Category Archives: New Zealand

A science superhero with pink hair wages war on Covid-19 to convince an entire nation to lockdown. Made with funding from NZ On Air. Video / Loading Docs

Two of the nation's most well-known Covid-19 experts have filed complaints against the University of Auckland, arguing that their employer hasn't taken enough steps to protect them against "a small but venomous sector of the public" that has become increasingly "unhinged".

Professors Shaun Hendy and Siouxsie Wiles have already scored a preliminary victory in the employment stoush. The Employment Relations Authority has agreed that a review of their concerns should be expedited - skipping the authority's sometimes lengthy investigative process and instead going directly to the Employment Court, despite objections from the university.

The same ruling also orders the University of Auckland to pay the professors' legal fees to date.

"The Authority is concerned about the uncontested evidence that the harassment is escalating and is expected to continue to do so," authority member Rachel Larmer wrote in a decision issued on Christmas Eve. "The issues associated with the vaccination of children aged 5-11 years of age is already a topic that has stirred up increased vitriol towards the applicants."

Hendy, whose data-modelling expertise has been credited with having influenced the nation's Covid-19 response, and microbiologist Wiles, a science communicator who was named the 2021 New Zealander of the Year in part for helping to "make the science of the pandemic clear and understandable", first filed complaints in July.

Both experts say they've been raising concerns about their safety and have been requesting the university to help protect them since April 2020, shortly after the pandemic began. The university, they argue, has either responded inadequately or not at all.

"Associate Professor Wiles has been the subject of doxing with an associated threat to physically confront her at her home," the judgment states. "Professor Hendy has been physically confronted in his office on the university campus by an individual who threatened to 'see him soon'.

"The applicants have suffered vitriolic, unpleasant, and deeply personalised threats and harassment that has had a detrimental impact on them in terms of their physical safety and from a psychological, mental health and wellbeing perspective. The level of harassment they are facing is continuing and has been getting worse and 'more extreme' in nature."

As academics, it is part of their job requirements to share their expertise with the public, and in turn it is the university's job to make sure they are safe in doing so, they have argued. New Zealand law encourages academic freedom in which they act as the "critic and conscience of society" and "promote community learning", they said.

But in a written response to Wiles and Hendy in August, the university suggested they address the safety concerns by keeping their public commentary to a minimum. University officials also suggested they take paid leave to enable them "to minimise any social media comments at present".

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While the two have every right to provide public commentary on the pandemic, they are not "expected" or required to do so, the university has told the Employment Relations Authority.

Wiles and Hendy said the suggestion was unreasonable.

"The applicants note that they have previously been asked by the (university) and the Prime Minister's Office to provide such commentary, in their roles as employees ..." the ruling noted.

The academics also disputed any suggestion they have been targeted for "outside activities" other than their work on Covid-19.

"Neither applicant experienced harassment like what they have received since theybegan publicly communicating about the Covid-19 pandemic," the Employment Relations Authority document states. "They point out that the harassment they are receiving has worsened since the anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination protests have ramped up, and note that these activists have become more emboldened over time."

In the months since the initial complaints, Auckland University has ordered an external security review which found "opportunities for improvement" regarding the professors' digital and physical security. But the university's timeframe for implementing the suggestions is staggered throughout 2022, the academics noted, adding that they can't wait a year.

The Employment Relations Authority agreed that the matter should be decided sooner rather than later.

The complainants have "laid a solid evidential foundation", Larmer wrote in her ruling, that the professors have been subjected to extensive threats, harassment and abuse, "some of which appear on the face of it to be 'unhinged'".

She also noted a "significant public interest" in Wiles, Hendy and other experts being able to "publicly communicate about issues of public importance that arise from and/or are associated with the current pandemic".

"Constraining or stopping their public communications on Covid-19 related matters, as recommended by the respondent, will deprive the public of the benefit of their expertise during the current pandemic," she wrote, adding that "further delay is undesirable in the face of the apparently escalating safety risks".

But she also noted that if the professors' academic freedom position is upheld by the court, "then that will have a serious impact on how the (university) applies its limited resources, in circumstances where the pandemic has already created a fiscal deficit for the respondent".

The authority noted that employment relationship problems should generally be first investigated by the agency, with parties then able to appeal to the Employment Court after the process is completed. The university argued, unsuccessfully, that sending the issue straight to the Employment Court is unfair because it reduces the opportunities to appeal.

The Employment Court registry remains closed for Christmas until Wednesday, at which point the next steps in the employment dispute can be determined.

See more here:

Shaun Hendy, Siouxsie Wiles file complaint against University of Auckland - New Zealand Herald

Happy New Year, lets start the diet.

Well, hold on a moment. Since Covid-19 hit, weve explored our backyard in huge numbers, taking our friends and family on holiday. But what could 2022 bring?

Perhaps its time to take someone a little closer to home on holiday: your taste buds.

In the past two years, since the borders shut, I've travelled to every region in New Zealand on the hunt for some of the best things to eat. Often, it was love at first bite heres what you have to try.

READ MORE:* Live video chat: How to make a living from full-time travel* 12 amazing places in New Zealand to visit before the border opens* Secrets of the Central North Island

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Pua pies at the Container Cafe.

