Latest news with #MiddayReport
RNZ News
3 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Northland school rosters students to stay home over winter staffing crisis
Photo: 123RF A Northland school has been forced to roster students home due to a winter staffing crisis. Northland College in Kaikohe which has more than 300 students is currently about 10 teachers short, according to its website. College tumuaki (principal) Duane Allen told Midday Report students were being rostered home over four weeks although he admitted it wasn't an ideal situation. "So we started last week. This is our second week and we'll have two more," he said. "We want our kids to be able to come in and engage in their learning as much as possible at the college. "But we have to be pragmatic about health and safety and also the obligations that the board has as an employer as well. So in the past, in the first few weeks of the term, what was happening when we had high staff absence through illness was we were having to call on the goodwill of some of our staff to use the non-contact time to cover some of our classes." The principal said the school was forced to do the same thing last year for about the same period of time, however, the difference was the school made the decision later in the term. He said while he hasn't received any formal feedback from parents, whānau had mostly been understanding around the staffing circumstances the Te Tai Tokerau school was facing. The staffing crisis comes on top of a recent scathing Education Review Office report. Allen said he didn't think the report was a factor in the situation the school found itself. "No one from board level, management level has ever shied away from the black and white reality of our data. "However, that reality is something that extends well beyond the past sort of 12 or 24 months or even four or five years. It goes well back probably a decade or more. So we have to accept that and we don't shy away from what the data says." Allen said the school had found the ERO process challenging. "We found it difficult to have a conversation with the Education Review Office when they don't [listen] or they made it quite clear to us that they weren't here to listen to context or any of the narrative around the why things might look the way they did. "They made it very clear that they didn't want to hear about the inputs. They had a focus on the outputs and the outputs were those data measures that they have. Northland College is located in a challenging community in many respects, a beautiful community nonetheless. "We have an equity index number of 254. So, you know, we're kind of up there in terms of that recognition but that doesn't seem to have a place currently in the conversation with ERO or [the Education] Ministry around their perspective on where we sit," he said. Allen said considering the elements of transience, poverty and social challenges in the community, he accepted that sending students home could exacerbate existing challenges. "That is a question that we ask ourselves as a leadership team and a board before coming to this decision but ultimately, we need to make sure that we are looking after the health and safety of those people who are on site and if we don't have teachers to put in front of classes, that can become an issue. "Furthermore, the board needs to and has recognised our obligations as an employer. We recognise that our staff have demonstrated incredible goodwill in terms of using some of the non-contact time that is part of the collective agreement that we work under to cover some of those classes. "We also recognise that in doing that and asking staff to use that time that they might usually be using for planning or for marking or for following up on pastoral care for students, that we actually exacerbate the pressure that's on them." It was not a decision the school wanted to have to make, nor was it made lightly and all of the implications had also been considered. The ERO has been approached for comment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Why we shouldn't celebrate a drop in landfill waste just yet
Photo: Creative Commons Poor economic times have seen the amount of commercial and industrial waste being sent off to landfill plummet, according to the latest snapshot of our waste and recycling habits. But it is too soon to celebrate as behind the figures, households are still need to clean up their act. Waste & Recycling Industry Association's (WRIA) 2024 Waste & Recycling Snapshot found waste sent to landfill dropped from 4.7 million tonnes in 2023, to 3.7 million tonnes in 2024. But WRIA spokesperson Barney Irvine told Midday Report it was not all good news. "That seems positive in face value, but sitting behind it there hasn't been a meaningful change in behaviour when it comes to waste minimisation and recycling," he said. Irvine said households are generating more waste then they did the previous year and recycling less, with an increase of 53,000 tonnes (up about seven percent). The consumption of food and drink products, which together with their packaging, constitute the lion's share of household waste, remains strong even in tight economic times, Irvine said. While households were not cutting back in their consumption, there are signs that people are opting for more affordable alternatives, Irvine said. The report saw a shift away from drinks sold in bottles to products sold in less premium packaging material, like cans and plastic. Glass recycling volumes were down by 14 percent, while plastics and tin/aluminium were up by 13 percent and 46 percent respectively. The big drop in waste was driven mainly by the commercial and industrial sectors which saw a 23 percent fall in waste material collected from their sites. "That's all about the slowdown in the economy really, in particular the slow down in building and construction activity which generates a heck of a lot of waste," Irvine said. While waste volumes are currently low, Irvine said the public and policy-makers should be under no illusions about the fact that they will rise again as soon as the economy starts to recover. "Now's not the time for anyone to think that it's a case of job done," he said. "The government should take advantage of the current lull in demand to push ahead in key policy areas, and lay the foundation for a much more resilient, dynamic waste and recycling system into the future." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Dengue fever cases surging in New Zealand
