New Zealand Flag half-masting to mark the funeral of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming, NZ Police

January 10, 2025

Source: Ministry for Culture and Heritage

To action: New Zealand Flag to fly at half-mast for Funeral of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming, New Zealand Police on Thursday, 16 January 2025, 8am – 5pm (or building hours).

At the request of the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, the Honourable Paul Goldsmith, the New Zealand Flag is to be flown at half-mast on all Government and public buildings on Thursday 16 January 2025 to mark the funeral of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming of the New Zealand Police.

The New Zealand Flag should be flown at half-mast all day on Thursday 16 January 2025. This instruction applies to all Government Departments, buildings and naval vessels which have flag poles and normally fly the New Zealand Flag. The Flag should be returned to full mast at the close of business hours on Thursday 16 January 2025.

The flag is half-masted by first raising it to the top of the mast and then immediately lowering it slowly to the half-mast position. The half-mast position will depend on the size of the flag and the length of the flagpole. The flag must be lowered to a position recognisably “half-mast” to avoid the appearance of a flag which has accidentally fallen away from the top of the flagpole. As a guide, the flag should be more than its own depth from the top of the flagpole. At the end of the day, the flag should be raised again to the top of the flagpole before being fully lowered.

MIL OSI

First Responders – Whangārei vegetation fire update #3

LiveNews Publisher

January 10, 2025

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

The two homes that evacuated yesterday have now returned home. While yesterday our crews focused on structure protection, today the focus turns to getting a containment line around the fire.

Incident Controller, Graeme Quensell, says “The fire is still approximately 20 hectares and we have multiple ground crews on site today. We have two helicopters working on the fire today, and this work started at first light. They will be operating around Whangārei airport flight times and will be grounded around arrivals and departures to make sure there’s no disruption to the public.

“Te Tai Tokerau Northland moves into a restricted fire season from 8am today, Friday 10 January. This means that anyone who wants to light an outdoor fire will need a fire permit authorised by Fire and Emergency, which can be applied for at checkitsalright.nz. As we have seen with this fire, it takes a large number of fire brigades, many of them volunteers, with supporting resources and aircraft to contain and control fires in Northland, so it’s hoped introducing these restrictions now will help us avoid further wildfires.”

We don’t anticipate any road closures today but please take care driving through the area where there will be multiple firefighters working in the area.

MIL OSI

Nowhere to hide: Man arrested following hours-long chase

LiveNews Publisher

January 10, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

A man who allegedly stole a vehicle at knife-point, drove dangerously through northern Auckland and rammed a Police car has been found hiding up a tree.

Just after 5.30pm, Police observed a vehicle at a service station in Red Beach, which had earlier been taken at knife-point in Henderson.

Acting Detective Inspector Simon Harrison, Waitematā CIB, says Police signalled for the vehicle to stop, however it drove off at speed.

“The Police Eagle helicopter was able to track the vehicle as it drove at high speed and in a dangerous manner around the Waitematā North area.

“The vehicle was then observed in Warkworth at about 7pm where it allegedly rammed a patrol car parked on Radiata Road.

“Thankfully no one was injured, however these types of situations are extremely concerning for our staff.”

Acting Detective Inspector Harrison says the driver then allegedly fled on foot into nearby bush and was unable to be located.

However, Police received a call from members of the public just after 11.30pm after seeing a person walking through a rural property on Hodgart Road.

“At about 2.15am Eagle located the male loitering around the address, where he ran into a nearby bush area and up a tree.

“The male was aggressive towards staff and OC spray was used as he continued to resist arrest.

“The man suffered a minor dog bite and was transported to hospital for treatment.

“This person’s alleged actions were totally unacceptable, and it’s a credit to the hard work of all Police staff involved that the incident ended safely for all involved.”

A 35-year-old man will appear in Waitākere District Court today charged with aggravated robbery, failing to stop, dangerous driving, aggravated assault, two count of assaults with a weapon and resisting Police.

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

MIL OSI

Name release, fatal crash SH25

LiveNews Publisher

January 10, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Police can now name the man who died in a crash on SH25, Te Puru, on 27 December 2024.

He was Jason David Taana, 33, of Waiomu.

