Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

In a former Anglican church just off Mataura’s main street, you’ll find a new group of worshippers.

The Mataura Masjid and community centre was established at the deconsecrated site in 2018, providing a new place for the Southland region’s Muslim community to gather.

Its 25 or so members come from far and wide, both in terms of their countries of origin, as well as the rural settlements they travel from.

Haji Zamberi Matyunus, a long time resident in Mataura and the current imam (leader) of the Mataura Masjid, told Country Life it was the only mosque of its kind in the rural area, the nearest alternatives being Dunedin or Invercargill.

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Matyunus moved to Mataura from Malaysia more than 40 years ago. There is a stark contrast between the town of less than 2000 residents and the busy city of Kuala Lumpur with a population of over 2 million.

“I like the area – very quiet and peaceful. I like fishing too, and the river is near my house,” he said with a chuckle. The Mataura River is well-known for it’s world-class brown trout fly fishing.

Other members come from “every country”, including Fiji, Libya, and the Philippines – almost too many to name. They travel in from across the wider Southland and Otago regions including from Roxborough, Tapanui, Gore, and Wyndham.

Many, like Matyunus, work at the local meat works processing halal meat – a growing part of New Zealand’s export portfolio, with the government signing new agreements with Indonesia and Malaysia last year.

“The halal process is very, very important for Muslims,” he told Country Life.

Halal is an Arabic word meaning permissible. Halal food excludes pork, alcohol, improperly slaughtered meat, and even certain by-products of non-halal meat like gelatine or animal rennet.

For meat to be halal, a few things have to happen:

• The animal must be cut at the major blood vessel point on the neck to ensure a quick death.
• The animal must not be already dead or suffering.
• A Muslim must proclaim ‘in the name of Allah’ as an act of asking for permission before the slaughter. (Some scholars recommend facing the direction of prayer, Mecca, too.)
• But halal isn’t just about how an animal is killed – it includes how the food is stored, handled, and prepared. Any contamination with non-halal substances can make it impermissible to eat.

Matyunus said he was proud to play a part in this and to call Mataura home. The Masjid is “open for everyone” in the community.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/21/country-life-a-look-inside-matauras-masjid/

Source: Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/21/a-love-letter-to-feijoas/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The interim Chatham Islands council boss says any chief executive will not be using a credit card until the council’s spending oversight policies are tightened up, in the wake of a scathing report.

Bob Penter also wants all sensitive spending by the mayor and chief executive to pass through councillors on a sub-committee, rather than be signed off by the mayor, or deputy mayor.

An auditor-general report, released last week, said former chief executive Paul Eagle’s actions over a project to upgrade his own accommodation were unacceptable and misleading, after costs blew out by more than $250,000.

It found Eagle, a former Rongotai MP and Wellington mayoral candidate, had created or edited contracts and quotes for the house upgrade, effectively had sole oversight of the project, and approved most of the spending.

The authors wrote the report raised “serious integrity questions” for the council, including pointing to its processes for managing credit card spending and reimbursement, calling them “ineffective”.

When asked about excessive credit card use, Penter told RNZ he could not comment on individual employee circumstances, but said the council was taking the Auditor-General’s report “extremely seriously”.

That included more intensive scrutiny of sensitive spending, including credit card use for things like travel, accommodation or food, he said.

“At this point I can confirm there is no chief executive credit card, so we’re not using the credit card at this time, until we get the strengthening of policies that we’re putting to the council next week in place.”

Penter said he would not be using a credit card while in the interim role, because he was not a big fan of them.

He said he would make a number of proposals at next week’s council meeting, aimed at improving processes around expense monitoring, fraud, bribery, corruption, and procurement risk in light of the report.

The Auditor-General’s report pointed to some credit card spending by Eagle that was “unusually high” or lacked an explanation, including $979 on food over five days in May 2024, $580 on a digital design store in Hamilton in September 2024, $351 on the Favona Fun Run in November 2024, and $591 on Anzac groceries.

The report also said that most of Eagle’s expense claims forms had been signed by the mayor, but there was not a date accompanying the forms.

It said the office of the auditor general was told the mayor always sought confirmation before signing expense claim forms from the deputy mayor, but it did not see evidence this had occurred.

Penter said he wanted all mayoral and chief executive sensitive expenditure to go through a council sub-committee – a performance, audit and risk subcommittee – rather than through a one-up process signed off by the mayor or deputy mayor.

