Latest news with #OfficialInformationAct
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Simmonds ignored advice in Otago Polytech decision
Penny Simmonds went against early advice by allowing Southern Institute of Technology to stand alone and grouping Otago Polytechnic with a pair of North Island-based institutions, it can be revealed. Advice to the vocational education minister released under the Official Information Act showed the decision to not allow Otago Polytechnic to stand alone was made despite it being assessed as "financially viable" along with six other institutions. The advisers from a special vocational education working group gave Ms Simmonds the option of all seven viable institutions - including SIT and Otago Polytechnic standing alone - but recommended the pair be linked together as part of three regional groupings. Otago Polytechnic and SIT should also be grouped with the Open Polytechnic. Ms Simmonds went on to ignore that advice and linked Otago Polytechnic with Palmerston North-based Universal College of Learning (UCOL) and Lower Hutt-based Open Polytechnic; and approved SIT, which she was formerly the chief executive of for 20 years, standing alone. Green MP Francisco Hernandez said the situation was a mess that benefited no-one in vocational education. "Advice shows that Otago Polytech was considered 'viable', even prior to the extensive and disruptive cuts that Otago was forced to undertake thanks to the lack of support." Mr Hernandez said Ms Simmonds must release the advice proactively "so we can examine the basis for the decision making". Otago Polytechnic executive director Dr Megan Pōtiki saw the advisory group's recommendations this week. "This only adds to our confusion about the decision announced last Monday. "In none of the four options shortlisted by the advisory group was Otago Polytechnic listed as a 'non-viable' entity. "We are deeply concerned that Otago Polytechnic has been unfairly singled out, in a decision which appears to have favoured some organisations for reasons other than financial viability." Dr Pōtiki said she was pleased the option of merging Otago Polytechnic and SIT was not adopted. "Both organisations have long and proud histories of providing quality tertiary education in our respective regions, but we have clear differences in our programme strengths and styles of operations. "However, we are still looking forward to a close and collaborative relationship with our closest neighbour going forward." Dr Pōtiki said Otago Polytechnic should be in surplus by the end of the year. "We are again asking the minister to release the criteria she used for making these decisions, and to clearly communicate why Otago Polytechnic was singled out to be moved out of the 'viable' category and included as part of a federation." Ms Simmonds said the debt and cash reserves of both SIT and Otago Polytechnic when they went into Te Pūkenga contributed to the decision. Otago Polytechnic had $16.1 million debt and $1.3 million in cash reserves, SIT had no debt and $40.1 million in cash reserves, of which $15.6 million were ring-fenced. "The paper you are referring to is an early piece of advice and there were several updates made. Otago Polytechnic is one of the 10 institutions being re-established and will stand alone within the new federation of polytechnics. "It was not grouped with SIT or the Open Polytechnic in a combined entity because the final decision adopted the proposed federation model rather than other options proposed during consultation."
