Category: Public Media

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DOC asks people to stay away from seals after pup forms ‘unhealthy bond’ with humans

Source: Radio New Zealand

A kekeno / New Zealand fur seal pup. Supplied / Department of Conservation

It may not be the ‘silly season‘, but that has not put a stop to naughty New Zealand fur seals causing mischief.

The Department of Conservation (DoC) is reminding the public that kekeno are not pets, as more and are spotted around the country.

New Zealand made international headlines this month, after footage of a seal pup wriggling through the front door of Sprig+Fern The Meadows in the Tasman town of Richmond went viral.

Another seal pup was spotted in Christchurch last week, with DoC having to intervene after a member of the public threatened to take it home.

Ranger Mailee Stanbury told RNZ that the pup had travelled several kilometres – from the suburb of Redcliffs, through the Heathcote River, all the way to Opawa – which was “not unusual”.

“It is normal for seal pups to go exploring up rivers, and sea lions have been seen as far inland as 60 kilometres,” she said.

“It is common to see them coming up the estuary at this time of year, exploring and fishing. With an increasing population around Banks Peninsula, there’s a chance we can expect to see more fur seals coming into residential environments around estuaries.”

While DOC would prefer to leave the pup alone, Stanbury said she had to move it “because it was unsafe from people”.

“Unless we absolutely need to, we prefer to take a hands-off, more natural approach.

“That’s the only way that wildlife can actually learn and explore – and I think they should be able to do so without threats from humans.”

DoC moved the pup “because it was unsafe from people”. Supplied / Department of Conservation

Stanbury said the pup was being hand-fed fish, and one person had even taken it from the Heathcote River and put it beside the road.

It had learned that people would give it food, Stanbury said, so it had started to habituate to them.

“There were men there who were saying that they were going to take the pup and put it in their bath at home, which is completely inappropriate. That is a very inappropriate way to treat New Zealand wildlife. We do not take them home.”

While Stanbury had taken the pup to Godley Head late Friday night, it had returned in search of more hand-fed fish by the morning.

The pup was first spotted at Taylors Mistake beach, passing by the Surf Life Saving Club, before loitering in the car park.

“It actually stopped some people from leaving because it went and sat right underneath the back wheel, and they couldn’t back out of the car park and go away. Even when they turned on the engine, it just got in closer under the car, so it really has no fear of humans or cars at all.

“And at that point, we made the call that we were going to need to take it quite a bit farther away – somewhere where it can’t hear or see people at all – and will hopefully be able to re-bond with its own kind and break this unhealthy bond that it’s now forming with humankind.”

Stanbury released the pup in a bay past Akaroa Harbour on Monday.

“These little seals are only just weaned from their mothers and need to learn to feed and survive in the wild. When people feed them or interact with them, they are putting its life in danger as it will bond with people and keep coming back to urban settings where it can be attacked by dogs or hit by a car.

“We urge the public to leave seals alone, give them a wide berth, and absolutely do not feed them.

“Ring the DoC hotline if you think a seal is injured, sick, or in danger.”

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Our Changing World: Restoring Te Awarua o Porirua / Porirua Harbour

Source: Radio New Zealand

Cockles are used as an indicator species to track the health of the harbour. Veronika Meduna

The wetlands and surrounding forests of Te Awarua o Porirua, or Porirua Harbour, were once rich food baskets for Ngāti Toa Rangatira. Indeed, it was the bounty of these waterways that convinced famed 19th century rangatira Te Rauparaha to bring his people south from Kawhia in 1820.

Ngāti Toa Rangatira kaumatua Te Taku Parai says there was lots of timber for building waka and whare, tributaries flowing into the harbour carried different foods, swamps provided plenty of harakeke, and greenstone could be found close by.

Sometimes, you can still see rays and rig sharks, and occasionally even pods of orca in pursuit of a meal in the inlets. But the harbour also carries the legacy of decades of development throughout the catchment – large-scale deforestation, road and rail building, and urban growth – bringing sediment and pollution in, and destroying natural habitats.

