Category: MIL-OSI

Source: New Zealand Police

Police performing routine breath testing in East Auckland last night bagged a whole lot more than expected.

Just after 6.30pm, officers signalled for a driver to slow down to be breath tested at a checkpoint on Dawson Road.

Counties Manukau East Area Prevention Manager, Inspector Rakana Cook, says Police immediately noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle.

“Officers invoked a search of the vehicle and located a substantial amount of cannabis in the footwell of the passenger side of the car.

“A total of nine large zip lock bags with more than 4kgs of cannabis were found inside a large rubbish bag.

“Subsequently, the driver also recorded a breath alcohol level of 600 micrograms per litre of breath, more than twice the legal limit,” Inspector Cook says.

“This was a great find and it’s pleasing to remove these drugs out of our community.”

Police continue to remind people that if you are drinking, do not drive, Police will be out in force anywhere – anytime.

A 45-year-old man will appear in Manukau District Court today charged with driving with excess breath alcohol and possession for supply of cannabis.

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

A second round of the hugely successful Supercars events will be held in Christchurch from next year with support from the Government’s Major Events Fund. 
“For more than 20 years Supercars Championship events have played an important role showcasing our beautiful country to an international audience and I’m thrilled the South Island will now be part of this from next year,” Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston says. 
“The Government is investing $5.9 million from the Major Events Fund to support Supercars events in both Taupō and Christchurch for the next three years. 
“This means international – and domestic – visitors can attend back-to-back rounds across consecutive weekends in Taupō and Christchurch, allowing them to extend their stay and enjoy more of what New Zealand has to offer. 
“It was fantastic to be part of the estimated 50,000 strong crowd at the recent ITM Supercars440 event in Taupō. The place was buzzing with people in town to enjoy one of the most popular Trans-Tasman motorsport events.
“We know the 2024 event generated significant economic and tourism benefits for the Taupō region and New Zealand with more than 3,300 international visitors attending and spending more than $5.2 million while here. Not to mention the invaluable exposure in key tourism markets with a total broadcast reach of 246 million, including 3.9 million in Australia. 
“I’m pleased that with this investment New Zealand’s strong relationship with Supercars will continue in Taupo and extend to include Christchurch, with all the benefits that brings.” 
Supercars Ltd has selected Ruapuna Motorsport Park, Christchurch as the host venue for the South Island round.

Source: ProCare

Leading healthcare provider, ProCare, has called today’s Budget extremely disappointing for primary care, with no new spending announced.

While the Budget document touts a significant investment of $440.7 million over five years, the reality is that none of that is new money.

Bindi Norwell, CEO at ProCare says: “Whist we acknowledge and welcome the pre-announced money which will help improve access, retention, and performance in general practice; the Government has not further invested in the wider primary care system as was anticipated by the sector.

“Last year’s commitment to health care barely covered inflation and population growth, let alone addressing the issues we have with an aging population. This year’s new commitment is a paltry sum with additional requirements, that in real terms suggests the government investment in primary care is going backwards.

“While our colleagues in secondary care will likely be welcoming the announcement, particularly the infrastructure investment for new hospitals, the reality is that primary care is once again missing out. Primary care has been underfunded for years now and is in desperate need of a significant funding investment,” continues Norwell.

“It’s integral to invest in preventative care to keep people out of hospitals. Research shows that every dollar invested in general practice saves around $13 to $15 in secondary healthcare costs. Not investing more seems counter-intuitive to keeping our population well and to saving money in the long run,” points out Norwell.

“Today’s announcement will likely hit consumers hard, as practices will likely need to increase their fees again to cover the costs of keeping the lights on and paying their staff,” concludes Norwell.

Source: ProCare

ProCare, Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest network of general practices, is concerned that the Government has chosen to disregard sector feedback by announcing a full 12-month repeat prescribing extension in Budget 2025, bypassing a more balanced 6-month approach recommended in formal submissions made in October 2024.

ProCare’s submission to Manatū Hauora in October 2024 made a strong case for a staged approach, recommending a 6-month limit in the first instance, with potential for further extension once safety and equity impacts were evaluated.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at ProCare says: “While we acknowledge the Government’s intention to ease pressure on the health system and reduce costs for patients, we remain deeply concerned about the patient safety implications, equity risks, and unintended consequences for the primary care workforce.

“We believe a 6-month prescribing model would have achieved a much better balance. It would have reduced unnecessary appointments and made access easier for patients, without undermining the crucial relationship between patients and their primary care teams,” continues Norwell.

ProCare supports increased efficiency in repeat prescribing, but believes that 12-month prescriptions risk reducing proactive clinical oversight, particularly for patients with long-term or complex health conditions. We are particularly concerned for some of our vulnerable communities with limited health literacy or those with minimal engagement with general practice.

