Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

The former Interislander ferry Aratere has spent five months in New Zealand waters since being retired, with the foreign crew onboard earning below minimum wage, as it waits for permission to enter India.

KiwiRail retired the ferry last year and announced in October it had been sold to a buyer who would deliver it to a specialist recycling shipyard in India.

The ship has since been renamed Vega, the Interislander logos painted over, and flagged to Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. Contracts show it is registered to Jahaj Solutions (F.Z.E), which is based in the United Arab Emirates.

Since December, it has been anchored in Tasman Bay and it is still unclear when it will leave New Zealand.

Earlier this month, the Maritime Union of NZ said it had serious concerns about the pay of the foreign crew onboard the Vega, which it said was significantly below international and domestic benchmarks.

Associate Transport Minister James Meager said the Maritime Labour Convention, an international treaty that New Zealand has signed, included standards for seafarer’s pay.

“How these standards apply to the crew of the Vega is up to the country where the ship is registered. The Vega’s flag state is Saint Kitts and Nevis so the responsibility for the application of these standards sits with them.”

Meager said the government took the safety of seafarers seriously and he had been told by officials who had visited the crew onboard that no welfare concerns had been raised with them.

A Maritime NZ spokesperson said it recently undertook a welfare and safety check of the vessel and found the crew was being adequately provided for and their needs were being met. It was maintaining contact with all parties involved and would continue to monitor the situation.

Immigration New Zealand visa director Peter Elms said the crew of the Vega held visitor visas that permitted them to work on that particular vessel, as it intended to leave New Zealand.

What are the crew being paid?

RNZ understands there are around 20 crew from India on board who had signed new contracts since the union first raised concerns about their pay.

The old contracts viewed by the union showed an able seaman on board the ship was being paid a basic wage of US$206

(NZ$340) per month.

That was significantly below the ILO minimum basic wage for an able seafarer, which rose to US$690 (NZ$1140) per month on 1 January 2026.

New Zealand is a founding member of the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency dedicated to promoting social justice and internationally recognised human and labour rights.

While the organisation provides international standards and guidance on minimum wages, it is up to individual countries to apply these through their own laws.

Maritime Union of New Zealand national secretary Carl Findlay said he had been told the crew had signed new agreements in line with ILO standards, but the union said that was still not good enough.

“Their pay rates are still well below what New Zealanders would be paid to work in the waters on their coast.”

He said the seafarers onboard the Vega were in a tricky situation as they were stranded in New Zealand with no date for departure, which was a real concern.

Reflagging vessels involved changing a ship’s registration to a different country, often to a “flag of convenience” with lax regulations to avoid strict environmental, safety, labour, or sanction laws.

“This is happening all over the world, on a daily basis, it’s a terrible, terrible problem and we don’t want it to creep any further into New Zealand or Australia.”

In 2012, the government announced that all foreign-owned fishing vessels operating in New Zealand waters

needed to be flagged to New Zealand, to address labour, safety and fisheries practice concerns.

Findlay said action needed to be taken to do the same for other foreign-owned vessels and the Maritime Union would be lobbying the government to make changes.

Why is the Vega still here?

The Vega is due to be dismantled in India, a practice considered sustainable as it allows materials to be recycled, although there are documented concerns over the environmental, health and safety standards in the industry, and the risks to workers in developing countries where health and safety regulations are poor.

In New Zealand, the Environmental Protection Authority is responsible for making sure the country meets its obligations to the Basel Convention – an international treaty which controls the movement of hazardous waste.

A spokesperson for the EPA said the application for the ship’s export was complete but it still had not received an update from the Competent Authority in India about the requested import consent.

Until that had been received and an export permit issued, the vessel could be exported.

RNZ understands there are plans for the Vega to come into Port Nelson towards the end of the month, for re-provisioning and refuelling.

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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/2026/02/27/foreign-crew-on-retired-interislander-ferry-earning-below-minimum-wage/

Source: Radio New Zealand

A local diver says he will eat shellfish from the south coast after the mayor has tried some kina from the sewage spill hot spot.

Wellington authorities have decided it is safe enough for swimmers to make their own calls about whether to jump in but kaimoana is a different story.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Public Health strongly advised people not to collect and consume shellfish from the south coast area as they could be contaminated for weeks after exposure to sewage.

But Wellington diver Eugene Ryder said on Thuirsday the mixed messaging was confusing and people should keep out of the water all together.

“Even if you are swimming, the water is gonna get in your ears, your nose and your mouth.

“It just doesn’t make sense that you can do one and not the other, I think it’s preferable that everyone waits till we’re allowed to collect kaimoana before you even get in to swim.

“I thought the mayor was pretty courageous jumping in there yesterday.

“I definitely wouldn’t.”

But MPI said it was not quite that simple.

