Latest news with #RachelBoyack
Scoop
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Labour Congratulates NZ Youth Choir On World Win
Labour Arts, Culture and Heritage spokesperson Rachel Boyack has congratulated the New Zealand Youth Choir on winning the prestigious 'Choir of the World' competition at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in Wales. 'These outstanding young singers are incredible ambassadors for Aotearoa New Zealand on the world stage,' Rachel Boyack said. 'They have a large following here in New Zealand and internationally, due to their unique blend of Māori waiata and kapa haka with traditional choral repertoire. New Zealanders should be very proud of their success. 'I watched their winning set this morning after waking up to hear this very exciting news. I've been lucky to see the choir perform this year, including at Waitangi on Waitangi Day, and it is incredible to see how much they've achieved. I am hugely proud of every one of them,' Rachel Boyack said.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
New Zealand Youth Choir wins top award
The New Zealand Youth Choir wins Choir of the World 2025. Photo: Facebook/NZ Youth Choir New Zealand Youth Choir has won the top award at an international competition in Wales. The singers, aged between 18 and 25, have been awarded Choir of the World at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales. The choir blends waiata and kapa haka with traditional choral repertoire. It is comprised of around 50 singers and operates on a three-year membership. The award comes hot on the heels of another win at the European Choir Games in Denmark earlier in the week, where they won the Grand Prix of Nations, with a score of 97.5 in the Folklore Category. The judges called the New Zealand choir the true spirit of Aotearoa. Labour Arts, Culture and Heritage spokesperson Rachel Boyack congratulated the New Zealand Youth Choir on their win. "These outstanding young singers are incredible ambassadors for Aotearoa New Zealand on the world stage," Boyack said. "I watched their winning set this morning after waking up to hear this very exciting news. I've been lucky to see the choir perform this year, including at Waitangi on Waitangi Day, and it is incredible to see how much they've achieved. I am hugely proud of every one of them." The New Zealand Youth Choir last won the title of 'Choir of the World' in 1999. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
19-06-2025
- RNZ News
Three students hit by car outside Nelson College for Girls
Nelson College for Girls. Photo: Google Maps Nelson College for Girls says it's working with police to understand how a car hit and injured three students, and if any changes are needed to improve safety around the school. One student is in Christchurch Hospital with serious injuries, while two other students received minor injuries in a vehicle crash outside the school's front entrance on Wednesday afternoon. Presiding member of the Nelson College for Girls Board, David MacGibbon, said the college was working with police to review the accident and determine if improvements could be made to the traffic environment around the school. "Our thoughts are with all those affected at this time and particularly the students injured in this accident and their whānau. The college thanks those staff, and members of the public, who provided assistance in supporting our students as well as the emergency services attending." The Ministry of Education's specialist trauma response team was at the school on Thursday, working alongside the college to provide support to students, whānau and staff who witnessed or were affected by the crash. Nelson MP Rachel Boyack said the priority was on supporting the injured students and the dozens of others who witnessed the "really traumatic incident". "It's a really tough situation for people to go through and our thoughts are with this young woman as she recovers [from this] really horrible thing to have happened to her," she said. Ministry of Education acting hautū (leader) for Te Tai Runga (South) Andrea Williams said the traumatic incident team was actively supporting the school and would be available for as long as needed. Williams said anyone in need of further support would be linked with other services, where necessary. A police spokesperson said an investigation into how the crash happened were ongoing.
