NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

It may not be the ‘silly season‘, but that has not put a stop to naughty New Zealand fur seals causing mischief.

The Department of Conservation (DoC) is reminding the public that kekeno are not pets, as more and are spotted around the country.

New Zealand made international headlines this month, after footage of a seal pup wriggling through the front door of Sprig+Fern The Meadows in the Tasman town of Richmond went viral.

Another seal pup was spotted in Christchurch last week, with DoC having to intervene after a member of the public threatened to take it home.

Ranger Mailee Stanbury told RNZ that the pup had travelled several kilometres – from the suburb of Redcliffs, through the Heathcote River, all the way to Opawa – which was “not unusual”.

“It is normal for seal pups to go exploring up rivers, and sea lions have been seen as far inland as 60 kilometres,” she said.

“It is common to see them coming up the estuary at this time of year, exploring and fishing. With an increasing population around Banks Peninsula, there’s a chance we can expect to see more fur seals coming into residential environments around estuaries.”

While DOC would prefer to leave the pup alone, Stanbury said she had to move it “because it was unsafe from people”.

“Unless we absolutely need to, we prefer to take a hands-off, more natural approach.

“That’s the only way that wildlife can actually learn and explore – and I think they should be able to do so without threats from humans.”

Stanbury said the pup was being hand-fed fish, and one person had even taken it from the Heathcote River and put it beside the road.

It had learned that people would give it food, Stanbury said, so it had started to habituate to them.

“There were men there who were saying that they were going to take the pup and put it in their bath at home, which is completely inappropriate. That is a very inappropriate way to treat New Zealand wildlife. We do not take them home.”

While Stanbury had taken the pup to Godley Head late Friday night, it had returned in search of more hand-fed fish by the morning.

The pup was first spotted at Taylors Mistake beach, passing by the Surf Life Saving Club, before loitering in the car park.

“It actually stopped some people from leaving because it went and sat right underneath the back wheel, and they couldn’t back out of the car park and go away. Even when they turned on the engine, it just got in closer under the car, so it really has no fear of humans or cars at all.

“And at that point, we made the call that we were going to need to take it quite a bit farther away – somewhere where it can’t hear or see people at all – and will hopefully be able to re-bond with its own kind and break this unhealthy bond that it’s now forming with humankind.”

Stanbury released the pup in a bay past Akaroa Harbour on Monday.

“These little seals are only just weaned from their mothers and need to learn to feed and survive in the wild. When people feed them or interact with them, they are putting its life in danger as it will bond with people and keep coming back to urban settings where it can be attacked by dogs or hit by a car.

“We urge the public to leave seals alone, give them a wide berth, and absolutely do not feed them.

“Ring the DoC hotline if you think a seal is injured, sick, or in danger.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Gary and Kimberlee Whitehead have lost count of the number of times their Far North property has flooded.

Water has come up through the floorboards, pets have been swept away, cars written off, and foundations damaged.

Now they feel anxious any time they hear rain on the roof.

Some people ask: Why don’t they just sell up and leave?

“We can’t,” Gary Whitehead said.

“I mean, I’m 58 now. I can’t sell the property because it’s an intolerable risk to life. No one’s going to buy it. I mean, what do I do? Go homeless?”

Whitehead said insurance was no help either.

“The insurance will only pay to fix the house. They won’t pay to lift the house or make it safe. And once you make so many insurance claims, they just cancel your insurance. So we can’t even really make another claim unless it’s a total loss.”

The Whiteheads had pinned their hopes on a joint council-government buyout scheme for homes damaged in the 2023 storms, but they were refused.

New stopbanks and spillways were protecting homes in flood-prone towns such as Kāeo and Moerewa, but there was little help for people living in isolated valleys like theirs.

“It’s okay if you’re in a town, but anyone that’s rural is just left to their own devices,” Gary Whitehead said.

A new report by the Climate Change Commission – the first to focus solely on Northland – found the region was hit harder than most by climate change.

That was partly due to the region’s exposure to storms, droughts and cyclones, but it was also shaped by socio-economic factors.

The report said the region’s exposure to the effects of climate change was amplified because many Northlanders lived in rural areas and were employed in “climate-sensitive” industries such as farming and forestry.

The authors said Northland stood out for its “social vulnerability” to climate change with almost 40 percent of its population living in areas of high deprivation and a similar proportion not in the labour force.

That meant Northlanders were less likely to have enough money to cope with crises and losses.