Dr Allan Moffitt, Clinical Director at ProCare says: “General practices are already under significant pressure. This change risks creating longer and more complex consultations down the line, and may reduce opportunities to catch early signs of deterioration in a patient’s condition. We also have questions around the allocation of the $10 million allocated, and if it is going to mainly cover technical changes, rather than educating patients on the need to maintain strong relationships with their General Practice care teams.”

ProCare warns it may destabilise continuity of care without clear guidelines and appropriate wraparound support like clinical pharmacist follow-up or nurse-led monitoring.

Bindi Norwell says: “This isn’t about resisting change. It’s about making sure we get it right for patients – the devil will be in the details, and our priority will be ensuring high-quality, clinically appropriate care for patients. Primary care must remain the front door of the health system, not a check-out aisle.”

ProCare remains committed to working with Government to ensure that patient safety, health equity, and system sustainability are protected as these changes roll out.

About ProCare

ProCare is a leading healthcare provider that aims to deliver the most progressive, pro-active and equitable health and wellbeing services in Aotearoa. We do this through our clinical support services, mental health and wellness services, virtual/tele health, mobile health, smoking cessation and by taking a population health and equity approach to our mahi. As New Zealand’s largest Primary Health Organisation, we represent a network of general practice teams and healthcare professionals who provide care to nearly 700,000 patients across Auckland. These practices serve the largest Pacific and South Asian populations enrolled in general practice and the largest Māori population in Tāmaki Makaurau. For more information go to www.procare.co.nz

Source: NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi

Budget 2025 takes $12.8bn from low-income, female dominated workforces to prop up the Government’s failed economic policies, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney.

“The Government has promised this would be a growth budget, yet it has effectively cut the wages of low-income women workers. We know that one of the best ways to stimulate economic growth is by lifting wages – the Government is doing the opposite,” said Renney.

“The figures released today also showed that the number of people on Jobseekers Support is rising, and higher than forecast just last year. Real wage growth is lower than forecast last year – the Treasury itself says the Budget “lowers wage growth”. This is a Budget that is taking working people backwards.

“The Budget delivers more cuts to investment, including real terms cuts to early childhood education funding. New funding for learning support is largely being delivered by cutting funding from other programmes in education. Māori Development programmes have been cut significantly, as has funding from our media, culture, and heritage institutions.

“Promises made in health aren’t provided with new funding and the destruction of the pay equity process will mean we will continue to lose health workers to Australia, putting further stress on the system.

“Forecasts show we will continue to miss our child poverty targets over the next four years, and we will see thousands of families loose essential income due to cuts to Best Start and Working for Families. The Government is taking money from unemployed 18- and 19-year-olds, while investing nothing in action on climate change.

“Overall, this is a Budget that works by taking away from some of the poorest people in New Zealand, to fund tax cuts for multinationals, increased investment in corrections, the failed charter schools project, and more spending on defence.

“This is a Budget with its priorities all wrong – and working people will be paying the price,” said Renney.

Source: Better Taxes for a Better Future

As your average New Zealander struggles to pay the bills, the Government’s 2025 Budget piles austerity on the least well-off, and misreads the public mood. Recent polling commissioned by the Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign showed the vast majority of New Zealanders supported increased spending on public services, and only 3% were in favour of cuts.

By limiting its operating allowance to $1.3b to reduce debt, following the introduction of  unaffordable tax cuts last year and the failure to advance other meaningful revenue gathering options, the Government has manufactured the need for cuts in spending on public services that New Zealanders rely upon on a daily basis.

“The most significant contributor to the Government’s $5.3bn in savings required to reach its arbitrary operating allowance are the lowest paid working women through the scrapping of the pay equity settlements,” says Glenn Barclay, Better Taxes campaign spokesperson.

“Many other good programmes have also been sacrificed to allow the Government to get away with such a miserly operating allowance.”

“The total cost to mainly low paid working people from scrapping pay equity of $12.8bn over 4 years represents one of the largest wealth transfers in modern history, and will have a real cost for the lives of some of the least well off in New Zealand.”

Other items in the Budget are worth commenting on.

“While a modest increase in the abatement threshold for Working for Families is to be welcomed, it will be paid for by increasing the abatement rate and means testing the first year of Best Start payments. Here we see the Government giving to young families with one hand, while taking away with the other.”

“The flagship Investment Boost allowing for accelerated depreciation on new assets to be deducted from taxable income, while a useful tool to grow GDP, implemented in this untargeted way stands to benefit monopolistic companies like supermarket chains, electricity generators and banks at the expense of the collective revenue pool,” says Glenn Barclay.   “With the substantial cost of $1.7 billion per year, it would have been much better to use this tool to focus on areas such as advanced manufacturing or green technology.”

