Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Avast

New Avast research reveals an “AI confidence trap”

Auckland, 23 September 2026 – New Zealanders are confident they can catch an AI fake, but our judgements don't match our actions.

66% of New Zealand adults are convinced they'd catch an AI fake the moment they saw one. And 40% have shared, or considered sharing, at least one sensitive item with an AI tool. Spotting a fake and guarding your own data are very different habits, and that gap sits at the centre of the newly released Avast 2026 Safe Tech Report. Avast, a leader in digital security and privacy and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), commissioned the study to see how people are navigating trust, privacy, and AI in everyday life.

“Being confident you'd spot an AI fake and knowing when and how to protect your data are two different skills – but confidence in one can convince people they're safe with the other, too, and that's the trap,” said Richard Watts, Head of Avast. “Chatbots aren't confidants. Check what a tool actually does with your data before you share anything and remember it's still somewhere else your information could be exposed. If you wouldn't want it repeated to a stranger, don't hand it over to the bots.”

Being Sure Isn't the Same as Being Safe

Findings from the latest Gen Threat Report put that confidence to the test: AI was involved in tens of millions of video encounters worldwide in the first half of 2026, and roughly 1 in every 30 of them was flagged as a scam. At that scale, even a small share adds up to a lot of convincing fakes slipping past exactly the kind of confidence 66% of Kiwis rely on.

“What we see in the threat landscape reinforces what consumers are telling us here. Spotting that something was made with AI is only part of the challenge,” said Michal Salat, Threat Intelligence Director for Gen Threat Labs. “Through our Fearless Planet Index, we see how scams are evolving in the real world, and AI is increasingly making the first impression more convincing. But underneath, attackers are still pulling the same psychological levers – urgency, trust, fear and the promise of something too good to pass up. The technology may be changing, but the human behaviours scammers exploit remains remarkably consistent.”

That same self-assurance is lowering people's guard elsewhere., including the workplace:

• 21% of adults have shared, or considered sharing, a CV with an AI chatbot
• 17% have done the same with a work document, treating it as a one-off exchange.

But the bigger risk in 2026 isn't a one-time leak. It's that AI tools remember, which means a CV or a work document shared may not disappear when the tab closes, it can sit in a system's memory long after the conversation ends, where it could be exposed in a future data breach, surface in someone else's chat, or folded into training data, all without the person's knowledge.

Knowing Better Isn't the Same as Doing Better

People know the classic red flags; they just talk themselves past them. The report found the easiest warning signs adults shrug off in the moment, include:

• An offer that looks too good (42%)
• A request for personal details to “verify” identity (39%)
• Pressure to act fast (38%)

Real world scam data backs this up, research from Gen Threat Labs into fake celebrity videos and AI-generated scam content found a similar pattern. The realistic face or voice is just the wrapping, while the too-good offer, the urgency, and the request to “verify” personal details are what's doing the persuading. The very red flags people take least seriously are also the ones today's AI scams rely on most to succeed.

Knowledge That Stays Put

People also tend to handle suspicious activity alone. When something odd appears – a message, a call, a DM:

• 43% delete it and say nothing
• 20% look into it by themselves

The same instinct limits how far people's own scam education travels. 85% of Kiwi adults watch or listen to true-crime-style scam content, and it's changing how they think: 59% say it makes them more alert day to day, and 53% say it makes them more suspicious of messages and offers. Yet of the same 85%, only 39% have used it to start a conversation with a friend, partner, or family member. While awareness is spreading, passing it on to others isn't keeping pace.

This doesn't mean people are careless. Adults today are more switched on about digital threats than any generation before. The problem isn't what people know, it's how that knowledge gets used. A dismissed red flag can be the whole con, and a scam story kept to yourself protects no one else.

Three Habits to Close the AI Confidence Trap

• Share less by default
• Question the pressure behind a request as much as the fake itself
• Share what you know with your friends and family so you can help them be safer too

These are habits anyone can build. Avast One helps to give people the confidence to know what's real and stay in control of what they share, so trust doesn't have to come at the cost of safety.

