Police in West Auckland have caught up with a man following his alleged mini crime spree in recent days.
Waitematā CIB have been investigating a series of aggravated robberies and an aggravated burglary in Rānui.
It’s resulted in a man being arrested last night after a brief foot chase with a Crime Squad detective.
Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie says a supermarket in Rānui had been targeted on 26 and 29 April.
“Police had been making progress in identifying a person of interest in our enquiries, including a further aggravated robbery on 29 April where a delivery driver was targeted.
“In that incident the driver had arrived in a driveway and was allegedly threatened before having a small amount of cash and pizza stolen.”
Then, at around 7.30pm on Wednesday night, another aggravated robbery was reported on Swanson Road.
“It was a near identical report of a delivery driver being threatened, with a small amount cash and pizza being stolen, on the same street,” Detective Senior Sergeant Goldie says.
Waitematā Crime Squad attended the area and began making enquiries at another address.
Detective Senior Sergeant Goldie says a man initially hid from Police inside a property before jumping out a window and running on foot.
“One of our detectives was hot on his heels, and quickly got the offender in custody without further incident.”
The 20-year-old man faces three charges of aggravated robbery and one charge of committing a burglary with a weapon.
“It’s a pleasing outcome for us and the community, and I acknowledge the detectives working on these files in recent days,” Detective Senior Sergeant Goldie says.
“Police will be opposing this man’s bail and there’s no doubt that further offending has likely been prevented from occurring.”
He will be appearing in the Waitākere District Court today.
Attribute to Tairāwhiti Area Commander Inspector Danny Kirk:
A senior Mongrel Mob member is facing drugs charges in court following two search warrants in the Wairoa area.
The search warrants were executed in the Wairoa township and in Raupunga on Wednesday (30 April), and while they were related to the recent gang tensions, they were not carried out as part of the Gang Conflict Warrant.
The 37-year-old man arrested has been charged with possession of a class C controlled drug for supply, and is due in Gisborne District Court today. Evidence consistent with drug dealing, including drugs and cash was also seized by Police.
An air rifle and air pistol were also located and seized during the searches.
Gang members in the Wairoa area need to start caring about their community and the children and other innocent people who are put at risk by their violent altercations.
Police will continue to work hard on behalf of those members of the community who don’t want this violence in their town, to take a hard line against those whose values don’t align with everyone else’s.
Access to urgent healthcare on weekends will be restored in Tairāwhati this Saturday (3 May 2025) with the launch of a new service, Health Minister Simeon Brown has announced.
“Improving access to doctors and nurses is a key priority for this Government. We’re taking action to make sure the people of Tairāwhiti can get the care they need – when and where they need it,” Mr Brown says.
“Urgent care and after-hours services are vital for people with non-life-threatening conditions who still need prompt medical attention but cannot wait until the next day to be seen.
“This new service will both restore and expand access to urgent care on weekends and public holidays in the region, with weekday after-hours services to be added as workforce capacity allows.”
The upgraded service replaces the previous arrangements between general practices with extended weekend hours and the addition of public holidays, and will be delivered from Ngāti Porou Oranga at Puhi Kaiti Medical Centre, 75 Huxley Road. It will include:
A walk-in or phone-first service with access to a nurse, nurse practitioner, or doctor
A local nurse-led phone line operating during the same hours as the clinic
Health navigation services to help patients access the right care.
As always, those with medical emergencies should go directly to Gisborne Hospital’s Emergency Department or call 111 for an ambulance.
“This service is also about easing pressure on Gisborne Hospital’s emergency department during weekends and public holidays. It allows emergency teams to focus on life-threatening conditions, while people with less urgent needs can get timely care in the community.
“Gisborne Hospital has a relatively high number of presentations that are triaged as lower-acuity categories – four and five – compared to other hospitals across the country. Many of these patients will be better served through this new community-based urgent care option.
“I’m pleased that Health New Zealand, in partnership with the Te Rōpū Matua collective through Ngāti Porou Oranga, is able to provide the people of Tairāwhiti certainty and reassurance that after-hours care will be available now and into the future.
