Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police bosses say a survey showing almost 60 percent of officers have considered quitting in the last year is not a pressure point that can be used in pay negotiations.

A Police Association survey of almost 6000 officers put the quit figure at 57 percent and said big factors were insufficient pay and strain on the job.

But police headquarters said attrition was running at a low 4.5-5 percent, frontline numbers had just hit an all-time high and they had some officers rejoining having earlier been lured to Australia.

“I understand the job of our frontline teams is as dynamic and complex as it is, that gives our people pause for thought on certain days,” said chief people officer Leigh MacDonald.

“But … we don’t necessarily see it as a result of them leaving the organisation.”

Asked if the 57 percent figure was worrying, he said, “Yeah, absolutely.

“Their results are consistent with our own feedback … It is something that we’ve been focused on for quite some time, particularly the context of, you know, the wellness and looking after our frontline people.”

The survey that heard from 5800 officers was a regular one done heading into pay negotiations, but MacDonald did not think it was a point of pressure the association could use.

However, the association’s president Steve Watt said its members were saying “they’re under-appreciated, they’re under-supported, they’re over-stretched, they’re underpaid”.

“It’s disappointing to hear the police refer to attrition being at 4.5 percent. We agree with that attrition rate. However, what we’re concerned about is why there are so many officers that are considering leaving the job,” Watt told RNZ.

“This shouldn’t be ignored. It needs to be listened to and understood, and then actions put in place to try and turn that tide around.”

The association online newsletter said just over 57 percent of respondents said understaffing had affected them over the past year, around “operational capacity strain, continued staffing gaps, stressful workloads and diminished quality of service”.

Watt said in the newsletter that police had spent more than twice as much on recruitment marketing last year as the previous year but that could not solve the problems, such as of the Far North having to keep on tapping Whangārei to plug chronic staffing gaps.

But MacDonald said, “Actually, we’ve done very, very well in our recruitment.”

The frontline hit a record 10,496 when new graduates went on the beat this month, and would add another 300 later in the year. Police had been told by the government to hit 10,700 by November last year but undershot.

MacDonald said the Police Commissioner was investing heavily on improving staff welfare. The volume of people accessing tools and wellness advisors was stable, he added.

Police trusted the pay bargaining process, he 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

A coroner says the accidental death of a teenager while repairing his car highlights the risks associated with undertaking vehicle maintenance beneath a raised vehicle without appropriate safety precautions.

Eighteen-year-old Kishan Atit Patel went to his neighbour’s home on 25 September 2025 to borrow a jack and other tools to change the oil in his car.

“It appears that Kishan was accustomed to repairing his own car,” Coroner Ian Telford said in his report.

“The neighbour advises that he also provided advice about the appropriate equipment required to jack the vehicle safely before Kishan left.”

Patel was found later that afternoon by a friend who had gone around to see him after not being able to contact him on his cellphone.

“He found Kishan under the car, with the car on top of him,” the report said.

“After jacking the car up, he raised the alarm, although he was relatively certain that Kishan had died. Nevertheless, resuscitation was started until the ambulance staff arrived and took over.”

Telford said Police, who also attended the death, reported that the trolley jack had been positioned beneath the front bumper of the vehicle.

“Photographs show that the bumper buckled under the weight of the car, which caused the vehicle to become unstable and fall onto Kishan,” Telford said.

Police advised the coroner that there were no suspicious or untoward circumstances surrounding the death.

Telford agreed with the opinion of the pathologist that performed the post-mortem that Patel’s death was caused by blunt force injuries of the head and torso

He found the death to be accidental and said it highlighted the “well-recognised risks” associated with undertaking vehicle maintenance beneath a raised vehicle without appropriate safety precautions.

“Trolley jacks are designed for lifting vehicles only at manufacturer-specified jacking points and are not intended to support a vehicle’s weight without additional, stable supports. Incorrect placement or reliance on a jack alone may result in instability and sudden collapse, as occurred in this tragic case,” he said.

“The Motor Industry Training Organisation advises that vehicles must be supported by properly rated stands before any work is undertaken beneath them and that people should never work under a vehicle that is supported only by a jack.”

Telford said the death underscored the importance of using appropriate, purpose-designed equipment, following manufacturer instructions, and ensuring vehicles were adequately supported before any person positioned themselves underneath.

In concluding the inquiry, Telford also offered his condolences to Patel’s family and friends.

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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 unprecedented flooding at Whāngaimoana Beach has laid-waste Mellisa Tipene’s veggie garden.

The small settlement on Wairarapa’s south coast became a lake when a trickle of a creek burst its banks on Monday, infiltrating low-lying homes and leaving behind a layer of smelly sludge.

Having lived there for 11 years, Tipene said the place was great, when it was not flooded, but right now she just wanted to “sell up and leave”.

Torrential rain earlier this week caused havoc across Wairarapa, knocking out power and cutting off access to rural and coastal settlements, with hundreds isolated on the south coast after floodwaters took out two bridges.

