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RNZ News
03-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Thames MSD staff refuse to work at mould, sewage smelling office any longer
The temporary Ministry of Social Development office operated out of the Wintec Building in Queen Street, Thames until Monday. Photo: Googlemaps More than a dozen Ministry of Social Development staff walked off the job over what they say is an unsafe office with a ''strong mould and sewage smell". Staff stopped working in the ministry's Thames office on Monday, leaving 12,000 clients without a face-to-face service. The office was supposed to be a temporary space, after the Ministry of Social Development closed its main office in Pollen Street in November 2023 due to damage. But there's been ongoing issues with the temporary building. Staff moved out for a period of time last year, and last month it was closed for three days for security and privacy upgrades. The Public Service Association has now issued MSD with a Provisional Improvement Notice under the Health and Safety at Work Act, which requires the employer to address concerns about health and safety. MSD has redeployed staff to Paeroa which was 33km away. Thames Community Board chairperson Adrian Catran told Checkpoint the situation for clients trying to go to MSD was "terrible". "Twelve thousand clients in and around Thames and in the Coromandel Peninsula are unable to have face-to-face contact with MSD in Thames." Catran said it was "wrong" that clients wanting to visit MSD in person would have to travel to Paeroa. "There is no actual transport available to just travel to Paeroa at the moment, so that means they have to find their own way." MSD staff have been working in the temporary office for 18 months, despite the space originally being used as a solution for four weeks. Catran said the temporary office has had a number of issues over a long period of time. "The building is not really fit-for-purpose and had shortcomings anyway. Now it appears that has manifested itself to a point that staff won't work there. "It's had other problems in terms of the space is too small for 13 staff for example, client privacy is not available within the building to the extent that a lot of clients wanted." He said on a previous occasion the ceiling had collapsed in another room in the building. The original building had been vacated due to black mould and water leaks, but had now reopened as a fruit shop, Catran added. Last year local MP Scott Simpson issued a statement saying it was unacceptable for people to have to travel to Paeroa to see MSD staff in person, which Catran said was still relevant today. The Ministry of Social Development told Checkpoint the Thames Service Centre was temporarily closed on Monday and staff were redeployed to Paeroa Service Centre. They had access to vehicles for travel. Acting Regional Commissioner, Sharlene Horne, said MSD was working through concerns about the building in conjunction with the landlord, while also working on securing new long-term premises that met the ministry's requirements. Horne said MSD was working to reopen the Thames Service Centre as soon as possible but many of the client conversations in Thames already happened over the phone, and she expected clients should still be able to complete their appointments. PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons told Checkpoint there had been long-standing issues with the working environment at the Thames office which was supposed to be a temporary site. These concerns came to a head on Monday and health and safety representatives at the office had since issued MSD with a Provisional Improvement Notice under the Health and Safety at Work Act. She said the PSA was working on ensuring workers were not disadvantaged by any alternative options proposed and that they would continue to support workers through this. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
23-06-2025
- RNZ News
What happened to Leonie Emery? A family's seven year wait for answers
Leonie Emery was 25 when she went missing in 2018. Photo: Supplied Malanena Emery wants answers. It's been seven years since she last heard from her daughter Leonie Emery, then 25. In the months that followed she didn't hear from the mother of four. By June 2018 she posted on Facebook asking if anyone had seen or heard from her. Believing her daughter, who had recently served a sentence of imprisonment for arson, may have been in prison, she says she tried writing to her, even wishing her a happy birthday. It wasn't until early 2019 she was told her daughter wasn't in prison. She then went to police and reported her missing, telling them no-one had heard from her for about a year. Then, in April 2025, police made a significant announcement. "Police have examined several possible scenarios but believe it is most likely that Leonie has been the victim of foul play," Detective Senior Sergeant Rob Hunkin said. Malanena is frustrated no-one has been held responsible for her daughter's disappearance, and is desperate for closure. Leonie Emery was last heard from seven years ago. Photo: Supplied Leonie was a free spirit who regularly moved around. She grew up in Paeroa, and spent several years living with her grandfather so she could be closer to her cousins. "She was smart, outgoing and she got on well with people," Malanena says. "She was everybody's friend." In 2003 she moved back in with her mother shortly after her little sister was born. About three years later she went back to living with her grandfather. However, after she got into trouble with police she moved back to Whangārei and went to Te Kamo High School. In year 10, she was expelled so her mother helped get her a job on a farm doing some relief milking with her brother. She eventually moved in with her brother and his partner for a few months before moving back home. "I didn't mind, she was helpful with her siblings helping around with housework and shopping when she wasn't working. "You could ask her to do anything she would never complain," Malanena says. Shortly after, Leonie started dating a man - her family believed she was happy, and was starting to make a new life for herself. Tragically, things began to change after her first baby girl was stillborn. Leonie struggled to cope in the aftermath, turning to alcohol to help ease the pain. "Her daughter's death hit her really hard which caused those demons," Malanena says of Leonie's struggle with alcohol and her