Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi

Waitangi, Aotearoa – Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi, a Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) initiative for self-determination and self-governance formed in 1987, has sent a 17-member Indigenous Hawaiian delegation to Waitangi, Aotearoa to stand in solidarity with the Māori people in defense of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  The delegation is present to stand alongside Māori leadership, strengthen international solidarity, and affirm the deep genealogical and oceanic ties shared by Indigenous peoples of Moana Nui a Kanaloa.

On February 3, members of the delegation participated in a pōwhiri with iwi taketake at Te Tii Waitangi Marae, marking a formal welcome and the beginning of their engagement alongside Māori communities and leaders.

Members of the delegation will be speaking at the Political Forum tent on February 5 at 4:00 p.m., participating in the dawn ceremony on February 6, and marching alongside their whānau in support of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The delegation has issued a formal Statement of Solidarity calling on the international community to pay close attention to developments in Aotearoa, as political actions continue to seek to weaken and reinterpret Te Tiriti and undermine Māori rangatiratanga.

The statement raises serious concern that recent government actions and political rhetoric have misrepresented efforts to address structural discrimination as “racial privilege,” and have enabled legislative initiatives seeking to radically redefine the meaning of Te Tiriti—triggering widespread national protests, multiple claims before the Waitangi Tribunal, judicial review proceedings, and large nationwide hui of Māori leaders.

“The world should know what is happening in Aotearoa. As Kanaka Maoli, we know what it means to have our lands, waters, and political future decided without us,” said Healani Sonoda-Pale, spokesperson for Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi. “We came to Waitangi so the world can see that Māori are not standing alone—and that Indigenous peoples across the Pacific are watching, standing together, and demanding that Te Tiriti o Waitangi be fully honored. Our struggles are connected, and our collective liberation as Indigenous peoples of Oceania are bound to one another.”

Covering period of Monday 2nd – Thursday 5th February
 
January 2026 saw sweltering heat early in the month with intense rain to follow. Some long-standing records were broken:

Tauranga Airport Wettest Day (9am to 9am) with 274.0mm on 21st Jan.*
Timaru Airport Wettest January with 135.7mm.
Tauranga Airport Wettest January with 408.9mm.
Kerikeri Airport Warmest January Day (9am to 9am) 32.7°C on 11th Jan.
Whitianga Airport Wettest Day (9am to 9am) 247.6mm on 21st Jan.

Records began in 1910 for Tauranga, 1956 for Timaru, 1978 for Kerikeri and 1987 for Whitianga.

Today (Monday), the upper South Island celebrates Nelson Anniversary Day. While cloud and rain move in from the west, many have had a fine morning in the east. The remainder of the day will be dry for Marlborough. It’s a different story for the rest of the country.

MetService Meteorologist Michael Pawley adds “There’s a soupy mess of humid air covering much of the North Island today, and a low-pressure system moving in from the Tasman Sea. Rain is trekking up the South Island today, getting heavier about central New Zealand tomorrow as the low crosses over. There is even the possibility of snow above 1,200 meters about Canterbury from Tuesday afternoon.”

MetService has a Heavy Rain Watch about the Westland ranges south of Fox Glacier until this evening. Tomorrow there is a Heavy Rain Watch for Marlborough south of Seddon, and Canterbury north of the Rangitata River, which has a high chance of being upgraded to an Orange Rain Warning.  In addition, there is a Strong Wind Watch for southeasterlies about Fiordland, Westland and Grey District.

MetService has heat alerts for Napier and Hastings today, which are expected to reach 32°C and 33°C respectively. Much of the North Island has a muggy night ahead. Napier has an overnight minimum temperature of 23°C, and Auckland will only drop to 21°C.

On Tuesday, the maximum temperature for Canterbury will be in the early hours of the morning. Christchurch will drop to a chilly 12°C for most of the day.

* Tauranga experienced a wetter 24-hour period between 17th and 18th May 2005; however, this rainfall was spread across two official reporting days, as daily rainfall is measured from 9am to 9am for climatological records.

A new survey of nearly 1,800 New Zealand patients shows a clear and consistent preference for face-to-face consultations with family doctors, reinforcing the central role of in-person, GP-led care in general practice

The survey, conducted by the General Practice Owners Association (GenPro), gathered feedback from 1,798 patients through GenPro member practices.

The results provide a valuable snapshot of patient sentiment at a time when access targets and digital care models are under active discussion.

Eighty-seven percent of respondents ranked in-clinic, face-to-face consultations as their preferred way to receive care, with telehealth options — including video, email, and patient portals — ranking significantly lower.

“Patients are telling us very clearly that quality care, trust, and reassurance are closely tied to seeing their GP in person,” said Dr Angus Chambers, Chair of the General Practice Owners Association.

“Digital tools absolutely have a place, but they are not a substitute for the clinical judgement, connection, and confidence that come from face-to-face care.”

The survey found that patients particularly value in-person appointments when it matters most. Nearly two in three patients prefer face-to-face care when a physical examination is needed, or if they have new health concerns, the survey says.

