Category: Radio New Zealand

Posted on

David vs the Media: Has Seymour gone too far?

Source: Radio New Zealand

David Seymour RNZ / Mark Papalii

A law professor and a media expert say David Seymour has gone too far in public attacks against RNZ and TVNZ.

They’ve warned jabs at the media will continue as the election draws closer, and could erode public trust.

The deputy Prime Minister and ACT party leader spoke to The Platform last week, taking swings at both state broadcasters’ management.

He criticised the appointment of RNZ’s Morning Report host John Campbell and suggested RNZ’s chief executive Paul Thompson could lose his job, adding “it’s really critical that we are ensuring that we get better people on the board, and those people will change the management.”

He also accused TVNZ of being “politically motivated”.

Seymour is a shareholding minister in both RNZ and TVNZ, and the law says ministers cannot give direction to the state broadcasters.

Seymour told RNZ he had not done that.

“Decisions around staffing, presenter line-ups, and editorial matters are for boards and management. Anyone who thinks RNZ is taking editorial instructions from me clearly does not listen to RNZ.”

He said editorial independence did not, however, mean “freedom from accountability”, adding ministers are entitled to comment “when publicly owned media organisations are losing audience, relevance, or public confidence”.

Media commentator Gavin Ellis Matt_Crawford info@mattcrawfordp

Media commentator and former New Zealand Herald editor Gavin Ellis said Seymour crossed the line, and while it may not have been explicit direction, it was against the spirit of the law.

“He is effectively telling Radio New Zealand who they should employ in an editorial role, and that is simply not for him to do,” Ellis said.

“He should back off.”

Seymour’s comments came in the wake of a tumultuous couple of weeks for the relationship between the coalition government and the media.

Ellis warned there would be more to follow.

“The closer the call at the election, the more likely it is that we will see attempts to exert a chilling effect on media … to get them to stay clear of the contentious stuff, because … they’re under pressure,” he said.

He was confident the media would not bow to any pressure, but said it would not help with public trust.

AUT’s annual media trust survey last month found 37 percent of respondents trust “most of the news, most of the time” – up from 32 percent last year.

It found RNZ was the country’s most trusted news brand, followed by the Otago Daily Times and TVNZ.

“It’s a very, very delicate situation, and it won’t take very much to push that that trust level back down again, which is another reason why politicians should refrain from doing so,” said Ellis.

“It is in nobody’s interest to have low trust in media.”

Law professor Andrew Geddis Supplied

Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis said Seymour appeared to indicate he wanted to stack RNZ’s board to his advantage, which was legally questionable and undermined his claims he wants to rebuild public trust in RNZ.

“It’s very hard to see how the public can trust a public broadcaster when you have a politician saying, ‘I’m putting my people in charge of it, to get the people and the presenters telling you the news that I want them to tell’,” he said.

Geddis also suspected the coalition would continue its criticism of the media.

“There’s a rule in politics, that when politicians start attacking the media, they know they’re losing,” he said.

“They know that they’re going down in the polls, and they’re trying to find someone to blame.”

‘Entirely inappropriate’

Reuben Davidson Supplied

Labour’s media spokesperson Reuben Davidson said Seymour’s comments “were entirely inappropriate and but not surprising, coming from a government that’s become very anti media.”

He added it was particularly concerning given the government planned to scrap the Broadcasting Standards Authority and not replace it with an independent regulator.

Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick said Seymour’s comments set a “deeply dangerous precedent” with a member of Cabinet challenging editorial independence.

“We just simply can’t have ministers threatening our publicly funded news agencies because they don’t like what is being said about them or what’s being reported on,” she said.

“This is a really problematic pattern of behaviour that’s been exhibited by members of this government for not only the past few weeks, but the past few months and the past few years.”

In response to Seymour’s comments, RNZ’s board chair Jim Mather defended its editorial independence and warned against political interference.

TVNZ said it did not have a view.

Media minister Paul Goldsmith said ministers cannot get involved in operational matters.

He said the government’s role is to appoint the board and set expectations about financial sustainability, growing audience numbers and improving trust levels.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Posted on

Stark climate warnings: The hypothetical is now our reality, experts say

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ

A major report highlighting the risks of climate change to almost every facet of New Zealand life is a “big wake-up call”, climate researchers say.

