Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

A South Auckland man who was hit by a car while cycling believes drivers illegally parking on cycle lanes is a safety issue in the area.

He said during busy periods some cycle lanes were clogged up with cars, forcing cyclists onto the road or footpath.

A cycling advocacy group said it was an issue right across Auckland.

Māngere man Selwyn Lilley knows the danger cars pose to cyclists – he was hit by one while coming around a roundabout near Māngere town centre on his bike.

“This car came up from Bader Drive and collected me. So I was lucky… got out of it with just with a couple of cracked ribs and a chipped pelvis. But I spent three weeks on crutches.”

Lilley no longer cycled for fear of being hit again.

There were now several cycleways covering the area around Māngere town centre, but Lilley said drivers parking over the lanes were causing problems for cyclists.

Some days it might be one or two cars, he said, but on busy weekends or when there was an event on nearby, whole streets could be clogged up.

“If you have car after car after car where the road is pretty busy. They don’t take any notification. Then they honk at you and say ‘use the cycle lane that’s what it’s been built for’.

“Most people would turn around and say ‘hey, we’ll use the cycle lane but you cars are in the way’.”

Manukau councillor Alf Filipaina said part of the problem was that there were not enough carparks for families living in new apartments in the area.

“You’ll see a lot of the cars parking on the verge, because they don’t have sufficient car parks … especially when you’ve got multiple families in there.”

“Hopefully we’ll have an alternative – I know they want to get people out of their cars but when you’ve got the car that’s for all the family members, there’s no option.”

Filipaina wanted a community campaign to encourage people to make use of the cycle lanes in the area.

“Let’s use some of our community people to sort of let them know the benefits. But also realise that sometimes we just can’t get the bikes for the kids for them to use the cycle lanes.”

Co-chair of Bike Auckland Karen Hormann said people parking on bike lanes was a problem right across the city.

“It’s forcing people riding bikes, expecting the protection of a cycleway, to be forced out into the traffic. It’s actually really unsafe.”

It was important to keep on top of the issue because getting people onto different modes of transport was the only way to improve congestion in Auckland, she said.

“Auckland is very congested. And drivers are getting frustrated. They’re also parking on footpaths and berms and blocking people’s access. We really need to allow for all of these different mobility modes.”

Auckland Transport (AT) head of transport and parking compliance, Rick Bidgood, said enforcement with consequences was the only real way to deal with the problem. The fine for parking on a cycle lane was $70.

As cycling was relatively new to Auckland compared to European cities, it would take time for people to recognise it as a real form of transport, Bidgood said.

AT head of active modes Tania Loveridge said when the new stretches of cycleway were being built in Mangere, it ran a targeted communications campaign edcuating people about changes to parking.

There had been an average five percent growth per year in cycling across Auckland over the past three years, Loveridge 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/cyclists-frustrated-by-drivers-illegally-parking-on-aucklands-cycle-lanes/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Christchurch Hospital is working on ways to manage an expected influx of patients sick with winter illnesses like Covid-19 and the flu, as the nurses’ union warns the emergency department is already bursting at the seams and understaffed.

The Nurses Organisation said the hospital hit 108 percent capacity on Monday morning, with ED a pinch point.

Union delegate and Christchurch Hospital healthcare assistant Al Dietschin said the ED was seeing more than 400 patients per day, some of whom had to wait in corridors.

“It’s been chronic for some time the busyness. We haven’t seen numbers drop over summer it’s been kind of relentless. That just puts so much pressure on the workforce and obviously affects patient care,” he said.

“It’s horrendous but unfortunately it seems to be the new normal.

“On the ground what it looks like in ED is an overwhelmed department where patients are waiting in corridors. We get a situation when the wards are all so full you can have a bed lock occur.”

Otago University Professor Michael Baker said New Zealand was in its ninth Covid-19 wave, with hospitalisations and deaths climbing.

Wastewater analysis from PHF Science showed the number of cases was at its highest rate for more than six months and the latest Health New Zealand figures showed there had been 50 hospitalisations and 19 deaths with the virus in the past week.

Covid-19 was filling up hospitals, and everyone needed to “act to reduce impact”, Baker said.

Dietschin there were too few staff at Christchurch Hospital for the number of patients and the situation would only get worse over winter.

“It’s quite scary because staff get sick as well and that just increases the short staffing. It just causes sort of a rationing of care which then contributes to the moral injury and burnout of staff,” he said.

He said staff were being regularly redeployed from one area of the hospital to another to meet the shortage.

“It’s kind of a bit like moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic,” he said.

“We’re short of RNs [registered nurses], we’re short of healthcare assistants, we’re short of doctors, we’re short of midwives and Te Whatu Ora and this government don’t seem to be addressing it. We need a massive increase in funding in public healthcare.”

The union had been in bargaining with health authorities over safe staffing levels for 18 months, Dietschin said.

“The increase in presentations within the ED department, that’s partly a result of primary healthcare that’s failing, where people aren’t being caught early so they become more acutely unwell and present in ED,” he said.

Health New Zealand Canterbury operations group director Hamish Brown said Christchurch’s ED was busier than usual at the end of the weekend.

“Our team saw an average 423 patients over the weekend (394 on Saturday and 451 on Sunday), which is 22 patients more compared with the previous weekend and 35 more compared to the same time last March,” he said.

“This pressure was primarily related to acute trauma demand affecting the emergency department and wards rather than staffing shortages.

“We had, and continue to have, staff to cover to meet demand, and our teams actively managed the situation to minimise any impact on care. At very busy times there may be some waits for a bed space to become available, however patients are only discharged when they are well enough.”

Brown said anyone who needed urgent or emergency care should come to ED without delay or call 111.

“We encourage those with non-urgent concerns to consider other options for access to acute care, including the free Healthline (0800 611 116) to speak to a registered nurse, or local GPs, healthcare providers and community pharmacies,” he said.

Initiatives had been put in place or were being worked on at the hospital to help manage the anticipated high winter demand for illnesses like Covid-19, flu, and other respiratory conditions, Brown said.

Kidney patients in Christchurch were also being warned dialysis treatment may have to be rationed because of staffing shortages and a lack of space at the hospital.

In a letter to patients and seen by RNZ, the hospital’s kidney department said some patients might be asked to change treatment days, times or locations to manage the pressure.

Dr Curtis Walker from the Board of Kidney Health New Zealand told Morning Report it was a difficult situation.

