Category: Public Media

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Lewis Clareburt notches year’s fastest time ahead of Commonwealth Games

Source: Radio New Zealand

Lewis Clareburt in butterfly mode (file photo). photosport

Lewis Clareburt enjoyed the challenge posted by an up-and-coming young swimmer as he swam under the Commonwealth Games qualifying time at the national swimming championships in Auckland.

The two-time Olympian, who swims for the United club in Auckland, didn’t have it all his own way in the men’s 200m individual butterfly at the National Aquatic Centre as he was pushed by 17-year-old Ariel Muchirahondo from Swim Rotorua.

The pair were neck and neck going into the final 50m, with Clareburt finishing strongest to clock his fastest time of the year in 1 minute 57.65 seconds to go under the qualification time for the Commonwealth Games which begin in Glasgow on 23 July.

“That was great, it was good to race a young gun 17-year-old who kept me right on my feet the whole race,” said Clareburt.

“I’ve got my best memories ever at the Commonwealth Games. 2018 won my first medal on the world stage, then Birmingham, most of my lifetime bests are from those Games, so I’m excited to go to Glasgow for the first time. It’s going to be fun.”

Muchirahondo’s 2:00.12s set a New Zealand age group record and qualified him for the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. Liam Rees (Kiwi ASC) took the bronze in 2:07.23s.

Erika Fairweather dominated the women’s 400m freestyle, leading from start to finish. Her time of 4:01.42s, more than five seconds faster than her closest rival, was under the Games qualification time.

“It was a competitive field and it was great to see that time on the board,” said Fairweather, who swims for North Shore.

“I’ve put in a load of work this year so I’m feeling really positive. This will be my second Commonwealth Games so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Eve Thomas (Coast, Auckland) claimed silver in 4:06.85s and Caitlan Deans (Neptune, Dunedin) third, with both clocking Pan Pacific Championships qualification times.

Olympian Hazel Ouwehand celebrates swimming under the Commonwealth Games qualification time on day one of the 2026 NZ Swimming Championships at the National Aquatics Centre in Auckland, 13 May, 2026. Swimming NZ

Hazel Ouwehand (Phoenix, Auckland) also swam under the Games qualification time in the 50m butterfly, with an impressive 25.55s. Zoe Pedersen (Coast) was second in 26.18 to qualify for the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.

Commonwealth Games SB8 100m gold medallist Joshua Wilmer (Coast) also went under the qualifying time for Glasgow and the Para Pan Pacific champs with a sizzling time of 1.10.58, a New Zealand record, in his heat. He was placed second in the final, behind Daniel Smith (SB19, Pukekohe) who touched the wall in 1:08.42s.

Smith later swam the event again clocking 1:07.96 to also set a New Zealand record.

“It was an epic swim, a PB and a New Zealand record so there wasn’t much more I could ask for,” said Willmer.

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New local initiative increasing attendance at Waikato and Canterbury schools

Source: Radio New Zealand

Te Akau School students on their visit to Ninja Valley Hamilton. Show Up and Shine

A new, simple and very local initiative is increasing primary school attendance across dozens of schools in Waikato and Canterbury.

It comes as the government has set an attendance target for all schools – 80 percent of students present for 90 percent of the term by 2030.

Show Up and Shine encouraged attendance by offering the class with the highest attendance rate in each school a free visit to Ninja Valley, a privately-owned playground.

Ngāruawāhia Primary School attendance increased by 57 percent.

Deputy principal Margaret Gillies told Morning Report as well as the incentive, the programme appealed to children’s competitive nature.

“I believe towards the end there, we had two percent between the top two classes. And, it was interesting that it was our new entrants and our senior class. So the babies and the tuakana of our school are competing.”

Gillies said the programme was part of the school’s wider effort to get local children engaged in education, including picking children up and taking them to school.

“We have breakfast in school, we are lucky to be part of the lunch program, and we’ve got an on-site cook, so the kids really love the lunches.

“We have a daily incentive as well, so classes who have 100 percent attendance, our principal goes over to the class and gives them a treat.”

As well as the positive response from students in Ngāruawāhia, there was also a 48 percent lift in attendance at TKKM o Tōku Māpihi Maurea, and students participating in the programme in Canterbury had already reached the government target, with an average 80.8 percent regular attendance this term.

