Category: Politics

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Prime Minister’s office has denied reports that Christopher Luxon requested to be given a matai title ahead of his visit to Samoa.

Luxon is due to fly to Apia on Sunday evening for a three-day Pacific mission, which will also see him visit Tonga.

It will be Luxon’s first opportunity to bilaterally engage with the recently-elected prime ministers of both countries.

His itinerary in Apia on Monday includes a meeting with Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt, as well as a guard of honour and ava ceremony.

There, Luxon is set to be presented with an honourary matai, or chiefly title, reported by Samoan media to be Tuisinavemaulumoto’otua.

In a livestreamed interview with Samoan outlet Talamua Media, and subsequently reported by Samoa Global News, La’aulialemalietoa said New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Samoa had informed him that Luxon had requested a title.

However, a spokesperson for Luxon told RNZ this was incorrect.

“While the bestowal of an honorary title is a great honour for New Zealand and a mark of our strong relationship with Samoa, it is not something that was requested by the prime minister.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has also denied the claim.

“The New Zealand High Commissioner did not request a title for Prime Minister Luxon. As is normal in the preparation for a prime minister’s visit there were detailed discussions with the host government about arrangements,” a spokesperson said.

“The high commissioner asked for advance notice of any important announcements or honours to ensure that the prime minister could be properly prepared.”

Luxon would not be the first New Zealand prime minister to be bestowed a matai title.

Robert Muldoon, David Lange, Jim Bolger, Sir John Key, and Sir Bill English have all received the honour, as has Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters.

The Samoa Observer has reported a letter has been written to Samoa’s Lands and Titles Court to stop the bestowment of the matai title.

La’aulialemalietoa also suggested it would be a “perfect first act of service” for Luxon to endorse and implement the petition calling for visa waivers for Samoans arriving in New Zealand.

“One’s duty as a matai Samoa, is to serve Samoa,” is reported to have said.

A petition with more than 48,000 signatures was handed over at Parliament last month calling for visitors from six Pacific nations (Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) to be treated the same as travellers from 60 other countries that are eligible for the NZeTA.

While Peters has backed the petition, Luxon is more reluctant, telling RNZ the government had introduced faster, easier, and cheaper visa access, longer visa duration, and a trial for Pacific passport holders travelling from Australia with an Australian visa to enter New Zealand on the NZeTA.

“We’ve been doing everything we can to try and make it easier to secure New Zealand visas, which I think has been important. But also we have to acknowledge that Samoa and Tonga are a major source of overstayers,” he said.

“If we don’t have some sort of visa screening, that problem could be much bigger and that causes a different set of challenges. So it’s just finding the balance through that all.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The headlines were grim across 2023 and 2024: ‘Video of MMA-style fighting in youth justice facility‘, ‘Youths climb onto roof‘, ‘Four staff stood down from youth justice unit’, ‘Prison napalm mixture thrown at teenager’, ‘Staff smuggling in contraband‘.

Investigators gave Oranga Tamariki (OT) three years to turn things around at its biggest secure home for teenagers, Korowai Maaaki in south Auckland.

It even called in prison inspectors last year to get their help.

OT says it is on track.

But documents released to RNZ showed that as late as last November, the child protection ministry had had to hit the reset button yet again and was telling the government, “It has been difficult to create long-lasting change”.

The three years is up soon, in September 2026.

Sixty pages of internal documents chart the tug-of-war in plan after plan to try to embed changes to make the 40 or so children in the home safer, including using funding from Budget 2025.

“Previous action plans have brought in new leadership with the capability to demonstrate the required standard, which has often created an uplift, but residential practice, operations and culture have eventually reverted,” Childrens’ Minister Karen Chhour was told last September.

Work on recruitment and better standards had gone on but “in the case of Korowai Manaaki these actions are not driving change at the speed or depth that we want to see”.

‘An environment where abuse occurs’

Early this month, the watchdog Independent Children’s Monitor put out its report for 2024-25 saying, “As we reported last year, multiple recent reports, including from Oranga Tamariki itself, highlight the safety issues in residences.

“We visited four of the five youth justice residences. We found that the underlying culture, including poorly trained staff and unstructured programmes, contributes to an environment where abuse occurs.

“Most of the abuse we heard about in our regional engagements happened in youth justice residences.”

It quoted a rangatahi saying: “Staff are inconsistent. Secure is horrible.”

On the plus side, access to healthcare was reported to be good, grievances were down 28 percent – and were not focused on Korowai Manaaki but on a residence at Burnham – and all the homes had youth councils to give the teenagers a voice.

‘A sprint due to the urgent care’

However, the south Auckland home’s problems have proved fairly untractable, the Official Information Act papers showed.

In the last year it has had the prison inspectors’ visit and two fast-tracked improvement programmes, one after the other, the last one described by the agency as “a sprint due to the urgent care the residence needs today”.

The origins of this were poor performance reports dating to at least 2020.

That led to the $85,000 rapid review by former police commissioner Mike Bush in September 2023 – a year when boys had got up on the home’s roof 15 times – which set the three-year turnaround target that ends in a few months.

