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New maths curriculum begins in primary schools
New maths curriculum begins in primary schools

09 February 2025, 8:25 PM

By RNZ Education correspondent John GerritsenPrimary schools are starting the year with a new maths curriculum and it's a lot harder than the old one.Testing shows 42 percent of children in their final year of primary school were doing maths at the level expected in the old curriculum, but only 20 percent would meet the new curriculum's expectations.Plateau School principal Nigel Frater said pupils, and their teachers, could lose heart if they could not reach the expected level for their age group."We do like the fact that the goal posts are very clear for us in terms of teaching. But for example, understanding of equivalent fractions at a Year 2 to 3 level, I think kids at that age are still really trying to get to grips with what a concept of a fraction is at that age," he said."There's a bit of a concern that those kids could get behind quite quickly."Frater said the workbooks and resources that accompanied the curriculum had been pitched as a solution to some of the problems around maths teaching, but he hoped teachers did not rely on them too heavily."I'd be really concerned if schools started to lose sight of the curriculum and replaced it with the resource, and the resource became the curriculum as it were. I know it's aligned with the curriculum, but I think pedagogy is really important here and teachers need to teach the curriculum and not just use the resource to teach the curriculum," Frater said.Whangārei Intermediate principal Hayley Read said it received books and resources to support the curriculum, but they were pitched at what Year 7-8 children would be expected to know and do, with nothing for the sizeable number of the school's students who were behind."There's an assumption that our kids will be able to access that level of learning, and unfortunately that's just not the reality," she said."The students that can't access the curriculum because they're six or seven years behind their chronological age in learning are expected to have the same book as a child who's at that level, and so we don't have those books and those resources to support those learners."Read said ensuring all schools used the same approach to maths could help address some of the inequities that had dogged the school system.However, she said it might be time to introduce specialist maths teachers at primary and intermediate schools.Gareth Sinton from Douglas Park School in Masterton said his school performed well in maths, but the new curriculum would be a challenge."It's not like you can say 'now the kids have to do better' and they start doing better. So it may take time to lift achievement back up where it is needing to be, now," he said."But in saying that, it's probably not a bad thing. I think there's a body of evidence that our curriculum, the previous one, maybe wasn't as rigourous as some other international comparable curriculums."Sinton said there was clearly an expectation that students in the same year group would all work from the same textbook."Which sounds lovely in theory, but the reality is that any Year 5 - there'll be a continuum in terms of ability. There'll be kids operating lower than that and higher than that, so the thought of having a Year 5 kid working out of a Year 5 book, it's a load of nonsense."Sinton said his school was unlikely to use the student workbooks that accompanied the curriculum because they did not fit the group-based approach to maths teaching that his school used.Massey University professor Gaven Martin headed a Royal Society-convened panel that called for an overhaul of the maths curriculum in 2021 and was more recently a member of the Ministerial Advisory Group that reviewed the primary school maths curriculum.Read more: Panel calls for sweeping changes to maths teachingHe said he was happy with the new approach."I think back to basics is almost an accurate description of what it's about. Most children - I hope all - but most children will have the skills to do most of the basic requirements of modern-day numeracy," he said.Some teachers were worried the curriculum's introduction had been rushed.Professor Martin said there was no time to waste."Getting things moving along as quickly as possible is probably the right approach. I mean one of the big problems we have in the system at the moment is this slow pace. Every year children get three months behind, roughly. After five years of education they're a full year behind."He said the new curriculum's structured teaching approach should ensure children learned more, earlier, and were not held back by slower peers."In poor schools where there are talented kids... those talented kids don't get to see half the curriculum because we're working to the pace of the... people who are not moving forward as quickly as possible, so everyone gets disadvantaged," he said."The pace and the method of instruction are really important things here that need to be got across to teachers. Everyone deserves an opportunity to see the curriculum." - RNZ

Exhibition of self-portraits honours memory of young artist
Exhibition of self-portraits honours memory of young artist

06 February 2025, 9:00 PM

“Never for one moment think the world is better without you in it,” is a message Sam and Rick Koehler want everyone to receive.Their daughter Arrow Koehler was 19 when she died suddenly last year, and next Saturday (February 15), the day after what should have been her 20th birthday, an exhibition of her self-portraits will be opening at Ōamaru’s Forrester Gallery.Good Bones: The Many Phases of Arrow Moon opens on February 15 and runs until April 6 in the Community Gallery space.The name comes from the brand Arrow came up with for her artwork and clothing, Good Bones, so it felt right to include it, Sam says.She also, as an artist, wanted a name that was different from the name she used working as a journalist, so she chose Arrow Moon - her first and middle names.The exhibition came about after her parents discovered it had been a dream of hers.It is a collection of more than 50 photographs, and seven paintings, and a few items of clothing Arrow “reinvented”.“Arrow’s friends told us after she passed that she wanted to have an exhibition,” Rick says. “And then Sam had found writings in her diary to state the same thing, and so that's why we're putting it together.”Most of the works are from art portfolios Arrow had completed as a student at Waitaki Girls’ High School, along with a few others, Sam says.Rick feels proud Arrow’s work is being displayed, fulfilling one of her wishes. Pulling the exhibition together was harder some days than others, Sam says.“It’s probably not so much the physical work, you know, because she had it sort of all done, and we just had to go through it and choose. But it was the emotional work of looking through it, that was the biggy, you know. “On some days, you know, it felt nice, it felt comforting. On other days, it was really painful.”Sam says she would swing from the joy of seeing what her daughter had accomplished and feeling grateful to be her mother, to the pain of recognising the huge potential she had and the despair of her loss.Her overwhelming emotion though, was pride.“I’m so proud of Arrow, of her artistic achievements.” While helping to collate the works, Rick struggled with the thought that though Arrow was talented and involved in a lot of activities, "it still wasn't enough”.“She's a very complex character,” Sam says. “And I think the variety of work that's shown in the exhibition will show that she had all these different characters she fulfilled, and interests.”While Arrow’s parents will keep the originals of all her work, there will be prints for sale, with proceeds going to the Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust, an organisation which had been a huge support to the couple over the past months.Arrow loved people, her mother says.She loved taking photos of children when she was working as a journalist, and seeing how excited they got telling her their names afterwards.“She said they got such joy from that. So she was happy she was able to bring others joy.”It was a coincidence that the exhibition opening falls so near Arrow’s Valentine’s Day birthday. “There were just two time slots available this year for the community space, and one of them happened to be starting on the 15th, so it kinda felt meant to be,” Sam says.A self-portrait of Arrow which, after her death, Sam and a friend secretly hung on the wall of Bruce Mahalski's Museum of Natural Mysteries in Dunedin. The stunt was a copycat of Mahalski's planting of his own work at Te Papa, in Wellington. Photo: SuppliedWhere to get helpNeed to talk? 1737, free 24/7 phone and text numberLifeline Lifeline Aotearoa: 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE)Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)General mental health inquiries: 0800 443 366The Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757Youthline: 0800 376 633, free text 234 or email [email protected] or online chatSamaritans: 0800 726 666First Steps - providing mental health & wellbeing support to business across AotearoaRural Support Trusts - support for rural people: 0800 787 254Farmstrong - wellbeing support for the rural communityFirstMate - support for the commercial seafood sector: 0800 237 438Rural Employee Support Hub - advice and support for New Zealand rural employees: 0800 694 121, [email protected]

Coast to Coast about embracing the lows with the highs, sibling team says
Coast to Coast about embracing the lows with the highs, sibling team says

