Photo: StuffPolice are returning to crime-fighting ways of old in their fight against gangs, as technology becomes harder to hack, experts in New Zealand's criminal underworld say. In light of the recent police announcement on national and local gang units, today's episode of The Detail looks at how police and governments have fought back against gangs over the decades. Photo: suppliedHe says the introduction of methamphetamine in the late 1990s and early 2000s "supercharged the criminal underworld in which gangs belonged to". Former senior cop Lance Burdett, now a trainer in crisis intervention and personal stress, spent much of his policing career dealing with gangs. He tells The Detail the new gang unit is really just "policing in general" with a "different name".

Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens is tackled by Fiji Dura flanker Kitone Salawa. The fullback was one of four Highlanders to score tries in Dunedin this afternoon. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHThe Highlanders have clinched a playoff spot with a 39-3 win against the Fijian Drua at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium. Their own flying Fijians - Jona Nareki Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Timoci Tavatavanawai - scored four tries between them, and every one was a treat. Haig took clean line-up take and the Highlanders swung in behind him and mauled their way up field.

First published onPhoto: DAVID UNWIN / THE POSTDirty outside wall ... no problem - Sally Selwood had just the cleaner for it. Photo: DAVID UNWIN / THE POSTThe optometrist said the blistering was a chemical injury caused by the cleaner Selwood had been using - Double Bubble Wet & Forget and told her she was legally blind. At the time the 71-year-old had to have her eyes extensively sluiced and she had visited Wellington Hospital on several occasions. In a statement last Friday on behalf of Wet & Forget, managing partner of PR Partners, Jon Ramage said the company was "very sorry" to hear about Selwood's injury. [It] will also reiterate to the [Wet & Forget] 21 store network the importance of sharing the safety instructions with people purchasing the product."

Supply and demand in the New Zealand economy are back in balance and prices are behaving more normally, despite slow progress in domestic services inflation. Our output gap is pretty much zero and we're pretty much around what we used to call maximum sustainable employment in the labour market,” he said on Friday. However, core inflation in the United Kingdom remains uncomfortably high at 4%, while its services inflation was just under 6%. Statistics NZ’s measure of core inflation shows an annual rate of about 4.5% in the most recent release and RBNZ’s flagship core measure puts it at 4.3%. RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr said the inflation pressures were concentrated in the short-term and sectors less affected by interest rates.

There's been plenty of speculation ahead of the upcoming 2024 Budget, to be released May 30. The Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have promised surprises and 'bold moves' on top of the proposed tax cuts and reduced spending. NZ Herald political editor Claire Trevett says the Government has proved every new spending measure will be counteracted with a cut somewhere else. LISTEN ABOVE

Photo: ODTHigh schools are witnessing pupils fighting with a type of violence that lasts longer and is more aggressive, the head of a group representing principals says. Fights were often among groups and they were "not stopping when the person goes down", he said. Anecdotally, those engaging in fights were "harder to bring back from the edge - it's harder to de-escalate". Historically, teenagers had fought with their fists and while this was not to be condoned, the use of a weapon was "really, really troubling", he said. Overall, offending by adolescents had decreased in the past decade - but a certain group of teenagers were offending more, Dr Sutherland said.

Lucy Brown competing in the Latin, American or tango under-12 competition at the Oamaru Opera House last weekend. PHOTO: NIC DUFFThe best and brightest young performers in the South Island took to the stage in Oamaru last weekend. The 85th edition of the Oamaru Performing Arts Competition was held at the Oamaru Opera House. This was "on par or slightly up" from what the competition was used to attracting, competition secretary Vicki Jamison said. Mrs Jamison loved seeing young performers get a chance to show what they have got.

Otago Community Rugby manager Warren Kearney confirmed the teenager’s high school rugby team had chosen to cancel its game today. Gray said anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and teasing, was common at the bus hub. Police were on the scene within one minute of the incident at the central city bus hub. Photo / Ben TomsettConflict at the Dunedin bus hubThe incident is the latest in a string of assaults at the Dunedin bus hub since it opened in 2019. In November last year, a man was punched and kicked by a drunk in a racially motivated attack at the bus hub.

