Peter Miskimmin
This week, a sporting celebrity, Peter Miskimmin, was our guest speaker.
He is an icon in the world of international hockey, having played 150 tests for NZ over 12 years and appearing at two Olympic Games. He is also an old friend of Bryan Waddle, and the two were able to exchange embarrassing anecdotes.
Peter is now CEO of Sport New Zealand, which is an organisation funded by the government and has a wide and heavy brief.
Sport is a New Zealand passion, which makes Peter’s job both easier and harder. Easier, because it captures everyone’s attention. Harder, because everyone has a view and an axe to grind.
We are an extraordinarily successful sporting nation for our size, a fact which is not properly appreciated. We have had world champions in many sports, and participation is high. Sporting achievement is part of the kiwi identity.
Historically, the reasons are not hard to find. Children pay a lot of sport here, especially in rural areas, and we have sporting role models, and excellent coaches: world-class in many cases.
We are abreast of new technologies in eg cycling and yachting. We send our best athletes overseas to compete with the best, which can be relatively expensive. Covid-19 is making this more difficult.
There are downsides. Children now have inflated expectations, and success is measured too much in commercial terms. This is a disincentive to teamwork and the ‘fun’ side of sporting activity.
Sports clubs are struggling as the young are turning to individually based sport such as cycling, surfing, fitness, and even E-Sport. Organised, structured sport is a turn-off, it appears.
There is a strong connection between sport and the physical and mental health of the nation. Physical activity peaks at age 12, on average, and declines thereafter. It is markedly lower in deprived communities. This is a worry, and Sport NZ now has a focus on youth, and especially those in deprived areas.
Sport NZ has the difficult task of allocating its funds between these needs and its traditional support for elite and successful athletes.
A fascinating talk by one who is immersed in his role and is able to communicate it in fine style.
Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD
The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’
If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.
Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
🎉 2026 is almost here!
We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?
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10% Yes! New Year, New Me
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16.9% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
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73.1% Nah - not for me
Update to Neighbourly members on data breach 06/01/2025 8am
Yesterday in the High Court at Auckland, Neighbourly was successful in being granted an injunction against any unauthorised use of the data taken in a recent breach.
As we alerted you on January 1 and confirmed on January 3, our systems were accessed illegally and members’ information, including names, email addresses, GPS coordinates from the address you provided to us, forum posts and direct member communications were among the data that was accessed.
We acted immediately upon hearing of a potential breach: we temporarily disabled the site, notified members and authorities and worked with our external security consultants to understand if and how it had occurred. We then confirmed the breach with members, safely restored the site to service and began the process of seeking the injunction. Yesterday’s decision by Justice Johnstone prohibits the use of the data by any unauthorised person, and requires them to permanently delete it, or any information obtained from it.
This does not mean that vigilance against scammers is not still required: there is a large industry globally that seeks to use stolen information for identity fraud or to dupe people into providing details of their financial affairs for theft. Again, to keep yourself safe from scammers it is critical that you:
- Don’t click links in emails. Instead, type the web address directly into your browser. This helps ensure you’re visiting a real site, not a fake one
- Enable two-factor authentication where available as this adds an extra layer of security to your data
- Stay alert for phishing emails. Be cautious of unexpected emails asking for personal information, especially ones that create a sense of urgency.
Again, we want to apologise to you for this illegal access to the Neighbourly database and to assure you that we have carefully worked through how this occurred. We have safely secured the site and its services for use and ensured we have robust processes in place so this cannot happen again.
We are continuing to work with the relevant authorities, including the National Cyber Security Centre, on any further steps we need to take.
If you have any further questions please contact us via our customer support team at helpdesk@neighbourly.co.nz.
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