Podcasts about Official Information Act

The Justice Minister says he's hunting for a solution to make sure victims of crime get their reparations. Figures released under the Official Information Act show almost half of all court-ordered reparation payments are overdue – $105 million owed to victims. Paul Goldsmith says there's scope for taking it out of people's benefits. He told Mike Hosking while they don't want to send people to prison, there needs to be an incentive to pay. Goldsmith says he's looking for an annoying and painful punishment that will make criminals pay up. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier is leaving his role next month after 10 years in the role. The current Government asked him to stay in the role after he quit last year as he approaches 72, the oldest someone can be in the position. His ten year term is coming to an end once and for all and he has a strong parting message. LISTEN ABOVE.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ombudsman has released a lengthy list of concerns about the Official Information Act ahead of his departure at the end of this month. Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

A raft of changes have been proposed for the Fisheries Act - including removing public access to on-boat camera footage through the Official Information Act. Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

On today's episode, the United States defence secretary Pete Hegseth says Ukraine cannot expect to return to its 2014 borders and has downplayed the chance of it becoming a member of NATO, the union representing 25,000 Health New Zealand workers has launched legal action to halt sweeping job cuts at the agency, a dispute between Israel and Hamas over the release of hostages has pushed the Gaza ceasefire deal closer to collapse, a raft of changes have been proposed for the Fisheries Act - including removing public access to on-boat camera footage through the Official Information Act, and McDonalds New Zealand is not ruling out appealing a decision from Commissioners, who decided not to grant consent to open a restaurant in Wanaka.

Documents released under the Official Information Act show just how close health officials came to shutting down Dargaville Hospital. Northland reporter Peter de Graaf has been looking at the documents and he spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The New Zealand Defence Force is making more cuts in a bid to help its nearly $130-million budget shortfall. Documents obtained by the NZ Herald under the Official Information Act show the NZDF is looking to scrap flu vaccines for all civilian staff, international travel for sports teams, some support to Gallipoli and staff gym memberships. The documents acknowledge the move could lead to “impact on morale and possible increased staff absence in the 2025 flu season”. Retired Lieutenant Colonel from Mission Homefront, Hayden Ricketts tells Tim Beveridge “this is just another series of symptoms from a defence force that is struggling to keep the aircraft flying, the ship sailing and the tanks driving”. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Health New Zealand incident report, obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act, reveals patient care may have been impacted in some regions when the Crowdstrike outage hit in July. Reporter Ellen O'Dwyer spoke to Corin Dann.

The newly appointed Minister for Rail Winston Peters has said very little about the Government's ferry plans, mostly sparring with Newstalk ZB host Heather du Plessis-Allan over her questions. “We inherited, coming back into government in 2023, an unholy mess where the costs were blowing out to $3.2 billion," Peters told her. “And then you had all the other uncertainties as well. That was not the project they were charged with doing when I was last Minister of Railways. “So this was a circumstance which took some time to unravel. But here we are set to go now, and very shortly we'll announce what the long-term future will be. “But what we want is efficient, effective transport systems in this country. And the ferry operations in the Cook Strait are critical to that,” he said. Peters said he was not trying to “better” any deal put up by Finance Minister Nicola Willis, as questioned by du Plessis-Allan. “No, no … for the third time, no,” Peters said. “Probably some claimed insiders have been telling you that, but it's not true. “The wider it gets reported, it just carries on. We've got to do better.” Peters said rushing out the Government's plans would “set the bottom price from where the shipbuilders will start increasing their profits - and we're not going to start making those silly mistakes”. “I just told you that three times and now I'm telling you a fourth time. “You'll have plenty of time under the Official Information Act in the future to find out whether what I'm saying is true. And when you do, can you please go on the programme and say, ‘I'm so sorry, I maligned Winston'.” The Government has announced their plans to procure replacements to replace the aging Interislander fleet. Photo / Mark Mitchell Peters said: “I admit it's taken too long. But we've been in the job less than one day, give us some time and we'll show you what we can do. “What you've got to do [as a Government] is find out from all sources what is the best option at the best price for the greatest level of efficiency with the greatest longevity.” Peters said the break fee was confidential “for a whole lot of reasons”. “Do you know anything about commercial practice? That's why it's confidential. Which law school did you go to? “This is embarrassing for the country, you're quite right. The darned boats were only 20% of the costs.” Peters sparred with du Plessis Allan several times. “You're telling me it's embarrassing? Of course, it is. I'm here to fix it and I'm going to fix it,” he told her. Peters said he had “no idea” about Act leader David Seymour's comments about the ferries. “Who said that was true?” Peters said in response to du Plessis Allan's questions. “You know, I've never seen so much rudeness. Somebody is trying to explain to you about a critical issue that costs so much to the taxpayer and you're interrupting. Here's the point: It'll cost way, way less than [iRex], and that, I'm certain.” He said the final decision would come “just as soon as we can responsibly make it”. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsroom releases a comprehensive analysis of the Coalitions' first year, and excessive use of fast-tracked bills, ignoring the Attorney General's advice around shortened timelines, and a lack-of-evidence approach to legislation. Costello is outed by the Official Information Act showing a lack of evidence, data and reviewed research to support the amendments of the Smokefree 2025 Action Plan. Benjamin Doyle, the newest Green MP to Parliament, fills the gap left by Darleen Tana who was Waka Jumped. They sit down for an interview on Q+A ================================= Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠ Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter. @patbrittenden @Chewie_NZ Follow us on BlueSky @iamprettyawesome.bsy.social @xkaosmagex.bsky.social

