Former Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson.RNZ / Nick Munro
The High Court has dismissed an appeal from a former Ports of Auckland chief executive who was found guilty in relation to the death of a worker.
A stevedore, Pala’amo Kalati, aged 31, was killed by a falling container in August 2020.
Tony Gibson was then prosecuted by Maritime New Zealand under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The maritime watchdog filed charges accusing Gibson of breaching his duties as an officer and making decisions which jeopardised the safety of port workers.
He was found guilty after a trial in the Auckland District Court in 2024, fined $130,000 and ordered to pay a further $60,000 in legal costs.
The High Court has now upheld the verdict and the sentence.
Maritime New Zealand Director Kirstie Hewlett said she was pleased to see the High Court reinforced that Gibson did not exercise his due diligence responsibility to ensure the port complied with its health and safety obligations
“Mr Gibson had the knowledge, influence, resources, and opportunity to address safety gaps and ensure that appropriate systems were in place at the port, but failed to do so,” she said.
Hewlett hoped the case would warn other chief executives to ensure their health and safety obligations were met.
“They need to understand the critical risks at their businesses, assure themselves through reliable sources that there are controls and systems in place, and verify that these controls and systems are working effectively to improve safety.”
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New, more powerful artificial intelligence (AI) models are announced pretty regularly these days: the latest version of ChatGPT or Claude or Gemini always has new features and new capabilities that its makers are eager for customers to try out.
But now Anthropic has announced a new model with great fanfare, but is only giving access to a select handful of users. In what the New York Times calls a “terrifying warning sign” of the model’s power, the company has instead started an initiative called Project Glasswing to use the model for good instead of evil.
Why? Early reports indicated that the model, with instruction, had been able to move outside a contained testing “sandbox” and send an email to a researcher.
A little alarming, perhaps. But more significantly, Anthropic claims Mythos has uncovered software vulnerabilities and bugs “in every major operating system and every major web browser”.
Finding hidden vulnerabilities
In one remarkable example, the model found a flaw in OpenBSD, a security-focused operating system used in firewalls and routers, which had gone undetected for 27 years. According to Anthropic, it also found a 16-year-old vulnerability in FFmpeg, a little-known but widely used behind-the-scenes piece of software that helps computers, apps, and websites handle audio and video files.
Anthropic also says Mythos found several vulnerabilities in the kernel of the Linux operating system, and chained them together in a way that could give an attacker complete control of a machine.
Anthropic’s internal testing (which has not been independently verified) showed the Mythos model was far more successful than earlier models at turning software bugs into working exploits.Anthropic
Anthropic’s internal assessment of the model highlights both its technical promise and the need for vigilance.
The report outlines a hypothetical risk that an advanced AI might exploit its access within an organisation, but concludes that the model poses a very low threat of harmful autonomous actions. In other words, it is unlikely to “go rogue” – but may follow human directions to do things that cause harm.
Why Anthropic is keeping Mythos off‑limits
Anthropic says it decided not to release the model publicly because of its capabilities and the potential risks it poses. At the same time, the company launched Project Glasswing.
The effort brings together a broad coalition of tech companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Apple, Cisco and NVIDIA, open-source organisations such as the Linux Foundation, and major financial actors such as JPMorganChase, to channel Mythos towards cyber defence rather than misuse.
The idea is to give defenders a head start to find and fix weaknesses in critical software before similar AI capabilities become widely available to attackers.
Reading between the lines of Anthropic’s messages
This is not the first time an AI firm has decided a model was too powerful to release widely. In 2019, years before the ChatGPT era, OpenAI did something similar with its (now quite primitive-looking) GPT-2 model. (Dario Amodei, now chief executive of Anthropic, was a key OpenAI researcher at the time.)
However, this doesn’t mean these announcements should not be taken seriously.
Anthropic has published unusually detailed material for a model it is not widely releasing. Reports suggest US authorities convened major US bank CEOs in Washington to discuss the cyber risks associated with Mythos.
However, we should exercise caution about Anthropic’s claims, because outsiders cannot yet verify most of the underlying evidence. Anthropic says more than 99% of the vulnerabilities it found are still undisclosed because they have not yet been patched. That is responsible disclosure, but it also means the public is being asked to trust a great deal it cannot fully inspect.
What Mythos could mean for the future of cybersecurity
Cybersecurity failures can have real effects on individuals. In Australia, the Optus breach exposed the personal information of about 9.5 million people. In another case, stolen Medibank records included sensitive health information, and some of the data was later released on the dark web.
These were not just database problems. They became crises of privacy, identity and trust.
That is why Mythos matters. Mythos and other AI models like it could change the basic economics of cybersecurity.
In the past, serious vulnerabilities have often stayed hidden simply because nobody found them. And this in turn was because finding them took rare skill, patience, and time.
If models like Mythos can scan the hidden plumbing of the internet – operating systems, browsers, routers, and shared open-source code – at an unprecedented scale, then what is now specialised hacking could become a routine and automated process.
For organisations and software development firms, Mythos is a double-edged sword. It could rapidly uncover hidden flaws in their own code, but it also raises the fear attackers could find the vulnerabilities first.
The implications reach well beyond tech companies. Much of that underlying, invisible software supports many of the services people rely on every day, from electricity and water to airlines, banking, retail and hospitals.
What now?
So far, cybersecurity and software companies have been remarkably quiet in public about Anthropic’s Mythos. Many firms appear to be waiting and watching, unwilling to signal their stance in case the model exposes weaknesses in their own systems.
But developments like Mythos are a reason to stop treating cybersecurity as somebody else’s problem. For now, for individuals, the response is simple: basic cyber hygiene matters more than ever.