04 February 2025, 9:31 PM

To those who know them, it may come as no surprise that Ōamaru siblings Breanna and Mason Kingan are taking part in this weekend’s Coast to Coast race; it’s in their blood.The teens come from a family of adventure lovers, with parents Twyla and Callum raising them along with younger brother Fergus,11, to love a good excursion.“We're born into it,” says 16-year-old Mason, who is year 12 at Waitaki Boys’ High School.The Coast to Coast is a multi-discipline, 243km adventure race which starts on the West Coast’s Kumara Beach on Friday (February 7), covers the width of the South Island, and ends on Brighton Beach near Christchurch. Breanna, 17, and Mason are taking part in the two-day, two-person relay event.The pair have watched their father take part twice, and do the Goat’s Pass mountain run once, while Mum was part of a team which took on the equally daunting Godzone race. This Friday, day one, Mason starts the race with a 2.2km run, into a 55km bike ride. Breanna then taps in with the 30.5km run over Goat’s Pass.She has already been over the pass with the family, including Fergus, so isn’t too daunted by the prospect. “It's pretty wicked up there.”Breanna leaping across Goat's Pass, with younger brother Fergus following close behind. Photo: SuppliedOn day two Mason starts with a 15km bike ride to his kayak for a 70km paddle down the Waimakariri River to meet Breanna who is on a road bike for 70+km to the finish line. The pair have been officially in training since October, and competed in the Challenge Wanaka Multi, which was a 25km kayak, 43km mountain bike and 14km trail run, although they both already had a great fitness base from playing winter sports and just being part of the Kingan family.The pair say training has been conflict-free so far.“Because we're not doing it together, so we don't have to train together,” Breanna says.The year 13 Waitaki Girls’ High School student also lived and worked at Ohau for the summer, so was mostly left to her own devices training-wise.“Then every once a month, when I was up there, we ended up doing a big old hike somewhere, as a family.”Wanting to get into kayaking was a motivating factor for Mason, and this will be his fourth race in the boat.He says it’s “pretty good”.“It keeps you awake! There's always waves and rapids.”Mason gets some time in on the water, before the Coast to Coast this weekend. Photo: SuppliedThe pair don’t expect to place in the race, but will be disappointed if they don’t finish.“We’d just like to embrace the experience, probably,” Mason says.“I guess embrace it and enjoy the hard parts as much as the highs,” adds Breanna.  She says her dad has been helping her work on her mental strength.“Each part you'll find something that might, might just be a little bit more challenging, but you never stop. Like, you can walk, but you never stop.“We're pretty lucky with Mum and Dad's genetics when it comes to our mental side, and Mason's pretty mentally tough anyway,” she says.It’s the “toughness” part that Mason loves about the thought of the Coast to Coast.“The length, and just, it's not a sprint. Like, it’s actually, you just have to keep going.”On a good week, he was training up to 14 hours, he says.The duo are both grateful for the support and guidance of their parents, and appreciate none of this would be possible without them. “Trips up to Christchurch, food, kayaking, the practice race and stuff like that. I mean, I'm sure they love it too.”Kurow’s Paul Gow is taking on his 10th Coast to Coast this year. He has previously ranked in the top 10 and finished 12th in the Men’s Elite Longest Day category in 2020 and 2022.Papakaio farmer Ed Finlay is also competing in the Longest Day, veteran (40-49) category, for the first time.

Land at head of Lake Whakatipu becomes official International Dark Sky Sanctuary
Land at head of Lake Whakatipu becomes official International Dark Sky Sanctuary

03 February 2025, 8:30 PM

By RNZ senior reporter Delphine HerbertTāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary is the fifth in AotearoaIt's the 23rd in the worldOne of the rare places where you will be able to see the total solar eclipse in 2028Around 200,000 hectares of land located at the head of Lake Whakatipu has officially been certified as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary.Named the Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary, it is the fifth sanctuary in Aotearoa to get the title, and 23rd in the world.The initiative is run by Dark Sky International which certifies communities, parks, and protected areas around the world that preserve night-sky visibility through responsible lighting policies and public education.The sanctuary stretches from Bennett's Bluff to the northern boundary of Mt Aspiring National Park and more than 75 percent of the Sanctuary falls into UNESCO Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Wilderness.The Routeburn, Greenstone-Caples and Rees-Dart tracks also all fall within it.The sanctuary surrounds the townships of Glenorchy and Kinloch and in the coming year they will be brought into the International Dark Sky Places program as an International Dark Sky Community. It's an approach similar to the Kaikōura InternationalDark Sky Sanctuary certified in 2024.Listen to Morning Report: Land near Lake Whakatipu certified as Dark Sky SanctuaryIt will also be one of the rare places where you can see the total solar eclipse in 2028, with the Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary, being the only sanctuary in its path.Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Skies Group chairperson Leslie Van Gelder said it is a huge achievement.''We're really hopeful that particularly for Tāhuna Glenorchy that people will come and spend the night, and so once they realise there's only one small spot on the planet where you can see the Aurora and you can see the core of the Milky Way and we sit in that sweet spot.Only 10,000 people live in that band in the whole world, and we're among them," Van Gelder said.One of the Sanctuary's key aims is to engage with Ngāi Tahu to improve people's awareness of the knowledge that is held in the planets and the stars, that have helped guide countless previous generations.The Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary. Photo: Supplied / Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Group / Corrine Davis via RNZKāi Tahu ki Tuawhenua representative Jana Davis said it is important more people are made aware."There are different ways Māori refer to our stars, ngā whetū (stars), or tīpuna whetū (ancestral stars), or whetū mārama (bright and beautiful stars!), and they hold deep significance for Kāi Tahu whānau."These same stars guided our tīpuna (ancestors) from Hawaiki across the vast Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (Pacific Ocean), weaving stories that transcend space and time."As Kāi Tahu whānau, we are dedicated to protecting these pristine night skies and our taiao (environment)."They are a taoka (precious), connecting mātauraka Māori from our tīpuna to our mokopuna (descendants). The Dark Sky Sanctuary ensures these stories and connections will endure for generations to come," he said."DOC was excited to support the application of the Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary and our hut rangers played an important role in taking the necessary light readings in difficult to access areas."The Department of Conversation manages a large part of the new sanctuary, with Mt Aspiring National Park straddling the spectacular mountains and valleys at the southern end of the Southern Alps/ Kā Tiritiri o te Moana - renowned for its exceptional beauty and large core of wilderness."The new designation will further protect these values into the future," Davis said.Selwyn District Council has also started work to get Dark Sky accreditation at Arthur's Pass and Castle Hill.Community and Economic Development head Clare Quirke said it would be a boost for all the locals."They include job creation and support for local businesses to create income. They also boost tourism and extend the tourism season.The Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary. Photo: Supplied / Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Group / Corrine Davis via RNZ"Obviously there's environmental benefits of reducing like pollution, energy conservation and protecting wildlife, particularly nocturnal fauna and flora," Quirke said.Community Services and Facilities executive director Denise Kidd said it would be great to achieve."We're very mindful that there is some real significance culturally in terms of the areas that we're talking about."A lot of the cultural strength is around the night sky and the cultural astronomic features associated with it," Kidd said.Other Dark Sky Sanctuaries in Aotearoa are in Stewart Island, Kaikōura and Great Barrier Island.DarkSky has certified more than 200 Places since Flagstaff, Arizona, was named the first International Dark Sky City in 2001. - RNZ

New business brings "the village" to Ōamaru mothers
New business brings "the village" to Ōamaru mothers

03 February 2025, 12:21 AM

A “village” for new mums is coming to Ōamaru.Postpartmum, started by Broghan Van Aalst in Dunedin in October 2023, is opening a branch here this week.Broghan says when she became a mother to her now four-year-old son, she was grateful for her “village”, but still struggled with some mental and physical aspects. She wondered how mothers without any support coped.Postpartmum is Broghan’s way of offering that village to as many new mums as possible.A self–described “hospo queen”, Broghan was manager of popular Dunedin eatery Buster Greens before Covid hit and she discovered she was pregnant.She took the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mum for a few years, but as her baby grew, so did her business idea, and once her son was old enough to start kindergarten, she put her idea out into the world.“I put something up on the Mums of Dunedin Facebook group, and then next day just bit the bullet and made an Instagram page and contacted someone from a website.“Two weeks later I was booked out for three months every day, so I hired three more people.”Times are tough for a lot of families at the moment, Broghan says.“Especially since Covid. A lot of people had to move away for work, or stuff with the cost of living going up and, it's just that ripple effect from everything, from your home and your life.”She wants to provide a bit of peace of mind, and take the mental and physical load off people when they have nobody else around.“I had my sister-in-law in my back pocket, and my mother-in-law, and many friends, and I still struggled, and people still do. So like, people without even friends around, no wonder there's mental health issues and a lot of post-traumatic stress and anxieties.“So, I just really want to try and make a little dent in that and try and slow that at least.”Once things took off in Dunedin, Broghan put the feelers out to see how Postpartmum would go in other Otago towns.From posting on a number of community Facebook pages in the region, she ended up with 30 job applications, but most were from Ōamaru and Alexandra.She also had people messaging her saying “I hope you get someone here, ’cause I need you”.She has hired Alyssa Jones in Ōamaru, a “natural helper and giver” and has a second person ready to step up if business demands it, she says.Services will be offered in a 15km radius of town at this stage to keep travel time to a minimum.Alyssa Jones will be working for Postpartmum in Ōamaru. Photo: SuppliedThe services Postpartmum offers vary from doing dishes and/or cleaning, to walking the dog or occupying the toddler, while mum has a shower or feeds the baby.A day in the life of Broghan looks different from one day to the next.Sometimes she’s a nanny, sometimes she’s a cleaner, sometimes it’s just noticing what needs to be done without having to be told. “To everyone, I'm like, ‘do not walk in there and say, what do you want me to do?’. “I do say if there's nothing obvious or clear . . . I'd say what's bothering you the most, not what needs done . . because then they’d be like, everything.”Broghan says, although mothers might not realise it, sometimes the biggest role they have is being available to “hold a conversation space” for clients, to allow them to talk with another person.“A like-minded person that gets it, which is massive. It's feeling heard and seen.” The Postpartmum workers are also mothers, so business hours tend to work in with school or kindergarten. Broghan deals with emails and admin after her son is in bed at night.The business is registered with Work and Income New Zealand (Winz) for in-home support, and sometimes mothers who are struggling can get a referral through their doctor.The business is also registered with Givenwell - a website well-being providers can register with, so people can be gifted tokens to spend on their health and well-being through the site, Broghan says.“So it's all about preventative measures rather than trying to fix something that's broken.”Her goal for the year is to also be ACC registered to provide home support for birth and other injuries.