The Government's received advice on how Kiwibank can better compete with the large Australian-owned banks. It's in response to the Commerce Commission market study on personal banking. Documents released under the Official Information Act show Treasury wants to look at exploring use of private capital, including an Initial Public Offering. Massey University banking expert David Tripe told Ryan Bridge there could be issues with an NZX listing or other private parties getting involved. He says returns aren't especially good, and that's one of the big challenges with the IPO option. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Minister holds the view that the Ihumātao committee's achieved nothing. Documents seen under the Official Information Act show that Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka considered dissolving the committee. It's now been almost four years since the previous Labour Government supported the sale of the land, after controversial protests. Former Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson told Mike Hosking all this group is capable of doing is talking. He says he wouldn't give them an ultimatum, he'd just boot them now. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No new oil and gas fields are likely to be discovered in the next ten years. That's according to the government's own advice on repealing the oil and gas exploraton ban. The latest modelling, urgently released under the Official Information Act and obtained by RNZ, says in the short term repealing the ban is not likely to significantly bolster gas supplies from existing fields, either. Instead, the analysis shows government officials think reversing the ban will encourage fossil fuel companies to release more gas for extracton from the existing fields.

There's a belief from the Minister that reopening oil and gas exploration won't make a dent in New Zealand's climate impacts. The public have until tonight to submit on the Government's bill, reversing the previous Governments ban on exploration off the coast. MBIE figures show it will result in millions of tonnes of additional emissions. But Shane Jones told Heather du Plessis-Allan New Zealand needs energy. He says those opposed are simply "woke" in thinking it is a mortal threat, a claim he's rubbishing. Jones says protestors are entitled to their views, and he's happy to engage with those who disagree with him. He says kiwis want to hear someone put an alternative view to these frog-loving and lizard-obsessed environmentalists. The Government's own advice on repealing the oil and gas exploration ban, released under the Official Information Act and obtained by RNZ, says no new gas fields are likely to be discovered and developed in the next 10 years. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Officials told Associate Health Minister Casey Costello that tobacco giant Philip Morris would be the biggest winner from tax cuts for Heated Tobacco Products, which they said could damage health and were more harmful than vaping. Documents released by Treasury under the Official Information Act also said cutting the excise tax on HTPs may give a commercial advantage to Philip Morris as the monopoly provider. Guyon Espiner has the story and spoke with Ingrid Hipkiss.

