Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

While there was wet weather in parts of the country on Friday, forecasters say things should clear up for most at the weekend.

But that does not necessarily mean it will be warm, despite summer’s approach.

Just after midday Christchurch was at 28.7C, the hottest place in Aotearoa, but come Monday the garden city will barely make it into double-digits, MetService says.

“Monday will be a chilly day in Christchurch, with a forecast maximum of 13C after the southerly surge of a cold front in the early hours of the morning which will bring a line of showers,” it said on its website.

The chilliest place on Friday was Southland’s Gore, reaching just 10.4C. Nearby Fiordland and southern Westland were under a severe weather watch, with heavy rain expected until 8pm.

“As a front creeps north over the South Island today, bringing heavy rain to Fiordland, strengthening winds drive hot and dry northwesterlies for eastern areas – Christchurch has a forecast high of 30C,” MetService said on its social media.

The North Island was fine almost everywhere, and expected to stay that way through the weekend.

The second-hottest location was Gisborne, at 27C.

“The trend of morning cloud burning off to clear skies will continue for the North Island as a high pressure settles in for a few days,” MetService meteorologist Michael Pawley said. “Fluffy cumulus clouds will sprout inland in the afternoon, with the odd sprinkling of showers, particularly in Northland.”

The windiest spot in the country on Friday was Timaru, with gusts up to 41km/h. Milford Sound was the wettest.

“Most centres return to typical spring temperatures over the weekend, and we can all sleep easier with less muggy overnight conditions,” MetService 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 death of a beloved Auckland maths teacher has sent shock waves through the Chinese community.

Students and parents paid tribute to Kevin Hu, head of calculus at Takapuna Grammar School, who died in a diving accident in Fiji, according to an email the school sent parents on 17 November.

The email described Hu as a highly respected member of the faculty who worked primarily with Year 10 and senior classes and played a significant role in the school’s International Baccalaureate programme.

Krissi Yang, a Year 12 student at the school, described Hu as consistently upbeat, cheerful and full of energy.

“He had a natural ability to connect with us,” Yang said. “All the students enjoyed being around him and talking to him. If we had secrets or worries, we were happy to share them because we trusted him completely.”

Yang said Hu’s death had cast a heavy sadness over teachers and students.

“Even now, it’s still hard to accept,” she said. “Everyone was shocked, heartbroken, and full of regret and disbelief.

“He was such an incredible teacher and then, suddenly, he was gone.”

After the school announced the news Monday, Yang said students began paying tribute to Hu in a uniquely personal way: folding origami cranes.

“We wrote messages on the cranes and ended up making more than 1000,” she said.

“We hung strings of cranes around his classroom and placed some on his desk. Each of us also wrote him a letter and left it there.

“Just walking past his classroom makes people emotional. And going into his office, with his photo, our letters, the cranes and the flowers, makes it even harder to stay composed.”

Yang felt as if she still had something to say to the maths teacher.

“If I could say something to him, it would be this: We are all so grateful and so lucky to have had a teacher like you – so kind, warm, genuine and dedicated.”

Cherrie Gao, whose son is also a Year 12 student at Takapuna Grammar School, said Hu had a significant impact on her son’s learning and development.

“After my son joined his class, he changed a lot,” Gao said. “With Mr. Hu, [my son] started thinking more long term and became more willing to challenge himself. Mr. Hu also actively encouraged him to enter maths competitions.

“Mr. Hu was incredibly reliable, which is why my son trusted him so much. If you had a question, you could go to him and he would never turn you away.”

She said Hu’s passing has been deeply upsetting for her family.

“I was driving when I saw the principal’s email marked as important. I opened it while driving, and my mind just froze,” she said.

“It felt impossible. I even wondered if the principal had sent it by mistake,” she said.

“My son constantly talks about ‘Mr. Hu, Mr. Hu’ – he brings his name up all the time. I still can’t believe it was him. How could something like this happen to him?”

Before teaching at Takapuna Grammar School, Hu had previously been a maths teacher at Avondale College and before that spent seven years teaching in Nanjing, China.

Beyond his work as a maths teacher, Hu was also well-known on Chinese social media platform Red Note, where he had thousands of followers who watched his videos and livestreams about his life and his teaching experience in New Zealand.

After several media outlets reported his death on Thursday, hundreds of people flocked to his account, posting “rest in peace” messages under his recent videos and leaving tributes expressing their respect and grief.

Felix Xu, an early childhood teacher in Auckland, said he had followed Hu’s social media for more than a year.

Xu said he often watched Hu’s videos and livestreams and occasionally asked him questions about teaching.

He described Hu as an exceptionally experienced maths teacher and said his death was a loss for the education sector.

He said Hu’s background as a migrant also resonated with him.

“I felt a sense of empathy because we’re both new immigrants,” he said. “I know how difficult the journey is.

“It felt like his life in New Zealand had just begun. At such a good age, he suddenly passed away. It feels like a huge loss.”

Sally Wang, who knew Hu and is a maths teacher at an Auckland secondary school, said several teachers were helping to set up a Givealittle page to support Hu’s family.

She said Hu had no family in New Zealand, and that his parents arrived on Wednesday but did not wish to be contacted by media.

Takapuna Grammar School said in an email to parents that Hu’s passion for teaching and dedication to his students would be deeply missed.

The school said its guidance staff would continue to support any students who might need help during this period.

Students who worked closely with Hu and believed their upcoming NCEA exams had been significantly affected could also contact the school to discuss the possibility of applying for derived grades, the school said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A model who used puberty blockers as a teenager says the government is “cursing an entire generation of young transgender women to social stigma” after it halted new prescriptions of the drug for young people with gender dysphoria.

Te Manahou Mackay says she can’t imagine what her life would have been like if she hadn’t had that “early intervention” and had to deal with the “lifelong implications” or going through male puberty.

The government is halting new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria, saying “a precautionary approach” is needed while evidence remains uncertain.

The move has provoked strong feelings on both sides of the debate.

The drugs – known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues – would remain available for people already using them for gender dysphoria, as well as for other medical conditions such as early-onset puberty, endometriosis, and prostate cancer.

Mackay said she had started taking them at age 13-14 after “extensive” discussions with psychiatrists and therapists and nurse practitioners.

“They really do make you justify soundness of mind, she said. “It’s not something that is just handed out lightly.”

Mackay said the general practitioner she initially went to to explore her options became “one of the most important people in my life”.

She met with psychologists and therapists before starting puberty blockers and decided on it because the drugs were “so reversible”.

“If you just stop taking them, everything kind of goes back to baseline. That’s within two years, I believe.”

Mackay did that for around a year and a half before “ultimately deciding to go through hormone replacement therapy and transition properly”.

Having puberty blockers at that age gave her “an extra amount of time to really think before committing” to hormone replacement therapy, she said.

“To me, this [announcement] is basically cursing an entire generation of young transgender woman to social stigma, to moving through this world and having to deal with so much – I don’t have another word for it – violence.

“[Health Minister Simeon Brown] talks about the health implications, but what about the life implications this has on all of these young trans men and women?”

In a statement on Wednesday, Health Minister Simeon Brown said Cabinet had agreed to the new settings until the outcome of a major clinical trial in the United Kingdom, expected in 2031.

Brown said the new rules – which take effect on 19 December – would give families confidence that any treatment was “clinically sound and in the best interests of the young person”.

“These changes are about ensuring treatments are safe and carefully managed, while maintaining access to care for those who need it.”

Otago University Emeritus professor Charlotte Paul said she supported the extra restrictions, due to “substantial uncertainties” about the harms and benefits of puberty blockers.

“It’s not just the uncertainty about the balance of benefits and risks,” Paul said. “It’s that we don’t know enough about the population that we’re treating and that we could be harming a lot of kids.”

However, Paul said the government’s announcement did not give her any confidence about the “care of these young people”, and acknowledged young people with gender dysphoria were “distressed”.

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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 lawyer for Pike River families says police now have enough evidence to lay manslaughter charges over the disaster.

Nigel Hampton KC said police believe they have evidence showing specific acts of gross negligence, which are linked to the fatal explosion, in which 29 men were killed.

“From that, sufficient evidence has been collected by the police for them to conclude that they can now show specific acts of what they say were gross negligence and they can link those acts causatively to the explosion and therefore to the deaths.

“That equals potentially 29 charges of manslaughter being brought against certain individuals, the police have reached that view. It’s now with the Crown and the Crown have got to make a decision about what they’re going to do.”

