Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Thames Coromandel District Council hopes to be able to say soon when two of its libraries caught up in the contaminated play sand scare will re-open.

Action around potentially asbestos contaminated children’s play sand has expanded beyond schools and early childhood centres.

Council libraries in Thames and Tairua in Coromandel were closed on Wednesday so work can be done to reduce the risk of any asbestos.

Thames Coromandel District Council said the closures were for vital health and safety maintenance so the public and staff could be kept safe.

“An investigation into the use of play sand in council facilities has revealed that products from the recalled list have been used recently in Thames Library and we are seeking clarity whether one of the recalled products was used more than six months ago at Tairua Library,” it said.

The council said it had spoken to WorkSafe and had engaged an asbestos disposal specialist to take possible contaminated material from Thames library.

It was hoping to advise of plans to re-open the libraries as soon as it knew more from its technical advisors.

It comes after the Education Ministry on Tuesday night sent updated advice to schools and early learning centres.

It told them all recalled sand products must be presumed to contain asbestos.

Auckland Council said there are no indications the sand was used in any of its libraries. The council later issued advice for what Aucklanders should do with any of the recalled sand.

It was to take safely-contained product to the council’s Asbestos Lab in Grafton between 9am and 3.30pm Monday to Friday.

The site was for homes only, with education facilities needing to follow advice from WorkSafe

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A rescue helicopter in Otago followed a car for 30 kilometres after lasers were pointed at the pilots flying on a hospital transfer mission this week.

Local pilots have condemned the behaviour of people who point lasers at helicopters, after two paramedics were targeted while flying over Palmerston.

Helicopters Otago said someone in a car shone lasers into the eyes of the paramedics mid-flight on Tuesday night, prompting the pilot to follow the car for about 30 kilometres until police brought the driver to a stop.

Managing director Graeme Gale said the laser attack came as a shock for the paramedics.

“They’ve since been to an eye specialist to get checked out, to make sure there’s no damage to the back of their eyes,” he said.

“It can be really serious and cause total blindness, so we don’t take it lightly.”

Gale said laser attacks could have catastrophic consequences.

“We’re not out flying around at night for fun. We’re taking seriously and critically ill patients to care,” he said.

Police said the car was intercepted at about 1.40am near Coast Road in Omimi.

A vehicle of interest was searched and enquiries were ongoing, they said.

Gale said it was fortunate the helicopter was on a return journey and able to pursue the car but that was not always the case.

“We’ve had a number over the last 12 months and we’ve had quite a number over the last few years,” he said.

“It’s not just us, airlines get hit every now and again, but it’s a criminal offence. You can’t just go around pointing lasers and shining them at aircraft.”

Last year a 39-year-old man who shone a laser at the Otago Rescue Helicopter for four minutes was charged with endangering transport.

A 33-year-old Dunedin man admitted shining a laser at a helicopter in 2021.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Twenty police staff are under investigation in relation to “misuse and inappropriate content”, police have now confirmed.

Police say they cannot rule out criminal investigations into the staff.

RNZ earlier revealed several police staff were under investigation, including an officer who has been stood down after inappropriate material was found on a police-issued device.

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.

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

Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill 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.”

Police Minister Mark Mitchell earlier told RNZ he had not been briefed on the allegations, but expected police to “take action on any matters that involve 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

Researchers say New Zealand is attracting international attention for all the wrong reasons following it being awarded the ‘Dirty Ashtray’ award.

The ‘Dirty Ashtray’ was given to New Zealand at the biennial meeting of Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Geneva, Switzerland.

The ‘Dirty Ashtray’ is awarded each year at the Conference of the Parties meeting following a review of international progress and consideration of each country’s performance.

New Zealand’s citation is “for trying to portray their current tobacco control plan as a success when in reality since COP10 they’ve reversed world-leading reforms, sabotaged Indigenous tobacco-free aspirations, have alarming vaping rates among young people and have plummeted from 2nd to 53rd on the global index for tobacco industry interference.

New Zealand’s legislative reversal is being used by tobacco industry interests globally to push bad policy.”

Co-Director of the ASPIRE Aotearoa Research Centre Professor Janet Hoek said New Zealand was once a leader in global tobacco control policy.

“Now, our national shame is playing out on an international stage.”

Last week New Zealand also fell from second to 53rd in the global Tobacco Industry Interference Index.

