Latest news with #motu
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
The highs and lows of driving with a disability
disability arts 43 minutes ago Learning to drive is a rite of passage for many, symbolising freedom and independence. But everyone knows that learning to drive, comes with some hair raising, white knuckle moments, and the new TV series called License to Drive has plenty of them. Sweet Productions co-producers Robyn Paterson and Jai Productions co-producers Robyn Paterson and Jai Waite. Photo: Sweet Productions Sure to have audiences on the edge of their seats, the series provides an intimate, often laugh out loud look at the journey undertaken by a group of disabled New Zealanders from all walks of life learning to drive. Filmed around the motu, each episode follows learner drivers - alongside their driving instructors, as they experience the emotional highs and lows of getting behind the wheel. Some are nervous first-timers, others are coming back from a life-changing injury and must entirely re-learn to drive using different parts of their body. Mathias Bridgman is one of the learner drivers on the show, he's been learning to drive with his feet. We're also joined by series producer Jai White from Sweet Productions, a former Wheel Black, turned TV producer.
RNZ News
05-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Local councils form new homelessness support group as numbers rise
Councils were often the first port of call for members of the public concerned about homelessness, Peniel Elliott from Tauranga City Council says. Photo: RNZ / Luke McPake Councils say a rise in the number of people sleeping rough has seen local authorities put their heads together to better support those people into safe, secure housing. A new group, Te Kāuru, was formed earlier this year and involves representatives from 30 councils. They are all sharing ideas to help prevent homelessness and support street sleepers and those living in cars, garages and on friends' couches. Peniel Elliott from Tauranga City Council is part of Te Kāuru's steering group and said it started with a noticeable spike in rough sleeping across the motu. "There have been a chain of emails... [with] questions and sharing knowledge and resources on what other people are doing in their regions. "What we realised was in each of the regions, we were seeing an increase in homelessness," she said. Councils were often the first port of call for members of the public concerned about homelessness, Elliott said. "We are balancing the wider community needs, and the needs of the community members who are experiencing housing stress in our regions. "We do field a lot of complaints when it comes to... someone sleeping in a doorway, or someone sleeping in a car in a reserve, or in parks." Councils had to respond to those complaints, but were looking at doing so in a different way, she said. "We're noticing a theme... if we start working with the providers in our regions and be a bit more proactive, so it isn't just a reactive response, we are able to see a little bit more progress." That included ensuring council officers were not just moving people from one spot to another, but connecting them to services they might need like mental health support, Elliott said. The collective was working with other support organisations to produce a report on local government's response to homelessness, including insights on the state of homelessness and how they would work to prevent it in their communities. Te Matapihi's chief executive Ali Hamlin-Paenga. Photo: RNZ / Meriana Jonsen Māori housing advocacy organisation Te Matapihi's chief executive Ali Hamlin-Paenga said councils proactively helping people who were homeless - rather than reacting to a member of the public calling in to complain - were taking the best approach. "Some people think that our homeless whānau are imposing on somebody else's way of living. "But there are certain things that have happened in their lives that have actually put them in that position, and if we don't consider those complexities, we're not going to get to a solution." Hamlin-Paenga said a recent hui about local government's response to homelessness revealed some councils seemed to be working for the people who called up to complain about rough sleepers, and not for "the greater good". "There are some councils who are actually doing an amazing job and there are some councils who are listening and thinking about how they can do better. "And then there are some councils that probably need a little bit more help in their thinking." The formation of Te Kāuru was a good step towards that, she said, adding that Wellington City Council was leading by example. Wellington City Council, which is part of Te Kāuru, has included its homelessness response as part of its city safety plan approved earlier this year. It planned to "strengthen the community's approach to homelessness" which included organising bespoke support for about 30 chronically homeless people in the central city, funding local support services like Downtown Community Ministry (DCM) and the City Mission, and collecting data to identify gaps in service provision and the evolving needs of the homeless population. Its approach was designed to make homelessness "rare, brief and non-recurring", council papers showed. Local service providers understood best how to connect with those