On the windy road to Cape Reinga, you'll find a pastry-filled Nirvana. It's called the Container Cafe, and it has more than 200 five-star Google reviews for a reason. Here you'll find a kaleidoscope of different pie flavours, including its legendary pua pies.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Sneaky Snacky serves some of the best burgers in Auckland.

A fine-dining chef has turned his hat to burgers, creating one of the best joints in town. Sneaky Snacky, on K-Road, serves glazed doughnut burgers that are works of art.

The Juicy Lucy, for example, has delicious beef flavoured with a beef consomm, bone marrow sauce, and a Cheetos crumble. The patties are created in a way that has a molten cheese ball inside them, which bursts open when you eat it.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Zealong Teas tasting experience.

On the outskirts of Hamilton you'll find the country's only organic tea plantation.

Zealong Tea has a restaurant nestled among 1.2 million tea plants, where you can experience high tea, alongside a tea tasting ceremony.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Smores at Wairua Lodge.

The best thing we tried in Coromandel was at one of our favourite places to relax: Wairua Lodge.

You'll find it 20 minutes outside Whitianga, where a series of hotel rooms are tucked away in the bush, alongside a treehouse bath, a star spa for watching the Milky Way, and a firepit for creating fresh s'mores (you'll be provided with the ingredients).

Watching the stars while chewing on melted chocolate biscuits is bliss.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

CBK Craft Bar and Kitchen has a famous cookie skillet.

On Rotorua's famous Eat Street, you'll find one of the city's best sweet treats.

CBK Craft Bar and Kitchen serves a hot gooey cookie skillet topped with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

You can bring whatever food youd like on a doughboat.

The most unusual place we've eaten is floating in a giant doughnut on Lake Taup.

Doughboats are, as their name suggests, a giant doughnut-shaped boat with a table in the middle and a cabana for shade. Grab a group of up to six friends or family and set off with your small electric motor around the lake. Grab a Greedy Pizza for the ride.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Dinner is served atop a remote hill at Blue Duck Station.

One of the best dining experiences in the country is where you would least expect it: on top of a remote hill, deep in the Ruapehu hinterland.

The Chef's Table is like a journey to the dining equivalent of heaven. You first need to drive to the remote Blue Duck Station, before ascending a mountain in an off-road vehicle to a hilltop off-grid restaurant. There you will be served a 11-course degustation, prepared with fresh ingredients from the farm. Expect dishes to delight and surprise such as aged venison finished with manuka smoke, elderberries, hazelnuts and 90 per cent dark chocolate. Theyre all presented so well you almost dont want to eat them.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Bobby's Central Fish Market serves exceptional fish and chips.

Hello fish and chip lovers this one is for you. Bobby's Central Fish Market in Tauranga has the freshest fish in the city. How fresh? Well, the shop is perched on a wharf right next to where the fishing boats dock. Chances are your meal would have been swimming around that morning, making it the best fish and chips in the region.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Gisbornes GEM Cuisine serves a tasty breakfast burger.

Some of Tairwhitis best food can be found at the Gisborne Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings. There you'll find GEM Cuisine, which serves Rarotongan-style doughnuts. Don't miss the breakfast doughnut, filled with creamy mushrooms, cheese, hashbrown, bacon and a gooey fried egg.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

The food at Hawkes Bays Wallingford is hard to beat.

Make the journey to a remote Hawke's Bay retreat for an exceptional feast by an award-winning chef.

Wallingford is an enormous villa steeped in history and home to acclaimed chef Chris Stockdale. His eight-course degustation (which can be paired with wine) is some of the best food you will try such as an organic duck egg that'd been cooked for an hour, 'ice and fire' trevally and a white chocolate and chamomile dessert, which was like eating a luxurious Milky Bar.

New Plymouth is home to Ozone Coffee, born in the city more than 20 years ago. The coffee is legendary and best tried at its Taranaki HQ where they have perfected the art of excellent flavour over decades.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

The Whanganui Farmers' Market is always full of fun.

The Whanganui Farmers' Market has more than 100 stalls so arrive hungry for your Saturday morning feast. We found everything from caramel cinnamon rolls, handmade pies, and old-fashioned doughnuts.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Palmerston Norths Blue Acres Blueberries lets you pick by the kilogram.

Half an hour from Palmerston North is berry heaven. At Blue Acres Blueberries, you can pick your own straight from the plant for $9 a kilogram.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

The truffles at Schoc Chocolates are some of the best Ive tried.

Greytown's Schoc Chocolates has more than 60 flavours, including lime and chilli, rose chocolate, Earl Grey tea, apricot and rosemary, geranium, fennel, and a few unusual ones like curry and papadums.

Too much to choose? You can try any flavour for free to help you decide.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Fix and Foggs toast is delicious its hard to look at regular toast the same.

Fix and Fogg is the capital's artisan peanut butter maker, and the company has a hole in the wall eatery in Hannah's Laneway.

Their Black Forest Toast is like an edible piece of art. It has dark chocolate peanut butter, banana, cacao granola, freeze-dried strawberries and wildberry jam.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

A cheeseburger doughnut at The Smoking Barrel.

The Tasman town of Motueka is becoming famous for its doughnuts. The Smoking Barrel sells 300-500 a day, with flavours ranging from R18 Naughty Snickers with bourbon salted caramel, Bounty Bar, vanilla creme brulee, Caramilk deluxe, and salted caramel popcorn to name a few.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

A wine and cheese picnic at Clos Henri Vineyard.