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Earlier this year, Ngāti Toa Rangatira signed a historic account with local and regional authorities to restore the harbour’s ecosystems, with a focus on stemming sources of pollution and reducing sediment flows.

Jimmy Young, Greater Wellington’s catchment manager for Te Awarua o Porirua, says his team is out on the harbour every week to meet with other groups working on the restoration. The two inlets – or “two lungs of the harbour” – are affected differently.

“One is far more rural and the other is far more urban,” he says. “In Pāuatahanui you don’t have those urban pressures, you have the roads but a much more natural shoreline. While in Parumoana, you have all the heavy infrastructure that’s been there for decades – railway lines and state highways that have straightened the shoreline, and a lot of reclamation of land.”

Young says the accord puts the harbour at its centre to better coordinate ongoing efforts, focusing on sites with the best chance of restoration. “It’s an inter-generation effort to restore the abundance of fish and healthy ecosystems.”

An aerial view of the two arms of Te Awarua o Porirua, with Parumoana inlet in foreground, Pāuatahanui inlet in the back. Wikimedia Commons

The regular cockle survey in Pāuatahanui inlet, run by the Guardians of Pāuatahanui, is one of New Zealand’s longest-running citizen science projects. Every three years, since 1992, volunteers come together to sample the inlet and count and measure the cockles they find.

Chair of the Guardians, Lindsay Gow, says the inlet has a variety of bird species and fish and is the main breeding ground for rig sharks in the western part of the North Island. “All of that needs significant protection, and the job of the Guardians is to do everything we can … to make people aware of the importance of the inlet.”

A cockle survey takes place every three years. Veronika Meduna

Te Taku Parai says the harbour once allowed Ngāti Toa to feed its own people well, but also to host manuhiri and treat them with kai moana. He says he won’t rest until the harbour is restored and has instructed the iwi’s rangatahi to compose a mōteatea (lament) to sing as a reminder of the important work ahead.

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GST turns 40: Is it here to stay?

Source: Radio New Zealand

The tax, which is applied to almost everything you buy, has turned 40. 123RF

Happy birthday, GST. You probably pay it every day – 70c or so on a bottle of milk, $150 on an airfare.

But did you know the tax, which is applied to almost everything you buy, has turned 40?

This December marks 40 years since the law changed to allow Goods and Services Tax (GST) to be introduced in New Zealand. It took effect the following October.

Alan Bullot, a GST expert at Deloitte, said there was a lot to celebrate about the tax.

“New Zealand certainly wasn’t a trailblazer, but the GST legislation we brought in in New Zealand is seen universally as almost being best practice from a tax design point of view.

“It has a broad base that has very few exceptions and it just gets on with the business of what the tax is supposed to do, which is collect some money for the government to go off and do what the government needs to.”

He said when GST was first introduced in New Zealand, about 30 or 40 countries had a similar tax.

“Now, it’s the vast majority of countries other than America that have a national GST or VAT regime.

“Governments just love GST or VATs because they can forecast its collection a lot better because it functions over the whole economy. It’s a test of what the economy is doing.

“If you think about company tax, if I make a profit Inland Revenue can say ‘you made a $100 profit in the company and 28c is coming in’. That’s great, but if I’ve made a loss for two or three years, even if I made a profit of $100 this year the government might not get anything because I’ve got to go through my loss that’s in there.

“It’s much harder for the government to forecast exactly how much money will be coming in from income tax.”

More change coming?

Over the years, the rate has lifted from 10 percent to 12.5 percent to the 15 percent we now pay.

Bullot said it had also had to keep up with technology.

GST now applied to almost all international purchases imported into New Zealand.

“If you think about 1985, you might have heard of a CD. You may have seen a CD, that would be the pinnacle of music. You would have had a Walkman, you certainly weren’t able to download endless amounts of songs from overseas, you couldn’t download any movies.

“If you wanted to order anything online you couldn’t. If you wanted to order something from overseas that would have been pretty difficult… it was just so different in terms of the way that things would operate.

