Category: Radio New Zealand

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Otago Regional Council investigates Wanaka wastewater treatment plant failures

Source: Radio New Zealand

Queenstown Lakes District Council property and infrastructure general manager Tony Avery said the situation was unfortunate. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

Otago Regional Council is investigating a series of failures at Wanaka’s wastewater treatment plant.

Queenstown Lakes District Council says heavy rain hit last month while the Project Pure Wastewater Treatment Plant was operating at reduced capacity due to a major upgrade, leading to a spike in nitrogen levels and treated wastewater to flood disposal fields and run off.

The district council’s property and infrastructure general manager Tony Avery said the situation was unfortunate and would be unwelcome to many.

“There was always a risk that some parts of the facility’s treatment process would be negatively impacted while carrying out these significant upgrades. To reduce as much risk as possible, works were carefully planned to take place during low flow periods and operational teams implemented several mitigation strategies,” he said.

Queenstown Lakes District Council acknowledged the compliance issues in a media release on Tuesday.

It comes after recent compliance problems at the district council’s Hāwea and [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/563664/queenstown-lakes-district-council-must-fix-issues-with-shotover-wastewater-plant-court

Queenstown treatment plants].

Mayor John Glover said he wanted to share the information proactively with the public.

“As governors, we will need to review what has happened to fully understand why and especially in the context of regulatory compliance failures at Shotover and Hāwea treatment plants,” he said.

Avery said while the issues at the Shotover plant also related to the disposal field, the system at Project Pure was different.

The council did not expect any long-term issues, he said.

“Project Pure’s fields have been operating successfully for approximately 15 years now, have more modest loading rates and discharge through free-draining soils well above groundwater,” he said.

Upgrade work was now complete and the plant’s performance was improving, the council said.

Queenstown Lakes District Council said it referred the performance issues to the regional council immediately and expected to receive its investigation findings shortly.

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Sanson deaths now being treated as homicide, police confirm

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police outside the home where the children died. Jimmy Ellingham / RNZ

Police have confirmed they are now treating the fatal incident in Sanson on Saturday – where three children and their father died – as a homicide.

Police are continuing to comb through the scene of a house fire in Manawatū on Saturday, where the children and their father died.

Manawatū Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham said the post mortem examination of the adult male has been completed and the three children are expected to undergo a post mortem tomorrow.

– more to come

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Is it possible to turn bread back into usable flour?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Rescued Kitchen products. The Pantry / Rescued Kitchen / Instagram

University of Auckland students and a food upcycling company have turned old loaves of bread back into flour and then back into homestyle baking.

While the flour is a product of Rescued Kitchen, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering senior lecturer Febelyn Reguyal told Morning Report that the students analysed the environmental impact from the raw materials extraction of the leftover bread.

“They collect the leftover bread at the supermarkets, and then what they do is put it in a dryer, mill it, and then eventually you will have your bread flour.”

The drying process is very energy intensive, so the students recommended to the upcycling company that improvements could be made, Reguyal said.

Bread is one of the most wasted foods in the world, according to a study in the US National Library of Medicine, which estimated 24,000 tonnes of manufactured bread was binned each year.

The bread that was used in the experiment had to be of a certain standard – therefore mouldy bread was off the cards.

“That’s one of the requirements for the Rescued Kitchen because it has a short life, and sometimes we also overproduce the bread. We cannot use the bread that has already been consumed at home as the leftover bread, it has to be the clean and unused ones.”

The students presented their life cycle assessment reports to Rescued Kitchen co-founders Diane Stanbra and Royce Bold.

The reports concluded that rescued flour offered major environmental benefits compared to regular flour – using less water, land and fossil fuels, and producing much lower carbon emissions.

Rescued Kitchen’s bread flour has a shelf life of two years, freeze-thaw stability and complete substitution potential. And its capabilities have already been put to the test.

“Rescued Kitchen has already made some recipes and they also brought some products to the university and shared them with students. They had sweets as well as savoury muffins,” Reguyal said.

