/news/rss 九一星空无限 Get the latest news from 九一星空无限talk ZB. From breaking news to the debate and opinion, we bring NZ the news from around the world as it happens.   Wed, 03 Dec 2025 03:09:37 Z en /news/crime/teenager-17-charged-with-murder-after-kyle-whorrall-killing/ /news/crime/teenager-17-charged-with-murder-after-kyle-whorrall-killing/ A 17-year-old man has been charged with murder over the death of Kyle Whorrall in Auckland. Whorrall, a 33-year-old American national, was killed in an attack in St Johns during Easter Weekend while he was waiting at a bus stop. Auckland City CIB Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said the investigation team renewed its focus in September. “I can confirm a 17-year-old Glen Innes male has been charged with murder and aggravated robbery,” he said. The 17-year-old is the second teenager to be charged with murder in the case and will appear in the Auckland Youth Court tomorrow. “We have advised Kyle’s family in California of this significant development, and we continue to remain in contact with them as our investigation progresses,” Baldwin said. The homicide investigation continues. “Our focus will not waver in this case as we continue to ensure those who are responsible for Kyle’s death, face justice,” he said. “Whilst this is a significant development, it is not over.” Police encourage anyone with information to contact police online or call 105 using the reference number 250419/9858, or Operation Aberfeldy. Information can also be reported anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Two people were arrested by the Operation Aberfeldy investigation team in late April; however, police have maintained others were in the car on the night Whorrall was fatally attacked. Wed, 03 Dec 2025 02:11:01 Z /news/world/hong-kong-leader-says-independent-committee-to-probe-fire/ /news/world/hong-kong-leader-says-independent-committee-to-probe-fire/ Hong Kong’s leader says that an independent committee will investigate the causes of the city’s deadliest fire in decades, as some residents expressed doubt about getting clear answers and people demanding accountability were questioned by police.  The fire engulfed seven residential towers under renovation in the north of the city last week, killing at least 156 people, displacing thousands more and fuelling public demands for accountability.  “I will establish an independent committee to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth review to reform the building work system and prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future,” city leader John Lee told a news conference.  A judge will lead the committee to ensure its independence and credibility, he said.  Of the 156 people confirmed to have died, 29 had yet to be identified, police said on Tuesday. Another 30 people remained unaccounted for.  Police said they had arrested 15 people on suspicion of manslaughter, after an initial probe found that the netting used on exterior scaffolding fell short of fire-resistance standards.  Lee pledged reforms to “the whole building renovation system to ensure that such things will not happen again”.  While Hong Kong has had an outpouring of grief, local media reported that several people calling for answers and accountability had been arrested. Icy Luo, a 27-year-old resident who came to the charred Wang Fuk Court housing estate to pray for the victims, told AFP that “the truth of this matter is still far from entirely clear”.  Calls for accountability  Miles Kwan, a 24-year-old student, was reportedly arrested by police for “seditious intent” after handing out flyers demanding government accountability. He left a police station on Monday, an AFP reporter saw.  An online petition containing Kwan’s four demands, including an independent probe, gathered more than 10,000 signatures in less than a day before it was wiped.  Former district councillor Kenneth Cheung was also taken by police, local media reported. He later said he had been released on bail.  Human Rights Watch urged the Hong Kong Government on Tuesday to ensure a transparent investigation and accountability.  “It’s crucially important not to treat those demanding answers for the tragic fire as criminals,” the group’s Asia director, Elaine Pearson, said, adding that the disaster “raises serious concerns” over Beijing’s influence in Hong Kong.  Asked about the arrests, Lee told AFP: “I will not tolerate any crimes, particularly crimes that exploit the tragedy that we have been facing now.”  A press conference of civil society representatives scheduled for Tuesday to discuss government relief efforts and construction regulations was abruptly cancelled.  Local media reported that the meeting’s initiator, Bruce Liu, and others were “invited to a meeting” by national security police.  He was later seen leaving a police station.  ‘No longer important’  The world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980 broke out on Wednesday at the high-rises of Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district.  More than 2500 residents have been provided with temporary housing, officials said Tuesday.  Police have completed searches in five of the seven affected towers, finding the remains of victims in apartments, hallways and stairs.  Residents of the only block left unaffected would be allowed to return from Wednesday to collect belongings, government officials told reporters.  Near the wrecked towers, colourful notes bearing heartfelt messages in a subway tunnel were removed by Tuesday afternoon, but appeared on benches and lampposts nearby.  A woman in her 30s wept as she wrote her condolences on a tiny note.  “First of all, there must be an investigation into who must take responsibility, including government officials,” she told AFP.  But she was pessimis... Wed, 03 Dec 2025 01:53:11 Z /news/world/us-russia-talks-in-moscow-stall-over-ukraine-territory-and-truce-plan/ /news/world/us-russia-talks-in-moscow-stall-over-ukraine-territory-and-truce-plan/ High-stakes US-Russia talks on ending the war in Ukraine have failed to yield a breakthrough, as the Kremlin said “no compromise” had been found yet on the key question of territory.  Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff in the Kremlin, after earlier signalling that his forces were ready to fight on to achieve Russia’s initial war goals.  The meeting is a crucial moment for Ukraine in what could be a fraught week following days of frantic diplomacy. At the heart of it is a US plan to bring peace, which has since been revised under pressure from Kyiv and its European backers.  On occupied Ukrainian territories, “so far we haven’t found a compromise, but some American solutions can be discussed”, top Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said after the meeting in the Kremlin.  “Some proposed formulations do not fit us, and work will continue,” he added.  Trump said progress on ending the nearly four-year-long war would not be easy.  “Our people are over in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled,” he said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.  “Not an easy situation, let me tell you. What a mess.”  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that any plan must end the war for good, and not just lead to a pause in the fighting that began with Moscow’s offensive in February 2022.  He also said in a social media post that “there will be no simple solutions”.  “What matters is that everything is fair and transparent. That there are no games played behind Ukraine’s back. That nothing is decided without Ukraine – about us, about our future,” he said.  Moscow rejects amended plan  Kushner and Witkoff were to present Putin with the new version of the US plan, which has been hammered out after the initial version raised fears in Kyiv and elsewhere in Europe that it made too many concessions to Moscow.  Ushakov said the initial US plan was broken down into four parts, which were discussed during the five-hour meeting in the Kremlin.  “There were some points we could agree on,” the top Putin diplomatic aide said, but “the President did not hide our critical, even negative, stance on a number of proposals”.  Putin has demanded that Kyiv surrender territory Moscow claims as its own. The Kremlin also rejects any European force in Ukraine to monitor a truce.  In his social media post, Zelenskyy said “the most difficult questions are about territories, about frozen [Russian] assets ... And about security guarantees”.  Still, the talks in Moscow were “useful”, Ushakov said, and Russia and US positions did not become farther apart after it.  Russian pressure  Putin appeared to send a hawkish message shortly before the US talks began.  He said that Pokrovsk, an east Ukrainian stronghold that Russian forces claim they recently captured, was a “good foothold for solving all the tasks set at the beginning of the special military operation”, using the Kremlin’s term for the war.  Apart from Pokrovsk, Kyiv is under pressure on several fronts.  Russian forces advanced swiftly in November in eastern Ukraine, and Kyiv has been rocked by graft scandals that ended with the resignation of its top negotiator on the conflict – Zelenskyy’s right-hand man.  Moscow has also stepped up drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity and heating, with Zelenskyy accusing the Kremlin of trying to “break” his country.  The Russian leader also accused Europe of sabotaging a deal on the conflict and sent a grim message, saying: “We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now.”  Zelenskyy has said he expects to discuss key issues with the US president and suggested Moscow’s real motivation for the US talks was to ease... Wed, 03 Dec 2025 01:16:08 Z /news/national/weather-live-updates-auckland-thunderstorm-warning-torrential-rain-and-flash-flooding-hits-north-tornado-overturns-caravan-in-manawat%C5%AB/ /news/national/weather-live-updates-auckland-thunderstorm-warning-torrential-rain-and-flash-flooding-hits-north-tornado-overturns-caravan-in-manawat%C5%AB/ (function(n){function c(t,i){n[e](h,function(n){var r,u;if(n&&(r=n[n.message?"message":"data"]+"",r&&r.substr&&r.substr(0,3)==="nc:")&&(u=r.split(":"),u[1]===i))switch(u[2]){case"h":t.style.height=u[3]+"px";return;case"scrolltotop":t.scrollIntoView();return}},!1)}for(var t,u,f,i,s,e=n.addEventListener?"addEventListener":"attachEvent",h=e==="attachEvent"?"onmessage":"message",o=n.document.querySelectorAll(".live-center-embed"),r=0;r',c(t.firstChild,i)))})(window); Wed, 03 Dec 2025 01:15:24 Z /news/entertainment/six60-and-synthony-headline-first-concert-at-new-christchurch-covered-stadium/ /news/entertainment/six60-and-synthony-headline-first-concert-at-new-christchurch-covered-stadium/ The first major concert to be held at Christchurch’s new covered stadium will feature a headline collaboration between two of New Zealand’s biggest live acts.  Six60 and Synthony top the bill for One New Zealand Stadium’s first live music event, dubbed Once In A Lifetime, on May 16 next year.  Both acts will play full sets before collaborating to perform Six60’s biggest hits. Six60’s performance will also include new music.  One New Zealand Stadium has a capacity for around 37,000 concertgoers under its inner-city roof, the largest indoor music venue in the country.  Also performing at the stadium’s inaugural show are fellow Kiwi acts Kaylee Bell, Cassie Henderson and Castaway.  Six60 performing at Hagley Park in Christchurch. Photo / Matt Clode  The event is presented by Manuka Phuel in association with Kiwibank.  Six60 is a group familiar to Cantabrians, having performed at Electric Avenue last year and Apollo Projects Stadium in 2022. They also played a Waitangi Day show in 2021 at Hagley Park.  Synthony is described as a “genre-defying phenomenon that has taken the world by storm”. Known to fuse the biggest dance tracks with live orchestra, DJs, vocalists and “stunning visuals”.  One New Zealand Stadium Te Kaha in Christchurch.  One New Zealand Stadium will host its first event in April with Super Rugby Pacific bringing “Super Round” to Christchurch. The festival weekend will see all five Super Rugby matches held under one roof over three days from April 24-26. The Crusaders will have the honour of playing the first match of that weekend when they host the NSW Warratahs on the Friday night.  The $683 million stadium project has been controversial, with delays in the council approval process after the 2010-11 earthquakes seeing its construction delayed and costs balloon.  Tickets to the Once In A Lifetime event will go on sale at midday on Thursday, December 11.  Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:46:33 Z /news/national/nz-authors-among-global-payout-after-ai-chatbot-trained-on-pirated-books/ /news/national/nz-authors-among-global-payout-after-ai-chatbot-trained-on-pirated-books/ By Bill Hickman of RNZ  A Kiwi author included in a US billion-dollar settlement over the illegal downloading of books to build an AI chatbot says she hopes the case will be a warning to the AI industry.  But the Society of Authors said the authors of millions of titles used to build the tools will miss out on compensation as they are not registered for copyright in American territories.  Anthropic AI has agreed to pay out up to US$1.5 billion ($2.6b) to settle claims it used millions of pirated books to train its large language models, in a class action in Californian courts.  Award-winning author Catherine Chidgey said she received an email saying her books Remote Sympathy, The Wishchild and The Transformation had been identified as being caught up in the case.  She said authors were being offered a payment of US$3000 ($5240) for each title accessed by the company.  “On the one hand, I’m grateful that they’re being held to account. The works they accessed were from two websites that held pirated works so they weren’t accessing them legally. It’s not like they went out and paid for them.  “I imagine this will serve as a warning to others out there who are hoovering up intellectual property without asking. This has been going on for a while now; it’s just that [Anthropic] are the first company that’s been held to account for it.”  Anthropic AI has agreed to pay out up to $2.6 billion to settle claims it used millions of pirated books to train its large language models, in a class action in Californian courts. Photo / Getty Images  She said the money offered to authors paled in comparison to the toil behind creating the works.  “It’s not really enough – if you think about the years of effort I’ve put into writing those books – but I’m glad that there has been a line drawn in the sand.”  ‘A slap on the wrist’  RNZ AI commentator Peter Griffin said the ruling did not counter the use of intellectual property for training AI models without permission.  He said instead the settlement had pivoted on Anthropic’s use of two book pirating websites (Library Genesis and Pirate Library Mirror) to source the content.  “This boils down to basically a fine for using dodgy websites and - in the scheme of things – $1.5b is not a lot for a company like Anthropic. That’s a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket.  “Fundamentally, the things that [the AI companies] were terrified about was a ruling saying you cannot use this material under copyright law – this is not ‘fair use’. That what’s really scared them and that did not happen.  “Ultimately, it says to the AI companies, ‘fill your boots, you can still use all of these texts to inform AI training models but if you’re ever caught doing that through dodgy pirate websites – or peer to peer file sharing networks – you’re going to face repercussions’.”  He said companies recognised the need to move quickly to distinguish themselves in the rapidly evolving field.  “Many of these companies take the view – in the famous words of Mark Zuckerberg – ‘move fast and break things’.  “They needed to get a model up quickly that would wow the world – that would be really useful – so they just hoovered up anything that they could get their hands on. Now there’s this sort of rearguard action by content owners and publishers to try and scramble to retain some of that value.”  However, Griffin said the need for AI tools to be continuously trained on new data could still “draw a line in the sand” for AI use of intellectual property in the future.  “It’s going to be a very difficult process and I don’t think publishers and authors will get anywhere near what they deserve to get but at least now there is a precedent that ‘sure, it may be fair use but you have to legitimately obtain those copyrighted texts’.  “The only way they can really do that at scale is to strike a deal with the publishers so th... Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:38:48 Z /news/national/worksafe-shuts-down-riverlock-kiwifruit-conveyor-after-worker-injured-in-%C5%8Dp%C5%8Dtiki/ /news/national/worksafe-shuts-down-riverlock-kiwifruit-conveyor-after-worker-injured-in-%C5%8Dp%C5%8Dtiki/ WorkSafe New Zealand has taken enforcement action against a Bay of Plenty kiwifruit packhouse company after one of its employees was critically injured on a kiwifruit conveyor system.  Emergency services were called to the Riverlock packhouse on Waioeka Rd near Ōpōtiki about 12.15pm on November 24, and the injured female worker was flown to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition.  At the time, Riverlock Group general manager Blair Simm said the worker was injured while undertaking routine plant cleaning with other staff.  A WorkSafe New Zealand spokesperson said following the critical incident last week, WorkSafe inspectors visited the packhouse on November 28 and took enforcement action that day.  “We have issued a prohibition notice, which prevents the use of the packhouse’s conveyor system this worker was injured on until WorkSafe is satisfied that improvements have been made.”  WorkSafe’s spokesperson said that the conveyor system was used for kiwifruit processing, and it was being cleaned while partially operational at the time of the incident.  “The notice was issued on November 28, as WorkSafe completed its scene examination, alongside a machine guarding expert.  “It requires Riverlock to engage an expert to assess the conveyor system and then implement any machine guarding improvements required.”  The WorkSafe spokesperson said inspectors would return to the packhouse in coming weeks to confirm the prohibition notice had been complied with.  “At this stage, WorkSafe does not hold further details on the worker’s critical injuries.”  WorkSafe earlier said it noted manufacturing had the largest injury toll of any sector, with accidents involving machinery “a common cause of acute harm”.  Simms earlier told the Bay of Plenty Times that staff immediately gave first aid to the injured worker, and an ambulance arrived on the scene “very quickly”.  The company had counsellors from Whakatōhea Social and Health Services come to the site immediately, and a kaumatua from a local marae was also on site.  