Boy racer legislation introduced to Parliament
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
New legislation set to bring in harsher penalties for what the government calls "idiot" boy racers, has been introduced to Parliament.
Announced in May
, the Anti-Social Road Use Legislation Amendment Bill will set up new offences and penalties for people driving dangerously, including costly infringement fees and making vehicle seizure or destruction more common for street racing, burnouts and fleeing police.
The bill defines "anti-social road users" as people who flee police, participate in unauthorised street racing, burnouts, intimidating convoys, disorderly dirt bike gatherings, or siren battles.
The bill is expected to receive its first reading in August.
In a statement, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says those who want to drive dangerously will face serious consequences.
"Kiwis are sick of seeing these idiot drivers putting everyone around them at risk, so we're taking action through a range of much tougher penalties," he said.
The bill would also give police more powers to manage illegal gatherings by closing roads or public areas, like infringements of $1000 for those who fail to leave areas when told to by police
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the additional powers would support to continue cracking down on illegal events.
"We have seen substantive responses to these illegal gatherings, including arrests, checkpoints, and other tactics to shut these events down. These gatherings are dangerous to the participants, to bystanders, and to the public," he said.
"Boy racers only care about one thing - their car. Once they realise they're not getting it back, they'll think twice about fleeing police or driving dangerously," Mitchell said.
"We have seen substantive responses to these illegal gatherings, including arrests, checkpoints, and other tactics to shut these events down. These gatherings are dangerous to the participants, to bystanders, and to the public."
An offender will be exempt from vehicle forfeiture or destruction if they do not own the car (unless they fail to provide information about a driver to police), if it would be "manifestly" unjust, or cause extreme hardship to the offender or undue hardship to someone else.
After its first reading, the bill will go through a four month Select Committee process including public consultation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
15 minutes ago
- Otago Daily Times
NCEA overhaul sparks optimism and concern
Teachers' unions are cautiously optimistic that changes to New Zealand's secondary school qualifications framework will work - provided they are implemented and resourced well. But opposition parties are concerned the "complete overhaul" of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) goes too far. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced that NCEA Level 1 would be replaced with foundation literacy and numeracy tests. Levels 2 and 3 would be replaced with a New Zealand Certificate of Education and an Advanced Certificate. Students would be required to take five subjects and pass at least four to get each certificate. Marking would be out of 100, and grades range from A to E. Stanford said, as a parent, she did not understand how NCEA worked. "I thought that if you're sitting English, everyone's sitting the same English - but that's not the case… "There is too much credit counting and bringing together of sometimes quite ad hoc standards because we moved to the standards-based assessment that are not setting students up for success." The new system is not a return to the days of single three-hour exams measuring a students' learning for the year, nor will it be graded, forcing a certain percentage of students to fail. "I think it's really important to know that this is still standards-based assessment," Post Primary Teachers' Association president Chris Abercrombie told RNZ's Nine to Noon programme today. "So the real heart of NCEA, that standards base, is still there, which is really good to see because we know that helps students show their knowledge and understanding in various forms, so that's really good to see that that still exists… "Because it's all standards-based assessment… the 'bell curve' is not going to be put into the marking. So it's not gonna change that aspect fundamentally, which is really good." The new system is expected to be implemented one year at a time, so students will not be doing a mix of NCEA and and the new qualifications. Abercrombie said implementing it in a planned, robust and well-resourced way would be key to its success. "There's a significant concern about this because we know because of the poor implementation plan of Level 1, it did create a lot of stress on schools and teachers and principals to do that. "So, as I say, implementation is going to be absolutely key. We cannot repeat the mistakes made during the implementation of the new Level 1, and the co-requisites literacy and numeracy." Secondary Principals Association president Louise Anaru said the government must give teachers the training, resources and time they needed to introduce the overhaul. "The staging and sequencing of the changes are really important, and I can see that there is a timeline in place. Our schools will need to be resourced sufficiently, and they also need adequate time to implement all of the changes." Anaru believed the overhaul retained the best parts of NCEA. Abercrombie noted that so far, principals had been consulted on the changes - but not teachers. "We need to make sure the sector really is listened to in this and so, hopefully the consultation period will allow that to happen." He also noted teachers "asked to do a lot of work for a 1 percent" pay increase, so "some more movement on the negotiation table" would be expected from the government. Consultation closes on 1 September. Students who will miss out on the new qualifications should not be worried, Abercrombie said. "[NCEA] will still be recognised at universities. We have students using their NCEA grads to attend universities all around the world. We've had 20 years of people being lawyers and doctors and builders and plumbers and nurses and everything in between, based on their NCEA results… "It's a very valid assessment, and they'll be able to reach their goals whatever they want to with that." Stanford agreed, saying her kids were doing NCEA - even her son, who had a choice between that and the alternative International Baccalaureate programme. "It is a good qualification. Children still get into universities around the world with this qualification. We can make it so much better. There is a lack of consistency, but my message to parents who are still going through NCEA like me, you can still rely on NCEA. "It's a good qualification, but we need to look to the future and be more ambitious for our kids, and that's what I'm doing." Claire Amos, president of the Auckland Secondary Principals' Association and principal of Albany Senior High School, told RNZ's Midday Report aside from replacing Level 1, the changes felt "a little bit like window dressing". She feared there would be a narrowing of the current 67 subjects schools could choose to offer. "It does look like it will be less flexible, with a focus on whole subjects rather than at present, we could actually put together a whole lot of achievement standards and unit standards to make up a total of 60 credits for students - and in some schools, that may not be just made up of four or five subjects." She said rather than being dismissed as a "patchwork" qualification, NCEA Levels 1 and 2 should be seen as a "diverse definitions of success". Amos was also concerned with the discussion document's mention of possibly raising the school leaving age from 16 to 17. "On paper, that sounds great. But if you've got young people who don't see themselves in the qualification framework that's on offer, we're actually going to be managing these disengaged learners." Opposition parties warned the overhauled risked throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Labour education spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said NCEA was not perfect, but changes must be based on evidence and proper sector consultation. "People are reading the consultation document and asking questions like, what will this mean for the subjects? What subjects are going to be offered? How will they be weighted? "There's those questions that are unanswered and families are looking for and needing certainty for their children. What we don't want to see is these rushed overhauls and a generation of children being used as guinea pigs for things that have failed in the past, like national standards." Green Party education spokesperson Lawrence Xu-Nan said the proposals risked turning back the clock on decades of progress, with a return to a one-size-fits-all rigid approach. "NCEA definitely has its strengths. It's a well-designed, inclusive and flexible qualification and it is an internationally recognised qualification. Chucking it all out isn't going to address the real problems, which are policy instability and under-resourcing of education." He said there was a lot of "engineered fear" that the NCEA system could be gamed. "By and large if you're talking to students and teachers, that doesn't happen as commonly as people think it does. There are areas of NCEA that need to be rejigged, but not to the extent of what we are seeing in the announcement today, which is a complete overhaul."