“The fundamentals of GST haven’t changed, but it has had to keep adapting to the economy it operates in.”

Every so often, there are calls for GST to be taken off things like public transport or food. Bullot said that was possible, but there would be drawbacks.

“Every time you do that, you add a bit of additional complications for businesses that are having to deal with it. And more to the point, if you’re not collecting it here, where are you collecting it?”

Bullot said Australia had more exemptions than New Zealand, but had been discussing whether to increase its coverage.

Treasury recently calculated that if nothing else were to change, GST might have to increase to 32 percent to cover the cost of an ageing population.

Bullot said another option would be not to have income tax but to charge a much higher rate of GST.

“Would people accept the doubling of GST?”

He said he could not see a future where GST was not a very significant part of the tax take.

“I think that it will stay that way. I think it is unlikely for it to increase from this rate from a practical political perspective. I think it is much more a case of we just need to keep making sure that it’s fit for purpose.”

He said Inland Revenue should change the rules if GST was not working as intended over time.

“I think Inland Revenue needs to be able to use that power perhaps a little more frequently sometimes rather than us going into sort of long technical debates… Sometimes we should just say what’s best for ‘New Zealand Inc’ and let’s move on.”

Roger Douglas, finance minister at the time GST was introduced. TVNZ

He said it was notable the level of GST tax debt had also increased recently and the government would need to continue to take action on it.

“I think it really needs to be a focus, because GST isn’t working if we’re getting information on returns but no cash. GST’s job is to collect large amounts of money in a consistent manner for the government, for the government to do the government’s programmes with the least amount of economic damage to the country in terms of compliance costs, uncertainty…

“Businesses can work around odd rules as long as they can see that they’re going to be there and they’re not going to flip and change.”

Is the tax regressive?

A major criticism of GST is that it is regressive because lower-earning households tend to spend more of their money, and spend more of it on things that attract GST.

Bullot said when the tax was introduced, benefits were increased to help cover the cost. He said the tax might not be as regressive as some people worried.

“When you look at what people in the lower incomes are spending their money on, a lot of it is residential rent, which is one of the big aspects that doesn’t have GST charged on it.

“Whereas if you are going out and you’re lucky enough to be in the financial position to buy a new house, for instance, when you’re buying that new house off the developer and say that was $500,000, you’re paying them $75,000 GST on top of that.”

Financial services and rent were some of the few things exempt from GST.

Could we introduce a tax like this now?

New taxes tend to be politically difficult. Bullot said the environment was different in 1985.

“It was coming in as part of a range of things… the floating of the New Zealand dollar, deregulation, we had a wage price freeze not many years before that, we’d had carless days and the GST coming through was just another one of those things.

“There was some pushback ,but not massive amounts, and there were significant cuts in the top rate of income tax.”

Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan. RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Good sales pitch

Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan said it helped that the tax replaced other complicated sales taxes, and happened alongside income tax cuts.

He said income tax was almost 75 percent of the tax take in March 1986, and that had dropped to 69 percent in June this year as the share of GST lifted to 24.4 percent.

The top income tax rate dropped from 66 percent two years later.

“The pre-MMP political environment was such that large changes could be made relatively easily, whereas political policy now is often very much about compromise between the various parties in the governing coalition.

“Interestingly, the yearbook also notes reviews in 1967 and 1982, both of which recommended greater reliance on indirect taxes, with mention also being made of the need to reform existing indirect taxes – so it wasn’t like GST was something that came completely out of the blue.

“I can’t comment on the sales job that Labour did around introducing GST in the 1980s, but it must have been reasonably good, given that the party was re-elected in 1987.

“Perhaps an analogy can be drawn with the current (longstanding) debate about capital gains tax. From an economist’s point of view, a move to tax profits on property more fully is a positive, because it means that person who has lots of money and assets would then be taxed more fully than currently, compared to the low-asset wage-earner who doesn’t have the ability to tap into these tax-free gains.

