Category: MIL-OSI

Source: New Zealand Government

Residents of the Chatham Islands now have access to permanent ultrasound services at the Chatham Islands Health Centre, marking a major step forward in rural healthcare delivery, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

“This is a significant milestone for the Chatham Islands community, improving access to both routine and emergency diagnostic care. It will also support visiting specialists, helping them deliver more comprehensive care during their time on the islands,” Mr Brown says. 

“Until now, residents had to travel long distances to the mainland for basic diagnostic services. With this new technology, we’re improving access to early diagnosis and bringing care closer to home, while saving time and reducing costs for patients.

“The system enables routine scans for conditions such as gallstones, bladder issues, and deep vein thrombosis, performed by local staff with remote guidance from sonographers and doctors at Christchurch Hospital. This allows timely assessments and follow-up care without the disruption and expense of travel.

“In urgent cases, scan images are live streamed to Christchurch, allowing medical teams to confirm diagnoses and prepare for patient transfers. This ensures continuity of care and better treatment planning before the patient even arrives.”

A successful live trial was conducted yesterday with ICU and radiology teams in Christchurch in a simulated clinical environment. The service is expected to expand as staff gain training and experience, including some maternity scans.

“This initiative reflects our commitment to strengthening rural health services and ensuring all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality care, no matter where they live. It’s a great example of how technology and collaboration can transform healthcare delivery in remote communities,” Mr Brown says.

Source: New Zealand Police

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers, members of the police executive and wing patron Former Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha – Te Arawa, Tainui, Mataatua, ONZM and QSM congratulated the 77 graduating constables from Wing 388 this morning. 
Families and friends watched as the newly attested police officers marched out at Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua. The celebration acknowledged the successful completion of their initial 20-week training course at the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC). 

The top award winner for wing 388, Constable Hayden McNulty not only took the top honours, but was also awarded the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award.

The biggest takeaway from training in my opinion is the new connections I have made and pieces of advice I have taken from every other member of my wing.” 

Constable McNulty starts his career in Counties Manukau.

The Leadership Award Winner, Constable Kate Kersten, addressed the wing after attestation. She’s thrilled with her success and heads to Southern District.

“My advice is jump into the deep end and get out of your comfort zone. Fully embrace all the challenges, you will grow so much as a person.”

Patron’s award winner Constable Chantal Willliams is heading to Central District after graduation.

“The lifelong friendships I made at college were one of my many highlights. They showed me that true strength comes from working together and supporting each other to be our best.”

Deployment:
The new constables will start their first day of duty in their Police districts on the week beginning Monday 20 October 2025 and will continue their training on the job as probationary constables.
Tāmaki Makaurau a total of 24 and broken down into the three districts: Auckland City 5, Waitematā 7, Counties Manukau 12, Waikato 7, Bay of Plenty 6, Eastern 1, Central 5, Wellington 8, Canterbury 7, Southern 15.

All Awards: 
Minister’s Award recognising top recruit Constable Hayden McNulty posted to Counties Manukau District.  Constable McNulty also receives the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award.

Commissioner’s Award for Leadership: Constable Kate Kersten posted to Southern District.

Patron’s Award for second top student: Constable Chantal Williams posted to Central District.

Firearms Award: Constable Nick Winter posted to Counties Manukau District.

Driver Training and Road Policing Award: Constable Alex King posted to Waikato District.

Demographics:
27.3 percent are female, 72.7 percent are male. New Zealand European make up 67.5 percent of the wing, with Māori 10.4 percent, Pasifika 2.6 percent, Asian 15.6 percent, LAAM 3.9 percent.

