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Source: Radio New Zealand

An urgent inquiry into the government’s decision to remove school boards’ legal obligation to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and overhaul the national curriculum is underway, with iwi and the Education Union warning of long-term impacts for Māori.

The Waitangi Tribunal is hearing evidence this week after granting urgency to a claim brought by Northland iwi Ngāti Hine and hapū Te Kapotai, alongside the country’s largest education union, NZEI Te Riu Roa.

The claim challenges changes to the Education and Training Act 2020, which removed the requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti, as well as the reset of Te Mātaiaho and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

The claimants argue the removal of Treaty obligations risks significant and irreversible harm to Māori learners and their whānau, including reduced access to te reo Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori, and a loss of cultural safety in schools.

Ngāti Hine kaumātua and claimant Te Waihoroi Shortland previously told RNZ the decision to remove Treaty obligations reflected a long-standing pattern in Crown behaviour.

“People forget that two nations made this deal (Te Tiriti o Waitangi). One of them was Māori and one of them was the Crown of England … then one nation turns around and swallows the other one up and says, everything we decide is for your good.

“It’s been that way for 186 years. These kind of actions remind us that we haven’t moved very far in all of that time.”

In granting urgency, the Tribunal found the changes carried constitutional significance, “especially so in a case where Māori have not been consulted”.

It also found the removal of the statutory obligation could have immediate consequences for both the status of Te Tiriti and outcomes for tamariki Māori within the education system.

The hearing, which begins on Wednesday morning, is expected to run through to Friday.

‘Pattern of undermining’ Treaty obligations

NZEI Te Riu Roa president Ripeka Lessels told RNZ the inquiry would allow the Tribunal to examine how the changes were made and their wider impact on the education system.

She said the union would present evidence showing what it believes is a pattern of Crown conduct that has “systematically undermined and dismantled” Treaty obligations in education.

Lessels said the removal of section 127 of the Act, which previously required school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti, had shifted responsibilities away from boards and weakened accountability.

“While the Crown says that schools are not Crown entities, they are very much Crown entities. They are a reflection of the Crown. So there is an obligation on their part to be able to give effect to the Treaty, to be able to ensure that things like strategic planning, policies, ensuring that localised curriculum are… part of a school’s strategic plan.”

She said the change could affect how boards engage with iwi, whether they prioritise Māori representation, and how they reflect Te Tiriti in decision-making.

“For instance… whether or not they must have a Māori representative on their board or not… that’s an impact that will resound quite loudly for some schools,” she said.

Lessels said giving effect to Te Tiriti was about embedding te ao Māori across all aspects of schooling, from governance to teaching and community engagement.

“It reflects tikanga Māori, kaupapa Māori, mātauranga Māori, te reo Māori… in every aspect of the school,” she said.

Research showed students were more likely to engage in learning when they could see themselves reflected in their school environment.

The union is asking the Tribunal to recommend the government reinstate the mandatory requirement for school boards to give effect to Te Tiriti.

Lessels said this was essential to ensure consistency across the system and maintain progress made since the obligation was introduced in 2020.

“There was a time in our history where we didn’t have it… and nobody taught it, nobody made references to it,” she said.

She said schools had made significant progress in recent years, but that could be undermined without a legal requirement in place.

“Since 2020, since the Education and Training Act, schools have had to give effect to [Te Tiriti]. And I must say schools have done a wonderful job of giving effect to the Treaty. But this way here, what the Ministry or what the Minister has done is nothing short of just dismantling the Treaty of Waitangi and the ways in which schools should be obligated to give effect to it.”

The union is also calling for a halt to the rollout of the new curriculum, arguing consultation has been insufficient – particularly for Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

“While both consultations close on 24 April 2026, the Ministry of Education opened the English-medium process on 28 October 2025. This leaves tumuaki and kaiako with only half the time to provide feedback on the draft Te Marautanga o Aotearoa framework and Tau 0-10 wāhanga ako. For the Pūmanawa Tangata wāhanga ako (social science learning area), the draft was released on 7 April, leaving the sector with only 18 days for feedback.”

Lessels said the shortened consultation timeframe for Māori-medium education signalled a lack of priority given to mātauranga Māori.

“We need to be able to have some authentic consultation… where those who need to be in that conversation are in that conversation,” she said.

NZEI is also calling on the government to:

• Establish an independent monitoring body, which will include NZEI and Māori education sector representatives, to oversee Crown compliance with Te Tiriti obligations in education
• Reinstate funding for Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori and Resource Teachers Māori
• Set binding requirements for future Ministerial Advisory Groups, ensuring all members have a demonstrated commitment to Te Tiriti and te ao Māori

The Tribunal will hear evidence from claimants, including iwi representatives and the union, as well as responses from the Crown over the coming days.