Late 2023 also saw 28 complaints over staff conduct to police, charges and 22 staff dismissed. Allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour surfaced; some staff were said to be just too close to the teenagers.

Independent inspectors emerged from a surprise swoop in February 2024 saying contraband smuggling and physical handling of teenagers were problems.

They were told by staff the home had a “corrupt” operating environment.

After some roof invasions, it turned to the boot camp pilot for help. The papers said it aimed to “apply lessons from Military-Style Academy Pilot” to address the rooftop incidents.

Later in 2024, secure youth residences like Korowai Manaaki – which was the largest of five and housed the oldest teens – became a focus for a new child protection unit set up by OT as a key response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into abuse in state care.

This unit said it would visit a secure home. It is not known if it has. The unit had not published any reports and OT told RNZ on Friday it would not make the unit’s reports public.

Accelerated action

By January 2025, the agency was busy categorising 134 recommendations over three years about how to make its youth justice residences better and safer.

So it launched an Accelerated Action Plan at Korowai Manaaki.

By March it had turned to the prisons for experience. Police Minister Mark Mitchell had asked how the Chief Inspector’s experience could be used.

While the inspectorate went on to recommend the various homes set standards for inspections, and ways to review complaints, it was not volunteering in that space.

“Oranga Tamariki and the Chief Inspector do not believe there is any value to the Inspectorate also gaining a mandate to conduct inspections or investigations of Oranga Tamariki secure residences, which would necessitate legislative amendments,” said a March 2025 report to Chhour.

The Prisons Inspectorate has no mandate over youth homes, but was invited in in mid-2025 to come up with ideas.

The inspectors found what a procession of other reviewers had found: recruitment and retention problems so that staff lacked experience, teenagers harming other teens, a ‘secure care unit’ in poor condition and “contraband issues”, among other things.

“They also noted pockets of good practice at the residence, such as good leadership visibility,” said a short report back.

At this point OT had just one year left of the three-year fixit period.

‘Embedding well’

The Inspector’s visit segued into a ‘Reset Plan’ that ran for three months to November 2025.

The home had “ongoing challenges which need to be addressed. Gaps in residential practice and workplace culture increase the level of operational risk at the residence. To address this risk, direct action and clear leadership is needed”, deputy chief executives reported on 11 November.

In December a log list of Reset work completed laid out to Chhour: over 750 staff training sessions – at one point it closed one of its five units so it could do training – two successful rounds of recruitment and stronger systems that had cut down on contraband. Parts of the home were getting painted and new windows.

Staff were stabilising: unplanned absences had dropped 40 percent and long-term leave which was very high had been cut in half, she heard. “Return-to-work support has been a key contributor to these improvements.

“The Reset has delivered tangible improvements in safety, culture, and operational stability, underpinned by strong leadership presence and investment in staff capability. Positive trends across all key metrics indicate that changes are embedding well,” it told the minister.

Three months later the agency told RNZ its youth justice leaders were “monitoring how well the improvements at the residence are embedding, to ensure that the change created by the Reset Plan is sustained”.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Health Minister has agreed to meet with a group of blood cancer specialists who wrote an open letter expressing their alarm at Kiwi patients dying unnecessarily because Aotearoa is lagging behind with treatments.

The dozens of doctors, nurses and clinician researchers say New Zealand blood cancer patients are being deprived of modern, funded treatments that are available globally, including the myeloma drug Daratumumab.

They’ve laid out a three-point plan, including an immediate increase in funding for the drug-buying agency for Pharmac,

The letter was largely prompted by the case of Greymouth myeloma patient and former shearer Tawhai Reti, who’s had to leave his four young children with a relative and go to Australia with his wife Lani to get a life-extending drug that is not funded here.

Professor Judith Trotman, the Chair of the Australasian Leukaemia Lymphoma Research Group and an expat Kiwi-Australian haematologist in Sydney, who is treating Tawhai Reti, coordinated the letter.

She told Checkpoint that she and the dozens of doctors who signed the letter felt compelled due to the distress their New Zealand peers were experiencing.

“New Zealand is not funding drugs with a cascading effect on patients’ lives, on doctors’ morale, and drug development. Patients are being lost to their disease, and doctors lost to overseas,” she said.

“We really felt compelled to do something on behalf of but in lockstep with the cancer community.”

Trotman said blood doctors in New Zealand feel that they simply don’t have the tools of their trade and are seeing their patients dying earlier.

“They are not only dying earlier, they are not living well,” she added.

Blood cancer patients in New Zealand were constantly in hospital with recurrent infections. While patients with myeloma, in particular, are repeatedly breaking their bones, Trotman said.

A three-point plan put to the government calls for more funding for medicines that are considered ‘standard of care’ overseas, pointing out that only 0.4 percent of New Zealand’s GDP is spent on medicines, compared to the OECD median of 1.4 percent.

Trotman said New Zealand need to establish a funding trajectory for Pharmac to deliver these standards of care blood cancer medicines to levels comparable with OECD nations.