Update phones, laptops, browsers and routers. Replace unsupported devices. Use a password manager. Turn on multi-factor authentication. Do not ignore patch notices.
Those are the immediate steps. Beyond them lies a harder set of questions about AI and cyber security – about who gets access to powerful AI models, who oversees their use, and who decides what counts as the “right hands”.
Flooding in Paeroa during Cyclone Vaianu, on Sunday 12 April, 2026.RNZ/ Nick Monro
Northland and Waikato have ended the states of emergency activated on Saturday ahead of Cyclone Vaianu’s arrival.
Declaring a state of emergency grants councils extra powers during a local crisis.
Whakatāne remained under a state of local emergency, but those who were evacuated were allowed to return home if they felt it was safe to do so.
Near the town bridge in Whakatāne, the river rose up over the footpath at the base of the stop bank during Cyclone Vaianu.RNZ / Calvin Samuel
States of emergency had also been lifted for Tauranga, Hawke’s Bay and Western Bay of Plenty earlier on Monday.
Vaianu moved away from the mainland after bringing destructive winds, rain and heavy swells on Sunday, causing damage to state highways and cutting power to thousands.
Northland’s civil defence said they were shifting to clean-up.
“There are still some welfare, roading, and clean-up issues to work through in parts of Northland, including issues from previous events that have been exacerbated by this weather,” Northland CDEM group chair Colin Kitchen said.
“While Cyclone Vaianu did not impact Northland as severely as some predictions suggested, and the majority of emergency powers were not required, the declaration meant we were ready to respond quickly and keep people safe if the situation had escalated.”
A large slip on State Highway 2 in Karangahake Gorge between Paeroa and Waihi, during Cyclone Vaianu, on 12 April, 2026.RNZ/ Nick Monro
Kitchen thanked Northland communities for being prepared and listening to warnings, saying preparation was preferable to reaction “especially when severe weather can change quickly”.
Waikato’s civil defence group says declaring an emergency early helped prepare for the worst.
“Going early gave people the ability to evacuate ahead of time, especially those who live in areas that usually see storm impacts,” Waikato CDEM Group joint committee chair Emma Pike said.
“The cyclone had the potential to be seriously impactful. If people hadn’t prepared, stayed in place and heeded the warnings, the outcome may have looked really different,” said Pike, who is also a councillor.
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Damp old villas in a gully below Devon St, Aro Valley, Wellington, below Victoria University.Newsroom
Housing advocates want an independent certification system so that landlords can’t just mark their own homework and say that their properties meet healthy homes standards.
Since July last year, it’s been compulsory for all rental properties to be up to scratch with the standards, which set minimum requirements for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage.
But with no qualification needed to tick off each of the standards, anyone is able to call themselves a healthy homes assessor.
It’s raised questions as to whether the standards are doing what they’re meant to – ensure rental properties are safe, warm and dry.
In Wellington’s Aro Valley there’s a street known by locals as ‘The Devon Street Ditch’.
It’s home to a row of run-down villas tucked away in a gorge below the road.
Many of the houses there are owned by the same landlord.
Amy* (not her real name) lives in one of these houses along with five other flat-mates in their early twenties.
When signing her lease at the start of this year, her landlord had ticked off each of the Healthy Homes Standards.
But after she moved in, Amy said it was clearly not a healthy home.
“There’s gaps in the walls between windows, windows don’t lock that you can enter through, there’s insulation out in the ceilings and it’s freezing.
“It’s so cold and it’s damp and mould is appearing everywhere.”
Between them the six flatmates pay $1200 in rent every week, that’s $200 dollars each.
Amy said the price didn’t reflect the state the flat was in, as one of her flatmates had found out the hard way.
In one of the bedrooms, the corrugated plastic roof wasn’t properly connected to the wall.
“When we had those storms come through, she’d wake up with rain on her laptop.”
The flat’s bathroom also ventilated into a room next door, rather than outside.
Amy said they’ve asked their landlord to fix some of the problems but have been told it’s up to them to sort it out.
They’ve considered laying a complaint with the Tenancy Tribunal but decided it’s not worth the effort.
“We’ve read up on this landlord and it’s not really worth all the hassle we don’t think, especially because we’re only here until November.”
“Obviously we’d love to go to the Tribunal and get it fixed, but with everything that’s happened with him and what other people have had to put up with, we don’t exactly see us getting a successful outcome.”
‘Unacceptable’
Volunteer with Wellington Central’s Citizens Advice Bureau Audrey Fell-Smith said despite the new Healthy Homes Standards, they were getting as many complaints as last year from unhappy tenants.
“Unacceptable drafts coming through from wherever, heating issues, plumbing issues, people wanting to get out of a tenancy because they can’t get their landlord to actually fix the issues that are making them sick.”
Fell-Smith said some companies assessing compliance with the Healthy Homes Standards weren’t reliable.
“I did one on my last place, I got four different assessors to come in and they all came out with different ideas of what the capacity should be for the heat pump.
“So that tells you that we don’t actually have any real tool.”
Loopholes remain that need to be closed
Dr Lucy Telfer-Barnard from the University of Otago’s public health department said while the standards were a step in the right direction, there remained loopholes that needed to be closed.
“Their home is still going to be cold, because it’s exempt from having the insulation in the ceiling and in the floor.
“It needs to be much more clearly sign-posted for tenants, so that when they’re moving in, they know that the property although it is obeying the rules, it’s not going to be a warm home or it’s going to be much harder to heat.”
She said there needed to be an independent system to make sure those carrying out inspection reports were actually qualified.
“These days a lot of landlords do pay assessors to come through and lots of property managers will require it.
“There is certainly a need for some sort of certification system so that you know that if you are paying someone to go through, they are properly trained and know what they are doing.”
