Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland Council is spending another $300,000 on towering Christmas decorations for the city centre, to the delight of some and dismay of others.

It has commissioned an artist to build a series of five-metre tall pillars that will be dotted along Queen Street between Aotea Centre and Britomart, with panels that light-up.

They go on display from December and branch out from last year’s more than $1 million giant Christmas tree which is making a come-back.

Taxpayers Union head of policy James Ross said the $292,000 price tag for the new display was over the top.

“Unfortunately a lot of people are doing it tough in Auckland and across New Zealand at the minute and I think that sort of expenditure is just not a good look,” he said.

“Christmas is a really hard time of year for a lot of people. People will be struggling to put food on the table and costs in the city centre especially are remarkably high. It’s those people and those businesses, a lot of whom are already struggling, and now walking down the street seeing their money being spent on things they don’t need.”

Businesses in the city centre have had a hard time surviving pandemic lockdowns and disruption from the city rail link construction.

It also comes as central government and the city council consider how they can move homeless people out of the CBD ahead of summer – something that’s alarmed advocates.

Deepak Sharma, who works in the city centre, thinks the Christmas decoration spend sends the wrong message.

“It’s a lot of money they could have spent this money towards the wellbeing of people, to take care of the poor who don’t have a house to live in. They should consider those people.”

City resident Lea Natoc did some quick arithmetic – the five pillars each cost about $60,000 and will be on display for one month.

“Christmas decorations are awesome it’s great for us to feel the Christmas vibe but to spend $60,000 just for one decoration I think it’s a bit too much.”

Each of the five columns will light up with a different theme – Santa’s workshop, a festive forest, under the sea, a Kiwi Christmas and a Christmas feast – and have buttons to press, knobs to turn and one has a juke box to fire up.

Auckland Council Head of Growth and Regeneration Delivery Jenny Larking said the five pillars are interactive and the cost is fully funded by the city centre targeted rate, which is invested back into the area.

“Our partners in the city centre have been calling for collaboration between Auckland Council and local business associations, to significantly increase the number of events and promotions in the city centre, to bring joy, vibrancy and much needed foot traffic to the area after a tough few years.”

Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck doesn’t think it’s money wasted – and believes the installation by light artist Angus Muir will be an attraction for years to come.

“At the end of the day while not everyone will agree with every item of spending, overall I would say that property owners will want their tenants to have a thriving environment after such a difficult time.”

She said businesses had faced disruption from pandemic lockdowns and the construction of the City Rail Link, which still has no set open date.

There are an estimated 800 rough sleepers in the city centre and businesses have been lobbying government for a cross-agency response to homelessness.

“We are sincerely hoping we are going to very soon see announcements that do address both needs. It’s not an either or, we do need to address the social issues as a city and as a country and for our city centre too.

“We also need to create a place that people want to come back to and spend time here.”

Auckland City Centre Residents Group spokesperson Antony Phillips says they don’t want to see the street community moved to the suburbs – but given support and housing.

However, the group supports the council’s spending on Christmas decorations but understands some people’s concern about the price tag.

“I wouldn’t call it grinch-like. I think there’s a healthy level of scepticism around any public expenditure at the moment. We are in a cost of living crisis.

“If we cost that over five years it doesn’t seem so shocking.”

City worker Kris Hardy plans to bring his family in to see the giant Christmas tree and new light pillars.

“Every time we come down we go shopping and buy Christmas presents so take that cost and divide it by the number of people who are going to be down here, let’s say a dollar a person and they all do a little shopping. I think it’ll pay for itself.”

According to Auckland Council the five columns will be displayed during the festive season for at least the next five years – with the interactive features and images updated each year.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster is refusing to comment on a damning report by the police watchdog that was scathing of his response to allegations of sexual offending by former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.

Coster has been placed on leave from his role as chief executive of the Social Investment Agency, following the release of the Independent Police Conduct Authority report.

The report found serious misconduct at the highest levels of police, including Coster, over how police responded to accusations of sexual offending by McSkimming.

The allegations arose from an affair between McSkimming and a woman who was a non-sworn police employee at the time.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report said when police did eventually refer the woman’s claims to the authority, several months after it was recommended they do so, senior police attempted to influence the investigation.

RNZ called and text Coster on Wednesday and received a text with an email to contact for comment.

RNZ asked for comment on Coster’s actions, whether he would stay in his role at the SIA, and whether he had a message for the woman who raised the allegations.

