Monthly Archives: January 2022

They were two good young batsmen knocking around the little New Zealand town of Masterton in the late 90s and back then no one was sure which was better. The first was Ross Taylor, the other was Jesse Ryder, five months younger, who lived in Carterton, 10 miles down the road. Ryder would open the batting and Taylor played in the middle order, No 4 or 5.

They stayed that way as they rose through the age grades, for Central Districts, the national academy and under-19 teams, right on up into the Test team, where, in 2009, they set a record on sharing a 271-run partnership against India in Napier. Ryder went on to make 201, Taylor 151.

Taylor has just finished his 112th and last Test; an innings victory over Bangladesh in Christchurch. Maybe youve seen the clips online, the honour guard as he came in to bat, the standing ovation as he walked off after being caught at square-leg for 28. Or the finish. Late on the third day, with Bangladesh nine wickets down in the second innings and still a hundred and plenty runs away from making New Zealand bat again, the crowd began to call out to the captain, Tom Latham, to bring Taylor on to bowl. Taylor hadnt done that in a Test match in eight years, but he grinned and turned his arm over a couple of times in a mock warm-up.

Then fate intervened. The umpires decided New Zealand needed to bring a spinner on because the light was fading. I guess that left one decision, Latham said. He gave the ball to Taylor. Ebadot Hossain was batting, and, by his own standards, he was in nick After a run of 10 consecutive noughts, Hossain had just hit the first four of his Test career, off Kyle Jamieson, which made this his highest score for Bangladesh. He blocked Taylors first ball, patted back his second, then had an almighty heave at his third, which he hit high into the leg-side. Latham took the catch.

So Taylors last act in Test cricket was the match-winning wicket. It couldnt be scripted any better, Latham said. It wasnt the perfect finish. Taylor had passed that up six months earlier, when he hit the winning runs in New Zealands victory over India in the inaugural World Test Championship. But it was a good one, and fitting, because it ended with him grinning and being mobbed by his teammates. Thats better than most players get.

Take Ryder. He played his last Test in December 2011. His numbers speak to his talent, 18 Tests, 1,269 runs at an average just under 41, and three centuries. He played his last international match three years later, an ODI victory against India in January 2014. That month he struck a century off 46 balls against West Indies. They called him up to the Test squad off the back of it, but dropped him again after he stayed out late drinking one evening.

New Zealand still wanted him in their World Cup team in 2015, until he pulled out of an A tour to the UAE for personal reasons. Ryder had all the talent, just as much as Taylor ever did, but he never could find a way around his problems.

Ryder was still playing first-class cricket for Central Districts in 2018. Then they cut him. After that he was working as a player-coach for Napier Technical Old Boys and led them to back-to-back national club titles, but the last time he was in the papers it was because he had been caught drunk-driving in March 2020.

Taylor and Ryder set on similar paths. Taylor is half-Samoan. The reason he has gone by Ross all these years is because his first headmaster couldnt get his tongue around his first name, Luteru. I guess there werent too many Polynesian kids in Masterton in those days, he said. After a while they gave up and said: Just call him Ross.

Ryder is half-Mori. Both played their way up in the world after being talent spotted on the junior circuit, Taylors talents earned him a spot at Palmerston North Boys High School, and Ryder was sent to Napier Boys High School. But they ended up walking very different journeys.

The Spin: sign up and get our weekly cricket email.

They say Taylor had the advantage of a stable family around him and Ryder didnt. Taylor had a strength, certainly, that helped him through the hard moments he faced along the way. He stepped away from international cricket in 2013 after he was sacked from the captaincy in late-2012 by Mike Hesson, in a row that split New Zealand cricket right down the middle. Taylor was averaging 50 at the time and had just hit 142 and 74 to win a Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Hesson always insisted he had meant to replace Taylor only as captain of the white-ball side, but in the end, Brendon McCullum took over in all three formats. Taylor came back and ended up having his best year in Test cricket as a batsman to that point.

If that decision was a turning point for the national team, who made two World Cup finals as well as winning that World Test Championship, in the years afterwards, it was partly because of the way Taylor was able to readjust.

After that he came through injuries, eye surgery and a slump in form to finish as New Zealands all-time leading run-scorer. He earned his happy ending.

Link:

Ross Taylors magical Test farewell rewarded strength in tough moments - The Guardian

Father of two Jim Donnelly, who went missing after a weekend of personal stress and turmoil in June 2004. Photo / Supplied

More than 450 people are listed as missing in New Zealand every year - and while most are found within hours or days, some have simply vanished.

Their families beg, plead, appeal for information.

"Someone must know something," they usually tell reporters, the details of their story differing but their desperation for answers sadly not unique.

Tracey Donnelly finds herself talking to reporters every few years. She's used to the calls now, used to the questions and running through the answers.

But what she will never get used to is not having her husband Jim by her side, and not knowing - or even being close to knowing - what happened to him.

Jim Donnelly was a scientist working at the Glenbrook steel mill, southwest of Auckland.

On June 21, 2004, Jim left the home he shared with Tracey and their children Liam and Siobhan and went to work.

He parked his car, walked into the mill, went into his office and then - nothing.

Jim hasn't been seen since.

At least, not by his family or anyone outside the mill.

23 Jun, 2019 05:11 AMQuick Read

14 Mar, 2017 04:00 PMQuick Read

His wife spoke about his disappearance for Herald podcast A Moment In Crime. She firmly believes there are people who not only know what happened to Jim that day - but are responsible for it too.

"We were a normal, everyday family - two parents working to pay the mortgage and childcare," she said.

"We had two children we were raising, they were going to school and we were just going about our lives in a normal way.

"I don't know what it was that destroyed that.

"My opinion is that it does revolve around the mill, something was happening inside the mill and I think he saw something he shouldn't have - and it's gone from there.

