Latest news with #Onehunga
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
The search for Baby Anahera's mum: Coroner's report reveals extensive police inquiries
Members of the community earlier provided a kahu huruhuru cloak for Anahera to wear at her funeral. Photo: Supplied/police Warning: This story contains graphic details. A coroner's report into the death of a newborn baby found at a recycling plant in Auckland nearly four years ago has revealed the "extensive" inquiries to try and identify her family. The coroner says while the identity of the baby's mother remained a mystery, the circumstances in which the baby was found suggested she "endured an extremely traumatic and scary experience". "I can only hope that she has received the support and help she needs from somewhere." The newborn baby was found at the Visy Recycling Plant in Onehunga, Auckland on 16 August 2021. Despite significant publicity and police investigation, neither the baby, nor her parents were identified. After her discovery, the Onehunga community named her Baby Anahera (Angel). Coroner Alison Mills carried out an inquiry into Anahera's death. Her findings, released to RNZ, looked into the background circumstances of Anahera's death, the police investigation, the release of Anahera and the post mortem report. The report said that on 16 August 2021, a staffer at the recycling plant was working on a waste conveyor belt when they thought they saw something that looked like a baby's body pass by on the conveyor belt. "Understandably, the worker was initially in shock and confused by what he had seen. He was unsure what to do and a bit panicked, so he did not immediately stop the conveyor belt. "A short time later the worker told his shift supervisor about what he thought he had seen, and the machinery was stopped." A search was carried out by staff who found Anahera, and police were called. Detective Inspector Scott Beard. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Coroner Mills said police undertook an "extensive investigation" to try and identify who the baby was and her parents or wider family. The investigation established Anahera must have arrived at the recycling plant on the day she was found. On that day 104 trucks delivered loads of rubbish from across Auckland. "The delivery trucks had dumped the rubbish into a large mixed pile and the incoming deliveries were not sorted individually or separated. "Police searched the rubbish found near Anahera but as the rubbish had been dumped into one big pile prior to being processed, they were unable to pinpoint a specific area in Auckland where Anahera may have come from." Police also reviewed CCTV footage from the centre to try and identify which truck she was on. They also made inquiries with hospitals in the Auckland area, but were unable to identify any possible recent births that could be linked to Anahera. Police also used her DNA to try and find her family. "Several hundred names were captured on the list as being possibly related," Coroner Mills said. "These were prioritised, and DNA samples were obtained from the top 78. However, this did not lead to the identification of her parents." Coroner Mills said there was an "extensive media publicity campaign", which resulted in "numerous possible names" being given to police. "Police conducted enquiries with all nominated persons and obtained DNA samples where required, however, again this did not lead to the identification of Anahera's mother or father. "Police have also received numerous names from the public of women who could possibly be Anahera's mother. However, despite investigating these individuals, they have been unable to positively identify Anahera's mother." Police told the coroner the case was being treated as unexplained and would remain open until the mother and or father have been identified and spoken to. "I encourage anyone who has further information about the circumstances of Anahera's birth and death to speak to police," the coroner said. A full forensic post mortem was carried out, however it was not possible to establish the cause of Anahera's death due to the number of injuries she sustained after her death. "The pathologist noted the injuries were consistent with how she was found. No definitive ante mortem (prior to death) injuries were identified and no anatomic cause of her death was identified." The pathologist was also unable to confirm whether Anahera had been born alive, or was a still birth. Coroner Mills said the circumstances around Anahera's death were "particularly distressing". "I do not know who Anahera's mother was or what she experienced prior to Anahera's birth and death. However, the circumstances in which Anahera was found, suggests her mother endured