Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Kāpiti Coast man has been jailed for possessing more than 30,000 objectionable photos and videos, including what Customs says is “some of the worst child sexual abuse content known to law enforcement globally.”

The 32-year-old man was sentenced at the Wellington District Court on Thursday to nine years and five months’ imprisonment in for a number of charges including the importation, distribution and possession of objectionable material and refusing to provide Customs with access to a computer system.

Customs said the man was already on the child sex offender register. His registration would continue and be “informed by this new conviction,” it said.

Customs identified the man’s activity in February 2023, and carried out a search warrant at his home.

Officers seized five electronic devices, after the man refused five times to hand them over.

They examined them at his home and arrested him on the spot after objectionable material was found on one of the devices.

Customs said further forensic analysis uncovered 31,238 objectionable image and video files including extreme sexual abuse of children and infants, some of which had been shared through a private messaging application. The video files amounted to 78 days of content.

The head of Customs’ child exploitation operations team, Simon Peterson said the man was importing the material and distributing it to people overseas.

“Much of this material is highly distressing and included some of the worst child sexual abuse content known to law enforcement globally,” he said.

“None of this offending is harmless – these are not just bad pictures or videos: they capture real children being horrifically harmed, and the existence of this material continues to cause enduring harm to those victims.”

Where to get help: Sexual Violence

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government has quietly rejected Climate Change Commission advice to set a much more ambitious ‘net negative’ long-term target for carbon emissions.

Instead, it will retain the original 2050 goal of net-zero emissions of carbon dioxide and other long-lived gases.

That’s despite warnings from the Climate Change Commission that the effects of climate change are hitting the country sooner and more severely than expected, and that New Zealand can and should be doing more.

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has previously told RNZ that – according to current projections – New Zealand could reach net-zero as early as 2042.

The decision not to change the net-zero target was included in the fine print of an announcement last month that the government was also lowering the methane emissions target.

The Commission had recommended a strengthened methane target, but the government said it would instead legislate to lower it, from a 24-47 percent emissions reduction by 2050 to a 14-24 percent emissions reduction.

The 2050 net-zero carbon decision was contained in a single line published on the Ministry for the Environment’s website last month.

Watts’ office confirmed the decision on Friday, saying it was included with materials released when the methane target was announced.

The government was due to communicate its formal decision to the Commission by Friday, with the response to be publicly released soon after.

A net negative target would have seen New Zealand removing more carbon from the atmosphere than it was producing.

In its advice recommending the more ambitious target, the Commission said the world was not on track to limit warming to 1.5°C.

“Climate change is driving more frequent and severe weather events, sea-level rise and ocean acidification,” it said.

“These are happening sooner, and with more intensity, than was expected when Aotearoa New Zealand’s emissions reduction target was set in 2019. Every tonne of emissions averted or removed from the atmosphere matters.”

Analysis showed it was possible for the country to move further and faster to reduce emissions, while still growing the economy.

“Delaying action will reduce the options available in the future. It will also result in higher risks and costs, and opportunities lost, for us and our children.”

The government has not yet announced its decision on the Commission’s third and final recommendation, which is to include emissions from international shipping and aviation in the 2050 target.

A spokesperson for Watts said that decision would be made public before the end of the year.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

As the end of the year approaches, the government’s overhaul of the school system seems to have gone into overdrive and so has opposition to its changes.

In the past month, every major national organisation representing teachers and principals has spoken out against some aspect of reforms the government says will ensure every school is “teaching the basics brilliantly”.

Teacher subject associations have criticised recently published curriculums, nearly every day a different regional principals’ association publishes an open letter to Education Minister Erica Stanford, and the tally of school boards pledging to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi despite a law change removing the obligation has passed 800.

Much of the opposition has come from primary schools, where teachers, principals and education leaders spoken to by RNZ said many felt the pace and scale of change was overwhelming and unreasonable.

Even those who disagreed about the merit of the government’s changes agreed they were extremely significant.

One critic of the government’s direction described the changes as shifting the very foundations of the schooling system, while a strong supporter said they were “tectonic”.