“It’s incredibly disruptive for patients. I’ve got patients on dialysis who are trying to run a business, who are trying to get kids to school, trying to look after elderly parents and the last thing they need is even more uncertainty in what’s already a pretty challenging treatment,” he said.

“Most patients need three dialysis sessions a week and if they don’t they start to feel unwell or even worse they can get fluid build up or potassium build up and that can have fatal consequences.”

Walker says dialysis demand was placing stress across the country and was projected to get worse.

“There are 12 main dialysis units in New Zealand and all of them are under stress and strain,” he said.

“All of them say they can’t dialyse all their patients according to the patient’s preference, all of them report a lack of physical capacity and funding and over half have said we’ve had to reduce hours or delay dialysis when patients start dialysis.”

Brown said Health New Zealand was considering options for addressing the problems at the Christchurch unit.

“In 2024, an existing inpatient room was repurposed to add four further dialysis chairs. Longer term options include building a new unit, or re-purposing an existing larger space as well as exploring chairs in more remote sites such as Ashburton, so dialysis care can be provided closer to home for those patients,” he said.

“Advertising for a senior medical officer and approximately six FTE nurses is already underway to meet the immediate need for extra sessions for dialysis in Canterbury.”

Heath New Zealand acknowledged kidney disease was a growing challenge nationally and said it was working to strengthen renal care, increase capacity and improve early detection.

Over the past year it had increased dialysis shifts in several high-demand regions and invested in new and upgraded dialysis units, including the new $40 million Waikato Renal Centre.

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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/christchurch-hospital-staffing-like-moving-the-deck-chairs-around-on-the-titanic-worker-says/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Immigration New Zealand says it is trying to contact nearly a dozen cultural performers from India who are believed to have remained in the country after their visas expired.

The performers travelled to New Zealand last month as part of a group accompanying Bollywood singer Shibani Kashyap for Holi celebrations around the country.

Jeannie Melville, deputy chief operating officer at Immigration New Zealand, said the agency assessed visa applications for a group of 27 Indian nationals travelling under the banner “Community Holi Celebration with Shibani Kashyap”.

“The Indian Consulate in Auckland was the point of contact for the group,” Melville said.

“INZ verified that the event was genuine, including consultation with the Indian Consul General in Auckland who confirmed they were supporting the event,” she said.

“A robust and fair assessment process was applied to the individuals making up this group, including collaboration with our Risk and Verification teams in India.”

Eighteen people from the group arrived in New Zealand. Of those, three have since left the country and 15 remained in the country, according to Immigration New Zealand.

“Four hold valid visitor visas,” Melville said.

Melville said seven applications were initially approved while four were declined due to concerns, including suspected fraudulent documents.

Immigration New Zealand later approved 13 short-term limited visas for the specific purpose of attending the event.

The agency said it had been in contact with the Indian High Commission about the situation and was prioritising efforts to contact those who may now be in the country unlawfully on a case-by-case basis.

The group travelled from India to perform at Holi events around the country, including one held in Pukekohe in February.

Kashyap also visited New Zealand last year and performed at Independence Day events organised by Delhi-based CD Foundation.

Melville said Immigration New Zealand was not aware of similar past cases involving cultural performers from India overstaying their visas, though she noted the agency’s reporting did not record that level of detail.

RNZ has approached the Indian High Commission and the Indian Consulate for comment.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/immigration-officials-chase-indian-cultural-performers-after-visas-expire/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The price of flying has already gone up – and could take off again if the conflict in the Middle East continues.

Air New Zealand raised its fares this morning, and said it could be forced to raise them again and review routes.

It is all connected to the price of aviation fuel and the critical Hormuz Strait, a shipping route for up to 20 percent of the world oil which is essentially closed due to the conflict in the area.

The price of jet fuel has been fluctuating wildly since the conflict broke out, and has at times gone up more than 120 percent.

Regional carrier Chathams Air said the war in the Middle East could add more than $1.6 million to its annual fuel bill if it continues.

It said the airline could also be forced to look at prices and schedule cuts.

Travel agent Vincent George told Checkpoint the price increase was not only to do with fuel costs, but also supply and demand.

“With the demise of some of the airlines travelling through the Middle East, which were some of the hugest carriers out of New Zealand, Qatar and Emirates, then we’re looking at people travelling on other routes.

“As these routes get taken up and the capacity gets lower not only is the airfare going to increase a little because of aviation fuel, but also because of supply and demand.”

George said travellers hoping to visit the Northern Hemisphere should book their flights as soon as possible to avoid any further price increases.

While many of Emirates flights were now travelling through the Middle East, he said flights stopping over in China and other Asian countries had seen increased demand.

The other option for travellers leaving New Zealand and heading to the Northern Hemisphere is stopping over the US.

“I think that people are maybe looking at going, those who want to travel, those who need to travel, will be looking at different options for a while yet.”

Various airlines have raised their prices due the rising cost of fuel.

Singapore Airlines raised fares to Europe by $140 for a return ticket this morning.

George said while booking with a client today, he noticed a flight to the Cook Islands from New Zealand had also risen by $200.

“Things are certainly looking as though they may be creeping up… $200 on a South Pacific airfare is significant.”

But George said a key concern was how domestic flights would be impacted by the fallout of rising costs.

“I’m worried about connectivity from the smaller outlying destinations.

“I can see that domestic travel is going to be really pricing itself out of the market for the leisure traveller.”

He said the best way to guarantee an affordable domestic flight was to book as far in advance as possible.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/flight-prices-on-the-rise-and-could-take-off-again/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the pandemic on Tuesday afternoon released its second report, sparked by public disquiet that its first report did not dig deep enough.

The 500-plus-page report looks at what it calls some of the “most difficult and divisive responses around vaccines and mandates”.

“The adequacy of the processes used to assess and monitor the safety of vaccines” was one of those.

It eked out a pass mark, but with a very big but for the previous government’s efforts to shift the “team of five million” from an early, pretty effective elimination strategy to suppression and minimisation in 2021 and 2022.

“Many of the people we heard from expressed pain and anger about the impacts of the pandemic and response. Some of these impacts on people’s lives continue to this day,” the report said.

“It is clear, however, that ministers and officials were facing a series of complex, high-stakes decisions in a rapidly changing environment and were doing the best they could at the time. Evidence shows New Zealand had among one of the best pandemic responses in the world.”

‘Very bumpy ride’

It was, however, “far from smooth”.

A “very bumpy ride” was how Labour itself summed it up earlier in the day. Though its former top two, Dame Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson, also defended it: “We got a lot right. More than most.”

National immediately used the phase two report to pound Labour.

