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Former soldier left ‘sad, devastated and broken’ after training Ukranian recruits

Source: Radio New Zealand

A former soldier who attacked a taxi driver in a drunken rage says the NZ Defence Force (NZDF) failed to get him desperately needed help after a traumatic stint training Ukrainian civilians for war.

Jack Wesley says he was a ticking timebomb when he got back from Operation Tieke in the UK, drinking heavily and haunted by the deaths in Ukraine of people he helped prepare for the front line.

Following his six-month deployment in 2023, he was diagnosed with PTSD.

Wesley said if the Defence Force had given him the support he so badly needed, the awful assault could have been avoided.

The NZDF said it takes the preparation and psychological support for their deployed personnel seriously.

NZ Defence Force

Operation Tieke

Since the deployment – dubbed ‘Operation Tieke’ – started in 2022, New Zealand infantry have been sent to the United Kingdom to prepare Ukrainian army recruits for battle.

Twenty-six-year-old Wesley was one of them. He trained hundreds of recruits – many of whom he now believed were dead.

He had served nearly seven years in the 1st Battalion, 1st Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (RNZIR), before he was deployed for six months in 2023 as a lance corporal and section 2IC.

Wesley described his role as a ‘shadow’ who followed the recruits around, helping them, teaching them, giving them more “oomph” to their training.

Over his six months, around four lots of new recruits came through. Each training camp was five weeks long and made up of about 200 people.

They were split into groups and trained in combat first aid, operational law, weapon handling, field-craft, offensive and defence operations, and marksmanship.

Over each five weeks period, Wesley and his team worked 24/7 with the recruits.

“For our pre-deployment training, we were… drilled into, not to build a rapport with them.

“It’s pretty easy to start off with… we tried to stick as hard as we could to not building that rapport with the Ukrainians and as the days went on and days in on being stuck with them pretty much 24/7 for the five weeks the relationships grew quite strong.

“My youngest soldier that I taught just turned 18 just before he got on the flight over to the UK and my oldest was 56 years old and…. yeah it hit home, hit home for pretty much all of us.

He cried as he said: “We could see them as either our little brothers or brothers, sisters, fathers, mums.”

The unit often referred to them as ‘the kids’.

When the recruits arrived, Wesley said they were keen to learn, but by the end of the course morale had changed.

“They didn’t want to go, they didn’t want to go back. They felt scared. They didn’t want to leave us because they knew that we would try our hardest to protect them… it just hit home every time.”

Wesley said they became like one unit.

“Just day in, day out, always laughing at each other, giving each other, excuse my language, but shit. Just creating memories… once it got to the last week the raw feelings started to hit and we’d try not think about the day they had to go back home, but once the busses rocked up it started hitting all of us in the gut.”

NZ Defence Force

Wesley and the recruits knew what waited for them in Ukraine.

Of the more than 800 Ukrainians his deployment trained, Wesley believes most are now dead.

Wesley said despite knowing they were not supposed to, the soldiers created a group online to stay connected.

“Just to be able to keep in touch and see how things are going, see whereabouts they are back home. And yeah, the numbers, they slowly started to drop…

“Sometimes the chat would go quiet and then someone will pop in and be like ‘oh blah blah blah is dead, we found him or her, they got ambushed’.

“Then they’d give us the low down of what happened which hit us even more because we put the blame on ourselves… saying did we give them the necessary training they needed? Did we give them 100 percent of us?”

Wesley said he was “sad, devastated and broken” by the deployment and that he was not alone in those feelings.

“If you were to pull them [other soldiers] aside 1 by 1 and ask them how they’re feeling, they’d breakdown.”

RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The close call

While on deployment, Wesley had a close call.

He was training recruits at the shooting range, working through various shooting positions – standing, kneeling and the prone position on the ground.

“With his transition to the prone he ended up bringing his rifle up on the 45 [degree angle] and as he hit the ground his finger was still on the trigger …heard a round going ‘pewwww’ right above my head…

“I went white as a ghost and just stood there thinking holy **** that just happened.

“I was kinda just shaking, sitting there, white as.”

The range commanding officer was informed and the training session ended.

“The rest of that day I was just shaking. I was like ****.

“That night we went pretty hard on the beers. Just be like **** , trying to decompress.”

Wesley said they did not tell anyone outside of his team about the incident, it was just what they did.

He said it was not the first time there had been close calls during the deployment, but there was a culture of not reporting incidents for fear of retribution or judgement.

“Since shit rolls downhill… they’ll find a way to make it bite you back.

“If I was to mention it or try to push it up higher, they’d probably just put me in the office, sit me down, talk to me about it and then send me back out.”

The NZDF said it had no record of any close calls or incidents during Operation Tieke.

It said if Wesley’s officer had been made aware of the incident and knew he was having psychological difficulties, he would have been recommended a compassionate return to NZ with further support.

NZ Defence Force

Psychological support

Towards the end of Wesley’s deployment, personnel were given several days before a flight home for ‘group decompression”.