Failure to meet the Healthy Homes Standard could see landlords who own six or more rental properties hit with a $50,000 fine.
Smaller-scale landlords could face fines of up to $7200.
The Ministry of Housing said the government decided not to introduce a rental warrant of fitness in favour of developing the Healthy Home Standards.
Moving to a WOF scheme would have significant costs and impacts.
The Healthy Homes Standards focus on minimum standards that will have the greatest impact on the warmth and dryness of a home without imposing an unreasonable burden and cost on landlords.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said if tenants thought the property they were renting was not up to standard, they should speak to their landlord.
“If they are still not satisfied, they should put their concerns in writing to the landlord giving them a reasonable time to fix any issues.
“If the landlord still doesn’t fix the issue, they can make a complaint on the Tenancy Services website or apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for a work order.”
MBIE said most landlords want to do the right thing and were providing more than the minimum standards.
Property management company responds
Checkpoint reached out to the property management company and owner of the property mentioned in this story.
The property management company said they were holding Healthy Homes documentation provided by the owner and it confirmed the property was compliant.
All Healthy Homes documents were given to the tenants as part of their tenancy agreement.
*Name changed to protect identity
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The boss of Christchurch’s new stadium is calling for greater transparency over how the Government is divvying up its $40 million events attraction package.
Venues Ōtautahi chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare told Checkpoint the fund’s intent was fantastic but she questioned the process behind deciding who gets money.
The events attraction package was invitation only while the original fund – the events boost fund – was more open, Harvie-Teare said.
“So it is a little bit more closed door than open, which obviously causes some risk … about how objective and fair it is, but at this stage we haven’t been across any that have been declined,” she said.
The fund was attracting events to New Zealand that the country might not otherwise get, she said.
But she was also concerned about its long-term impact.
“This could end up being an unhelpful shot in the arm for major events because it creates a precedent that is not sustainable,” Harvie-Teare said.
“If it’s not a sustainable level it means promoters or sporting entities … have an expectation that the funding will be available and at a level that cities and venues may not be able to sustain without central government support.”
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Colin Bond from Kiwifruit Growers hoped that the record crop that it was forecasting still eventuated.SUPPLIED/ZESPRI
Kiwifruit growers have come through Cyclone Vaianu relatively unscathed.
It has been less than 24 hours since strong wind and heavy rain lashed the North Island.
Colin Bond from Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated told Checkpoint that he had not heard of growers having much damage as a result.
One in the Bay of Plenty had lost some part of their crop – while some in Northland, Coromandel, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay had also sustained some minor damage.
Bond hoped that the record crop that it was forecasting still eventuated.
But told Checkpoint the biggest concern was wet feet – where the soil is saturated for too long – or skin rub from the wind.
“So as the fruit moves on the vine – rubbing against each other – and then making it difficult for that fruit to be sold as an export quality piece of fruit,” he said.
Bond said it was possible that some of the fruit would no longer be top-grade.
“The challenge will be after this wind event, just to make sure that growers can still maximise their packouts, but we’ll have a process through our post-harvest operators to make sure only the very best fruit gets to market.”
Bond said five million trays of the red variety had been packed and shipped, while the gold variety was about 40 percent of the way through, and the green variety was about 10 percent.
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On the night of February 28, the Israel-US airstrike killed his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his wife, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
According to a recent report from Reuters, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei suffered life threatening injuries and apparently lost his leg and has a disfigured face.
The report said he communicated through written statements read by TV anchors and audio conferences with senior officials.
I don’t want to believe Reuters or any puppet media from the West but I would like to believe that the new supreme leader is not in full capacity as expected.
Well, despite all that, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is still grounded, strong and with no signs of collapse.
They lost 40+ senior leaders but still fought two superpower countries to a ceasefire. They still control the Strait of Hormuz and have thousands of missiles and drones left.
This simply points out to the fact that IRGC is in control and guess who is the leader?
Led IRGC for decades Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the martyred Ali Khamenei, who led IRGC for decades with a hand injury over a bomb explosion in a tape recorder in 1981.
Imagine you were Mojtaba who has just lost all your family to a brutal attack that claimed even more lives in your country.
In one way or another you survived and you have people taking instructions from you.
At this point I don’t think death scares you anymore because you saw death in its true colours and even had a conversation with it.
Back to myself, what if I was Mojtaba Khamenei? First, no surrender. I would fight to the last microsecond and die fighting but surrendering is where I draw the line.
Second, the Strait of Hormuz is non-negotiable. It is our territorial waters and remains under our control. We do with it what we want. It’s ours, period.
After all, it was open and safe for all until someone decided to attack us and now we call the shots. It’s either you agree with our terms of gerrarahia!
Two options on missiles On our missile programme, two options. It’s either we maintain our missile programme or develop nukes.
We won’t sit here and be at the mercies of aggressive enemies like Israel and US with no options to protect ourselves.
It’s either we can nuke you or we can missile you one or both options. Imagine just being there and being limited to defensive missiles capabilities yet those asking you to do that are the same people attacking you during negotiations!
Uranium enrichment. Let everyone enrich uranium and use it however they want. It’s either everyone can or no one can’t. No selective privileges.
Lastly, if I was Mojtaba Khamenei, those who murdered my family would definitely pay, not by dollars, not by Shekel and of course not by propaganda but by blood.
What would you do, if you were Mojtaba Khamenei?
Bonface Chisutia is a Nairobi, Kenya, based writer and academic. This commentary is republished from his Facebook account.
Former Boxing NZ board member Ken ClearwaterRNZ / Nate McKinnon
Boxing NZ has been marred for too long by bullying atmosphere and inappropriate behaviour, former Boxing NZ board member Ken Clearwater says.
