Category: Radio New Zealand

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Little blue penguin’s special Christmas Eve release after two-month hospital stint

Source: Radio New Zealand

Pingu, the little blue penguin. Supplied / BirdCare Aotearoa

A kororā is set to be released back into the wild in Auckland on Wednesday afternoon after two months in hospital.

The little blue penguin was being cared for by BirdCare Aotearoa after getting stuck in a metal drum near Army Bay.

The penguin, called Pingu, had an injured beak, as well as injured toes which the penguins use to climb.

It was also severely dehydrated and underweight.

BirdCare fundraising manager Dr Rashi Parker told RNZ Pingu was in a sad state.

She said the hospital had been helping the bird recover.

“Her feathers had to get waterproof so that she can actually stay warm,” she said.

“She’s got quite a bit of blubber now so she can float, but we wanted to make sure that when her feathers get wet they repel water so she doesn’t lose too much heat.”

Now that Pingu had recovered, Parker said she was set for a very special Christmas Eve release.

She said little blue penguins came to shore when they moulted, or when they were going back and forth with their babies.

“This time is very critical for these kororā,” Parker said.

“Their populations are in decline so we need to do everything we can to protect their coastal habitat.”

Parker said people should keep predators like dogs away or on leash at beaches where the penguins could be found.

“Piha, Te Henga, Omaha, Big Manly, these are all spots where small populations of kororā penguins are still hanging out, just really hanging on and hoping to survive,” she said.

“They’re already struggling in terms of feeding, so let’s not make it any harder for them, so let’s protect those habitats by keeping our dogs, our predators away from those areas.”

She urged those who came across a little blue on holiday not to rush in.

“Be very, very quiet, and just watch the bird and see what’s happening,” Parker said.

“Sometimes they might just be sitting there, hanging out, because that’s what they do particularly over moulting season. If you’re concerned in any way, if there are dogs around, if it looks like a youngster who hasn’t had parents attend to it you’re most welcome to ring the [Department of Conservation] hotline.”

The hotline number is 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).

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Firefighting resumes at scrub blaze in Fernhill, Hastings

Source: Radio New Zealand

A firefighter extinguishing hotspots at the Fernhill fire on Tuesday. Supplied / FENZ

Fire crews are battling to control a scrub blaze that broke out near Hastings on Tuesday, leaving one person hospitalised and multiple buildings destroyed.

The fire in Fernhill – between the township and the Ngaruroro River bridge – also forced people living in and around the Farmhouse Lodge accommodation from their homes.

Fire and Emergency Assistant Commander Jason Hill said crews had been patrolling the fire overnight, and it was contained, but firefighting would resume on Wednesday morning.

“Crews will be looking to bring the fire to a point where it’s 100 percent controlled, so that means there is no chance of it burning outside of the containment lines, whether the wind picks up or not,” he said.

“We still have multiple pockets of fire burning within the perimeter.”

A fire investigator would also begin looking into the cause of the fire, said Hill.

He said two homes, multiple sheds and some machinery were completely destroyed.

When crews arrived, flames fanned by strong winds were running up the hill, threatening multiple buildings, Hill said.

Firefighting efforts were hampered by gusts of up to 90 km/h, which meant they could not call on helicopters, leaving ground crews to tackle it.

Dawson Bliss owns Farmhouse Lodge and the fire was burning on his property, he said.

A tenant alerted him to smoke billowing up the hill and when he went to investigate, it appeared an old bus was on fire on flat land near the Ngaruroro river.

“I rushed down there and got close to it and had extinguishers and so forth, but it was just too ablaze to try and get close enough,” he said.

Bliss did not know when he and his tenants would be able to return to the property.

On Tuesday he told RNZ he was feeling okay, but “later on it might be worse, when we take stock of the situation”.

Fire and Emergency said Civil Defence had helped evacuees to find a place to stay overnight.

Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum said it was distressing for those impacted by the fire – and it was a stark reminder of how dangerous the region’s hot, windy summers could be.

Schollum and Hill urged people to take fire bans seriously.

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NZTA orders data analysis to identify full scale of falsely recorded breath tests

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Transport Agency has commissioned an independent analysis to identify the full scale of falsely recorded breath testing. RNZ

The New Zealand Transport Agency has commissioned an independent analysis of breath testing data to try and identify the full scale of falsely recorded tests.

RNZ earlier revealed about 130 Police staff were under investigation throughout the country after 30,000 alcohol breath tests were “falsely or erroneously recorded”.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has since halted $6 million worth of funding to Police until it was satisfied Police had met their breath test targets.

RNZ has obtained a series of weekly reports to Transport Minister Chris Bishop on the issue under the Official Information Act.

One update, from 27 October, said NZTA had identified a preferred supplier to independently analyse the breath screening test data file provided by Police.

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

“This independent analysis will identify whether any further irregularities (over and above any detected by NZ Police) are discernible.”

The 30,000 breath tests related to an algorithm that determined if a second test took place within 90 seconds of the first, whilst the distance between the two indicated a speed of more than 20 km/h.

In an update to Bishop on 13 October, NZTA said Police could not determine if any irregular testing was undertaken while officers were stationary.

“NZTA is supporting and encouraging NZ Police to identify what, if any, options exist for removing these limitations, and to look beyond current detection methods to ascertain the true scale of irregularities.”

Acting Deputy Commissioner Mike Johnson earlier told NZTA that while the algorithm had “proven effective” in identifying tests conducted while the device was in motion, “there remains limitations in detecting all forms of irregular testing, including those undertaken in specific locations”.

In a statement to RNZ, Bishop reiterated the matter was “very concerning”, and said it was important that it was resolved.

“NZTA have kept me regularly updated as the work has progressed. Independent analysis is underway, and NZTA are working closely with Police. NZTA will have more to say early next year.”

Transport Minister Chris Bishop. RNZ/Mark Papalii

An NZTA spokesperson told RNZ on Tuesday that the independent analysis was under way and was expected to be completed early next year.

“NZTA has requested that Police provide assurance that delivery numbers for breath screening tests and the wider road policing activity measures for the 2024/25 financial year and Q1 of the 2025/26 financial year are correct.

“We are working with Police, and we expect to verify the final results in early 2026.”

Johnson earlier said in a statement that NZTA had notified Police that delivery-dependent road policing funding for the first quarter of the financial year had been paused, while Police’s investigation into irregularities in breath testing data was ongoing.

“Police is working closely with our NZTA partners to resolve this matter as quickly as possible. We acknowledge it is important the data being assessed is accurate and the activity being carried out is legitimate.

“We are confident that once the data is confirmed as accurate, the funding will be authorised.”

Police continued to deliver “very high levels of breath testing activity”, Johnson said.

“We will continue to have a high-visibility presence over the summer period.”

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Grieving through Christmas when tragedy strikes

Source: Radio New Zealand

Sandy Corbett found out she had cancer on Christmas Eve in 2020.​

Type of cancer? An incurable blood cancer called Myeloma, where about 60 percent of people survive five or more years with a stage two diagnosis.

She didn’t have much information on what her treatment journey might be (the haematologist, a doctor who specialises in blood, was away until mid-January, like the rest of the country). So Corbett and her husband decided to tell their six kids the news and push on with their Christmas tradition of a BBQ at their Marlborough Sounds bach.

Sandy Corbett was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer on Christmas Eve in 2020.

supplied

“You almost get like an out-of-body experience, and you’re watching yourself taking this information. It was quite surreal. It was very weird.”

The Corbetts and three of their kids spent a few weeks at the bach as they normally do.

“As the days went on, that’s sort of when [the grief] all sort of came out.”