Gilberthorpe School saw a 26 percent surge in attendance, while Springston School recorded a 19 percent increase.

Grant Beuzeval, CEO of Ninja Valley said the programme had shown how local businesses and communities could play a role in supporting the educational goals of students and families.

Grant Beuzeval, CEO of Ninja Valley Show Up and Shine

“”We aren’t seeing a one percent or two percent nudge – we are seeing double-digit turnarounds.”

“It shows that when you give kids a collective goal they actually care about, the Monday morning blues disappear,” Beuzeval said.

The winning classes so far this year were Room 3 at Benneydale School in the Waikato, reaching 98 percent attendance, and Lyttelton Primary School achieving 97.6 percent.

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Cost-of-living pressure bites housing market

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Real Estate Institute says the number of sales fell 7.9 percent year-on-year in April. RNZ

Cost-of-living pressure has started to hit the housing market.

The Real Estate Institute says that its data for April is the first clear sign that the weight of cost-of-living pressures such as higher fuel costs, food prices, insurance and local body rates has been influencing buyer decisions in a meaningful way.

The number of sales fell 7.9 percent year-on-year in the month, and 2.1 percent when seasonally adjusted compared to the month before.

“The impact was not uniform, however. Regions with higher vehicle dependency and lower median household incomes, including Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu-Whanganui, and Marlborough, saw the largest softening in activity, consistent with pump prices hitting household budgets most directly in those areas,” the institute said.

“Canterbury, Southland, and Otago continued to record solid sales activity, though this reflects the relative strength of their local market fundamentals rather than any insulation from cost pressures.”

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said it was quite a big shift.

“Probably just as important was the fact that you saw prices that pulled back further. Back in March, you had a little bit more of a lift pre-crisis coming through both on a monthly and annual basis.

“Whereas the change in prices in the month of April showed that level of pressure [on buyers] … What’s also clear looking at the numbers is that there is a bit more or the continued North-South divide. The further down the country you go, the generally better economic results or housing results were coming through.

“Figures for the likes of Otago and Southland were looking a whole lot more upbeat than what you were seeing in, say, Auckland.”

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The institute said the market was in a “testing mid-cycle position”, past the initial shock of the war in the Middle East and into the secondary effects, as well as facing the potential for an official cash rate increase sooner than expected.

It said an election year also meant buyers and sellers were likely to make decisions more slowly.

The median sales price eased by 0.6 percent year-on-year to $775,000.

The house price index, which is designed to smooth out movements caused by a change in the sales mix, was down 0.9 percent year-on-year and Auckland’s was down 2.8 percent.

Olsen said the 0.9 percent fall was one of the largest back to the start of last year.

But eight of the 16 regions the institute tracks recorded year-on-year increases in median prices. The largest lifts were in Southland and Northland, both up 6.2 percent, Gisborne, up 4.3 percent, and Waikato up 3.4 percent.

Olsen said what happened next depended a bit on the wider inflation picture,

“You’ve got more expensive fuel, you’ve got interest rates likely increasing, you’ve got everything else that was expensive beforehand as well. But it’s also sort of the confidence knock that you’re seeing.

“Consumer confidence isn’t at a fantastic level at the moment … people have fallen back quite a bit in terms of where they think the economy is heading. And so a lot more people might well hunker down, I guess, to a greater degree.

“That does moderate expectations heading forward. And I guess the challenge probably out there in the market will be what’s going to drive that stronger level of demand that would pick up prices and sales activity and similar.

“It’s just hard to figure out what that would be in the current climate when everyone’s feeling much more downbeat. And again, you wouldn’t feel like people would be rushing out to go and purchase housing because they will be worried about, potential increases in interest rates and job security, their general higher cost of living, all of those elements likely to hit.”

He said any nascent momentum in the market looked to have stalled.

The number of properties for sale lifted 3.9 percent year-on-year.

Nationally, 14.1 percent of sales were via auction, up from 13.7 percent in April. In Auckland, almost 23 percent of sales were by auction.

The institute said the looming prospect of an OCR increase in the coming months meant that the housing market no longer had the tailwind of expectations of falling interest rates.

“The key question for May and June is whether listings continue to build faster than sales can absorb them as we move into winter.”

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Air New Zealand expecting full-year loss of nearly $400m due to jet fuel costs

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Boeing Dreamliner 787-9, from the Air New Zealand fleet. Supplied/ Air NZ

Air New Zealand says it’s expecting a full-year loss of between $340m and $390m due to the soaring cost of jet fuel.