“It seems to me that the problem is in the sales pitch, which for the last six years has been ‘here’s a new tax’, rather than ‘this tax change will enable us to reduce income tax for the 80 percent of the population who aren’t property investors’.

“But even with its recent announcement, Labour was finding new ways to spend money from the additional tax, rather than just looking to make the tax system fairer.”

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said he thought it would be possible for a government to do something similar with a tax on capital.

“It will happen with the political calculus of bankrupting our grandchildren forces us to.”

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Supermarkets ‘know how far they can push people’: How to get a good deal on Christmas groceries

Source: Radio New Zealand

What surprises does Santa have in store this Christmas? 123RF

Shoppers who look beyond the cheapest price tag might be able to save on their Christmas groceries in supermarkets trying to extract top dollar from them, Consumer NZ says.

Spokesperson Gemma Rasmussen said there was a risk people buying the item with the lowest advertised price might miss out on something that would be cheaper on a per-unit basis.

“We know the supermarkets will be filled with specials like multi-buy deals and member prices as we get closer to the big day – using unit pricing can help you cut through the promotions and figure out the best value.

“Grocery shopping can be stressful and expensive at the best of times. Unit pricing is an easy way to see through all the different brands, quantities and promotional chaos. So, instead of just grabbing the big container of custard, thinking it’s better value, you can check that it really is. You might find you’re paying less per 100g if you buy the smaller container.”

Supermarkets are now required to display a unit price for items as well as the overall package price, to make it easier to compare different sizes.

Rasmussen said Consumer research showed many people found that useful when products came in different sizes or when something was on special and they wanted to work out which size was the most price-effective.

“If you need eggs for whipping up the pavlova, unit pricing will make it easy to see what you’re paying for each egg regardless of whether you’re comparing six-, 10-, 12- or 18-packs.”

Consumer looked at the cost of creating a pavlova at Rasmussen’s local supermarket. The shopping list included eggs, caster sugar, vanilla extract, cornflour and cream.

Eggs can vary in price. Morgane Perraud / Unsplash

“We compared the cost of buying the cheapest and then the cheapest unit price option for each item.

“The cheapest overall picks cost a total of $18.61 and would have been enough to make one pavlova, with a small amount of leftover sugar and plenty of vanilla extract and cornflour to spare.

“When we went for the cheapest unit price items we would have spent more in total, at $37.37, but we would have bought enough produce to make three pavlovas. This version equated to a cost of just under $12.50 per pavlova, with two eggs, sugar, cream, cornflour and vanilla to spare.”

She said shoppers would have a lot of things vying for their attention in the supermarket.

“Maybe you’ve got a lot of things that you need to buy, there’s a lot of pricing and promotional activity that’s happening with signs and the unit pricing is very small.

“So sometimes it can be hard to give your attention to that, but we have heard that 64 percent of New Zealanders have said that unit pricing is helping them.

“Often when we are looking at a product, maybe you’re looking at Weetbix for example, and one packet which is smaller might be on sale and so automatically you think that is a better deal, but if you to look at the unit price of the Weetbix between multiple sizing, you’ll actually be able to see where the best value lies.

“We completely understand that sometimes purchasing more is not cost-effective for families, given how stretched many budgets are particularly around Christmas time, but by looking at the unit pricing, it really does enable you to understand the value of a product and how much you could be paying for that.”

She said supermarkets sometimes made their savings sound better than they were.

“We would really advise people to try and cut out the noise with that type of with the specials and the promotions and to lean on that unit pricing a little.”

She said anyone going to the supermarket at the moment would think there were deals to be had everywhere.

“Supermarkets are really good at creating this feeling of savings and promotions. Supermarkets are experts of customer behaviour and they know the things people are going to be buying around this time of year.

“Obviously there are benefits like things like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries… we get these seasonality benefits where the price of certain items do come down, but I think that those supermarkets’ modus operandi is to get as much money as possible from shoppers, and I think they employ really sophisticated technology in terms of those price points and knowing how far that they can push people, particularly around the festive season.”

