Posts

Posted on

Agenda for February 2026 Pharmacology and Therapeutics advisory committee (PTAC) meeting

Source: PHARMAC

Information on what the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC) will be considering at its upcoming meeting on 12 and 13 February 2026.

Applications

Aprepitant 40 mg for people at high risk of post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV)

The Committee will discuss an application for aprepitant 40 mg for people at high risk of post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV).

Application for Aprepitant 40 mg for PONV(external link)

Abemaciclib (branded as Verzenio) for the treatment of people with hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer

The Committee will discuss an application for abemaciclib for the treatment of HR positive, HER2 negative metastatic breast cancer.

Application for Abemaciclib for metastatic breast cancer(external link)

Multiple applications for PD-1 inhibitors for the treatment of people with malignant pleural mesothelioma

The Committee will re-look at applications for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) (with pemetrexed and chemotherapy) and nivolumab & Ipilimumab (Opdivo, Yervoy) for the treatment of people malignant pleural mesothelioma to consider the recommendations relevant to each other. 

  • pembrolizumab (with pemetrexed and chemotherapy) with all histological subtypes of malignant pleural mesothelioma, unresectable advanced, in the 1st

Application for pembrolizumab (with pemetrexed and chemotherapy) (KEYTRUDA) for malignant pleural mesothelioma(external link)

Testosterone cream (branded as AndroFeme 1) for Hypoactive sexual desire dysfunction (HSDD) in postmenopausal women

The Committee will consider new information and review previous recommendations for testosterone cream (AndroFeme 1) for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire dysfunction (HSDD) in postmenopausal women.

Application for testosterone cream (AndroFeme 1) for the treatment of HSDD(external link)

International Normalized Ratio (INR) point-of-care meters and test strips (branded as Roche CoaguChek® XS system) for people using warfarin who have rheumatic heart disease and a mechanical heart valve

The Committee will review an application for International Normalized Ratio (INR) point-of-care coagulometers and test strips for people using warfarin as long-term anticoagulation management who have rheumatic heart disease and a mechanical heart valve.

Application for INR point-of-care coagulometers and test strips for rheumatic heart disease(external link)

Salbutamol dry powder inhaler (branded as ventolin accuhaler) for COPD and asthma

The Committee will review an application for salbutamol dry powder inhaler for the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma.

Application for salbutamol dry powder inhaler for COPD and asthma(external link)

Whey Protein Concentrate (Unflavoured, McLeod Nutrition) as a protein supplement

The Committee will review an application for whey protein concentrate (unflavoured) as a protein supplement for protein losing enteropathy, high protein needs, or use as a component in a modular formula.

Application for Whey Protein Concentrate (Unflavoured) as a protein supplement(external link)

Plant based oral nutrition (branded as Fortisip PlantBased) for people who need nutrition support

The Committee will review an application for a plant based oral feed as an option for people needing oral nutrition support.

Application for Fortisip PlantBased (branded as Fortisip PlantBased) for oral nutrition support(external link)

Tadalafil (branded as Cialis, Adcirca) for the treatment of people with pulmonary arterial hypertension, Raynards syndrome or undergoing cardiac surgery.

The Committee will review applications for tadalafil for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), Raynards syndrome and people undergoing cardiac surgery.

Application for tadalafil (Cialis, Adcirca) for PAH(external link)

Application for tadalafil (Cialis, Adcirca) for PAH in peri operative use in patients, undergoing cardiac surgery(external link)

Sodium chloride oral liquid 2mmol/mL (branded as Biomed) for use in babies and children as a sodium supplement

The Committee will review an application for sodium chloride oral liquid 2mmol/mL as a sodium replacement for neonates and children

Application for sodium chloride oral liquid 2mmol/mL (branded as Biomed) as
sodium replacement(external link)

Advisory meeting agenda setting

The scheduling and agenda setting process for advisory meetings considers multiple factors. We aim to balance the relative priorities of clinical advice needed across indications, the factors for consideration for each application (for example unmet health need), the time since applications were received and the internal and advisor resource available to support each meeting.

Posted on

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke tops list of favoured candidates to lead Te Pāti Māori in new poll

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Mihingarangi Forbes and Annabelle Lee-Mather

Te Pāti Māori’s leadership isn’t trusted by nearly half of Māori voters and many would prefer Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke to take over, a new poll suggests.