If you love wine and cheese, the French-inspired Clos Henri Vineyard is a must-visit.

Have a picnic among the vines next to a 100-year-old chapel where you can do a tasting accompanied by local cheese. You need to book ahead, as tastings are by appointment only.

For some of the freshest crayfish in Kaikura, stop in at Karaka Lobster.

The shop is a 35-minute drive north of the township and serves dishes with fresh seafood straight from the local fishing fleet.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

The meals at Black Estate are sourced from local ingredients and you can have truffle added to almost anything.

This region is full of underrated vineyards, and one such place is Black Estate. Not only is the wine sensational, but they have an award-winning restaurant that worships the truffle.

During the local truffle season, which is around June to August, almost any dish can have fresh truffle added, carved by a white-gloved waiter, straight onto the plate. Fresh lamb and truffle are a sensational mix, alongside homemade ciabatta and delicious truffle butter.

BROOK SABIN/Stuff

Hokitika Sandwich Company has quickly become a West Coast institution.

The West Coast is renowned for its magnificent natural beauty, but it's also fast becoming known for its incredible sandwiches.

The Hokitika Sandwich Company (which also recently opened a store in Christchurch) offers New York-style sandwiches with fresh local ingredients, such as free-range meats, South Island cheeses, organic greens and homemade sauces.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

The fried chicken at the Pink Lady rooftop lounge.

For the best views and fried chicken in town, head to the top floor of the Muse Hotel, where you'll find The Pink Lady rooftop lounge. It has a wide range of craft beers, wine and cocktails don't go past the fried chicken with "bang bang" sauce.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Fairlie pies are as good as they look.

State Pieway One passes right through the Mackenzie town of Fairlie, where you'll find the Fairlie Bakehouse. This is home to the country's best pies, such as the pork belly pie with apple sauce and crackling.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Strawberry Divine has a wide selection of flavours.

One of the best fresh fruit icecreams we've ever tried can be found just outside Timaru at Strawberry Divine.

They source a wide selection of local fruit and transform it into an edible piece of art right in front of you.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

The Lawrence Mint is a perfect stop for those who have a sweet tooth.

Forget the gold rush; in the tiny Central Otago town of Lawrence, a chocolate rush is underway. The Lawrence Mint feels like you're stepping into a European candy shop with some delicious classics like mint patties and rocky road. Make sure to try the cheesecake - it's a local favourite.

If you're after a healthier alternative to Fergburger, try Bespoke Kitchen.

Here you'll find delicious hemp power smoothies filled with chocolate, banana and the best coconut whip it's a vegan alternative to cream.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Coffee Afloat is found halfway along the Lake Dunstan Trail.

The country's newest cycle trail follows the steep Cromwell Gorge, with a series of spectacular platforms strapped to cliffs.

It's a remote ride along the lake, which makes finding a floating coffee cart and burger bar all the more incredible. Coffee Afloat and Burger Afloat only operate if the weather permits so check their social media platforms before you decide to go looking for them (they're found halfway along the trail).

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Harbour Street Bakerys cronuts are divine.

The cronut (half croissant, half doughnut) was invented by the famous New York chef Dominique Ansel. I've been lucky enough to taste the original, but I liked one in amaru even better.

Everything at Harbour Street Bakery is made by hand, with traditional tools where possible. The cronut had a sweet, flaky pastry that gave way to a soft chewy centre filled with passion fruit coulis and thick vanilla custard. You won't want to share this one.

Brook Sabin/Stuff

Dinner is served in a grand dining room at Larnach Castle.

More:

I travelled to every region in New Zealand: Here is the best food I ate - Stuff.co.nz

Best of Summer: Your chance to vote for classic Kiwi favourites in our nationwide campaign. Video / Jed Bradley / Annaleise Shortland

My feet aged 500 years on the Abel Tasman Coast Track.

Most of the trip is a blur. I was a teenager, tramping with my best friend and her mum, her sister, and some strident feminists who did not shave their armpits.

At night, they talked about periods and body image. I nodded, worldy, cool, secretly flailing in the face of all this female knowledge. They ate salami with garlic. I'm not even sure they were wearing bras.

It was a coastal track but the only beach I truly remember is the first one, where the boat dropped us off and the sand was as golden as a television advertisement. There were no bikinis or drinks with flamingo straws. We are women: Hear us walk and talk for hours and hours and then pitch our tents with absolutely no help from anybody.

That first day was magic. By the end of the 14th, or the second night, I'd had enough. The relentless rain was collecting in every crevice and I'd run out of chocolate. It was too wet for tents, we were too slow to reach a hut in time to nab a bed, and this group with the fortitude of lion queens made the decision to just keep going.

Were there views? Was there even a coast? I remember a long, low stretch of water, gone silver in the misty rain. The bush was monochrome and it was art-house movie beautiful. Then the women started singing to keep their spirits up and the scene turned red and murderous.

You eat an elephant one bite at a time. You walk a coastal track one step at a time.

At the end of that epic many-days-in-one tramp, my friend took a photograph of my feet. They are the cleanest they have ever been, bleached white by my soaked socks and more wrinkled than a Sharpei puppy. The picture of my 500-year-old feet is long lost, but in my mind's eye, the camera also captured my legs. Long, strong, tanned. Limbs that belonged to a girl who could do anything and be anything. A coastal walker who had looked forward and kept going.