“They’re amazing. And I think all the students, including myself, I enjoyed the food brought by Rescued Kitchen.”

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What will the Uber decision mean for drivers’ tax bills?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Jomon Perumayan Joseph was caught with a stun gun on the dashboard of his Uber vehicle. NZME

A Supreme Court decision to reject Uber’s appeal against an Employment Court decision that found four of its drivers were employees, not contractors, may raise tricky tax questions, one tax expert says.

Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker said it would be interesting to see how Inland Revenue responded.

As contractors, Uber drivers had been handling their own tax bills, and could claim expenses such as the cost of fuel against their income.

They also might be registered for GST.

But as an employee rather than a contractor, their employer would be expected to handle all of those things.

“It begs the question as to whether the Supreme Court decision will be followed from a tax perspective. The Supreme Court decision applies for employment law purposes and it doesn’t always automatically follow that the tax answer will be the same, but it will have some influence.

“From a tax perspective it is not possible for employees to claim deductions for the costs associated with earning income. Similarly, employees are not able to be GST registered in respect of the services that they provide their employer.

“To the extent that Inland Revenue concludes the drivers are also employees for tax purposes it will be necessary to determine how to rectify tax positions previously taken and a sensible way forward. All parties involved ought to consider how the tax treatment of the drivers flows through to the amount they are paid, including how they are to be reimbursed for expenses like vehicle running costs.”

Anita Rosentreter, Workers First Union deputy secretary, said the judgement would have implications in future for drivers’ tax expenses and reporting procedures.

“As a union, we think it will become significantly easier, not harder for drivers, and they will get a much better deal overall.

“Uber drivers have to date been responsible for their own tax compliance. Where the contractor system allows expenses to be deducted from taxable income, an employment not only requires those costs to be borne by the employer, but also significantly boosts driver income as drivers enjoy the protection of a wage floor.

“Through the collective bargaining process, we hope to bring clarity to these kinds of issues with Uber as their employer, which will lighten the burden on drivers and demystify what can be an obscure and complicated process.”

She said higher base wages and protections such as a minimum wage, sick and annual leave would be more significant to drivers than the ability to claim expenses.

Inland Revenue said it had no comment to make at this stage.

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200kg of signatures: Huge petition to fix ‘broken’ health system presented to Parliament

Source: Radio New Zealand

A petition containing 90,000 signatures is presented to Parliament. RNZ / Giles Dexter

A petition calling for the government to urgently fix the health system – which organisers estimate is New Zealand’s longest petition ever – has been delivered to Parliament.

Unfurled across Parliament’s lawn, the petition stretched down the steps, and past the Cenotaph.

Patient Voice Aotearoa spokesperson Malcolm Mulholland estimated it was 276 metres long, stretching a few metres beyond the length of the Suffrage Petition.

Mulholland said it weighed somewhere between 150 and 200 kilograms, and said it “quite literally” felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“I can’t lift it myself, I need more help. But for me, the first part of the journey feels over.”

A petition containing 90,000 signatures – calling on the government to fix a broken health system – is presented to Parliament. RNZ / Giles Dexter

The 90,000 signatories were signing up to what Mulholland called the Buller Declaration – an assertion that the health system is in crisis, that Māori, rural, and low-income populations are disproportionately impacted, that the government must act urgently to address the crisis and meet its Treaty of Waitangi obligations to protect Māori health, and that it must allocated additional resources to train, recruit, and retain more nurses, doctors, and specialists.

“The call was made that our health system is broken, and because it is broken, people in Buller are missing out on the health care that they need, and in today’s age that is just unacceptable,” Mulholland said.

“It should be the priority of any government, regardless of colour, be they blue or red, that they look after the health of their people.”

Mulholland said his travels around the country had made him realise that what he at first thought was just a Buller problem was then a rural problem, then a Māori problem, then everyone’s problem.

