Category: CTF

Source: Radio New Zealand

For most of 2025, the government talked tough on supermarkets, presenting itself as a consumer champion willing to use the toughest tools available to bring down food prices.

If competition failed to improve, ministers said they were even prepared to consider the “nuclear option”- forcibly breaking up the companies that dominate New Zealand’s grocery sector.

“All options are on the table,” Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis announced in March. She promised to “pull out all the stops” for shoppers paying some of the highest food prices in the developed world.

But a year later, the promise of “meaningful change” at the checkout is unfulfilled.

Food prices continue to climb. Stats NZ said food prices increased 4.5 percent in the year to February 2026, with meat, fish and poultry rising the most at 7.5 percent.

Structurally, the supermarket sector looks almost identical to how it did before the threatened political crackdown began.No forced divestment has occurred. No new national supermarket chain has entered the market. The duopoly of Woolworths and the Foodstuffs co-operatives still control about 82 percent of grocery sales, with both suppliers and consumers suffering as a result.

“Consumers in smaller towns and rural areas typically have minimal to no choice… with some stores in small towns functioning as a localised monopoly,” Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden wrote in a 2025 report.

“My concern is that the power imbalance between the major supermarkets and small suppliers creates a reluctance among suppliers to push back.”

The question now is whether the government’s aggressive rhetoric about structural separation was ever a serious threat, or simply a political bluff.

The problem

The problem in the grocery market is well known: it is one of New Zealand’s most concentrated sectors, and competition has long been judged inadequate.

The Commerce Commission’s landmark 2022 market study found the dominant chains were earning about $1 million a day in excess profits.

It concluded competition was not working effectively, and that the supermarket giants benefited from enormous scale advantages, including nationwide distribution networks and buying power with suppliers, that smaller retailers struggle to match.

But rather than forcing structural change – such as separating the companies’ wholesale and retail arms, or forcing the sale of part of the business – successive governments have opted for a more cautious approach.

Labour responded to the Commerce Commission’s findings with the Grocery Industry Competition Act, which created a new regulatory regime for the sector.

The law established New Zealand’s first Grocery Commissioner, introduced a wholesale access regime, and imposed a Grocery Supply Code governing how supermarkets deal with suppliers.

The aim was to increase competition without dismantling the duopoly itself.

After the election in 2023, National also came under sustained pressure to act on rising food prices. In her March 2025 speech, Willis warned of “potentially massive changes” to supermarket logistics and warehousing networks, while emphasising the government would only consider structural intervention once it had done its research.

“We have to get the detail right… New Zealanders need confidence that we’ve thought this through thoroughly,” she said.

To the public, it appeared the government was ready for a fight.

But documents released under the Official Information Act suggest the prospect of a supermarket break-up was never the central focus of officials’ work.

Just asking questions

While ministries did examine structural reform options, the bulk of the policy effort focused instead on smaller regulatory fixes and market-led solutions.

By the time Willis gave her speech, officials were already preparing advice on structural reform options. For example, reports titled “Outline of de-merger options FINAL” and

“Information regarding structural reform of the grocery sector” and an aide-memoire about the separation of Telecom were drafted in early 2025.

While most of the information is redacted, what’s left shows officials were careful to frame structural separation as conditional and preliminary.

Briefing notes prepared for meetings with supermarkets and potential entrants emphasised that the Government was not consulting on a decision to break up the sector.

“The government is not consulting on policy options at this initial stage… This is a genuine request for information,” one briefing said.

At the same time, a much larger programme of work focused on regulatory changes aimed at lowering barriers to entry and tightening enforcement. This included making supermarkets eligible for fast-track approvals, improving building consent certainty, exploring changes to the Overseas Investment Act, strengthening Fair Trading Act penalties and clarifying predatory pricing rules under the Commerce Act.

Officials warned internally that these measures might deliver only limited gains. One memo noted there could be criticism that addressing regulatory barriers would “only have a marginal effect on improving competition”.