It was at that time in August 2023 they were given a psychologist’s appointment for an assessment.

After his assessment, Wesley said he was told more help would be waiting for him and his team within a month or so of their return and that they wouldn’t need to seek it out.

Many of the team from the deployment found it difficult to reintegrate back home and a lot of them resorted to drinking, he said

“It took a toll on us mentally.

‘Whenever we would get the chance, we would just resort to alcohol… it would take the pain away and make us feel numb and we’d just sit there cry.”

Or if his unit wasn’t around… I’d cry by myself. Or get angry.”

It was during this period, Wesley was violently assaulted at a party and suffered a broken jaw and concussion requiring emergency surgery. He returned to drinking as a coping mechanism after his recovery.

Wesley said he knew he was mentally unwell, but felt he could not ask for help.

“Because of the stigma around it, I didn’t want to look weak, I thought, no, I don’t need help, I can try overcome this myself. But yeah, it ended up going down the wrong path and I blew up.

NZDF said personnel were given a follow-up “psychological screen approximately six months after” returning from the deployment.

RNZ has been seeking answers about the timeframe and delay since September, but has not yet received a response from the NZDF.

Wesley said got a post-deployment phone call four months after he got home and was never seen again until his “bomb went off” .

RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The assault

In March 2024 Jack Wesley violently attacked a taxi driver on a drunken night out in Palmerston North. Court documents say he punched the taxi driver repeatedly until he was unconscious, hurt a passerby who tried to intervene, and kicked and punched two arresting officers.

The taxi driver was left with a broken eye socket and nose requiring weeks off work, surgeries and follow up dental work.

Wesley was charged with assault, intent to injure and assaulting a police officer and served a nine-month period of home detention.

A psychological assessment prepared for the NZDF after the arrests said he was suicidal and diagnosed him with high Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms and high levels of depression in connection to his deployment to the UK.

But the defence force disputes the cause, saying it was unclear whether trauma was related to his training stint or the injuries from the attack on him at the party.

Wesley said he has no memory of the night he assaulted the driver and has been sober ever since.

“I still feel heavily disappointed in myself and knowing that it was totally out of my character to do something so horrendous to someone and only wish that the victim and their family is safe and healthy.”

The victim is a married man with two young children. Following the assault he was unable to work for three weeks, graduating to reduced hours, during the day because his vision has not recovered from the injuries. At the time of sentencing he had been to five follow up appointments at the hospital and needed ongoing private dental care.

If Wesley had got his six months post deployment follow up debrief on time – it would have been in February, a month before the assault. According to NZDF it was conducted in June 2024 – 10 months after his deployment.

The psychologist report said Wesley’s drinking habits changed dramatically when he returned from the UK. He was consuming a box, or 12 bottles, a day to numb the pain.

“Jack’s experiences of his deployment to the UK appear to have left him with significant moral distress and grief regarding the civilians he trained and subsequently lost in war. He is a very relational person, seemingly inclined to put others first, and described building strong bonds with many of his trainees who he described as “the kids” (with a sense that he and his colleagues in the NZDF were their parents)”

Wesley said this hurt had been building for some time, and the delayed access to mental health support hindered him further.

“Pretty much the help started once my timer went off, and that only happened because the army put me in with a psych to see what was happening with me.”

He said members of his team complained to him about the time delay in getting help and said they were ‘losing their heads’.

“They [NZDF] tell us all the things that we need to know, we need to hear. But when it comes to actually supporting us, there’s nothing really there until s**t hits the fan.”

He said after his arrest, psychological help was readily available for the rest of his unit.

“It opened up so many people’s eyes, and they finally got the help that they needed to before they blew up as well.”

NZ Defence Force

Job loss

Wesley lost his job in the NZ Defence Force because of his offending, despite pleas from his lawyer, concerns from the judge and recommendations from bosses and the psychologist.

Judge Stephanie Edwards said since his arrest, Wesley had shown remorse and sought help.

She also noted the links between his work trauma, drinking and offending – offering a discount to his sentence.

“There are clear links to the trauma that you have suffered partly in the service of your country in your excessive drinking and therefore to this offending.

“I note, too, that your employer, the New Zealand Defence Force, is to be commended for the steps they have taken to recognise the links between your role in the army and this offending and to provide you with psychological and counselling services,” said Judge Edwards.

A transcript document of the court sentencing shows while considering her options Judge Edwards asked whether home detention would affect his employment.

Those documents also show the NZ Defence Force representative said it would not affect his role, and the army would find a way to work around the realities of a home detention sentence.

Less than two months later the NZDF held a retention hearing, and he was let go.

“It shocked me the day that they came around sat me down and told me that my service is getting terminated. I took it on the chin once they said it, but deep down I was broken.”

“There’s just a big empty space in me now.”

Wesley said he would never go back, but he would die for his unit.

“I’ll take a bullet for every single one of them”

“I still have a lot of love for the defence force and what they do, just take care of our Servicemen and servicewomen who have taken this step to help defend a loving country. “

Operation Tieke is not a qualifying Operational Service under the Veterans’ Support Act 2014.

