Category: DJF

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Truck fire closes SH1 northern motorway in Auckland

Source: Radio New Zealand

Facebook / Silverdale/Wainui/Millwater Community Group

An overnight truck fire has closed part of Auckland’s State Highway 1 motorway north of the city.

It’s shut to north-bound traffic between Silverdale and Orewa so the truck can be removed, the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi says.

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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/2026/03/12/truck-fire-closes-sh1-northern-motorway-in-auckland/

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NZ will release six days of fuel amid global concerns over supply

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Mark Papalii

New Zealand will have to release about six days worth of fuel as part of a decision by the International Energy Agency.

The IEA has agreed unanimously to release 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves.

Senior ministers met last night to pore over the country’s fuel stores and supply chains.

Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says New Zealand is obliged to contribute to the IEA’s release.

He says that can be can done by terminating tickets this country holds for its own stocks.

Jones says it’s yet to be determined how New Zealand will release its stocks, and ensure the impact here is minimised.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/12/nz-will-release-six-days-of-fuel-amid-global-concerns-over-supply/

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AI in warfare being tested in Iran, needs ‘much more’ careful thinking by NZ – Defence

Source: Radio New Zealand

Defence says new AI-supercharged weapon systems will need to be “very, very carefully designed”. NZDF / Supplied

New AI-supercharged weapon systems will need to be “very, very carefully designed” to comply with international and domestic laws, MPs have been told.

And it would be the software behind the systems that would dictate like never before just how effective any new missiles, guns or electromagnetic jammers were, a defence official told a select committee.

Defence ministry deputy secretary Anton Youngman said it was time for some serious thinking by New Zealand.

“One of the key points that we talk about here is that with these new capabilities … they need to be very, very carefully designed to comply with international and domestic laws,” he said.

The briefing coincided with the first week of the Iran war.

Experts said the war was testing out for real the questions of what artificial intelligence should be used in warfare and who controlled it.

Fox News has reported that the advance in AI “is changing the nature of the battlefield by speeding up targeting and analysing intelligence all while raising new concerns over the role of human judgment and oversight in modern warfare”.

The Guardian reported, “The use of AI tools to enable attacks on Iran heralds a new era of bombing quicker than ‘the speed of thought’ experts have said, amid fears human-decision-makers could be sidelined.”

AI targeting has been developing rapidly in the last several years.

Youngman, for his long-term insights briefing of the select committee, drew on a less militaristic example. He described a future where NZ kept an eye on nearby oceans by using satellites, drones flying high and on and under the sea, surveillance aircraft and land-based radars – ” all of these working in sync together”.

The software did that syncing.

Such technology was typically ‘dual-use’ with civilian and military applications.

Youngman went on: “The ability of defence forces to collect and analyse data at speed will increasingly be the key determinant of military advantage.”

Defence Minister Judith Collins in her speech to a geopolitics conference on Tuesday said New Zealanders understood the world had changed, and “the highly skilled personnel” in defence needed to be ready to do what the govenment “and people ask of it”.

“That’s why we are focusing on more than doubling our defence spend and investing in a defence force that is combat capable with enhanced lethality and deterrence; a force multiplier with Australia and increasingly interoperable with partners,” her speech notes said.

Defence Minister Judith Collins. Nick Monro

What does this have to do with NZ?

NZ has already put development of these syncing technologies on a faster track under last year’s $12 billion defence capability plan (though officials had been tightlipped about the aim to get a sovereign satellite).

Its latest move was to start testing 14 drones for the sea and air, with potential strike capability, from local firm Syos.

It was also working internationally through its defence science technology section with its counterpart in Australia, and with the US and other countries. NZ has not waited to join AUKUS Pillar Two – which focuses on emerging military tech – to make these moves.

AI-targeting experiments were part of that. The NZDF has been taking part in the US-led Project Convergence exercise to test joint AI systems alongside multinational forces.

Last year’s exercise in California had a “digital backbone” provided by data-mining firm Palantir.

The Washington Post has reported that Palantir tech was being used by the Pentagon in Iran. The Post said its targeting system called Maven was using an AI tool, Claude.

“Anthropic’s AI tool Claude central to US campaign in Iran, amid a bitter feud,” ran the paper’s headline.

Palantir, co-founded by Peter Thiel, a NZ citizen, has said the software used at Project Convergence “provided a unified data infrastructure for advanced battlespace management that empowered users across all levels to plan, execute, and assess operations effectively and enable commanders to rapidly make informed decisions”.

Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel. Marco Bello / Getty Images / AFP

Another such Convergence exercise was scheduled for the coming US summer. The NZDF did not respond when asked how many people it was sending.

RNZ has previously reported how this work fits under a Pentagon top-priority project with allies and partners called CJADC2 or Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.

‘Needs to be thought through much more carefully now than it ever previously did’

Youngman offered MPs another insight, that the ascendancy of software would change soldiering itself.

“Under the human-machine team … it’s a different role for defence personnel in this long-term future,” he said in response to National MP Tim Costley suggesting that NZ might be too small to properly deploy AI weapons and be better off adding to its soldiers, sailors and bullets.

Youngman said the role was moving potentially “from less kind of in the field work and more into that kind of tuning and training systems, interpreting the outputs, making decisions and ensuring adherence with … law and doctrine”.

Whose law and doctrine? That second question, of who controllrd the AI, also came up at the committee.

Green MP Teanau Tuiono asked, “You were saying earlier around making sure that the system design adheres to domestic international law. How are you going to do that?”

Green MP Teanau Tuiono. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Youngman said the challenge was new, now that machines could now take action themselves, for the first time in warfare.

“It’s going to continue to be a growing challenge and something that through the design of the capabilities, needs to be thought through much more carefully now than it ever previously did,” he said.

Labour MP and former Defence Minister Peeni Henare asked, “Do we have the foundational legislation to make sure that we’re able to govern effectively in the spaces of war?”

Youngman replied that was beyond the scope of the long-term briefing but added, “This is exactly the type of questions that this research is pointing to and saying we need to have this conversation.

“We are looking at a longer term horizon here, 2035, and the reason for doing this type of long-term research now is to say these are the types of conversations that we need to have.”

What about NZ being able to afford its own cloud-based AI military systems in future, Henare asked.

“Really good quesiton,” said Youngman. “I think the importance of remaining interoperable with partners is going to be key. It is today and it will continue to be.

“However … [the briefing] does talk about needing to continually balance that cost with sovereignty, with legality and social licence.”

‘A grey ship is a grey ship’

Everyone agreed that explaining all this to the public was much harder than talking about buying a new frigate.

“A grey ship is a grey ship,” said Henare.

“People will read this and go, this is preparing us for AUKUS,” he added.

Labour MP and former Defence Minister Peeni Henare. VNP / Phil Smith

Youngman replied that defence would “need to be more proactive” in communicating around the new capabilities.

The briefing itself said this was one of “three major shifts” defence had to get its head around.

“Public trust in defence forces is earned, not assumed. Ensuring Defence maintains public trust will remain essential, and possibly more challenging, in an environment defined by increased contestation and technological change,” it said.

When RNZ asked NZDF to lay out the nature of its technology and data-sharing with the US and other Five Eyes partners, Defence responded by turning it into an Official Information Act (OIA) request that would take at least five weeks to answer; similarly, a question about whether defence was taking a role in testing or developing systems from Palantir.

“Your request is noted, but the NZDF still needs to manage information requests in the way it deems appropriate,” Defence said.

The nature of NZ’s national security work within Five Eyes had come up earlier at a select committee. In that case, the SIS and GCSB replied they had tight controls around intellligence sharing and could withhold intel if legal, policy and human rights settings were not met.

