Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

An instructor on a fatal Whangārei Boys’ High caving trip has described how the group faced a stark, life-or-death choice as a flash flood swept through the cave – stay put on top of a rockfall, or try to swim to the exit.

The man, whose name is suppressed, told a Coroner’s inquest in Whangārei on Tuesday there was no discussion of which option to take.

As the “tail-end Charlie” at the rear of the group, he had no choice but to follow the trip leader and the boys, who had already entered the water and were being swept rapidly downstream.

Under cross examination, however, the man said he agreed with the decision.

That was because there was no way of knowing how high the flood would rise, and whether even the highest point would stay above water.

The man, who was highly experienced in outdoor education but not qualified in caving, told the court he had helped guide another school group through the same cave the previous day.

On that day the water at the entrance to the cave was marginally deeper and murkier than usual.

The following day the water was slightly deeper still, but not enough to make him concerned.

He had asked the organisers whether the trip was still going ahead, given the orange heavy rain warning in place for Northland.

They told him they had shortened the trip and limited it to one cave, which they believed at that time did not flood, instead of the usual three.

The man checked the rain radar for himself and saw a heavy rain band over Kaitāia that was moving only slowly south.

He had seen a similar rain band the week before that had brought no rain to Whangārei.

The man said the group explored the cave’s upper chamber and observed glow-worms before noticing more water than usual in one of the passages.

One of the men – he could not remember who – said “we’d better get out of here”.

When they returned to the rockfall, where the upper and lower passages met, he was surprised to see how much the water had risen.

The water level had gone up so much he was struggling to recognise where they were.

At that point their only options were to enter the water and swim to the exit, or stay on top of the rockfall and wait for the water to recede.

However, the trip leader had already entered the water and was being swept downstream towards the exit, followed by the boys, so he followed.

He was asked by one of the lawyers why he believed that was the right decision, even though there was no discussion – not at the time, and not beforehand via an emergency plan.

“I thought there was too much uncertainty regarding whether the remainder of the cave, even the high points, would actually remain safe and dry,” he said.

Once he entered the water, he found it was deeper and faster than he expected.

It was mostly over head-height and turbulent in places, pulling the boys under and leaving them scrambling for space and air.

As he came around the final corner before the exit he heard boys shouting frantically and saw what he recognised as a sieve, where the water was being forced through small gaps in the rocks.

The force of the water pouring through the sieve was sucking boys under and pulling them towards the right-hand side of the cave mouth, where it was impossible to get out.

By chimneying, or placing his hands and feet against the cave walls, he was able to make his way towards the exit, where the trip leader had braced himself against the flow and was lifting boys out of the water.

He said the trip leader had saved several lives that day.

The man said until that day he did not know Karnin Petera, the 15-year-old who died, but had since felt a deep connection with him.

Addressing Karnin and his whānau, he said: “He often reminds me to appreciate this life and do important things … I hold all my kids tighter now, and I thank you Karnin for that.”

He urged the young men who were in the cave to talk about the tragedy, often, with those they trusted.

He said he had never received an apology from Whangārei Boys’ High School, or been asked for his views about the changes needed in outdoor education.

The inquest, before Coroner Alexander Ho, is expected to continue for at least two more days.

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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 Gloriavale man has been sentenced to 10 months’ home detention for assaulting four boys he was supposed to be supervising with weapons including pipes and sticks.

Vigilant Standtrue, 43, was convicted of seven assault charges, some of which were representative, at the Greymouth District Court in January.

Standtrue assaulted the boys with weapons including an axe handle, pitchfork handle, plastic pipe and stick while he was supervising their work in a swamp picking moss and in a drying shed at the West Coast Christian community.

Judge Tony Zohrab said Standtrue was the boys’ teacher and supervisor at the time, but he lacked maturity at the age of 18 when he started in the roles.

“You were under pressure when managing the work in the swamp and the moss shed, you were quick to rise to anger and on occasions you used weapon on what were young boys at the time to react to the pressure you were under,” he said.

Boaz Benjamin, who is now 29, was one of the boys assaulted by Standtrue.

In a victim impact statement, Benjamin told the court that even though the physical abuse happened many years ago and he was now married with four children, the mental strain growing up was hard to quantify.

“I found it hard to relate and trust older people especially those in authority,” he said.

Benjamin said the abuse made him into a hard and emotionless person because it was the only way he could mentally protect himself.

“Even now at times when I am with my kids I have flashbacks to when I was younger and it scares me how I was treated then. I try so hard not to be like that with my kids,” he said.

Benjamin said the abuse made him angry and sad that his childhood was full of nightmares he could not wake up from, rather than a happy one.

“One thing that helped me through the abuse was thinking was one day I will be bigger than him and he won’t be able to do it any more,” he said.

In sentencing on Tuesday, judge Zohrab took Standtrue’s 2022 conviction for a lower-level assault on a Gloriavale child into consideration.

On that occasion Standtrue was sentenced to supervision and had counselling that gave him tools to be able to react positively, he said.