The beach is so benign. Go for a swim, lie on a towel, admire your freshly painted toenails (Aruba Blue, Saltwater Happy, et al). A portable speaker plays Six60. A portable barbecue burns the sausages. Everything tastes like tomato sauce and sunscreen and you only ever walk as far as the water.

The coast, by contrast, is dynamic. A border, an edge, a space between there and somewhere else. Sometimes, it feels like the sand is knee-deep. A long, slow slog along the track that's dipped down to sea level. Gravel and shells. Rotting seaweed. Dead jellyfish. Scum-coloured seafoam like someone pulled the plug on a filthy bathtub. Stop and swig from your water bottle. Stare at the waves. Smash-bash-crash. Oh, that's good. You could be a moody poet.

Aotearoa has a 15,000km coastline. We are island dwellers who stride clifftops and beaches because we need to see the sea.

The scientists would like you to know that, in other parts of the world, the mixed sand and gravel beaches we take for granted are rare. That our black sand beaches - mined for gold and iron - have been eroded from the Southern Alps and volcanoes and that when the oceans rose 6000 years ago, they flooded our mainland valleys, forming features like the Marlborough Sounds.

We stand on these edges and we look out. Once, it felt like I did walk to the end of the known world. We took a boat ride to the boardwalks that finish near Mason Bay, at an intersection of Rakiura/Stewart Island's tough northwest and southern circuit tracks. Windswept and wild and in my head forever. I was hiking with a friend from New York. Her feet hurt, she said, because she hadn't worn flat shoes since her last visit to Aotearoa. Some people call our coastline a barrier. I think it is a beginning.

The Herald is searching for the Best of Summer ... and we need your help.

We want you to nominate your favourites from around the country in five categories: Best campground, best fish and chip shop, best playground, best beach walk, and best icecream or gelato shop.

Getting your nominations in is easy just [scroll to the bottom of this page] or go to nzherald.co.nz/bestof to find the simple entry form. There, you'll be able to nominate one contender for each category, as well as telling us a little bit about why you think they deserve to win. Send us a favourite photo of you and your whnau enjoying these great summer spots, and we'll profile some of your entries throughout the month.

Nominations are open until the end of Sunday, January 9. From there, your entries will be counted and the 10 most popular nominees in each of the five categories will be named as our finalists. You will then be able to vote for the ultimate winners.

View original post here:

Barrier or a beginning? How to find yourself, one New Zealand coastal walkway at a time - New Zealand Herald

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor will retire from test cricket after the two-match series against Bangladesh and play his last limited overs internationals against Australia and the Netherlands over the home summer.

The 37-year-old has been a 'Black Caps mainstay since his 2007 test debut, amassing a New Zealand record 7,584 runs in 110 matches at an average of 44.87.

One of only four New Zealanders to play 100 tests, he also holds the nation's record in one-day international runs (8,581)and centuries (21), and was the world's first to play in 100 internationals in all formats.

"It's been an amazing journey and I feel incredibly fortunateto have represented my country for as long as I have,"the former captain said in a statement.

"It's been such a privilege to play with and against some of the greats of the game and to have created so many memories and friendships along the way.

"But all good things must come to an end andthe timing feels right for me."

Taylor hit the winning runs as New Zealand beat India to claim the inaugural World Test Championship in Southampton this year but speculation over his career has grown since a recent rough patch in India where he failed to surpass 11 runs in four innings.

The Bangladesh series starts in Mount Maunganui on New Year's Day.

Coach Gary Stead saidTaylor would bow out as one of New Zealands greats.

"His skills and temperament as a batsman have been world class and his ability to perform at such a high level for so long speaks volumes of his longevity and professionalism," he said.

"His experience has held the side together on countless occasions and his catching record speaks for itself. Theres no doubt were going to miss him when hes gone."

Taylor will continue to play for his provincial side Central Districts until the end of the seasonbefore making a call on his future in domestic cricket.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Link:

New Zealand veteran Taylor to retire from internationals - CNA

Grant Ramsden was sitting in Christchurch Womens Hospital with his wife, who was dealing with complications from a major surgery, when he received a call from his step-mother.

She said theres been an accident and your father has passed away.

It was shortly after 5.30pm on May 21 when his father Russell Ramsden, 75, was killed in a crash with a truck as he rode his electric bike at the intersection of Shands and Halswell Junction roads in Hornby.

It just threw me, Ramsden said of the phone call.

I was already in survival mode trying to be there for my wife and then when my fathers thing came along I was just thinking of everything I could do.

READ MORE:* 'Horrific holiday': Road toll grows to eight as Labour Weekend turns to carnage* Cyclist killed in Canterbury crash was a much-loved father and adventurer

So instead of breaking down I actually went into fighting mode and just concentrated on things that needed to be done.

Ramsden loved adventure. He sailed yachts, rode motorbikes and led hikes for the Over Forties Tramping Club in Canterbury. He was also a safety officer at construction firm Fulton Hogan.

Its heartbreaking. He had a lifetime ahead of him. He was only just starting to retire, his son said.

As the months passed, Ramsden said he tried not to think too much about the crash.

It makes me overthink it, and think about putting myself in his shoes and going through it myself in my own head, and thinking how traumatic it is Most of the time I just shelve it and put it in a box and poke it away somewhere and dont try and open it too often.