The grief that follows a tragedy can make any situation unpredictable, and that includes Christmas. So what do you do when a time of happiness and getting together is foreshadowed by the death of a loved one, a job loss, a bad health report or some other tragedy?

“It is a time that sparks memories and thoughts of loved ones who are not there. And if it’s recent, that experience is going to be even more intense,” says Brad Hook, a resilience specialist from Resilience Institute Global.

“The evidence-based advice would be to say that first and foremost, there’s no right way to grieve. People adapt in different ways…”

Brad Hook, a resilience specialist from Resilience Institute Global.

supplied

Switching between grief and festivities

The dual process model is a methodology that views the grieving process as switching between two modes, says Hook.

“…there are these deep loss-oriented moments where we really just allow ourselves to feel the grief and remember that person [who died], but then to balance it, there are restoration-oriented moments where we actively try to re-engage with everyday life and reconnect with people and routines.

“So understanding that the back and forth is normal and is actually healthier than trying to stay in one mode all of the time.”

This model is about alternating between “attending to your grief and attending to life,” says Claire Laurenson, a grief counsellor based near Wellington.

Claire Laurenson, a grief counsellor based near Wellington.

supplied

Practically, at Christmas, Laurenson advises clients to have several different options for the day that suit the two modes. Give family and friends a heads up that your plans are loose depending upon how you feel on the day, she says. In other words, don’t lock yourself in by volunteering to provide a key meal element like the turkey or ham.

“I think having a plan or having an idea of what you want to do can help reduce some of the anxiety.”

What about the stages of grief?

You’ve probably heard of the stages of grief, a central philosophy on dealing with grief since 1969. Those stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

The dual process model can work with the stages of grief model, says Hook.

“[The stages of grief] is better seen as a metaphor than a map. It captures common emotions people may experience, but research shows grief adapts through flexible oscillation rather than predictable stages.”

Laurenson is more critical of the stages of grief model, pointing out that the original study looked only at those who received a terminal diagnosis and not a wide range of events like a significant death or loss. She found it too rigid while grieving her baby son, who died 40 years ago.

“[Grief] is very chaotic and has a power of its own,” she says.

Can you delay grief?

Some people might be able to delay their grieving until after Christmas, says Laurenson. However, it cannot be delayed indefinitely.

“… if you can decompartmentalise your grief in that way, then, you know, go for it.”

She once had a client, a stay-at-home dad, who was grieving the loss of a child. He still had to care for his family, including other children, so he set aside time in the evening to grieve that loss. It’s an example of the dual process model.

“That was a daily practice, not putting something on hold for a month.”

supplied

What if Christmas is the anniversary of a significant loss?

Each Christmas Eve, Corbett, who received the cancer diagnosis, doesn’t partake in any major ritual to remember the day her life changed (it inspired Corbett and her husband to sell their house and travel around New Zealand in a caravan for the last four years and counting). However, they at least acknowledge the anniversary with a conversation.

“It’s not a sombre thing, really… We sort of joke about it. What a day to find out about this sort of thing?”

Laurenson speaks from experience when she tells clients that the build-up to an anniversary of a loss is often worse than the day itself. The day no longer has a string after 40 years.

“For a while, there was just, you know, a sorrow that sat inside me, but I don’t even have that anymore.”

Families who experience a significant loss around the Christmas period might want to retire old traditions, especially if those traditions involved someone who is now deceased, says Laurenson.

“…if you’ve lost an important member of your family, then it’s never going to be the same again, and sometimes it’s looking at, well, you know, do you want to continue these old rituals? Do you want to introduce some new ones?

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The most popular stories you read on RNZ in 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ

What were the most popular stories of the year on RNZ? They included major breaking news events, but there was also a lot of talk about laundry.

RNZ is setting audience records regularly and is now the third most popular news site in New Zealand.

In November, our digital audience was up to 1.73 million – a new record for unique audience.

RNZ has come close to matching the audience for the New Zealand Herald – 1.92 million for November – and market leader Stuff (2.17m).

