Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Events – Wildlife Photographer of the Year opens Sunday 28 June at Auckland Museum

Source: Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum  

World-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year opens at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum this Sunday, bringing 100 extraordinary nature photographs from across the globe to Tāmaki Makaurau.

On loan from the Natural History Museum, London, the exhibition opens to the public on Sunday 28 June, with an exclusive Members’ Preview on Saturday 27 June. (ref. https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/visit/exhibitions/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2026 )

Now in its 61st year, Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious photography event of its kind, showcasing award-winning images that capture hidden animal behaviour, spectacular species and the breathtaking diversity of the natural world.

Auckland Museum Director of Audience Engagement Victoria Travers says the exhibition invites visitors to look more closely at the planet we share.

“It’s a privilege to bring Wildlife Photographer of the Year back to Auckland and share some of the most compelling photos taken of our natural world today. These images invite us to see both the beauty of our planet and the challenges it faces.”

Exhibition visitors will have the chance to enter the draw to win the ultimate expedition cruise for two, valued at over $20,000. In partnership with Lindblad Expeditions, one visitor will win an eight-day Alaska expedition for two with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, travelling through the spectacular coastlines of Alaska and British Columbia.

Young photographers can also take inspiration from the exhibition through Nature Next Door: Photography Competition, open to students from Year 0–13. Tamariki and rangatahi are invited to photograph wildlife in their own backyard, local park or neighbourhood, with three entry categories and prize packs up for grabs.

During the July school holidays, families can enjoy Walk on the Wild Side: Gallery Encounters, with two larger-than-life wildlife enthusiasts roaming the Museum’s natural science galleries from Saturday 4 to Sunday 19 July, 10am–12pm and 1–3pm daily. Inspired by nature documentaries, these “Attenborough-in-training” characters will share funny, fascinating and surprising stories about the animals on display, encouraging kids to look closer at the natural world around them.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is open at Auckland Museum from Sunday 28 June to Sunday 23 August 2026. Entry is included with Museum admission, which is free for Aucklanders. Museum Members can see the exhibition first at the Members’ Preview on Saturday 27 June, 9am–1pm.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London, and supported by local exhibition partner Lindblad Expeditions.

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Policy – Green’s tax policy will help level playing field for ordinary Kiwis, local businesses – Better Taxes

Source: Better Taxes for a Better Future

The Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign welcomes the Green Party's tax policy announcements released earlier today is an important step towards rebalancing New Zealand's tax system: to close the gaps in tax on big corporates; to tax wealth, not just hard work; and to generate the revenue we need to fund the things that matter.

“Right now, ordinary people and small to medium local business are paying their tax and contributing the most to funding essential public services, like schools, hospitals and transport infrastructure, while big corporates and the wealthiest people aren't paying their fair share,” said Kate Stone, Better Taxes campaign manager and spokesperson.

“In 2023 IRD research showed that the wealthiest families were paying less than half (9%) the tax rate of average Kiwis (20%), because while we tax every dollar workers' earn, we do not tax wealth properly in New Zealand. The Green's commitment to tax the super-rich 2.5% on net assets over $10m (excluding the family home), and to tax assets and gifts that people receive without working for them where they exceed $1m (excluding family farms and homes), are critical moves if we are going to tackle this unfairness and the inequality it perpetuates. We believe that pairing these policies with a comprehensive Capital Gains Tax would be even better!”

The Better Taxes Campaign considers these policies, alongside the commitment to a $10,000 tax-free threshold and more progressive tax rates, have the potential both to address immediate cost of living pressures, and to tackle skyrocketing wealth inequality that was on full display in last week's Rich List.

“We're not anti-wealth or opposed to success. But it's a question of balance. Over the last 40 years the wealth of the super rich in NZ has increased from $5.3b to $126bn, while child poverty rates have tripled. It is clear that the “success” of the wealthiest few is not lifting up everyone in Aotearoa, and we need to make significant changes now, if we're to avoid even greater inequality and the breakdown of social cohesion and democracy that come with it, as we're seeing globally.”