Judge Zohrab said he also considered a submission from Standtrue’s wife, who emphasised his important contribution to their home life and care of their nine children.

In addition to his sentence of home detention, Standtrue was told to do any counselling or treatment deemed necessary.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Canterbury’s Waimakariri District Council will examine alternative routes for trucks taking gravel from the Waimakariri River, after Clarkville locals expressed concern about someone being hurt or killed.

Residents told RNZ gravel trucks had been pounding their narrow roads since the end of last year while 90,000 cubic metres of gravel was extracted in preparation for the new $1 billion Woodend Bypass motorway.

About 20 people blockaded a Clarkville road on Monday morning to protest against the trucks, saying rocks had fallen off and smashed windscreens and dented cars.

Locals were also worried about other applications on hold with the regional council to extract a further 900,000 cubic metres from the river.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the district council agreed to create a reference group that would include residents, the regional council, Transport Agency and contractors to investigate whether there were better options for gravel haulage in future.

The Woodend Bypass extraction project, which was set to run until September, would carry on as planned.

Over summer contractors took 10,000 cubic metres of gravel from the river, with a further 80,000 left to extract.

Baynons Road resident Sarah Manning said that would mean more than 200 truck movements per day in the area.

“This is a truck and trailer every three minutes, all day 7am to 5pm, past our homes, through the horse park through Silverstream Reserve. Our lived experience of the trucks both pre- and post-Christmas was frankly hell. The trucks were incessant, we’re determined not to experience that again,” she said.

Local Leonie Ward said people were worried about someone being seriously hurt or killed after some close calls.

“My partner in fact had a rock come through his windscreen. It was about the size of one-and-a-half golf balls and what happens was the rock fell off the truck and bounced off the truck and hit his windscreen. He said if he had been on a bike or walking that would’ve killed him,” she said.

The reference group aimed to report back to the council by September on gravel haulage options.

District council senior engineering advisor Don Young said any new plan might not be able to be implemented until the 2027/28 financial year.

Resident Juliet Edwards said that meant more years of grief for people in Clarkville.

“We’re really disappointed that works aren’t stopping, especially when we know they’re going to go on for such a long time. We do believe the council can stop it, we do believe we’re in a rural lifestyle zone and they are wanting industrial traffic on our rural lifestyle roads which is actually illegal,” she said.

Edwards hoped all further gravel extraction consents could be paused until a solution was found, otherwise protests would continue.

“We have heard the trucks will be in full force tomorrow so we will be there,” she said.

Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon said he understood that Woodend Bypass work had taken a toll on residents and the council was working hard on their behalf.

Mitigation measures had been introduced including a maximum speed of 40km/h for all trucks, operations limited to weekdays, watering of unsealed roads to control dust and trucks avoiding Haywards Road past the school, he said.

“I want us to be looking at the broader solution. There is a significant volume of aggregate in the Waimakariri River that needs to be moved in addition the 80,000 cubic metres, potentially up to a million cubic metres, so it makes sense to ask whether there is a more permanent and sustainable approach. As far as I’m concerned, everything is on the table,” he said.

“An early task for the reference group will be to clearly understand what the real constraints are, if any, and to be mindful of those as we explore options. It’s also very important to me that residents are represented in that conversation.”

Gordon said the Woodend Bypass was a critical project for the district and one the council had been advocating for over many years.

“We strongly support that project, and at the same time, the removal of this gravel also plays an important role in flood mitigation. Both of those outcomes matter and we need to consider how we achieve them in the best possible way.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A person has been take to hospital in a serious condition after a large ambulance call-out in Auckland.

Four ambulances and a rapid response unit were deployed to Swanson Road in Rānui just before midday.

Crews treated two patients – one was taken to Auckland Hospital in the serious condition, and the other to North Shore Hospital in a moderate condition.

Around 1.30pm, a number of sirens could be heard again in the area – lasting more than five minutes.

A nearby primary school, Rānui Primary, posted on its Facebook page at 2.20pm about the incident.

“There was an incident at Rānui Medical Centre today,” the post said.

“It is SAFE now but the road has been blocked and there will be traffic.”

It said staff from Rānui Action Project would be at the corner of the school to guide students.

“If you would like to pick your children up please ring office and arrange for them to stay in the office until you come.”

Police have been approached for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Two more police staff’s internet usage is being “assessed” for potential misuse, RNZ can reveal.

A rapid review of staff internet usage was sparked by the resignation of former deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming after child sexual exploitation and bestiality material were found on his work devices.

RNZ recently revealed a senior police staffer’s internet usage was “under assessment” following an audit of senior staff and leaders.

On Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers told RNZ in a statement two new cases of potential misuse were currently being assessed.

“In total, police have now investigated 22 cases following audits of internet use.

“To date, 12 have been resolved through disciplinary action or performance management. Four staff have resigned through the process.”

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

Three staff remain under investigation for potentially objectionable and inappropriate searches. Three staff have been stood down.

No charges have been filed to date.

RNZ earlier revealed that the police’s executive leadership team (ELT) had agreed to look at internet usage for staff in senior leadership positions over a 12-month period.

RNZ earlier obtained a series of emails in relation to the audit of senior leaders under the OIA.

This includes an email from Police Commissioner Richard Chambers to senior leaders on 1 December last year.

In the email, Chambers said the ELT had agreed to additional internet usage checks over all existing staff in senior leadership positions.

“This will include myself as Commissioner, Assistant Commissioners, Executive Directors, District Commanders, Directors, and the leadership of the Firearms Safety Authority and Next Generational Critical Comms (NGCC).

“These audits will check staff internet usage and search histories on police devices for the past 12 months.”

Those who were in contention to be Deputy Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners had already undergone an “extensive audit” as part of the selection process, Chambers said.

Police chief of staff Cassandra Anderson earlier told RNZ the audit of senior staff and leaders had concluded.

“There were no concerns about the usage of the executive leadership team, the senior leadership team, and District Commanders.”

However, two “matters of potential concern” were identified among the “wider cohort of senior staff who were included in the audit”.

“One matter relating to potential misuse is under assessment.

“The other was a minor issue which was investigated and has been resolved.”

No other usage of concern was identified across senior staff, Anderson said.

“Ongoing regular checks of all staff device use, including leaders, will continue and have been implemented as part of NZ Police’s routine practice.”

Checks on staff seeking promotion to the ranks of Superintendent or above would also be conducted, in line with the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s recommendation.

“The Commissioner is confident the tighter controls implemented after the Rapid Review and the use of alerting and regular auditing has greatly strengthened our ability to quickly detect instances of inappropriate content and misuse of police devices.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Police say an 11-year-old Hamilton boy who had been missing since last Wednesday has been found safe and well.

The boy was last seen in Glenview on 29 April but police say he has now been located.

Earlier police had said that they and his family were concerned for his wellbeing.

Police thanked all those who provided information which helped to locate the boy.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The ACT party is proposing to ease pressure on GPs by getting pharmacists to treat more everyday conditions, have them manage long-term medication and conduct skin checks.

ACT leader David Seymour announced the party policy at the Northern Club in Auckland on Tuesday.

Seymour was speaking at a Health Innovators’ Summit hosted by health insurer nib and supported by the New Zealand Initiative.

Calling himself the “medicine guy”, Seymour also briefly outlined some of the focus he’s had as Pharmac minister.

He then discussed what he called a tangible step toward making better use of the talent in healthcare.

As announced in April Seymour said from June this year pharmacists can treat things like head lice, scabies, and oral rehydration.

Seymour wanted this extended to chest infections, ear infections, skin infections and acute pain.

He said if a pharmacist can treat the condition directly, the patient gets a good result, and it saves a number of appointments in another part of the system.

He indicated some patients would still need a GP and some symptoms would still need urgent medical attention, but that was “exactly how triage works”.

The second part of the party proposal was managing long-term medication.

Seymour said for many people their main interaction with the health system was ongoing management for a condition. He said they might know their medication is working and “simply need it renewed”, or they need a blood test to check the dose is right.

“But instead of a quick, practical interaction with a trained health professional, they are sent back into the GP queue.”

He said ACT would allow pharmacists to manage that for appropriate patients, including ordering blood tests where needed, while GPs would retain the overall clinical visibility and responsibility.

“Results would be integrated into the shared health record. Pharmacists would manage routine monitoring and identify when a patient needs to be referred back to their GP.”

Not all patients would be suitable, but a large number of stable patients could have “routine medication reviews” managed more conveniently through their local pharmacy he said.

The last proposal was to allow accredited pharmacies to provide skin lesion triage and monitoring.

Under this proposal, the pharmacist would use a dermatoscope and an approved AI risk-assessment tool to assess a lesion, Seymour explained.

He said it wouldn’t be a diagnosis, but a “triage” in which there would be two possible outcomes.

“If the lesion is above the risk threshold, the patient would be referred to a GP or specialist,” he said. The dermoscopic image would be attached, meaning the next clinician receives useful information “rather than starting from scratch.”

“If the lesion is below the risk threshold, the image would be securely stored, and the patient would be scheduled for longitudinal recall,” he said.

They would then receive a reminder to come back and get another check.

Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Seymour was asked if this would just transfer the pressure from GPs to pharmacies. He said pharmacies don’t have to take on the extra work but the experience currently was that people can see their pharmacist quicker for a vaccination then they can see their GP.

Seymour said they hadn’t done “mathematical modelling” to give an absolute indication of how much sooner people might be able to see their GPs due to the policy, “but the things we know for sure is that it’s going to be more affordable, more efficient and faster than cramming everyone into a GP for minor ailments.

“How big that benefit is? We can’t say right now, but we believe there is a benefit, and that’s a good reason to do it.”

Asked about Labour’s policy to deliver three free GP visits for people, Seymour said it was a “soundbite policy for political reasons rather than an actual sensible approach to healthcare economics.”

He said Labour’s policy would see more people seeing a GP when their problem could have been solved another way, but the party wasn’t providing the additional money or training additional doctors to serve it.

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