Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Conservation groups are calling for action to reduce dolphin deaths off Canterbury’s coastline.

A female Hector’s dolphin was killed in a set net off Kaikōura’s coast and discarded last month, according to the Department of Conservation’s (DOC) database.

DOC figures show 14 out of 24 reported dolphin deaths off New Zealand’s coastline over the past two years were in the Canterbury region, including four in Kaikōura.

Seven were due to entanglement in set nets, two from bycatch, three from beachcasting, one by stranding and one was found floating at sea.

The endangered species has an estimated population of 15,700.

Conservationists want more effective rule enforcement, an extension of set-net bans, and better protections in marine areas and reserves.

Forest & Bird Canterbury / West Coast regional conservation manager Nicky Snoyink said dolphin deaths are avoidable.

”It’s a terrible thing to hear these dolphins are dying out and we do so much better.”

Kaikōura Wildlife Centre Trust manager Sabrina Luecht was also concerned by dolphin deaths.

”Effective marine habitat protection, responsible fishing and accountability are imperative in ensuring these precious taonga persist in our region long-term.”

Greanpeace oceans campaigner Juan Parada said the government should ban trawling in dolphin habitats and commit to cameras on the full fishing fleet.

”Even when not directly caught in the nets, trawling degrades the habitats that animals like Hector dolphins and hoiho (yellow-eyed penguins) depend on for food.

”With fewer fish, surviving animals are left hungrier.”

Environment Canterbury (ECan) councillor Genevieve Robinson has been calling on the council to update the 20-year-old Canterbury Regional Coastal Environment Plan.

ECan acting regional planning manager Lisa Jenkins said the role for regional councils under the resource management reform had yet to be clarified.

”Once national direction has been confirmed, options for coastal management will be developed through a public process.”

The coastal plan works alongside the Wildlife Act and the Biosecurity Act to protect the region’s biodiversity.

Fisheries New Zealand and DOC are responsible for managing the risks to Hector’s dolphins.

DOC senior science advisor marine Anton van Helden said the department’s role included addressing the threat of toxoplasmosis (a parasitic disease), managing marine mammal sanctuaries, education, research and managing threats to dolphins.

Fisheries NZ fisheries management director Emma Taylor said Canterbury has the largest populations of Hector’s dolphins.

Set net closures are enforced off Pegasus Bay, the Canterbury Bight, Banks Peninsula and Kaikōura.

Other measures include working with commercial fishing boats to improve bycatch mitigation and the use of on-board cameras.

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Christchurch-based fish processor has been fined $20,000 for illegally handling live mussels from a restricted biosecurity zone.

Ikana New Zealand was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court this month after admitting nine biosecurity offences.

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) investigators found the company received 27 shipments – more than 239 tonnes – of live green-lipped mussels from the Upper South Contained Zone near Nelson and Marlborough.

Restrictions have been in place since 2015 to prevent the spread of the shellfish disease Bonamia ostreae, which affects flat oysters.

A biosecurity inspector discovered the green-lipped mussels were being moved illegally in October 2024, MPI said.

MPI director of investigations and compliance support Gary Orr said neither Ikana, as the receiver of the mussels, nor the company supplying them had the necessary permits.

Ikana’s actions were negligent, he said.

“These green-lipped mussel shellfish were for export, and the unlawful movement of this shellfish had potential to cause serious reputational harm to the New Zealand shellfish industry,” he said.

“The vast majority of people who work in the commercial fishing industry are responsible and do the right thing by following all rules and regulations.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Waiheke Island’s only respite care house for kids with disabilities has closed, leaving parents who booked their children in for school holiday programmes and overnight stays in the lurch.

Spectrum Care said the service at Melanna House was running at a loss and they made the difficult decision to close it last September.

So far no other provider has filled the gap.

Sixteen-year-old Gen has very high, complex needs and requires round-the-clock care. She has been a regular at Melanna House’s school holiday programme for children with disabilities.

Her mum Christabel Tomlinson said its closure six months ago has had a big impact on the family.

“It made me really consider my ability to continue a full time job. I decided that it wasn’t the best move to continue employment and look after my daughter, in fact that would have been impossible.”

She finished her job at the end of last year to take on the full time care of her daughter because finding carers on the island isn’t easy.

By the end of the summer school holidays, Tomlinson had burned out.

