Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Publicly-funded x-rays and ultrasounds now offered in Wānaka

Source: Radio New Zealand

Matt Doocey says the changes will reduce travel time for patients. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Publicly-funded x-rays and ultrasounds are now offered in Wānaka, the government has announced.

The lack of local diagnostic testing was a key concern raised by residents at a Rural Health Roadshow last year.

The change was expected to lead to about 1400 x-rays and 1500 ultrasounds over the next 18 months.

Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey said people had made it clear that access to diagnostic tests was a major barrier to good healthcare.

“People living in Central Otago deserve timely, quality healthcare close to home. Changes like this reduce unnecessary travel and ensure patients can access reliable services in their own community,” he said.

Health Action Wānaka, which has been advocating for more equitable healthcare, described the change as an “amazing” step forward.

Chairperson Monique Mayze said people previously had to drive for at least an hour to Dunstan Hospital in Clyde if they did not want to pay.

“This has meant people obviously have to find childcare, take time off work, spend more money just getting somewhere to access something that should be free,” she said.

“We’ve been advocating for this change for some time, since we met the minister in July last year.”

She said the group would like to see CAT scans and MRI scans available in Wānaka too, rather than people having to travel to Dunedin.

The government has been working on ways to overhaul the area’s health services and address long-standing inequities.

In November, officials estimated that shifting appointments out of major hospitals and into communities could spare Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes residents as many as 40,000 road trips per year.

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Firearms owners say gun laws overhaul doesn’t go far enough to undo ‘damage’

Source: Radio New Zealand

A selection of firearms which are now prohibited, on display to media at a 2022 police press conference. RNZ / Ana Tovey

Firearms owners say the government’s overhaul of gun laws doesn’t go far enough to undo the “damage that was done” after the 15 March terror attacks.

A Muslim leader, meanwhile, told MPs to consider public safety over what was convenient for firearms owners.

Parliament’s Justice Committee has been hearing in-person submissions on the country’s new gun regulations, put forward in the Arms Bill.

Many licensed firearms owners expressed concerns the changes don’t go far enough, while the Police Association has criticised the new regulator being set up without sworn officers.

Support ‘with reservations’ from firearms groups

On Monday morning, MPs heard from firearms groups, gun control advocates, and the union representing police.

Much of the submissions from firearms groups focused on their problems with the existing legislation, and whether they thought the new bill would assuage them.

The New Zealand Deerstalkers Association supported the bill, with “some reservations,” feeling it did not go far enough.

“It fails to meaningfully unwind many of the bad policy decisions, the over regulation and the structural failures introduced since 2019, said chief executive Gwyn Thurlow.

“Farmers, land owners, and conservation agencies are calling for more effective game animal control and pest eradication and biodiversity outcomes but successive governments had stigmatised the use of firearms. This has not been resolved by this bill.”

Thurlow felt political fear and media pressure had “constrained” the bill.

“When lawful, fit and proper people exit the system because it has become too difficult, too intrusive, too hostile to engage with, public safety is not improved.”

Zac Dodunski, from the Taranaki branch of the New Zealand Antique and Historical Arms Association said the new legislation was the “first steps” in the right direction, considering the “damage that was done” post-Christchurch.

Fish and Game New Zealand supported the bill, but suggested “practical gaps” could be filled, such as making agency-owned firearms registered to the agency, not the individual employee.

The bill would also keep the firearms registry implemented after the 15 March attacks.

Despite supporting the intent of the bill, the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) said there remained a level of mistrust from firearms owners that information would be kept safe.

“The continued perception that the registry will magically solve gun crime, despite worldwide evidence to the contrary, will continue to be a bureaucratic burden around the New Zealand taxpayer’s neck,” said COLFO’s chair Brad Gallop.

New regulator questioned

The new regulator, without sworn police officers, was also met with concern.

The Police Association’s president Steve Watt said it was appropriate that the governance of the regulator and the enforcer were the same.

“Police being part of the FSA is an extremely important issue for us, as it does provide safety and security for our members, in the sense that there is coherent information sharing, and there is a robust system in place whereby we can share that information and make sure that safety and security is at the forefront,” he said.

“When we consider all the things that can be simplified, firearms isn’t one of them.”

Philippa Yasbek, co-founder of Gun Control NZ, said the bill’s “hostility” towards police involvement in the regulator was risky.

Yasbek said the bill was “not terrible, but it is messy” and anticipated Parliament would have to fix the legislation “many, many times” if the bill was passed in its current state.

But COLFO supported the change, with Gallop calling for a separate legal entity to ensure distinct separation of powers.