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Government yet to confirm Nelson Hospital redevelopment Budget
The government says the two largest buildings at Nelson Hospital, the Percy Brunette Block on the left and the George Manson Block on the right, will be refurbished and a new inpatient building with 128 beds will be built by 2029. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee The government is not disclosing how much money it's committing to the redevelopment of Nelson Hospital , but it's clear Labour's plans for a billion dollar rebuild are off the table. The government has announced it will fund a new 128-bed inpatient building that will be built by 2029 and will refurbish the two main existing buildings, as part of a $1 billion health infrastructure funding boost in Budget 2025. It has not disclosed the cost of the new building, citing commercial sensitivities. The current hospital has 163 beds and six operating theatres. Labour's plan was for a new acute services building with 255 beds at a cost of $1.1b. Health Minister Simeon Brown said the redeveloped hospital would have 207 "points of care", but did not clarify what they were, and an additional 41 overnight medical/surgical beds compared to the current hospital. Nelson MP Rachel Boyack says the people of Nelson are still waiting to see the master plan for the Nelson Hospital redevelopment, despite being promised it by the end of 2024. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Nelson MP Rachel Boyack has labelled the government's plan a downgrade. "Labour had committed to funding one large acute services building for Nelson that would have cost $1.1 billion, but today's budget makes no mention of our planned acute services building. "Instead, they have committed to building a smaller building, but my concern is that that won't provide for the needs of Nelson's ageing and growing population." It's not clear how many beds in total there will be in the redeveloped hospital. Cabinet had approved the business case to build a refurbished hospital in six stages at an estimated cost of $1.098 billion in 2023, with $73 million set aside for the design work. Last August, then Health Minister Shane Reti said the plan had changed to include a series of smaller builds alongside the refurbishment and seismic strengthening of the two main hospital buildings. Former Health Minister Dr Shane Reti outside Nelson Hospital after announcing the change in plans for its redevelopment. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee The $1b health infrastructure investment in Budget 2025 will be spread across several other projects, including a new emergency department at Wellington Regional Hospital, the remediation of Palmerston North Hospital and improving critical Auckland hospital infrastructure. Boyack said the government needed to release the master plan and business case for the redevelopment as it had promised to do before the end of 2024 . "The people of Nelson really want to know exactly what is going to be built, how many beds and exactly where on the site and they haven't received that information so it leaves [them] in the dark once more." Boyack said she was concerned about the overall level of investment in health, given that the government's health infrastructure plan said more than $20 billion was needed. "This budget offers up just a pittance of that with $1 billion, and so it doesn't actually provide the certainty that our new hospital will be built and funded." Budget 2025's $1 billion in health infrastructure funding will go towards the redevelopment of Nelson Hospital, a new emergency department at Wellington Regional Hospital, the remediation of Palmerston North Hospital and improving critical Auckland hospital infrastructure. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Meanwhile, Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said the investment in Nelson Hospital was "a huge sum for a small region at a time when government is grappling with large deficits and growing debt". He said the new building would be six storeys high and larger than the existing two buildings at 11,000m2. The government has not said where the building would be located. Smith said it was the government's largest investment and biggest project ever for Nelson and the plan was affordable and deliverable. "It addresses the major issues of our shortage of beds, the poor conditions of existing wards and the earthquake strengthening." He said the council would now work closely with government and Health NZ to progress the resource and building consents as quickly as possible to get the build underway efficiently. In April, hundreds of people gathered at Nelson Hospital at a rally calling for better facilities and improved staffing. Photo: RNZ/Samantha Gee A man who started a parliamentary petition this month calling for a full rebuild of Nelson Hospital said the redevelopment plans were like "putting a fresh coat of paint over a mouldy wall and not fixing or addressing the hospital as a whole". Daniel Walker was diagnosed with testicular cancer last year after at least a seven-week delay, that meant he was forced to have invasive surgery after the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes in his abdomen. He has since become an advocate for a new hospital, alongside the senior doctors and nurses who have spoken out about the dire state of the hospital buildings, with staffing shortages and run-down facilities putting patients at risk and leading to blown-out wait lists. Health NZ sent a team of senior clinicians to Nelson Hospital last month to look further into the issues that had been raised. Chief clinical officer Richard Sullivan was among them and he said there was "no doubt" some of the facilities definitely need significant improvement or rebuilding and that the number of beds was a challenge. The Nelson Hospital redevelopment has been on the table for at least a decade, due to the increasing demands from a growing population. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee Health NZ deputy chief executive Te Waipounamu Martin Keogh said an independent support team had been established to review the issues that had been raised, assess the appropriateness of the existing programmes of work and to address access to care issues at Nelson. It would provide reports and recommendations on any other concerns within the next month. "These will be submitted to the Health NZ Executive Leadership Team to review and agree actions to improve the situation as quickly as possible for patients and staff." Walker said he was concerned a new inpatient building had been designed and approved before those reports from Health NZ had been finalised, which could result in the delivery of a building that was not fit for purpose. "It's not setting up for the future just re-purposing old facilities and building and shifting departments to a new smaller building... it's just kicking the ball down the road to have same problems in 5-10 years time." He's hoping to get 10,000 signatures on the petition and take it to parliament himself and present it to the Select Committee for consideration. "We have one shot at this and now's the time for people to speak up." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
