Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Radio New Zealand

A survey of more than 30,000 of New Zealand’s Year 10 students has indicated that the perception of vaping is changing.

The number of teenagers who vaped regularly – once a month or more – had tripled between 2019 and 2021, peaking at 20.2 percent.

But the latest Action on Smoking and Health survey has found that number has halved since then.

“Vaping is not as cool as it used to be,” chairperson Emeritus Professor Robert Beaglehole told RNZ.

The number of teenagers who vape on a daily basis has also dropped to 7.1 percent, down from “peak vape” of 10.1 percent in 2022.

Fewer than a third had ever tried vaping too, Beaglehole said, “which is great news”.

He believed regulation had also made an impact – vaping products were widely available for teenagers until 2020, when the government banned the sale to those under 18 – but feared that overregulation could push people back to smoking.

“Vaping helps adult smokers quit and is much, much less harmful than smoking.”

Beaglehole said the country was raising a smoke-free generation, with a “negligible” number – about 1 percent – of young people smoking on a daily basis since 2021.

“This is a major global success which we should be celebrating … we are leading the way.

“Youth smoking has almost disappeared, and vaping continues to fall.”

However, Beaglehole has called for more to be done to address the vaping rates for rangatahi Māori.

There was a significant decrease within the last year, he said, but 16.5 percent of Māori teenagers still vaped on a daily basis.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A record number of Christmas Boxes have been packed this year with around 2500 volunteers packing more than 35,000 boxes for the charity initiative.

Each Christmas Box has $70 worth of food and can feed a family of four to six.

Head of Community Response Rebecca So’e said Christmas was supposed to be about celebration, but it puts some families under more pressure to figure out how they’re going to pay for the presents and treats that most families have during the Christmas season.

She said this year had been even tougher than last year for people in the communities they work in.

So’e said it was also harder this year for them to raise funds due to government cuts, but they were able to just exceed their target packing a record breaking 35,269 boxes.

“We’ve designed the box with a Christmas breakfast of pancake mix and maple syrup, things that they can take to a Christmas lunch and dinner, and then stuff that will just last through the week, all the essential items.”

She said many of the items in their box wouldn’t have gone into people’s trolleys this year because they couldn’t afford it.

“Because of what’s inside [the box], the essential items, the treats, it’s actually helping families to take the pressure off their financial stress so that they can have these extra things this Christmas.”

In Auckland alone almost 20,000 boxes were packed, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and son William, former All Blacks Pita Alatini and Eroni Clark, and MasterChef judge Michael Dearth joining volunteers to help on Saturday morning.

“One of the great things about New Zealand is the way we roll up our sleeves and help out our fellow Kiwis. It was heartwarming to see so many people give up their Saturday to share goodwill with their neighbours at Christmas, and it was a privilege to help out alongside them,” Luxon said.

“I love the community. I love New Zealand, and you know no one should go hungry on Christmas Day,” Dearth said.

“For me, food is my universe. I love food. It’s a way that we connect as a people, that we’ve always connected as a people. So food is at the centre of it all really.”

Christmas Box, which is marking 25 years, began in 2001 with the simple idea of providing gift-wrapped food to neighbouring families in need at Christmas.

It was now one of the largest Christmas charity initiatives, partnering with more than 500 organisations to deliver food essentials and festive cheer to more than 30,000 Kiwi families every year.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Two new high security units are set to be built at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison adding an additional 316 beds.

Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell said the construction would begin next month and finish up by early 2027.

He said the new units would expand the capacity of New Zealand’s prison system.

“With the prison population increasing due to the government’s strong measures on law-and-order, these two new units will add more capacity and resilience to our prison system.

“The design and build agreement was signed on Friday 31 October 2025 with contractor Naylor Love…”

Mitchell said additional projects underway at Waikeria Prison and Christchurch Men’s Prison would further increase the country’s capacity by more than 1000 beds in 2029.

He said the prison population had increased by 2000 since October 2023 to 11,000.

Corrections is self-funding the new units through the department’s existing budget.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have arrested a man after a gun was fired near a popular swimming hole in Thames, Coromandel.

Police were called to the scene on Kauaeranga Valley Road at about 5pm on Saturday, after reports that a man had threatened members of the public and fired a shot into the air.

Detective Sergeant Mark Leathem said the 20-year-old allegedly threw the gun into some bushes before leaving in a vehicle with another person.

The police Eagle helicopter was sent to chase down the vehicle, and police arrested the pair a short time later.

The firearm was also found in the bushes at the initial scene, Leathem said.

The man who was alleged to have fired the gun is due to appear in Hamilton District Court on Monday, with charges including unlawfully possessing a firearm and discharging a firearm to intimidate.

Police would like to hear from anyone who might have information about the incident, either online or over the phone on its 105 service with the reference number 251129/4740.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

ACC has disbanded its toxicology panel that firefighters take their cancer claims to.