Structural separation, meanwhile, was more likely to be effective – but was also inherently risky.

In one briefing, officials wrote: “I am aware that structural separation comes with risks – however, I have heard from a number of parties this is the only option which ensures greater competition.”

With open arms

By August, talk of structural separation had largely been put on the backburner.

Instead, Willis pivoted to a strategy of facilitation, introducing planning reforms and the so-called “Express Lane” approach to speed up consents for new supermarkets, and attempting to attract a new international competitor.

By streamlining the Overseas Investment Act and Resource Management Act, the government hoped to lure a “third major player” like Costco or well-funded domestic ventures to take on the duopoly’s 82% national market share.

Effectively, that move shifted the financial risk of competition away from the state and onto private investors. Willis admitted the limitations of the approach, noting: “I can’t force a third entrant in… All I can do is open my arms as wide as possible.”

As part of the plan to attract a third competitor, the government launched a Request for Information (RFI) process to figure out what was stopping new competitors from entering.

Ministers and officials engaged directly with a range of potential challengers, including Costco, Sir Stephen Tindall, Farro Fresh, Night ‘N Day and iwi organisations considering a supermarket venture.

But the response from the industry’s biggest global players has been muted.

Documents released to the Herald earlier this year show Tesco declined to participate in the process after “internal personnel changes.”

Two of the world’s most aggressive discount chains – Aldi and Lidl – also declined to take part, with Aldi confirming it currently has no plans to expand into New Zealand.

Without a large international entrant, the government’s strategy of creating competition through a new market entrance faces a much steeper climb.

Local alternatives have emerged. Christchurch grocery co-operative Kai Co has drawn significant consumer interest, positioning itself as a community-owned alternative to the major chains.

But regional initiatives remain a long way from challenging the incumbents’ national scale.

Limited signs of change

By late 2025, some observers were describing developments in the sector as “Groundhog Day.”

The 2025 Review of the Grocery Supply Code, published in June, had said the original rules failed to rebalance power because suppliers were still reluctant to push back on retailer behaviour for fear of damaging relationships or losing shelf space.

In response, the Commission announced tougher new rules in October 2025, including a standalone ban on retaliation and the prohibition of “investment buying”- the practice where supermarkets profit from supplier-funded discounts without passing them to shoppers.

But even the Commerce Commission has acknowledged those kinds of changes address specific behaviours rather than the underlying structure of the market.

The government has prioritised what some call “low-hanging fruit”- prosecuting supermarkets for misleading pricing and inaccurate specials.

While this led to criminal charges and record fines – including a $3.25 million penalty for Foodstuffs North Island – consumer advocates like Jon Duffy warn that these fines may be a “feather rather than a stick” for billion-dollar entities.

Willis is currently considering raising maximum fines to tens of millions of dollars to match Australian standards, though this has faced significant pushback from the industry.

Will they or won’t they

As inflation concerns return with war in the Middle East, the political shield of “all options on the table” may be wearing thin.

If the new Supply Code and the arrival of players like Kai Co fail to shift the balance of power in the market, the current and future governments will eventually face a stark choice: accept the duopoly as a permanent feature of New Zealand’s grocery sector, or pursue the threatened structural break-up.

Willis repeatedly signalled that stronger intervention remained possible if her reforms failed to embed change. As of last year, a cost-benefit analysis was underway, she said. But similar work commissioned under the previous government found the economics of a break-up were far from straightforward.

A 2023 MBIE analysis suggested forced divestment could deliver competition benefits but also carried the risk of a $3.8 billion net cost over 20 years, largely due to the loss of economies of scale.

Officials warned that if those efficiencies were destroyed, grocery prices could actually rise – a scenario described internally as a “very high regret” outcome.

A forced break-up would also be highly disruptive to a $25 billion industry, raising complex legal and commercial questions that could take years to resolve.

Willis has previously cautioned that restructuring the supermarkets would be a “significant intervention”.

