Prolific documentary and filmmaker Costa Botes.Supplied
Prolific documentary and filmmaker Costa Botes – who found fame creating mockumentary Forgotten Silver alongside Peter Jackson – has died after living with cancer for nearly a decade.
Botes won multiple awards for his work on Forgotten Silver in the late 1990’s as well as short film Stalin’s Sickle (1988) and later with Saving Grace (1999) and Lost in Wonderland in 2010.
He told the website he grew up in Wellington – after being born to Greek parents on the Turkish Island of Imbroz – and dove into filmmaking after diverting away from being “bored witless” by his English Literature degree to study film at Ilam School of Fine Arts in Christchurch.
He went full time into film making making in 1985 and would continue working on projects until shortly before his death in Wellington’s Mary Potter Hospice on 21 November.
Continued to work until his final weeks
His partner of 14 years Debs Botes said her husband was proud of his entire body of work but found particular satisfaction in his independent productions.
“The latter documentaries that he made on his own – on a shoe string budget – and cobbled together with the help of friends and colleagues and really made something of.
“I think he liked being the lone wolf because he kind of made the decisions at the end of the day.
Costa Botes grew up in Wellington after being born to Greek parents on the Turkish Island of Imbroz.Supplied
“He was very proud of When the Cows Came Home and some others like The Last Dogs of Winter, Angie, Act of Kindness. There were quite a few – in the last 15 years – he was very proud of,” she said.
Shortly before his death, Botes had completed the first cut of a new film that she hoped a colleague would be able to “whip into shape” for release next year, Debs Botes said.
Botes was well known amongst musical circles in Wellington both as a player and an enthusiastic listener.
In his last weeks he bought his dream guitar, a Gibson Les Paul, and posted pictures of himself playing the instrument from his hospital bed, she said.
An enduring fascination with people and stories
Arts and entertainment writer Sarah McMullan said Botes inspired many with his no nonsense attitude and generosity of spirit.
McMullan said she and Botes bonded over his work on 2011 documentary The Last Dogs of Winter.
“He loved life and he loved people. That’s why he made such beautiful films – he was so interested in people – and, I think, that’s how he managed to achieve that level of intimacy that made his films so special,” McMullan said.
She said she loved discussing almost any element of filmmaking with Botes who would liked little more than to talk over the pros and cons of films, shows and documentaries.
Wellington Musician Carol Bean said she admired his skill as a musician and also his witty and, at times, cutting sense of humour.Supplied
He took that passion to stints teaching filmmaking and scriptwriting at the NZ Film and TV School, and Victoria and Massey University, she said.
“I wish everybody had the chance to have watched Jaws with an audio commentary from Costa because his in depth analysis of how that film is made is incredible. It just completely opens your eyes to – what is a brilliant film – but it’s just [his awareness of] the detail and nuance which just speaks to his talent as a filmmaker,” McMullan said.
Late last month filmmaker Zoe McIntosh wrote on the Women in Film & Television website of the profound affect Botes had when he worked alongside her to make Lost in Wonderland which would go on to screen at international festivals and win Best Documentary at the Qantas Film and Television Awards.
“I was 22, broke, and living in a damp Wellington flat where rice was both dinner and décor. At a depressing documentary hui, out of sheer desperation and delusion, I pitched my first documentary idea to filmmaker Costa Botes. I expected a polite brush-off. Instead, he said, ‘I’ll shoot it. Let’s just go make it’.
“No funding applications. No contracts. No catch. That offhand ‘yes’ changed everything,” McIntosh wrote.
She said Botes’ faith in her work and forthright critical honesty help shaped her confidence and vision for her work and career.
“He was always there, always honest, sometimes brutally so. But he never let me lose sight of my vision. He’d say, ‘You’ve got half a film here. The other half’s still hiding. You gotta dig deeper’.
“Costa gives his time generously, quietly, without agenda. He doesn’t chase credit; he’s allergic to self-promotion. He’s the guy at the back of the screening checking sound levels while everyone else basks in applause. Motivated by people and, always, by story,” McIntosh wrote.
