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Government wants to bypass fast-track process for proposed liquefied natural gas terminal

Source: Radio New Zealand

A proposed liquefied natural gas terminal will bypass the fast-track process, documents show. RNZ

A proposed liquefied natural gas terminal will bypass even the fast-track process in order to be built in time for winter next year, documents show.

The government plans to rush through as many of the required approvals as possible ahead of the election, “to give the preferred supplier greater policy certainty that New Zealand is committed to developing the facility”, a Cabinet paper said.

A critic of the proposal says pushing the entire process through so quickly is unwarranted and the public and local communities should be properly consulted.

Energy Minister Simon Watts said this week that the government would proceed with plans to commission a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility in Taranaki, with whole-of-life costs spread across all electricity users through a levy.

Watts said it would result in overall savings to households, because it would help to lower electricity premiums during dry years when hydro lakes ran low.

The Cabinet paper, released after the announcement, noted that “timing is very tight” to get the facility up and running in time for winter 2027.

“An LNG terminal will require regulatory consents and approvals if it is to be operational ahead of winter 2027, and the existing Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 processes are unlikely to be sufficient,” Watts wrote.

“I propose developing an Enabling Liquefied Natural Gas Bill to provide the necessary consents, approvals, levy power and any modifications to existing legislation to enable the preferred LNG facility to be built and operational ahead of winter 2027.”

Energy Minister Simon Watts. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

That would protect against the risk of late project delivery, the paper said.

The paper also warned that a future government might not proceed with LNG, and recommended signing contracts by the middle of this year to lock the concept in.

Expediting consents through special legislation would also help, it said.

“Our objective is to provide as many of these approvals as possible before the election.”

There were still risks even with a rapid consent process.

“LNG import facilities are highly technical in nature,” the paper said.

“Further, New Zealand does not have an ideal location (large deep-water port close to the main gas pipeline) to locate an LNG import facility, meaning that the technical challenges of importing LNG here are more significant than in some other countries.”

The government should carry out further technical analysis before proceeding with a preferred proposal, and “be prepared not to proceed with an accelerated proposal should further analysis suggest that the proposal(s) is/are unworkable”.

That could include considering options that might not be up and running until late 2027 or early 2028.

However, any construction and delivery delays could mean “substantial industry exits”, the paper warned.

During the 2024 energy crisis, several industrial users paused operations while others closed completely.

2027 not ‘a magical winter’

Environmental Defense Society chair Gary Taylor said the LNG proposal and the timeframe “sounds like another rushed project, redolent of the [Interislander] ferry fiasco”.

Environmental Defense Society chair Gary Taylor. Supplied

“Good policy, particularly when it involves significant capital investment, should not be rushed like this,” he said.

“I don’t see why the winter of 2027 is a magical winter. If time is constrained, then let’s go for winter 2028 and do it properly.”

Claims of more industry exits if a dry year occured in the meantime were just that, he said.

“Those with vested interests do tend to wave shrouds to support their cause.”

Instead, additional time could be used for a more considered analysis of the proposal and its alternatives, along with more meaningful engagement during the political process.

“It would enable much better consideration than you’re going to get through a rushed select committee process if this proposed bill is put through the House under urgency,” Taylor said.

Multiple reports, including one commissioned by the government, have warned that imported LNG should only be considered as a last resort.

An annex to the Cabinet paper, comparing LNG to alternatives such as diesel peakers, concluded LNG could be brought online faster than any other option – though it gave a timeframe as late as 2029 to get a facility operational.

No substantive consideration was given to grid-scale battery storage systems, or rooftop solar.

Large-scale battery technology had not progessed enough to cover “long-duration cover needs”, while rooftop solar would not provide enough additional energy during winter, when supply was most likely to be a problem, the annex said.

Cabinet proposal mirrors independent report details

Much of the detail in the Cabinet paper mirrored the findings of an independent report commissioned from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) last year by the four gentailers – Contact, Genesis, Mercury and Meridian.

That report recommended LNG only as a fuel of last resort and recommended a $2 per megawatt hour (MWh) levy across all gas and electricity users to make it economically feasible.

The Cabinet paper referenced the BCG report several times, including its estimate of a $10/MWh saving on electricity prices.

A spokesperson for Watts’ office said the $10/MWh was “estimated by MBIE based on Concept Consulting modelling and MBIE’s analysis”, but said it was also consistent with the BCG estimate.

That $10 figure – together with the final proposed levy of between $2 and $4 – appeared to be the basis of the government’s claim that households would save an average $50 on their annual power bills.

A net $8/MWh saving – if it were passed on in its entirety – would translate to between $56 for an average household using 7MWh of electricity a year.

Watts’ spokesperson did not confirm whether that calculation was the same one the government had arrived at.

A natural gas rig in Taranaki. Supplied

The Cabinet paper underscored the importance of not creating an ongoing dependency on LNG, which it said would risk an overall increase in power bills.

“Put simply, LNG should function as an insurance product: available when required but used only infrequently. Perhaps counterintuitively, LNG provides the greatest benefit when it is available as back-up and rarely used.”

BCG partner and report author Richard Hobbs said having LNG as a stand-by option in that way broadly made sense, but BCG had made many other recommendations.

“In and of itself, it’s not a silver bullet. There are a lot of other things that need to be done.”

The government needed to keep up the pace of renewables development, and address domestic gas supply and demand.

That included focusing on extracting what remained in existing gas fields – not exploring for new fields that could take a decade or more to come online.

The major gap was “really around the demand side, where there is not a programme to support users to transition from gas to electricity or biomass”, Hobbs said.

His report had recommended a $200 million fund to assist that transition.

The government scrapped the Labour-led government’s Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) fund, which served a similar purpose.

The Cabinet paper noted the need to “continue efforts to strengthen domestic gas supply and ensure alternatives like biomass and electrification continue in parallel, to create optionality, not dependency [on LNG]”.