“I realised just how burnt out I was looking after her, it’s relentless and you just feel exhausted and tired and I’ve used more than a month to get back to full health and full energy.”

Andrew Sexton’s son James also needs round-the-clock care. He has complex needs.

He said James has been a regularly at Melanna House for almost a decade and the out-of-home care provided them a much-needed break.

“It’s huge it just gives you some space that you desperately need to rest your mind. James he’s a clapper so he claps all the time and he’s got a very loud clap. Just some quiet time makes you feel a lot better.”

Melanna House has provided parents respite since the early 1990s, under various providers.

“It’s quite an essential service to have one house on the island that should be utilised for the community.”

The house is owned by Kainga Ora and its director of supported homes Lucy Ashby said it was one of 1455 homes it leased nationally to housing and support services providers.

She said the Waiheke house was leased at market rent to the service provider, who must also hold an eligible government funding contract to deliver residential care.

“We are continuing discussions with potential providers to assess whether they can take over this service as these homes can only be leased to providers who hold an eligible government funding contract to deliver residential care,” Ashby said.

“If we are unable to identify an eligible provider, we will need to consider next steps, including the potential sale of the property. No decisions have been made at this stage, and we are working through the options.”

She said Kainga Ora remained committed to keeping families updated as this process continued.

Spectrum Care general manager of communications Justin Walsh said after six years running Melanna House, it was a difficult decision to close, but the high costs of operating and the small number of people accessing the support means they’re running at a loss.

He said four families were regularly using the respite house and it operated for four days a week – its only funding were the payments it would get from families booking in their children, via their individualised funding.

“We made sustained efforts to ensure these services could be delivered in a way that was both high-quality and financially sustainable,” Walsh said.

“Despite these efforts, the combination of a very small number of people accessing support and the high costs associated with delivering safe, quality services on the island meant we were unable to achieve a sustainable model.”

Walsh said Spectrum Care worked closely with Disability Support Services, Kainga Ora, Kaikaranga, local partners, and affected people and whānau; reviewing service models and staffing arrangements; and exploring a range of funding and delivery options.

“Following an extensive review and careful consideration, Spectrum Care made the difficult decision to cease respite support services on Waiheke Island,” he said.

“This decision was not made lightly. We recognise the impact it has on people and whānau, and endeavoured to manage the transition with care, respect and ongoing engagement with those affected.”

Ministry of Social Development general manager of commissioning and funding Catherine Poutasi said Disability Support Services (DSS) contracted Spectrum Care to deliver respite services on Waiheke Island for disabled people.

She said DSS were advised in July last year that Spectrum would close Melanna House at the end of September.

“We understand that Spectrum Care offered service options in Auckland for those impacted by the closure on Waiheke,” she said.

Carers NZ chief executive Laurie Hilsgen said more needs to be done to keep the service going for the island community.

“I think that’s a tragic, unacceptable loss. Not that a service might close because that is a reality, sometimes services do come and go but you have to replace it with something or there has to be another plan.”

She said families caring for disabled children need to have respite care options.

“Those parents, those families, they’re not robots. At the end of the day we all go home from our jobs and we rest. For these people that will be placing extra pressure because they are unable to get a wellbeing break.”

A local trust that provides residential rehabilitation, Waiheke Island Supported Homes Trust, is looking at whether it could run the service.

General manager Andrew Walters said they would need to be assured the right funding is available.

Tomlinson said Melanna House is crucial for Waiheke – and everything should be done to keep it going, including lowering the rent on the state house.

“To keep those services going on the island I think is super important because we will always be an island and cut off from mainland services and we will always have disabled and special needs people in amongst our community here on Waiheke.”

She said they would also like to hear from any philanthropists interested in helping to keep the service going on the island.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Gloriavale’s leaders made sham payments to community members to make it appear as though they are rewarded for their efforts, the Employment Court has heard.

A group of nine leavers are seeking to quash Labour Inspectorate findings from 2017 and 2021 that those working in the community were not employees.

The group are seeking judicial review of alleged actions and inactions of labour inspectors who investigated and reported on concerns about work within the Gloriavale Christian Community, particularly two reports that found workers were not employees.

The Employment Court has since found those working for the West Coast community’s businesses are employees and the community’s so-called Overseeing Shepherd is their employer.