Shining lights on the dark corners
Wellington Musician Carol Bean worked in crews on Botes’ films and also played alongside him in bands.
She said she admired his skill as a musician and also his witty and, at times, cutting sense of humour.
In his last weeks he bought his dream guitar, a Gibson Les Paul, and posted pictures of himself playing the instrument from his hospital bed.Supplied
“He had a bite. He didn’t suffer fools but deep down very compassionate person.
“He had a lot of time for an authentic, regular person who wasn’t blowing their own trumpet. He said he liked ‘shining lights in the dark corners’ with his films. Bringing people out, bringing the story out, the real true story, the best of people,” Bean said.
Costa Botes spent the last weeks of his life in the care of the Mary Potter Hospice in Newtown Wellington.
Debs Botes said she was hugely grateful to the staff who kept him comfortable and accommodated his much loved dogs, bedside editing suite and guitar.
“He knew what was happening and he knew that it was the best place for him to be because they would keep him comfortable and they did that to the very last moment,” Debs Botes said.
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The Defence Force is looking into whether any of its information has been exposed to hackers.123rf
The Defence Force is checking to see if any information has been exposed to hackers, after Australian media reports of cyberattacks on contractors in the country’s defence supply chain.
Some reports say Iranian-backed hackers posted classified plans of a new infantry fighting vehicle.
“The NZDF is making inquiries to determine if any NZDF information has been exposed,” a spokesperson told RNZ.
“We will not be able to comment, until we have ascertained what, if any NZDF information is at risk of being exposed.”
Asked if integration increased the risks, they said the Defence Force’s “appetite for risk” was determined by NZ Information Security Manual and Protective Security Requirements, which had a process around approving operations.
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The means to that end was slashing by 80 percent the clean car standard – which incentivised sales of low- or zero-emission vehicles – by the end of the week.
$265 million in penalties would not now be charged on ‘ordinary’ cars, Bishop claimed.
On Monday, Newstalk ZB’s host Ryan Bridge pitched this as a promise of cheaper cars to come – and Bishop listed savings for selected makes and models set out in his media release.
Soon after, TVNZ’s political editor Maiki Sherman ran through those herself on 1News, even displaying the savings on the screen.
“This Corolla would see charges reduced by more than $6500,” she said, in the manner of a car yard commercial.
But on RNZ’s Morning Reportthe next day, Ingrid Hipkiss noted the minister’s figures for savings on different makes and models were only estimates.
“We’ve carefully caveated the words because it’s complex. Every vehicle importer will be in a different situation when it comes to penalties and credit so it will really depend on the particular type of car and the situation they’re in,” Bishop explained.
Bishop also said the changes would only have a minimal effect on emissions – and the main reason for changing the law now was that “the bottom’s fallen out of the EV market.”
“There just simply hasn’t been the demand there and they also haven’t been able to get the supply. It’s a double whammy.”
Among things that might affect demand – recent media reports about EV safety.
Safety fears hit headlines
Last weekThe New Zealand Herald reported a retirement village on Auckland’s North Shore – Fairview – had banned new electric vehicles.
“One resident who did not want to be named told the Herald he was pulled into a meeting with other residents where ‘management tried to scare us’ (about) the supposed fire risk electric vehicles posed,” the Herald reported.
“They’re concerned about the risk an EV fire would pose to the busy communities, residents and homes,” RNZ’s Lisa Owen explained on Checkpoint the same day.
But why, when there are no restrictions on parking or charging them anywhere else?
“As soon as there’s an EV that blows up or catches fire, it’s on the front page or it’s on the six o’ clock news. If it’s a diesel or a petrol car, you won’t hear about it,” Retirement Village Residents Association chief executive Nigel Matthews told Checkpoint.
“I’ve seen the YouTube clips where things have exploded, whether it be an e-bike or an EV of some sort that’s being charged and then just caught alight. But I’ve also seen it with cell phones. At what point do you actually stop and say we need to have a bigger holistic look at this?” he asked.