Scoop
16 hours ago
- Health
- Scoop
Thousands Of Kiwi Kids Harmed Online, And No One Is Accountable
Newly released police data confirms what B416 is hearing from the front lines of education, health and law enforcement: children in New Zealand are being harmed by social media, and no one is being held responsible. More than 2,000 children have been recorded as victims of harmful digital communications since it was introduced in 2015, according to data released to B416 under the Official Information Act. Three out of four victims are girls. Nearly 900 children were recorded as offenders under the Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA), but very few cases make it to court. The majority are handled informally, often through warnings or alternative action. The HDCA covers serious online harm, including emotional abuse, privacy breaches and sharing intimate images without consent. B416 spokesperson Dr Samantha Marsh, from the University of Auckland, says the figures reflect a system failing to keep pace with the scale of harm. 'This data backs up what we are hearing every week from schools, health professionals and those working in law enforcement: children are being harmed online, and the guardrails that should protect them are missing,' says Dr Marsh. 'We don't let 12-year-olds into nightclubs. Why are we letting them into algorithm-driven digital environments that are designed to manipulate and addict?' She says the majority of cases never make it to court not because the harm isn't real, but because the current laws are not fit for purpose. B416 is calling for a minimum age of 16 for access to social media, alongside stronger enforcement, platform accountability, and education. The campaign is encouraging those on the frontlines of this issue, including parents, teachers, health professionals, and young people themselves, to share their experiences as part of the current Parliamentary inquiry into social media and youth mental health. Submissions close on 30 July. 'Online harm is often hidden and there is shame for many around this. And this inquiry is a chance for families and young people to let lawmakers know how harmful things are for young people,' Dr Marsh said. Submit here:
Otago Daily Times
18 hours ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Staff praised amid spike in ED visits
Christchurch Hospital's emergency department may have had its largest number of patients ever in one day. A source at the hospital told The Star 470 patients were at ED on Sunday, July 13. But Health New Zealand told The Star on Monday it could not confirm the number of patients or whether it was the most ever. To confirm patient numbers, the agency would need an Official Information Act request, which can take up to 20 days to process, a spokesperson said. Health NZ Canterbury director of operations, Hamish Brown, said recent weeks have been busier than usual for this time of year. 'This month our team is seeing an average 414 patients a day, which is nearly an 8% increase from the same time last year,' he said. Brown said the ED staff have been 'fantastic' at handling the patient increase but due to high demand, those with non-emergency needs may face long waits. 'We would like to thank those who are waiting for their patience and understanding, as well as our teams across the hospital.' Brown attributed the spike in patients to an increase in winter viral and respiratory illnesses, along with Sundays typically being one of the busiest days of the week. Weekends often involve more high-risk activities, and many GPs and other health clinics are often closed on Sundays, pushing more patients toward ED. To manage the high demand, Brown said the ED has introduced various initiatives, and are working on other options. They include the opening of an ED observation area to reduce hospital admissions, fast-track admission pathways, and offering alternative options for care to patients with less urgent needs. It comes as RNZ reported relatives of distressed patients at Christchurch Hospital have been asked to come in to help because of a shortage of healthcare assistants. Information provided by a hospital staff member showed the hospital had so few healthcare assistants on June 22, managers were asked to see if patients' family members could come in to sit with and monitor them. This is usually done for patients with confusion, delirium, or dementia symptoms. Health NZ's Canterbury director of nursing Becky Hickmott said the issue was caused by a large volume of patients, coupled with a significant number of staff who rang in sick at short notice.
RNZ News
a day ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
US commander visits as military integration with 'kill chains' advances
The 805th Combat Training Squadron's Shadow Operations Centre - Nellis, or ShOC-N, is the US Air Force's premier battle lab supporting key technologies and capabilities designed to compress the kill-chain for joint and coalition warfighters. Photo: US Air Force / Keith Keel An American army commander visiting New Zealand has praised how the United States and New Zealand Defence Force are developing an integrated network, at the same time as the latest example of this integration comes to light. The latest example is a project to connect this country's so-called "battle lab" into a combined command-and-control system, including experiments in what US strategic command called "dynamic targeting kill-chain automation" . The visit of General Ronald Clark this week with the head of the NZ army, Major General Rose King, focused on the strengthening of the two armies' strategic partnership. Clark said the legacy of standing side-by-side in conflicts continued as the two forces built an "integrated landpower network" to preserve peace in the Indo-Pacific. "Discussions