Media columnist Tim Murphy of Newsroom has called RNZ’s website “the media performance of the year” and noted it is the best performing news website this year for audience growth.

That’s thanks to all of you, and we’ll continue bringing you the latest headlines and features in 2026. Here are some of the stories that you read the most, and the ones that you spent the most time with on RNZ in 2025.

What you read the most

Our most read stories included some of the year’s biggest news events, including weather storms and the final fate of fugitive Tom Phillips. But it turns out you were also really interested in tips for your laundry routine, and anything about big Lotto winners.

Here’s a list of the top 10 most read stories on RNZ for 2025. Stories without bylines were written by general news staff or our content partners:

1. Live: Marokopa dad Tom Phillips killed in shootout with police (8 September)

2. Three laundry detergents no better than water – Consumer NZ (24 July)

3. Two large retailers preparing to lay off staff as sector far from optimistic by Nona Pelletier (9 September)

4. Weather live: Gales hit Wellington, South Island (23 October)

5. Australian Tradie dies after winning $22 million lotto in NZ and descending into drug underworld (10 June)

6. She’s won Lotto, so where is her money? by Susan Edmunds (13 November)

7. Tsunami activity after 8.8 quake near Russia (30 July)

8. Thousands of bank accounts closed, transferred to Inland Revenue by Susan Edmunds (21 October)

9. How to dry laundry without a dryer when it’s cold or wet outside (3 June)

10. Daylight saving: When it starts, why we have it and how to change the time on your phone (24 September)

What you read the longest

What’s the different between “page views” and “engagement time”? They’re quite different metrics – page views count the number of times a particular story was clicked on, but engagement time counts the length of time users are actively engaged with a story, scrolling, clicking and moving their mouse, et cetera.

Both are valuable metrics and news sites like to consider both in looking at how readers dig in to their content.

Some stories that perhaps didn’t get as many page views still led the field in engaged minutes for RNZ this year, including many essential reads from our In-Depth reporting team and others.

Here’s a look at some of those stories you spent the most engagement time with:

1. In death, Olivia Podmore is finally seen by a system that failed her by Dana Johannsen (24 April)

Just hours after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics ended, elite Kiwi cyclist Olivia Podmore was found dead in a suspected suicide at her Cambridge home. Six months of harrowing coronial hearings have revealed the disturbing truth about her treatment within New Zealand’s national cycling organisation. Sports correspondent Dana Johannsen followed every day of the inquest.

2. Teen was told the crippling stomach pain she suffered was in her head – it wasn’t by Venetia Sherson (8 July)

At the start of last year, 13-year-old Amelia Turner was busy. She had started secondary school, made new friends and enjoyed hanging out with them. Today, Amelia is fed through tubes. She is bed-ridden and one leg is immobile.

3. ‘Awful error’: Two-month-old dies following overdose after pharmacy allegedly gives medication at wrong dosage by Sam Sherwood (28 July)

A two-month-old baby died following an overdose after she was allegedly given medication at an adult dosage by a pharmacy, RNZ revealed. Her grieving parents called for a law change that would make it mandatory for medication to be checked by two people before it is dispensed.

4. ‘Questions about the Marokopa Children as Tom Phillips Killed’ by Kirsty Johnston (8 September)

5. Three laundry detergents no better than water – Consumer NZ (24 July)

6. How the Silver Ferns culture clash reached boiling point by Dana Johannsen (11 September)

The shock decision to stand down netball coach Noeline Taurua marked a dramatic turning point in a months-long dispute between team management and the playing group.

7. ‘Who decided Tom Phillips was safe enough to leave alone with his kids?’ by Kirsty Johnston (12 September)

8. Crippling stomach pain was not in her head – teen has surgery in Germany by Venetia Sherson (21 October)

Following up a popular story earlier in the year, we return to the mysterious case of ailing teenager Amelia Turner and how a surgery in Germany changed everything for her.