"If you had told me at the beginning I would think that, I would have told myself that I was incredibly silly, that this could not possibly happen to Jim.

"But as time has gone on, we have got no answer and it's more and more clear that he has been removed by other people rather than himself.

"Because if he had committed suicide, there would have been a body - so, my thing is my husband went to work, he was last seen at work and he's never come home."

In the weeks before Jim disappeared things were strained at home.

Something was troubling the 43-year-old but he wouldn't - or possibly couldn't - tell his wife what it was.

He was stressed, anxious and not himself at all.

"He was very preoccupied with something," Tracey recalled.

"There wasn't a normal atmosphere in our home there was something on his mind. And I really don't know what it was.

"From what I can see now, he thought he was handling it and sorting it out. But I think that it was bigger than he imagined."

The weekend before Jim vanished was strange, to say the least.

He told Tracey he had to go to a meeting, went and hired a suit to wear and explained he might be "a little fragile" when he came back. But he wouldn't disclose any more.

"That really concerned me a lot," said Tracey.

"I came back to him about five or 10 minutes later, after thinking about that, and said to him, do you mean fragile physically or mentally?

"He said physically and I thought, what have you got yourself into?, and I really didn't know what to do."

Jim went to the meeting and when he returned less than two hours later he was fine. Not a scratch.

Tracey was relieved but still worried and in the dark about her husband's stressors.

Over the next day he paced, he was preoccupied.

He took his son to the driving range to hit some golf balls and when he came back he was very agitated, telling Tracey he had to "go and avert a crisis".

"I didn't know what to think ... the whole weekend was a bit surreal," she said.

"He eventually came home that night and he still wasn't relaxed I didn't get much further with him, I just thought, he obviously has a lot going on and he's not about to tell me, so there's not a lot I can do at this stage."

On Monday Jim got up for work as normal. He woke his wife, they chatted and he headed off.

When Tracey got to work she confided in her boss about the "weird" weekend and her frustration and worry.

She also spoke to Jim's best friend Stephen - who he'd known since age 5 - and his wife.

They planned to get the men together that night for a talk, to see if Jim would open up to his mate.

Stephen called Tracey back soon after - he'd just heard that a man had been trespassed from his workplace the day before by security.

The number plate matched Jim's car.

"That's when Stephen said, 'I don't like the sound of this, this is sounding very odd'," Tracey explained.

"He went down to the steel mill, to see if he could get hold of Jim. Then he rang me back and said, 'they're saying he's not at work'."

Stephen and his wife raced to the Donnelly home to see if Jim was there.

Nothing.

Tracey's world started to spin, she left work and went to her parents' house.

Steven returned to the mill and asked the staff to look for Jim again.

"Eventually they located his car in the car park but it wasn't in the normal space, he'd parked it somewhere else.

"That's why they'd initially thought he'd left and wasn't on site.

"At that stage, they started looking for him and then they asked me to go down to the police station and report him missing, just to set things in motion."

Talking about Jim is hard for Tracey, even after all this time.

He was a private man and she dreads to think how he would react knowing their personal story is now so public.

But she will never sit back, never rest until there is an answer.

"We have to do this to try and find out what happened," she said.

"Where the hell is my husband? He went to work and where is he? What's happened to him?"

After the alarm was raised with police an extensive search kicked off.

The investigation found that Jim stopped for petrol on his way to work and bought a muffin with his fuel.

At work, he parked, signed in and went to his office, placing the muffin on his desk.

He changed into his work uniform.

And that's when the trail stops.

He was due at a shift handover meeting but never showed up.

His computer was not switched on.

"My initial thoughts were that he'd fallen over or had a breakdown, that it was just a matter of time till they found him," Tracey said.

"That was very logical, that we would just find him somewhere and he wouldn't be conscious."

The search covered the mill, its grounds, the surroundings - paddocks, beaches, waterways and bush.

Nothing.

Jim's colleagues were spoken to.

Sightings near and far from the mill were followed up.

Footprints on a beach, a man bolting across the motorway.

Nothing.

His mates went out at night to recheck areas already searched, thinking maybe he would come out for them, maybe he was afraid of the authorities for some reason.

They left food in case he was watching from somewhere, hungry.

Still nothing.

"It was like walking through mud," said Tracey.

"I was just barely functioning it's indescribable - unless you've gone through it - it's just this void that you're living in.

"It was just this waiting - waiting to find out what had happened, waiting for some news, just constant waiting."

Five days later Jim's hard hat was found beside an acid vat inside the mill.

After draining the acid bath, they found his work ID card, PalmPilot, safety glasses, credit card, cash and a single key - his work key.

The keyring with all his other keys was never found.

"I remember my stomach nearly falling out to my knees," said Tracey of the moment she heard Jim's hard hat had been found.

"That was a horrible 24 hours while they drained the acid bath."

There were no human remains in the bath and soon after the search had to come to an end - clues were like hen's teeth.

Mill management were convinced Jim had left the site.

But Tracey wasn't and still isn't convinced.

One thing that has always bothered her is an unidentified car that pulled into the mill car park the night Jim disappeared.

It pulled up near where Jim's car was parked, far from his usual space.

Police were already on the scene by that stage and when the driver spotted the uniforms, the patrol cars, they turned off their lights and drove away.

"The car was never identified, it was never seen again,' said Tracey.

"So my thoughts were that because Jim's car key had never been found, that someone was going to move the car and make it look like he'd left the site.

"But because we raised the alarm earlier than expected, that was unable to be done."

It's been 17 years since Jim was last seen and his family have had to learn how to navigate life without him.

"It's been really hard from that day the search was called off," said Tracey.

"What do you do as a family? You can't just turn around and carry on.

"I had to let the children know that Dad was missing and I had no idea where he was, or how he was, whether he was alive or dead.