focused on building further interoperability, advancing combined readiness initiatives, and the US Army's recent transformation efforts," NZDF said in a media release. General Ronald Clark, Commanding General of United States Army Pacific and Major General Rose King, Chief of the New Zealand Army. Photo: NZDF One "key" to the army networking was a joint US-led command-and-control system, called CJADC2, said documents newly released under the Official Information Act. They show King has what is called a "capstone" (top priority) order to advance Interoperability with the US and other partners like Australia (this is one among six capstone orders). The King-Clark meeting came during the 30,000-strong army exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia. Talisman Sabre had "demonstrated growing interoperability across air, land, maritime, cyber, and space domains", NZDF said. The battle-lab integration comes under the US Air Force, which this week ordered another half billion dollars of new technology to advance the project. The NZDF said in response to RNZ inquiries, that it began participating in the Combined Federated Battle Lab network ( CFBLNet) this year. However, official US reports state New Zealand personnel took part in targeting experiments for it last year. They also began last year taking part in the US army's main integration initiative, Project Convergence, where experiments have linked New Zealand sensor and firing systems into a wider network. The multinational forces, particularly those of the Five Eyes partners - the US, Australia, UK, Canada and New Zealand - have have been working in earnest since last year to set up a mega-network, the Combined Joint All-Domain Command-and-Control (CJADC2) network. This is essentially to develop technologies to find targets and shoot them more quickly and accurately. The mega-network is being built to overlap with nuclear command-control-and-communications, Pentagon documents show. An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 195, taxis on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) while underway in the Timor Sea, 16 July 2025, in support of Talisman Sabre. Photo: US Navy / Seaman Apprentice Nicolas Quezad "The NZDF involvement in these initiatives is a function of the need to be able to work alongside our military partners," the force told RNZ in an OIA response. "The NZDF is not a driver of the initiatives, and no NZDF project matches or mirrors the scale or nature of the United States' projects." Green Party defence spokesperson Teanau Toiono said pursuing interoperability with the US was too costly. "We're opposed to this US-led military regime but even if you look at it from an economic perspective, it's also expensive," Toiono said on Thursday. The growing integration was negative; "because what's good for the US, I don't think is good for us and I don't think it's good for the Pacific region". The Defence Force rejected RNZ's request for details about all recent integration moves, saying this required too much work. Even if it did that work, a lot of this was about combat capabilities and interoperability so was "classified information and would not be made public". King said in a release about Clark's visit that this country could not contribute mass and scale, but had soldiering quality to offer. "To that end, it's been great to be able to share some insight with General Clark and his team around how we go about training our people." She offered as an example a years-old, oft-delayed project to build a "Network Enabled Army" to improve digital communications and command-and-control interoperability, that would advance under the government's new defence capability plan. The USS America (LHA 6), steams alongside US Navy ships from the America Strike Group, Royal Australian Navy, Republic of Korea Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, French Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force as part of Talisman Sabre 25, on 20 July. Photo: US Navy / Petty Officer 2nd Class Cole Pursley The US air force's main contribution to the mega-network is called the Advanced Battle Management System; the army's is Project Convergence; the navy's is Project Overmatch, which New Zealand joined in February. The US Air Force battle-labs experiments have involved New Zealand personnel in testing if new human-machine approaches are faster and better. A US unit "pitted current warfighter systems and procedures against new technologies to gather insights and streamline operational and tactical C2 [command and control] processes to speed up the kill-chain and decision-making timeline", a US Air Force report said. The Pentagon's "CJADC2 concept has challenged US joint and combined forces to prioritise achieving decision advantage over potential adversaries, to retain our warfighting advantage and enhance the deterrent effect of a powerful military". The US team leading this was "currently working with Australia and New Zealand to connect their Battle Labs", the air force said last year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Spinoff
a day ago
- Politics
- The Spinoff
Winston Peters intervened to stop diplomat accounts posting about Pride Month
