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Live: Dave Rennie named as new All Blacks coach

Source: Radio New Zealand

Dave Rennie has been selected as the side’s new head coach. PHOTOSPORT

Dave Rennie has been named the new All Blacks head coach through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, seeing off Jamie Joseph in the two-man race to replace Scott Robertson.

The 62-year-old former Chiefs coach and coach of the Wallabies was unveiled as the national coach in a New Zealand Rugby social media post just before midday.

He will take up the role in June, when the Japanese Rugby League One season ends, where he coaches Kobelco Kobe Steelers.

He will take charge ahead of the July home series against France, Italy and Ireland.

PHOTOSPORT

Rennie, who is of Cook Islands descent through his mother, becomes the first All Blacks head coach with Pasifika heritage.

NZR chair David Kirk said Rennie has a proven track record as a successful head coach.

PHOTOSPORT

“On behalf of the Board, I’d like to congratulate Dave on his appointment as All Blacks head coach. He is a world-class coach who has consistently shown he can build strong performance environments and win.

“Dave understands what it means to coach the All Blacks and play a style of rugby that reflects who we are as New Zealanders.

“He has a deep understanding of rugby in New Zealand and the role the All Blacks play in shaping our national identity and bringing communities together.”

Rennie said his appointment was a privilege.

“Coaching the All Blacks is an incredible honour. I’m extremely proud to have been entrusted with this role and understand the expectations that come with it.

“I’m really clear on the way I want the All Blacks to play and I look forward to working with the players, management team, and the rugby community. We have a lot of talent here and we will be working extremely hard to make the country proud.”

David Kirk, the chair of NZ Rugby, speaks to media following the departure of All Blacks coach Scott Robertson Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

Kirk said he believed the appointment process had been the most thorough the organisation has undertaken for an All Blacks coach.

“The All Blacks are set for a challenging and exciting two seasons ahead and it’s critical we followed a thorough process to find the right head coach. Dave has a clear direction for the team that gives us confidence the team will be well positioned to perform as we head into the 2027 Rugby World Cup.”

NZR will now work with Rennie to confirm the wider All Blacks coaching and management team, with updates to be provided in the coming weeks.

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie PHOTOSPORT

Rennie emerged as top level coach when he steered the New Zealand under-20 team to three consecutive junior world championships between 2008 and 2010, guided the Chiefs to back-to-back Super Rugby titles in 2012 and 2013 and took the Glasgow Warriors to a Pro14 Final in 2019.

He has also delivered domestically in New Zealand with the Wellington Lions and Manawatu Turbos in the National Provincial Championship.

©PHOTOSPORT 2020

He was head coach of the Wallabies between 2020 and 2023, although largely struggled for success before being replaced by Eddie Jones.

Rennie was to speak to journalists in Auckland this afternoon.

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

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New Zealand redraws open work visa conditions

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Yiting Lin

Open work visa holders are set to see changes to their visa conditions next month.

An open work visa generally allows people to work for almost any employer, across most sectors and locations, without needing a job offer.

From 20 April, Immigration New Zealand said open work visas would include two new types of employment conditions.

Under the first set of conditions, some open work visa holders, including those on Post Study Work Visas and a range of partner visas, will be able to work for an employer or be self-employed, including as a sole trader or by owning and operating a business.

Under the second set of conditions, open work visa holders on Victims of Domestic Violence Work Visas, Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visas, Asylum Seeker Work Visas and all working holiday visas will still be required to work for an employer, either under an employment agreement or a contract for services.

The change makes clear that open work visa holders will not be allowed to employ other people, either directly or indirectly through a business they own or operate, including where the business is the named employer.

Peter Elms, director of visas at Immigration New Zealand, said the changes were prompted by sector feedback and were intended to remove uncertainty created by existing work visa settings for both visa holders and immigration advisers.

He said updating and standardising the conditions would provide clearer guidance and reduce the risk of unintentional breaches of the Immigration Act.

“Overall, the changes are intended to help migrants better understand their visa conditions and work rights while they are in New Zealand,” Elms said.

The upcoming changes have been welcomed by immigration lawyers and advisers.

David Cooper, chief executive of New Zealand Immigration Partners Supplied

David Cooper, chief executive of New Zealand Immigration Partners, said the update to immigration instructions and policy would remove confusion and close a grey area that had existed previously.

