AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for April 7, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fifty years ago, the trial of Bill Sutch on charges of breaching the Official Secrets Act rocked the nation. Historian Sarah Gaitanos says evidence that was withheld from court gives us an insight into his work as an alleged agent of the KGB. That evidence is published here for the first time.

Bill Sutch could be extremely persuasive. An influential and self-assured intellectual, he could give an impressive account of himself.

In his many books his accounts of his epic solo trek in 1932, around the Arctic Ocean, across the Soviet Union and over the mountains of Afghanistan into India became more extravagant with every telling. Publishers, readers, even his wife Shirley Smith, believed them. Decades after his death, Smith was shocked to discover that it was mostly a fantasy.

Sutch had spent only two weeks in Russia. But that trip – and those two weeks in Soviet Russia – was nevertheless the start of a true story that culminated in his arrest in 1974.

In February 1975, Dr Bill Sutch was tried under the Official Secrets Act. The Act dealt with what was loosely known as spying and wrongful disclosure of communication of official information for a purpose that prejudiced the safety or interests of the state. Sutch, it was said, had been using his position of influence close to the government to gather sensitive information and pass it on to the Soviet Union – an enemy of the state in the Cold War era.

Sutch had been a senior economist in the public service, head of the Department of Industries and Commerce until his forced retirement. Since then he had worked as a consultant. He was an influential public speaker and author with a devoted following.

Over five decades since his trial, accounts of the circumstances surrounding the case have diverged depending on who is telling the story. Those who hold that Bill Sutch was a patriot who would never have betrayed his country shrug off the evidence that he was a KGB agent and point to the lack of evidence of what he was actually doing for Soviet intelligence.

But two documents that NZSIS officers found in Sutch’s office safe do provide direct insight into his activities and relationship with the KGB.

Both written in 1970, the first is a report with classified information on a Cabinet decision about Japanese fishing rights in the Pacific. It shows that Sutch, though no longer a public servant, had access to top level sensitive information. His report, apparently prepared for his KGB handler at the time, gave the Soviet Union an edge in their negotiations for fishing rights in New Zealand waters, potentially compromising the New Zealand Government’s efforts to police their relations with the USSR.

The second – the focus of this article – is a document made up of six short profiles of senior civil servants. It shows a different aspect of the role of a KGB agent.

Attorney General Sir Martyn Finlay, who had the responsibility of deciding whether the case should proceed to court, would later acknowledge that the profiles had ‘tipped the scales’ in his decision to prosecute Dr Sutch, adding that their ‘possible effects in one way or another’, had caused him the greatest anxiety.

This raises intriguing questions. The prosecution went to lengths to determine how to present them in the trial but in the event they were kept secret. The profiles remained classified until 2008 and have not been published until now.

Listen now to The Agency, a new podcast detailing the story of a Kiwi spy who was close to the Sutch case before spending six years in cover for the CIA

I came to the Bill Sutch story as the biographer of his wife (human rights campaigner and trailblazing lawyer) Shirley Smith. Sutch and Smith were married for over 30 years and after his death in 1975, she spent another 30 years defending his reputation. In private, she was more circumspect.

I examined her marriage, her responses to revelations about her husband that continued to emerge, her agonizing doubts and confusion, what she knew and didn’t know about his activities. She would say that her husband didn’t let the truth get in the way of a good story but decades after his death she was still discovering how far he had deceived her. Her discovery of letters Sutch sent to his mother revealed the simpler truth of his travels as a younger man.

She had been shocked, too, to learn of Sutch’s arrest on the night of 26 September, 1974 after agents picked him up on the way to a meeting with Dmitri Razgovorov, First Secretary of the USSR Embassy in Wellington.

The two had been observed meeting in obviously clandestine circumstances, following standard spy craft procedures known as ‘Moscow rules’.

After he was brought in, Detective Colin Lines urged Sutch to come clean and get ‘off the hook’ with the Russians. Sutch at one point asked what would happen to him if he did?

The primary purpose of the joint operation between Police and Security Service was to get Sutch’s cooperation, but Sutch refused to talk to anyone from the SIS and the police had not been sufficiently briefed as to how the matter would be hushed up. In return for his full co-operation, a full and frank account of his association with the Russians, Sutch was to be given immunity. He would have received the knighthood he longed for. His public reputation would have been left intact.

Not knowing this, Lines could only reply to Sutch that it would be a better outcome for him. Sutch considered this before replying that there was no hook.

This testimony, along with evidence of Security Service surveillance of Sutch’s clandestine meetings with Razgovorov, was presented in court.

Whether or not the jury would have returned a different verdict had the report on Japanese fishing rights and the profiles been presented as evidence, one cannot say. Sutch cut a frail figure in court and there was little desire to see him sent to jail. (He would die of liver cancer months later.) According to Smith, a juror told her that they wanted to acquit him and realised they didn’t have to give a reason.

While his acquittal did not end public debate, the profiles were kept out of the discussion until former Attorney General Sir Martyn Finlay was interviewed about them almost 20 years later. What exactly they contained was still not disclosed.

To recap, the profiles refer to a document found in a file labelled ‘Foreign Affairs’ in the safe in Sutch’s office. The document was headed ‘Memo for File’, dated 20 October 1970, and was made up of short pen portraits describing the personal experiences, aptitudes and ambitions of six civil servants, their interests and relationships with their wives.

In four of the six, their attitude towards the Soviet Union is indicated.

