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AI and privacy: Commissioner signs on to global statement on ‘potential harms’

Source: Radio New Zealand

An image of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis was misleadingly animated using AI by a Facebook page recently. Screenshot / Facebook

New Zealand’s privacy commissioner’s office has signed on to a global joint statement voicing concerns about AI-generated images and calling on organisations to follow the law.

The statement – by multiple countries expresses – “concern about the potential harms from the misuse of AI content generation systems,” and says robust safeguards and regulations are needed.

“The creation of non-consensual intimate imagery can constitute a criminal offence in many jurisdictions,” the statement notes.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is an independent Crown entity that regulates the Privacy Act 2020 and ensures agencies know privacy rules. It also helps individuals whose privacy has been breached.

Concerns about the use of images of real people manipulated by artificial intelligence have been growing, with AI “slop” purveyors on social media pushing out multiple fake images about New Zealand news stories, for example, and ACT MP Laura McClure introducing a bill to criminalise non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes.

“The concerns about these technologies include the creation of non-consensual intimate imagery and potential harms to children and other vulnerable groups,” the privacy commissioner’s office said.

Generative AI “systems must be developed and used in accordance with applicable legal frameworks, including data protection and privacy rules,” the commissioner’s office said.

The joint statement was signed by more than 50 different agencies from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France and elsewhere.

“While AI can bring meaningful benefits for individuals and society, recent developments – particularly AI image and video generation integrated into widely accessible social media platforms – have enabled the creation of non-consensual intimate imagery, defamatory depictions, and other harmful content featuring real individuals,” the joint statement said.

“We are especially concerned about potential harms to children and other vulnerable groups, such as cyber-bullying and/or exploitation.”

“We call on organisations to engage proactively with regulators, implement robust safeguards from the outset, and ensure that technological advancement does not come at the expense of privacy, dignity, safety,” the statement said.

The statement does not act to change any of New Zealand’s current laws, but may provide more pressure to bring them up to date as AI usage continues to rise.

University of Canterbury lecturer in law Dr Cassandra Mudgway has previously written on the need for more regulation over sexualised deepfakes.

“I think it goes along with what the office of the Privacy Commissioner has been trying to get out in relation to AI tools very generally,” she said. “In 2023 they released some guidance around AI tools and the use of AI tools by agencies.”

Privacy commissioner Michael Webster has also [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/579020/privacy-commissioner-insists-new-zealand-s-laws-need-modernising recently said the country’s laws must be modernised to better protect New Zealanders.

“The Privacy Commissioner is really only concerned with how AI tools relate … to the Privacy Act,” Mudgway said.

The Human Rights Tribunal can award compensatory damages for breaches of the Privacy Act, but the fines typically wouldn’t make a difference to huge social media and AI companies, Mudgway said.

“If New Zealand wants to engage in these kind of conversations then we really do need to think about wider regulation.”

A ban on “nudify” type apps such as was recently introduced by Australia could be an easy first step, she said.

There have been concerns raised about use of AI during this year’s election campaigns. Elsewhere, US President Donald Trump has taken to frequently posting AI-generated content on his social media feeds.

“I think that it’s a really positive move that there’s an international conversation about (AI) through different regulators … but in terms of making a positive change or a proactive change then that’s going to have to come from Parliament,” Mudgway said.

“It’s going to have to come from the government of the day and it’s going to be political will whether they listen to that movement.”

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/2026/02/24/ai-and-privacy-commissioner-signs-on-to-global-statement-on-potential-harms/

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Significant maintenance contracts up for renewal

Source: Auckland Council

Auckland Council is renewing a significant suite of full facilities and maintenance contracts, to support the upkeep of thousands of community, park and play assets across the region for the next five to 10 years.

These contracts cover all the services required to maintain 10,298 hectares of gardens and green spaces, 853 toilets, 775km of carparks, 897 playgrounds, 66 libraries, 43 pools, three holiday parks and 3,661 kilometres of walkways in Tāmaki Makaurau.

General Manager of Parks and Community Facilities Taryn Crewe says a key focus of the procurement process is cost efficiency and that will involve looking at how the new contracts can deliver the best value for ratepayers.

“The council commits around $195 million each year – around $100 per resident – to keep our extensive range of local parks and sports fields mowed, trees trimmed, facilities clean and buildings maintained to a high standard for widespread community use,” says Mrs Crewe.

“The full facilities and maintenance contracts are critical to managing these assets well for everyone to enjoy, now and for generations to come.

“To identify strengths and key areas for improvement, the council has gathered extensive feedback, analysed the performance data of our existing contracts, and reviewed facilities management best practices across Australasia.”

In 2017, the council combined the maintenance of parks and community facilities under a small number of large outcome-based contracts, that expire in 2027. This aimed to leverage the council’s scale, simplify maintenance operations and manage risks through outsourcing.

The current contract renewal looks to secure contracts that include large and small suppliers, with locally led decision-making.

“We are looking to retain the strengths and proven benefits of having large service providers with some key improvements from contracting smaller local suppliers, and keeping specialised skills in-house,” says Ms Crewe.

“We’ve identified a need to align new contracts with increased local board decision-making responsibilities and priorities, while also maintaining cost-efficiency and consistent service delivery across the region.”

In parks, reserves and open spaces, contractors undertake litter removal, mowing, cleaning of toilets, BBQs and playgrounds, facility maintenance and repairs, and managing pest plants and animals.

In and outside halls, libraries and community centres, leisure centres and pool facilities, ongoing work is required to maintain and clean public areas including toilets, changing rooms and storage buildings.    

Further work by contractors helps to look after urban gardens, keep streetscapes, bus shelters and town centres clean.

Expressions of interest are open to all providers, large and small, until 11 March 2026. A detailed evaluation process will follow, with a shortlist of preferred suppliers prepared for the Value for Money Committee to consider in December.

The council’s current contracts finish in June 2027, with new contracts set to start from 1 July 2027. 

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/24/significant-maintenance-contracts-up-for-renewal/

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How Tourette’s causes involuntary outbursts – and what people with the condition want you to know

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melissa Licari, Senior Research Fellow in Child Disability, The University of Western Australia

Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson has explained he left the British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs) ceremony early on Monday night, aware his outbursts were causing distress.

Davidson was attending the ceremony to support the film I Swear, which tells the story of his life living with the syndrome. Tourette’s can cause involuntary movements and sounds, including words.

Davidson’s outbursts during the ceremony included a racial slur while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindon, who are Black, were presenting an award.

In a statement, Davidson stressed the words were not intentional and did not “carry any meaning”. He said he was “deeply mortified” that people might have thought otherwise.

There are valid criticisms about how the BAFTAs and the broadcaster handled the situation and failed to properly acknowledge the hurt caused, whether or not it was intended.

But the syndrome Davidson has spent his life educating people about remains sadly misunderstood. So let’s take a look at Tourette’s and the tics it causes.

A neurological disorder

Tourette’s is a neurological disorder characterised by unintentional movements and vocalisations, known as tics.

While the exact cause of Tourette’s is not fully understood, it is likely to be complex and multifactorial.

Various genes have been linked to the condition, and we know it runs in families, so it likely has a strong genetic basis.

We also know that other environmental exposures during key periods of brain development contribute to the onset and course of the condition, such as complications during pregnancy and birth, illnesses and infections, and intense stress.

Tourette syndrome also rarely occurs in isolation, with many diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and learning disorders.

What are tics?

Tics are thought to be caused by changes in brain circuits involved in impulse control and inhibition.

