Author: MIL OSI Publisher

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have taken action against fewer children and young people, including fewer cases involving young people and serious offending, but more involving children and serious offending, new figures show.

The Youth Justice Indicators report, published on Friday, said in the year to June 2025 the rate of police action against children decreased by 22 percent, and against young people by nine percent.

The report, published by the Ministry of Justice, defines those aged 10 to 13 years old as children, and 14 to 17-year-olds as young people.

When measured relative to population size, the rate of offending decreased from 75 to 58 per 10,000 children, and from 252 to 220 per 10,000 young people.

The report only counts youth offending in cases where police proceed to take action against a child or young person, including in the form of warnings, youth justice family group conferences (FGCs), and prosecution in the Youth Court.

There were eight percent fewer cases in which police action was taken against young people for the most serious offences – carrying a maximum penalty of 14 or more years.

But for children, that number increased by 17 percent, leading to a higher rate of police action for serious offending.

This reflected increased action against youth with previous justice system involvement, who were more likely to seriously offend, the report said.

The report also found the rate at which police action was taken and rates of reoffending amongst children and young people remained relatively stable.

Of those who had police action taken against them, one in 10 children and three in 10 young people were proceeded against with an FGC or court hearing – roughly the same proportion as last year, it said.

For young people found guilty in court in 2022, 54 percent reoffended within two years.

For 16-year-olds found guilty in court in 2022, 42 percent reoffended and entered the adult system within two years.

However, for youth managed outside of the formal justice system, the reoffending rate decreased, the report found.

For children who received “alternative actions” or warnings for their first proceeding, the reoffending rate decreased from 27 percent to 24 percent.

For young people who received alternative actions or warnings for their first proceeding, the reoffending rate decreased from 22 percent to 20 percent.

The report also considered the type of offending for which children and young people faced police action.

Theft remained the most common offence, making up 37 percent, followed by assault at 14 percent, it said.

The report also acknowledged that “the vast majority of children (98 percent) and young people (88 percent) referred for a youth justice FGC had a previous care and protection report of concern”.

It pointed to a new inter-agency initiative that was last month introduced by Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston aimed at supporting youth whose sole parent was in custody.

“This initiative aims to ensure an immediate focus on the safety, wellbeing and adequacy of care arrangements for these children, which could also address the cycle of intergenerational justice involvement.”

The report outlined that Māori and Pasifika children and young people continued to be significantly disproportionally likely to face police proceedings as a result of offending.

Māori youth were more than twice as likely to be involved in the youth justice system compared with the total population, it said.

“Tamariki and rangatahi Māori are disproportionately represented in all stages of the youth justice system, suggesting that the system inadequately responds to their needs.”

• Of children proceeded against, 63 percent were tamariki Māori, and of young people, 53 percent were rangatahi Māori.
• Of young people appearing in court, 68 percent were rangatahi Māori.
• Of youth remanded into custody, 72 percent were tamariki and rangatahi Māori.
• 32 percent of Pasifika young people proceeded against had an FGC or court action, compared with 30 percent for the total population.
• 29 percent of Pasifika young people proceeded against appeared in court, compared with 26 percent for the total population.
• 38 percent of Pasifika children and young people who appeared in the Youth Court were remanded into custody, compared with 32 percent for the total population.

“While a part of disproportionality in the justice system may be explained by factors such as seriousness of offending or offending history, recent work completed by the Ministry shows that some of it remains unexplained”, the report said.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/27/youth-justice-police-take-actions-against-fewer-children-young-people/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Whangārei woman Brooke Gibson was left feeling burned when she tried to use a $200 gift card for a local restaurant.

“We were given a gift voucher by a contractor that we used and I assumed it was 12 months and put it away for safe keeping … fast forward eight months later, I go to use it and I see it was only valid for six months.”

She asked the restaurant whether they would still honour it and was told they would not.

Gibson said she always tried to support local business but felt it had been handled poorly and she was not given an explanation for why there was no leeway.

New rules are set to take effect for gift cards that will stop situations such as this from happening.

From 16 March, new rules take effect that mean gift cards have to have a minimum expiry time of three years.

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said there had been some uncertainty about what was captured.

She said some retailers had wondered how gift cards related to loyalty programmes would be affected by the rules, or vouchers given as incentives or bonuses.

