Category: Airlines

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7 September 2023 Young couple helped into their forever home A young couple, who were living with their baby and five-year-old son in their grandparent’s sleep out, are the first people in Tairāwhiti to use Kāinga Ora’s First Home Partner scheme to get into their own first home.

Source: New Zealand Government Kainga Ora

The recent Government announcement of changes to the scheme, mean it will be a good option for more of our people to own their first home, says Theo, Kāinga Ora Stakeholder Relationship Manager. “The couple started looking to buy a home when they were expecting their second child. They were in KiwiSaver and were eligible for Kāinga Ora’s First Home Loan and First Home Grant.”

“After getting pre-approval for a small bank loan they started looking for something to buy. They looked at a couple of homes in Gisborne but the only things in their price bracket needed a lot of work. One home they looked at was tiny and cold with holes in the roof. They couldn’t really afford to buy the house, let alone get the holes fixed. This a situation many of our people find themselves in,” says Theo.

“They were living about 25 minutes out of Gisborne.  Down the road they saw a paddock being subdivided and homes transported onto the sections. One home was already taken, but after speaking with the developers they found out that the other one was available.  The house was modern, with 3 bedrooms, a big deck and room for a large vegetable garden. Better still it was close to both of the couple’s marae.”

“After struggling for so long to find some where suitable to bring up their family, they were determined to buy this house. Luckily in Tairāwhiti there are lots of professionals ready to help people navigate their first home purchase.  They looked into what other assistance would be available and found out about the First Home Partner scheme. That’s when I met them,” adds Theo.

“People who want to get into their first home need to start reaching out for information and support. Working with local Kāinga Ora staff, a mortgage broker, real estate agents and a lawyer all helped the couple make their dream a reality.”

First Home Partner is a shared home ownership scheme. It helps bridge the gap for first home buyers whose deposit and home loan aren’t quite enough to purchase a property.  Eligible whānau purchase a home together with Kāinga Ora, to help overcome the deposit barrier. The first home buyer is the majority homeowner and occupier, but Kāinga Ora will own a share in the home that the home buyer will need to buy out over time to achieve full ownership.

Kāinga Ora will contribute a maximum of 25% or $200,000 – whichever is lower – towards a home purchase. Up until recently homes needed to be newly built or purchased off the plan.

For the young Tairāwhiti couple this was the sticking point. The relocated home was placed onto new piles, says Theo. “It had new cladding, wiring, septic tank and plumbing, a new roof, insulation and flooring. It was unlikely to need any maintenance for many years. A great outcome for the young couple.”

As from 14 August 2023, eligible applicants can now purchase existing homes, in addition to new builds, through the scheme and the household income cap has increased from $130,000 to $150,000.

We know many people in Tairāwhiti aspire to own their own home, adds Theo. “I encourage everyone to see if they are eligible for financial assistance through Kāinga Ora home ownership products. Using the First Home Partner scheme made all the difference to this young couple and can for many others.”

Read more about our Home Ownership products.

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Silicon Valley investors want to create a new city – is ‘California Forever’ a utopian dream or just smart business?

Source: University of Waikato

Some of the Solano County land bought for California Forever. Getty Images

He was, said George Bernard Shaw, “one of those heroic simpletons who do big things whilst our prominent worldlings are explaining why they are Utopian and impossible”.

The celebrated playwright was referring to the ideas of Ebenezer Howard, the creative force behind the idea of “garden cities” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; new urban centres that Howard argued would have the best of town and country, but without the problems.

There’s a reminder of that somewhat backhanded compliment in the recent news of a Silicon Valley consortium named Flannery Associates buying land with a view to creating a new city in northern California’s Solano County. The controversial project is named after the investment vehicle’s parent company, California Forever.

The parallels between contemporary utopian thinking and Howard’s ideas from more than a century ago are readily apparent. The notion of something like California Forever may appear cutting edge, but it is part of the historical foundations of current planning systems.

Indeed, the science-fiction writer H.G. Wells – a futurist whose own ideas would resonate with many in Silicon Valley – was so attracted to Howard’s ideas that he joined the Garden City Association to support their creation.