The airline expected fuel costs in the second half of its financial year to be $980m, compared to previous expectations of $740m.

It said that was driven by a $240m headwind to the expected result, including hedging.

Air New Zealand said it was looking at cost-cutting and reviewing capital expenditure plans.

Its fleet availability was improving significantly, it said, with all existing Boeing 787 aircraft expected to return to service by late June, and all Airbus aircraft by 2027.

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Slip closes State Highway 6, upper Buller Gorge Road

Source: Radio New Zealand

The slip is blocking the road near the Eight Mile Creek Bridge and has closed State Highway 6 and upper Buller Road. NZTA

State Highway 6 and the upper Buller Gorge Road which straddles the West Coast and Tasman regions is closed on Thursday morning because of a large slip.

The slip is blocking the road near the Eight Mile Creek Bridge and includes large downed trees.

The section of State Highway 6, between the intersection with state highways 65 and 69, has been closed since early Thursday morning.

The slip follows recent heavy rain on the West Coast.

Motorists are able to take a detour.

Westbound traffic should go onto SH65, turn right onto SH7 at Springs Junction, then right onto SH69 at Reefton and then going on to return to SH6.

The reverse applies for eastbound traffic.

The Transport Agency advises motorists to consider delaying their journey or using an alternative route.

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NZ-born composer Mark Smythe dies suddenly on hiking trip at 53

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mark Smythe, a New Zealand-born composer based in Los Angeles, has died during a hiking trip over the weekend.

His sister Kate Ward-Smythe said in a post on social media, that he collapsed and passed away suddenly whilst hiking with friends on Mount Wilson in LA, on Saturday.

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Smythe was a composer of film and concert music, and his score for the Australian horror filmThe Reef: Stalked was nominated for both the SCL Awards in the US and the World Soundtrack Awards in Belgium.

He was also the department head for composing for visual media at the Los Angeles College of Music.

Kate Ward-Smythe said in her post that she’s grateful to her brother’s friends who tried to hard to resuscitate him, alongside first-responders.

“Mark was a strong larger than life connector in LA, as a professor, composer, musician, and loyal friend. He was also fiercely talented, and an absolute cheerleader for music performance and recording across multiple genres.

“He was only just getting started and had so much more to give .. We are heartbroken and trying to process this tragedy, as are all Mark’s friends and family,” she said.

Smythe’s obituary said a private cremation and ceremony will be held in LA then there will be a celebration of Mark’s life and music held in Nelson.

It said he would be “forever remembered in the hearts and minds of all whose lives he blessed with his beautiful music and generous presence”.

Smythe is remembered by his family in New Zealand including his father Brian Smythe; mother Ginny Ward; sisters Pepe Becker and Kate Ward- Smythe; Brian’s wife Liz; Ginny’s partner Paul; nephews Daniel, Thomas and Nick Becker; niece Ella Ward- Smythe; and extended family as well as friends.

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How can we catch the lost students?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Some studies suggest that the retirement-age pay gap between vocational training and university graduates has closed, but New Zealand still holds the academic path in higher esteem. RNZ / Robin Martin

University entrance has long been the gold standard result from our schools – but there’s hope that planned changes will improve life for those who want to tread a different path

Just three of every 10 school leavers head to universities, those halls of learning long considered to be the gold standard of education.

But a tradie can earn as much as a policy analyst – and a plumber’s job can’t be done by artificial intelligence. Some studies suggest that the retirement-age pay gap between both paths has closed.

There’s also no rule to say you can’t do both, and having a construction career under your belt is a good way to go into an engineering degree, for example.

Today on The Detail we talk to two experts in the area of education pathways – both welcome the shifting of government funding from fees-free university tuition to vocational education and trades training.

Josh Williams is the principal consultant for the Skills Development Group, and former head of the Industry Training Federation. He’s also been a senior policy manager at the Ministry of Education and has been involved in managing school transition programmes such as Youth Guarantee and Gateway.

Skills Development has issued a White Paper called Multiple Pathways to Success which discusses this issue.

Williams says we need to make it really clear what the alternative pathways from school to work are.

“Because at the moment we’re pigeon-holing people into ‘it’s university, or not university’.

“Well, what’s in the ‘not’?” he says.

