Category: Public Media

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37 former Lake Alice patients receive individual compensation payments of up to $600,000

Source: Radio New Zealand

The total band of compensation payments spanned $160,000 to $600,000. Supplied

  • Thirty-seven former Lake Alice child and adolescent unit patients negotiate compensation
  • They received amounts between $160,000 and $600,000
  • Another 105 opted for $150,000 “rapid payments”
  • Independent arbiter Paul Davison, KC, says survivors see their lives as blighted by Lake Alice.

Thirty-seven former patients of the Lake Alice psychiatric hospital’s child and adolescent unit have received individual compensation payments of up to $600,000.

The government last year announced its redress scheme for children and teens tortured with electric shocks without anaesthetic or through being injected with paralysing drugs at the unit in the 1970s.

One-hundred-and-five survivors opted to receive $150,000 rapid payments.

Another 37 negotiated their compensation.

Independent arbiter, former High Court judge Paul Davison, KC, determined the amounts these survivors received and he has released a summary of his work on Thursday.

The majority received payments between $175,000 and $250,000, but the total band of payments spanned $160,000 to $600,000, as Davison worked within a “fiscal envelope” of $8.39 million.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Rangitīkei unit didn’t have a mental illness, yet were still subjected to electric shocks or injected with paraldehyde.

The unit’s lead psychiatrist, Dr Selwyn Leeks, moved to Australia shortly after it closed in the late 1970s and died in 2022 without facing justice.

In his report, Davison said survivors had shown great courage and resilience in opting to negotiate their compensation.

“Recalling traumatic events and recounting them for the purposes of the torture redress assessment process has been acutely painful and difficult and serves to underscore how deeply traumatic their time at Lake Alice was for them, and how indelible their memories are of what they were subjected to.”

Davison said in determining the compensation amounts he also took into account solitary confinement and sexual abuse the survivors suffered.

Most survivors were 12 or older when admitted to the unit, but some he’d spoken with were as young as 9 when they were sent there and given electric shocks without anaesthetic or paraldehyde.

Davison said he adopted a “survivor-focused and trauma-informed approach” in generally accepting the survivors’ accounts of what happened to them, while also examining records where available and previous statements from the survivors.

“The survivors quite understandably see their lives as having been blighted by their Lake Alice experiences and how they were ill-treated and tortured,” he said.

“Whatever behavioural, psychological or mental problems led to them being patients at Lake Alice, from their accounts it appears that these problems, rather than being treated therapeutically, were aggravated and compounded by how they were tortured and ill-treated, in what was a cruel and malevolent process.

“For most of them, the opportunity to tell someone in a position of responsibility, willing to listen and acknowledge the authenticity of their account of what they were subjected to and how it has affected them, appears to have been a cathartic experience, at least to some degree.”

Lead co-ordination minister for the response to the Royal Commission Erica Stanford. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Erica Stanford, the lead co-ordination minister for the response to the Royal Commission, said it was important survivors had a choice between negotiation and the rapid payments.

“We know no amount of money can ever undo or fully recognise the harm and abuse survivors were subjected to,” she said.

“No government before now has acknowledged torture or apologised for it happening in New Zealand.

“In July last year, we formally acknowledged that torture occurred at the Lake Alice unit as defined in the United Nations Convention Against Torture. A specific redress scheme was established in December for survivors who were tortured at the unit to serve as an expression of our regret as to the many ways in which they were failed.”

Survivors had also received individual apologies and other support as required.

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Ryman Healthcare returns to positive cashflow for first time in decade

Source: Radio New Zealand

The reset followed a $1 billion equity raise in February 2025. Supplied

Major retirement village operator Ryman Healthcare has reported a first-half loss, but is in a cashflow-positive position for the first time in a decade.

“We’ve turned an important corner in our transformation, with the balance sheet reset providing a robust foundation for sustainable performance,” chief executive Naomi James said.

The reset followed a $1 billion equity raise in February 2025, which saw its debt-financing costs drop 27 percent or $14.2m.

“The business has stabilised, momentum is returning and we are delivering results with meaningful progress achieved against FY26 priorities,” she said.

“Our focus is now moving to accelerating performance across our portfolio of high quality retirement villages.”