Advice received by Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said big tobacco company Philip Morris would benefit the most from tax cuts for Heated Tobacco Products. New documents obtained under the Official Information Act show Treasury officials also warned the products were toxic and more harmful than vaping. Despite the warning, the associate health minister claimed she received contrary "independent" advice and went ahead with a 50 percent excise tax cut. Labour's Health Spokesperson Ayesha Verrall spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has revealed a proposal to build a second harbour bridge between Pt Chevalier and the North Shore as a cheaper alternative crossing option.  This would involve using the naturally existing lava flow at Meola Reef to support a new bridge across the Waitematā Harbour crossing to Kauri Point on the North Shore.  In response, critics have questioned the investment, whether the proposal would solve issues of traffic congestion, and have raised concerns regarding environmental implications, disrupting suburban areas, and iwi consultation.  Additionally, Auckland Council received criticism earlier this week over information revealed through an Official Information Act request by the Auckland Ratepayers Alliance that Council spent over $250k on repairing four sets of stairs on Milford Beach.  Sofia spoke to Councillor Shane Henderson about both of these topics.

Calls for a review of New Zealand's child support system, which is being described by some as broken.. Figures released under the Official Information Act reveal just 0.05 percent, or 36 of 66-thousand New Zealanders in breach of child support responsibilities have been referred to court, in 12 months. Family law barrister Sharon Chandra says the general tenor of feedback she gets, is that the system is broken. She says that's not solely because of a lack of enforcement action, but also because of the assessed amounts that IRD direct parents to pay. The total that New Zealanders are currently in arrears by is 663-million dollars. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions to Ministers Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? TIM COSTLEY to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the economy? Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by her statement, "On this side of the House, we take economic management extremely seriously"; if so, have her decisions since the Budget exemplified that? NANCY LU to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: What recent announcements has he made about the Government's one-stop-shop fast-track legislation? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS to the Minister for Energy: Does he agree with Mark Ogge, a climate and energy expert at the Australia Institute, that "only import liquefied natural gas if you like your energy very, very expensive, and if you want it to be very emissions intensive. Otherwise go for renewable energy, with storage, which is cheaper and virtually zero emissions"; if not, why not? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? MIKE BUTTERICK to the Minister for Energy: What steps is the Government taking to bolster New Zealand's energy security? Hon RACHEL BROOKING to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: Does he stand by his statement that "we've replicated ... the same law that Labour adopted" about the proposed changes to the Fast-track Approvals Bill? JENNY MARCROFT to the Minister for Resources: What reports has he seen regarding the need for more resource extraction to support New Zealand's energy security? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Associate Minister of Health: Does she stand by her response to written question No. 405 (2024), "There was no specific document written. A range of information was provided to officials, including material like Hansard reports, the Coalition Agreement and previous NZ First policy positions"; if so, how is this consistent with her having now released the document in question under the Official Information Act? LAN PHAM to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions? DAN BIDOIS to the Minister of Local Government: What recent announcements has he made on getting councils back to basics?

Road maintenance is becoming both more expensive, and more urgent.  A Government briefing document —released to our newsroom under the Official Information Act— shows road repair costs have gone up 50% in six years.  Drainage renewal costs have gone up 350%.  Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Mike Hosking costs have been rising at the same time roads have been degrading.  He says weather in the past couple of years has wrecked the roading system even more.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Official Information Act request reported on last week by Newsroom revealed Minister for Resources Shane Jones obscured the nature of an undeclared meeting with multiple mining companies about the Fast-Track Approvals process in February.  Initially, Jones told Newsroom the dinner was a “last minute thing”, however he corrected the record the following day saying the dinner was arranged in advance with two other participants.  In response, Communities Against the Fast-Track, a coalition of communities, groups and other individual community organisers, have called for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to remove Jones from his portfolio. Wire host Sofia Roger Williams spoke to spokesperson for Communities Against the Fast-Track, Augusta Macassey-Pickard, about this, starting the interview asking her how concerned she and the Communities Against the Fast-Track groups were about this behaviour. 

A new standard to keep our homes warm and dry introduced just last year, may be rolled back if Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk gets his way. Information obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act shows that Minister Penk is considering reverting to the old building standards despite being advised the new standards were overwhelmingly supported. Chris Penk speaks to Susana Lei'ataua.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has been severely reprimanded by the Chief Ombudsman and forced to apologise for trying to keep information about tobacco and vaping policy secret. Chief Ombudsman Judge Peter Boshier took the rare step of forcing the New Zealand First Minister to apologise to RNZ and to Otago University Professor of Public Health Janet Hoek for her handling of Official Information Act requests. Guyon Espiner spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Cabinet Minister Judith Collins wants the government to expand the use of AI, starting with the health and education sectors where it could be used to assess mammogram results and provide AI tutors for children. Collins, whose Digitising Government portfolio gives her responsibility for AI policy, says the technology could also be used for government productivity gains, including processing Official Information Act requests. RNZ'S Guyon Espiner spoke to Corin Dann.

