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RSV immunisation could prevent thousands of babies being hospitalised

Source: Radio New Zealand

Pharmac needs to act quickly on the RSV vaccine to ensure it is ready for next winter, say experts. SERGII IAREMENKO/Science Photo Library via AFP

A “game-changer” immunisation that could save thousands of babies from a potentially deadly lung infection is sitting in the hands of Pharmac, according to respiratory health experts.

Pharmac’s Immunisation Advisory Committee met last week to discuss the funding application for nirsevimab to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants, as well as one for Arexvy, which is already licensed RSV vaccine for adults aged 60 and older.

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding said the potential approval of nirsevimab could be “a game-changer” – particularly for Māori and Pacific communities.

“This is the progress we’ve been waiting for.

“RSV hospitalises thousands of children every year, and this treatment has the potential to prevent many of those admissions.”

But Pharmac needed to act quickly to ensure it was ready for next winter, she said.

“We can’t afford delays if we want to save lives of some of our most vulnerable.

“We’re urging decision makers to prioritise funding so that New Zealand infants can benefit as soon as possible.”

Another preventative medicine (Palivizumab) is already available for high-risk babies and young children but requires monthly hospital visits for injections.

Nirsevimab can be given by GP clinics, pharmacists or midwives and a single injection protects against RSV for five or six months.

gives protection over the entire RSV “season”.

It is a monoclonal antibody, which gives passive immunity rather than stimulating the immune system to make its own antibodies, like a vaccine.

Foundation medical director Professor Bob Hancox said the opportunity to introduce a more effective and accessible RSV immunisation was “a critical step for child health”.

“RSV is one of the most common and serious respiratory infections in infants, and it places enormous strain on our hospitals every winter.

“This new treatment could dramatically reduce hospitalisations and health inequities,” he said.

RSV immunisation is used in 40 other countries, and data shows it can cut RSV hospitalisations among babies by up to 90 percent.

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

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NZTA cancelling fraudulently obtained commercial driver licences

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

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NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has revoked 440 commercial driver licences following the discovery of fraudulent activity.

The licences have been revoked after the discovery of false or altered documentation provided by individuals converting overseas licences to New Zealand licences.

Inconsistencies in the documents provided during the conversion process were discovered during an audit undertaken by NZTA in July 2025.

Deputy Director of Land Transport Mike Hargreaves says the licences have been revoked following a thorough investigation of issues identified during the audit.

“We have systems in place to identify, investigate and respond to suspected fraudulent activity and we will act swiftly when we find it by holding people to account,” Mr Hargreaves says.

NZTA is in the process of contacting the affected individuals advising that their licences have been revoked and must be surrendered. 

Providing false or misleading information as part of driver licence application is an offence under the Land Transport Act 1998, punishable by an infringement fine of up to $750.   

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Black Caps, West Indies fourth T20 rained out

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mitchell Santner. Chris Symes / www.photosport.nz

The fourth T20 international between the Black Caps and West Indies has been wiped out by rain in Nelson.

There were just 6.3 overs played before rain took hold at Saxton Oval and didn’t abate enough for a return to the field.

The Black Caps lead the series 2-1, with the final match due to be played in Dunedin on Thursday afternoon.

Play was first halted after five overs, with the West Indies 30 for none after Mitch Santner won the toss for the Black Caps and decided to bowl.

Drizzly weather turned to steady rain and the players retreated to the pavilion.

There was a break in the weather a short time later but they only managed 1.3 overs before the rain returned. In that time the West Indies progressed to 38 but lost the wicket of Alick Athanaze who skied a delivery from Jimmy Neesham, and Daryl Mitchell took the catch.

The players were fated not to return and the skippers shook hands with the decision to abandon the match at 4.08pm.

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

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NZTA discovers 440 fake commercial driver licences

Source: Radio New Zealand

NZTA is in the process of contacting the individuals involved. 123RF

The New Zealand Transport Agency has discovered and revoked 440 fake commercial driver licensees.

NZTA said they discovered false or altered documentation that converted overseas licences to New Zealand licences.

The discovery was made in an audit during the “conversion process” in July 2025.

“We have systems in place to identify, investigate and respond to suspected fraudulent activity and we will act swiftly when we find it by holding people to account,” deputy director of land transport Mike Hargreaves said.

NZTA is in the process of contacting the individuals involved.

Providing false or misleading information as part of driver licence application is an offence under the Land Transport Act 1998, punishable by an infringement fine of up to $750.  

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

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Wellington teens do the heavy lifting to help full the new library’s shelves

Source: Radio New Zealand

A group of Wellington students has turned a page on history, moving some of the last books into the capital’s redeveloped central Library.

Te Matapihi has been closed since 2019 after it was deemed earthquake-prone.

Following years of construction, the library is set to reopen in March next year. Now, its shelves are starting to be filled once again with books, thanks to the helping hands of 50 students from Rongotai College.

