Category: Public Media

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‘We’ve got a shot’: Labour readies for political revival

Source: Radio New Zealand

Labour leader Chris Hipkins shook people’s hands as he walked out of the theatre hand in hand with his fiancé Toni Grace. RNZ / Anneke Smith

Analysis – The Labour Party will be chuffed with how its party looks and feels after an energetic annual general meeting in Auckland this weekend.

Party faithful packed out the ASB Waterfront Theatre for what was a slick operation, rounded off by a rousing performance by singer/songwriter Annie Crummer.

Sitting in the crowd, it was hard to believe Labour had lost so badly in the 2023 election – there was whooping and hollering, countless standing ovations and at one point an enormous disco ball.

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins at the party’s annual general meeting in Auckland. RNZ / Anneke Smith

There is still roughly one year until the next election, but watching Labour leader Chris Hipkins walking out hand in hand with his fiancé Toni Grace definitely had the look of a campaign already underway.

Divisions on tax have seemingly been shelved for now, with most members RNZ spoke to pretty happy with the party’s capital gains tax.

“I think for New Zealand it’s about right,” one man said.

“I think it’s far enough at the moment, to take people with it,” a woman said.

Labour is slowly building up its policy programme, adding low-interest loans for family GP practices to help deliver free GP visits at the weekend.

Singer/songwriter Annie Crummer performed for Labour Party members at their annual general meeting in Auckland this weekend. RNZ / Anneke Smith

Campaign chair Kieran McAnulty told RNZ the party’s strategy for the 2026 election was simple.

“It’s clear to us that the government isn’t talking about the things that Kiwis care about most, and we’re determined to make sure that we are.

“If we do that, and every time they hear from us, we’re talking about a solution to the issues that they’re facing. We’ve got a shot.”

McAnulty said the solutions also had to be easy to understand, pointing to Labour’s capital gains tax as an example.

“All the efforts from the National Party to scaremonger about what the capital gains tax is, actually isn’t the case, and people know because it’s so simple, because it’s so straightforward, it’s residential and commercial property, excluding the family home, and nothing else is included.

“There’s a reason that their attacks have fallen flat, because they’re baseless.”

While the party was happy with how its tax policy had been received, it was not getting ahead of itself, McAnulty said.

“We’re not getting too excited. We know that there’s still a year to go. We know there’s a hell of a lot of work still to do and we’re focused on that.

“No one’s getting ahead of themselves, and you can’t take anything for granted. So it’s great that polls are encouraging, but we’re still going to crack on as we were.”

The Labour Party has been polling well, tracking ahead of National on almost all issues, including the cost of living.

It has made hay with voter disillusionment with the coalition, with Hipkins taking every opportunity to trumpet the prospect of a one term National-led government.

“They don’t deserve a second term. One term is all they are gonna get,” he told a cheering crowd at the weekend.

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins at the party’s annual general meeting in Auckland. RNZ / Anneke Smith

Hipkins is trying to make history, asking the same electorate that booted him out two years ago to give him the top job again.

Asked what had changed between 2023 and now, he said the party had a fresh focus and fresh faces.

“We heard the message from voters at the last election as a government, we were trying to do too many things. We also weren’t speaking to them about the issues that really mattered to them.

“So you’ve seen the Labour Party really refocus over the last two years, very much focused on the issues that are of number one concern to New Zealanders at the moment, jobs, health, homes, cost of living, and we’ll have a different team too.”

Labour has begun rolling out candidate announcements, putting up economist Craig Renney for Wellington Bays and emergency medicine doctor Gary Payinda for Whangārei.

McAnulty said there would be a “range of high profile candidates” announced in the new year, though he was tight-lipped as to who they were.

There is still a long way to go until voters get a chance to have their say on the next government, though it feels like the election campaign has already started.

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How autistic girls and women get shortchanged

Source: Radio New Zealand

For generations, researchers have been convinced autism was a “male issue” and simply haven’t bothered to look out for signs of it in women, says British neuroscientist Gina Rippon. We now know that autism presents differently in females, who often mask the traits so they can fit in.

In her new book The Lost Girls of Autism, the autism researcher speaks with many late-diagnosed women who were miserable at school, developed eating disorders and self-harm behaviour in adolescence, entered abusive relationships and struggled all of their lives.

“The lack of awareness of this issue is quite profound, as well as the suffering that individuals have had to go through,” Rippon tells RNZ’s Saturday Morning.

