Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

A University of Auckland team has made a breakthrough in using umbilical stem cells to treat an eye condition that can lead to blindness.

Professor Trevor Sherwin and his team have been using the cells to try to treat keratoconus, a disease of the cornea, the thin, clear dome on the front of the eye.

To be successful the stem cells had to be able to integrate into existing tissue before morphing into the right kind of cell. If things went wrong, they could turn into other cells – like for hair or teeth.

Sherwin told Nine to Noon that on Wednesday his team informed him of promising results – in lab tests on a donated, diseased cornea, the cells had started to create the right type of proteins.

For many people, corneal transplant was the only option to repair the eye if they developed keratoconus. Other treatments only slowed or stopped progress.

But there was a long wait list, and the tissue had to come from a deceased donor, he said.

The team was trying to find another way.

“Some people around the world are looking at how to grow a cornea in a dish as a replacement tissue for the lack of deceased donors etcetera. We’re taking a slightly different tack in that what we would really like to do is to be able to regenerate the cornea in situ, so, in the eye, in the person who needs the treatment.

“The way we would like to do that is to deliver some stem cells into the cornea and for those stem cells to integrate into the tissue and then regenerate that tissue in the patient themselves requiring no further surgery, hopefully.”

Keratoconus caused the cornea to become very thin and the cornea to develop a cone shape that meant the eye could not work how it was supposed to.

The team was also developing potentially groundbreaking eye drops for the condition.

Sherwin said they were a combination of a growth factor and a steroid, and had shown in the lab they could force cells to create a protein not usually made after birth.

It was hoped that, when used with a special type of contact lens, the eyedrops could treat and reshape the cornea.

Again, it would mean people would not need a transplant.

The next step in the work was to go to clinical trials on people.

There were other treatments for keratoconus, but they only stopped or slowed the damage. They could not repair it.

The new methods were known as regenerative medicine.

“What we hope is by regenerative medicine we can restore the tissue and restore the function back that the patient lost as part of whatever event they suffered,” Sherwin 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 home in the Wellington suburb of Karori has been heavily damaged by fire on Thursday evening.

A woman is being treated for smoke inhalation but a firefighter at the scene on Hildreth Street said all other occupants had been accounted for.

Central Fire Communications shift manager Chris Dalton said the fire was well involved when firefighters arrived and work to extinguish it was well underway.

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) responded to the fire quickly and there was a truck already in Karori at the time, he said.

Eight vehicles in total responded to the fire, he said.

RNZ understands three people were in the building when it caught fire and were alerted by locals. A neighbour said the fire grew to a huge blaze in under 10 minutes and she rushed outside fearing the flames would spread to her home.

A member of the family who lived at the address said they were trying to get in touch with other family members to find a place to spend the night but their cellphones were still in the smouldering structure. However locals in area were also checking on the family to ensure they had a place to stay.

The firefighters were beginning to leave the scene at about 6.50pm but Hildreth Street remained closed to traffic.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Two years on from setting up its own security service a popular Auckland shopping precinct says it has slashed crime in its area, but it is appealing to the government for help with some people who are still falling through the cracks.

In the past year the Newmarket security team has recovered more than $170,000 of stolen product, dealt with 88 breaches of tresspass orders and 416 repeat offenders.

One person was involved in dozens of separate incidents.

The most stolen items in order are groceries, followed by clothing and then alcohol.

Newmarket Business Association chief executive Mark Knoff Thomas told Checkpoint there had been some very positive results.

The association initially had one security guard and one part-time camera operator when it started in 2023, but there are now five full-time security guards and one camera operator who are operating 24/7.

Knoff Thomas said they work very closely with the police which had helped considerably.

Three years ago crime in Newmarket was at another level with smash and grabs and ram raids, he said.

Nationally it seemed that a lid had been put on those types of crimes, he said.

“But retail theft is still bubbling away and I mean it’s costing New Zealand $2.6 billion a year.”

The Newmarket Security Team had dealt with 416 repeat offenders in the last year and Knoff Thomas said that was for a range of things including retail theft and anti-social behaviour.

There are about 30 schools in the surrounding area and many students use public transport and pass through Newmarket, he said.

But sometimes young people do make dumb decisions and offend, he said.

A different approach was taken to juvenile offending and the association did what it could to try and get them back on track, he said.

“With kids we try and intervene where we possibly can, try and get parents involved, try and get schools involved and see if we can kind of head them off in a different, in a more positive trajectory with some success.

“And there are some kids who you know they also go down the bad pathway and then we see them back years later as adults and they’re still reoffending.”

Some adults seemed to be falling through the cracks and not getting the support they needed despite some very good work by some agencies such as the New Zealand police, he said.

His group had been working with a range of other business associations to try and address the problem, he said.

“Trying to say ‘hey let’s fix this because this has been a problem for a very long time across multiple governments and we need to find a sustainable solution which is going to deliver some better lifestyles for these people who aren’t getting the help that they need.'”

