Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Radio New Zealand

• NZ Transport Agency memo to minister says braking system linked to six deaths not inherently unsafe
• Father of man who died due to a brake failure says he’ll keep pushing for more action
• Driver had to jump to safety in latest rollaway incident
• Truck firms won’t import vehicles with cardan shaft parkbrakes

The New Zealand Transport Agency has doubled down on its stance that a braking system linked to six deaths is not inherently unsafe.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop asked for a briefing from the transport agency, after a coroner’s report into the death of Graeme Rabbits at an Auckland worksite in 2018 blamed a failing cardan shaft parkbrake.

Coroner Erin Woolley determined that these brakes, found in about 70,000 vehicles in New Zealand, could not be relied upon as a sole braking system, because even a well-maintained brake could fail without warning.

Despite this, the NZTA told the minister it didn’t accept the coroner’s views on the brakes being inherently unsafe nor did the agency accept the coroner’s criticisms of its attitude.

RNZ can reveal another instance of a cardan shaft brake failing and a Checkpoint investigation has found trucking firms have long since stopped importing vehicles with cardan shaft parking brakes, because of their problems.

Officials ‘playing Russian roulette’

Bishop refused to be interviewed about cardan shaft brakes, calling it a complex issue.

A memo sent by transport agency officials, obtained by RNZ, said it didn’t accept the coroner’s view on the brakes or that it lacked an open mind about safety concerns, but Graeme Rabbits’ father, Selwyn Rabbits, said that was exactly what he saw.

He’s spent almost eight years urging the agency to take firmer action, such as banning imports of vehicles fitted with cardan shaft parkbrakes.

“These things are just not fit for purpose, but NZTA continues to stonewall us,” Selwyn Rabbits said.

“I can’t recall anyone I’ve spoken to, any knowledgeable person outside NZTA, who doesn’t say these things are dangerous.

“It’s only within NZTA, who have taken this absolutely entrenched and dangerous position, and it’s basically playing Russian roulette with people’s lives.”

The agency said it continued to monitor data on the brakes and go through Coroner Wolley’s findings, before considering if further regulations were necessary.

It already required warnings stickers and recommended the use of ‘chocks’ – blocks – on wheels to prevent vehicles rolling away on slopes. It also points to campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the brakes’ limitations.

Rabbits said those measures were not enough.

“I saw a comment from the minister saying this is a technical and complex issue. The thing is it’s not.

“Even with a lay person, you give me 5-10 minutes and I can explain why these things are dangerous.

“A driver has no idea how much braking power they’ve implied and how much they need, and then you load it up and it runs away, so it’s really simple.”

This week, the transport agency told RNZ: “Since 2020, NZTA has undertaken a significant programme of work to understand the risks involved with [cardan shaft parking brakes], and to introduce a range of regulatory changes and interventions.

“This programme of work was initiated following Mr Rabbits’ death, and has since expanded to incorporate broader regulatory interventions and operational improvements across the heavy vehicle sector.

“NZTA will also be undertaking further action, focused on continuing to increase the understanding of the correct use, testing and maintenance of [cardan shaft parking brakes] amongst drivers, owners, vehicle inspectors and mechanics.”

Meanwhile, Rabbits isn’t giving up.

After NZTA chairman Simon Bridges declined a meeting with him, he has accepted yet another with the agency director to call for firmer action.

Another brake failure

RNZ has spoken to a North Island businessman, whose company’s been affected by another cardan shaft parking brake failure recently, where a vehicle’s driver had to jump to safety.

The man asked for anonymity, while he worked with his insurer for the vehicle’s recovery.

“The driver was climbing into the truck, when the handbrake failed,” he said. “The truck was laden and ready to shift, but just the weight of him climbing into the truck was enough for the handbrake to fail.

“It bounced over two wheel chocks and he wasn’t able to control it, before it gained enough velocity and he had to evacuate, and the truck careened off the end of the driveway.”