“A decision to restructure the supermarkets is not a decision that would be taken lightly. It would be a significant intervention that would carry costs and risks that would need to be rigorously weighted against the potential benefits to shoppers,” she said in announcing the “express lane” changes last August.

Supermarket executives argued that the Grocery Supply Code and wholesale access rules needed time to “bed in” before further radical changes were made.

But industry observers have noted that while the expertise for a break-up likely exists within the Commerce Commission, the government has already effectively “run out of time” to implement such a complex legal and commercial overhaul before the next election cycle.

What’s more likely is that plans for the “nuclear option” remained locked away, again.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/18/why-the-government-backed-away-from-breaking-up-supermarkets/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Out of work New Zealanders who say they have worked hard and paid taxes all their life are forced to rely on their partners as their welfare system.

RNZ has been reporting on the “invisible unemployed”: people who have too much to qualify for a benefit, but not enough to make ends meet.

At the end of last year unemployment rose to its highest level in more than a decade, with more people chasing work than jobs created.

But not all of those people qualify for government support.

To be eligible for the Jobseeker benefit, your household could not earn more than a certain threshold: $1039 before tax for a couple without children, and $1088 before tax for a couple with children.

It meant if your partner earned more than $54,028 annually – or $56,576 if you had children – you could not get the Jobseeker benefit.

The median weekly income from wages and salaries is $1380, StatsNZ data showed – or $71,760 annually.

Ricky, whose partner earned more than the $1211 weekly threshold for him to receive the Supported Living Payment – a benefit for people with a health condition or disability – said the situation was “just sad”.

“The government essentially wipes their hands and say, your partner is your welfare system,” he said.

Ricky and his partner had always kept their money separate, he said.

“When I stopped working … we’ve both had to learn, and adjust that his money is now our money.

“But it’s still very awkward … I never ask for money for my personal expenses.”

On Friday the Minister for Social Development Louise Upston said the thresholds were a long-standing feature of the welfare system.

“Raising the threshold is not something I am looking at right now, my focus is on getting people off the jobseeker benefit and into work.”

RNZ asked further questions of Upston on Monday including what advice she had for people who could not get work, nor a benefit.

Her office said the minister had nothing further to add.

‘The numbers just don’t add up’

Covering the rent or mortgage payments was the biggest worry for people who contacted RNZ to share their stories.

There was an accommodation supplement available, but you did not qualify for that if you had more than $16,200 in the bank, for a couple.

StatsNZ data showed in the year ended June 2025, average weekly rent payments were $505.50 ($26,286 annually).

Average weekly mortgage payments were $690.90 ($17,272 annually).

For someone who was not working, and paying the average weekly rent with a partner who earned $1100 a week – above the Jobseeker benefit threshold – that left $594.50 a week, before tax, to cover both people’s costs.

An Auckland man, who RNZ agreed not to name, said once his savings were depleted in the next few weeks, he and his wife would struggle to pay the rent despite her earning well above the threshold.

He was made redundant “out of the blue” in October last year after 30 years in his industry but could not get the benefit because of his wife’s income.

“I wasn’t surprised, but I did just laugh because that $1040 [threshold], after tax … doesn’t even cover our rent,” he said.

“So how would we have been living … the numbers just don’t add up.”

The man said he did not know what the government expected him to do when his savings ran out.

“I just always assumed that if the worst came to the worst, and I’d expended all of my own … efforts, that there would be some way of getting help in New Zealand.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/18/your-partner-is-your-welfare-system-coupled-up-with-not-enough/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman who is trying to claim $12,000 from Inland Revenue’s unclaimed money list says she has been frustrated by continuous hurdles.

IR has a database of amounts of at least $100 that have been left untouched in banks, finance companies, investment funds or with someone such as a solicitor or accountant.

When reasonable efforts have been made for five years to try to locate the owner, it can be transferred. In some circumstances, it can be transferred to IR earlier, such as when an organisation is running a routine remediation process.

In the middle of last year, there was more than $600 million waiting to be claimed.