That means Wesley is not covered by the Veterans Support Act, and not eligible for support from Veterans Affairs.

Notes written by the Brigade Commander who signed off his discharge said: “I see that Wesley has raised the topic of PTSD and I want the unit and NZDF medical to ensure PTE Wesley has the appropriate support as he exits the service.”

Jack Wesley said there has been no support from the defence force since his termination.

The NZDF declined to be interviewed.

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

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How dark patterns on the web are designed to keep your cash

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman shops online from her phone. Unsplash/ Vitaly Gariev

What’s being termed ‘dark patterns’ are becoming increasingly prevalent on shopping websites as online businesses scramble for your dollars

Subscriptions that are impossible to cancel, hidden fees added at the checkout, and constant offers of discounts in exchange for your personal information – dark patterns are the internet traps designed to make you spend more money.

While not explicitly illegal, they’re getting overwhelming.

Last month, food delivery company Hello Fresh was fined $845,000 for misleading its customers, and if you’re online shopping this Christmas, you need to be on the lookout.

“It’s things like hidden fees, where you make a purchasing decision, get to the checkout, and suddenly there’s $20, $30, $40 extra,” said Consumer NZ’s Chris Schulz.

“It’s things like scarcity cues … everyone’s seen those, ‘only one left at this price’ notes, and then there’s subscription traps, everyone’s had a meal kit delivery service or a gym membership that they just can’t be bothered to cancel because you know it’s going to be painful.”

Consumer NZ has just released a report detailing its research on dark patterns.

The overwhelming feedback from research participants was frustration, said Schulz.

“[Dark patterns] have a triple impact, they take our money, people told us they have spent more because of dark patterns… they waste our time, some dark patterns are designed to keep us engaged longer on sites or to stop us from going elsewhere.

“They just affect our confidence as well; they chip away at how people feel, especially if you’re in a less confident bracket.”

Some dark patterns also invade our privacy.

“You’ll often get these offers, ’10 percent, if you sign up,’… and then you’ll have to put in your name, you’ll have to put in your address, your date of birth, whether you’re male or female or other, sometimes even more than that.

“Then these companies have information on you, we know they can use that data to target advertising.”

But dark patterns are also incredibly effective.

Alex Sims, a commercial law professor from Auckland University, said a study that monitored websites found those using dark patterns had double the participation rate than websites that didn’t. When there was an aggressive use of dark patterns, participation quadrupled.

But Sims doesn’t think we need new laws, because the Fair Trading Act and the Privacy Act, while not explicitly defining the shady sales tactics, already cover most dark patterns.

“The main one is under the Fair Trading Act, where businesses cannot be misleading, deceptive and mislead people about price… quite a few of the dark patterns are misleading, so therefore breach the Fair Trading Act.”

Under the Privacy Act, if information about an individual has been collected in an unfair manner, then that individual has grounds to lay a complaint, she said.

“Say, for example, you want to buy a pair of shoes… you go to the checkout, and then it says, ‘create an account,’ and it requires your email address, your phone number, and all these other things that you don’t want to give.

“Arguably, you could say that’s not fair because the only way that you could buy those shoes is to enter that information.”

The reason why dark patterns have become so prolific isn’t because of a lack of laws, she said, but a lack of enforcement.

“Even if [companies] do go to the extreme end… what will happen is normally the Commerce Commission will come along, write a letter and say, ‘look we’re investigating this,’ and often if the company goes ‘oh look I’m really sorry we didn’t realise we won’t do it again,’ [and] sometimes the Commerce Commission will keep on going but most of the time they won’t.”

But it’s also a matter of resourcing; taking legal action uses a lot of time and staff, and it’s expensive. But while providing the Commerce Commission with more resources would be a good idea, she said, there is some onus on consumers as well.

“First of all, what they should be doing is when they experience dark patterns, is stop using that website, and that’s what the Consumer NZ report actually identified… almost 40 percent of people had stopped using [those] websites.”

Sharing your bad experience is also helpful, and people can also make a complaint to the Commerce Commission.

“That’s why Hello Fresh was actually prosecuted because a whole lot of people complained… if the Commerce Commission doesn’t know anything about it, it can’t do anything.”

The Hello Fresh case centred around cold calls made to customers between February 2022 and July 2023, where customers were offered vouchers without being told that accepting them would reactivate their subscription to the service.

While this case was still before the courts, Consumer NZ was conducting its study on dark patterns and had participants try to cancel a Hello Fresh subscription.

At the time, this was a five-step process.

Hello Fresh has since updated its subscription services, telling Consumer NZ it streamlined and simplified its cancellation process in the wake of Consumer’s research.

But these kinds of sales tactics remain rife, and in this episode, Sims tells The Detail what tweaks to existing laws she thinks would help tackle the issue.

“With the Privacy Act, have it so when someone has signed up to social media or something like that, that the highest privacy preservation settings are set … and then allow the user, if they want to, then to share it more.