A spokesperson then replied: “As has been publicly noted by ministers, this is now an employment conversation between the Public Service Commissioner and Andrew Coster. He will not be responding to media ahead of that process.”

Coster took on the role as Secretary for Social Investment in November 2024, after stepping down as Police Commissioner.

Public Service Minister Judith Collins earlier said it was agreed between Coster and the Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche that Coster would be on leave while Sir Brian undertook his own “investigation”.

She said the report showed a “massive” failure of leadership, and while it was now an employment matter, she said the report spoke for itself.

“If this was me being named in this report, I would be ashamed of myself. And I think that’s what I can say. I would be deeply ashamed.”

Collins said the findings that leadership attempted to influence the investigation into the woman’s complaint and persuade the IPCA that the matter could be resolved quickly were “very serious”.

“Let’s put it this way. If a minister tried to do that, I’m sure that the Prime Minister would have them out the door that way.”

Asked whether she thought it amounted to corruption, Collins said, “If it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it’s not looking good, is it?”

While acknowledging the IPCA report did not say it was corruption, Collins said it was “an extraordinary set of events, and extraordinary facts, and it must never happen again”.

She expressed thanks for the people who did stand up and send the matter to the IPCA as a complaint.

A spokesperson for the Public Service Commissioner said it would be inappropriate to comment on any employment matters.

Social investment minister Nicola Willis said she was “shocked and appalled” by the IPCA report’s findings.

“I have conveyed my views to Public Service Commissioner Brian Roche. The matter now sits with him as Mr Coster’s employer,” she said.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell said Coster first briefed him on 6 November 2024 about McSkimming.

“The issues around Andrew Coster, we all now clearly see in that report that yes, without a doubt, he was the leader of the executive. He should be held to account for that, because of what we’re dealing with.”

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said while many of those involved in the report were no longer police staff, he had appointed an independent King’s Counsel to undertake employment investigations where required.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he was “extremely disappointed” in police leadership.

“The report and evidence confirm that senior police failed to hold Jevon McSkimming to account for his actions, or appropriately manage complaints made about him. This is inexcusable and a complete failure of duty. People should have every confidence that if they take a complaint to Police it is investigated fully.”

Hipkins, who as Prime Minister appointed McSkimming as Deputy Commissioner, said none of this was ever raised during his time as Prime Minister or Police Minister, or during the vetting process for the Deputy Commissioner role.

“If it had he would never have been appointed and further action would have been taken.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Consumer NZ is urging shoppers to approach the flood of Black Friday discounts with a healthy dose of scepticism, warning that some “bargains” may not be as good as they seem.

Black Friday is on Friday 28 November, but advertising for the American tradition of thanksgiving sales is already ramping up.

Consumer communications and campaigns adviser Abby Damen said potentially advertising comes months ahead of the actual event.

“Then it merges into Cyber Monday and then you’ve got Christmas promotions and then Boxing Day, so it is really huge and I think what we see is that a lot of it is hype.”

People would be buying things because Christmas is coming up, she said.

Consumer NZ wants to ensure that when people buy something that they think is a bargain that is actually is, she said.

It was increasingly difficult to tell whether a sale price item was in fact at a lower price than it had been over the previous few months, she said.

“We’ve done price tracking over the last few years and see a similar trend each time. So this year we noticed a lot of the language around specials could make you think that it is on sale but it’s not necessarily the cheapest that it’s been all year.”

People could check on independent websites such as Consumer NZ, PriceSpy or PriceMe to look at the price of a product over time “and see if today’s special is actually a bargain”, she said.

Storewide sales could also be a problem, she said.

“If you’ve got 20 to 50 percent off everything and most things are discounted at 20 percent, you know it’s not really fair if you’re lured into a store or an online space where that’s not necessarily the case,” she said.

But people are always going to make the most of discounts, she said.

“So we’d say avoid the hype, that’s like look out for those count down timers that might pop up on the website, any pressure tactic that you can feel is trying to encourage you to buy right now, you know you were looking at that product, you’re going to buy it anyway, you don’t need to be pressured.

“So be really conscious of all those designs you see online that might put pressure on you.”

People could also check who they were dealing with by looking at the company’s register, she said.

“Just because a company’s got a .co.nz in the URL it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a New Zealand business. You need to do your due diligence.”

You will also be better protected if you pay for the item using a credit or debit card “because if the worst case scenario happens you can contact your bank and request a charge-back”, she 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

The Independent Police Conduct Authority’s report found serious misconduct at the highest levels of police over how they handled accusations of sexual offending by former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming. It also commended the work of several police staff who stood up. National Crime Correspondent Sam Sherwood reveals the identity of the staff who spoke up.