"I was just trying to make sense of it. I couldn't work, I was off on sick leave, I actually couldn't deal with life at that stage, it was hard enough just getting out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other.

"The trauma that a person goes through with something like this it pretty much pulls you apart and it's very hard to put yourself back together.

"I was really not in a good space I didn't know whether I was grieving for someone that had died, waiting for someone to come back, or waiting for a body to be recovered, if he committed suicide.

Read the original:

Mystery at the mill: the strange and unsolved disappearance of scientist Jim Donnelly - New Zealand Herald

The NZ Council for Civil Liberties is worried about the creation of a surveillance society. Photo / George Heard

A Herald investigation has uncovered the true extent of security and surveillance cameras in New Zealand.

After dozens of Official Information inquiries, requests for data from private businesses and interviews with security experts, we can reveal there are an estimated 400,000 cameras.

And that number's growing, with manufacturers and retailers saying demand - especially from private households and businesses - has jumped exponentially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

So, what does this mean for community safety, crime prevention and detection, as well as privacy and civil liberties? Senior journalist Kurt Bayer reports.

**************

When sex worker Renee Duckmanton's burned body was found dumped on a nondescript farm road south of Christchurch, detectives quickly knew CCTV would be key.

They tracked back. There she was, on a homeowner's security camera in front of St Luke's Mews, capturing her walking east on Peterborough St to her usual pick-up spot on Manchester St, the red light strip.

Cameras show a silver Audi cruising past, doubling back, and picking her up.

The car is traced through town, stopping at red lights with her client, butcher Sainey Marong, at the wheel.

They drive on, heading west. Cameras, dozens of them, quietly, pretty much inadvertently, record them. Cameras belonging to private residences, Christchurch City Council, Waka Kotahi, shops, businesses and buses.

2 Oct, 2020 04:43 AMQuick Read

18 Jan, 2020 09:40 PMQuick Read

12 May, 2020 08:24 PMQuick Read

8 Dec, 2021 04:00 PMQuick Read

The footage would only be seen again because of what Marong was about to do to her.

A detective would later tell a jury that it would take "hundreds, if not thousands" of hours of painstaking legwork to trawl through the footage.

While she phones her minder, he stops at a cash machine on Riccarton Rd to withdraw money. Snap, snap, cameras catch him again.

After killing her, he drives around, unsure what to do.

The next day, he's seen at 6.46pm driving into the forecourt of the Mobile service station in Rakaia, off State Highway One.

He fills up and goes in to pay, giving the attendant a thumbs-up before making to leave. Then he hesitates goes back, apparently pay some more money before leaving for good.

Duckmanton's burning body was found by passing motorists around 45 minutes later on nearby Main Rakaia Rd, just off SH1.

There was a blue beanie at the scene. Hours of sifting through older CCTV reveals footage of the killer wearing it a few weeks earlier.

Marong, who would argue all sorts of weird and wonderful things during his extremely unsuccessful defence, could not explain away the CCTV. It was there, mostly in black and white, but at times, in full colour.

His DNA matched evidence collected at the scene.

He was jailed for life.

**************

CCTV is on the rise in New Zealand.

As one security operator put it: "The only people who should worry about that is bad guys doing bad things, and who cares if they're worried?"

Herald investigations suggest an estimated 400,000 security cameras across the country.

With a population of almost 5.1 million, that's around one camera for every 12.7 people.

Globally, that's a drop in the ocean especially when compared to Chinese supercities or super-surveilled London.

The number's rising though. And it doesn't include cellphones (it's estimated there are more phones than people), dashboard cameras, laptops, webcams, etc.

"It's pretty clear that cameras are rapidly proliferating," says NZ Council for Civil Liberties chairman Thomas Beagle.

"Have you ever tried counting up how many cameras are in your house? With the rise of surveillance cameras and smartphones we now clearly have more than one camera per person in New Zealand."

Neither Police nor the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) have any idea how many cameras there are.

So how did we reach our 400,000 estimate?

New Zealand Security Association chief executive Gary Morrison believes that, based on five years of data from international manufacturers, there are around 200,000 imported surveillance cameras in New Zealand.

That figure includes cameras installed at residential, commercial and government sites, but he accepts it's "probably higher" given the large number of home systems sold by DIY giantsretailers like Bunnings and Mitre 10.

Bunnings says interest in its range of smart security cameras and accessories, which cost from $59 to $1200, has grown "significantly" in the last 12 months.

"Covid has contributed to an already heightened demand," a spokeswoman says.

We also fed in data obtained through dozens of requests under the Official Information Act and Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

They reveal around 10,000 cameras across New Zealand's 78 local, regional and unitary councils.

Auckland Council alone has 2035, while Christchurch City Council has 1253. Most local authorities have several hundred, spread across community centres, civic offices, galleries, libraries, recreation centres and parks.

And that doesn't take into account transport hubs, buses, trains, and ferries.

Auckland Transport says it has 3654 cameras, while Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has 1606, as well as 179 webcams across its national network. KiwiRail has another 1022 across its depots, worksites and network, with 193 on the Interislander ferries.

Government departments are also well-watched.

The Ministry for Social Development, for example, has 3521 cameras. The Ministry of Justice has 3159, Corrections uses 1800 at "non-custodial sites", Kaianga Ora another 900, and Customs 482 across five international airports and the Auckland sea cargo inspection facility.

It soon adds up, especially when you add in shops, bars, restaurants and banks.

Z petrol station reckons it has around 2000 cameras, while BP has cameras in every one of its 111 BP Connect sites and 101 BP New Zealand dealer sites.

Westpac, which calls CCTV "a strong and effective tool for keeping our customers and employees safe", has multiple cameras in every one of its 115 branches, plus cameras on most of its 459 ATMs.

Countdown has 185 stores nationwide and cameras everywhere.