An OIA in December showed that defence currently used nine AI-enabled tools in a restricted cacpacity for research in data and sensor processing and modelling. Sensors could be used in targeting.

The nine were: ChatGPT, Dalle-2, Github Copilot, Azure Machine Learning, Azure OpenAI services, Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Teams, AiZynthFinder and Meta Llama 2.

National MP Dana Kirkpatrick thanked Youngman for the insights briefing: “There’s no time like the present in the current geopolitical challenges to be talking about future capability and interoperability in defence.”

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/12/ai-in-warfare-being-tested-in-iran-needs-much-more-careful-thinking-by-nz-defence/

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Cricket: Fomer White Ferns captain Sophie Devine goes for top-dollar in The Hundred auction

Source: Radio New Zealand

White Fern Sophie Devine. PHOTOSPORT

White Fern Sophie Devine has picked up a $476,000 deal to play for the Welsh Fire in this year’s The Hundred in the UK.

It is the highest price for a women’s player in the history of the competition.

Devine, 36, who recently relinquished the New Zealand captaincy has played in the UK since 2016 and last season played for the Birmingham Phoenix.

Australian Beth Mooney was picked for the same top price by the Trent Rockets.

Their salaries are significantly higher than the previous top wage in the women’s Hundred ($147,000). They are also higher than the highest salaries in the Women’s Big Bash League, and are comparable to the wages on offer at the WPL.

The salary cap in the women’s Hundred has doubled to $2 million per team this year as a direct result of the new private investment in the Hundred, which has seen external investors become owners or co-owners of all eight franchises.

Amelia Kerr was not in the auction as she was pre-signed by the Mumbai Indians London.

The Hundred, matches of which consist of 100 deliveries for each team, starts in July.

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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/2026/03/12/cricket-fomer-white-ferns-captain-sophie-devine-goes-for-top-dollar-in-the-hundred-auction/

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Prisoners struggle with reintegration after being released from jail

Source: Radio New Zealand

Convicted murderer Gail Maney. Fairfax Media

A woman who spent 15 years in prison says being released into the outside world was like being pushed out the gate.

The coroner is calling for urgent psychological support for long term prisoners before and after release, after a former prisoner who served nearly 30 years for murder died by suicide on his release.

Those who work at the frontline said something must be done.

Gail Maney spent a total of 15 years in prison and about 10 years on parole before her conviction for the murder of West Auckland tyre-fitter Deane Fuller-Sandys was quashed.

She found being released from the structure of prison difficult.

“I was very used to being behind closed doors, and everything’s done for you and managed for you, and then it’s like you’re just suddenly pushed out the gate and into society,” she said.

“I remember thinking ‘is this it? what now?’. It’s a really strange feeling.”

Maney said she was lucky to have the ability to put her life together, though she had to do much of it herself

Reporting to probation was also stressful, Maney said.

“Dealing with probation was one of the hardest parts for me,” she said.

“They’ll tell you that if you feel like your in danger or anything like that that you can contact them and talk to them, but if you tell probation that you’re in a difficult situation they will have you recalled back to prison straight away.

“Realistically, you don’t want to go back to jail so you’re not going to reach out to probation.”

Reporting to probation was also stressful, Maney said. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Maney spoke about the need to have someone who understood the needs of those who had been in prison for a long time.

“That could mean having a more gentle approach to how they manage parolees in society,” she said.

In January, Coroner Bruce Hesketh ruled that Lee Rawiri Kohiti died by suicide two months after he left prison.

He recommended the Department of Corrections work with other agencies to address systemic issues in providing services to prisoners on release.

Mahi Mihinare Anglican Action offered accommodation and reintegration for parolees in Hamilton.

Chief executive Peter Osbourne said they had first-hand experience with suicide and self-harm.

“We’ve seen the struggles that men and women have actually coming back into a society, and often it’s a society that doesn’t want them.

“We’re sort of a very punitive culture in this country, where we think we just should lock people up and some would say throw away the key.”

Osbourne spoke about the impact prison can have on people.

“In Scandinavia they’re closing down prisons, here we are in New Zealand building new ones because we think locking people up keeps us safe,” he said

“But actually, I don’t think it does, because at some point those people come out and they come out more damaged and traumatised than they did when they went inside.”

Dr Emmy Rākete from People Against Prisons Aotearoa. RNZ / Mabel Muller

Dr Emmy Rākete from People Against Prisons Aotearoa said parolees were affected by a lack of investment in state housing and the health system.

“There’s just this disinvestment from social infrastructure of all kinds, and the enormous suicide rate amongst parolees is just one symptom of this underlying rot,” she said.

The rate of suicide among parolees over the last three years was unknown because Corrections did not centrally record the data, nor was it always alerted to the cause of death when a person was serving a community based sentence.

Chief mental health and addictions officer Emma Gardner said Community Corrections staff tracked the progress of those they managed in the community and referred to mental health services when required.

“Once someone is released, like anyone else in the community, they have access to the public health service for any mental health support they might require, she said.

“If we know someone is going to require ongoing mental health support after they are released, Corrections works closely with relevant agencies and organisations to ensure the necessary referrals are made to enable a smooth transition for that support to continue.”

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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/2026/03/12/prisoners-struggle-with-reintegration-after-being-released-from-jail/

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New pay deal for primary teachers welcomed

Source: New Zealand Government

Education Minister Erica Stanford welcomes the decision by Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche to enable school boards to offer primary teachers new pay agreements. The move benefits around 10,000 primary teachers who are not bound by the NZEI Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement.

“From today, school boards will be able to offer primary teachers, who are not part of the union and employed on individual employment agreements (IEAs), new agreements, which will allow them to receive pay increases of up to 4.7 percent within 12 months. These increases are comparable to those accepted by their secondary counterparts last year,” Ms Stanford says.

“Teachers have right to a contract and is fair and reasonable that nearly a third of primary school teachers, who are not part of the NZEI, should be offered a contract so they can receive the pay increases that the Government has already offered. 

“This would equate to approximately $50 to $76 each week and is pay that non-union teachers could already be receiving if not impacted by the NZEI’s ongoing approach to bargaining.

“I know the Commissioner did not come by this decision lightly. However, he has made his concerns on the delays in primary teacher bargaining very clear. 

“New IEAs will be available today through school boards for the primary teachers who are not a member of the NZEI Te Riu Roa union or bound by the NZEI Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement. 

“Sir Brian will continue to negotiate with the NZEI in good faith, and everyone is hopeful the bargaining process will result in a new collective agreement being ratified for teachers who are bound by the NZEI Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement. In the interim, the priority is to ensure that at least 30 percent of primary teachers can lock in pay increases without further delay.” 

Media contact: Michael van der Kwast +64 21 875 347

Notes to editors: New Individual Employment Agreement for Primary Teachers

  • Pay increase of 4.5% – 4.7% within 12 months:
    • Teachers on the top two steps of the scale receive a cumulative pay increase of 4.7% by January 2027. This is comprised of a 2.5% increase on 20 March 2026 and a further 2.1% increase on 28 January 2027.
    • Teachers moving up the scale (on steps 1-8) will continue to receive annual step increases along with a 4.5-4.6% pay increase by 28 January 2027. This is comprised of a 2.5% increase on 20 March 2026, and a further 2% increase on 28 January 2027.
  • Management Units Increase to $5,250: All unit holders will receive an increase to the value of salary units from $4,500 to $5,250 (16.7% increase to the rates that units are paid).  

All primary teachers who accept the new IEA will receive a cumulative pay increase of at least 4.5% on printed rates in the Base Salary Scale from the start of the 2027 school year. 

