New Zealand agencies have collaborated with French authorities in a major international operation that has intercepted 4.24 tonnes of cocaine in French Polynesia, Customs Minister Casey Costello announced today.

The New Zealand Customs Service, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) supported French authorities, with assistance from the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), to stop a vessel and seize 4.24 tonnes of cocaine on Monday 2 February.

“One of the explicit actions in the new Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime (TSOC) Action Plan launched in December was for these agencies to work together on a maritime campaign to target and take down transnational organised crime networks operating across the Pacific,” Ms Costello said. 

 “This is the first major success of that campaign, Operation Kiwa, and I am delighted at the agility with which the agencies have swung into action and worked with their French and US partners to deliver this result. Stopping transnational organised crime requires international cooperation and strong partnerships.

“Operation Kiwa combines the expertise and capabilities of Customs, NZDF and the GCSB to deliver enhanced intelligence operations and maritime surveillance to patrol the region and protect New Zealand and our Pacific partners.

 “We want to stop organised crime groups and their products from reaching anyone’s shores and causing harm to our people and economies.”

MIL OSI

Explainer – America has been in an uproar the past week over the actions of ICE agents – Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers – after the shooting death of a US citizen.

The death last week of 37-year-old Minneapolis woman Renee Nicole Good raised more questions about what exactly ICE agents are, and what they can do.

The shooting, captured on video, has fired up protests around America, strong defences of ICE agent actions by US President Donald Trump and others, and stirred concerns about accountability and the use of force. It’s also signalled increased conflicts between federal – the broader American government – and state and local authorities.

Here is what we know about ICE agents and the powers they have.

What are ICE agents? Are they police? Or are they soldiers?

They’re neither, exactly. They are part of the US Department of Homeland Security and are immigration enforcement agents. That means they’re federal law enforcement charged with investigating illegal immigration and removing violators.

Under Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, ICE has expanded significantly and carried out immigration enforcement activity in cities all around the country including Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago and Los Angeles.

“ICE is a paramilitary organisation with powers of arrest and detention under its own set of rules,” said Paul Buchanan, a New Zealand-based security and defence analyst.

Buchanan said there’s nothing quite like ICE in New Zealand law enforcement.

“NZ has no equivalent, nor do many other countries that have gendarmes and/or military police because ICE does not engage in usual police activities such as crime-fighting, traffic law enforcement, etc,” he said.

“Like the US Marshals, they act as uniformed bounty-hunters, minus the bounty and with immigrants rather than fugitives from justice as their prey.”

What’s their history?

ICE was formed after the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. That act created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of which ICE is a subsidiary.

The initial focus of the DHS was preventing foreign terrorism, but it has changed quite a lot under Trump. Immigration enforcement isn’t new – former President Barack Obama was called the “deporter-in-chief” by some rights groups and more than 3 million were deported during his terms in office. But the raids and action seen across large American cities is an escalation.

“Its focus has shifted from counter-terrorism to a much more broad, some would say amorphous concept of immigration law enforcement,” Buchanan said.

Last year, Trump signed a budget bill that included a massive increase to an overall US$170 billion (NZ$305b) toward federal immigration enforcement agencies, of which $75b (NZ$130b) is going to ICE over the next four years.

The current Secretary of Homeland Security in charge of the department is Kristi Noem, the former governor of North Dakota.

ICE agents are not quite the same as Customs officials or the US Border Patrol, which is also part of the Department of Homeland Security, although they all can deal with issues at the border or with immigration.

Border Patrol generally works within 100 miles (160km) of the US border and they have broad powers to stop, question and search individuals and vehicles within that limit without warrants or probable cause. However, they must still satisfy the requirements of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.

What are ICE agents allowed to do?

The frequently viral images and video of masked, armed ICE agents taking people into custody around America have surprised many.

“When compared to local law enforcement and other federal security agencies like the FBI, Secret Service, Capitol Police, Military Police and US Marshals, they have extremely broad and discretionary coercive powers,” Buchanan said.

ICE agents do not need judicial warrants to make arrests, although they are not allowed to enter private homes without warrants. They have made arrests in public areas such as parking lots or apartment building lobbies.

“All aliens who violate US immigration law are subject to arrest and detention, regardless of their criminal histories,” ICE states on its website.

“Like all other law enforcement officers, ICE officers and agents can initiate consensual encounters and speak with people, briefly detain aliens when they have reasonable suspicion that the aliens are illegally present in the United States, and arrest people they believe are illegal aliens,” the site goes on to explain.

There have been lawsuits accusing ICE of racial profiling in their sweeps of American cities which have made their way to the US Supreme Court – which ruled in September those raids could continue.

In some cases ICE agents can even arrest US citizens if they interfere with their duties, but they aren’t supposed to place them in immigration detention – although this has reportedly happened in some cases anyway.

What about the use of force?

According to data assembled by The Trace, an independent journalism website that focuses on American gun violence, there have been 16 incidents where immigration agents opened fire since the beginning of Trump’s second term last January. Four people have been killed.

A DHS policy memo from 2023 – before Trump’s return to the White House – states that federal officers “may use deadly force only when necessary” when they have “a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury” to themself or another person.

That policy memo also states employees should be trained in “de-escalation tactics and techniques.”

Notably in the case of Renee Good, that memo also says DHS officers and agents are “prohibited from discharging firearms at the operator of a moving vehicle … unless the use of deadly force against the operator is justified under the standards articulated elsewhere in this policy.”

The Trump administration says that force was justified in the case of Good, but protesters and many Minneapolis officials vehemently disagree.

ICE agents aren’t required to wear body cameras or provide badge numbers, Axios has reported.

What qualifications do you need to join ICE?

There’s no requirement to have law enforcement or military experience to be an ICE agent, although many of its employees do have some background in those areas.

According to ICE’s website, its deportation officers are only required to be a US citizen, have a driver’s license and be eligible to carry a firearm. You are not required to have a university degree. For some positions, even a high school diploma is not required.

Would-be ICE agents are required to take about eight weeks of training in topics such as firearms, immigration law and managing crises, for six days a week.

In 2018, the training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia lasted 20 weeks, but DHS has since cut that back to eight weeks, the Washington Post reported, with DHS saying in a statement that it was “to cut redundancy and incorporate technology advancements.”

A press release in August announced ICE would waive age limits for new applicants “so even more patriots will qualify to join ICE in its mission to arrest murderers, pedophiles, gang members, rapists, and other criminal illegal aliens from America’s streets.” It also is offering up to US$50,000 (NZ$87,000) signing bonuses and enhanced benefits, with the agency at one point reporting more than 150,000 applications.

The agency has been on a major hiring spree since last year. It is reportedly aiming to spend US$100m over the next year on what it’s calling a “wartime recruitment” drive, including “people who have attended UFC fights, listened to patriotic podcasts, or shown an interest in guns and tactical gear,” the Washington Post reported.

The issue of their training and “rules of engagement” is critical, Buchanan said.

Why do they wear masks?

ICE agents are typically seen in public wearing face masks, which until recently has not been common among US police.

The US government allows this to prevent public doxxing “which can (and has) placed them and their families at risk,” the ICE website says.

The argument has been that ICE agents are being “outed” on social media, Buchanan said.

“DHS says that this is required because ICE agents face exposure and retaliation if their identities are revealed, which is something that the current administration is reiterating when justifying the murder of an unarmed US citizen by an ICE agent in Minneapolis…

“No other law enforcement agency in the US has this degree of non-transparency.”

Defending masking, DHS has claimed in media statements that there has been a “1300 percent increase in assaults, a 3200 percent increase in vehicular attacks against them and an 8000 percent increase in death threats” which it blamed on “radical rhetoric by sanctuary politicians.”

However, some analysis by American media contradicts that claim.

Buchanan said ICE agent masking stands out from other American agencies.

“Even the FBI and US Marshals have to announce who they are and why they are conducting operations (and have warrants in order to have legal authority to do so), and there are laws in place that make malicious revealing of a federal security agency employee a felony (say, by doxxing or other forms of social media “outing”).

“So the level of ICE opaqueness is extraordinary, especially in peacetime.”

States and the wider government are increasingly in conflict on the issue of masks. California passed a law banning law enforcement including ICE from wearing masks that took effect on January 1, although it’s being challenged by the Trump administration and will face court hearings.

Are ICE agents being held to the same standards other law enforcement officials are?

That’s the big question after the death of Renee Nicole Good.

Noem has said that as she drove away from ICE officers, Good “weaponised her car” in a “domestic terror attack”. But plentiful video was shot at the scene of the incident, which is still under investigation.

Democrats are pushing for a variety of measures to rein in ICE, but as Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House, it’s uncertain if any will pass.

Buchanan said there are many questions about ICE’s actions and accountability.

“In my opinion ICE has too much discretionary authority and too loose controls over the use of force, including lethal force.

“Besides concerns that ICE is turning into Trump’s private militia under the guise of being a public security agency, the way in which ICE operates almost inevitably sets up a clash with local government and law enforcement.”

The FBI is leading the investigation into the Minnesota shooting and after an initial agreement for a joint federal-state probe, announced it would block state investigators from participating in it.

Typically, federal and local authorities work together on prominent cases.

The Good case has seen a flurry of activity from the Trump administration defending ICE actions and a flood of protests against it.

In a press conference, Vice President JD Vance blamed the “far left” for attacks on law enforcement and said the killing of Good was a “tragedy of her own making.”

But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey had strong words after Good’s death last week: “I have a message for ICE: Get the f- out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here.”

Buchanan warned of the possibility of “mini civil wars” in places where the backlash against ICE is extreme, as local government and communities push back against some of the Trump administration agenda.

“When ICE shows up and starts raiding, detaining, injuring and now killing people in jurisdictions where the local communities and government do not want them there, that sets up a confrontations dynamic that is pernicious in the extreme.”

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

• The day of a deadline for a ransom demand in the massive Manage My Health data leak has arrived.
• It is believed the deadline expires at 5.37am New Zealand time.
• It comes as communication from the country’s largest patient portal is criticised by a former intelligence officer.

The deadline has arrived for the ransom being demanded after hundreds of thousands of medical files were stolen from the country’s largest patient portal.

Manage My Health is still grappling with the massive data breach affecting more than 120,000 of its users.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said the government had a long-standing position that ransoms should not be paid.

Manage My Health said late on Monday, ahead of the deadline, that any ransom demand was a matter for Police.

It said it would not be making any comment about a ransom while an investigation was ongoing.

The platform said it was sincerely sorry for pain and anxiety caused to health providers and patients.

“We acknowledge we could have done a better job at communication,” it said in a statement.

“However, our priority was to secure patient data and work on the accuracy of all information before providing it to practices and patients.”

It said it would be publishing daily updates with all the information it was able to share.

Simeon Brown, speaking after announcing an urgent review into the breach, said he had raised communication with the platform.

