Parker RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

But it turns out the project wasn’t dead in the water, with industry players circling and forming a private planning group. The Clutha Pumped Hydro Consortium includes former Meridian Energy chief executive and Transpower chairperson Keith Turner, former environment minister David Parker, Christchurch lawyer John Hardie, and Reserve Bank board chair Rodger Finlay.

Turner told RNZ’s Morning Report that they estimated their build would cost around $8-10b, and if successful, it could be up and running by 2035. International investors had already shown interest in the project, he said.

And now their plan is being considered for fast-track consenting that could, in theory, bulldoze through years of red tape – thanks to the same government that axed the scheme.

“I asked the energy minister, Simon Watts, who has spoken before about the chilling impact that the Lake Onslow project had on the electricity market, whether he was worried about it having a chilling effect,” Daalder says.

“He said ‘no’ but he said it is different because this is the private market, rather than the government making its decisions.

“I don’t know if that logic fully holds. We know that private players in the energy market can have significant impacts on investment decisions, so, for example, we often hear how the uncertainty over whether Tiwai Point would stay or go for five years – between 2019 and 2024 – meant that people weren’t investing in new generation because they thought if the smelter was going to close there would be all this power available.

“It’s hard to see why you would get a different result or a significantly different result, depending on who is actually funding it.”

So, where does this leave Lake Onslow? Right now, it’s in limbo. Not quite dead, not quite alive, but very much in the realm of unfinished business with fast-track in its sights.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

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

Marine carbon dioxide removal is a big idea – with big hurdles

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Using microalgae to ‘fix’ carbon is one type of marine carbon dioxide removal. RNZ

Explainer – A start-up company wants to carry out marine carbon dioxide removal in New Zealand waters. What is mCDR and why is it controversial?

Earlier this month, a boat chartered by the company Gigablue headed out to sea from Port Chalmers in Dunedin to an area of deep ocean off the Otago coast called the Bounty Trough.

The plan – according to a notice it filed with the Environmental Protection Authority in February – was to lower five circular ‘containment pens’ into the water, grouped around a central ring so the whole thing looked like a five-petalled flower.

The pens would float on the surface, with fine mesh nets hanging under them to contain 55kg of the company’s particles – small balls of cellulose embedded with iron and manganese.

For three weeks, they would drift in the ocean, with water samples taken every so often before the pens and particles were retrieved and taken back to land.

It was a vastly scaled-back version of a trial the company initially wanted to carry out last year, where up to 1000 tonnes of particles would have been put in the water and allowed to sink into the ocean.

Gigablue is one of a number of start-ups and research groups working in the growing field of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR).

There are a range of different mCDR methods that have been proposed, but all of them have the same aim – to draw carbon dioxide out of our rapidly warming atmosphere and store it in the deep ocean.

If mCDR can be proven to work at scale, then it could be a vital tool to help cool the planet.

What Gigablue is doing has drawn particular attention, because its approach resembles a controversial type of mCDR called ocean fertilisation.

Gigablue says there are crucial differences that separate its approach from ocean fertilisation.

But experts RNZ spoke to say, regardless of definitions, all mCDR techniques are in their infancy, and their effectiveness and safety are yet to be proven.

Some say it’s also a big distraction from what the world should really be focusing on: cutting the emissions we produce in the first place.

What is ocean fertilisation?

University of Tasmania marine scientist Lennart Bach says all mCDR is “relatively nascent”, gaining traction in the last decade or so.

“There are start-ups that work in this space and the [academic] research is also really kicking off.”

There are a range of different mCDR methods – Bach’s own research focuses on an approach called ocean alkalinity enhancement.

Ocean fertilisation is another major area of investigation, with experiments dating back 20 years or more.

The premise of both ocean fertilisation and Gigablue’s approach, which it calls microalgae carbon sinking and fixation, is based on a natural cycle that already occurs in the ocean where phytoplankton (a type of microalgae) grow and die.

Phytoplankton need light and nutrients to grow.

Just like trees, phytoplankton capture carbon dioxide as they grow, through photosynthesis. Most plankton are eaten, but some fall to the deep ocean as ‘marine snow’ when they die, taking the carbon with them.