To read the full report and get more advice on staying safe from AI threats, scams, and how to protect your personal information online, visit https://www.avast.com/c-safe-tech-talk-report-2026. This report is just one of the many ways Gen is raising awareness of the threats people are facing today. You can learn more about these insights and others at the Gen Fearless Planet Index.

Additional Standout Data Points

• 72% of New Zealand adults who have older loved ones and consider their online habits risky are concerned about them clicking suspicious links. 14% of those with older loved ones say they fell victim to phishing scams.
• 54% of those with older loved ones say their conversations or actions have helped an older loved one(s) avoid a scam or online fraud.
• 51% of New Zealand scam victims were financially impacted. Among those with older loved ones, the most reported online threat their loved ones fell victim to were shopping scams (21%).
• 24% of New Zealand adults say one of the listed red flags could realistically catch them out.

About Avast Safe Tech Report

The study was conducted online by Dynata in New Zealand from 22 May 2026 to 19 June 2026, among 1,000 adults ages 18 and older. The data is weighted where necessary by age, gender, and region, to be nationally representative.

About Avast

Avast is a leader in digital security and privacy, and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted consumer brands. Avast protects hundreds of millions of users from online threats, for Mobile, PC or Mac, and is top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Avast is a member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, No More Ransom and Internet Watch Foundation. Learn more at Avast.com.

About the Gen Threat Labs

Gen Threat Labs is the Cyber Safety research team within Gen, focused on uncovering and analyzing the latest digital threats and scams worldwide. Rooted in data, research and technical expertise, the team identifies patterns and risks that shape the evolving cyber landscape. Its insights power the security technologies that protect people across Gen's portfolio of trusted brands, including Norton, Avast, LifeLock and others, as well as the Fearless Planet Index, an interactive resource that helps people understand emerging digital risks around the world.

Source: Greenpeace

Greenpeace says the Coalition Government has committed one of its most destructive acts against nature this term, pushing through legislation replacing the Resource Management Act (RMA) last night, in the final sitting days of Parliament.

For more than three decades, the RMA has been New Zealand’s overarching legal framework governing how land, water, air and other natural resources are used and protected. It has now been replaced by the Natural Environment Act and the Planning Act.

Greenpeace spokesperson Gen Toop says the significance of what the Coalition Government has just done cannot be overstated.

“The RMA was New Zealand’s main environmental law. It was designed to protect our air and water from contamination, and our forests, wildlife and coastlines from degradation. That protection has just been well and truly ripped to shreds.

“These new laws allow companies to cause more pollution, contamination and environmental degradation in Aotearoa. If these laws are not repealed by the next Government, we will be living with the environmental damage they enable long into the future.”

Created in 1991, the RMA brought previously separate laws protecting air, water, soil and the environment into one integrated system. The 1991 reforms began under Labour but the RMA was ultimately passed into law by the incoming National Government.

“Until today, there had been an enduring recognition across political lines that New Zealand needed a strong, overarching environmental law to put boundaries around pollution and degradation. What happened today is a profound departure from that consensus,” says Toop.

“On behalf of polluting industries, after private backroom meetings with corporate lobbyists, the Coalition Government has completed a hostile takeover of our cornerstone environmental law.

“They have replaced it with a system designed to protect corporate profits rather than protect the environment. They have even reversed the well-established polluter-pays principle. The public will now end up paying polluters instead.”

The new laws introduce a new scheme in which ratepayers could be forced to pay companies “compensation” for environmental protection rules. The Government’s own report has estimated this could cost councils up to $2 billion.

Greenpeace says they also render environmental limits legally meaningless, scrap existing iwi agreements, stop councils from introducing stronger local protections like bans on destructive fishing practices, restrict public participation and Māori involvement in environmental decision-making, and weaken protections for native wildlife.

