Three manufacturing businesses have been hit with more than $500,000 in penalties since mid-March after workers lost fingers in unsafe machinery.
All three incidents — investigated and prosecuted by WorkSafe — involved a “failure to follow basic machine safety standards”, WorkSafe principal inspector Mark Donaghue said today in statement.
“All three cases are from the manufacturing sector – which has a persistent problem with machine safeguarding and is one of the country’s high-risk industries.”
In the first case, a worker at Thompson Engineering in Timaru had two fingers amputated while a third was degloved after getting caught in a punch and shear machine in January 2022. The regular machine had been out of order. The business was recently fined $247,500 and ordered to pay reparations of $35,000.
It was followed by a worker who had three fingers partially amputated while using a punch and forming press at Anglo Engineering, in Auckland, in March 2022. In sentencing, Judge Lisa Tremewan referred to “an unintended complacency” at the business and that it is “critical that robust practices are employed by those within the relevant industries”. A fine of $200,000 was imposed, and reparations of $35,337 were ordered.
In the third case, a worker at Fleixon Plastics in Auckland had been cleaning a machine when it amputated two fingers and degloved a third in August 2022. An on/off switch had been knocked into operation because the interlock wasn’t functioning. A fine of $74,392 was imposed, and reparations of $33,000 were ordered.
“These sorts of incidents are avoidable. Workers should not be suffering harm like this in 2024, and businesses have no excuse,” Donaghue said.
“WorkSafe is notified of machine guarding incidents from across the country every week and is regularly prohibiting dangerous machinery as part of its proactive and targeted assessments. WorkSafe has a role to influence business to make sure they keep people healthy and safe – that’s why we’re speaking out on this issue.”
Donaghue advised businesses that are uncertain about “whether your safeguarding is up to scratch” to speak to a qualified expert.
Workplaces have been required to safeguard machinery since the Machinery Act 1950 took effect.
The reasons young people end up joining gangs and committing crimes are “very complex”, a community worker with decades of experience says.
On Sunday night, Robert Horne, 33, was shot and killed in a seemingly random act by a gang member in Auckland.
The man now known as the Ponsonby shooter, Hone Kay-Selwyn became a Killer Beez member at age 14, soon dropping out of school.
Court records show Kay-Selwyn was deemed to have a low risk of re-offending after assaulting a stranger at a strip club in 2020.
A pre-sentencing report noted he was bullied in school and had said his gang membership provided him with a “sense of belonging”.
Gang member Hone Kay-Selwyn’s body is being taken from the Massey area to Ōtara today, police said.
At the TYLA Trust, No’oroa Moutira-Pianui has “daily contact” with teenagers inside the youth justice system. He can spend up to two years working with a single young person.
“You might be missing something at home. [Gangs are] offering you food, offering you clothes. If somebody’s offering you friendship, a place to have a good night’s sleep, and food why would you not join?” he said.
“A lot of young people that we deal with either come from single-family homes — and poverty has a lot to do with it.”
Moutira-Pianui said there were a lot of risk factors that added up, which could mean a person in their early teens choosing to join a gang. He said sports and other programmes which kept young offenders busy often helped in his work.
“We believe that if you keep a young person busy, they’re less likely to think about joining a gang or committing crimes because they’re too busy doing something else — something positive that they’re being praised for.”
(file image) (Source: 1News)
However, the youth worker said one factor that didn’t matter as much was the threat of tough sentences or prison time.
Govt to bring in ‘social investment’ approach
The Government has plans to bring in its social investment approach with a new agency from July.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has previously spoken of using “powerful interventions” to get at the root causes of criminal behaviour.
Under the approach, Finance Minister Nicola Willis told 1News that agencies will choose the best programmes and give them the time to produce results.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis. (Source: 1News)
“With really powerful social investment, the proof will sometimes be five, 10, or 20 years down the track,” she said.
“That’s much longer than any government, but it’s still change worth making.”
The previous Labour government spent tens of millions boosting education and work programmes for youngsters.
The National Party leader says a new approach is needed to help let Kiwis lead more prosperous lives.
“The biggest questions we always ask in our job: The person who makes these policies — what are their experiences in the frontline?
“Have they been to the frontline and experienced real-life people and real-life families? And not just figures and the paperwork? That’s one of the biggest questions.
“There’s been numerous questions that governments have been asking for, how many years, and there’s no one solution to these things.”
Four teenagers — the oldest aged 14 — have been arrested after a spate of alleged assaults and aggravated robberies across west Auckland.
New Lynn station. (Source: Google Maps)
Police now allege the group of teens had been “committing the bulk of the recent offending” around New Lynn, Henderson and Westgate.
