Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A High Court judge has ordered the Department of Corrections boss to obey the law or face contempt of court proceedings if he fails to make sure prisoners aren’t let out of their cells for an hour every day.

Under New Zealand law, prisoners are entitled to at least one hour of physical exercise a day. The rights are further enshrined in United Nations standards.

In his judgement released this week, Wellington High Court Justice Jason McHerron found some inmates in Auckland Prison, the country’s only maximum security prison, weren’t allowed out of their cell for the minimum required period and was holding the Corrections chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot personally accountable.

Wellington human rights lawyer, Amanda Hill represented some of the prisoners and said time outside of cells was vital.

“Moving your limbs, getting your heart rate up a little bit, talking to other people, those are things that we take for granted, but they’re pretty vital to just being able to function,” she said.

“If we don’t have that, we can get into a position of what’s called prolonged solitary confinement which is unlawful, and it has lots of physical and mental health effects, paranoia, aggression, depression, anxiety, joint pain, migraines – the list is really long.”

No one knows that better than this man, who RNZ isn’t naming, but who spent five years in prison for aggravated robbery among other charges.

“The 23 hours we’re locked down for, we actually look forward to our hour every day,” he said.

“Some people get an hour, some people don’t. The ones that don’t get their hour, it turns pretty violent, it gets real frustrating in the mind, it’s bad enough we get 23 hours locked down.”

He said an hour wasn’t a lot of time.

“Majority of the time, the whole hour is spent on training,” he said.

“Maybe like 10 minutes out of that hour on a phone call, maybe 20, but you’re only allocated for so much time, and hour is not much.”

Hill wanted to see Corrections follow the court’s order.

“We’re really hoping that this is the thing that they choose to comply with because nothing else to date has been enough.”

It would be an extraordinary situation to have a chief executive of one of the countries major departments before the courts facing a fine or even imprisonment, she said.

“This has been raised for coming up 10 years in different forums, the ombudsman’s raised it, the prison inspectors raised it, there’s been litigation about it, and the department has ignored the High Court’s directions in other cases that short staffing and resources aren’t a reason to deny minimum entitlement,” Hill said.

Corrections had argued a lack of staff and facilities prevented them opening cells safely. However, that was rejected by Justice McHerron.

Commissioner of custodial services, Leigh Marsh, said they had been working to meet the court’s order.

“We’ve been doing work in that environment to ensure that we are able to dynamically increase the staff, so I’ve increased the base number of staff in there immediately, to reduce the risk of the inability to do simultaneous unlocks,” he said.

“We’ve really focused hard on being really careful with these separations to make sure that we’re getting it right.”

Marsh said safety was a priority as they balanced complex circumstances.

“We’re really focusing on our staff and prisoner safety, so I am not holding back, if a prisoner is exhibiting violence, for them to be shifted into a maximum security environment,” he said.

“We’re seeing that increased gang complexity, we’re seeing that increased complexity around impulse control, and the propensity towards using violence when tension or conflict arises among the prison population that’s in there.”

Former Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said the court’s ruling went further than he could have done in his former role.

“The chief ombudsman can recommend,” he said.

“If there’s a failure to comply with the recommendation, there’s no real ability for the ombudsman to do much about this.

“But this [judgement] has the consequence of failure and accountability, which could result, interestingly enough and ironically, in imprisonment, therefore loss of liberty.”

Boshier said Corrections had been slow to comply in the past.

“Corrections is like a 19th century coal-fired ocean liner attempting to alter course, it’s very slow to correct, another way of putting it could’ve been it’s glacial,” he said.

“It’s just Corrections that I found utter frustration with for its inability to change and its willingness to think of every reason under the sun why it should not.”

A group of 69 prisoners have filed a wide-ranging claim against the Attorney General, on behalf of Corrections. The matter was heading to trial in 2027.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Hutt Valley Police are investigating what they are calling a disturbing instance of extreme violence, which has left someone with critical injuries.

Police received reports of an assault at an address on Trinity Avenue in Epuni, about 5am on Wednesday, 10 December.

Acting detective senior sergeant Kylee Cusin said police continue to explore multiple avenues of enquiry and are asking the public for their help.

“What has occurred is a disturbing instance of extreme violence, and we’re asking anyone who was in the Trinity Avenue and Oxford Terrace area at that time to reach out to police, or anonymously at Crime Stoppers.

“We know there will be people in the community who have information which could help us find the people responsible for this crime.”

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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 pair of climbers missing on Aoraki/Mount Cook are believed to have died in a large ice avalanche, police said on Thursday.

If so, that would make them the fifth and sixth reported South Island mountaineering deaths in the past month.