Almost half of those surveyed in the Mata-Horizon Research poll believe the party is heading in the wrong direction, and more than 65 percent indicated the recent problems were an important consideration in deciding their vote.

But the results also show there’s still a desire from voters for the party to remain in Parliament.

The poll was commissioned as part of a Mata Reports examination of the ructions in the party this year, Te Pāti Māori: A Kaupapa in Crisis.

Months of intra-party turmoil

Since June, Te Pāti Māori has been beset by a series of set-backs, including allegations and counter-allegations between MPs and the leadership, culminating in the expulsion of Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākura Ferris from the party. An interim order of the High Court has restored Kapa-Kingi’s membership pending a full hearing next year.

Two former insiders have spoken out to Mata Reports, criticising the current leadership team and calling for a return to the kaupapa envisioned when the party was founded in 2004.

“Those principles, the tikanga that was established, weren’t just about being words on a paper, they were the values by which we were expected to not only reflect the political aspirations of our people but how we would behave,” says founding member Amokura Panoho.

Amokura Panoho Mata Reports

She believes changes made to the constitution in 2023 saw authority shift from the membership to the executive of the party.

“I think that that’s concerning and it has led to a lot of the conflict that we have watched unfold. There’s a particular style of leadership that is inconsistent with the principles of the party.”

Former policy director Jack Tautokai McDonald says the party has done “amazing work” since it returned to Parliament in 2020.

“But I feel like that is now all at risk because of the debacle over the last few months. And I think that increasingly they are betraying the hopes and aspirations of those who put them there.”

Mata Reports invited party president John Tamihere to be interviewed for the story but he declined.

Poll of Māori voters

The Mata-Horizon Research Poll surveyed 328 Māori from December 4-12, and has a margin of error of ±5.4 percent. Respondents were a mixture of people on the Māori and general electoral rolls.

Asked how much trust they had in the current leadership team, 47 percent of respondents said “not much” or “none”. Another 26 percent said they had “some”, while 18 percent said “a lot”, and 9 percent said “don’t know”.

Almost half of those surveyed – 47 percent – said the party was heading in the wrong direction, 33 percent said it was going in the right direction, and about one-fifth said they didn’t know.

When it came to a preferred leader, Maipi-Clarke came out on top with 19 percent. The Hauraki-Waikato MP – the youngest in Parliament – was recently named by Time magazine as one of the world’s most influential rising stars.

Next highest in the poll was co-leader Rawiri Waititi (12 percent), just ahead of Ferris, on 11 percent. Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer was on 7 percent, Kapa-Kingi was on 6 percent, Tamihere on 5 percent, and new Tāmaki Makaurau MP Oriini Kaipara on 3 percent. Another 37 percent answered “don’t know” or “other”.

The party won six of the seven Māori electorate seats at the last election, and was riding high in the polls at the start of this year, thanks in part to the surge in support for the party-backed Toitū Te Tiriti movement which opposed the Treaty Principles Bill.

However, the poll suggests the infighting has done significant damage to the party and could influence voter choices at next year’s election.

Asked how important recent problems were when it came to deciding their vote, 67 percent said “very” or “somewhat” important. Twenty-seven percent said “not very important” or “not important at all”. Only 6 percent said “don’t know”.

Te Pāti Māori has historically mostly won most of its seats in Parliament by winning Māori electorates, which are voted on by people on the Māori electoral roll.

In the poll, 71 percent of respondents who said they had supported a Te Pāti Māori candidate in 2023 said they were “very likely” or “likely” to vote that way again if an election was held tomorrow. Only 16 percent said they were “unlikely” and none said they were “very unlikely”.

Support for the party based on the party vote also appears to be holding up, according to the poll. Labour had 28 percent support in the poll, compared with 31 percent it won with Māori electoral roll voters in 2023. Te Pāti Māori also had 28 percent support in the poll, though this was better than the 23 percent it got from Māori roll voters at the last election.

Political scientist Lara Greaves Mata Reports

Hope to ‘steady the kaupapa’

Political scientist Lara Greaves, an associate professor of politics at Victoria University, said the party’s pathway back to stability and capitalising on the support it had was unclear.

“I don’t know where things can go from here and how they can bounce back.”

She says the split with the Toitū Te Tiriti movement was particularly damaging because it risked seeing the party lose the support of rangatahi and young voters.

“It’s hard to motivate people to come out to vote when you see all of this drama,” says Greaves.