an extremely traumatic and scary experience." Police had advised the coroner that Anahera's body could now be released. On Friday, Detective Inspector Scott Beard said a burial for Anahera would be held next month. The burial, organised by members of the community, will mark four years since she was found. Beard wanted to reiterate to the family that police wanted to help resolve the case for the baby and her family. "It's not too late for the baby's mother or someone within her immediate circle of family or friends to come forward," he said. "We urge them and anyone else who might know what happened to do the right thing and talk to somebody, whether it's police or someone who can notify us on their behalf." Anyone with information is urged to contact 105 quoting file number 210816/2825 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Corner Mills encouraged any woman who needs support with an unplanned pregnancy to reach out to the numerous agencies that offer support and services in these circumstances including: Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Kainga Ora cuts new developments as the housing crisis escalates
In Onehunga, Auckland, the site where a 186-apartment Kainga Ora development was planned now sits empty, after tenants of the previous building moved out and the new project was cancelled. Photo: Sharon Brettkelly New Zealand is short tens of thousands of social houses, and billions of dollars to fund them, while the numbers of "stressed" renters is growing, but a community housing leader says we can still fix the crisis that has dragged on for decades. "I actually believe as New Zealanders if we put our minds to this and we make some different choices we can absolutely solve this housing crisis," says Community Housing Aotearoa chief executive Paul Gilberd. But it will not happen overnight, and as demand grows he warns that overall investment in new social housing is falling. The "magic thing" that unlocks the ability to build the houses at scale is government funding of the community housing sector, he says. "If the government is willing to turn that dial up, we can as a sector walking alongside Kainga Ora, deliver the things that I think New Zealanders want in terms of the vision of the sort of country they live in," he says. Gilberd has worked in the sector for decades and in his current role oversees 100 community housing providers (CHPs) that run more than 30,000 homes. He says Kainga Ora's announcement last month that it has cancelled plans to build nearly 3500 new homes around the country and is capping the numbers of state-owned homes it provides at 78,000 is a reflection of a government that sees itself in a diminished role in commissioning new affordable housing, while backing the CHPs to fill the gap. He is telling his members to find partners such as church groups and local councils to deliver as many affordable homes as they can. The new Community Housing Funding Agency is a step in the right direction to finding the tens of billions of dollars needed to build more than 20,000 extra homes, he says, but it falls short of similar agencies in other countries which have the gold standard full government guarantee. "Then it becomes a gamechanger because it reduces the risk to investors," he says. Jeremy, a neighbour of a cancelled Kainga Ora project in Onehunga, Auckland tells The Detail of the saga of the on/off development that went on for years before the final announcement last month. Jeremy and his wife bought their house in 2018, believing that they would be living next door to architecturally designed, state-owned apartments. "It's been an empty site for over a year now and that peace is lovely for us right now but it's not a long-term solution. The thing that I wonder about is how much of this development next door is now going to be completely piecemeal," he says. For Newsroom Pro managing editor Jonathan Milne, the development on Jordan Avenue is close to his heart, as an Onehunga resident and former local school board member. He says that the tenants who were moved out of the development for the rebuild were promised first dibs on the new apartments. When he tried to track down families who had lived there before it was demolished, they were nowhere to be found. "I spent days trying to find former tenants of Jordan Ave, I couldn't find any. No one knows where they've gone, no one knows their phone numbers anymore, they've just disappeared." He says the dramatic change at Kainga Ora is difficult for the tenants. "In all this discussion we've heard a lot about dollars and hectares and numbers of residences and square metres, but we haven't heard from the voices of the tenants." 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 .
