Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Secondary teachers question rationale for changes to relationship education guidelines

From policy to infrastructure; traditional knowledge to harnessing the power of community action. The Manukau Harbour Symposium on Saturday 31 May will showcase thinking, solutions and opportunities for New Zealand’s second-biggest harbour.

Keynote speaker and thought leader Cassie Roma will show how communities can open hearts and minds to connect to the environment and work together to create cultures of care between people, systems and pathway.

Regnerative specialists Johnie Freeland (Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua, Ngāi Tūhoe) and Charmaine Bailie (Te Uri o Hau – Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara) will reflect on restoring and healing the whenua in large scale and local projects. Scientist Peter Nuttall will speak on climate change impacts in the South Pacific and its impact on coastal and marae communities here in the harbour, while Dr Rashi Parker of Birdcare Aotearoa will reflect on the contribution of seabirds to resilient populations and how we can start to solve the impacts of human activity on their wellbeing.

The work of our rangitahi to create genuine outcomes for the harbour, through the Rangitahi Environmental Action Leaders program will be highlighted and in a section of intergenerational stories we will hear from those who love and spend time on the harbour including Coastguard, the Portage Crossing Trust, Pest Free South Auckland, Awhitu Landcare, SeaCleaners, and more.

Attendees will learn about Auckland Council work programs and Scientist Dr Megan Carbine will highlight Auckland Council’s latest environmental monitoring data while Cr Richard Hills from Auckland Council will present on the National Environment Strategy work program.

Myself and the rest of the Forum members are excited to be bringing this event to the shores of the Manukau. There’s a great range of speakers and there should be lots of opportunity to catch up with other people doing great work around the Harbour

There will also be a range of community displays, and the Watercare Central Interceptor Travelling Discovery Centre and Auckland Council Marine Biosecurity trailer will be featured.

The day will be hosted by MC Mandy Kupenga, and the Symposium will also announce recipients of the ‘Ngaa Tohu o te Manukau – Celebrating Harbour Champions’ Awards, which recognise individuals, stakeholders, organisations or community groups for their work to protect and restore the mauri of the harbour.

One week before the Symposium the Manukau Harbour Forum will also host a clean-up and restoration event, the Love Your Harbour Day, at Island Road, Māngere. This event is held with the support of Te Motu a Hiaroa Charitable Trust, Auckland Council and SeaCleaners, and targets one of the worst sites for illegal dumping in the region.

The Manukau Harbour Symposium will be held on Saturday 31 May in the Auditorium at Green Bay High School.

The Symposium is supported by the Manukau Harbour Forum, a joint committee formed by the nine local boards of Auckland Council that surround the harbour. It advocates for better resourcing and a focus on this taonga.

Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

Kia ora and good morning, everyone.

This is a great time to hold a Summit focused on the India-New Zealand relationship. It comes seven weeks after I returned from India following one of New Zealand’s largest ever Prime Ministerial missions.

I was joined by 40 business representatives, 15 community leaders, three Cabinet Ministers, four MPs, a Kapa Haka group, and a range of senior government officials all laser-focused on our relationship with India. 

We visited New Delhi and Mumbai for a packed programme that covered every facet of our broad-based relationship with India – political connections, trade and economics, defence and security, people, culture and, of course, cricket. 

As was the case on my previous visits to India when I was in the private sector with Unilever, I was struck by the remarkable energy, dynamism, and innovation that I encountered. 

I concluded the mission more convinced than ever that India is a country of enormous consequence for New Zealand and for the world.

So, I want to spend some time reflecting on the mission and talking about some of the outcomes in three key areas. First, economic opportunities; second, defence and security; and third, in terms of people and culture. 

I then want to set out what I see as the next steps in the relationship.

Economic opportunities

First, I want to talk about the economic opportunities we saw in India, and what we are doing to capitalise on them. 

I’m sure everyone here is familiar with India’s amazing growth story. The fastest GDP growth rate in the G20, with India on track to become the world’s third-largest economy in the next few years, and the Indian middle class now numbers 445 million. 