9. Mother died in crash after boat and trailer unit from oncoming car broke free by Sam Sherwood (12 August)

A mother driving home to Auckland with her three-year-old son in the back seat was killed when a boat and trailer unit broke free from an oncoming vehicle and slammed into their car. When emergency services arrived, the little boy – who suffered whiplash and bruises – told them his mother was dead and showed them where her phone was so they could contact his family.

10. How does Jenny-May Clarkson feel about leaving TVNZ? by RNZ Sunday Morning (21 November)

As Jenny-May Clarkson signed off from TVNZ, she looked back at the cost of those predawn years and the strength she felt from her late father as she prepared to step away.

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Expert questions whether New Zealand was only country involved in survey before Manawanui sank

Source: Radio New Zealand

UAS footage of RNZN Divers surveying the area around HMNZS Manawanui on the Southern Coast of Upulo as part of Op Resolution. New Zealand Defence Force

A Pacific security expert questions whether New Zealand should be the only country paying compensation for the sinking of the Manawanui.

The New Zealand navy vessel was surveying the south coast of Upolu when it hit the Tafitoala reef, set on fire and sank on 6 October last year.

Letters released by Winston Peters’ office under the Official Information Act show the Samoa government will not seek further compensation from New Zealand after receiving 10 million tala, about $6 million.

Senior lecturer and Pacific Security fellow at Victoria University’s Centre for Strategic Studies, Dr Iati Iati, wants to know whether any other country was involved in the reef survey.

“Given that the Manawanui sank exactly around the same time that CHOGM was going on, it drew a lot of attention to the Manawanui that perhaps they didn’t want to have drawn to it. It drew a lot of attention to the fact that there could be other actors involved other than New Zealand and Samoa.”

Iati said it probably served the interests of New Zealand to make questions over the Manawanui go away as quickly as possible.

The letters between Winston Peters and then Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa appeared to be a diplomatic way to end Samoa’s compensation claim for the sinking of the Manawanui last year, he said.

Iati questioned whether New Zealand put pressure on Samoa to accept the low payout.

“I’d be curious to know how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Samoa came to figure of 10 million tala. Were there studies done or did they just pluck it out of thin air?” he said.

“I think there’s probably an email trail that precedes this correspondence between Peters and Fiame and if there is an email trail it would be very interesting to see what it is, and how it related to the issue of why the Manawanui was there in the first place and how the 10 million tala figure was arrived at.”

Auckland University of Technology law professor Paul Myburgh said the letters showed the New Zealand government applied political pressure on the Samoa government “by saying that the Samoan government agrees that it will try to head off any future claims for compensation by satisfying them accordingly”.

Myburgh said the letters showed an agreement between the governments of New Zealand and Samoa and did not bind third party litigants.

New Zealand could evoke sovereign immunity regarding the Manawanui because it is a naval vessel and therefore could not be sued through the Samoan courts, he said.

“But because this is a New Zealand naval vessel and because the Commission of Inquiry has made it plain that the damage here was caused by the negligence of navy personnel, there is the possibility of bringing proceedings under the Crown Proceedings Act in the New Zealand courts against the New Zealand government,” Myburgh said.

“I would not have thought that this letter between the two governments precludes villagers from actually seeking legal advice and support in New Zealand and taking the claims further if they feel they have been short-changed.”

A spokesperson from New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said New Zealand paid the full amount requested by the government of Samoa.

“This payment demonstrates that we have resolved a number of the issues stemming from the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui, including removal of diesel fuel and other pollutants, as well as debris. We continue to work with Samoa on the next steps for the ship. We are awaiting the results of an independent wreck assessment, with reef and environmental studies that sit alongside this assessment, to inform those next steps.”

MFAT said the agreement between New Zealand and Samoa was a treaty under international law, and therefore its terms were legally binding on both countries.