The subjects were Tom Larkin and Charles Craw of Foreign Affairs, Geoff Easterbrook-Smith, Geoff Datson and Harold Holden of Industries and Commerce, and Jack Lewin, Department of Statistics. Lewin was Sutch’s closest friend. None of these men were ever suspected of spying for the Soviet Union.

You can read the profiles at the bottom of this article, along with the accompanying SIS analysis.

The SIS analyst who examined the subject, written style, nature and scope of the comments concluded that they were written by a single author, a man with a ‘good working knowledge of Foreign Affairs and Industries and Commerce personnel, and of I & C departmental activities and postings reaching many years back.’

The author wrote familiarly about his subjects as if they were inferior to him. It was noted that Sutch’s background of employment, his general status and degree of influence over the years, fitted him for the part.

The profiles seemed to have been intended for a third person who had asked for information of this sort, the analyst concluded. The first five men were all dealt with in a similar way while the comments on Lewin were more specific.

The analyst wrote a hypothetical brief that the author might have been given:

Prepare brief notes on some of the more senior offices in Industries & Commerce and Foreign affairs Depts. known to you, who hold liberal left-wing political views. I attach a list of points to be covered in your consideration of the men. At the same time, include some comments on LEWIN with respect to his political views, his relationship to the NZ Labour Party and his family interests.

1 Age

2 present job/special expertise

3 Overseas postings

4 Experience and ability

5 Political views (general)

6 Political views during youth

7 Attitude to Soviet Union

8 Intelligence/intellectual ability

9 Interests/hobbies

10 Wife’s attitudes

11 Openness/talkativeness

12 Response to socials/dinners/parties

13 Vulnerabilities/weaknesses/ambitions

The analyst prepared this brief without reference to the Canadian Royal Commission Report of 27 June 1946 (the Gouzenko Report) which outlined criteria Soviet military intelligence used for recruiting agents, based on a document provided by GRU defector, Igor Gouzenko.

Subsequently the analyst studied that report and compared the similarities. He concluded that the ‘memo for file’ was written by Dr Sutch for a trained Russian Intelligence Officer seeking personality information on senior officers in the New Zealand Government Service, specifically in areas where they would expect to have access to classified information and to travel abroad on Government postings.

Crucially, this could then be used by the Soviets for recruitment.

The profiles offer the kind of information that enables an intelligence officer to assess a target: an individual’s likely career path, how to make a friendly approach based on mutual interest, vulnerabilities that might offer leverage, and so on.

The recruitment of foreign government officials is highly prized by intelligence agencies because it allows access not simply to information, but also to people elsewhere in the hierarchy. If the target is recruited in place and remains well placed, the connection can remain open and fruitful over many years.

Intelligence and defence officials are prime targets; after them, foreign affairs.

The profiles were therefore seen as significant supplementary evidence. The Crown Counsels, Solicitor General Richard Savage and Paul Neazor, decided early on to call an expert witness who could explain the methods and information targets of Soviet intelligence agencies. They considered calling a New Zealand intelligence officer to give such evidence, then decided it would be preferable to call an officer from another Service. They approached MI5 but the British were unhappy about one of their officers appearing in court in New Zealand.

Reverting to their original proposal, on 20 December, the prosecution gave preliminary notice of their intention to call additional evidence along with an officer of the New Zealand Service to explain it.

When Bungay showed the profiles to Sutch, he denied all knowledge of them and said they must have been a plant. Smith later told him that wouldn’t sound likely.

Sutch’s former sister-in-law Gladys Brown, who had been his typist in 1970, told police that she hadn’t typed them and didn’t know anything about them but according to an unsent letter to Martyn Finlay among Smith’s papers, Brown confirmed that they were typed on the office typewriter. An SIS search for the typewriter was unsuccessful. It left a question as to whether all of this would amount to evidence in the law.

The decision not to present the profiles in the trial surprised Finlay. He later asked for an explanation. Neazor wrote on 21 July 1975 that it was decided ‘there could be an argument about its probative value not sufficiently outweighing its prejudicial effect, and that it was not of sufficient value to the case as framed to warrant the diversion it would cause.’

The ‘diversion’ resonates with Finlay’s later comment about their ‘possible effects in one way or another’ that caused him such anxiety. They possibly had political repercussions in mind.

The report on the Japanese fishing rights was also not given in evidence. And at the last minute before the trial, the judge decided that cryptic entries from Sutch’s diaries that recorded times and places of clandestine meetings with his handler for years before 1974 were inadmissible because they predated the time-frame of the charge.

All this evidence was analysed by Chief Ombudsman Sir Guy Powles in his [https://www.nzsis.govt.nz/assets/NZSIS-Documents/News-supporting/SutchOmbudsmanReport.pdf

investigation of NZSIS after the Sutch trial], following allegations against them. He found the allegations were without foundation but noted that Sutch’s association with the Russians had lasted for a period of years before his meeting with Razgovorov on April 18, 1974.

Other circumstantial evidence that came to public attention was the wealth Sutch had accumulated, exceeding anything he could have earned legitimately in his career as a public servant, a consultant or as an author (even if his claim that his book Poverty and Progress sold 100,000 copies was true).

Attempts to put a figure on Sutch’s wealth have been based on some of his properties and holdings in New Zealand but not overseas. Smith discovered only in the late 1980s that his estate included a property in the Bahamas. His various overseas funds that could not be known include those in his Swiss bank account.

Sutch’s attempt to hide his wealth was made public after his death when the New Zealand Gazette named him as an evader of taxes estimated at $47,241 between 1966 and 1974, the second highest for any individual among about 650. His undisclosed income during that period was estimated to be about $100,000.