Simm said the injured worker had been a Riverlock employee for several years, and this was the first serious injury at Riverlock, which made what happened “more shocking and impactful”.  He said the injured worker had been discharged from Waikato Hospital and was now back home with her family, which was the “best outcome” anyone could have even anticipated.  Simm said “everyone was elated”, including her whānau, Riverlock’s management and its wider team.  He said Riverlock had engaged an engineer to undertake what was required of the company under the prohibition notice.  “We anticipate completing what is needed in the coming months,” he said.  Riverlock is a family-owned business with decades of history in the Bay of Plenty region.  Its services include orchard management, harvesting, packing and other grower services.  Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.  Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:18:20 Z /news/politics/former-police-commissioner-andrew-coster-resigns-from-social-investment-agency-after-damning-ipca-report-herald-understands/ /news/politics/former-police-commissioner-andrew-coster-resigns-from-social-investment-agency-after-damning-ipca-report-herald-understands/ Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has resigned from his role as the chief executive of the Social Investment Agency, the Herald understands.  A formal announcement is imminent.  It follows a damning Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report into the way police handled complaints against former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming, published last month.  Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche, Coster’s employer, and Coster agreed that he go on leave while an employment process was undertaken.  Earlier this week, Roche appeared before the select committee and confirmed Coster was being paid about $1500 a day while on leave.  “I think so,” Roche told 九一星空无限talk ZB when asked whether Coster was still being paid $1500 a day since going on leave three weeks ago.  Former Police Commissioner and now Social Investment Agency chief executive Andrew Coster. Photo / Mark Mitchell  Last month, when the IPCA report was released, Public Service Minister Judith Collins said that had a report made similar findings about her own leadership, she would be “ashamed” of herself.  The minister in charge of the agency, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis, said she read the report on Sunday and was “shocked and appalled by its findings”.  “I have conveyed my views to Public Service Commissioner Brian Roche. The matter now sits with him as Mr Coster’s employer.”  Collins, along with Police Minister Mark Mitchell and new Police Commissioner Richard Chambers, fronted media on Tuesday evening after suppression lapsed on damning details on how police botched whistleblower complaints against McSkimming.  The Independent Police Conduct Authority has released a damning report into the way police handled complaints against former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming. Photo / Mark Mitchell  Mitchell echoed Collins’ criticism, saying Coster “should be held to account” for what had been uncovered.  The lifting of suppression was accompanied by the release of a report from the IPCA that found the highest levels of police ignored complaints against McSkimming.  The allegations were made by a woman, with whom McSkimming had an affair, over a number of years.  McSkimming maintained the sexual relationship was consensual and the email allegations were motivated by revenge to destroy his career.  Senior police did not investigate the allegations, which continued as McSkimming sought the role of Police Commissioner, the most senior role at police. The IPCA report noted the former police executive prioritised McSkimming’s ambitions in the force above investigating the complaints.  The young complainant was never contacted, or asked whether she wanted to make a formal complaint. Instead, McSkimming lodged a complaint under the Harmful Digital Communications Act against the woman and she was arrested in July 2024.  Chambers said the report was “thorough and convincing” and set out “troubling departures” from proper protocols for investigating complaints.  “There was interference from the highest levels,” Chambers said.  He said what the report revealed had “angered him” and shown a failure of leadership.  Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says what the IPCA report revealed had "angered him". Photo / Mike Scott  Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the failings of police were “inexcusable” and “a complete failure of duty”.  The Government has announced changes to create an Inspector-General of Police along the lines of the Inspector-General of Defence to provide greater accountability. Hipkins said Labour would support those changes.  Much of the period covered in the IPCA report covered the period of the last Labour Government.  “Nothing was ever raised about any of this during my time as Police Minister or Prime Minister, or during the vetting process for the Deputy Commissioner role, and if it had, he would never have... Tue, 02 Dec 2025 23:18:39 Z /news/national/coroner-wants-public-banned-from-papanui-point-after-fishermen-olson-canatoy-eric-dabalos-drown/ /news/national/coroner-wants-public-banned-from-papanui-point-after-fishermen-olson-canatoy-eric-dabalos-drown/ Filipino flatmates Olson Canatoy and Eric Dabalos had been warned about the dangers of fishing at Papanui Point.  They had even been nearby when another Filipino man was swept away from the notorious spot, south of Raglan.  But, despite the risks, Canatoy told a friend the pair “knew what they were doing and were able to swim”.  Now their names join a list of more than 20 people who are believed to have drowned at Papanui Point after being swept away to their deaths.  Today, a coroner has called for the public to be banned from the popular rock fishing spot in the hope of preventing further deaths.  But the Waikato District Council said closing Papanui Point “is not as simple as it sounds” and it is pursuing other solutions to the deadly problem.  Papanui Point, on the North Island’s west coast, is regarded as one of the most dangerous places in New Zealand to fish, yet people still go there.  Water Safety New Zealand has information on 18 fatalities around Papanui Point between 1980 and 2024.  Only one was a woman. Almost half the men who died were aged from 35 to 44 and about the same proportion were of Asian descent.  None of them was wearing a lifejacket.  A search of the National Library’s PapersPast newspaper archives identified three more people who were swept away in earlier years and there has been another death at the point this year.  Papanui Point is south of Raglan on the North Island's west coast. Image / Google Maps  Flatmates disappeared in 2021  Coroner Erin Woolley today released her findings in the deaths of Canatoy and Dabalos, who disappeared from the point on October 31, 2021.  They were among nine people who have died in the immediate area since 2017.  Coroner Woolley said she agreed with feedback she had received from the Department of Conservation (DoC) and Surf Lifesaving New Zealand “that Papanui Point is not a safe location for continued public access”.  “I endorse the steps being taken to investigate legally preventing public access to this location,” she said.  “I understand this is a legally complex issue but if it is legally possible to prevent public access, this should occur.”  Waikato District Council said it was not pursuing a process of restricting public access to the area, although it remained one of the options to consider.  “Closing access is not as simple as it sounds,” the council’s open spaces services manager Glyn Morgan said.  “Waikato District Council is just one of the landowners at the site.  “We would need to work alongside other parties, such as DoC, and any access closure would require things like public consultation.”  Friends describe lost men  Canatoy, 52, came from a fishing village in the Philippines and was described as cheerful and funny.  Friends said Dabalos, 44, was “one of a kind”, reliable, respectful and sociable, but also quiet.  Olson Canatoy and Eric Dabalos are believed to have drowned on the same day after a fishing trip turned to tragedy. Photos / NZ Police  The coroner’s report said both men had been working in the construction industry in New Zealand for several years, sharing a house in Temple View, Hamilton, with several other Filipino builders.  Both were family men who would frequently phone their wives and children in the Philippines.  On the day they disappeared, they left home about 5am and were expected back by 5pm or 6pm but failed to turn up.  With calls to Canatoy’s phone going unanswered, their flatmates drove to the Papanui Point carpark about 9pm and found their vehicle.  It was dark and windy and waves were crashing heavily on to the rocks, so the flatmates did not go down to look for their friends.  They instead called their boss, who told them to phone the police, who began a search operation.  A blue jandal believed to belong to Canatoy was found about 500m south of the p... Tue, 02 Dec 2025 22:21:53 Z /news/national/david-seymour-blames-christchurch-school-for-mouldy-lunches-not-supplier-principal-denies-claim/ /news/national/david-seymour-blames-christchurch-school-for-mouldy-lunches-not-supplier-principal-denies-claim/ The principal of a school where mouldy food was fed to children insists there was a “systems failure in the contract” not of its making, despite food safety officials and the Deputy Prime Minister claiming otherwise.  Earlier this week a food poisoning warning was issued after several Christchurch school children at Haeata Community Campus ate school lunches covered in thick mould.  Principal Peggy Burrows told media some students had fallen sick from the food.  However, Seymour - Associate Education Minister and proponent of the revamped school lunches scheme - suggested the school may not have properly handled meals delivered by the Government contractor, Compass Group.  Seymour cited a New Zealand Food Safety report yesterday that said it was “more than likely that the affected meals at the school had been delivered the previous Thursday, remained at the school without refrigeration, and then were accidentally re-served to students along fresh meals delivered on Monday”.  “We have considered all possible causes,” deputy director-general Vince Arbuckle said.  “This would explain the deterioration of the meals.”  The lunches served at Haeata Community Campus were covered in a thick layer of mould.  Burrows said Food Safety officers were shown video evidence that the meals weren’t delivered the previous week, but Seymour, appearing on Herald NOW’s political panel this morning, questioned this.  “You’ve got 15 other schools that got the same meals on the same day, no other complaints,” he told host Ryan Bridge.  “You’ve got a principal who’s been a frequent flyer routinely complaining about the ... meals and rushing off to the media to do it. And you’ve got an official government body that’s done an inquiry and made a finding that it was the school that did it.  “So, there’s always a possibility that ... it’s not the school’s fault, but you know, where else do you go with that?”  Seymour said the school had an opportunity to provide video evidence to NZ Food Safety.  “There’s a great line in an old song, two men say they’re Jesus, one of them must be wrong,” he said.  David Seymour has defended the free school lunch scheme as a "huge success story", saying changes enacted have nearly halved its once annual cost of $340m. Photo / Mark Mitchell  “We’ve taken a scheme that was costing about $340 million a year.  “We’ve nearly halved that cost, so we’re saving hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and actually, overwhelmingly, people are happy with the way that it’s performing.  “Were there problems in the first term? Yep. Did we fix them? Yep. In a country that needs to save money and do stuff more productively, it’s actually a huge success story.”  Burrows said she didn’t want the school lunch issue to be politicised and is only focused on notifying breaches of contract.  “I very much want to emphasise all we want to look at is the contract that Compass Group hold with the ministry and a systems failure within that contract. That’s all I’m asking for,” she said.  “Haeata has been very proactive in supporting the lunch program. We’re very grateful for it. It’s huge in our community because it’s one of the most vulnerable communities in the country.  “And whenever we highlight things, it’s because there is genuine concern.”  Burrows said she was willing to release footage to support the school’s claims, but with their facilities owned and managed by a consortium, they would need to work through its legality first.  “I would release it in an instant if I were able to.”  Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick, appearing alongside Seymour, said the minister was “once again using his platform to bully a member of the public”, characterising the meals as “inedible slop”.  Responding to Swarbrick’s claim after the panel, Seymour called the proposition “baseless”.  The minister and Haeata Community Cam... Tue, 02 Dec 2025 21:21:41 Z /news/national/weather-warnings-issued-for-severe-thunderstorms-damaging-hail-as-starts-falling-on-north-island/ /news/national/weather-warnings-issued-for-severe-thunderstorms-damaging-hail-as-starts-falling-on-north-island/ MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Auckland with warnings of large hail, strong wind gusts of 90km/h, torrential downpours and a chance of a “damaging” tornado. The North Island is today cloaked in warnings and watches as stormy weather rolls over the country. At 10.15am a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the southern Waikato and western Bay of Plenty as a band of thunderstorms moved over the district. The thunderstorms were expected to bring very heavy rain with a threat of flash flooding. The severe thunderstorm watch extends until at least 5pm for Auckland, Northland and over the Great Barrier Island. Later on, the same watch comes into force for Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua and Taupō at 10am and is expected to last for 12 hours. The storms are expected to be embedded with torrential downpours with up 40mm of rain falling in an hour, which can lead to slips and flash flooding. 🟠🟡A look ahead to Wednesday shows several Severe Weather Watches and Warnings in place as a large low pressure system crosses the North IslandHeavy Rain, Strong Winds, and thunderstorms with downpours and hail are all likely for the North Island🌧️ 💨⛈️ pic.twitter.com/7WiaZhLl3M— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 1, 2025 Wind gusts are expected to blow at around 90km/h, and there is a chance of a “damaging tornado”, according to MetService. Hail the size of gumballs could also fall. MetService said Aucklanders would see a deterioration in weather conditions from midday and from the morning until early afternoon for Northland. The same watch is in place for Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, and Taupō from 1pm until 6pm. “Unstable showery conditions spread southwards onto the central North Island this afternoon, with a moderate risk of thunderstorms.” The thunderstorms are expected to ease by this evening, but strong winds are forecast to persist. A heavy rain warning is in place for the Bay of Plenty, including Rotorua and Gisborne, north of Ruatōria from 11am for 12 hours. A heavy rain watch is in place for Wairarapa, the eastern hills and ranges of Wellington and the Kaikōura Coast from 9am. Much of the central North Island is also under a watch from midday with the risk of thunderstorms in the evening as they move off the upper half of the island. Severe thunderstorms and downpours are likely this evening in eastern areas of the Waikato and Taupō. MetService has also issued a raft of strong wind watches for much of the North Island. This includes Auckland and Northland from 9pm, with winds approaching severe gales in some areas. A watch is in place for Horowhenua to Wellington, Wairarapa, the ranges of Marlborough and Nelson east of Wakefield overnight tonight, beginning from 6pm. 📡7am Radar update⛈️The radar is showing plenty of colour this morning, with lightning activity over the North IslandPlenty more thunderstorms are expected today, some of which could be severe with intense rain and hail pic.twitter.com/dLgiGHwu1z— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 2, 2025 Watches are also in place for eastern areas of the Tararua District and Hawke’s Bay, about and south of Cape Kidnappers and also the Mahia Peninsula. MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said it had been a “very active” morning of weather, with 3671 lightning strikes between midnight and 8.30am. She said 728 reached the ground, causing danger for people, livestock and the electrical grid. Makgabutlane advised people, especially North Islanders, to keep a close eye on the rain radar as there was a chance thunderstorms could roll in at any point today, bringing damaging hail, heavy rain and more lightning. “The atmosphere is so primed for thunderstorm activity today,” she said. Auckland Emergency Management general manager Adam Maggs warned drivers to avoid surface flooding on the roads. “Turn around and find an alternative route, even if it add... Tue, 02 Dec 2025 18:25:49 Z /news/sport/formula-1-liam-lawson-confirmed-on-2026-grid-to-remain-with-racing-bulls/ /news/sport/formula-1-liam-lawson-confirmed-on-2026-grid-to-remain-with-racing-bulls/ Liam Lawson will remain on the Formula One grid in 2026, Red Bull have confirmed.  As first reported by the Herald in July, Lawson will stay with Red Bull’s sister outfit Racing Bulls, as the team’s senior driver at a time where Formula One introduces drastic regulation changes.  The Kiwi will also serve as mentor to new teammate Arvid Lindblad, taking the place of Isack Hadjar, who has been promoted into Red Bull’s senior ranks alongside reigning world champion Max Verstappen.  “I’m really looking forward to racing with VCARB in 2026. It’s an opportunity I’ll continue to be grateful for as we enter a year of change in F1,” Lawson said. “I’m ready to get to work with the team as we prepare for the challenging season ahead. It’s going to be an exciting year and I can’t wait to kick it off with my first pre-season with the team.”  That leaves Yuki Tsunoda as the odd man out. He will remain part of the Red Bull family as a reserve driver for both Red Bull and Racing Bulls in 2026.  Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane said Hadjar had earned his promotion with consistent results in 2025, scoring in 10 Grands Prix, including a maiden podium finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.  “He has delivered a truly outstanding season, demonstrating exceptional race-craft and consistency well beyond his experience. He has fully earned his step up to Red Bull Racing and we wish him nothing but the best as he takes on this exciting new challenge in his career – we are proud to have been part of the journey.  “Liam has shown impressive performance and professionalism throughout this year, he has excelled when conditions have been at their hardest and we look forward to building on this in 2026, while Arvid’s rapid progression marks him as one of the standout young talents in the sport.”  Red Bull had signposted the decision would be announced after the Mexican Grand Prix, only to move it back to after Qatar.  With Red Bull eager to promote Lindblad, despite indifferent form in Formula Two, Lawson and Tsunoda had been locked in a duel to secure that final seat at Racing Bulls.  Since the pair swapped places just two races into 2025, Lawson has achieved superior results to Tsunoda at almost every turn.  In what’s supposed to be an inferior car, Lawson holds a five-point lead over Tsunoda in the drivers championship, with one race remaining in 2025.  In fact, Lawson’s current season tally of 38 points is more than Tsunoda has achieved in any of his full seasons in the sport.  On Monday, that was shown again as Lawson finished ninth to Tsunoda’s 10th at the Qatar Grand Prix.  Despite his experience, boasting over 100 grand prix starts in more than four seasons with both Red Bull teams, Tsunoda’s place on the grid has - for the most part - been down to Honda.  The Herald understands the Japanese manufacturer paid Red Bull an annual sum of around US$10 million. Earlier this year, as Tsunoda took Lawson’s place in the senior side, that figure was doubled.  And yet, with Honda replaced by Ford from 2026, Tsunoda’s value to the team - or lack thereof - has ultimately told, with Lawson backed to be the man to lead Racing Bulls.  Earlier this year, Red Bull appeared to give away their 2026 plans by using Lawson in promotional material for Ford after the US Grand Prix.  Along the same lines, Tsunoda almost gave away his future before the Qatar Grand Prix, when he said he knew his future - but could not reveal what it was.  Now, though, that announcement has been made on Tsunoda’s behalf. With no seats remaining on the 2026 grid, including at soon-to-be-Honda powered Aston Martin, Tsunoda had also been linked with a place in the American IndyCar series, with Dale Coyne Racing.  The Formula One season concludes with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next week.  Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.  Tue, 02 Dec 2025 18:12:45 Z /news/national/auckland-s-city-rail-link-remains-on-track-despite-asbestos-scare/ /news/national/auckland-s-city-rail-link-remains-on-track-despite-asbestos-scare/ The team behind Auckland’s City Rail Link is confident that an asbestos scare hasn’t delayed the project.  九一星空无限talk ZB can reveal supplier Pacific Doors warned the City Rail Link (CRL) delivery team, Link Alliance, of potential asbestos in small access panel areas and some fire doors in the tunnels.  Testing was carried out and no asbestos traces were found.  CRL Limited chief executive Patrick Brockie said it has not caused any delays to the project’s opening.  He said Link Alliance has an asbestos management plan in place, including a process with a competent asbestos company, for any removal or interference.  CRL Limited chief executive Patrick Brockie says asbestos testing has not caused any delays to the project’s opening. Photo / Michael Craig  The Government confirmed last week the project will open to passengers in the second half of next year.  Minister for Auckland Simeon Brown said work is now moving from construction to the testing of the system.  “As an engineer, I appreciate there are more than 16,000 tests across every part of the project to prepare for handover and gain the safety approvals needed to open to the public,” Brown said.  Transport Minister Chris Bishop said a thorough programme of tests is under way to ensure the CRL is safe and the new train timetable is reliable from day one.  “Aucklanders continue to show patience and understanding as this massive construction project begins to see light at the end of the tunnel, and we want to thank them for that. It won’t be too much longer,” Bishop said.  Minister for Auckland Simeon Brown (left) and Transport Minister Chris Bishop aboard the first passenger train ride on the City Rail Link in August.  The CRL was first planned in 2008 but construction did not begin until 2016 under a 50/50 agreement between Auckland Council and the Government.  The cost was first estimated at between $2.8 billion and $3.4b. In 2019, the cost ballooned to $4.4b and it hit $5.5b in 2023.  When it opens next year, trains will run every four or five minutes at peak times through the central city.  Peak capacity will be 19,000 passengers per hour, compared with the current 12,000 passengers per hour.  Jacob Jones is a 九一星空无限talk ZB reporter working out of the Auckland newsroom. He has an interest in council and local government issues.  Tue, 02 Dec 2025 18:10:03 Z /news/business/black-friday-spending-down-in-2025-in-blow-to-retail-recovery/ /news/business/black-friday-spending-down-in-2025-in-blow-to-retail-recovery/ Black Friday was officially the busiest shopping day of the year according to Worldline NZ’s payments network, but has come short of passing last year’s total – a blow for an industry in need of recovery.  Data released by Worldline NZ show spending through core retail merchants selling non-food goods reached $55.6 million on November 28, 2025, surpassing the previous high this year of $49.1m on Easter Sunday.  However, non-food goods spending on Black Friday alone was down 6.2% compared with last year, and was down 4.6% on last year over the three-day weekend.  Worldline NZ’s chief sales officer Bruce Proffit said that while Black Friday sales brought out many shoppers, the pattern across the weekend was consistent with spending on non-food goods, which ran below year-ago levels over other weeks of November.  “It appears that consumer budgets are still constrained at this end of the year. Clothing merchants experienced higher spending than Black Friday 2024 over the weekend but spending elsewhere was generally down,” Proffit said.  “Across the three groups we are tracking weekly, the pattern over the month continues to show more spending at food and liquor stores but less at hospitality providers and less amongst the general category of core retail merchants, excluding food and liquor and hospitality, collectively referred to as the ‘non-food goods’ retailers.”  Proffit said merchants will no doubt be hopeful for spending growth in the busier few weeks remaining before Christmas.  Annual growth of core retail spending was the highest in the West Coast, up 6.3%, Whanganui, up 5.4% and Otago, up 5%.  Meanwhile, core retail spending was lower in Auckland/Northland, down 0.3%, Wellington, down 1%, and Gisborne, down 1.8%.  Auckland contributed the bulk of the total spending with $1.53b, with Canterbury contributing the next highest amount at $502m.  Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.  Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:54:29 Z /news/politics/principal-of-school-at-centre-of-mouldy-school-lunch-fiasco-hurt-by-david-seymour-s-comments/ /news/politics/principal-of-school-at-centre-of-mouldy-school-lunch-fiasco-hurt-by-david-seymour-s-comments/ By RNZ Online of RNZ  The principal of a school which served up a contaminated meal from the Government’s free school lunches programmes says she’s hurt by David Seymour’s comments against her.  The School Lunch Collective told RNZ it was investigating a “food quality issue” after mouldy mince was served to students at Haeata Community Campus on Monday.  The Collective represents Compass Group, which was contracted to provide government-funded lunches for the Christchurch school.  David Seymour, who is the Associate Education Minister, spoke to First Up about the lunches on Tuesday morning, and accused the school’s principal Peggy Burrows, of being a “media frequent flyer”.  “It will be investigated but I also note this particular principal is a frequent flyer in the media complaining about quite a range of government policies... I think people need that context.”  In response, Burrows said she refused to get involved in a public stoush but added: “I am an educationist, not a politician. I am here to advocate for this community”.  “I must admit I was a little bit hurt to be described in that matter from a person who holds a significant portfolio in education and is, at the moment, the Deputy Prime Minister,” she said.  “I don’t think I’ve ever met Mr Seymour personally or had a conversation with him.”  Haeata Community Campus cafe staff member Elise Darbyshire (left) and principal Peggy Burrows (right). Photo / RNZ, Adam Burns  MPI involved  The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), confirmed it would carry out checks of lunches at the school on Tuesday.  Food safety said it was working with the Ministry of Education and the National Public Health Service to establish the facts.  It said there was no evidence of any wider food safety issue at this stage.  Child unwell  The mother of a girl who ate one of the mouldy lunches said she was “appalled” by the situation and her daughter was now unwell.  Rebecca McKenzie, told Morning Report, her 12-year-old daughter Aurora, ate one of the meals on Monday and was now unwell.  “She is not looking good at the moment. She has a very queasy tummy and a temperature of 39, looking really quite sick, I’ll be ringing my doctor once it’s open.”  Rebecca says David Seymour wanted to cut the budget back and give us these not-so-nice meals. Photo / Mark Mitchell  McKenzie said her daughter had eaten just over half of the meal before throwing it out.  “She said her one didn’t look mouldy but it tasted very disgusting. She said it looked very undercooked which is quite normal with what they get served there.  “We rely on these meals and to have this is absolutely appalling, but unfortunately David Seymour wanted to cut the budget back and give us these not-so-nice meals.”  Earlier this year, the principal of the Christchurch school asked to get out of a contract with Compass Group following several weeks of problems and “disappointing” service, but this was denied by the Government.  Compass was not included on a list of providers chosen by the government to provide primary school lunches in 2026, but associate education minister David Seymour told First Up Compass would continue to provide lunches to high schools, intermediate schools and comprehensive schools.  - RNZ  Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:47:15 Z /news/crime/former-covid-response-lead-alister-thorby-stole-18-million-from-dhbs/ /news/crime/former-covid-response-lead-alister-thorby-stole-18-million-from-dhbs/ The day after his contract with two district health boards ended, Alister Thorby tried to board a plane to Brisbane with several friends.  However, police stopped him as he was under suspicion for stealing more than a million dollars from his employers.  Thorby claimed the holiday he was trying to embark on was with DHB staff and was funded by backpay and a gambling windfall.  But that wasn’t true. Thorby had paid for the flights with a portion of $1.8 million he stole from his employers over five months while in charge of the DHBs’ response to the Covid pandemic in the Lower North Island.  As well as a holiday, he’d spent the money on a property in Foxton and multiple vehicles.  Now, three years later, Thorby has admitted he took the money from two DHBs.  Today, at the Palmerston North District Court, Thorby was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and ordered to pay back the $1.8m he stole.  According to the summary of facts, Thorby was initially facing 12 charges of obtaining by deception for a total of $1.4m, which he pleaded not guilty to, but has since admitted obtaining more than $1.8m.  Thorby worked for the Capital and Coast DHB and the Hutt Valley DHB as the Covid managed isolation and community quarantine service lead for a fixed term period between October 11, 2021, and June 30, 2022.  As part of this role, he submitted invoices for staffing at MIQ facilities as well as security and cleaning services in central Wellington and in Paraparaumu on the Kāpiti Coast.  Thorby, who was 25 years old at the time of the offending, invoiced the two DHBs 17 times over a period of five months in 2022 from three different companies: Moutoa Māori Wardens, Te Awahou Cleaning & Co and Horowhenua Motorhome Rental.  The latter two businesses didn’t actually exist.  Alister Thorby appeared for sentencing at the Palmerston North District Court this afternoon. Photo / Jeremy Wilkinson  The work he claimed involved security services and logistical support at various isolation facilities, including the Paraparaumu Motel, the Quest Lambton Hotel and the Terrace Villas.  None of the companies actually did any of the work Thorby claimed they did in his invoices.  The largest of those invoices was for $305,000 for security work at an unspecified location, another for $301,000 – also at an unknown location – was for 24-hour security.  In total, Thorby obtained $1,882,400 for his own benefit from the two DHBs and used some of the funds to buy a house in Foxton, multiple vehicles and to book international travel, such as the holiday he was heading to in Brisbane when he was arrested in 2022.  A fall from grace  Judge Bruce Northwood said Thorby had, during the chaos of the pandemic, drawn upon his connections as a community leader and found himself between Government and the community.  “In your case, you offended intensely over a short period,” he said.  “This was a time of vulnerability; the Government was trusting people with Government funds.”  Judge Northwood said Thorby came up with a plan to exploit that trust and the urgency with which the Government was putting money into the community.  “What you did had elements of sophistication. It required a scheme to be pulled together at short notice.”  Thorby told his probation officer some of the funds he stole were used to buy resources for the Moutoa Māori Wardens, but Judge Northwood said there was no evidence that was true.  A number of references were provided in Thorby’s support, including a request for Judge Northwood from an archbishop to show leniency and simply “smack his hand” and not limit his potential.  Thorby’s lawyer, Ron Mansfield, KC, said it was a sad day for his client.  “He’s a young man who has great promise in contributing to the community.  “The opportunity was presented to him, and he sought to exploit that oppo... Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:22:09 Z /news/crime/gurjit-singh-murder-trial-in-dunedin-crown-outlines-claims-of-targeted-killing/ /news/crime/gurjit-singh-murder-trial-in-dunedin-crown-outlines-claims-of-targeted-killing/ The killing of Gurjit Singh was a targeted, premeditated attack fuelled by rejection and personal resentment, the Crown has alleged.  At the close of 12 days of evidence, Crown prosecutor Richard Smith told the jury at the High Court in Dunedin that the 35-year-old accused Rajinder had orchestrated an unmistakable chain of events leading to Singh’s brutal death.  Defence counsel Anne Stevens KC, meanwhile, told the jury the Crown’s case was “circumstantial”, noting they had “no confession from a murderer, and no witness who saw Gurjit Singh murdered, and no reason why he would be murdered”.  Stevens suggested to the jury that alternative possibilities existed - namely, an alternative person murdered Singh.  On January 26 last year, Singh was found outside his Pine Hill home in Dunedin, surrounded by blood and broken glass, with 46 stab or slash wounds.  He had also been partially decapitated.  Smith told the jury the incident was not a “burglary or a theft gone wrong” but “a targeted attack”.  He said that the night of the killing, Singh’s house would have appeared vacant and that there was “no sign of forced entry into the house” and “valuable items [were] left untouched; drones, drone parts, the TV, laptop, even cash”.  He said the only reasonable conclusion was that “whoever did this deliberately attacked Gurjit”.  The Crown alleges Singh returned home from a pizza party with friends shortly before the confrontation began.  Smith said the attack started in the dining room, where droplets, smears and cast-off blood indicated early knife injuries.  “Whoever inflicted these injuries was determined and persistent,” he said.  “You can see from the scene itself that this wasn’t a momentary outburst.”  Blood patterns traced Singh’s movement from the dining room into the lounge, through the sunroom, and outside to a decking area.  “Gurjit Singh was putting up a fight,” Smith said.  He then made it down the stairs of the decking area, where “finally, the fatal injuries occur to him”.  Smith reminded the jury of “sawing marks on the cervical spine” consistent with an attempted decapitation.  The violence, he said, reflected “not panic, not confusion, but persistence”.  Smith told the jury that while the Crown was not required to prove motive, Smith offered a theory of resentment and personal grievance.  Rajinder, he said, had previously been presented as a possible match for the woman Singh eventually married.  However, he was rejected by the woman, and later learned of her marriage to Singh.  Later, a proposal by Rajinder to marry Singh’s sister was also rejected by Singh.  A police cordon in place outside the home of Gurjit Singh in the days following the killing. Photo / Ben Tomsett  At the time of the killing, Singh was living alone and preparing for his wife’s return to New Zealand.  Smith described this as a “window of opportunity”.  Smith told the jury that the day before the killing, Rajinder visited several retailers, including Bunnings and Torpedo7.  CCTV footage showed him buying gloves and a knife, though in his two-and-a-half-hour police interview, he never mentioned these visits.  “He’s asked a number of times what he was doing Sunday and Monday,” Smith said.  “He never once mentioned that he bought a knife. Or that he went to Torpedo7. Or that he bought a mountain bike. Why? Because it’s harder to replace small, incomplete truths.”  Smith dismissed the defence suggestion that Rajinder wasn’t hiding anything because he used his own bank card and even signed up for a store membership.  “Until the police had him in mind as a suspect, there was no need to hide the purchases,” he said.  According to Smith, Rajinder only became a person of interest when he turned up at the police station with an unexplained hand injury and “lied about when and how it had occurred.... Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:07:54 Z /news/crime/paeroa-employer-fined-for-exploiting-migrant-workers-and-faking-records/ /news/crime/paeroa-employer-fined-for-exploiting-migrant-workers-and-faking-records/ A Paeroa business fabricated rosters and payslips to deceive authorities while it exploited its workers, Immigration NZ says. Dev Trading Limited (DTL), trading as Super Clearance, pleaded guilty to five charges of exploitation of temporary workers and two charges of providing false or misleading information, Immigration NZ said in a statement today. The company’s directors, Chetna Dave and her husband Hitesh Dave, recruited two Indian nationals under the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme. An investigation revealed they were required to work extremely long hours, in some cases up to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, including on public holidays – all without being paid their lawful entitlements or complying with holiday and leave provisions. One worker was unlawfully subjected to deductions disguised as loan repayments totalling more than $6000. The company was fined $159,250 and also faced court-ordered reparation of $18,684.72 and emotional harm payments of $5000 to each victim, Immigration NZ said. Labour Inspector calculations revealed more than $158,000 of unpaid wages and entitlements, with $140,000 paid to the victims before sentencing. Immigration NZ said DTL went to “considerable lengths to deceive authorities, submitting false records and documentation to INZ, including fabricated rosters and payslips and even completing employment modules on behalf of the workers”. “By doing so, the victims were denied the opportunity to learn about New Zealand law and their employment rights.” National manager investigations, Jason Perry, said this was a good outcome for Immigration NZ and, “most importantly, for the victims”. “They have received significant reparation and emotional harm payments, and this case reinforces that exploitation will not be tolerated in NZ.” “The callous exploitation of vulnerable migrants and the deliberate provision of false information to INZ is not just unethical, it’s criminal. “We will continue to work with our partner agencies to hold those responsible to account,” Perry said. “Maintaining the integrity of our immigration system is critical to protecting both migrants and the wider public.” Anyone with information about immigration fraud or migrant exploitation is encouraged to report it. Contact MBIE on 0800 200 088 or report anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Tue, 02 Dec 2025 02:22:37 Z /news/national/christmas-lights-trail-volunteers-decorate-tauranga-mum-s-home-after-ladder-injury/ /news/national/christmas-lights-trail-volunteers-decorate-tauranga-mum-s-home-after-ladder-injury/ When Andrea Atkinson moved into her new home, she pictured her first Christmas there glowing with festive lights.  But one slip off a ladder threatened to pull the plug on her seven-year-long tradition – until a Tauranga crew with a gift for gifting stepped in to deliver some Christmas magic.  Now her house is glowing, and so is she, overwhelmed by how others were “happy to help out of the goodness of their own hearts”.  A team of five from Chuffed Gifts made Atkinson’s Christmas vision a reality by stapling lights, securing inflatable decorations on her purpose built carport, and decking out the entire front yard.  Her decorated house will again be a part of the annual Bower Christmas Lights Trail, where 51 houses across Tauranga and the Western Bay have been lit up with festive cheer.  The real estate company has teamed up with The Hits Bay of Plenty 95.0FM, Tauranga Crossing and Chuffed Gifts for this year’s trail, which is open now.  Atkinson told the Bay of Plenty Times she was “really overwhelmed” and “quite emotional” when she received the call that her Christmas lights would be put up for her.  Maverick Atkinson, 9, and mum Andrea Atkinson after their home was decorated with festive cheer for Christmas. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell  “I love doing it every year, love the feeling of it, you see all the lights and the decorations, and it’s just such a happy time.”  Atkinson said she had been painting her newly-built carport in preparation for Christmas when she fell off a ladder, rupturing her ACL and tearing her MCL ligaments.  “I was so bummed out that I wasn’t going to be able to [decorate the house] this year, and it was such a down, to then such a high getting a phone call offering this.”  She watched from afar with her 9-year-old son, Maverick, as the Chuffed Gifts team worked hard to make her Christmas dream a reality.  “To have people come in and do this for me is so meaningful, and it hits deep because people are so happy to help out of the goodness of their own hearts.”  Chuffed Gifts co-founder Alex Howard said the decorating experience was in the spirit of Christmas.  The gifting service works with a network of providers who collectively offer more than 1000 experiences across New Zealand.  “We’re all about gifting experiences, and Christmas is a big time for that.”  He said it was important to help out fellow Kiwis, have fun and celebrate the season.  “Andrea’s really passionate about being involved in this, and it sucks that she couldn’t do it.”  Chuffed Gifts brought Andrea Atkinson’s Christmas vision to life, stapling lights, securing inflatable decorations, and decking out the entire front yard. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell  Howard said the team were more than happy to help out and take her directions.  “I don’t think any of us are professional Christmas decoration setter-uppers, but we’re stoked to be involved and give back.”  This is the fifth year Bower Real Estate (previously Tremains) has sponsored the Christmas Light Trail in Tauranga and Western Bay.  Bower managing director Anton Jones said it meant a lot to the company that it could help bring “a little joy” to Tauranga.  “It’s great to be able to see children and parents alike able to have some fun and see people smiling and connecting, especially with the modern stresses of life.”  The lights are on nightly until 9pm, and viewers can vote for their favourite homes on thehits.co.nz until December 22.  Bower and The Hits will also host two events in Christmas light hotspots with a free barbecue, ice blocks and lollies for the kids, as well as face painting, games and more.  These will be held from 7pm in Pāpāmoa East’s Wairakei Ave on December 11 and Matepu Cres in the Lakes on December 12.  2025 Bower Christmas Lights Trail addresses  Paengaroa  11 Tutea Pl  22 Sunset Drive  Te Puke  58 D... Tue, 02 Dec 2025 02:03:28 Z /news/crime/north-shore-police-chase-man-tries-to-hide-under-child-s-bed-after-stolen-car-stopped/ /news/crime/north-shore-police-chase-man-tries-to-hide-under-child-s-bed-after-stolen-car-stopped/ A man trying to escape from police ditched his firearm on the roof of a shed before attempting to hide under a child’s bed.  The incident began around 1.30am today when officers spotted a vehicle allegedly speeding on the Northern Motorway near Puhoi.  Although no pursuit began, the vehicle was identified as stolen.  The driver continued to speed down the motorway, eventually exiting at Ōrewa and then passing through Silverdale and Albany.  By then, the Police Eagle helicopter had begun tracking the vehicle.  Inspector Nina Pedersen, Waitematā North area prevention manager, said the chase came to an end when the vehicle was spiked on Oteha Valley Rd.  The occupants proceeded to abandon the vehicle on Kallista Place in Browns Bay, with two men fleeing to a property close by.  One of the men surrendered to the police immediately, but the other was seen carrying what appeared to be a firearm.  He hid the weapon on the roof of a shed before scaling fences as he fled through neighbouring properties.  Police set up cordons and called in a dog handler to assist in arresting the man.  He was subsequently found while trying to hide under a child’s bed.  “[The man] has resisted arrest and received a small dog bite, which was treated at the scene,” Pedersen said.  “Police have also located and seized the firearm, which is a great result for the team – taking another firearm out of the community and its potential use for future offending.”  The two men, aged 29 and 37, will appear in the North Shore District Court today to face various charges.  The 29-year-old is charged with unlawfully getting into a vehicle, possession of an offensive weapon, resisting police and unlawfully being in a building, while the 37-year-old faces charges of dangerous driving, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, possession of methamphetamine, and contravening a protection order.  Tue, 02 Dec 2025 01:51:45 Z /news/sport/espn-apologises-after-coverage-cuts-out-before-australia-s-buzzer-beater-winner-over-tall-blacks/ /news/sport/espn-apologises-after-coverage-cuts-out-before-australia-s-buzzer-beater-winner-over-tall-blacks/ A technical glitch in the world basketball broadcast system left some fans unable to watch the dramatic conclusion of the Tall Blacks’ clash with Australia, where a buzzer-beating three-pointer sealed a thrilling victory for the Boomers.  William “Davo” Hickey’s shot off the backboard saw Australia overcome a 10-point deficit to beat New Zealand 79-77 in their Fiba World Cup qualifying match in Wellington.  But it was a moment fans were denied watching live after broadcast coverage cut out with two minutes and 34 seconds on the clock, when the Tall Blacks were leading 75-70.  Fans had to wait for ESPN and Fiba’s social media accounts to post the game-winning shot.  The issue impacted viewers watching ESPN coverage in New Zealand and Australia and on streaming platform Disney+, while a similar issue also saw the first 1m 15s of the match missed.  ESPN is owned by the Walt Disney Corporation and after the match cut out, there were minutes of adverts before another basketball programme started.  Fans were quick to vent their frustrations to Sky and ESPN, but both networks said they were not responsible for the broadcast, with Fiba holding the broadcast rights for all World Cup qualifying games.  One person said: “TV doing literal “quit while we’re ahead” with two minutes to go in the Tall Blacks game?“.  Another fan added: “You start the coverage late into the 1st qtr and then cut the feed before the game end. Useless”.  Fiba, basketball’s international federation, has been approached for comment, along with Basketball New Zealand.  ESPN, in a brief statement on its social media accounts, apologised to disappointed viewers and said it was investigating.  “We are aware that due to a technical issue ... the end of the game was not seen for [sic] some viewers. We are investigating the cause and deeply apologise for the issue,” the post read.  According to the Daily Telegraph, Basketball Australia officials have contacted ESPN and Fiba for an explanation as to why the broadcast cut out.  The Tall Blacks return to the court in late February and early March for matches against the Philippines and Guam at to be determined locations.  Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.  Tue, 02 Dec 2025 01:43:19 Z /news/crime/man-charged-after-allegedly-swallowing-a-pendant-work-33k-at-an-auckland-jewellers/ /news/crime/man-charged-after-allegedly-swallowing-a-pendant-work-33k-at-an-auckland-jewellers/ By Finn Blackwell of RNZ A man has been charged for allegedly swallowing a Faberge locket worth more than $33,500 during a theft at a store in Auckland. Police were called at 3.30pm last Friday to the store in the central city. The 32-year-old man was accused of picking up a Faberge James Bond Octopussy Egg pendant and swallowing it. Court documents reveal the pendant was worth $33,585. An online listing for the locket said it had been crafted from 18ct yellow gold and set with 60 white diamonds and 15 blue sapphires. A golden octopus inside the locket was set with two black diamonds for eyes. Officers from the Auckland City Beat team were on the scene minutes later, and arrested the man, police confirmed. He had been charged with theft, and was remanded in custody when he appeared in Auckland District Court last week, he was expected to reappear next Monday. Police told RNZ the pendant had not yet been recovered. – RNZ Tue, 02 Dec 2025 01:21:15 Z /news/entertainment/drax-project-tour-local-bands-wanted-to-open-summer-shows/ /news/entertainment/drax-project-tour-local-bands-wanted-to-open-summer-shows/ One of New Zealand’s biggest bands is looking for some local talent to open their Hawke’s Bay show.  Drax Project, the jazzy, pop R&B band from Wellington known for their platinum-selling single Woke Up Late, are heading out on tour this summer and looking for the best local talent to open up each show.  The band’s tour will take them to Waihī Beach on December 31, Ōākura on January 3 and Havelock North at Black Barn on January 9, and they want an act from each region on the tour to open up at each gig.  To enter the competition, keen artists, bands, musicians and supporters need to head to Drax Project’s Instagram page, find the competition post on its timeline and tag the band they would like to open for Drax Project in the comments.  The band’s drummer Matt Beachen said the band opening for big acts like Ed Sheeran, Christina Aguilera and Camila Cabello had been pivotal for their career trajectory, and now it was time to return the favour to three lucky up-and-coming acts.  “We just love music and I’m looking forward to discovering a whole bunch of new artists that we haven’t seen yet,” Beachen said.  “The cool thing about these competitions is that fingers crossed, we’ll get lots of comments and lots of suggestions, and we’ll be able to see the support from people who are really keen on their favourite artists to play.  “It doesn’t have to be a young band either. It could be someone’s grandmum who’s, you know, still got something left to prove.”  Winners will be selected on December 12 and will receive free passes to the concert and backstage passes, where Beachen said they’ll be able to hang out with Drax Project and eat all of their food.  “We’ve been doing it a long time now, so hopefully we’re not too boring backstage,” he said.  “You might think that, oh, if we win this competition, we get to go on like a rock star spree, driving around in a limo afterwards but, you know, it might just be a few waters.  “But we’re very open with how we’ve got to where we are, and, we’ve had a lot of people pass down some knowledge as we were coming up that, you know, we’re more than happy to pass on.”  Beachen has a clear idea about what the best stop on the tour is going to be.  “Black Barn is actually the best, and I’m not just saying that because I’m speaking with you, but it is the best venue in New Zealand to play a show,” he said.  “Just the whole atmosphere, the amphitheatre, the weather’s always great. They look after you. They’ve got that little cottage right next to the stage. They’re always putting on feeds, and you kind of just walk from the cottage on to the stage.”  “So [the winner] will be able to hang out with us back there, and, you’ll be able to get your some mates and family in, too.”  Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.  Tue, 02 Dec 2025 01:11:16 Z /news/national/mcskimming-scandal-andrew-coster-on-1500-a-day-as-investigation-to-wind-up-in-not-too-distant-future/ /news/national/mcskimming-scandal-andrew-coster-on-1500-a-day-as-investigation-to-wind-up-in-not-too-distant-future/ Social Investment Agency boss Andrew Coster is still being paid $1500 a day while being investigated for his role in the Jevon McSkimming scandal.  Coster’s employer, Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche, provided an update on the investigation before, and after, his appearance at the Governance and Administration select committee.  “I think so,” Roche told 九一星空无限talk ZB when asked whether Coster was still being paid $1500 a day since going on leave three weeks ago.  That was when Coster’s role in the scandal, when he was Police Commissioner, came to the attention of Roche, in the lead-up to the release of a scathing report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), which heavily criticised how senior police handled allegations about how McSkimming treated a former lover, who was also a junior police staffer.  The woman, known as Ms Z in the IPCA report, has spoken to the Herald today about her experience, including initially being charged with harassment instead of being asked about those allegations.  The Taxpayers’ Union has said most taxpayers would consider it a “disgrace that Coster is being paid $1500 a day ”as he sits waiting for the inevitable sacking as head of the Social Investment Agency”.  Roche told reporters the investigation into Coster was making “really good progress”, but he couldn’t say when it would be completed.  “I’m confident we’ll be able to have a decision in the not-too-distant future. I don’t have an exact date, but I’m really confident that we’re going to get there and remove the uncertainty that everyone has.  “I recognise this has got a high level of public interest. We’ve had to do it properly according to the law, and I’m confident we’ve done that. I want it done as soon as I possibly can.”  Roche also defended deputy Public Service commissioner Heather Baggott, who vetted McSkimming when he was a candidate for Police Commissioner, which he lost to Richard Chambers.  Roche rejected the idea that Baggott failed to ask enough questions of McSkimming.  “I have the highest level of confidence in her,” Roche said.  He said the commission has subsequently strengthened its processes.  Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche. Herald photograph by Mark Mitchell  Earlier, he told committee members that the McSkimming case was a “wake-up call” that had led to processes being strengthened.  “We continue to work to the best of our ability to ensure we are at international best practice.  “The nature of what people do in their private lives and the impact on their ability to do a public role is a serious issue for us.”  Baggott told the committee the public service code of conduct had been reissued.  The commission can initiate an inquiry if there is any serious breach around integrity, she said, “and we do use that lever when necessary”.  Facebook attack ads  In the committee hearing, Roche was grilled by Labour MP Camilla Belich, who last week wrote to the Auditor-General complaining about the Public Service Commission’s Facebook ads criticising the mega public sector strike last month.  Yesterday the Auditor-General confirmed the commission has asked an external party to carry out a review, but Roche was adamant this did not amount to a black mark on the commission’s political neutrality.  Roche explained the ads were a response to information from unions he described as “not factual, not accurate”, amid challenging bargaining in a “very constrained fiscal environment”.  He acknowledged shortcomings in not letting ministers know the extent of the attack ads.  “We should have kept them more fully informed. We didn’t. Some ministers were caught short.  “I regret ministers were not kept as fully informed under the ‘no surprises’ as they should have been.”  He said it was possible that the attack ads could be repeated in some form, unless the upcoming r... Tue, 02 Dec 2025 00:58:49 Z /news/national/new-reserve-bank-governor-dr-anna-breman-keen-on-transparency-and-cautious-on-money-printing/ /news/national/new-reserve-bank-governor-dr-anna-breman-keen-on-transparency-and-cautious-on-money-printing/ Reserve Bank Governor Dr Anna Breman appeared calm and confident, as she was asked enquiring questions by Members of Parliament on her second day on the job.  Breman appeared before the Finance and Expenditure committee, alongside the Reserve Bank’s new board chair Rodger Finlay, for a routine annual review of the organisation today.  While the former deputy governor of the Swedish central bank wasn’t in a position to answer questions about the challenging year that was at the Reserve Bank, she provided an insight to the approach she would take going forward.  Breman provided safe answers to questions, stressing she would be “laser focused” on the Reserve Bank’s core mandate.  She said she would talk to fellow Monetary Policy Committee members about whether their individual views on monetary policy, including how to set the Official Cash Rate (OCR), should be made public.  A proponent of transparency, she stressed the importance of any changes to the way monetary policy decision-making was communicated should be suitable for New Zealand, rather than replicating models used overseas.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis is open to considering publishing Monetary Policy Committee members’ individual views.  However, the Labour Party MPs who questioned Breman expressed hesitancy over this, noting that detailing the perspectives of all seven members of the committee could confuse the public and financial markets, and increase the likelihood of members being lobbied on how to vote.  Speaking to the Herald last week, the Reserve Bank’s outgoing interim Governor Christian Hawkebsy noted that the way the committee worked had evolved since its inception in 2018, with external members speaking more publicly, for example.  He was wary that detailing individual members’ views could be counter-productive, as it could encourage members to come to meetings ready to defend their views rather than be open-minded.  Breman provided safe answers when asked about money printing – something the Reserve Bank did during the pandemic, when it wanted to soothe dysfunction in the market and provide the economy with more stimulus than could be provided by cutting the OCR, which was already near zero and couldn’t be taken in to negative territory for operational reasons.  She took the same approach as the Reserve Bank, saying it was good to keep large-scale asset purchases (i.e. money printing) in the Reserve Bank’s toolbox, but the OCR would be its primary tool.  Breman said the bank had to “be careful” when using this “unusual tool”.  However, she made the point that all crises were different, and it was difficult to know what the next crisis and most suitable response would be.  Breman and the Monetary Policy Committee will next review the OCR on February 18.  In coming weeks, the bank will unveil changes to the amount and/or type of capital it will require banks to hold.  Jenée Tibshraeny is the Herald’s Wellington Business Editor, based in the Parliamentary press gallery. She specialises in government and Reserve Bank policymaking, economics and banking.  Tue, 02 Dec 2025 00:26:04 Z /news/politics/police-commissioner-richard-chambers-asks-for-time-amid-call-from-jevon-mcskimming-victim-for-stronger-inquiry-into-police-culture/ /news/politics/police-commissioner-richard-chambers-asks-for-time-amid-call-from-jevon-mcskimming-victim-for-stronger-inquiry-into-police-culture/ Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says he wants time to implement changes within NZ Police as he responds to calls for a stronger inquiry into police culture from the woman at the centre of the Jevon McSkimming scandal.  The woman, dubbed Ms Z due to suppression orders, spoke exclusively to the Herald about the “ongoing nightmare” she had suffered at the hands of the former Deputy Police Commissioner.  She had sent hundreds of anonymous emails over years, alleging McSkimming was a sexual predator who had groomed her.  While McSkimming had admitted a consensual affair with the much younger woman – she was 21 at the time, he was 42 – he denied the allegations and claimed she was motivated by revenge.  For years, this narrative was accepted by McSkimming’s supervisors, who instead used the emails as evidence to prosecute Ms Z amid McSkimming’s intention to replace outgoing Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.  But the failure of the highest-ranking police officers in New Zealand to investigate her repeated allegations against McSkimming was condemned in a scathing report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority in November.  Jevon McSkimming is the former Deputy Police Commissioner. Photo / Mark Mitchell  Current Police Commissioner Richard Chambers, who has stated he was not aware of McSkimming’s actions or the allegations until two days before becoming commissioner last year, has apologised publicly and denounced the “unacceptable” treatment Ms Z received.  He has also supported the Government’s decision to implement all recommendations from the IPCA report and endorsed the introduction of an Inspector-General watchdog for NZ Police.  However, Ms Z told the Herald she felt a more powerful inquiry into police culture was warranted.  “I saw at the recent Police College graduation, Richard Chambers effectively said ‘I just want to move on’, repeatedly,” she said.  “But there is some concerning behaviour in the wider police which needs more scrutiny. The police need to change their attitudes.”  Chambers, speaking to the Herald this morning, explained his comments reflected his eagerness to implement new practices to ensure such an experience didn’t occur again.  “In terms of her reflection in this morning’s article, that is not about me saying, ‘Oh come on, let’s just get on with it this’ ... I would be uncomfortable if she felt that that suggested that.  “It’s not that, quite the opposite.  “What she has experienced, it’s atrocious and I hope that I have that opportunity to apologise, but I’d like her to also realise that we’ve got a lot of work to do.”  The “work” included audits and investigations regarding officers’ use of police devices to access inappropriate material, triggered after McSkimming was found to have used work devices to view objectionable publications, including child sexual exploitation and bestiality.  Police Commissioner Richard Chambers believes the changes he is implementing will make a difference. Photo / Mark Mitchell  Chambers was also hiring new members to NZ Police’s executive team, including two deputy police commissioners.  “We’ve got to move on from the situation ... it’s a chapter that we will not be proud of in our history,” he said.  “I’d like [Ms Z] to be reassured about how seriously I take this whole situation and the things that we need to do, and that’s what I want to get on with.”  Asked about Ms Z’s call for a wider inquiry, Chambers said that decision sat with the Government.  Pressed for his personal view, Chambers said he hoped to have the opportunity to show progress through changes he was enacting.  “I’d like some time to be able to demonstrate that I’m putting things in place that are going to be helpful to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”  The Herald has requested comment from Police Minister Mark Mitchell and the Labour Party about whether they would... Mon, 01 Dec 2025 23:23:52 Z /news/national/auckland-weather-warning-heavy-rain-forecast-risk-of-hail-small-tornadoes-as-summer-storm-hits/ /news/national/auckland-weather-warning-heavy-rain-forecast-risk-of-hail-small-tornadoes-as-summer-storm-hits/ Auckland is in the firing line for marble-sized hail, small tornadoes and heavy rain tomorrow as wild weather lashes the country during the first week of summer.  A heavy rain watch is in place for 12 hours in Auckland, stretching all the way down to the upper areas of the Waikato, from 9am.  A strong wind watch is also in place for Northland and Auckland for 10 hours from 8am.  MetService is warning residents that there is a moderate chance for most of the day that there will be thunderstorms embedded with heavy rain, small hail and “a few small tornados”.  There is a risk of thunderstorms for much of the North Island tomorrow. Photo / MetService  MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden said the wild weather is being caused by a low developing over the Tasman Sea today, which would move towards the country this afternoon.  “That low deepens rapidly and pulls a warm, moist, sub-tropical airmass across the country during Tuesday afternoon and evening.  “It’ll bring widespread rain, strong southwesterly winds and the risk of thunderstorms for many parts of the North Island, including Northland, Auckland and Coromandel.”  🔭Outlook🔭 It may be the start of meteorological summer, but an active week is ahead. This week will bring a broad range of weather; heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds, and sunny spells to finish the week off.A low is expected to move toward the country through Tuesday… pic.twitter.com/jTYkAXupBa— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 1, 2025 A heavy rain warning is in place from 2am for 22 hours for the Bay of Plenty. Residents are being told to expect thunderstorms with heavy rain, with peak rates of 5 to 25mm/h, but possibly 25 to 40mm/h in localised areas.  Heavy rain watches are also in place for the central North Island areas of Waitomo, Taumarunui and Taupō, including Tongariro National Park and Taranaki, from the early hours of tomorrow morning for 12 hours.  The same watch is in place for Wairarapa and Wellington from midday for 21 hours.  Strong wind watches are also in place for Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast from 6pm, Wairarapa from 9pm and Taranaki from 10pm tomorrow.  Lynden said while the North Island is expected to bear the brunt of the weather, the South Island will also get its share of lashings.  A trough was expected to bring rain through last night and today, followed by cool southwesterlies.  “The upper parts of the South Island may also see a period of heavier rain on Wednesday associated with the low to the north.”  He said this low was due to move off the country tomorrow night and conditions were expected to ease.  “However, strong to gale southwesterly winds will persist, particularly for Wellington, Wairarapa, Northland and Auckland; they will keep the temperatures capped as we round out the week.”  Mon, 01 Dec 2025 22:55:35 Z /news/sport/liam-lawson-keep-to-formula-one-seat-at-racing-bulls-report/ /news/sport/liam-lawson-keep-to-formula-one-seat-at-racing-bulls-report/ Kiwi Formula One driver Liam Lawson will keep his seat at Racing Bulls when Red Bull confirm their 2026 lineup tonight, according to a report.  Dutch publication De Telegraaf is reporting several sources have confirmed that Lawson will retain his place on the junior team next year, with Yuki Tsunoda to be dropped from Red Bull, to be replaced by Lawson’s current teammate Isack Hadjar.  Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies said following yesterday’s Qatar Grand Prix they would be making an announcement on Tuesday (Wednesday NZT) ahead of the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.  “All I can tell you is that we will in fact stick to our plan and we will announce on Tuesday what the driver line-up is,” Mekies told media. “We are confident it will not disturb the focus in Abu Dhabi.”  As first reported by the Herald in July, Lawson will remain at Racing Bulls, as the team’s senior driver, a role he’s already filled this year alongside rookie Hadjar.  According to De Telegraaf, Hadjar will be promoted to be the teammate of Max Verstappen at Red Bull next season, while Formula Two driver Arvid Lindblad will move up to the Racing Bulls team to partner Lawson.  Lawson edges out five-year veteran Tsunoda after also just finishing ahead of him for ninth place in Qatar.  Despite replacing Lawson in the Red Bull set up two races into the season, Tsunoda struggled throughout the year and sits five points behind the Kiwi on the driver standings.  Liam Lawson at the Qatar Grand Prix.  Ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, a despondent-sounding Tsunoda revealed he knew something about his future that he couldn’t disclose.  “I know something that I can’t share with you guys,” he said. “But probably most people know it.  “I’m [of] a similar understanding as you guys. I don’t know what’s going to happen.  “Let’s see.”  Tsunoda has been linked with the American IndyCar series.  While the 25-year-old has been part of Red Bull’s junior development programme, and on the Formula One grid since 2021 with AlphaTauri, Racing Bulls and the senior team, Tsunoda’s position has always been linked to engine supplier Honda, one of his primary backers.  The Herald understands that Honda pays an annual sum of about US$10 million ($17.4m) to Red Bull to guarantee Tsunoda a place at one of its two teams.  Earlier this year, when Lawson was demoted from Red Bull to Racing Bulls after two races, Tsunoda took his place in the top team and that payment was understood to have been doubled.  However, Honda is departing Red Bull for Aston Martin at the end of this season, leaving Tsunoda’s future in doubt. At present, Red Bull have only Verstappen confirmed in a seat for next year.  Earlier this year, Red Bull senior adviser Helmut Marko gave a deadline of the Mexican Grand Prix to decide on the two teams’ driver line-ups. After Mexico, that decision was pushed back until after Qatar.  The season ends in Abu Dhabi on Monday morning, with McLaren drivers Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Verstappen all in the running for the title.  Mon, 01 Dec 2025 21:08:12 Z /news/national/air-new-zealand-cancels-two-flights-in-two-weeks-for-tauranga-flyer-due-to-white-island-ash/ /news/national/air-new-zealand-cancels-two-flights-in-two-weeks-for-tauranga-flyer-due-to-white-island-ash/ A prominent GP is calling on Air New Zealand to communicate cancellations better as volcanic ash wreaks havoc on Bay of Plenty flight schedules.  The airline cancelled 38 flights in November because of ash from Whakaari White Island, which has been in a phase of minor eruptions.  Air New Zealand says it aims to give customers as much warning as possible of cancellations, but conditions can change quickly.  The flight cancellation message Dr Luke Bradford received about 9pm on Monday last week – nine hours before his 6am flight from Tauranga to Christchurch – gave only “operational requirements” as the reason.  That could be code for anything, said Bradford, who is president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and a GP at Fifth Avenue Family Practice.  “If it is White Island, they need to put out proper comments about it, but instead, they’re just leaving people stuck.  “They just need to tell us.”  His was one of 16 flights to or from Tauranga cancelled that day due to ash from the active marine volcano about 50km offshore of Whakatāne.  Bradford said he was due in Christchurch to give an 11am keynote address to 1100 delegates, for which he had been preparing for three months.  Air NZ rescheduled him on a flight at 11.55am, which he took, but he missed his presentation.  It was the second time in two weeks one of his flights had been cancelled.  On November 17, Bradford’s evening flight from Auckland to Tauranga was cancelled.  Volcanic activity on Whakaari - White Island. Photo / Geonet  His flight was one of eight to or from Tauranga Airport that were cancelled that day or the following morning due to windblown ash.  Air Chathams services at Whakatāne Airport were also impacted by the ash warning, RNZ reported.  Bradford said Air NZ rescheduled him for a flight 24 hours later.  He had a clinic the next day, however, so he shared a hired car with another traveller to get back to Tauranga more quickly.  Bradford said there needs to be transparency and explanations as to why flights are being cancelled, and earlier warnings would also help.  “Instead of 9pm the night before, when I can’t do anything, if it looks like White Island is a problem and Air NZ know throughout the day, tell me so I can organise travel arrangements differently.  “Start having that conversation much earlier,” Bradford said.  Flight cancellations on the departure board at Tauranga Airport on Monday, November 24. Photo / Luke Bradford  Tauranga Airport manager Ray Dumble said volcanic ash can travel a considerable distance once expelled into the atmosphere.  Wind could blow it as far as Tauranga or Rotorua in some conditions.  “With safety as our priority, flights needed to be cancelled. Tauranga Airport has received no complaints in regard to ash-disrupted flights.”  Air NZ chief safety and risk officer Nathan McGraw said 38 flights were cancelled during November because of volcanic ash.  “When flights are disrupted, we always aim to give customers as much notice as possible. Unfortunately, the movement of volcanic ash is not always predictable, and conditions can change quickly.”  McGraw said if wind blows ash into a flight path, it becomes unsafe to operate as it can affect visibility and potentially impact the aircraft.  “Forecasts can change throughout the day depending on wind direction and new activity, which affects how much warning we can provide.”  The proactive cancellation decision on Monday night was based on predicted wind patterns for Tuesday.  “We understand how frustrating cancellations are, and we don’t take the decision to cancel or disrupt services lightly,” McGraw said.  Where the airline could give an earlier warning, it would.  “However, safety will always be at the forefront of our decision-making.”  Whakaari White Island has been at Alert Level... Mon, 01 Dec 2025 20:48:40 Z /news/national/weather-heavy-rain-thunderstorms-muggy-nights-to-smash-north-island-for-start-of-december/ /news/national/weather-heavy-rain-thunderstorms-muggy-nights-to-smash-north-island-for-start-of-december/ Widespread rain, possible thunderstorms and strong winds are forecast to batter the North Island during the first week of December.  MetService called this week the start of the meteorological summer with “a broad range of weather” predicted.  Forecaster Mmathapelo Makgabutlane told the Herald a low-pressure system would move towards the country today, cross New Zealand tomorrow and head towards the east by Thursday.  She said almost all of the North Island should experience very active weather during the next three days.  “It has already been quite warm, a lot of rain and thunderstorm activity, and we’re expecting more of that this week.”  