A petition containing 90,000 signatures – calling on the government to fix a broken health system – is presented to Parliament. RNZ / Giles Dexter

The petition was also supported by groups such as the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, and the New Zealand College of Midwives.

It was accepted by MPs from the Greens, Labour, and ACT.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters watched from a distance, but the Health Minister was absent.

Simeon Brown said he had a Cabinet committee meeting and so could not attend the petition handover, but he accepted there were “significant” challenges in the health system.

“I accept that too many people are waiting too long to be able to get the care they need. I hear the concerns of New Zealanders every single day, I meet with staff on the front-line when I’m visiting hospitals on a regular basis, and I’m focused on making sure we address these issues,” he said.

“We’re investing record funding into our health system, we are hiring more doctors, more nurses, and we’re focused on reducing those wait-lists which is why we reintroduced those health targets.”

A petition containing 90,000 signatures – calling on the government to fix a broken health system – is presented to Parliament. RNZ / Giles Dexter

Mulholland was not disappointed with Brown’s absence, saying it was more important that “the people” were present.

For now, the petition will stay in Green MP Hūhana Lyndon’s office.

But Lyndon was keen to get the petition into Te Papa, to serve as a constant reminder to whoever is in power of the importance of the health system.

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Rare pink grasshopper discovered during annual Mackenzie Basin survey

Source: Radio New Zealand

An ordinary annual insect survey has uncovered an extraordinary grasshopper.

Department of Conservation ranger Jen Schori said she could not believe her eyes, as colleagues called her over to see a deep pink grasshopper near Lake Takapō.

Schori was taking part in the annual grasshopper survey in the Mackenzie Basin, when the discovery was made.

The pink female robust grasshopper (Sigaus robustus) was sunning itself on stones.

“I’ve been studying these amazing creatures for years,” Schori said. “They are usually grey or brown coloured, like river stones.

“I’d heard rumours about a pink one, but never seen one myself. It was so exciting.

“Pink grasshoppers are exceptionally rare. It’s likely caused by a genetic mutation called erythrism, which results in an over-production of red pigment and less of the usual natural pigment that the species has.”

DoC said the robust grasshopper was New Zealand’s largest lowland grasshopper, only found along the edges of braided rivers in the Mackenzie Basin, and nationally endangered.

“These grasshoppers are so unique,” Schori said. “They look almost prehistoric.

“They can jump fairly well, but are renowned for their clumsy landings. They’re also very vulnerable.

Pink grasshopper found during a Mackenzie Basin survey. Supplied/DOC

“The pink one will unfortunately stand out even more to predators, which is why this sighting is so special.”

In 2018, a predator fence was built around a small area of grasshopper habitat in the Mackenzie Basin, but Schori said this pink grasshopper was outside the fence and would have had to fend for herself.

“They do live up to their name,” she said. “They’re quite robust and the females are double the size of the males.

“Maybe she will breed and we will see some more pink ones.

“She has certainly become a bit of a celebrity in our office, and we joke about the paparazzi coming and taking loads of photos. I’m just so happy I got to see one after all these years.”

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Slavery trial: Defendant’s diary of beatings read to jury

Source: Radio New Zealand

Moeaia Tuai’ is on trial in the High Court at Auckland. Gill Bonnett

A carpenter says he never saw an alleged slavery victim work at three lodges or a campground.

Suli Tuilolo has been giving evidence at Moeaia Tuai’s trial at the High Court at Auckland.

Tuai, 63, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of dealing in slaves. He also denies two rapes, assaults, eight charges of indecent assault, and six of sexual violation by unlawful connection.

Tuilolo, a lodge employee, said the complainant would only visit the lodges to play volleyball, denying he worked 50-60 hours a week in jobs that included cleaning up, repairs and gardening.

Under cross-examination, he was shown a photograph of himself and a young male complainant wearing hi-vis vests.

He denied the man worked there, but may have worn the fluorescent vest to keep warm when he visited, suggesting he played there.

