Is the UN still fit for purpose?
Our conversation with Auckland University's Dr Maria Armoudian about what recognising Palestine as state means, really resonated with a lot of you. It got us thinking about the United Nations, and its role in 2025. The United Nations was created in 1945, after the end of World War 2, when leaders from 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to agree upon an international treaty to enshrine the equal rights of all people and maintain peace .. Fast forward to today, is it remaining true to the resulting treaty, its founding document, the UN Charter? The Right Honourable Helen Clark served as an administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017 and has been in Egypt visiting the Gaza border. She spoke to Jesse.
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RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
Golden Bay residents call for investment to future-proof emergency phone line
Tasman was hit by heavy rain last month. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii A group of Golden Bay residents want to see government investment in the region's communications network, so residents have reliable access to the 111 line during emergencies. Project STRIM (strengthening telecommunications resilience in Mohua) was set up by a group of Golden Bay residents after damage to the fibre optic cable that runs along State Highway 60 in July, resulted in a day long outage where residents were unable to call 111. Founder Axel Downard-Wilke said it was after that outage he posted about his concerns on social media and said the community should do something to improve its resilience, which led to the group's formation. "It's really a life or death situation if you need to make a 111 call, it's no good driving to a community hub where there's a Starlink system, you need to be able to use your phone reliably so we need a backup system," Downard-Wilke said. "The other thing of course, is when the Alpine Fault goes no technician can drive their van over with all the specialist equipment that's needed to find faults and fix them." He said the group wanted to see a feasibility study done and Crown funding set aside to future-proof the communications network, as had been done on the West Coast. In 2023, the government spent $435.4 million on a connectivity package for Westland with 118km of fibre laid between Te Anau and Milford Sound to improve resilience and connectivity. At a Tasman District Council meeting on Thursday, Downard-Wilke asked the council to send letters in support of a scoping report and funding for a more resilient system to Government ministers, Chorus and Civil Defence. Golden Bay is currently serviced by a single fibre optic cable that runs between Motueka and Tākaka. During bad weather on 3 July, the fibreoptic cable at Uruwhenua Bridge on State Highway 60 was severed, knocking out connection to about 1100 households. The cable was thought to have been damaged by a slip, but it was later revealed that rats had chewed through it. Downard-Wilke said it wasn't the first time such an outage had affected the community. In September 2023, the cable was accidentally severed by contractors and in August 2022 a slip at Birds Hill took out the road connection and the fibre optic cable with it. While other parts of the country were reliant on a single fibre cable, Downard-Wilke said he thought Golden Bay was the biggest community in the country that relied on a single cable, and was vulnerable to failures. "Whoever thought that having a system with a single point of failure is a good idea. I don't know what they were thinking. "If that goes, nothing goes." A large washout across a highway during extensive flooding and heavy rain in the Nelson Tasman areas. Photo: Supplied/ Nick Smith Telecommunications Forum chief executive Paul Brislen has said the key was to have multiple different types of networks (fibre, mobile, fixed wireless connections and satellite) so there wasn't a single point of failure. He also said telecommunications network companies were doing work to ensure cities were connected by a loop, instead of a point-to-point connection, so if half the cable was knocked out, traffic could be connected via the other side of the cable. A Chorus spokesperson said a second fibre optic cable for the Tākaka and Golden Bay area was not feasible as there was only one point of entry, it would follow roughly the same route and be exposed to the same risks. It said a second cable laid on a different route would face challenges due to the geography and topography of the area and would require significant funding and considerable feasibility work. The spokesperson said Chorus was aware of several regions connected to the fibre network via a single cable, some with larger populations that Golden Bay, and that came with risks that were actively managed. "We have robust monitoring and assurance processes in place to respond swiftly to any service disruptions, particularly those caused by adverse weather or natural events." An example of some of the widespread damage to roads and infrastructure in the Nelson Tasman areas. Photo: Supplied/ Nick Smith Golden Bay Community Board deputy chair Grant Knowles said the July outage was