The vehicle involved was a small 4×4 truck.

The man said, most of the time, the brakes weren’t a significant issue, because his company’s main fleet of trucks could be parked in gear, with chocks applied on slopes.

“Something has to change. We have heard many stories of people who have lost their lives, due to an unreliable brake.

“I am not so mechanically minded as to offer an alternative, but whatever replaces it has to fail shut and fail safely, instead of simply releasing.

“A braking mechanism that locks the wheels is inherently more safe than one that only controls the wheels.”

Cardan shaft parkbrakes are cheaper than other braking systems, as they use a single mechanism at the gearbox, rather than at the wheels.

Trucking firms take stand on brakes

Southpac Trucks in Auckland doesn’t import trucks with the cardan shaft brakes.

Chief executive Marteen Durent said the recommended safety measures for the brakes, including using chocks on the wheels to prevent rollaways, were inadequate.

“It’s really quite ridiculous that you would park a vehicle and consider using wheel chocks.

“That’s the sort of thing you would have done with a horse and cart in Queen Street 100 years ago. It’s really quite third world.”

The NZ Transport Agency had probably done everything it could with the current fleet of vehicles, but it could act further, Durent said.

He even contacted the agency in 2020, saying the brakes should be banned.

“Why don’t we take a new standard and effect it from a date, set some time in the near future, do a course correction and opt for a brake system that is considered to be of a higher standard?

“I think that’s what Selwyn was talking about, and I don’t disagree with that or what the coroner says.”

Chief executive of trucking importer and distributor Foton New Zealand Roger Jory said he stopped importing vehicles with cardan shaft brakes nine years ago – well before the transport agency’s awareness campaign.

“They have severe limitations and I’m well aware of that,” he said. “Through our exposure with Foton and having a full airbrake system on a light-duty truck, we know there’s a superior system.

“For us, it was a natural step to take with our supplier to try and get an alternative to the cardan shaft parkbrake.”

Jory said he was particularly concerned about them in light trucks, which could be driven by people with no experience of braking systems that required more than simply pulling a handbrake in place.

He said Foton New Zealand had delayed introducing an EV truck to the New Zealand market, because it had a cardan shaft parking brake.

“It meant we missed out on sales. We weren’t the first to market with an EV truck.

“A lot of our competitors beat us, but for us, it was a compromise to have a cardan shaft parkbrake back in our light-duty truck range.”

Jory wasn’t prepared to make that compromise.

Foton then came back to its New Zealand distributor with a similar vehicle that had a full airbrake system.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

National MP Catherine Wedd has branded e-scooter rules “outdated”, and is spearheading a campaign to take them off the footpath and into dedicated bike lanes wherever possible.

Accident Compensation Corporation figures show claims for e-scooter injuries have almost doubled in five years, with 7257 reported so far this year at a cost of almost $14 million.

The Member of Parliament for Tukituki in southern Hawke’s Bay claims regulations around the use of e-scooters have not moved with their increased use around the country and hopes to drive change by the middle of 2026.

NZ Transport Agency says e-scooters can be used on the footpath or the road – but not in designated cycle lanes that are part of the road, which are designed for the sole use of cyclists.

“I believe it is outdated and dangerous, and we have work underway to change it by the middle of next year,” Wedd told RNZ’s Checkpoint.

“This would mean, where there is a cycle lane available, e-scooter users can use the cycle lane, instead of the footpath, which should made footpaths safer and should incentivise more people to use cycle lanes.

“We want to make the footpaths safer, but we want to make everyone safer and we’re seeing an increased number of e-scooters out there. If there’s a cycle lane, e-scooter users should be able to use cycle lanes.

“At the moment, that’s not the rule. This would mean we’re bringing e-scooters into the realm.”