It noted the BCG recommendation to set up a transition fund but did not endorse or suggest such a policy.

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New ‘cheeky and playful’ take on Swan Lake

Source: Radio New Zealand

Swan Lake was ripe for reinterpretation, says the leader of Australia’s premier circus company.

Circa’s latest production Duck Pond blends the classic ballet and Ugly Duckling stories into a high-energy, acrobatic visual feast.

“Somewhere in the back of my fetid imagination, it got melded into the story of The Ugly Duckling, both tales of birds and emerging into identity,” Yaron Lifschitz told RNZ’s Nine to Noon.

Circa is bringing its version of the classic ballet Swan Lake to the Auckland Arts Festival next month.

Pia Johnson

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Health experts call on Pharmac to fund female-specific testosterone

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman applies post-menopause hormone gel. COLLANGES / BSIP via AFP

An endocrinologist says more than half the women she sees on testosterone for low libido are taking too high a dose, and she and her colleagues are calling on Pharmac to finally fund a female-specific product.

Pharmac is set to consider funding AndroFeme 1 on Thursday, which unfunded costs anywhere between $150 and $250 for a three-month supply, depending on the pharmacy.

To avoid that cost, many women are prescribed a funded alternative, called Testogel, which is formulated for men.

Testosterone is usually thought of as a male hormone, but it is also found in women. It is prescribed to treat low libido, also know as Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), in women who are postmenopausal.

Women’s health advocate and director of Cala Clinic, Jenna Scullin, explained: “Similar to males, women’s testosterone levels decline gradually over their lifetime.

“By the time a woman is at a menopausal age, it has often halved.”

Men who needed a boost of the hormone had the choice of four funded products, whereas women had no funded options.

Pharmac has twice declined to fund AndroFeme 1, first in 2024, saying the eligibility criteria (“postmenopausal women with HSDD”) was not appropriate and posed significant barriers to equitable access for women – particularly for women who, for cultural reasons, did not wish to undergo aspects of an HSDD diagnosis.

It also considered there was an “uncertain health benefit” in using AndroFeme 1 over the unapproved, or off-label use of Testogel, saying that if equivalent doses were administered, there should not be a significant difference in their effect.

At that stage, the discussion document showed there were 2300 people dispensed Testogel between February and November, and approximately 46 percent of those identified as female.

In 2025, the decision was reassessed, and the result was “no formal recommendation” which meant the previous decision stood – but this time Pharmac noted there was a need to fund a product with an appropriate dose for women, to minimise potential harm.

Endochrinologist Dr Anna Fenton from Oxford Women’s Health explained there was no research on how testosterone was metabolised by the female body.

Endochrinologist Dr Anna Fenton from Oxford Women’s Health. Supplied / Oxford Women’s Health

“Women are being prescribed this without the appropriate baseline testing without, often, follow-up blood testing to make sure the level is appropriate.”

And it could be difficult for women to work out the correct dose of Testogel when it came out of the pump bottle, she said.

“It’s very hard to titrate the dose of a blob of gel, which is what you get from the pump dispenser, into something that is a quarter or a fifth of that dose, which is possibly what’s appropriate for women.”

Fenton said more than half of the women she treated who had been prescribed Testogel were showing testosterone levels that were too high.

“I had a woman the other day who had 12 times the upper end of the female range, so it was well into the male range.”

Side effects included greasy skin, acne or extra body hair growth, but at the extreme end, it could lead to changes in voice or enlargement of the genitals – and those effects were permanent, Fenton said.

New Zealand had “the bare minimum” available when it came to hormone replacements, which included things like oestrogen patches, trailing behind the likes of Australia, the UK, US, and Canada.

She, along with fellow endocrinologists Dr Megan Ogilvie, Dr Sylvia Rosevear, Dr Susannah O’Sullivan and Dr Sasha Nair, have made a joint submission to Pharmac ahead of its meeting, endorsed by the Australasian Menopause Society, urging it to prioritise “evidence-based, female-specific therapies” and fund AndroFeme 1.

“We urge Pharmac to refrain from normalising the use of male-formulated testosterone products in women.”

The company behind Testogel, Pharmaco, has made no claims of its safety for women.

It supplied RNZ with a statement, saying: “Testogel is a prescription medicine specifically formulated and approved to be used by men with low testosterone levels. The relevant data sheets and Consumer Medicine Information clearly state that the medicine should not be used by women.”

Pharmac director for advice and assessment David Hughes confirmed AndroFeme’s application was on the agenda for the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC) meeting on Thursday.

“PTAC gives Pharmac clinical advice to help us make decisions about how to use our funding,” he said in a statement. “The committee reviews the evidence behind funding applications and looks at how strong and reliable that evidence is.”

He said a recently-received a submission would be discussed at the meeting.

Pharmac would aim to publish the provisional recommendation online within 30 days of the meeting, although that could be subject to change.

Female testosterone deficiency ‘more than just a low libido’ – health advocate

Scullin said one in three women between the ages of 40 and 64 experienced the effects of reduced sexual desire.

“It’s more than just a low libido, we see that it affects women’s mental health, it affects their social functioning, their relationships, their confidence and their overall wellbeing.

“There’s this view sometimes that a woman’s sexual function is not essential,” she said. “But when a man comes forward with needing assistance, there’s one of four funded options accessible to him.”

She said while some GPs and specialists were comfortable prescribing Testogel to women despite the lack of safety data, a number were not, “so it’s not just that we’re asking for a female-formulated option, but in many cases we’re actually asking for an option for women”.

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How much of NZ’s tax is your region paying?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland pays just under 38 percent of the country’s personal tax, and has just over 33 percent of the population. RNZ

How much of the country’s total personal tax bill is your region picking up?

If you are in Auckland or Wellington, the answer may be more than you might think.