“Shellfish they filter water.”

MPI’s deputy director general of food safety Vincent Arbuckle said that was what made it different to swimming.

“A mussel will filter up to 70 litres of water a day, and they condense bacteria and viruses and contaminants. So that’s very different from taking a quick dip in the water.

“If you eat something that’s filtered 70 litres of water, you’re getting a condensed version of whatever’s in the water.”

And in the water there had been millions of litres of untreated sewage.

It was a similar story for grazers paua and kina.

But because the south coast had been closed, those still keen to get in the water had been travelling further afield.

“All the divers are going to Makara, to Titahi Bay … Some are going around to Ngawi and further around on the other side. But it’s put pressure on those areas.”

Some divers had instead been encouraging each other to use the rāhui to check and update their gear, rather than be in the water.

“But unfortunately, there’s been quite a few people going into west coast of Wellington and just hammering it.”

He said in one area he had seen 50 boats out at once which was hugely unusual.

But until south coast kaimoana was on the menu, that would likely remain the situation, Ryder said.

MPI’s Arbuckle said that would take at least three weeks in a perfect world.

“From a sewerage release, around 28 days is normally the period that we would say it’s usually safe if nothing else has happened.”

Dave Drane from Dive Wellington did not think his usual south coast hot spot, Shark’s Tooth, will be back by then.

He was hoping slightly further afield might come back faster.

“We’ll stick to gathering kaimoana off Red Rocks and places like that.

“It’s pretty tidal and it would take a lot for any sewage to reach there. It’ll go out to sea before it reaches there,” Drane said.

Ryder had a different plan.

“When we see our mayor eating a kina that’s been collected from Princess Bay, then, yeah, then we’ll have a look at it.

“But we’ll wait to see what effect it has on his health first.”

Ryder said he had never heard of Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) until Wednesday and divers were untrusting of what local authorities were reporting.

According to MPI, so far there had been no reports of people getting sick from contaminated kaimoana.

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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/2026/02/27/residents-remain-cautious-about-moa-point-despite-authorities-all-clear/

Source: Radio New Zealand

When Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston announced the World Surf League Championship Tour was coming to Raglan it caught many locals by surprise and the reaction has not been completely positive.

On a hot sunny day when the tide was out, RNZ went to the beach and village in Raglan to get the local perspective.

Surfer Edward Wheeler was leaving the water and heading up the beach to wash off his board.

First thing’s first – how was the surf?

“Out there was quite nice, the water temperature’s beautiful at the moment,” he said.

Wheeler could see why the World Surf League had added Raglan to its tour.

“The break is definitely worth the World Surf League, definitely, but it’s more the hidden town we just don’t want to lose,” he said.

RNZ heard this tension between the pros and cons of the 10-day event in May 2026 from most people it spoke to.

It would bring the biggest elite surfing event ever staged in New Zealand to a keen surfing community.

But it could also bring up to 20,000 people and expose the village to millions more watching on television.

“It will be good for Raglan in some ways of course for businesses and this sort of thing, but Raglan, as everyone knows, is a protected little place and when the world is watching it … there will be people that will have money and will think ‘that’s a lovely little place’,” said Wheeler.

Chris Perry was not so worried that the event might introduce the world to Raglan. He swam or blokarted at the beach nearly every day.

“Raglan’s world renowned now, it has a reputation, and I think all this will do is enhance the town,” he said.

Whether the announcement was a shock seemed to depend on how connected residents were to the surfing community.

RNZ spoke to two locals, Linda and Barrie, up in the village.

Linda had been surprised when she heard Raglan was joining the tour.

She had concerns, especially about the management of wastewater with so many visitors in town.

“I [want] it shipped out of town – completely … it has to be shipped out, it cannot be kept here because it will be a nightmare,” she said.

But Barrie Rogerson owned B.rex Photo Design in the village, specialising in surf photography, and was in the ‘surf loop’.

“I kind of heard early on there was something happening in that regard,” he said.

Around the corner, Sam McGlennon was ordering a coffee at a humming local cafe.

He could understand why people were nervous about bringing such a big competition to a town which he said could already struggle to cope with its visitor numbers.

“Even a major long weekend in summer here already has an impact on town, on being able to move around and get from place to place and finding a table in the sun to enjoy a coffee for example. I think it’s just going to be an extension of that.”

McGlennon said some locals were already making plans to leave Raglan for the 10 days.

“A lot of people I know are renting their houses out for Air BnB’s, so in a way there’s ways to benefit from it as well. But it’s a pretty small town, some of our infrastructure is already pretty stretched, and like a lot of places around the country this just places some extra pressure on that.”

Concern over the strain the event would put on housing, roading, and wastewater infrastructure was raised several times.

Eloise Doller was operations manager at Raglan Refuel and a community board member.