The NZTA website sets out the following guidelines for e-scooter safety:

• Ride in a careful and considerate manner. Keep at a safe speed at all times and slow down when you’re near people. It’s illegal to ride at a speed that’s hazardous to people.
• Always give way to other people on the path. You might have to come to a complete stop or dismount, if the path you’re on is busy.
• Keep left unless you’re passing. Only pass people if it’s safe to and pass them on their right.
• Be aware of who’s around you – people move unpredictably and may not know you’re there. Always leave a safe distance between you and other people.
• We strongly recommend that e-scooter riders wear helmets.

“I think, generally, we’re seeing people who are responsible, but we’re seeing a lot of irresponsible users as well,” Wedd said.

“E-scooters can go very, very fast, and I’m hearing a lot from concerned parents and elderly using the footpaths and worried about there safety.

“Of course, we want to encourage e-scooter use, as it’s becoming a more popular way to get around, but our current rules are outdated and we need to take a commonsense approach.

“This is a commonsense approach – if there’s a cycle lane, use it.”

Wedd admitted some of the responsibility for safety lies with the operators.

“They’re very powerful, they go very fast and they can be dangerous, if they aren’t used properly,” she said. “If they’re used recklessly, that’s a problem.

“We just need to make sure we have some commonsense, practical rules that are going to work.”

Wedd admits the proposed rules would rely on the availability of bike lanes.

“We don’t want to be creating blanket rules across the entire country, because, in Hawke’s Bay, we have less cycle lanes than, say, Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington.

“We need to be practical about this. If there is a cycle lane use it, but if there isn’t, there’s the footpath, but be responsible. If you’re on a quiet street, that’s OK too.”

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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 first phase of the coronial inquest looking into the 2019 Whakaari/White Island eruption has drawn to an end.

Twenty-two people died and 25 people were injured, most of them seriously, after they were on the island when it erupted on 9 December 2019, sending ash 3.6km into the air.

The bodies of two victims were never recovered.

Phase one of the inquest, which began in October 2025, focused on the emergency and medical response.

Counsel for bereaved families and survivors, Anna Adams said while the first phase had been valuable, for the bereaved families and survivors to properly understand the events that day, questions still remained.

“Was it ever appropriate to run tours to White Island during volcanic alert level 2, where the best rescue that could be achieved in the event of an eruption was an 83 percent civilian rescue?

“Was the official civil defence and police plan that after an eruption tour operators would self-evacuate ever appropriate given how heavily this relied on people who may or may not have had rescue and first aid training?”

Adams said it was acknowledged the plan to have the operators self-evacuate was in practice the fastest way to get everyone off the island and to medical treatment that day.

“However, the bereaved families and survivors continue to express surprise and disappointment that this plan was considered acceptable by government agencies because it relied so heavily on people who may not be trained or available.”

Adams said she’d submitted that the Coroner could make a recommendation regarding the manner in which scientific or technical advice was communicated to the emergency services in connection with high-risk volcanic activities in New Zealand.

Phase two of the inquest would start next year and explore the events the day before the eruption and whether victims had enough information about the risks of a potential eruption.

“Many of the families and survivors continue to hold the view that they should not have been present walking in the crater of the Whakaari Island volcano that day,” Adams said.

“Or at least they should not have been as under-informed about the risk, under-prepared for an eruption, and under-protected by the clothing and equipment as they were.

“It is the families’ hope that New Zealand learns from this experience, so that we better protect the people who tour this country, especially when engaging in adventure activities, and so that we do not have another tragedy like that which befell the 47 people visiting Whakaari,” Adams said.

While giving their closing submissions, counsel representing numerous agencies admitted there were communication issues experienced in the emergency response.

It’s been clarified many of these technical communication issues had since been fixed and updated.

One of the issues on the day which was explored at the inquiry was an InterCAD notification failure between the police and St John.

InterCAD was a system that allowed essential information provided by 111 callers to be shared immediately between police, the fire service and ambulance.

The Coroner’s inquiry heard issues caused an approximately seven-minute delay in the notification of the eruption to St John.

