Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

A man has been sentenced to three years in prison for using false identities and forged documents to obtains visas and residence in New Zealand.

Immigration NZ said the man, aged 50, and his 44-year-old partner arrived using the identities of Hungarian nationals.

Over the next five years, they submitted a series of fraudulent visa applications, including visitor, work, resident and citizenship applications, using forged documents and false declarations.

The couple admitted 16 charges of immigration and identity fraud when they appeared in the Auckland District Court.

The woman was sentenced to 11 months home detention.

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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 union for senior doctors says an IT system introduced this year at Wellington Hospital is a “constant risk” to patient safety.

The system was very slow and crashed all the time, Sarah Dalton – head of the Association Of Salaried Medical Specialists – told Midday Report on Monday.

Health New Zealand said there were “performance and stability issues” but it had safeguards in place to ensure patient information was not lost.

It would “keep pushing until the system is stable and reliable”.

RNZ has seen one email from the hospital front line that said: “Wellington’s IT disaster has become so bad that some specialists are now cancelling/cutting back their clinics as they can’t get through all their patients.”

Dalton said they had been trying for months to get a meeting with Health NZ about this, which they now expected to be in a week or so, as what Health NZ had called “teething” problems got worse.

“We now believe the failure of the system is a constant risk both to efficiency but more concerningly to patient safety,” she said.

It took two to three minutes to load a screen with a patient’s information – for example, what medications a sedated patient was on – then regularly crashed when multiple screens were needed.

“It’s pushing back to paper-based workarounds to try and care safely for patients.”

Health NZ chief information technology officer Darren Douglass said performance problems arose in March, and they set up a team to fix them, including working with the supplier, replacing older hardware and improving remote access.

Dalton said the system would be very useful in linking all sorts of medical specialists, if it worked.

She understood any fixes would likely take months.

This was linked to the government and Health NZ stripping $100m and key roles – mislabelled back office, said Dalton – from data and digital teams.

“We can see here a direct negative impact on patient care.”

The Public Service Association echoed that line: “We warned the government last year that cutting IT staff at Health NZ Te Whatu Ora was playing with fire.”

Health NZ’s Douglass said clinicians had processes in place to ensure critical information was not missed.

“While the system is still working, it can be slow to access functions and open clinical documents, especially during busy times,” he said in a statement on Monday.

“This performance issue and recurring outages have made it harder for clinicians to access patient information quickly.

“While the risk is low, any disruption is taken seriously and safeguards are in place to ensure critical patient information is not lost.”

Patient safety remained the top priority and urgent care was prioritised.

“While these issues can add time to some tasks, we are working hard to minimise any impact on wait times.”

The PSA called on the privacy commissioner to investigate.

“The privacy commissioner refused our request to investigate privacy risks to patient data last year,” national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said in a statement on Monday.

“We say he needs to think again – before patients are harmed and confidential health information is compromised.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A soldier is accused of strangling another soldier on two occasions in 2019.

The Army corporal is facing court martial after pleading not guilty to two charges of assaulting his former partner, who was also in the Defence Force at the time.

Both have name suppression.

In his opening address prosecutor Lieutenant Ben Ruback told the court martial that on two occasions the man became angry at the woman while he was drunk and strangled her.

On the first occasion the pair had been at a party outside of Burnham Military Camp and the woman was the sober driver, Ruback said.

In her evidence, the woman said she helped the man to his barracks because he was so intoxicated.

Once back in the barracks, he wanted to leave and continue partying but she wanted him to stay because she thought he was too drunk, the woman told the court.

“I was blocking the door and he got even more angry and he started strangling me towards the door,” she said.

The following morning there were marks on her neck and the accused asked her about them.

She told him he had strangled her and he said he did not remember but apologised, she said.

She did not tell anyone about being strangled because she wanted to protect her partner’s reputation and did not want people to know they were having problems.

Defence lawyer Andrew McCormick said the soldier admitted there were two incidents when he behaved badly but claimed he never strangled the woman.

On the first occasion his client says the woman was the aggressor, McCormick told the court.

On the second occasion the soldier accepted he pushed her against a post, but he claimed he did not put his hands around her throat, McCormick said.

“This isn’t the case of him saying – I didn’t do anything, she is completely lying. This is a case of him saying – yes, there were two flash point confrontations. Yes, I had been drinking. Yes, I have behaved badly. Yes, I have let myself down. Yes, I have treated her badly,” McCormick said.

