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March 8, 2026

Can psychopaths change?

Psychopaths might account for only about 1 percent of the general population, but they account for a disproportionate share of violent crime.

Distinct from other conditions like sociopathy and antisocial personality disorder, psychopaths tend to show traits such as an absence of remorse or guilt, a lack of empathy and a charming and manipulative interpersonal style.

You may find it hard to imagine how someone without much empathy can change. And early psychological treatments were not successful. But advances in research are showing that a deeper understanding of psychopathy may help to create more effective interventions.

To help psychopaths change, we first need to understand them.

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. If you have ever seen someone badly hurt themselves, then you probably had an averse response.

Your brain will have reacted to their pain and your body will probably have shown signs of physiological arousal. Your heart rate might have gone up, or you might have sweated.

These are common signs of physiological arousal in response to someone else’s suffering. But they are often lacking in psychopaths.

When my colleagues and I asked people in prison with a history of violence to view pictures of others’ emotional facial expressions, those who reported more of the characteristic features of psychopathy also showed blunted physiological arousal. Our 2019 study found that the pupil (the small black hole in the centre of the eye that lets in light but also increases in size during physiological arousal) did not change much in size among people higher in psychopathic traits when they looked at pictures of people who were afraid.

These differences mean that some people with these traits might struggle to learn about how their actions cause other people to feel distressed or afraid.

Prisons and secure forensic hospitals are where people with psychopathic traits are often entered into treatment programmes designed to reduce their risk of reoffending. Modest reductions in general reoffending have been reported following cognitive behavioural programmes that are offered to people in prison with or without psychopathy or another personality disorder.

But not all criminal behaviour programs have been marked by success. For example, in the UK in 2017 the failure of the Core Sexual Offender Treatment Programme designed by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and approved for use in 1992, to lower reoffending was highly publicised.

HMPPS has since introduced a new programme, Building Choices. It adopts a strengths-based, skill focused approach to improve emotion management, healthy relationships and sense of purpose. Unlike the previous course, the programme is not designed to address particular offence types, and it has shown some signs of promise.

Historically, researchers have considered such programmes less effective at reducing reoffending when offered to people with psychopathy. Indeed, some studies even suggest that people with psychopathy worsened following treatment.

One of these programmes, offered from around 1965 to 1978 at the maximum-security Oak Ridge Division of the Mental Health Centre in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada, made use of a so called “total encounter capsule.”

These results made for a high degree of pessimism among scientists and practitioners alike. But that pessimism might be misplaced.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the “total encounter capsule” did not prove effective. The capsule was “a tiny self-contained chamber where sustenance was supplied through tubes in the walls and from which no group members would leave during sessions that lasted up to two weeks”.

Participants were reported to be nude and did not participate voluntarily. There were few professional therapists, and the use of force and humiliation was permitted.

Historically, there has been a lot of pessimism around treatment for other personality disorders, too.

This is in part a reflection of stigma attached to these disorders. But it is also because personality difficulties can make it harder for people to build relationships, including with the people responsible for their treatment.

Yet a form of therapy known as dialectical behaviour therapy has shown success in reducing self-harm in people with borderline personality disorder. This type of therapy is designed to help people cope with intense emotions and to learn interpersonal skills.

In another recent study, mentalisation-based treatment, which targets the person’s ability to understand and regulate the negative effects of thoughts and feelings, led to reductions in aggressive behaviour in people with antisocial personality disorder. Findings like these suggest tailored interventions are more effective when it comes to personality disorders.

Capable of empathy?

One important consideration when treating psychopaths is that they are often assumed to be incapable of empathy. But this assumption has been challenged by some intriguing studies, which suggests that they might instead lack the motivation for empathy.

In a 2013 brain scanning study, a group of scientists at the university of Groningen, the Netherlands, showed that although criminal psychopaths did not automatically feel empathy for other people’s pain depicted in videos, their brains did generate an empathic response similar to that of non-psychopaths when instructed to feel what the people in the videos were feeling.

It could be an important step toward helping people with psychopathy if they could better understand how their actions can hurt other people.

