Government Must Reduce Risks: Tripartite call for Government action on silicosis risks

March 17, 2025

Source: MinEx, Health and Safety in NZ Extractives

Employers, unions and MinEx which represents health and safety for quarries, mines and tunnels, are among organisations saying the Government must reduce the risks faced by thousands of New Zealand workers from the deadly lung disease silicosis.

MinEx has today sent its submission to consultation closing tomorrow on options from Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Brooke van Velden on how to deal with Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) which causes the disease.

A workshop was held by MinEx earlier this month to help develop a pan-industry response to silicosis across extractive, construction, concrete and other sectors as well as health and safety organisations and researchers.

CEO Wayne Scott says he’s since met with the Council of Trade Unions and been in touch with the Employers and Manufacturers’ Association.”It is heartening to have both unions and employers back MinEx’s call for a ban on engineered stone. This product is the primary focus of the Minister’s consultation as it presents the highest risk to workers.”

He says in the year to last October, WorkSafe inspectors visited 102 engineered stone businesses and issued 131 improvement notices to 67 of them. “This is five years after WorkSafe started paying attention to engineered stone and clearly indicates many of the businesses are not complying with health and safety controls, long after the risks to workers have been identified.

“The CTU and EMA and several other organisations also share our view that the Minister must additionally act to strengthen requirements to reduce the RCS exposure risk faced by tens of thousands of other Kiwi workers.”

“That underscores why every organisation associated with our workshop has backed a call for the Government to establish an Occupational Lung Disease Registry to provide tracking, treatment and support for affected workers.”

He says the mining and quarrying sector are already mandated to conduct regular exposure monitoring and lung tests on their workers every five years, as well as often consented requirements to reduce any dust created by their operations.

“No such requirements apply to other sectors where workers can be exposed to Respirable Crystalline Silica including construction, concrete cutting, glass and some other trades.”

Wayne Scott says every New Zealand worker who faces any risk from silicosis deserves a full range of protection, led by their employers and backed by Government regulations.

“This is a nasty disease. Unlike asbestosis which often takes decades to emerge, silicosis can quite rapidly stop healthy young people working. The tiny particles bypass the body’s defences, scarring the lungs, leading to breathing difficulties, other illnesses and sometimes death. We’ve got to deal with it,” says Wayne Scott.

MIL OSI

Activist News – New Zealanders urge Winston Peters to speak up for Palestine in his meeting with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – PSNA

LiveNews Publisher

March 17, 2025

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

On the eve of Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio New Zealanders are asking Mr Peters to speak up for Palestine.

In the last few days 1606 people have signed an open letter to Mr Peters which we have sent him this afternoon, New Zealand time.

The letter is below.

John Minto

Co National Chair

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

Open letter requesting government action on the future of Gaza

17 March 2025

Rt Hon Winston Peters

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Open letter requesting government action on the future of Gaza

Kia ora Mr Peters,

The situation in Occupied Gaza has reached another crisis point.

Last Sunday Israel announced it was ending its January ceasefire agreement with Palestinian groups resisting the occupation and was once more imposing a total ban on humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

Israel says this is because it wants to extend the first phase of the ceasefire agreement rather than negotiate phase two which would see the agreed withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The renewed blockade on food, water, fuel and medical supplies has been widely condemned as a breach of the ceasefire agreement and the use of “starvation as a weapon of war” by Palestinian groups, international aid organisations and many governments. The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has called for “humanitarian aid to flow back into Gaza immediately”. Israel has refused this request.

Compounding the crisis is US President Donald Trump’s recently declared intention to permanently remove all the Palestinian people of Gaza and send them to other countries such as Egypt and Jordan so Gaza can be rebuilt as a US territory in the Middle East – in his words “the riviera of the Middle East”.

Israel has accepted this US proposal but Palestinians and the vast majority of governments and civil society groups around the world are appalled at the scheme.

To this point our government has not commented on either Israel’s new blockade of humanitarian supplies into Gaza or the US President’s plan for ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian territory.

Back in December 2023, when the government was commenting, the Prime Minister stated “…Israel must respect international humanitarian law. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected…Safe and unimpeded humanitarian access must be increased and sustained.”