When 28 cars were set alight in Whangarei Hospital’s car park a month ago, it was dry grass on a hot exhaust that started the blaze. But plenty of online speculation suggested an overheated EV could have started it.
A day later the driver of an electric bus died after it was engulfed in flames following a collision with a petrol powered car on Tamaki Drive in Auckland.
The busy road was closed for almost a day.
“Due to the bus’s electric battery, the area could remain hazardous,” a Police statement said.
That prompted keyboard warriors to conclude batteries in the buses were not just a hazard – but could have caused the fire.
Some also cited a bus colliding with an Auckland railway station building earlier in October. Nobody was hurt in that, but smoke was seen emerging from the top of
the bus.
Alarmed by what he called ‘misinformation’ about the Tamaki Drive crash – and “bizarre anti-EV propaganda” – Auckland City Councillor Richard Hills then took to social media himself.
He pointed out that Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) had confirmed the fire started from the petrol vehicle that hit that bus on Tamaki Drive, and bus company Kinetic found the electric bus’s batteries were undamaged.
“But all I saw everywhere was: ‘Told ya, told ya – EV buses and EV batteries’,” Hills told the Newstalk ZB Drive show.
“But this cannot happen again if we have an electric bus that has a crash on Tamaki Drive. You cannot shut a road for 24 hours,” ZB host Heather du Plessis-Allan responded.
“If you thought it was because it was an electric vehicle – it was. We did some extensive looking into it for you,” she told ZB listeners.
“Once they got on the bus, what they saw was battery packs hanging through the roof and so they were worried about that.”
She also said firefighters saw gas leaking and were worried lithium batteries were starting to disintegrate.
“Actually it was an aircon problem, but again, they were treating it differently because it was an electric vehicle,” she said.
But those details were not in any news story published by Newstalk ZB or its stablemates at the Herald at the time. Or any other media outlet for that matter.
There’s been no official FENZ incident report about the incident made public yet. FENZ has not yet responded to Mediawatch’s request for further information.
The risks and the reality
Firefighters at the scene of a fatal collision between a petrol powered car and an electric bus, on Tamaki Drive in Auckland, on 22 October.RNZ / Marika Khabazi
It is true that fires involving electric vehicles can be harder to suppress and take longer to make safe.
On [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/video/herald-now/auckland-bus-fire-should-we-be-worried-about-lithium-batteries/OGYBS4PTGQJCANRCBPAVSVWZTQ/ the
Herald Now show] AUT professor of electronic engineering Adnan Al-Anbuky explained the reaction known as ‘thermal runaway’ – heat can excite a lithium battery cell causing ignition or even explosion in neighbouring cells in extreme circumstances.
But it still wasn’t clear how likely that is to happen on the road – or in a garage.
Ten days after the Tamaki Drive crash, another Auckland Transport electric bus caught fire when it struck an overpass.
There were no passengers and the driver got out safely that time, but dramatic images of the flames in the underpass were widely viewed on social media, sparking more speculation about the fire risk of electric buses.
That prompted an explainer from Stuff the next day: ‘[https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360874741/no-electric-buses-arent-catching-fire-because-their-batteries No. Electric buses aren’t catching fire because of their batteries.’
Australian fire safety expert Emma Sutcliffe – who researches battery fires for Australia’s Department of Defence – told Stuff there had been only eight such fires in
Australia in three years to 2024, at a time when there were more than 180,000 EVs in use there.
While Auckland has had three events in a row, they are unconnected, she said.
“It’s just unfortunate that they’ve happened in a bit of a cluster,” she told Stuff.
“You should be far more concerned about the cheap lithium-ion batteries in your house than the ones powering your bus to work,” Emma Sutcliffe added.
But sometimes, the media give people the wrong idea.
Last year RNZ reported a Wellington man’s claim that his neighbour’s Tesla burst into flames in the garage next door. Eventually, FENZ ruled out electric vehicles or lithium-ion batteries as the cause. RNZ updated the story accordingly.