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Schools’ spending on cruises, travel, hospitality scrutinised

Source: Radio New Zealand

Stock photo. The auditor-general’s annual report on schools’ 2024 accounts said more schools than the previous year were struggling financially or spent money inappropriately RNZ/ Nick Monro

Auditors have called out schools for spending their money on boat cruises, food for local families and travel for principals – and in some cases their partners.

The auditor-general’s annual report on schools’ 2024 accounts said more schools than the previous year were struggling financially or spent money inappropriately, and many still failed to plan ahead for building maintenance.

The report said 27 schools needed Ministry of Education guarantees for their finances – about four times as many as the previous year.

It said schools needed guidance on “sensitive expenditure” and on planning maintenance for their buildings.

The report said one school board provided so little financial information auditors could not give an opinion on their accounts.

That was the combined board of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Manurewa and Te Wharekura Manurewa and applied to their 2021, 2022 and 2023 audits.

“The school board did not retain accounting records and relevant supporting documents to underpin the financial statements,” the report said.

“We also could not obtain evidence that controls over the school’s expenditure and payroll were in place and operating effectively during the years that we were auditing.”

It said auditors highlighted issues in 64 audit reports and at 21 schools this related to use of schools’ $6000-a-year fund for professional coaching and support for principals.

“We drew attention to some spending on personal travel for the principal and, in some instances, companions because there was no clear business purpose for it,” the report said.

“In some instances, there was a lack of documentation or receipts to support the business purpose of the principal’s travel. For most of these, there was a clear business rationale for the travel, but there was additional travel and spending (such as on tourist activities) that appeared to be personal in nature.

“Any personal travel incorporated into business travel should be at no additional cost to the school.”

Some of the larger sums involved included:

  • Glenview School in Hamilton spent $29,458 on trips to Canada, Vietnam, and Samoa that had business purposes but did not provide enough evidence that all the spending had a clear business purpose or was in keeping with expectations about how public funds were used.
  • Fairfield College in Hamilton paid $17,155 for its principal to travel to Alaska and Canada. The travel through Alaska and Canada was for research, but there was not enough evidence that all the spending, including during stopovers in Hawai’i and New York, had a clear business purpose.
  • Haeata Community Campus School paid $18,500 for a trip to Queenstown for professional coaching and well-being for its senior leadership team but did not provide enough evidence that all the spending had a clear business purpose.
  • Maraenui Bilingual School in Napier paid $9086 for the now-former principal to attend a relative’s tangi and $7058 for that principal and a family member to travel to Rarotonga but did not provide enough evidence that the spending had a clear business purpose linked to student outcomes.

The report said the Ministry of Education had developed new guidance and criteria for spending on professional coaching and well-being support which would be published early next year.

Other sensitive spending issues included:

  • Rotorua School’s principal spending $38,882 of school funds on meals and entertainment for 44 students and adults on a trip to the US in 2023 but not providing receipts.
  • Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Mangere spending $35,025 on hospitality and entertainment for staff including “$22,833 on a boat cruise for 45 people and other spending that we consider is neither moderate nor conservative”.
  • Sutton Park School, which spent $11,017 for a staff planning meeting at SkyCity and “distributed $14,227 of food to families of school pupils during the Covid-19 lockdown and gave $4000 of Pak’nSave gift vouchers to families of school pupils for the vaccination drive, which did not have a clear business purpose”.

      • The report said auditors noted some instances where schools broke the law.

      It said two schools met the costs of an international student through a scholarship, even though legislation required schools charge fees that at least covered the costs of tuition and capital facilities.

      Eight schools borrowed more money than they were allowed to and 10 schools breached conflict of interest requirements by entering contracts with board members worth more than $25,000 without the secretary for education’s approval.

      The report said 51 schools did not provide enough evidence about their plans for ongoing maintenance of their buildings.

      The report said some schools did not keep adequate records of community-raised funds or sports fees.

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I accidentally got sunburnt – what should I do?

