Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: New Zealand Police

Police are seeking assistance to locate Paul Rimene, who has a warrant for his arrest.

Rimene is 176cm tall, has a large build, and is heavily tattooed.

He has numerous gang associates across Wellington District, including in the Wairarapa.

Rimene is considered dangerous and should not be approached. Any sightings should be reported to Police on 111. 

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre. 

Source: New Zealand Police

Police are investigating after a woman was seriously assaulted in her Raumanga home last night.

Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pilmer, Whangārei CIB, says Police were called to the Murdoch Crescent address just after 12am following a report of a person injured.

“The woman sustained moderate injuries during the assault, which left her understandably shaken.

“She was transported to hospital and enquiries are under way to identify and locate the person responsible for the assault,” he says.

“Police are focused on identifying this person and understanding exactly what has taken place.”

A scene guard is in place at the house and nearby residents can expect to see an increased Police presence as our enquiries continue.

Detective Senior Sergeant Pilmer says Police are appealing for any witnesses who may have information to come forward.

“Police would like to hear from anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious, including any vehicles, in the Murdoch Crescent area between 4pm and 12am yesterday.

“We would also like to hear from anyone who may have seen any vehicle leaving the area at speed between 11.30pm and 12am last night.”

If anyone has information which could assist our enquiries, they’re asked to contact Police and quote file number 251125/6316.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

Source: New Zealand Government

Groundbreaking maths gains in just 12 weeks show the Government’s reforms to raise student achievement are already delivering for students who need it most.

New data from a nationwide maths acceleration trial for Year 7 and 8 students who needed extra support, shows students made, on average, a year to two years of progress in just 12 weeks in developing fundamental maths skills. 

Even more encouraging, students not in the trial, simply learning under the new curriculum, an hour-a-day of maths, and using high quality resources, also made, on average, a full year’s progress in just 12 weeks.

Education Minister Erica Stanford says these results show that the Government’s focus on fixing the basics is working for children in every community.

“Every parent wants their child to feel confident in maths. These results show that students are catching up faster than anyone expected, thanks to strong foundations, clear teaching, and teachers who are embracing the reforms across the country.”

Earlier this year, the Make It Count maths action plan came into effect. It introduced structured mathematics, an internationally benchmarked curriculum, one million workbooks and textbooks delivered to classrooms, and professional learning for more than 22,000 teachers, alongside hour-a-day maths and phones away.

The 12-week acceleration trial involved approximately 1500 Year 7 and 8 students who were a year or more behind. Students received targeted, small-group tutoring up to four times a week across three models: in-person, hybrid and online.

Across the first 12-week period week, 1381 students achieved:

Around two years’ progress in the in-person model.
13–14 months’ progress in the hybrid model.
12 months’ progress in the online model.

“The biggest breakthrough was for the students who were working in their usual classes with their teacher. These students were not part of the first 12-week trial but were benefiting from hour-a-day maths, the new curriculum, and new workbooks. They made, on average, a full year’s progress in just 12 weeks. That shows the reforms are lifting achievement for all children, not just those receiving additional tutoring.”

These students along with approximately a further 1500 are benefiting from phase two of the trial.

The analysis shows similar gains regardless of background, equity index, school or ethnicity.

“These results are down to the incredible work of teachers who are implementing these significant reforms. The Education Review Office’s (ERO) recent report already showed early signs of improved achievement and engagement in English and maths. This new data confirms that the reforms are reversing years of decline and helping students reach their potential.”

The $40 million programme is now being rolled out nationwide, with around 13,000 students set to take part from Term 1 2026. All schools that requested to be part of the programme have been accepted.

“Our reforms are about ambition – raising achievement, closing the equity gap and making sure every child can succeed. Education is supposed to be the great equaliser. These results show that, with the right foundations and the right support, every student can get ahead and be confident mathematicians,” Ms Stanford says.

Media contact: Mitchell Alexander +64 21 846 701

Notes to editor:

The content of the 12-week programme was broken into four key learning areas deemed to develop fundamental maths skills; Number structure, addition and subtraction, multiplication & division fluency, fractions & decimals, percentages and proportional reasoning 
The trial results were based on e-asTTle scores. Students were tested at Time 1 (baseline, week 0), Time 2 (end of programme, week 12) and Time 3 (post-programme Week 24)
In person group had additional support in small groups with a teacher using a teaching programme to accelerate progress, alongside their regular classroom teaching.

The mean shifts in the point score of the groups pre and post-test on E -AsTTLe of the 4 key aspects was 54.16 points.
This shows progress in these key aspects of Maths of approximately 2 years growth across the 12-week intervention.

Hybrid group had additional support using an online tool to build and practise maths skills with supervision and support from a teacher or teacher aide, alongside their regular classroom teaching.

The mean shifts in the point score of the groups pre and post-test on E -AsTTLe of the 4 key aspects was 39.71 points.
This shows progress in these key aspects of Maths of approximately 13-14 months growth across the 12-week intervention.

Online Group used an online tool to build and practise their maths skills independently alongside their regular classroom teaching.

The mean shifts in the point score of the groups pre and post-test on E -AsTTLe of the 4 key aspects was 32.90 points.
This shows progress in these key aspects of Maths around one year’s growth across the 12-week intervention.

Control group had regular classroom teaching of an hour a day, with teachers having access to new Maths resources.
The mean shifts in the point score of the groups pre and post-test on E -AsTTLe of the 4 key aspects was 27.76 points. 

This shows progress in these key aspects of Maths around one year’s growth across the 12-week intervention.

Source: New Zealand Government

We must join together to prevent violence against women, an issue that is tragically still too prevalent and under discussed in our communities.

Today is White Ribbon Day, the national day when people wear a white ribbon to show that they do not condone violence against women.

White Ribbon Day also celebrates the many men willing to show leadership and commitment to promoting safe, healthy relationships within families and encourages men to challenge each other on attitudes and behaviour that are abusive. 

“We all have a part to play in calling out bad behaviour when we see it,” says Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Minister Karen Chhour. 

“We must join together to create a country where victims of family and sexual violence feel safe to speak up and get help – and where people who use violence access resources to change their behaviour or face the consequences if they continue to victimise others.” 

Today also marks the first of ‘16 Days of Activism’ – an international campaign to raise awareness about gender-based violence, challenge discriminatory attitudes, and call for an end to violence against women. 

The campaign runs from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to 10 December (World Human Rights Day).

The Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention is collaborating with UN Women Aotearoa to post a series of videos with high-profile women on each day of the campaign, answering questions about what can be done, and what a world without gender-based violence would look like. 

These women include Minister Chhour, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg, Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, journalist Alison Mau, and others. 

“This campaign is not about saying men cannot suffer from violence – this is just a recognition of the statistics that show women and girls are more likely to be the victims of violence, as well as recognising that we all play a part in reducing violence in our communities,” says Minister Chhour.