Oyster farmer 'not hopeful' sewage overflows in Mahurangi Harbour will stop
An Oyster farmer in Warkworth says he's not hopeful sewage overflows affecting his livelihood will stop, after a meeting with Watercare on Monday. Tom Walters runs Matakana Oysters and he spoke to Charlotte Cook.
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How one-day schools help gifted and neurodivergent children
A gifted children learning expert says the Ministry of Education still doesn't understand and value the benefit of day schools - which are specifically designed to teach children classified as "gifted". Dr Rosemary Cathcart first started what is known as a 1-day school in 1996, for gifted children. A 1-day school is a learning programme children can attend for 1 day of the week, while enrolled at a regular school, with permission of the school board. The child is not marked as absent, and it doesn't impact a schools attendance record negatively. 1-day schools for gifted children are located around the country and seek to cater toward the different learning styles and needs that gifted children have. More recently 1-day nature schools have grown in popularity - which tend to - but not necessarily - cater to children who are neurodivergent and benefit from the nature-based programmes. Dr Rosemary Cathcart and Leo Smith - director of Bush Sprouts at Nature School NZ Trust - discuss. Photo: 123rf
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Hundreds of otherwise homeless turning to unsafe boarding houses, social services warn
[xh ]The wild west of housing - boarding houses The inside of a Grey Lynn boarding house in 2018. Photo: RNZ / Eva Corlett Social services warn hundreds of otherwise homeless people in Auckland, including families, are turning to the wild west of housing - boarding houses. Over the last eight months, Rangi Andrews from Kāhui Tū Kaha has been part of a team door-knocking Auckland's lodges to meet the owners and work alongside them to support the vulnerable people under their roofs. He said 50 of the 170 boarding houses refused them entry and of those that were co-operative, it was common to see sub-standard, filthy accommodation. "I would see unkept common areas, maintenance that hasn't been handled, we're talking about holes in the walls from possible fights or antisocial behaviour and things that you would expect from a landlord to upkeep," Andrews said. "The smell coming out of bathrooms that indicate that they're not clean or sanitary." A room at a boarding house in Auckland costs on average $320 a week, leaving those on a benefit less than $100 for other bills. Andrews said more than half of the 120 boarding houses they entered had shared bathrooms and kitchens. "We're looking at women coming out of family harm incidents who are sharing common spaces with those who are exiting our remand prisons or gang members," he said. "We've had a big push over the last eight months to remove a lot of those vulnerable individuals into more appropriate accomodation." He said Kāhui Tū Kaha had so far relocated about 50 people from Auckland lodges into more stable housing - including a family of nine. Numbers from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) show nationally there were 5226 fewer people staying in emergency housing - such as motels, hotels, lodges or campgrounds - a drop of 78 percent in May this year compared to the same month last year. Social services have raised concerns that the government's move to tighten access to emergency housing has created more homelessness . Auckland City missioner Helen Robinson said boarding houses were once a last resort but have become the first option for many. "There are many hundreds of people who are going to boarding houses - that's actually considered permanent housing where actually it's not because there is no security of tenure, it's unregulated, it's unsafe." Robinson said some people chose to sleep rough over staying at boarding houses, especially women. Auckland City missioner Helen Robinson. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi MSD had reduced the number of emergency housing accommodation suppliers by more than 100, from 299 to 158 - but the agency no longer recorded these by type, instead they were "unspecified". In Auckland, the number of suppliers dropped from 79 motels and hotels and three campgrounds or hostels in May last year, to 28 unspecified suppliers this May. Auckland councillor Angela Dalton heads the community committee which recently tabled an update showing the city now had 809 rough sleepers -- 90 percent more than last September. "People are turning to wherever they can but there are people who won't go to boarding houses because they feel unsafe. Our boarding houses are not regulated enough for us to know who's there, that it is a safe place." In the last financial year, Auckland Council audited 158 boarding houses to check their building warrant of fitness paperwork, which relates to fire safety, was current - of those, 40 percent, or 68, failed. Boarding house inspections came under the spotlight after five people were killed in a fire at Loafers Lodge in Wellington just over two years ago. The tragedy sparked a review by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on the safety of boarding houses across New Zealand, which found 90 percent of Auckland boarding houses inspected in 2023 appeared to be operating illegally . According to Tenancy Services, boarding house landlords needed to give their tenants 28 days' written notice of eviction but could end the tenancy immediately on certain grounds, including if the person staying there had caused serious damage or endangered other tenants. There were also some circumstances in which a boarding house landlord could end a tenancy with 48 hours notice. Rangi Andews would like to see the city's most vulnerable in stable, safe, secure accommodation. "We see other third world countries and we comment on the slums but our ones are just painted a different colour and maybe a bit more hidden from public view." RNZ approached some lodge owners for this story, but they did not want to take part. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
