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Woolworths fined $33,000 over Dunedin rodent infestation

Source: NZ Ministry for Primary Industries

Woolworths New Zealand Limited has been fined $33,000 over its failure to properly escalate and manage a rodent infestation at one of its supermarkets in Dunedin.  

The company was sentenced at the Dunedin District Court today following a successful prosecution by New Zealand Food Safety having earlier pleaded guilty to one charge under the Food Act.  

“The rat infestation at the Countdown Dunedin South store between October 2023 and February 2024 caused public significant concern to consumers and had the potential to make people sick. There were reports of 61 rats captured during this time,” says New Zealand Food Safety deputy director general Vincent Arbuckle.   

“Supermarkets are complex businesses that store and distribute large amounts of food. People rightly expect they have robust processes in place to anticipate and manage associated food safety risk. On this occasion the Dunedin South Countdown store fell well short of those expectations.”

While staff on site raised concerns about multiple rodent sightings, starting in October 2023 and increasing over the following months, the issue was not properly escalated to Woolworths Head of Quality and Food Safety until January 2024. During this time the problem in store continued to grow and became more difficult to resolve. 

“That presented an unacceptable risk to consumers because rodents carry disease and leave waste on surfaces that can make people sick. Our investigation found that, for too long the store tried to deal with it locally as a maintenance or service issue rather than a food safety issue.”

Once the matter was properly escalated to Woolworths’ food safety experts, New Zealand Food Safety was alerted and action was taken, Mr Arbuckle said.  

“This included the closure of the store from 9 to 28 February, as a result of engagement with New Zealand Food Safety, to ensure the pests were removed and the store was deep cleaned.”

New Zealand Food Safety subsequently worked with Woolworths to improve its processes.  

“We’re satisfied it has taken the right steps so that future issues can be quickly identified and resolved.    

“Woolworths has reviewed its pest management control system and made considerable improvements. These include increasing its food safety resourcing and training as well as clarifying of roles and responsibilities within the business so that issues can be effectively escalated.  

“This was a unique and extreme case of pest infestation and highlights the importance of this area for all food businesses. Problems caught early and addressed promptly, avoid significant business disruption and reputational risk.”

“In this case the store did not manage the infestation according to its food control plan, resulting in a failure by Woolworths to adhere to its duties under the Food Act. We will always prioritise food safety, including prosecuting food businesses where appropriate,” said Vincent Arbuckle.  

If you have concerns about a food product, you can contact New Zealand Food Safety on 0800 008 333 or use our online food complaint tool

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Police yet to investigate what technology is needed gather intelligence as part of new bill

Source: Radio New Zealand

(File photo) RNZ / Richard Tindiller

Police say they have not yet started investigating what technologies they might need to implement intelligence-gathering powers contained in a new bill that would give police new powers to move and detain.

They also said public consultation on the policing amendment bill would happen at the Justice select committee where it was sent after its first reading this week.

The bill delivered new powers to police to move or detain someone, but just how far it went would now be decided in select committee.

There was no public consultation on it until now, with a regulatory impact statement saying the time pressure had been to enact the changes as soon as possible after a Supreme Court ruling almost a year ago, “given the impact on daily policing activity”.

Two official inquiries and a Supreme Court ruling almost a year ago, challenged police’s understanding of how they could collect general intelligence and, the bill said, narrowed the law.

This came after police photographing people indiscriminately was ruled unlawful, and police storage of tens of thousands of images was exposed for the first time as so haphazard they still had not been able to locate them all.

Police missed a mid-2025 deadline to find a way to identify and delete all the photos.

Their updates to the Privacy Commissioner over several years showed that while they stopped the practice, and taking youths fingerprints unlawfully too, they failed to find or afford technology to destroy the pictures, or to flag them if they cropped up in a current investigation.

The tech gap was raised in the debate over the bill’s first reading this week by Labour’s police spokesperson Ginny Andersen.

A digital evidence management system had been presented as a solution, she said.

“We have a right to know how long those photographs or video recordings or sound recordings are being held for and where they are being stored,” Andersen said.

“It’s important to know that there is a system in place within police for this to be done responsibly, and it’s also important for us to know if this is funded, because we know… there’s been inadequate funding for the development and implementation of a digital evidence management system.

“Had they had that, police would have stored and identified photos and linked them to specific cases, which would have also meant [that] staff would have documented the lawful purpose for taking the photo.”

In mid-2024 a project to build such a system was put on hold for lack of money.

RNZ would seek an update from police.

Tim Anderson, Assistant police commissioner for iwi community and partnership said on Friday, “as this bill has only just begun going through the parliamentary process, police has not yet commenced work to [sic] investigating supporting technologies that may be required in preparation for implementation.”

