Resources Minister on repeal of oil and gas ban
The opposition says the government's move to scrap the 2018 oil and gas ban shows it is more interested in doing the bidding of multinational companies than supporting ordinary New Zealanders. Resources Minister Shane Jones spoke to Corin Dann.
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RNZ News
4 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Police deal with surge in theft reports as tech company upskills stores
Police were alerted in March to the "shift" in "behaviour" by Auckland firm Auror. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller Thousands more theft reports are being loaded every month into police investigation systems that are already under stress. The surge in reports comes as a high-tech company - which partners with police and retailers to identify vehicle number plates - started upskilling shops on grabbing officers' attention. Internal documents show police were alerted in March to the "shift" in "behaviour" by Auckland firm Auror. "Auror has developed a better understanding of our case management process", teaching retailers to provide sharper CCTV footage of offenders, copies of receipts, even "names, dates of birth, and ages" where they could, according to a police report in March, newly released to RNZ. Auror, which last month won kudos from the UK government, said it was a good thing. "Police being able to solve more crime through high quality crime reports, which they are doing, is a good thing for all Kiwis," the firm told RNZ. But a subsequent police audit of 380 Auror theft cases in March showed a large number were eventually not investigated, the report said - cautioning though that this was just a single audit. "Exacerbating this issue is the surge in Auror reporting," it said. Auror theft reports had doubled from 4000 a month in 2022 to 8000 in 2025. Overall Auror crime reports in the same period doubled to 12,000 a month, and 11,000 in 2025, police said. Police are also expecting a 60 percent jump in shoplifting case numbers due to their new move to dump cash thresholds, as RNZ has revealed . Police told RNZ they were moving to introduce a new initial assessment and victim support team, and new ways to assess cases early on. Thousands of retailers nationwide connect their CCTV cameras to Auror's automated number plate recognition (ANPR) system. The system works two ways, sending crime reports to police, and handling police inquiries, such as where a vehicle has been spotted over the past 60 days. Police use of this and a second ANPR system has quadrupled since 2020 to 700,000 times a year. It is increasingly used in evidence in court -legal challenges over privacy were dismissed last year by two courts. Law enforcement's embrace of new technology has created opportunities, pressure and controversy worldwide. The rising theft reports show New Zealand is not immune. Earlier this year, police realised far fewer theft reports were ending up in their too-hard basket, called "early case closure" (ECC). "A critical analysis... reveals that Auror theft files are driving demand," Superintendent Blair Macdonald said in the March report. "With better information provided upfront and more lines of inquiry identified, a significantly higher percentage of files are meeting the IFA (Initial File Assessment) solvability threshold." About 97 percent were getting over the threshold, compared to the 69 percent before. A dismissal rate of 31 percent had dropped to just three percent. From the police figures, RNZ has estimated the number tripled from about 2800 to about 7700, a month that other officers then had to look into. The extra files that scored over seven for "solvability" were then sent on to the front line file managment team (FFMT). This team has been under pressure - its case-closed system of reports that needed filing was backlogged with 66,000 cases in January, the internal report said. Various OIAs have shown the "solvability threshold" dates back years but had varied widely between districts. Some dropped thefts under $100, when for others the threshold was $500; some would only look at repeat offenders; while Auckland city police required Auror involvement if they were to investigate shoplifting, a document said. Police began moving in 2024 to standardise the thresholds nationwide. But instead, after [ RNZ's revelations of the dollar-value thresholds in May, police have dumped that threshold. This will increase the number of cases going to the FFMT. Auror told RNZ it had not changed its software "in any way that would encourage more or less reporting to police". "Police is world-leading in its use of many types of technology and it determines how best to accept and handle reports of crime. "Retailers determine what to report, not Auror," said Auror senior director trust and safety Nick McDonnell, in a statement. But Auror's marketing regularly tells retailers it has new crime-fighting processes. In February it introduced 'Collaborate', stating that this would help retailers jointly target the same "person of interest" in a way "which helps strengthen the case for prosecution and preventing reoffending". Police said in the March report that Auror confirmed to them that "ongoing customer engagement, upskilling, and training are integral to their routine practice with retailers". The UK government last month told businesses to use Auror more to catch thieves and stem anti-social behaviour. This is part of moves to also spread facial recognition technology more widely. Auror says it does not use facial recognition. The New Zealand government recently said a centralised system of retailer facial recognition should be looked at . The rising case pressure centres on high-volume crimes of theft, shoplifting, petrol drive-offs and fraud. RNZ asked police if the audit of 380 Auror cases suggested new inefficiencies had been created. Their March report had stated: "192 (50.5 percent) do not meet the District rules for further investigation." Another 29, or 7.6 percent, were "inactivated". Only 159 - 42 percent of the 380 - were forwarded on to districts. Police did not address this in their statement on Friday. However, they had been forced to anaylse the Auror theft surge more. "Further analysis is currently underway to gain a deeper understanding of this complex and nuanced data," Macdonald told bosses in March. On Friday, police told RNZ their retail crime units or operations that were now in most districts were "having an impact on retail theft, but we know there is still more to be done". A new "initial file investigation" team to manage increased retail theft and petrol drive-offs would be trialed in Counties Manukau; they were also developing a standardised inquiry file template and enhanced case management reporting tools. RNZ has sought an update on the police analysis since March of ANPR theft reports. Police also use a second ANPR system, run by the company SaferCities, where usage has skyrocketed . The SaferCities ANPR is now also part of a NZTA trial using cameras in billboards to combat fraudulently issued warrants of fitness, as RNZ revealed last week. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Commerce commission calls on business to report electricity companies
Commerce Commission chair John Small said if electricity suppliers were found to be misusing their market power to deter competition, it would take action. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson The Commerce Commission is calling for business customers to anonymously report unfair or anti-competitive electricity industry practices. The commission has an anonymous reporting tool that it uses to collect information about other industries, such as the grocery sector. It is now making it available for reports about electricity as well, with encryption to avoid information being disclosed about the person making the report. Commerce Commission chair John Small said if electricity suppliers were found to be misusing their market power to deter competition, it would take action. The initiative was prompted by comments by Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Simon Bridges reported in the media, which said his members were uneasy or scared about raising complaints about their energy bills with their providers because they worried about retaliation, Small said. "I contacted Simon because that's really concerning. He got a group of his members together, the Major Electricity Users Group, people like that. I got the Electricity Authority and we had a couple of hours talking about it in a group," he said. "I really wanted to find out first of all what were the complaints and secondly was there evidence of breaches of the law the commission could prosecute. It was a really good discussion but it was all anecdotal." Further investigation had not settled on anything concrete, he said, so it was decided a way to "flush out" the problem could be to expand the anonymous reporting tool. "That works for us in other areas like cartels and groceries where there's the same kind of problem ... People can tell you stuff absolutely securely, knowing their name is never going to be published or found out. It might be that it doesn't get used, it might be all this goes away, sometimes a shot across the bows is all it takes to sharpen up behaviour." He said he had concerns about the power sector more generally. "We are working very closely with the Electricity Authority at the moment on a range of things. We will start to articulate a medium and longer-term regulatory strategy within a few weeks. It is under active consideration. I'm not at all happy with it." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
14 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Push for a pause on Masterton town hall demolition
Councillor Tim Nelson hopes his motion to pause demolition work on the Masterton Town Hall finds favour. Photo: LDR / Emily Ireland A final attempt to pause the demolition of Masterton's Town Hall will be floated at a council meeting on Wednesday. Councillor Tim Nelson has presented a Notice of Motion, backed by councillor Brent Goodwin, calling for an immediate pause on all physical and administrative work on the Town Hall project and the Waiata House extension. It also asked for the council to suspend the tender process and any further procurement, planning, or demolition activities relating to the town hall "until the council has reconsidered its long-term plan priorities and consulted further with the community". Nelson said he had submitted the Notice of Motion in light of community feedback and concerns around cost, heritage preservation, and strategic priorities; the need for fiscal prudence; and the council's responsibility to ensure all major capital works reflected current and future community needs. "A pause will enable council to review both projects thoroughly, without incurring further unnecessary costs or binding contractual obligations, and to engage in transparent consultation with the public on next steps," he said in his Notice of Motion. He told Local Democracy Reporting that the motion would show "who is determined to press on with the project despite the costs and the uncertainty around water infrastructure". "It will be great if it passes, but I think that it will be tough to get it through. "I am glad that it's in place before the election so that people will need to take a position either way." As part of the 2024-34 Long-Term Plan, a majority of Masterton councillors voted to demolish the earthquake-prone town hall and municipal building and build anew on the same site for a cost of no more than $25 million. They also voted to expand the existing Waiata House to accommodate Civil Defence, customer services, a council chamber, public meeting rooms, and a lab, at an estimated cost of $8.7million. At the end of May, an independent commissioner granted resource consent for the council to demolish its century-old civic buildings, and a tender for demolition was currently out with the request for proposals closing on 5 August. A concept plan has been received for the new build, along with planning advice which would need to be reviewed by a quantity surveyor for costing. In June, it was revealed that the council was exploring alternative options for the Waiata House extension than what was previously approved in the Long Term Plan after initial pricing did not fall within the approved budget. Councillors would discuss this on Wednesday in public excluded due to it being commercially sensitive information. - Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