None of this has happened in the more than 14 months since.

We are asking our government to speak out once more on behalf of the people of New Zealand to, at the very least, condemn Israel’s use of humanitarian aid as a weapon of war and to call for international humanitarian and human rights law to be applied.

We believe the way forward for peace and security for everyone who calls the Middle East home is for all parties to follow international law and United Nations resolutions so that a lasting peace can be established based on justice and equal rights for everyone in the region.

New Zealand has an internationally respected voice which can make a strong contribution to this end. We are asking the government to use this voice.

Nga mihi.

MIL OSI

Centenary celebration for the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre

LiveNews Publisher

March 17, 2025

Source: New Zealand Governor General

Rau rangatira mā, e kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa.

I’d like to begin by specifically acknowledging: Nettles Lamont, Chair of the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre; Darel Hall, General Manager; and Tutehounuku Korako, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke, Patron.

And to all the very special guests with us here this morning, including members of the Banks Peninsula community, and most importantly, our tamariki – tēnā koutou katoa.

I am delighted to join you here today, in this beautiful part of our country, to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre. This extraordinary achievement stands testament, not only to the generous and deeply caring vision of Hugh Heber Cholmondeley, but also to all of the staff, supporters, and volunteers who have worked to uphold that vision over this past century.

Now before I get too far, some of you in the audience might be wondering who I am and what my job is. I wonder – how many of you have heard of someone called King Charles III?

King Charles is the King of England – but he is also the King of New Zealand. He lives on the other side of the world, and my job as Governor-General is to do his work for him here in New Zealand.

I meet all kinds of important people in my job – I meet world leaders and Olympic athletes and award-winning artists – but if I can tell you a small secret: my favourite bit is meeting young people like you. I hope that while you’re here at Cholmondeley, you make new friends, and enjoy learning and playing as much as you can in this beautiful place.

To all the staff of the Cholmondeley Children’s Centre here today – thank you for the work that you do to make this such a safe and loving environment for our tamariki. Your whakataukī, ‘Whakanuia a tatou tamariki. Value our children’, I see so clearly reflected and embodied in every detail of this wonderful facility – but most of all, in your own commitment and manaakitanga as carers and educators.

The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child states that childhood should be a special, protected time – a time in which children should be allowed to grow, learn, and play with freedom and dignity. Even in my short time here, I see that Cholmondeley is a place that wholly upholds that promise – a place for tamariki to feel protected, nurtured, and loved; a place for learning and play, and seeing again the beauty, goodness, and wonder of this world, with that very particular vividness of childhood.

I wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge all those who support this facility, from the Banks Peninsula and wider Canterbury region – knowing that Cholmondeley relies upon the generosity of this community to carry out its invaluable work.

My sincerest thanks, finally, to all who have made today possible, and for inviting me here to mark this significant milestone with you all. The beautiful wairua of this place represents the courage and resolve of so many dedicated people, and carries the hopes, dreams, and wellbeing of many more. I wish everyone here, all the very best for your future.

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

MIL OSI

Weather News – A Mosaic of Severe Weather – MetService

LiveNews Publisher

March 17, 2025

Source: MetService

Covering period of Monday 17 – Thursday 20 March – A mosaic of Severe Weather Warnings and Watches cover the South Island, highlighting strong winds and heavy rain travelling up the South Island over today and tomorrow (Tuesday). Strong, warm northwesterly winds precede the band of rain, while cool southerly winds follow close behind.

Heavy Rain Warnings have been issued for the Westland District and Fiordland for only the second time this year, as these regions bear the brunt of the incoming rain.

MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor details, “Up to 200mm of rain is expected in the ranges of Westland, and 100mm for areas nearer to the coast. These areas are well below their usual year to date rainfall totals, and surface flooding, slips, and adverse driving conditions are worth looking out for.”

A Heavy Rain Watch has also been issued for the Southland Region, including Stewart Island, with periods of heavy rain expected to affect the west of that region from Monday afternoon.

