NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Homes in rural Hastings are being evacuated due to a scrub fire which has destroyed buildings.

Fire crews said they responded to the blaze Tuesday afternoon which is located between the Fernhill township and the Ngaruroro River bridge on SH50.

Have you been impacted by the fire? Send photos to iwitness@rnz.co.nz

The township has not been affected but the fire is close to some houses, crews said.

Fire and emergency crews had ordered some evacuations.

Everyone living around the lodge had been accounted for, a spokesperson said.

Hawke’s Bay Fire and Emergency said conditions are too windy for air operations, but five trucks, three tankers and support vehicles are working to contain the fire.

The fire is about 400 by 200m in size, they reported at 2.30pm.

People in the area should stay indoors and keep windows and doors shut to avoid smoke exposure.

Police said a section of SH50, Fernhill, had been closed and would remain so for some time due to smoke compromising visibility.

The public should avoid the area and take alternate routes or expect delays.

Meanwhile crews were also working on another scrub fire that’s threatening houses near Havelock North, but it was contained at this stage.

A fire and emergency spokesperson said the fire was threatening houses in Havelock North, but there were no formal evacuations at this stage.

However, nearby residents had been told to evacuate if they felt unsafe.

Multiple fire restrictions are in place in Hawke’s Bay, with crews warning of high fire danger levels.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have arrested four people of interest after a man’s death in Gisborne in September.

Bill Maangi, 36, died in hospital after he was shot in the early hours of 29 September at an Ormond Road address.

Four people aged between 25 and 37 were arrested, police said.

Police said they launched search warrants at multiple addresses in the Gisborne area earlier in December and a dive squad searched the Taruheru River.

The people will appear in Gisborne district in January on charges of aggravated robbery, and firearm and drug related matters.

“Nobody deserves this, and the investigation team remains committed to getting justice for Mr Maangi and his family,” Acting Detective Senior Sergeant John Love said.

“We urge anyone who knows what happened to Mr Maangi, or who has any information that could help, to please contact us.”

During the search warrants, police located and seized a number of items including firearms, which have been sent for forensic examination.

Police are not ruling out further charges for the people or arrests.

Information can be provided through 105, either online or over the phone, using reference Operation Bushman or the file number 250929/9035 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111, using the same reference or file number.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

General practice owners concerned about what they say is too much red tape, have been given the go-ahead to set up their own primary health organisation (PHO).

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand has conditionally approved an application by the General Practice Owners Association (GenPro), to set up a nationwide breakaway PHO, called ‘”thePHO” – to be up-and-running by 1 July 2026.

PHOs are not-for-profit organisations, funded by Health NZ and are responsible for the delivery of primary care services, including general practices.

There are currently about 30 PHOs, made up of practices working together to care for the patients enrolled with them.

The approval of GenPro’s application follows the approvals for two big corporate general practice providers to set up their own PHO’s – Green Cross in November, and Tend in May.

GenPro said its members feared this would give the corporates a competitive advantage, and that they’d become increasingly concerned by what they saw as burgeoning PHO bureaucracy in recent years.

It promised to cut red tape and ensure more money for frontline care.

But General Practice New Zealand, which represents PHOs, says GPs already received 100 percent of per-person funding for their enrolled patients.

GenPro chair Dr Angus Chambers said he was pleased by the conditional approval, but that there were still aspects to negotiate with Health NZ – which had put in place requirements to be met by the end of March.

“It’s a very big job, I do think it’s possible, we’ve got a lot of expertise. But … there’s a challenge in it.”

The goal of thePHO was to direct more funding into the frontline rather than bureaucracy, and ensure money went to helpful and valued services, he said.

This would reduce upward pressure on patient costs and it didn’t necessarily mean job cuts, Chambers said.

“In the end, if practices are delivering services, there’ll be a need for practices to employ people to deliver those services.”

He said there had been uncertainty in recent years regarding the existence and future of PHOs, and GenPro could not wait for signalled policy direction from HNZ (a PHO strategy is expected in coming months).

Since the new PHO was announced, GenPro had received expressions of interest to join from 116 general practices representing more than 800,000 patients, he said.

