An ACT candidate has withdrawn from a new Wellington electorate race at November’s election, after failing to declare her previous membership of a Chinese political group linked to the country’s ruling communist party.

After Local Democracy Reporting sent questions about Lyra Yan Zhang’s background on Monday, the party confirmed on Tuesday the Kenepuru candidate had resigned – a week after her unveiling.

“All of our candidates are asked to disclose previous political party memberships. Ms Zhang did not disclose her previous connections, and [on Monday] she decided not to continue with her candidacy,” an ACT spokesperson said in a statement.

• READ MORE: Other Local Democracy Reports

Online publications by the China Zhi Gong Party — a satellite party of the Chinese Communist Party — reveal Zhang was a member who sat on party committees in the province of Hunan.

Zhi Gong Party is one of eight “democratic” minor parties officially recognised in China’s one-party political system.

Researchers into China’s foreign influence operations say it is a “united front” organisation controlled by the CCP’s United Front Work Department to assert influence on overseas Chinese communities and mobilise them to promote Beijing’s foreign policy goals.

“Membership of the party demonstrates a close affiliation with the CCP,” said Geoff Wade, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

“Members of the party, even nominally retired ones overseas, thus offer overt challenges to democratic societies through potential influence and coercion activities within the host society.”

Porirua local elections
Zhang also ran in last year’s local body elections in Porirua, coming 11th out of 15 candidates at the Onepoto General Ward.

Zhang told The Post at the time she was a Zhi Gong Party party member from 2017 until 2020, when she resigned because of the covid-19 pandemic, and was “not a current membership for declarations”. She did not run under the ACT banner.

ACT said it conducted “extensive vetting” of candidates, including independent social media and background checks, criminal record checks, and credit checks. “This is alongside disclosure questions we ask prospective candidates, including previous party affiliations.”

Zhang, in a statement issued through ACT, said she remained supportive of the party.

The revelations are in the midst of New Zealand’s intelligence agency saying China is the “most active” country in conducting foreign interference and candidates being told to be wary of foreign interference, which could risk damage the reputation of the country, themselves or their party.

At the end of 2017, businessman Zhang Yikun, whose 2022 convictions over fraudulent political donations to the National Party were later quashed by the Court of Appeal, arranged for then Southland mayor Gary Tong to visit China in the name of the Zhi Gong Party’s central committee.

Businessman Zhang Yikun, whose 2022 convictions over fraudulent political donations to the National Party were later quashed by the Court of Appeal, welcomed Zhi Gong leaders to New Zealand in 2017 and attended the party’s 90th anniversary in Beijing in 2015.”

Zhang himself welcomed Zhi Gong leaders to New Zealand in 2017 and attended the party’s 90th anniversary in Beijing in 2015.

Export company
Lyra Yan Zhang moved from China to New Zealand in 2001 to study English and graduated from Massey University in 2006, according to a 2015 post on Chinese-language social media WeChat by her now-defunct export company that sells milk, honey and other health products to China.

In April 2017, a report by the provincial Zhi Gong Party in Hunan said Zhang was a member from its second branch in Lusong District of the city of Zhuzhou. She played an “important role” in arranging a visit to Zhuzhou’s high-tech industrial parks from about 10 New Zealanders, it said.

By the end of the year, she became one of six deputy chairs of a new association made up by Zhi Gong Party members, who are young diaspora with roots in Zhuzhou, according to the website of the United Front Work Department of Hunan’s provincial CCP.

Zhang’s campaign for local office in Porirua, centring on upgrading local infrastructure and pledged to improve transparency on council spending, made no references to her previous political involvement in China.

ACT’s press release announcing its candidates did not include Zhang’s biography.

ACT leader David Seymour campaigned in 2023 on stopping foreign investment from China to build New Zealand roads: “We can’t just close our eyes and hope the CCP don’t take the opportunity to gain a foothold in New Zealand.”

Earlier this month, Beijing banned four New Zealand MPs from entering China, Hong Kong and Macau for a year over their visit to Taiwan, including National’s Maureen Pugh, Labour’s Duncan Webb, ACT’s Laura McClure and NZ First’s David Wilson.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. This story was first published on

Fauono Ken Laban has been elected Mayor of Lower Hutt, making history as Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Pasifika mayor.

Fauono secured 8704 votes, comfortably ahead of Brady Dyer (6974), Karen Morgan (5529), and Prabha Ravi (3608).

His victory marks a historic milestone for Pacific representation in local government.

• READ MORE: Māori wards, candidates voted down across Taranaki in NZ local elections
  
• Other Local Democracy Reporting stories

A long-time broadcaster, sports commentator, and former councillor, Fauono has been a visible advocate for inclusion, youth opportunity, and safer communities across the Wellington region.

He is also the only Pasifika mayoral candidate to have been successfully elected in this year’s local elections.

Also in Hutt City, Mele Tonga-Grant won a council seat in the at-large race by a margin of just one vote, 7759 to 7758 over independent candidate Kath McGuinness, one of the tightest results in the country.

The result remains provisional, with preliminary results due on Monday and the final count, including special votes, to be confirmed on Friday.

In the Hutt Valley, Pacific representation also continues at the community level. In the Wainuiomata Community Board election, Lesa Bingley (Independent) received 2264 votes, followed by Vatau Sagaga with 2097 and Lahraine Sagaga (Independent) with 1914.

Their results reflect a strong Pacific presence among local candidates contributing to grassroots leadership across the Wellington region.

Poriua
In neighbouring Porirua, Kylie Wihapi (Māori Ward) and Izzy Ford (Onepoto General Ward) have both been re-elected as city councillors, the incumbent councillors from the previous term. Their wins add to Porirua’s long tradition of strong Pasifika and Māori civic leadership. Both are community advocates known for their work in health, housing, and youth empowerment.

Dunedin
In Ōtepoti, Marie Laufiso (Building Kotahitaka) has been re-elected to the Dunedin City Council. First elected in 2016, Laufiso has chaired several council committees, including Community Services, Grants, and the Social Wellbeing Advisory Group. A strong advocate for social equity, sustainability and collective care, she continues to ensure Pacific and community perspectives remain part of local decision-making in Dunedin.

Nelson
In Nelson, Matty Anderson (Independent), who is of Niuean and Pākehā heritage, has been re-elected to the Central Ward alongside Lisa Austin, Pete Rainey and James Hodgson. A former Navy serviceman and community advocate, Anderson has worked across disability, youth, Pacific, migrant and homelessness support. He continues to promote inclusion, grassroots engagement and positive civic participation across the city.

Waitaki
In Ōamaru, Mata’aga Hana Melania Fanene-Taiti has been elected to the Waitaki District Council, representing the Ōamaru Ward. A New Zealand-born Samoan with family ties to Vaiee, Moata’a and Saleimoa in Samoa, she holds the matai title Mata’aga from her mother’s village of Vaiee. Fanene-Taiti’s election reflects a new generation of Pasifika voices stepping into civic leadership in smaller centres, with a focus on inclusion, wellbeing and community representation beyond the main cities.

National significance
The 2025 local elections have seen a rise in Pasifika representation across Aotearoa, with both returning leaders and new candidates elected to councils nationwide.

Fauono’s election as New Zealand’s first Pacific mayor marks a significant milestone in local government, reflecting the growing participation of Pasifika communities in civic life.

Saturday’s progress results indicate a tight race for several seats. Preliminary results will be released on Monday, with final results confirmed on Friday once the special votes have been counted.

Mary Afemata is a reporter with Pacific Media Network. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a member of LDR.

The sisters running Auckland’s first authentic Polynesian show for tourists say it’s not just for visitors, but also to help uplift Pacific people.

Louisa Tipene Opetaia and Ama Mosese’s Glorious Tours was pooled as one of 10 new “Treasures of Tāmaki Makaurau”: a go-to guide by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) for local Māori tourism.

Their tour tells the story of how Auckland became the biggest Polynesian city in the world, and often starts with a drop in at a Pacific or Māori-owned cafe, a guided hīkoi up the Māngere mountain, hangi lunch, a haka show at the museum, then end with a kava-drinking experience.

• READ MORE: Other tourism reports

The tour, which has been running for a year, aims to give visitors an Auckland experience through local eyes, with Māori-led journeys and dining events.

Opetaia said before they started their tour, tourists were travelling to Rotorua for a Pacific cultural experience.

The only other regular Polynesian show for tourists in Auckland was at Auckland Museum, where there was a daily haka show.

“We have rich culture gold in south Auckland,” she said.

“All tourists fly here, in our backyard and we wanted to offer them something right here.”

The sisters, who are of Māori and Samoan heritage, call themselves “cultural connectors”.

‘The space was lacking’
“We’ve been working for these other companies for some time, some of them not even New Zealand-owned. And we felt we were the face of these companies but behind the scenes it wasn’t a local or Māori or indigenous business.

“We decided to step into this space that we saw was lacking, and offer authentic indigenous cultural experiences here in Tāmaki Makaurau — the biggest Polynesian city in the world.”

Glorious Tours is based out of Naumi Hotel, near the Auckland Airport in Māngere.

“We tailor it to what they want, so if they like shopping we take them to places where they can buy authentic Pacific goods, or we take them to our local gallery in Māngere.

This month, the sisters will launch a Polynesian dinner and dance show in Māngere, featuring local schools.

“It’s not just for the tourists, it’s for our own people. Our kaupapa is to uplift our local people, especially our rangatahi.”

TAU director of Māori outcomes Helen Te Hira said Treasures of Tāmaki Makaurau plays a vital role in ensuring Māori culture, businesses and leadership are central to the way Tāmaki Makaurau is experienced by visitors.

“Every business on this platform brings something unique — a sense of purpose, cultural depth and creative excellence.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a partner.

Porirua City Council is set to create a memorial for more than 1800 former patients of the local hospital buried in unmarked graves. But Pacific leaders are asking to be “meaningfully involved” in the process, including incorporating prayer, language, and ceremonial practices.

More than 50 people gathered at Porirua Cemetery last month after the council’s plans became public, many of whom are descendants of those buried without headstones.

Cemeteries Manager Daniel Chrisp said it was encouraging to see families engaging with the project.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific burial reports

Chrisp’s team has placed 99 pegs to mark the graves of families who have come forward so far. One attendee told him that it was deeply moving to photograph the site where two relatives were buried.

“It’s fantastic that we’ve got to this point, having the descendants of those in unmarked graves encouraged to be involved,” he said.

“These plots represent mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children and other relatives, so it’s important to a lot of people.”

The Porirua Lunatic Asylum, which later became Porirua Hospital, operated from 1887 until the 1990s. At its peak in the 1960s, it was one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest hospitals, housing more than 2000 patients and staff.

As part of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, the government has established a national fund for headstones for unmarked graves.

Porirua City Council has applied for $200,000 to install a memorial that will list every known name.

Criticism over lack of Pacific consultation
Some Pacific community leaders say they were never consulted, despite Pacific people among the deceased.

Porirua Cook Islands Association chairperson Teurukura Tia Kekena said this was the first she had heard of the project, and she was concerned Pacific communities had not been included in conversations so far.

“If there was any unmarked grave and the Porirua City Council is aware of the names, I would have thought they would have contacted the ethnic groups these people belonged to,” she said.

“From a Cook Islands point of view, we need to acknowledge these people. They need to be fully acknowledged.”

Kekena learned about the project only after being contacted by a reporter, despite the council’s ongoing efforts to identify names and place markers for families who have come forward.

The council’s application for funding is part of its response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry.

Kekena said it was important how the council managed the memorial, adding that it mattered deeply for Cook Islands families and the wider Pacific community, especially those with relatives buried at the site.

Reflect Pacific values
She believed that a proper memorial should reflect Pacific values, particularly the importance of faith, family, and cultural protocol.

“It’s huge. It’s connecting us to these people,” she said. “Just thinking about it is getting me emotional.

“Like I said, the Pākehā way of acknowledging is totally different from our way. When we acknowledge, when we go for an unveiling, it’s about family. It’s about family. It’s about family honouring the person that had passed.

“And we do it in a way that we have a service at the graveside with the orometua [minister] present. Yeah, unveil the stone by the family, by the immediate family, if there were any here at that time.”

She also underscored the connection between remembering the deceased and healing intergenerational trauma, particularly given the site’s history with mental health.

Healing the trauma
“It helps a lot. It’s a way of healing the trauma. I don’t know how these people came to be buried in an unmarked grave, but to me, it’s like they were just put there and forgotten about.

“I wouldn’t like to have my family buried in a place and be forgotten.”

Kekena urged the council to work closely with the Cook Islands community moving forward and said she would bring the matter back to her association to raise awareness and check possible connections between local families and the names identified.

Yvonne Underhill‑Sem, a Cook Islands community leader and professor of Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland, said the memorial had emotional significance, noting her personal connection to Whenua Tapu as a Porirua native.

“In terms of our Pacific understandings of ancestry, everybody who passes away is still part of our whānau. The fact that we don’t know who they are is unsettling,” she said.

“It would be a real relief to the families involved and to the generations that follow to have those graves named.”

Council reponse
A Porirua City Council spokesperson said they had been actively sharing the list of names with the public and encouraged all communities — including Pacific groups, genealogists, and local iwi — to help spread the word.

So far, 99 families have come forward.

“We would encourage any networks such as Pacific, genealogists and local iwi to share the list around for members of the public to get in touch,” the spokesperson said.

The list of names is available on the council’s website and includes both a downloadable file and a searchable online tool here.

Porirua councillors Izzy Ford and Moze Galo, two of the three Pacific members on the council, said Pacific families must be central to the memorial process. Ford said burial sites carried deep cultural weight for Pacific communities.

“We know that burial sites are more than just places of rest, they are sacred spaces that hold our stories, our ancestry and dignity — they are our connection to those who came before us.”

She said public notices and websites were not enough.

“If we are serious about finding the families of those buried in unmarked graves here in Porirua, we have to go beyond public notices and websites.”

Funding limited
Ford said government funding would be limited, and the council must work with trusted Pacific networks to reach families.

“It means partnering with groups who carry trust in our community . . . Pacific churches, elders, and organisations, communicating in our languages through Pacific radio, social media, community events, churches, and health providers.”

Galo agreed and said the memorial must reflect Pacific values in both design and feeling.

“It should feel warm, colourful, spiritual, and welcoming. Include Pacific designs, carvings, and symbols . . .  there should be room for prayer, music, and quiet reflection,” he said.

“Being seen and heard brings healing, honour, and helps restore our connection to our ancestors. It reminds our families that we belong, that our history matters, and that our voice is valued in this space.”

Galo said the work must continue beyond the unveiling.

“Community involvement shouldn’t stop after the memorial is built, we should have a role in how it’s maintained and used in the future.

“These were real people, with families, love, and lives that mattered. Some were buried without names, without ceremony, and that left a deep pain. Honouring them now is a step toward healing, and a way of saying, you were never forgotten.”

Members of the public who recognise a family name on the list are encouraged to get in touch by emailing cemeteries@poriruacity.govt.nz.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a partner in the project.

The Manurewa Local Board is developing its first Pan-Pacific strategy in Aotearoa New Zealand to amplify Pasifika voices in local decision-making.

A recent community workshop brought leaders and residents together to develop a strategy that will help guide how the board engages with Pasifika communities. The plan will then be presented in June.

Akerei Maresala-Thomson, an Auckland Council partner and facilitator of the workshop at Manurewa Library, described it as a listening session.

• READ MORE: Other Local Democracy Reporting stories
  

“A lot of work has gone into reaching this stage, with investment from both past and present board members. This will be the first Pasifika strategy for the board-a win for our community.”

The strategy aims to amplify Pacific voices in local decision-making, promote cultural recognition, improve access to services, and encourage Pasifika participation in governance.

Maresala-Thomson facilitated a similar workshop in 2019, laying the groundwork for this initiative.

The strategy, expected to be presented in June, will be informed by feedback from the workshop and an online community survey.

According to the 2023 Census, Pasifika make up nearly 40 percent of Manurewa’s approximately 39,450 residents. The consultation process involved gathering demographic information and identifying key priorities for the community.

“There was a diverse mix of expertise and perspectives in the room,” said Maresala-Thomson. “Some smaller Pasifika communities weren’t represented, and our youth were largely absent.

“However, many contributed via the online survey, which helped guide our discussions.”

The local board wants a Pan-Pacific approach — not just input from the larger island groups but representation from all the diverse Pacific communities, he said.

“More often than not, and this is no fault of our own, our Samoan, Cook Island, and Tongan communities naturally make up the larger share of our population.

“But they wanted to make sure we also reached our smaller community groups, like our Niuean, Tuvaluan, Solomon Islands, and even Rotuman communities.”

The group received great representation from the Tuvaluan, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Niuean communities, in addition to the larger, traditional networks from Samoan and Tongan communities, he said.

‘Great networking opportunity’
One attendee, Kate*, who asked not to be identified, said she joined the workshop to understand how local boards align with Pasifika priorities.