Perhaps the most promising work that suggests people with psychopathy can change has been conducted with young people. Although children and young people under the age of 18 cannot be diagnosed as psychopathic, features of psychopathy referred to as callous unemotional traits can be reliably assessed in children as young as two years of age.

A 2018 study adapted parenting interventions to be more effective for this high-risk group of children, aged three to six years old. Afterwards, the children showed significant reductions in behavioural problems, callous unemotional traits and aggression. The researchers coached parents to show more warmth, sensitivity and responsiveness. Parents were also asked to focus on reward-based rather than punishment-based strategies to encourage the child participants to be more responsive to distress in others.

A 2022 study also reported positive outcomes, showing improvements in behaviour and personal relationships in adolescents after an intervention with a focus on strength-based (helping children understand what they’re good at) rather than punishment-based parenting strategies.

So recent work is offering a glimpse of a more optimistic future for reducing aggressive and antisocial behaviour associated with psychopathy. Perhaps the question is not can psychopaths change now, but can we get better at helping them to change.

Steven Gillespie is senior lecturer in clinical psychology, University of Liverpool.

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

March 8, 2026

First shore plover fledgling born on Pitt Island in 150 years

Source: Radio New Zealand

Shore plover fledgling banded on Pitt Island. Supplied / Department of Conservation

The Shore Plover Recovery Group has confirmed the first fledgling of the bird from Pitt Island in 150 years.

Pitt Island is the second largest of the Chatham Islands, which the shore plover – also known as the tūturuatu in te reo Māori, or tchūriwat’ in ta rē Moriori (Moriori language) – are native to.

There is a population of 250, which live in Māngere and Rangatira, as well as on Portland Island – south of Māhia Peninsula in Hawke’s Bay.

A shore plover in Māngere. Supplied / Department of Conservation

The fledgling is a result of a feral cat control programme to increase the population by the community living on Pitt Island.

Chairman Dave Houston said feral cats had eliminated the population on Pitt Island, as well as the mainland of New Zealand, in the 1870s.

But the programme allowed the shore plover to breed and for their chicks to survive after hatching, Houston said.

“The community were really engaged in that during the Jobs for Nature period after Covid.”

Shore plover. Supplied / Department of Conservation

Houston hoped for another fledging next year.

“It really depends on the cats on Pitt Island.

“We need sustained cat control to continue, or even better, to have the feral cats eradicated from the island.

“That’s a bit of a long term project, but it’s sort of a glimpse of what could be if we could have cats eradicated and get double the shore plover population, so go from the current 250 birds in the total world population to maybe 500 or more. That’d be great.”

Shore plover fledgling banded on Pitt Island. Supplied / Department of Conservation

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

March 8, 2026

Why do high earners get the pension? – Ask Susan

Source: Radio New Zealand

Got questions? RNZ has launched a new podcast, [ https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/no-stupid-questions No Stupid Questions’], with Susan Edmunds.

We’d love to hear more of your questions about money and the economy. You can send through written questions, like these ones, but even better, you can drop us a voice memo to our email questions@rnz.co.nz.

You can also sign up to RNZ’s new money newsletter, [ https://rnz.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=211a938dcf3e634ba2427dde9&id=b4c9a30ed6 ‘Money with Susan Edmunds’.]

With all the talk about the country not being able to support the pension scheme I am at a loss as to why pensions are paid out to people who continue to work fulltime after they turn 65. I stopped work because of ill health but would otherwise have happily worked another 10 years. I would not have expected a pension and I have many working friends who take it simply because it is given to them, but don’t need it. Am I missing something here?

I don’t think so. While there is no shortage of people who argue that they are entitled to it no matter what, I think there is a growing number who question the fairness of people on very high incomes being paid NZ Super.

Last year, I reported on the fact that more than 9000 people aged over 65 earn more than $200,000 and are eligible to claim NZ Super, too.

While they would pay tax on their pension, and some of it would go back to the government that way, the retirement commissioner said it was fair to question the fairness of it.

Some people may be working because they have to – I know some people use the years when they might be getting the pension and a salary as an opportunity to shore up their savings so they can afford to retire.

It might be less desirable to reduce their entitlement. But I personally think it would serve us all to be more willing to at least have the conversation.