The 73-year-old Canterbury boxing stalwart has written to the Sports Integrity Commission and Sport and Recreation Minister Mark Mitchell detailing behaviour he saw during his time at Boxing NZ between 2012 and 2016.
Clearwater said he wanted to see change in the sport and reform of Boxing NZ.
It comes as the commission investigates amateur boxing’s national body and its head coach Billy Meehan following complaints from athletes.
Commonwealth Games medalist Tasmyn Benny recently told RNZ a culture of sexism, favouritism and bullying within the organisation killed her love for boxing.
Benny believes Meehan should be banned from coaching.
1News had also reported several boxers complained to the commission about Meehan.
The coach, who was also a Palmerston North city councillor, remains head coach despite the ongoing investigation.
Clearwater claimed he witnessed Meehan verbally attacking an official at a national competition about a decade ago.
“I saw a particular New Zealand boxing coach go in there and abuse the hell out of the supervisor at the time in front of everyone at the stadium,” Clearwater said.
“Then the supervisor left and went home. So we were left without a supervisor and we had to reorganise that.”
On another occasion he said he was forced to intervene during a heated altercation between Meehan and another coach.
Clearwater believes bullying had become ingrained at the amateur level.
“Everyone sees it as normal behaviour, like ‘oh that’s the way things are’, and let it carry on. That’s been the problem in boxing for many years – no one stood up – and if you do stand up you get threatened with losing your license and things like that,” he said.
“So people are afraid to speak out.”
He feels Meehan should have been stood down from coaching while the investigation took place.
Former Boxing NZ president Steve Mitchell echoed Clearwater’s calls for reform.
Concerning behaviour at the 2010 and 2014 Commonwealth Games was highlighted in a president’s report he prepared in 2017.
Boxing support staff were threatened with being sent home for inappropriate behaviour and excessive drinking.
A complaint was also laid against Meehan for an alleged drunken incident in China in 2016. He was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing.
“Alcohol has no place in modern high performance sport, especially when you’re on an international trip,” Mitchell said.
“Going out on the booze and getting drunk to the point where you’re swinging on a taxi steering wheel and having to be man-handled by the elite athletes is completely inappropriate and should’ve been held accountable at the time.”
President of the NZ Boxing Coaches Association Billy Meehan.Supplied/ NZ Boxing
Boxing NZ’s executive decided it was up to the New Zealand Boxing Coaches Association (NZBCA) and not the national body to investigate.
But Meehan was – and remained – president of the NZBCA.
Mitchell believes it was a clear conflict of interest and it was a big part of why he stood down from Boxing NZ.
A 2014 independent review of Boxing NZ was particularly damning.
“It found all sorts of fault in all aspects of the [organisation] – lack of budgeting, lack of clarity, lack of progression, an alcohol culture. Everything you didn’t want to see in a national-level sporting organisation,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell feels Meehan should not be going to this year’s Commonwealth Games while under investigation.
RNZ understands the New Zealand Olympic Committee would begin its selection process for the upcoming Glasgow Commonwealth Games in coming weeks.
Meehan responds
RNZ approached Meehan about the allegations.
He denied verbally attacking an official and said 90 percent of allegations against him were false and 10 percent were “out of context”.
Meehan would not be drawn further on the details but said the truth would eventually come out.
Boxing NZ said, in a statement, it would not pre-judge findings or comment on the Sport Integrity Commission’s ongoing investigation.
The body had taken a number of actions since being informed about the commission’s investigation, including a change of leadership, the statement said.
“Boxing NZ is confident it has a structure in place to support our athletes to perform at their best in the ring at upcoming events.”
Josh Wharehinga had been appointed as the new president, replacing Meehan’s wife Cathy to avoid “any perceived conflict of interest”.
Boxing NZ had also appointed a sub-committee of its executive to handle the Sport Integrity Commission’s investigation.
“The members of this committee have no conflict of interest in relation to any matters to date raised during the investigation.
“Boxing NZ has reached out to its membership advising boxers how to raise any matters of concern, whether related to integrity matters or not.”
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Marata Niukore of the Warriors.Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Another Warrior is on the way out.
Second rower Marata Niukore will depart at the end of this season to join the Newcastle Knights through until 2029.
The 29-year-old New Zealand and Cook Islands international is off contract at the conclusion of the current campaign after returning home from the Parramatta Eels on a four-year deal in 2023.
Warriors recruitment manager Andrew McFadden said Marata has made a huge contribution to the club both as a junior and since coming home in 2023.
“We’re looking forward to him continuing to be a crucial part of our 2026 campaign as he looks to finish his time with the Warriors in the best possible way.”
A Warriors NYC and NSW Cup player before signing with the Eels, Niukore made his 161st NRL career appearance – and 65th for the Warriors – in Saturday night’s victory over the Melbourne Storm.
All evacuation orders have now been lifted and many communities feel they dodged a bullet with the storm.
However the wet weather isn’t over yet, with heavy rain watches still in place for Northern Taranaki, Waitomo, Taumarunui and Taupō west of the lake.
While in the Bay of Plenty town of Ohope, the cyclone provided an opportunity for local surfer Mathew Barnfield.
“I’m going to head out soon, it’s clean as. Will probably go for a surf now I think.”
It’s a welcome return to normality after the Whakatane area took a direct hit from the cyclone on Sunday.
Large parts of Ohope were evacuated and Barnfield said although he respected the authorities decision, he decided to stay put.
“I made my own call and felt I was going to be safe at home and stay with my house, see how it goes and ride out the storm really,” he said.
Dave and Katrina Madsen also stayed put, they’ve been living in the Coromandel’s Kauaeranga Valley for 35 years and are well used to floods.