Asked if his predecessors were just being cautious – it was an unprecedented global crisis, as Labour pointed out – Health Minister Simeon Brown told reporters:

“I think they were putting options to Cabinet, which were not backed up by advice,” Brown said.

“And the reality is Chris Hipkins stood up every single day and he said to New Zealanders that he was making decisions based on advice by health officials… The reality is, in a number of these instances, he was not.”

They did not heed warnings from Treasury about inflation-stoking Covid-19 spending that half the time went on non-Covid things, Brown added.

“We are feeling those consequences today,” Brown said.

In a half-hour stand-up, Brown said “ultimately” 13 times.

“Ultimately, some of those decisions, you will have to put those questions to the ministers who made those decisions at the time as to why they made them,” he said.

Hipkins put their approach at the time entirely opposite: “considered, appropriate and guided by the best evidence available at the time”.

The decisions saved lives, though the responses caused hardship, he said.

NZ has so far reported 4500 deaths due to Covid-19 to the World Health Organisation. That is slightly fewer per capita than Australia, well below Canada’s and about four times less than the US and UK.

What are the lessons for Next Time?

While everyone disagreed on what 20/20 hindsight has shown from the inquiry, everyone agrees on the need to do better now to prepare for next time.

So what are the lessons from phase two for Covid 2.0?

Two words: Be prepared.

“The stakes were immense. Each choice carried the weight and quality of lives in the balance. Yet policy-makers could not delay some hard choices,” the report said.

But the “lack of planning for alternative future strategies” that applied to PCR testing was a common shortcoming elsewhere, too.

Going in next time armed already with better research on pandemics and impacts, better strategies for getting the best advice, and some basic pandemic legislation are among the 24 recommendations.

Two more words: Be smarter.

“Decision-makers told us they learned the importance of giving people an end date, or some indication of ‘light at the end of the tunnel’,” the report said.

Without that, people resisted more and more.

Now we know for next time. But the country had to get a better grip on social impacts ahead of next time, by finding ways to build trust and social cohesion, and ways to demonstrate to people the hard science behind “hard choices”, the report said.

In addition to the main report, an extra 300 pages laid out what people who submitted to the inquiry said.

“People frequently told us that the vaccine mandates caused division in society that lingers to this day,” said this last report.

Things got out of balance. “Wobbles” was how it was put after the first phase report.

Cutting the ‘wobbles’

It needn’t have got that bad is one conclusion that can be drawn from the second phase report.

Lockdown decisions, for one, required weighing up health versus bank balances, from Gore to Papakura.

Decision-makers had to weigh up many more factors than public health goals and social disruption, and think about tomorrow, not just today and impacts on this group, versus that group, and eroding.

“Based on the evidence we have heard, that is exactly what they tried to do,” said the main report.

Trying came up short, though, when painful and untested initiatives created pressures, or helped birth mis-and-disinformation, that upset forecasts and analyses or exploited gaps in them, among a public increasingly prone to doubting the experts.

The officials doing the trying lacked enough analysis of lockdown’s impacts on education, for instance (page 270).

They lacked enough evidence fullstop.

“Ideally, though, decision-makers would have been better supported with clearer, more specific evidence about the effects of public health measures.”

That cut down the options to choose from.

“More comprehensive and robust response strategies should have been in preparation much earlier.”

Being smart required being prepared.

The first phase report ran to 716 pages; some of its lessons were discussed two years ago at the Science Media Centre.

There will not be a part three. The commission received more than 31,000 submissions from individuals and organisations, and obtained 8000 documents from government agencies.

“We are satisfied that we were thoroughly well-informed.”

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/lessons-from-the-covid-19-response-inquiry/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Freedom campers are falling foul of new Queenstown Lakes District Council rules, with about 18 people per day stung with $400 fines.

Campers in self-contained vehicles were restricted to 141 designated spaces across 15 sites in the district over summer, plus a handful of rural roadside spots and a free campground in Luggate

Between 1 December and 2 March, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) issued 1514 Freedom Camping Act infringements, largely for people parking in the wrong spot or overstaying time limits, and 108 Reserves Act infringements for parking on reserve land.

Freedom Camping Act infringements carried $400 fines, while Reserves Act breaches carried $800 fines, the council said.

QLDC responsible camping programme manager Amy Galloway said it was the highest number of infringements the council had issued since about 2019, but it had also been a bumper summer for freedom camping.

She said more than 7000 freedom campers used a new check-in feature on the QLDC website throughout summer, although the true number of campers was likely much higher.

“Observationally, we see those 15 restricted sites plus the Luggate Red Bridge pretty much full every single day. Campers are using our sites extensively,” she said.

She said the system was working well overall and people were pleased to have a regulated freedom camping system again.

“Generally speaking, campers are going to where we want them to go. Amongst that, there is some behaviour we need to correct, but like everything we’re constantly reviewing and trying to improve operations,” she said.

Campers say demand outstrips supply

Camper Fynn Stolz from Germany said there were not enough spaces to cater to the number of freedom campers visiting the district.

He said he had struggled to find a park for his van each night.

“We go from one to another and see if any of the spots are free. Usually, at 4pm all the spots are taken, so you have to be really fast, one of the first. It’s kind of a race,” he said.

He was fined $400 this week after arriving at the Queenstown Events Centre late at night, when he missed out on one of the nine designated spaces and instead stayed overnight in a regular carpark several metres away.

“It wasn’t a good idea,” he said.

Another camper, Svenja Steger from Switzerland, said Queenstown’s rules were much “more difficult” than other places in New Zealand.

“It’s not as easy as other places to find a park,” she said.

When asked if the QLDC would consider adding more spaces to meet the demand, Galloway said the council encouraged campers to look at other options.

“I think if we provided more spaces, they would be full, but we would also like campers to consider using one of our great commercial campsites that we have in the district and also the many Department of Conservation campsites across the district as well. There are a variety of options for campers, ranging from free up to your more luxurious campsites,” she said.

She said freedom campers had flooded parking areas across the district last summer after the council’s previous bylaw was quashed by the High Court.

“I think sometimes when campers turn up, and they see a site is full, and they think, ‘oh well, I can just park here’. If everybody did that, then the carpark would soon become full, which is what we saw last summer as well – just the insatiable demand for free camping,” she said.

Fines in the Freedom Camping Act 2011 rose from $200 to $400 in 2023.

“I think word is spreading amongst campers that these are the rules and we take them seriously and they will be enforced,” she said.