Sir Ian Taylor has been promoting Share My Super, an organisation that allows pensioners to donate part or all of it to charity, if they do not need the money.

Can a KiwiSaver account be used to fund a first home outside New Zealand?

If you are planning to leave New Zealand to go and live in another country, then probably – unless you’re going to Australia.

Once people have been out of New Zealand for more than a year, they can apply to withdraw all their KiwiSaver money, apart from the government contribution, by saying they have permanently emigrated. You could then use it to buy a house or for whatever purpose you liked.

If you’re moving to Australia, it’s more tricky. You can only move your KiwiSaver to an Australian superannuation savings account. There isn’t the same ability to withdraw for a first home there, although there is a “first home super saver scheme” that allows people to withdraw voluntary contributions to help buy their first home.

From what I understand, not all Australian super schemes offer this and you can only use $15,000 of your KiwiSaver money in this way.

If you’re staying in New Zealand then you can’t use the money to buy a house anywhere else because you need to be planning to live in it.

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

March 8, 2026

New Zealand’s Corey Peters 5th in men’s downhill sitting at Paralympic Winter Games

Source: Radio New Zealand

Corey Peters was the defending champion from the Beijing Games four years ago. PHOTOSPORT

Four-time Paralympic medalist Corey Peters has finished out of the medals in the men’s downhill sitting in his first Winter Paralympic Games event at Milano Cortina.

The 42-year-old Kiwi was unable to defend the title he won in Beijing in 2022.

Peters made a couple of costly errors but twice managed to make a miraculous recovery to stay upright and record a time of 1:20.89.

“I feel disappointed. We work pretty hard over a number of years, and a lot of dedication and sacrifice goes into it. Unfortunately, conditions did not really gel with me today and I didn’t adapt,” Peters said, who was second out of the start gate.

“Fifth was definitely not what I was looking for with downhill being one of my better events.”

Norwegian Jesper Pedersen, the silver medallist from four years ago, produced a slick run down the Olimpia delle Tofane to register 1:18.14 to strike gold.

Niels de Langen of the Netherlands claimed silver – some 1.10 further back – with Canada’s Kurt Oatway filling the final podium spot in bronze (1:19.42).

Competing in warm temperatures of around 9C and softening snow conditions, 11 of the field of 23 registered DNF’s including Dutchman Jeroen Kampschreur, the quickest man in both training runs.

Peters continues his quest at the Milano Cortina Games when he competes in the Men’s Super-G Sitting on Monday.

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

March 8, 2026

World-leading neurobiologist: Science means it’s not okay for me to hate Donald Trump

Source: Radio New Zealand

In his latest book, Determined, Robert Sapolsky argues that we are not, in fact, masters of our own destiny. Everything we think and do is beyond our control and caused by a combination of biology and environment.

The Stanford University professor was just 14 when one “very revelatory night”, he realised that humans have no free will at all.

“Suddenly, I woke up at two in the morning and said, ‘Ah, I get it. There’s no free will. And there’s no God. And there’s no purpose in the universe whatsoever.’ It all just evaporated right then and hasn’t been back since.”

This video is hosted on Youtube.

. But for him, this argument is “missing 99 percent of what’s going on”.

“It never asks the question, how did you become the sort of person who would choose regular coffee over decaf? How did you wind up being somebody who would be standing in that coffee shop at that time? How do you wind up being employed enough so you had money in your pocket to pay for it? How did you arrive at this moment?

“When you look at all the things that brought you to that instant – brain and hormones and genes and early environment – and throw all of that stuff in there, there’s simply no room in there for you to have made a decision completely free of your biology and the environment that it interacted with.”

The notion that we actually have no control over our lives is “a drag” for lots of people, Sapolsky admits.

“But if that depresses you, by definition, you are one of the lucky ones, because you’ve spent your life being treated better than average because of things you had nothing to do with.

“You didn’t choose the womb you were in. You didn’t choose your parents’ socioeconomic status. You didn’t choose your genome. You didn’t choose any of that stuff.”

Professor Robert Sapolsky: Life Without Free Will

Saturday Morning

By contrast, if you’re someone whose been treated worse than average in your life for reasons you had nothing to do with, the idea of there being no free will is “liberating”.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t choose your genes. You didn’t choose how your brain wired up. You didn’t choose your adolescent experiences.”