The second one is to prevent nagging, which Sims explains is when little boxes saying ‘buy this now’ or ‘enter your email for a discount’ keep popping up while a shopper is on a website.

“In Europe, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) and the Data Act say basically you can’t do that and you’ve got a set time period, so you can’t ask them more than say once every year,” she says.

Then there’s the tweak to prevent subscription traps. Sims says it should be as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up for it.

But amidst the frustration and anxiety these dark patterns cause, there is hope that it could encourage consumers to return to in-store shopping.

Schulz hopes that is the case.

“There is something about that experience.

“I love talking to shopkeepers, you don’t get that experience when you’re online, sometimes you can have really good conversations… I think that could be an upside.”

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

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

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Ten things your landlord can’t do

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tenants have more control in New Zealand’s rental market than they have for a while. RNZ

Tenants have more control in New Zealand’s rental market than they have for a while.

With rents soft and more options to choose from, it’s not a bad time to be looking for a place to live.

But do you know the rules your landlord has to abide by?

Recent Tenancy Tribunal rulings show some are still getting it wrong.

Turn up unannounced

Landlords can’t just turn up to their rental properties without giving notice, even if it is just to do something outside.

They need to give 48 hours’ notice for things like inspections and 24 hours’ notice for repairs or maintenance. If they don’t, they can have exemplary damages awarded against them to a maximum of $1500.

In one case heard by the Tenancy Tribunal recently, a tenant claimed their landlord arrived at the premises uninvited and unannounced, entered the garden and shouted at them about parking in a shared driveway. The landlord argued he had been working on a neighbouring property and noticed where the car was parked.

The tribunal said even if the landlord only stopped at the gate and did not enter the garden, he raised his voice and shouted at the tenants and threatened to end their tenancy. It said the behaviour was a breach of the tenant’s quiet enjoyment and interfered with their reasonable peace, comfort and privacy.

If a house is listed for sale, the tenant has to give permission for open homes to be held.

Require professional cleaning

Your landlord cannot ask you to pay for professional cleaning when you leave, including carpet cleaning.

Tenants are only required to leave the property in a reasonably clean and tidy state.

Sarina Gibbon, director of Tenancy Advisory, said the introduction of new rules around pets could make this a bit murkier. “With the pet provisions coming in, it’s going to be really interesting.”

She said one of the examples given with the introduction of the new rules was that landlords might say a pet was allowed if carpets were cleaned to a professional standard. “That’s just an example given by Parliament… it doesn’t mean it will cover all situations.

“It’s one of those things that I think we’re just going to have to watch how the tribunal interprets the new laws and applied them to give the industry guidance. At the moment we’re still operating under the old rules.

“But without pets, absolutely a tenant cannot be required to professionally clean the carpet.”

Sarina Gibbon, director of Tenancy Advisory. Supplied

Charge a pet bond (yet)

Landlords are not allowed to collect a pet bond until 1 December.

“I’m hearing every week landlords are collecting pet bonds and they have been all year when they are actually not legally allowed to until December 1,” Gibbon said.

“So if a tenant asks for a pet on November 30 and the landlord gives consent on November 30, that landlord cannot collect a pet bond. If the landlord gives consent on December 1, that’s fine.”

Ask tenants to cover the difference when a property is re-let at a lower rent

Gibbon said landlords generally could not ask tenants to pay the difference in rent if they broke a fixed term and the property could not be rented again for the same amount.

“Especially in this market, I’m seeing with market rent going down and tenants trying to get out of fixed-term tenancies, trying to break their lease early, I’m seeing some landlords and property managers try to charge the rental differential because they can’t get the 2024 level of rent in 2025.

“Even though there are some rare exceptions [where] the Tenancy Tribunal has found that the landlord can charge that, those are really quite unusual.

“The law provides for you to charge reasonable expenses that you incur because of the early break but you can’t charge the rental differential because the loss of income is not an expense.”

In a case the tribunal heard, a tenant broke a fixed term that was due to end in December this year in April.

The property was re-let on 5 June and the tribunal said the tenant could be required to pay rent until then.

But while the new tenant was paying $10 less a week, the adjudicator said the former tenant could not be required to cover this because the landlord did not provide enough evidence that the drop was necessary.

“The landlord would need to show that the lower rent was reasonable in the circumstances and that all reasonable steps were taken to achieve the best rent possible. Without this evidence the claim for rent loss is dismissed.”

The adjudicator also said a break fee could not be charged. “The landlord can only claim reasonable costs that are directly related to finding a new tenant. The landlord must provide evidence of these costs. The only cost that the landlord was able to prove was the Trade Me advertisement which I have awarded.”

Take tenants’ possessions

Landlords cannot take tenants’ possessions to cover money they are owed.

In one case involving a Beach Haven property, a landlord who had been sending the tenant “derogatory and racially suggestive messages”, according to the tribunal, entered the premises, threw the tenants’ belongings out, handed them a bill and took their $4000 computer.

The landlord was told to pay $1500 for breaching the tenant’s quiet enjoyment and $3000 for the possessions.

