Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Posted on

Health – Whānau Stop Smoking for World Smokefree May – That’s Us

Source: Hapai Te Hauora

Whānau across Aotearoa are beginning their Smokefree journey this May as part of the That’s Us campaign, led by Hāpai te Hauora. The campaign encourages whānau to give up smoking for the month of May with the support of their local Stop Smoking Service.
To launch the campaign, promotional videos from Stop Smoking Services are being rolled out nationwide and will be screened in hospitals and GP waiting rooms.
Jasmine Graham, National Tobacco Control Manager at Hāpai te Hauora, says the support of trained Smokefree practitioners is a critical success factor in quitting. “Whānau who are trying to quit are most successful when supported by a Smokefree practitioner, where they can access Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) and tailored support. It’s so important that whānau know these services are available to them in their communities.”
That’s Us activations are taking place around the motu to promote Smokefree messages and remind whānau that it’s always the right time to begin their Smokefree journey.
“It takes an average of seven attempts to quit smoking. Our message is simply, even if you’ve tried before, give it another go. This time, you’ve got the whole nation behind you,” says Graham.
Smoking-related illnesses remain the leading cause of preventable death in Aotearoa. The time to act is now – Smokefree 2025.
Posted on

Politics – Greenpeace calls on Chris Hipkins to take a courageous stand against seabed mining

Source: Greenpeace

Greenpeace is calling on the leader of the opposition, Chris Hipkins, to take a public stand and pledge that seabed mining will never happen under a Labour-led government. A petition to the Labour Party leader launched this week has already gained more than 2200 signatures.
Greenpeace spokesperson Juressa Lee says: “The Luxon government seems intent on waging war on nature – but Governments come and go, and they won’t be in control forever. That’s why we’re calling on Chris Hipkins to promise that any seabed mining consents granted under the Luxon government will be revoked by Labour if it gets elected.
“Despite failing again and again to win approval for its seabed mining project, wannabe miners Trans-Tasman Resources have applied to the Environmental Protection Authority for permission to mine the South Taranaki Bight under the Luxon government’s Fast Track process.
“That’s why we’re launching a new call on the leader of the opposition, Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins, to take a stand and ensure this destructive industry never gets off the ground in Aotearoa.”
For more than ten years, Trans-Tasman Resources has suffered defeat after defeat in the courts and faced opposition from Greenpeace and the Taranaki community, including iwi, commercial and recreational fishers and surfers.
Juressa Lee says: “Yet now, like a zombie, TTR is rising from the dead by taking advantage of the Fast Track Approvals Act to bypass environmental protections.
“That’s why it’s urgent the opposition leader Chris Hipkins takes a stand against seabed mining the Taranaki Bight.
“Chris Hipkins will also be in tune with the weight of public opinion in Aotearoa. Nearly 54,000 people signed the last Greenpeace petition to ban seabed mining.”
Trans-Tasman Resources is planning to extract 50 million tonnes of iron sand from the South Taranaki Bight every year for 35 years and dump 45 million tonnes a year back into the ocean.
Seabed mining in the South Taranaki Bight would damage rich ecosystems and threaten precious marine life such as the pygmy blue whale, Māui and Hector’s dolphins and kororā.
Posted on

All Blacks’ show of support for New Zealand’s veterans

Source: RSA

When the All Blacks played France in Paris last November, they honoured New Zealand’s veterans of military of service by wearing an RSA Poppy embroidered onto their jersey.

One of those jerseys has now been gifted to the Royal New Zealand RSA to help raise funds to continue their support to our veterans.

National President Sir Wayne Shelford said it was heart-warming to see this show of support from the national team.

“Pulling on the Black Jersey is incredibly emotional for any player. But having that mark of respect for veterans embroidered on the sleeve takes it to another level.  

The poppy is worn to honour the fallen, but this gift from the All Blacks will now allow us to provide more support to our living veterans.”

The “Remembrance Test” was played on 17 November (NZ time) with the All Blacks wearing the poppy to commemorate Remembrance Day and honour those New Zealanders who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country.  