But Jess, who did not want to be identified, said that had proved hard to do in her case.

“In September 2025, I applied for $12,000 of unclaimed money which is listed in my dad’s name, who passed away July 2025.

“This is a huge sum of money. The money is listed as being from ANZ, and IRD are refusing to pay unless I can provide the bank account number that the funds were in, despite telling me that the account was opened prior to 1975, which means it was a childhood account of my dad.

“We cannot find this account number, and ANZ are also saying they cannot help.

“There must be other ways to prove that the funds belong to my dad … It is listed on the unclaimed funds register in his full name, and IRD have told me that the account was opened in Palmerston North, which is where my dad is from, so we are confident it definitely belonged to him.”

She said she had contacted ANZ as well as the Banking Ombudsman but had no luck getting the information that Inland Revenue wanted.

Inland Revenue said it could not comment on her case specifically.

“Banks and other institutions who pass on unclaimed money to Inland Revenue have to tell us what information they have about the owner and the money.

“From time to time this information is limited and that poses challenges for both IR and claimants alike when establishing ownership.

“However, the onus remains on the claimant to satisfy IR they are entitled to the money. Only then can Inland Revenue pay the money to them (s 11(1) of the Unclaimed Money Act 1971).

“Sometimes the information the bank or other institution has provided is limited but based on circumstances, and the balance of probabilities, it is enough for IR to be satisfied the claimant is the owner of the money. In other cases, it is not enough to satisfy Inland Revenue that they are the owners.”

Consumer NZ said a lawyer could potentially be able to help Jess.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/18/daughters-battle-with-ird-for-late-dads-unclaimed-money/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former Social Investment Agency chief executive Andrew Coster is refusing to comment on the resignation of the deputy chief executive who quit while being investigated over allegations of bullying and harassment.

Social Investment Agency (SIA) deputy chief executive Kylie Reiri left the job last month. Her departure comes after Coster quit in December following a scathing Independent Police Conduct Authority report.

In an Official Information Act (OIA) response released to RNZ, the SIA confirmed there had been two employment investigations over the last 12 months.

“I am also able to confirm that there has been one investigation in response to four formal reports of bullying and harassment. In the interest of privacy, we cannot provide a breakdown as to what each allegation was concerning.”

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

RNZ understands the investigation, which is ongoing, relates to Reiri.

“As a responsible employer, SIA takes these matters seriously and all complaints are investigated and followed through to the end. We have robust policies and procedures to manage disclosure of any allegations including protected disclosures (speak safe) and bullying and harassment policies, which provide informal and formal options for staff to raise concerns of serious wrongdoing and bullying and harassment.”

RNZ approached a spokesperson for Coster to see if he had any comment on the allegations faced by Reiri.

In response, they replied: “No, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Andy to comment on SIA employee-related matters. Best any queries are directed to the SIA”.

Within days of Coster’s resignation, RNZ was contacted with allegations that Reiri was under investigation in relation to complaints of bullying and harassment.

RNZ contacted Reiri at the time who said she was on leave due to health-related reasons. She did not respond to requests for comment over the weekend.

Approached for comment in December, the SIA said it did not comment on individual employment matters. Asked why that was and for the status of Reiri’s employment, the SIA treated the follow up questions as a request under the OIA.

Then, in January, the SIA released an OIA which said it did not generally comment on individual employment matters “as the disclosure of information relating to individual employees would involve the unwarranted disclosure of personal information”.

The following month Reiri resigned.

In an email on 12 February, released to RNZ, SIA’s acting chief executive and secretary for social investment Alistair Mason said Reiri had resigned.

“We acknowledge the contribution Kylie has made during her time here. We thank her for her service to the organisation and wish her well for the future,” he said.

“I know you may have questions, however, out of respect for Kylie’s privacy I am not able to discuss this matter.”

A SIA spokesperson said in a statement to RNZ over the weekend they could confirm Reiri had resigned from her role.

