Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

A possessive stalker who stabbed a Christchurch mother 55 times after she broke off their relationship will be sentenced for murder in February.

Nathan Boulter murdered Chantal McDonald in Parklands in July.

He appeared via audio-visual link at the High Court at Christchurch on Friday morning, where an interim suppression order on McDonald’s name was lifted.

The pair were in a brief relationship before he harassed and stalked her.

He hid behind a tree waiting for her to get home with her children before stabbing her.

Boulter previously stalked other women, including one he held hostage for 38 hours on Great Barrier 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

Police are continuing with a prosecution against the woman who accused former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming of sexual offending in relation to charges of harassing another police officer and his wife.

A damning report released last month by the Independent Police Conduct Authority found serious misconduct at the highest levels, including former Commissioner Andrew Coster, over how police responded to the allegations.

The woman was charged in May last year with causing harm by posting digital communication in relation to over 300 emails she allegedly sent to McSkimming’s work email address between December 2023 and April 2024.

The charge against the woman was withdrawn in the Wellington District Court in September because McSkimming did not wish to give evidence. But the woman remains before the court on two charges of causing harm by posting a digital communication in relation to another police officer and his wife.

On Friday, the case was called in the Wellington District Court before Judge John Walker.

The woman’s lawyer, Steven Lack, told the court he had made a request for both the police and the Crown to reconsider whether it was in the public interest to continue prosecution.

He said it had not been possible to resolve the case via a diversion scheme and that an application had been made to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the continued prosecution was “an abuse of process”.

Lack submitted the test was the adequacy of the investigation into McSkimming following her complaints and the investigations into her, both of which had been subject to criticism by the IPCA.

He said several police officers had been approached by a private investigator who had declined to be interviewed.

Judge Walker continued all suppression orders in relation to the case.

The case will be called again on 22 December to sort a callover date for next year to hear the dismissal application.

RNZ earlier approached police for comment on Wednesday on whether they had any comment on charges she still faced and whether police would now drop them.

In response, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said the matter was before the court and police had instructed a senior criminal barrister in the proceeding.

“It would be inappropriate for me to comment about the merits, including public interest, of any case that is before the court.

“However, what I have done and what I can say is, that I have assured myself that proper process has been followed in bringing this case.”

Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson said Ms Z was the defendant in a prosecution in the District Court.

“In these circumstances it is not appropriate to comment publicly on the merits of the prosecution, including the public interest.”

In an earlier statement to RNZ Steven Lack, said police “failed my client”.

“Over a period of years, she attempted to report allegations of serious physical, psychological and sexual offending by Mr McSkimming, then one of the most senior Police Officers in the country. Instead of being heard, she was dismissed and ultimately prosecuted for speaking out and raising her concerns.

“At every stage, the Police had the opportunity to engage with her, to properly assess what she was saying, and to investigate her allegations. They could have viewed her as a traumatised victim. They chose not to. They accepted Mr McSkimming’s denials without meaningful inquiry and placed the full weight of the criminal justice system on my client for more than a year until the charge against her was withdrawn. Understandably this has had a devastating impact on her.

“The way her complaints were handled should alarm all New Zealanders. It suggests that the Police were more focused on protecting Mr McSkimming’s career and advancement than on properly assessing serious allegations of offending against him.”

Lack said the police were an organisation “entrusted by the community to protect and serve”.

“In my client’s case, they did neither.”

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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 last remaining seal in a New Zealand zoo has been euthanised.

Auckland Zoo announced its 20-year-old subantartic fur seal named Ōrua was euthanised on Thursday.

The zoo said Ōrua was close to the maximum lifespan for his species and had health conditions, including “significant visual impairment”.

His habitat was also deteriorating and could not longer maintain the “quality environment” Ōrua needed for his health and welfare needs.

Not able to be repaired, the habitat will be permanently closed and the kōrorā/little penguin – which shared the habitat – have been moved to another part of the zoo that visitors cannot enter.