“Better Taxes also welcomes the moves to close some of the gaps in taxes on big corporates, to level the playing field for local small and medium businesses and to ensure the biggest corporations are contributing back into our economy, from which they're extracting huge profits,” said Stone.

Last year, alongside Tax Justice Aotearoa, we released the Big Tech Little Tax report which  demonstrated that some of the biggest tech companies were making billions of dollars in New Zealand and paying barely any tax. Last week we released expanded and updated research, which estimated tax minimisation practices by Big Tech have conservatively cost over $600m in the last five years.

“Our analysis shows these companies already have obligations under existing law to pay withholding taxes of at least 5% on much of the funds that they send to their parent company overseas and it is great to see the Green Party commit to cracking down on Big Tech,” said Stone.

“Finally, it's a no brainer to introduce a bank levy on the big four banks. Our recent polling showed there is majority support for such a levy, including amongst voters who support the current government. It was clear during Budget announcements that the Minister of Finance had been keen to advance such a levy, so we hope that there can be cross-party support for this measure that has already been adopted in Australia, the UK and some other EU countries.”

“If the big four try to pass the levy on to their customers then smaller banks will be given an opportunity to compete and people can vote with their feet. We would also recommend an excess profits tax on the big banks, which the UK has adopted, to create a disincentive for the major Australian-owned banks to take Kiwis for a ride, ” said Stone.

You can read the full Better Taxes and Tax Justice Aotearoa policy platform here: https://www.bettertaxes.nz/tax_policy_statement?utm_campaign=greens_tax_policy_2026&utm_medium=email&utm_source=tja

The Better Taxes for a Better Future Campaign is a coalition of over 20 organisations led by Tax Justice Aotearoa.

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University Research – Groundbreaking study on zinc for autism – UoA

Source: University of Auckland (UoA)

What if a zinc supplement could help reduce the severity of autism symptoms?

A world-first study is underway at the University of Auckland, testing the effects of zinc on human brain cells grown in the lab.

Auckland Medical Research Foundation granted almost $145,500 to Physiology Professor Johanna Montgomery, who is leading the research at the University’s Centre for Brain Research, with support from PhD student Zoe Payne, Professor James Ellis from the University of Toronto, and Dr Kevin Lee from the University of California in San Francisco.

Montgomery has spent the past 15 years looking at links between autism and SHANK genes.

These genes are vital for brain cell communication, but some people with autism are born with missing or altered SHANK genes.

For the past 10 years, Montgomery’s team has been looking at the impacts of zinc on SHANK and other genes in the brains of mice.

That research demonstrated that giving zinc to pregnant and lactating mice helps prevent their offspring from showing autistic behaviours, such as anxiety, deficits in social interactions, and repetitive behaviours.

Earlier research by Montgomery’s team showed giving zinc to young mice reversed some symptoms of autism.

“Zinc clearly has an effect during the brain-wiring period when the foetus is developing, but perhaps more importantly it had beneficial effects when supplementation was given after the mice were weaned,” she says.

In some mice, autistic behaviours completely disappeared with zinc treatment, while other mice displayed reduced severity of symptoms, she says.

Montgomery warns it’s too early for people with autism to start taking zinc, which can cause harmful effects at the wrong dosage.

Autism can be caused by numerous factors and not all are associated with the gene variants targeted in the research with mice.

“We don’t yet know the effect of zinc on humans with autism – that’s why we’re carrying out this research on human brain cells.”

Over the years, Montgomery has reached out to families of people with Phelan-McDermid syndrome, a developmental disorder that typically includes autism, severely impaired learning, speech difficulties, gastrointestinal disorders, seizures, and low muscle tone.

The research team has now partnered with those families and will take blood samples from about five people with Phelan-McDermid syndrome, which is caused by the SHANK 3 gene being partially or completely deleted.

The University of Toronto has sent cell samples from people with SHANK 2 gene variants, which are also associated with severe autism, to be used in the experiments.

