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Water fluoridation does not hinder brain development, 40-year study finds

Source: Radio New Zealand

AFP

A New Zealand dental surgeon says a 40-year study shows water fluoridation doesn’t hinder brain development.

Researchers in the US surveyed tens-of-thousands of people on maths and language skills from teenagerhood until the age of 60.

“The discussion has been that fluoridation of domestic water supply has been associated with cognitive impairment in young people,” Dr Justin Wall said.

“The good thing with this new study is it’s a much larger group of people, and they are followed right through until age 60.”

The findings of this latest study showed people in water fluoridation areas didn’t have a decline in their cognitive abilities, compared to areas without fluoride.

Dr Wall says the study clearly shows fluoridation is safe for people of all ages.

He says fluoridation is particularly vital in protecting the oral care of New Zealand’s ageing population.

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

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Morning Report live: Casey Costello faces questions over smoking rates

Source: Radio New Zealand

Associate health minister Casey Costello says getting through longer term smokers was the most challenging part of the process. RNZ

Smoking is on the decline in New Zealand, but the Ministry of Health’s most recent health survey shows the government is unlikely to meet its SmokeFree 2025 target.

New Zealand was https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/578576/most-deteriorated-nz-plummets-in-global-tobacco-control-ranking recently labelled “most deteriorated”] in an international study assessing the interference of the tobacco industry.

New Zealand’s smoking rate has been dipping throughout the last decade, but has somewhat stagnated the last three years and is sitting at 6.8 percent, just above the 5 percent target.

In 2024, the government scrapped laws which would have slashed tobacco retailers from 6000 to 600, removed 95 percent of the nicotine from cigarettes and banned sales of cigarettes to anyone born after 2009.

The prevalence of daily vaping had increased slightly from 11.1 percent last year to 11.7 percent this year.

Associate health minister Casey Costello said getting through longer term smokers was the most challenging part of the process.

She recently told RNZ the data was only to the end of June 2025, so the entirety of the year’s data wouldn’t be known until the next survey.

She noted that under 25s were already a “smoke-free generation” with smoking rates of around 3 percent.

The country plummeted from second in the world in 2023 to 53rd in the 2025 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index.

The main factors damaging New Zealand’s standing are the repeal of the smokefree generation laws, the tax break benefiting tobacco giant Philip Morris and the movement of staff between politics and the lobbying industry.

In July 2024, the government cut the tax on HTPs in half, in what it said would be a one-year trial subject to an evaluation.

But Costello told RNZ the evaluation would now be done in July 2027 and the reduced tax rate would apply to HTPs at least until then.

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

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Taking your boat overseas? You need to apply to Maritime NZ for certification

Source: Maritime New Zealand

As the Pacific sailing season is approaching, Maritime NZ is reminding anyone intending to take a recreational craft overseas that your vessel must be registered and have an International Voyage Certificate (IVC).

Please apply for your IVC at least three months before your intended voyage departure to allow time for the necessary safety assessment of the:

  • boat
  • safety equipment carried
  • crew.

If you plan to travel next year and intend to haul out your vessel in the coming months, we recommend applying for your IVC early. This may allow your IVC vessel assessment to be completed at the same time and help you avoid hauling out twice.

The safety system changed in July 2024. Since then, skippers (Masters) apply to Maritime NZ for an IVC and safety assessment (previously they applied to Yachting NZ for assessment under what was then called a CAT I Certificate).

This process falls under Section 21 of the Maritime Transport Act, which is designed to support the safe passage of vessels and their crew when departing for overseas.

As part of the safety system, to apply for an IVC your vessel must be registered. All New Zealand-owned recreational vessels going on an overseas voyage must be registered as a ‘New Zealand ship’ under the Ship Registration Act 1992.

Registering your vessel gives you the protection of the New Zealand Government. The registration papers will provide proof of identity similar to a passport.

We want to help you

Maritime NZ encourages anyone considering taking their boat overseas to carefully read the guidance and other information on the following pages:

If you have any questions or need help please contact us on [email protected] or [email protected].

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Developer unveils plans for luxury apartments at site of Eastbourne fruit shop

Source: Radio New Zealand

The second-generation owners of the Eastbourne Fruit Supply are shutting up shop next June, after 65 years of operation. RNZ / MARK PAPALII

A developer taking over the site of an iconic Wellington fruit shop has unveiled his plans to transform the building into luxury apartments.

