Politics – Shuffling Ministers ignores need to increase funding for health and the public service – PSA

January 19, 2025

Source: PSA

If the Government thinks changing Ministers will deliver better health and other public services for New Zealanders, it’s dead wrong.

“New Ministers need to advocate for increased funding for health and the public service as the disastrous impacts of cuts are being felt all over New Zealand,” said Fleur Fitzsimons Acting National Secretary for the Public Service Association for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

“The polls are showing New Zealanders are far from impressed with the Government’s rushed and reckless austerity agenda – they are seeing what it really means for them.

“The cuts will cost lives; New Zealanders expect and deserve better.

“We wish the new Ministers well, but their success will depend on their ability to secure increased funding for health and the public service, not more irresponsible cuts.

“The Government has consistently chosen tax relief for landlords and tax cuts at the expense of our public service and health system. The chickens are coming home to roost and now only increased funding and a genuine commitment to the public service and health can ensure that New Zealanders get the public services they need.

“The PSA will be in collective bargaining for thousands of union members in health and the public service this year. We need to see fair pay movements that reflect the increased cost of living and to ensure that we can attract and retain talented public servants and health workers.”

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Unexplained death, Stratford

LiveNews Publisher

January 19, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Police investigating the death of a man in Stratford overnight (Saturday 18 January), are appealing for information.

About 11:15pm a man was located deceased on Lear Street, after deciding to walk back from an event on Miranda Street around 10pm.

His death is being treated as unexplained and enquiries remain ongoing to determine how he died.

If anyone saw anything between Miranda Street and Lear Street, Stratford, between 10pm and 11:30pm, or has any information they believe may assist in the investigation, not yet reported to us, please get in touch with Police.

You can contact us via 105 either online or over the phone, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 11, please reference file number: 250119/6141.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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Refreshed team to drive economic growth in 2025

LiveNews Publisher

January 19, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has delivered a refreshed team focused on unleashing economic growth to make people better off, create more opportunities for business and help us afford the world-class health and education Kiwis deserve.
“Last year, we made solid progress on the economy. Inflation has fallen significantly and now a steady march of interest rate cuts are translating into real financial relief for households. Having set the building blocks for rebuilding the economy, 2025 is all about going for growth and I am refreshing my team to underline this priority,” Mr Luxon says.
“In addition to her role as Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis becomes Minister for Economic Growth – formerly known as the Economic Development portfolio.
“Her focus will be on leading the Government’s growth agenda to unleash the potential of our businesses to grow, develop talent and attract investment. That will mean co-ordinating and strengthening efforts that are already underway to deliver economic growth – and taking responsibility for new initiatives designed to promote growth and productivity in the New Zealand economy.
“In 2024, Nicola did a fantastic job delivering tax relief for hardworking Kiwis and restoring a culture of fiscal discipline – with New Zealanders now seeing the benefits in the form of lower inflation and interest rates. In 2025, I’m confident she will bring that same focus and dedication to the task of unleashing Kiwi businesses to grow at pace.
“In 2025, health is also a priority area.
“Last year, Dr Shane Reti worked hard to reset the culture and performance of Health NZ. It was critical to establish targets and refresh their leadership – and I am confident the organisation is heading in a much better direction that it was when we entered office.
“But I have also heard Kiwis’ concerns that they expect to see even more progress – ensuring they can access the care they need, when they need it. To deliver on that expectation, I have decided Simeon Brown will become Minister of Health.
“Simeon is an outstanding and diligent minister who has done an excellent job delivering on the Government’s priorities. Off the back of that performance, I have decided his skills are best placed to take leadership of our health system going forward.
“Dr Shane Reti will take on an important new role assuming responsibility for New Zealand’s universities and our science sector – both of which are expected to play a critical role in our economic growth plan.
“A series of other Ministers are also expected to play even greater roles in our plans to unleash economic growth in 2025.
“Chris Bishop becomes Minister of Transport, taking responsibility for an additional part of the Government’s ambitious infrastructure agenda.
“Louise Upston picks up Tourism and Hospitality, a critical industry for promoting growth and employment in regional New Zealand. She also becomes Deputy Leader of the House.
“Judith Collins KC becomes Minister for the Public Service, while Mark Mitchell picks up the Sport and Recreation, and Ethnic Communities portfolios.
“Simon Watts takes on the Energy and Local Government portfolios – both areas with significant reforms underway and expected to play a major role in our growth plan going forward.
“Outside Cabinet, Chris Penk picks up Small Business and Manufacturing, while Andrew Bayly becomes Minister for ACC.
“I have also decided to bring in James Meager as a Minister outside Cabinet. He will take on the Hunting and Fishing, and Youth portfolios and the newly created role of Minister for the South Island. He will also be an Associate Minister of Transport.
“Finally, I would like to acknowledge Melissa Lee’s contribution in Government over the last year. She has worked incredibly hard engaging with the range of ethnic communities calling New Zealand home and I thank her for that service.”