“I spoke to the CEO last week, made my expectations incredibly clear around the need for Manage My Health to be clear and transparent with its communications to the public and its users and to work closely with agencies and to make sure that they are following their advice,” he told RNZ.

Brown described the data disappearing as “pretty unacceptable”.

Luke Hogan, a senior technical manager who works at Intellium, said he could not see Manage My Health recovering.

“I don’t know how they’re going to come back from this, it’s a bit tough,” he said.

“For me it’s really, really disappointing that basic cyber security has not been taken seriously.

“From my perspective, health data is right up there with financial data, some of the most critical data that needs to be protected,” he said.

“It’s just very, very disappointing and a little bit shocking as an IT professional to hear that this has happened”.

Will ransom be paid?

While Manage My Health would not be drawn on the ransom, a former intelligence officer said in general they should not be paid.

Antony Grasso had also worked at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the United Kingdom’s intelligence, security and cyber agency.

He himself was a Manage My Health user.

“I personally would advise not to, even if it was my own data that was going to get released, which it may be,” he said.

“It’s a tough call without giving the full context but the general rule is not to pay the ransom, that’s the general rule.

“I mean, you’re bargaining with effectively criminals or thieves, and there’s no honour amongst thieves, we know that, and they may release it anyway and it also means we’re a soft touch.”

Grasso said he had not seen Manage My Health take many tangible actions after the breach.

“You know, just as a general bod on the street, I don’t feel like they will necessarily have had a good plan for the response,” he said.

“I haven’t seen a lot of transparency and I haven’t seen a lot of action that I would expect for a company that’s holding that much private information.”

Grasso hoped security companies used by the platform would be dumped and have nothing to do with it in the future.

“Because clearly, somebody’s dropped the ball.”

‘Rumours for some time’ – Deputy Privacy Commissioner

Deputy Privacy Commissioner Liz MacPherson told RNZ she believed issues had surfaced in the past.

“As I understand it there have been rumours for some time but the issue we’ve got is that there are white knight hackers and others out there who do raise these issues, quite often it’s very difficult to know whether these people are actually hackers themselves or whether they are white knights, so it’s difficult to police,” she said.

A white knight is a hacker who acts with good intentions to get vulnerabilities fixed.

“So as I understand it, these issues have been drawn to Manage My Health in the past and I think to some media outlets as well,” MacPherson said.

She said the Office was irked by widespread complacency around cyber security.

“The frustration for us at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner is that we continue to see complacency from, and this is across the board… a continuation of the ‘it’ll happen to somebody else, not to me’ type approach,” she said.

“And you have to ask the question, is the lack of a penalty regime part of that?”

MacPherson said fines in Australia used to be around $3.3 million but had risen significantly.

“So the major breaches risk fines of up to greater than $50m AUD, which is three times the financial gain from the breach, or 30 percent of the company’s turnover.

“I guess what I’m saying to you is that we didn’t even have the lower level fines that they had, which were around 2 to $3 million,” she said.

“We don’t have any penalties, we do not have a civil penalty rating.”

What Manage My Health says

Manage My Health, in its latest update, said it wanted to reassure the public that its team had been working tirelessly through the holiday period.

“Secondly, we have been working as part of a cross-sector group to implement processes to begin communication with affected practices and patients,” it said.

“We acknowledge that this delay has been a cause for concern.”

The platform said it welcomed the review launched by the Health Minister and it would fully cooperate.

It said its international team was monitoring known data leak websites and was prepared to issue takedown notices immediately if any stolen information was posted.

It had also obtained a High Court injunction preventing third parties from accessing data posted as a result of the cyber attack.

The High Court in Wellington has confirmed to RNZ it received an application for an injunction.

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

A ransom hack on New Zealand’s largest health portal is being billed as one of the country’s biggest cybersecurity incidents, but how does it compare?

The hackers have threatened to release more than 400,000 documents stolen from about 126,000 ManageMyHealth patients if the private company failed to pay $60,000 by 5am Tuesday.

The breach has prompted a government review of what happened, looking into whether security protections were sufficient, and any improvements that should be made.

ManageMyHealth is seeking an injunction on the patient information being used publicly, and working to notify those affected.

The company is also working with Health NZ, the Ministry, the Privacy Commissioner and General Practice to minimise ongoing risk.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)’s latest Cyber Threat Report in December identified increasing commercialisation of cybercrime, with known weaknesses and unpatched vulnerabilities in New Zealand “providing threat actors with easy access”.

More than 40 percent of incidents NCSC dealt with in the 2024/25 year had links criminal or financially motivations, compared to about 25 percent with suspected links to state-sponsored actors. About 34 percent could not be linked to either.

The number of criminal or financially motivated attacks more than doubled compared to the previous year, and financial losses rose from more than $26.9m to $21.6m.

The agency, which provides cybersecurity services to all New Zealanders, advises not paying ransoms to hackers.

“Unfortunately, many of those who pay do not get their data back or their systems unlocked, and sometimes they are extorted further with the threat of releasing sensitive data.”

The report said AI had only added to the threat – with attackers no longer needing advanced technical skills to launch convincing and scalable attacks.

“The scale and speed of AI-driven attacks could overwhelm traditional security teams, especially if basic cyber hygiene is lacking. Still, automation benefits both sides: rapid detection and response must outpace automated attacks to remain effective,” the report said.

Waikato DHB

One of the most notorious attacks affecting New Zealand specifically, the Waikato District Health Board (DHB) incident received significant media attention due to its clear effect on local hospitals.

The attack paralysed services at five hospitals on 18 May 2021, after hackers brought down the District Health Board (DHB)’s 611 servers and – six weeks later – leaked private data from more than 4000 patients and employees on the dark web.

As with the ManageMyHealth attack, the hackers used ransomware – software which threatens to shut down access and/or steal data unless a ransom is paid – to shut down all phones and internal systems other than email.

Staff were still having to use manual workarounds in some areas three months later, when the DHB was still trying to figure out how big the patient backlog would be.

The DHB had been warned just months earlier about its outdated security provisions, including clinical devices still running Windows XP – which had not been supported for five years – behind on security patches, and too few staff to manage upgrades.

A report later found the DHB was up to date with patching, and that software vulnerabilities did not play a role in the incident. However, much of that report’s insights into how well set up the DHB was prior to the incident, and details of the attack, were redacted.

Tonga Health System, 2025

Tonga’s health system was taken down for nearly a month in June last year by hackers demanding $1 million.

The ransom was not paid and Tonga got help from Australia to restore their system, asking patients for weeks to bring in handwritten notes instead of relying on their own records.

Case study

In an example that never hit the headlines, the NCSC’s report illustrated how strong security and quick responses could be effective in combating ransomware attacks by highlighting another case in the health sector.

“Many of the organisation’s servers and endpoint devices had been encrypted, and a large amount of data was stolen,” the report said.

“The organisation’s IT provider helped it to take initial remediation steps, which included changing credentials, updating accounts, and deploying extra security measures.”

The report said the NCSC had found a lack of multi-factor authentication (MFA) – where a user provides two or more verifications, like a password as well as a phone access code – had allowed a hacker to gain access.

“Fortunately, the organisation had completed system backups just one hour before the ransomware activity occurred. By restoring from these recent backups, it was able to successfully recover its systems and quickly return to normal operations.”

The report said such frequent backups were what allowed the organisation to recover so fast, but having MFA would have prevented the attack.

WannaCry attack 2017

The WannaCry attack in May 2017 was notable for its breadth.

Locking down more than 300,000 computers in more than 150 countries, the attackers demanded US$300 for each machine affected.

WannaCry was named after the ransomware used to prevent people from accessing their files.

Most of those affected were thought to have not paid the hackers, and reports suggested those who paid were not rewarded with access to their documents.

The UK’s health service was particularly affected, with nearly 20,000 hospital appointments cancelled.

In New Zealand, perhaps one of the biggest effects was the shutdown of Lyttelton Port as a precaution.

Afterward, Counties Manukau DHB reported significant challenges and gaps in how medical device computers were managed, which experts warned would be widespread and it would be a challenge for DHBs.

The United States pinned the blame on North Korea.

Qantas

Moving away from health data, New Zealanders were also caught up in the breach that affected 5.7 million Qantas customers in mid-2025.

The Australian airline in October revealed the extent of the attack, which stole data from about 40 companies worldwide in June.

Details taken included customer records including name, email address and frequent flyer details.

Thankfully, no credit card, personal financial information, passport details or Qantas frequent flyer account passwords and logins were thought to have been taken.

Nissan cyber attack 2024

About 100,000 customers from carmaker Nissan’s Australian and New Zealand arms were affected by a hack in March 2024, with copies of documents including driver licences, passports, tax files and medicare cards.

At least some of the stolen data was published on the dark web.

Latitude Financial, 2023

In March 2023, Australian financial services firm Latitude announced on the Australian stock exchange that it had been hit by an attack.

Initially believed to affect just 330,000 people, Latitude eventually confirmed the attack affected more than 14 million documents in what was believed to have been the biggest data breach in New Zealand at the time.

More than a million New Zealand driver licence numbers, 90,000 personal bank account numbers, details from 34,000 passports, and details relating to the company’s Gem Visa credit cards were thought to have been taken.

A ransom was demanded, but was not paid.

Mercury IT, 2022

An attack in 2022 saw Health NZ and the Ministry of Justice lose access to health and coronial files.

The data – about 14,500 coronial files, 4000 post mortem reports, about 8500 bereavement care records, and about 5500 Cardiac and Inherited Disease Registry records dating back as far as 2018 – was held by external provider Mercury IT.

The NCSC’s latest annual report identifies such “supply chain hack” attacks targeting third-party suppliers and services as an increasing trend.

“This approach works where the third party may not adhere to the same security standards as the target organisation, or where actors are prepared to put in the effort to compromise the third party because it is key to unlocking access to one or more valuable targets,” the report said.

At the time, Mercury said it immediately reported the attack to government authorities after learning about it on 30 November.

The Ministry of Justice and Health NZ said there was no evidence of any unauthorised access or downloading of the files, but an official said it could not be ruled out.

Squirrel, 2024

Another example of a supply chain hack, mortgage broking and investment firm Squirrel was targeted in an attack exposing about 600 peer-to-peer investors’ passport or drivers’ licence details.

The company said the attack had hit a third-party system used for registering investors, which was held for 30 days.

“The data that was exposed was people’s name, date of birth and ID number… there was no Squirrel info or any more personal info exposed,” founder John Bolton said.

AA Traveller

The AA Traveller website in May 2022 reported names, addresses, contact details and expired credit card numbers from hundreds of thousands of customers had been stolen the previous August.

The breach affected customers who had used the website between 2003 and 2018.

A further 30,000 people who took an online AA Travel New Zealand survey in 2010 had also been exposed to risk of being hacked by an overseas account.