The Minister of Education has been approached for comment.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A whistleblower sparked an investigation by a top lawyer into Health New Zealand’s medical scanning services.

The agnecy said Michael Heron KC would lead an independent investigation after a protected disclosure about radiology services.

An investigation three years ago found patients had had suffered harm for years from poor radiology tech at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, while RNZ reported extensively on the Bay and other districts’ struggles with technology and radiology workforce shortages.

“We can confirm that the board has commissioned an independent investigation into issues raised in a protected disclosure in relation to radiology services,” board chairperson Dr Levy and deputy board chairperson Dr Andrew Connolly said in a statement.

They would not confirm if the findings would be made public.

“Relevant Health NZ staff are being interviewed as part of the process. We can’t comment further while this confidential investigation is underway.”

The senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS), said several doctors and nurses in Hawke’s Bay had been invited to talk to Heron and it was offering them support.

The Protected Disclosures law gave protection against retaliation.

In a note to members that RNZ had seen the ASMS said, “You may be aware that Michael Heron KC is conducting an investigation, at the request of Health New Zealand’s Board, following a protected disclosure concerning radiology services in Hawkes Bay.

“He will be visiting Hawkes Bay Hospital later this month.”

Association executive director Sarah Dalton said, “We know that there is an inquiry underway as a result of a protected disclosure.

“And we understand in the Terms of Reference is an undertaking from [HNZ chair] Lester Levy that the inquiry will be made public but that hasn’t happened.

“A number of clinicians – doctors and nurses – have been invited to talk to Heron. We are offering advice and support.”

Heron was a former Solicitor-General and had led government inquiries into misuse of Census data, and judicial behaviour, and culture reviews such as for the Law Society.

The Protected Disclosures Act 2022 protected an employee or former employee who in good faith reports “serious wrongdoing that they believe on reasonable grounds is, or has been, occurring in their workplace”, according to Employment NZ.

Health New Zealand had for years struggled with risks to patients and workers in various districts from outdated and fragmented radiology technology systems, stressing out staff who risked missing vital scanning information and raising the risk of misdiagnoses.

In 2024, documents sought by RNZ revealed hospitals across the central North Island were struggling to overhaul unstable medical scanning technology with faults rising rapidly.

In 2023 HNZ released a report it had tried to keep secret under whistleblowing laws, that found patients had been harmed by “unsafe” processes and inefficient radiology medical imaging services at Hawke’s Bay Hospital.

This had dragged on for years despite red flags raised with management. Consultant radiologist Dr Bryan Wolf triggered the investigation as a whistleblower.

Work had been underway for several years to upgrade the tech nationwide.

RNZ in February sought an update on that work in an Official Information Act request but a response had been delayed by HNZ to May.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Health New Zealand is reviewing how healthcare is delivered on Stewart Island after a survey raised serious concerns about the cost and difficulty of seeing a doctor.

It has been at least a decade since Rakiura had its own GP, with nurses now the only permanent healthcare providers.

The island was left without any healthcare workers for three days last year due to illness, information released under the Official Information Act has revealed.

A nurse practitioner and two clinical nurse specialists, based at Stewart Island Health Centre in Oban, handle everything from emergencies to everyday care for the island’s 480 residents.

A survey of 78 residents last year revealed frustration with the expense and stress of accessing mainland care and concern about burnout among the nurses holding the system together.

Residents praised the nurses as “amazing”, “superheroes” and “dedicated” but they told RNZ the biggest frustration was the difficulty in seeing a GP.

Angela Karaitiana said each visit to a clinic in Bluff or Invercargill cost hundreds of dollars once transport was factored in.

“You can’t just pop to the doctor here – you have to get a flight. It takes you a day out of work and your life,” she said.

Some trips were unavoidable, she said.

“The other day my husband went over for a medical for his fishing ticket and they were running late. So the plane was at this time and back at this time, and then [the clinic] was running late. And then it’s like ‘is there a later plane or do I just have to cancel and come back and go over another time?’ See that stuff’s a pain,” Karaitiana said.

Shona Sangster said GP shortages on the mainland compounded the problem.

“I’m registered with a practice in Invercargill and it’s six weeks to get an appointment with my GP. And then, if for whatever reason, I can’t get over there because the weather packed in and the plane can’t fly or the boat can’t go then I have to wait another six weeks,” she said.