Let rent arrears add up

If a tenant falls behind on rent, the landlord cannot let the arrears mount unreasonably.

The Residential Tenancies Act says when either party breaches the agreement, the other party needs to take reasonable steps to limit the damage or loss.

Gibbon said that duty to mitigate loss meant landlords had to act quickly on arrears.

She said sometimes people would think that their landlord was being nice by not chasing them, and might be complacent. “If that gets piled up it could tip the legal test and the tribunal could very well say essentially you’ve not done anything about it, you’ve not given a 14-day notice, you’ve not sought to terminate the tenancy, you’ve not initiated an installment plan to get yourself compensated… we’re not going to award you all the rent that’s owed to you.”

Not pass on bills in a timely way

Gibbon said people also needed to ensure tenants received bills promptly.

“In Auckland you get billed by Watercare and you’re supposed to pass the usage fee to the tenant each month… you have to on-charge it to your tenant reasonably quickly. I’m seeing landlords who sit on it for months and months or even years then at the end of the tenancy go ‘oh by the way you owe me this much’, like thousands of dollars in water. They can’t do that.”

Leave the country for more than three weeks

Any landlord who leaves the country for more than 21 consecutive days needs to appoint an agent to act for them.

Bungle cabin questions

Gibbon said there could also be problems with tenants wanting to install a cabin.

“If the cabin is a vehicle it’s not really a Residential Tenancies Act issue and to withhold consent or attach conditions to that consent, as landlords sometimes think they’re entitled to, is a breach of the tenant’s quiet enjoyment. But on the flip side, not all cabins or caravans or tiny homes can be brought on to the property by the tenant without the landlords’ consent. It’s complicated.”

She said people should get legal advice.

Retaliate

Landlords can’t give notice to tenants or raise rent in retaliation for anything they have done.

In one case, tenants were given notice in June that a family member was going to move back into their property.

But they said it was prompted by a dispute, including issues about the rent and the healthy homes rules.

“Where there is a short period of time between the tenant raising an issue about the tenancy (or filing a claim) and the landlord serving a notice, this may lead to a strong inference that the landlord was at least partly motivated by the tenant exercising their rights. In this situation, the evidential onus shifts to the landlord to show that there was a legitimate reason for the notice,” the adjudicator said.

“In my view the fact that the landlords served notice the day after the case management conference held in this matter, at which the tenants itemised their claims in some detail, leads to a strong inference that the landlords were at least partly motivated by the tenants exercising their rights.”

The tenants were awarded $1500.

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

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KiwiSaver provider calls for increased contribution to be compulsory

Source: Radio New Zealand

File photo. National leader Christopher Luxon and finance spokesperson Nicola Willis. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

National’s policy to increase KiwiSaver contribution rates has been met with a big tick of approval by one provider, but with a call to make it compulsory.

National is proposing that, if re-elected, it would gradually increase contributions by employees and employers to 6 percent each, or 12 percent overall.

The government already announced it would lift the default rate from 3 percent to 4 by 2028, at this year’s Budget.

Denouncing “suger-rush” responses to tough economic conditions, National leader Christopher Luxon told party members in Upper Hutt the policy would support New Zealanders’ long-term financial security.

“If we’re serious about building the future, and I am, it’s time for us to increase our ambition for our individual retirement savings, and for our collective savings that can be invested in some of the most transformational projects in our infrastructure pipeline.”

Luxon said he expected KiwiSaver would play an even bigger role in supporting retirements, hinting National could once again campaign on raising the superannuation age.

Simplicity managing director Sam Stubbs said the policy could be a “turning point for economic growth” in New Zealand, as more saving led to more investment.

He said given National’s history of “chipping away” at the scheme, this was a positive step in the right direction.

“This is a really big endorsement of KiwiSaver by National, easily the biggest that they’ve ever made. It really does indicate to me that next year is going to be a KiwiSaver election, in the sense that you are getting parties differentiating themselves not by whether they do or don’t like KiwiSaver, but how much they want it to grow. And that’s a very positive thing for the country.”

New Zealand First has also promised to make KiwiSaver compulsory, with contributions from both employers and employees rising to 10 percent, but offset by tax cuts.

Stubbs said the onus was now on Labour.

“Not only are [National] now firmly endorsing KiwiSaver as a pathway to growth and prosperity, but they’re also serving it up to Labour and saying ‘OK, what are you going to do? This was your policy, are you going to grow it as fast as we do?'”

Labour leader Chris Hipkins. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Labour leader Chris Hipkins welcomed National’s “conversion” to supporting KiwiSaver, given its historic opposition and recent cuts to the government contribution rate.

But Hipkins said there would need to be a credible transition plan to support people on low incomes to get KiwiSaver and maintain their contributions.

“At the moment, it’s tough going in New Zealand. People are just making ends meet. Increasing KiwiSaver contributions is a good thing, but without a plan to support people in the process of increasing KiwiSaver contributions, a lot of Kiwis are going to be hit really hard by it,” he said.

