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Triathlon: Hayden Wilde puts chaotic race behind him

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand triathlete Hayden Wilde. Alan Lee / www.photosport.nz

New Zealand triathlete Hayden Wilde is sure there will be more robust technical involvement in future T100 events following a farcical finish to the latest round in Dubai.

Wilde and a number of other athletes rode an extra lap on the bike leg of the Dubai race last weekend which resulted in him slipping from the lead and finishing eighth.

“They call themselves a professional race organisation,” Wilde said at the time.

The result ended Wilde’s winning streak on the T100 world circuit, after he unknowingly added eight kilometres to the cycle section.

The 28-year-old knew he must have been nearing the end of the bike leg but said there was confusion with no official call for them to go into the transition area.

He said the crowd encouraged them that they still had one lap to go.

Later on in the run leg, Wilde and others were told by officials to pull into the finish despite still having a lap to go. Because of the error on the bike leg, officials decided to finish the race a lap earlier on the run leg.

“It’s frustrating, but as athletes we know, [so] I take accountability for doing an extra lap,” Wilde told RNZ.

“On the athletics track there is always a lap counter and in other cycling events you have the bell lap and a lap counter but unfortunately in our sport we don’t have that.”

However, Wilde, an Olympic silver and bronze medallist, is sure it won’t happen again.

“I think from now on there will be a lap counter at races,” Wilde said.

“These are relatively new courses and courses where they’re quite technical where you do lose track of time and places.”

Wilde said the frustrating thing was that there was a technical official with them on a motorbike the whole last lap, but he didn’t say anything.

“Hopefully we can work together and do better next time,” Wilde said.

The result didn’t affect his overall standing as he heads into the season finale in Doha next month.

“The body is performing at such a late part of the season and I’m really happy with the position I’m in.”

A top-four finish in the grand final will confirm the title for Wilde.

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‘Portals to the past’: Indigenous educators reconnect with Pacific wayfinding

Source: Radio New Zealand

Indigenous educators from across the world reconnected with the knowledge of their tūpuna at WIPCE 2025 – guided by Māori kaihautū and two of the original Hōkūleʻa navigators whose first voyage helped revitalise Pacific wayfinding. RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell

‘If you’re on a canoe, you’re in the same space your ancestors were – just a different time.”

Those are the words of Billy Richards, an “OG sailor”, one of the original Hōkūleʻa navigators whose 1976 voyage helped reignite Pacific wayfinding.

On Monday, his presence – alongside fellow original navigator John Kruse – gave added weight to over a dozen Indigenous educators who stepped aboard Haunui, a double-hulled waka carrying the legacy of their tūpuna.

Guided by kaihautū from Te Toki Voyaging Trust, manuhiri (visitors) from Indigenous nations around the world spent the morning learning the whakapapa of waka hourua and the mātauranga that carried their tūpuna across the Pacific.

Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr (Tainui) founded Te Toki Voyaging over 30 years ago. He now trains navigators, maintains a fleet of waka hourua and paddling canoes, and runs environmental, leadership, and education programmes for rangatahi across the motu. RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell

The excursion is one of many offered at the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE), which has returned to Aotearoa for the first time in 20 years.

Leading the voyage was Kaihautū Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr (Tainui), who said the aim was not just to sail, but to reconnect with the knowledge of their tūpuna.

“Here we are today on board Haunui as part of the WIPCE conference,” he said, welcoming delegates.

“A living, breathing example of the kind of waka that our tūpuna sailed from Hawaiki to Aotearoa.”

He said it was important for not only Māori, but other nations to “recover, relearn and relive the wisdom of our ancestors”.

“That knowledge got them through centuries and it can guide us today, for people, for the planet … for all our resources.”

Haunui, a double-hulled voyaging canoe carrying the mana of Kāwhia Moana and the Tainui people, was restored in Aotearoa and blessed for open-ocean voyaging. RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell

Haunui carries the mana of Kāwhia Moana and the people of Tainui. The waka began its life as Va’atele, built under Te Mana o te Moana, a project to grow ocean literacy and revive Polynesian wayfinding.

Gifted to American Samoa, Va’atele returned to Aotearoa for repair after the 2009 tsunami.