Once you really believe there’s no free will, it makes no sense, intellectually or ethically, to blame, punish, praise or reward another person, he says.

“It also makes the entire criminal justice system irrelevant and irrational – the whole legal system is built on a notion of free will that doesn’t exist.”

Acknowledging that it’s biology and circumstances that make us do the things we do is “hugely humane” and also “hugely scientifically sound”, Sapolsky says.

“Seeing where this stuff comes from makes us not only better at interventions, but it also makes us better at not constructing societies where, by definition, half the people are treated worse than average for stuff they had nothing to do with.”

Donald Trump is “very, very damaging” and also fundamentally “unlucky”, says neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky.

AFP / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds

Hating an individual person who was unlucky in their combination of biology and upbringing, even destructive people like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, makes as much sense as hating a virus for getting into your lungs or hating an earthquake, he says.

“I spent a lot of the last 10 years now having to think through why it’s not okay for me to hate Donald Trump. He had an awful upbringing. His father was a nightmare. His mother was ice-cold. He spent his whole life having to pay people to pretend that they love him. No wonder he turned out this way.

“Does that mean you shouldn’t be very activated in trying to keep him from doing what he’s doing to destroy our democracy? No. He sure as hell needs to be stopped, but he had nothing to do with it. Putin had nothing to do with it … but you recognise, nonetheless, they turned out to be very, very damaging people.”

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

March 8, 2026

Plan to release parasitic worm on invasive millipede horde

Source: Radio New Zealand

A portuguese millipede. RNZ/Mary Argue

A reinfestation of invasive millipedes, crawling out of the soil and into homes, is sending residents of Wellington’s south coast to arm themselves against the bugs.

The alarm was sounded about the portuguese millipede almost a year ago, with stories of people finding hundreds of the scaly black creatures outside or inside bags, shoes and even beds.

Since then, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has identified the species in New Plymouth and Nelson – and while it is considered a nuisance, it’s not classified as a pest species and doesn’t meet the threshold for official control measures.

However residents hope to fight back, and are pinning their hopes on a tiny parasitic worm to suppress millipede numbers.

The microscopic nematode wriggles inside its host, where it reproduces. Eventually the nematode offspring become so numerous they burst out of the host’s body, killing it.

A newcomer to Ōwhiro Bay told RNZ he planned to unleash an “aggressive” species of the nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, in addition to barrier sprays and insecticides.

“At this point there’s less concrete more millipedes as I step out of the house. They’re just pouring out of the soil – [it’s] probably got to do with the [recent] rainfall.

“It’s essentially like a millipede graveyard right now.”

He said he was aware of the millipedes before he moved, so was prepared, but the “volume, and the speed” of their emergence was “alarming”.

He hoped his experiment could potentially benefit others and if successful, “nip the problem in the bud”.

A trial of the nematode Steinernema feltiae as a biocontrol agent for the millipede is currently underway at Victoria University – results are expected in a few weeks’ time, but those plagued by the millipedes aren’t waiting.

Another Ōwhiro Bay resident, who had already sprayed the species of microscopic worm told RNZ their place was one of several houses on the street planning to use it.

“We … haven’t seen any effect yet. But that’s to be expected – it’s a long term thing.”

They said the millipedes were already appearing as numbers tended to surge in autumn and spring.

“They’ve started turning up – you’ll see 10, then the next day you’ll see 20, 30, and then before you know it, they’re just … everywhere.

“If I actually counted them up there’d be a couple of hundred outside and then maybe 10 or 20 inside.

“I’m prepared that they’re going to get worse for a while, before they get better.”

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

March 8, 2026

White Sox great and Olympian Rhonda Hira calls for greater recognition of softball

Source: Radio New Zealand

Rhonda Hira in action for the White Sox against Japan in 2000. PHOTOSPORT

Rhonda Hira (Waikato Tainui, Ngāti Tipa) has long secured her place in New Zealand softball history.

A five-time world championship representative, Olympian and New Zealand player of the decade from 1997-2006, Hira is widely regarded as one of the greatest White Sox to wear the fern.