About a month before the IPCA’s report was released, Coster sent an email to all staff following a meeting that day.

In the email, seen by RNZ, Coster said it was important for him that the SIA was an organisation “where each one of us feels we can bring our best to our work, in an environment that is positive and enabling”.

“Acknowledging the wider context from the Public Service census (in which we fared well and in connection with which we have an action plan), some comments in a recent Te Rama survey have given me cause for concern. I want to be able to address any issues, to ensure this is a place where everyone feels respected and valued. To do this, I need to understand your experiences and perspectives.

“To that end, I want to make myself available to meet with anyone who would like to talk. If you have something to share, please reach out to me directly. Anything you share will be treated with respect and care. I value your thoughts and insights, and I will only use what you share in a way that aligns with what you are comfortable with. I understand that speaking up isn’t easy but I invite you to feel that I will listen and take action where that is required.”

In December, RNZ asked SIA Minister Nicola Willis’ office for comment on Reiri. They said questions were best put to the SIA.

“Staffing within agencies is an operational matter for which Ministers don’t have responsibility.”

On Monday, a spokesperson for Willis said the minister did not have any comment to make.

“Employment matters within government agencies are for agency chief executives and, if warranted, the Public Service Commission to manage.”

Reiri’s profile on the SIA website, which has since been taken down, said she brought a “unique blend of public and private sector experience to the Social Investment Agency”.

“Her career has been dedicated to improving outcomes for New Zealanders through data-driven decision making and social investment approaches.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/18/former-social-investment-boss-andrew-coster-wont-comment-on-deputy-kylie-reiris-resignation/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A government-led cap on dental school admissions are contributing to workforce shortages for clinics around the country, an oral health expert says.

The New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) said clinics were going several months short-staffed after it surveyed almost 500 of its members between November and December last year.

The Fees and Dental Workforce Survey 2025, released on Tuesday, showed dental clinics across the country were facing long delays filling vacancies, putting pressure on communities already struggling to access dental care.

On average, it was taking clinics 24 weeks to recruit a dentist, with one-in-four vacancies going over 40 weeks unfilled.

The recruitment barriers were even more pronounced in the regions, where vacancies took close to a year to fill, or even longer.

A recent pop-up clinic offering free dental care in the Hawke’s Bay town of Wairoa was overwhelmed with demand as the township has not had a full-time dentist for five years.

Three-quarters of survey respondents worked in clinics with three or fewer dentists.

NZDA director of dental policy Dr Robin Whyman told RNZ the supply of dental school graduates had stalled.

This was down to domestic intake caps at the country’s only dental school at the University of Otago, he said.

“The number of dentists trained in New Zealand hasn’t really increased since the 1980s. The cap sits at 60 per year at the moment,” Whyman said.

“We think that number needs to rise to keep track with the population.”

The country’s population had increased from over 3 million in the 1980s to over 5 million, but the same number of dentists were being trained, Whyman said.

In 2014, the John Key-led government agreed to increase the number of undergraduate domestic dentistry students at Otago for the first time in more than half a century, from 54 to 60.

NZDA president Dave Excell said the figures pointed to growing pressure on both patients and dental teams.

“Clinics are doing everything they can to keep services running, but when positions stay vacant for months, staff are stretched and patients end up waiting longer,” he said.

“When a town like Wairoa has had no resident dentist for years and a free clinic is overwhelmed, it shows how fragile access becomes when the workforce isn’t there.”

Prolonged shortages took a toll beyond the numbers, Dr Excell said

“These gaps aren’t just operational issues because they also affect people.

“Clinicians want to care for their communities, and patients deserve reliable, ongoing access rather than short-term fixes.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/18/dental-association-blames-workforce-shortages-on-governments-dental-school-admission-limit/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government should be keeping tabs on the lingering and “deeply concerning” effects of Long Covid around the country, a health support group says.

Newly released data by the Ministry of Health estimated 185,000 New Zealanders experienced Long Covid symptoms in the 12 months ending July last year.