That return allowed a new vision: a double-hulled canoe capable of open-ocean voyaging. It was restored and renamed Haunui, in honour of Barclay-Kerr’s uncle – tohunga Hone Haunui.

The vessel now sailed under Te Toki Voyaging Trust (TTVT), which was founded more than 30 years ago by Barclay-Kerr. Built around the values of aroha, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga, the Trust trained navigators, maintained a fleet of waka hourua and paddling canoes, and ran environmental, leadership, and education programmes for rangatahi across the motu.

At WIPCE 2025, Indigenous educators were offered the opportunity to reconnect with their ancestors alongside OG Hōkūleʻa navigators Billy Richards and John Kruse aboard Haunui waka. RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell

For many on board, the biggest surprise was seeing Billy Richards and John Kruse – known as ‘Uncle Billy’ and ‘Uncle John’ – also on board the waka.

Known as kaitiaki in the voyaging world, the pair were part of the first Hōkūleʻa voyage in 1976, the journey widely credited with sparking a Pacific-wide cultural renaissance in ocean navigation.

“The only reason I’m standing here on this waka, and we can sail around on the waka, is because of things they did in the early 1970s,” Barclay-Kerr told RNZ.

“These are the original OG sailors of waka who revitalised and rejuvenated this whole thing in 1975 and 76.”

The Hawaiian waka Hōkūleʻa is returning to Aotearoa, 40 years after its maiden visit. Polynesian Voyaging Society

Barclay-Kerr said when Hōkūleʻa was built, it was the first canoe for over 600 years that could carry people and journey across vast distances without instruments.

“Uncle John and Uncle Billy helped build that waka, sailed it to Tahiti … and here we are 50 years later and they’re sitting here with us.”

He said, with only a few original crew members alive, their presence was “a great gift from our ancestors”.

“I can’t be more happy than that.”

Billy Richards (Oʻahu) is an original member of Hōkūleʻa, the Polynesian canoe whose voyage from Honolua Bay to Tahiti marked the first deep-sea journey of its kind in over 600 years. RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell

‘One foot in the present and one foot in the past’

Richards, now 77, first stepped onto Hōkūleʻa in 1975.

“I’ve been a voyager for … well, let’s put it this way,” he said.

“I first stepped aboard when I was 27. You can do the math.”

Half a century later, he describes voyaging as living with “one foot in the present and one foot in the past”.

“I like to think of our canoes as portals to the past,” he told RNZ.

“When you’re on a canoe and you’re sailing, you’re in the same space, doing the same thing as your ancestors … just a different time.”

Richards said the voyaging community had grown from one waka to 27 across the Pacific.

“We call ourselves the ‘ohana wa’a, the family of the canoe. At one time there was just Hōkūleʻa, but now there are 27 voyaging canoes in the ocean,” he said.

“It’s an extension of everything that happened the first time.”

Teaching the next generation was central to that growth.

“It’s okay that we move on, because you make room for the young to come up. Otherwise we might lose it again,” he said.

“A lot of what we do is, when the canoe is coming out to be fixed, you come down and volunteer. If you put your energy into the canoe, we have an obligation to invite you aboard.”

April Iwalani-Harris (left) travelled to Aotearoa from Hawai‘i and says she feels blessed to “learn from all nations about how we better support our keiki, our children.” RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell

That intergenerational thread is part of what drew WIPCE delegate April Iwalani-Harris (Moku o Keawe – Hawai’i Island) onto the waka.

“What brings me here? My DNA brings me here,” she told RNZ.

“I’ve worked in education for 35 years, and I was blessed with the opportunity to come and learn from all nations about how we better support our keiki, our children.”

She said stepping onto Haunui felt like reconnecting with something familiar.

“Everyone said it was like coming home. It was connecting with family members you have yet to meet.”

That feeling deepened when she recognised a cousin, a crew member from Makali’i and supporter of Hōkūleʻa, standing across the deck from her.

“My kūpuna (ancestors) say there are no coincidences.

“Being able to spend this time with him and with everyone else we were introduced to… that was really special.”

Iwalani-Harris hoped to take back to Hawai’i lessons on how to be a better ancestor.

“Oceans separate us, but there’s so much commonality,” she said.