One is calling for a war-time approach to climate adaptation, saying partisanship must be removed from crucial decisions about costs.

The Climate Change Commission’s national risk assessment, released on Thursday, highlighted what it said were the 10 biggest climate-related risks for the country.

Threats to buildings, road and rail, and the country’s “degraded” water infrastructure were all on the list, but it also included social and community wellbeing, emergency management, funding and decision-making.

There were “extreme” shortfalls in policy for many of the risks, and too much money was being spent reacting to events instead of building resilience, the commission said.

Earth Sciences New Zealand principal climate scientist Nick Cradock-Henry said since the previous risk assessment was published in 2020, the urgency of the climate risk was now clear.

“The speed and scale, the speed of onset of these risks, is increasing almost in real time,” he said.

“We’re having extreme weather events from once every few years to almost monthly – that is a dramatic acceleration in just a few years.”

Risks that had previously been hypothetical, like insurance retreat, were now a reality in some places, Cradock-Henry said.

“We are seeing already then in the absence of a comprehensive strategy to deal with climate change, insurers are waking up to the fact that there’s no plan.

“There is increasing exposure and there is an unwillingness in the part of insurers to bear the costs of that.”

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts. SAMUEL RILLSTONE / RNZ

Responding to the report’s release, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said adaptation to climate change was “a key priority” for the government.

“That’s why last year we released a National Adaptation Framework and are progressing a range of work across the planning system, emergency management, and local government to give us an enduring system that prepares New Zealand for the impacts of climate change, while keeping costs to our society as low as possible,” he said.

The commission’s report would help the government to “better understand the urgency and severity of climate risks so we can sequence and prioritise action”.

Cradock-Henry said the government’s framework was “skeletal” and local councils needed much more clarity and support.

“They are on the front lines of managing this and they are under-resourced and are in many ways essentially flying blind,” he said.

“We need a Climate Adaptation Bill.”

University of Canterbury political science professor Bronwyn Hayward said the report had been released at the “worst time politically”.

“We’re going into a highly partisan election, we’ve got a rushed ultimatum to local government for restructuring, we’re restructuring the key agencies that are responsible for delivering responses to risk, particularly the Ministry for the Environment, and all of this almost chaotic change is really putting at risk our ability to move thoughtfully, inclusively, and transparently in not just planning, but actually implementing action.”

Politicking needed to be put aside so that lasting decisions could be made about how to share the costs of adaptation.

“We’ve seen it occasionally at times of great crisis,” she said.

“In World War II, we actually had ministers that were appointed from the opposition as well as from government. During Covid, we had a select committee that was led by the opposition.”

In the meantime, there was no “coherent plan”.

“We’re leaving individuals to respond to risk and to inform themselves, and we’re dealing with events as if they are one-off emergencies each time that we face them.”

Climate Prescience director and researcher Nathaneal Melia said from a scientific perspective, the report was “a big wake-up call” but likely still underplayed the risks.

It should be treating the massive costs to the economy and society from the North Island weather events in 2023 as the current “best worst-case scenario”.

“Come, say, 10 years’ time, you’re going to get another event like that, that’s going to be worse. And then the one 10 years day the line is going to be worse than that,” he said.

“So, are our systems robust enough to cope with these ‘black swan’ events that are coming?”

The government now has two years to respond to the risk report with a new adaptation plan.

Climate Change minister Simon Watts has previously said that no decisions about cost-sharing will be made until the next term of government.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Posted on

Are banks immune to downturns?

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / 123rf

A $1.26 half-year billion profit for ANZ. A $545 million half-year for Westpac. A $494m result for BNZ.

As New Zealand’s economy reels from one hit to the next, some commentators have asked whether the run of recent profits for banks show they are one of the few businesses that can turn a healthy profit no matter what.

David Cunningham, chief executive of Squirrel and former chief executive of The Co-Operative Bank, said it was fair to suggest that banks were generally able to make money regardless of the wider business environment.

“Imagine if a bank did nothing for a year, stopped lending, stopped doing anything for a year, they’d still make 90 percent of the profit.

“Every year, over 150 or 200 years for many banks, they build up an annuity stream and every year they’re topping that up. The banking sector will typically grow at around the nominal GDP rate. If you think of inflation at 3 percent and real growth at 2, so nominal GDP at 5, that’s pretty much what you’d expect banks to achieve consistently over time unless they’re in a big cost-cutting mode or in a high-growth sort of phase.”

