Category: KB

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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– 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/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/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A humble spag bol dinner may no longer be an option for people on a tight budget, with the price of mince rising to its highest level since records began.

Food prices have gone up 4.5 percent in the year to February, with beef mince up a whopping 23.2 percent to $24.46 per kilogram.

Fruit and veggies also shot up by 9.4 percent and meat, poultry and fish were up 7.5 percent annually.

Checkpoint has also been monitoring the cost of everyday groceries across the different supermarket chains for the past four years, we did the same on Tuesday.

Shoppers were squinting their eyes and shaking their heads as they looked over their grocery receipts outside PAK’nSAVE in Auckland’s Royal Oak.

“Nothing’s gone down, everything else has gone up, milk, meat, fruit and vegetables and cheese [it’s] shocking,” one shopper told RNZ.

“It really has changed things in our everyday lives, especially when you have six kids,” said another.

While another person was concerned about wages not keeping up with inflation. “In the last two years, we’ve had to just gradually step up our groceries budget which has been really difficult cause wages don’t always increase to cover the inflation at the same time.”

The rising costs were also tough for those on pensions. “I’m a pensioner, I live on a fixed income so it’s crazy.”

While another person commented on the lengths some people are considering. “I was looking at this lady walking down one aisle and she had very pink eyes looking at the pet food and I thought I know what she’s thinking, it’s getting too hard”.

Stats NZ data out on Tuesday found food prices were up 4.5 percent in the year to February, with mince recording its biggest ever increase – up $4.60 per kilogram.

Sirloin steak wasn’t far behind, shooting up 21.4 percent over the year to $44.71 per kilogram.

Bad news for chocolate lovers, too, with a 250-gram block up 20.3 percent.

Shoppers told Checkpoint because of the high price of some items such as cheese, they have stopped buying them.

One shopper said “more frozen veggies instead of fresh, if they’re not as cheap.”

While the price of butter was still causing pain. “The butter, it’s crazy, it’s almost doubled.”

Some shoppers said their habits had changed. “I don’t buy red meat.”

And the classic kiwi staple was also raising eyebrows. “I used to buy 500 grams of good quality mince, it used to be 10, 11 dollars, now it’s 14.”

It wasn’t all bad news, though olive oil was down 22.1 percent to $17.62 a litre and eggs saw a 6.2 percent drop to $8.77 per dozen.

BNZ chief economist Mike Jones said international meat prices are at record levels, driven in particularly by a tightening in the United States market.

“Cattle numbers are at the lowest level since 1951 so they are short of beef, and that is pushing the global price up.

“We’re now seeing that reflected more and more in retail prices that we are paying.”

He said it’s a similar story for many everyday essentials.

“Much higher mince and meat prices, you’ve got bread, veggies all going up, in some cases in double digits.

“We’re [also] staring down some pretty big increases in petrol prices, so it is very much concentrated in some of those essential categories.

“So, it’s going to be particularly tough going I think for households that never really got much relief [from] the cost of living.”

Checkpoint has done the same shop every year since 2022 to compare prices at the country’s main supermarket chains.

We did another comparison on Tuesday in light of Tuesday’s Stats NZ data.

In May 2022, Checkpoint’s shop at Woolworths Greenlane cost $238 and was $217 at PAK’nSAVE Royal Oak.

On Tuesday those items at PAK’nSAVE have shot up to a total of $257, an extra $40.

A shop at Woolworths coming out at $293, adding an extra $55.

Compared to our shop in 2022, most fresh fruits and vegetables were more expensive, but overall, most are at least a dollar cheaper compared to last year.

Other items that are cheaper or have stayed the same throughout the years are Wattie’s Baked Beans, tomato sauce, Marmite, Pam’s canned diced tomatoes, a kilogram’s worth of plain white rice and items in the baking aisle such as plain flour and sugar.

But meat and dairy products are clearly hurting shoppers the most, with a kilogram of mince at Woolworths at $21.90 a kilogram, that’s an extra $7.

Other shoppers told Checkpoint the cost of gluten-free products had gone up over the years, and some were buying items such as butter in bulk to cut costs.

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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/shoppers-struggle-with-rising-costs-of-meat-and-veges/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Public Service Association is calling on the government to offer targeted financial support to home support workers.

Many of country’s 23,000 home support workers are earning minimum wage and travel is reimbursed at only 63.5c per kilometre, the union for public servants said.

Home support workers provide assistance to elderly, disabled and injured people, helping with everyday tasks such as showering and taking medication.

Lower Hutt support worker and PSA delegate Lisa Thomson said those in the sector were struggling even before fuel prices surged.

“It’s actually pretty horrendous at the moment because we only get paid minimum wage and we get paid fortnightly and we’ve got to budget everything to the last cent,” Thomson said.

“There’s no room for extras on anything.

