Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Three people have been arrested in Christchurch after allegations of selling cannabis illegally while having a license to cultivate it for medical use.

Police have alleged the trio were working as part of an organised crime group in the area for about five years.

They believed the group were illegally disturbing cannabis in Canterbury under the guise of a medical cannabis license which allowed them cultivated cannabis legally.

One person was arrested during a search warrant on Wednesday and was taken into custody while two others were arrested during prior search warrants throughout this month.

Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Brad Grainger said the medicinal cannabis licensing system existed to support patients who required cannabis-based products for health reasons.

“The alleged actions of these individuals undermines the public trust in that system, and exploits a framework designed to help vulnerable people.”

A 26-year-old man appeared in Christchurch District Court on Wednesday, while a 35-year-old man was due in the same court on December 18.

Both faced charges related to selling cannabis and participation in an organised criminal group.

A 46-year-old man was due to appear in Christchurch District Court on December 2, charged with failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.

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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 man has died after being pulled from the water at a Mount Maunganui beach.

Emergency services were called to the beach at 6.10pm to reports that a man had been pulled from the sea unconscious.

Police said despite efforts to deliver CPR, the man died at the scene.

The death was expected to be referred to the Coroner.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A native freshwater fish thought to be lost from Auckland’s wetlands has resurfaced after more than a decade of searching.

Populations of the endangered Waikaka, or black mudfish, have been relocated in a small corner of Helensville in the last couple of months.

Auckland Council’s senior regional fresh water advisor, Matt Bloxham said the finds of the small eel-like critters in October were surprising.

“We’ve been looking since 2014, spreading the net as it were to other areas… mudfish have really specific requirements in terms of habitat so not every wetland is going to hold habitat useful to mudfish but finding them has proven harder than than we expected.

“It was this year that we found two new populations so it’s been quite an amazing year for us.”

He said the latest finds were located in a small body of water of only a few metres, the space likely created by roaming deer.

Bloxham said there’s a number of pressure points that have strained black mudfish numbers like introduced flora and pest fish, but the greatest threat is the loss of about 90 percent of our wetlands.

“Unfortunately you know, they are wholly reliant on on their habitat remaining good in order to make a living.

“Wetlands are slowly becoming modified by nutrients and sediment and the encroachment of the smothering vegetation.”

Black mudfish populations have been reduced to pockets in between Waikato and Northland, he said.

The precarious nature of their existence is such, that Bloxham said the small strip of water they were found just weeks ago had now mostly evaporated.

Auckland Zoo ectotherm keeper, Julie Underwood said the native fish would’ve since secreted themselves into the mud, lying dormant.

“They have abilities like surviving out of water so they don’t have scales they have leathery skin with a mucus layer and they can actually absorb oxygen through that as long as they’re damp.

“So when the wetland dries out they can hunker into the mud and kind of survive that dry period when all the other fish have to leave the area so it’s a good survival technique.”

Underwood had been part of Auckland Zoo’s breeding programme which started in 2015 after black mudfish (Neochanna diversus) were brought to them from mana whenua in Hikurangi, Northland.

The zoo had been working in collaboration with local iwi and a collective of hapū kaitiaki from the North Island, Ngā Kaitiaki o Ngā Wai Māori.

She said the work had been a success.

“So we’re 350 fish later and we’ve run out of room so we’ve actually stopped active breeding and now we’re just sort of gearing up and looking for places to release them back to the wild.

“The idea was to basically create tiny wetlands a really naturalistic habitat step back and try and let the fish do their thing and then we more step in with looking after the eggs and raising the fry so that’s the trickier bit.

“For us luckily if we put the fish in together we generally get eggs but it’s kind of following that through and raising those fry to adulthood that’s a little bit more technical.”

Underwood said it was a good example of what could be done for conservation without needing to spend a whole lot of money or use a lot of technical equipment.

Auckland Zoo ectotherm team leader, Don McFarlane said the next step was now the greatest challenge, finding these native fish a suitable home away from pests and human influence.

He said partners like Ngā Kaitiaki o Ngā Wai Māori had been learning how to care for the fish at Auckland Zoo, with the aim to re-release the zoo’s Waikaka back to where they came from.

“What we’re looking for is, first and foremost, is the hapu from Hikurangi, Ngā Kaitiaki o Ngā Wai Māori, choose that site and that it’s a site that is in their rohe and a site that they can protect and have guardianship over.

“Because the site needs to be protected, but not just a few months or a few years, but in perpetuity. That’s quite an ask.

“We are struggling with council and our hapū friends in Hikurangi to find a suitable place to put them.

“And that tells you everything about the state of the wetlands in New Zealand. We’re a little bit restricted further because we want them to go back from whence they came.”

McFarlane said New Zealand’s wetlands were diminishing despite their importance ecologically.

“Where on earth do we find a pristine wetland that we can protect, that has oversight long term to protect? It’s less than 10 percent of wetlands left. In that is the answer to our problem. We’ve got to protect what’s left, basically and that’s with government.”