This means teachers who are at the top of the pay scale will see their base salary increase to $107,886 per annum from the beginning of next school year, and this is before units and allowances are included. For the many teachers who hold one or more than units, this increase will be even higher.  

Primary teachers who hold at least one unit will receive an overall 5.1% to 5.4% salary increase within 11 months of settlement.

Budget 2025 has already provided for teaching council certification costs to be met until 2028, saving teachers up to $550 per renewal.  

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/12/new-pay-deal-for-primary-teachers-welcomed/

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Cornwall Park’s farm week gives Aucklanders a taste of farm life in the central city

Source: Radio New Zealand

Cornwall Park is home to 300 ewes. Cornwall Park

Aucklanders can get a taste of the country in their own back yard this weekend as Cornwall Park opens up its working farm.

Established in 1844 the farm currently has 300 perindale ewes and 60 head of cattle.

Farm manager Peter Maxwell said while the public could walk through the farm whenever they like – it was opening its gates for ‘Farm Week’.

The week long celebration starting on Saturday would include ‘moo-sic in the park’ where the public could chill and listen to music with the cows, a farm walk and kids would be able to check out the farm machinery.

Maxwell said a favourite part of his job was interacting with the public.

“Lots of people ask questions, the other day someone asked where the animals are trucked to every night, I don’t think people realise they are born here and live here, this is a working farm.”

He said running a farm in the middle of the country’s biggest city obviously meant it had some different logistics to other farms.

“It’s a park so people walk their dogs through here, if they are off the leash it can cause some issues, then there’s a lot more noise and fireworks but the animals get used to that pretty quickly.

“The farm is integral to the park and what makes it unique. We’re confident that having a working farm in the middle of a city is rare around the world. We haven’t found many examples in our research so far – certainly not one as long standing as Cornwall Park Farm.”

Maxwell is hopeful ‘Farm Week’ would encourage an interest in farming for city kids.

“We know by the numbers coming to our farm walks that there’s a strong interest in the farm and how it works. Given we’re a primary producing country – and rural life is the backbone of New Zealand – it it’s no surprise people are interested in the farm.”

One of the 60 cows who call Cornwall Park home. Cornwall Park

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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/2026/03/12/cornwall-parks-farm-week-gives-aucklanders-a-taste-of-farm-life-in-the-central-city/

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Heinz Watties restructure will have ripple effect, Employers and Manufacturers Association says

Source: Radio New Zealand

Heinz Watties has proposed a major job shake-up. Supplied / Heinz Watties

The Employers and Manufacturers Association believes there will be a ripple effect right across the country if Heinz Watties goes ahead with its major shake-up.

The company wants to shut its plants in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin and stop the production of a number of products, including frozen vegetables.

The association’s head of advocacy Alan McDonald was surprised by the news.

Employers and Manufacturers Association head of advocacy Alan McDonald. RNZ / Dan Cook

“The growers, they’ve got pretty extensive distribution networks, so they will be impacted in some way or form and that’ll ripple out through those communities as well.

“And it’s been a long-standing brand in New Zealand, so people will probably miss it.”

McDonald said the news would be soul-destroying for some whānau.

“In some of those manufacturing businesses and things like the meatworks and stuff and dairy factories, you get multi-generational people working in those areas and those businesses, so it’s pretty tough on a lot of families.”

McDonald said he hoped that some of the 350 staff at risk could be redeployed into the company to lessen the impact, especially on regional communities.

Heinz Watties said further redeployment opportunities would be investigated throughout the course of the year in line with the phased site closures.

It said it would continue to invest in operations, marketing and research and development, to strengthen its resilience and secure long-term growth.

Redundancy packages, career transition and outplacement services, counselling and wellbeing support would be offered to employees.

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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/2026/03/12/heinz-watties-restructure-will-have-ripple-effect-employers-and-manufacturers-association-says/

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One in three households struggled for food in past year, Hunger Monitor report finds

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand Food Network CEO Gavin Findlay points out the imperfection on a donated apple that would have led to it being graded out of supermarket supply. Bonnie Harrison

A new report showing one in three households have struggled to access affordable, nutritious food in the past year has come as a surprise even to the charities putting food on tables.

The Hunger Monitor is the country’s first comprehensive tally of food insecurity and will serve as a benchmark for annual updates.

It surveyed 3000 people late last year.

From its warehouse in Manukau, South Auckland Christian Foodbank delivered 40,000 food parcels last year and chief executive Ian Foster said that number was climbing.

“I can remember in Covid we were doing 100 a day and we thought how the heck are we doing that, this year we’ve averaged 177 a day.”

He founded the foodbank 18 years ago.

“What we’re seeing more of now is budgeters have done everything they can but people simply do not have enough money because their income has not increased anywhere near living costs,” Foster said.

“Until we turn that around, we’ve got a major problem.”

He was surprised to learn one in three households had struggled to afford food in the past year – they did not all turn up at food banks.

The Hunger Monitor also found nearly one in five households, 18 percent, had experienced severe food insecurity in that time.

It was commissioned by the New Zealand Food Network, a collection of foodbanks and food rescue charities. Its chief executive Gavin Findlay said the numbers are startling.

“I did find it confronting and a little bit surprising, based on our own previous research and anecdotal evicence from our hubs we knew there was an issue but I think the scale and scope of it across demographics, across income levels, was surprising.”

New Zealand Food Network chief executive Gavin Findlay (R) being interviewed in the charity’s south Auckland warehouse in 2022. Bonnie Harrison

Nearly half of low-income households faced food insecurity and just under a third of full-time workers experienced food insecurity.

High income houses with debt were not immune to struggles at the supermarket.

“Even at high income levels, over $156,000 household income, you’ve got 12 percent who are indicating that they’ve had some form of food insecurity. You just never would have thought that was possible.”

Findlay said the report was an important benchmark.

“We now absolutely know that there is an issue, we need to continue what we’re doing in terms of supporting those that need food support. We may even need to do more.”

The survey showed two-thirds, 68 percent of households that struggled to afford food had experienced that for the first time last year and that many were hesitant to access food support, citing shame or embarrassment as the reason.

Vision West provided food parcels, ran a social supermarket, and offered a free community lunch once a week.

Its director of partnerships Brook Turner said demand for food became evident during the pandemic but there had been a 50 percent jump in households approaching it for help since this time last year.

“I just don’t understand why food isn’t seen as a legitimate need. I get that we need to have benefits that are enough that people have enough to put food on the table, that’s always going to be the first choice that mum should be able to go to the grocery store and buy food for her kids but that’s not the reality.”

He said the Hunger Monitor showed that hunger was an entrenched issue that New Zealand was facing.

Vision West director of partnerships Brook Turner. Supplied

Henderson Budget Service chief executive Tracey Phillips said it was working with 200 families and got around 60 new referrals a month.

“Whānau with children have got under $100 left over at the end of the week after they’ve paid some of those other bills, paid their rent, paid their power, put some fuel in the car to get to work. It’s tough.”

She said in the five years she had been at the budgeting service, the need had become more widespread because incomes were not keeping up with basic costs.

“It used to be people who weren’t working and were going through just a bit of a rough patch needing that temporary support, whereas now there’s working whānau that are really struggling to put food on the table,” Phillips said.

“Cost of living has driven the cost of food up but wages and benefits are not keeping up with that so there’s just a disconnect between the amount of money that’s coming in versus what’s needed just to put food on the table.”

Turner said the need for foodbanks was evident.

“We need emergency food for people who fall through the system and I hope the government can hear that.”

Vision West is among food charities that are asking government to extend their funding beyond June this year, or they risk reducing their services or closing.