people, what their situation was, their background and what help they needed, the council's senior responsible officer for city safety Sehai Orgad said. "It's really important that... we walk alongside those partners, DCM especially," she said. Harm prevention team lead Millie Lambess said the council supported "assertive outreach". "Assertive outreach is about bringing services and those that have the skills to... meet people where they're at, whether that's on Courtenay Place, whether that's in the park, in a tent somewhere, it's about building relationships with people over time to rebuild trust that's been lost in systems and some of the support that is available to people." Officers would later this month ask councillors to agree to the creation of a Homelessness Coordination Service, bringing together a range of partners to help those sleeping rough. More details would be revealed when the officers' paper went to council. Wellington City Councillor Teri O'Neill. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Wellington City Councillor Teri O'Neill heads the social, cultural and economic committee, and said there had been a significant increase in the capital's "visible" homelessness population - and those living in garages, tents and on friend's couches. Data from DCM showed between January and March there were about 130 rough sleepers, up from 106 in the same three months last year. "We're seeing much larger pressure, and Wellington City Council is taking up that mantle because we believe really strongly in the kaupapa, but it's definitely something central government should be taking responsibility for." O'Neill said the government's policy changes, like making it harder to access emergency housing, had contributed to that pressure. The government has consistently denied those changes have contributed to an increase in homelessness. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said rents were stable under his government , the social housing waitlist was dropping, and people were moving out of emergency housing into proper homes. Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka said people who had a genuine need for emergency housing and met their responsibilities remained eligible for that support. His government was getting people out of "dire" motels and into better homes, he said. As at the end of April, there were 453 households in emergency housing, down 86 percent since December 2023 when the coalition took office, Potaka said. People sleeping rough were often missing support and coordination from agencies like the Ministry of Social Development, ACC, the Ministry of Health, and Oranga Tamariki, O'Neill said. "That's really where central government holds a lot of the cards." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
24-05-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Emergency mobile alerts - how they work, why you're getting them
Photo: RNZ Explainer: Brace yourself - your phone will make itself heard on Sunday night. The annual national test of the emergency mobile alert system is scheduled for between 6-7pm. That distinctive buzzing alarm may come as a mild shock to the system, but it can be a matter of life and death, says the National Emergency Management Agency Te Rākau Whakamarumaru. "If you get an alert, you should stop and read the message, and take it seriously," NEMA civil defence emergency management director John Price said. "It will tell you what the emergency is, what to do and where to go for more information." A warning broadcast to your mobile phone, they've been around in New Zealand since 2017. They come with a loud buzz that can usually be heard even if you're on silent mode and a banner notification detailing the emergency. When you hear this, it's time to pay attention. They've been used for everything from tsunami warnings to dangerous fires to thunderstorms. Many other countries use them and they got a particularly good workout in New Zealand during the Covid-19 pandemic . More recently, in April, Auckland saw several emergency alerts during stormy weather over Easter weekend and a recycling plant fire that sent dangerous smoke soaring over the motu. About 200 alerts have been sent out since they began, many of them regional ones, NEMA communications manager Anthony Frith said. NEMA expects "about 5.5 million phones to go beep on Sunday". The annual test is an important way to make sure the system is working properly all across the country, Firth said. "We're always wanting to have that assurance that the system is working as it should. We need to have assurance that it's going to work for the whole country, if it's needed. "There will be a lot of people in Auckland who say, 'Oh, I just received an alert the other week', but there will be people who haven't received one since the last test." The test will go out to millions of phones on Sunday. Photo: RNZ/ Karoline Tuckey Alerts use cell broadcast technology known as geotargeting to send alerts through cell towers in a selected area - which can be the entire country, as in Sunday's test, or down to a small section of a city. New Zealand's system was provided by Dutch company one2many , which is now a division of Everbridge Public Warning , an American software company that specialises in alert systems. In a description of their technology , Everbridge says "one message can be sent to millions of