Category: World

Local authorities around the country are frustrated with drivers flouting rules on beaches, endangering people and wildlife.

Technically beaches are classed as roads. Many are off limits to vehicles except with permits or for special reasons, but many Kiwis are fed-up with sharing the shore with hoons and eco-vandals.

Kāpiti Coast resident Sarah Freeman-Judd​ has a property at Peka Peka and said vehicles on the beach were “out of control”.

“We’ve had this property since 1988 and it has just got worse and worse.”

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Vehicles were permitted to use a nearby stretch of the beach, and Freeman-Judd said their driving behaviour was often atrocious.

“It’s the cars coming down and racing at night … and it’s the vehicles on the beach doing burnouts and donuts.”

Motorbikes were prohibited on the beach or in the dunes, but that did not stop them, she said.

“I’ve had quite a bit of verbal abuse. One guy was going to punch me, so it has got quite nasty.”

Waikanae resident Roger Smith​ often visited the area to photograph wildlife and was shocked by the impact of vehicles on the ecosystem of rare birds such as the black-fronted dotterel.

“Unfortunately their nests are disrupted by people with dogs, with horses, but also with quad bikes, motorbikes and other vehicles.”

Smith had seen destroyed dotterel nests and near misses. “This year I found people driving their quads in the sand dunes where the baby birds were.”

Department of Conservation community ranger Steve Bielby​ said risks and damage caused by vehicles on beaches was a longstanding concern.

“It’s heartbreaking for the Kāpiti community to see vehicles driving through nesting areas or putting people at risk on beaches, and we are keen to support them.”

Driving on the beach in Te Horo has been prohibited since 2009, but it was still allowed on a section between the north end of Waikanae Beach and the south end of Te Horo Beach.

Andy McKay​of the Kāpiti Coast District Council said they regularly received complaints about cars on Te Horo Beach.

“We hear that people feel unsafe because of hooning cars and motorbikes and are concerned about the damage caused to fragile eco-systems.”

The council was not empowered to stop moving vehicles which should be reported to police.

Greater Wellington Regional Council sets policy for vehicles on beaches in the region’s Coastal Marine Area.

Driving on beaches under its jurisdiction was a permitted activity outside of sites of significance, such as important areas for mana whenua and those with significant indigenous biodiversity values.

In 2022, the regional council received four complaints about vehicles on beaches: two at Tītahi Bay, one for Pukerua Bay, and one for Paremata.

Wellington city councillor Ben McNulty​ was visiting Waitārere Beach in Horowhenua District recently and was worried about vehicles driving near the swimming flags where families were playing.

He made a comment on Twitter: “At the risk of offending the entire Horowhenua District, Waitārere Beach is a gem, but the car culture on the beach is pure garbage.

“The last thing I should be worried about when building sandcastles with my son on a beach is him running into oncoming traffic.”

Horowhenua District Council chief executive Monique Davidson​ said they worked closely with police and Waitārere Beach wardens to monitor and patrol the area as a deterrent for anti-social behaviour.

“Most people taking vehicles on the beach are compliant … a but we are aware of a small minority who ignore our safety messages.”

Davidson said the beach speed limit was 30kph but they “strongly encourage people to drive slower than this, particularly when travelling past others, to keep the area enjoyable and safe for all users”.

With its extensive shoreline and many beaches Auckland City Council has strict policies around vehicle access, but is still finding drivers breaking the rules.

Driving vehicles on beaches is prohibited under its bylaws except: when launching or recovering a vessel, in an emergency, or with a council permit.

Registered vehicles with permits are allowed to drive on Te Oneone Rangatira / Muriwai Beach and Karioitahi Beach.

Muriwai was closed to vehicle traffic from December 30 to January 16, but there were several illegal incidents during that period.

Council regional parks specialist Stephen Bell​ said despite what has been a clearly advertised closure period, some vehicles ignored signs and barriers to access the beach.

“We are following up with the registered owners of a number of vehicles that have taken off-road buggies and motorcycles though barriers and onto the beach.”

Karioitahi Beach was treated as a road and vehicle use from a compliance perspective was managed by the police, he said.

This summer, police have had regular checkpoints on the road leading to Karioitahi to remind motorists of the rules and to turn away unregistered vehicles such as dirt bikes which contribute to most of the issues raised by other beach users.

Beaches and dune ecosystems in the South Island were also subject to similar pressures.

Waimakariri District Council in North Canterbury said most people driving vehicles on beaches were well-behaved but dunes areas were sometimes abused.