Source: Radio New Zealand

As more of us head outdoors for beach days, hikes and barbecues, experts are reminding us that sunburn isn’t just uncomfortable — it can cause long-term damage.

Dr Sharad Paul from Skin Surgery Clinic says it can speed up aging, cause pigmentation, and increase your risk of skin cancer.

Dermatology Society spokesperson Dr AJ Seine adds sun damage often starts young.

Dermatology Society’s spokesperson AJ Seine is based in Tauranga at Skin Centre.

Supplied / Wayne Tait Photography

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NZ Cricket CEO Scott Weenink ‘on leave’ as governance spat escalates

Source: Radio New Zealand

NZ Cricket CEO Scott Weenink is understood to be entering mediation over his job. Alan Lee

NZ Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink has stood down from day-to-day duties at the national body amid an ongoing fight for his survival.

RNZ understands Weenink went on leave as of 5pm on Friday ahead of mediation with the NZ Cricket board over his future.

It is understood Paul Wicks KC is advising the board on the process ahead, including the possibility of negotiating an exit agreement with Weenink.

In a statement, NZC’s manager of public affairs Richard Boock denied the national body had started an employment process with Weenink.

“He’s taken some time off to be with his family at the start of the school holidays,” Boock said.

Boock added an agreed date for return had been set for 19 December.

However, sources say Weenink offered to go on leave as his position at NZC has become increasingly untenable as he has been sidelined from attending key events.

“He basically exists in a state of purgatory right now,” said one insider.

Weenink’s sudden absence marks a dramatic escalation in a battle that has been brewing over several months.

RNZ last month reported Weenink was “fighting for his survival” amid a power struggle over the future of the domestic game.

Weenink faced allegations of working to “actively undermine” a bid by a private consortium to establish a new T20 franchise competition – a proposal supported by all six major associations and the NZ Cricket Players’ Association (NZCPA).

All of six of the major NZ Cricket associations are supporting a bid for a new privately-funded T20 league. Photosport

However, several senior cricket figures told RNZ while a proposed private Twenty20 franchise league has been a flashpoint for tensions, the crisis runs far deeper.

According to one source, concern around Weenink’s leadership has been simmering for several months, culminating in a letter sent to the NZ Cricket board on 16 October following a series of meetings between the six major associations.

In that letter, the major association chairs warned the board that the relationship with the CEO had become “irretrievable”, stating the network had lost “respect, trust and confidence” in Weenink.

The source said concerns about Weenink were also raised directly with the NZ Cricket board chair Diana Puketapu-Lyndon and later by follow-up letter in July – well before the concept of NZ20 was first pitched to the national body.

It is understood the major associations have obtained independent legal representation from high profile employment lawyer Stephen Langton, who has gone through a process of formally documenting the concerns of each of the regions.

Asked about the issues raised by the major associations over a period of several months, Boock responded: “NZC wouldn’t comment on that type of speculation.”

Martin Snedden, a former CEO of NZ Cricket, was part of a group alleging a “campaign to remove” Weenink as CEO Photosport

Plea to stop ‘playing the man’

While the major associations and NZCPA are keen to divorce the NZ20 from the conversation over Weenink’s leadership, there is a feeling among some in the cricket community that his lack of support for the concept has led to a “campaign to see the CEO removed”.

Last week, a group of four NZC life members wrote to the board chairs and directors of the national body, each of the major associations, the NZCPA and the NZ20 establishment committee to express their “dismay” at the damage caused to cricket’s reputation and leadership of the game as a result of the “growing dysfunction within New Zealand’s cricket family”.

“Currently it appears that the focus on NZ20, and other T20 opportunities, has been somewhat sidelined, as the dysfunction within the NZC board, NZC’s troubles with the MAs and with the NZCPA, and a campaign to see the NZC CEO removed, is publicly laid bare day after day,” said the letter, signed by Sir Richard Hadlee, Lesley Murdoch, Stephen Boock and Martin Snedden.