New Forrester exhibitions stand alone but weave together
New Forrester exhibitions stand alone but weave together

31 January 2025, 2:12 AM

Rural Southland is maybe not where you would expect the next generation of Māori art to spring from, but that’s where you’ll find Caitlin Rose Donnelly (Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Irakehu, Kāti Mako ki Wairewa, Pākehā) most of the time.The mother of two lives with her husband, contract milking on a dairy farm, and through her contemporary art expresses her experiences of mum-life intertwined with her journey of discovering her Māoritanga.Of the four exhibitions she has brought together as a “curatorial artist” for Ōamaru's Forrester Gallery, her solo exhibition, is Kei te Haere Ahau - 'I am going'.Caitlin came to the name after being inspired by listening to a panel discussion a couple of years earlier.“I really loved that sentiment of drawing strength from the whenua (land) and from the awa (river), from our places, and tīpuna (ancestors) in that way.The sheets and pillowcases are washed in wai (water) and paint, in an unlived-in house her chief in the fire service owned and offered to her.The idea began as an experiment while Caitlin was completing her Masters at Dunedin School of Art.“Then I kind of liked it, and it's just looking at motherhood every day. The washing, the washing . . . just the washing! And then the colours connecting that to, especially at that time, learning to be like, ‘I am Māori’. Caitlin is adopted, and was raised by a Pākehā family in an open adoption, but with “iwi unknown” on her adoption booklet.Late into completing her art degree, and around the time she had her first child, she found a cousin and more information about her iwi and started making those connections.“It's been really slow . . . but I wanted to know the people, I wanted to know the marae, I wanted to know my cousins, know my whānau.”Caitlin joined Paemanu (Ngāi Tahu Contemporary Visual Arts) where she has gained confidence with her art and Māoritanga.“Simon Kaan (of Paemanu) was working at art school in Dunedin at the time, and he’s long left that position, but he stayed connected with me, and he watched me go from ‘unknown’ to same whakapapa line as him, and he's more like my uncle . . . and he's just really lovely, and he welcomed me into Paemanu, so that's how I've got all these amazing connections. And I would be nowhere without all these awesome people.” To Caitlin, art is “nothing but a conversation”.“I always hope my work and these shows will spark conversations. But also art is never made solely alone, it’s made by so many interactions, by relationships.“It’s the manifestation of these things with deep thought, skills and material.” Kei te Haere Ahau - 'I am going'  involves a “big red maunga (mountain) slash waterfall”.“Then a lot of black stacked on the sides. Kind of awa (river), kind of washing, and we look at te po and te kore in the black. And we look at wāhine, and we look at … a lot of feminine things in the red, and a lot of that non-violent nature. But then there's always that violent reality of being a woman at times,” she says.Upstairs in the Forrester, with Iti Biti Matapihi, Caitlin is joined by Emma Kitson, Kate Stevens West, Aroha Novak, Georgina May Young, Alix Ashworth, Piupiu Maya Turei and Zoe Thompson-Moore. This exhibition also explores the theme of motherhood and the everyday experiences it entails. For example, Kate has children's toy houses she has painted, while Zoe’s work is made using “glitter” from tiny cut up pieces of her children’s chip packets.Alex is bringing “beautiful ceramic takata (people)” which will accessible for children to play with, and there will be a lightbox, which doubles as a coffee table, with different interactive images and pictures.Caitlin says the exhibition is a bit of a fun and interactive play, which captures both the joy and depth of the experience of motherhood. The concept draws inspiration from the notion that motherhood can be seen as fleeting but also significant windows in time.The group, each member of which Caitlin has met through a number of random interactions, has “had some really cool conversations” over Zoom for the past few months, she says.“Just talking and saying what we want to show, what we want to talk about.”The third exhibition, Broken Narratives, is a collaboration between Caitlin and Victoria McIntosh (the artist behind the Desserts of Discontent exhibition which has just ended). It explores the intricate realities of adoption through creativity, and reflects the fragmented, yet rich stories adoptees have to tell.Victoria is also adopted, although hers was a closed adoption.“Me and Victoria are going to look at adoption differently, a bit yin and yang,” Caitlin says.The exhibition highlights the unique and shared challenges both artists have faced through their different experiences. “I met Victoria when I was studying, years ago when I was in undergrad in the jewellery studio,” Caitlin says.“At first I was studying her work and then . . . I got to meet her. Fan girl moment. We bonded quickly over our adoption experiences, although they are in different generations and stories. She’s been an amazing support since and I’m glad to her call a friend. “I’m very honoured she accepted this opportunity to tell our stories together.” Caitlin and Victoria will be joined by leading academic scholar of Māori and Public Health in Aotearoa and University of Canterbury Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha associate professor Dr Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll tomorrow (Saturday, February 1) for a kōrero at the gallery., Dr Ahuriri-Driscoll’s PhD investigated the concept of identity as it features in the lives and experiences of Māori adoptees. The kōrero will take place at 1pm.The fourth exhibition, in the Forrester’s main gallery, is Poipoia te Kākano.Allison Beck, Kate Stevens West, Jess Nicholson, Megan Brady and Emma Kitson join Caitlin as they express and celebrate their individual journeys of discovering and reconnecting with their whakapapa.This project celebrates the significance of ancestry, heritage, and cultural identity through diverse artistic practices. By examining both the pride and challenges associated with this journey, Poipoia te Kākano illuminates the enduring impact of whakapapa on contemporary life.“We were looking and speaking about our own whakapapa journeys. Me, myself, coming to it later in life, and learning how to connect and learning everything, you know?”Some of the others had similar experiences to Caitlin, while others connected more once they had children.“I've always been met with such lovely, ‘This is your place, you belong here’. Like, you go with all these fears, and then you meet with this loveliness.Forrester Gallery curator Anna McLean is excited about hosting the exhibitions.“I think there is a need for more, kind of, multiculturalism, biculturalism, and a commitment to te ao Māori. “I think it's been really great to work with Caitlin and bring in, and going into our extension. “There's a lot going on, but equally, all four (exhibitions) talk about different things, while also being really collaborative.” All four exhibitions open tomorrow (Saturday, February 1) and run until April 6.

NZ could become 'net exporter' of population
NZ could become 'net exporter' of population

30 January 2025, 9:21 PM

By RNZ Money Correspondent Susan EdmundsNew Zealand risks becoming a "net exporter" of population in the next few months if current trends continue, economists are warning.In November, there were 12,800 migrant arrivals and 10,600 departures, for a net migration gain of 2200 people, compared to 7100 a year earlier.For the year to November, arrivals were down 32 percent and departures up 28 percent.The numbers could quickly reach a point where they started to cross and more people left New Zealand than arrived, Craig Renney, policy director at the Council of Trade Unions, said.That would hit some parts of New Zealand particularly hard, he said."People come to Auckland, Christchurch and so on but they leave places like Palmerston North, Ashburton. So delivering economic growth in those locations become harder."If you want to - Mr Luxon's phrase - go for growth, it's relatively straightforward to have economic growth if your customer base is growing 2 percent a year. But if it's shrinking it makes it harder."Post-Christmas was a time when more people thought about leaving, Renney said."It may well be that in the next couple of months we end up there. We have to think about what that means for the delivery of public services. There are some that depend upon migration - medical care, teaching."It could also be a problem because some those who left could be the higher-skilled, higher-earning people who could help growth, he said.Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen agreed that it was possible net migration could go negative on a month-to-month basis this year."Over the last six months, monthly net migration has averaged around 2336 more people coming in than leaving each month - that's much lower than through 2023, when monthly net migration averaged over 10,000 more people coming into New Zealand than leaving, and also higher than in 2017-2018 before Covid-19 impacts hit the migration figures, when monthly net migration was over 4000 per month."There were high numbers of people leaving New Zealand, both in terms of New Zealanders looking for other opportunities and migrants who had moved here shifting away again, he said."Migrant arrivals are also falling back from highs, as there are simply not as many jobs available in New Zealand, and a lot of competition from workers already in New Zealand looking to get into the jobs on offer, meaning less need to bring in talent from overseas."Rising unemployment and continued weakness in hiring would further limit inward migration, Olsen said."In October last year, Infometrics warned that annual net migration could turn negative in 2026/27 as migration flows shifted around again - that'd be consistent with net monthly outflows towards the end of 2025."BNZ chief executive Mike Jones said there was a reasonable chance that migration could turn negative, although it was not his core forecast."The monthly net migration figures are always pretty choppy and we're currently sailing not that far above zero at a trend net inflow of about 2000 people per month. We could see that drop away a little as we head into the autumn and winter months."He said the surge in population growth had papered over cracks in the economy for a while."Although it hasn't necessarily been obvious given the aggregate economic numbers stayed so weak throughout the migration boom."That speaks to just how soft the underbelly of the economy has been over the past couple of years, which we can now see for example by looking at GDP per capita figures."I think, overall, the impacts on demand from the surge in population growth were probably not as large as some expected and the supply side impacts, particularly on the labour market, have been more obvious." - RNZ