“But he says I did not put my hands around her throat. I did not try to strangle her. I was not reckless about that either.”

During cross-examination, McCormick put to the woman she had only made the complaints in 2024 because the Defence Force was reviewing her retention in the army.

“You made these complaints because you were upset you were discharged from the Defence Force and he was still there,” McCormick said.

The woman said that was not true.

The court martial at Burnham Military Camp is set down for three days.

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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 woman has been jailed for more than three years after she made false claims for more than $120,000 in Covid-19 relief.

Kahureremoa Fleur Mantell was sentenced in the Manukau District Court after she was found guilty of 33 dishonesty charges.

She pretended to run a business and used Small Business Cashflow Scheme and Resurgence Support Payment applications to get Covid-19 relief money.

The applications were made in her name and those of six other people.

Mantell dishonestly attempted to obtain $122,000 in income tax returns and Covid-19 relief money.

The total amount paid out was just under $69,000.

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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 Ministry of Education is reviewing Gloriavale Christian School’s response to officials’ concerns as it weighs up the school’s future.

Secretary for Education Ellen MacGregor-Reid wrote to the private school last month advising she was considering cancelling its registration after a second failed Education Review Office audit in as many years.

July’s ERO report found Gloriavale Christian School had not met three of eight registration criteria and was not a physically and emotionally safe space for students.

Gloriavale’s school leadership had five weeks to respond to the secretary’s letter with an initial deadline of 7 November. However, it was extended until Friday after the West Coast Christian community requested more information.

Ministry of Education Te Tai Runga (South) acting hautū (leader) Andrea Williams confirmed the ministry had received a response from Gloriavale.

“The Ministry received a response from the school on Friday and is now carefully reviewing it before making a decision,” she said.

“There is no set timeframe for this process, but the ministry will make sure it moves forward within a reasonable period. The school will be kept informed about when a decision can be expected.”

Education officials met Gloriavale school leaders on 23 July to express concerns about its compliance with registration requirements and issue a second formal “notice to comply”.

In August, Children’s Commissioner Claire Achmad called for the school’s urgent closure, saying she had zero confidence that students were safe.

The Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust favoured a special transitional model for the children’s education, if the school closed, saying the community’s hostels were not an appropriate place for homeschooling.

Under the Education and Training Act, the ministry could cancel the registration of a private school, if it no longer met the criteria, including providing suitable premises, staffing, curriculum, or ensuring student safety and wellbeing.

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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 union for volunteer firefighters says a restructure at Fire and Emergency (FENZ) poses a “tremendous human cost”.

FENZ is proposing to cut at least 140 non-firefighter jobs and scrap its regional structure in its biggest overhaul since it was set up in 2017.

The United Fire Brigades’ Association said “We understand there is a tremendous human cost to this proposed change so will be looking carefully at the proposal and will be making a submission through the Fire and Emergency consultation process.”

It encouraged its membership of 14,000 to give feedback, it said in a statement on Monday.

The association last year put out a report calling for more investment in volunteer firefighters, suggesting they were “hidden in plain sight”.

Hundreds of fire brigades are volunteer or hybrid volunteer-paid ones.

A change proposal document sets out to disestablish a raft of positions and set up new ones.

For instance, it showed eight of 13 roles in recruitment, including of volunteers, slated to go, but a new lead role for supporting volunteers coming in.

Training for volunteers would also be separated from that for career firefighters, with three new roles for managing volunteer training proposed.

“Dedicated teams for career and volunteer personnel are proposed to provide focused oversight and ensure consistency in quality,” it said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A judicial review is underway at the High Court in Wellington as residents from some northern suburbs challenge a flight path change which they say is unlawful.

A change to flight paths in December 2022 meant fewer departures over Newlands and more over Khandallah and Broadmeadows.

The changes were part of a system called the Divergent Missed Approach Protection System (DMAPS) which were introduced by Airways, New Zealand’s air navigation service provider, and approved by Wellington Airport.

Community group Plane Sense believes the implementation process wasn’t lawful or transparent, and that it didn’t properly consider community health, safety and well-being in the local environment.

Its brought a judicial review against Airways, the Director of Civil Aviation and Wellington Airport.

Committee member Roxy Steel said Plane Sense were asking the court to declare the DMAPS flight path invalid and reinstate the previous departure procedure.