Now, she says former players like herself have a responsibility to be more visible and help guide the game forward.

Raised in Hawke’s Bay, before settling in Christchurch nearly 40 years ago, Hira’s softball journey began with a newspaper article she read as a kōtiro.

“I was only like eight at the time and I was reading an article about a women’s team going to the World Series in South America,” she told RNZ.

“I thought, ‘Oh, I’d love to do that myself’.”

NZ White Sox representatives. Softball New Zealand

That early spark turned into a near 20-year international career. Hira debuted for New Zealand in 1983 and went on to represent the White Sox at five world championships – Auckland in 1986, Normal, Illinois in 1990, St John’s in 1994, Fukushima in 1998 and Saskatoon in 2002.

She also reached what she describes as the pinnacle of any sporting career – the Olympic Games – where the White Sox placed sixth. At Sydney 2000, she was New Zealand’s top batter.

“To be in that realm with your own people is something to aspire to,” she said, reflecting on the strong Māori and Pasifika representation within the New Zealand team at those Games.

Her most memorable campaign was the 1990 world championship final – which was never played – against the United States. A single round-robin result meant New Zealand needed a near-perfect performance to claim gold.

The gold medal game was rained out, which led to the United States claiming gold for the highest round-robin standing. 

“One run cost us 10 runs to actually win the tournament,” she said. “That’s a memory in itself.”

According to the latest rankings from the World Baseball Softball Confederation, New Zealand’s women are currently ranked 23rd.

It marks a shift from the White Sox teams of Hira’s era, who were regular podium contenders. New Zealand won the world championship in 1982, and claimed bronze in 1986 and silver in 1990.

As recently as 2016, the side was ranked eighth globally.

Softball’s Olympic status has also shifted over time. The women’s game featured at the Olympic Games from 1996-2008, before returning at Tokyo 2020.

It will again appear at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, with six teams to qualify through a series of global and continental tournaments. Host nation United States automatically secures one place.

Rhonda Hira in action for the White Sox against Australia in 2000. PHOTOSPORT

Hira said, throughout her softball career, resources were limited. Programmes were handwritten on a single A4 sheet and training tools were improvised from household items.

“When I was making my way to being a White Sox, it was more of dedication to the sport and the commitment,” she said.

“We utilised a lot of resources we had in the home, like your can of spaghetti tied around a rope just to strengthen the wrists,” she laughed.

Today’s athletes had access to far more support, Hira said, but she believed the core principle had not changed.

“The real dedication is what you put into it is what you’ll get back.”

Softball in Aotearoa now has a membership base made up of about 60 percent Māori and Pasifika players. Hira said that connection wasn’t an accident.

“What draws our indigenous people to this game is that it’s community driven,” she said. “You don’t know until you actually play with somebody else that you think, ‘Oh, they’re from the same area. Why is that?’, so there’s that connection.”

She described softball as strategic, percentage-based and a whānau sport, where every player has a role to perform.

“It creates lifelong friendships. The camaraderie amongst those that have gone and those that are present is unbreakable.”

NZ White Sox Olympic team 2000. Supplied

While proud of what her generation achieved, Hira said visibility from former internationals was crucial to the sport’s future.

“Players like myself need to be a little bit more visible, so these players are able to say, ‘Well, that’s so-and-so and she went to so-and-so’, and maybe can approach these players that have been there and done that.”

She believed the softball brand was strong enough to demand more recognition nationally and internationally.

“It’s a brand that can be marketed. It has that support not only within the community, but at a higher stage as well.”

With Olympic qualifiers and junior world events on the horizon, Hira’s message to the next generation was to work hard.

“The resources that are available to you, use them well. The coaches that you have believe in the game that they’re trying to get you to play.

“If it’s not working, park it. It’ll be something you can use when it actually does come to fruition.”

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

March 7, 2026

Super Rugby Pacific: Crusaders attack exposed in Will Jordan’s absence against Blues

Source: Radio New Zealand

All Black Will Jordan was rested for the Crusaders’ clash against the Blues. Martin Hunter/ActionPress

World class one week, woeful the next.

The Crusaders barely fired a shot against the Blues at Eden Park, a sloppy and disjointed performance seeing them succumb 29-13 to their old rivals.