McDonald's has 168 restaurants across New Zealand, with a spokesman saying a "typical" outlet would have around 20 public-facing CCTV cameras amounting to around 3360.

Not to mention KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway, Starbucks ...

For the Council for Civil Liberties, the worry is the creation of a surveillance society where people are videoed and tracked wherever they go.

"The presence of the cameras means that people feel the pressure to 'act normally', which is a chilling effect on their freedom to live their lives," Beagle says.

Police say Crime Prevention CCTV networks help reduce and solve crime and disorder, along with helping the public feel safe.

While police don't have many of their own cameras, they have strong partnerships, especially with local authorities, and can tap into their footage to "support the identification of suspects and gathering of evidence from CCTV footage within our community that is owned by community groups, individuals and businesses should they agree".

Beagle is also concerned about what happens to the captured footage.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner says anyone can ask for any personal information "which is about you", regardless of the format whether it's a video, photo, note, email, meeting minutes, audio recording or anything else.

The Privacy Act says if an organisation holds personal information in a way that it can be readily retrieved, it should confirm to the person asking for the information that it holds that information and give the person access to the information.

"The key thing to consider is whether the information is actually about you," the Privacy Commissioner says.

Technology is improving too. Gone are the days of the grainy black-and-white police image.

Even the cheapest off-the-shelf cameras now deliver high-definition footage.

Facial recognition camera technology is also becoming a popular, if not controversial, sphere. The practice allows the tracking of people from camera to camera - building up a history of where they go and what they do.

Held up as a useful tool for law enforcement and businesses, in catching criminals, it's also criticised as being a fundamental threat to a free and open society.

In 2019, a private operator of the King's Cross train station in London deployed facial recognition in its CCTV network without telling anybody.

After a public outcry, and a probe by the Information Commissioner's Office, the programme was scrapped.

Legislation is struggling to catch up.

Some US cities have banned the use of facial recognition technology, but in Singapore it's being woven into everyday life.

New Zealand needs to be careful in how it proceeds, Beagle warns.

"It's one thing to capture footage of people, it's another to use techniques like facial recognition to identify the people," he says.

"We find that this is an unreasonable invasion of people's privacy and the right to be anonymous in public."

When trouble started on Michelle Hohepa's street in Mangere Bridge, Auckland, she saw how much hassle and legwork was required by police officers called out for every burglary and theft.

It got the web designer thinking. Surely there was a better way.

What if she designed a website where anyone with a CCTV camera could register it and when a crime happened, police could access their footage to try to solve crimes.

Three years later and Community Cam has more than 320 individuals and businesses registered.

Police officers can log in and search for an address or suburb and see how many cameras are in the area. They can then contact the owner who may have footage of the incident they are looking into.

"They might contact them and say, 'Hey Michelle, can you check your cameras please and tell me if you saw anything at 10pm Sunday, we're looking for a blue car ... and if you saw it, here's the case number, and please upload it to the website."

It's also proving to be a helpful tool in missing persons investigations.

Hohepa has noticed a spike in the number of people with cameras.

"When I started there was only a handful of people I knew who had them and now everyone seems to have them."

More here:

Big Brother is watching: The rise and rise of CCTV in New Zealand - New Zealand Herald

Not everyone loves the sun. For some of us, that deadly ball of gas and plasma is our worst enemy, causing unbearable heat and wreaking havoc on our skin.

If you are among those who suffer from intolerance to the sun, it may be tempting to wait out the warmer months in the safety of the air-conditioned indoors, rather than brave the traditional summer hotspots.

Or you could try a shadier destination. Niwa has just released its hotly-anticipated climate summary for 2021, which as well as crowning New Zealands sunshine capital, also reveals the places that enjoyed the fewest sunshine hours last year.

Here are New Zealands least sunny destinations for those of us who cant stand the heat.

READ MORE:* The best tiny towns of the West Coast * Bold claims: Is Whakatne really New Zealand's 'sunshine capital'?* Five of the South Island's quirkiest small towns

John Bisset/Stuff

The South Otago town of Balclutha is officially New Zealands shade capital.

The South Otago town of Balclutha boasted the fewest sunshine hours in New Zealand in 2021 just 1628, compared to the sunniest destination, New Plymouth, which experienced an oppressive 2592 sunshine hours.

Balclutha is best known as the gateway to the Catlins, but also has plenty on offer for those wanting to stick around to enjoy its shade. Take a relaxing, sweat-free stroll along the Blair Athol Walkway, an hour-and-a-half-long nature walk that takes you along the banks of the Clutha River the second-longest river in New Zealand. The river also offers great salmon and trout fishing.

Foodies can follow the Taste of Clutha trail, which showcases the best local produce around the Clutha district. And dont miss The Punt at Tuapeka Mouth, about a half-hour drive from Balclutha the historic ferry is the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere, taking passengers and their cars (or even campervans) across the river for free.

Supplied

A cruise around the Tasman Glacial Lake with Glacier Explorers is ideal for those who prefer cooler climes.

Aotearoas highest mountain is a brilliant sun block, with just 1652 sunshine hours reported there in 2021. There are many activities you can do in the cool comfort of the mountains shadow.

The Hooker Valley track is one of the best short walks in the country, its accessible flat path taking you through spectacular alpine scenery right to the foot of the mighty maunga. Or if you really want to cool down, head to Tasman Glacier, New Zealands longest glacier you can even cruise around the lake in a boat and see the icebergs, on a Glacier Explorers tour. Its the closest thing youll get to Antarctica in Aotearoa.

Another of the area's top attractions allows you to avoid the sun altogether. Aoraki is part of an international dark sky reserve, offering some of the best stargazing in the world. You can take a tour of the night sky with Big Sky Stargazing at the Hermitage Hotel.

John Hawkins/Stuff

Enjoy a beach day from the comfort of your car at reti Beach.