Bruce Ford said the long waits were familiar to him too.

“You tend to be a bit cautious about what you want and even now if you want to have an appointment they say ‘oh we can see you in three weeks’ time’ and a fat lot of bloody use that is if you’ve got something bad,” he said.

Residents surveyed told Health NZ they were worried about burnout and unsafe cover for those working at Stewart Island Health Centre, describing the clinic as “old and cluttered”.

Health NZ found elderly and hapū māmā were being forced off the island for care, services were stretched during tourism peaks and there were “feelings of neglect by the system”.

People were also worried about the difficulty enrolling with mainland GPs, the survey found.

Three days, no cover

The survey was carried out in October and preceded a review into how care was delivered on the island.

There were just two nurses working at Stewart Island Health Centre at the time.

Data released under the Official Information Act showed in July 2025 the island was without any resident nurse for three days after both fell sick and no cover could be found.

“Health NZ Southern region exhausted all efforts to cover the sick leave, including extended cover from another staff member and cover from both within the Southern region and outside the district,” a Health NZ spokesperson said.

Health NZ put St John and police on notice and made a charge nurse at Southland Hospital available for phone calls, the spokesperson said.

Health NZ had started working with local providers and the Stewart Island Health Committee on a phased plan – looking at better links to mainland GPs, more digital support and options for visiting doctors, the spokesperson said.

Three nurses were now working 1.6 full-time equivalent roles with one clinician typically on duty at any given time and on-call after-hours care available, Health NZ said.

“Work is under way to strengthen healthcare access by improving connections to primary care, enhancing digital support, and working closely with Hauora Māori partners to strengthen their role in supporting care delivery. These are early-stage considerations and will continue to be shaped alongside the community and providers,” a spokesperson said.

‘Save your ailments up for a month’

Health NZ said it was not considering a full-time GP and encouraged locals to enrol with an appropriate doctor.

Sangster said a resident GP would be a luxury and she was uncertain the population justified it.

“I think if it could be made to work that would be the Rolls Royce option… I’m not opposed to a GP here but I don’t know if there’s the need for it,” she said.

Ford recalled a system that used to be effective – a GP visiting once a month.

“You just had to save your ailments up for a month and that sort of worked,” he said.

But the island’s culture of stoicism could be dangerous as residents tended to push through illness rather than seek help, he said.

“People will have something wrong with them and they’ll hold on and hold on and then they’re in big trouble and they do have to get med-evac’d in the middle of the night,” he said.

Not all residents shared that concern.

Helen Cave said the nurses were a genuine asset and the trade-offs were simply part of island life.

“They’ve got good backup, they’re communicative, they do your blood tests. I think we’ve got a better service than if you were in Invercargill or one of my kids moved to Wānaka this year – I think there’s better services here than in Wānaka.”

Health NZ declined RNZ’s interview requests.

It said future changes would factor in the community and provider’s views.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Far North Mayor Moko Tepania has defended having unelected iwi representatives on the council’s Māori liaison committee – and says the Far North is being unfairly targeted because it’s just one of 57 councils around the country with similar arrangements.

The committee’s membership has been thrust into the national spotlight after former TV journalist Duncan Garner interviewed councillor Davina Smolders on his podcast last week.

In the podcast Garner claimed a council committee had 15 unelected iwi representatives to six elected councillors, which he believed was “illegal”, “undemocratic”, and “co-governance on steroids”.

The committee Garner and Smolders were referring to was the Te Kuaka Māori Strategic Relationships Committee.

The committee’s makeup will be decided at a council meeting on Wednesday morning but alongside the six councillors it is proposed to have two members from Northland’s iwi chairs forum, and one from each of the eight hapū or iwi with which the council has a Memorandum of Understanding, making a total of 10 appointed members.

Council documents show the six other council committees have at most two unelected external members, and some have none.

Tepania said the furore took him by surprise, given that Te Kuaka’s membership had yet to be confirmed, and because Māori liaison committees were nothing new.

He said the appointed members would have voting rights on the committee, but the committee could only give advice with the full council making any final decisions.

“I mean, we’re not alone in having a mechanism like this to incorporate Māori into our decision-making … We’re one of 57 councils that have a committee like this. Our cousins in Whangārei and Northland Regional Council have strategic relationship committees as well,” Tepania said.

“So it’s definitely not something new, or something that we alone are trying to push forward. It’s a mechanism that allows us to meet our statutory obligations under the Local Government Act, which is to ensure that we include Māori participation in our decision-making. And that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

He said some committees – such as Te Koukou Transport and Infrastructure Committee – did have delegated powers to make decisions and sign off contracts up to a certain value, but not Te Kuaka Māori Strategic Relationships Committee.