Inland Revenue data covering personal taxable income and income tax attributable to individuals shows that Auckland pays just under 38 percent of the country’s personal tax, and has just over 33 percent of the population. This is based on information for the 2023 financial year – the data for the 2025 year is not yet available.

Wellington pays 12.7 percent and has 10.5 percent of the population.

Waikato, in contrast, has 8.8 percent of the population but pays only 8.3 percent of the tax bill. Northland has 3.5 percent of the population and 2.8 percent of the tax bill.

Whanganui/Manawatu has 4.8 percent of the population and only 4 percent of the bill.

On a per-individual basis, Wellington has the highest personal tax bill at $12,300. Auckland is just behind at $11,500 and Canterbury is in third place with $9900. Otago is fourth at $9700.

Gisborne has the lowest at $7700.

Much of the variation can be explained by different areas’ income.

Auckland and Wellington are the areas of the country with the highest incomes, followed by Canterbury and Waikato.

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said Auckland and Wellington had more people in the higher tax brackets who paid more tax.

“We know, for example, that Wellington City, rather than region, has the highest personal incomes in the country. Infometrics estimates show that Wellington region average annual personal earnings were around $90,600 and about $88,600 for the Auckland region. Those were the only two regions above the national average.

“If you look at the likes of the West Coast, which has got a fairly small proportion, and smaller than its total population. Even though the West Coast actually has some reasonable average earnings, that much smaller population is showing through there in terms of where they sit.”

He said Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, Northland and Hawke’s Bay all stood out for the gap between their population proportion and the proportion of tax paid.

“The likes of Northland especially, you know, you’ve often got a high level of benefit dependency there, and potentially also more people that at the very margins might not participate quite as much with government… probably operating a little bit further away from the strict expectations of the IRD.

“Not necessarily trying to circumvent the law, just that you find some rural provincial economies that often more cash based, or operate sort of more in a community setting.”

Simplicity economist Shamubeel Eaqub said it was interesting to consider the tax paid compared to where the government spent its money.

“Last time I looked at it which was years ago, places like Auckland paid more into central government coffers than they took out in public services… large, dense places that are rich will redistribute. That’s what the redistribution mechanism is for… poverty is quite often disproportionate. We tend to have a lot more deprivation in rural New Zealand.”

Olsen said it was a hard question to contemplate.

“Transport funding, for example. That can sort of fluctuate quite a lot year on year … when the Waikato Expressway or Transmission Gully were getting built, those regions probably got quite a lot relative to otherwise, but they’re maybe not getting nearly as much now.”

He said areas where larger numbers of people were on NZ Super could also be receiving more government funding than others.

“There are a few hotspots across the country where there’s a higher average age proportionately – Thames Coromandel, the likes of Kapiti District and similar, so those areas will have more as well. And then it’s also going to be areas that have a greater government workforce concentration. The likes of Auckland and Wellington do generally have a fairly large workforce concentration, particularly Wellington, of course.

“A reasonable amount of the Wellington city economy is driven by the pay and work of the government workforce.”

How does your region compare?

Wellington

$12,300 per individual

10.5 percent of the population and 12.7 percent of tax paid

Total of more than $6.2 billion in tax paid

Auckland

$11,500 per individual

33.4 percent of the population and 37.7 percent of tax paid

Total of nearly $18.5 billion in tax paid

Canterbury

$9900 per individual

12.9 percent of the population and 12.6 percent of tax paid

Otago

$9700 per individual

4.1 percent of the population and 4 percent of tax paid

Waikato

$9500 per individual

8.8 percent of population and 8.3 percent of tax paid

Taranaki

$9300 per individual

2.5 percent of population and 2.3 percent of tax paid

Nelson

$9100 per individual

1.2 percent of population and 1.1 percent of tax paid

Bay of Plenty

$9100

6.87 percent of population and 6 percent of tax paid

Southland

$8900 per individual

2.1 percent of population and 1.8 percent of tax paid

Marlborough

$8900 per individual

1 percent of population and 0.8 percent of tax paid

Tasman

$8700 per individual

1 percent of population and 0.8 percent of tax paid

Hawke’s Bay

$8400 per individual

3.7 percent of population and 3.1 percent of tax paid

Manawatū-Whanganui

$8400 per individual

4.8 percent of population and 4 percent of tax paid

Northland

$8100 per individual

3.5 percent of population and 2.8 percent of tax paid

West Coast

$7800 per individual

0.6 percent of population and 0.5 percent of tax paid

Gisborne

$7700 percent of individual

1 percent of population and 0.8 percent of tax paid

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Waste company wants retailers to take back fire-causing used lithium batteries

Source: Radio New Zealand

Waste Management NZ thinks a recent landfill blaze could have been caused by a lithium battery. Waste Management

A major waste company is calling on more retailers to take back used batteries as it investigates whether one is to blame for a landfill blaze that lasted several hours.

Several fire crews responded to the fire at the Tirohia Landfill and Energy Park near Paeroa at about 11.30am on Wednesday.

WM (Waste Management) New Zealand thinks it could have been a lithium battery.

“We have a big compactor that operates on the site that crushes down the waste that obviously went over something that caused a fire to break out in the waste pile,” managing direct Evan Maehl said.

“The waste pale is not large, we only have a small footprint open each day but the fire then took hold because there was a lot of flammable materials that it could jump onto,” he said.

The company has had people on watch overnight in case there were any hot spots that reignited.

“It probably burned for about four or four-and-a-half hours, it was not out of control at any stage but there was obviously smoke and it was visible,” he said.

“It was one of those things that we are unfortunately well drilled in.”

The company said it may have been a gas canister, but that similar fires had been caused by lithium batteries.

Maehl said there had been 20 confirmed battery fires across WM New Zealand’s sites over the last 12 months.

“Ten at our landfills, six on trucks which is quite scary and four in our transfer stations,” he said.

Maehl said a recent example was on an Auckland motorway last month on a truck the company runs for Auckland Council.