“It’s pay week this week, we’ll put gas in but next week where are we going to get the money from to put the gas in to go to our clients?”

The travel reimbursement – which was almost half the IRD kilometre rate – did not go far when support workers were travelling dozens of kilometres to visit more than 15 clients a day, Thomson said.

“We don’t get any money for the upkeep of our cars. We get a little bit for petrol and that’s about it.

“And one of the girls today just found out she needs four tyres this week – there’s a grand. Where’s that coming from? And then she’s still got to put her gas in the car.”

Home care workers’ pay equity claim was among those scrapped when the government wound back pay equity legislation last year.

Thomson wanted the government to increase the travel reimbursement immediately and to address pay equity for the sector.

It felt like the government did not care, she said.

“I would tell [Finance Minister Nicola Willis] … start thinking about the now and how everyone is going to do their jobs and do it effectively with the rising cost, because it’s not even just the petrol.

“Cost of living has gone up horrendously and we are essential workers and we should be getting paid what we’re worth.

“The government has taken all that away from us and they need to adjust it.”

PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said home support workers were getting a raw deal.

“We’re asking the government to make home support workers their top priority when it comes to addressing fuel prices,” she said.

“These are essential workers who make sure people can live in their own homes and use their own vehicles. The increased cost of fuel is biting them hard.

“They’ve already had their pay equity claim cancelled. We want government action to make sure that they are properly reimbursed for their fuel costs and the use of their own vehicles.”

“It’s a deeply unfair situation for these workers. They have to pay for their own cars, their own petrol, their maintenance, their warrants, their insurance and it’s really biting given the increased cost of fuel.

“We need to see urgent action from government for home support workers. They are bearing the brunt of the fuel crisis and we need to see an urgent response.”

RNZ has approached the Minister for Finance’s office 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/2026/03/17/union-calls-for-government-to-offer-targeted-financial-aid-to-home-support-workers/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Cancer comes with a high price at the best of times, but it is getting more costly for hundreds of patients as fuel prices rise.

Many people with cancer are forced to drive hundreds of kilometres to main centres for treatment and specialist appointments, and are struggling as the conflict in the Middle East pushes up the price of petrol.

Under the National Travel Assistance scheme, patients needing to travel frequently to see specialists can apply for a mileage reimbursement. But the payment is only 34 cents a kilometre and has strict criteria.

The Cancer Society says an increasing number of patients can not afford the cost of what is supposed to be free treatment and the assistance scheme is totally inadequate.

Cancer Society southern head of cancer services Craig Watson told Checkpoint it was not just the cost of getting to treatment, but the price of everything, such as insurance.

“So it’s already hard times and this is going to make it a lot harder.”

Watson said people were still falling through the cracks of the travel assistance scheme.

“One woman who lived just north of Greymouth who had to travel five times to Christchurch for treatment, that’s 350 kilometres each way, so 3500kms, so because she didn’t meet the criteria of six appointments in six months, she wasn’t eligible for any support at all.”

He said the woman was not sure she would be able to afford to continue her treatment, until she got support from the Cancer Society and other organisations.

Watson said changes to the system in 2024 had improved things, “but we’re still stuck in a situation where it’s super expensive if you don’t live in a major city to get treatment”.

The process of actually getting the financial assistance was also an issue.

Watson said patients who travelled for treatment still had to apply for the milage by sending proof of appointments and other paperwork to get reimbursement, which could take months.

“We know times are tough and we know Iran is going to affect the budget of the government, so we’re just asking the government just to do what was promised, to make it more agile. They also promised to regularly increase the rates, which have only be updated once in the last 17 years, so let’s focus on doing what is right for patients.”

Health New Zealand acknowledged the scheme needed to improve to make it fit for purpose.

Planning and funding director Rachel Haggerty said the rate was lifted from 28 cents per kilometre to 34 cents in April 2024 and the mileage rate was not intended to cover full travel costs.

She said Health New Zealand had been working to modernise the scheme and patients can make claims electronically.

Haggerty said further improvements were being investigated, including changes to eligibility criteria and more flexible payment options, such as pre-payment.

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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/rising-cost-of-getting-to-cancer-treatment-its-already-hard-times-and-this-is-going-to-make-it-a-lot-harder/

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Parents feel the effect of Ministry of Education-funded school bus route reviews
• One mother’s petrol bill jumps from $120 a week to $300 a week now her son can’t catch a bus
• Ministry says reviews are routine, to make sure transport funding is fair and efficient
• Officials back down from changes in Gisborne, RNZ understands.

A mother who now has to make two one-hour round trips to get her son to school every day says her petrol bill has tripled to more than $300 a week.

Becs Barr said her son Murphy is no longer eligible for a government-funded bus to school, after the Ministry of Education reviewed routes in the wider Manawatū region last year.

