Category: Public Media

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Greens pledge to revoke fast-track consents for coal, hard-rock gold, seabed mining projects

Source: Radio New Zealand

Green Party-co-leader Marama Davidson. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The Green Party is pledging to revoke consents for any coal, hardrock gold, or seabed mining projects granted under the fast-track regime, if it forms part of a government at the next election.

“Today, we are putting the Seabed mining, hardrock gold mining and coal mining industries – and their investors – on notice. Your fast-track consents are not safe, and they are not secure,” Green Party-co-leader Marama Davidson said.

The Greens have been warning they would revoke consents as far back as December 2024, when the initial fast-track bill passed its third reading.

Then, it was a pledge to revoke consents that “short-cut our democracy, side-step environmental protections and degrade te taiao.”

Now, it has named seven specific projects it would revoke consents or permits, even though they are yet to be issued.

Davidson said the Greens were making the announcement before consents were issued to “ensure complete transparency”.

Panels are currently considering the Taranaki VTM project by Trans Tasman Resources, which would extract up to 50 million tonnes of seabed a year in the South Taranaki Bight, and the Waihi North project by Oceana Gold, which would expand gold and silver mining operations in Waihi.

Four of the remaining five projects (Macraes Phase Four, Buller Plateaux Continuation, Rotowaro Mine Continuation, and Bream Bay Sand Extraction Project) are listed on the fast-track website, while the fifth (Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project) has applied.

While the Greens singled the seven specific projects out, they said any new applications through fast-track that fell into the coal, hardrock gold, or seabed mining categories would be captured by their position.

The government is currently in the process of [. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/579045/fast-track-law-final-approvals-still-in-hands-of-expert-panels-government-says amending the fast-track legislation further], with an aim of passing it by the end of the year.

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Plans for new Wellington tunnel through Mt Victoria unveiled

Source: Radio New Zealand

Artist’s visualisation of a second Mt Victoria Tunnel in Wellington. NZTA / Waka Kotahi

Plans for two new tunnels for Wellington’s State highway 1 have been revealed with a total cost of up to $4 billion and significant reworking of the surrounding areas.

The Transport Agency’s proposal includes second tunnels created at Mount Victoria and The Terrace in a bid to ease bottlenecking around the Basin Reserve.

A second Mount Vic tunnel was part of the National Party’s campaign promise, and is now listed in the Fast Track Approvals Act.

The proposal says it would save up to 10 minutes during peak periods on journeys from the Wellington region to the CBD, hospital, and airport by up to 10 minutes.

The agency’s Kesh Keshaboina says the “significant proposals” have the potential to have a major impact on Wellington’s transport infrastructure.

Public meetings on the proposals are to be held in the coming weeks.

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Food prices up again with dairy and eggs more expensive

Source: Radio New Zealand

Groceries, notably dairy products, eggs and instant coffee, increased 4.9 percent for the year. Morgane Perraud / Unsplash

Annual food inflation has edged higher, as rising grocery prices offset cheaper fruit and vegetables.

Stats NZ’s food price index rose 4.7 percent in the year ended October, from 4.1 percent the month before.

Groceries, notably dairy products, eggs and instant coffee, increased 4.9 percent for the year.

Meat was also more expensive.

For the month, overall prices were marginally lower as fruit and vegetables became more abundant.

Among other goods and services, power, gas, fuel and accommodation prices rose, while airfares fell.

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Exporters to benefit from weak dollar, strong demand

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Exporters are expected to continue to reap the benefits of a weak dollar and strong demand, despite a drop in prices for key agricultural products, including dairy, forestry and fruit.

Major commodities were traded in US dollars and ASB’s latest commodity index was marginally higher on last year, while a differently calculated and weighted ANZ index was about 6 percent higher on a year ago.

The New Zealand dollar (NZD) traded between 54.85 and 61.2 US cents this year, and for the year to date was about 1.5 percent higher. A weaker NZD meant better export returns.