“This is all part of the Government’s plan to ensure New Zealanders can access timely, quality healthcare,” Mr Brown says.
Source: Police investigating after shots fired at Hastings house
By Sarah Wilcox
It’s more than 4 years since the $1.2 billion Jobs for Nature programme was set up as part of the COVID-19 recovery package. DOC has managed about 40 percent of the funding, allocated to 225 projects, many of which had a focus on enhancing the biodiversity of freshwater habitat and ecosystems.
Our established Ngā Awa river restoration programme works in Treaty partnership in 12 river catchments across the country, taking a mountains-to-sea approach. The rivers are diverse, ranging from Waipoua in Northland to Taiari (Taieri) in Otago, and reflect the variations of climate, soil type, vegetation and land uses in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The existing partnerships enabled us to support mana whenua (people with authority over the land) and local groups to apply for Jobs for Nature grants with a focus on river restoration in their catchments. A total of $42,918,000 went to freshwater restoration projects in Ngā Awa rivers. This significant investment has supported ‘boots on the ground’ work known to improve the biodiversity of waterways.
Restoration planting and fencing beside a tributaryof theRakitata River | Sarah Wilcox, DOC
As many of the projects are now wrapping up, it’s a good opportunity to celebrate the successes and reflect on what’s been achieved for freshwater and the local river communities. This article focuses on work to date in three Ngā Awa rivers, with selected data used to illustrate progress. All figures were current in January 2025.
Whanganui River, Central North Island
• Number of plants added to riparian or wetland areas: 373,958 and other areas 56,530. • New fencing: 129,513m, fencing maintained: 10,218m. • Area treated for weeds: 159.01ha, area treated for pests: 512ha. • Total employment starts: 158. • Project completion date: September 2025.
The Mouri Tūroa project, valued at $7.86 million, is a partnership between DOC and Ngā Tāngata Tiaki o Whanganui with the goal of improving the health and wellbeing of Te Awa Tupua.
Gordon Cribb (Whanganui iwi), project manager, says the project is based around a relationship with the Whanganui River and guided by Tupua te Kawa, the value system that recognises the interdependence of the land and river.
“We’ve kept the project team small to efficiently bring together local suppliers and businesses with landowners to get the work done – 68 contractors and 5 nurseries have been connected to a wide range of landowners via 136 expressions of interest.”
Fencing stock out of wetlands and tributaries was a priority. “It mitigates pollution by reducing the amount of sediment going into waterways, as well as supporting landowners to comply with the stock exclusion regulations. Many of the fenced areas have been planted with natives, with pest control in place to keep the survival rate high.
“The only way we’re going to see an improvement in water quality, biodiversity and ecosystem health is through collective efforts across all landowner types. It’s encouraging to see farmers, hapū, marae and community groups taking ownership of the restoration work.”
A completed farm fencing projectin theWhanganui River catchment | Gordon Cribb
Ko Waikanae Te Awa, Kāpiti Coast
• Number of plants added to riparian, lake or wetland areas: 22,300, and other areas: 114,300. • New fencing: 6,700m. • Area treated for possums or goats: 2,578ha. • Total employment starts: 94, people completed formal training: 67. • Project completion date: December 2024.
Groundtruth Ltd received the $8.5 million Mahi mō te Taiao – Waikanae Jobs for Nature contract, partnering with Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai. Kristie Parata of Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai was the iwi (tribal) coordinator.
“The model here was to run a practical three-month conservation and land management training programme with groups of six to eight tauira (students). Tauira then moved into teams working as kaitiaki (carers) and kaimahi (trainees) on their awa and whenua, caring for the environment. Ten groups were trained.
Kaimahi arawai learning about stream health with DOC staff as part of their training, Maungakōtukutuku Stream | Ashley Alberto, DOC
“Our kaimahi learned a wide range of skills, including plant propagation, environmental monitoring, fencing, track cutting, and pest control. Many reconnected with their past and heritage, and discovered new life paths and future goals. One said, ‘I thought I was here to save the taiao (nature) but found the taiao was saving me.’”
Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai Charitable Trust has transitioned elements of the project including some kaimahi and the new plant nursery, into an iwi-led environmental business to continue the restoration work in the Waikanae catchment and iwi rohe (area).
Four years have passed, and the river speaks differently now. The Waikanae flows steady, its waters no longer weighed by the silence of neglect. We’ve begun to mend its edges, to tend its wounds, but the work is far from finished. Each effort, a first step on a path that stretches beyond us. – Excerpt from poem by Dan Dupont, Training and Operations Manager, Groundtruth Ltd
Kaitiaki and tauira of Waikanae Jobs for Nature at the closing celebration, December 2024, Otaraua Park, Waikanae | Sarah Wilcox, DOC
Rakitata (Rangitata) River, Canterbury
Three Jobs for Nature projects have supported restoration work in this river. Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua received $2.75 million for the Arowhenua Native Nursery and $8.7 million for restoration work in the lower river. The Upper Rangitata Gorge Landcare Group was awarded $7.3 million to lead restoration work in the upper river.
Funding for the nursery ended in December 2024 and the business is now transitioning to a commercial wholesale model. Funding for the restoration projects ends in March 2026.
Totals across the projects are as follows: • Number of plants produced: 616,236. • Number of plants added to riparian, lake or wetland areas: 257,869. • New fencing: 124,631m. • Area treated for weeds: 81,250ha. • Area treated for rats, mustelids and other animal pests: 122,364ha. • Area treated for wallabies: 107,935ha.
Arowhenua Native Nursery | Brad Edwards, DOC
Brad Edwards, DOC’s Ngā Awa river ranger for the Rakitata River, is proud of how work across the different projects has come together.
“Every project is important, from seed collection and propagation at the nursey, to the crews out preparing the ground and planting, maintenance work while the plants get going, extensive fencing to keep stock out of the riverbed and the landscape-scale pest control.”
As well as trapping sediment and nutrients, the planting is creating a native corridor along the whole river. Established trees will be seed sources for birds to spread into new areas.
A predator control network of more than 3,500 traps has been set up and maintained to protect the threatened birds that nest on the riverbed, including ngutu pare/wrybill and tarapirohe/black-fronted tern. Predator catches for 2024 totalled 2,828 hedgehogs, 368 feral cats and 479 stoats.
“The variety and scale of what’s been achieved through Jobs for Nature is absolutely staggering.”
Jobs for Nature team planting beside Deep Stream, a spring-fed tributary of the Rakitata River, in October 2024 | Greg Wilkinson
Measuring changes and benefits
Anyone who works in freshwater knows that making change is a long-term game. It can take years for positive changes, like more fish, improved water quality or a reduction in sediment, to show up. Monitoring has therefore been part of these projects, so future changes can be tracked.
An October 2024 impact report by MartinJenkins1 estimated that the DOC-managed Jobs for Nature projects will deliver a return of $4 for every $1 spent. This figure is based on economic, environmental and wellbeing benefits, such as avoided irrigation loss, improved farm productivity, and reduced youth unemployment, water treatment costs and human health risks.
In its approach to Jobs for Nature, DOC chose to put people first and trust the work would follow. The benefits for people, however, are also significant for freshwater. Many people employed said they had formed a much deeper relationship with the place and the river, which could bring further lasting benefits for nature in the long term.
Haley Corney is a second year Design and Visual Communication teacher at Pāpāmoa College in the Western Bay of Plenty region. Hayley is one of the “COVID generation” of beginning teachers, who had only one practicum, and then has spent her teaching career in and out of lockdowns and battling the Omicron wave.
A quad bike rollover which cost a Tararua farmhand his life could have been avoided if the farm manager had kept the bike in good working order, WorkSafe New Zealand says.
Worn brakes, uneven tyre pressure, and poor suspension were among the defects found on the bike that flipped at low speed and killed 31-year-old Ethen Payne at an Eketāhuna dairy farm in November 2022.