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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/2026/03/12/one-in-three-households-struggled-for-food-in-past-year-hunger-monitor-report-finds/

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As Covid hits again, New Zealand confronts its pandemic past

Source: Radio New Zealand

As the final report on how New Zealand handled the Covid-19 pandemic is released, a ninth wave of the virus is hitting communities. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

A deadly Covid wave returns, just as New Zealand gets its final pandemic report card

Another wave of Covid-19 is circulating again through New Zealand communities, pushing up hospitalisations and deaths, and reminding Kiwis of a time they hoped was a distant memory.

The arrival of the ninth wave coincides with the delivery of the long-awaited final report card on how New Zealand handled the Covid pandemic.

Health experts say wastewater monitoring suggests community transmission is at its highest level in more than six months, and already in a single week, 50 hospitalisations and 19 deaths linked to the virus have been reported, underscoring that the virus remains one of the country’s most serious infectious diseases.

“It’s going to be infecting thousands of people every day, giving some people long Covid and obviously putting people in hospital and killing some people,” epidemiologist and Professor of Public Health Michael Baker tells The Detail.

“So, it’s still our most important and infectious disease. It’s still ahead of influenza, which, in the past, was our most impactful infection. So, we need to take it seriously.

Professor Michael Baker Supplied / Department of Public Health

He says the latest surge appears to be driven largely by waning immunity and declining booster uptake, rather than a dramatically new variant.

“It’s just the dynamics between the virus that wants to infect us and our own immunity, which is usually very good at stopping it. But when the virus gets an edge, then we get more cases.

“The most likely cause is that it’s quite a long time since many people were last infected, but even more important, people are not getting their boosters, so they are missing that opportunity to top up their antibodies.”

He puts that down to complacency.

“I think that really summarises it. And there is an element of not wanting to think about it because for many people it was a very difficult time in their lives … people want to put it in their rearview mirror and move on.

“[But] we can’t afford to not think about this virus and act on it.”

Unlike earlier surges, he says this wave is not being tracked by mass testing.

In part, because rapid antigen tests are no longer free and fewer people are reporting results, meaning official case numbers capture only a fraction of infections.

Instead, health authorities are relying on hospital admissions and wastewater analysis to get a clearer picture of the situation.

“We have still got very good surveillance systems that are not affected by how much energy people have to do that [test]”, says Professor Baker, who advises New Zealanders to test, get a booster, wear a mask if necessary, and isolate for five days if positive.

Just as the virus surges again, the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19 has been released – an extensive examination of how New Zealand navigated the crisis.

“Overall, this report concludes that Aotearoa New Zealand did well in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. On the whole, the decisions taken and methods used during the Covid-19 response were considered and appropriate,” the commissioners wrote.

“We have also identified where they were lacking. New Zealand’s response strategy and settings weren’t always sufficiently responsive to changing circumstances; for example, they weren’t adapted early enough to deal with later variants of the virus. At a time when speed was often critical, some decisions had to be made without enough information and data, or without sufficient consideration of all the impacts that might arise, or without important checks and monitoring.”

The commission has issued recommendations aimed at strengthening New Zealand’s response to future pandemics, which Baker welcomes.

“They are great documents, we have now got a lot of really good recommendations, very good analysis of the issues.

“So, I think the challenge now is to act on these recommendations and do it quickly because we could get another pandemic of the intensity of Covid-19, any day, or we could get something much worse.”

He says the elimination strategy was “highly successful – it basically kept us largely Covid-free for a couple of years while people got vaccinated … we have got a lot to be grateful for.”

The government isn’t as impressed, highlighting that the report notes that Auckland was kept in lockdown, despite receiving advice that restrictions could end sooner.

“When you look at the report, it’s pretty equivocal on most of these points; it’s saying the decision makers were doing the best they could with incomplete information,” Professor Baker says.

“You could argue, in hindsight perhaps, that lockdowns in Auckland should have been ended sooner, but you have to do what we call a counter-factual analysis, and what would that have looked like?

“And we would have had Delta, the Delta outbreak, which was being controlled in Auckland, spreading throughout the country. It was much more harmful than Omicron, which came after that.

“It might have put a real dampener on business and social activities over that summer period for the whole country.”

Six years after the first case arrived in the country, the virus remains a persistent threat – even as the country continues to debate how it handled the original crisis.

And as this latest wave shows, Covid-19 is not just a chapter in New Zealand’s past. It remains part of its future.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/12/as-covid-hits-again-new-zealand-confronts-its-pandemic-past/

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Can you really turn into a tree when you die?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Would you like to be a tree when you die? ​Or would you like to be an AI chatbot hologram?

​There is a widening spectrum for how to dispose of our bodies after we die and how we will be grieved and remembered. Dr Hannah Gould, a death expert and Australian academic, recently wrote the book How to Die in the 21st Century.

In it, she covers everything from the greenest way to go to whether AI chatbots can really help with grief, exploring these subjects from a philosophical and practical perspective with a dose of humour.

Gould recently took questions from RNZ’s Nine to Noon listeners and host Kathryn Ryan.

Supplied

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/12/can-you-really-turn-into-a-tree-when-you-die/

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Outgoing MP Peeni Henare on being Māori, a politician, and why he’s walking away from the Labour Party

Source: Radio New Zealand

Peeni Henare stands in Matangireia at Parliament. RNZ / Lillian Hanly

Outgoing Labour MP Peeni Henare says he is ready to “see the back of this place”, as he prepares to leave both Parliament and the party who gave him an “opportunity” after 12 years.

“You can only try your best, and I believe I’ve done that,” he said in a sitdown interview with RNZ during his final week as a Labour MP, revealing the most difficult times for him were balancing “being Māori” and “being a politician”.

Henare said he had “mixed emotions” during his last days in Parliament, and said it was the “human connections” in the place that made him feel sad this week.

He had connections across the House, enjoying good relationships with members from all parties, saying that was a testament to how he conducted himself politically, “that’s always been my style”.

He also had connections with the security guards, earlier this week he thanked them for leaving kina in his fridge.

“I’ve had a lot of people from all different walks of life, inside and outside of Parliament, talking about how sad they are to see me leave politics, some even hope that I might change my mind,” he said.

Asked whether anyone in the Labour leadership had asked him to change his mind, he responded: “There’s always conversations with the Labour leadership, but my mind’s pretty made up”.

Peeni Henare is congratulated after his valedictory speech. RNZ / Lillian Hanly

The resignation

Henare’s shock resignation was announced at Waitangi, after he confirmed he was not contesting the Tāmaki Makaurau seat.

Following a messy media briefing with Labour leader Chris Hipkins, Henare announced he was calling time on his 12-year Parliamentary career, citing exhaustion and a desire to spend more time focusing on his family and future.

Hipkins, who initially refused to answer questions about the resignation, denied the announcement had been bungled, but it did not stop questions being asked about the circumstances.

At the time, New Zealand First Deputy leader Shane Jones, and a relation of Henare’s, expressed his surprise at the retirement.

He said he wanted to find out what had happened and that the “kumara vine” would inform him.

Ahead of Henare’s valedictory on Wednesday, Jones said he no longer wanted to speculate.

“That was a word said at Waitangi, and the god of wind has blown those words long way into the distance,” Jones said.

Asked if he thought Labour regretted letting Henare go, he said Henare was not the first Māori that Labour “forced out”, having left the party himself in 2014.

New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones expressed surprise when he heard of Henare’s retirement. RNZ / Mark Papalii

‘Maybe I should have been more of a Māori’ – Henare

In Henare’s maiden speech in 2014, he referred to Dr Pita Sharples of Te Pāti Māori, who had not been re-elected, saying “I have taken up the paddle of the vessel that you left behind”.

Asked about this, Henare said he believed every Māori had a bit of Te Pāti Māori in them. He described marching in the Foreshore and Seabed hīkoi in 2004, and more recently the Toitū te Tiriti hīkoi.