“Aotearoa already has polluted rivers, contaminated drinking water, disappearing wildlife and a worsening climate crisis. We desperately needed stronger environmental protection. Instead, this Government has ripped the country's cornerstone environmental law apart,” says Toop.

“These new laws will make it easier for data centres, mines, feedlots, fish farms and other commercial activities to get consent, even where environmental impacts would be devastating. They also ban local councils from introducing desperately needed marine protections.”

“After the election, these laws must be repealed as a matter of urgency, before they are enacted on the ground and lead to irreversible environmental damage.”

Source: Health Coalition Aotearoa

The OECD gave New Zealand a zero rating for its lack of policies to manage the risks of lobbying. In an upcoming webinar, politicians from across the political spectrum will be asked what they will do to improve this dire situation.

Health Coalition Aotearoa is hosting the free lunchtime webinar on 5 October to give political parties an opportunity to present their visions and policies for lobbying reform.

“Out of 47 OECD countries, we are bottom of the class when most countries have already enacted laws and regulations,” says Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Professor Boyd Swinburn. See OECD Economics Working Paper 2026.

“None of these lobbying regulations, including in places like Ireland, Australia, Canada or France, are perfect, but they do create transparency and accountability.”

The webinar comes at a time when Aotearoa New Zealand faces a health system crisis that could be eased by policies addressing tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food. However, vested interest lobbying is a major reason why successive governments have failed to act.

One in four years of healthy living lost to early deaths and disability is due to tobacco, obesity and unhealthy food, and alcohol.

“It doesn’t have to be this way if politicians put people ahead of the profits of harmful industries,” says Swinburn.

Despite clear evidence, successive governments have failed to focus on prevention. The result is a system that creates enormous health harm, disproportionately experienced by Māori, Pacific people, lower socioeconomic communities and children.

Examples include tobacco policy. Tobacco remains the cause of seven percent of years of healthy life lost to death and disability in Aotearoa, yet the current government repealed globally leading smokefree legislation.

In the past three years, as this Government has introduced further industry-friendly policies, New Zealand has fallen from second to 53rd place in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index.

Alcohol is another area where vested interest lobbying has successfully stalled prevention policies. Alcohol costs Aotearoa $9.1 billion each year through harm to physical and mental health, whānau, communities and society. Much of this could be prevented through reform of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, yet recent law changes risk increasing availability and reducing community voice. This is despite 900 deaths and 30,000 hospitalisations each year attributable to alcohol. (Health NZ Report 2024.)

Without a public register of lobbyists, a mandatory code of conduct, restrictions on the revolving door between government and lobbying firms, and an Integrity Commission with teeth, commercial interests will continue to hold outsized influence over public policy and health decisions.

Party spokespeople from ACT, NZ First, TOP, Labour, Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori have so far confirmed they will join the webinar.

You are invited: The session will be a moderated discussion with time for audience Q&A.

Event details

Date: Monday, 5 October 2026

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM NZT

Format: Online via Zoom Panel

Confirmed Parties: ACT, NZ First, TOP, Labour, Greens Te Pāti Māori

Cost: Free (Registration required)

Register: Eventbrite

Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

New research by Auckland University has found addressing nurse shortages in post-operative care may save 182 lives a year because short-staffed wards have higher rates of potentially preventable deaths and complications after their surgeries.

The newly published research analysed 202,428 patients undergoing 223,415 operations against Te Whatu Ora nursing staffing data between 2022 and 2024 with a focus three specific outcomes after 90 days; postoperative mortality (death), complications and “failure to rescue”. Failure to rescue is a medical term for a patient who dies after developing a complication which may be treatable.

Co-author and Auckland University Professor of Surgery Ian Bissett says international academics have been researching “failure to rescue” events for more than a decade. “What’s unique about this research is that it uses New Zealand data linking three years of individual surgical patient outcomes with the nursing staff ratios for each specific shift that the patients were in hospital.”