When I met with Prime Minister Modi, I had a chance to discuss with him India’s extraordinary transformation. Over the past decade, 250 million Indians have been lifted out of poverty; the number of airports in India has more than doubled to 157, with many more planned in the coming years; and India’s government estimates that it has built 95,000 kilometres of highway. To put this last one in perspective, that would be enough highway to drive between New Zealand and India eight times.  

Globally, India is a consequential and influential voice, successfully hosting the G20 in 2023, and a space power, becoming the first country to land a spacecraft on the moon’s South Pole two years ago.

While in India, I had discussions with business leaders who are running companies doing incredible things. Innovators like Nadir Godrej, responsible for one of India’s biggest, oldest and best-known industrial groups, and Natarajan Chandrasekaran who chairs Tata, a conglomerate with a presence in dozens of countries around the world. It was inspiring to hear of their plans and, importantly, to pitch to them on the value of closer connections with New Zealand.

For New Zealand, the economic opportunities in India are immense. Despite India’s growth and scale, it still only accounts for 1.5 per cent of our exports. We are working hard to change that. That was why I took so many business leaders with me to India. That’s why we worked so hard while in New Delhi and Mumbai to ensure New Zealand’s primary products, our technology, our education exports and our tourism offering were front and centre.  

It is Kiwi and Indian businesses, including all of those in this room today, that are the engines of growth, creating new opportunities, lifting trade, and helping transform the relationship between our countries. And for all your ongoing effort and leadership in this regard, I thank you. 

Part of my Government’s job is to improve the environment in which our great Kiwi businesses operate in their dealings with India. On that front, I am pleased to report that, during the mission to India, the Government made real progress. 

First and foremost, I was delighted that Todd McClay and his Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal, announced the launch of negotiations towards a Free Trade Agreement. The launch of negotiations is a breakthrough in the economic relationship between India and New Zealand. 

Prime Minister Modi and I have instructed our negotiators to work quickly to reach a comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement, one that promises to play a major role in doubling New Zealand’s exports by value over the next ten years.

My Government is focused on growing our economy and lifting incomes, and the launch of negotiations presents an opportunity to do exactly that.

On top of that, 33 MoUs and other commercial outcomes were progressed on the mission, reflecting the growing partnerships between New Zealand and Indian businesses. 

Among those was an MoU between Air New Zealand and Air India to establish a new codeshare partnership on 16 routes between India, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The MoU will also see these two great airlines explore the introduction of a direct service between India and New Zealand by the end of 2028. 

This is a fantastic opportunity that promises to make it easier to fly between our countries and further boost our tourism and education sectors.

Defence and security

But there is so much more to our relationship with India than our economic ties. Which brings me to the second major theme of my visit, defence and security. 

New Zealand is invested in supporting stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. 

In an increasingly multipolar world, India is a major geopolitical power and a significant global and regional security actor.

Prime Minister Modi and I agreed that our defence forces should build greater strategic trust with one another, including undertaking more exchanges and training together. 

I was pleased to witness the signing of a new Defence Cooperation Arrangement with India. This arrangement enhances defence dialogue and connections and adds an important new dimension to our strategic engagement.

One of the reasons why we want to build greater trust is so that we can have candid conversations at challenging times. On 22 April, India suffered a devastating terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir. New Zealand condemns terrorism, and we sent our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the attack.

Since then, we have seen an escalation in tension and military activity. We encourage both India and Pakistan to show restraint at this difficult moment and try to de-escalate the situation.

The situation in Jammu and Kashmir reminds us that we face an increasingly difficult and uncertain strategic outlook, including in the Indo‑Pacific region that India and New Zealand share.

While I was in India, I had the great opportunity to share New Zealand’s perspective on the region as the Chief Guest at the Raisina Dialogue, which, as this audience will know, is India’s – and one of the world’s – premier defence and security events. 

My message at Raisina was simple: There can be no prosperity without security.

That is why it’s vitally important that New Zealand works closely with India and other partners in support of a region where countries are free to choose their own path free from interference, and where all countries respect foundational rules.  

People-to-people links

The third major theme of my mission centred on the links between our people. 

New Zealand’s Indian community was a key feature of many of my discussions in India, including with Prime Minister Modi. 

Prime Minister Modi praised New Zealand’s Indian diaspora, referring to it as a “living bridge” between our countries. Prime Minister Modi and I formally recognised the contribution of the diaspora in the joint statement released during my visit. 