One person who Knoff Thomas believed was falling through the cracks had been involved in 33 incidents.

Most of the time they were a lovely person but there were times when they behaved inappropriately in public when under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he said.

The person was in a cycle of being trespassed, arrested, processed and then released, he said.

“There really doesn’t seem to be a solution for someone like this person to give that person the help that they actually need in a sustainable way so they can actually have a better quality of life.”

A number of people were in that position and unable to access services they needed, he said.

Knoff Thomas said it was understandable that businesses would want to move on someone who was creating problems and potentially detering customers.

But the other side was where that person should go.

“These are questions which we’re looking at. There needs to be a linked together multi agency approach where services work in step and they’re not working in silos which they have done historically, they’re working together in unison and linking, holding hands, pulling this person through the steps that they need into a solution.”

Major issues include housing, mental health, health and may need to involve Ministry of Social Development and police, he said.

Long term solutions are needed when dealing with this type of reoffending and it needed bi-partisan agreement in government, he said.

“It needs to be coordinated and agreed upon, a multi agency approach which goes through time and not just through one political cycle.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Two gang members and an associate have been arrested in Hawke’s Bay following a six- month investigation into high levels of methamphetamine in wastewater.

Police executed five search warrants across the region and Hastings on Wednesday as part of Operation Tukutuki.

They found a quantity of methamphetamine, cash, a 3D-printed firearm and stolen property.

Detective Inspector James Keene said wastewater testing showed meth had an increasingly strong grip on parts of Hawke’s Bay.

“The element of surprise is vital, especially when organised crime networks are involved, so we went hard and early.

“Several warrants were executed simultaneously to reduce the people in this network tipping others off.

“We’re continuing to investigate, and we expect to lay more charges against the people who have been arrested.”

Three men, aged 39, 42 and 57 – two of which were patched Mongrel Mob members and the other an associate – appeared in the Hastings District Court on Wednesday, facing multiple charges of possession for supply, supply and conspiracy to supply methamphetamine and cannabis.

Keene said it was believed local gangs were pumping the drug into the area and were not worried about the damage they were inflicting.

The operation took six months, police said, not ruling out further arrests.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Plymouth’s Positive Ageing group has issued a call to arms over the council’s decision to scrap its Aged and Accessibility Working Party.

The working party is being disestablished under new Mayor Max Brough’s committee structure.

Positive Ageing is calling on members of Age Concern, Grey Power, Enable Taranaki and the Taranaki Disability Information Centre to join it at a council meeting 18 December to support a motion to retain the working party.

Spokesperson Gordon Hudson said a slim majority of the newly-elected councillors are keen to see this long-standing council committee scrapped.

“Not to save the minimal cost of having such a committee, but simply put, because the older adults and all those with disabilities in our community do not warrant the hassle of being recognised, respected and treated as people whose voice is important to them.

“Let’s rein in the ageist attitude of a little more than half the city councillors – good people that they are – they somehow cannot see the value of inclusion over exclusion, of respect over disrespect.”

Aged and Accessibility Working Party chair in the previous term and councillor Sam Bennett tried to get the new committee structure deferred at an extraordinary council meeting this week, but was voted down.

He was now expected to move a motion to retain the working at next week’s meeting.

At the meeting, Brough suggested the new Public Engagement Committee would set aside 30 minutes during its meetings to listen to issues related to age and accessibility concerns along with other interest groups.

“They will have an opportunity to have input into the decision-making process rather than reviewing decisions that have already been made.

“And there are internal working groups that work with outside interests and the intent has always been that there would be space for the aged and disability community in this area.”

Brough said this would be explained at next week’s meeting and he was happy to listen to deputations on the subject.

But that was cold comfort to Hudson.

“Let’s support the idealism and the realism of those councillors who do support the reinstatement of this committee.

“One thing is for sure, if this committee continues to be disestablished – it will be a very long process to re-establish it. It may be even gone forever.

It will be a decision that the current council will regret for a long time to come.”

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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 government report has found local councils need to be doing more to prepare for flooding and to mitigate the risks it poses to communities.

In a report tabled in parliament today, the Auditor-General found flood risk was not consistently understood nationwide.

It looked at how two councils, Tasman District Council and Waikato Regional Council, mitigate flood risks from rivers and other waterways and found both need to carry out more work to make better-informed decisions about intended levels of service for mitigating those risks.

Auditor-General Grant Taylor said appropriate planning, investment, and monitoring could reduce the impact of flooding.

“Communities need confidence that council flood defences are in the right places, built to the right standards, and properly maintained.”

The report made four recommendations, that the Tasman District Council prepare a framework to prioritise the maintenance and capital work needed for its flood protection infrastructure and prioritise improvements to its asset management processes.

It also recommended that both councils improve their understanding of flood risk, including by assessing the full impact of potential flooding for a range of flooding scenarios and improve their engagement with the public to ensure that their communities understand flood risk and the extent of flood protection in their regions.

