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Mother of missing children ‘holding out every hope’ they are safe

By
Kaniva Staff
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By RNZ.co.nz. Republished with permission

The mother of three children who are missing along with their father says she’s holding out hope during an incredibly difficult time.

Locals and Landsar personnel at Kiritehere Beach where Thomas Phillips' car was found.
Locals and Landsar personnel at Kiritehere Beach where Thomas Phillips’ car was found. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin

Thomas Phillips, 34, and his three young children, Jayda Jin, 8, Maverick Callum-Phillips, 6, and Ember Phillips, 5, were last seen by family at Marokopa on Saturday evening.

Thomas had custody of the children and had been looking after them for the past three years, after returning from the South Island when his marriage did not work out.

In a statement via the police, the children’s mother has pleaded for anyone with information as to their whereabouts to come forward.

“We are just asking that anyone who might have any information, no matter how small or insignificant they think it might be, to contact police and tell them,” the statement said.

She thanked all those who have offered support and who have been involved with the search.

Phillips’ vehicle was found south of Kiritehere Beach on Sunday by members of the public.

Police vehicle parked at Kiritehere Beach.
A police vehicle parked at Kiritehere Beach. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin

In a statement the Phillips’ family said they immediately contacted authorities when they were advised that Tom’s vehicle had been found on Kiritehere Beach as this was out of character.

They said it was not unusual for the family to visit the farm where they were last seen so the children could visit cousins and grandparents.

The statement said that Tom loved to whitebait with his children and the family did not notice any noticeable change in Tom’s behaviour when they last saw him.

“It is possible that they were all swept off the beach as the sea was particularly wild over the weekend,” the statement said.

The Phillipps family said that they hoped Tom had taken the children camping somewhere and that they were safe – but that they had no knowledge that he planned to do this.

Police said further ground-based coastline searches were conducted today in the Marokopa and Kiritehere areas, but an air search could not be conducted due to unfavourable weather.

Police said Raglan Surf Life Saving Club began a shoreline search this afternoon using inflatable rescue boats and a jetski and it’s hoped conditions will allow this to continue tomorrow.

Teen’s death investigated but no evidence of link to vaccine – Chief Coroner

By
Kaniva Staff
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By RNZ.co.nz. Republished with permission.

The chief coroner says there is no evidence an Auckland teenager’s death is linked to their Covid-19 vaccination.

Chief Coroner Judge Deborah Marshall

In a statement, Judge Deborah Marshall said so far only one death had been associated with the vaccine.

She said she was aware of “ongoing speculation” about the death of the teenager which was recently referred to the Coroner’s Court.

“Based on the information available to date, it does not appear that the death in question is linked to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

“However, this issue will be investigated carefully by the coroner and pertinent information will be requested from various agencies, including the Covid-19 Vaccination Independent Safety Monitoring Board.

“It could be a number of months before the final post-mortem report is received and all information relating to this death is obtained from relevant agencies.”

Six arrested in Tonga, New Zealand following 30kg meth seized in shipping container

By
Kaniva Staff
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Tonga police have arrested and charged a 45-year-old man from Nukuhetulu in connection with the seizure of 30 kilograms of methamphetamine found in a shipping container from Tonga in Auckland.

Meanwhile, New Zealand authorities have arrested five suspects and charged them with importation of methamphetamines from Tonga, Detective Acting Deputy Commissioner Halatoa Tāufa said.

The illicit drugs, with approximated street value of NZ$15 million, were concealed in a refrigerated food container.

They were intercepted through a joint operation by the New Zealand Customs and Police in early August,  Tāufa said.

“Through a strong partnership between law enforcement in New Zealand and Tonga, the Tonga Police DET conducts parallel investigations in Tonga that led to the arrest of the accused person who has been placed on remand while investigations continue,” Taufa said.

“Law enforcement from both countries will continue to work together and share
information to ensure these transnational drug trafficking organisations are identified,
dismantled and those responsible held accountable.