ABC News
05-06-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
Run It Straight turns brute force into entertainment, with fatal consequences
For Onehunga Mata'uiau, rugby has always been about skill, discipline, and controlled contact. That's why the former Manu Samoa player and seasoned coach sees the Run It Straight craze sweeping Pacific communities as a dangerous distortion of the game he loves. Backed by former and current rugby stars Manu Vatuvei, Chanel Harris-Tavita, George Burgess, Nemani Nadolo and UFC's Carlos Ulberg, and attracting hundreds of thousands of followers online, Run It Straight sees players charging at each other like rugby front rowers, to "dominate" their opponent. But as the online hype has grown, so too have the risks. The social media-driven craze made international headlines late last month when 19-year-old Ryan Satterthwaite died in New Zealand after suffering head injuries in an impromptu contest. Speaking just before that incident, veteran coach Mata'uiau had told ABC's Pacific Pulse he feared a tragedy was inevitable in a format where collision, not evasion, is the goal. "As coaches and game developers, we make sure there is technique and players are not reckless … we teach our kids how to tackle properly instead of taking the head off," he said. "[Run It Straight] revolves the game around rugby, but the principle of our game is not that. "We never trained to knock each other out like that, where you have to smash someone at a hundred miles per hour. In May, Run It safety spokesperson Billy Coffey revealed the sport has a concussion rate of around 20 per cent, noting that two concussions at a recent event were caused by players using "illegal" head-first techniques. As pulverising hits flood social media, the spectacle is also drawing criticism for glorifying "harmful forms of masculinity". Some Pacific Islanders who grew up in the 1990s trace Run It Straight back to their childhoods in the Australian and New Zealand diaspora. "We'd make our own fun after to'ona'i (Sunday lunch) by playing games like bull rush or Run It Straight," associate professor Lefaoali'i Dr Dion Enari said. Once a backyard pastime, it has transformed into a high-impact combat event drawing a legion of online fans, families, community vendors, and influencers. From the polished, star-studded RUNIT Championship League to the grassroots Run It Straight 24, participants face off one-on-one in a tight 20-by-4-metre arena, taking turns charging or tackling at full speed. Matches end in knockouts or are decided by dominance, with prize money reaching $NZ200,000 ($185,700) for the last man standing. Despite warnings from injury experts, the unregulated contest is booming online. But sporting codes are pushing back. New Zealand Rugby has warned of "significant risk of serious injury," with All Black and Moana Pasifika captain Ardie Savea saying sportspeople "should not be seen supporting something like this." New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said people needed to take more responsibility for their actions, while in Australia, Manly Sea Eagles fans have been told they face bans if caught taking part in the craze at games, after footage surfaced showing men hurtling downhill into awaiting tacklers. Dr Andrew Affleck, senior hospital scientist and brain bank manager at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, calls the craze a "hit-fest" designed to cause maximum damage. He said repeated clashes, both mild and severe, increase the risk of developing neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia, motor neurone disease, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Queensland league great Wally Lewis lives with probable CTE, while the late NRL coach Paul Green, who died by suicide in 2022, was posthumously diagnosed with CTE, a condition that cannot be fully diagnosed in living patients. "They probably do not fully appreciate that each knock might be another step toward potential impairment," Dr Affleck said. "We know that people who develop CTE have often experienced not just concussions but repeated blows, including non-concussive events. Police described the incident that fatally injured Ryan Satterthwaite as "innocuous," underscoring Dr Affleck's warning about the lethal risk of smaller impacts. Ryan did not strike anything solid. According to police, it was the sheer force of the movement that led to his death. Dr Affleck wants to see a shift in attitudes towards the trend. "We only have one brain. It controls everything we do automatically, like breathing, movement, reflexes. Unlike other organs, we don't have a backup." As thousands rallied around grassroots contests, mental health worker and advocate Shenei Penaia became concerned when a family member signed up to compete in Melbourne trials. "My greatest worry is it reinforces a harmful form of masculinity. Young people are not just watching, they are learning that their bodies are disposable, pain is performative and safety comes second to going viral," she said. "We should be building environments that protect and uplift our young people, our young men, where strength are things like self-awareness, vulnerability, and the freedom to say no to being put at risk. On Wednesday, Run It Straight 24 CEO Christian 'Charizma' Lesa said the group will now enforce the use of mouthguards, headgear, and stricter tackling rules, with disqualification for any contact outside the chest-to-waist zone. "We're still learning, but we want to make this as safe as possible so no head highs, no grass cuts, and if you're dazed, that's it, you're done," Lesa told Triple J Hack. Lesa said paramedics and ambulances are on stand-by at events and he follows up with injured contestants. Responding to criticism after Ryan Satterthwaite's death, Lesa said Ryan's family were in his prayers "but I can't be the one to blame if people are doing it outside [our competitions]." The ABC put separate questions to the RUNIT Championship League and Run It Straight 24 regarding safety measures, insurance, and competition rules but did not receive a response.
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Kāinga Ora appears not to care about mistreated dogs
Kainga Ora doesn't seem to care about dogs being mistreated at their properties or being kept by tenants without proper agreements, according to an Auckland resident who said he's been complaining to the agency about abused animals for years. The Onehunga resident spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