Police extend their sympathies to his loved ones.

Enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

MIL OSI

KO disruptive tenants’ easy ride over

LiveNews Publisher

January 10, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago)
553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year.
Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 per cent, second notices made up approximately 16 per cent and third notices – which can trigger the end of a tenancy – made up less than 2 per cent.

The latest data shows Kāinga Ora is taking action against disruptive tenants leading to improved behaviour, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says.

In March 2024, Ministers instructed Kāinga Ora to end its Sustaining Tenancies Framework which had allowed tenants to stay living in a KO home no matter how threatening or disruptive their behaviour, or how much damage they caused to the property,” Mr Bishop says.

“Neighbours of Kāinga Ora residents, frequently KO tenants themselves, were tired of having to put up with people who abused the privilege of a taxpayer-funded home – so Ministers declared enough was enough, and instructed the agency to take a stronger approach to managing disruptive tenants.

“In November 2024, Kāinga Ora received 538 complaints about disruptive behavior. Their frontline teams are responding to these quickly, taking action where needed, with a decision being made on each case within 15 business days in 98 per cent of cases.

“This is in stark contrast to January 2024, when the Sustaining Tenancies Framework was still in place. At that time, Kāinga Ora had over 500 open complaint cases that had been sitting unresolved for an average of almost 60 days.

“Pleasingly, by December 2024 there were just over 200 open cases in progress, with an average of 13 days for a decision to be made and action taken.

“And action most certainly is being taken where needed.

“Since July 2024, Kāinga Ora has issued 553 Section 55A notices – which give formal warning to a tenant that their behaviour is putting their tenancy at risk – which is a whopping 13 times more than the 41 issued during the same period last year.

“I’m particularly pleased to see that this early intervention is helping spark behaviour change among those tenants who have previously been disruptive. The data shows that first Section 55A notices made up around 83 per cent of all notices issued since July. Second notices made up approximately 16 per cent of all Section 55A notices issued during this period, while third notices – which can trigger the end of a tenancy – made up less than 2 per cent.

“This data shows that the vast majority of disruptive tenants are taking the Section 55A notices seriously and changing their behaviour to prevent receiving a second or third notice. And where they don’t change their behaviour, we’ll no longer put up with it.”

In the five months from July to November in 2024, 23 tenancies were ended due to abusive, threatening or disruptive behaviour, compared to only four tenancies having been ended for this reason in all of 2023.

“Kāinga Ora is also continuing to use relocations to a different KO property to prompt behaviour change where there is conflict between neighbouring tenants. Relocations have taken place 101 times in the period between July and November, and in two-thirds of these cases, Kāinga Ora has not received further complaints about behaviour from these tenants in their new homes,” Mr Bishop says.

“I want to emphasise that the strengthened approach does not have any impact on the significant majority of Kāinga Ora tenants who already do the right thing. In fact, I hope that it has made their lives easier knowing that they don’t need to put up with disruptive behaviour from their neighbours.

“I also want to thank Kāinga Ora staff for their hard work to ensure disruptive behaviour is managed quickly and effectively.”

Removing the Sustaining Tenancies Framework gave effect to a commitment made in the National-ACT coalition agreement.

MIL OSI

Death following water-related incident, Pilot Bay

LiveNews Publisher

January 10, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Police can confirm one person has died following a water incident at Pilot Bay Beach yesterday morning.

Emergency services were notified just before 8:20am after a person was pulled from the water unresponsive.

The death will be referred to the Coroner.

ENDS

MIL OSI

Property Report – Exceptionally lukewarm: property market hits record December lows

LiveNews Publisher

January 10, 2025

Source: RealEstate.co.nz

Record-breaking new listings slump – lowest for any December in 17 years
11 of 19 regions see average asking prices decline year-on-year
National average asking price back to April 2021 levels.

The New Zealand property market typically slows down in December, but the latest data from realestate.co.nz reveals that December 2024 was more than just a seasonal cooldown—it was ‘exceptionally lukewarm.’

New listings hit a record low for any December since realestate.co.nz tracking began, with nine of 19 regions also reaching their lowest-ever December levels. The national average asking price was also its lowest since April 2021 at $842,476.