People who were already at a disadvantage had limited options for avoiding the negative effects of climate change and could be left behind as others adapted, the report stated.

For example, people with the money to do so could relocate out of harm’s way, while others had to stay in hazard zones where they could be hit again and again by floods or storms.

Many of those issues were concentrated for Māori, who made up 40 percent of Northland’s population, double the national average.

A large proportion of jobs held by Māori in Northland were in climate-sensitive primary industries and therefore vulnerable to droughts, flooding along rivers and coasts, and saltwater intrusion into ground water.

As well as examining the impact of climate change, the Commission’s case study looked at the ways local communities and businesses were responding.

Clive Stone, the taiao (environment) head for east coast iwi Ngātiwai, said flooding, even in summer, was a major concern.

“One of the communities we live in is a place called Whangaruru. It’s really impacted by heavy weather events. It gets closed down, kids can’t get to school. The flooding seems to be intensifying, which then leaves us isolated.”

Coastal erosion was another worry, especially when it threatened homes or wāhi tapu such as urupā (cemeteries).

“Large tracts of our coastline are disappearing and it seems to be accelerating. We put that directly on climate change.”

Stone said Ōakura residents were trying to reduce erosion by planting on sand dunes, while whānau in Punaruku were working with the council to reduce flooding by clearing forestry debris from their rivers.

The effects of climate change on the ocean also worried the iwi.

“The moana is so essential to Ngātiwai because a lot of our people get their sustenance from there. We are noticing changes that are affecting our ability to harvest kai from the moana. Things like caulerpa, a new weed that seems to really thrive on the warmer water. That’s another real big concern for us.”

Another person interviewed by the Commission was community consultant Zonya Wherry from North Hokianga.

She said one of the biggest climate-related challenges in her area – as highlighted by Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023 – was the fragility of the power network.

Wherry said Hokianga residents had gone nine to 14 days without power, and three to five days without communications.

In many instances, no power also meant no running water.

Modern communication systems – unlike the old copper-wire phone network – also required power, while roads blocked by slips and floods made it hard to bring in food or fuel for generators.

“We were out of power for days. That meant that some of our most vulnerable, our kuia, our kaumātua, who rely on power for water, for hygiene, for their medical equipment, were at high risk. So energy insecurity is huge here.”

Wherry said Northlanders had learnt from Cyclone Gabrielle with her marae, for example, installing solar power and satellite internet to ensure residents could stay connected to the outside world in future emergencies.

Projects were also underway around Hokianga to make the area more self-reliant in food and electricity.

Wherry said the cyclone response highlighted a disconnect between government, both local and central, and the needs of people on the ground.

She says the Climate Change Commission’s approach made a refreshing change.

“I was impressed with the team, especially commissioner herself, coming up and being on the ground and visiting all these remote areas, just wanting to hear from us. Hopefully this report is going to be a benchmark to start advocating for us on the ground.”

The report stated sudden downpours, cyclones and droughts were nothing new for Northlanders.

However, they had become more intense in the past decade, in particular during the summer of 2022-23 when four major storms battered the region in seven weeks.

The resulting damage to roads, the railway and other infrastructure cost hundreds of millions of dollars to repair.

A subsequent study found warming caused by human activity had increased the total rainfall dumped by Cyclone Gabrielle by 10 percent and lifted peak hourly rainfall rates by 20 percent.

The Climate Change Commission report found other effects were more gradual but also had profound implications.

Farmers interviewed for the report described the double whammy of rising flood risk plus more frequent and longer droughts, and the “whiplash” effect of swinging between extremes.

Higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns promoted the spread of new pests such as Madagascar ragwort, a fast-spreading weed toxic to livestock, and fall army worm, a caterpillar that could decimate crops such as maize.

On the upside, tropical crops such as dragonfruit, bananas and pineapples were now being grown in Northland.

The country’s first commercial coffee farm started operating in the hills above Doubtless Bay in 2023.

However, growers stressed that those niche crops could not replace the staples grown in Northland, and small producers were limited in their ability to commercialise new crops.

Other measures described in the report to mitigate climate change effects included a water storage reservoir built at Ahipara by Far North iwi Te Rarawa to supply its market gardens.

At nearby Kaitāia, the $15 million Awanui flood scheme aimed to prevent a repeat of the devastating 1958 flood that sent metre-deep water coursing through the low-lying town.

Although not yet complete, it was already proving successful.

