Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are investigating a series of ramraids across Christchurch after about a dozen businesses were targeted within the space of 90 minutes.

Multiple burglaries were reported to police at a number of commercial properties across the city’s western suburbs between 4am and 5.30am on Sunday.

Police said the alleged youth offenders used stolen vehicles to smash their way into shops and restaurants, and taking a “number of items from multiple locations.”

A police spokesperson claimed the offenders deliberately fled the scene and were driving dangerously because they knew police would not pursue them due to the risks.

He said police were not on the scene, but had made this determination from “further enquiries and sightings of the vehicles believed to be involved after the fact.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Wellington school is looking to put behind it years of disruption centred round its old and earthquake-prone buildings.

The problems at Wellington Girls College culminated last year with students setting up a classroom on Parliament grounds in protest, where one sign asked the Education Ministry if it could “pass this listening comprehension test”.

Crown Infrastructure Delivery has just put out a tender for two new buildings.

Principal Julia Davidson said the new builds, combined with strengthening an existing block, were significant.

“The great news is that we’ve got a plan, we’ve had our input into the plan and they’ve accepted our input,” she said on Monday.

“By 2028-ish, probably some time in the first half of the year, we’ll have everything built, up to new code, everybody’ll be in their permanent homes and we’ll be getting the field back so it’s really good news for the school.”

Of the 40 prefabs that occupy the field, the schools aims to keep of the 20 best of them, including science labs, though they would be moved off the field.

Disruption for students would be “a lot less” than before, Davidson said.

“The areas where building’s going to happen is fairly discrete and can be sort of sectioned off quite easily from the rest of the school, so for most of the time it shouldn’t be a major problem at all.

“The tetris of moving prefabs is going to be interesting but they’re aiming for holiday breaks for that, so fingers crossed it’ll all go to plan.”

The new tender is for design services for a new hall and performing arts centre, and an admin-classroom block. Also, the top two floors of the existing Brook block are being quake strengthened.

Keeping rather than bowling Brook entirely triggered last year’s protests. Davidson voiced a lot of upset at the ministry last year, but said on Monday the plan settled on for an upgrade was “going to be fine”.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A cleaner tidying up some dusty old chairs at a Wellington property has stumbled across the most “insane” thing she’s ever found – $20,000 cash.

Loll, co-owner of Massive Property Services, said the retro chairs had been sitting in the basement for more than two decades.

It was her stepdaughter’s first day on the job and she was vacuuming them when she realised one of the cushions was lumpy.

“I sorta joked with her and said, imagine if it was some money, and we laughed, and then she said to me, if it’s a rat you have to get it!”

Loll said they opened the cushion and pulled out an old plastic bag full of $100 notes, with a note saying it was “checked” in 2001.

“We [were] just sort of like, shocked… oh my God, both had our hands over our mouths and we were just sort of silent for a second, just staring at each other like, is this for real?”

They sat down on the floor in shock, she said.

“My stepdaughter was like, ‘this is like a movie!'”

They contacted the property management company who returned the cash to the owners.

They were “absolutely shocked” and had no idea about the money, Loll said.

“It was so overwhelming even for them… it was their mother’s money.”

The owners were grateful for Loll and her stepdaughter’s honesty, she said.

The pair had joked about whether they were being pranked, and filmed by secret cameras.

They didn’t consider keeping the money for themselves, but Loll did buy a Lotto ticket.

“I went and bought one straight away, but I didn’t win,” she said.

“It really has put me on a bit of a high for a few days… for one thing, finding it, I’ve never held $20,000 in my hands before.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

An Auckland-based detective with decades of experience in police is facing a criminal investigation for allegedly possessing objectionable material.

RNZ earlier revealed criminal investigations had begun into three police staff in relation to “misuse and inappropriate content”.

RNZ understands one of the staffers is an award-winning detective based in the Auckland region.

The detective, and police, have been approached for comment.

It’s understood he has been stood down.

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

It follows an audit of staff internet usage sparked by the resignation of former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming who recently pleaded guilty to possessing objectionable publications, including child sexual exploitation and bestiality over a four-year period.

Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers told RNZ on Thursday six out of 20 staff under investigation in relation to “misuse and inappropriate content” had been stood down.

“Those six are being investigated for serious matters, ranging from potentially accessing objectionable material, or accessing inappropriate material while also subject to separate misconduct matters.”

Some of the staff being investigated may have had legitimate purposes for accessing material, which police would verify through their inquiries.

“Criminal investigations are being conducted into three of the cases.”

Police were not able to disclose the ranks of those under investigation.

Rogers earlier told RNZ a “small number of users of concern” were under investigation.

RNZ asked for clarification but did not receive a response from police.

On Wednesday, Rogers said police continued to progress investigations into about 20 cases of misuse and inappropriate content as part of the ongoing audit of staff use of police devices.

“Employment processes are underway in some of these cases while others are still at the preliminary stages of investigation.

“We can assure the public appropriate action will be taken in every case and cannot rule out charges if the Solicitor General’s guidelines for prosecution are met.

“We are unable to comment further while these processes take their course.”

Rogers earlier confirmed to RNZ a police officer had been stood down from duty for “inappropriate content on a police device”.

“The officer is under employment investigation for serious misconduct, relating to inappropriate, but not objectionable, material on a police-issued device. The alleged misconduct was uncovered through following recent audits of staff internet usage.”

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers earlier told RNZ the misconduct being investigated was uncovered as a result of the new monitoring measures introduced following the Rapid Review of the settings for police devices, launched after McSkimming’s resignation.

“I sought that review because of my concern that such conduct was not being detected. This offers some reassurance that we now have the necessary tools to detect potentially inappropriate behaviour.”

The investigation into McSkimming led to concerns that staff could bypass internal controls and “exploit vulnerabilities to access inappropriate content”.

The concerns prompted Chambers to order a “rapid review” of police’s information security (INFOSEC) controls to ensure police had sufficiently strong controls to prevent or detect the misuse of police technology and equipment for non-work-related purposes.

A summary of the review said the main risks were; weaknesses in technology configuration, lack of visibility over user activity and gaps in governance.

The report included key findings and recommendations in relation to each of the risks.

There was “inconsistent application” of internet access policies across different workgroups as well as a “lack of robust filtering mechanisms” to consistently prevent access to unauthorised websites.

The review also found there was “insufficient monitoring of internet usage to detect and respond to potential security threats and inappropriate usage”.

Other findings included unmanaged devices being used for operational activities and inadequate monitoring of user activity and network traffic.

There was an absence of centralised logging and analysis tools to detect anomalies and potential issues and “insufficient resources allocated to continuous monitoring and incident response”.

The review also said there was a lack of “clear governance structures and accountability” for INFOSEC controls, with “inconsistent enforcement” of security policies and procedures.

The report called for “improved oversight and coordination among different workgroups”.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Corrections officers are expected to face the Coroners Court as the second part of an inquest into the death of a man pepper sprayed at Mt Eden Corrections Facility gets underway this week.

Caleb Moefa’auo, 26, died in 2022 after suffering a cardiac arrest shortly after being pepper-sprayed by an officer.

The first phase of a coronial inquest into his death was held in July.

Phase two began in the Auckland District Court on Monday. It will focus on the circumstances of his death, how his mental health contributed to what happened and whether the officers involved adequately took this into account.

Moefa’auo had previously been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and was staying at Tiaho Mai – a residential unit to support people with mental health issues – after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and shoplifting in June of 2021.

In December of 2021 he was sent to Mt Eden Corrections Facility after allegedly assaulting a fellow patient at Tiaho Mai, and was later found to be at risk of self-harm so placed in the prison’s Intervention and Support Unit.

Phase one of the inquest outlined the events leading up to his death.

The lawyer assisting the coroner, Rebekah Jordan, had said Moefa’auo had taken a shower that day. He had used three towels to dry himself and had taken a fourth, when an acting senior corrections officer approached him, holding a can of pepper spray.

Moefa’auo was told to pass the towel to another officer, which he did, before being directed to get onto his knees.

When Moefa’auo began to rise, the acting senior officer shouted at him, before spraying him.