“These obligations relate only to New Zealand and Samoa, so it would not be appropriate to speculate or comment regarding third parties.”

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JD Vance tries to have it both ways on Nick Fuentes and antisemitism

Source: Radio New Zealand

Analysis by Aaron Blake, CNN

US Vice President JD Vance. (File photo) AFP/JIM WATSON

Analysis – Vice President JD Vance has never looked more like the presumptive 2028 Republican presidential nominee.

We learned last week that perhaps his most formidable would-be foe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had said he would defer to Vance. Then the vice president landed a major endorsement from Turning Point USA – nearly three full years before Election Day 2028.

But Vance could inherit a conservative movement that is increasingly riven over antisemitism and conspiracy theories in its midst.

It’s the kind of problem that could benefit from a leader like Vance taking the reins and charting a new post-Donald Trump path.

But the Ohio Republican’s approach has been remarkably uncertain. He seems to want to pretend the problem doesn’t exist and hope it goes away – while giving plenty of winks and nods to the fringe.

Sunday was telling in this regard.

In an interview with UnHerd, Vance finally addressed Nick Fuentes, the White nationalist podcaster whose recent friendly interview with Tucker Carlson set off a tempest in the Republican Party.

Fuentes has called Vance a “race traitor” for marrying a woman of Indian descent, but Vance is also close to Carlson politically. Some Republicans have called for their side to more forcefully disown Fuentes and even Carlson, and it was a huge subplot at Turning Point USA’s gathering in Phoenix this weekend

“Let me be clear: anyone who attacks my wife, whether their name is Jen Psaki or Nick Fuentes, can eat s…,” Vance said in the UnHerd interview. “That’s my official policy as vice president of the United States.”

He added that “antisemitism and all forms of ethnic hatred have no place in the conservative movement.”

These are the kinds of comments that sound firm and tough. But they were hard to square with the reset of Vance’s rhetoric this weekend.

For one, the decision to lump Psaki – former President Joe Biden’s press secretary – in with Fuentes, a Holocaust denier, is a conspicuous one. What is the MS NOW host’s offense that is comparable to Fuentes calling Vance a “race traitor” and his wife, Usha, a “j…t,” a slur for Indian people? It’s apparently having suggested in October that Vance’s wife might need to be saved from him.

JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance. (File photo) JIM WATSON / AFP

Secondly, Vance went on in the interview to suggest Fuentes simply isn’t worth spending much time on.

“I think that Nick Fuentes, his influence within Donald Trump’s administration, and within a whole host of institutions on the right, is vastly overstated,” Vance said. “And frankly, it’s overstated by people who want to avoid having a foreign-policy conversation about America’s relationship with Israel.”

Just to underline: Fuentes didn’t just get an interview with Carlson. He’s also gotten an audience with Trump in recent years, and even GOP members of Congress have flirted with Fuentes’ movement.

And perhaps most notably, Vance spent the rest of Sunday making a very different argument than the ones in the UnHerd interview.

He used his speech at Turning Point USA – by far his biggest platform of the weekend – to argue that the party shouldn’t do much of anything to police the people in its midst.

Indeed, it was the first substantive point he made in the speech. After days of fighting between the likes of Carlson and Steve Bannon on one side and Vivek Ramaswamy and Ben Shapiro on the other, Vance seemed to land firmly on Carlson’s side.

“President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless self-defeating purity tests,” Vance said. “He says, ‘Make America great again because every American is invited.'”

Vance said that he didn’t “bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform.” He added that “we have far more important work to do than canceling each other.”

His speech went on to serve up a number of lines about identity that seemed tailormade for the extremes of the party.

He called the city of Minneapolis “Mogadishu” – the capital of Somali and a reference to the number of Somali immigrants there. He said of Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Black Democrat from Texas: “Her street girl persona is about as real as her nails.” Shortly thereafter, he made a reference to “Soros DAs” – a reference to prominent Jewish Democratic donor George Soros, who often figures prominently in antisemitic tropes.

