Category: DJF

Source: Media Outreach

• FOMO Pay launches FOMO AI Soundbox, Singapore’s first compact payment device to consolidate cards, PayNow, e-wallets, and stablecoins into a single point of acceptance with real-time audio confirmation.

• FOMO Pay also announces an AI-powered merchant intelligence layer in development, enabling merchants to gain insights from their transactions.

FOMO AI Soundbox is designed for this new era of commerce. The compact payments acceptance device supporting cards, QR payments, e-wallets, and stablecoins through a single terminal, while also establishing the groundwork for the AI-powered merchant intelligence capabilities FOMO Pay is developing. By consolidating multiple payment methods into one device, FOMO AI Soundbox gives merchants a unified point of acceptance without the need to manage multiple devices or fragmented integrations. Each transaction is confirmed in real time with instant audio notification, giving merchants and customers immediate visibility at the counter.

Beyond payment acceptance, FOMO AI Soundbox is designed to be more than a terminal. Built with an integrated microphone, FOMO AI Soundbox lays the hardware foundation for a future where merchants can soon interact with their business data as naturally as they interact with their customers. FOMO Pay is exploring AI-driven capabilities that would enable merchants to query their transaction data in real time, turning a payment device into a business intelligence terminal.

For many small and mid-sized businesses, turning day-to-day transactions into meaningful business insights takes time and resources most merchants do not have. FOMO Pay’s AI layer is designed to close this gap, helping merchants understand their own business performance and make more informed decisions, without the extra manual effort.

This shift is already underway. In the near future, merchants will increasingly need to accept both conventional off-chain payment methods together with emerging on-chain, programmable payments. Rather than existing separately, these two systems will increasingly operate alongside each other in everyday commerce. Businesses that are prepared to support both today will be better positioned for what commerce becomes tomorrow.

https://www.fomopay.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/fomo-pay/
https://x.com/FOMOPayOfficial

Hashtag: #DigitalPayment #DigitalBanking #DigitalAsset #FinTech #AgenticPayments #AI

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s attempts to get more cooperation with the Trump administration on defence, space and sensitive technology sectors has been paying off, according to an official briefing.

“New Zealand has seized opportunities in the first year of the current US Administration to register – at all levels – the importance of US-New Zealand cooperation across these sectors,” said a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) briefing, dated November and newly released under the Official Information Act.

“There is support in Washington for stronger partnership with us.”

In the latest bilateral move, NZ Space Agency officials will meet their counterparts in Washington this week.

This second US-NZ space dialogue – two years after the first – aimed to “strengthen bilateral space cooperation” but details were confidential, the agency told RNZ.

It has coincided with the US Department of Defence finalising a study looking at options for its increasing number of rocket launches – including at sites in other countries.

With Cape Canaveral and its other launch sites under growing pressure, a Pentagon study – due back with US lawmakers next week – covers environmental, regulatory, cost, geographic and orbital factors that may make alternate locations “outside the continental United States… viable or advantageous”.

RNZ has asked Congress’s armed services committee for a copy.

Defence, space and emerging tech have been evolving in new ways, at a time of big change including from US President Donald Trump applying America First policies and national security interests to international alliances, domestic production and arms exports.

Two impacts have been to tie commercial and military tech and space contracts more closely together, and to increase efforts to expand the US military industrial base. US law considers New Zealand to be part of that base.

‘Closer integration with key partners’

The November MFAT briefing said technology cooperation was increasingly significant to the relationship.

“Deeper cooperation with the United States in the defence, space and other sensitive technologies sectors has the potential to deliver significant economic and strategic benefits to New Zealand,” it said.

Local firms were advancing the country’s strategic interests by “facilitating closer partnerships and closer integration with key partners” but faced complex regulatory barriers and the growing ‘buy-America-made’ hurdle.

“Importantly, the Administration is open to investigating options for addressing regulatory challenges faced by New Zealand, particularly related to the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and US domestic sourcing requirements.”

One option was to seek some sort of exemption from ITAR, it said.

The US has been lowering ITAR barriers for Australia and the UK because they are part of the nuclear-subs deal AUKUS.

The methods American firms could exploit that was the subject of a webinar this week from US trade officials – “Full Steam Ahead: AUKUS, ITAR, and the Keys to Australia’s Naval Supply Chain”.