“Where we come from, there’s a saying, nō nā keiki maua mau. It’s forever the children. We keep our eyes on them.

“So coming here and understanding strategies, understanding the journeys others have taken… it helps us be better stewards of our keiki, our aina, our oceans.”

Indigenous educators from across the world reconnect with the knowledge of their tūpuna at WIPCE 2025 – guided by Māori kaihautū and two of the original Hōkūleʻa navigators whose first voyage helped revitalise Pacific wayfinding. RNZ / Layla Bailey-McDowell

Barclay-Kerr said this was exactly what voyaging offered.

“When you bring young people on a waka like this, they’re learning stuff by default.

“On the waka, they’re doing maths and science without knowing that’s what they’re doing.

“The great thing about waka is that it becomes a secret agency to educate people. People come on board for fun, but they get off having had fun and being a bit enlightened as well.

“Ancient wisdom can’t be relegated to a museum or a textbook,” he said.

“It needs to be lived.”

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Kaitāia reels at violent death of ‘relentlessly optimistic’ businessman Monty Knight

Source: Radio New Zealand

Monty Knight established his own winery, Okahu Estate, just outside Kaitāia. RNZ/Carol Stiles

Kaitāia is reeling from the violent death of a man described as “an absolute legend” in business circles and as a generous, “relentlessly optimistic” advocate for his hometown by his friends.

Monty Knight, who turned 80 earlier this year, died at his home just outside Kaitāia on Sunday afternoon.

Police said they found him critically injured after responding to reports of an assault, and arrested a 57-year-old woman a short time later.

She had since been charged with murder.

Among those shocked by his death is Colin Kitchen, a Kaitāia community stalwart, former fire chief and newly elected regional councillor.

The entrances to Monty Knight’s winery, Okahu Estate, and home were cordoned off with police tape on Monday. RNZ / Peter de Graaf

Kitchen said he had known Knight for more than 60 years.

“He was a go-to person, a real people’s person. He was a generous guy whose door was always open. A clever bugger too,” he said.

“He’s going to be sadly missed. I feel so stunned, shocked, sad and devastated, hearing that news. It’s very, very sad.”

Former Far North mayor John Carter, who lived just north of the town, was also struggling to come to terms with Knight’s death.

“He was a very community-minded person who’s done a tremendous amount for the community. A very successful businessman of course, which has enabled him to do so. But he’s been very generous with his time and support.”

Former Far North mayor John Carter. RNZ / Dan Cook

Northland Chamber of Commerce deputy chairman Tim Robinson described Knight as a tireless entrepreneur and “a larger-than-life character who lit up any room he walked into”.

“He was an absolute legend from a business perspective. He loved Kaitāia. He was so immensely proud of it as a town, and as a part of the Far North where he lived,” he said.

“The thing that always struck me about him was that he was an incredibly positive optimist and a serial entrepreneur. He was always looking for new opportunities and he always believed that Kaitāia was a town that could punch above its weight.”

Robinson said that was borne out by Knight’s stellar business career, which started with a tiny record shop on Commerce Street he called Monty’s Disc Inn.

He then expanded into electronics, appliances and beds, took over his parents’ Kaitāia jewellery store, and opened another in Kerikeri.

He also started a winery, Okahu Estate, which won awards within New Zealand and overseas.

“And all of them were very, very successful businesses. So it speaks volumes in terms of being a very smart, astute businessman, but also his relentlessly positive and optimistic attitude to everything.”

Robinson said they also bonded over things other than business.

“I knew the man for 30-plus years and I shared his great love of wine. So when he started Okahu Estate, it was kind of music to my ears.”

Northland Chamber of Commerce deputy chairman Tim Robinson. RNZ / Luka Forman

Knight somehow found time to be elected to the Far North District and Northland Regional councils, and had a couple of tilts at the Far North mayoralty.

He also contested last month’s district council election but did not win a seat.

Ian Walker, another prominent Kaitāia businessman, described him as an “iconic personality” of the Far North.

He said their paths had crossed often since he moved to Kaitāia more than 30 years ago, but he knew of Knight long before that.

Walker recalled watching Knight on national TV when he represented the Far North in the Telethon fundraising broadcasts of the 1970s and 80s.

Knight’s quirky humour plus his fondness for clowning around and funny hats made him a standout during the marathon TV shows.