The report said flooding was New Zealand’s most frequent natural hazard and its impact could be significant, disrupting critical services like roads and hospitals and energy and wastewater infrastructure.

It also caused disruption to livelihoods and in worst cases, loss of life.

The report said the recommendations in the report were relevant to all councils that were responsible for flood protection infrastructure, in order to mitigate flood risks effectively.

Report comes of the back of Tasman’s worst flooding in decades

The Tasman District experienced back to back storms in June and July, described as the worst in 150 years, that caused damage to farms and rural properties, with land lost to swollen rivers, crops inundated with silt and fences washed away.

More than 60 roads were closed due to flooding, landslips and fallen trees and hundreds of homes were assessed for damage with a small number deemed unliveable.

The repair bill after the floods is estimated at $48 million, with around three quarters of that covered by insurance payouts or government contributions, leaving just over $11m in costs to the council.

Of the total costs, an estimated $20m will be spent on the river network.

Office of the Auditor-General manager of performance audits Evaan Aramakutu said one of the weaknesses identified in Tasman was the council’s understanding of the condition of its flood protection infrastructure and the lack of a regular schedule of inspections.

“Waikato had a pretty systematic approach to inspecting all of their assets and updating their asset information around the condition. If they got a bit of wear and tear, would that affect their performance? Tasman didn’t have that, or not to the same extent as Waikato, so they tended to rely on the age of their assets or observations they’ve made when they’re out in the field to make decisions about renewals or maintenance work.”

Aramakutu said both councils had a good understanding of where flooding was likely to occur in their regions, but more work was needed to quantify the damage and the potential costs associated with it, to inform the spend on providing protection.

He said there would always be a trade off between the cost of flood protection and the risks it protected against, so councils needed good understanding of the community’s priorities and individuals needed clear information about what was protected and what wasn’t, so they could be prepared.

The Office of the Auditor-General would check back in with both councils around a year after tabling the report, to see what progress had been made on its recommendations.

Recommendations welcomed by councils

Both Tasman District and Waikato Regional councils welcomed the reports findings.

Tasman District Council said since the audit began last October and following the flooding in June and July of this year, it had begun a comprehensive overhaul of its asset information on data and information collection/management processes.

Flooding was the most common natural hazard the district had to deal with.

“While our current intended levels of service for our flood protection infrastructure are largely based on the design standard that the stopbanks were initially built to, we remain focused on ensuring long – term resilience and protection for our river and floodplains to continue benefiting those who live and rely on them.”

The council had taken steps to further inform the community, including release of a natural hazards map viewer and updated natural hazards information about flooding on its website.

It undertook community engagement on a natural hazards issues and options report earlier in the year to seek community views to inform work on the review of the Tasman Resource Management Plan’s natural hazards provisions.

Since 2024, it had reinstated annual community Rivercare meetings across the district to discuss river management activities, including flood protection. The most recent meetings were held in mid-November.

“At the core of our future objectives is a safe and resilient river network, delivered sustainably and in close collaboration with landowners.”

Waikato Regional Council chair Warren Maher said it had already progressed projects that addressed several of the report’s recommendations.

“We could do more,” he said. “The question is how much more can be done at a time when the central government has imposed rates capping, affordability is an issue for our communities, and significant changes are proposed to the structure of regional government.”

The council’s flood protection and land drainage assets include floodgates, pump stations, spillways and channels, as well as 620 kilometres of stopbanks, most of which are in the Waihou-Piako and Lower Waikato, some of which were developed in the 1960s. They are all supported by a network of automated rain gauges and river level/flow recorders.

The council estimates it will cost $2.9 billion over the next 50 years to operate, maintain and renew its flood infrastructure.

Maher said the report should give communities comfort the council was doing a good job when it comes to the management of flood protection assets, while at the same time providing direction for the ongoing understanding of flood risk.

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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 Christchurch couple have been jailed for operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 55 investors of nearly $4 million.

At the High Court at Christchurch on Thursday, Thomas Alexander Kokouri Tuira was was sentenced to six years, four months and the court ordered he must serve 45 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

His former partner Aroha Awhinanui Tuira was sentenced to five years, two months imprisonment.

The couple had earlier pleaded guilty to two representative charges of obtaining by deception.

The pair targeted Māori communities over seven years between 2014 and 2021, paying some investors with funds raised from others, and spending the rest on themselves.

Between May 2014 and May 2021, the pair deceptively obtained $3.9 million through 106 transactions.

“They presented themselves as experienced, well-connected investors who could deliver returns for clients, when in reality they did not invest funds or operate an investment business,” the Serious Fraud Office said in a statement.

Many of the victims of their offending had limited prior experience in investing and the pair developed close personal relationships with investors before exploiting them.

SFO director Karen Chang said Ponzi schemes caused lasting harm to victims who lost not just their money but potentially their trust in others.

“The guilty pleas meant those affected were spared the stress of a trial, and today’s sentences hold the offenders to account for the significant harm they caused.”

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