People with tics often experience uncomfortable physical sensations that build up in the body called premonitory urges. These urges are difficult and often impossible to suppress, and the only way to alleviate the urge is to tic.

It is a bit like when we experience itching on our skin or tingling in our nose, sensations we relieve by scratching or sneezing.

Tics vary between people and fluctuate in frequency, type and intensity, which can be challenging to manage.

Some tics are brief movements and sounds, such as forceful blinking, facial grimacing, head jerking, sniffing, throat clearing and grunting. These are referred to as “simple” tics and are very common, particularly in young children.

Other tics involve more elaborate patterns of movements and sounds – often involving several parts of the body.

These are “complex” tics. They include motor tics like hitting oneself, kicking or dropping to the floor, and vocal tics like repeating words or phrases. This can include socially inappropriate terms such as slurs or swearwords.

It is believed the Tourette’s brain sometimes struggles to control “forbidden” impulses. A person may experience urges to say taboo words and phrases, or make inappropriate actions, when they see or hear certain things within their environment.

How common are tics?

Tics are very common among children, with simple tics occurring in up to one in five children aged between five and six. These normally resolve in a short space of time, with many people unaware they are tics.

For one in 100 children, their tics will persist and become more severe. Having both motor and vocal tics for at least 12 months, meets the diagnostic criteria for Tourette syndrome.

While Tourette’s typically first appears in early childhood, onset can also occur during adolescence and adulthood.

For most children, tics will peak during early puberty, typically between 10–12 years of age, before reducing.

But for about one in four people with Tourette syndrome, their tics will be lifelong. Around 50,000 Australians currently live with a life-long tic disorder.

The use of obscene and socially inappropriate words and phrases, referred to as coprolalia, only occurs in about 15–20% of people with Tourette’s.

Unfortunately, coprolalia is often what often gets portrayed in media and entertainment, impacting the public’s understanding of Tourette’s.

Is there a cure?

Tourette syndrome currently has no cure.

Ideally, treatment should include evidence-based behavioural interventions for tics. However these can be difficult to access, with few psychologists trained in these interventions.

Other psychological therapies aim to address the person’s stress and anxiety – which are factors known to increase tics – but not their tics.

Medications are also commonly prescribed if the tics are impacting the person, but these are not effective for everyone and often have side effects.

An exhausting and disabling condition

The frequent urge to tic disrupts attention and concentration, and the tics themselves can impact many aspects of daily living, such as dressing, eating, watching TV, and even relaxing.

Tics can also cause discomfort and injury, such as muscle soreness, cramping, whiplash, dislocations and broken bones. The research I’ve done with colleagues shows two-thirds of people sustain injuries from their tics.

I was involved in a national survey in 2025 involving more than 200 people with Tourette’s and their caregivers. They told us about the challenges they faced including:

  • long wait times for diagnosis
  • little understanding of tics and the condition from health workers and teachers
  • a lack of support and limited treatment options
  • a severe negative effect on mental health.

The social stigma, bullying, exclusion and exhaustion of living with this condition often leads to significant mental health struggles.

Our research shows around 70% of people living with Tourette’s struggle with anxiety disorders and one in three experience depression. One in four adults and one in ten children with this disorder have attempted suicide.

People with Tourette’s want to be understood and accepted

Tics are not something they are doing for attention. They increase when a person is stressed, anxious or excited, and trying to hold them in can make them worse.

Not everyone experiences coprolalia but, for those that do, the inability to inhibit taboo language can lead to public scrutiny and cause embarrassment and shame. This leads to many avoiding social situations and a life of isolation.

If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.

– ref. How Tourette’s causes involuntary outbursts – and what people with the condition want you to know – https://theconversation.com/how-tourettes-causes-involuntary-outbursts-and-what-people-with-the-condition-want-you-to-know-276750

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/24/how-tourettes-causes-involuntary-outbursts-and-what-people-with-the-condition-want-you-to-know-276750/

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Primary school principals accept government pay offer

Source: Radio New Zealand

Richard Tindiller

Primary school principals have voted to accept the government’s offer in pay negotiations.

A majority of members of the NZEI education union voted to accept the Ministry of Education’s agreement.

Primary principals will receive a 2.5 percent increase immediately, plus 2.1 percent in 12 months.

The settlement also includes a $15,000 workload allowance for implementing the government’s curriculum changes.

Stephen Lethbridge, a member of the bargaining team, said the allowance was necessary.

“The $15,000 change management allowance is a necessary recognition of the immense pressure involved in implementing wholesale curriculum change, but it is in no way an endorsement of its content.”

Lethbridge said Tuesday’s result recognises the power of the “collective voice” at the bargaining table.

Education Minister Erica Stanford said the Leadership in Literacy and Numeracy base payment will increase to $10,000 per year over the term of the agreement.

She said the settlement delivers meaningful improvements to primary principal pay and conditions

“It reflects shared priorities, with a firm commitment to leading implementation of the new curriculum and lifting educational outcomes for our students.”

Stanford said principals play a key role in schools and the teaching workforce.

“They are dedicated and passionate about lifting educational achievement, and their leadership must be recognised during this important reform programme.”

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/2026/02/24/primary-school-principals-accept-government-pay-offer/

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‘Ultra-processed foods are making us sick’ – lawsuit against manufacturers

Source: Radio New Zealand

The lawsuit alleges the companies deliberately designed the foods to be addictive, in full knowledge they make people sick. File photo. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

A US attorney who is suing some of the biggest food manufacturers is accusing them of deliberately designing products to be addictive – despite the harm they are known to cause.

David Chiu has brought a lawsuit against prominent ultra-processed food manufacturers, including Coca-Cola, Nestle, Kellog and Craft Heinz.

The lawsuit argues the US government is picking up the bill for the serious health consequences from their products, such as obesity, diabetes and cancer.

It also alleges the companies deliberately designed the foods to be addictive and marketed them to maximise profit, in full knowledge they make people sick.

Ultra-processed foods are not just junk food, but anything full of chemical-based preservatives, emulsifiers, sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated fats, and artificial colours and flavours.

Chiu – a San Francisco city attorney – told Checkpoint studies showing the danger of these foods spurred on the legal action.

“The massive data sets that have come out that show that ultra-processed foods are making us sick, plain and simple.”

With products from all companies involved in the lawsuit also available in New Zealand, Chiu said it should be a worry here.

“Our case is about companies that have designed these foods to be addictive, marketed it to maximize profits, and like the tobacco industry years ago, they knew their products made people very sick, but they hid the product, hid the truth from the public.

“They’ve made untold billions. They’ve left taxpayers to clean up the mess.”

Chiu said the comparisons to the tobacco industry were more than just a coincidence, with some of the big tobacco companies buying out major food companies throughout the 1960s and 70s.

“Big tobacco literally transferred its people, its ideas, its technology around addiction science from the tobacco industry to this food industry, this ultra-processed food industry. And they used the big tobacco playbook to research, design, and market addictive products.”

While some argued that consumers had a choice when it came to what food they bought, Chiu said the industry’s massive reach had essentially removed that decision.

“The industry likes to say that consumers have choice. You can buy whatever you want, and if someone wants to buy Pringles or potato chips or crackers, that is up to them.

“The ultra-processed food industry has worked to create this illusion of choice, but they’re actually depriving consumers of choice. You don’t really have a choice when 70 percent of what you see in the supermarkets are ultra-processed foods.”

