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Dannevirke pedestrian may have been hit intentionally by driver

Dannevirke pedestrian may have been hit intentionally by driver

RNZ News25-05-2025
Police were speaking to the driver, and early indications suggest the crash was intentional.
Photo:
RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Police believe a person critically injured after being struck by a vehicle in Dannevirke this morning was deliberately hit.
Emergency services were called to a serious crash involving a pedestrian on Victoria Avenue around 9.30am and remain at the scene.
Detective Sergeant Shelley Ross said one person had suffered critical injuries.
She said police were speaking to the driver, and early indications suggest the crash was intentional.
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Family violence: The hidden epidemic in Kiwi homes that costs the country billions
Family violence: The hidden epidemic in Kiwi homes that costs the country billions

RNZ News

time18 minutes ago

  • RNZ News

Family violence: The hidden epidemic in Kiwi homes that costs the country billions

Photo: Every four minutes, New Zealand Police are called to a family harm incident. That's up to 400 call-outs every single day . It's a staggering and disturbing figure in a country that prides itself on kindness, community, and whānau. Yet, behind too many closed doors, the silent war rages, leaving victims bruised, broken, and often voiceless. The Detail looks at the alarming rate of domestic violence in New Zealand, and potential solutions, speaking to Auckland University professor of law Mark Henaghan, who was on the Family Violence Death Review committee for nearly decade, and Emma Powell, CEO of Te Puna Aonui, which has launched the government's Action Plan to eliminate domestic and sexual violence. "I would probably use the words hidden epidemic, basically," says Henaghan. "Nearly 50 percent of our murder cases involve family violence. "We only really detect ... about 20 percent [of domestic violence incidents], so there's a whole lot ... that doesn't get to the surface." He says something needs to be done, and immediately. New Zealand's rates of domestic and family violence are among the highest in the OECD . On average, 13 females and 10 males are killed every year. Māori women are particularly at risk - more likely to be killed by a partner and less likely to seek help. The financial cost to the country , Henaghan says, is huge. "They reckon it's worth, like to the country ... between $8 to $10 billion, probably more ... in terms of time off work, and how people suffer from it so they can't be productive, how children get into difficulty because all the costs of it, the medical costs, and all the rest of it, are massive. "But they're never talked about much in any political campaign, I think it's because ... we don't want to know about it. "We do need to hear about it; we need to have our eyes wide open to the realities of it." Powell, who is also a key member of the Executive Board for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence, tells The Detail , "if you look at the numbers, the rates are stubbornly high", but she says the government is taking action to address the crisis. Late last year, it launched part two of Te Aorerekura - the National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence - a 25-year strategy designed to achieve intergenerational change. Part one was introduced in 2021. Powell says over the next few years it's keying in on good investment and commissioning, how effective funding is, freeing up frontline workers to get them into the community and more productive places, getting into the regions, intervening earlier, focusing more on children, confronting perpetrators, and building an information sharing platform. "I really believe that the only way forward is doing things as collectives, and that's tough, it is hard, hard stuff to do, but it's really important," says Powell. "I think taken together and executed really well in a community, we should start to see a real shift." Last week, the government announced that, as part of the Action Plan, more training to help staff support in family and sexual violence responses will be rolled out across frontline services, with the goal of reaching 10,000 workers in the next two years. Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour says, "this will ensure victim-survivors receive best practice support, and will empower staff to safely recognise, refer, and respond to family and sexual violence". "This training is an important part of our response to family and sexual violence. I am proud of our progress against the second Te Aorerekura Action Plan, it shows the benefits of a multi-agency response and the dedication of government departments to best supporting victim-survivors." Powell says while change can be slow, a recent experience in Rotorua provides proof that it is starting to happen. "I was spending time on the ground with a multi-agency collaboration ... and I was talking to one of the leads there and she was telling me about just a story - stories that they [are] starting to see more and more - where 'she has left him', and we don't count that, we don't count that in government as an indicator of success. "But they are seeing more and more that women are feeling empowered, supported, and safe to actually leave very violent and difficult situations. And so, there are lives being changed by the work that we are doing." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook

Nelson's Le Posh bakery duo escape to Australia amid debt claims
Nelson's Le Posh bakery duo escape to Australia amid debt claims

RNZ News

time10 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Nelson's Le Posh bakery duo escape to Australia amid debt claims