“Particularly for people who held open work visas, whether or not they were allowed to work for themselves was never clear in the immigration instructions,” Cooper said.

“This will now allow them to do it and make it very clear that it’s legal for them to be able to do that.”

Cooper said that while self-employment would not apply to every type of open work visa, it would give eligible visa holders another option beyond finding a job.

“If they do struggle to find a job, they can at least consider setting up their own small business and trying that,” he added.

Sonny Lam, an immigration lawyer at Queen City Law, said clearer guidance could spur a modest lift in the recruitment of non-resident workers.

“The rules become muddled due to frequent changes and create a perception in busy employers’ minds that they can only hire someone on the Accredited Employer Work Visa,” he said.

Sonny Lam is an immigration lawyer at Queen City Law in Auckland. Supplied

“With this latest change, it will likely remind employers that they can hire such workers on open work visas again, leading to a slight increase,” he said.

Lam said the restriction preventing open work visa holders from employing others appeared to envisage gig-economy work, such as ride-share driving or delivery services.

This sort of work was a popular way for migrants to generate income and could provide a small boost to the wider economy, he said.

Arunima Dhingra, a senior licensed immigration adviser and chief executive of Aims Global, said clearer rules could reduce risk and improve compliance.

“In recent years there has been increasing confusion around what ‘open’ actually means,” she said.

“Many migrants and employers assume ‘open’ means unrestricted in all respects. At the same time, we have seen growth in contracting, project work and small-scale sole-trading arrangements.

“Those grey areas can create compliance risks if visa holders inadvertently step outside what is permitted.”

Arunima Dhingra, chief executive of Aims Global Supplied

Dhingra said that once the rules were explicit, employers could have greater confidence in engaging open work visa holders under appropriate arrangements.

For visa holders, she said, it reduced the risk of unintentionally breaching visa conditions.

Dafydd Parry, a licensed immigration adviser at Greenstone Immigration, said the restriction preventing open work visa holders from employing others could affect some current open work visa holders who are already running businesses that employ staff.

He said transitional arrangements and support would be available for those people until their current visa expires, after which the new rules would apply.

He said the clarification could also help ensure that employment created by temporary visa holders was sustainable and compliant, and that vulnerable workers were protected.

“Allowing temporary visa holders to employ staff could be deemed to create risks,” he said.

“If the visa holder must leave New Zealand, their employees may suddenly lose their jobs,” he said.

“Some cases may raise concerns about exploitation or non-genuine job arrangements.”

Elms said not all migrants were familiar with New Zealand’s employment laws or business obligations, and that allowing self-employment and business ownership while restricting the ability to hire staff helped support safe and compliant work practices.

He said it also reduced the risk of employers unintentionally breaching employment or immigration requirements.

Elms added that the rules also reflected a distinction between activities that signal temporary intent and those that suggest a more permanent footing.

“Running a business that employs others generally indicates a more ongoing and established presence in New Zealand, which is not the intent of a temporary open work visa,” he said.

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

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Seascape developer Shundi Customs placed in receivership

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Seascape apartment project in Auckland is at a standstill. RNZ / Ziming Li

The owner and developer of the 187-metre 52-storey Seascape development near Auckland’s waterfront has been put into receivership.

Receivers Brendon Gibson and Neale Jackson of Calibre Partners said the immediate priority was to ensure Shundi Customs’s development continues to remain safe and secure.

Shundi has been unable to restart major construction works since it was ceased on-site in August 2024.

“We will work with the current contractor onsite (Icon Construction) to ensure the development remains safe and secure. Our focus will then move to assessing options that will see funds generated to repay creditors,” Gibson said.

“Seascape is a partially completed development. While we will move as quickly as possible to assess options, it may take some time considering the nature of the asset.”

The receivers will make further statements as the receivership progresses.

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New CT scanner for Wairarapa

Source: New Zealand Government

A new CT scanner is now operational at Wairarapa Hospital, marking a significant upgrade to diagnostic services in the region, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

“This $2.46 million investment will strengthen diagnostic services for Wairarapa, bringing faster, more reliable imaging closer to home and improving access for local patients,” Mr Brown says.

“The previous end-of-life CT scanner has experienced regular outages, disrupting care and delaying appointments. The new, modern scanner will significantly improve reliability and capability, providing faster imaging, better technology, and a more consistent experience for patients and staff.”