“We may have to consider, like many other international conservation organisations are starting to look at, sites that are still protected that are actually not from where the animal originally came from, simply because you have no choice.”

“They can’t live in zoo situations or captive situations forever.”

He said one of the greatest tragedies in the story of New Zealand’s black mudfish, is the fact they were once one of our most abundant fish.

“They were a source of food for Māori once, so there’s a cultural heritage loss here as well, which is undervalued and underappreciated.”

“There’s deep cultural associations with this fish for many Māori, many Iwi, and it’s disappearing. How do you value these things? It is very difficult. Uniqueness is important, I think it’s fair to say, and it is fast disappearing.”

“The world is becoming a very bland place when diversity is lost, and the thing is they are the canary in the mine for the habitats in which they’re associated.”

The discoveries were fantastic, McFarlane said, but it was a reminder of the habitats they were reduced to existing in.

“We must do what we can to take action to save what’s left,” he said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

There will not be a risk of health data being misused as a result of a new AI navigation tool, says the mental health minister.

Telehealth provider Whakarongorau Aotearoa will develop the tool, which people would be able to access after they put in information about the issues they were facing.

It would help navigate users to health support in their area, and in some cases allow them to book directly.

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey told Checkpoint the project will be approved by Health New Zealand’s AI governance group to insure there was no misuse of information.

“Most messages are signed off and it’s important that you get access to those services, so there won’t be any risk of that going open source with AI.”

Doocey said the tool would be very effective.

“Quite often when I talk to people they’re not aware of the available services at either at their GP or Health New Zealand provided community services.

“So I think it is going to be a real game changer in providing faster and real time access to that support.”

He said people should only put information they feel comfortable putting into the page.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Marine researchers in Auckland have discovered what is making up the majority of microplastics in New Zealand’s ocean.

They found tiny pieces of vehicle tyres were polluting coastal waters and almost half of the rubber that shed on our roads ended up on the environment.

The tyres contributing most to the problem were found on both EVs and Utes.

Dr Samantha Ladewig, a marine microsplastics researcher at the University of Auckland, told Checkpoint, the size of the particles could get down to nano size and could not be seen with a microscope, while larger fragments could be as big as one to two millimetres.

Ladewig said there were very few stormwater treatment devices that were able to capture such tiny particles which would go directly from our roads through a stormwater pipe and into the coast.

“Over time you may realise your tyre tread reduces in size and that material goes onto the roadways and half of it ends up staying there and the other half goes into our environment.”

Ladewig said this amounted to about 5000 tonnes going into the environment every year.

She said the study looked at a few bays in Auckland including Coxs and Saint Marys Bay.

“We tried to sample areas that were right next to the road or by a motorway, and I can confirm we saw them [tyre particles], in every single spot in both the roadside sediment and the coastal sediment.”

The research lab was exploring what that would mean for marine life and found the particles were being picked up and eaten.

“Even our selective feeders are eating them too… these particles and the chemicals attached to them can change the way our ecosystems work and support us.”

Ladewig said there were a range of solutions to look at and noted it was an issue worldwide.

“Other places around the world are starting to think about this too… It’s thinking about the design of these tyres and looking at stormwater treatment devices that can filter out these fine materials.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Waikato police say a person has died after two trucks collided on State Highway 2 near Maramarua.

Emergency services were called to the crash shortly before midday.

Police say one other person was treated for minor injuries.

State Highway 2 remains closed between Monument Road and Heaven Road with diversions in place.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

More than $26,000 has been raised so far for the family of a Wānaka-based mountain guide who died on Aoraki Mt Cook.

Wānaka’s Thomas Vialletet and a United States client were in a party of four, roped together in pairs, climbing from Empress Hut to the summit when the two fell from the mountain’s west ridge on Monday night.

The other two climbers – a New Zealand guide and their client – were flown from the mountain early on Tuesday morning, while the bodies of Vialletet and his client were recovered at midday.

Vialletet, a married father-of-two, co-owned mountain and ski guide company Summit Explorers.

A family friend set up a Givealittle page for Vialletet’s family with $26,230 donated by 5.30pm Wednesday.

“Thomas was the core provider for his family and their financial security was dependent on the income generated by their small guiding business. His sudden loss means Danielle and the children face the immediate challenge of losing their main source of income, compounding their immense grief,” the page said.

“Through his guidance, kindness, and professionalism, Thomas profoundly touched the lives of countless clients, mentees, and friends. His expertise and passion for the mountains earned him deep respect across the entire guiding and climbing community. His absence will be hugely missed by all who knew him.”

Vialletet grew up in the French Alps where he had been climbing, skiing and exploring mountains for over two decades, according to the Summit Explorers website.

“His quest for mountain adventures brought him to New Zealand and he immediately fell in love with the wilderness of this country,” Vialletet’s biography said.

Vialletet was a climbing instructor before becoming a fully-certified International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations mountain and ski guide.

From 2009 and 2012, he was part of the French National Young Alpinism Team.

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