Category: MIL-OSI

Posted on

Transport – Retirement of Aratere Highlights Urgent Need for New Cook Strait Ferries

Source: Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

Transporting New Zealand CEO Dom Kalasih says KiwiRail’s announcement today that the Interislander ferry Aratere will be retired later this year is appreciated by his members in so far as it gives some certainty on what’s happening.
The withdrawal of the Aratere means there will be just four ferries being operated by the Interislander and Bluebridge companies for nearly four years, until the new vessels are scheduled to go into service in December 2029.
“It is a concern that the decaying wharf has reached such a point that the Aratere can no longer be used.
“Given the earlier debate around rail-enabled versus rail capable it is also interesting that it appears that freight movements between the islands will manage for at least the next four years without a rail enabled vessel,” Kalasih says.
“Our road freight operators will do their best to adapt to the challenges of having one fewer ferry, but there are times when getting space on board is going to be tight.”
“Planned maintenance, or unexpected breakdowns which could happen as these ships near the end of their service lives, could put real pressure on capacity for freight,” Kalasih says.
“While we appreciate the early notice, the reality is that time has run out for any further delays in securing new ferries.
“This also highlight the problems associated with rail-enabled ferries requiring specialist facilities.”
He says it is vital that Rail Minister Winston Peters gets the new ferries on the water as quickly as possible.
“December 2029 is looking a long way away now. The transport sector wants resilience and regular sailings. Anything else is just not good enough for the country.”
About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand
Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country.
Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.
Posted on

Health and Employment – Auckland theatre nurses to strike tomorrow – NZNO

Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

Te Toka Tumai Auckland Te Whatu Ora theatre nurses will strike for two hours tomorrow over attempts by Health New Zealand not to pay them appropriately for involuntary overtime.
The 370 perioperative (which includes preoperative, theatre and postoperative) nurses are members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki O Aotearoa (NZNO) working at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Hospital.
NZNO delegate and perioperative nurse Alissa Baker says nurses are standing up against involuntary overtime. This stand is part of the current collective agreement bargaining between NZNO and Te Whatu Ora.
“Nurses should be paid appropriately for the work we are doing, and that does not include forced overtime as the Te Whatu Ora proposal seeks to enforce,” Alissa Baker says.
NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter says it is appropriate the perioperative nurses are striking on May Day.
“May Day is a day for workers and unions around the world to celebrate workers’ rights and the union movement. It is timely that our perioperative nurses are making a stand for fair pay on May Day.
“The Government continues to chronically under-resource health, is increasing the privatisation of health services and fails to address the crisis in primary and aged residential care. This is another insult to other nurses and health care workers around the country.
“This year NZNO members will join their fellow union members around the country at Fight Back for Health and Fight Back Together events,” Paul Goulter says.
Notes:
– Striking perioperative nurses will join senior doctors and cross-union members for the May Day Fight Back for Heath event outside the front of Auckland City Hospital from 9am to 1pm tomorrow (Thursday 1 May)
– NZNO perioperative members from Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre will strike between 9am-11am.
– NZNO perioperative members working in Post Anaesthesia Care Units on level 4, 8 and 9 at Auckland City Hospital, Starship Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre will strike between 11.30am-1.30pm.
– Information about Fight Back for Health events can be found here: https://maranga-mai.nzno.org.nz/fight_back_for_health
– Information about Fight Back Together can be found here: https://www.together.org.nz/may_day_hui
Posted on

Media – PSNA complaint about TVNZ reporting upheld by the Broadcasting Standards Authority

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

It was good to see this PSNA complaint against TVNZ reporting upheld by the Broadcasting Standards Authority. (ref. https://www.bsa.govt.nz/decisions/all-decisions/minto-and-television-new-zealand-ltd-2025-002-29-april-2025/ )

TVNZ showed film which they claimed was of “anti-semitic violence” by Dutch football fans attacking Israeli football fans on the streets of Amsterdam last November. TVNZ described the scenes as disturbing.

The film actually showed the opposite – violent attacks on Dutch fans by Israeli hooligans who had engaged in racist “Death to Arabs” chants and attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian flags prior to the game.

We pointed out the error quickly but TVNZ refused to issue an apology and said it didn’t really matter because the mayor of Amsterdam had said there were anti-semitic attacks so the TVNZ mistake was minor.

Imagine if the situation had been reversed. TVNZ would have bent over backwards to issue grovelling apologies to the pro-Israel lobby.

TVNZ’s reporting over the past 18 months has been relentlessly pro-Israel. They have centred Israeli narratives, Israeli excuses, Israeli explanations, Israeli propaganda points and Israeli spokespeople. Palestinian voices have been sidelined and given rudimentary coverage if at all.