China accused of hacking NZ Parliament

Senior Minister Judith Collins – who has responsibility for the GCSB and SIS spy agencies – revealed in March 2024 the Parliamentary Service and Parliamentary Counsel Office had been allegedly targeted in 2021 by a group called APT40.

“Fortunately, in this instance, the NCSC worked with the impacted organisations to contain the activity and remove the actor shortly after they were able to access the network,” she told reporters.

Collins’ announcement followed one in 2021 by her predecessor Andrew Little, who said the GCSB had uncovered links between APT40 and the Chinese government.

He said at the time Chinese state-sponsored hackers had been identified as being responsible for an attack targeting Microsoft Exchange email software.

China’s embassy has maintained the accusations linking it to hacking in New Zealand are “groundless and irresponsible”.

NZX attack in 2020

The New Zealand stock exchange came under repeated Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in August 2020, bringing trading to a halt.

Public-facing NZX servers were taken down for nearly a week, and trading had to be intermittently halted for four days in a row.

Such attacks coordinate large volumes of internet traffic to a target to overwhelm servers and networks.

They have also been used as leverage to try to get a ransom in return for the hackers halting their attacks.

Crowdstrike

An event described as the biggest IT meltdown the world had ever seen was less deliberate attack, more unintentional glitch.

The Crowdstrike incident in mid-2024 saw errant code in a security update bring down services including airlines, healthcare, shipping, finance, TV and transport networks around the world.

New Zealand was affected, including with internet services going down, but largely escaped some of the worst impacts.

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

By Aaron Blake, CNN

Analysis – On 2 November, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that land strikes in Venezuela would require the approval of Congress. She said that if Trump “were to authorise some activity on land, then it’s war, then [we’d need] Congress”.

Days later, Trump administration officials privately told members of Congress much the same thing – that they lacked the legal justification to support attacks against any land targets in Venezuela.

Just two months later, though, the Trump administration has done what it previously indicated it couldn’t.

It launched what Trump called a “large scale strike against Venezuela” and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, to face charges. And it launched this regime change effort without the approval of Congress.

(Trump in November claimed he didn’t need congressional authorisation for land action, but it clearly wasn’t the consensus view in the administration.)

It appears the mission is, for now, limited to removing Maduro. But as Trump noted, it did involve striking inside the country – the same circumstance some in the administration previously indicated required authorization that it didn’t have. CNN reported back in early November that the administration was seeking a new legal opinion from the Justice Department for such strikes.

And Trump in a news conference Saturday spoke repeatedly about not just arresting Maduro, but also running Venezuela and taking over its oil – comments that could certainly be understood to suggest this was about more than arresting Maduro.

Legally dubious strikes inside another country – even ones narrowly tailored at removing a foreign leaders – are hardly unheard of in recent American history. But even in that context, this one is remarkable.

Shifting justifications

That’s because the Trump administration has taken remarkably little care to offer a consistent set of justifications or a legal framework for the attack. And it doesn’t even appear to have notified Congress ahead of time, which is generally the bare minimum in such circumstances.

A full explanation of the claimed justification has yet to be issued, but the early signs are characteristically confusing.

Republican Sen Mike Lee of Utah said shortly after the strikes that Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him the attack was needed to, in Lee’s words, “protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant” against Maduro.

“This action likely falls within the president’s inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect US personnel from an actual or imminent attack,” said Lee, a frequent critic of unauthorized foreign military action.

Hours later, Vice President JD Vance echoed that line.

“And PSA for everyone saying this was ‘illegal’: Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism,” Vance said on X. “You don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.”

At a later news conference, Rubio echoed the line that the military had been supporting “a law enforcement function”.

But there are many people living in other countries that are under indictment in the United States; it is not the US government’s usual course to launch strikes on foreign countries to bring them to justice.

The administration also hadn’t previously indicated that military force could be legally used for this reason.

Initially, Trump threatened land strikes inside Venezuela to target drug traffickers – this despite Venezuela being an apparently somewhat small player in the drug-trafficking game.

Later, the administration suggested strikes might be needed because Venezuela sent bad people into the United States.

And then, after initially downplaying the role of oil in the US pressure campaign against Venezuela and Maduro, Trump said he aimed to reclaim “the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us”.

The signals were confusing enough that even the hawkish Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in mid-December indicated the administration lacked “clarity” in its messaging.

“I want clarity right here,” Graham said. “President Trump is saying his days are numbered. That seems to me that he’s gotta go. If it’s the goal of taking him out because he’s a threat to our country, then say it. And what happens next? Don’t you think most people want to know that?”

Despite the focus on the law enforcement operation on Saturday, Trump at the news conference said the United States would now participate in running Venezuela, at least temporarily. And he repeatedly spoke about its oil.

“We’re going to rebuild the oil infrastructure,” Trump said, adding at another point: “We’re going to run the country right.”

And even if the administration had offered a more consistent justification, that doesn’t mean it would be an appropriate one.

A controversial 1989 memo

The most recent major example of using the US military for regime change is, of course, the war in Iraq. That war was authorized by Congress in 2002. The broader war on terror was authorized by Congress in 2001, after the 9/11 attacks.

Since then, administrations have sought to justify several military actions in the Middle East using those authorisations – sometimes dubiously. But Venezuela is in an entirely different theater.

While many have compared the effort in Venezuela to Iraq, the better comparison – and one the administration apparently intends to make – is Panama in 1989.

Like in Venezuela, Panama’s leader at the time, Manuel Noriega, was under US indictment, including for drug-trafficking. And like in Venezuela, the operation was less a large-scale war than a narrowly tailored effort to remove the leader from power.

The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in 1980 had concluded that the FBI didn’t have the authority to apprehend and abduct a foreign national to face justice. But George HW Bush administration’s OLC quietly reversed that in the summer of 1989.

A memo written by William P. Barr, who would later become attorney general in that Bush administration and Trump’s first administration, said a president had “inherent constitutional authority” to order the FBI to take people into custody in foreign countries, even if it violated international law to do so.

That memo was soon used to justify the operation to remove Noriega. (As it happens, Noriega was captured the same day Maduro was: January 3,1990.)

But that memo remains controversial to this day. It’s also an extraordinarily broad grant of authority, potentially allowing US military force anywhere.

And the situation in Venezuela could differ in that it’s a larger country that could prove tougher to control with its leader in foreign custody. It also has significant oil wealth, meaning other countries could take an interest in what happens there next. (China has called the attack a “blatant use of force against a sovereign state.”)

In both the news conference and an interview with Fox News on Saturday morning, Trump invoked the possibility of further military option, reinforcing that this could be about more than just arresting Maduro.

That also means the questions about Trump’s legal authorities could again be tested – just as he’s already tested them with his legally dubious strikes on alleged drug boats and other actions in the region.

What’s clear is that Trump is seeking to yet again test the limits of his authority as president – and Americans’ tolerance for it. But this time he’s doing it on one of the biggest stages yet. And the story of his stretching of the law certainly isn’t over.

– CNN

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

The chairperson of a ministerial advisory group on organised crime says he won’t be satisfied until he sees the government commit resources to tackling the issue of organised crime.

The government launched a plan earlier this month to combat transnational organised crime, including setting up a new agency and minister responsible, developing inter-agency information sharing, and establishing a maritime campaign to disrupt criminal networks in the Pacific.

“New Zealand and our Pacific neighbours are being increasingly targeted by organised criminal groups, who are using new technologies and new ways of operating,” Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello said then. “We need a different, stronger and more cohesive response.”

Chairperson Steve Symon said he was encouraged to see the government endorse the advisory group’s plan, but wanted to see a commitment in Budget 2026.

“What would make me really satisfied, is if we follow through on it, if what we see in the coming months, is rolling up our sleeves and really mucking in to find out exactly what we need to do to make this work.”

Symon said the picture would become very bleak for New Zealand without a real effort to disrupt criminal networks.

“It’s quite a frightening picture, because organised crime is affecting all New Zealanders, whether we necessarily recognise it or not.”

He said the effects of organised crime were reaching into all corners of New Zealand, whether through a rise in methamphetamine use, fraud and cyber fraud, or migrant exploitation.

Symon pointed to Australia’s response to the illegal tobacco problem – which he said was not quick enough to disrupt what had become a $10 billion industry for criminal groups.

He said the advisory group’s recommendation to set up a new department and minister responsible for the issue, was justified when there could be up to 19 or 30 different agencies involved in addressing the problem right now.

“What we’re saying is the New Zealand public expect a co-ordinated response. It expects these agencies to be working together, in fact the public is right, because we will need that if we are going to successfully stop organised crime.”

University of Canterbury’s Pacific regional security hub head Jose Sousa-Santos said the government and the public should be worried about the influx of drugs at the border.

He said despite larger seizures by customs, the price of methamphetamine remained stable.

“Even though we are seizing more methamphetamine over the past decades combined, you can come to the conclusion there is much more methamphetamine coming in.”

Sousa-Santos said drugs were moving through the Pacific from South America, Canada and South East Asia to New Zealand and Australia.

He said Pacific criminal organised groups were starting to take hold in the region, infiltrating and corrupting law enforcement agencies.

He pointed to one part of the government’s plan, which was to set up a joint customs, GCSB, and Defence Force maritime campaign to disrupt organised criminal groups networks across the Pacific.

He said this could strengthen the region’s national security.

“The Pacific Ocean is a large space to operate in, and this will at least ensure that New Zealand is able to be secure and work with our partners in the Pacific, creating a situation where the regions and our partnerships become force multipliers.

“It’s very important that New Zealand has a lessons learnt policy from our neighbours in the US and South-East Asia.

“The tactics which are new to us – such as the narco subs or the low-profile vessels – these are tactics which have been utilised in America, and South-East Asia for decades.”

Costello said previously that New Zealand needed to improve its responses.

“The key thing I think we need to recognise is that organised crime is a business that will do anything it can to make a profit.

“We need to be pivoting and responding in a far more flexible and responsive way than we currently are.”

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

2024 set a high bar to beat when it came to things being generally weird, but 2025 comfortably rose to the occasion.

That was perhaps a certainty set in motion late last year, when Americans took a look around and decided four more years of chaos was just what the world needed.

Things were no less unpredictable at home either, with no shortage of strange news filed by RNZ’s own reporters in the past 12 months.

January

It didn’t take long for the first ‘I cannot believe this is an actual headline’ news time to appear, with ‘Kiwi Water Park owner feels “victimised” by iPhone weather app’ appearing before midday on 1 January.

A few days later Meta scrambled to delete AI characters it put on Instagram after it emerged “proud black queer Momma” Liv was actually the creation of a dozen people, most of them white men and none of them Black. Another, presenting himself as a “warm grandpa”, eventually admitted he was nothing more than “a heart of algorithms and profit-driven design”. And before it had a chance to cry tears in rain, Brian too joined Roy Batty in silicon heaven.

Then we had a report of a fun new thing to do in the capital – go on a “tour of sites of murder, execution, suffering”. Should probably mention the tour focused on historical events, not the present day.