concerning and the inability to call 111 took was a shock to many. "I think it was a surprise to people that they couldn't get hold of emergency services or the chemist, for instance, couldn't let people know that they had a prescription to pick up, it was quite a broad problem." Tākaka residents then received an emergency alert during heavy rain on July 11, warning them to expect flooding and to be prepared to evacuate and Knowles questioned how people would be informed of alerts if there was no mobile coverage. The town's population grew significantly over summer, which was often when it experienced heavy rain and slips which could knock out the cable as had happened in 2022. Knowles said the region remained vulnerable during weather events and natural disasters and there was an urgent need for a backup communications system. He hoped the government would take the community's concerns, seriously. "It needed to be there yesterday, I mean, it should never have got to this point." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
New Plymouth councillor Murray Chong kicked out after labelling policy ‘racist'
Councilllor Murray Chong makes his "racist" claims at a New Plymouth District Council meeting. Photo: Te Korimako o Taranaki/LDR New Plymouth's mayor has thrown councillor Murray Chong out of a meeting for calling a new policy racist and questioned a Hobson's Pledge founder's motives for stoking division. Would-be mayor Max Brough and running-mate councillor Gordon Brown also faced criticism, after defending Chong at this week's New Plymouth District Council meeting. Kevin Moratti - a founding board member of Hobson's Pledge - last week denounced the council's new buy-local plan as "race-based". Moratti said he wanted the New Plymouth Ratepayers Alliance given access to council decision-making "just as some other unelected parties are". The council's procurement plan aims to save money, while making local economic, social, cultural and environmental gains. Among many goals, it seeks to improve partnerships with iwi, hapū and Māori businesses, so they can supply council alongside other local companies. At Tuesday's meeting, Chong vowed to oppose it. "We do have a racist policy here." Mayoral contender Sam Bennett objected, saying council policies were based on the Local Government Act and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and "are no way race-based". Outgoing mayor Neil Holdom upheld the objection. Chong withdrew the comment, then immediately repeated it. "The reality is, if the word 'race' [sic] and it involves a race, that is racist," Chong said. He accused councillors of following the previous Labour Government's agenda. Holdom ruled that incorrect, banning him from speaking further. "Councillor Chong, it's three strikes and I'm saying you can sit down, because… you've disparaged this organisation." "This is a racist policy," Chong insisted. Holdom ordered him out. Mayor Neil Holdom ordered councillor Murray Chong from the chambers. Photo: Te Korimako o Taranaki/LDR "It's time to go, Councillor Chong." Chong tried to approach Moratti, who was in the audience. For years, the pair have campaigned against specific representation for mana whenua. "Out!" shouted the mayor. Mayoral candidate Brough attempted to explain Chong's concern. "We're going to... be doing this again in a few months, because the government will change the rules," he said. "I think that's Murray's point." Councillor Brown said Chong "just used the wrong words". "I don't think it was his intent, so cut him some slack?" he pleaded. "The oral language not his greatest strength and he's done well over the last 12 years to get where he is." Councillor Dinnie Moeahu said he'd clearly heard what Chong said. "You two try and justify that behaviour… when you say he didn't mean it that way," said Moeahu. "Those who keep questioning our standing in our community, in our country… what are you afraid of and what have you lost? "All I see is finally we're being included." Councillor Harry Duynhoven pointed to the councillors' oath to serve the entire community. "Mr Moratti, I see you laughing," said the former Labour minister. "I'm surprised you're not on the ballot paper, that you haven't actually put yourself up there and gone for it, because you think you can do it better." Like similar groups nationwide, the New Plymouth Ratepayers Alliance is aligned with the Taxpayers' Union, which forbids members standing for office. Chong and Brough set up the ratepayer group with Moratti, but stepped aside to get elected. Councillor Anneka Carlson Matthews said they didn't represent all ratepayers. "They are racist and outdated, and I'm happy to call that out." Mayor Holdom made her withdraw the racism allegation. Councillor Bryan Vickery urged Moratti and others to read the "pretty impressive" procurement strategy. "I don't see this in any way as being separatist. In fact, the tenor of this document is being fair to all - but inclusive." Holdom said councillors ought to lead inclusivity. "It's disappointing, when people come into the organisation and try to divide us," he said. "It's shadow-boxing, the fear of something that doesn't exist. "It's a fear that somehow being inclusive… comes at a cost to someone else. "Just