The Commerce Commission on Friday issued guidance that made it clear that any gift voucher or card had to work with the new three-year expiration date rules, no matter whether they were in exchange for money, loyalty points or offered with another purchase.

While prepaid top-up cards for telecommunication services, public transport, electricity, gas, or water services are excluded from the changes, any other prepaid top-up cards will be required to adhere to the new minimum expiry. Loyalty points are not affected.

Gift cards given out free would be exempt.

“This clarification is useful for retailers to understand what is captured by these new rules. While it might not be the news that some businesses will have been hoping for or expecting, it provides clear guidance that they can now use to make the relevant adjustments,” Young said.

“We are heartened to hear that the Commerce Commission will be taking a pragmatic approach to enforcement as retailers work to update their programmes.”

The commission also said in cases where businesses automatically provide a consumer with a voucher once they reached a minimum spend threshold or a required number of loyalty points, its view was that such vouchers were not subject to the expiry requirements because they were automatically generated rather than forming part of a sale.

The Commerce Commission said if there was no expiry date given, there was no limit on how long a customer had to use a card.

Sign up for Money with Susan Edmunds, a weekly newsletter covering all the things that affect how we make, spend and invest money.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/27/new-gift-card-rules-clarified/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have taken action against fewer children and young people, including fewer cases involving young people and serious offending, but more involving children and serious offending, new figures show.

The Youth Justice Indicators report, published on Friday, said in the year to June 2025 the rate of police action against children decreased by 22 percent, and against young people by nine percent.

The report, published by the Ministry of Justice, defines those aged 10 to 13 years old as children, and 14 to 17-year-olds as young people.

When measured relative to population size, the rate of offending decreased from 75 to 58 per 10,000 children, and from 252 to 220 per 10,000 young people.

The report only counts youth offending in cases where police proceed to take action against a child or young person, including in the form of warnings, youth justice family group conferences (FGCs), and prosecution in the Youth Court.

There were eight percent fewer cases in which police action was taken against young people for the most serious offences – carrying a maximum penalty of 14 or more years.

But for children, that number increased by 17 percent, leading to a higher rate of police action for serious offending.

This reflected increased action against youth with previous justice system involvement, who were more likely to seriously offend, the report said.

The report also found the rate at which police action was taken and rates of reoffending amongst children and young people remained relatively stable.

Of those who had police action taken against them, one in 10 children and three in 10 young people were proceeded against with an FGC or court hearing – roughly the same proportion as last year, it said.

For young people found guilty in court in 2022, 54 percent reoffended within two years.

For 16-year-olds found guilty in court in 2022, 42 percent reoffended and entered the adult system within two years.

However, for youth managed outside of the formal justice system, the reoffending rate decreased, the report found.

For children who received “alternative actions” or warnings for their first proceeding, the reoffending rate decreased from 27 percent to 24 percent.

For young people who received alternative actions or warnings for their first proceeding, the reoffending rate decreased from 22 percent to 20 percent.

The report also considered the type of offending for which children and young people faced police action.

Theft remained the most common offence, making up 37 percent, followed by assault at 14 percent, it said.

The report also acknowledged that “the vast majority of children (98 percent) and young people (88 percent) referred for a youth justice FGC had a previous care and protection report of concern”.

It pointed to a new inter-agency initiative that was last month introduced by Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston aimed at supporting youth whose sole parent was in custody.

“This initiative aims to ensure an immediate focus on the safety, wellbeing and adequacy of care arrangements for these children, which could also address the cycle of intergenerational justice involvement.”

The report outlined that Māori and Pasifika children and young people continued to be significantly disproportionally likely to face police proceedings as a result of offending.

Māori youth were more than twice as likely to be involved in the youth justice system compared with the total population, it said.

“Tamariki and rangatahi Māori are disproportionately represented in all stages of the youth justice system, suggesting that the system inadequately responds to their needs.”

• Of children proceeded against, 63 percent were tamariki Māori, and of young people, 53 percent were rangatahi Māori.
• Of young people appearing in court, 68 percent were rangatahi Māori.
• Of youth remanded into custody, 72 percent were tamariki and rangatahi Māori.
• 32 percent of Pasifika young people proceeded against had an FGC or court action, compared with 30 percent for the total population.
• 29 percent of Pasifika young people proceeded against appeared in court, compared with 26 percent for the total population.
• 38 percent of Pasifika children and young people who appeared in the Youth Court were remanded into custody, compared with 32 percent for the total population.

