Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) fears a wind change forecast for Tuesday morning at Tongariro National Park could cause flare-ups, as it battles a major blaze.

Crews have been at the site overnight.

The fire started on Monday – one month after a blaze covering almost 3000 hectares ripped through the park.

FENZ Incident Controller, Assistant Commander Renee Potae, said the latest fire had burned 322ha of alpine vegetation and was 50 percent contained on Monday night.

“Fortunately, the fire has moved towards the area which was burnt last month, and this has enabled the aircraft to contain the southern flank of the fire.”

But she said the wind change could push the fire into unburnt vegetation.

Fire crews from across the country are on standby to help.

Alpine Crossing closed

The Department of Conservation (DoC) has closed the Tongariro Alpine Crossing as firefighters battle the blaze.

In a statement, the DoC said it had cancelled bookings for Mangatepopo Hut, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, and the Tongariro Northern Circuit on Tuesday as a precaution.

It also suggested visitors should leave the Whakapapa Village area for their safety.

DoC said it was not aware of any structural damage, but anticipated significant impacts on biodiversity in the affected area.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for mana whenua, Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro, said the fire had been deeply felt across the hapū.

“Tongariro is our living ancestor – the foundation of our whakapapa, and the spiritual and cultural heart of Ngāti Hikairo. To see fire return to this area so soon after the last major event is emotionally heavy for our people.”

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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 man who befriended a boy at a campground became a close family friend while sexually abusing the boy into his teenage years, the Crown says.

Michael Ian Mclean, 58, faces 33 charges, including performing indecent acts on a person under 16, grooming, and sexual violation, and has pleaded not guilty.

‘It was crushing’ – family torn apart by secret

On Monday afternoon, the Auckland District Court watched a video statement taken from the victim, who can not be named.

In it, he spoke about the harm his relationship with Mclean had caused.

He said keeping the secret from his family tore them apart.

“That man ruined my connection with my family,” he said

“Once I finally told them, it was crushing.”

The victim said Mclean was the manager of the Glen Innes Swimming pools and YMCA.

He said what happened had left him with serious mental health issues.

“It damaged me so much mentally, it caused me a million more bad things than good, and I wish I could’ve just stayed a bit more innocent and live my childhood, and not have to keep a secret from my parents for seven-plus years.”

The victim said he and Mclean had been close to getting caught a number of times.

Court hears openings from lawyers

In her opening address to the jurors, Crown prosecutor Liesel Seybold said Mclean initially exchanged nude photos with the 12-year-old boy after meeting him and his family at a campground in 2015.

“He would tell [the victim] to delete the chats, and even check his phone to make sure that it was all deleted,” Seybold said.

Seybold said Mclean began touching the boy and they would see each other over the years, with Mclean becoming a close family friend.

The sexual abuse continued as the boy became a teenager, Seybold said.

It was not until the victim’s mother’s birthday party two years later when someone saw the victim stroking Mclean’s crotch, with Mclean doing nothing to stop it, Seybold said.

The guest raised it with his parents, going so far as to ask if Mclean could be trusted.

Mclean’s lawyer Ron Mansfield KC urged the jurors to treat the allegations they had heard as exactly that.

“There are 33 charges, but you’d need not get too caught up in that because this man says that those allegations are nonsense,” Mansfield said.

“They didn’t happen, and they could not have happened.”

Mansfield told jurors Mclean himself would give evidence later in the trial.

He cautioned the jury about jumping to conclusions.

Earlier, Judge Simon Lance warned the jury about misconceptions surrounding sexual crimes.

“Research shows that widely held assumptions about how frequently sexual offending occurs, and when, where, and against whom it occurs, are usually incorrect, and do not reflect the reality of sexual offending,” he said.

“It’s therefore important for you to know that there is no such thing as typical sexual offending, a typical sexual offender, or a typical victim of sexual offending.”

Judge Lance said sex offences could happen in a variety of circumstances.

The trial continues.

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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 Christchurch man has ditched his home insurance after his premiums went up by more than 30 percent a year – or by $1000 – based on new risk pricing.

Tower Insurance has taken into account the risk of sea surge and landslips for the Burwood home, as well as earthquakes and flooding.

But Trevor Taylor says his home is several kilometres from the sea, and he can not understand Tower’s sea surge assessment.

He has challenged that assessment, but said the insurer will not budge.

Taylor has asked to the see the evidence used to assesses his property, but Tower has refused to release specific information.

Taylor told Checkpoint he thought the odds of him being caught up in a sea surge were close to zero.

“They are doubling down and saying ‘no, I am at risk here’ and I just think it’s a load of rubbish.

“If you actually look at the journey where the water would have to go, it’s actually quite ridiculous.”

Taylor said he had done his own research into the journey the sea surge may take to get to his property.

He said it involved the water travelling up an estuary and a river, bursting through stop banks, and travelling uphill past houses before it reached his home.

While Tower had told him that its risk assessment was based off close to 200 million data points, Taylor was sure his own research negated some of the company’s findings.

“I’ve done a bit of my own research and according to the Ministry of Environment, storm surges rarely exceed 0.6 metres on open coasts around New Zealand.”