No worries if you forget your sunglasses when visiting Invercargill our southernmost city experienced just 1704 hours of sunshine in 2021, making it the perfect city break for shade seekers.

Queens Park is the best place to make the most of the comfortable temperatures. Located in the heart of the city, highlights of the 80-hectare park include all kinds of gardens, an aviary and animal reserve, a popular playground and waterpark, and an 18-hole golf course.

Even if you normally loathe the beach, youll enjoy a trip to reti Beach, just a few minutes from the city centre. Its main point of difference is that its one of the few beaches in New Zealand you can drive on, so you can still enjoy a beach experience while avoiding the unpleasant aspects (namely, the sun and sand).

Supplied

Despite the lack of sunshine, theres nothing dim about Reefton.

The West Coast town of Reefton only had 1751 sunshine hours in 2021, but its known for light of a different kind it was the first town in New Zealand to get electricity, back in 1888.

There are several interesting walks you can do around the historic town, including the Bottled Lightning Powerhouse Walk, which takes you to the powerhouse site where New Zealands first public supply of electricity was generated.

If you think gin and tonics should be reserved for sunny evenings, think again. At Reefton Distilling Co, they know how to make the most of the areas weather, using the abundance of fresh rainwater and native botanicals to make gin, as well as whisky, vodka and other liqueurs. You can visit their cellar door or take a tour of the distillery.

Supplied

Forget the sun amid the dramatic landscapes of Middlemarch, youll feel like youre on the moon.

Want to avoid the suns harsh rays on your road trip? An hours drive inland from Dunedin youll find yourself in the township of Middlemarch, which recorded 1756 sunshine hours in 2021.

Many people will come here to start or finish the Otago Central Rail Trail, but if the thought of cycling in the sweltering Central Otago heat doesnt appeal, there are other cycle trips you can do without leaving the area, like the Middlemarch Explorer cycle loop. You can also make your way to New Zealands only inland salt water lake, the striking Sutton Salt Lake.

More adventurous visitors can also hike up to the Rock and Pillar Range, which featured in The Hobbit. With its other-worldly rock tors and eerie cloud formations, youll feel like youre on the moon.

Warwick Smith/Stuff

Palmerston North might be the North Islands least sunny spot, but it still boasts some beautiful gardens.

If youre looking to escape the sun in the North Island, your best bet is Palmerston North, which had a refreshing total of 1827 sunshine hours in 2021.

The Victoria Esplanade Gardens are a highlight in not-so-balmy-Palmy, boasting 26 hectares of bush walks, bike tracks and gardens, plus a playground, paddling pool and even a miniature railway to keep the kids entertained. You can also enjoy a leisurely walk or cycle along the Manawat River Pathway.

Palmerston North isnt just cool when it comes to temperature its also getting serious cred as a street art hub, with murals and colourful graffiti adorning the citys walls. Grab a map and take yourself on a walking tour to see them, or head down Berrymans Lane to see Melbourne-like masterpieces.

Read the rest here:

New Zealand's least sunny destinations for those who hate the heat - Stuff.co.nz

The Ivan Ward Centre at Selwyn Village in Point Chevalier, Auckland. Photo / Google Maps

By RNZ

A ward at one of Auckland's largest rest homes has been closed after a caregiver tested positive for Covid-19.

The families of residents at the Ivan Ward Centre at Selwyn Village in Point Chevalier have been sent an email telling them that the caregiver is asymptomatic.

It is not known which strain of Covid-19 they have contracted.

The rest home said the ward would be closed to visitors for at least 14 days, and residents and other staff were being tested.

So far, no one else has returned a positive test.

The Ministry of Health has listed a number of new locations of interest in Auckland this morning and is asking people to monitor themselves for Covid-19 symptoms, get tested and stay at home if symptoms develop.

Gateway Wholesale Meats in Takanini on 11 January from 3.42pm-4pm Morrin Road Bakehouse St Johns on 10 January from 7.10am-7.30am and also on 14 January from 6.30am-7am New World Metro in Queen Street on 14 January 12.21pm-12.30pm and also on 13 January from 12.11pm-12.30pm Shosha Takanini on 10 January from 6.03pm-7.15pm

- RNZ

14 Jan, 2022 04:00 PMQuick Read

14 Jan, 2022 08:39 PMQuick Read

13 Jan, 2022 11:19 PMQuick Read

Read the original post:

Caregiver at large Auckland rest home tests positive for Covid, ward closed - New Zealand Herald

New Zealand is losing bee colonies by the thousands, with an expert beekeeper warning bees may soon become endangered without human intervention.

The latest figures released by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) show New Zealand has lost over 90,000 bee colonies over the last two winter seasons.

Varroa mite infestation and toxic exposures are among the list as suspected causes.

Jessie Whitfield, founder of organisation Bees Up Top, spends most of her spring and summer rescuing hundreds of swarms of bees from exterminators, and reinstalling the hives on the rooftops and in the backyards of families and businesses around Auckland.

READ MORE:* Too many bees in Marlborough causes colony losses* No regional development cash to breed the 'perfect' varroa-resistant honey bee* Middle South Island bees suffer New Zealand's highest rate of colony loss* Wild bees set to save our honey industry from varroa mite but they need your help

She manages the hives, extracts the honey, and then delivers it in labelled jars.

She said bees were struggling to survive without the help of humans any more, due to Varroa mite parasites and the American Foul Brood (AFB) a fatal bacterial disease for honey bees.

Every year, a hive has to be treated two times with a special medicine to fight parasites and diseases. Bees left in the trunks of trees or in the wild will eventually die, Whitfield told Stuff.

Supplied/Joel McDowell

All spring and summer, Bees Up Top rescue swarms of bees that land in back gardens.

According to information on the MPI website, antibiotics used to manage common diseases for honey bee colonies such as AFB overseas, have developed resistance over time. But the use of antibiotics on hives is illegal in New Zealand.