Standing at the podium inside the Beehive’s theaterette after acknowledging there had “interference at the highest levels of police” in relation to a woman’s accusations of sexual assault by former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers acknowledged a group of police officers who “did stand up and challenge what was happening here”.

“I thank them for their courage, for the leadership and the integrity they showed in doing so.”

The IPCA’s report also dedicates section to several police officers under a heading ‘Officers who displayed commendable integrity and moral courage’.

RNZ takes a look at the staff who spoke up.

Officer D

When former Deputy Police Commissioner Tania Kura finally decided to explore the former unsworn staffer’s allegations she and Assistant Commissioner A agreed to bring in Officer D.

The IPCA report does not name Officer D, but RNZ understands it’s Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves – one the country’s most senior adult sexual assault investigators who has worked on a number of high-profile cases including the murder of Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao.

The terms of reference for the investigation did not instruct Reeves to speak to Ms Z.

Reeves showed the terms of reference to her supervisor, Territorial Detective Superintendent Darryl Sweeney. He was so concerned by what he read he contacted the other two Territorial Detective Superintendents and told them.

Sweeney told the IPCA that when Reeves spoke to him in September there were several features of the case that struck him as unusual.

This included that no senior reviewing officer had been assigned to the investigation, and that usually an investigation like the one being conducted would have been resourced with about four other staff but it was only Reeves.

He also said Reeves should not have had a reporting line directly to Assistant Commissioner A, and the police executive should not have had a role in managing it.

Reeves met with Kura and Assistant Commissioner A in Wellington on 26 July 2024.

She told them she couldn’t continue without speaking to Ms Z and asked for their permission.

She said the meeting was “strange”, and that when she pointed out the investigation fell outside usual policy for such investigations Assistant Commissioner A asked where in policy it said police had to speak to the complainant.

She contrasted the discussion with usual police practice.

“If we get wind of anything, any kind of complaint, that’s what the police do. We would contact someone and go: ‘Hey what’s going on. Is there something that you want to talk about?’ You know we can’t always be waiting for people to come to us, and you know having sat in that adult sexual assault chair for so long we get lots of complaints that actually come through from other people that go: ‘Look you need to talk to my friend. She was raped by so and so’ or whatever… I know that this is our obligation, and look I don’t know that it’s actually written in black and white anywhere, you know that that’s what we do.”

She said Assistant Commissioner A repeated on a number of occasions that McSkimming had applied for the top job and that if things weren’t sorted quickly he wouldn’t get it.

“I personally think it should be very simple in every police officer’s world. Doesn’t matter who the hell you are. We speak to the person, take a complaint and investigate it. It’s all very simple,” Reeves told the IPCA.

Operation Herb was closed on 24 September by Assistant Commissioner A.

Reeves told the IPCA such files were “never truly closed”, and that police could take action at any time.

Reeves remained leading the inquiry when Operation Jefferson, the criminal investigation into McSkimming, began in October last year.

It was during that investigation that police found the objectionable material on his work devices and a second criminal investigation began.

It was Reeves who told the Independent Police Conduct Authority that the handling of the allegations prior to her involvement in the case was “appalling”.

“We have just not followed policy whatsoever and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist… Jevon has tried to get rid of this by making a complaint and … making [Ms Z] the villain, when in actual fact what he perhaps should have done was gone: ‘Can someone look at this and investigate it and get it cleared up? Because I’ve got designs on the future, and I want my integrity intact, so I welcome an investigation. Let’s get it cleared up, get it out of the way’.

“But you know what’s the worst thing – if you make a mistake … the only worse thing that you can do is then cover it up…You can paint all sorts of nice words of this …but to an outsider looking in, and … I mean even me, this looks like a cover-up.”

The IPCA acknowledged the “extraordinarily difficult environment” in which Reeves was working when she was tasked under Operation Herb.

“We commend her courage in insisting on the need to speak to the complainant, Ms Z, when speaking with Deputy Commissioner Kura and Assistant Commissioner A.

“As an experienced adult sexual assault investigator, she has shown insight into what a policy-compliant investigation should look like, and the reasons why her initial investigation should have looked no different.

“She was also able to identify what many senior officers were not – that a traumatised victim who has been told she will not be listened to if she tries to approach Police, may not present as a regular victim ‘should’ and that the emails Ms Z was sending may have reflected the desperation of someone emailing into the ‘abyss’, having not been heard for several years prior.”

