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Source: Radio New Zealand

Pike River families say they’re “pissed off” and “frustrated” that they’re still waiting for a decision to be made prosecuting key people they believe to be responsible for the disaster, nearly 16 years after the tragedy.

On Monday, police said they are nearing the final stages of their criminal investigation into the disaster that killed 29 men on the South Island’s West Coast mine on 19 November 2010.

Police said they’d been working with the Wellington Crown solicitor for more than 18 months and that the case was legally complex. Police said further updates are likely to be “several months away”.

In 2013, charges against Pike River Coal Ltd’s former chief executive Peter Whittall and contractor VLI Drilling Ltd were dropped in exchange for a $3.41 million payout to the victims’ families, which was later declared unlawful by the Supreme Court.

Last November, the lawyer for Pike River families, Nigel Hampton KC, told RNZ police had enough evidence to lay manslaughter charges over the disaster.

Sonya Rockhouse, whose son Ben was 21 when he was killed in the explosion, said she’s really frustrated that the timelines are again being repeatedly pushed.

“To be honest, I was pretty pissed off. The same sorts of things have happened to us all the way through, we get told that this is going to happen at this time, and we get to within a short time before that time is up, and then there’s ‘aw no, there’s gonna be a few more months’,” she said.

“It’s pretty frustrating, it’s been 15 years, and it’s been like seven or eight years since they re-entered and went in and gathered evidence and everything.”

Rockhouse said she believes that police have done everything they can to gather evidence.

She said her understanding is that Crown solicitors will be making the call on whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute.

Rockhouse said she understands that the lawyers need to go through the evidence and that they don’t prosecute lightly, however she said she hopes the lawyers can understand how families are feeling too.

“I think we’ve been very patient, I think we’ve been extremely patient, we haven’t gotten angry, we’ve just tried to be as understanding as we can, but there comes a point when..how long do you go on for?” she said.

Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton died in the explosion, said she wants to see 29 manslaughter charges laid.

Osborne said she’s disappointed that families are still waiting for an outcome from the criminal investigation.

“There’s been absolutely nothing for the families over the deaths of their loved ones,” she said.

“And you know, it’s just disgusting that we are still waiting this long for a decision to be made.”

Osborne said she hopes there will be prosecutions this year, but added that they’ve been let down so many times.

“It’s starting to worry me a bit, that is there going to be a prosecution? And, you know, if the decision isn’t made, the right decision isn’t made, there is going to be an uproar,” she said.

Efforts by Pike River families over the years, including Osborne and Rockhouse, to prevent the mine from being sealed in 2021 have led to police re-entering the mine to recover further material and evidence from inside the drift.

In September 2022, police announced they were reopening the borehole drilling operation as part of the investigation and 10 boreholes were drilled, imaged, and resealed. Human remains were found in the mine in 2023.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Taranaki cinema complex – which made international headlines when it banned people wearing pyjamas and onesies from screenings – faces imminent closure if it cannot find new trustees.

But in a dramatic plot twist, more than 200 people turned up to a public meeting vowing to save Hāwera Cinema 2, which they said was a valuable community asset.

The twin-screened cinema – which had been a fixture on Princess Street since 1998 – employed a full-time manager and screened a selection of the latest blockbuster releases over as many as 10 sessions a day.

The Hāwera Cinema 2 Trust has run the theatre since 2007.

Spokesperson Aaron Foley said it barely made ends meet.

“Typically the cinema would have – prior to Covid – about 40,000 admits a year. Since Covid and at this point in time it’s a little under 20,000. So, fundamentally there’s been a significant shift in the consuming public’s behaviour.”

The cinema’s six trustees all planned to resign next week and if replacements were not found, the theatre would close at the end of March.

“We’ve arrived at a point where acting responsibly we think some pretty hard decisions need to be made. Our assessment is that we can’t carry on as we are.

“It’s a decision we don’t want to make. Nobody wants to see the cinema close, but that’s the reality of what we are facing.”

Foley said adopting a volunteer staffing model, reducing the number of movie sessions and screening new release movies later in their cycle were all options future trustees could explore – if any came forward.

The South Taranaki District Council owned the cinema building, which it bought when the original operator pulled out in the early 2000s.

It supported the theatre via $40,000, three quarters of which it got back as rent.