Because deep, cold ocean currents take a long time to circulate, the carbon can theoretically stay there for decades, centuries or even millennia before it resurfaces.

As well as light, phytoplankton need nutrients, including iron.

But there are places in the ocean where iron is scarce – including large parts of the Southern Ocean.

Research has shown that if iron is added to the water in these areas, it can trigger phytoplankton growth. More algae equals a greater mass of marine snow, equals more carbon sinking into the deep ocean, and – eventually – less in the atmosphere as the surface ocean absorbs carbon dioxide to replace what’s been sunk.

Does it work – and is it safe?

In theory, ocean fertilisation can sequester extra carbon, Bach says. “We have lots of model studies that can show that.”

In reality, each step in the sequence is exceptionally tricky to measure and prove in reality, he says.

“The problem is that the biology is so complex, there’s so many pathways in which things can go wrong or things can happen unexpectedly.”

Ocean fertilisation takes place in an ‘open system’ – in this case, an unbounded ocean.

James Kerry, a senior marine scientist at European NGO OceanCare and adjunct research fellow at Australia’s James Cook University, says that increases the complexity of observing and measuring any effects – good and bad.

“The ocean is a very dynamic, chaotic system,” he says.

“It is very, very difficult, and we see this with marine CDR in general, to predict how a particle or a substance that you add to the ocean will actually behave.”

OceanCare senior marine scientist and James Cook University adjunct researcher James Kerry Supplied / James Cook University

To show that ocean fertilisation works, three main things have to be measured: efficacy, additionality, and permanence.

Efficacy requires proof that however you choose to encourage phytoplankton growth actually works – whether it’s on a particle or free-floating blooms in the ocean.

Additionality involves showing that more phytoplankton are growing, and storing more carbon, than if you hadn’t done anything.

Something called ‘nutrient robbing’ is a particular problem here. Adding iron, without adding the other nutrients the plankton need, can ‘rob’ those nutrients from another part of the ocean where plankton might have otherwise bloomed naturally, turning the whole premise into a zero-sum game.

There could be large geographical or time differences involved – making it hard to know what may or may not have otherwise happened.

Permanence is being able to show that the carbon absorbed by the phytoplankton is actually stored, and stays stored.

Many things can interrupt this process – including the fact that phytoplankton are at the beginning of marine food chains. If they’re eaten or decompose in shallower waters, then most of the carbon they’ve absorbed will be rapidly recycled back to the surface ocean and atmosphere.

Even for the small proportion of plankton that sink to the deep ocean, long-term sequestration is not guaranteed. In general, the deeper the plankton sink, the longer the carbon is stored, but research has found that even at depths of 1000 metres most of the carbon returns to the surface within decades.

In the meantime, ocean fertilisation also comes with risks.

There’s potential for creating harmful algal blooms, reducing oxygen in deep ocean ecosystems, and affecting marine food chains.

Algal blooms occur when there are large amounts of nutrients available in surface waters. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Helene Muri, a senior scientist at Norwegian climate and environmental research institute NILU, says “much better monitoring” is needed for every single stage of ocean fertilisation and other forms of mCDR.

“Research is still needed on several core questions before specific methods could be considered safe and effective at scale,” she says.

It was hard to distinguish between the effect of something done deliberately and what might have happened naturally anyway, “especially given sparse observations offshore and at depth”.

“Tracking where that carbon goes in the ocean interior, and whether it later resurfaces, is also really challenging.”

What does the law say?

For all these reasons, ocean fertilisation – and marine geoengineering in general – has become a focus for international laws governing the ocean.

New Zealand is among members of something called the London Protocol, which governs marine dumping.

In 2008, London Protocol members agreed that ocean fertilisation is covered by the protocol, and that it should be restricted to “legitimate scientific research”. In 2013 they agreed to an amendment that would heavily regulate all marine geoengineering, with ocean fertilisation the first to be added to a list of techniques.

New Zealand has not ratified the amendment, which remains non-binding, but international convention means New Zealand is expected to still act in line with what it has agreed to.

At home, New Zealand’s own laws governing the exclusive economic zone prohibit dumping, and ‘placement of matter’ unless there are specific exclusions.

That includes marine scientific research – which is why Gigablue has been able to carry out some limited ocean trials to date.