Garden city visions

Any kind of new city model tends to reflect the politics of its founders. The vision and plans stretch beyond the built form to picture a preferred lifestyle, and interactions with nature and each other.

The artist’s renderings accompanying the California Forever project depict an attractive, harmonious landscape familiar to utopian thinking: plentiful parks, open spaces and sustainable energy.

Ebenezer Howard. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC

It encapsulates a politics of urban living that also emphasises the need to recast our relationships with nature. As such, these ideas also involve a large dose of social engineering. They are not just about creating a new built environment, they envision a new kind of society that’s better than the current one.

But the garden cities that were eventually developed were a far cry from Howard’s initial vision. In fact, his ideas from over a hundred years ago make those from Silicon Valley look distinctly dated.

For Howard, it was as much about social reform and organisation as city planning. He advocated for local production and relatively self-contained settlements to reduce the need to travel, as well as innovative ways of treating waste that echo current circular economy thinking.

Planning and profit

Even less like the investment logic behind California Forever, Howard also imagined a city that could challenge some of the precepts of capitalism.

Given the significant deprivation and social divide between haves and have-nots, he advocated that land in garden cities could be organised cooperatively to share wealth and reduce poverty.

The need to attract investors was one of the reasons Howard’s ambitious politics eroded. To purchase land on that scale requires significant capital, and the providers of that capital would no doubt be looking for a return.

Should California Forever materialise, history would caution us that there may be a similar gap between rhetoric and reality. While Howard’s ideas were partially implemented in places like Letchworth, the focus was more on the built environment than social justice or sustainability.

Howard moved into the new city, but his influence was marginalised by the need to accommodate shareholder interests.

Arts and Crafts period houses in Letchworth, designed by Ebenezer Howard to marry the best of urban and rural living. Getty Images

While we don’t know how California Forever has been pitched to investors, it’s a fair assumption it is also shaped by the profit motive: buying cheaper agricultural land, rezoning for housing and development, drawing in state funding for infrastructure, and seeing the land rise in value.

While the images appear sustainable, long-distance commuting may be a problem given the nature of the labour market in California, as might expectations of genuine community involvement in the project. Utopian schemes have long been critiqued for their tendency towards authoritarianism – a charge not unfamiliar to the tech sector in recent times.

Howard’s ideas were also criticised as anti-urban. Shouldn’t we seek to improve existing cities rather than abandon and start anew, possibly to create a gentrified enclave?

For the tech sector, too, there is a recurring utopian trend that seeks to escape – whether to moon colonies or new cities – rather than use its vast wealth and influence to address current urban problems.

Progress and planning

But, ultimately, it’s encouraging to see groups like the Silicon Valley investors advocate for the benefits of good urban planning and what it can provide future generations. The bigger problem is that current planning systems aren’t anything like as progressive.

In many countries, similarly powerful investors routinely criticise urban planning as creating “red tape”, increasing the costs of development, or stopping markets from acting “efficiently”.

Yet the kind of city building represented by California Forever requires greater regulatory power and the kind of political ambition that was more common a century ago. And it raises the question of whether projects like this should be left to the private sector.

At the very least, perhaps, such initiatives provide an opportunity to reassess the potential of urban planning and cast a light on current societal problems. Howard’s utopian vision was designed to solve the problems of his time: exploitative landlords, slums, polluted cities and extreme disparities of wealth.

Whether or not California Forever is built, the reasons behind the idea demonstrate that while history may not repeat, it does sometimes rhyme.

Iain White, Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Waikato lecturer receives prestigious Te Whatu Kairangi – Aotearoa Tertiary Educator Award

Source: University of Waikato

University of Waikato lecturer Dr Ēnoka Murphy is the recipient of a prestigious Te Whatu Kairangi – Aotearoa Tertiary Educator Award, recognising him as a te reo Māori champion and unique and outstanding teacher.

