Lately for Tuesday 9 March 2021

10:20 Police warned over rangitahi rights

The Minister of Police Poto Williams is warning police they should be taking photos of the public only when it is within the bounds of the law. RNZ has revealed the Police are approaching young people, photographing them, and sending their details to a national police database. A police review of the practice is underway.   Police in Wairarapa have admitted to illegally taking photos of youths after RNZ alerted them to multiple reports of officers stopping and photographing young Māori on the street.   Lawyer Kingi Snelgar represents youth offenders in Manukau.

 

10:30 Alarm at Rocket Lab's next payload

A planned payload by the Space company, Rocket Lab,  has upset the Peace Foundation, who has written an open letter to the Prime Minister, asking for launches that include military payloads to be suspended.  The Gunsmoke-J payload is due for launch on March 15 - there are concerns it could breach nuclear-free legislation. Rocket Lab says the payload is a small test satellite designed to test communication technologies for a division of the US Army. Professor Kevin Clements, Emeritus Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, and director of the Toda Peace Institute in Japan, outlines the Peace Foundation's concerns.

 

10:45 The Tale of the little distillery in Puhoi

If you're a fan of unusual spirits - you'll enjoy our trip to regional New Zealand tonight. If you think of Puhoi, you're more likely to think of feta cheese than vodka, but we're chatting to a family with a unique set of skills running a distillery in Puhoi, just north of Auckland. Puhoi Organic Distillery makes boutique spirits - this year they're about to add black truffle brandy and black caviar vodka to their range. Alexander and Iryna Kirichuk and their daughter Victoria emigrated from Ukraine, and settled in Puhoi and set up a distillery.