There was also evidence of a 13-minute delay between police communications receiving the 111 call about the eruption and transferring the job to InterCAD.

Other communications related problems included the lack of a police radio at The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Whakatāne which also dealt with cellphone reception and wifi internet connectivity issues.

Counsel for police, Anna Pollett, said they’d support a recommendation that a plan for an emergency response, multi-agency or otherwise, ought to be one plan.

“So rather than have multiple plans for every eventuality, having a knowledge of what expertise may be required and what is available in each circumstance may be beneficial in the future.

“This would allow consistent training of all personnel within all agencies nationwide to be more streamlined and consistent to allow for a unified approach.”

It was established during the inquiry, that Civil Defence was considered the lead agency during the emergency response, but police would be the lead agency in the search and rescue operation.

Examples of “double handling” and key information not being communicated between agencies in the crucial first hours after the eruption was highlighted.

“Defined layers of decision-making and control may be beneficial in the future. It also highlights the need for personnel to be designated for high-level communications, both upwards and downwards,” Pollett said.

“Immediate responders were challenged by the information requests being made while they were all feet on the ground to be responding to everything going on to rescue those from the island.”

Counsel for Bay of Plenty Emergency Management Amanda Gordon said they had submitted similar recommendations to the Coroner.

Gordon said evidence showed there was confusion about the terminology used in the response to the eruption.

“It’s clear that there was some confusion about who was the lead agency and the different terminologies of incident controller or local controller.

“From the group’s point of view, it’s not suggested, and the evidence doesn’t bear this out, that the confusion had any impact on the response.”

Gordon said there was a strengthening emergency management legislative reform process going on as a result of the North Island severe weather event inquiry.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A power pole and lines are blocking State Highway 36 near Tauranga after a crash.

A car hit the power pole between Taumata Road and Oropi Road Friday afternoon.

Police say the driver was not serious injuried.

The highway will be blocked until at least 6pm and people were asked to find an alternative route if possible.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

An estimated 7,000 health workers are striking across the country renewing their calls for increased staffing levels and better pay.

In Auckland, hundreds of striking workers picketed outside the central hospital.

Social worker Margaret Colbrough waved her sign as supportive motorists tooted in solidarity.

“The offers that are on the table at the moment are quite insulting, and given the pressures and the lack of resources that we’re working under, there’s very good reason to come out and strike today,” she said.

“I’m always up for a good fight. I’m a social worker … It’s what we do.”

Jeff Heywood, a worker at Kenepuru Hospital in Porirua, was visiting Auckland and decided to join the picket line in solidarity.

“Whether you are in Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, the provincial centres, these are people trying to do a professional job and supporting others, looking after others,” he said.

“The least we can do is make sure they are paid and supported professionally, it’s as simple as that.”

Labour leader Chris Hipkins joined strikers and pledged his party’s support

“This is a crisis of the National government’s creation,” he told media.

“They’ve taken our health system, they’ve made things worse, they’ve put workers under so much pressure, and all [workers] are asking for is decent working conditions and an opportunity to provide decent care to the people of New Zealand.”

He said the government was deliberately antagonising health workers.

“Unfortunately they’re more interested in picking a fight than actually doing the right thing,” he said.

Hipkins challenged the government to settle the dispute by the end of the year.

“I want to see their collective agreement settled before [the election]. It would just be absolutely wrong for the government to allow this dispute to continue into the new year.”

Health Minister Simeon Brown’s office has been approached for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A series of documents reveal how police discovered about 130 staff “falsely or erroneously” recording more than 30,000 breath tests and the fallout that resulted.

RNZ can now reveal that the investigations began after a new mapping feature identified a police officer recorded 11 breath tests over a five-minute period over a distance of 3.5km.

There was no recorded traffic stop, checkpoint operation or call for service logged by or assigned to that officer during that period.

Police then audited all breath testing that took place from 1 July 2024 using an algorithm that determined if a second test took place within 90 seconds of the first, whilst the distance between the two indicated a speed of more than 20 km/h.