“We are deeply saddened by and worried about the resulting damage already impacting cricket’s reputation.

“We urge all those involved to stop ‘playing the man’ and, instead, focus solely on ‘playing the ball’.”

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Government to reveal Resource Management Act replacement

Source: Radio New Zealand

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (R) and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

The government will release its long-awaited replacement to the Resource Management Act, which the Prime Minister has described as a “game changer” for New Zealand.

Details of exactly what the replacement will look like will be revealed on Tuesday afternoon, but the government has already signalled the RMA will be replaced by two new pieces of legislation.

Both pieces of legislation will have more of a focus on private property rights.

A Planning Act will be focused on regulating the “use, development, and enjoyment” of land, while the Natural Environment Act will be focused on the use, protection, and enhancement of the natural environment.

On Monday, Christopher Luxon said the RMA was “broken” and was the “root cause” of many of New Zealand’s economic challenges.

“Everyone knows that the RMA is broken,” he said.

“It has held us back for 30 years, and it’s turned us into a country that says no far too often. With our government’s new planning system, there will be less talking and filling in forms, and more building, and more growing.”

Luxon said officials had estimated up to 46 percent of consent and permit applications required under the existing RMA could be removed under the new planning system.

Shortly after the coalition came into government it repealed Labour’s replacement of the RMA, which had only passed into law two months before the election.

The Natural and Built Environment Act and the Spatial Planning Act were instead replaced by the old RMA until the coalition could introduce its own replacement.

Despite repealing Labour’s reforms, Luxon said the government had reached out to Labour to seek bipartisanship on its own reforms.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he had a few “informal conversations” with RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop about the legislation.

“I don’t think that this merry-go-round of constant repeal and replace, repeal and replace, repeal and replace, is sustainable,” Hipkins said.

“So if we can find ways to support large parts of what the government are doing, we will do that. If there are areas where we disagree, we’ll be clear on what those areas are. But they won’t necessarily involve a whole other cycle of repeal and replace.”

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Mariameno Kapa-Kingi resolute on her return to Parliament

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi is returning to Parliament for the first time after being temporarily reinstated to Te Pāti Māori. VNP / Phil Smith

MP for Te Tai Tokerau Mariameno Kapa-Kingi is returning to Parliament for the first time after being temporarily reinstated to Te Pāti Māori.

Kapa-Kingi contested her expulsion in court last week and got her membership back in time for the party’s annual general meeting in Rotorua over the weekend.

She told RNZ she wanted to be included in the Māori Party’s weekly caucus meeting, though she was yet to get an invite.

“It makes Parliamentary sense to me to do that and I’ve prepared myself for that but I would expect that a discussion or a reaching out would happen. We’ll see.”

Regardless of getting an invite to the party’s weekly hui, she said she would be showing up and working this week.

“I’ve already had a couple of meetings in terms of the next two weeks. We know that the House is likely to go into urgency because there’s still quite a bit of work to push through.

“I’ll be there as usual, first thing in the morning … and we’ll set ourselves up in that way. I haven’t heard anything from the party, anything formal yet, but I’ll be at the House and ready if any of that comes through.”

Kapa-Kingi said she had received a lot of respect and love at Te Pāti Māori’s AGM over the weekend.

“There was certainly a lot of photo interest and the number of people, I’m talking from across the hui, not just people who I know, but definitely a number from across each of the electorates who were overtly kind, respectful, loving and supportive. They were all of those things directly.

“It didn’t surprise me that a lot of them were women, wahine Māori and wahine Pākehā, that were overtly expressing you know, that sort of ‘good on you Meno’, that kind of thing.”

Expelled Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris wasn’t at the AGM but published an Instagram story at the weekend, saying, “What Te iwi Māori doesn’t need is a political leader driven by UTU’.”

While Kapa-Kingi didn’t have a speaking slot at the hui, she said Dame Naida Glavish spoke on behalf of Tai Tokerau.

“She got really straight and plain in her reo Māori that only Tai Tokerau can take Meno out because it’s Tai Tokerau voters that put her in.”