As this audience will be well aware, the 300,000-strong Indian community is the third largest ethnic group in New Zealand. India is our largest source of skilled migrants and our second-largest source of international students. 

A point I made to Prime Minister Modi was that Kiwi-Indians are on average younger, better educated, and have greater earnings than the general New Zealand population. 

In short, Indian-Kiwis are making a massive contribution to New Zealand. This is why I chose to take with me to India a senior delegation of community leaders.

I made sure that my programme in India reflected and respected the deep cultural links between our countries. I paid my respects at a place sacred to many Kiwi-Hindus – the BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple. And I visited Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib, a place of profound faith and history to Kiwi-Sikhs. 

Of course, another indispensable element of our partnership with India is cricket. It was very special to visit Wankhede Stadium with Mumbai-born Ajaz Patel, who took the third-best bowling figures in Test history on that ground. 

But our sporting links go beyond cricket. Prime Minister Modi and I also discussed his plans to diversify and enhance India’s prowess across multiple sports. India is particularly interested in Olympic sports as it looks to bolster Ahmedabad’s bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games. Given our high-performance sports ecosystem and our outstanding record at the Olympics, this is an area where New Zealand is well positioned to work with India.

I was particularly pleased to witness the signing of a Sports Memorandum of Cooperation between New Zealand and India. This arrangement allows us to develop new ways to collaborate across high-performance sports, and exchange programmes, skills, technology and innovation, research, and people.

It should boost sports performance in each country and facilitate exchanges in areas such as community sports and health. 

Cooperation in sports is particularly significant at a time when, next year, New Zealand and India will celebrate 100 years of sporting ties. We look forward to celebrating this milestone, including with a visit by the Indian men’s cricket team in late 2026.

Next steps for government, business and community

So, across people, culture, sport, defence and security, trade and economics – my mission to India left the relationship in a stronger position. But there is still a lot of work to do.

I now want to take a few minutes to reflect on the next steps for this important relationship, and the respective roles of government, business and community. 

I want to be clear that the mission to India was not the end goal. Rather, it was a springboard to help take our relationship to new heights. We now have an extensive work programme across every facet of the relationship. I will touch on just a couple of examples. 

First, we have moved quickly to begin negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement, with the first round of talks already having taken place. 

Second, our Government will be continuing a steady tempo of political-level engagements with our Indian counterparts. There is no substitute for face-to-face relationships with the key decision-makers, which is why I’m so pleased Minister Margherita has joined us today. During my meeting with Prime Minister Modi, I offered to reciprocate his warm and generous hospitality by inviting him to visit New Zealand when his schedule allows.

Third, to give effect to the various areas of new co-operation, our Government has confirmed that we will need more people on the ground in India. New Zealand will increase our diplomatic footprint in India by more than 60 per cent, underscoring our commitment to the relationship and our ambition to see it grow further.

The Government will be working hard to maintain the momentum, and continue building a broad, deep, and enduring strategic relationship with India. 

But our relationship with India is far too important to be left to Government alone. There is a crucial role for two other actors in our society, business and community. 

Our relationship with India is so significant that I want to see an ‘all of New Zealand’ effort with government, business and community all moving in the same direction. 

The opportunities presented by India are immense. Many of you are already active in the market and have been for some years. But I want to see more New Zealand exporters building relationships in the market and putting together your own strategies for tapping into India’s enormous potential. 

The wider Kiwi-Indian community also has a very important role as – in Prime Minister Modi’s words – the “living bridge” between New Zealand and India. 

We will stay in touch with the senior delegation of community leaders that accompanied me to India. I encourage the Indian community in New Zealand to continue to share with the Government your insights into our relationship with India and ideas for how we can continue moving forward.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you about the vital partnership between New Zealand and India.

The INZBC have put together an excellent programme for today, featuring a range of speakers who are all committed to bringing New Zealand and India much closer together.

The bottom line is we are two countries that can and should be doing much more together, and we will.

Thank you.

Source: New Zealand Police

Name release: Fatal crash Te Poi

Police can now release the name of the man who died following a crash in Te Poi on 28 January.

