A fourth State of Emergency has been declared ahead of severe weather expected to strike tonight and overnight.
Manawatū District Council is the latest to make the declaration – in a post on social media, the council said it has activated its emergency response team and is closely monitoring river levels.
Heavy rain, rising rivers, slips, flooding, strong winds, and power outages are likely, the council said.
It advised people to take the declaration seriously and prepare now, while there is still daylight, make sure devices are charged and people have a battery-powered radio at the ready to listen to news updates.
The Tararua, Waipā and Ōtorohanga districts are also under states of emergency.
An orange heavy rain warning has already been upgraded to a red warning – the highest level. The warning affects Manawatu, Rangatikei and Ruapehu Districts north of Feilding and east of State Highway One from 6pm tonight.
MetService says the heightened warning means there is a threat to life from dangerous river conditions and significant flooding and slips.
It says the weather conditions will isolate communities and make some roads impassable.
Several more weather warnings and watches have been issued for the east and lower North Island and the top of the South Island.
This latest burst of stormy weather comes as several regions reel from severe storms that have already closed roads, flooded properties and damaged infrastructure.
We’ll be bringing you the latest weather news updates in our live blog through the afternoon and evening.
Follow all the action as the NZ Māori All Stars take on the Australian Indigenous All Stars at FMG Stadium, Waikato.
Six Warriors have been named for the Māori men: captain James Fisher-Harris, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Adam Pompey, Te Maire Martin and Jacob Laban.
Kick-off is at 5.45pm.
Team lists:
Māori All Stars: Warriors star Charnze Nicholl-Klokstad will start at five-eighth and partner teammate Te Maire Martin in the halves. The pair are among five Warriors players in the Māori team, including co-captain James Fisher-Harris, who will start at lock. Winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and second-rower Jacob Laban are the other newcomers. With Nicholl-Klokstad to wear the No.6 jersey, Keano Kini will start at fullback – the pair being among six members of the New Zealand team which won last year’s Pacific Cup final against Samoa. Panthers centre Casey McLean, Fisher-Harris, Briton Nikora and Martin are the others. Bulldogs recruit Leo Thompson and his replacement at the Knights, former Raiders prop Trey Mooney, will start in the front row, with Manly’s Zach Dockar-Clay at hooker.
Indigenous All Stars: Dolphins gun Trai Fuller takes over the fullback role from club team-mate Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow this year. Nicho Hynes returns to the side as halfback, partnering with Sharks team-mate Braydon Trindall, after both missed last year with Vegas commitments. Jayden Campbell, who made his debut last year as five-eighth, moves to the bench. Jack Wighton returns at centre and will become the most capped men’s Indigenous player with nine appearances. Coach Ronald Griffiths has named six debutants in his team of 20, including North Sydney Bears lock Caleb Tohi, who has come in for injured Wests Tigers forward Ethan Roberts. He joins two other players in Redcliffe Dolphins hooker Brent Woolf and Titans-contracted rake Ollie Pascoe who are yet to make their NRL debuts.
Liam Swiggs / RNZ
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Australia celebrate their New Zealand SailGP victory off auckland’s Wynyard Point.Getty Images
Despite defending his New Zealand SailGP crown off Auckland’s Wynyard Point, Aussie supremo Tom Slingsby harbours mixed feelings about how his team achieved their feat.
The three-time series champion had a front-row view of the horrible high-speed crash that sent New Zealand and France out of the regatta on Saturday, and admitted the Kiwis’ absence played a big part in the Flying Roos’ repeat success.
“Us winning in Auckland again, I’m not sure why, but it’s become a very happy hunting ground for us and it was very unfortunate the Kiwis weren’t there today,” Slingsby reflected. “We always want to compete against the best teams and the Kiwis, in those conditions, would have been our biggest rivals, I feel.
“Sad for them not being there, but we just focused on ourselves and we’re really happy to convert it into a win.”
Slingsby and Black Foils counterpart Peter Burling have developed a strong rivalry over their years on the professional sailing circuit, and the incident took its toll on the Aussies, as it did on the rest of the fleet.
“I happened to be looking right at it when it happened,” he said. “It was very scary.
“The Kiwis, as a team, we love to hate them, but individually, I love all of those guys. They’re just amazing people and, when a crash like that happens, I instantly think, ‘They’re all my friends and friends I’ve had for a long, long time’.
“When they called off the race, I was happy, because my mind definitely wasn’t on the game. We want the Kiwis out there and we don’t want to see anything like that ever.”
NZ grinder Louis Sinclair suffered compound fractures to both legs in the mayhem and underwent surgery on his right leg overnight. Slingsby messaged Burling to offer his support and hoped to see the Kiwis back on the water soon, although Sydney in two weeks seemed a stretch.
“They’re a champion team,” he said. “No-one knows timelines or when they’ll be back, but we know the day they come back, even if it’s not for championship wins this season, they’ll be out to win as much prize money and events as they can.”
NZ boat ‘Amokura’ was virtually destroyed, when it swerved into the path of the French, who flew over the bow and sliced it in two.
Some drivers questioned the sense of having 13 boats jockeying for position on such a small course in tricky wind conditions and organisers responded by introducing a split-fleet format for the first time on Sunday.
The fleet had experimented with smaller fields in practice, with the anticipated addition of a 14th team next year likely to force the change fulltime.
Slingsby had mixed feelings about the reduced format.
“The racer in me wants the full fleet there,” he said. “I just feel like the full fleet is why we do this – it’s lots of boats and lots happening.
Black Foils boat ‘Amokura’ is salvaged, after crashing with France on the Waitematā Harbour.Felix Diemer for SailGP
“At the same time, you’ve got to make changes, when something like that happens, whether it’s a permanent change or not. At least for today, I totally agree with the split fleet.
“We need to show we’re making changes here and not taking this accident lightly. With windy conditions today and a bigger forecast, I think it was the right call.”
While common sense prevailed, the diluted version felt like the SailGP equivalent of golden oldies scrums in rugby. Let’s just get out of Auckland with no further damage.
Racing was already brought forward to avoid the worst of the weather forecast and conditions changed dramatically again for the three-boat final, where speeds reached 100kmh and crews battled just to keep their boats upright.