The bridge over the Turanaganui River on Lake Ferry Road reopened on Wednesday night and access was restored at the ‘Banana Bridge’ over the Hurupi Stream on Cape Palliser Road on Thursday afternoon, with restrictions.

Although residents in Whāngaimoana were no longer trapped, many were still there when RNZ visited on Thursday – getting stuck into the clean-up.

After being unable to work for days, both Tipene and her partner Jason Statham were forced to take another day off to sort the mess.

“We haven’t stopped since we flooded. When it nearly came inside we moved all the furniture higher, and then realised it was subsiding and brought the furniture back.

“We’ve been in here [the garage] for two days. We’re like, furniture removals.”

Statham said they just needed to finish the job.

“The last thing we want to do after a day’s work is deal with this. So, we just thought bugger it, we get today, get it sorted and then we can start normal tomorrow.”

He said the water came up quickly, one minute they were “good as gold” the next it was like looking out on a lake.

The septic tank overflowed into the floodwaters, destroying Tipene’s labour of love – the garden.

“We’re just going through cleaning up, pulling it all out because obviously you can’t eat it. We had kumaras, potatoes, kamokamo, pumpkin, carrots – all of it – tomatoes, and now it’s all gone.”

The water stopped just shy of entering the home, but neighbour Adam Mazzola was not so lucky.

The creek which was still low on Sunday night rose quickly the next morning, and before he knew it water was entering the 100-year-old, low-lying bach.

“From 7-8am … it just thumped through and it probably raised up 4-500mm.

“I think they had about 450mm [of rain] in the Aorangis … so everything kinda came from [the] east.”

He said the house was “written off” and he and his 13-year-old son were currently staying at a farmhouse in Pirinoa.

A Givealittle page to raise funds for Mazzola said his home had been hit by a “catastrophic flood” leaving it unliveable.

“Sadly living in a coastal area means insurance … won’t come to the party which sucks.”

It said Mazzola was “an incredibly generous person” who was always there for others, and now needed help.

Mazzola told RNZ living at the coast came with the risk of flood and oddly, the last major one hit on the same day 22 years ago – 16 February, 2004.

Terry Shubkin, another resident of Whāngaimoana Beach Road, said she bought her place a year before the 2004 floods.

“We were told they were a once-in-a-50-year storm, it seems to be much more frequent now.”

Shubkin thought about half of the properties on the lower section of the road had been flooded and inundation depended on whether the home was raised, or not.

“The ones that got flooded, it’s been pretty bad. So we’ve ranged from a couple inches to – I’ve heard stories of at least a foot of water going through the house.

“At least one house I’ve been into you can see … the mud that’s leftover, because it’s really disgusting muddy slime that goes up about a foot of the furniture.”

Shubkin said the response from agencies during and after the storm had been amazing.

“We’ve had Civil Defence out here since Monday doing door-knocking when it was really bad. We’ve had EMO (Emergency Management Office) on the phone with us a couple of times a day.

“We’ve had Search and Rescue come bring us cookies, we’ve had food drops, medicine drops. Red Cross came out here earlier today, so we’ve been well supported.”

The community, like many others around Aotearoa in the wake of severe weather, had also rallied.

“That’s the silver-lining. You realise what a good community we have out here,” she 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

Community-led cleanups are continuing in flood-damaged Banks Peninsula, but nagging frustration remains over the response from local authorities.

The peninsula was still under a state of emergency as efforts to restore access to isolated properties continued, almost 72 hours after the region was hammered by a merciless storm.

Although State Highway 75 had reopened and telecommunications restored, some properties remained cut off with multiple local roads still blocked.

The Christchurch City Council’s response teams were using helicopters to get into areas inaccessible by road.

A total of seven local roads remained shut with another eight roads restricted to residents and emergency services.

Helicopters could be regularly seen and heard over Okuti Valley on Thursday.

Meanwhile, business owners previously cut off were getting on with the recovery, helped by overdue sunshine and 28 degree temperatures.

Little River Campground owner Marcus Puentener said this week’s flooding was the worst he had seen in 30 years.

Two days earlier he awoke to the nearby Okuti River pouring through the campground, washing away an on-site bridge and leaving a trail of debris.

Puentener said a task-force of volunteers would help with the clean up in the coming days.

“We’ve got our services up and running again. We’ve got toilets, showers and kitchen area all usable, so we are open,” he said.

“However the drive into the camp is a bit rough. We’re mainly looking at ground works at the moment, clearing the river, putting shingle down on the drive to make it a little bit safer for people to drive in.”

Assistance with the clean up was needed with the campground on Okuti Valley Road due to host multiple events, including a wedding in two weeks.

Although community support for affected property owners remained a prominent feature, the response from authorities had room for improvement, Puentener said.

“People have got water, people have got food, that’s the main thing. But people are trapped in their properties,” he said.

“This is where it gets slightly frustrating. We’ve had a lot of clip boards and not many foot soldiers on the ground. The clipboard-to-digger ratio is all wrong.”

The resilience of Okuti Valley locals had been bolstered by a community-led emergency radio network to communicate during emergencies when power, internet and cell coverage was down.