Councillor Andy Beccard – who organised the public meeting – was determined to save the complex.

“We have heard lots of rumour about what’s happening with it and whether it’s closing or not and we didn’t get any information exactly, so I thought if there is the possibility of the theatre closing the community needs to have some sort of say because they might come up with some good ideas or new trustees or whatever to carry it forward.”

He said the cinema complex, which included a bar serving gin from around the world, was a vital community hub.

“We are always struggling with keeping residents here. It’s a lovely place to be, but there’s not a lot for kids to do, not a lot for other people to do.

“If we close this then people will go through to New Plymouth to the movies and while they are there they’ll go out for a meal and we’ll just lose a lot of things you can do in Hāwera.”

Andy Beccard was noncommittal on whether a relaxation of the 2018 PJ ban would attract more customers.

“I don’t have an opinion on that. I don’t particularly like seeing people going to the supermarket in their jammies, but if that’s what they do that’s what they do, so no I don’t have an opinion on that.”

On the streets of Hāwera people most wanted the cinema to stay.

Gene was not happy.

“Sad, very sad. I’d like to see it stay, but I just don’t see enough people there.”

Bev was adamant.

“No, no it’s got to stay open. It’s an icon.”

Laura worried about young people.

“It wouldn’t be good because a lot of young people go to the movies and they’ll have nothing to do and you’ve got nothing to do in Hāwera as it is.”

Ōpunake visitor Kelly was not impressed.

“It would be very sad if it closed down. I did look up today for my children to go to, so yeah, it would be very sad.”

Calan was feeling nostalgic.

“I grew up in Pātea so when Hāwera cinema opened it was awesome for us, so there’s a lot of childhood memories for me.”

A man, who preferred not to give his name, did not think he would miss the theatre.

“Well if there were decent films it would be worthwhile going.”

Meanwhile, Beccard said the public meeting had resolved to form a working party to help find solutions for Hāwera Cinema 2’s financial worries and had identified enough volunteers to step up as trustees.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ratepayers in the Wellington metropolitan area will have two bills from 1 July as new water entity Tiaki Wai replaces Wellington Water.

The new organisation would provide drinking water, wastewater, and piped stormwater services for approximately 432,000 people across the Wellington metropolitan area.

It was jointly owned by five councils – Wellington City, Porirua City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt City and Greater Wellington Regional Council.

The new entity was promising more investment in Wellington’s chronically underfunded water infrastructure, but warned it would come at a cost – and that water meters were also on the way.

What is the difference between Tiaki Wai and Wellington Water?

Chair of Tiaki Wai Will Peet said it absorbed the current Wellington Water plus the remaining functions that sat with individual councils.

He said the new organisation was quite different to its predecessor.

“At the moment, the councils own all the assets and Wellington Water runs them on their behalf.”

He said the councils would transfer all their assets across to Tiaki Wai and it would be the water provider for everybody in the Wellington metropolitan area.

“So we start off in quite a different position.”

How will ratepayers’ bills change under the new system?

From 1 July 2026 Peet said there would be another page on rates bills, which would set out how much to pay for water, and that would be paid to Tiaki Wai.

“What that means for people is that before the 30th of June, you’ll need to change your payment arrangements,” he said.

“If you’ve got a direct debit, which a bit over half people do, where the money comes out of your account every time there’s a bill, then you’ll need to have a new direct debit through to us at Tiaki Wai.

“For the people that pay over the counter at a council office, you’ll still be able to do that, but you’ll make two payments instead of one.”

Peet said the first year’s water bills would differ between areas in the region, reflecting what each council had already budgeted for water.

He expected the total of the two bills would be broadly what ratepayers in each area expected to pay.

But he said that would change as Tiaki Wai aimed to “harmonise” water bills between the cities as soon as possible, as under the new system everyone would be part of one big network.

Am I going to be paying more in the future?

Peet said, in the long term, charges would be going up.

“We’re [dealing with] a lot of underinvestment over the last number of decades. So water charges are going to be going up.”

From new pipes to investing in treatment plants, he said there was a lot of work to be done on the network, and that would mean increased costs.

With that investment in the network, he warned there would also come some disruption.