Later in the month RNZ met a woman whose “bread and butter” was removing cockroaches from people’s ears, and a mayor so fed up with his own council he removed a view-blocking abandoned double trailer unit himself.

A man in Invercargill was arrested after choosing to rob perhaps the worst possible victims – a group of elite cyclists.

You’d think selling a house once inhabited by a globally adored singer like Adele would be easy, right? Not if she once suggested the place was haunted, apparently.

In Napier, a woman was embarrassed to tell her visitors to find her house on ‘Pornwall Road’ after someone changed the C to a P. “It’s blatant unnecessary exposure to crude words,” a local shop owner said.

And rounding out an eventful first month of 2025 was a report that concluded the New Zealand economy would be significantly smaller if we didn’t drink so much beer.

February

“I’d ask if she could change her name for starters,” rising MMA fighter Taylor Swift told CNN, sick of the jokes and sniggers that greeted his every entrance.

New Zealand First MP Shane Jones, fresh off yelling “send the Mexicans home” in Parliament, dug a deeper hole by saying he’d had “exciting nocturnal experiences with the Latin American people” then offered the ambassador a shot of tequila.

Scientists in Italy came up with what they claimed to be the perfect way to boil an egg, unconcerned their method required more than half an hour of constant attention.

Saturday Morning spoke to a woman who had lived nearly a decade without using money who was beginning to wonder how she was going to pay a for a much-needed dentist appointment.

‘Africa’ by Toto this month was declared the ‘perfect’ song by a group of presumably tone-deaf neurologists and music enthusiasts.

On 27 February, RNZ reported on a woman who had given birth on a flight from Auckland to New Plymouth. Sadly for the baby, its arrival happened after the plane had landed, so its birth certificate will always say ‘New Plymouth’.

Meanwhile in Hamilton, people are “defecating, hanging clothes lines, taking drugs, begging and displaying threatening behaviour” in the city centre, but it’s those taking showers in the Garden Place fountains that really ground one councillor’s gears.

March

In March, England’s top cricketing body was forced to apologise for a joke about the pope that failed to hit the stumps, claiming his heartfelt post about an important day on the Catholic calendar was actually about a cricket match.

Government coalition partner New Zealand First announced it wanted to “remove woke ‘DEI’ regulations” from legislation that it helped put into place five years ago, despite its own constitution urging diversity in candidate selection. Amazingly, this wasn’t even the party’s most circus-level flip-flop this year (more on that below).

The ACT Party took offence at a social media post by Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi that said his lawns were getting a “good f… hiding” because he was treating them like David Seymour.

Speaking of Seymour, in March his much-maligned school lunch programme delivered a lunch consisting of simply just a single bread roll.

April

The second Trump administration’s tough new tariffs spared virtually no one, even slapping a 10 percent levy on “a barren sub-Antarctic Australian territory without a human population, but four different species of penguin”. The president then posted an AI-generated picture of himself as the pope (and that wasn’t even the most offensive of his posts this year).

Meanwhile in Wellington, about 700 people squashed together on Cuba Street to watch a man fold a fitted sheet.

In Queensland, a woman gave birth to someone else’s baby after the wrong embryo was implanted.

A Far North man’s foot was lost in the mail, or possibly stolen.

A Napier man running on the lime paths in Ahuriri was “a bit shocked” to see a few dozen cows break into an estuary for a paddle.

The US Navy lost a $100m jet when it literally fell off the side of an aircraft carrier.

May

Insert your own ‘but would you want to?’ reply here, but in May researchers decided to find out if it was possible to survive a nuclear war in Palmerston North.

Chinese scientists were looking into far more important matters, like if it was possible to use AI to speak to a cat.

The US Navy lost a second jet off the same aircraft carrier it did in April.

The Livestock Improvement Corporation’s hall of fame for cattle that sire children received only its second female entry in 70 years, following 59 males and just one other female.

An Auckland kitten used up one of its nine lives when it was found in the bonnet of a vehicle travelling down one of the city’s motorways.

Some Southland Hospital staff were told they could only talk to each other for a maximum of five minutes a day.

Japan’s tourism industry took a hit mid-year when psychics, inspired by a comic book, began predicting a huge disaster.

Mutton Birds singer Don McGlashan had his biggest hit in years at the Aotearoa Music Awards when he told National MP Chris Bishop to “shut up”, calling him a “dickhead” for heckling a performance by Stan Walker. Later in the year he told RNZ he would have said “honourable dickhead” if he knew it was a government minister he was speaking to.

May ended the way every month should, with a truck crash that results in the release of 250 million bees.

June

At the start of June, the first Tasman War broke out with an Australian Navy attack on New Zealand communications infrastructure. Okay, perhaps that’s twisting the truth a bit – but the HMS Canberra did ‘accidentally’ knock out internet and radio transmission across parts of New Zealand. There was no apology noted in the story, so tensions remain high.

Two men were jailed for stealing an 18-carat golden toilet called ‘America’, on exhibition at the birthplace of Winston Churchill.

Aussies complained they had been fooled into buying ‘teacup’ pigs that grow into enormous hogs.

In a scene that would make John Cleese proud, a British man robbed a post office armed only with a banana.

Nelson began wondering whether displaying one of only two statues in the world of disgraced former US President Richard Nixon was on-brand for the city.

July

The second half of the year began with the Dalai Lama announcing that unlike the recently deceased Pope Francis, he planned to live well beyond 130.

After successfully reviving Lord of the Rings, the Beatles and nimbyism, Sir Peter Jackson in July said he was investing money into efforts to bring back the moa.

Some people might that’s cool – but at least thanks to scientists in Chile, we now have a way to test it.

Trump’s silliest utterance of July (at least in front of cameras) was telling the president of a country whose national language is English that he spoke good English.

Did you know the big bang’s source was found this year? In Wellington Hospital, of all places? Okay, might have been a slightly smaller big bang.

Moviegoers at Auckland’s Hollywood Cinema were blindsided by a “baffling” and “uncomfortable” AI-generated video of Russell Crowe as a medieval monk on a 14th century pilgrimage to “the Hollow Wood”, a medieval cinema “established by the first European settlers in 1349AD”.

A real video that made headlines in July was the infamous affair caught on the big screen at a Coldplay concert.

Good news! Asteroid 2024 YR4 in July was confirmed to not be on a collision course with the Earth. Instead, it might hit the moon.

August

A senior public servant’s remains were taken to his government department’s office for a memorial service.

A woman who bought a bag of potatoes and found a rock in it was told by the Pak’nSave she bought it from she could keep it.

The Ministry of Education canned a book for young rangatahi readers because it had too many Māori words,

Also in August, the government confirmed for the small price of $671 million, it had locked in a contract to receive no ferries at all.

New obesity research from Auckland University found a single pill of ‘good’ faecal bacteria could significantly improve a patient’s health.

And is anything sacred? A low fat yoghurt won NZ’s best ice cream award this year.

In Morocco the coolest-ever dinosaur skeleton was found, “lavishly adorned with armour and spikes”.

September

The month began with a multimillionaire businessman making a “huge mistake”, caught on camera snatching a tennis star’s hat from a child at the US Open.

Looking to one-up the Dalai Lama, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were caught on a hot mic discussing organ transplants and the possibility that humans could live to 150 years old.

Argentina police recovered a painting stolen by the Nazis decades ago after it was spotted in a real estate photo.

Too much time on the porcelain throne can make you nearly 50 percent more likely to develop haemorrhoids, scientists confirmed.

In 1995, Mount Ruapehu exploded in spectacular fashion, triggering a somewhat haphazard emergency response – but reminiscing to RNZ at the 30th anniversary, one volcanologist admitted it was the “best day of my life”.

This month’s dumbest Trump-adjacent news emerged in the final week, when a statue of the president and his old party buddy Jeffrey Epstein was erected in front of the US Capitol.

That same day, the following quote appeared in a legit, real news story: “I believe adding more sausages to the situation will certainly improve our democracy rather than harm it.” Cannot be explained succinctly, you’ll have to read the whole story.

The month ended with the head of the FBI giving the head of the NZ Police an illegal 3D-printed firearm.

October

Nico the Great, a literal cat burglar in Hamilton, since June was reported to have stolen more than 200 items – “many of them women’s undies.”

Canadian rapper Drake lost a legal battle with his own record label, which released a song by a rival artist that called him a “certified paedophile”.

Russia proposed building a tunnel between itself and the United States.

And Trump (you thought we’d get through a month without him?) told former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd what a lot of Australians have probably always wanted to tell him: “I don’t like you either, and I probably never will.”

A surfboard lost in Tasmania’s in 2024 washed up thousands of kilometres away in Raglan.

For reasons probably indeterminable, Dictionary.com decided to reveal its word of the ‘year’ at the end of October, and even more baffling, they awarded it to two numbers – six and seven, or as the kids have been saying, ‘six-seven’.

November

Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood casually walked in and surprised a Rotorua couple at their Hobbit-themed wedding at the Hobbiton movie set in Waikato.

‘Prank star’ Daniel Jarvis lined up with the Kangaroos during the national anthems before the second Ashes Test in Liverpool, and was arrested.

Paris unveiled a lottery with a macabre twist: Instead of a cash, entrants could win the right to share cemetery space with Doors singer Jim Morrison and writer Oscar Wilde.

Leroy Carter’s dream All Blacks call-up nearly turned sour when he discovered his passport had been chewed up by his dog, days before leaving for Argentina.

The funniest story of November was no doubt the brazen Louvre heist, specifically when it emerged one of the famous museum’s security passwords was just ‘LOUVRE’.

Some in France however found riches in their own back yard – a man in Lyon finding $1.4m worth of gold bars and coins while digging a swimming pool.

A Taranaki-based honey maker unveiled a two-litre jar of Manuka with a $500,000 price tag. Not to be beaten, Apple – the computer company, need I remind you – unveiled a $230 sock).

Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence revealed she had been getting into anonymous fights on TikTok.

In ironic twists, New Zealand’s biggest landlords group on Facebook got evicted and the country’s top cop got busted for speeding then caught taking an ocean dip during a tsunami advisory.

An Australian restaurant chain apologised for cursing Oscar Piastri’s Formula 1 title hopes with an offer of a free burger every time he placed on the podium, the driver constantly losing since the promotion began.

Trump’s (yay, there he is again!) daughter made her debut in the LPGA and came dead last.

A well-timed photograph of a Kiwi runner about to get his face stomped in a race at the World Championships in Tokyo was nominated for the 2025 World Athletics Photograph of the Year.

Gareth Morgan declared victory over his haters with the addition of feral cats to the government’s Predator Free 2050 eradication programme.

NZ First promised to repeal a bill they had literally just voted into law. (Told a bigger flip-flop was on its way!)

People expressed surprise Millennials, with everything they’ve had to endure, were getting more left-wing as they grew older.

December

A Wellington dad did more than 4000 pull-ups in a row and almost died.