anger. Later that year she gave birth to another child, and would later have three more children. However, in 2014 there was a violent alcohol-fuelled incident where Leonie stabbed her partner in the arm with a fork. The couple then separated. In 2016, Leonie was jailed on an arson charge. Around the same time the children were placed in their father's care. Her family says Leonie was a changed person when she got out of prison. "The first thing she did was go looking for her children," her mother says. There were issues between Leonie and her ex-partner and while she began to move around a lot she kept in close contact with her mum. By late 2017 however, things began to take a positive turn for Leonie and she started a new relationship with a truck driver. "I thought things were going good for her," Malanena says. However once again her relationship ended following a violent confrontation. He told police he dropped her off outside a police station on December 21, 2017. Leonie Emery's mother reported her missing in February 2019. Photo: Supplied Leonie spent Christmas with a cousin in South Auckland's Papakura. On Boxing Day she was invited to go to Waikokowai in North Waikato for New Years. Her last post on Facebook was on January 3, 2018. It was a photo of a dog tied up to a tree. "Free to a good home. Preferably ideal for farming, needs training. Reason why I'm advertising her is because I find it cruel for her to be tied up like this when she will be a good working dog." Police said it was believed Leonie was picked up around January 12 by a woman who was described as being Māori and looking like a "female rugby player" in a light blue Nissan Pulsar type hatchback. Two weeks later, on January 26 she went to a party at a relative's home in Ngāruawāhia. While at the party she was allegedly assaulted by a group of young women. She later arrived back in Papakura between January 26 and February 4. No-one reported seeing her or talking to her again. "It's so emotional," Malanena begins as she thinks back to early 2018 as she first started becoming concerned for her daughter. The days turned into weeks, then to months with no word from Leonie. "Who would ever think it would happen to your child?" In June 2018, Malanena took to Facebook asking if anyone had heard from or seen Leonie. She also went searching herself. In late 2018, she and a friend went to a set of units in Bombay Hills where Leonie had previously been living. Malanena was unsure which flat it was, so she knocked on several doors. At one of the properties was a young couple who said Leonie had moved. Given her recent time in prison, Malanena wondered if she had been imprisoned for something else as there was a warrant out for her arrest. She believes she first wrote to Auckland Region Women's Corrections Facility in June/July 2018 asking Leonie to touch base and wishing her happy birthday and got no reply. She also tried messaging her on Facebook with no luck. Worried she had sent the letter to the wrong prison, she sent another letter down to Arohata Prison in Wellington. She also emailed Corrections in February 2019 asking if her daughter was there. Deputy Commissioner of Women's Prisons Kym Grierson confirmed to RNZ Malanena emailed Corrections on February 12, 2019. "We wrote back to her on the same day to let her know that Leonie was not in prison. "On February 15, 2019, she wrote to us again, asking us to let her know whether Leonie had been in prison at all, and if so, where she went afterwards." Grierson said Corrections responded on the same day to let her know that in accordance with their obligations under the Official Information Act and the Privacy Act, they were unable to provide any personal information relating to Leonie without her written consent. Corrections also received contact from another member of Leonie's family on December 10 2018. On that occasion Corrections responded the same day and told them that Leonie was not in prison. "We have not been able to identify any record of any correspondence from Malanena Emery to Arohata Prison or Auckland Region Women's Corrections Facility," Grierson said. After being told by Corrections her daughter was not in prison Malanena visited a police station on February 22 and reported her daughter missing and made a statement to police outlining her concerns. In late February, 2019, she took to Facebook and said she had come to a "dead end". Leonie was not in the Corrections or police database. She said she had filed a missing person's report and once again appealed for anyone with information to contact her or police. In 2021 police issued a renewed public appeal into Leonie's disappearance and said they had "grave concerns" for her welfare. "Police are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances surrounding Leonie's disappearance and this is still being treated as a missing persons case," Detective Senior Sergeant Rob Hunkin said. Police had carried out "significant inquiries" into Leonie's disappearance and were "determined" to find out what happened to her. Malanena says there were no further significant updates from police until this year when she was told police were going to be appealing for more information on an episode of Cold Case. Hunkin said in a statement in April investigators had undertaken "extensive inquiries" to try and understand Leonie's movements and what might have happened. "Police have examined several possible scenarios but believe it is most likely that Leonie has been the victim of foul play." Police also revealed a forensic analysis of a property linked to Leonie in Bombay Hills indicated blood had been cleaned up at the location. Police were appealing for the woman who picked Leonie up from Ngāruawāhia and for anyone who was at the party where she was allegedly assaulted to come forward. Leonie appeared at her cousin's home in Papakura between January 26 and February 4. "Police believe that this is the last sighting of Leonie so understanding how she traveled the 75km from Ngāruawāhia to Papakura is of vital importance to the investigation." They also wanted to know where she went when she left Papakura, and who she was with. Malanena says she is frustrated it took police six years after Leonie was reported missing to announce they believed it was foul play. "I don't know if it was because of the investigation or maybe they didn't have enough to go on." She was "shocked" to hear of the results of the forensic analysis in Bombay Hills, and wants to know