MIL OSI

EIT Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) graduates secure roles at partner school | EIT Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti

LiveNews Publisher

January 19, 2025

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

3 minutes ago

EIT Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) graduates Isaac Winterson (second left) and Becca Williams with Havelock North Primary School Principal Nick Reed (right) and Deputy Principal Greg Bain (left).

EIT’s partnership with local schools continues to thrive, with two Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) graduates the latest to secure jobs at Havelock North Primary School.

Becca Williams and Isaac Winterson finished the programme, renowned for its practical, community-focused approach, at the end of the semester, having completed placements at Havelock North Primary during their three years.

Isaac is excited to begin his career teaching Year 4 students. Reflecting on his time at EIT, he credited the programme’s practical focus for preparing him for the realities of teaching.

“The practical experience was invaluable. Being in classrooms, working alongside incredible teachers, and applying what I learnt built my confidence over the three years,” Isaac said. “I’m stoked to start this new chapter.”

Isaac also expressed gratitude for the supportive environment at EIT, where lecturers provided personalised guidance.

For Becca, joining the staff at Havelock North Primary is a homecoming. A former student at the school, she completed her final practicum in a Year 3 classroom, spending two days a week on-site throughout her final year.

“It feels so special to return to the school I attended as a child,” Becca shared. “The connections I’ve made with staff and students during my practicum gave me insight into the school’s culture and prepared me for this opportunity. It’s like a year-long job interview.”

Becca credits EIT’s focus on real-world experience and the close relationships with lecturers for her success.

“The support was incredible. Unlike larger universities, where you might not even know your lecturer’s name, at EIT, you can contact them anytime,” she said.

Principal Nick Reed and Deputy Principal Greg Bain have long been advocates of EIT’s Bachelor of Teaching (Primary), commending its hands-on approach and the positive impact it has on teacher preparedness.

The partnership, which dates back to the programme’s inception more than a decade ago, sees candidate teachers spend 40 per cent of their training in classrooms around the region, giving schools a unique opportunity to mentor and assess future educators.

They congratulated Becca and Isaac, and said they ticked a lot of boxes.

“We’re lucky to have them because there were a number of other schools who were keen to sign them up as well. So, we were fortunate to get in nice and early with the interview process and secure their services,” Nick said.

EIT Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) graduates Isaac Winterson (second left) and Becca Williams with Havelock North Primary School Principal Nick Reed (right) and Deputy Principal Greg Bain (left).

Greg said both Becca and Isaac were “really successful in being able to build relationships with the staff and kids”.

“We want people who are going to go the extra mile for the kids,” Nick added.

Greg described the partnership with EIT as mutually beneficial, allowing the school to evaluate top talent throughout the year.

“We get a really good look at the candidates coming through, which is really positive. I tell every candidate teacher that this is basically your interview for the whole year you’re here, so make the most of it,” he said.

Nick added: “They’re well prepared and providing that they’ve had positive postings, which in most cases they have, they’re ready to make a difference from the get-go.”

Kirsty Jones, EIT Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) Programme Co-ordinator, says: “It is always so rewarding to see graduates winning jobs in the partner schools where they practiced the craft of teaching, it is a fabulous endorsement of the quality of EIT’s BTP programme.”

“This year the graduates were snapped up by local schools with most securing positions before they had even finished their final course work. They will all start teaching in 2025.”

“Many of our past graduates have been appointed as senior leaders and mentor teachers for these beginning teachers too. I feel so proud of them and seeing them grow over the years and become leaders in the profession is heart-warming.”

MIL OSI

Two separate whale strandings in the South Island this weekend

LiveNews Publisher

January 19, 2025

Source: Department of Conservation

Date: 19 January 2025

Pod of whales stranded in Golden Bay, DOC and Project Jonah responding

Attribute to Andrew Lamason, DOC Acting Operations Manager Golden Bay

“We had a report come in yesterday afternoon of a pod of whales close to shore near Pakawau. Our ranger who lives nearby was tracking them.

The pod of whales moved northward and stranded near Taupata Stream.

A large pod of whales had stranded and several were swimming nearby. They are pilot whales and are a range of ages and sizes.

Of those stranded, one passed away very quickly.

Our team and Project Jonah volunteers were out with the whales until dark last night. This includes several Project Jonah medics, their help is always greatly appreciated.

DOC Rangers and Project Jonah volunteers have been at the site from first light this morning. Gusty easterly winds are not making things easy.