Local fashionistas were concerned the ‘ugly shoe trend’ in the northern hemisphere would soon make its way to New Zealand.

A cat that vanished 14 years ago was reunited with its owner, begging the question whether someone out there was under the impression their cat of 14 years had gone missing.

And finally – because what could follow it? – a Fabergé locket worth more than $33,500, swallowed by a man during an alleged theft at an Auckland jewellery store, was later “recovered” by police. And yes, ‘recovered’ means exactly what you think it does.

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

Please attribute to Police Commissioner Richard Chambers:

I am very pleased to announce Superintendent Jeanette Park (Eastern District Commander), Superintendent Corrie Parnell (Wellington District Commander) and Superintendent Tim Anderson (Bay of Plenty District Commander) are provisionally appointed as Assistant Commissioners for NZ Police.

The appointments of new Deputy and Assistant Commissioners will ensure that from early 2026 we will have a refreshed leadership team and be well-placed to deliver on our core priorities.

Jeanette, Tim and Corrie all have significant operational experience and a strong understanding of the front-line, as well as the communities Police serve in. They will bring different perspectives and experience to the wider team.

They will begin in their new roles as Assistant Commissioners in early February.

This follows the confirmation yesterday of Deputy Commissioner Mike Pannett as the statutory Deputy Commissioner. I expect to appoint a second, non-statutory, Deputy Commissioner early in 2026.

Superintendent Jeanette Park has been District Commander of the Eastern District since 2020, overseeing major operations including Operation Kotare to disrupt organised crime and gang harm.

She led the local Police response to Cyclone Gabrielle. Under her leadership, Eastern District has improved public trust and confidence through crime prevention measures and addressing gang tensions and the disruption gangs cause to communities. She has a proven track record in engaging with different communities and a strong focus on the safety and training of frontline staff.

Prior to her role as District Commander, she was Area Commander in Hawke’s Bay.

She started her policing career in Papakura in South Auckland in 1991 and has worked in Southern, Bay of Plenty, Central, Counties-Manukau, and Eastern Districts in a range of roles from CIB and road policing to prevention manager.

In 2005 she was awarded the Bravery Star for her actions in a 2002 critical incident in which her colleague Detective Constable Duncan Taylor was shot and killed, and Jeanette was also shot and seriously wounded.

Superintendent Corrie Parnell was appointed Wellington District Commander in 2019, and recently has been acting Assistant Commissioner: Investigations, Serious and Organised Crime.

Corrie joined New Zealand Police in 1993 and has worked across a broad range of investigative groups, and in District Commander and prevention roles.

Corrie has extensive experience in cross-agency emergency management.

As District Commander, he led multi-agency responses to some of the largest public order operations in Police history, including the 2022 Parliament protests and the 2024 Hīkoi mō e Tiriti, facing high levels of public and political scrutiny.

He was also involved in cross-agency management for the Canterbury earthquakes, Kaikoura earthquake, Port Hills fires, Covid-19 response, and Cyclone Gabrielle.

He has represented NZ Police globally, working with the United Nations on model protocols for policing protests and as a speaker on crisis management.

He was Acting Assistant Commissioner: People Services in 2023, overseeing nationwide strategies for workforce wellbeing, performance management, recruitment and culture change.

During 2018 Corrie was seconded as the Acting National Manager: Safer People, leading a major transformation programme. That same year he received training in counter-terrorism investigations, which in March 2019 saw him as one of the leaders responsible for the initial response to the Christchurch terror attacks.

In 2019 Corrie graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, completing their three-month leadership programme.

Between 2003 and 2009 Corrie led several successful major crime and homicide investigations, receiving both District Commander and Commissioner’s Commendations for outstanding commitment to criminal investigations.

Superintendent Tim Anderson has been Bay of Plenty District Commander since 2022.

Since joining Police in February 1994, Tim has held a range of roles across Auckland and Bay of Plenty, including leadership roles across major investigations and prosecutions.

He has had a focus on serious crime investigations, including adult sexual assault and child protection matters.

From 2015 to 2019 Tim served as Detective Superintendent in the National Crime Manager role, leading the National Criminal Investigation Group.

In 2019, Tim was lead Senior Investigating Officer based at PNHQ in the investigation into the Christchurch terror attacks. He was also appointed by the Commissioner to lead the NZ Police team response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the attacks. In 2022, he was awarded the Police Bronze Merit Award for his work on Operation Deans.

As a trained Personal Protection Officer, Tim has been part of operational security planning teams for major events both domestically and overseas. He led the NZ Police Team as lead security adviser to the Chef de Mission and NZ Olympic Committee for the Rio Olympic Games 2016.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from Auckland University, majoring in international criminal law and employment law.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

MIL OSI

Warning: This story contains content some may find disturbing.

A Hastings-based man who planned a mass stabbing attack at his court hearing has been sentenced to jail.

The 22-year-old, who has interim name suppression, previously pleaded guilty at the Napier District Court to 13 charges of indecent communications, distributing objectionable material, and for threatening to commit a mass stabbing attack at his 17 December sentencing.

He was sentenced to five years and four months’ imprisonment.

It follows a joint investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and Police.

On 20 August 2024, a search of the offender’s home revealed two electronic devices with over 2300 items of sexual abuse and exploitation material, including images and videos of child sexual abuse, bestiality and necrophilia, as well as terrorist and violent extremism content.

Police said further investigation identified several of his victims, including a child under 16 who he had solicited sexually explicit images from.

On 28 September, the FBI alerted DIA that he planned to commit a mass stabbing attack on his court date.

Police then found two bladed weapons in his bedroom – including a bayonet which he said would be used in the attack – and a manifesto detailing how he had been radicalised at the age of 19.

They said the offender claimed he was active within several violent online groups targeting children, the LGBTQ+ community and other vulnerable groups, enticing them to share nude images and engage in self-harm, later using the material as leverage for extortion.

Detective Inspector James Keene of Eastern District Police said the sentencing was an example of international agencies working together effectively.

“Any threats of mass harm, such as in this case, are always of concern to Police, which is why we moved quickly to arrest this man, and sought to detain him in custody,” he said.

“This individual preyed on the innocence of children by distributing horrific child abuse and exploitation images online, including personally requesting explicit images from a teenager.”

As part of his sentence, the man would be registered as a child sex offender and the devices used during his offending destroyed.

Police urged parents to talk to their tamariki about their online activities, with advice available at KeepItRealOnline.govt.nz.

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202.
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666.
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.
• What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds.
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254.
• Healthline: 0800 611 116.
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155.
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463.

Sexual Violence

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

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

Warning: This story contains content some may find disturbing.

A Hastings-based man who planned a mass stabbing attack at his court hearing has been sentenced to jail.

The 22-year-old, who has interim name suppression, previously pleaded guilty at the Napier District Court to 13 charges of indecent communications, distributing objectionable material, and for threatening to commit a mass stabbing attack at his 17 December sentencing.

He was sentenced to five years and four months’ imprisonment.

It follows a joint investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and Police.

On 20 August 2024, a search of the offender’s home revealed two electronic devices with over 2300 items of sexual abuse and exploitation material, including images and videos of child sexual abuse, bestiality and necrophilia, as well as terrorist and violent extremism content.

Police said further investigation identified several of his victims, including a child under 16 who he had solicited sexually explicit images from.

On 28 September, the FBI alerted DIA that he planned to commit a mass stabbing attack on his court date.

Police then found two bladed weapons in his bedroom – including a bayonet which he said would be used in the attack – and a manifesto detailing how he had been radicalised at the age of 19.

They said the offender claimed he was active within several violent online groups targeting children, the LGBTQ+ community and other vulnerable groups, enticing them to share nude images and engage in self-harm, later using the material as leverage for extortion.

Detective Inspector James Keene of Eastern District Police said the sentencing was an example of international agencies working together effectively.

“Any threats of mass harm, such as in this case, are always of concern to Police, which is why we moved quickly to arrest this man, and sought to detain him in custody,” he said.

“This individual preyed on the innocence of children by distributing horrific child abuse and exploitation images online, including personally requesting explicit images from a teenager.”

As part of his sentence, the man would be registered as a child sex offender and the devices used during his offending destroyed.

Police urged parents to talk to their tamariki about their online activities, with advice available at KeepItRealOnline.govt.nz.

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202.
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666.
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.
• What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds.
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254.
• Healthline: 0800 611 116.
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155.
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463.

Sexual Violence

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

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

A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment for indecent communications, distributing objectionable material, and threatening to commit a mass stabbing attack, following a joint investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs and New Zealand Police.

The Hastings-based man was granted interim name suppression having previously pled guilty to 13 charges at the Napier District Court related to the indecent communications, objectionable material, and for threatening to commit a mass stabbing attack when appearing at his sentencing on 17 December 2025.

A search of the offender’s home on 20 August 2024 led to the seizure of two electronic devices which contained over 2300 sexual abuse and exploitation images, including images and videos of child sexual abuse, bestiality and necrophilia, as well as terrorist and violent extremism content. Further investigation identified several of his victims, including a child under the age of 16, who he had solicited sexually explicit images from.

On the 28 September 2024, the Department received an alert from the FBI that he planned to commit a mass stabbing attack on his court date. Two bladed weapons were subsequently found in his bedroom by Police including a bayonet which he said would be used in the attack. A manifesto was also found detailing how he had been radicalised at the age of 19.

The offender claims he was active within several violent online groups. These groups target children, the LGBTQ+ community and other vulnerable groups, enticing them to share nude images and engage in self-harm, later using the material as leverage for extortion.

Protecting vulnerable groups has been a keen focus for law enforcement, with the New Zealand Police releasing public warning notices urging parents and young people to be alert when online. 

Detective Inspector James Keene of Eastern District Police says this sentencing shows a commitment by New Zealand and overseas agencies to work effectively together to reduce this level of harmful activity.

“This individual preyed on the innocence of children by distributing horrific child abuse and exploitation images online, including personally requesting explicit images from a teenager.

“Any threats of mass harm, such as in this case, are always of concern to Police, which is why we moved quickly to arrest this man, and sought to detain him in custody.”

“This investigation demonstrates the dedication of our investigators and partner agencies in stopping offenders from committing serious acts of harm against innocent victims, both online and in the real world,” says Jared Mullen, General Manager, Digital Safety and Investigations.

As part of his sentence, the Judge ordered he be registered as a child sex offender and the devices used during his offending to be destroyed.

Help and support

We encourage parents and caregivers to talk to their tamariki about their online activities. Advice and support for parents and caregivers about how they can keep their children safe online can be found at KeepItRealOnline.govt.nz

In a non-emergency situation, you can provide a report to Police by calling 105 or filing an online report.

If you know abuse is happening right now or a child is at risk, call police immediately on 111.

If you are concerned about something you have seen or want to report objectionable content, please report it to the Digital Child Exploitation Team and the Digital Violent Extremism Team at DIA.