The blood cells will be “trained” and multiplied in incubators in the lab to become thousands of brain cells, which the scientists can use to research the impacts of zinc.

Electrodes will test how well signals travel between brain cells, before and after the cells receive a dose of zinc.

“We predict there are altered connections between brain cells in people with Phelan-McDermid syndrome and autism.

“Our mouse models showed zinc strengthens communication between brain cells, so we want to see if this is also the case in human brain cells.”

Montgomery is working with a clinical nutritionist, paediatric neurologist and neuropsychologist to design a pilot clinical trial to examine the effects of zinc supplementation on people with Phelan McDermid syndrome.

If funding can be found, the pilot clinical trial will start by exploring the impacts of zinc on the social behaviours and cognitive abilities of people with Phelan McDermid Syndrome, then broaden to include people with severe autism.

Almost one percent of the population in New Zealand is diagnosed with autism, but there is currently no drug treatment available specifically for autism or Phelan-McDermid syndrome, she says.

For some people, autism spectrum disorder is a mild condition that requires no treatment, but for others it causes severe disabilities.

Many children with SHANK gene variants have intellectual disabilities and many parents have to leave work to care for their children full-time, Montgomery says.

“I would love it if this research eventually helps families to experience improvement in their children with Phelan-McDermid syndrome.

“I remember one of the parents saying, ‘I wish one day I could hear my child say Mum’.

“It’s heartbreaking that they haven't had that experience and it would be amazing to find a way to help.”

Previous funding from Auckland Medical Research Foundation and grants from the Health Research Council, Marsden Fund, and Neurological Foundation have paved the way for the current research.

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Federated Farmers – Plan Change 1 threatens Waikato farming future

Source: Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers is calling on the Government to urgently press pause on a controversial Waikato plan change until the dust has settled on major national policy reforms.
“This will be the most significant rule change ever seen by farmers in the Waikato and Waipā catchments,” says Waikato Federated Farmers president Chris Woolerton.
“There are huge restrictions and compliance requirements being placed on Waikato farmers that will totally change the nature of farming in the region.
“Plan Change 1 will add cost, complexity and duplication, with thousands of farmers needing both a resource consent and a gold-plated farm plan just to keep farming.”
Woolerton, a Taupiri dairy farmer, wants to see the plan change paused until there’s clarity on resource management, local government and farm plan reforms.
“These new farming rules are completely at odds with the Government’s direction of travel and vision for the country,” he says.
“On one hand we have a Government saying it wants to cut the cost and complexity from farming by overhauling local government and the RMA.
“But on the other hand we’ve got a binding court decision pushing in the opposite direction, bringing in very prescriptive farming rules with huge compliance requirements.”
The process to develop PC1 began in 2012 and has been tied up in endless submissions, hearings, and appeals ever since.
The Environment Court finally released its decision on 8 June, giving Waikato Regional Council until 21 July to make 20 specific changes before the plan will be finalised.
Woolerton says a big part of the issue is the length of time taken by the Environment Court to make a final decision.
“These rules took so long to work their way through the court system that by the time they landed they were already out of date and out of step with central government.
“This process has taken more than 14 years and, in that time, we’ve seen significant changes in farmers’ environmental practices. Farmers have moved quicker than the RMA process has.”
He says the decision has landed smack bang in the middle of reforms of the resource management system, local government and freshwater rules.
“That’ll create massive confusion for farmers, certifiers and the council alike, while trying to comply with what feel like ever-changing rules.
“That’s why we’re calling for central government to step in and put these rules on ice until the new system is clarified.
“Why roll out new farming rules that are about to be replaced? When the RMA goes, PC1 will go with it.”
Once in force, Plan Change 1 will introduce sweeping new rules for agricultural land use, affecting more than 4,500 farms across the Waikato and Waipā River catchments.
For example, restrictive rules will make it extremely difficult for farmers to change land use or even switch between different farming systems.
This would hit many Waikato farmers who converted their dairy farms to dairy goats in the 2010s, leaving them unable to return to milking cows.
More than 400 farmers in the Whangamarino Wetland Catchment will also have to obtain a restricted discretionary resource consent simply to continue their existing farming activities.
Those farmers will have no certainty they can keep farming, and those who do secure consent could be subjected to significant restrictions on how they operate.
King Country sheep and beef farmer Reon Verry, who serves as Waikato Federated Farmers meat and wool chair, is also concerned about what PC1 might mean for local farmers.
Verry is a strong supporter of environmental protection, having completed substantial fencing and planting projects on his farm and helped establish a local catchment group.
“The environment is something I really care about, but these rules will simply see a whole lot of money wasted on compliance costs rather than on-farm action,” Verry says.
“With all the Government’s reforms currently underway, it makes total sense to press pause on implementing these new rules until everyone has more clarity.
“Pausing the new rules doesn’t mean pressing pause on environmental improvements. Farmers are still going to keep getting on with the good work we’re already doing.
“Like most farmers, I’ve still got my farm environment plan to get on with, the native trees are ordered, and the fencers are booked in.”
Verry says Ministers are currently working their way through what the new national system will look like, and we need to be careful to avoid duplication or confusion.
“Common sense would suggest we slow down and wait for the new system to land.” 
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Freshwater physical habitat: Data to 2024 – Stats NZ indicator