when police uncovered the information. "If they had figured it was foul play back then [in 2018] would they have done more for her? "Would they have actually went looking for more evidence?... Is it going to get us closer to ever finding out what happened to her? Or just more questions, no answers." In a statement to RNZ Hunkin said police continued to treat the investigation, dubbed Operation Exeter, as a "missing persons case". "It is important to note that Leonie's disappearance was only reported to police about 12 months after she was last in contact with her whānau. "Given that unfortunate time lapse, the reconstruction of her last known movements has been a challenge." What happened to Leonie was still to be determined, he said. "One of the possible scenarios our investigation has to consider is her being the victim of foul play." The investigation has been active and assigned to an investigator since Leonie was reported missing. "Leonie's whānau and the wider public will appreciate that this is still an active investigation and there will be some sensitivities to our work. "Given we have not ruled out foul play, there is naturally some information that will not be in the public domain for operational security." In relation to the forensic evidence recovered in the Bombay Hills, Hunkin said the origin and relevance of the evidence was "one of many active lines of enquiry in the investigation". "We are keeping an open mind because that location and the said evidence might have no relevance at all to Leonie's disappearance. "Police will continue to keep Leonie's whānau across developments in this investigation, as we continue to seek answers they so rightfully deserve." Malanena lies awake at night wondering what happened to her daughter, where she is, and who may have been responsible. "In my mind and reality I've been searching… I've been wondering, and most my thoughts take me to those places. "I end up getting up and just going, you know, searching for my daughter, searching for answers." Malanena suffered a stroke last year. Since then, she has been unable to go searching for her daughter, but has continued to make public appeals. Last month she wrote on Facebook saying she had a message for the people who were the last ones to see her daughter. "Why didn't you take her to the hospital like any person wud do? Especially when you knew how she met her death!" (sic). She asked for anyone involved to disclose where her daughter's body was. Malanena says the last seven years had been "devastation". She had two of Leonie's children in her custody, the other two were with a caregiver. She said only one of Leonie's children, her eldest, could vividly remember her. Malanena has been honest with them about their mother's disappearance. Leonie would have been 33 this week. Her mother concedes it is difficult to have confidence seven years on, but is desperate for answers. "It would mean a lot to us. We would be able to put her to rest," she says. "I just want my daughter back." Police ask that anyone with information about Leonie's disappearance to contact them online now or call 105 using the reference number 190222/9022. Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
The win-win solution for cash-strapped councils
Hauraki District Council's community development advisor Katie McLaren (left) and community advocacy officer Lyn Randall (right) at the Waihī Warm Up Party for Beach Hop. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod One Waikato council has found a win-win solution for cash-strapped councils that still want to support community initiatives. For the last two years Hauraki District Council has employed a community advocacy officer to help clubs and volunteers access community funding from organisations such as Grassroots, Lions Foundation, and the Lotteries Commission. In the last few months alone, more than $400,000 worth of funding for community groups had been successfully secured this way. Lyn Randall said when a community group first got in touch with council, she sought to get a good understanding of what they wanted to achieve. "It's identifying their projects or their service that they want to provide and then trying to make sure that I can identify for them the opportunities that we've got in our Hauraki District. And then I just walk them through how that might look." She would help the group get the right documentation together and prepare a funding application, while encouraging them to be persistent if at first they did not succeed. An example was Paeroa Bowling Club. The club had worked closely with Randall and the council and recently succeeded in securing $5000 for renovations to their greens from Akarana, and $4036 from TAB for a set of bowls specifically for community use. Kevin Lockley had been club president for eight years, and said it had to look outwards to grow. "There's so much more expectation on councils from ratepayers now to ensure that the council, the elected bodies, are actually spending their money in the right places. So, from a club's perspective, they need to probably look more towards the community and just see the council as a conduit to helping them bring that outside money back into the club." He thought the council employing ana dvocate had paid dividends for the community. "Not only the application side of it, but she's also a conduit for speaking with other people and council that we may need to, she can go and talk to them and put us in touch with them, and that makes life a lot easier." Randall saw the job as an example of the council providing good customer service to community clubs, volunteers, and groups, which were the beating heart of the district. "It's usually that relief from them when they know that there's somebody there that they can contact for all the questions with regards to funding and they've got that support network there, that's a big thing for them." Local Government New Zealand did not immediately know how common this type of role was in councils. However, Hauraki mayor Toby Adams said he would recommend it to other councils. "Having a dedicated council community officer to support local groups in securing external funding helps maximise community outcomes without relying solely on council budgets. By attracting outside investment, this role effectively reduces the demand on ratepayer funding-particularly important at a time when council resources are already under pressure." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