Two Ministry of Justice workers have been called out for using foul language to complain about a researcher in an online chat. Academic Barbara Sumner has made a number of Official Information Act requests as part of her P-h-D research into adoption systems. But she was in for a shock when she asked for any correspondence about her. She spoke to Ingrid Hipikiss.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster wants tighter alcohol regulation. RNZ has obtained documents under the Official Information Act showing police estimate alcohol harm costs about 7.8 billion dollars a year, compared to $1.8 billion for illegal drugs. Coster says measures should be considered, including only letting bottle stores open in day-time hours and charging more for alcohol. Alcohol Healthwatch executive director Andrew Galloway says these aren't new ideas. "The Government have been presented with these recommendations by both the Law Commission in 2010 and the Ministry of Justice in 2014. So he's not wrong." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After hours clinics around the country are on the verge of collapse.   New Official Information Act data shows that 24 practices and clinics had to reduce hours or close due to critical staff shortages and cost pressures in the first eight months of 2023.  In Porirua, health officials are considering replacing overnight doctors with a telehealth service, which the local iwi says is unacceptable.  Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists tells Jack Tame that deliberately casualised medical staffing is exaggerating the issue.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has been warned that companies that could build and operate schools think it is too risky and are not interested. It has also been told financing school builds with public-private partnerships or PPPs, is unlikely to let the Crown dodge the risk of cost blowouts as much as it would like. However, the advice to the Education Minister goes on to conclude that the PPP model could be rejigged to overcome these barriers. Phil Pennington got the advice under the Official Information Act. Pennington spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Treasury data shows the cost of insuring a house jumped by more than 30 percent in some parts of the country, in less than a year. The data, released to RNZ under the Official Information Act, also reveals that while insurance is still widely available, some companies appear to have withdrawn online quotes for entire regions. A disaster economics researcher says the data is a taste of what could come as the risk of climate change-driven natural hazards increases. Kate Newton reports.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown's bluff has been called - he had no authority to tell Auckland Transport to immediately stop work on projects funded by the soon-to-be scrapped regional fuel tax. Emails provided under the local government Official Information Act show within minutes of the mayor making his formal request public, a councillor questioned if he held such power - the answer was no. It came amidst a tense public exchange between Wayne Brown and Transport Minister Simeon Brown, over funding the city's infrastructure. Amy Williams has the story.

