Category: Radio New Zealand

Posted on

Extreme heat from climate change increasing risk of stroke – and death

Source: Radio New Zealand

Bridge Hill scrub fire on 6 December 2024. Supplied/ FENZ

More people will suffer strokes if climate change continues to progress as its current rate, a neurologist says.

Last week, the World Health Organisation warned climate change was posing an “escalating threat” to brain health with extreme heat increasing the risk of people suffering a stroke – and dying from it.

The latest research was published in the International Journal of Stroke. Professor Anna Ranta, who works in the Department of Medicine at Wellington’s University of Otago and is also a member of the World Stroke Organisation’s board of directors, was one of its lead authors.

Ranta told Nine to Noon on Tuesday the risk comes from factors like extreme temperature, humidity, wildfires, and sandstorms.

While there is a known link between air pollution and strokes – with 20 percent of strokes globally linked to it – the authors wanted to see what environmental changes were likely to do to the risk of stroke as they evolve with climate change.

Professor Anna Ranta. Supplied / Luke Pilkinton-Ching

Ranta said “several” risk factors were identified but it was an evolving field and they were still working to understand the mechanisms.

“What is becoming clear is that what happens is often the system gets quite overwhelmed by a number of factors that are happening concurrently – so if it’s very hot and humid, people get dehydrated, their blood gets thicker and they get more … the whole system gets a bit overwhelmed and that may be a reason for why strokes can be more severe.

“When you’re looking at who is impacted by this, it is often people who already are at risk of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, elderly people, people who are exposed to multiple risk factors in the environment, people working outside, like outside workers, people in low-to-middle income countries with less resilience of infrastructure, so it’s often a multi-factorial event that occurs that may be why mortality increases and why the overall risk increases.”

Ranta said there was also an increased risk for people who already have less access to healthcare and good health outcomes.

Increasing weather events that disrupt infrastructure and people’s ability to access healthcare was another problem.

Because of this, readiness was needed, and while prevention was always best, investment was needed to make sure people could be ready for adverse weather events, Ranta said.

She said at a government level, there needed to be a focus on policies to reduce the impacts of climate change and reduce more of it.

At a medical level, Ranta said there needed to be an increase in advocating for emission reduction to prevent the “damage that is now and that is going to get even worse”.

“As far as adapting to these changes, so we need to shift a little bit or increasingly concern ourselves with how can we be ready?”

This included making sure homes were well insulated, and people who did not have that luxury could access shelter during extreme weather events.

“We need to make sure there are early warning signs so that we can warn the public when these events occur and have some predictability of it and we also need to invest in research to actually test some of these strategies.”

In general, however, Ranta said staying well hydrated was an “excellent strategy” at reducing risk.

But the risk was still there.

“We do think that if climate change continues at the rate it is now, we will see a gradually increase in health effects including stroke.”

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

Westpac profits up 4%, bad debts rise

Source: Radio New Zealand

Westpac’s made provision of $37m for bad debts compared with $33m the year earlier RNZ / Marika Khabazi

Westpac New Zealand’s first half profit is up 4 percent on the year earlier, though bad debts are on the rise.

The bank made a net profit of $545 million for the six months ended March, and while that was up on the year earlier it was down 19 percent on the six months earlier, ended in September.

Westpac’s bottom line included a provision of $37m for bad debts, compared with $33m the year earlier.

Chief executive Catherine McGrath said conditions were set to get worse with Westpac economists expecting the economy to shrink by 0.4 percent in the June quarter, with unemployment to peak at 5.6 percent and inflation to reach 4.5 percent.

Key numbers for the six months ended March compared with a year ago:

  • Net profit $545m vs $525m
  • Net operating income $1.56b vs $1.5b
  • Expenses $760m vs $734m
  • Net interest margin 2.29% vs 2.26%
  • Net impairment charge $37m vs $33m

McGrath said total lending rose 6 percent and deposits by 3 percent over the year earlier, despite strong competition.

“We’ve grown faster than the market in home and small-to-medium business lending as we compete hard to help more customers into their own homes, grow their businesses and support New Zealand’s economic recovery,” McGrath said.