“I can’t necessarily see people feeling hopeful and positive about the future in Te Pāti Māori at this point in time … especially those younger Māori voters.”

She says the party had been one of the most successful indigenous political groups in the world, and an inspiration to movements globally.

“To see this happen and see this rupture happen in such a spectacularly messy fashion, it’s pretty disappointing.”

Despite the troubles, though, Panoho believed in the party’s future.

“The Māori Party was born through courage,” she says.

“If we return to honesty, integrity and collective leadership, our movement will recover its mana. My job has been, in terms of talking through these issues with you today, is to help steady the kaupapa so that our young ones can come along, pick up the hoe and take our waka forward.”

Made with the help of Te Māngai Pāho & NZ on Air

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

Posted on

Could human tears be the key to diagnosing Parkinson’s disease?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Parkinson’s disease affects more than 12,000 New Zealanders and is the fastest-growing chronic neurological disorder in the world.

In a world-first study researchers at University of Auckland are looking whether a protein contained in tears could be a marker for early diagnosis.

Parkinson’s is a slow progressing disease, Dr Victor Dieriks senior research Fellow at University of Auckland and the lead researcher for this study, told RNZ’s Afternoons.

Parkinson’s is a very slow progressing disease and difficult to detect early.

ARTUR PLAWGO / SCIENCE PHOTO LIB

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

Posted on

Sexual abuse survivors at risk as funding cuts loom – support group

Source: Radio New Zealand

Supplied/123RF

A sexual abuse support foundation says survivors are at risk as it braces for funding cuts in the new year.

HELP Auckland will have $380,000 less to work with in 2026, after the government announced it would redirect $1.7 million from the sector.

Sylvia Yandall, HELP’s Pasifika Services Manager, told RNZ the funding cut would force them to turn survivors away.

“If they don’t come under ACC, which is now the only pathway, there is no other source of funding that we have … So we will have to turn people away,” she said.

“It’s hard to put into words, really, because I know people this is impacting and this is really difficult for. The thought that people don’t get the help they need at a time when they’re brave enough to come forward to get that help is devastating.”

HELP Auckland director Kathryn McPhillips said the cuts came at a time when the number of sexual violence cases was breaking records.

“Sexual violence reporting has quadrupled since 2018, the circulation of child sexual abuse images is rapidly increasing, and prevention services are under threat,” she said in a statement.

“At the same time, funding is being pulled from the very services designed to protect children and support recovery. Community support has never been more critical.”

Yandall said a lack of access to support had ripple effects.

“It can impact their own children, and it has a massive impact on families because they don’t get the help or the healing they need to handle life.”

She said digital violence was another blind spot.

“[There’s an] increasing need for treatment for digital sexual violence, there’s so much online harm but unfortunately at this stage this doesn’t come under ACC,” Yandall said.

“So, again, people are not going to be able to get that help unless there’s some other funding that people can find to cover it.”

Sexual Violence

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

Posted on

ASB drops Motorola Solutions from investment funds after review

Source: Radio New Zealand

ASB says it has spent “significant time” completing a review of Motorola Solutions, and the change was not a result of external pressure. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

ASB has dropped Motorola Solutions from its investment funds, including KiwiSaver, after pressure from pro-Palestine groups.

Motorola provides telecommunications, surveillance and military technology to the Israeli military and illegal Israeli settlements.

But ethical investment platform Mindful Money says the big banks are still investing in companies that are exposed to human rights violations in Palestine.

Founder Barry Coates said it was welcome that ASB had divested from Motorola.

“At last ASB has agreed to sell their investments in Motorola Solutions, over two years after the information was disclosed on Mindful Money’s website and after campaigning by Justice for Palestine, Amnesty International Aotearoa and others.

“This is welcome news.

“However, each of the big four bank-branded KiwiSaver funds still invest in companies that contribute to violations of human rights in Palestine, despite Kiwis saying they want to avoid those investments. The banks are not listening to the thousands of Kiwis who have invested in their funds.”

He said, before the divestment, ASB had 0.87 percent of its KiwiSaver growth fund in companies Mindful Money identified as problematic in the conflict with Israel including IBM, Palantir, Motorola, Booking Holdings, Airbnb and Cemex.

ANZ had 0.54 percent of its growth fund in Booking Holdings, Airbnb, Motorola, Volvo and IBM.

