Category: World News

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand is bottom of the world when it comes to how much we’re saving.

Or is it?

A graphic has been circulating online from Visual Capitalist, based on OECD data collected in recent years, showing how countries compare for their net household savings rate.

Sweden tops the table, with a savings rate of 16 percent.

Hungary is next at 14.3 percent and Czechia third with 13.7 percent.

New Zealand is at the bottom, with a rate of -1.3 percent. South Africa is second worse at -1 percent and Latvia is third with a rate of zero.

Australia is middle of the table, at about 6 percent.

But Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said it was potentially not an accurate comparison.

New Zealand’s data was taken from 2023, the worst for saving levels in recent years.

He said it was just as the interest rate tightening cycle was really starting to hit and households were potentially drawing money out of savings to help.

Westpac data showed the savings rate had improved markedly from that low.

But Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at Infometrics, said it was acknowledged that New Zealand had a low savings rate by international standards.

“There has been a long-term historical issue with us that our savings has been poor.

“In fact, a lot of time through the 90s and 2000s in particularly, it was in negative territory which means we were spending more than we were earning.

“It’s improved a bit since given the establishment of KiwiSaver, so there is more financial savings going on.”

He said New Zealanders tended to do a lot of “saving” in the property market on the expectation that house pries would go up.

“That’s not captured by the numbers here. If you’re getting wealthier through that asset appreciate in value, that’s been all well and good at times over the last three decades given what house prices have done.

“But if they’re not going to appreciate going forward and you always need someone else to sell them to, that’s not a great position to be in.”

He said house prices relative to incomes were still pretty high and affordability was poor. “It’s not a particularly sustainable position. You’re still left from New Zealand’s point of view in being in a structurally not a great position.”

He said policy settings such as those around superannuaation would help to drive savings in some countries.

“In other cases there might be a bias from households to save via financial assets, shares and other investments, not via housing.”

Lifting the KiwiSaver contribution rates over time would help. “If that did change and if people’s attitudes around property, whether it [is] because of where the price is because of the experience of prices dropping 15 percent, if it’s not a sure way to accumulate wealth, you might see gradual improvement over time but it’s very much a medium-term thing.”

He said New Zealanders also had an expectation that the government would look after them in retirement to a degree. “Although there’s more warnings coming about how unsustainable that position is. But if the government is doing the saving for you, why you would bother? That’s over-simplifying it but it does have an impact on people’s behaviour.”

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

The French town of Le Quesnoy marks Anzac Day with us, thanks to the New Zealand soldiers who saved them over a century ago

In a medieval town 20,000 kilometres away there’s an inscription on a war memorial that says New Zealanders restored Le Quesnoy to France.

They did not conquer the town, they did not invade it. They made it French once again.

New Zealand’s last battle took place a week before the end of World War I, on 4 November, 1918. Not one civilian died but nearly 200 Kiwi soldiers lost their lives, a sacrifice the people of Le Quesnoy have never forgotten.

Central to this heroic story is a wooden ladder that was used by the soldiers to scale the high ramparts and free the town from four years of German occupation.

This Anazc Day The Detail talks to a series of people who have made it their business to make sure New Zealand’s connections with the town stay strong, including the marketing and operations manager of the New Zealand Liberation Museum, Te Arawhata, which has been described as New Zealand’s home on the Western Front.

Jacob Siermans said the story of the liberation of Le Quesnoy was one of New Zealand’s finest moments.

The town had been occupied for four years and the population had halved to 1500 people, many of them starving, by the time the New Zealand Rifle Brigade arrived at its 20 metre high walls.

“The New Zealanders know that if they launch their shells into the town they will kill all of the civilians. So they have to develop another way of getting in … and in the kind of typical number eight wire New Zealand way they decide to not bombard the town, they encircle the town and they find a way in – by ladder. They literally climb ladders into this town.

“And by doing so, they manage to liberate the town, they push the Germans out … 193 New Zealanders will die during that action but not a single civilian is killed.”

Siermans said it was a real symbol of a developing national identity for the New Zealanders, and the French held onto this memory of them.

One of the battalion was Reverend Clive Mortimer-Jones who left his parish of Cambridge to look after the men in France.

His church, St Andrews, now had three stained glass windows depicting the war, one of Gallipoli, representing truth; one of Ypres representing freedom; and another of Le Quesnoy, representing justice. The towns were now twinned.