“These results highlight that patients see in-person consultations as critical for accurate diagnosis and building trust,” Dr Chambers said. “That’s something a screen cannot replicate.”

While telehealth is useful for convenience, patients don’t see it as a replacement for in-person GP care. Telehealth was most commonly used for:

Repeat prescriptions (60 percent);
Test results (55 percent);
Minor or simple health issues (53 percent).

However, 15 percent of respondents said they did not like telehealth and would not use it at all.

“Telehealth works well for specific, low-complexity tasks,” said Dr Chambers. “But patients are clear — when it comes to real clinical engagement, they want to be in the room with their GP.”
The survey also revealed a strong preference for GP-led care:

96 percent prefer to see a GP when visiting their practice;
48 percent said they always want to see a GP, even when other clinicians are available.

When booking appointments, patients prioritised appointment availability (80 percent) and continuity with the same clinician (66 percent).

Cost and convenience ranked lower, suggesting patients value ongoing relationships and access over speed or price.

“This reinforces what general practice has always known — continuity of care matters,” Dr Chambers said. “Patients want to be known, understood, and cared for by a qualified professional they trust.”

The survey did not collect demographic or regional data and was not intended for formal benchmarking. However, GenPro says the findings highlight the need for patient voices to be front and centre in policy discussions about access targets and models of care.

Dr Chambers said that the Government had lavished subsidies on telehealth providers of telehealth.

“A ‘digital first’ policy might look good on paper and create the impression that the government is taking action. But it will not deliver the outcomes it promises. The money would be far better invested in retaining and recruiting community GPs to deliver the safer, higher-quality care they already provide.”

Researchers are exploring how dark patterns exploit vulnerable consumers, and what New Zealand law can do about it.

Several of the world’s most powerful social media giants, including Meta and YouTube, are on trial in the US over claims their apps were designed to be harmful to young people. For University of Auckland law academics Professor Jodi Gardner and Dr Joshua Yuvaraj, the case connects closely with their research into manipulative advertising, vulnerable users and New Zealand law.

In the chapter Manipulative Advertising and Vitiating Factors, which features in a forthcoming book examining how laws in the Asia-Pacific region are transforming in response to the digital world, the researchers look at the role ‘dark patterns’ play in manipulative advertising.

Dark patterns are digital design tactics intended to confuse users, make it difficult to express their true preferences, or manipulate them into taking certain actions.

There are different types of dark patterns that can influence purchases, for example, forced action, obstruction, sneaking an item into a basket, and scarcity or urgency messaging. These practices are objectively unfair to all consumers, and the researchers say they’re relatively straightforward to recognise and regulate.

Their chapter, however, focuses on a more complex dark pattern: identifying people with potential vulnerabilities, such as by tracking their search habits, and then exploiting these through targeted ads or pop-ups.

The researchers call this ‘vulnerability exploitation’.

“The harm in question doesn’t come from the content of the advertisement itself, but from the fact that it purposefully targets people who are vulnerable and may agree to purchases not in their best interests,” they write.

Gardner and Yuvaraj use three case studies to highlight how vulnerable groups can be targeted by manipulative advertising: children urged to buy online game add-ons before a countdown ends, financially illiterate or disadvantaged people encouraged to invest in digital assets, and women anxious about fertility targeted by egg-freezing companies.

The authors argue that the heightened vulnerability of such groups to dark patterns underscores the need for better consumer protections.

Another issue when it comes to manipulation in gaming is the use of ‘loot boxes’, says Yuvaraj. This is where players can open a virtual crate or similar item, without knowing in advance what kind of game feature or ‘loot’ they will receive. One New Zealand gamer described becoming addicted to the thrill of opening loot boxes and spent about $16,000 doing so.

The Department of Internal Affairs has so far rejected calls to include loot boxes in the definition of gambling, and the researchers say their regulation and that of other in-app purchases will likely need to come under the Fair Trading Act.

Yuvaraj and Gardner say protections in the Act to directly address the exploitation of vulnerable consumers should be expanded. They advocate supplementing ‘statutory unconscionability protection’ with broader ‘unfair practices’ provisions, as seen in recent European Union and Singapore reforms.

They say expanding New Zealand’s statutory consumer protection framework to directly cover ‘vulnerability exploitation’ could bear fruit, as shown by a €1.125 million fine ($NZD2.2 million) given to Epic Games in the Netherlands for targeting children with in-app purchases in the popular game Fortnite.

Another avenue to improve the law in this area is to expand court-developed protections so they better fit modern, app-based and standard-form contracts, and Yuvaraj says courts could intervene when a person’s vulnerability or lack of meaningful choice affects their ability to agree to or understand the impact of a contract or transaction. This could include situations where a business should have been more alert to a person’s vulnerability, or where there’s a power imbalance.

“Given how quickly new technologies are developing that can cause harm to people, such as AI deepfakes, it’s critical to ensure New Zealand’s legal framework is set up to protect the most vulnerable members of society,” he says.