Makgabutlane said heavy showers and thunderstorms were forecast to begin early this morning for most of the upper North Island.  “During the day on Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday, we expect that to continue.  🔭Outlook🔭 It may be the start of meteorological summer, but an active week is ahead. This week will bring a broad range of weather; heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds, and sunny spells to finish the week off.A low is expected to move toward the country through Tuesday… pic.twitter.com/jTYkAXupBa— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 1, 2025 “That includes Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty. Pretty much everywhere in the upper parts of the North Island.”  A severe thunderstorm watch is currently in force for Northland until 7am today.  MetService predicted the most likely areas to be affected were the northern and eastern parts of Northland, north of Whangārei.  “Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas such as streams, rivers or narrow valleys, and may also lead to slips.”  ⚠️Severe Weather Update🚨🟡🌩A Severe Thunderstorm Watch has been issued for NorthlandA band of rain moves in from the north overnight🌧With this rain is the chance of thunderstorms and short bursts of heavy rain⛈For more: https://t.co/qHyE5zzql5@nztaaklnth pic.twitter.com/1c1PXqEcJz— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 1, 2025 Makgabutlane predicted the heavy rain and showers to continue through tomorrow and into Thursday.  “This time we could see quite strong winds as well, especially for places like Northland, Auckland and Coromandel. I would say most of the North Island, but those places in particular,” she said.  “The first real relief we get comes in the later part of Thursday. There will probably still be some showers around with some lingering southwesterly winds.  “But on Friday, it seems to be the day where we really do get a break from the weather.”  Similar conditions are forecast to affect the rest of the North Island today, tomorrow and Thursday.  “Especially Wellington, Wairarapa and the Kāpiti Coast. We could see quite wet weather and some strong southerly winds in there,” Makgabutlane said.  In the South Island, wet weather is forecast to impact the eastern parts, especially North Canterbury and Marlborough.  “The exact movement and location of the low-pressure system will determine how much rain the South Island gets.”  Makgabutlane said humid conditions would also linger in the North Island, making for muggy nights.  Auckland is forecast to reach a high of 24C today and 25C tomorrow, while tonight’s low is predicted to be 18C.  “We are picking humid conditions tonight into tomorrow for the North Island,” Makgabutlane said.  “The South Island actually has cooler conditions for the next few days, especially out in the east. But by the end of the week, we are back out to the mid to high 20s.”  Mon, 01 Dec 2025 18:27:09 Z /news/national/jevon-mcskimming-case-the-woman-at-the-centre-of-the-sex-scandal-calls-on-government-to-open-wider-inquiry-into-police-culture/ /news/national/jevon-mcskimming-case-the-woman-at-the-centre-of-the-sex-scandal-calls-on-government-to-open-wider-inquiry-into-police-culture/ The woman at the centre of the Jevon McSkimming scandal has urged the government to open a wider inquiry into police culture.  She had sent hundreds of anonymous emails over years, alleging the former deputy police commissioner was a sexual predator who had groomed her.  While McSkimming had admitted a consensual affair with the much younger woman - she was 21 at the time, he was 42 - he denied the allegations and claimed she was motivated by revenge.  For years, this narrative was accepted by McSkimming’s supervisors.  So instead of investigating the woman’s serious accusations, the police used the anonymous emails as evidence to prosecute the woman for an alleged campaign to destroy his career.  She was arrested and charged under the Harmful Digital Communications Act, placed under restrictive bail conditions and silenced by wide-ranging suppression orders for nearly 18 months.  The gagging orders were put in place ostensibly to protect the reputation of McSkimming, one of the top candidates to replace outgoing Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.  But the failure of the highest-ranking police officers in New Zealand to investigate her repeated allegations against McSkimming was condemned in a scathing report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority in November.  Her identity is protected by suppression orders but the young woman is referred to as Ms Z in the IPCA report.  “I’ve been bullied into silence,” Ms Z told the Herald in an exclusive interview.  “No matter what I said, no one was really interested to know whether there was any truth to the allegations.  “My life has been so damaged by this … it’s an ongoing nightmare.”  The fallout from the IPCA report, which made findings of serious misconduct against senior police officers, has been seismic.  Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster is currently on leave from his new government job, while his successor Richard Chambers has apologised to the young woman on behalf of the organisation.  “She was ignored and badly let down,” Chambers said. “That was unacceptable.”  A young woman, Ms Z, alleges that former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming groomed her for sex at a sports club. McSkimming says the relationship was a mutual and consensual affair. Image / 九一星空无限 illustration  Senior officers have since left the force under a cloud, others are under employment investigation for bringing the police into disrepute.  In a bid to restore the public’s battered trust and confidence in the police, the Government has agreed to implement all the IPCA recommendations to increase scrutiny of poor behaviour.  This will include the establishment of an Inspector-General position.  While the entire episode has been distressing, Ms Z is grateful for the efforts of the IPCA to expose how McSkimming had manipulated the system to continue his rise up the ranks.  Sir Brian Roche, the head of the Public Services Commission, went so far as to call him a “devious liar”. Ms Z was also heartened by the public support for her and the response from the government to improve scrutiny of the police.  But in the wake of the IPCA report - and a subsequent audit which uncovered 20 cases of potential misuse of police devices - Ms Z believed that the government should open a more powerful inquiry into police culture.  “I saw at the recent Police College graduation, Richard Chambers effectively said ‘I just want to move on’, repeatedly,” Ms Z said.  “But there is some concerning behaviour in the wider police which needs more scrutiny. The police need to change their attitudes.”  However, the Government has been reluctant to open a wider inquiry.  Both the Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Attorney-General Judith Collins, who is also the minister in charge of the Public Services Commission, have said they believe the IPCA report was thorough enough.  But the McSkimming c... Mon, 01 Dec 2025 18:11:16 Z /news/world/trump-offers-maduro-exile-as-us-military-build-up-around-venezuela-grows/ /news/world/trump-offers-maduro-exile-as-us-military-build-up-around-venezuela-grows/ The United States has offered Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the chance to leave his country for Russia or elsewhere, amid heightened fears of imminent US military action.  President Donald Trump sharply escalated his threats against Venezuela by warning Saturday that the country’s airspace should be considered “closed,” while the US military maintains a significant presence in the region.  Though Trump has not publicly threatened to use force against Maduro, he said in recent days that efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking “by land” would begin “very soon”.  Maduro has said he views the US military presence in the Caribbean as a precursor to regime change.  “By the way, we gave Maduro an opportunity to leave. We said he could leave and go to Russia or he could go to another country,” Markwayne Mullin, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN’s “State of the Union” talk show.  When asked whether Trump was planning to attack Venezuela, the senator from Oklahoma said: “No, he’s made it very clear we’re not going to put troops into Venezuela. What we’re trying to do is protect our own shores”.  Since September, US air strikes have targeted alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 83 people.  Washington claims the leftist Maduro heads an alleged drug cartel.  Maduro “is an illegitimate leader who has been indicted for drug trafficking in US courts and maintains control of Venezuela by a reign of terror”, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump supporter, said Saturday on X.  “President Trump’s strong commitment to end this madness in Venezuela will save countless American lives and will give the beautiful people of Venezuela a new lease on life. I hear Turkey and Iran are lovely this time of year…”  The steady US military build-up has seen the world’s largest aircraft carrier deployed to Caribbean waters, while American fighter jets and bombers have repeatedly flown off the Venezuelan coast in recent days.  The New York Times reported Friday that Trump and Maduro had discussed a possible meeting, while The Wall Street Journal said Saturday that the conversation also included conditions of amnesty if Maduro were to step down.  - Agence France-Presse  Mon, 01 Dec 2025 07:49:09 Z /news/crime/tom-phillips-case-suppression-continues-as-media-fights-to-lift-court-restrictions/ /news/crime/tom-phillips-case-suppression-continues-as-media-fights-to-lift-court-restrictions/ Media organisations are challenging strict restrictions that were made in the Family Court relating to aspects of the Tom Phillips case.  Phillips’ mother Julia sought an injunction in the High Court relating to details of the case after her son was shot dead by police and his children were found in deep Waitomo bush on September 8.  That injunction prevented several details of the case from being reported.  Then, on September 15, a Family Court judge made orders that further restricted publication.  Now, 九一星空无限 and Stuff have started fighting those orders by seeking an application in the High Court at Hamilton for a judicial review.  The two-day hearing is before Justice Layne Harvey but the majority of the details can’t be reported on, only the fact that a hearing is taking place.  Family Court Judge Garry Collin previously made the following suppression orders:  Any person involved in the Family Court proceeding, including anyone from NZ Police and Oranga Tamariki, cannot publish or communicate any information in any form that discloses “information” about the children.  Any media organisation or publisher, including major New Zealand companies, cannot publish or communicate any information, nor can they capture or publish photos or film of the children beyond those that existed before December 9, 2021. This means images and videos of the children since their abduction are now off-limits.  The order restrains anyone from publishing “any documentary, film, or book that refers to the children”.  No one may film or photograph any home the children live in, any of their caregivers, or any educational or community facility that they attend.  The order is to remain in force until further order of the Family Court or High Court, meaning it will stay in place indefinitely unless one of the judges decides to lift it.  Meanwhile, the Government recently announced it will hold an inquiry into the case to investigate whether government agencies took all practicable steps to protect the safety and welfare of the Phillips children.  Attorney-General Judith Collins said it would reflect the “significant public interest” in the case and “concern for the children’s welfare over the almost four years they were missing”.  Collins said the inquiry, to be held in private, would “establish the facts and determine whether agencies could take steps to prevent or resolve similar situations more quickly and effectively in the future”.  The terms of reference would focus on “the privacy and welfare of these especially vulnerable children in mind”.  “The inquiry will therefore be conducted in private and without public hearings. It must also respect the independence of the courts and will not include findings on judicial decisions.”  Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at 九一星空无限 for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.    Mon, 01 Dec 2025 07:32:57 Z /news/national/two-children-critically-injured-in-state-highway-1-crash-near-wellsford-auckland/ /news/national/two-children-critically-injured-in-state-highway-1-crash-near-wellsford-auckland/ Two children have been rushed to Auckland’s Starship Hospital after a serious crash in Wellsford, north of Auckland. State Highway 1 (SH1) between SH16 and Davies Rd is closed after the crash this afternoon. Hato Hone St John said three ambulances, two rapid response vehicles, two operations managers and a helicopter were dispatched about 4.35pm. “One person in a critical condition was airlifted to Starship Hospital, while another in a critical condition was also taken to Starship Hospital,” a spokesperson said. “One person in a serious condition was taken to Auckland City Hospital while one person in a moderate condition was taken to North Shore Hospital.” NZTA Waka Kotahi said northbound traffic could detour via Davies Rd andSH16,southbound drivers should reverse and expect delays. Police said the Serious Crash Unit had been notified, and the road was closed for a scene examination. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 07:23:08 Z /news/auckland/wayne-brown-unveils-79-auckland-rates-increase-to-pay-for-city-rail-link-running-costs/ /news/auckland/wayne-brown-unveils-79-auckland-rates-increase-to-pay-for-city-rail-link-running-costs/ Auckland households face a 7.9% rate rise next year, primarily to fund operating costs for the$5.5 billion City Rail Link when it opens for passengers. The increase will cover the $235 million annual cost of operating the new underground rail service, and is the largest rate rise since Auckland Council was formed in 2010. For the average household, already strained by the cost‑of‑living crisis, annual rates will climb from $4023 to $4341, a weekly cost of $83. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown’s rates announcement came shortly after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed at his post‑Cabinet press conference this afternoon, alongside Local Government Minister Simon Watts, that the Government will introduce a rates cap of 2% to 4% from January 2027. The cap excludes water charges and non-rate revenue such as fees and other charges. “Ratepayers are fed up,” said Luxon, saying some communities had faced regular double-digit increases and the Government expected councils to demonstrate fiscal prudence. Auckland’s proposed 7.9% rate increase is contained in Brown’s mayoral proposal for next year’s budget and is in line with the rate increases in the council’s long-term plan. After next year, rates are set to rise by 3.5% each year. Brown said his proposal was focused on progressing and finishing what the council started last term – transport reform, governance improvement and value for money. “This proposal sets direction for the year ahead – consolidating what we have achieved and focusing our resources on what matters most. It keeps faith with Aucklanders, maintains our contract with the community, and ensures we are ready for the next long-term plan [in 2027],” he said. Brown acknowledged the 7.9% average household rates rise was higher than he would have liked, but said it reflected the costs of the City Rail Link, a project he has criticised for blowouts and delays, but now sees as vital to reinvigorating Auckland and driving economic growth. The $235m bill to run the CRL includes maintenance costs, interest on debt to fund construction, depreciation, facilities such as new stations, track access charges from KiwiRail, and running more services. As well as the proposed rate rise in the budget, there is a $50m budget gap that officers are developing options to address, and an extra $15m for the 21 local boards under a fairer funding review. There is a savings target of $106m and asset sales of $34m, with Brown expressing disappointment at progress made in this area. Under the transport reforms, Auckland Council will become the road controlling authority for the city from March. Photo / Dean Purcell Brown said he expected the Local Government (Auckland Council) (Transport Governance) Amendment Bill to return control of Auckland Transport to the council would become law in March next year. This would be followed by a six-month implementation period when Auckland Transport will become responsible for public transport, and the council will be responsible for transport planning matters and the road controlling authority. “The decisions we make in the coming months will impact the daily lives of Aucklanders, who expect things to be better. If we get this right, we will deliver progressive and long-lasting improvements to transport in Auckland. “Ultimately, I want to eliminate the dumb stuff that infuriates me and ratepayers,” said the mayor. Last week, Transport Minister Chris Bishop, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown and the Auckland Mayor said the CRL would open to passengers in the second half of next year. Two sources have told the Herald the opening date is set for September. Auckland Minister Simeon Brown (left) and Transport Minister Chris Bishop aboard the first passenger train ride on the City Rail Link, in August. Auckland Transport director of public transport, Stacey van der Putten, said there was no set opening date but she was confident the new rail line would open in the second half of... Mon, 01 Dec 2025 05:49:08 Z /news/national/heavy-rain-thunderstorms-and-strong-winds-expected-as-summer-officially-begins/ /news/national/heavy-rain-thunderstorms-and-strong-winds-expected-as-summer-officially-begins/ By RNZ The start of December might mark the beginning of summer but the upcoming week is not all sunshine and clear, blue skies. MetService reports a broad range of weather including heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds and sunny spells to finish the week off. The North Island is in for a warm and humid start, while the south will have cooler temperatures throughout. The week is set to start with comparatively settled conditions, some cloud and showers for western areas, with sunny spells elsewhere. Gisborne and Hastings are making the most of their sunny start to the summer season, with temperatures expected to top out at 29 and 31C, respectively, today. On Tuesday a low is expected to develop in the Tasman Sea and move towards