BNZ had 0.79 percent in Palantir, IBM, Booking Holdings, Glencore, Airbnb, Rheinmetall AG, Holcim, Volvo, Expedia, Heildelberge Materials, Cemex and Maersk.

Westpac had 0.57 percent in Booking Holdings, Caterpillar, Palantir Technologies, IBM, Holcim, and Heidelberg Materials.

Booking Holdings, Expedia and Airbnb are accused of allowing money to be made from bookings on seized Palestinian land.

“The ongoing crises in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem are affecting the lives of millions of Palestinian people. Our KiwiSaver funds should not be invested in companies that are supporting violations of their rights,” Coates said.

Result of unbiased, ongoing review – ASB

ASB said it had spent “significant time” completing a review of Motorola Solutions.

“Previously, we have been able to meet with Motorola and they had engaged openly with us to answer any questions we’ve had,” it said in a statement.

“In October this year, as part of our latest review, we reached out to Motorola again to discuss their inclusion on the updated UN OHCHR database, and request that they meet with us to provide an update.

“Motorola has failed to respond to this request, despite multiple follow ups. This lack of engagement and our inability to receive an update is a concern to us and one of the factors underpinning our decision to divest.

“We are now specifying Motorola Solutions as an excluded investment from the funds. This decision is the result of our unbiased and ongoing review as part of our own due diligence, and not a result of external pressure from any group or organisation, which is not new with regards to this issue.

“We condemn all violence, and as we have said previously, our position on this particular holding doesn’t represent support, or otherwise, for any group or people, of any identity.”

Westpac, ANZ and BNZ have been approached for comment.

‘Huge win’

“ASB’s divestment from Motorola is a huge win for the fight in Aotearoa New Zealand for Palestinians to have equal human rights in their homeland,” Justice for Palestine spokesperson Kate Stone said.

“Israel is only able to maintain its apartheid regime of systemic discrimination against Palestinians and expand its illegal settlements because of the material support of the international community. This includes investments of financial institutions like ASB and other New Zealand banks and KiwiSaver fund managers.

“Over 8500 people signed the petition calling on ASB to divest, and hundreds of customers moved their KiwiSavers, mortgages and banking services away from ASB because they support Palestinians having the same rights to freedom, justice and equality as the rest of humanity,” Stone said.

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

Posted on

Business confidence rises to 30-year high

Source: Radio New Zealand

123RF

  • Business confidence reaches multi-decade highs
  • Firms report improving past activity, optimistic about the outlook
  • Employment has also lifted

Business confidence has hit its highest level in 30 years on improving activity and on expectations of an economic rebound.

ANZ’s Business Outlook survey showed headline confidence rose 7 points to a net 74 percent expecting better conditions.

The more closely followed own activity outlook measure also rose 7 points to 61 percent positive, also its highest level in 30 years.

Firms’ reported past activity lifting, up 7 points to net 29 percent positive – its highest level since August 2021.

“The improvement in reported past activity (the best indicator of GDP in the survey) is strikingly broad-based and suggests annual GDP growth is going to head north rapidly,” ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said.

In a positive sign for the job market, past employment also improved to its highest level since November 2022.

“Past employment is also recovering quickly, but retail is dragging the chain,” Zollner said.

One-year ahead inflation expectations were unchanged at 2.7 percent.

“In a potentially concerning sign, difficulty finding skilled labour is already picking up, but it remains much more muted than a few years ago, and disinflationary issues of competition and low turnover continue to dominate,” Zollner said.

However, she said the broad-based lift in business sentiment was encouraging, and “things are clearly looking up”.

“It’s true that the agri sector is completely out of synch and commodity prices are now falling just as the rest of the economy picks up, but just as agri buoyancy didn’t prevent a broad-based slowdown, falling commodity prices will not now derail the broader cyclical recovery,” Zollner said.

“Recent reassuring words from the RBNZ Governor about not intending to hike rates any time soon will hopefully take the edge off any confidence hit from the sharp market reaction to the RBNZ’s November message that cuts were almost certainly at an end.”

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

Posted on

Former travel agent sentenced over fraud that ‘knew no depths’

Source: New Zealand Police

A former travel agent with no hesitations in ripping off her former employers and acquaintances will face 13 months home detention. 

The 29-year-old Waihi woman has been convicted on 16 fraud offences including making a false statement, after a lengthy investigation run by the Auckland City Financial Crime Unit.

Her victims were deceived out of more than $62,000.

