Kāinga Ora sees 600% rise in warnings under new tenant crackdown
Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says a Government directive to crack down on abusive Kāinga Ora tenants has been a success, citing improved tenant behaviour.
Potaka said Kāinga Ora's Sustaining Tenancies Framework, which was ended in March last year, had effectively allowed tenants to
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1News
4 hours ago
- 1News
Police Minister says record high gang numbers 'highly concerning'
For the first time, the number of patched gang members and gang prospects has surpassed 10,000 — with Police Minister Mark Mitchell acknowledging the figure is highly concerning. The number of gang members has been steadily growing in recent years. There were 9270 gang members on the National Gang List at the time of the 2023 election. As of July 10, there were 10,009 — an increase of more than 700 gang members and associates. The National Gang List counted patched members and prospects identified by state agencies. Police officer numbers are failing to keep up with the national gang member list, Benedict Collins reports. (Source: 1News) Mitchell told 1News today that the Government's tough on crime policies were working and gang numbers were now growing more slowly. ADVERTISEMENT "We're going after the gangs, we're making their life as difficult as possible," he said. He repeatedly blamed the rising gang numbers on the previous Labour-led government and their policies. "We're not going to reverse what happened under Labour [for] six years, where you saw a massive increase in gang numbers. "We're heading in the right direction." In an answer to a Parliamentary written question, however, Mitchell acknowledged the issue was alarming. "I acknowledge that it is highly concerning to see gang membership grow to this level." ADVERTISEMENT Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said the Prime Minister and his Government were failing to make New Zealanders safer. "Not only have gang numbers increased but methamphetamine levels have skyrocketed under their watch," she said. However, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today maintained his Government was "smashing the gangs". "I'm proud of the progress that we've made, I mean putting the gang patches [ban] in place — many people said that couldn't be done." Criminologist Jarrod Gilbert said the gang patch ban may actually be leading to an undercount of gang members now. "We can't identify the gangs anymore because insignia has been banned so, perversely ,we might see numbers come down on this list, it's not reflective of anything that's happening on the street it's just that the gangs are more invisible." When in opposition, the National Party repeatedly attacked the previous Labour government over rising gang numbers. Data from the Police Minister's office shows that when Labour came to power in 2017 there were 5343 individuals on the National Gang List. By the 2023 election, there were 9270 — an increase of nearly 4000 over six years.
NZ Herald
12 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Russia counters Ukrainian drones by turning off Russians' mobile internet
The goal is to try to thwart attacks by Ukrainian drones that analysts say have used mobile networks for navigation. It is a big disruption in a country where smartphones provide the only online access for millions of people. The Government regularly touts an array of online services, including filing tax returns and applying for jobs, and President Vladimir Putin claimed this year that Russia was 'a step ahead of many other nations'. Even so, 'they can turn off the internet', said Katya, 32. She described how the Government had encouraged reliance on apps and web services — and then exercised control over internet access — as a 'digital gulag'. Like others interviewed, she asked to be identified only by her first name out of fear for her safety. She and her partner made it home from their recent weekend getaway, after struggling with a partially downloaded map and phoning her partner's mother to top up their debit card to pay for fuel. The Russian Government has a record of restricting online freedoms, including trying to block the country's most popular messaging app and throttling YouTube. But the mobile internet shutdowns are the collateral damage of war, a response to Ukraine's spectacular drone attacks on long-range bombers at Russian bases on June 1. Cellphones use parallel mobile networks, one for calls and another for the data used by phone apps — or drones. The internet blackouts shut down the data network but calls still go through. Wireless connections, which do not depend on mobile networks, can allow phones to stay online. Day-to-day orders to shut down the mobile internet come from regional officials responding to reported drone intrusions, rather than from Moscow, according to documents viewed by the New York Times. The Russian Communications Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 'The Kremlin has been asking regional authorities to put up a defence against the drones — there's nothing else they can do but turn the internet off,' said Mikhail Klimarev, head of the Internet Protection Society, an exiled Russian digital rights group. The threat of drones also regularly shuts down Russian airports for hours. About 300 flights were cancelled in Moscow in one weekend alone. By late this month, the cellular internet was down every day, for at least a few hours, in some part of at least 73 of Russia's 83 regions, according to a tally by Na Svyazi, a group of volunteers living abroad that monitors internet access in Russia. Yelena, who lives in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, said that her daughter commuted to and from school by bus, paying her way with a transport card, but that the system didn't work during an outage. A few times, Yelena said, she has had to wire the fare to the bus driver's phone. Russians first experienced such shutdowns in the early months of the war, but they were limited to the areas bordering Ukraine. This year, authorities switched off mobile internet in Moscow for a few days before the annual Victory Day parade in May, a major event for Putin, who was hosting several world leaders, including China's leader, Xi Jinping. That outage exposed Muscovites' reliance on apps for contactless payments, taxis, car sharing, food delivery, and shopping, but discontent was fairly muted. 