The Asian tiger mosquito is one of the vectors responsible for transmitting dengue fever. Photo: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Doctors are being warned to be on alert for people with symptoms of dengue fever as the number of cases in New Zealand surges. National Public Health Service physician Dr Sharon Sime told Midday Report public health teams were also seeing a surge in cases among people returning home after picking up the illness overseas. Dengue cases in the Pacific are at their highest level in almost a decade. Samoa is particularly affected with more than 2000 cases reported and multiple deaths since an outbreak was declared in April. In New Zealand, there have been 208 cases of dengue nationally in the year to date. Of those, 103 were recorded in Auckland this year, double the amount recorded for all of 2024. Around a third of the cases so far this year have also ended up being hospitalised. "What's different with dengue fever is many people with dengue don't have symptoms," Dr Sime said. "So, the ones that we diagnose is likely an under representation of the number of cases." New Zealand does not have mosquitoes able to transmit dengue, so you can't get the disease in New Zealand, Dr Sime said. While you cannot catch dengue fever from another person, you can get it from infected mosquitoes in an area or region that has dengue, and there is no available vaccine in New Zealand. "At the moment, our climate wouldn't work for the particular type of mosquito that carries dengue. We do also have a monitoring programme at our airports and our ports where we are constantly monitoring for any imported mosquito, just so that we would get an early warning of any chance of these mosquitoes surviving in New Zealand," Dr Sime said. Symptoms of dengue fever include a sudden high fever, intense headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, tiredness, nausea, vomiting and a fine rash, which may be itchy and usually begins on the extremities, but spares the palms and soles of the feet. Many people infected with dengue will only have mild symptoms, but a small number of people may get severe dengue and require hospital care. Dr Susan Jack, National Clinical Director for National Public Health Service, said people over 60 years old and children aged 10 and under were also at greater risk of severe illness from dengue. Dr Jack said anyone travelling outside New Zealand to an area with dengue can protect themselves by: - Staying or sleeping in well-screened locations, or under mosquito nets - Keeping screens on doors and windows closed when indoors - Wearing light-coloured protective clothing, including, hats, long sleeves and trousers when outdoors - Wearing a repellent cream or spray containing less than 35 percent diethyltoluamide (DEET) when outdoors - Avoiding places where mosquitoes are most active, such as swampy areas or places with standing water.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Doctors on alert as dengue fever cases surge among people returning from overseas
The Asian tiger mosquito is one of the vectors responsible for transmitting dengue fever. Photo: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Doctors are being warned to be on alert for people with symptoms of dengue fever as the number of cases in New Zealand surges. National Public Health Service physician Dr Sharon Sime told Midday Report public health teams are also seeing a surge in cases among people returning home after picking up the illness overseas. Dengue cases in the Pacific are at their highest level in almost a decade, with Samoa particularly affected with more than 2000 cases reported and multiple deaths since an outbreak was declared in April. In New Zealand, there have been 208 cases of dengue nationally in the year to date. Of those, 103 cases were recorded in Auckland this year, double the amount recorded for all of 2024. Around a third of the cases so far this year have also ended up being hospitalised. "What's different with dengue fever is many people with dengue don't have symptoms," Dr Sime said. "So, the ones that we diagnose is likely an under representation of the number of cases." New Zealand does not have mosquitoes able to transmit dengue, so you can't get the disease in New Zealand, Dr Sime said. While you cannot catch dengue fever from another person, you can get it from infected mosquitoes in an area or region that has dengue, and there is no available vaccine in New Zealand. "At the moment, our climate wouldn't work for the particular type of mosquito that carries dengue. We do also have a monitoring programme at our airports and our ports where we are constantly monitoring for any imported mosquito, just so that we would get an early warning of any chance of these mosquitoes surviving in New Zealand," Dr Sime said. Symptoms of dengue fever include a sudden high fever, intense headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, tiredness, nausea, vomiting and a fine rash, which may be itchy and usually begins on the extremities, but spares the palms and soles of the feet. Many people infected with dengue will only have mild symptoms, but a small number of people may get severe dengue and require hospital care. Dr Susan Jack, National Clinical Director for National Public Health Service, said people over 60 years old and children aged 10 and under are also at greater risk of severe illness from dengue. Dr Jack said if you're travelling outside Aotearoa New Zealand to an area with dengue, protect yourself by: Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
01-08-2025
- Business
- Scoop
NZ Hit With 15% Trump Trade Tariff, Trade Minister Says He Will Push Back
New Zealand exports to the US will face a 15 percent tariff rate, it has been announced. The White House has revised its list of tariffs for particular countries and New Zealand has been put on a 15 percent base rate, up from the original 10 percent announced earlier. Trade Minister Todd McClay told Midday Report 's Charlotte Cook that New Zealand was being unfairly penalised for what is a small trade deficit with the United States. "It appears it has been done based upon countries that have a trade deficit with the US, who sell them more than they buy. "In New Zealand's case, that's about half a billion US dollars and in a scheme the size of the US economy it's really not significant or meaningful." McClay told Midday Report he had asked Treasury for urgent advice about Friday's development. "Many of the exporters are saying they have been able to absorb the 10 percent, or in many cases pass it on, but at 15 percent it is going to start having a greater effect on our exporters. "We sell about $9 billion worth of goods into the US every year and so a 15 percent tariff rate is meaningful, but again the difference in trade is not significant in the scheme of things." He maintained New Zealand had good relations with the US. "The first step will be to talk to them directly and we've been engaging a lot. In fact, it's been very good engagement, both at official level, [Foreign Minister] Winston Peters has been to Washington and I've met with my counterpart a number of times now." McClay said he had put in a request for a call with Ambassador Jamieson Greer and would expect that to happen over the weekend so he could "start making the case" for a lower tariff rate. US President Donald Trump announced the tariffs back in April and said he they would be imposed on more than 125 countries. Tariffs are paid by importers of products from other countries to their own governments, like taxes, effectively making imported goods more expensive for local consumers. Advocates say they protect local economies, while detractors say they reduce trade and push up prices. In announcing the initial range of tariffs in April, Trump caused confusion when he held up a chart saying New Zealand charged US goods a 20 percent tariff, which the New Zealand government denied. It ended up being 10 percent, which Finance Minister Nicola Willis at the time called "extraordinary". Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said New Zealand would not respond in kind. Two-thirds of Kiwi businesses in a survey earlier this year thought the tariffs would have a more severe global impact than Covid-19 and the global financial crisis over the next 12 months. Trump has repeatedly threatened a range of different tariffs on various nations since returning to the White House - most recently India, citing its own trade barriers and purchasing of energy and arms from Russia, and Canada, over its newfound support for Palestinian statehood.
