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Source: Auckland Council

Amotai, an Auckland Council-led national supplier diversity facilitator, celebrated its annual Supplier Diversity Awards on 26 August 2025, recognising standouts Independent Traffic Control, McConnell Dowell and Ministry of Education in three categories: Supplier of the Year, Buyer of the Year and Supplier Advocate of the Year.

New research finds women who suffered childhood sexual abuse and multiple types of intimate partner violence were more likely to be hospitalised with diseases. Cancel Done

New research finds women who have experienced interpersonal violence and abuse are 1.6 times more likely to visit hospital with cancer and almost three times as likely to be hospitalised for respiratory diseases. See the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.  

About two-thirds of New Zealand women have experienced violence or abuse over the course of their lives.

These women are also:

twice as likely to be hospitalised for pregnancy complications
1.6 more likely to be hospitalised for digestive disorders, and  
1.5 times more likely to be hospitalised for injuries (not necessarily resulting directly from the violence).

Experiences of childhood sexual abuse and multiple types of intimate partner violence were strongly associated with hospitalisation for these diseases.

“We are talking about a range of diseases that are serious enough to require hospital-level treatment,” says lead author Professor Janet Fanslow from the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health.      

“Results also signal that we need to get serious about violence prevention, because the experience of violence is a cost to our health system. We know the country is struggling to pay for health services. So, supporting people to have healthy relationships and doing effective violence prevention up front is going to keep people safer, help them be healthier, and save us money.”

The researchers took reliable data on New Zealand women’s exposure to violence from earlier research and, with their permission, matched that group of women to their hospital records over 31 years from 1988 to 2019, then aggregated the figures.  

“As far as we are aware, this is the first time researchers internationally have been able to reliably match hospitalisation data and solid data on women’s experience of violence,” Fanslow says.  

“In our previous papers, we have had good assessments of violence from surveys, but then we have been reliant on people’s ability to remember and describe all of their health problems and their diagnoses, which can lead to inaccuracies.”  

The study used gold-standard measures to find out about women’s experience of multiple types of violence, including childhood sexual abuse, physical or sexual violence by non-partners, and five types of intimate partner violence – physical violence, sexual violence, psychological abuse, controlling behaviours, and economic abuse.  

More than 1,000 (1,151) ever-partnered women who were surveyed gave consent for linkage of their survey data with information on their use of hospital services from the New Zealand National Minimum Data Set on Hospital Discharges.

The new study explored the associations between each interpersonal violence type and hospitalisation for health conditions, after adjusting for the influence of age and ethnicity.  

Experience of violence was common, with 62.6 percent of women reporting experience of interpersonal violence in their lifetime, including high rates of childhood sexual abuse (21 percent), sexual violence by non-partners (9.2 percent), and/or multiple types of intimate partner violence (21 percent).    

Men also surveyed
More than 1,000 (1,054) ever-partnered men were also surveyed. Of these, 68.4 percent reported some experience of interpersonal violence, with the majority of this (43 percent) coming from non-partner physical violence, mainly perpetrated by other men.  

Men who experienced interpersonal violence were twice as likely as other men to be hospitalised for injuries or non-disease specific symptoms.  

Childhood sexual abuse was reported by 7.5 percent of men in the survey.  

Men who experienced childhood sexual abuse were seven times more likely to be hospitalised for nervous system disorders compared with men who had not experienced child sexual abuse.  

“All interpersonal violence can have health consequences. However, the fact that experience of any interpersonal violence is associated with hospitalisation for a greater range of conditions among women than men is likely because the violence perpetrated against them is more frequent and/or more severe,” Fanslow says.  

Implications  
“The whole point is that violence and the effects of violence are appearing in our health systems, but we're often not recognising it, and therefore we're not responding appropriately,” Fanslow says.

“If clinicians are aware violence could be contributing to the health problem, they could link people to appropriate support services, whether it's around immediate safety or long-term recovery and trauma-informed care,” Fanslow says.

She says health leaders need to prioritise and resource implementation of existing protocols and procedures, such as the national Violence Intervention Programme, if we are to respond effectively to violence. There needs to be proactive screening and routine inquiries about violence exposure.

The research was funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Immigration advisers support a new residence pathway for migrants but urge the government not to repeat its mistake of setting the bar too high on English language requirements.

“The Business Investor Visa announced today is a positive step, but it's concerning that the requirements around English language have yet to be defined,” says the Chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment, Simon Laurent.

“Immigration advisers certainly don't want to see a repeat of the mess around the Skilled Migrant Visa, which is bordering on racism as it discriminates against people from non-English language speaking countries.

“It's important that migrants can communicate in English, but the bar is set too high for the Skilled Migrant Visa. This harsh requirement must not be repeated in the new Business Investor Visa.

“New Zealand has a long and shameful history of immigration policies that have discriminated against people from non-Anglocentric countries. One of the principal tools for enforcing this
racial and cultural bias was — and continues to be — how well they spoke English.