“If we’re going to be replacing water pipes in people’s streets as opposed to going after leaks, then there’s going to be some disruption. But people will also see the dividend, if you like, of that disruption being a less leaky, more reliable network.”

Tiaki Wai would be proceeding with water meters in the next few years.

Why water meters?

Peet said at the moment around 40 percent of water was lost before it reached households.

Water meters, he said, would help identity leaks.

“Until we get water meters around the houses, we won’t know where all the leaks are.”

He expected many of those leaks would be on private property.

Water meters would also provide more understanding on people’s water usage.

“We haven’t set a specific deadline, but we need to get on with it.”

Peet said it was a matter of “measure what you treasure”.

What is the value of the assets being transferred to Tiaki Wai?

Wellington City, Porirua City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt City and Greater Wellington Regional Council were all transferring their water assets to Tiaki Wai.

Each council provided RNZ with its current estimated value of the assets and debt it would transfer to Tiaki Wai along with how much it expected rates income to be reduced by.

What do councils see as the benefits and challenges?

Rosamond Connelly, the Upper Hutt councillor for Greater Wellington, said progress was going “swimmingly” and Tiaki Wai would be ready to take the reins come 1 July.

“The new water entity will look after everything, including the assets – so that’s drinking water assets, wastewater assets and pipe stormwater – and this means that the new entity can make decisions about the whole of life costs of new assets versus maintenance and renewals and how much it will need to bill consumers to pay for the operational costs [and] plan for capital expenditure.”

Tiaki Wai, she said, would provide for “a proper investment pathway”, but that investment would come at an increased cost to water consumers.

“Hopefully, over time, this will lead to significant improvement in our water assets, for example, less leaky pipes, fewer wastewater overflows into rivers and harbours, and more drought resilience and sustainable water supply in summer.”

Lower Hutt Mayor Ken Laben said Tiaki Wai “promises to be a game-changer”.

“It will lead to councils working closely together to provide a better job of providing safe drinking water, and managing wastewater and stormwater, to benefit everyone.

“There’s no secret that there’s been an historical lack of investment in water infrastructure around the motu. This is something that Tiaki Wai, with its strong regional view, will address over the coming years. It’s a big job but one that must be done so our region can prosper and grow,” he said.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little also expected to see benefits in how the water network was maintained, with more commitment to investment.

“In a city like Wellington, which is, in the Wellington region, subject to seismic movement, actually making sure we’re maintaining our water systems, our water infrastructure is critical to being a modern, liveable city,” he said.

With climate change and more intense weather events, he also hoped to see investment in stormwater systems to cope with those conditions.

Little said one of the biggest challenges ahead would be the cost of future water charges, which he expected would add to household costs.

“The company has to work on the basis of meeting the cost of their assets over time, generating enough revenue so they’ve got enough to do the things, maintain the infrastructure and provide the services that people want,” he said.

“That’s something that the councils as owners of the organisation are going to have to be conscious of as well in terms of future rates setting. So that’s going to be the challenge.”

Upper Hutt Mayor Peri Zee had a similar sentiment.

“The challenge for Tiaki Wai is to meet increased regulatory standards, catch up on decades of underinvestment and provide for growth while keeping water charges affordable,” she said.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said residents would likely continue to see rising costs reflected in their water bills as a result of historic underinvestment in water infrastructure.

“Over time, people should expect to see water meters introduced more widely. That is necessary to properly manage the network. The benefits won’t be immediate, but in time we should see fewer leaks, fewer sewage overflows, and better outcomes for streams and waterways.”

She said residents would also deal directly with Tiaki Wai for water issues rather than the council, and councils would no longer have direct operational control.

“That is a significant shift in how services are delivered.”

She said the fundamentals of how councils operated was changing.

“Those changes are part of why mayors across the region are actively discussing what future arrangements make sense, including greater collaboration and amalgamation.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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In a small room in the Bioeconomy Science Institute in Lincoln, Dr Mark MacDougall refocuses a laser so that the beam is centred on a piece of metal tape on a tomato plant leaf. He’s using it to detect miniscule motions.

The source of this movement? A tiny glasshouse whitefly on the underside of the leaf, trying to communicate in a type of insect language, one we can’t sense or speak – a language of vibrations.

Biotremology

Before he started his PhD in this topic Mark hadn’t heard of this vibrational language, the study of which is called biotremology. But the idea completely captivated him.