John Minto
Co-National Chair
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

Posted on

Your rates in action: community activity on the rise

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

Infrastructure

Progress with flood resilience

Following the severe weather in Auckland in early 2023, almost $2 billion worth of investment is being made by council and government for Auckland’s storm recovery and resilience.

Council is creating more blue-green networks of waterways (blue) and parks (green) in suitable locations to help make our communities safer and achieve other infrastructure, environment and community benefits.

In April, council approved funding to progress options to develop a blue-green solution for Wairau Valley. In addition, the official groundbreaking and blessing of two Māngere flood resilience (blue-green) projects occurred.

These projects will replace a key bridge and lift New Zealand’s largest sewerage pipe to significantly reduce flood risk for hundreds of homes surrounding the Te Ararata Stream and Harania Creek.

Our community

Safety teams expanded

The council’s Community Safety Team wardens has been expanded with eight additional staff giving regional support in town centres across Tāmaki Makaurau. This is a mobile resource that provides proactive patrols addressing safety and anti-social issues.

Food waste collections thrive

Aucklanders have diverted around 18,471 tonnes of food waste from landfill, since July 2024. Transforming food scraps into clean energy and liquid fertiliser helps move Auckland towards its goal of Zero Waste by 2040. Read more about this initiative: Turbo-charging tomatoes with Auckland’s food scraps – OurAuckland

More Aucklanders took a dip…

Over the summer, Aucklanders took nearly 2.4 million dives into council pools. That’s the most swimmers using our pools during the summer months (January-March) for several years.

… and more read library books!

Auckland Council libraries clocked nearly 2 million visits in the three months January-March. That’s the most since before Covid-19. 

Library visits topped 2 million in the first three months of 2025.

What we’re focusing on next

We’re in the final stages of confirming our Annual Plan 2025/2026.

In March, we completed consultation on the proposed plan, which focused on delivering the second year of the Long-term Plan 2024-2034 and included an opportunity to feedback on the funding of events and destination marketing, and the priorities of local boards.

We heard from 13,000 Aucklanders who provided feedback. In June, the Governing Body will meet to adopt the plan ahead of the financial year starting 1 July.

Auckland Council is working hard to keep your rates affordable, provide good value, build a stronger and more resilient city, and invest wisely to support Auckland’s growth. 

Posted on

Secondary teachers set date for first national strike

Source:

Secondary teachers have decided that if there is still no satisfactory progress with their collective agreement negotiations over the next five weeks, they will hold a national one-day strike on Thursday 16 March.

Last modified on Wednesday, 17 May 2023 08:23

Posted on

Twice the Impact, Half the Budget: Budget 25 Must Invest in Whakaata Māori

Source:

Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Broadcasting, Tākuta Ferris, and MP for Tāmaki Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, are demanding the Government significantly increase its investment in Whakaata Māori in Budget 2025.

The call comes following the release of the network’s 2025 Social Value Report at an event today, attended by MP Kemp, highlighting more than $114 million in measured impact across Aotearoa.

“Whakaata Māori is not just a broadcaster — it is a cornerstone of cultural survival, education, and national identity,” said Tākuta Ferris.

“This latest report proves what our people have known all along: kaupapa Māori media changes lives, strengthens whānau, and brings te reo Māori into the hearts of homes across the motu.”

The report, independently developed by Social Ventures Australia, affirms that Whakaata Māori’s work is delivering more than double its operating budget in social value — from improved reo Māori use to stronger cultural identity and cross-cultural understanding.

“With 78% of Māori viewers feeling more connected to their identity and 69% of parents saying their tamariki are speaking more reo and practising tikanga at home, this Government must now future-proof these outcomes with targeted investment,” says Takutai Tarsh Kemp.

Ferris and Kemp are calling on the Government to urgently prioritise a meaningful funding boost for Whakaata Māori in Budget 2025, following 17 years without an increase to the network’s baseline operational funding.

“For too long, successive Governments – and especially this one – have paid lip service to te reo Māori and Māori development, while refusing to back it with resources,” said Kemp.

“The network has not received a baseline funding increase since 2008. The numbers presented today speak for themselves – Whakaata Māori delivers where it matters most: to the people. Budget 2025 must reflect that,” concluded Ferris.

Posted on

Release: Closure of North Shore Women’s Centre a huge loss

Source:

Today’s confirmed closure of the North Shore Women’s Centre after losing government funding is a huge loss for women in Auckland.

“It’s heartbreaking to see a centre which has done so much for women close following the Government’s funding cuts,” Auckland issues and women’s spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said

“While Karen Chhour is busy accusing these frontline services of using Oranga Tamariki as a ‘cash cow,’ we continue to see just how out of touch she is as the consequences of her reckless choices become clear.

“As reports of concern about at-risk children surge, now is not the time to cut funding for prevention services.