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Former top cop's charges revealed
By Sam Sherwood of RNZ Former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming is facing eight charges of possessing objectionable publications, including child sexual exploitation and bestiality material over a four-year period, it can now be revealed. The charges, which are all representative, carry a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment. McSkimming resigned as the country's second most powerful police officer in May this year amid separate investigations by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) and police. His resignation came a week after RNZ approached him, via his lawyer, with allegations about material found on his work devices. RNZ earlier revealed pornography found on the 51-year-old's work devices was being investigated as alleged objectionable material. On July 18, an interim injunction that prohibited publishing the nature of the allegedly objectionable material lapsed after Justice Karen Grau declined McSkimming's application to continue the order. It can now be revealed that McSkimming was arrested on June 27 in Wellington. It is understood McSkimming's lawyers approached the Wellington District Court seeking name suppression shortly before he was arrested, given the media coverage at the time. The application was granted in chambers. Later that day, RNZ approached police and the Wellington District Court with inquiries about McSkimming's arrest. Police declined to comment and the court confirmed an application had been granted prohibiting media from being able to report McSkimming's name, identifying particulars as well as the nature of the charges he faced before his first appearance. McSkimming, then referred to by RNZ as a "prominent New Zealander", first appeared in the district court, via audio-visual link on July 3. He was remanded on bail without plea until August 4. A suppression order in relation to McSkimming's charges lapsed today after he did not apply for a continuation of the interim suppression. He was remanded on bail by Judge Tim Black, without plea, until his next appearance in November. McSkimming declined to comment outside court. When asked by a reporter how he was, he replied: "good". In a statement, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said the prosecution showed that no one was above the law. "The prosecution of Mr Jevon McSkimming shows no member of the police is above the law, no matter how senior," he said. "Given the matter is still before the courts, I am not able to make further comment at this point." Before the hearing began, McSkimming sat quietly scrolling on his phone in the front row of the public gallery. He sat directly in front of the officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves. It can now be reported McSkimming faces eight representative charges of possessing objectionable publications, namely child sexual exploitation and bestiality material knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the publication is objectionable. One of the charges alleges the offending occurred between July 2020 and December 2024. Of the remaining seven charges, four relate to bestiality and three child sexual exploitation material. 'Angry' and 'let down' After the revelations of the alleged objectionable material found on McSkimming's work devices, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers emailed staff. In the email, seen by RNZ, Chambers addressed the media reports "in relation to an individual". "I am aware that there are many who are angry and feel let down. I feel the same. "It is important to let you know at this point I am unable to comment on the matter, but I do intend to do so when I am able to. "As I have said before, I have high expectations of all Police staff and will act if standards are not met, irrespective of rank or role. "These are the actions of an individual, and I will do my best not to let it distract from the job we are all here to do. "However, I am aware there may be reactions from some that do not sit easily with you." Chambers said if any staff wanted to talk they could contact him or their manager. The IPCA earlier announced it was investigating allegations of misconduct by McSkimming following a complaint from a member of the public. It is also conducting an investigation into if there was misconduct or neglect of duty by any other police officers or employee in responding to the allegations. The investigations were being given priority, but no timeframe for their completion date could be given. McSkimming was one of the final two candidates for the commissioner role, with Chambers eventually being appointed. McSkimming was promoted to statutory deputy commissioner in 2023 based on the recommendation to then-prime minister Chris Hipkins. Late last year he was overseeing road policing and operational services, which include strategy, media and communications, risk and assurance, and firearms regulation and reform. During his appointment process, it was noted he had a "relatively unique career path", working at police headquarters since 2010 across a range of areas: strategy, service delivery, resolution, financial planning, arms admin, ICT and infrastructure. McSkimming joined the police in 1996 and worked on the frontline in Auckland and Southland. He had also been responsible for large restructures - as well as managing police IT systems, property portfolio, vehicles, and launching the 105 non-emergency number.
NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Live updates: Government to abolish NCEA in radical shake-up of main secondary school qualification
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Load more Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. In 2025, he was a finalist for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.