“While a part of disproportionality in the justice system may be explained by factors such as seriousness of offending or offending history, recent work completed by the Ministry shows that some of it remains unexplained”, the report said.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/27/youth-justice-police-take-actions-against-fewer-children-young-people/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Whangārei woman Brooke Gibson was left feeling burned when she tried to use a $200 gift card for a local restaurant.

“We were given a gift voucher by a contractor that we used and I assumed it was 12 months and put it away for safe keeping … fast forward eight months later, I go to use it and I see it was only valid for six months.”

She asked the restaurant whether they would still honour it and was told they would not.

Gibson said she always tried to support local business but felt it had been handled poorly and she was not given an explanation for why there was no leeway.

New rules are set to take effect for gift cards that will stop situations such as this from happening.

From 16 March, new rules take effect that mean gift cards have to have a minimum expiry time of three years.

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said there had been some uncertainty about what was captured.

She said some retailers had wondered how gift cards related to loyalty programmes would be affected by the rules, or vouchers given as incentives or bonuses.

The Commerce Commission on Friday issued guidance that made it clear that any gift voucher or card had to work with the new three-year expiration date rules, no matter whether they were in exchange for money, loyalty points or offered with another purchase.

While prepaid top-up cards for telecommunication services, public transport, electricity, gas, or water services are excluded from the changes, any other prepaid top-up cards will be required to adhere to the new minimum expiry. Loyalty points are not affected.

Gift cards given out free would be exempt.

“This clarification is useful for retailers to understand what is captured by these new rules. While it might not be the news that some businesses will have been hoping for or expecting, it provides clear guidance that they can now use to make the relevant adjustments,” Young said.

“We are heartened to hear that the Commerce Commission will be taking a pragmatic approach to enforcement as retailers work to update their programmes.”

The commission also said in cases where businesses automatically provide a consumer with a voucher once they reached a minimum spend threshold or a required number of loyalty points, its view was that such vouchers were not subject to the expiry requirements because they were automatically generated rather than forming part of a sale.

The Commerce Commission said if there was no expiry date given, there was no limit on how long a customer had to use a card.

Sign up for Money with Susan Edmunds, a weekly newsletter covering all the things that affect how we make, spend and invest money.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/27/new-gift-card-rules-clarified/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Waipā District is now in the recovery stage after extreme weather forced it into a state of emergency earlier this month.

But with some residents still cut off and the town of Pirongia still rationing water, things were far from back to normal.

RNZ talked to Paul Candace, who lives on Mount Pirongia, two weeks after the disaster.

He explained the moment he knew something was badly wrong.

“I saw the whole mountain go black from a cloud,” he said.

This was followed by a massive noise up in the mountain.

Flash flooding bought boulders, logs and massive amounts of water down the mountain.

“We were told in one [flash flood] we have video of, 200 million litres of water came down in one go.”

Twenty families live off a one-way road up the mountain. The road was plummeted and the hamlet was cut off.

Days went by, families shared what they could and a way through a farm was opened for those with a four-wheel drive.

But two weeks on, the road was still closed and the community continued to rely on the good will of the farmer’s track which takes three times as long as normal to travel through and can only be used on a dry day.

Candace wasn’t sure when the road would be back. The flash flooding, damage, and uncertainty was taking its toll, including financially.

“For me and my family we can’t make any money because my wife has her business up on the mountain and I need to get down to my contracts. People go ‘oh yeah, you lost fencing’ and that sort of stuff… it’s a little bit deeper than that,” Candace said.

Another major worry for the community was the environment.

The Department of Conservation stated that Pirongia Mountain was the largest area of native forest remaining close to Hamilton.

It was home to many native birds and the community worked hard to make it safe to reintroduce the North Island kōkako.

That’s all under threat.

“From these sorts of weather events, obviously the birds are in danger, but what happens is all of our trapping systems are down, the tracks have been washed out,” Candace said.

The pest species also tended to explode after a major weather event, he said.

Waipā councillor Clare St Pierre spent years supporting the Pirongia restoration work and was also deeply concerned.