He had concerns that the FSA would still be part of police from a budgetary perspective, meaning police could still have influence on the FSA.

“There are still some issues around the bureaucracy that has been created by the FSA that have overly complicated licensed firearms owners to both renew their license and also transact on a day to day basis with the FSA,” he said.

“The issue we have is not with licensed firearms owners’ ability to register their firearms. The issue is the mistrust within the firearms community of the ability of the police at the moment to keep that information safe.”

The process of appointing a chief executive to the FSA was “significant,” Yasbek said, as she felt it was an “unconstitutionally precedented arrangement.”

She called for a merit-based appointment, with the process led by the Public Service Commission, instead of one appointed by the Governor-General.

“The risk cuts both ways, it could be that someone’s appointed who I think is far too close to the gun lobby. Alternatively, governments change, and suddenly it’s someone who’s seen as completely hostile to gun owners.”

Abdur Razzaq from the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand also opposed the method of appointing a chief executive.

“There needs to be a merit-based approach, and when that merit-based approach is bypassed by political appointees, under whatever guise, I don’t think we could accept that.”

Razzaq said the convenience of lawful firearms owners should never come above public safety, and called on the committee to keep the “tangible grief, the lasting grief, the memory, and the legacy” of the 51 people who died in the terror attacks in mind as it considered the bill.

“The bill is not only about making the whole licensing system more efficient, it is not only about making the system more convenient for lawful users, and there are many Muslim licensed gun users. It should also be about, does it make New Zealand safer? We request this last metric be the central argument in your deliberations. That should be the litmus test.”

He told the MPs on the committee the future of the nation’s safety and wellbeing was in their hands.

“You will be accountable,” he said.

What does the bill do?

The bill as introduced would repeal and replace the 1983 Act, introducing new penalties and tougher restrictions for gang members.

Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee had sought a carve out for competitive shooters to access military-style semi-automatic firearms, but failed.

It would also reform the Firearms Safety Authority without sworn police officers, and headed up by its own chief executive, who would report to the firearms minister, instead of the police minister.

At its first reading in December, Labour supported the bill, while the Greens and Te Pāti Māori opposed it.

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

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Actor Awards 2026: See which nominees are taking home a win

Source: Radio New Zealand

Now, it’s time for the Actors.

The show formerly known as the SAG Awards is taking place, as the last major stop for many nominees before the Oscars on 15 March. The Actor Awards are voted on by members of the Screen Actors Guild, which this year placed Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another ahead of the pack with seven nominations total.

Sinners from director Ryan Coogler scored five nods, with individual recognition for recent BAFTA winner Wunmi Mosaku, along with Michael B. Jordan – who pulled double duty playing twins – and newcomer Miles Caton. The acclaimed vampire-period hybrid film is also nominated for its ensemble as a whole, as well as for best stunt ensemble.

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

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High hazards newsletter – March 2026

Source: Worksafe New Zealand

Welcome to the ninth WorkSafe High Hazards newsletter.

In this issue we cover:  

  • Reflecting on 15 years since Pike River
  • MHF forum and geothermal workshop held last year
  • Natural disaster response learnings
  • Safety case statistics update
  • Organisational memory & asset integrity learning
  • Reporting MHF incidents reminders
  • HHU incident data and frequency
  • In the news, including 20 years since Buncefield

Read the full newsletter(external link)

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Former solider and sex offender Adrien Bell’s volunteer work sparks concern

Source: Radio New Zealand

Just Zilch. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham

There are concerns that a former soldier sentenced to home detention for filming young people using a bathroom for six years is now volunteering at a Palmerston North food rescue charity.

Adrien Bell, who also goes by the surname Bennett, has volunteered at Just Zilch since the New Year break.

Just Zilch takes donations from local suppliers, such as supermarkets and cafes, and distributes the food to people in need.

It’s understood other volunteers weren’t initially told of Bell’s history, although some are now aware.

Just Zilch said although it can’t comment on individual volunteers, it’s important to properly address concerns.

Open Justice reported in 2024 that Bell, a former army corporal, was sentenced to 10 months’ home detention after he admitted one charge each of committing an indecent act on a young person and possessing an intimate visual recording, and two charges of making an intimate visual recording.

A court summary said Bell put a hidden camera in a bathroom of a home, capturing images of naked people between 2014 and 2020. One of the victims was a girl aged 11-13, and other victims were in their teens.

Videos of them were found on Bell’s laptop, Open Justice reported.

A Just Zilch volunteer, who RNZ has agreed not to name due to worries they would lose their position at the charity, said Bell hadn’t caused problems with his behaviour there.