Tepania rejected claims the committee was illegal or undemocratic.

“This is what’s really unfortunate, because when opinion is stated as fact, it gets people up in arms. Is the Far North District council breaking the law? Actually, it’s not. The Local Government Act allows for any council to establish committees and to have non-elected members on those committees. The only requirement is that they have at least one elected member.”

Local Government New Zealand confirmed to RNZ the approach taken by the Far North District Council to its committees was allowed under the Local Government Act 2002.

Tepania said it was “disheartening” the controversy erupted while the council was dealing with the aftermath of the March storm and preparing for Cyclone Vaianu.

“It does feel like we’ve been unfairly targeted out of the councils in this country that are doing the same and it does honestly feel like race baiting. It’s very hōhā (annoying) and we’ve got too much mahi to do for all of the people of the Far North to have to put time and energy into this.”

Tepania was, however, concerned by Smolder’s statement that she felt “threatened, bullied and intimidated”, including at the council table.

All members had to abide by a code of conduct – which included how they behaved towards each other – and if any councillor believed that had been breached, he urged them to make use of the processes in place “to keep everyone safe”.

Tepania said the upcoming general election was a good chance for the Far North to make itself heard by central government, but it could also ramp up divisions and he expected to see a lot more opinions presented as fact.

He urged people to “do their homework” and seek information from “reputable sources”.

Meanwhile, Tepania said he apologised to Garner, and the people of the Far North, for responding to an interview request with a two-word email stating “f*** off”.

It wasn’t the kind of response people expected from their mayor, or that he expected from others in his position.

“If circumstances were different I wouldn’t have reacted in that way. It was just the initial reaction to something that was blowing up, causing me concern, and at the end of the day, I guess we’re all human,” Tepania said.

Davina Smolders rejected Tepania’s characterisation of the podcast as misinformation.

She conceded Garner was incorrect when he claimed having appointees on a council committee was illegal, but maintained – and said she had been advised by her lawyer – that it went against the intent of the law.

She said the Te Kuaka committee already had four Māori Ward councillors, so the extra hapū and iwi appointees were an unnecessary double-up.

If the podcast failed to mention that the committee in question was the Māori liaison committee, that context had likely been lost in the editing process when the 48-minute interview had been cut down to 30.

Smolders said she had made 13 complaints to police about threats against her, but none related to incidents in the council chambers.

Eleven related to threats made via social media.

She said police had been “incredibly proactive and reassuring”, in one case even identifying a Facebook user who went by a false name.

Smolders said she expected some of her supporters to attend Wednesday morning’s meeting, as well as supporters of the council’s current direction.

“I respect the democratic right of Ngāpuhi, and all citizens, to peacefully protest and make their voices heard,” she said.

“This is a direct result of the fundamental breakdown in trust and effective governance at the Far North District Council. We can’t continue with the status quo. The cracks in this council’s democratic foundation are now on public display, and I’m once again urging Local Government Minister Simon Watts to step in and appoint a Crown observer.”

However, Minister Watts confirmed to RNZ he would not be appointing an observer to the Far North District Council.

He said he was aware of concerns about tensions within the council.

“The local council and its members are locally elected, it’s not for Wellington to go intervene every time they do something I don’t personally agree with. Given the high statutory threshold required for such powers, I am advised that the council’s current actions do not constitute formal ministerial intervention at this time,” he said.

“I have, however, asked officials to engage with the council and report back to me if they identify any concerns or issues that warrant further investigation.”

Watts’ office confirmed the council was not being investigated, despite news reports to that effect.

The Minister’s letter to the council stated he was “satisfied that the council is conducting its governance appropriately and any disagreements between council members can be managed through its governance processes”.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Support workers suggest the government spend a day with them to understand why an increase to 82 cents per kilometre is a joke.

The government has announced a temporary 30 percent increase in mileage reimbursement rates for home and community support workers to offset soaring fuel costs.

This is still under the recommended reimbursement rates set by Inland Revenue before fuel prices climbed towards $4 a litre.

“Here’s a tiny little bit of ‘let’s keep everybody quiet’… It’s almost like a joke.”

Helen has been a support worker for 18 years.

Each year she thinks it will be her last, but every year she says no, wanting to wait until after a client has died. Each year she finds another person to wait for.

Across nearly two decades Helen has arrived to find her clients have hurt themselves, died overnight, she’s helped families dress their dead. She knows everything about them. Their kids’ names, what they do, how they like their coffee. As a support worker, she becomes part of the family.