Te Whatu Kairangi celebrates outstanding tertiary educators who are making a difference to learners, their whānau and communities. Dr Murphy (Ngāti Manawa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapani and Ngāti Kahungunu) is among 26 awardees celebrated this year  across 11 different awards.

He received the kaupapa Māori award, recognising his long-standing commitment to the reclamation of te reo Māori and his teaching talent which recognises students’ unique attributes, allowing him to engage them in spaces that could otherwise seem alien and unwelcoming.

The awards cite his influence that radiates across academic, whānau, hapū and iwi contexts and his long-standing commitment to the reclamation of te reo Māori and the requirements of the Treaty partnership across his work at the University and broader communities.

He is also recognised for maintaining a high level of teaching and mentorship, holding steadfast to the mātauranga Māori values and aspirations that he embodies.

“Dr Murphy recognises the unique attributes that students bring to the classroom that are not typically recognised in the tertiary sector and leverages off those to engage them into spaces that would otherwise seem foreign,” the award citation states.

Students say Dr Murphy is an outstanding and unique teacher, valued for his “teaching techniques, patience, charisma, and … devotion to te reo Māori”. One student paid tribute to him as “…A very kind human being, who touches the lives of many, he is beyond a teacher. He is a rangatira for te ao Māori”.

He will receive the award at a celebratory event at Parliament on 26 September where the Minister of Education will acknowledge their work and announce one recipient as the winner of the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award.

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Pharmacy to add to Waikato’s health offering

Source: University of Waikato

The University of Waikato intends to accept its first students in a new graduate-entry Master of Pharmacy Practice degree in early 2025, as it responds to the chronic shortage of pharmacists in the health workforce.

Te Huataki Waiora School of Health Dean, Professor Jo Lane, says the University of Waikato was approached by several key pharmacy employers about developing a local offering to address the workforce shortages in the region.

“About 70% of pharmacists work in a community pharmacy setting, meaning that pharmacists play a critical role in the delivery of clinically and culturally safe primary care. This is particularly important in regional areas, where access to a general practitioner is often limited.”

Professor Lane says the graduate-entry Master of Pharmacy Practice provides a complementary pathway to the existing Bachelor of Pharmacy programmes delivered by other providers and is intended to attract a new cohort of students into pharmacy.

“Despite a chronic shortage of pharmacists, enrolments in the existing pharmacy programmes have been in decline. So, to attract new students into pharmacy, we can’t just do more of the same.”

The graduate-entry pharmacy programme builds on the recent success of the University’s nursing programmes, which now boasts the largest graduate-entry nursing degree in the country.

Professor Lane says the pharmacy programme will be similar to that offered by the University of Sydney, which is one of several Australian graduate-entry pharmacy programmes that are recognised by the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand.

Students will be eligible to enrol in the programme if they have a previous Bachelor’s degree with a major in one of the molecular sciences, such as biochemistry, biomedical science, chemistry, molecular biology, or pharmacology.

“As we have a high proportion of eligible undergraduate students who are Māori (16%) compared to the national average (6%), the University of Waikato is well-positioned to encourage more Māori to consider a career in pharmacy.”

“The overarching goal of the programme is to prepare pharmacists that can provide culturally and clinically safe practice with expertise in the optimal and equitable use of medicines across Aotearoa. Students will develop a comprehensive understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and how this is reflected in Te Pae Ora to ensure equity in pharmacy practice.”

In addition to domestic students, the University expects the programme to attract recent international students and overseas-trained pharmacists who are based in New Zealand but are unable to practice as their qualification isn’t recognised. Thirty students will be accepted in the first year of delivery, increasing to 50 students in the second and subsequent years.

“We know there is a chronic shortage of pharmacists in Aotearoa, especially outside the urban centres of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. The country has 8.04 pharmacists per 10,000 people*, which is less than most comparable nations such as Australia (8.97), USA (9.25) and Canada (11.09). However, the problem is even worse in our region, with just 6.67 pharmacists per 10,000 people – some 20% lower.”