A natural entertainer, Knight was also frequently on the radio around the Far North.

“It’s a real shame for somebody who’s contributed to the colour of Kaitāia for such a long time to pass the way he did. It is unfair and disappointing and saddening,” he said.

Monty Knight was of Kaitāia’s best-known characters and entrepreneurs. Supplied

In 2012, during one of Knight’s short-lived attempts at semi-retirement, Walker purchased the appliance store 100 percent Monty Knight and the local Beds R Us franchise from him.

During last month’s election campaign, Knight said he had tried retiring but found it “too boring”.

Colin Kitchen praised the emergency service personnel who tried to save Knight on Sunday.

He said every police officer, medic and volunteer firefighter called to his home would have known him personally, making a tough job even harder.

“And the scene, it wasn’t good. So I just want to shout out to them and say thank you. You guys are there doing the mahi in people’s time of need, and unfortunately, they couldn’t help Monty this time.”

Kitchen said a date had yet to be chosen for Knight’s funeral, but it was likely to be this coming weekend and certain to be huge.

The accused woman appeared in the Kaitāia District Court on Monday afternoon. RNZ / Peter de Graaf

Meanwhile, the woman accused of his murder was remanded in custody when she appeared before a Justice of the Peace in the Kaitāia District Court on Monday afternoon.

She appeared calm and was dressed in a causal jumper during the brief appearance.

Her name and all identifying details were suppressed until her next appearance, which would be in the High Court at Whangārei on 5 December.

The judge issued a non-contact order for a number of witnesses who had yet to be spoken to by police.

She did not seek bail.

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‘Not meant to be around here’: Auckland native bird hospital seeing more sub-Antarctic species

Source: Radio New Zealand

A white-headed petrel doing a water test to check its swimming and water resistance. RNZ / Finn Blackwell

A native bird hospital is concerned about the number of sub-Antarctic seabirds landing sick or hurt in Auckland.

BirdCare Aotearoa is a charity based in West Auckland and works to rehabilitate and care for sick, injured, and orphaned birds.

It recently took in a white-headed petrel found on the West Coast beach of Muriwai with severe internal bleeding late last month.

BirdCare’s fundraising manager Dr Rashi Parker told RNZ it was very unusual to find the petrel so far north.

“When it came into care, it was in, the team call it, a guarded prognosis,” she said. “It had to immediately be put on oxygen and support to regulate its body temperature.

“It needed fluids, it needed vitamin K, because it came with very serious internal bleeding and was severely anemic.”

Parker said BirdCare had seen quite a few birds in a similar situation, describing it as “very unusual”.

“We had three blue petrels, we had two sub-Antarctic fulmars come in, and then we also had soft-plumed petrel,” she said.

“They’re not meant to be around here, they’re very sub-Antarctic birds, so something must be drawing them north.”

A little blue penguin being cared for by BirdCare Aotearoa. RNZ / Finn Blackwell

At the hospital on Monday, specialists were testing the white-headed petrel’s ability to swim, spritzing the bird to check if it would repel the water off its feathers, before potentially releasing it that evening.

It needed to confidently stay afloat for half an hour.

About 17-minutes into the test, however, the feathers on the petrel’s stomach and inner right wing became wet.

“That’s no good, because a bird that can’t be waterproof or if its feathers get wet is basically a bird that can’t swim, and a seabird that can’t swim is a giant drowning risk,” Parker said.

Despite that, they were hopeful for the petrel’s recovery.

“He has been in care for 19 days, so we want to be able to get it out as quickly as possible.”

Parker said they could only speculate on what brought the birds so far north from their habitat.

“Perhaps they’re finding it harder to hunt in the oceans, perhaps there’s not enough food, or fish, or squid from where they’re used to and so they might be coming up north, the oceans are warming up which is changing a whole bunch in terms of their typical exploratory habits.”

This white-headed petrel was found on the West Coast beach of Muriwai with severe internal bleeding late last month. RNZ / Finn Blackwell

It was also possible the birds “hitchhiked” by following lights from cruise ships, Parker said.

What was concerning was the state the deepwater seabirds were found in, she said.

“They’ve all come in with neurological symptoms and signs of internal bleeding.”