“We had to eject its load on the southwestern motorway because the driver spotted flames and smoke, so that was in a recycling truck heading to a recycling facility so it could have been a much worse result had it got to the recycling centre and it was dropped off there,” Maehl said.

The message, he said, was to keep the batteries out of household rubbish and recycling.

It was here that retailers had “skin in the game”, he said.

“It’d be great if they could jump on board and take them back so they could be segregated in their own special waste stream so they can be looked after.

“I’ve seen, like at Bunnings, they’ve got a take-back bin right outside the front door when I was there on the weekend,” he said.

Maehl acknowledged simply throwing the batteries away was convenient for people.

“But there could be downstream consequences too, like a recycling truck – and they’re [worth] half a million dollars each, or much worse would be a transfer station or recycling station,” he said.

“We’ve had two in the last year, we’ve had two recycling centres that burnt which is a big impact on the infrastructure of a city or a town.”

What’s the problem with lithium batteries?

Maehl said the issue was when the outer shell of a battery cracked and they were exposed to the air.

“You could Google it or Youtube it and you can see how quickly they react with oxygen,” he said.

“They ignite really quickly to a very high flash point.”

The problem was then compounded if they were surrounded by the likes of cardboard, paper or plastic.

“If there’s material around them then that will carry on the fire,” Maehl said.

His company had put flame and heat detection equipment in its trucks so loads could be ejected quickly if a fire erupted.

“It’s the same in all of our transfer stations and recycling facilities, we’ve now got flame detection cameras and heat detection cameras,” he said.

“Because sometimes they smoulder away under a pile of cardboard, you can’t see it.”

“This wasn’t really a thing if you go back 15 years ago when I started in the industry, but it is now.”

Last year Auckland Council urged for the batteries to be disposed of properly after a devastating fire at the Abilities Group recycling plant on the North Shore.

The plant burnt to the ground and destroyed essential equipment.

The organisation employed and supported more than 100 disabled people.

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Homeowners still paying the price for choice to buy in 2021

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ

The shadow of 2021’s house price boom still hangs over sellers trying to shift their houses, even years later.

New data from Cotality shows that 12 percent of people selling residential properties in the last quarter of last year did so for less than the amount they paid for them.

In Auckland, that stretched to 17.4 percent. Wellington was just over 15 percent.

Those who lost money had held their homes for a median 3.9 years, taking their purchase price back to the 2021 peak.

“It was a tricky time to have been a buyer and any unforeseen change in circumstances over the following period may have meant needing to sell at a reduced price,” Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said.

People who made money had held their properties for a median 10.1 years, the longest ever recorded in the data, which goes back to the 1990s.

Those who lost money lost a median $55,000 compared to a median $298,000 for those who made a gain. Auckland sellers lost a median $78,944 and gained a median $367,250.

Davidson said the data probably showed that people were holding on longer before selling to try to allow gains to accumulate.

“Or in other cases it may just reflect the fact that in a relatively quiet market a lot of sellers simply have to wait longer for a deal to be achieved.

“Indeed, some property owners may also just be choosing to hold for a bit longer if they’re uncertain about their job prospects or don’t want to pay transactions costs such as an estate agent’s commission or conveyancing fees as regularly. In addition, lending restraints such as the loan to value ratio rules may have kept more people where they are for longer.”

He said there had been periods in the past where places had been held longer and still made a loss. In 2016, the median hold period for places making a loss was eight years.

Investors have historically been more likely to sell fort a loss than owner-occupiers but this quarter’s data showed little difference.

Investors were making a median loss of $58,950 and a median profit of $308,000 compared to $56,500 for owner-occupiers who lost money and $285,350 for those who made a gain.

Hamilton investors made more losses than owner-occupiers – at 20.6 percent of sales compared to 13.2 percent for owner occupiers.

But in Wellington the trend was reversed, with 17 percent of owner-occupiers making a loss and only 11 percent of investors.

Davidson said the data showed the general flatness of the market.

“A bit more balance out there now. Deals are being done, so buyers and sellers are meeting in the middle and maybe vendors aren’t necessarily getting the price they might have liked two years ago, but they have adjusted expectations and they’re happy with it now.

“The market’s clearing, deals are being done and okay, there’s a bit more pain out there for sellers than there has been in the past. But there are signs of a stabilisation, and we actually saw the median resale gain go up a bit in the fourth quarter, too.”

He said even if people were not able to sell for the sort of price they might have at the market peak, if they had owned their houses for 10 years or more, they were likely to get more than they paid.

“The gains are smaller than what they were, but still pretty significant. Even at 88 percent, that’s still most people making a resale gain when they sell.”

He said it was likely that those who bought in the 2021 peak would struggle to sell for a few years yet.

“We’re still down 18 percent from the peak nationally, some areas more than that … that’s taken four years.

“Let’s say growth from here on is even ambitiously maybe sort of 5 percent on average over the next three, four, five years, it’s going to take at least four years to get back to that previous peak. So, this sort of tough period to buy and sell relatively quickly could be around for two or three years yet.”

He said most people would not have bought with the intention of selling soon.

Davidson said he expected house price growth to resume later in the year as the economy improved and mortgage rates remained relatively low. “Property resellers may fare better in that environment but it’s unlikely to be a boom.”

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Golf: Hope that Asia-Pacific tournament will inspire girls to take on the world

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand golfer Eunseo Choi at the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. DAVID CANNON / AFP

Golf New Zealand believes this week’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship has the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for the game here.

Eighty-four players from 25 countries will take part in the tournament at Royal Wellington with a career-changing opportunity for the winner.

Current world number one Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand won the inaugural tournament in 2018 with the champion receiving invitations to play a number of key tournaments around the world, including three majors.

New Zealand has 10 players taking part, while many others, not quite at that level, will be on course to see the best amateur players in the region.

The growth of boys golf in New Zealand is on a high and while the interest in the girls game is also on the increase, Golf New Zealand would like to see more.