Police began a push for a law change around general intelligence powers in 2022 soon after being taken to task in inquiries by the Privacy Commissioner and Independent Police Conduct Authority.

The government said the new bill sought to correct that and restore their powers but critics say it expands their powers without adequate safeguards.

The lack of consultation before the bill was introduced extended to Māori.

Police said on Friday they would continue to consider and give effect to their obligations to Māori and the Treaty “including ways in which any disproportionate impacts to Māori can be appropriately mitigated”.

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

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Ten tarāpuka / black-billed gulls poisoned in Te Anau

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Department of Conservation is investigating the poisoning of ten black-billed gulls in Te Anau. Supplied / Department of Conservation

The Department of Conservation is investigating the poisoning of 10 black-billed gulls in Te Anau.

Five of the native birds were found sick on the foreshore in January and were euthanised. Another five had already died.

Department of Conservation Te Anau operations manager John Lucas said testing later revealed the black-billed gulls/tarāpuka had ingested alphachloralose, a toxic chemical used for bird control.

The department was appealing to members of the public and local businesses for information about the use of alphachloralose, or products containing the chemical, in the Te Anau area in mid-January.

The deaths were a disappointing blow for the Te Anau population of an often unfairly maligned species, Lucas said.

“Tarāpuka are New Zealand’s only endemic gull and their numbers are in rapid decline, especially in Southland,” he said.

“People may be used to seeing colonies ranging in the hundreds and thousands but with introduced predators, habitat loss and changes in land use these avian fixtures of the south are in serious trouble with some studies estimating up to 80 percent decline in Southland over the past 30 years.”

Black-billed gulls were a protected species under the Wildlife Act and it was an offence to hunt, kill or catch them without authorisation, he said.

“Like kiwi and kākā, tarāpuka are only found in New Zealand and are part of what makes New Zealand special. If you saw or heard anything while out naturing on the Te Anau waterfront this summer that may help us get to the bottom of this please get in touch,” Lucas said.

People could report any information to 0800 DOC HOT, using the case reference CLE-11463. Information could be offered anonymously.

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

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Woolworths fined $33,000 over rat infestation at South Dunedin supermarket

Source: Radio New Zealand

South Dunedin Countdown temporarily closed after rats were trapped in February, 2024. RNZ / Tess Brunton

Woolworths New Zealand has been fined $33,000 for failing to properly deal with a rat infestation at its South Dunedin supermarket.

The store was closed for almost three weeks in February 2024 to eliminate the pests with more than 20 rats caught and old nests found in the walls.

The company pleaded guilty in December last year to breaching the Food Act after a lengthy investigation by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Judge David Robinson imposed the fine in the Dunedin District Court on Friday.

Woolworths’ failure to act quickly had the potential to expose customers and staff to illness over about four months, Robinson said.

The company failed to escalate the issue to its food safety team with staff treating the infestation as a maintenance issue instead of a food safety matter until a rat chewed through the wires of a forklift, he said.

The company had a pest management plan in place with more than 110 rat sightings in the company’s register between October and December with 10 caught during a similar period, Robinson said.

There was a lack of understanding among staff about who should escalate the issue and he said the company was responsible for ensuring its staff knew what to do.

Woolworths’ lawyer Joe Edwards acknowledged the company made an error in not escalating the problem earlier and accepted there were systemic issues, saying it was not seeking to pass the blame onto staff.

The company apologised and had taken steps to analyse its policies and procedures to reach a “gold standard” for preventing and responding to future pest problems, he said.

Rats were first detected in the Andersons Bay Road store in late 2023 and a photo of a rat perched among bacon products went viral in November that year.

One customer told RNZ she saw a huge rat “living its best life in there”, running through the wine bottles while she was shopping with her children.

Ministry for Primary Industries confirmed an investigation was launched in January 2024 after receiving complaints.

Woolworths New Zealand responded saying it had a comprehensive pest management plan in place and was ramping up cleaning procedures, adding more bait stations and getting daily visits from a pest control contractor.

The company confirmed it would close the store for 48 hours the following month so pest controllers could tackle the furry problem. Woolworths claimed it was told rodents were not nesting in the store.

Pest controllers caught 13 rats over the weekend and the closure was extended with reopening subsequently pushed back several times.

New Zealand Food Safety then confirmed Woolworths had uncovered evidence of rats nesting.

The store finally reopened 19 days later after no rat activity was found for 72 hours. But there were mixed reviews from customers with some planning to stay away and others happy to keep shopping there.

Two more rats were found at the supermarket by April 2024 but New Zealand Food Safety said it was satisfied Woolworths was focused on pest management.

The food safety regulator charged Woolworths New Zealand for breaches of the Food Act last September and the company pleaded guilty in December.