Inspector Kelly Farrant said officers spotted masked young people late this morning while they investigated an alleged incident from last Friday.
“Police were in Green Bay making enquiries into an alleged incident that occurred there, last Friday, when they sighted a group of young people in the area wearing masks.
“We spoke to the group and recognised them as youths wanted in connection to several alleged assaults and robberies and they were taken into custody,” she said.
Two 13-year-olds were now scheduled to appear in the Waitākere Youth Court later this month charged with multiple counts of aggravated robbery. A 12-year-old and a 14-year-old have also been referred to Youth Aid “for aggravated robberies and an assault”.
Inspector Farrant said the involvement of kids as young as age 12 was “deeply troubling”.
“We recognise that the involvement of young people in such serious crimes is deeply troubling, especially when offenders are as young as 12-years-old,” she said.
Hayley Courtney from union representing bus drivers says violence on public transport has reached “crisis” levels.
“Aggravated robberies and assaults on young people are serious offences and police will act swiftly to respond to, investigate and hold offenders to account.”
Police and community groups would continue to have an “increased and visible presence” around the New Lynn bus and train station. Last week, students were urged to avoid the station area over fears of an after-school mass brawl.
Farrant said: “Our response is not only about enforcement but also about prevention and intervention.
“We are working closely with our partners at Auckland Transport, Auckland Council, local schools and local boards to ensure that our transport hubs and town centres are safe places to visit and transit through.
“Police also work closely with social services and community organisations to address the factors that lead young people to engage in criminal behaviour.”
There are long queues outside shopping centres in the New Caledonian capital Nouméa, amid unrest in the French territory.
The unrest comes amid proposed constitutional changes, which could strengthen voting rights for anti-independence supporters in New Caledonia. Photo: Screengrab / NC la 1ère
There are long queues outside shopping centres in the New Caledonian capital Nouméa, amid unrest in the French territory.
The unrest comes amid proposed constitutional changes, which could strengthen voting rights for anti-independence supporters in New Caledonia.
A Nouméa resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, told RNZ Pacific people have started panic buying in scenes reminiscent of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A lot of fire, violence…but it’s better. I stay safe at home. There are a lot of police and army. I want the government to put the action for the peace (sic).”
Authorities have put in a curfew for Nouméa and its surrounds, from 6pm tonight to 6am tomorrow.
Airports are closed due to protest action.
Public services and schools in the affected areas announced they were sending staff and students home on Monday, and that they would remain closed for the next few days.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, who is on a five-country Pacific mission this week, has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to the unrest.
Peters and a delegation of other ministers were due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week.
By 1news.co.nz and is republished with permission.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has revealed a specialised National Gang Unit to tackle gang crime across the country will be established.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster. (Source: 1News)
Speaking from the Auckland Central Police Station, Coster announced the establishment of a National Gang Unit and District Disruption Units to target crime, harm and intimidation caused by gangs.
“The National Gang Unit will be established as a continuation of our work, and build our operational capability further,” he said.
There were no targets, and was to be funded by a mix of reprioritised and new investment.
Coster said incoming legislation will provide police with more tools to ensure communities feel safe.
He said the unit would work with police districts and other gang units across the country to focus on the policing of gang events.
“New Zealand is still one of the safest places to live, but the changing gang landscape means that police will continue to adapt to tackle these challenges head-on.
“We want to deliver the best results for our communities.”
Coster said the unit would likely be made up of between 25 and 30 people, as well as district teams of around seven people per unit.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the announced changes were “clamping down on the serious gang problem we have in New Zealand”.
He cited the fatal shooting of Robert Sidney Horne last weekend on Ponsonby Rd by Killer Beez gang member Hone Kay-Selwyn.
“We’re not putting up with it any more and we have a big programme as the incoming government around public safety.”
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Police Minister Mark Mitchell speak in Auckland. (Source: 1News)
He said the Government had given police additional powers to crack down on gangs, including banning gang patches in public places and giving police extra powers to stop gang members congregating.
“We want to send out a very clear message; if you continue to peddle drugs, if you continue to perpetuate violent sexual offending in our community and if you continue to break the law and think you’re above the law, then under this Government things are going to change radically.
“These gang disruption units that are going to be based in the districts, are going to be very effective in making sure that if a gang member, or a gang, pops their head above the parapet, then police are going to have a strong response to deal with that.”
Mitchell said he wants “resources on the front line”.
“We have a plan to recruit 500 additional police and we’re giving them powers to crack down on gang offending, introducing legislation to ban all gang insignia in public, create greater powers to stop criminal gangs from gathering in groups and communicating, and give greater weight to gang membership at sentencing,” he said.