Financial writer Martin Hawes said National’s proposal was “reasonable” to bring New Zealand in line with Australia.

But he said people would struggle if they could not afford to take 6 percent out of their salaries.

“There’ll be definitely people who simply don’t join because they can’t. They can’t pay 6 percent now, they’d be better off joining and paying 2 percent or 3 percent or whatever they can afford, and having that matched, because it’s free money. It’s extra money from the from the employer.”

Unlike Australia, there are no plans to make KiwiSaver compulsory, with National saying New Zealand instead has universal superannuation.

Stubbs said making KiwiSaver compulsory should be the next step.

“Those people who aren’t saving into KiwiSaver are going to be much worse off later on in life. And so if we want to remove inequality in New Zealand, and we don’t like inequality in New Zealand, we have to make sure that everybody is saving for their retirement while they’re earning. And if you don’t have compulsion, that isn’t happening.”

The Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson welcomed any policy changes that strengthened New Zealanders’ ability to save for retirement, and the proposal could be a “positive step” towards improving long-term financial security.

“Higher contribution rates will help close the savings gap and ensure more people can enjoy a better standard of living in retirement,” she said.

However, she said it was essential the increases genuinely added to employees’ savings, rather than being offset through total remuneration arrangements.

National’s policy document states that “as has always been the case with KiwiSaver,” employer contributions may effectively for part of the wage negotiation process.

“The recent Review of Retirement Income Policies highlighted that total remuneration practices undermine the intent of KiwiSaver by reducing take-home pay and eroding the additional benefit of employer contributions. We strongly support banning this approach to ensure fairness and transparency,” Wrightson said.

Hawes agreed that the “loophole” should be closed off.

“There are some people who negotiate with their employer that the employer not pay the contribution that they’re expected to pay into KiwiSaver, but instead just put it as part of their total remuneration. So it goes to them in cash, and that means that they are effectively not saving for retirement.”

Hipkins seemed onboard with the call for a ban.

“If we’re going to make KiwiSaver better and bigger, we need to protect employees. And that means making it very clear that KiwiSaver contributions can’t be viewed as part of an employee’s overall pay packet.”

National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis said she was “nervous” that businesses would push back at the Budget announcement, but their support meant she believed they would be onboard with the further increases.

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said the challenge was “two-fold,” and there needed to be a balance between what was affordable for employers and employees.

“The big thing from a retail perspective is that whilst there’s a wide variety of roles that are available in retail, for many people that work in retail they’re not earning significant money,” she said.

“And businesses, right now, obviously are really struggling, so that additional cost is going to go onto the business, and could incur some price increases, depending on how that plays out over time.”

Willis was confident the phased changes, and the long notice, would provide “certainty and stability and clarity.”

Dennis Maga, from Workers First Union, says members were already struggling to contribute to KiwiSaver.

“We absolutely support any moves to increase workers’ retirement savings,” he said.

“I’m not sure that increasing an employer’s KiwiSaver contribution is great when the government can’t seem to get a handle the cost of living crisis right now.”

The union represents many lower-paid workers, and Maga said even if the increased contribution was phased in, it would be tough if basic needs like food, rent and fuel were still getting expensive.

Maga said the minimum wage needed to rise higher than inflation.

“There’s a big gap in terms of wages, comparing our wages or pay across the ditch,” Maga said.

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National’s KiwiSaver plan could add millions to balances – but there’s a catch

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

National’s announcement that it would push up contribution rates for KiwiSaver to a total 12 percent is a good step – but there is a major flaw that needs fixing first, one KiwiSaver provider says.

Prime Minister and National leader Christopher Luxon said on Sunday that if it was re-elected next year, the party would gradually increase KiwiSaver contributions to match the Australian 12 percent rate by 2032, with 6 percent contributions from both employers and employees.

It has already started a process to increase the default rate to 4 percent plus 4 percent by April 1, 2028.

“Smaller retirement balances present a challenge for New Zealand as a whole, too, as we rely more on investment from offshore to fund the infrastructure, start-ups, and housing we need to grow our economy, create jobs and lift incomes,” Luxon said.

“If we’re serious about building the future, and I am, it’s time to aim higher.”

Rupert Carlyon, founder of Koura KiwiSaver, agreed contribution rates were not high enough.

He calculated that with a return of 5.5 percent a year and 12 percent contributions, a 21-year-old could end up with $2.13 million in their account at 65, compared to $1.08m at a 3 percent plus 3 percent rate.

Even a conservative investor could end up with another $370,000 as a result of the change, and a balanced fund could have more than $500,000 more.

But he said a big problem was that employers could dodge the increase by moving employees to total remuneration packages.

Under a total remuneration package, an employee is told that a certain amount of money is available to them and they can make their KiwiSaver contributions out of that, or use it as take-home pay.

These have been highlighted as a problem by many providers and the Retirement Commission, who want them banned.

Carlyon said as contribution rates got higher, more people might be tempted to shift over.

