Former All Blacks Coach Derided For Suggesting Crazy Rule Change
Speaking to Stuff.co.nz, former All Blacks coach Wayne Smith said that he would like to see driving mauls removed from the game. Wayne Smith hammered for bizarre rule change suggestionWayne Smith has a huge amount of experience in top level rugby. *Referee* the driving maul. https://t.co/nGtmgfDJv5 — Minister Yombane (@Lloydbhudda) February 15, 2023It's a good job no teams Wayne Smith coached scored tries from rolling mauls? While some people would clearly like to see it removed from the sport, there is very little chance that the driving maul is going anywhere anytime soon.
Source:Stuff
February 17, 2023 01:24 UTC
Brothers break down in tears, embrace in aftermath of flood destruction
While Philip made it onto his roof, Chris and his family were panicking inside their home as the waters rose rapidly around them. Bedraggled teddy bear left buried in mud by Cyclone Gabrielle View GalleryCars and vehicles were left swamped in Esk Valley as thick mud destroyed vast swaths of land. (Chris Skelton/Stuff)Urban Search and Rescue teams have been on the ground in Esk Valley checking on property and survivors. The Esk Valley was given little warning about the rain. (Chris Skelton/Stuff)Homes in Hawke's Bay have been left buried in thick silt and mud left behind by flooding after Cyclone Gabrielle swept through.
Source:Stuff
February 17, 2023 00:43 UTC
Live: Potentially thousands of HB residents yet to be contacted - PM; reports of more victims
Hipkins arrived in Napier this morning along with Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty, Forestry Minister and Napier MP Stuart Nash and Minister Meka Whaitiri who is MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti. Earlier, a 59-year-old woman was found dead in the roof cavity of her cottage in Puketapu, west of Napier. ‘Stop using water now’Gisborne residents have been told to “stop using water now” as the region faces more setbacks due to the failure of a water treatment plant at Waipaoa. Don’t turn your taps on.”In Auckland, a fresh evacuation order has been issued for residents in Muriwai today. The Herald understands a temporary morgue has been set up at Napier Port by police and the Defence Force.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 17, 2023 00:19 UTC
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Champion swimmer’s tragic final moments at Sydney’s Bondi Beach
Peter Michaelson with his daughter Siena and wife Leeanne. Photo / via news.com.auThe tragic final moments of a champion swimmer who died after diving head-first into underwater rocks at Sydney’s Bondi Beach have been revealed. Married father-of-one Peter Michaelson, 57, had swum out to Flat Rock - 300 metres from the beach - when he dived back into the water, as he always did. He leaves behind his wife Leeanne, who was in Perth at the time of the accident, and his 17-year-old daughter Siena. But his greatest love was his wife Leeanne and daughter Siena.”The fundraiser has gathered more than $50,000 in donations.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 16, 2023 23:26 UTC
Reserve Bank “already done enough” on interest rates
Toplis also believes the Reserve Bank should lower its expected terminal rate by 25 basis points to around 5.25%. We have long said market pricing on the day could be the deciding factor for the Reserve Bank given the line-ball nature of the decision. Current market pricing is headed toward 50…We remain in the camp that says the Reserve Bank should now be moderating the pace of increase. The Reserve Bank has its foot firmly planted on the brake. However, we remain of the view that the ultimate peak may be as low as 5.0% rather than the 5.5% the Reserve Bank currently forecasts and the market currently is giving a nod to.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 16, 2023 23:15 UTC
The Privatisation Two-Step: Is Three Waters A Masterpiece Of Misdirection?
A strong case can be made that the popular struggle to reclaim Bolivia’s privatised water resources laid the groundwork for the nation’s sharp political turn to the Left. New Zealanders’ experience of the neoliberal privatisations of the 1980s and 1990s – and the partial privatisation of energy generators in the 2010s – has left a sizeable portion of the population implacably hostile to the privatisation process. All the foreign investors need to identify is an appropriate vector through which their two-step process – indigenisation to privatisation – can be realised. Who else but the true instigators of the project: the always silent, always patient, foreign investors. Is Act just another dupe of the foreign investors’ bait-and-switch operation, or is it surreptitiously giving them a helping hand?