“My thoughts are with our many frontline services in Tāmaki Makaurau which do an amazing job and are struggling to stay afloat as the Government takes their services backwards,” Carmel Sepuloni said.

“I want to acknowledge the Centre’s incredible 38 years of service to the community and send my aroha to Tracy and her passionate team as they make this difficult decision,” North Shore-based MP, Shanan Halbert said

“Each year, the Centre has helped hundreds of women and children and I now worry about the huge gap left behind in the North Shore for those who need this safe space.”

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X. 

Posted on

Public Perceptions NZCVS

Source: Tertiary Education Commission

Headline: Public Perceptions NZCVS

Public Perceptions NZCVS

30 April 2025

Kiwis give their verdict on the justice system   

New insights into New Zealanders’ perceptions of the justice system have been published for the first time.

The latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS) included a new section called Public Perceptions.  

This module asked respondents about their trust, confidence and perceptions of fairness and efficacy in the New Zealand justice system.  

“There are many different factors that can affect people’s trust in the justice system. These can include people’s personal experience with the justice system, or what they’ve heard from whānau, friends and the media. Their trust in the Government and public institutions more generally can also be a factor,” Secretary for Justice Andrew Kibblewhite said.

“For example, whether or not a person has been the victim of a crime and their experience of reporting that crime or going through legal proceedings can influence how much trust they have in the criminal justice system.”  

Key Findings  

  • Most New Zealanders (78%) had at least some trust in the justice system, and almost half (45%) had high trust.  
  • Trust in the justice system tended to vary for different groups. For example, NZ Europeans, Māori, and members of the LGBTQ+ community had less trust in the justice system than the New Zealand average, while Asian New Zealanders had more trust.   
  • Forty percent of New Zealanders had high confidence in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, while 47% had high confidence in its fairness.  
  • People who have been the victim of a crime had less trust in the justice system and rated the criminal justice system less effective and fair than the New Zealand average.  
  • Most people were concerned about nationwide crime but were not so concerned about crime in their neighbourhoods.
  • For example, 80% of adults expressed serious concern about burglary in New Zealand, but only 40% were as concerned about burglary in their own community.  

The findings provided an invaluable yardstick for the Ministry of Justice, Mr Kibblewhite said.  

“Strengthening people’s trust in the law underpins all the work of the Ministry of Justice. That’s why these results, as well as future trends are so important to us,” Mr Kibblewhite said.

About key results – public perceptions of the justice system 

The New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS) is an annual national survey about New Zealanders’ experiences of crime that has been running for seven years.

Public Perceptions is a new module of the NZCVS. Interviews for the module were conducted with around 6,500 people between October 2023 and October 2024. Trends over time will be available in future NZCVS publications.

 

ENDS

 

Media contact:

Paul Easton
Principal Media Advisor
Minstry of Justice
media@justice.govt.nz
027 276 9810

← Back to the news

Posted on

Fatal crash, Awakino, Waitomo District

Source:

Police can confirm one person has died following an earlier crash on State Highway 3 at Awakino, in the Waitomo District.

The two vehicle crash happened at around 9:50am.

State Highway 3 at Awakino remains closed.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre.

Posted on

Future of the Aratere

Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

Minister for Rail Winston Peters says the decision by the KiwiRail board to retire the Aratere from service is about the next 60 years of rail on the Cook Strait. Ferry Holdings supports this decision. 
“We will not waste one tax dollar on shuffling infrastructure to keep the vessel in service for the sake of it or add any infrastructure risk to our objective of completion in 2029.  That would have cost $120 million.
“Building marine infrastructure while ferries are berthing there can’t be done.
“The Aratere berth in Wellington requires work to be done on it, saving the taxpayer considerable money compared to iReX’s brand new infrastructure,” Mr Peters says.
The Aratere berth in Picton will be demolished and a new, double lane linkspan will be built in its place to serve road and rail for the next 60 years.
“Under iReX, a whole temporary operation was to be built at taxpayers’ expense only to knock it down when permanent infrastructure was built, plus ‘Taj Mahal’ terminal buildings and expensive works across the wider yards in Wellington and Picton. That is not good use of funds, and we are getting the taxpayer a superior deal. 
“KiwiRail has briefed us on their plans to serve the market in the interim. Goods will still get from A to B by shifting freight on to the Kaitaki and Kaiārahi, making use of coastal shipping for some heavy freight such as grain, and adapting their rail and ferry schedules to best suit the market. 
“Passengers will still have capacity, and we may see some evening sailings being busier than normal around Christmas and Easter. 
“We know that job losses are hard. KiwiRail advise us that voluntary redundancy will be offered across the wider Interislander team, and they will be seeking redeployment opportunities where possible,” Mr Peters says.