Earlier this year a fire destroyed a boarding house in a Sydney suburb. The Sydney Morning Herald said it was not clear if the blaze began as an electrical fire, but lithium ion e-bike batteries “had contributed to the fire’s rapid spread and intensity.”
Channel 7’s TV news report also suggested batteries as the cause of the fire, but one of the distressed residents could be heard off-camera telling the reporter: “I had a candle going. Maybe it was the candle.”
Call for context and ‘pre-bunking’
Co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists – Dr Troy Baisden – was alarmed by how recent news reports described the risks of EVs and the possibility of ‘thermal runaway.’
Dr Troy BaisdenWaikato University
Dr Baisden took to social media himself to point out that none of the recent vehicle fires were caused by EVs or their batteries.
But if the risk is real – albeit remote in normal circumstances – how should media report incidents like the ones in Auckland recently?
“We know there’s a risk of EV myths and misinformation spread. The most interesting thing about these stories is that there were stories about EV fires that contained … no EV fire,” Dr Baisden told Mediawatch.
He cited New Zealand Herald and RNZ’s Checkpoint coverage of the Fairview community’s dilemma as failing to make clear that EVs pose a much lower fire risk than combustion engine vehicles.
A recent peer-reviewed study of four nations found more people believed misinformation about EVs than disagreed with it – including vehicles being more likely to catch fire.
But if it was reports of the recent bus fires that prompted the Fairview residents and management to discuss the issue, news editors can not ignore that context?
“They could have said the risk of EVs catching fire is about 60 times less than an equivalent petrol or diesel vehicle. Adjusted for the mileage, it’s maybe 20 times less,” Dr Baisden told Mediawatch.
“There’s other information that you could think about. Anything that can move you hundreds of kilometres in two tonnes of metal is going to have a lot of energy stored in it, so it can create a fire.”
“I feel like the retirement village residents – and the decisions that were going on there – were really let down by our information ecosystem.”
Is that sufficient ‘pre-bunking’ – informing people of facts before they’re exposed to contrary opinions, misinformation or fringe views?
“Probably not. I still don’t think that’s the most relevant thing – which is risk reduction. Fires are scary and historically vehicle fires used to be much more common than they are now. The other issue is: are we ready to deal with EV fires? That’s actually a more important issue.”
“It’s important where there are a lot of EVs – or particularly really big batteries like the bus batteries – that those firefighting methods are known and ready to respond.”
“It also points out we’re not great at working through risk – and the information to support journalists reporting these risks in New Zealand isn’t great.”
“Consumer magazine in New Zealand is a great trusted source. But where news organisations responding to headlines and trying to come up with an angle and a story, need to make sure journalists or the editors can find those.”
“This is a classic gap. We’re talking about something that actually hasn’t happened. There’s been no EV fire that’s been caused by an EV in New Zealand as yet.”
But we know that this is not a ‘zero risk’ technology. When fires occur, batteries can become a specific fire hazard which needs special treatment.
“Everybody’s home has a number of risks. The risks associated with a barbecue. Storing that in a garage with a car and other things that can catch on fire is a problem. Maybe take it from a scientist who’s run large laboratories with a lot of dangerous things in them: Don’t put the dangerous things that can catch on fire together.”
Baisden is an environmental scientist who researches carbon emissions and is in favour of low and zero-emission technologies. Does he have a bias which might prompt him to minimise the risk associated with them?
“I am keen to see the uptake of electric cars. I’ve had one for a number of years. I don’t have any vested interest in it. But here we’re talking about … at least 20 times less risk associated with EVs than conventional cars. It’s difficult to say that I’d be causing more bias than that.”
“I really don’t want to be a regular performer on the radio talking about EV fires again – and there’s still been no EV fires.”
Analysis: It’s hard to know which team this morning’s test in Cardiff said more about.