“Last week the Cancer Society’s Tobacco Industry Interference Index marked a cataclysmic decline for Aotearoa New Zealand. The ‘Dirty Ashtray’ award reinforces the Cancer Society’s conclusions,” Hoek said.

Dr Mary Assunta, Head of Global Research and Advocacy at Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) and principal author of the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index said if the country had implemented the measures the coalition Government repealed, “large, rapid and equitable declines in smoking prevalence were predicted.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A controversial outside application to change an Auckland school to a charter school has been abandoned.

Bangerz Education and Wellbeing Trust and a former board member, Siaosi Gavet, were behind the bid.

They argued Kelston Boys’ High is violent, has low achievement and attendance rates and has lost community confidence.

But the school didn’t support the move and said becoming a charter school wouldn’t be in students’ best interests.

The Trust earlier ended its own consultation on its plans, and said the school had drawn battle lines in its public opposition.

Commenting on the battle last month, Labour said the charter school system is set up so “cowboy organisations” could pressure state schools.

The Charter Schools Agency said it was told last week the application would be withdrawn.

Kelston Boys’ High, on its social media, has called it a positive update.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The sister of a man accused of killing Dunedin’s Gurjit Singh says he was not upset when he discovered the woman who rejected him had married Singh instead, a court has heard.

A 35-year-old, known only as Rajinder, is on trial at the High Court for the murder of Gurjit Singh.

Singh was found dead on the lawn of his home in January last year after being stabbed more than 40 times.

The High Court has heard of a complicated love triangle involving Singh, his widow Kamaljeet Kaur and Rajinder.

Kaur told the court on Tuesday that she rejected Rajinder in 2022 before marrying Singh the following year.

Rajinder’s sister Harmeet Kaur said Kamaljeet Kaur’s family approached her family twice about marrying her brother in 2022 but they rejected the proposal.

She found out about Singh and Kamaljeet Kaur’s marriage in 2023 as a result of an Instagram post about the wedding when she was living with a mutual friend of Singh’s – Harjit Kaur – in Auckland.

Harmeet Kaur told the court that she was shocked and called her brother. She told the court he was surprised but not upset, saying it was a small world.

A marriage broker had pushed for them to accept Kamaljeet Kaur, saying she wanted to go abroad, only for the woman’s family to say she was not ready to leave India after a video call between Rajinder and the woman’s father, Kaur said.

She said Rajinder was not upset when Gurjit Singh rejected a plan for him to marry his sister, because he accepted that she was too young.

Stevens asked Harmeet Kaur about her time living with her brother, father and Rajinder’s wife in Dunedin from August 2023.

She said they enjoyed their time together and her brother’s marriage appeared to be happy.

His wife spent about six months staying at home adjusting to New Zealand culture but they then went on long car rides, watched movies and cooked together.

Kaur said Rajinder also gave his wife driving lessons, usually later at night after work and dinner.

Harmeet Kaur told prosecutor Richard Smith that she called Rajinder after seeing Singh’s wedding photo because he had received two proposals from Kamaljeet Kaur, only to be told she had changed her mind again about leaving India.

It had been a waste of time, Kaur said.

The trial is set down for three weeks.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A two-storey classroom block at Auckland’s St Kentigern College in Pakuranga caught fire on Wednesday afternoon, leading to a full school evacuation.

About 20 firefighters attended the incident after Fire and Emergency said they were called to the school on Pakuranga Road about 1.30pm.

A FENZ spokesperson said firefighters saw a “large plume of smoke” coming from the building when they arrived.

Students and staff were evacuated onto the sport fields as a precaution.

The school confirmed there were people inside the classroom when the fire started.

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A spokesperson for the college said the fire was quickly put out, which allowed senior students to start their exams at 2pm despite the brief disruption.

The cause of the fire was unknown and the school was working with Fire and Emergency.

The school could not confirm the extent of damage done to the classroom block, but nobody was hurt injured.

Police have been approached for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A man who was travelling on State Highway 25 towards Coromandel town this morning said he saw rocks, small slips and “spontaneous waterfall” along the way.

Mieke Kregting took a video of what appeared to be a landslide along SH25.

The video showed rocks and debris spilling onto the highway, and water gushing down a muddy cliff-face onto the road.

Meanwhile, Bay of Plenty Regional Council activated its flood room protocols as it prepared for a downpour.