“The upgrade is expected to deliver around a five percent increase in output and productivity, supporting faster diagnosis, stronger cancer pathways, and better access to imaging for both inpatients and outpatients.

“It will also strengthen the wider regional diagnostics network, ensuring hospitals are better able to manage demand and maintain timely care across the region.

“By investing in frontline infrastructure like this, we are ensuring regional communities like Wairarapa get the quality care they deserve.

“This is about putting patients at the centre of our health system – investing in the infrastructure and technology that supports frontline clinicians, strengthens regional services, and ensures communities like Wairarapa can rely on modern, quality care now and into the future,” Mr Brown says.

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Christopher Luxon forced into another correction over Iran war visas

Source: Radio New Zealand

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Parliament. (File pic) VNP / Phil Smith

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had to make a personal explanation in the House on Tuesday night, after he stated incorrectly the government was automatically extending visas for people in New Zealand affected by the war in Iran.

The Greens co-leader says he “snuck” into the House “late last night” to correct the record and it shows he’s “not across his brief”.

“He simply does not seem to understand the weight of the things that he is talking about, or the substance or logic that sits behind them,” Chlöe Swarbrick said.

Follow updates with RNZ’s blog

Earlier this week the Prime Minister admitted he “misspoke” when he said New Zealand supported “any actions” to prevent Iran having nuclear weapons.

She says it’s disconcerting to have a leader of New Zealand talking about things that are “currently so much of a powder keg” and every time he opens his mouth “we have no idea how that is going to place our country in the context of the very tense international relations at play”.

Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick RNZ / Mark Papalii

In Question Time on Tuesday, Swarbrick asked Luxon if the government would commit to automatically extending visas for people who are in New Zealand now whose home countries have been affected by the war, as happened in the context of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Luxon responded saying, “I understand that we are doing that, and the Minister of Immigration will continue to take advice on that too.”

That was in contradiction to what his Immigration Minister Erica Stanford had said earlier that day, where she advised anyone who might be affected by the conflict to contact Immigration New Zealand.

“If they contact Immigration, we will be really pragmatic about making sure that they remain legally in New Zealand.”

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford RNZ / Mark Papalii

She said it would be considered on a case-by-case basis, and the current visa that may be expiring could be extended.

Swarbrick said on Wednesday the Prime Minister had effectively said a blanket extension was happening when “we know it wasn’t happening”.

“So [the Prime Minister] then snuck into the house at 9:02pm I believe, late last night, to correct the record and to say that there was a case-by-case process, which we all already knew, available to those people.”

At 9.03pm on Tuesday night, Luxon sought leave to make a personal explanation.

“To be perfectly clear, Immigration New Zealand has a well established process for international conflicts, and will facilitate and take a pragmatic approach to visa renewal when people are unable to return home,” he explained.

“This was not an automatic process in the context of the invasion of Ukraine, and decisions will continue to be taken on individual visas.”

Swarbrick told RNZ he also “misspoke” or “got his correction incorrect” when he said there wasn’t a blanket extension applied during the war in Ukraine.

“We have it in black and white from a Cabinet paper,” she said.

The paper stated Cabinet agreed to “extend by 12 months the visas of all Ukrainians onshore whose temporary visas were due to expire by the end of 2022”.

She said the extension meant people didn’t have to go through an arduous “case-by-case” basic to have them extended.

Swarbrick said she was now expecting the Prime Minister to have to “correct his correction”.

She said politicians were human beings, “all of us will screw up, we will stumble over our words, we will also make mistakes.”

“But I think there is quite a substantive difference between that and what the Prime Minister has modelled time and again, but very evidently over the last few days, which is that he is not across his brief.”

Comment has been request from Luxon’s office.

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New Zealand family living in Qatar: ‘Like a Covid lockdown with the occassional loud boom’

Source: Radio New Zealand

Missiles are seen in the skies over Doha on March 3. MAHMUD HAMS/AFP

The family car is filled with petrol and packed with supplies and go bags for a hasty escape.

But for now, a New Zealand family living in Qatar’s capital, said they would stay where they were while loud booms could be heard in the distance.

Since Israel and the United States launched an attack on Iran on Saturday, a number of countries in the Middle East have been hit by missile strikes including Qatar.