If you are the victim of a child abuse or sexual abuse crime, you can contact: https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/child-abuse-directory-information-and-support

Safe to Talk: 0800 044 334 Text 4334

If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s sexual behaviour, please reach out for support:

Safe Network: 09 377 9898

WellStop: 04 566 4745

STOP: 03 353 0257

Stand Strong, Walk Tall

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

MIL OSI

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers welcomes the announcement of Assistant Commissioner Mike Pannett as a statutory Deputy Commissioner of NZ Police.

“I want to congratulate Mike on his appointment after a lengthy and very thorough selection process.

“Mike is a thoroughly decent person with integrity and determination and has the leadership experience needed for this position.

“He has had a varied career and brings valuable experience to the leadership of NZ Police.

“Mike’s background is in policing in Auckland and Northland, focusing on organised crime and intelligence. He was also District Commander of the Southern police district in 2015/2016.

“His subsequent experience working internationally and his extensive work on national security, intelligence and transnational crime equip him to ensure we are well-placed to address emerging threats to New Zealand.

“This appointment means I can now establish my wider leadership team after what has been a challenging period.

“I will commence the appointment process for a second, non-statutory Deputy Commissioner immediately and expect to finalise an appointment early in 2026.

“I also expect to announce new Assistant Commissioners soon to fill vacancies at that level.

“I have every confidence NZ Police has the strong, effective and stable leadership it needs over the coming months and years.

“Implementing the recommendations of the IPCA report will be an immediate focus for the new leadership team. Work is already underway on that important work.

“We have a big job to do and my focus is very firmly on doing that job to ensure we maintain and build on trust and confidence of both the public and the frontline,” Commissioner Chambers says.

Assistant Commissioner Mike Pannett says:

“I feel very privileged and excited about this opportunity and will do my best for the men and women of NZ Police, and the communities we all serve.

“I have experience in a wide range of policing approaches, and a strong belief that trust and confidence underpins everything that we do.

“There are 15,000 dedicated staff in Police and I want to ensure people understand the difficult job they do, day and night, and the dedication they show.

“I look forward to being part of a leadership team that focuses on the front line and the communities they serve.”

Biography: Assistant Commissioner Mike Pannett

Assistant Commissioner Michael (Mike) Pannett MNZM has served in NZ Police for over 40 years, holding senior leadership roles in New Zealand and internationally.

He is currently Assistant Commissioner – National Security and International.

Assistant Commissioner Pannett has held a range of roles in the investigation of serious and organised crime, and in national security and intelligence.

He was District Commander in Southern from late 2015 to the end of 2016.

He was appointed Assistant Commissioner in 2016 and was National Commander for the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks.

From 2020 to 2023, Mike was seconded to lead the Australian Federal Police (AFP) International Command, based in Canberra and working on global policing including Interpol activities.

He was the first police officer to be a sworn Assistant Commissioner simultaneously in both Australia and New Zealand.

For his first 30 years in Police, Mike was based in Auckland and Northland where he became Northland District Crime Services Manager. He established and led the Northland District Intelligence Unit, overseeing high-profile homicide and organised crime investigations. He also led policing operations at Waitangi for more than 20 years.

He was promoted to lead intelligence operations at the newly established National Intelligence Unit at PNHQ in 2009.

His career has included four years in Washington DC as Senior Liaison Officer to the US, Canada, Central and Southern America (2011 – 2015).

He has been involved in security operations for both the Rio Olympics and Beijing Olympics.

In 2010, he was recognised for his services to Police by being invested as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM).

In 2014 Assistant Commissioner Pannett completed the Senior Executives in National and International Security Program at Harvard University – John F Kennedy School of Government and in 2017 he undertook the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Executive Institute Program.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre
 

MIL OSI

The government is putting $15 million towards a United States and NATO initiative to supply weapons and equipment to Ukraine, the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).

Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins revealed the decision in the early hours New Zealand time, calling the funding a significant contribution to support Ukraine’s defence.

“The defence of Ukraine has significant implications not only for the security of Europe, but also for the Indo-Pacific,” Peters said.

A written statement said the money would only be used for weapons and equipment that met New Zealand’s international obligations and domestic policies.

Collins said New Zealand stood in solidarity with Ukraine, which was entering its fourth winter defending itself from Russian aggression.

“The challenge for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to defend its cities and its people remains immense in the face of the ongoing and relentless bombardment of Ukraine by Russian drones,” she said.

Ukraine Ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko told RNZ he, his president and every Ukrainian was thankful for the funding.

“I was on a trip with Minister Judith Collins in Ukraine three months ago … she was able to come to some of the sites of the destroyed residential buildings.

“Even for me who had seen it before, that was extremely confronting especially realising that some of those residential buildings, they lost 22 people, 23 people in one go, and the kids were killed there in that same building.”

The PURL initiative sells US-manufactured weapons and equipment into Europe and other partners for the defence, in line with the needs identified by Ukraine.

Myroshnychenko said the country had huge demand for ammunition, artillery and air defence missiles to protect critical infrastructure as a fourth winter of fighting closed in.

“Winter is here and … it’s cold, and Russia’s hit our electricity distribution system, our power generation, our heating systems and many cities go through blackouts when they don’t have a steady supply of electricity. The same applies to heating.

“We estimate it is 150,000 war crimes committed, and lots of crimes against humanity, and the war is still ongoing. Russians control 20 percent of our territory. Ukrainians realise that they don’t have an alternative but to fight because if we don’t fight we are done. It’s the end of Ukraine. It’s end of our sovereignty. It’s the end of our identity.

“They just erase Ukrainian identity by rewriting curriculums, by forcing everybody to accept Russian citizenship – this is imperialism of the 19th century, and this is so brutal, and Russians are doing it at the moment.”

The $15m for PURL adds to the $26m already spent on weapons and ammunition, more than $12m for a NATO fund for other equipment, and $4.1m for satellite imagery.

It brings New Zealand’s total monetary contributions to more than $53m, more than half of it for weapons and ammunition.

Defence Force personnel have also been involved in training Ukrainian armed forces in the UK and Europe, as well as providing intelligence, logistics and liaison.

Labour’s Defence spokesperson Peeni Henare said the funding was a continuation of the kind of model started under the last government, and called for the matter to be debated by the full Parliament.

“Ministerial statements through the House allow the other parties to have a contribution in the debate, and it goes on public record, it allows questions to be asked of ministers … which hopefully gives us a little bit more comfort about what the plan is.

“The question is, how long is a piece of string? How much longer can New Zealand keep offering support here? Which is why I’d encourage the opportunity to have a debate … so that we can test the waters again in our democracy about where we stand.”

Labour’s de facto governing partner the Green Party’s spokesperson Teanau Tuiono said he supported the funding too – but there was a smarter way to use it.

“I support the deployment of funding, but I would prefer if it went into humanitarian aid, I would prefer if it wasn’t for procurement of weapons … there’s a role we can pay in terms of advancing the issues of peace and diplomacy, and I think those are the things that we should be putting our efforts into.

“And I note the enthusiasm for this government for the Trump administration – we’ve had them roll out the red carpet for the FBI for example; an increase of defence spending – which will further align us with the US and I think that’s a problem.”

Henare disagreed on that point.

“We were encouraging, even when we were in power, the role of the US in this whole thing, [that] has always been part of the negotiations and the discussions and the support that we offer around Ukraine.

“We were close with the UK as well – that’s why we sent our troops there – and I understand our troops are still there training people so I’m not surprised that the US is still heavily involved.”

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

The launch was part of The Famous CFC Jakarta presented by Ascott, attracting over 400 fans and Ascott Star Rewards members for exclusive experiences, from meeting Gary Cahill to attending a live Chelsea vs Arsenal watch party

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

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

Police Minister Mark Mitchell has showered the police commissioner Richard Chambers with praise, saying a few “minor infractions” should not detract from his “phenomenal” performance in the job.

On Tuesday morning, RNZ revealed Chambers took a “very brief dip” at Oriental Bay on 1 August despite a tsunami advisory being in place. He was with FBI Director Kash Patel at the time after an early morning run.

Chambers last week also admitted he had recently been ticketed for going 112km/h in a 100km/h zone.

Speaking at Parliament on Tuesday, Mitchell acknowledged the swimming incident was “not good enough” but stressed Chambers thought the warning had been lifted.

“Yes, he shouldn’t have been in the water, and that’s why he called me and apologised and said, you know, that was an oversight on his part.”

Mitchell said Chambers was the “best guy, without a doubt, to be leading” the police service, and he had great admiration and respect for him.

“These were minor infractions, and he rang me and informed me of both of them straight away and made an apology,” Mitchell said.

“He is a man packed full of integrity. He is deeply engaged with his front line and understands what they need and how to support them. And he’s also got a very good strategic mind on him.”

Chuckling, Mitchell said he had endowed Chambers with a new nickname – “Speedy Gonzales” – following his speeding ticket.

Chambers earlier told RNZ he went for the mid-winter swim just after 7am believing the tsunami advisory had been lifted. He said he apologised to Mitchell after later discovering the advisory had not been lifted until about 8.30am.

“It is not usual for me to ignore such warnings,” Chambers said.

The advisory was issued the day before by the National Emergency Management Agency after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s remote east coast.

Mitchell said the advisory was necessary and extremely serious.

“Every morning, at about six o’clock, there are a whole lot of people that come down to the beaches to enjoy nature, to go for a walk, take their dogs for a walk.

“And at that stage, we still weren’t 100% sure that we weren’t going to have… massive tidal movements on the beaches, and had we had one of those, then people could die.”

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

A “brief dip” in Wellington’s Oriental Bay with FBI Director Kash Patel ended with the Police Commissioner apologising for mistakenly believing a tsunami advisory had been lifted.

Patel, the highest-ranking US official to visit New Zealand under US President Donald Trump’s second presidency so far, arrived in Wellington in July for a three-day programme, in what was supposed to be a secretive trip.

Patel was spotted in the Beehive basement after his meeting with Foreign Minister Winston Peters on the afternoon of Wednesday, 30 July.

That same day an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s remote east coast triggering tsunami waves on multiple country’s shores – including New Zealand, several Pacific nations, the US and Canadian coasts, and parts of South America.

The earthquake prompted the National Emergency Management Agency to issue a tsunami advisory urging people to stay away from shorelines.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers confirmed to RNZ that on 1 August he went for an early morning run with Patel, followed by a “very quick swim” at Oriental Bay about 7.05am.

“It was the middle of winter, so it was a very brief dip.

“At the time, I believed the tsunami advisory put in place on 31 July had already lifted.

“When I subsequently discovered it was not lifted until about 8.30am that day, I apologised to Police Minister and Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell for my oversight. It is not usual for me to ignore such warnings.”

Last week Chambers was delivering a speech to graduating police recruits when he told the new officers and their supporters he had recently been ticketed for speeding.

He said it was the “dumbest thing I’ve done” as commissioner.