The first evidence that the package Sutch gave Razgovorov in Holloway Road on the 26 September 1974 had reached the Soviet Embassy came from Moscow after the Cold War was over. In 1993, New Zealand journalist Geoff Chapple tracked down Alexei Makarov, who had been Chargé d’Affaires of the Soviet Embassy in Wellington in 1974.

Makarov decided that with the breakup of the USSR and its secret police he had nothing to fear from giving his account of the Sutch affair. He recalled the circumstances of how he received the package of KGB material that Sutch had given to Razgovorov.

Makarov tracked down Razgovorov, who was living in retirement in Moscow. Besides recalling his meeting with Sutch in Holloway Road and how he delivered the package to his driver, Razgovorov told Makarov that he had ‘inherited’ Sutch from the KGB officer he had replaced in Wellington.

In 2014, evidence emerged from the Mitrokhin Archive in Cambridge, England, that Dr Sutch had been recruited to the Soviet intelligence service in 1950.

The Mitrokhin Archive comprises notes of KGB foreign intelligence files hand-copied secretly by archivist Vasili Mitrokhin, who had spent most of his working life in the KGB foreign intelligence archives. Disillusioned by the Soviet system and sympathetic towards dissidents, his chance came to do something in 1972 when he was given the job of overseeing the transfer of KGB foreign intelligence archives to new headquarters.

Mitrokhin secretly wrote summaries of the files, smuggled them out of the building and hid them under the floor in his villa. Over the ten years it took to complete the transfer, he accumulated six trunks of material.

In 1992 Mitrokhin approached British MI6, who then arranged for him, his family and his archive to be brought to the United Kingdom. As copies of original documents, the files have no direct evidential value, but their value in terms of intelligence proved immense. They include the following short entry under a codename: ‘Maori’ – Englishman, born 1907, New Zealand citizen, doctor of philosophy, former high-level bureaucrat in government service, retired in 1965, recruited in 1950, contact with him via Drozhzhin.

The biographical detail fits Sutch exactly and an extensive search proved it fitted him uniquely. After establishing the identity, the significant information is ‘recruited in 1950’.

‘Recruited’ in Russian has a specific meaning in Soviet intelligence, signifying that the subject knows, is tasked and will respond. Mitrokhin later published a KGB dictionary in which he defined ‘agent recruitment’ as ‘the covert involvement as agents of individuals who have opportunities to carry out intelligence tasks at the present time or in the future’.

Transactions were formally recorded. From the moment a KGB agent was on the payroll, he was ‘on the hook’.

Mitrokhin’s entry was written in the early 1970s, before Sutch’s arrest and trial. Mitrokhin names Drozhzhin as Sutch’s contact, confirming Razgovorov’s claim that he had inherited Sutch from his predecessor.

Yuri Timofeyevich Drozhzhin, First Secretary at the USSR Legation and the leading Soviet Intelligence officer in Wellington before Razgovorov, was regarded as a master spy. The pen portraits were written by Sutch for him.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Note: The livestream with Finance Minister Nicola Willis starts at 1.30pm

Petrol and jet fuel stocks have risen, while there has been a slight decrease in diesel stocks.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s latest fuel stocks update showed that as at 11:59pm on Wednesday evening, there were 61.9 days of petrol, 51.5 days of diesel, and 50.1 days of jet fuel.

This is compared to 58.7 days of petrol, 52.2 days of diesel and 46.2 days of jet fuel, in the previous update.

MBIE said the update showed national fuel stocks were stable, with sufficient stock levels.

“Movements remain within expectations and show normal patterns,” the ministry said.

The update showed there were 27.2 days of petrol in-country, 17.5 days of diesel, and 25.5 days of jet fuel.

There were four ships on the water in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, containing 3.2 days of petrol, 8.2 days of diesel, and 1.2 days of jet fuel.

A further twelve ships were on-water outside the EEZ, with 31.5 days of petrol, 25.8 days of diesel, and 23.4 days of jet fuel.

The government told media it remained gravely concerned about the trajectory of the Middle East conflict and its impact on the global economy, which shows no signs of ending.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told media they hadn’t heard about any material problems from fuel importers, meaning the country could remain in phase one of its fuel crisis response.

The government is giving the latest update on fuel stocks, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of ending.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s reaction to close off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping has sent the global energy industry into turmoil.

New Zealand relies on imports of refined fuel, with no local refining capability.

The government has previously downplayed concerns of shortages, but has set up a National Fuel Plan with different levels of potential rationing should supplies begin to dry up.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is expected to take questions at Parliament from 1.30pm – watch it live here (refresh the page if the video player is not showing).

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Note: The livestream with Finance Minister Nicola Willis starts at 1.30pm

The government is set to give the latest update on fuel stocks, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of ending.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s reaction to close off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping has sent the global energy industry into turmoil.

New Zealand relies on imports of refined fuel, with no local refining capability.

The government has previously downplayed concerns of shortages, but has set up a National Fuel Plan with different levels of potential rationing should supplies begin to dry up.

Overall stocks were down at the last update, but still within normal variation, officials said.

The latest update is expected from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment at 1pm Monday.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is expected to take questions at Parliament from 1.30pm – watch it live here (refresh the page if the video player is not showing).

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Petrol and jet fuel stocks have risen, while there has been a slight decrease in diesel stocks.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s latest fuel stocks update showed that as at 11:59pm on Wednesday evening, there were 61.9 days of petrol, 51.5 days of diesel, and 50.1 days of jet fuel.

This is compared to 58.7 days of petrol, 52.2 days of diesel and 46.2 days of jet fuel, in the previous update.