In the court documents, Chiu mapped the increase of chronic diseases against the growth in ultra-processed foods.

He said the link between the foods and diseases was clear.

“As the level and consumption of ultra-processed foods have risen, so have chronic diseases. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease, kidney disease, even depression, and this has been particularly alarming in children.

“We are seeing preventable diseases that no one has seen in kids, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.”

While companies may market their products as healthy, Chiu warned that consumers must be aware of what they were purchasing.

“There are well-known definitions of ultra-processed foods within the scientific community. And in California state law, our state legislature recently passed a definition of ultra-processed food, which is quite clear.

“We are talking about foods that are made-up of artificial ingredients that are created by combining these artificial chemicals with industrialized processes.”

Chiu said he was not aiming for a full ban of all ultra-processed foods, but wanted more accountability from the companies creating and selling them.

“What we want to ensure is a couple of things. One, that this industry is held accountable when it comes to deceptive practices and advertising. We need to have real transparency in what these products are.

“We have had as a society to pay for billions and billions and billions of dollars of healthcare for the diseases, the cancers, the obesity, the type 2 diabetes that so many folks are receiving.

“We believe that we should receive some restitution to pay for the health care costs that have come about through the actions and the knowing actions of this industry. “

He hoped that the lawsuit would be a first step in encouraging others to put pressure on the companies responsible.

“All of our reliance on ultra-processed foods is decades in the making. We can’t reverse it overnight, but we certainly can get some accountability and move this conversation forward.

“I also encourage others who care about this, whether they are in government or elsewhere, to hold this industry accountable.”

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/2026/02/24/ultra-processed-foods-are-making-us-sick-lawsuit-against-manufacturers/

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Political support for NZ-India FTA getting closer – trade minister

Source: Radio New Zealand

Trade Minster Todd McClay says the government is “working through a process” with opposition parties. RNZ / Mark Papalii

The Free Trade Agreement with India is better than almost every other trade agreement with India, says the trade minister, who is optimistic it will get the political support needed to ratify it.

Todd McClay held the first of a series of roadshows on the NZ-India Free Trade agreement in Christchurch today at Business Canterbury.

New Zealand First has said it will not support the deal, but McClay said he had a constructive meeting on the FTA with Labour leader Chris Hipkins last week to work through some of the issues they had.

“The Labour party has the text already, and has had full access to officials since the end of last year, and we are working through a process.”

McClay said they had made some progress on the issues, but he expected further meetings will be needed.

He said every previous significant trade agreement had support from both major parties, because they knew how important trade was to New Zealand.

“This is a high quality agreement that is good for New Zealand. It is better than almost every other agreement India has negotiated and I want to be very clear – if it wasn’t a good agreement, we wouldn’t have agreed to it.”

Labour said last week that National must ensure stronger protections for migrant workers in the Free Trade Agreement with India, before it agreed to it.

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/2026/02/24/political-support-for-nz-india-fta-getting-closer-trade-minister/

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Hong Kong Tech Delegation Heading for Market Expansion at Mobile World Congress 2026

Source: Media Outreach

Debut at startup-centric zone 4YFN, Dual-presence at World Class Tech Exhibitions in Spain

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 24 February 2026 – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), in collaboration with Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), will lead a delegation of 21 Hong Kong tech companies and institutions to showcase at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026—the world’s premier connectivity event, and debut at 4 Years From Now (4YFN) 2026—a global stage for start-ups, taking place concurrently 2-5 March in Barcelona, Spain.

Building on the momentum from MWC 2025—the Delegation will be featuring solutions beyond the Connectivity category, covering focus areas across Devices and Systems, Digital Transformation and support from Ecosystem Partners. The Pavilion duet ought to give a more comprehensive picture of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology (I&T) capabilities in engaging global telecom leaders, enterprise decision-makers, industry partners, and investors, bridging cutting-edge research and development (R&D) into real-world applications and propelling Hong Kong’s I&T sector onto the international stage.

Derek Chim, Head of Startup Ecosystem and Development, HKSTP said, “MWC is a global bellwether for communications technology and tech companies at any stage, to connect with the industry and investors, to have a solid ground that validate solutions, catalyse pilot projects, accelerate commercialisation, and scale internationally.”

Iris Wong, Director, Merchandise Trade and Innovation / Director, External Relations, HKTDC, said, “The Hong Kong Tech Pavilion is an ideal platform for Hong Kong tech enterprises to present their latest R&D achievements at major international tech gatherings, support their journey to explore overseas markets, while highlighting Hong Kong’s strengths as an international innovation and technology hub.”

A series of dialogues and exchanges, spanning from networking reception and themed talks to pitching sessions, will take place throughout the events at the Pavilion to facilitate partnerships and investment opportunities for innovative solutions that are market-ready with high potential for market expansion, in particular, Asmote and Cresento under “Connectivity” make stellar examples of the notion:

  • 5G & 6G for Communication, Sensing, and AI computing – Shannon & Turing, (Asmote), located at MWC, specialises in mmWave technology for Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) technology—drone communications and control—rising to the occasion as the city advances its low-altitude economy initiatives, while winning favors for its efficiency in managing industrial scenarios such as smart ports and dark factories. The company previously secured the world’s first 26GHz mmWave 5G commercial communications project, demonstrating its leadership in industrial-grade applications.
  • Smart Performance Insights for Sport – Cresento, located at 4YFN, focused on developing an AI-powered shin guard to deliver real-time insights—performance analytics, team leaderboards, and more—with a design that incorporates into gears that athletes already wear and creates minimal friction for, in particular, football players to adapt, will be moving from prototypes to pilot collaborations with European football clubs, academies and sport tech platforms and distributors.

HKSTP continues to join hands with HKTDC to support Hong Kong tech enterprises to “go global” by jointly organising the Hong Kong Tech Pavilion to build bridges linking tech companies with the world. This expedites the industry’s progress in internationalisation to meet the growing demand for I&T globally. This will attract talents, facilitate forward-looking investments and explore opportunities globally, realising the mission of entrepreneurs to reach out to the world and further consolidate Hong Kong’s position as an international I&T hub.

Mobile World Congress Barcelona (MWC) & 4 Years From Now (4YFN)
Date: 2-5 March 2026
Venue: Fira Gran Via, Av. Joan Carles I, 64, 08908 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

Hong Kong Tech Pavilion:
MWC – Booth 6E44 at Hall 6
4YFN – Booth 8.1B31 at Hall 8.1

Please visit https://bit.ly/MWC2026HKTech for more information on Hong Kong Tech Pavilion and the exhibitors.

Appendix: Full list of 21 tech entities showcasing at Hong Kong Tech Pavilion during MWC and 4YFN 2026 (in alphabetical order)

No. Name of Tech Company / Institution Category
MWC 2026 – Booth 6E44 at Hall 6
1 Entoptica Limited Devices & Systems
2 eSIX Connectivity
3 Faraconix Technologies Co., Ltd. Connectivity
4 FreightAmigo Services Limited Digital Transformation
5 Glassdio Scientific Company Limited Connectivity
6 Harvest Elite International Limited Digital Transformation
7 HongKong Umedia Limited Devices & Systems
8 iASPEC Services Limited Digital Transformation
9 InvestHK Ecosystem Partners
10 Robocore Technology Limited Devices & Systems
11 Shannon & Turing Technology Limited Connectivity
12 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Ecosystem Partners
13 Xeroptix Technology Devices & Systems
4YFN 2026 – Booth 8.1B31 at Hall 8.1
14 AIGM Limited Digital Transformation
15 BWSea Technology (HK) Co., Limited Digital Transformation
16 Cresento Limited Devices & Systems
17 GoGoChart Technology Limited Digital Transformation
18 HairCoSys Limited Devices & Systems
19 KNQ Technology Limited Digital Transformation
20 Solos Technology Limited Devices & Systems
21 Vista Innotech Limited Devices & Systems

Hashtag: #HKSTP

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/24/hong-kong-tech-delegation-heading-for-market-expansion-at-mobile-world-congress-2026/

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High-speed rail from Sydney to Newcastle is a step closer. But what about Sydney to Melbourne?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Laird, Honorary Principal Fellow, University of Wollongong

The federal government will spend A$230 million towards a high-speed rail line between Newcastle and Sydney, promising the project will be “shovel ready” for a final decision on construction in 2028.