It found more than 30,000 tests, with more than 80 per cent of the staff under investigation belonging to dedicated road policing roles. Some of the irregular breath tests were recorded against staff who were rostered off duty, indicating the devices were used by colleagues without changing the logins.

RNZ earlier revealed about 120 staff were under investigation throughout the country after 30,000 alcohol breath tests were “falsely or erroneously recorded”.

The results were only discovered after police built a new algorithm to analyse the data, as the devices themselves could not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate tests.

On Friday, following an Official Information Act request from RNZ, police released 150-pages of information in relation to the breath screening tests investigation.

Anomaly identified

On August 18, the director of road policing, Superintendent Steve Greally, emailed Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson following a discussion they had about the discovery.

Greally said that since creating the algorithm police had identified “several large-scale data anomalies that have the potential to cause NZ Police the same degree of criticism”.

Greally said that while it was potentially a “very small proportion of tests”, it was “a matter of absolute integrity”.

“Therefore, it is my strong view that these more persistent offenders (as determined by the decision maker) are held to account decisively.”

The following day Johnson forwarded the email to Police Commissioner Richard Chambers and Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers.

On August 27 senior police held an “urgent” meeting to discuss the “significant data issue”.

A second meeting was held two days later.

A Breath Test Analysis document, classified as “restricted” said the National Road Policing Centre had created a new performance dashboard utilising a new data source.

While using the new mapping feature “an unusual pattern became evident”.

The analysis isolated tests by the staff’s QID – a six digit ID assigned to each staff member that was registered to the device.

This identified 11 tests that had been recorded over a period of five minutes over three kilometres all by the same staffer. There was also no recorded traffic stop, checkpoint operation or call for service logged by or assigned to that officer during that period.

This led to the wider audit of tests dating back to 1 July 2024.

A summary said police could be “confident” that over 99.4 per cent of the tests performed were valid.

“Examination of the patterns depicted by these 26,599 in-motion breath tests suggest it is almost certain that most of these tests are not legitimate, and that some staff have ‘simulated’ additional breath tests to increase their statistics.”

Where the in-motion tests were fewer than 10, it was “possible” there could be explained by user error, training or legitimate activity.

An executive summary said the activity “calls into question the integrity of the data and police actions with our partners, leading to potential long-term implications for performance reporting and funding for police”.

All the country’s police districts were identified in the data. The Waitematā, Wellington, and Canterbury districts together made up two-thirds of the total irregular tests identified.

On 11 September, a staffer for Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he requested a briefing on the matter and for the briefing to be shared with the Minister of Transport.

“The Minister also requests that engagement with partners is deferred until after Ministers are briefed.”

The briefing, released on Friday, said a sanction model had been developed.

The model said misconduct may include logging in to another QID to obscure identity or avoid accountability or directing or pressuring another officer to perform pretend tests or misuse the device.

Serious misconduct included trust and confidence in police negatively impacted by the employee’s activity and data manipulation used for financial gain or other advantage.

“Police remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and recognises the seriousness of this issue, particularly in relation to the integrity of our partnership with NZTA.

“In addition to addressing individual conduct, Police will also focus on the culture and practices that may have contributed to this behaviour.”

The briefing said police would engage with sector partners following the briefing.

NZTA warns of ‘clear breach’ of no surprises expectation

On 25 September, more than a month after the tests were identified, NZTA’s group general manager Richard Forgan wrote to Johnson and said they were notified of the matter on 22 September.

Forgan said that given NZTA’s role as investor and providing monitoring and assurance in relation to the Road Policing Investment Programme (RPIP) the integrity and accuracy of the delivery against the measures was “paramount”.

Forgan instructed the Road Policing Investment team in NZTA to look further into the data integrity issue with “urgency” and requested a series of information from police.

Forgan also took issue with the length of time it took NZTA to be notified.