“When you are only spending one-third the equivalent of GDP of the OECD average, that’s a huge gap to fill. It will take some time, but it’s going to take far too many lives if it takes too long,” she said.

“Blood cancer patients are exquisitely sensitive to Pharmac funding. They can not be prevented with public health measures by the cancer control agency [and] they cannot be removed by the surgeons. They can only be treated with these life-saving, life-changing new therapies that only Pharmac can provide.”

Trotman said Health Minister Simeon Brown has offered to convene a round table with the local blood cancer community, both clinicians and consumer groups.

She said he acknowledged the problem and thanked the hardworking clinicians.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

ACT has voiced strong objections to the looming ban on greyhound racing, saying breeders, owners, and venues deserve compensation and more time.

But it has yet to decide whether it will completely pull its support for the legislation at its second reading. The bill – in the name of Racing Minister Winston Peters – passed its first reading in November with unanimous support.

The ACT party filed its dissenting view in a report published on Friday by a select committee considering the plan to shut down the sport by August.

In its contribution, ACT said it was “not convinced” the threshold had been met for banning a legal industry, saying such action should be a “last resort” only.

It said a longer transition should have been considered, noting that rehoming about 1600 greyhounds would take significant time and rushing the process would harm the owners, trainers and dogs.

ACT also called for “a clear compensation regime” for those who would lose their livelihoods and said the costs to rehome the greyhounds should be funded fully by the Crown.

Initially, the legislation said those costs would be met from the assets held by Greyhound Racing New Zealand, almost $16 million, with any amount left over given to other racing codes.

MPs at select committee agreed to change that so any leftover funds were returned to industry participants.

Speaking to RNZ, ACT MP Cameron Luxton said that was an improvement, but still not good enough.

He said thousands of “good hard-working salt-of-the-earth New Zealanders” were having their lawful livelihoods taken away from them through no fault of their own.

Luxton said the government should “at the very least” set up a compensation scheme like the Labour-NZ First coalition did when it banned and confiscated some firearms.

“We’ve listened to a community that’s been misunderstood by Wellington. They’re getting a raw deal. Their property rights have been disregarded, and someone needs to stick up for them.”

Asked whether ACT would therefore vote against the bill at its second reading, Luxton said the caucus had yet to discuss that or whether it might invoke the coalition’s agree-to-disagree clause.

“It is a bit of a moot point when you consider that the bill’s got everyone in Parliament voting for it,” he said.

“I can’t give you a definite, but what I really want to do is make sure that the people who are being affected by this are heard… that they’re represented… and we work on a result that is fair to the people who are having their industry shut down and their community broken up.

The select committee – which also included representatives from National, Labour and the Greens – also agreed the legislation should be amended to allow TAB to keep taking bets on greyhound races outside New Zealand.

The rationale was that revenue could go towards the cost of winding down the industry, with a mandatory review to later consider whether that should continue.

Focus remains on ‘smooth and responsible’ transition -Peters

In a separate statement, Peters said everybody, including industry representatives, had had the opportunity to have their say through the select committee process.

He said the government remained focused on a “smooth and responsible transition” with planning to continue over the coming months, focused on ensuring fair outcomes for both people and animals.

Peters said the transition plan included wellbeing, mental health and re-training support for industry workers, as well as assistance from animal welfare organisations in rehoming the dogs.

A spokesperson for Peters said he had nothing to add on ACT’s minority position.

Peters announced the ban on greyhound racing in late 2024.

During his first reading speech last year, Peters told Parliament the industry had lost its social licence both at home and around the world.

“This decision was not taken lightly,” he said. “However, it was considered that the rates of dogs being seriously injured remained too high and the improvements made were not significant enough.”

Animal activists have long called for action after numerous reviews of the sport sounded alarm about animal welfare practices.

In 2021, former sports minister Grant Robertson put the industry “formally on notice” after a report found the industry had failed to adequately improve animal welfare systems.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has batted away warnings from his officials that the government’s proposed ‘move-on orders’ could put vulnerable people at risk and pile hundreds more cases on the courts each year.

The powers announced in February would allow police to direct rough sleepers or beggars out of an area at threat of a $2000 fine or up to three months in prison.

Newly released advice from government agencies strongly urged against the move, warning the proposal would cause significant hardship for already vulnerable people.

Justice officials noted a “lack of empirical evidence” that the orders would reduce crime rates and said they were “highly likely” to merely shift begging or rough sleeping to different locations.

“Vulnerable individuals such as young people, disabled people, and people experiencing mental health issues, could experience a greater risk of safety from being moved out of city centres.”

Those people might also find it harder to access support networks or services, officials said, and that steep fines would either deepen cycles of poverty or just go unpaid, resulting in further involvement with the justice system.

They said the penalties were “disproportionately high” and in line with those for “much more severe behaviour” such as careless driving resulting in death, indecent exposure, or resisting police.

“Applying such significant fines to people who were issued an order for begging, rough sleeping, or creating makeshift dwellings (suggesting little to no income) is neither appropriate nor proportionate.”

Officials also said the evidence for a growing public disorder problem was limited, noting police data showing prosecutions for such offences had declined in recent years.

