Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Radio New Zealand

Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is yet to front questions on a scathing coroner’s report into the death of Malachi Subecz.

Coroner Janet Anderson report found everything possible went wrong for the 5-year-old in the last six months of his life.

Senior Cabinet Ministers have expressed shock at the report; Child Povery Reduction Minister Louise Upston taking a series of questions on it before Question Time this afternoon.

Chhour, who has responsibility for Oranga Tamariki, has declined requests for a short interview on the coroner’s report today.

RNZ first contacted her office to arrange an interview this morning, given the minister does not walk through reporter scrums at Parliament due to hearing issues.

In response to a follow-up query a few hours later, a spokesperson said they were “struggling to find even a free 2 mins in the Minister’s diary”.

Chhour was seen at a promotional event, showcasing the red meat sector for National Lamb Day, on the Speaker’s Lawn about lunchtime.

When that was raised with her office, the spokesperson replied: “Sorry she needed to eat”.

Anderson’s report highlighted serious concerns about the pace at which Oranga Tamariki has improved its system in response to Malachi’s death.

“They are not happpening fast enough,” she said.

She pointed out a previous system-wide review, led by the late Dame Karen Poutasi, recommended Oranga Tamariki run a public awareness campaign to help anyone identify possible signs of abuse and how to take action – but that had still not happened.

“It is hard to understand why this has not yet happened given the Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive’s statutory duties, and the previous recommendations that have been made about this matter, including by Dame Poutasi over three years ago.”

She recommended Oranga Tamariki prioritise and roll out an awareness campaign, and that “it must no longer be delayed”.

Chhour’s office provided a statement just before 6pm Wednesday night.

“I agree with Coroner Janet Anderson assessment that Malachi Subecz was the victim of unspeakable cruelty and deliberate evil, which no child should ever have to endure.

“My heart goes out to everyone who loved and cared for Malachi, for whom today’s findings will be incredibly painful.

“The Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention (the Centre) and Oranga Tamariki are supporting the work being led by MSD to implement recommendations from Dame Karen Poutasi’s report into the death of Malachi Subecz.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Gore’s famous giant brown trout statue is angling for an official name.

The sculpture – designed by local artist Erroll Allison and built by a local engineering firm – has proudly stood in Gore for almost 40 years.

The statue, capturing a trout mid-leap, is finally getting a name as part of a competition to promote the Southland town’s On The Fly Festival on the Mataura River later this month.

Gore District Council senior events co-ordinator Florine Potts told Checkpoint that there had been “heaps” of suggestions, with Trouty McTroutface one of the first to come through – “Someone had to do it.”

Potts said the list of initial names had been slimmed down to five finalists – Trixie, Scout, Trevor, Gordon or Finn.

“Voting has only opened on Monday, so people still have a lot of time to vote.

“Everyone can vote, they can go on our socials or text our local radio station. If you come to Gore, you can have an opinion on it.”

Potts said they were hoping other towns with giant statues of local animals and produce will follow suit and name their own statues.

She said locals were looking forward to being able to stop referring to it as just “the trout”, but said whatever the name, it would always be a true Gore icon.

“People come and visit and take photos with the trout. Everyone knows the trout.”

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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 Teaching Council needs to focus more on children’s safety and less on being liked by teachers, according to an independent review.

The review of the teacher registration body has called for significant transformation and more emphasis on its role as a regulator.

It has been published while the council’s chief executive Lesley Hoskin is on leave during a Public Service Commission review of the council’s procurement and conflict of interest practices, and amid widespread opposition to a government overhaul of the council.

The document – provided to RNZ by the council – said the council’s current statutory purpose was “to ensure safe and high-quality leadership, teaching, and learning in early childhood, primary, and secondary education through raising the status of the profession”.

It said the government was moving to cut the reference to raising the status of teaching and the review was aimed at establishing future opportunities in light of wider education reforms.

The report said those opportunities included shifting the council’s mindset “from the current focus on promoting respect for the profession and being liked by the profession to a prevention and stewardship mindset, focussed on improving child safety and the quality of teaching, and growing public trust and confidence in the profession”.

