Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

Data released today showing the unemployment rate has remained the same over the last quarter is encouraging, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.
Stats NZ today released its labour market update for the March 2025 quarter, showing unemployment remains at 5.1 per cent, the same as last quarter.
This is a lower rate of unemployment than either Treasury or the Reserve Bank forecast.
The data release also showed that average hourly wages rose 4.5 per cent over the year.
“While this result is encouraging, it reinforces the need for strong fiscal management and economic growth.
“I know people are still struggling in this economy, that’s why on May 22 the Government will deliver a Budget that continues the work to get the books back in order, while building on the foundations we’ve laid to foster economic growth. It will be a responsible Budget that secures New Zealand’s future.”

Source: Secondary teachers question rationale for changes to relationship education guidelines

Local fishing management and public education about exotic caulerpa are key advocacy initiatives for Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board.

Sometimes local boards are not the decision maker when it comes to projects or important decisions that will affect locals significantly.

When this is the case, the board advocates for the community and does everything it can to make your voices heard.

After reading and listening to feedback from the Annual Plan consultation, the board submitted local input to the council in late April 2025. Part of that feedback included two key advocacy initiatives.

The first is a request for continued support for communications to keep educational public messaging on exotic caulerpa.

Caulerpa has been a problem for the marine environment around Aotea since 2021 and has more recently been found in other parts of the Hauraki Gulf including near Waiheke.

To limit the spread of this invasive weed, boat owners need to be aware of why it is such a threat to our marine life, and steps they should take to reduce the risk of transporting it to new areas.

The second advocacy initiative is establishing local management of Aotea coastline and fisheries.

“With the recent closure of the inner Hauraki Gulf to both recreational and commercial spiny rock lobster fishing, we are extremely concerned about fishing efforts being displaced to the outer gulf and heavily impacting Aotea,” says board chair Izzy Fordham.

“Residents have already noted an increase of fishing activities around the coastline.”

The board is beginning conversations with stakeholders including iwi, Fisheries NZ, central government and Auckland Council.

So far, the board has sent a letter to Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Hon Shane Jones, noting its disappointment in the decision not to include Aotea in the closure of rock lobster fishing in the Hauraki Gulf. The letter also seeks to provide local protection around the island’s coastline. A copy of the letter can be found on the April business meeting agenda.

Minister Jones has responded and is open to further discussion. His letter will be included on the May 2025 business meeting agenda.

The board will keep the community informed as talks progress.

Stay up to date

Sign up for Aotea / Great Barrier Local Board E-news and get monthly updates direct to your inbox.

Source: Secondary teachers question rationale for changes to relationship education guidelines

Auckland Council is taking extra steps to reduce flood risk in Stanmore Bay by boosting maintenance of the stream that runs through the public reserve and soccer grounds.

Over time, overgrown plants and debris like road cones and soccer balls have built up in the stream, increasing the chance of flooding during heavy rain.

To help prevent this, the council is targeting a key section from the bridge near 150 Brightside Road to where the stream naturally ends. Weather permitting, clean-up crews will remove low-hanging mangrove branches, seedlings, and blockages by 15 May.

Regular maintenance is also underway, with crews now set to service the stream through the soccer grounds every three months. This includes trimming back vegetation along the banks and removing any new mangrove growth that could block water flow.

“We know how important it is for communities to trust that their local infrastructure is cared for,” says Andrew Skelton, Head of Operations – Healthy Waters & Flood Resilience.

“By stepping up stream maintenance, we’re helping reduce the risk of blockages and flooding during storms.”

What if the stream runs through your property?

While the council maintains public waterways, it’s up to property owners to keep private sections clear. This includes removing rubbish, debris, and excess vegetation to ensure water can flow freely. It’s all part of building a more flood-resilient community.

If you see a blockage or have an urgent concern about a public stream, call Auckland Council on 09 301 0101 or email HWcustomerandcommunity@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Together, we can help keep Stanmore Bay safer and better prepared for heavy rain.

Source: Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment MBIE (2)

The members are:

• Merryn Tawhai
• Sir Peter Gluckman
• Craig Piggott
• Komal Mistry-Mehta
• Malcolm Johns
• Dr John Roche, who was also announced as the new Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor.

The chair of the council is the Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti. Dr John Roche will be Deputy Chair. Biographies of the members will be published soon.

Collectively, the members bring a whole-of-economy perspective to the investment decisions made in our Science, Innovation and Technology system. Members are nominated for 3 years and can hold a maximum of 2 terms.

This council, announced as part of the science reforms earlier this year, will be focussed on ensuring our science system is driving economic growth and improving the quality of life for New Zealanders now and into the future. This will involve:

• identifying focused priorities
• identifying areas that could be deprioritised
• identifying opportunities for commercialisation
• ensuring that the science, innovation and technology system is aligned with New Zealand’s economic strategy.

MBIE will be secretariat and will soon arrange an initial meeting.

Source: It’s time to fix the secondary teacher shortage

The latest job market statistics show that unemployed people are being failed by a Government more focused on punishing the poor than creating jobs.

“This Government for the rich is failing unemployed people and fuelling poverty,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Social Development and Employment, Ricardo Menéndez March.

“The economy belongs to us, we can build it for us. We can ensure people have stable employment and incomes instead of slashing jobs and cutting back on support for those trying to find work. 

“The Ministry of Social Development has recently admitted their frontline capacity is oversubscribed and unable to properly support people due to the punitive sanctions regime the Government has brought in. 

“There’s no evidence that sanctions work in helping people into jobs, and it’s clear the Government has no plan for supporting those who are struggling the most. 

“As the unemployment rate remains high, the Government is preparing an austerity Budget and rushing through legislation to stop pay equity claims, while also passing new laws to create more arbitrary sanctions on beneficiaries.

“All of this is part of the plan to fund tax cuts for the rich and profit from the poverty growing in our communities. 

“The Green Party will repeal all benefit sanctions and lift income support to ensure unemployed people are supported to find work. We will build an economy that works for all of us, not just a wealthy few. We look forward to sharing this vision with Aotearoa soon with our Green Budget,” says Ricardo Menéndez March.

Source: New Zealand Police

Police can now name the man who died in a single-vehicle crash on Bannockburn Road on 17 February.

He was William Booth, 33, from Nevis.

Police extends our sympathies to his family and friends during this difficult time.

Enquiries into the crash are ongoing.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: Police investigating after shots fired at Hastings house

Date:  07 May 2025

In the video, a small egg, resembling a tiny hen’s egg, emerges from the neck of the unique land snail.

DOC has been managing a captive population of the threatened snails in chilled containers in Hokitika since 2006, when mining company Solid Energy started mining their habitat on the Mt Augustus ridgeline on the western side of the Stockton Plateau, near Westport.

DOC Ranger Lisa Flanagan, who filmed the egg being laid, has been looking after the snails in Hokitika for over 12 years. She says working with the snails isn’t the kind of job she ever imagined herself doing, but it’s constantly providing surprises.

“It’s remarkable that in all the time we’ve spent caring for the snails, this is the first time we’ve seen one lay an egg. We caught the action when we were weighing the snail. We turned it over to be weighed and saw the egg just starting to emerge from the snail.”

DOC Senior Science Advisor Kath Walker says having a hard shell in which to retreat from predators and dry conditions is a great strategy for the snails but brings some problems too – how to get sperm from your mate into your shell and any resultant eggs out!

“Powelliphanta have solved this by having an opening (a genital pore) on the right side of their body just below their head so that the snail only needs to peek out of its shell to do the business.

“It extends its penis out of this pore and into its mate’s pore, and its mate does the same, simultaneously exchanging sperm, which they can store until they each fertilise the sperm they’ve received to create eggs.

“As hermaphrodites, they have both male and female genitalia, so although they usually mate with another to cross fertilize their eggs, as carnivores which have to live at relatively low density, being able to occasionally self-fertilise must help with survival of the species.”

The captive management of Powelliphanta augusta snails has saved these animals from extinction and enabled us to learn more about the lives of these incredible creatures, which are only found in New Zealand.

Very little was known about the snails when they were taken into captivity, and we are discovering new things all the time, says Lisa.

“I just love watching their progress each month, weighing them, how their shells develop, and all the interesting things they do.

“Powelliphanta augusta are slow growing and long lived, not being sexually mature until they are about 8 years old and then laying only around 5 big eggs annually which can take more than a year to hatch. Some of our captive snails are between 25 and 30 years old – in this they’re polar opposites to the pest garden snail we introduced to New Zealand which is like a weed, with thousands of offspring each year and a short life.”

DOC has established new populations of the snail in the wild and reintroduced them into new and rehabilitated habitat. Work is ongoing to ensure a sustainable population in these areas. A captive population will be managed until there is confidence of the survival of the species in the wild.

Aotearoa has one of the highest numbers of threatened and at risk species in the world. Once these species are gone, they are gone for good.

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