“It was a great networking opportunity, but ultimately, I wanted to know how I can best support the community,” she said. “The issues raised today aren’t new. We’ve been talking about them for years.”

Kate believes many Pasifika families struggle to engage with local government because they don’t see the impact of their input.

“There’s access to these spaces, but people don’t know where to go or why it matters. We need better ways to bring the conversation into people’s homes,” she said.

Engaging Pasifika youth was another key discussion point.

“There are youth in different spaces, and we need to find the champions — whether through youth councils, community groups, or other networks-who can help share the message among their peers.”

Kathleen Guttenbeil-Vatuvei, a community educator and financial mentor at Vaiola Pacific Island Budgeting Service Trust, said she attended the event to ensure financial capability was part of the discussion.

“When you hear ‘strategy,’ you want to be involved in shaping solutions,” she said. “What is the local board going to do about these issues? Are they listening? How do we fit into this strategy, and do we have a voice?”

She stressed the importance of youth involvement.

“Youth should be equally represented. But sometimes, they feel intimidated around elders or community leaders. It’s important to create spaces where they feel comfortable contributing.”

Angela Dalton, Councillor for Manurewa-Papakura and former chair of the local board, received a message from Maresala-Thomson thanking her for initiating the strategy years ago.

“I always felt we weren’t turning words into tangible outcomes for Pasifika,” Dalton said.

“I was determined to build strong relationships to ensure we deliver projects that meet the needs of our growing Pasifika population.”

Feedback will shape final draft
Feedback will shape the final draft of the strategy. A subcommittee will refine the document before it is presented to the Manurewa Local Board.

The goal is to align its implementation with the 2025-2026 Local Board Plan, ensuring Pasifika priorities are embedded in decision-making.

A steering committee will oversee the project, ensuring it reflects the aspirations of Manurewa’s Pasifika communities and fosters meaningful engagement with local government.

Maresala-Thomson said: “What we get from today, from your feedback, which has been amazing, this will help to draft the strategic plan specifically for Pacific and Manurewa.”

Local Democracy Reporting (LDR) is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a community member of the LDR project.

New Plymouth has admitted it has investments in companies active in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land, contrary to New Zealand government foreign policy and United Nations rulings.

The revelation comes a week after Mayor Neil Holdom refused a request from Parihaka Pā and all the district’s iwi to make sure the council was not invested in companies profiting from the settlements.

The shareholdings sparked a hostile debate with Holdom accusing councillor Bali Haque of politicising the district’s nest-egg for virtue signalling, and Haque in turn questioning the mayor’s honesty and integrity.

• READ MORE: UN overwhelmingly backs immediate Gaza ceasefire – but 3 Pacific nations vote against
• Other LDR reports at Asia Pacific Report

The investments were made from New Plymouth District Council’s $400 million Perpetual Investment Fund (PIF).

The money is managed by Mercer in a passive fund, which automatically follows an index of companies and chooses which shares to buy.

Eight companies invested in by Mercer have been named by the UN as enabling and profiting from the expansion of Israeli settlements in Palestinian Occupied Territories:

• Motorola Solutions — the security arm of the mobile phone maker.
• Travel companies Expedia, Airbnb, and Booking Holdings which owns Booking.com and other sites.
• French multinational railways manufacturer Alstom
• Three Israeli banks, including the country’s first and third biggest — which often offer concessionary loans to settlers.

Less than $1m involved
Less than a million dollars is involved, just a quarter of one percent of New Plymouth’s PIF.

Haque wanted Mercer to be told that NPDC strongly disagrees with investing in companies active in the settlements and wants the investments ended as soon as possible.

He also proposed that the council-owned company overseeing the fund — the PIF Guardians — bring more advice on the process and cost of divestment if Mercer did not act.

“We need to do something,” Haque said.

“It’s small, I understand less than a million we’re talking about, but it is significant in terms of the impact . . .  This is something we can actually do and control.”

Mayor Neil Holdom repeated his explanation to the Parihaka delegation for opposing any action.

“Given the deeply sensitive and complex nature of the Israeli-Palestine conflict we’ve gotta approach this with a great deal of care and it’s my view that supporting this could be seen as taking a position in a dispute that has profound emotional and personal significance for members of our community on both sides.”

‘A terrible conflict’
The Mayor then turned to Haque.

“It is clear councillor Haque cares deeply about this issue and wants this debate and in the desperation to signal his personal conviction now wants to start playing politics with the PIF.

“It’s a terrible conflict, it’s a disaster for everybody involved but now someone wants to drag our community’s $400 million investment fund into this and make it a political football, to make a political point.”

Haque, clearly shocked, said it was Holdom himself who had told him to bring the motion to the Council Controlled Organisations committee.

“I’m staggered that now you have now done an about face and turned the tables . . .  You were the very person who encouraged me to put this very motion to this committee and now you are attacking me personally for actually acting on the basis of what you asked me to do.

“So my respect — with respect — has declined in your honesty and integrity.”

Neil Holdom: “Wow! Wow, unbelievable.”

Chair Marie Pearce: “Yeah”

Councillor Murray Chong “He didn’t attack you at all

Councillor Anneke Carlson Mathews: “That was a full-on attack!”

Pearce barely kept control of the meeting.

‘Getting out of hand’
“This is getting totally out of hand.”

Once tempers cooled, the Mayor explained that advice from the PIF Guardians was that the low-cost passive fund offered no control over Mercer’s decision and putting the funds in different management could cost up to $3.2 million a year in higher fees.

Holdom said he had told Haque of the advice.

Haque said that he had adjusted his proposal in response and read Holdom’s text message advising him to bring a proposal to instruct Mercer to comply with UN resolutions.

“We heard that it might be expensive but I’d quite like to know what it is we’re up for if Mercer decides not to act on the basis of what we’re saying,” said Haque.

Councillors Haque, Carson Matthews, and Bryan Vickery voted for Haque’s proposal.

They were defeated by Mayor Holdom and councillors Pearce, Murray Chong and Max Brough.

Councillor David Bublitz abstained, wanting the PIF to divest shares linked to any conflict anywhere in the world.

NZ co-sponsored Resolution 2334
New Zealand in 2016 co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2334, declaring Israeli settlements in Palestine a violation of international law.

The resolution obliges states and entities “to withdraw all recognition, aid and assistance to Israel’s illegal presence in the occupied Palestine territory.”

In July this year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s settlements in Gaza and West Bank are illegal and ordered Israel to stop building new settlements and evacuate existing ones.

In September, the UN General Assembly — including Foreign Minister Winston Peters — called on all States to make sure their people, companies and entities and authorities “do not act in any way that would entail recognition or provide aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a community partner of both RNZ and LDR.

Independent US Senator Bernie Sanders says he supports the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, saying “all launched indiscriminate attacks against civilians and caused unimaginable human suffering”.

“If the world does not uphold international law, we will descend into further barbarism,” he said in a post on X, alongside a longer statement.

“I agree with the ICC,” Sanders added.

• READ MORE: US vetoes UN Security Council resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire
• Other Israel’s war on Gaza reports

His statement mirrored global reaction in favour of the ICC indictments in contrast to most US and Israeli politicians who condemned the global legal move to see accountability for the repeated and continuous Israeli atrocities in the besieged enclave Gaza.

Netanyahu, Gallant, and Deif have all launched indiscriminate attacks against civilians and caused unimaginable human suffering.

If the world does not uphold international law, we will descend into further barbarism.

I agree with the ICC. pic.twitter.com/OuErxOFRR9

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 21, 2024

On Wednesday, Sanders sought to block US supplies of offensive weapons to Israel but his draft law was heavily defeated.

The defendants are now internationally wanted suspects and ICC member states are under legal obligation to arrest them. Neither the US nor Israel recognise ICC jurisdiction.

The court said it had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October until at least 20 May, 2024” and which related to the use of starvation and the deliberate targeting of medical facilities.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: In The Hague, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Israel’s assault on Gaza.

In a statement, the ICC said the Israeli leaders had, “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, although Israel’s military claims it killed Deif in a July airstrike.

• READ MORE: World reacts to ICC arrest warrants for Israel’s Netanyahu and Gallant
• ‘Psychopath’ Netanyahu is ‘poisoning’ the country: Israeli lawmaker to Mehdi
• Other Israel’s war on Gaza reports

The ICC arrest warrants come a week after a UN special committee found Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 2023 are, “consistent with genocide,” including using starvation as a weapon of war and recklessly inflicting civilian casualties.

AMY GOODMAN: In related news, on Wednesday, the United States vetoed a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the UN Security Council for the fourth time, and the US Senate rejected a resolution brought by Senator Bernie Sanders that sought to block the sale of US tank rounds, bomb kits and other lethal weapons to Israel. Nineteen senators supported blocking the arms.

For more on all of this, we’re joined by Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost. His latest piece is “Exclusive: White House Says Democrats Who Oppose Weapons to Israel Are Aiding Hamas.”

Ahmed, thank you so much for being with us. As you write your book on the Biden administration in Gaza called Crossing the Red Line, clearly the ICC has ruled that today by issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Can you talk about the significance of this move?

“A Great Day for Justice”: Palestinian Lawyer Raji Sourani on ICC Warrants for Netanyahu & Gallant https://t.co/TEb1VwShfn

— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) November 21, 2024

AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: Yeah, Amy. This is just an absolutely huge development, and it’s significant for a number of reasons. It’s significant because the ICC has come out and amplified and affirmed the allegations of crimes against humanity, of war crimes. This is one more international body.

These are . . . international charges with a great deal of respect. This is a court that most of the world is a member of. And they’re coming out and saying, “Look, we think there are reasonable grounds to believe that these major international red lines have been crossed by the Israelis.”

What’s really important to remember is that this isn’t just a decision about Israel. By extension, it fundamentally is a decision about the United States, which has been the ultimate enabler of Israel’s offensives in Gaza and Lebanon, which are under consideration by the ICC.

And even in this ICC statement today, they point out that in the situations where Israel has addressed concerns over what it describes as starvation as a method of warfare — right? — depriving civilians, Palestinians, of food, water and medical equipment, Israel has really only done so in an extremely arbitrary and, what the ICC judges call, conditional way in response to the US. So, fundamentally, Amy, what we’re seeing is the ICC is saying yet again that Israel and the US, as its major enabler and backer, are in the dark and will continue to be in the dark for years to come.

This kind of adds to a broader picture in which there are now ICC warrants for the sitting Israeli prime minister and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who remains a significant politician in Israel. Simultaneously, there’s the genocide case at the ICJ, the International Court of Justice, which is ongoing and will be ongoing for years to come.

And there’s the Geneva Conventions conference underway next year regarding kind of similar issues — right? — violations of international law, laws of war and the Israeli grave abuses that are alleged. So, the US and Israel will be kind of on trial on the international stage for years to come.

‘Wanted for war crimes in Gaza.’        Video: Democracy Now!

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, Akbar, would you say that this move is mostly a symbolic one? Because, as you pointed out, of course, most countries are members of the International Criminal Court, but in this instance, perhaps most importantly, neither Israel nor the US are.

AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: Right, Nermeen. And that’s something that the ICC judges did get into today — right? — because Israel said, “Look, the International Criminal Court doesn’t have jurisdiction over us.” That said, the state of Palestine is a member of the court, and that’s why this becomes a relevant and interesting thing, because you’ve seen European nations recognise Palestine as a state. You’ve seen Palestine join the United Nations General Assembly over just last year.

So, yes, while the US and Israel continue to reject international scrutiny by the ICC, by the ICJ, of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and Lebanon, there’s a growing international push to kind of challenge that, right?

And I think you will see the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration assertively push back against the ICC. The Trump administration did actually target the ICC directly when President Trump was last in office, threatening to put sanctions on ICC officials. And we also know from reporting that the Israelis have spied on and threatened the ICC themselves, according to reporting by The Guardian. So, yes, there will be increased pressure.

But I think we’re really in a place that no one thought we would be even a few months ago, right? I think even the prospect of the ICC prosecutor successfully getting these warrants issued, it was initially thought that would be quite quick. It’s taken a long time. The fact that judges were able to issue those warrants suggests that even though it’s an uphill battle to get this international scrutiny, there’s a real determination and clear will.

And we’ve seen a lot of states turn around and say over 13 months, right? Since the October 7 attack by Hamas within Israel that did spark this current round of fighting, there have been calls to say, “We don’t want this to escalate,” right?

The US’s allies, Western countries have said, “We want to resolve this. We don’t want you on trial. Can the US and Israel please change course?” And what you’ve seen is a defiance from Tel Aviv and from Washington to say, “Actually, no, we’re continuing these wars.”

So, that does take it to a different forum to kind of change the policy.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Akbar, could you also — while we’re looking at the way in which international organisations, multilateral ones, are responding to this, what about the latest vote at the Security Council and the fact that the US blocked it for the fourth time, a ceasefire vote?

AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: It’s really striking at this point — right? — to see the Biden administration totally alone. And you see how this develops over the course of the war. Initially, the US was able to get Britain, even France, kind of abstaining, standing with them.

And now, 13 months in, where conduct hasn’t changed, and you still have daily strikes that are killing dozens, sometimes over a hundred civilians, you have a mounting death toll of mostly women and children, the US is totally alone, where it’s shielding Israel on the world stage diplomatically.

And this is really important to see in the context of the Biden administration as an outlier even among American presidents and administrations. When President Barack Obama was in office, after he was in the lame-duck period that Biden is in now, he actually did abstain at the UN Security Council and said, “You know what? Go ahead and pass a resolution that Israel doesn’t like,” because tacitly the US acknowledged there was a basis, there were credible grounds for that resolution, which in that instance was about Israeli settlement activity.

Here, what you’re seeing from the Biden administration, even in their dying days — right? — two months to go, there’s an obstinacy, a defiance, and a real commitment to shielding Israel, even if they are totally alone against now their closest allies — Britain, France and everyone else on the Security Council.

So, I think the context of that veto kind of presages whatever may come in the next two months in terms of the Biden administration allowing any UN scrutiny of the wars.

AMY GOODMAN: Akbar, I want to play Palestine’s envoy to the United Nations, Majed Bamya, speaking yesterday.

MAJED BAMYA: There is no right to mass killing of civilians. There is no right to starve an entire civilian population. There is no right to forcibly displace a people. And there is no right to annexation. This is what Israel is doing in Gaza. …

Maybe for some, we have the wrong nationality, the wrong faith, the wrong skin color. But we are humans! And we should be treated as such. Is there a UN Charter for Israel that is different from the charter we all have? Tell us. Is there an international law for them, an international law for us? Do they have the right to kill, and the only right we have is to die?

Republished under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States Licence.

A group representing local councils in Aotearoa New Zealand is calling for the Local Democracy Reporting programme to be expanded after the media company NZME announced a proposal to close 14 community newspapers.

The LDR programme funds local authority coverage at various publications and is managed and funded by RNZ with support from NZ On Air.

It covers most regions, apart from Waikato, Hawke’s Bay, the Kāpiti Coast, Otago, and parts of Manawatū-Whanganui and Canterbury.

• READ MORE: Local Democracy Reporting
• Other LDR reports at Asia Pacific Report

Local Government NZ, a body representing most councils, said the programme should be expanded to all communities.

“Community newspapers have long played a key role in councils sharing what’s happening locally — from roading, parks and emergency management to big decisions about the future of their region,” LGNZ president Sam Broughton said in a statement.

Broughton was concerned NZME’s plan to shut 14 papers would have a devastating impact on a combined 850,000 readers.

“We are concerned that a move like this could have a negative impact on turnout in next year’s local elections.”

Isolating rural communities
Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Alex Walker said the lack of news coverage would isolate rural communities.

“The axeing of the 14 newspapers would mean that communities like Hawke’s Bay are left with a single subscription-only news outlet, that’s focused more on urban areas,” she said.

“These newspapers are also an effective two-way communication tool between council and the people they serve; particularly our older or more remote population who do not always have access to electronic media.”

The group suggested that the LDR programme’s scope be expanded to cover the rest of the country.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

South Taranaki’s iwi and council have drawn up a new partnership agreement just as the Aotearoa New Zealand’s new conservative coalition government plans to take an axe to co-governance.

He Pou Tikanga Partnership Strategy sets out why and how South Taranaki District Council will increase collaboration with the area’s four iwi.

The agreement was created by the council and the iwi post-settlement governance entities – Te Kaahui o Rauru, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ruanui, Te Korowai o Ngāruahine and Te Kāhui o Taranaki.

• READ MORE: New NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, ministers sworn in at Government House

Cooperation includes not just leaders but staff from both sides working together.

The agreement says South Taranaki District Council will pay to make this happen.

“As partners to council, iwi must have a participatory role in development of agreed relevant council policy, service delivery, special projects and decision making.

“More resourcing from the council and other avenues is needed for iwi to engage and this resourcing needs to be explicit.”

Cooperation crucial
Mayor Phil Nixon said it was crucial that staff from both sides worked alongside each other.