In the east of the South Island, temperatures are being pushed as high as 30°C as gusty northwesterly winds travel over the Southern Alps. The expected strength of these winds has resulted in Strong Wind Watches for the Canterbury High Country, Canterbury Plains, and the Otago and Southland Regions, with wind gusts of 100 km/h possible in those areas. An additional Strong Wind Watch covers Wellington from the early hours of Tuesday as the northwesterly winds arrive onto the lower North Island.

O’Connor adds, “These warm northwesterly winds will be quickly replaced by cooler southerlies behind the main band of rain, producing a bit of a rollercoaster in the temperature charts. Cricket fans in Dunedin on Tuesday will need to layer up, with only 15°C expected.”

“This switch in wind flow brings a chance of thunderstorms for the upper South Island and the North Island – excluding the regions in the east. While there are no severe thunderstorm watches in place right now, heavy showers and thunderstorms could be possible Tuesday afternoon and evening, so we advise checking in on our thunderstorm outlook.”

MetService’s Thunderstorm Outlook can be found here: http://bit.ly/TSOutlook

The last of the rain clears from the eastern South Island Wednesday morning as the rain moves northwards and high pressure settles over the South Island once again bringing fine weather. Conditions over the North Island are expected to remain showery throughout the week, with the wettest weather moving from west to east later in the week.

MIL OSI

Animal Welfare – Five animals killed; demand for rodeo ban intensifies – SAFE

LiveNews Publisher

March 17, 2025

Source: SAFE For Animals

SAFE is reinforcing its call for a ban on rodeo following the death of a bull at the Waimarino rodeo on Saturday 15 March. At the same event, a steer suffered a significant injury resulting in the removal of one of his horns.

SAFE Campaign Manager Emily Hall says the death toll of five this season illustrates the inherent cruelty of rodeo.

Footage of the incident shows the bull displaying clear signs of distress as he is provoked and forced to buck, before falling and breaking his leg. The footage then shows the bull circling, highly distressed and in pain. He was killed onsite shortly thereafter.

“It is simply unacceptable for animals to be suffering and dying for entertainment,” says Hall.

“Over the past four months we have seen five animals subjected to catastrophic injuries and killed, and it is high time the Government stepped in and finally took meaningful action to prevent further suffering and deaths.”

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) produced a revised rodeo code of welfare two years ago, however the Government has failed to take any further action. SAFE says that, as a result, New Zealand’s animal welfare laws remain disconnected from the brutal reality of rodeo practices.

“The Animal Welfare Act states that the physical handling of animals must minimise the likelihood of unnecessary pain and distress, yet rodeo practices depend on force and rough handling,” says Hall.

SAFE says releasing the revised code of welfare is urgently needed to allow New Zealanders to have their say on rodeo events.

“These delays are costing animals their lives” says Hall. “While NAWAC and the Animal Welfare Minister hold up progress on the revised code of welfare, animals are enduring unbearable suffering at these brutal events.”

SAFE is coordinating a peaceful protest at the national rodeo finals on Saturday 22 March in Kihikihi, Waikato, calling for this to be the last season of rodeo in New Zealand.

“Rodeo holds no place in a society that values compassion for animals, and we will be sending a clear message to the Government on Saturday that Kiwis want to see this barbaric form of entertainment banned,” says Hall.

SAFE is Aotearoa’s leading animal rights organisation.

We’re creating a future that ensures the rights of animals are respected. Our core work empowers society to make kinder choices for ourselves, animals and our planet.

Notes: Information on the five 2024/25 rodeo season deaths;

A horse was rendered lame following the Taupō rodeo on 29 December who was killed the following day.

The second death on December 30 occurred at the Te Anau rodeo, where a three-year-old bull’s hind leg was dislocated during the bull riding event. He was killed on-site.

A steer died prior to the Oruru Valley event on 3 January after being transported from the Warkworth and Far North events.

The fourth fatality occurred at the Mad Bull rodeo in Otago on 2 February where a bull died after being ridden the previous day.

Whilst vets are required to be on-site at all rodeo events, rodeo clubs are not obliged to report injuries or deaths sustained during events.

In July 2022, SAFE and the New Zealand Animal Law Association (NZALA) jointly contested rodeo in the High Court. The court ruled that the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) must determine appropriate animal welfare guidelines. However, neither NAWAC nor Andrew Hoggard have provided a justification for the significant delay on the revised rodeo code of welfare.