Hampton said he was not able to comment on who those charges would be laid against, without breaching confidentiality.

“It’s been a cause of frustration and further anguish to the families, the time delay, but if it’s another month or two months or three months or whatever, they’re prepared to wait it out.”

‘Slap in the face’

Hampton said that anguish was exacerbated for Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse this week, after they were asked to meet with Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden on the 15th anniversary of the disaster, in a meeting they described as a complete waste of time.

“They attend at Parliament instead of being on the Coast with other families commemorating, grieving the deaths of their loved ones…then they are met with a negative response from the workplace minister indicating that from their point of view, the family’s point of view, there’s going to be rollback on health and safety stuff that came out of the Pike disaster and that only feels like a slap in the face for the women.”

Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori all expressed support for a corporate manslaughter charge.

A Royal Commission of Inquiry into the explosion in 2012 found New Zealand’s old safety laws lacked teeth, and there were catastrophic failings in the mining company’s systems, despite numerous warnings of a potential disaster.

Hampton said following the inquiry, police reached the view there were acts of gross negligence, both in terms of actions taken and actions not taken by the mining company and those in charge that would have formed the foundation of a prosecution for criminal nuisance under the Crimes Act, but the acts couldn’t be directly linked to the initial explosion and the deaths.

At the same time, the Department of Labour laid health and safety charges against Pike River Coal Ltd, its former chief executive Peter Whittall and a contractor, VLI Drilling Ltd.

The charges against Whittall were dropped in 2013 in exchange for payments to the victims’ families, which had since been declared unlawful by the Supreme Court.

Efforts by Pike River families, including Osborne and Rockhouse, to prevent the mine from being sealed in 2021 ultimately led to police being able to re-enter the mine and recover further material and evidence from the inside the drift.

In September 2022, police announced they were reopening the borehole drilling operation as part of the investigation and 10 boreholes were drilled, imaged, and resealed. Human remains were found in the mine in 2023.

Police have been working with the Crown Solicitor since the investigation concluded, over whether to lay charges.

A police spokesperson said they could not provide a timeframe for when a decision would be made on the matter.

The Crown Law office said the decision whether to prosecute ultimately sat with police and they were working with the Wellington Crown Solicitor on matters relating to the decision to prosecute.

The office said it was aware of that work and didn’t have anything further to add at present.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A New Zealand disability advocate caught up in the fire at the annual COP climate meeting in Brazil says she and her group were left to fend for themselves.

The fire took hold in a pavilion area while negotiations were still underway, forcing the evacuation of thousands of delegates from the venue.

There were no casualties but at least 13 people have been treated for smoke inhalation.

Kera Sherwood-O’Regan (Ngāi Tahu) is at COP30 representing the New Zealand Disabled Persons Assembly and her hapu, Te Rūnanga o Moeraki.

She was in a building next to the area where fire broke out but said there was no alarm or other alert.

“A lot of people initially thought, ‘Oh is this a protest?'”

Many in her group had disabilities so they decided not to take any chances, she said.

“We’re very conscious that oftentimes in emergency situations we really do get left behind and that’s why we’re here at the COP advocating.

“We made our way to one of the side doors to get outside and soon after that there was a massive influx of everybody getting out.”

At that point there was still no official information and people were instead coordinating in group chats, she said.

“There wasn’t a single clear alarm system, there was no signage on the screens or anything. People were really confused.”

Later she saw footage of the fire close to an area where she had spoken the day before.

“I received … a video of flames which were just floor to ceiling, over in the pavilions area … so that was obviously quite frightening for us.”

The UN body that oversees the COP talks said there had been “limited damage” but the site would reopen no sooner than 8pm (12pm Friday NZT).

The fire took place as ministers were deep in negotiations aimed at breaking a deadlock over fossil fuels, climate finance and trade measures, with one day left in the two-week conference.

-RNZ / AFP

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington’s mayor says a review of the Golden Mile project will give the council an opportunity to take another look at what the project was trying to achieve.

The Wellington City Council on Thursday voted for a review of the contentious project, which council officers predicted would now cost up to $220 million – up from $139m.

Mayor Andrew Little told Morning Report the area was in need of work, but the project had to be realistic and affordable.

“People certainly want to see that end of the Golden Mile, the Courtenay Place end, spruced up a bit and tidied up.

