NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are appealing for help to locate 61-year-old woman last seen in Upper Hutt.

Anita Hart was last seen on CCTV on Wednesday shortly before midday on Gillespies Road heading towards Akatarawa Road, and her vehicle was found on Gillespies Road.

Police and her family have serious concerns for her wellbeing.

Hart was last seen wearing a blue beanie with a pompom, a blue jacket and dark-coloured trousers.

Police Search and Rescue volunteers were searching around Gillespies Road and the Hutt River.

Police urged anyone with information that may help to contact 111 with the reference file number P064438940.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A former Assistant Police Commissioner says the people who failed to properly investigate allegations against Jevon McSkimming broke the first rule of learning from history.

Nick Perry was given the job of cleaning up the police ranks 20 years ago, after Louise Nicholas brought historic rape allegations against former and serving officers.

He retired as Assistant Police Commissioner in 2013 and told Morning Report that he felt “deep disappointment” when he saw the damning Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report.

Perry said he used to present adult sexual assault courses at the police college and in his opening comments he would say that those who did not learn from history were bound to repeat it.

“I couldn’t help thinking about that when I was reading the IPCA report because it was clearly the fact that certain members of the police executive hadn’t learned from history, although I must add there were clearly those within the organisation who had and did their very best to address the issue that they confronted.”

The police culture had changed for the better in the last 20 years, he said.

Perry said despite retiring in 2013 he had remained in contact with police.

“Last year for example I was speaking to a number of front line officers who had graduated in the previous 18 months, I’ve got to say I’m extremely impressed with the quality of the people, the motivation, it’s all there.”

Police needed to follow a basic process which was not followed with Louise Nicholas nor in this case, he said.

“In terms of investigations it’s relatively simple in terms of whether it’s an investigation into a criminal offence or a complaint. You have to keep an open mind, you have to be unbiased, follow policy procedures and just see where the evidence takes you.

“If you start missing out any of those, particularly the keeping the open mind and being unbiased, that really starts to damage the integrity of the investigation itself and it’s clearly what’s happened in this particular case.”

Both this case and the Louise Nicholas case involved a complainant making a complaint about sexual offending by police officers, he said.

In the Louise Nicolas case her allegations weren’t accepted, the word of police officers were accepted and it was well down the track before an investigation was commenced, he said.

In the latest case, the IPCA report indicates it appears that Jevon McSkimming’s future and potential as a commissioner was foremost in the mind of a number of upper level police staff involved in the investigation, he said.

The case raises the question about the selection processes in terms of selecting senior leadership within the police, he said.

The IPCA report recommended the establishment of an Inspector-General to have oversight of police, a move which the government is moving to do.

Perry said it remained to be seen what their powers would be and what resources they would get.

He said he would encourage strengthening the powers of the IPCA as they did some very good work but really had no teeth so they could not ensure they were followed through.

A joint IPCA inspector general could be a way forward but that remained to be seen, he said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

One person has died following a crash near Mangapai north west of Whangārei on Wednesday night.

The single vehicle crash on Waiotira Road was reported to emergency services at 10.50pm.

The passenger of the vehicle died despite medical assistance being provided at the scene, a police spokesperson said.

The driver was taken to hospital for observation.

Police are speaking with the man as part of ongoing enquiries into how the crash occurred.

The Serious Crash Unit attended the scene overnight to carry out enquiries.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Forty years after its first visit sparked the revival of Māori ocean voyaging, the Hawaiian waka Hōkūleʻa is due back at Waitangi this Friday as part of an epic four-year voyage around the Pacific.

Among those joining the crew for the last leg across the Bay of Islands will be Stan Conrad, the only Māori on board during the Hōkūleʻa’s historic 1985 journey.

“It was a privilege, sailing on that maiden voyage of Hōkūleʻa, on the Voyage of Rediscovery from Rarotonga to Aotearoa. There were 14 crew members, but I was the only Māori boy from Aotearoa. The rest were all Hawaiian. It was amazing.”

The then 22-year-old did not realise he was helping to revive a tradition going back millennia.

A commercial fisherman at the time, he was hand-picked for the role by his elders.

“At the time it was just an adventure. I didn’t realise the huge meaning and purpose of the voyage, retracing ancestral voyages and navigating on a canoe that’s totally lashed together. That was the first time I’d ever been on any vessel that had sails,” he said.

Since then Stan Conrad has devoted much of his life to tārai waka, the building and navigation of double-hulled ocean-going canoes, or waka hourua.

“In the beginning it was an adventure but after that voyage, that was me. I was hooked to continue this journey of learning about voyaging canoes and sailing, and especially navigation.”