“The first one scares ya and the next ten don’t, you just go through the motions,” Dave said.
“It’s not great and you know you’re going to be left with a mess… it’s more the animals you worry about and just making sure they’re out of the flood zone,” Katrina added.
Waves at high tide in Whitianga.RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Over on the East Cape, about 2,750 homes are still without power. Te Araroa Holiday Park owner Bill Martin told RNZ he had fired up the generator.
“We realise we did dodge a bullet, but every dog has its day and our day wasn’t today… but we had our day a couple of months ago.”
The community is still cleaning up from January’s floods and had been feeling anxious about Cyclone Vaianu.
“We were nervous, we were prepared for it and sandbagged… we were lucky, yes,” Martin said.
Down the coast in Ruatoria, Leanne Morice said while the storm wasn’t as bad as forecasted, it was a wild windy night and there were trees and branches strewn across paddocks and roads.
“Like eveyone kept saying, this is not our first rodeo so we’re usually well and truly prepared and this seemed to be case this time as well,” Morice said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Earlier, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Morning Report that parts of State Highway 35 on the East Cape is moving into the ocean and it might be time for some residents to consider relocating.
“SH35 has really disparate and isolated communities, they are having conversations within those iwi to say ‘look this is the 7th or 8th time we’ve been smashed by these sort of events and maybe we need to have some braver conversations about where we might relocate to’,” said Luxon.
Gisborne’s mayor Rehette Stolz told RNZ that Luxon’s comments came as a surprise and she’ll be talking to iwi about it.
Stolz said there hasn’t been enough investment over the years into roads like State Highway 35, and although she knows the Government has a limited pot of money, there is always talk of ‘roads of national significance’.
“And I appreciate that, but I do think we need to make sure our rural lifelines also get the investment so they can keep on contributing to this nation’s economy,” she said.
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Last month’s ram raid at Kaikohe Aerodrome inflicted huge damage on the local gliding club’s aircraft.RNZ/Peter de Graaf
A Far North man has been arrested after a ram raid at an aerodrome wrecked a flying club’s gliders and left members with a $250,000 repair bill.
A vehicle was used to smash into a hangar at Kaikohe Aerodrome, leaving the aircraft parked inside severely damaged.
Senior Sergeant Clem Armstrong, of Mid Far North police, said two vehicles and an $80,000 tractor mower were taken in the raid, which was reported on 27 March.
Adding insult to injury, about 100 litres of diesel and petrol were stolen, along with batteries from the club’s solar power system.
Armstrong said Kaikohe Aerodrome was built in 1942 as a United States Marine Corps bomber base.
He said it had the largest grass airstrip in the Southern Hemisphere, with the Kaikohe Gliding Club responsible for mowing and maintaining it.
“This is a volunteer group who rely entirely on goodwill. This has been a massive blow and has really hurt them.”
Armstrong said the club was “over the moon” to hear police had arrested someone.
The 28-year-old man had been charged in relation to the road and was due back the Kaikohe District Court on 21 April.
He faced 21 charges relating to a series of rural thefts in the Mangakahia and Awarua areas, south of Kaikohe.
Last month’s ram raid at Kaikohe Aerodrome inflicted huge damage on the local gliding club’s aircraft.RNZ/Peter de Graaf
The charges included burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, intentional damage, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, receiving and theft.
In a social media post shortly after the raid, a Kaikohe Gliding Club spokesman said it was a huge blow that would be difficult to recover from.
He said the club, which was one of the cheapest and most accessible gliding clubs in New Zealand, would not be operating for the foreseeable future.
The club had always operated without insurance to keep membership costs low.
“Unfortunately, this has left us extremely vulnerable, and this loss is something we simply cannot absorb.”
Last month’s ram raid at Kaikohe Aerodrome inflicted huge damage on the local gliding club’s aircraft.RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Even if the club had the money, there was a shortage of certified gliding engineers in New Zealand, so repairs could take many months or even years.
He said the club was entirely volunteer-run and supported local youth, including by hosting cadets from Kaikohe to Kaitāia.
Meanwhile, Armstrong said police investigating the aerodrome raid had also located stolen industrial drill parts valued at $40,000.
The equipment, imported from the United States by a local company, was returned last week.
“It’s great to be able to recover these expensive and crucial pieces of equipment and return them to their rightful owners.”
Armstrong said the aerodrome investigation was ongoing with police looking for others who may have been involved.
The damage to each aircraft was expected to cost around $60,000 to repair. The vehicles had since been recovered.
Armstrong urged people to report thefts in rural areas, no matter how minor they seemed, saying it helped police build up a picture of what was happening in an area.
* Kaikohe Gliding Club has set up a Givealittle page to help pay for repairs.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
On the fuel application Gaspy, 91 fuel was an average of $3.48 a litre and diesel was averaging $3.89 per litre.RNZ / Quin Tauetau
A well-known Wellington Cafe is considering introducing a fuel surcharge in response to its suppliers hiking up their prices.
Smith the Grocer in The Old Bank Arcade on Lambton Quay has had its raw ingredients and services have go up because of rising fuel costs triggered by the war in the Middle East.
The cafe’s owner Kirsten Saunders told Checkpoint they were not “pulling the lever” yet but it was a “watch and see situation” with suppliers raising costs.
She said three out of eight of their suppliers had already added fuel surcharges to their products.
“One which is a meat supplier is applying a 4 percent across the board effective immediately and they’ve also advised that any increases that they get from their suppliers will be passed through to us and they’re expecting there to be some.”
Saunders said another supplier was applying a 5 percent increase temporarily while one supplier is increasing the price of eggs per box by a certain amount.