MBIE said the update showed national fuel stocks were stable, with sufficient stock levels.

“Movements remain within expectations and show normal patterns,” the ministry said.

The update showed there were 27.2 days of petrol in-country, 17.5 days of diesel, and 25.5 days of jet fuel.

There were four ships on the water in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, containing 3.2 days of petrol, 8.2 days of diesel, and 1.2 days of jet fuel.

A further twelve ships were on-water outside the EEZ, with 31.5 days of petrol, 25.8 days of diesel, and 23.4 days of jet fuel.

The government told media it remained gravely concerned about the trajectory of the Middle East conflict and its impact on the global economy, which shows no signs of ending.

Willis speaks to media

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told media the government hadn’t heard about any material problems from fuel importers, meaning the country could remain in phase one of its fuel crisis response.

“We’re continuing to work very closely with fuel importers on a daily basis to check with them whether they’re seeing any disruption to orders they already have, or to future orders. They continue to report that ships are leaving normally, that orders are being fulfilled and that they’re not having challenges,” she said.

Willis said fuel importing companies had given assurances that orders were not being cancelled or diverted to other countries.

“These are long standing customer relationships that they have with these businesses, and those businesses are seeking to be reliable. However, it is the case that we are anticipating there could be a scenario where those refinery companies are no longer able to fulfil orders, and they declare what’s called force majeure, they cancel a contract at short notice,” Willis said.

“It’s preparing for that potential eventuality that has prompted us to put the fuel response plan in place, and it’s why we are taking rapid measures to get increased amounts of fuel into the country so that we have more of a buffer should that occur.”

As the update is backward-looking, it does not include what the potential impacts of Easter weekend may have been on stocks.

Willis said there had been evidence of a big increase in demand in part of March, which had since calmed down as people first stocked up and then moved to other measures like car-pooling and public transport.

She had heard “a range of different anecdotes” about Easter usage, but not enough to have data to put to.

“In terms of what people have seen over Easter, I’m sure it is the case that some families have unfortunately put off road trips, chosen to stay close to home because of the price of fuel. And I will be looking at that data as soon as we have it, to understand how this Easter looks compared to last Easter,” she said.

“One of the areas that the fuel importing companies have agreed to cooperate with us more closely on in future is sharing that demand data, because obviously, if we were to move to a phase two, we’d want to know whether any restraint measures were having material impact. So having that data and monitoring it is going to be very useful for our work going forward.”

While it was unlikely the government would pause petrol taxes or road user charges, Willis said it was “very unlikely” the government would go ahead with a planned 12 cent per litre increase to fuel taxes next January.

While no formal decision had been made, the government would need to legislate in order to cancel the planned tax increase. Willis said it would mean the government had less revenue for road maintenance and construction, but it was conscious that New Zealanders could ill-afford an increase at this time.

No sign of war’s end

The government is giving the latest update on fuel stocks, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of ending.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s reaction to close off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping has sent the global energy industry into turmoil.

New Zealand relies on imports of refined fuel, with no local refining capability.

The government has previously downplayed concerns of shortages, but has set up a National Fuel Plan with different levels of potential rationing should supplies begin to dry up.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Petrol and jet fuel stocks have risen, while there has been a slight decrease in diesel stocks.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s latest fuel stocks update showed that as at 11:59pm on Wednesday evening, there were 61.9 days of petrol, 51.5 days of diesel, and 50.1 days of jet fuel.

This is compared to 58.7 days of petrol, 52.2 days of diesel and 46.2 days of jet fuel, in the previous update.

MBIE said the update showed national fuel stocks were stable, with sufficient stock levels.

“Movements remain within expectations and show normal patterns,” the ministry said.

The update showed there were 27.2 days of petrol in-country, 17.5 days of diesel, and 25.5 days of jet fuel.

There were four ships on the water in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, containing 3.2 days of petrol, 8.2 days of diesel, and 1.2 days of jet fuel.

A further twelve ships were on-water outside the EEZ, with 31.5 days of petrol, 25.8 days of diesel, and 23.4 days of jet fuel.

The government told media it remained gravely concerned about the trajectory of the Middle East conflict and its impact on the global economy, which shows no signs of ending.

Willis speaks to media

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told media the government hadn’t heard about any material problems from fuel importers, meaning the country could remain in phase one of its fuel crisis response.

“We’re continuing to work very closely with fuel importers on a daily basis to check with them whether they’re seeing any disruption to orders they already have, or to future orders. They continue to report that ships are leaving normally, that orders are being fulfilled and that they’re not having challenges,” she said.

Willis said fuel importing companies had given assurances that orders were not being cancelled or diverted to other countries.

“These are long standing customer relationships that they have with these businesses, and those businesses are seeking to be reliable. However, it is the case that we are anticipating there could be a scenario where those refinery companies are no longer able to fulfil orders, and they declare what’s called force majeure, they cancel a contract at short notice,” Willis said.

“It’s preparing for that potential eventuality that has prompted us to put the fuel response plan in place, and it’s why we are taking rapid measures to get increased amounts of fuel into the country so that we have more of a buffer should that occur.”

As the update is backward-looking, it does not include what the potential impacts of Easter weekend may have been on stocks.

Willis said there had been evidence of a big increase in demand in part of March, which had since calmed down as people first stocked up and then moved to other measures like car-pooling and public transport.

She had heard “a range of different anecdotes” about Easter usage, but not enough to have data to put to.

“In terms of what people have seen over Easter, I’m sure it is the case that some families have unfortunately put off road trips, chosen to stay close to home because of the price of fuel. And I will be looking at that data as soon as we have it, to understand how this Easter looks compared to last Easter,” she said.