Detective dogs have previously been used to sniff out bacteria in its early stages, and in 2020 MPI invested $50,000 into a project aimed at helping train detection dogs to reliably detect AFB, by creating a scent picture of the disease.

But if New Zealand keeps losing bee colonies at the current rate, the fashion, dairy, and meat industry, will be severely impacted, Whitfield said.

Bees pollinate cotton plants and flowers such as the clover and alfalfa and these are the types of things that cows and sheep are eating. It could really influence the way we dress and our dairy and meat industry if we keep losing bees.

Supplied/Joel McDowell

Jessie Whitfield rehoming a swam of rescue bees on to a rooftop.

They also pollinate one third of the world's food, which is basically every fruit and vegetable that has a seed and a pip. Without bees, we would be living on wind pollinated food such as grains and rice. They [bees] give humans a healthy diet.

The Ministry for Primary Industries has released a handbook offering practical guidance on how to plant strategically to feed bees, in an effort to ensure a wide range of flowering plants in spring and autumn, when bees are most at risk of pollen and nectar shortages.

Dr Angus McPherson, Trees for Bees farm planting adviser and trustee, said in a statement released by MPI, that bees all around the world are facing a number of threats, including pests, disease and pesticides.

The best weapon against these threats is to provide our bees with a steady supply of forage to help them stay healthy and strong, he said.

Steve Penno, MPIs director of investment programmes, said planting essential bee forage as part of farm management would ensure a viable and sustainable future for Aotearoa's bees, beekeepers, and farmers.

"Honeybee health is crucial because bees are the foundation of agricultural production in the New Zealand economy."

Originally posted here:

New Zealand bees may soon become endangered due to pest threat, expert warns - Stuff.co.nz

Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono and Katherine Winitana wowed the audience with O Soave Fanciulla from La Boheme. Photo / John Wansbrough

NZ Opera School Afternoon RecitalPrince Edward AuditoriumReviewed by Lin Ferguson

The first public event of the 2022 New Zealand Opera School was a triumph and a huge relief for all.

You could practically hear the great sigh of satisfaction ripple through the audience as the performers arrived on stage with broad grins ready, to put it crudely, sing their socks off.

And sing they did with a passion and excitement excitement to be on stage again after months shutdown through the Covid lockdown, particularly in Auckland.

What a treat it was.

The four singers, Katherine Winitana (soprano), Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono (tenor), Hannah Ashford-Beck (soprano), Sam Downes (baritone), and accompanist Ben Kubiak, are the Dame Malvina Major Foundation NZ Opera Studio Artists.

As Kubiak said, it felt like dusting off the cobwebs.

"We are so grateful the opera school has gone ahead ... these days you can take nothing for granted so moments like these are very special," he said.

In the true spirit of musical entertainment, these singers performed a bracket of well-known songs from musicals including West Side Story, remembering with love the superb composer Stephen Sondheim who died recently.

Downes sang an emotional Some Enchanted Evening and before leaving the stage told the audience he would be reprising the song at his wedding in three weeks.

Winitana was glorious with her rendition of Summertime and Ashford-Beck inspired giggling throughout the audience with her song of the oyster ... it was fun and she was very funny.

Bringing the house down for all the ardent opera lovers was the ever spectacular duet from the close of the first act of Verdi's La Boheme O Soave Fanciulla sung by Katherine Winitana and Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono.

This audience all but swooned as these two sang this glorious well-known duet with all the nuances of love and great passion.

And Kubiak's accompaniment was a veritable orchestra.

A delighted and much-soothed audience left Prince Edward Auditorium at Whanganui Collegiate School on Wednesday knowing once again the NZ Opera School had returned and was in great shape.

See the original post here:

Review: Whanganui audience delighted by New Zealand Opera School afternoon recital - New Zealand Herald

There were 28 new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Thursday.Video / Dean Purcell / Jed Bradley / Michael Craig / Getty

OPINION:

The chances of the Prime Minister's wedding going ahead are falling, but not because the groom reportedly tried to persuade a pharmacist to give his music-industry mates a rapid Covid-19 test they weren't eligible for.

The real threat to the nuptials is the Government's Covid policy now effectively being "let it rip".

This is denied, just as the Government denied in September it was moving from elimination to suppression. Watch for Jacinda Ardern to "utterly reject" she is comfortable with let it rip while her more fanatical online supporters viciously attack anyone who says otherwise.

Yet yesterday, ahead of Monday's first prime-ministerial announcements of 2022, Beehive strategists were ruling out either a further tightening of border settings or abandoning the traffic light system and returning to alert levels, except under the most extreme circumstances.

That's despite professors Michael Baker and Peter Davis arguing publicly we must immediately "turn down the tap" of overseas arrivals to avoid the imminent arrival of the highly contagious Omicron.

They and others are alarmed about the number of cases being caught at the border. In the week before the August 17 lockdown, just 35 border cases were discovered. In the last week, 208 were found, six times as many. Beehive strategists accept it is just a matter of time before an Omicron case is missed and creeps through. It could be today.

When that happens, Baker says the traffic light system isn't fit to handle Omicron, having not been designed for outbreaks. It's hard to disagree.

Anyone holidaying in Northland knows red involves very few restrictions in practice, with life indistinguishable from orange in the rest of New Zealand. Despite fears the police and Hone Harawira's Tai Tokerau Border Control would cause gridlock at the Auckland-Northland border, there is no sign it exists at all.

In Baker's view, the traffic lights should immediately be abandoned in favour of a tweaked level system.

6 Jan, 2022 04:00 PMQuick Read

30 Dec, 2021 04:00 PMQuick Read

23 Dec, 2021 04:00 PMQuick Read

16 Dec, 2021 04:00 PMQuick Read

Davis, who is also former Prime Minister Helen Clark's husband, is even tougher. He says the New Zealand authorities "may have all but 'thrown in the towel' on preventing a community (and inevitably nationwide) outbreak of this particular variant of Covid in the immediate future".