The second-generation owners of the Eastbourne Fruit Supply are shutting up shop next June, after 65 years of operation.

Locals have been disappointed to learn the Lai family is moving on, but developer Sam Faisandier is also aware of the speculation about what’s next – and notably, how high?

The director of family-run business, the Faisandier Group, said after almost a decade of residential builds in Lower Hutt, he’s excited for the challenge ahead, not to mention the site.

“Corner sites are quite special to get your hands on, every block there’s only four of those in there, and this is probably one of one – it’s got that north-west aspect and it’s in the centre of the village, which is very tightly held.”

Sam Faisandier, director of family-run business, the Faisandier Group. RNZ / Mark Papalii

The final plans were still underwraps, but he had the vision – 8-10 luxury apartments above 200 square metres of commercial space – including (hopefully) a new green-grocer. Car parks were also on the cards.

The target demographic? The downsizer who wanted to stay in the area.

Faisandier said the size and location meant they’d have to be smart about the build.

“Building up in Wellington has always been challenging. There’s been a lot of under-development. So, I think fitting in with the area – four to five levels is probably where it sits best.”

But best was up for debate, with local of 38 years Margs Mills adamant the new construction shouldn’t be too high.

“Eastbourne is quite an iconic little village that we’re very lucky to live in. To be frank, two storeys high, three at a push, would be more than enough.”

Local of 38 years, Margs Mills. RNZ / Mark Papalii

The village centre had only one building higher, Rona House – a seven-floor apartment block. Mills said people love living there, but it hasn’t been without controversy.

“The plan was to have two of them, but once the first one was built – and this was years ago – everyone went nuts and said, it causes a terrible wind funnel.

“We don’t want anything very tall.”

Mills said change was inevitable but it had to be in keeping with the flavour of the village.

As for the commercial spaces below the apartments, she had some ideas.

“Certainly another green-grocer because we’re going to miss the Lais terribly.

“Some kind of gift shop would be really nice. Maybe a nice restaurant would be fantastic, a nice family restaurant.”

Margs Mills says another green-grocer would be nice. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Eastbourne Community Board member Bruce Spedding, said he did his best to keep his finger on the pulse of the tight-knit community.

With regard to a new development, he felt the biggest concern was that it wouldn’t fit with the village character.

“Four storeys sounds fairly dramatic for Eastbourne, so it would depend on the impact that that has on the village. How the design fits in with what’s already here.”

He said there was nothing wrong with apartments, but reserved further judgment until he’d seen the plans.

Eastbourne Community Board member Bruce Spedding. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Spedding said a revamped retail strip (in the ground-floor commercial space) would be pretty important, and could see it tying in with a future visitor boom brought about by a new ferry and cycleway into Wellington city.

“So all that will involve a lot more outside people coming into Eastbourne, so we want to be able to cater for that as well. It’s quite exciting, there’s a lot going to happen next year, I think.”

He said ultimately anything that supported Eastbourne businesses was a good thing.

“These things that are happening could in fact be sort of revitalising.

“Basically, what we want to do is just make it viable for what we’ve got to remain here.

“In a lot of other places, businesses are closing down and moving out and communities are losing local resources … so it’s quite a positive thing in that regard.”

Bruce Spedding says anything that supports Eastbourne businesses is a good thing. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Spedding said although it was no longer required in the district plan, he encouraged a community meeting so the developer could share plans and hear feedback – a proposition Faisandier was open to, once plans firmed up.

Faisandier said the company wasn’t in a rush – there were projects to finish first – and they wanted to get it right.

“Our challenge will be to blend it into the surroundings and use the right type of materials and look.

“There is a bit of special flair … I want to reuse some of the exisiting brick. So, there’s a little bit of a cherry … we’ll try and incorporate some of the materials and recycle them into the construction.”

He said all going well, the timeframe to begin work was 2027.

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

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Ōtāhuhu death deemed not suspicious

Source: New Zealand Police

Please attribute to Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward, Counties Manukau CIB:

Police have determined that there were no suspicious circumstances relating to the death of a woman in Ōtāhuhu on Monday.