“I’m Māori to the core, but I make no bones about it – Labour gave me an opportunity, and one that I was fortunate to have.”

Surprising too perhaps given his family had been tied to the National Party.

“I ultimately chose Labour, and have worked hard for 12 years with them.”

He has held multiple ministerial portfolios, such as ACC, Civil Defence, Whānau Ora, Defence, Forestry, Tourism, Veterans and Youth Development, as well as various roles in opposition.

He was also the only Labour MP to be sent to the Privileges Committee as part of the haka Te Pāti Māori started in the house over the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill.

He was most proud of securing a significant boost of funding for Whānau Ora. In his valedictory speech on Wednesday, he described the establishment of the Māori Health Authority as a “crowning moment”.

Asked if he had any regrets from his time in Parliament, he referred to the Covid-19 pandemic response and questioned whether he had made the right decision at times.

“It was hurtful at that time, those decisions around burial and tikanga Māori and things like that were always quite difficult.”

Another “particularly challenging time” was Ihumātao he said, when he had to “dance on the head of a pin, if you like, as a politician and as a Māori”.

“I walked away from there thinking, maybe I should have been more of a Māori.”

On walking that fine line within the Labour party, he acknowledged it was challenging, however, the feeling of isolation or inability to express “your Māoritanga to its fullest” was a challenge for any Māori MP.

But because of the roles he had held in the past, and also the burden of his whakapapa (ancestry), it meant he would question “is Peeni the Māori today, or is he the politician?”

He did have fond memories of times when he was well supported in the Labour party and able to “progress kaupapa”, so it was a “bit of give and take”.

Peeni Henare (L), then Labour MP for Tamaki Makaurau, listens to speeches at Ihumātao in 2022. RNZ

The Māori vote

Last election, Labour lost six out of the seven Māori seats. He said there was strategising taking place to win them back.

“No doubt about it, we’ve got work to do” he said, on winning the Māori vote.

“My message is always the same for Māori in the Labour Party, don’t rebuild for the election.

“Rebuild with a view towards securing the Māori vote for the next 10 to 20 years.”

He said Willie Jackson, co-chair of the Māori caucus, did a good job of talking about Labour’s key areas of focus this year (jobs, health, homes), while also listening to what Māori wanted to see from a potential Labour government, “he’s a political animal”.

“But be under no illusion, the 2026 election is going to be a tough one.”

Asked whether the turmoil Te Pāti Māori faced last year was the reason Labour was in with a chance in the Māori seats this year, Henare said that was part of it.

He reflected on his success in 2014 being partly because the “tide was going out on Te Pāti Māori” because of their association with the National Party.

Peeni Henare stands in Matangireia at Parliament. RNZ / Lillian Hanly

‘My time was done’ – Henare

Last year, Henare lost for a second time to Te Pāti Māori in a by-election for the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate seat.

He had been honest about how bruising the loss was, and there were questions about whether he would run for the seat again.

He said there were ongoing conversations about how he was feeling and his career, and ultimately the party asked him to consider it all.

“There comes a time where you should call your time on your career and allow others to push the kaupapa forward.

“I decided my time was done.”

He described personal reasons, such as his family, for the decisions, but also that no one’s time in politics was infinite.

Hipkins was asked by RNZ on Tuesday this week whether he had any regrets that Henare was leaving. He said he was “very fond of Peeni”.

“I’m always sad to see any of my colleagues go, and I’ll be sad to see him go.”

Asked if the Labour leadership told Henare there was not a place for him, Hipkins maintained what he had said all along, that it was “Peeni’s decision”.

Chris Hipkins (R) and Peeni Henare, pictured in 2023. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

What’s next?

He had his eyes set on putting his experience, knowledge, connections and talent to work for his iwi, Ngāpuhi.

“Continuing to progress the kaupapa of my people and the wellbeing and interests of my people – that’s a calling that’s always been there for me.”

That could potentially take the form of being a negotiator for the Ngāpuhi treaty settlement, “Without being presumptuous – I think there’s an opportunity.”

On whether the Treaty Negotiation Minister had approached him, Henare said there had been nothing official, “he knows my number, when I leave this place – feel free to give me a call”.

Minister Paul Goldsmith told RNZ he would “have a chat” with Henare.

“I’ve got big challenge to find a way through to a settlement with Ngāpuhi, and I’ve got good Crown negotiators, but there may be a role somewhere in there for Peeni, he’s a real leader.”

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/12/outgoing-mp-peeni-henare-on-being-maori-a-politician-and-why-hes-walking-away-from-the-labour-party/

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Seven things that got cheaper while prices rose

Source: Radio New Zealand

Some things have become cheaper over the past 10 years. RNZ

Sometimes it seems as though everything is just continually getting more expensive – especially when war in the Middle East sparks major inflation warnings.

But some things have become cheaper over the past 10 years, according to Stats NZ.

In comparison, general inflation as measured by the consumer price index, was up about 35 percent over the period.

Here are seven.

Audio-visual equipment – down 77 percent, telecommunication equipment – down 67 percent, computing equipment – down 51 percent

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said it was not surprising that technology-related items topped the list.

“The way it’s recorded in the consumer price index (CPI) is it’s quality adjusted … there are two things going on. One is the actual price of the product, and the other is the improvement of quality of the product. Both of those things are happening at a great pace, particularly in things like technology.

“Computer equipment, telecommunications, audiovisual, those things are getting better over time and they have been relatively constant or falling in price so it’s the twin force that comes through.”

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub.

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen agreed.

“It’s not that the actual price of a computer has halved it’s more that what you get from the computer is a whole lot better. On a quality adjusted basis a decade ago your computer could do a lot but it wasn’t as smart, it didn’t have as many tips and tricks and everything else in it. Now, for probably relatively the same dollar price, you’re getting quite a bit more in terms of what it can achieve.

“It’s similar with telecommunications equipment – the clear example there is mobile phones. The quality adjustment there is enormous.

“Every year phones get a better camera, they get faster processing. In recent times, they’ve had AI interactions and a whole lot of other stuff besides.”

A display of new Apple iPhones. AFP / Nic Coury

Direct credit service charges – down 30 percent

Olsen said banks had cut a number of fees in recent years.

“Effectively, the overall aggregate average for those direct credit fees are becoming smaller.

“A lot of people don’t pay the various fees at their bank unless they’re in a very particular type of account.

“Those that do … banks do try to lower those over time. So you’re not having to pay $5 every time you log into your bank account just to see your balance or anything.

“Effectively you are seeing those various banking transaction fees more generally pull back over time.”

Pharmaceutical products – down 10 percent

The removal of the prescription fee was cited as a big driver of the drop in pharmaceutical product prices.

“We don’t pay a lot for medicines in New Zealand,” Eaqub said.

Olsen said Pharmac’s suite of drugs was also expanding.

“You’d probably expect that to broadly continue … there’s a lot of expensive drugs around the world that New Zealanders are looking for. Government doesn’t have an endless bucket of money, but Pharmac does drive pretty good value in those areas, which is important, I think, for the overall costs that households might have to cope with.”

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Purchase of new cars – down 4 percent

Eaqub said cars could be affected by a lack of demand.

Olsen said there was also a compositional shift and quality shift reflected in the data. “You’re getting much more efficient vehicles over time, their technology is of a higher standard and there are more safety features.

“Over time as well we have seen, certainly in the last couple of years, a bit of a focus around some of those cheaper entry models that are coming through.

“Some of the prices have been lower particularly over the last couple of years when you look at how many vehicles are being pumped out around the world and that sort of oversupply, particularly coming out of China, has been limiting price increases to a degree.