The Beehive is unmoved. It says Monday's announcements are unlikely to include any tightening of the border, perhaps because it expects the High Court to rule that existing restrictions on New Zealand citizens already violate the Bill of Rights Act when the Grounded Kiwis case is heard in two weeks.

Despite Baker's concerns about the traffic lights, the Government says that along with high vaccination rates the system offers good protection through "public health measures such as social distancing, good hygiene, mask-wearing, gathering limits where necessary, and testing and isolating cases", while allowing everyone else to go about their daily lives and businesses to stay open.

It says the Government stands by the Omicron plan Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced on December 21, which confirmed the traffic lights to manage Omicron, with only areas in which it is discovered moving to red.

Even those local moves are uncertain. Although conceding Omicron will spread fast when it inevitably arrives, Hipkins said only that the Government "may" use red lights to slow it down.

The Government, he said, does not intend to use lockdowns unless the health system comes under considerable strain. "Even then," he said, "the strong preference is for the lockdown to be highly targeted."

Beehive strategists say Monday's announcements are likely to signal an aggressive campaign to encourage all eligible people to get a booster shot, and a gentler paediatrician-led vaccination campaign targeted at the parents of 5- to 11-year-olds. The Prime Minister will confirm that the already non-existent Auckland-Northland border has gone.

Business may welcome the Government's commitment that the international border will remain at least as open as it is now and that even local lockdowns are an absolute last resort. But that means businesses also need to start planning for major workforce and supply-chain disruptions within weeks.

Beehive strategists say New Zealand's existing public health measures and compliance are superior to those in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland or South Australia, so that comparisons with what is happening across the Tasman aren't valid.

But even in the best performing of those states, South Australia, more than 1000 new cases have been reported every day since late December and there are now 190 people in hospital out of its population of just 1.8 million, including 27 in ICU. That's the equivalent of over 3000 new cases every day in New Zealand, with well over 500 people in hospital and nearly 80 in ICU.

Those numbers are five or six times higher than we experienced at Delta's peak in November. If we follow New South Wales' experience, we'd currently have around 210,000 active cases, including 1500 in hospital, 115 in ICU and 40 on ventilators. Ardern passively waiting for this is a let-it-rip strategy.

For business, it's short-term case numbers that matter most. While perhaps only half of positive cases will experience symptoms, all are required to isolate.

Worse from a human-resources and supply-chain perspective, everyone else in their household must also remain home. Once the positive case has been released from isolation, the remaining household members must isolate for a further 10 days, meaning they will be isolated even longer than the original positive case.

This may sound no worse for business than what happened during lockdown. But that ignores that half a million essential workers kept going to work under the old level 4. Under level 3, it was 1.2 million, nearly half the workforce. This time, those essential workers won't be going to work, either because they are sick, test positive despite being asymptomatic, or live with someone who is.

While no one will starve, this has already disrupted food distribution in Australia, including basics like bread, milk and meat. People unable to work will include doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, so that most non-Covid health services will be suspended.

It will include teachers, despite schools being scheduled to open in a little over two weeks. Your children's plan to return to school is as at risk as the Prime Minister's big bash.

University summer school will be disrupted, as well as the start of semester one.

It's amazing the Beehive remains so sanguine. Family occasions, non-urgent healthcare, education and businesses are at immediate risk.

See the original post:

Matthew Hooton: Govt's stance on Omicron should have NZ worried - New Zealand Herald

Since 2015 there have been more than 250 reported incidents of contraband being lobbed over prison gates.

In the 2020/21 financial year there were more than 6700 incidents where contraband was found in New Zealand prisons. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Known as a 'throwover', it is just one of the ways people try to smuggle contraband into New Zealand prisons.

Corrections chief custodial officer Neil Beales said the packages could contain a variety of items.

"Those are likely, more than likely to have been drug related, sometimes it will be a cellphone also a popular item," Beales said.

"Sometimes it will be tobacco. Now tobacco is freely available outside of prison but inside prison it's a contraband item."

Beales said staff were rising to the challenge of catching prohibited goods.

In the 2020/21 financial year there were more than 6700 incidents where contraband was found in New Zealand prisons, he said.

That was down from 2019/20 year where about 7300 incidents.

It was a drop Beales attributed to lockdown, when visitors were unable to enter prison.

He issued a warning to anyone wanting to smuggle items behind the wires.

"You will be caught and where we're able to do so, we will prosecute you as well. Do not try and get drugs in to our prisons."

Beales said when he was an officer in the United Kingdom people would often throw dead birds stuffed with items over prison walls.

He had also seen tennis balls and people trying to fly things in with kites.

"Nowadays we have the introduction of drones. That's raised the risks of contraband coming over our fences incredibly."

Beales said a lot of what Corrections saw was incredibly sad, with some concealing drugs in the nappies of babies.

People were often pressured to bring drugs into prison, placing huge stress on them and their families.

"Contraband to me ... it's one of the things we need to keep fighting against."

Read more from the original source:

Drop in amount of contraband found in New Zealand prisons - RNZ

More than 10 kilograms of cocaine, believed to be linked to a syndicate allegedly importing millions of the drug from Colombia to rural Canterbury, has been seized.

Police arrested nine people, including five farmworkers, in November as part of Operation Mist, a 10-month investigation that saw officials seize 50 kilograms of cocaine in New Zealand and overseas. It is believed to be one of the countrys largest cocaine busts.

As part of the operation, Spanish police found 24kg of cocaine bound for New Zealand concealed in a container in a truck in Barcelona.

Detective Inspector Darryl Sweeney, the National Organised Crime Groups South Island investigations manager, told Stuff more than 10kgs of cocaine arrived in New Zealand before Christmas, and after the arrests.