“Getting university entrance can’t be the only goal of 13 years at school.

“We have to prepare our young people for a wider range of opportunities, and in particular that exposure and experience which means they’ll be able to make that successful step and find their pathway.”

One block when it comes to this is called ‘parity of esteem’ – where non-university pathways aren’t seen as prestigious, and the qualifications levels aren’t equitable.

“Although even the phrase ‘parity of esteem’ pretends like there’s two things, there’s academic and there’s vocational. I kind of reject that and honestly where the situation’s going now where we’re talking about a shared curriculum that has industry subjects and curriculum subjects sitting within a shared curriculum I think is very positive.

“Look, every young person is on a trip to the workforce.”

Williams says the whole idea behind NCEA was that it could recognise and reward learning from a much wider range of things.

“Effectively any credit on the framework could count towards your NCEA. That flexibility was absolutely seen as a strength, but that flexibility was also ultimately a bit of a weakness, because the assessment system that came in under NCEA has effectively been grafted on to a schooling system that hasn’t changed very much.

“The main game is to chase a thing called University Entrance because it’s really the only clear recipe in the whole cookbook of school. Everything else is a bit of an add-on.

“Certainly it was the case that the flexibility of NCEA could be misused, that ultimately kids could come out with an NCEA qualification that was made up of an incoherent grab-bag of things that didn’t really add up to a purposeful direction or a set of foundation skills for employability.”

Williams says there are a range of schemes that exist that do work, such as Gateway, but at the moment only about 15 percent of our Year 11 to 13 population access them.

It’s hoped that a change in the curriculum will help build better connections between schools and the workplace.

Dr Michael Johnston, a Senior Fellow from the think-tank New Zealand Initiative, has written a report called Working Knowledge – Designing Industry-Led Subjects for Students and Schools.

He chaired a 2024 Ministerial Advisory Group for the Education Minister on the development of a knowledge-rich curriculum for English and mathematics. He’s now a member of the Curriculum Coherence group, which advises on the development of knowledge-rich curricula across all school subjects.

He’s been in Germany studying their system and tells The Detail today what he does – and doesn’t – like about it, and what we could adopt.

Johnston says in New Zealand there’s never been a formal national curricula for vocational education at secondary school.

“We’ve had technology for a long time, but not subjects that are so completely geared towards getting young people into apprenticeships and tertiary training, where these subjects will be very responsive to the needs of industry. This is the first time were we would have had formal curricula for that kind of subject.”

Johnston also questions the qualifications framework and the parity between them.

“We see Bachelor’s degrees at Level 7, and most trades qualifications at Level 4. Why is that? Do we really think that to be a skilled electrician is trivial compared with getting a Bachelor of Arts?”

Asked what makes him think we have an opportunity now to change things, Johnston says he’s “an eternal optimist”.

“It comes down ultimately to a cultural prejudice, and I think that is borne of a time when, first of all, I would say university education was of higher quality, and when far fewer people went to university, so it had this elite status.

“And to be fair in those days it probably did lead to the higher incomes on average. But I think those days are gone.”

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Person killed in Bay of Plenty crash

Source: Radio New Zealand

The two-vehicle crash happened at about 7.15pm on Wednesday. RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

A person has died and two others have been seriously injured in a crash on the Te Puke Highway.

The two-vehicle crash happened between Bell Road and Poplar Lane about 7.15pm on Wednesday.

The road is open.

Enquiries into the crash are ongoing.

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Are you a Ryan keen to meet other Ryans?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Thanks to an international network formed by three Ryans in New York three years ago, groups now party at Rytoberfest, chat in WhatsApp groups, and will soon attempt a new world record at RyanCon.

When New Zealander Ryan Mitchell discovered the Ryan Meet Up Instagram page a few weeks ago, attending a Ryan gathering in Tauranga or Auckland shot to the top of his bucket list.

The RyaNZ meet-up he’s now organising might look like 15 Ryans sharing life stories at a barbecue and commiserating about the “hardship” of having a name Kiwis struggle to get right, he tells RNZ’s The Panel.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

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Family of Dylan Barford, whose body lay undiscovered near motorway for weeks, want to know how he wasn’t found sooner

Source: Radio New Zealand

Dylan Barford died of accidental methamphetamine toxicity, a Coroner ruled. (File photo) Supplied / NZ Police

Auckland man Dylan Barford’s body lay undiscovered near a motorway off-ramp for almost three weeks after he was reported missing and his family want to know why he wasn’t found sooner.