The arrival of the Hōkūleʻa did not just change Stan Conrad’s life, it changed the trajectory of history.

Among those watching on shore at Waitangi that day in 1985 was the revered Northland kaumātua Sir James Henare.

Henare challenged Māori to build their own ocean-going waka and make the return journey to Hawaii.

Hector Busby, later knighted as Sir Hekenukumai Puhipi, heard that challenge.

He set off to the remote Micronesian atoll of Satawal to learn the art of traditional navigation from one of the world’s only surviving practitioners, the late Mau Piailug.

He then built a series of waka, starting with Te Aurere, which have sailed not just to Hawaii, but every side of the Polynesian Triangle.

When Hōkūleʻa and its sister vessel Hikianalia arrive on Friday, they will be escorted to shore by the great waka Ngātokimatawhaorua, just as Hōkūleʻa was during that first visit in 1985.

Ngātokimatawhaorua will be captained by Stan Conrad’s brother, Joe Conrad, who said the arrival of Hōkūleʻa in 1985 finally buried an old myth about Māori.

“We did not find these islands by accident. We knew where we were going. We knew how far and how long to get there, and get back. It was proven that our navigators of that time knew what they were doing, knew how to find land and follow the stars, and build waka that could travel vast distances.”

Stan Conrad said he, too, was taught as a boy that Māori arrived in Aotearoa by accident.

“We weren’t people of the storm, those sort of things I was brought up to believe about our ancestors. The more I voyaged, the more I went on the canoe, the more I realised how amazing they were.”

Northland iwi leader Haami Piripi said the ancestors who landed in Aotearoa were among the world’s great seafarers.

“Anybody that can traverse the greatest expanse of water on the planet, by virtue of the stars, the wind and tides, has got to be pretty sophisticated,” he said.

Piripi said that knowledge had been all but lost when Hōkūleʻa’s first visit, organised by Hawaii’s Polynesian Voyaging Society, reignited the desire to explore the oceans on traditional sailing craft.

“I think it really awakened an old knowledge, an old innate desire for voyaging, travelling, discovering new worlds. Six thousand years we’ve been in the Pacific, so we’ve been here a long time. And what tārai waka and these expeditions do is reawaken that feeling of excitement, of exploration and of achievement,” Piripi said.

The ensuing four decades of voyaging had also brought the peoples of Polynesia together.

“The waka is like a needle, it sews us together as communities and initiates dialogue, contact and an ongoing relationship,” Piripi said.

Stan Conrad said much had changed in the past 40 years, with as many as eight ocean-going waka hourua now based in Aotearoa.

Another waka built by Sir Hekenukumai, Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti, had returned from a voyage to Samoa just this week.

“And now we’ve got navigation schools being created, we’re teaching the next generation and they’re picking up the voyaging. You pinch yourself every day that, wow, we’ve done so much in that 40 years, and having Hōkūleʻa here to celebrate that, man, that’s pretty amazing,” Stan Conrad said.

Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia arrived a week earlier than expected after a 17-day crossing from Rarotonga and, after clearing Customs at Ōpua, their crews have been under tapu – or kapu in Hawaiian – ahead of their formal welcome at Waitangi on Friday.

Weather permitting, they would be welcomed onto shore and to the nearby Te Tii Marae between 3-6pm.

At dawn on Saturday, a new carving would be unveiled honouring Ngāti Ruawāhia – the title Sir James Henare gave the Hawaiians in 1985, when he declared then the sixth tribe of Te Tai Tokerau (Northland).

The ceremony would also honour the legacies of Sir James, Sir Hekenukumai, and Myron ‘Pinky’ Thompson, who led Hawaii’s ocean voyaging revival.

The waka, or wa’a in Hawaiian, would leave Waitangi on 16 November and were due at Auckland’s Maritime Museum two days later.

Nainoa Thompson, head of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and leader of the 1985 voyage, would speak at an education conference in Auckland on 19 November.

Weather permitting, the waka would then return north to Aurere in Doubtless Bay, where Sir Hekenukumai built a traditional navigation school.

They were expected to remain in Aotearoa for about six months, for maintenance, educational exchanges and to wait out the cyclone season, before resuming their 80,000km Moananuiākea voyage in April.

The two waka also visited New Zealand in 2014 as part of the Mālama Honua voyage.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A police investigation is underway after a fatal crash near Wellsford early on Thursday morning.

At around 1.40am, a single vehicle crash was reported on Waiteitei Road.

The vehicle hit a tree in the crash.

The sole occupant died at the scene.