The two men left the Tasman Valley car park on Friday last week, bound for Plateau Hut. They left the hut on Saturday evening on their way to the top of Aoraki/Mount Cook, via the Linda Glacier route, police said.

On Monday morning the Department of Conservation was told they had not returned.

Due to the weather, an aerial search was not carried out until late on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, search teams deployed a RECCO detector, suspended under a helicopter, Aoraki area commander Inspector Vicki Walker said.

According to the manufacturer’s website, RECCO reflectors “are lightweight passive transponders that require no power or activation to function”, and can be integrated into clothing, helmets, backpacks and harnesses.

“With the aid of the detector and Search and Rescue staff, we were able to identify a key area of interest and located some items of climbing equipment,” Walker said.

“A visual investigation of this area has led to the determination that the overdue climbers have been caught in a significant ice avalanche within a known icefall hazard zone on the upper Linda Glacier.

“Because of the scale and volume of material involved, we don’t believe this avalanche was survivable.”

Ground crews were yet to reach the site because of unstable ground, DoC Aoraki/Mount Cook operations manager Sally Jones said.

“This is a tragic outcome, and our thoughts are with the climbers’ family and friends.

“The Linda Glacier is an unforgiving alpine environment. Conditions can change rapidly, and even highly experienced climbers are exposed to unexpected hazards including icefall, crevasses, avalanches, and extreme weather.

“Aoraki is a place of immense beauty and significance, but it also can be extremely brutal in terms of what it can throw at those who attempt to climb it.”

The exact location of the bodies was not yet known. Police said a recovery operation would be considered when warmer weather allowed it.

“Sadly, for now, we can’t reach them and they lie in rest on the maunga, and our sympathy is with their whānau,” Walker said.

The latest loss followed the deaths 28-year-old Connor Scott McKenzie and 23-year-old Tanmay Shetankumar Bhati on Fiordland’s Sabre Peak earlier this month, and Wanaka-based mountain guide Thomas Vialletet and his client Kellam Conover, who died on Aoraki/Mount Cook in November.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

John Campbell is returning to RNZ, as the new co-host of Morning Report alongside Ingrid Hipkiss.

RNZ’s Chief Audio Officer Pip Keane said the field of applicants for role on the flagship news programme was impressive but Campbell stood out .

“John’s experience as a journalist and host is exceptional, but equally important is his passion for pursuing the stories that matter and our audience values this strong journalism. He’s also a highly skilled interviewer, and that’s crucial for Morning Report.”

Keane says he will be a key part of RNZ’s dedicated audio plan, which aims to grow RNZ National’s audience.

“We know John can build an audience; he added 50,000 listeners to Checkpoint‘s audience during his time on that programme.

Campbell says he is thrilled to be returning to daily news.

“3 News, Campbell Live, Checkpoint and Breakfast were all daily shows. In total, I hosted or co-hosted them for over twenty years. I’ve missed the racing heart and the urgency and the way broadcast journalism can respond in an instant to the political cycle, and to breaking news.”

Campbell said he’s listened to Morning Report since it began.

“My parents woke up to it. My childhood mornings echoed to the sound of it. That makes this programme really special to me. My first understanding of journalism would have been from Morning Report. It gives voice to the less powerful and holds a mirror up to New Zealand life. To be able to do that, every weekday morning, with neither fear nor favour, is a such an exciting opportunity.

His start date is to be confirmed.

He replaces Corin Dann who is stepping down from the role to become RNZ’s new Business Editor.

Dann will replace Gyles Beckford who is retiring as business editor and moving to a new part-time role as Economics Correspondent.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Secretary for Education is cancelling the registration of Gloriavale Christian School.

The school was told of the decision on Thursday, which will take effect from 23 January.

Secretary for Education Ellen MacGregor-Reid wrote to the private school in October advising she was considering cancelling its registration after a second failed Education Review Office audit in as many years.

July’s ERO report found Gloriavale Christian School had not met three of eight registration criteria and was not a physically and emotionally safe space for students.

Education officials met Gloriavale school leaders on 23 July to express concerns about its compliance with registration requirements and issue a second formal “notice to comply”.

In August, Children’s Commissioner Claire Achmad called for the school’s urgent closure, saying she had zero confidence that students were safe.

The Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust favoured a special transitional model for the children’s education, if the school closed, saying the community’s hostels were not an appropriate place for homeschooling.

More 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

Being exploited left three workers permanently traumatised and facing financial hardship, according to the Migrant Workers Association of Aotearoa.

President Anu Kaloti supported Sneha Patel’s victims for seven years as they sought justice, and was in court on Wednesday when Patel was sentenced to 11 months’ home detention and ordered to pay nearly $50,000 in reparations.

