NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former prison officer Moeaia Tuai, who enslaved two young people in Auckland over several years will spend more than 16 years in jail.

Tuai raped and sexually assaulted one of them.

Tuai, 63, was found guilty by a jury last year of two charges of slavery, two counts of rape and a string of other sexual assaults.

In a victim statement, one of the complainants said her youthful happiness, and her voice, have been taken from her.

Justice Michele Wilkinson-Smith said Tuai felt entitled to the money the two earned, controlling their finances to fund his lifestyle and threatening them with deportation.

Investigation and prosecution numbers were hard to track down, but Tuai’s slave dealing convictions are believed to be the fifth in New Zealand history.

More to come…

[ https://radionz.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=211a938dcf3e634ba2427dde9&id=b3d362e693 Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter] curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Maritime Union of New Zealand is concerned about the well-being of seafarers on board the former Interislander ferry Aratere, now called the Vega, which is anchored in Tasman Bay waiting to sail to India.

Maritime NZ said it does not know how many crew are on board or where they are from and has no plans to carry out inspections or interventions to check on their welfare.

The Vega is waiting for consent to enter India, where it will be taken to a shipyard and dismantled.

Maritime Union NZ national secretary Carl Findlay said the Vega had been sitting at anchor in Tasman Bay for more than 50 days and the union had received reports about the well-being of crew members who had been on the ship for almost two months.

The union did not have any concerns about crew welfare on the Vega until it was contacted by RNZ.

Findlay said contracts obtained by the union showed the ship was registered to Jahaj Solutions (F.Z.E), which was based in the United Arab Emirates.

“This vessel was once the flagship of New Zealand’s ferry fleet. It is now sitting off our coast with a foreign crew who are cut off from shore and on contracts that pay well below International Labour Organisation (ILO) minimum standards,” he said.

Crew agreements viewed by the union showed an able seaman on board the ship was being paid a basic wage of $206USD ($340NZD) per month.

This was significantly below the ILO minimum basic wage for an able seafarer, which rose to $690USD ($1140NZD) per month on 1 January 2026, the union said.

Findlay said the total monthly pay for an able seaman is only $550USD ($909NZD), even with overtime and allowances, which was far below accepted international minimums.

He said the boat’s agents and master had reported the crew were in good health and that provisions were being supplied but that needed to be independently verified.

The union wants Maritime NZ to conduct an immediate, independent welfare check on all crew members on the Vega to ensure they were safe, correctly paid and had the option to be repatriated if they wanted to leave the vessel.

As the Port State Control authority, Maritime NZ is able to carry out crew welfare inspections or interventions.

A spokesperson said there was no action currently underway or planned for the Vega by Maritime NZ.

“As is the case for any other foreign ship in our waters, if people have concerns about crew welfare, Maritime NZ asks them to notify us,” they said.

Why hasn’t the Vega left New Zealand?

KiwiRail announced last October that it had agreed to sell the Aratere to a buyer that would deliver it to a specialist recycling shipyard in India.

At the time, Interislander’s executive general manager Duncan Roy said it had done due diligence and physical inspections of the shipyard in India.

“Once the buyer takes ownership of the ship it will be responsible for crewing its journey to the recycling yard subject to review by the Environmental Protection Authority,” he said.

An Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) spokesperson said the Vega was awaiting an import consent from the Indian Competent Authority and there was no timeline for how long that would take.

The EPA said the application for the ship’s export was complete and relevant application documents had been provided to the Indian Competent Authority.

“We cannot finalise the export application until the Indian Competent Authority has granted consent for import,” the spokesperson said.

“We have not been provided a timeline for this process, but it is not unusual for these applications to take some time. The EPA continues to actively follow up on progress with the Indian Competent Authority and provide additional information if/where needed.”

The ship remains the responsibility of the company that purchased it with the intention of exporting it to India.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington’s Mayor says suggested terms of reference for an expected Crown review into the failure of the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant are with the government.

It comes as Wellington Water crews enter the plant to begin assessing the damage from its massive meltdown last week.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said he’d given Local Government Minister Simon Watts his proposal for a terms of reference for any inquiry.

He expected the review would examine the mechanical cause of the breakdown and the environmental impact and the damage to the plant.

“…In terms of any governance issues, the contractual arrangements between the various parties, reporting to the various bodies, including the council, the information that was shared, was that adequate, was that appropriate? Should anybody have seen something that might have led to an earlier and preventative response? All those questions are contained in that,” Little said.

There were concerns at a Cabinet level about a full ministerial inquiry, which could be formalistic and expensive, he said.

“I had a discussion with David Seymour about it. He had expressed some supportive views, but also some concerning views earlier in the week. We had a good discussion about it. I think he understood what I was saying. So, I expect it will be a Crown review.”

Watts and Seymour have been approached for comment.

Little said it was important that any review was independent and had the powers to compel documents if needed.

While court action couldn’t be ruled out, the immediate focus was restoring a safe, functioning treatment plant, he said.

Little said the Moa Point plant was likely facing a major rebuild, with costs expected to fall at least initially on Wellington City Council.

Early indications suggested a significant reinstallation of equipment would be needed, but there was no price tag, he said.

“We just don’t know what the cost is going to be, but you’d expect, from all of the accounts so far, you’d have to anticipate this is a major rebuild, at least a reinstallation of equipment, and that doesn’t come cheap.”

The mayor said the parties involved, including the Wellington City Council and Wellington Water, had insurance.

But he said responsibility hadn’t been determined, and it was too early to say who would foot the bill.

Little said the planned transfer of assets to Metro Water in July may now need renegotiating.

Meanwhile, a week on from the failure, Wellington Water crews have been able to enter the Moa Point plant to begin properly taking stock of the damage.

The company said workers were following strict risk protocols including personal protective equipment and risk analysis for each task.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Christchurch man has been arrested after crashing, stealing a vehicle he hit, then attempting to take another three vehicles.

Police were called to Queen Elizabeth II Drive after reports of a stolen vehicle following a three vehicle crash.

They said a 28-year-old man had forced a driver he crashed into from their car, before leaving the area.

He was later found on Papanui Road after attempting to steal another three vehicles.

Senior Sergeant Hamish Keer-Keer said there were no serious injuries.

He said police found “cannabis and items indicating supply” during a search of the man’s first vehicle.

The man due to appear in the District Court in Christchurch on Thursday charged with possession of cannabis for supply, careless driving, driving in a dangerous manner, two counts of failing to stop or ascertain injury and two counts of robbery.

Enquires into the events remain ongoing.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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