‘Shitting in the bushes’

In Wānaka, the council temporarily closed a freedom-camping site at Allenby Place because of traffic-related safety concerns.

A group called Save Clean New Zealand has also been petitioning for the removal of three freedom camping spaces at Beacon Point.

Spokesperson Andrea Beryl said it was a pristine stretch of shoreline not fit for freedom camping, or at least the type of behaviour she had seen and photographed.

Freedom campers at the site were “clearly not using their onboard facilities,” she said.

“They’re shitting in the bushes. They’re meant to be self-contained and they’re not. It’s just being abused,” she said.

“We want responsible campers to go to responsible places where there are toilets and places to clean up.”

Data from the QLDC showed that of the 1514 Freedom Camping Act infringements this summer, 71 people were fined for being in a vehicle that was not self-contained.

One person was fined for depositing waste.

Beryl said damage was often done by the time the council issued an infringement notice.

“I don’t know how we change their attitude or how we educate the campers better, but it’s just not working. Then the council fine people after the fact that these problems have already occurred. It’s not preventative,” she said.

In a statement, a QLDC spokesperson said the council was watching to see whether the bylaw needed refinements and valued community feedback.

“Council fully acknowledges ongoing concerns within our community relating to freedom camping, including at Beacon Point,” the spokesperson said.

“It’s important to emphasise that the Freedom Camping Act applies nationally and permits this activity by default on most council land. Local bylaws are limited in both what they can address and the specific area to which they can apply. By balancing community concerns with what the Act requires us to do, the new bylaw is designed to ensure visitors continue to enjoy the experience of freedom camping here while addressing the concerns of residents,” they said.

“Councils, especially those with high volumes of visitors and low resident populations like QLDC, do not have sufficient tools to regulate freedom camping or fund visitor-related infrastructure to support this increasingly popular activity.”

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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/2026/03/10/more-than-1600-fines-issued-to-queenstown-freedom-campers-since-new-rules/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says MetService will step beyond weather services to keep the public informed during times of Tsunami risk.

MetService would now include NEMA tsunami warning banners on its website.

NEMA director Civil Defence Emergency Management, John Price said the move would help to ensure New Zealanders got the emergency information they needed.

“Tsunami warnings only work if people see them and act on them, and we’re pleased to be working with MetService to keep people safe.

“This will bring together NEMA and MetService’s large audiences, so New Zealanders are more likely to get the information they need, when they need it,” Price said.

A NEMA spokesperson said the banners would link to the Civil Defence website for advice and information on how to keep safe.

They said the banners would not appear on the MetService app or push service notifications.

They spokesperson said NEMA was also exploring how automated tsunami messaging could be shared to other government websites to quickly get important information to as many people as possible.

The spokesperson encouraged people – in times of tsunami danger – to listen to their radio for updates and advice on what to do.

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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/2026/03/10/metservice-to-keep-public-informed-during-times-of-tsunami-risk/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Under-pressure employers taking a hard line on sick leave are being warned to take care with the rules.

There have been reports this week that the country’s collective immunity to Covid-19 is waning.

Wastewater analysis from PHF Science shows that the number of cases is currently at its highest rate for more than six months and the latest Health New Zealand figures show there have been 50 hospitalisations and 19 deaths with the virus in the past week.

Are we sicker than we used to be, and are our sick leave laws keeping up?

Research last year from Southern Cross and Business NZ showed the average number of sick days being taken in 2024 was 6.7, up from 5.5 in 2022. IT was the highest recorded. Manual workers took an average 7.5 days compared to 5.9 for non-manual workers.

In 2021, the minimum sick leave entitlement increased from five to 10 days.

At Auckland University, law school professional teaching fellow Simon Schofield, said he had heard of employers taking an increasingly stringent line in respect to sick leave. “That poses a number of risks for employers that are too aggressive.”

He said there were cases last year where employees had been refused sick leave when there was no medical certificate.

The Holidays Act does not require a medical certificate if people are away from work fewer than three days.

“That breached the statutory requirement and the employee resigned … and was successful in respect of a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal because the employer had failed to follow the requirements of the Holidays Act.”

He said absenteeism was increasing for a number of reasons.

“What happens is employers get increasingly irate. The result is they can mishandle what can be quite delicate situations, especially when you’re talking about disabilities and so forth.”

He said employers should get advice if they were not sure of their obligations.

“I do think that in these difficult financial times that employers are putting a lot of pressure on employees to be present in the office, but there are associated challenges with that, and I think employers need to be careful if they’re proposing to take a hard line in relation to some of these issues.”

Associate professor Paula O’Kane, from Otago University’s management department, said the rules were not keeping up.

She said while people were not sicker than they used to be, they were taking leave when they needed to and were being encouraged to do so.

There was more awareness of the implications of coming to work sick on colleagues, she said. “In essence by taking sick leave we’re hopefully not disrupting other people within the organisation. Because of Covid we learned a lot more. We may have known it but I think we were made much more aware of the implications of those colds and flus and the infectious diseases on people.”

She said there was a lot of inequity in the way sick leave was offered.

Not allowing people to accrue more than 20 days’ sick leave left them vulnerable, she said.

“If you had cancer, for example and were off for six months, had never taken a day’s sick leave in your life, you’d have 20 days, Someone else could take their 10 days every year and they wouldn’t have that much difference… I think we’re not doing enough to accrue sick leave and to enable people to have that whenever something really serious happens.”

The government is making changes that will mean that annual and sick leave will accumulate based on hours worked, rather than as a set entitlement. Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden said it would be more proportionate for part-time workers.

But O’Kane said the government had missed a chance to make it more equitable and fair for everyone.

“We could be doing a lot more around lots of types of leave to really support society and how society has changed over the years in terms of responsibilities and caring. We don’t have that village around us anymore.

“A lot of people don’t have the grannies there, the granddads there, the neighbours that can help when things go wrong. And so when society shifted like that, we probably need to be shifting our policies to help support that.”

Schofield said he supported the idea of dividing carer leave and sick leave up.

“Currently in this country we put carer’s leave and sick leave together. If I’m looking after my children who are sick we put that in the same bucket as sick leave. In Australia they divided the two out.

“That may be an opportunity to solve some of the problems that will be created, certainly some of the pushback that we’re seeing in relation to the employment leave bill, where part-time employees will have a prorated entitlement to sick leave.

“Often that’s covering carer’s leave…You’re looking after children. Often those women, the people looking after those children are women, and often they’re the ones working part-time.”