Outside the court, she said the consequences of Patel’s offending had been long-lasting for the victims.

“It’s something that they can’t get rid of for a long time, I think it permanently traumatises them.”

Patel was sentenced for exploiting three migrant workers and failing to pay them thousands of dollars in wages. All the victims’ names were suppressed.

Patel owned and operated several Hamilton- and Auckland-based businesses, including a beauty salon, dairy, superette, a fruit and vege shop cleaning business and a lawn-mowing business.

One victim was paid nothing at all for two months’ work at a time when prosecutor Tim Gray said Patel was “expanding her empire”.

The victim, who was in New Zealand illegally, had to live in a car. Patel promised him she was saving up his wages to help him get a lawyer – this was a lie.

Patel failed to pay the second victim her contracted wages and holiday pay, and then demanded the victim pay her back for weeks of missed work after the victim suffered a miscarriage.

“[The victim] can’t mention or think about that incident without breaking down in tears,” Kaloti said.

Patel provided Immigration New Zealand proof that she had agreed to pay a third victim above minimum wage. Instead, she did not pay the victim anything at all for two months.

Judge Stephen Clark told Patel the victims had trusted her, and she had lied and exploited them.

Patel, who now pregnant, began home detention immediately after the sentencing.

Kaloti said the offending warranted jail time and the sentence was somewhat disappointing.

“Nevertheless, it feels like there has been some justice delivered.”

She said she was pleased the judge had noted Patel did not seem to show true remorse and often tried to shift the blame.

At one point the judge called some of Patel’s reasoning for her offending “nonsense”.

“Some of the commentary from the honourable judge clearly told us that there are so many holes he could see through,” Kaloti said.

Gray told the court worker exploitation had an effect not just on the victims, but on the broader labour market. He said deterrence and denouncement was important.

“If you can get away with paying a migrant worker less than the minimum wage, or nothing at all, you take away a job that a legitimate worker would be entitled to do, so it suppresses wages and has effects beyond the human drama.”

Patel was an Indian national who held New Zealand residency.

Katoli said migrants exploiting other migrants was concerning.

“Somebody who comes to a new country, their employer is from the same culture, same country, speaks the same language, trust is formed immediately,” she said.

“It is really really sad that the very employers who were once migrant workers themselves have taken to this offending.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Whangārei district councillors have voted unanimously to oppose plans for fast-tracked sand mining at Northland’s Bream Bay.

The proposal – which, if granted, could see 8 million cubic metres of sand removed over a 35-year period – could be lodged within days by Auckland company McCallum Brothers.

It was one of 149 projects listed in the government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill, allowing it to bypass the often laborious RMA process.

However, any move to dredge sand off Bream Bay is staunchly opposed by local residents, who say it could have long-term environmental effects and accelerate coastal erosion.

Those concerns were highlighted by the position statement passed by 13 votes to 0 at Thursday’s council meeting in Whangārei.

New councillor David Baldwin, who drafted the motion, said there was no certainty under fast-track rules that the council or local groups, such as the Bream Bay Guardians, would have a say.

He said the statement was a way of amplifying local voices, which were “overwhelmingly” opposed to sand mining, and making sure they were heard by the government and the consenting panel.

“This motion is our opportunity, as the community’s representatives, to draw a clear line in our sand. It’s a chance for us to declare that the health, wellbeing and economy of our district are paramount … We must not be taken for granted. This proposed large-scale offshore operation poses an existential threat to Bream Bay’s fragile ecosystems.”

Baldwin said the risks sand mining posed were “totally unnecessary”.

A report from consultant engineers BECA, commissioned by the Bream Bay Guardians, had found no shortage of sand for industry or construction, and plenty of land-based, replenishable or manufactured alternatives to marine sand.

He said the proposal offered no jobs or economic benefits to Bream Bay or Northland, even though regional benefit was a requirement of the fast-track law.

The public gallery was packed during Thursday morning’s meeting with Bream Bay residents, many holding banners declaring opposition to sand mining.

McCallum Brothers has been approached for comment.

A substantive resource consent application has yet to be lodged, but parties involved in the process expected that to happen before Christmas.

The proposal, as it currently stands, is to use a suction dredge to remove up to 150,000 cubic metres of sand a year for an initial three years and up to 250,000 cubic metres a year for the next 32 years.

In total more than 8 million cubic metres of sand would be removed from a 17 square kilometre area of seabed.

At its closest point the dredging area would be 4.2km from shore in about 20m of water.

A study would be carried out after the first three years to check for any environmental effects.

However, Bream Bay Guardians told Thursday’s meeting many effects would be long-term and not necessarily evident after three years.

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