“New Zealand Customs’ recent arrest of five people in New Zealand for importing methamphetamine from Tonga with further arrest in Tonga is an excellent example of this trans-pacific law enforcement partnership in action.

“Please contact Police on phone 740-1660 or 922 if you have any information on any drug related activity.”

The New Zealand and Tonga arrests came after an estimated 14kgs of cocaine washed up on beaches in Vava’u.

Tongan police seized the haul and an ongoing investigation has seen 21 people charged so far including three foreigners.

Petition aims to change official name to Aotearoa

By
Sisi Latu
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By RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission. 

Te Pāti Māori has launched a petition to change the official name of New Zealand to Aotearoa.

Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer

Te Pāti Māori leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas

Māori Party co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer today launched the petition which aims to change the name to Aotearoa and use te reo Māori names for all towns, cities and places by 2026.

“It’s well past time that te reo Māori was restored to its rightful place as the first and official language of this country. We are a Polynesian country, we are Aotearoa,” Waititi said.

“Our petition calls on Parliament to change New Zealand to Aotearoa and begin a process, alongside whānau, hapū and iwi, to identify and officially restore the original te reo Māori names for all towns, cities and places right across the country by 2026.

“Tangata whenua are sick to death of our ancestral names being mangled, bastardised, and ignored. It’s the 21st Century, this must change.

“Article 3 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi promises tangata whenua the same rights as British citizens, that te reo Māori me ōna tikanga katoa be treated and valued exactly the same as the English language – ko te mana ōrite tērā,” Waititi said.

Ngarewa-Packer said name changes over the whenua and the imposition of a colonial agenda in the education system in the early 1900s meant that te reo Māori fluency among tūpuna went from 90 percent in 1910 to 26 percent in 1950.

“In only 40 years, the colonisers managed to successfully strip us of our language and we are still feeling the impacts of this today,” she said.

“A year ago today Te Pāti Māori launched our te reo Māori policy which addresses the dire fact that current estimates show that only 20 percent of the Māori population and 3 percent of people living in Aotearoa can speak te reo Māori.

“It is the duty of the Crown to do all that it can to restore the status of our language to where it was when the moment they arrived and interrupted our natural development. That means it needs to be accessible in the most obvious of places; on our televisions, on our radio stations, on road signs and maps and in our education system.”

Asked about the petition this afternoon, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would not commit to supporting such a move, but said place names could continue to be used interchangably as te reo Māori is an official language.

“We’ve got no plans to go through an official process to change the name of New Zealand, but I would say at the same time that actually I’m encouraged by the fact that people are using place names interchangably and I think that will only continue to grow.

“Te reo Māori’s an official language and so therefore we use those names interchangably and I think we should continue to do so.”

Woman refusing mask at supermarket returns with men, assaults guard – police

By
Sisi Latu
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By RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission. 

Two people have been arrested and charged after a security guard at Takanini Pak’nSave was assaulted.

No caption

Photo: Pak ‘n Save

In a statement, police said a woman had refused to wear a face covering and became aggressive, then left the store but she returned later with two men.

She then punched the guard, and the two men chased the guard with weapons, police said.

They said a woman, 26, had been arrested and charged with failing to wear a face covering, and a patched Black Power member – a man, 33 – was charged with assault with a weapon.

“Police will be conducting reassurance patrols at the supermarket today and to ensure there is support available for the victim in this matter,” they said.

“Police have no tolerance for this behaviour, particularly towards essential workers going about their work who should not have to tolerate this kind of act.”

Countdown supermarkets have also reported an increase in assaults on staff across the country, saying it was around the rules to wear masks.

Police said there were other cases of people failing to comply with public health orders, with 73 people charged with a total of 77 offences since alert level 4 came into force, and 165 given formal warnings.

Crossing the Auckland boundary

There were also cases of people trying to cross the Auckland boundary.

A woman, 33, was arrested in Whangārei and charged after travelling there from Auckland. Police said she had been turned around after trying to leave the supercity, and was believed to have then travelled on private property to avoid the police checkpoint.

She is due to appear at Whangārei District Court on 23 September.