She said there was plenty of time and resources to answer everyone’s questions.

“We’ve had a meeting up at the hall last Thursday with the [World Surf League] team, everyone’s getting well prepared for it and they’re giving us great information and support as well,” she said.

Waikato District Council had also set up a dedicated webpage with event information and answers to some of these pressing local concerns.

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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/2026/02/27/raglan-residents-worried-about-hosting-world-surf-league-championship-tour/

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman who complained to the Teaching Council about being sexually abused by a former teacher says its investigation was badly handled and traumatic.

The woman RNZ agreed to call Ellen said she lodged a complaint in 2023 about abuse that happened 30 years ago at a secondary school and is backing recent calls for an overhaul of the organisation’s treatment of victims.

Ellen said her interaction with the council’s investigators was badly handled and traumatic.

She contacted RNZ after a critical review of the council highlighted gaps in its treatment of victims, including lack of specific training for working with the victims of abuse.

Ellen said the secondary school teacher she complained about was no longer registered as a teacher but she wanted to ensure he never worked with children again.

She said the council’s Complaints Assessment Committee – which makes an initial investigation of complaints about teachers – decided her case should proceed to a full Disciplinary Tribunal hearing.

But on the day that was the deadline to confirm if she wanted to go ahead with a hearing, Ellen told RNZ her experience with the council made her reluctant to go further.

“I went into this process to try and protect other kids. And I feel like I failed them. I feel like I failed the kids in my community by not seeing this through. But at the same time, I don’t know how much more I’ve got to give,” she said.

Ellen said she decided to proceed to a hearing but the investigation of her complaint was poorly handled.

“To be honest, the whole process has been really traumatic right from that first contact,” she said.

“I submitted my complaint online and I was phoned at work asking for his address and details to complete their form. Now I’ve moved cities to get away from all of this and I don’t want to know anything about him and I was really shocked that was the first sort of interaction that I had.

“Another example is I was randomly emailed photos to confirm where the abuse occurred. Imagine when you’re just going about your day and this pops up in your email, seeing the photos of where the worst things in your life have happened. I think anybody would understand that it’s very traumatising.”

Praise for police

Ellen said the behaviour of the council’s investigator was in sharp contrast to police, who investigated but decided not to lay charges, and the Accident Compensation Corporation which agreed she had been abused and qualified for support.

She said police were sympathetic and supportive and made it clear what would happen with her evidence, where it would be stored, and who would have access to it.

She said none of that was true of the Teaching Council.

Ellen said in the past four years she had been interviewed 10 times by three different agencies about the abuse she suffered.

She said they needed to find a way of sharing evidence so victims were not re-traumatised by repeated interviews about their abuse.

“You can’t move on with your life when you’re constantly reliving the worst thing that happened,” she said.

Ellen said she understood that if she agreed to continue to a tribunal hearing it would hear the evidence she gave police so she would not have to repeat that.

However, the former teacher’s lawyer would be allowed to cross-examine her.

“Given the interactions that I’ve had with the Teaching Council today, I don’t feel safe that my interests will be looked after in that setting,” she said.

She said the council needed to improve because its role investigating complaints was particularly critical in cases where there was no conviction or prosecution.

“When you’re talking about very serious crimes against children with potentially long-term jail sentences, the threshold for conviction is really high and subsequently, the threshold at which police can prosecute, where they’re confident that they can go ahead and secure a conviction, is very high,” she said.

“For historical cases like mine, where there’s no digital record or physical evidence, that can be really difficult.

“Then this leaves the teaching council as the only quasi-legal body who can prevent predators from being allowed to work with children again. That’s why I made my complaint to them.”

She said the Teaching Council’s approach felt weighted in favour of teachers.

“All of my interactions corresponding to the Teaching Council focused heavily on principles of natural justice and fair treatment of the teacher when their focus should absolutely be on how can we eliminate abuse from our profession,” she said.

Ellen said the council’s investigations should be faster, it should be absolutely clear about what happened with sensitive evidence, and it should be able to use evidence provided to other agencies so victims were protected from repeating their testimony.

“Ultimately, we need that coordinated approach. How can we stop victims and survivors from having to give evidence multiple times to different government agencies,” she said.

Ellen said she was gutted when she saw reports about the independent review of the council, but also relieved because it proved she was not imagining her experience.

“It’s too late to change what happened to me, but I’m trying to make it less hard for… the people to come after [me].”

Council responds

The council told RNZ it acknowledged the courage it took for survivors to come forward, particularly where allegations were historical.

It said its investigators were assigned to cases based on the complexity of the file.

“Investigators assigned to complex cases have experience in trauma-related practice. Where possible our investigators do seek to rely on information and documentation already provided by other agencies,” it said.

The council said it had a dedicated contact pathway for historic allegations, including a specific phone line (0800 002 458) and support information for people affected by sexual harm.