“One of the areas that the fuel importing companies have agreed to cooperate with us more closely on in future is sharing that demand data, because obviously, if we were to move to a phase two, we’d want to know whether any restraint measures were having material impact. So having that data and monitoring it is going to be very useful for our work going forward.”

While it was unlikely the government would pause petrol taxes or road user charges, Willis said it was “very unlikely” the government would go ahead with a planned 12 cent per litre increase to fuel taxes next January.

While no formal decision had been made, the government would need to legislate in order to cancel the planned tax increase. Willis said it would mean the government had less revenue for road maintenance and construction, but it was conscious that New Zealanders could ill-afford an increase at this time.

No sign of war’s end

The government is giving the latest update on fuel stocks, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of ending.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s reaction to close off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping has sent the global energy industry into turmoil.

New Zealand relies on imports of refined fuel, with no local refining capability.

The government has previously downplayed concerns of shortages, but has set up a National Fuel Plan with different levels of potential rationing should supplies begin to dry up.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Eight patients in forensic and intellectual disability units were in seclusion for more than 45,000 hours combined in one year, a report reveals.

The patients, who made up only 1 percent of all people secluded in mental health inpatient services, accounted for approximately 36 percent of all seclusion events and about 43 percent of total seclusion hours.

Five of the patients, who were in intellectual disability services, spent on average the equivalent of 283 days of the year in seclusion.

The three forensic service patients spent 160 days on average in seclusion.

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

The director of Mental Health and Addiction Services Dr John Crawshaw said in his regulatory report the individuals experienced “prolonged and/or frequent” periods of isolation.

“This raises significant issues around trauma, dignity and human rights, and the impact these experiences have on people and their recovery.”

He has commissioned a review to understand the circumstances of the individuals.

The report also revealed that during the same period a total of 1085 electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments were administered to 105 people who did not have capacity to consent. One person had capacity to consent but refused to consent, and was administered 12 treatments of ECT after an independent psychiatrist provided a second opinion.

The Office of the Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services regulatory report covering 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 was released online on the Ministry of Health’s website on Tuesday with no announcement by authorities.

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey told RNZ he had spoken to Dr Crawshaw about the report and “raised the issue of the delay in its publication”. He also said seclusion was an issue he had been closely looking at “and one I care strongly about addressing”.

The report said it collated data on the use of compulsory assessment and treatment legislation in New Zealand under the Mental Health Act. It also contained data on “related activities” under the Intellectual Disability Care Act and the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Dr Crawshaw said in his role he was responsible for the “general administration of the relevant compulsory assessment, care and treatment legislation” under the direction of the Minister of Health, the Minister for Mental Health and the Director General of Health.

He said overall the data in the report showed the rates of use of compulsory assessment and treatment “remained steady in 2023/24, compared with previous years”.

“The total number of people who have been secluded and the total hours people spend in seclusion have decreased from 2022/23, which are positive trends.”

The report said legally seclusion could only occur under the Mental Health Act or the Intellectual Disability Act.

Dr Crawshaw cited Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard as defining seclusion as “a situation where a service user is ‘placed alone in a room or area, at any time and for any duration, from which they cannot freely exit’”.

His analysis of the data for the report revealed that eight patients from three Health New Zealand regional facilities experienced “prolonged and/or frequent periods of isolation”.

The figures revealed that the eight patients were secluded for a combined 45,531 hours across 985 seclusion events.

Three of the patients were from forensic services and were secluded for a total of 11,509 hours across 71 seclusion events.

Five were in intellectual disability services and were secluded for a total of 34,022 hours with 914 seclusion events.

The eight individuals represented just over 1 percent of all people secluded in mental health inpatient services (there were 763 patients secluded in total), but based on the data they accounted for approximately 36 percent of all seclusion events and about 43 percent of total seclusion hours.

Dr Crawshaw said in his report there must be a “clear focus on identifying and addressing the factors that sit behind these experiences in order to ensure the safety and dignity of people in the care system”.

“The Office of the Director of Mental Health is undertaking deeper analysis of the circumstances and factors that led to these prolonged or frequent periods of seclusion and the interventions in place to address them. The Office will work with Health New Zealand on this initiative.”

The individuals were subject to compulsory care under mental health, intellectual disability, or criminal procedure legislation.

Dr Crawshaw said inquiries would look at confirming the accuracy of reported seclusion data, assurances the individuals had safeguards in place to protect their rights and that services were meeting the expected standards for seclusion.

There would also be a focus on getting assurances that services were taking “active measures to reduce and eliminate seclusion”, and the reasons for the extended seclusion hours.

“After receiving the information, the Director will ensure it is reviewed and will consider recommendations for action by the service providers and any areas that require escalation to other agencies.”

In total, across the overall mental health inpatient services 73 percent of seclusion events lasted under 24 hours, with 16 percent lasting over 48 hours.

In adult inpatient services there had been a 24 percent decrease in hours spent in seclusion since 2022/23 and a 73 percent decrease since 2009. There had also been a 48 percent decrease in the number of people secluded since 2009.

The report also looked at ECT, a “therapeutic procedure that delivers a brief pulse of electricity to a person’s brain to generate a seizure while they are under anaesthesia”.

Dr Crawshaw said ECT could be an effective treatment for depression, mania, catatonia and other serious neuropsychiatric conditions.

“It can happen only if the person receiving it consents or in carefully defined circumstances without their consent.”