Pan McMillan/https://www.ginarippon.com

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Mitchell Te Kani’s sister told off after reading pre-approved victim impact statement

Source: Radio New Zealand

Paula Beilby (fourth from left) with her whānau outside the High Court at Hamilton. Belinda Feek/NZME/Supplied

A woman whose brother was killed by a group of Mongrel Mob members says she feels revictimised, after a judge stopped her from reading out all her pre-approved victim impact statement.

Paula Beilby was not only stopped, but was also chided by Justice Mary Peters, after suggesting the defendant was given special treatment, because he had a separate trial from his nine co-accused.

“My apologies,” Beilby replied, “I’m only reading what I’ve got.”

“I don’t care what you’re reading, it’s totally unacceptable for you to say that,” the judge responded, before telling her to sit down at the back of the court.

Eventually, after a second victim impact was given by another person, the courtroom was put into chambers. When it was re-opened, Beilby was told she was not allowed back in.

The move left Beilby feeling frustrated and revictimised.

“I felt being pulled aside and made an example of… it was a bit rich, considering why we were there, and I feel like justice has not been served in this case.”

Beilby’s brother, Mitchell Te Kani, was killed, after being struck with a crowbar, during a brawl at their family home in Tauranga in 2023.

Nine people stood trial last year and were sentenced in relation to his death earlier this year.

At a separate trial, a 10th person – Hamiora William Jack-Kino – was found guilty of manslaughter, and four other charges relating to the serious assault of the victim’s brother and father.

He was tried on his own, because there was doubt over his fitness to stand trial, along with his cognitive issues, which would have caused delays, due to an increased number of breaks required each day.

He was then deemed mentally fit and given a communication assistant throughout his trial, which was held in the High Court at Rotorua earlier this year.

‘I feel we’ve been further victimised’

Beilby was the first of two people to read a victim impact statement at Jack-Kino’s sentencing in the High Court at Hamilton on 16 October.

After Justice Peters invited Beilby up to the front of the court to read it, she told the judge she wanted to read the parts that had been redacted before the hearing.

“I felt the whole justice system… and the way it’s worked, it’s just further victimised our whole family,” she told the judge, explaining why she had wanted to read the unredacted version. “I felt it was just something that needed to be said, that wraps up the whole of the trial and what we’ve gone through.”

Justice Peters then explained to her how victim impact statements were permitted under the Victims’ Rights Act.

“It’s got very clear controls on what can be said and what cannot, and I’m not in charge of that. I can tell you what the law is, but I don’t make it.

“If the redactions were made, they weren’t made by me, but they will have been made because that’s what needed to happen if they were to be read.”

Justice Peters said she could read the full statement herself or Beilby could read the redacted version out loud.

She then asked her what she wanted to do.

“I’d prefer it if I was able to read the whole statement, but since you have set that precedent for us…” Beilby said.

Justice Peters replied: “I haven’t set any precedent for you, I’ve told you what is in the legislation.”

Beilby then started reading her approved statement, but when she mentioned how Jack-Kino had a separate trial, “at the taxpayer’s expense, because you or your counsel deemed you special enough to warrant one”, the judge stopped her.

“That’s actually not correct, so I don’t want those kinds of offensive remarks made in court,” Justice Peters said.

“I’ve listened to you politely, you don’t know the first thing about why Mr Jack-Kino had a separate trial and I’m not prepared to have you say those things.

“They are incorrect and [Crown prosecutor Daniel Coulson] should have corrected it for you. If he didn’t, the detective should have.”

Beilby apologised, saying she was only reading what she had in front of her.

Justice Peters replied she didn’t care what she was reading and it was “totally unacceptable” for her to make that comment.

Beilby was responding, when the judge interrupted her and told her to sit at the rear of the court, and she would finish reading her statement on her own.

Bebe Hewitt, whose son was a victim in the brawl, then read her statement, before Justice Peters closed the courtroom, ordering a chambers discussion.

Shortly afterwards, Justice Peters decided to take the rare move of not letting Beilby back in.

‘I almost expect it out of the system now’

When approached by NZME outside court, Beilby said she did understand why there had to be two trials, but her point was that didn’t serve them as a whānau for those involved to have to give evidence again.

“To have my 74-year-old father sit and recall everything of those horrific events of the night, you know, that’s why you see so many of us here, because we are all affected.

