This year marks 10 years of collaboration between DOC and Meridian as the National Partner of the Kākāpō Recovery Programme, working alongside Ngāi Tahu to support the critically threatened kākāpō.
DOC Director-General Penny Nelson says the partnership demonstrates the power of working together for nature.
“Meridian has supported the Kākāpō Recovery Programme in innovative and practical ways for ten years. From boots on the ground naturing alongside rangers, to providing infrastructure development and engineering expertise on the kākāpō breeding islands, Meridian has backed the programme through a period of strong growth.
“Partnerships like this show how businesses can make a real difference for nature. As we navigate the next steps in kākāpō recovery with another bumper breeding season in full swing, it’s fantastic to have Meridian’s continued support.”
The renewed agreement will continue to provide vital resources for the recovery of kākāpō, a nocturnal, flightless parrot that was once on the brink of extinction with just 51 birds in 1995.
Thanks to conservation efforts and strong partnerships, the kākāpō population has increased from 124 in 2016 to 235 in 2026, and with new chicks hatching this season, that number is set to rise.
Meridian Energy Chief Executive Mike Roan says they are proud to continue their commitment to kākāpō.
“Having been to Whenua Hou island and seen firsthand the work that DOC, Ngāi Tahu and volunteers from across New Zealand do to protect and grow the kākāpō population, I feel privileged to be able to extend Meridian’s support to those efforts. For a decade, we’ve worked together to support this taonga, and we’re proud to continue that commitment through to June 2029.”
Ngāi Tahu species representative for kākāpō Tāne Davis says Meridian’s support as the National Partner of Kākāpō Recovery is extremely important, not only to kākāpō but to Ngāi Tahu as well.
“Ngāi Tahu connect strongly to this taonga species and to see the population grow is important to us. The partnership is extremely important to keeping the mauri of kākāpō alive. Meridian’s funding is well utilised to help sustain the species and support from their team through volunteering and maintenance of the electricity supply on the kākāpō islands is key to the success of the programme.”
NATURE LOOKS DIFFERENT FROM HERE
Nature isn’t scenery. Nature is a society that we rely on for everything, every day. It’s behind our identity and our way of life.
A multi-agency Search and Rescue training exercise is scheduled this weekend, police said, in the Tekapo region.
Lake Tekapo will host Operation Oasis between Friday and Sunday, “a complex, multi-phase scenario designed to test search techniques, field skills, and fatigue management in realistic conditions”.
It will involve more than 200 specialists from across Canterbury, including members of Police, Coastguard, Surf Life Saving New Zealand, Land Search and Rescue, Amateur Radio Emergency Communications, Alpine Rescue Canterbury, Hato Hone St John, and the Defence Force.
“Members of the public will see increased activity in the area, with use of helicopters, boats, and Search and Rescue personnel and equipment,” police said.
“This is a planned, routine training exercise and the public should not be alarmed.”
The Ministry of Transport currently factors elements such as road closures, emergency service response, and the social costs for the life lost into the total cost of a road fatality.RNZ
A transport consultancy firm says analysis of traffic data reveals the total cost of a crash is up to 70 percent higher that previously calculated.
The Ministry of Transport currently calculates the social cost of a road fatality at more than $15 million, which includes elements such as the road closure, emergency service response, and the social costs for the life lost.
But Abley Principal Transportation Planner Chris Blackmore told Nine to Noon data analysis shows that the impact of a crash on the overall road network is not factored into that calculation.
“There’s a lot of big immediate costs that we see when you look at the impacts of road trauma – be that FENZ, hospital admission, recovery costs.
“We do occasionally take into account any easily visible impacts of closing a road … but at the moment that’s only really included at a high level, and it ignores a lot of the secondary and following impacts.”
Councils and the Transport Agency had traditionally relied on physical equipment such as pneumatic road tubes to measure traffic data.
“That’s really what has prevented, up until now, having a more holistic view of the impacts of what we call network disruption.”
But a system called TomTom Area Speed enabled the analysis of more information, and more sophisticated data about the wider impacts crashes had, Blackmore said.
TomTom takes information from sources such as Apple, data from the cars themselves, and other apps motorists might be using to show exactly how widespread the congestion is, for how long, and what activities might be affected.
Blackmore provided the example of a crash between a bus and a car on Auckland’s Tamaki Drive, which closed the significant connection between the eastern bays and the city centre for more than 24 hours.
“What we could see with TomTom was that as that link closed, people had to find their way around.
“Say five O’clock, six O’clock in the morning, that’s all right … but what happens when you get into the peak hour … we see all of the other connections from the eastern bays massively overloaded.
The TomTom data showed exactly how people reacted to road closures, he said.
“Some people do u-turns, some people turn of earlier and try and get through some back roads, some people try to tough it out in the queue.”
When the data was added up, it revealed the overall impact the crash had on travel times, and the total disruption to the road network.
Crashes on rural roads also could carry a heavy unseen cost, Blackmore said, using the example of a crash on State Highway 6 near Kington in Otago.
“What we saw there was that travel time increases weren’t as significant because there’s not a heap of congestion. People could figure out that there’s a crash before they started driving down State Highway 6 and make their choices.
“But we did see hundreds of thousands of extra kilometres that people had to travel, and that has impacts on people’s lives and their routines as well.”
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Billy Proctor celebrates scoring a try with team mates.MARK EVANS
The Hurricanes top the Super Rugby standings, but the real tests of their title credentials are yet to come.
They face the Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday night in their first New Zealand derby of the season, before games against the Reds, Blues, Chiefs, Brumbies and Crusaders.
All Blacks centre Billy Proctor returns to the Hurricanes lineup after missing last week’s win over the Force in Napier, and he faces a monumental challenge in trying to contain Highlanders midfielder Timoci Tavatavanawai, nicknamed ‘Jim the Difference’.
“It seems like a lot of teams have been struggling with Big Jim,” Proctor said.
“I guess our ability to shut down the space and not give him too much time on the ball and eliminate his threat at the breakdown is going to be big this week and will go a long way for us trying to get the win.”