Slingsby and his team now head home to Sydney, and he doubts two weeks will allow enough time for New Zealand or France to repair their boats.
“From my technical and structural knowledge of these boats, I think there’s no chance either of those boats are there,” he said.
“For sure you’re facing mental battles. We had a bit incident in Christchurch a couple of years ago and I remember, heading back out onto the racetrack, there were a few little scars there.
“As soon as they fire the gun, I was able to black it out and we got straight back into it.
“I know Peter Burling better than most people, and he will just get back in there and be ripping around the whole way.”
Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
On 14 January, Al Jazeera produced an episode of ‘Inside Story’, their daily current affairs feature programme: Why is the US Fed chair criminal probe causing global alarm?The context is the conflict between the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, versus the man who appointed him to that role, President Donald Trump. In the sense of this conflict, Powell is the archetypal technocrat (the spokesperson for his craft guild), and Trump is playing the role of the democrat (the spokesperson for the American people).
(We note that, in New Zealand, something similar but different is happening; effectively a conflict – for a tiny slice of the historical narrative – between former Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr and the current Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis. It may be said that power is held by those who control the money, and by those who control the narrative.)
The format of Inside Story is that of three remotely-located expert or otherwise-interested interviewees, interviewed by a news-anchor studio interviewer. (Former Newshub newsreader Tom McRae serves as one such interviewer.)
For this episode, the interviewer was Adrian Finighan. The interviewees were: an American political commentator, Eric Ham; a London-based commentator representing the finance industry, Justin Urquhart-Stewart; and a celebrity Irish monetary economist, David McWilliams. (McWilliams was speaking in New Zealand last October; claims have been made that he is the “Attenborough” of economics.)
It is to McWilliams that I particularly wish to focus my comments; so, below, I have transcribed his contributions to the panel discussion. (I will confine my comments re McWilliams to his contributions to the Al Jazeera programme, and not to his writings or other presentations.) But first I have transcribed opening words from Finighan, Ham, and Urquhart-Stewart. There are also comments from Jerome Powell, reporter Fintan Monaghan, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. (To maintain focus the transcriptions have been slightly condensed; the original interview is available, see above.)
Finighan, Ham, and Urquhart-Stewart
Finighan: “A criminal investigation into the Chair of the Fed, Jerome Powell … could have implications well beyond the US … a swift and sharp response from central banks around the world, a joint statement expressing solidarity with Powell.”
Powell: “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President … [through] political pressure or intimidation.”
The general tone here is that Powell – the chairman of a committee – is the good guy, and Trump the bad guy. In this sense the discussion falls into the trope that if there’s a bad guy [ie Trump], then the bad guy’s adversary must be a good guy. Note how Powell presents himself as the ‘man of the people’, even though in reality he is anything but.
Of course, it goes without saying that a narrowly focussed criminal law investigation is not an appropriate forum for discussing democracy and monetary policy. And there is no doubt that President Trump is intimidating, and has a tendency for ad hominem flights of fancy. We should note, for clarification, that the criminal charges referred to relate to the expansion of a building, and not to misconduct in the setting of interest rates.
Reporter, Fintan Monaghan: “The two [President and Chairman] have been at odds over the setting of interest rates for most of the past year. Trump wants cuts. That might give the economy a short-term boost by bringing down the cost of borrowing money, but Powell has resisted because it could cause inflation. … Heads of major central banks around the world, including the ECB’s Christine Lagarde, have voiced support for Powell and the independence of the Fed. Central Banks have traditionally operated separately from the central government. That keeps long-term decisions about the health of the economy separate from short-term political [aka democratic] interests.”
Friedrich Merz: “I hope there will remain a broad consensus that central banks must remain independent because independent central banks are a guarantee that a currency can remain stable in the long term.”
We may note these themes are emphasised by those who we might call ‘monetary policy hawks’; and most central bankers are monetary policy hawks in that they emphasise the notion of raising interest rates as the sine qua non [without which not] of anti-inflation purgative emulsions.
To claim that Reserve Banks have traditionally operated separately from the central government, indicates that some commentators have a very short sense of history. Most central banks operated as a long-arm of government for most of their histories (and most are less than 100 years old; the RBNZ has existed since 1934). The American Fed is usually regarded as having been independent since 1951, though it’s always been a political organisation with politically appointed leaders. Most Reserve Banks have a single shareholder; the Government. During Abenomics, Japan’s central bank was fundamentally a part of Shinzo Abe’s macroeconomic program. As was New Zealand’s Reserve Bank in, say, the late 1930s, when it played a crucial role in implementing the economic policies which launched New Zealand into the position of a global exemplar for a modern egalitarian economy.
We note also that central bankers generally favour the cynical word ‘political’ over the much happier word ‘democratic’. And we note that Friedrich Merz may be confused. He appears to be referring to a national or imperial ‘currency’ such as the Euro, whereas monetary policy at its highest calling seeks to protect the internal value of money; not its external value. (The internal value relates to inflation and deflation; external value relates to currencies’ exchange rates.)
Eric Ham [author and political commentator]: “… that very independence which has actually fuelled United States’s monetary growth.”
Justin Urquhart-Stewart [chairman of an investment platform]: “There is one vital word that central bankers have to give out and that is confidence … this is the first time that I’ve seen central bankers getting together almost as a ‘trade-union’ … [in response to] political interference.’
Ham, like most political commentators, is all-at-sea when trying to comment on monetary matters. I presume that he meant to say ‘economic growth’ rather than ‘monetary growth’. Certainly the wizards of money – ie the Lords of Finance [in the 1930s, the Bankers Who Broke the World] – believe, or claim to believe, that central bank independence fuels long-run economic growth.
Yet, I have a sneaky suspicion that Ham meant what he said. In the mercantilist worldview, a worldview upheld by President Trump, ‘monetary growth’ and ‘economic growth’ are tantamount to the same thing. New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, is also a businessman who believes that making hard-won money represents the economic purpose of human life.
In the golden age of mercantilism, from around 1500 to 1800, money was understood to have been legitimately made by mining, exporting, or stealing. (Queen Elizabeth the First was the monarch best known for having resorted to the latter; she boosted the Royal navy for that purpose.) In this view, only mining represents a legitimate addition to the global money supply. Kings and Queens however sometimes resorted to a fourth method, ‘debasement’; modern monetary bankers are still fighting that battle of yore, with ‘public debt’ representing their principal concept of debased money.