Wing Patron:
Retired Deputy Commissioner Wallace (Wally) Haumaha (Te Arawa and Ngāti Ngāraranui) has been an outstanding leader in Police across his 40 years of service and his long stewardship of Police’s Māori, Pacific & Ethnic Services. During this time, from 1984 to 2024, he was instrumental in leading a cultural shift in policing to respond to New Zealand’s increasingly ethnically diverse communities. Wally is held in high regard by Māori leaders nationwide, and by Pacific and Ethnic leaders, many of whom he brought together as advisors to the Commissioners of Police he worked under. Wally has been the architect of a model of policing that has allowed Police to think more creatively about the decisions they make when coming into contact with New Zealanders in the course of their duties. Wally played a leading role in developing Police strategies and in many high-profile events, such as the Foreshore and Seabed hikoi in 2004, and the responses to the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, 2019 terror attack, Whakaari/White Island tragedy, Ihumatao, COVID iwi checkpoints and the Parliament occupation. He responded to opportunities, within Police and alongside community leaders, to achieve social, health and economic benefits. A prime example was establishing alternative resolution pathways to justice via Te Pae Oranga, a programme that has provided excellent results to reduce demand on the criminal justice system. 
Wally was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal in 1997 for service to the community and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2017 for services to NZ Police and Māori, Pacific and ethnic communities. Since retiring, Wally has taken on a number of roles, with his latest role as Chair of the Te Arawa Lakes Trust. 

END

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Issued by Police Media Centre
 

Source: New Zealand Government

New Zealand welcomes the announcement of the first phase of the US-led peace deal between Israel and Hamas, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.

“Over the past two years, both Israelis and Palestinians have suffered immensely,” Mr Peters says. “Today is a positive first step in bringing that suffering to an end.”

“We commend the efforts of the parties involved in the negotiations, including the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye.

“We said in New York two weeks ago that countries with leverage over the situation needed to step up and show leadership. We commend them for doing just that.

“We have long called for the release of all the hostages and for a ceasefire, so that the immense suffering can end. The parties must now deliver on their promises. Hamas needs to release all of the hostages and Israel must withdraw their troops to the agreed-upon line. 

“This is an essential first step towards achieving lasting peace. We urge Israel and Hamas to continue working towards a complete resolution.

“There has been a lot of protest in New Zealand over the past two years relating to the situation in Gaza. We look forward to all those protestors, and their political allies in Parliament, joining the Government today in applauding the deal that has been struck,” Mr Peters says.

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government is strengthening the children’s system to protect against and better respond to child harm. 

Multiple agencies have been working on a response to the 14 recommendations of the Dame Karen Poutasi Review since 2022, but until now not all findings had been accepted. 

“Today, I’m pleased to announce the Government has accepted all the review’s recommendations and is committing to an approach focused on the safety of children,” Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says.

“This decision marks a clear line that child safety comes first. Every child in New Zealand deserves to feel safe and secure. 

“It’s clear from the Poutasi Review, as well as previous children’s system reviews, that multiple layers of government systems and processes needed to be improved to put children first. 

“The level of child abuse in New Zealand is unacceptable and the system to prevent it is overly complicated. We must do better for all our children.”

Child and Youth Ministers will oversee implementation of an integrated Government response, ensuring:

children are safer, with a focus on supporting children whose sole parent is incarcerated
the children’s system has a consistent approach to sharing information on, reporting on, and responding to suspected abuse.
ensuring information is shared where there are safety and wellbeing concerns. The Privacy Commissioner will work alongside agencies on this aspect
a particular focus on children whose sole parent is remanded in custody or sentenced to a term of imprisonment, to ensure they are visible throughout the system and their needs are being met.

“The Government’s response to two recommendations has already been completed, while others are underway. Today’s announcement sets out a direction of travel for implementing all recommendations effectively.

“The Government also welcomes and accepts the work the Independent Children’s Monitor will do in monitoring this implementation.

“Given the complexities and scale of the changes required, Cabinet has agreed to a staged approach.   This includes: 

ensuring information is shared where there are safety and wellbeing concerns. The Privacy Commissioner will work alongside agencies on this aspect
a particular focus on children whose sole parent is remanded in custody or sentenced to a term of imprisonment, to ensure they are visible throughout the system and their needs are being met.

“Work will start on the design of a mandatory reporting regime, with a staged approach to maximise child safety while mitigating risk,” Louise Upston says.

“This will begin with mandatory training for designated workforces to ensure people working in the system clearly know how to identify and report child abuse while also sequencing further action to build system capacity.

“We know Government agencies need the right settings in place to work effectively with families and whānau, schools, iwi/Māori and wider communities to intervene when children are suffering.

“Children’s workers care deeply and already have child safety as their highest priority. This is about adding levers and creating overlapping safety nets to ensure no child is invisible when help is needed.”

Agencies will now undertake further work, including detailed policy analysis and service design.   Cabinet is expected to consider further decisions before the end of the year.

