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Newstalk ZB
With a straight down the middle approach, Larry Williams Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.
China has asked its domestic airlines to temporarily ground the Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, following the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board, Beijing news agency Caijing reports. China Southern Airlines has 16 of the aircraft, with another 34 on order, according to data through January on Boeing's website. China Eastern Airlines has 13, while Air China has 14, Boeing says. Other Chinese airlines to have bought the Max include Hainan Airlines Holdings and Shandong Airlines, the data show. Cayman Airways has announced the suspension of all flights using the new Max 8 aircrafts. A statement from the carrier's chief executive O Fabian Whorms in response to the Ethiopian Airlines crash said safety of passengers and crew was paramount. "While the cause of this sad loss is undetermined at this time, we stand by our commitment to putting the safety of our passengers and crew first by maintaining complete and undoubtable safe operations, and as such, we have taken the decision to suspend operations of both our new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, effective from Monday March 11, 2019, until more information is received," Whorms said. Cayman Airways is currently working in co-ordination with both Boeing and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands to monitor the investigation into Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. The pilot of the plane, with 157 people on board, reported difficulties and asked to turn back before the fiery crash that left no survivors. "We offer our valued customers our continued assurance that all prudent and necessary actions required for the safe operation of our Max 8s will be accomplished before the aircraft are returned to service," Whorms said. The Max 8 was involved in a deadly Lion Air crash off Jakarta, Indonesia in October, killing all 189 people on board. Both were run by well-known airlines with strong safety records. The Lion Air flight crashed 13 minutes after takeoff, while the Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed just six minutes into its journey. The new Boeing model was recently unveiled to great fanfare by the US aviation giant. Its first flight was less than two years ago.
Police haven't ruled out foul play as they continue the search for missing Auckland man Denver Chance. Chance has not been seen or heard from in 11 days since he drove south along Auckland's Southern Motorway towards Karaka. It emerged on Wednesday there had reported sightings of his red Nissan Skyline in Waihi, while a Facebook user posted on a page seeking help to locating Chance that they may have seen him in the local New World supermarket. In an interview this afternoon, detective senior sergeant Megan Goldie said it was still a missing person's case and police were following all avenues to try to find out what has happened to the missing man. Goldie said there were a number of reasons Chance could be missing, and foul play was still a possibility. "But we are keeping an open mind and making sure we cover all avenues," she said. Goldie said there had been no positive sightings on Chance himself in Waihi, and the car identified was "almost identical" to his Nissan Skyline. "We are unable to conclusively say that the vehicle in Waihi is Denver's," she said. "It could be, but it also might not be." Goldie said his disappearance wasn't reported immediately because "he is an adult and capable of looking after himself so the alarm wasn't raised until a couple of days had gone by". "There was no cause for concern initially," she said. The fact he hadn't made contact with his family and friends, and hadn't used his phone or bank accounts in the time elevated the concern. Goldie said it was not regular behaviour for Chance to head away without letting anyone know. "In the past if he was going overseas he would definitely let them know that he was going and that he would be away for a set period of time," she said. She said his family had been "amazing" and did a lot of work themselves looking for Chance. "We just really encourage anybody that has any information on Denver, where he might be, where his car might be, to contact us," she said. She said no one had popped up in the investigation as being a real person on interest. She said there was also no evidence as to why Chance may have been in the Karaka area. Police continue to trawl through hours of CCTV footage as part if the investigation.
Around 40,000 rural householders will need to leave the couch (nay, the house) to watch the full gamut of Rugby World Cup matches this year. That's because their broadband won't be good enough to stream the games. That was the message from the bosses of Crown Infrastructure Partners, the body tasked with providing ultra-fast and rural broadband to New Zealanders. Quizzed by MPs on the Transport and Infrastructure select committee, CIP's chair Simon Allen and chief executive Graham Mitchell said the second Rural Broadband Initiative rollout was still in its early stages, but had already seen 31,000 households hooked up. That will have increased by the time the World Cup kicks off in Japan on September 20. However an estimated 40,000 households, many who still have only dial-up level internet speeds, will have to look at finding a pub or a friend with better broadband, Mitchell said. However, technology expert Paul Spain told Larry Williams that he is doubtful that the figure will still be that high by September. "I've heard that we're going to have some reasonably fast satellite broadband in New Zealand by the time the Rugby World CUp rolls around, and that potentially will fill in some of those gaps." Spain says they won't know how good it will be until it arrives, but predicts it will be good enough to stream sporting matches. Only seven RWC games will be screened free-to-air on TVNZ; the others will be available only by streaming them on a broadband or mobile connection via telecommunications company Spark. Asked by MP Paul Goldsmith whether the network would cope with a huge increase in traffic with everyone streaming world cup games, Allen was optimistic. "The ultra-fast broadband wholesale fibre network has ample capacity. It will well and truly cope with the increase. And the rural networks will be engineered to cope with it, though not all the rural build will be finished by then." Less certain is how the broadband retailer networks will handle the stress - particularly Spark, which hasn't had to deal with such potentially large spikes in traffic before. Spain says there is a potential for things to go wrong, but thinks Spark can handle the task. "I think if anyone can get it right, Spark should be able to do so. They've been prepping for this for some time." He says that our internet is better than the "fairly average" network in Australia, and we cannot compare our network to theirs. He says that the number of those missing out is probably comparable to the number of people that could not have afforded it on Sky Sports. A spokeperson for Spark says that speed you need to watch the world cup depends on the device. "While the vast majority of New Zealand households will be able to watch Spark Sport, we've always been clear that there will be a small minority whose broadband isn't streaming ready. That just a reality of NZ broadband infrastructure, that we've been open about from the day we won the Rugby World Cup rights," a spokesperson for Spark says. The telco is set to reveal its full World Cup plan, including how it will cater to those without ultrafast broadband, during April. "We know that New Zealanders have a very special place in their hearts for the All Blacks and the Rugby World Cup, so this is top of mind as we firm up plans for how New Zealanders can watch critical games," the spokeswoman says.