On the ‘other side of the coin’ from monetary philosophers – or is it the ‘other side of the ledger’ – there were accountant bankers. One of their clever tricks was double-entry bookkeeping. Another closely related trick was fractional banking. These (along with a clearing-mechanism developed from medieval Italian banking) became the central technologies of modern banking practice. (Many of the earliest bankers were goldsmiths, who on-lent other people’s gold and silver deposits – albeit by issuing receipts, the forerunners of paper money – without telling the depositors. When in trouble, these fractional moneylenders required a fast horse, and contacts who could smuggle them out of the country! The final piece of the modern-banking puzzle was limited-liability status, facilitating an appropriate amount of risk-taking. These are the initially-disreputable technologies that lubricate capitalism and give it its dynamism. Bankers were not alchemists trying to make money independent of the economies it serves.)
Re Urquhart-Stewart, he emphasised the role of confidence – ie belief – in monetary policy. A word widely used by monetary economists is ‘expectations’. Thus, the role that twentyfirst century monetary authorities have assumed is to manage public expectations, even if they have to resort to some kind of poker trick to do so. An important part of this is to maintain a druid-like sense of authority; to tell a good collegial story – not necessarily an accurate story – in order to give themselves an arcane aura of credibility. Democratically-elected politicians – among others – are required to believe their story.
This may be the first time that Urquhart-Stewart has been aware of central bankers getting together as a union or college or guild; but their recent “joint statement” is by no means their first rodeo. Central bankers of the world – like staunch cowboys – regularly get together at a place called Jackson Hole in Wyoming, USA. (And the lords of finance of the late 1920s – the preeminent central bankers of the United Kingdom, United States, France and Germany – were all in regular contact with each other.) On this note, New Zealand’s own Reserve Bank governor, Anna Breman, was one of Urquhart-Stewart’s unionists; and, for her efforts, she had her fingernails clipped by Nicola Willis. (In the recent state of New Zealand’s political cycle, Willis and Luxon have been more in Trump’s camp than in Powell’s, expressing frustration with an unnecessarily slow process of lowering interest rates. This runs counter to their position in the summer of 2023/24; then the new government’s first act in Parliament was to raise the monetary policy bias in favour of generally higher interest rates.)
In the earlier days of central banking, central bankers were more likely to have been well-connected bankers. Nowadays they are more likely to have been economists, specialising in monetary economics and finance. The division between these two cultures goes back at least as far as to the disputations in the 1840s and 1850s between the economists’ Currency School, and the bankers’ Banking School. While the Banking School may have had the better of the argument, as demonstrated by the ongoing development of monetary practice, the Currency School won the culture war.
Before I go on to reveal economist David McWilliams’ substantial contribution to the Al Jazeera programme, we should note that the setting of interest rates through monetary policy is a fundamentally interventionist overriding of the market determination of a price; it represents an exception to the sanctity of the price-mechanism which is fundamental to economics. Neoliberal anti-interventionists tend to show strong support for interest rate intervention; just not intervention by kings or queens or presidents or ministers of finance; they favour intervention by someone they have confidence in. It is part of a wider belief on the part of economic liberals that it is good for our health that money (unlike sugar) should always be scarce; and that the technocratic authorities, if they must err, should err on the side of money being too scarce.
David McWilliams’ ‘Testimony’
I transcribe McWilliams several contributions to the Inside Story programme:
Contribution One: “I’m speaking to you as a former central bank economist … authoritarian leaders from Nero to Lenin, from Hitler to Henry VIII have always tried to interfere with who prints the money, who gets the money and at what price. … This issue is about who gets to set the growth rate of the American economy. Is it the Federal Reserve or is it the President? … Typically, it is the Federal Reserve that gets to set the growth rate, consistent with a low rate of inflation, is going to be X, and were going to drive our monetary policy and our rate of interest according to that. Politicians are always wanting to put their foot down on the accelerator, more growth, more election success, more people feeling good in the very short term. Central bankers push their foot down on the brakes … because we are worried about the rate of inflation. … The central bankers get [their extraordinary power] because they are concerned about the long-term rate of inflation. Politicians are not concerned about the rate of inflation, and as a consequence they want things to accelerate quicker. … The rate of inflation, which affects poor people more than rich people, will go up. The long-term rate of interest, which affects your mortgage rate, will go up. I think, for the world in general, the idea that the people who actually manage and preserve the integrity of the US dollar are no longer concerned about the integrity of the dollar and much more concerned about short-term politics; that will scare people, not just in the High Street, but also in financial markets.”
Re “printing money”, it’s an intentionally pejorative label for money creation through banking based on double-entry book-keeping. Before ‘printing’, there was ‘minting’, which has been the necessary historical privilege of all kings; not just Nero and Henry VIII. McWilliams conflates printing with minting. When money was principally coins, it was the ‘head’ of the king on the coin that gave the public confidence in that coin; the minted coins represented the liability of the kings to the public. It’s not the place here to comment on the monetary policies of Lenin and Hitler. But, re Henry VIII, I recommend the book Gresham’s Law, by John Guy. Thomas Gresham served as banker to four of the Tudor monarchs, in the middle decades of the sixteenth century. Securing additional public debt for Henry VIII – ie, additional to the minted coinage – could be a difficult and hair-raising experience; actually tantamount to smuggling.
McWilliams posits that the technocratic monetary Tzar, Powell, has – and should have – the power to “set the growth rate of the American economy”. This assertion is problematic in that it is neither accurate nor democratic. Attributing the GDP of the United States to one man does a huge disservice to the other 330 million Americans, and grants Powell more concentrated power than Nero ever had. McWilliams doesn’t mention the word ‘productivity’ once, which is unusual for a media economist; it is more common to hear that long-term growth is determined by productivity than by central banks.
McWilliams goes on to say that elected politicians want economic growth rates higher than what monetary economists think they should want, effectively claiming that democracy is inherently inflationary, that inflation is the greatest of all economic sins, and that “politicians are not concerned about inflation”.
The whole discussion reveals overemphasis on a false conflict or dissonance between ‘long-term’ and ‘short-term’. In reality the long-term is no more than a sequence of short terms. We, all of us, all the time, live in the short-term.
His incorrect argument that inflation adversely affects poor people more than rich people is patently false, made most obvious by the facts that higher interest rates clearly favour the receivers of interest, and that past inflation has played a major role in establishing the wealth of today’s rich. We should note that active ‘inflation-fighting’ does not necessarily mean that prices become lower than they would otherwise be; central bank inflation-fighting is a costly process that contributes to the cost-of-living. If we are constantly inflation-fighting in the short-term, and the long-term is a succession of short-terms, then the cost of inflation-fighting becomes a ubiquitous presence in our lives.
Basically, his argument is that if we [ie people like himself] don’t put interest rates up [in the short-term] then interest rates will go up [in the long term]. We need to raise interest rates in order to lower interest rates, he claims. This illogical argument is essentially that inflation necessarily connects low interest today with high interest tomorrow (and vice versa); that interest rates act like an unlubricated seesaw in which one end is labelled ‘short-term’ and the other end is labelled ‘long-term’.
In his last two sentences above, McWilliams claims that a political appointee to replace Powell – compared to a career appointee – would undermine the “integrity of the US dollar”. There is a sense that the US dollar should be the master of the world economy, not its servant. By the way, all appointments by politicians are political; democracy is political.
Contribution Two: “Central backers are charged with – dully obsessed with – the rate of inflation. The rate of inflation is in effect the value of your take-home pay. … The second thing is of course ‘distribution effects’, who pays most. What you find is that, when the rate of inflation goes up, poor people pay more than rich people. Because a higher percentage of a poor person’s income is going to be going on basics … everybody is affected badly, but the poor are affected worse. And then the final point is that for anyone who has a mortgage … inflation means that interest rates will go up. Donald Trump is so keen to reduce interest rates because he is an endemic debtor. There’s always a split in the world between those people who are creditors, who lend money, and debtors, those people who borrow money. As a general rule those people who borrow money want the cost of borrowing to be as low as possible. And if you’ve spent your lifetime defaulting, borrowing, defaulting again, then your DNA will be biassed towards lower not higher interest rates. But who rewards the saver if the rate of interest is artificially low?”
Central bankers, but not McWilliams, make a virtue of themselves being dull technocrats.
The rate of inflation is not the value of your-take home pay. Inflation is an increase in prices, not a level of prices. Inflation, meaning a decrease in what a dollar will buy, strictly affects all prices, including wages; and including luxuries as well as necessities. What McWilliams is arguing is that inflation, though itself not about relative prices, nevertheless has a biased impact on relative prices. Relative prices are in fact caused by market forces; changes in the demand for and supply of different commodities and factors of production. Certainly, changes in interest rates represent a change in relative prices, because the rate of interest (comparable to the wage rate) is the price of a factor of production. If inflation is the only thing that’s going on, a four percent increase in prices will be matched simultaneously by a four percent increase in wages, so the value of your take-home pay is unchanged. All inflation does is reduce what a person’s money-in-the-bank will buy, and make it easier for a person to repay debts. It’s true that markets will respond to inflation by raising the money cost of future debt. Do markets really need help from the monetary druids who claim that interest rates should be raised in an interventionist manner, not only in response to inflation but also ahead of what they claim is expected inflation.
The line from people like McWilliams is that debt is akin to a form of sin, whereas squirrelling money away at four percent annual interest is a virtue. This is religious metaphysics, not science. How many people who have made a lot of money did so simply from squirreling away their wages? Not many. Rich people, except those who simply inherited from daddy, incurred debt to become rich. Rich nations incurred debt – private and public debt – to become rich. Debt has played and continues to play an absolutely fundamental role in economic and civilisational development.
Even in nature the squirrels are not rewarded. They earn no interest on their nuts, and they are subject to a ‘use it or lose it regime’. Nuts which are saved for too long become inedible, or simply go missing. Yes, savers should be rewarded when capital is scarce and people with unspent income need to be induced to take investment risks. In the twentyfirst century, however, the world has been awash with private stashes of idle money; central bankers should not be using public policy to serve the interests of the owners of these stashes.
Contribution Three: “Is the institution stronger than the personalities? I think what we are talking about is a power grab, and we know there’s nobody more powerful in society than the person who controls the money. Money is the glue that gels society together. It is an awesome weapon on the part of governments, which is why I suspect central banks have been independent for so long. We’ve largely seen a revolution of the central banks in the 1970s; by the 1990s with the exception of the UK most were independent. … This is about power and the exercising of power; and I would say that money is a far more powerful tool than ideology, than even warfare, than certainly all sorts of other weapons in the hands of presidents. So, what we are seeing here is a man who doesn’t really understand – or isn’t bound by – the rules of the game, so he’s tearing up the rules as we go along. This is a particularly acute tearing-up. Why? Because he’s actually affecting financial markets, corporate interests, Wall Street’s interests, so there may well be a massive pushback. But to answer your question, if there is a patsy at the helm of the Fed it will undermine the credibility of the United States dollar at a time when the dollar is under credible threat. The United States is no longer the overwhelmingly dominant economy in the world; it is technically number one, but it is being gradually dragged back downwards by China and in the long term by other countries as they grow. So, I think President Trump doesn’t understand the exorbitant privilege that the United States has as [having] the reserve currency of the world. There is nothing more powerful than that you can print money for free as the reserve currency, and people have to give you real stuff to buy that currency that you print for free. How amazing a deal is this? And for the Americans to self-sabotage from the White House seems to be the politics of idiocy.”
Here McWilliams reveals the power agenda of the monetary church. Money should be controlled by the church, themselves; not by the people through their elected or unelected representatives. Henry VIII struggled with the Rome-based Catholic Church in the 1530s. Henry won. What we see today, in McWilliams’ words, is the new church in another power struggle; a struggle – possibly a struggle to the death – that the new faith is probably winning. Who should we trust; the king or the church? The “rules of the game”, by the way, were set by the monetary economists – the currency school – of the nineteenth century. Those rules went quiet in the 1930s, but they started to reassert themselves in the 1970s; in the mid-1980s in New Zealand.
McWilliams does understand the power of double-entry bookkeeping as applied to banks – the power to “print money for free”. And he is correct that Trumponomics – Trumpian mercantilism – is an unwitting policy to self-sabotage the United States’ economy. But to transfer power to a college of druids is not the answer, either. Rather, lay people should all be better educated about money; but not so-educated by these monetary Jesuits. Henry VIII was taught statecraft by Cardinal Wolsey. He overthrew Wolsey – his mentor and his tormentor – but was unable to seek, let alone find, a better counsellor; Henry lost his way. Today we have democracy; a civilisation-project that is still immature, a project whose survival cannot be guaranteed. For all Trump’s faults, he is nevertheless more sensitive to ‘the people’ than are the technocrats who, while really serving the church of sacred money, claim to “serve the public”.
Contribution Four: “I would like your viewers to just remind themselves that the key word here is ‘trust’; what keeps money sacred, almost has an alchemic value, is trust. I trust it, you trust it, we trust each other. Now if you chip away at that trust, which is ephemeral, entirely in our heads, you begin to chip away at the very foundations of the system that we all have in, that system remains stable. So once you put the trust in the currency in the hands of somebody who is untrustworthy you begin to open all sorts of dilemmas about what’s the value of money, who prints it, will it buy what it says it buys, and can I save it. These are massive, massive issues.”
I can say here that ‘sunlight is the best disinfectant’, that delegating our credulity to a college of wizards and metaphysicians is not our best way forward. What David McWilliams (and the people he speaks for) says here, while more Hogwarts than hogwash, perhaps belongs in the Age of Aquarius; like Christian Hawkesby’s ‘North Star’ (refer Reserve Bank cuts OCR 25 basis points, RNZ Morning Report, 29 May 2025). That, of course does not redeem President Trump.
In an important sense, McWilliams is correct. Money is free; freer than a piece of paper. But it’s always an accounting liability; a liability incurred by whoever’s signature or head is on it. Neither kings nor bankers have an incentive to overcook the money supply. It’s their heads that are on the line. The secrets are to always have enough money in circulation; and that it is better to err on the side of too much than too little. Value can seemingly be created from nothing; that’s always been so. But money, and any other form of promise, is not itself ‘value’; rather money is a set of claims on value. The alchemy perception is that a piece of paper with a signature – or a metallic disc with a king’s head etched on it, or a deposit entry in a bank account – may have intrinsic value, may in itself be wealth. But no, such things are only promises. If promises are to be kept, then sabotage – including self-sabotage – should be avoided.
(As an aside, it has often been believed that a destructive weapon of war was to flood a country’s economy with credible counterfeit money. The Germans allegedly tried it in the United Kingdom in World War Two, but to no avail. The Japanese also tried it in the Philippines; I have actually seen a case of counterfeit money recovered from a Japanese crashed aircraft in Mindanao, Philippines. Fascinating!)
Conclusion
The monetarists’ essential argument is that if the policy objective is to have future lower interest rates you have to have higher interest rates now. That is, the preventative for high interest rates is high interest rates! (By ‘monetarists’, I refer to the monetary bankers and the growing numbers of ‘finance-experts’ of the new Currency School, distinct from the now-scarce practical banker-accountants of the old Banking School.)
Mysticism about money is rife, and ripe, especially within the guardian church. The Church of Money is a part of the New Technocracy that is surreptitiously overwhelming the institutions of democracy.
Re John Maynard Keynes, on the short-term versus the long-term. Keynes said: “In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again”; meaning that actual life is always lived in the short-term, and that the distinction between the short-term and the long-term is essentially vacuous.
The monetarists’ view is normative; that in the event of an economic stagnation or decline, those who had already built ‘nest eggs’ (portfolios of financial claims) should have priority access to diminished goods and services; priority over the workers and capitalists who would be producing those goods and services. That is, priority access to a diminished ‘economic pie’ should be given to rich old gentlemen and gentlewomen, with the greatest priority to be given to those with the biggest portfolios regardless of how those nest eggs were obtained. This is not a policy to benefit the poor.
Further, the implementation of neoliberal monetary policies – today’s Currency School or Currency Church, which favours intervention on the side of less money and dear money – substantially increases the likelihood of national and global economic decline, in the short-term and in the long-term. Just as a car with insufficient lubricating oil will not go well. Such a car may complete a short run, albeit inefficiently; but it will not complete a long run.
*******
Keith Rankin (keith at rankin dot nz), trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
Last week, the facility completely failed – sending tens of millions of litres per day of raw sewage into the Cook Strait.
The wind toppled this dead tree in the Wellington suburb of Mount Cook, taking down power lines to at least one house.RNZ / John Gerritsen
The council said in windy conditions, there’s a risk seaspray containing bugs could cause illness.
Wellington Water is also warning that raw sewage may need to be pumped out of the plant due to the increased pressure from incoming rain.
“The focus today is to minimise any need to use the short outfall while keeping our operators safe.”
The water company said its latest round of testing showed some high levels of bacteria in the results, which was expected.
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand is warning of potential flight disruptions as a result of the strong winds.
Chief operating officer Alex Marren said winds over 50 knots are expected, likely causing delays and cancellations.
He said low visibility, combined with ongoing airport upgrades in Wellington, could add to the disruption.
Wellington Electricity is also warning those in the capital to prepare.
“Make sure trampolines and other outdoor objects are secured for safety reasons, and to prevent them from damaging property and overhead electrical equipment.”
Associate Health Minister Doocey’s decision to sign the U=U declaration today is a critical step on the road towards zero locally acquired HIV transmissions in Aotearoa New Zealand.
U = U stands for Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U). It means that a person living with HIV who is on effective treatment and maintains an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV to sexual partner(s).
“The U=U message helps increase testing, treatment adherence, and viral suppression rates, but most importantly, it increases the confidence and dignity of people living with HIV. It’s proof that science and compassion walk hand in hand,” says Liz Gibbs, CEO of Burnett Foundation Aotearoa.
This decision makes New Zealand the 5th country to sign the multinational U=U Call to Action, behind Australia, Canada, the USA, and Vietnam.
“Currently people living with HIV may face prosecution under the Crimes Act for HIV non-disclosure to their sexual partners (unless they are using a condom), even if they are on treatment with an undetectable viral load and therefore pose zero risk of transmission. With the Government’s official endorsement of U=U, it gives the Police, Courts and government departments the backing required to modernise outdated guidelines and policies, so they are in-keeping with the latest science.” says Gibbs.
This is a significant step forward that many across the HIV and sexual health community have been advocating for several years, and we are thrilled to see it finally come to pass.
About Burnett Foundation Aotearoa:
The Burnett Foundation Aotearoa is a national organisation dedicated to preventing HIV transmission, supporting people living with HIV and reducing stigma across Aotearoa. For 40 years, it has driven public health education, advocacy, and community-led support. The foundation empowers people with knowledge, care, and connection, working towards a future with zero HIV transmissions.
Covering period of Sunday 15 – Monday 16 February 2026 – At 2:36pm MetService escalated the Severe Weather Warnings in Manawatu, Rangitikei and Ruapehu Districts north of Feilding and east of State Highway One to a Red Warning for Heavy Rain, in consultation with the Horizons Regional Council.
All MetService Warnings have the potential for impacts, but Red Warnings are reserved for the most extreme weather events where significant impact and disruption are expected.
The escalation to a Red Warning comes as a deep area of low pressure sinks southwards across the eastern coast of the North Island, feeding heavy rain into the region, accompanied by strong gusty winds.
The heaviest rain is forecast for overnight tonight, Sunday, into Monday with the Red Severe Weather Warning running from 6pm Sunday to 2pm Monday.
MetService meteorologist John Law says, “It will be a wet and windy night for many parts of the lower and eastern North Island tonight, with rain returning and persisting through the night. The rainfall around Taihape and the eastern areas of Manawatu is of particular concern, bringing a threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding, slips and disrupting travel.”
“A Red Warning signifies that people need to act now as immediate action is required to protect people, animals and property from the impact of the weather. People should also be prepared to follow the advice of official authorities and emergency services.”
This is the second Red Warning MetService has issued this year, and it’s the 21st Red Warning weather event since the highest alert level was introduced back in May 2019.
Severe Weather Warnings and Watches also cover much of the eastern and lower North Island both for Heavy Rain and Strong Winds. With strengthening winds forecast though the night, Strong Wind Warnings for severe gales extend from the Cook Strait coast right up the eastern coast with a high chance that the warnings in Hawke’s Bay, eastern Taihape, the Tararua District and Wairarapa could be upgraded to a Red Warning. The strong winds will also be generating rough seas and large waves around the southern and eastern coasts of the North Island.
As the weather system sinks southwards wind and rain will reach down to the top of the South Island, where some Severe Weather Warnings and Watches are also in place.
Keep up to date with weather and warnings via metservice.com or our free MetService weather app.
MetService also now provides push notifications for Severe Weather Warnings via our app. More information can be found here about enabling them.
Understanding MetService Severe Weather Warning System
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings (Localised Red Warning) – take cover now:
This warning is a red warning for a localised area. When extremely severe weather is occurring or will do within the hour. Severe thunderstorms have the ability to have significant impacts for an area indicated in the warning. In the event of a Severe Thunderstorm Red Warning: Act now!
Red Warnings are about taking immediate action:
When extremely severe weather is imminent or is occurring Issued when an event is expected to be among the worst that we get – it will have significant impact and it is possible that a lot of people will be affected In the event of a Red Warning: Act now!
Orange Warnings are about taking action:
When severe weather is imminent or is occurring Typically issued 1 – 3 days in advance of potential severe weather In the event of an Orange Warning: Take action.
Thunderstorm Watch means thunderstorms are possible, be alert and consider action
Show the area that thunderstorms are most likely to occur during the validity period. Although thunderstorms are often localised, the whole area is on watch as it is difficult to know exactly where the severe thunderstorm will occur within the mapped area. During a thunderstorm Watch: Stay alert and take action if necessary.
Watches are about being alert:
When severe weather is possible, but not sufficiently imminent or certain for a warning to be issued Typically issued 1 – 3 days in advance of potential severe weather. During a Watch: Stay alert
Outlooks are about looking ahead:
To provide advanced information on possible future Watches and/or Warnings Issued routinely once or twice a day Recommendation: Plan.
ACT Leader David Seymour’s latest attack on the public sector is straight out of the hard-right playbook – slash and burn now, worry about the consequences later.
“We’ve seen this movie before Iin the 1980s and 90s and we know how it ends – with worse services for New Zealanders and the country less able to deal with the challenges we face,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“The last thing New Zealand needs is more ideologically driven re-structuring designed to meet some arbitrary numerical target and bugger the impact on what really matters – the future of our country and the health and well-being of New Zealanders.
“This is lazy politics from David Seymour and an attempt to distract from the failure of the Government to address the high cost of living facing New Zealanders.
“Seymour wants to cut agencies at exactly the wrong time. New Zealand’s population is growing rapidly and aging. We face a massive infrastructure deficit. Climate change is here right now, as recent severe storms even this week show.
“On top of that, we have our unique bicultural obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, severe homelessness and high unemployment, and being an isolated island nation dependent on biosecurity – these challenges are complex and require more capability, not less, they need specialist agencies.
“Now is the time to be investing in the public services here to support New Zealand, not make more damaging cuts.
“The sad irony is that every time there’s a crisis – whether it’s Pike River, the Christchurch earthquakes, or the 15 March mosque attacks – the Royal Commissions consistently recommend more resources and clearer accountability, not fewer agencies.
“What Seymour dismisses as ‘vanity portfolios’ are often responses to specific community needs and advocacy. The Cancer Control Agency exists because cancer advocates fought for years for independent national leadership. Agencies serving women, Pacific peoples, and ethnic communities exist because these groups were historically underserved by government.
“Seymour claims reducing agencies will magically boost productivity and wages. That’s fantasy economics. Countries with strong public services – like Norway, which he name checks – invest heavily in their public sector and pay their workers well.
“ACT’s ideological belief in a minimal state will leave ordinary Kiwis to fend for themselves while the wealthy like Seymour’s landlord mates get tax cuts.
“The truth is New Zealand needs a capable, well-resourced public service to tackle the challenges ahead. Seymour’s slash-and-burn approach would leave us weaker, less prepared, and less able to protect New Zealanders when they need it most.
“Voters will have a clear choice this election – and the PSA will be saying loud and clear that ACT wants to sacrifice our future all for a deeply flawed ideology.”
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahiis Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
Wild weather is sweeping through the east and lower North Island and some parts of the South Island, with orange weather warnings, and yellow watches across much of the motu, for heavy rain and strong winds.
In some places, MetService forecasters have warned there is a threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips.
States of emergency have been issued for Tararua District. Waipā District and Ōtorohanga District.
This latest burst of stormy weather comes as several regions reel from severe storms that have already closed roads, flooded properties and damaged infrastructure.
We’ll be bringing you the latest weather news updates in our live blog through the afternoon and evening.
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on February 15, 2026.
Funny, tender, goofy – Catherine O’Hara lit up the screen every time she showed up Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben McCann, Associate Professor of French Studies, Adelaide University Catherine O’Hara, the beloved actor and comedian who has died aged 71, occupied that rare position in contemporary screen culture: a comic actor, a cult figure and a mainstream star. Her work spanned more than 50 years, from
Australia’s Pacific worker scheme is far from perfect – but we can make it better Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Mares, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme (PALM) is a crucial source of workers across regional Australia. About 32,000 people from nine Pacific nations and Timor-Leste work in Australia under PALM. Over seven months
Indonesian protesters slam Prabowo over ‘peacekeeping’ troops for Gaza Asia Pacific Report Protesters have condemned Indonesia’s plan to take part in the International Stabilisaton Force for Gaza as Israel continues to violate the ceasefire on an almost daily basis. Carrying placards declaring “Break the siege”, “Gaza is not for sale”, “So, when will the Palestinians get to decide their own future” and crosses over
High Court defeat piles pressure on ’embarrassed’ Fiji PM Rabuka’s leadership, says academic By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor A court ruling in favour of Fiji’s dismissed anti-corruption chief has “embarrassed” Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, a New Zealand-based Fiji politics academic says. University of Canterbury distinguished professor Steven Ratuva told RNZ Pacific Waves that while the Fiji High Court decision on Barbara Malimali offered “clarity” on the separation
Dog parks are an unexploited arena for a television dramedy – so now we have ABC’s Dog Park Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Phoebe Hart, Associate Professor, Film Screen & Animation, Queensland University of Technology Raise a paw if your dog ever helped you to meet a new two-legged friend? The premise of ABC’s Dog Park capitalises on the fact pet ownership in Australia is increasing, with canines being the
NZ protesters condemn ‘IDF kill chain’ link to Gaza genocide Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – Asia Pacific Report New Zealand protesters have again spotlighted the country’s stake in US space militarisation today and speakers branded Rocket Lab as an alleged key link in the “IDF kill chain” as part of the Gaza genocide. “Rocket Lab is a celebrated New Zealand success
Francesca Albanese: Why a revolutionary shift on global justice is underway Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese has dismissed recent accusations of anti-Semitism against her as “shameful and defamatory” in an interview on France 24. She has also warned that “the plan to fully destroy Gaza continues” and denounced Israeli measures in the
Stuart Rees: Cowardice over Gaza dressed up as state authority on Sydney’s streets Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Stuart Rees The violence surrounding protests against the visit of Israel’s president was not an accident of crowd control. It reflects a deeper political failure – where authority suppresses dissent rather than confronting uncomfortable truths about Gaza, protest rights and democratic responsibility. In official
New Zealand Food Safety is supporting Nestlé in its recall of specific batches of Milo Dipped Snack Bars as the product may contain foreign matter.
“The concern with this product is that rubber pieces could cause choking,” says acting New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Jenny Bishop.
“If you have any Nestlé Dipped Snack Bars with batch numbers 5316, 5317, and 5318 TD15 and a best-before date of August 2026 don’t eat it. You can return it to the place of purchase for a refund. If that’s not possible, throw it out.”
The affected products are sold at supermarkets and retail stores nationwide.
The products have been removed from store shelves and have not been re-exported.
Visit New Zealand Food Safety’s recall page for up-to-date information and photographs of the affected product.
New Zealand Food Safety has not received any notifications of associated injury.
“As is our usual practice, New Zealand Food Safety will work with Nestlé to understand how this happened and prevent its recurrence,” says Ms Bishop.
The affected products were made in Australia and are also subject to recall there.
The vast majority of food sold in New Zealand is safe, but sometimes problems can occur. Help keep yourself and your family safe by subscribing to our recall alerts. Information on how to subscribe is on the New Zealand Food Safety food recall page.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is inviting feedback on proposed changes to New Zealand’s kava food standard.
The proposed changes include:
clarifying the existing rule that processing aids and additives are not allowed in the preparation of kava.
prohibiting the use of non-noble varieties of kava.
This consultation opened on 9 February and runs until 11.59pm on 27 February 2026.
Why we are proposing these changes
Kava sourced from noble varieties has a history of safe use in New Zealand.
Making the standard clearer about the prohibition of processing aids and food additives will make the rules easier to follow. This will help maintain the safety of kava use.
These changes align with the joint Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organisation Codex Alimentarius Commission ‘Regional Standard for Kava Products for use as a Beverage When Mixed with Water’ (CXS 336R-2020 ).
Full details about the changes are in the discussion document.
Between 12 noon and 1.30pm on Monday 23 February 2026 we are hosting a webinar on the proposed changes. This will be an opportunity to hear more about the proposals, provide feedback, and learn how to make a submission.
beverages containing kava root mixed with cold water. The use of processing aids or food additives is not allowed.
Kava products in packaging must be labelled with 2 warning statements: ‘Use in moderation’ and ‘May cause drowsiness.’ Where products are sold without packaging, these statements must be displayed on signs during sale or in printed form that will go with the kava when it is sold.
Making a submission
Submissions will be accepted until 11.59pm on 27 February 2026.
Food Policy team Policy and Trade directorate New Zealand Food Safety Ministry for Primary Industries PO Box 2526 Wellington 6140 New Zealand.
What to include in email or postal submissions
Your name and title (if applicable).
Your organisation’s name (if applicable).
Your address.
