20 year old killed in Hamilton brawl was celebrating his birthday
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RNZ News
29 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Billboard camera footage used by transport agency to spot cars and trucks
NZTA Waka Kotahi has used privately-owned automated number plate recognition cameras to identity number plates. File photo. Photo: 123RF Footage from cameras in billboards at city intersections have been secretly used by the NZ Transport Agency for the first time to spot cars and trucks. NZTA Waka Kotahi's trial started in February, and is designed to combat fraud by illegal garages issuing warrants of fitness to cars, or passing trucks. Two sources close to the vehicle inspection industry say the move is surprising and questioned why the agency would do it, especially with using third-party technology systems. Police already tap into privately-owned automated number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to identity number plates hundreds of times a day. But this is the first known use of that power by another state agency. "The ANPR donor cameras in the trial are not being used 'to spy on mechanics issuing warrants', nor would they be capable of being used for that purpose," NZTA told RNZ. "These cameras are typically located in billboards at urban intersections. "The trial is simply looking at the potential for using images gathered by these cameras to be used as proof of the location of a particular vehicle at a point in time." An inspector who claimed they had checked a car in Auckland at a certain time could be exposed if the car was spotted at a Christchurch intersection at that time, it said. It "could be of benefit in supporting investigations into specific cases where fraudulent or illegal activity is suspected". A well-connected industry source told RNZ: "Yeah, that has been a bit secret." NZTA might not have wanted to tip people off, the source said. "For the purpose the agency is stating, I don't have much issue with that, but the way they have gone about it is what alarms me. Especially because it's third-party [cameras and ANPR system]. "What else might they use them for?" NZTA Waka Kotahi said it was not using the images in any actual fraud investigations, but only as a test for potential future use. The test is separate from how the agency is taking over many speed and red-light-runner cameras from police, and replacing some with higher-tech models, which it will own. A second source active in the industry was appalled by the move. "Oh my god," they said. "It is part of your right to know the audit process you go through. You can't sabotage your process because of a trial." Months of inquiries by RNZ in 2018 showed up mass deficiencies in NZTA's oversight of how truck certificates of fitness were being issued. The systems were reviewed and changed. There have been further reports of inspectors anonymously recounting examples of how they feel they have been subject to unfair targeting by the agency. "You have got layers and layers of issues here," said the second source. "What's the limit [of surveillance]?" They questioned why was the camera sting even needed when fraud would "show up in paperwork. There will be tons of other evidence that can be used against people". Many supermarkets, petrol stations, other businesses and councils have a total of thousands of cameras that link into ANPR software systems run by two Auckland companies - Auror and SaferCities. The new trial uses SaferCities vGrid system , NZTA said. Its system covered electronic billboard operators such as LUMO, which had built-in cameras with ANPR software, and CCTV operators including councils, individual businesses and car park operators, the agency said. Police accessed the vGrid system more than 400,000 times last year. "NZTA only has access to still images from ANPR donor cameras whose owners have specifically agreed to our usage," Waka Kotahi told RNZ in the OIA response. "Currently, this only includes LUMO and more recently, Hamilton City Council." RNZ approached LUMO for comment. As of 2022, the country had at least 1400 digital billboards and screen-posters, many of them with smart technology and ANPR cameras . The police tapped the ANPR systems 700,000 times last year. In October, two district court judges dismissed legal challenges to the police using them so much without a warrant, though it is expected there will be at least one appeal against that finding. The fraud camera trial comes at the same time Waka Kotahi is reviewing the WOF-COF system to reduce how often collectors of old vehicles, and motorhome users, have to get a warrant. The agency has been increasing a lot of the fees it charges motorists since 2023. Another batch of rises is due next January that are expected to push up total fees collected by $10m to $264m . Camera footage could be used where it was suspected that WoFs or CoFs had been issued to vehicles which had not been inspected at the time or place recorded by a vehicle inspector, the transport agency said. It gave a hypothetical scenario to RNZ: "If NZTA was investigating a vehicle inspector suspected of fraud, and if the inspector had issued a WoF to a vehicle which was recorded as having been inspected at a WoF garage in Auckland at 2pm on 1 July, 2025, and we were able to access a still image from a donor camera of the same vehicle driving past a billboard located in Christchurch at 3:30pm on 1 July, 2025, this could potentially be used as evidence to prove that the WoF had been issued fraudulently, because the vehicle was not in Auckland at the time of the recorded inspection." This would not be a part of regular compliance monitoring, it said. Regular compliance monitoring included scheduled reviews where compliance officers visited inspection sites, as well as 'mystery shopper' activity. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
an hour 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
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
The hidden epidemic in Kiwi homes
crime police 21 minutes ago More funding's been announced to train up domestic violence support workers, but turning our horrific figures around is expected to take generations