Emergency services had been called to the Atkinson Avenue property at about 1.50am, and sadly the woman was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Enquiries have been carried out and have now determined her death was not suspicious.

Her death will be referred to the Coroner.

Police extend their sympathies to the woman’s whānau at this difficult time.

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

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Tory Whanau says move to Melbourne isn’t ‘a permanent goodbye’

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former Wellington mayor Tory Whanau RNZ / Mark Papalii

Wellington’s former mayor says her plan to move across the ditch isn’t an abandonment of the city.

In a social media post, Tory Whanau said a combination of economic, professional, and personal reasons have prompted the decision to move to Melbourne.

She said public service cuts have reduced job opportunities, and she was aware her public profile created “political risk” for some organisations.

A large international environment will remove those constraints, she said.

Whanau also said she wanted to remove herself from the increasingly personal and ongoing scrutiny that came with political life and public office.

She said she genuinely loved Melbourne – where she has lived before – and it was a place she could “simply enjoy life again”.

“Importantly, my move isn’t an abandonment of Wellington or Aotearoa.”

Whanau said she would continue to support causes from afar and fully expected to return.

“This is not a permanent goodbye – it’s an intentional step toward growth, opportunity, and sustainability.”

Whanau, who won the mayoralty in 2022 as an independent and had secured the Green Party’s backing for re-election, quit the mayoral race in April, saying she backed Andrew Little’s bid.

She ran for the council’s Māori Ward but was unsuccessful at the local body elections in October.

When he was elected mayor, Little said Whanau had faced “toxic behaviour that no one should ever have to endure” during her time in office.

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

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Economic recovery a tale of two islands

Source: Radio New Zealand

123rf

It’s tough for shoppers buying meat and dairy at the checkout but strong dairy payouts and higher returns for sheep and beef farmers are fuelling the early days of economic recovery.

The latest look at the state of regional economies by consultancy Infometrics confirms the recovery is underway but is still patchy with South Island regions outpacing growth seen in their North Island counterparts in the September quarter.

Nationally, economic activity rose 0.9 percent in the quarter but has not yet returned to the level it was at this time last year.

Infometrics principal economist and lead demographer Nick Brunsdon says the growth story remains a tale of two islands with all South Island regions growing faster than the national average, boosted by the strength of the primary sector.

“Encouragingly, even metro areas are starting to recover, collectively gaining 0.7 percent per annum in the September quarter, although this recovery remains slower than provincial and rural areas,” he said.

“Fonterra continues to forecast a strong dairy payout midpoint of $10 per kg of milk solids and if this figure falls, as the latest Global Dairy Trade auctions imply, farmers would still wind up with the second-highest payout on record.

“Returns for beef and lamb have increased too – at the expense of consumers buying mince – but boosting returns for dry stock farmers.

“Kiwifruit and apple growers are also earning a higher return on elevated export volumes.”

The warming of regional economies has yet to translate through to an increase in spending, he said.

Households were carefully guarding their wallets with a backdrop of continued job losses.

“Businesses are going ‘cool, orders are up, but we’re not quite at the point where we need to hire more staff’ and so they’re generally going to hold off until that order book solidifies and they get the confidence that they actually do need to add to their roster.”

On the jobs front, five South Island regions saw growth in the number of filled roles during the quarter. The West Coast led the pack with 1.6 employment percent growth.

Nationally, employment went backwards, falling 0.6 percent, with metro areas even worse off with a 0.8 percent decline.

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

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Kākāpō might not be the bird of the year, but this is the year of the kākāpō

Source: Radio New Zealand

Kākāpō chicks Marian-A2 and Marian-A3. They belong to the Fiordland dynasty of kākāpō. Their mother Marian is 5 years old and 2022 is the first time she has bred. Alison Ballance

Next year – 2026 – could be the year that the kākāpō breeding programme takes such a big leap forward that conservationists can finally take a step back

Kākāpō numbers are so thin that all 327 of them have a name and a transmitter.

The funny little tree-climbing, owl-like parrot has had intensive management over the last several decades, and its numbers have come back from the brink to give conservationists hope.

And after a four year wait, they’re preparing for what could be the biggest boom in kākāpō chicks yet, because next year is a mast year.