the country through the evening. This will bring a period of unsettled weather for many regions on Tuesday, Wednesday and into early Thursday, with heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms likely across the North Island. “That low deepens rapidly and pulls a warm, moist, sub-tropical airmass across the country during Tuesday afternoon and evening,”MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden said. “It’ll bring widespread rain, strong southwesterly winds and the risk of thunderstorms for many parts of the North Island, including Northland, Auckland and Coromandel.” While the North Island may be in for the brunt of it, the South Island gets its share of rainy weather too. A trough is expected to bring rain through Monday night and Tuesday, followed by cool southwesterlies. The upper parts of the South Island may also experience a period of heavier rain on Wednesday associated with the low to the north. The low gradually moves off to the southeast on Wednesday night, and conditions will ease behind it, before starting to clear through Thursday morning, with drier weather and some sunshine returning for many places. However, strong to gale southwesterly winds will persist, particularly for Wellington, Wairarapa, Northland and Auckland, keeping temperatures capped towards the end of the week. – RNZ Mon, 01 Dec 2025 03:00:29 Z /news/national/pharmac-defends-near-350-000-exit-payment-to-one-employee-in-same-year-ceo-resigned/ /news/national/pharmac-defends-near-350-000-exit-payment-to-one-employee-in-same-year-ceo-resigned/ Pharmac’s board chairwoman and its minister are defending an early $350,000 exit payment to one employee in the same year its former chief executive resigned. Pharmac Minister David Seymour said he was comfortable with the payment, despite not being aware of the total amount. However, he said he expects Pharmac will change how it draws up its contracts following the payout. During the drug-buying agency’s select committee appearance today, Labour’s health spokeswoman Dr Ayesha Verrall pushed Pharmac’s representatives on how one employee received “cessation benefits”totalling$347,058, a portion of which was a redundancy payment, in the 2024/25financial year. In March this year, Sarah Fitt resigned as chief executive. She faced sustained criticism during her time in the role, with many patients and advocates claiming the agency had little empathy and acted defensively when confronted under her leadership. Asked by Verrall if Fitt was the employee who received the payment, Pharmac board chairwoman Paula Bennett wouldn’t say, claiming it was an employment matter. Sarah Fitt resigned as Pharmac CEO late last year. Photo / Mark Mitchell Verrall said the payout was equal to eight months of the highest-paid employee’s salary at Pharmac. The payout was roughly inline with eight months’ worth of Fitt’s$493,000 salary in 2023/24. Questioned whether Pharmac mishandled its exit agreement with Fitt, Bennett said the agency was bound to the contract’s terms. “We negotiated that, we did everything within our powers to actually do the best for New Zealanders and New Zealand taxpayers, but that was the terms of the agreement that I inherited, and that’s what it is.” Seymour, speaking to the Herald after his select committee session, said he was aware of the payment but not its size. “If I did know, the last thing you would want would be a minister trying to insert themselves in an employment dispute and negotiate it. “I think that would be a big mistake, so I think they’ve actually handled it really well.” He wouldn’t be drawn on the size of the payment nor say who received it. “There [are] circumstances around it that, because of employment law, we’re not going to tell the world about. “Nonetheless, I think what’s really important is we’ve got a great chief executive who’s making really good work, leading a great team of people and that’s what really matters here.” Labour health spokeswoman Dr Ayesha Verrall asked questions of Pharmac's representatives today. Photo / Mark Mitchell Responding to Verrall’s questions, Seymour noted the contract was signed under the Labour-led Government in 2017. “We dealt with the situation as we found it and I think if you knew all the facts, you’d say [we] dealt with it pretty well. “If [Labour] don’t like the way it turned out, they were the ones that planted this particular seed, we just have to deal with the outcomes or the consequences of it.” The Herald has sought a response from Verrall. Asked if he expected changes to Pharmac’s employment contracts, Seymour said: “You’d be better to talk to Paula about that, but I would certainly expect so, just bear in mind I don’t run them, I just set expectations.” Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for 九一星空无限 since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 02:48:33 Z /news/national/1-killed-in-sh5-mamaku-range-crash-fire-causes-road-closure-detours-and-delays/ /news/national/1-killed-in-sh5-mamaku-range-crash-fire-causes-road-closure-detours-and-delays/ One person is dead after a crash on State Highway 5 in the Mamaku Ranges. Emergency services were called to the scene between Harwoods and Tapapa Rds about 10.45am. Earlier, police said the car caught on fire following the crash and the fire was reported to have spread to nearby vegetation. A spokesperson has since confirmed the fatality and said the road remained closed while the Serious Crash Unit examines the crash scene. NZ Transport Agency said SH5 was closed between the intersection of SH28 and SH5 and the intersection of SH5 and Maraeroa Rd. “People are advised to expect delays and take alternative routes where possible. “A detour is being put in place via SH28, SH29 and SH36 with an estimated delay of 40 to 60 minutes,” the agency said. “Trucks and heavy vehicles heading north between Rotorua and Tīrau will not be able to go past the intersection of Harwoods Rd and SH5. “A diversion for trucks and heavy vehicles is in place and drivers should follow the directions of emergency services staff.” Hato Hone St John said they were informed of the crash at 10.45am. “One ambulance and one operations manager attended.” Mon, 01 Dec 2025 02:21:54 Z /news/national/gas-bottle-thefts-whang%C4%81rei-businesses-urged-to-secure-large-lpg-cylinders/ /news/national/gas-bottle-thefts-whang%C4%81rei-businesses-urged-to-secure-large-lpg-cylinders/ A Whangārei cafe is warning other businesses to secure their gas cylinders, after being left out of pocket when its large LPG cylinder was stolen. Pure Cafe on Kaka St had to turn customers away for a time on Wednesday last week because it had no gas for cooking, after a 45kg cylinder was stolen overnight. It was the second stolen from the street in two months, with neighbouring business Kia Tupato also having one taken in October. Cafe co-owner Brendan Moore thought whoever was taking the gas cylinders was selfishly targeting small businesses. “It just comes straight out of our own pocket. It’s a pain, especially in a recession.” Moore said he noticed early on Wednesday morning the gas wasn’t working and found one of the cafe’s LPG cylinders was missing from its cage outside. Customers usually rent two cylinders at a time from their supplier, so one is available when the other one is empty. Moore said the offenders got through a locked pool fence and took the full cylinder, leaving the empty one despite this being easier to access. “It sounds like they knew what they were doing.” It is the first time Pure Cafe has had any problems with theft since starting in August 2020. Moore said supplier Gas & Tyre Whangārei were able to replace the stolen gas cylinder straight away, so the cafe could get on with cooking for its customers. Pure Cafe co-owner Angela Clements is back cooking with gas but says the theft of the cafe's 45kg gas cylinder last week was a real inconvenience. Photo / Denise Piper But it still cost several hundred dollars to replace the cylinder, plus the expense of buying a heavy chain and padlock to ensure the gas cylinders now stay put. Co-owner Angela Clements said it wasn’t worth claiming insurance on the theft but it was frustrating. The offenders appeared to have taken their time, she said. “The scary thing for me was that they needed a key to get in, they took the safety chain off the bottles, turned the other bottle off, put the safety chain back and locked the gate: it’s a bit weird and a little disconcerting.” Traffic management and security company Kia Tupato, next door to Pure Cafe, also had its full gas cylinder stolen on the night of October 11. Traffic management operations manager Anahera Haami-Stokes said the theft wasn’t noticed until the next day, when one of their team members went to take a shower and found the water was cold. Its supplier, Rockgas, was able to provide a replacement cylinder straight away but it still cost $270. Haami-Stokes also said the theft was inconvenient and not worth claiming on insurance, but Kia Tupato has also installed a heavy chain and padlock. Gas & Tyre Whangārei had four customers whose LPG gas bottles had been stolen in the past four months, and knows of other thefts through other suppliers, said store manager Greg Dolan. “I have heard of it becoming an increasing problem.” The gas cylinders are worth about $350 each and hold $150 worth of LPG, so Dolan thought they were being sold for scrap metal. He encouraged customers to make sure their cylinders are locked up securely, such as with a chain and padlock or with a secure cage, and to have a CCTV camera covering the area. Police have been contacted for comment. Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 01:46:22 Z /news/business/air-new-zealand-reveals-outcome-of-its-investigation-into-kiwi-owned-snack-supplier/ /news/business/air-new-zealand-reveals-outcome-of-its-investigation-into-kiwi-owned-snack-supplier/ Air New Zealand has revealed the outcome of its investigation into Project 32, one of its onboard snack suppliers, after allegations the company’s claim it was Kiwi-owned was misleading. The investigation was opened after New Zealand journalist David Farrier revealed on Webworm in October that the shareholders of Project 32 were Australian companies and its two directors, brothers Daniel and David Rifkin, were based in Australia. Air NZ told Webworm that Project 32 had been supplying the airline with its snacks since November 2023 across a range of domestic and international services. In an emailed statement to the Herald today, an Air New Zealand spokesperson said its review confirmed that the “New Zealand Owned” statement on Project 32’s packaging was incorrect. “While the product is supplied to Air New Zealand by a New Zealand-registered company, the business was not New Zealand-owned at the time the packaging was produced,” the statement read. It added that Project 32 has been working “openly and co-operatively” with the airline to resolve the issue and had transferred ownership to a New Zealander. Days after the initial allegations, Project 32 made New Zealander Janice Tan a company director, effectively making the snack supplier a New Zealand company. The Air NZ statement said that Project 32 is committed to updating its packaging artwork for future stock and to ongoing transparency around its charitable giving, which, according to Webworm, lacked clarity. This included moving from annual to quarterly donation cycles. “Air New Zealand will use existing stock on hand to avoid unnecessary food and packaging waste,” the statement read. “This also preserves the product’s gluten-free certification and ensures that charitable donations already committed this year can reach the communities they were intended to support. “New packaging is expected by the end of summer.” The spokesperson added that the airline has also reviewed and strengthened their processes for verifying supplier packaging and product claims to prevent similar problems from occurring again. The Herald has contacted Project 32 for comment. Varsha Anjali is a journalist in the lifestyle team at the Herald. Based in Auckland, she covers travel, culture and more. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 01:37:58 Z /news/auckland/death-of-te-anihana-pomana-referred-to-coroner-body-formally-identified/ /news/auckland/death-of-te-anihana-pomana-referred-to-coroner-body-formally-identified/ Police have formally identified the body of Te Anihana Pomana and confirmed her death has been referred to the coroner. It follows the discovery of her body in the dense Pukekohe bush on November 22. A post-mortem was carried out last week and a funeral is expected to be held in Dunedin this week. Her mother was also updated on the findings of the post-mortem last week. Auckland central area investigations manager Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend confirmed the development in the three-month disappearance. Friend said the police can advise that the body found in Pukekohe on November 22 “has been formally identified as Te Anihana Pomana”. “As always, our thoughts and sympathies are with Te Anihana’s whānau and friends at this difficult time.” He said Pomana’s death had been referred to the coroner. The 25-year-old was last seen leaving the SkyCity Hotel in Auckland on August 21 and her last confirmed sighting was at 5.16am on Victoria St West outside Seven Poke Asian eatery, heading towards Victoria Park. Pomana’s family have previously criticised police for the way they announced a body had been found. “The media releases were done without official confirmation with formal identification,” a Facebook post linked to the family said. “Whānau hadn’t got the chance to inform many close to Te Anihana. “Apologies to anyone that has had to read and find this information out in this manner.” A Givealittle page set up to assist with the search for Pomana said her body would be brought to Dunedin once it was confirmed it was her body found in Pukekohe. “Our new focus for this page,” the page said. “Donations will be used to cover these transportation and funeral costs.“ The missing woman’s sister, Ebony Pomana, described the 25-year-old as a beautiful person who was a “well-educated and driven” individual. “I love you and I’m only here to find you,” she told the Herald last month. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 01:19:55 Z /news/national/yellow-legged-hornet-nz-has-a-narrow-window-to-stop-it-here-s-how-everyone-can-help-the-conversation/ /news/national/yellow-legged-hornet-nz-has-a-narrow-window-to-stop-it-here-s-how-everyone-can-help-the-conversation/ The first Asian yellow-legged hornets observed in Auckland in winter were two old and slow males. Many people were concerned and worried. Now, at the end of spring, what we’ve seen is a potential nightmare. Over recent weeks, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) response team has discovered around two dozen spring queens and small nests across the suburb of Glenfield. Unless New Zealand rapidly scales up its search effort, we could soon be confronting an incursion far tougher and costlier to stamp out. Or worse, we could end up with this pest as a permanent resident. Overseas, nest densities can exceed 12 per square kilometre. These nests can produce as many as 500 new queens in autumn. If our current incursion stemmed from a single nest that produced hundreds of queens, the two dozen queens and small nests detected this spring may be only a small fraction of what is actually out there. An incursion of such a scale would spell particular trouble for our honey bees, which can make up as much as 70% of this hornet’s diet. In parts of Europe where the species has established itself, they have wiped out 30% to 80% of hives. People are at risk, too. Those who approach nests too closely risk severe stings known to cause intense pain, rapid swelling and, in some cases, life-threatening allergic reactions. People have died after being stung by these hornets. In dollar terms, the cost to countries – in control and lost productivity – can be in the tens of millions. Is New Zealand doing enough while it still can? We need more boots on the ground New queens are still being found in Auckland, and the capture rate is increasing. That could be due to better monitoring, bigger nests or more eyes on the ground. Whatever the reason, the increasing captures are a major concern. The more we search, the more hornets we find. That trend must reverse. The ideal scenario is for teams to spend days – and weeks – searching without finding anything new. Only then could we be confident that hornet populations are being effectively controlled. Clearly, we are not there yet. A queen yellow-legged hornet develops an embryo or primary nest (pictured). Worker hornets raised in the primary nest build a larger, secondary nest during the summer. Photo / Ministry for Primary Industries MPI teams are spending long hours searching on the ground and have increased staff numbers. They are doing an excellent job and deserve real credit. But it is clear more searchers are needed. This would allow coverage of a much wider area, and there is debate about how far the search zone should extend. MPI has focused on detection areas of 200metresaround each nest, supported by traps out to five kilometres, in line with international experience and guidance. But other evidence and opinion from Europe suggest this may not be enough. Year-to-year observations show new nests can appear kilometres from previous sites, while worst-case early invasion spread rates have been estimated at around 30kilometresa year, accelerating to 75 to 112kilometreseach year once populations become established. If these European patterns apply even partially to New Zealand, the search radius must expand dramatically, requiring many more people in the field and a careful watch from the public in the wider region around Auckland. Eradication is the goal The only successful eradication of the yellow-legged hornet occurred on Majorca, off the coast of Spain. The programme ran for six years across an area of about 35 by 25kilometres. Success depended on a mix of citizen reports, active nest searching by volunteers and government staff, and mechanical nest removal. After three years of finding and destroying nests, Majorca recorded three consecutive years with no detections. This shows eradication is achievable over a substantial area. New Zealand also has an advantage with toxic bait such as Vespex, which is locally designed for invasive wasp control and... Mon, 01 Dec 2025 01:14:41 Z /news/national/man-injured-in-a-car-accident-was-left-paralysed-by-botched-chest-drain/ /news/national/man-injured-in-a-car-accident-was-left-paralysed-by-botched-chest-drain/ A man who arrived at Auckland Hospital’s emergency department with serious injuries from a car accident ended up with a life-altering injury from a surgical procedure that went wrong. The man was left paralysed and with a suspected mild brain injury following a “chaotic” run of events during efforts to insert a drain in his chest to remove fluid, which resulted in him losing about four litres of blood. Health NZ has acknowledged the distress and impact of the “devastating and tragic incident”. The organisation and a surgeon have been found to have breached a section of the Health Consumers’ Code for failing to provide services with reasonable care and skill. Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell said the serious incident resulted in the man sustaining a life-altering injury. In a report released today, Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) Vanessa Caldwell commended Health NZ for the steps taken since to address what happened, and for recommending that the patient and his family make a complaint to the HDC for independent review. “Nevertheless, a serious incident resulted in [the man] sustaining a life-altering injury,” she said in her report. No evidence of spinal injury in car accident The man was rushed to Auckland Hospital’s emergency department with multiple internal injuries and broken bones, but no evidence of a cervical spine fracture following a car accident in 2022. He was then admitted to a critical care unit and then transferred to the general surgery ward under the trauma service. Doctors were concerned about the man’s ongoing increased respiratory and heart rates. A scan showed moderate build-up of fluid in his chest and lungs, which a senior trauma specialist said needed to be drained. Health NZ policy around the management of the procedure stated that, unless in an emergency, all chest drains for fluid aspiration should be guided by real-time radiology imaging. Caldwell said for reasons Health NZ had been unable to determine at review, the imaging request could not be accommodated by the interventional radiology team. As an alternative, a chest ultrasound was scheduled to indicate where the drain should be inserted, but it didn’t go ahead because the man was in too much pain to be moved. The procedure was rescheduled for the following day. ‘Seldinger’ technique at bedside A decision was then made to insert the chest drain at the bedside using what was known as the Seldinger technique. The method involved inserting a hollow needle into a body cavity. A round-tipped guidewire was then inserted through the needle, which was then withdrawn, leaving the guidewire in place. A catheter was then placed over the guidewire into the cavity. It was described as the preferred method in this instance because it was less painful and less invasive. A trauma registrar, under the supervision of two trauma fellows, made two attempts at inserting the chest drain but the guidewire and chest tubes did not pass smoothly. There was no nurse present, despite a Health NZ management policy which stated a nurse should be present to help and to monitor pain, distress, and clinical deterioration. The two trauma fellows, who were a surgeon and a physician, then took over, and dark, “old-looking” blood was aspirated. While suturing the drain to the man’s chest wall, he became “very sweaty”. Code red turns to code blue The emergency bell was activated, and a nurse noted that the man had high blood pressure and a faster-than-normal heart rate. The chest drain collection bottle had filled with blood and was clamped by the second trauma fellow to prevent further loss. The man’s condition deteriorated and a code red medical emergency was called. Caldwell said it was described as “chaotic, noisy, and without a clear code leader” or any detailed communication or indication of the volume of blood the man had lost. The on-call trauma senior medical officer upgraded the situation to code blue, meaning the pat... Mon, 01 Dec 2025 01:13:53 Z /news/national/south-otago-logging-truck-crash-driver-airlifted-with-serious-injuries/ /news/national/south-otago-logging-truck-crash-driver-airlifted-with-serious-injuries/ A driver has been airlifted to hospital in a serious condition after his logging truck rolled off the road in South Otago this morning. Police said they were advised just after 11am that a logging truck had gone off the road on Coe Rd, between Paterson Rd and Hillend Rd, Stony Creek. Hato Hone St John sent an ambulance, operations manager, rapid response unit, and helicopter to the crash. The driver was airlifted to Dunedin Hospital in a serious condition. Earlier, Fire and Emergency New Zealand shift manager Ryan Dawson said multiple crews from Balclutha, Milton and Roslyn were on the scene. Dawson said they were working to extricate the person. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 01:02:12 Z /news/business/50m-tiwai-plan-to-process-toxic-smelter-waste-on-site/ /news/business/50m-tiwai-plan-to-process-toxic-smelter-waste-on-site/ Rio Tinto’s New Zealand Aluminium Smelters says it will spend $50 million on processing spent cell liner at its Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in Southland. The company said it was a big step forward in its long-term remediation programme. Highly toxic spent cell liner (SCL) had been stored at Mataura before a public outcry led to the company removing the material in 2021. SCL is a byproduct of the aluminium production process. Historically, it has been stored undercover in sheds and in a specially designed encapsulated pad on site. Since January 2024, New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) has worked with specialist processor Regain to safely treat SCL in Australia before it is reused in the global cement industry. “Our new facility at Tiwai Point means this processing will now take place in New Zealand, reducing the need for this processing to happen overseas and forming a key part of the long-term remediation plan for the Tiwai site,” Rio Tinto-NZAS acting general manager Matt Black said. Black said that SCL previously stored in the encapsulated pad would be progressively excavated, processed on-site and exported for reuse. The project will create 20 jobs during construction and six during operations. All consents for the facility have been received and construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026. Once operational, the plant will be run by Regain Services, which also operates a similar facility at the Tomago smelter in New South Wales. “Processing SCL on site is a milestone in delivering on the remediation commitments we have made to Ngāi Tahu and our community,” Black said. “The initiative builds on the remediation plan co-designed with Ngāi Tahu, guiding how legacy materials at the Tiwai site are removed, monitored and recycled, and how the whenua [land] is restored over time,” he said. The company says Tiwai is one of the world’s lowest-carbon aluminium manufacturers. Rio Tinto managing director of Pacific operations, Armando Torres, said the investment underscored the company’s commitment to the remediation programme. “Building a dedicated processing facility at the smelter is another positive step forward in the remediation of the Tiwai site and reflects our shared commitment to working in partnership to protect our environment for future generations,” Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu group head of strategy and environment Jacqui Caine said. The remediation programme has already seen more than 36,000 tonnes of SCL exported for reuse since 2024, alongside major progress in returning ouvea premix and processing historical dross. SCL is the carbon and refractory material that lines the inside of aluminium reduction cells and must be periodically replaced during the smelting process. When removed, it becomes a regulated byproduct because it can contain carbon, fluorides and other compounds that require specialist handling. The aluminium smelter at Tiwai is 100% owned by Rio Tinto. Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:56:41 Z /news/national/youth-vaping-rates-halve-within-two-years-negligible-number-smoking-survey/ /news/national/youth-vaping-rates-halve-within-two-years-negligible-number-smoking-survey/ By Pretoria Gordon RNZ A survey of more than 30,000 of New Zealand’s Year 10 students has indicated that the perception of vaping is changing. The number of teenagers who vaped regularly – once a month or more – had tripled between 2019 and 2021, peaking at 20.2%. But the latest Action on Smoking and Health survey has found that number has halved since then. “Vaping is not as cool as it used to be,” chairperson Emeritus Professor Robert Beaglehole told RNZ. The number of teenagers who vape on a daily basis has also dropped to 7.1%, down from “peak vape” of 10.1% in 2022. Fewer than a third had ever tried vaping too, Beaglehole said, “which is great news”. He believed regulation had also made an impact – vaping products were widely available for teenagers until 2020, when the Government banned the sale to those under 18 – but feared that over-regulation could push people back to smoking. “Vaping helps adult smokers quit and is much, much less harmful than smoking.” Beaglehole said the country was raising a smoke-free generation, with a “negligible” number – about 1% – of young people smoking on a daily basis since 2021. “This is a major global success which we should be celebrating ... we are leading the way. “Youth smoking has almost disappeared, and vaping continues to fall.” However, Otago University associate professor Andrew Waa feared teenagers had switched to oral nicotine products instead. “Rather than talking about a smokefree future, we need to start thinking about a nicotine-free future for our young people,” he said. Beaglehole has also called for more to be done to address the vaping rates for rangatahi Māori. The last year had seen a significant decrease, he said, but 16.5% of Māori teenagers still vaped on a daily basis. Waa said vaping products were too accessible for young Māori and Pacific – and the rates were “an entirely preventable inequity”. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:51:15 Z /news/national/e-scooter-ignites-late-night-blaze-inside-christchurch-home/ /news/national/e-scooter-ignites-late-night-blaze-inside-christchurch-home/ An e-scooter has burst into flames, igniting a blaze inside a Christchurch home. Fire and Emergency said crews responded to reports of the house fire in Woolston just after 11pm last night. Shift manager Ryan Dawson said, upon arrival, crews found one e-scooter “well ablaze” inside the property. While no fire investigator responded, Dawson said it is unclear how the scooter caught fire. The blaze was extinguished soon after crews arrived, and they left the scene after midnight. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:41:40 Z /news/national/so-aggressive-warnings-of-rise-in-children-getting-type-2-diabetes/ /news/national/so-aggressive-warnings-of-rise-in-children-getting-type-2-diabetes/ Diabetes NZ is sounding the alarm over a new and “very challenging” uptick in children with type 2 diabetes. The charity has just finished its Diabetes Action Month, in an effort to get people at risk of the chronic metabolic disease to make an intervention for the sake of their own health. But they’re warning that while people are aware young people can get type 1, they can also get type 2 – and it’s becoming more prevalent. “It’s an intergenerational one, and this is a new condition which is very challenging because it’s very aggressive,” Diabetes NZ CEO Heather Verry told 九一星空无限talk ZB’s Real Life with John Cowan on Sunday night. “Years ago, type 2 was something you saw in adults … [now] we’re seeing children at the age of 8 get it. People have commonly called type 2 ‘lifestyle [diabetes]’, that’s certainly not the case for an 8-year-old. “Generally, what the evidence is showing is that the mother has type 2 diabetes and that has become genetic – that’s what we call ‘intergenerational’.” While diabetic parents with poor diets may be contributing to their children’s likelihood of getting type 2 diabetes by passing their bad eating habits on, Verry told Cowan that’s not the entire story. “It’s a combined thing; they [children with type 2] are not always the children that are the most overweight in the classroom by any means… it can be culture and lifestyle.” The potential dangers of early onset type 2 diabetes are severe. Those with the condition are at greater risk of going blind, of having cardiovascular issues, renal disease, a stroke, or requiring a lower limb amputation. “Unless it’s picked up really early and some intervention and supports [are] given to those kids, because it’s so aggressive, the chances are they could well end up being in the renal unit with kidney disease by the time they’re 18,” Verry warned. “[Type 2] is the slowly moving one; you get pre-diabetes and then diabetes and then, if you don’t manage your diabetes, that’s when you lead to these complications. “Of course, if you’re getting diabetes at 50, the chances of getting the complications are probably not quite so real as they are when you’re getting diabetes when you’re eight.” While our health records show about 350,000 are diagnosed with diabetes, there are estimated to be about 1 million New Zealanders who are undiagnosed or have pre-diabetes, Verry told Real Life. “I’m often asked to go and talk to different clubs like Lions Clubs and Rotary, and it’s always interesting how, when they start to ask questions, you start to figure out how many actually have got diabetes,” she said. “I try and wake them up and say, ‘Are you aware you need to keep checking your feet? A small tiny sore on your foot could end up with you having a lower limb amputation and your life expectancy after that is not that long, it can be five years.’ “They react quite hard. They say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is really serious’. And I say, ‘Yes, you do need to take it seriously. You can’t just pull the wool over your eyes and pretend it’s not there. You need to actually do something about it so you can lead a healthier life’.” Verry says telltale signs of diabetes are being frequently thirsty, going to the toilet more regularly, feeling lethargic, and sometimes, unexpectedly losing weight. She says New Zealand is tracking towards a much higher prevalence of diabetes in the future, especially given our population is ageing. “We did a study some years ago with PwC in partnership with other organisations, and the results showed that the prevalence of diabetes type 2 was going to increase between 70-90% over 20 years,” Verry told Cowan. “Since we’ve done that, the data is showing that we’re certainly sitting at the 90%. And this is a global issue, this is not just New Zealand – it does mean that countries have to take some really serious interventions.” One of those interventions is being more conscious of food choices – which Verry acknowledges can be a hard thin... Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:34:42 Z /news/sport/mclaren-chief-admits-strategy-blunder-costs-qatar-win-and-podium/ /news/sport/mclaren-chief-admits-strategy-blunder-costs-qatar-win-and-podium/ McLaren team chief Andrea Stella admitted his team made a costly strategic blunder at this morning’s Qatar Grand Prix that cost his title-chasing drivers a victory and a podium finish. McLaren’s decision not to pit under an early safety car intervention when every other team pitted both drivers wrecked their hopes as Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen took control and claimed his 70th career victory. The Dutchman moved within 12 points of Lando Norris at the top of the drivers’ title race, six ahead of luckless Australian Oscar Piastri, who looked certain to win until derailed by McLaren’s blunder. “It was a decision not to pit and in fairness we didn’t expect everyone else to pit,” said Stella. “Obviously, once everyone pitted, it makes that the right thing to do. “When you have the lead car, you don’t know what the others are going to do. The main reason was related to not expecting everyone else to pit, so it was a decision. “And as a matter of fact, it wasn’t the correct decision.” Lando Norris leads Max Verstappen at the Grand Prix of Qatar. Photo / Red Bull His mea culpa on behalf of McLaren offered little solace to his drivers, particularly Piastri, who could have moved within seven points of Norris ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix if he had won. Norris said, “It’s tough. We just have to have faith in the team to make the right decision. “It was a gamble and we were the ones who took the gamble in a way. Now it’s the wrong decision and we shouldn’t have done it – Oscar lost the win and I lost P2, so we didn’t do a good job today. “We’ve done plenty of good jobs in other races. We won the constructors’ six races ago because of that. So, not our finest day, but that’s life.” Piastri said he felt speechless and struggled with the outcome. “I drove the best race that I could, the fastest that I could. There was nothing left out there. I’ve tried my best, but it wasn’t to be tonight, unfortunately. “In hindsight, it is pretty obvious what we would have done. I am sure we will discuss it as a team. It’s not all bad as it has been a good weekend too – the pace has been very strong, but it is a bit tough to swallow at the moment.” Both drivers and Stella made clear they were expecting to review the race and the decision-making before reaching any conclusions about their approach to the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend where Norris can clinch the title if he finishes on the podium. Kiwi ace Liam Lawson strengthened his case for keeping a Racing Bulls contract next year when he finished ninth, after qualifying in 12th. – AFP Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:25:30 Z /news/auckland/security-guards-bystander-attacked-during-alleged-shoplifting-incident-at-auckland-mall/ /news/auckland/security-guards-bystander-attacked-during-alleged-shoplifting-incident-at-auckland-mall/ Two women have been charged with aggravated assault after security guards and a bystander were injured attempting to foil an alleged shoplifting incident at an Auckland mall. Police were called to Glenfield Mall at around 1.30pm on Friday, responding to reports that security guards had been assaulted while trying to stop the alleged shoplifters from leaving an unidentified store. Two security guards and a member of the public were violently assaulted, with two of the victims requiring hospital treatment. Acting Senior Sergeant Alex Waworis, the relieving Waitematā East Communities Manager, said police quickly responded to the incident and arrived at the scene within minutes. But as the alleged offenders had already left Glenfield Mall, officers then had to track them down. The women were found close by and taken into custody, with the allegedly shoplifted items subsequently returned to the targeted store, said Waworis. “We are pleased to have apprehended these alleged offenders and hold them to account for their actions. “This type of offending is unacceptable, and police will not tolerate it in our community,” he said. The two women were due to appear in court later this week to face a range of charges. Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:19:50 Z