“The complication rate was 18%, failure to rescue occurred in 15% of these, resulting in a 90-day mortality rate of 2.8%. The study showed that about 45% of the shifts over this period were short staffed to some extent with 28% meeting the predefined criteria for a shift below target,” he says.

“Understaffing of the shifts was directly associated with a higher complication rate, higher failure to rescue rates and deaths. Each one-nurse reduction in nurse staffing per shift was associated with a 7% increase in complications, 7% increase in failure to rescue and a 13% increase in mortality,” Prof Bissett says.

“Modelling projected that correcting observed staffing shortfalls on surgical wards would be associated with 182 fewer post-operative deaths a year. This is estimated to require 166 extra nurses annually.

“This research finds a solution at a service level for a relatively low investment. It shows having enough nurses on the ward so there is no ‘negative variance’ – or staffing below recommended levels – could have a major impact on post-surgical outcomes.”

Prof Bissett says nurse short staffing on the post-surgical wards for the two-year period of the study was 227,570 hours, or a shortfall of 141.3 full-time nurses across the county. “Modelling projected that correcting observed staffing shortfalls on surgical wards would result in 182.2 fewer post-operative deaths a year.”

NZNO Perioperative Nurses College chair Lucy Middleton says the findings reveal the human cost of staffing levels being set to meet arbitrary cost-cutting budgets rather than patient need, and the impact of Te Whatu Ora’s recent recruitment freeze.

“Nurses are at the bedside when patients come out of surgery. We raise the alarm if our patients’ condition is deteriorating. But to do this well, we need to be fully staffed so we can monitor vital signs and immediately escalate any concerns.

“The first few hours and days after surgery are the most important time to closely watch patients. We need to get around to all our patients in a timely way to give them the care and observation they need to ensure they aren’t suffering complications which can escalate quickly after surgery.

“NZNO implores Te Whatu Ora to properly staff our post-operative wards to levels identified through safe staffing tools as this research shows it protects our patients from complications and even death,” Lucy Middleton says.

Source: New Zealand National Party

Exciting news – we’ve just passed legislation to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) once and for all!

For 35 years, the RMA has acted as a handbrake on growth, making it harder to produce the food and fibre and build the homes, infrastructure and energy projects New Zealand needs – all while failing to deliver the environmental outcomes New Zealanders expect.

The Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill replace that system with one that is simpler, faster and more consistent – and one based around the centrality of private property rights.

That means fewer plans, less red tape, fewer delays, and fewer battles over the same issues every time a project is proposed.

The economic benefits of our new planning system are significant. Independent analysis shows the new planning system is projected to boost GDP by an additional 0.56 per cent every year by 2050, worth up to $3.1 billion annually. A cost benefit analysis estimates $13.3 billion in savings over 30 years through reduced administrative and compliance costs.

In three years, National has passed Fast Track, we’ve made the biggest changes to National Direction under the RMA in our country’s history – and now we’ve repealed the RMA entirely.

This is what National in government can do. To really lock in this progress we need to keep going – and we need your support at the next election.

Chris Bishop

National Spokesperson for RMA Reform, Housing, Infrastructure and Transport

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

22 September 2026

PSNA is congratulating the Invercargill City Council which this afternoon voted to end procurement of goods or services from companies profiting from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

Invercargill is the seventh local body to pass similar motions sanctioning Israel. (Christchurch, Nelson and Palmerston City Councils, Environment Canterbury and Environment Southland are the others, while Wellington has banned investment in Israeli government bonds)

“Thank You Invercargill,” says Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Spokesperson Rinad Tamimi “You represent the best of New Zealand. You have stood up while our government sits on its hands.”

“Palestine will remember your simple but significant stand for Palestinian human rights just as it will remember the complicity of the New Zealand government.”

Today’s motion ends the Council’s purchase of goods or services from companies on a United Nations Human Rights Council list which support illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Mayor Tom Campbell moved a motion to oppose the Palestine Solidarity motion. But seven councilors in a row spoke against his motion and in favour of sanctioning Israel.