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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/2026/03/10/warning-for-employers-skimping-on-sick-leave-as-covid-wave-hits/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The family of a Taranaki teenager killed by a friend – who he looked upon as an older brother – says they have lost a loving son, protective brother and cherished moko.

Rakai Jacob Thompson was jailed for five years for the manslaughter of 17-year-old Te Omeka Pairama Akariri-Buckley when he appeared for sentencing at the High Court in New Plymouth.

The Bell Block teenager died after being stabbed by 26-year-old Thompson following a botched night out in July 2024, attempting to rustle sheep to fill their freezers.

Tensions heightened during the night, culminating in an altercation at Thompson’s Waitara home, where he stabbed his friend, inflicting wounds to the chest and abdomen.

He later died in hospital.

A jury acquitted Thompson of Akariri-Buckley’s murder in December.

Wearing a prison-issued white t-shirt, Thompson sat with his head bowed as members of the Akariri-Buckley whānau read victim impact statements to a room full of supporters, many of them wearing black t-shirts with Te Omeka Forever 17 printed on them.

After karakia were said, Donna Akariri told the court her son lived a life full of “aroha and purpose”, and she wanted to share the impact his death had on his whānau and friends.

“He was loving, talented, funny and full of life. He was a loved and devoted son, a loving, loyal brother, a cherished mokopuna, a treasured nephew, a playful uncle and a loyal, dedicated, loving partner.”

Akariri said the age-group representative rugby league player “had many passions, and he poured his whole heart into them”.

“He led haka for Puketapu School and Spotswood College, always standing proud, always giving it his all”.

He also loved music and the family had donated his drum kits to Manukorohi Intermediate in Waitara following his death, hoping others would take up his passion.

Akariri said her son was particularly close to his brother Don: “They got into mischief, laughed, cried and loved like they were twins”. She said he a devoted partner to his girlfriend, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

“His death was sudden, violent and not just senseless, but his loving and caring generosity at that time was destroyed. It took him,” she said.

“It took from us, not only a son, but a future, his future, and the future that we imagined with him in it, we will never again feel the warmth of his loving, caring nature, or hear that spontaneous, infectious laughter that could life any room.

“I want everyone to know that Te Omeka was a beautiful, happy, loving, caring young man who always gave me a kiss goodnight and whenever he left home for the day. Followed with ‘Iove you mum’. He was loved deeply, and he loved deeply in return, his was a life full of promise.”

At the end of her victim impact statement, she turned and held a portrait of her son up towards Thompson, who kept his head bowed.

Fighting back tears, Akariri-Buckley’s girlfriend told the court that although the teenagers had only known each other a few months, they could already imagine a life together.

“But no, because surely his life was taken on this road right in front of me. I literally watched his life drain out of his body. I felt so hopeless. There was nothing I could do to help,” she said.

“I would not wish this pain on anyone. Every single day, I wish I could change what happened that night. There is now a huge gap in my life.”

Crown solicitor Prue Lange argued the seriousness of Thompson’s offending and the impact it had on the family and friends of Akariri-Buckley were aggravating factors ahead of his sentencing.

“The Crown suggests a starting point no less than eight years imprisonment.”

Lange argued the use of a 25cm boning knife to stab Akariri-Buckley, the serious nature of his wounds and a level of premeditation in Thompson’s offending put it at the more serious end of the scale.

“He had the knife in his hand, whether he took it outside, or was already outside, he then went straight to Te Omeka and DJ to aggressively confront them, and then used it intentionally against Te Omeka… Mr Thompson used entirely unnecessary and gratuitous violence.”

Lange acknowledged Thompson’s early plea, remorse and willingness to engage in restorative justice, but argued against a sentence reduction for self-defence or provocation. The victim had assaulted the defendant immediately before the fatal stabbing.

The Crown wanted a minimum non-parole period of half of the eventual end sentence.

Thompson’s defence counsel, Paul Keegan KC, put forward a starting point of between six and seven years in jail, pointing to the outcome of December’s trial.

“The prisoner Rakai Thompson appears for sentencing, having been convicted of manslaughter. The jury, of course, found Mr Thompson not guilty of the murder.”

Keegan rejected the Crown’s depiction of Thompson “lying in wait’ for Akariri-Buckley and his brother and argued his actions were essentially defensive “albeit excessive”.

“The human tragedy of this incident is only made more profound when considering Mr Thompson’s link to Te Omeka,” he said.

“Mr Thompson did not intend to kill Te Omeka and counsel submits that in those frantic few seconds, he simply did not turn his mind to the potential consequences of his actions.”

Keegan argued that Thompson was a low risk of reoffending and a minimum non-parole period was not necessary.

Justice Jason McHerron began his sentencing by acknowledging the friends and whānau in court and praising Thompson for his quiet demeanour.

He didn’t find the defendant’s actions amounted to premeditation, but agreed he was enraged and the force that he used “was clearly excessive”.

Justice McHerron had a starting point of seven-and-a-half years in jail, reflecting the use of a weapon and the seriousness of the injuries, but gave discounts for Thompson’s early guilty plea, remorse and the effect of his imprisonment would have on his young daughter, before arriving at a jail term of five years.

He didn’t impose a minimum non-parole period.

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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/2026/03/10/taranaki-man-jailed-for-killing-friend-who-looked-upon-him-as-an-older-brother/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Dunedin City councillor was in serious breach of the council’s code of conduct when he publicly criticised a staff member, an independent investigator has found.

Benedict Ong sent an email complaining about the staff member’s performance to the council’s chief executive and two local journalists in February.

Dunedin councillors are set to consider possible sanctions for Ong at a meeting on 25 March, which could include a demand for a public apology or a vote of no confidence.

Ong will also be given a chance to defend himself.

The independent investigation led by barrister Steph Dyhrberg found that Ong’s actions could have been a deliberate attempt to retaliate against the staff member and discredit her.

“By disclosing the allegations to the media, Cr Ong breached the requirements to treat all employees with courtesy and respect and avoid publicly criticising any employee,” she said.

Councillor Ong had earlier filed his own code of conduct complaint against councillor John Chambers, saying he had made inappropriate remarks during a meeting.

An investigator reviewed the evidence, including a transcript of a phone call with a council staff member, and found that Ong’s version of events was not supported.

The complaint was dismissed because it lacked substance.

On 4 February Ong wrote to the chief executive and journalists accusing the council staff member of “apparent political bias” and a “lack of political neutrality”.

While he did not name the staff member, she was found to be “readily identifiable” to journalists.

Dyhrberg said Ong had already been put on notice several times about maintaining confidentiality.