“If you’re calm and prepared, that’s probably the best thing that we can do,” Kathryn Rush said her Doha home.

Motorists drive past a plume of smoke rising from a reported Iranian strike in the industrial district of Doha on March 1. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP

She and her husband were oil and gas lawyers, meaning Doha was somewhere with work in their field.

Rush and their two children, Nick who’s 11 and 9-year-old Emily, moved over from Wellington at the end of December.

But now things had changed.

“It’s very reminiscent of Covid,” Rush said.

“We’ve spent the first few months getting ourselves into dance classes and bits and pieces, football clubs and things like that.

“So all of that’s now on hold as everyone has to stay at home as much as they can, my husband is working from home, the kids are home-schooling,” she said.

“Things are happening, you don’t know if it’s going to happen to you or not, and you’re just waiting and try to stay positive in the meantime.”

Rush was trying to stay positive for her young children too.

“The booms, you hear the booms and some of those sound closer than others… so they can be relatively loud,” she said.

“I popped outside and my daughter was on a trampoline tonight just to say ‘oh, do you want to come inside, those were quite loud’ and she said ‘yeah and there were some flashes in the sky too but I want to do some more trampolining’.”

Rush felt it was important to acknowledge with her children what was happening, “but not to be freaked out by it”.

“My 11-year-old is quite smart and quite onto it and is relatively are of what’s going on, but he’s settled in really nicely to school here, he’s got friends from all sorts of different countries and I think they probably talk about it a little bit as well,” she said.

For now, Rush felt comparatively safe – their house was among about 100 in a compound and all were low-rise.

They’re also to the north of Doha’s centre and airport, in the opposite direction to the American base further south.

For now, it felt like an added layer of safety, she said.

“We’re in an older compound… and the villas are really sturdy… so I don’t feel that we’re in as much of a target zone as perhaps some of the other areas.”

New Zealand’s advice to citizens remained to shelter in place but Rush said they would strongly consider leaving if the advice was upgraded.

“It would probably have to get a lot worse, I think, before we’d feel like we desperately wanted to get out,” she said.

The only real option was to drive to Saudi Arabia.

“I feel safer on the ground at the moment than I would in the air.”

Rush was sleeping fully clothed in case she had to quickly move in the night.

She and her neighbours regularly check on each other, but she said it felt like there was not much to check during the ongoing waiting for whatever happened next.

“It feels a bit probably like a Covid lockdown, except for the sound of the occasional loud boom.

“The car is full of petrol and packed with effectively camping gear and the usual kind of go back scenarios like water and that kind of thing, sunscreen, so you know we are prepared – if we have to go we have to go – but where that would be going is a little uncertain.”

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

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Primary teachers’ union seeks ERA intervention in stalled pay talks

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Alexander Robertson

The primary teachers’ union wants to take stalled pay talks to urgent facilitated bargaining.

The Educational Institute Te Riu Roa says mediated bargaining last week failed to reach a settlement of the primary teachers’ collective agreement.

Negotiator Liam Rutherford told RNZ the Education Ministry made an offer which was only slightly different from the offer the union’s members rejected in December last year.

He said it fell well short of what members had told the union they wanted prior to mediation.

“I think it’s fair to say that teachers didn’t get the outcomes from that they went into it with and as a result, we’ve called for urgent facilitation from the Employment Relations Authority. We’re really hoping that might be the circuit breaker to get the government to come to the table and for us to get this settled,” he said.

The December offer would have provided a pay rise of 2.5 percent at the end of January and a further 2.1 percent a year later.

Secondary teachers accepted a similar deal last year.

The Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche warned earlier this week that primary teachers were missing out on increased pay and benefits because they had refused to settle.

Roche said since the end of January, primary teachers at the top of their pay scale were missing out on about $50 a week before tax they would have received had they settled last year.

He said the sums were even larger for the 60 percent of primary teachers who had management units for extra duties.

Under the December offer, a teacher at the top of the scale with one unit was missing out on around $63 (before tax) per week, and those with two units were missing out on around $76 (before tax) per week, Sir Brian said.

“Teachers know there are no lump sums or backpay available in this bargaining round.

“Every week without settlement is money teachers aren’t receiving.”

Rutherford said NZEI members understood what they had rejected.