No-fault evictions back again amid claim of 'open-season on renters'
No-fault evictions back again amid claim of 'open-season on renters'

29 January 2025, 9:22 PM

By RNZ Money Correspondent Susan Edmunds No-cause evictions are back from Thursday - and landlords are being told not to see it as "carte blanche to end tenancies at will".Amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act passed last year and brought a number of changes.While the changes to bond lodgments, no longer requiring signatures for lodging or topping up a bond, took effective immediately, others are still being rolled out.From 30 January, landlords can end a periodic tenancy without a specific reason if they give 90 days' notice.They can also end a tenancy with 42 days' notice if they or a family member are intending to move back into the property.Landlords will also not need to give a reason why they do not want a fixed term to automatically become a periodic tenancy.Read more:Top five reasons tenants (and landlords) end up in Tenancy TribunalOther technical changes take effect from 20 March, including allowing landlords to ban tenants smoking indoors and allowing an email address to be used as an address for service.The amendments also included provision for "pet bonds" but these will not take effect until an order in council.A Ministry of Housing and Urban Development spokesperson said that was expected late this year."We need flexibility for the pet-related changes, as they require new pet bond IT functionality to be developed and implemented."'Protections' for tenants remainAPIA general manager Sarina Gibbon said the return of 90-day terminations came with "significant strings"."While the restoration of the 90-day no-fault termination provision has garnered significant attention, it's crucial to understand this comes with robust tenant protections."The strengthened safeguards against retaliatory terminations and the already low threshold for wrongful termination under section 60AA of the Residential Tenancies Act create a comprehensive framework of checks and balances."Tamatha Paul Photo: RNZ / Samuel RillstoneShe said the changes were sensible and pragmatic and designed to create a rental market that worked better for everyone.However, Green Party housing spokesperson Tamatha Paul said it was a loss of rights for renters."I'm gutted…The odds are completely stacked against them to pursue their right to adequate housing."The reality of these laws is someone can be kicked out for the colour of their hair, or the colour of their skin, or the colour of their eyes… all around the world no-cause evictions, no-fault evictions have resulted in nothing but an increase in homelessness."She said most submitters were opposed to the changes, including a majority of landlords and property managers."They're not needed. If there is a genuine reason to evict someone from their home it already existed in the law. This is open season on renters and it's abhorrent." - RNZ

Maheno School memories stand test of time almost 90 years on
Maheno School memories stand test of time almost 90 years on

29 January 2025, 12:07 AM

Noel Wilson remembers his first day at Maheno School, at the end of March, 1935. “We lived in Maheno township, and it was only a stone's throw to school.” His primer teacher was Miss Doreen Jackson.“She was a lovely person, I’ll never forget her,” he says.At the end of 1936, Noel's family shifted from Maheno to Reidston, about “two miles away”, which was "a good hike”, he says. His father, who had been a butcher when they lived in Maheno, became a poultry farmer.“The family didn't have a car, no bikes or anything, but I was lucky because there was a senior girl - she must have been about leaving age - sometimes she would give me a piggyback home, you know, for half a mile or something like that.”But the long walk to and from school had its advantages as well, Noel says, with two good orchards on the way.“And if you were lucky to find the owners away, you could have a real good feed!”  Maheno School is celebrating its 150th anniversary in April, and so far, Noel who turns 95 in March, is the oldest former student on the attendance list.He thinks the student roll back then was more than 100, but he isn’t sure. There were a lot of sports meets with Herbert and Kakanui Schools, which were “quite competitive affairs”. “In the Maheno School grounds, there were two, what they called play sheds - one for the girls and one for the boys.“Along the roof, there was a ladder hanging down from the roof, and that became very competitive, swinging along the length of the shed back again. They don't have that at schools now, I wouldn't think. That was quite good.”Noel remembers swimming lessons, and being taught how to life save in the Kakanui River, under the iron railway bridge.“You'd line up and march from the school down to the railway bridge. And for distances, like, to get a certificate for how far you could swim, we used to go to the mill down, and there was a stretch of water there, it would be three or four hundred yards long, and the teachers would walk on the west side of the river to see that nobody put their feet on the bottom and started walking.“I can remember a few getting caught like that, including myself.”  In standards five and six (years seven and eight), Noel and his classmates caught the slow train from Palmerston into Ōamaru for manual.“We used to go to the middle school, which is now the hospital. The boys for woodwork and metalwork. And I think the girls was dressmaking and cooking. “We used to catch it a bit after eight o'clock in the morning, and we'd get to town about half nine. And it would leave again about three o'clock and get home at four. It was definitely a slow train.” After leaving school at 14, he got a job working on a farm, followed by the limeworks, before becoming a builder. Eventually he ended up working for a stock firm.He married Joyce, they moved back to Maheno in 1963 and their children - Ross, Fiona, Alison and Janine all went to Maheno School as well.Noel maintained a connection with the school and was on the committee long enough to see a lot of changes to the curriculum over the years, he says.One not-so-fond memory that sticks with him of his school days is the dental clinic.“Oh, they were terrible days. The holes that they used to bore in your teeth. I think they ruined more teeth than they ever made!”The Maheno School 150th anniversary is being held April 11-13. Past pupils and staff who would like to attend are asked to register through the Maheno School website.A photo from the Maheno School Centennial celebrations in 1975. Photo: Supplied/Hector Souness via Maheno School/Facebook

'Nudies' help hill country sheep farmers strip costs back to the bone
'Nudies' help hill country sheep farmers strip costs back to the bone