The government also released a partly redacted business case for the project, showing the first two stages from Newcastle to Sydney by 2039 are now estimated to cost $61.2 billion, including new trains. A further $32 billion would be needed to extend it to Western Sydney’s international airport by 2042.

The High Speed Rail Authority argues Newcastle-Sydney is the best place to start, with the highest population density and the busiest intercity rail route. But its vision remains that “by 2060 a high-speed rail network will connect Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne”.

The latest announcement follows more than 40 years of previous plans, costing millions, which all amounted to nothing.

Will this time be any different?

Do we have the population to justify high-speed rail?

An article in the Canberra Times from 1984, reporting on the first of many past high-speed rail proposals. Trove

Back when Australia started talking about high-speed rail in 1984, just two countries had trains able to travel at speeds of 250 kilometres per hour or more: Japan and France.

Today, that number has climbed to 16, including Austria two months ago. India is expected to have bullet trains running within a couple of years.

The main argument against fast rail here has always been population density, due to Australia’s extraordinarily low population density of just 3 people per square kilometre of land. That’s a fraction of the 342 people per square kilometre in Japan, home to the famous Shinkansen “bullet” trains.

But that population density is very different along the crowded east coast.

Sydney–Newcastle is high-density

As the High Speed Rail Authority’s business case shows, the Newcastle, Central Coast and Sydney corridor is the mostly densely populated part of Australia, with 624 people per square kilometre.

Population density along the proposed high-speed rail corridor, according to the High Speed Rail Authority.

That’s actually much higher density than Spain has with 97 people per square kilometre.

Spain opened its first high-speed rail link from Madrid to Seville back in 1992. Since then, its high-speed rail network has grown to nearly 4000km. Yet Spain has a significantly lower gross domestic product per person than Australia.

Why start in Sydney–Newcastle?

Sydney to Newcastle is Australia’s busiest regional corridor. But its current road and rail connections are slow and need major, multi-billion-dollar upgrades – even if high-speed rail doesn’t proceed.

There are nearly 15 million annual rail trips between the two cities, some taking up to 3 hours. The M1 Pacific Motorway is often congested, with 222 road crashes on it in 2022 alone.

The business case found expanding roads would be cheaper than high-speed rail, requiring around $20–$35 billion in investment. But it would come with other costs, including causing “substantial environmental impacts, including surface disruptions to multiple national parks”, as well as doing little to address congestion and resulting in more carbon emissions.

With high-speed rail, journey times would be halved. Newcastle to Sydney would fall to about an hour, while trips from the Central Coast to Sydney or Newcastle would fall to 30 minutes.

But the proposed route is complex, involving 194km of new high-speed rail tracks, more than half of which (115km) would be through tunnels. So construction won’t be cheap or fast.

What about Sydney–Melbourne?

Infrastructure Minister Catherine King announced an extra $230 million for the project on Tuesday, taking the planning and design total to $659.6 million.

The minister acknowledged “this is an expensive and big project”, but argued it’s better to get the design right before construction starts.

Given overseas experience, such as UK’s high-speed rail delays and cost blowouts, this staged approach does make sense.

But the main question I had after reading the business case was what’s being done to work on high-speed rail from Sydney to Melbourne? It’s still the world’s sixth busiest aviation route and the existing railway is inadequate.

The longer we leave that planning, the more housing and other obstacles there will be along any future route. A good place to start would be from south-west Sydney, heading south.

How funding fights derailed past high-speed rail plans

We have got this far with high-speed rail in Australia before: nearly proceeding from design to delivery.

Back in 2000, one of the two things that spoilt the Speedrail proposal to connect Sydney to Canberra Airport was gap funding. The NSW government announced they wouldn’t put any money into it – then the federal government followed.

Read more: Can the new High Speed Rail Authority deliver after 4 decades of costly studies?

Will history repeat itself? New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has said his government can’t fund high-speed rail “at the moment” while finishing other major infrastructure.

The difference this time may be that the current federal government has invested more than any previous government, both financially and politically.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “significant private funding” would be crucial to the project proceeding in 2028. The business case discusses some of those options, including private public partnerships, plus other funding sources like developer levies.

In Japan, there’s a national agency that constructs high-speed Shinkansen lines. But they only proceed when they get support from the local prefectures (governments).

That’s the sort of clear process we’d ideally have in Australia too. If we do finally start building high-speed rail in 2028, it will be 44 years since it was first proposed.

– ref. High-speed rail from Sydney to Newcastle is a step closer. But what about Sydney to Melbourne? – https://theconversation.com/high-speed-rail-from-sydney-to-newcastle-is-a-step-closer-but-what-about-sydney-to-melbourne-276627

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/24/high-speed-rail-from-sydney-to-newcastle-is-a-step-closer-but-what-about-sydney-to-melbourne-276627/

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Council cost cutting prompts Levin woman to turn berm into flower garden

Source: Radio New Zealand

Louise McCarthy was not happy when the council stopped mowing her berm but decided to turn it into a flowering meadow instead. Louise McCarthy

A Horowhenua District Council cost-cutting decision has resulted in a local attraction.

When the council stopped mowing residential berms to save money, it made Levin resident Louise McCarthy very grumpy.

She refused to cut the grass herself and declined neighbours’ offers to trim it too, until she decided to transform the berm into an urban meadow full of wildflowers.

Louise McCarthy told Checkpoint said her berm was now outstanding and thick with flowers.

Her anger at the council’s refusal to mow the area was a good motivation, she said.

“I must’ve been muttering away to myself as I was doing it and it’s made all the little flowers pop their heads out to have their say.”

Louise McCarthy

McCarthy told Checkpoint there were a couple of reasons why she refused to mow the berm herself.

She said she only owned an electric lawn mower and to mow the berm she would have had to run the cord over a public footpath which she did not feel was very safe and would be a trip hazard.

“I live right next door to a park so it would have taken them [the council] two minutes to do my berm which they had always done previously.”

Despite her floral berm McCarthy does not describe herself as a gardener.

“Most things I can murder within oh a week, but no way am I a gardener I wouldn’t know a weed from a flower if it jumped up and bit me.”

McCarthy says some of the weeds also have pretty flowers so she just leaves them be. Louise McCarthy

McCarthy agreed that she had a “tough love” approach to plants and said the only thing she did was water the berm in the evening.

She said to get the garden to its current state she first killed all the unmowed council grass, then invited her grandchildren around for what she called a dig-it party.

“I wanted them to turn the dirt over for me cause it was like concrete and I knew I wouldn’t be able to manage it on my own.”

Her youngest son turned up with a trailer of soil which they dumped on top, she said.

“Sprinkled all the seeds in and just watered it and just left it and this all came up and it’s like wow!”

Louise McCarthy

McCarthy said she also had a lovely neighbour who helped her by doing a whole day’s weeding when the flowers first started coming up.

“But since then I’ve just left it and some of the weeds, I think they’re weeds, have actually got very pretty flowers on them so I’ve just left them.”

McCarthy said she now wanted to see if she could find some plants that would flower during winter and is hoping that the garden would be able to regenerate itself.

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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/2026/02/24/council-cost-cutting-prompts-levin-woman-to-turn-berm-into-flower-garden/

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Genesis Energy a ‘fair proposition’ despite some customers bills increasing by 30%

Source: Radio New Zealand

Supplied / Genesis Energy

Genesis Energy cannot guarantee its customers won’t receive further price increases this year.

It comes as customers are told their electricity prices will increase at the end of March.

The company has also just revealed a massive bump in profit.

On Monday, Genesis said its half-year net profit ending 31 December was $95 million, compared to $70m the previous year.

Chief executive Malcolm Johns. Supplied / Genesis Energy / © Brett Phibbs / PhibbsVisuals Limited

Chief executive Malcolm Johns said increased hydro-generation across the country allowed it to buy cheaper electricity on the wholesale market, divert gas towards industrial customers, and reduce expensive coal and gas-fired generation at Huntly.

That resulted in the company posting record operating earnings.

Johns then told Newstalk ZB there were no plans “in the immediate future” for price increases, but customers have received letters as recently as Saturday advising them of just that.

Genesis Energy chief revenue officer Stephen England-Hall told Checkpoint there were price changes happening at the end of March – but Johns was talking about price increases “beyond what is already in circulation”.

Despite Johns saying there wouldn’t be any, England-Hall said he couldn’t guarantee there would be no further price increases in 2026.

Where the majority of customers would see an increase of between 10 and 20 percent in their bill, some would see an increase of 30 percent.

Stephen England-Hall. RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

England-Hall said “no one was very happy or thrilled” about price increases but inflation was driving it and it was beyond their control.

“Over the last few years we’ve had price increases that we’ve tried to hold.

“Since 2021, which some of us will try to forget, but 2021 until today, price increases have tried to be managed relatively efficiently and effectively, we’ve tried to not pass through full inflation costs to customers because we know that things have been challenging.”

England-Hall said he believed Genesis was a fair offer in the market and data showed it was in the middle of the market with some companies cheaper, some more expensive.

“I do believe we are a fair proposition,” he said.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/24/genesis-energy-a-fair-proposition-despite-some-customers-bills-increasing-by-30/

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Punch the monkey isn’t the first lonely zoo animal to capture our hearts – or raise troubling questions

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruby Ekkel, Associate Lecturer in History, Australian National University

For weeks, the story of Punch the monkey has tugged at heartstrings around the world. Videos of this lonely baby monkey at Japan’s Ichikawa Zoo have triggered global outpourings of empathy, grief and outrage.

Abandoned by his mother, the young macaque has been seemingly bullied by other monkeys. His only comfort is a stuffed toy he drags around his concrete enclosure. The response online is unequivocal: “STOP BULLYING LITTLE PUNCH”.

Punch is not the first captive animal to spark such strong emotional reactions. Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo, drew thousands of fans to her enclosure in Thailand, and Joey, a rescued sea otter pup in Canada, became famous during COVID lockdowns thanks to his YouTube livestream.

Australia has had its own famous zoo animals, who, like Punch, evoked strong emotions – and forced visitors to reckon with what captivity means. We long to see and connect with these animals, but the only way to do so up close is to hold them against their will. Here are three historic examples.

‘Almost human’: Mollie the orangutan

From 1901 to 1923, Melbourne Zoo’s must-see attraction was an orangutan called Mollie.

People were quick to project human emotions and experiences on Mollie, just as they do for Punch. Visitors commented on her “remarkable intelligence and kindly disposition”, as well as a mischievous attitude and readiness to play tricks. As one admirer wrote, she was “practically human, except for the fact that she could not talk”.

Visitors were taken with Mollie’s ability to smoke a cigarette and other human-like behaviours. Almost human: reminiscences from the Melbourne Zoo/A. Wilkie and Annie Osborn

This was understandable, given Mollie’s famously human-like behaviours were actively encouraged in early 20th-century zoos. She lit and smoked cigarettes and pipes (once accidentally setting fire to her enclosure), picked locks, donned human clothes, fastidiously made her own bed and drank whiskey.

Not everyone liked seeing themselves reflected in fellow primates – especially those behind bars. To some observers, Mollie’s human behaviours felt unsettling. One reporter felt her smoking habits made her look “more grotesquely human than ever”. Mostly, however, people did not question the ethics of keeping this “almost human” primate in a small cage.

When she died in 1923, Australia’s palpable grief was felt most acutely in Melbourne, where she was a “firm favourite”. The news of Mollie’s death “spread with lightning rapidity throughout the city”, reported The Herald, and her keeper was “besieged with inquiries of her last moments”.

The last thylacine

While they lived, thylacines rarely received this kind of love. The marsupial predators were blamed for killing sheep, and condemned as ferocious and “too stupid to tame”. But Tasmanian tigers became popular zoo exhibits, and the international thylacine trade added more pressure to a species already in decline.

The last known thylacine was an unnamed female kept at Tasmania’s Beaumaris Zoo. On a cold night in 1936, she quietly died. Hobart Council began looking into finding a replacement.

[embedded content]
Footage of the last known Tasmanian tiger at Tasmania’s Beaumaris Zoo around 1930.

But some Hobart residents protested these plans. In a letter to the editor, Edith Waterworth questioned the need to keep “a frenzied, frantic creature”:

after the frenzy has died down, it will pace up and down, its whole body expressing the devastating misery it feels.

Waterworth wrote of seeing another captive thylacine, whose “frozen despair […] would wring the heart of any person not entirely without imagination”.

For her and many others, empathising with zoo animals meant questioning the need for their captivity. But it was too late for the thylacine, which was by then either extinct in the wild or close to the brink. Beaumaris Zoo closed the following year.

Samorn the elephant

Samorn the elephant pulled carts of zoo visitors around Adelaide Zoo for years. Ian Keith Kershaw

For three decades, Samorn the elephant was a beloved attraction at Adelaide Zoo. Born in Thailand, she was brought to Australia in 1956. She would be the last of a line of popular Adelaide Zoo elephants, including Miss Siam (1884–1904) and Mary Ann (1904–34).

A generation of children delighted in being hauled in a cart behind Samorn, feeding her peanuts and apples and watching her perform tricks. She was described as a very gentle and hardworking animal. When not working, she was kept in a small enclosure without any other elephants, which was common for the time.

In her old age Samorn retired to Monarto Zoological Park, not far from Adelaide, where she had more space than her small zoo enclosure. Reports of her death in 1994 combined nostalgia with sadness at how she had been treated: “At Monarto, she had some freedom and had stopped her swaying to and fro.”

Many Adelaideans remember Samorn fondly, but regret the suffering she experienced. As resident Bernadette White put it in 2021:

even as a child, I was sensitive to her great loneliness and that ridiculously small cement enclosure she lived in […] She just gave rise to a depressive, deeply sad feeling in me […] A beautiful creature who deserved better

Samorn was the last elephant to cart children or perform tricks at Adelaide Zoo.