Once the unit was established, the work of Operation Cobalt would continue through it.
The National Gang Unit will be in place by July 1.
Labour says National’s gang crime approach a ‘rebrand’
Labour’s police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said Mitchell had “rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their [National’s] approach to gang crime”.
In a statement, Andersen recapped the work Labour had done while in power to try and tackle the issue.
“I’m glad the strong law enforcement focus on gangs under Operation Cobalt and Tauwhiro will be embedded into each Police District. This was supported and funded by Labour,” Andersen said.
“Labour also funded the National Gang Unit. It was called the National Organised Crime Group. In 2022, we invested $94.5m to support the Government’s cross-agency response to organised crime, including through the Resilience to Organised Crime in Communities programme, Transnational Organised Crime Strategy and programmes focused on preventing the harm to New Zealand communities caused and exacerbated by drugs, firearms violence and serious criminal offences.”
Andersen said — unlike Labour — National had put no extra resources today into tackling gangs and organised crime, all with police pay negotiations “still unresolved after six months”.
“Just like they won’t pay police properly for the extra work they’re asking them to do.
“Mark Mitchell couldn’t say how many people would be in what he says are ‘new’ units, what they would do or how they would be funded — this is a rebrand of Labour’s approach, not anything new.”
Govt’s ‘misguided’ gang policy will ‘fail’ – Greens
The Greens police spokesperson Tamatha Paul said: “The Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail.”
She said gangs thrive where poverty and a lack of opportunity are present.
“Liveable incomes, employment and education opportunities, good housing — these are the things that truly crack down on gang membership.”
Paul also said the state created gangs through trauma inflicted on tamariki in state care “and by keeping communities impoverished”.
“Meeting trauma with punishment isn’t going to work,” she said.
“Recent cases of gang violence and crime will be scary for communities. But letting loose the police on steroids is not going to address the problem of organised crime, prevent violence, or keep people safe.
“Being more proactive about addressing gang activity shouldn’t include taking measures which inflame tensions with gangs, are practically unworkable and also take away police resources from other priority areas.
“We need action to address the underlying drivers of crime and what causes people to join gangs in the first place, not more of the same simplistic solutions that we know do not work, and ultimately see the cycle of crime continue.”
Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Winston Peters has taken a shot at North Korea after the authoritarian regime issued a warning to New Zealand and other countries about their surveillance of the Asia-Pacific region.
Winston Peters visited North Korea in 2007 to meet his counterpart Pak Vi Chun. (Source: 1News)
In a statement issued by KNCA, North Korea’s state-run news agency, the country’s foreign ministry called out the US and its allies for “irresponsible” surveillance of the region.
The statement explicitly mentioned New Zealand, alongside the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, and France. It claimed they were “encroaching upon the security interests of regional countries and escalating the military tension in the region” by dispatching warships and warplanes.
It closed with a threat, saying: “The DPRK will take necessary measures to firmly defend the sovereignty and security of the state”.
This morning, Peters shot back through a statement of his own, saying: “North Korea would better serve its people by meaningfully re-engaging with the international community through diplomacy rather than threats.
“New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018.
“North Korea, through its aggressive rhetoric and its supply of military-related technologies to Russia in support of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, once again threatens peace and stability in our region.”
Revisit the former Foreign Minister’s trip to the isolated nation in an attempt to help denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.
He travelled to the capital Pyongyang in 2007 while Foreign Minister under the Helen Clark-led Labour Government and met his counterpart Pak Ui Chun as part of an effort to denuclearise the country.
In his statement this morning, Peters spoke about the 2007 visit, delivering another punch.
“The window existed then for a diplomatic solution that had the potential to see North Korea abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes,” he said.
“If it had taken that sensible step, then North Korea and its citizens would today be a more secure and prosperous nation.”
“Instead, North Korea continues to defy UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions. The UNSC sanctions regime is a key element of the global effort to peacefully apply pressure on North Korea to denuclearise and abandon its ballistic missile programme.
He said it was “never too late” for diplomacy to “achieve what Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes never will”.
“Namely the reintegration of North Korea into the peaceful community of nations.
“Only then will its people have the full opportunity for the security and prosperity that a stable and peaceful region can offer.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has revealed his picks for the next All Blacks captain after Sam Cane revealed he would be stepping down from the role and quitting international rugby entirely at the end of 2024.
Cane, who has played 95 Tests, with 27 as captain, revealed yesterday he had signed a long-term contract with Japanese club Suntory Goliath.