Most worryingly, their clunky attack failed to make any real inroads on the Blues defence.

After looking so potent against the Chiefs, the Crusaders lacked direction just a week later, fumbling passes, kicking aimlessly and repeatedly caught behind the advantage line.

Such a drastic dip forces questions and the obvious answer – they were without their primary weapon, Will Jordan, with the All Black rested for the round four clash.

Do the Crusaders rely on their sensational fullback too heavily? Coach Rob Penney concedes they might.

“We talk about that a bit and that’s the last thing we want to,” he said. “He’s world class and he makes a massive impact for any team he’s in.

“We need to take heat off Jordy. Will’s just an amazing talent, and we want to make sure he can come here and play with freedom, not feel as though he’s a critical piece.”

Penney described it as an “ugly performance”.

“Really disappointing,” he admitted. “We were messy, couldn’t get any rhythm.

“Looked as though we were a bit flat, didn’t bring any intensity really. We’ve got some talented players and we were inexplicably error-ridden tonight.

“There wouldn’t be too many that could put their hand up and say it wasn’t me.”

Handling errors plagued them throughout.

“You could see a lot of them were at times when there wasn’t a lot of defensive pressure on, so we can’t blame excess pressure. The boys are better than that.

“It’s hard to put your finger on when good players are making errors.”

They also had a Jamie Hannah try disallowed, due to an earlier high shot by Dom Gardiner.

“They’re big momentum shifters. We’re disappointed that we work hard on keeping our shots down, our tackle height down.

“We didn’t need to be in that position. Very frustrating, because it was a nice try and we’d fought our way back, so big turnaround.”

After their stunning upset win over the Chiefs, the Crusaders have now lost three of their first four matches to begin their title defence.

“It probably does feel as though we haven’t certainly made the progress we would’ve liked on the back of last week,” said Penney.

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

March 7, 2026

Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board candidate Chris Latham wants postal voting scrapped

Source: Radio New Zealand

A candidate in the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board elections in Auckland wants postal voting scrapped. RNZ / Eveline Harvey

A candidate in the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board elections in Auckland wants postal voting scrapped, after their 2025 election result was voided.

This week, a High Court judge in Auckland upheld a district court ruling that a new election should be held, after 79 voting papers were cast without the rightful voter’s knowledge.

Candidate Chris Latham said it was important his community could trust the voting system.

“Their faith in the postal ballot is completely and probably irreparably shot at this point, and I think it’s high time we moved to more modernised voting systems or booth voting, as we do in general elections.”

He said it cost Auckland Council about $200,00 to put on another election for his subdivision.

“The cost is borne by the ratepayer to put on another election. The council has to take an inward look at what went wrong, why it went wrong and how we can avoid it happening in the future.”

Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board candidate Chris Latham. Supplied

Voting for the local board’s four positions opens to residents on Monday, 9 March 2026.

Election Services has confirmed postal voting will be used for the new Papatoetoe election, as it was legally required to undertake the new election on the same basis as the voided election.

Electoral officer Dale Ofsoske told RNZ that extra safeguards were in place for the upcoming election.

“NZ Post posties and Auckland Council library staff have been asked to be extra vigilant in their duties, and to report any unusual behaviour to me or the police. The police have been briefed and are aware of the election taking place, especially over the voting delivery phase.

“Auckland Council is undertaking a communications strategy for the public to be aware of the election and to look out for their voting packs from Monday to Thursday.

“A candidate briefing was held on Monday night, where all candidates were reminded of the dos and don’ts when campaigning.”

Electoral officer Dale Ofsoske says extra safeguards were in place for the upcoming election. RNZ / Todd Niall

Senior lecturer at AUT’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities Julienne Molineaux said postal voting presented security challenges.

“With the delivery of ballots, there’s no oversight to ensure the voter receives their papers and, depending on the letterbox design, they could be easily stolen.

“When turnout is low, fewer people will notice that their ballots didn’t turn up, because they weren’t going to vote anyway.

“The other security risk with postal voting is that the voting takes place in private and it’s not supervised by election officials. This means voters can be bribed, they can be threatened and they can be pressured to vote a certain way.”