Care in captivity

Most zoos treat their animals very differently these days. Conservation and animal welfare are important in ways unthinkable in Mollie’s time.

What remains constant is how strong our emotional responses can be to creatures who seem intelligent, lonely or sad.

In photographs of a tiny Punch crumpled over his stuffed toy, we might glimpse something almost human. But this comparison also raises difficult questions.

To love animals while participating in what keeps them captive is uncomfortable. If we recognise their capacity for distress, what responsibility does that entail?

Should we intervene in the suffering of captive animals like Punch, even if the bullying he is subject to is “natural”?

So long as we care for wild animals and confine them, these questions aren’t going away. For now, at least, we can rest easy knowing Punch is now making friends with other macaques.

– ref. Punch the monkey isn’t the first lonely zoo animal to capture our hearts – or raise troubling questions – https://theconversation.com/punch-the-monkey-isnt-the-first-lonely-zoo-animal-to-capture-our-hearts-or-raise-troubling-questions-276622

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/24/punch-the-monkey-isnt-the-first-lonely-zoo-animal-to-capture-our-hearts-or-raise-troubling-questions-276622/

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Cost of eliminating invasive clams from lake too much for council

Source: Radio New Zealand

Eradicating the gold clams could cost up to $1.3 million, with no guarantee of success. File photo. NIWA

Boating restrictions at Lake Rotomanu in New Plymouth are to remain while Taranaki Regional Council seeks partners to help fund an attempt to eradicate the invasive gold clam.

Tuesday’s full council meeting weighed up a report by environment services manager Steve Ellis that outlined five options for the management of freshwater gold clams (Corbicula fluminea) in Lake Rotomanu.

Councillors heard attempting to eradicate the clams could cost up to $1.3 million, with no guarantee of success and an ongoing risk of reinfestation.

That would require a rates increase, which councillors were not prepared to do.

Instead they left the door open for a future elimination attempt by asking staff to explore funding partnerships with external agencies.

Councillors were concerned about the potential environmental and economic impacts if the clam spread to other waterways, particularly Lakes Mangamahoe, Ratapiko and Rotorangi where they could affect hydroelectrical generation and irrigation systems.

They approved, in principle, an additional $250,000 for the biosecurity and Check, Clean, Dry programmes to identify and mitigate pathways, raise public awareness and reduce the risk of the gold clam spreading.

The money would also allow the council to increase its monitoring of Taranaki waterways for Corbicula and other freshwater pests.

Councillors made it clear Lake Rotomanu must remain closed to motorised boats, which pose the greatest risk of spreading the clam.

Council chair Craig Williamson said in an ideal world the council would love to eradicate the clams, especially as there was no evidence it spread to other Taranaki lakes. However the reality was the it could not afford to do it alone.

“There is a real opportunity for public and private partners to step up and work with us – we all have a lot to lose if the gold clam spreads unchecked in Taranaki. We’ll continue having those conversations and keep looking for practical solutions.

“In the meantime we must boost efforts to reduce the risk of spread, as well as increasing surveillance and preparedness. The onus is on boaties and other water users to take responsibility for their own backyards and Check, Clean, Dry every time they move between waterways, particularly if coming from the Waikato River.”

New Plymouth District Council, which owns Lake Rotomanu, had kept the lake closed to motorised boats and jet skis since the clams were discovered.

Conversations were now underway to determine if NPDC would extend that closure or if Biosecurity New Zealand would impose formal restrictions.

Recreational users such as kayakers, swimmers, remote-controlled boat enthusiasts and fishers could continue using the lake but were required to thoroughly check their gear.

The three treatment options identified in the report were killing the clams with copper ($600,000), draining the lake then applying salt ($900,000) and emptying the lake and pumping in seawater ($1.3 million).

They would all be complex operations, with only the copper option attempted before in New Zealand.

Gold clams were discovered in the New Plymouth lake in November 2025, the first confirmed infestation outside of Waikato.

Prolific breeders, they could clog water-based infrastructure, such as electricity generation plants, irrigation systems, and water treatment plants and competed with native species for food and space.

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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/2026/02/24/cost-of-eliminating-invasive-clams-from-lake-too-much-for-council/

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Cyclone Gabrielle inquest: FENZ leader admits going against protocol to restart search for dead firefighter

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Muriwai memorial for firefighters Craig Stevens and Dave van Zwanenberg. RNZ / Rayssa Almeida

A leading search and rescue operator says he told police he could hear a noise so the search for a dead firefighter could continue.

A coronial inquest is exploring the desperate search and rescue operation after volunteer firefighters Dave van Zwanenberg and Craig Stevens were buried by a slip at Muriwai on Auckland’s west coast during Cyclone Gabrielle.

Urban Search and Rescue operations officer Glenn Hudson described the chaotic scene as he arrived in Muriwai on the night of 13 February 2023.

He explained that fellow volunteers and members of the public were digging through the dirt.

“It was natural that they wanted to help their fellow brigade members, but they were not trained in search and rescue incidents of this nature,” he said.

“There was no real command or control of the other staff apart from the USAR staff, so we had to take control and bring order to what was a very chaotic situation.”

Firefighters Dave van Zwanenberg (left) and Craig Stevens, who died after getting trapped in a slip in Auckland’s Muriwai during Cyclone Gabrielle in February, 2023. Supplied

Hudson gave the order to remove everyone but trained search and rescue staff from the site.

But while the scene was under control, the conditions were chaotic.

“I recall the conditions at Muriwai were horrendous. It was difficult to see more than a metre in front of you,” he said.

“I had been involved in numerous USAR operations around the world, and the conditions at Muriwai were the worst I have encountered.”

Stevens was freed from the pile at about 3am, but he was hypothermic. He died in the hospital later that day.

Staff had been digging for hours, but saw no sign of van Zwanenberg.

In that time, two more slips had fallen from the cliff, and fearing for the safety of his team, Hudson made an impossible decision.

“At 0305, I made the difficult decision to terminate the rescue operation,” he recounted through tears.

When search and rescue staff returned the next day, police had taken control of the scene.

The operation had moved from rescue to recovery, and progress had slowed to a crawl.

After hours of waiting, Hudson took matters into his own hands.

“I was extremely frustrated. After going back up to the slip site, I decided we needed to get on with the recovery, as it was safe to do so, and the delays now mean a family has no answers for possibly another night,” he said.

“So, I said that I had heard a tapping, which I thought was coming from Dave. By raising the possibility of Dave being alive, I was able to make the case for reopening a rescue operation.”

Hudson explained that at this point, geotechnical staff had assessed the site and determined it was safe to keep digging.

“In my view, the safety of all rescue personnel was at its best since the beginning of the incident. I knew that we would soon run out of daylight, and apart from the safety of my staff, which is my paramount concern, my other concern was to return Dave to his family in a timely manner.”

He remarked that after explaining his decision to other leadership staff, they smiled in recognition.

“Although they did not say anything to suggest this, I believe [they] were aware that I was using this as a pretext to get things moving. They both smiled at me and said, good work.”

But Hudson acknowledged that his actions had gone against protocol.

“I know that what I did is not protocol, but one of FENZ’s values is to do the right thing,” he said.

“Everything I did was very measured. I was not putting my guys at risk, but I felt that we could have and should have done more to recover Dave earlier.”

Van Zwanenberg’s body was recovered the following morning.

“A group of USAR personnel carried Dave to the waiting undertaker’s vehicle. After placing Dave into the van, we set up a guard of honour as the van left the slip site to head to the Muriwai fire station.”

