Category: MIL-OSI

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Medical tourist fights for compensation, claiming surgery destroyed her stomach

Source: Radio New Zealand

  • Manawatū woman to have stomach reconstruction surgery on Monday after botched overseas operation.
  • Helen Watson went to Turkey for gastric sleeve surgery in September as it was cheaper than going private in New Zealand.
  • She says she knew straight away the operation went wrong; the Turkish clinic Medicana denies fault.
  • Watson’s quest for compensation has stalled; Medicana says there’s no reason for it to pay.

A Manawatū woman is just days away from a full stomach reconstruction five months after a weight-loss operation in Turkey went wrong.

Since returning home and falling unwell Helen Watson endured almost two months in hospital and half-a-dozen smaller operations.

While she hopes Monday’s surgery signals the start of her recovery, her battle for compensation has stalled as the Turkish clinic that performed the operation denies it is to blame.

‘I’m scared’

At her Feilding home, a feeding tube attached to her stomach, Watson is steeling herself for an all-day operation.

“It’s now starting to hit how surreal this whole thing is. I’m scared. I’m not going to lie to you – I’m really scared. I’m really nervous about it.

“I’m just kind of pushing people away because I don’t want them to worry for me. It really sucks that this has happened to me.”

Watson paid about $5500 for the operation at the Medicana clinic in Istanbul because she knew she would not get on the public waiting list in New Zealand as she did not have an illness such as diabetes.

Instead her weight hit 80kg, which in her small frame was classed as obese, after she came off a cocktail of drugs she took for years following a car crash.

A gastric sleeve operation performed privately in New Zealand could cost $40,000, which was out of reach – forcing Watson to look overseas.

But now she does not know what life will look like.

“I don’t know what my body is going to do and how well it’s going to heal or what other complications are going to arise later on. I may not be 100 percent,” she said.

“I’m just sitting on the fence for this and letting my body do what it’s got to do.”

Her New Zealand surgeon previously told RNZ it was hard to know exactly what went wrong, but it could be a problem with a staple.

A statement from Medicana said it categorically denied failures with the surgery.

“As documented in the clinical report, the laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy was performed in accordance with internationally accepted standards, with no intraoperative complications and no evidence of leakage at discharge,” it said.

“Post-operative follow-up communications indicate the patient initially reported feeling well and did not raise medical concerns until after undergoing procedures at an external facility abroad.”

Watson denied this, saying she realised straight away something was wrong.

But Medicana said when she was discharged there was no clinical evidence of leakage or complications.

“Medicana does not accept that there is evidence demonstrating surgical error. Medicana stands by the integrity of its surgical and post-operative processes.”

Helen Watson is facing stomach reconstruction surgery on Monday. RNZ/Jimmy Ellingham

Turkish hospital representatives to travel to New Zealand

Medicana said there was no basis for compensation, although it was “open to reviewing any independent medical documentation that may be provided” and to communicating with Watson through “appropriate medical and legal channels to review any new clinical evidence in a professional setting”.

Medicana representatives were travelling to New Zealand next month for routine business reasons, and Watson said she would like to meet with them.

She said Medicana had also made legal threats about her speaking out.

“There’s a lot of things that need to be fixed. I’d like my money back, absolutely. I’d like my flights [paid for],” Watson said.

“I even sent them an email asking them for my money back and my flights. My brother-in-law helped me with that letter. Then they came back and said they wanted to sue me.”

Medicana said it sought legal advice in New Zealand about Watson’s public allegations, but had not initiated legal proceedings.

Watson had thought about engaging a lawyer in Turkey, but that came at a cost.

NZ system picking up the pieces

With medical tourism growing, Auckland surgeon Dr Richard Babor said it had reached the point where there was almost always someone in Middlemore Hospital with post-operation problems from overseas surgery.

“We’ve seen increasing numbers of people show up on our acute workload here at Middlemore Hospital.

“Some of them have relatively minor post-operative issues that are easy to sort out. There is a small proportion of them who have quite serious complications from having had surgery, both in Turkey and in Mexico.”

New Zealand’s system was picking up the pieces when something went wrong, although for most people getting on the public waiting list for weight loss surgery was impossible, he said.

“Here at Middlemore Hospital we do about probably 100 a year, which is a very small number compared to the number of obese people who are in our population, and it’s even quite small compared to the number who are referred to us for surgery.

“We’ve got quite strict criteria that the patients need to satisfy.”

Health NZ previously told RNZ about 500 people a year got bariatric surgery through the public system, where aftercare is included.

Babor said hospitals had been approached by medical tourism organisations to see if they would look after returning patients, but he said this was not possible due to limited resources.

“We can’t run a service that does aftercare for some people who are doing surgery in Turkey or Mexico or Thailand/or India, or wherever it is.

“We would be overwhelmed and we wouldn’t be able to do any surgery on our own patients. We’d just be providing a follow-up service.”

Babor said no official numbers were kept about people affected by overseas surgery going wrong, but it was something bariatric surgeons talked about and would consider.

Helen Watson in hospital.

Medical tourism operator: Do your research

Watson did not use a medical tourism operator, organising her trip to Turkey herself, but growing numbers of people were paying for organised trips.

Vanessa Warren owned Total Transformation Tours, which took clients to Mexico for bariatric surgery. She said after research, and 20 years of experience in bariatrics, she found a clinic and surgeon with a good reputation and thorough after-surgery care.

“Any surgery is going to potentially have complications – whether it’s New Zealand, Mexico, anywhere, there’s potential for complications.

“So, one thing I do like about the surgeon that we use is she does a double leak test so that she makes sure that nothing is leaking during surgery and then the day after.”

Warren encouraged people to research overseas options thoroughly, saying cheaper was not always better.

Her company provides aftercare for 12 months as part of its package and she accompanies clients on the trips and monitors them after their operations, and wouldn’t take a group greater than five people.

“People would definitely prefer to do it in New Zealand, but it’s just a reality any more… I do feel very sorry for people who have had bad experiences overseas.”

Warren said having weight-loss surgery overseas was viewed differently to other operations, such as dental ones.

“It’s a very hot topic and everyone has an opinion about it, and there’s a lot of judgment out there for people.

“I think we need to remove a bit of that stigma. We have to be realistic that people can’t afford healthcare in New Zealand, so they are looking overseas.”

Accident Compensation Corporation said it might cover treatment injuries from overseas operations if an injury met its criteria, and that any cover was decided on a case-by-case basis.

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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/2026/02/20/medical-tourist-fights-for-compensation-claiming-surgery-destroyed-her-stomach/

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Police ask public for help to find missing North Shore woman

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are asking the public for help to find Katherine. Supplied/New Zealand Police

Police are asking for help finding Katherine, who has been reported missing from the Auckland suburb of Glenfield.

She has not contacted her family since Thursday, which is out of character for her.

Police said she is known to frequent the wider Glenfield area, but often visits churches around Auckland when not on the North Shore.

Police and Katherine’s family have concerns for her welfare and would like to find her as soon as possible.

If you have seen Katherine or have any information that might help police locate her, please call 105, quoting file number 260220/8088.