If tonight’s jackpot is won by a single ticket, it will be the seventh-largest prize ever won. For the Powerball jackpot to be claimed, a ticket-holder must get all six Lotto numbers correct as well as the added Powerball number. If the jackpot is not claimed tonight, the jackpot rolls over each draw until it is won. The longest Powerball jackpot run in Lotto NZ history before it was struck was 24 consecutive draws. If more than one person wins Powerball, the jackpot is shared equally between the winning tickets.

The latest residential property auctions monitored by interest.co.nz saw a pick up in activity, but the sales rate has remained at 30% for the last three weeks. Of the 375 properties auctioned, 113 were sold under the hammer, giving an overall sales rate of 30%, which was unchanged from the previous three weeks. That suggests a sales rate of just under a third is the current norm. Sales were particularly weak in Auckland, where just 27% of the properties that were auctioned sold under the hammer, down from 31% the previous week. Auctions sales remain particularly strong in Gisborne, Canterbury and Queenstown, although even they have dropped back from the highs being achieved a couple of months ago.

The comments come after Dunedin student Enere McLaren-Taana, 16, died after an attack at the city's bus hub on Thursday afternoon. Police found a knife at the scene and were investigating the circumstances leading up to the stabbing. In Auckland, there have been a spate of incidents involving knives, and there was one student fight where a machete was used. Historically, teenagers had fought with their fists and while this was not to be condoned, the use of a weapon was "really, really troubling", he said. "In respect of Trinity Catholic College, the Intermediate Otago Combined Sassenachs team will not be playing tomorrow's game against Dunstan High School.

How many times can one travel planner AI send you to the Sky Tower? OPINIONA few weeks ago, I received an email about the launch of Booking.com’s AI Trip Planner, which was described as “a new conversational experience to help improve the holiday planning experience for Kiwi travellers”. It suggested I visit the following, in order: Sky Tower, art gallery, domain, museum, Waiheke, viaduct, harbour bridge and Devonport. Instead, I got exactly the same insipid three-day itinerary, followed by 15 days in Rotorua, Coromandel, Tongariro and other places that weren’t Auckland. “I hope this itinerary meets your expectations and helps you plan your ideal 21-day trip to Auckland,” it wrote, apparently unironically.

An underlying, but often unspoken, theme in political debate is the issue of the rights and wants of the individual versus the need to have a cohesive society. At one end is the tyranny of the autocratic State in which individuals who seek to assert their individual rights are imprisoned, tortured or killed. Do you want a WE society in which we all pay our fair share to look after one another? Or ME society in which the individual gets maximum freedom of choice and pays as little as possible to the upkeep of the State . Cartoonists, at their best, often point up the absurdity of some of the things we believe .

Overconsumption is trendy, with the evolution of technology and online shopping making it easier and easier to buy things you don’t need. Kate “Ethically Kate” Hall joined Jack Tame to discuss our relationship with stuff and dig into clever consumption and strategic decluttering. She has a few recommendations for things people can try to avoid simply buying more things. LISTEN ABOVE

Labour MP Willie Jackson at Oxford Union debate: ‘I can smell the colonialism on your breath’Labour MP Willie Jackson has channelled the famous words of former Prime Minister David Lange in his historic – and victorious – appearance at the Oxford Union debate in Britain this morning (Friday NZT). Jackson is the first Māori to speak at an Oxford Union debate, following in the footsteps of Lange. Therefore, Isupport what Former NZ National PM Jenny Shipley said inher 2021 Oxford debate speech where she asserted TheBritish Empire Is A National Disgrace. To paraphrase our great former Prime Minister David Lange’sfamous quip during the Nuclear weapons Oxford debate 39years ago, “I can smell the Colonialism on your breath fromhere”. Vote against this motion and accept British Museums AREVERY British and we hope your British tradition of justicebrings my ancestors home.