Parker said they had another rescue earlier in the year which regurgitated plastic before dying.

“We’ve had a few other Cook’s petrels also, two of them had regurgitated plastic and then carried on,” she said.

“We’ve got a freezer full of these birds that couldn’t make it, and we want to actually investigate what’s going on with their internal organs.”

Parker said the hospital was looking for corporate partners and others to conduct an investigation into the plastic consumed by the birds.

“We really want to see what the rate of plastic ingestion is in seabirds, who are a very vulnerable species, and also kind of determine what is wrong with our oceans that could be hurting these beautiful seabirds,” she said.

Meanwhile, the hospital planned to re-test the white-headed petrel’s swimming and water-resistance, potentially releasing it later in the week.

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Three suspicious fires in Dunedin overnight

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) says it had to deal with three suspicious fires overnight in Dunedin.

At 11:30pm on Monday, four crews were called to a vacant commercial building on Harrow street in central Dunedin.

About an hour later at 12:23am, emergency services were called to a fire at an unoccupied residential property, also in central Dunedin.

A FENZ spokesperson said that blaze reached second-alarm status and saw half a dozen appliances deployed.

Following that, at about 1:20am, FENZ was alerted to a series of trees on fire outside the Otago Pistol Club.

It was understood on arrival the flames were about 20 metres high, with five trucks, two tankers and two rural crews sent to extinguish the blaze.

FENZ said investigators would be looking into the fires.

No persons were reported harmed.

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Uber drivers’ Supreme Court decision could collapse gig economy, business groups say

Source: Radio New Zealand

AFP

Business groups says a Supreme Court decision that Uber drivers are employees rather than contractors could collapse the gig economy.

It comes after the Supreme Court unanimously decided to shut down Uber’s appeal against an Employment Court ruling in 2022 that drivers using the app were employees of Uber.

BusinessNZ chief executive Katherine Rich said the decision had far reaching implications for businesses that hired contractors.

“These types of businesses have become a part of our work and leisure, and are founded on a contractor model. If the employment status of platform workers becomes too rigid, then the conveniences we’ve come to enjoy could cease to be,” she said.

“Likewise if you are contracting with platforms like rideshare or delivery gigs to supplement your primary income, or working across multiple platforms, then you may be forced to re-evaluate.”

Rich said BusinessNZ had urged the government to take decisive action to give businesses more certainty.

“It’s an issue we’ve raised with the government before and if it isn’t resolved soon, it has the potential to make not just platform work unviable in New Zealand, but puts contracting employment in general at risk,” she said.

The Employers and Manufacturers Association, which is closely affiliated with BusinessNZ, said the Supreme Court’s decision showed New Zealand’s employment law needed to be updated.

“It highlights how our current legislation, and legislation around the world, is a bit out of date in terms of how we manage platform working,” head of advocacy Alan McDonald said.

“The cases that are cited in the judgement, they’re quite old. I think at least one of them maybe predates the whole platform working thing, so that’s part of the issue… We’ve got legislation that doesn’t know how to deal with this, so we’ve jammed new style working practices into old school legislation.”

He said businesses were concerned about the blurred line between contractors and employees.

“Everyone was keeping an eye on the Uber decision, but also wanted some more clarity around how you actually define what a contractor is because it’s pretty grey at the moment,” he said.

McDonald was hopeful that the Employment Relations Amendment Bill spearheaded by Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden would provide that clarity.

“I think it will give the clarity employers want. You need definitions that are clear. At the moment if you start as a contractor and then, I’ll exaggerate for effect, a few weeks or a few months later you say ‘oh, I just want to be an employee’ and you kind of can,” he said.

“The new law would say if you sign up as a contractor and you sign the contract then you’re a contractor.”

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What IKEA’s opening will mean for local homeware retailers

Source: Radio New Zealand

IKEA has released details of some of the prices it will charge in New Zealand. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

IKEA has released details of some of the prices it will charge in New Zealand – but how much of a threat will it be to other local homeware retailers?

It says it will sell a watering can for $4.99, a two-door cabinet for $179, a side table for $59.99, a storage bench for $119 and a vase for $19.99.

A yellow table lamp will sell for $229 and a blue dining chair for $119. Children’s stools will sell for $19.99 and an armchair for $199.