Act party leader David Seymour says there's “no question” there will be a reduction in the number of public servants under the coalition Government's watch.  Seymour spoke with Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB this morning following criticism of the government's proposed public sector cuts.  Ministries are on a mission to cut spending by 6.5 to 7.5 per cent before the Budget in May.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis has asked all departments to look for savings to “restore discipline” to taxpayer spending.  Correspondence from 11 ministries about their cost-cutting plans has been released to NZME under the Official Information Act.  One idea put forward at the Ministry of Transport was for staff to stay with friends rather than in hotels when travelling for work.  When asked specifically about that proposal by Hosking, Seymour said “it's not a bad idea”.  He said despite increases in spending, public services have not improved.  “Ten billion dollars, five million people... how did we get there is your question. The Reserve Bank and Adrian Orr and their infinite wisdom kept interest rates very low, and Grant Robertson turned the tap on.”  “There's no question there will be a reduction on a number of people,” Seymour said when asked of job losses.  The comments come during a week where Seymour has faced criticism for Government efforts to reign in public spending.  He's also found himself embroiled in a social media spat with the head of a publicly funded anti-extremism centre over cutbacks.  Professor Joanna Kidman, a director of the Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, lashed out at the Government on Tuesday night.  Kidman wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that she could “only assume that this Government hates children, most of whom will be poor and brown”.  “There is so much evidence that military-style youth boot camps don't work and are expensive,” she wrote.  Kidman also added that the Government “wants to snatch children's lunches” in response to Associate Education Minister and Act leader David Seymour describing free school lunches as “wasteful” public spending and arguing that the Government should cut them.  “Is this a government or a death cult?” Kidman wrote.  Seymour replied on X: “Some interesting views from a Jacinda Ardern and Labour appointee”.  Kidman has since made her X account private.  It is the second social media spat involving Seymour after earlier this week, he and Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Professor Lisa Te Morenga exchanged personal barbs over the Government's free school lunches programme.  Professor Joanna Kidman, director of the Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, He Whenua Taurikura.  Speaking to the Herald, Seymour said it was “really strange” for Kidman's comments to come from an organisation funded to bring people together.  “If people want to have arguments about the merits of the school lunch programme or the Government's boot camps for prisoners, there's lots of arguments they can make if they'd like to without getting into these kinds of personal attacks. Once you start doing that you're actually promoting division and extremism,” he said.  He said he believed in freedom of speech and the Government “should never lock someone up for their opinion”, but if someone entered a private contract, they took on obligations in terms of behaviour.  He said people who took government funding were allowed to criticise the Government.  Kidman has not responded to multiple requests for comment from the Herald.  Act Party leader David Seymour speaking at Waitangi. Photo / Michael Cunningham  -Jaime Lyth, Raphael Franks, and Benjamin Plummer LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KiwiRail is investigating if new overhead lines in Wellington were badly installed and may have been the reason commuter trains ground to a halt for hours in early January. At the time it said the problem was caused by days of hot weather but also that it was looking into whether there were faulty parts. Documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act also reveal heated conversations between KiwiRail staff about the break down. The company says it is still looking into what happened and a report is due next month. RNZ reporter Nick James has been looking at the documents.

BusinessDesk launches its Business of Education series today, looking at the role of the private sector in education. Dileepa discusses Official Information Act figures which reveal a four and a half-fold increase (450%) in the amount the Ministry has spent on contractors over the last five years. And Trade Minister Todd McClay is in Abu Dhabi where he is vice chair for the World Trade Organisation's 13th Ministerial. He is set to chair a contentious part of the meeting which will discuss tariffs on digital services like Netflix.

The government has announced electric vehicle owners will now pay road user charges, costing drivers 76 dollars for every thousand kilometres. The charges will begin from April the first. That is despite Waka Kotahi documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act last year, forecasting an increase in non-compliance and debt for customers. Transport Minister Simeon Brown spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Education Ministry documents reveal there were major gaps in the monitoring of charter schools between 2013 and 2018, some of which the government of the day declined to fix. The gaps included student achievement, finances, property and even whether the schools were attracting the priority learners they were intended to serve. The details come from "close out" reports completed in 2019 and obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act. RNZ education correspondent John Gerritsen spoke to Charlotte Cook.

There has been a massive drop in referrals for mental health disorders over the past eight years. Te Whatu Ora figures released under the Official Information Act show the biggest drop was in mood disorders, such as depression. Referrals for these plunged from just over 11,000 to around 3,000. Experts say the numbers show the mental health system is broken. Ashleigh McCaull has more.