“Caleb was clearly affected by the pepper spray. A number of officers restrained Caleb on the ground and placed him in handcuffs… While this was happening Caleb repeatedly apologised and made the first of a number of comments that he could not breathe,” Jordan said.

The officers took him back to his cell, where he stopped responding.

The prison officer who sprayed Moefa’auo was charged with assault, but found not guilty by a jury. The jury was not told that Moefa’auo had died, as the fact was deemed prejudicial.

Phase two began on Monday with a prayer from Moefa’auo’s grandfather, as well as opening comments from his mother, Justine Lauese.

She said the family was seeking clarity about the circumstances and choices that led to Moefa’auo’s death.

“We love Caleb so deeply, and even though he cannot stand here with us, we stand here for him, for his dignity, his voice, and for the gentle hope that meaningful change can come in his name,” Lauese said.

“We need to fully understand what happened to our son so that real and effective change can be made.”

Lauese said she and her family carried the weight of what happened to Moefa’auo everyday.

“His death has affected us emotionally, mentally and spiritually in ways we will carry forever.”

Coroner Heather McKenzie thanked the family, who sat watching from the back of the courtroom wearing ‘Justice for Caleb’ pins.

“Having Caleb’s family here really gives him a voice,” she said.

McKenzie highlighted the importance of seeing the person behind the timelines and statements.

“In the first part of the inquest we heard a lot of policy evidence, and it can be easy in that setting to lose sight of the emotional toll, and also the events that happened on the day,” she said.

“But this week is the sharper end of things, and you mentioned that you, as Caleb’s family and the others, have carried the weight of his death and I really do, sincerely, acknowledge that.”

The inquest 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

High-flying members at one of Auckland’s most exclusive golf clubs have been given an extension to keep taking helicopters to the course.

It comes after Auckland Council issued abatement notices to Mangawhai’s Te Arai Links and its sister club Tara Iti to halt helicopter activity after a noise complaint.

Those abatement notices were due to come into force last week, but Auckland Council had recently extended the deadline to March 31 to give the clubs more time to apply for a resource consent.

“We have asked them to ensure flight plans do not impact on local residents,” the council’s field operations manager David Pawson told RNZ in a statement.

That wasn’t the decisive action that Dave Green, the Whangaripo resident who first made the complaint, had hoped for.

“I’ve lived here for 20 years. I bought the place in 2004, largely for the peace and quiet to get away from everybody. There were just a lot of helicopters flying over my property, especially on the weekend,” he explained.

“They’re quite loud. There were just several flights, you know, like one an hour or something just coming over my place. I’ve actually [had] one screaming over my bedroom at 7am in the morning.”

“The noise is very intrusive. You’ve sort of got to stop what you’re doing. You can’t hear each other yelling over the sound of a helicopter going, past the property.”

Green said that in the months since he first made the complaint, the number of helicopters had reduced.

“I’m not against helicopter flights to Tara Iti and Te Arai Links. Obviously, it’s a big tourist thing, and it’s great,” he clarified.

“What I’m pushing for is, can they change the flight path to be sort of more, you know, that neighbourly friendly kind of flight path plan where they’re not just flying over rural property?”

Green noted that Auckland Council was in a challenging position, given the high-end golf courses were owned by American billionaire Richard Kayne.

“If they have good reason for extending it till March… As long as we get a resolution that we can all have a talk about, you know, like a public submissions consent, then it’s fine,” he said.

“But if they’re just going to sort of do some dodgy backroom kind of deal with Ric Kayne and push something through without public notification, that won’t be fine.”

The Department of Conservation told RNZ there was a low flying exclusion zone over shorebird nesting areas in Te Arai.

That could limit helicopter operator’s options for an alternative flight path.

“To mitigate disturbance around Te Arai we worked with the Civil Aviation Authority to introduce in 2020 a low flying exclusion zone over the main shorebird nesting areas. This includes the dunes, beachfront, and stream mouth,” DOC operations manager Olivia Keane said.

“In the Te Arai area, our current conservation focus is on introduced predators, disturbance by people and dogs, weather impacts, and loss of habitat which pose far greater risks to wildlife [than helicopters].”

The operator of Te Arai Links and Tara Iti Golf Club declined RNZ’s request for comment.

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