“I felt being pulled aside and made an example of, it was a bit rich considering why we were there, and I feel like justice has not been served in this case.”

She said, when she wasn’t allowed back in, she was led into another room and given the option of watching proceedings from there, via an audio-visual link.

She turned it down and instead waited outside, as Justice Peters jailed Jack-Kino for nine years and issued a minimum non-parole period of four years.

Beilby said she wasn’t threatening or physically attacking Jack-Kino or his family, like he and his co-offenders did to their whānau that fateful night.

“They have no idea how they made my family feel.”

Upon hearing Jack-Kino’s sentence, Beilby said she felt it wasn’t a deterrent.

“It’s laughable. I’m past actually feeling offended, because I have almost expected it out of the system.”

Beilby said she felt “a bit hard done by, but I’m just not surprised”.

‘The hearings are often tense and emotional’

In a statement, a spokesperson from the Office of the Chief Justice confirmed that it was the responsibility of the prosecutor “for putting victim impact statements before the court”.

While redactions were not expressly addressed in the Victims’ Rights Act, they were not uncommon.

They could be used, because of abuse being directed at the offender, references to unrelated matters or offending other than that before the court.

A judge must approve the reading of a statement in court.

Asked whether it was normal practice for a judge to read a victim impact statement before a sentencing hearing, the spokesperson confirmed it was, but she was unable to comment on specific cases.

However, the statement didn’t address Beilby specifically being removed from the courtroom. Instead, the spokesperson said sentencing hearings “are often tense and emotional”.

“The presiding judge is responsible for managing proceedings in court in a way that is orderly and safe for the people in the courtroom.

“To do this, judges are required to make decisions in the moment, consistent with what they consider necessary to ensure a hearing proceeds in a safe and orderly way.”

The spokesperson said judges increasingly saw victim impact statements that contained material outside the scope of the legislation, including comments directed at offenders and abuse.

‘I have significant concerns’

Ruth Money, chief victims adviser to the government, said while she couldn’t comment on an individual case, she did have some concerns.

“I am certainly very concerned when any victim and whānau are asked to leave a courtroom.

“Not only does it go against open and transparent justice, it’s not how anyone, let alone victim survivors, should be treated.”

Money said she’d heard of victims being warned “for going off-script and discussing justice issues, as opposed to the impact of the offending, but in my 13 years I have never had a victim removed from a courtroom”.

“I have significant concerns for any victim who is asked to leave a hearing.”

Speaking generally, Money said she expected victims to be spoken to with respect and any issues to be explained well.

The writing of a victim impact statement involved either a victim support person, a court victims adviser or a police officer sitting down with the victim.

Once drawn up, it went to the prosecutor to be checked, before it was edited or approved by the sitting judge.

She said it was then returned to the victim, who was told why certain portions may have been changed or edited out.

Money said there was no consistency around the country about what was acceptable in a statement.

“What one prosecutor or judge will allow is completely different to another.”

Money said she was currently working with the Ministry of Justice on making improvements to the Victims’ Rights Act.

“It does need to be improved in terms of responsibilities and process.”

This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

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

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Raglan road-rage couple sentenced over brutal attack on teens after bridge stand-off

Source: Radio New Zealand

Raglan woman Te Hina Rehua-Whare, 27, was in the wrong, but refused to back off the one-lane Wainui Rd bridge. Google Maps/Supplied

A Raglan woman orchestrated a horrific attack on a group of local teenagers, after a righteous road-rage interaction on the seaside town’s one-lane bridge.

While Te Hina Rehua-Whare may not have laid a hand on the five victims, a judge has laid the full blame of the assault at her feet.

At sentencing in the Hamilton District Court this week, Judge Philip Crayton told the mother-of-two that the attack would never have happened had she not involved her partner, 25-year-old Kaedyn James Broughton Lee Wiremu Barber-Salvation.

The pair were both sentenced to home detention for their roles, although two others, who also unleashed punches and kicks on the victims, have still not been identified.

Judge Crayton said it was pure “luck” that nobody died that night.

‘Get f*****, I’m not moving’

The somewhat unusual incident began after the group of teenagers decided to drive to the Ngarunui Beach lookout at 9.30pm on Friday, 9 August, last year.

At the same time, Rehua-Whare, 27, was heading to pick her partner up from Primrose St.