Key numbers for the six months ended September compared with restated year-earlier results:

  • Net loss $45.2m* v $82.0m net profit
  • Underlying loss $43.4m v $101.0m net loss
  • Fair value movement of investment properties $3.2m* v $270.1m
  • Revenue $413.8m v $366.3m
  • Interim dividend nil
  • *Net loss includes drop in fair value of assets, as well as a $2.4m impairment, resulting from cost overruns in Woodcote and Kevin Hickman villages

James said the second half of FY26 was expected to remain broadly in line with the first half.

“We remain focused on selling down stock as a significant opportunity to drive cash flow. We are confident our sales effectiveness will support continued progress over FY26.

“We anticipate ongoing variability as the property markets recover at differing speeds – Victoria is showing positive momentum, while Auckland is yet to show meaningful improvement.”

She said cost savings were tracking ahead of expectations, with annualised savings of $40m, expected to rise to between $50-60m by the end of the year ending in March.

“At our investor day in February, we’ll share more on the land bank review, including sites which have been earmarked for future development and additional sites selected for divestment.”

The company would also provide an update on its overall growth strategy and dividend policy.

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Tower reports record profits, more customers, fewer big-claim events

Source: Radio New Zealand

The company forecasted an underlying profit for the coming year between $55m-65m. RNZ / Dan Cook

Insurance company Tower has reported record profits, as increased numbers of customers drove premium income, while it had a low level of big-claim events.

Key numbers for the year ended September compared with a year ago:

  • Net profit $83.7m v $74.3m
  • Underlying profit $107.2m v $83.5m
  • Gross written premium $600m v $595m
  • Large event costs $7.2m v claim back $2.3m
  • Full year dividend 24.5 cents per share v 9.5 cps

The New Zealand-owned company extended its recovery and return to profit, as it sold more policies, boosting its premium income, and benefited from below-average large claims.

“This is an exceptional result, underpinned by Tower’s transformation, driven by investment in our digital platform and continued focus on underwriting discipline, technology, data and efficiency,” chief executive Paul Johnston said.

The company added 5000 new customers to 318,000, as it concentrated on lower-risk policies and competitive pricing, which boosted its housing-insurance revenue.

The bottom-line result was affected by increased Canterbury earthquake claims cost estimates, the ongoing cost of customer remediations and a provision for software impairment.

The company said the Dunedin floods of October 2024 and Cyclone Tam in April were treated as big events, costing $7m.

Storms that hit the country in late October were expected to cost about $4.5m and would be accounted in the coming year’s accounts.

Johnston said the past couple of years had been out of the ordinary and were not likely to continue.

“We expect conditions that influenced the FY24 and FY25 results, such as relatively benign weather and prior-year rating flowing through the portfolio, to normalise in the coming year.”

The company forecasted an underlying profit for the coming year between $55m-65m and has set aside $45m to cover big-disaster claims.

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Launch catches fire on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, firefighter injured

Source: Radio New Zealand

Launch on fire on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, near Browns Island. Supplied/Facebook

A launch caught fire in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf this morning, near Browns Island.

Fire and Emergency were called to the incident about 8.15am.

It said the 38-foot-long launch (about 11 metres) was well ablaze, when firefighters arrived on the scene.

FENZ said no-one was injured and about eight firefighters were still working to extinguish the fire.

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Inquiry into handling of the Tom Phillips case announced by government

Source: Radio New Zealand

An inset of Tom Phillips at one of his campsites. RNZ / Supplied / Police

The government has announced an inquiry into the handling of the Tom Phillips case by government authorities.

Phillips died following a shootout with police, when they were called to reports of a burglary in the early hours of 8 September, after 1358 days in the bush with his children.

Phillips shot a police officer several times during the shootout.

On Thursday, Attorney-General Judith Collins announced a public inquiry would be held into the disappearance of the Phillips children.

“The inquiry will look into whether government agencies took all practicable steps to ensure the safety and welfare of the Phillips children,” Collins says.

“The decision to establish a public inquiry reflects the significant public interest and concern for the children’s welfare over the almost four years they were missing.