There are more than 2000 under-19 female players registered in New Zealand, an increase of 450 in the past year.

Golf New Zealand’s talent development manager, Liz McKinnon, said hosting the Asia-Pacific women’s tournament here for the first time provided a great opportunity to showcase the women’s game and to help young players in New Zealand.

“There is the obvious impact for our players that are participating, but also for our girls that aren’t at that level yet about the awareness of the event being here. The exposure and the opportunity to watch the event and see the best players from the Asia-Pacific region.”

Wellington golfer Elise Barber. Supplied / WAAP

Many eyes will be on 13-year-old Wellington player Elise Barber who got a late call-up to the event.

She joins a strong New Zealand contingent that includes top-ranked Kiwi Eunseo Choi, who finished 13th at the 2025 championship, and Vivian Lu, who will make her sixth WAAP appearance.

Elise is a Royal Wellington member and WAAP (Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific) Academy graduate and will be the youngest player in the field.

The Queen Margaret College year 9 student, who plays off a +2.3 handicap, had a strong 2025 season including winning her age division at the Australian Junior Championships. She also helped Wellington secure third at the New Zealand Women’s Interprovincial Tournament.

Glenda Swan, who managed Wellington’s interprovincial team and has watched Elise’s development, believes she could be the next big star.

“She has a really well rounded game for her age and what separates her from others her age is her consistency and composure … she is now thinking her way around the course.”

Swan has also been involved in organising the 353 volunteers needed to help the tournament run smoothly.

While the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) has control of the running of the tournament and the financing of of the players, Royal Wellington club members and the volunteers are those on the ground helping the players and the hoped-for 10,000 spectators enjoy their experience.

Swan said volunteers (aged from 11 to 87) had come from all over the country to help from traffic management to kitchen helpers, scorers and caddies.

Royal Wellington hosted the men’s equivalent tournament in 2017.

New Zealand has 10 players taking part – Eunseo Choi, Vivian Lu, Emma Zheng, Darae Chung, Caitlin Maurice, Juwon Kim, Chloe So, Cherry Lee, Teresa Wang and Elise Barber.

Jeneath Wong of Malaysia will defend her title, while there is a strong contingent from Singapore, China and Australia.

Royal Wellington Golf club house. Marty Melville / PHOTOSPORT

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Inquest into death of Nicholas Kahotea, soldier who fell from helicopter during training

Source: Radio New Zealand

Lance Corporal Nicholas Kahotea, of the 1st NZSAS Regiment, who died in a training accident in South Auckland on 8 May. Defence Force / Supplied

An inquest into the death of a special forces trooper during a training exercise in south Auckland hopes to find out what went wrong.

Lance Corporal Nicholas Kahotea fell to his death in May of 2019 while training to dismount from a Blackhawk helicopter onto the edge of a building.

Kahotea was leading his SAS regiment through what should have been a routine training exercise.

The men were excited to perform their first bump landing, a helicopter manoeuvre meant to get soldiers onto the roof of a building as quickly as possible.

It was part of a joint exercise with the United States military, using its top-of-the-line Blackhawk helicopters to train for counter-terrorism operations.

One of Kahotea’s fellow soldiers, whose identity is suppressed and can only be referred to as call sign 63, said the team was enthusiastic.

“I’m not sure whose decision it was but we were told the next [exercise]’s going to be a bump landing. And we were pretty excited about it,” he said.

“When we got told we were going to do a bump landing at nighttime it didn’t matter to us, we do training at night all the time. We were excited to get another skill under our belt.”

A bump landing involves setting just one wheel on the edge of a building and hovering steady while the troops step off.

Call sign 63 was first off the helicopter.

“I could see the dispatcher giving me the signal to go … I looked down and confirmed it was safe for me to drop,” he continued.

“I simply managed to step onto the roof, no worries.

“As the first man off the helicopter my job is to ensure the area at the front is clear and protect the people still on the helicopter. The threat to me and my team is out to my front. In this training exercise my main threat was the stairs off the roof, so that’s where I was looking.”

Two more soldiers dropped from the helicopter, and the exercise continued as call sign 63 moved to the stairs.

“When I got to the stairs I felt a tap on my shoulder, this indicated to me we were ready to proceed,” he said.

“I can’t recall if the next thing I heard was over the radio or if it was one of the guys behind me. It was saying man down, man down. No duff. One of your men is down on the other side of the building. No duff means it’s a serious situation.”

CCTV footage of the exercise shows the helicopter sway, as the gap between it and the roof inches wider.

That gap was the distance between life and death.

Kahotea fell several metres, sustaining catastrophic injuries. He later died in hospital.

This week, almost seven years later, a coronial inquest will recount the tragic event in detail and make recommendations to avoid similar accidents in the future.

Kahotea’s partner, Dr Sophie Walker, criticised the Defence Force’s approach to the exercise.

“A bump insertion is not a static or benign manoeuvre,” she said.

“This is a dynamic and inherently unstable balance. From a physics perspective, the Black Hawk’s mass means very small changes in altitude create very large force transfers that promote tail movement.”

She hoped the inquest would lead to answers and accountability.

“Our hope is that the findings of this inquest will ensure no other family will encounter the consequences of systemic risk assessment failure,” she said through tears.

“Loss is not something that just happened in May of 2019 … It is something that I wake up to every day. It is having to accept over and over that this is my life.”

Defence Force lawyer Sally McKechnie admitted it did not fully appreciate the risks of the manoeuvre at the time.

She said the NZDF had thoroughly investigated its processes since Kahotea’s death and had made improvements.

The inquest will continue through to Friday.

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A CEO ousted, a board divided: What went wrong at New Zealand Cricket?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Scott Weenink. Photosport / RNZ composite

The insiders dubbed it ‘Project Underground’.

In February last year, a group of senior cricket figures, private investors and sports marketing experts gathered around the boardroom table within the bunker-like office of the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association (CPA) underneath Eden Park’s eastern stand.