But, they felt his presence around vulnerable people – volunteers and people who received food donations – was a concern. They said young people would also volunteer at Just Zilch and work at its Featherston Street location, in central Palmerston North, at the same time as Bell.

The volunteer was told by a fellow charity worker who Bell was and to Google the Open Justice story, which was also published on the RNZ website.

“It was like, ‘Oh my god.’ I knew I had seen that story. I knew when I saw him that I knew him from somewhere, but I couldn’t think where.

“He makes no secret of the fact he’s ex army, but there’s no story as to why he gave up the army.

“Basically every day I do a shift the army comes up in conversation.”

Another former volunteer told RNZ they wouldn’t feel comfortable with Bell’s presence.

In a statement to RNZ, Just Zilch board chairperson Angela Rowan said: “While we’re unable to comment on individual Just Zilch employees or volunteers due to privacy reasons, given the nature of these concerns it is incredibly important to us that they are addressed properly in a way that respects all people involved.

“The safety of our volunteers, employees and clients is a non-negotiable,” she said.

“We balance our obligations to our people with our kaupapa and mission to minimise waste and support food security in our community, while upholding our values of kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, without judgement, and justice.”

RNZ asked about the charity’s policies and procedures for vetting volunteers.

“We have identified ways to improve how we onboard people, and are working with professional advisers to support this mahi,” Rowan said.

Open Justice reported that Bell was no longer working for the army by the time he was sentenced.

He could not be reached for comment.

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

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Death after man’s methadone dose changed

Source: Radio New Zealand

Andy Dean Photography/ 123rf

Two people had their therapeutic methadone doses changed by Te Whatu Ora against their will, with one man dying of an overdose only six weeks later, according to two separate rulings by the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC).

In one case, a pharmacy mistakenly gave one woman – known as Ms A – nearly double her normal dose because her name was similar to that on another prescription.

In the other case, a man who the report calls Mr A died of “mixed drug toxicity” in September 2021, six weeks after he was rapidly taken off methadone involuntarily by HNZ’s Addiction Services in Bay of Plenty.

The case of Mr A

A had been on methadone as part of opioid substitution treatment for the past 30 years.

But in June 2020, he voluntarily began reducing his dose, with the goal of coming off it completely, as he was finding the conditions of the programme “burdensome”.

Mr A was also a habitual user of cyclizine, an antihistamine known to enhance the effects of opioids, which he took for seasickness while fishing.

At an appointment in November 2020, he was reminded of the need to attend regular appointments despite reducing his methadone use, and “it was noted he would not commit to ongoing attendance”.

In response, the frequency of his appointments was increased to monthly, which commissioner Morag McDowell found in her report to have been “counterproductive”, considering he was already finding the programme “onerous”.

After 10 months of “gradual recession”, the report found, Addiction Services decided he was showing a lack of engagement with the service, as he was failing to attend appointments and decided his prescribed methadone dose “would be withdrawn rapidly unless engagement improved”.

Between 7 August and 14, 2021, Mr A was discharged from the programme involuntarily, and his access to methadone cut off.

Six weeks later, he died from “mixed dose toxicity”, with the drugs in his system including methadone, to which he would have decreased tolerance due to the withdrawal.

The commissioner noted Health New Zealand’s approach seemed “punitive”.

“I am highly critical that Mr A’s treatment was withdrawn involuntarily contrary to accepted standards and practice, at a dangerously rapid rate, and without appropriate discussion of the risks of opioid overdose, management of possible opioid overdose, or how A could re engage with treatment or obtain support from a consumer advocate,” she says.

It recommended Health NZ write an apology to Mr A’s family.

In the report, Health NZ maintained monthly contact was a standard requirement under their protocols, and while in some cases clients could be encouraged to attend meetings by “holding doses”, this would most likely have resulted in a complete withdrawal from methadone rather than a scheduled one, and “the risks and results of undertaking such a strategy may have been the same”.

The commissioner is also critical of the pharmacist involved, who reduced A’s dose on a number of occasions without signoff from Health NZ.

The pharmacy that employed them said it “would not be usual practice to decrease doses of methadone without authorisation from the prescriber”.

The pharmacist claimed Health NZ had signed off on the change, and there were records to prove it, but those could not be produced, and the pharmacist had by now left that pharmacy.

The case of Ms A

In the second case published this week, a woman – known in the report as Ms A – had been receiving methadone as part of opioid substitution treatment since 2009.

In June 2023, Ms A was told by her case manager that due to the fact that she had recently injected some illicit opioids, along with some missed appointments and medical reviews, she should switch to buprenorphine.