SUPPLIED

From left, David Ramsden, Russell Ramsden, Grant Ramsden and Andrew Ramsden. Russell Ramsden was killed in crash in Hornby in May.

A police investigation found no fault on behalf of the truck driver. Several factors were considered to be the cause of the crash, including the trucks design, which meant it had a large blind spot, road design, and Ramsdens positioning of his bike and his choice not to use the bike lane.

The driver was doing everything he was supposed to be doing and dad was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The past eight months had been devastating for the family as they adjusted to life without Ramsden.

I look to my father for a lot of things in life, as you get on you dont need as much, but you still need them there to ask for help or knowledge, and its all gone, and it makes you really upset.

I miss him dearly wed rather him take an extra five seconds and be aware of his surroundings than just marching on and hope for the best, and he could still be here.

A total of 319 people were killed on New Zealand roads as of 5pm December 31, 2021 , up from 318 at the same time the previous year, according to the Ministry of Transport.

STACY SQUIRES/STUFF

Senior pupils at Rangiora's Te Matauru have launched a petition to get their local council to improve road safety outside their school. (First published March 2021)

In Canterbury, 47 people died on the road in 2021 in 36 fatal crashes. At the same time last year, 31 people had been killed in 29 crashes.

In 2017, 55 people died on Canterbury roads. It was the highest road toll since 2007 when 56 people died. The toll in the region has surpassed 50 only three times since 2000.

The official Christmas holiday road toll period started at 4pm on December 24 and runs until 6am on January 5. Since then, there have been seven deaths on New Zealand roads, according to Ministry of Transport data.

On Christmas Eve, one person was killed in a two-car crash that injured five others south of Taup. On the morning of Christmas Day, a motorcyclist died in Hamilton, while another died after a truck and car collided in Waihola, just south of Dunedin.

About 10.30pm on Christmas evening, a pedestrian was hit and killed by a car in New Windsor, Auckland.

On Boxing Day, Rangiora man John Osborne, 62, was killed after his truck plummeted down the bank of Canterbury's Lewis Pass in the early hours of the morning.

The next day, a motorcyclist died in a crash involving three cars in Huntly, Waikato.

NZ Police

Police director of road policing Superintendent Steve Greally.

On December 29, a person died following a three-car crash in Northland, which also left another person in a critical condition, two more in serious conditions and five people with minor injuries.

Polices director of road policing Superintendent Steve Greally spoke with Stuff about the year on New Zealand roads.

He said there had been far less crashes compared to 2020, but more deaths.

He pointed to several multiple fatality crashes including the deaths of five teenage boys in Timaru, a quadruple fatal that included a group of country music fans on their way to the Gold Guitar music festival in Gore, and two adults and an 8-year-old girl killed after the driver went through a controlled intersection and was T-boned by a milk tanker.

Greally said crashes involving multiple fatalities were horror scenes.

These crashes are hard enough to attend when theres serious injury involved, let alone the death of one person, let alone the deaths of several.

Theyre extremely traumatic to our people psychologically theyre very, very hard for our people to grasp.

JOHN BISSET/Stuff

Area commander Dave Gaskin examines the wreckage of a car following a crash in Timaru that killed five teens.

Around the country police were seeing the same basic mistakes, including people not wearing seatbelts, impairment, distraction and speed.

Ive been in this role now for seven years, and its incredibly frustrating when you think about how simple the solution is, Greally said.

Its pretty basic stuff. We know what to do, weve just got to do it, a big part of it is on every motorists shoulders, theyre the only ones who can decide how theyre going to drive that vehicle, the risks theyre going to or not going to take.

Police have launched Operation Deterrence, which includes high police visibility, unpredictability as to where police would be, and network coverage.

Asked how he measured success, Greally pointed to the obvious indicator of a reduction in death and serious injuries.

Public sentiment was also a key indicator, he said.

Do they feel safe on our roads? . Thats the purpose of New Zealand police to ensure that every person who lives, works or transits through New Zealand is safe and feels safe and that includes on our roads. To do that we have to be achieving general deterrence, theres no other way around it.

As the holiday season gets under way, Greally asked motorists to use a bit of empathy for other road users.

For people that have been locked down for a long time they might feel a big urge to get out and leave their judgement at home, we urge people not to do that.

We want people to use judgement at all times, be patient on our roads and respect the fact that in every vehicle that is around you is a human being in there with family, friends and a future, just as vulnerable as you are.

See original here:

Inside New Zealand's road toll: 'It's heartbreaking' - Stuff.co.nz

Summer read: In a hot and overcrowded housing market, real estate agents are having to get creative with their promotion to attract customers and beat their rivals. Michael Andrew ranked some of the most compelling and eccentric ads out there.

First published July 30, 2021.

Theyre in every newspaper. Theyre on every building. Theyre on every bus, bus stop and billboard. Seemingly on every visible public-facing surface from Kaitaia to Bluff, real estate agents smile back at New Zealand. Theyre always friendly, sometimes eccentric, and often huge 10-foot-tall effigies looking down at us as we crawl along the motorways from home to work, from work to home, day after day after day.

That real estate agents have become Aotearoas most ubiquitous and recognisable celebrities is perhaps the most laughable (and disturbing) indictment of our bizarre zeitgeist. After all, is there anything that dominates the national conversation more in 2021 New Zealand than housing? Its become an addiction, an obsession, the subject of our dreams and, increasingly, our nightmares.