During a storm in 2022 the volume of water flowing down the Awanui River was almost 50 percent higher than in 1958, but the town did not flood.

The report, called Ā Te Taitokerau urutau i ngā āhuarangi/Responding to a changing climate in Northland, is the fourth case study to date by the Climate Change Commission and the first to cover an entire region.

The other studies focussed on Wairoa, South Dunedin and Westport.

The Northland study was based on meetings with a broad cross-section of groups and individuals in March 2025.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

who stole off her fellow soldiers and the Defence Force (NZDF) during a touch rugby tournament is waiting to find out her fate.

A light-fingered army corporal who stole off her fellow soldiers and the Defence Force (NZDF) during a touch rugby tournament is waiting to find out her fate.

Corporal Jackie Te Weehi pocketed $3422.57 of team member and NZDF funding and prosecutors are calling for her detention and dismissal.

The Territorial Force soldier has since paid back the money she swindled.

Te Weehi pleaded guilty at a Court Martial at Whenuapai Air Base on Monday to theft by person in a special relationship, and making a false official document.

The maximum penalties are seven years’ and two years’ imprisonment respectively.

NZDF prosecutors said Te Weehi had breached the trust and integrity that were fundamental to the armed forces.

It said she could not reasonably be put in a position of trust again.

“The fact that Corporal Te Weehi was in a position of trust and authority is a severely aggravating factor, she was the team manager,” prosecutors said.

They said the fact there was a representative charge spanning months showed the offending was pre-meditated.

After the hearing of evidence and her guilty pleas and convictions being entered on Monday, Te Weehi will face being sentenced on Tuesday afternoon.

The offending

Defence Force prosecutors Lt Letitia Smith and Sub Lt Angus Graham laid out the case before Judge Bill Hastings.

It was July 2023 when the New Zealand Army Men’s Touch Team was invited to play in the Australian Defence Force Touch Championship in Australia.

Te Weehi, an Acting Sergeant at the time, was manager of the team.

She overcharged team members and asked for money that wasn’t used, including asking for donations for the coach’s emergency bereavement flight back to New Zealand.

She took money at various points.

Te Weehi sent a budget to team members on 1 August 2023 saying they needed to pay $635 to cover the trip – $531 for flights, $80 for uniforms and $24 for other costs.

Days later she was told that sponsorships meant flight costs had dropped to $400.

She then told team members they needed to pay $535 in total, when it should have been $504.

Between 27 July and 23 August, team members put money into Te Weehi’s personal bank account.

In all, she got $8726 that was supposed for be for tournament expenses.

Between 15 and 23 August Te Weehi transferred $5600 to another service person who booked flights and then paid $1200 for uniforms.

In total she spent $7200 on the team’s needs.

But she held onto $940 from overcharging each player, asking for money for expenses that weren’t used and not repaying two players who overpaid.

Another player wanted to take his civilian daughter to the tournament and was told she would need to pay full price for the flight.

But Te Weehi knowingly put her on a seat subsidised by the Army and held onto the extra $586, which she used for personal expenses.

Then, she got $3000 of sponsorships from the Army Logistics Regiment that was supposed to be given to team members equally as a reimbursement.

Te Weehi, while distributing the money, told players there were hidden costs and insurance fees when there weren’t, and held onto $939.67 and used it personally.

Money from a Manager Grant for extra expenses was also paid into her bank account for the likes of sports drinks and washing powder, but was not used for those.

On 18 October, she asked players for more contributions, $490 for the team and miscellaneous costs.

She only put $294.70 of it toward those, and held onto the rest.

Then, when the team coach had to return to New Zealand urgently during the tournament for a family bereavement, the flight was charged to an NZDF credit card.

Te Weehi raised $189.60 from donations from four team members but gave none of the money to the coach or the Defence Force.

On 25 October she offered to order new team t-shirts for the team with eight players together handing over $372, but the shirts were never ordered.

On the second charge of making a false official document, she made a document addressed to the Chief of Army saying she had arranged travel insurance for the team.

A later investigation by Military Police found Te Weehi had never got insurance.

“Corporal Te Weehi blatantly lied, this was not spur of the moment offending,” Lt Smith said of the second charge at the Court Martial.

She also told the judge Cpl Te Weehi was not acting in any form other than self interest.

Lt Smith said Te Weehi had “a clear unwillingness” to comply with the ethos and values of the NZDF.

Te Weehi’s defence

When interviewed under caution in October last year, Corporal Te Weehi asked to terminate the interview and exercise her right to refrain from making further statements.