The body of Dylan Barford, 34, was found in grassland near the Hobsonville Rd off-ramp in Westgate on October 13, 2023. He had been missing since September 24.

There had been public appeals for information from police and multiple searches in the area.

Coroner Janet Anderson released her report into Barford’s death on Thursday, and found he died from accidental meth toxicity between September 24 and October 13.

Barford, the father of young twins, had been a passenger in a car driven by his ex-partner in West Auckland’s Massey on the night of September 23. Coroner Anderson said after an argument, he got out of the car and his partner drove away.

Dylan Barford seen on CCTV the night he went missing. (File photo) NZ Police

Coroner Anderson said Barford had a long history of drug use including meth and GBL, but had been using drugs less frequently in the year before his death.

But in June 2023, Coroner Anderson said Barford told his doctor he was experiencing low mood and anxiety which was getting worse and he had relapsed and smoked meth.

Barford’s ex-partner, who was also the mother of his children, told Coroner Barford he contacted her that night wanting GBL, and when he left her car he had both GBL and meth on him.

The search for Dylan Barford

Barford’s body was eventually found by contractors who were sent to a field near the Hobsonville Rd off-ramp to catch feral goats.

One of the contractors saw what he thought was a goat in the grass through binoculars, but it turned out to be Barford’s body. He was about 200 metres from the motorway.

Police told Coroner Anderson due to the knee-length grass he couldn’t be seen from the road, and while he was found in the general search area he was not seen by ground or aerial crews.

Coroner Janet Anderson. (File photo) NZME/Michael Craig

Barford’s family were concerned by the adequacy of the police investigation along with the communication from police, the search operation and issues related to the scene where Barford was found.

They laid a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), but it decided no action was needed.

During the search the bush area below where Barford was found was searched but not the open space, Coroner Anderson said. Police’s Eagle helicopter was tasked with looking in the open area.

Police said a debrief had been sent to helicopter crew to see if there were any system failures that contributed to not finding Barford sooner.

Barford’s family told Coroner Anderson they did not accept where Barford’s body was found was not easily accessible by the public, and believed tyre tracks in the field near his body, which police said was made by a gurney when transporting the body, were from a car.

They were unhappy with how the scene was secured and told the Coroner they believed police saw Barford as a drug user and “did not bother to investigate properly”.

Dylan Barford’s body was found in a field by the Hobsonville Rd off-ramp. Google Maps / Screenshot

Police told Coroner Anderson they would work with Eagle helicopter crew to see if there were any system failures that contributed to not finding Barford during the aerial search.

“I strongly encourage police to take this step,” Coroner Anderson said, “It is clear that the delay in locating Dylan’s remains caused significant additional distress to his family during what was already a devastating time for them.”

When contacted by RNZ, a police spokesperson said the officer in charge was on leave so was unable to provide a statement on whether police had taken that step.

Concerns about ex-partner

Barford’s mum, Rachel Barford, told Coroner Anderson, four weeks before her son disappeared he told her he’d overheard a conversation his ex-partner was having on the phone with another person who told his ex-partner to get rid of Barford.

Rachel Barford said her son had been upset with his ex-partner for hanging out with two male associates, and had gone to one of the men’s homes to confront her about “hanging out with random guys”.

Police interviewed Barford’s ex-partner several times, and GPS had shown after their argument the pair were not together.

Dylan Barford’s body was found in grassland by the motorway. Google Maps / Screenshot

A forensic pathologist told Coroner Anderson there was no evidence of injuries to Barford’s body and meth was present in his blood at a level of 0.24mg/l. That amount could increase the risk of sudden death, the pathologist said.

There was not other disease or injuries present that contributed to his death, the pathologist said.

Police said during their investigation they found nothing suspicious and nothing to indicate foul play.

Coroner Anderson said she was satisfied there was enough evidence to conclude Barford died from meth toxicity.

“Given Dylan’s background and drug use and the delay in locating his body, it is understandable people close to him harbour concerns about the nature of his death.

“However, general unease, suspicion and prior arguments with associates do not provide sufficient basis to conclude that his death was untoward.”

Coroner Anderson said Barford’s death was a “tragic, drug-related accident”.

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