Figures released on Tuesday indicated over 400,000 people had developed Long Covid at some stage, equating to one in 11 adult New Zealanders.

About 12 percent of adults had reported having had Covid-19.

The survey indicated women, Māori and disabled adults were more likely to report having had Long Covid.

Of those who had contracted Covid, about one in six Māori adults (15.5 percent) reported having had Long Covid, compared to about one in nine non-Māori (11.3 percent).

Almost half of those who developed Long Covid were still experiencing symptoms when surveyed.

The Long Covid Support Aotearoa group was renewing its calls for better monitoring of Long Covid by authorities after front-footing the matter last week.

Spokesperson Larisa Hockey said it was surprising it took so long for the data to become public.

“[The] survey suggests about 185,000 New Zealanders were living with Long Covid symptoms at the time of the survey, roughly the population of Hamilton and broadly consistent with the earlier estimate,” she said.

“It also suggests more than 400,000 people may have experienced Long Covid at some stage, about the combined population of Wellington and Hamilton.”

Data from the survey was collected between July 2024 and July 2025 and included more than 9000 people aged 15 and over.

The group said the figures were sobering.

“We’re shocked and concerned that so many people have been underserved by New Zealand’s health authorities,” Hockey said.

“Now that the scale of the problem is clearer, we want to know why there are still no plans to monitor it.”

Long Covid Support Aotearoa nurse practitioner Catherine Appleby said the results were deeply concerning.

“The relatively high Māori prevalence of Long Covid is unacceptable. This significant inequity is an urgent public health issue that deserves government attention,” she said.

About a year ago, public health experts called for the government to protect people from Long Covid, which included the development and implementation of a health response strategy.

At the time, Health Minister Simeon Brown said Covid-19 and Long Covid were being managed as part of a ‘business as usual’ healthcare response, with the primary care sector largely taking the lead in patient care.

RNZ has approached the ministry for comment.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/18/health-support-group-calls-for-better-government-oversight-of-long-covid-effects/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Global popstar Robbie Williams will play Christchurch’s new stadium later this year.

Williams will be one of the first international acts at the One New Zealand Stadium when he brings his BRITPOP World Tour to the city on 28 November – the singer’s first concert in Christchurch in 25 years.

He would also play Auckland’s Eden Park on 24 November.

“Australia and New Zealand have always had a very special place in my heart. Ever since my first solo tours, you have welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home. I’m beyond excited to be coming back this November for the BRITPOP World Tour. Can’t wait to see you all there!” Williams said.

Released in January, BRITPOP was a nod to the 90s Britpop era and featured collaborations with Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Gaz Coombes (Supergrass), Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi, Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy and Gary Barlow.

“I set out to create the album that I wanted to write and release after I left Take That in 1995. It was the peak of Britpop and a golden age for British Music. I’ve worked with some of my heroes on this album; it’s raw, there are more guitars and it’s an album that’s even more upbeat and anthemic than usual. There’s some ‘Brit’ in there and there’s certainly some ‘pop’ too – I’m immensely proud of this as a body of work and I’m excited for fans to hear this album” Williams said.

The government said Williams was bringing his BRITPOP World Tour to Aotearoa with the support of its $70 million Major Events and Tourism Package.

“It’s fantastic to welcome a showstopper act like Robbie, giving fans the chance to see him entertaining us,” said Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston.

She said the tour had been backed because of its capacity to attract large audiences and international visitors.

“We know concerts like his bring a significant economic injection into our cities and create a real buzz. It’s been calculated that for every dollar spent on live performance, $3.20 is returned in benefits to the wider community and that’s why we’re investing in them.”

Williams has six of the Top 100 best-selling albums in British history, 90 million album sales worldwide, a record 16 UK Number 1 albums and 18 BRIT Awards – more than any other artist.