She knows the job and the roads in Waikanae like the back of her hand.

On this particular Thursday she had six appointments, although it was likely to be more; they get added into her day.

‘It shouldn’t have taken a fuel crisis to get an increase’

She starts the morning shift at 7.15am with 140km left in the tank.

The last time she filled the car it cost $163.

“It shouldn’t have taken a fuel crisis to get an increase,” she said.

She needs her own car each day to travel between clients, but this increase doesn’t cover the car itself, or any maintenance.

The increase is also only available for a year, or until petrol prices are below $3 per litre for four consecutive weeks.

After that it’s back to 63.5c per kilometre.

“A lot of us are on the living wage…the new people that are coming on, that are still going through their qualifications, I mean, they’re on minimum wage, plus they’re having to prop up their own petrol and obviously car maintenance and things.”

For support workers it’s not just the petrol payments that upset them. They also lost their pay equity claim, and feel undervalued by the government.

Helen works incredibly hard, her clients know that too. One of them tries to give her morning tea to take away, knowing that between appointments, she will barely have enough time to cover the travel, let alone breaks.

Waikanae town and the beach are just over 7km away from each other, her clients are spread between the two.

” I just say I’m staying in Waikanae and that’s the end of it… the further you go, the more it’s going to cost you.”

However Helen said many staff go back and forth up and down the coast, sometimes travelling from Palmerston North and the Hutt Valley.

A morning shower, first thing in the afternoon…

But she still does her fair share of bouncing around. Her first and third appointments were two streets over from each other, but instead she had a 14km trip to see the client in between.

Her company does the roster to meet what the client needs but when only some of the petrol is covered doubling back is a hard pill to swallow.

It’s also a problem trying to meet people’s needs; most want their shower early, but staffing shortages mean a morning shower comes at 1pm.

Everything is timed to the minute.

“This morning we had 10 minutes for dressing, 20 minutes for hygiene, which is a shower, 15 minutes for meal preparation, and five minutes for medication.”

She sets a timer to see if it’s possible to achieve it all in 45 minutes.

That’s her least favourite bit, often the time to do the tasks takes longer than allocated, meaning she either must leave unfinished, or the rest of her clients wait.

Her alarm went off right on time, she only makes it out because her client had already made himself breakfast.

Leaping in the car, she’s off to the next one.

The problem is despite the fact she’s so far on time, it’s after 9am. She has two 30-minute appointments at different houses and then needs to be 7km away at 10am.

But that math doesn’t add up. More than an hour’s worth of work, but less than 60 minutes to fit it into.

‘We’re going to be late’

“We’re going to be late” – 30 minutes late to be precise.

But she doesn’t dwell, delicately weaving her way through the streets to her next location, a client with terminal cancer.

“The lady that we’re going to now has been waiting for, it’s called a multi-chair that you can interlink with a system that goes over the bath and into the shower.

“She hasn’t had a proper shower in a year.

“We’ve all just been kind of hoping that she’ll get her chair before she goes so she can at least experience one chair before she leaves.”

By visit five, Helen’s clocked up 30km and an hour behind the wheel between bookings.

She hadn’t stopped for food, water or even a loo break, just sprinting between clients.

Helen had to do that once, not sprinting but walking. Her car broke down, she had no other options and no help from her company, so she packed a backpack and requested clients close together, because she’d be hitting the pavement.

“I feel very privileged doing my job and I’m sure everybody else that works in the same job feels very privileged as well.

“It’s a real feel-good job.

“People really appreciate us coming and that’s lovely but we can’t come if we can’t afford to come….

“Unfortunately, our cars don’t run on feel-good feelings.”

Support workers do the work no one else will

Her day ends at about 12.45pm with 45 kilometres clocked up.

She’s right, those good feelings won’t fuel the car. For today’s rebate she will receive around $37.

That’s $15 short of what IRD suggests for petrol repayments. That doesn’t cover car maintenance or costs to keep it on the road.

Helen said she wouldn’t be doing it if she didn’t love it and feel appreciated by the clients, but the reality is, it costs her money.

“I challenge anyone to come out and spend the day with me… see what we do for a day and actually how much we do and see how much of a difference we make in the community but also how hard we work to make that difference.”

Her last but enduring question she asked herself, “who would do this if we didn’t?”

Who looks after the elderly, the sick, people post-surgery? Where do they go, the overfilled hospitals, retirement homes they can’t afford?

“We are fighting for the time for them, but we’ve also got to fight for ourselves… it’s a fight all round.”

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