Van Zwanenberg’s family thanked Hudson through their lawyer, Jane Glover.

“The family would like to formally thank you and your team for going above and beyond to bring Dave home to his family and for carrying out the operation with the utmost respect and dignity,” Glover said.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/24/cyclone-gabrielle-inquest-fenz-leader-admits-going-against-protocol-to-restart-search-for-dead-firefighter/

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ASB branches set to open half an hour later at 9.30am Monday to Saturday

Source: Radio New Zealand

ASB is set to start opening its branches at 9.30am rather than 9am between Monday and Saturday. RNZ / DOM THOMAS

ASB is set to start opening all its branches half an hour later.

It has told customers that they will start opening at 9.30am between Monday and Saturday.

“This will allow our teams more dedicated time for training and development, so that they can keep providing great support to our customers. Opening hours on Sundays and at sites that operate half-days will not change.”

Consumer NZ said most people were not using their branches to interact with their banks.

It found in its most recent banking survey that most people were dealing with their banks via their mobile app.

Only 4 percent said their main access was a physical visit to the branch.

Consumer said, of the people who said they had experienced a problem with their branch in the previous 12 months, almost one in five of those problems were because of things like the branch being closed or reduced hours.

“Switching rates for banking in New Zealand are very low, only 3 percent of people changed their primary bank in the previous 12 months. Of those that did switch their main bank, 15 percent said they did so because of branch closure.

“While we know that most people do their banking online, for some people their branch really matters.”

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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/2026/02/24/asb-branches-set-to-open-half-an-hour-later-at-9-30am-monday-to-saturday/

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Ukraine conflict: NZ PM to take part in Coalition of the Willing meeting

Source: Radio New Zealand

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he will take part because he supported Ukraine’s efforts. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

The prime minister will take part in a Coalition of the Willing meeting this evening, on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The government is providing a further $8 million in assistance to Ukraine, along with further sanctions targeting Russia’s war machine.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was taking part because he supported Ukraine’s efforts.

Luxon said Russia was the perpetrator and could stop the war now.

Two days of peace talks in Geneva between Ukraine and Russia last week ended without a breakthrough, with President Volodymyr Zelensky accusing Moscow of stalling US-mediated efforts to end the four-year-old war.

Ukraine also recently made its largest battlefield gains in more than two-and-a-half-years, a new analysis suggested.

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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/2026/02/24/ukraine-conflict-nz-pm-to-take-part-in-coalition-of-the-willing-meeting/

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Taranaki cyclist crashes off bike after loose dog bites her leg

Source: Radio New Zealand

The cyclist was travelling at about 40km/h when the dog attacked. File photo. 123rf.com

A Taranaki cyclist is on crutches with several “bone deep” puncture wounds after a roaming dog latched onto her leg.

The attack sent the New Plymouth woman crashing off her bike while she was out on a country road.

A spate of serious dogs attacks has [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/587406/what-dog-control-laws-say-about-fatal-attacks-and-what-people-want-to-change

sparked fierce debate] about reforming the 30-year-old dog control law.

A dog attack in Christchurch over the weekend put a father and his teenage son in hospital, while Mihiata Te Rore, 62, died after she was attacked by three dogs while visiting a property in Kaihu, north of Dargaville last week.

New Plymouth resident Amelia was cycling a popular loop outside the city on Saturday morning when she was rushed by an uncontrolled dog on Tikorangi East Road.

Amelia estimated she was going about 40 km/h at the time down a country road she did not usually use.

She told Checkpoint she slowed down when she heard barking, and then saw a German pointer staffy cross dart out of a farm property into the middle of the road.

“As I slowed past it, it just came up next to me and chomped its jaws around my right leg while I was on my bike.”

Amelia said she came off her bike, and then the dog went to the other side of the street and continued barking at them.

She was left with “multiple” puncture wounds on her leg.

“They are bone deep so there’s probably three quite deep punctures, which I’m managing at the moment. I can’t walk on it properly yet, but I should be able to soon.”

Amelia is now on crutches, and said it was frustrating because she was training for a race in March.

She said residents in the area had helped her after the crash, and one of them told her the dog bitten his foot the week before.

Amelia said the animal control officers were “fast and efficient” and quickly took the dog away.

“I didn’t even see them come, I was already in the ambulance by then.”

New Plymouth District Council has confirmed one of its Animal Control Officers attended the dog-bite incident on Tikorangi Road in the weekend.

A spokesperson said a dog had been impounded and an investigation into what happened was underway.

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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/2026/02/24/taranaki-cyclist-crashes-off-bike-after-loose-dog-bites-her-leg/

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Auckland dog owners take fight against off-leash ban to court

Source: Radio New Zealand

Last year, the Puketāpapa Local Board voted to ban dogs from running free in part of Hillsborough’s Monte Cecilia Park. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

The lawyers involved in a scrap between dog owners and the Auckland Council have been urged to settle their issues out of court.

Last year, the Puketāpapa Local Board voted four to two to ban dogs from running free in part of Hillsborough’s Monte Cecilia Park.

Locals set up a formal group, the Monte Cecilia Dog Lovers Incorporated Society, to the decision with a judicial review, which began at the High Court in Auckland on Tuesday.

Lawyer George Barton has taken on their case pro bono.

About 15 dog owners packed into the public gallery of a small courtroom on Tuesday morning. Auckland Council staff and the former chair and now deputy chair of the local board, Ella Kumar, also attended.

In his opening argument, Barton told Justice Andrew Becroft that as chair, Kumar did not approach the task of evaluating dog access rules with an open mind.

“She sent emails to that effect, saying the best way, the only way, to make this park safe for all of the community to use was to make it on-leash,” Barton said.

“I don’t in making that allegation suggest that there is any bad faith whatsoever. But she was always of the view that this park needed to be on-leash.”

Out of 900 responses from Aucklanders during the local board’s consultation, almost 90 percent were against removing the park’s off-leash bowl area.

Barton said that the board’s decision and concerns about safety at the park were not supported by evidence.

“That concern about safety, which was not corroborated by council staff, not supported by those who would actually know what the issues were, not supported by the actual data and statistics, effectively led her to be unable to genuinely consider practicable alternative solutions.”

Animal Management data shows that between 2019 and 2024, three people were attacked by an off-leash dog, all in on-leash areas of the park.

Barton added that the four board members who voted to make the park on-leash only were members of the same local government political party, Communities and Residents.

“The reason why that’s significant here is because the other three members, my submission, is that they essentially surrendered their discretion to dictation. Dictation, in this instance being to just go along with what Ms Kumar wanted.”

But the council’s lawyer, Katherine Anderson KC, told Justice Becroft that the local board members rightfully exercised their decision-making power.

“The passion and the emotion that the dog lovers group is putting before you in its evidence and submissions, we say, are not relevant to the core legal issues that you must decide.”

She said local boards had to balance safety considerations against the exercise and recreation needs of dogs.

“All of the evidence my friend points to relates to Chair Kumar only in terms of statements, emails, and things which he sees indicates an actual closed mind. We say that predisposition is entirely permitted.

“And my friend relies on a conspiracy theory that because they’re all part of a political party that actually has no policy on this point, that somehow they conspired together to support Ms Kumar.

“Fundamentally, it would be absolutely extraordinary in my view, if there was a finding of predetermination in this case.”

She said while the board’s chair favoured leashing, she was open to fencing off an area in a different part of the park for off-leash dogs.