“It’s not something that I’m proud of. Course I wish I hadn’t done it. Oblivious, away with the fairies – none of that’s an excuse – I should know better. It’s the dumbest thing that I’ve done since I’ve been the commissioner of police.”

He later told RNZ he was clocked going 112 km/h as he returned from a ceremony marking the graduation of new patrol dog teams on 6 November.

A police spokesperson said Chambers paid the $80 fine – which had been dropped in his mail box – as soon as he arrived home from the graduation.

The spokesperson corrected Chambers, and said he was actually recorded as travelling at 111km/h.

The $10,000 trip

After Patel was spotted in New Zealand the US embassy revealed the FBI was opening a “standalone office” in Wellington.

Documents, earlier released to RNZ, set out a timeline, budget and communication plan for Patel’s trip.

They show spy Minister Judith Collins signed off on a $10,000 budget to cover accommodation, meals, flights and tourism activities for Patel and an official

A SIS briefing note – dated 25 June – described Patel as a person with “significant influence” within the US administration as a direct Trump-appointee.

“This visit provides an opportunity for New Zealand to continue to enhance the bilateral relationship with the United States by demonstrating our commitment and contributions to our intelligence partnership with the FBI, as well as wider Five Eyes constructs.

“The NZIC [Intelligence Community] will have the opportunity to provide detailed classified briefings to Director Patel in this regard.”

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There’s widespread support for the government’s new action plan to combat methamphetamine use, with the Drug Foundation commending its “health focused interventions”.

A mental wellness provider from northland is also welcoming the news, saying it’s a “fantastic start,” and the Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational and Organised Crime saying it was positive that multiple ministers were involved in order to address the issue in its “totality”.

On Sunday, the government announced what Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith called a “comprehensive action plan to combat methamphetamine harm in New Zealand.”

It’s the result of the Prime Minister’s ‘meth sprint team’ made up of the Ministers for Justice, Police, Customs, Courts and Mental Health, who were tasked with tackling the issue.

That came after a drastic rise in consumption of methamphetamine last year. RNZ investigated what community providers needed in response, which was largely more funding for grassroots solutions.

Paul Goldsmith said yesterday methamphetamine was something “we’ve been fighting for 20 years, and it’s been getting worse in the last little while.”

“We know that meth is a scourge on society.”

He pointed to parts of New Zealand who had been particularly affected, like Northland, where “communities have been blighted by meth.”

“Those communities are desperate for us to fight back, and that’s why we’re taking these extra steps to turn up the dial of our response.”

The response included a nationwide media campaign that will launch in the next few months, paid for by the proceeds of crime fund, that will raise awareness about the issue and the drugs harm.

An extra $30m over four years from the Mental Health and Addiction budget will go to front line services, increasing the services available to the hardest-hit communities.

Police will be able to intercept communications and search for electronically stored evidence with new enforcement powers, and an additional anti-money laundering unit will be set up.

It will also see more focus on disrupting supply chains in the Pacific Ocean, with Customs, the GCSB and the Defence Force conducting a series of maritime operations. There would also be consultation on strengthening border security.

Customs Minister Casey Costello said there was “a lot of risk” through South East Asia and South America, “but we are getting intercepts from all over the place.”

“We just had an arrest last weekend at the airport, 30 kilos of meth from citizens from the US trying to bring methamphetamine into the country.

“So it is coming at us from everywhere and we just need to be tighter across all of it.”

RNZ spoke to providers in Northland earlier this year about the spike in consumption.

Rākau Ora managing director Vanessa Kite told RNZ following the announcement she “absolutely” welcomed it.

“I don’t think we’ll ever have enough bloody money, to be honest. But right now it’s a fantastic start.”

She said the need was “huge” in Te Tai Tokerau, and it was “growing in a different way”, with younger people affected and more complex cases presenting.

What was required to tackle it was “long-term” and “sustained” investment, rather than the short term boosts they’d been getting, she said.

Kite welcomed the focus on meth as a social health issue, rather than an enforcement one.

“Prevention is everything,” she said. “We really need to be putting a lot of money into prevention, but also, education, support and connections.”

She suggested what was needed was more detox beds, and residential rehab options. She also wanted to see more focus on lived experience community providers.

“We’re often seen as the first port of call and the priority in meth help, and we’re paid the worst. In fact, many are doing voluntary work.”

Kite said at a community and grassroots level, she believed they had the solutions, “we just need the support to scale them up.”

The Executive Director at the New Zealand Drug Foundation Sarah Helm said she was “particularly pleased” with the health focused interventions.

“It’s good to see some emphasis on health approaches and additional investment that’s being made, because we know we can’t arrest our way out of the issue.”

What’s needed, Helm said, was treatment and assistance both earlier on in somebody’s journey, but also closer and more accessible to their lives.

She said it wasn’t about waiting until somebody’s experiencing the worst harms before they are offered help.

In order for the nationwide campaign to be effective, it would need to focus on destigmatisation, and promote the option of seeking help she said.

“Those communities who already experience the worst methamphetamine harms already know how negative the impact can be.

“So really grounding that campaign in what they’re experiencing and helping them to get information and support quickly will make that as effective as it possibly can be.”

Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational and Organised Crime Steve Symon told RNZ many of the planned actions were consistent with the recommendations made in the MAG’s reports.

Overall, he said the announcement is great, provided it is part of the solution to organised crime, not the whole solution.

“Methamphetamine is certainly an important issue, but it’s a subset of the bigger organized crime issue.”

The focus on health was also welcomed, because “as we’ve said in the reports, we don’t think locking people up is necessarily the solution,” said Symon. The government should be tough on those committing this crime and addressing that, but it wasn’t the only way to deal with it.

Looking at cutting off the supply coming into the country was important too, as well as “working on our customer base”, he said, “working on how many New Zealanders are willing to consume these drugs.”

The coalition government parties had campaigned on being “tough on organised crime” he said, and it was about understanding “what tough means.”

“It’s not just building more prisons and locking more people up.

“It’s certainly locking those up who need to be locked up because of the crimes that they’ve committed, but it’s also looking the broader social problem of how our country has been willing to consume twice as much methamphetamine as we did last year.”

Symon suggested being tough on crime could be possible by removing the customer base.

Ultimately though, what was missing was the coordination to pull it all together, “how to be accountable” he said, which was why the MAG had recommended a single minister in charge of responding to organised crime.

But he thought it was possible multiple ministers had come together to look at the issue of meth.

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

MIL OSI

There’s widespread support for the government’s new action plan to combat methamphetamine use, with the Drug Foundation commending its “health focused interventions”.

A mental wellness provider from northland is also welcoming the news, saying it’s a “fantastic start,” and the Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational and Organised Crime saying it was positive that multiple ministers were involved in order to address the issue in its “totality”.

Yesterday, the government announced what Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith called a “comprehensive action plan to combat methamphetamine harm in New Zealand.”

It’s the result of the Prime Minister’s ‘meth sprint team’ made up of the Ministers for Justice, Police, Customs, Courts and Mental Health, who were tasked with tackling the issue.

That came after a drastic rise in consumption of methamphetamine last year. RNZ investigated what community providers needed in response, which was largely more funding for grassroots solutions.

Paul Goldsmith said yesterday methamphetamine was something “we’ve been fighting for 20 years, and it’s been getting worse in the last little while.”

“We know that meth is a scourge on society.”

He pointed to parts of New Zealand who had been particularly affected, like Northland, where “communities have been blighted by meth.”

“Those communities are desperate for us to fight back, and that’s why we’re taking these extra steps to turn up the dial of our response.”

The response included a nationwide media campaign that will launch in the next few months, paid for by the proceeds of crime fund, that will raise awareness about the issue and the drugs harm.

An extra $30m over four years from the Mental Health and Addiction budget will go to front line services, increasing the services available to the hardest-hit communities.

Police will be able to intercept communications and search for electronically stored evidence with new enforcement powers, and an additional anti-money laundering unit will be set up.

It will also see more focus on disrupting supply chains in the Pacific Ocean, with Customs, the GCSB and the Defence Force conducting a series of maritime operations. There would also be consultation on strengthening border security.

Customs Minister Casey Costello said there was “a lot of risk” through South East Asia and South America, “but we are getting intercepts from all over the place.”

“We just had an arrest last weekend at the airport, 30 kilos of meth from citizens from the US trying to bring methamphetamine into the country.

“So it is coming at us from everywhere and we just need to be tighter across all of it.”

RNZ spoke to providers in Northland earlier this year about the spike in consumption.

Rākau Ora managing director Vanessa Kite told RNZ following the announcement she “absolutely” welcomed it.

“I don’t think we’ll ever have enough bloody money, to be honest. But right now it’s a fantastic start.”

She said the need was “huge” in Te Tai Tokerau, and it was “growing in a different way”, with younger people affected and more complex cases presenting.

What was required to tackle it was “long-term” and “sustained” investment, rather than the short term boosts they’d been getting, she said.

Kite welcomed the focus on meth as a social health issue, rather than an enforcement one.

“Prevention is everything,” she said. “We really need to be putting a lot of money into prevention, but also, education, support and connections.”

She suggested what was needed was more detox beds, and residential rehab options. She also wanted to see more focus on lived experience community providers.

“We’re often seen as the first port of call and the priority in meth help, and we’re paid the worst. In fact, many are doing voluntary work.”

Kite said at a community and grassroots level, she believed they had the solutions, “we just need the support to scale them up.”

The Executive Director at the New Zealand Drug Foundation Sarah Helm said she was “particularly pleased” with the health focused interventions.

“It’s good to see some emphasis on health approaches and additional investment that’s being made, because we know we can’t arrest our way out of the issue.”

What’s needed, Helm said, was treatment and assistance both earlier on in somebody’s journey, but also closer and more accessible to their lives.

She said it wasn’t about waiting until somebody’s experiencing the worst harms before they are offered help.

In order for the nationwide campaign to be effective, it would need to focus on destigmatisation, and promote the option of seeking help she said.

“Those communities who already experience the worst methamphetamine harms already know how negative the impact can be.

“So really grounding that campaign in what they’re experiencing and helping them to get information and support quickly will make that as effective as it possibly can be.”

Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational and Organised Crime Steve Symon told RNZ many of the planned actions were consistent with the recommendations made in the MAG’s reports.

Overall, he said the announcement is great, provided it is part of the solution to organised crime, not the whole solution.

“Methamphetamine is certainly an important issue, but it’s a subset of the bigger organized crime issue.”

The focus on health was also welcomed, because “as we’ve said in the reports, we don’t think locking people up is necessarily the solution,” said Symon. The government should be tough on those committing this crime and addressing that, but it wasn’t the only way to deal with it.

Looking at cutting off the supply coming into the country was important too, as well as “working on our customer base”, he said, “working on how many New Zealanders are willing to consume these drugs.”

The coalition government parties had campaigned on being “tough on organised crime” he said, and it was about understanding “what tough means.”