But that intensity only means its a great time to be a real estate agent the Wall St stock brokers of our time. The prominence and number of ads are enough to suggest theres a lot of money being thrown around. And with the market booming, and more players entering the industry, the traditional advertising templates evidently are no longer enough real estate agents and companies are having to get increasingly creative to beat their rivals to attract more customers. For that reason, we put out a call to New Zealanders to see what they thought were the best real estate ads around the country.

After assessing the entries on incredibly varied criteria, weve now tabulated the final results into a top 10 list. With that, I present to you the definitive ranking of the best real estate agent ads in New Zealand.

If there was ever a real estate agent whose name perfectly aligned with his or her trade, its Rain Diao otherwise known as the Rainmaker. Hes confident, hes crisp, hes full of youthful house-selling energy and can make money rain from the wealthy heavens. Hes even got his own logo! He actually looks like a fairly pleasant young man, too.

Bonus points for the finger guns. Real WW1 Uncle Sam vibes: I want youto sell your home!

Did you hear? Staceys selling! I couldnt quite figure out if shes selling her own home in this instance, but either way, with the bold canary yellow background and Staceys zebra print blouse, its a conspicuous advertisement that cant help but bring a confused smile to the face of the otherwise enraged driver stuck behind the bus.

Scoring points for its avant-garde qualities, Paul Neshausens ad is an exercise in powerful minimalism. Its the noir background. Its Pauls intense and determined gaze. Its the shirt unbuttoned in the afterwork drinks at 46 and York fashion a detail that proves fabulous success need not be packaged up in a neat and tidy half-windsor knot tie.

But most of all, its the energy of this ad, which is, in every single pixel, BIG MONEY.

When it comes to puns, cliches and just plain bad writing, most public facing professionals journalists in particular would be crucified for using them. But for some reason real estate agents are afforded an almost unlimited licence to infringe.

But sometimes it actually works. The Hutt Valleys Ivan Wong Kee makes effective use of wordplay in this billboard with its clever adaptation of the myth of King Midas and the Golden Touch. Through the adapted slogan, Ivan is effectively implying that he is the King of Real Estate. Now thats the kind of confidence and knowledge of ancient history I would look for in an agent, in the very unlikely case I ever have a house to sell! Bonus points for the red blazer.

Not Trevor. Not Traverse. Not Travis. Its TRAVERS god dammit! Travers Smyth (Smith?) scores points for originality and the refreshing modesty it takes to admit your name gets botched in so many ridiculous ways. I mean, I get how you could mistake his name for Travis. But how do you get Trevor? It doesnt even sound the same.

Forget stagnant billboards and newspaper ads, if you really want to attract customers and appeal to different demographics, youve got to get into video. Linh Yee from Ray White did just that, creating an entire music video which featured a rewrite of Bruno Mars 24K Magic.

The production value seems decent, and the Range Rover in the Ray White colours juxtaposes so cleverly with the very basic looking Mt Roskill bungalow in the video. It doesnt sound too bad either.

Rick Trippe is our ranking wild card because hes not actually from New Zealand hes a real estate agent from Darwin, Australia. Ive included him here because, well, I had to. I mean look at the guy. The bow tie. The weird red hard hat. The half smile, half grimace. I just couldnt ignore the overwhelming Australianness of it all.

The real reason Rick has been included is his antics out of work and on the water, which a simple Google search will reveal. An avid spear fisherman, Rick was out on his boat in 2015 when he saw a race horse drowning in the nearby water. It took him several hours, but Rick eventually saved the animal by towing and guiding it back to shore.

In another episode, he witnessed a battle between a poisonous stonefish and a sea snake locked in a death grip. He fished the beasts from the water and pried them apart, returning both to the sea. Rick later told media hes well practised at handling snakes, having caught and removed many pythons from his chicken coup.

I cant decide if its the hair, or the splits. Or a combination of both. Either way, Alex Wu deserves his bronze medal for this creative ad in which he straddles two houses like a colossus while giving a double thumbs up. Judges (me) praised Alexs cool hair, his core strength, and his innovative use of symmetry to bring a sense of order and calm to my very chaotic mind.

There are infinite techniques one can employ to sell a product. But whats the point in any of them when you can just dress up like an iconic movie character from a multi-billion dollar nine-movie franchise?

Palmerston Norths Pollie Ensing comes in second place for sheer simplicity she dresses up like Princess Leia from Star Wars. Again, clever use of word play in the slogan: out of this world results.

Bonus points for the fact that she plies her trade in old Palmy, and not the Auckland or Wellington hotspots.

If New Zealands housing crisis has shown us anything, its that a real estate agent doesnt have to look a certain way to be successful. Carl Watkins epitomises this maxim. For central Aucklanders, Carl has become an icon. For months now his likeness has grinned out from a curiously-placed billboard looking out over Newton Gully, charming and befuddling drivers with his phenomenally unorthodox look. Who is this man, we all ask. Is he rocking a mullet? Is that a faded sunburst halo behind his head? Why is he wearing what looks like a baby blue trench coat?

Whatever the reason, Carls unapologetically unique look in an industry that oozes affectation makes him a compelling and entertaining figure one that incites intrigue in a way that Im sure only serves to increase his profile and customer base. For that reason, I hereby name Carl Watkins the undisputed winner of my ranking.