Police believe the Phillips family moved regularly between several sites. NZ Police / Supplied

“It is important that we establish the facts and determine whether agencies could take steps to prevent, or resolve similar situations more quickly and effectively in the future.”

The terms of reference had been developed with the privacy and welfare of the children in mind. The inquiry would therefore be conducted in private and without public hearings.

Collins said the inquiry must also respect the independence of the courts and would not include findings on judicial decisions.

The Honourable Justice Simon Moore, KC, has been appointed as the sole member of the inquiry.

The inquiry would deliver a final report with recommendations by 21 July 2026.

An injunction preventing the media from publishing certain details related to the investigation into Phillips remains in place.

Family’s primary campsites

Last month, police released several photos of what are believed to be the family’s primary campsites. Police had discovered two large, established and “heavily concealed structures” in recent weeks in dense bush surrounding Marokopa.

Detective Superintendent Ross McKay said inquiries to date indicated the Phillips family moved regularly between these sites, the makeshift camps near Te Anga Rd and other locations around Marokopa.

“For the last few weeks, police have been piecing together information and building a picture of Phillips’ movements.

“What is now clear is that Phillips moved regularly from coast to farm to bush in a complex manner that meant he was unlikely to be stumbled across.”

Local search and rescue staff located the new sites – one to the north of Marokopa, the other to the east – which included partially buried, semi-permanent structures concealed by large amounts of vegetation.

The sites included partially buried, semi-permanent structures concealed by large amounts of vegetation. NZ Police / Supplied

“Approaching Phillips in such circumstances would have been extremely dangerous.

“As we’ve said previously, we knew he had firearms and was motivated to use them.”

Investigators had removed a significant number of items from the camps, all of which would now be forensically examined.

“This is a protracted and labour-intensive exercise that forms part of our ongoing enquiries to identify anyone who may have assisted Phillips.

“We continue to make good progress and believe he was assisted by a small number of people at different stages over the last four years.”

All campsites had been cleared and police would not be releasing their specific whereabouts.

McKay earlier said the vast area in which Phillips kept the children was difficult, steep terrain almost completely obscured from all angles by dense bush.

“At various times during the operation, police specialist units such as Special Tactics Group, Armed Offenders Squad, Search and Rescue and Tactical Operations Group, were used.”

Police also had support from the New Zealand Defence Force.

“Police never stopped trying – thousands of hours were dedicated to the search,” McKay said.

“Intelligence played an important role in informing decisions and planning for possible outcomes.

“We also knew, based on previous actions and behavioural science analysis, that Phillips was unlikely to surrender easily and was prepared to put the children in harm’s way.

“The primary objective was locating and returning the children safely.”

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Carving returned to marae after more than 100 years

Source: Radio New Zealand

Hāmama is back at Rānana Marae after more than 100 years away. Supplied

After more than 100 years in museum exhibitions and storerooms, a carving is back at the marae it was taken from.

The tekoteko Hāmama arrived back at Rānana Marae in the Whanganui district in November, after years of petitioning to have it returned.

Dr Rawiri Tinirau helped uncover the carving’s provenance and told Morning Report it was a special day for the marae when Hāmama was returned.

“Given that the craving Hāmama has been absent from us for such a long time, it was a nice way to spend the day with each other and welcome him home.”

Hapū descendants, local iwi and members of the community gathered at the marae to celebrate the homecoming of Hāmama, which was acquired by the Dominion Museum in 1912, and had been part of the national collection for over 100 years.

Tinirau said there was some ambiguity as to whether Hāmama was taken properly.

“There was certainly some ambiguity over the tekoteko’s provenance, and if you have a look at those early records within the museum, it talked about it being a purchase from a J Thompson.

“But other than that, we were unable to uncover who J Thompson was.”

Tinirau said it was by looking through old photos that they could identify the tekoteko and match it with the marae.

Tinirau said his mum was also able to help identify Hāmama during a visit to the Dominion Museum in the 1980s when she saw some old footage of an expedition up the Whanganui River from the 1920s.

Carved in the 1870s-1880s the tekoteko is an example of the unique carving from the Whanganui region.