Source: Statistics New Zealand

Freshwater physical habitat: Data to 2024 – indicator

22 June 2026

Freshwater physical habitat is a fundamental indicator of the condition of Aotearoa New Zealand’s river ecosystems, underpinning the structure and function of aquatic communities by influencing where aquatic organisms can live. Understanding changes in habitat condition is critical to assessing the extent and impact of human activities on freshwater ecosystems.

We report on the current state of New Zealand’s freshwater physical habitat condition using the median habitat quality score calculated from data recorded at monitored river sites between 2020 and 2024. We also report on the relationship between upstream human modified land cover and physical habitat condition at monitored river sites.

Habitat quality scores are made up of 10 habitat parameters at each assessed site:

deposited sediment
invertebrate habitat diversity
invertebrate habitat abundance
fish cover abundance
fish cover diversity
hydraulic heterogeneity
bank erosion
bank vegetation
riparian width
riparian shade.

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Meat leads rise in exports in May – Overseas merchandise trade: May 2026 – Stats NZ news story and information release

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Defence News – RNZAF Poseidon crew spots fisherman missing for a week in Cook Islands

Source: New Zealand Defence Force

A Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-8A Poseidon crew has found a solo fisherman missing for a week in the northern Cook Islands.

 

The man, in his four-metre aluminium skiff, was spotted by the crew this morning (NZT) and he was able to wave to them.

 

Nearby fishing vessels had indicated they were able to pick the man up.

 

The fisherman had set off from Pukapuka Island, about 1140km northwest of Rarotonga, for a day’s fishing on Thursday last week (local time) but failed to return.

 

He was reported overdue to local police the following day and New Zealand’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre requested RNZAF help in the search earlier this week.

 

It was believed he had minimal safety or survival equipment.

 

The P-8A and crew started the search on Thursday (NZT).

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World Refugee Day: Almost 2 million children estimated to have returned to "unliveable conditions" in Syria in 18 months