In the 2023/24 period nearly 300 people received ECT, with services administering more than 3500 treatments of ECT.

Dr Crawshaw said that under the Mental Health Act, a person could be treated with ECT if they consented in writing or if an independent psychiatrist appointed by the Mental Health Review Tribunal considered the treatment to be in the person’s interests.

Nearly 1100 treatments were administered to 105 people who did not have the capacity to consent.

“One person had capacity to consent but refused to consent, and was administered 12 treatments of ECT after an independent psychiatrist provided a second opinion.”

The report said that in total, nearly 11,500 people were subject to the Mental Health Act in the 2023/2024 period. Of those using specialist mental health and addiction services, 93.5 percent engaged voluntarily.

“About 5883 people were subject to either compulsory assessment or compulsory treatment under the Mental Health Act on the last day of the 2023/24 year.”

Dr Crawshaw acknowledged that the report, which looked at data nearly two years old, had been delayed in being published.

He said there were two main reasons.

“First, the data is complex. Second, some regulatory data are still reported to the Ministry via manual processes, which creates further time lag for receipt and quality assurance processes.”

In response to questions from RNZ, Doocey said he had spoken with Crawshaw about his report and had “raised the issue of the delay in its publication”.

“New Zealanders rightly expect that mental health services are being monitored so we can provide assurance that people undergoing compulsory assessment, care and treatment are receiving the right support.

“This monitoring occurs regardless of whether a report is being finalised, and I would expect any urgent issues identified to be addressed promptly rather than waiting for the report to be completed.”

He said seclusion was an issue “I care strongly about addressing”.

“Each individual case is a clinical decision, and I expect that the appropriate processes and assessments are followed.

“I am clear that seclusion should be used only as a last resort. The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament seeks to make changes to reduce its use. This includes requiring the person in charge of a service to report annually to the Director-General on the steps taken to eliminate the placement of people under compulsory care in seclusion.”

In relation to ECT, Doocey said he had sought assurance from Crawshaw that the decisions around its use were the “right clinical decisions to make”.

“The Mental Health Bill also seeks to introduce stronger safeguards around the use of ECT, including ensuring that the second opinion that’s needed, would be required to have expertise in ECT.”

In response to questions from RNZ, a Ministry of Health spokesperson said Dr Crawshaw was “concerned” about the data regarding seclusion and had commissioned a review.

“To understand the circumstances relating to each of these people, including ensuring rights protections, and verifying that services meet the required standards.

“As part of the review, all individual treatment planning and circumstances will be scrutinised, and the Director of Mental Health will consider recommendations or escalate concerns to other agencies as appropriate.”

The review would also examine the reasons behind the extended seclusion hours and identify any barriers to reducing and eliminating seclusion.

This work was expected to be completed by 31 May.

In relation to ECT, the spokesperson said it could be an effective treatment for serious neuropsychiatric conditions.

“The current use of ECT differs substantially from the electric shock treatment that was used in the past. In New Zealand, it can happen only if the person consents in writing, or in carefully defined circumstances without their consent.

“For ECT to take place without consent, an independent psychiatrist must provide a second opinion on the treatment plan and consider the treatment to be in the person’s interest.”

RNZ also asked about the delay in the report being published.

The spokesperson said the data relating to mental health and addiction services and treatment was “complex and requires thorough analysis and review to ensure it is correct”.

“This process takes time. Some data is still reported manually which requires additional review, and creates a further delay to publishing.

“The data is representative of private information relating to the care and experiences of individuals. It’s important that we treat the information with care and integrity and take the time to fully understand and assess the data provided to us.”

Health New Zealand (HNZ) national director of Mental Health and Addictions Phil Grady said in a statement to RNZ that HNZ “welcomes” Dr Crawshaw’s report.

“Which highlights whilst there has been an overall reduction on seclusion there are also a small group of people who experience seclusion for extended periods of time. We will fully support any further reviews Dr Crawshaw wishes to undertake following the publication of the report.”

HNZ expected seclusion to be only used as a “last resort and after careful consideration of all available options of care”.

“As such, the process to minimise the use of seclusion in our facilities is ongoing and we continue to have close oversight of this practice, including having up to date seclusion use data via a dashboard, focusing on how we improve our environments and importantly, how we train and support our staff.”

In relation to ECT, Grady said it was an “effective short-term treatment” for severe depressive illness, and certain other forms of serious and potentially life-threatening mental illness.

“People offered this treatment often are extremely unwell, at high risk of harm to self or high risk of extreme neglect leading to life threatening consequences after a full clinical assessment.”

He said people could choose to have ECT treatment on a voluntary basis and it could also be provided compulsorily under the Mental Health Act.

“In addition, if the person is not competent to consent or the whānau are not supportive of ECT and it is considered a life-preserving intervention, a second medical opinion is sought from a Mental Health Act Tribunal-approved psychiatrist.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Families trying to find rest homes for their elderly relatives have been shocked to discover that they must pay anything from $10 to $85 a day for care, even when they qualify for the government subsidy.

That is because rest homes are permitted to charge surcharges any time a room is not “standard” – and many providers are no longer building or offering standard rooms.

Tracey Martin, chief executive at the Aged Care Association, said it was a known problem and reflected the fact that government funding did not cover the cost of building, maintaining and upgrading facilities.

“As cost pressures have grown and funding has not kept pace, providers have had limited options to sustain operations and maintain quality environments. This has led to a greater dependence on premium charges to cross-subsidise the cost of care and infrastructure.”

People were seeking care when they were in a more frail state than in previous generations, she said, and requiring more assistance.