When the victims were a third of the way along the bridge, Rehua-Whare drove her Toyota onto the bridge from the southwest, ignoring the give-way rule.

Both vehicles stopped in the middle of the bridge.

Two of the victims, who were in the backseat, got out of the car to talk with Rehua-Whare about who had the right of way and asked her to reverse off.

“Get f*****, I’m not moving,” she replied.

One of the victims said they were legally in the right, but she replied, “Get f*****, you don’t know who you are messing with”.

The argument was witnessed by a person walking on the bridge, who also told Rehua-Whare to reverse off the bridge.

Rehua-Whare refused, forcing the victims instead to reverse off the bridge, along with other road users.

She then drove off the bridge and the victims headed to the Ngarunui Beach carpark.

The one-lane Wainui Rd bridge. Google Maps/Supplied

‘I think I’ve found them’

Shortly afterwards, Rehua-Whare arrived and parked behind the victims’ car, before leaving again.

At 9.42pm, she sent a series of texts to her partner, saying, “I think I’ve found them” and “I’m at the reserve”.

Having seen the same vehicle and with the main gate to the carpark being due to close, the victims became concerned and decided to leave.

However, by the time they got to the gate, it was shut and Rehua-Whare was parked in such a way that it blocked them from leaving.

The victims got out of their car and had another chat with Rehua-Whare, who told them they had to stay there until morning.

They then tried to drive through the gate, after unwrapping a chain, but Rehua-Whare cut off their path using her vehicle and forced them onto the grass verge.

The victims drove around the corner onto Ngarunui Beach Rd, only to find their way blocked by another vehicle. Rehua-Whare drove up behind them.

Three large men got out of the second car, including Barber-Salvation, who approached them aggressively, before hitting the bonnet of the vehicle with his fist and yelling something.

He opened the driver’s door and asked, “Are you the ones on the one-way bridge?”, before punching the driver with a closed fist.

The victim lost consciousness, causing him to slump forward in the car, which then started rolling forward down the hill.

However, Barber-Salvation kept hitting him on the back of the head, as a rear-seat passenger yelled at him to stop, because he had a previous head injury.

“I don’t give a f***,” Barber-Salvation replied, as he continued punching the victim.

Barber-Salvation then demanded that another victim get out. He complied, putting his hands up, and was punched in the back of the head.

After walking him over to his partner to apologise, Barber-Salvation punched him to the jaw, causing the victim to fall down a bank.

Rehua-Whare then told her partner the victims had a video recording of the earlier incident, so Barber-Salvation walked a victim back to his car and demanded he delete it.

At this time, one of the unknown men opened a cardoor and punched another victim several times in the face and head, while the other opened the other door and said, “Who do you think you are, doing this shit in our town?”

He then demanded “all your cash, drugs, everything”, before throwing a bottle of soft drink at him and saying, “I will teach you not to do that shit around here”, and bashing him more than 10 times.

He then held the roof, and kicked and stomped the teen victim repeatedly. The victim eventually lost his vision.

As Barber-Salvation left, he returned to the driver’s door and said, “If any of you tell the police, I will find you and kill you”.

The victims were too scared to call police, but a concerned mother rang them the following day.

The victims suffered injuries, including concussion, a broken eye socket, bruising and pain.

When spoken to by police, Rehua-Whare said she was “in a mood” before she left home that night and admitted refusing to move off the bridge, but denied any involvement in the attack.

‘She should have let it go’

Rehua-Whare’s counsel, Mark Sturm, said his client had struggled to accept some of the charges, because she didn’t take part in any of the violence.

However, he had explained her role in the bridge confrontation and then texting her partner.

“She does contend that the young victims were a little more confrontational than the prosecution presented its case, but be that as it may… the reality is the defendant, as the older person… had the option of just letting it go and moving on, and she didn’t and that’s led to the charges that she faces, and indeed charges that her partner faces.”

Neither his client nor Barber-Salvation had appeared in court before.

Sturm said her offending “appears to be an aberration, out of character”.

She was highly thought of, not just by her work colleagues and whānau, but the wider community, he said.

‘It should have been a non-event’

Judge Crayton accepted that, were it not for his partner, Barber-Salvation would never have got involved.

On charges of injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, threatening to kill and intentional damage, he was sentenced to 11 months’ home detention.

Barber-Salvation also offered $8000 in emotional harm reparation, which the judge ordered be paid.