This time last year the Hurricanes were languishing near the bottom of the ladder. All Blacks halfback Cam Roigard said they are pleased with how they’ve started in 2026, with three wins from four games.
“Yeah it’s been good, we’ve done a bit of reflecting and I think this time last year were dead last, so it’s quite the contrast.
“It’s been a unique start with the bye round one and we haven’t played a New Zealand team yet. We know that it’s going to be a massive challenge this week.”
Hurricanes half back Cam Roigard kicks ahead during the Super Rugby Pacific game against the Western Force.Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz
So far the Hurricanes have played Moana Pasifika, the Fijian Drua, the Waratahs and the Force.
Roigard knows they’ll have to lift their performances if they want to keep winning, and he’s wary of a Highlanders side coming off a loss to the Crusaders.
“It’s our first New Zealand derby, whereas the Highlanders have had three or four already. So they’re going to be battle-hardened and they’re going to be ready for this game.
“It was [an] unfortunate result for them, losing to the Crusaders. But they’re back at home and there’ll be plenty of passion and they’ll be wanting to get one back over a New Zealand team.”
The Highlanders are seventh in the standings with just two wins from five games. However, they’ve played the Chiefs and Crusaders (twice) already this season and Proctor believes the hosts will be tough to beat in Dunedin on Friday night.
“They have a dangerous back three – there’s a lot of X-factor there. We touched on Big Jim before, someone that probably leads the comp in defenders beaten and he’s up there in the Jackal [winning turnovers] list too.
“There’s a few threats right there as well as their big ball-carrying forwards to go along with it. So plenty to handle out there, but we’re excited and looking forward to it.”
Billy Proctor of the Hurricanes celebrates scoring a try.MARK EVANS
Proctor himself has been in strong form, scoring five tries in the three games he has played to be third-equal with Blues wing Caleb Clarke on the list of the season’s top tryscorers.
The Brumbies’ Charlie Cale leads the way with seven tries, while Max Jorgensen of the Waratahs has six.
“It’s guys like Cam making all the breaks and me being on the end of it,” Proctor said. “I’ve been benefiting from a lot of good play from everyone, so I’ve been enjoying it.”
Roigard will play inside Ruben Love for the first time this season, with the latter named to start at first-five against the Highlanders after returning from injury via the bench in last week’s victory over the Force.
“I think my first start for the Hurricanes was with him at 10 back in 2021. So it would be cool to wind the clock back,” Roigard said.
“I think he’ll bring a lot of control. He’s got a real dominant voice and I think that control in the right areas of the field is an element I’m looking forward to having and obviously his X-factor, the ability to break the game open and as it goes on, hopefully he’ll be able to pick on some tired bodies.”
19 March 2026 – The Reserve Bank has published a Summary of Submissions and Key Decisions paper on the Liquidity Management Review consultation. Decisions on the design of Open Market Operations (OMO) are expected to come into effect from 2 April 2026.
The Reserve Bank has been reviewing its liquidity management framework following changes to the liquidity environment in recent years.
Based on feedback from the consultation and consideration of our key objectives, we intend to make changes to our approach to OMO and will start offering weekly full allotment operations to inject liquidity.
“Weekly full allotment operations will provide market participants with certainty, allowing them to determine their demand for liquidity at a fixed spread to the OCR,” Director of Financial Markets Adam Richardson says.
The new weekly operations will complement the Overnight Reverse Repo Facility, that is available daily to market participants.
“OMO are a critical tool for us to manage liquidity, and we will continue to monitor the impact of the new approach and ensure it is consistent with effective monetary policy implementation, while also facilitating market liquidity and supporting financial stability,” Mr Richardson says.
The first operation under the new framework will take place on Thursday 2 April 2026 at 11.30am NZT.
The consultation paper also sought input on design considerations for a Committed Liquidity Facility (CLF). Feedback on the CLF has been used to inform in-principle decisions and help identify areas where additional work is required. The CLF is on track to be in place by December 2028, when the Deposit Takers Act standards come into effect.
Police searching for the missing man in Lake Manapouri over the past week, have this morning recovered a body.
On Saturday 14 March, around 6.15pm, Police received a report that a man had fallen overboard from a vessel approximately 1km offshore in Lake Manapouri.
While formal identification is yet to take place, Police believe it is likely to be the missing man.
Police Search and Rescue and the Police Dive Squad, with assistance from the Royal New Zealand Navy, conducted extensive searches of the lake and surrounding areas over the past few days.
Today, the Police Dive Squad and the New Zealand Navy recovered the man’s body from the lake.
“Police extend our deepest condolences to the man’s family during this difficult time,” says Sergeant Alun Griffiths.
“I would also like to thank all those involved in the search – we are especially grateful for the assistance of the New Zealand Defence Force in providing specialist expertise that allowed this extended search to be concluded,” he says.
The latest SEEK employment report shows job ads rose 0.9 percent in February.123rf
A slow warming in the job market appears to be broadening out into a more meaningful market shift.
The latest SEEK employment report shows job ads rose 0.9 percent in February, the ninth consecutive monthly increase. It took annual ad growth to 12.2 percent, the strongest annual rise since 2022.
SEEK country manager Rob Clark said the growth was led by industries like construction, engineering and farming.
“If you track the last 18 months, we had a significant decline in job advertising, then it was pretty flat and now we’re seeing growth,” Clark said.
“What that says is that people are a bit more optimistic, they’re seeing some more growth opportunities, and typically that translates to hiring more people, and because we’re seeing it across most industries and most geographies, that implies that it’s a genuine market movement.”
The report shows there is less competition for the jobs being advertised, with applications per ad falling 2.4 percent from the month prior, off the peak seen in August last year.
Only a few sectors are in decline and they include retail and consumer products, as well as banking and financial services. All of the largest sectors saw improvement, according to SEEK’s report.
“The longer-term picture is roles in engineering, farming, construction, trades, healthcare are all growing at about 20 percent year-on-year,” Clark said.