So to recap Vance’s message: antisemitism doesn’t have a place in the GOP, but the party also shouldn’t have purity tests or cancel people. And there’s no place in the party for any “forms of ethnic hatred,” but also have you seen how overrun Minneapolis is with Somalis? (Vance also last year baselessly accused Haitian immigrants in Ohio of stealing and eating people’s pets.)

Vance seems to be gambling that this whole internal feud will go away eventually, and that he can get through it without totally alienating anyone.

But that’s certainly a gamble.

It’s been a very long time since we’ve seen a GOP dispute that has divided conservatives against each other in such an animated way.

And it’s not like this is a media construct. We’ve seen a number of examples of prominent conservatives, especially young ones, saying racist and antisemitic things in recent months.

One of the most prominent podcasters on the right, Candace Owens, is saying increasingly provocative things about Jews and Israel, including as regards former Turning Point head Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

This trend has been elevated as an urgent concern by lots of prominent Republicans and conservatives like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and, more recently, Ramaswamy. We continue to see fallout to this day at the Heritage Foundation over that organization initially siding with Carlson on the Fuentes interview.

Perhaps some Republicans sense a political opportunity here. The Washington Post reported Monday that Cruz is eyeing a potential run in 2028 that would pit himself against the Vance and Carlson wing of the party.

Still, prominent conservatives have painted antisemitism as a real, growing and urgent issue in the GOP base and seem to genuinely fear where their party is headed.

Vance continues to argue much the opposite. He told NBC News earlier this month that the GOP was “absolutely not” more antisemitic than it had been 10-15 years ago.

“When I talk to young conservatives, I don’t see some simmering antisemitism that’s exploding,” he said.

If he’s right and this is oversold as a problem, perhaps he can emerge from this dispute without having gotten his nose dirty. But antisemitism within the base could be a pretty stubborn problem best dealt with outside of the context of a presidential primary process.

For now, Vance doesn’t seem willing to spend his political capital.

– CNN

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Person hit by car in Lower Hutt, road closed

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police said it appeared someone had been serious injuries. (File photo) Supplied / St John

A serious crash involving a pedestrian has shut a road in Moera, Lower Hutt.

Emergency services were called to the crash on Randwick Rd, where a person had been hit by a car, shortly after 4pm on Tuesday.

Police said it appeared the person had been seriously injured.

Motorists should avoid the area and expect delays while the Serious Crash Unit investigates, police said.

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Dog owners asked to keep away from nesting sites used by NZ’s rarest bird

Source: Radio New Zealand

A tara iti and chick at Waipū. Supplied / Darren Markin

The Department of Conservation is pleading with dog owners not to let their pets roam in nesting sites used by New Zealand’s rarest bird – the tara iti or fairy tern.

The plea comes after a series of incidents apparently involving dogs brought to shore by boaties, then left to run freely in a fenced-off area of beach at Mangawhai.

Only about 40 adult tara iti survive in the wild, and of those just 10 are breeding females.

DoC tara iti supervisor Kallan Mehrtens said the latest incident occurred on Sunday evening.

“Someone landed on the beach and allowed their dog to roam unattended, and it entered the shell patch under our fences and ran around near four of the tara iti nests where we have brand-new eggs on the ground,” he said.

“This kind of disturbance can cause our birds to abandon their nests. It seems to be getting more of an issue.”

The tara iti, or fairy tern, is New Zealand’s rarest bird with only about 40 left in the wild. Supplied / Darren Markin

Mehrtens said rangers were on site during the day to keep an eye on the protected area, but the offending was taking place in the evening.

When rangers followed the dog tracks they led back to the water’s edge and common landing sites for boats.

It seemed boaties, sea kayakers or even paddleboarders with dogs aboard were allowing their pets to run around on the beach and dunes, possibly to chase rabbits.