“If we don’t do it from the ground up — which takes it right from the officers to begin with — if we’re not all on the same page working together it doesn’t work.”

The council’s iwi committee Te Kāhui Matauraura last week endorsed He Pou Tikanga for inclusion in the 2024-34 long term plan.

But just two days later the new government set out its plan to wind back co-governance with Māori, including in local government rules.

The coalition deal said the previous government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act would be repealed by Christmas.

National Environment Standards on freshwater would be also replaced, along with the National Policy Statement on freshwater “to rebalance Te Mana o te Wai to better reflect the interests of all water users”.

Those new rules introduced under Labour had required more say for iwi and hapū in council decision-making.

Replacement rules
The new Minister for Regulation, ACT’s David Seymour, said the replacement rules would instead have “a founding principle of property rights which has been absent from those laws for far too long”.

Mayor Nixon hoped the government would stick with National’s promise to support localism.

“We work well with our iwi; I think we have a really good relationship, and so it’s a matter of building on that and continuing that because I don’t want to see any of this go backwards in any way.”

The coalition agreement also demands that any Māori council wards established without a referendum — which includes two in South Taranaki — face a referendum at the next local body elections.

Nixon hopes the community will get behind the wards and the new partnership agreement.

“When we were first talking about Māori ward . . .  there was a certain amount of apprehension in the community here to what it was.

“But I think now, with the way we’re progressing with it, I think the community is seeing actually this is working.”

He Pou Tikanga has taken more than three years to negotiate, and iwi representatives on Te Kāhui Matauraura were enthusiastic about its potential.

Ngāruahine’s John Hooker said iwi and hapū strategic plans could now be counted in the council’s plans.

Hooker said it made sense for iwi and council planners to cooperate, and for iwi project managers “to work collaboratively with sister projects occurring at district council level”.

He said the growing trust between council and iwi was influential in Ngāruahine refocusing its asset investment back in South Taranaki.

“We’re starting to focus a lot of that investment into our district, instead of it occurring at Wellington or nationally.”

Taranaki iwi representative Peter Moeahu said He Pou Tikanga was a huge change to the antagonistic response he received from South Taranaki’s council 35 years ago.

“What we have now is financial clout and everyone wants to be our friend.

“It cements the relationship between iwi and council so that we can build a better future for the whole community.”

He Pou Tikanga also sets out that:

• Iwi and hapū will be involved as early as possible in decision making
• The council will build its cultural capacity
• Iwi involvement can cut consultation times and improve outcomes
• Council and iwi will work closely on climate and environmental issues
• Iwi and council will develop goals and actions in the annual planning cycle
• The strategy doesn’t negate relationships between individual iwi and the council

Local Democracy Reporting is funded through NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a partner.

After a 12-year fight, mana whenua will get a seat at the table after the Western Bay of Plenty District Council has voted to establish Māori wards at the next election.

Applause then waiata rang out from the packed public gallery as the councillors voted nine to three in favour of Māori wards yesterday.

Speaking after the meeting, mayor James Denyer said it was a “momentous day, particularly for mana whenua”.

• READ MORE: Other Māori wards reports

“This is about making the right decision, not making the popular decision.”

Mana whenua have long advocated for Māori wards in the district. In 2011 the council decided not to establish one and in 2017 the council opted to have a Māori ward, but it was subject to a poll requested by the public.

It was voted down in the poll with 78 percent of the respondents opposed. Just over 40 percent of eligible voters took part.

During the meeting’s public forum, Mabel Wharekawa-Burt said the poll was not an actual reflection of what the community was feeling.

‘Open your minds’
“My job today is to influence you to open your minds a little bit further, not to change your opinions,” she said.

Wharekawa-Burt, of Katikati, worked with the electoral commission for 14 years and urged the councillors to “take a chance”.

“We’re [Māori] not a threat. I’m bound and obligated to make good decisions for my grandchildren.

“Take a chance on me by unequivocally supporting the establishment of Māori wards and I’ll make sure you’re safe,” Wharekawa-Burt (Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Ranginui) said.

Katikati — Waihī Beach Residents and Ratepayers Association chairperson Keith Hay opposed their establishment and said the decision affected all of the community and referred to the previous poll.

“To knowingly override these views without community consultation is arrogant.

“If you vote to introduce Māori wards today, voters’ views are being overwritten,” said Hay, in his opinion.

The council opted not to consult with the community because under the Local Electoral Act 2001 there were no obligations to consult with any person before passing a resolution to establish Māori wards.

‘Spectrum of community views’
WBOPDC strategic kaupapa Māori manager Chris Nepia’s report to council said: “Council already has a good understanding of the spectrum of community views on the establishment of Māori wards through previous processes.”

Tapuika Iwi Authority chief executive Andy Gowland-Douglas said it was “really important mana whenua were represented at the decision making table” and added “significant value”.

Former mayor Gary Webber, who was on the council for 12 years, said it was the third time he had been involved in the decision.

“It is time to do what is tika, what is right. Please don’t say no and be an outlier in the statistics.”

Deputy mayor John Scrimgeour moved the motion. He said it was a legislative requirement and important the council met this.

“Māori have continued to be entirely consistent in their request for Māori wards.

“They wanted to vote for someone that they could identify with and help them represent their interests.”

Not fairly represented
First term councillor Andy Wichers said he had heard from the community that Māori don’t feel they are fairly and effectively represented as individuals and as communities.

“The simple question was this, could Māori wards achieve a fairer and more effective representation? And the answer was yes, and I could not find an argument against it.”

Councillor Rodney Joyce said: “Partnership is deeply and rightly entrenched into our constitutional arrangements.

“Having guaranteed Māori members will help us be a better council.

“This is not a zero sum game where one treaty partner wins at the expense of the other. We can work together to make better decisions, bringing different perspectives.”

He did, however, want there to be consultation with the community.

“We should consult widely on this and seek to bring our community along with us in this decision.”

‘Incredibly rushed’
Tracey Coxhead said as a first time councillor she felt “incredibly rushed in this process” and “not informed enough” to make the right decision.

She too wanted community consultation.

Also opposed was councillor Allan Sole — he said he was part Māori but chose not to be on the Māori electoral roll.

“I believe that we have got to be people that look and work towards having a more harmonious whole community, not looking after factions.

He said, in his view, if people felt they were unequal he would “almost consider [it] patronising that somebody makes a special place for you”.

“I believe that to protect those special places is totally wrong and not beneficial to the decision making and future of our district and our country.”

Sole also questioned the Treaty of Waitangi: “We also ought to let the people look at it [the Treaty] and say perhaps . . .  this actual document, a great piece of our history, may not be fit for purpose today.”

‘Same rights and privileges’
Kaimai ward councillor Margaret Murray-Benge said: “I believe strongly that, as the Treaty of Waitangi made clear that 180 years ago, all New Zealanders had the same rights and privileges.

“Creating racial division between us by creating racially separate based wards is fundamentally wrong.”

Councillor James Dally was visibly emotional as he spoke and referenced the 2021 decision by the local government minister to remove the ability for the public to request a poll on the creation of Māori wards.

He said the number of councils with Māori wards went from three to 34 and there were 66 councillors elected to represent Māori communities at last year’s local government elections.

“Hopefully in time the separatist or racist narrative will become a thing of the past.”

Denyer said: “It’s clear to me that Māori representation at council is deficient and it is no longer a radical or unknown option.”

He said Māori wards “work quite well” for the 35 councils that have them.

‘About honouring commitments’
Scrimgeour concluded: “I want to emphasise this is not about establishing a race-based constituency. It’s about honouring commitments that we made under the Treaty of Waitangi.”

Speaking after the meeting, Wharekawa-Burt said: “It felt glorious.

“I’m ecstatic for my grandchildren. I just wanted the right to make my own choice.”

Te Kāhui Mana o Tauranga Moana forum chairperson Reon Tuanau said it had been a long time coming and he had been involved since 2011.

Asked if he had any words for those that were fearful of Māori wards, Tuanau referred to the whakataukī.

“Nā to rourou, nā taku rourou, ka ora ai te tāngata. With your basket and my basket put into the same basket people will thrive.”

Western Bay of Plenty is the 36th council to establish Māori wards. Only those on the Māori electoral roll can vote in that ward.

How the Māori ward will be made up will be considered as part of the district representation review next year.

The review looks at what form the wards and community boards should take and how many elected members there should be, to best represent the district’s population. It will be subject to public consultation.

How they voted:
For: James Denyer, John Scrimgeour, Grant Dally, Anne Henry, Rodney Joyce, Murray Grainger, Andy Wichers, Richard Crawford, Don Thwaites.

Against: Margaret Murray-Benge, Allan Sole, Tracey Coxhead.

Alisha Evans is SunLive local democracy reporter. Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. It is published by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration.

SPECIAL REPORT: By Kim Meredith, Local Democracy Reporter

As I sat in Auckland Council’s extraordinary meeting deciding on its proposed annual budget, I was reminded of the time my late father came through the door looking bereft, having just been laid off, clutching his last pay cheque.

My parents quickly switched from English to Sāmoan, but I knew what they were talking about. How were they going to make ends meet?

It was the same air in the council’s Auckland Town Hall chambers.

• READ MORE:  Auckland city budget finally approved: Councillor likens debate to ‘eating rats’
• Other Auckland Council budget reports

With the number of television cameras lined up, you could have easily mistaken the event for a film premiere.

Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Councillor Josephine Bartley said it was a first, having the media in such strong force for the council’s controversial proposed annual budget.

Yet the anticipated fireworks turned into a mostly civil affair, with the only pointed comment coming from Mayor Wayne Brown, reprimanding members of the public for occasionally breaking into applause, “there will be no more of that”.

Mayor Brown said from the outset it could take several meetings to work through the budget, before allocating councillors five minutes to speak about their views — the first public signal that he was prepared to move from his fixed position and negotiate.

Te Whatu Ora’s new winter health plan fails to address workforce shortages and staff burnout in Aotearoa New Zealand, frontline healthcare workers say.

The organisation launched its 24-point plan on Wednesday, saying it would help hospitals and GPs cope with an expected surge in patient demand over the coming months.

Under the plan, people with minor ailments will be able to be assessed by a pharmacist and given free or subsidised medication in line with if they had visited their GP.

• READ MORE: Other NZ public health reports

Family doctors will also be able to refer patients for X-rays and ultrasounds in a bid to reduce hospital admissions.

Regional and national escalation plans will be in place to help improve hospital capacity by “diverting resources and patients within and across regions to support under-pressure facilities”.

But a doctor from Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said while diverting patients and resources sounded “good in theory”, there needed to be the staff available to deliver that plan.

There was so much burnout among doctors and nurses, she said.

“You can’t flog a dead horse.

Staff ‘not available’
“In practice these escalation plans involve going through a checklist of different resources that can be provided to help, but you then find out they aren’t available — due to staffing issues.”

A nurse from the hospital’s ED agreed chronic workforce shortages would prevent many of the proposals ever working.

“It all sounds all great, but where is Te Whatu Ora finding all the staff to do these things and how are they going to do it in a healthcare system that is already understaffed and in crisis?”

Giving pharmacists a greater role to play could also be problematic as they were also busy and were not trained to diagnose patient ailments, the nurse said.

In February, Te Whatu Ora identified Middlemore Hospital as one of eight national ‘hotspots’ needing extra support before the winter flu season.

Former chairperson Rob Campbell admitted the workforce shortages plaguing Middlemore’s ED would not be addressed in time for the flu season.

It followed comments from frontline healthcare workers who said the hospital’s ED was haemorrhaging staff and they were concerned about its ability to function during winter.

‘Doing what we can’
In a statement, Te Whatu Ora (Counties Manukau) interim lead of hospital and specialist services Dr Vanessa Thornton said while there had been growth in staffing numbers nationally, it needed to continue to grow its workforce.

“We know that pressure from shortages across our workforce is being felt on the frontlines of our health system. We can’t fix those shortages quickly – but are doing what we can to alleviate pressure and get more staff into our hospitals and other services.”

She said that includes making it easier for internationally qualified staff to work here and assisting qualified nurses to return to practice.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. It is published by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration.

South Auckland’s poor turnout for the 2018 Aotearoa New Zealand national census could have cost the region $130 million in health funding.

And, according to an expert, that cash could have helped tackle the area’s battles with diabetes and obesity.

Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand said the defunct Counties Manukau District Health Board lost $130m in health funding in its last four years due to the low turnout in the area during the 2018 census.

• READ MORE: Other NZ census reports

Information from the five-yearly stocktake helps determine how billions of dollars in government spending is allocated across health, education, transport, infrastructure and other services.

Counties Manukau has more people with diabetes than any other health region in the country.

Te Whatu Ora (Counties Manukau) Director of Population Health Gary Jackson said additional money would help fund programmes to battle two issues affecting many people in the region.

He said there were 52,000 diabetics in Counties Manukau and that figure was growing by 2000 people a year. It is also home to 19 percent of all New Zealanders in the most extreme BMI group.

Only 71 percent response
Figures released by Stats NZ this week show only 71 percent of people in South Auckland have so far completed the census in 2023, compared to 83 percent nationwide.

Te Whatu Ora Chief Financial Officer Rosalie Percival said getting people to provide their details was vital to ensure areas like Counties Manukau got the healthcare services they needed.

“Health providers know about the people who turn up at their door needing care — but they have no other way of knowing about the presence of people who haven’t recently needed to use the health system,” she said.

“The data gained from the census helps to inform important decisions about planning for the needs of local areas and subsequently healthcare spending.”

However, Buttabean Motivation (BBM) founder Dave Letele said getting people to complete the census was not easy.

Letele, who is potentially standing for Te Pāti Māori this year, was an ambassador for Census 2023 and was involved in a social media campaign which kicked off late last year to get more people to take part.

“There’s a massive distrust between our people and the government and that’s what we need to overcome,” Letele said.

Wary about personal information
He said as a result a lot of people were wary about sharing their personal information with authorities.

“But it’s not just something you can throw money at to fix it.”

Deputy Government Statistician and deputy chief executive for census and collection operations Simon Mason confirmed the turnout at the last census in 2018 was poor in Counties Manukau.

“That is why it is critically important that people complete the census — so their communities are counted . . .”

Mason said the 2023 event was designed to address barriers to participation, including having more collectors and alternate formats for people to complete it and support a wider range of people.

A spokesperson for Stats NZ said it would still have field teams collecting people’s responses until May 3 and will be running census support events until June 4.

Pacific Media Watch reports that the Counties Manukau health population is ethnically diverse with the largest Pacific population and second largest Māori popukation of any New Zealand health board.

In the 2018 census, 16 percent of the population served by CM Health identified as Māori, 22 percent as Pacific, 28 percent as Asian and 34 percent as NZ European/other groups.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. It is published by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration.

A controversial bill aimed at increasing Māori representation at one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most popular tourist destinations has been confirmed as scrapped following a council vote last week.

The Rotorua District Council Representation Arrangements Bill would have changed local electoral rules and allowed an equal number of Māori ward and general ward seats on the council.

More than $146,000 was spent on pursuing the bill, which proved controversial during its various stages.

• READ MORE: Other Local Democracy Reporting stories

Protests were held against it, Attorney-General David Parker said it could not be justified under the Bill of Rights Act and accusations of racism and threatened democracy were levelled during its Māori Affairs Committee hearing last April.

Some opposing it likened it to apartheid, while some in support said it promoted equality.

The council requested the select committee pause on the matter to allow for work to strengthen the policy for it.

Last week, councillors voted to withdraw support for the bill, with all but Māori ward councillor Rawiri Waru in favour of doing so.

Confirmation video
On Monday this week, Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell posted to social media a video confirming the bill had been withdrawn from Parliament.

In the video, she said she wrote to the Speaker of the House who responded with the confirmation.

Tapsell said it provided “great certainty” for the community going forward. She understood it had become controversial at both the local and national level.

“However, that is done and dusted now, it is withdrawn and we can focus on the future.”

Tapsell had previously indicated scrapping the bill was among her priorities as the newly elected mayor, saying it was one of the things she wanted to achieve in her first 100 days.

At the time she said a “wider discussion” was needed on representation arrangements.

Council structure will remain the same, with its three Māori ward councillors.

‘Proper engagement’
Māori ward councillor Lani Kereopa said at last week’s council meeting she wanted to ensure there was time for “proper engagement with iwi around any decision-making, going forward” when a representation review next arose by 2028.

Trevor Maxwell was also elected as a Māori ward councillor. He was not at the meeting, as he was at Te Matatini, but said if he was present he would have agreed with Waru.

“I am bitterly disappointed but it is what it is,” he said.

Despite this, he was not surprised by the outcome, he said. He was particularly disappointed given the length of time until the next review.

“It will not happen in my lifetime on this council.”

Rotorua-based Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey supported the bill. He is also chairman of the Māori Affairs Committee. He was approached for comment.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.