In essence, the government is replacing an open, permissive school curriculum that relies on skilled teachers to do their job well, with one that makes it much clearer what teachers must teach at each year level.

The government says the changes are needed to ensure consistent teaching across the country so fewer children are left behind.

Educators told RNZ the change needed to happen, but the government was taking it to an extreme, and some said draft curriculums were more like syllabuses that spelled out exactly what to teach and how.

Principals said initial support for a tougher primary school maths curriculum and a more effective approach to teaching children to read had given way to exhaustion and shock.

They said the changes were starting to look shambolic and demonstrated no understanding of what it took to introduce curriculum change.

They were not mollified by the education minister’s assurance that schools would not be expected to implement the curriculum changes perfectly from day one.

They said the teacher-only days and training on offer were not sufficient.

Several said the surprise decision to axe school boards’ legal obligation to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi could be the last straw that galvanised teachers and principals to reject the government’s changes.

So what’s changed this year and what’s coming?

Primary school Maths and English curriculums introduced

Primary schools started the year with new English and maths curriculums for children in years 0-6.

They cemented two big changes – a national focus on structured literacy for teaching children to read, and a much harder maths curriculum aimed at improving New Zealand children’s poor performance in the subject.

Some teachers said the curriculums were rushed, but Stanford assured them they should make a start and would not be expected to fully implement the new material.

The Education Review Office later reported that most teachers were using the curriculums and about half said student achievement was better than last year.

However, schools were not teaching enough complex maths like algebra and probability.

New school lunch provider

A new cut-price lunch provider led by Compass Group took over the contract for providing lunches to many schools in the free school lunch scheme.

The change affected 440 secondary and intermediate schools and primary schools with students in Year 7 and above.

It soon provoked a chorus of complaints about late deliveries, excessively-hot meals, and unpalatable food.

By the end of the year criticism had died down but some schools told RNZ they still were not happy with the scheme.

Draft secondary school English curriculum

In April, the much-delayed draft intermediate and secondary school English curriculum was published.

The document covering years 7-13 proposed compulsory Shakespeare for senior secondary school students and spelling and keyboard lessons for children at intermediate schools.

It was revised again in October.

The New Zealand Association for the Teaching of English was highly critical of the way the document was developed, and warned that teachers had not received enough support and resources to begin using it at the start of 2026 for students in years 7-10.

A learning support Budget

The government’s Budget included a $747-million boost for learning support.

Stanford said it was the biggest increase in a generation and school leaders were enthusiastic.

The Ministry of Education said the allocation would take total learning support spending from $1.45-billion to $1.67b by 2028/29.

Half of the money came from cutting Kahui Ako, a scheme that paid teachers and principals to lead work in groups of schools.

It had its fans, but most principals seemed happy to trade the scheme for more teacher aides and specialist support.

NCEA goneburger

In August the government announced the national secondary school qualification would be replaced.

NCEA would be phased out, replaced at Level 1 by a certificate in foundational English and maths in 2028 and at Levels 2 and 3 by the New Zealand Certificate of Education and Advanced Certificate in 2029 and 2030.

Officials said the qualification would remain standards-based – the same as NCEA.

Sample certificates published with the announcement indicated there would be four standards per subject, with half assessed internally and half externally – the same as proposed under earlier reform of the NCEA, but contributing to an overall mark out of 100 and a corresponding A-D letter grade.

Critically, the new qualification would eliminate NCEA’s flexibility by requiring students to study five full subjects and pass four – no more mixing and matching of subjects.

It would also hand responsibility for “vocational” subjects to industry-led bodies in a push to raise the status of trade training and create a stronger pathway for students heading for apprenticeships rather than university degrees.

Though most secondary teachers agreed NCEA needed an overhaul, they were divided over the merit of the government’s plans.

A group of 90 secondary school principals signed a letter opposing the plan and about 64 countered with a letter in support.

Vocational versus academic

In September the Ministry of Education published a list of subjects that would be assessed by the new secondary school qualification in years 11-13.