Judge Crayton said Rehua-Whare put herself “in a situation where you couldn’t take a breath”.

“From what should have been a non-event became a nuclear option. The only fortune… is that nobody died.

“One of those young men had a significant head injury. It’s luck that he didn’t die, another one was knocked unconscious.”

She was sentenced to nine months’ home detention.

This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

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Kiwi surgeon Dr Rowan Schouten behind international cricketers’ returns

Source: Radio New Zealand

Orthopaedic spine surgeon Dr Rowan Schouten performs a back proceedure. Supplied/Dr Rowan Schouten

Season-ending and sometimes career-threatening, a serious stress fracture can lead athletes from around the world to call on a Christchurch-based surgeon to get them back playing.

Referrals from some of cricket’s biggest names and a successful track record has made orthopaedic spine surgeon Dr Rowan Schouten a trusted ‘go-to guy’, when the careers of not only Black Caps, but Australian, Indian or European athletes are on the line.

Operating on cricketers’ backs is a minor part of Schouten’s public and private surgical role at St George’s Hospital, but it can have major consequences for a player’s livelihood.

Schouten operates on 2-3 cricketers a year.

“When you think we do 200-300 operations a year, it’s a very small niche market as far as our workload goes, but it’s been an interesting role that’s sort of built up over the last 10 years or so.”

While mostly involved with cricket, Schouten has contributed to other sports.

“We know the spine struggles to tolerate hyperextension loading in a lot of sports,” he said. “Stress fractures are not something that are isolated to cricket.

“We see it in dancers, we see it in other sports, like gymnastics and tennis and volleyball, basketball, but certainly cricketers, they’re probably the highest incidence of stress fractures among all athletes.”

Patient zero: Shane Bond

NZ bowler Shane Bond in action during his man of the match performance against Australia. PHOTOSPORT

Former Black Cap Shane Bond started it all and continues to be a big supporter of the surgeon’s work.

After years off the field with stress fractures in the middle of his international career, Bond was faced with early retirement or surgery.

The fast-bowler turned to Schouten’s mentor, Dr Grahame Inglis, who successfully pioneered a surgical technique, involving cables and screws, that got Bond back on the park.

Before Inglis retired, he sat Schouten down and shared his technique, and the reasons and indications why he would consider surgery.

Together, Inglis and Schouten operated on “a bunch of New Zealand cricketers in the same setting and then things started to go international, just before he retired”.

Former Black Cap Shane Bond, right, sends injured cricketers like Kyle Jamieson to Dr Rowan Schouten. Photosport

The Australians were the first overseas athletes to be “open to the idea of surgery for some of their trouble making fractures” and from there, others were on board.

“A lot of the cricketers around the world, when they have an injury, they reach out to others that have had similar,” Shouten said. “Shane is highly regarded, highly respected, coached throughout the world, so a lot of them contact Shane and then he brings that connection through to us.

“We’ve operated on over 25 professional cricketers worldwide now and it’s not an operation that’s done by a lot of people.

“Technically, it’s not a challenging operation, but it’s having that track record that is appealing and encourages people to come from other parts of the world to do it.

“There are other people around the world that were doing the surgery, in fact, but a lot of them all at the same time, they either retired or they were injured, and couldn’t operate.

“Out of sheer luck, we became the go-to for the world and, as a result, we’ve got some results that are now encouraging enough for other people to take the trip.”

Jasprit Bumrah of India. photosport

While Schouten does not talk about individuals, Indian fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Mayank Yadav, as well as Australians Jason Behrendorff, James Pattinson, Cameron Green and Lance Morris, are among those publicly linked by their national body to the New Zealand doctors.

Black Caps Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson are also on the list.

Australian tennis players and UK rugby players have sought Schouten out, as did an ice hockey player who did not require surgery, but wanted advice about how to manage load.

Treating an athlete is a team effort and Schouten said imaging from Pacific Radiology allowed him to make decisions about whether to operate or not.

NZ Cricket high performance physiotherapist Dayle Shackel helps manage rehab and recovery of all the international players, who spend two weeks in Christchurch afterwards, before check-ups become virtual.

Schouten has slowly modified and “tweaked” the technique over time, but the “essence of it is still the same”.

“Technology has changed quite a lot, even in the last 5-10 years,” he said. “We have computer navigation in theatre that helps us put everything that we need to insert accurately.