Heather Wellington of the Cambridge-Le Quesnoy Friendship Association gave The Detail a tour of the memorials in the Waikato town, and the museum there which held the wooden writing case of Reverand Mortimer-Jones.

The museum is also where author Tania Roberts launched the first of three planned books inspired by the events in the French village. In the podcast, she explains how she became interested in the story.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has called on the Netherlands to stop selling arms to Indonesia.

Representatives of the ULMWP were this week at the Dutch Parliament for a Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the human rights situation in West Papua.

In a video relayed to the Dutch from ULMWP members in Papua, the pro-independence group called on the Netherlands to stop selling weapons to Indonesia.

“We, the people of West Papua, urge the Dutch government to stop cooperation and the supply of weapons to Indonesia, because these transactions between Indonesia and the Netherlands, especially weapons, are being bought and used to carry out killings against us.”

This comes amid a recent escalation of violent conflict between Indonesia’s military and Papuan pro-independence fighters.

Indonesia’s Human Rights Commission this week said it was investigating the deaths of a dozen West Papuan civilians last week as the result of a military operation in Central Papua.

Former colonial power

The Netherlands was the former colonial power in West Papua and the rest of Indonesia. As such, the Liberation Movement said the Dutch had a responsibility to respond to ongoing human rights violations and conflict in Papua.

Current and recent Dutch military exports are largely tied to the Indonesian Navy and concentrated on naval vessels, ship systems and supporting weapons.

A spokesperson for the Dutch Embassy in Indonesia said all license applications for the export of military goods from the Netherlands were examined carefully and on a case‑by‑case basis, within the framework of the Arms Trade Treaty and the EU Common Position on arms export controls.

“Central to this assessment are the end user of the goods, the intended end use, and the situation in the country of destination.

“In conducting these assessments, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs systematically takes into account all relevant information, including political, security and human rights developments.

“Licence applications are refused where the assessment identifies an overriding risk that the military goods in question could be misused by the end user. The Ministry does not exclude any end users in advance,” the spokesperson said.

RNZ Pacific has sought comment from the Indonesian government. Previously, Jakarta has refused to acknowledge the ULMWP has any legitimacy.

At the parliament hearing in the Hague, the president of ULMWP’s provisional government, Benny Wenda met with some Dutch lawmakers from parties including the Christian Union and the Progressive Party.

Also in attendance was the British Labour MP Alex Sobel, the chair person of International Parliamentarians for West Papua.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Jone Vakarisi was heard screaming and begging before he was “brutalised to death” in Fiji military custody last week, according to his sister.

Melehola Tagaga told Pacific Waves that the well known drug pusher was asked if he was planning a coup, before the military arrested him at home and took him to the Queen Elizabeth Barracks for questioning last Thursday.

The Fiji Police Force classified the 37-year-old’s death as murder following a high-level meeting in Suva involving the Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and security and military chiefs on Monday.

“An investigation is underway with the support of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander, as earlier stated, so it will be thoroughly conducted,” police spokesperson Ana Naisoro said.

Vakarasi had become somewhat notorious in the capital, linked to turf wars and engaging in violence with law enforcement in recent years.

Local media outlets have described him as a local “drug lord” who was “involved in criminal networks”.

Fiji’s top military and police brass were on Bau Island farewelling the late President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau when news broke of his death last Friday.

His death certificate, dated 18 April, lists asphyxia, aspiration of gastric contents, severe traumatic head injuries and blunt force trauma to both the head and chest as the causes of his death.

The Republic of Fiji Military (RFMF) commander Ro Jone Kalouniwai initially attributed the victim’s death to a “sudden and severe medical emergency” and “the presence of a pre-existing condition”.

However, he issued a second statement on Monday to correct the record, saying “the earlier description did not fully reflect the medical findings now available”.

Victim begged for his life

Melehola Tagaga claimed that people living close to the military barracks in Nabua, near Suva, told the family they heard Vakarisi “yelling and screaming” for hours before he died.

“My brother was saying “oi lei, au via bula”, meaning “hey, I want to be alive,” and that is all they heard, all through the night,” she said.

Tagaga, 50, an entrepreneur in Sacramento, California, said his home was raided first by the police, then later by the military.

Both were looking for weapons and drugs, but nothing was found, then “disappointed” they questioned him about a possible coup.