A 25-year-old man in breach of his bail conditions was also arrested after being stopped on State Highway 1 in Kauri, having driven through the checkpoints from Auckland into Northland.

He had deliberately misinformed the officers, saying his bail conditions had changed, police said. He is due to appear at Papakura District Court on 4 October.

One man attempted to enter Auckland region from the south, claiming to be going to collect a prescription at a pharmacy. He was refused entry after police checked with the pharmacy.

Police said a total of 102,075 vehicles had been stopped at the 10 checkpoints between 1 September and midnight last night, with 1267 of those turned back for non-essential travel.

The majority of vehicles, 83,332, were stopped on Auckland’s southern border.

Consultant’s people-first approach helps ease the stress of immigration woes

By
Kalino Latu
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This story by Kalino Lātū was first published by Te Waha Nui. 

A Tongan immigration consultant with a people-first approach has been hailed for helping those with few other options.

Koli Vanisi (R). Afu’alo Tupoumālohi, Hailoame Tupoumālohi. Photo/Supplied

After winning New Zealand residency for a Tongan woman suffering from kidney failure, immigration consultant Koli Vānisi was happy to wait to be paid.

He said he did not enforce payment if he knew clients did not have the money or had paid a large amount to other consultants before turning to his services.

His leniency towards clients means those who struggle to afford immigration services know there is someone who can help.

“It is important for me to put my assistance first, then money,” Vanisi told Te Waha Nui.

“They are Tongans and I can wear their shoes and see how tough and struggling their situations are.

“Some have paid thousands to consultancies before they were told their application had been declined and there was nothing else they could do about it.”

His approach was appreciated by a former client who was interviewed by TWN recently.

Alaimoana Tautua’ā said she still owed money to Vānisi for his immigration services after he successfully appealed the decision on the immigration application she had made for herself and her children.

She said Vānisi had not asked for the payment after learning her husband had died.

Vānisi, who is the director of the Pacific Immigration Consultancy, said he felt it was now easier to face Immigration New Zealand after he recently won the hardest and rarest of the cases he had fought before the Immigration Tribunal.

One of those cases was for 60-year-old Hailoa Tupoumālohi and her husband Afu’alo Tupoumālohi, 61. They initially held temporary visas but were then unlawfully in New Zealand after 2007.

Vanisi said Tupoumālohi’s application was the kind that had been only successfully appealed before the tribunal by immigration consultants with a legal background.

Immigration New Zealand declined their application for residency after Hailoa was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure, and she was placed on haemodialysis treatment three times a week.

Because her husband had overstayed his visa, Immigration New Zealand declined her application on the basis she was not supported by an eligible New Zealand citizen or resident partner.

When appealing her application before the tribunal, Vānisi also submitted a letter from a renal specialist advising that a return to Tonga would result in Hailoa’s early death, possibly within weeks of return.

The tribunal found she and her husband’s circumstances warranted a recommendation to the Minister of Immigration for consideration of an exception to Government residence instructions.

It referred to Tupoumalohi’s life-threatening condition and the problems she would face if she had to return to Tonga.

The Associate Minister of Immigration, Phil Twyford, decided a residence-class visa should be granted to the couple.

Assault charges against All Black Shannon Frizell dismissed after police diversion

By
Kaniva Staff
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By RNZ.co.nz. Republished with permission

Three charges of assault against All Black Shannon Frizell have been dismissed after the 27-year-old completed police diversion.

His case was called in the Dunedin District Court this morning, though he was excused from appearing.

The charges relate to an incident in a Dunedin bar in May, where he was accused of assaulting a woman and her partner.

A police spokesperson confirmed the charges were withdrawn after Frizell completed diversion.

Police also confirmed he was not required to meet with the victims.

Covid-19: Aucklanders in seven suburbs told to get a test even without symptoms

By
Kaniva Staff
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By RNZ.co.nz. Republished with permission.

People in seven key Auckland suburbs are being encouraged to get a Covid-19 test even if they have no symptoms.