Waiteitei Road has been closed between Farmers Lime and Whangaripo Valley Roads.

The Serious Crash Unit attended to examine the scene and police inquiries are continuing.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Teacher subject associations held an unprecedented joint meeting this week after being offered contracts worth more than $100,000 a year – but only if they agree to support the new school curriculum.

Sources told RNZ some association members viewed the contracts as an attempt to bribe and gag them after months of criticism of the process for developing the new curriculum and of its content.

But the Education Ministry insisted that was not the case and associations would be free to comment publicly about the curriculum if they signed the contracts.

It said it offered contracts to 42 associations to act as “Networks of Expertise” and help teachers introduce the new curriculum for Years 11-13.

The contracts included a new clause requiring associations to “commit to supporting the direction and intent of the updated curriculum and qualification structure”.

“This is not a gag order. Associations can still share their views and raise concerns publicly,” the ministry told RNZ.

It said the new clause meant funded work should align with the goals of the refreshed curriculum, such as clarity, coherence, and equity.

“The change makes sure teachers receive resources that reflect the curriculum they are expected to teach,” it said.

RNZ understands some associations felt they had little choice but to accept the contracts because refusing would end funding used to employ teachers in advisory roles.

The members of some associations were also unhappy they were being asked to support curriculums they had not yet seen and had not even been written.

One said subject associations were being kept from the decision-making table and flicked a few crumbs.

Another said the process was “seriously rushed and flawed”, noting that associations had been asked to sign the contracts by Monday next week.

The Education Ministry said it was aware of discussion on social media and wanted “to be clear about the facts”.

Meanwhile, the Association for the Teaching of English (NZATE) this week published an open letter warning that teachers were not getting enough support to introduce the new Year 0-10 English curriculum next year.

It also warned that most of its members did not believe they could teach all the content required by the curriculum each year.

“The process for curriculum development and implementation remains deeply flawed and lacks the transparency and clarity needed for the empowerment of those entrusted with its execution,” the letter said.

“Kaiako have had no time to fully grasp the current curriculum documentation, which remains overly complex and extensive, outlining numerous Knowledge and Practices that are expected to be delivered over the course of the year.”

The letter said teachers did not have enough support to introduce the curriculum and schools needed funding to buy texts to go with it.

“NZATE was assured in numerous meetings with the Ministry of Education’s curriculum writing group that resources to support kaiako with implementation would be readily available. As of 10 November, these resources are still nonexistent. Furthermore, no extra funding has yet been provided for secondary schools to purchase the extra texts needed to support the new curriculum,” it said.

“The process has been appalling for over 18 months, and nothing has changed.”

The Education Ministry told RNZ more resources for the curriculum would be available next year, with a focus on Year 9 students.

“This includes planning resources and learning kits consisting of unit and lesson plans. A forward view of the learning area resources, curriculum supports, and professional learning opportunities is available on the ministry’s website,” it said.

It said it was offering two webinars before the end of the year and professional learning was already available for teachers of Y7-8 with “specific support for the English learning area for teachers of Years 9-10 rolling out in Term 1 next year” and more offered over time.

“We understand that schools will be at different stages of readiness. There is no expectation of perfection on day one. Change takes time, and we’ll continue working with the sector to make sure everyone has what they need to make a confident start,” the ministry said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Just as the heat from a startling clash between a firefighter and the deputy prime minister was abating, Fire and Emergency has launched the biggest restructure in its eight-year existence, propelled, it says, by uncertain funding and the ravages of climate change.

RNZ has obtained a 266-page change proposal in which Fire and Emergency (FENZ) expresses sympathy and support for the at least 140 people slated to lose their jobs. Unions say the proposal poses many risks and will decimate the agency most relied on for first response in emergencies.

The changes were not personal, said chief executive Kerry Gregory at the start of the hefty document that workers had two weeks to make feedback on, a short period unions had asked to be extended.

“I know for some of you, the changes we are proposing may feel personal and disrespectful towards the amazing effort you put in. They are not,” he wrote.

Paid firefighters escaped the proposed cuts, as did 111-call handlers, but they said they would lose support people the community relied on.

The scrapping of the five-region structure had the Fire Emergency Commanders Association (FECA) questioning who would do the regions’ work, and cuts to risk reduction teams left the Professional Firefighters’ Union (NZPFU) expressing surprise.

“What they do is core work,” national PFU vice president Martin Campbell told RNZ.

Des Irving, secretary of FECA, said, “Our concern would be the workload that regions did – where is that going to? And resourcing.”

The restructure proposes the existing 17 fire districts remain but organised in a different way.