“If all these practices proceed, the new PHO would become the largest in the country, covering around 16 percent of New Zealand’s total enrolled population.”

The new PHO would be organisationally independent of GenPro, Chambers said.

General Practice New Zealand (GPNZ) said it understood why GenPro was pushing for its own PHO, but maintained the establishment of new organisations – that saw practices switching PHOs – risked disrupting primary healthcare.

GPNZ chief executive Maura Thompson said PHOs were more than just “the bank” passing through Health NZ funds, and that many PHO-provided services such as diabetes, youth health, and marae clinics – in addition to general practice support services – flew under the radar.

“That might be business services, that might be data, it might be workforce, and these are essential to the functioning to the general practice and delivery of comprehensive services.

“I think that’s often not visible and maybe not fully appreciated by these new PHOs.”

The approval of three new PHOs this year was unusual, ahead of an expected Health NZ PHO strategy to be delivered by the end of March, she said.

“It’s a bit counter-intuitive, it’s ironic that these new nationally operating PHOs are established while we’re waiting on a direction on what a PHO looks like, which is a matter of three months away.

“These moves are far more likely to distract and destabilise than to improve care for patients.”

In a statement, Health NZ said the establishment of the PHO and impact on patient costs was yet to be understood, but it was committed to ensuring all communities had access to quality primary care.

ThePHO must meet a raft of requirements by the end of March before starting operations in July, including not-for-profit status, a strong governance framework, clinical leadership, and the ability to work with local health teams and provide urgent care, Health NZ said.

“It needs to submit flexible funding plans for each district, participate in collaborative planning, and ensure continuity of services, especially for mental health.”

Part of the measures, include the requirement that no patient facing services or staff were to be cut. ThePHO must also continue to fund health services provided by existing PHOs for at least 12 months.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The victim at the centre of a homicide investigation in Hamilton has been named by police as Jason Poa.

Police were called to a home in Lake Crescent at 6.15pm on December 18, where they found two people seriously injured.

Detective Inspector Daryl Smith said the man was 55-year-old Jason Poa, also known as Jason Tipene.

Poa died at the scene while a second person was taken to Waikato Hospital in serious condition.

Smith said the homicide investigation was ongoing and police were appealing for sightings of a Subaru Impreza hatchback, registration: KZH714.

Anyone who had seen the car or who had any other information was urged to make a report to police online at 105.police.govt.nz, and clicking “Update Report”, or by calling 105, using the reference number 251218/5897.

Anonymous reports could be made through Crime Stoppers, by calling 0800 555 111.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Firefighters are battling a blaze in Fernhill near Hastings.

Crews said they responded to the blaze Tuesday afternoon which is located between the Fernhill township and the Ngaruroro River bridge on SH50.

The township has not been affected but the fire is close to some houses, crews said.

Hawke’s Bay Fire and Emergency said conditions are too windy for air operations, but five trucks, three tankers and support vehicles are working to contain the fire.

The fire is about 400 by 200m in size, they reported at 2.30pm.

A spokesperson said the fire was threatening houses in Havelock North, but there were no formal evacuations at this stage.

However, nearby residents had been told to evacuate if they felt unsafe.

People in the area should stay indoors and keep windows and doors shut to avoid smoke exposure.

Police said a section of SH50, Fernhill, had been closed and would remain so for some time due to smoke compromising visibility.

The public should avoid the area and take alternate routes or expect delays.

Multiple fire restrictions are in place in Hawke’s Bay, with crews warning of high fire danger levels.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

You’d hardly know it, given how often he appears in the media, but Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has done some serious air miles this year.

He’s visited 31 countries on 12 separate trips, racking up 85 days offshore and 182 political engagements.

Across the term, he’s been to 51 countries (78 if you count repeat visits) with a total of 201 days offshore and 511 political engagements.

“It’s been exhausting,” Peters chuckled in his Beehive office during a sit-down interview with RNZ before the summer break.

“We’ve been flat to the boards and we are very pleased to be going to Christmas, but it’s been absolutely exhausting.