“I just had no idea that vibrations were just a part of the way that animals communicated. I had no idea that it was so widespread throughout the world and it was basically this entire world of communication that we humans are really not privy to.”

Not only is it widespread but also varied. Insects can produce vibrations in all sorts of ways, like different musicians in a band, says Mark.

“Some of them will simply shake their bodies. Some insects will scrape little plates on the inside of their body, kind of like a grasshopper might. But they can also be used to send vibrations through a plant stem as well. Insects, like termites, will bang their heads on the ground to send vibrations throughout a nest.”

And different patterns of vibrations are used to communicate different things. Which brings us to this room, isolated for sound and vibrations, where Mark is trying to record and translate the greenhouse whitefly language, with the hope of using the knowledge against them.

The problem with whitefly

Greenhouse whitefly is the most common whitefly species in New Zealand and can be found all year round in greenhouse crops. They have a preference for plants in the nightshade family, such as tomatoes, eggplants and capsicums as well as cucurbits like cucumbers and squash.

Adults are about 1.5 millimeters long and at different stages in their life cycle they feed on the plant sap, thereby weakening the plant and promoting the growth of sooty moulds. When conditions are right, they can reproduce in high numbers and put a lot of pressure on a crop.

Tomato-grower Pete Mundy knows this all too well. Based in the Heathcote Valley in Christchurch, Pete hydroponically grows different varieties of cherry tomatoes in a hectare-sized glasshouse.

Pete has his own methods of pest control to try keep the whitefly numbers in check, but he’s also allowed researchers from the Bioeconomy Science Institute to run a series of biotremology research trials on some of the plants.

Because that’s the whole point of the research, says project lead Dr Lloyd Stringer, to figure out if this vibrational language can be used to dissuade pest insects in a real life setting. And the trial, supported by industry groups Tomatoes New Zealand and Vegetables New Zealand Incorporated, helps with testing the practical limitations from the very beginning, he says.

“We could develop something here in the lab, for example, and go, ‘oh, we’ve got a great idea, this will work’. Go to the glasshouse and go, ‘oh heck, that’s not going to work. We haven’t got power plugs every 5 metres’ or something like that. So… that helps us make sure that we’re developing something that’s going to be useful and applicable without too many tweaks.”

Telling pests to go away

The first trial in Pete’s glasshouse started in October 2025 and used a single vibrational tone, previously identified by Japanese researchers as one that dissuaded the whitefly from laying eggs.

Mini-shakers were attached to metal beams in the glasshouse and vibrations were transmitted down the wires and to the plants every 15 minutes. The trial ran for six weeks, with entomologist Dr Rachael Horner counting the number of whitefly eggs on leaves from both control and treatment plants each week.

However, once they crunched the numbers, the team did not find a significant difference between control and vibration areas, although there seemed to be a slight trend for lower egg laying on the treatment plants.

There are a lot variables says Lloyd. For example, there was a large variation of whitefly numbers throughout the glasshouse, and at different times during the trial, which makes it hard to tease out effects. Plus, there are questions around how ‘loud’ the vibration needs to be for the whitefly to respond and how far the vibrations travel through the plants.

In a follow up trial they will increase the frequency of the vibrations and they are also working with a Christchurch company to develop some bespoke devices which should increase the vibration area.

The idea of using biotremology to control pests is not new, but the practical problems and cost of producing the shaking needed in a growing environment have long been barriers to its use, says Dr Lloyd Stringer.

For growers like Pete Mundy, the promise of adding another non-chemical tool to the pest management toolbox is very attractive and for Dr Lloyd Stringer, the timing is right to properly trial it.

“The technology is getting there… we just need to do it now!”.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A council-commissioned review into the fatal Mount Maunganui landslide will zero in on the hours leading up to it, according to Tauranga’s mayor.

Six people died in the slip at the Beachside Holiday Park, and their bodies have now been recovered and identified.

In an emergency meeting on Monday, councillors voted nine to one in favour of an external review – despite the fact the government was also likely to hold an inquiry.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the investigations would be different in scope, with any Crown inquiry expected to be broad.

“We’re very focused on … the 24-hours leading up to the landslips – you know, the decisions that were made.”

He said the scope would widen to include anything relevant, but the priority was to establish the facts and the timeline.