“Our Westpac KiwiSaver funds are also producing strong returns, with six out of eight in the top quartile among peers for the 12 months to 31 March, and all funds above their peer median over the last two years.”

She said Westpac had consistently grown its lending to small and medium-sized businesses faster than the market over the past two years.

“In October we made a $100m lending commitment to help businesses start up or scale up, of which we’ve lent more than $33m to date.

“We’re also reaching out to small businesses we’ve identified through our credit process as having more ‘headroom’ to borrow without needing to go through a full application – providing easier funding when they need it, with less red tape.”

She said economic conditions were challenging for consumers and business, with uncertainty pushing out the timeline for an economic recovery.

“More broadly, before the conflict in the Middle East, New Zealand’s economy had been slowly gathering momentum. While the conflict is set to push GDP growth backwards in the near term, we think the economy will pick up again when there is a resolution to the conflict and oil prices then gradually ease.

“We know the last couple of months have been unsettling for households and businesses exposed to higher costs, especially in the transport, manufacturing and agriculture sector, as well as those who rely on cars.

“We’re proactively contacting businesses most exposed to higher fuel costs and are helping them manage the impact.”

Households adapting to crisis

McGrath said a recent survey indicates households were adapting despite widespread cost pressure concerns.

Nearly two-thirds of Westpac’s home loan customers were more than three months ahead on their repayments at the end of March, up slightly on six months ago. The median customer was 10.6 months ahead.

“Rising prices are clearly weighing on Kiwis’ minds, but what’s encouraging is they’re so far adapting well and making a plan to get through it,” she said.

Many households were cutting back on non-essential spending.

“However, we know that the strain on many households will increase the longer the disruptions caused by the conflict drag on, and we’re monitoring this closely,” she said.

“If you’re at the point where you’re worried about how you’ll make ends meet, the best thing you can do is call your bank. The sooner we’re aware of potential issues, the sooner we can help you make a plan to get back on track.”

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

Who is getting pay rises at the moment?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Only half of New Zealand workers reported getting a pay rise last year, but some people are more likely to get them than others, new Seek data shows.

The recruitment site said the industries that were most likely to get a pay rise in the past 12 months were industrial, where 57 percent of people received a pay rise, professional services, at 53 percent, and technology, at 52 percent.

Seek country manager Rob Clark said pay rises in the professional sector were often driven by performance and benchmarking metrics.

“You’ve often got supply and demand challenges and they are quite highly skilled roles so you typically get movement in regard to salary when those factors are in play.

“Then you’ve also got industrial and that’s probably because we’ve seen a bit of a surge in terms of demand for some roles in that space.”

The most common way for people to have received a pay rise in the past 12 months was staying with the same company and experiencing a company-wide pay increase.

Just under a quarter of those who received a pay increase with the same company had some sort of performance-based rise.

While half of all respondents said they had a pay rise, 73 percent received 5 percent or less. Fewer than half of people were happy with their current salary but two-thirds were not confident asking for a pay rise.

Company-wide pay rises were most common in the public sector, and retail, hospitality and sports.

They were less common in construction and technology. Seek said performance-based pay increases were more common in these industries, with 46 percent of workers in both sectors receiving performance-based rises.

Only 5 percent of people who had a pay rise had received one because they moved to a new company but they were more likely to have a bigger pay increase. People moving to a new employer were three times more likely to have an increase of more than 10 percent than those who stayed put.

Clark said it was likely to remain a tricky time for those navigating pay conversations.

“If you’d asked a month or two ago you’d probably be a little more confident because we were sort of on an up, and consumer and business confidence was improving. I think that’s come to a head in the last month or so.

“I think a cautionary approach is the likely way forward for a lot of organisations. Having said that, taking a longer-term view is often useful if you can.

“We know that pay increases have a big influence on staff engagement, performance, retention, et cetera. It’s a tricky balance because I guess the big question everyone’s asking is just how long will this last, and how quickly can we sort of get back on our recovery?”

In order, the generations most likely to have received a pay rise in the past 12 months were millennials, at 54 percent, Gen Z at 48 percent and Gen X at 45 percent.

Millennials were most likely to have requested a pay rise but both they and Gen Z were much less comfortable about doing so than Gen X.