Dairy prices engulfed by supply

However, the global dairy auctions run by Fonterra had been falling over recent months, putting pressure on the co-op’s mid-point $10 per kilogram of milk solids (kgMS), with its $9.75 forecast more in line with the NZX’s forecast of between $9.68 to $9. 80 kgMS.

NZX dairy analyst Cristina Alvarado said dairy prices had fallen as global volumes increased, however, New Zealand’s grass-fed dairy products were still in strong demand.

“It’s the quality, it’s the flavour, but also the safety that many countries have,” Alvarado said, adding free trade agreements had benefited New Zealand during the ongoing global trade disruption sparked by the introduction of President Donald Trump’s US tariff policies.

“Countries that bought more from the US before, have been buying more from New Zealand,” she said.

Soft NZ dollar helps returns

Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said the export sector remained strong, helped by the weak currency, which was also supporting the tourism sector, as visitor numbers increased.

“For most of the last six months to a year, we’ve had the unusual situation where the New Zealand dollar has been a bit weaker at the same time as external prices have been strong and also growing conditions have been good,” Eckhold said.

“Usually, there’s a bit of a counterbalance between some of these sort of factors, but they’ve all pushed in the right direction. Right now, what we’re seeing is the New Zealand dollar weakening, so therefore that’s helping support prices.”

Eckhold said the New Zealand dollar would also continue to be supportive, with its weakness expected to persist until the economy improved and interest rates stabilised.

“I don’t think that the exchange rate is likely to appreciate significantly until such time as it becomes clear that growth is starting to pick up sustainability in New Zealand, and the interest rates are no longer likely to fall,” he said.

“Next year’s outlook remains pretty uncertain still at this stage.”

Eckhold said rural communities were expected to remain resilient to the soft economy, and for dairy farmers to make the most of the likely a large cash payout from the sale of [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/577378/fonterra-ceo-says-lactalis-deal-will-allow-it-to-grow

F onterra’s consumer brands business].

A further confidence boost will also come from the Trump administration’s move to scrap the 15 percent tariff on imported beef and kiwifruit to reduce cost of living pressures on US consumers, although the sometimes erratic US tariff policy is making producers cautious.

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Foot on face photo of Kiwi Geordie Beamish up for award

Source: Radio New Zealand

Geordie Beamish of Team New Zealand avoids the foot of Jean-Simon Desgagnes of Team Canada Emilee Chinn

A photo of Geordie Beamish’s dramatic tumble at the World Championships is up for an award.

The photo has been selected as one of three finalists for the 2025 World Athletics Photograph of the Year.

Beamish fell during the heats of the 3000m steeplechase in Tokyo in September.

The photo by Emilee Chin of Getty Images captures Beamish flat on the track with the foot of Jean-Simon Desgagnes of Canada on his face.

Fortunately, Beamish was able to recover and finished second in the heat.

He then went on to stun the field in the final, beating hot favourite and two-time Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco to claim gold.

Beamish won the 1500m gold at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

The other two finalists for the World Athletics Photograph of the Year show America’s Noah Lyles and Tara Davis-Woodhall celebrating their respective titles at the World Champs and a photo of the shadows of the Dream Mile at the Bislet Games in Norway.

The three finalists were selected from 141 images submitted from photographers from 41 countries.

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‘There’s no excuses from us’: Robertson on All Blacks’ inability to maintain pressure

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wales v All Blacks

Kick-off: 4:10am Sunday 23 November

Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Live blog updates on RNZ

Coach Scott Robertson has said that the feeling in the All Black camp is much the same one day on from their 33-19 loss to England. It was the third loss this season in a schedule of 13 tests, and the second by a significant margin following a record defeat to the Springboks during the Rugby Championship.

READ MORE:

All Blacks crash to defeat against England

Grand slammed – what went wrong for the All Blacks against England

All Blacks: Scott Robertson, Scott Barrett reflect on big loss to England

The aftermath of the loss to England sees focus now firmly on the issues that have plagued the All Blacks for the past two seasons, most notably their inability to keep teams under pressure in big tests.