“So they’re the key drivers of activity at the moment.”
Whether the momentum is likely to continue in the same direction is unclear, said Clark, although confidence could take a hit as a result of the Middle East conflict.
South Island regions still the engine driving jobs growth
The South Island showed some of the strongest growth year-on-year with Otago up 23 percent, Southland up 21.3 percent and West Coast up 20.9 percent and Canterbury up 20 percent.
“What we’re seeing is the South Island growing well ahead of everywhere else, and obviously they have a strong agricultural base,” Clark said.
“We’re seeing growth there driven by both a strong ag sector and population movement with a lot of internal migration from other parts of New Zealand to the South Island, because there are more opportunities there.”
Urban centres like Auckland and Wellington are showing little momentum, according to the SEEK report.
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Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster spoke on Tuesday 17 March at Takina in Wellington
It’s great to be here today to:
share some observations, from my perspective as Privacy Commissioner, about the place of cyber security in the minds of decision-makers, organisations, and the everyday person in the street, and
talk about the linkages between privacy, stewardship of personal information, and cyber security.
But, before I get into that – a pop quiz …
Who said, less than a month ago, “It’s a reason why I have been advocating very strongly that we need to strengthen our cyber security laws here in NZ and also make sure that we are not laid back … I think in 2026 sometimes our New Zealand business environment has been way too laid back, and not taking the risks and the threats seriously enough.”
Yes, that was Prime Minister Chris Luxon.
And who said, again less than a month ago, “digital threats are growing and New Zealand must strengthen its defences … Every New Zealander who provides data to a government agency, or to a company contracted by one, is entitled to the same standard of care. When that data is breached, it is a violation of trust … We could improve incentives for entities holding New Zealanders’ data. We could increase penalties for hackers and scammers. We should also question whether it is even reasonable to demand New Zealanders provide sensitive information or digital identification for everyday activities.”
Yes, that was Deputy Prime Minister, David Seymour.
Now, like a lot of organisations, at my work we subscribe to a media alerts service, for media and other stories about privacy and related matters – including cyber. I arrived at work a week ago, the morning email from the service had just popped into my in-box … no privacy breach stories this time … but every story was a cyber one … every story!
It seems that the public policy and media spotlights have swung their beams of light on to you.
You have to wonder, given this sort of political, public, and media interest, if we are on the cusp of cyber security leaving the wings, and coming to centre stage.
The question is, are we ready – and if we are, what are we going to do next?
Surveys and attitudes to cyber security
It’s always instructive to take ourselves out of our busy day to day context, and see how other organisations, and even other countries, are seeing cyber-security, and cyber threats.
Each year the Institute of Directors conducts a Directors’ Sentiment Survey and publishes the results with some commentary.
In the 2025 report, the IoD noted, and I quote, that:
“Technology epitomises this shift from curiosity to commitment. Six in ten boards are now working with management on how AI and automation can lift productivity – the second-highest result since records began. Digital oversight has re-entered the mainstream, no longer the preserve of tech committees or early adopters. But the enthusiasm is tempered by uneven assurance: cyber vigilance has plateaued, with the proportion of boards discussing risk or receiving breach reporting barely moving in three years. In effect, boards are accelerating innovation without upgrading the brakes.”
While 57.2% of directors said their board discusses cyber risks, this figure has softened slightly from 2024, which was 62.2%.
Likewise, 55.2% of boards report receiving comprehensive data breach or cyber-risk reporting, largely unchanged for three years after a sharp rise in 2023.
Privacy and data protection show similar stagnation; 57.2% of directors said their board regularly reviews privacy risks, a figure largely unchanged from 2024.
Internet NZ’s recent survey results show New Zealanders continue to have concerns in the data space.
65% of those surveyed were extremely concerned or very concerned about the security of personal data.
Kordia have just released their 2026 NZ Business Cyber Security Report.
Some key take outs from that:
44% of large businesses were subjected to a cyber attack or incident in the past 12 months
17% of cyber incidents resulted in personal information being accessed or stolen
61% of businesses impacted by a cyber incident suffered a serious business disruption
30% of businesses surveyed said they lacked confidence that they could recover from a major cyber-attack.
25% said they had no cyber security awareness or training programme for their employees, and
Around half had not practiced their incident response plans.
That’s not a brilliant picture.
Hence, the International Telecommunication Union’s global cybersecurity index last year ranked New Zealand in the third of five tiers, as an ‘establishing’ nation along side the likes of Kiribati and Myanmar.
The heightened cyber security risk environment has seen countries like Australia and Singapore among others, implement new cyber security legislation.
New regulatory frameworks are also increasingly being backed up with tools and manuals to support businesses to aim for and stay on the right side of the regulatory line.
And that is something the New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner is also focused on.
Privacy and cyber security
It’s clear that there are many linkages between privacy and cyber security – and I want to begin by acknowledging that while my focus is on the stewardship of personal information, those working in cyber security are concerned about keeping all information – personal, financial, commercial, legal, marketing, the list goes on – safe and secure from harm.
Some of you here today will of course be working in or managing the IT/IS/cyber teams in organisations, ensuring systems are hardened against cyber-attack, and that your work colleagues engage in cyber smart practices.
Some of you will be advisors, providing organisations with advice on the latest developments in cyber threats and defences.
Some of you will be involved in research and development, seeking to get ahead of the cyber criminals and threat actors in the never-ending cyber war we all seem to be engaged in these days.
And some – like my Office – are focused on the risks to personal information.
My focus is making privacy a core focus for your agencies – in order to protect New Zealanders from harm, to enable organisations to achieve their own objectives, and to safeguard our free and democratic society.
And when things go wrong – when there’s a serious privacy breach which might see personal information exfiltrated, or deliberately corrupted – we ask questions about what happened and why, and – if it’s needed – we can hold agencies to account.
Security of information and IT infrastructure is a critical component of a robust privacy programme.
Both security and privacy staff must work together to identify external and internal risks, and to ensure that security is prioritised and resourced accordingly.