Okuki Valley Rd resident Rennie Davidson said the nearby community hall stored essential supplies, including a generator, batteries, gas canisters, a cooker and first aid kits.

“Some of the older people in the community find the ability to communicate really reassuring, that we are working as a community and we are,” he said.

“We’ve just been organising water for someone’s toilet that can’t flush. There’s a whole heap of stuff that we can do which doesn’t cost a lot of money, but supports people that otherwise might be struggling.”

The network was self-organised into eight “clusters”, arranged by location.

The community was still largely reliant upon Civil Defence during significant weather events, Davidson said.

Dave Harvey, who lived on State Highway 75 in Coopland east of Little River, admitted he was one of “the lucky ones”.

Apart from a snapped tree that protruded over his next door’s neighbours section, he mostly evaded the brunt of the deluge.

“We had a bit of inundation in the shed. Other than that this whole valley survived pretty well. Obviously I’m devastated for the neighbours further down the river who have been gravely impacted.”

Council local controller Anne Columbus said roading crews had been prioritising known communities to restore roading access to those affected.

“With the reinstatement of communication channels on the Peninsula [on Thursday], we are now starting to form a clearer picture about the damage to properties and infrastructure,” she said.

“The assessment of damage will continue over the next few days as our ground crews gain access to affected areas.”

Two rubbish skips had arrived in Little River, which residents could use to dispose any flood-damaged waste.

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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 number of patients being treated at an industrial site in Levin has risen to 22.

Hato Hone St John ambulance, police and Fire and Emergency were called to Hamaria Road at around 6:30pm, after a chemical incident.

Firefighters set up decontamination gear at Alliance Group’s meat processing plant after reports of a gas leak.

Five ambulances, three rapid response units, two operations managers and a St John Major Incident Support Team were called to the scene.

A fire crew from Otaki has also been called in to help Levin firefighters and a specialist fire unit arrived from Palmerston North.

A spokesperson for Alliance Group confirmed processing at the plant had suspended after a chemical incident at the site led to a “gas reaction”.

St John says while it’s not yet know whether any of the patients is badly injured, no one has been taken to hospital yet and no further ambulances have been requested.

Police have cordoned off the area.

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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 Lower Hutt man whose family was forced to flee their home when a large slip fell away from beneath the building says they will be “left with nothing”.

Aaron Pahl said time appeared to go into slow motion when a 10 by 30 square metre expanse of his back yard slid away on Monday – leaving the deck and the rear foundation hanging exposed.

“I was outside and I heard it start cracking, like all the trees just start cracking and crunching. So I pretty much screamed out to my kids ‘get your arses up here now!’ and I watched the whole thing just slide down the bank,” Pahl said.

Pahl said nearly 16 years of saving and hard work had gone down the drain as he, his partner and three children salvaged what they could from the building and sought advice as to what options they had following the slip.

“I don’t see a light. I don’t know, I honestly don’t know. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody man. It’s just like another test, I guess, but it’s not one that I was in any shape or form prepared for,” Pahl said.

The family’s home was issued with a dangerous building notice following the slip.

Pahl said he’d been told re-stabilising his property with retaining walls could take years but demolishing the home would exhaust practically all of his insurance for property.

“The reimbursement from my insurance company would be enough to cover the remainder of my mortgage and then the demolishing fee.

“I was talking to one of the engineers and he’s like ‘if they were to demolish it you’re looking at a couple of hundred thousand dollars. There wouldn’t be much left from that’.

“I’ve worked for the last 16 years to provide this for my family. To get to where I am today and I’m literally going to walk away with nothing. It’s just painful,” Pahl said.

Pahl said his insurance company had agreed to provide just under $12,000 in an accommodation supplement but the money was only likely to house his family for the next three or four months.

Until they could find a place the family of five – with two pets – were staying at Pahl’s father in law’s three bedroom home in Featherston.

Pahl said he was hugely grateful but the small space and extra distance to work and his children’s schools were adding to the family’s burdens.

“It’s added three hours plus a day just to get the kids to school and get myself to work and get my wife to work and it’s breaking man. The two younger one’s are sharing a double bed. They had their own rooms and stuff at home and they’ve just been crammed into a room and ‘that’s where you sleep’,” Pahl said.

He said he’d barely slept since the slip and – while he had some friends he could talk to – the events of the last week were weighing heavily on his shoulders.

“I work for myself and I’ve not been able to work since this happened because I’ve had so much to deal with and [I’m] just watching everything just crumble.

“I’ve got some really good friends and they’re always there to lend and ear. But I still feel like this is my problem and I’ve got to deal with it. I’ve always been that type that is like ‘you carry the shit that’s on your shoulders mate’. I’m tradesman that’s what we do,” he said

Pahl said the family had started a give-a-little page under the heading Help Support Our Family After Stokes Valley Landslide.

“I didn’t want to at first. I didn’t want to ask but, it’s like, if we don’t we’re absolutely screwed. They always say it’s going to get worse before it gets any better but I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel,” Pahl said.

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