MIL OSI

Energy Sector – Electricity Authority shines new spotlight on the retail market

LiveNews Publisher

March 17, 2025

Source: Electricity Authority

The Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko (the Authority) is introducing mandatory retailer reporting of domestic and small business customer data to increase transparency and accountability in New Zealand’s retail electricity market. Towards the end of 2025 the Authority will begin publishing aggregated retail data and insights on its website.

Authority General Manager Retail and Consumer Andrew Millar says increased retail reporting will enable the Authority to protect consumers’ interests, make proactive regulatory changes that support their needs, and hold the industry to account to ensure vulnerable customers are protected and promote competition.

“As we build a comprehensive and reliable data set over time, we’ll be able to identify and communicate trends and issues to help inform policy decisions, and share these insights with industry, investors and consumers,” says Millar.

“Improved oversight of retail plans and prices will enable us to assess the barriers that consumers face, promote retail competition and shine a light on retailer performance.”

Importantly, retailers will be required to provide information about medically dependent and prepay consumers and disconnections to enable robust compliance monitoring of the new mandatory Consumer Care Obligations.

“We are putting consumers at the forefront of our decisions to protect their interests, increase their choices, and give people greater control over their electricity use and costs,” Millar said.

The Authority is providing retailers with a five-month implementation period for the new reporting requirement, to enable them to make any necessary operational changes. As the Authority’s need for retail market information and data continues to increase, this more streamlined, automated process will reduce long-term regulatory burden. Retailers with fewer than 1000 domestic and small business customer connections are excused from some of the new requirements.

When developing its approach, the Authority confirmed that the long-term benefits for consumers will outweigh any costs. The Authority will work with retailers to respond to questions and implementation challenges if they arise, as they prepare to provide their first report in August 2025.

The Authority has powerful information gathering powers under the Electricity Industry Act 2010 and in the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 (the Code). This new requirement, implemented under clause 2.16 of the Code, supports the Authority’s statutory function to monitor the industry and electricity markets, and make data, information and tools available to help improve participation in and understanding of the electricity markets by consumers and industry participants.

MIL OSI

Union Name Change – Our union’s new name: ‘FIRST Union’ Becomes ‘Workers First Union’

LiveNews Publisher

March 17, 2025

Source: Workers First Union

Workers First Union is pleased to announce that the union has now formally changed its name from ‘FIRST Union’ to ‘Workers First Union’ (or ‘Workers First’, for short) following a vote by delegates at the union’s Annual General Meeting in December 2024.

Dennis Maga, Workers First General Secretary, said he was proud that the union was making its mission clear with the new name.

“For too long, employers have been putting workers second or worse, with fair wage rises and workplace wellbeing ranking last after a long list of shareholders, creditors and managers,” said Mr Maga.

“I’m excited to enter the next era with a new name befitting of our union’s work and purpose – we put workers first.”

FIRST Union was formed in 2011 through the merger of the National Distribution Union (NDU) and the Finance Sector Union of New Zealand (Finsec). NDU represented workers in the retail, distribution, and textile industries, while Finsec represented employees in banking and finance. The new Workers First Union has since grown to cover over 32,000 workers across retail, finance, transport, logistics and manufacturing. The union is an affiliate of the Council of Trade Unions(CTU) but unaffiliated to any political parties.

Mr Maga said that the union had sought to change its name to distinguish the organisation from similarly named business entities and encapsulate the union’s purpose more clearly.

“This change reflects what our members have always known: our union is here to fight for them, whether in wage bargaining, on the picket line, or in the halls of Parliament,” said Mr Maga.

“The new name embodies the interests of working people in New Zealand and is particularly apt at a time when a far-right Government is abandoning the working class in favour of an illusory ‘growth’ model for their corporate backers.”

“Workers in Aotearoa face serious challenges ahead, from increasing workplace automation to stagnating wages, but our union is built on collective strength, and we will meet these challenges head-on in 2025 and beyond.”