Early childhood education – down 3 percent

The introduction of the Family Boost policy, which covers a portion of many households’ childcare costs, may have been responsible for this drop.

Olsen said, overall, the data showed that it was unusual to see an outright fall in sticker prices.

“The closest example would be if Stats NZ was still looking at the price of, say, DVD players, they would probably have fallen 90-plus percent because there’s no demand.

“If you want an old vintage one you are probably getting it for $2 at the op shop or something … compared to what it might have originally retailed for. A lot of the time those that fall out of favour and which would have implicitly have had a big price plunge because there is no demand for them anymore, we just don’t collect the prices because they aren’t something that people buy.”

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/12/seven-things-that-got-cheaper-while-prices-rose/

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Beneficiary numbers soar to 12-year high despite government’s reduction promise

Source: Radio New Zealand

Social development minister Louise Upston. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Beneficiary numbers have soared to a 12-year high, under a government that promised a reduction.

They were the highest both by volume and percentage of the working-age population since at least the 2013 welfare reforms.

Social development minister Louise Upston said in 2024 – less than three months after taking office – that the government was taking action to “curb the surge in welfare dependency” that ocurred under the former Labour government.

But the most recent Ministry of Social Development data revealed that was yet to take hold.

As of December last year, 427,236 people – about the population of Christchurch – were receiving a main benefit.

That was 13.2 percent of the working-age population, the highest recorded since at least 2013, when reforms replaced multiple benefits with three main benefits: Jobseeker, Sole Parent Support and Supported Living Payment.

More than half of beneficiaries – 223,512 people, or 6.9 percent of the working age population – were on the Jobseeker benefit. That was also a record.

Soon after taking power the government set a target of 50,000 fewer people on the Jobseeker benefit by 2030.

So far, there had been an 18 percent jump: from 190,000 in December 2023 to 223,500 in December last year.

The 18 to 24-year-old age group on the Jobseeker benefit had grown the most in that period, rising 32 percent.

Minister blames former Labour government

Upston said the numbers were a result of the coalition inheriting “difficult economic conditions and a tough labour market” from the former Labour government.

“Unemployment has been rising since 2021 and is always one of the last things to improve after a recession,” she said.

“We know there is more work to do to grow the economy, fix the basics and build a welfare system focused on getting more people into work.”

More than 83,500 people came off a main benefit and found work last year, she said.

The government’s initiatives to curb benefit numbers included the traffic light system which was working well to ensure jobseekers were fulfilling their obligations, she said.

In Parliament on Wednesday, Labour’s Willie Jackson grilled Upston about rising Jobseeker numbers.

Upston said Labour’s increased spending during the Covid-19 pandemic drove up inflation, leading to higher unemployment.

“That’s why the forecast has always been due to get worse before it gets better,” she said.

Labour’s social development and employment spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon needed to take responsibility.

“It’s been more than two years since National took office, their excuses are getting old and shows just how out of touch they are,” she said.

“Christopher Luxon promised to fix the cost of living. He hasn’t just failed – he’s made it worse.”

Labour’s social development and employment spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. VNP / Phil Smith

High unemployment driving benefit dependency, but set to improve – economist

The rise was largely driven by a weak labour market, said Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen said.

“There has been a larger proportional increase in Jobseeker support benefit requirements compared to all other benefits on average,” he said.

The government had options to intervene but they were not all politically or socially palatable, Olsen said.

That included clamping down access to benefits.

Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

“Which could well reduce the overall numbers, but would likely leave a number of New Zealanders out in the cold and facing very challenging circumstances at a time when we know that the number of jobs being advertised in the economy are still 25 percent lower than pre-pandemic and the unemployment rate is at a 10-year high.”

The government could also try to create jobs but that was expensive and could lead to higher inflation, said Olsen.

“The government doesn’t have a lot of spare money to all of a sudden magic up a whole bunch of jobs there in the short term without generating other economic challenges in other areas.

“So at the moment, our expectation would more be that the government will look to try and reduce the number of beneficiaries over time as the labour market improves, and we do expect that will happen over the next couple of years.”

Although unemployment was high, there had also been a 0.5 percent expansion in the number of jobs which was the largest in about two and a half years, he said.

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LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/12/beneficiary-numbers-soar-to-12-year-high-despite-governments-reduction-promise/

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Hawke’s Bay human trafficker Joseph Matamata loses sentence bid

Source: Radio New Zealand

Joseph Matamata in court. RNZ/ Anusha Bradley

New Zealand’s most notorious slavedriver and trafficker has failed in a bid to have his sentence shortened.

Joseph Matamata was jailed for 11 years in 2020 for using 13 people as slaves and 10 charges of human trafficking.

But the Court of Appeal has set aside two of the trafficking convictions, because the attorney general had not given delegation for a decision on those charges being brought.

The court had previously ruled the 11 year term imposed by Justice Helen Cull was ‘lenient in the circumstances’, and declined to cut it down further.

“We are satisfied that the outcome of the recall application should not impact Mr Matamata’s sentence,” said the Court of Appeal judges in yesterday’s decision.

“The number of convictions was a very minor consideration in setting the starting point and was just one of many considerations. Cull J also considered the extent of the emotional and financial harm caused to the victims, the abuse of Mr Matamata’s position of trust and authority in relation to the victims, the number of victims (which remains unchanged), the vulnerability of the victims and the high level of premeditation”

Matamata has served his minimum term of imprisonment of five years. The parole board twice refused him parole last year and he is due to reappear before the panel in June.

The 71-year-old brought people from Samoa to New Zealand to supply labour to orchards in Hawke’s Bay over 25 years from 1994 to 2019, promising them a better life.

But he kept their wages, restricted their movements and communications, and used threats or violence to control them.

They worked up to 14 hours a day in the fields, seven days a week, completing chores at Matamata’s home late into the evening and beaten up if they broke rules, including speaking to their families in Samoa or leaving his Hastings home without permission.

The oldest victim was in his 50s and the youngest was just 12. The boy described being beaten, stabbed and fed stale food.

“When the bamboo stick breaks, then it’s the belt,” he told police. “When he gets a sore hand from the belt, from holding the belt, then that’s when the stick comes.”

Matamata denied a nine-foot fence around his property was to lock his slaves in. Immigration New Zealand “conservatively estimated” he kept more than $400,000 in wages they had earned.

He used three-month holiday visas to recruit new workers, and adopted three young people in 2016.

A 15-year-old girl, who thought she had come to New Zealand for schooling, told the jury she was instead made to look after Matamata’s children, cook and clean. She said she ran away to Auckland but Matamata caught up with her and tied her up in his car for the journey back, when she was placed in a storeroom for the night.

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The surprises awaiting Kiwi netballers across the Tasman

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former Tactix team-mates Jane Watson (left) and Te Paea Selby-Rickit are about to play their first season in the Australian netball league. Photosport Ltd

Te Paea Selby-Rickit did not see it coming.

Last year the Tactix shooter received a text out of the blue from former ANZ Premiership coach Kiri Wills – now head coach of the Queensland Firebirds. Wills wanted to sound out the former Silver Fern about a move across the Tasman.

“It was in the middle of the ANZ Premiership season, I didn’t expect it but at the end of Tactix season the timing felt right,” Selby-Rickit said.

For Selby-Rickit, further surprises awaited when she arrived at the Firebirds set-up in Brisbane late last year – world-class facilities, intense training, and a level of professionalism she hadn’t experienced before.

Selby-Rickit is among nine current and former Silver Ferns that will feature in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) when it begins this weekend, with the challenge of testing themselves in the world’s toughest netball league drawing a strong Kiwi contingent across the Tasman.