“In addition to the issue regarding the data irregularity, the memorandum of understanding between us clearly states a ‘no surprises’ expectation.

“The fact this issue was first discovered in late August, the Minister of Police was briefed on 12 September and NZTA only informed via the Minister of Transport’s office on 22 September is a clear breach of this expectation. I reinforce NZTA’s expectation that we are to be advised of such matters early.”

Included in police’s response to NZTA’s request for information they said they had identified some instances where irregular breath tests were recorded against QIDs belonging to officers who were rostered off duty at the time.

This suggested some devices were used by others without changing the QID.

The communications plan

Also included in the documents is a communications plan dated 30 September.

Included in the plan is the strategy in terms of audiences including internally with a recommendation to send an internal memo to staff with an overview of what happened and articulating expectations to staff.

The plan said “given the high likelihood” of internal comms being sent to media, it was preferred to manage external communications through “proactive media”.

“The recommended approach would be to have a proactive reactive statement.”

Johnson would be the primary spokesperson, however “if the issue becomes elevated and uncontrolled in the media” consideration should be given to the appropriate Deputy Commissioner or the Commissioner to front.

The plan identified several risks including the issue leaking prior to internal or external comms, internal comms leaking prior to external comms, and the minister/ Prime Minister “unhappy with behaviour”.

‘Must stop immediately’

On 9 October, Greally emailed the country’s road policing managers following a hui he had been unable to attend.

He said he understood the managers were waiting for the NRPC to inform them as to what communications they need to send.

Greally said the main message was simple: “the practise of simulating breath tests must stop immediately”.

About 4000 further tests were discovered after the algorithm looked at tests between 17 August and 30 September.

On 31 October RNZ revealed that 120 staff were under investigation.

That same day the Road Safety Executives Group met to discuss the breath testing data.

The agenda item said the distribution of irregular tests over the 2024/24 year showed a sharp rise from July to October, followed by a gradual decline through to June, indicating a “concentrated period of higher activity in the first half of the reporting year before tapering off”.

“Approximately 82 percemt of the QIDs referred for further investigations belong to staff who were in dedicated road policing roles when the irregular testing was recorded.

“The remaining 18 percent were QIDs belonging to staff who were in non-dedicated roles.”

Disciplinary process

Johnson told RNZ last week police had progressed disciplinary processes for 130 staff members.

“Outcomes of the process vary between a finding of misconduct or serious misconduct depending on the particular circumstances.

“A case is more likely to be serious misconduct where the misconduct was repeated a number of times, or the officer involved was of more senior rank.”

Johnsons said no employees have been stood down for this matter alone.

“There has been a small number of employees stood down for additional misconduct issues.”

RNZ asked police if they could be more specific about the number of staff stood down, what sort of additional misconduct was involved and what rationale staff had given for their behaviour.

Police replied: “We will not be supplying these further details as we do not want to risk identifying individuals who are engaged in an active employment process.”

In relation to what was happening to the staff who committed serious misconduct, Johnson said that was an employment matter and would most likely be a “formal warning of varying lengths, starting from six months”.

Johnson said none of the cases were considered to be criminal.

Johnson said a third had already been “addressed and closed”. Those cases were managed as “misconduct/employment conversation” with a mix of outcomes, he said.

The remainder were ongoing.

“In most cases the officers have accepted the warning and have acknowledged their behaviour as unacceptable.

“For all employees clear expectations from the organisation have been set through organisation wide messaging and updated refresher training specifically on this topic.”

Following RNZ’s coverage every police officer across the country was ordered to do an online training module for alcohol breath testing

Johnson said more than 70 per cent of staff had completed their “refresher training”.

The Defence Lawyers Association earlier said the revelations called into question the integrity of their current and past work, including prosecutions they’ve been involved in.

Te Matakahi Defence Lawyers Association New Zealand co-chair Elizabeth Hall said there needed to be a criminal investigation launched following the “unprecedented” revelations and support a “full, independent audit” of historical data.

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