Prominent New Zealander to appear in Wellington District Court on serious charges
The high-profile defendant's case is scheduled for a first appearance this morning in the Wellington District Court, where media will challenge heavy suppressions keeping the case shrouded in secrecy.
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Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
'Silenced Before Anyone Can Hear': Youth MP Breaks Script To Challenge Alleged Censorship
Chris Hipkins' Youth MP made waves in Parliament on Wednesday, changing his approved General Debate speech last-minute to call out what he and others have described as censorship by the Ministry of Youth Development (MYD). Ryan Grant-Derepa, 17, represents the Leader of the Opposition in this year's Youth Parliament. Just hours before taking the floor in the Debating Chamber, he altered his speech to criticise MYD's handling of Youth MPs' contributions – claiming that while rangatahi are invited to share their voices, they're also being filtered in the process. 'But here's the irony: there's no livestream. No cameras. No public record. We're told to speak, but silenced before anyone can hear,' Grant-Derepa said in his speech. 'And if the government won't take action, our rangatahi will. We're not here half-hearted. We're not here half-asked. And we're not backing down. We are the future. And they are not ready.' His address was met with murmurs of support from peers across the House, and audible approval from ministers, whānau and observers in the public gallery. Youth MPs push back The three-day Youth Parliament kicked off with orientation on Monday, followed by two days of debate, questions and parliamentary working groups. But behind the scenes, controversy had already begun to build. An open letter published earlier in the week, signed by numerous Youth MPs – particularly those on the Opposition side – alleged that MYD staff were requesting significant changes to speeches, especially where they involved criticism of current government ministers or policies. A second open letter, released Thursday, included signatures from prominent voices outside the programme, including 2023 Young New Zealander of the Year Shaneel Lal, and mental health advocates Jazz Thornton and Genevieve Mora. The letters describe an environment where Youth MPs felt unable to speak freely – despite the purpose of the programme being to elevate youth voice in national politics. Speaking after his speech, Grant-Derepa said he changed course not for shock value, but because 'it was the right thing to do.' 'If MYD want us to share our voice, why should they also be stopping us at the same time? It doesn't make sense.' 'We're not given a chance to show people hope… show that we're working together, that we're not as polarised as people like to think. Yet somehow, we're still the ones causing the ruckus. Isn't that exactly what this government says it wants? Obviously not, right? They're scared of young people.' His shift in tone echoed earlier comments made by Labour leader Chris Hipkins, who, when asked on Monday about the speech review process, said: 'Any idea that they're being asked to submit their views in advance so that they can be censored, so that they can have critical comments about the government taken out of them, is just totally out of step with the spirit of Youth Parliament, which is hearing from young people.' The Ministry responds In a statement attributed to Minister for Youth James Meager, the Ministry of Youth Development strongly denied any form of censorship. 'MYD did not stop or censor any Youth MP's speech,' said Meager. 'The Ministry's suggested changes were just recommendations for the young people to consider. However, they acknowledge that recent feedback received from some of the young people is that this was not as clear as it could've been in every instance.' 'If Youth MPs felt like that amounted to censorship, that is unfortunate, because at all times the Ministry had their best interests at heart and repeatedly reminded Youth MPs that ultimately what they say and do is up to them… Many, if not most Youth MPs were grateful for the support and guidance provided by the Ministry, and made excellent, robust and challenging contributions to the debate.' He added that safeguarding participants was the Ministry's primary concern: 'MYD's number one priority throughout this programme was keeping all participants safe and protected as much as possible… and advising them on how to best express their views without falling foul of the law, the standing orders, or the horrible trolling which can occur online.' Addressing the decision not to livestream this year's proceedings, Meager said: 'Youth Parliament participants were told early on that the event would not be livestreamed, although all debates and speeches have been filmed – and will be provided in full for all participants to share as they please.' The statement did not mention the reason behind this decision, though an Instagram comment made by Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle says it was due to funding cuts. The Minister also addressed concerns over legal protections, noting that Youth MPs do not have parliamentary privilege: 'What Youth MPs say in the House will not be protected in this way. MYD reviews speeches to look for any aspects which could fall under defamation, copyright, privacy or contempt of court – which the Youth MPs may be unaware of.' 'This review is not about changing the content of speeches – it's about MYD being responsible organisers of an event that is predominantly made up of minors who may be unaware of such rules and laws.' Meager concluded by reaffirming the value of Youth MPs' contributions: 'The Youth Parliament speeches were full of diverse and differing points of view, which is the entire point of the event and democracy as a whole.' A growing call for transparency As debates wrap up and Youth MPs return home, questions remain about how best to balance safeguarding with free expression. For Grant-Derepa, this week's experience has been a turning point, one he says made him even more determined to challenge the status quo. 'We're told, 'Wait your turn.' But that's the problem. We have things to say now.'