'The regions used to be wary of potential public repercussions and had not resorted to such shutdowns,' Sarkis Darbinian, a Russian lawyer and internet expert who lives in exile, told the New York Times. The lack of protests in Moscow gave regional authorities the signal that 'you can just turn the internet off' without causing a backlash, he said. A Ukrainian drone pilot in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine in April. Photo / Tyler Hicks, the New York Times After the Ukrainian attacks on June 1, the shutdowns began to afflict the vast breadth of the country. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, blamed the inconveniences around the Victory Day parade on 'a dangerous neighbour', an apparent reference to Ukraine. When he was pressed recently about more widespread shutdowns, he said: 'Everything that's linked to ensuring public safety is justified'. Internet blackouts have hit e-commerce companies and consumers most directly, although the scale of the economic impact is unclear. They have also hampered businesses not usually associated with phone apps. In the northwestern city of Pskov, a municipally owned heating company complained last month that it had not been able to finish repairs on a pipeline on time because of the outages. The internet shutdowns have become so frequent and widespread that they have given rise to online memes and songs. In Rostov-on-Don, Pavel Osipyan, a media personality, released a music video making light of the inconveniences. 'How can you tell you're from Rostov without saying it?' he rapped. 'Show me one bar for the internet.' In Izhevsk, a city known for weapons production about 1290km from Ukraine, mobile internet has often been turned off since June 1. Arina, 23, said residents there had been calling emergency services, looking for an explanation, only to be told that it was a safety measure and that they should be patient. The precautions do not always work. In the middle of one shutdown, Ukrainian drones hit a factory in Izhevsk that makes surface-to-air missiles, killing three people and injuring scores more. No air-raid alert was issued while mobile internet was down, leaving locals unsure what was happening. Another day, Arina was at home when she said she heard an air-raid siren. She had no idea what was going on: No one could post from the scene. 'The Government keeps mum or says everything is fine, but everyone can see things are not fine,' she said. Yekaterina Mizulina, head of the pro-Kremlin League for a Safe Internet, asked on social media this month why 'the internet is being throttled, and the drones keep coming and coming'. Many people affected by the blackouts speak of resignation. Neighbours and friends are annoyed but seem to be taking the disruptions as a new norm. In the courthouses where Sofia, a law student from the southern city of Krasnodar, spends her afternoons, lawyers, their clients and families often chat about the outages, but their reaction tends to be that the shutdowns are just one more burden. 'They just laugh it off,' she said. Regions from Tula in the southwest to Omsk in Siberia have said recently that they will introduce public wireless internet to allow residents to stay online when mobile networks go down. Shutdowns have reached the easternmost parts of Russia, which have not been hit by drones, prompting some to question the official rationale. Artyom, a remote technology worker from Khabarovsk, 25km from the Chinese border, expressed concern that the blackouts could be a part of the Kremlin's strategy to restrict information. He called it 'a very convenient lie' to blame the drone threat. 'Drones don't make it to Khabarovsk,' he said. 'I don't see any connection here.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Nataliya Vasilyeva and Alina Lobzina Photographs by: Maxar Technologies, Tyler Hicks ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Palestine Action Ban ‘Disturbing' Misuse Of UK Counter-Terrorism Legislation, Türk Warns
GENEVA (25 July 2025) – The UK Government's decision to proscribe the 'Palestine Action' protest group under terrorism legislation raises serious concerns that counter-terrorism laws are being applied to conduct that is not terrorist in nature and risks hindering the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms across the UK, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned today. The UK Government proscribed Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 after some of its members broke into a military airfield in June and reportedly spray-painted two military aircraft, among other incidents of property damage. 'UK domestic counter-terrorism legislation defines terrorist acts broadly to include 'serious damage to property'. But, according to international standards, terrorist acts should be confined to criminal acts intended to cause death or serious injury or to the taking of hostages, for purpose of intimidating a population or to compel a government to take a certain action or not,' said Türk. 'It misuses the gravity and impact of terrorism to expand it beyond those clear boundaries, to encompass further conduct that is already criminal under the law.' The ban, among other things, makes it a criminal offence to be a member of Palestine Action, express support for the group, or wear an item of clothing that would arouse 'reasonable suspicion' that a person is a member of or supports the organization. Such conduct is punishable by criminal penalties, including fines and prison sentences of up to 14 years. 'The decision appears disproportionate and unnecessary. It limits the rights of many people involved with and supportive of Palestine Action who have not themselves engaged in any underlying criminal activity but rather exercised their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,' the High Commissioner said. 'As such, it appears to constitute an impermissible restriction on those rights that is at odds with the UK's obligations under international human rights law.' 'The decision also conflates protected expression and other conduct with acts of terrorism and so could readily lead to further chilling effect on the lawful exercise of these rights by many people,' he added. Since the UK Government's ban came into effect on 5 July, at least 200 people have been arrested under the UK Terrorism Act 2000, many of them while attending peaceful protests. 'I urge the UK Government to rescind its decision to proscribe Palestine Action and to halt investigations and further proceedings against protesters who have been arrested on the basis of this proscription. I also call on the UK Government to review and revise its counter-terrorism legislation, including its definition of terrorist acts, to bring it fully in line with international human rights norms and standards,' the High Commissioner said.