“The legacy of discrimination remains embedded in our current immigration system. And nowhere is this more evident than in the language requirements for permanent residence under the Skilled Migrant Category. The settings today are, irrefutably, too high.

“The current International English Language Testing System (IELTS) requirement for Skilled Migrant Residence is higher than that needed for international students to enter undergraduate study at University of Auckland.

“A Skilled Migrant applicant from a non-Anglocentric country must have a current test score at or above 6.5, whereas the University of Auckland requires students from countries that are not from a predominantly English-speaking country to provide a current test score at or above 6.0 for entry into a Bachelor of Arts degree programme.

“The requirement also surpasses the language standards required for enrolment in trades-based qualifications approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, which are typically set at a minimum of IELTS 5.0.
 
“If we are serious about equity and about selecting migrants based on their potential to contribute, rather than their country of origin, then our language requirements must reflect that, ” Laurent says.

The Association wants the Government to change these settings, ending discrimination against applicants from non-English speaking backgrounds who might otherwise make a material contribution to New Zealand.

“It's time to ensure our immigration rules reflect fairness, not old colonial prejudices.
“Similarly, it is difficult to justify setting an English threshold for applicants under the new Migrant Investor Visa scheme that is too high, when at the same time we wish to encourage them to make a significant investment of their wealth and their business skills to our economy.

“A final point is that while the government has unveiled a pathway for experienced businesspeople, we await keenly the other half of the policy – that for start-up entrepreneurs. Both pathways are important to New Zealand, which has large numbers of mature business owners who want to retire and are looking to sell their business, plus opportunities for talented migrants to bring their new ideas to the New Zealand market,” Laurent says.

Simon Laurent is Chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment, the longest-standing organisation for immigration professionals.

Tax Justice Aotearoa are outraged by the proposed repeal of transparency provisions in the Government's new omnibus Taxation (Annual Rates for 2025–26, Compliance Simplification, and Remedial Measures) Bill, comparing the move to putting a blindfold on IRD, at a time when we need to be taking a closer look at how our tax system operates.

The Minister has described these as practical changes that make the tax system simpler and more effective, but when it comes to the repeal of s 17GB nothing could be further from the truth. This was the provision that enabled the IRD to conduct its groundbreaking research into high net worth individuals in 2023, which revealed the extreme inequality between the effective tax rates of the most well off and the average working New Zealander.

“This repeal is a fundamental blow to transparency in our tax system and shields the rich and powerful from legitimate scrutiny, making it harder to ensure our tax system is balanced and not asking too much of workers and those least able to pay,” says Glenn Barclay, spokesperson for Tax Justice Aotearoa.

“While it is very clear that s 17GB was necessary because pre-existing powers were insufficient to gather information that could inform policy change to address our unbalanced tax system, it is not clear what the problem is that the government is trying to fix with its repeal,” says Barclay.

“We understand that there were no reported problems during the research and reporting process relating to the High Net Worth Individuals project. No formal complaints were received and no legal action was taken against IR. IR appears to have conducted the process with integrity.”

“Most importantly, IR was able to produce important research that should inform the development of our tax settings going forward to address inequities revealed in that study,” says Barclay.

“While it is for the government to decide what tax policies it advances in light of such research, ignoring the evidence is one thing, but this measure is essentially outlawing crucial evidence from even being collected in the first place. That is deeply concerning when we're talking about fairness across our tax system and hardworking New Zealanders having confidence that they are getting a fair go.”

“We encourage all political parties to reconsider this matter as it goes through the select committee process and urge them to remove the repeal of s 17GB from this Bill.”

ASB has partnered with the New Zealand Product Accelerator to launch a programme which will connect artificial intelligence (AI), data science and business analytics master’s students and interns with ASB business customers. Students will be placed within a business for one semester to help them solve real world problems, using AI and innovative digital technologies to drive productivity.

NZ Product Accelerator works with Kiwi companies to identify opportunities to grow their business through implementing innovation, tech and science. Through this new partnership, ASB and NZ Product Accelerator will align a student’s unique skills with an ASB business customer’s individual needs to maximise growth potential.

Starting with an initial cohort of 13 students from the University of Auckland, the programme plans to scale up to around 100 student placements and internships each semester from a range of New Zealand universities. Businesses from a variety of sectors are participating, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, fashion and construction. 

Private training institute academyEX, led by Frances Valintine, is one of the first businesses to join the programme and will work with a student to leverage data to improve its customers’ learning experience. Another student will join healthcare equipment company, Allied Medical, to develop an AI-powered system to accelerate and improve technical parts enquiries. Other businesses participating in the first cohort include cosmetics business The Beauty Lab Collective and manufacturer Windowmakers.