Exclusive: After years of posting generic sentiments during Pride Month, New Zealand's diplomatic posts were silent this year following a directive from the foreign affairs minister. Minister of foreign affairs Winston Peters personally intervened to stop New Zealand's diplomatic posts around the world from posting about Pride Month on social media, documents show. New Zealand's embassies and high commissions around the world have regularly posted about Pride Month in the past, sharing New Zealand milestones such as being the first country to grant women the vote and to have openly transgender MPs, as well as celebrating legislative freedoms like marriage equality. The posts on Facebook and other social media often included photos or footage of key diplomatic staff marching in Pride parades. But when a batch of similar social media drafts were circulated with the minister's office for 'awareness' earlier this year, Peters' office intervened – leading to a new directive being issued to all posts (embassies and high commissions) about social media use, including a warning regarding posting about Pride Month from official Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) accounts. Documents released to The Spinoff under the Official Information Act show the draft social media posts themselves were fairly anodyne and similar to the material posted in the years prior. One draft post, featuring a photo of a Pride gathering, read: 'It's #PrideMonth and we are sharing our history. Pride festivals and fairs began in New Zealand in the 1970s and 1980s. Many of these festivals were a response to the global late-stage HIV pandemic and enabled the community to come together.' The posts were included in a document pack prepared by Mfat's central communications division, which noted that New Zealand's support for rainbow community rights was one of 'seven thematic human rights focus areas'. 'New Zealand's support for rainbow communities is grounded in the core human rights principles of equality, dignity, and non-discrimination,' the document read. 'Demonstrating that support through the Ministry's social media accounts is a strand of New Zealand's 'soft diplomacy'. In some countries, especially minimally restrictive countries where the host country has made some positive steps, demonstrating our visible commitment to the human rights of rainbow communities can build connection and understanding with community groups or government stakeholders, potentially opening the door to further discussion on these issues.' The minister's office did not respond for several weeks, but after a prompting on WhatsApp, senior advisor Michael Appleton wrote back on May 27, explaining the minister's discomfort. His exact guidance was redacted but the directive is clear from surrounding statements – a halt to the proposed posts. '…in line with earlier guidance issued by DCE-P, he [Peters] made the point that he views Mfat's social media channels as being primarily for use to communicate New Zealand's positions on foreign and trade policy issues and to document our engagement with other countries,' Appleton wrote. 'I accept this is not a binary, black and white, either/or choice – but I am seeking to locate [the minister of foreign affairs] MFA's preference on Pride Month content in the wider context of his views on the proper / appropriate scope of the Ministry's social media content.' The email continued: 'I hasten to add that the guidance above should not be read as having wider implications for our human rights diplomacy […] or for what activities / events our Post network choose to undertake/attend (which will be context-specific and driven by Post judgments, overseen by regional divisions, about how to promote New Zealand interests).' This email resulted in a directive to all posts on 'UPDATING MINISTRY SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES' – sent three days later on May 30, just before Pride Month began. The summary notes that MFAT is updating its social media guidelines and that this update will be 'informed closely by MFA's [Peters] direction that social media platforms should be focused on the communication and advancement of New Zealand's foreign and trade policy positions.' It is noted that 'this will impact the Ministry's social media engagement, most immediately, in relation to Pride Month.' The exact way this applies to Pride Month is detailed in two redacted paragraphs, which were redacted under section 9(2)(g)(i) of the Act, meaning 'to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free and frank expression of opinions'. The redacted paragraphs are followed by a statement that 'this should not be read as having wider implications for our human rights diplomacy more broadly'. No posts concerning Pride Month in 2025 appeared on any of the dozen Mfat social media channels reviewed by The Spinoff. One post about global trade tensions did feature a rainbow umbrella. The Spinoff asked Peters to detail his exact direction to posts and why he intervened. 'The minister believes New Zealand's diplomatic network should be focused on advancing New Zealand's interests,' a spokesperson responded. 'The minister naturally has views about how New Zealand should conduct its diplomacy. One of those views is that social media content published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its post network should primarily be focused on communicating New Zealand's positions on foreign and trade policy issues, in line with our policy priorities agreed by cabinet, and on documenting our engagement with other countries.' Peters' own legislative record stands in direct contrast to many of the milestones championed by past social media posts – he voted against legalising gay sex between men in 1986, and against same-sex marriage in 2013. The Spinoff asked if this history had any part to play in the decision, but did not receive a direct response. His office was also asked what its message would be to any queer diplomats who were angered by the decision. The spokesperson said Peters' record of support for diplomats spoke for itself. 'The minister has the utmost respect for New Zealand's diplomats and the important work they do on behalf of all New Zealanders. This has been consistently demonstrated over three terms as foreign minister in Mr Peters' public remarks and his approach to foreign affairs resourcing.'