He said there would be times when credit provisions and credit write-offs could affect the reported profits but it did not necessarily mean they lost money.

Many banks set aside large loan loss provisions heading into the Covid-19 pandemic, which then were reversed out.

“They’re providing against the risk that in future they will lose the money… [but] there’s a great saying, the only thing worse than a profitable bank is an unprofitable one.”

He said most customers would be most concerned that banks were supporting investment in the economy and helping people when they needed loans for things like buying houses.

“The question in New Zealand is, are they for a very low-risk business? I mean, it’s almost utility-like. Utilities tend to have predictable, long-run, fairly stable earnings. So is a return on equity sort of near a 13 percent, 14 percent for some of them fair, or, you know, is a return nearer 10 percent like the overall of yield of banks in Australia fairer?”

Claire Matthews Supplied/ David Wiltshire

But Claire Matthews, a banking expert at Massey University, said it was not true that banks were unaffected by wider forces.

She noted Westpac’s result said its impairment provisions were due to worsening economic conditions and margin compression as the official cash rate dropped.

BNZ’s profit was down 38 percent, although largely because of a change in the way it accounts for software spending.

“The banks have managed not to lose money in recent recessions, which reflects careful financial management and the fact that we haven’t had a really substantial downturn. As I’ve said in the past, we don’t actually want the banks to make losses, but they do feel the impact of economic conditions. It is also worth remembering that they are usually affected later by economic downturns, because it takes time to work through to the banks.’

Generate investment specialist Greg Smith said earnings were sensitive in a nuanced way.

“They can generate profits through the cycle, but recent results from ANZ, NAB and Westpac show earnings are clearly being shaped by slower growth, higher bad debts, intense competition and the impact of higher interest rates. The Middle East is a factor.

“They can perform well early in a rate tightening cycle because they typically reprice mortgage rates quickly, while deposit rates adjust more slowly, which leads to a temporary expansion in net interest margins. That dynamic helped support profitability over the past couple of years.

“However, what we’re seeing now across ANZ, NAB and Westpac is the other side of that cycle starting to dominate. Higher rates are now feeding through to customers, with banks lifting provisions for bad debts and flagging stress in parts of the economy. Credit growth is slowing, with businesses and households pulling back. Competition for deposits and mortgages is intensifying, putting pressure back on margins. Profits remain high in absolute terms, but earnings growth is limited or declining.”

Sign up for Money with Susan Edmunds, a weekly newsletter covering all the things that affect how we make, spend and invest money.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Posted on

Regulation Minister ordering review of solar panel installation

Source: Radio New Zealand

David Seymour visiting Electric Cherries near Cromwell on Thursday. RNZ / Katie Todd

The Regulation Minister is taking aim at what he says is excessive red tape around rooftop solar that makes it too hard for home-owners and businesses to set up panels.

David Seymour is ordering a review of the installation process, saying he wants to make New Zealand the easiest place in the world to switch to solar.

He said just three to four percent of New Zealand households used solar, despite average power savings of about $1000 a year.

“Solar installation in New Zealand is a red tape nightmare. Just getting it approved can take months,” he said.

“There are up to eight layers of sign-off before small-scale solar systems can be switched on. This requires up to five separate site visits, from four separate entities. For example, during installation the installer often cannot turn off or reconnect the fuse, update the meter, or carry out the required independent electrical inspection. These tasks must be done by other entities, requiring additional site visits.”

RNZ / Katie Todd

In parts of Australia, approval of similar low-risk solar could be granted within 24 hours, Seymour said.

“In Victoria Australia there is one layer of sign-off for small-scale solar installation. The whole solar installation process is managed and carried out by the chosen installer. Standard installations are inspected by a licensed electricity inspector without a site visit. Photos clearly show compliance. A site visit is only carried out in person if something unusual or non compliant is identified in the photos.”

Seymour said more than 30 percent of Australian households used solar power.

He made the announcement at Electric Cherries near Cromwell on Thursday, which is believed to be the world’s first fully-electric farm, powered largely by solar.

RNZ / Katie Todd

Owner Mike Casey, who is also the chief executive of Rewiring Aotearoa, said regulations needed to keep pace with technology and he was pleased to see the government looking at ways to help.