“It is reasonable to infer Cr Ong knew what he was doing was inappropriate,” she said.

“No-one should be victimised or discredited for agreeing to participate in a code of conduct complaint process.”

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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/2026/03/10/public-criticism-of-staff-by-dunedin-city-councillor-serious-breach-of-code-of-conduct/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former National deputy leader Dr Shane Reti has announced he will retire at this year’s election.

The Whangārei MP has been in Parliament since 2014. He lost the Whangārei in 2020, before regaining it in 2023.

Reti is currently minister for universities, science and technology, Pacific peoples, and statistics.

The MP said he was “feeling good” about the decision, and was leaving because he needed to spend time with his family.

Reti teared up as he told RNZ his reasons for leaving.

“I’ve missed many birthdays. I’ve actually missed my family’s weddings as well. There’s only so many birthdays and weddings you can miss.”

He took on the Minister of Health role after the 2023 election, before notably losing the role in a 2025 reshuffle.

Reti said the role was “a wonderful job” and one he was “probably built for,” but was satisfied with the work he had done, particularly expanding the breast cancer screening age.

“There are things that we’d all like to do. But I need to spend time with my family, so it’s not that at all. It’s just time. Even if I had the portfolio, it’s just time.”

He served as National’s deputy leader under Judith Collins, briefly acting as interim leader after Collins lost a vote of no confidence in 2021.

“Yeah, that’s a Trivial Pursuit question coming up with the Young Nats sometime, isn’t it? Look, it was a privilege to be the safe pair of hands the party could turn to in tumultuous times.”

Reti said he “always felt valued” by the party.

“Highlights include progressing the four lanes to Whangārei and advancing policies that as Minister of Health expanded breast cancer screening for 70-74-year-old NZ women and established a 3rd medical school at Waikato,” he said.

“Reshaping the science and technology sector to look more like other small advanced economies that improves benefits to taxpayers has been a privilege – especially amalgamating the seven Crown Research Institutes into three Public Research Organisations.”

While he maintained his practicising certificate, he did not anticipate owning a practice and doing full-time medicine again.

Reti is the fourth National MP to confirm they will not stand at the election, following Collins, Maureen Pugh, and Paulo Garcia. Meanwhile Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly will not stand in his electorate, and instead seek a place on the list.

With Collins set to leave Parliament in the coming weeks, it means the prime minister may do a wider ministerial reshuffle and return Reti to the backbenches.

Christopher Luxon said Reti was a “stand-up human being” and a “good, good person” who had helped him settle into Parliament when he first arrived in 2020.

“I love him a lot,” Luxon 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/2026/03/10/nationals-shane-reti-to-retire-from-politics/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A High Court jury has retired to consider its verdict in the case of a man accused of murdering and dismembering Canterbury father-of-three Richard Leman.

Michael Scott Rodger, 46, is accused of murdering Leman, 41, whose body was found in the boot of his own car parked at an abandoned house in Tyler Street in Rangiora in April 2023.

Leman’s torso was found in the car but his head, legs and arms are still missing.

Rodger denies shooting or killing Leman.

In summing up on Tuesday, Justice Eaton told jurors the evidence of key Crown witnesses Morgan Grant and Sara Plimmer was disputed by Rodger’s lawyers, who claimed the pair lied during the trial.

“The Crown case is that Ms Grant and Ms Plimmer have both given in evidence a truthful, reliable account as to who shot and killed Richard Leman,” he said.

“That is very much contested by the defence and [the Crown] responsibly acknowledges that it will be appropriate for you to exercise real caution when you come to assess the evidence by those two because of everything that has surfaced in this trial.”

In 2024, Grant pleaded guilty to a charge arising from the investigation into Leman’s death, although the details remain suppressed.

Eaton explained to jurors that the onus was on the Crown to prove Rodger’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The Crown argued the objective evidence, including CCTV and telecommunication footage and forensics, proved Rodger was responsible.

Rodger’s lawyers said there was reasonable doubt about who killed Leman and the Crown’s two key witnesses were unreliable.

Defence lawyer Ethan Huda accused the Crown of being underhanded and dishonest by omitting key evidence from a pathologist during closing arguments.

The jury retired to deliberate on Tuesday afternoon.

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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/2026/03/10/jury-retires-in-leman-murder-trial/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Convicted double-murderer Scott Watson has been granted leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Watson was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Ben Smart and Olivia Hope in the Marlborough Sounds and has now been behind bars for more than 26 years.

The Blenheim friends, aged 21 and 17, were last seen stepping off a water taxi onto a stranger’s yacht in Endeavour Inlet the early hours of 1 January, 1998, after a New Year’s Eve party at Furneaux Lodge. Their bodies have never been found.

Watson was found guilty of the murders in 1999 after an 11-week jury trial involving about 500 witnesses.

He appealed his convictions after the trial but the application was dismissed. He made another two applications that were unsuccessful before a 2017 bid for a royal pardon was granted, with the case heard by the Court of Appeal in 2024.

It focused on the use of photo montages shown to witnesses ahead of the original trial and the reliability of forensic testing used to show two hairs found on Watson’s boat that belonged to Hope.

Watson relied on new expert opinion challenging the reliability of the forensic evidence at trial about the two hairs found on a tiger-patterned blanket aboard his boat.

It also considered whether a photo montage used by police had predisposed witnesses to pick out Watson.

At the original trial, the Crown’s case relied completely on the positive identification of Watson by water taxi driver Guy Wallace, who dropped off the young pair to a stranger’s yacht in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

The court’s decision, released last September, found there was no miscarriage of justice in relation to the hair evidence or the identification of Watson by Wallace.

Watson then sought leave to appeal that decision.

The Supreme Court has granted the appeal in part, approving only the question of whether the Court of Appeal had been correct to conclude no miscarriage of justice arose from the decision of the trial judge to admit visual identification evidence of Wallace.

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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/2026/03/10/convicted-double-murderer-scott-watson-granted-leave-to-appeal-to-supreme-court/

Source: Radio New Zealand

– This story discusses details of sexual violation.

A Dunedin sex offender who raped a student after breaking into her Cosy Dell flat has been sentenced to preventive detention, with a period of at least seven years in jail.

Keith Andrew Wicks-Cairns, 37, pleaded guilty to rape, sexual violation and burglary after attacking the woman who was asleep in bed in February last year.

In a victim impact statement read to the Dunedin High Court, the woman said the sexual assault had changed her life in ways she did not expect.

She used to feel confident about her future but was now overcome by anxiety, fear, a deep sense of shame and second-guessed herself.