At the Court Martial, Te Weehi’s lawyer, David Pawson, told the military panel it was “absolutely warranted” to have her dismissed.

“No problem with that at all,” he said.

But he argued she should not face detention, and that dismissal was a higher punishment than detention.

“She immediately pleaded guilty, she is remorseful, she’s paid back the donations and she’s written a letter of remorse,” he said.

He also urged the military panel to consider the effect of Cpl Te Weehi’s name being published by the media.

“I invite you to consider about being empathetic too, I’m not saying be soft but I’m not saying let’s be harsh either,” he said.

“Because at the end of the day Corporal Te Weehi is toward the end of her long and distinguished service.”

“We’ve all made mistakes,” he told the panel before it considered its sentence.

No victims were willing to provide victim impact statements.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auditors have called out schools for spending their money on boat cruises, food for local families and travel for principals – and in some cases their partners.

The auditor-general’s annual report on schools’ 2024 accounts said more schools than the previous year were struggling financially or spent money inappropriately, and many still failed to plan ahead for building maintenance.

The report said 27 schools needed Ministry of Education guarantees for their finances – about four times as many as the previous year.

It said schools needed guidance on “sensitive expenditure” and on planning maintenance for their buildings.

The report said one school board provided so little financial information auditors could not give an opinion on their accounts.

That was the combined board of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Manurewa and Te Wharekura Manurewa and applied to their 2021, 2022 and 2023 audits.

“The school board did not retain accounting records and relevant supporting documents to underpin the financial statements,” the report said.

“We also could not obtain evidence that controls over the school’s expenditure and payroll were in place and operating effectively during the years that we were auditing.”

It said auditors highlighted issues in 64 audit reports and at 21 schools this related to use of schools’ $6000-a-year fund for professional coaching and support for principals.

“We drew attention to some spending on personal travel for the principal and, in some instances, companions because there was no clear business purpose for it,” the report said.

“In some instances, there was a lack of documentation or receipts to support the business purpose of the principal’s travel. For most of these, there was a clear business rationale for the travel, but there was additional travel and spending (such as on tourist activities) that appeared to be personal in nature.

“Any personal travel incorporated into business travel should be at no additional cost to the school.”

Some of the larger sums involved included:

• Glenview School in Hamilton spent $29,458 on trips to Canada, Vietnam, and Samoa that had business purposes but did not provide enough evidence that all the spending had a clear business purpose or was in keeping with expectations about how public funds were used.
• Fairfield College in Hamilton paid $17,155 for its principal to travel to Alaska and Canada. The travel through Alaska and Canada was for research, but there was not enough evidence that all the spending, including during stopovers in Hawai’i and New York, had a clear business purpose.
• Haeata Community Campus School paid $18,500 for a trip to Queenstown for professional coaching and well-being for its senior leadership team but did not provide enough evidence that all the spending had a clear business purpose.
• Maraenui Bilingual School in Napier paid $9086 for the now-former principal to attend a relative’s tangi and $7058 for that principal and a family member to travel to Rarotonga but did not provide enough evidence that the spending had a clear business purpose linked to student outcomes.

The report said the Ministry of Education had developed new guidance and criteria for spending on professional coaching and well-being support which would be published early next year.

Other sensitive spending issues included:

• Rotorua School’s principal spending $38,882 of school funds on meals and entertainment for 44 students and adults on a trip to the US in 2023 but not providing receipts.
• Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Mangere spending $35,025 on hospitality and entertainment for staff including “$22,833 on a boat cruise for 45 people and other spending that we consider is neither moderate nor conservative”.
• Sutton Park School, which spent $11,017 for a staff planning meeting at SkyCity and “distributed $14,227 of food to families of school pupils during the Covid-19 lockdown and gave $4000 of Pak’nSave gift vouchers to families of school pupils for the vaccination drive, which did not have a clear business purpose”.

The report said auditors noted some instances where schools broke the law.

It said two schools met the costs of an international student through a scholarship, even though legislation required schools charge fees that at least covered the costs of tuition and capital facilities.

Eight schools borrowed more money than they were allowed to and 10 schools breached conflict of interest requirements by entering contracts with board members worth more than $25,000 without the secretary for education’s approval.

The report said 51 schools did not provide enough evidence about their plans for ongoing maintenance of their buildings.

The report said some schools did not keep adequate records of community-raised funds or sports fees.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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