On the fuel application Gaspy, 91 fuel was an average of $3.48 a litre and diesel was averaging $3.89 per litre.
The impact of these charges on the cafe was yet to be determined as Saunders said they were waiting to see the next set of invoices.
It was also some relief that they cafe’s biggest supplier, Gilmours, hadn’t added a surcharge.
Saunders said they would rather avoid adding a surcharge, but their margins had been modest.
“Most of our costs are fixed, when the cost of ingredients goes up, we either need to absorb those costs which in the long term is not sustainable or we do need to pass it on.”
She said fluctuations in hospitality prices are common, especially with costs going up.
“We normally would make little adjustment to the specific items in the menu that was affected by that increase.
But when we’re getting increases across the board from suppliers it’s sort of a different kettle of fish.”
She said a surcharge would be the fairest way to do it because they can remove it or make it reflect the extra costs the business is actually incurring.
Saunders felt most of their customers were very loyal and understanding and as a result they would not respond too badly to the surcharge.
“No one is going to like it, none of us like it when all the prices go up do we, but it’s just a bit of a rock and a hard place.”
She said while they haven’t thought of exactly how much the surcharge would be, they have sought advice through Hospitality New Zealand who spoken with the commerce commission.
Saunders said according to the fair-trading act, the cafe could have a surcharge if it accurately reflects the genuine cost the business is seeing.
“We also need to comply with the commerce act which is that each business must make its own independent decision about whether to apply a surcharge and make sure there is no perceived coordination or collusion.”
In the three years that Saunders had owned the cafe she said it was doing relatively well but there were many financial obstacles incoming.
“I see a lot of others suffering more around this than we are, but it does feel like there’s a bit of a perfect storm brewing at the moment with lots of things outside of our control.”
Along with fuel costs, she said there were also increases in kiwi saver contributions, minimum wage and having to absorb Eftpos merchant fees.
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sanjoy Paul, Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney
In response to war with Israel and the United States, Iran has effectively closed the narrow waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes.
Some ships have passed through the strait during the war, but largely on Iran’s terms, including by reportedly paying tolls for safe passage.
Opening the strait back up to all shipping traffic was a key condition of the two-week ceasefire agreed to last week. But after “marathon” talks between the US and Iran failed to result in a deal on the weekend, US President Donald Trump used a Truth Social post to announce a major escalation:
Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command later confirmed a blockade on all Iranian ports would begin on April 13 at 10am eastern time in the US.
The idea is to put severe pressure on the Iranian economy by restricting its exports, and force the country to allow all shipping through. But Iran – a major exporter of oil and gas – warned the global economy would pay.
So, under pressure to get oil and gas flowing again, why is the US blockading the Strait of Hormuz? What impacts could this have on the world?
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Iran produced 3.59 million barrels of crude oil per day in February (before war broke out).
In 2025, global crude oil demand was about 105 million barrels per day. That means Iran’s production accounts for about 3.5% of global demand – significant enough to influence global oil economy.
Iran’s economy is overwhelmingly dependent on oil and gas, especially crude oil, which accounted for 57% of the country’s total export revenue in 2024.
China is the main buyer, receiving about 90% of Iran’s oil exports in 2024. Other buyers include Syria (3.3%) and UAE (2%). Iraq, Turkey, Malaysia, and Oman bought less than 1% of Iranian oil exports.
US Central Command has announced the blockade will target all vessels entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas.
Iran has 11 major ports. Eight of them are in the Southern region in Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman regions and three in the Caspian Sea (North) for regional trade.
Iranian ports located in these regions are set to be impacted by the targeted blockade. This includes the port in Kharg Island that handles about 90% of the country’s crude exports.
Major Iranian ports, oil terminals and coastal refineries.Reuters, CC BY-SA
What will the impacts be?
Oil prices rose again on the news, having fallen when a ceasefire was announced last week.
Trump isn’t planning a permanent blockade. As he stated in his Truth Social post announcing the the move:
At some point, we will reach an “ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT” basis but Iran has not allowed that to happen […] No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.
But it’s difficult to predict how long a blockade would last, how successful it would be, and the extent to which shipping would be affected.
China will be impacted first, as the main buyer of Iran’s crude oil. The knock-on effects may create a chronic shortage of oil and contribute to higher oil prices in the global market.
Adding to this, many Gulf countries typically import key materials and food products from Iran. For example, in 2022, the United Arab Emirates imported mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, organic chemicals, iron and steel, copper and fertilisers from Iran.
Oman and Qatar also import key materials and food products, such as steel, iron, construction materials, petrochemicals, agricultural products, and fruits.
Pressure on farming
Urea, a crucial fertiliser used for farming, deserves a special mention. Iran is a major producer of urea and is the largest exporter in the Gulf region.
Farmers around the world are already under pressure as the conflict puts severe strain on global fertiliser supplies.
Even if they don’t get fertiliser from Iran directly, countries such as Brazil, India, and Australia could be impacted from the flow-on effects of disruption to the fertiliser supply chain.
US Vice President JD Vance speaks in Pakistan after US-Iran peace talks failed to result in a deal.Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AP
A tense wait
After failed peace talks, Trump says he is moving to stop Iran’s “world extortion” – referring primarily to charging ships for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. But the knock-on effects of a US blockade could create new costs for the global economy.
For countries around the world, the unpredictability further strengthens the case for diversifying crude oil sources and investing in their own refining capability.
In the longer term, greater adoption of renewable energy and electrification of transportation, manufacturing and logistics systems can help a country to become less reliant on oil.
Emma Main shoots for goal for the Wellington Phoenix against Melbourne City in an A-League Women’s match at Porirua Park, Wellington, 10 January, 2026PHOTOSPORT
The Wellington Phoenix will tackle their first finals campaign without talented forward Emma Main.