“We recognise concerns raised publicly about timeliness, and complainant experience. We are prioritising strengthening our complainant engagement and communications,” it said.

The council said if a teacher was convicted for child abuse, that would result in the teacher’s registration being immediately cancelled.

“If a disciplinary case was undertaken following a conviction, it would normally be presented on the basis of the evidence heard at the criminal court.”

“We encourage anyone with concerns about a teacher to come forward and contact us. Our priority is safeguarding children and young people and maintaining trust and confidence in the profession.”

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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/2026/02/27/woman-describes-sexual-abuse-complaint-process-with-teaching-council-as-traumatic/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Rule changes for putting a granny flat on your section cut very little red tape, but move questions of liability from councils to homeowners

No garage conversions, no house extensions, no old materials or relocated cottages, no DIY practitioners, no mezzanine floors and no accessible showers.

And no building consent needed.

The government’s new rules for building a granny flat, or ‘minor standalone dwelling’, on your own property cut through one layer of paperwork and will likely save plans from being clogged up at council level, but they’re still complex, full of restrictions and just as expensive as they always were.

The real change these rules bring, say experts, is that when things go wrong, they shift the burden of responsibility from the council to homeowners.

Karel Boakes is the president of the Building Officials Institute of New Zealand, an organisation with around 1200 members who deal with building surveying, controls and regulations in both the private sector and in councils.

From what she’s seen in the month or so since the law came in, there’s been no rush to build these standalone dwellings – she says licensed building practitioners appear to be wary of shouldering the burden of responsibility for any failures.

“They’re concerned,” she says.

“They’re concerned for the homeowners and potentially the risks that they might be taking on if they choose to follow this route.”

“Obviously they’re not against efficiencies where they can be made. That’s common sense and we’re all on board with that. But we’re also trying to weigh up the level of risk that people could be exposed to if buildings are built in a way that’s not compliant or in a way that [poses problems] financially with insurance or what have you.”

Boakes says officials want to make sure people go into these processes with their eyes wide open, understanding the risks.

“There’s definitely a shift of liability.”

Before the regulation changed there was a level of surety in council checks, but we saw from the leaky building crisis that meant that councils were often the “last man standing” – the only organisation still around answering questions of liability when builders and developers went bust. Now the responsibility for any issues down the line falls on the homeowner, and those licensed building practitioners who supervised the job.

The only council responsibility comes right at the start of an application for a standalone dwelling when it issues a PIM – a Project Information Memorandum – which details information about the land or the project that they need to take account of, such as unstable land or flood plains.

“The council won’t be taking any liability any more in terms of assessing, or checking, or inspecting,” says Boakes.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has put out comprehensive information about the processes involved.

It says the granny flats building consent exemption allows small standalone dwellings of up to 70 square metres to be built without a building consent, if it has a simple design and meets the building code; homeowners notify the council before they start building and when they’re finished; the work is carried out or supervised by licensed building professionals; and all the exemption conditions are met.

You can download the seven forms required from the site, read the three checklists, five step-by-step guides and five fact sheets, and there are links to 12 professional groups that might be involved.

So there’s no excuse for winging it.

Bill McKay, a senior lecturer at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland, tells The Detail that when the rules came out, he was taken aback by the level of requirements – “all the things that you do and have to worry about”.

“One of the questions I’m mostly commonly asked is, ‘can I build it myself?’

“Short answer – absolutely not,” he says.

He says not having to get a building consent will save time, with the council unable to put off its issuing of a PIM. But a building consent is one thing – “you’ll still need building advice from someone who can draw up plans for you and that sort of thing. We might still need a resource consent, and this is a pitfall for lots of people.

“You can’t build just anywhere you want in your back yard. We have certain rules about minimum permeable and impermeable area so that rainfall will soak away, which is all good. And we have distances that we have to keep from neighbours … all that sort of thing as well.

“The government will change that with a thing called the new National Environmental Standard, but work on that is still ongoing and that won’t kick in till who knows when.

“I think a lot of people will just sort of leap into it without doing their homework first and doing it properly, and that could get them in trouble from various angles.”

Then there’s the sting at the end – while it varies throughout the country, most councils will charge a development fee, and in some places that could be around $25,000. Your rates will go up too, having added another bathroom and more square metres to your estate.

Meanwhile McKay has picked out an aspect of the regulations he calls ‘ironic’ – even if your little house is for granny, you can’t have a recessed shower, where you could wheel in or get in without tripping over if you were unstable on your feet.

“The reason for that is, they haven’t developed a class of LBP who can do that.”

That means the supervisory aspect of the project couldn’t be met – so accessible showers are on the no-go list.

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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/2026/02/27/a-home-for-granny-a-headache-for-the-homeowner/