The bike was purchased second-hand and had no crush protection device installed. The farm manager and bike owner, Dane Hemphill, has now been sentenced for health and safety failures uncovered by a WorkSafe investigation. A victim impact statement read in court said Mr Payne’s mother has since died of a broken heart.
Uneven tyre pressure on the quad bike Ethen Payne was killed on.
“This tragedy should be the lightning rod the agriculture sector needs to up its game on quad bike safety,” says WorkSafe’s central regional manager, Nigel Formosa.
“First and foremost, WorkSafe strongly recommends installing a crush protection device on the back of a quad bike.”
Pre-start checks are important, primarily to check tyre pressure and brake function before setting off.
Regular servicing in line with the manufacturer’s recommendation is also a must. This may include oil changes and filter replacements. A checklist can be handy to document the frequency of servicing, what was looked at, and any fixes undertaken.
Any issues identified during pre-start checks or servicing should be addressed promptly to avoid further problems or potential hazards.
“We know life is busy for farmers, but there’s no excuse for letting your quad bike maintenance slide – especially when the consequences can be catastrophic. Ideally maintenance checks are done by a mechanic. If you are too busy to take your quad bikes in for a service, arrange for a mobile mechanic to come out to you. The cost is nothing compared to having a preventable death on your conscience,” says Nigel Formosa.
Agriculture was New Zealand’s deadliest industry in 2024, with 14 workers killed. Vehicles were the leading cause of death and injury on New Zealand farms, which is why WorkSafe’s new strategy targets about a quarter of our future inspectorate activity towards agriculture.
Businesses must manage their risks, and WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe. When they do not, we will take action.
Dane Hemphill was sentenced at Wellington District Court on 30 April 2025.
Reparations of $75,000 were ordered to be paid to the family.
Dane Hemphill was charged under sections 36(1)(a), 48(1) and 48(2)(b) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
Being a PCBU, having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, including Ethen Donald Payne, while the workers are at work in the business or undertaking, namely using a Honda TRX420FM2 quadbike at Spring Grove Dairies farm, did fail to comply with that duty and that failure exposed the workers to a risk of death or serious injury.
The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $300,000.
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Under rule 6 of the Health Information Privacy Code, people have the right to see their health records, but when you visit your doctor how often do you see your records? Digital healthcare information is a relatively common thing now, but many people’s health records may still be kept in paper form.
This was the case when a longstanding patient of a GP requested access to all his health records. The man, in his 70s, had been seeing the same GP for 40 years, and had also been extremely diligent in communicating with the other agencies he’d attended consultations with. As a result, those agencies had been able to forward his health information to the GP, and the man’s health records now filled two large archive boxes as well as files in the GP’s digital records system.
The reality was that his request represented many hours of collation and work.
Withholding grounds
Health agencies must provide individuals with access to their health information, unless there is a good reason not to. These withholding grounds are outlined in sections 49-53 of the Privacy Act. If an individual is denied access to their information and they believe it’s unfair, they can complain to the Privacy Commissioner who can look at the material and review the decision.
Clarifying the request
A quick phone call to the man allowed the GP to explain the logistical barriers to assessing and copying his full medical file, and how, due to time restraints, it could actually take several weeks to provide him with his records. It turned out that the man only wanted to find out about a course of medication he’d taken 50 years ago. When the GP offered to find the relevant material he was delighted. He was also happy to have the information emailed to him.
Three years, rather than 70
Clarifying the man’s request meant the GP was able to focus on a date-range of three years rather than 70. The GP found the information he was interested in, checked it quickly for anything that wasn’t about him (in case something had found its way into his records over the years that could breach another person’s privacy), scanned it, and securely emailed it to him. Once the information was scanned, the scanned data could be added to his digital file as an attachment. A thick wedge of paper was replaced with a single file-divider indicating that three years of his medical information had been digitised. The paper records were offered to the patient, who ended up giving his permission to securely destroy them.
Had the patient asked for his entire file, the GP would have needed to consider the request in full. While it can be inconvenient and time-consuming for busy medical centres to respond to these types of requests, it should be worked into their business processes.