Officials said such reviews are routine and ensure compliance with its rules, such as students going to their nearest school.

It had recently undertaken such a review in the Gisborne area, but today it’s understood officials have backed down from changes that were to take effect from the start of the second school term, in April.

Fuel bill triples

For Murphy Barr’s first three years at Palmerston North Boys’ High School, getting to and from his home near the Horowhenua town of Shannon was easy – he’d catch the bus.

But this year, his fourth at the high school, he’s had to rely on his mum Becs for transport, after he was ruled ineligible to catch a ministry-funded service because Boys’ High isn’t his closest school.

“I have to take him to school each day, travel by car, and then turn around and come all the way back pretty much nearly to home to then go in the other direction to go to my job.

“I’ve now have lost an hour each morning at my job and I’ve also tripled my fuel bill.”

That bill has gone from $120 a week last year to more than $300 a week before the price hikes of the past few days.

When Becs Barr was recently sick, Murphy had to drive to Palmerston North, just two weeks after getting his restricted licence, to make sure he got to class.

Shannon parents and caregivers were looking at user-pays options, like families in some Manawatū towns Rongotea and Tangimoana had organised, Becs Barr said.

She was particularly displeased to often follow the funded-school bus into town as it transported students still deemed eligible to catch it.

“The bus which he would normally have got still leaves from exactly the same spot it used to and still takes children to their colleges in Palmerston North, but it won’t take Palmy Boys’ or Palmy Girls’ [students].”

Murphy Barr is set on becoming a helicopter engineer, and his Becs Barr said Palmerston North Boys’ High offered the best courses to help him achieve this.

The family made the decision to send him there knowing a funded bus was then available, and with no reason to think they wouldn’t fall within rules that weren’t being enforced.

“We’re fighting against a government that’s saying, ‘Get your children to school’. On the other hand they’re saying, ‘We’re not going to help you. We’re actually going to make it harder.’

“Do I quit my job to go on the dole and claim lots of benefits, so I can have more money to get my child to school. Is that what they want to happen?”

Reviews routine – ministry

The ministry has reviewed more than 250 routes nationwide, including in Manawatū, Northland and Hawke’s Bay.

General manager school transport James Meffan said such reviews were a routine, ongoing part of its work.

“We generally give schools at least a term’s notice of any changes to their school bus services,” he said.

“We notified the schools affected by the Palmerston North area review of the final outcome of our review on 17 September 2025. It is the school’s responsibility to notify their communities of school bus changes.”

The ministry funded buses from Shannon for students attending the closest high school, in Levin, and for those at state-integrated religious schools.

Eligibility criteria for buses were to make sure funding was allocated fairly and efficiently, Meffan said.

“The ministry’s bus operators can choose whether to transport ineligible students on ministry-funded services, as long as the student has permission from the school/s they are bypassing and there are enough seats for all students.

“We understand that the bus operator has elected not to carry ineligible students at this time.”

Biggest frustration in 14 years as school head

Palmerston North Boys’ High School rector David Bovey said about 300 students at the school were affected by bus route changes.

The school was looking at options for students. At times, some weren’t able to get to school.

“We’re having some families that are are making significant sacrifices to get their boys to school and it doesn’t always work.

“We had one situation where you could tell by the tone of the e-mail the mum was really, really frustrated, and had a bit of a crack at us because the car wouldn’t start and she couldn’t get her boy to school from Shannon.

“I feel for her because I’m right behind her. It’s it’s bloody tough.”

Bovey said the changes were a disaster.

“This has been the single most frustrating thing I’ve had to deal with in terms of our boys since I’ve been the rector, and that’s in 14 years.

“I know that they’re saying ‘it’s the policy’. So why now? The policy has been ignored for about 100 years,” he said.

“The government’s spending money on charter schools that we don’t need, and we’ve got kids who can’t get to the school they want to go to because of the bus situation.”

Backdown after Gisborne review

Rural students near Gisborne from term two faced the same challenges in getting to school after the ministry reviewed routes there.

Gisborne Boys’ High School headmaster Tom Cairns said the school had about 75 students who were no longer eligible for a funded bus, and other schools were affected too. Many came from isolated, rural communities, where families would struggle to travel into town.

But now RNZ understands the ministry has reversed course and services will stay as they are, a decision Cairns welcomed.

“We’re very pleased with the outcome. To reverse that shows that somebody is listening and has seen some sense.

“The really pleasing thing is they’ve recognised there’s an issue, and a significant one, and have acted on that.”

RNZ has approached the ministry on Tuesday for comment on the Gisborne situation.

Meffan had previously said: “Our recent review of routes in the Gisborne area showed that many students currently using our services are not eligible, either because public transport is available or because they are not attending their closest school.”

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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/mothers-fuel-bill-triples-after-child-no-longer-eligible-for-government-funded-school-bus/