Illegally dumped rubbish at Ihumātao, one of New Zealand’s most archaeologically significant and indigenous protected sites, has been piling up as high as the trees.

Turehou Māori Wardens Trust chairperson Mereana Peka is calling for gates to be installed to deter fly-tippers.

Peka regularly visits the site on Ihumātao Rd adjoining Auckland’s Ōtuataua Stonefields Reserve near the international airport to check for people drinking — in breach of the area’s liquor ban. She noticed more and more waste being left in the area towards the end of last year.

• READ MORE: The Ihumātao land protests
• Other Local Democracy Reporting reports

Peka took photos late last month of rubbish piled as high as the trees between Ellets Beach access and the Ihumātao stonefields.

“It’s not the first time it’s happened,” she said. “The area isn’t seen from the main road and it’s hidden away and a lot of people don’t even know about it.”

But she said the fact the rubbish had been dumped right next to the archaeologically significant stonefields made the offending even more brazen.

Peka took photos late last month of rubbish piled as high as the trees between Ellets Beach access and the Ihumātao stonefields.

“It’s not the first time it’s happened,” she said. “The area isn’t seen from the main road and it’s hidden away and a lot of people don’t even know about it.”

But she said the fact the rubbish had been dumped right next to the archaeologically significant stonefields made the offending even more brazen.

The rubbish in Peka’s photos includes everything from commercial waste and furniture to tyres, mattresses, pallets, timber and household rubbish on the side of the road in Ihumātao.

Copycat behaviour
Peka said there appeared to be some copycat behaviour, with offenders appearing to follow the actions of others.

She believed the council needed to install gates to prevent after-hours access to Ellets Beach.

Archaeologists have documented the long history of Māori settlement at Ihumātao stretching back as far as 1450. And gardening in the area’s lava fields dates back to the late 16th century.

Ihumātao was confiscated by the Crown in the 1860s during the Crown’s invasion of the Waikato.

The land had been owned by the Wallace family after it was confiscated by the Crown.

Fletcher Building bought the block in 2014 and had planned to build housing on the site which led to the occupation and protests.

In 2020, the government struck a deal with the Māori King, Tūhetia, to buy the disputed land at Ihumātao from Fletcher Building for $29.9 million and hold it in trust.

illegal dumping problem
Auckland Council senior waste advisor Jan Eckersley said the recent illegal dumping in Ihumātao Rd that Peka referred to was first reported to its call centre on December 30 and removed on January 4.

The area had had problems with people dumping waste illegally and similar incidents were recorded in the area in January, March, April, June and December last year, Eckersley said.

“We have had issues with illegal dumping on Ihumatao Rd in the past as it is a difficult road to monitor or capture offenders with surveillance cameras,” she said.

The problem is not isolated. Figures released by Auckland Council in 2022 in the year to September showed it dealt with 1699 tonnes of rubbish dumped illegally around the city — just over 32 tonnes per week.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a partner of the project.

This year was another huge one for Local Democracy Reporting, with our reporters at the forefront of uncovering some of the biggest stories in their regions.

Felix Desmarais in Rotorua exposed hitherto secret plans by the council to revoke the reserve status of seven council reserves, paving the way for new housing to be built on them, including social housing.

It became a major election issue with residents using the ballot to choose candidates opposed to the plan, which was subsequently canned by the new council.

• READ MORE: Other Local Democracy Reporting stories on APR

Steve Forbes covered the chaos created by understaffed and overstretched Emergency Departments, with a deep dive in to the death of a patient who visited Middlemore Hospital.

He was first with a damning independent report that found the ED was “an unsafe environment for both patients and staff”.

It was a year of climate change-induced severe weather, and LDR reporters produced numerous stories on how councils were coping, or not, when it came to putting back together what Mother Nature had torn apart.

Flooding this year continued to represent an existential threat to Westport after the devastating inundation seen last year as well. Brendon McMahon’s stories have reflected the reality on the ground, such as the predicament faced by residents on Snodgrass Road who had been left out of a proposed flood protection scheme.

Nelson clean-up
Nelson reporter Max Frethey has kept readers up to date as that city deals with its own clean-up after devastating downpours in August, which left the city with a repair bill of between $40 million and $60 million, the biggest in its 160-year history.

The weather kept Marlborough’s Maia Hart busy this year as well in a region with communities still cut off or with limited access due to damage caused a year ago.

But it was her story on the resilience of elderly Lochmara Bay resident Monyeen Wedge that really captured readers’ attention. Living alone, she went three days without power and was forced to live off canned food.

The pandemic and the response of health authorities and councils continued to be an area of inquiry for LDR in 2022, and none more so than Moana Ellis in Whanganui.

While high vaccination rates amongst pākehā protected thousands from the worst affects of the Omicron wave, it was a battle for DHBs to reach many Māori, who already had a distrust of health authorities. Moana’s reporting ensured these communities were not forgotten.

In one of LDR’s most read stories of 2022, Alisha Evans uncovered the extent of bureaucratic overreach in Tauranga when through traffic was discouraged on Links Ave with the help of a fine. A glitch led to infringements being issued to drivers living as far away as the South Island who had never even visited the city.

Reporters have documented the good and the bad of people’s interactions with vulnerable ecosystems. North Canterbury’s David Hill shone a light on the wonton destruction of endangered nesting birds in the region’s braided river beds by 4WD enthusiasts.

Community efforts
While Mother Nature was the winner following a series of stories from Taranaki’s Craig Ashworth on community efforts to protect dwindling stocks of kaimoana, which finally resulted in a two-year long rāhui.

The national roll out of flexible median barriers, aka “cheesecutters”, caused consternation in Whakatāne where Diane McCarthy talked to police who said they would struggle to pass drivers on their way to emergencies and farmers driving slow-moving tractors worried about extra levels of road rage from slowed-up motorists.

The dire state of the country’s water infrastructure is magnified in places like Wairarapa, with its small ratepayer base and decades old pipes and sewage treatment. There was no better illustration of this than Emily Ireland’s reporting on Masterton’s use of its Better Off funding where it was pointed out a mum was using a council provided portaloo to potty train her toddler because sewage was backing up in the town system whenever there was heavy rain.

The human impact of decisions around water infrastructure was also brought in to sharp relief in Ashburton reporter Jonathan Leask’s excellent reporting. He took up the cause of a couple and their three children who were shut out of moving in to their dream home due to high nitrate levels limiting the building of any more septic tanks.

One of the biggest changes around council tables this year was the election of Māori ward candidates, with half of all councils now having these. Northland’s Susan Botting has been first out of the blocks reporting on the new dynamics at play, starting with Kaipara mayor Craig Jepson’s ban on karakia to open meetings. The ban was hastily reversed, but led to the largest hikoi in Dargaville for some time.

As with all of LDR’s reporters, choosing just one stand out story from the many fine pieces published throughout the year is almost impossible. None more so than Tairāwhiti reporter Matthew Rosenberg.

But no wrap of 2022 would be complete without mention of his story on bulldozer driver Hamish Pryde. The 65-year-old helped save Wairoa from a dangerously high river by negotiating already badly flooded paddocks and opening up a sand bar so the river could drain out to sea.

As Matthew says, “not all heroes wear capes, some drive bulldozers”.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a partner in the project.

The swearing in of Labour list MP Soraya Peke-Mason to Parliament on October 25 will mark a milestone for women in Aotearoa New Zealand.

For the first time in its history, women in New Zealand’s Parliament will have an equal share of seats in the House.

“That’s quite significant,” Peke-Mason said. “It really shows the maturity of Aotearoa in terms of equity from a gender perspective.”

• READ MORE: Reports on the NZ local body elections

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said reaching the milestone was “significant and heartening”.

“Our Parliament will always be better when the diversity of voices in New Zealand are heard in our law making and government.

“The Labour Party in particular has been deeply committed to having equality of representation within our own caucus and we are really excited to welcome Soraya to our team.”

Peke-Mason will also be the first MP sworn in by the new Speaker, her cousin Te Tai Hauāuru MP Adrian Rurawhe, and the first new MP pledging allegiance to the new king, Charles III.

Sworn in with Te Reo
Representing the Rangitīkei electorate and supported by kaumātua and whānau from the river and mountain tribes and Rangitīkei, she will be sworn in at 2pm, in Te Reo Māori, and will give her maiden speech at 5.45pm.

“It is an honour and a privilege to be going to Parliament to represent our rohe,” Peke-Mason said.

“Over the last one or two decades my work has taken me across the Whanganui, the Ruapehu and the Rangitīkei districts.

“I’m excited and proud to be able to represent our rohe, and for Te Awa Tupua, for Rangitīkei, for all of us to have another strong voice at a table that makes really important and hard decisions on behalf of Aotearoa.”

It is two years since Peke-Mason missed out at the 2020 election. Her elevation to Parliament was announced in June after news that Kris Faafoi would leave politics and Trevor Mallard would move on to a diplomatic posting.

Peke-Mason, who lives at Rātana south of Whanganui, was Rangitīkei’s first wahine Māori councillor for 12 years until 2019, when she unsuccessfully ran for Horizons Regional Council.

In 2020, she stood in the general election in Rangitīkei against incumbent Ian McKelvie and was ranked No 60 on the Labour list.

‘You just get on with it’
“After the results of the last election, there was a possibility that I could enter Parliament but you just get on with it. You leave that there to the side and you just get on with your mahi at home.”

She was appointed to the Whanganui District Health Board and to its Hauora ā Iwi Relationship Board. She also helped lead the Whanganui Māori Regional Tourism board, was a member of Rangitīkei District Council’s Te Roopu Ahi Kā and held a number of iwi Māori and Māori trust governance roles.

“I’ve had plenty of time to be able to exit the work that I’ve been doing in the rohe, to tidy up those loose ends, to finish up projects properly, look at replacements, and work with Māori authorities that I’ve done work for to ensure there’s an appropriate exit process so that they’re not left in the lurch,” she said.

“And I’ve also been able to exit some of the boards I’ve been on.

“I’ve been lucky to have the time to do that. Not every MP gets that time.”

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

A new $100 million apartment complex is coming to Manukau — Auckland’s heart of Pacific communities.

But you’ll have to be aged at least 55 to get in.

Kāinga Ora is expected to start construction of the 123 apartments in Osterley Way in March. The 16-storey tower will include 94 one-bedroom and 29 two-bedroom apartments.

• READ MORE: Other NZ housing crisis reports

The government said it was necessary to target targeting specific age groups to match an increasing demand from “older customers”.

“Kāinga Ora recognises our older customers have specific housing needs, which we are addressing through senior housing developments such as the proposed project in Manukau,” regional director for Counties Manukau Angela Pearce said.

Pearce said one in five of the agency’s homes in Counties-Manukau had someone over 65 living in it, while 670 of its homes in the area were occupied by sole tenants in the same age group.

“With an aging population, Kāinga Ora recognises the importance of dedicated senior housing where our older tenants can live well, feel safe and secure, both in their homes and the community.”

Two years on state house list
Maureen O’Meara, 75, spent two years on the state house waiting list and was renting a two-bedroom unit in Pakuranga for $420 a week until earlier this year.

“I had $17 left a week after paying the rent,” O’Meara said. “Being on a pension and paying market rent meant I didn’t have a lot of money left to live on.”

O’Meara managed to find somewhere more affordable in May after she was put in touch with Haumaru Housing, a joint venture between Auckland Council and the Selwyn Foundation.

But O’Meara said the Manukau development reflects an increasing number of people reaching retirement without a home.

“And I think there’s going to be a need for more places like it,” she said.

Age Concern Auckland chief executive Kevin Lamb said it’s important the development was close to public transport and community facilities.

“We think it’s high time older people had accommodation that is new and more appropriate for their needs.”

Big part of pension on housing
Recently-released research by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission showed superannuitants still paying rent were more likely to be spending 40 percent or more of their pension on housing.

While long-term trends suggest more older New Zealanders are likely to still be renting in their retirement.

Te Ara Ahunga Ora director of policy Dr Suzy Morrissey said with declining home ownership rates there was a growing need for public housing and accommodation for those aged 55 and over.

“When NZ Super was introduced, it was with the underlying assumption that those accessing it would be mortgage-free homeowners,” she said.

“Today, the reality is very different. There are declining home ownership rates, more people needing to continue working longer because they still have mortgages to pay, are paying rent, or haven’t been able to save enough to retire.”

• Auckland is currently in the middle of the local body elections with a Pacific candidate, Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, one of the two top contenders for mayor of the super city.

Despite total borrowings reaching $11.1 billion, the Auckland Council Group’s latest results show it has managed to weather the worst of the storm created by the covid pandemic.

But the super city’s statement to the NZX shows it will face some tough times ahead as it seeks to balance its next budget.

In June the council with New Zealand’s largest Pacific population — almost 250,000, more than 15 percent of the city’s total of 1.7 million — agreed to defer $230 million in capital works over the next three years to address a $150 million per annum shortfall in its operating costs.

• READ MORE: Other reports on Auckland’s covid recovery

South Auckland projects affected included a new Flat Bush multi-use centre, the upgrade of the Papakura park and ride and the Ōpaheke Park sports fields.

Auckland Council finance and performance committee chairperson Desley Simpson said a number of projects were impacted on by the cutbacks, but increases in revenue and operational savings meant it was now in a stronger position.

“The key point we considered when preparing our Recovery Budget last year was to provide significant support to the economic recovery of Auckland,” Simpson said.

“This proved to be crucial, with our ongoing capital investment programmes helping to counterbalance some of the anticipated economic pressures in Auckland, as well as supporting future infrastructure growth needs for the region.”

Council’s results ‘positive’
The council’s debt increased $757 million to $11.1 billion in the 12 months to June 30, while its revenue grew by $361 million to $5.7 billion.

Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor Angela Dalton said the council’s latest results were positive.

“I think considering the last few years we’ve had, they are pretty good,” she said.

“But I think the future budgets are going to be really tough for us and we are looking at some challenging times ahead.”

Dalton said the results need to be looked at in the context of the Auckland Council Group’s total asset base, which grew by $9.7 billion to $70.4 billion in the past year.

“Considering the huge drop in revenue we’ve faced we’ve still been able to build our city and work on capital projects like the Central Interceptor and City Rail Link. They are the big game changers for Auckland.”

Some council projects were delayed, but it still spent $2.3b on capital works, including over $1b on transport-related assets, $815m on water, wastewater and stormwater and $384 million on other assets.

Climate change funding juggle
Simpson said whoever won Auckland’s mayoral race would have to juggle funding for climate change initiatives, infrastructure and transport spending, community facilities and parks and reserves.

She said while some projects that were deferred might be brought back from the brink, some may be consigned to political history.

“We’ve come through the worst period any Auckland Council has had to deal with. But it’s not going to get any easier.”

Auckland mayor Phil Goff’s final budget was announced in June and included $600 million for new bus services, funding for electric ferries and buses and completion of key links in the city’s cycling network.

The budget’s climate change package will be funded by a targeted rate, generating $574m over 10 years, with plans to seek a further $482m in funding from the government and other sources.

• The political campaign for mayor is being keenly contested with a Pacific candidate, Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, narrowly leading opinion polls for the October local body elections.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air. Asia Pacific Report is an LDR partner.

By Aden Miles Morunga, Local Democracy Reporter

“It’s exciting to know that I am involved in making history and that my contribution will leave a legacy for my tupuna and mokopuna to be proud of.”

The words of Waikato Pasifika health advocate Mareta Matenga, who is helping lead a new Pan Pacific Community Hub in Hamilton.

“I am supporting the development of an integrated wellbeing service delivery model which will see different K’aute Pasifika-owned entities operating seamlessly in the same space,” Matenga said.

“This involves me supporting Leaupepe Rachel Karalus, K’aute Pasifika CEO, to support the development of this model, by working alongside other consultants who are also working on the development of the hub.

“My role is specific to the actual services that will work out of the new hub and preparing the team to transition well to the hub.”

The Pan Pacific Community Hub will include an integrated health centre, a stand-alone early learning facility and an open fale-style community space.

The fale is expected to open in September, followed by the childcare and early learning centre in November. The wellbeing component is set to open early next year.

Free or low cost services
The hub is expected to offer free or low cost services in health, social, employment, housing and education.

K’aute Pasifika said the hub would enable the trust to better support the holistic wellbeing of families using Pacific models of care.

It will also increase connectedness and the sense of identity, and celebrate and support academic, sporting, creative and leadership potential and achievements.

Born and raised in Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), Matenga’s parents Ere (nee Marsters, Pamati Island) and the late George Ford (Vaipae, Aitutaki Island), together with her eight siblings have dedicated their lives to serving the Hamilton Cook Island Community and their Pacific Islands Presbyterian faith community.

Matenga is well-known within the Waikato community and has more than 20 years’ experience working in community development and community-led approaches.

“I remember being involved over the years in many community fono to dream and discuss how a place like the Pan Pacific Community Hub will help our community thrive and to celebrate our Pacific-ness in Kirikiriroa,” she said.