Campbell’s motion was decisively lost and the resolution was voted in as council policy.

“The greatest problem in Israel/Palestine is that Israel has never been held to account for its war crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide being live-streamed from Gaza,” Tamimi says.

“By itself, the Invercargill resolution won’t force Israel to give Palestinians equal rights, but it is an important step for this country to apply BDS (Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions) to Israel as requested by Palestinians civil society.

“PSNA expects more councils to have similar votes in the coming weeks.”

The ICC debate can be seen here: Invercargill City Council debate.

Source: Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum

Tuesday 22 September 2026

Five extraordinary Triceratops fossil skeletons from the only known herd ever discovered are coming to Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum in March of the Triceratops.

Opening Saturday 24 October, this major new exhibition brings visitors face-to-face with one of the most iconic dinosaur species to have walked the Earth and offers a rare insight into how these enormous plant-eating animals may have lived together around 66-68 million years ago.

Developed by Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands, March of the Triceratops assembles more than 1,200 bones and fossil fragments from five Triceratops horridus discovered together in a single rock layer near Newcastle, Wyoming.

The fossils were uncovered over six field seasons by a team of researchers, palaeontologists, preparators, students and volunteers. Scientific analysis indicates that the five animals lived and died together, providing rare evidence that Triceratops may have displayed social or herd behaviour.

Naturalis Biodiversity Centre palaeontologist and exhibition curator Dr Prof Anne S. Schulp says the discovery has transformed scientists’ understanding of the species.

“Triceratops fossils are usually found as individual animals, so discovering five together in the same geological layer was extraordinary.”

“Each bone helps us build a more detailed picture of these animals not only what they looked like, but how they grew, moved and may have interacted as a group. This exhibition allows visitors to experience that discovery while seeing the real evidence up close,” says Schulp.

Alongside the authentic fossils, life-sized models, soundscapes, animations and augmented reality will bring the prehistoric herd and its Late Cretaceous environment to life.

Visitors will encounter a life-sized female Triceratops model and animatronic calf, explore interactive stations and touchscreens, and take part in hands-on fossil discovery experiences demonstrating how palaeontologists piece together evidence from the distant past.

Auckland Museum Tumu Whakarae Chief Executive David Reeves says March of the Triceratops will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to encounter a globally significant scientific discovery.

“To stand alongside five Triceratops and experience their size and unique appearance in person will be an unforgettable experience. We are proud to bring these fossils and the latest research surrounding them to Aotearoa and to be the only Australasian venue, as the exhibition commences its extensive international tour,” says Reeves.

March of the Triceratops comes exclusively to Auckland Museum from Saturday 24 October 2026 until Monday 26 April 2027. Tickets will go on sale from 9am Thursday 24 September.

Auckland Museum Membership provides unlimited free entry to March of the Triceratops, discounted event tickets and exclusive Member-only events. Find out more at: aucklandmuseum.com/membership.

March of the Triceratops was developed and produced by the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and is presented and toured in partnership with MUSEUMsPARTNER. The exhibition was curated by the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Dr. Jimmy de Rooij and Prof. Dr. Anne Schulp from Utrecht University and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center.

MARCH OF THE TRICERATOPS

OPENING SAT 24 OCT

AUAHA ATEA NUI SPECIAL EXHIBITION SUITE

• Tickets: Adult $29.90, Child (5–13) $19.90
• Family (2 children, 2 adult) $90, Concessions $27.90, Under 5 Free
• Unlimited free entry with Museum Membership

ABOUT AUCKLAND WAR MEMORIAL MUSEUM

Auckland War Memorial Museum is one of New Zealand's first museums and is free for Aucklanders. The Museum tells the story of New Zealand, its place in the Pacific and its people. The Museum is a war memorial for the province of Auckland and holds one of New Zealand's top three heritage libraries.

It has pre-eminent Māori and Pacific collections, significant natural history resources and major social and military history collections, as well as decorative arts and pictorial collections.