When Ms A declined, HNZ began to reduce her dose of methadone, supposedly to reduce her risk of an overdose.

According to the report: “Once the dose reduction began, Ms A and her partner repeatedly told the service that she was not coping well physically or psychologically and that she was at risk of self-harming and of ‘purchasing drugs and overdosing’. Ms A was not offered any physical or psychological support. Limited contact was initiated by the Addiction Service.”

She switched to buprenorphine, but did not tolerate it well, and switched back.

Commissioner McDowell also criticised HNZ for then “delay[ing] optimisation of Ms A’s treatment by requiring her to undergo unnecessary and onerous serum-level testing”.

She recommended HNZ provide a written apology to Ms A.

It has also referred Health NZ Bay of Plenty to the HDC’s director of proceedings to consider whether legal action was warranted, due to the severity of the departures from accepted standards.

Separately, in 2023, a case of mistaken identity saw her pharmacist at Unichem Greerton hand her the wrong prescription – a dose of 90mg of methadone rather than 40mg – because her first name was similar to that of another patient.

The commissioner said the error was caused by a “momentary lapse in attention”, but if Unichem Greerton had had appropriate policies and procedures in place, it would have reduced the risk of such mistakes.

Unichem Greerton, quoted in the report, said it was disappointing that the dispensing error occurred and that it was sorry.

It assured the commissioner that methadone dispensing was “treated with utmost seriousness” and until this event it had maintained an eight-year record of no methadone dispensing errors.

Since the error it had made the following changes:

  • Different patient dosages were now more clearly separated in the controlled drug safe.
  • All pharmacists had discussed the importance of accurately identifying the correct dosage and name selected at the time of giving the dosage, and of taking enough time to do this carefully – even at busy times.
  • Pharmacists had completed a refresher course on opioid substitution therapy.
  • The pharmacy now had a doublecheck process, where a second dispensary staff member must doublecheck the patient against the dose.
  • Notes are put on the files of patients with similar names.

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

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Officers armed, cordons in place as police incident closes road in Waipā

Source: Radio New Zealand

File photo.

A road in Waipā , Waikato is closed due to a police incident on Monday afternoon.

Mellsop Road is closed, and cordons were in place near Arapuni Road.

Some officers were armed as precaution, police said.

Members of the public were advised to avoid the area.

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Wāhine Māori acknowledged with awards for cancer research

Source: Radio New Zealand

Katya Hutton. Supplied / Cancer Society

Three emerging Māori researchers leading innovative projects to improve cancer outcomes for whānau Māori will receive this year’s Māori Cancer Researcher Award.

Their research range from exploring how papakāinga living can strengthen the practice of Rongoā Māori, to developing next-generation immunotherapies with fewer side effects, to enhancing genomic tools that more accurately predict treatment responses for Māori and Pasifika patients.

This is the fifth year for the awards, which are a partnership between Te Kāhui Matepukupuku o Aotearoa (Cancer Society New Zealand) and Hei Āhuru Mōwai Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa.

This year, two PhD scholarships and a master’s scholarship have been awarded.

Rongoā Māori practitioner and researcher Robbie Richardson (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Hauiti ki Rata, Te Whanau a Apanui, Ngāti Tuwharetoa) is completing her doctoral research through Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuārangi.

Her work focuses on her whānau’s ancestral home, Mangamāhoe, exploring how papakāinga living and Rongoā Māori practices can help protect whānau and whenua in the face of PFAS contamination from the neighbouring Ohakea Air Force Base – chemicals that persist in the environment for more than 150 years and have been linked to increased cancer risk.

For Richardson, the impact was real not just on her community but within her whānau as her father passed away from cancer a year after residents were first informed of the contamination.

“So there we are with my dad not even 200, 300 meters living from the Ohakea Air Force Base all his 83 years, only having eaten from the land, drank the water from the land, animals such as like chooks and all of that sort of stuff, and all of the vegetation and the crops, that’s all he’s known. He very rarely had takeaways.”

The revelation of PFAS contamination was a shock to community with the Base taking a long time to engage with the papakāinga, she said.

“It’s what they call a forever chemical, so it stays, it moves in water, it doesn’t dissipate in water. So the impact to the whenua is 150 years plus that it will then be able to move out of the so-called red zone.”

Robbie Richardson. Supplied / Cancer Society

Richardson has been practising Rongoā Māori for more than 15 years, among the goals for her research include building evidence for Rongoā Māori within cancer prevention and survivorship frameworks and supporting whānau and hapū health sovereignty in contaminated environments such as at Mangamāhoe.

