Frank Film: Jacob Bryant: A Polite Menace
Rail Minister Winston Peters and Chris Bishop detail how more than $600m in Government funding will help upgrade the country's rail services. Video / Mark Mitchell
Te Pāti Maori MPs may be suspended over haka protest, Russia and Ukraine ceasefire negotiations and AI flagged in NZ exam breaches.
Reporter Ray is in Wellington, where brilliant primary school kid Raymond is already blowing up the NCEAs, and even the American SATs!
Norwegian Cruise Lines' newest ship Norwegian Aqua was officially launched in April. Video / Supplied
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says National isn't willing to make any concessions on the Privileges Committee recommendations.
Sentencing for arsonist Corena Flavell, who torched City Garden Lodge backpackers in Parnell. Video / Jason Dorday
Christopher Luxon holds post-Cabinet press conference
A motorbike has collided with a car 600m from the Fanshaw St off-ramp. Video / Michael Morrah
Budget to provide $164 million towards urgent care services and New Zealand correspondence school Te Kura continues to see enrolments rise. Video / NZ Herald
Christopher Luxon live with Mike Hosking
The sex trafficking trial of hip hop tycoon Sean Combs is underway. Better known as Diddy, Combs faces some heavy charges. What is being alleged exactly and Diddy do it?
Christopher Luxon live with Mike Hosking
Reporter Grace talks to the Halton Hart Family Band, a group of 8 cousins who are gearing up to rock the New Zealand Country Music Festival with their original country songs.
New Zealand Herald football writer Michael Burgess wraps up the Auckland FC's dramatic A-League semi-final first leg in Melbourne and looks ahead to Saturday's match.
A Māori nurse faces a backlash over a cultural facial tattoo. Video / Michael Craig
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RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Samoan teacher pens children's book on cultural values
"Alagaupu Faasamoa ma uiga mo tamaiti" - is a new children's book in both Samoan and English by Samoan language expert and teacher Tauanu'u Perenise Tapu Sitagata, with illustrations by Maori artist Ani Huia Ligaliga. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Scoop
14 hours ago
- Scoop
More Than Half Of Voters Back Proposed Penalty For Te Pāti Māori MPs, Poll Suggests
More than half of voters consider the proposed penalty for three Te Pāti Māori MPs over the Treaty Principles haka to be either appropriate or too lenient, polling shows, ahead of the debate on the matter resuming on Thursday afternoon. That debate - which had potential to become a filibuster - was cut short when Leader of the House Chris Bishop unexpectedly postponed it last month. The Privileges Committee - which recommends punishments for breaking Parliament's rules - proposed a 21-day suspension for the co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and seven days for MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke. It means no pay, no ability to vote on legislation, and no presence in Parliament for the duration. The latest RNZ-Reid Research poll asked for voters' views on whether the punishment fit the crime. Overall, more people - 37.0 percent said it was "about right"; while 36.2 percent said it was "too harsh"; 17.2 percent said "too lenient", and 9.6 percent said they did not know: a 54.2 percent majority then backing the punishment or thought it should be stronger, in line with the coalition parties' view. The result puts opposition parties - which all labelled the three-week ban disproportionate - in a difficult position. Broken down by voting preferences, more than half of Labour's supporters (51.2 percent) backed leader Chris Hipkins' view the suspensions were too harsh, but a sizeable number thought the punishment fair (29.8 percent) or too lax (8 percent). Greens supporters were more convinced with three quarters (75.3 percent) calling the punishment too harsh, but still 12.4 percent said it was about right and 3.8 percent too lenient. Surprisingly, 9 percent of Te Pāti Māori's supporters also labelled it too lenient, although a clear 80.8 percent called it too harsh, with just 6.2 percent saying it was about right. The results for the coaltion voters were more predictable, far more National, ACT and NZ First supporters saying it was too lenient, compared to those calling it too harsh. But Speaker Gerry Brownlee, of the National Party, appears to be in the latter camp - he called the punishments "very severe" and "unprecedented" when setting down the original debate on Parliament's calendar. He pointed out no MP found guilty of contempt had previously been suspended for more than three days. The Privileges Committee recommendation was also only backed by coalition parties, despite convention dictating the MPs on the committee should aim for consensus. Those responding to RNZ's questions may have known these facts from media reporting - or they may not. Bishop's postponement of the debate took the teeth out of opposition criticisms the government wanted to keep the punished MPs from commenting on the Budget - as it turned out, the co-leaders did not speak in the Budget debate anyway. Budget delivered, MPs return to the debating chamber to discuss the punishment after Question Time today. The length of the debate rests ultimately in Brownlee's hands, and he has signalled a willingness to let it continue until all views were thoroughly aired. Whether parties actually want to filibuster - given the poll, and the risk of voters' patience for politicians talking about themselves wearing thin - is far from certain. Hipkins says a few of his MPs will speak, but they will not be running down the clock with endless speeches. The Greens' co-leaders have said they think the MPs should not be suspended, and they plan to scrutinise the decision "to the highest degree". But Te Pāti Māori is eager to put the matter to bed. "Just got to hurry up and get it over and done with and let's sort it out, otherwise we'll be hanging around here waiting and waiting and waiting. Just, they've made their verdict - let's just get it done," co-leader Rawiri Waititi said. This poll of 1008 people was conducted by Reid Research, using quota sampling and weighting to ensure a representative cross section by age, gender and geography. The poll was conducted through online interviews between 23-30 May 2025 and has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. The report is available here.