“In Australia, virtual inspections allow the installs to be approved remotely and much more rapidly and other countries have centralised systems that don’t require a physical visit and use an auditing process to ensure standards are being met,” he said.

Researchers have said New Zealanders investing in solar will almost certainly save more money than they spend.

Casey said Rewiring Aotearoa wanted to see national standards across lines companies for solar and legalisation for plug-in solar set-ups which were becoming popular overseas.

“We need more solar in New Zealand, it is very safe when installers are well-trained and given our very low uptake rates at this stage, it is unlikely to affect the network. Approval should be instant here.”

Bureaucracy not the biggest barrier – solar expert

Alan Brent, professor and chairperson in Sustainable Energy Systems at Victoria University of Wellington, said upfront cost was the biggest barrier for most households considering solar – not the installation time.

“It’s not a technical issue in terms of how long it takes. I mean, I have a solar and a battery system in my house, and they came and installed it within a day. We have all the regulations in place … all the technology is there,” he said.

“It is quite a significant investment up front. And it’s quite complicated for people to think about what the long-term savings will be.”

Brent said the best thing officials could do to boost solar uptake was a public information campaign highlighting what residents would spend and what they would save.

The government could also help residents with the upfront costs, he said.

“Something similar to what we have with industry, like the GiDI (Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry) fund – that might be an option … a long-term loan that’s underwritten by the government,” he said.

German and Australian residents also received “quite reasonable” tariffs for returning electricity to the grid, he said.

“That’s provided the incentive for people to put up solar systems,” he said.

However Seymour said cutting red tape would help with upfront cost.

“The more people involved the more expensive it is. So if you’ve got to pay someone to come and do your disconnection and then another person to do the installation, then the first person comes back to do the reconnection, that all adds cost. But I think it’s also about hesitancy and being able to just do it. If you knew that you could get this done in a weekend, you’d be a lot more likely to do it than if you’d heard that your neighbours ended up taking a couple of months to do something that could have been much simpler,” he said.

“If I can honestly say that we have the simplest, most straightforward system in the world, then how much people take advantage of that is up to them.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Posted on

David Seymour says changes are coming for RNZ leadership, RNZ Board disagrees

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Mark Papalii

David Seymour has intensified his attacks on the country’s state broadcasters, suggesting changes are coming for RNZ’s leadership as the government reshapes its board.

In response, RNZ staunchly defended its editorial independence and warned against political interference, noting such commentary risked undermining public trust and confidence in the organisation.

The ACT leader, who is a shareholding minister for both RNZ and TVNZ, used an interview on The Platform last week to lash out at both organisations and their management teams.

Seymour attacked RNZ’s recent appointment of John Campbell to its flagship Morning Report programme, saying that should have been “out of the question” given “the kinds of things” Campbell had previously written.

While working for TVNZ in 2023, Campbell published several columns critical of the coalition government, describing the leaders as “empty of ideas”.

Speaking to The Platform, Seymour blamed RNZ management for the decision to hire Campbell and appeared to single out chief executive Paul Thompson, without naming him.

“Look, that guy’s got an awful lot to answer for, and I suspect that he won’t be answering the call at RNZ for much longer.”

Seymour went on to say that the government was replacing RNZ’s board with the aim of changing the organisation’s management and direction.

“There’s a few more appointments to come,” he said. “It’s really critical that we are ensuring that we get better people on the board, and those people will change the management.”

Seymour also accused TVNZ of being “politically motivated” and suggested political editor Maiki Sherman could not remain in her role following an incident last year in which she allegedly directed a homophobic slur at another journalist.

“I’m sure that the board and management will be seeing that, you know, it’s pretty difficult to have someone credibly fronting the news every night when everyone knows how she behaves. I think that’s going to be tough for them.”

A spokesperson for TVNZ said questions about the appropriateness of the remarks were for the government: “We don’t hold a view on the comments.”

Legislation governing RNZ and TVNZ prohibits ministers from directing the broadcasters regarding “a particular programme or a particular allegation or a particular complaint” or “the gathering or presentation of news”.

RNZ responds

In a statement, RNZ’s outgoing board chair Jim Mather said RNZ’s editorial independence was “fundamental and non negotiable”.