National is accusing the Government of wasting taxpayers' money on using Tax Working Group chairman Sir Michael Cullen as a "hired gun," after his contract was extended. But Cullen – who was also once a Labour Party Finance Minister – rubbished the claim and said he was only staying on to "defend the integrity of the report". Finance Minister Grant Robertson yesterday confirmed Cullen's contract had been extended. He could be paid more than $1000 a day in the role. He said this was pro rata, so it related to the number of hours he worked – this was a standard rate, Robertson said. "He certainly won't be a full day's work every day," he said. He would be paid for things such as media interviews and would not be able to charge for more than six hours of work a day. Robertson added that Cullen was still in the role because: "there is clearly a lot of interest in the Tax Working Group's report and he needs to be in a position to respond to the questions that are asked". In the weeks since the final report was released, Cullen had released two press statements rebuking claims that had been made about the potential impact of the proposed capital gains tax (CGT). One was in response to National's claims about how a CGT would impact KiwiSaver, the other was about National's claims on how it would impact farmers. Act Leader David Seymour told Larry Williams that Michael Cullen likes to call people "rich pricks", but he could join the club with this pay package. "If he's being kept on because the report has been misrepresented, then why doesn't the Government also extend the contracts of the Tax Working Group who were opposed to the Capital Gains Tax?" He says that the Government is simply worried about how the report has been received. "What is the purpose of having a government if they need to bring in hired help to help make the case for their own policy which they haven't even decided yet?" Seymour says the Prime Minister can't afford to back down from delivering an outcome by the end of April. National's finance spokeswoman Amy Adams accused Cullen of being "overtly political" in his statements. "Paying a deeply political Labour Party grandee with taxpayers' dollars to engage in political debate, and effectively be a hired gun to attack the Opposition, is outrageous," she said. Adams said Robertson and the Government had been missing in action in the CGT debate and getting Cullen to defend the report for them was "outrageous". The Government said when it received the report in early February that it would provide a full response in April. Speaking to the Herald, Cullen shrugged off accusations of partisanship. He said he had no particular definition of his role now, but it does include "defending the integrity of the report against people misrepresenting it". "There's so much misrepresentation going on, and I'm very pleased my contract has been extended, as I'm not going to get into too much attacking, but I am going to say 'look, that's not what the report says'." This included defending the Tax Working Group's processes, its conclusions and its work as a whole. "It is unfortunate that a number of people seem to have difficulty actually describing the report in terms of what it actually said." The National Party has been in overdrive with its criticism of the potential impacts of the CGT Cullen recommended. He said the misrepresentation was not just from National and it had, in fact, been fairly widespread. "There is so much misrepresentation going on I'm very pleased my contract is being extended." He rejected Adams claims that his contract being extended was an "overtly political move". Cullen said it was his role to point out if people or groups are misrepresenting what the group said. His contract has been extended until June 30 – "basically for some time beyond when the Government is intending to make its decisions". This means he would be getting paid for at least two months after the Government had released its f...
A smoke-free advocate has labelled the latest move by tobacco giant Philip Morris a "joke". The company, which produces the Marlboro cigarettes, has said they will remove cigarettes from New Zealand shelves if the Government lets them more freely sell their "heat-not-burn" tobacco products. Those products should not be confused with vapes or e-cigarettes, which create a vapour from liquid. New Zealand general manager James Williams says the cigarettes they manufacture are unhealthy, and they want to switch. "The key motivation for us in exiting cigarette sales is obviously the products are harmful to consumers." However, Williams suggests they won't make the move unless there is a lower excise tax. "The biggest benefit would be the financial incentive to make the move, but if they are taxed the same way as a combustible product, then effectively there's a floor to how low that price can go." Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had a frank response to the calls. "Regardless of a tax break or not, if they are really focused on reducing harm and ending the premature deaths caused by smoking, then not selling cigarettes would make a huge contribution." General manager for the National Tobacco Control Advocacy Service Mihi Blair told Larry Williams that the suggestion is a joke. "They are trying make this offer to offer another product of tobacco, and treating it like a harm reduction product, and trying to pull in the Smokefree 2025 campaign. It's just another PR stunt." The World Health Organisation has said there's no convincing evidence heat-not-burn devices have better health effects than cigarettes, and studies have shown they have the exact same addictive quality. Blair says that these products still have tobacco in them, and they are still addictive. "The issue is that we are finding with these products is that we cannot determine if there are nicotine in them." She says anything with nicotine in it will remain addictive and keep people hooked in. Philip Morris has spent millions creating this product, Blair says, and we should not give in to their demands. "It's a complete marketing ploy. It's just about profit making for them." Blair says that it would be good to see cigarettes removed from shelves, but they would rather see all nicotine products gone. "We're been watching out worldwide to see how tobacco sales are going, and they are going down as the vaping industry picks up."