“We’ve got community members who are telling us it’s impacting their sleep, impacting their children,” she said. “We’ve got residents who chose to live in these suburbs due to existing health conditions and this noise is impacting their recovery and their way of living at the moment.”

The group said it wasn’t initially consulted on and were taken by surprise by the changes. Consultation was later undertaken.

“The standard instrument departure tracks for jet aircraft had been in operation for approximately 60 years and residents chose where to live based on that status quo.

The residents in Khandallah, Johnsonville and Broadmeadows were taken by surprise by a radical DMAPS concept which in effect changed the north/south runway vector with adverse effects on their safety, health and wellbeing.

This took place without notice or consultation. Unlike its previous course, the new flight path crosses suburbs located within the Wellington Airport noise abatement area which has been in Civil Aviation Rule Part 93 since 1997,” it said.

The group said jets flew lower over terrain than under the previous procedures, significantly amplifying noise.

According to research from Sapere Research Group homes under the DMAPS flight path were also estimated to have have lost between $20,000 – $28,000 on average, with total property value losses across the affected suburbs estimated to be between $248 million and $453 million.

What is the DMAPS system?

The system introduced a greater separation between departure aircraft flight paths, and arrival go-around/missed approach flight paths when the initial approach to land was abandoned for safety reasons.

“DMAPS is designed to increase safety at Wellington Airport and was implemented after a number of incidents related to missed approaches (which occur when an arrival aircraft is unable to complete its landing),” said Airways GM of People and Partnerships Jamie Gray.

“DMAPS ensures that flight paths followed by departure aircraft diverge from the flight path followed by missed approach aircraft, separating both aircraft by default,” he said.

He said in the time since DMAPS was introduced in 2022, the number of missed approach safety reports at Wellington Airport has reduced significantly, from 27 in 2019 to only five in total over the last three years.

“All safety reports have been investigated and none are directly attributable to DMAPS,” he said.

Safety a priority, status quo most popular option in consultation

Gray said Airways’ role to provide air traffic services was centred on its obligation to ensure the safety and efficiency of air navigation and the air traffic network.

DMAPS is designed in accordance with the Civil Aviation Rules and applicable ICAO standards. It is compliant with these rules and standards.

“In that judicial review, Plane Sense has made a number of statements regarding the safety of the flight paths over Wellington, in particular regarding the Divergent Missed Approach System,” he said. “Airways will fully defend itself against Plane Sense’s allegations.”

“On the issue of safety, Airways wants to reassure the public that DMAPS is and always has been safe.”

Wellington Airport said it supported DMAPS because it was safer, more efficient and was the most popular option from its voluntary public consultation.

“It has reduced delays, travel times and costs, lowered emissions, and affects the fewest number of people with noise,” it said.

It said of the four options publicly consulted on in 2024, the status quo was the most popular choice at nearly 50 percent, more than twice the level of other options.

“We understand this was disappointing for some people. However, the unavoidable challenge for a city like Wellington with an airport relatively close to the CBD is that aircraft must fly over residential areas at times, no matter which flight path option is preferred.”

A CAA spokesperson said flights have historically flown over the northern suburbs, but the changes made three years ago did make small, but noticeable, differences in noise on the ground from some outbound flights.

“While the changes complied with the Wellington noise abatement rules and have also secured environmental improvements, any such change can be worrying. That’s why we’ve worked to reassure Plane Sense and its members that the changes are safe,” the spokesperson said.

“We offered to discuss possible changes to noise control rules and encouraged Plane Sense to take part in the consultation run by Wellington Airport in late 2024. We understand that Plane Sense chose not to take part in these engagement opportunities.”

The spokesperson said it respected the right of community groups like Plane Sense to raise their concerns and had shared a lot of information with them.

“We’ve been talking with Plane Sense for over two years, and we continue to be open to engaging with them.”

The spokesperson said safety is, and always would be, its top priority.

“The flight paths have been operating safely since December 2022. We will continue our focus on maintaining and improving the safe and secure aviation system that benefits everyone in the community, in flight and on the ground.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A person was taken to hospital in a serious condition after a medical event at a Christchurch childcare centre this morning.

St John says it sent an ambulance, a rapid response unit and an operations manager to a St Martins address at 11am on Monday.

A BestStart spokesperson confirmed an ambulance had been at its Huntsbury childcare centre due to a medical event.

One patient was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

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