He said he would bring this as a proposal to the council next week.

The Serious Fraud Office’s counter-fraud centre, a prevention arm of the office, was helping the council to improve its policies.

The Serious Fraud Office confirmed to RNZ it was “evaluating” the auditor-general’s report for whether there were sufficient grounds to open an enquiry or criminal investigation.

Penter did not answer questions about whether he considered there should be a criminal investigation into the issues raised, or whether he felt, as the interim chief executive, betrayed by Eagle’s actions.

He said he could not comment on past actions by Eagle or the council over the accommodation project, and that he was not working at the council at the time.

But he said the council was holding workshops with council staff and councillors, to make sure they understood the expectations required.

The council was feeling “very positive”, after the release of the report, he said.

“The feeling is we absolutely take the findings – the serious concerns in the OAG report – extremely seriously, but we are positive in terms of our approach to it, we are taking it in a head on way, is what I meant by positive – it’s working to now put in place and rebuild the trust and confidence by ensuring that our systems and processes are fit for purpose and appropriate to address the concerns that’s been raised.”

In a letter included in the report findings, Eagle, who resigned last month, apologised and said his actions did not meet the standards expected of himself and his role.

“I started as chief executive of the council in late 2023, three months earlier than planned and, because of the illness of the outgoing chief executive, did not receive a formal, structured induction process covering the policies, processes, systems and documentation expected of the role.

“I wholeheartedly accept now that I should have sought clarity and support for this process.”

Eagle said that documentation and information provided to explain his actions to the inquiry also “fell short” of expected standards.

“In hindsight, I recognise I panicked when I realised documentation was incomplete and I tried to fix this. I deeply regret that those actions did not meet the standards I expect of myself and my role.

Eagle was contacted 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/2026/03/21/chathams-council-boss-says-no-ce-credit-card-until-policies-tightened-after-damning-ag-report/

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/21/uk-comedian-nearly-died-onstage-hes-quit-smoking-and-being-angry/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: This story covers topics including sex addiction and suicide.

New Kiwi dark comedy Crackhead turns real-life addiction struggles into sharp humour – with Holly Shervey starring and husband Emmett Skilton directing.

Holly Shervey was just six-years-old when her mum died of cancer.

She was her everything, and once she was gone, Shervey began drifting down a destructive path of anxiety – including fears that murderers were lurking outside her bedroom – before an eating disorder, addiction and suicidal thoughts took hold, eventually leading to psychiatric care while she was still at university.

It’s an experience that would break many, but the New Zealand actress has turned that deep pain into a gripping dark comedy, Crackhead, which has just premiered on Kiwi and international screens.

“When I went into psych care, I couldn’t find someone or something to connect my journey with, except Girl Interrupted [an Oscar-winning movie, starring Angelina Jolie],” Shervey tells The Detail.

“It was the only way I could see what was going on for me and someone else going through the same struggle, and it made me feel less alone.

“So, my hope is that anyone who is going through something similar can feel less isolated in their own struggle. Yes, it’s dark, but we have tried to match it with enough comedy so it’s digestible for a wider audience as well.”

A familiar face to Kiwi audiences, thanks to roles on Shortland Street, Auckward Love, and Head High, Shervey moved to New Zealand from Australia with her parents and siblings when she was young. But not long after, tragedy struck when her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

“You lose that stability at that age … and I created these anxieties as a kid. I would have been about 7-years-old, and every night before I went to sleep, I would have to check around the outside of our house to make sure there weren’t murderers hiding.

“You are in survival mode as a kid because you don’t have your mum to look after you.”

As she got older, she turned to food, alcohol, and sex to numb her pain, and “things sort of just spiralled from there”. More than once, she contemplated suicide.

“You are trying so hard to feel normal, but your thoughts are so jagged, part of me was so desperate to not have those thoughts, that spiralling going on for me anymore, and so part of me reached out for help.”

She connected with her family, who organised psychiatric care. It proved lifesaving and life-changing.

And the experience ultimately formed the basis of her plot for her dark comedy, Crackhead.

Shervey wanted to turn her pain into gritty humour, so she created Frankie, a hard-partying, drug-taking, sex-loving, self-destructive 30-something who ends up in rehab.