We will be looking after the remaining whales until the tide turns around 2 pm. We will attempt to re-float them at high tide.”

Whale stranded in New Brighton, Christchurch has been re-floated

Attribute to Andy Thompson DOC Mahaanui Operations Manager

“We received a call around 4:30 pm yesterday of a dolphin stranded in New Brighton.

Local iwi Ngāi Tūāhuriri, DOC, and Project Jonah responded.

It is likely to be a young or juvenile Cuvier’s beaked-whale or an even rarer Gingko whale. Both are deep water species.

At 5:40 pm Project Jonah staff had the whale secured and pointing out to sea. The whale swam out, so it was a successful re-float.

The whale was seen later in the evening, just out behind the breakers.

It is a young and vulnerable whale and we are very hopeful of a successful outcome but we are very mindful it is likely we will see it again somewhere else along the coast.

We would ask the public to report any sightings of the whale to 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).”

Contact

For media enquiries contact:

Email: media@doc.govt.nz

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Operation Kereru disrupts antisocial road user activity in the Hutt Valley

LiveNews Publisher

January 19, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

Wellington Police were out in force last night disrupting antisocial road user gatherings across the district, with vehicle seizures, impoundments, and infringements being issued.

Operation Kereru saw Police staff taking a coordinated zero-tolerance approach within the region, specifically within the Hutt Valley area.

Over the course of the night, 10 vehicles were either pink or green stickered, three licences were suspended, 32 infringement notices were issued, three vehicles impounded, and three drivers were summonsed for excess breath alcohol.

Bailiffs from the Ministry of Justice also assisted leading to four vehicles being seized and a large number of fines collected.

Wellington Police remained agile and persistent, ready to respond and disrupt gatherings, conduct checkpoints, and stopping drivers across the district.

Acting Area Prevention Manager Senior Sergeant Samuel Avison says this operation sends a clear message to those wanting to participate in disruptive and illegal activity.

“Our high visibility and enforcement approach meant groups were intercepted before they could set up in one location, meaning they were unable to participate in antisocial road user behaviours.”

Wellington Police are committed to holding illegal street racers to account as we know the impact this activity has on the community.

“Not only does it keep residents awake and damage the roads, but it places drivers, passengers, bystanders, and other motorists at extreme risk,” says Senior Sergeant Samuel Avison.

Police ask members of the public to report unlawful activity to us, as soon as possible with as much information as safely possible.

This will assist in an effective response to the issue, and in cases where we can’t immediately response, allow us to follow up with drivers and take later enforcement action.

You can report information to us by calling 111, if it is happening now, or through our 105 service for non-emergencies.

Alternatively, you can report information anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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GAZA: Food, water and medicine priorities for children once hostilities paused in Gaza – Save the Children

LiveNews Publisher

January 19, 2025

Source: Save the Children

GAZA, 18 January 2025 – Getting food, water, and medical supplies to children in Gaza will be priorities for Save the Children once the pause in hostilities comes into effect on Sunday (local time), with preparations underway in coordination with other aid organisations to deliver supplies as quickly as possible once entry points are reopened and security guaranteed.

Getting winter supplies waiting at Gaza’s entry points to children and families will also be critical, with rain and cold temperatures expected for at least another two months.

Nearly all 1.1 million children in Gaza – about half of the population – are in urgent need of food, with many surviving on just one meal a day after 15 months of war.

Many have been unable to get medical care with healthcare facilities destroyed, supplies exhausted given restrictions on their entry, and not one of Gaza’s 36 hospitals fully functioning. Gaza’s six public community mental health centres and its one inpatient psychiatric hospital are also no longer functioning.

Save the Children, which has been assisting children and families in the occupied Palestinian territory for more than 70 years, has increased its workforce in Gaza over the past year and is on standby to supply and distribute essential aid as well as provide medical assistance in its two primary health care centres with explorations underway to set up more medical facilities.

If conditions allow, medical teams will provide mobile vaccination services, support for pregnant and breastfeeding women and caregivers, and distribute ready-to-use infant formula for babies unable to breastfeed.

Supplying water via trucks and installing latrines in shelters will also be critical to help stave off dehydration and stop any further spread of disease.

With 96% of schools damaged or destroyed, Save the Children stands ready to support the rebuilding of Gaza’s education system, while also setting up temporary learning spaces in pre-existing shelters as well as mobile play and learning options to assist children and families on the move as they head back to their homes. This will include distributing recreational kits for children containing puzzles, stationery, colouring and story books.

Over the past 15 months children have witnessed and lived through experiences that no child should ever face, so Save the Children will increase its Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services to children but also to support the wider population. This will include individual and group counselling sessions.