“An economically rational person would be better taking the cash in hand rather than opting to have 12 percent of your salary locked up until the age of 65. Without incentives, this policy has the potential to achieve the opposite of what we want – people will be actually discouraged from investing in their KiwiSaver.”

He said employers could not put people on to total remuneration contracts simply to avoid the increase. “But they will be able to turn around, and I suspect to a lot of employees they’ll say ‘hey what do you want to do if you want I’ll give you cash from now on’… they’ll use this as an excuse to move a lot of contracts to total remuneration.”

Carlyon supported calls for a ban on total remuneration. “Admittedly it will put a burden on the private sector but actually it’s a nice fiscally neutral way to incentivise people to save for their retirement.”

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Cliff rescue in central Auckland suburb

Source: Radio New Zealand

File photo. RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Two people stuck on a cliff in the Auckland suburb of St Heliers have been rescued two hours after they fell.

Emergency services were called to the accident shortly after 9pm this evening.

Fire and Emergency says its specialist lines team managed to reach the pair from below and took them to shore via boat.

St Johns said two patients in a serious condition have been taken to hospital.

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First indigenous woman to study at Oxford inspires Māori Rhodes Scholar

Source: Radio New Zealand

University of Waikato student Naianga Tapiata has been named a Rhodes Scholar and will attend the University of Oxford. Supplied/University of Waikato

A Māori Rhodes Scholar says Mākereti (Maggie) Papakura, believed to be the first indigenous woman to study at Oxford, was a huge inspiration behind his choice to study at the same university.

University of Waikato honours student Naianga Tapiata will complete a two-year Master of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at Oxford from 2026.

“We heard the stories of Maggie Papakura growing up, but I never dreamed of it, never saw it being possible,” he said. “Then I remember the first time I was lucky enough to go to Oxford and visit her urupā.

“That, I think, sparked something in me where I realised, ‘Oh, this is possible. This is possible for a young Māori to go to a university like Oxford’.”

Born in Matatā in 1873, Papakura explored the customs of her people of Te Arawa from a female perspective. She died in 1930, just weeks before she was due to present her thesis.

Her thesis was posthumously published by friend, Rhodes Scholar and fellow Oxford anthropologist T K Penniman, in a book entitled The Old-Time Māori and she was awarded a posthumous degree by Oxford University in September 2025.

Tapiata was raised in Rotorua, near the village of Whakarewarewa – the same thermal village Papakura once guided tourists through. She was able to demonstrate that Māori culture had value on the global stage, he said.

“Everyone talked about her when we were over [at Oxford], where she lived, the people she interacted with, and the conditions of care I think she gave to everybody in her vicinity demonstrated to me, I think, the ability for Māori to help offer things to the world, not just how Oxford or the world can help offer things to us, but it’s a reciprocal relationship.

“I think Mākereti was the embodiment of that.”

Mākereti Papakura was believed to be the first indigenous woman to study at Oxford. Supplied / University of Oxford

Tapiata (Te Arawa, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Awa, Waikato) is the first graduate of kura kaupapa Māori to become a Rhodes Scholar.

The scholarship is administered by Universities New Zealand and includes a three-stage interview process, involving references, academic results, essays and in-person interviews. Established in 1902, the scholarship is the oldest international graduate scholarship programme in the world.

Tapiata told RNZ it was still a surreal feeling, even two weeks after it was announced, and he was grateful to all the people who had contributed to his education.

“I think it’s a testament to the way they’ve invested in to kaupapa like Te Aho Matua, Kura Kaupapa Māori, Kohanga Reo, etc.”

Tapiata said we were living in a time of revitilisation of indigenous cultures across the world, and Oxford – as a place steeped in colonialism – could play a role in understanding the crossroads of indigenous cultures and Western society.

“I think what’s more important for me is the learning outside the classroom, walking through the halls where colonialism was thought about and strategised about. [What’s] probably more important to me is the people that gather at the University of Oxford and the experiences that come with the diversity of people.”

Indigenous scholars and scholars who were passionate about indigenous cultures had an opportunity to gather at Oxford, and wānanga about these issues, he said.

“I think the collaboration opportunities that come with that, to see what we could do, not just at Oxford, but what we could take back to our own people and help to offer to Oxford opportunities that I think we all hope and dream that our own cultures, our own ways of living have an opportunity to help solve some of the world’s greatest problems like climate change.”

The timing of Tapiata’s study at Oxford couldn’t be any better.

“I think that goes back to the kōrero about Maggie Papakura,” he said. “She enrolled at Oxford in 1927.

“It’s been 98 years since she enrolled. It’ll be 99 when I head over and, only a couple of months ago, she got her degree posthumously awarded to her.

“I think timing played a big role in this opportunity for everyone involved.

“I think, the ability of time to go beyond the normal conditions of human nature, how that can play a role in decision-making is important.

“As we know, as Māori, when you set sail according to different environmental tohu, those factors, I think, play a role in everything, not just things that are Māori, things that are indigenous, but also how they can play a role in things and opportunities like this.”