A hint of her behaviour: in the opening scene, viewers meet her drunk dancing in a nightclub before she hooks up with a stranger in a bathroom cubicle, then vomits in the toilet while insisting her new male friend continues the sex act.

It’s confronting, raw, and gripping, all at once.

Before the end of the first 22 minutes, a hungover Frankie misses her father’s funeral, has a drunken car accident, and burns down part of her sister’s home before landing in court-appointed rehab, where she battles a colourful cast of patients and staff – played by the likes of Miriama Smith, Ana Scotney, and Sara Wiseman.

An in-your-face, did-that-really-make-it-on New Zealand TV “emergency defecation situation” makes it into the next 22 minutes, but it’s probably best that it’s left here.

All up there are eight episodes, which took Shervey and her husband, actor and director Emmett Skilton, eight years to bring to the screen.

For Shervey, bringing Frankie to life was, at times, “so much fun – the parties and drinking”, but other scenes proved “heartbreaking”.

“Playing Frankie felt real, but we definitely have different vices. She’s more of an addict than I was. I struggled more with an eating disorder and suicidal ideation, so there are similarities, but mental health is different,” says Shervey, who never contemplated anyone else playing the role.

“I think if someone else had played her, it would have broken my heart, because that was like my soul on that paper, and it was too hard for me to think of someone else having that voice.

“And the journey of Crackhead has been hugely cathartic.”

Her husband Emmett Skilton, in his role as the show director, admits it was heartbreaking to watch his wife relive her trauma, but he gained a full understanding of what she had been through years earlier.

“When we met, I fell in love with her very quickly and asked her to marry me very quickly. Her first instinct was to make sure that I was aware that she was in psych care.

“So, that being introduced into our relationship in a major way, cut to a decade later, and we are making Crackhead, it was almost like I was starting to understand what all that meant to her, and what all that was.

“So, the scenes that we explored that were the hardest hitting were the ones that were very very close to home in regard to close to the real events that occurred.

“Watching Holly re-live those things, and it was very painful for her, and watching it and guiding her as a director, but also supporting her as a husband, was quite relieving that it was me doing it.”

Shervey fought hard for her story to make it to air – “initially networks weren’t into it, it was too much of a risk” – and then to keep control of the narrative and the title.

“It’s such a powerful name… but there were people who weren’t willing to advertise the show because it’s such a bold name,” she says. “And there were definitely moments when we explored trying to have another title for the show. But nothing felt right.

“Crackhead matches the energy of what the show is. And it’s a crunchy, visceral word, and it’s a crunchy visceral show.”

The show is now airing on Three on Thursday night, plus on demand, and is already reaching international audiences through HBO Max Australia.

“With international audiences, we have had a few people who have already seen it and have nothing to compare it to,” says Skilton, who initially considered acting in the show before committing to director-only. “They said we haven’t seen something like this yet. We even have New Zealand audiences saying that.

“I think the importance of it is that it’s true and honest. You go to some very very dark places, and I think especially New Zealand audiences find those things more digestible when you are laughing at the same time. Or when they have just laughed, two or three seconds previous, you shock them with something very truthful and deep.”

Because sometimes humour is the only way people survive the hardest chapters of their lives. And sometimes telling the truth – even the ugly parts – is the bravest thing a storyteller can do.

Crackhead isn’t polished. It isn’t polite. But that may be exactly the point.

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/2026/03/21/turning-kiwi-pain-into-a-punchline-watched-by-a-global-audience/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former minister Sir Bill Birch is the first to say he copped criticism over the carless days of the late 1970s and early 80s.

They’re the days that drivers, with coloured stickers on their windscreens, chose to keep off the roads during another global oil crisis sparked by events in Iran.

Sir Bill, who was Energy Minister, said the scheme “wasn’t perfect” and “wasn’t very pleasant”.

“But it sort of allowed people to have some use of their vehicles but to do it on a basis of choice in which days they used their cars and which they couldn’t use their cars.”

And it was better than the other option on the Cabinet table, he said.

“Nobody in the Cabinet was very keen on rationing, some of them could go back to the war years when rationing was a bit of a nightmare,” he told RNZ.

“So we adopted the system of carless days.”

Sir Bill believed a lot of people still criticising the scheme today were doing so political reasons.

He does not regret it, he said.

“I mean, we pulled the rug as soon as we had confidence that supply had increased but I think, and I still believe, that it was a better mechanism than rationing.”