“A family member that was there heard the term coup … they asked if he heard or had a plan or knew of someone that was plotting another coup. And he said he had nothing to do with it and he didn’t know anything about it,” Tagaga said.

She described the father of four as an “entrepreneur”, a “family man” but admitted he had previous “gang-related” convictions involving violence.

“What do you expect from the kind of society that we live in in Fiji … people were becoming more territorial, so if you felt threatened, wouldn’t you do something to make sure your family and friends are safe? (from rival territories and authorities).

She said the family were demanding justice and an independent, fully transparent investigation into the death, claiming the military and the police were “in cohoots” with each other.

“With the the wrongdoing, we want accountability, regardless of what the allegations are (against Vakarisi). We still don’t have a clear explanation of what happened to him. “

“His life probably didnt matter to them (the military) but it mattered to us … he had a past with the law but that didn’t give them the right to kill him. A person’s life in custody should be protected,” she said.

Lawyer says death ‘extra-judicial’

Rajendra Chaudhry, a lawyer and the son of former Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, told Pacific Waves the death was an extrajudicial killing.

“I find it highly alarming that there was an attempt to cover it up, which is clearly unacceptable … the commander ought to have known about that. So the (initial) statement that was released under his name was misleading to say the least,” Chaudhry said.

He said it was not a simple communication oversight, it was a serious coverup that was exposed only after the death certificate was made public.

“I am quite disgusted to see comments on social media supporting the military because Vakarisi was a drug peddler, the military must respect the rule of law. He should have been handed over to the police for questioning and processing,” Chaudhry said.

“They (the police) should take charge of the investigation and deal with it independently, they should not act in collaboration with the military because the military is being investigated, it doesn’t make sense.”

While he had confidence in the police commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu, he said the military “leans on” section 131 of the Constitution, which states that that the military is responsible for the over all security of the country.

“That provision is a license to act extra-constitutionally and must be read together with emergency provisions, where the military is required to act in safeguarding Fiji in the national interest, it should not have a say in domestic or governance matters, which is the role of the police and the government of the day.”

A Fiji military spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Dr Eroni Duaibe, said it would be inappropriate to comment while a police investigation was underway.

Human rights abuses

The Fiji NGO Coalition on Human Rights (NGOCHR) echoed Chaudhry’s views, adding that Fijians are too frightened to question what the military does.

NGOCHR chair Shamima Ali called for a transparent, independent investigation into the human rights abuses involved in the murder

Aman Ravindra-Singh, a Fijian human rights lawyer who is in exile in Australia, equated asphyxia with strangulation.

Ravindra-Singh fled from Fiji in 2022 to avoid jail for contempt of court following a series of Facebook posts critical of the then-Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and the former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

“In my personal view, based on other similar deaths in custody matters that I have looked at in the past, these injuries are consistent with torture, where a person is brutally beaten repeatedly to the head and chest, resulting in death,” he said.

In an exclusive interview with Mai TV’s The Brunch talkshow, Vakarisi’s ex-wife Kuini Osbourne rejected claims that he was involved in illegal drug and gun-related activities, as widely reported in local media.

She said following Vakarisi’s post-mortem, the pathologist explained to her his cause of death.

“He choked on his [own] blood and fluid that came up and [the doctor] explained that it was like strangulation.”

The pathologist said due to the severe trauma to Vakarisi’s head and chest he had internal bleeding from broken ribs, “he choked when the blood and fluids came up. He couldn’t vomit it or spit it out,” she said.

Meanwhile, Fiji police declined to say what Vakarisi’s previous convictions were.

“We will respond on policing issues, matters arising out of jurisdictional matters, such as convictions, is not for us to comment on,” Naisoro said

“We will not be commenting on anything other than the investigation, so as not to jeopardise the process,” she said.

Vakarisi’s older sister Tagaga said both their father and uncles had served in the military.

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

Kiwi Everlee Wihongi has lived in the United States for more than 25 years and is now in an ICE detention centre in California, after a three week visit back to New Zealand.

She lives in Wisconsin, legally, where she’s been training to be a welder.

Everlee retuned to New Zealand for three weeks to celebrate a family milestone – an uncle’s 80th birthday.

She flew back to the States on April 10 but, instead of walking straight through immigration as she had numerous times before, she was detained by ICE officers without any explanation.