“There has been significant damage I understand and big slips. It’s the Department of Conservation’s role to assess what the damage is so we are just waiting on that,” she said.

The Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society said it would welcome any financial or volunteer help to try and protect and restore what remained.

Off the mountain and in the village of Pirongia, water also continued to be rationed after major damage to the reservoir.

St Pierre said for many people and places around Pirongia life isn’t “back to normal”.

“There’s recognition at council that it is going to take time, so there is a real desire to make sure those people are supported over the medium term, not just now but going forward,” she said.

Good news came through every day; people were making an effort to support local businesses and the New Zealand Transport Agency had found a solution to reopen State Highway 39.

But what was quickly broken would take much time to repair.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/27/pirongia-residents-remain-cut-off-following-extreme-weather/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Waipā District is now in the recovery stage after extreme weather forced it into a state of emergency earlier this month.

But with some residents still cut off and the town of Pirongia still rationing water, things were far from back to normal.

RNZ talked to Paul Candace, who lives on Mount Pirongia, two weeks after the disaster.

He explained the moment he knew something was badly wrong.

“I saw the whole mountain go black from a cloud,” he said.

This was followed by a massive noise up in the mountain.

Flash flooding bought boulders, logs and massive amounts of water down the mountain.

“We were told in one [flash flood] we have video of, 200 million litres of water came down in one go.”

Twenty families live off a one-way road up the mountain. The road was plummeted and the hamlet was cut off.

Days went by, families shared what they could and a way through a farm was opened for those with a four-wheel drive.

But two weeks on, the road was still closed and the community continued to rely on the good will of the farmer’s track which takes three times as long as normal to travel through and can only be used on a dry day.

Candace wasn’t sure when the road would be back. The flash flooding, damage, and uncertainty was taking its toll, including financially.

“For me and my family we can’t make any money because my wife has her business up on the mountain and I need to get down to my contracts. People go ‘oh yeah, you lost fencing’ and that sort of stuff… it’s a little bit deeper than that,” Candace said.

Another major worry for the community was the environment.

The Department of Conservation stated that Pirongia Mountain was the largest area of native forest remaining close to Hamilton.

It was home to many native birds and the community worked hard to make it safe to reintroduce the North Island kōkako.

That’s all under threat.

“From these sorts of weather events, obviously the birds are in danger, but what happens is all of our trapping systems are down, the tracks have been washed out,” Candace said.

The pest species also tended to explode after a major weather event, he said.

Waipā councillor Clare St Pierre spent years supporting the Pirongia restoration work and was also deeply concerned.

“There has been significant damage I understand and big slips. It’s the Department of Conservation’s role to assess what the damage is so we are just waiting on that,” she said.

The Pirongia Te Aroaro o Kahu Restoration Society said it would welcome any financial or volunteer help to try and protect and restore what remained.

Off the mountain and in the village of Pirongia, water also continued to be rationed after major damage to the reservoir.

St Pierre said for many people and places around Pirongia life isn’t “back to normal”.

“There’s recognition at council that it is going to take time, so there is a real desire to make sure those people are supported over the medium term, not just now but going forward,” she said.

Good news came through every day; people were making an effort to support local businesses and the New Zealand Transport Agency had found a solution to reopen State Highway 39.

But what was quickly broken would take much time to repair.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/27/pirongia-residents-remain-cut-off-following-extreme-weather/

Source: Radio New Zealand

One person has been injured after steel piles fell on a worker’s leg at a road construction site in Auckland.

Emergency services were sent to the incident at the the intersection of Sunnyvale Road and Red Hills Road in the suburb of Massey shortly after 4pm.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said firefighters had extracted the injured person.

The patient was taken to North Shore Hospital in a moderate condition, according to St John.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/27/steel-piles-fall-on-workers-leg-at-auckland-construction-site/

Source: Radio New Zealand

One person has been injured after steel piles fell on a worker’s leg at a road construction site in Auckland.

Emergency services were sent to the incident at the the intersection of Sunnyvale Road and Red Hills Road in the suburb of Massey shortly after 4pm.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said firefighters had extracted the injured person.

The patient was taken to North Shore Hospital in a moderate condition, according to St John.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/27/steel-piles-fall-on-workers-leg-at-auckland-construction-site/