Newsroom
2 days ago
- Newsroom
How do you get back to NZ when you're stranded in hell?
It is dangerous, diplomatically delicate and extremely expensive. Getting a New Zealander out of a war zone can cost $1 million if they're injured. It often takes high-level negotiations with top-secret contacts, and New Zealand often has to ask favours of other friendly countries to get its citizens to safety. 'It's a very tricky business to exfiltrate or extract or save New Zealanders abroad in other countries' jurisdictions,' says Stephen Hoadley, retired Auckland University professor of political science. 'They are hosts to New Zealanders but they don't expect that to be abused by New Zealand flying in and moving around the countryside ignoring local sensitivities.' Hoadley says the New Zealand government faces pressure from many corners when citizens are caught in conflict zones and it often has scant information about an operation because things are changing by the hour. 'About half of New Zealanders never bother to register in a foreign country and of course they're vulnerable, more at risk because Mfat cannot contact them, their families cannot contact them often and then the families will ring up the Minister of Foreign Affairs desperate to contact their son, daughter, brother, sister in a war zone and this puts a lot of pressure on the minister, the ministry, the bureaucrats and others.' Jerusalem-based Samoan Vincent Schmidt tells The Detail how he used his contacts as a security officer for the United Nations to get a young Samoan student to safety after she was stranded in Israel last week. But it took several days and involved the Samoan ambassador in Belgium and the government back in Apia to get Polino Falevaai home. Schmidt explains how they all communicated by WhatsApp, as Falevaai travelled by bus for four to five hours over the border into Egypt, encountering a number of checkpoints before she faced a two-day wait in a chaotic Cairo airport. 'There were a couple of flights that got cancelled a couple of minutes before she had to board the plan but because of the checkpoints they got delayed, there was a miscommunication with the school. Yeah, there were a lot of challenges,' says Schmidt. ReliefAid humanitarian agency founder Mike Seawright recalls a high-risk situation in Syria under the brutal Assad regime when he had to evacuate 100 workers at a hospital close to the front line. They had to flee in minutes but one doctor refused to go. 'I'm saying to the guy, 'You don't get an option here, you are relocating no matter what you think. Get on that truck, you're putting other lives at risk here, we'll come back as soon as we can but at this point we don't know if hell on earth is going to open up around this clinic, this hospital',' says Seawright. Until recently, he says, it was impossible to get insurance for his workers in hotspots like Ukraine, Gaza and Afghanistan, making the delivery of aid and the care of his team even more costly. That added to the complications of managing teams of workers that were both local and international. Seawright says Gaza is by far the riskiest location right now. 'When we started in Gaza we started with a team of nine in the north … of the nine, seven are now dead, and two are severely injured. Even our team in Ukraine and our team in Syria … they tell us to be careful in Gaza. Even places like Ukraine which in itself is extremely dangerous.' Security expert James Robertson of International SOS says working with clients in the Middle East has been 'intense'. One of the challenging parts is pulling together a disparate group of people and preparing them for a difficult border crossing. 'When you're trying to coordinate lots of different clients, each of whom has a different risk tolerance, a different appetite for uncertainty and friction, I suppose, trying to coordinate them together to make a response on the ground can be pretty tricky.' Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here. You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Charging elephant kills New Zealand tourist
Two people were killed in an elephant attack on a safari in Zambia. (file) A New Zealand woman has been killed by an elephant while on a walking safari in a Zambian national park, according to reports. Sixty-eight-year-old Easton Janet Taylor from the UK and 67-year-old New Zealander Alison Jean Taylor were attacked by the female elephant that was with a calf at big Lagoon Bush Camp overnight, local authorities say. Shots were fired at the elephant, wounding the animal and ultimately stopping the attack. However, Eastern Province Police Commanding Officer Robertson Mweemba confirmed both women died at the scene. Two others travelling with the group were uninjured. Guardian journalist Rachel Savage told Morning Report details about the incident were still scant. She said the women were at the South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia. Guides tried to intervene by firing shots as the elephant charged the women. While not many details were known, Savage said female elephants were known to be very protective of their calves. She said two American women were killed by elephants in separate incidents in different parts of Zambia last year. In April this year, a 54-year-old man was killed by an elephant in Kenya and in January a tourist died in South Africa in a similar attack.