Professor Lane says the Health Workforce Plan 2023/24 estimates the current pharmacist workforce shortage is 170, and that a further 570 pharmacists will be needed by 2032. “Based on our discussions with stakeholders, we think these estimates are low.”

The University has established a professional advisory board to develop the programme and has formally signaled its intention to seek accreditation with the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand.

People interested in expressing their interest in this new programme can register their details here.

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1 September 2023 New Richmond homes complete Thirteen new public homes in Richmond are ready for residents to move in after construction was completed earlier this month.

Source: New Zealand Government Kainga Ora

We have taken over ownership of the homes on the corner of Gladstone Road and Waverley Street in Richmond, near Nelson, after entering an agreement last year to purchase the homes upon completion.

The new development includes 12 two-bedroom homes and one three-bedroom home. Local iwi this morning blessed the homes before neighbours were invited on a walk-through of the development.

Inside one of the 13 new Richmond homes

Julia Campbell, Regional Director Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast, says the new homes are a welcome addition for families in need of a home.

She says a mixture of current Kāinga Ora customers and people from the Ministry of Social Development public housing register will live in the homes, with the first residents due to begin moving in early next month. As of June 2023, there were 141 applicants in the Tasman district on the public housing register.

“There’s a growing demand for more housing in Richmond so one of the ways we’re looking to increase the number of homes available for people in need is by purchasing them new from developers,” Ms Campbell says.

“We’re really looking forward to welcoming people and families into these homes in the coming weeks as we know that having a warm, dry place to call home can make such a huge difference to people’s lives. We’re also pleased to be able to provide modern homes for people in an ideal location that’s very close to town, shops, schools and other services.”

Ms Campbell says a specialist Kāinga Ora placements team is currently having conversations with the people who will move into these homes.

“Before placing a customer in a Kāinga Ora home, we talk to them about both their housing needs and connections to the community and other groups to help us make a suitable housing match,” she says.

A total of 37 public homes are in the pipeline for the Tasman district until June 2025.

See what’s happening in the Tasman region.

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Flood protection based on historical records is flawed – we need a risk model fit for climate change

Source: University of Waikato

Despite countries pouring billions of dollars into “protecting” communities, flood-related disasters are becoming more frequent and are projected to become even more severe as the climate crisis worsens.

In fact, many areas that flooded during recent extreme weather events, from Auckland to Henan in China, were deemed to be relatively safe. This should raise an obvious question: to what extent is our existing approach fit for purpose in a changing climate?

Traditionally, managing flooding has relied heavily on building higher levees or increasing the capacity of drainage systems. But this can be a mixed blessing. While they contain water most of the time, when levees or drains exceed their original design capacity, we experience damaging floods.

These technical solutions have tended to operate on a flawed assumption that future flooding can be reliably predicted based on decades of historical flood data. They also create the “levee effect” – a false sense of security that encourages development in still risk-prone areas.

As climate change brings unpredictable rainfall patterns and higher intensities, these historic design assumptions are falling well short of the realities. And it means there remains a “residual risk”, even when infrastructure improvements have been made or planned for.

Red tape and risk

We can use the analogy of wearing a seat-belt to understand residual risk. The belt will reduce harm in case of an accident, but it does not mean you are entirely protected from injury.

Now imagine road conditions and weather are gradually worsening, and traffic volumes increasing. Some might look at the new risk and decide not to drive, but for those already on the road it is too late.

Most countries are still managing floods just like this: sometimes building higher levees or installing bigger pipes. But development often occurs incrementally, without the strategic investment needed or the room to safely store excess water volumes in urban areas when failure occurs.

Housing development is needed, but too often current (let alone future) flood risk is not adequately considered. Planning controls, or additional infrastructure costs, are routinely referred to as “red tape” that raises costs. As a result, recovery costs are ongoing and residual risk gradually rises.

Weather-related disasters in 2023, including Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand and wildfires in the northern hemisphere, have led to a new focus on understanding how residual risk is managed. But whether it is even acknowledged or incorporated in planning policy varies from country to country.

National strategy missing

Our research team from the University of Waikato recently undertook a survey with flood risk practitioners in New Zealand to shed some light on this.