“I think Kiwis will for sure love the IKEA experience, the different experience that we are offering when it comes to the home furnishing market,” said IKEA Sylvia Park marketing manager Johanna Cederlof.

“IKEA is not just selling furniture and home furnishing accessories. It is a true experience itself and you get an entire atmosphere and inspiration for your home and that’s maybe what Kiwis have been missing a bit here in New Zealand.”

She said it would be interesting to see whether New Zealanders also favoured the products that were big sellers internationally. She said bed linen was likely to sell well.

A pine table with storage will sell for $449. Ikea

Retail consultant Chris Wilkinson said IKEA would ultimately benefit all New Zealand retailers.

“It will spark inspiration and some spending. Once upon a time people would buy most of their products within a category from one brand – that goes for homeware, clothing and other products – but today are much more likely to mix and blend products and price points – like having an expensive pair of designer jeans, then teaming that with a tee from Glassons.

“Same with the likes of furniture, so signature pieces – teamed with more affordable pieces. The difference though with IKEA is that typically our lower-cost homeware has not necessarily had the sustainability or durability before, so their entry into the market will add an additional dimension.”

He said most of IKEA’s early trade would come from growing the market. “But it will seriously challenge the less durable and short lifespan furnishing and homeware products.

“That would include some big-box stores as well as the plethora of direct-to-consumer wholesalers that bring in products typically from China.”

Bodo Lang, a marketing expert at Massey University said it would be a major threat to many furniture and home furnishing shops.

“IKEA’s impact will be particularly felt by retailers that are close to its Auckland store in Sylvia Park. Even consumers from further afield, say, Whangārei, Hamilton, or Tauranga will make the trip to IKEA due to the brand’s pulling power. Therefore, retailers in those areas may also see a slight sag in sales.

“Beyond that, even retailers in other parts of the country are likely to feel a slowing of sales because consumers can also shop at IKEA online, through the phone, or via the app. However, this impact is likely to be muted because furniture and home furnishings are ‘high touch’ products that consumers wish to try out in person.”

But he said it would bring people to the Sylvia Park area.

“Other retailers, particularly those who are not directly competing with IKEA, will benefit from the arrival of the global retail giant through increased foot traffic at Sylvia Park.”

IKEA will open at Sylvia Park on 4 December, with online sales to the rest of the country.

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NZ will be ‘dumping ground’ for high emission cars, EV advocate warns

Source: Radio New Zealand

The coalition government is set to slash the Clean Car Standard. RNZ/Nicky Park

The coalition is being warned New Zealand will become a dumping ground for high-emission vehicles as it slashes the Clean Car Standard.

The standard – an effective penalty set up to incentivise the uptake of low or no emission vehicles – will drop by nearly 80 percent at the end of this week.

Importers will be charged $15 per gram of CO₂ for new imports instead of $67.50, and $7.50 per gram of CO₂ for used imports instead of $33.75.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop has made a strong case for urgent change to save consumers hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars when buying a new car.

“If we don’t act there will be $264 million in net charges that could have and likely will be passed on to New Zealanders through higher vehicle prices,” he said.

It’s come as a relief to sector groups like the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association, whose chair Greig Epps said importers were doing it tough.

“This is really good for for our business. We had people closing up shop this year. We’ve lost several members this year. Businesses have just decided that it’s too hard to keep going and next year the penalties would have increased, the targets tightened, so that was just not looking good for the industry.”

Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association chair Greig Epps. Supplied

Drive Electric’s board chair Kirsten Corson described the change as “really disappointing” and “embarassing”.

“If you look at us compared to Australia, in Australia you’re paying $100 as a penalty and now we’ve just slashed that to $15 in New Zealand.

“So we are going to become a dumping ground for high emission vehicles.”

Corson also questioned Bishop’s statement that “the impact is so negligible this didn’t get a climate impact assessment”.

“I’m not sure which data he’s looking at but it’s far from negligible when you think our transport emissions [are] our best hope of hitting our Paris Agreement targets,” Corson said.

“We keep our vehicles on our road for two decades. The average car is 15 years old in New Zealand so the decisions they’re making today is going to impact our transport emissions for the next three decades.”

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the coalition was responding to a problem of its own making, having scrapped the Clean Car Discount.