‘Ineffective and expensive’

Basil Sharp, an energy economist emeritus professor at Auckland University, remembers the system well but said it did not work.

“And so it just became a huge nuisance for people and it was very, I’d have to say, it was ineffective and it was costly because you’ve got to enforce these things.”

Sharp likens the response to what was seen during Covid.

“Did we get 100 percent compliance with Covid? Of course not. Some people don’t follow the rules and they’re going to try to find ways around the rules,” he said.

“So in the end… it just became ineffective and expensive and so I think rightly so, the government ditched it.”

Sharp said it was a different economy at the time.

“That was an economy based on regulations – interest rates, prices, the cost of electricity, you name it,” he said.

“And so the mindset at the time was ‘well, let’s regulate driving’.”

The regulation did little to lower fuel consumption, which is said to have dropped only about 3 percent.

There were other measures too like cutting the open road speed limit to 80 km/h, and restricting when service stations could sell fuel.

Alan Webb, from the Tauranga Mini Owners’ Club, said people quickly found ways to get around the coloured stickers.

“People started doing what was referred to as portable stickers, what they would do is put the carless day sticker on a thin piece of perspex and then they could transfer it from one car to another which meant then they could use any car any day of the week,” he told RNZ.

“It was never really closely inspected, so it wasn’t that successful.

“People were quite angry, quite annoyed about it and some of them just blatantly ignored it, that’s what they did, they blatantly ignored it.”

Drivers were also able to get exemptions from the scheme, and a black market for exemption stickers cropped up.

There were also forgeries, which all made enforcement a problem.

Households with two cars could simply choose different days to be carless.

Sir Bill Birch said 1979 was a very similar crisis to what was happening now, but current conditions were “a wee bit different”.

“Any government has got to go through the options that are available today, and it sort of hangs on supply and demand,” he said.

“It’s the government’s responsibility to manage that, there’s nobody else that can have the authority to work their way through a crisis of that nature.”

He said the current crisis would be front and centre of Cabinet.

“And they’ll have to work out how much storage they’ve got, what the shortage in supply is going to mean to price, how much increases in prices we’re going to see, how damaging that’s going to be to the inflation and cost of living,” he said.

“And all of those things are very complex that he government’s got to work their way through and consider the impact on the inflation index and cost of living.”

Sir Bill said the current crisis had made him think a lot of the past.

He said the government needed a longterm energy strategy to deal with times when supplies are pinched.

“And my advice to them is to do exactly what we did and that is to engage with people outside of the government who are going to be affected.”

Sir Bill said shortages affected industry, production and jobs.

“And so there’s a whole lot of people in the community that you need to really touch base with and talk to about how it’s going to affect them and what their views are on how it’s managed by the government, so it’s not just a simple decision by the government,” he 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/2026/03/20/sir-bill-birch-oversaw-carless-days-in-the-late-1970s-whats-his-advice-in-this-latest-fuel-crisis/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Christchurch City Council has received a please-explain over sewage being discharged into the ocean around Banks Peninsula.

The Canterbury Regional Council issued the abatement notice on Friday following a recent series of unconsented sewage discharges into Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour and Akaroa Harbour.

Christchurch City Council has until 1 June to provide the regional council with a comprehensive management plan showing how it will manage the problem.

The regional council’s director of operations Brett Aldridge said it was the first step in preventing the issue in future.

“Whakaraupō Lyttelton Harbour and Akaroa Harbour have immense cultural and ecological value for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and the wider community,” Aldridge said.

“These marine environments are home to numerous native species and are also highly valued by recreational users.

“This abatement notice makes it clear we want assurance that critical wastewater infrastructure is being managed appropriately around Whakaraupō and Akaroa Harbours.

“We know these discharges have been distressing for the community and for our treaty partners who are rightfully concerned about the impacts to water quality, kai moana and the ability to swim safely along our coastline.

“It’s our responsibility to ensure CCC is operating its wastewater systems to the standard set out in its resource consent, including making improvements to the network to prevent further breaches in the future.”

It followed an abatement notice being issued to the Christchurch City Council last month for the putrid stench coming from Bromley’s damaged sewage treatment plant.

The plant was damaged by fire in 2021 and has since regularly caused a strong sewage smell to waft across eastern parts of the city.

The smell has been markedly worse in eastern and central Christchurch since the start of the year.