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

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Heinz Wattie’s to proceed with closing factories, discontinuing some products

Source: Radio New Zealand

It will see frozen vegetables be discontinued. (File photo) Supplied / Heinz Watties

Heinz Wattie’s will proceed with plans to close manufacturing sites in Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland, as well as the frozen packing lines in Hastings.

This would see a discontinuation of its frozen vegetables, coffee and dips businesses.

MORE TO COME…

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

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Update: Dinghy owner located

Source: New Zealand Police

The Auckland Police Maritime Unit thank the public for their help in locating the owner of a dinghy found capsized in Manukau Harbour this morning.

Police released an appeal this afternoon after an unoccupied dinghy was found floating in Manukau Harbour.

The dinghy’s owner has since been located safe and well.

Police thank the community for sharing our appeal.

ENDS.

Frankie Le Roy/NZ Police

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Households closing their wallets as consumer confidence falls

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ

  • Consumer Confidence falls to 91.3 points from 100.1 in February
  • A net negative 14 percent of households think it is a good time to make a major purchase
  • A net 10 percent expect to be better off this time next year, down from last month’s net 20 percent
  • A net negative 20 percent of consumers fell worse off now, down from last months minus 16 percent
  • Consumers believe inflation will rise to 5.7 percent in the next two years

The Middle East conflict has torpedoed consumer confidence in March, and early evidence suggests households are closing their wallets.

March’s ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index fell sharply into negative territory at 91.3 points, well below last month’s 101.1 points.

Any score under 100 indicates pessimism.

The impact of the Middle Eastern conflict on consumers was immediate, with every metric in the latest survey turning negative.

ANZ said the conflict created significant uncertainty for the economic outlook and was already hitting people in the back pocket.

It said the hit to confidence would likely be negative for growth and it was reasonable to believe that both firms and households would think twice about making making spending decisions, in case things went from bad to worse.

Consumers were caught in a perfect storm in March, hit by higher fuel prices and rising mortgage rates.

Chief economist Sharon Zollner said the data was even worse in real time than the headline suggested.

“It’s not the full story because we can actually look at it as the month evolved, and in the last week of sampling it was (consumer confidence) under 80,” she said.

Zollner said the same pattern had repeated across the Tasman where Australian consumer confidence had “dropped like a stone”.

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

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Synlait juggles high milk price risk with retaining farmer-suppliers

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Synlait milk truck. Synlait/supplied

Paying dairy farmers a premium for their white gold could come at a cost to Synlait Milk, according to an agribusiness expert.

The Dunsandel-based processor and exporter increased its farmgate milk price this week to up to $9.90 per kilogram of milk solids for the financial year, 20 cents higher than competitor Fonterra’s new current season midpoint.

But it also released what bosses labelled a “frustratingly disappointing” half-year financial result, due to manufacturing challenges and inventory kerfuffles between raw and powdered milk through 2025.

It reported a $80.6 million loss in the six months to late January, while debts soared to $472.1m.

Lincoln University senior lecturer in agribusiness Dr Nic Lees said the company was under significant financial stress, which could affect farmer confidence.

“Farmers do have options. I suspect this result’s not going to add confidence amongst farmers that there isn’t a financial risk for them supplying Synlait.”

Lees said the company’s sales were no longer covering the direct cost of making and processing its products. He said paying farmers the higher milk price added to the pressure, increasing raw material costs, but he could understand the strategy.

“They need to be able to be offering their suppliers something more than what they can get from supplying Fonterra or Open Country,” he said. “They are having to pay a risk premium to their suppliers to try and hold those.”

  • Do you supply Synlait? Let us know your thoughts monique.steele@rnz.co.nz

He said Synlait faced fixed retail pricing in “onerous” customer contracts, making it more vulnerable to fluctuating global prices – which differed to how Fonterra could pass on costs.

“In some ways from Fonterra’s point of view, the higher milk price is beneficial to their farmers. Whereas from Synlait’s perspective, higher milk price means higher costs for their raw materials, which potentially is difficult to directly pass on to their customers.”

Lees said Synlait was lucky to have major long-term shareholders like Bright Dairy of China that had significant financial scale, so the losses would not threaten the overall business.

But he said the results showed the challenge of going down the “value-add pathway” into retail, like into its consumer brand Dairyworks.

It came as Fonterra divested its consumer brands business under Mainland Group, for dairy products including ice creams and cheese.

This week, Fonterra announced its net profit for the six months ended January rose 3 percent on last year to $750m.

Synlait milk on the production line. Supplied/ Synlait

Poor 2025 results don’t reflect future – company

When publishing the results to the New Zealand Exchange, Synlait Milk chief executive Richard Wyeth and chairman George Adams told investors the financial result did not define the company’s future.

“Many of you, like us, will find today’s numbers frustratingly disappointing – we are all hungry for positive financial performance,” the joint statement read.

“The result reflects a period where Synlait faced multiple headwinds with little choice as to how to deal with them.”