Matenga said it was exciting to be involved in creating history and that her contribution would leave a legacy for her tupuna and mokopuna.

Strong community experience
K’aute Pasifika chief executive Rachel Karalus said Matenga’s strong community experience and connections were an asset to the organisation and the Waikato community.

“Mareta is a well-known and respected community leader who has dedicated herself to support not only her Cook Island community but all the communities in the Waikato,” she said.

“Mareta’s extensive experience in community engagement, community development and planning large scale projects and events will be invaluable to the development of the Wellbeing Service Delivery Model, that will sit inside and across the Pan Pacific Community Hub.”

Matenga said she was also grateful for the 20 years she had worked at the Hamilton City Council, and the vast experiences working with the Waikato community.

“I’m a proud Cook Islander and love knowing that my community support me, not only in the city of Hamilton, region of Waikato, Nation of Aotearoa, but also throughout the world.”

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

A district mayor says the Aotearoa New Zealand local government sector is ready to launch into a future that embraces more youthful members, Māori and climate change action.

Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) annual conference underway in Palmerston North had “launched our heads into the future”.

McDouall, the vice-president of LGNZ, said yesterday the hot topics were the changing face of elected membership, partnership with Māori and climate change.

• READ MORE: Other local government reports

“The clear message is about the future. The future is going to change. It is about youth involvement and embracing hapū and iwi.

“With the next generations’ birth rates significantly higher for Māori than Pākehā, co-governance arrangements and those kind of things just have to be in place.

“The exciting thing about today is you can tell that local government is wanting change, ready for change.”

The sector could not ignore the climate change crisis, McDouall said.

Climate deniers ‘on wrong planet’
“If there’s any climate change denier out there, you’re on the wrong planet. Local government needs to get more active and make bold decisions.

“Any decision we make proactively now is going to make it less difficult to adapt in 10 years. We’ve just got to do things now.

“I have climate change sceptics on my council but anyone entering local government should understand this is the crisis for the rest of our lives.”

The third burning issue at the conference was rating, McDouall said.

“Rates don’t work as a funding tool alone – that’s why Three Waters is happening, because we simply can’t afford it.”

Thirty-five councils across the country will have Māori wards at this year’s local body elections, 32 of them for the first time.

Te Maruata collective ‘thrilled’
Bonita Bigham, chair of the sector’s Māori collective Te Maruata, said the network was thrilled to be welcoming more than 50 new Māori ward members into the sector in October.

Te Maruata spent a day together before the main conference began on Wednesday.

“We were thrilled — really thrilled — for the first time ever to have at least six Māori mayoral candidates in the room,” Bigham said.

But she said it was clear that the council environment does not support Māori elected members. The results of a survey of elected members released by LGNZ this week revealed that half the respondents have experienced racism, gender discrimination and other harmful behaviour.

“So [on Tuesday] we launched Te Āhuru Mōwai, a tuakana-teina initiative which will enable Māori members on any council to reach out into our collective strength and experience for guidance and support,” Bigham said.

In his president’s address, Stuart Crosby said local councils must build relationships and partnerships with all sectors of the community, including tangata whenua.

“It’s not about power and control anymore. It’s all about partnership. We cannot serve our communities and do our jobs justice if we don’t partner with mana whenua.”

Most diverse sector
Far North District councillor Moko Tepania, co-chair of LGNZ’s Young Elected Member (YEM) network, told the conference that “YEMs” represent the most diverse sector of local government.

“That gives an indication of how different local government will look in the future compared to today and the past,” he said.

Tepania, 31, is running for the Far North mayoralty in October’s elections. If successful he’ll be the youngest ever Far North mayor. He was elected as a Kaikohe-Hokianga Ward councillor at the last local government election in 2019.

Ruapehu District’s youngest councillor Elijah Pue is also running for mayor. At 28, he, too, would be the youngest mayor ever elected in his district if successful. He was elected as a Waimarino-Waiouru Ward representative in 2019.

Pue said yesterday co-governance and partnership were being openly and frankly discussed.

“How do we embody the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in a way that allows councils to focus on community wellbeing, and partnerships and relationships for the betterment of our mokopuna?

“We want meaningful change in our communities. Our outlook no longer needs to be for a 10-year long-term plan, it actually needs to be for a thousand-year generational outlook.

Future-focused leadership
“We need future-focused leadership that doesn’t dwell on the past. We need younger, more diverse, more future-focused leadership that puts our grandchildren, born or unborn, at the forefront of our decisions.”

Fellow Ruapehu mayoralty contender, councillor Adie Doyle, said the clear thrust of the conference was that youth and Māori would have greater input into local government.

“It’s just the way the population statistics are going. The importance of partnerships and working together – some people call it co-governance – is a key takeaway.

“These conferences are designed to challenge your thinking. You come away with maybe a different perspective.

“I support the principle of partnerships, but they have to be fit for purpose, and not all partnerships need to be equal – it’s about working together for the benefit of both parties. It’s for problem solving.”

YEM co-chair Lan Pham – the highest polling candidate elected to Environment Canterbury Regional Council in 2016 – said the key imperative of the network of elected members aged 40 or younger was a transformational approach to environmental protection.

“Every major transformation didn’t just happen, they were designed. We think it’s time for this level of change to happen again.”

Decide on next steps
Horizons Regional Council chair Rachel Keedwell told the conference it was crucial for local government to focus on the YEM vision and decide on the next steps urgently.

“We need to start putting those in place now and focus on the legacy that we’re leaving rather than whether we are going to get re-elected,” Keedwell said.

“We’re moving too slow for the size of the crises that are in front of us. I could get overwhelmed by the scale of the task in front of us: biodiversity, pollution, water quality – numerous crises at the same time.

“We’ve focused on economy rather than environment. That’s how we’ve ended up where we are. We’re living beyond the capacity of the earth. We’re living on credit and that credit is borrowed from the next generation.”

The four-day conference is being attended by a record more than 600 mayors, chairs, councillors, community board members and stakeholders who are hearing from the Prime Minister and other Ministers, the Opposition and sector leaders about policy areas and issues that impact councils and local communities.

The conference ends today.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air. Asia Pacific Report is an LDR partner.

Manukau Urban Māori Authority (MUMA) is welcoming the government’s health reforms as an important first step to improving Māori and Pasifika health in south Auckland.

But some in the health sector say the jury is still out on what will be achieved in Counties Manukau.

Under the reforms, the country’s 20 district health boards have now been replaced by Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand).

• READ MORE: Other Health New Zealand reform reports

The new Crown entity will be responsible for running hospitals, primary and community health services.

The government says it will allow for more consistent delivery of health services nationwide and help stop the postcode lottery people face accessing healthcare based on where they live.

The reforms also include the establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority) to improve indigenous health which will work in partnership with Health NZ.

Muma chairman Bernie O’Donnell has seen the country’s district health boards work first-hand, as a member of the now-defunct Auckland DHB.

Greater responsibility for Māori
He said establishing a Māori Health Authority would give Māori greater responsibility for the delivery of their own health services.

“For too long the health system hasn’t addressed the wellbeing of Māori, or those at the bottom of the cliff,” O’Donnell said. “The reality is we couldn’t continue with what we had. Something had to be done and this is it.”

He said critics of the health reforms are defending a system which had to be replaced.

“The old way the DHBs were run didn’t work for our people. For too long it’s been non-Māori telling us what’s best for us.”

He said ongoing issues left by the Counties Manukau DHB, such as Middlemore Hospital’s under-pressure emergency department and its workforce shortages would all have to be addressed under the changes.

“But what we’re expecting is that Māori and Pasifika health in south Auckland will get better under the reforms,” O’Donnell said.

However, he admitted there’s a lot at stake.

‘Time will tell’
“If that doesn’t happen we won’t have achieved anything of significance,” he said. “But only time will tell.”

Yet not everyone is as certain as O’Donnell on what impact the changes will have.

Turuki Healthcare chief executive Te Puea Winiata said there were still a lot of unanswered questions about the reforms.

Winiata said the creation of the new authority dedicated to indigenous health is an important first step.

But she said it was vital that the new entity had the ability to make its own decisions and help support Māori self-determination.

“The resourcing of the Māori Health Authority is going to be critical to its success,” she said.

Many reform attempts
Winiata said she had worked in the health sector for the past 30 years and in that time had seen a number of attempts by the government of the day to restructure the health system.

She said it was hard to predict what impact the health reforms would have in south Auckland.

“But I think in 12 months’ time we will be able to look at what changes have been made and see what’s been achieved.”

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air. Asia Pacific Report is an LDR partner.

A Gisborne councillor has called into question the mayor’s ability to lead the region forward, saying her background makes it hard to understand issues affecting Māori.

Third-term councillor Meredith Akuhata-Brown made the comments about Mayor Rehette Stoltz following questions about her intention to stand for the top position at the next election.

Akuhata-Brown, who unsuccessfully contested the mayoralty in 2019, said she was not sure if she would run against Stoltz in October.

• READ MORE: Other reports on Māori leadership

Part of the reason was she felt her chances were impacted on by not fitting the stereotype of what power looked like.

“When Rehette first ran for council, she was elected duly based on ‘that’s what councils look like across the nation’,” Akuhata-Brown said.

“She’s the deputy mayor within a couple of terms … she’s formidable … she’s young. There’s no fight for the position, it’s handed to her.”

First elected to council in 2010, Stoltz was appointed deputy mayor by Meng Foon in 2013.

Made interim mayor
When Foon left his position to become the Race Relations Commissioner in 2019, she was made mayor in the interim.

Stoltz then cruised to mayoral victory later that year with 10,589 votes, ahead of second-placed Akuhata-Brown who secured 3845 votes.

Akuhata-Brown believes the mayor had an easy run because she fit the bill of what people were used to in the make-up of councils around the country.

“We go through an election campaign when the position has already been filled.”

On her website, South African-born Stoltz shares her journey to the top elected position at Gisborne District Council.

Arriving in New Zealand in 2001 for her OE, she took a “holiday job” as the laboratory manager for a wine business before deciding to commit to Tairāwhiti long term with partner Deon.

It wasn’t until a conversation with former councillor Kathy Sheldrake in 2009 that she decided to run for council the following year.

Little debate over mayoralty
Her background is in cardiovascular physiology and she also ran a recruitment business.

Akuhata-Brown argues Stoltz was handed the mayoral chains without much debate among councillors when Foon left prematurely.

“It’s really easy for people from overseas. They come to our place highly qualified, and they are looked upon favourably, and they get the position without fighting for it.

“If you are a certain look, that is particularly not Māori, you are highly probable to get that position.”

Akuhata-Brown said she was being a “vocal local” because she was invested in the region and wanted to highlight the issues that came with integrating governance styles from overseas.

Tairāwhiti was still fraught with racial inequalities and relationships were key for connecting with those who were still trying to eek out a living in the middle and lower classes, she said.

“Those who have money and wealth and governance roles, they can just get on with their lives and not be bothered by any of that because they can just put up higher fences.

No voice for Māori and Pasifika
“For Māori and Pasifika, the voice hasn’t been there for centuries.”

Akuhata-Brown’s final criticism of Stoltz’s leadership was she had been left alone with no extra jobs and it felt like there were low expectations.

Hoping to be made a committee chair in her third term, Akuhata-Brown said positions had instead gone to people who supported the mayor 100 percent.

“There’s a real sense that to get position and acknowledgement you have to be very much on side.

“We don’t even talk, it’s just a non-relationship.”

Mayor Rehette Stoltz responded to the criticisms, saying Gisborne had been her home for 21 years and she had made a concerted effort to get a deeper understanding of the multicultural community.

Tikanga Māori course
That included completing a year-long Tikanga Māori course and becoming a member of the council’s waiata group.

She said that under her leadership, Māori wards had been unanimously voted in and memorandums of understanding signed with hapū.

“I have good working relationships with our iwi leaders and regularly meet to discuss and make decisions in regard to issues that are important to us as a region.”

Appointment to committees and chair positions were made on interest expressed by councillors, experience and merit, she said.

“I won the mayoralty with more than a 7000-vote majority. Mayoralties are not handed down, they are voted on by the community.”

The upcoming local body election is set for October 8.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A leading epidemiologist says Aotearoa New Zealand has no idea how many community cases of covid-19 there are in the country because so many people are not recording their rapid antigen test (RAT) results.

University of Auckland Professor Rod Jackson said an upgrade of the testing system and My Covid Record is desperately needed.

His comments follow the leak of a memo from the Northern Region Health Co-ordination Centre (NRHCC) to health providers in the Auckland region on March 26.

• READ MORE:  Covid-19 update: 12,575 new community cases, 654 people in hospital, 15 further deaths
• Covid-19 briefing: ‘The system is in good hands’ – Dr Ashley Bloomfield
• Other NZ covid outbreak reports

The memo states:

“The MoH shared the following with us this week: in the last month we have distributed 50 million RATs into the system and so far less than 1 million results have been reported.”

The memo goes on to mention the increased number of false positives and negatives that occur with RATs (compared to PCRs) and the need to shift towards more PCR testing immediately.

Professor Jackson said the fact that so many people are not recording their covid-19 RAT results means the Ministry of Health’s daily case numbers are meaningless.

“Those numbers clearly demonstrate that expecting people to report the results of self-administered RAT tests was never going to happen on a consistent basis,” he said. “They are only reliable if they are done by trained people and recorded.”

Looking at hospitalisations
Professor Jackson said he did not even even look at the daily case numbers.

“I look at the hospitalisations and, sadly, the number of deaths,” he said.

But Professor Jackson said, in the middle of an omicron outbreak, a switch back to PCR testing might not be feasible due to the sheer number of people who would need to be tested.

“And my concern is people have got so used to easy access to RATs and now they wouldn’t want to wait in line.”

He said RATs are a tool to help slow down the spread of omicron, but their accuracy can be as low as 50 percent.

Auckland University associate professor of public health and Associate Dean Pacific Dr Collin Tukuitonga agrees that poor recording of RAT results highlights the shortcomings of the Ministry of Health’s daily case numbers.

“The reality is we have no idea of the real numbers because people are either not getting tested or, if they are, they aren’t recording their results,” he said.

Real case numbers far higher
“Some people say the real case numbers could be two or even four times higher.”

He said looking at the overall trend shows case numbers are declining in Auckland.

“But in terms of absolute numbers, we have no idea.”

A Ministry of Health spokeswoman said it has continued to monitor and review its approach to testing throughout the outbreak.

She said RATs are the ministry’s preferred testing method as they can be done at home, the results are available quickly and, when people upload their results, they provide an insight into the spread and size of an outbreak.

“We are still undertaking some PCR testing. However, this is mainly focused on priority populations and those individuals who are at higher risk of the effects from covid-19.”

According to the Ministry of Health, from February 22 to April 4 it has distributed 61.6 million RATs nationwide and between December 13 and April 5, a total of 1,614,110 million results have been recorded.

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers’ Association and NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a community partner.

A media bribe? More like the deal of the century.

Fifty-five million dollars does sound like a lot of money. It could buy you a fantastic jet-setting lifestyle, homes around the world and certainly the freedom to never work again.

But what it won’t buy you is influence over a near 200-year-old industry that costs billions to run every year.

• READ MORE: Local Democracy Reporting reports on Asia Pacific Report

Yet, as the government’s Public Interest Journalism Fund turns towards its home straight, there is the baffling suggestion that somehow editors around New Zealand have all been “bought” by the Labour government.

It is a false, dangerous and frankly lazy assumption.

One of the bigger recipients of the fund is the Local Democracy Reporting scheme. It takes about $1.5 million a year. It will likely always need public money because it was set up to fix a problem.

Regional news is struggling. Advertising revenue has been hoovered by tech giants.

Facebook versus the Akaroa Mail… who would you bet on?

Slashed to survive
So, local radio stations, community papers and even regional titles in place for more than a century have had to slash to survive.

Reporters could no more sit in council meetings, chase up the activities of ports or dig into what district health boards are up to. There wasn’t the time. There wasn’t the money.

Journalists, already earning scandalously small wages, got sacked and local news got smaller.

Private media did not step in to fill the gap as there was no profit to be had.

So local lawmakers were quietly left alone to manage ratepayer money. Some did better than others.

Addressing this information vacuum, RNZ and the News Publishers’ Association got creative.

In 2019, they set up a project known as Local Democracy Reporting. Based on similar schemes in Canada and the UK, it now manages 15 reporters around the country.

Seeking the truth
The journalists, funded by taxpayer money, are employed to go and seek truth from publicly elected people and organisations.

Stories they write can be accessed by rival media outlets at the same time as they go to print by the host newsroom. It is, at its core, a domestic wire service.

Last year, LDR reporters wrote more than 3000 local stories from around the country generating more than 9 million page views.

Stories from the top to bottom of New Zealand were shared for free to the 30 media partners who sign up to the scheme.

And since the project’s inception in 2019, how many stories have been questioned by the purse holders at NZ On Air? Not one. Not a single email, telephone call or meeting has questioned the editorial output of any one of the reporters.