The 34-year-old will play alongside two Silver Ferns at the Firebirds, with Kelly Jackson and Maddy Gordon also making their SSN debuts. The trio are living together in Queensland.

One of the biggest things players notice when they start playing in Australia are the access to resources and quality of the facilities.

“I’ve also been blown away actually by the professionalism, the systems they’ve got in place, you can tell it’s just a really high performance environment and the attention to detail and everything,” Selby-Rickit said.

“The intensity is really high here and the standards are really clear, it’s definitely pushed me but that’s what you want and I’ve been here a couple of months now and I feel like I’m finally starting to get used to it.

“At the same time it still feels fun and connected so I’ve been really impressed and really stoked with how it’s gone so far.”

The experienced goal attack is teaming up with Ugandan goal shoot Mary Cholhok. Standing at 2.0m, Cholhok is the tallest player in the competition and the Firebirds will be wanting to unlock her full potential.

“We’ve been working hard trying to build that connection. I like playing with a tall shooter, I’ve played with tall shooters before with Jhaniele [Fowler-Nembhard] back in my Steel days, and Ellie Bird at Tactix so I’m really excited about how that connection can grow.”

Former Silver Fern Gina Crampton. PHOTOSPORT

Former Silver Ferns skipper Gina Crampton is also about to enter her first season in the SSN. She had a taste of it in 2024 as a training partner for the Giants.

After taking time away from the court last season to have baby, the specialist wing attack will take up a fulltime role with the NSW Swifts alongside Silver Ferns shooter Grace Nweke.

It was Nweke who essentially forced Netball NZ to revisit its eligibility rules when she joined the Swifts last year. Previously only players plying their trade in the New Zealand competition were eligible for national selection. But when the prolific shooter elected to take up a contract with the Swifts, the national body subsequently loosened their rules, which saw six players apply for and granted exemptions to still be able to play for the Silver Ferns.

The last time Crampton played with Nweke was at the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, before Crampton made herself unavailable for international netball.

“It’s really nice having someone I know well coming into it but also she’s just such a huge person in the game at the moment and she’s just an amazing player so getting to feed her has been really awesome,” Crampton said.

While players in the SSN have enjoyed pay increases and access to world-class facilities, their counterparts in the ANZ Premiership face a different reality.

This year, players agreed to a 20 percent pay cut after Netball NZ were forced to rein in costs of the competition after their broadcast revenue took a massive hit before the 2025 season.

With no long-term broadcast deal in place beyond 2026, uncertainty continues to hover over the domestic competition.

“I’m sure that Netball New Zealand is doing everything they can to keep the competition running and having something solid back home. You want all the players to be able to get as much support as they can and not having to work on the side as well, that’s what we’d all be aiming for in terms of trying to be an elite environment and getting into that professional space,” Crampton said.

Maddy Gordon (right) will test herself against the best Australian players when she suits up for the Queensland Firebirds. AAP / www.photosport.nz

Just how well resourced the SSN is in comparison to New Zealand’s domestic competition, was obvious to Crampton from day one.

“That’s huge, I think there’s not much difference from coach to coach but just the resources and facilities and things that are available is definitely a step up.

“Just having your own changing room at the one stadium that you train at. At the Stars we sort of travelled all round South Auckland training at different venues and things like that.”

Crampton is excited to see how her old New Zealand team-mates go in the league. Cross town Sydney rivals, the Giants, signed former Silver Ferns Whitney Souness and Jane Watson.

“I’m quite close with Jane and excited to see how she goes. I’m sure she’s someone who was probably thinking she was getting near the end of her career and then this opportunity with the Giants showed up so I think it’s awesome to see we’ve got a few Kiwis in the competition and I think it will bring a bit of flair to the league hopefully.”

Watson said playing in the SSN had always been a goal of hers.

“When we had our old trans-Tasman competition, you’d always come over here and get a little bit of a taste of it, that was always something I thought would be amazing to do, I just didn’t think I’d ever get the opportunity to do it,” Watson said.

Watson, who won the ANZ Premiership title with the Tactix last year, said SSN players had what they needed at their finger tips.

“If I compare it to our Tactix facility, there’s definitely a lot more things to offer over here, pretty much everything is in one area but then you’ve got your recovery as well, you’ve got a cafe so you can have your lunch and then come back and do your next session so it’s definitely very well set up over here.”

When it comes to routine and attention to detail, Watson said some things were different.

“The likes of our footwork and agility drills we do at the start of trainings and things, that is one thing that stands out for me.”

Whitney Souness is hoping a season in the SSN will help enhance her Silver Ferns chances. Aaron Gillions / www.photosport.nz

Souness was named Giants captain last month and said she was thrilled to have the backing of her new team-mates so soon after joining the franchise.

The former Silver Fern is excited by the new challenge and eager to play against other import players from the likes of England, Jamaica, and South Africa.

“Being part of the ANZ for a long time, you just want to experience that competition and the SSN is obviously a competition we all look up to and getting to play some international players weekly, it challenges our game so it was always something that I looked at as a great opportunity to grow and further my game. It had been something I had been wanting to do for a while,” Souness said.

Souness, who is hoping to force her way back into the Silver Ferns, has played wing attack most of her career, but could also see some time at centre.

“I’m not sure, we’ve got a couple of us in the midcourt that can play both so I feel like it could be either wing attack or centre, I’ve been playing both at the moment so I guess it’s dependent on the combos and the teams we come up against.”

Kiwis playing in 2026 SSN

  • *Grace Nweke – NSW Swifts
  • *Kelly Jackson – Queensland Firebirds
  • *Maddy Gordon – Queensland Firebirds
  • *Kate Heffernan – Adelaide Thunderbirds
  • *Karin Burger – Sunshine Coast Lightning
  • *Whitney Souness – Giants
  • Jane Watson – Giants
  • Te Paea Selby-Rickit – Queensland Firebirds
  • Gina Crampton – NSW Swifts

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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/2026/03/12/the-surprises-awaiting-kiwi-netballers-across-the-tasman/

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Person arrested after armed police descend on Kāpiti Coast property

Source: Radio New Zealand

Armed police are at a property on Rangiuru Road. Google Maps

A person has been arrested after armed officers attended an Ōtaki Beach property on the Kāpiti Coast.

Cordons were placed on Rangiuru Road on Wednesday evening as police negotiators engage with a person at the property.

A police spokesperson said the officers were armed as a precaution.

The person was later taken into custody and charges are being considered, they said.

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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/2026/03/11/person-arrested-after-armed-police-descend-on-kapiti-coast-property/

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Meningococcal disease case confirmed at Otago University

Source: Radio New Zealand

Otago University was working with public health to contain the infection. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Otago University has confirmed a case of meningococcal disease within the student community.

In an email to students, vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said the university was working with public health to contain the infection.

He said close contacts had been notified and offered antibiotic and vaccination protection.

Grant Robertson said the risk was low for the wider student community as the meningococcal disease infection was passed on only though close or prolonged contact with an infected person.

Meningococcal bacteria live in people’s noses and throats and are spread by coughing, sneezing, or contact with nose and throat secretions.

“Although the bacteria can be passed from person to person, it is relatively uncommon for even family contacts to become ill,” Robertson said.

He said it was important to know the symptoms and seek medical help quickly if students felt unwell. Symptoms could appear suddenly and may include:

  • Fever
  • Severe headache
  • Neck stiffness
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Cold hands and feet or limb pain
  • Drowsiness or difficulty waking
  • Confusion
  • A rash that does not fade when pressed.

“If you experience fever together with headache, neck stiffness, or feel suddenly very unwell, please seek medical help immediately.”