Vanessa Williams, spokesperson for realestate.co.nz, said: “The property market always cools in December, but the end of 2024 was record-breakingly quiet.”

Despite this, healthy stock levels and some regional ‘hotspots’ meant opportunities remained for buyers and sellers.

New listings plunge to lowest-ever December levels

As 2024 came to a close, new listings hit a record low for any December since realestate.co.nz records began 17 years ago. Nine of 19 regions also reached their lowest-ever December levels: Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Wellington, Central Otago/Lakes District, and Manawatu/Whanganui.

Williams noted that the seasonal slowdown continues a trend of fewer properties being listed in December.

“Over the past 17 years, we’ve observed a steady decline in the number of properties listed in December. Historically, December listings were about 30% lower than November. That drop has grown to 50% or more in recent years.”

In December 2024, new listings fell by almost 60% month-on-month (11,129 vs. 4,767)—an even steeper drop than the 50% decline between November and December 2023 (10,712 vs. 4,828).

“The market usually comes off the boil in December, but this year has been exceptionally lukewarm,” said Williams.

Even Auckland wasn’t immune to the December sluggishness. Auckland recorded an all-time low for new listings in any month over the last 17 years, including during COVID-19.

Stock takes a dip – but the market’s still swimming with options

Stock was also down 13.3% month-on-month during December to 29,478 properties for sale. This seasonal dip saw stock levels below 30,000 for the first time since August 2024.

Year-on-year, however, stock was up 18.5%, offering buyers significantly more choice than in December 2023.

National asking price at 2021 levels, with regional highs and lows.

The national average asking price in December 2024 was $842,476, a level last seen before the market started to boom in April 2021, when it was $839,717. While the national figure reflects a return to 2021 levels, it has remained relatively stable year-on-year, with a slight decline of just 0.3% compared to December 2023.

Regionally, there were significant variations between markets. 11 of 19 regions saw average asking prices decline year-on-year. The biggest drops were in Central Otago/Lakes District (17.3% to $1,324,754), Nelson and Bays (13.4% to $829,412), Central North Island (11.0% to $708,350), and Bay of Plenty (10.9% to $823,926).

In contrast, Southland bucked the trend with a 15.3% year-on-year increase to $549,211 – a record-high for December. Additionally, Gisborne, Taranaki, West Coast, and Coromandel hit their highest average asking prices ever recorded for the month of December.

“We often see stark regional differences like this across the country, highlighting how critical local market knowledge is when buying or selling,” said Williams.

About realestate.co.nz

We’ve been helping people buy, sell, or rent property since 1996. Established before Google, realestate.co.nz is New Zealand’s longest-standing property website and the official website of the real estate industry.

Dedicated only to property, our mission is to empower people with a property search tool they can use to find the life they want to live. With residential, lifestyle, rural and commercial property listings, realestate.co.nz is the place to start for those looking to buy or sell property.

Whatever life you’re searching for, it all starts here.

Want more property insights?

Glossary of terms:

Average asking price (AAP) is neither a valuation nor the sale price. It is an indication of current market sentiment. Statistically, asking prices tend to correlate closely with the sales prices recorded in future months when those properties are sold. As it looks at different data, average asking prices may differ from recorded sales data released simultaneously.

New listings are a record of all the new residential dwellings listed for sale on realestate.co.nz for the relevant calendar month. The site reflects 97% of all properties listed through licensed real estate agents and major developers in New Zealand. This description gives a representative view of the New Zealand property market.

Stock is the total number of residential dwellings that are for sale on realestate.co.nz on the penultimate day of the month.

Rate of sale is a measure of how long it would take, theoretically, to sell the current stock at current average rates of sale if no new properties were to be listed for sale. It provides a measure of the rate of turnover in the market.

Seasonal adjustment is a method realestate.co.nz uses to represent better the core underlying trend of the property market in New Zealand. This is done using methodology from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research.

Truncated mean is the method realestate.co.nz uses to supply statistically relevant asking prices. The top and bottom 10% of listings in each area are removed before the average is calculated to prevent exceptional listings from providing false impressions.