The Privacy Act 2020 is built around 13 privacy principles that govern how agencies (organisations and businesses) can collect, store, use and share personal information.
The Privacy Act makes sure that:
you know when your information is being collected
your information is used and shared appropriately
your information is kept safe and secure
you can get access to your information.
As many of you will know, Principle 5 is concerned with storage and security of information.
It states that organisations must ensure there are safeguards in place, that are reasonable in the circumstances, to prevent loss, misuse or disclosure of personal information.
There are a number of different aspects to consider, including physical security, electronic security, operational security, security during transmission and during destruction.
What steps are appropriate will depend entirely on the circumstances, including:
How sensitive is the personal information involved?
What are you using the personal information for?
What security measures are available, and how will using these measures impact on your agency’s functions?
What might the consequences be for the individual if the information is not kept secure?
I thought you might be interested to get a sense of the state of play with privacy breaches in New Zealand.
So, this morning, I have the latest breaking stats and news for you.
In the most recent quarter, 61% of serious privacy breaches were due to intentional or malicious activity, and 36% were due to human error … the days of most breaches being due to an email whoopsie seem to be long gone.
For the reporting year to date, 21% were unauthorised access breaches (including ransomware), and 28% were unauthorised sharing or employee browsing.
Employee browsing
Can I take the opportunity to touch on an increasingly serious privacy risk: that is, employee browsing.
The greatest threat to your workplace information security could be sitting in the office next to you at work.
Employee browsing or the unauthorised access and misuse of personal information is becoming one of the most common privacy breaches.
NZ is a small place, and there’s a good chance a familiar name will crop up in a database or on a file at work, and it can prove very tempting for some to have a look.
In some circumstances employees look up information and then pass it on for the explicit purpose of causing harm of some sort.
If your business or organisation holds sensitive personal information that your customers or clients would really, really not want to be revealed to someone else, like a violent former partner, or revealed to the public if someone happens to be a bit of a celebrity – then your organisation’s employees will, one day, come under pressure from others to access and hand over that information.
Attempts will be made to coerce, bribe, blackmail or threaten employees to access and misuse the personal information the organisation holds.
So, my question for you is, has your organisation invested in the systems, regular database audit checks, employee induction processes, and so on, to deter and, if it happens, identify unauthorised access and misuse of personal information?
Of course, my Office doesn’t always want to occupy the space of the privacy “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff”; increasingly, our focus is on working with people like you to “build the fence at the top”.
As I think I mentioned at last year’s conference, Poupou Matatapu is guidance on our website to help New Zealand agencies do privacy well – you can find it at privacy.org.nz.
It sets our expectations about what good privacy practice looks like and then helps organisations toward achieving that.
One of the components of this guidance focuses on security and internal access controls.
The obligation to keep information safe and secure applies to information that is held by the organisation (for example, in on-premises servers) and information that is held on the organisation’s behalf by a service provider (for example, a cloud-based data storage provider).
Remember, organisations are liable under the Privacy Act for the personal information stored and processed on their behalf.
The most effective strategy is having a well-thought-out security plan for all personal information you hold.
At a high level, this component of Poupou Matatapu describes key security controls across three areas – physical, technical, and organisational.
These controls are not exhaustive and are continually evolving.
Organisations need to ensure that they update their knowledge on security risks, including seeking advice from external experts where necessary, and implement all reasonable security safeguards in a timely way.
I don’t need to tell this audience that there’s a world of cyber security guidance and standards out there.
Providing security and IT advice is not a core function of my Office, so, in our guidance, we have provided links to advice and resources from other authoritative sources, such as NCSC, and others.
But, of course, like you, I have seen commentary around how to assess whether an organisation had reasonable security safeguards in place at the time of a security or privacy incident.
Reasonable security safeguards are those that are proportionate to an organisation’s role, scale, and risk exposure.
They reflect recognised national expectations at the time the safeguards were implemented and operating prior to the breach.
This approach does not require best-in-class or exhaustive controls, instead focusing on intent, decision-making, and proportionality.
It anchors reasonableness in nationally recognised frameworks, uses well-understood national standards like the NCSC Minimum Cyber Security Standards as a defensible baseline, and applies sectoral-specific standards – such as those applying to the health sector – as contextual overlays.
This approach provides a clear basis for determining whether reasonable security safeguards were in place at a given point in time.
The other day I was reminded of a comment from Misti Landtroop, the NZ country manager for cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks.
She said that many cyber breaches were preventable, with things like security culture, level of knowledge, and willingness to invest, all factors that left organisations vulnerable to cyber-attack. Organisations also make mistakes because they either don’t understand the value of privacy, or don’t care.
Sometimes privacy is as easy as just ensuring your IT systems are up to scratch and making sure you’ve thought about access, have got the permissions set correctly, and have tested them.
For example, a while back the UK Information Commissioner issued a 4.4million pound fine to a company which, in the Commissioner’s view, failed to follow up on the original alert about some suspicious activity, used outdated software systems and protocols, and had a lack of adequate staff training and insufficient risk assessments – all of which ultimately left them vulnerable to a cyber-attack.
The Commissioner commented at the time: “The biggest cyber risk businesses face is not from hackers outside of their company, but from complacency within their company. If your business doesn’t regularly monitor for suspicious activity in its systems, and fails to act on warnings, or doesn’t update software, and fails to provide training to staff, you can expect a similar fine from my Office.”
From my perspective, and reflecting on all this commentary, since taking up my role I have made it clear that agencies need to keep front of mind that, in the case of a cyber security incident resulting in a data privacy breach, one of the first questions I will ask is “has the agency undertaken all reasonable security safeguards” to protect the personal information under their care.
Health sector
Turning to the cyber elephant in the room, recent events in NZ would suggest that one sector which is well and truly facing some cyber security challenges, is the health sector.
Just a reminder: on 22 February, MediMap — a private portal used by aged-care homes, hospices, disability services and community health providers to coordinate prescriptions and record medication histories — was taken offline after it was discovered that some patient records had been tampered with by an unauthorized actor.