Save the Children will also be providing protection support through case management, connecting children with the support they need to keep them safe. This includes supporting some of the more than 17,000unaccompanied and separated children find surviving family members.

Save the Children will be working with the United Nations and other non-governmental organisations and local partners to deliver aid as quickly as possible. However this does need the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of goods into Gaza as well as on the movement of goods across the Strip, opening of all crossings, security for staff delivering aid, supplies of fuel and commercial goods to stock local markets, and repairs to roads and infrastructure widely destroyed across the Gaza Strip.

Javier Garcia, team leader for Save the Children International in Gaza, said:

“We, along with thousands of families and the entire aid community, are hoping against hope this pause holds and becomes a definitive ceasefire, and that critical essential aid can start to get into Gaza at the levels children and families need. We know there are hurdles to overcome and it will take time to get supplies flowing again, but there is no alternative. Children that remain in Gaza after months of bloodshed have a right to a brighter future and deserve their childhoods back.

“If and as aid entry into Gaza increases and our programming scales up, we will be looking for every opportunity to provide the aid that children and families in Gaza so desperately need. However, increased access in and across Gaza and guaranteed safety for humanitarian workers will be critical in enabling us to deliver lifesaving aid to children and their families wherever they are.

“Anything less than a definitive ceasefire and comprehensive accountability falls abysmally short of the safety, assistance and broader rights Palestinian children need, deserve and are entitled to – and means the international community is failing them yet again.”

Over the past 15 months more than 17,818 children in Gaza have been killed, according to the latest figures from the Government Media Office in Gaza. The pace and scale of hostilities, along with the decimation of hospitals and search and rescue capacities, means the actual number is undoubtedly even higher. Thousands of others – an average of 15 children a day – have suffered life-altering injuries including the loss of limbs, sight and hearing.

With a ceasefire and sustained access, Save the Children will set up more temporary learning spaces until schools can be rebuilt, and provide non-formal education including catch-up classes, remedial education, and distance learning. This will include awareness sessions to help keep children safe from the extensive unexploded ordinance littered across Gaza to which they are uniquely vulnerable given their natural curiosity and likelihood of picking up or playing in contaminated areas.

Save the Children will also be providing cash assistance to at least 35,000 households so they can buy the supplies they so desperately need once available.

Save the Children has been providing essential services and support to Palestinian children since 1953 and has had a permanent presence in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1973. Since the beginning of the war, Save the Children has increased its number of staff and casual workers from 25 people to 250 people, the vast majority of whom are Palestinians.

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First Responders – Vegetation fire on Mangere Mountain: Update 2

LiveNews Publisher

January 19, 2025

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

The fire at Mangere Mountain is now contained. Crews remain onsite dampening down hotspots and will continue working this morning,

19 Crews fought the blaze overnight which grew to more than 3 hectares. While no structures were under threat, an emergency mobile alert was issued due to possible impacts from smoke.

People are asked to stay away from the Mangere Mountain area to allow crews to work.

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Unexplained death, Whangārei

LiveNews Publisher

January 19, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Police are making enquiries after a woman was found deceased at a Whau Valley, Whangārei address yesterday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the Moody Avenue address shortly before 5pm after the woman was found unresponsive.

The circumstances surrounding her death are currently unexplained, and a post-mortem examination will be carried out.

The property will undergo a scene examination today.

Police would like to hear from anyone in the area who may have information about any incidents that might relate to this death, or those involved.

If you have information to share, please use our 105 service and quote reference number 250118/3763.

You can also share information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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Arrests made after quick-thinking locals call in

LiveNews Publisher

January 19, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Police have arrested two offenders following a report of suspicious behaviour by some quick-thinking Canterbury locals in a Rolleston supermarket carpark.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, Saturday 18 January, a vehicle was stolen from Gloucester Street in Christchurch.

Around 3.20pm, members of the public at a Rolleston spotted two people acting suspiciously around vehicles in the carpark of a Rolleston supermarket.

Thanks to their swift and detailed reporting, Police in the area were able to identify and locate the two men involved inside a stolen vehicle nearby and take them into custody.

The vehicle has since been returned to the owner, who was relieved to have their vehicle back so quickly.

Selwyn Police would like to thank the callers who contacted Police as soon as they spotted the suspicious behaviour.

This is a great example of one way the community can assist us in combatting crime within our community.

We encourage people to call us as soon as possible with as much information as possible as soon as you see suspicious behaviour.

We understand many will be unsure whether to report the behaviour, however this information could be the key we need to locate or identify offending, make arrests, and/or recover property – call us we’ll take it from there.

You can report information to us via 111 if it is happening now, or via 105 either online or over the phone if it’s after the fact.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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