The 52-26 result saw Wales rightfully given plaudits, despite it only being a penalty goal away from their highest score ever conceded in the fixture. Meanwhile, the All Blacks scored seven tries and put the game away long before full-time, but left a lot of the same questions hanging that have followed them all season.
For Wales to still be in the game at halftime was probably about the best result they could’ve hoped for, plus they can boast four excellent tries in front of a typically raucous home crowd. Three of them went to wing Tom Rogers, who joins Greg Cornelsen (4), Ray Mordt and Marius Joubert an extremely select club of test players who have scored hat-tricks against the All Blacks.
The All Blacks were clinical at times, frustrating in others. Their discipline was almost perfect, but they allowed Wales into their 22 almost as many times as they visited the other end. The bench once again added a lot, but the standout performer was Sevu Reece – a player that had dropped out of the squad entirely only two weeks ago and almost surely wasn’t part of any long-term strategy.
Scott Robertson.www.photosport.nz
In the old days, this would’ve been an ‘oh well, let’s enjoy the summer’ kind of performance, but that’s not going to happen. If anything, the test itself felt like a curtain-raiser for the upcoming end of season review, something Scott Robertson is acutely aware of.
He was candid in his feelings post-match, saying “human spirit’s an amazing thing” when asked about the Welsh performance.
“The guys that got an opportunity stood up….it was a hell of a year, wasn’t it? An interesting year,” said Robertson.
Meanwhile, Scott Barrett didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement for his own continuation as All Black captain, saying afterwards he’s “not going to look too far back or too far forward.”
Review time
Attention now turns to what the NZ Rugby board makes of the All Blacks’ 10-win, three-loss season. On the surface, that doesn’t seem that bad – until you remember that one was the first ever loss to the Pumas in Argentina, another was the heaviest defeat in team history and at home, and the most recent shot a Grand Slam bid to bits.
“I sit with the leaders and players (for the review). You look at key moments and fine margins…you play really good rugby but what are the fine margins that are critical moving forward,” said Robertson.
Ruben Love dives past Blair Murray to score against Wales.www.photosport.nz
Robertson has been open about his grand plan, which is to create a four-man depth chart for every position in his squad. One of the things that will be taken into consideration is how that’s going, and in his defence most of the players he’s debuted in the last two seasons have been success stories. World Rugby certainly thinks so, with Fabian Holland joining 2024 winner Wallace Sititi as their Breakthrough Player of the Year.
“We feel like we’ve slightly turned a corner, 45 with a lot of exposure this year. We feel like the four deep project is coming along well,” said Robertson.
However, the same can’t be said of the wider coaching group. Jason Holland’s departure marked another reshuffle and has created serious questions around the overall chemistry, whether job titles are being retrofitted rather than defined and what’s going to happen next.
“We wanted to get this season out of the way so Jason could leave on a really high note. Then we’ll look at the market, what we need and go through the review to find exactly what this team needs.”
It is times like these that All Blacks fans should realise just how good this team has historically been that we are having these conversations after a 10-win season. Also, what a massive draw they remain after well over a quarter of a million spectators yet again filled up every stadium on this tour.
But if the All Blacks are going to continue to draw on their legacy to motivate and market themselves, this is the sort of introspection it demands. Especially since next season looks like the hardest in a long, long time.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
England captain Ben Stokes is under the spotlight, after England’s batters failed to bide their time in the opening Ashes test.AAP / Photosport
A chorus of former England cricket stars have torn into the current ‘Bazball’ side, after the team suffered an embarrassing Ashes test defeat in Perth inside just two days.
Long-time commentator and former test opener Geoffrey Boycott has unleashed a scathing column in the The Telegraph, declaring he could no longer take the team seriously, after Australia won by eight wickets.
He labelled the Ben Stokes-led and Brendon McCullum-coached side “stupid”, and dismissed their batting as utterly “brainless”.
England was on top for most of the first four sessions, but lost control with a batting collapse after lunch on day two.
“They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble,” Boycott said.
