Bay News: Historian Greg Philpott releases book on Bay of Islands boats
Greg Philpott is a local marine historian. He and his wife used to own the general store in Opua where a fish and chip shop now stands.
He operated the store from 2013 to 2019 and was at the helm when the store celebrated its
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Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Canterbury stint helped shape Lions star
Lions first-five Finn Russell honed his catch-pass skills during his brief time in Canterbury. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES St Andrew's College director of sport John Haggart is not surprised that British and Irish Lions star Finn Russell's playmaking skills are becoming the story of the Lions tour. Once seen as too flashy and unpredictable, the Scotland No 10 is now widely recognised as the complete package. What is less widely known is where Russell's world-class passing game was sharpened: Canterbury. Back in 2013, a 20-year-old Russell spent 15 weeks playing for Lincoln University, coached by Haggart, who was also the head of Canterbury Rugby's international high performance unit at the time. Russell came to New Zealand courtesy of the John MacPhail Scholarship – a Scottish Rugby programme which sends young players overseas to learn from elite systems. 'Finn wasn't your typical, driven, high-performing academy boy coming out of a private school. He worked as a stone mason,' Haggart told Telegraph Sport. 'He loved a beer. He loved being around students. He loved enjoying himself after a game. Because of the environment he was in, he was able to flourish rather than being restricted by boundaries.' But while Russell embraced the social side of Kiwi rugby culture, his time in New Zealand was defined by the hard yards. PHOTO: LINCOLN UNIVERSITY RUGBY CLUB Haggart said the Canterbury system placed huge value on mastering the basics – passing, catching, and decision-making. 'You spend time before training and after training just working on the fundamental run-catch-pass. 'When Finn came out, he had an opportunity as a young man, in the 15 weeks that he was over here, just to spend time on his run-catch-pass. 'It is pretty simple stuff but because Russell was at a stage of learning in his life, he was able to adopt those principles really quickly and put that into practice,' Haggart said. By the end of his stay at Lincoln, Russell had won the club's player-of-the-year award. And, according to Haggart, there was real interest from within Canterbury Rugby to keep him longer. 'Canterbury had spoken to me and we had spoken to Finn about the possibility of him extending his stay here and I know Canterbury were very keen to bring him in,' Haggart said. 'But he was under contract and we had a long-standing relationship with the SRU (Scottish Rugby Union) that we needed to respect. 'If he had been out here on his own, I am sure Canterbury would have hidden his passport and said 'you are not going anywhere'.'
RNZ News
16-07-2025
- RNZ News
Banking Association on consumer credit changes
money economy about 1 hour ago Earlier this week Nine to Noon touched on changes to legislation governing consumer credit. Kathryn spoke to Scott Russell, who's the lawyer leading a class action against two of New Zealand's biggest banks - ASB and ANZ - over disclosure breaches made between 2015 and 2019. He has concerns that a bill to amend the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act would apply retrospectively, and has the potential to impact the legal action that's been underway since 2021. Currently lenders have to refund all fees and interest charged if they were in breach of disclosure laws; what's proposed would see the courts decide what is 'just' and 'equitable' in any breach. The New Zealand Bankers' Association has welcomed the amendment Bill, saying it tidies up the existing legislation to ensure that all breaches are treated the same as those currently. The Association's Roger Beaumont made a submission on the Bill yesterday to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee and joins Kathryn.
Scoop
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Hidden Costs Of Ransomware: ANZ Businesses Admit To Paying Despite ‘No Payment' Policies
Ransomware is revealing the fragility of policy over panic. New research released today by Commvault has exposed how many Australian and New Zealand organisations are abandoning their official stances when confronted with real-world ransomware attacks. The report—based on responses from over 400 business and IT leaders across the region—found that while 54% of organisations had formal 'no payment' policies in place, 15% of them still chose to pay the ransom when hit. That contradiction highlights how operational pressure and reputational fears often override cyber response plans in the heat of the moment. In total, 70% of organisations reported experiencing a cyberattack in the past 12 months, with the overwhelming majority involving ransomware demands. Alarmingly, one in three companies lost access to all their data during the attack. Only 32% were able to recover 100% of their data. 'The fact that some companies are willing to pay, despite the risks and the policy, is a sign that they feel they don't have a viable alternative,' said Gareth Russell, Field CTO for Asia Pacific at Commvault. 'That's not resilience—that's desperation.' The report highlights the role of inadequate preparation and testing. Although 70% of respondents said they had an incident response plan, only 30% test it thoroughly across all mission-critical workloads. The result? Severe blind spots that only become obvious after it's too late. Ransomware payment is not just a moral and legal concern—it has long-term operational and compliance implications. Cybercriminals who receive payment are more likely to target the same organisation again, and paying may not guarantee full data restoration. The Commvault report urges organisations to shift from reactive playbooks to proactive investment in backup, testing, and cyber resilience planning. 'True resilience doesn't begin at the point of attack—it's built long before,' Russell added.