The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) says the corporation did not tell it about this, but it was pleased to see the back of the panel.

But the United Fire Brigades’ Association (UFBA) – which represents volunteer firefighters – said it was a “blow” to advancing the cause of getting cover for volunteers and of “great regret” ACC did not consult it.

ACC said it was disestablishing the panel due to retirement and bereavement, and would use individual advisors instead like it did in other clinical cases. The panel had several specialists on it.

Cancer claims now were assessed by an occupational doctor registered with Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (AFOEM), who could call in extra expert advice from its clinical services team or further afield, said acting chief clinical officer Dr Dilky Rasiah.

NZPFU national secretary Wattie Watson said it would be nice if ACC had talked to them first, and they wanted to know more about the new approach.

“They don’t tell us how they are going to manage them,” Watson said. “We went backwards with the toxicology panel, so I am pleased that the toxicology panel is gone.

“But we still have not resolved the underlying issue about recognising, on a scientific basis, firefighters’ occupational cancer.”

The union has been fighting for years for an approach like in Australia, Canada and US where certain specified cancers are presumed to be work-related so firefighters face fewer hurdles in proving it.

A firefighter or former firefighter who developed cancer may be covered by ACC under work-related gradual process injury/disease legislation.

“To date everyone’s still going through the same process but without the toxicology panel,” said Watson, who argued it should instead be streamlined, with the onus on Fire and Emergency (FENZ) to lead that change.

Volunteer firefighters can only take the ACC approach if they fight alongside paid firefighters at a fire with proven toxic fallout – but could not claim over prolonged exposure.

UFBA chair Peter Dunne said it was possible the new doctor-centric assessments would be advantageous, nevertheless they had seen the panel as a bit of a “lever”.

“There’s still the problem of the legislation that excludes volunteer firefighters from coverage in certain circumstances.

“And the toxicology panel was seen as a bit of a way, a bit of hope, if you like, as a way of getting this issue resolved.

“I’m very surprised, given the interest and coverage of volunteers, that it’s been done without any consultation. This is news that’s come through just on Saturday.

“It will be seen as a blow for advancing the cause of getting coverage for volunteer firefighters in some circumstances.”

ACC told a select committee the cost to cover volunteers might be just $250,000 a year but it feared a precedent would be set for having to cover surf lifesavers and other volunteer responders, Dunne said, despite not being exposed to the same toxicities.

“The response that we’ve had all along on this issue has been, look… this is the thin end of the wedge.”

Also, new toxic threats – such as lithium battery fires – had to be taken into account, he said.

Whangārei firefighter and career union local secretary Maurice Tipene went to a lithium battery fire at the city’s port earlier in November.

“We were not so keen on putting people in ’cause of what was in there,” he said.

So they called in a long-ladder truck from Auckland two hours away. In the end, it was not needed.

They went back in later days because the batteries kept blowing up in small explosions, he said.

His crew had just done a case study at work on lithium battery fires when they were called out. Asked if the case study was scary, Tipene said: “One hundred percent. One of the lines in it was ‘this smells like cancer’.”

They had the right gear and personal gas metres, he said.

‘So-called values’

A FENZ letter to ACC in 2023 said out of 45 cancer claims, 35 were accepted for cover by the toxicology panel.

But Invercargill firefighter Brent Wilson’s ACC claim for thyroid cancer in 2020 was rejected and he also lost on appeal. But a mediator then upheld his claim based on international expert input, so that some of his expenses and lost earnings were covered.

“I’m not the only one at this station who’s gone through this,” Wilson told RNZ.

“Another guy on another shift [has] gone through the same process. The organisation has these so-called values – manaakitanga – but it’s all empty words. They have these values but they don’t stick to them.”

FENZ deputy chief executive of people Janine Hearn said they had kept working on this with the union.

“With or without the toxicology panel, the claims assessment process is hard to navigate for people who are unwell and stressed, and we are committed to making it simpler while still meeting the requirements of our Accredited Employer Agreement with ACC,” Hearn said in a statement to RNZ on Friday.

A working group was set up in September, including Watson, to help people get information and access to medical advice.

“This work we are doing with the NZPFU is focused on streamlining and simplifying the claim process for our firefighters.”

In 2023, FENZ told ACC: “We know firefighters have an increased risk of certain types of cancer due to their exposure to cancer-causing toxins (carcinogens). It is an issue fire services around the world are grappling with and many countries have introduced presumptive legislation as a means to address these risks.”

The agencies have looked at adding types of cancer to the schedule of accepted occupational diseases under the Accident Compensation Act. However, the schedule does not exclude firefighters from having to argue their case.

Most firefighter claims accepted so far have been for prostate cancer, but others, too, for multiple myeloma, intestinal tract, oral/ tongue, kidney, testicular and bowel/colon cancer.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland’s annual Santa Parade is expected to draw 150,000 people into the city centre to see dozens of floats make their way down Queen Street.