Neither has there been a single suggestion of a news line that reporters might consider. And if there had been, you can take it as gospel that these reporters would chuck the suggestions straight in the bin.

Journalists value their independence.

LDR reporters not ‘newbies’
LDR reporters are not “newbies” to the game either. They are at least mid-career and know their patches well. Most are part of a newsroom they worked in before LDR existed and are well in tune with their audience.

They are Māori, Pākehā, female, male, old and young. But most importantly they are skilled reporters who spend their time searching for fact, inconsistency, lies and truth.

The idea that they and their editors are now craven to government paymasters that they have never met is both preposterous and insulting.

And the best way to see this is to look at the stories. They hardly paint the government of the day in a flattering light.

Covid-19 rules, new laws for farmers, racial inequity and management of water are just some of the topics given regional voice. In these stories, government ministers don’t get a look in.

Some who decry public funding of news are also quick to complain that the ‘metropolitan elite’ don’t pay enough attention to the smaller towns and communities.

They say the mainstream media has no clue about ‘real New Zealand, doing it tough’.

Stitching it all together
LDR is in place to address that very concern.

Up and down the country, the reporters go out and talk to iwi, business owners, parents, councillors and mayors. They stitch it all together and get it in the news.

If you want to judge the success and worth of a local democracy reporter, go talk to your local councillors. Ask if they enjoy having reporters present at meetings. If they are honest, they will tell you that they don’t.

They know public discussion of any rate increase, speed limit change or building project could be online to a big audience within minutes.

The LDR project constantly keeps its eye on the use of public cash all around the country. It costs every New Zealander about 30 cents a year. What a bargain.

David Reid is the Local Democracy Reporting manager. LD Reporting is funded by NZ On Air; Asia Pacific Report is an LDR partner.

A Whanganui iwi leader says the Aotearoa New Zealand government’s decision to ease covid-19 measures at this time is a disgrace and shocking.

He is warning Māori to stay vigilant against omicron and prepare for more to come.

Tūpoho chair Ken Mair says Māori must continue to be extremely careful and take precautions against covid-19, despite the government’s new strategy to begin living with the virus.

• READ MORE: Covid-19: Māori now have highest rate of community cases in Aotearoa – Bloomfield
• Covid-19 update: 11 more deaths, 18,423 new community cases today
• Other NZ covid outbreak reports

Yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said gathering limits would ease before the weekend, with no limit for outside venues and gatherings of up to 200 allowed inside.

Vaccine passes and scanning would no longer be needed from April 4, and mandates would be scrapped for all except those in the health and aged care sectors, Corrections and at the border.

But Mair said the country was far from out of the woods, as shown by the number of daily covid-19 cases being reported — with 11 new deaths and 18,423 infections.

“It just seems crazy that the government are putting in place this strategy right now, at the worst time in regard to the high numbers of omicron within our community. It’s extremely dangerous,” Mair said.

Radio NZ News reports that Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said Māori had the highest rate of community cases of covid-19, overtaking Pacific people at 28 per 1000. Rates for NZ European and Asian ethic groups is 21 per 1000.

‘Where’s the Māori lens?’
“Where’s the Māori lens over this? Certainly, within our community there are hundreds [of cases] and there are a number in hospital.

“I just can’t understand a strategy where there hasn’t been any real analysis with substance in regard to the impact upon iwi, hapū and Māori, noting that we’re an extremely vulnerable community in the context of respiratory and asthma ailments.”

Mair said he understood some Māori leaders had been in discussion with the government and had made recommendations for the new strategy, but it appeared they had been ignored.

“I’ve been deeply concerned over the last couple of months where there doesn’t appear to be a strong Māori voice coming through or anything that might indicate that the government have a clear understanding of the ramifications of their decision around the covid strategy.

“This is a classic example — decisions being made right in the midst of cases going up, new variants around the corner, without understanding the impact and implications for Māori. I just think that’s a disgrace and shocking.”

Mair said he thought the strategy had been politicised, with Labour’s polling and political pressure the key factors.

“What motivates you to put in place an extremely dangerous strategy? You can only assume the motivation’s around political expediency and the impact upon economic wellbeing, without having the health lens driving your decision making.

Risk for vulnerable ignored
“The decisions by the prime minister and the government clearly have not taken into account the real vulnerability of Māori, and I think Māori, iwi and hapū have to be extremely careful in this precarious time.”

Yesterday, the prime minister said restrictions were being eased because it was safe to do so. Mair said this ignored the risk that remained for the vulnerable and sent the wrong message.

“I think because of the government’s strategy, people are saying things like: well, we’re going to get it anyway, it doesn’t matter, let’s get on with it and get back to normality as quickly as possible.

“The problem with those comments, of course, is the vulnerability of our Māori community, hapū and iwi is extremely high.

“I think our community in general is beginning to take a kind of defeatist approach and we should be, I think, extremely careful and vigilant in regard to dealing with this omicron.

“I have no doubt in my mind there’ll be more variants around the corner and we should always be prepared.”

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a community partner.

If there’s one thing Matthew Tukaki thought he and the protesters at Parliament might agree on, it’s the right to free speech. But after starting a campaign to end the occupation, he discovered that wasn’t quite the case.

“I started a campaign on Sunday, which kind of went viral, called #endtheprotest, via social media,” the Wellington-based chair of the National Māori Authority said.

The hashtag is now one of the top trending topics for New Zealand Twitter users and has been shared by close to 60,0000 people on Facebook, hitting a reach of 2.3 million accounts.

• READ MORE: RSF condemns threats, violence against media from NZ’s ‘freedom convoy’ protest
• The NZ Parliament protest is testing police independence and public tolerance – are there lessons from Canada’s crackdown?
• Other NZ Parliament protest reports

Tutaki said the backlash, which had included physical threats and racial abuse, was initially just online but it quickly escalated once protesters realised he was behind the campaign.

“I came out of a hotel on Sunday and someone recognised me, they grabbed me by the arm, and the force was so great, they ripped the sleeve off my anorak and left a bruise,” he said.

Never one to let a single incident perturb him, Tukaki passed the protests on his way to lunch a few days later.

“I was down there on my way to get some sushi and a group of about eight of them piled in, shouting verbal abuse and trying to physically intimidate me. One of them was about to lunge and if it wasn’t for the police, it could have turned into something much more brutal.”

No self-respect
He said the protesters seemed to have no self-respect, either for their own space or the environment they were occupying, given the amount of human waste that was swirling around Parliament grounds.

“It’s like someone has turned up at your house, put a tent in your lounge, and then shat in your sink. It’s another level of disrespect out there and these people have no respect for the whenua.”

Having attended many protests over his life as well as having many friends and family involved in different types of activism, he said the difference in how a Māori-led campaign operated was stark.

“Ihumātao was totally different, hīkoi to parliament are different,” he said. “With Māori, when we have a protest, our people will go down to Wellington, we prosecute our kaupapa, present our petition and members of parliament will often come out to greet you.

“It’s always well-organised, and it’s safe and then we clean up after ourselves and we continue to prosecute the kaupapa back home from our marae.

“This is completely different. It’s violent, it’s aggressive and they have no respect for the whenua.”

He noted that even after protesters sent out a press release welcoming visitors, “a reporter from Wellington Live went down there, and was beaten up”.

Māori culture appropriated
He said it was particularly concerning to see both Māori culture and New Zealand’s wartime history being appropriated.

“Unfortunately our Māori whānau are being used as clickbait by those in the alternative right, who are pushing messages from the United States,” he said.

“We’re being used, our symbols are being appropriated. Our tino rangatiraranga flag is flying next to the Trump flag, next to where a Nazi swastika symbol was painted on a war memorial.”

He said the prime minister had made the right call not engaging and he felt some blame could be laid at the feet of politicians who had helped stoke racist conspiracies.

“Many politicians have used Māori issues as a political football over the last 12 months,” he said.

“What they have done is they have set free the sorts of racist attitudes that have been hiding in dark corners, and look at what those same politicians have done now — blame the government for it all.”

Peddling of racist ideas ‘normalised’
This wasn’t the first time Tukaki had received abuse, given his role with the National Māori Authority, which advocated for iwi and Māori business and community service organisations around New Zealand, but he was concerned by how normalised the peddling of racist ideas was becoming.

“I was getting racist and threatening messages before the protest, but what this has taught me is the issue of racism is out there more, because people are now emboldened to show their names and faces.

“And to be frank, people like [David] Seymour and [Judith] Collins, [Winston] Peters and Matt King all need to take responsibility for the beast in the cave they have conveniently let loose.”

Justin Latif is a Local Democracy Reporting project journalist. Read more of his stories here. Asia Pacific Report is a community partner.

A Kaipara district councillor’s almost week-long participation in New Zealand’s anti-covid-19 mandate protest at Parliament is jeopardising the safety of Kaipara residents, warns Mayor Dr Jason Smith.

Dr Smith said he was particularly worried about those in the councillor’s West Coast/Central council ward which had Kaipara’s lowest vaccination rates.

The councillor was participating in a likely “superspreader” event when health authorities yesterday reported a surge to a record 1160 covid-19 cases.

• READ MORE: NZ Parliament protest: Towing operator says companies ready to remove vehicles
• Other NZ covid anti-mandate protest reports

Anti-mandate campaigner and Kaipara District Council (KDC) councillor Victoria del la Varis-Woodcock left Kaipara for the Wellington anti-vaccine, anti-mandate protest on Thursday, February 10, and was still there yesterday.

She declined to say when she would be returning home. She also dismissed Dr Smith’s safety concerns as “nonsensical”.

Since arriving at the protest, del la Varis-Woodcock has addressed thousands of protesters through a megaphone, calling for the government’s covid-19 legislation to be immediately repealed.

“My name is Victoria del la Varis-Woodcock and I have a message, repeal all covid-19 legislation now,” she has told thousands of Wellington protesters.

Declined to comment
She declined to comment on whether she was representing any of the groups participating in the protest.

Del la Varis-Woodcock has previously told Local Democracy Reporting that elected representatives needed to be role models.

“Elected members need to be role models, need to stand for values of respect, of civil liberties and human rights,” she said.

A video of del la Varis-Woodcock’s speech is circulating online, including accompanying reference to her being a protest organiser, which she said was not the case, in response to Local Democracy Reporting clarification questioning.

The video has been viewed almost 3000 times, amid a protest that started on Tuesday, 8 February 8, and is now entering its ninth day.

She said protesters would be continuing their mission, regardless of water being sprayed or music being played, until the government repealed “draconian” laws it had enacted around the virus.

Del la Varis-Woodcock has been a local government elected representative since 2016.

Individual rights
She said she was not at the protest as a KDC councillor. instead, she was there as a protester exercising her individual rights. It was possible to separate the two.

Mayor Dr Smith said being a councillor was a 24/7 365-day-a-year role.

Dr Smith said del la Varis-Woodcock was entitled to her opinions, but being an elected representative brought a unique position of leadership in her local community that needed to be taken into account.

“As an elected representative there are all sorts of responsibilities to the people and organisation of the council. It is a 24/7, seven day a week role. You don’t get to suddenly be someone else. That’s part of the responsibility of this role,” Dr Smith said.

He said her protest participation was “worrisome” in terms of Kaipara residents’ health and safety.

“It’s a long way to travel from Kaipara to a likely superspreader event during the height of a pandemic with a heightened risk of bringing the virus back here,” Smith said.

That was particularly the case with Omicron rates increasing through the community, he said.

Low vaccination rate
Dr Smith said he was particularly worried about people in del la Varis-Woodcock’s West Coast/Central council ward. Latest available figures showed Māori in this area had a double vaccination rate of just over 71 percent (76.5 percent single dose rate).

Overall, there was a just over 78 percent double vaccination rate and just under 82 percent single vaccinated, he said.

Del la Varis-Woodcock said being at the protest did not compromise being able to carry out her role as a councillor.

She said she would be participating virtually from Wellington in KDC’s District Plan review meeting. The meeting was being held face-to-face in Dargaville Town Hall.

Del la Varis-Woodcock also participated virtually while councillors gathered face-to-face for KDC’s first 2022 meeting, in the same venue on February 2. A vaccination passport is required to enter the building.

Mayor Dr Smith said del la Varis-Woodcock had not provided this.

Del la Varis-Woodcock declined today to confirm her vaccination status, including whether she was unvaccinated.

Personal information
She has previously told Local Democracy Reporting that was her personal information.

Del la Varis-Woodcock describes herself on her Facebook page as “environmentalist, district councillor, mother, artist and lover of language”.

The page shares posts including against vaccination passports and concerns over media representations regarding the virus.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Published by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration.

Māori health providers in Aotearoa New Zealand are holding back on covid-19 vaccinations for children in the face of growing anti-vaxxer protest in the wider Whanganui region.

That is despite the area recording the second-lowest rate in the country of vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 years.

Iwi collective Te Ranga Tupua says one of its mobile vaccination clinics was egged in the Whanganui suburb of Aramoho on Wednesday and anti-vaxxer activity has been ramping up since children became eligible for vaccination.

• READ MORE: Other Local Democracy Reporting stories at Asia Pacific Report
• Other NZ covid-19 reports

According to the Ministry of Health, as of Wednesday only 1600 (24 percent) of 6600 eligible children in the Whanganui District Health Board area have had their first shot.

The rate for tamariki Māori is even worse, with only 400 (15 percent) of Māori aged between 5 and 11 years getting their first vaccination.

The Whanganui District Health Board area includes parts of Rangitīkei and the Waimarino/Ruapehu district.

Te Ranga Tupua rapid response vaccination co-lead Elijah Pue said anti-vaxxers are now targeting the iwi collective’s mobile teams daily with the message “hands off our tamariki”.

Ramped up the rhetoric
“The anti-vax community have ramped up the rhetoric. It is a health and safety issue for our staff and our frontline teams.”

The iwi collective did not want to bring in security, preferring instead to encourage kōrero, he said.

Te Ranga Tupua is midway through a 15-week effort to lift Māori vaccination rates in Whanganui, Rangitīkei, South Taranaki and the Waimarino.

Pue said the iwi collective was taking the time to engage with parents who had questions or were hesitant before it launched a region-wide child vaccination rollout on 14 February.

About 120 parents participated in an online information session with Covid-19 experts last week. Pue said Te Ranga Tupua would continue to take a cautious approach and had more information sessions for parents planned next week.

The Whanganui DHB vaccination uptake for both Māori and non-Māori children is the second lowest in the country, with only Northland recording lower numbers.

Spokesperson Louise Allsopp said the DHB was encouraging whānau to talk with their trusted healthcare providers to work through any concerns about vaccinating their 5 to 11-year-olds.

“We are also ensuring existing providers are supported to start vaccinating children when they are ready,” Allsopp said.

Right information for whānau
“The key things are that people have the right information to make their decision for their whānau, then [that] vaccinations are available from the right people at the right time. There has been a focus from Māori providers on getting accurate information out there before they start vaccinating.”

The public health team was providing support to local school principals around Covid-19 protection measures, including wearing masks at school. The DHB was also supporting additional providers to start delivering covid-19 vaccinations for both adults and children, Allsopp said.

Covid-19 Māori health analyst Rāwiri Taonui said tamariki Māori vaccination numbers throughout the country were concerning and had to be lifted urgently before the omicron variant took hold.

“There’s an impression that omicron causes milder disease and that’s true but the scale of cases is so large that even a small percentage of severe illnesses is quite a serious situation.”

Taonui said MOH data showed 18 percent of tamariki Māori (5-11s) nationwide had their first vaccination compared to 33 percent for all ethnicities. But the gap was much wider due to an undercount of more than 12,000 in the index the MOH used to count vaccinations and the estimated number of tamariki Māori, he said.

“That gap is closer to 25 or 26 percent. A more accurate calculation of the tamariki vaccination is 16.1 percent for Māori compared to 40.9 percent for non-Māori/Pacific.”

Taonui was calling on the government to cut the wait time between first and second child vaccinations from eight weeks to three, and to prioritise the tamariki Māori vaccination rollout to avoid repeating the inequities of the national vaccination programme to date.

Targeting low-decile schools
“This includes targeting low-decile schools with large Māori enrolments,” Taonui said.

“At the moment Māori cases are very low. But at some point there’s going to be a vector by which Omicron begins to make its way into our community and that is likely to come when our children go back to school and begin mixing with kids from other communities and take the virus home.”

The MOH had to release tamariki Māori data to the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency and other Māori health providers to help them quickly locate children who had yet to be vaccinated, he said.

Delays in child vaccinations now would carry through to second vaccinations. With the current eight-week wait time between vaccinations, a child vaccinated today would not be fully protected until April – well after Omicron has taken hold in the country.

“That’s a real concern. We could get caught out really quite badly,” Taonui said.

“We are starting to see numbers overseas, for instance in the United States and amongst other indigenous groups, where there’s a lot of children getting ill and child hospitalisations are increasing.