Ex-captain Michael Vaughan, who captained the side in the 2000s, didn’t hold back either.
He accused England of repeating the very mistakes that haunted them in the last Ashes series two year ago.
Now part of Australia’s Fox Cricket commentary team, alongside Australian counterparts Mark Waugh, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist, Vaughan was quick to underline the gravity of the defeat.
“It disappoints me hugely,” Vaughan told Fox Sports.
“We’ve been saying we want Bazball with brains, but the brains haven’t arrived,” he told the BBC.
Recent former England pace-bowler Stuart Broad’s internal agony in the Channel 7 commentary box went viral, after ex-skipper Joe Root became the third England batter to fall in just six deliveries on day two.
Arms tightly crossed and eyes squeezed shut, Broad pinched his nose and drew a long, pained breath, as Mitchell Starc claimed another wicket.
The moment prompted co-commentator and former Australian test batter Matthew Hayden to cheekily remind Broad to “stay in the commentary box”.
England allrounder and legend Sir Ian Botham weighed in before the series.
The former captain told Reuters he was unimpressed with the England’s preparations, which included whiteball cricket in New Zealand, arguing touring sides traditionally needed time to acclimatise to Australian conditions.
“It’s not the way I would prepare,” Botham told reporters in Australia. “The ball does seems to get to you quicker [in Perth] and the light’s different.
“You’ve got the ‘Fremantle Doctor’ – there’s all kinds of things go into the melting pot.”
Stokes, McCullum and the England players will have a chance to prove the critics wrong in the second test, which begins on 4 December at Brisbane’s Gabba.
Meanwhile, Stokes reacted to the defeat, admitting he was “a little bit shellshocked”, after Australian hero Travis Head wrestled Australia out of a tough spot to claim victory.
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Analysis – It’s hard to know which team this morning’s test in Cardiff said more about. The 52-26 result saw Wales rightfully given plaudits, despite it only being a penalty goal away from their highest score ever conceded in the fixture. Meanwhile, the All Blacks scored seven tries and put the game away long before full-time, but left a lot of the same questions hanging that have followed them all season.
For Wales to still be in the game at halftime was probably about the best result they could’ve hoped for, plus they can boast four excellent tries in front of a typically raucous home crowd. Three of them went to wing Tom Rogers, who joins Greg Cornelsen (4), Ray Mordt and Marius Joubert an extremely select club of test players who have scored hat-tricks against the All Blacks.
The All Blacks were clinical at times, frustrating in others. Their discipline was almost perfect, but they allowed Wales into their 22 almost as many times as they visited the other end. The bench once again added a lot, but the standout performer was Sevu Reece – a player that had dropped out of the squad entirely only two weeks ago and almost surely wasn’t part of any long-term strategy.
Scott Robertson.www.photosport.nz
In the old days, this would’ve been an ‘oh well, let’s enjoy the summer’ kind of performance, but that’s not going to happen. If anything, the test itself felt like a curtain-raiser for the upcoming end of season review, something Scott Robertson is acutely aware of.
He was candid in his feelings post-match, saying “human spirit’s an amazing thing” when asked about the Welsh performance.
“The guys that got an opportunity stood up….it was a hell of a year, wasn’t it? An interesting year,” said Robertson.
Meanwhile, Scott Barrett didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement for his own continuation as All Black captain, saying afterwards he’s “not going to look too far back or too far forward.”
Review time
Attention now turns to what the NZ Rugby board makes of the All Blacks’ 10-win, three-loss season. On the surface, that doesn’t seem that bad – until you remember that one was the first ever loss to the Pumas in Argentina, another was the heaviest defeat in team history and at home, and the most recent shot a Grand Slam bid to bits.
“I sit with the leaders and players (for the review). You look at key moments and fine margins…you play really good rugby but what are the fine margins that are critical moving forward,” said Robertson.