At the time of issuing that notice, the regional council said it had received more than 4500 complaints during the past month describing a “putrid, sewage-like smell”.

In response Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger suggested pumping partially-treated and chlorinated sewage into Pesasus Bay to take pressure off the plant.

That plan was met with concern and outrage from some.

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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/2026/03/20/christchurch-city-council-issued-a-please-explain-over-sewage-discharge/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Follow all the Super Rugby Pacific action as the Hurricanes take on the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

A blockbuster derby awaits as the competition leaders head under the roof in Dunedin to meet the Highlanders. The game will see a plethora of mouth-watering matchups including Jordie Barrett against Timoci Tavatavanawai, Peter Lakai squaring off with the rising Lucas Casey and two of the competition’s form wingers in Caleb Tangitau and Fehi Fineanganofo. Expect a slobberknocker in the deep south.

Kick-off is 7.05pm.

Team lists:

Highlanders:

1. Ethan de Groot 2. Jack Taylor 3. Angus Ta’avao 4. Oliver Haig 5. Te Kamaka Howden 6. Sean Withy 7. Lucas Casey 8. Hugh Renton (cc) 9. Folau Fakatava 10. Reesjan Pasitoa 11. Jona Nareki 12. Timoci Tavatavanawai (cc) 13. Jonah Lowe 14. Caleb Tangitau 15. Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens

Bench: 16. Soane Vikena 17. Josh Bartlett 18. Sosefo Kautai 19. Tai Cribb 20. Veveni Lasaqa 21. Adam Lennox 22. Andrew Knewstubb (debut) 23. Tanielu Tele’a

“Every game that we play is a real arm wrestle for us, if we can play our best rugby then we are in with a chance.” – Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph.

Hurricanes:

1. Xavier Numia 2. Asafo Aumua 3. Pasilio Tosi 4. Caleb Delany 5. Warner Dearns 6. Devan Flanders 7. Peter Lakai 8. Brayden Iose 9. Cam Roigard 10. Ruben Love 11. Fehi Fineanganofo 12. Jordie Barrett (c) 13. Billy Proctor 14. Josh Moorby 15. Callum Harkin

Bench: 16. Vernon Bason (debut) 17. Siale Lauaki 18. Tevita Mafileo 19. Hugo Plummer 20. Brad Shields 21. Du’Plessis Kirifi 22. Ereatara Enari 23. Bailyn Sullivan

“We’re really excited to go down to Dunedin for our first Kiwi derby.” – Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw.

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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/2026/03/20/live-hurricanes-v-highlanders-at-forsyth-barr-stadium-super-rugby-pacific/

Source: Radio New Zealand

“The silence is deafening.”

That’s the word from newly reinstated Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi who said she was yet to speak with her party’s leadership team following months of internal ructions and a bitter High Court battle.

In a wide-ranging interview with Mata host Mihingarangi Forbes, Kapa-Kingi said since returning to Parliament, all the she had received from party co-leader Rāwiri Waititi was a text message asking if she would be available for a short, 10-minute kōrero, and had not spoken to the party’s president John Tamihere since November 2025.

“Rāwiri messaged and asked if I was available at a particular time… we haven’t managed to pull that off.” she said.

“My view is it requires more than 10 minutes, tāku nei whakaaro. Nothing [has been] offered up, no real significant or important conversation set aside yet.”

Kapa-Kingi was reinstated to the party last week, after the High Court ruled her suspension and expulsion from the party was unlawful.

In a press statement released shortly after the court ruling was made public, the party said it would make no further comments on the matter.

Kapa-Kingi told Mata she was also yet to receive an apology.

“The silence is deafening, e pono ana, and I would say their press release probably reflects where their thinking is at and their practice.

“I would expect that at the least, which means there’s time and there are acts of remorse shown. Those things have to be evident going forward.”

Asked what accountability would look like for her, Kapa-Kingi said the “ball” was “in the court of the membership now in terms of the party” and suggested an SGM (Special General Meeting) should be on the table.

“There is clearly 55 pages of evidence to say this occurred and it was unlawful. Any right thinking Māori in a membership or even individually should recognise that we need to do something with this… we need to act on this.”

In late November, a meeting was held between Taitokerau iwi and party members to decide how the electorate should respond to their MPs expulsion. They called on president Tamihere to step down and for Kapa-Kingi to be reinstated to the party instead of remaining as an independent MP.