New Zealand has little in the way of national-level guidance on managing flood risk. Despite this, survey responses suggest flood risk professionals are aware of the issue. They agree residual flood risk is increasing, mainly due to climate change and ongoing development in flood-prone areas currently designated as “protected”.

They also agree the current practice of flood risk management needs improving. But there are several barriers, with the lack of a clear national directive on managing flood risk being the most notable in our survey.

Several respondents noted that changing risk management practice is difficult, given the existing institutional framework. This includes the “build more levees” approach to flood planning.

Local governments also vary in their capacity and resources. Many small councils lack quality flood risk information, such as the likely impact of climate change, which is critical for making wise land-use decisions.

As a result, housing and other developments are continuing in risky places. And to keep development costs down, infrastructure is not being systematically upgraded.

Planning for residual risk

We expect the New Zealand experience reflects similar trends elsewhere. Practitioners are aware of the growing threat of residual risk and would like more power to manage it. But there is a lack of urgency and resources to upgrade infrastructure. And there is political pressure to enable more housing and reduce red tape.

If these patterns persist, not only will the impacts from future floods become more frequent and expensive, but the insurance sector will retreat further from offering flood policies.

This will eventually leave central governments as de facto insurers-of-last-resort for flooding events. And they will be picking up an increasingly big bill, as already evidenced by the US$20.5 billion deficit faced by the United States National Flood Insurance Program.

Internationally and in New Zealand, attention is shifting to the need to build “sponge cities” or create more “room for water” in flood risk management. But we argue that acknowledging and managing the growing residual risk from climate change is missing from the debate.

A better-informed approach would see stronger guidelines against ill-advised development in flood-prone areas unless the infrastructure investment reduces that residual risk. Development on floodplains can still happen. But land use and investment must account for an uncertain future and lower the overall risk profile, rather than increase it.

The reality of more frequent flooding demands a multi-faceted response that makes cities, towns and rural areas more resilient – and prepared for inevitable infrastructure failure. Residual risk needs to be central to planning if we are to avoid an endless cycle of mopping up, rebuilding and compensating for financial loss.

Xinyu Fu, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Planning, University of Waikato; Iain White, Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato; Rob Bell, Teaching Fellow, Environmental Planning Programme, University of Waikato, and Silvia Serrao-Neumann, Associate Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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31 August 2023 Kāinga Ora invites public feedback on the Tauranga Western Corridor proposed key features Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities is inviting the public to provide feedback on the proposed ‘key features’ of a potential Specified Development Project (SDP) for the Tauranga Western Corridor. 

Source: New Zealand Government Kainga Ora

Supporting collaboration between the public and private sectors and mana whenua, the SDP process is a tool that can be used to plan and deliver complex and transformational urban development projects, helping address Aotearoa New Zealand’s housing shortage.

Kāinga Ora General Manager Urban Planning and Design, Katja Lietz, says feedback is being invited as part of the assessment phase of the SDP process.

“In response to the significant housing need in Tauranga and a request by Tauranga City Council, Kāinga Ora selected the Tauranga Western Corridor for assessment as a potential Specified Development Project (SDP) in September 2022.

“Establishing an SDP is a comprehensive and multi-stage process – of which the assessment is the first -which offers a number of opportunities for public input, meaning projects can be shaped by local needs and aspirations.

“Since selecting the Western Corridor for assessment, we’ve worked closely with our SmartGrowth partners, mana whenua, key stakeholders, landowners, and developers, gathering insights to shape the proposed key features.

“Now we are asking for public feedback on the proposed key features – the proposed project area, project objectives and governance body – and this can be done either online or in person.”

SmartGrowth, a partnership including the three partner councils (Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council),central government and tāngata whenua, estimates an additional 43,000 homes are needed in the Western Bay of Plenty sub-region by 2048, and has identified the Western Corridor as a regionally significant location for accommodating some of this growth.

Tauranga City Council requested Kāinga Ora explore the use of the SDP process to help deliver large-scale housing and urban development (including necessary infrastructure improvements) in the proposed project area.