Main has a chronic lumbar spine injury, which has seen her miss the last four matches of the A-League regular season.
The 26-year-old, after seeking medical specialist advice and speaking with the club, has decided to rehabilitate her back and focus on being fully fit for next season, the Phoenix said today.
That means missing the two legs of their semi-final and potential grand final next month.
“Emma is a proud Wellingtonian and for her to miss the team’s historic first ever semi-final is devastating,” Phoenix head coach Bev Priestman said.
“She has been a huge part of this team’s journey this season and like every player that has been ruled out with injury they’re still a huge part of this team moving forward.”
Main, the first Wellingtonian to play 50 A-League matches for the Phoenix women, has only played in 12 games this season, but scored twice in their 3-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers in December.
That second goal saw her join Grace Jale and Mariana Speckmaier as the Phoenix women’s joint leading all-time goalscorers, with 10 goals.
Five of Main’s goals came during the 2023-24 season, in which she started in 15 games and came off the bench in three more.
“From what I’ve seen from Emma this season, through not only this injury but a couple of injuries/illnesses, she has an incredible team first mindset,” Priestman said.
“She works diligently every day to be the best version that she can and that’s the type of player we want at this club, not only now but also in the future.
“I know Emma will work hard in the off-season and recover from this injury, and I’m excited to have her back next season.”
The Phoenix finished second behind Melbourne City in the regular season, with a brilliant run of form.
The feat is even more startling given that captain CJ Bott has not played since announcing her pregnancy in January, and their misfortune with injuries.
Three players – Nepalese striker Sabitra Bhandari and midfielders Tessel Middag and Alyssa Whinham – haven’t played this calendar year after all being ruled out with ACL injuries, with Middag’s and Whinham’s ruptures occurring in November.
The successful Artemis II trip around the Moon was a historic achievement – the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than 50 years, and the greatest distance yet travelled by humans from our “pale blue dot”.
The mission was marked by engineering, scientific and technical feats, by the astronauts and team at NASA and beyond, who got the crew there and back safely.
With the technical achievement came symbolic firsts, too. The first woman and the first person of colour to orbit the Moon. As astronaut Victor Glover put it, “people need to be able to see themselves in the things that they dream about”.
Artemis II deserves celebration. But the celebration should not crowd out political scrutiny.
Power and resources on the Moon
Artemis II is one mission in a broader US program to start establishing a permanent Moon base by 2030.
This is about more than exploration. As US President Donald Trump has said, it is about asserting “American space superiority”, establishing a “sustained American presence” and developing a lunar economy. The US colonial thinking of a “manifest destiny to the stars” returns.
The bigger picture is that the US sees itself in a “space race” with what NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has called its “geopolitical adversary”, China.
China became the first state to return rock samples from the far side of the Moon through its Chang’e-6 mission in 2024.Xinhua / Lian Zhen via AAP
One point of conflict is access to finite, valuable resources at the lunar south pole, where water ice could sustain life and provide rocket fuel for missions to Mars. More speculative, profit-driven visions also play a part, from mining helium-3 to extracting resources from asteroids and bringing them to Earth.
Global rules – beyond the globe
International space treaties, largely forged during the 20th century Cold War, have little to say about appropriating resources off-Earth.
The US wants to shape the rules, and the US-led Artemis Accords are part of that effort. They are non-binding principles, but consequential.
Grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, they offer a “blueprint” for how resource activities, and other unsettled topics, may be governed.
Sixty-one countries have signed the Artemis Accords. Only nine new signatories have joined since Trump’s return as US president, versus 19 in the year prior. It remains to be seen if the trend continues.
Why US leadership in space demands scrutiny
US leadership in space is often discussed only in contrast to China. This binary view can help the US escape scrutiny, especially in allied nations.
Consider America’s recent actions here on Earth. As Artemis II drew our gaze skyward, the US–Israel war on Iran was intensifying.
The US also threatened to target civilian infrastructure, after one strike hit a school, reportedly killing more than 150 people.
US President Donald Trump has not been guided by international law on Earth.Jose Luis Magana / AP
All of this occurred amid the ongoing crisis and civilian casualties in Gaza, where Trump’s “Board of Peace” has faced criticism for seeking to function as an “alternative UN”.
Trump has also revived territorial ambitions toward Greenland, saying: “We need it”. He floated annexing Canada as the fifty-first US state. He spoke of the “honour of taking Cuba”. He declared he would “run” Venezuela.
All of these places have natural resources that would give the US strategic advantages, including in critical minerals and oil.
A disregard for international law on Earth leads us to question how the US will ultimately act in space.
Scholars from the Global South, notably law professor Antony Anghie, have long argued that the US uses international law selectively and in line with its own interests. This is not new with Trump, even if the pattern has now become more visible and more intense. What may be changing is that more of the world is taking notice, including states that once benefited from that status quo.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos this year, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the “rules-based order” as “partially false”, in which “international law applied with varying rigour depending on the identity of the accused or the victim”. He was not speaking about space – but his point applies here too.
This puts question marks over US leadership in space – and whether it will abide by agreed rules when control over lunar resources is no longer just a hypothetical question. Even America’s own Artemis Accords principles may prove optional if they stop being convenient to US interests.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sussex, Associate Professor (Adj), Griffith Asia Institute; and Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University
Hungary’s most consequential election in decades has just delivered an important victory for democracy and accountability.
For Hungarians, opposition leader Péter Magyar’s emphatic defeat of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz Party ends 16 years of corruption and quasi-authoritarianism.
The outcome will also be felt widely, from Moscow to Washington and beyond.