Kapa-Kingi said her electorate executive still supported her being in Parliament, but were concerned about whether she would still be “valued” in the party.

Asked if she had a “deadline” to decide if she wanted to remain in Parliament, Kapa-Kingi she did not but could feel the “tension” around it.

“When I first ever spoke about this, I talked about Te Tai Tokerau as voting for me, pushing for me, requiring me to do the right job for Te Tai Tokerau, to show up, to do the work, to represent with all my heart and mind present to it.” she said.

“The kaupapa itself, I don’t think belongs to any individual alone or even any party.”

Asked if the ructions within the party had taken a toll on her whānau, a tearful Kapa-Kingi said it had.

“I do fancy myself as a bit of a tough girl… but also vulnerable. This could have been figured out better.” she said.

“Not everybody’s suited to it, leadership. My message [to the leadership] is we should have done better. And we can, we can do better, we need to.”

The full interview is available on the RNZ website and on Youtube.

RNZ has approached Te Pāti Māori 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/2026/03/20/the-silence-is-deafening-mariameno-kapa-kingi-yet-to-speak-with-te-pati-maori-leaders/

Source: Radio New Zealand

White Ferns take series lead with six wicket win in Auckland.

Some big-htting by the middle order has given the White Ferns a lead in the T20 series against South Africa courtesy of a six wicket win in game three in Auckland.

Chasing 150 for victory, White Ferns number four batter Sophie Devine scored a quick-fire unbeaten 55 runs off 38 balls and was backed up by Maddy Green who scored 34 off 25 as the hosts recovered from losing three wickets in the first 10 overs.

The run chase was over in in the 19th over at Eden Park as a misfield by the South African wicketkeeper allowed the ball to run away to the boundary.

Earlier South Africa had won the toss and opted to bat, but lost early wickets to be two down for 9 runs in the third over.

Devine took two wickets as did Suzie Bates.

Game four of the five match series is on Sunday in Wellington.

See how the game unfolded in our blog:

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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/2026/03/20/white-ferns-take-lead-in-t20-series-against-south-africa-proteas/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A man has been found guilty of sexually violating a teenager at his Canterbury bach over 30 years ago.

The victim, who was aged about 18 at the time of the offending, told the Christchurch District Court he was so intoxicated when he was assaulted he thought he might have been drugged.

A jury unanimously found the 68-year-old guilty on Friday afternoon following a week-long trial.

The man’s name suppression will be revisited by the court next week.

Judge Paul Kellar remanded the man in custody.

The judge thanked the jury for their service, saying he could tell they had not found the process easy.

“It is very difficult to sit in judgement on someone. It’s my job and I still don’t find it easy,” Judge Kellar said.

The victim gave evidence that when he was a teenager he would regularly meet with the older man after school to smoke marijuana at the man’s house.

The victim knew the man was gay but had no concerns the man’s motivations were sexual until the night of the attack, the victim said.

The man will be sentenced in May.

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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/2026/03/20/man-found-guilty-of-sexually-assaulting-teen-at-his-bach-over-30-years-ago/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A former Wellington mayor has admitted to having her driving licence suspended after getting caught speeding five times.

Dame Kerry Prendergast told Nick Mills, the host of Wellington Mornings on Newstalk ZB live on air that she had lost her licence for three months before Christmas.

Prendergast admitted it while discussing whether speeding fines should be raised to reduce road deaths.

She told RNZ that she was “shocked” when her licence was suspended as she had not noticed the demerit points adding up over two years,

“Suddenly, you get a letter and you’re not allowed to drive,” she said,

NZTA suspends licences after 100 demerits are accumulated in a two-year period.

Prendergast had her licence returned last week, with a remaining 60 demerits on it, as the points gradually taper off.

“I’ve learnt my lesson and I won’t be speeding because I cannot go through the trauma of losing my licence again,” Dame Kerry said.

She said she struggled with the loss of independence and was upset with herself for speeding.

She had to rely on her husband to get around and walked a lot while she was not allowed to drive.

Her grandchildren were “shocked to find that their grandmother had been caught speeding not just once but five times”.

“They didn’t think it was funny at all.”

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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/2026/03/20/former-wellington-mayor-dame-kerry-prendergast-admits-to-having-driver-licence-suspended/