Mehrtens said only about 40 tara iti survived in the wild, so one careless dog owner could cause a huge setback to efforts by DoC, Auckland Zoo and local volunteers to help the species recover.

Tara iti made their nests in shelly parts of the beach along the east coast between Waipū and Pakiri, digging out shallow nests in the sand called “scrapes”.

Mangawhai was a critical nesting area for the birds and also where DoC had a nursery preparing tara iti fledglings for the wild.

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

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Human rights lawyer lodges Ombudsman complaint over asbestos sand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Her complaint centred on the decision not to recall and ban the importation sale of all coloured sand. Supplied

A law advisor in human rights has lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman asking for an urgent investigation into the response to asbestos-contaminated play sand.

Sophie Bradwell-Pollak said there had been multiple failures which amounted to a human rights issue.

“Obviously there were initially products that were put on the recall list but as the weeks have gone on from November, more and more products have gone on the recall list.

“So I’m really starting to see a pattern that this is really widespread,” she told RNZ.

“And actually, we’re not taking a proactive enough approach given how problematic this is.

“This is in children’s products and it’s in sand that, you know, children were using to celebrate Diwali,” she said.

Bradwell-Pollak first complained to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on 4 December but had not had a substantial response.

She said she believed that lack of response meant it should proceed to the Ombudsman.

“The personal side of it is my son’s daycare has used the sand for Diwali and they took the initiative, even though the products that they used were not on the recall list, they took the initiative to get private testing, which was great,” she said.

“And actually, they tested three different batches, three different products, used at three different daycare centres within Auckland purchased in different places and they all came back with traces of asbestos.

“They’re still not on the recall list kind of three weeks later, and that for me is absolutely shocking,” Bradwell-Pollak said.

“I think that the fact that we haven’t just done a ban, recall, ban of sale and ban of import until we know there’s no contamination is absurd.”

Her complaint centred on the decision not to recall and ban the importation sale of all coloured sand.

It also focused on what she said was a lack of timely action and lack of a cohesive and robust approaching to mitigating potential harm.

“When it comes to children especially, there’s something called the precautionary principle,” she said.

“They should have taken the initiative to – in my eyes, and I think from a human rights perspective, if we look at the obligations to children especially, but also around health – they should have banned and recalled all the products until we know it’s safe.”

Another issue was the “passing the buck” of how the contamination has been dealt with, Bradwell-Pollak said.

“I think this is raising equity issues but even if we put all that aside, if the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and MBIE have been alerted and being given information that a product is contaminated, the fact that it’s still available in stores right now and it’s not on the recall list, I think is incredibly problematic,” she said.

“So I think that actually there’s kind of a layering of different places of failure here, but I think that actually the actions are just not swift enough.”

She said there had been nothing done to try to understand the exposure levels to children or keep records of who was exposed.

“The reality is we have a country that cares a lot about our border safety, we care a lot about our flora and fauna, we were very decisive when it came to action to close our borders for Covid-19 so the fact that we’re not doing enough to protect not only children, their families, their pets and the workers that are handling this and the ECE workers and the teachers is a huge failing all round, I would say.”

The government has a key obligation to protect the right to health and children’s rights, she said.

MBIE responds

MBIE told RNZ its response to Bradwell-Pollak was still being drafted.

“We apologise for any delay,” it said in a statement.

Its consumer protection spokesperson Ian Caplin said the ministry understood the potential presence of asbestos was concerning for parents and caregivers.

“The role of Consumer Protection, which is a business unit of the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment as the coordinator of the government response has been to work with WorkSafe, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora, and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission,” he said.

“All businesses and individuals that make or sell products including retailers, online sellers, and manufacturers are responsible for product safety. Even products without specific mandatory standards still need to be safe for use and meet expectations under the Fair Trading Act 1986.”

The health, safety and wellbeing of New Zealand families was MBIE’s highest priority, Caplin said.

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