Ruben Love dives past Blair Murray to score against Wales.www.photosport.nz
Robertson has been open about his grand plan, which is to create a four-man depth chart for every position in his squad. One of the things that will be taken into consideration is how that’s going, and in his defence most of the players he’s debuted in the last two seasons have been success stories. World Rugby certainly thinks so, with Fabian Holland joining 2024 winner Wallace Sititi as their Breakthrough Player of the Year.
“We feel like we’ve slightly turned a corner, 45 with a lot of exposure this year. We feel like the four deep project is coming along well,” said Robertson.
However, the same can’t be said of the wider coaching group. Jason Holland’s departure marked another reshuffle and has created serious questions around the overall chemistry, whether job titles are being retrofitted rather than defined and what’s going to happen next.
“We wanted to get this season out of the way so Jason could leave on a really high note. Then we’ll look at the market, what we need and go through the review to find exactly what this team needs.”
It is times like these that All Blacks fans should realise just how good this team has historically been that we are having these conversations after a 10-win season. Also, what a massive draw they remain after well over a quarter of a million spectators yet again filled up every stadium on this tour.
But if the All Blacks are going to continue to draw on their legacy to motivate and market themselves, this is the sort of introspection it demands. Especially since next season looks like the hardest in a long, long time.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
National is pledging to further increase the default KiwiSaver contribution rate if re-elected at the next election.
The policy is the first firm National policy ahead of the election, which is still around a year away.
At the Budget, the government confirmed an increase to the default contribution from 3 percent to 4 by 2028.
In a speech to National Party members in Upper Hutt, Christopher Luxon said even after those changes, KiwiSaver contributions would still be lower than Australia’s equivalent scheme and he wanted to aim higher.
“For Kiwis working in New Zealand, that means smaller KiwiSaver balances and less financial security than friends or family working and saving in Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne.”
Luxon said if re-elected, National would continue to gradually increase the default contribution rates by 0.5 percent a year until 2032, when both employees and employers would pay in 6 percent each.
As the government is the country’s biggest employer, it was estimated that the policy would cost around $90m a year for each 0.5 percent increase.
National said it expected that this would be met within agencies’ baselines, although some funding for cost pressures “could become available for certain agencies”.
Unlike Australia, the scheme would not be compulsory.
Also at the Budget, the government halved its annual contribution to a maximum of $260.72, and removed it for anyone earning more than $180,000 a year.
The speech was to mark two years of the coalition, with the anniversary coming up on Thursday.
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May Moncur says the removal of her post and her account from New Zealand Chinese-media outlet Skykiwi is concerning, but the Human Rights Tribunal found the site did not discriminate against her (file photo).The Detail/Sharon Brettkelly
A tribunal has found Chinese-media outlet Skykiwi did not discriminate against an Auckland forum user because of her political opinion when it deactivated her online blogging account.
May Moncur has been suspended from using the FML forum since 2021 when she wrote a message suggesting the forum’s moderation was akin to Chinese Cultural Revolution-era censorship.
The thread was removed and Skykiwi later froze her membership, preventing her posting further messages.
She took the company to the Human Rights Review Tribunal (HRRT), alleging Sky Media (trading as Skykiwi) was using ‘selective’ censorship and discrimination – as it allowed content about Western governments and politics.
The company maintained that its forum rules stated users should not make political posts, and many replies to Moncur’s post had “included extensive political discussions and content related to the Cultural Revolution”.
The repressive Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 70s aimed to enforce communist ideology and resulted in the censorship and purge of intellectuals and former leaders, leading to widespread persecution, social upheaval, and political instability.
A screenshot showing May Moncur’s account is still frozen seven weeks after the HRRT review.Supplied/ Sky Media – FML
Skykiwi said it had warned Moncur, who moved to New Zealand from China more than 20 years ago, several times about her posts.
The tribunal heard her final post criticised Skykiwi, saying New Zealand should not tolerate “cultural revolutionary style behaviour”. Her account was muted, with a warning a permanent ban would follow if she violated the forum’s rules again.
Swatting the fly
On the same day as Moncur’s critical post, an admin post appeared, alluding to ‘Boss Lady’ as ‘Like a moth to flame, Stirring noise across the forum’.