“There’s lots of different reasons, but there’s no excuses from us. And we’ve got to be better in some areas so we can finish teams off,” said Robertson this morning.

“Ultimately, we want to be as consistent as we possibly can, that’s what a professional team wants to be, consistent with everything you work with. You’re not going to win every moment in games, but you’ve got to fight your way back into it, through adversity.

“When you it doesn’t quite come all together, you know, that’s the part that hurts. It’s not for lack of care, I’ll put it that way. But it’s definitely frustration that we work so hard to be consistent and that’s the part that gets you.”

Robertson, who came into the All Black job after seven consecutive championship seasons with the Crusaders, acknowledged that ‘test rugby is pretty brutal’.

Caleb Clarke lays during the Scotland v All Blacks test at Murrayfield. www.photosport.nz

“You lose a couple of player each game on average, just through the Ferocity of the match contacts. The recovery part becomes tougher, the travel, everything that comes with it.

“So when you get energy, new faces, new bodies coming in that, that excitement that…it’s a balance. Sometimes you have all the best laid plans of how you’re going to play, then you come off the field in these the medical ward are fuller than you’d expect.”

Steve Borthwick’s England side notably adjusted their game plan throughout Sunday morning’s test, with a heavy reliance on the kicking game of inside back pairing Alex Mitchell and George Ford. Robertson acknowledged that the aerial game was still a work on for New Zealand players, due to the comparative lack of exposure to it in the domestic game here.

English halfback Alex Mitchell. David Rogers/Getty Images

“It’s a crucial part, an important part of the game…we don’t tend to do it so much in Super Rugby. So coming into test rugby, you have got the most accurate kickers in the world and you’ve got incredible aerial catches. We spend a lot of time on it, look, we’ve got to get better laid plans.”

From a wider perspective, Robertson said that new NZ Rugby chairman and former All Black captain David Kirk has been ‘straight up’ with expectations two years out from the next World Cup.

“Look, he’s pretty pragmatic, he tells you how it is. Straight up, as you’d expect. (Also) hugely supportive. He understands good relationships in the group and we welcome him with open arms…he’s been great to us.”

Unsurprisingly, Robertson more or less confirmed there will be wholesale changes to the side for the last test match of the year. They face Wales in Cardiff, with the home team recording their first win in two years over the weekend when they defeated Japan 24-22 thanks to a last play penalty goal.

“There’ll be some fresh, new energy in the group for sure,” said Robertson, who singled out Ruben Love as a player who will likely start this weekend.

“He’s obviously a 15 that can play 10 and he deserves an opportunity.”

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Rising threshold for police help in mental health callouts

Source: Radio New Zealand

The controversial four-stage Mental Health Response Change programme started a year ago. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

The police are introducing higher thresholds for responding to calls from mental health workers to help deal with unwell patients or those who abscond.

It is the third phase of the controversial four-stage Mental Health Response Change programme, which started a year ago as part of the police pull-back from responding to mental distress call-outs.

Under phase three, which kicks in on Monday:

  • Non-emergency mental health-related requests will be assessed against updated guidance to determine if police assistance is required. This includes requests for assistance under legislation, requests for assistance from in-patient mental health units and other requests from mental health services to police.
  • Reports of missing persons with mental health concerns (including those who have left mental health facilities and services or EDs) will be assessed against updated guidance to determine the appropriate police involvement.

Over the past 12 months, police have gradually withdrawn their support at mental health callouts, including at inpatient wards, community facilities, during transportation and at emergency departments, and banned mental health assessments in custody suites.

Moves leaves ‘unacceptable gaps’ – union

The Public Service Association (PSA) condemned the change programme, saying it left mental health workers and patients unacceptably vulnerable to harm. National secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the changes were “dangerous and will cause harm”.

“We call on Health NZ to properly consider the support needed given the withdrawal of police from this important work.”

For both new procedures, staff could engage police only when there was “an imminent threat” to life or property.

The change also meant that these emergency calls would be triaged along with every other request that came through the 111 line, Fitzsimons said.