Nicky Hager has claimed victory over Westpac after the bank settled and apologised in the face of claims it breached the journalist's privacy. The settlement - including a payment to Hager and his lawyers - followed proceedings brought against the bank by the Human Rights Review Tribunal (HRRT) claiming information had been unlawfully released to police. Felix Geiringer, one of Hager's lawyers, told Larry Williams that the move is substantial as Westpac has agreed to change their terms. "What we have now is a promise that Westpac will soon amend their terms and conditions, so there is a contractual promise to its clients that they won't release their information as in the case with Nicky." He says that Westpac has accepted they got it wrong, and they are now making genuine efforts. "This is Westpac saying we accept we didn't get it right, and we are promising we won't do it like this again." Geiringer says that Westpac made the mistake of taking the police at face value. "You could understand why someone would accept an assertion from the police. But when it's Westpac's job to protect privacy, it was Westpac's job to make sure the police have proper basis." He puts the blame on the law, which has grey areas that allow for incidents like this to occur. Geiringer hopes that "basic competition" will pressure other banks to follow Westpac's change. "But what about the other banks? ... Pressure needs to continue on those other institutions until they implement terms like the ones announced today by Westpac," he said. In an statement released today, Hager welcomed the development. "I was confident we were going to prevail before the HRRT, but that was likely to have been several years away. Westpac have done the right thing here by owning up to the breach and putting in place much better procedures to protect against it happening again," he said. "This is an important victory for privacy in New Zealand. It will help many people." The terms of the settlement include an apology from Westpac, and what Hager's lawyers described as a "significant tightening" of its policies allowing the release of private data. Westpac said in a statement its new policy now required a production order from authorities before releasing private information, except in "extremely limited circumstances" such as Police searches for missing persons. "We apologise to Hager for our part in the distress these events have caused him and his family," the statement said. "Westpac's practice at that time was to comply with such requests in the belief that it was entitled to do so under the Privacy Act. However, in the light of the public discussion of Hager's and other cases, it is clear that bank customers reasonably expect that in similar circumstances such data will be kept private." In 2017, Privacy Commissioner John Edwards ruled the bank had breached Hager's privacy without any legal obligation to do so, knocking back Westpac's claim during arguments that their client's rights to privacy were waived in their terms in conditions. Until the ruling the broad practice of banks, not just Westpac, releasing financial information to police and other agencies on request - without requiring a search warrant or other legal order - had been relatively commonplace. The settlement is the latest and possibly last step in sprawl of cases brought by Hager challenging police over-steps in their investigation into the source for his book "Dirty Politics". In October 2014, police raided the Wellington home of Hager in a bid to determine the identity of Rawshark, the hacker who provided emails and chatlogs of blogger Cameron Slater which formed the core of the book which rocked that years' election campaign.Last year police settled with Hager and paid "substantial damages" after the High Court expressed concern over the way detectives obtained and executed their warrant and ruled the search to have been illegal. Police had failed to tell the judge who signed the warr...
A 44-year-old woman has been arrested in relation to a firearms callout in Tauranga this morning. Western Bay of Plenty Area Commander Inspector Clifford Paxton told Larry Williams shots were fired before 9am at a property adjacent to Bellevue Primary School. Police are still investigating why the shots were fired. "Police have recovered a shotgun from the property," Paxton says. The school was put into lockdown, and Paxton has praised their efforts. "I think the school's done a fantastic job in terms of how they've locked down that school and how they've taken care of the students. We're also very grateful of the support of people in the area and the support of police as they went about their business." Nearby Otumoetai College was also locked down. Police are continuing to look into unrelated alleged gun threats at another Tauranga school. Paxton says that they are unrelated. He says another report of a student threatening to shoot up a different school is also unrelated.
The gloves are off in the war for Western Springs and it could get bloody. Speedway announced today that they will fight to stay at the iconic venue – and may now refuse to move to Colin Dale park in South Auckland. Speedway sent an open letter to Mayor Phil Goff, outlining their intention to stay at Western Springs. "We are now demanding to remain at Western Springs until a permanent solution can be found," wrote Speedway Promotions Director Bill Buckley. Buckley warned Goff that he has "a very serious situation on his hands now as it appears you have allowed the RFA to throw the sport out of its home with no alternative in place". One Speedway supporter said they would do "whatever it takes" to stay at the ground and in his letter Buckley said he was aware of plans in place already for "public meetings and protests". Speedway's current lease finishes at the end of March, with the Council controlled Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) intending to transform the ground into a venue for Cricket and occasional AFL matches. However, Speedway engaged in a memorandum of understanding with the council and RFA last June, which they understood was going to lead to an extension to their current lease while Colin Dale Park in Wiri was transformed into a speedway specific facility. It's believed that could take between two and three years, and Council have yet to allocate any funding for the upgrade and development of Colin Dale Park into a motorsport arena. The MOU expired on 23rd November last year. Since then there has been little, if any communication between the RFA and Speedway and the Herald understands there has been a major falling out between the two parties. The RFA confirmed to the Herald that there was no intention to grant an extension to the lease. Director of stadium management Paul Nisbet told Larry Williams that this has been signposted for quite some time. "The actual venue hire agreement at Western Springs between SPL (Speedway Promotions Limited) and RFA actually have provisions within it whereby SPL were of the understanding that the environment at Western Springs wasn't ideal and didn't fit their business model going forward." Nisbet says they had a responsibility to help SPL find an alternative venue, which has already been extended by two years. He says they have investigated various venues for SPL, including Mt Smart Stadium. "In 2017, SPL came to us, with the Auckland Stock Car Club, with a MOU where they agreed to sit down and consider racing all the cars out of Waikaraka Park," Nisbet says, noting that SPL eventually walked away from that deal. Colin Dale Park was floated as a venue in last year. Nisbet denies there is bad blood between him and the speedway community. He says they have worked collaboratively with SPL to help them deliver their events. "I believe RFA, one way or another, have the interests of the Speedway club at heart since 2012." He says they will discuss alternative locations over the coming months, but reiterates that Speedway is currently scheduled to leave at the end of March. Nisbet says they have not been any decisions or formal requests yet around developing Western Springs. "It's a magnificent dream space, and once Speedway leaves the vicinity, it really frees up a great free space that will complement MOTAT, complement the park next door, complement the zoo." Speedway has been based at Western Spring for more than 90 years, but their existence there has been in doubt since the RFA's initial stadium strategy in 2012. That called for Speedway to move to Mt Smart, but that idea fell through in 2016 when the Warriors successfully fought to stay at the Penrose venue. The RFA and Speedway then canvassed other options, in the north and south, before apparently settling on Wiri's Colin Dale park. Speedway's last scheduled meeting this season is March 16.