The group was there to discuss whether a privatised Twenty20 franchise league might have legs in New Zealand.

At the time, the name was more of an in-joke – a self-aware nod to both the location and the speculative nature of the conversation. A blue-sky discussion held beneath the stands.

But in light of what was to follow over the back half of the year as NZ Cricket descended into open conflict and institutional paralysis, Project Underground would come to sound less tongue-in-cheek and more conspiratorial.

The bid by a consortium of high profile cricket figures, pulled together by CPA boss Heath Mills, to launch a T20 competition became a flashpoint in a much wider struggle for control of the sport’s future, culminating in the resignation of NZ Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink days before Christmas.

Last Friday marked the end of Weenink’s reign with the national body, bringing to a close a tenure defined by ongoing tensions with key stakeholders including the players, the six major associations, and eventually, his own board.

In a statement accompanying the announcement of his resignation, Weenink cited fundamental differences with the game’s stakeholders as a driver.

“After careful consideration, it has become clear that I hold a different view from several Member Associations, and the [CPA], on the future priorities for NZC, including the long-term direction of the game and the best role for T20 cricket in New Zealand,” Weenink said.

“I do not wish to create ongoing instability by continuing without the support of some key stakeholders.”

Weenink declined to be interviewed by RNZ about his time with the national body, maintaining his silence throughout the dispute.

It has been a common theme of the saga.

Few of the central players are willing to talk openly on the record about the tensions. Instead, much of the disagreement has played out in the media through leaked documents and correspondence.

Beneath the personality clashes and brinkmanship lies a more consequential argument – one that long predates NZ20 and will outlast Weenink’s departure. At its core was a dispute over how New Zealand cricket should be organised, funded and governed in a rapidly changing global game.

The central question facing the sport remains the same – whether the existing domestic structure can meet those pressures, or whether a privatised T20 league represents a necessary evolution.

The existing Super Smash T20 competition is widely seen as more of a development league than a commercial product photosport

The pitch

For years, the conventional wisdom was that New Zealand was simply too small a market to sustain a privately backed T20 franchise competition.

That assumption has been steadily eroded as T20 leagues have sprung up around the cricketing world. Since the Indian Premier League (IPL) launched in 2008, franchise cricket has taken hold in England, Australia, the West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, with newer ventures emerging in the UAE and the United States.

As the franchise game boomed, anxiety crept in back home. New Zealand’s top players and coaches plying their trade in overseas leagues began to worry the country was isolating itself from the rest of the world. Supporters of NZ20 point to a curious anomaly: New Zealand is the only test-playing nation without a franchise T20 league.

“We’ve become an island in international cricket,” says one advocate.

When the consortium began sketching out plans for a competition, they did not chase the scale of the IPL or Australia’s Big Bash League. Instead, they found inspiration in a more unlikely success story – the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The CPL was built across a scatter of small, cricket-mad islands with limited commercial clout. By doubling down on local colour, a party-style presentation and sprinkling in global stars, the league turned a high-risk idea into one of the most recognisable and resilient properties in world cricket.

Official documents frame the NZ20 in similar terms: a “boutique, city-based cricket festival”, designed to fuse sport with tourism and trade, and to deepen strategic ties between India and New Zealand.

RNZ understands the consortium has briefed several senior government figures about the competition and plans for Indian investment.

Under the proposal, franchises would not align directly with the six major associations. Instead, teams would be based in the main population centres and seasonal tourism hubs, including Mount Maunganui and Queenstown.

However, the major associations – Auckland, Northern Districts, Central Districts, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago – still stand to benefit financially, which has helped secure their support for the concept. It is understood the proceeds from the sale of franchise licences would be directed into a capital fund to be distributed among the associations.

Supporters of the model argue that private ownership would allow the league to operate with a clearer commercial focus than the Super Smash, which has come to be seen as more of a development league. They contend that separating those functions would allow the proposed league to prioritise broadcast appeal, sponsorship and fan engagement.

Don Mackinnon, chair of the NZ20 establishment committee, declined to be interviewed by RNZ while discussions with the national body remain delicate. In previous media appearances, however, he has outlined what he sees as the advantages of keeping the league at arm’s length from New Zealand Cricket and the major associations.

Don Mackinnon Elias Rodriguez

“It’s driven out of private investment and so you get the ability to be very innovative,” Mackinnon told ESPN in November. “You have greater capital to invest in the fan experience – at the ground, on television and online. And if we get this right, we believe we’ll attract the very best New Zealand players back into our domestic competitions.”

By September, the consortium believed it had secured sufficient international and domestic investor interest, including a group of six “high net-worth Kiwis”, to formally present the proposal to the NZC board. Among those rumoured to have expressed interest are Xero founder Rod Drury, and Zuru co-founder Anna Mowbray and her husband, former All Black Ali Williams.

For all the ambition and investor interest, NZC still holds the keys.

To get the league off the ground, the consortium needs the national body to sanction the league and commit to providing a protected four-week window in January free from international commitments.

The proposed scheduling has led to concerns from some within NZC about how a privately run league would fit alongside existing commercial and broadcast agreements, which are built around NZC’s control of the domestic and international calendar.

In hindsight, however, one person briefed on the board presentation believes the main sticking point came during discussions about potential investors. They believe the suggestion that former players such as Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum could leverage their overseas connections, particularly in India, to attract investors and possibly take ownership stakes themselves, shifted the mood in the room.

“There was a definite change after that,” the source said. “Suddenly, [that was interpreted as], ‘oh, they’re all on the take’.”

This would become a focal point for public critics of the proposal.

Much of the resistance that followed was shaped by a broader unease about private ownership – specifically, who would stand to benefit, and what control the game in New Zealand might lose in the process.