Community projects officer Mike Kwant​ said it was frustrating that there continued to be incidents where people drove in the sand dunes causing significant environmental damage and put nesting birds at risk.

They were also limited in how they could enforce the bylaw and were considering a new legal framework to introduce fines.

As Chris Hipkins moves in the Beehive’s ninth floor, he will be relying on several lieutenants already known to him.

Here are some of the people already in his inner circle – and some new faces who may be moving up the ranks.

Grant Robertson

Assuming Hipkins doesn’t get sick of hearing how he was the next best pick after the finance minister ruled himself out, Robertson will be the new PM’s right (or should we say left) hand man.

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He’ll remain in control of economic policy and steer through May’s do-or-die Budget, a key milestone in Labour’s election year calendar as it seeks to remind voters it can maintain stability in times of crisis.

Their friendship dates back to Victoria University student politics, and they entered Parliament together (with Jacinda Ardern and Carmel Sepuloni) following the 2008 defeat of Helen Clark’s government.

The power balance has now shifted to Hipkins, who felt no sentimental compulsion to keep Robertson as deputy prime minister.

It was interesting to note during Sunday’s press conference that Hipkins was yet to inform Robertson of his additional new duties (Leader of the House and State Services Minister) suggesting they are not as close as Ardern and Robertson.

Both men are remarkably similar in their outlook and understand each other well. They share a similar, almost contradictory, outlook: blue-collar leftist ideals (both men also love beer, pies and sport) forged in their upbringing, but who came of age in the Wellington political bubble, where realpolitik trumps dogma.

You can expect capital gains tax to remain off the table: both men are too pragmatic to re-open that can of worms. But one bump in the road might be Robertson’s $3.5b income insurance scheme – a hot potato Hipkins may want to toss.

Carmel Sepuloni

Another of the class of ‘08, Sepuloni is perfect deputy material: low-key and trusted.

The social development minister is a solid performer – a good number two can’t afford to be troubled with distractions in their portfolios.

She grew up in Waitara, the daughter of a Tongan-Samoan freezing worker, and Pākehā mother who worked in the Swanndri factory. Her background and Auckland base appeases most factions.

Her colleagues see her as forceful, but someone who offers a sympathetic ear.

Although they were on opposite sides of the 2014 leadership contest (Hipkins backed Robertson, Sepuloni was Team Andrew Little) they joined forces as chief and junior whip.

Their bond is endearing – Sepuloni joked about distracting Hipkins in the house, and he said she has tried (and) failed to give sartorial advice.

Sources say that Hipkins is likely to largely retain Ardern’s kitchen cabinet, to which Sepuloni will now be admitted.

Kelvin Davis, as deputy leader and the senior Māori MP (and also an ‘08 alumnus) will still have a close ear and a key role in building bridges with fellow Northlanders Winston Peters and Shane Jones.

Megan Woods

There’s that saying: if you want something done give it to a busy woman. Not only does Woods currently hold some of the trickiest portfolios (housing, energy, and building and construction) but she is also masterminding the election campaign.

Hipkins could ease her of some of those ministerial duties in order to promote fresh talent in next week’s reshuffle.

In the countdown to October 14, Hipkins will be leaning heavily on Woods and campaign manager Hayden Munro (both from Christchurch and tutored in grassroots campaigning by the late Jim Anderton).

Both are no strangers to upsets in a crunch year.

Munro’s first campaign was the 2010 Christchurch mayoral race when Anderton, then 20 points ahead, made an unfortunately-timed comment about an “earthquake seismic shift”.

He lost to Bob Parker.

The pair joined forces for Labour’s 2020 landslide victory – when health restrictions twice shut down operations.

Although they have lost their best asset in Ardern, the duo’s other secret weapon is Munro’s perennially upbeat nature. None of the MPs will step out of line for fear of disappointing the political operative-turned lobbyist-turned operative, possibly the nicest man in New Zealand politics.

The backroom

Insiders anticipate sagacious chief of staff Raj Nahna to spend a few weeks steering Hipkins’ transition, before stepping down.

Filling his shoes in an election year will be a chore, although there are some able contenders: Alex Tarrant, a former business journalist and savvy adviser to Robertson, or Craig Renney, director of policy at the CTU, who worked for Labour in opposition and served as Robertson’s economic adviser until 2020.

Ardern’s chief spin doctor Andrew Campbell is expected to remain in place. The pair worked well together on Covid-19 communications and Campbell is a master of the role, maintaining good relationships with journalists through a turbulent two terms.