The proposed project area for the SDP includes the Tauriko West and Keenan Road urban growth areas, an extension to Tauriko Business Estate and other potential longer-term growth areas in the Western Corridor.

The proposed key features Kāinga Ora is considering for the potential SDP include the:

  • proposed project area, defined by clear geographical boundaries.
  • proposed project objectives describing what the project aims to deliver.
  • proposed project governance body, being the entity that will oversee the project.

The public is invited to provide feedback, either online or in person, from 31 August to 29 September 2023.

The feedback collected will be considered by Kāinga Ora, including if any changes to the proposed key features are required. A summary of the feedback received will also be provided alongside the final assessment report and recommendation Kāinga Ora must prepare for the Minister of Housing and the Minister of Finance, who will jointly decide if the area should be established as an SDP.

“We appreciate that people may have misconceptions that Kāinga Ora is involved in this process in its role as a developer of public housing but that is not the case. As the government’s urban development authority, we have a mandate to enable homes of all types (public, market and affordable) to be built,” says Ms Lietz.

“SDPs can help to create sustainable, inclusive and thriving communities as they generally seek to incorporate all the facilities needed to make an area liveable, including a range of housing options, public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure, recreational facilities, employment, and education.

“We’re early in the SDP process and no decisions have yet been made on whether or not to establish the project as an SDP.

“If an SDP is established, we’ll work with our partners, stakeholders, landowners, and the community to create a development plan, with further opportunities for the public to provide feedback on how housing and urban development should be shaped and delivered in the area.”

Find out more about the proposed key features and provide feedback at https://specified-development-projects-kaingaora.hub.arcgis.com/(external link)

Drop-in session

Where: Tauriko Settlers Hall
When: Saturday 16 September, 12-2pm

Read more about Specified Development Projects   

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Accident or medical, new research shows we need to treat conditions equally to get people back to work

Source: University of Waikato

After receiving a head injury from a car accident in 2014, I was given support through the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) to recover and return to work as a health professional.

But I am keenly aware that those who have brain injuries after medical events – such as a stroke – are often left to negotiate health and rehabilitative services with significantly less support.

To be covered by ACC, your injury has to be caused by an accident. New Zealanders suffering from strokes, cancers or mental health conditions, along with other non-accident injuries, are subsequently disadvantaged by the cause of their health condition. And this can have a considerable financial and emotional toll.

Partly because of my own experience, for my doctoral research I looked at the services that were available to support people with health challenges who did not qualify for ACC – essentially any condition that affects a person’s ability to work or study, but which wasn’t caused by an accident.

I investigated whether they were effective in getting people back into work, and also looked at how we assess the outcomes of these programmes. What I found was the significant gap in resources and services and the need for a wraparound service, or at the very least, targeted support on the road to recovery.

Helping people back to work helps us all

The amount of support available after illness or injury can make a significant difference to a person’s life.

A 2013 study found 79% of people who received ACC support after a brain injury from an accident were in paid work one year after the injury. But this dropped to 50% for those with a similar brain injury not caused by an accident (such as a stroke).

While ACC will pay up to 80% of a person’s income, New Zealanders on Jobseeker Support-Health Condition or Disability (JS-HCD) receive a weekly payment of just NZ$337.

But it’s not just about the money. As one person who was living with a long-term health condition told me:

Work isn’t just for the finances. It’s the people. It gets you out of bed. I miss it. I want to work. I want to be a part of the society that’s around me. I want to walk down the street and feel I am a part of that.

Learning from ACC’s success

The outcomes for those who receive ACC show what can happen when people access tailored support after an injury.

ACC offers a wraparound rehabilitative service targeted to a person’s individual needs to return to working life.

But systems to support people with health conditions and disabilities tend to be siloed into speciality organisations. These are not designed to meet complex individual needs.

So why not apply a wraparound, cross-agency approach to health and injury issues similar to ACC? It could be applied to people receiving the JS-HCD benefit.