Synlait’s “realistic” roadmap to recovery sought to position it for future growth, grow high-margin products from existing assets and accelerate growth and future growth opportunities.

Last year, the dairy company sold its North Island operations, including its Pōkeno site, for $307m to help the balance sheet.

It said on Monday the sale was on track to be completed from 1 April.

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

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Land acquisition underway for future South Auckland hospital

Source: New Zealand Government

The next step toward delivering a new hospital for South Auckland is underway, with Health New Zealand seeking proposals from landowners in Drury for a future hospital site, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

“Health New Zealand has begun a targeted process to identify and purchase a large, suitable site in the Drury area that could support a major new hospital health precinct,” Mr Brown says.

This process will see a Request for Proposal issued to landowners identified following a Request for Information released to the market in October 2025.

“South Auckland and north Waikato are some of the fastest-growing parts of the country, and we know health infrastructure needs to keep pace.

“Securing land now is a critical step to ensure we can plan with confidence and meet the long-term health needs of a rapidly growing population.

“South Auckland communities experience some of the highest health needs in New Zealand, including higher rates of infectious diseases and long-term conditions.

“At the same time, our major Auckland hospitals, including Middlemore and Auckland City, are already under significant pressure as they work to meet growing demand.

“By moving now to identify the right site, we are making sure future investment is well planned, well located, and able to deliver the modern facilities patients and staff need.”

The size of the land being sought would enable a wide range of future health developments, including a major general hospital.

“Drury has been identified as a strong location due to its proximity to key transport corridors and planned public transport connections, making it easier for patients, staff, and visitors to access care.”

Mr Brown says this work is part of a broader programme to strengthen health infrastructure and future-proof services for growing communities.

“We are getting on with the job of planning, investing, and building for the future, so Aucklanders can have confidence that their health services will be there when they need them.”

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The ‘McDonald’s hamburger’ of cricket bats that could hit high prices for six

Source: Radio New Zealand

123rf

George Fox didn’t set out to be a bat manufacturer – his expertise is making protective equipment for cricketers. Although even that began more by accident than design around 13 years ago.

A friend was a professional cricketer, and Fox wasn’t impressed by the standard of some of his protective gear and made a bet he could do a better job.

“I said, ‘I bet you a pint. Your thigh pad’s rubbish mate, let’s have a go.'”

It’s safe to say Fox won the bet. Through word of mouth his bespoke thighpads and protective equipment grew into a business under the Stretton Fox brand name.

Based in the English town of Market Harborough, Fox got to know bat makers and heard their complaints about the rising cost of raw materials – namely English willow.

The MCC, cricket’s law makers, even held a conference last year to address the rising costs of bats and willow.

Part of the reason is limited supply – aside from the cane handle, quality cricket bats are virtually all made from English willow. It’s light, flexible, and when prepared by a skilled batmaker acts almost like a mini trampoline, sending the ball flying to and over the boundary.

But as the name suggests, English willow grows best in England and takes upwards of 15 years to be ready for harvest. The tree is felled, cut into rounds which are then split into clefts, which are then shaped into bats.

When he found out less than half of the wood actually makes it into the finished bat, Fox started thinking, “How do you create a McDonald’s hamburger version of a cricket bat?”

The secret formula

Using his training as a material scientist, he’s worked out a method to turn the willow leftovers – including shavings and saw dust – into what he describes as a “willow porridge”. That mixture is then poured into a cricket bat-shaped mould.

“Within 10 to 15 minutes you’re pulling out a cricket bat,” Fox said.

The bat needs a week or two to fully harden, but is then ready for match play.

Fox calls his bats ‘ Re-Willow’. The exact method is a patented secret. Fox said up to 95 percent of the bat is made from willow and wood-derived resin.

“Then about 5 percent of it is very clever chemistry, which is the bit that makes it do what it does. So that’s my Coca-Cola recipe, if you like.”

Because the blade of the bat is made from wood, it complies with MCC laws. It’s still a work in progress though.

Cricket bat willow is graded mainly on looks, but also performance. Fox reckons his bats currently perform as well as grade three English willow.

“The grading’s tricky, but everyone kind of gets it in terms of the bounce and the ping. I reckon that within six to eight weeks, we’ll be at grade two/grade one.”

Currently a top-of-the-range bat can cost well over $1500. Fox says his ‘Re-Willow’ bats will retail for around $200 for an adult size.

Fox doesn’t see his bats as a replacement for English willow bats, but hopes they’ll help lessen the cost barrier of getting into the sport, particularly for kids.

Fox said he’s been contacted by cricket academies around the world who tell him, “We just can’t, for love nor money, get hold of good quality cricket bats.”

If everything goes to plan, Fox’s Re-Willow bats will be on the shelves before the end of the year.

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