The Ministry of Environment noted that surges can be higher in some estuaries and harbours, with the largest recorded a 0.9 metre storm surge in Kawhia Harbour in May 2013.

Taylor said he thought Tower was overestimating the risks.

He said he had filed a Privacy Act request, asking for all the information Tower had on his property, but was refused based on the grounds it was commercially sensitive.

“I’d actually like someone from Tower to get out of their ivory tower in Auckland and come down and we’ll drive around and have a look and I can just show them how ridiculous it is.”

Taylor said he felt there was a disconnect between Environment Canterbury, the council and government agencies, as he struggled to find a uniform set of data to base the risks upon.

“I think risk pricing is fair, the thing is, I think they’re actually making up the risk.”

He said a government body should have a responsibility of investigating risk assessments by insurance companies if people felt they were wrong.

“The government or local councils can work together and then they could figure out ways to mitigate these hazards.”

Tower said in a statement that the high sea surge risk rating given to Taylor’s property reflected the likelihood of his flooding through nearby water systems, including the Avon River, Travis Wetland Nature Heritage Park and Horseshoe Lake.

“If a storm coincides with high tides, water levels can rise, and waterways can carry water many kilometres inland, causing flooding during a sea surge event. Our assessment is consistent with the Christchurch City Council’s flood map which notes the property as being in the council’s flood hazard management area, with a one in 200-year flood risk.”

Tower said fewer than 10 percent of properties with higher sea surge or landslide risks would see an increase in the natural hazards portion of their premiums. A third of those would see a premium increase of less than $100 a year, and the majority would be less than $300 a year.

“For some customers with significantly higher risks, the natural hazards portion of the premium will increase by more.”

Tower would not release detailed data because “it would not help customers understand the risks”.

“For example our sea surge model considers a range of different historical and possible tidal heights within storm scenarios – sharing this detailed data would not help customers understand their risks. It is also commercially sensitive. Instead, we simplify this information into a risk rating, which represents our evaluation of the insurance risk for a property based on this data.”

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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 National Iwi Chairs Forum (NICF) has delivered a 24,000 strong petition into the hands of the Minister of Education calling for the immediate reversal of the amendment that removed school boards’ requirement to give effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Minister of Education Minister Erica Stanford met with the NICF outside Parliament alongside MPs from other parties, where she accepted the petition with its 24,001 signatures.

Rāhui Papa is chair of the Mātauranga Iwi Leaders Group, the education arm of the National Iwi Chairs Forum. He told RNZ his group stood in solidarity with the many boards, teachers and students who backed the petition.

“From my viewpoint, any government should take the pulse of their people and should actually turn around and listen to their people when they see that it’s rubbing up against the consciousness of our own country.”

Papa said there needed to be a “resetting”.

“There needs to be reinstatement or absolutely making sure that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is in its highest form in any legislation,” he said.

Papa hit back at previous statements made by the minister, who said she had heard from some principals who felt the were being pressured to sign the statements of support for Te Tiriti.

“The messages that we have been receiving is that this has been something that is near and dear to the hearts of their BOT (Board of Trustees), of their communities and of their school system within their own school. This is something that has been a progress by them, on their own,” he said.

“Sure, schools could have opted not to be part of it, and some of them may have. But with over 60 percent of schools voluntarily signing up and voluntarily sending open letters for everyone to view and to peruse – that is just magnificent in itself.”

After receiving the petition Stanford told the crowd the government shares many of the same aspirations for tamariki Māori with the NICF. There were scattered boos from the crowd as she delivered her speech.

“To make sure that no matter what we’re resourcing, not matter what our policies are, that we are providing resources in te reo Māori, that we’re providing professional learning and development to kaiako, and that our laser focus is on raising achievement,” she said.

The importance of the Treaty of Waitangi in the Education Act has never been in question, she said.

Stanford said she was hopeful that the government and the NICF can work more closely together to improve outcomes for tamariki Māori.

“At the heart of all of this is tamariki Māori, doing right by them, making sure that they meet all of their future aspirations and they can go on to live the life they want.”

Labour Spokesperson for Education Willow-Jean Prime said the minister still isn’t listening to what the iwi, boards of trustees and schools are saying.

“The minister on the one hand saying she wants to continue to work with Māori on all of the things that are important for Māori education, yet here receiving a petition for an example of where she did not consult Māori, even though she was advised to.”

Prime said the petition and the more than 1600 schools who have publicly reaffirmed their commitment to Te Tiriti have sent a strong message to the minister.

NZEI Te Riu Roa president Ripeka Lessels was at Parliament to support the petition, she told RNZ that Te Tiriti o Waitangi and student achievement are not exclusive.

“You can have both, you can have Te Tiriti o Waitangi and give obligations to it, and still have student achievement. We already know that, we know that from Kura Kaupapa, we know that from Kura ā iwi. It can work and it does happen.”

Upholding Te Tiriti is crucial for creating truly equitable and inclusive schools where every tamariki can succeed, and the union will continue to fiercely advocate for it, she said.

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