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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/2026/02/20/police-ask-public-for-help-to-find-missing-north-shore-woman/

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Dark web drug syndicate exposed during police investigattion

Source: Radio New Zealand

The group allegedly imported and distributed drugs across the country. (File photo) RNZ / REECE BAKER

A long-running police investigation has exposed a syndicate operating a drug importation and distribution network through the dark web.

Operation Solana, led by the National Organised Crime Group, had been ongoing for the last nine months looking at the alleged importation and distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and ketamine.

It led to 16 search warrants being carried out across Auckland and Hamilton on Thursday and Friday.

Police arrested 11 people and seized drugs and cash.

Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Hunt, from the National Organised Crime Group, said police would allege the group used dark web markets, encrypted messaging applications, and cryptocurrency services to obscure their identities and financial flows.

The drugs were being sent to New Zealand from the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA.

Hunt said the investigation started after a local syndicate was found using anonymous online marketplaces to carry out illegal activities.

Customs and overseas law enforcement agencies from USA, Australian Border Force, and Europe seized in excess of 200 kilograms of these controlled drugs at their borders destined for this syndicate, Hunt said.

Approximately $500,000 in cash had been seized during the search warrants along with guns, including a 3D printed one.

Eleven people, aged between 24 and 42, were expected in the Auckland District Court and Hamilton District Court on Friday facing charges of importing, possessing and supplying class A, B and C drugs, unlawful possessions of firearms and participating in an organised criminal group.

“Offending on the dark web is not invisible,” Hunt said.

“Police are increasingly equipped to identify and dismantle criminal enterprises that believe they can hide behind technology and encryption.

“These arrests send a clear message: if you are importing or dealing drugs through the dark web, we will find you, and we will hold you to account.”

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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/2026/02/20/dark-web-drug-syndicate-exposed-during-police-investigattion/

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Single lane of SH73 near Arthur’s Pass opens after crash between car and motorbike

Source: Radio New Zealand

A crash has closed Arthur’s Pass. Screenshot/Google Maps

A single lane of State Highway 73 near Arthur’s Pass has reopened after a serious crash between a car and a motorbike.

The crash happened near the intersection with Cora Lynn Road at about 1pm.

Motorists will be required to stop on demand, and a 30-kilometre-an hour temporary speed restriction is in place.

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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/2026/02/20/single-lane-of-sh73-near-arthurs-pass-opens-after-crash-between-car-and-motorbike/

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Confusion over who is meant to deal with ongoing power cuts

Source: Radio New Zealand

Damage from the storm to electricity networks was extensive. Wellington City Council

Residents across the lower North Islandare getting increasingly frustrated with power providers and the lines company, with one 92-year-old forced to cart buckets of water to flush the toilet.

Schools closed and power was cut to thousands when wild weather rolled across the lower North Island overnight on Sunday.

Wellington Electricity confirmed about 700 homes in Wellington were still without power on Friday morning, while Powerco said electricity was yet to be restored to 178 homes in Wairarapa and about 1500 across the Manawatū-Whanganui regions.

Both companies said the damage to the networks had been extensive and acknowledged the frustration and ongoing disruption to those who were yet to be reconnected.

Wellington Electricity said it would donate $10 to KidsCan Charitable Trust for every customer whose power would not be restored on Friday, and that it had pulled in additional resources and cancelled all planned work to do so.

Nonagenarian forced to carry buckets of water

In Wairarapa, 92-year-old Patrick Craddock said it took until just after midday Thursday to reconnect his and his partner Peggy’s rural property.

He said they relied on electricity to power their home’s water pumps, and were forced to carry buckets of water nearly 50m to fill the cistern of their toilet.

He said a nearby neighbour – also going without power – was ill, and he hoped their supplier would have prioritised people who were elderly, sick or disabled.

“It seems to be a bit crazy that the people who are in need most have to contact Powerco and say ‘please help us’. It would be useful to have a little list so that people who are sick and disabled could fill in a little form and send it to Powerco so that something happens, because when these accidents happen it’s bloody hard to deal with it.”

RNZ put that to Powerco. It said the storm had initially affected more that 25,000 properties on its network and the severity of the damage was requiring “complete rebuilds of sections of the electricity network before power can be restored”.

“Medically dependent customers can register their needs with their electricity retailer (the company they pay their power bill to).

“Being registered does not guarantee an uninterrupted power supply, especially during faults or severe weather, so customers are encouraged to have an emergency response plan and backup options in place.”

Trees down on Mount Victoria. Wellington City Council

Confusion over who to call

The onsite house manager for a central Wellington boarding house told RNZ he was shocked that a loose power connection – which sent sparks flying onto the street below – went unaddressed for days.

Robert Frazer said Fire and Emergency cordoned off the area on The Terrace but as of Thursday evening, the boarding house’s 15 tenants were still in the dark.

He said Wellington Electricity and his power provider had been contacted “multiple times”.

“You contact Wellington Electricity and they say, ‘We’re not the people you should contact, you have to contact Genesis,’ our power provider.

“So then I contact Genesis… and they say, ‘We’re not the people who actually fix it so you need to contact Wellington Electricity,’ and so it just keeps going around like that.

“No one’s prepared to say, ‘Right we’re the ones that are responsible, we’re coming out now.’”

Frazer said in a city with high winds, it was disappointing that there were not contingencies in place.

“Do you expect us as customers to put [up] with – whenever there’s strong wind in Wellington – to be without power for days”?

“If this was a really cold day in the winter time – we’ve got no heating right now – that is really substandard.”

His power was eventually restored on Friday morning.

One of the hostel’s residents, Gareth Mackay, said the first few days were manageable but it was getting harder to deal with the longer it dragged on.

“No fridges, no cooking, we can’t even shower because the hot water’s connected to power as well. It’s not good.

“I don’t think we’re doing very well honestly. It’s ridiculous.”

Power remains out for hundreds of Wellingtonians. Wellington City Council

Genesis Energy was contacted for comment. A spokesperson for Wellington Electricity said customers must first contact their electricity retailer, who would then log a job.

“It’s essential that customers call their retailer in an outage. We cannot identify individual property outages unless a call is logged, and if one isn’t, we’ll assume the customer is part of a wider area outage.

“If someone spots anything they believe is an electricity hazard they should call our emergency line on 0800 248 148. If anyone’s in danger or there’s a fire or serious risk to property, they should call 111 immediately.”

Solo mother of two Nicola Hill was still offline after she woke to find no power in her Island Bay home on Tuesday morning.

“We just don’t know when it’s going to come back on, but we’ve been told that someone has to be at the house to allow access to help to fix the problem.

“That just means that I’ve had to be at home without access to power for the last three days. Still no one’s turned up, and you don’t have any timeframes for when things are going to be resolved,” Hill said.

Hill said the only response to her daily attempts to contact Powershop – her supplier – and Wellington Electricity had been a text asking customers to contact Powershop if their power had come back.

She said she was frustrated, but conscious of others about the country suffering worse damage.

“I think ours are just inconveniences but it does make me worry about our infrastructure and about how we’re going to cope with some of the climate-related storms that we’re going to expect.

“When we can’t have functioning sewerage and power restored very easily after these sort of – likely to be common – events.”

She felt power companies needed to be more proactive to bring in extra staff and contractors as well as establishing more reliable communications when responding to adverse weather events.