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Invercargill

Today Invercargill City Council voted 7-3 to join five other councils including Environment Southland to exclude companies involved in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank from council contracts, reversing the previous council's 6–6 decision decided by casting vote.

The motion returned after a petition signed by 1,200 people, and was supported by local businesses, unions, faith groups and community organisations.

The change aligns procurement with UN Security Council Resolution 2334, co-sponsored by New Zealand under a National government in 2016, which states Israeli settlements on Palestinian land are a “flagrant violation under international law” and a “major obstacle” to peace. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled Israel's occupation unlawful and in breach of international law on apartheid and racial segregation.

Statement from Seren Palliser of PSNA Invercargill: “Since the last council rejected this, 1800+ attacks have been recorded in the West Bank, with 240 Palestinians killed and 1600 displaced. 700,000 settler-colonists now live in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and this winter Israeli ministers announced plans for 3 settlements in Gaza and 400 million to expand settlements.”

“We're grateful to the councillors who passed this today. This is a small step to stop ratepayer money funding these war crimes, but local councils shouldn't have to take it – it's 10 years since UNSC 2334 was passed and parliament, which sanctioned Russia within weeks, still hasn't put it into action. The relentless double standards have done permanent harm to the international rule's based order we all rely on.”

The motion was brought by councillor Lisa Tou-McNaughton (supported by Andrea de Vries, Steve Broad, Marcus Lush and Darren Ludlow), and moved by Alex Crackett, seconded by Steve Broad

Votes for: Lisa Tou-McNaughton, Andrea de Vries, Steve Broad, Marcus Lush and Darren Ludlow, Alex Crackett, Ian Pottinger, Ria Bond

Voted against: Tom Campbell, Barry Stewart, Trish Boyle

Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand

22 September 2026

RBNZ Governor Anna Breman, alongside External Monetary Policy Committee member Prasanna Gai and Board Chair Rodger Finlay, visited Dunedin to meet with local communities and businesses from key sectors in the regional centre.

The visit followed the Reserve Bank's September Monetary Policy Statement (MPS), which noted that while New Zealand's economic recovery is underway, it is not being felt evenly across the country.

“The recent GDP figures showed economic growth was 0.2 percent in the three months to June, despite the effects of high oil prices and other global headwinds. Other data suggest that the economic recovery is continuing in the current quarter but remains uneven.

Data point to stronger economic conditions in parts of the South Island, supported by resilient export activity, lower unemployment, and stronger housing market performance than many areas elsewhere in New Zealand.

“We expect the economic recovery to strengthen and broaden, reflecting a resilient export sector and gradual increase in household spending,” Governor Breman said.

“As the recovery gathers pace, conditions in the labour market should improve. Purchasing power will increase as inflation returns to the 2 percent mid-point.”

However, Governor Breman noted that significant risks to the economic outlook remain.

“Recent increases in global oil prices and longer-term interest rates reflect the challenging environment we face. If higher oil prices persist, they are expected to result in somewhat higher near-term inflation than we assumed in the September Statement.”

“As always, we will assess incoming data and global developments ahead of our next decision in October and remain focused on the outlook for inflation over the medium term.”

Governor Breman said direct engagement helped bring context and nuance to the economic data.

“While national economic data provide an important broader picture of economic activity, the specific conditions can differ significantly between regions, sectors and communities.

“Every region has its own story. Meeting people face-to-face helps us understand how current conditions are affecting businesses and communities, how they are responding, and the extent that the economic recovery is being felt.”

During the visit, Reserve Bank leaders met with sector representatives from education, technology and innovation, and energy, as well as the wider business community.

“These conversations help ensure we remain connected to the people, businesses and communities our decisions ultimately affect.”

The Dunedin visit formed part of the Governor's ongoing regional engagement programme, which is designed to strengthen connections with communities across New Zealand, improve understanding of regional economic conditions, and gather perspectives from a diverse range of sectors and stakeholders.

More information

September 2026 Monetary Policy Statement