Carl also gets bonus points for his other profession, hair dressing, and for one scene in his promotional video in which our champion pours water from a tap into a martini glass.

It might not make sense to us, or society, or the owner of the house hes selling. But by god it makes sense to Carl.

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New Zealand's best real estate agent ads, reviewed and ranked - The Spinoff

Fourteen people have now died on New Zealand roads during this holiday period. Photo / File

As the holiday road toll climbed to 14 overnight, one road safety expert says more could be done to prevent fatal crashes in New Zealand.

Three people have died on our roads in the past 24 hours - bumping the holiday road toll to 14 as of this afternoon.

Police confirmed the fatalities in several updates this morning while also making an appeal for potential witnesses to come forward.

Automobile Association spokesman Mike Noon told Newstalk ZB that up to 100 lives could be saved each year if changes such as road improvements were made.

"Australia is on track to have about 4.4 road deaths per 100,000 people. We have 6.3 and the best countries in the world - which are some of the Nordic countries - they're more around about two.

"So we are doing significantly worse than Australia; which is a country we very much like to compare ourselves to.

"If we had the same road death rate as Australia, 100 people less would've died this past year," he said.

A total of 319 people were killed on roads around the country by the end of 2021. The figure is only one less than the road toll the year before.

Noon said the older vehicle fleet in New Zealand was one of the factors.

"People die in one- and two-star cars, significantly more than they die in four- and five-star cars.

"And we have an old fleet. So the vehicles that we're in, when it does go wrong, do not protect us as well as those countries that have a better standard of car with more safety features."

The other factor was sections of our roads that "desperately" needed to be improved.

"Quite a lot of our roads need maintenance done on them ... these are roads that are bumpy, have pot holes, have the tar is flushed ... and they lose their grippiness for the tyres of your vehicle.

"There are definitely things we can do to our infrastructure to help ourselves."

The latest holiday period road fatalities include a pedestrian who was struck and killed by a vehicle on Waih Rd in Judea, Tauranga, last night.

Emergency crews responded to reports a person had been hit by a car about 9.40pm.

"Sadly, the pedestrian has died as a result of the crash," police said today.

Police are now working to determine the circumstances of the incident.

In Gisborne, a person died after a serious crash in the area yesterday afternoon.

One vehicle was involved in the crash reported just after 4.40pm on Matawai Rd in Waerengaahika.

The circumstances of the incident are not yet known and police are investigating.

The road was closed for some time as emergency crews worked at the site.

Meanwhile, officers investigating a fatal crash in Waip, in the Waikato region, yesterday afternoon are calling on potential witnesses to get in touch with police immediately.

The single-vehicle crash happened on Arapuni Rd in the vicinity of Monckton Rd and Mellsop Rd.

Police confirmed yesterday that one person had been killed.

Authorities are now appealing for help from a vehicle that was immediately in front of the car that crashed shortly before the accident.

"Police would like to hear from the driver and passenger of a white car that was in front of the vehicle that crashed.

"While they were not involved, it is thought they may have information that would assist with the ongoing inquiries to understand the circumstances of the crash," a statement said.

Anyone who witnessed that particular crash is asked to call police on 105.

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Holiday road toll: Three fatalities in 24 hours take toll to 14; NZ could save 100 lives a year on roads - New Zealand Herald

Police are appealing for further witnesses to an alleged sexual assault of a young woman in Riverton in the early hours of New Year's Day.

Police are appealing for further witnesses to an alleged sexual assault of a young woman in Riverton in the early hours of New Year's Day to come forward.

Police inquiries are continuing and they are appealing for anyone who was travelling on foot or bicycle in the vicinity of Bates St and John St between 12.30am and 12.50am on January 1 to come forward.

it comes a day after police first made a public appeal for information early yesterday.

Now, they have renewed their calls.

"Anyone who may have information that could assist the investigation is asked to contact Police on 105 quoting file number 220101/8606," a statement says.

"Information can also be passed on anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111."

Ahead of New Year's Eve, one of New Zealand's top detectives warned that "sexual assault is unacceptable".

"Sexual assaults can happen to anyone at any time, but this summer police want to offer some tips for people to keep safe," says Detective Inspector Dave Kirby of the New Zealand Police National Criminal Investigation Branch.

"It is never the victim's fault and should not be tolerated in any situation."

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Police appeal for more witnesses after New Year's sexual assault in Riverton, Southland - New Zealand Herald

Supplied

Nick Afoa and his partner Josslynn at Stillwater Estuary at Whangaparoa.

Nick Afoa is a singer and actor.

Rotorua. I remember my first trip there as a child: your nose tells you that youve arrived before you even see a sign. Thankfully, my father told me what sulphur was. I returned frequently as I got older, visiting local friends. Ive always found it incredible to see geothermal springs in the suburbs, like the land is living and breathing. For me, this is Aotearoa and theres nowhere like it.

It would have to be kayak fishing at Hatfields Beach in Rodney, around 50 kilometres north of Auckland, past the busy Orewa Beach. Right on sunrise I hug the coastal cliffs on the way out for some beautiful scenery. Even if I come back without fish, its always worth the trip.

READ MORE:* The 'mind-blowing' spot this resort manager would take every visitor to in NZ* Where to find the Kpiti Coast's 'beautiful secret garden'* 'It gives me goosebumps': The breathtaking region this lodge owner calls home* The Auckland park that's my favourite secret spot

BROOK SABIN

This wasn't some glamorous electric-powered holiday around New Zealand; it involved roadside diarrhoea, a road that floats and a near-serious accident.