Background information

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Police get whiff of dodgy deal

LiveNews Publisher

March 17, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

A member of the public’s spidy senses and an officer’s keen sense of smell has assisted Police in locating more than 70 bags of drugs inside a car in Beachlands overnight.

At about 2.20am, Police received a report of a suspicious vehicle parked on Wakelin Road with the engine running.

Counties Manukau East Area Prevention Manager, Inspector Rakana Cook, says Police arrived quickly and spoke to a man who was sitting in the vehicle passengers’ seat believed to be under the influence of drugs.

“Upon seeing Police, the man has attempted to get into he driver’s seat and drive off, however he was quickly taken into custody.

“Officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from the vehicle and a search of the vehicle located a large quantity of cannabis.”

Inspector Cook says more than 44 bags of cannabis were found, along with 30 bags of what appeared to be cocaine and MDMA.

“Also found was an air rifle, cash and what appears to be stolen property.

“It was also established this person has numerous warrants for his arrest.

“We’re very happy to have what appears to be a considerable amount of cannabis and other drugs that were set for sale now off the streets.

“This was a good example of proactive Police work that has resulted in a safer community.”

A 20-year-old man will appear in Manukau District Court today charged with possession for supply of cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy, possession of utensils for cannabis and two counts of failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

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Economy – RBNZ supports release of Police’s National Risk Assessment

LiveNews Publisher

March 17, 2025

Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand

17 March 2025 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua welcomes the release of the latest National Risk Assessment (NRA) from Police’s Financial Intelligence Unit. The report assesses threat and sectoral vulnerability, exploring their impact on money laundering and terrorism financing risk and proliferation financing in New Zealand.

“An effective Anti-Money Laundering and Countering-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system enhances the economic wellbeing and prosperity for all New Zealanders by safeguarding the integrity of our financial system and keeping it resilient against crime,” RBNZ Manager AML/CFT Supervision Damian Henry says.

This Assessment outlines the significant criminal behaviours generating illicit income that threatens New Zealand’s financial system. It also assesses and identifies the vulnerabilities within our financial system that criminals are taking advantage of when they launder proceeds of crime.

“The release of the NRA is a trigger for reporting entities to review and update their respective risk assessments accordingly. We encourage them all to review the report,” Mr Henry says.

This NRA identifies that fraud-related crime, drug crime and transnational money laundering are the highest threat, with fraud accelerating and seeing both ‘defrauding’ and the subsequent ‘laundering’ occurring within the financial system.

This means the banking sector remains highly vulnerable to money laundering, along with any sector that offers services and products enabling movement of proceeds out of or into New Zealand.

“The NRA is a key document for New Zealand’s AML/CFT system as a clear understanding of risk strengthens our system’s resilience, enabling direct responses and maximising the benefits of security for both our financial sector and communities,” Mr Henry says.

More information

Read the 2024 National Risk Assessment : https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=6e23c63d40&e=f3c68946f8

MIL OSI

Family Court Judges appointed

LiveNews Publisher

March 17, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new Family Court Judges.

The new Judges will take up their roles in April and May and fill Family Court vacancies at the Auckland and Manukau courts.

Annette Gray

Ms Gray completed her law degree at Victoria University before joining Phillips Fox in 1987. She then moved to Buddle Findlay, where she worked in the family and medical areas, before joining specialist family law practice Jan Clark Law in Porirua in 1994.

Ms Gray spent a year with Volunteer Service Abroad in Solomon Islands in 1999, returning to Wellington in 2000 and setting up practice as a specialist family lawyer. Since 2007 she has been principal of Buchanan Gray.

She is a District Inspector under the Mental Health Act and is a member of the panel of legal counsel for Hague Convention cases.

Judge Gray will sit in Auckland and will be sworn in on 16 April.

Annette Page

Ms Page was admitted to the bar in 1997 and commenced her legal career as a junior barrister working with Marie Dyhrberg KC before joining Smith and Partners in Waitākere, practising a broad range of litigation work in the District and High courts.

She has been a barrister sole since 2010, practising in all areas of family law.

Ms Page has held several roles within the New Zealand Law Society and is presently the Waitākere regional representative of the Family Law Section.

Judge Page will sit in Manukau and will be sworn in on 1 May.

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