“Hāmama was one of our ancestors that must have been an important man because he was named as one of the significant ancestors in the Rānana block where the Rānana Marae is situated. And if you have a look at him, he definitely displays characteristics that are unique to Whanganui River carving.

“For example, he has bulbous eyes, he clutches his tongue. He has, four fingers and a thumb on each hand. His knees are slightly interlocking and facing inward. So those suggest that the carvers definitely came from the Whanganui River.”

After Hāmama was identified, Tinirau was involved in petitioning and letter writing to get the carving back to Rānana Marae, and said the museum “didn’t really have repatriation protocols” and couldn’t deal with requests at the time.

“It wasn’t until the last five or six years that we’ve reengaged with Te Papa and really pushed this kaupapa through.”

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How feral cats spread toxoplasmosis risk across hundreds of Kiwi farms

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ruth Kuo

Feral cats are responsible for spreading toxoplasmosis, which can cause “abortion storms” on sheep farms. Methods of control, such as annual culls, have come under fire from animal welfare advocates.

Content warning: This story describes the killing of animals, including an image of a trapped feral cat

It was over beers in a woolshed that the decision was made: Feral cats would be part of the North Canterbury Hunting Competition.

“We just sort of looked around and went, ‘Yeah, might as well’,” says organiser Matt Bailey.

“Unbeknown to us, it would go off like a powder keg within a matter of days of posting something on social media.”

What the farmers thought was a no-brainer decision to add another pest to the competition shocked cat lovers. The backlash was immediate and sponsors of the rural fundraising event came under attack on social media.

But, if anything, the outcry from animal rights advocates made the decision to include feral cats even more popular with farmers and sponsors.

“They poked the bear and it’s probably backfired for them because it’s gotten people off their asses and out there hunting,” says Bailey.

Three years on from the woolshed conversation, the cat category remains popular. This year, contestants entered 326 dead cats for the June weighing-in weekend.

Bailey suspects the real number of feral cats culled was higher. Farmers ran out of freezer space to store the bodies, he says.

“I knew guys catching 10 a week, and they weren’t keeping them.”

This year, there was no backlash from animal rights advocates, which Bailey reckons is down to increased awareness of the damage feral cats do.

It is one topic where hard-core conservationists and farmers find common ground. Feral cats decimate native wildlife and pose a disease risk to farm animals, and dolphins.

They are found on all types of farms, according to Bailey. On dairy farms feral cats are often spotted near milking sheds or hay sheds. They are also commonly seen near offal holes, or in Bailey’s case at lambing time, in paddocks eating afterbirth.

He said he had not heard anyone report an increase in rat numbers after removing cats, adding that if rats do appear, bait stations can be used.

And to critics who argue that trapping, neutering, and releasing feral cats is better than culling them, Bailey has a blunt response: “They’re killing our native birds and not shagging them.”

How feral cats can spread disease

There is no official estimate of how many feral cats there are in New Zealand. The number of 2.4 million is often cited, but some believe the true number is far higher.

Their number creates a disease risk for every farm in the country, says NZ Veterinary Association sheep and beef branch president and vet Alex Meban.

Toxoplasmosis is carried through cats and spread through their droppings. Tens of thousands of oocysts produced by the parasite can be in cat poo, which when accidentally ingested by sheep via grass, hay or water, can be infectious.

Toxoplasmosis can also be passed to humans through contaminated soil, water or unwashed vegetables, and is particularly dangerous during pregnancy or to people with compromised immune systems, but it also affects dolphins and farm animals, such as sheep.

For farmers, there are no outward signs of the disease until lambing time. That is when an “abortion storm” can occur, which is when more than five percent of ewes lose lambs.

“It can be devastating,” says Meban. Last season one farmer realised he had lost 30 percent of foetuses during scanning.

“We asked the question about wild cats, the answer was yep, there are lots of wild cats. They hadn’t really considered it to be an issue until scanning time.”

Lamb losses like this can mean the difference between breaking even or not for a year for a farmer.

There is a vaccine for the disease, and Meban says it only takes one season of heavy lambing loss to convince a farmer to vaccinate flocks. The vaccine costs between $3 and $5 and offers lifelong protection.

If lambs are worth $150 each, he says it does not take much for the vaccine to pay for itself. Vaccination should go hand-in-hand with reducing cat numbers on farms, he says.

