Racist Attack at Huntly Rest Stop Shows Hate Crimes Are Out There and Should Be Recorded

(Mehpara Khan posted a video online of a woman abusing her when she and and her two friends were at the public toilets in Huntly. Image via Facebook.)

A racist rant aimed at a group of young Muslim women in Huntly over the weekend resulted in a 27-year-old woman being arrested on charges of assault, assault with a weapon and offensive language. Mehpara Khan and her friends had stopped at the town's restrooms when they were verbally abused and had a beer can thrown at them, an attack which they believe came about simply because they were wearing hijabs. "This lady comes out of nowhere and is swearing at us. She was saying things like, 'You f***ing Muslim b****es', 'you don't belong here', 'you need to get out of my patch'," Khan told Newshub.

The incident, which Khan recorded and uploaded to Twitter, has also prompted one academic to question why New Zealand police aren't recording hate crimes. Dr Zain Ali, head of Islamic Studies Research Unit at Auckland University, told Stuff that making note of offences like this would allow us to have an informed discussion around who is being targeted and why. Meanwhile, Khan says that she's not shocked that people out there have a negative view of Islam, especially considering media coverage today. "Islamophobia exists in New Zealand. Now what are we gonna do about it?"

The Human Rights Commission has called on government to hold an independent inquiry into the abuse of children in state care. Revelations of widespread sexual, psychological and physical abuse in state care facilities have plagued the government this year, with advocates and survivors calling for an independent inquiry into institutional failings.

"We must understand what took place and learn how and why vulnerable children, teenagers and adults could be abused within the system that was supposed to care for them. Until we know the full story and until we have the answers to these questions, we are not in a position to learn from what happened and to prevent it from happening again," the letter reads. As well as a full inquiry, it calls for a general apology and recognition of harm done.

It is signed by a heavy lineup of names, including the commissioners for disability rights, indigenous rights, race relations and former residents of the homes.

Japanese researchers have teamed up with the University of Canterbury to figure out how drones could locate people in major disasters. Canterbury University's Wireless Research Centre has been working in their new DroneLab with Professor Ryuji Kohno and his research team from Japan's Yokohama National University. Their plan is to give swarms of drones the ability to find victims in wreckage and even assess them for injuries. UC's Dr Graeme Woodward told the Herald Professor Kohno had particular expertise in the devices drones could be equipped with to collect data on people's physical condition. Both Japan and New Zealand are familiar with earthquake devastation: In 2011 Tohoku's 9.1 quake killed over 15,000 people and earlier that same year, the Christchurch earthquake killed 185.

Mental health workers are calling for urgent reform of the mental health system, saying under-resourcing risks the lives of both workers and patients. "We know our mental health system is in crisis … every day, we're struggling to do our jobs," workers said in an open letter, published in The Dominion Post. The workers said they had, for example, been asking for a new alarm system for two years.

"That can be the difference between life and death," they said. "We've asked [Health Minister Coleman] time and time again to address our concerns. But he maintains there is no problem." Speaking to Fairfax Media, Coleman did not say there is a problem - but  acknowledged increasing demand was being placed on mental health and addiction services.

If you're ever stuck with a decomposing whale, it pays to poke a hole in its stomach so that it doesn't explode. That's what Department of Conversation staff are out doing at Farewell Spit today, as the first step to clearing up the aftermath of New Zealand's largest whale stranding. "It's not going to be a fun job,"  DOC's Andrew Lamason told the NZ Herald. About 400 whales beached themselves at Farewell Spit on Thursday night. Three quarters of them had died by the time they were found the next morning. The whale carcasses will either be buried in the sand dunes or left to biodegrade on the beach, with a fence built around them to stop them being washed away.