READ MORE:* Group accused of involvement in Colombia-linked drug ring deny charges* More defendants named in alleged cocaine trafficking case* Colombian cocaine syndicate allegedly staffed by steady farmworkers in New Zealand* Six more people appear in court in relation to major cocaine bust

The cocaine, detected and seized by Customs, was in similar concealment methods allegedly used by the syndicate.

NEW ZEALAND POLICE/Supplied

Twenty-four kilograms of cocaine was allegedly found concealed in a truck in Spain destined for New Zealand.

We believe it was dispatched just prior to termination [of Operation Mist], Sweeney said.

This week we have been making inquiries with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Colombia to further our investigations in this case. Charges will follow.

Seven of the nine people arrested as part of Operation Mist have denied the charges and elected trial by jury.

All those charged are expected to appear at a Crown case review hearing on February 24, but the two who have not entered pleas will be expected to do so at Christchurch District Court appearances in January.

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

Two of the defendants have been granted continued interim name suppression, but hearings on that issue will be held on February 24 or a date will then be set when the Crown and defence can present their arguments.

NEW ZEALAND POLICE/Supplied

Police have seized 50kg of cocaine in what is thought to be one of New Zealands biggest drugs busts.

The National Organised Crime Group (NOCG) and Customs operation has laid more than 60 charges against the nine arrested so far. Further arrests are expected. Of the nine arrested, seven were Colombian nationals and one was Argentinian.

The charges against the nine allege the group laundered more than $600,000, mainly in the United States. Police also seized about $300,000 in cash, a quantity of cocaine, and cryptocurrency wallets in the New Zealand raids.

Organised Crime Group director Detective Superintendent Greg Williams and New Zealand Customs intelligence service manager Bruce Berry earlier said police believed the group were operating in New Zealand for about two years.

NEW ZEALAND POLICE/Supplied

Thousands of dollars in cash was seized as part of the operation.

Williams said transnational organised crime groups were specifically targeting New Zealand, because we pay some of the highest wholesale and retail prices for drugs in the world, generating huge profits for them.

To maximise these profits, these groups are inserting their own people into New Zealand who set up importing pathways, distribute to local gangs, and move the money out of New Zealand as quickly as they can.

Since 2017, NOCG, police, Customs and overseas police agencies had dismantled 23 Transnational Organised Crime Group Cells (TNOC cells).

The joint investigation involved nearly 70 New Zealand police and Customs staff from several workgroups. The DEA, Colombian police, Spanish Customs service, and Cook Island Customs service were also involved.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/Stuff

Detective Superintendent Greg Williams and New Zealand Customs intelligence service manager Bruce Berry said police believed the group were operating in New Zealand for about two years.

Four of those charged have been remanded in custody, and five are on bail.

The full list of those charged after the police busts is:

Ruth Yanid Ramirez Alfonso, aged 38, a dairy worker, ischarged with participating in an organised criminal group involved in importing the class A drug methamphetamine and six charges of importing or attempting to import cocaine. The charges against her allege offending over four years from January 1, 2018. Remanded on bail after pleading not guilty and electing trial by jury.

Rene Bell, a 44-year-old Christchurch man, whose occupation is listed as licensee, faces one charge of allegedly money laundering $200,500 jointly with others on September 16, 2021. He is awaiting disclosure of the Crowns documents, and has delayed entering a plea. He was remanded on continued bail to January 18 for the plea to be entered.

Patrick Chand appeared by video link from Auckland to enter not guilty pleas and elect jury trial. He denies one charge of possession of cocaine for supply. He was remanded on bail to the Crown case review hearing.

Anderson Pelaez Garcia, a 28-year-old man from Southbridge, faces 10 charges. The charges include participating in an organised criminal group, five charges of importing cocaine and four charges of attempting to import cocaine. He denied all charges and elected trial by jury. He was remanded in custody to the case review.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/Stuff

Drugs were hidden inside various items, and the operation uncovered large quantities of cash.

Esteban Blanco Gaviria, 34-year-old dairy worker from Pendarves, is charged with being a member of an organised criminal group involved with importing the class A drug. He is charged with conspiring with persons unknown in Colombia to import cocaine, seven charges of importing or attempting to import the drug, and four counts of money laundering. The alleged offending happened over much of this year, and the organised criminal group charge alleges involvement over four years. The money laundering offences, totalling $605,000, are said to have happened in Christchurch, Rolleston, and Auckland. He pleaded not guilty and elected jury trial, and was remanded in custody.

Felipe Montoya-Ospina, a 34-year-old man from Hororata, faces eight charges. The charges include allegedly participating in an organised criminal group, four charges of attempting to import cocaine, one charge of importing cocaine and two charges of supplying cocaine. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and elected trial by jury at this first appearance. He remains in custody.

Maria Otero, a 30-year-old Rakaia woman, is charged with participating in an organised criminal group and one charge of attempting to import cocaine. She has denied both charges and is remanded on bail to the case review hearing.

A 24-year-old man from Hororata, who has continued interim suppression, faces 22 charges. The charges include participating in an organised criminal group between January 1, 2018, and November 10, 2021. He also faces seven charges of allegedly importing cocaine into New Zealand, seven charges of attempting to import cocaine, three charges of supplying cocaine and four money laundering charges totalling more than $600,000. Some offences were allegedly jointly committed with others. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and elected jury trial. He was remanded in custody.

A 29-year-old bar manager from Christchurch faces one charge of money laundering $10,000. He was remanded on bail to the case review hearing on February 24 with continued name suppression. A suppression hearing is then likely to be scheduled. He has been remanded to January 18 to enter his pleas.

Read the original post:

10kgs of cocaine, believed to be linked to Colombian syndicate, seized - Stuff.co.nz