“There’s also a few other elements of the surgery that we’ve added in more recent years that I think are important for its success and to make sure that we deload that part of the spine that is so vulnerable to stress fractures.

“When players get back, not only do they have a fracture that’s a bit more robust from all the surgery, but also the loads that are going through that spine are not as significant.”

Bodies not made for cricket

Bowlers at all levels put their bodies through stress of varying degrees. John Davidson / www.photosport.nz

“It’s a tough gig, being a fast bowler, certainly from a spine perspective. When you think of each of these injuries taking 6-9 months to get back, it can be quite a big burden on these cricketers and their careers.”

A survey of New Zealand male fast-bowlers in domestic cricket a few years ago found “45 percent of them said they’d had a lumbar stress injury at one part of their career”.

“I was talking to Cricket Australia recently as well and they have good data on all their contracted players over the last 12-plus years. When you single out the male fast-bowlers that they have been looking after, they said 39 percent of them had had a lumbar stress injury over that time.”

A stress fracture does not happen out of the blue.

“They’re not one-off traumatic events,” Schouten said. “What happens is you load your spine and you get almost like a bruising of the bone to begin with.

“Then, if you continue to load it, that bruising then accumulates and builds up, and then you get some micro damage and eventually the micro damage, if you continue to load the spine, results in a full fracture.

“It’s a cumulative problem. Often, though, you don’t get symptoms until the very end of that sequence, but you can often see that the stress is brewing on MRI scans.”

As a preventative measure, some cricket governing bodies around the world, like the England & Wales Cricket Board, have their fast-bowlers get Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at intervals throughout their season to see whether any stress is building up.

“Then you can make decisions about whether you select them for a particular tour or whether you ask them to rest for a particular period.

“The key risk factor for stress fractures is how much bowling the players do.

“These days, when you see the amount of cricket that’s being played, and the number of series and the number of formats being played, then quite quickly your workload can escalate significantly into dangerous territory.”

Schouten said overseas bowling loads were mapped out to make sure players did not reach dangerous levels “or they don’t have big spikes in workload”.

“They know that certain types of bowling actions puts people at risk of stress factors, so there’s even thoughts and analysis goes into bowling action, and how that can be improved to reduce the risks.”

Surgery is not for everyone

The “vast majority” of cricketers, playing at all levels of the game, who have stress fractures, do not require surgery, Schouten said.

“A 16-year-old playing schoolboy cricket is a different scenario than an international whose career is on the line and the timing’s important. When they’ve got big contracts coming up or World Cups to play, it’s a slightly different scenario.

“The need to operate on a professional cricketer for stress fractures is very limited and it is normally resolved non-operatively to start with, through a six-month rehab period.

“It’s only the ones that re-occur that we start to consider surgery, those trouble-making ones that keep people sidelined repeatedly for sequential 6-9 month periods.

“[With] surgery, we’ve had some success, but it’s not bulletproof and we need to recognise some of those players who, even post-surgery, have had recurrences.”

Schouten said those players were not completely healed by surgery were a reminder that the bowling action was stressful for the lumbar spine and that surgery was not the only part of the solution, as it “still requires a whole lot of effort from the players to keep themselves conditioned and to manage their workloads appropriately”.

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Wastewater overflow prompts warning for Waiwhakaiho River, Bell Block Beach

Source: Radio New Zealand

Jordan Tan / 123rf

Although the volume of the overflow was small, it had the potential to reach an unnamed tributary of the Waiwhakaiho River. Supplied / NPDC

New Plymouth residents are warned to not swim at Waiwhakaiho River and Bell Block Beach, after an overflow of the council’s wastewater system.

New Plymouth District Council said the overflow was discovered at 11am Saturday and was stopped 15 minutes later.

“Our team has responded, and are correcting and monitoring the situation.”

Although the volume of the overflow was small, it had the potential to reach an unnamed tributary of the Waiwhakaiho River, it said.

“Permanent warning signs east and west of the Waiwhakaiho River mouth and at Bell Block Beach have been changed to warn against swimming, and will be in place for 48 hours.”

The cause of the overflow was a blockage in the line coming into the wastewater treatment plant, the council said.

The location of the signs and other current water quality warnings can be viewed on New Plymouth District Council’s Can I Swim? page.