Richard Trow, Hipkins’ senior press secretary, could also find a place in the comms strategy. The affable Welshman has worked for Labour on-and-off since the Clark years. He knows where the bodies are buried and has done a good job of hiding them while remaining popular with the media.

Who’s up and who’s down?

With the exception of Sepuloni, there are likely to be few changes to the inner circle. But this is politics so egos will be both plumped and pricked.

The momentum that swept in behind Justice Minister Kiri Allan can lead her to expect a more prominent role.

That would be a salve to the Māori caucus who will flinch over the expected dumping of Three Waters and the state media merger, shepherded by Nanaia Mahuta and Willie Jackson.

Mahuta is also expected to lose her local government portfolio to rising star Kieran McAnulty, another ‘salt of the earth’ selling point in Labour’s bid to become more relatable.

Don’t hold your breath for a promotion for Michael Wood, however.

Despite sacrificing his leadership ambitions for the sake of party unity, one source said it would be “a surprise” should he be admitted into the kitchen cabinet. He’s got too many problems in his transport and immigration ministries.

That Jan Tinetti is to be promoted was long expected – but in handing her his cherished education portfolio, Hipkins has paid the gambling minister a huge compliment.

Even before Ardern’s resignation, Mana MP Barbara Edmunds was being talked about for a bump up the greasy pole, likely Revenue and/or Pacific Peoples Minister.

Sometimes tipped as a future leader, the former parliamentary adviser to Stuart Nash, is seen as representing a vital link between the top tier and the class of 2020, who risk getting fractious as they stare down the barrel of unemployment.

There will be jostling for the nomination for Ardern’s Mount Albert electorate, because of its historic connotations (held by Clark, David Shearer and Ardern).

List MP Camilla Belich is the favourite, but sources say Helen White, who last stood in Auckland Central, would also like a crack at the safe seat.

Hipkins will have to make some tough calls this week if he wants to present a genuine break from the past – bookies should suspend bets on Damien O’Connor, Phil Twyford, and David Parker returning after the election.

A shadow over his leadership is health, likely to become even more of a liability for Labour over a difficult winter.

Some insiders say Ayesha Verrall doesn’t yet have the experience – and leans too much on official advice rather than her political instincts – and it may be wiser to leave Andrew Little, another pal from the student politics days, in the role.

Nash is a trickier proposition. Labour needs Nash if it has even a fighting chance of retaining Napier – and a good ministerial portfolio might persuade him to stay another term.

That Hipkins made him caretaker of the police portfolio (rather than hand it back to Poto Williams) is a nod and a wink that he understands this.

Some Iranian Canadians say they are taking efforts into their own hands to investigate and track down Iranian regime members and affiliates who are now in Canada — saying the Canadian government is not doing enough. 

One group even made the extraordinary move of publicly shaming a recent arrival at Toronto’s Pearson airport, who they claimed was a regime affiliate, asking how she got a visa.

The issue has ramped up since protests erupted across Iran last fall after the in-custody death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by morality police in Tehran for allegedly violating Iran’s strict rules requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.

As demonstrations have continued against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran within the country and around the world, dissidents fear supporters of the regime may be leaving for safer harbours — like Canada.

“They’re terrorists,” said Mojdeh Shahriari, a human rights lawyer in Vancouver. “Do you want these people to roam around in Canada unchecked? Are you OK with that? I don’t think so.”

Shahriari is a member of an organization called StopIRGC, a group of volunteers who are dedicating time and money to follow leads on regime members and affiliates here in Canada.

She says they have received more than 200 reports and are looking into the strongest leads, sometimes with the help of a private investigator. Once a solid file is built, they will turn over the evidence to authorities to take further action.

“If Canada was doing what it’s supposed to do to keep Canada safe, there would be no need for anything that we are doing,” she said. 

WATCH | A protester confronts a woman from Iran at Toronto’s Pearson airport: 

Protester confronts woman from Iran at Toronto airport

This scene played out at Toronto’s Pearson airport after the arrival of a flight from Iran, drawing the attention of police. CBC News has not confirmed any of the allegations made.

Regime officials in Canada outed before

This is not the first time concerned citizens have outed affiliates of the Iranian regime in Canada.

In 2021, a high-profile former Tehran police chief was spotted running on a treadmill in Richmond Hill, Ont. Morteza Talaei was in charge of Tehran’s police in 2003 when Iranian Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was beaten to death in custody.

An Iranian dissident spotted and filmed him; those images went viral. Many in the community wanted to know how it was possible he had been allowed to enter Canada.

At the time, Talaei wasn’t on any sanctions list.