Disgraced pop star Michael Jackson will no longer be played on New Zealand radio stations. NZME, which owns ZM, The Hits, Flava and more - including Newstalk ZB - will no longer play Jackson's songs on air. Dean Buchanan, group director of entertainment at NZME says: "NZME station playlists change from week to week and right now Michael Jackson does not feature on them". Mediaworks' stations, which include The Breeze and More FM, will also not be playing the artist's songs. This comes after the shocking documentary Leaving Neverland aired in the US, in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck outline the abuse allegedly inflicted upon them by Jackson when they were children. The revelations in the documentary series are said to be so upsetting, mental health professionals had to be on hand when the film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January. Entertainment reporter Sam Rubin told Larry Williams that radio stations across the US have also banned Jackson's songs in the wake of the documentary. He says it is gaining a lot of attention across the country. "It's HBO highest viewed documentary ever. The fact that Oprah Winfrey has led her celebrity to a follow up interview with the accusers has also got a lot of attention." Rubin says that the documentary is very damning and has sparked a conversation around Jackson's legacy. "There's a lot of us who are fans and admire the considerable talents of Michael Jackson's, and this is a sad realisation and recognition that a man who had extraordinary talent also had extraordinary demons." However, he says that it seems "feckless" to ban Jackson's music. On Tuesday, the documentary's director Dan Reed spoke out in a no holds barred interview with the Telegraph. He said: "We're going to have to re?evaluate the way we see Michael Jackson... "People will have to listen to his music in the knowledge that he was a prolific child rapist. "If they're comfortable doing that, fine. If they're not, well perhaps listen to something else for a while." He later added: "He was raping those children night after night after night in the next room to their mothers. Spending days and nights in little boys' homes. It's the most appalling depravity covered up by this facade of angelic childlike purity – that lie was staring us all in the face for so many years." Jackson's family has hit back against the documentary, filing a $100 million lawsuit against HBO and the documentary filmmakers. Rubin says that it would likely be because there is still financial value to Jackson's songs and brand. "We've seen certain songs used for commercial purposes, and this sullies that." Leaving Neverland is set to air in New Zealand on March 10 and 11 on TVNZ1.
Why M?ori suffer worse health than other New Zealanders will be investigated by Parliament. The M?ori affairs select committee will hold an inquiry into M?ori health inequalities, its chairman and Labour MP Rino Tirikatene confirmed. The Herald understands the inquiry is likely to include a specific focus on the Government drug-buying agency Pharmac. However, Tirikatene, MP for Te Tai Tonga, said terms of reference are yet to be agreed: "It may include a focus on Pharmac, but I don't want to get ahead of our committee decision until terms of reference are finalised". Matthew Tukaki from the New Zealand M?ori Council welcomes an inquiry into Pharmac, but he told Larry Williams that this could have benefited all of New Zealand. Specifically, they are concerned about the affordability of the breast cancer medication Ibrance. "If M?ori can't afford $80,000 a year for a drug that across the Tasman is scheduled at $60 a month, then I daresay it's not just about M?ori, it's about all New Zealanders." Tukaki says that M?ori health stats are terrible, with high rates of infant death and youth suicide. He says that the health budget would be reduced if more was done to help Maori. "Are these programs fit for purpose? Is this DHB model just a pack of 21 empires doing whatever they want?" He says that a lot needs to be done to lift M?ori out of poverty, which would help improve their health. "M?ori are continually part of the low wage, low growth side of the economy, so their access to these sorts of drugs is pretty much, through economic circumstances, not as favourable as non-Maori." Confirmation of an inquiry follows recent lobbying by advanced breast cancer sufferer Wiki Mulholland and her husband Malcolm Mulholland for access to new generation drugs, and a wider review of the Pharmac model. M?ori are twice as likely to die from advanced cancer, and Mulholland and 150 other women petitioned the M?ori affairs and health select committees to fund breast cancer drugs Ibrance and Kadcyla. The Waitangi Tribunal has been holding its own health inquiry, with claimants arguing funding inequities and institutionalised racism in the health system are making M?ori sicker. And the Government-funded perinatal and maternal mortality review committee recently found institutional bias or implicit biases "are likely to play at least some part" in explaining why extremely premature M?ori, Pacific or Indian babies are less likely to be resuscitated. The committee has recommended compulsory cultural competency training for the entire maternity and neonatal workforce to explicitly "address awareness of, and strategies to reduce and minimise the impact of, implicit bias and racism".