In a contest characterised as a referendum on whether Hungary should pivot west or continue its authoritarian drift, Magyar’s victory is a stern rebuke to the dark, transnational forces of nativism, division and the politics of resentment that have become part of mainstream political discourse.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the election was not the turnout (more than 74%, shattering previous records), or even the result (a two-thirds supermajority for Magyar’s Tisza party, winning at least 138 of 199 parliamentary seats).
Both had been predicted for some time, and Orbán’s soft authoritarianism had always left the door ajar for a possible opposition victory at the polls.
Rather, the biggest surprise might have been Orbán’s immediate concession. He didn’t try to manufacture a crisis or use his security services to hold onto power. Given the strength of anti-government sentiment in Hungary, such a move could have led to a “colour revolution” – the type of massive street protests seen previously in Ukraine, Georgia and other countries.
This could have turned bloody. Liberal Hungarians, and the European Union more broadly, will be heaving a collective sigh of relief.
Supporters of the Tisza Party celebrate the party’s landslide win in Hungary.Tibor Illyes/MTI/EPA
Why Orbán was suddenly vulnerable
Having won office, Magyar will need to move quickly but also carefully to bring change, so as not to alienate too many former Fidesz voters.
He has already asked President Tamaś Sulyok to resign, along with other Orbán loyalists. The Tisza supermajority in parliament is important here. It will be required for constitutional amendments to dismantle the architecture of Orbán’s authoritarian state.
Fortunately, this will be easier in Hungary than fully fledged autocratic systems. Indeed, Orbán’s longevity can somewhat be attributed to the fact that his brand of authoritarianism was only partial.
Certainly, it had the structural elements of an autocracy. That included widespread, government-controlled gerrymandering to ensure Fidesz victories, and the cynical diversion of state funds to cities and provinces controlled by Orbán’s political allies.
In addition, the nationalised media ecosystem was heavily supportive of the government, although alternative voices kept debate alive via foreign-owned news organisations.
But Orbán’s success also came from facing weak and easily fragmented or coopted oppositions. Magyar – a former Orbán ally – ran a disciplined campaign that nullified the electoral advantage for Fidesz.
Peter Magyar, the leader of the opposition Tisza party, waves a Hungarian flag after claiming victory in the parliamentary elections.Darko Bandic/AP
Ultimately, though, when voters have a choice – even a constrained one – they will eventually reject governments that rely on blame and victimhood to mask their inability to offer people a better future.
Under Orbán, Hungary was consistently ranked the most corrupt nation in Europe. In 2025, it ranked last in the EU on relative household wealth. It had also suffered rampant inflation and economic stagnation after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Video footage of country estates built by Hungary’s elites, complete with zebras roaming the grounds, perfectly symbolised the popular outrage with wealth inequality.
A setback for Putin, Trump and right-wing populism
Hungary’s new start also sends a powerful message to other nations. Clearly the biggest loser from the election is Vladimir Putin’s Russia, which had hastily tapped Kremlin powerbroker Sergey Kiriyenko and a team of “political technologists” to assist Orbán.
Under Orbán, Hungary was the strongest pro-Kremlin voice in the EU. It regularly stymied aid packages for Ukraine, tied up decision-making on the war in bureaucratic processes, and held the European Commission to ransom by threatening hold-out votes.
In fact, just days before the election, Bloomberg published a transcript of a phone call between Orbán and Putin from October 2025, in which Orbán compared himself to a mouse helping free the caged Russian lion.
This came on the back of revelations that Orbán’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, and other Hungarian officials had regularly been leaking confidential EU discussions to Moscow.
Another loser from the Hungarian election is the Trump White House.
The pre-election Budapest visit by US Vice President JD Vance to shore up support for Orbán was breathtakingly hypocritical. Vance farcically demanded an end to foreign election meddling, while engaging in precisely that. The White House then doubled down, with Trump promising on Truth Social to aid Orbán with the “full Economic Might of the United States”.
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JD Vance puts Donald Trump on speakerphone during a speech in Hungary.
Now, though, Trump is very publicly on the losing side. And like the debacle of his Iran war, he tends to chafe at losing.
The election also shows that US foreign interference campaigns are not invulnerable, though the White House will doubtless continue excoriating Europe. The Trump administration’s view that Europe is heading for “civilisational erasure”, necessitating US efforts to “cultivate resistance” and “help Europe correct its current trajectory” is documented in its 2025 National Security Strategy.
But the broader movements representing what Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar calls the “Putinisation of global politics” have been repudiated by Hungary’s election result.
Under Orbán, Hungary was a hub for ultraconservative voices. Think tanks like the MAGA-boosting US Heritage Foundation and Hungary’s Danube Institute regularly held prominent dialogues bemoaning Europe’s capitulation to wokeism.
The Hungarian iteration of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), sponsored by the American Conservative Union, was a key calendar for Western right-wing politicians and commentators, including former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
China will also be keenly watching Magyar’s new government, especially since it has viewed Hungary as a soft entry point to the EU. The large-scale investment in electric vehicle manufacturing, especially battery production, are part of a growing Chinese business footprint in the country.
For Beijing, the question will be whether Magyar seeks to sacrifice this lucrative investment to burnish his European credentials.
What about the winners?
In addition to Hungarians outside Orbán’s orbit of elites, the EU will welcome the news that it remains an attractive force.
Ukraine, too, may find it easier to secure European assistance. At the very least, smaller Ukraine detractors like Slovakia will have to choose between acquiescing quietly or thrusting themselves uncomfortably into the open.
And with the US midterm elections fast approaching, far-right American politicians, including Trump himself, will be studying Hungary’s lessons closely. If they conclude that Orbán’s brand of authoritarianism was too soft, a more hardline path looms as an ominous alternative.