This week in the Auckland District Court a reparation order was made for $15,102 to be paid within 14 days of sentencing and $40,904 to be paid at $200 week.

The offending began in June 2022 and continued until August 2023, stretching across three separate employers in the travel consultancy sector.

There, she deceived employers and acquittances by offering travel booking services and instead of following protocol, received payments into her own bank account and thereby occurring losses to her employers.

Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton says, “from the outset it was clear to us that the woman’s deception knew no depths.

“A significant amount of Police resource went into investigating this offending, which showed payment details being altered on travel agency documents.

“It was a pattern of offending that carried across separate companies and, as noted by the Court, consistently breached the trust given to her by those employers, using her industry experience to exploit their business systems and perpetrate her offending.”

It has resulted in convictions for dishonestly using a document, obtaining by deception, accessing computer systems for dishonest purposes and forgery of documents.

But that wasn’t the end, as she used another identity to continue her offending, Detective Senior Sergeant Bolton says.

A loan was taken out from a New Zealand bank partner company, to the tune of nearly $30,000, by using the identity of another person.

“To cover her tracks, she ordered a postal redirection without the recipient’s consent.

“This offending could have gone further, as she unsuccessfully attempted to apply for another loan, using the same identity, at a finance company.”

In an effort to cover this phase of offending, she made a false statement to Police, the gravity of which was specifically mentioned by the Court.

Wednesday’s sentencing sends a strong message about those committing this sort of offending.

“Our fraud team continues to hold a dim view of those seeking a free ride, conning their victims out of serious amounts of money,” Detective Senior Sergeant Bolton says.

“Police will continue to prosecute these offenders who are causing great deal of harm and loss.”

“This is a fantastic outcome for the woman’s victims, who have been patient while this matter proceeded through the court.”

Police recognised the risk of continued offending by the woman.

Detective Sergeant Matt Lynch led a team of detectives from the unit to execute a search warrant in Waihi, with assistance from local Police.

“I want to acknowledge the officer in charge, Detective Simon Reid who has worked relentlessly in uncovering the scope of offending.”

ENDS.

Jarred Williamson/NZ Police

Posted on

Privacy Commissioner notified following ‘technical issue’ with police incident management tool

Source: Radio New Zealand

everythingpossible/123RF

A “technical issue” with police’s incident management tool may have led to sensitive information that was supposed to be redacted during disclosure being made visible.

An investigation is under way into the extent of the issue and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner has been notified.

RNZ understands police have recently contacted lawyers of defendants advising them of the issue.

An email, seen by RNZ, says that a technical issue with police’s Incident Management Tool (IMT) had been discovered that resulted in a proportion of redacted documents produced from the investigation software since 4 December that had redactions that were not applied correctly by the system.

  • Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

    • This meant that information that was supposed to be redacted could become visible.

    The lawyers were advised to retrieve the disclosure packages from their clients or request deletion of the email.

    They were also told to advise them that they must comply with the Lawyers and Conveyances Act which included not disclosing information that would be likely to place a person’s health or safety at risk.

    In response to questions from RNZ Acting Assistant Commissioner Investigations, Serious and Organised Crime Keith Borrell said that on 15 December the disclosure functionality of Police’s IMT was placed on hold after a “technical issue” was identified.

    “Information that had been redacted could potentially be made visible to justice sector partners.

    “Police’s ICT department tested and applied a fix, enabling functionality to resume yesterday.

    “Emails are being sent directly to officers and file managers in charge of cases affected by the issue, with clear instructions on action that needs to be taken.”

    Police had notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and continued to investigate the extent of the issue, Borrell said.

    Chief Victims Advisor Ruth Money told RNZ she had contacted police asking for information on what had happened and what actions police were taking regarding both at risk victims and victims and witnesses in general who have been affected.

    A spokesperson for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner confirmed to RNZ police notified them of a privacy breach on 16 December 2025.

    “The Privacy Act sets out that agencies are required to notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as soon as they are aware of breaches that they have assessed as ‘serious harm.’

    “As with any breach, Police will need to investigate so they can fully understand the size and scope of the breach and its impact on New Zealanders. It’s possible that further investigation of a breach could result in an initial assessment of serious harm being downgraded.”

    The commissioner’s initial focus was to “support agencies who have experienced a breach with advice on how to minimise the harm to any people affected.”