Ben Speedy, ASB’s General Manager Commercial Banking and Business Strategy says: “Unlocking productivity is essential for Kiwi businesses to grow, but many have been challenged with limited investment and slow tech adoption. This programme provides a practical way for businesses to integrate AI and accelerate growth. We’re excited to help these businesses gain cutting-edge skills, while offering students real-world experience. As AI, data science and business analytics continue to evolve, this partnership will be a game changer for these businesses.”

Sir Ian Taylor, Patron of the NZ Product Accelerator says: “The NZ Product Accelerator sits at the intersection of innovation, industry and impact. The partnership with ASB brings together the brilliance of Kiwi research and science with the real-world needs of business. The NZ Product Accelerator model proves how collaboration can accelerate progress, drive commercial success, and deliver lasting benefits to Aotearoa.”  

Ben Speedy says: “Enabling growth is a priority for us at ASB. We continue to support exporters and innovators with capital and global network opportunities, as well as boosting our internal capability in the critical food and fibre and manufacturing sectors.”

Over the past five years ASB has grown business lending more than any other bank, with net business lending up $4.5 billion. Last year, ASB worked with the Employers and Manufacturers Association and Productivity and Transformation Consultants LMAC to deliver 21 productivity workshops, aimed at supporting manufacturers to embrace big data, digitisation and advanced technology. Over 200 businesses attended, with 40 of them going on to complete an investment roadmap for a productivity gaining initiative.

Screenrights has announced six projects will be supported by the 2025 round of its annual Cultural Fund, with a total $299,750 in funding for this year’s focus of Creative Intelligence. Among them are two Aotearoa New Zealand initiatives: Jack Media’s Te Piringa: A Programme for Indigenous Wellbeing in Screen Storytelling and Script to Screen’s Script Development Workshops for Deaf, Disabled and Neuro Diverse creatives. Each will receive $50,000, alongside four Australian projects also selected for funding this year.

GARUWA will run ‘Ngaluwi: Documentary Storytelling Incubator’, a 12-month initiative designed to support First Nations documentary practitioners and teams, with a grant of $49,750. Milk Crate Theatre’s ‘MCT ScreenLab: Unearthing New Voices for the Screen’ will receive $50,000 for their 20-week program providing accessible, professional screen-based training for individuals with diverse lived experiences, including those experiencing homelessness, disability, and mental health challenges. And Aotearoa New Zealand’s Jack Media will receive $50,000 for ‘Te Piringa: A Programme for Indigenous Wellbeing in Screen Storytelling’, a six-month Indigenous-led pilot program designed to support the health and wellbeing of Māori and Indigenous screen practitioners, both on-screen participants and crew.

A ‘Residency+ Producing Skills Program’ aims to develop culturally diverse and First Nations screen producers through a three-phase capacity building initiative from Cinespace supported by a $50,000 grant. ‘AI for Women in Screen’ will see Jessie Hughes deliver masterclasses designed to upskill women screen practitioners in AI* tools, enabling them to lead creative teams through technological transformation in the screen industry, with $50,000 in funding from the Screenrights Cultural Fund. And Aotearoa New Zealand’s Te Tari Tuhi Kupu A Whakaahua Script to Screen will receive $50,000 for their ‘Script Development Workshops for Deaf, Disabled and Neuro Diverse creatives’ program designed to upskill Deaf, Disabled, and Neuro Diverse (DDN) creatives in innovative screen storytelling.

“We were once again so impressed with the calibre of applications and the breadth of the potential positive impact for the screen sectors in both Aotearoa-NZ and Australia,” says Screenrights Board Director and Cultural Fund Working Group Chair Rachel Antony. “My thanks, too, to our panel of external assessors for their thoughtful consideration and recommendations of this final six.”

The Screenrights Cultural Fund makes a difference by supporting people with exciting and innovative new initiatives that foster the creation and appreciation of screen content in Australia and New Zealand. Including this year’s funding round, the Cultural Fund has now provided almost $2 million in funding for projects since it was launched in 2018. Applications were assessed by a panel of professionals with both local and international expertise in screen, media and education.

*Screenrights recognises the benefits that generative AI can offer the screen industry, while advocating for the legal use of copyright materials through licensing. Upholding copyright is vital for maintaining a viable creative sector that can contribute to and benefit from the use of generative AI. Further information about our position can be found here.

https://www.screenrights.org/cultural-fund

ABOUT THE SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS

Scientists at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland have discovered a previously unknown cause of high blood pressure.

Researchers at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland have discovered that a small organ, linked to the brain, contributes to high blood pressure, which is expected to improve treatment in the future.

The carotid body in the neck responds to low oxygen by making people breathe harder by stimulating the brain’s ‘fight or flight’ response.  

Using a rat model, the scientists found that the ‘carotid body’ responds to high blood pressure by activating the sympathetic nervous system, similar to a ‘fight or flight’ response. Authors suggest that this may explain why some patients remain at high risk of cardiac events – heart attack and stroke – even when elevated blood pressure is brought down.