Youthline on proposed social media ban for under 16s
A youth support service is worried a proposed blanket ban on social media for under sixteens could stop young people accessing much needed mental heath help. National is pushing for a new law that would force social media giants to use age verification measures to keep under 16 years off their platforms. Youthline CEO, Shae Ronald spoke to Lisa Owen.
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RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
Supreme Court to hear Mt Messenger Public Works Act appeal
Tony and Debbie Pascoe. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin The Supreme Court will hear a penniless Taranaki farming couple's appeal against the compulsory acquisition of 11 hectares of their land for the Mt Messenger Bypass. But the country's highest court has indicated the hearing would have a narrow focus. New Plymouth's mayor denounced the move which he said would add extra time and money to the already over budget project. The six-kilometre, $360 million bypass aims to deliver a safer, more resilient route north out of Taranaki, avoiding an existing steep and windy stretch of highway which includes a narrow tunnel. NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) contractors were currently constructing the road from the southern and using a gondola to access the centre of the project because the Pascoe's land had not yet been secured. In its decision to allow the Pascoes leave to appeal, the Supreme Court said a central question would be to decide whether it was permissible for negotiations prior to the compulsory acquisition of the couple's land under the Public Works Act to be undertaken by a contractor, rather than by the Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk, or his officials. It would also examine whether outsourcing of negotiations to NZTA contractor The Property Group was consistent with the minister's statutory duty "to make every endeavour to negotiate in good faith". Tony Pascoe, who owns a farm with his wife on the northern boundary of the project, said the decision to allow the appeal was significant for all landowners. "Oh, it's huge. It's huge. This is huge for all land owners. To be off to the Supreme Court and then for them to also supply a barrister," he said. "Now the barrister's also asked the court to supply another counsel to be able to help her get this right. "So, we're pretty happy about it. We don't know what's going to happen, but were pretty happy." The courts had previously recognised the Pascoes - who face a $180,000 bill for legal costs from previous unsuccessful litigation - had little to no money. The Supreme Court said due to the complexity and nature of the appeal a lawyer would be appointed to represent the couple. Currently, the Pascoes were being offered $176,000 for the land required for the project and would need to relocate during construction because their home would become unliveable. Tony Pascoe wanted the Public Works Act process in relationship to his land to be restarted . If the Supreme Court agreed, he had a vision of the future. "A home, a farm hub and an income anywhere on our property. To be able to relocate our home and farm hub, to put a new home or relocatable home on a place that's geo-teched and suitable to put there," he said. "It's basically bloody easy but they've made it extremely hard for us." Long-time supporter of the Pascoes Marie Gibbs said granting leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was significant. "It shows that the issues around the Mt Messenger Bypass and the use of the Public Works Act are important not only for the Pascoes but also for every other landowner that faces having their land taken by force for a any sort of project like the bypass." She hoped the case would improve the process. "If the minister and LINZ are making every endeavour to negotiate in good faith to reach and agreement acceptable to the landowner then it's going to make the whole process less intimidating for landowners and they will actually get what they are entitled to." Mt Messenger bypass protester Marie Gibbs. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom had sympathy for the Pascoes, but said enough was enough. "I do love that movie The Castle and I do believe everyone has a right to their day in court, but they shouldn't have the right to appeal a court's decision 15 or 16 times," Holdom said. "And every single time, the court has found in favour of the project going ahead, but here we are again with another expensive delay." New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Holdom wasn't sure if some of the people supporting the Pascoes had the couple's best interests at heart. "This is a vital project linking Taranaki to the north and a small group of essentially vexatious litigants have cost Kiwis hundreds of millions of dollars and seven years by using every trick in the book to ensure they've had more than a dozen days in court." Holdom said the latest appeal would also likely be unsuccessful and mean the loss of another construction season adding about $40 million to the project's ballooning costs. Land Information and NZTA were unable to comment because the case was before the courts. The appeal was set to be heard in October. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