NZ Cricket’s governance broke down at the highest level. Kerry Marshall/www.photosport.nz

The letter-writing campaign

The proposal’s arrival at NZC marked the point at which a philosophical debate became a governance crisis.

The organisation was already grappling with its own future by the time the NZ20 consortium approached the NZC board. In parallel with discussions around a private league, NZC had begun examining options to rejuvenate its domestic T20 competition through an external review dubbed ‘Project Bigger Smash’.

The review, led by Deloitte, examined four separate pathways to revitalise T20 cricket, including private ownership and the option of entering a New Zealand team into Australia’s Big Bash League. The latter was widely understood to be Weenink’s preferred path.

In the months that followed, the board effectively attempted to pursue two tracks. It continued work on the Deloitte review, while appointing two directors – Bill Birnie and Anna Campbell – to the NZ20 establishment committee to further develop the consortium’s proposal.

That dual approach, however, soon began to fray.

Competing narratives took hold both inside and outside the organisation. Critics of the proposal portrayed NZ20 as a “rebel” league engineered through a hostile takeover by the players’ association.

Supporters countered that elements within NZC were posturing as open-minded regulators while quietly entrenching opposition behind the scenes.

Internal correspondence illustrates how quickly trust in the boardroom deteriorated.

In an email to fellow directors in October, then-NZC president Lesley Murdoch warned recent decisions had promoted “distrust and disunity”.

“A decision determined by a casting vote suggests to me that more thought should be given to that decision and perhaps be revisited to ensure all the relevant information has been revealed, discussed and understood,” Murdoch wrote, while not directly referencing the specific vote.

She also questioned whether members of the board were acting in self-interest, cautioning that the sport “deserves a board that operates as one team, not a collection of individuals with competing agendas”.

At the same time the Murdoch letter was leaked, another piece of correspondence surfaced in the media – one that hinted at a widening rift between Weenink and his board.

NZ Cricket chairperson Diana Puketapu-Lyndon wrote to the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Jay Shah, to reject claims of a rebel league or player coup.

“We are deeply concerned about the origin of any messaging that has the potential to undermine the reputation of cricket and cricket governance in New Zealand,” the letter, which was also signed by the chairs of each of the major associations, stated.

According to one source, the letter reflected concerns from some officials that Weenink was perceived to be actively undermining efforts to establish a private league – a perception that placed him increasingly at odds with the major associations and the Players’ Association.

Weenink’s supporters believed he was simply urging the sport’s leaders to take time to do their due diligence on a decision with long-term consequences for the game.

Pressure from the major associations soon became explicit in correspondence. On 16 October, the chairs and chief executives of the six organisations wrote to the NZC board, stating their relationship with the chief executive had become “irretrievable” and that they had lost “respect, trust and confidence” in Weenink.

The same source said concerns about Weenink’s leadership style and approach had been raised directly with Puketapu-Lyndon earlier in the year, and again by follow-up letter in July – well before the NZ20 concept was formally presented to NZC.

As the dispute escalated, Weenink’s position became increasingly untenable, leading to reports the chief executive was “fighting for survival”. The response was more letter writing.

In early December a group of four NZC life members wrote to the board and directors of the national body, the major associations, the Players’ Association and the NZ20 establishment committee to express their “dismay” at what they described as a campaign to remove the chief executive.

“We urge all those involved to stop ‘playing the man’ and, instead, focus solely on ‘playing the ball’,” the letter said.

By that point, however, the relationship between Weenink and sections of the board had fractured. Weenink was increasingly sidelined from key meetings and decisions, and in December he abruptly went on leave ahead of mediation over his future.

His resignation followed days before Christmas, leaving NZC seeking a new leader amid unresolved questions about the future of the domestic game.

Ajaz Patel of New Zealand celebrates with his team Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025

Projecting unity

While the immediate crisis has been defused, New Zealand Cricket is now seeking to steady itself and project a more unified front as it weighs decisions that will shape the game’s future.

Publicly, the message is one of alignment and patience. The NZ20 consortium, which was initially reluctant to engage with the Deloitte-led review, is now participating in the process as the board awaits the full findings before determining the long-term direction of domestic Twenty20 cricket.

In a statement, NZ20 establishment committee chair Don Mackinnon said the group was working closely with NZC “as the next stage of the concept is considered”.

“We have also engaged fully with representatives from Deloitte, who have been appointed to independently assess all options for the future of domestic T20 cricket in New Zealand,” Mackinnon said. “We support this process, and will continue to do so.”

Asked when the review might be completed, NZC referred RNZ to a statement issued in December, saying it was committed to running an “independent and objective process” but was limited in what it could say publicly due to “sensitivities and confidentiality requirements”.

Privately, however, tensions remain close to the surface. A number of figures across the game, including senior staff at the national body, remain loyal to Weenink and are said to be deeply unhappy with the manner of his departure.

There is unease that the mistrust sown during last year’s dispute has not been resolved, but merely contained.

Those concerns have been heightened by the need to repair relationships beyond New Zealand’s borders.

NZC chair Diana Puketapu-Lyndon travelled to India and Dubai last month alongside director Roger Twose and newly installed president Mark Greatbatch, a trip described by one source as a “diplomatic mission” to reassure international stakeholders and potential investors unsettled by the public stoush.

NZC has played down the travel, with public affairs manager Richard Boock describing the visits as “a regular part of NZC’s stakeholder management approach”.

Mackinnon, meanwhile, insists investor interest in NZ20 remains strong and says the consortium continues to be approached by prospective backers.

But one source involved in the proposal says there is growing anxiety around the length of time it is taking to land on a decision. There is currently no broadcast deal in place for New Zealand’s domestic competitions beyond this season, with the new agreement with Sky excluding domestic cricket.

While domestic cricket will likely still be streamed on NZC’s platforms, there are concerns that a sub-standard broadcast product could devalue the competition in the eyes of potential investors and weaken New Zealand Cricket’s negotiating position at a critical moment.