Officer M

The IPCA said had it not been for the actions of another police officer, Officer M, it was ” conceivable that Ms Z’s complaint may never have been heard, and the IPCA may never have been made aware of the concerning developments during 2024.”

RNZ understands Officer M is Detective Superintendent Kylie Schaare, the director of Integrity and Conduct.

She told the IPCA that on 16 September last year, she received a call from then Police Commissioner Andrew Coster asking if she knew of any “open investigations” into McSkimming.

She believed the call was prompted by McSkimming’s application for Commissioner. She told Coster she would check the NZ Police Professional Conduct database.

She told the IPCA she was saw a “huge organisational risk” that there was something “sitting outside our system”.

“… It didn’t appear that we’d actually dealt with that at all following our usual process, and that I was now aware that the woman had been arrested, pleaded not guilty and I said ‘look, with…my legal experience…any defence lawyer worth their salt is going to say that…this woman has acted the way she has because she’s been trying to raise these concerns for a significant period of time against Police and no one’s listened to her and no one’s followed usual process’ so I said: ‘That’s all going to come out…That’s a matter of risk to the police, it’s a risk to you as Commissioner”.

Following the call she texted Coster and said there were no “open complaints” that were visible in the database.

“The complaints re the woman that you’ve referenced have not been through our usual complaint processes though, and there is no record of the complaints or what has been done re them. I do see this as a risk to the New Zealand Police and Jevon, particularly if this issue arises again down the track.”

She suggested the information around the complaint and what had been done was provided to either her or the Operations Manager of Integrity and Conduct to record in the database.

“I am conscious with a not guilty plea entered on the charges the woman is facing, the complaints could come to light through the court process as part of the defence disclosure request or the woman may complain again in the future, particularly if Jevon is in the media. It would open up criticism if there is nothing recorded in the usual manner following our complaint processes. IPCA are also asking why this has bypassed our usual complaint processes. They were going to contact Tania directly to discuss.”

Coster replied he understood from Kura’s briefing that the “intent” was to record it as Schaare suggested but was “unsure why this has not yet occurred”.

“To be clear, I don’t think there was ever a complaint. The woman never identified herself to us. However, through Jevon’s transparency on it we knew who she was and proactively approached her. However, there was still no complaint forthcoming to back up her various email allegations sent from a variety of email addresses with made-up names. I appreciate your follow up on that.”

Schaare later contacted the IPCA over concerns she had.

On 8 October she had a meeting with the authority and expressed the nature of her concerns.

On 9 October the Public Service Commission contacted the IPCA and asked if there were any complaints relating to the applicants for Commissioner.

The following day the IPCA Chair emailed Coster asking that police refer any complaints regarding McSkimming to them.

It was then that Ms Z’s complaint was referred by Officer M. That same day Schaare emailed Deputy Commissioner PLC and said she had opened a file on the database. She had also been informed that Ms Z had contacted Reeves and was considering making a complaint.

The IPCA informed police on 14 October they had categorised the matter as Category A, an independent investigation.

Schaare then got a call from Deputy Commissioner PLC who said Coster was not happy about the IPCA’s involvement.

The IPCA said Schaare raised her concerns both within her own internal chain of command and with the IPCA from an early stage.

“When she felt her concerns were not being heeded, she sought our support in elevating the matter. We commend her moral courage.”

Officer O

A report by the joint Police/Health Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC) in February 2024 identified that emails allegedly sent by the woman raised potential criminal and Police Code of Conduct concerns relating to McSkimming and recommended referring them to the National Integrity Unit and IPCA with a view to possible investigation.

The IPCA acknowledged the efforts of FTAC’s Officer O, who when being assigned with looking through the emails was able to “identify, and draw to the attention of senior officers, allegations of both criminal offending and breaches of the Police Code of Conduct”.

‘Through his efforts, his supervisor, Officer N, was then able to brief senior officers, including Deputy Commissioner Kura and Officer B, on the need to look at the matter from two different perspectives – action to stop the emails, and an investigation into their veracity.

“Had FTAC’s advice been heeded in February, many of the issues raised in this report would have been avoided, and a more balanced consideration of the respective interests of Deputy Commissioner McSkimming and Ms Z may have been adopted.”

Director, Police Legal Services

On 30 October, two days before the National Integrity Unit had their first “forensic interview” of Ms Z, Coster called a meeting. At the meeting was Kura, Deputy Commissioner PLC, the Director, Police Legal Services, Schaare and Officer K of the NIU.