“The system at the communication end isn’t working. You get different people and they’ve got different levels of expertise. The first person didn’t know what the second person knew.

“First of all I was told it was going to be four to six hours, the next person said, ‘It’s not going to be that, it’s going to be more like 18 hours.’ Just a whole lot of really changing messages.”

A spokesperson for Powershop said they were sorry to hear that some customers were still without electricity, “although people can be affected by power cuts like this regardless of which retailer they are with”.

“Responsibility for the restoration of power sits with Wellington Electricity (just as it does with other lines companies around NZ),” they said.

Sunday night’s winds were the strongest to hit the capital since 2013. Wellington City Council

Wellington Electricity said Sunday night’s winds were the strongest to hit the capital since 2013 and that it was dealing with more power cuts than expected.

It said since then power had been restored to about 21,000 homes. More than 60 faults affecting large areas had been fixed, as well as 1000 single-property failures.

A spokesperson said the “vast majority” of area outages were fixed within two days, but they’d been left with a “long tail of single-property” power cuts.

“We’re also not always able to immediately identify these faults, as some may be initially hidden by larger area outages. Some of these jobs have also been complex, requiring follow visits which has affected our original timeline.”

Downed trees prompt free green waste disposal

Wellington City Council said a major clean-up was underway following the southerly storm that ripped through the capital.

Parks and open spaces manager Bradley Schroder said the impact of the vicious winds was everywhere, with trees down all over the city, and would likely take months to clear.

The council said crews with chainsaws had been busy dealing with broken branches hanging from trees on roadsides and in the Botanic Gardens and cemeteries.

Schroder expected the 900 jobs lodged with the council to rise.

Wellington residents could dispose of green waste at the Southern Landfill for free until 5pm on Thursday 26 February. The South Wairarapa and Carterton District councils would also provide free green waste disposal this weekend.

Residents in Masterton would also be offered free disposal, but have been asked to hold onto their green waste until the disposal site – which is dealing with power issues – can accept it.

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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/2026/02/20/confusion-over-who-is-meant-to-deal-with-ongoing-power-cuts/

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Reserve Bank governor warns businesses against passing on higher costs

Source: Radio New Zealand

Reserve Bank governor Anna Breman. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

The Reserve Bank governor has warned businesses against trying to pass higher prices on to households.

Anna Breman said inflation expectations have been rising among economic forecasters and businesses – something she is not happy about.

Speaking at Business Canterbury in Christchurch on Friday, she said firms trying to hike prices face an uphill battle.

“In our view, given that wage growth is still subdued, given that the labour market is starting to increase – but households will want to see more of that – we think it will be very difficult for firms to pass on big price increases.”

Anna Breman said households are still struggling with cost-of-living pressures and a weak jobs market, and higher prices will weigh on consumer spending.

Meanwhile, she warned that volatility – from geopolitical tensions to developments in artificial intelligence – could still throw up surpises for inflation.

She said the Monetary Policy Committee will stay responsive to those risks, but will not overreact to short-term volatility.

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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/2026/02/20/reserve-bank-governor-warns-businesses-against-passing-on-higher-costs/

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Papuan activist Wenda accuses Jakarta of ‘lying’ over shot down plane

Asia Pacific Report

A West Papuan leader has accused the Indonesian government of lying over its operations and “masking” the military role of some civilian aircraft.

Disputing an Indonesian government statement about reported that TPNPB fired upon an aircraft in Boven Digoel, killing both the pilot and copilot, United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) interim president Benny said the aircraft was “not civilian”.

Benny Wenda said the Indonesian government was “tricking the world” about its military operations in West Papua.

“The Cessna plane the TPNPB [West Papua National Liberation Army] fired upon in Boven Digoel was not a civilian plane, as the police spokesman misleadingly stated, but part of a security operation,” Wenda said.

“Indonesia is again disguising their military activity as [civilian] activity. They are also willfully breaching the no-fly zones established by the TPNPB.”

The occupied conflict areas in which the Indonesian military TNI were “not permitted to fly” had been “clearly marked out by the TPNPB”.

“This is the same pattern Indonesia used in 1977, when Indonesia used a disguised civilian plane to bomb villages across the highlands and massacre thousands, including many members of my own family,” Wenda said.

Clear strategy
He added there was a clear strategy behind this — “Indonesia wants to avoid the attention that would be drawn by a large scale military buildup, so they mask their introduction of weapons and other military equipment and personnel”.

Wenda said they were effectively “using their own people as human shields”.

Indonesian soldiers and equipment next to a civilian aircraft. Image: ULMWP

Indonesian troops boarding a civilian aircraft in the West Papua Highlands. Image: ULMWP video screenshot APR

The TPNPB attacks took place on February 11, with the plane being downed and the pilot and co-pilot being killed.

A second attack took place in Mimika, near the Grasberg gold and copper mine, which has been the cause of so much West Papuan deaths over the past 40 years.

“Indonesia then immediately began operating their propaganda machine, claiming that the planes were simply engaged in civilian and medical supply distribution,” Wenda said.

“The truth is that these aircraft were involved in intelligence and security operations.

Media blackout
“Indonesia is only able to spread these lies and mislead the international community because of their six-decades long media blackout in West Papua.

“No journalists or NGOs are allowed to operate in our land. West Papua is a closed society, just like North Korea. I thank God we have civilian journalists to document their lies.”

By breaching these rules the military were inviting further attacks, Wenda said.

“We must always remember that the Indonesian military uses any armed action by West Papuans for their own gain, as a pretext for more militarisation, more displacement, and more deforestation and ecocide.”

Wenda said their aim was always to escalate the situation as a way of ethnically cleansing Papuans, forcing them to become refugees in their own land, and strengthening their colonial hold over West Papua.

“It isn’t a coincidence that in the week since this incident we have seen an escalation in Yahukimo, an Indonesia-occupied community health centre, and transformed it into a military post, displacing and traumatising local residents.”

Using hospitals and other health infrastructure for military means was a clear breach of international humanitarian law, Wenda said.

Normal for military
In West Papua such behaviour was normal for the military.

“In the same week in Puncak regency, Indonesian military personnel seized a school, preventing students from learning and putting ordinary people at risk of harm. Soldiers are posted in classrooms with guns.”

Wenda called on the Indonesian government to withdraw their troops from occupied West Papua, allow civilians to return home, cease using civilian vehicles as a cover for military action, and immediately facilitate a UN Human Rights visit to West Papua — as has been demanded by more than 110 UN Member states.

“Ultimately, Indonesia must come to the table to discuss a referendum,” Wenda said. “This is the only path to a peaceful solution in West Papua.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/20/papuan-activist-wenda-accuses-jakarta-of-lying-over-shot-down-plane/

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Dolphin carrying dead calf seen in marine sanctuary

Source: NZ Department of Conservation

Date:  20 February 2026

A marine tour operator first saw the dolphin on Wednesday this week, and it has been observed several times since by DOC and members of the public.

DOC’s Senior Marine Species Team Advisor Dave Lundquist says while it is heart breaking to see, this is natural dolphin behaviour.

“Because the presumed mother will be under significant stress, everyone should do their best to give the dolphins space,” Dave says. “The pod will be providing all of the support needed.”