Clark said it was probably a reflection of them being earlier in their careers.

“[Millennials] are asking. We think that’s probably a function of being possibly the most financially constrained… first mortgage, kids… that cohort is definitely trying to get on the front foot an have the conversation.

“A lot of what we uncover in this piece of research is it’s really important to have the conversation, even if the outcome isn’t necessarily what you’re looking for. It benefits both the employee and the employer if they’re just having a conversation about salary, because it could provide great context for the employee as to why they’re making those decisions…employees obviously want to be heard and have their say.

“On the other hand… the moment employees most need relief is often at the same time as employers can least afford it. And, you know, you might argue we’re heading into something akin to that at the moment.”

He said people could make use of benchmarking tools to see how their pay compared to others.

That could give them confidence to ask for more money. They could also consider what non-financial benefits they would value.

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

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

Posted on

NZ Rugby turn to Don Tricker lead high performance overhaul

Source: Radio New Zealand

Don Tricker, Director of Player Health and Performance, San Diego Padres keynote speaker during The Sport NZ Performance Summit. www.photosport.nz

Former Black Sox coach Don Tricker has been hired by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) to overhaul its high performance systems.

Tricker, currently working as vice president of player health and performance at the San Diego Padres in North America’s Major League Baseball, has been appointed as NZR’s high performance director.

In the role, Tricker will take charge of NZR’s high performance system, including the national teams, player pathways and coach development.

NZR interim chief executive Steve Lancaster said Tricker, who previously worked at NZR as high performance manager between 2010 and 2018, was the right man for the job.

“Don brings a track record of delivering success across elite high-performance environments and we look forward to the impact he will make. Don is highly-respected and has a deep understanding of elite coaching, player development and New Zealand rugby.

“This role has a singular focus on driving our national teams to consistently win. Don will lead a high performance system that is aligned from pathways through to our national teams, with a clear focus on driving a performance culture that reflects the unique identity of New Zealand rugby.”

Tricker will join NZR in November after completing the current Major League Baseball season with the Padres, though he will spend time in NZR’s high performance system and national team environments throughout 2026.

Don Tricker coaching the New Zealand Black Sox v Australia. 2000. © Photosport Ltd 2000 www.photosport.nz

Tricker said he’s looking forward to coming home.

“I’m excited to return to New Zealand and to be involved with New Zealand Rugby. In particular, I’m looking forward to working with two fantastic head coaches in Whitney and Dave, our national team programmes and the NZR high performance team.

“Put simply, my role is about creating a system that develops players that our national teams want to select. To do that we need to be working in partnership with Provincial Unions and Super Rugby clubs.

“Whilst I remain absolutely committed to the Padres, there are windows throughout the baseball season that will allow me to spend time with NZR staff and teams. This will be a period of discovery and understanding the here and now.”

Tricker will essentially become All Blacks coach Dave Rennie and Black Ferns coach Whitney Hansen’s boss and make sure the teams are performing as best they can.

He will watch the teams and the coaches and suggest where improvements can be made. He will also take charge of tidying up the high performance system, which includes things like player pathways, contracting, and eligibility rules.

NZR wanted more oversight of the All Blacks coaching set up following the end of season review, which Tricker was involved in, that led to the sacking of former coach Scott Robertson.

Tricker started coaching the New Zealand men’s softball team in the late 1990s and led them to two World Championship wins and three consecutive world titles.

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

Number of weddings and civil unions drops again, down 3 percent from 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Kirsty Ussher marries couple in Queenstown. Kirsty Ussher

New figures from Stats NZ show the number of marriages and civil unions in New Zealand has fallen again, down 3 percent from 2025 to just under 17,500.

Kirsty Ussher, a Wānaka-based celebrant and wedding planner, told Morning Report the way people mark and celebrate their commitment was changing.

“I think the whole concept of marriage over the last few years has really become quite diluted.

“I feel like people are committed to each other in different ways, and don’t necessarily feel like they need that piece of paper anymore to prove it legally.”

StatsNZ reported 17,481 marriages and civil unions were registered in New Zealand in 2025, including 444 same-sex marriages or civil unions. That’s down from 18,033 in 2024.

While the number of those getting married is trending down, Ussher said it’s still big business in central Otago.

“Wanaka and Queenstown are definitely an outlier. I think there’s contributing factors to those stats. It’s on the decline, but not down here in this wedding bubble.”

That Queenstown wedding bubble is increasingly popular as a destination internationally.

A total of 2565 overseas couples travelled to New Zealand to marry in 2025, up from 2418 couples in 2024.

More than half of those came from Australia, nine percent coming from both the United States and the UK, and seven percent from China, including Hong Kong.

Of those international weddings taking place in New Zealand, 213 were same-sex couples.

Many of those coming from countries where same-sex marriage wasn’t legal such as China and Singapore.

Getting married later in life

In 2025, the median age of those having their first marriage was 30.5 years for women and 31.6 years for men. In 2005, those figures were 28.2 and 30.1 years and in 1971, when marriage rates were at their highest, the median age was 20.8 years for women and 23.0 years for men.

Ussher said most of her couples were in their early to mid-thirties.

“They might be the ones that have the money to be able to afford to get married down here, then we’re just starting to see some Gen-Z’s come through. So those in their mid-to-late twenties, that’s the bulk of them.”

The cost of marriage

Ussher said there had been a definite trend towards smaller weddings as the cost of hosting guests continues to rise.

“I would say, the average cost of a wedding sits around about $60,000.

“That would include everything. I’m talking about your attire, your rings, the venue, the food, and styling.

“We’re seeing people choosing to elope, just the two of them spending money on just themselves for a nice weekend away.”

She said venues, catering and alcohol were the biggest costs.

“We know that food costs have risen, so obviously that’s now being reflected in what caterers are having to charge. And, alcohol.

“People drink a lot of alcohol at weddings. So the more guests you have who are drinkers, the more cost you’re going to incur.

“That’s not to say we’re not still seeing fantastic, big celebratory weddings with 150 guests. Those are still happening.”

“There’s some weddings that push up closer to $100,000 and then we’re still getting people who are managing to do weddings for around $30,000 with a decent guest list of about 80 people.”

The data also revealed 7887 couples got a divorce, with just over a third of marriages ending in divorce before the 25th wedding anniversary.

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

Can anyone be funny?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Like in many families, Hoani Hotene‘s whanau won’t say he’s the funniest among them – everyone thinks they are the one.

“My dad, like a lot of dads, finds himself the funniest person in the world, you know? He’ll tell his own joke and then he’ll laugh at it the hardest.”

And when he flops, they make it known. “Everyone is going to be like, ‘oh, the professional comedian, eh? You won an award for that joke?’ So, I think if I tell any bad jokes then they have ammunition on me, like immediately.”

Hoani Hotene took home the prestigious Yellow Towel for the Billy T Award in 2025.

Supplied

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

Posted on

Pale in comparison: What to know about US butter

Source: Radio New Zealand

Butter is synonymous with the colour yellow. Butter yellow was the trending colour of 2025. In Mandarin Chinese, the word for butter translates as yellow oil.

So what’s with this white butter appearing on our supermarket shelves?

The arrival of a pale, US-sourced butter on Pak’nSave shelves has caused disappointment, confusion, and even some baking fails since it first appeared in March.

On the shelf, Burtfield’s & Co Butter is nearly indistinguishable from local equivalents in its 500g paper-wrapped package.

Esther Zweifel

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

Posted on

Chris Hipkins confident Labour’s promise of three free doctors visits a year is realistic

Source: Radio New Zealand

Labour leader Chris Hipkins. (File photo) RNZ / Mark Papalii

Labour leader Chris Hipkins is confident the party’s promise of three free doctors visits a year is “realistic”.

His comments come as rural doctor, and Rural Health Network chairperson, Dr Fiona Bolden told Morning Report, a focus was needed on workforce shortages over free doctor’s visits for all.

Labour earlier announced if it was in government it would give every New Zealander three free doctor’s visits a year with a new Medicard, Support local GPs to buy into practices, free up to 4.5 million appointments a year by giving patients more time, space and tools to see patients and fix general practice’s long-term funding challenges.

Hipkins told Morning Report the party had done its due diligence before announcing the policy and was confident it could handle the demand.

He said New Zealand had a problem with many GPs nearing retirement or choosing to leave the workforce.

It was “really difficult” to see a GP, Hipkins said, and he thought part of that was due to the prices.

“The policy is about shifting where we focus our healthcare… it ultimately is going to result in more efficiency for the health system.”

At the moment, he said many people were presenting at emergency departments because they could not afford to go to a doctor.

However, Bolde said the big issue facing GPs, especially in rural areas was that the workforce was “totally exhausted”.

“Whether people can actually access the doctor or not is the issue. Giving free doctors visits isn’t going to be helpful in areas where there are no doctors.”

Bolde said she would want to see proper rural funding and a rural health workforce plan which extended 30 years rather than just short-term things.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said the government was focused on improving access to GP services, and the biggest challenge was simply getting an appointment.

“Promising free visits does not address the core issue if there are not enough doctors available to see patients. Our priority is to increase capacity in primary care so more people can actually get care when they need it.

“That is why the government is investing directly in GP clinics and the primary care workforce, including the largest funding increase to general practice in a decade.”

Brown said access to GPs was being expanded through services like online GPs and urgent care to help ease traditional clinics, including in rural areas.

He said targeted recruitment and retention initiatives were underway for rural communities as well as training pathways to support rural practice.

“Our focus will remain on practical changes that improve access for patients and ease the workload on doctors, rather than making commitments that risk worsening workforce pressures.”

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

Survey reveals the dire state of dialysis services around New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A four-chair haemodialysis unit in Blenheim, called Tātari Toto, opened last year. RNZ / Samantha Gee

Half of all renal services nationally are operating above capacity, with the Auckland renal service operating at 150 percent.

The Australian and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry survey for 2025 shows that in the South Island, there are only three haemodialysis units meaning patients may need to travel long distances, or relocate, to access services, with a substantial impact on care.

Kidney Health NZ said once services reach around four patients per machine, they are effectively full and in many parts of the country, demand is now exceeding that.

In a statement, Health New Zealand said it was very aware the current availability of dialysis services was not meeting the access needs, with demand for dialysis growing 4 percent each year.

It said the Renal National Clinical Network was developing a nationwide renal dialysis plan to help address the current capacity gap.

“We acknowledge that some patients to travel long distances, and others have to receive it at inconvenient times. We work really hard to ensue these current capacity constraints do not unduly impact patient health outcomes”, Network co-chair Dr Andrew Henderson said.

“Our Renal National Clinical Network is developing a nationwide renal dialysis plan to help address the current capacity gap and improve the patient-to-dialysis machine ratio across the country.”

It would consider where dialysis capacity is currently, where it needs to be, and how these units need to be resourced to meet the need.

“This work will also examine how dialysis can be better made available, particularly in rural communities and to increase capacity in Auckland, where the needs are greatest.”

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

Posted on

‘Significant autumnal change’: Wetter, windier weather for South Island this weekend

Source: Radio New Zealand

123RF

Heavy rain and strong winds is forecast to lash lower parts of the country this weekend.

MetService said a “significant autumnal change” was expected to arrive in the second half of the week.

It said after a fine Monday and Tuesday, a change in the Tasman Sea was unfolding, with a large area of low pressure set to arrive in New Zealand on Wednesday.

“While we’ve been enjoying the light winds and lack of rain for the last while, these crisp still mornings are about to end and the wetter side of autumn is set to come back with a bang,” MetService meteorologist Braydon White said.

Rain was expected to set in for western areas of the South Island from Wednesday, with a gradual increase in showers for northern parts of both islands.

MetService’s rain radar shows heavy downpours over the South Island on Friday night. Screengrab / MetService

MetService said it then would spread northeast on Thursday with most areas experiencing rain with western and northern parts receiving “heavier bursts”.

“The wetter weather brings along much warmer temperatures,” White said.

“Overnight temperatures will be as much as 15°C warmer than we’ve had recently, with minimums in the mid-to-upper teens widespread across the North Island.”

A second, deeper area of low pressure was expected to bring more heavy rain and strong winds for the South Island on Friday.

The system will bring a change to strong southwesterlies as we moved into the weekend, with large swells possible for western coastlines, MetService said.

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