Last fall, CBC News and other news outlets sent inquiries to the government and to CSIS about Talaei, and soon after that he was added to the sanctions list, which should prevent him from entering the country again.

At the time, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) would not comment on his case, citing privacy legislation.

On Nov. 14, the federal government designated Iran as a regime that engages in terrorism and systemic human rights violations and banned regime members, including their relatives, from entering Canada. But they have fallen short of designating it as a terrorist organization, something critics say is very concerning.

“We [Canada] have dragged our feet since 2018 and not listed this group as a terrorist group, while we acknowledge that they are engaged in terrorism, so it absolutely makes no sense, I would like an answer,” Shahriari said.

Dozens of Iranian Canadians, including Shahriari, have told CBC they have concerns of regime presence already here.  Some say they have felt watched — at home or while participating in protests. 

“We have had many suspicious people roaming around in the protest, taking pictures, and you can’t accuse anyone without knowing exactly who they are. But it’s that uncomfortable feeling that a lot of people have, their looking over their shoulders,” she said. 

“That uncomfortable feeling is very much a part of life in Canada especially. And so that’s why that is the main concern for me.”

Last October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed some of those fears to be true.

“We know there are people in Canada now who have benefited from the horrific regime in Iran to live a good life in Canada — well, we say no more,” Trudeau said while at a protest in Ottawa. 

But people like Shahriari say that is not enough.

“Even within the laws that we have, they should not be able to come to Canada. But they keep coming. So I’m as shocked as anyone else. People sometimes ask me, ‘You are a lawyer, how is this happening?’ I really don’t know,” she said. 

‘Immense anger’ at Canadian authorities

While StopIRGC has been investigating and advocating, others are taking more extreme actions — even publicly shaming people they believe to be associated with the regime. 

At Toronto Pearson International airport last December, a small group waited in arrivals for a traveller who they believe is affiliated with the regime. They said they had received tips from dissidents inside Iran.

Footage taken by the group and posted on YouTube shows a small group filming on their phones and yelling at a woman, accusing her of working for the regime. They follow her through the airport; the footage rolls for more than 30 minutes. 

“She just came to Canada, she used to work for the Iranian regime office and we’d like to know who gave her a visa, and we want the Canadian government to investigate that,” one man shouts at police officers who have come to break it up. 

CBC has not confirmed any of the allegations being made in the video.

WATCH | Lawyer Mojdeh Shahriari says government needs to do more: 

Why this lawyer says Canada needs to do more to keep regime supporters out

Lawyer Mojdeh Shahriari says the federal government needs to step up efforts to ensure possible supporters of the Iranian regime don’t enter Canada unchecked.

However, the sentiment motivating these actions, the need for answers on how members of the regime or its affiliates are getting into Canada, is a concern expressed by many in the community. 

“There is the threat of excess, of people going too far, of people being slandered, and I have seen examples of that,” said Kaveh Shahrooz, a human rights activist more discreetly tracking regime members in Canada; he receives tips and carefully researches those leads.

“I think there is immense anger at Canadian authorities. The horrors that were inflicted on us and our families in Iran have been exported here to Canada,” he said.

“I have personally been in many meetings with government officials saying, folks, this is a real threat to this country. And we’ve always been dismissed, politely dismissed,” Shahrooz said.

Shahrooz likens Iranian officials leaving Iran now to Nazi leaders fleeing Germany for Argentina and elsewhere at the end of the Second World War.

“I worry that the same thing is going to happen as the Iranian regime comes under pressure and hopefully collapses. And a lot of them, I suspect, are gonna be coming to Canada,” he said.

CSIS investigating

Canada’s spy agency, CSIS, told CBC News it continues to investigate the threat of the regime in Canada. Last fall, it announced it was following credible “threats to life emanating from the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The office of the public safety minister responded to CBC News’s request for comment and noted that Canada has already banned thousands of Iranian regime members from entering the country.

“This means that tens of thousands of senior members of the Iranian regime, including many members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, are now inadmissible to Canada,” the statement read. 

“In addition to being banned from entering Canada, current and former senior officials present here may be investigated and removed from the country,” the statement read. 

In the meantime, Shahriari said StopIRGC has never been busier. 

“We are not going to stop doing the work we are doing. We are getting more and more reports and will continue to followup on each one,” she said. 

“It’s a worry about Canada. What does that say about our country?”

Consumer furor over rising food prices has reignited anger over the infamous bread price-fixing scandal, which became public in 2017 and allegedly involved several major grocers colluding to inflate bread prices. 