Source: New Zealand Government

Frontline roles in the public service have increased in the past two years, while spending on contractors and consultants has fallen $915 million, Public Service Minister Judith Collins says.  

“We committed to ensuring taxpayers get better value for money from their public service, and that every dollar is used in the best way possible,” Ms Collins says.  

“Since taking office, the Government has made substantial savings by reducing contractor and consultant spending across the public service by $915m – more than double the savings target of $400m.  

“I have made clear the Government’s expectation that contractor and consultant spending be kept below the new lower level of $1.25b across the public sector.   

“At the same time, we have reduced the size of the public service by nearly 5 percent since coming into Government – to 62,654 full-time equivalents (FTEs) as at 30 June – while crucially boosting frontline roles. 

“In the two years to 30 June, the estimated number of frontline roles grew 6.9 percent (1883 FTEs), while the size of the back office declined by 6.5 percent – equivalent to a reduction of 2345 FTEs, in areas such as policy analysts, clerical and administrative roles and managers. 

“The emphasis has shifted following Government direction to prioritise savings in back-office functions while protecting and improving frontline services.” 

There were 1533 redundancies in the past year, reflecting the scale of the restructure needed to rebalance the workforce, and redundancy payments totalled $80.4m.  

“Redundancy costs need to be seen in the context of overall savings, with public sector costs reducing by $1.5 billion a year – savings which are ongoing,” Ms Collins says.  

“These changes are about delivering better value for money and ensuring the public service is focused on delivering the services New Zealanders need and which make a difference in their lives. Today’s results are a sign that our approach is working.” 

Source: New Zealand Police

Police can now confirm the name of the victim of the homicide in New Lynn on Monday, 6 October.

He was 32-year-old Joseph David Walsh, of Auckland.

Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Bunting, Waitematā CIB, says a 28-year-old man has been remanded in custody to appear in Auckland High Court on 22 October, charged with Mr Walsh’s murder.

“Police extend our thoughts to Mr Walsh’s whānau and friends at this difficult time.”

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

Source: New Zealand Government

Tenants and landlords will soon benefit from clear rules for safely managing methamphetamine residue in rental properties, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says.

“For too long, a lack of legislative rules for acceptable levels of methamphetamine residue in rentals has caused long-standing confusion and disproportionate responses to low levels, which evidence shows are unlikely to pose any risk. 

“Landlords and tenants deserve clarity on when rentals must be tested for residue, what should be done to ensure risks are managed, and how these issues should be navigated during a tenancy.

“Following extensive public and scientific consultation, the Government is improving the rental market across the board by establishing clear rules to ensure safe, cost-effective, and proportionate approaches are put in place. These are:

• Rental properties will be deemed contaminated if methamphetamine residue exceeds 15µg/100cm² and will require decontamination until levels are at or below 15µg/100cm².
• When methamphetamine residue levels are above 30µg/100cm² landlords and tenants will have the option of quickly ending the tenancy.
• Landlords will be required to engage professional testers in specific circumstances where there is evidence of contamination.
• Testing and decontamination will follow scientifically robust processes, drawing on key elements of the relevant New Zealand Standard 8510:2017 Testing and decontamination of methamphetamine-contaminated properties.
• Clear rules will govern the handling of abandoned goods in contaminated properties, balancing safety with fairness.

“We’re taking a safe, precautionary approach,” Mr Potaka says. 

“People can have confidence that these regulations have been informed by expert advice, including from the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science, with input from a wide range of stakeholders including tenants, landlords, community housing providers, academic experts and testing and decontamination industry organisations, among others.

“The regulations are expected to come into force next year.”

Source: New Zealand Police

Northbound lanes on Dunedin Southern Motorway are closed near Kaikorai Valley Road following a two-vehicle crash.

Diversions are in place onto Kaikorai Valley Road.

Motorists should expect delays.

Emergency services were alerted to the crash about 7:20am.

ENDS 

Source: New Zealand Government

New Zealand businesses will have a better shot at winning government contracts as a result of changes to government procurement rules, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. 

“The new rules agreed to by Cabinet will take effect on 1 December.

“More than 900 submissions were received during consultation on the new rules earlier this year,” Nicola Willis says.

“Businesses shared that the lack of weighting for New Zealand’s interests in the evaluation criteria was holding them back. That’s why we’re introducing a new economic benefit to New Zealand test that will apply to every procurement to ensure we are creating value and jobs for Kiwis. 