Xi Wang was murdered while holding her 2-year-old son in her arms, court documents reveal. Her ex-husband Ephraim Joseph Beazley, 33, this morning pleaded guilty to murdering Wang in her Flat Bush home in December. The Herald has obtained the police summary of facts which reveals the brutal details of the murder.
Xi Wang, 34, was attacked in her home on December 10 last year. Photo / Facebook On December 10 Beazley left his home on a Rotorua farm and drove to Manukau. He took a sheath knife that he used on hunting trips. Beazley, who had been separated from Wang since before their son was born, parked outside her home just before 10pm. He walked up to the house, which was in darkness. "He knocked at the door several times before the victim opened the door," the summary states. "[Beazley] was wearing a cap pulled down over his face and had his head bowed, which he believed made it difficult for the victim to identify him at first. "She was holding their 2-year-old son in her arms at the time and held onto him throughout this incident. "[Beazley] attacked the victim without speaking, striking at her throat with his hunting knife. "She managed to block the strike so he stabbed her in the side instead. "This was awkward for him because of the dressing gown the victim was wearing - so he attacked her legs." Beazley stabbed Wang several times in both legs. He also stabbed her in her genitals, causing her to slump forward. This allowed Beazley to grab her by the back of the head. "He stabbed her several times in the neck, causing her to fall to the ground," said the summary. "He realised that he had done enough to kill her so ran from the scene, leaving his son in the victim's arms." Beazley got in his car and drove away. He then abandoned his car in a nearby street and made his way to Botany Town Centre. There, he called police and told them what he had done and where he was.
Xi Wang with her ex-husband Ephraim Beazley. Photo / Supplied He also called a friend and told them what he had done. Police located and arrested Beazley soon after. The knife he used to slaughter Wang was in his jacket pocket. Meanwhile a woman who lived with Wang tried to save her life by administering first aid. An ambulance was called and Wang was rushed to hospital in a critical condition. She underwent emergency surgery but her injuries were too severe. She died at 11.55pm. Beazley offered an explanation to police for his violent attack. "[He] stated that he had enough of life in general and particularly the state of his relationship with the victim," the summary said. "He stated that he had decided that the best option was to kill her, so planned how he was going to do that. "He decided what clothes he was going to wear and selected his knife before travelling to Auckland." Beazley, who has never appeared before the courts before the murder, will be sentenced next month.
Ephraim Beazley pictured in the High Court accused of the murder of ex wife Xi Wang. Photo / Jason Oxenham After Beazley first appeared in the High Court in January one of Wang's friends spoke out, paying tribute to the slain mum. "Xi was one of the most intelligent people in the world," she said. "She was from China but studied at multiple universities around the world - that's how she ended up here. "Xi was travelling and she decided she liked it, and she met someone." That someone was Beazley.She never could have imagined that the man she loved would end up taking her life. The pair married, but separated while Wang was pregnant with their first child.She was a single mother when the little boy was born."Her life was her child, she did absolutely everything - made every decision - for him," said her friend. "She lived and breathed for her little boy. "He absolutely adored her and he still asks for her, it's quite sad." Wang was a fulltime mother but the friend said she worked to support herself. She had a masters degree in business and was involved in real estate and proper...
Worker exploitation on a foreign ship has been uncovered by Maritime New Zealand. The crown entity stopped a Taiwanese bulk-carrier on its way to Panama in Canterbury's Lyttelton Harbour until operator Wisdom Marine International paid crew four-months worth of wages. Martime New Zealand's Southern Regional Compliance Manager Michael Vredenburg told Larry Williams that received notifications from an organisation called the International Transport Workers Federation, which advocates for seafarer rights. "We were only told that there were complaints received by them from the crew on the ship in question." He says that none of the 20-odd crew members had been paid properly. Vredenburg says they sent a staff member down to interview the captain to astatine what had happened. "When he couldn't get enough answers to satisfy, he interviewed other members of the crew, and eventually the Captain admitted that not only the crew but he himself had not been paid in almost four months." This is the second time in two years this particularly shipping line has been caught out over unpaid workers. Vredenburg says that they have to let the ship go once the crew members have been paid, but they have a referendum of understanding with other maritime organisations which makes them aware of what has happened. The incident has renewed calls for the Government to enforce a mandatory levy on ships entering New Zealand ports. Lyttelton Seafarers' Centre chair, the Reverend John McLister, says the Maritime Labour Convention purports imposing a $30 to $40 levy on ships at ports to pay for crew welfare centres. "This is to make sure these blokes are well looked after. They come up, connect to the internet, talk to their wives and families, relax for a few hours. Sometimes in a conversation they can say 'I haven't been paid for four months', and we can say 'okay, what do you want us to do about it?'" He says on Monday night, a seafarer came into the centre saying his contract expired a month and a half ago... and he should've been sent home. "Basically, he's a prisoner on a ship." The idea is popular locally; McLister says a petition is going around Lyttelton calling for a welfare centre levy. New Zealand International Transport Workers Federation inspector, Grahame McLaren, says it's not an unusual situation. He says the company's previously said they'd get their act together, but haven't, and it can be tough on the crews. "When the crew do come forward, the chances are they want us to deny that they are involved because they risk being victimised, and in extreme cases they can be blacklisted and that could be the end of their career." McLaren says the company is also infamous for not automatically paying a percentage of wages to worker's families at home. "If you're trying to live and pay rent and food and there's no money coming in for months on end, it's really hard on them. These guys aren't on movie star wages to start with."