MIL OSI

Dah Sing Bank and Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association Join Hands to Support SMEs to Better Understand and Practice ESG

MIL OSI

January 10, 2025

Source: Media Outreach

“SME ESG Charter” 2024 enhanced brand image and expanded business opportunities for participating SMEs

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 9 January 2025 – Close to 90% of small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) participating in the SME ESG Charter 2024 (“ESG Charter 2024”) have acknowledged that they have benefited from enhanced brand image, reflecting the significance of the ESG Charter 2024 jointly launched by Dah Sing Bank, Limited (“Dah Sing Bank” or “the Bank”) and the Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association (“HKSMEA”). The Bank and HKSMEA have confirmed to continue their collaboration with the SME ESG Charter 2025 (“ESG Charter 2025”) to encourage more SMEs to improve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and accelerate the transition towards economic sustainability.

HKSMEA surveyed 302 SMEs in December last year on their business challenges and their knowledge and implementation of ESG. The survey results showed that the top challenge faced by SMEs in the past year was rising cost of business (57.7%), followed by increased competition (46.5%), loss of customers (42.3%) and manpower shortages (36.6%). Meanwhile, 77% of SMEs considered ESG practices to be ‘very important’ and ‘important’, while 85.2% of the surveyed companies indicated willingness and interest to participate in the ESG Charter.

Dah Sing Bank launched its partnership with HKSMEA when the ESG Charter 2024 was introduced last year. The initiative was well received with 35 SMEs having participated, of which 26 qualified to receive free independent assessment and certification. The participating SMEs acknowledged that the initiative has helped deepen their understanding of ESG, and that gaining certified in the ESG Charter 2024 not only improved their corporate image but also helped to increase business opportunities.

“Dah Sing Bank has always been committed to supporting SMEs and helping them seek opportunities. Whilst the climate change driven ESG megatrend may seem remote, it is in fact shaping the development of a sustainable economy, presenting both challenges and potential opportunities for companies. We hope to encourage different industries and stakeholders to participate in this megatrend, and to help more SMEs transition towards economic sustainability so that they may progress further with enhanced competitiveness to capture new opportunities. We joined forces with HKSMEA to provide SMEs with hands-on training and support in the ESG Charter 2024. In 2025, we hope to enhance the scope of the ESG Charter to reach out to more local SMEs,” said Ms. Phoebe Wong, Deputy Chief Executive, Senior Executive Director and Group Head of Personal Banking of Dah Sing Bank.

Through the ESG Charter 2024, Dah Sing Bank and HKSMEA provided comprehensive support to SMEs which included publicity, workshops, technical advice, auditing and certification, public education and business liaison. Dah Sing Bank will award SMEs that have successfully qualified for the ESG Charter 2024 an incentive of up to HKD1,400 in account opening fee rebates. The Bank also plans to introduce various product and service incentives in the coming year to encourage customers to implement ESG practices.

Mr. Andrew Kwok, President of HKSMEA, said, “The transition towards economic sustainability is an important global trend. HKSMEA is committed to encouraging more SMEs to participate in the ESG Charter and to achieving our long-term goal of enabling more SMEs to understand the importance of learning and practicing ESG. We support local SMEs to integrate ESG elements into their operating structures and governance mechanisms, and meet the long-term development needs of Mainland China and Hong Kong.”

HKSMEA’s SME survey also showed that 88.9% of SMEs participating in the ESG Charter 2024 acknowledged that their brand image has improved, 72.2% acknowledged funding support for certification and 50% for professional advice.

Furthermore, 62% of SMEs surveyed have started to implement ESG-related initiatives. Among the areas that SMEs have started to implemented, social responsibility ranked highest at 95.5%, followed by environmental protection at 93.2% and corporate governance at 86.4%. Meanwhile, 84.1% of SMEs agreed that good ESG practices can increase customer trust and build a positive brand image, while 54.5% of SMEs believed that implementing ESG practices can help them gain access to large companies’ supplier lists, thereby increasing business opportunities. Similarly, 54.5% of SMEs believed that they can effectively reduce operating costs through savings in electricity, water and waste management costs.

Among the SMEs surveyed, 77% saw adopting ESG practices as “very important” and “important”; 61.5% said it would help to attract investors; 46.2% said it could reduce operating costs through environmental protection measures; 46.2% believed it could increase employees’ sense of belonging and morale; 30.8% said it has improved their own operational management systems, and 30.8% said it could increase customer loyalty and trust.