“It’s time to get answers,” said anti-poverty activist Irene Breckon, 76, of Elliot Lake, Ont. “It’s not right that the poor people are suffering so much more, and the rich people … keep bumping up their prices.”

According to data released Tuesday, grocery prices have climbed by 11 per cent year over year. 

The federal government is working on a grocery code of conduct to help foster competition in the industry. And in response to allegations grocers are raking in excessive profits, both the government and Canada’s Competition Bureau are examining grocery pricing in Canada.

During a parliamentary committee hearing last month, Loblaw Companies Ltd. (which owns Loblaws and Superstore) and Empire Company Ltd. (owners of Sobeys and Safeway), said they’re not profiteering but, instead, are passing on higher costs from suppliers. 

Meanwhile, the Competition Bureau is still investigating the bread price-fixing scheme — almost five-and-a-half years after launching the probe on Aug. 11, 2017. 

No charges have been laid and the competition watchdog says there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time. 

“The Bureau must conduct a thorough review of all the facts of a case before reaching any conclusions regarding potential violations of the law,” said spokesperson Marie-Christine Vézina in an email.

She offered no timeline, and said, by law, the bureau must conduct its work confidentially.

8 years since Loblaw tip

Almost eight years ago in March 2015, Loblaw alerted the Competition Bureau to its part in an allegedly industry-wide price-fixing agreement to artificially inflate the price of some packaged bread from 2001 to 2015. 

Loblaw received immunity from prosecution for its co-operation. It then offered customers $25 gift cards to make amends.

In 2017, the bureau began investigating other alleged parties: grocers Sobeys, Walmart, Metro and Giant Tiger, and producer and distributor Canada Bread. According to court records, in 2019, it also targeted Maple Leaf Foods, which was the majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014. 

WATCH | Are you being gouged at the grocery store?

Are the grocery giants gouging us?

Sylvain Charlebois, Director of Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, says costs for the big grocery chains have legitimately gone up, but the industry as a whole is taking a lot of heat from consumers for higher food prices right now.

Food distribution expert Sylvain Charlebois claims the investigation is taking too long, and that the lack of results is eroding Canadians’ trust at a time of escalating food prices.

“The grocers’ crisis of confidence has a lot to do with the fact that there’s still unfinished business out there,” said Charlebois, the director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. “You need to move on this issue.”

But competition law expert Jennifer Quaid said it can take time to gather evidence needed to prove a price-fixing conspiracy.

‘[It’s] particularly difficult when you’re talking about large, economically powerful entities,” said Quaid, a law professor at the University of Ottawa. “You can’t just sort of snoop on them, right? We don’t have a police state.”

Other grocers respond

In 2004, the Competition Bureau launched what turned out to be a three-year investigation into allegations of price-fixing at gasoline stations in Quebec. By 2008, 13 people and 11 companies faced criminal charges in the case, and by 2009, the majority of them had pleaded guilty.

Quaid suggests that investigation had a speedier outcome because a number of people implicated agreed to assist with the bureau’s investigation. 

“The defining feature there is that because people co-operated and got immunity, they were able to get wiretaps. They were able to catch people calling each other.”

Even though Loblaw is co-operating with the price fixing investigation, Quaid said it may be taking longer than expected because none of the other alleged parties appears to be offering a confession and co-operation in exchange for leniency. 

Sobeys, Walmart and Giant Tiger each told CBC News they have no reason to believe they violated the Competition Act. 

“We have steadfastly fought against these irresponsible allegations,” wrote Sobeys spokesperson Tshani Jaja in an email. 

Metro said it complies with the law and “has never been found to be in breach of the Competition Act.”

Mexican multinational company Grupo Bimbo, which acquired Canada Bread in 2014, declined to comment. Maple Leaf Foods said it was unaware of any wrongdoing at Canada Bread when it was the majority shareholder. 

Quaid said the biggest risk with a lengthy investigation is that, over time, it may be more difficult to secure evidence.

“For example, it might be harder to track down the people who were involved. Maybe they’ve moved on, maybe they work somewhere else, maybe they’ve died.”

Even if no charges are laid as a result of the investigation, it won’t be case closed for the bread price-fixing saga. That’s because two class-action lawsuits, one in Ontario and one in Quebec, have been certified in court, each seeking financial compensation from companies allegedly involved. 

If nothing else, anti-poverty activist Breckon hopes the lawsuits will result in some extra cash for class-action members who may be struggling with high food prices. 

“I know so many people that are having an extremely difficult time,” she said.