“Editorial decisions, including appointments to senior editorial roles, are the sole responsibility of RNZ management and are made in accordance with journalistic merit, statutory obligations, and the well established public media convention of audience need.

“Political views, ministerial commentary, or external pressure play no role in those decisions.”

Mather said ministers did not direct RNZ’s board or management, nor did the board direct editorial content.

“Any suggestion that board appointments are intended to influence management outcomes or editorial direction is inconsistent with the arm’s length framework that underpins public trust in RNZ.”

He stressed the “clear and necessary separation” required between ministers, RNZ’s board, management and newsroom.

“Commentary that publicly links Board changes, management tenure or editorial appointments to political perspectives risks undermining confidence in RNZ’s independence and the integrity of its journalism.”

Mather said RNZ’s focus and purpose was to provide “fair, accurate and independent” news and current affairs, “not to accommodate political preference”.

Seymour not resiling from remarks

Approached for comment, Seymour rejected any suggestion his comments had stepped outside the bounds of the law.

“I have not given RNZ or TVNZ any direction that would breach either Act. Decisions around staffing, presenter line-ups, and editorial matters are for boards and management. Anyone who thinks RNZ is taking editorial instructions from me clearly does not listen to RNZ.”

Seymour said editorial independence did not, however, mean “freedom from accountability”.

“The government appoints boards, sets broad, non-editorial expectations, and ministers are entitled to comment when publicly owned media organisations are losing audience, relevance, or public confidence,” he said.

“RNZ should not be surprised to hear these concerns. Since 2020, RNZ National’s live radio audience has fallen by more than 25 percent. RNZ should be looking to the New Zealanders who have stopped listening for direction, not me.”

In a separate statement, Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith said Seymour could explain his own comments.

“The government’s role is to appoint the board and to set clear expectations,” he said.

“For RNZ, this can be summarised as expecting them to operate in a financially sustainable way, and measuring their performance by their ability to grow audience numbers, and improve levels of trust – which have been low since post Covid.”

The latest AUT Trust in News survey found RNZ was the country’s most trusted news brand, followed by the Otago Daily Times and TVNZ.

The survey also found 46 percent of respondents were extremely or very concerned about politicians publicly discrediting news, while 43 percent said their trust in media would decline if owners or boards interfered in editorial decisions.

Seymour has repeatedly criticised media coverage during this term and refuses to appear on Morning Report, claiming the programme has a “toxic culture”.

He faced similar scrutiny in 2024 after accusing a TVNZ reporter of showing a “delightful lack of self-awareness and immaturity”.

At the time, then-media minister Melissa Lee said she would “have a conversation” with Seymour about the remarks.

Seymour’s actions contrasted with his criticism of former Cabinet minister Kiri Allan in 2023 after she raised concerns about RNZ’s treatment of Māori staff.

Speaking then, Seymour said ministers needed to be “absolutely critically cautious about even the perception of interfering with media”.

“Nobody loses their democracy all at once,” he said. “It’s always a thousand little chips and we don’t want to see them.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Posted on

OECD report suggests raft of reforms to help New Zealand economy

Source: Radio New Zealand

The OECD report called for changes to the electricity sector to break its reliance on costly natural gas which has underpinned high prices. RNZ / Robin Martin

  • OECD says NZ economy recovering slowly, faces Iran conflict based challenges to growth and inflation
  • Poor productivity, high debt, weak investment hold back growth
  • Tax changes needed for retirement savings; boost needed for capital markets
  • Electricity sector needs to break reliance on gas
  • Quicker and deeper digitisation of health sector needed

New Zealand needs to reform the pension and electricity sectors, expand and strengthen capital markets, and speed up digitisation of the health sector, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In its latest report on New Zealand it said the economy is recovering, but the Middle East conflict would delay growth and stoke a near term spike in inflation, while the economy also faced long standing challenges from low productivity, high public debt, and too little investment in key sectors and companies.

Growth of 1.4 percent was forecast for this year, rising to 2.3 percent in 2027, while inflation was expected to hit a high of 3.4 percent this year before falling back into the 1-3 percent target zone.

“Heightened uncertainty and higher energy prices weigh on real incomes, confidence and domestic demand,” the OECD report said.

“Inflation will rise in 2026 due to higher energy and transport costs before gradually easing toward the 2 percent midpoint, reflecting spare capacity and easing tradeables inflation pressures.