Several figures involved say that urgency sits awkwardly alongside a process that is designed to inform the decision, not make it.

The Deloitte review is expected to stop short of recommending a single preferred model, instead providing a cost-benefit analysis of the available options.

Ultimately, the decision will rest with the board – the same body whose divisions brought the organisation to a standstill just months earlier.

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St Bede’s College investigates knowledge of allegations of sexual offending by priest

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fr Rowan Donoghue outside the Christchurch District Court last month. Nathan McKinnon / RNZ

St Bede’s College is carrying out an investigation following revelations it was told of allegations of sexual offending by a priest nearly 20 years before he was convicted of abuse at the school.

The rector says he would be “appalled” if there was inaction and any failure to respond appropriately.

RNZ earlier revealed Rowan Donoghue had admitted six charges including indecent assault on a boy aged 12-16, indecent assault on a boy 16 and over and sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection. He is awaiting sentencing.

The offending related to four boys who were boarding at St Bede’s College in Christchurch between 1996 and 2000.

Since then, RNZ has revealed that Donoghue admitted sexual abuse to leaders of his religious order, the Society of Mary, in 2007. However, he was unable to identify the anonymous complainant and instead of notifying police, the order sent him to Australia for a six month-programme that provided “professional risk assessment and therapy” for people accused of sexual abuse.

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

In a statement to RNZ, St Bede’s College rector Jon McDowall said it was brought to his attention by police in recent weeks that the college had previously been notified of concerns relating to Donoghue.

“On learning this, I immediately took steps to establish clearly what was known by the school, when it was known, and how it was handled. I was not in this role at the time, and records from that period are limited. This work is ongoing; I am committed to gaining as much clarity as possible and doing so with care and integrity.

“I will say again, if there was inaction, and any failure to respond appropriately, then I am appalled. My thoughts remain with the victims and survivors who continue to live with the impact of this harm.”

In response to questions from RNZ earlier this week, McDowall confirmed the school had been notified nearly 20 years ago of allegations involving Donoghue.

“As Rector, I have been made aware in recent weeks of further historical information indicating that, in the mid-2000s, College leadership was advised that an anonymous complaint of a sexual nature relating to Fr Donoghue had been made to the Society of Mary, and that he was subsequently withdrawn from ministry.

“Fr Donoghue had not worked at the College since 2000. The information conveyed to the College at that time was informal and verbal, there is no written record held by the College, and the matter was understood to be managed by the Society of Mary.”

McDowall said the details of the case were “deeply distressing”.

“My thoughts are with the victims and survivors who continue to live with the impact of that harm. Abuse has no place at St Bede’s – past, present, or future – and I continue to invite anyone who is impacted by this matter, or who has concerns, to contact me directly.”

He said that after being formally notified by police of allegations relating to Donoghue, the College took “immediate steps” to locate any relevant information it might still hold and had worked openly with police throughout.

A Society of Mary spokesperson has also confirmed that while Donoghue could not identify the complainant in 2007, he was “certain” they were from St Bede’s College.

“No year was specified, but he was at St Bede’s from 1993-2000, The Society of Mary leader at the time advised schools with which Donoghue had been associated that he had been withdrawn from ministry.”

The spokesperson said two schools were told of the allegations.

“Our records show that the schools were told that Donoghue was withdrawn from ministry immediately. To the best of our knowledge, and cognisant of the policy and practice of the SM leadership at the time, we are confident the reason would have been made very clear.”

The spokesperson said the Society was not aware of the allegations to which Fr Dongohue pleaded guilty until police laid charges.

“At the time of the initial complaint the Society made strenuous efforts over many months to encourage the complainant to contact the Police.

“As reported by RNZ previously, our first thoughts have always been with Donoghue’s victims and their families. We deeply regret the hurt and harm caused. We extend our sincere apologies to them, and will seek to provide appropriate support when they decide the time is right.”

The anonymous complaint

A Society of Mary spokesperson earlier told RNZ a complaint alleging offending by Donoghue was received by the priest via an anonymous Hotmail account in October 2007.

“He advised Society of Mary administration and in a conversation with leaders of the Society of Mary, Donoghue admitted that he was guilty of abuse but could not identify the complainant.

“He was removed from his ministry as a priest immediately. This permanent removal from ministry and subsequent ongoing monitoring has continued to the present day.”

The spokesperson said the society reached out to the anonymous emailer “encouraging him to identify himself” and make a complaint to the police so the matter might be properly investigated, and so that he might receive appropriate support.

“Donoghue was sent for a six-month programme to Encompass, an institute in Australia that provided professional risk assessment and therapy for those accused of sexual abuse.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Karen Simmons earlier told RNZ police were unable to comment on processes of other organisations and their decision making and whether they decide to call the police but that police encouraged people to do so if they have information they believe could be relevant to any investigation or suspected offending.

In response to earlier questions from RNZ, a Teaching Council spokesperson said in general, the council did not comment on complaints or mandatory reports to the council.

“However, given the level of public interest, we can confirm that we have been working closely with New Zealand Police since early 2025 in support of their investigation into offending by Mr Donoghue.

“The legal requirement for mandatory reporting to the New Zealand Teachers Council (now the Teaching Council) relating to the dismissal, resignation under investigation, serious misconduct, competence concerns, or specified convictions of teachers was first inserted into the Education Act 1989 by the Education Standards Act 2001 to protect the safety of children and young people in our education system.”

Now the criminal process had concluded, the council’s professional disciplinary process would resume.

“This process will include consideration of whether obligations have been met to report conduct or competence concerns to the council that were known at the time, and appropriate action depending on the findings.”

Asked who the disciplinary process would look at, the spokesperson said the council would “into the actions of everyone involved”.

“We are committed to ensuring the safety of children and young people and the quality of teaching in our education system, and we encourage anyone who has concerns about the conduct or competence of a formally registered teacher to reach out to us.”

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Sexual Violence

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