“We want to see taxpayer money supporting Kiwi businesses to grow, hire, and thrive.

“We also heard loud and clear that the paperwork, time and complexity were making it hard for small to medium-sized businesses to apply for government contracts. We’ve listened and these updated, simpler rules will make it easier for businesses to follow and apply the rules.

“Government contracts are collectively worth more than $50 billion a year. The purpose of these changes is to make it easier for New Zealand businesses to win more of these contracts, either directly, or as subcontractors in the supply chain.

“In addition to the new economic benefit test, the number of rules has been slashed  from 71 to 47, making them more accessible and easier to navigate.

“The new rules will apply to all goods, services, and refurbishment contracts worth more than $100,000 and all construction contracts over $9 million.

“Contracts below these thresholds are expected to be awarded to capable local businesses.

“The economic benefit test is intended to not only support more Kiwi businesses to compete for government work but to encourage international companies bidding for government contracts to demonstrate a commitment to creating value in New Zealand.

“These changes not only help level the playing field but help ensure that taxpayer money is spent responsibly and efficiently and maintains public trust as well as supporting local businesses. 

“New Zealand respects its international trade commitments and the settings in the Rules continue to uphold our obligations. This is important to ensure that Kiwi businesses continue to benefit from open access to large international markets.”

The 5^th edition of the Government Procurement Rules is available on the New Zealand Government Procurement website. 

Businesses can find Government procurement opportunities advertised on the Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS) website.

Note for Editors

The new economic benefit test means that when government agencies decide who to buy from, they must assess the wider benefit to New Zealand as well as  price and quality.

The new rule that says at least 10 per cent of the decision must be based on how much a business’s proposal benefits the economy. That means giving extra weight to things like:

• Using New Zealand businesses to deliver contracts
• Creating jobs  
• Offering training and development to upskill New Zealand workers

Source: New Zealand Police

Media are invited to the 388 Wally Haumaha – Te Arawa and Ngāti Ngāraranui, ONZM and QSM recruit wing graduation.

What:              Graduation of the New Zealand Police 388 Recruit Wing.
Who:               For families and friends to celebrate with the newly attested police officers.
Why:               Completion and graduation from their initial training course.
Where:            Te Rauparaha Arena, 17 Parumoana Street, Porirua.
When:             Thursday 9 October at 10am – media will need to be in place by 9.45pm.
How:               RSVP the Police Media Centre if you’re attending: media@police.govt.nz

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers will attend the ceremony along with members of the Police executive and Wing Patron, former Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha – Te Arawa and Ngāti Ngāraranui, ONZM and QSM.

Top award winner, Recruit Hayden McNulty says he is proud to be graduating alongside his wing colleagues. The former fitness coach, Hawke’s Bay Rugby strength and conditioning coach and high school athletics coach was also awarded with the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Prize.

“The biggest takeaway from training in my opinion is the new connections I have made and pieces of advice I have taken from every other member of my wing. There’s no way I would have graduated without the expertise and support of each and every one of them,” says Hayden.

Hayden will be deployed to Counties Manukau District following graduation.

The 388 Wing Patron:

Former Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha – Te Arawa, Tainui, Mataatua, ONZM and QSM.

The former teacher spent 40 years in policing and was one of the architects of Police’s transformed relationships with iwi and other communities. It’s a career which has put him ringside – and often in the ring – for many defining events in New Zealand’s recent history. He graduated from Wing 89 and served in Rotorua until 2004, apart from a two-year break to help his family set up a retail business. He worked frontline, CIB, as section supervisor, District Community Relations Coordinator and Māori Responsiveness Advisor – then in 2004 he was seconded to Police National Headquarters at inspector rank as Strategic Māori Advisor. From its creation in 2007, he has helmed Māori Pacific and Ethnic Services (MPES), which became part of the new Iwi and Communities group, with Wally its Deputy Commissioner, in 2020. Wally Haumaha joined OSACO Group as Director Leadership and Innovation in March 2024 after retiring from Police. Based in Aotearoa New Zealand, OSACO is a proudly Māori-led organisation.

More details about statistics, prize winners and other recruits will be shared after graduation on Thursday and a follow up Ten One story will be published later next month.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre