Category: MIL-OSI

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Farmers calling for same animal welfare standards on local and imported pork

Source: Radio New Zealand

NZPork has previously warned that local producers were struggling against a flood of lower-welfare imports. 123RF

Farmers are renewing calls for the Government to enforce the same animal welfare standards that local pig farmers face on imported pork.

A group of farmers, pork producers and advocates wrote to the Prime Minister and government ministers this week, calling for a “level playing field” among locally-produced and imported product.

The pork industry has wanted this for years now, with industry group NZPork warning that local producers were struggling against a flood of lower-welfare imports.

NZPork estimated that more than 63 percent of pork consumed in Aotearoa came from countries like United States, Spain, Germany and Canada.

In some of these countries, farmers still used sow stalls (narrow cages for pregnant pigs) which New Zealand banned, and had smaller space requirements or longer periods allowed for sows in farrowing crates (that have just given birth to protect the piglets).

It came after last year’s controversial move by the Government to allow farmers a decade grace period before enforcing stricter welfare regulations.

Waikato dairy farmer Walt Cavendish was about to transition his Matamata farming operation into free range pork farming.

He signed the letter addressed to the Government, having said farmers, consumers and the animals deserve high welfare standards.

“New Zealand led the way in 1999 with the Animal Welfare Act. It was a world leading piece of legislation,” he said.

“We made quite a clear decision as a country that animal welfare matters. And we seem to have gone down the road of insisting on that for our farmers, but not insisting that for our imports.”

“For these family farming families, they’re trying to compete with product that would just not be allowed to be farmed here.”

Cavendish had met with officials on the matter previously, and said New Zealand could legally enforce what was called a public morals exemption on importers

“The biggest argument that’s put is the trade implications.

“They’re just so nervous about it.

“Everyone keeps using the trade argument.”

But he said it would be unlikely that those exporting nations would take retaliatory action in response, considering the New Zealand market’s small scale.

“It’s just an argument to try and stop this going further, and that’s why I’m quite firm that the public morals exemption is our best way forward.

“And realistically, with such a low amount of the export from these countries, that they’re hardly going to worry about it.”

He believed people’s fears that pork prices would go up even further if we ditched imports was a “false narrative”, as the national pig herd would likely increase to meet demand.

“Because ultimately, you would be able to produce more, so the cost of production would go down.

“We don’t really feel that the price will go through the roof at all, and there are examples that Animal Policy International have done in their research, where we’re talking peanuts, you know, very little. We’re talking cents, not dollars, in relation to the price adjustment per kilogram of pork.”

But he acknowledged it was a significant concern for cash-strapped consumers, though many of them were passionate about animal welfare.

“One of the big things I get from people that comment to me is their fear of the price going up, because they can’t even now afford a lot of the meat products on the shelf.

Trade minister Todd McClay said if New Zealand introduced requirements based on our methods of production, this could potentially undermine our efforts to prevent other countries from applying unjustified measures that could impact negatively on our agricultural exports.

“Last year animal product exports worth $42 billion reached plates around the globe, making up more than half of our total goods exports.”

“New Zealand is a global leader in farmed animal welfare standards, which underpin our trade reputation and the high quality of our global exports.”

McClay said New Zealand works with other countries to improve animal welfare standards through our membership in the World Organisation for Animal Health and through bilateral collaboration.

“It is important to recognise that different countries have different production systems. Approaches to caring for animals are adapted to local conditions and applying the same standard can sometimes result in different welfare outcomes.”

Food and Agriculture Organization’s latest statistics show New Zealand imported more than 47,000 tonnes of pork in 2023.

The “Fair for Farmers” campaign was launched at the Northland Fieldays in Dargaville today that ran into Saturday.

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://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/26/farmers-calling-for-same-animal-welfare-standards-on-local-and-imported-pork/

Posted on

Farmers calling for same animal welfare standards on local and imported pork

Source: Radio New Zealand

NZPork has previously warned that local producers were struggling against a flood of lower-welfare imports. 123RF

Farmers are renewing calls for the Government to enforce the same animal welfare standards that local pig farmers face on imported pork.

A group of farmers, pork producers and advocates wrote to the Prime Minister and government ministers this week, calling for a “level playing field” among locally-produced and imported product.

The pork industry has wanted this for years now, with industry group NZPork warning that local producers were struggling against a flood of lower-welfare imports.

NZPork estimated that more than 63 percent of pork consumed in Aotearoa came from countries like United States, Spain, Germany and Canada.

In some of these countries, farmers still used sow stalls (narrow cages for pregnant pigs) which New Zealand banned, and had smaller space requirements or longer periods allowed for sows in farrowing crates (that have just given birth to protect the piglets).

It came after last year’s controversial move by the Government to allow farmers a decade grace period before enforcing stricter welfare regulations.

Waikato dairy farmer Walt Cavendish was about to transition his Matamata farming operation into free range pork farming.

He signed the letter addressed to the Government, having said farmers, consumers and the animals deserve high welfare standards.

“New Zealand led the way in 1999 with the Animal Welfare Act. It was a world leading piece of legislation,” he said.

“We made quite a clear decision as a country that animal welfare matters. And we seem to have gone down the road of insisting on that for our farmers, but not insisting that for our imports.”

“For these family farming families, they’re trying to compete with product that would just not be allowed to be farmed here.”

Cavendish had met with officials on the matter previously, and said New Zealand could legally enforce what was called a public morals exemption on importers

“The biggest argument that’s put is the trade implications.

“They’re just so nervous about it.

“Everyone keeps using the trade argument.”

But he said it would be unlikely that those exporting nations would take retaliatory action in response, considering the New Zealand market’s small scale.

“It’s just an argument to try and stop this going further, and that’s why I’m quite firm that the public morals exemption is our best way forward.

“And realistically, with such a low amount of the export from these countries, that they’re hardly going to worry about it.”

He believed people’s fears that pork prices would go up even further if we ditched imports was a “false narrative”, as the national pig herd would likely increase to meet demand.

“Because ultimately, you would be able to produce more, so the cost of production would go down.

“We don’t really feel that the price will go through the roof at all, and there are examples that Animal Policy International have done in their research, where we’re talking peanuts, you know, very little. We’re talking cents, not dollars, in relation to the price adjustment per kilogram of pork.”

But he acknowledged it was a significant concern for cash-strapped consumers, though many of them were passionate about animal welfare.

“One of the big things I get from people that comment to me is their fear of the price going up, because they can’t even now afford a lot of the meat products on the shelf.

Trade minister Todd McClay said if New Zealand introduced requirements based on our methods of production, this could potentially undermine our efforts to prevent other countries from applying unjustified measures that could impact negatively on our agricultural exports.

“Last year animal product exports worth $42 billion reached plates around the globe, making up more than half of our total goods exports.”

“New Zealand is a global leader in farmed animal welfare standards, which underpin our trade reputation and the high quality of our global exports.”

McClay said New Zealand works with other countries to improve animal welfare standards through our membership in the World Organisation for Animal Health and through bilateral collaboration.

“It is important to recognise that different countries have different production systems. Approaches to caring for animals are adapted to local conditions and applying the same standard can sometimes result in different welfare outcomes.”

Food and Agriculture Organization’s latest statistics show New Zealand imported more than 47,000 tonnes of pork in 2023.

The “Fair for Farmers” campaign was launched at the Northland Fieldays in Dargaville today that ran into Saturday.

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/2026/02/26/farmers-calling-for-same-animal-welfare-standards-on-local-and-imported-pork/

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Update – death following Northcote assault

Source: New Zealand Police

Attributable to Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves:

One person has died after the serious incident at a Hoani Street, Northcote address on 18 February.

Police were called to the property about 9.30pm after an altercation during which four people were injured, one of whom was in a critical condition.

Sadly, that person has now died in hospital.

Our thoughts are with their family, who are no doubt devastated. We will continue to provide them with support at this difficult time.

Police can confirm that the individuals involved were associated with two separate gangs, however our investigation to date indicates this was not a gang-motivated attack. This appears to be an isolated incident between specific individuals.

We want to be absolutely clear that any form of retaliation will not be tolerated.

Anyone considering taking matters into their own hands should expect an immediate and firm response.

We understand incidents like this can be unsettling to our community, and want to reassure you that there is no information to suggest any ongoing risk to the wider public.

Our teams are maintaining a visible presence and continue to work closely with specialist units, intelligence staff, and community partners to ensure your safety. 

Further charges will now be considered against the three men who were arrested in relation to the incident.

The three men, aged 19, 31 and 40, have been remanded in custody and are next due to appear in Christchurch District Court on 17 March.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/26/update-death-following-northcote-assault/

Posted on

Update – death following Northcote assault

Source: New Zealand Police

Attributable to Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves:

One person has died after the serious incident at a Hoani Street, Northcote address on 18 February.

Police were called to the property about 9.30pm after an altercation during which four people were injured, one of whom was in a critical condition.

Sadly, that person has now died in hospital.

Our thoughts are with their family, who are no doubt devastated. We will continue to provide them with support at this difficult time.

Police can confirm that the individuals involved were associated with two separate gangs, however our investigation to date indicates this was not a gang-motivated attack. This appears to be an isolated incident between specific individuals.

We want to be absolutely clear that any form of retaliation will not be tolerated.

Anyone considering taking matters into their own hands should expect an immediate and firm response.

We understand incidents like this can be unsettling to our community, and want to reassure you that there is no information to suggest any ongoing risk to the wider public.

Our teams are maintaining a visible presence and continue to work closely with specialist units, intelligence staff, and community partners to ensure your safety. 

Further charges will now be considered against the three men who were arrested in relation to the incident.

The three men, aged 19, 31 and 40, have been remanded in custody and are next due to appear in Christchurch District Court on 17 March.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/26/update-death-following-northcote-assault/

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New global study: long after war, injuries from landmines and explosives kill nearly 4 in 10 victims

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stacey Pizzino, Lecturer, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland

When a war ends and peace agreements are signed, most people assume the danger is over. But for many communities around the world the danger remains in the ground, waiting.

Landmines and other explosives left behind after a conflict can stay active for decades – buried in the paths to school, in the fields that feed families and in the areas where children play.

In some countries, such as Laos and the Solomon Islands, bombs from conflicts decades ago still injure and kill.

This quiet danger isn’t a distant problem. Today, at least 57 countries are contaminated by landmines and other explosive ordnance, including mortars and grenades.

At the same time, some governments are stepping back from the Landmine Ban Treaty, the first comprehensive treaty aimed at eliminating landmines in conflicts. Decisions made in parliaments today can translate into hazards underfoot for years to come.

Our new research is aimed at understanding the ongoing risk landmines pose. The study is the world’s largest analysis of landmine and explosive ordnance casualties. And the data allows us to answer critical questions: who dies from these weapons, and why?

What do the numbers tell us?

In our study, we analysed 105,913 casualties across 17 conflict-affected countries, using operational data. These are the real world operational records routinely collected by national mine action authorities, the UN and other humanitarian organisations.

These records let us see what communities are facing without adding any burden to these often stretched services.

Across all settings, the case fatality rate was 38.8%. Put simply: for every ten people injured by landmines or other explosive ordnance around the world, nearly four die. This is extraordinarily high.

For comparison, the fatality rate for blast injuries among military personnel or civilians treated in well-resourced trauma centres is around 2%.

The gap highlights the brutal disparity between those who are injured in environments with functioning surgical and trauma care and those who are not.

Not all explosive threats are equal, either.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were the most lethal weapon type in our analysis.

IEDs are increasingly used in many modern conflicts and are often remotely detonated to maximise casualties. Their explosive force and unpredictability cause devastating injuries that many local health systems are simply not equipped to manage.

Understanding who dies, and why, is essential to preventing future deaths. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

Who is most affected?

Although most casualties from landmines and explosive ordnance are men, women had significantly higher odds of dying from their injuries. This likely reflects unequal access to health care, delayed treatment, and social barriers that limit mobility and decision making in many conflict-affected settings.

Children’s risks are different – they are both vulnerable and resilient.

Children are particularly at risk of detonating landmines when playing, when caught up in active conflict, or simply as bystanders.

The reason is often tragic. Children tend to play together in groups, meaning when one child encounters an explosive remnant, several are injured at once.

Yet, overall, children in our data were more likely to survive their injuries than adults, perhaps because they sustain different injury patterns or receive care sooner when adults rush to assist.

But survival is only the beginning. Children may need multiple surgeries, new prostheses as they grow up, long-term rehabilitation and lifelong disability support. These are needs that many health systems struggle to meet.

Age also shapes outcomes. The highest odds of death were observed in adults aged 45–64. Older people may have pre-existing health issues and face greater barriers to reaching medical care, yet their needs can often be overlooked.

The human cost of explosives

The impact of landmines and explosive ordnance extends far beyond immediate injuries. These injuries disrupt people’s daily lives in ways that can entrench communities in poverty.

For example, farmers cannot safety cultivate their land because of the threat of landmines. Women gathering water or food can trigger explosives, too.

When injuries occur, families lose breadwinners and care-giving roles change, pushing households deeper into poverty.

How can we strengthen care for survivors?

There are ways to mitigate the impacts of landmines and explosive ordnance, though. This is a preventable public health crisis.

Our findings highlight the urgent need to strengthen emergency, critical and surgical care in conflict-affected areas to reduce preventable deaths.

Reliable pre-hospital care, transport and basic surgical care saves lives. So does long-term rehabilitation and disability support, especially for children who will live with the consequences of these explosive weapons and injuries for decades.

As old conflicts continue and new ones emerge, explosive ordnance keep contaminating the places where people live, play, work and travel.

Understanding who dies, and why, is essential to preventing future deaths and ensuring that peace, when it comes, offers real safety.

– ref. New global study: long after war, injuries from landmines and explosives kill nearly 4 in 10 victims – https://theconversation.com/new-global-study-long-after-war-injuries-from-landmines-and-explosives-kill-nearly-4-in-10-victims-276062

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/26/new-global-study-long-after-war-injuries-from-landmines-and-explosives-kill-nearly-4-in-10-victims-276062/

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Auckland and Northland hospitals hit by ‘major’ IT outage

Source: Radio New Zealand

Health NZ says the outage was resolved quickly without affecting patient services. 123rf.com

Auckland and Northland hospitals were hit by an IT outage on Thursday afternoon.

Health New Zealand says the outage affected the transfer of radiology images at hospitals across Auckland and Northland for two hours.

The Public Service Association said the outage was “major”, and the system affected manages all medical images including x rays, CT and MRI scans.

National Secretary Fleur Ftizsimons said it’s the second critical failure in less than a month and put patient safety at risk, after clinicians were forced to use pen and paper throughout the night in late January.

“The PACs system impacted by the outage is a critical function of our hospitals which clinicians rely on to access images so they can assess and treat patients needing urgent treatment in EDs, in operating theatres and elsewhere.

“The outage means clinicians and radiographers must communicate by text and phone to pass on vital information from scans.

“Without a doubt this will slow down treatment, compromising care,” Fitzsimons said.

Fitzsimons said the government needs to immediately review funding for health digital services and IT infrastructure.

A Health New Zealand spokesperson said the outage was resolved quickly without affecting patient services.

“During the outage standard back-up processes were used for the reviewing of radiology images.”

The spokesperson said services were fully restored within two hours and patient care was not compromised.

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://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/26/auckland-and-northland-hospitals-hit-by-major-it-outage/

Posted on

Auckland and Northland hospitals hit by ‘major’ IT outage

Source: Radio New Zealand

Health NZ says the outage was resolved quickly without affecting patient services. 123rf.com

Auckland and Northland hospitals were hit by an IT outage on Thursday afternoon.

Health New Zealand says the outage affected the transfer of radiology images at hospitals across Auckland and Northland for two hours.

The Public Service Association said the outage was “major”, and the system affected manages all medical images including x rays, CT and MRI scans.

National Secretary Fleur Ftizsimons said it’s the second critical failure in less than a month and put patient safety at risk, after clinicians were forced to use pen and paper throughout the night in late January.

“The PACs system impacted by the outage is a critical function of our hospitals which clinicians rely on to access images so they can assess and treat patients needing urgent treatment in EDs, in operating theatres and elsewhere.

“The outage means clinicians and radiographers must communicate by text and phone to pass on vital information from scans.

“Without a doubt this will slow down treatment, compromising care,” Fitzsimons said.

Fitzsimons said the government needs to immediately review funding for health digital services and IT infrastructure.

A Health New Zealand spokesperson said the outage was resolved quickly without affecting patient services.

“During the outage standard back-up processes were used for the reviewing of radiology images.”

The spokesperson said services were fully restored within two hours and patient care was not compromised.

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/2026/02/26/auckland-and-northland-hospitals-hit-by-major-it-outage/

Posted on

Auckland and Northland hospitals hit by ‘major’ IT outage

Source: Radio New Zealand

Health NZ says the outage was resolved quickly without affecting patient services. 123rf.com

Auckland and Northland hospitals were hit by an IT outage on Thursday afternoon.

Health New Zealand says the outage affected the transfer of radiology images at hospitals across Auckland and Northland for two hours.

The Public Service Association said the outage was “major”, and the system affected manages all medical images including x rays, CT and MRI scans.

National Secretary Fleur Ftizsimons said it’s the second critical failure in less than a month and put patient safety at risk, after clinicians were forced to use pen and paper throughout the night in late January.

“The PACs system impacted by the outage is a critical function of our hospitals which clinicians rely on to access images so they can assess and treat patients needing urgent treatment in EDs, in operating theatres and elsewhere.

“The outage means clinicians and radiographers must communicate by text and phone to pass on vital information from scans.

“Without a doubt this will slow down treatment, compromising care,” Fitzsimons said.

Fitzsimons said the government needs to immediately review funding for health digital services and IT infrastructure.

A Health New Zealand spokesperson said the outage was resolved quickly without affecting patient services.

“During the outage standard back-up processes were used for the reviewing of radiology images.”

The spokesperson said services were fully restored within two hours and patient care was not compromised.

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/2026/02/26/auckland-and-northland-hospitals-hit-by-major-it-outage/

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AA supports proposed road rule changes

Source: Radio New Zealand

One proposal is to require drivers travelling under 60km/h to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops. RNZ / Emma Hatton

The Automobile Association says the government’s proposal to bring in a number of new road rules will clarify the situation for road users to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

AA chief policy and advocacy officer Simon Douglas told Checkpoint the government was trying to address the fact that there were now more drivers, more cyclists, more scooter riders and cities were increasingly more densely packed.

“So just a bit of a reset of the rules of the game so that everyone’s on the same page around some of these points of rub is a really good idea.”

One of the rules proposed by the government was to introduce a mandatory passing gap of between one and 1.5 metres, depending on the speed limit, to give motorists clearer guidance when passing cyclists and horse riders.

It is already recommended that motorists do not pass a cyclist closer than 1m, but Douglas said currently there was no enforceable rule around the correct distance for a driver to pass a cyclist.

“So what this gives us the opportunity to do is to say very very early in teaching young drivers to drive, there’s a rule that says that there’s a passing distance, a minimum passing distance.

“Setting that up as a rule, as an enforceable rule, really just says ‘you know we’re serious about this, this is one of those things that you need to learn to put into practice as a courteous driver’.”

It would be useful for everyone to know there was no equivocation about this in terms of whether it was a rule or a recommendation, he said.

“So we see it as a way of clarifying, removing doubt and just a way to help enforce good etiquette from a very early age.”

Another proposal is to require drivers travelling under 60km/h to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops.

Douglas said a recent AA survey found that about half of respondents thought you had to give way to a bus that was pulling out but the other half either thought you did not have to give way or didn’t know.

“At the moment the law isn’t, doesn’t say that a bus has right of way,” he said.

Driving was a complex task, he said.

“You’re in that moment where you’re think ‘well the bus is pulling out, does he or she have the right of way, do I scamper in front of them, do I wait behind them?’”

Currently some of the time there was a lack of certainty around what the rule was, he said.

Douglas acknowledged that sometimes people were just not driving courteously.

“One of the things about this set of rules is that it will give the opportunity for enforcement behaviour.

“So if you’re not giving a cyclist the right distance or you’re not letting the bus go past and there’s a police officer nearby, it gives them a tool and they will undoubtedly be able to levy a fine.”

That way drivers do not need to make a decision about how to act, he said.

“You just know, the bus has right of way, I will let the bus in.”

The government is consulting on two packages for rule changes, the first focuses on lane use and everyday road rules, while the second focuses on heavy vehicles.

Other proposed changes in its first package include allowing e-scooters to use cycle lanes, allowing children up to age 12 to ride their bikes on footpaths and clarifying signage rules so councils can better manage berm parking.

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://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/26/aa-supports-proposed-road-rule-changes/

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Nitrous oxide users ‘playing chicken’ on the roads – police

Source: Radio New Zealand

Nitrous oxide has legitimate medical and catering uses, but if inhaled recreationally, the gas can have dangerous long-term side effects like nerve damage in the brain and spinal cord. Phanie via AFP

Police are warning that problems around the huffing of nitrous oxide products or nangs have escalated to where people are “playing chicken” and seeing whether they can drive without blacking out after inhaling the gas.

Nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, has legitimate medical and catering uses – including being used to whip cream.

However, if inhaled recreationally, the gas can have dangerous long-term side effects like nerve damage in the brain and spinal cord.

And while it is illegal to sell for huffing or recreational purposes, a Checkpoint investigation previously found stores were selling large canisters of the gas, which contain hundreds of hits, with virtually no questions asked.

Tusha Penny, assistant police commissioner of road policing, told Checkpoint police had seen drivers huffing from balloons in eight districts across the country. She also said she had been sent a message from a road user in a rural area who had seen a driver huffing from a balloon on the road.

“It has gone from just individual-use, sitting behind a shop and huffing, [to] getting in a road and almost playing chicken to see whether you can black out and still drive the car,” she said.

“That has really escalated the potential for harm.

“We really want parents and people on the road to ring us, to let us know.”

Penny said police suspected at least one or two fatalities had been caused by huffing nitrous oxide products and driving.

These cases were still under investigation, she said.

“If we look at the Bay of Plenty, for example, since New Year, we know there’s been some absolutely fantastic work when they’ve highlighted this.

“There’s been an investigation done and a number of drivers have actually been prosecuted and are being dealt with at the moment.”

Despite that, Penny said police had decided to focus on “education” when it came to retailers selling nitrous products illegally.

“What we’re now asking them to do is work with us because we cannot have this amount of community harm that could happen from the illegitimate sale of this item.

“We’re sitting down, we’re giving them the letter, but we’re really explaining it to them,” she said.

“That is the approach we think is best to take at the moment around prevention for a short time, engagement, asking people to work with us.”

When asked how many prosecutions of retailers allegedly selling nitrous oxide products illegally police had taken, Penny was unable to say.

“We’re being really clear on the enforcement approach that we’re going to take, and then we will move to enforcement.”

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://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/26/nitrous-oxide-users-playing-chicken-on-the-roads-police/

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Air New Zealand CEO says airline was dealt ‘tough cards’ as Seymour calls government to sell stakes

Source: Radio New Zealand

Air New Zealand CEO Nikhil Ravishankar (left) says the airline was dealt ‘tough cards’ as Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour calls on the government to sell its stakes in the airline. RNZ/Supplied

Air New Zealand chief executive says the airline has been dealt ‘tough cards’ and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the government should be backing the airline’s future but the Deputy Prime Minister continues to question their priorities.

The airline’s CEO Nikhil Ravishankar is carrying out a strategic review in the face of rising costs and told Checkpoint the airline is designed to grow but that hasn’t happened.

“The airline is designed to grow and for the last six years, we haven’t been able to do that.”

This comes after Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour earlier renewed his call for the government to sell its 51 percent stake in Air New Zealand after it reported a significant half-year loss.

The national carrier posted a $40 million loss for the six months ended December compared to a $106 million profit for the same period the year before.

The airline is still blaming severe disruption caused by delays to unscheduled engine maintenance grounding up to eight planes, as well as fuel and operating costs.

Seymour told Checkpoint the airline has placed too much “emphasis on politics” and is not reliable or affordable.

“The drumbeat of frustration from New Zealanders who are saying, look, we’re generally frustrated with the idea that things don’t work and cost too much,”

“And it seems that its distractions into various political projects over the last few years has started to come home to roost.”

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said in a social media post calls for the government to sell its shares in Air New Zealand while the airline market is in a downturn is economic lunacy.

Peters said the airline needs to start being on-time, and getting regional costs down. He said as the majority shareholder, the government should be backing its future rather than dragging it down, and hocking it off.

In response to the high costs of tickets Ravishankar said they are the result of increasing costs especially in fuel prices and engine maintenance.

However, Ravishankar told Checkpoint he was confident customers are not bearing the full weight of inflation when buying tickets.

“Since 2019 the cost that the airline bears has gone up north of 40 percent and our domestic airfares have gone up 32 percent.

“If you compare that with general CPI, general inflation, which has been around 29, 30 percent our fares have gone up a couple of percent over inflation, but our costs have gone up significantly more than that.”

When it came to Seymour’s comments that the airline was focusing on the wrong things such as electric planes and climate change reports, Ravishankar said he believed the airline was focused on the right things.

“It’s not distracting us from focusing on what’s important to our customers, which first and foremost is safe, reliable, and on-time performance, and that’s what we’re focused on delivering.”

“We are an airline that is globally extremely well-respected and people in the industry realise the tough cards we’ve been dealt.”

Ravishankar said matters of ownership were not for him to comment on as that was a question for the airline’s board.

Seymour has in turn said that many airlines have faced high costs and challenges especially after Covid.

“People are shopping around and finding that they can do better with the competitor… it seems that in the rest of the world, they have managed to navigate the challenges more competently.”

“And my charge is that if Air New Zealand was not distracted by its various projects of trying to become a biofuel producer, for example, they might be focussing more on taking off and landing on time.”

Ravishankar was currently carrying out a strategic review, which he said was drive by issues such as rising costs and falling profits.

“We need to tighten our belts and also in terms of looking into our capital management framework.”

Air New Zealand is also expecting to receive two of its 10 new 787 aircraft by the end of June, providing widebody capacity growth of 20-25 percent over the next two years.

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://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/26/air-new-zealand-ceo-says-airline-was-dealt-tough-cards-as-seymour-calls-government-to-sell-stakes/

Posted on

AA supports proposed road rule changes

Source: Radio New Zealand

One proposal is to require drivers travelling under 60km/h to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops. RNZ / Emma Hatton

The Automobile Association says the government’s proposal to bring in a number of new road rules will clarify the situation for road users to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

AA chief policy and advocacy officer Simon Douglas told Checkpoint the government was trying to address the fact that there were now more drivers, more cyclists, more scooter riders and cities were increasingly more densely packed.

“So just a bit of a reset of the rules of the game so that everyone’s on the same page around some of these points of rub is a really good idea.”

One of the rules proposed by the government was to introduce a mandatory passing gap of between one and 1.5 metres, depending on the speed limit, to give motorists clearer guidance when passing cyclists and horse riders.

It is already recommended that motorists do not pass a cyclist closer than 1m, but Douglas said currently there was no enforceable rule around the correct distance for a driver to pass a cyclist.

“So what this gives us the opportunity to do is to say very very early in teaching young drivers to drive, there’s a rule that says that there’s a passing distance, a minimum passing distance.

“Setting that up as a rule, as an enforceable rule, really just says ‘you know we’re serious about this, this is one of those things that you need to learn to put into practice as a courteous driver’.”

It would be useful for everyone to know there was no equivocation about this in terms of whether it was a rule or a recommendation, he said.

“So we see it as a way of clarifying, removing doubt and just a way to help enforce good etiquette from a very early age.”

Another proposal is to require drivers travelling under 60km/h to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops.

Douglas said a recent AA survey found that about half of respondents thought you had to give way to a bus that was pulling out but the other half either thought you did not have to give way or didn’t know.

“At the moment the law isn’t, doesn’t say that a bus has right of way,” he said.

Driving was a complex task, he said.

“You’re in that moment where you’re think ‘well the bus is pulling out, does he or she have the right of way, do I scamper in front of them, do I wait behind them?’”

Currently some of the time there was a lack of certainty around what the rule was, he said.

Douglas acknowledged that sometimes people were just not driving courteously.

“One of the things about this set of rules is that it will give the opportunity for enforcement behaviour.

“So if you’re not giving a cyclist the right distance or you’re not letting the bus go past and there’s a police officer nearby, it gives them a tool and they will undoubtedly be able to levy a fine.”

That way drivers do not need to make a decision about how to act, he said.

“You just know, the bus has right of way, I will let the bus in.”

The government is consulting on two packages for rule changes, the first focuses on lane use and everyday road rules, while the second focuses on heavy vehicles.

Other proposed changes in its first package include allowing e-scooters to use cycle lanes, allowing children up to age 12 to ride their bikes on footpaths and clarifying signage rules so councils can better manage berm parking.

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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/2026/02/26/aa-supports-proposed-road-rule-changes/

Posted on

Nitrous oxide users ‘playing chicken’ on the roads – police

Source: Radio New Zealand

Nitrous oxide has legitimate medical and catering uses, but if inhaled recreationally, the gas can have dangerous long-term side effects like nerve damage in the brain and spinal cord. Phanie via AFP

Police are warning that problems around the huffing of nitrous oxide products or nangs have escalated to where people are “playing chicken” and seeing whether they can drive without blacking out after inhaling the gas.

Nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, has legitimate medical and catering uses – including being used to whip cream.

However, if inhaled recreationally, the gas can have dangerous long-term side effects like nerve damage in the brain and spinal cord.

And while it is illegal to sell for huffing or recreational purposes, a Checkpoint investigation previously found stores were selling large canisters of the gas, which contain hundreds of hits, with virtually no questions asked.

Tusha Penny, assistant police commissioner of road policing, told Checkpoint police had seen drivers huffing from balloons in eight districts across the country. She also said she had been sent a message from a road user in a rural area who had seen a driver huffing from a balloon on the road.

“It has gone from just individual-use, sitting behind a shop and huffing, [to] getting in a road and almost playing chicken to see whether you can black out and still drive the car,” she said.

“That has really escalated the potential for harm.

“We really want parents and people on the road to ring us, to let us know.”

Penny said police suspected at least one or two fatalities had been caused by huffing nitrous oxide products and driving.

These cases were still under investigation, she said.

“If we look at the Bay of Plenty, for example, since New Year, we know there’s been some absolutely fantastic work when they’ve highlighted this.

“There’s been an investigation done and a number of drivers have actually been prosecuted and are being dealt with at the moment.”

Despite that, Penny said police had decided to focus on “education” when it came to retailers selling nitrous products illegally.

“What we’re now asking them to do is work with us because we cannot have this amount of community harm that could happen from the illegitimate sale of this item.

“We’re sitting down, we’re giving them the letter, but we’re really explaining it to them,” she said.

“That is the approach we think is best to take at the moment around prevention for a short time, engagement, asking people to work with us.”

When asked how many prosecutions of retailers allegedly selling nitrous oxide products illegally police had taken, Penny was unable to say.

“We’re being really clear on the enforcement approach that we’re going to take, and then we will move to enforcement.”

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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/2026/02/26/nitrous-oxide-users-playing-chicken-on-the-roads-police/

Posted on

Air New Zealand CEO says airline was dealt ‘tough cards’ as Seymour calls government to sell stakes

Source: Radio New Zealand

Air New Zealand CEO Nikhil Ravishankar (left) says the airline was dealt ‘tough cards’ as Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour calls on the government to sell its stakes in the airline. RNZ/Supplied

Air New Zealand chief executive says the airline has been dealt ‘tough cards’ and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the government should be backing the airline’s future but the Deputy Prime Minister continues to question their priorities.

The airline’s CEO Nikhil Ravishankar is carrying out a strategic review in the face of rising costs and told Checkpoint the airline is designed to grow but that hasn’t happened.

“The airline is designed to grow and for the last six years, we haven’t been able to do that.”

This comes after Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour earlier renewed his call for the government to sell its 51 percent stake in Air New Zealand after it reported a significant half-year loss.

The national carrier posted a $40 million loss for the six months ended December compared to a $106 million profit for the same period the year before.

The airline is still blaming severe disruption caused by delays to unscheduled engine maintenance grounding up to eight planes, as well as fuel and operating costs.

Seymour told Checkpoint the airline has placed too much “emphasis on politics” and is not reliable or affordable.

“The drumbeat of frustration from New Zealanders who are saying, look, we’re generally frustrated with the idea that things don’t work and cost too much,”

“And it seems that its distractions into various political projects over the last few years has started to come home to roost.”

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said in a social media post calls for the government to sell its shares in Air New Zealand while the airline market is in a downturn is economic lunacy.

Peters said the airline needs to start being on-time, and getting regional costs down. He said as the majority shareholder, the government should be backing its future rather than dragging it down, and hocking it off.

In response to the high costs of tickets Ravishankar said they are the result of increasing costs especially in fuel prices and engine maintenance.

However, Ravishankar told Checkpoint he was confident customers are not bearing the full weight of inflation when buying tickets.

“Since 2019 the cost that the airline bears has gone up north of 40 percent and our domestic airfares have gone up 32 percent.

“If you compare that with general CPI, general inflation, which has been around 29, 30 percent our fares have gone up a couple of percent over inflation, but our costs have gone up significantly more than that.”

When it came to Seymour’s comments that the airline was focusing on the wrong things such as electric planes and climate change reports, Ravishankar said he believed the airline was focused on the right things.

“It’s not distracting us from focusing on what’s important to our customers, which first and foremost is safe, reliable, and on-time performance, and that’s what we’re focused on delivering.”

“We are an airline that is globally extremely well-respected and people in the industry realise the tough cards we’ve been dealt.”

Ravishankar said matters of ownership were not for him to comment on as that was a question for the airline’s board.

Seymour has in turn said that many airlines have faced high costs and challenges especially after Covid.

“People are shopping around and finding that they can do better with the competitor… it seems that in the rest of the world, they have managed to navigate the challenges more competently.”

“And my charge is that if Air New Zealand was not distracted by its various projects of trying to become a biofuel producer, for example, they might be focussing more on taking off and landing on time.”

Ravishankar was currently carrying out a strategic review, which he said was drive by issues such as rising costs and falling profits.

“We need to tighten our belts and also in terms of looking into our capital management framework.”

Air New Zealand is also expecting to receive two of its 10 new 787 aircraft by the end of June, providing widebody capacity growth of 20-25 percent over the next two years.

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/2026/02/26/air-new-zealand-ceo-says-airline-was-dealt-tough-cards-as-seymour-calls-government-to-sell-stakes/

Posted on

NZ Warriors proteges hope to send Mitch Barnett out a winner in final NRL season with club

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mitch Barnett celebrates a Warriors win with young forwards Demitric Vaimauga and Tanner Stowers-Smith. NRL Photos/Photosport

Young NZ Warriors forward Jacob Laban recalls the day grizzled veteran Mitch Barnett drew a line in the sand for the Auckland club still chasing its first NRL crown.

“I felt like Barney, from the start, when he first came over, he set the expectation,” Laban told RNZ. “I still remember him, I think it was 2023, walking off the field and saying how he was disappointed in how everybody’s fitness was.”

Barnett had already logged 128 first-grade games for Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights, when he arrived at Mt Smart, so he had a fair idea of the standards required from the Aussie league competition.

“Everyone was making bad ‘Broncos’ times, stuff like that,” Laban continued. “He said he wanted the club to be in a better place before he leaves.

“Fast forward to now and everyone’s fit so far, and he’s put massive effort into that.”

In fact, coach Andrew Webster has singled out his players’ off-season fitness regime for special praise, as they prepare for the coming 2026 season.

“Over the Christmas break, they made a pact to each other that they would go away and enjoy the break, but come back fit and hit their targets,” Webster said. “This is the first time I’ve seen every single player do so and I’m really impressed with that.”

This week, the club announced Barnett, 31, would cut short his stay, leaving at the end of the season for personal reasons – his child’s medical needs – with a year still on his contract.

“I had to put my family first and they [the club] know the detail of the situation,” Barnett said. “They have been very supportive of it, but it hasn’t made the decision any easier.”

The clock on his time at the Warriors is now ticking loudly and those around him are taking stock of how their co-captain has impacted their lives.

Warriors forward Jacob Laban celebrates a try for the Warriors. Photosport

When Barnett first signed in 2022, he was serving a six-game suspension for raising an elbow on an opponent in a tackle and may not have seemed an ideal addition to an ill-disciplined team already lurching through its worst-ever campaign.

In his first season, he helped them to within a game of the NRL grand final – the furthest he had progressed in his career – and while subsequent bids have fallen short, on a personal note, the front-rower has earned representative honours with New South Wales and Australia during his tenure on this side of the ditch.

Regardless of how his final season here pans out, Barnett – along with fellow veterans James Fisher-Harris and Kurt Capewell – will have already left his mark through the incredibly talented forwards the Warriors now have on their roster.

Capewell’s future with the Warriors is also uncertain, with his current contract ending this season.

Over the past couple of years, they have helped develop players like Laban, Leka Halasima, Demitric Vaimauga, Tanner Stowers-Smith and Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, who have shown their abilities in first grade and earned long-term contracts with the club.

“He’s been huge,” front-rower Tanner Stowers-Smith, 21, told RNZ of Barnett. “He’s one of the players I model my game on, just being tough as and doing all the dirty stuff that some people don’t want to do all the time – he’s always someone you can rely on.

“He’s personally helped me a lot with learnings and not just me, but the other young boys in the team. He’s so knowledgeable and he shares all he knows – all the tricks around the game and ways you can get through stuff.

“He’s got a lot of tricks in his book – he’s a real master of the dark arts.”

When Barnett’s 2025 season ended prematurely with ruptured knee ligaments, Stowers-Smith was one to seize the opportunity that presented itself, debuting against the Dolphins in May, logging 13 appearances and signing a contract extension through 2028.

Tanner Stowers-Smith takes stock during the pre-season trial against Manly Sea Eagles. Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz

In two pre-season trials, he has shown his readiness to step up to the next level, leading his team in running metres and tackles against Manly Sea Eagles.

While some may seek a like-for-like replacement for Barnett on the open market, ultimately, his successor may already wear a Warriors jersey.

“It’s pretty crazy to think where I was 12 months ago,” Stowers-Smith said. “I never thought about how far I could go in a year’s time, but the team’s done a lot of work and the boys have helped me along, so I’m definitely feeling a lot more confident.

“I base my game around effort areas and working hard, but I want to bring a bit more attacking flair, which comes down to my confidence and backing my ability with the ball.

“Maybe getting my hands on the ball a bit more, which I’ve been doing in the pre-season, has helped me a lot.”

Stowers-Smith hacked 10 seconds off his 1.2km Bronco time over the summer, which also helped.

Like Barnett, Laban’s 2025 season also ended early, when he was the victim of a hipdrop tackle from Dolphins veteran Felise Kaufusi that fractured his leg.

He narrowly lost a race against time to return for the reserves’ NSW Cup championship run, but has also reported back for duty in good nick, taking 15 seconds off his Bronco and scoring a try for the Māori against Indigenous in their pre-season All Stars clash.

“I felt like I was finding my groove into first grade, getting a bit more experience behind me, but unfortunately it was cut short,” Laban, 21, said.

“I didn’t go into much of a dark place, but I felt like I missed out on a lot in terms of the boys rocking up to games and me seeing them out there.

“It just sucked – I felt left out, but my mental health was pretty good and I just pushed through it.”

Seeing his mentor going through a similar process with his knee no doubt helped that mindset.

Barnett now faces a final examination – four days of testing in Sydney – before confirming his comeback to play in the early rounds.

Mitch Barnett’s 2025 season ends with a knee injury against South Sydney Rabbitohs. Anthony Kourembanas/NRL Photos

The Warriors open their schedule with home games against Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders, and Barnett’s next outing will mark his 50th for the club.

Perhaps when disappointed fans see him run out onto Go Media Stadium with his family for that milestone, they will better understand why he’s leaving.

His teammates are already determined to send him out a winner.

“If that doesn’t give you any more motivation to win a premiership, I don’t know what will,” Laban insisted.

“He’s done so much for the club, and he’s helped myself and definitely other players, we sort of owe it to him.”

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://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/26/nz-warriors-proteges-hope-to-send-mitch-barnett-out-a-winner-in-final-nrl-season-with-club/

Posted on

NZ Warriors proteges hope to send Mitch Barnett out a winner in final NRL season with club

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mitch Barnett celebrates a Warriors win with young forwards Demitric Vaimauga and Tanner Stowers-Smith. NRL Photos/Photosport

Young NZ Warriors forward Jacob Laban recalls the day grizzled veteran Mitch Barnett drew a line in the sand for the Auckland club still chasing its first NRL crown.

“I felt like Barney, from the start, when he first came over, he set the expectation,” Laban told RNZ. “I still remember him, I think it was 2023, walking off the field and saying how he was disappointed in how everybody’s fitness was.”

Barnett had already logged 128 first-grade games for Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights, when he arrived at Mt Smart, so he had a fair idea of the standards required from the Aussie league competition.

“Everyone was making bad ‘Broncos’ times, stuff like that,” Laban continued. “He said he wanted the club to be in a better place before he leaves.

“Fast forward to now and everyone’s fit so far, and he’s put massive effort into that.”

In fact, coach Andrew Webster has singled out his players’ off-season fitness regime for special praise, as they prepare for the coming 2026 season.

“Over the Christmas break, they made a pact to each other that they would go away and enjoy the break, but come back fit and hit their targets,” Webster said. “This is the first time I’ve seen every single player do so and I’m really impressed with that.”

This week, the club announced Barnett, 31, would cut short his stay, leaving at the end of the season for personal reasons – his child’s medical needs – with a year still on his contract.

“I had to put my family first and they [the club] know the detail of the situation,” Barnett said. “They have been very supportive of it, but it hasn’t made the decision any easier.”

The clock on his time at the Warriors is now ticking loudly and those around him are taking stock of how their co-captain has impacted their lives.

Warriors forward Jacob Laban celebrates a try for the Warriors. Photosport

When Barnett first signed in 2022, he was serving a six-game suspension for raising an elbow on an opponent in a tackle and may not have seemed an ideal addition to an ill-disciplined team already lurching through its worst-ever campaign.

In his first season, he helped them to within a game of the NRL grand final – the furthest he had progressed in his career – and while subsequent bids have fallen short, on a personal note, the front-rower has earned representative honours with New South Wales and Australia during his tenure on this side of the ditch.

Regardless of how his final season here pans out, Barnett – along with fellow veterans James Fisher-Harris and Kurt Capewell – will have already left his mark through the incredibly talented forwards the Warriors now have on their roster.

Capewell’s future with the Warriors is also uncertain, with his current contract ending this season.

Over the past couple of years, they have helped develop players like Laban, Leka Halasima, Demitric Vaimauga, Tanner Stowers-Smith and Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, who have shown their abilities in first grade and earned long-term contracts with the club.

“He’s been huge,” front-rower Tanner Stowers-Smith, 21, told RNZ of Barnett. “He’s one of the players I model my game on, just being tough as and doing all the dirty stuff that some people don’t want to do all the time – he’s always someone you can rely on.

“He’s personally helped me a lot with learnings and not just me, but the other young boys in the team. He’s so knowledgeable and he shares all he knows – all the tricks around the game and ways you can get through stuff.

“He’s got a lot of tricks in his book – he’s a real master of the dark arts.”

When Barnett’s 2025 season ended prematurely with ruptured knee ligaments, Stowers-Smith was one to seize the opportunity that presented itself, debuting against the Dolphins in May, logging 13 appearances and signing a contract extension through 2028.

Tanner Stowers-Smith takes stock during the pre-season trial against Manly Sea Eagles. Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz

In two pre-season trials, he has shown his readiness to step up to the next level, leading his team in running metres and tackles against Manly Sea Eagles.

While some may seek a like-for-like replacement for Barnett on the open market, ultimately, his successor may already wear a Warriors jersey.

“It’s pretty crazy to think where I was 12 months ago,” Stowers-Smith said. “I never thought about how far I could go in a year’s time, but the team’s done a lot of work and the boys have helped me along, so I’m definitely feeling a lot more confident.

“I base my game around effort areas and working hard, but I want to bring a bit more attacking flair, which comes down to my confidence and backing my ability with the ball.

“Maybe getting my hands on the ball a bit more, which I’ve been doing in the pre-season, has helped me a lot.”

Stowers-Smith hacked 10 seconds off his 1.2km Bronco time over the summer, which also helped.

Like Barnett, Laban’s 2025 season also ended early, when he was the victim of a hipdrop tackle from Dolphins veteran Felise Kaufusi that fractured his leg.

He narrowly lost a race against time to return for the reserves’ NSW Cup championship run, but has also reported back for duty in good nick, taking 15 seconds off his Bronco and scoring a try for the Māori against Indigenous in their pre-season All Stars clash.

“I felt like I was finding my groove into first grade, getting a bit more experience behind me, but unfortunately it was cut short,” Laban, 21, said.

“I didn’t go into much of a dark place, but I felt like I missed out on a lot in terms of the boys rocking up to games and me seeing them out there.

“It just sucked – I felt left out, but my mental health was pretty good and I just pushed through it.”

Seeing his mentor going through a similar process with his knee no doubt helped that mindset.

Barnett now faces a final examination – four days of testing in Sydney – before confirming his comeback to play in the early rounds.

Mitch Barnett’s 2025 season ends with a knee injury against South Sydney Rabbitohs. Anthony Kourembanas/NRL Photos

The Warriors open their schedule with home games against Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders, and Barnett’s next outing will mark his 50th for the club.

Perhaps when disappointed fans see him run out onto Go Media Stadium with his family for that milestone, they will better understand why he’s leaving.

His teammates are already determined to send him out a winner.

“If that doesn’t give you any more motivation to win a premiership, I don’t know what will,” Laban insisted.

“He’s done so much for the club, and he’s helped myself and definitely other players, we sort of owe it to him.”

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/2026/02/26/nz-warriors-proteges-hope-to-send-mitch-barnett-out-a-winner-in-final-nrl-season-with-club/

Posted on

Virtual reality helping people learn to drive before stepping foot in vehicle

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Evie Richardson

All motorists know what it is like learning to drive – the endless attempts to parallel park, the grinding gears, the lurches and the stalls.

Now one instructor believes he has found a way to confine those teeth-clenching experiences to the past, with a virtual reality programme that can help teach learners to drive without even getting into a car.

Ashley Gore runs VR lessons in Auckland and Napier through his company MintEDVR, and is now hoping to expand his virtual driving school across the country.

When he first came across virtual reality technology five years ago, Gore started thinking about its implications for learner drivers and the huge number of people who fail their tests, often multiple times.

“[In one year] 46,000 fails, 7000 failed because they didn’t stop at a stop sign, 37,000 drove too slow on their practical licence, let’s get rid of all these thousands of people who don’t have a license.”

The set up looks identical to one used while playing VR video games, consisting of a headset that covers the eyes with two small controllers held in each hand.

Once the headset goes on, the user is in the driver’s seat.

Ashley Gore creator of MINTEDVR, a virtual reality tool for learner drivers Evie Richardson

But with joysticks instead of pedals, and no actual steering wheel to grab onto, it is a system quite different to traditional car controls.

However, Gore said most people catch on quickly.

“Couple of sessions, it’s just familiarisation, it’s a bit like when you jump into a different car, if you’re used to driving a small hatchback and then you jump into a ute, just the whole dynamics, the controls are a bit different.”

There are different scenarios available to practice things like right-hand turns, parallel parking and T-intersections, along with the rest of the skills needed to pass a practical licence test.

While the simulation features other cars on the road, road signs and markings, and all the buttons and the lights you’d find in and on a real car, the scenery resembles something closer to a video game than real life.

At around $15 per lesson, it is a cheaper option than practical driving lessons, which Gore hopes will make the tech more accessible, not just for first time learners, but also people wanting to brush up on their skills.

The VR tracks the users movements, picking up on errors such as failing to stop, driving too fast or slow, or forgetting to check a blindspot.

RNZ / Evie Richardson

Although it offers virtually every experience you get while being in a car, Gore said it is not a replacement for driving.

“The VR is there and it plugs and plays anywhere in your driving journey, and it’s never going to replace driving on the road.”

However, Gore said he believes the VR training should count towards the driving hours learners are recommended to undertake before their practical test.