MediMap’s early investigations identified changes to fields including names, birthdates, assigned prescriber, and location of care and resident status, with some living patients incorrectly marked as “deceased.”
This event was unsettling not only because of the direct impact on individuals and clinical operations, but also because it followed another high-profile breach —the Manage My Health breach in late 2025, which involved the exfiltration of hundreds of thousands of medical documents.
One of New Zealand’s leading privacy commentators, Daimhin Warner, commented at the time:
“Taken together, these events suggest a broader pattern of cyber risk in health tech that goes beyond isolated vendor errors.”
“Several key themes are starting to emerge. First is the need for clarity of expectations. What baseline technical and organizational safeguards should be required for systems handling highly sensitive health information? Mandatory controls — for example, multifactor authentication, encryption at rest and in transit, regular independent security audits and incident response obligations — could help raise the floor of protection.”
“Second is making sure the health sector understands who is really accountable for ensuring these baseline safeguards are in place. It is alarmingly clear from these recent breaches that many organizations in the health sector do not fully understand their accountabilities and responsibilities.”
Daimhin Warner notes that the recent publication of the National Cyber Security Strategy has occurred at a time when some of the government agencies tasked with cyber security are making it clear that New Zealand has a long way to go before we can say our standards and approach meet international good practice.
And by the same token, then, we have a long way to go before we can assure New Zealanders, whoever they are … customers, clients, citizens … that their privacy is being protected and respected.
GCSB Director-General Andrew Clark said recently that “unfortunately, there are … pockets, including in our critical infrastructure, where cybersecurity is barely meeting that foundational level that we would expect.”
AI
And of course, AI is only making the challenge facing the cyber security industry even harder.
Reports show increasingly that AI agents are supercharging cyber-attacks by industrialising the scale of them.
In the Internet NZ survey I referred to earlier, 59% of those surveyed were very or extremely concerned about the use of AI to violate privacy.
And the Kordia survey found that a quarter of medium to large businesses now rank staff misuse of AI among their biggest cyber challenges, and that attacks involving AI-related vulnerabilities have more than doubled year on year.
Director-General Clark also noted that while smaller organisations might not meet the critical infrastructure description, many still hold a lot of sensitive personal information that needs protection.
So, no matter the sector, and no matter the size, there are questions we all need to be asking, and expectations that need to be met, in today’s increasingly super-charged threat environment:
From where I sit, those expectations include:
Security controls are specific to the type and sensitivity of information held across the organisation, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Regular auditing of systems is undertaken to ensure appropriate access.
An organisation follows industry guidelines and security standards relevant to its business context.
There is a remediation plan for managing and/or replacing legacy systems (where necessary).
Identified risks are proactively managed – for example, by incorporating them into the organisation’s risk and assurance reporting processes to ensure visibility, and Organisational controls – policies, procedures, and decisions – are regularly reviewed and fit for purpose.
Conclusion
People of cyber … at this time in New Zealand’s history you face your greatest challenge, and your greatest opportunity.
The cost of running a farm in New Zealand is more than a quarter higher than it was before the Covid pandemic.
ANZ’s latest Agri Insights report, which analysed financial performance across more than 4000 dairy, red meat, kiwifruit, arable and pipfruit customers over five years, found farm operating costs across the board were 27 percent higher than before Covid.
This was driven largely by increased labour and input costs like fertiliser, and on-farm cost inflation becoming structural.
The gap between average farms and the top performers continued to widen, pointing to significant untapped productivity potential, with leading operators consistently generating materially higher earnings per hectare through system optimisation rather than expansion.
The report’s co-author and ANZ’s head of strategy and execution – business and agri Marcus Bousefield said it showed farms must lift productivity just to stand still.
“Really everything is up on that pre-Covid area in terms of costs. We’ve seen it as a structural shift as opposed to just being inflationary and moving with the inflation cycle.”
Despite having the largest cost increases – which was reflective of their labour-intensive nature and impacts of wage pressures during and after the pandemic – the report found both dairy and kiwifruit had some of the strong returns.
Total kiwifruit farm income rose 59 percent driven by the maturing of post-PSA plantings and higher orchard productivity, while dairy also saw higher earnings per hectare achieved through improved milk production per cow and better herd performance, rather than expansion.
Red meat farms had modest income growth, with a wide gap between top-performing operators who earned about 80 percent more per hectare than poorer-performing counterparts.
Pipfruit faced the most challenges, including labour shortages and multiple weather events.
Bousefield said the report showed the strongest performances were linked to reinvestment and commitment to improving productivity.
“You can look to the singular price in commodity prices being a key leader of performance but that is always outside of farmers’ control.
“It’s really the sum of the parts of all the other components that drive the topline revenue piece that has a bigger bearer on what we saw as performance of the top 25 percent.”
Bousefield said this included factors like the execution of buying and selling, crop management and animal efficiency, particularly in the dairy sector.
He said farming was multi-generational industry where decisions made today would pay off in later years. He said it was at a junction point where stronger markets, coupled with agritech advances provided opportunity to improve efficiencies on farm.
The Government is backing rural New Zealand by supporting 18 community-based initiatives through its Rural Wellbeing Fund, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey say.
“We established the fund mid-last year to boost wellbeing programmes that support the rural sector,” Mr McClay says.
“These initiatives will ensure farmers and growers have the support they need to thrive.”
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says the Government is committed to delivering faster access to mental health support, including for the one in five people who live in rural communities.
“We’ve focused on supporting proposals that can have the greatest impact on the ground, as well as new initiatives targeting gaps,” Mr Doocey says.
“Partnering with grassroots organisations enables the Government funding to go further and make a real difference.”
The Ministry for Primary Industries and Health New Zealand each allocated $2 million over four years for the fund through Budget 2025.