“We’re already in a situation where by mid-January tamariki Māori were 53 percent of all under-12 infection and 63 percent of all hospitalisation. If we don’t get the tamariki vaccination rollout right, those numbers could become even worse.”

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Published by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration.

A covid-19 Māori health analyst says more than 106,000 vaccinated Māori are not eligible for a booster shot until after March 1 — too late to protect against the expected omicron surge in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dr Rāwiri Taonui is calling on the government to urgently pull back the waiting period for boosters from four months to three.

He said otherwise Māori will be dangerously exposed to the serious outbreak widely expected by the end of February.

• READ MORE: Other Local Democracy Reporting stories at Asia Pacific Report

Dr Taonui said the age banding for the original vaccination rollout favoured Pākehā (an overall older population) and pushed Māoridom’s more youthful population to the end of the queue.

“Many Māori didn’t become eligible for vaccination until September 1. Around that time, there was a 23 percent gap between Māori vaccination and the national average,” Dr Taonui said.

“Our health providers have done a really amazing job in terms of narrowing that gap back to 10 percent and that included vaccinating over 106,000 people since November 1.

“But the inequity rolls on because now those people wouldn’t be eligible for a booster until March 1 — and that’s going to be too late if omicron surges as we expect it will through February.”

International evidence
Ministry of Health data shows 571,052 Māori aged 12 years and over are eligible for vaccination.

Dr Taonui said international evidence showed a third booster Pfizer dose increased protection 55 to 65 percent against infection, 70 percent against symptomatic illness and 90 percent against hospitalisation, including in older populations over 65 years.

But on Sunday’s numbers, the Māori uptake of boosters was 18.9 percent of the eligible over-18 years population — well behind the national average of 27 percent.

“The government must shorten the qualifying period to three months to meet its obligation under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to actively protect the lives of Māori,” Dr Taonui said.

He said Britain, Australia and some other countries allowed a three-month booster waiting period.

“The international reporting is telling us that indigenous peoples, for example in Australia, Canada and the United States, are being disproportionately inundated with omicron infections.

“Māori are going to be particularly vulnerable because in terms of total vaccinations we’re 10 percent behind the national average. We’re about 12 percent behind in terms of being fully vaccinated and with the booster rollout we’re nearly 10 percent behind the national average there as well.

Māori children vulnerable
“This leaves 17.6 percent of Māori aged over 12 years unvaccinated and therefore particularly vulnerable to the hyper-infectious omicron variant.”

The low rate of vaccination for Māori children aged 5-11 years was “very, very serious”, he said.

“The Ministry of Health hasn’t released national figures yet but there are progress figures available for different DHBs. In Auckland, the Māori rate of tamariki vaccination is running at about half that of the rest of the city. That is another area where Māori need more support from the government.”

Dr Taonui said during the holiday period, active Māori cases declined by 70 percent while active Pākehā cases increased. That reflected higher vaccination rates and was a credit to the vigilance and leadership among Māori communities.

Notwithstanding the lower numbers for Māori, the country’s relatively good vaccination rates, compared to other countries, could slow omicron down but the traffic light system would only go so far with that, he said.

“At the end of the holiday period there was quite a lot to celebrate, except now we’re facing omicron. We’ve also had cases become more widespread across 18 of 20 DHBs now.

“So the traffic light system actually facilitates the more widespread movement of the virus. omicron is going to accelerate and increase quite rapidly, certainly before the middle of February.”

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Published by Asia Pacific Report in collaboration.

A New Zealand iwi development and social services leader in Taihape is urging rural people to prepare urgently for self-isolation or infection as the threat of omicron looms.

Mōkai Pātea Services general manager Tracey Hiroa, who is also a Rangitīkei District councillor, says country people think of themselves as self-sufficient but must make plans for extended periods of isolation or sickness.

She said people must connect now with family, friends and neighbours to put practical measures in place for a worst-case scenario.

• READ MORE: Other Local Democracy Reporting reports

“We’ve been very, very lucky in this region so far, but it’s just a matter of time,” Hiroa said.

“Probably one of the key things that people need is their own whānau plan. Be prepared as opposed to sitting back and thinking, ‘oh no, that’s not going to happen to me’.

“Preparation really is the biggest thing. If you’re self-isolating, if you are diagnosed with [covid-19], think about things that in theory are going to be able to keep you going.

“If you’ve got animals, have you sorted out anything to make sure that they’ve got food? Make sure you’ve got kai to last you over that two-week period. Make sure you’ve got a chilly bin or something like that — with a lid — that can be left out by the front gate that kai or anything else is able to be put in, so that you’re not in contact with people.”

Two weeks of supplies
Hiroa said people should get in two weeks of supplies and items such as torches and batteries or candles, as well as sanitiser, masks and medicines for fever, congestion, muscular pain and sore throats or coughs.

And she said it is vital for people to make sure they have support at hand if needed.

“Making sure that you’ve got those relationships already in place if something was to happen. Have you made the connections out with your whānau to say here’s some of the things outside of the home that I need you to be picking up on.

“It might mean you’ll need somebody to go and feed out your cattle. Go and meet your neighbours so that if something happens you’ve got somebody to call on.”

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by Asia Pacific Report, RNZ, the News Publishers’ Association and NZ On Air.

Dr Rāwiri Taonui says tamariki Māori make up 53.3 percent of all cases of those aged under 12 and 63 percent of all hospitalisations of under 12s.

According to Dr Taonui’s analysis, when Pasifika children are included, 82 percent of cases and 78.3 percent of hospitalisations of those under 12 have been Māori or Pasifika.

• READ MORE: Other NZ covid outbreak reports
• Solomon Islands orders 60 hour lockdown in Honiara

Taonui has contributed to a Ministry of Health working group for vaccination of Māori aged 12 years and under.

He described the statistics as disturbing and said they reflect the higher disease burden on Māori in the current outbreak.

Omicron remained a serious risk for unvaccinated Māori and Pasifika, and the tamariki rollout should focus on equal outcomes with Pākehā, he said.

“Pacific and Māori peoples face similar prejudice. This is our brown pandemic.”

Dr Taonui said data emerging from overseas backed the need to prioritise Māori and Pasifika children in the vaccination rollout.

Rise in child infections
“Last week, the American Academy of Paediatrics reported a 50 percent rise to 199,000 child infections and a 66 percent rise to a record 400 child hospitalisations in one week at the end of December,” Dr Taonui said.

“The lesson [is that] a small percentage of severe young cases among an enormous number of mild omicron cases equals a serious number of cases among the young and vulnerable.

“Tamariki are the taonga in the future of our whakapapa. At 24.6 percent of our population, Māori communities will be concerned that our tamariki are 29.2 percent of all Māori cases,” Taonui said.

A new international study this month by the University of Auckland’s Professor Stuart Dalziel showed children are at risk of severe outcomes from covid-19.

Professor Dalziel said greater numbers of children were being infected and needing hospital treatment.

“There is a perception that covid-19 is only a very mild infection in children. Unfortunately, for some of these children, covid-19 results in severe disease,” Professor Dalziel said.

The study followed more than 10,300 children at 41 emergency departments in 10 countries, including New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

It found that more than 3200 children tested positive for covid-19. Of those, three percent experienced severe outcomes within two weeks, including cardiac or cardiovascular complications such as myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) and neurological, respiratory or infectious problems.

Twenty-three percent were hospitalised and four children died.

More than 30,000 children’s doses have been given across the first three days of the vaccination rollout for children aged 5-11 years.

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by Asia Pacific Report, RNZ the News Publishers’ Association and NZ On Air.

Church minister Suiva’aia Te’o says proactive communication, compassion and clear information have led to a fully vaccinated congregation.

Like most churches operating under level three and four rules, the Sāmoan Methodist Māngere Central church livestreams services on Facebook and holds Bible studies and prayer meetings over Zoom.

To keep the young people engaged they run Kahoot! quizzes and online talent shows.

• READ MORE: More Local Democracy Reporting stories on Asia Pacific Report
• Other NZ covid lockdown reports

But when lockdown rules lift, the congregation will be able to confidently worship in person — because all 120 of them are already double-vaccinated.

The church’s Reverend Suiva’aia Te’o says no edict or mandate was imposed by her or anyone else. Rather, she made sure everyone was given clear and relevant information, and then members of the congregation got the vaccinations of their own volition.

“One Sunday I gave a brief talk about why they should take it. My thinking was if everybody understands why, then they can make a decision for themselves,” she says.

Te’o was motivated to promote the vaccine after attending a talk organised by Pacific health provider South Seas for church ministers in South Auckland. She says the crux of her message to the congregation was to do it for the “love of family”.

‘We breathe the same air’
“We all live in the same world and we breathe the same air,” she says. “The delta variant can spread so easily, and so I reminded them it was about the safety of their families, the safety of the community and the safety of the church.”

She also recruited the support of her church’s youth group leaders, including Māngere College student Gardinea Lemoa.

“We have youth meetings every Friday and so I’ve just been encouraging them to get vaccinated and to get their friends and family vaccinated as well,” says Lemoa.

“We’ve also been making up memes so they could post things on their social media accounts.”

Te’o is well aware that some Christian leaders are calling the covid-19 vaccine the “mark of the beast” and a sign of the end times, but she’s got no time for such attempts to stoke fear.

“I know they say that’s what they believe, but I don’t agree. I think it’s just an excuse and they need to get vaccinated.

“We have got this remedy, and I’m convinced it has been developed with God-given wisdom and knowledge by professionals so we can be safe.”

86% of eligible Pacific population
Before this weekend 86 percent of the eligible Pacific population have had their first dose, compared to 89 percent of Europeans and close to 100 percent of the Asian population.

Around 50,000 Counties Manukau District Health Board residents still need to get their second dose in order to reach the 90 percent double-vaccinated threshold. It’s a marker the Auckland and Waitematā DHB populations need about 15,000 and 40,000 doses respectively to reach.

Given the lower vaccination rates for Pacific peoples, associate professor of public health at the University of Auckland Dr Collin Tukuitonga says it is still a source of frustration that the Ministry of Health decided on a centralised approach at the start of the vaccine rollout and didn’t lean more on churches to support the immunisation programme.

“It is encouraging to see so many community-led initiatives happening now. But these should have been resourced from the beginning,” he says.

“Instead, the first big mass vaccination event was held at [higher learning institution] Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT). It was great that they got 16,000 people vaccinated then, but it actually made things worse in some ways, because they barely vaccinated any Māori or Pacific people.”

He says when local organisations like churches are empowered to take the lead, mistrust and misinformation become less of a hurdle to overcome.

“Now we have Pacific providers taking ownership we are finally seeing a lot more acceptance and uptake of the vaccine.”

Quickly got on board
Te’o says though her congregation quickly got on board with the vaccination rollout, many have still found lockdown challenging.

“I thought with this lockdown it would be quiet for us, but it’s not – there’s more and more Zoom meetings and more work. It’s been a hard time, the world is changing a lot for so many of us and there’s a lot of uncertainty.

“We’ve been providing food parcels for some families and some have needed small monetary grants to help with paying the power or other bills.”

But one thing she is confident about, given all her congregation is vaccinated, is that when they do get back to in-person services they’ll all have that extra layer of protection.

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers’ Association and NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report is a partner.

If New Zealand’s border restrictions are loosened for arrivals from countries with high covid-19 numbers, South Auckland will see between 1000 and 1400 cases a week — even if vaccination rates get to 90 percent, according to modelling carried out by the Counties Manukau District Health Board (DHB).

Under the modelling prepared for the DHB, if strong border controls and public health measures remained in place and the vaccination rate reached 90 percent, the Counties Manukau region would see only 40 cases and one hospitalisation per week.

This number jumps to 200 cases per week if vaccination rates reach only 80 percent.

• READ MORE: Covid-19: 43 new cases in NZ community today
• Other NZ covid lockdown reports
• More Local Democracy Reporting stories

The scenario gets grimmer for South Aucklanders if border and public health restrictions are lifted.

The DHB’s modelling shows there will be at least 1000 cases and 30 hospitalisations per week with a 90 percent vaccination rate, or 1400 cases and 45 hospitalisations if vaccination rates reach only 80 percent.

Given rates remain well below 80 percent in much of South Auckland, University of Auckland public health associate professor Dr Collin Tukuitonga said the modelling was too conservative.

“I think the vaccination rates are too ambitious and I think we will probably get more cases than 1000 a week,” Dr Tukuitonga said.

“And as a result, it will have a greater impact on Māori and Pacific people. This could get totally out of control – in terms of what we’ve experienced in New Zealand up to now.”

Pressure already immense
The pressure on Middlemore Hospital was already immense given “Māori and Pacific are most affected by the inequities in our society”, Dr Tukuitonga said.

“If the government loosens public health measures, there will be more cases, and that’s the risk people need to be aware of.

“The problem for Middlemore is that they are already stretched to their full capacity, even without covid, as they are underpowered to serve the population size that exists within Counties Manukau.”

At the opening of a mobile vaccination bus last month, Counties Manukau Health Chief Executive Margie Apa said the hospital had already been working hard to increase its capacity for covid-19 patients.

“We have done quite a lot of preparatory work to increase our ICU [intensive care unit] and high-dependency units,” she said.

“But what that does do is take bed stock out of being able to look after the rest of our non-covid patients.”

According to a DHB spokesperson, the hospital has 18 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, seven high dependency unit (HDU) beds and a special respiratory ward for covid-19 patients.

Planning capacity increase
It is also planning ways to increase “hospital capacity to care for all patients in a safe way”, the spokesperson said.

“Middlemore Hospital has been the epicentre of the covid-19 Delta outbreak with more than 1000 cases since the pandemic began in the Counties Manukau region.

The team’s experience is now being applied to how services and patient care will be provided in the future.”

A medical specialist familiar with Middlemore Hospital and its intensive care unit said given what the modelling shows and the hospital’s capacity, the implications for South Aucklanders with pre-existing conditions were “very serious”.

“When a person goes into intensive care with covid, they can spend up to 16 hours a day lying on their stomachs and are spending between four to six weeks in there.

“If every week you get just a tenth of hospitalisations going into ICU, you’re still going to get pretty overwhelmed pretty quickly.”

Lot of people suffering
An increase in covid-19-related deaths was “a reasonable assumption to make, and there will also be a lot of people just suffering, as they are unable to get the relief they were hoping to get from other interventions that had been planned but will be delayed,” he said.

Opening the vaccination rollout to all Māori and Pacific people from the start, and having it led by South Auckland providers, was the only way for the current scenario to have been avoided, he said.

“The people of South Auckland have borne the brunt of so much for so long, and you have to think they have been let down.

“They should have been listening to people on the ground but it seems they never learn.”

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers’ Association and NZ On Air. This article is published by Asia Pacific Report in partnership with LDR.

One of the positive cases from New Zealand’s Assemblies of God Church of Samoa cluster has shared his experience of recuperating from covid-19 while in quarantine with his family of eight.

As news spread that a person with the novel coronavirus had attended his church, John, who does not wish to use his real name, made sure he got tested as soon as possible.

He had been at the Assemblies of God Church of Samoa in South Auckland on August 15 for an all-day event involving the church’s 27 congregations from across the country. The event included bible studies, performances and competitions.

• READ MORE: Other Local Democracy Reporting stories on Asia Pacific Report
• NZ covid lockdown reports

It was the first time all the Assemblies of God Church of Samoa congregations in New Zealand had gathered in more than two years.

“This was the first one in a long time and everyone was happy but no one knew what was going on,” John said, speaking from his quarantine hotel room.

Within a day of his test, John found out his family of eight would be moving to Jet Park in Māngere to quarantine.

“Trying to get all of our stuff together was a mad rush, especially getting stuff for our baby like nappies and baby food.”

Positive test a mistake?
He initially thought the positive test was a mistake, given how healthy he felt, but within three or four days that all changed.

“I have a good diet and I exercise and train as much as I can, but when it came to this [delta] variant, it came on so fast, I was thinking, ‘holy shit, what’s happening?’.”

He experienced a loss of taste, hot and cold flashes, body aches, joint pain and “migraines that wouldn’t go away, which felt like they would blow up my brain”.

Then the virus hit his wife and kids, as they all tested positive. Thankfully his youngest, an 11-month-old, did not experience the same intensity of symptoms.

With both parents sick in quarantine, John and his wife faced a new challenge.

“We knew we just had to hang in there because we knew if we went to hospital, there would be no one to look after the kids,” he said.

“I’ve never seen my family in this much pain before and I would never wish this on anyone.”

19 days in MIQ
A standard stay in MIQ is 14 days, but with their positive and symptomatic cases, John’s family had already stayed at Jet Park for 19 days by Friday.

He said they had been told once the family have been symptom-free for over 72 hours they would be allowed out — something he felt was not too far away.

As his family recuperated in their room in Jet Park, seeing the news about attacks against his congregation only amplified the pain John and his family were feeling.

“I saw the remarks. People can’t treat us like that but it shows that racism is still alive in this country,” he said.