Farmer trappers

A Federated Farmers pest survey last year, which had 700 responses, found 37 percent were actively managing feral cats, says the organisation’s meat and wool chairperson Richard Dawkins.

The survey showed 2868 cats were culled by farmers over a 12 month period.

Anecdotally, Dawkins says he has heard the number of feral cats is on the rise. He also points to the increased risk of toxoplasmosis and impacts native wildlife.

“I have one farmer report to me that on a braided riverbed, they had a cat take out 90 percent of a fledge of young birds in a colony that was on a river Island,” Dawkins says. The cat ate 60 of the chicks of a black fronted tern colony.

Farmers have told him live capture traps are the most effective, but these need to be checked daily, which is a time-consuming exercise for farmers with large blocks.

A feral cat caught by a farmer. Supplied

Cats need to be included in regional council pest management plans, but without extra funding of staffing, “it just becomes words on paper to be honest,” Dawkins says.

Increased public education would help, as would support for desexing domestic cats.

The problem increases around holiday periods, which could be caused by people dumping pets, Dawkins says.

“They’re a pretty loveable animal, and people may think they’re releasing them to run free and have a good life, but they may not understand those implications,” he says.

Alternatives to killing

The Animal Justice Party was one of the groups that expressed concern at the inclusion of feral cats in hunting competitions. Committee member Bridget Thompson says the party sees all animals as sentient and objects to the killing of feral cats.

The line between companion cats, strays living close to communities, and feral cats can be tricky for people to discern.

“The problem there is that if people cannot make the distinction, you get self proclaimed eco-warriors in the cities, thinking that if they go out and kill any cat community or companion, they are doing a good thing.”

Trapping and desexing is also not the preferred option, Thompson says. Instead, she would like a biological solution.

“We would like to see serious science into interrupting the fertility cycle.”

She acknowledges nothing like this exists at present.

Predator fences are also an option until science catches up.

“There’s a range of non-violent alternatives to current methods of population control.”

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Man charged over stabbing in Auckland

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Angus Dreaver

A man has been charged after handing himself in at a police station, over a stabbing in the Auckland suburb of Henderson on Wednesday.

A man was found seriously injured on Edsel Street around 2.40pm.

A 45-year-old went to the Henderston Police Station on Wednesday night and was taken into custody.

Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie, of Waitematā CIB, said the victim and the accused man knew each other.

He’s facing a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He is due to appear in the Waitākere District Court today.

Goldie said the victim was in a stable condition at Auckland City Hospital.

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Swiss star Stan Wawrinka to play ASB Classic

Source: Radio New Zealand

PHOTOSPORT

Former Grand Slam tennis champion Stan Wawrinka is returning to the ASB Classic this summer.

Wawrinka, who has won 16 titles including three Grand Slams, has confirmed his entry for the Auckland tournament in January.

The 40-year-old Swiss star last played in Auckland as a 21-year-old.

Wawrinka played at the ASB Classic in 2006 and 2007 before going on to win the the 2014 Australian Open, the 2015 French Open and the 2016 US Open, accounting for Novak Djokovic twice and Rafael Nadal in those finals.

Included in his 16 ATP singles titles were 11 straight wins in finals from 2014 to 2016. He rose to a career high No 3 in the world in 2014.

His injury-free years ran out when he required two left-knee surgeries in 2017 and two surgeries on his foot in 2021.

ASB Classic tournament director Nicolas Lamperin was quick to offer Wawrinka one of the remaining wildcard spots for the tournament as the Swiss star returns to the game at the highest levels.

“Of course, we have Venus Williams to play in Auckland, along with Gael Monfils, who will defend his men’s title. And now we add Stan Wawrinka to that list – three truly great players who believe that 40 is the old age of youth.

“At his best, Stan was able to better all the world’s leading players including the big four. He has always revelled in the biggest matches against the biggest names,” said Lamperin. “We are absolutely thrilled to host him back in Auckland.”

Wawrinka represented Switzerland at three Olympic Games, at Beijing in 2008 where he won the gold medal in doubles with Roger Federer; London in 2012 where he was the Swiss flagbearer, and at Paris in 2024. He had qualified for the Rio Games in 2016 but withdrew with injury.