Note for editors:
Organisations/programmes receiving funding through the Rural Wellbeing Fund
Funding amount
Whatever With Wiggy Charitable Trust
$740,000
The Whanau Ora Community Clinic Ltd
$716,000
The NZ Federation of Young Farmers Clubs Incorporated
$585,000
Seafood Sector Support Network Trust (FirstMate)
$550,000
Life-Supporting Communities NZ (Be A Mate)
$400,000
Farmstrong Charitable Trust
$399,250
Surfing for Farmers Charitable Trust
$160,000
Tuākana Tēina Kaiārahi Ltd
$90,000
Ara Taiohi Incorporated
$70,000
NZ Shearing Contractors Association (Live Well, Shear Well)
$50,000
Mates of Tairāwhiti Charitable Trust
$50,000
OTS Limited (Livemewell)
$48,400
Te Manu Korero O Nga Matauranga Central King Country REAP
$40,000
Spark That Chat Ltd
$20,000
DB Farming Ltd T/A Deanne Parkes
$15,000
Dominion Federation of New Zealand Chinese Commercial Growers Incorporated
$15,000
The Aoraki Multicultural Council T/A Multicultural Aoraki
The latestBusinessNZ Planning Forecastshows that while the economic outlook largely depends on how the conflict in Iran evolves, current forecasts still point to encouraging growth through to March 2028.
Chief Economist John Pask says even as we navigate stormy seas internationally, there are reasons to remain optimistic at home.
“Our construction sector is showing signs of recovery, with increased consenting activity and a strong infrastructure pipeline, as has been outlined by the Infrastructure Commission.
“Tourism has rebounded too, and international visitor numbers are back to pre-covid levels, aided in part by a lower NZ dollar.
“On the agricultural front, Fonterra’s sale of several consumer brands for around $4 billion is expected to boost incomes and support rural communities. On the downside, input costs, including fertiliser, are likely to rise significantly if the conflict continues.
Pask says this latest Planning Forecast comes with a special note, due to a developing geopolitical situation.
“Given the fluid international economic situation at present, forecasts on economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, and unemployment, should be seen for what they are – the best available information to date. These forecasts will likely be subject to significant change as both the global and domestic scene continues to evolve over coming weeks.”
The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index (ECI) is a measure of some of NZ’s key economic indicators. It sits at 18 for the March 2026 quarter, down 6 on the previous quarter, and up 13 on a year ago. An ECI reading above 0 indicates that economic conditions are generally improving overall; below 0 means economic conditions are generally declining.
The latest BusinessNZ Planning forecast is available now on theBusinessNZ website.
The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.
Sona Movsesian and Conan O’Brien are co-workers but also “just two people who really care about each other”.
Making the 62-year-old comedian a Godfather to her two sons was also a way to present them with someone who has a great work ethic and character to try and emulate, Movsesian tells RNZ’s Afternoons.
“Plus Conan loves the Godfather movie, I know it’s his favourite movie. When we asked him, my husband quietly put on the Godfather theme, and we said, ‘we want to ask you a question…’”
This video is hosted on Youtube.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
The Ministry of Transport currently factors elements such as road closures, emergency service response, and the social costs for the life lost into the total cost of a road fatality.RNZ
A transport consultancy firm says analysis of traffic data reveals the total cost of a crash is up to 70 percent higher that previously calculated.
The Ministry of Transport currently calculates the social cost of a road fatality at more than $15 million, which includes elements such as the road closure, emergency service response, and the social costs for the life lost.
But Abley Principal Transportation Planner Chris Blackmore told Nine to Noon data analysis shows that the impact of a crash on the overall road network is not factored into that calculation.
“There’s a lot of big immediate costs that we see when you look at the impacts of road trauma – be that FENZ, hospital admission, recovery costs.
“We do occasionally take into account any easily visible impacts of closing a road … but at the moment that’s only really included at a high level, and it ignores a lot of the secondary and following impacts.”
Councils and the Transport Agency had traditionally relied on physical equipment such as pneumatic road tubes to measure traffic data.
“That’s really what has prevented, up until now, having a more holistic view of the impacts of what we call network disruption.”
But a system called TomTom Area Speed enabled the analysis of more information, and more sophisticated data about the wider impacts crashes had, Blackmore said.
TomTom takes information from sources such as Apple, data from the cars themselves, and other apps motorists might be using to show exactly how widespread the congestion is, for how long, and what activities might be affected.
Blackmore provided the example of a crash between a bus and a car on Auckland’s Tamaki Drive, which closed the significant connection between the eastern bays and the city centre for more than 24 hours.
“What we could see with TomTom was that as that link closed, people had to find their way around.
“Say five O’clock, six O’clock in the morning, that’s all right … but what happens when you get into the peak hour … we see all of the other connections from the eastern bays massively overloaded.
The TomTom data showed exactly how people reacted to road closures, he said.
“Some people do u-turns, some people turn of earlier and try and get through some back roads, some people try to tough it out in the queue.”
When the data was added up, it revealed the overall impact the crash had on travel times, and the total disruption to the road network.
Crashes on rural roads also could carry a heavy unseen cost, Blackmore said, using the example of a crash on State Highway 6 near Kington in Otago.
“What we saw there was that travel time increases weren’t as significant because there’s not a heap of congestion. People could figure out that there’s a crash before they started driving down State Highway 6 and make their choices.
“But we did see hundreds of thousands of extra kilometres that people had to travel, and that has impacts on people’s lives and their routines as well.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
The attack has increased uncertainty and seen Brent Crude prices surge to $US110 a barrel by 11am on Thursday (NZT).
Auckland Transport said before the Iran conflict began late last month, the cost of public transport was roughly the same as the cost of driving a vehicle with single occupancy in Auckland.
It’s now costing people nearly double to drive their own cars.
“The cost of petrol has risen at least 50 cents per litre since then, with a 15-kilometre single person commute now costing roughly 80 cents per kilometre, which is equal to about $12 for the total trip.”
AT said this did not include any parking costs.
“On public transport, that same 15-kilometre trip would typically cost $4.90 and would be a significantly faster journey due to congestion and the availability of bus lanes, frequent rail and ferry services.”
“We can confidently say that the cost of driving 15-kilometres in or out of the city is now roughly double the cost of travelling the same distance by public transport.”