In 2023, Netflix released a four-part documentary series, Robbie Williams, and in 2024 his Oscar-nominated film, Better Man, was released globally to critical acclaim.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/17/global-popstar-robbie-williams-announces-new-zealand-tour/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Seven Oranga Tamariki workers are accused of bashing two teens – or failing to stop them being bashed – in a tiny phone room at an Auckland youth justice facility.

Prosecutors said the staff had gratuitously assaulted the boys after the teens had barricaded themselves in the two-by-1.5 metre room for more than an hour.

When the staff eventually got the door open, the six male defendants “stormed the booth in quick succession” and when they emerged, the teens appeared slumped over and injured.

But defence lawyers said the staff were using legal restraint to keep themselves and the teens safe in a high risk situation where the boys were destroying the booth, setting off sprinklers and flooding the unit.

Joseph Kirifi, Tapu Brown, Aidan Va, Quentin Schmidt, Susana Sofara, and two others with name suppression are on trial at the Manukau District Court and today pleaded not guilty to two charges of ill treatment or neglect of a child on 23 May 2023.

The crown told the jury that the charge meant each defendant had either assaulted the young people themselves, or failed to take reasonable steps to stop others hurting them.

Crown prosecutor Katie Karpik said the 16- and 17-year-old boys, who have name suppression, had been refusing to come out of the booth on the day in question, setting off the sprinklers.

When staff were finally able to open the door, the staff were frustrated and “elevated”, she said

“Despite there being only two youths in that small phone booth room they became significantly outnumbered by the defendants, she said.

“All seven defendant were in the room at one stage….and all six male defendants were in it for three minutes with two youths.”

Witnesses in the following days noticed black eyes and other injuries, she said

“The crown suggests such injuries are the result of gratuitous assaults and not necessary and reasonable levels of force.”

One of the defendants, Aidan Va, already had a conviction that for harming a boy at Korowai Manaaki about a month earlier, she said

He had arranged and filmed a one-on-one fight between two boys, she said.

She noted that did not mean he was guilty of the latest charges.

Relating to today’s case, he had sent a text to a friend saying he had “f***ed up” two boys and it was “crack up,” Karpik said.

The investigation that led to today’s charges was not sparked by a complaint from the boys, but other case workers had noticed their injuries.

When asked about them, the boys had lied and blamed them on things like falling off a chair, she said.

“They appreciated snitching was not the done thing,” she said.

No solid evidence, says defence

Each defendant has their own lawyer, and many wanted to make clear each defence was likely to be unique.

But most pointed out that, under law, the justice facility staff are entitled to use force against young people as long as it is reasonable.

They noted their clients were well trained and had used known, safe tactics to restrain the boys.

Joseph Kirifi’s lawyer Rasyad Ismail said his client was responding to a fast past situation that had escalated in the unit.

“Staff had no choice but to force entry into the room,” he said.

“The situation unfolded in a custodial environment where staff are sometimes required to intervene quickly to manage behaviour and to maintain safety,” he said.

Each of the boys had a long history of serious violence, including escaping custody, he said.

Several of the lawyers noted prosecutors did not know what happened in the booth – so, they could not separate who was alleged to have done the assault and who was alleged to have allowed it.

Shannon Withers, defending one of the men with name suppression, said the Crown case was “inferences at best, guesses and speculation at worst.”

He noted there were a lot of small people in a very small space where the boys had been destructive. That meant there could have been accidental injuries.

Emma Priest, for another with name suppression, noted the text messages the Crown was relying on for some of its case should be taken with a grain of salt.

They could be black humour among friends, she said, noting the use of emojis.

The trial is likely to take several weeks.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/17/seven-oranga-tamariki-workers-on-trial-for-assaulting-two-teens-at-youth-justice-facility/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Eight fire trucks are working to extinguish a building fire in Palmerston North.

Fire and Emergency said crews from across the city were called to John F Kennedy Drive about 6.30pm.

A spokesperson said the building was well ablaze on arrival.

Police said no injuries were reported and no road closures were required.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/17/fire-crews-battle-building-blaze-in-palmerston-north/