“The current focus on the mana of teachers and the profession must be properly balanced with the council’s’ statutory responsibilities to protect children from the sorts of competency and conduct breaches that create lifelong harm and trauma,” the report said.

“The council needs to lead the education sector to improve performance in preventing incompetence or misconduct while simultaneously shifting its focus from managing the consequences of misconduct to addressing the causes.”

Education Minister Erica Stanford told the Education and Workforce Select Committee on Wednesday the review vindicated the government’s moves to overhaul the council and take greater control over teacher education.

The review said the council appeared to have the culture of an advocacy body rather than of a regulatory or membership body.

“While there may be times when the council advocates for the profession, these must be balanced with its other roles and functions,” the report said.

“In spite of the statutory requirement to have regard to the policy of the government of the day, the agency does not appear to see itself as part of the wider state sector, within which the teaching profession sits.”

The review said the council should use its rich data about teachers to identify patterns and help tackle negative trends and risks.

“For example, the council’s registration teams can see the current trend towards increasing numbers of foreign trained teachers, which if extrapolated, will see up to 30 percent of the workforce foreign trained by 2035. They might also see patterns about where in the system probationary teachers are not reaching the standards required for permanent registration, or where leaders may appear to be ‘tick boxing’ certification applications.”

The report expressed concern that the council had recently lost qualified teachers and expert investigators from its staff.

It said the council had a strongly mission-driven and committed culture, but there were signs of dominant cliques that might “freeze out” those who did not agree with it.

“The executive has sometimes appeared, to some interviewees, to prioritise pliability over relevant experience and technical expertise,” it said.

The report warned that the level of change required at the council was significant and would need careful planning and management.

Last year the council’s acting chief executive [. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/581901/teaching-council-interim-ceo-resigns-from-board-for-avoidance-of-doubt-chair-says resigned his seat] on the council’s governing board after RNZ inquiries into the legality of the dual roles

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Otago University is urging students to “stay off roofs” after a young man was critically injured falling from a building at the Dunedin campus.

The man was in Dunedin Hospital, after being found by campus staff shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

Police said the injured man was not a student at the university.

The Otago Daily Times reported the young man fell from the Centre for Innovation building near the intersection of Cumberland and Saint David streets.

In a statement, university vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said staff acted quickly and alerted emergency services after finding the man.

“Staff are continuing to work closely with police and providing assistance where possible. As this is a police investigation, we are unable to provide further details about the incident,” he said.

Ahead of Otago University’s O-week celebrations, the university was outlining the importance of safe decision-making.

“With students returning to the city, we strongly encourage everyone to look out for one another, make safe choices and seek help early if they have concerns. Our Campus Watch staff are available 24/7 to assist students in the North Dunedin community,” Robertson said.

Campus Watch staff had begun door-knocking flats in North Dunedin, Robertson said.

“We provide practical information on personal safety, property security, safe behaviour in two-storey flats, avoiding climbing on roofs, waste and recycling requirements and other matters important to a safe start to the year.

“I cannot stress enough about the importance of staying off roofs. The tragic outcomes of that are well-known and we do not want anyone, or their friends and whānau to have to experience that.”

Otago University student and age-grade rugby representative Jayden Broome was still recovering from a critical brain injury, after falling from the roof of a two-storey Dunedin flat in September last year.

The 19-year-old spent four months in hospital and was unable to eat for 115 days following the fall, The Southland Tribune reported last week.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Some mayors in the Wellington region have weighed in on the Moa Point sewage plant failure and who should pay for it.

The facility started pumping raw sewage into the ocean off the south coast after it completely failed early Wednesday morning last week.

On the following Thursday evening, the raw sewage was diverted from being dumped near the coast to a 1.8km outfall pipe.

Wellington Water had warned it may need to use the short outfall pipe if it were to rain in the city.

Mayor Andrew Little said the Moa Point plant was a Wellington City Council asset, and it would deal with who pays once the plan to get the plant back online was in place.

In the meantime, the council would foot the bill.

“If there’s been a breach of obligations, a breach of duties, then that – to me – has to be sorted out between the parties. In the meantime, the critical thing is to get the [plant] recovered, fixed and back operating. The Wellington City Council will no doubt underwrite that cost.