He was 62-year-old Simon Munday of Rotorua.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

The Government will strengthen the care system and improve redress for survivors in Budget 2025 in response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was conducted over six years and found widespread abuse and neglect across many state and faith-based organisations. The final report made 138 recommendations.
“We know there is nothing we can do to take away the pain of survivors, but the Government has committed a significant investment of $774 million in Budget 2025 to improve the redress system and strengthen the care system to prevent, identify, and respond to abuse in the future,” says Ms Stanford.
Improvements to the redress system over this year will include:

Increasing the average redress payments for new claims from $19,180 to $30,000;
Providing for higher payments for the survivors who experienced the most egregious abuse;
Providing “top up” payments of 50% to survivors who have already settled claims to ensure consistency with increased payments for new claims;
Introducing a common payments framework so that survivors receive the same financial redress for similar experiences of abuse, regardless of where in state care that abuse occurred;
Increase system capacity to process claims from 1,350 to 2,150 per year from 2027 to reduce wait times for current claimants;
Implementing a seamless service so that survivors with claims with multiple agencies have those claims managed by one point of contact;
Introducing a single-entry point for survivors wanting to register new claims;
Introducing an independent review for people who are unhappy with their redress offer; and
Funding for redress agencies to provide survivors with access to supports and services.

“I acknowledge that a key recommendation of both the Royal Commission and the Redress Design Group was for a new independent redress entity. 
“The Government was faced with a difficult choice: do we spend more time and money on setting up a new scheme, or do we provide more to survivors now through the current redress process?
“For Budget 25 we have prioritised improving the current system as quickly as possible for survivors and investing in changes that have a direct impact for them,” Ms Stanford says.
Investments in the wider care system over the next four years include: 
·      Up to $71.5 million to build a capable and safe care workforce for children and vulnerable adults;
·      Over $50 million to make mental health inpatient units safer and improve privacy and dignity for patients;
·      $25 million towards funding initiatives with evidence of an ability to prevent the entry of children and vulnerable adults into care;  
·      $16 million for Oranga Tamariki for improvements to safeguarding to reduce abuse and harm to children and young people in remand homes and in the care of individual caregivers;
·      $9.4 million to bolster oversight of compulsory mental health and addiction care by increasing the capacity, expertise, and availability of independent statutory roles including District Inspectors and Review Tribunals; and
·      Almost $9 million for Disability Support Services to strengthen processes that recognise and respond to instances of abuse in care, by introducing additional audits on the quality of services delivered by contracted care providers and improving the systems that support the management of critical incidents and complaints.
There is also funding for the continuation of the Survivor Experiences Service who provide an important survivor-led service, better record keeping and access to records, and for an independent review of the changes to the redress system in 2027. 
Cabinet has also decided that for new claims from survivors who are also serious sexual and/or violent offenders who have been sentenced to five years or more in prison a new process will apply. Modelled on similar approaches in Australia and Scotland, this will involve an independent decision maker who will need to assure themselves that a redress payment would not bring the scheme into disrepute. Legislation establishing this will be introduced later this year. 
The Government will also establish a Ministerial Advisory Group of survivors and advocates in the coming months to provide relevant Ministers with advice on the Government’s response, including implementation of these changes and the next phase of the wider response. 
Redress decisions, at this point, do not include claims that currently sit with school boards, faith-based organisations, or other non-state providers. The Government will be receiving further advice on this later this year. 
“The wider work on the Crown response to the Royal Commission’s recommendations continues to be a priority. I expect to release our full response plan in the coming weeks,” Ms Stanford says.Note to editors: 

On average, previous payments from the Ministry of Health were significantly lower than other agencies for similar types of abuse (excluding the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit). “Top up” payments to these previous claimants will also account for this disparity.
Survivors with a settled claim can register for a top-up payment from today. To register visit: www.abuseincaretopups.govt.nz  

Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

 Today’s announcement by the Commissioner of Police that Police will review the 2017 swimming training policy change in light of some recruits not receiving training while at the Police College is welcome and overdue, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
“When this policy was changed under the previous Government in 2017, I questioned this decision at select committee as I felt it was wrong for a coastal nation like ours, where Police Officers are often the first to provide assistance to people in the water, to relax the swimming requirements.
“The Labour Government at the time was adamant there would be no problem lowering the standard and that water competence would still be met.  
“Recent reporting has highlighted and unearthed the fact that the previous government’s approach has taken the focus off a swim standard.  It has become clear that the relaxation of the policy has had the effect of Police graduating the College in some cases having not been tested,” says Mr Mitchell.
“Since the Coalition Government was formed, Police have been working extremely hard to recruit against our target of 500 new officers by 27 November 2025. 
“Myself and Minister Costello have been clear that that was not to come at the expense of standards.  What has become obvious is that decisions made under the previous government around standards need to be revisited, and I welcome this decision by the Commissioner.  
“As a government we feel strongly that a swimming standard is important for both Police and public safety, and in coming into Government we supported a return to a 20-week recruit training course, rather than the 16-week in place when we came into government.  
“I am extremely proud of our police officers who do outstanding work and deserve to be supported through a comprehensive training programme that includes water safety.”
 
 
 

Source: Statistics New Zealand

LGBT+ population of Aotearoa New Zealand: Year ended June 2023 – 9 May 2025 – LGBT+ population of Aotearoa New Zealand provides key demographic and economic characteristics of the LGBT+ population as a whole, of the transgender and non-binary populations, and of the sexual minorities’ populations. The statistics include qualifications and income, as well as experiences of depression and anxiety for those who are part of the LGBT+ population.

This release includes tables of data based on questions on sexual identity and gender included in the Household Economic Survey (HES) for the year ended June 2023 – a survey of about 14,100 responding households (including more than 28,670 people aged 18 and over).

In 2025, HES data about the LGBT+ population has been included in a larger analytical report based predominantly on 2023 Census data. This report is due to be published in June.

Files:

Source: New Zealand Police

Please attribute to Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Dye of the Tasman District Organised Crime Unit:

Four people have been arrested, and drugs and a firearm seized, after Tasman District Police and District Organised Crime Group disrupted an operation supplying methamphetamine into the district this week.

Intelligence gathered by district staff suggested one or more individuals were frequently travelling to Auckland to collect methamphetamine, then they and their associates were selling it into the Blenheim and West Coast communities, particularly the community of Westport.

On Tuesday, Police commenced an operation to intercept two men as they travelled down the country.

They were met in Picton in the afternoon and their vehicle seized and searched. About 500g of methamphetamine was located.

Simultaneously, search warrants were carried out at addresses in Westport and Auckland.

At a Westport address, a sawn-off shotgun and 15 ounces of cannabis prepared for supply were located.

In total, three men, aged 53, 49 and 56, and a 36-year-old woman were arrested and jointly charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply.

The 53-year-old man and the woman have also been charged with possession of cannabis for supply and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Police are not ruling out further arrests and charges.

We are pleased to have put a stop to this activity, which has been bringing illicit drugs into our communities and causing misery for those suffering from addiction and their families.

We will not tolerate this type of offending and hope these arrests send a message to anyone else who is looking to profit from other people’s misfortune.

If you have concerns about illegal drug use in your community, please call 111 if there is an immediate public safety risk, or contact us via 105 online, or by phone, to make a report.

You can also report information anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: Tairāwhiti Graduates Celebrate Success – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Frontline Services Brings Old-School Reliability to Modern Equipment Support Across New Zealand

Frontline Services is making waves in New Zealand’s civil and equipment servicing sector with a unique blend of old-school values and modern technology.

The post Frontline Services Brings Old-School Reliability to Modern Equipment Support Across New Zealand first appeared on PR.co.nz.

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Source: Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment MBIE (2)

Published: 09 May 2025

The Government recently announced legislation will be in place by July for operators of ground-based space infrastructure (GBSI).

On this page

A new regulatory regime covering new and existing infrastructure will start from July to manage the risks GBSI poses.

Widespread consumer products such as satellite telephones, satellite television or internet receiving dishes aren’t included in the regime.

Read more about the changes, what activities they apply to, and the timeline of changes

Last updated: 08 May 2025

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/about/news/new-rules-coming-for-ground-based-space-infrastructure
Please note: This content will change over time and can go out of date.

Crown copyright © 2025

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/about/news/new-rules-coming-for-ground-based-space-infrastructure
Please note: This content will change over time and can go out of date.