In a statement, zoo director Kevin Buley said it had been an “extremely difficult decision” for the teams who have been “instrumental” in providing the seal with care and a life he wouldn’t have had otherwise.

“However, in these circumstances, this decision to euthanise him is absolutely the correct one, giving Ōrua the dignified and peaceful end of life he so deserves.”

Carnivore team leader Nick Parashchak said it had been a privilege to care for Ōrua.

“A wonderfully smart, curious and charismatic animal with personality-plus who has inspired us all, and will be greatly missed.

“In his over 19 years at the zoo, he has been an incredible ambassador for marine life and marine conservation and given millions upon millions of our visitors amazing opportunities to connect with, experience, and learn about his species.

“As the last seal or sealion in a zoo or aquarium in New Zealand, the loss of Ōrua also marks the end of an era, and he leaves behind a very special legacy.”

The zoo said overtime, the habitat will be redeveloped and the penguins will be able to move back in – but it will take several years.

Ōrua’s background

The zoo said Ōrua was rescued in 2006, found washed up on a beach in Āwhitu Peninsula and taken to the zoo for care and rehabilitation.

Over three weeks, the seal was looked after and release was attempted but he continued to return to the beach.

He was then taken back to the zoo and given a “second chance at life” in the habitat.

“Some eight months later, it was discovered he had a cataract in his left eye which significantly impacted his vision and would have almost certainly made life impossible for him in the wild.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Primary school teachers are considering a potential settlement of their drawn-out pay talks.

Teachers belonging to union NZEI Te Riu Roa received the offer overnight.

Voting on the offer began on Friday morning and closed at 12pm on Wednesday next week.

It included the same pay rise secondary teachers had accepted – 2.5 percent on 28 December and 2.1 percent a year later.

Management allowances would increase by $700 and the offer no longer included more call-back days requiring teachers to work outside of term time.

The offer was put to members just a day after primary school principals represented by the NZEI rejected a potential settlement of their collective agreement.

The union said its members were unhappy their offer did not include a curriculum change allowance similar to the $15,000 allowance secondary principals won.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Some food outlets have been supersizing portion sizes and it would be good to go back to smaller amounts, a New Zealand health professor says.

In an article in the medical journal The Lancet, adviser to the UK government on obesity, Professor Naveed Sattar, said ready to eat portion sizes were calibrated towards an adult male, and smaller options should be available for women, children, and shorter people.

The article recommended “food outlets offer at least two portion sizes for single-portion, ready-to-eat products, differing by around 25 percent – the average difference in energy requirements between men and women and priced fairly”. It said this would also help provide more appropriate portion sizes for children and shorter people.

Auckland University professor of global health and nutrition Boyd Swinburn told Morning Report the basic physiology of that made sense in the sense that smaller people needed smaller portion sizes.

“Whether it’s going to go all the way to having multiple portion sizes available I’m not sure, but we have been at risk of Americanisation and supersizing and we’ve seen that with a number of areas and takeaways and the upsizing and muffins are a big one as well,” he said.

“I think it would be good if we could get back to smaller portion sizes.”

Swinburn said ultra processed foods were the main driver for obesity.

“The body does work pretty well in managing to have energy intake according to its needs but it can get fooled and the place where it really gets fooled is with ultra processed foods which are highly palatable and very dense in energy. So we think we’re just eating enough for our body … but because it’s so energy dense, so full of calories, we end up overeating,” he said.

“It’s mainly an issue related to the ultra processed foods rather than real foods that the serving sizes apply to.”

Swinburn said as part of his research he had recently been developing a mathematical model for energy balance.

“It is interesting how much the lean body mass dictates what we eat and how much we eat. It’s really this intersection between this physiology we have and the ultra processed food environment that is driving our obesity epidemic.

“The way the energy dense food sort of fools our system if you like and we end up passively overeating it and slowly gain weight over time.”

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