be aware of the people that want to do this and what are their agendas, because it's clear to me that they are not acting in this community's best interest, so what are they trying to achieve?" Businessman Brough favours local contracting, so voted for the procurement strategy at last week's finance committee, but backtracked on Tuesday and abstained. With Chong expelled, Brough was the sole councillor not in favour. Moratti has been an Act candidate for parliament, while Chong has stood for NZ First and the New Conservatives. Last week, Moratti said he'd not been a Hobson's Pledge member for 10 years, but as recently as 2021, confirmed he was a trustee. On Tuesday, he refused questions, saying the LDR story revealing his demand for decision-making influence was biased. "We will not give it any more energy." - LDR is local body journalism funded by RNZ and NZ on Air 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
Greyhound racing industry takes court action
Racing Minister Winston Peters has ordered a halt to greyhound racing from August 2026. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Lawyers for the Greyhound Racing Association have told the High Court in Wellington that the ban on greyhound racing will have a devastating effect on the livelihoods of more than 1000 people. Last December, Racing Minister Winston Peters announced the sport would be banned from August 2026. On Thursday, the association argued in court that the work of a ministerial advisory committee tasked with implementing the ban should be stopped, until a judicial review of the legislation was heard. Lawyer Chris Finlayson said the government had erred in directing the industry to monitor and improve animal welfare standards, only to ignore the results in cabinet's decision-making process. The court was told the racing industry had engaged with three reviews of the sport in just over a decade and had consistently shown willingness to comply with directives to improve animal welfare, and controls surrounding injuries and deaths, as well as track standards and rehoming initiatives. He said the cabinet paper - on which the decision to ban the sport was based - was "misleading" and a "very selective characterisation" of the key issues facing cabinet, which he argued was the industry's animal welfare standards, not the erosion of public license - society's acceptance of the practices of the sport. Finlayson said the government - after directing the industry to undertake a statutory process and then "blandly ignore it" - contradicted its obligation to consider the expertise of the industry in legislating towards the sport. Lawyers for the Greyhound Racing Association (left to right) Chris Finlayson KC and Jonathan Kaye at the High Court in Wellington. Photo: RNZ/Bill Hickman "The standard of animal welfare of greyhound racing is high," Finlayson said. "It aligns with the standards in other jurisdictions and is applied with significantly more rigour than pet dogs." Finlayson said the uncertainty over the recommendations of the ministerial advisory committee's plan to wind down the sport was resulting in members of the industry leaving the country before the ban, a collapse in breeding numbers and serious mental-health issues in participants of the industry. He argued, after the ban, New Zealanders could still bet on Australian dog races, which had "equal or lesser" animal welfare standards than Aotearoa's racing industry. Counsel for the Attorney General - acting on behalf of the Minister of Racing - said interim relief application was "fundamentally premised on a need to stop the legislation". Lawyer Katherine Anderson said the action, if successful, "would frustrate the introduction of the bill to Parliament". She said it was "undeniably clear" the court could not make an order to prevent the introduction of a bill. "It's very clear that the applicant fundamentally [says] the decision is wrong and is attempting to draw you in." She said it was up to the Minister to decide "how and if" parties would be consulted before the bill was put to Parliament. Lawyers for the Attorney General - acting on behalf of the Minister of Racing - (left to right) Katherine Anderson and Emma Dowse at the High Court in Wellington. Photo: RNZ/Bill Hickman "There's no straight jacket on the minister to go to the racing industry saying, 'Is there a ban on greyhound racing that's required on welfare grounds?'. "They've been elected to make policy decisions and, if people don't like it, they can be un-elected," Anderson said. Throughout proceedings, Judge Dale La Hood pressed the Greyhound Racing Association's counsel to clarify how the action would benefit the industry, if it's success was not to prevent the ban. "You need to explain to me... what you're seeking to have... stopped, other than preventing a ban on greyhound racing. I don't know if I understand what the benefit of interim relief would be to your client, if it doesn't halt the ban. "That's crucial to my decision on whether you've got a case," La Hood said. Finlayson said he would undertake to clarify his client's intent in a memorandum to the judge after the day's proceedings. Judge La Hood reserved his decision. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