“This behaviour has happened in waters around the country before, including in the same area in 2019, and Whangarei in 2011. The cause of the calf’s death is unknown, but it may have been stillborn or died shortly after birth.”

DOC asks anyone who may find the calf after it has been abandoned to call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) so DOC can take samples from the remains. The dolphin may continue carrying the calf for days or weeks.

The Te Pēwhairangi Marine Mammal Sanctuary rules require all vessels to stay 300 m or more away from marine mammals, including dolphins once observed, and to remain stopped until they are at least that far away. No one is allowed in the water within 300 m of a marine mammal. There is also a 5-knot speed limit in safe zones located around the Sanctuary.

Outside of the sanctuary, DOC asks everyone to follow the rules for sharing our waters with marine mammals.

Bottlenose dolphins are classified as Nationally Vulnerable. The number of dolphins regularly present in the Te Pēwhairangi/Bay of Islands has declined in the past, with high calf mortality rates and high levels of vessel interactions. The Sanctuary was set up to reduce these vessel-based pressures.

Marine mammals like bottlenose dolphins are protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978.

For more information about bottlenose dolphins: Bottlenose dolphin: New Zealand marine mammals

Contact

For media enquiries contact:

Email: media@doc.govt.nz

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/20/dolphin-carrying-dead-calf-seen-in-marine-sanctuary/

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Major bank cuts home loan rates

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Reserve Bank indicated it expected to raise interest rates a little faster and earlier than previously forecast. fantasista/123RF

Westpac says it is cutting its three-, four- and five-year home loan rates.

It is the first bank to move after the latest official cash rate (OCR) announcement.

The Reserve Bank indicated it expected to raise interest rates a little faster and earlier than previously forecast – but not as quickly as markets had priced in.

Wholesale markets fell as a result.

Commentators said it could be good news for borrowers and should mean a temporary end to the increases in home loan rates seen in recent weeks.

Westpac said it would cut its three-year special to 4.99 percent, which it said was the only three-year rate below 5 percent at the main banks.

The four- and five-year rates will drop by 20 basis points to 5.19 percent and 5.29 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, ASB economists say borrowers need to work out the best strategies for their circumstances in the current environment.

“With so much going on, it is an important time to have a mortgage plan.”

They said shorter-term rates were now down the most compared to their peaks. Floating, six-month and one-year terms are all 2.9 percent from the highest point.

Senior economist Chris Tennent-Brown said the message for borrowers was that rate were likely to rise over the next few years.

“The timing of when they’ll go up is the uncertain bit and that just depends on if inflation cools quick enough for the Reserve Bank to be comfortable on the sidelines for this year or they need to act earlier or swifter than their forecasts imply.”

It has tended to be the case that a series of one-year fixes has proved cheapest overall, over time.

Tennent-Brown said whether that continued would depend on whether inflation and the economy turned out to be stronger than expedited.

“There’s still a lot of value in strategies like splitting mortgages over one, two and three years.

“It still comes back to that story of balancing up people’s needs for certainty because you can get a lot of certainty now for historically low prices.

“We don’t expect one-year mortgages will get up to the levels that the four- and five-year mortgages are unless inflation turns out to be a much bigger problem than we’re currently thinking.”

He said one- and two-year rates had historically been where banks were most competitive.

“It looks like it’ll be the place to be, but I don’t want to discount the certainty you get if inflation turns out to be more persistent than the current thinking is, for some of the longer-term rates.”

He said he expected one-year rates to get into the early 5 percent range and two-year rates to go a little higher.

“Clearly the low point in rates is at best here and likely behind us. So you just need to work out, what are your needs for flexibility and what are the big risks for you? If I had a lot of debt and I couldn’t deal with rates getting too much higher, there’s a lot of value in those longer-term rates.

“If I need flexibility, the part of the curve around the one-year space has worked incredibly well for years and based on our forecasts should be okay, but it doesn’t give you much protection if inflation and higher interest rates turn out to be on the horizon.”

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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/2026/02/20/major-bank-cuts-home-loan-rates/

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Have you seen Katherine?

Source: New Zealand Police

Police are asking for the public’s help finding Katherine, who has been reported missing from Glenfield.

Katherine, 45, has not contacted her family since yesterday, which is out of character for her.

Katherine is known to frequent the wider Glenfield area, however often visits Churches around Auckland when not on the North Shore.

Police and Katherine’s family have concerns for her welfare and would like to find her as soon as possible.

If you have seen Katherine or have any information that might help us locate her, please call 105, quoting file number 260220/8088.

ENDS.

Amanda Wieneke/NZ Police

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/20/have-you-seen-katherine/

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Economy – RBNZ Governor Anna Breman: Monetary policy must focus on the future

Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand

20 February 2026 – “To achieve our inflation target, we need to look ahead to the future, while learning from the past and understanding the present”, said Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman in a speech at a Business Canterbury lunch today.  

“It takes time for the Official Cash Rate to influence the economy and inflation. Therefore, we base our monetary policy decisions on a forecast of where inflation is heading, and not on where inflation is today. The inflation data is important because it helps us shape the forecast and analyse the drivers of inflation.”

Governor Breman spoke to the current economic situation, as outlined in the February Monetary Policy Statement, as a good example of the need to remain focused on the future. “I want to stress that we are never comfortable having inflation outside our target range. But we must accept what has already happened, understand it, and then look ahead. That’s what our Remit asks of us.”

The time it takes monetary policy to influence the economy and the fact that economic data are often volatile and lagging are good reasons to remain forward looking. In addition, focusing on the future helps financial markets anticipate how the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will react to new information about inflationary pressure.

“This allows financial conditions to change in response to new data – in a way that helps us to achieve our mandate – even before the MPC has met to consider the new data and adjust monetary policy,” Governor Breman explained.

Discussing Wednesday’s decision and economic outlook, Governor Breman acknowledged that the path to 2 percent inflation has been bumpy, but that we expect inflation to already be back in our target range in the first quarter of this year. “We are confident that inflation will return to the 2 percent target midpoint over the next 12 months”, she said. Meeting with households and businesses around the country is a good opportunity to get information about how the economy and inflation is evolving.

“That is a positive outlook for 2026. But it doesn’t mean we can put our feet up”, Governor Breman said. “Today’s volatile world only promises to deliver more curve balls. You only have to look at the growth in artificial intelligence and the major shifts in geopolitical relationships to know that the world is changing. The transition is unlikely to be a smooth one.”

“Importantly, being forward focused does not imply that monetary policy is on a pre-set course. We will adjust our plans as we get new information, and always with a focus on the future.”

More information

Download Governor Breman’s speech (PDF, 1.73MB): https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=ae794fd52c&e=f3c68946f8

Monetary Policy Statement February 2026: https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=c6ec54e6f8&e=f3c68946f8

LiveNews: https://enz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/20/economy-rbnz-governor-anna-breman-monetary-policy-must-focus-on-the-future/

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Watch: Fire tears through pavilion at Auckland’s Northcote College during firefighters strike

Source: Radio New Zealand

Parts of Auckland’s Northcote College have been destroyed in a fire which broke out during a firefighters strike.

Fire and Emergency NZ said they were called to the school about 12.15pm on Friday.

Smoke could be seen from the Harbour Bridge, billowing from the school’s sports pavillion, a large wooden hall with a high pointed roof.

Fire at Northcote College on Auckland’s North Shore. Finn Blackwell

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said the first call about the fire came in at 12.17pm, during a one-hour strike by the Professional Firefighters Union.

It took the volunteer Silverdale crew about 17 minutes to arrive at the school.

It appeared they had been close to the area for another job.

The first career firefighters arrived at 1.13pm, he said.

Communications call centre staff were also on strike for the hour, with managers taking 111 calls and cooridinating call-outs.

On social media, a school spokesperson said: “There is an active fire at Northcote College in the sports pavilion. The fire service is here.

“All students have been evacuated to the other end of the school and are safe.”

Facebook / Northcote College

On its website, a spokesperson said the school would be closing for the day at 2pm.

“Some students may not have their bag because of the evacuation. We are asking students to go home, if they can, without their bag. Students who are unable to get home or need to call home are meeting in the hall and will be supported by staff.

“An email to all students and whānau with further information will be sent later today.”

The building was 121 years old and was a protected historic building.

RNZ / Marika Khabazi

Auckland Council listed it as a category A heritage listing, meaning it had outstanding historical and aesthetic significance.

It was influenced by popular styles from the time, including Queen Anne and Edwardian Classical, a council document said.

“Opened in 1905, it was built to address issues of overcrowding at the original 1877 school, and therefore provides evidence of the rapid expansion of the suburb and its population during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries,” it said.

“The school also continues to represent important aspects of collective memory and identity for the generations of students and teachers who used this place from 1905 and continue to use it today.”

Fire at Northcote College on Auckland’s North Shore. Finn Blackwell

Just last month another large fire broke out during strike action.

A building in Pakuranga was completely destroyed by fire and a person was seriously hurt.

At the time, Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown said he was “angry” on behalf of those impacted by the fire due to it happening during the strike.

“Union action that delays a response to an emergency is quite frankly reckless and the union needs to put a stop to these reckless strikes which endanger lives, homes, and businesses.”

New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union secretary Wattie Watson said contingencies were meant to be put in place during the strike.

Northcote MP Dan Bidois thanked local police and firefighters from across Auckland for the quick response – and to the school staff for an “orderly fire evacuation”.

“Glad everyone is safe.”

Bidois said the building on fire was used to store gym equipment.

On social media, North Shore councillor Richard Hills said it was “so sad” to see another fire at the school.

Damage to the building is severe. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

“It will be hugely upsetting to students, staff and school whānau, especially as they’re just getting back to normal, after the previous fire, and recent opening of new and upgraded buildings post construction.

Hills said it was likely to cause traffic delays in surrounding areas and urged people to stay away if they didn’t need to be there.

RNZ / Marika Khabazi

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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/2026/02/20/watch-fire-tears-through-pavilion-at-aucklands-northcote-college-during-firefighters-strike/

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Could Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest bring down the British monarchy?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jo Coghlan, Associate Professor, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, University of New England

When a royal faces scrutiny, it can feel like a rupture with tradition. Yet across the ages, British royals have repeatedly fallen under suspicion. What makes the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor so striking is that we have to reach back to the 17th century to find anything comparable.

The royals are by no means strangers to scandal, but allegations of law-breaking are another matter entirely. Mountbatten-Windsor’s fall from grace will have huge repercussions for the British royals, and it also gives us an insight into how the handling of the royals has changed since Queen Elizabeth’s death.

When the crown fell

This is not the first time the British royals have crossed paths with the law. In 1483, Richard III became associated with the disappearance of his nephews, the Princes in the Tower. The two princes were legitimate heirs and therefore direct threats to Richard’s claim to the throne. He was never tried in court, and historians still debate the evidence.

The most dramatic confrontation between monarchy and law came with Charles I. He was accused of treason during the English Civil War. He was arrested in 1649, tried and publicly executed. This act stunned Europe and shattered the belief royals were above the law.

As a consequence, England abolished the monarchy and became a republic under Oliver Cromwell. So the last time a member of the royal family was arrested and tried, the crown itself fell.

That precedent matters because it underscores how rare royal arrests are. For more than three centuries the monarchy has avoided that spectacle. The fact Andrew’s arrest forces comparison with Charles I reveals how rare the moment is.

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Reputation as royal strategy

By the 19th century, the monarchy survived less through force and more through reputation. Under Queen Victoria (1837-1901), the crown cultivated domestic virtue and moral seriousness as a shield against instability. Respectability became a strategic defence against scandal.

However, fame and power inevitably lead to very high public interest, and scandals made their way into print culture and later mass media. Prince Albert Victor, the grandson of Queen Victoria, was accused of being Jack the Ripper. It’s a claim historians have largely rejected as conspiracy theory, yet it persists because it speaks to fears about royal cover-ups.

James II was removed from the throne in 1688 during the Glorious Revolution amid claims he undermined Protestantism laws and promoted Catholic officials. His perceived abuse of power, rather than a single prosecutable crime, cost him the throne.

In the 20th century, Edward VIII generated a different kind of unease. After his abdication in 1936, evidence emerged of his sympathy toward Nazi Germany followed by his 1937 meeting with Adolf Hitler in Germany. While there was no prosecution, it did cause serious damage to Edward’s standing and public trust.

The collapse of deference

For much of the 20th century, the monarchy operated within a culture of deference. The press refrained from reporting royals’ private lives and indiscretions were quietly managed. The arrangement insulated the royal family from sustained exposure. However, this began to change after a series of scandals in the 1990s. This eventually led Elizabeth II to call 1992 her annus horribilis.

The rise of tabloid journalism eroded old boundaries, and digital media dissolved them entirely. Silence now intensifies suspicion rather than calming it, as was the case with royal silence about the Princess of Wales’ health in early 2024, forcing them to go public with her cancer battle.

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Influence, access and optics

Even before Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, the optics were damaging.

His arrest lands in this transformed landscape. During his tenure as the United Kingdom’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, he cultivated relationships with political leaders and wealthy business figures across the Middle East and Central Asia. Critics questioned whether he blurred the line between official trade promotion and private networking.

The 2010 “cash for access” episode involving Mountbatten-Windsor’s wife Sarah Ferguson deepened that perception. She was filmed offering introductions to Andrew in exchange for substantial payment. Although she apologised and Andrew denied involvement, the imagery of monetised proximity to the crown was corrosive.

In 2021, an undercover investigation suggested the queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent was prepared to use his royal status to assist a fictitious company in exchange for payment. He denied wrongdoing, but the harm was done.

A brand without insulation

Under Elizabeth II, longevity conferred authority and steadiness that often softened scandal. Under Charles II, the institution appears more exposed. Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest disrupts and exposes the royal family to reputational damage. While he was later released, the scandal still has a long way to play out.

Charles is a constitutional monarch. He can’t interfere in police investigations or prosecutorial decisions without provoking a constitutional crisis. His authority is symbolic rather than executive.

But he can excise Andrew’s inner circle, including his daughters, further from public life. He has already stripped his brother of his royal titles and told him to leave his home, Royal Lodge.

Yet even that has limits. Charles’s power now rests less on control than on credibility. In a permanently watchful society, judgement is delivered not in private but in full view.

The precedent that lingers

The last time a reigning monarch was arrested, England abolished the monarchy and became a republic. The historical echo is impossible to ignore. It reminds us that when the crown becomes entangled with criminal process, the consequences resonate beyond the individual.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest underscores how fragile that trust can be and how decisively it is shaped by the court that really matters, that of public opinion. While Andrew is not the king, the scandal may have been softened if his brother Charles acted more decisevly and sooner to remove him from the inner circles of the monarchy.

Royal scandals chip away at the sense of mystery that has long protected the crown. The monarchy survives not because it holds real political power, but because it represents stability, dignity and something slightly removed from everyday life.

When royals are caught up in scandal, that sense of distance collapses, and the institution can begin to feel more fragile than untouchable.

– ref. Could Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest bring down the British monarchy? – https://theconversation.com/could-andrew-mountbatten-windsors-arrest-bring-down-the-british-monarchy-276508

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/20/could-andrew-mountbatten-windsors-arrest-bring-down-the-british-monarchy-276508/

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$3.5m boost to restore fire-damaged Tongariro

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government is investing $3.5 million in the restoration of 3000-plus hectares of Tongariro National Park destroyed by two major fires last year, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says.

“Tongariro is a Dual World Heritage site, a taonga, and a cornerstone of the Ruapehu District economy. The fires have damaged biodiversity, disrupted recreation, and affected the livelihoods of families and businesses across Ruapehu District,” Mr Potaka says.

“That is why we are investing $3.5m from the International Visitor Levy (IVL) over five years to fund weed control, pest management and biodiversity monitoring. 

“The IVL ensures visitor revenue goes back into maintaining and improving the places that support local jobs, businesses and communities.”

Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro is working alongside DOC to deliver Maunga Ora, a restoration plan based on science, tikanga and mātauranga Māori.

“Recovery is already visible, with native plants pushing through the charred ground. But without sustained weed control and pest management, including managing deer, that regeneration will be at risk,” Mr Potaka says.

“I want to acknowledge the commitment of Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro, DOC staff and the wider Ruapehu community who have been working on the ground since the fires. Their partnership is critical to restoring the mauri of this sacred landscape.

“The investment restores ecological resilience while backing the regional economy and people who depend on it.

“Tongariro is our taonga and restoring its mauri is essential. That’s why the Government is working to secure its long-term future.”
 

Note to editors: 

Photos attached can be published. 

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/20/3-5m-boost-to-restore-fire-damaged-tongariro/

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How Reuters captured the photo of former prince Andrew leaving custody

Source: Radio New Zealand

The photo, taken by Reuters photographer Phil Noble, went viral when it was published. Screenshot / BBC

Slumped in the back seat of his Range Rover, a visibly shaken man once referred to as the “Playboy Prince” stares ahead of him as the car leaves Aylsham police station in Norfolk, England.

The photo, taken by Reuters photographer Phil Noble, went viral when it was published late on Thursday.

It shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles, after he was released from police custody following a day of questioning over allegations he sent confidential government documents to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

When news that Mountbatten-Windsor had been arrested broke early on Thursday, Manchester-based Noble began the six-hour drive south to Norfolk.

How the Sun newspaper ran the image. Screenshot / The Sun

Journalists knew the former prince had been arrested in Norfolk – the county that is home to the royal Sandringham estate where he resides. Since officers from Thames Valley Police – covering southeast England – were questioning him, there were potentially 20 or more police stations where he could have been held.

Following a tip, Noble headed to the police station in the historic market town of Aylsham.

Not much was going on, Noble said. There were a couple of other members of the media there, including Reuters video journalist Marissa Davison.

Six or seven hours went by. Darkness fell. Still, nothing was happening. It seemed like this was the wrong station – after all, it was well over an hour’s drive from Mountbatten-Windsor’s home.

The team of two Reuters journalists decided to book rooms at a hotel. Noble packed up and started heading down the road towards it.

Minutes later, he got a call from Davison. Mountbatten-Windsor’s cars had arrived.

Noble raced back, just in time to see the two vehicles leaving, at high speed. The front car contained two police officers, so Noble aimed his camera and flash at the car behind.

He took six frames in all – two showed police, two were blank, one was out of focus. But one captured the unprecedented nature of the moment: for the first time in modern history, a senior royal was being treated as a common criminal.

The image was used extensively by media worldwide.

“You can plan and use your experience and know roughly what you need to do, but still everything needs to align,” said Noble. “When you’re doing car shots it’s more luck than judgement.”

He hadn’t looked closely at the former prince’s expression, the photographer added. He was just relieved it was him.

“It was a proper old school news day, a guy being arrested, who can we call, tracking him down,” he said.

Mountbatten-Windsor, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and has previously said he regrets their friendship. The current police investigation, which is not related to any allegation of sexual impropriety, involves the suspicion of committing misconduct in public office, according to a statement released on Thursday by Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright.

The former prince’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

He has not spoken publicly since the release of millions of pages of documents by the US government relating to Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.

– Reuters

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/20/how-reuters-captured-the-photo-of-former-prince-andrew-leaving-custody/

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Union hits back at NZ First over Employment Relations Amendment Bill

Source: Radio New Zealand

PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

A union has hit back at claims by New Zealand First it could have changed the law removing the right for contractors to challenge their employment status.

“How dare Winston Peters claim unions were too slow when they contacted his party last year when there was plenty of time for him to make a difference,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association.

The Employment Relations Amendment Bill passed its third reading earlier this week.

Leader Winston Peters said on Thursday he asked the unions why they didn’t come to his party earlier, and why they spent their time with parties who “couldn’t stop it.”

“We can’t stop it now, because you’ve got to stop it months ago,” said Peters.

In response, the PSA said Peters was wrong to blame unions for being too slow to convince New Zealand First to block what it called the “Fire at Will Bill” when his party knew about their concerns in August 2025.

Fitzsimons said Peters had “all the time in the world” between the PSA’s first meeting with New Zealand First and the passing of the Bill this week.

“It’s as simple as this – the party lacked the guts to stand up to the ACT party despite expressing concerns in speeches about the Bill.”

She said New Zealand First committed in the Second Reading to make changes to the personal grievance provisions, “we held out hope, but nothing happened.”

The PSA outlined their interactions with New Zealand First, meeting with the party’s staff on the 5 August. Fitzsimons said it was a “useful meeting” and she was put in touch with their Employment Relations spokesperson, Mark Patterson.

There were two further meetings with Patterson before the Second Reading.

“He really seemed to give us a fair hearing and asked for possible amendments to take the harsh edges off the proposed legislation.”

Fitzsimons said the PSA then made a “last minute, constructive plea to the party last week delivering a handwritten card to Mr Peters.”

She said “Mr Peters had every chance to walk the talk but turned a blind eye,” and that Peters and New Zealand First had “ignored workers.”

“Workers will never forget this latest betrayal – the PSA will be reminding voters come the election what NZ First really stands for – putting the coalition government’s business mates first, not New Zealand workers.”

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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/2026/02/20/union-hits-back-at-nz-first-over-employment-relations-amendment-bill/

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Seven drugged drivers fined since roadside testing began

Source: Radio New Zealand

File photo. RNZ / Richard Tindiller

Police say they have tested more than 300 people and issued seven infringements since roadside drug testing was introduced in the Wellington region two months ago.

On 18 December last year, police began screening drivers in and around the capital for cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine.

Director of road policing Superintendent Steve Greally said police had received positive feedback from the public and frontline staff about the programme.

“National drug-driving testing will further bolster our policing efforts in making roads safer for all, and deterring drivers who are impaired whether by drugs or alcohol from endangering the lives of others.”

He said drivers could not use a prescription or medical note to stop them from needing to take a test or to dispute a positive result.

“The message is still the same for drivers who drive impaired by drugs – don’t take drugs and drive,” Greally said.

“You need to know what you are taking and how it might affect driving and any period of time where it is unsafe to drive.”

“If you intend to get behind the wheel after consuming impairing drugs, you will be caught.”

Testing remains ongoing across the Wellington region – from Kāpiti, Porirua, Wellington City, the Hutt Valley and through to Masterton.

Police will begin roadside drug testing across the rest of the country by mid-2026.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/20/seven-drugged-drivers-fined-since-roadside-testing-began/

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Op Solana: Police operation shines light on drug syndicate

Source: New Zealand Police

A long-running Police investigation has exposed a New Zealand syndicate operating a drug importation and country-wide distribution network through the dark web.

Operation Solana, led by the National Organised Crime Group, dialled in on the illegal activities over the past nine months, involving importing and distributing substances such as methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and ketamine.

Sixteen search warrants were executed across Auckland and Hamilton on Thursday and Friday.

Police have made 11 arrests and seized significant quantities of illicit drugs and cash.

Police will allege the group used dark web markets, encrypted messaging applications, and cryptocurrency services to obscure their identities and financial flows.

The drugs were being sent to New Zealand from the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA.

Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Hunt, from the National Organised Crime Group, says the operation began after enquiries identified a local syndicate using anonymous online marketplaces to carry out its illegal activities.

“We have established this group allegedly imported and distributed these controlled drugs across the country,” he says.

New Zealand Customs and overseas law enforcement agencies from USA, Australian Border Force, and Europe have seized in excess of 200 kilograms of these controlled drugs at their borders destined for this syndicate.

The warrants resulted in further seizures of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and ketamine.

Approximately $500,000 in cash has been seized.

Three firearms were also seized, including a 3D printed firearm.

Eleven people, aged between 24 and 42, are expected in the Auckland District Court and Hamilton District Court today facing charges including:

– importation, possession and supplying class A, B and C controlled drugs
– unlawful possession of firearms
– participating in an organised criminal group

Operation Solana shows Police is growing a capability to detect and disrupt offending occurring out of sight, in online and anonymised environments, Detective Senior Sergeant Hunt says.

“Offending on the dark web is not invisible.

“Police are increasingly equipped to identify and dismantle criminal enterprises that believe they can hide behind technology and encryption.

“These arrests send a clear message: if you are importing or dealing drugs through the dark web, we will find you, and we will hold you to account.”

Police will continue to target individuals and networks seeking to exploit digital platforms for drug harm within New Zealand communities.

ENDS

Jarred Williamson/NZ Police

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/20/op-solana-police-operation-shines-light-on-drug-syndicate/

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Wuthering Heights looks lush – but it’s a bad film and a worse adaptation

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin D. Muir, Casual Academic, School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University

Emily Brontë died of tuberculosis 177 years ago, yet this adaptation is still the worst thing that has ever happened to her.

This is how one Letterbox’d user described writer-director Emerald Fennell’s film adaptation of Brontë’s classic tale.

Reviews for the film are mixed at best. While some critics have praised the visuals, detractors return to the same argument: it is not a good adaptation.

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Good adaptations take advantage of the affordances the cinematic medium provides, so some changes are permissible. Fennell goes well beyond this, altering essential characters, relationships and themes to the point that the film feels like erotic fan-fiction with a Hollywood budget.

To synopsise, Brontë’s story is a tragedy of intergenerational trauma. It follows Heathcliff, an abused serial abuser, and Catherine, an intergenerational manipulator. The pair’s toxic relationship – and mutual revenge on everyone they knew (beyond the grave in Catherine’s case) – wreaks havoc.

Visually loud, emotionally mute

Given its tagline “the greatest love story ever told”, Fennell’s film was destined to make some changes.

The frame narrative of the novel is missing. The novel is told through housekeeper Nelly Dean, who is recounting it to Heathcliff’s tenant, Lockwood. The film, meanwhile, starts in Catherine’s childhood and ends at her death.

This also means Fennell stops short of the final act of the novel. In doing so, she omits an entire generation of important characters on whom the original Catherine and Heathcliff – two traumatised, irredeemable wrecking balls – foist their damage.

The interpersonal dynamics that underpin Brontë’s story are warped into a vacuous caricature, missing the point with virtuosic flair. And make no mistake: there is flair. The visual design is bombastic, pointedly anachronistic, and utterly at odds with the novel’s gloomy Gothic countenance.

The opulent, richly saturated sets veer sharply from Brontë’s bleak, wind-swept moors. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

Brontë’s perpetually grey and haunted moors are swapped for technicolour highlights, elaborate outfits and, at times, saturated tangerine sunsets. It watches like Sofia Coppola attempting Edgar Allan Poe – or a Charli XCX clip (guess who wrote the original soundtrack). This is an odd liberty for a film named after the story’s original setting – the stormy Wuthering Heights estate.

As pioneering Gothic theorists Sanda Gilbert and Susan Gubar write, the Heights in the novel are blanketed by “a general air of sour hatred” that manifests as “continual, aimless violence”.

In the Gothic, setting functions as a haunted presence that reflects the characters’ aberrant psychological states. The past haunts, even when there are no ghosts.

Fennell’s version retains the melodrama, but not the foreboding, hate and malice. And despite the explicit sexuality (none of which appears in the novel beyond euphemism), her take on the story feels oddly toothless. Neutered, even. It trades Gothic for vaudeville.

The erasure of Hindley and Heathcliff

To say the film lacks the novel’s social commentary is an understatement.

From the opening scene, the changes to the source material are clear. We see a young Catherine witnessing a hanged man with an erection – and this tone remains for the entire runtime.

Hindley – Catherine’s brother who forces Heathcliff into servitude, and is arguably the lynchpin of Heathcliff’s revenge – is also entirely absent from the film.

Literary critic Terry Eagleton notes how it is Hindley’s inherited status that enables his abuse of Heathcliff. It is Heathcliff’s lack of wealth, status and property that sees Catherine wed the wealthy Edgar Linton; and, as theorist Arnold Kettle argues, it is Heathcliff’s weaponisation of wealth and inheritance that finally serves as his vehicle for revenge.

To remove these factors is to remove the novel’s entire moral framework.

In the film, Heathcliff’s grievances shrink to Catherine choosing to marry Edgar Linton. This is as close as the film comes to the novel’s treatment of classism, racism and intergenerational trauma.

Likewise, ending on Catherine’s death erases the consequences of the deuteragonists’ manipulations – namely the suffering of their respective children and servants.

The casting of Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff has its own controversy. In the novel, Heathcliff’s ambiguous racial identity, within the context of Georgian England, shapes almost every interaction he has.