The Labour Inspectorate – a unit of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – found in 2021 it had no jurisdiction over the community as workers were not employees under New Zealand’s law.

However, the leavers’ lawyer Brian Henry told the Employment Court at Christchurch on Monday that conclusion followed a 2021 inspection of the community in which the inspector raised concerns about the conditions in the community.

Henry read the labour inspector’s notes, made at the time of her visit, to the court.

“They chose who we spoke to – possible cherry picking, but we were able to wander about,” the inspector’s notes said.

“Only spoke to people of standing in the community. The leader stayed close to us, suggested that we interviewed him – refused.

“Seem to know how much they get paid. Process of putting money into their accounts only for the financial controller to take it out again is a sham. It is a sham to attempt to show people are being paid.”

Members who were part of the community’s “partnership” received payments into their own bank accounts but those payments could be taken out again by the community’s financial controller.

Henry told the court the inspector had recognised the partnership structure used in the community was a sham.

“These are notes made at the time as she’s leaving Gloriavale,” Henry said.

“We all know the value of notes made at the time. Here she is, she’s recording this has been a controlled situation. But most importantly she has understood from talking to these people that this payment structure, which is part of the partnership, is a sham.

“So how did she go from there to a final report saying no one’s an employee based on the partnerships?”

Henry also detailed to the court the working conditions in the community, including boys as young as 6-years-old working in its businesses, a large dairy operation overseen by 14-year-olds, and girls working in what the community’s leaders described as the largest kitchen in the country.

A letter from the Department of Internal Affairs to the Labour Inspectorate outlined concerns about excessive hours, no holidays, insufficient maternity leave, child labour, minimum wage breaches, and poor record keeping.

“The overwhelming impression of Gloriavale when you get there is that this is an industrial complex,” Henry said.

“It had farms, a rendering plant which is very heavy industry, sphagnum moss processing plants, honey factories, projects including drilling for oil and operating an airline, and the workforce is supported by what Neville Cooper – Hopeful Christian – called the biggest kitchen in New Zealand.

“It is quite overwhelming to look at the industrial size of that kitchen producing food for 600 odd people three times a day, approximately 11,000 meals a week.”

The idea workers at the community could be considered volunteers could be “very readily dispelled”, Henry said.

“The vast majority of workers, by the time of the inspectorate investigations leading up to the 2017-2021 reports, were born into or brought in from infancy in the community.

“Life rules are set out in the manual called What We Believe. It’s not just religious, it is their actual life … rules.

“What We Believe states ‘education is limited to the needs of the community’, i.e. the work they’re assigned by the Overseeing Shepherd and they have no choice of their role – especially females.

“All Gloriavale workers do as instructed by their supervisors, responsible to the Overseeing Shepherd, there is no discretion. Gloriavale is an industrial complex with multimillion dollar businesses.

“What We Believe directs all Gloriavale members must do what they’re able to do or they do not eat. All Gloriavale members must support the leaders.

“The workers all owe the Overseeing Shepherd to abide by the doctrine of unity and submission – absolute control. The shepherd has enforcement processes to enforce What We Believe, which are draconian.

“The shepherd decides who a worker marries and before they’re permitted to marry they have to sign the commitment.”

Members were told they could not leave Gloriavale without jeopardizing their eternal soul, Henry said.

The relationship between the community’s leaders and its workers was one of absolute power and control, he said.

“It’s the antithesis of being a volunteer.

“A volunteer is someone who does work without being paid for it because they want to do it. So they’re certainly doing work without being paid for it – they were getting their keep – but they weren’t doing it because they want to, they were doing it because they had to.”

The hearing is set down for five days.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: This story contains details of an alleged sexual assault.

A man accused of taking a teenager 17 years his junior to a bach and then sexually violating him while the young man was intoxicated has pleaded not guilty.

The accused, who has name suppression, is facing one charge of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection between 1994 and 1995.

In her opening address at Christchurch District Court, Crown prosecutor Penny Brown said the complainant, who was 18 or 19 years old, claimed the pair drank and smoked cannabis at the Lake Coleridge bach, with the complainant becoming so intoxicated he thought he might have been drugged.

He said the accused, who was 17 years older than him, helped him to bed and to remove his clothes other than his boxer shorts and a T-shirt.

The complainant said he woke and found himself face down with his hips propped up over cushions, and the accused sexually violating him.