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Primary school enrolments drop, as national roll growth slows

Source: Radio New Zealand

The overall growth was significantly less than 2023 and 2024. Unsplash

Growth in the national school roll slowed this year, as the number of primary school enrolments fell.

Education Ministry figures showed 856,412 school students at the start of July, 5413 more than the same time last year.

Rolls increased in Auckland and Canterbury, but fell in regions, including Northland, Taranaki and Wellington.

The growth was focused on secondary schools, which grew by 6490 students to a total of 311,743, and composite schools, up 2519 students to 73,144.

Primary schools dropped 3835 students to 466,682 at 1 July.

The overall growth was significantly less than in 2023 and 2024, when immigration caused student numbers to jump 15,887 and 19,961 respectively.

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Tenancy Tribunal orders Auckland landlord Darren Williams to pay tenants at two properties

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tenants Niral Dedhia and Jagdev Snider said property owner David Williams made racist comments, such as “go to Mumbai”.

A landlord has been accused of subjecting tenants at two rental properties to racist messages, including telling one couple to “go to Mumbai”.

Darren Williams has appeared before the Tenancy Tribunal twice this year, both times for the way he has treated tenants at two Auckland properties.

Tenants Niral Dedhia and Jagdev Sinder rented a property Williams owned in Birkdale. They told the tribunal the relationship between the parties soured towards the end of the tenancy in April last year.

Dedhia and Sinder said Williams tried to demand money for items in the house they had not broken and, when they refused, he applied “psychological pressure”.

They told the tribunal he made baseless accusations and racist comments, such as “go to Mumbai”, “why did you vote for National?”, “now go to Winston Peters”, along with other derogatory remarks about the tenants’ parents and their nationality.

The tenants also claimed Williams came to the house without permission, took a pair of expensive slippers and potplants, and threatened to enter the property when they were not home.

In defence, Williams said the potplants caused the deck to rot in winter and denied taking the slippers.

Dedhia and Sinder provided the tribunal with evidence of all the communications between the parties, which contained references to several nationalities.

In a decision released in September, tribunal adjudicator Joon Yi said the messages from the landlord “can be best described as rambling accusations and conspiracy theory-type remarks”.

Despite this, Yi said he didn’t order Williams to pay compensation to his tenants for the messages, because he was suffering from a “somewhat evident mental condition” at the time.

Yi did order him to pay $500 for the potplants and slippers for what he called a “serious invasion to the tenant”.

‘Bizarre’ remarks

In another decision from the tribunal, released this week, Williams was found to have made remarks with a racial undertone to a tenant at a property he owned in Beach Haven.

The tenant moved into the rental in August 2024 and paid $700 a week. In March, Williams advised the rent would increase to $765 per week.

When the tenant told him that was illegal under the Residential Tenancies Act, he agreed to delay the rise until August.

In April, the power tripped at the property. The tenant left for safety and told the landlord, who – according to the decision – then accused the other man of causing the damage and made “bizarre” remarks that caused him distress.

When the tenant requested an invoice for a water bill he had paid his landlord for, Williams responded with “more strange comments, including one implying racial undertone”, according to the tribunal’s decision.

Williams sent the tenant a picture of a screw and demanded an explanation, demanded money and then threatened to take his dishwasher away.

After his tenant reminded him that a landlord must give 24 hours’ notice before entering a property, the decision said Williams sent more derogatory and racially suggestive messages.

Within a week, Williams entered the property without permission and allegedly threw the tenant’s belongings out, including a $4000 computer.

The tenant applied to be released from his fixed-term contract at a hearing last month. He provided photos of his belongings on the street, along with Williams holding his desktop computer.

The tribunal adjudicator said Williams didn’t disagree with his tenant’s version of events. He instead said he wished to apologise and was suffering mental health issues at the time.

Yi, who handled both tenants’ applications, said while he took into account the landlord’s mental health, it didn’t completely excuse his behaviour.

“Although this explains his bizarre acts, it does not do so to the extent of it completely excusing his actions,” Yi said.

“The effect of the acts of the landlord had made the tenant fear for continued stay and had personal belongings thrown out through an extreme invasion of privacy. The perplexing messages and emails with reference to the tenant’s race were such that it amounted to harassment.”

Yi ordered Williams pay his tenant $1500 for exemplary damages for breaching the tenant’s quiet enjoyment and $3000 for disposing of the tenant’s goods.

In 2020, Williams was ordered to pay more than $6000 to two tenants, after unlawfully entering the Birkdale property, and taking away the front door, damaging or causing the tenants’ possessions to be wilfully damaged, and serving them with an unlawful trespass notice.

This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

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Search and rescue mission for missing person at Cape Reinga

Source: Radio New Zealand

A person went missing in the water near Cape Reinga. 123RF

A search and rescue mission is underway for a person missing in the water near Cape Reinga – the northern-most tip of the North Island.

Police say they received a report of a person needing help in the water about 3.30pm, after falling from rocks near Tapotupotu Bay Beach.

They say they’re still searching.

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