The 2026 ASB Classic runs from January 5 to 17, with the women’s tournament in the first week.

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Chatham Islands’ new Point Durham wind farm to drop power prices by 20 percent

Source: Radio New Zealand

Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust chair Hamish Chisholm expects the power prices will start to drop soon. Ajay Peni Ataera / First Dawn Productions

A new wind farm makes it possible for the diesel-reliant Chatham Islands to go green and run entirely on renewable energy.

Locals hope it will slash astronomically high power prices with some saying the costs are deterring others from moving there.

The three new wind turbines at the Point Durham wind farm can generate more energy than the current peak demand.

The power price is expected to drop by more than 20 percent to about 89 cents per kiloWatt hour.

Currently, diesel fuels the power supply on the Chatham Islands, but it is costly and vulnerable to supply chain issues with an ageing ship and price fluctuations.

Hotel Chatham owner operator Toni Croon said the current exorbitant power prices limited growth.

Her monthly power bill for the hotel was roughly $13,000, she said.

“It’s just horrendous. Horrendous as a business owner, horrendous for anyone on this island. It’s survival of the fittest and we basically just live in debt because of our power prices,” Croon said.

The Port Durham wind farm is designed to give the Chatham Islands a more stable and reliable electricity supply. Supplied

She could not wait to be less reliant on diesel, saying the wind farm would be good for the environment and their wallets.

“It’s going to be everything. Even your family steals fuel off you because when times get tough, when there’s no fuel, you’ve got every bottle, everything filled up that you possibly can,” she said.

“This is going to be a game changer to every business and not have to rely on the ship.”

A previous wind turbine project fell over more than a decade ago after hitting financial difficulties.

She hoped this one would not be a lot of hot air and would make a sizeable difference to their bills.

If it did, she expected the Chathams would grow.

“I can think of five businesses that I’d like to start with the power prices being a lot more reasonable,” she said.

“People will move here for a start. No one will move here [currently]. Most households are $1000 to $1200 [a month]. That’s no hot water, just absolutely ridiculous, so we’ll get growth in the population.”

The mayor of the Chatham Islands, Greg Horler, said the cost of living – including power bills – hit hard on the Chathams.

“People are struggling on the mainland. People here [have] to do the same thing, they’ve got to slap another 30 percent on so if you’re struggling on the mainland, smack another 30 percent on and that’s how they struggle over here. It’s actually quite tough,” he said.

Locals were looking forward to a greener, cheaper and more stable energy source and opportunities for growth, he said.

In 2023, a $10 million government grant was earmarked to develop a renewable energy system.

Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust led the charge for the wind farm, and added a further million dollars to the pot.

Construction at the Port Durham wind farm, which will be officially opened on Thursday. Supplied

Trust chair Hamish Chisholm said they were looking forward to a more reliable, sustainable power supply that would reduce the cost of living and doing business.

“We’ve only got limited capacity for storage on the island and we’ve had a couple of shipping outages in recent years so that’s brought us pretty close to the lights going off,” he said.

He hoped that cutting the tariff price would help to encourage businesses to invest more.

There was a lot of fishing done around the Chathams but he said the current cost of electricity meant it was mostly too expensive to process them there.

“With lower electricity prices, we’d hope that that would open up the range of fish species that could be processed here on the island viably and then that sort of just helps grow our economy from there,” Chisholm said.

The 225 kilowatt turbines generate power when wind speeds hit between 12 and 90 kilometres an hour.

A new grid balancing plant means the diesel generators can shut down when the turbines are covering the island’s demand and a battery can provide an hour of peak power load if wind speeds fluctuate.

Diesel burn would be reduced by the equivalent of 500,000 litres per year with carbon emissions dropping by around 1300 tonnes a year, he said.

The system also allowed for new renewable energy supplies to be added to the grid in the future, which would bring the costs down further, he said.

He expected the prices would start to drop soon.

“It had been feeding into the grid. There’s been days when the power station has been completely silent which isn’t something that’s been heard down here probably for 20 or 30 years,” he said.

The Point Durham wind farm will be officially opened on Thursday.

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