Modelling, referenced in the regulatory impact statement, suggested the policy could result in somewhere between 200 to 800 additional court cases.

Officials said the increase would increase costs to the Ministry of Justice and could slow the progress of cases through the District Court.

They estimated it could result in an extra six people being imprisoned each year, at a cost to the state of $120,000 a year each.

Corrections warned the prison network already had limited capacity, and even small increases in the prison muster could trigger the need for new infrastructure.

RNZ earlier reported that key ministries, including justice and housing, had opposed the policy.

In a fresh statement to RNZ on Friday, Goldsmith noted the advice from officials but said it was for the elected government to determine how it moved forward.

In a statement to RNZ, Goldsmith noted the advice from officials but said it was for the elected government to determine how it moved forward.

“Just like the gangs legislation, which prompted similar warnings, we have every confidence police can operationalise this in a way that’s highly effective.

“This is about reclaiming our streets and our city centres for the enjoyment of everybody who visits, works and lives there.”

Goldsmith stressed that only people who refused the orders from police would face prosecution: “A move-on order is not a criminal charge.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

ACT MP Cameron Luxton is a self confessed good, keen fisherman. Asked about his biggest snapper, he recounts catching a 23-pounder (10.4kg) from a kayak.

“I tell you what, when I flipped that into the boat, I was bloody stoked.”

He seems to be angling for a few fishing votes as well. Ahead of the recent Auckland on Water boat show he put the call out on social media, asking to talk “to fishers about what they see happening on the water and what needs to change. If you’re there, come and have a chat.”

First Up took up the invitation, asking Luxton if fishing was a hot topic as he stepped off an exhibitor’s boat.

“It certainly seems to be, but it’s always been a topic that’s dear to me.”

Luxton’s not the only politician engaging with anglers. Sam Woolford, spokesperson for recreational lobby group Legasea, said he was definitely getting more attention from politicians.

“I think the easiest way to describe it is it must be an election year,” he said, “because, yes, it definitely feels like suddenly all of the political parties are a lot more attentive to what the public interests are.”

Ben Chissell organised last year’s One Ocean demonstration, protesting at some aspects of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill, which allowed some commercial fishing in areas that prohibited recreational fishing. He also had a number of politicians getting in touch.

“Yeah, we’ve had a lot reach out. We’ve heard from Labour, National, ACT and New Zealand First.”

He said the parties were taking the issue very seriously.

“One of the two major political parties has put this between top three and top five on their manifesto for the election.”

SeaFood New Zealand recently told members seafood, commercial fishing and marine sustainability was becoming an election issue. CEO Lisa Futschek said it was in ongoing talks.

“So we have had discussions with the National Party, with the Labour Party, with ACT, with New Zealand First, with the Greens as well. We haven’t at this stage had success in meeting anyone from Te Pāti Māori.

“Our conversations and our engagement across the political spectrum is ongoing. And obviously, given that it’s election year, will be wanting to maintain those connections on a regular basis.”

Two weeks ago while out fishing, Luxton filmed a commercial vessel targeting a school of jack mackerel and skipjack tuna, describing the fish being encircled by the net.

“They’ll all be gone by Friday afternoon, all that bait,” he said in the video posted on his Facebook page.

“We’ve seen manta rays and stuff here on Friday afternoon, but who knows what’s in there at the moment”

But Luxton was not biting when asked if he had any concerns about commercial catchers.

“I think that New Zealand’s got to have adult conversations about the way we manage the marine resource. And, you know, I think a lot of people have seen things on the ocean that worry them.”

Seafood New Zealand has also been keeping an eye on Luxton’s posts.

“Yes, we have seen those posts” Futschek said, “and we have tried to understand if there was a particular issue or particular conversations that needed to happen between the recreational sector and the commercial fishing industry in Cameron’s electorate.”

Last month, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka indicated National would remove commercial fishing from Hauraki Gulf high protection areas if re-elected.

Labour would do the same. In a statement, Labour’s acting oceans and fisheries spokesperson Priyanca Radhakrishnan said: “Oceans and fisheries are hugely valued sectors to New Zealand and certainly an area we are actively engaging in. A key focus for Labour is around sustainability of the sector, and ensuring it can grow to create skilled, well-paid jobs, while also protecting the health of our oceans.”

The debate around fishing policy was set to intensify, with a proposed amendment to the Fishing Act expected before Parliament this month.

Shane Jones is the architect of the bill, but was not available for comment – fuel, rather than fishing, his priority this week.

Futschek said the commercial fishing industry was supportive of the reforms.

“They are essentially common sense changes and updates to an act which has been around now for 30 years.”

Legasea though believed the changes were weighted far too heavily in favour of the commercial sector.

“We’re talking about legalising dumping and discarding the fish at sea, or allowing the fishermen to actually turn off cameras at transition periods, or even the most ridiculous one, which will actually make it illegal for future ministers to take into consideration the impacts of fishing techniques when setting allowances.”

Politicians from across the divide are keen to ensure this election issue will not be the one that got away.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A letter obtained by RNZ shows the Consulate General of India in Auckland supported visa applications for more than two dozen people as part of an “cultural delegation” that attended a Holi event in Auckland last month.

