Source: Te Karere YouTube page
Police are investigating the unexplained death of a four-month-old baby girl in Waiuku, South Auckland yesterday afternoon. A post-mortem was carried out this morning however the results are inconclusive.
It's the festive season. A time to enjoy the sun, good food and the company of family and friends. But for some, Christmas celebrations can quickly turn into catastrophe. Over-indulgence fuel senseless acts of violence where men are usually the perpetrators and women and children are the victims. So how can such scenes of unhappiness be avoided? Te Ōkiwa McLean spoke to an expert in this field.
An independent review into the Losi Filipo case has made recommendations for the Wellington Rugby Union and has set out a ten year plan to change its culture.
Chair of the review, Dame Margaret Bazley, praised the union for managing a "difficult situation...as well as could be expected". However the review found policies, processes and documents used for dealing with off-field misconduct were inconsistent and out-dated. The review looked at processes and procedures the Wellington Rugby Union has in place for recruitment and management. The 18-year-old was initially discharged without conviction after assaulting four people, including two women, on a night out in Wellington. He was forced to go back to the high court in Wellington last month following public outcry, where he was sentenced to nine months supervision and ordered to do alcohol and violence counselling. The review into the Wellington Rugby Union's handling of the situation was announced not long after.
An organisation that helps the poor, desperate and vulnerable needs help too. Wellington City Mission says November's big quake has had an impact on their ability to gather donations. As Eruera Rerekura reports, both donations and supplies are well down compared to last year.
They've been protesting since November about a planned subdivision, but Fletchers Residential has just announced it's completed the purchase of the land in question. The site is at Ihumātao, Māngere and is adjacent to the historically significant Otuatauā site. But a local group who has occupied the land for a number of weeks refuse to accept the legitimacy of the land transaction.
More good news for Kaikōura today as Transport Minister Simon Bridges reopened State Highway 1 south of the coastal township. The highway is now open to all traffic for daytime travel restoring direct access to Kaikōura. More than 7000 truckloads of rock from 26 slips has to be moved to reopen the road. Travel will restricted to the hours of 6am to 8pm due to the risk of further slips. Work on the main highway north of Kaikōura continues. The government has committed $2 billion to fix the road and rail network to Kaikōura.
Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki's Lisa Carrington has been awarded the Lonsdale Cup for her extraordinary year on the water. The Lonsdale Cup was first presented in 1961 to Murray Halberg and has been awarded to outstanding New Zealand athletes including John Walker, Peter Snell, Barbara Kendall, Rob Waddell and Valerie Adams. It tops off a brilliant year for Carrington, who successfully defended her k200 Olympic title at Rio. She is also the first New Zealand woman to win two medals at one games.
Colin Cooper will coach the Chiefs from 2018. The Ngāti Pūkenga man will take over from current coach Dave Rennie at the end of the 2017. The current Māori All Blacks and Taranaki head coach has been coaching professionally for over 20 years, including eight seasons as in charge of the Hurricanes from 2003 - 2010. Rennie, of Cook Island descent, is departing to take up a coaching job in Scotland.
Under the scorching sun in Kumeu, they were severely tested in preparation for the fast approaching season. For the players returning from the arduous Northern Tour with the Māori All Blacks, it’s been a quick turn around and some were feeling the pinch.
Summer holidays are a time where many whānau are at the beach to swim, surf or gather kaimoana. But it's also a time where safety is paramount. Rob Hewitt of Maritime NZ is heading around the country trying to teach Māori how to be safe on the water this summer. Irena Smith caught up with him in Hawke's Bay.