'Flipping the script' - record number of PhD scholarships granted in Māori Cancer Researcher Awards
Chae Phillips' PhD focused on improving access to care and the experiences of wāhine Māori diagnosed with symptomatic breast cancer. Photo: supplied / Cancer Society Five people have been awarded scholarships to dive into and improve Māori health inequities. The Māori Cancer Researcher Awards - a partnership between Te Kāhui Matepukupuku o Aotearoa (the Cancer Society of New Zealand) and Hei Āhuru Mōwai Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa - have given scholarships to four PhD and a Master's candidate. The Gut Cancer Foundation of New Zealand are supporting two of the doctoral candidates. Chae Phillips (Ngāti Rongomaiwahine) is one of this year's recipients, focusing her PhD around improving access to care and the experiences of wāhine Māori diagnosed with symptomatic breast cancer in Waikato. "What really excites me is the ability to go into a space and come from a purely kaupapa Māori grounded perspective and look at things from that perspective, and then work with wāhine Māori to create solutions that come from us and work for us." "We know now that cancer isn't always a death sentence if we find things early, and there's so much more treatment than there was 10 to 15 years ago, and we can do better." Struck by the loss of her mum, who passed away from cancer when Phillips was eight, it has fueled her to work in the health space. "It's such a harrowing experience for an entire whanau. What I remember most, even after all this time, is just the lack of understanding about how we wanted to support her as a whānau - it was very exclusionary, we were very separate and not able to be a part of that journey in the way that we wanted to be. "As a child, I recognised that, so it's something that always stuck with me." Phillips works full time in Taakiri Tuu, the Wellness and Diagnostic Centre at Te Kōhao Health, and stays "up past midnight" to work on her PhD, which is named Te Hā o Hineahuone. "It's paying heed to the power of Hineahuone. It's paying heed to the power of mana wāhine. "When I'm sitting there at midnight on a Friday, I'm like, why did I do this? But the best outcome for me is this could be amazing for my sisters, for my aunties, for the people that I love and care about and that's what keeps me going more." Chae Phillips is doing her PhD through the University of Waikato. Photo: Supplied And she wants more Māori to plunge into researching Māori health. "It's academia, but there's that ability to stand proudly as Māori and go from there as your starting point, not what someone else says you have to be. "It also shines a light on different ways that we can look at doing things, for rangatahi as well, for the next generation coming up and going, now it's possible to create things that are completely different, and from us. Nadine Riwai, Jayde Ngata, Fran Munro, and Gemella Reynolds-Hatem (Master's) also received scholarships. Within the past four years there have been a total of eight recipients to receive the endowment. Hei Āhuru Mōwai tumuaki (chief executive) Gary Thompson said this year's recipients were making tangible strides to improve health inequities whānau Māori faced. "Looking to the future, what excites us about these initiatives is the potential for real, lasting change. We are seeing researchers lead the way in creating frameworks that are not only responsive but also proactive in fostering better engagement and health outcomes for Māori communities. "These scholars are taking meaningful steps that will benefit generations to come, and we're incredibly proud to support them." Cancer Society tumu whakarae (chief executive) Nicola Coom said it is exciting to see the research awards partnership grow and strengthen. "Aotearoa New Zealand is a small nation with immense potential, and collaboration is our superpower. We must drive equity in cancer care and ensure better outcomes for those impacted most - this growing rōpū of researchers are contributing to that goal." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
7 hours ago
- RNZ News
How much do urgent care fees vary within 21km in Auckland?