The delegation travelled to New Zealand for an international cultural programme titled “Community Holi Celebration with Shibani Kashyap”, according to the letter.

Immigration New Zealand said Tuesday it was trying to locate almost a dozen cultural performers believed to have overstayed their visas after arriving for the event.

Eighteen people from the group arrived in New Zealand. Of those, three have since left the country and 15 remained in the country, according to Immigration New Zealand.

Four held valid visitor visas, the agency said.

The agency confirmed to RNZ it had received a support letter for 29 visa applicants from the Indian diplomatic mission in Auckland.

The letter said Delhi-based CD Foundation was working with the consulate and spearheading the “cultural diplomacy initiative”.

Founded by Charu Das, CD Foundation has previously been involved in cultural exchanges between New Zealand and India.

RNZ has approached CD Foundation, the Indian Consulate and the Indian High Commission for comment.

In August, CD Foundation organised a New Zealand chapter of the “World & Us” cultural exchange series in Auckland, Hamilton and Whangārei.

This was followed by an Indian chapter in January, where a 30-member Māori delegation participated in cultural exchanges across Delhi, Telangana and Odisha.

Meanwhile, members of the Indian community in Auckland said some performers had sought help after arriving in the country.

Licensed immigration adviser Jagjeet Singh said two men had approached him, seeking advice about applying for asylum.

“I met two guys who were walking outside Sikh temple, and someone told them about my office,” Singh said.

Singh said both men were on limited visas and he advised them to return to India.

He said the pair had paid about 20 lakh rupees (around $40,000) to come to New Zealand.

Singh said the two men had told him they were travelling by bus to Whangamatā.

He believed they intended to stay longer in New Zealand and that the money they paid was for a pathway that they thought would eventually lead to a work visa and residency.

A South Auckland lawyer said he had also been approached by several members of the delegation.

Raj Pardeep Singh, a principal barrister and solicitor at Legal Associates in Papatoetoe, said four people visited his office seeking advice.

Singh said he encouraged them to consider legal migration pathways such as student visas or options under New Zealand’s Green List.

“It is important for people to follow their visa conditions,” he said.

A community leader from the Indian state of Haryana said he had also been contacted by several individuals for help to remain in the country.

Sunil Kumar initially agreed to meet the group because they were from his home state in India.

“I met a few people who were seeking help to stay in New Zealand while they still had a valid visa, but I advised them to go back and told them that this is not the right way to stay in New Zealand,” Kumar said.

Kumar said the group told him they had been duped by agents in India who took advantage of them coming from a less-developed part of Haryana.

Meanwhile, Bollywood singer Shibani Kashyap distanced herself from the overstayer issue.

“I’m very upset that my name has been dragged into this without any clarification from me,” Kashyap told RNZ from India.

Kashyap said she travelled alone for the event and did not bring musicians or performers with her to New Zealand.

“It was a solo performance. I had no team or performers travelling with me for the event in Pukekohe last month,” she said.

“Visas and tickets are highly expensive, so I never travel with a group of musicians to countries like New Zealand because it’s next to impossible.”

Kashyap said the event was organised by CD Foundation.

“CD Foundation, Charu Das’ foundation, was spearheading the whole thing,” she said. “What the foundation does, who she calls and what she’s doing – that’s not my responsibility.”

Asked about the performers who had overstayed, Kashyap said she had no knowledge of them.

“I have no clue who those people are,” she said. “I had only come for my performance and to launch and unveil World & Us documentary.”

CD Foundation also released a statement, saying Kashyap was the sole featured artist of the Holi celebration in Pukekohe.

“She is in no way responsible for, connected with, or associated with any individual members of the wider cultural delegation, other than her professional engagement with CD Foundation as a featured artist for the programme, with CD Foundation being the organising body coordinating the event,” the statement said.

The statement did not include any reference to those who had overstayed their visas.

Kashyap has previously appeared at several CD Foundation events and has been described as a cultural ambassador for the organisation.

She has also performed in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and New Zealand as part of CD Foundation programmes.

RNZ understands many of the visas for the delegation were approved by Immigration New Zealand on 20 February – a day before the event was scheduled to take place.

Immigration New Zealand told RNZ that some applications take longer to process “which may mean that they are decided close to the intended travel date”.

“Our ambition is to provide a trusted and effective immigration service,” said Jack Gilray, director visa at Immigration New Zealand.

“We aim to strike the balance between facilitating visitors and protecting New Zealand from immigration risk.”

The agency told RNZ that investigation teams would review information relating to the visas issued to the cultural performers.

Immigration New Zealand also said it was unable to reveal details about asylum claims.

“We cannot confirm whether asylum claims have been received from any members of this cohort, as, under section 151 of the Immigration Act 2009, the identity and details of refugee and protection claimants, or even the fact that a person has claimed asylum, must be kept confidential at all times,” Gilray said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Shane Jones is continuing to make a case for why the Marsden Point refinery should have been saved, but his coalition partner David Seymour says the economics don’t stack up.