Mt Eden, Massey, Māngere, Favona, Ōtara, Papatoetoe and Manurewa are under increased scrutiny by health officials because of their links to mystery cases or clusters that may have unexpected cases.

Counties Manukau District Health Board chief executive Margie Apa said it was most important they get tested if they had symptoms – but they also wanted people without symptoms to come forward.

“We have continued to see a small number of unlinked positives cases – these are cases where the person has not visited known locations of interest, has not already been identified as a contact of a positive case, and they have not always had typical or obvious Covid-19 symptoms,” she said in a statement.

“We want to cast a wide geographical net around the location of known clusters and unlinked cases so we particularly want to see more families and household bubbles from seven Auckland suburbs of interest come out to get tested.”

A deserted central Auckland in the midst of the August 2021 lockdown.
A deserted central Auckland in the midst of the August 2021 lockdown. Photo: RNZ / Robert Smith

The surveillance testing would help them find out whether there were any undetected chains of transmission, Apa said.

People who do not have symptoms and get a one-off Covid-19 test for surveillance purposes do not need to isolate while they wait for the result.

Four hundred extra testers have been trained in the past few weeks to help in Auckland.

Today, the Ministry of Health confirmed 33 new community cases of Covid-19, all in Auckland.

There were 4250 Covid-19 tests done in Auckland in the last 24 hours – with the total number of tests done nationwide during that time at 8657.

Covid-19 updates on 13 Sep – everything you need to know

By
Sisi Latu
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By RNZ.co.nz and is republished with permission.

Auckland District Health Board will only be allowing patient visits on compassionate grounds, after a nurses union launched legal action challenging its policy around visitors.

Auckland will stay in Covid-19 alert level 4 until 11.59pm next Tuesday, when cabinet has made an in principle decision that Tāmaki Makaurau will then move to alert level 3.

From 7am on Tuesday morning, visits to Auckland Hospital will be restricted to compassionate grounds.

This follows the New Zealand Nurses Organisation taking legal action against the health board to tighten up its visitor policy to match Counties Manukau and Waitematā DHBs.

Previously, Auckland Hospital patients were allowed to nominate two visitors, one of whom could visit on any one day.

Man injured after exchange of gunfire with police during Tongatapu drug bust

By
Kaniva Staff
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A man has been hospitalised with critical injuries after an exchange of gunfire with police during a drugs raid in Tongatapu yesterday.

Illicit drugs and handgun seized by police at the scene. Photo/Supplied

Police arrested three people at around 1am on Sunday, September 12. They were a 17 and a 50 year-old men from Poutaha and a 47 year old man from Kolonga but residing at
Hala’ovave.

The three were traveling east in a rental car on Hihifo Road when Police stopped them for breaching the curfew restriction.

Upon search, the 47-year-old man was found in possession of 8.92 grams of cocaine, Detective Acting Deputy Commissioner HalatoaTāufa said.

During the search of his residence at Hala’ovave, a 32 year old male suspect used a
.22 handgun revolver to point and shoot at Police but missed, which caused Police,
in defence to shoot the suspect on his left arm, causing the suspect to surrender the
gun and himself, Tāufa said.

The suspect sustained injuries to his left arm and ribcage. He was rushed by Police to Vaiola Hospital where he remains  in a stable condition.

Further drugs were seized from the residence including 1.67 grams of methamphetamine and 1.38 grams of cannabis. Also seized were drug utensils and 1 x .22 handgun revolver, 40 x .22 and 1 x 9mm bullets and 12 (.22) empty cartridges.

A 24 year old female was arrested during the raid.

“Our ultimate responsibility is to protect life – the life of our people as well as that of
our police officers. The life of the officers in this police operation was under threat
which called for the use of necessary force to eliminate such threat.”

“For the safety of the public, we urge for the return to Police of illegal firearms. It
would not be wise to use a firearm to threaten any person or police officers as there
will be consequences as we have witnessed from this police operation.”

Contact Police on phone 740-1660 or 922 if you have any information on any drug
related activity or illegal firearms.

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