There's no small irony yesterday in watching Sam Neill's lovely interview on the ABC about his diagnosis and ongoing battle with blood cancer. His family featured some of his background and his arrival from Ireland. I didn't know he was called Nigel, but hated being called Nigel so changed it to Sam. It looked at his life in Australia and his passion project in Central Otago with that pinot noir that's turned out to be such a success story. The prognosis isn't that flash. The experimental medicine he is on will not work forever. Which then led me to the article on Sue Wall-Cade. She is an advocate of funding life-prolonging cancer medication, the very sort Sam Neill is on. She is a survivor, or what she calls a METAvivor. She, like so many of us, is furious at Pharmac over the Sarah Fitt scandal. She wants Fitt gone and the board not far behind her. This is over the emails that have exposed Fitt's attitude to journalists and her general contempt for pretty much anyone who would dare ask a few questions and want a few answers. Wall-Cade says the emails are sickening and derogatory, and she is right. And possibly a little contained in the description. Part of the trouble with the story, to this point, is the election got in the way. Last time we talked about it with Chris Hipkins all he would say was the Health Minister had had a word with the chairman, who is Steve Maharey, a former Labour minister who would do... well... who knows what. He's done nothing so far as far as I can tell. What strikes me as alarming is the lack of apology from Fitt herself. I am happy to be corrected, but I have not heard from the woman post the revelation through the Official Information Act. Where is she? Does she want to apologise? Does she not want to apologise? Why hasn't the minister told her to front? Why hasn't the chair fronted? Why hasn't the chair told Fitt to front? To a degree, this is the level of contempt that not just Fitt, but clearly chunks of the public service, and indeed the Government, hold the public in. It's sniggering, condescending chat that we aren't supposed to know about, if it wasn't for the sheer stupidity of Fitt having put it all in writing. So lets start with the apologies, shall we? It needs to be genuine and fulsome and then follow it up with at least one, if not, two resignations. Or is this to be a final mark of this Government to deal with nothing and hope it goes away?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's been almost 150 reports of sexual relationships between teachers and students in schools in the last six years. Figures released under the Official Information Act show out of 148 reports, so far 21 teachers have had their registrations cancelled. But a survivor and a victim's advocate says instances of abuse are likely to be much higher than what's being reported. And a warning, Ashleigh McCaull's report contains details that may upset some listeners.

I have always had an element of sympathy for Pharmac in the sense the model we run in this country is a fiscal set of handcuffs.  If you have a set budget you can only spend what you have. Other countries have models that have criteria saying if the medicine or treatment reaches a certain threshold, it is funded.  Neither system is perfect and given the way medicine operates, there will always be someone who has a case or who has some sympathy behind their cause. There will always be a new treatment or breakthrough and that's before you get to the vexed areas of funding for cures as opposed to treatments.  How do you take all of those ever-changing and varying sets of circumstances and cover them off with a budget with a limit?  You can't, and that is the Pharmac dilemma.  But when you do it, you do it with professionalism and humility and that is where they have been found so atrociously wanting. With the realise of the various emails we find a CEO who treats people with arrogance and contempt.  The fact she was stupid enough to put it down in writing only adds another nail to her coffin. The fact she still hasn't been sacked given the story broke Friday is of some surprise.  It's not a complete surprise given the hallmark of this Government is allowing astonishingly long ropes in which people may, or may not, hang themselves.  For all the Official Information Act is maligned, and it is and rightly so, this time the OIA has done Sarah Fitt in.  She cannot continue. Doctors and patients are now openly calling for sackings, resignations or just her general removal. And they have every right to.  The stance Pharmac has taken around some cancer treatments is defendable, at least in part because of the constraints I mentioned. What is not defendable is the sneering arrogance of Fitt, who in her emails, shows a personality trait of a narcissist.  There are calls for the chairman to go as well. I am not sure we need to go that far, unless of course he doesn't remove her.  But the buck stops at the top. The crime was committed by the CEO, the evidence is irrefutable and the disgust and outcry entirely predictable and justifiable.  Pharmac need to be seen to be doing their best. They can never be perfect and they can never meet everyone's needs, but they can do what they can with professionalism and humility and give us all a sense they care about what they do and they work hard at it.  The Fitt emails show beyond a shadow of a doubt they are being led by the wrong person. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An internal police report paints a picture of a broken bail system, with bail checks made on offenders who are "convenient to check rather than high priority". The Bail Project Management Report, obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act, shows this sometimes results in police needlessly hassling low risk offenders and failing to monitor dangerous ones. The report says just 0.4% of offenders - one in 250 - are automatically flagged as high risk. Police acknowledge that vastly underestimates the number of high risk offenders and accept their IT systems are not fit for purpose. Investigative reporter Guyon Espiner spoke to Corin Dann.

The Ministry of Health wants action against junk food advertising, which it says is helping send some New Zealanders to an early grave. Documents obtained under the Official Information Act show health officials want much stricter rules for food advertising. It also wants the Advertising Standards Authority to stop fast food companies using digital tracking techniques to target children. Guyon Espiner has the story - the latest in his series Off The Shelf, investigating the food industry and the obesity crisis.