28 January 2025, 8:49 PM

By RNZ journalist Penny MilesNew Zealand's market for strong wool is rising with a lower exchange rate driving crossbred fleece prices to eight-year highs.But while the rise in the price of wool used to make carpet and insulation is a sign of renewed global interest in woollen carpets, hill country farmers are continuing to invest in sheep which don't grow the fibre. They're called Wiltshires and Nudies.That's the situation facing farmers who are voting with their cheque books by paying a premium for these new self-shedding breeds. It's an economic decision after years of carrying the cost of shearing.At the same time the horizon is slightly brighter for strong wool with a renewed interest in wool used in home interiors.One New Zealand carpet manufacturer, Wools of New Zealand, has recently offered a landmark deal to its wool growers.Chief executive John McWhirter said its monthly contracts of $5 per kilogram launched last month were a generous offer for coarse wool and reflected growing confidence in the market."Well, if you were getting $3 and now you're getting $5 that's a significant increase but farmers will always tell you that they need more and I understand that. But it's certainly a massive step forward," McWhirter said.Moves afoot for natural flooring seen in EuropeThe company's global marketing manager Stephen Parsons said in Europe, where he's based, there was an ongoing shift towards natural flooring.Consumers were turning away from microplastics to natural fibres, and bare wooden floorboards and the Scandinavian plank look might have reached their peak."I think people are starting to realise that they want to be comfortable and sit on the floor and for it not to be cold and hard," he said.The ability of the New Zealand carpet industry to keep up with the latest colour trends and market their premium products to customers eager for natural products were other factors.The New Zealand carpet industry can keep pace with the latest colour trends. Photo: 123rf via RNZ Wools of New Zealand has been using the catchy tagline, carpets that don't cost the earth.Parsons said they have been working on a number of innovations to enhance product quality and to bring new styles to the market. He believed his wool brand was growing fast with several new partners."2025 is going to be a big year for us both in New Zealand and in our export markets," he said. .And one thing he was certain about was that grey carpet was on the way out."Here in Europe we're seeing that phase out very quickly. Warmer colours are coming in. The chocolate browns, caramel browns, soft greens, olive greens and autumnal shades are coming in."Imported geneticsBack on Whanganui fifth-generation sheep breeder Kate Kellick's hill country farm near Mangamahu, the market for breeding stock tells a different story.At her family's Tokorangi breeding operation they've dedicated 14 years to sheep that don't grow wool, with imported genetics from Exlana sheep in the United Kingdom crossed with Wiltshires.A flock of Wiltshires. (File pic) Photo: RNZThat's paid off with their top-priced ram selling for a record $8000 at auction last month.She said it was a combination of low wool prices and increased labour costs which enticed farmers to go for breeds which were all about producing meat with less labour. There was no shearing and less dagging."They're totally for producing meat, there's no shearing, dagging and crutching. We don't even dock our ones. The workload is about 60 percent less than a wool-bred sheep," Kellick said.Across the range in the Wairarapa, longtime Wairere breeder Derek Daniell's shedding rams have sold for almost $5000.That's more than double the price of traditional romney stock."We as a ram breeding outfit, we have imported over the last three years sheep that don't grow wool at all. We call them Nudies. They just grow a hair coat like a deer or a horse," he said.He said hill country farmers were hurting, with 90 percent running at a loss in the last financial year - and that meant a need to eliminate the cost of shearing. He believed a price of $10 per kilogram was what was required to bring wool out of the doldrums.'So lovely and so soft' - wool carpet fanBut some consumers were still prepared to pay a premium for the feel of wool under their feet.Wellington home owner Anne Jolly said she couldn't be happier with the decision she made to go for carpet off the sheep's back.She went for Wools of New Zealand carpet in an economical 4 metres width meaning some rooms could be laid with a single piece of carpet with no joins or seams."It's so luxurious, so lovely and so soft, and now I'm constantly in bare feet," she said.That's music to the ears of PGG Wrightson general manager for wool Rachel Shearer, who said last week's auction in Napier saw prices exceed $4 for strong wool.She said even leftovers were going up in price.Declining sheep numbers are also pulling up the price of strong wool. The country's flock keeps falling as more farms are converted to forestry. Stats NZ's latest stock survey showed sheep numbers fell to 23 million sheep in the year to June, down from the peak of 70m in the early 1980s.Shearer advised farmers to lock in contracts as reduced volumes and lower sheep numbers brought renewed hope a tipping point for the sector might now be within reach. - RNZ

Lunar New Year's Eve heralds year of the Snake
Lunar New Year's Eve heralds year of the Snake

27 January 2025, 11:05 PM

Today (Wednesday January 29) is the beginning of traditional Chinese spring festival celebrations, commonly called Chinese or Lunar New Year.The history of Chinese New Year goes back as far as 4,000 years. So, in honour of this auspicious day, here are eight little facts you many not already know about Chinese New Year 2025.What is Chinese or Lunar New Year about?Chinese New Year, which is also called the Spring Festival and the Lunar New Year, celebrates the second ‘new moon’ on the lunar calendar (also known as a lunisolar calendar) and lasts until the following 'full moon'.In the northern hemisphere, it marks the start of spring, a time to reunite with family, and is the time to wish for luck, wealth and prosperity for the year ahead.Two billion people celebrate Lunar New Year worldwide.Chinese New Year is obviously celebrated in China where it is a public holiday and one of the biggest celebrations of the year!Other countries including South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam celebrate the Lunar new year at the same time.Celebrations last for up to16 days (in some places)Typical celebrations go for 16 days which in 2025 will end with the Lantern Festival on February 12.On the morning of New Year's Eve, people traditionally sweep the tombs of their ancestors, hang 'spring festival' couplets (poems of two lines) and red lanterns.Often people will have a big family reunion dinner (the most important dinner of the year!).A great reason to do the housework and also leave the housework for a bitThere are lots of traditions around Chinese New Year - in preparation, people 'sweep out' misfortune from the old year and hang up poems on red paper for good luck and prosperity.On Lunar New Year itself, it's best not to do any washing or sweeping so as not to wash away good fortune.Red is the colour of the celebrationsPeople generally avoid colours associated with mourning (such as black and white), in favour of wearing red and / or a new outfit.Also red are the traditional little red envelopes for holding money to be given to children and sometimes others as a symbol of good luck.The Year of the Snake is good for some of usThe Chinese Zodiac has twelve signs characterised by different animals and 2025 welcomes the Year of the Snake.In some traditions snake years are associated with harvest, procreation, spirituality and good fortune as well as evil, threat, cunning and terror.Depending on your own Zodiac sign, this could be a more or less lucky year for you, you can find out your Zodiac sign here.Typically, being the same Zodiac sign as the year you're in is not considered to be lucky.Good luck for Snake people in 2025Things that are lucky for Snake people include some numbers, colours and flowers.Your lucky numbers are 2. 8 and 9 (or numbers containing these numbers e.g. 28, 32, 49).Your lucky colours are black, red and yellow and your lucky flowers are orchid and cactus.Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year are not quite the same thing.Many Asian countries share the interpretation of the Chinese calendar, and they celebrate at the same (or almost the same) time.Other cultures celebrate Lunar New Year on different dates (examples are Mongolian, Islamic and Jewish calendars).

'Digital nomad' visa change getting overseas interest - business expert
'Digital nomad' visa change getting overseas interest - business expert

27 January 2025, 10:57 PM

By RNZ Political reporter Anneke Smith, The government's move to loosen visitor visa rules has already piqued overseas interest from some Americans who've lost their homes in the LA fires.From this week, 'digital nomads' - like IT specialists and social media influencers - can apply for a visitor visa to live and work onshore for nine months.National campaigned on the change ahead of the last election and is now hoping it will boost visitor numbers and interest from overseas businesses."The government's ambition is that new visa rules will put New Zealand boldly on the map as a welcoming haven for the world's talent and we hope that in some cases, it will encourage those people and the firms they represent to consider doing more business with New Zealand in future," Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis said.Immigration New Zealand is launching an advertising campaign to spread the word, allocating roughly $100,000 to target the US and South East Asia markets.APEC business advisory council member Brett O'Reilly told RNZ he had already been contacted by half a dozen people, including Americans affected by the LA fires.Listen on Morning Report: Govt loosens visitor visa rules to allow digital nomads"The feedback is very positive in that a lot of people around the world would love the opportunity to come and visit and work in New Zealand."And for those people impacted by the recent fires in Los Angeles this is a godsend and giving them an opportunity to relocate somewhere temporarily while their houses and lives are being rebuilt."Some of those affected by the fires in California earlier this month might see the visa change as a godsend, APEC business advisory council member Brett O'Reilly says. Photo: AFP / Getty Images / Eric Thayer via RNZNew Zealand joins dozens of other countries - including Portugal, Spain, Germany, Thailand and Indonesia - that host digital nomads.O'Reilly said it had taken too long for Aotearoa to get to this point but it was better late than never and he believed it would boost visitor numbers."I think a lot of people in the tech sector have a mixture of working hard in front of the computer but then want to engage in adventure activities afterwards."New Zealand's no better place [for] that. There are already a lot of people that come to places like Queenstown and Auckland and want to engage in that sort of activity. Now they can, and they can stay a lot longer."General manager of FCM Travel in New Zealand Kelly Thomas said there was increasing demand for digital nomad schemes from employees who wanted to blend business and leisure."Gone are the days of a traveller being comfortable doing multiple single day, overnight or really short trips throughout a month."They actually want to go into a country and add on a little bit of leisure travel while they're there to make the most of that travel."Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the government would push on with an advertising campaign. Photo: RNZ / Reece BakerThe visa change is part of the government's broader goal of boosting visitor numbers that have slumped in recent years as the country continues to lose residents in record numbers.That push to get the numbers back up has some hotspots - like Queenstown - worried about the strain on already-stressed infrastructure.Tourism Minister Louise Upston was asked about consultation with affected regions on Monday and said if things got to a crunch point it would be a good problem to have."The reality is most parts of New Zealand recognise that while we're not at the 2019 levels, we want more visitors, their businesses want more customers."If we get to a situation quickly, which would actually be a great problem to have, then absolutely we need to look at that more carefully."For now, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the government would push on with an advertising campaign."Immigration New Zealand are going to be targeting South East Asia and America in the first instance, and I think our budget is around $100,000."So we'll test the water and see how that goes and then potentially break out into new markets with more spend later, depending on what the Minister of Finance does in the next Budget."The government said it was hard to know how many digital nomads might take up visitor visas but similar schemes had proven very popular overseas.Immigration New Zealand wasn't able to provide the number of applications it had received - if any - as of close of business on Monday. - RNZ