However, the larger trials it wanted to do were found to constitute marine dumping by the EPA, which also had concerns about the environmental effects.

As reported by RNZ, Gigablue was last year seeking changes to regulations that would create an exclusion for marine carbon dioxide removal.

What about companies wanting to commercialise?

The London Protocol amendment says that any ocean fertilisation activities should be designed to answer questions that add to scientific knowledge.

“There should not be any financial and/or economic gain arising from the experiment,” it states.

This creates problems for any company wanting to get carbon credits issued and verified, if its technology fits within the definition of ocean fertilisation.

James Kerry says he believes that is why Gigablue – which already has a contract to deliver 200,000 carbon credits by 2029 – is keen to distinguish its technology as something else.

“The distinction determines which international rules and safeguards apply to the activity that GigaBlue is proposing to undertake.”

Gigablue, for its part, has said it needs to be able to verify credits in order to fund the research that will provide the evidence base for its technology.

Gigablue has completed three trials in New Zealand waters, including some where particles were released into the water. The most recent trial required them to be contained within ‘pens’. RNZ

Helene Muri says the practice of pre-selling credits for carbon removals is relatively common – especially for proven forms of carbon sequestration like forest planting. However, credits should not be issued before the method is proven, she says.

“If payment helps fund development, but credits are only issued after verified delivery, that can be defensible.”

She, and others RNZ spoke to, support New Zealand ratifying the London Protocol amendment and using its assessment framework to decide which activities can go ahead.

“Fund and permit responsible, open and transparent research to build evidence,” Muri says.

“But resist policies that enable rapid commercialisation until ecological risks are actually bounded and safeguarded, international law compliance is demonstrated, and [monitoring, reporting and verification] is robust.”

Where else is this happening?

Marine carbon dioxide removal research is happening in many other locations, including the US, Canada and Australia, which are considering the same challenges as New Zealand.

A Canadian senate report published last month recommended its government should “create a regulatory framework that enables innovation and balances risks with opportunities”.

However, the report was focused almost entirely on a different type of mCDR that is limited to harbours and rivers, rather than open ocean systems.

James Kerry says the ongoing lack of global regulation has allowed a “broader pattern” of activity to develop, where mCDR approaches are hyped before there’s robust evidence that they work or can be scaled up.

He raises the example of Running Tide, an ocean fertilisation start-up that attracted blue-chip investment from the lies of Microsoft before it closed down in 2024.

“Running Tide dumped around 19,000 tons of matter in Icelandic waters in total in 2023 under a research permit,” he says.

“It’s also worth noting that after Running Tide went bust in 2024, they did not clean up the material they had dumped in the ocean.”

Without careful regulation there was a “real risk” that commercial mCDR activity would move ahead of the science and safety, he says.

He also believes novel tech like marine carbon dioxide removal risks distracting from or delaying actual emissions reductions.

“”You always begin with the narrative, ‘Climate change bad,’ which is true. ‘We need to address the problem,’ which is true.

“And then the third part which comes is, ‘Here’s our solution, which is the one that’s going to work.’ And that’s where I object.”

However, he says that – based on documents released to RNZ – New Zealand agencies have so far “largely” handled the situation appropriately.

Late last year, Earth Sciences New Zealand was awarded an $11 million Endeavour Fund grant to carry out its own research into marine carbon dioxide removal, including ocean fertilisation.

Notably, its research will not actually deploy any mCDR technology, “so avoiding technological, environmental and social-licence barriers”.

Instead, it plans to use naturally-occurring algal blooms to test advanced models and new marine carbon tracking technologies, among other things.

The agency declined an interview about this work for this story.

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

Parents do have a favourite child, according to research

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Source: Radio New Zealand

No matter how many times parents protest that they don’t have a favourite child, research shows that preferential treatment does happen – even in adulthood.

For 25 years, US‑based sociologist J. Jill Suitor and her team have examined responses from hundreds of mothers who have two or more adult children. She says there’s strong evidence favouritism exists – and that the favourite child usually stays the same over decades.

But Suitor notes that children are often wrong about their parents’ preferences.

Researchers looked into how factors like birth order, gender and temperament influence favouritism. (file image)

Unsplash / Curated Lifestyle

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

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