“Although considerable uncertainty surrounds the timing and magnitude of this adjustment, given the risk of further shocks.”

The OECD had a message for the Reserve Bank (RBNZ).

“Our advice is for monetary policy to remain focused on the medium-term price stability while looking through the temporary first round effects of the energy price shock,” OECD director Luiz de Mello said.

The report said the RBNZ’s monetary policy mandate should be held unchanged for five year periods to “reinforce the RBNZ’s strong operational independence and credibility”.

Raise superannuation age, change taxes

The OECD joined other international agencies in calling for the age of eligibility for superannuation to be raised by indexing it to life expectancy, with measures to take account of different ethnicities and work backgrounds.

It also called for a reversal of the taxation of retirement savings from the current charge on contributions and investment earnings but tax exempt withdrawals.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said there were no plans to raise the eligibility age for NZ super, and rejected the call for tax changes as a big hit on government finances.

“We are trying to get the books back in balance so radical tax reforms that require a deficit on the government books are not something we are exploring right now.”

Other OECD suggestions included measures to improve capital markets, including government financial support, to allow small and medium sized firms to look at listing on the stock exchange and being able to raise finance in New Zealand.

Willis took a swipe at the major local banks that there was nothing stopping them now to lend more money to small firms and the challenge was for them to do it.

Reform the electricity sector

The OECD report also called for changes to the electricity sector to break its reliance on costly natural gas which has underpinned high prices.

“Affordability will remain elusive without breaking the gas-electricity price link by scaling non-gas long-duration firming, expanding demand response and strengthening competition.”

It said there should be a mandatory firming and flexibility market with likely a minority investment from the government in independent-led, long-duration non-gas firming generation.

Firming is the provision of immediate reserve electricity when renewable supplies decline. In New Zealand that has been done largely through burning gas and coal.

The OECD said the proposal to import liquified natural gas (LNG) should be seen only as a short term option.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Posted on

The New Zealand scientist hoping to bring the Norfolk Island snail back from the brink of extinction

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Campbell’s keeled glass-snail is endemic to Norfolk Island. Lucas James/DCCEEW

A New Zealand scientist is hoping to bring an Australian snail back from the brink of extinction.

The Campbell’s keeled glass-snail is endemic to Norfolk Island, which is around 1100 kilometres northwest of Auckland.

It was rediscovered in 2020 after being considered extinct for over 20 years.

James Joseph is researching the conservation of the snail as part of his PhD at Western Sydney University.

He told Checkpoint that he was part of a team that had released more than 300 into Norfolk Island National Park in July 2025.

Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is on track to release almost four times that amount in 2026.

“They’re just breeding like crazy now,” Joseph said.

Joseph said the population had gone from 30 to 1200 in six years.

“They’re not often at the forefront of conservation, but they’re just so special.

“They’re funky in their own right, and they are so important for our environment.”

Joseph told Checkpoint that snail breeding and reintroduction did not always go to plan.

“We were pre-warned before doing it that, once they’re released, we might never even see them again,” he said.

But Joseph said the team had come across two of them in January, and another two in March.

“The WhatsApp group was definitely going off.”

“It’s not your traditional exciting group chat, but for us, and all the collaborators in that group chat, it was very exciting.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Posted on

Solomon Islands PM Jeremiah Manele ousted

Source: Radio New Zealand

Jeremiah Manele was elected prime minister in May 2024. Screengrab / National Parliament of Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has been ousted following a no-confidence vote in Honiara on Thursday.

Manele was voted out by 26 votes to 22 in parliament. There were two absentees.

Manele will remain in office and perform his normal duties until he is officially removed by the Governor-General Sir David Tiva Kapu.

Parliament has been adjourned sine die to allow time for Sir David and parliament to organise the election of the new prime minister.

Manele, who previously served as the country’s foreign minister, was elected prime minister on 2 May 2024.

It was the third challenge against Manele’s leadership – he had previously survived a motion of no confidence in April 2025 after six ministers and five government backbenchers walked away.

It brings to an end a series of events that began on 15 March, with mass resignations from one of the key coalition parties in Manele’s Government of National Unity (GNUT).

Those members who defected from the coalition formed a new opposition group of 28 MPs in the 50-seat House. The defectors included 10 Cabinet ministers.