Everlee’s sister-in-law, Courtney Wihongi, says ICE officers told her that they needed to do a few checks and that she’d see family members on the otherside of the baggage carousel.

That didn’t happen.

“It’s been over a week, and we still don’t have an answer why”

Courtney says it’s been difficult to keep in touch with Everlee.

“Luckily she was travelling with some of our other family members so they saw her get walked away, but trying to find out where she was at the whole weekend, trying to get in contact with her was very difficult.”

“When everything was first happening, she was nervous, scared, all those feelings which are completely normal, just because there was so much that was unknown. Now that we’ve been able to talk to her, we have gotten some legal council and they’ve been able to give us a small little bit of a plan, so that is comforting.”

Courtney Wihongi says the family are now able to talk with her daily.

“Every single time she calls, it’s ten cents a minute she’s charged for the calls, we try to keep them short. Our biggest thing is trying to keep her positive and hopeful as of right now.”

After her initially detention at LA Airport, Everlee was taken an ICE processing centre in Adelanto, north east of Los Angeles.

“It’s very crowded. In the room that she sleeps in, there’s numerous other females sharing one room, any basic hygiene items that she needs she has to pay for.”

“She’s told us a some things here and there, but we try not to dwell on that, because again, we’re trying to keep her hopeful, but in a sense, prisoners are treated better in a prison.”

“You’ll always hear her laugh before you see her enter a room. She’s just a very fun person.”

Courtney Wihongi says her sister-in-law is a welder, but is also a professional make-up artist.

“She’ll go to work, do all her welding stuff with a full face of make-up, that’s just the person that she is.”

“As of right now, our game plan is, I’m talking with the lawyer we’ve got, there is a possibility that she can qualify for bail. One of the things he needs for that is to know what she was detained for. There is a specific form that he told us that ICE officers would be able to supply for her and she’s asked for that form twice now and has been told that she cannot get it.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

China says it has lodged a serious complaint over the New Zealand Air Force’s alleged repeated harassment near its airspace, which the Defence Force denies.

Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guo Jiakun said that a P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the New Zealand Air Force recently conducted repeated close-in reconnaissance and harassment in the airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

“The action undermined China’s security interests, increased risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and gravely disrupted the order of civil aviation in relevant airspace,” said Guo Jiakun.

“China has responded in a resolute manner and lodged serious protests with New Zealand.”

Guo Jiakun said China urged New Zealand to abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, respect China’s sovereignty and security concerns and maintain the safety and order of civil aviation.

China’s Ministry of National Defence spokesperson, Zhang Xiaogang, said such malicious acts by New Zealand harmed China’s sovereignty and security, gravely disrupted the order of civil aviation in relevant airspace, and may easily trigger maritime and aerial incidents.

“We urge the New Zealand side to impose stricter discipline and supervision over its frontline forces, immediately stop irresponsible acts that harass and jeopardise civil aviation safety.”

A spokesperson for the New Zealand Defence Force said New Zealand’s P-8A maritime patrol aircraft has been undertaking activities that monitor North Korean sanctions evasions at sea in North Asia under UN Security Council resolutions.

The spokesperson said New Zealand has contributed to UN sanctions monitoring since 2018.

“These activities are not directed at China but rather aim to monitor evasions of United Nations sanctions on North Korea, which do occur in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.”

The spokesperson said the New Zealand Defence Force crew operated professionally and in accordance with international law and civil aviation procedures for the region.

“NZDF has reviewed the routes flown and all available information. We have no data which indicates they disrupted civil aviation.”

The Defence Force said New Zealand takes an open and transparent approach to these operations.

“As part of this, there has been dialogue between New Zealand and Chinese officials, and we have made it clear that this is a longstanding deployment enforcing UN-mandated sanctions on North Korea.”

The spokesperson said NZDF won’t be commenting further on the specifics of those discussions, or on the details of the operations.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

China says it has lodged a serious complaint over the New Zealand Air-force’s repeated harassment near its airspace.

Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guo Jiakun said that a P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the New Zealand Air Force recently conducted repeated close-in reconnaissance and harassment in the airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

“The action undermined China’s security interests, increased risks of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and gravely disrupted the order of civil aviation in relevant airspace,” said Guo Jiakun.

“China has responded in a resolute manner and lodged serious protests with New Zealand.”