The parade begins at one 1pm on Sunday on the corner of Mayoral Drive and Cook Street, with all inner-city roads closed until 4.30pm.

Auckland Transport’s (AT) general manager for public transport operations Rachel Cara said buses and trains were the easiest way to get to the Santa Parade.

“We’re expecting up to 150,000 people will head to the city centre to see Santa up close this Sunday, so we’re encouraging people to make the most of AT’s frequent buses and trains to navigate the road closures and avoid traffic and parking stress,” she said.

“To help people get to and from the city safely we’re adding a handful of extra ferries, extra double decker buses for the Northern Express routes and six-carriage trains on our rail lines.”

AT will also have extra trains on standby at Waitematā Station to help people get home.

The agency also has a Christmas themed double-decker bus in the parade, to celebrate the role its bus drivers play in providing 65 million trips this year.

Meanwhile, organisers are hoping the weather won’t rain on their parade.

MetService forecasts rain, with some heavy downpours from 3pm – the parade finishes at 2.30pm.

The Santa Parade starts on the corner of Mayoral Drive and Cook Street, heads down Mayoral Drive, left into Queen Street, and right into Customs Street East, ending at the corner of Customs Street East and Britomart Place.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

• KiwiRail to pay about $250,000 in fines and reparation over worker’s 10-metre fall
• WorkSafe finds ‘fundamental failures’ in KiwiRail’s introduction of new communications poles
• Worker says some good has come out of the situation
• KiwiRail commits to doing better.

KiwiRail has been fined more than $200,000 for breaching health and safety laws when an employee fell 10 metres while installing a communications pole.

WorkSafe says the fall was preventable and KiwiRail admitted a charge of breaching the health and safety at work act.

The employee who fell, senior telecommunications technician Myles Dyeming, suffered a torn artery, a torn liver, a broken sternum, a punctured left lung, fractured vertebrae, and five fractured ribs.

Dyeming was in a coma for days in hospital and later developed blood clots, which required groundbreaking surgery to remove.

Dyeming fell in October 2023 near Whanganui. He was flown to Wellington Hospital and later transferred to Palmerston North Hospital.

In the Whanganui District Court this month KiwiRail was fined $220,000 and ordered to pay Dyeming $28,500 reparation.

‘Fundamental failures’

WorkSafe said the incident was a reminder to all businesses that do work at height to check their safety systems.

When he fell Dyeming was installing a new type of Oclyte pole, which was different from the wooden poles previously used.

WorkSafe said its investigation uncovered “fundamental failures” in how KiwiRail managed the introductions of the new poles.

KiwiRail didn’t do a detailed, specific risk assessment; no dedicated procedures were developed; and workers lacked training in “risk assessment for complex work at height”.

A fall arrest system was installed but not in use at the time; climbing pegs in the pole were not installed correctly; and KiwiRail didn’t provide safer methods for the job, such as a mobile, elevated work platform.

“When you introduce new infrastructure, you can’t assume existing procedures will be adequate. Businesses need to step back, conduct a full risk assessment, and consider the changes required,” said WorkSafe central regional manager Nigel Formosa.

“Businesses must first ask whether the job can somehow be done from ground level. If you can’t eliminate the need to work at height, consider using an elevated work platform or scaffolding.

“Fall arrest systems should be the last line of defence – not the first option.”

WorkSafe said Dyeming’s recovery took 10 months.

It said falls from height were a leading cause of workplace deaths and serious injuries, but were entirely preventable.

‘Five days missing’

Dyeming said he still had no memory of his fall or the immediately aftermath until he woke in Wellington Hospital’s intensive care unit.

“I’ve basically got five days missing from my life.”

He said he wanted to acknowledge KiwiRail’s support of him since the fall, and at the time for providing accommodation for friends and family in Wellington as they stayed by his bedside.

“Obviously I’d rather not have fallen [but] a lot of good’s come of out. No one should ever fall again.

“KiwiRail’s supported me to develop a whole lot of health and safety tools.”

Dyeming said his employer had taken the incident seriously and was genuinely horrified at what happened.

Two years on he’s fully functional at work, although he’s not back to full fitness away from the job.

Dyeming is a keen runner, but can now only run for about 1 to 1.5 km at a time. He hopes to work his way to longer distances.

KiwiRail commits to doing better

KiwiRail chief infrastructure officer Siva Sivapakkiam said the rail operator deeply regretted the injuries Dyeming suffered.

“We have worked hard since the incident to ensure care has been provided to him, including meeting his expenses and providing compensation, along with ensuring his re-integration into our workforce,” Sivapakkiam said.

“KiwiRail accepts that it could have better assessed the specific risks involved in constructing the mast and done more to ensure that workers used safety equipment.”

Since the incident it had put measures in place, including tightening requirements for teams working at height and design changes to telecommunications poles so workers could move freely without disconnecting from the mast.

“At the same time KiwiRail has committed to a substantial safety programme to continuously improve safety outcomes.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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