“Across New Zealand we are seeing a reduction in care beds, at rest home, hospital level, dementia and even psychogeriatic. We are seeing a reduction in care beds that are able to be provided for just the amount of money that the state has said they should get.”

“For a hospital level bed that’s on average $353 a day. That’s what they are allowed to charge for care because that’s what the state has decreed.”

“But they are allowed to put a premium charge on top of that if the accommodation has something different or extra, and that’s what the premium charges are for.”

Who pays what?

People who are going into a rest home can access a government subsidy for care, if they meet the asset test. This requires that single people needing care have assets below $291,825, or a couple with only one person needing care has assets of $291,825 or $159,810 plus their home and car.

The government then takes all of the pension except from about $57 a week, then tops up the difference, to $352 a day for hospital level care.

Not-for-profit providers offer about 60 percent of the country’s rest home care and tend to charge lower premium rates, or, in some cases, standard rooms. But they were facing large costs and many were having to add large premiums to break even, Martin said.

“It’s really impacting on New Zealand families. They just cannot find a place for their loved one to be. It’s also backing up emergency departments. We’ve got seniors in hospital who need to come into residential care and they can’t find a residential care bed so they can’t discharge them from hospital, so they can’t put people out of ED up into the wards.”

No standard rooms being built

Good Shepherd community financial well-being advocate Bruce Smith said he had recently been through the process for his mother.

“Anybody will need to pay for what is known as a premium room and that is a room with ensuite or attached bathroom. Cost seems to start around $25 per day for the added luxury. If they don’t have a standard room available and the family can’t afford to pay for the premium room then they will need to shop around at other rest homes.

“We were very fortunate in Timaru to use Glenwood which is a charitable trust-owned home where a jack and jill bathroom was considered standard and no additional cost.”

But another woman, who sought care for her father in Wellington, said it had seemed almost impossible to find a room that did not have a surcharge. Her father had had to move out for renovations and was told that after that happened there would be no rooms that met the standard rate requirements.

Another said she had been quoted $35 to $85 a day on top of the subsidy, depending on whether it was a shared room.

Ryman said in many newer or redeveloped villages, all rooms would exceed the minimum standard. Metlifecare said it, too, did not offer standard care rooms.

Logan Mudge, head of communications at Summerset, said it had been converting standard rooms into premium rooms or care occupation right agreements since 2024.

“Situations where a resident’s family could pay may happen, however if family were unable to assist, they would need to look for availability of a standard room with another aged care provider, which would more likely be a facility in the not-for-profit sector.”

Karen Billings-Jensen, chief executive at Age Concern, said in some smaller centres around the country there could be more standard rooms available because the sites might be older.

Government acknowledges reform needed

The Ministry of Health said aged residential care providers could charge residents more when they offered things like an ensuite, more space or garden access.

“Aged residential care providers are required to admit a person without charging them a premium if the person requests a standard bed and there are no standard beds at the right care level available within a 10km radius, and that facility is their preferred choice.

“This requirement applies regardless of what type of rooms providers are building.”

The spokesperson said the Government recognised that there needed to be a more sustainable system.

“While New Zealanders generally have good access to a range of aged care services, reviews have identified a range of challenges, including that the way services are funded is outdated and that access to the right services can be inconsistent and inequitable.

“The Government has established the Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group to provide expert advice on long-term reform of the system.”

The scope of that work would include includes reviewing funding models and mechanisms to support sustainable services, including a sustainable supply of standard aged care beds.

“It is also looking at how costs are shared between those receiving care and the Government.”

The spokesperson said the group was expected to provide advice and recommendations by mid-2026.

It said the government was also increasing funding by 4 percent for aged residential care and had included a a $44 million increase for home and community support services in Budget 2025, plus a $24 million allocation for regional initiatives to support timely transfers from hospitals to other forms of care.

Martin said her association wanted a shift to a split funding model similar to Australia’s.

“Our argument is that the clinical care that this individual has been assessed as needing is the responsibility of the government.

“Because whether you’re 90 or 19, if you need some clinical care, you can go to hospital and get it for free.

“So why are 90-year-olds in this country having to pay, in the first instance, for their clinical care? And then we want the accommodation split out and the living expenses split out because New Zealanders know they’ve always had to pay for their accommodation, either through mortgage or rates or rent, right?

“And New Zealanders have always understood that they’ve had to pay for their food, their power, their toothpaste, all of that.

“So we want to see a more transparent approach to a funding model so that New Zealanders can see what they are paying for and the government can be shown up for what they are paying for.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A New Zealander has revealed details of a years-long stint spying for America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Cold War.

Kit Bennetts, who was born and raised in Masterton, was recruited in Wellington by the CIA Chief of Station at the US Embassy in 1979. At the time he was working for New Zealand’s SIS.

He shared details of his work in hours of interviews for a new podcast, The Agency, which is released by RNZ and Bird of Paradise today.

In the podcast, Bennetts reveals how he worked on behalf of the CIA “belly-to-belly” with a senior Soviet official, trying to funnel “dead-end technology” into the system of America’s Cold War rival.

“I was working in cover, undeclared, targeting Soviet intelligence officers and East European intelligence officers,” Bennetts says.

“I got successful against a couple of Soviets and a couple of east Europeans, and I became friendly with them and that’s where it developed from.”

What was initially expected to be a two-year stint turned into six-and-a-half years operating in cover for the CIA overseas. He reflects on times when he knew he was in grave danger but carried on regardless.

“I don’t think I slept much, because I knew that if this was going to happen, it wouldn’t matter if I was walking around with an M16, they would have got me.”