Fleur Fitzsimons. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

“Mental health nurses and healthcare assistants work in what can be quite dangerous conditions, with very unwell people who can act unpredictably – they must have a direct line to police.

“Health NZ has said it does not expect them to put themselves in harm’s way, but the reality is that for many situations workers must at least do an assessment in-person, leaving themselves open to verbal and physical abuse.

“Furthermore, mental healthcare is legally highly complex. Security staff, for example, don’t have the same rights under the Mental Health Act as clinicians do. There are a whole lot of practical realities Health NZ seems to refuse to acknowledge.”

Mental health staff were worried for patients as well as their own safety.

“Mental health workers understand that the police can’t do everything. But there are a whole lot of what-ifs that haven’t been thought through, and at the end of the day patients and families are the ones who miss out.”

RNZ has approached Health NZ and police for comment.

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Tongariro National Park tracks re-open following massive wildfire

Source: Radio New Zealand

The charred landscape of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Supplied/DOC

The charred landscape will add to the experience for those walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, the Department of Conservation says.

A week-long rāhui was lifted on Monday following the wildfire that ripped through 3000 hectares of the national park.

DOC and Fire and Emergency will continue to monitor the area for hotspots but are confident that people will be safe on the tracks.

DOC director of heritage and visitors Catherine Wilson told Morning Report it had been a huge week battling the blaze.

“The walk is perfectly fine to do, but the landscape is very black.”

Visitors could only access the start of the track on Mangatepopo Road by booking a shuttle.

“We’ve been incredibly lucky, [but] there has been a little bit of damage focused around the Mangatepopo entranceway, the car park area there,” Wilson said.

“The beautiful new Pou, Te Ririō, is still standing… got a little bit of charring but I think that just adds to it. It’s a spectacular Pou and we’re really pleased that that was able to be saved but there is some damage.”

Wilson said it would be a different experience on some parts of the track.

“We’ve been really lucky that the majority of the Tongariro Crossing hasn’t been affected but the first 700 metres or so, it will be quite a charred landscape.

“It was awe-inspiring before and will be even more so now.”

Local iwi Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro placed a decade-long rāhui on areas where fires have damaged the whenua and native vegetation.

The second rāhui was put in place to heal and restore the land

“It’s about keeping people out, it’s about working together to fix the land and heal the land over some time because we know with the biodiversity loss that that’s going to be required,” Wilson said.

“What people who are walking in the area or recreation in the area can do to support the longer rāhui is just stay on the tracks, not litter, and be generally respectful of the landscape.”

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ACC’s use of AI to help decide who gets help shocks advocate

Source: Radio New Zealand

There are about 25,000 long-term claimants that have been receiving compensation for a year or more, the most there had ever been.

A move by ACC to use artificial intelligence to help decide which long-term claimants should go back to work is being called “shocking”.

It comes as the state insurer is under instruction from its minister to reduce the long-term claims pool.

There are about 25,000 long-term claimants that have been receiving compensation for a year or more, the most there had ever been.

ACC earlier this year commissioned advice to work out how it could both remove existing clients, and prevent new ones from entering the pool.

In the year to June 2025 a record 8000 long-term claimants were taken off its books because they were deemed “work ready”.

ACC planned to ramp up exits even more, with a goal of 11,675 by next June.

By 2028 it hoped to have more people coming out of the long-term pool than going in.

“Nothing in ACC’s proposals actually looks at rehabilitation,” ACC advocate Warren Forster told Nine to Noon.

“It’s all about ‘how can we ramp up exits, how can we get more people coming off the scheme’, and that’s the antithesis of the statutory purpose. It’s the antithesis of why we have ACC in New Zealand.”

ACC said it was committed to helping injured people return to independence or to their new normal after life-changing injuries.

“It’s important that we manage the scheme sustainably so it’s there for Kiwis when they need it, now and in the future,” ACC deputy chief executive Michael Frampton said.

He said some long-term claimants would need financial support for a longer time because of life-changing injuries, but there were some whose injuries would not normally take a long time to recover from.