The council’s and its employees’ decision-making would come under scrutiny, he said.

Drysdale said there was a desire to move quickly with the review, and expected to appoint an independent reviewer – and finalise the terms of reference – by the end of the week.

He said the cost of the review was yet to be determined, but anticipated it could be up to $250,000.

The reaction to move ahead with it had been mixed, he said.

“But ultimately, there’s a lot of questions that need to be answered, and we feel those questions need to be answered in a timely manner.

“We need to know in future: Is there anything we need to learn? Is there anything we need to do differently? And that will be very much answered in this review.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Pharmac has taken the first steps towards funding weight loss drug Wegovy after an advisory panel provisionally recommended funding it as a high priority for some people.

Wegovy or semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist for weight loss.

The drug first became available here in July last year, and currently costs about $460 a month.

Pharmac Director of Advice and Assessment, David Hughes, said the Obesity Treatments Advisory Group have provisionally recommended it be funded for chronic weight management in people with a high Body Mass Index (BMI) and associated comorbidities.

The recommendation is subject to Special Authority criteria, which will limit who can prescribe it.

The recommendation has been announced after the advisory group met in December, with a full record of the meeting expected to be available by March.

Previously, Pharmac had received two applications to fund Wegovy.

The first was in September, for people with an established cardiovascular disease (such as someone who has had a heart attack or stroke) and a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27 or higher. The second was in October, for chronic weight management in people with a BMI of 30 or higher, with at least one weight-related comorbidity.

New Zealand has the third-highest adult obesity rate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

An Auckland City councillor is urging a 40-strong pack of dirt bikers to think of their community after police say they were driving dangerously at the weekend.

Officers were called to reports of bikers pulling wheelies, driving onto footpaths and into oncoming traffic in Ōtara at about 3.45pm on Sunday.

Authorities have decried the convoy and were hoping to find the riders as soon as possible before they kill themselves or someone else.

Local Councillor Lotu Fuli described the dirt biking as disruptive and disturbing.

“I can tell you that, generally speaking, our community does not support that kind of activity.”

She said many in the community would have been at church or spending time with family on the day the disruption occurred.

“Sunday is often the only day they get to spend with family, and in places of worship,” she said.

“That would’ve been really disruptive and really disturbing, and our community absolutely does not back that kind of anti-social behaviour.”

Fuli wanted those bikers to think about the community.

“What if that was your nan, or what if that was your little sister, or your mum, or your brother, or your best mate that was crossing the road, and then one of your bikes hit them or one of your mates bikes hit them?” Fuli said.

“This is your community, you’re part of our community as well. So, we’re asking you to just have some common sense, and just have respect for those who live next door to you, those who are part of your community, part of the city as well, and just stop doing what you’re doing, please.”

Councillor Fuli said funding should be looked at to engage with dirt bikers.

“That’s probably the piece of the puzzle that’s missing, and that’s the piece of the puzzle that is the least resourced,” she said.

Fuli thought council and government could look at funding for preventative measures and investment in outreach to the dirt bikers, to try and push them into more positive ways of contributing to the community.

It was also causing frustration for law-abiding dirt bike riders, like James.

“I think it shines a bad light on the rest of us really,” he said.

“We find it hard enough to get places to ride, and do it legally without getting a bad wrap like that.”

He said there should be more spots for dirt bike riders to use.

“For me and my son to go and ride at a local track, it’s now just shy of a hundred dollars, that’s a lot of money just for somewhere to squirt around on your bike for a little bit, so I think that would definitely slow it down.”

Police’s duty operations manager, Inspector Kerry Watson, told Checkpoint those involved pose a risk to the public.

“It’s really, really dangerous and concerning for the public when all of a sudden, you’re driving along and you’re enveloped or surrounded by 40 bikes,” he said.

“It’s not something we want to continue. We’ve had this occur over the past couple of years, not so much over the last year. It’s a trend we want to stop.”

Police said dozens of officers and the eagle helicopter were deployed to try split up the group, as officers worked with local petrol stations, hoping to catch bikers as they refuelled.

Watson said anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage should report it to police, as they worked to identify those involved.

A 25-year-old has been arrested and a bike has been impounded.

Watson said anyone who took part would lose their bike once caught.

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