He will return to NZ at the end of the current Japanese season and would be eligible for selection for the national side this season – but regardless – had stepped aside as captain.
When speaking to Breakfast this morning, the Prime Minister was asked by presenter Daniel Faitaua who he thinks should step into the vacant captaincy slot.
A proud Crusaders fan, the PM opted for some local talent to lead the team. (Source: Photosport, 1News) (Source: Supplied)
Initially, Luxon said: “There are lots of great leaders in the All Blacks,” before being swiftly cut off by Faitaua.
“Oh, don’t go diplomatic on me, Prime Minister,” Faitaua said.
Then, Luxon gave his honest take and said: “I love Ardie Savea.”
“I think he’s a fantastic leader, and I love the way he plays. I’m a big fan of his.”
But as a “Crusaders person”, he also had to “acknowledge Scott Barrett”, who is “pretty good too”.
Breakfast Presenter Chris Chang then jokingly suggested the roles be split, with one skipper in the first half of the season and the other in the second half of the season.
This was a reference to the Government’s deputy prime minister arrangement, which will see David Seymour take up the role halfway into the term, with Winston Peters in the role currently.
He said coach Scott Robertson had a plethora of choices to fill the now vacant role.
Also joining Breakfast this morning was veteran rugby commentator Grant Nisbett, who largely agreed with the Prime Minister.
“I think there’s probably a couple of candidates,” he said.
To him, the “favourite” was Scott Barrett.
Crusaders captain Scott Barrett stretches out to score a try in his team’s round one loss to the Chiefs. (Source: Photosport)
Incumbent All Black captain Sam Cane has announced his retirement from international rugby.
Sam Cane Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Cane, who is currently playing for Suntory in the Japanese Top League, said the decision was “a very hard one”.
“I love playing for the team that I represent here in New Zealand. But that won’t be the case … ultimately we made the decision to sign with Suntory, I really enjoyed my first year here.”
Having played 95 tests (27 as captain), the 32-year-old has decided to sign a long-term contract with Suntory in Tokyo. Cane said that his family situation was the main motivating factor for the decision, with wife Harriet expecting another child soon.
“If I was a single bloke then I could just solely worry about myself, probably stick around in New Zealand and go another (World Cup) cycle … but I have to start thinking about others … once you hit that 30-year-old mark you start thinking about life after rugby and how I’m going to provide for my loved ones.”
Incoming All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said: “After discussing this at length with Sam, I fully understand the reasons behind his decision and support him. The position he plays asks a lot of you mentally and physically – both of those things ramp up when you are captain. So to do what he’s done over such a long period is an incredible feat. I fully respect him taking this opportunity.”
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson also acknowledged Cane’s contribution.
“Sam is a special member of the All Blacks family and we have huge admiration for what he has achieved in the game. He has made significant contribution to New Zealand Rugby, and we are fully supportive of his decision to be with his family,” Robinson said.
32-year-old Cane’s last test for the All Blacks was the 12-11 loss to the Springboks in last year’s Rugby World Cup final in Paris. He was sent off in the first half for a dangerous tackle on Bok centre Jesse Kriel.
It capped off a tumultuous tenure in charge of the All Blacks for Cane, who also oversaw the team’s worst loss ever when they went down 35-7 to the Springboks at Twickenham last August, before rebounding to put on one of the greatest individual performances in the black jersey in the All Blacks’ 28-24 win over Ireland in the World Cup quarter final.
Cane has recently been out of action for Suntory for 10 weeks with a back injury.
Police are investigating fresh complaints in connection to “historical incidents” at the notorious central Christchurch bar Mama Hooch.
Photo: David Walker / Stuff
Brothers Danny and Roberto Jaz were sentenced last August to lengthy jail terms after they were found guilty of nearly 70 crimes, including rape, sexual violation and stupefying.
The pair used their positions at family businesses, including Mama Hooch and neighbouring Colombo Street restaurant Venuiti, to commit the slew of acts.
A police spokesperson said since the Operation Sinatra trial last year, they had received three complaints relating to historical incidents at Mama Hooch.
“Police won’t comment on the specifics of the complaints but they are continuing to investigate.”
One survivor of the case said there could be more women yet to come forward.
Sophie Brown said she was unsurprised new allegations had surfaced.
It was great to see complainants find the strength to come forward, as only a fraction of sexual assault cases get reported to police, she said.
Victims advocate Ruth Money said cases like this, which resurface when new allegations are made, can be a catch-22 for survivors.
“The trial itself was very triggering for a number of people particularly, of course, those ones who were the survivors who had disclosed at that time, but also these new ones who hadn’t disclosed yet.