The idea is not breaking entirely new ground.

Between 2016 and 2021, Te Whatu Ora-Waikato and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) partnered to pilot the Realising Employment through Active Coordinated Healthcare (REACH) programme.

The goal of the REACH programme was to remove the barriers experienced by people living with health conditions and disabilities through a “whole person” approach.

Support included a key worker who met with the client regularly to build strategies to manage health and mental wellbeing, as well as a living well coach who provided tailored support for reentry into the workforce once their health was stabilised.

People in the REACH programme were also able to access funding for services that were not covered by MSD.

During my 18 month research period, 138 people participated in REACH and 96 completed the programme. Those who had completed the programme were 53% more likely to gain paid employment or enrol in full-time study than those who did not participate.

But funding for REACH was pulled before the outcomes were fully assessed. The pilot ended in 2021, ahead of the restructure of the district health boards into Health New Zealand-Te Whatu Ora and the Māori Health Authority.

A short-term focus misses the growing problem

The number of New Zealanders living with long-term health conditions is growing. Despite many wanting to return to work, this population often falls into the cracks between health and social services.

My research suggests that integrated and individualised services like REACH are effective in helping people with health conditions and disabilities achieve positive outcomes, including returning to work.

But the removal of funding for the REACH programme highlights the bigger barriers for people who don’t qualify for ACC support in getting back to work: ineffective assessment of outcomes and a focus on the short-term costs and benefits.

Replicating the ACC model for people living with health challenges holds potential. But we are going to need sustained and long-term funding for such programmes, as well as patience to achieve the desired results.

Michelle Cameron, Senior Lecturer, Te Huataki Waiora School of Health, University of Waikato.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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29 August 2023 New developments to further boost supply of housing in Dunedin Kāinga Ora is planning to purchase 18 new homes and build up to nine more across two ideally located sites in Dunedin to bring more homes to the Otago community.

Source: New Zealand Government Kainga Ora

Kāinga Ora has signed an agreement with a local developer to purchase 18 brand new two-bedroom homes at 27 Napier Street, Mornington once they are completed. This development also includes a community room for the whānau who will live there.

Regional Director Otago, Southland and South Canterbury, Kerrie Young says the new homes will be used to meet the urgent need for public housing in Dunedin and provide more people with a warm and dry place to call home.

“Dunedin continues to be a priority area for us based on current demand. We are particularly focussed on delivering more new homes in areas of the city that are well connected to amenities, open green spaces and services.

“We’re delighted to have partnered with a local developer on this high quality development. The homes are well suited to modern lifestyles and all come with their own off-street parking.

“Another great feature of this development is a community room which residents and other community services will be able to make use of,” says Ms Young.

Aerial image of the Middleton Road site

Kāinga Ora has also purchased the former Hilltop Funeral Home on Middleton Road, Corstorphine.

The site borders an existing Kāinga Ora home that will be demolished at the same time as the existing buildings on the newly acquired site, so it can be included in the redevelopment.

“We acknowledge the history and the significance this site will have for number of whānau within the community. With this in mind, the site will be blessed prior to any site clearance and preparations getting underway.

“Layout designs are currently being developed with a view to lodge applications for resource and building consents, at which point we’ll be able to provide an update on our plans for the site.

“We are looking forward to delivering new homes on the Napier Street site and plans being confirmed for our Middleton Road development,” Ms Young says.

See what’s happening in the Otago region.

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Niger’s resource paradox: what should make the country rich has made it a target for predators

Source: University of Waikato

A month after the coup in Niger that toppled the democratically elected civilian government of Mohamed Bazoum, the country’s neighbours are still debating the possibility of military intervention.

The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) – a coalition of west African countries, which includes Niger – has said it intends to send in a taskforce to topple the military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani, which ousted Bazoum on July 26.

But the plan to intervene is not without controversy. Niger, a landlocked nation, shares borders with Mali, Algeria, Libya, Chad, Benin and Burkina Faso. These countries have expressed solidarity with the military junta and have committed to oppose any potential Ecowas intervention.