“We want to know what went wrong, where the responsibility lies and if we can recover any costs, then obviously we want to do that.”

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said councils were waiting to see what an independent inquiry into the meltdown revealed – and who should pay – to repair the plant.

Baker supported Wellington Water and said the failure could have happened to almost any plant in the region. She said the problems at Moa Point reflected nearly 50 years of councils declining to invest in water infrastructure.

Upper Hutt Mayor Peri Zee supported calls for an independent inquiry into the facility’s failings.

“We absolutely need to see accountability and in principle costs apportioned by who is at fault.”

South Wairarapa Mayor Fran Wilde said there was no reason her district should help pay to repair Moa Point. Wilde said her council had stopped Wellington Water from running its assets, and the two would part ways in June.

She said capital works had already been delivered more swiftly and at lower cost without Wellington Water.

A Hutt City Council spokesperson said they fully supported an independent review.

“It’s early days, and at this point we haven’t been provided with any information regarding the potential repair costs or if that cost would be shared across the wider Wellington region.”

The spokesperson said the council would not speculate on what might happen until the facts were on the table.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

There is concern that some behaviour at Dunedin’s annual ‘Flo’ and ‘O’ weeks is out of control and highly dangerous, with students clambering onto roofs.

A young man was critically injured on Wednesday after falling about 10 metres from an Otago University building, with a wine bottle found on a ledge.

While he was not a student, police were calling for others to avoid rising similar injuries – which were becoming more common.

“Unfortunately, it seems to be becoming more and more prevalent,” senior sergeant Craig Dinnissen told Checkpoint.

“Flo Week never used to be a thing. It has become more of a thing in the last couple of years and the climbing on roofs has been around since the Hyde Street unmanaged events, which just leads to absolute significant risk and injury when it does go wrong.”

Dinnissen said police had engaged with numerous people to get off roofs and passed their details onto their university for further discussion.

He suggested that students had too much time to get into trouble, with classes yet to start.

“There’s absolutely nothing to do with university … there’s no classes, nothing at all,” Dinnissen said.

It is seven nights of various street parties, excessive drinking and just some poor behaviour and poor decision making, he said.

He said it was the first time away from home for many students, and with nothing else to do, evenings could often get “feral”, with illicit substances also a factor.

Dinnissen said wastewater testing indicated that this time of year was “high use”, with police resources stretched to ensure the safety of everyone.

“It takes a huge amount of time from us, from normal court policing,” he said.

Out of towners joining the parties was another factor.

“We have people travelling all the way from Auckland to come down to partake in the festivities here, both Flo and O Week,” Dinnissen said.

“Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, university students, people from all around the area as well.”

Dinnissen said while police could generally handle local students, people that come from outside the region often had no respect for the environment and the situation they put themselves in.

Without putting an end to the parties, he called for a “significant culture change” and for students to embrace social responsibility.

“These are supposed to be new young adults that are going to lead us into the future,” he said.

“We can’t really hold their hand in that sense, to realise that things are getting out of hand.”

Dinnissen said the last thing police ever wanted to do was to knock on somebody’s door and say your daughter or your son was in hospital.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington Water will not answer any more questions about anything that could be included in a public inquiry into the Moa Point meltdown.

The facility completely failed last Wednesday morning, flooding the building with waste and sending raw sewage into the nearby coast.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little has called for an independent inquiry into the matter.

Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty said in a statement that the water supplier fully supported an inquiry to the failure.

“It is now clear that the inquiry will begin as soon as possible, and we will cooperate fully alongside our work to bring the plant back into operation.”

Dougherty said given the review had been signalled, it meant Wellington Water was not able to provide “any further public statements regarding aspects of the Moa Point incident and response that may be included in the inquiry”.

He said the water provider was committed to transparency while meeting its legal obligations.

“We also appreciate the high level of public and media interest in this incident.”

Wellington Water would still provide regular operational updates, public health advice and water sampling results.

Dougherty told Morning Report on Monday that Wellington Water may have missed early warning signs of the plant’s failure.

RNZ has asked what those red flags were, but Wellington Water has not responded.

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