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 16, 2023 22:52 UTC
Please donate: How you can help victims of Cyclone Gabrielle - Newstalk ZB/NZ Herald team up with Red Cross
Donate here: redcross.org.nz/nz-disaster-fundThe devastation and heartache caused by Cyclone Gabrielle has affected hundreds of thousands of people and its effects will be felt for a long time to come. To help people in the areas impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, Newstalk ZB, the NZ Herald and parent company NZME are teaming up with the New Zealand Red Cross in a fundraising appeal. The Red Cross has set up a special NZ disaster fund to help those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other extreme weather events. According to the New Zealand Red Cross, the best way to help in a situation like this is to make a monetary donation. All the funds from this appeal will go straight to the New Zealand Red Cross to reach those who need it the most right now.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 16, 2023 22:16 UTC
Breakfast briefing; Aussie labour market shrinks
Here's our summary of key economic events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news the Aussie labour market is now shedding jobs in an unexpected development. This 'canary' metric isn't yet showing the expected labour market shift to tougher conditions. Officially, prices for new houses in China fell -1.5% in January from a year ago. But given this market is in the doldrums with few sales (and low demand), it is doubtful this tells the real story. But credit impairment charges did rise from low levels.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 16, 2023 21:47 UTC
Richard Cockerill laughs off Wayne Smith's call to outlaw the maul
England forwards coach Richard Cockerill has laughed off suggestions that the maul should be outlawed following comments from former All Blacks coach Wayne Smith. “legalised obstruction”Smith led the Black Ferns to Rugby World Cup glory last year and helped mastermind the All Blacks’ 2011 and 2015 World Cup successes. “Generally, the teams that moan about the maul are the teams that aren’t very good at it. “We have spent more time on it, and we have had a lot of dialogue with the referees, especially Wayne Barnes, Joel Jutge and Phil Davies from World Rugby,” he said. READ MORE: Six Nations: Richard Cockerill expects off-field issues to “galvanise” Wales
Source:Stuff
February 16, 2023 21:47 UTC
Winery announces Sting concert but reads room
Mission Estate Winery Concert has been told to “read the room” after it announced the Sting concert would go ahead on March 4. “About the STING [sic] Concert, we have commenced the programmed build with the view that the Sting Concert will proceed on Saturday 4 March. “We are lucky the Mission Estate Winery Concert site is in relatively good condition and is improving by the day. The Mission Estate Winery Concert team has been approached for comment. Meanwhile, a post from Mission Estate Winery, which runs the winery but not the concert, said there was limited communication at the site due to power being off in Napier.
Source:Stuff
February 16, 2023 21:19 UTC
Cyclone Gabrielle live updates: Ongoing disaster after extraordinary flood
CHRIS SKELTONChris Barber hugs his brother Philip after the pair were reunited on the thick silt and mud that destroyed Chris's home when floodwaters swept through Esk Valley near Napier.
Source:Stuff
February 16, 2023 20:59 UTC
Christchurch murder trial: Vanished man's mother says defendant used to call her 'Mum'
Former Corrections officer David Benbow, 54, denies murdering Christchurch builder Michael McGrath who disappeared on May 22, 2017. Benbow’s defence team has warned the jury at the High Court in Christchurch of “investigative bias” and “tunnel vision” from police early in its investigations. Today, the court has heard from McGrath’s mother Adrienne McGrath who recounted a loyal, reliable private son who would “anything for anybody”. She told how McGrath and Benbow had been friends and they would occasionally come to her Halswell home. David Charles Benbow denies murdering Michael McGrath and is standing trial at the High Court in Christchurch.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 16, 2023 20:39 UTC
NZ Herald reporter: The cyclone damage in Puketapu resembles 'bomb site'
In Hawke's Bay, many communities face another night without power, with 37,000 homes out across the region, more than three quarters of them in Napier. Essential supplies are getting to isolated parts of Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti. NZ Herald reporter Adam Pearse visited rural Hawke's Bay town Puketapu today. He says the village looks like a bomb site, with roads covered in mud and water and homes destroyed. LISTEN ABOVE
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 16, 2023 18:00 UTC
Media not a ‘tool for government’, says critic of new PNG draft policy
Dr Merrell said this in response to the Papua New Guinea government’s new draft national media development policy. “The only media doing that, should be their own (government) public relations department. “Newspapers are not to be mixed with public relations departments. “Instead of the media being the government’s watchdog, the government is trying to become the media’s watchdog,” she said. “What the policy maker must understand is that the media is concerned with the ‘public’ interest not the ‘national’ interest.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 16, 2023 16:31 UTC
Gavin Ellis: Thank God for news media in a storm
I need information and, if I have to cut my way through a jungle of official sources, I will still be in the rain forest when Gabby takes me in her crushing embrace. Good overall pictureI have been well-served by news media — websites, television, and radio — keeping me updated on the impact of the cyclone. I know power outages are affecting 58,000 households and where this has closed supermarkets and stores. There was a link to Auckland Emergency Management (that hard to remember name). All I can say is thank God for news media.
Source:New Zealand Herald
February 16, 2023 13:19 UTC