The debate over whether the now-defunct refinery would have left New Zealand less vulnerable to supply chain issues played out extensively in Parliament on Thursday.

It comes after government ministers met on Wednesday night to discuss the country’s fuel security as the ongoing war in Iran puts pressure on supply.

Currently the country has about 52 days worth of fuel supply either in country or en route.

Jones, the associate energy minister, first blamed the previous Labour government for allowing oil companies to give up storing fuel here in favour of a ‘just-in-time’ model relying on multiple import sources, in an interview with RNZ’s Morning Report on Thursday.

Responding to that criticism, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Jones is being dishonest by blaming the previous government for current fuel resilience woes.

Hipkins told RNZ the closure of Marsden Point was a business decision, made by its private owners, and not a government decision.

“Ultimately Shane Jones is being very dishonest in the way he’s presenting that.

“Marsden Point refinery was processing oil that was imported from offshore. To say by importing the oil already processed, that somehow fuel security in New Zealand is less because of that, is just wrong.”

But Jones has doubled down saying the previous government fatally wounded the country’s fuel security in its decisions around Marsden Point, and says a 2021 Cabinet paper proves it.

The paper, which RNZ has a copy of, shows the Labour government considered providing a loan to Marsden Point but ultimately the then-Minister of Energy Megan Woods said there was not a strong case.

Hipkins says if Marsden Point would be useful as a storage option then “the tanks are still there and [the coalition] can have that conversation”.

It’s unlikely to get wide support at the coalition cabinet table however, with Act leader David Seymour declaring it a bad idea.

Seymour used to work at the refinery and his grandad helped build it in 1962.

“Let’s get a few things straight, first of all the shareholders chose to close it down. It was a commercial decision because it was costing more to refine there than elsewhere.”

To justify subsidising the refinery now to have it open would require a public benefit, he said.

“Once you go through the arguments it doesn’t actually stack up.”

When RNZ put to Seymour that it was his coalition partner, Jones, who was making the arugments to keep it open, he responded: “Well look, economics is not a gift given to everybody”.

Jones, however, has pointed to the 700 million litres of storage capacity at the refinery and the benefits that would bring if it was available today.

On Seymour’s criticism of his economic credibility, Jones said, “the leader of the Act party can say what he likes”.

“Sadly I was unemployed when that decision was made for the closure, and it would never have happened if me and my leader were around.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis, who is chairing the ministerial group overseeing fuel security, said there was no question if Marsden Point was up and running today it would make the country more resilient.

“That’s a simple fact.

“Now the circumstances under which it closed is for the previous government to answer to, they were in the hotseats at the time,” she said.

Recommissioning it now isn’t an option, according to Willis.

“I’m focussed on what we can do here and now, not looking back in anger, but of course those who observe we’d be more resilient if it was still up and running, they’re right.”

‘Hard to say’ – fuel supply expert

Consultant Andreas Heuser, a fuel supply expert at Heuser Whittington, helped author a fuel security study last year, which found reestablishing the refinery would bring only a little more resilience at a very high cost.

“The study did conclude that re-establishing Marsden Point was by far and away the most costly option, and the resilience benefits that it did offer were relatively small compared to other resilience options, such as increasing tankage, transitioning to EVs, improving the fleet of fuel trucks that drive around the country.”

Heuser told RNZ it was “hard to say” whether it would help much now even had it remained open, given the refinery processed Middle Eastern crude.

“It might be marginally more secure. But also, given that it processed a lot of Middle Eastern crude, there’s definitely a case to say we’d be less resilient.”

Heuser said Jones did have a point that the refinery would have given New Zealand a “larger crude storage buffer”.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Four of the government’s nine key targets risk not being met, the latest update shows.

People receiving Jobseeker benefits have increased significantly to 223,500 and education targets remain elusive.

A target to reduce the number of households in emergency accommodation has been met well ahead of schedule, as has a goal to reduce the number of victims of assault or robbery.

RNZ is tracking progress towards each of the government’s nine targets, which were announced by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in April 2024. The targets were chosen to focus the public sector on priorities, and progress is updated each quarter.

Employment and education goals – in reading, writing and mathematics – are classified as “at risk” of not being met. Two health targets are considered “feasible”: still possible, but behind schedule and facing “major risks and/or issues”.

Targets considered “on track” include reducing the number of households in emergency housing, cutting crime and youth offending, and meeting near-term greenhouse gas emission targets. Officials also say lifting school attendance is “probable”.

Each responsible agency assigns a status to progress, ranging from “on track” to “unachievable”. Progress toward reaching a target can still be classed as “feasible”, even if there are major risks or issues in meeting it, as long as the agency in charge believes these can be resolved.

The nine targets are set to be delivered by 2030, beyond the current political term.

Health

Achieving the goal for 95 percent of patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred from an emergency department within six hours remains far adrift.

The latest update shows 68.9 percent of patients are seen within that timeframe – a drop from 73.9 percent in the last quarter, and only 0.9 percent better than the September 2023 baseline figure of 68 percent.

The government’s update notes that the drop is in line with winter patterns from previous years.