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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/2026/03/11/meningococcal-disease-case-confirmed-at-otago-university/

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Greenpeace calls for government to drastically cut legal limit of nitrates in drinking water

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s current legal limit for nitrates in drinking water is 11.3 mg/L. HENDRIK SCHMIDT

Greenpeace is calling on the government to drastically cut the legal limit of nitrates in drinking water as the Danish government moves to drop its legal limit by almost 90 percent.

The Danish government plans to lower its limit to just over one milligram of nitrate-nitrogen per litre (mg/L) of drinking water, a steep drop from its current limit of 11.3mg/L.

New Zealand’s current legal limit for nitrates in drinking water is 11.3 mg/L, but there was growing evidence of health impacts at levels as low as 1mg/L.

An expert group commissioned by the Danish government in 2024 to examine nitrate levels reported back late last year and recommended reducing the nitrate contamination limit to 1.3 mg/L nitrate-nitrogen.

Danish state broadcaster DR reported Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke had received the group’s recommendations and has committed to adopting them.

“It is an urgent matter. When there is such a clear conclusion from our independent experts, of course we have to react to it. There is no other choice,” DR reported the minister as saying.

Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe said the organisation had sent an open letter to Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Health Minister Simeon Brown, urging them to follow the Danish government’s lead.

RNZ approached Watts and Brown for comment.

“The Danish government aren’t operating off a secret playbook or anything, they don’t know anything we don’t know. They’re just following the scientific evidence and choosing to prioritise people’s health. Meanwhile, our government is burying its head in the sand,” Appelbe said.

The panel’s report quoted 2023 University of Copenhagen research, which found lowering nitrate contamination would save 2.2 billion Kroner ($580m NZD) by preventing approximately 127 cases of bowel cancer per year linked to the current nitrate levels.

Fertiliser use was the primary source of nitrate contamination, the report said.

Appelbe said there was overwhelming evidence that the same was true in New Zealand.

“Anyone suggesting otherwise isn’t being particularly honest about what the science is telling us,” he said.

“We need to urgently take measures to reduce that risk. That means reducing cow numbers and reducing synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.”

Appelbe said the government was more concerned with protecting dairy industry profits than human health and he called for reductions in the size of the dairy herd, an end to ongoing dairy expansions and limits to the use of nitrate fertiliser.

“The evidence is clear nitrate contamination is a risk to human health – there’s a growing body of evidence that says so – and the government needs to take action to lower the nitrate limit so people can rely on the drinking water they need.”

Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe said nitrate contamination was a risk to human health. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Rural communities were disproportionately affected and faced considerable costs installing filters to make their water drinkable, he said.

“We need, as a country, to have a grown-up conversation about nitrate contamination in drinking water – the evidence is pretty overwhelming on what’s causing it and there’s a growing body of evidence that links risks to human health.”

Appelbe said the current limit of 11.3mg/L is based on World Health Organisation guidance from the 1960s to avoid Blue Baby Syndrome, an acute illness that could affect babies.

A 2025 GNS Science research paper estimated there could be more than 21,200 people drinking water above the legal limit of 11.3 mg/L and 101,000 people drinking water above half that (5.65mg/L) across rural New Zealand.

The authors found Waikato, Canterbury and Southland were disproportionately affected by elevated levels of nitrate

Public health specialists had long advocated to lower the nitrate limit, primarily based on international research linking low levels of nitrate (5mg/L) with pre-term birth and colorectal cancer (0.87mg/L).

New research from Australia’s Edith Cowan University and the Danish Cancer Research Institute found a link to early-onset dementia as low as 1.2mg/L with nitrates from processed meat and drinking water posing a higher risk, while nitrates from vegetables were associated with a lower risk.

The Canterbury Regional Council declared a nitrate emergency last year and there have been calls for Southland to do the same since the release of a regional council report mapping nitrate pollution across the region.

Canterbury’s dairy herd has increased by about 1000 percent since 1990 to well over a million cows.

Between 1990 and 2022, Southland’s dairy herd increased by 1668 percent from 38,000 to 668,000 cows.

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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/2026/03/11/greenpeace-calls-for-government-to-drastically-cut-legal-limit-of-nitrates-in-drinking-water/

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Kākāriki karaka eggs flown from Nelson sanctuary to Christchurch to boost species recovery

Source: Radio New Zealand

Sean McGrath / Department of Conservation

Eggs from the country’s rarest parakeet, the kākāriki karaka, have been retrieved from a nest inside a Nelson sanctuary and flown to Christchurch in a bid to help the species recover.

More than 100 kākāriki karaka, or orange-fronted parakeet, were translocated into Nelson’s Brook Waimārama Sanctuary between 2021 and 2023, and their numbers have since doubled.

The kākāriki karaka is critically endangered and its estimated there are up to 450 birds left in the wild. There are two remaining wild populations in alpine beech forest valleys in Canterbury, the Hawdon and Hurunui South Branch.

Department of Conservation (DOC) and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu lead the recovery programme which is focused on monitoring and protecting the sites where kākāriki karaka are found, breeding birds in captivity to release into the wild, research, and finding safe new sites where the species can be introduced.

DOC kākāriki karaka recovery programme lead Wayne Beggs said the number of birds in the wild populations fluctuated wildly, peaking in 2020 and 2021 at around 300 birds before plummeting due to the impact of predators. Current estimates have between 50 and 60 birds in each valley.

DOC biodiversity ranger Megan Farley has been working with kākāriki karaka for 16 years and said harvesting their eggs was “incredibly challenging”.

The birds nest inside tree cavities and sanctuary volunteers had identified 12 nests for rangers to check, but only one nest was suitable to harvest eggs from.

Sean McGrath / Department of Conservation

In February, Farley carefully extracted five eggs from the nest cavity, one at a time, with a small scoop on the end of a pole. They were placed in a pouch, lowered down via a rope, put into a special padded case and flown to Christchurch, where they were taken to The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust centre.

Three of the eggs had since hatched under the care of a surrogate bird, an older infertile female who had raised most of the harvested eggs over the last few years.

She said it was the first time eggs had been taken from the sanctuary, as it was a relatively new population, and it had genetics that weren’t found anywhere else.

Farley said without harvesting eggs, the kākāriki karaka would be extinct.

“The purpose of the egg translocation is to keep the genetics flowing through the captive population and keeping all of our sites genetically viable because if that genetic transfer doesn’t happen, they start having more issues, like more infertility, as an example.”

The birds from the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary will remain in Christchurch and become breeding birds, with their offspring used to bolster the existing populations.

Brook Waimārama Sanctuary chief executive Chris McCormack said since the birds were first introduced into the sanctuary, they had seen remarkable growth in the population and a lot of work had gone in from staff and volunteers to ensure the first egg retrieval was a success.

Sean McGrath / Department of Conservation

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu kākāriki karaka Species Representative Yvette Couch-Lewis said it was fantastic the population at the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary was at the point it could support the genetic diversity of the wild populations.

“While Ngāi Tahu fully supports the need for this mahi currently, it is our aspiration that one day the wild populations of these manu can grow to the point that there will be less need for these kinds of interventions.”

The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust CEO Rob Kinney said the recovery of kākāriki karaka was a great example of what can be achieved when organisations work together with a shared purpose

“These kinds of collaborative partnerships are critical if we are going to see species like kākāriki karaka recover and thrive in the wild.”

As part of the recovery programme, 22 kākāriki karaka had recently been transferred from The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust and Orana Wildlife Park to the South Branch in North Canterbury.

DOC is still in the process of investigating new predator free sanctuaries and islands where new populations could be established, in order to safeguard the species if the mainland populations have another serious decline.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/11/kakariki-karaka-eggs-flown-from-nelson-sanctuary-to-christchurch-to-boost-species-recovery/