Listen now to The Agency, a new podcast detailing the story of a Kiwi spy who was close to the Sutch case before spending six years in cover for the CIA

New details in the Bill Sutch spy case

The first episode of The Agency touches on Kit Bennetts’ involvement in the country’s most notorious spy scandal, the arrest – and subsequent trial – of Dr Bill Sutch in 1975/6.

Sutch was found not guilty but subsequent evidence has emerged over the decades about his connections to the Soviet Union. RNZ is today publishing details from evidence that was not presented to the jury in Sutch’s trial.

A series of pen portraits of six civil servants were found by the SIS in Sutch’s office. The existence of these profiles has previously been reported but not what they actually said. They offer an insight into the methods and sources used by Soviet intelligence to recruit and run agents.

“They were pretty nasty sort of pen portraits of people who were essentially his [Sutch’s] friends, who he was lining up to take over from him,” Bennetts says.

RNZ has obtained the profiles and published them, together with an analysis by historian Sarah Gaitanos.

Trump, Five Eyes and re-evaluating NZ’s place

The six-part series also explores New Zealand’s ties with the US, via the Five Eyes alliance, which includes intelligence sharing.

Experts, including from within senior levels of the US Government, give a range of views on the ongoing risk – and value – of that alliance. The unpredictability of the current US administration, under President Donald Trump, is a cause for concern but there is widespread agreement on the enduring value to New Zealand of participation in the group.

Andrew Little, the minister in charge of the intelligence agencies in the last Labour Government, tells the podcast there continue to be “exchanges” of personnel between the Five Eyes partners.

“The Five Eyes partners in particular, work closely together, more so than pretty much any other group of intelligence agencies anywhere in the world. … New Zealand’s relationship with each of the Five Eyes partners, UK, US, Australia and Canada, is particularly close.”

In a statement, an SIS spokesman said relationships with overseas intelligence and security partners – particularly within the Five Eyes – are vital to New Zealand’s national security.

“As you would expect, NZSIS does have a small number of staff posted offshore in liaison roles.”

How to listen

The Agency follows on from The Service, another Cold War espionage co-production between Bird of Paradise and RNZ, about a raid on the Czechoslovakian embassy in Wellington by the SIS and MI6.

The series epilogue of The Service also discussed another raid that had taken place as a joint operation – this time between the SIS and CIA, in the early 1990s; the target was the Iranian embassy in Island Bay. Sources within the New Zealand intelligence community have subsequently suggested the wider aim of the operation was to enable US monitoring of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The first two episodes of The Agency are available now on all podcast platforms, and via the RNZ podcast player. Subsequent episodes will be released this Friday and next Tuesday.

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

Source: New Zealand Government

Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Washington D.C. this week.   

“The current global context is the most challenging New Zealand has faced in the past 80 years,” Mr Peters says. 

“In times as complex as these, we highly value opportunities to meet face to face.”  

 While in Washington, Mr Peters will meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio among others. 

 “We intend to discuss our shared commitments to cooperate in the Pacific and Indo-Pacific, as well as significant international developments – particularly the conflict in the Middle East and its impacts on our region.” 

 “These meetings will advance New Zealand’s diplomatic, security and economic interests and facilitate greater mutual understanding of our respective priorities.” 

 Mr Peters leaves New Zealand later today (6 April) and returns on Friday (10 April).  

MIL OSI

Source: Media Outreach

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 April 2026 – SPEED (Sistem Perolehan Elektronik Dinamik), developed and operated by CDC International Sdn Bhd (CDCi), has won three industry awards in recognition of its contribution to digital procurement and enterprise software. The platform received two honours at the Malaysia National Business Awards 2026 and one at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2026, all presented by Asian Business Review. The awards were for Excellence Award – Computer Software, Initiative Award – Digital Transformation Consulting and Enterprise Software – Government Organisation.

The awards reflect SPEED’s growing role in helping government and institutional organisations modernise procurement through more structured and transparent digital systems, in line with the MADANI agenda’s emphasis on integrity, accountability and good governance. Its adoption by organisations such as FAMA, RISDA, MARA and PERKESO further underscores the platform’s growing relevance across diverse public sector and institutional settings.

SPEED is a digital procurement ecosystem comprising SPEED Procurement, SPEED eWorks and integrated Supplier Management capabilities. Designed to support end-to-end procurement processes within a structured and auditable environment, the platform helps strengthen oversight, supports audit readiness and addresses longstanding procurement challenges such as fragmented systems, manual workflows and limited visibility across supplier engagement.

Through a centralised approach, SPEED enables organisations to manage sourcing, evaluation, contract administration and reporting in a more systematic manner. Its implementation across agencies and institutional bodies has contributed to stronger compliance, improved process efficiency and more consistent governance through standardised workflows and consolidated data management.

The ecosystem further supports wider supplier participation through structured onboarding and profiling, helping to create a fairer and more transparent procurement environment.

Chief Executive Officer of CDC International, Putri Nurul Ida Yahya, said the recognition reflected the growing importance of digital procurement in strengthening governance across organisations.

“SPEED was built to help organisations manage procurement with greater clarity, discipline and accountability. As procurement requirements continue to evolve, our priority is to ensure the platform remains practical, consistent and responsive to those needs,” she said.

She added that CDCi would continue strengthening the platform to meet a wider range of institutional procurement requirements.

These recognitions mark another milestone for SPEED as CDCi continues expanding its role in digital procurement across institutional and public sector environments.

For more information, please visit speed2u.my or contact helpdesk@speed2u.my or +603 7885 4111.

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