When setting this target, officials warned there was a risk it would not be achievable in the short term.

“Most ED [emergency departments] nationwide are over capacity most of the time,” a briefing to ministers read.

It said wait times were affected by resourcing, community services, bed availability and seasonal changes, such as increased demand during flu season.

Attempting to reduce wait times would require significant system-wide change in hospitals, primary care and aged care, the briefing said.

“There would be a risk the target is achieved by focusing resources intensively in ED at the expense of other areas of the health system. This may result in improved ED wait times in the short term, but – through reduction in the quality of care elsewhere – would likely result in worse health outcomes and ultimately higher ED presentations in the medium to long term.”

This update noted there was a $20 million boost to emergency departments to increase frontline staffing as well as $164m over four years for new and improved urgent and after-hours care.

Palmerston North Hospital’s emergency department was being updated and 140 new inpatient wards have been fast-tracked across Hawke’s Bay, Nelson, Middlemore, Wellington Regional and Waikato hospitals.

Reaching the 95 percent goal by 2030 is considered feasible, meaning there are major risks to achievement.

The second health target for 95 percent of people to receive elective treatment within four months is a long way away from being achieved, although tracking in the right direction.

At the moment 65.9 percent of people needing elective treatments, such as hip or cataract surgeries, are seen within four months. This is higher than the 63.9 percent reported in the last quarter. This is the best result since September 2021.

The private sector is being used to tackle the waitlist, with 18 percent of treatments in the 2025/2026 year planned to be delivered by private providers. The latest report says 21,000 procedures will be funded through an Elective Boost programme.

The latest update says that at the end of June 2025 there were no patients waiting longer than two years that didn’t have a plan in place.

Delivery of this target is considered feasible, indicating there are still major risks.

Crime

The number of serious and persistent youth offenders has decreased to 856 and has now reached the target of 900 or fewer well ahead of 2030.

For a youth offender to be classed as a serious or persistent offender they must have committed three or more offences in the past 12 months, with at least one of them having a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment or more.

Bootcamps, improving response teams and locally-led initiatives and increased school attendance are listed as areas the government is focused on to reach the target.

The latest update also said the second reading of the Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill, is due to occur and this will strengthen the Government’s response to youth offenders.

The goal to reduce crime is classed as on track and has been reached ahead of the 2030 deadline, falling to 135,797, an improvement on the target of 165,000.

This target was kept as one of the nine government targets, despite officials suggesting it would be difficult to achieve and should be replaced with something easier to reach.

The goal is based on data from the New Zealand Crime and Victims’ Survey. Officials warned the survey data had a high margin of error and was more suitable for showing long-term trends.

The survey asks respondents about their experience of reported and unreported crime over the past 12 months. The latest figures represent the survey’s annual results. Quarterly data is potentially more volatile and may fluctuate.

Initiatives to reach the target include the Three Strikes sentencing reform, gang harm legislation, improving security at targeted locations and breaking the cycle of violence with expanded drug and alcohol interventions for in remand custody.

Employment

The number of people receiving Jobseeker support has risen by 5700 to 223,500 since the September report. This target remains classified as “at risk”. It is 83,500 away from the overall goal of 140,000 or fewer people receiving support by 2030.

The government’s update suggested the flow of people receiving the Jobseeker benefit will decrease as economic conditions improve. Measures to reduce the number of people on Jobseeker benefit include community job coaches, and placing 4000 Jobseeker Support Health Condition or Disability clients with case management with a view to a graduated return to work.

A test for Jobseeker eligibility for 18 and 19-year-olds was announced in October, which will mean applicants whose parents have a combined income above $65,529 will be ineligible for the benefit. It’s estimated 4300 young people will be affected by this.

Education

At 50.3 percent, Term 2’s attendance rate is well below the target of 80 percent of students present for more than 90 percent of the term. This means students should take no more than five days off a term.

Absence is classed as either “justified” or “unjustified”. Justified absences include illnesses, and other reasons which fall under school policy, such as suspensions. Unjustified absences include truancy, or taking holidays in term time. The government target of 80 percent makes no distinction between the two.

Attendance management plans have been implemented from 2026, these are now mandatory. They include attendance targets for schools, and a process to identify and manage absences.

Since 2011, the highest percentage of students attending 90 percent of a school term was 72.8 percent, in Term 1 of 2019. The average over that time was 59.4 percent.

Reaching this target is deemed “probable”.

Currently 47 percent of students are at the expected level in reading, 24 percent in writing and 23 percent in mathematics. It remains unchanged from previous reports due to the current reporting cycle. New twice-yearly assessments will commence in Term 2, along with a new tool to monitor and assess students.

A structured literacy programme has been rolled out, along with a refreshed curriculum. Mathematics and writing action plans have been launched to raise achievement.

This target is considered to be “at risk” of not being met.

Housing

Driving down the number of households in emergency housing is one target where progress leapt ahead of estimates.

From a baseline of 3141 households, the goal was to reduce the number by 75 percent, to 800 or fewer.

The current number is 444, well below the 800 which was the 2030 goal. Although it is three higher than the September update.