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Kiwi Kate Hawley crowned inaugural Costume Designer of the Year

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mia Goth as Elizabeth in Frankenstein. Ken Woroner/Netflix

The British Fashion Council has named a New Zealander Kiwi Kate Hawley as its inaugural Costume Designer of the Year.

The Fashion Awards will take place in the United Kingdom on 1 December, where Hawley has flown from Wellington to attend.

Hawley has been recognised for her work as a costume designer for the Netflix film Frankenstein, which was released last month.

“It feels more than a little fabulous and, admittedly, a little overwhelming,” she said.

Hawley studied at the Wellington School of Design, before being trained at London’s esteemed Motley School of Theatre Design.

Mia Goth as Clarie Frankenstein and Christian Convery as Young Victor in Frankenstein. Ken Woroner/Netflix

“I will always be grateful to New Zealand for the opportunities that were afforded me that might not have been so easily created elsewhere.

“I have a long list of those to thank, but it has also been many years of learning, being inspired by so many wonderful people around the world – and through my working life.

“Every experience, individual, culture… every project shapes my approach to costume design.”

Before Frankenstein, Hawley had worked for director Guillermo del Toro on Crimson Peak and Pacific Rim.

She was also a costume designer for the television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and worked for director Peter Jackson on The Hobbit trilogy, as well as The Lovely Bones.

She worked for director Doug Liman on Chaos Walking and Edge of Tomorrow, director Chris Sanders on The Call of the Wild, director Christian Rivers on Mortal Engines and director David Ayer on Suicide Squad.

“Although this is the first time a costume designer has received this award from the British Fashion Council, I am very conscious of the legendary director-designer partnerships that came before and impacted our culture in the past – and indeed have inspired me greatly.”

Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein. Ken Woroner/Netflix

The British Fashion Council said Hawley was acclaimed for her innovative, narrative-driven approach to costume design.

“Her ability to create costumes that define character, elevate story and resonate beyond the theatre are especially visible in Frankenstein, where she blends historical authenticity with a contemporary eye, and incorporates technical research to inform custom patterns and fabrics.”

Hawley was also awarded the Special Achievement in Costume Design Award at the Middleburg Film Festival in the United States last month and has been nominated for Best Costume Design at next year’s Astra Film Awards in Los Angeles.

She told RNZ that Frankenstein was director del Toro’s passion project.

“All of us are elevated under his vision and artistry. He wanted to push each and every department to their maximum – to elevate the craft of filmmaking – so we did.”

Hawley said del Toro was her inspiration for the costume design in the film.

“It’s all there in the script – themes of religion, mythology, nature unbound.

“If every part of the process has the same intention and energy of what you’re trying to do, then it’s working, and that’s how Frankenstein always felt.

“With Guillermo [del Toro], there was love in every part of the process.”

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

Posted on

Puddle ball: Auckland FC lose unbeaten A-League tag

Source: Radio New Zealand

Rain-soaked Auckland FC captain Francis De Vries gestures during his side’s loss to Newcastle Jets. Photosport

Auckland’s unbeaten run in this year’s A-League season has ended with a 2-1 loss to Newcastle Jets in farcical conditions at Go Media Stadium.

A huge downpour with 20 minutes to go saw players frequently overrunning the ball, which was stopping in huge puddles, with Auckland FC goalkeeper Michael Woud pleading with officials for the game to be halted, because of the amount of water in his goal area.

Referee Alireza Faghani consulted with the captains in the 83rd minute, but then waved play on. There were no further goals and bottom-placed Newcastle took a shock victory over last year’s premiership plate winners.

Auckland FC were the only unbeaten team heading into the match, but they were outgunned on the day by the visitors, who shocked the locals, with Will Dobson smacking in a goal in just the third minute.

The Aucklanders levelled the score, with Louis Verstraete slamming the ball past goalkeeper James Delianov in the 14th minute, but the Auckland fans were silenced in the 42nd minute, when Lachlan Rose latched onto a pass from Dobson and scored to make it 2-1.

Auckland FC fans brave the rain during the A-League match against Newcastle Jets. PHOTOSPORT

The rain started to fall about the 30-minute mark, but halfway through the second half, it became a downpour and visibility was low, as players struggled to control the sodden ball.

Auckland had plenty of scoring chances, including Jesse Randall’s near equaliser in the 73rd minute, but they couldn’t capitalise on them.

