RNZ is “investigating” after a story purporting to be from world news agency Reuters was subtly edited with a pro-Russian slant.
The story – headlined “Increasing talk of ‘war’ in Russia worrying sign of escalation” – has since been amended and a tag at the bottom said the broadcaster was “concerned” by the original content.
The changes to the story were first pointed out on Twitter after a user claimed they contacted Reuters and were told its story was not the same as the one republished by RNZ.
The story originally published by RNZ added references to a “pro-Western government” that had “suppressed ethnic Russians” and changed mention of Ukraine’s former “pro-Russian president” to “pro-Russian elected government”.
A spokesperson for RNZ confirmed to The Spinoff that it was investigating how the situation arose. However, despite requesting an interview, we were told “there will be no comment until that investigation is completed and any appropriate action taken”.
After a two-day meeting of the governing council, a budget for Auckland Council has been agreed, with councillors voting to support Wayne Brown’s “compromise” proposal, which the mayor described as “the most challenging and contentious annual budget in the history of Auckland Council”.
The final vote for the plan, which includes an increase in rates, some cuts and a partial sale of Auckland airport shares, was 14-6 with one abstention (scroll to end for the vote breakdown). “You have no right to do what you’re doing … Shame on all of you!” shouted a member of the public as the result was declared. Brown said he would adjourn “while this lady finishes her rant”.
The mayor subsequently told the Town Hall meeting the budget had been passed “more with relief rather than joy”. He added: “There are those who said they’ve been disappointed with the process. I was disappointed to find we owed $375 million when I arrived.”
Brown’s original budget plan, unveiled and put out for consultation in February, entailed dramatic cuts across services including Citizens’ Advice Bureaus, local boards, social services and the arts. Last month, after lobbying from the public, interest groups and several councillors, the mayor revised his plan, reversing most of the cuts while instead proffering a sale of shares in Auckland International Airport.
After hearing from councillors yesterday morning, Brown presented a third version, with the earlier full sale of airport shares reduced by more than half, which would still fetch the council around a billion dollars and retain a 10% stake. It increased residential rates from 6.7% to 7.7% and reinstated $4m of cuts to local boards while requiring the CEO of Auckland Council to make a further $5m in cuts. An amendment put by Manukau councillor Lotu Fuli, which would have halted share sales in favour of borrowing, failed earlier today 13-8.
This afternoon Brown offered further “accommodations”, most notably in reducing the partial asset sale further, to about 7%, meaning the council will now retain a 11% stake.
Councillor Mike Lee decried a “sorry affair”, calling it a victory for the economic approach of Ruth Richardson. Proceedings were briefly interrupted this afternoon when a member of the public launched a tirade opposing the budget plan.
Mayor Wayne Brown chairs a meeting of the Auckland Council governing body.
In a statement issued following the vote, Brown called it “the most challenging and contentious annual budget in the history of Auckland Council”. He said: “This is the best, most prudent, balanced budget for Aucklanders that I’ve been able to achieve. This budget represents a large reduction in the council’s debt, protects core services and keeps rate under control. It is the start of the work to fix the council’s budget and secure our financial sustainability.”
He added: “It is clear we should not use debt to fill an operating budget hole – to me, that is the essence of financial mismanagement. Loading future generations of Aucklanders with debt because we didn’t have the courage to make hard decisions about living within our means, would have been unacceptable … We all want what is best for Auckland and that has guided our decision. It is different from the proposal we consulted on, and this reflects the feedback we have received from all Aucklanders.”
Those who voted in favour of the mayor’s budget proposal:Andy Baker (Franklin), Sharon Stewart (Howick), Maurice Williamson (Howick), Chris Darby (North Shore), Desley Simpson (Ōrākei), Greg Sayers (Rodney), Shane Henderson (Waitākere), Ken Turner (Waitākere), Christine Fletcher (Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa), Richard Hills (North Shore), Daniel Newman (Manurewa-Papakura), John Watson (Albany), Wayne Walker (Albany), Mayor Wayne Brown. (Walker and Watson registered their opposition to the share sale.)