MetService has issued an orange heavy rain warning for Bay of Plenty until 11pm on Wednesday, with 80mm to 110mm of rain on top of what has already fallen expected.

The heavy rain warnings in place in Bay of Plenty as of Wednesday 3pm.

In a statement on social media the Bay of Plenty Regional Council said it was reacting as a result of the wet weather.

“This means our flood team is set up to monitor the situation 24/7 as it develops. We will be providing real-time river level information to supporting agencies (such as local councils and Waka Kotahi), to assist with planning and responding to local communities.

“We’ll also have our flood monitoring team out in the field. It’s their job to be the eyes and ears on the ground, checking flood defences (such as stopbanks and floodwalls), monitoring river levels, flows and rainfall and reporting back to the Flood Room.”

The council said members of its operations team were also out in the community, checking the condition of the flood infrastructure, assessing the weather conditions in key areas and pumping out flood waters from any drainage canals where needed.

“Your local council is also monitoring the situation and will be providing updates via their websites and social media channels around roading, blocked culverts/drains, and water/stormwater/wastewater.”

Heaviest rain in Auckland CBD

Earlier on Wednesday central Auckland bore the brunt of the rain, MetService said.

Orange heavy rain warnings were in place for Northland, Auckland and Great Barrier Island (until 2pm), Waitomo, Waikato and Taupō (until 6pm), Bay of Plenty (until 11pm) and Tongariro National Park (until 10pm).

MetService meteorologist Samkelo Magwala said all those areas had received a “decent amount” of rain overnight.

It was heaviest in Auckland, particularly in the central city, he said.

Have you been caught up in the weather? Share your stories and pictures with us at iwitness@rnz.co.nz

“Some stations in Auckland have recorded about 15.5mm of rain in the period of an hour, some even as high as 21mm of rain,” he said.

The band of rain would move eastwards throughout the day, easing before another band was due to ramp up again in the afternoon.

Gisborne was not under a weather warning, but the rain was heading that way later this afternoon, he said.

After Wednesday, high pressure would begin to build, Magwala said, “giving us some more settled weather for a couple of days”.

Taumarunui and Taihape north of Ohakune, as well as Taranaki are also under heavy rain watches until Wednesday.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Bluebridge ferry, Connemara, is stuck in Picton after an issue with the ramp has left passengers unable to disembark.

The ferry left Wellington shortly after 8am and arrived in Picton just before midday.

Passenger Nick Simcock said those onboard had been told the ramp was stuck and staff had been working for the last 2.5 hours to free it.

“We boarded in Wellington about 8am and it was a great sailing across the channel but we arrived about midday and no-one has been able to get on or off the ferry, the back door ramp is firmly stuck,” Simcock said.

“It’s something to do with the mechanism, the pins are stuck that lock the door into position.”

Simcock is heading to the Marlborough Sounds for a fishing and diving trip with friends and he said they were keen to get off the ferry so they could get on with that.

“Everyone is resigned to the fact I think, we have been down this road before with the ferries here.”

Bluebridge has been approached for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The government’s Cook Strait ferry project will cost less than $2 billion, says the Rail Minister.

Winston Peters announced in March the government would buy two new Interislander ferries to replace the current ageing fleet.

The new ferries are expected to come into service in 2029.

It was revealed today the total budget for the project was currently estimated to be $1.86 billion – with taxpayers paying less than $1.7 billion of that.

Briefing documents said the cost would not surpass $2 billion.

Peters said the contract for the ferries were a fixed price $596 million between Ferry Holdings and shipbuilder Guangzhou Shipyard International.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis pulled the plug on iReX, the previous government’s Cook Strait mega ferry plan, in 2023.

Peters said the public had benefited as a result of the new plan.

“Spending less than $1.7 billion means the taxpayer has saved $2.3 billion while still getting the ferries and infrastructure they want, because we have done away with the expensive consultants who hijacked the project by adding more and more infrastructure until Treasury warned the project would cost $4 billion.”

He said funding spent on infrastructure would be recovered over the life of the new Interislander ferries and infrastructure, through port fees paid from Interislander revenue.

Interislander would also be expected to build sufficient money reserves to buy new ferries again in 30 years, Peters said.

The new ships would be 200 metres long and rail-enabled, which meant rail freight could be rolled on and off them.

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