About 10am on Monday, a queue of boys snaked outside the library as they lined up behind a red Crown moving truck ready to slide boxes of books to the students.

The human train walked back into the building and up its three levels to where empty bookshelves and librarians were waiting for them.

It harkened back to when students from the same school moved books into the old city library in 1940.

Rongotai College Deputy Principal Geoff Hall told RNZ they had just 45 minutes to move the books.

“I’d be more than happy for it to go on a little bit longer than that, I think it is really good that these boys are giving back to the community as much as anything.

“And every time I suppose they shift a book, they feel that story.”

Hall said it was great to context with the school’s past 85 years on.

“We have got our centenary in two years’ time, so it is sort of a good way to kick start that I think.”

Wellington City Council head of Creative Capital Gisella Carr told RNZ the event links the past with the present.

“As we said to the boys this morning, in 85 years’ time through our archival function those future schoolboys will be looking at pictures of these schoolboys.”

Carr said every inch of the building has been redesigned with the public in mind.

“We are standing on the floor now where there is 30 percent more public space available so it is amazing.”

She said alongside the books the library would offer a range of services such as recording studios for bands and podcasters and a green screen for film makers.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little helped out the students by bringing a box of books into the space.

Little told RNZ it was his first time seeing the library fully fitted out after it shut in 2019.

“Seeing it like this yeah, just stunning it is actually just amazing.”

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

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Police appealing for information following fatal crash, Waipa

Source: New Zealand Police

Please attribute to Sergeant Steven Jones, Waikato Road Policing,

Police are appealing for information from the public following a fatal crash in the Waipa District on Saturday 18 October.

Emergency services were notified of the crash on Te Pahu Road just after 11am involving a motorcycle that appears to have left the road between Whatawhata and Te Pahu.

One person received serious injuries and was transported to hospital, however sadly died in hospital in the days following the crash.

The crash is believed to have occurred during a group ride, involving a number of motorcycles travelling around the area.

Police would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed the crash, or who may have dashcam footage around the time of the incident.

If you have information that may assist in our investigation, please contact Police online at 105.police.govt.nz, clicking “Update Report” or by calling 105.

Please use the reference number 251020/0479.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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Arrests, infringements following league celebrations

Source: New Zealand Police

Police are disappointed in the actions of a minority of league fans during the final weekend of the Pacific Rugby League Championship.

To ensure celebrations were safe and lawful, additonal Police staff were deployed to Ōtāhuhu, Māngere, Ōtara and Clendon as fans took to the streets.

Counties Manukau District Commander, Superintendent Shanan Gray, says fans turned out in their hundreds causing congestions on roads and surrounding areas.

“Police would like to thank the majority who celebrated peacefully and lawfully,” he says.

“However, it’s disappointing to see that there were a number of individuals choosing to behave poorly, putting themselves and other members of the public at risk.”

Over the course of the weekend, Police saw a range of unlawful behaviours including people riding on top of vehicles, children dancing in live traffic lanes, and vehicles doing burnouts.

As a result, 31 arrests were made and Police issued 225 infringement notices for breaches of liquor bans, as well as driving and other road related offences.

Police also impounded six vehicles, and 15 people were summonsed to court for driving with excess breath alcohol.

“We recognise the right for people to gather and celebrate in our communities” Superintendent Gray says.

“However, this should not be at the expense of other people’s safety or enjoyment.”

ENDS.

Amanda Wieneke/NZ Police

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New pathway to grow GP workforce

Source: New Zealand Government

Expressions of interest open today for graduate doctors keen to gain hands-on experience in general practice and other community-based settings across New Zealand, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

“Primary care is the cornerstone of our health system, but New Zealand has a shortage of family doctors, who play a vital role in keeping people well and out of emergency departments,” Mr Brown says.

“Providing opportunities for graduate doctors to receive clinical supervision in a primary care environment is a key part of our plan to increase GP numbers.”

Funded by the Government in Budget 2025 as part of the Primary Care Tactical Action Plan, the primary care pathway allocates $23.3 million over four years to introduce a funded pathway to registration for New Zealand-trained graduate doctors.

“This funding will support up to 50 graduate doctors each year, with a greater proportion of their time spent in primary care providers rather than hospitals – giving doctors meaningful experience working in communities.”

The pathway includes general practice and may also involve urgent care and rural hospitals. These extended placements are designed to build clinical breadth, strengthen system-wide understanding, and provide meaningful experience of the unique challenges and rewards of community-based care.

“Talented graduate doctors with an interest in primary care will be given an extended opportunity to pursue that interest, working in communities right across the country.

“Our goal is to give early-career doctors a real taste of community medicine while encouraging more to consider primary care as a long-term career. A stronger health workforce that we can retain is critical to ensuring all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare.