Kieran Read will walk away from the All Blacks after this year's World Cup, and take up a short stint in Japan. The All Blacks captain made the announcement today and will front a press conference in Christchurch. Read, 33, has played 118 tests in the black jersey and has captained the team in 49 tests. He was part of the victorious 2011 and 2015 teams and was named World Player of the Year in 2013. He will join Toyota Verblitz in Japan next year on a two-year contract after reported interest from French side Racing 92 and at least one unnamed English club. Read is glad to get the Japan announcement out of the way so he can now "focus on the footy". He's looking forward to focussing on the year ahead with the Crusaders and the All Blacks later in the season. That would mark the end of 13th season of professional rugby in New Zealand. "Every young rugby player in New Zealand dreams of the opportunities I have had to represent the All Blacks and the Crusaders, and I know I'll look back at the end of the year with a great deal of pride to have worn those jerseys for as long as I have," Read said. "My family and I are looking forward to an overseas experience and Japan presents an awesome opportunity to immerse ourselves in Japanese culture as part of the Toyota club. "I feel the time is right to make this announcement on my playing future, so that I can focus my efforts on the season ahead." His reasoning for choosing Japan came down to having three kids, and it being closer to New Zealand, along with the less amount of rugby played compared to the Northern Hemisphere - Europe and the UK. He didn't want to talk about other options that were on the table. But he said while retirement was one of the options, he never seriously considered it. He feels he still had "a little bit to give", but felt it was hard to keep giving it here in New Zealand. Read thinks he's leading New Zealand rugby is a great place, with young players knocking on the door at both Super Rugby and All Blacks level. Former All Black Steve Gordon told Larry Williams that Read has been "outstanding" as Captain, and he deserves to end his career with an overseas sojourn like this. "He's given plenty of guts and glory to New Zealand supporters and the public, I just hope he can involve his daughters and wife in the experience." He says that rugby is on a real high in Japan at the moment, and Read will help boost the sport in the country. Gordon says that Japan is a better place for older players to go compared to European clubs. "In France, you're just getting belted for nine, ten months a year. In Japan, short, compact season. You just have to make sure you perform well on game day." Read did an amazing job of following Richie McCaw's legacy and maintaining his winning record, Gordon says. Despite injuries, Gordon says read has continbued to prove himself, and he imagines he will remain as captain during the World Cup. "You can't buy experience. Kieran has proven as an absolute competitor and an absolutely competent captain, so I'd say someone's got to do something really special to remove him from that Number 8 jersey." NZ Rugby boss Steve Tew called Read one of the most influential players in the world and thanked him for his contribution. "We want to wish Kieran all the very best for his swansong season in New Zealand Rugby," Tew said. "He's been one of the most influential players in the world in his 13 years at the top of the professional game, an outstanding and hugely-respected All Blacks Captain, and an All Blacks centurion. "We owe 'Reado' and others like him, who have given so much to our teams, a huge debt of gratitude. We wish him, wife Bridget and his family all the best for their adventures next year." "On behalf of New Zealand Rugby and the All Blacks, I'd like to acknowledge the fantastic contribution that Reado has made to our game. His performances on the park speak for themselves: he's played 118 Tests and started 111 of them, which...
A local Islamist thinks the Government should do all they can to bring Mark Taylor home as he is not in the right mental state. The 33-year-old New Zealander is currently being held in a Kurdish prison, after been caught as he fled the growing conflict in the Middle East as the Islamic State collapses. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday said she wouldn't make any moves to get him out of Syria. Opposition leader Simon Bridges and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters agree with the position. However, Dr Mustafa Farouk, President of the Federation of Islamic Associations in New Zealand, thinks Taylor should be brought home and receive the help he needs. He told Larry Williams that he does not condone what he has done, but that those who know Taylor know he has a low IQ and could not be held responsible for his actions. "I think if New Zealand give him a chance to talk to a psychiatrist, it would be clear that his mental capacity is below him being held responsible for what he has done." Farouk says that he should have been helped by the system, and he deserves to get the help he deserves. He says when Taylor first appeared in their community, they did not know he was dangerous. When it became known that he was dangerous, Farouk wants to know how he was able to leave the country when he was considered a terrorist. "The fact that everyone was looking for him when he was here in New Zealand, how did he manage to leave the country?" He says that he cannot comment on how Taylor was able to survive in IS if his IQ was so low, nor does he know if he was radicalised in New Zealand Farouk says that New Zealanders are compassionate people, and he thinks most New Zealanders would support his return. International relations expert from Otago University Robert Patman disagrees. He told Larry Williams that few New Zealanders would support him returning home. However, New Zealand should be prepared for his return, as under the Geneva Convention, Taylor has to return to his country of origin. "I think we have to keep a cool head. Sometimes the emotions run high and people say 'we don't want that scumbag back', but at the end of the day, we have serious diplomatic obligations and strategic interests." Patman says we have to do what is right for New Zealand's interests, and our country depends on an international rules system. "We are not big enough for to walk away from the rules." He says that we should not pay attention to what the United Kingdom has done in revoking citizenship of several citizens. Patman says that IS would be delighted if we left Mark Taylor and other New Zealanders in the Middle East, as it would feed into their narrative. "They would pump up their internet coverage in New Zealand, that's how they recruit."
