Latest news with #Southland
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- General
- RNZ News
Third person sentenced in relation to Awarua fire
Photo: A third person has been sentenced in relation to a wildfire that burned through a peat wetland in Southland during a total fire ban. The person pleaded guilty to allowing a fire lit by another person to get out of control. She has been convicted and discharged in the Invercargill District Court. In January, one offender was sentenced to seven months' home detention, and to pay reparations of $10,000, and the other was sentenced to 200 hours' community work and 12 months' supervision, and reparations of $10,000. The fire was lit in the Awarua Wetlands in Southland on 2 April 2022 during a prohibited fire season which meant a total fire ban was in place. Fire and Emergency deputy national commander Steph Rotarangi said firefighters fought the fire for more than a week. It burnt through 1330 hectares and had environmental and financial consequences in an internationally recognised conservation area. "Given the significance of the impact of the Awarua Wetlands fire, and the fact the area was under a total fire ban, we considered it appropriate to prosecute three individuals for the fire," she said. This was the second prosecution under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 - the first resulted in an $18,000 fine for an unauthorised burn-off. The Department of Conservation's southern South Island operations director Aaron Fleming said the fire caused significant damage to the biodiversity and ecosystem of the wetlands, released vast carbon emissions, and seriously set back conservation work in the area. Photo: Supplied / Ngāi Tahu "Awarua Wetlands is one of the largest remaining wetland complexes in this country and was recognised as New Zealand's first Ramsar Convention on Wetlands site of international importance in 1976," he said. "The fire burned about 980ha of wetland plants, which is an important habitat for threatened species like matuku-hūrepo/Australasian bittern and other birds, plants, insects, lizards, and fish. It also injured or killed a high number of animals." Weeds like gorse and Spanish heath were already beginning to invade the burned areas, in some places outcompeting native plants. It was estimated about 104,000 tonnes of carbon emissions were released into the atmosphere from this fire - equivalent to driving about 409,829,000 kilometres in an average petrol car. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Southland commercial fishermen sentenced for selling black market seafood worth thousands
Duncan William Davis, who was not a commercial fisherman, sold up to 400 punnets of kina roe. Photo: EnviroStrat_Kinamonics Three Southland commercial fishers and another man have been fined for selling thousands of dollars of black market seafood. Fishermen Michael Noel Hawke, 61, Stuart Teiwi Ryan, 48 and Peter George Fletcher, 32, were sentenced at the Invercargill District Court after pleading guilty to a number of charges under the Fisheries Act. Duncan William Davis, 39, was sentenced on two charges for selling a large amount of kina, some pāua and blue cod that he had either caught or bought from Ryan to resell. The four men were fined a total of $36,900. The fines followed a larger 2023 investigation into the illegal sale of seafood, with fishery officers examining landing records and communication between the fishers, black-market suppliers and possible buyers. Fisheries New Zealand district manager Greg Forbes said none of the fishers held permits allowing them to sell fish. "Most commercial fishers follow the rules because they want their fishery to remain sustainable into the future - black-market sales of recreational catch is a slap in the face to the majority of commercial fishers who do the right thing," he said. Davis, who was not a commercial fisherman, faced the largest fine of $14,000 after selling up to 400 punnets of kina roe valued at up to $5000 and fish valued at about $2000. "This was deliberate and the motivation was simply to make money," he said. The investigation found Hawke, who was fined $6000, sold about 1000 dredge oysters during the 2023 season. They were valued at more than $3000 and while he was allowed to take them recreationally they were not part of his allowable commercial take. The investigation also found a deckhand aboard the fishing vessel was selling his allowable recreational catch. Forbes said Ryan was fined $13,000 after selling 114 crayfish and about 40 blue cod, making $2250. "Crayfish retails at about $140 a kg and blue cod $75 a kg," he said. Fletcher, who was a commercial fisherman and was fined $3900, sold about 200 dredge oysters illegally on about six occasions, Forbes said. "When we find evidence of deliberate illegal sales of seafood - we will take action," he said. "Poachers steal from everyone because the shared resources belong to all New Zealanders. Their behaviour also undermines the Quota Management System and our reputation for sustainable kaimoana." People could report suspected illegal activity through the Ministry of Primary Industries' poaching line 0800 476 224. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Employment confidence levels remain low