It classified some subjects as “curriculum subjects” that would be developed by the Ministry of Education and some as “vocational”, meaning they would be developed by industry skills boards.

Some teachers were angry hospitality was dropped entirely as a year 11 subject, others were unhappy that subjects such as tourism and outdoor education were classed as vocational.

Critics said the rapid reversal of agriculture’s classification as a vocational subject indicated the change had been poorly thought-out.

Primary maths curriculum recalculated

In October the government changed the years 0-6 maths curriculum – even though it had been gazetted and schools had been using it since the start of the year – following a review by Australian consultants.

Maths education experts said the changes were extensive and made the curriculum even more difficult.

The announcement outraged some teachers and principals who said it was unreasonable to change the curriculum yet again, and increased their already significant workloads.

Curriculum drafts for six learning areas to years 10

In November the government published draft curriculums for Years 0-10 in the remaining six learning areas – science, social sciences, arts, technology, health and physical education, and learning languages.

The content was aimed at ensuring greater consistency and clarity about what schools should teach at each year level but it provoked complaints from some teacher subject associations.

They said it did not reflect their input to the writing process, seemed to have been compiled using AI and extensive borrowing from English and Australian curriculums, and in some cases indicated a complete lack of understanding of the subjects.

The government said teachers could have their say during consultation, but teacher groups told RNZ they had little confidence in the process given what they said had been a secretive development process.

Teaching Council – power grab or necessary intervention?

In November, the government announced it would move the Teaching Council’s responsibility for standard-setting and initial teacher education to the Ministry of Education.

It would also change its governing body so a majority of members were ministerial appointees.

The move was prompted by a Public Service Commission investigation of the council’s handling of conflicts of interest and procurement.

But it angered many education groups, prompting a joint letter to Stanford from 10 national organisations.

They warned the change eliminated the council’s independence and greatly increased the government’s ability to dictate how teachers are trained and what standards they must meet.

The government said the changes made the council similar to other professional bodies such as the Nursing Council.

Treaty clause goneburger

The government had been moving to downgrade a legal requirement for schools to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi – making it subsidiary to a focus on student achievement.

But in November it made the surprise announcement it would delete the requirement altogether.

It said the Treaty was the Crown’s obligation, not schools’.

The change was decried by all major school bodies, including the Principals Federation, Secondary Principals Association, School Boards’ Association, NZEI and PPTA.

It prompted more than 800 school boards to publicly state their support for the treaty.

Education and Training (System Reform) Bill

This week the government introduced a bill that it said would make system-level changes to support its overarching goal of improving students achievement.

The bill was the vehicle for making the afore-mentioned changes to the Teaching Council.

But it would also give the minister the power to change the curriculum at will, allow a new property agency to force schools to carry out building work, and speed up intervention in failing schools.

Teacher unions the NZEI and PPTA said it amounted to a ministerial power-grab.

What’s coming

English, maths curriculums extend to more students

This year schools had to teach new years 0-6 English and Y0-8 maths curriculums.

Next year they’ll be adding new English content for years 7-10 and new maths content for years 9-10.

Not forgetting the fact the earlier maths curriculum has been significantly changed and schools will have to change what they teach and when.

The government said draft Y11-13 curriculums would be available in term 1 “for wider feedback and to build familiarisation”.

Tougher line on attendance

Schools will have to start 2026 with an attendance management plan.

The government says the plans will show how a school will respond to declining attendance.

It has also signed new contracts with attendance service providers and says new case management software will help them to do their jobs better.

Latest data showed attendance rate improvement stalled in term 3 and families were still taking children out of school for holidays and family events.

School lunches – new providers for years 0-6 at primary schools

The government’s cut-price school lunch model will extend to 188 years 0-6 primary schools next year.

Ten providers have been selected – the Compass Group is not one of them.

The government said the average cost of the lunches would be $3.46.

Schools that make their own lunches are nervous about their ability to continue doing so once their funding falls.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Blenheim dump will be closed for some time after being badly damaged by fire.