AT said the first week of March was the was the busiest for the public transport network this year with 2.217 million trips on bus, train and ferry services – up from 2.174 million trips, the same time last year.
It said this was likely just a result of more people using public transport rather than concerns over the cost of fuel.
However it expects the trend will continue upward as the fuel crisis developed.
Auckland Transport said despite big numbers of travellers, it has plenty of capacity across the network.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Sir Peter Beck.Supplied / Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab has won a US$190 million (NZ$327m) contract from the United States Department of War, formerly the Department of Defence, for a series of hypersonic test flights using its HASTE launch vehicle.
It is the largest single contract in the NZ-founded company’s history and lifts its total order backlog to more than US$2 billion (NZ$3.44b).
The four‑year agreement covers 20 test flights of Rocket Lab’s Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) rocket, a modified version of its Electron launcher designed to carry suborbital payloads of up to 700 kilograms at speeds above Mach 5.
The launches will be carried out under the Multi‑Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH‑TB) 2.0 programme – a partnership between the Department of War and the Naval Surface Warfare Centre Crane Division that aims to accelerate hypersonic flight testing and related technologies.
Rocket Lab has already conducted several HASTE missions since 2023 under the MACH‑TB programme.
Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Sir Peter Beck said the expanded partnership with the Department of War and MACH‑TB would help strengthen US national security by providing rapid and affordable hypersonic testing.
“Our advanced technology, responsive launch schedules, and mass production of our HASTE hypersonic rockets are enabling faster progress across a range of hypersonic experiments by our government and industry partners,” he said.
Sir Peter described the new deal as “another proud moment for the team that builds the strength and resiliency of the United States’ aerospace efforts”.
The contract takes Rocket Lab’s launch backlog to 70 missions, and the company has sold 28 launches in the first quarter of 2026 – almost as many as it sold during the whole of 2025.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Economy grows 0.2 pct in December quarter, 1.3 pct on year ago
Data at the low end of expectations
Previous quarter revised to 0.9 pct growth from 1.1 pct
Primary sector and tourism industries lead growth
Manufacturing flat, construction sector contracts
Data not likely to change Reserve Bank holding cash rate at 2.25 pct next month.
The economy posted tepid growth at the end of last year as the rural sector and tourism growth offset soft manufacturing and weak construction before the Middle East conflict threatened to stymie recovery.
Stats NZ data showed gross domestic product (GDP), the broad measure of economic growth, rose 0.2 percent in the three months ended December, to be 1.3 percent higher than a year ago. On an annual average basis, the economy grew 0.2 percent over the year.
Expectations were for quarterly growth in a range of 0.2 to 0.5 percent, although the growth of the previous quarter was revised lower to 0.9 percent from 1.1 percent.
Stats NZ spokesperson Jason Attewell said it was the first time the economy had posted annual growth in more than two years.
“GDP has now risen in three of the last four quarters.”
Turned the economic corner
The strongest sectors were primary industries, which grew 0.9 percent, and service industries, which make up about 70 percent of the economy and grew 0.7 percent.
Attewell said strong spending by overseas visitors in the quarter boosted a broad range of businesses.
“This flowed through to parts of the economy that service tourism, such as rental car hire, retail trade [and] accommodation.”
Exports of goods and services were up 0.1 percent, with higher meat and forestry exports offsetting lower dairy sales.
There were positive contributions from real estate and financial services, retail, recreation, and energy and water industries.
The main drag on growth was from construction, which was down 1.4 percent on the previous quarter because of a fall in non-residential building.
Individual shares of the economy – per capita GDP – were unchanged for the quarter, to be 0.4 percent lower than a year ago.
The country’s purchasing power (disposable income) was also flat for the quarter, but 1.5 percent ahead of a year ago.
Derailed recovery ?
The GDP reading has already been discounted by economists as historical information overtaken by the Middle East conflict.
The latest monthly partial monthly read on inflation and a further slip in consumer confidence driven by a surge in fuel prices are seen as pointers for future activity.
Forecasts before the hostilities were for a gradual pick-up in growth this year to more than 2.5 percent, rising towards 3 percent in 2027.
The Reserve Bank last month held the official cash rate (OCR) at 2.25 percent and signalled rates would be held at an “accommodative level” to support the economy.
Economists have highlighted the uncertainty caused by the US/Israel-Iran war and its ability to derail economic activity through higher inflation, disruption to supply chains, and dampening of household and business demand and activity.
New Zealand’s quarterly growth rate was the same as or close to those in the US, UK, EU, and Japan, but lagged Australia’s 0.8 percent.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Police would like to advise the Tekapo community of a multi-agency Search and Rescue training exercise taking place this week.
From Friday 20 March to Sunday 22 March, Lake Tekapo will be hosting Operation Oasis, a complex, multi-phase scenario designed to test search techniques, field skills, and fatigue management in realistic conditions.
Over 200 Search and Rescue specialists from across the Canterbury District will be taking part in the exercise from Police, Coastguard, Surf Life Saving New Zealand, Land Search and Rescue, Amateur Radio Emergency Communications, Alpine Rescue Canterbury, Hato Hone St John, and the New Zealand Defence Force.
Members of the public will see increased activity in the area, with use of helicopters, boats, and Search and Rescue personnel and equipment.
This is a planned, routine training exercise and the public should not be alarmed.
We appreciate and thank the community for their understanding and support as our teams work to maintain and enhance their capability to respond to emergencies.
Roblox’s Global Head of Parental Advocacy, Dr Elizabeth Milovidov, says the school holidays are a timely moment for families to revisit their approach to online safety.
Top Tips for Parents, for Safer Online Gaming
1. Start with privacy and safety basics
Before your child starts gaming, consider what privacy and safety settings might be right for them. Establishing simple steps can make a big difference in protecting their online experience:
Choose a safe username – Avoid real names, ages, or personal details that could identify your child. Set privacy settings that suit your family – Discuss who they can interact with. While Roblox doesn’t have location sharing, some games and apps do – Consider turning location sharing off where it is a feature Familiarise yourself and your children with reporting tools – Teach them how to block or report inappropriate behaviour.