“But on all these things I always say: ‘let’s go back to these objectives, let’s see how we can cut the cloth to suit, and see whether we can achieve the objectives, but at a rate that’s more affordable for Wellingtonians’.”

The overall goals of the Golden Mile were good for the city, but the review was needed to work out how to rein in ballooning costs, Little said.

“They are important. Getting better passage of public transport so we get more reliable public transport services, improving places for people to walk and all that sort of stuff.”

The council and its ratepayers “simply cannot sustain another cost blowout”, Little said.

“The worst thing would be to box on, regardless of the numbers.”

The council also needed to work out why projects like the Town Hall and the Golden Mile kept going over budget.

“At some point we are going to have to go back over those projects. You can’t have cost blowouts of that magnitude and not see that there is something wrong with the way projects are being managed or planned or designed or whatever it is.

“We will, at some point, have to get to the bottom of that because, whatever it is, we have to improve our processes,” Little said.

Some works have already begun at the intersection of Cambridge and Kent Terraces, but council officers said in October it was discovered that the Courtenay Place works, which are currently under negotiation, are now expected to exceed budget by between $15m and $25m.

It’s the second time this year a budget blowout has been reported on the project. In August, a $20 million increase was reported, but the project was reviewed and brought back into budget.

Little said on Thursday that asking for a review of the Golden Mile was one of his first actions as Mayor, because it was apparent Council no longer had a clear picture on the costs of the project.

Review might cost up to $400,000

The review would take three to six months, with council officers providing an estimation of the review costing between $200,000 to $400,000.

It would include economic analysis on both the long-term impacts of the project and also in the short term across the full corridor from Lambton Quay to Courtenay Place.

One of the concerns raised by officers was if the project was rescoped to reduce costs, it could risk losing funding from central government.

“Although the government has agreed to fund 51 percent of the project, that was based on a business case done four years ago.

Meanwhile, the council was potentially on the hook for any cost escalations.” That’s why we need this review,” Little said.

“The review does not relitigate the benefits of the Golden Mile project, and as such will maintain the project’s current level of central government support.”

Councillor Rebecca Matthews said on Thursday the council had far too many times pressed pause when they should have pressed fast forward.

She was concerned the review could represent the first step in terminating the project and hoped she was wrong in her fears.

The vote for the review passed with 12 in favour and four opposed. Those opposed were Matthews, Laurie Foon, Jonny Osborne and Geordie Rogers.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland Pride says it has taken the government to court, filing for judicial review in the High Court.

The organisation said released documents through the Official Information Act, show the minister for sport and recreation had directed Sport NZ in July this year to withdraw Guiding Principles for the Inclusion of Transgender People in Community Sport.

The organisation which advocates for Tākatāpui and Rainbow communities made the announcement on Friday morning.

Auckland Pride spokesperson Bhen Goodsir said documents released by Minister Mark Mitchell show he did not consider the Bill of Rights Act, the Human Rights Act or Sport NZ’s legal obligations when making this decision.

“The Government has also been clear that the Human Rights Act and the Bill of Rights Act protect transgender people from discrimination, and we agree,” Goodsir said in a statement.

“Human rights are for everyone. When Ministers make decisions, they must follow the law and uphold New Zealanders’ rights.

“The development of the Guiding Principles followed a robust consultation process shaped by affected communities. The Minister’s decision did not.”

Auckland Pride said Sport NZ’s statutory role was to promote and advocate participation in physical activity.

Goodsir said Auckland Pride was asking the courts to send this decision back to Minister Mitchell “so he can consider the impact of his decision on our communities”.

Auckland Pride said documents showed sports organisations asked for support navigating some of the nuanced challenges of inclusion and that Sport NZ consulted widely on the Guiding Principles, which were published in 2022.

Goodsir said the document offered practical guidance for local clubs on inclusion, such as utilising existing tools like weight bands and age brackets.

The Auckland Pride spokesperson said a government-initiated review began in 2024 but was halted when the principles were withdrawn before local organisations could have their say.

“Community sport is for the whole community… It makes sense for Sport NZ to support local organisations that are asking for guidance on how best to achieve that.

“Overseas culture-war tactics have turned this topic into a vector for misinformation elsewhere, but our focus is on work here. Our case simply asks that the minister consider his legal obligations, and the needs of the community, before making a decision,” Goodsir said.