devices within a target area in seconds". "A really oversimplified way of putting it, it's like a signal that your phone picks up, which is almost like radio," Frith said. When an alert is issued, the agency involved will select how big a region is covered, depending on the specific crisis. "The operator who sends the emergency alert will draw a polygon around that area, a shape they need to make sure is big enough to capture cell phone towers in the perimeter," Frith said. Auckland Emergency Management general manager Adam Maggs said, while targeted messages work well, who gets them varies, depending on a variety of factors. "In terms of one person [in a household] receiving a message and another not, this could be due to being just outside of the geographically targeted area. The boundary for the geotargeted area is not a 'hard' boundary and there can be message leakage, depending on the location of cell towers. "Other reasons include having a phone that may be older or has missed a software update, or the phone may not have had mobile reception." They don't. The system uses the cellphone network as a carrier of the notifications that NEMA or other emergency agencies send out. "Our system does not have any telephone numbers," Frith confirmed. "Once we've transmitted the message from our portal, it then goes to the cell towers." Heavy storms hit Auckland during Easter weekend, triggering some alerts. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel Only certain agencies have the power to send out alerts - NEMA, Civil Defence Emergency Management groups, NZ Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Primary Industries. Maggs said there was a protocol in place around how the messages were sent. "For civil defence groups (like Auckland Emergency Management), the controller or group manager will make the final call to issue an alert for a hazard or warning that relates to their work. "Similarly, Fire and Emergency or NZ Police could issue an alert about a response that they are leading. We all use the same protocols to assess whether an EMA might be used, with criteria based on certainty, severity and urgency." The timing of emergency alerts during Auckland's Good Friday weekend storms was questioned. NEMA's Frith noted the fast-moving late night Friday thunderstorms were not preceded by a MetService warning. The next day, Saturday, saturated soil and people travelling triggered alerts that day . "We've got really clear protocol for use of the system," he said. "It's really important we don't overuse it, so we can only use it when an event is fairly certain and likely to be pretty severe. "We're not going to be able to issue an alert before every event happens." What appears to have been the first emergency alert sent out in New Zealand was a localised one about a New Plymouth ammonia leak in February 2018 . Then, during the Covid-19 pandemic that began in 2020, the agitated buzz of lockdown or new case announcements on our phones became commonplace. Covid was the first time alerts were used on a national level, Frith said. While we often see weather-related alerts, the alert system has a variety of applications. For instance, on 9 April, Greymouth sent out an emergency alert for a boil water notice, after possible contamination . Grey District Council communication and engagement manager Laura Mills said that call was made by the council's executive leadership team and emergency management staff, in consultation with NEMA. "It had to be determined if the boil water alert met the criteria," she said. "It did and a map was supplied, so phones in the affected area could be 'pinged'. "It definitely got the message out quickly and it helped ensure people took the message seriously." Boiling water may not seem to be the same as a tsunami alert, but it's an important health issue, Frith said, citing a 2016 camplyobacter outbreak in Havelock North that sickened thousands and left four people dead. "If you cast your mind back to what happened in Havelock North in 2016, over 5000 people got sick... so a boil water notice can actually be quite important." The first national emergency alerts were sent during the Covid-19 pandemic during Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's leadership. Photo: POOL / Stuff / Robert Kitchin The alert system generally reaches nine out of 10 phones, Frith said, but while it's an important tool, it's not meant to be the only way people learn about emergencies. "We want to stress that this is really valuable, but often nature is the first warning. "Other channels are really important. The media is the No.1 information channel in emergencies." The alert doesn't replace radio, the internet or the need to act when you see natural warning signs. "If you feel like your life is in danger, don't wait for an official warning or alert - take action and get yourself and your whānau to safety," NEMA's Price warned. "If floodwaters are rising, self-evacuate and move to higher ground. If you are near the coast and an earthquake is long or strong, get gone. "Move immediately to the nearest high ground or as far inland as you can." NEMA also said the annual alert test is a good time to examine emergency plans. The Get Ready website is full of information about how to do this. Frith acknowledged "we'll never get to 100 percent" coverage with the alerts. "There will always be a percentage of the