Submissions are public information
Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.
People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.
If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.
An amateur fishing charter company that illegally caught crayfish for customers and served it as a meal has been fined $60,000.
Fiordland Cruises Limited was sentenced on one charge under the Fisheries Act in the Invercargill District Court, following a successful prosecution by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
The Court granted relief from forfeiture of the company’s vessel, Southern Secret, upon payment of a redemption fee of $47,000.
Fisheries New Zealand compliance regional manager south, Garreth Jay, says MPI received several complaints about charter vessel operators working in the Fiordland Marine Area, which included Fiordland Cruises Limited’s vessel Southern Secret.
“Allegations suggested seafood meals were being used to encourage paying passengers to take part in charter trips. Other concerns included questions about who was gathering the seafood – the charter operators or the paying guests.
“We provided all charter operators, including Fiordland Cruises Limited, with clear information on the rules – including that only a passenger catching fish recreationally can have it served to them aboard a charter vessel, and we expect those rules to be followed.”
MPI’s investigation found that between January and October 2023, Fiordland Cruises Limited ran 162 amateur fishing charters, during which 1,630 crayfish were taken and served to paying guests onboard for lunch.
The 1,630 crayfish would have cost between $239,610 and $244,500 on the domestic market, based on a retail value of $147 to $150 per kilogram.
“When we find evidence of fish being taken and used outside of the quota management system (QMS) for commercial purposes – we take action. The QMS ensures the sustainability of fishing activity and economic prosperity of fishery resources and legitimate commercial operators,” says Mr Jay.
“During MPI’s investigation, fishery officers boarded the Southern Secret and found passengers who had not been fishing, were served crayfish for lunch. Guests reported that they did not take part in catching or taking the crayfish and that they saw the cray pots being cleared by the crew.
“Furthermore – the skipper told us that along with the chef, they would lift the craypots while passengers watched. This is illegal behaviour from a company that does not hold a commercial fishing licence and is not a Licensed Fish Receiver. A commercial business cannot catch fish recreationally and serve it to customers,” says Garreth Jay.
We encourage people to report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ 0800 4 POACHER line (0800 476 224).
Police say the incident happened at around 9pm on Saturday night.RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
A Hamilton woman has been seriously assaulted in her own home after confronting two men trying to get inside.
Police said the assault happened on Clarkin Road in Fairfield at about 9pm on Saturday.
The woman was injured and needed hospital treatment.
Police said her attackers took off toward River Road.
Detective Senior Sergeant Neilson said police would be carrying out reassurance patrols in the area.
“Nobody should be unsafe in their own home and the victim is understandably shaken. We’re providing wrap around support for her.”
Police are appealing to the public for information, and say even the smallest detail could be crucial.
“If you know something about this abhorrent crime, please come forward as soon as possible.
“We’re still working to establish the full circumstances and ask anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage from the neighbourhood around Clarkin Road to review the video and contact us if it shows suspicious or unusual activity.”
Police were particularly interested in the period between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Saturday.
The public can report information online at 105.police.govt.nz or call 105, using the reference number 260215/9344.
SailGP organisers have decided to split the fleet for day two of racing off Wynyard Point, after the huge high-speed crash between New Zealand and France on Saturday.
One sailor from each team was taken to hospital, with Kiwi grinder Louis Sinclair reported in stable condition with compound fractures to both legs.
Neither team will front for competition on Sunday, when stronger conditions are expected on the water.
Racing starts at 11.30am.
Follow all the live action here:
Black Foils’ boat Amokura lifted out of the water, after crashing with France.Felix Diemer for SailGP
Commissioner of Police Richard Chambers lead a team of 66 Police runners at the Southern Cross ‘Round the Bays event in Wellington this morning.
Staff from the Police executive, non-sworn employees, sergeants, constables and recruits took part, some running the 8.4km and others completing the 21km race.
New Zealand Police teamed with ‘Round the Bays to create a 2.4km recruitment activation as part of the ongoing recruitment drive which included an appearance by the Police Pipe Band and the Police Maritime Unit – Lady Elizabeth IV.
Commissioner Chambers entered the 8.4km run and made it home in under one hour, alongside fellow keen runner Assistant Commissioner Corrie Parnell.
Commissioner Chambers says, “In typical Wellington fashion, the wind was the winner on the day. It was excellent to see so many Police staff take part in the event, including our outstanding recruits. Fitness is an important part of the recruitment process and joining up with ‘Round the Bays allows us to reach future recruits who have got what it takes. Running is a big part of my daily routine – it helps keep me focused. I admit I had to eat Corrie Parnell’s dust in that race. However, I am pretty stoked I still hit the PAT time even if it was a little slower than the last time I did it about 30 years ago.”
Assistant Commissioner Parnell says, “I run daily as my primary form of exercise which also allows me time to decompress. On Saturday mornings I run the Parkrun 5K event which takes place at various locations across New Zealand and the world. This is another great opportunity to network with like-minded people and gets you up and going at the weekend.”
Thanks to a timing mat at the 2.4km mark, runners could see if they have what it takes to train and complete the running portion of the police Physical Appraisal Test (PAT).
The run is part of the four components of the PAT and while the ‘Round the Bays time can’t be counted towards the PAT – it’s a great training tool to help with longer distance runs.
Two members of recruit wing 393, who graduate in March, raced home ahead of the Director of Training at the Royal New Zealand Police College, Superintendent Sam Keats. “I was running alongside Lachlan and Flynn for most of the race, and then towards the end, they burst off to finish ahead – they ran a great race.”
Wellington Harriers member, 14-year-old student Harry says, “I did the 8.4km run in 36 minutes today, which was pretty good”. Harry also easily completed other parts of the PAT – acing the standing jump and the grip strength test, two of the PAT components which were available to try at the finish line.
As part of the recruiting drive, Chambers wore a blue bib with emergency number 111 on it and Parnell wore the Police non-emergency number 105.
For a bit of fun, other officers and Police employees wore bibs marked with Police radio codes such as 103, 106 and 107.
The Honda Half Marathon 21km race was won by Toby Gualter, the son of a retired former Police officer.
The next ‘Round the Bays run with a Police recruitment activation will occur in Auckland in two weeks on 8 March.