“We want everyone to be able to see a GP when they need one, regardless of where they live. This pathway is a meaningful step toward that goal.”

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Te Pāti Māori purge fails to end the party war

Source: Radio New Zealand

Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi. RNZ/Samuel Rillstone

Analysis: As the Iwi Chairs Forum fought fruitlessly to keep Te Pāti Māori together last week, spokesperson Bayden Barber offered a warning: a split tōtara is only good for the fire.

Now Te Pāti Māori finds itself in an inferno.

The slow-burn conflagration has been smouldering for so long, it’s easy to miss the magnitude. But this is no small matter.

This is a party ousting a third of its caucus, citing “irreconcilable differences” and “serious breaches” of its constitution.

Fronting reporters on Monday morning, co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi wished their former colleagues “all the best of luck” and waved them on their way.

“We had to bring this to a close, and we must move on.”

But that seems overly hopeful. Both Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris were quick to declare the move “unconstitutional” and are threatening to challenge it “in all respects”.

The party’s National Council has also yet to consider whether to invoke the waka-jumping provision and eject the MPs from Parliament altogether.

That would require agreement of the two other remaining MPs – Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke and Oriini Kaipara. It’s unclear yet where they stand in all this.

Either outcome is ugly. If the “rogue” MPs remain, they will serve as a constant reminder of division. If they’re booted, two by-elections loom, sure to be bitter and bruising.

At least a public contest might shed more clarity on what’s behind the weeks of infighting, with voters so far largely left in a cloud of smoke.

Asked to clarify on Monday exactly what the MPs had done to deserve expulsion, the co-leaders refused: “You’re not going to get that detail here in this press conference.”

From what has dripped out over the past six weeks, it seems the feud is driven more by personality than principle.

Party president John Tamihere has accused the two MPs of plotting a failed coup. Kapa-Kingi and Ferris have declared no confidence in Tamihere, with their supporters decrying toxic dictatorial leadership.

Supporters are right to feel aggrieved. A year ago, Te Pāti Māori was riding a wave of unity and purpose, as a driving force behind the historic Toitū Te Tiriti hikoi.

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris. RNZ/Liam K. Swiggs

It boasted its largest-ever caucus, having swept six of the seven Māori electorates in a dominant 2023 result.

Ironically, the roots of the recent crisis lie in that rapid expansion.

The co-leaders went from being a dynamic duo to overseeing a more assertive caucus and competing egos.

Tamihere, Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi are all dominant personalities, used to steering their own course.

But both Kapa-Kingi and Ferris regard themselves as electorate MPs first, answerable to their own people, not to the central hierarchy.

Add in the whānau ties on either side, and the conflict shifts from political to personal.

The co-leaders admit the recent disunity has damaged the party’s brand. The enthusiasm of a year ago has turned to disillusionment, with voters now forced to pick sides or to look elsewhere.

When Hone Harawira split from the Māori Party in 2011 to form Mana, both sides eventually vanished. Harawira was sent packing by voters in 2014, and the rest of the Māori Party followed in 2017.

For the wider opposition, there is good and bad here.

The Labour Party will see an opportunity to win over those disenchanted voters and to retake the Māori electorates amidst a more divided race.

But the wider picture is riskier. Centrist voters may well look at the turmoil on the left and decide to stick with the status quo.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has yet to publicly declare whether he would welcome Te Pāti Māori as part of a future Cabinet.

Those questions will only grow louder now – expanding to include the “rogues”. Where do they stand in any coalition calculation?

The Iwi Chairs Forum had arranged “peace talks” this week, bringing together the two factions at a Wellington marae.

Bayden Barber still thinks that would be beneficial and the co-leaders agree it could still go ahead. But few expect much to come of it now.

The next moment of reckoning may come on 7 December, when members gather in Rotorua for the party’s AGM – and confront how Te Pāti Māori can piece itself together from the ashes.

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

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Smoke warning as Tongariro fire grows

Source: Radio New Zealand

Firefighters continue to battle the Tongariro National Park wildfire. Fire and Emergency

People living near the Tongariro National Park fire are being warned to take extra precautions to protect themselves, young children and the elderly from smoke.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation said residents should close windows and doors if staying inside, and wear a properly fitted N95 or KN95 masks outdoors.

Its chief executive Letitia Harding said bush fire smoke contained “tiny particles” which could irritate the lungs and airways.

That could be particularly risky for children, older people and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions.

“For people with asthma, COPD or other lung conditions, smoke exposure can trigger flare-ups, which in serious cases may require hospitalisation,” she said.

“It’s important to limit exposure and keep medications like reliever inhalers on hand.”

Meanwhile, those travelling in the area should keep car windows closed and set the ventilation system to recirculate air.

Everyone in the wider region should stay informed about smoke conditions, plan activities carefully and take practical steps to protect their lungs, Harding said.

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