“Some days I barely recognise myself,” she said.

The woman said she used to love living independently but now struggled to relax in her own home where she should feel safe.

She told the court that she would not let Wicks-Cairns’ cowardice dictate her life and was doing everything in her power to stop him offending again.

Her flatmate told the court she was also on edge after the attack in their home.

She felt disgusted and distressed about what happened and guilty that she woke to police in their home and her flatmate in distress.

She said she felt anxious and stressed in the place she used to feel safe, affecting almost every part of her life.

They bought security cameras and new locks but she still avoided being home alone.

She told the court her friend was strong and she was proud of her.

‘Dealing with the demons’

Justice Harland sentenced Wicks-Cairns to preventive detention with a minimum non-parole period of seven years and three months on Tuesday, saying it was necessary to protect others.

She acknowledged a letter he had written to the judge, in which he said prison was where he needed to be to ensure the safety of others.

“I know prison is where I deserve to be until I’ve dealt with the demons inside,” he said in the letter.

Justice Harland noted he has previous convictions for sex offences, saying Wicks-Cairns had shown little insight into his offending, and his compliance with prison release conditions was poor.

She acknowledged he had an extremely dysfunctional childhood, but said multiple opportunities and interventions to rehabilitate him had failed.

Crown prosecutor Richard Smith said the woman had shown extraordinary strength and courage.

Wicks-Cairns’ offending was aggravated by the home invasion, the detention of the victim, her vulnerability, the violence, pre-meditation and scale of the violations, he said.

Wicks-Cairns was jailed for more than four years in 2013 following sex crimes against two children.

Smith said the victims were also asleep before those assaults.

The letter claiming that his offending was a wake-up call and he was willing to rehabilitate was not to be trusted, he said.

Wicks-Cairns’ was at very high risk of reoffending and had no real insight, remorse or empathy for the woman, rather self pity for getting caught, Smith said.

Wicks-Cairns’ lawyer Joshua Grainger said his client acknowledged the harm he had caused and the incredible impact his crime had on an innocent and undeserving person.

But he argued that his client was not beyond rehabilitation.

‘No-one is going to hear you’

Wicks-Cairns was captured on CCTV wearing dark clothes, a beanie and red shoes on 4 February.

The court heard he had driven around the student quarter in North Dunedin before parking on Queens Street and walking towards Cosy Dell Road.

He covered his face while approaching the woman’s flat, then broke in and went upstairs where she was asleep.

She woke to his hand across her mouth and Wicks-Cairns saying, “you are going to be quiet”.

She struggled, screamed and tried to protect herself but he grabbed her wrists and held her down, the court heard.

Wicks-Cairns told the woman “No-one is going to hear you” before raping and violating her, ignoring her pleas for him to stop.

Afterwards, he made her wash her hands before removing the bottom-fitted sheet from the bed to conceal his offending. He left threatening that he would come back if she told anyone what he had done.

Wicks-Cairns was caught on CCTV running from the flat carrying the sheet.

He told police he did not know what they were talking about when they interviewed him.

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz
• What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254
• Healthline: 0800 611 116
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463
• Aoake te Rā bereaved by suicide service: or call 0800 000 053

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sexual Violence

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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/2026/03/10/dunedin-sex-offender-keith-andrew-wicks-cairns-sentenced-to-preventive-detention/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Convicted sex offender Timothy Jago has been stripped of his Surf Life Saving honours, awards and life membership.

The disgraced former ACT Party president was found guilty in 2024 of sexually abusing two teenagers in the 1990s.

He was sentenced to two years and six months prison and lost a later appeal against his conviction and sentence.

In an email to members, Surf Life Saving said the move came after a careful and legally guided process.

“At the time of the events referenced, the Northern Region operated as a separate incorporated entity,” chief executive Steve Fisher said.

“Since that time, the Northern Region has been formally incorporated into Surf Life Saving New Zealand.”

Fisher said Surf Life Saving wanted to formally acknowledge the significant impact sexual abuse has on victims and survivors.

“We also recognise that there may be individuals who were present at the time, witnessed concerning behaviour, or felt unable to speak up, and who have carried the weight of these events for many years,” he said.

“If you are someone who has been directly or indirectly affected, we are deeply sorry for the harm caused, and we are committed to supporting you.”

Fisher said Surf Life Saving can offer counselling and confidential support.

An independent lawyer has also been arranged for anyone to provide a formal account to.

“We also acknowledge that further information may emerge, and we remain committed to responding with care, transparency, and responsibility,” Fisher said.

The offending

Jago indecently assaulted two teenagers he met through Surf Lifesaving between 1995 and 1999.

Media were not able to identify him during his trial after he was continually granted interim name suppression.

It took a jury two hours to return unanimous guilty verdicts on all eight charges of indecent assault.

The Crown’s case was that Jago “took advantage” of the two teenagers by giving them alcohol and abusing them when they were “intoxicated, vulnerable and alone”.

Both complainants told similar stories; that they had got drunk at sports club events or social gatherings and woken up in bed with the defendant abusing them.

The police investigated one complaint in 1999, speaking to more than half a dozen witnesses and recording a statement from Jago but did not charge him at the time.

The complainant told police he’d been intoxicated at a social gathering and woke up in Jago’s bed to find Jago squeezing his groin area and putting his own hand on Jago’s pubic area.

The file was re-investigated when a second complainant came forward in late 2022 after seeing Jago in a news article.

The second complainant told police he was assaulted on two separate occasions, where he had been drinking with Jago and others, become drunk and found himself in bed with Jago.

He told the police the man touched his penis, put his own penis on the complainant’s anus and touched the complainant’s anus with his hands.

The second complainant had not disclosed the abuse to the police when he had been contacted in early 2000, as part of the 1999 police investigation.

Jago’s lawyer Ian Brookie suggested the second complainant made his allegations up because Jago had done well for himself in a political role.

Crown prosecutor Rebekah Thompson later pointed out this did not square with the fact the man had told his sister about the abuse in the 1990s.

Jago had been the ACT Party’s president for nearly four years when he resigned from the role in late January 2023.