Those who voted against:Lotu Fuli (Manukau), Alf Filipaina (Manukau), Angela Dalton (Manurewa-Papakura), Josephine Bartley (Maungakiekie-Tāmaki), Mike Lee (Waitematā and Gulf), Kerrin Leoni (Whau)
* This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up for regular Friday dispatches here.
Tom Holland is a bonafide movie star, a box office crowdpleaser who’s played Spider-Man in seven films now. He doesn’t have much time for television, but The Crowded Room (Apple TV+) is an exception. Set in 1979, it’s a cat-and-mouse murder-mystery thriller in which Holland’s Danny is arrested and interviewed for a grisly murder. “Twisty but tedious,” said The Hollywood Reporter. Apple TV+ also has the third season of The Snoopy Show landing today, and TVNZ+ has 10 new Bluey episodes from Sunday, for any kids in your home.
Elsewhere, Neon has all four episodes of Framed, a documentary following a brazen Australian art heist in which a Picasso was taken off the wall in 1986. This one’s been on my radar for a while, and the reviews are great. “Too wild to be believed,” said The Guardian. Also on Neon is the third season of Awkwafina is Nora From Queens, the acclaimed comedy with Awkwafina playing a fictionalised version of herself.
The fourth season of Mindy Kaling’s Netflix comedy Never Have I Ever kicks off on Netflix, while Arnold Schwarzenegger’s takeover of the streaming service continues with a docuseries called Arnold, in which the bodybuilding action star apologises for groping women, among other things. Prime Video has season two of The Lake, Acorn has The Light in the Hall (“A thriller without too much in the way of thrills,” said The Guardian) and TVNZ+ has the new true-crime comedy Based on a True Story.
Blockbusters Fast X and Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 continue to dominate the local box office, but don’t forget about Bank of Dave, the feelgood Netflix hit that’s landed in theatres here right now. Wētā Workshop creature feature The Tank comes with an R13 rating and is also in theatres now. And don’t forget about Pearl, the acclaimed Ti West slasher finally available for rent on Neon. That will cost you $7.99, but it’s totally worth it.
Finally, a PSA for all you sport lovers: Spark Sport is closing down and much of its content is heading to TVNZ+. That means for the rest of the month, all of its content is free, including the Ashes tests and, on Sunday morning at 7am, the Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan. You can find out more of the details in Duncan Greive’s excellent analysis of the situation.
For more new releases, check out our weekly new to streaming guide.
An amendment to Wayne Brown’s budget proposal that would have halted any sale of Auckand airport shares has been voted down by 13-8. Put by Manukau councillor Lotu Fuli, the amendment would have kicked consideration of any sale into the longterm plan process, with rates kept to an increase of 6.7% and the budget gap plugged in the interim by an extra $140m borrowing.
Yesterday, the mayor put forward a third iteration of his budget proposal, with the earlier full sale of airport shares reduced by less than half, which would fetch the council around a billion dollars and retain a 10% stake. Budget plan 3.0 would also bump up the increase in rates from 6.7% to 7.7%, reinstate $4m of cuts to local board spending and require the council CEO to find another $5m in cuts.
The meeting, in its second day, has now adjourned for lunch, with further amendments expected to be tabled this afternoon.
According to Currie, at least 17 staff from the station, including high profile names like Tova O’Brien and Rachel Smalley, have filed personal grievances. A spokesperson for Mediaworks confirmed as much, saying: “Mediaworks has received a number of personal grievance claims from the former Today FM team. Along with our appointed advisers, we are working through the details of each claim carefully and methodically. While this process is ongoing, we have been advised not to comment further”.
But a former staff member told Currie that they were upset by “stalling” tactics being used by the broadcaster. “All of us are in regular contact and supporting each other, but it is beginning to bite now,” said the former staffer. “No one can understand why MediaWorks keeps stalling. It is compounding the hurt and humiliation. The media is very good at holding corporates and politicians to account for poor behaviour, for failing staff, and for failing to follow process. But here we are, being treated in this way by a media organisation.”