Kapa-Kingi said Glavish also laid down key messages from a large hui at Kohewhata marae in Kaikohe a few weeks ago.

Te Pāti Māori’s leadership had been invited but did not attend.

“She laid that down very clearly and had the executive hear that. Obviously up to them how they understand it,” Kapa-Kingi said.

Glavish also shared a message from women in Northland about how they thought the Te Tai Tokerau MP had been treated, she said.

“They are absolutely disgusted with the way the president has treated me and the way in which he would address and assault me.

“Their kōrero was you are not suitable to be the president … and that we will persist with our plans for the Tai Tokerau from the voice of people.

“It’s not the executive that runs the people, it’s the people, the voices of the people, that will decide what is best for Tai Tokerau.”

Dame Naida Glavish spoke on behalf of Tai Tokerau at the AGM, Kapa-Kingi said. Lucy Xia

Asked if she thought the executive had understood this message, Kapa-Kingi said it was loud and clear for everyone that was present.

“Naida is very straight. There was nothing grey, no nuance in her kōrero. What they then do with that is yet to be seen.”

Kapa-Kingi said it was too early to say if the party had made any progress at the AGM.

“I haven’t watched or heard [Tamihere’s] discussion after the AGM but there was certainly a lot of contest to the discussion from the front table inside the room.

“There was a lot of contest and questioning and clarification, which is typical actually in an AGM, but there was definitely an edge to this.”

She said she didn’t have any interactions with the party’s president John Tamihere or party co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi over the weekend.

“You need to keep yourself safe, I don’t mean that in a dastardly way, I just mean you need to contain and moderate yourself.

“Naida was very clear, she was very clear with me; Tai Tokerau, I will carry that voice.

“It’s one of the most comforting things when you’ve got a he kahurangi, he rangatira just saying it’s okay, you’ve done your bit, you’ve done the heavy lifting. We’ve already got this decision from court so we’ll take this now.”

Kapa-Kingi said she was looking forward to taking a break over summer and would not change her mind about contesting the Te Tai Tokerau seat next year.

“Not at all. I am as resolute as I was when we first made the decisions to move a particular way and in fact I’m as resolute as I was when Tariana asked me to run.

“Of course there’s ups and downs and life is always present and this situation now, but I’m as resolute as I was then and I’m determined.”

She wanted those in her electorate to take a break over summer too.

“Keep connected to the idea that by Māori, for Māori, and all those things Māori that you value, those are still the things that in my heart our party is about.

“Fundamentally, tikanga is critical, te reo is critical, your connections to your marae and all of those very deeply traditional Māori things are critical.

“So connect, reconnect over Christmas with everybody that you love, care about and want to spend time with and just focus on those things because there’s a lot to come in the next year.”

A substantive hearing into Kapa-Kingi’s future in Te Pāti Māori will be heard in the High Court in Wellington on 2 February 2026.

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

Posted on

Childcare company removes detergent from centres after children chemically burned

Source: Radio New Zealand

Seven people were taken to hospital after a dishwasher chemical was mistakenly used on a children’s slip and slide in Woolston. Nathan McKinnon / RNZ

The childcare company responsible for children suffering chemical burns has removed the detergent that caused the injuries from all of its centres.

Seven people, including five children, were taken to Christchurch hospital after a dishwasher chemical was mistakenly used on a children’s slip and slide at Kindercare in Woolston.

In a letter to parents, Kindercare said additional supplies of the detergent had been removed from its centres.

The provider said it was investigating alternatives to the chemical.

In a statement, Kindercare said the centre reopened on Monday morning.

“We are overwhelmed at the trust families have placed in us, despite Friday’s incident, and we are encouraged to see that all of the children who attended hospital on Friday, have returned to our care today. We will continue supporting our families and team.

“Our investigation is underway and we’re committed to working cooperatively with WorkSafe and the Ministry of Education through this process.”

Kindercare said it would not be making further public comment until the investigation had concluded.

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