RNZ News
16 hours ago
- RNZ News
Resignation of Prime Minister's press secretary highlights gaps in NZ law on covert recording and harassment
By Cassandra Mudgway of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon takes questions at the Beehive after the resignation of press secretary Michael Forbes. Photo: Analysis: The sudden resignation this week of one of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's senior press secretaries was politically embarrassing, but also raises questions about how New Zealand law operates in such cases. A Stuff investigation revealed the Beehive staffer allegedly recorded audio of sessions with sex workers, and whose phone contained images and video of women at the gym, supermarket shopping, and filmed through a window while getting dressed. The man at the centre of the allegations has reportedly apologised and said he had sought professional help for his behaviour last year. The police have said the case did not meet the threshold for prosecution. And this highlights the difficulties surrounding existing laws when it comes to non-consensual recording, harassment and image-based harm. Describing his "shock" at the allegations against his former staffer, the prime minister said he was "open to revisiting" the laws around intimate audio recordings without consent. If that happens, there are several key areas to consider. New Zealand law prohibits the non-consensual creation, possession and distribution of intimate visual recordings under sections 216H to 216J of the Crimes Act 1961. These provisions aim to protect individuals' privacy and bodily autonomy in situations where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The definition of "intimate visual recording" under these sections is limited to visual material, such as photographs, video or digital images, and does not extend to audio-only recordings. As a result, covert audio recordings of sex workers engaged in sexual activity would fall outside the scope of these offences, even though the harm caused is similar. If such audio or video recordings were ever shared with others or posted online, that may be a criminal offence under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 - if it can be proved this was done with the intention to cause serious emotional distress. Covert recording of women working out or walking down a road, including extreme closeups of clothed body parts, would unlikely meet the definition of "intimate visual recording". That is because they do not typically involve nudity, undergarments or private bodily activities, and they often occur in public places where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Even extreme closeups may not meet the threshold unless they are taken from beneath or through clothing in a way that targets the genitals, buttocks or breasts. While they are invasive and degrading, they may remain lawful. By contrast, it is more likely that covert filming of women dressing or undressing through a window would satisfy the definition, depending on where the women were. For example, were they in a place where they would have a reasonable expectation of privacy? If the non-consensual recording captures a person in a state of undress, then the creation of such images or videos could be considered a crime. Under the Harassment Act 1997, "harassment" is defined as a pattern of behaviour directed at a person that involves at least two specified acts within a 12-month period, or a single continuing act. These acts can include following, watching, or any conduct that causes the person to fear for their safety. Although covert filming or audio recording is not expressly referenced, the acts of following and watching within alleged voyeuristic behaviour, if repeated, could fall within the definition. But harassment is only a crime where it is done with the intent or knowledge that the behaviour will likely cause a person to fear for their safety. This is a threshold that might be difficult to prove in voyeurism or similar cases. Covert recording of women's bodies, whether audio or visual, is part of a broader pattern of gender-based violence facilitated by technology. Feminist legal scholars have framed this as "image-based sexual abuse". The term captures how non-consensual creation, recording, sharing or threatening to share intimate content violates sexual autonomy and dignity. This form of harm disproportionately affects women and often reflects gender power imbalances rooted in misogyny, surveillance and control. The concept has become more mainstream and is referenced by law and policymakers in Australia and the United Kingdom. Some forms of image-based sexual abuse are criminalised in New Zealand, but others are not. What we know of this case suggests some key gaps remain - largely because law reform has been piecemeal and reactive. For example, the intimate visual recording offences in the Crimes Act were introduced in 2006 when wider access to digital cameras led to an upswing in covert filming (of women showering or "upskirting", for example). Therefore, the definition is limited to these behaviours. But the law was drafted before later advances in smartphone technology, now owned by many more people than in 2006. Generally, laws are thought of as "living documents", able to be read in line with the development of new or advanced technology. But when the legislation itself is drafted with certain technology or behaviours in mind, it is not necessarily future-proofed. There is a risk to simply adding more offences to plug the gaps (and New Zealand is not alone in having to deal with this challenge). Amending the Crimes Act to include intimate audio recordings might address one issue. But new or advanced technologies will inevitably raise others. Rather than responding to each new form of abuse as it arises, it would be better to take a step back and develop a more principled, future-focused criminal law framework. That would mean defining offences in a technology-neutral way. Grounded in core values such as privacy, autonomy and consent, they would be more capable of adapting to new contexts and tools. Only then can the law provide meaningful protection against the evolving forms of gendered harm facilitated by digital technologies. Cassandra Mudgway is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Canterbury. This story was originally published on The Conversation.