Peoples First Party leader Frederick Kologeto told RNZ Pacific at the time that they had lost “trust within the government”.

Manele had refused to convene parliament for weeks, stating that he would do so only when the time was right, frustrating the opposition who said they had the numerical superiority to oust him.

However, an Appeal Court ruling last Friday ended the political back-and-forth, handing the prime minister a deadline to call parliament and face a leadership challenge.

Before moving the no-confidence motion, MP for South Vella La Vella, Frederick Kologeto, called on the Prime Minister to resign immediately, citing the opposition’s numerical strength.

But Manele responded by refusing by calling Kologeto “scared”, declaring he would resign but only after stating the reasons for the no-confidence motion against him.

“I have accepted this responsibility not out of personal ambition, but on behalf of a majority of members who stand united with me today,” Kologeto said.

“Party room negotiations and dialogues … proved to be futile. They were not only unhelpful, they were strategically unproductive.”

Manele concedes

In his final statement responding to fiery arguments made for and against the no-confidence motion, Manele warned the opposition leader to “be very careful of who you are dealing with and sitting next to” – a pointed shot at the defectors.

He also claimed that the Appeal Court order raises serious questions about judicial overreach into that timing and management of parliamentary business.

“[The Court of Appeal] decision, with the greatest respect to the court, risks cementing instability into our constitutional arrangements. It creates a pathway where any group of members who are unhappy with the government of the day can combine a motion of no confidence with court proceedings and then ask the judiciary to intervene in the timing and programme of parliament.”

Manele also made a last ditch attempt to woo opposition MPs to switch sides, saying his government was “willing to accommodate any political party in forming a new government”.

“We are willing to work with their party leaders, including on the issue, on the matter of leadership,” he said.

“We are willing to make that sacrifice so that the work that we have done over the past two years can continue our people and their needs.”

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

Posted on

Caleb Clarke ready for Crusaders ‘mental test’ as Blues face Christchurch fortress

Source: Radio New Zealand

Caleb Clarke grew up imbedded in the Crusaders and Blues rivalry. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

Caleb Clarke had little chance of becoming a Crusaders fan.

His father, Eroni, was a member of the inaugural Blues squad in 1996, and Clarke inherited his old man’s heated rivalry with Canterbury.

So when Clarke had thoughts of making the move down south, they were not met with enthusiasm.

“I remember this one time in school I said to dad, ‘I might check out Canterbury’. He sent me out the house,” Clarke laughed.

“Auckland-Canterbury, Blues-Crusaders, there’s always that history between the two. That’s what’s so cool about the game is you bash each other on the field for 80-odd minutes and then afterwards you’re good mates.”

Super Rugby’s most storied rivalry writes another chapter on Friday night, the first under the roof at the new Te Kaha Stadium.

Blues coach Vern Cotter is expecting a cauldron.

“There’s not a better test than Crusaders down there. You can see their performances are ramping up as well towards the end of the season. We had a few people from Christchurch who probably weren’t cheering us very much down there, despite playing the Reds.

“I imagine it’ll be as it always is down there. It’s a tough environment.”

Cotter said while not a heavy focus of the week, the history between the franchises was always on their minds.

“Last time we were down there against the Crusaders it was a semi-final and that went right to the wire. The time before that when we were down there was we lost the game in the last few minutes. We know we’ve got to stay locked in on every facet of the game.

“It’s just recognising and respecting them for what they are. There’s a certain amount of confidence within us to go down and try and impose our game and give it a shake and see if we can come away with something.”

The Blues have a wretched record in Christchurch, losing 14 of their last 15 visits to the city.

However, the prospect of a dry track has Clarke excited.

“It won’t be cold like what Christchurch usually is, just ready for some fast running rugby. For an outside like me, it’s really exciting.”

He did admit that there may be a psychological aspect at play when the Blues play in the garden city.

“Christchurch is Christchurch, it’s always going to be tough. The Crusaders boys always want to defend their home and in a way, yep, there’s a bit of that mental edge that you have to take down.

“It’s a mental game heading down there and if you start slow, then it’s going to be one long game against those Crusaders boys.”

Clarke also praised All Black team-mate Leicester Faingaʻanuku’s successful switch to seven, though said he had no desire to make the move himself.