“Similarly the halving of Government contributions to KiwiSaver is shortsighted, when we ought to be  supporting lower income earners and young people  to grow their retirement savings.  On the other hand the Government has significantly expanded the ability for SuperGold card holders to claim rates rebates. It looks like a case of valuing the priorities of older property owners over the  future retirement savings of today’s workers.”

“The Budget reflects choices about what the Government values and how it’s going to pay for those things.  This budget shows the government does not value the work of the least well-off in New Zealand, who are paying for its austerity,” says Glenn Barclay.

“It is inescapable that we need to generate more revenue to pay for the public goods New Zealanders value, like public healthcare, education, transport and housing. It is wrong to pretend that we can deliver the kind of society New Zealanders want now and in the future by constantly reducing the collective pool,” says Glenn Barclay.

“Successive governments have failed to ensure we’re collecting enough revenue to meet our needs and ensure those who can afford to contribute more, make that contribution. Polling indicates New Zealanders want increased investment in public services and think that the wealthy should be contributing more,” says Glenn Barclay.

“Today’s Budget fails to grapple with that challenge  to respond to what the New Zealand public wants.  With this Budget the government continues to ask more of those who have the least.”

“We call on the Government to consider common sense taxes that many other countries already have, like a capital gains tax and a wealth tax, so we have enough revenue to allocate to the public goods that enable all New Zealanders to thrive.”

The Better Taxes for a Better Future Campaign is a coalition of over 20 organisations led by Tax Justice Aotearoa.

We believe that tax reform is the only solution to the current challenges facing Aotearoa NZ.  We need the tax system to:

be transparent
raise more revenue to enable us address the challenges we face
make sure people who have more to contribute make that contribution: that we gather more revenue from wealth, gains from wealth, all forms of income, and corporates
make greater use of fair taxes to promote good health and environmental health
address the tax impact on the least well off in our society.

Source: Green Party

Budget 2025 represents a significant step backwards for Aotearoa, with the Government adding fuel to the fire when it comes to the climate and inequality crises, says the Green Party. 

“This Budget is bad news for people and planet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson.

“Christopher Luxon clearly has no ambition for this country and not a care in the world when it comes to the climate crisis. This Budget will see more and more people living on the street, it will mean thousands more families struggling to put food on the table and it will result in more children growing up in poverty.

“With cuts to Kiwi Saver, housing for the ‘right people,’ instead of all people and taking away money from whānau with babies, this Government has well and truly put its cards of cruelty on the table. We do not have to accept this and we can fight for a future where everyone has what they need on a planet with thriving nature and a stable climate.

“A Green Government will do things differently. Instead of opening gas fields in the middle of the climate crisis, pushing people into poverty and punishing them for it, we will rapidly reduce emissions, reduce the cost of living and improve our quality of life,” says Marama Davidson.

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says, “This is even worse than a BS budget. Not only is the Government shredding public services and giving up on reducing child poverty, they’re pouring oil and gas all over the climate crisis fire.

“Resilient energy supply means investing in distributed renewable energy, not burning public money to subsidise new gas fields and fossil fuel executive profits.

“Somehow even more bewildering, these very moves could compromise our Free Trade Agreements with the UK and EU. So much for ‘responsible economic managers.’

“Last week, the Greens released our budget to show how we can reduce the cost of living, increase the quality of life and rapidly reduce climate changing emissions.

“Today, the Government said ‘yeah,nah,’ to a liveable future for all of us,” says Chlöe Swarbrick.

Source: Green Party

The Government’s Budget offers little more than crumbs for our tamariki, while real issues in the ECE system are ignored.

The Government’s Budget offers little more than crumbs for our tamariki, while real issues in the ECE system are ignored.

“We would make ECE free, this Government has failed whānau by making it even more unaffordable. Our tamariki deserve better,” says Green Party spokesperson for Māori Education and Early Childhood Education Benjamin Doyle (they/them).

“Every child in Aotearoa deserves an education that sets them up for success. That demands an ECE system that places tamariki at the heart.

“Today’s minuscule offering in the Budget – an inflation adjustment of 0.5 per cent – isn’t enough to cover inflation. Effectively, ECE is getting a 1.6 per cent cut. 

“While puna and kōhanga reo appear to receive marginal funding increases at first glance, a failure to match inflation or consider compounding under-funding year on year means there are real world cuts for both providers.

“Instead of investing into our children’s critical early years, the Government continues to prop up a profit-driven system that relies on overcharging parents, underpaying kaiako and, as a result, short-changing our tamariki.

“There’s no relief for whānau today. No overhaul for teachers who have been loudly calling for just that. No bold vision or imagination from our Government.

“Our Green Budget clearly showed how we can cover the full cost of delivering quality ECE, ending subsidies to corporations and instead supporting community-based and public centres that prioritise the needs of our kids, not the interests of shareholders.

“Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai. We must nurture our tamariki from day one, so they can flourish and thrive,” says Benjamin Doyle