“Are you suggesting that in this photograph [he] is about to go and play volleyball?” asked prosecutor Chris Howard.

“As I said previously, I’m a carpenter, I did my job,” said Tuilolo. “And I always say, he does come around and look around sometimes.”

The only time he would see the complainant was playing volleyball or seeing a young woman he liked, said Tuilolo.

Previously another witness gave evidence, saying she had never seen Tuai hit the female victim, and denying the family turned a blind eye to what Tuai was doing.

‘Blowing the whistle’

In the closing prosecution address Howard said Tuai had been controlling the two young people and their finances, holding them in modern slavery, and beating and raping the female complainant.

Neither was allowed to speak to anyone they did not know, nor to each other in case they told people about the way they were being treated, said Howard.

Tuai’s own diaries have been read to the jury, in which he sets out when beatings happened, working hours and wages, he added.

One complainant had to get a new passport to run away, the court heard, and Tuai made the other one take out a $7000 loan.

She said that after sexually assaulting her, Tuai threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

When the young woman ran away, Tuai called police claiming she had been raped by a different man and and told Internal Affairs she should be deported or lose her citizenship.

It was not a hollow threat as he might also have hoped to stop her ‘blowing the whistle’, said Howard. “The moment she stops being a money-producing asset, he wants her gone.”

The trial continues.

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Murdered Dunedin man planned to install security cameras before death

Source: Radio New Zealand

Dunedin High Court. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Slain Dunedin man Gurjit Singh planned to install security cameras, after discovering his garage door was open weeks before his death, a friend says.

Singh was found dead on the lawn of his home in January last year, stabbed more than 40 times.

A 35-year-old man, known only as Rajinder, is on trial at the High Court for murder.

Rajinder’s defence lawyer insists he had no reason to kill his former employee and there was no animosity between the men.

Friend Jagmeet Buttar told the court Singh was not worried about security, but kept his doors locked, perhaps because he lived alone.

He bought security cameras days after finding his garage door open and had asked Buttar if he had come over to borrow some tools.

When Buttar told him he had not paid a visit, Singh said he planned to install front and backdoor cameras.

“He was not worried about security, he just wanted to just make sure if somebody come here, he can see who’s coming,” he said.

Buttar said Singh was happy, when he called in to pick up a car he had borrowed the night before he was found dead.

Singh told Buttar he was planning a three-day trip to pick up his wife, who was expected to arrive in Christchurch from India.

Buttar left before Singh got ready to go to a pizza party with friends in Helensburgh.

Buttar told the court he was working in Mosgiel the following morning, when he received a call to say that Singh was dead. He drove straight to his house, where he was stopped by police and gave a statement at the station.

Singh and Rajinder had previously worked together at Downer, which had a contract with Chorus to install fibre.

Buttar said Singh did not talk a lot about his work with Rajinder, although he mentioned that he might buy Rajinder’s car and some tools for $20-40,000.

At one stage, Singh told him Rajinder owed him money from their work together in about 2020.

Another friend and former flatmate Sunil Umat described Singh as a person who loved to crack jokes and was always laughing.

They were close friends and he was invited to Singh’s wedding in India.

They would go to the gym together, hang out, and go to BBQs every now and again, Umat said.

When asked if he knew if Singh had any problems with Rajinder, Umat told defence lawyer Anne Stevens KC that he had never brought anything up.

The trial is scheduled for three weeks.

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Parents confused by what to do with potentially contaminated play sand in their homes

Source: Radio New Zealand

Kmart has withdrawn all its sand-based products. (File photo) Supplied / MBIE

A parent fielding concerns from others after testing found asbestos in a range of coloured play sand says they feel like nobody is giving them clear advice on what to do with sand in their homes.

Several schools and early learning services are closed after asbestos was found in rainbow sand from Educational Colours and coloured sand from Creatistics.

The products were recalled because Tremolite (a naturally occurring asbestos in quartz) had been found in samples during lab testing.