“That suggests they might not have had the right support and we’re actively working with them to help them back to independence,” Frampton said.

He said one step was to make sure all long-term claimants have one-to-one case management to make sure they were getting the right support. Frampton said this was already showing positive effects and giving better outcomes.

“ACC is using AI to help identify cases where the client may benefit from a further review by staff member to help ensure that they’re receiving the right support,” he said.

Warren Forster. RNZ / Ian Telfer

Frampton said it also meant providing “advice on next steps”.

Forster said 31,000 injured people had been pushed off ACC in the last five years.

“The AI will tell you ‘person X has a sprain, they’ve been off work for six years’ or whatever the case might be,” he said.

“The AI will say ‘well, this person’s got a sprain, we’ll get rid of them’ and that’s, you know, when you’re blindly following what a model does then you produce junk data”.

He said the person might have a disc prolapse or a tendon tear, may have been misdiagnosed or may be in mental health distress.

“Everyone knows the person doesn’t have a sprain injury,” Forster said.

“AI can tell you that this person has a problem, but AI is not going to tell you what that problem is. What we have is AI identifying someone who ACC can exit.”

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What the government’s firearms act reform proposals will change – and what they won’t

Source: Radio New Zealand

Explainer – How will firearms proposals change access to guns in New Zealand? Here’s what you need to know.

New Zealand is planning its biggest overhaul of gun regulations in more than 40 years.

The proposal announced last week would repeal and replace the 1983 Arms Act in legislation Associate Justice Minister (Firearms) Nicole McKee said would be “written in plain English, structured logically and with public safety at its core.”

Among the changes are a new firearms regulator removing police from oversight duties, tough restrictions for gang members and a host of new penalties and offences being introduced.

Here’s a round-up of the changes being proposed.

What changes are being made to gun laws?

A new specialist firearms regulatory agency will be created, replacing the current Firearms Safety Authority now operated by police. It’ll be headed by an independent chief executive appointed by the governor-general. That chief executive would report solely to the firearms minister, currently McKee. The new regulator will sit within police but without sworn police officers involved.

“There will be no blue shirts in the Firearms Safety Authority,” McKee said, referring to police uniforms.

A new Firearms Licensing Review Committee will also be created, which McKee called “essential for ensuring there is trust in the licencing system, improving compliance, and ensuring applicants or firearms owners renewing their licence are treated fairly.”

Being a gang member will now automatically disqualify anyone from holding a firearms licence.

A new ‘red flag’ system will be established to clarify information sharing so police and other agencies can review whether a legal firearms owner “remains a fit and proper person”.

There will be more flexibility around gun storage, which currently is allowed only at a firearms owner’s “primary place of residence”, but now will be allowed at any premises approved by the regulator.

There will also be multiple new penalties and new firearms offences introduced.

Police seized 35 firearms and 15,000 rounds of ammunition from a New Lynn property in Auckland last week.

Firearms seized in Auckland. Supplied / NZ Police

So what are the new firearms offences?

Penalties for more than 60 Arms Act offences will be increased, McKee said, and eight new offences will be created.

It would become an offence for failure to notify the regulator of a lost or stolen licence, unsafe storage of firearms, possession of firearms with intentionally removed serial numbers, possession of files or blueprints with the intent to unlawfully manufacture arms items, intentional diversion of firearms, manufacturing ammunition without a licence, not providing locations of a restricted firearm for pest controllers with multi-user agreements, or a business licence holder failing to provide information to the arms regulator about changes of staff.

The “files and blueprints” offence is aimed to plug a gap in the rise of 3D-printed “ghost guns” where people now have the ability to simply make their own weapons.

Armed police are seen at the top of Totara Road in Miramar, Wellington, after a person was found dead at a residential property on 16 October, 2023.

Police will no longer be part of the firearms regulatory agency. RNZ / Angus Dreaver

Why are these changes being made?

The Arms Act 1983 is more than 40 years old, and has been modified many times.