Source: Save the Children
Almost 2 million children have returned to their hometowns in Syria in the past 18 months – the largest voluntary movement of returnees globally – but many find their homes damaged, basic services collapsed and the land contaminated by explosive devices, Save the Children said [1].
Ahead of World Refugee Day tomorrow, the child rights organisation fears the large scale of returns creates the illusion that conditions are safe after the end of 14 years of conflict in December 2024, putting pressure on Syrians to return [2].
An estimated 953,000 children are among more than 1.6 million refugees who have returned since Syria’s political transition on 8 December 2024, according to latest UNHCR figures. Save the Children estimates that about 1.02 million children [3] internally displaced within Syria have also returned to their areas of origin. 
As people return, 15.6 million people – nearly 70% of the population – remain in need of humanitarian assistance, including 7.5 million children [4]. Families are going back to communities where basic services, infrastructure and protection systems remain severely weakened due to conflict, economic collapse, and mass destruction. 
A survey by Save the Children at the end of last year in 90 households found that children are returning to conditions that are unsafe and unliveable. Nearly two-thirds of families said they arrived back to find their homes damaged or destroyed. Almost the same number said their level of access to both water and electricity was low. [5]
Save the Children said returning families are living one shock away from being forced to move again. In the survey, three in four said a further deterioration in the economy would push them to leave and nearly two thirds said the same of a deterioration in security. 
Adolescent girls face particular risks, including unsafe routes to school, dropout, and early marriage. Children with disabilities are also often excluded from the services their families seek for them. 
Children also face the risk of unexploded remnants of war. Between December 2024 and December 2025, children accounted for 37% of all reported civilian casualties from explosive ordnance in Syria, and 28% of those killed, according to NGO safety advisory body INSO . Much of the contamination is in agricultural land and the routes families walk every day. 
Only 57% of hospitals and 37% of primary health centres remain fully functional.
Lina-, 12, tried to go home with her family but found her home and school reduced to rubble. They ended up returning to their camp where they had been living for five years. 
She said: ” When we reached our village, our house and our school were both in rubble, and we could not stay, so we returned to the camp. We are not numbers. We are faces, dreams, and small but strong hearts.”
Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children Syria Acting Country Director, said: 
“Fourteen years of war in Syria displaced half the country’s 25 million people and shaped an entire generation of children born into rubble and ruin, who have never known life before the war. Now, families are coming back home, hoping their children can finally grow up in safety and peace.” 
“But no child can make a new beginning when there is no electricity or water supply; not enough food; no school or healthcare. When they are too scared to take a step outside due to the ground being littered with explosives. 
“International law dictates that any return of refugees must be voluntary, safe, dignified and informed. This is not safe. Already, an entire generation had their childhoods stolen during the war in Syria. We now need to see mass investment in reconstruction so that this generation of children does not continue to pay the price.”
Save the Children is calling on the Government of Syria, host governments, the United Nations, and donors to place children's safety, rights, and recovery at the heart of decisions about return. The organisation is also calling for investment in the conditions children need to return safely and to stay, such as large-scale clearance of explosive ordnance, restoration of healthcare, water and education, and guaranteed civil documentation for returnee children.
Save the Children has been working in Syria since 2012, reaching over five million people, including more than three million children, with child protection, education, food security and livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene, health and nutrition.
About Save the Children NZ:
Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.
Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and alleviating child poverty.
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New Emergency Mobile Alert map "another step forward" – NEMA

Source: National Emergency Management Agency

A new map will allow anyone in New Zealand to see any live Emergency Mobile Alerts, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says.
Hosted on GetReady.govt.nz, the map will show all current active Alerts issued by authorised agencies such as NEMA, CDEM Groups, Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Police. The web page will show a web-accessible map of the area the alert was sent to, and the content of the message.
“This new map is another step forward for our emergency management capability that will help to keep people safe and informed.” NEMA’s Acting Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management Stef Michie says.
“Emergency Mobile Alerts are an important channel to notify people in New Zealand about emergencies in their area that are a serious threat to life, health or property. This map means anyone can look up a live alert on the map, see where it was sent, and what it said.
“Being able to look up live Alerts across the country will be particularly useful for people who are travelling, and for the media who can verify emergency information to understand where the Alert was sent and where it wasn’t.”
The Emergency Mobile Alert system currently sends alerts to all mobile devices connected to cell phone towers within a highlighted area. This new map will allow people outside the targeted area to stay informed about life safety actions that friends and whānau need to take.
The map will only show Alerts, and won’t include other information like evacuation areas or weather warnings, and it’s important that people read the content of the Alert that should describe the area affected and what actions people need to take to stay safe
Stef Michie says it’s important that people don’t rely solely on Emergency Mobile Alerts, because they are just one way of finding out important information in an emergency.
“We want people in New Zealand to understand that Emergency Mobile Alerts are just one channel we have. In an emergency, we need people to listen to the radio and follow advice from local Civil Defence Emergency Management groups.
“We also want people to trust their ‘danger sense’ – look out for natural warnings like suddenly rising water or strange noises from unstable slopes, and remember Long or Strong, Get Gone.
Emergency Mobile Alerts are now viewable from anywhere in New Zealand by going to  GetReady.govt.nz/ema-map
NOTES
Emergency Mobile Alerts are sent to you by cell towers in the targeted area. You may not receive an Alert if you are not connected to a cell tower in the targeted area. Or, if you phone is connected to a cell tower in the targeted area, you may get an Alert even if you're not physically in the area. Because of the way cell phone towers connect this can mean that some people outside the affected area will receive an Alert, so it is important to read the Alert message which should describe the area at risk or where the public need to be ready.
It does not store individual phone numbers or handset details, and does not offer an opt-out service. More information can be found here: Emergency Mobile Alert
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Health – Historic vote backs historic change for general practice funding