Six crews battled the blaze for hours at the Marlborough District Council’s Resource Recovery Centre in Wither Road after fire took hold in a pile of cardboard on Thursday afternoon.

The council’s solid waste manager Mark Lucas said the fire soon spread to nearby cans, plastic and paper.

“The fire was extinguished at 1.30am and then reignited around one hour later so the fire crews worked through the early hours of the morning to put it out again,” he said.

“Around 20-30,000 litres of water was poured into the building and two or three times that outside.

“We are incredibly grateful to all the fire crews involved – many of whom are volunteers – including multiple units from Blenheim along with Wairau Valley, Renwick, Base Woodbourne and Nelson for their hard work in difficult circumstances.”

A large clean-up lay ahead but the council was working on a plan to ensure recycling continued in the district, Lucas said.

“Our kerbside collection will continue as normal and we are investigating options for handling these recyclable products while the Resource Recovery Centre is out of action. As soon as these arrangements are confirmed, we will let the public know,” he said.

“The Resource Recovery Centre, the Dump Shop, the Blenheim Transfer Station and the Hazardous Waste Centre all remain closed following the fire. We are working as quickly as we can to get the Blenheim Transfer Station and Hazardous Waste Centre open and will update the public as soon as this information is available.

“The Dump Shop has no fire damage but there is potential for smoke damaged items within it. It will remain closed until at least Monday to allow for clean up while the Resource Recovery Centre, where the fire started, will be closed for some time.”

A fire investigator had visited the site but the cause of the fire had not been identified.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A truck crash is blocking lanes in both directions on Auckland’s Northern Motorway near the Orewa offramp.

Motorists are advised to expect delays following the state highway one crash, which occured around midday. One lane northbound and one lane southbound have been closed as a result.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said a median barrier was damaged in the incident and lanes cannot be reopened until it is made safe.

UPDATE 1:30PM

One lane is still closed in each direction near the Orewa off-ramp due to a crash. The median barrier was damaged in the incident and lanes cannot be reopened until the barrier is made safe. https://t.co/yXLNPfuFc6

— NZ Transport Agency – Auckland & Northland (@nztaaklnth) November 21, 2025

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

While there was wet weather in parts of the country on Friday, forecasters say things should clear up for most at the weekend.

But that does not necessarily mean it will be warm, despite summer’s approach.

Just after midday Christchurch was at 28.7C, the hottest place in Aotearoa, but come Monday the garden city will barely make it into double-digits, MetService says.

“Monday will be a chilly day in Christchurch, with a forecast maximum of 13C after the southerly surge of a cold front in the early hours of the morning which will bring a line of showers,” it said on its website.

The chilliest place on Friday was Southland’s Gore, reaching just 10.4C. Nearby Fiordland and southern Westland were under a severe weather watch, with heavy rain expected until 8pm.

“As a front creeps north over the South Island today, bringing heavy rain to Fiordland, strengthening winds drive hot and dry northwesterlies for eastern areas – Christchurch has a forecast high of 30C,” MetService said on its social media.

The North Island was fine almost everywhere, and expected to stay that way through the weekend.

The second-hottest location was Gisborne, at 27C.

“The trend of morning cloud burning off to clear skies will continue for the North Island as a high pressure settles in for a few days,” MetService meteorologist Michael Pawley said. “Fluffy cumulus clouds will sprout inland in the afternoon, with the odd sprinkling of showers, particularly in Northland.”

The windiest spot in the country on Friday was Timaru, with gusts up to 41km/h. Milford Sound was the wettest.

“Most centres return to typical spring temperatures over the weekend, and we can all sleep easier with less muggy overnight conditions,” MetService said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Two schools and a medical centre in the Bay of Plenty town of Katikati are in lockdown as police hunt for a person of interest in the town.

Katikati College posted on its social media shortly before 1pm that it’s been asked by police to go into lockdown.

Katikati Primary School and the local medical centre have also posted to their Facebook pages about going into lockdown.

Both schools say all students are safe and accounted for, and they’re waiting for instructions from police.