“The defendant said he felt like a child, like a child who was supposed to be seen and not heard,” Brown said, “and while it registered to him that it should not be happening, he could not muster any type of fright or flight response. He just froze and let it happen.”

The complainant did not tell anyone until around 2000 when he revealed what had happened to his ex-wife.

Brown said the complainant did not report it to the police until 2020, by which time she said his life had derailed and he was due to be sentenced for serious offending.

He told the person preparing his pre-sentence report he had been sexually abused.

In 2021, prison staff got in touch with police to say the complainant wanted to speak to someone about the allegations, and a video interview was made.

On Monday afternoon the video interview will be played to the jury. In the video, the man said he knew the accused was gay, but had no issue with that.

On the night of the alleged abuse the accused put on gay pornography, but the younger man asked him to turn it off. The older man said he should watch it for a bit and he might like it.

The complaint left the room, and when he returned the video was off.

He said on the night the accused made all of the drinks in another room, and at the time he just thought the man was being a good host.

“Looking back, why wasn’t the Coke and [stuff] sitting there with us?”

He said he had been drunk and smoked marijuana before, but on this occasion he could not get his body to move properly and his feet were dragging.

The complainant said the next day the accused acted like nothing had happened.

In the defence’s opening address, lawyer Ryan Jones said the accused accepted he took the young man to the bach but said no sexual activity and no sexual abuse occurred.

He said the case was not straightforward, and it should be remembered that the defendant was presumed innocent until proved otherwise.

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

Oranga Tamariki is investigating after two youths absconded from a Lower Hutt care facility.

Residential services care and protection manager Karen Gillies said police were called when the pair fled the Epuni Care and Protection Facility on Sunday night.

They were found and returned in the early hours of Monday morning, she said.

“We are looking into the incident to determine how it occurred and consider any lessons we can take forward.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: This story deals with sexual violence.

Lengthy prison sentences for two of Christchurch’s most prolific sex offenders have been upheld by a High Court judge.

Danny and Roberto Jaz were convicted in 2023 of 69 charges, including sexual assault, rape, stupefaction, disabling, sexual violation and indecent assault.

The case garnered international attention after details emerged showing how the brothers had systematically targeted young women at their family businesses over several years.

Many of their 23 victims were staff or patrons of Mama Hooch bar on Colombo Street, or nearby restaurant Venuti.

The brothers were each sentenced to more than 16 years in jail, with non-parole periods of half their sentences.

At sentencing, Judge Paul Mabey told the men the level of their offending was unprecedented in New Zealand.

“You helped yourself to young women with callous disregard for their rights and their dignity, their youth,” Judge Mabey said.

The pair appealed the convictions, claiming Judge Mabey was biased, made errors assessing evidence and breached their fair trial rights by refusing to allow closing submissions.

Danny Jaz also appealed his sentence on the basis he did not receive sufficient credit for pleading guilty.

At appeal, the brothers’ lawyer Ron Mansfield KC told the court his clients did not get a fair hearing, which had led to a significant miscarriage of justice.

All appeals, except for three charges against Roberto Jaz for making an intimate visual recording, failed.

In his decision, which was reserved until Monday, Justice Cameron Mander dismissed the sentence appeal as without merit.

Despite the guilty plea, Danny Jaz showed “no remorse or acceptance of the harm he caused his victims”, he said.

Thirteen of the 14 complainants associated with those charges were still required to attend court and give evidence about “distressing matters” because Jaz continued to deny other related charges of drugging and disabling those same women, he noted.

Justice Mander also dismissed both brothers’ appeal of their conviction, with the exception of three “lesser” charges against Roberto Jaz of making an intimate visual recording, which were quashed.

However, his sentence – 17 years’ imprisonment, with a minimum period of eight years and six months – remained unchanged.

The total starting points for Roberto’s original sentences aggregated to 41 years, and the judge had already significantly reduced that to 17 years, Justice Mander said.

“When viewed overall, I do not consider the final 17-year sentence is required to be adjusted.”

Justice Mander described the trial judge’s decision to skip closing arguments as “unadvised” and demonstrating a “lack of procedural prudence”, noting that the judge appeared to have become distracted by the need to prioritise the start of a second trial.

However, “an appellant must be able to demonstrate that, as a consequence of the error or irregularity, their trial was unfair”, he said.

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