“It’s not just building more prisons and locking more people up.

“It’s certainly locking those up who need to be locked up because of the crimes that they’ve committed, but it’s also looking the broader social problem of how our country has been willing to consume twice as much methamphetamine as we did last year.”

Symon suggested being tough on crime could be possible by removing the customer base.

Ultimately though, what was missing was the coordination to pull it all together, “how to be accountable” he said, which was why the MAG had recommended a single minister in charge of responding to organised crime.

But he thought it was possible multiple ministers had come together to look at the issue of meth.

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

MIL OSI

The Government has agreed to a bold and comprehensive action plan to combat methamphetamine harm in New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says.

“Meth is a scourge on our society. Consumption doubled last year and ultimately, increased meth use fuels organised crime, and destroys lives. This Government’s primary justice target is to reduce the number of victims of crime.

“The Prime Minister tasked the Ministerial team to find effective ways to address this growing issue. Today we’re delivering. I’d like to thank my colleagues Minister Mitchell, Minister Doocey, Minister Costello, Minister McKee and Minister Chhour for all their hard work.

“Significant action is already underway, including investment in Customs, reviewing maritime security powers, police recruitment, establishing the Ministerial Advisory Group on Organised Crime, and Border Security Bill amendments.

“However, there is more we can do to disrupt international supply, sharpen enforcement and reduce demand.

“The Government has agreed to a suite of actions it can promptly take, and has directed officials to begin working on them immediately.”

These include:

• A hard-hitting nationwide media campaign over four years, to deliver a consistent message and raise public awareness about meth-related harm, funded out of the proceeds of crime fund.
• Allocating $30 million over four years to increase the services available to communities hardest hit by meth, within the Vote Health mental health and addiction budget.
• Directing Customs, the Defence Force and GCSB to undertake a series of maritime operations to disrupt organised crime networks operating across the Pacific Ocean.
• Increasing Police enforcement abilities, including being able to intercept communications and search evidence stored electronically.
• Enabling police to reclaim ill-gotten gains from organised crime groups as quickly and effectively as possible.
• Consult the maritime sector on a suite of proposals to strengthen border security and shut down opportunities for organised criminals to operate through our ports,  such as strengthening background checks.

The Government has also agreed to an additional $23.1 million of funding to:

• Establish new offshore liaison positions and increase collaboration with international partners focused on disrupting and preventing drug exports to New Zealand and the Pacific at their source.
• Establish an additional money laundering team to increase Police’s ability to disrupt organised crime groups.
• Fundingthe Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities work programme until December next year, which combats the harms of meth and organised crime through community-led responses to the harms and drivers of organised crime.

MIL OSI

Defence, GCSB and NZSIS Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to Washington DC to attend a range of defence and security meetings.

“In a complex and deteriorating global environment, defence diplomacy that strengthens relationships and responds to new and emerging threats has never been more important,” Ms Collins says.

While in Washington Ms Collins will meet with a number of counterparts, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary for Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

“I look forward to meeting with my US counterparts to share perspectives on the uncertain geostrategic environment we face, and to discussing how we might further bolster our long-standing defence and security partnership, including in pursuit of a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

“As New Zealand focuses on building a more combat capable defence force, with enhanced lethality and interoperability, it is important we discuss potential opportunities for closer collaboration with one of our closest partners.”

MIL OSI

Celebrating life through innovation and compassion in reproductive medicine.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

PSNA is renewing demands that New Zealand end its military support for Israel in response to today’s findings by an independent UN commission that Israel is conducting genocide in Gaza.

As well as demanding Israel cease its mass killing and mass starvation in Gaza, the commission is also appealing to governments to “employ all means reasonably available to them” to “cease the transfer of arms and other equipment or items” which could be used by Israel to continue the genocide.

“The government says it has no direct evidence and goes out of its way to avoid finding any” says PSNA Co-Chair Maher Nazzal. “Such ducking and diving fools no one. It’s an embarrassment”

For decades, Rakon has supplied crystal oscillators to the US for guided munitions, which end up killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure in Gaza.

“Why is it so hard for the government to suspend these exports while it conducts an investigation?”

Rocket Lab is launching satellites from its Mahia base for Black Sky Technology, which provides quality images to the Israeli Defence Force in its bombing of occupied Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“Why is our Minister of Defence refusing to even ask Rocket Lab or Black Sky about this aid to genocide?”

“Why are these launches not suspended while the government investigates?”

“Meanwhile, every day our GCSB spies are passing over surveillance information to the US, which shares this with Israel. Why is there no investigation into this by the government?”

It seems currying favour with the US and its genocidal sidekick Israel trumps our loyalty to international law and our responsibilities under the genocide convention.

“Our government is part of the western disease – complicity with genocide”

This UN confirmation of genocide should be the wake-up call the government needs to support international law without fear or favour.

Maher Nazzal

Co-Chair PSNA

• Appendix: Part of the recommendations of the UN independent Commission includes:
• The Commission recommends that all Member States:
• (a) Employ all means reasonably available to them to prevent the commission of genocide in the Gaza Strip;
• (b) Cease the transfer of arms and other equipment or items, including jet fuel, to the State of Israel or third States where there is reason to suspect their use in military operations that have involved or could involve the commission of genocide;
• (c) Ensure individuals and corporations in their territories and within their jurisdiction are not involved in the commission of genocide, aiding and assisting the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide and investigate and prosecute those who may be implicated in these crimes under international law;
• (d) Facilitate the investigations and domestic proceedings and take action (including imposing sanctions) against the State of Israel and against individuals or corporations that are involved in or facilitating the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide;
• (e) Cooperate with the investigation of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

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Police has today released a suite of resources to help increase awareness about what to do in the unlikely event of an active armed attack in a crowded place.

Police is the lead agency of the Crowded Places Strategy.  This work is about protecting the lives of people working in, using and visiting crowded places. Places we go as part of our everyday routine, from our favourite mall to a weekend market or a large sporting event.

“The nature of crowded places means they at times can pose extra risks, as they can be a target for attacks,” says Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson.

“While there is always the possibility of a Crowded Places attack, Police together with businesses will continue to work together to prevent this from occurring.

“Like anything we do, it’s important to have plans in place. The goal is that none of us will ever need to use this information. It’s about being prepared so people know what to do should something of this nature happen.

“Remember three simple words: Escape. Hide. Tell.  That means moving quickly and quietly away from danger, staying out of sight, silencing your phone and — when it is safe to do so — calling Police on 111.

“Police want to extend our thanks to the current and previous members of the Crowded Places Business Advisory Group and the Crowded Places Community Advisory Group for their work to help raise awareness in the businesses and communities they represent to help keep crowded places and communities safe”.

Crowded Places Business Advisory Group member Scentre Group Director of Security John Yates is supportive of this work:

“The safety and security of our customers, communities and people is our highest priority.

“We support the New Zealand Government’s campaign to raise broad community awareness of the ‘Escape. Hide. Tell.’ messaging,” says John.

“Knowing what to do in the unlikely event of an active armed offender attack is a difficult topic yet a critical one.

“Remaining vigilant when in public and crowded places and remembering these three words could make a difference.

“The ‘Escape. Hide. Tell’ messaging gives guidance to help people find a safe place to hide, move out of harm’s way and to relay critical information to authorities to aid in their response.

“We encourage our customers, business partners and broader community to have conversations with their teams and family members and help to raise awareness as we would for any other important public safety message.

“From this month, we will be supporting the Government’s campaign by displaying the ‘Escape. Hide. Tell.’ message across digital screens within our Westfield destinations.”

Paul Patel Chair of the Crowded Places Community Advisory Groups says:

“The Crowded Places Strategy marks a vital step forward in safeguarding our shared spaces, empowering communities to act with clarity and confidence. ‘Escape. Hide. Tell.’ is more than a message, it’s a commitment to collective responsibility”.

Mat Hellyer Chair of the Crowded Places Business Advisory Group says:

“Crowded places are where much of life happens. Venues, malls, transport hubs, cafés, street activities, places of worship – they are where we gather, celebrate, share experiences, and connect. But with that vibrancy of course comes vulnerability.

“Businesses play an important role in keeping New Zealanders safe, and we take very seriously the responsibility that comes with owning and operating them. The Business Advisory Group is proud to partner with Government and New Zealand Police in launching this campaign, a vital step in strengthening public safety, building resilience, and ensuring our spaces remain welcoming and secure for all. We are committed to doing our part.”

Notes for Editors:

What is a Crowded Place?

Crowded places are locations that large numbers of people access easily and predictably. They include sporting arenas, transport hubs and public transport, buildings and offices, schools, shopping centres, restaurants, hotels, theatres and other entertainment venues, community festivals and markets, houses of worship, tourist attractions, and civic spaces. Crowded places also include open spaces like busy urban streets, parks and pedestrian malls.

A crowded place is not necessarily always crowded: the density of the crowd may vary between day and night, and between seasons; the crowd may be temporary (such as sporting events, festivals, concerts or one-off functions).

‘Escape. Hide. Tell.’ messaging:

In an attack what you do matters, remember the words: ESCAPE. HIDE. TELL.

ESCAPE: Move quickly and quietly away from danger, but only if it is safe to do so.

HIDE: Stay out of sight and silence your mobile phone.

TELL: Call the Police by dialling 111 when it is safe.

Reporting suspicious behaviour:

In an emergency everyone should call 111

If the information is not time-critical, people can report suspicious or unusual behaviour to their local Police by:
• completing a report at 105.police.govt.nz or calling New Zealand Police’s non-emergency number 105
• visiting their nearest Police station
• calling Crime Stoppers if you wish to remain anonymous on 0800 555 111

To report information of national security concern, call the NZSIS on 0800 747 224  or use their Public Contribution Form

Resources and links to further information:

More detailed information on Escape. Hide. Tell can be found on the New Zealand Police website here.

More information on security preparations for Crowded Places can be found here.
 

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Minister Responsible for the GCSB and NZSIS Judith Collins is this week representing New Zealand at the annual Five Country Ministerial meeting in London.

“This annual meeting recognises the common issues facing the five countries – New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the UK and the US – and our joint commitment to addressing them through research, engagement and working together,” Ms Collins says.

“We will be discussing a range of common challenges and emerging issues, including countering terrorism, approaches to state threats, border security and tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse.”

“While in the UK I will also meet with counterparts in the UK Intelligence and Defence communities, as well as with the UK public service on public service productivity, including digital government and artificial intelligence.  

“The GCSB and NZSIS have strong, enduring intelligence relationships with their UK counterparts and other Five Eyes partners.

“This directly contributes to the safety and security of our two countries, as well as broader global security efforts.

“New Zealand can’t work in isolation when we are dealing with national security – we must always work with our international partners.       

This week of engagements reaffirms New Zealand’s steadfast dedication to global security and the collective effort required to address these in an increasingly complex and dynamic international environment.”

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