How decades of effort brought kōkako song back to the forests
How decades of effort brought kōkako song back to the forests

26 January 2025, 9:20 PM

There were just 458 known pairs of kōkako 25 years ago, now their numbers have increased five-fold.Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research senior scientist John Innes had been part of the drive to turn those numbers around.He devoted the last 44 years to protecting native birds and retires this week.The call of kōkako still delighted him, he told Summer Weekends.Listen here on Summer Weekends: John Innes on the Kokako’s resurgence"I say, well, it doesn't matter really if you don't see one, but if you've never heard one, you will die poor."As far back as the 1940s people were aware kōkako were slipping away, he said. But little was known about the bird."The modern era of research picked up, then people studied the bird and found that it spends its entire existence inside little territories where it has to find all of its food, and its nesting success was terrible."Subsequent research showed 85 percent of nesting attempts failed, he said.Ship rats, possums, stoats and harriers were the culprits.What followed was 20 years of predator control, he said."And we were very gratified to see quite strong responses to that."Kōkako. Photo: Supplied / Warren Butcher via RNZThere are now 26 places around the North Island with kōkako populations.There are 11 relic ones, but 12 of them are new and have been established by translocation. Three are on offshore islands - Little Barrier, Tiritiri Matangi and Kapati, Innes said.Before the restoration efforts kicked in - because predation took place at night - the science was literally in the dark."The birds were disappearing in front of their faces because the bad stuff was happening at night, and it looked as if the birds were co-existing with their agents of decline."Predation of eggs and chicks wasn't the only threat, he said."They need plenty of food to breed. They have big breeding years if there's a lot of food and not such good ones if there's not."They need excellent food availability. And if you want to maximise prospects for this bird and many others, then those two things have to happen together, lots of kai and safe passage through nesting."In the early days, primitive time-lapse video revealed what was going on, he said."We initially built our own systems. The very first one I saw was in Hawaii, actually an American project, but we came back and built one at Forest Research Institute at Rotorua. We had to carry around big 12-volt batteries and it was all done with video."When we look back at this, the quality of the outputs is not so good, but the very first night we used it, it famously filmed a possum turning up at a nest. And it was extraordinary sort of unscripted television to watch and so that was the re-discovery, as it turned out, of possums as predators of bird eggs and chicks in New Zealand."Kōkako needed good healthy forests and predator control had helped too, he said."Forests need to be in good condition. Ship rats and possums, they're not just predators they're also tree climbing. Possums eat leaves and fruit, and ship rats eat fruit and insects, and kōkako feed their chicks insects."So, you have to improve the condition of the forest, and a combination of predator control of browsing mammals will do it."With good food supply, kōkako would make up to three breeding attempts a year, Innes said.Drops of 1080 in inaccessible areas had proven a vital tool in reviving kōkako populations, he said, which was now much more targeted."We did a lot of work, five years' worth really, to verify that kōkako survived aerial 1080 operations, fine. And in fact, it helps all aspects of their little lives." - RNZ

Ōamaru woman powers into 2025 with gym lease, launch of teen academy
Ōamaru woman powers into 2025 with gym lease, launch of teen academy

23 January 2025, 8:31 PM

The new year is bringing new and exciting challenges for Ōamaru fitness and nutrition coach Melissa Smith.Mel has been steadily building her business Melissa Smith Total Wellbeing, since her third son Albie was six months old. Four year later, Mel takes over the lease of the Ōamaru Rowing Club gym on February 1.She will also be running a sports academy pilot programme for sport-focussed teenagers, mostly years 11 and 12, to help them train and fuel themselves with proper nutrition.It’s been a steady progression for Mel, who took on her first personal training client in 2021 at the Movement Hub, to now.Although she has degrees in physical education and science, with a majors in nutrition and exercise prescription, it was only since trying to figure out what she could do, that would work around her role as a mother, that she found her way back to her biggest passion - health and fitness.Mel grew up in Ōamaru and went to St Kevin’s College, where she met her husband Craig, and where he is now deputy principal.The two are equally passionate about their sport. Mel has achieved success in netball and athletics to a representative level, while Craig has had similar success with cricket. They have also managed to pass on their sporting genetics to their three sons - Louie, ten, Mason, eight, and Albie, four.After graduating from university the couple moved to Invercargill so Craig could take up a teaching position. Mel worked for Sport Southland, then the Southern District Health Board, followed by the Department of Internal Affairs.  “It wasn't like I went to uni, did my degrees and then stopped using them, but . . . I kind of drifted away from it - using similar skills that supported groups who were sports bodies - but kind of went away from that core health and wellbeing side of it.” They moved back to Ōamaru so they could raise their children closer to both families.When exercise physiologist and pilates instructor Stacey Pine started the Movement Hub on Harbour Street in 2021, she offered Mel the incentive to brush up on her nutrition qualifications and ease herself back into doing something she loved.It was the push Mel needed, and something she says she is incredibly grateful to Stacey for. “I was able to get back into it really slowly - I literally would have two or three clients a week and it was just all I needed just to get my confidence back up, because you always have imposter syndrome, you know.”And as her children have grown, so has Mel’s business. A lot of planning and work behind the scenes has gone into the new pilot programme to make it a success. Photo: Sari Renee PhotographyMore equipment and space has been required, and Mel trained some of her personal training clients at St Kevin’s, before moving to the Rowing Club Gym in July last year to help out exiting leaseholder Karina Timpson.Karina has moved away but wanted someone to have a presence at the gym and continue classes for existing members, Mel says.“So it was a good opportunity to use a good space, and the women (Karina’s clients) were awesome, like they were all a really good bunch and I knew a lot of them anyway. “It's a nice, comfortable, quiet space which is what I like.”Running a gym is a new challenge for Mel, but she is excited about taking it on.The gym will be open 24 hours, and access will be automated, so she is not tied to being there all the time.“So it'll be set up in a way that it kind of just works and it's easy and I can manage it from home. And if I can't get away because of the kids, or if we are away on holiday, then people can still get in and get on with it.”Filling a gap for the youthMel says the sports academy is her way of providing something she wishes had been available to her when she was at high school.“This teen sport space has evolved quite a lot, there's a lot more focus on things now than what there was back when I was a kid."She has invited 20 mostly year 11 and 12 students (and one or two year 13s) to take part in a year-long programme, which will provide them with all the information they need to improve in their sport. “I'm really conscious to make sure there's no pressure on them. They don't have to reach a certain level or be in a certain team. “I've kind of picked kids that I know are sporty and are doing well, because I wanted the pilot kids to be motivated, so I can actually get it off the ground and going, and parents will be able to provide feedback. But long-term it's open to any kids that want to get better and improve their health and energy.”Mel says her focus will be on teaching the teens how to “fuel for life and health”.“And then that translates into improvement in your sport, because that's kind of where the mark’s missed. Kids get so focused on ‘what am I going to eat before my race or my game’, but actually, you didn't have breakfast, so start there!“It's that good foundation in nutrition.”As well as nutrition, Mel will focus on helping with strength and conditioning, and she has called on friend and former Ōamaruvian, Dylan Ross, to help with the mental skills side of the programme.Strength training will make up part of the programme for the academy. Photo: Sari Renee Photography“So he's done some work with the Highlanders . . . he's a detective in Dunedin, and he's done some sports psych stuff, so he can incorporate some goal setting and you know, finding out your why, like ‘why are you doing this, where do you want to go’, that type of thing.“And it's just some personal development, habit-building and stuff that's going to set them up for life really. Sleep. All those lifestyle things as well.”  The programme begins in February with some fitness testing and a meeting with Dylan, and then Mel will create a programme for each of the participants.“Then I'll be there just to guide them through it.” The programme includes students from all three high schools and Mel has also partnered with the North Otago Rugby Football Union, which will fund five scholarships for rugby players - a boy and girl from St Kevin’s, one student from Waitaki Boys’ High School, one from Waitaki Girls’ and one other, Mel says.The NORFU's rugby and game development manager Jason Forrest says it's a "huge opportunity" for them to partner with all the high schools, and he thinks what Mel is doing is "phenomenal"."We just want to be a part of that," he says."We've always had scholarships and that sort of thing, but this is a little bit different in regards to, we are starting to keep a lot of our young kids around town, and we just want to show them a pathway. And you don't have to go to the big unions to do that - we can create something from our little community, our little town, and you know sometimes it's better being the 'big fish in the small pond'-type scenario."We just want to work a little bit closer with our high schools . . . and this is creating pathways for these kids in our own region."Mel hopes her pilot group will want to stay on with her once the year is complete.“Then they'll become year two and I'll bring on some new ones, but that first year will have developed from progress along the way this year.”She thinks one of the biggest learnings she might be able to offer her young athletes is that less can be more.“Sometimes I think it’s the structure of their training, and getting away from the idea that you have to thrash yourself - it's quality over quantity. If you have a good structured programme, you don't actually need to be doing as much as what you are sometimes.“So it's working it around what you're doing and not doubling up on stuff, and actually having a good structured programme where you're hitting all the muscles that you need to, and you're working your body in a way that's gonna benefit your sport - and that's for anyone."Often sometimes people get better gains when they actually reduce it right back and rest and recover."Increasing protein and eating enough also helps an athlete's recovery and allows them to train better to see improvements. “Reap the rewards from the efforts really.”