“We’ve travelled mainly at night, during the parliamentary breaks or when Parliament’s not sitting and as a consequence I spent half a year offshore.”

Victoria University of Wellington’s centre for strategic studies director David Capie said Peters’ travel programme was “extraordinary”.

“It’s a travel schedule that’s befitting the scale of the challenges that New Zealand is facing and the disruption we’re seeing in the world at the moment.”

‘We’ve got to regain our mojo’

Peters has been highly critical of the former Labour government’s efforts in his portfolio and said he had to make up for lost time.

“One hates to say this but I inherited a totally neglected portfolio where the then-Minister didn’t want the job in the first place, didn’t want to travel in the second place and despite that, the then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern thought it was of so little significance she pushed her into that job.

“As a consequence, there were so many countries that have never seen us for all those three years and that’s why it’s been so hard for us.”

Capie said former Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta was in a “difficult spot” in that she also held the local government portfolio when Labour was pushing its Three Waters scheme.

“Those are two portfolios that are pretty difficult to keep in balance, plus you had the Covid-19 border closures,” Capie said.

“In hindsight, New Zealand stayed home too long at a time when lots of the rest of the world was already getting out and talking about its interests and building those new connections. We were probably slow out of the blocks.”

Peters said New Zealand was no longer living up to its reputation and had to work hard to get its “mojo” back.

“We have a good reputation but it’s not the reputation that we once had, where we were regarded as a world leader.

“People couldn’t understand how we were. They couldn’t understand how a country so far away from its markets, comprised of a population the size of Manchester, was billing a country the size of the UK.

“They were amazed by that. That’s where we were in the ’50s. So here we go. We’ve got to regain our mojo.”

‘The curiosity effect’

Easily the country’s most seasoned politician, Peters (80) said he lived by some advice he got a while ago: “Winston, don’t act your age”.

The minister’s demanding travel schedule would tire most people, but Peters’ energy, charisma and experience clearly buoy him along.

“One of the great things about having some experience or having age, may I put it, is the curiosity effect,” Peters said.

“They always are curious, particularly Pacific leaders who say, holy hell, Winston, you’re still going and they’re not saying it in a nasty way – but they were running around kindergarten when I was starting.

“These guys are serious guys in their governments nowadays and the Prime Minister Marape from Papua New Guinea is always going on about it.”

Peters believed his work in foreign affairs was now drawing votes domestically.

“I’m pleased in this context that for the first time ever, foreign affairs is bringing votes back in New Zealand.

“It’s never happened in the past, but all of a sudden, people started to realise this is a very tricky and difficult world, and foreign affairs is – for the first time in my whole career, which has spanned since the late 1970s – this is the first time I’ve seen it bring in votes, because people realise this is serious and we don’t need amateur hour here.”

South America in his sights

While Peters would kick into election campaign mode proper sometime next year, he wasn’t slowing down on the travel just yet.

He planned on visiting Kiribati early in the New Year, and South America in Q1 where trade progress had “stalled for three decades”.

“I’m going to do my best to help Todd McClay get things going,” he said.

Peters said he had worked closely with both Trade Minister Todd McClay and Defence Minister Judith Collins this term as all three portfolios complemented each other.

“We’ve tried to support the Minister of Trade to the maximum because we realise we’ve got to get this country’s trading relations in a far better, far more profitable state and that’s just hard work.”

Having pushed back against requests to cut his Ministry’s budget, Peters said every dollar spent in foreign affairs delivered dividends down the line.

“Those small economies that are doing magnificently well have done exactly that. They spent two and a half times on foreign affairs than we do.

“Ireland, Singapore and Croatia. Now Croatia’s got two and a half million people, two million less than us. They’ve got 86 posts. They know what they’re doing, where they’re going. There’s a lesson that’s for us, big time.”

Peters said foreign affairs would only grow more complicated and more important, so it was a portfolio that needed a lot of care and attention.

“We’re way out here in the South Pacific for goodness sake, we’re north of the penguins.

“Our isolation means we’ve got to go to it, flat to the boards, but there is some good news. I think there are exciting things happening… I think next year could be an exciting year, in foreign affairs and many other things.”

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