She believed in-person voting would resolve those issues, but that it might not increase voter turnout or make it easier for voters.

“I think it would be a mistake to assume that it would also be successful in our local elections, because the two elections are very different.

“For the parliamentary election, we’re asked, as voters, to make only two choices – to vote for a party and vote for a local candidate – and we have political parties, which are an information shortcut for voters. It makes it easier for us to make our decision.

“Local elections have much more complex ballots. My local election ballot for 2025 asked me to make 11 different decisions and that’s quite hard to do on the spot in a booth.”

She said nothing stopped councils from changing how their constituents voted.

She said the Auckland Council voted against postal voting supplemented by booth voting for the 2025 election.

“Existing councillors were elected under the status quo, so it’s no surprise that the majority of them support the system that they have been successful in.

“We need an independent electoral commission running our local elections and making decisions about how they’re run.”

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

March 7, 2026

Chief executive appointment ‘strong’ signal Taranaki councils headed for amalgamation – mayor

Source: Radio New Zealand

Taranaki Regional Council boss Steve Ruru has also been named interim chief executive at New Plymouth District Council. Supplied / New Plymouth District Council

The appointment of the current Taranaki Regional Council chief executive as interim New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) chief executive – a role that he will hold alongside his existing position – is a strong signal the two councils are headed towards amalgamation, according to New Plymouth mayor.

The move is believed to be a New Zealand first.

Max Brough said Steve Ruru’s appointment was an indication of what was to come.

“It’s a strong signal and I think, if you ask anybody in the wider local government sector, they all acknowledge reform is needed and it’s coming at us.”

Brough said the appointment would strengthen both organisations before local government reforms.

“It’s great, actually, because now we can start looking at what’s coming forward in front of us with all of this reform stuff and [we’re] in the perfectly placed position.

“Two councils that are naturally going to come together through the reform process anyway, as it pans out, and we’re going to be at forefront of the country at getting this underway.”

New Plymouth Mayor Max Brough. RNZ / Robin Martin

Regional council chair Craig Williamson also welcomed the move.

“Steve understands the complexity of regional functions, the operational realities of territorial authorities and the critical importance of collaboration between the two. He is the perfect person for the job.”

Ruru looked forward to exploring how the councils could work more closely for the benefit of Taranaki.

“The vacancy at NPDC provides an opportunity to pilot an innovative leadership approach in the region. Joint leadership gives us a strong platform to examine service models that could better serve Taranaki.

“This work will benefit both organisations and, most importantly, the communities we serve.”

Nw Plymouth Regional Council chair Craig Williamson. RNZ / Robin Martin

Ruru would take over from Gareth Green, who concludes his three-year tenure at NPDC in the coming weeks, and he would be in the role, while NPDC recruited a permanent chief executive.

He said both councils would have time to evaluate how service delivery and community outcomes could be improved as part of the wider Simplifying Local Government reforms.

“My focus will be on preparing both organisations for the future. I’m passionate about the role of local government in supporting our communities and I am committed to ensuring both councils remain well positioned through this period of transition.”

Details on how Ruru would split his time between the two organisations and be paid were still to be finalised.

South Taranaki Mayor Phil Nixon said he had been kept in the loop about developments, but at this stage, they did not involve his district.

“That’s just an agreement between TRC and NPDC. That’s out of the realm of South Taranaki District, that’s for sure.

“We’ve had no discussion, conversation whatsoever [about amalgamation]. I mean, that’s a thing really for the Mayoral Forum to discuss.

“Without further discussion, I’m not sure where this will go.”

Nixon was not sure what people in his district would make of any eventual amalgamation.

“I can’t speak for the community on this particular issue, but what I can make comment on is, when we went out to get submissions on Local Water Done Well around either a regional CCO [council-controlled organisation] or bringing it in-house, our community was very strong as to bringing it in-house.

“A lot made a comment that, whatever you do, we don’t want to be part of New Plymouth. They made it very clear, those ones that did reply to that.”

Stratford Mayor Neil Volzke believed his district and South Taranaki could eventually become involved.

“This is their initiative and they are looking to develop a plan between them. What will happen from there, they have left the door open, should we choose to join in at a later date, but at the moment, the proposal is between those two councils.”

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