Timeline

• 1995 – Jago indecently assaults 15 year old
• 1997 – Jago indecently assaults same teenager
• 1999 – Jago indecently assaults second teenager
• 1999 – Second teenager makes police complaint, police investigate, no charges
• 7 November 2022 – Complainant’s wife messages ACT Party leader David Seymour
• 19 January 2023 – Jago arrested, charged and bailed
• 25 January 2023 – First court appearance
• 26 January 2023 – Jago reported as resigning as ACT president
• 19 August 2024 – Jago’s week-long jury trial starts at the Auckland District Court
• 26 August 2024 – Jury returns unanimous guilty verdicts to all eight charges of indecent assault
• 22 November 2024 – Jago sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ imprisonment
• 31 January 2025 – Jago abandons appeal of district courts decision to decline him ongoing name suppression

Where to get help:

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/surf-life-saving-strips-convicted-sex-offender-tim-jago-of-honours-awards-and-life-membership/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The second phase of the Covid-19 response inquiry has found the government’s response was effective but late and not communicated well enough to people.

The country’s transition from its early elimination strategy to suppression and minimisation was “far from smooth”, with consequences like the Auckland lockdown going on longer than needed at the end of 2021, the report, released on Tuesday said.

The second phase tested if the government took a balanced approach and found it largely did, but said the public was not brought on board – and must be in the next pandemic, with one of the 24 recommendations made today that there should be more open decision making in future around the impacts on people’s isolation, health and incomes.

“The evidence shows these factors were considered when many decisions were made. Ideally, though, decision-makers would have been better supported with clearer, more specific evidence about the effects of public health measures,” said the 530-plus-page report by the Royal Commission of Inquiry.

“More comprehensive and robust response strategies should have been in preparation much earlier.”

Public divisions and anger over the pandemic response in part prompted the second phase begun in December 2022, amid questions if phase one had gone far enough. Phase two was a bit shorter and more focused especially on how Covid mandates were rolled out.

The second report echoed the first in finding the early elimination strategy saved lives but the country was not well prepared; as the inquiry chair said in 2024, “The wheels became a bit wobbly.”

The government is now considering both phase one and two recommendations.

Health Minister Simeon Brown will table the government’s responses to them all, as required, by July.

The report itself described how the country got into a cul-de-sac on Covid.

Officials should have started working on a suppression strategy much earlier in 2021, but did not look at alternatives so it became hard to stop and rethink, it said.

“Strategies should have considered a range of scenarios (such as an uncontained community outbreak or new strains of COVID-19) and options to address them.

“They should also have identified the trade-offs to be considered if such scenarios arose.”

It looked in depth at whether the government got enough advice especially around the potentially divisive impacts of responses on social cohesion, health and businesses among other things.

“These key decisions involved some very significant and far-reaching uses of government power to limit the ability of New Zealanders to move about, meet with others, and to attend public events,” said the report.

Brown in a media briefing on Tuesday focused in on what he said were the findings that the previous government ignored evidence, advice and warnings, and so chose bad options around vaccines, the length of lockdown restrictions and mistargeted economic stimulus.

“Options were available to end restrictions earlier, options were available to not have as stimulus an economic response, and ultimately New Zealanders are paying the price of that still today,” he said.

Phase two looked at four areas of pandemic response from February 2021 to October 2022:

• vaccine approval and safety.
• vaccine mandates, including the introduction of the Vaccination Assessment Tool and vaccine passes.
• national and regional lockdowns.
• the procurement, development and distribution of testing and tracing technologies.

“These topics, and the time period covered … capture some of the most difficult and divisive elements of New Zealand’s pandemic response,” the report said.

Phase two unpacked four broad lessons by making 24 recommendations.

The four lessons were:

• To improve systems that promote good decision-making by the government.
• To enact legislation for pandemics as the key guard-rail for rights and freedoms.
• Do more shock-proofing of government economic policies.
• Set up research into pandemic responses to communicate clearly to the public.

The 24 recommendations for the government and agencies included:

• Develop options before “the next pandemic” for income and business support during one.
• Develop clear legislation for managing future pandemics that clearly defines the scope and limits of emergency powers.
• Publish advice about how human rights might be impacted.
• Look at establishing a new strategy body at the core of government that can improve the data about impacts on people from pandemic measures.
• Produce regulatory impact statements in future pandemics, and update the Cabinet rules so pandemic decisions get reviewed.
• Present any elimination strategies as temporary from the start.
• Research unconventional monetary policies in case of a big shock.
• Research into how to get back to normal.
• Be open with the public about decision-making in a pandemic.
• Get an agency to look at how to build trust and social cohesion.

Brown stressed at the media briefing the Auckland lockdown went on too long despite Cabinet having options to end it earlier in late 2021.

Economic warnings from Treasury “were not heeded”, he said in a statement, with the commission finding about half the $60 billion Covid response and recovery fund stimulus was not related to the pandemic; so-called shovel-ready infrastructure projects were not ready.

He said Labour’s health minister Ayesha Verrall should have done more to question the Health Ministry around the advice it had about vaccine risks for 12-17 year olds.

The ministry was advised against applying a two-dose vaccine mandate to them due to myocarditis risks but that mandate carried on.

He called on Hipkins and Verrall to explain.

“The reality is Chris Hipkins stood up every single day and he said to New Zealanders that he was making decisions based on advice by health officials. That’s what he told us.

“The reality is, in a number of these instances, he was not. And only now that this report has been released do we find out that he was not making those decisions on the basis of health advice.”

RNZ approached the Labour MPs for a response.

In a statement, Hipkins said their decisions were “considered, appropriate, and guided by the best evidence available at the time”.

“Ministers and officials were making decisions in an unprecedented global crisis, using the best evidence available at the time. These decisions helped protect New Zealanders.”

The key was to use the lessons, but instead over the past two years the government had cut public health capability while commissioning multiple reviews that repeated the same conclusions, he said.

The second phase gathered evidence for 15 months. Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins and Grant Robertson all refused to appear at public hearings but said they had provided ample evidence privately to the commission.

In a joint statement Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson said the findings of the second phase of the report were similar to the first.

“We got a lot right. More than most. But there are areas that could have been better.

“While in office we established the Royal Commission to independently compile what worked, and what we could learn from. We accept the overall findings and recommendations of both reports.

The job now is to ensure NZ is better prepared for the next pandemic. We join the Commission in urging the Government to take the findings of both reports and implement them as a matter of urgency.

“The Commission’s observation – ‘there is no scenario in which NZ – or any other country – could have confronted the pandemic without some cost’ will be just as true for the next time. Our best safeguard is to ensure we are as well prepared as we can be.

“Over the last four years, we have fully cooperated with both phases of the inquiry, including many hours of interviews, and wish to extend our thanks to the Royal Commission staff for their important work on behalf of New Zealand.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/covid-19-response-inquiry-finds-governments-response-effective-but-late-poorly-communicated/