“I saw someone make a video about it saying outsides can play in the loosies and they started naming off outsides and I heard my name and I went, ‘oh no, keep me on the outside where I can run away from those guys’.

“But man, Leicester’s always been like that ever since we first played together in New Zealand schools. He’s always been someone that loves the contact, loves the ruck area, so really learned that role.”

Sitting second on the ladder but with a tough run home, Cotter was comfortable with the blues position a month away from the quarters.

“We want to get into the play-offs. The priority at the moment is getting into a play-off situation. Then we’re back to zero. Then it’s 80 minutes every weekend. We’re realistic around getting ourselves in the position we need to be in and then going for it.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Posted on

Steve Lancaster last-man standing after global search fails to find NZ Rugby boss

Source: Radio New Zealand

Steve Lancaster is New Zealand Rugby’s new CEO. Photosport

After searching the globe for a new CEO, New Zealand Rugby finally came to the conclusion that the best person was right under their nose.

The New Zealand Rugby Board has confirmed Steve Lancaster as the organisation’s new chief executive.

Lancaster was overlooked when he first applied for the job, but stepped in as interim boss six months ago, following the departure of previous chief executive Mark Robinson.

New Zealand Rugby chair David Kirk said last year’s governance changes might have played a part in their hesitation to appoint someone internally.

A new nine-person New Zealand Rugby (NZR) Board was officially ratified and took office in early 2025 following a significant reform process aimed at modernizing the organisation.

When the new board came in Kirk said it “didn’t have a lot of experience with or understanding of the capabilities of the management team” within NZ Rugby.

“We just weren’t ready to appoint an internal person to the chief executive role, from what we knew at the time, we didn’t feel that there was the right candidate available,” Kirk said.

“But since Steve stepped into the interim role … he’s just really grasped the role and shown us that he can manage a complex organisation …we’ve just seen him in action and we’ve see what he can do.”

Kirk said discussions with some external candidates got quite advanced but the board was never fully satisfied.

Head-hunters assisted with the search, before NZR whittled down a short-list to interview but found none were suitable. So they went out on another external search, which still didn’t yield anyone they were happy with.

NZR chair David Kirk. RNZ/Calvin Samuel

At the same time Lancaster kept moving up in the board’s estimations.

“This is probably the case sometimes when you’re looking to move into a new organisation with a new board, you tend to underestimate the capability of the internal talent.

“We thought he interviewed well but nevertheless we [decided] to go for an external appointment but we’ve been forced in a nice way to review our decision, we’ve been able to see someone in the role performing to a level that is what we need.

“We haven’t been able to find anyone external that’s as capable as him. The hurdle that an external appointment had to jump has gone up and up as we’ve seen Steve’s performance in the role so it just became a natural decision for the board.”

Kirk said Lancaster had all the qualities to excel in the role including the ability to deal with a lot of complex relationships, such as with World Rugby and SANZAR (South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby).

Lancaster, who was appointed NZR’s general manager community rugby in 2016, said he was humbled by the opportunity and well aware of the “responsibility that comes with it.”

He said he was fortunate he got to demonstrate his skills during the interim appointment and felt “incredibly privileged” that he stood out, while other candidates dropped off.

“My focus has just been on turning up every week doing the best job that I can for the business and the game and like a player you let the results take care of themselves …I’ve always felt confident I could do the job from the day I stepped into it,” Lancaster said.

Steve Lancaster represented Canterbury and the Crusaders from 1996-2000. ALAN_LEE

He believed his long tenure as GM of community rugby meant he had a very good understanding of the game from grass roots, which he felt was important.

Lancaster said the sport faced challenges, but also opportunities.

“The game is incredibly well positioned, we’ve got a healthy balance sheet, we’ve got a really strong participation base, we’ve got really competitive teams in black that are performing well on the world stage and our opportunity is to build from that and grow.”

Meanwhile, Kirk said he was comfortable with the financial health of the organisation after its latest financial results were revealed at Thursday’s annual general meeting in Wellington.

NZR reported a net loss of $7.5 million for 2025, despite record total income of $304.2m.

The organisation also reported an operating profit of $700,000, which reflected its day to day operating costs.

Kirk said the net loss was money spent on investing in things beyond normal expenditure. He said those investments will help with their growth strategy and NZR had a strong reserves position to be able to do that.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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