The Labour government was warned earlier this year that removing GST from fruit and vegetables may not make them more affordable. Ministry of Health documents obtained under the Official Information Act show health officials are investigating using the tax system to combat obesity. They say there is growing international evidence to support a tax on sugary drinks but that taking GST off food might not work in New Zealand. Guyon Espiner has been investigating the food industry and the obesity crisis in the RNZ series Off the Shelf. Espiner spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Top health officials are pushing for sugar and salt limits to be set in food and fast-food portions to be restricted, in an attempt to halt the obesity crisis. Ministry of Health proposals for a sweeping crackdown on junk food are revealed in documents obtained under the Official Information Act for RNZ's investigation Off the Shelf: The Quiet Struggle to Stop us Eating Ourselves Sick. The documents show one government agency is already looking to introduce limits on how much sugar can be added to drinks. Investigative journalist Guyon Espiner has the story.

New Zealand is coming second and third in one of the developed world's most deadly competitions for children and adults - obesity. But a new RNZ investigation by Guyon Espiner, called Off the Shelf: The Quiet Struggle to Stop us Eating Ourselves Sick, reveals top health officials are pushing for sugar and salt limits and for fast food portions to be reduced. The Ministry of Health's proposals for a crackdown are revealed in documents obtained under the Official Information Act. Diabetes New Zealand chief executive Heather Verry spoke to Corin Dann.

There are pleas for extra security staff at two Auckland hospitals. Frightened health workers at Waitemata and North Shore hospital say have called security hundreds of times because of violent and abusive patients and visitors. Internal documents obtained through the Official Information Act show panic buttons were pressed just over 300 times, and more than 500 calls were made to security via the internal emergency number over a seven-month period. Over a thousand non-emergency calls were also made involving mental distress. Nurses Organisation president Anne Daniels spoke to Corin Dann

The Taxpayers' Union says New Zealanders shouldn't have to pay for Diplomat's children to attend high-end private schools. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's revealed in an Official Information Act request that they spend $5-million dollars on private schools each year, and nearly half of that is given to countries with education systems either on par or better than New Zealand's. Investigation coordinator for the Taxpayers Union Oliver Bryan spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

US tech giant Microsoft pushed the Education Ministry to adopt an artificial intelligence programme for continuous live reporting on children and teachers in the classroom. Emails released under the Official Information Act reveal deep ties and high hopes between the ministry and the American company over greater use of AI in schools. Phil Pennington has been looking into it, and spoke to Morning Report.

The National Party is accusing the government of hiding the results of a review of the Maori Health Authority, Te Aka Whai Ora. Health Minister Ayesha Verrall received the report six weeks ago, and says she's still digesting the findings. She won't say exactly when it will be released, and she declined our request for an interview. National's health spokesperson Shane Reti tried to access the report through the Official Information Act, but his request was denied. He spoke to Morning Report.

The Director General of Conservation, Penny Nelson, discusses DOC's large and ageing assets, and the tough decisions that need to be made on what to replace and what to maintain. DOC administers New Zealand's largest recreation network including more than 14,000km of tracks, 326 campsites, approximately 950 backcountry huts and numerous heritage sites across one third of the country. Recent extreme weather events have caused extensive damage to infrastructure and the budget earlier this month allocated $12.6 million to DOC to plan and rebuild biodiversity, heritage, visitor and other conservation sites damaged in the weather. Last year's budget provided DOC with new funding of $60 million over 4 years for visitor asset management. But documents released under the Official Information Act recently show the Department has dozens of high risk structures overdue for maintenance, and a backlog of maintenance on its huts and tracks network worth over three hundred million dollars.

The Department of Conservation has dozens of high risk structures overdue for maintenance and overall has a backlog of maintenance on its huts and tracks network worth over $300 million. The startling figures are contained in documents released originally to Newroom under the Official Information Act, and date from early to mid 2022. The documents also reveal 99 high priority safety critical work orders on other assets - such as tracks, bridges and huts - have been deferred; DOC is 70,000 hours behind on scheduled maintenance and an immediate cash injection is required to get on top of the backlog. DOC says it has a large and ageing visitor asset base and it is methodically working through its asset management programme, but some tough decisions need to be made on what to replace and maintain. Kathryn speaks with Peter Wilson, former President of Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand, and former Department of Conservation statutory planner.