Asked about the judicial review, Mitchell’s office replied: “The Minister won’t be commenting on the matter at this time.”

Why were the guidelines scrapped?

In 2023, New Zealand First campaigned on making any publicly funded sporting body “that does not have an exclusive biological female category, where ordinarily appropriate” ineligible for public funding.

Announcing the review, former sport and recreation minister Chris Bishop said the principles did “not reflect legitimate community expectations that sport at a community level should not just be focused on diversity, inclusion, and equity, but also prioritise fairness and safety”.

The completed review was handed over to Bishop’s successor Mark Mitchell.

Rather than an update, the government told Sport NZ to stop all work on the guiding principles and remove them altogether.

In August, Mitchell said he took coalition commitments seriously and believed the best decision was made in the long run.

“I just don’t think government should be meddling and getting into areas that… the sports themselves are best placed to know how to run their code in a safe and fair way.”

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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 jury has found Auckland man Moeaia Tuai guilty of slavery, and a string of sexual attacks on one of the slavery victims.

The 63-year-old has been on trial for the past month on 20 charges, including two charges of dealing in slaves.

The charges relate to a young man and a young woman who Tuai enslaved over different time periods from 2016 until last year.

He put them to work, restricted their movements and communication, and controlled their money, paying them little for their work. He threatened both with deportation if they spoke out.

Tuai was also found guilty of two counts of rape, eight indecent assaults, six sexual violations, and an assault.

The jury at the High Court in Auckland was told he treated the pair as if they were his property. He denied all the charges.

The jury took almost two days to reach their verdicts.

Tuai has been remanded in custody until his sentencing in February.

The ‘very definition of slavery’

The Crown said Tuai kept their passports, bank cards and wages, forcing one to take out a loan.

Justice Wilkinson-Smith, summing up the case, said prosecutors alleged Tuai’s actions were the ‘very definition of slavery’, in exercising rights of ownership over the complainants.

“It can include conduct such as restricting freedom of movement – where a person can go, restricting freedom of association – who they can spend time with, restricting freedom of communication – who they can contact and talk to, using actual or threatened violence for breach of rules, retaining income and denying access to money, threatening consequences such as deportation to ensure compliance, restricting access to education to maintain control.

“All of these things can be used to control a person in a way that is tantamount to possession.”

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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 police minister says the correct process was followed by his electorate staff who forwarded emails containing allegations about former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming to his ministerial office, months before he was made aware.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority’s report found ” the emails allegedy sent by Ms Z dramatically increased in their number and distribution” in December 2023 and January 2024.

The report said the emails were sent to a range of people and organisations, including McSkimming himself, then-Commissioner Andrew Coster, then-Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura, the Prime Minister, the Police Minister, the IPCA, and various media outlets.

Mark Mitchell, who is also MP for Whangaparāoa, said 17 of the 36 emails in relation to McSkimming went to his electorate office.

“The correct process was followed, with those emails forwarded to the ministerial inbox for actioning. Electorate Staff are not employed by Ministerial services and do not deal with Ministerial Correspondence.”

The Post has reported the staffer in his electorate office, who is also his sister, responded to one of the emails in January 2024, to say the email address was for matters related to his electorate, and because the content related to his ministerial portfolios they would be managed by his ministerial team in the Beehive.

But because of a protocol put in place by Coster, the emails sent to Mitchell’s ministerial team were forwarded on to Coster’s office, and not shared with Mitchell.

The minister said the first time he was alerted to the situation regarding McSkimming and Ms Z was on 6th November 2024, when Coster briefed him. The next day, he called a meeting with the Public Service Commission and the Solicitor General to express his concerns.

“I am satisfied that all my team at both electorate and ministerial level have acted appropriately and diligently. No one knew at that stage there were integrity issues with the Police Executive,” he said.

Shortly after the release of the IPCA report, Mitchell said 36 emails containing the allegations were sent to his office, but he never saw them.

A protocol had been put in place for police staff in Mitchell’s ministerial office to forward the emails directly to then-Commissioner Andrew Coster’s office, and not share them with Mitchell or his political staff.

Mitchell has previously also defended the police staff in his ministerial office, saying they were put in an “awful situation” by the protocol, which he was unaware of.

Coster remains on leave from his role as Social Investment Agency chief executive while an employment process is carried out between him and the Public Service Commission.

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