According to the survey, 85.2% of companies surveyed indicated willingness and interest to participate in the ESG Charter. The key reason for not yet implementing ESG measures was a lack of human resources (48.1%), followed by a lack of financial resources (40.7%). Tight cash flow has prevented SMEs from investing in the necessary resources to implement ESG measures.

The ESG Charter 2024 is a not-for-profit assessment framework that references the sections of the ESG Reporting Guide in Appendix C2 of the HKEX Listing Rules that are applicable to SMEs. Participating SMEs will be assessed by and will receive an assessment report from a third party professional consultancy. SMEs who have successfully attained the ESG Charter 2024 status will be placed in the SME ESG Register by HKSMEA, and will enjoy priority when large corporations supporting the charter consider their products and services.

Hashtag: #DahSingBank

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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

“Frustrating and distressing”: DOC appeals for information after seabirds killed

LiveNews Publisher

January 10, 2025

Source: Department of Conservation

Date: 09 January 2025

A concerned member of the public reported the incident, which happened around 12 pm on Friday, January 3.

DOC Hauraki Operations Manager Avi Holzapfel is dismayed by the report of harm to wildlife.

“It’s extremely frustrating and distressing to hear about this kind of wilful mistreatment of wildlife,” says Avi. “We’re very grateful to the person who reported this to us for their continued assistance.

“So far, we have images of the vessel alleged to be involved, and have made enquiries with local marinas and databases to identify its owner.

One of the boats sought to aid the investigation.
Image: Supplied

“We are keen to speak with people on board two vessels pictured seen in the area at the time, one of which bears the name ‘Dad & Me’, and any other members of the public who may have witnessed the incident.”

If anyone has more information they can provide about this incident, please contact the DOC HOT line on 0800 362 468 or wildlifecrime@doc.govt.nz, quoting CLE Incident CLE-8275.

Many seabirds are classified as absolutely protected under the Wildlife Act 1953. Hunting or killing absolutely protected wildlife can result in penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $100,000, or both.

Update: Police have now spoken to people on the other vessel, and are confident they are not involved and do not know those on the suspected offending vessel.

Contact

For media enquiries contact:

Email: media@doc.govt.nz

MIL OSI

FEV develops AI-supported driver monitoring system CogniSafe

MIL OSI

January 9, 2025

Source: Media Outreach

AACHEN, GERMANY – Newsaktuell – 9 January 2025 – FEV, a leading global innovation driver for the mobility of tomorrow, presents CogniSafe, a state-of-the-art Driver Monitoring System (DMS) that significantly increases road safety. The system uses advanced technologies such as deep learning and computer vision to monitor driver conditions such as distraction, fatigue and inattention in real time and under even the most challenging conditions.

FEV’s CogniSafe uses deep learning to monitor driver conditions, thereby increasing road safety.

“CogniSafe is a holistic, innovative system that uses a variety of sensors and combines them with artificial intelligence (AI) to precisely analyze driver behavior and alertness”, said Dr. Thomas Hülshorst, Group Vice President Intelligent Mobility & Software at FEV. In (semi-) autonomous vehicles in particular, legal safety requirements are increasing, and the driver must be able to intervene in any situation. “With our latest development, we are actively reducing accidents caused by human error. At over 90 percent, these make up the majority of all accidents,” said Hülshorst.

CogniSafe uses a combination of functions which are unique on the market and coordinate with each other. It uses a network of cameras in the visible light and infrared spectrum to analyze driver behavior from different angles. On this basis, the system continuously tracks the driver’s gaze, analyzes eye condition (percentage of eye closure, PERCLOS) and assesses head posture, providing further information on alertness, fatigue and drowsiness.

AI plays a pivotal role in the functions of FEV’s latest development. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) are used to perform precise real-time analyses that dynamically adapt to different drivers and environmental conditions, such as different lighting conditions, and continuously improve.

“The solution is also very interesting for target groups such as fleet operators or insurance companies, who have a strong interest in safe driving practices”, said Hülshorst.

Further information is available at https://shorturl.at/hy3dq

Hashtag: #FEV

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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

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