Coster then proposed a “special national assessment team” to look into the appropriate investigative pathway in relation to Ms Z’s complaint. He suggested the team consist of himself and Kura.

At the meeting the director of police legal services said it was not appropriate, given the conflicts of interest, for Coster and Kura to be involved in decisions on criminality.

The IPCA commended the director for “directly standing up to Commissioner Coster” in the meetings “to ensure the new investigation structure was robust and free from actual or perceived conflicts of interest”.

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– 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

Auckland is set to get a second Costco store.

Property developer Kiwi Property has agreed to sell a 6.4 hectare site in its new Drury development to the US-based mega store.

Drury is a small rural town about 35 kilometres south of Auckland city, but has been picked as the site for a new town development, with Kiwi Property recently approved to go ahead with building the town centre.

“We are very excited to be entering into this agreement with Kiwi Property in a location as great as Drury,” Costco country manager Chris Tingman said.

An exact opening date for the new store was not immediately clear.

“Whilst still subject to planning and corporate approvals, our aim is to introduce our unique high-quality, low-cost merchandise to Drury, serving our significant membership base in the south of Auckland, as well as Hamilton and the Waikato region,” Tingman said.

The only other Costco store is at Auckland’s Westgate, which opened three years ago.

Kiwi Property chief executive Clive Mackenzie said the deal marked a major milestone for its Drury development – which received fast-track consent for its first two stages last week.

“Costco has been a hit with Kiwi consumers since it opened its first store in Auckland and we’re pleased to be working with them on this exciting opportunity to bring Costco further south,” he said.

The deal followed Kiwi Property’s earlier sale of 1.2 hectares to supermarket operator Foodstuffs.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A man who strangled his ex-partner to death before dumping her body inside a wooden chest and nailing it shut says he doesn’t want to be released from jail.

“A life for a life,” Lewis Blackburn told the New Zealand Parole Board on Tuesday as he asked them to stand him down from being considered for early release from prison for another five years.

“I want to stay in jail. I killed someone.”

Blackburn murdered his ex-partner Christine Hindson, after she ended their three-year relationship in September 2005.

Two days after she ended the relationship, he turned up at the 45-year-old’s Christchurch home in the early hours of the morning, made his way into her bedroom and grabbed her by the throat, before strangling her to death.

Blackburn then put her body in a wooden chest and nailed it shut, before trying unsuccessfully to bury it in his backyard. He then put the chest in his car and drove around the city for two days looking for a suitable place to bury it.

Three days after the murder, Blackburn drove the car to a suburban Ferrymead walking track, dragged the chest into an area of long grass and left it there.

A week later Blackburn confessed his crime to another former partner and was arrested by police the following day, admitting the killing and helping them find the body.

He was 48 years old when he was sentenced in 2006 to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.

Nearly 20 years on, and a decade after he became eligible for early release from prison, Blackburn said he still thinks about his victim every day.

“It’s non-stop,” he said.

“I’m in no hurry to get out, put it that way.”

Blackburn said his primary reason for wanting to remain in prison was the strain his yearly parole hearings would likely be having on Hindson’s family and they should be given a break.

“I’m trying to have compassion for Christine’s family,” he said.

“Year after year, it just seems too much for them.”

Ironically, it was his lack of compassion at the time that was one of the hardest parts of Hindson’s murder for her family to come to terms with.

Her daughter, Marla McKenzie, told the court at Blackburn’s sentencing in 2006 that she recalled him asking during the search for her mother how she was faring. She realised now her mother’s body must at that stage have been in his car just metres from where they were talking.

“For one week Lewis led us to believe she had just gone away somewhere and not to worry,” McKenzie said.

“I don’t ever want him released.”

If Blackburn had confessed earlier, McKenzie said, it could have saved the family’s “torment and heartbreak” in being unable to view Hindson’s body after it was recovered because of its state of decomposition.

Now, their welfare is at the forefront of his mind, he told the board.

“I’ve said it right through, a life for a life,” he said.

“There’s just reports on reports, it’s just a waste of time.

“It’s not like I’ve been out shoplifting. I killed someone.”

Blackburn asked to be stood down from parole hearings for five years, which the board didn’t have the power to approve. The maximum stand-down period it can order is two years.

The board asked Blackburn to work with a psychogeriatrician, begin to work on a risk management plan and to start thinking about where he might be able to live if he was released.

He will be seen again in July next year.

*This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald

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