“I would like to see the hours that you do in VR count towards your driving hours because you are learning, you’re getting important skills, you still need that experience on the road but I think it should count.”

It comes soon after the government announced changes to the driver licensing system, including increasing the learner period for those under 25, and removing the requirement to sit a second practical test.

While Gore is now marketing his technology to driving schools across the country, AA spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said the organisation is tentative.

“The thing you need to spend lots of time doing is actually driving a real car in the real world, and that is the major thing that people need to put the time into, but we certainly see potential for the tech to work as a nice additional practice tool.

“Those hours of practice should be for hours spent in a real car actually driving in the real world, that is the key thing.”

The New Zealand Transport Agency told RNZ there is no substitute for on-road training and experience.

“Our position is based on evidence which shows that learners do not gain the same level of skill or competence in a simulated environment, without real-world experience, and there is potential for over-confidence which can lead to novice and learner drivers being at greater risk of crashes.”

It said it is not possible to replicate the complex real world driving environment using a simulator.

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://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/26/virtual-reality-helping-people-learn-to-drive-before-stepping-foot-in-vehicle/

Posted on

Virtual reality helping people learn to drive before stepping foot in vehicle

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Evie Richardson

All motorists know what it is like learning to drive – the endless attempts to parallel park, the grinding gears, the lurches and the stalls.

Now one instructor believes he has found a way to confine those teeth-clenching experiences to the past, with a virtual reality programme that can help teach learners to drive without even getting into a car.

Ashley Gore runs VR lessons in Auckland and Napier through his company MintEDVR, and is now hoping to expand his virtual driving school across the country.

When he first came across virtual reality technology five years ago, Gore started thinking about its implications for learner drivers and the huge number of people who fail their tests, often multiple times.

“[In one year] 46,000 fails, 7000 failed because they didn’t stop at a stop sign, 37,000 drove too slow on their practical licence, let’s get rid of all these thousands of people who don’t have a license.”

The set up looks identical to one used while playing VR video games, consisting of a headset that covers the eyes with two small controllers held in each hand.

Once the headset goes on, the user is in the driver’s seat.

Ashley Gore creator of MINTEDVR, a virtual reality tool for learner drivers Evie Richardson

But with joysticks instead of pedals, and no actual steering wheel to grab onto, it is a system quite different to traditional car controls.

However, Gore said most people catch on quickly.

“Couple of sessions, it’s just familiarisation, it’s a bit like when you jump into a different car, if you’re used to driving a small hatchback and then you jump into a ute, just the whole dynamics, the controls are a bit different.”

There are different scenarios available to practice things like right-hand turns, parallel parking and T-intersections, along with the rest of the skills needed to pass a practical licence test.

While the simulation features other cars on the road, road signs and markings, and all the buttons and the lights you’d find in and on a real car, the scenery resembles something closer to a video game than real life.

At around $15 per lesson, it is a cheaper option than practical driving lessons, which Gore hopes will make the tech more accessible, not just for first time learners, but also people wanting to brush up on their skills.

The VR tracks the users movements, picking up on errors such as failing to stop, driving too fast or slow, or forgetting to check a blindspot.

RNZ / Evie Richardson

Although it offers virtually every experience you get while being in a car, Gore said it is not a replacement for driving.

“The VR is there and it plugs and plays anywhere in your driving journey, and it’s never going to replace driving on the road.”

However, Gore said he believes the VR training should count towards the driving hours learners are recommended to undertake before their practical test.

“I would like to see the hours that you do in VR count towards your driving hours because you are learning, you’re getting important skills, you still need that experience on the road but I think it should count.”

It comes soon after the government announced changes to the driver licensing system, including increasing the learner period for those under 25, and removing the requirement to sit a second practical test.

While Gore is now marketing his technology to driving schools across the country, AA spokesperson Dylan Thomsen said the organisation is tentative.

“The thing you need to spend lots of time doing is actually driving a real car in the real world, and that is the major thing that people need to put the time into, but we certainly see potential for the tech to work as a nice additional practice tool.

“Those hours of practice should be for hours spent in a real car actually driving in the real world, that is the key thing.”

The New Zealand Transport Agency told RNZ there is no substitute for on-road training and experience.

“Our position is based on evidence which shows that learners do not gain the same level of skill or competence in a simulated environment, without real-world experience, and there is potential for over-confidence which can lead to novice and learner drivers being at greater risk of crashes.”

It said it is not possible to replicate the complex real world driving environment using a simulator.

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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/2026/02/26/virtual-reality-helping-people-learn-to-drive-before-stepping-foot-in-vehicle/

Posted on

Man arrested in Dunedin overnight due in court tomorrow

Source: New Zealand Police

Attributable to Superintendent Jason Guthrie, Southern District Commander:

The man arrested following a series of events in Dunedin last night has been charged and is due in court tomorrow.

The 46-year-old was arrested in Fraser’s Gully following his earlier attempts to avoid Police, during which Police fired a shot which did not injure anyone.

The man faces charges of assaulting Police, failing to stop for Police, driving a motor vehicle in a dangerous manner, and driving while disqualified third and subsequent.

He is due in Dunedin District Court tomorrow.

An investigation in the events of Thursday evening remains ongoing.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/26/man-arrested-in-dunedin-overnight-due-in-court-tomorrow/

Posted on

Hamilton’s growth may lead to lower speed limits on part of Te Rapa Road

Source: Radio New Zealand

Over two thousand new homes are planned in a new neighbourhood, named Te Awa Lakes. Supplied/Hamilton City Council

Growth in Hamilton is leading the council to consider lowering the speed limit on part of a major city road.

Up to 2,500 new homes are planned for the northern end of the city in a new neighbourhood, called Te Awa Lakes.

Hamilton City Council has asked for feedback on lowering the 80 kilometre-an-hour speed limit to 60 km/h for a 460-metre section of Te Rapa Road.

As part of the approved development, the Te Awa Lakes developer was required to install a signalised pedestrian crossing on Te Rapa Road at their cost.

Council’s Network & Systems Operations Manager Robyn Denton said the road is an arterial route in a semi-rural area; but that is changing.

“People can already see a lot of earth works in there, but they are going to see buildings and that sort of thing,” she said.

The new homes would increase the number of people walking, cycling, and catching the bus in the area.

“The whole area will get busier,” sad Denton.

The council was looking for community feedback on the lower speed limit.

It consulted recently on other speed limit changes and Denton said Hamilton residents had shown they are thoughtful and engaged when it comes to considering the impacts.

“We found that people had thought about the issues and weren’t highly emotive about it but actually put some good, reasoned thought to us which was really useful for helping us and our elected members make decisions,” she said.

Denton said change was to be expected given that Hamilton was the country’s fastest growing city.

“This is one of the many things that happen in a growth city… we’re trying to respond at an appropriate time to get the right sort of outcome for those people who are moving into that area,” she said.

Public feedback would be presented to the council’s Transport Subcommittee in late May and if supported by elected members the proposal would then require approval from the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

The public had until 9 April 2026 to have their say.

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/26/hamiltons-growth-may-lead-to-lower-speed-limits-on-part-of-te-rapa-road/