Urgent care is accessible but the fees, and the wait times, are quite varied around the Auckland. Photo: RNZ It's lunchtime on a Tuesday at the White Cross urgent care clinic in the south Auckland suburb of Otāhuhu. "Today is our fourth time in four weeks and today we've had to pay $150. So the twins are free, but me and my partner is $65 each." A mother told me the family had to come back to the clinic for another prescription, because sickness was spreading at home. "The virus that my daughters have caught doesn't go away unless you get antibiotics. And now we've caught it so we need antibiotics too, which their antibiotics won't work for us. It's just getting worse and worse. And if they get better and we've got it, we just end up giving it (the virus) back to them." The Otāhuhu clinic is close to home for the family, and it's cheaper than other urgent care clinics. "This is the most affordable one to take us in this fast. Our Local Doctors (a GP clinic) can't take us in for another three weeks. The last time we've been to the doctors for ourselves was probably two years ago. We just tough it out because it's too much amongst all the other bills that we have to pay. "Today we're gonna have to cut short on food. We haven't done our grocery shopping for the week yet, so it's gonna be what the twins need, and then whatever's left." By "take us in this fast", the mother meant: "eight hours with two two-year-olds, gonna be great." As part of the Budget this year, Health Minister Simeon Brown promised greater accessibility to urgent and after-hours healthcare in the regions, with several new 24-hour services planned around New Zealand. Health Minister Simeon Brown. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi Meanwhile in Auckland, urgent care is accessible but the fees, and the wait times, are quite varied around the city. Three hours later, I crossed path with the family again - 7km away at the White Cross clinic in Mount Wellington. At White Cross Otāhuhu, the cost for an un-enrolled adult without a community services card is $70. Meanwhile in Mount Wellington, the fee is $130. The mother said they were sent by staff at Otāhuhu to Mount Wellington at no extra cost, so their wait could be shortened by half. They told me the Mount Wellington waiting room is much quieter than Otāhuhu. Further south, the cheapest White Cross clinic is in Manurewa, where an un-enrolled adult without a discount pays $60, and $15 if ACC offers cover. Enrolled adults pay $18, and if they've got ACC coverage, it's free. It's an attractive price for many patients. A woman told me this is the cheapest clinic that she knows of, and she drove 10km that day to see the doctor. "Just for a follow up, it's $18." Another man told me the price is vastly different between two clinics 9km apart. "In Takanini, I think the charge for a repeat prescription is around $15 to $20, but here it's around $7 to $10." Meanwhile in Remuera, one of Auckland's affluent suburbs, the White Cross Ascot 24/7 charges $130 - more than double the $60 charged in Manurewa. A couple who just finished their consultation told me they are enrolled with the Tāmaki Health network, so it cost them $80 in Remuera. They say their bill could be cheaper if they travelled to a clinic further away, but in this case, they think their health is more important than the money they could save. "It was $80 because I was in pain, and this was the nearest hospital from my work," the woman said. "Where we go most of the time, it's about $17 or $18, then if it's after 5pm, that's $35. But she was working here, so it was convenient for her to come here," her partner added. Their wait that day was two hours. Malcolm Mulholland from Patient Voice Aotearoa said cost was the number one factor in determining whether patients access healthcare. "I know that there are a number of families and patients out there who won't go and see their GP, primarily because of cost. And when that situation does arise, what tends to happen is as the patient's health deteriorates, they end up going to the ED and that's why we are seeing ED with record number of patients." Mulholland said many factors play into how practices price their fees: location, competition, demand and funding level are just a few. He lives in Palmerston North, where there is only one after-hours clinic. It costs $210 to see a doctor during normal hours, and $240 on weeknights. The Palmerston North clinic also belongs to Tāmaki Health, which manages the White Cross network of urgent medical clinics. Tāmaki Health declined to comment, or provide a statement for this story. I asked Mulholland if there's anything patients can do to cut their bill. "Sadly not. I don't know if there is much that patients can do other than try to be seen during the day. But again, you're gonna run into problems with GP practices being full and then the wait time to see a GP. "I think that's a really sad state of affairs because you're essentially asking patients to triage themselves and patients won't always make the right decision." And Mulholland said it all came back to the desperate need for more doctors. "Patients are worried about their health. They can't get access to a GP or a doctor, whether that be during the normal working hours or via an ED. And so they're going wherever they think they might be seen." In May, the government announced a $164 million investment in urgent care. As part of the improvement, the agency noted it would implement a nationally consistent fee and subsidies schedule. In a statement to First Up, director of Living Well at Health New Zealand Martin Hefford said, "Health New Zealand is shifting from a fragmented system with wide fee variation to one that's more transparent and predictable across the country." There would still be some variation of fees, Hefford said, but the details were not finalised yet. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