Gregory said the changes, that would “touch” about 700 roles in some way, were carefully thought out and an essential adaptation to a rapidly changing operating environment – which they were open to alter in December after feedback.

“They are in no way a reflection of your ability or commitment at an individual level,” he said in the change proposal document given to staff on Wednesday afternoon.

“Every proposed change in this document is intended to ensure Fire and Emergency remains adaptable and sustainable for the communities we serve, now, and in the years ahead.”

The uncertainties around revenue were unprecedented for the agency set up in 2017 by merging rural and urban fire services. FENZ had almost $800 million in levies revenue in 2024-25 (up from under $400m in 2017 at its advent), and about $40m from other sources.

The insurance industry argued it should be funded from government through taxation, just like police; otherwise, property owners were hardest hit.

“The amount of change proposed is significant,” said Gregory.

“‘Changes in climate are changing what we are responding to, and technological advancements are informing the ways we respond.”

Earlier FENZ told RNZ, which revealed the coming restructure last week, that it would not cut frontline jobs or the range of what it responds to, including no pull back from its “additional” duties as laid down in law that included flood rescue and responding to medical emergencies and traffic accidents.

“The reality of our rapidly evolving operating environment, the variability of our levy revenue and the need have space [sic] to reinvest, reinforces the need for us to make smart, disciplined choices,” Gregory said.

The PSA’s national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons urged the government to step in to stop what she called the “decimation” of FENZ.

She put the proposed cuts at 169 roles – the calculations are a little complex around disestablished roles versus newly established roles – and said that amounted to 13 percent of non-firefighter jobs, more than twice as big as the six percent or so cuts applied across large parts of the public service recently.

It was far ahead of the cuts of civilian jobs at Defence, for instance, she told RNZ.

“FENZ is telling its workers to do more with less, which will impact FENZ’s ability to deal with emergencies and prevent future emergencies.”

The change document said it was about streamlining an overly complex set-up that diverted resources from the front line.

“Decision-making shifts to those delivering services, enabling faster, clearer responses, empowerment and accountability.”

This was achieved in part by “removing the regional layer”; FENZ has five regions currently. But while it talked about “empowering” the existing 17 districts, it also said a more standardised approach would be secured “through a centralised capability”.

Firefighters spoken to by RNZ said they feared the agency would become more, not less, top heavy with national headquarters in Wellington assuming more power.

Annual reports in recent years showed firefighters mostly hitting their targets for getting to emergencies, such as within eight minutes in cities.

FENZ has about 1800 paid firefighters, 12,000 volunteers and 1200 corporate and support staff.

It proposed to separate out the training of volunteers from paid fire crews, to “improve consistency”.

A technical lead for volunteers would be set up, and an operations hub.

Irving said it was up to FECA to help bring in the changes, though questions remained.

“But I stress the timelines are really tight. If they want quality feedback, we have already asked for longer,” Irving told RNZ.

He counted about 20 FECA members’ roles impacted, with about half of those disestablished. It was not clear if those had pathways to stay on at FENZ, Irving said.

The PSA counted over 40 roles to go in both ‘Operational Response’ and risk reduction.

Campbell said risk reduction was about stopping fires before they started, with the teams checking on buildings’ evacuation schemes and ensuring they were maintained.

Risk reduction personnel were key to raising the alarm about dodgy fire protection and practices after fires at some motels used for emergency accommodation in the Bay of Plenty two years ago.

The change proposal argued it was taking “a prevention first approach” under a proposed Fire Safety directorate, to “realign team and reporting lines and consolidate community risk, fire safety, regulatory activities, and training delivery and development to provide greater accountability and consistency”.

The existing service delivery wildfire manager role and the risk reductions and investigations manager role would go, and a manager fire safety would come in.

The PSA said FENZ wanted to cut four wildfire jobs just as the smoke was clearing from the big blaze at Tongariro National Park.

RNZ revealed on Wednesday FENZ is in a pay dispute with three of its leading experts in fighting wildfires from the air, who withdrew from any after-hours work well prior to Tongariro. FENZ said it made no difference to putting out that fire.

The breakdowns of fire engines earlier prompted Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour to downplay them and accuse the NZPFU of playing them up during its ongoing industrial dispute over pay and conditions with FENZ, prompting senior firefighter Steven Devine to tell Morning Report that Seymour had bad information and challenge him to meet him at any fire station. Union members have affixed “Dire Emergency” signs to the front of many trucks. Later, Seymour said more upgrades were needed.

FENZ said it had added scores of trucks since 2017. The largest number of those are utes.

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