Part of the plan to reach the target includes improving access to other forms of housing for emergency housing residents. As of December, 1095 households (with 2340 children), have been housed in a social housing tenancy.

This is an increase of 11 households and 12 children since September’s report.

Climate

There are two targets New Zealand has committed to meeting as part of its net zero climate change goal.

The first target is for total greenhouse gas emissions between 2022 and 2025 to be below 290 megatonnes. The second target is for total emissions to be less than 305 megatonnes.

This latest government report says this target is on track, with a smaller buffer than previously reported due to a data error.

A decision on whether savings made in the first budget period being counted toward hitting the 2026 to 2030 period will be decided in 2028.

Among the work listed to ensure the target is reached was the announcement by the end of March of loans to expand electric vehicle charging stations. However, the government is considering scrapping the clean car standard.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi says she is still waiting to learn what her reinstatement to Te Pāti Māori will look like in practice, and there are still questions over whether the party can be trusted by her rohe.

On Tuesday, Kapa-Kingi was officially reinstated to Te Pāti Māori after the High Court ruled her suspension and subsequent expulsion was unlawful.

Speaking to media for the first time since her reinstatement, Kapa-Kingi said the court’s decision was an important first step, but it would not heal the hurt carried by her people.

“This moment is not about personal vindication, it is about mokopuna. Mokopuna in the sense that every decision I make is measured by whether our mokopuna will inherit a better situation than the one we have today.”

Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris, who was also expelled but haD not been reinstated, said Te Pāti Māori had a “huge job” to repair its reputational damage.

Kapa-Kingi said her legal challenge was to ensure the voices of the people who elected her were shown respect.

“Te Pāti Māori’s kawa exists for a reason. They ensure respect for the authority and mana motuhake of our individual electorates – that respect was not afforded to the thousands of whānau in Te Tai Tokerau who entrusted me with the responsibility to represent them.

“The question remains whether Te Pāti Māori can be trusted by my rohe, while no changes have been made in the capability of the party beyond this term is debated amongst te iwi Māori,” she said.

Kapa-Kingi said there was no evidence she had misused funds or brought the party into disrepute.

“Utu pursued with ill intent can only attach where ill intent exists.”

She was determined to stand again in Te Tai Tokerau, and said running as an independent was possible despite her reinstatement.

“There is a world that has that potential possibility in it, yes.”

Asked whether she had rejoined the party, she said she was “in the early stages of what the detail of that actually looks like”.

In his judgement, Justice Paul Radich said the process had breached the party’s “kawa” – rules, requirements and protocols.

“To convene a meeting which would play a fundamental part in determining Kapa-Kingi’s future with the pāti without involving her, without giving any indication that a resolution to suspend her was on the table, without allowing her an opportunity for a substantive response, and in the absence of the members of her electorate council, could not on any view be seen, for example, as elevating and enhancing relationships, as working together with respect, as promoting whanaungatanga, as working for unity, as developing an environment that nourishes wairua or that reflects the attributes of rangatira,” Radich wrote.

Kapa-Kingi had also sought to challenge the re-appointment of John Tamihere as the party’s president, but Justice Radich did not uphold that, saying there was “no invalidity” in the process of Tamihere’s re-election.

She said she had received contact to “get together” with Tamihere and have a discussion, but she had not had a chance as she was focused on nephew Peeni Henare’s valedictory.

After Justice Radich had released his decision, Kapa-Kingi posted on social media that he had “brought justice” to Te Tai Tokerau voters.

“Pursuing a legal pathway in the courts was never my first choice. My intention in bringing this case throughout was not to incite division, but seek clarity and ensure that the processes we hold ourselves to – particularly those grounded in tikanga, are honoured,” she wrote.

Following Kapa-Kingi’s reinstatement, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the party was looking forward to “repatriating” Kapa-Kingi back in.

Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris, who was also expelled from Te Pāti Māori, has not been reinstated as he did not challenge the party’s decision. He will remain an independent MP for the rest of the term, and intends to stand again in the seat as an independent.

Speaking after Kapa-Kingi, Ferris said the court had “put the truth out there” and iwi Māori would be waiting to see how the party responded.

“The truth is on display for everyone to see. The kaupapa of Te Pāti Māori is a people movement, and it’s here to ensure that the Māori view and Māori rights are looked after and respected well in this House, and that’s the thing that draws me to here.”

Ferris did not see a need to pursue legal action, as Te Tai Tonga was happy with what he had done and supported him.

“Te Tai Tonga invited Te Pāti Māori to a hui, it wasn’t taken up, so the kaumatua of Te Tai Tonga are clear about how Te Tai Tonga will move.”

He said trust and confidence had been “eroded” and the party’s reputational damage had been “sustained, and it is going to be a huge job to rebuild it.”

Ferris believed Tamihere had too much control over the party, however, and suggested more distribution of power across a broader base of rohe representation.

Asked whether he wanted to be back in the party, Ferris said the ball was “firmly in the court” of Te Pāti Māori, and nobody wanted to be stuck in a to-and-fro forever.

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