It finished: “Like a fly in the living room – I always try to guide it out. But if it refuses to leave, a single swat ends it. And even then, I find myself sighing, “Wasn’t it better to just say [sic] alive?” Alright, fine. Had I lived through the revolutionary era, I’d probably be the first to confess under pressure as a self-preserving traitor. And maybe that’s not so bad. Adapt to survive. Victory is what matters. Methods? Who cares. Heroes? Villains? It’s all blurred. After all, isn’t this a world where petty people reign?”
The post also suggested she was courting attention or looking for clients.
Sky Media said the post was not a reference to Moncur – an employment law advocate – and denied the company had breached the Human Rights Act through its forum actions.
This screenshot shows the anonymous ‘moth and fly’ post in Chinese that the HRRT ruled was written by a Sky Media moderator. It since appears to have been taken down.Supplied/ screenshot – Skykiwi
When Moncur also posted the company lawyers’ response to her allegations on the forum, her account was frozen by Sky Media’s project manager, who told forum users ‘everyone was prohibited from mentioning Ms Moncur’s account and the complaint made’.
The tribunal concluded administrators were in fact referring to Moncur with the ‘fly and moth’ post, and that the action in posting it and blocking her original cultural revolution post amounted to refusal or less favourable treatment.
But it did not believe the decision to freeze her account was discrimination arising from Moncur’s political opinion. It ruled the cultural revolution post itself was not political opinion, and agreed Skykiwi had instead removed it because of the political comments the thread generated. It suggested that Skykiwi may instead have breached contract law.
Moncur said she was very disappointed by the decision. “I commenced these proceedings because, for me, this is discrimination based on political content and selective censorship. In my submissions and also in my evidence, I touch on the issues which I think every Chinese user here in New Zealand understands what I’m talking about.
Censored, blocked or punished
“Skykiwi routinely allows overtly political posts about political issues. But this has to be New Zealand political issues, Western leaders, global political issues. Any contact touching on China in a negative light, culturally or indirectly, is immediately censored, blocked or punished,” Moncur said.
“This is a pattern, a very established pattern. This kind of inconsistent censorship has been imposed on all the users like me. And such an inconsistency I believe is inherently discriminatory.”
The company’s website said it had 480,000 registered users, reached 93 percent of the NZ-Chinese community, and had 1.75m monthly visits to its site.
“Skykiwi is the biggest Chinese website in New Zealand,” said Moncur. “And it’s like the public square for Chinese Kiwis here in New Zealand, and even probably overseas. So prohibiting people like me to participate in this kind of a social platform in my view, is putting a cap on free speech and also undermines democratic engagement and the ability of Chinese New Zealanders to speak openly on social issues – and the social issues sometimes could be political.”
She said the ‘fly and moth’ post showed how the company enforced its views. “Not only discrimination is rampant, but also personal attacks, online attacks conducted by the administrators on behalf of the website,” she added. “It’s concerning because such behaviour is condoned by the website and has a very eroding effect on the participation of ordinary members on this website, particularly if they target you and attack you personally. And yes, it’s very harmful, and has a chilling effect.”
Her account remains deactivated seven weeks after the ruling, Moncur said.
The tribunal decision last month concluded: “Sky Media was at pains to repeatedly say at the hearing that the suspension of Ms Moncur’s account was temporary, applying only for the duration of the [tribunal] legal proceedings. We observe therefore that there seems to be no reason why Ms Moncur’s account with Sky Media should not be re-activated, following the conclusion of the proceeding.”
Luxon’s announcement comes on the same week New Zealand was given the ‘Fossil of the Day’ award at the COP30 global climate summit, for its decision to weaken methane emissions policies.
Earlier, the prime minister declared the soaring prison population to be a “good thing”, characterising it as the price of restoring law and order.
He also conceded the government was running behind on its promise to boost police numbers by 500, despite previously insisting the target would be met by next week.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand