Community meeting over Christchurch’s putrid odours gets heated

Source: Radio New Zealand

Local musician and community advocate, Rebecca Robin, said the meeting with council staff in Bromley on Tuesday night got heated. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

A Christchurch woman says she walked out in anger more than once from a community meeting about a putrid-smelling sewage plant.

Offensive odours have plagued the city’s eastern suburbs after a fire destroyed the Bromley Wastewater Plant in 2021.

But the latest stench has locals complaining of nausea and headaches – and residents have been driven indoors.

Christchurch City Council said the recent heavy rain had affected the health of the oxidation pond, and it was using all available tools to improve water quality.

The council has been approached for comment.

Local musician and community advocate, Rebecca Robin, said the meeting with council staff in Bromley on Tuesday night got heated.

She said residents felt their suffering had been dismissed, and she wanted to see the stench treated as a public health issue and for there to be on-the-ground support.

“People are angry, they’re worried about the health effects, they’re not getting any immediate relief,” Robin said.

“I’m hoping this meeting has made them want to do more of a health response for people, rather than telling them to call their GPs or nurse practitioners. They need to be out here knocking on doors and checking on people.”

Robin said while some people could escape the smell, others couldn’t, and there was a financial cost to the odour for those who could no longer hang out washing.

“People [are] going, ‘Hey, we need to go to the laundromat,’ and … I think the point they’re missing is that the laundromat costs money.

“All of those things, they add up.”

Linwood Ward councillor, Yani Johanson, who represents the Bromley suburb, was pushing for a register to record residents’ stench-related health issues, and also for free medical visits.

“Fundamentally, cost is a barrier. Why should this community, who are suffering, have to pay to go and see a doctor, when through no fault of their own, they’re getting sick?”

He said the stink was not new, but the social and well-being response had been missing for years.

Johanson believed the commitment to establish a team focussed on supporting people was a step in the right direction.

A council information sheet given to meeting attendees included comment from National Public Health Service medical officer of health Dr Annabel Begg.

She said exposure to hydrogen sulphide odour from the plant could cause nausea, headaches, eye and throat irritation, skin irritation, sleep disturbance, and worsening asthma symptoms at relatively low concentrations.

“If people exposed to the odour don’t experience physical health effects, continued exposure to unpleasant or nasty, noxious odours can still have an adverse effect on people’s mental wellbeing,” she said.

Begg said long-term health effects were highly unlikely, but said those experiencing health issues should seek advice from their healthcare provider.

The information sheet included the details for free services – Health Improvement Practitioners, Pae Ora ki Waitaha Support, and Healthline.

The council said the recent stench was likely the result of a combination of high-levels of rain and changing wastewater loads arriving to the ponds.

It said the temporary plant had a narrow margin for error and while the ponds were showing signs of improvement, the recovery depended on algae growth.

The council said it was reviewing the data to see if factors other than weather and “high load” were factors in the stench, and was using every tool available to improve the health of the oxidation ponds, including using jetboats to increase dissolved oxygen.

It said replacing the fire-damaged trickling filters with an activated sludge reactor would fix the odour issues. The programme was expected to take three years, with commissioning targeted for 2028.

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

Papatoetoe candidates highlight magnitude of new election

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Eveline Harvey

The upcoming election for the Papatoetoe subdivision of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board is shaping up to be a crowded and closely watched contest.

Eight new candidates have joined 12 individuals that campaigned for a seat in last year’s void election, with one person declining to stand again after nominations closed on 28 January.

Voting opens on 9 March and closes at noon on 9 April, with ballot papers posted to all eligible voters.

The election follows a District Court ruling in December to void the 2025 Papatoetoe subdivision result after irregularities were found on some ballot papers, giving voters another chance to choose their local representatives.

In October, police confirmed they were making enquiries after receiving complaints about alleged electoral fraud in the area.

Police were unable to provide any update on the investigation last week.

However, the four winning candidates from last year’s ballot have filed a petition seeking a High Court judicial review of the District Court ruling.

A court hearing has been scheduled for 17 February.

(From left) Sandeep Saini, Kunal Bhalla, Paramjeet Singh and Kushma Nair Supplied

Among those standing in the upcoming ballot is the Papatoetoe Ōtara Action Team, which swept all four seats in last year’s election.

Paramajeet Singh topped last year’s poll with 4338 votes, followed by Sandeep Saini on 4318, Kushma Nair on 4001 and Kunal Bhalla with 3832.

All four are contesting the new election.

“We are confident and encouraged,” Bhalla told RNZ.

“The level of community support we are seeing has been strong and very visible, with many local leaders, residents and small business owners stepping forward publicly,” he said.

Bhalla said the new election was significant because it gave Papatoetoe residents the opportunity to confirm their democratic choice.

“We believe voters deserve the opportunity to confirm their mandate freely and fairly, without confusion or distortion,” he said.

He said the new election was also about continuity, with the team keen to continue its work without disruption.

Bhalla said he had full confidence in the legal process and that the team was engaging respectfully with the judicial review.

“The judicial review is about ensuring clarity, fairness and due process,” he said.

“We categorically deny any wrongdoing and believe the issues raised will be properly tested and resolved through the courts.”

Bhalla said the team’s strong showing in last year’s ballot had been driven by grassroots engagement, inclusion and unity.

“We were visible, accessible and encouraged participation from across the community, particularly people who had not previously felt represented or engaged in local elections,” he said.

He said he was expecting a higher voter turnout this time.

“We are seeing strong conversations on the ground and increased awareness, which we believe will lead to a solid turnout,” he said.

(From left) Raj Pardeep Singh, Vi Hausia, Avinash Kaur Dhaliwal and Ashraf Choudhary Facebook / 2025 Labour Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board Candidates

Labour-affiliated candidates are also returning to the contest, led by former Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board deputy chair Lehopoaome Vi Hausia, who lodged the District Court petition challenging the 2025 election results.

“It’s really encouraging to see a mix of returning candidates and new people stepping forward,” Vi Hausia said.

“Papatoetoe deserves the best, and a strong, fair contest of ideas helps ensure we have high-quality local board members representing our community.”

He said the Labour-aligned team included former local board member and ex-Labour MP Ashraf Choudhary, as well as Avinash Kaur Dhaliwal and Raj Pardeep Singh.

In last year’s election, Vi Hausia placed fifth with 2493 votes, followed by Choudhary with 2100 votes, Dhaliwal with 1864 votes and Raj Pardeep Singh received 1645.

Vi Hausia said the court’s findings of irregularities, including fraudulent voting, meant the previous result did not fully reflect the true outcome.

“This [new] election is important for Papatoetoe, and for local democracy in New Zealand,” he said.

“I know it’s frustrating for our community to be in this situation in the first place, but the cost of losing trust in our democratic system would be far worse.”

He said what mattered most was that Papatoetoe voters could make a free and fair choice about who represented them.

“What happened at the last election is an unfortunate chapter in our local history,” he said.

Peter Dons is returning as a candidate in the 2026 Papatoetoe election, contesting on the Independently Papatoetoe ticket. Supplied

Independent group Independently Papatoetoe is also mounting a comeback, led by former local board member Albert Lim and returning candidate Peter Dons.

Dons shared a similar view to Vi Hausia.

“This new election is very important not only for Papatoetoe but for the whole country, and I don’t think due recognition has been given to what actually happened there,” Dons said.

The team included new candidates Chris Webb and Alison Weakley.

“We’re very confident because we are very well known in the community, and we have strong new candidates,” he said.

In the previous election, Lim received 1896 votes, while Dons secured 1483.

“I believe our votes will go up and the Action Team’s votes will drop dramatically,” Dons said.

Dons said his team was planning to run a strong campaign with a different outcome this time around.

“We’ve got a very interesting situation, and as far as our team is concerned, we’ll be watching everything very closely,” he said.

“We’ll be doing our very best to have a good and robust campaign, and we’ll see what happens.”

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

Major insurer declines new home insurance policies for Blenheim

Source: Radio New Zealand

An aerial view of Blenheim, New Zealand. 123RF

Blenheim residents say AA Insurance has stopped offering new home insurance policies in their town, following similar decisions in Westport and parts of greater Christchurch.

The insurer would not confirm that Blenheim, and the neighbouring settlements of Renwick and Seddon, were subject to its temporary halt.

However, several residents contacted RNZ to say a blanket exclusion for new policies appeared to be in place.

AA Insurance’s online portal declined to provide quotes for a dozen addresses that RNZ tried across the three locations.

A message onscreen said the company was unable to offer insurance because of “the suburb or town where your home is located”.

RNZ revealed last week that the company had halted new home, business and landlord insurance policies in the West Coast town of Westport, due to the high flood risk the town faces.

The insurer had also stopped offering new policies in north Canterbury township Woodend, along with Rolleston and Lincoln, RNZ reported on Tuesday.

There, AA Insurance said that it had reached its maximum exposure limit to seismic risk.

The company would not confirm if new policies in Blenheim were being declined for the same reason, or for flood risk like Westport.

Parts the wider Blenheim area flooded last winter after the wettest June on record since 1942, and some residents in Renwick were evacuated.

AA Insurance head of underwriting Dee Naidu said managing risk exposure was common practice in the insurance industry and the list of areas with temporary restrictions was not static.

“We are always monitoring where we are growing and the accumulation and exposure to risk from that growth. We have no plans to introduce any new temporary restrictions beyond those that have been previously reported on.”

None of the restrictions affected existing customers, Naidu said.

Blenheim woman Shelley Tapp moved to the town at the end of last year and was surprised when AA Insurance turned down cover for a house she was trying to buy.

The agent she spoke with on the phone was unable to provide any detail, she said.

“I asked him why, and he said, ‘I can’t tell you why, it’s just too high risk.'”

Tapp and her husband inspected council records and previous insurance claims and could see no problem with the property.

“That particular property has never had earthquake damage, it doesn’t have any claims for flooding.”

Tapp said she asked the real estate agent, who told her that AA Insurance was declining new cover for the 7201 postcode, which encompassed Blenheim.

The couple ended up buying a different house, insuring it with AMI instead of AA Insurance.

“I thought there’s no point me going back to AA because they told me no.”

The company needed to be transparent with people about why it was declining cover in certain areas, Tapp said.

“I think other insurance companies do it as well. It creates uncertainty around the property – you think, is it something wroing with the property itself?”

AA Insurance’s online portal declined to provide a policy quote for multiple Blenheim addresses. Screenshot (AA Insurance)

Other residents who got in touch with RNZ reported a similar experience.

“We enquired about insuring a new build in Blenheim yesterday and discovered that AA have blacklisted Blenheim,” one said.

Another said he had his request for home and contents cover in Blenheim declined “because they said they were not taking on any more risk here”.

A third person, who had been insured with AA Insurance for a decade in his previous house, said he and his wife were unable to get a new policy when they moved within Blenheim in May last year.

“They would not insure the new house at all. The advisor was apologetic and mentioned they wouldn’t be covering Blenheim due to the risk.”

In a written statement, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said it was up to individual businesses to decide how they managed their exposure to risk.

Treasury’s annual insurance monitoring surveys “indicate that there is reasonable availability of online insurance quotes in areas of higher seismic risk”, she said.

The Natural Hazards Commission declined to comment, referring questions to the Insurance Council.

An Insurance Council spokesperson said insurance remained generally available across New Zealand.

“The insurance industry has consistently said it’s important New Zealand takes a long-term view on the risks from natural hazards as we face the prospect of more frequent and severe events due to climate-related events.”

The council supported “a government-led approach to mitigate and adapt to changing climate and an agreed set of natural hazard and climate risk data so we are all on the same page”.

The current Natural Hazards Commission levy, and the cap the commission paid out for natural hazards claims, were sufficient to maintain insurer confidence, the spokesperson said.

“The real solution lies in proactively reducing underlying risk, including avoiding development in high-risk areas, investing in resilient infrastructure, improving building standards, and sharing consistent natural hazard data.

“These steps would reduce losses and signal to global reinsurers that New Zealand is managing its risk exposure, helping to stabilise costs.”

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

Boy injures another student in knife incident at Tauranga school

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ōtūmoetai Intermediate School. Screenshot / Google Maps

A boy has suffered a minor injury after another student struck him with a pocketknife at school on Tuesday morning.

The incident happened at Ōtūmoetai Intermediate School, with its principal detailing the event in a social media post addressed to parents and caregivers.

Henk Popping said a pocketknife was pulled out by one of the boys during an altercation, and struck the other student’s forearm.

“This caused a minor injury and both boys’ caregivers have met with myself, school leaders and police constables who were notified as a follow-up.

“Both boys have been removed from the school for the remainder of the week which will be followed up with a re-integration process assisted by the Ministry of Education and our Police Community Constables.”

The school has also taken steps to support students and staff who have been affected by the incident, Popping said.

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School buys van to transport chronically absent students to curb lagging attendance

Source: Radio New Zealand

123RF

With most schools back in action, student attendance rates are once again in the spotlight. One Auckland school is even buying its own van to help transport chronically absent students to and from school.

Provisional figures from the Ministry of Education show the number of students turning up to school regularly has improved. In term 4 of last year, 57.3 percent of students attended school more than 90 percent of the time. This was up from 56.4 percent in term 4 the previous year.

The government has set a goal to have that regular student attendance rate at 80 percent by the end of 2030. But a breakdown of the data show despite the upward overall trend, Māori and Pacific student attendance continued to lag significantly.

In term 4 of 2025, just 39.5 percent of Pasifika students and 43 percent of Māori students attended school regularly. The rates were 41 percent and 42.5 percent, respectively, for term 4 of the previous year.

Bert Iosia is the principal of Auckland’s Kelston Intermediate School. He has a school roll of about 420 students, most of whom are Pasifika and Māori.

For the past few years, the school’s regular attendance rate has sat around 52 percent.

While that “wasn’t great” Iosia told Checkpoint,, the school had managed to have “some success” with students who were “at the chronic end of being absent from school”.

More plans were in place to ramp up that work and engagement, he said, including the purchase of a van dedicated to transporting students identified as “serious concern” because they’d missed 15 days or more of school.

“Where we know the background story and we understand what’s on top of the whānau – it becomes challenging for them to get kids there – this van could be a little bit of a lifeline to pick the kids up and get them through.”

The school van was due to be up-and-running by the end of the month.

Iosia, who is also the president of the NZ Pasifika Principals’ Association, said it was difficult to pinpoint the exact causes of lower attendance rates among Pacific and Māori.

“There’s lots of issues that go on for our whānau that are almost difficult for non-Māori and Pasifika to sort of understand.

“Within our communities, there are just families that are just doing it hard.

“They may need some of the little ones to sort of help out with baby, new bubba – that’s sort of popped up as well.”

Anxiety for students also contributed to absenteeism, he said.

“Intermediate is quite an interesting space because it’s a two-year period. So transitioning into intermediate can be quite challenging for some of our anxious kids.”

Anxiety was also a problem for students leaving and moving onto high school, Iosia said.

“The movement to high school can be quite daunting. So especially come the end of the year … you can see some of that absence that sort of sits around our children of serious concern.”

Iosia said increasing attendance rates required ongoing engagement and connection with students and families.

He said the school year had started well. The school had also set an ambitious goal of getting 70 percent of students attending regularly – or more than 90 percent of the time – by the end of the year.

“My board, and my attendance team, and staff – we’re pretty committed to that.”

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Flood-hit communities ‘overwhelmed’ by response

Source: Radio New Zealand

Manaaki Matakaoa team in Te Araroa unloading helicopter delivery. Left to right: Michaella Houkamau, Sheena Luke, Cecelia Kamizona, Ara Ariki Houkamau. Supplied

Over $170,000 of desperately needed money has been raised for whanau in parts of the flood ravaged East Cape of the North Island.

But chair of Manaaki Matakāoa, Tina Ngata said residents were in for a “long slog” when the initial response died down and the community was left to ready themselves for the next bout of heavy weather.

Community ‘overwhelmed’ by response

Ngata said the Matakāoa community had been “overwhelmed” by the generous response to the devastating flooding and landslips.

She said – in the week following the storms – nearly $75,000 had been put towards the community’s immediate needs.

“Supporting people to get home, medical evacuations, people who are separated from their animals, families who are separated from each other, food drops, power resources, tank refills – people have had their water lines disrupted. There’s a lot of immediate investment needed,” Ngata said.

Ngata said nearly every one of the 350 households in the stretch from Pōtikirua through to Kiwinui Hill had been affected in some way by the storms.

She said the funding was important but – at the early stage of the recovery – the “people on the ground” putting in long hours cleaning, organising and volunteering their help were hugely appreciated by the community.

Steven Woods from Motu Helicopters loading up essential supplies from Opotiki to be delivered to Te Araroa. Supplied

“There are so many people who are showing up voluntarily with shovels, with wheel barrows and those for us are absolute heroes. Even when the army has shown up – it’s given some of our people a great rest – but I’m still seeing a lot of our people working past one o’clock in the morning.

“We’re really thankful for all of New Zealand for every single donation – so that we can support these families – but also support the people who are supporting our families. We really want them to be recognised, the people on the ground.”

‘Blown away’ by community support

Further south in Tolaga Bay – a community that was no stranger to the impact of extreme weather – locals raised just over $56,000 in a single market day to put towards the Manaaki Matakāoa relief fund.

Tolaga Bay teacher Shanan Gray said donated goods and items were auctioned and raffled off while local artists and entertainers chipped in to help create an exciting and enjoyable day.

“When we got to the final figure we were blown away. It just shows how much love, commitment and dedication that our community has [for] the rest of the communities up and down the coast,” Gray said.

Denise Kamizona loading up essential supplies and resources from Raukokore to be sent over to Matakaoa. Supplied

Defence Force personnel and helicopters assist

A spokesperson for the Defence Force said over 140 personnel had been deployed about the Hicks Bay and Te Araroa areas to help with the clean up under the direction of the local Emergency Operations Centre.

“Personnel in Te Araroa and Hicks Bay have been working on a range of tasks including clearing culverts, improving drainage, removing debris and silt from properties, and felling hazardous trees.

“Air transport has been provided by Royal New Zealand Air Force NH-90 helicopters transferring water, fuel, stores such as rubbish bags, chainsaws and health equipment, as well as transporting personnel into Hicks Bay and Te Araroa. Reconnaissance has also been conducted of roads to determine access.”

Difficult discussions ahead

But Tina Ngata said – once the army, Civil Defence teams, politicians and media had left – the community was in for a “long slog” as they navigated the complex problems exposed by the storms.

Kai parcels being made up and delivered to all Horoera residents. Supplied

“We know that this is not going to be the last time. We have new slips in places that have traditionally never slipped so we need a lot of geo-tech expertise around where are the safe places to put homes and more long term infrastructural support – support around roading – and economic support for our whanau as well,” Ngata said.

Ngata said there were many “difficult discussions” ahead as climate change rearranged past assumptions about areas previously considered safe by generations of whanau.

“Funding or no funding we’re going to do what we need to do – as a community – but it’s going to be a long slog and it’s going to be very expensive. Because it’s not just about that first cash injection. The impacts and the problems are very complex,” Ngata said.

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‘A boys club’: Allegations of sexism, bullying and favouritism at NZ Boxing

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tasmyn Benny alleges that NZ Boxing coach Meehan showed little interest in women’s boxing. Photosport

An alleged culture of sexism, favouritism and bullying has driven a top Kiwi boxer to walk away from an incredibly promising amateur career.

The Sport Integrity Commission has been investigating Boxing NZ, as originally reported by 1News, and its head coach Billy Meehan, who Commonwealth Games medalist Tasmyn Benny said killed her passion for the sport.

Described as a ‘boys club’ rife with verbal abuse, sexually inappropriate behaviour and misogyny, Benny said she was made to feel powerless and without a voice in the environment.

“You can’t really go to Boxing New Zealand because t’s all made of his family and friends. They’re all in the same circle.”

Benny said that as a coach, Meehan showed little interest in women’s boxing.

“We had two worlds, and he didn’t go to either, but he went to the men’s. I don’t think he takes it as seriously as the boys.”

Meehan has not responded to the allegations.

Benny said the level of misogyny was confronting.

“Certain other female athletes have had their ass slapped and certain things like that. It’s a boys club with the coaches joking about certain things. They ask us ‘what type of nipples we like on a guy?’ and just questions that probably shouldn’t be asked.”

Benny said she felt she had no choice but to leave the sport behind but she isn’t doing so without one more fight, saying she felt she had to speak up for future female fighters.

“I don’t want this to happen to any other boxers. I can just see in the future young teenage girls going into the sport and having to deal with this and they shouldn’t have to. I felt like I had to be quiet when I was in there. Like I just had to do what I’m told and be quiet, and I don’t think you should feel that way, you should feel supported.”

Benny said that coaches would indulge in heavy drinking during overseas trips.

“They’d come in drunk. That’s why we’d get asked inappropriate questions. A lot of people were uncomfortable. After dinner, I went to my room because I didn’t want to really be around it.”

She also said suggestive notes were left on doors, written by coaches, pretending to be fellow boxers.

The problematic behaviour was also brought into the gym.

“Every time someone wasn’t at training, they were spoken about behind their backs, he constantly degraded them about how shit they are for not toughening up. “

Billy Meehan is accused of fostering a sexist and inappropriate culture at NZ Boxing. Supplied/ NZ Boxing

Benny did try to resolve things with Meehan.

“We sat down with him professionally and said, ‘look what you’re doing isn’t what we need at the moment.’ We tried to explain what we need out of him and our training, and we basically got told that we’re unfit and shit.”

After winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, Benny said she noticed a shift at the organisation.

“All the management and coaching changed for New Zealand boxing and that’s when everything went downhill. Billy was in charge the whole time. The people that he sent on certain trips didn’t know how to do things that we need as coaches for women’s worlds. In India, we got sent with someone who wasn’t able to get into the ring, he physically couldn’t get up the stairs and so, we went in the ring with a random coach who hardly spoke English.

She said the “nail in the coffin” came during a trip to the Solomon Islands.

“The whole coaching crew just didn’t speak to me and another girl on the team the whole trip there. They basically just ignored us the whole time. And then right before our fight, because we went and did our own training with our home coach who was there with Fiji, they yelled at us for that right before we were supposed to hop in the ring.

“After I got out of the ring, I had wraps on, I asked them to cut them off and Billy told me to f*** off to Fiji. That was basically all he said to me the whole trip.”

She said she was beaten before stepping into the ring.

“I’m already nervous because this is the fight to make the Olympics and I should be getting told what to do, getting my confidence up rather than shut down.”

Despite her ordeal, Benny is determined to get back in the ring one day.

“I’ve actually started training again now, but I think I’m going to try go pro. I don’t want to be with the Boxing New Zealand Association. I took a few years off because of that. There was no point because I couldn’t go anywhere with them. So it was like, ‘what’s the point in training?'”

Meehan has been contacted for comment while the Integrity Commission has defended the delay in a resolution.

“While we do not believe it is appropriate for us to publicly discuss the investigation involving Boxing NZ, we are comfortable that our investigation team have acted appropriately and as promptly as can be reasonably expected, in all the circumstances that exist in this matter.”

Benny is clear on what that resolution should be.

“I hope that he is banned from being the coach. Basically they need to tear it down and build up the New Zealand boxing because we ain’t going to get any medals with how it’s now.”

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NZ academic says Meta using same tactic as big tobacco

Source: Radio New Zealand

Social media giant Meta says banning young people from its platforms won’t work, but supporters of a law change are crying foul, saying the owner of Facebook and Instagram is using the same tactics as big tobacco.

The National Party last year launched a members’ bill pushing for a youth ban. The law change is also supported by Labour.

The bill aimed to protect under-16-year-olds from harm on social media.

Meta vice president and global head of safety Antigone Davis was in Auckland on Tuesday, showcasing Instagram’s Teen Accounts.

They feature built-in restrictions on content, as well as time limit reminders and ways for parents to monitor who their teen is chatting with online.

Davis said banning platforms for under-16s wouldn’t solve the problem.

“It sounds really good, it feels like it’s going to solve the problem, but you can’t make a ban for the entire internet. So what you do is you make it for a set of apps, and what we’ve seen already in Australia is teens download other apps. They try to go around the system,” she said.

There was room to look at how to address the issue, Davis said.

“Even in New Zealand, I think there’s a little bit of a step back,” Davis said.

“‘Okay, this ban sounds interesting, it makes sense to us, let’s take a little bit of time to think about it,’ I think in that time is a real opportunity to think about what we’re trying to accomplish and how can we do it best.”

Meta says banning social media platforms for under-16s wouldn’t solve the problem. Victor Okhrimets / 123RF

Meta said it had data showing the majority of parents they surveyed in New Zealand wanted to decide if their under-16-year-old had access to social media – not leave it up to the government.

That was in contrast to recent polls showing support for a ban.

The B416 campaign had been pushing for restrictions and its academic advisor, Dr Samantha Marsh of the University of Auckland, said Meta was using the same strategy as big tobacco.

“Trying to put the onus on the individual, the parent or the child, and with respect to social media, they frame it in a way that it sounds like it’s empowering,” she said.

She said an age restriction of 16 is an important first step.

“Alone, I wouldn’t expect a massive change in behaviour or anything like that, and it’s not going to be perfect initially, it’s going to need lots of tweaking, and Australia is well aware of that,” Marsh said.

“But they were quite clear that we can’t wait for this to be perfect before we implement it, and I think that’s really important, and that’s the approach that we should be taking in New Zealand.”

Marsh said there were many things that needed to go along with age restrictions.

“Just like big tobacco, these companies want to continue to not have the responsibility placed on themselves but place it on the individual, which allows them to go continue to make money, and profit off the harm that’s being caused to our children.”

Meta and other social media platforms have been on trial in the United States over claims their apps were designed to be harmful to young people.

Senior University of Auckland law lecturer Joshua Yuvaraj connected the case to what was known as dark patterns, designed to confuse or manipulate users. He said algorithms had a big part to play.

“It’s a question of does the social media company actively target, [and] are they aware of the particular vulnerabilities of the populations which make up their users?” Yuvaraj said.

Antigone Davis said Meta had launched tools to help users tailor their algorithm to what they want to see.

“One of the things that we’ve recently launched is something called Tune Your Algorithm,” she said.

“It’s for both teens and adults. What it does is it allows you as a user to say ‘I want to see more of this and I want to see less of this’.”

“We already have transparency tools in place so people can see exactly how their algorithm is working, but we want to give people a sense of being able to really control that experience.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said he would introduce the bill before this year’s election.

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

Feline sausage roll thief on the prowl in Kerikeri

Source: Radio New Zealand

Bella the cat burglar. Siran Young

A moggy with a taste for mince is on the prowl in Kerikeri.

Keen hunter, Bella the cat burglar, has been bringing home a surprising midnight feast for her owners – sausage rolls in brown paper bags.

In a bizarre series of gift-giving that might sound unbelievable, Bella’s sausage roll deliveries have happened not once, not twice, but three times, prompting a post on Facebook in search of answers.

Bella’s owner Siran Young said they are “absolutely bizarred out of our brains”.

“We’re curious, we want to know where our cat is getting these sausage rolls from,” Young said.

She said over the last three weeks, they have gotten three deliveries of sausage rolls around midnight from Bella.

“I mostly sleep through them and my husband gets up to a wailing cat who presents us in our bedroom with a sausage roll in a bag,” Young said.

“The first one was half-eaten and the other two have been intact, and we have no idea where they’ve come from.”

Bella the cat burglar has been bringing home a surprising midnight feast for her owners – sausage rolls in brown paper bags. Siran Young

Young said they live near a high school, kindergarten, supermarket and bakeries – any of which could be where Bella is nicking the rolls.

She said they are thinking of putting an Apple AirTag or a cat camera on Bella.

“She’s definitely a cat that dances to the beat of her own drum,” Young said.

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What New Zealanders should know about the deadly Nipah virus outbreak in India

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fruit bats are the most common carriers of the nipah virus in India. ANUWAR HAZARIKA / AFP

Explainer – You might not have heard of the Nipah virus, but if you’re travelling to or from parts of Asia, you’ll want to be aware of it.

The deadly virus, which typically comes from contact with fruit bats, has an estimated fatality rate of 40 to 75 percent of those infected. It can cause symptoms including brain swelling and permanent neurological damage.

Health authorities are warning people to be cautious after new cases broke out in India.

The World Health Organisation was notified on 26 January of two cases of Nipah infection at a private hospital in West Bengal.

What is Nipah?

Nipah isn’t new, said New Zealand epidemiologist Michael Baker, but it is quite dangerous.

It’s what’s called a “zoonotic virus,” which can transmit from animals to humans – in this case, primarily fruit bats.

It was first identified in 1998 among pig farmers in Malaysia, WHO said on its information site about the virus. There have been outbreaks in Bangladesh almost every year since, the organisation says.

“This is a virus that has caused known human cases for almost 30 years and on average we’ve seen about 30 cases a year over that time,” Baker told Morning Report on Monday.

“There is reasons why there’s huge concern about this virus – not so much for its pandemic potential but just because it’s such a serious infection with a fatality rate of over 50 percent.”

Most people who get Nipah develop symptoms involving the brain, like headaches and confusion, or in the lungs, including coughing or difficulty breathing. It can also sometimes cause brain swelling or encephalitis.

Long-term neurological conditions have been reported in about 1 in 5 people who have a Nipah virus infection, WHO says.

How contagious is it?

Don’t worry – this isn’t likely to turn into Covid-26.

“It’s a difficult virus to catch and it doesn’t have efficient transmission from people to people,” Baker said. “It isn’t transmitted by respiratory routes so this is not like Covid-19 in terms of its pandemic potential.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade hasn’t raised travel alerts for India, Bangladesh or Malaysia on its SafeTravel website specifically over the Nipah virus, but there are other cautions in place.

Screening measures for Nipah are in place at airports in places including Bali, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Nepal, Reuters has reported.

Epidemiology professor Michael Baker. Supplied / Department of Public Health

WHO says that transmission of the virus to humans can occur “from direct contact with infected animals like bats, pigs or horses, and by consuming fruits or fruit products, such as raw date palm juice, contaminated by infected fruit bats”.

The two recent cases in India were human-to-human transmission, he said.

“They were health care workers and they appear to have been looking after a patient who was infected. There may be other cases in that hospital, we’re obviously waiting to get the full report.”

However, Baker noted there were over 200 people who dealt with the patients and none of them appeared to be infected.

WHO says it “assesses the risk posed by Nipah to be moderate at the sub-national level, and low at the national, the regional and global levels”.

How do you avoid it?

MFAT’s SafeTravel website includes Nipah in its list of infectious diseases, and warns that if you’re travelling to anywhere where outbreaks have occurred, you should:

  • Wash your hands regularly with soap and water or hand sanitiser, especially before eating and after contact with animals, their products and their environments.
  • Avoid contact with animals, especially bats, pigs, monkeys and stray animals.
  • Avoid areas where bats roost and avoid touching anything that could be soiled by bats.
  • Avoid eating raw or unprocessed animal products, such as unpasteurised milk.
  • Avoid eating fruit or plant-based product that may have been contaminated by animal or their bodily fluids including fresh date palm sap. Clean and peel fruit yourself before eating it.
  • Avoid contact with the blood or body fluids of someone with Nipah.
  • Eat food that is fully cooked and fruits that can be washed and peeled.

Is a Nipah virus infection hard to treat?

Of the India cases, one person was put on mechanical ventilation and another had severe neurological illness, WHO has said.

There is no vaccine and no specific antibiotic treatment, Baker said.

“The care would be called what is supportive care but it still has this very high mortality risk at the moment.”

Reuters has reported that according to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a group that tracks emerging disease threats and funds the development of medical tools to protect against them, as of December 750 cases of Nipah had been recorded in all, and 415 of the patients died.

A fruit bat flies between trees in Nagaon District, Assam, India, on 1 February 2026. ANUWAR HAZARIKA / AFP

Could it come to New Zealand?

It’s possible cases could come through overseas travel from India or other countries. The incubation period can run from four days to two weeks, Baker said.

Still, it would be difficult for Nipah to really spread here.

“(Even) if they arrived, say in New Zealand and they became ill, they would be cared for very carefully in the health care environment and there’d be a very low risk of transmission to other people.”

There are no fruit bats in New Zealand – just two species of small, insect-eating native bats. Australian bats have only rarely been spotted here.

“It can’t really become established in New Zealand – we don’t have the animal reservoirs, we don’t have the fruit bats, for instance.”

Fruit bats are considered the natural host of the Nipah virus, although it does not appear to cause disease in them, WHO has said.

“Bats seem to have an ecological niche where they’re great incubators of viruses and they live in big colonies, they share their viruses very widely,” Baker said.

Much of the scientific evidence, from the WHO Scientific Advisory Group and others, seems to be that Covid-19 also originated in bats, which tend to be a winged vector for diseases.

“This is why the risk of such emerging diseases is increasing because humans are encroaching more on the habitats of bats.”

Other animals such as pigs can get infected and then infect humans.

Baker said the Nipah outbreak showed the importance of WHO’s work, which has come under scrutiny lately with the US withdrawing from the group and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters questioning whether New Zealand should continue to fund it.

“This is really another reason why we need the World Health Organisation looking at the prevention of these zoonotic infections,” Baker said.

Should we do anything?

“There’s nothing extra New Zealand needs to do at the moment,” Baker said, but medical staff in general should be aware of any data coming in and awareness of travel histories of people coming from any region where Nipah is endemic.

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