Even though it’s not clear what his racial identity is (some scholars point to hints that suggest he may have escaped from slavery), his character is defined by “othering”. This is something Elordi’s Heathcliff is at no risk of believably experiencing.

The film flattens the novel’s broader account of how trauma replicates across generations, and how systemic marginalisation can both attract and beget abuse.

Jacob Elordi’s casting sidesteps the racialised marginalisation central to Heathcliff’s character. Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

On abuse – perhaps Fennell’s strangest departure from the source material is reframing Heathcliff’s treatment of Isabella (Edgar Linton’s sister and later Heathcliff’s wife) as a consensual BDSM dynamic.

Brontë’s Heathcliff terrorises Isabella physically and emotionally, and implicitly sexually, until she flees with their son.

The switch from repressed, complex desire in the novel to explicit sex scenes (absent from the book), and the rewriting of abuse as kink, seems to cater to audiences raised on post-50 Shades Of Grey erotica rather than Victorian Gothic.

Literary classics for a Tiktok generation

Like 2020’s colourful Austen adaptation, Emma (well received as a film, but criticised as an adaptation), Fennell’s Wuthering Heights signals a trend towards the “tiktokification” of literary adaptations.

Hollywood has long taken liberties with books, but this recent wave feels engineered for clips, reels and virality, rather than the necessary sacrifices of adaptation.

We know it’s possible to have adaptations with both flair and substance. Consider Baz Luhrmann. The Oscar-nominated Romeo + Juliet (1996) is just as visually bombastic, yet the extent of verbatim Shakespeare retains a dedication to the source that Fennell’s film lacks.

So what does it have to offer? Virality. Even this article contributes to the internet firestorm that will ensure Wuthering Heights’ commercial success. It will ragebait critics far longer than such a limp effort deserves – and we are all its victims.

– ref. Wuthering Heights looks lush – but it’s a bad film and a worse adaptation – https://theconversation.com/wuthering-heights-looks-lush-but-its-a-bad-film-and-a-worse-adaptation-276179

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/20/wuthering-heights-looks-lush-but-its-a-bad-film-and-a-worse-adaptation-276179/

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A love letter to Country: grief, motherhood and loss in Jada Alberts’ Black Light

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Swain, Associate Lecturer in Theatre, The University of Melbourne

This story oscillates and swells around a glass outdoor table, on the porch of a family home on Larrakia land. A table almost identical to the one on my porch back home. I point this out to my sis as the bubbling opening night crowd pours into the Merlyn Theatre, in the Malthouse on the unceded lands of the Kulin Nation.

I am a proud Dabee Wiradjuri person and theatre maker. My family’s table is held by cold Ngarigo Country, in the alpine plains where I grew up. A far cry from the salty humid air of Larrakia land where this table and this story are set. I do not know Larrakia Country well, only faint memories of glowing sky, crocs and giant mystical trees from when I visited family as a child.

But this table, I do know.

I wonder who else in this auditorium knows this table? Or what is their version of this table? Where do they and their people gather?

Aunty and Bub confront their deeply rooted fears, pain and wisdom on Country. Pia Johnson/Malthouse Theatre

My table back home has held more cups of tea with my family than I can possibly count, summer storm watching, rain bird listening, laughter, tears and silence. If my understanding of this table is even somewhat similar to that of Larrakia mother, writer, director Jada Alberts, then my heart is in for a ride.

Around the Black Light table, we are met by four inimitable First Nations women and actors: Trisha Morton-Thomas (Nan), Rachael Maza (Aunty), Lisa Maza (Mum) and Tahlee Fereday (Bub).

Each of these women is holding the strength of the people and places that have come before and after them. The audience is also there with a lineage that has led us all to this very moment. I wonder how many people will go home and think of all the people and places that have come together in them?

Love and magic

Four women across three generations come together in the wake of an unnamed national crisis. There are allusions to climate disaster with regular power outages, unrest in the city and storms scoring the play. There are resonances of lockdowns from a not-so-distant past, or the possibility this is a crisis in a not-so-distant future.

Following a relationship breakdown, Bub has returned home from the bustle of the city with their children in tow. Nan’s memory is declining; Mum is always working; Aunty, Nan’s main carer, is lonely.

This is the first time in a long time they have all been together – and possibly the first time they have been forced to speak the unspeakable.

Trisha Morton-Thomas as Nan brings equal parts joy and tenderness to the stage. Pia Johnson/Malthouse Theatre

Morton-Thomas as Nan has us in the palm of her hand. When she giggles, we giggle. When she cries, we weep. She so beautifully carries us between worlds, dipping in and out of lucidity, the liminal, the here, the past and into a dreamscape of a beyond. We follow her as our guide through both the surreal and domestic non-linear form this play traversed.

“This is magic and magic is love,” Nan says. Tonight, there is a whole lot of love and undeniable magic.

On the topic of magic, the Maza sisters are a force to be reckoned with. Returning to the stage together for the first time in 17 years, the synergy of these real-life sisters playing fictional sisters is truly palpable. As they began to bicker for the first time, you can feel an energy spill across the audience: a collective strapping in.

The head-to-head, sarcastic side eyes from Aunty and deathly glares from Mum have the audience cackling. The comedy lulls us into a false sense of security, momentarily forgetting the ecological and familial crisis on the horizon.

Tahlee Fereday’s Bub embodies the state of being on the precipice of crisis. Bub is lost and needs to find their way back home. Nan repeats, “Just reach out bub” – Country is waiting.

I have the immense privilege of calling Tahlee a friend and colleague. In the real world, she is a laugh a minute. Here as Bub, Tahlee is grounded, authentic and captivating. Her delivery of the final monologue flaws me in its vulnerability.

Melbourne-based actor Tahlee Fereday plays Bub, teetering on the precipice of crisis, with compassion, depth and humour. Pia Johnson/Malthouse Theatre

Country speaks loudly

I cried before, during and after the show.

Before, reading Albert’s writer and director’s note honouring their grandmothers and generously inviting us to listen to Nan’s words:

I hope her words remind you of your own humanity, your interconnectedness, to every living thing and the Country that holds you.

During, between the laughs, as I experienced the brave truth telling and poetic reclamation of grief, trauma, love, loss and survival in the colonial project. Country speaks loudly: no words, but we heard her.

After, remembering – just like Albert’s – my own grandmother turns 90 this year. The staunch matriarch and pillar of my family. So much of her is in me, her love, her magic (which Nan says is the same thing).

I can’t wait to call my grandma and tell her all about this play.

This will be one of those plays that stays with us another 17 years from now. Pia Johnson/Malthouse Theatre

As I write this now, I still feel as though my heart is on the outside of my body – “good ways”.

Thank you Jada, for sharing the story of your motherhood and the mothers who came before you. Thank you Malthouse for programming this work to open the 2026 season.

I know this will be one of those plays that stays with us another 17 years from now.

Black Light is at Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, until March 7.

– ref. A love letter to Country: grief, motherhood and loss in Jada Alberts’ Black Light – https://theconversation.com/a-love-letter-to-country-grief-motherhood-and-loss-in-jada-alberts-black-light-275802

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/20/a-love-letter-to-country-grief-motherhood-and-loss-in-jada-alberts-black-light-275802/