Coming off a 1-1 draw with Brisbane last week and now a loss, the Aucklanders will face a buoyant Wellington Phoenix in the second New Zealand derby, after their 2-1 win over Adelaide United on Saturday. The Phoenix are yet beat Auckland FC.

Auckland captain Jake Brimmer said the conditions did not cost his side victory, it was their own effort.

“I think that one hurts the most out of everything,” he told Sky Sport. “I think we generally played well tonight, but didn’t take our chances and that cost us.”

Brimmer said it was difficult with the ball just stopping on the wet pitch.

“That’s no excuse, both teams had to deal with it and unfortunately we were second best on the night.”

Jets captain Kosta Grozos did not mind playing during the downpour.

“In the weather, the boys certainly enjoyed that one, it was fun.”

He said his team were a tightknit group and deserved the win.

“It means the world. Coming off some bad losses, this just makes up for it.”

The Jets move up from 12th to 10th after their win, while Auckland are in third place and the Phoenix sixth.

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

Posted on

Biosecurity New Zealand escalates response to yellow-legged hornets

Source: Radio New Zealand

Biosecurity New Zealand North commissioner Mike Inglis said surveillance efforts were working. Biosecurity NZ

Another yellow-legged hornet queen has been found in Auckland’s North Shore, as Biosecurity New Zealand escalates its attempts to eradicate the invasive insect.

To date, 27 queen hornets, seven workers and 17 nests have been successfully located and removed from the Glenfield and Birkdale areas, Biosecurity NZ said.

Genetic testing indicated the hornets were closely related, suggesting a small, contained population.

Biosecurity New Zealand North commissioner Mike Inglis said the fact they were finding more hornets showed surveillance efforts were working.

The organisation had further expanded its surveillance and on-the-ground search operations across the North Shore.

“In recent weeks, we’ve put in five times as many traps – now more than 600 – across a 5km radius from detection sites, and property-by-property searches under way within 200m of confirmed finds,” Inglis said. “We are adding additional traps, as more hornets are found.

Biosecurity teams had so far searched more than 2100 properties and continued to search across the region.

“Those ground searches are paying dividends, with many of the nests and queens being detected through those intensive ground sweeps.”

Genetic testing indicated the hornets were closely related, suggesting a small, contained population. Biosecurity NZ

Teams from Auckland Council, Pest Free Kaipātiki, Plant & Food Research and Kiwifruit Vine Health had joined in the search.

Electronic tracking gear had also been purchased from the Netherlands to aid in the hunt, following advice from countries that had successfully managed hornet incursions.

“That technology arrived in New Zealand this week,” Inglis said. “Under the guidance of a UK expert, we plan to use the technology to trace nests, if worker activity increases over summer.”

The trackers would be attached to captured free-flying worker hornets, so that on release, they could be followed back to the hive.

Other recent Biosecurity response activities included:

  • Using different trap designs and lures (sugar and protein-based)
  • Ongoing inspections of beehives close to detection sites, along with ground surveys in reserves and residential areas
  • A national advertising campaign launched this week, urging the public to report suspected sightings
  • Continuing to raise public awareness by visiting markets, schools, local businesses, libraries and community centres

Biosecurity stressed that ongoing vigilance by the public and beekeepers was the best detection method.

“We’ve had more than 4000 public notifications so far – an incredible contribution – and we’re very keen for this to continue,” Inglis said.

Biosecurity New Zealand wanted to hear from anyone who had a suspected hornet specimen, had located a possible nest or taken a clear photo.

Sightings could be reported:

  • Online at report.mpi.govt.nz
  • By calling Biosecurity New Zealand’s exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66
  • More information can be found at mpi.govt.nz/yellow-legged-hornet-2025

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Posted on

One new measles case identified in Wellington, bringing total to 22

Source: Radio New Zealand

One new measles case in Wellington. Supplied/ US CDC

Health New Zealand has confirmed one new case of measles in Wellington, which it says is linked to an earlier case.

This brings the number of known measles cases to 22 since 8 October 2025, with 21 no longer infectious.

New locations of interest have been identified in Wellington.

Wellington locations of interest

    [L1]Saturday, 22 November – New World Wellington City, Wakefield St (6.05-7.35pm)

    [L2]Monday, 24 November – BP 2Go, Berhampore (12.40-2.10pm)

    [L3]Thursday, 27 November – New World Newtown (8.55-10.20am)

Any new locations of interest will be updated on the Health New Zealand website, as they are confirmed.

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