Guo Jiakun said China urged New Zealand to abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, respect China’s sovereignty and security concerns and maintain the safety and order of civil aviation.

China’s Ministry of National Defence spokesperson, Zhang Xiaogang, said such malicious acts by New Zealand harmed China’s sovereignty and security, gravely disrupted the order of civil aviation in relevant airspace, and may easily trigger maritime and aerial incidents.

“We urge the New Zealand side to impose stricter discipline and supervision over its frontline forces, immediately stop irresponsible acts that harass and jeopardise civil aviation safety.”

A spokesperson for the New Zealand Defence Force said New Zealand’s P-8A maritime patrol aircraft has been undertaking activities that monitor North Korean sanctions evasions at sea in North Asia under UN Security Council resolutions.

The spokesperson said New Zealand has contributed to UN sanctions monitoring since 2018.

“These activities are not directed at China but rather aim to monitor evasions of United Nations sanctions on North Korea, which do occur in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.”

The spokesperson said the New Zealand Defence Force crew operated professionally and in accordance with international law and civil aviation procedures for the region.

“NZDF has reviewed the routes flown and all available information. We have no data which indicates they disrupted civil aviation.”

The Defence Force said New Zealand takes an open and transparent approach to these operations.

“As part of this, there has been dialogue between New Zealand and Chinese officials, and we have made it clear that this is a longstanding deployment enforcing UN-mandated sanctions on North Korea.”

The spokesperson said NZDF won’t be commenting further on the specifics of those discussions, or on the details of the operations.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The prime minister has taken part in a virtual meeting of world leaders overnight to discuss efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade earlier confirmed Christopher Luxon was scheduled to be on the group call of up to forty world leaders focussing on unlocking the strait through diplomatic means.

In a statement posted to social media, Luxon said the conflict in the Middle East had driven up the price of fuel and could impact other everyday goods.

“Freedom of navigation, international law, stable and predictable trade routes are essential to our economy. The same goes for our friends who are hurting across the Indo-Pacific and our Pacific Islands neighbours,” he said.

“While we were meeting, it was encouraging to see Iran announce it would re-open parts of the Strait. Of course, this still remains a very fragile situation and it is an important moment to work together with partners.”

Over a dozen countries offer to play role in Hormuz mission, Starmer says

More than a dozen countries said they were willing to join an international mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz when conditions permit, Britain said, just as US President Donald Trump said he did not need allies’ help.

Some 50 countries from Europe, Asia and the Middle East joined the video conference chaired by France and Britain that followed on initial military planning and aimed to send a signal to Washington.

Iran, which said it was ready to open the strait, has largely closed it to ships other than its own since the start of US-Israeli airstrikes against it on 28 February. On Monday (local time), Washington imposed a blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports.

Trump has called on other countries to help enforce the blockade and has criticised NATO allies for not doing so, but just as the Paris talks concluded, Trump said he had told NATO to stay away.

Britain, France and others say joining the blockade would amount to entering the war, but that they would be willing to help keep the strait open once there was a lasting ceasefire or the conflict ended.

More talks next week

French President Emmanuel Macron said the meeting had allowed them to send a united message to demand the immediate and unconditional reopening of the strait, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes, and restoration of free passage.

“We all oppose any restriction, anything that would amount, in effect, to an attempt to privatise the strait, and obviously any toll system,” Macron told reporters.

He said part of French naval assets currently deployed in the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea could be used for the mission.

“We will take this forward with a military plan conference in London next week where we will announce more detail on the composition of the mission, and over a dozen countries have already offered to contribute assets,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

The initiative being discussed did not, for now, include the United States or Iran, though European diplomats said any realistic mission would ultimately need to be coordinated with both.

Resources will depend on situation, official says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his country was prepared to contribute to the mission, adding that input from the US would also be “desirable” and that he did not want the issue to become a “stress test” for transatlantic relations.

Several diplomats said the mission might never materialise if the situation in the Strait of Hormuz returned to normal.

Others said shipping companies and insurers could seek such a deployment during a transitional phase to provide reassurance.

“It can involve intelligence sharing, mine-clearance capabilities, military escorts, information procedures with neighbouring countries and more,” a senior French official said.

“The objective is clear, and the resources deployed will naturally depend on the situation.”

– RNZ / Reuters

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