population that don't have phones or don't have smartphones. There's no mass communication channel that will reach absolutely everyone." No. You can't choose not to receive an emergency alert - after all, the point is that it's meant to be used for an emergency. Because it's sent out over cell phone towers, there's no 'list' of names on it to be removed from. If you don't want to be disturbed by Sunday evening's test, you could turn off your phone entirely or switch to airplane mode. The flurry of alerts sent out in Auckland in April saw some backlash on social media. "We often receive feedback from Aucklanders asking to be removed from the EMA system [which is not possible]," Maggs said. "We get just as much feedback thanking us for an alert or update. This will always be the case and we are fine with that. "At the end of the day, our goal is to help Aucklanders stay as safe as possible in times of emergency and we will continue to work hard to ensure that." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
'People want to connect with people' - Māori tourism leads the way
Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa weaves Māori storytelling and culture into its offerings for visitors. Photo: Supplied Māori tourism is on the rise, and operators say the key to its continued success is offering authentic cultural experiences. A recent report showed Māori tourism contributed $1.2 billion to the economy in 2023, up by nearly 25 percent from $975 million in 2018. Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa general manager Debbie Robertson said her business wove storytelling and culture into its offering for visitors. "People want to connect with people and that's what makes it different," she said. "Anyone can go anywhere and sit in... mineral water. It's around the world but what the difference is is the connection to the culture and the people and what we're able to offer." Māori tourism businesses across the motu offered a chance for manuhiri to connect with culture through experiences and helped Aotearoa to stand out, she said. "Many of our people that are offering products across Aotearoa are very humble and they need to elevate their price point," Robertson said. "People will pay to experience what they have and connect with them and our culture, and don't be shy about doing that. Be unapologetically Māori." Ngāi Tahu Tourism general manager Jolanda Cave said Māori tourism was leading the way thanks to more collaboration between operators. "It has to be authentic or it actually isn't going to be an amazing manuhiri experience," she said. "We hold ourselves to account in that space all the time. It's also why it takes time to enhance your product and your delivery and do it well in an authentic way. You can't do it overnight cos then it wouldn't really be an authentic experience." The industry was preparing for big changes in how tomorrow's tourists plan, book and engage on their future holidays. It expected many travellers would be younger, digital-savvy and on the search for special experiences as well as older, well-off retirees. "We're storytellers. We use our voice and we use it well so regardless of how they're travelling whether it's virtually, whether they're still coming to our location, we're still going to be sharing our story in an authentic way, just potentially delivering it in a different means," she said. New Zealand Māori Tourism board chair Dale Stephens said businesses had put in some hard mahi to help the industry grow. The government wanted to ramp up international visitor numbers in a bid to double the value of tourism exports by 2034. But he wanted more of a focus on offering high quality, authentic, immersive experiences, saying visitors wanted to experience life through a different lens. "If we use that as the focal point, making sure that we treat our manuhiri, our guests, as family and wanting to look after them, give them a great experience, and be prepared to welcome them back time and time again, I think that's the real secret for having successful tourism in this country," he said. Stephens did not want to see the return of pre-pandemic pressure points where popular destinations suffered from being overused. "We need to educate the tourism sector that some fantastic tourism opportunities exist away from the main trunk lines and that will spread the load and spread the opportunity across the country." Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram said a regular survey of overseas visitors showed culture was a drawcard for travellers. "Thirteen percent of them were inspired to come to New Zealand because of our culture and our heritage and so I see that number continuing to grow as we build the profile and deeper understanding of Māori culture in New Zealand," she said. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had high hopes for the future of Māori tourism. "Māori tourism can do so well and it always has done so well," he said. "I've been offshore with Māori tourism operators on visits in my past life as well, and I reckon they do the best. "They do so well because they just connect culturally and they connect through the culture and they build great relationships and they've got some of our highest quality products." The government's roadmap for the tourism industry was expected to be released soon. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