2. Get in the game
Take the time to learn about the games your children love playing. The more you know about the games they play and the platforms they use, the better equipped you’ll be to guide safe and positive experiences.
Take Roblox, for example. It’s one of the most popular gaming platforms among children and teens, offering thousands of user-created games. There is an online Safety Centre to help parents and carers understand what Roblox is, guides on how to use parental controls, and answers to common questions. And while many of the games are purely for fun, there are also lots which offer educational benefits that help kids develop new skills and explore their creativity. Roblox has a popular learning hub which has been visited over 40 million times, and will help you easily find great educational experiences.
One of the best ways to understand what your kids do online is to join them and in fact, data shows that 54% of Kiwi parents actively game with their children 1.
Playing games alongside your child isn’t just fun – it shows you value what they love and creates natural opportunities to talk about safety, friendships, and the skills they’re building.
Try asking upbeat, open-ended questions to keep the conversation positive, such as:
“What do you love about this game?” “How did you discover it?” “What tips would help me get started?”
3. Talk through their gaming experiences
Online games are great fun, but they can also bring challenges like bullying or stress. Instead of reacting only when problems arise, start early – use everyday gaming moments to teach coping strategies and essential digital life skills.
If your child encounters bullying or stress online, work through solutions together:
Take a break with mindfulness strategies like Box Breathing or a quick walk Switch to a different game or play with trusted friends Reinforce that asking for help is always okay Approach a trusted adult if they feel unsafe
4. Get familiar with parental controls
Managing your child’s gaming experience doesn’t necessarily require constant supervision – it all depends on what works for your family. Whilst I would always recommend you remain engaged with your child’s gaming activity, most platforms and devices offer parental tools to help you set limits on screen time, content, and interactions – so you can feel confident even if you’re not watching them over their shoulder.
Parental Control on Roblox, for example, let parents and carers remotely manage settings like:
Screen time limits Content maturity levels and the type of games they can play Who your child can chat with How much they can spend
The best time to set these controls is before your child starts gaming – but it’s never too late to adjust them. And remember, controls shouldn’t be fixed. As kids grow and become more savvy online, boundaries will evolve too. Staying engaged and having open conversations with your children helps you decide what’s right for them.
To make things easier for parents, Roblox now uses Facial Age Estimation to check a user’s age before enabling chat features. This means children are grouped into age-appropriate cohorts designed so kids interact with peers of a similar age – giving parents and carers extra peace of mind.
So in summary, here are the key takeaways for parents these school holidays:
Cover the basics: Begin with privacy settings, safe usernames and an understanding of reporting features.
Get involved: Playing together creates natural opportunities to talk about safety and online behaviour.
Keep the conversation going: Use gaming experiences to support resilience and emotional wellbeing.
Make use of parental controls: Set limits around screen time, content, spending and who kids interact with.
While the kids take a breather from school for a couple of weeks, the Easter holidays also offer a valuable opportunity for families to keep conversations about online safety open and ongoing. Regular check‑ins help children feel supported, making it easier for them to speak up if they need help, long after the Easter Bunny has hopped away.
1 New Zealand Plays 2025, a national study of 820 New Zealander households represented by adult participants aged 18 and over conducted by Bond University in partnership with the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) in April 2025.
Surrounded by festival goers this morning at Auckland Polyfest 2026, The Green Party announced that a Green Government would bridge the funding gap currently faced by Polyfest organisers.
“Polyfest is whakapapa, Polyfest is healing: Polyfest is the best of us. The Green Party wants to preserve and protect this,” says Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson.
“Polyfest is currently underfunded by over $1 million, creating real uncertainty about its future.
“Aotearoa can be a country that resources our storytellers to thrive. The Green Party celebrate and support Polyfest organisers for a vibrant festival, which has thrived for generations.
“Today, we have committed to ensuring Polyfest is properly funded to deliver the world’s largest Pacific festival, without needing to increase entrance and stall-holder fees,” says Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples, Teanau Tuiono.
“Funding decisions are political decisions. The Green Party will give communities certainty that this cornerstone of who we are will continue, affordably and sustainably.
“While this announcement is specific to Auckland Polyfest, it should serve as an indication of the Green Party’s commitment to funding the arts that bring us together in celebration of our diversity: which is what unites us.
“A Green Government will work with Polyfest organisers on what this looks like to best support the Trust’s aspirations.
“We love Polyfest, and the Green Party want generations to come to love Polyfest,” says Marama and Teanau.
Upgraded airfield infrastructure of Masterton’s Hood Aerodrome improves safety and supports the strengthening of the region’s economy, thanks to a $10 million government grant, says Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson.
Mr Mark Patterson is in Masterton today joining locals to celebrate the completion of this significant milestone for Wairarapa’s aviation capability and regional development.
“The Hood Aerodrome upgrade is a major step forward for the Wairarapa. The aerodrome is now safer and better positioned to support the region’s aviation sector, economic development, and community needs for years to come,” Mr Patterson says.
“A series of essential improvements were completed at the aerodrome, including resurfacing and widening the runway, improving lighting, upgrading water and electrical networks for 27 new hangar sites, and building new access roads.
“This work secures the aerodrome’s long-term operational capability and has enabled it to meet Civil Aviation Authority certification requirements, which allows for larger aircraft to operate from the airfield, and positions the airfield for future tourism and economic growth.
“The region can now count on continued support for medical life-flight services, search and rescue operations, agricultural topdressing, aviation events, recreational flying, and pilot training,” Mr Patterson says.
In 2020, Masterton District Council received a $10 million grant to upgrade safety and services infrastructure at Hood Aerodrome. The total value of the project was $17.07 million, which includes co-funding of $7.07 million from the Council.
In addition to the airfield upgrade, further work – supported by $954,000 from the government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) – has recently been completed to protect the aerodrome boundary from erosion and enhance flood protection. This project is one of 16 flood resilience initiatives in the Wairarapa co-funded by the government.