Fluoride back in water supply from tomorrow
Fluoride back in water supply from tomorrow

21 January 2025, 9:16 PM

Fluoridation of Ōamaru's water supply begins again on Thursday (23 January). Despite strong opposition, fluoridation of the water supply began in July last year. It was paused early in October after testing indicated an error in the dosing calculation and the analyser which reported the fluoridation level in the water. However the fluoridation levels remained within the acceptable values for drinking water during this time, Waitaki District Council infrastructure manager Joshua Rendell says.The testing in October indicated levels of 1.07mg/L post-reservoir and 1.08mg/L at South Hill.The council targets 0.8 mg/L for fluoridation, following the Director General of Health’s directive to fluoridate between 0.7 and 1.0 mg/L. The maximum acceptable level of fluoride in drinking water is set at 1.5mg/L in the Water Services (Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand) Regulations 2022.Council Water Services and commissioning contractors Filtec have been working to recalibrate the dosing equipment and analyser to ensure the targeted level.Daily testing will be done in the network until fluoride is present in the supply, Joshua says.From then, weekly testing of the supply will be carried out both at the point of fluoridation and elsewhere on the network, to ensure the water is fluoridated between 0.7 and 1.0 mg/L, with the target level set at 0.8.The Director-General of Health Diana Safarti completed her Bill of Rights analysis relating to the directives to fluoridate in December 2024, and all cases brought before the High Court have confirmed the directives are lawful, he says.All further enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Health.

Faint stirrings of optimism as McCaw statue saga rumbles on
Faint stirrings of optimism as McCaw statue saga rumbles on

21 January 2025, 8:02 PM

By RNZ reporter Adam BurnsA project manager for a planned Richie McCaw statue to be erected in his hometown said he hopes it can finally be built this year.Long-awaited plans to establish a life size bronze sculpture of the rugby legend and former All Blacks captain in the Waitaki town of Kurow date back almost a decade.However the venture, which has the backing of the McCaw family, has struggled to get off the ground, largely because of sluggish fundraising contributions.A Givealittle page was set up in January 2018, and raised only $3333 of a $50,000 goal before closing 12 months later.McCaw grew up on a family farm in the Hakataramea Valley, north of the Waitaki River, and played his junior club rugby south of the river in Kurow.A large cardboard cutout of McCaw, alongside signage appealing for donations for the project, remains situated in the centre of town along State Highway 83.Waitaki Valley Community Society member John Sturgeon told RNZ the committee had raised about $40,000, enough for the work to be done."It's in limbo," he said."We're just waiting on a couple of things."Some of the outstanding matters included finding a 3D photography outfit for the project.Although other details remained under wraps, it was expected to be made from Oamaru limestone.Lyttelton sculptor Mark Whyte was initially earmarked to take on the job, but this was no longer the case.Alternative proposals have also been weighed up.Chinese sculptor and Auckland University graduate Yang Li built a seven-metre industrial styled statue of McCaw, mostly made from scrap metals.Yang Yi's 7m industrial-style Richie McCaw statue. Photo: Supplied via RNZHe went ahead with his creation despite a pre-build offer to the Auckland Council in 2012 being rejected.The fundraising committee had signalled an interest in housing Li's creation when fundraising efforts on the original concept stalled, although other committee members were less keen.McCaw played 148 tests for the national team between 2001 and 2015, including 110 as captain.He led the All Blacks to back-to-back Rugby World Cup triumphs in 2011 and 2015. - RNZ

Water leaks cost NZ $122m a year - research
Water leaks cost NZ $122m a year - research

20 January 2025, 9:06 PM

Public health experts have found New Zealand's water infrastructure system is leaking at a rate far higher than in leading European countries - wasting about $122 million each year.Aotearoa's leakage levels - at 21 percent - were worse than countries such as the Netherlands at 5 percent and Germany at 6 percent, new research from the Public Health Communication Centre showedCo-author University of Otago professor Nick Wilson said this highlighted the fact New Zealand needed to invest much more in its water system infrastructure."We also compared countries using the more sophisticated Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI). New Zealand ranks near the bottom of 15 OECD jurisdictions in this index, with a median ILI of 2.8 compared to Denmark's 0.7," he said."The leakage we estimate is costing the country $122 million a year when you use the price of water that's been used around the country when councils have introduced water metering. So this is a terrible waste and that estimate doesn't even account for all the problems associated when water leakage leads to slips and to collapses of footpaths and roads and so on," he said.Wilson said the leakage also posed public health risks."One of the concerns is that when there's breakages in pipes and if the water system undergoes pressure fluctuations you can actually get dirt coming into the piping system. Usually that's not such a problem because there's chlorination and so on, but when you look at the international experience you can see that there have been infectious disease outbreaks from pipes that are leaking and pipes which are damaged," he said.Wilson said local government needed more funding to invest in water systems."Some of that could come from central government, or local government needs better capacity to raise funds for investing in water infrastructure," he said.The research authors said it was encouraging that there had been recent progress in managing leaks in places such as Wellington and also that nearly three-quarters of New Zealanders surveyed supported water metering."We need much more water metering so that we can detect these leaks and really fine-tune the system," Wilson said."We have the knowledge and technology to actually get this water leakage rate down to very low levels such as we've seen with these European countries." - RNZ

Social media has a 'fascinating' impact on political engagement, University of Auckland professor says
Social media has a 'fascinating' impact on political engagement, University of Auckland professor says