06-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Action Urged As New Bill And Petition Seek To Close Animal Imports Loophole
Press Release – Animal Policy International The petition, by animal law expert Associate Professor Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere, was received by Labour MP Rachel Boyack, while Green MP Steve Abel announced the introduction of his bill, the Animal Products (Closing the Welfare Gap) Amendment … A new member's bill addressing the import of animal products was announced at Parliament today (6 May), alongside the delivery of a petition with over 11,000 signatures calling for imported animal products to meet local welfare standards. This powerful legislative proposal, backed by thousands of concerned citizens, creates momentum for change as New Zealand begins trade negotiations with India. The petition, by animal law expert Associate Professor Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere, was received by Labour MP Rachel Boyack, while Green MP Steve Abel announced the introduction of his bill, the Animal Products (Closing the Welfare Gap) Amendment Bill. National MP Grant McCallum alongside representatives from Animal Policy International, SPCA, SAFE, and farmer Walt Cavendish spoke at the event, providing diverse perspectives on the pressing need for reform. The timing could not be more critical as yesterday New Zealand formally began trade negotiations with India — where over 90% of hens remain in battery cages, a practice banned in New Zealand — highlighting the urgent need to address this inconsistency. Last year a report revealed that many animal products come from countries that allow practices like confinement of egg-laying hens in battery cages, pregnant pigs in sow stalls, and live lamb cutting (mulesing) of sheep – all banned in New Zealand due to welfare issues but still used by major trading partners. During the event Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack emphasised the need for consistency in animal welfare standards: 'The petitioner raises a fair point that there are products sold on New Zealand shelves that are made in countries with lower animal welfare standards than ours. I commend the petitioner on bringing this petition to Parliament and look forward to it making its way through the select committee process for thorough consideration. Consumer preferences are changing, and New Zealand customers rightly expect that all products in our market, regardless of origin, meet New Zealand's animal welfare standards.' Steve Abel highlighted the ongoing issues with imports: 'It has been years since New Zealand took the principled decision to ban sow stalls due to the immense suffering they cause to mother pigs. Yet, we continue to import significant quantities of cruel pork each year, contributing directly to animal suffering worldwide and undercutting more ethical local producers. My 'closing the welfare gap' Bill will close this loophole. Every day we delay adds to the suffering of animals farmed overseas and sold in New Zealand, and disadvantages our local farmers.' In his address, Animal Policy International Co-Executive Director Rainer Kravets stressed the urgency: 'As New Zealand negotiates new trade agreements, the amount of cruel imports may rise further. The time is now to require imports to meet our standards: creating certainty and ensuring our standards are not traded away with each trade deal. Not only is this possible, it's the right thing to do – for animals, for our farmers and for New Zealanders who want truly better welfare for animals. The Government has a strong mandate to enact legislation with over 8o% of New Zealanders agreeing that imported products from outside New Zealand should respect the same animal welfare standards as those applied in New Zealand.' This situation also creates a competitive disadvantage for New Zealand farmers who must comply with local laws, while effectively allowing practices rejected by New Zealand voters to continue entering through imports. Walt Cavendish, a dairy farmer said, 'The welfare gap is growing with many imports not up to the high standards that consumers demand of their Kiwi Farmers, farmers are not able to compete on a level playing field and the high animal welfare standards are ignored on many imported products. Farmers and consumers deserve better and so do our livestock. If better is possible, good is never enough.' Debra Ashton, CEO from SAFE said, 'Whilst there are still many improvements to be made in New Zealand, it is hypocritical of us to be importing products from countries with lower welfare standards than our own. At the very least, our laws must extend also to imports. This is something both SAFE and farmers can agree on.' 'We know that New Zealanders care deeply about animal welfare, yet we continue to import products that are the result of cruelty that would be illegal here at home. Without swift action, imminent trade deals could further compromise New Zealand's values, standards and our global reputation. Animals deserve protection no matter where they are raised, and we urge the government to take action,' said Arnja Dale, Chief Scientific Officer at the SPCA. 'For Aotearoa, addressing this issue isn't something for the future—it requires immediate attention to maintain our integrity in animal welfare,' Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere said. 'We must act to close this welfare gap and stop cruel imports'.