Fonterra's new boss says reducing the company's debt by $800 million is achievable. Miles Hurrell has been officially installed as CEO today, having been interim boss since last August. It comes after Fonterra last year posted a historic net annual loss of $196m. Fonterra's gearing ratio bumped up by 11 per cent to $6.2 billion, driving the gearing ratio to 48.4 per cent to beyond the company's own comfort levels of 40 to 45 per cent. Hurrell says that the results suggest they need to look at a potential change in direction. He told Larry Williams that they are making good progress with their portfolio review. "We've announced the Tip Top sale, and we're making great progress with the sale of that." Hurrell says they are going well in China. However, he says one reason for their high debt is that their balance sheet has blown out in part because of troubles in Latin America and Australia. "Latin America has been tough mainly on the back of major economic troubles in that part of the world. Australia very well documented with competition but more importantly the drought." He says they are just seeing more competition in those markets than they expected. Hurrell will take home a base salary of $1.95 million, with additional short and long term incentive payments on the achievement of targets agreed with the board. Fonterra's previous chief executive Theo Spierings took home $8 million in the 2017 financial year. Spierings exited Fonterra mid-last year.
The Education Minister says kids who skip school next Friday need to be doing it for the right reasons. Thousands of New Zealand school students plan to go take part in the worldwide day of action over global warming on March 15. The issue has divided politicians across the spectrum. Chris Hipkins told Larry Williams he's not encouraging, or discouraging pupils from taking part. "I'm certainly not going to tell them not to do it, but if they are going to do it, they should take part in it. It's not an excuse to wag school." He says if kids make a choice to participate in a civic action, that's for the school to manage, as they do on a daily basis. Hipkins says we should pay attention to what children think about climate change. "I think it's great that they want to have their voice heard." He does clarify that if kids make this choice, they will miss out on their education. Government Minister Phil Twyford said today it was great to see young people getting involved in issues like climate change because "if there's one issue that's going to affect the next generation it's climate change". Fellow Minister Damien O'Connor said there were teacher-only days so March 15 would be a "kids-only" day. "These kids are smart, we are dealing with their future." O'Connor said he would be "absolutely" happy for his five daughters to skip school to attend the protest. But Opposition leader Simon Bridges said it might be better if the day of action took place at the same day as secondary teachers went on strike, April 3. "It's a serious issue but I certainly wouldn't want to say anything that encourages students to be taking time out of their schooling. They've got a lot of time at other points of the day, the weekend to be doing this," he said. Education spokesperson Nikki Kaye says she supports kids' right to have their voices heard, but doing it in school time feels like a political stunt. "The only point I would make it is that it is really important to get permission, because if you are 12 or 13 years old, and you are unsupervised, that's difficult." Hipkins agrees that that would be a wise move, but it would again be an issue for schools to manage. Labour MP Greg O'Connor said it should be up to parents to decide what their children were going to do. "Students now, they're a mature little bunch. I think we should just leave it right up to the parents, and every parent should decide what their child is going to do," O'Connor told reporters. "We want more kids involved in politics, and it's a good discussion." The global strike is expected to bring tens of thousands of students on to the streets across Europe, the United States, Australia and other countries. Last week, national co-ordinator Sophie Handford said protests were being organised in more than 20 towns from Russell in the Bay of Islands to Invercargill. "We are thinking like definitely in the thousands across the country," she said. "If we hit 5000, that will be awesome. If we hit more than that, that will be even better." NZ Secondary Principals Council chairman James Morris said school principals would not condone the strike. "Whilst most principals would support students expressing support for climate change action, they would be reluctant to approve students taking time away from their classes to do so," he told the Herald last week. However, Ministry of Education deputy secretary Ellen MacGregor-Reid said awareness of the environment was an important part of the NZ curriculum. "The NZ curriculum also encourages students to participate and take action as critical, informed and responsible citizens," she said. The global movement was sparked by a 15-year-old Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, who decided last August to stay away from school until the Swedish general election on September 9. She protested by sitting outside the Riksdag (Parliament) every day during school hours with a sign, "Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for climate)".
The beach under Cape Kidnappers will be reopened by the Hastings District Council, despite a report saying it will put lives at risk. It's a decision that now leaves the council opened to being prosecuted and fined by WorkSafe were a slip on one of NZ's most iconic day walks to kill or injure anyone else. Clifton Beach has been closed since January 23, when two Korean tourists were seriously injured during a large slip. Since then at least two more large slips have occurred at the site. Councillors voted 7-5 at a meeting on Tuesday morning to go against a geologist's recommendation to keep the beach closed until a risk assessment was completed. Howeverm Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst voted against the reopening said all measures possible would be put in place to ensure public safety. "Obviously it is most important for our council to make sure we keep our community safe, that is our biggest priority here." She told Larry Williams that all councillors felt the risk assessment should have been carried out first, prior to opening the beach. "Where I felt differently was whether we opened the beach and took all measures to litigate risk before the quantitative risk assessment work has been taken out, which is going to take about six months." Hazlehurst says that other councillors thought that the assessment could take place while the beach is opened. She says that the two tourists who were injured are an example of what could go wrong. "It has been a very difficult time for them, I have visited them in hospital." She said her concern lay with people visiting Hawke's Bay, rather than locals who already had more of a knowledge of the area's potential risks. Hazlehurst says that they hope to see proper signage put up soon. The decision will allow the beach to be reopened once signs have been put in place to help users understand the risk. The risk assessment will then take place over the next six months. It will cost council an expected $300,000 of unbudgeted money. The Department of Conservation (DoC) is taking a different route to council, and has decided to keep public conservation land at Cape Kidnappers closed, despite it being well away from the slip site. Gannet Beach Adventures owner Colin Lindsay said the decision was a positive one for the people for Hawke's Bay. He said they were now waiting for council to the finalise smaller details, before they decided when to reopen and in what form. Lindsay said DoC's track leads from the beach to the upper gannet colony, preventing part, but not all of his tour. "Our tag line is four million years in four hours, we'll have to change that to four million years in three hours." They will still be access the lower colony, and the other gannet tour group, Gannet Safaris, will still be able to access the upper colony by going overland. Geologist Matt Shore told the council before it made its decision on Tuesday that a Quantitative Risk Assessment was considered standard practice when considering loss of life. Shore's report found there was a potential for multiple injuries or fatalities.