France, which occupied Niger from 1890 until independence in 1960, has also considered intervention – it has a small contingent of troops in the country ostensibly to combat jihadi insurgency in the Sahel region – which the junta has given them notice to withdraw. Algeria has also denied France permission to fly over the country.

For now, the situation remains fluid and uncertain. But beneath the surface of daily news headlines is an intricate web of geopolitical competition and strategic agendas that have profound consequences for the Nigerien people.

The recent coup underscores a geopolitical rivalry deeply rooted in colonial and neo-colonial legacies and intensified by some western nations’ drive for the control of Niger’s resources.

Although Niger grapples with extreme poverty, leading to widespread malnutrition and hunger among its citizens, it is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium. This juxtaposition of mineral wealth and societal poverty underscores the irony of a nation abundant in resources yet plagued by profound economic hardships.

First discovered in 1957 at Azelik by a French colonial expedition looking for copper deposits, Uranium now ranks as Niger’s second-largest export in monetary value – surpassed only by gold. The country is a principal supplier of uranium to the European Union (EU) and contributes between 15% and 17% of the uranium fuelling France’s electricity generation.

Meanwhile, the country struggles to produce its own electricity because Nigeria recently terminated its power supply to the nation as a sanction against the military junta, leaving much of the country in darkness.

Western exploitation

Given its abundant natural resources, it seems counterintuitive for Niger to rank among the world’s poorest nations. Yet its economic and political struggles have deep roots in historical foreign interventions, exploitation and resource extraction. This situation has, for decades, been further compounded by misguided and ineffective leadership, often conniving in exploitation by foreign interests.

While some Ecowas members oppose the coup in Niger and have threatened military intervention against the coup leaders, some western countries are manoeuvring to uphold their interests. The Nigerian senate opposes military intervention, with one of its members alleging that Ecowas would merely be doing France and America’s bidding. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu suggested that if there is to be military action, it should be carried out by French and US troops.

Colonial powers and other major geopolitical actors have profoundly influenced Niger’s contemporary situation. France, referred to by the New York Times recently as the “Former Coloniser that Stayed”, has already warned that any attack on its interests in Niger will be met with retaliation. Meanwhile the reported presence of Wagner Group mercenaries in the country, after a request from the coup leaders, is a proxy for Russian interests in Niger.

But following the reported death of Wagner Group boss, Yevgeny Progozhin, after his private jet is understood to have crashed on a trip from St Petersburg to Moscow on August 23, the status of the Wagner Group activities in Niger – and Africa generally – is uncertain. However, their operations may come under the direct control of Russia’s military.

African resources, western interests

Another important resource issue threatened by instability in Niger is the trans-Saharan gas pipeline (TSGP), designed to transport natural gas from Nigeria through Niger and on to Algeria and then to Europe. One of the drivers of this project in the past two years has been the European need to wean itself off Russian gas supplies in light of the war in Ukraine.

Yet again, western resource needs are dictating events in supposedly independent and sovereign African countries.

The dominant narrative in west Africa frequently presents foreign interventions as benevolent efforts to stabilise the Sahel region, in particular, against the threat of jihadi insurgency. Yet a deeper examination uncovers a more intricate reality. As western powers strive to shape political dynamics in Niger – driven not just by a desire for stability but also to preserve their dominance and control over resource allocation – they portray Niger, and by extension, Africa, as mere markets within the global economy. This ignores the potential humanitarian consequences of such interventions for the people of Niger and west Africa in general.

As Niger faces political instability and possible violent conflict, there’s a pressing need to critically evaluate the motives and repercussions of foreign intervention.

Beyond the veneer of the quest for democracy and stability, the various players’ deeper strategic intentions must be scrutinised. This is the key to understanding the multifaceted dynamics in the Sahel region and their broader global implications.

Francis Okpaleke, PhD Candidate, Politics and International Security, University of Waikato and Olumba E. Ezenwa, Doctoral Research Fellow, Conflict, Violence, & Terrorism Research Centre, Royal Holloway University of London

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.