That means rimu trees on the predator-free islands where the birds live are about to burst with seeds, the bumper year that kākāpō wait for.

“You have to wait around to get a good thing from kākāpō, but this year all the stars are in alignment,” says Alison Ballance, who will be continuing her Kākāpō Files podcast series from December 16.

It will also mark the first time that conservationists take a step back from such intensive methods of rescuing the critically endangered population.

Those methods are resource-heavy and not sustainable. So instead of incubating every egg, encouraging the females to lay more than one clutch, and providing supplementary feed, attention is turning to making sure the birds have enough room to spread their wings.

The ultimate prize would be to turn Stewart Island/Rakiura into a pest-free haven.

“That’s why we’re looking with great interest at the Predator Free Rakiura programme,” says Ballance, “where the community down there alongside DoC, and Zero Invasive Predators and Ngāi Tahu are starting to begin a programme where [they’re asking] can they get rid of things like feral cats and rats on Stewart Island.

“And if that was the case, then we could move kākāpō back to Rakiura and just stand back and let them be kākāpō in their own time frame, without the risk of predation.”

Conservationists know that the risk of taking their eye off every egg and chick means they may lose more than they have in the past.

They say while it’s nerve-wracking, it’s essential. There will be fewer chick checks this season, more eggs hatching in nests rather than in incubators, and generally a move towards minimal intervention.

The last mast years were in 2019 and 2022, so the big crop of chicks that arrived in 2019 will now be ready to breed. The females start from age five but it’s possible some four-year-olds may also lay eggs.

“There should be lots of new, young female kākāpō trying to breed this year which will be really exciting. The Department of Conservation’s kākāpō recovery team tell me there’s a bit of a wild card. There’s 24 young females who are four years old and basically they [DoC] haven’t had experience in the last 30 years of intensive kākāpō management of a breeding season that was four years apart.

“So they’re wondering … maybe some of those precocious four-year-olds … will they breed?”

Thirty years ago there were 51 known kākāpō; 21 female and 30 male. Now we’ve got 84 females of breeding age, so that’s about a 400 percent increase in potential chicks.

Kākāpō are a long-lived species, although we don’t know exactly how long-lived. There are definitely some birds in their late 40s and early 50s and there’s speculation they could live up to 80 or even 100 – and they keep laying until the end.

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

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New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell named world’s best ODI batter

Source: Radio New Zealand

Daryl Mitchell of the Black Caps celebrates 100 runs during the 1st ODI cricket match against West Indies, 2025. © Photosport Ltd 2025 www.photosport.nz

The Black Caps’ Daryl Mitchell is the new world number one ranked ODI batter.

It is just the second time a New Zealander has occupied the top spot, following Glenn Turner in 1979.

Mitchell replaces Rohit Sharma of India after scoring his seventh ODI century against West Indies in Christchurch on Sunday.

He climbed two spots with Sharma now second and Ibrahim Zadran of Afghanistan third.

Mitchell was injured in the Christchurch game and will miss the rest of the ODI series.

Rachin Ravindra is the next highest New Zealand batter at 13 in the ODI rankings.

Meanwhile, Jacob Duffy, who was the top wicket-taker in the T20 series against West Indies, has moved up to number two in the T20 bowling rankings.

India’s Varun Chakaravarthy remains number one.

New Zealand is number two in the ODI team rankings, fourth in T20 rankings and fifth in the Test rankings.

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

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Work Christmas parties are coming – how to smash small talk

Source: Radio New Zealand

This time of year we’re forced into even more small talk situations than normal, as Christmas events are added to the calendar with family, friends and end-of-year office mixers.

Robert Poynton reckons feeling awkward about breaking ice and making chit-chat is totally normal. The University of Oxford associate fellow helps leaders have fruitful conversations and has written the book, Do Conversations: There is no such thing as small talk.

But there are ways to take the edge off, and audience warm-up guy Sam Smith has some skills in this area. He’s been chatting with crowds of strangers for about nine years in his role as a live audience warm-up person for TV shows like 7 Days, Jono and Ben at Ten and New Zealand’s version of Family Feud. But even he admits “sometimes it’s horrifically awkward”.

If we embrace small talk, we can move into meaningful relationships with people. (file image)

123RF / Mandic Jovan

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