By Tracy Neal of Veronica and Didier Crevecour ran the French patisserie in Nelson, before opening another in Tāhunanui. Photo: NZME An acquaintance of a couple who ran French bakery Le Posh said they appeared to have fled the country suddenly, leaving a household of personal items, including a 40-year collection of souvenir bells from around the world. A civil claim against Veronica and Didier Crevecoeur over unpaid rent on commercial premises in Nelson has lifted the lid on a trail of debt and deceit left by the couple. NZME recently revealed how the pair failed to appear in the Nelson District Court in June for a hearing in which they were ordered to pay more than $29,000 in unpaid rent, damages and legal costs to the owners of a building where they ran one of their bakeries. Other people claimed they too had been left out of pocket after dealings with the couple who arrived in New Zealand about 2018. Now, two more people have come forward, saying they are also owed money. Veronica and Didier Crevecoeur Photo: NZME / supplied Software engineer Steve, who lived near the Crevecoeurs in an exclusive area of Nelson's port hills, considered the couple as friends. "At some point, Veronica came to see me - I think it was in November last year. She called me and said, 'I need your help, can I come to see you?'" Steve alleged Veronica then told him a "very strange story" about her father and someone she knew in Spain, and how they needed about 3000-4000 Euros ($NZ5800-7804) to send. He said she was very convincing, but he did not have that kind of money to lend. In the days before the Crevecoeurs left, Steve said Veronica sent him another message, asking again for money. He alleged she needed almost $1000 to cover what he believed might have been rent. "I didn't send the money, but she was very insistent. "She sent me many messages in a way that was very strange." Steve said he began to get suspicious, but finally relented and gave Veronica a couple of hundred dollars. "She was saying, 'I will pay you back tomorrow, I will pay you back tomorrow', and then she sent me more messages asking for more [money]." Steve arranged to pay $300 via a bank transfer, so he had a record, then tried to reach the couple a few days later, but said he got no reply. The Crevecoeurs had left, without paying it back. Steve understood the couple flew to Perth, where they had family, a few days after his final communication with them on 20 February. He was curious about why she did not respond to his text messages, so he went to the home they rented. He found them gone, and the landlord sorting through a stack of expensive clothes, a huge collection of shoes and the large collection of souvenir bells. Los Galanes played a Bastille Day function in Blenheim, but never received full payment. Photo: NZME / Los Galanes Nelson-based Italian/Kiwi musician Raffaele Bandoli said the Latin band he played in was left out of pocket, when the Crevecoeurs failed to pay in full, after hiring them to mark France's Bastille Day at an event in Blenheim in July 2019. Bandoli said the band - Los Galanes - was paid a $1100 deposit for the $2245 gig, but he claims they never saw the rest of it. Bandoli said band leader and founder Jose Luis Perez paid individual band members from his own pocket. Los Galanes, which at times has been a 10-piece band, was then a seven-piece. "He was such a responsible and nice person that he paid all the members of the band regardless," Bandoli said. He wanted to speak out, in honour of Perez, who died suddenly in March last year, while travelling in Europe with partner and band administrator Rebecca Knox. Knox said Perez always paid his musicians a set fee, but the "biggie" for them was Veronica Crevecoeur. "At first, she was really lovely to deal with," she said. The band covered its own costs travelling from Nelson to Blenheim, the event went well and the Crevecoeurs seemed pleased. An invoice was sent, but she claims there was no reply. Another statement was sent and they tried contacting the Crevecoeurs by phone, but still nothing. They hired a debt collector to recover the money, but when he went to serve the notice in Blenheim, the premises were empty. Knox said Perez had pleaded with Veronica to pay the remainder of the fee. "Jose would leave messages saying, 'Veronica, this is really urgent for the survival of the band'." When she noticed the shop Le Posh pop up in Nelson, it was "a massive red flag". Knox was then floored, when she saw the second Le Posh open up near Nelson's Tāhunanui Beach. The Crevecoeurs moved to Nelson from Marlborough about 2021. The opening of the second store was the beginning of the end of their New Zealand chapter. The property investment firm, Tawero Holdings (No 2) Ltd, from whom the Crevecoeurs leased the second premises in November 2022, lodged court action, when they abandoned the lease, owing $13,175 in rent and outgoings. A spokesperson for Tawero claimed the couple were masters of deceit. He said taking legal action was a decision not made lightly, but "a lot of deception" had been at play. "We are not novices at this and we were taken in." Tawero Holdings was granted, a summary judgement of $22,547 against the Crevecoeurs, as well as several thousand more in costs associated with reletting the premises, plus damages. One of two Le Posh locations in Nelson. Photo: NZME Steve decided to share his story, after reading about what else they had done. He and his wife had shared a few dinners with the Crevecoeurs at each others' homes or at a nearby Thai restaurant. Their last dinner together was earlier this year, when the Crevecoeurs brought French food to share and some drink. He believed they had Australian citizenship, and planned to spend six months there and six months in France, where they owned a small house near Dieppe, where Didier was from. "They want to split their time in France between there and Paris, because Veronica really loves Paris," Steve said. NZME has been unable to locate the Crevecoeurs for comment. -This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .

Auckland woman horrified council tried to take rough sleepers' tents, sleeping bags
Auckland woman horrified council tried to take rough sleepers' tents, sleeping bags

RNZ News

time11 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Auckland woman horrified council tried to take rough sleepers' tents, sleeping bags

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