“It was ironic to see Chris Bishop and the Prime Minister complaining that there aren’t enough electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles on the used car market.

“That’s because they collapsed the importation of electric vehicles when they canceled the Clean Car Discount.

“They made it much more expensive for New Zealanders to buy electric vehicles and to buy low emissions hybrid vehicles and now they’re complaining there aren’t enough used versions of those on the market.”

The government is reviewing the Clean Car Standard with a plan to report recommendations back to Cabinet in June next year.

The ACT party is already advocating – as it has for some time – for the entire scheme to be scrapped.

The slashed standard will be passed into law by the end of the week.

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Blue light discos, books, boats and UFOs: The swirly world of Andrew Fagan

Source: Radio New Zealand

Most New Zealand music fans of a certain age (ie, 50+) will remember Andrew Fagan as the frontman for legendary 1980s punky popsters The Mockers.

Back then, he was a wiry whirl of gravity-defying hair, leopard-print leggings, fingerless lace gloves, black nail polish and eye makeup, and dazzling frock coats – a sartorial cross between The Cure’s Robert Smith and early 80s Madonna.

By his Bandcamp description, he’s a “poet singer songwriter sailor writer show-off”.

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Police Commissioner accidentally takes FBI’s Kash Patel for ‘brief dip’ during active tsunami advisory

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers and FBI Director Kash Patel went for an early morning run on 1 August. AFP / RNZ

A “brief dip” in Wellington’s Oriental Bay with FBI Director Kash Patel ended with the Police Commissioner apologising for mistakenly believing a tsunami advisory had been lifted.

Patel, the highest-ranking US official to visit New Zealand under US President Donald Trump’s second presidency so far, arrived in Wellington in July for a three-day programme, in what was supposed to be a secretive trip.

Patel was spotted in the Beehive basement after his meeting with Foreign Minister Winston Peters on the afternoon of Wednesday, 30 July.

That same day an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s remote east coast triggering tsunami waves on multiple country’s shores – including New Zealand, several Pacific nations, the US and Canadian coasts, and parts of South America.

The earthquake prompted the National Emergency Management Agency to issue a tsunami advisory urging people to stay away from shorelines.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers confirmed to RNZ that on 1 August he went for an early morning run with Patel, followed by a “very quick swim” at Oriental Bay about 7.05am.

“It was the middle of winter, so it was a very brief dip.

“At the time, I believed the tsunami advisory put in place on 31 July had already lifted.

“When I subsequently discovered it was not lifted until about 8.30am that day, I apologised to Police Minister and Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell for my oversight. It is not usual for me to ignore such warnings.”

Wellington’s Oriental Bay. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Last week Chambers was delivering a speech to graduating police recruits when he told the new officers and their supporters he had recently been ticketed for speeding.

He said it was the “dumbest thing I’ve done” as commissioner.

“It’s not something that I’m proud of. Course I wish I hadn’t done it. Oblivious, away with the fairies – none of that’s an excuse – I should know better. It’s the dumbest thing that I’ve done since I’ve been the commissioner of police.”

He later told RNZ he was clocked going 112 km/h as he returned from a ceremony marking the graduation of new patrol dog teams on 6 November.

A police spokesperson said Chambers paid the $80 fine – which had been dropped in his mail box – as soon as he arrived home from the graduation.

The spokesperson corrected Chambers, and said he was actually recorded as travelling at 111km/h.

The $10,000 trip

After Patel was spotted in New Zealand the US embassy revealed the FBI was opening a “standalone office” in Wellington.

Documents, earlier released to RNZ, set out a timeline, budget and communication plan for Patel’s trip.

They show spy Minister Judith Collins signed off on a $10,000 budget to cover accommodation, meals, flights and tourism activities for Patel and an official

A SIS briefing note – dated 25 June – described Patel as a person with “significant influence” within the US administration as a direct Trump-appointee.

“This visit provides an opportunity for New Zealand to continue to enhance the bilateral relationship with the United States by demonstrating our commitment and contributions to our intelligence partnership with the FBI, as well as wider Five Eyes constructs.

“The NZIC [Intelligence Community] will have the opportunity to provide detailed classified briefings to Director Patel in this regard.”

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