New research has found Australian kids are often consuming an entire day's salt intake in just one meal. Heart Foundation analysis of kids' meals at four major fast-food chains has found some contain more than the entire daily recommended amount of salt, while chicken nuggets can have two times the amount of salt as similar meals in the UK. The Heart Foundation's Sharon Armstrong is among those calling for a re-think on quick kids meals from fast food joints. "They are sometimes food and it's not something we'd recommend people to have every day or even every week. And we should be asking why these kids meals in Australia have more salt than similar meals in the UK." Armstrong says McDonalds deserve some credit for providing apple slices and yoghurt as an alternative to chips.
A new study of more than half a million children has found no link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination and autism. The Danish study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal today, looked at all children born in the country between 1999 and 2010. The children were followed through to the end of August 2013. It found the MMR vaccine did not increase the risk of autism, even in children with other autism risk factors or in children whose siblings had autism. There was also no clustering of autism cases following vaccination. University of Otago Professor Michael Baker, who is based in Wellington, says the study was "very reassuring for any parents who are worried about the possible link". He told Larry Williams that the study is about as good as you could get in studying these links. "Scientists are very reluctant to ever say that there's definitive proof about anything, but I think this is about as close as you can get." Researchers from Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen found that of the 657,461 children included in the study, only 6517 were diagnosed with autism. Of the children followed, 95 per cent received the first vaccination, which is offered at 15 months, but there was no difference in the number of vaccinated children with the disorder compared to the number of unvaccinated children. Baker says that most scientists have believed this already. "The only criticism was why are you studying something that is so improbable, and there are already so many studies showing there was no link." He says that another piece of evidence to counter the sad legacy of the Wakefield study published more than 20 years ago, which only study a small number of children and relied on tenuous links. "It's taken repeated bits of high quality work over 20 years that have all shown the same thing, that there's no associatoion. Baker says that the study was withdrawn and the author has had his medical license revoked. Claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism continued to cause concern among the medical community and challenge vaccine uptake. There has been an increase in measles cases in Europe and the United States and the World Health Organisation has declared vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health. In New Zealand there have been a number of outbreaks in recent years. Yesterday, the Canterbury District Health Board confirmed seven people had contracted the disease in an outbreak which stretched back 11 days. In January, at least six people in the Waikato contracted the disease. During a major mumps outbreak in 2017 and early 2018, more than 1000 people, mostly in Auckland, contracted the disease. Baker says that these diseases are very infectious, and you need very high vaccine coverage to ensure they cannot spread. He said it was important everyone was vaccinated because it stopped the disease from spreading when brought into the country by travellers. "We'll keep seeing measles cases in New Zealand until it's gone from the public." A 1998 paper in the Lancet which first implied a link between the MMR vaccine and autism was retracted in 2010 but turned thousands of parents around the world against the vaccinations. The film Vaxxed: From cover-up to catastrophe, which was released in 2016 and also claims there is a link between autism and the MMR vaccine, has also seen a growth in reluctance from many parents to have their children vaccinated against the diseases despite widespread criticism of faulty evidence. Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre and Associate Professor in the division of general practice and primary health care at the University of Auckland Nikki Turner said most of the current cases of measles in New Zealand were in young adults who were unaware they were not completely immunised when they were young. "This is the legacy of a system that historically was not so effective at offering services, changed schedules often and does not have a nat...
A dentist says there needs to be a sugar tax alongside free dental care. Waitemat? DHB has revealed it wants a comprehensive dental service for all New Zealanders and is urging other DHBs to support the idea. It comes as a growing number of people are presenting at hospitals for emergency dental treatments, the board says. West-Auckland dentist Scott Waghorn says there is only one main cause of this issue. "A sugar tax would certainly reduce the access to prime cause of dental decay and all these problems, because its acid and sugar that are the main cause to blame." He says that taxing sugar would allow them to raise funds to go back into oral health. "Countries such as Mexico and Scandinavia where they have seen a sugar tax make a huge difference. Of course it would be hideously unpopular, but we in the industry have known for a long time it is the underlying cause." Waghorn told Larry Williams that the high cost is one of going to the dentist is also a contributing factor to people's pain and discomfort. Currently, only those under 18 are able to get free dental care, while those on the benefit can get a discount through the Ministry of Social Development. Waghorn says that the cost is forcing people into the hospital, sometimes for up to a week at time due to infections. He says licensing fees and equipment costs are quite high. "It's very expensive to run a dental practice here in New Zealand. The profit margins are probably a lot smaller than most people would imagine." He says that prices are lower than in Australia and United States.