The recall expanded to four Kmart products over the weekend.

Kmart’s advice was to stop using the sand immediately and to wear gloves and a mask while getting rid of it according to local rules.

A Kmart spokesperson said trace amounts of asbestos were found in an Anko-brand 14-piece sand castle building set. It also recalled three other magic sand products in blue, green and pink.

A mother, Janelle Hill, told Midday Report, it felt like the buck was being passed.

She said parents were confused about how much cleaning, testing or decontamination was needed.

“You’re asked to contact your local council, WorkSafe… what does this mean when it has been played with in your whare?

“The knowledge around it is so low… what is the risk and how are we getting rid of it? What happens if it was in your house five years ago and you threw it out four years ago?”

Hill said she wanted more guidance for parents that have had the sand in their homes. She wanted to know how things should be cleaned and what should be done with your vacuum if you had vacuumed it up.

Health NZ advice

On its website, Health NZ said people did not need to take any immediate steps to manager their health if they had been exposed to the products.

“We appreciate that the presence of asbestos in products that are used by children may cause worry for parents and caregivers. We are working rapidly with other agencies to assess the health risk posed by these products and will share more information when it is available.

“At this stage we do not have enough information to quantify the risk to people’s health, but we advise people to take a precautionary approach and stop using the products.”

Health NZ said anyone using the products in their home should stop immediately and if it was still in its original container place it into a thick plastic bag sealed securely with tape.

“Place that bag or container into a second thick plastic bag, seal it securely with tape, and label it clearly as asbestos-contaminated material.”

It needed to be taken to a landfill rather than going in a normal bin, it said, and parents should contact their local council for advice on where to go.

If the sand was not in its original container, PPE should be worn while cleaning it up. It should be put in a sealed container or thick plastic bag. All surfaces surrounding where it was should be wiped down with a damp cloth.

Full information was available here.

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PM backs minister’s ‘pragmatic’ call to spend Kāinga Ora money on local bridge

Source: Radio New Zealand

Chris Bishop. Supplied

Senior minister Chris Bishop is rejecting criticism over a funding decision shifting Kāinga Ora money to a walking and cycling bridge in his electorate that he campaigned on, which the government cancelled.

Bishop – the minister for housing and transport, and Hutt South MP – agreed in March this year to Lower Hutt City Council’s request to reallocate funds earmarked for stormwater upgrades for the CityLink Bridge, a project he campaigned on.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins criticised the move, saying it did not pass the “sniff test” and was a “questionable and unaccountable” shifting of money.

The bridge between Melling Railway Station and Lower Hutt city centre was part of the wider RiverLink project.

The money was part of Kāinga Ora’s Infrastructure Acceleration Funding agreement with Lower Hutt City Council, designed to support housing developments by upgrading water infrastructure in the city.

Bishop said shifting the funds was a “pragmatic decision” driven by Lower Hutt City Council.

He said the council had come to him having identified an “underspend” with the infrastructure money and asked to transfer that to the CityLink Bridge.

“It’s actually pretty straightforward – the council asked for it, we agreed.”

He said the government had agreed to a similar request Hamilton City Council made last year, asking if money allocated for a cycleway could be put into water infrastructure instead.

Asked whether he should have recused himself from the Lower Hutt decision, Bishop said it was not unusual to make decisions impacting multiple portfolios and electorates.

“I don’t think there’s a conflict there.”

But Hipkins slammed the move as a “very questionable process”.

“It certainly doesn’t pass the sniff test in terms of having one minister, moving money from one portfolio that he’s responsible for, to another portfolio that he’s responsible for, for a project which he campaigned on in his own electorate, which his government cancelled.”

He said the government should not be re-allocating money away from stormwater upgrades to “prop up” a project it cancelled.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he backed Bishop’s decision as “pragmatic”.

“Also he took advice from the Cabinet Office and acted accordingly on that advice.”

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