19 January 2025, 8:31 PM

By RNZ Political reporter Lillian HanlyA media and screen lecturer with a background in political theory, media theory and the philosophy of technology says "direct engagement" with and education about proposed government policies online has been "fascinating".Submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill have smashed previous records with initial indications the committee received 300,000 submissions, half of which were received on the last day.A discussion document about the Regulatory Standards Bill received almost 23,000 submissions, around 80 percent of them in the final four days of the consultation period.Social media videos had been used throughout the consultation process to encourage viewers to make submissions.Professor Neal Curtis from the University of Auckland said he had seen regular reminders about what the Bills are about, ways in which people could respond and reminders to make submissions. He also pointed to communal submission parties which are "lovely things that I hope will continue into the future."It had been fascinating to watch people "directly engaging with these proposed changes" and the "education taking place" on social media, he said."Because there's lots of people who would have concerns about this stuff but aren't aware of the detail."It encouraged community engagement, and individuals getting involved politically, he said.In particular, Curtis had seen a lot of the engagement coming out of Māori communities. Throughout history Māori have had to speak out and protest, he said."They're showing us how to do things. They're offering us a lead."Neal Curtis of the University of Auckland. Photo: Supplied via RNZKoekoeā is a cross-platform account that was created after Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived at Parliament in November. It posts across Instagram, TikTok and Facebook and works with other groups like Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga.It was created by rangatahi, and the bio explains, it is a Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti group "bringing accessible information and workshops for Select Committee Submissions" on the Treaty Principles Bill.Its first post from 22 November on Instagram is a video of Tina Ngata - an indigenous rights advocate from Ngāti Porou - explaining what the page will do."Kia ora whānau. Welcome to the Koekoeā page. This is where we will be posting helpful information and guides for you to complete your submission for the Treaty Principles Bill. We will also be hosting weekly virtual workshops to support you drafting your submission as well."Ngata said they used social media because "that's where our people are in the first instance." They wanted to make sure there was "good information out there for our whānau, where they're at on those platforms."She also acknowledged that to a degree, it was about "numbers"."The simplest way to be able to communicate a message across to broad numbers and get many people exposed to that message these days is through social media."Ngata helped with content and live workshops and said it was about supporting people to be active in the submissions process and realise that it's "actually not that scary".Most of the people they engaged with said this was the first submission they'd ever written, Ngata said.Along with other accounts, both individuals and organisations, posts and videos, and live sessions were held right until the final submission date, which saw technical issues on the Parliament website and led to an extension of time for people to provide feedback.Listen on Morning Report here: Feedback on proposed Regulatory Standards Bill to closeA range of these accounts then encouraged people to turn their attention to the Regulatory Standards Bill, which received an exponential amount of its total submissions in the final few days.These two Bills were "probably two of the most constitutionally audacious pieces of legislation in our lifetime", Ngata said.They would be difficult to undo under a new government, and the process of undoing them could subject Māori to more "racialised hostility", she said."In terms of the scale and scope of the impacts and the potential to entrench and embed colonial power, they're laws that frame how we do law, and so that is going to require us to be aware of how systems of power work."She encouraged people to "get engaged" and to get good information from reliable sources.Media and communications could inform the will of the people, Ngata said.Curtis described social media "in its best form" as having the potential for "direct democracy rather than representative democracy.""So, rather than voting for somebody and [then] having somebody do or not do what you ask them to do, social media, because everybody can express their views and make statements on various issues, is much more related to the ideal of direct democracy, which is people actually directly engaging with stuff."He linked this to the submission process, because people were not asking a representative speak for them. "you're being asked to directly engage with law-making," he said."I think social media has always had this ideal, utopian aspect."Since the beginnings of the internet and the World Wide Web, there had always been "hopes, dreams, fantasies" about how technology could contribute to the development of direct democracy, he said."I think we're seeing what social media can potentially do in the political realm in a positive way, rather than in the very, very negative ways that it has so far operated."He described how people would see this information on their social media feeds all the time, and it would encourage them to respond and it make them feel "hopeful" and like they "can do something.""At a time when people are feeling perhaps a little hopeless or dispirited because of the direction the world has taken, I think this is, you know, it's good vibes, as they say."He said any engagement by the public was a "fantastically positive thing", especially because "it seems to me that one of the major objectives of the political class is to disenfranchise people, to produce a sort of apathy in which people just sort of give in."He pointed out that it showed lots of people do wanted to engage, but may not have had the time or the confidence to make a submission."Once the reminders come round people hop on and do it right."In regards to the Treaty Principles Bill, Curtis said people acknowledged it was a "significant" and "radical transformation"."I think that's motivating people."The temperature's suddenly been turned up really, really sharply, and people have gone, oh, my God, this is serious, right? So people are beginning to engage and speak about it and act on it and do something."Curtis warned about the dangers of "free speech," saying it was all connected."Speech is always rooted in a situation and a context. It's made by a person that's alive, that lives in a particular place and time and so if the environment in which we're trying to speak is full of hate, full of violence, full of racism, then a lot of people are not even going to attempt to speak."He described people making "one attempt" and getting "shouted down on social media" then deleting their accounts. In order to protect people's capacity to speak, there needs to be regulation, he said."This government is going down and accelerating that sort of free speech libertarian absolutist position that's come from the alt right in the States."Absolutist notions of free speech were "completely counter to democracy", he said.David Seymour was insistent on the need to have a quality discussion about the Bill, "and you don't get that from sheer numbers". Photo: RNZ / Samuel RillstoneHe said he thought communities that had built up on social media around these specific causes are providing spaces in which people feel protected, and a sense they've got agency and are able to do something."Even if it's just reposting something about a reminder to do a submission, not even doing a submission, even if it's just reposting to try and encourage other people to do maybe people see enough of it and feel that they can actually do it."Curtis was mindful there could be inaccurate information online, and there was a danger the "information environment we've built" was dominated by "so much noise and information".There would be disinformation, misinformation, and political propaganda going around, but that was the environment people had to work in, he said."People might be making submissions based on partial and partisan knowledge, but I come back to the fact that I'd rather have people engaging than not engaging when apathy is such a dangerous thing."It was a good thing that people are concerned enough to engage with websites that are "not empowering", he said."The way they're presented, the language that's used is often disabling in many ways. So for people to still go through that and make a submission, I think, is fantastic."Minister respondsDavid Seymour is in charge of the Treaty Principles Bill and while he was "thrilled" at the amount of attention, he had "mixed views" about the use of social media."I think some people have tried to make it so easy to submit to select committee that it's a de facto referendum."He was supportive of a referendum - the Bill called for that, and if passed into law would trigger one. But he thought it was "really critical we don't lose sight of the intention of the select committee process."That was where "members of the public can bring useful information to the attention of members of parliament, rather than make an expression of sheer numbers", he said.In terms of the level of engagement, he said even those who opposed his Bill seem to have accepted the "basic premise that what the treaty means to us in the future should be decided democratically, rather than by the courts or the Waitangi Tribunal, the public service, or any other small group of New Zealanders."He said the "quality of the submissions" must be considered. He pointed to examples of political parties, organisations or businesses collecting email submissions and making submissions on behalf of others."I don't think that is engagement, and that will have inflated the numbers somewhat, but nonetheless, you know, whichever way you paint it, a very significant number of people have made genuine and sincere submissions. And that, I think, is the triumph of the bill so far."On the use of social media as a platform for democratic engagement, Seymour said it has become much easier to convey information then ever before, "any person can become a broadcaster"."I've seen individuals who may not have much money, they may not be able to invest any money, but so long as they can sign up and register, they can share their views. That is a real transformation of media around the world."Seymour was insistent on the need to have a quality discussion about the Bill, "and you don't get that from sheer numbers."On the regulation of speech, Seymour said he suspected that was "not realistic.""I suspect in reality, just as you see Meta stepping back from fact checking, the only way to get to truth is an open contest of ideas. Anyone who promises they can give you an open contest of ideas without anyone offending you along the way is promising an impossibility." - RNZ

MBIE issues email alert for 50 product recalls
MBIE issues email alert for 50 product recalls

17 January 2025, 1:53 AM

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Hīkina Whakatutuki (MBIE) issued over 50 product recall alerts yesterday (Thursday January 16) including baby gear, children’s toys, bikes, clothing and bedding, farm and utility vehicles, tyres, industrial equipment and more.MBIE’s free to subscribers, product alert email hadn’t been operating recently although notices could be viewed on the Product Safety NZ website.Business specialist, Ian Caplin said, “we have managed to fix the issue this week which triggered an update which included all recalls since it went down”.The period since September includes some of the year’s highest volume consumer shopping days including November’s Black Friday sales and the busy Christmas period.Some of the 50 products being recalled.Fourteen of the fifty product recalls were sold by Panda Mart (also trading as PD Mart) which is currently under investigation by the Commerce Commission.The product recalls list includes children’s toys, headlights for Crocs shoes and Christmas themed bedding along with bigger ticket items such as specific models of John Deer, Polaris, Can-Am and Kubota mowers, tractors and utility vehicles.Potential issues include significant parts failures, choking and swallowing risks, toxic fumes and fire hazards.“Staying up to date on any recalls is important for New Zealanders to stay safe”, Ian said.“There is no prescribed timeframe in which a recall is effective however it is a requirement under the Fair-Trading Act that the recall notice is publicly available for at least two years.”Consumers can see all product recall notices on the Product Safety NZ website and subscribe to specific categories of product recalls they are most interested in or follow the product recalls page on Facebook.In some cases, businesses will contact purchasers directly or publish their own recall notices in their stores, on their websites or via social media.The Consumer Guarantees Act says products must be of acceptable quality, including safe to use. If a product is unsafe — or doesn't meet mandatory product safety requirements — you have the right to a refund, repair, or replacement.You may also be able to claim compensation for loss due to any damage caused by the unsafe product. An Insurance Council of New Zealand spokesperson said, "insurers are likely to cover the loss or damage caused by products if the homeowner had bought them in good faith and had not been notified about the recall and safety issues."   "People have a responsibility under their home insurance policies to take reasonable care, so in the case of a notified product recall, homeowners and landlords would be expected to follow the instructions of Worksafe, the manufacturer or the retailer who provided the advice about the recall.""Not doing so is likely to cause issues at claim time."MBIE’s advice for consumers is to look carefully at what you are purchasing to ensure the product is safe whether you are shopping in stores or online;look for safety standard labels as these will be safer to use. Products meeting an Australian or New Zealand Standard may carry the letters AS/NZS. don’t buy toys for babies and toddlers that have hazards such as small loose parts, button batteries, unsecured strings, cords or sharp edges.choose soft toys, art materials and face paints are labelled “non-toxic”buy age and development appropriate toys for children. Check the packaging for who the toy is designed for and be sure to follow instructions on safe assembling and use.See the list of yesterday's product recalls here.

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