Source: General Practice Owners Association (GenPro)

The General Practice Owners Association (GenPro) says today's overwhelming vote by contracted primary care providers in favour of a new Government funding package marks a historic moment for general practice.

Contracted providers representing general practices across New Zealand voted by an 85 percent majority to accept the package, which includes the first significant reweighting of capitation funding since the system was introduced more than two decades ago.

GenPro Chair Dr Angus Chambers said the result demonstrated clear support for reform across the sector.

“This is a historic vote for historic change,” Dr Chambers said. “For the first time ever, general practice has had a direct say on a major funding reform that will shape its future. That is a significant milestone for the profession and for primary care in New Zealand.”

The vote followed a ratification process secured by GenPro, enabling all contracted providers to participate in the decision.

“I have been involved in general practice for 36 years and I cannot recall another occasion where general practices have been given the opportunity to vote on a change of this significance,” Dr Chambers said.

“It is important that general practice has a voice in decisions that affect its future, and this process has shown that the sector is ready and willing to take that responsibility.”

Dr Chambers said the package represented the most substantial review of general practice funding in more than 20 years and reflected the Government's willingness to address longstanding flaws in the funding system.

“We congratulate Health Minister Simeon Brown and Health New Zealand for recognising that the funding model needed updating and for engaging seriously with the sector.”
Dr Chambers said the sector would continue to push for further improvements when the funding model is reviewed again in 2028.

“We are pleased to see capitation reweighting introduced. While ethnicity has not been included in the new formula, that discussion is not over and will be part of future reviews.”

The revised funding formula will direct more funding towards patients with greater health needs and, together with annual funding uplifts, will result in most practices receiving increased funding.

“It is a solid package overall. Around half of practices will be clear beneficiaries, another sizeable group will be reasonably well supported, and transitional arrangements mean no practice should be significantly worse off in the short term.”

Dr Chambers acknowledged that not every practice would benefit equally from the reforms.
“There will be some practices that face challenges as transition funding reduces over time.

Around 20 percent of practices may come under greater pressure than usual to increase fees in future years as the transition arrangements wind down.

“What's particularly encouraging is that some practice owners who might not have personally benefited from the changes, still voted in favour because they recognised the wider benefits for patients and the sector. That reflects a genuine commitment to the greater good.”
Dr Chambers said the reforms would not solve all primary care's challenges.

“We still face workforce shortages and growing demand for services. This package helps improve financial sustainability, but it is not a complete solution to access issues.”

GenPro also welcomed changes to rural funding arrangements and the additional investment being directed towards rural practices, while noting that further work remains necessary.

“The Government has taken positive steps to strengthen rural funding, but rural communities continue to face significant healthcare challenges. We expect that to remain an important area for future negotiations and there remains a need for significant further investment.”

“By and large, this is a positive step forward. It demonstrates that government and the sector can work together to tackle longstanding issues and build a more sustainable future for general practice.”