It has to be Dairy Flat Bakery. Im a steak and cheese pie fiend and this place hits the spot. The roast pork belly pie is great, too.

Its a dream of my partner and I to one day do a full trek of the country from north to south. While living overseas I met many people whod seen more places in my own country than I have, especially in the South Island. That didnt sit well with me. Doing a roadie of the country is a definite on our bucket list.

Staying safe: New Zealand is currently under Covid-19 restrictions. Face coverings are mandatory on all flights and public transport. Proof of vaccination and vaccine exemption may be required in some venues under the traffic light system. Follow the instructions at covid19.govt.nz.

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The New Zealand roadie on this actor's bucket list - Stuff.co.nz

The proposal from the country's health officials is headlined by a ban that raises the minimum age to buy cigarettes every year beginning in 2023. It would effectively be a permanent ban on cigarettes for those aged 14 or younger. Hannah Peters/Getty Images hide caption

The proposal from the country's health officials is headlined by a ban that raises the minimum age to buy cigarettes every year beginning in 2023. It would effectively be a permanent ban on cigarettes for those aged 14 or younger.

When New Zealand officials announced a unique, comprehensive plan last week to effectively end cigarette smoking in their country, tobacco researchers and health policy advocates elsewhere around the world perked up their ears.

In fact, the policy is so sweeping that it could represent what experts refer to as the "endgame" in the fight against tobacco.

"New Zealand's package in the endgame is an extraordinary and far-reaching set of measures that have always been talked about but never implemented," said Geoffrey Fong, a researcher on tobacco policy at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. "That's very exciting and potentially very powerful for the world."

The proposal from New Zealand's health officials would effectively ban anyone 14 years or younger from purchasing cigarettes for their entire lifetimes. It would raise the minimum age to buy cigarettes every year beginning in 2023. The new policy is expected to be enacted next year.

Officials say their goal is to decrease the number of New Zealanders who smoke cigarettes to just 5% of the population by 2025. Currently, 11% of the adult population smokes.

Now, tobacco researchers and health policymakers around the world say they will be closely watching the results to see if such an effort could be replicable elsewhere.

"This would be an amazing example or a template like an experiment, right? If it works there, then definitely there is a chance it will work elsewhere," said Wael Al-Delaimy, an epidemiologist at the University of California San Diego.

Researchers agreed that wide-ranging bans, like the one proposed in New Zealand, should be accompanied by other tobacco reduction measures in order to maximize effectiveness.

Health officials in New Zealand have proposed a handful of other measures alongside the ban, including limiting the number of retailers where tobacco can be sold. Eventually, only low-nicotine cigarettes will be allowed.

"Tobacco is a very powerful, addictive substance. So if you ban this without a well-thought-out plan, without all the resources, it could have the backlash of black market smuggling and so on. That's real," said Al-Delaimy.

In New Zealand, cigarettes are taxed so heavily that a pack costs roughly $20 U.S. dollars. A black market already exists to circumvent those high prices, and some critics of the proposal worry the ban will exacerbate that.

Other opponents include owners of many of the nation's thousands of gas stations and corner stores, which are often called "dairies."

Sunny Kaushal, chair of the Dairy and Business Owners Group, told The Associated Press that he hoped the country could find another way to eliminate smoking without "destroying dairies, lives and families in the process."

Data collected from New Zealand could help inform other governments considering similar options, said Fong, who leads the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project, a worldwide effort to track the effects of tobacco policies.

"Whenever you're the first country, you don't truly know what's going to happen," Fong said. "But if there is strong evaluation... then that's going to open the doors for a lot of other countries to consider some or all of those policies there."

New Zealand has a number of unique factors including its island geography and liberal politics that could make such a comprehensive set of policies more difficult to enact in other places, Fong added.

In the United States, smoking bans at the federal level are few and far between. An executive order signed by President Bill Clinton in 1997 banned smoking inside federal buildings, and the Department of Transportation fully banned smoking on all passenger flights in 2000.

Instead, America's many indoor smoking bans are controlled by states and municipalities. Roughly a dozen states do not have a statewide indoor smoking ban, and several others exempt bars and some other types of businesses.

Al-Delaimy, the researcher at UCSD, lived and worked in New Zealand for five years. There, his research about the effect of secondhand smoke on bar employees was referenced by the Ministry of Health during its efforts to pass an indoor smoking ban in the early 2000s. In 2004, New Zealand became the third country to implement such a ban.

Since he moved to California, Al-Delaimy has worked with the state's Department of Public Health to conduct tobacco research to help inform policymakers.

Within the U.S., even a liberal state like California which was the first state to pass a ban on smoking in restaurants would face challenges in enacting a ban like New Zealand's, Al-Delaimy said.

For one, there's no guarantee that states neighboring California would follow suit with bans of their own. "People can just go buy it from there," he said. Another factor is what American Indian tribal communities decide to do. Some may choose to allow the sale of cigarettes on tribal land.

"It's not an easy fix or a light switch to say, 'OK, let's do it.' It means a lot of support from communities, government and the tobacco control community," he said. "To have an example in New Zealand is going to really help this discussion go forward."

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New Zealand's unique cigarette ban may be a model for ...