In the same week primary school teachers accepted a new pay deal, secondary school teachers have voted “overwhelmingly” to reject the latest government offer.
The PPTA said members had given those on the negotiating teams a “clear mandate” to seek a better offer.
“When negotiations began more than a year ago we made it clear that secondary teachers needed a pay increase that matched inflation, simply to stop the value of our salaries falling further behind,” said Chris Abercrombie, PPTA Te Wehengarua acting president. “And we needed some improvements to staffing and other conditions to enable us to concentrate on teaching and learning.”
Abercrombie said he hoped the settlement of the primary teachers’ collective agreement would mean government could focus on reaching a deal for secondary staff. “Our members are increasingly frustrated at the fact that the demands on teachers are skyrocketing and many teachers are on the brink of leaving, but this is not being acknowledged by the government in its offers to us,” he said.
With the rejection of this latest deal comes further strike action. The next three weeks will see two year levels a day without a teacher, Monday through to Thursday. Each year level from nine to 13 will miss out on two days of classes each week (see below). Staff will also not use entitled planning and marking time to relieve for absent teachers, and they will not attend meetings or respond to emails outside of regular school hours.
Wayne Brown will have a second chance to push through his amended budget proposal as councillors meet in central Auckland again this morning.
Yesterday, after failing to reach consensus, Brown returned to the table with a new budget that would see the council retain about half of its current shareholding in Auckland Airport. In return, rates would be slightly higher and some additional funding cuts were back on the table.
Whether or not this new budget will gain support remains to be seen. Councillors will first consider proposed amendments and then get back into the debate.
Brown arrived at council today, reported the Herald’s Bernard Orsman, wearing a striking hat with the text: “That’s what I do, I FIX STUFF, and I know things”.
AI is gearing to be as much of a cultural revolution as the birth of the iPhone, but it’s still yet to be seen how its implementation in the workplace will impact everything from efficiency to recruitment. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks to CK Lee, founder of receipt scanning app Taggun, about how he uses AI in his business and as a tool to improve his thinking.
Did you remember that single-use plastic bags for fresh produce and other loose items will be banned from July 1? I’d totally forgotten, so thank you Stuff for this article on why the end of the ubiquitous roll of bags could end up costing you more at the supermarket checkout. Countdown says it plans to set its “tare weight” – the weight deducted from loose items to account for packaging – at just 10g, a lot lower than the weight of many of the reusable bags shoppers will need to use from next month.
The difference may not be huge for heavy, relatively inexpensive produce – a bag of potatoes, say – but if you’re buying bulbs of NZ garlic you’re best off removing them from the bag before setting them on the scales.
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The chief executive of Gore District Council has finally broken his silence, weeks after allegations of sustained bullying were raised in two major news stories.
In early May, Newsroom reported that bullying claims dated back to the early 2000s, while an excellent Sunday investigation on TVNZ1 raised similar concerns.
The reports took some of the heat off embattled mayor Ben Bell, who avoided a symbolic “vote of no confidence” last month after councillors decided against it.
But Stephen Parry, the council chief executive who has been in the role for more than two decades, has until now not responded to the claims raised about his involvement in ongoing bullying. And nor has he acknowledged a petition, due to be discussed by council next week, that has called for him to step down.
In a statement to Stuff, Parry said the allegations had been “extremely hurtful and stressful”, but noted staff at the council had continued to act professionally throughout. “As with any workplace – from small businesses to large corporations – there can be disharmony, even conflict. It would be naive to believe this hasn’t been the case at the council,’’ he said.
“The strength of an organisation is how it learns from these situations to build a cohesive, inclusive workplace.”
Parry said a staff survey in 2022 saw 75% agree, or strongly agree, that the council organisation has “effective governance and leadership in health and safety”.