Photo: Unsplash Employment confidence remains near the lows seen during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. The Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose by 0.5 points to 88.8 in the June quarter, and was little changed over the past year. An index number over 100 indicates optimists outnumbered pessimists. "A perceived lack of job opportunities remains the key concern for New Zealand households," Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said. However, he said the results were encouraging because they suggested the rise in the unemployment rate over the last couple of years may be peaking. "That said, people were more pessimistic this quarter about an improvement in job prospects in the year ahead." The survey results were mixed across regions. Southland saw the biggest improvement for the quarter and was the most confident region. However, other dairying-intensive regions, such as Waikato and Taranaki fared poorly. Among the main centres, Auckland saw a solid lift in confidence, but Wellington and Christchurch were down slightly. McDermott Miller research director Imogen Rendall said private sector employees were less confident than those in the public sector. "Confidence amongst employees working in the private sector has further eroded this quarter with a drop of 2.9 points down to 85.0, while public sector employees' confidence has increased 7 points up to 96.2," she said.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
The council with almost 50 vacant roles
Environment Southland underwent a major restructure earlier this year. Photo: ODT/Supplied The chair of a southern regional council says he is surprised by the number of available vacancies following a recent restructure. Environment Southland disestablished 51 roles and created 56 new ones in a shake-up which impacted almost a quarter of staff this year. When the proposal went live in February, a source told Local Democracy Reporting there were "lots of tears". It has now been revealed 48 roles are yet to be filled, with the council indicating there's no rush for some. Council chair Nicol Horrell said he was under the impression the figure was in the 20s, but didn't think the vacancies were impacting the day-to-day running of the council. "When you go through a restructure, there's always a wee bit of settling in. A lot of people have changed jobs, and that takes probably a little bit of time to settle down," he said. "But overall, no, I don't have any great concerns." Horrell said there were some positions the council wasn't rushing to fill, and less people doing the work was positive from a ratepayer's standpoint. Environment Southland said in April it was creating 58 new roles as part of the restructure but has since changed that figure to 56. As of Monday, there were three positions advertised on its website. Council general manager people and governance Amy Kubrycht said some of the vacancies were being recruited under priority while others would be phased in under the long-term plan. The council was using contractors, third party suppliers and secondments to help in areas where there were vacancies, Kubrycht said. "Our people are continuing to deliver their work programmes and have been doing a great job as we transition to the new structure." The council previously said it would undertake a contestable selection and expression of interest process with open recruitment for unfilled positions. If employees were unable to secure new roles within the restructure, they would be made redundant and receive a payout in accordance with employment agreements. A proposal document from February showed there were 212 roles at the organisation. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
The southern council with almost 50 vacant roles
Environment Southland underwent a major restructure earlier this year. Photo: ODT/Supplied The chair of a southern regional council says he is surprised by the number of available vacancies following a recent restructure. Environment Southland disestablished 51 roles and created 56 new ones in a shake-up which impacted almost a quarter of staff this year. When the proposal went live in February, a source told Local Democracy Reporting there were "lots of tears". It has now been revealed 48 roles are yet to be filled, with the council indicating there's no rush for some. Council chair Nicol Horrell said he was under the impression the figure was in the 20s, but didn't think the vacancies were impacting the day-to-day running of the council. "When you go through a restructure, there's always a wee bit of settling in. A lot of people have changed jobs, and that takes probably a little bit of time to settle down," he said. "But overall, no, I don't have any great concerns." Horrell said there were some positions the council wasn't rushing to fill, and less people doing the work was positive from a ratepayer's standpoint. Environment Southland said in April it was creating 58 new roles as part of the restructure but has since changed that figure to 56. As of Monday, there were three positions advertised on its website. Council general manager people and governance Amy Kubrycht said some of the vacancies were being recruited under priority while others would be phased in under the long-term plan. The council was using contractors, third party suppliers and secondments to help in areas where there were vacancies, Kubrycht said. "Our people are continuing to deliver their work programmes and have been doing a great job as we transition to the new structure." The council previously said it would undertake a contestable selection and expression of interest process with open recruitment for unfilled positions. If employees were unable to secure new roles within the restructure, they would be made redundant and receive a payout in accordance with employment agreements. A proposal document from February showed there were 212 roles at the organisation. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