“Teachers are well aware that if they had accepted the offer, they would be getting the pay increases on offer. But I think that more points to the strength of the issues that we’re facing in the sector,” he said.

Rutherford told RNZ the government’s curriculum changes were a big factor in teachers’ expectations of a better pay offer.

“What came through more strongly than we ever have is this absolute avalanche of curriculum change that people have found themselves in at the start of 2026,” he said.

“I think it’s been one of those areas where people have known that it’s coming, but to be in 2026 and to look at not just the size, but the speed of the ambition of the Minister of Education to implement this, lots of people are feeling like they’re drowning.”

Rutherford said the union advised the Education Ministry on Tuesday that it wanted facilitated bargaining.

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Name suppression continues for man accused of trying to solicit sexual favours from teens

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Nate McKinnon

The identity of a Christchurch man accused of trying to solicit sexual favours from three teenage girls will remain secret for now.

The man, aged in his 50s, has interim name suppression that prevents RNZ detailing much of the case.

Judge David Robinson extended the interim suppression order when the man appeared via audio-visual link in the Christchurch District Court on Wednesday.

The man is yet to enter a plea and name suppression will remain in place until at least his next appearance in May.

He was charged last October with five counts of exposing girls under the age of 16 to indecent communication.

Court documents show he is accused of propositioning the first girl after sexually taunting her and asking for her phone number in March last year.

Just over a week later, he verbally taunted the girl again.

He was accused of telling a second teenage girl “you’re gorgeous, you can earn some money if you give me five minutes of your time” in June.

He was also accused of saying “you’re pretty” to a third girl before offering her $100 to perform a sex act on him in early August.

Police were notified in the days following the approaches and the man was arrested a few weeks later.

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Dave Rennie named as new All Blacks coach

Source: Radio New Zealand

PHOTOSPORT

Dave Rennie has been named the new All Blacks coach, seeing off Jamie Joseph in the two-man race to replace Scott Robertson.

The 62-year-old former Chiefs coach and coach of the Wallabies was unveiled as the national coach in a New Zealand Rugby social media post just before midday.

He replaces Robertson, who was sensationally axed as All Blacks coach in January.

Rennie, who is of Cook Islands descent through his mother (Titikaveka, Rarotonga), becomes the first All Blacks Head Coach with Pasifika heritage.

Rennie said it was a privilege to be appointed Head Coach of the All Blacks.

“Coaching the All Blacks is an incredible honour. I’m extremely proud to have been entrusted with this role and understand the expectations that come with it,” he said.

“I’m really clear on the way I want the All Blacks to play and I look forward to working with the players, management team, and the rugby community. We have a lot of talent here and we will be working extremely hard to make the country proud.”

More to come…

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Shoplifters couldn’t hide from Police

Source: New Zealand Police

Two offenders tried it on, and failed, after an alleged shoplifting at a clothing retailer.

The pair face court today after Police caught up with them in west Auckland on Tuesday morning.

Waitematā West Area Prevention Manager Acting Inspector Nick Salter says around 11am a unit was travelling through Henderson CBD, when a shoplifting was reported.

“A vehicle had been parked outside the retailer on Great North Road, with three people reported to be stealing clothing from inside,” he says.

“The offenders were confronted by staff, before they fled to the vehicle with stolen property.”

A Police unit came across the vehicle a short time later.

“Officers signalled for the vehicle to stop, however it failed to do so and sped away,” he says.

“The unit did not pursue and lost sight of the vehicle.”

A short time later units saw the vehicle again on Lincoln Road, not far from where it had originally been signalled to stop for Police.

“Eagle deployed into the area and was quickly above the vehicle, tracking its movements,” Acting Inspector Salter says.

“When the vehicle stopped at a red-light officers took the opportunity to apprehend the occupants.”

With the alleged offenders in custody Police were able to conduct further enquires.

“We discovered that the plates on the vehicle did not match the VIN number, and the correct registration showed it as stolen,” Acting Inspector Salter says.

“This was great work by our staff in continuing to follow up and look out for this vehicle until it was eventually found and the alleged offenders taken into custody.”

Two men, with gang links, will appear in court.

A 24-year-old man will appear in the Waitākere District Court today charged with shoplifting, failing to stop and cannabis-related offences.

A 34-year-old man will also appear in the Waitākere District Court today charged with shoplifting.

ENDS.

Amanda Wieneke/NZ Police