    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

Posted on

Some urgent care clinics extend hours

Source: Radio New Zealand

Eastcare and Local Doctors Ōtara in Auckland will both extend their hours next year. 123RF

A number of urgent care clinics will extend their opening hours in the new year.

Minister of Health Simeon Brown said Local Doctors Ōtara in south Auckland had already extended its hours until midnight this week, and would shift to full 24/7 care from the 19th of January.

He said Eastcare in east Auckland would also push its closing time from 11pm to 1am in March.

“These changes mean people can get help for urgent health issues any time of the day or night, without going to hospital unless it is a genuine emergency,” Brown said in a statement.

Brown said the changes were a result of the government’s national “Urgent Care and After Hours Framework”, which was pushing for all New Zealanders to have a clinic within an hour’s drive.

He noted that recent progress under the framework included a new 24/7 urgent care service in Dunedin, which also opened this week.

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

Posted on

Australian company Santana Minerals push for quicker decision on its fast-track application

Source: Radio New Zealand

Santana Minerals chief executive Damian Spring. RNZ / Katie Todd

The Australian company planning an open-cast gold mine near Cromwell is pushing for a quicker decision on its fast-track application after government officials suggested it might need to wait until next September.

Santana Minerals is seeking consent to tap into what it believes is a $4.4 billion gold deposit between Bendigo and Ophir, in a proposal that has resulted in fierce backlash from some locals.

The company submitted its fast-track application in November, which under the rules at the time was to be processed within either 30 working days or a timeframe set by the panel convenor.

In early December, panel convenor Jane Borthwick sought the company’s views on a proposed decision date “in the range of 110-120 working days”, which would result in a decision between August and September 2026.

A visual simulation released by Santana Minerals showing what the mine would look like from Māori Point Road, Tarras. Supplied

Santana Minerals, through its New Zealand subsidiary Matakanui Gold Limited, rejected the time extension, insisting that officials aim for the “shorter range of the decision-making timeframe”, towards the default timeframe of 30 working days.

Chief executive Damian Spring told RNZ the application was “deliberately comprehensive”, with more than 9400 pages of evidence and technical material.

He said the documents were submitted so the panel had everything it needed to assess the proposal efficiently, not as a reason to slow the process down.

“Robust applications are meant to support faster, better decisions, not justify extended consideration periods,” he said.

“We respect the panel process, but it’s important to maintain fidelity to the Act as parliament designed it. Moving away from the statutory timeframes risks undermining the very purpose of a fast-track regime.”

If approved, the project would carve out a 1000×850-metre open pit, plus three smaller satellite pits and a tailings dam.

Santana previously told shareholders that the company planned to extract its first gold by about March 2027.

Spring said that timeline remained unchanged.

“The pathway outlined earlier this year, including a first gold target in 2027, is subject to regulatory outcomes and planning continues on the basis of the statutory timeframes set out in the Act,” he said.

In early December, the government backtracked on a proposed 60 working-day time limit for fast-track decisions, opting instead for a 90-day limit with the ability to extend, that was due to come into force at the end of March 2026.

Sam Neill warns of ‘toxic’ legacy

Hollywood star Sir Sam Neill said a decision within days was not suitable for something he believed would have “enormous” effects on the region for centuries.

“It’s an Australian company which has never dug a mine before but our children and their children will be stuck with this horrible, toxic thing for forever,” he said.

Neill, who has been staunchly opposed to the mine, told Nine to Noon the proposal had been imposed on the community too quickly.

“The last thing that you should do, with a mine that will have serious ramifications for our area for hundreds of years, is be fast-tracked,” he said.

While Resources Minister Shane Jones was championing the mine as a potential source of well-paid jobs, Central Otago already had plenty of jobs, Neill said.

“It’s hard to find labour. I wonder, if they introduce this absurd mine, how many of those jobs will be affected. I’m, sure they’ll be seriously affected by a toxic mine,” he said.

Neill, who has lived in Otago since 1985, said the region was flourishing.

“We have great orchards, a great tourism industry and vineyards of course … I’d hate to see any change to that,” he said.

Other people in Cromwell and Tarras have raised concerns about the environmental impacts of the mine, possible damage to the tourism industry and their limited ability to have a say under the fast-track regime.

In November, New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals, part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, granted the company a 30-year mining permit, giving it legal rights to extract gold at the site.

Santana Minerals and the Environmental Protection Authority, which administers the fast-track regime, have been approached for comment.

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