McKee has said it leaves “a complex, confusing and bureaucratic patchwork” and that the new law will make compliance easier for firearm owners “through sensible changes that reduce regulatory burdens.”

The new bill – which is still being drafted – will define gun laws in New Zealand.

Last year, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said, “We are going to rewrite the Arms Act because it’s an outdated piece of legislation, it’s an old piece of legislation.”

Luxon also said then there would be “no new guns added into New Zealand”.

Semi-automatic AR-15's on sale at a US store.

Many military-style firearms were restricted after the 2019 attack in Christchurch. AFP

Are semi-automatic weapons being brought back?

No.

After the 15 March 2019 terror attacks, a ban on semi-automatic weapons was introduced.

Regulations around those high-powered military-style firearms won’t be relaxed, despite fears that McKee would seek a change.

There are no changes to the limited number of people who can legally hold those guns – ‘endorsed’ pest controllers and collectors.

Collectors who own prohibited firearms will have the option of storing vital parts of a gun (that when removed, disables it) at the address of any licensed firearm owner, not just someone who has the same endorsement.

McKee’s ACT party, which also opposed the 2019 changes, invoked the “agree to disagree” clause in the coalition agreement with National and New Zealand First over ongoing restrictions on semi-automatic firearms.

McKee has also opposed the firearms registry implemented after the attacks, but it will remain. However, the reform proposal would tighten the amount of data allowed to be gathered for the register beyond what is explicitly required.

McKee said on social media that “ACT faced a choice on firearms: die in a ditch over the registry and semi autos and get no improvements at all – or take 95 percent of the win, fix a broken law, and lay the foundation for future change.”

Police Minster Mark Mitchell has told RNZ that National did not want to widen access to semi-automatic guns, even for competitive shooting.

“It is a public safety issue and we don’t see that there needs to be a wider or a broader availability around military-style semi-automatic weapons.”

Nicole Mckee

Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Wasn’t Nicole McKee involved with the gun industry?

Yes. The firearms minister entered politics to advocate for firearms users and was a critic of the gun laws passed after the March 15 attacks.

“Five years ago, I put my hand up for Parliament because I was tired of seeing responsible, law-abiding New Zealanders treated as the problem,” McKee said in a statement on the ACT party website.

A New Zealand shooting champion, before politics she ran her own gun safety education business, was coordinator of the nation’s volunteer firearms safety instructors for the Mountain Safety Council and the spokesperson for the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners.

“ACT respects the vital role of licenced firearms owners, hunters, and shooting sports enthusiasts in New Zealand’s culture, economy, and conservation efforts,” McKee has said. “Hunting and shooting are legitimate pastimes, essential pest-control tools, and part of our rural way of life – and we’ll always back you.”

What do gun control advocates think?

Gun Control co-founder Philippa Yasbek earlier told RNZ that the effective ban on military-style semi-automatic firearms wasn’t being touched was a relief.

“McKee has built her entire political career on wanting to get rid of the registry and bring back semi-automatic firearms and she’s basically failed on both of those goals.

“So this is quite a big relief and I don’t think there’s any chance of her ever managing to change it again. Souffles don’t rise twice.”

What about gun users?

Council of Licenced Firearms Owners spokesperson Hugh Devereux-Mack said it was disappointing the effective ban on semi-automatics remained intact, though he backed the minister’s efforts.

“When it comes to semi-automatics, we can understand that there’s no need for the wider New Zealand firearms community to have those but some exceptions for competitive sport shooters or individuals who use firearms for pest control but are not professionals…would be very helpful.”

Fish & Game New Zealand called the changes “pragmatic and sensible.”

“We’re pleased to see the government taking a balanced approach to firearms regulation that recognises the long-standing traditions around hunting and food gathering that many New Zealanders undertake,” said Fish & Game Chief Executive Corina Jordan.

What’s next?

The draft bill could be introduced by year’s end. Once submitted, the bill will go through a six-month select committee process where the public will be allowed to have their say about the changes.

After that process and possible revisions it would be considered by Parliament.

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