Her father lived on the papakāinga all his life and Richardson said her research will look into the ways papakāinga living facilitates the expression of rongoā.

“[Rongoā has] been missing since the 1907 Tohunga Suppression Act. So we’ve had this backwards and forwards…. all the medical kind of questions around it, when in fact all it’s simply about is bringing out ease, whatever that might be.”

Ariana Drabble’s (Te Arawa – Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Raukawa – Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Toa – Ngāti Kimihia) PhD research at the University of Otago Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka will look to tap into and better understand the power and potential of Natural Killer (NK) cells.

“Our immune system can be reprogrammed to destroy cancer cells, but current CAR T cell therapies for blood cancers often fail when tumours evade detection or suppress T cell activity. NK cells have powerful cancer-killing abilities and a safer profile. By combining CAR T cells with CAR-engineered NK cells, we aim to harness their complementary strengths. NK cells can guide and support T cells while reducing factors that shut down immune responses.”

In the last five years, Drabble’s mother, grandmother, an aunt and uncle have all received cancer diagnoses.

“Each diagnosis was not just a moment of grief, but confirmation that this mahi is not simply academic, but it is a commitment to my whānau, my tūpuna and generations to come,” she said.

Katya Hutton (Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Ngāti Kura) from Waipapa Taumata Rau The University of Auckland is undertaking her Master’s looking at the impact of using Māori genomic information to improve the accuracy of cancer immunotherapy predictions for Māori and Pasifika patients.

Ariana Drabble. Supplied / Cancer Society

Current biomarkers guide treatment decisions and predict treatment responses but rely on global DNA reference databases that lack representation from Indigenous populations. If we don’t take into account the natural variability among underrepresented communities when using DNA reference databases to interpret genomic biomarkers, there is a risk that we lose the precision in our precision health approach.

“This could lead inappropriate care for them,” Hutton said.

“My goal is to accelerate precision care and precision heath research to ensure that every patient in Aotearoa – no matter what age, sex, ethnicity or ancestry – is getting the best care they can get.”

Cancer Society director of research and innovation, Christelle Jolly said the awards empower Māori researchers to pursue the questions that matter most to their communities.

“Each of these projects has the potential to directly improve cancer outcomes for whānau. This is why investing in a strong and supported Māori cancer research workforce matters so much.”

Hei Āhuru Mōwai Tumuaki (chief executive) Anna-Marie Ruhe said the organisation is immensely proud to stand alongside these emerging researchers whose work carries the aspirations of their whānau, hapū, and iwi.

Their projects demonstrate what becomes possible when mātauranga Māori and scientific innovation are supported to flourish, she said.

“These awards are not just an investment in individual researchers – they are an investment in a future where Māori leadership in cancer research is strong, visible and transformative. When Māori are empowered to ask the questions that matter to our communities, we move closer to a health system where whānau Māori can access care, treatments, and solutions that truly work for them.”

As part of the award, each master’s scholarship will last for one year and will comprise:

  • Stipend of $35,000
  • Tuition fees of $10,000

Each PhD scholarship will last for three years and will comprise:

  • Stipend of $40,000 per year
  • Tuition fees of $10,000 per year
  • Tikanga contribution of $10,000 across the course of the award

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

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Mellsop Road closed, Waipa

Source: New Zealand Police


District:

Waikato

Mellsop Road, Parawera is currently closed due to a Police incident.

Cordons are in place near Arapuni Road.

Some staff are armed as a precaution.

Members of the public are advised to avoid the area.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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Qatar Airways, Emirates flights to Doha and Dubai cancelled amid Iran attacks

Source: Radio New Zealand

Emirates has cancelled flights through Doha and Dubai. Thierry Monasse

A Qatar Airways 777 and two Emirates A380 planes are stuck in Auckland after the airlines were forced to cancel flights through Doha and Dubai amid the Iran attacks.

“Auckland Airport is supporting those airlines with aircraft parking and operational assistance while services are paused and airlines work through their plans to resume flying,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

  • Are you a New Zealander in an affected region? Email iWitness@rnz.co.nz

“Airlines will be working to rebook affected travellers,” the Auckland Airport spokesperson said.

“We encourage anyone due to travel through the Middle East in the coming days to check directly with their airline or travel agent for the latest updates.

“Other international flights are operating as scheduled.”

It comes as Dubai’s international airport and its landmark Burj Al Arab hotel sustained damage as overnight Iranian retaliatory attacks spread across the Gulf states and the wider Middle East, reaching beyond US bases and interests.

Dubai is the biggest tourism and trade hub in the Middle East and its airport is one of the world’s busiest travel hubs.

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