The All Blacks wore the white version of the national jersey to differentiate from France’s dark blue.

The jersey has been signed by the 2024 All Blacks Squad and Coach Scott Robertson and is a true collector’s item, with no supporter version ever produced for sale.

The jersey is now being auctioned on Trade Me and closes on – the RSA is incredibly grateful to the All Blacks for the opportunity to raise more funds to improve the wellbeing of New Zealand’s veterans.

The auction closes on Wednesday 7 May at 7.45pm and can be viewed here:  https://rnzrsa.info/ABjersey25

Background

A true collector’s item – these jerseys were only made for the test played against France on 17 November 2024 (16 November in France). No supporters jerseys were produced or made available for sale.

As the test played closest to Remembrance Day, the All Blacks’ jersey featured the poppy as a mark of respect for New Zealand’s veterans of military service.

Although it features the number 14, the jersey was not worn during the match – it was the spare jersey held on the sideline in case a replacement was needed.

The jersey was gifted to the RNZRSA to auction off to raise funds to continue our support to New Zealand’s veterans of military service and their whanau.

The jersey has been signed by Coach Scott Robertson and all members of the All Blacks’ squad that were in France at the time of the test:

Asafo Aumua, Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett, Scott Barrett, George Bell, Sam Cane, Caleb Clarke, Ethan de Groot, David Havili, Rieko Ioane, Will Jordan, Peter Lakai, Anton Lienert-Brown, Tyrel Lomax, Josh Lord, Ruben Love, Damian McKenzie, Fletcher Newell, TJ Perenara, Stephen Perofeta, Cortez Ratima, Sevu Reece, Cam Roigard, Ardie Savea, Wallace Sititi, Codie Taylor, Mark Tele’a, Pasilio Tosi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Tupou Vaa’i, Tamati Williams.

Posted on

Health Research – Vaping causes incurable lung disease, groundbreaking study shows

Source: Asthma and Respiratory Foundation

Vaping has, for the first time, been linked to a life-limiting and irreversible lung disease.
The groundbreaking study, published in the Nicotine and Tobacco Research Journal, shows that e-cigarette use is strongly associated with increased new diagnoses of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in New Zealand.
Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says this study confirms what we’ve long suspected – vaping isn’t just risky, it’s dangerous to your health.
“For years, we’ve been gaslighted into believing vaping is harmless – or at least ‘less harmful’ than cigarettes – meanwhile, we’ve watched teen vaping rates skyrocket.
“Now the science is catching up, and it’s not good news,” she says.
“Vaping is not harmless – it never has been – and this study shows it causes long-term irreversible lung damage.”
This study, which tracked 250,000 people over about three-and-a-half years, should be a significant wake-up call to the Government to tighten regulations even further, Ms Harding says.
“Let’s stop pretending we’re balancing harm reduction with consumer freedom – vaping isn’t harm reduction, it’s harm transfer.
“The vaping industry is using the same tactics Big Tobacco used decades ago – and it’s resulting in a new generation of teens addicted to nicotine who we now know are at risk of developing a life-long respiratory illness.”
Dr Stuart Jones, a respiratory physician and member of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, says that while there is now a clear link between vaping and COPD, the bigger issue is dual use (vaping and smoking).
“For the first time, we’ve got hard data showing that vaping alone can cause COPD – and if you’re vaping and smoking, you’re not reducing risk, you’re doubling down on it.
“Dual use is not a stepping stone to quitting – it’s a shortcut to the respiratory ward.”
E-cigarettes must be kept out of the hands of non-smokers, particularly young people, Dr Jones says.
“Vapes are not harmless devices – they are engineered nicotine delivery systems that inflame lung tissue and can leave lasting damage.
“If you smoke and vape, then the goal is to stop both. If you don’t smoke, then don’t vape. It’s that simple.”
Posted on

Weather News – Red Warning issued for Winds in Wellington – MetService

Source: MetService

Covering period of Thursday 1st – Friday 2nd May – MetService has issued a Red Warning for Winds in Wellington from 10am Thursday to 3am Friday. This is the first Red Warning issued for Wellington. MetService Red Warnings are reserved for the most extreme weather events where significant impact and disruption is expected.

Wind speeds have already reached at least 150 km/h in exceptionally exposed areas and 118 km/h elsewhere, with winds expected to peak early afternoon, with gusts of 140 km/h possible. The combined effects of heavy rain (the region is currently under an Orange Warning for Heavy Rain), high tides and large waves of 7 metres have the potential to exacerbate the impacts from the damaging gusts affecting the area. In addition, the unusual direction of these very strong winds – being from the southwest rather than the more common strong northerly winds, is also expected to increase the likelihood of wind-induced damage.

Impacts include falling trees and flying debris. Destructive winds is also expected to cause widespread damage including powerlines and roofs, with dangerous driving conditions and significant disruption to transport, communications, and power supply.

A Red Warning signifies that people need to act now as immediate action is required to protect people, animals and property from the impact of the weather. People are encouraged to stay indoors or seek sturdy shelter away from trees. Avoid travel if possible, and follow any advice from Civil Defence and other agencies.

This is the first Red Warning MetService has issued this year, and it’s the 16th Red Warning weather event since the highest alert level was introduced back in May 2019. Keep up to date with weather and warnings via metservice.comor our free MetService weather app.

MetService also now provides push notifications for Red Severe Weather Warnings via our app. More information can be found here about enabling them.: https://metservice.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=63982abb40666393e6a63259d&id=68e2d48ca4&e=852c839bf9

Posted on

Universities – Climate effects of volcanoes beneath the waves – UoA

Source: University of Auckland (UoA)

Volcanoes erupting underwater have a distinctive effect on the climate, according to research led by University of Auckland and Tongan scientists.

Research on Tonga’s devastating 2022 Hunga eruption has just been published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

“Submarine volcanism has previously been overlooked in global climate studies, because there is typically not much atmospheric sulphur dioxide released,” says Professor Shane Cronin, a co-lead author of the study with postdoctoral fellow Dr Jie Wu.

However, while sulphur dioxide can lead to significant climate effects, so too can water vapour.

At its peak Hunga’s eruption injected up to 3 billion tonnes of steam into the atmosphere in a single hour, with the water vapour reaching the stratosphere and even the mesosphere more than 57 km up, Cronin says.

“The eruption has been shown by several recently published studies to have cooled the Southern Hemisphere and cause a range of other atmospheric and climate impacts that we are still discovering,” he adds.

Hunga had the potential for a global impact from sulphur dioxide. The team estimates 20 million tonnes of it was released during the eruption, however, most of the sulphur went directly into seawater at depths between 300m and 1100m.

Cronin is at the School of Environment at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, while Wu is now based at the University of Otago.

University of Auckland and staff and students have been working with Tongan partners to understand the wider implications of submarine volcanism in the Southwestern Pacific in the aftermath of Hunga, the largest eruption witnessed in the modern era.

“We are striving to understand the broader hazards of submarine volcanism including tsunami and damage to shorelines and internet data cables as well as how these eruptions affect our environment and climate,” says Cronin.

The work is supported by an MBIE Endeavor Research Programme grant from 2024.

Posted on

Local News – Minor changes proposed to Porirua bylaws and policies involved in collective review

Source: Porirua City Council

A group of bylaws and policies were agreed to be reviewed at a full meeting of Porirua City Council today, with public feedback sought for the next month.
Four bylaws and two policies are being reviewed, with only minor changes proposed as Council believes they are working as intended. All will be available to review on the haveyoursay.poriruacity.govt.nz website.
The bylaws are the Transport Bylaw, Alcohol Control Bylaw 2018, Water Supply Bylaw 2019 and General Bylaw 1991 (Part 9 Reserves Bylaw), while the policies with minor alterations are the Litter Infringement Policy 2019 and the Dangerous, Affected and Insanitary Buildings Policy 2020.
As part of this review process, we have also revoked one policy – the Psychoactive Substances Policy (Local Approved Products Policy 2015), as no retailers in New Zealand are currently allowed to sell psychoactive substances, and there are no psychoactive substances approved for sale in New Zealand.
Nic Etheridge, General Manager Policy, Planning & Regulatory Services, says while these changes are largely process-driven and minor in nature, it’s important the public have their say to ensure we’re aware of any concerns our community has.
“It’s an important part of the process for Council to engage with our community. We encourage anyone who is interested to make comment during the consultation period to do so,” she says.
Once the public consultation period closes on 6 June, deliberations by Council and adoption of the updated bylaws and policies will take place on 31 July.
Posted on

Appointments – SAP Appoints Peter Moore as Head of Partner Ecosystem in Asia Pacific

Source: Botica, Botica Butler Raudon

Auckland – 1 May 2025 – SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced the appointment of Peter Moore as Head of Partner Ecosystem for SAP Asia Pacific (APAC), effective immediately. Moore takes over from Utkarsh Maheshwari, who held the position since 2021 before transitioning to the role of Senior Vice President and Head of Global Partner Sales and Services, SP, earlier this year.

In his new role, Moore will be responsible for leading and expanding SAP’s vibrant partner ecosystem across the APAC region. His remit includes driving partner recruitment, enablement, and co-innovation to deliver exceptional value to customers. He will focus on strengthening strategic alliances, fostering collaboration, and empowering partners to deliver transformative digital solutions leveraging SAP’s industry-leading technologies.

“The partner ecosystem is crucial to SAP’s success in Asia Pacific, especially as we experience rapid cloud adoption and increasing demand for specialized industry solutions,” said Simon Davies, Regional President, SAP APAC. “Peter brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in building and managing successful partner programs. We are confident that his leadership will further elevate the value we deliver to customers through our partners and drive continued growth across the region.”

Moore brings over twenty years of experience in the technology industry, with a deep understanding of the Asian market. Since joining SAP twelve years ago, he has served in multiple leadership roles and is an active executive sponsor for many strategic SAP customers and ecosystem partners.  By prioritizing customer success, he has helped drive innovation and thought leadership in many industries across Asia Pacific, Japan and Europe.

“I am thrilled to take on this new role to lead the partner ecosystem in Asia Pacific,” said Moore. “The opportunity to work with such a dynamic and innovative partner network is incredibly exciting. I look forward to collaborating closely with our partners to help businesses across the region achieve their digital transformation goals and realize the full potential of SAP’s solutions.”

Posted on

Economy – RBNZ research investigates why the ‘natural interest rate’ has fallen in New Zealand over recent decades

Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand

1 May 2025 – The fall in New Zealand’s natural interest rate has been driven mainly by declining labour productivity growth and a lower natural interest rate globally, a Reserve Bank of New Zealand Discussion Paper finds.

Pushing in the other direction, high population growth and increasing labour force participation among older households have kept the natural interest rate higher than otherwise.

This ‘natural rate of interest’ is closely related to the ‘neutral rate of interest’ and is an important benchmark for monetary policymakers when considering the level of the Official Cash Rate.

The decline in the natural interest rate among advanced economies has been widely studied. New research from the RBNZ explores the factors that have contributed to this decline in New Zealand over time.

To better understand the natural interest rate, the authors build a model capturing how households’ savings decisions change over their lifetimes. The model also accounts for the impact of changes in New Zealand demographics and government debt levels, as well as global trends.

A key driver of the decline in New Zealand’s natural interest rate is labour productivity growth, which fell in New Zealand after the Global Financial Crisis.

As captured in the model, people tend to save more as productivity growth falls, because they don’t expect incomes to rise as much in future. In turn, more savings in New Zealand flow through to a lower natural interest rate.

The natural interest rate across many advanced economies has fallen in recent decades, with the world natural rate falling about 1.5 percentage points in the post-GFC period. With New Zealand integrated into global financial markets, this lower world natural interest rate has flowed through into a lower natural interest rate in New Zealand.

The impact of these drivers has been partially offset by higher population growth and increasing labour force participation among older households. This is because households who expect to work for longer tend to save less for retirement. Higher population growth means more younger households in the population, who tend to save less than older households. Lower domestic savings means a higher natural rate of interest.

Understanding the drivers of changes in the natural interest rate is important for central banks and helps inform expectations on where the natural rate will move in future.

“If the natural and neutral rates of interest remain low, this would suggest an ongoing need for alternative monetary policy tools when encountering the effective lower bound (close to zero interest rates) on central bank policy rates,” the authors say.  

The model developed in this research has a wide range of potential extensions which future work may explore. These extensions could include modelling different types of households in more detail or introducing a risk premium between the return to safe and risky assets.

More information

Read the Discussion Paper: https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=03b47f37a3&e=f3c68946f8

Authors: Robert Kirkby, Trent Lockyer, Andrew Coleman

Definition of natural rate of interest: The long-run return to capital. The level of the natural rate of interest reflects the underlying balance between the amount of savings (from households or overseas investors) and demand for capital (from businesses and the government).
Definition of neutral interest rate: The nominal neutral interest rate is the level of the Official Cash Rate consistent with inflation being sustainably at target and the economy running at its potential output. When the OCR is above neutral, monetary policy restrains demand and inflation pressures. Below neutral, it is stimulatory. The level of neutral interest rates shapes expectations of where the OCR is likely to settle in the long run, in the absence of future shocks.
RBNZ’s Additional Monetary Policy toolkit: https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=562a64b2ba&e=f3c68946f8

Posted on

Reserve Bank Publishes Response to Deposit Taker Core Standards Consultation

Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand

1 May 2025 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua has today published its response to submissions on three of the four core standards that set the prudential requirements deposit takers will need to meet in order to be licensed under the Deposit Takers Act 2023 (DTA).

Jess Rowe, Director Prudential Policy, says the response covers liquidity, disclosure, and Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) related requirements.  

“The DTA standards give us a significant opportunity to create a coherent, modern and proportionate prudential framework,” Ms Rowe says.  

“The three core standards covered in this release ensure deposit takers can manage their liquidity, provide timely prudential disclosures to the market, and meet data and disclosure requirements for the DCS.”

Public consultation on the proposed core standards generated 26 submissions from banks, non-bank deposit takers and industry groups.

“In response to comprehensive submissions and engagement from industry, we’re making changes to further support a proportionate approach, reduce compliance costs, and improve regulatory efficiency,” says Ms Rowe.  

“This shows our focus remains on ensuring prudent management of risk, in a manner that also supports an efficient, competitive and inclusive financial system.”  

Read the response document
 

Response to capital standard to be published later

A fourth standard, the capital standard, was also included in the core standard consultation.  This standard generated a significant number of submissions.  To ensure we address these submissions, and the matters raised at the Finance and Expenditure Committee inquiry into banking competition, we have announced a more comprehensive review of key aspects of our deposit takers capital settings.  The response to submissions on this standard will, therefore, not be published at this time.  

Deposit Takers Act background

The Deposit Takers Act 2023 (DTA) modernises our regulatory framework to help ensure the safety and soundness of deposit takers and support a stable financial system that New Zealanders can trust.  

Once the DTA is fully in force (expected to be in 2028), the Reserve Bank will begin regulating and supervising credit unions, building societies and finance companies (known as non-bank deposit takers or NBDTs), together with banks, under a single, consistent, and proportionate framework.  

The Act also introduces a new Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS), effective from 1 July 2025.

The Reserve Bank ran a consultation on the four core standards from May to July 2024 and on the nine non-core standards from August to November 2024.

More information

Deposit Takers Act : https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=e438a4a08b&e=f3c68946f8

Implementation timeline : https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=f89e60d59f&e=f3c68946f8

Proportionality Framework : https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=2a63751296&e=f3c68946f8

Depositor Compensation Scheme : https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=80b599c069&e=f3c68946f8