That was to be considered during the board’s long-term planning for Monte Cecilia Park, which was expected to be completed in 2027.

After hearing both sides’ opening arguments, Justice Andrew Becroft described the case as incredibly unorthodox.

He said he understood the need for the Auckland Council to support and uphold the decisions of its elected bodies.

But he said he had not yet seen evidence of consistent and serious injury from dogs at the park.

He urged the two sides to come to a compromise outside of the courtroom.

He suggested the decision on the off-leash area could be put on hold until the park was reviewed again 2027.

“For what is an area the size of a running track, there is vast resources being sunk into this by the Council, and there’s a huge amount of work going into this.

“I don’t want to diminish anybody’s emotional connection to the area or to their dogs. But you’d think for what is a reasonably small area, that there might be a way of resolving it short of both sides throwing the legal kitchen sink at the decision-making.

“Clearly, there’s a significant group who are aggrieved. Is there some sort of halfway house where everyone retains dignity and honour?”

But despite this, the lawyers chose to proceed.

The judicial review is expected to conclude on Wednesday.

Auckland Council and the Puketāpapa Local Board have told RNZ they do not want to comment while the case is before the court.

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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/2026/02/24/auckland-dog-owners-take-fight-against-off-leash-ban-to-court/

Posted on

Update: second arrest in Hastings homicide

Source: New Zealand Police

Please attribute to Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Darren Pritchard:

Police investigating the murder of Flaxmere man Keith Pati on 16 February 2025, have made another arrest in relation to the incident.

A search warrant was carried out today in Napier and a 35-year-old woman was arrested.

She will appear in the Hastings District Court this Friday 27 February 2026, charged with being an accessory after the fact.

Keith Pati died following an altercation in Camberley, Hastings.

A 29-year-old Napier man has been charged with his murder. He is remanded in custody and is due to appear in the Napier High Court 8 June 2026.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/02/24/update-second-arrest-in-hastings-homicide/

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Canterbury Museum pleads for millions of dollars after another budget blow-out

Source: Radio New Zealand

Canterbury Museum’s redevelopment had an original budget of $205 million, which has now been pushed out to almost $262 million. Supplied/Canterbury Museum

Canterbury Museum is pleading for councils and central government to stump up an extra $64 million for its cost-plagued redevelopment following another budget blow-out.

The project had an original budget of $205 million, which rose to $247m last year, but escalating construction costs and funding delays had now pushed it to almost $262m.

Museum trust board chair David Ayers said the board needed help plugging a shortfall of almost $92m to keep the museum on track to open in mid-2029.

“Throughout the redevelopment project, we’ve continued to undertake value engineering and make compromises to reduce costs. We’ve now exhausted all feasible options for reducing costs without undermining the building’s functionality or asset life,” he said.

The board was calling for $26.9m from Christchurch ratepayers over four years, in addition to $2.4m from the Selwyn district, $2.1m from Waimakariri and $300,000 from Hurunui.

It had made a request to the central government through Minister for the South Island James Meager for $32m over four years to match the local government contribution.

This year’s bid follows a failed attempt last year to secure funding.

The museum trust board made its case to the Christchurch City Council on Tuesday morning.

Deputy director Sarah Murray told councillors there would be an economic benefit to the city.

“When the museum reopens, it’s estimated there will be 800,000 visitors a year to the museum. We’re forecast then to generate around $83 million in regional and economic activity in that year alone. That will benefit local accommodation providers, businesses, retail and transport services,” she said.

The museum was also proposing an entry fee for overseas visitors.

Ayers said a cost review had found the museum needed a higher contingency allowance to complete the final two construction stages – the new basement and building and their fit-out – to give greater confidence that the project cost or schedule would not be exceeded.

The contingency allowance had been increased to $9.8m and a six-month delay in securing additional funding has added $5.1m to the project’s cost.

Ayers said the museum had hoped to secure additional capital last year so the final two stages of construction could be completed simultaneously, which would have saved money.

“Further delays in securing the extra capital will just keep adding to the cost – $7.2 million a year – and will push the opening date to 2030,” Ayers said.

Canterbury Museum was a significant heritage building and one of the last major public buildings to be fully upgraded and reopened since the Canterbury earthquakes, he said.

“It’s also much more than a public attraction and shouldn’t be viewed solely through the heritage buildings we occupy. The services we deliver define our public value,” Ayers said.

“We care for a collection of 2.3 million objects which tell the stories and history of Canterbury and the people who live here. We look after an internationally significant Antarctic collection and a quarter of Aotearoa New Zealand’s nationally distributed collection. Like libraries, museums are critical civic infrastructure, central to learning, identity, discovery and cultural life.”

Funding for the redevelopment had come from the museum’s own funds ($63.4m), private donations ($1.05m), grants and lotteries funding ($850,000), central government ($35m) and local government ($69.8m), including $24.5m from Christchurch City Council for strengthening the Robert McDougall Gallery.

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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/2026/02/24/canterbury-museum-pleads-for-millions-of-dollars-after-another-budget-blow-out/

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Fiji PM Rabuka stands by anti-corruption body after arrest of critic

RNZ Pacific

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says his government will not interfere with the work of the country’s anti-corruption body following the latest turn of events involving a British-Fijian national.

On Monday, Charlie Charters, a former Fiji Rugby administrator and a journalist, was released on bail by the Suva Magistrates Court after being charged with aiding and abetting an unknown Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) whistleblower into releasing confidential information from the agency.

Charters, 57, was en route to Sydney on Saturday but was held at Nadi International Airport and reportedly asked by FICAC officers to reveal his sources in order to proceed with his scheduled flight.

He reportedly declined to comply and as a result spent two nights in FICAC custody before appearing in court yesterday. He has been released on strict bail conditions and has been ordered to surrender his travel documents.

Charters’ arrest comes amid a deepening constitutional crisis at FICAC.

According to local media, Fiji’s Judicial Services Commission, the body responsible for making recommendations to Fijian President on constitutional officers, is of the view that the appointment of FICAC’s current head Lavi Rokoika was not legal.

It makes the saga significantly complicated for Rabuka, as Rokoika was appointed in May last year following the sacking of FICAC’s previous chief, Barbara Malimali.

Appointment unlawful
While Rabuka said that the decision to dismiss Malimali was in response to the findings of a 650-page Commission of Inquiry led by Judge David Ashton-Lewis, the Fiji High Court has now ruled Malimali’s appointment was “unlawful”.

Charters has been using his Facebook platform to highlight what he describes as shortcomings of Rabuka’s coalition government which came into power in December 2022.

His posts have focused mainly on governance concerns, including issues at FICAC.

Sports consultant and journalist Charlie Charters . . . information leaked from a whistleblower. Image: RNZ Pacific/FB

His arrest, detention, and charges have heightened anxiety among politicians, advocates and the public about FICAC and Rokoika using intimidation tactics — tactics for which the previous FijiFirst administration was accused.

“We will not interfere [with FICAC],” Rabuka told reporters in Suva when asked about the situation.

He said Fiji did not have a whistleblower policy but it needed one.

However, he added that questions needed to be asked about “how do we know that the whistleblower is genuine and the facts that they raised are factual”.

“Those are the things that will have to be considered before we formulate the policy on whistleblowing.”

Meanwhile, the case against Charters has been adjourned until March 2.

FICAC said the matter was now before the court and would proceed according to due process.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Evening Report: https://eveningreport.nz/2026/02/24/fiji-pm-rabuka-stands-by-anti-corruption-body-after-arrest-of-critic/