And he was doubly disappointed when Pacific people were highlighted as being the majority of cases in the current outbreak.

“I don’t see how saying which ethnicity has the most cases is needed. We just need to know there’s this many people infected – that’s it. But to put it out there that we had the most cases… that really puts us down as Pacific Islanders.”

His frustration extended to the government’s rollout of the vaccine given how the virus has ripped through his church community.

It could have been prevented
“All this could have been prevented,” he said. “They knew South Auckland was the most affected in the last two outbreaks, so why wasn’t South Auckland the first to get the vaccine?

“Why now when there’s a cluster over 500 people are they holding all these pop-up clinics and you can go in without lining up? These things should have been put in place before.”

Despite the tortuous last few weeks, John said his family have been well looked after by the team at Jet Park, as well as by the staff from the social service agency, The Fono.

“The staff, the nurses, the people who cook the food and do our linen, we’re so thankful for them. We don’t even see their faces, they just drop it off and go. So we feel a little bit lucky to be in Jet Park given how we’re being treated.”

Along with three meals a day, The Fono’s staff bring extra snacks and games for John’s children, and the family is allowed out of their room every two to three days for a walk around the hotel’s car park.

“Those snacks can put a smile on their faces to help them feel a bit of normality. And going outside is something we really look forward to — getting a bit of fresh air. It’s just a car park but it’s better than nothing.”

Don’t gamble on no covid
And for any of those feeling hesitant about getting the vaccine, John’s message is clear; don’t gamble on not catching covid.

“There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there but for myself, I wouldn’t want to experience this again and I would never want my kids to feel the full effects of it. This is going to be the new normal… so my advice to people is go take it.”

Battling a deadly virus in a hotel room with six kids has given John much to think about and much to be thankful for.

“Seeing ambulances coming in and out of this place, knowing that’s our people, is hard. Having our faith has helped us stay strong but being hit by this has made me understand how important our lives are and not to take things for granted.”

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers’ Association and NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report supports this project.

The national strategy of vaccinating against covid-19 through general and mass events is not working for Māori, with even clinics that prioritise Māori and Pasifika being “swamped” by Pākehā, a covid-19 researcher says.

Earlier this week, opposition Act Party leader David Seymour tweeted out a vaccine code reserved for Māori, encouraging his supporters to use the code themselves.

The code was sent by Māori health provider Te Whānau o Waipareira via confidential email to its clients as part of a push to lift Māori vaccination rates that are less than two thirds of the non-Māori rate.

• READ MORE: Māori vaccine equity scheme criticism blows back on Seymour
• Other Local Democracy Reporting stories at Asia Pacific Report

Te Whānau o Waipareira CEO John Tamihere said Seymour was trying to sabotage attempts to make the rollout more equitable.

He said his clinics had vaccinated five times as many Pākehā as Māori and Pasifika.

Independent writer, researcher and advisor Rāwiri Taonui, who focuses on covid-19 in Māori communities, said the story was similar around the country and different strategies were now needed to turn around low vaccine uptake by Māori.

“At the moment our main strategy is to have mass vaccination events and some are prioritised for Māori and Pasifika but what’s happening is those events are actually being swamped by Pākehā, quite a lot of them,” Taonui said.

“A better strategy would be to collate information about where whānau live or have whānau gather at marae and have mobile vaccination units go out to the community.”

Booking ‘navigators’
Taonui said another idea would be to bring in booking “navigators” to help Māori, especially kaumātua, who are finding it difficult to book online, and to help whānau book group vaccinations.

In the Whanganui District Health Board region, nearly 54,500 doses of Pfizer have been delivered – just over 49 percent of the total due to be delivered in the local rollout.

Māori health providers are running clinics throughout the region, including in rural and isolated centres and in marae communities, and on Friday a walk-in clinic is being held at Te Ao Hou Marae in Whanganui from 10am-2pm.

• New Zealand reported 21 new community cases of covid-19 in the country today. Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said all the new cases were all in Auckland. This follows three days in a row with 20 new cases.

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers’ Association and NZ On Air. Asia Pacific Report supports this project.

“God bless them.”

That’s the response from a leader at the Assembly of God Church of Samoa NZ in Māngere, following abusive messages sent to his church’s Facebook account.

One of the messages circulating on social media referred to the community as “stupid coconuts” and said the community should get tested for covid-19 “before you kill us all”.

The Pacific community has the highest testing rate in the country to date, with 981 tests per 1000 people compared to 479 for Pākehā.

• READ MORE: NZ’s covid-19 numbers: 62 new cases in the community today
• Other NZ covid lockdown reports

The church leader, who did not wish to be named, said members were disappointed by the attack but they felt no need to retaliate, adding “they can say whatever, it changes nothing”.

“Our service happened before the lockdown so it’s not like we knew this was going to happen. We just had an unwanted visitor,” he said, referring to the undetected presence of covid-19 at the event.

“We’re just getting on with it. We’re having meetings with MPs and making sure everyone is getting tested.”

Church ‘pretty stressed’
Jerome Mika works for South Auckland NGO The Cause Collective, and is currently supporting church leaders. He said the church was feeling “pretty stressed and overwhelmed” after receiving multiple abusive messages while dealing with the complexities of tracing the movements of the more than 500 people who attended their service on August 15.

“It’s quite a complex situation. But the church is cooperating fully with the Ministry of Health, South Seas Health and The Cause Collective,” Mika said.

Manukau ward councillors Alf Filipaina and Fa’anana Efeso Collins have both been made aware of the attacks on their constituents.

Collins said that given many Pacific people work in essential services as well customer facing roles like bus driving and hospitality, it’s not a surprise they also make up so many of the positive cases, as mentioned by Dr Ashley Bloomfield yesterday.

“We are definitely playing our part in the fight against Covid and Pacific people also have the highest testing rates,” Collins said. “But unfortunately belligerent and distasteful comments now emerging on social media show the simmering underbelly of discrimination in New Zealand.

“So I’m encouraging people to stay clear of the comments sections in posts that license this ghastly behaviour.”

Filipaina said the term “coconut” in particular was deeply hurtful to himself and others within the Pacific community.

‘Move to a KKK state’
“I was disgusted when I saw that. My first reaction was that guy should move to a state in the USA where the KKK are prominent, because that sort of comment is not welcome here,” he said.

He said the media also had a role to play in how it frames the latest covid news, given five of the other church-related locations of interest were not in South Auckland and their congregations’ ethnicities were not being highlighted in the news.

“The media should be concentrating on getting the key messages out like ‘get tested’ and ‘get vaccinated’,” Filipaina said.

“They didn’t have to mention that it was a Samoan church. The media should just concentrate on the fact that it happened at a church without focusing on the ethnicity of those who go there.

“I also saw a news outlet showing an image of the incorrect church as having a case. So I don’t know why they continue to make those mistakes as it does affect people from those other churches.”

Among the reasons behind this recent spike in cases among the Pacific community, Auckland University associate professor of public health Dr Colin Tukuitonga said church services were the perfect setting for transmission, given the prevalence of singing and close proximity of attendees, before adding that low vaccination rates was another major reason.

“The appalling vaccination coverage rates that we have is one reason why we are seeing many, many more cases,” he said.

‘Big song and dance’
“They did a big song and dance about that mass vaccination event a few weeks back, but I’ve always said that wasn’t going to work.

“Yes there were large numbers, but they were vaccinating low priority groups and we had barely 1300 Pacific vaccinated out of 15,000.”

He also believed Pacific providers needed to be tasked with running the vaccination events.

“We’ve always asked for more targeted vaccination options for Māori and Pacific communities. There’s some dedicated options for Māori and Pacific communities but nowhere [near] enough.”

Meanwhile, the church that has found itself at the centre of this outbreak is just getting on with it and, like all New Zealanders right now, was “just looking forward to getting out of lockdown,” said one of its leaders.

“Hopefully this all comes to an end soon and everything can go back to normal.”

He says racist remarks directed at the Samoan community is “disappointing and frankly gutless. I’m asking everyone in the country to be kind. The virus is the problem, not people, people are the solution. Be part of the solution.”

He says the Pacific community has been incredibly responsive and thanks community leaders for their efforts.

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers’ Association and NZ On Air.

Auckland councillor Fa’anānā Efeso Collins received death threats after criticising a reality police TV show, and says it has made him reconsider his future in politics.

“God, not my girls” is the thought Fa’anana said immediately ran through mind as he led a bomb squad through his home after being told an anonymous death threat had been made against him and his family.

The South Auckland councillor made the revelation at a church conference at Auckland’s Spark Arena on Saturday.

• READ MORE: Police Ten 7 show ‘feeds racial stereotypes’ – Auckland councillor

He told the hundreds gathered, while speaking on the topic of social justice, that when he was asked by police to come to the station he at first had no idea what to expect.

“I went into this interview room and they told me: ‘We’ve received a death threat, and it’s in the form of a bomb threat against you and your family’. They told me it’s been elevated to the point they would like to send the bomb squad to your offices and to your house.”

Fa’anānā said the threat was made six weeks ago via the police’s anonymous tip line in response to his suggestions TVNZ’s Police Ten 7 programme was reinforcing negative stereotypes about Māori and Pacific peoples.

Police swept his home and his offices in the central city and Manukau but no bomb was found.

‘Doubts began to rise’
The doubts began to rise in my heart,” he told the audience with tears streaming down his face, “as I led a group of detectives with all this equipment through my home, while Fia [his wife] and my daughters were on the balcony.”

Fa’anānā said he has had moments where he has questioned if he should stay in politics.

“I feel like my confidence has taken a dent and I’ve had doubts around whether it’s worth the safety of my family to continue in a political role.”

But he has come to the decision, along with wife Fia, that they cannot let the threats deter them from what they see as their calling as a couple.

“I also felt that they would win, if I changed my life,” he said.

Fa’anānā said police asked if he had received racist or abusive emails or messages prior to this, but he said because he receives so much, he has almost become immune to it and he’s even created a separate folder on his work computer to file them all.

“In the recording of the phone call they said: ‘Efeso is a racist’ because of my complaints about Police Ten 7 – so it’s obviously racially motivated. But the police have been really good. They were really sensitive and thorough.”

Fighting injustice
Fa’anānā told The Spinoff he chose to share this experience at this church event as he hoped it would encourage others wanting to fight injustice that while hard times may come, there was also ways to deal with the challenges.

“There’s a cost when you’re trying to make a difference, and I wanted to share that with them. But also that having a faith has reminded me I can turn to a source that’s beyond me, and I can find strength from that.”

Fia Collins said she has always known there was a nasty side to politics, “but nothing prepares you for the news of a bomb threat.

“I know this is a call on our lives, and so we have to accept to a certain extent the good, bad and ugly. And this is the ugly part.

“But for us, we are grateful more than anything, as we get a sense that a lot of people are supporting us, and it means the world to us.”

Following a week that has seen further reports of gang-related shootings in his Manukau ward, Fa’anānā said he has been offered personal security by council, but he has turned it down as he believes it would draw even greater attention to him and his family.

“I look at the people that I serve, and the difference I have from them is what I’ve gone through is a bit more public, but many others are going through similar stuff.”

Police investigating
Police are continuing to investigate the threat and are asking the public to share any information they may have.

In a written statement, a police spokesperson said: “Police can confirm a report was received about anonymous threats made towards an Auckland councillor on June 19.”

They said no arrests had been made, and the complaint had been filed, until further information arises.

“These sorts of reports are taken seriously and extensive enquiries were made into this particular matter at the time.”

Anyone with information about this is asked to call police on 105, and quote the file number 210619/6156.

Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers’ Association and NZ On Air.

LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTING: By Justin Latif of The Spinoff

John Pulu is one of the best-known television and radio personalities in New Zealand’s Pacific community.

He not only fronts TVNZ’s Tagata Pasifika Saturday morning show, but also hosts a four-hour Tongan-language current affairs and talkback programme on Pacific Media Network’s 531pi radio station every Wednesday afternoon.

Pulu says combating misinformation has been a major focus in his roles over the last year.

• READ MORE: Other Justin Latif Local Democracy Reporting articles at The Spinoff

“Covid is real, it’s happening, but I’m also a believer that listeners and viewers must make their own mind up. So rather than just us saying it, we’re in a position to connect our listeners to people who have the right information.”

The Ōtāhuhu resident not only ensures his audiences hear from Pacific epidemiologists and health clinicians, but thanks to his strong relationship with Jacinda Ardern, he’s able to ensure the prime minister can speak directly to Pacific audiences.

“I’ve lost count how many times I’ve interviewed her. It shows she is not just focused on one community or one group. And because the current outbreak is on our side of Auckland, having her front up is so important.”

Pulu says their relationship goes back to when Ardern was still an opposition MP.

‘Met her at movie screening’
“I met her at a movie screening when she came as Carmel Sepuloni’s date for the night. We took a selfie and she asked me to add her on Instagram. I didn’t realise she would be the leader of the nation one day.

“I wouldn’t say we’re BFFs [best friends forever], but we’re connected on social media and she’s always said I can get in touch whenever we want an interview, and she respects our community.”

Pulu, who is regularly interviewed by Tongan-language radio shows from Tonga and Australia for updates on the situation in Aotearoa, says the pandemic has made his life much busier.

“I consider myself very fortunate that I’m able to continue doing what I love and in a role where we can help make a difference by negating the misinformation that’s out there, and try and use our platforms wisely.”

Pacific Media Network chief executive Don Mann says the organisation, which annually receives $4.5 million in government funding, provides shows in nine different Pacific languages and also supports the Ministry of Pacific Peoples with public information campaigns.

“Part of our response has been to place Ministry of Health messaging on our channels and radio shows and to do that we’ve given up some of our airtime that we normally sell commercially, and we’ve been recompensed for that – not huge amounts, but it’s fair.”

Mann says the network’s two radio stations have experienced significant audience growth over the last 12 months, which he puts down to “people wanting information from a trusted source and in their own language”.

But Mann says people shouldn’t think Pacific and migrant communities consume their news in just one way.

“Our people are a sophisticated audience who are used to seeking information from multiple sources, from an entity like ourselves or from other organisations, and they are able to consume information in multiple languages.”

Covid news in the ethnic media
Gaurav Sharma was associate editor at the Indian News up until recently, when he had to return to India to be with family. He says his publication ran covid-related double-page spreads most of last year and he believes most ethnic news organisations have done an incredible job at covering the pandemic. His only complaint is that it took a while for the government to direct their advertising spend towards migrant-focused publications such as his.

“We took the initiative [to inform people about Covid] and the government advertising did come, but it came quite a bit later, maybe around August. And the proportion of funding that ethnic media gets is quite low. It has been a struggle at times for the media with advertising being down in general, but I think our media have done a wonderful job.”

Raju Ramakrishna lives and works in ethnically diverse Papatoetoe. He has noticed people have been much more reticent to venture outside during this latest lockdown.

“In the first few lockdowns, people were rushing in and out of the supermarket, but this time around people are more well-behaved in many ways – more circumspect, keeping to themselves, and there’s a feeling of uncertainty and insecurity.”

Ramakrishna helps run the Papatoetoe Food Hub and is well-known in Auckland’s Indian community as the former lead singer of a popular South Asian band. He believes his fellow Indians are keen to stay up to date with the latest covid news and comply with any restrictions.

“Generally South Asians conform to authorities and are quite compliant. In the circles I’m familiar with, people are well-informed and they know where to go when they need some information. Radio Tarana, which is the station most people listen to, is up to date with news and any breaking news is reported.”

Newly elected Indian-born Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma (who shares a name with the former Indian News associate editor mentioned above) attends numerous cultural events as well as being regularly interviewed on ethnic radio stations for his expertise as a medical doctor.

Positive information in cultural settings
“I think the information is out there. I know from talking to community leaders that every time there’s a level change, they have been sharing information through their networks and they’ve also been talking about it in their communal settings.

“It’s really positive to hear that people are accessing information in their own cultural settings and in their own language.”

According to the government’s Office for Ethnic Communities, $1.4 million has been spent on advertising for “culturally and linguistically diverse” audiences. Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who’s the minister for diversity, inclusion and ethnic communities,  says video updates in a range of languages have also been distributed through community networks.

“We also held a Zoom hui with Dr Ashley Bloomfield and ethnic community leaders around the South Auckland region to listen to their feedback and answer questions they had about Covid-19 and the vaccine.

“Concerns have been raised with us about whether the vaccine will be halal, for example, and Dr Bloomfield confirmed to the group of hundred plus attendees that it is.”

Raju Ramakrishna says if there’s any concern about people not being informed, it’s not for a lack of effort on the part of the media or the government.

“I know people are saying the messaging hasn’t been quite right, but I really think that’s not true. The messaging has been out there, so a lot of it boils down to carelessness, rather than people not getting the information.”

Justin Latif is the South Auckland editor at The Spinoff. This article is republished with the permission of The Spinoff and Local Democracy Reporting.