The police say they’re making enquiries to locate a person of interest in Katikati.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The death of a beloved Auckland maths teacher has sent shock waves through the Chinese community.

Students and parents paid tribute to Kevin Hu, head of calculus at Takapuna Grammar School, who died in a diving accident in Fiji, according to an email the school sent parents on 17 November.

The email described Hu as a highly respected member of the faculty who worked primarily with Year 10 and senior classes and played a significant role in the school’s International Baccalaureate programme.

Krissi Yang, a Year 12 student at the school, described Hu as consistently upbeat, cheerful and full of energy.

“He had a natural ability to connect with us,” Yang said. “All the students enjoyed being around him and talking to him. If we had secrets or worries, we were happy to share them because we trusted him completely.”

Yang said Hu’s death had cast a heavy sadness over teachers and students.

“Even now, it’s still hard to accept,” she said. “Everyone was shocked, heartbroken, and full of regret and disbelief.

“He was such an incredible teacher and then, suddenly, he was gone.”

After the school announced the news Monday, Yang said students began paying tribute to Hu in a uniquely personal way: folding origami cranes.

“We wrote messages on the cranes and ended up making more than 1000,” she said.

“We hung strings of cranes around his classroom and placed some on his desk. Each of us also wrote him a letter and left it there.

“Just walking past his classroom makes people emotional. And going into his office, with his photo, our letters, the cranes and the flowers, makes it even harder to stay composed.”

Yang felt as if she still had something to say to the maths teacher.

“If I could say something to him, it would be this: We are all so grateful and so lucky to have had a teacher like you – so kind, warm, genuine and dedicated.”

Cherrie Gao, whose son is also a Year 12 student at Takapuna Grammar School, said Hu had a significant impact on her son’s learning and development.

“After my son joined his class, he changed a lot,” Gao said. “With Mr. Hu, [my son] started thinking more long term and became more willing to challenge himself. Mr. Hu also actively encouraged him to enter maths competitions.

“Mr. Hu was incredibly reliable, which is why my son trusted him so much. If you had a question, you could go to him and he would never turn you away.”

She said Hu’s passing has been deeply upsetting for her family.

“I was driving when I saw the principal’s email marked as important. I opened it while driving, and my mind just froze,” she said.

“It felt impossible. I even wondered if the principal had sent it by mistake,” she said.

“My son constantly talks about ‘Mr. Hu, Mr. Hu’ – he brings his name up all the time. I still can’t believe it was him. How could something like this happen to him?”

Before teaching at Takapuna Grammar School, Hu had previously been a maths teacher at Avondale College and before that spent seven years teaching in Nanjing, China.

Beyond his work as a maths teacher, Hu was also well-known on Chinese social media platform Red Note, where he had thousands of followers who watched his videos and livestreams about his life and his teaching experience in New Zealand.

After several media outlets reported his death on Thursday, hundreds of people flocked to his account, posting “rest in peace” messages under his recent videos and leaving tributes expressing their respect and grief.

Felix Xu, an early childhood teacher in Auckland, said he had followed Hu’s social media for more than a year.

Xu said he often watched Hu’s videos and livestreams and occasionally asked him questions about teaching.

He described Hu as an exceptionally experienced maths teacher and said his death was a loss for the education sector.

He said Hu’s background as a migrant also resonated with him.

“I felt a sense of empathy because we’re both new immigrants,” he said. “I know how difficult the journey is.

“It felt like his life in New Zealand had just begun. At such a good age, he suddenly passed away. It feels like a huge loss.”

Sally Wang, who knew Hu and is a maths teacher at an Auckland secondary school, said several teachers were helping to set up a Givealittle page to support Hu’s family.

She said Hu had no family in New Zealand, and that his parents arrived on Wednesday but did not wish to be contacted by media.

Takapuna Grammar School said in an email to parents that Hu’s passion for teaching and dedication to his students would be deeply missed.

The school said its guidance staff would continue to support any students who might need help during this period.

Students who worked closely with Hu and believed their upcoming NCEA exams had been significantly affected could also contact the school to discuss the possibility of applying for derived grades, the school said.

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