Defence and Space Minister Judith Collins has been at the forefront of building the NZ-US relationship on these fronts, while also streamlining aerospace regulations and overseeing a defence capability plan rich in drone and emerging technology options.

But Collins steps down soon, and is not attending the Washington space dialogue or the US Space Force’s main annual symposium in Colorado next month, where last year she was the only non-US politician invited to speak.

At the symposium in 2024, New Zealand updated its agreement to align local space regulations more with America’s.

‘Few impediments to the transfer of technology’

However, the NZ Space Agency told RNZ it was not involved in the current Pentagon study that covered foreign launch sites.

Asked if New Zealand might be in danger of missing out on US business, the agency said: “Through our regulatory cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA) with the US, the New Zealand Space Agency has been actively facilitating Rocket Lab’s provision of launch services from their private spaceport at Mahia since their inception. Customers of these services include US government agencies.

“If there was interest beyond Mahia, the New Zealand Space Agency would expect to become involved although not necessarily as the first point of contact.”

The November briefing said MFAT was prioritising work to strengthen the country’s export controls regime so it was more comparable “with our closest partners”, and to secure other short-term gains for local businesses in the defence, space and sensitive tech sectors.

“We have welcomed messaging from the US, at all levels, that as a close and trusted partner there should be few impediments to the transfer of technology between us,” it said.

In 2022, the US Congress said America should ensure that the Pentagon’s capabilities for rapid space launches “align with initiatives by Five Eyes countries” and other allies. New Zealand is in Five Eyes.

The US should implement space missions with allies that demonstrated “rapid launch, reconstitution and satellite augmentation from locations in the Indo-Pacific, European, and other theaters of operations” and “leverage allied and partner spaceports to diversify and disaggregate launch sites across the world for a multitude of missions, including national security missions”, it said.

After the first US-NZ space dialogue in 2024, the sides issued a statement focused on commercial space partnerships, and stating, “Participants acknowledged that New Zealand’s geographic advantages has enabled frequent and responsive launch for US industry and government agencies, adding strategic resilience to launch capacity.”

That year the NZ and US also launched a dialogue on critical and emerging tech, saying: “Both nations highlighted the necessity for increased interoperability with like-minded countries to address common challenges.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

MIL OSI

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 25 March 2026 – SenseTime (the “Company”; Stock Code: 0020) announced its annual results for 2025. For the full year, total revenue rose 33% year-on-year to more than RMB 5 billion, reaching a new record high and marking the fastest growth in three years. Net loss narrowed by 58.6% year-on-year, while adjusted net loss declined for a fourth consecutive half‑year period, with the pace of year‑on‑year reduction accelerating. EBITDA for the second half of 2025 reached RMB 380 million, turning positive for the first time since listing.

The Company has successfully transitioned from a technological investment phase into a period of sustainable and accelerated growth. During the reporting period, its endogenous growth momentum continued to strengthen, alongside improved capital efficiency and resilient cash flow generation. Trade receivables collection rose to a record RMB 4.87 billion. Operating cash flow recorded a positive net inflow in the second half of 2025, marking the first such achievement since listing.

Looking ahead, the Company plans to launch a new foundational model based on its second-generation NEO architecture in the second quarter of this year. The model is expected to deliver a further step in efficiency and cost-effectiveness, enabling the broad deployment of agentic AI applications.

Dr. Xu Li, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of SenseTime, said: “We firmly believe that the deep integration of language and vision represents the most effective path to pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence. Built on our innovative NEO architecture, we have achieved unified understanding and generation, while exploring a new ‘Scaling Law’ for multimodal intelligence. These technological breakthroughs, together with the deep integration of agentic AI, will unlock new application possibilities and enable a new generation of vertical use cases. While continuing to drive innovation in core technologies, SenseTime has delivered dual growth in both revenue and EBITDA, demonstrating strong growth resilience and operational efficiency across the industry, and is steadily advancing towards high-quality development.”

Continuously rolling out native multimodal large models, “efficiency enhancement + cost reduction” drives accelerated commercial growth

In 2025, SenseTime continued to invest in cutting-edge R&D, delivering breakthrough progress across large-model architecture innovation, training paradigms, inference efficiency, and spatial understanding, while maintaining its leading position in China.

The performance of the SenseNova multimodal large model continues to improve steadily, maintaining long-term leadership across multiple authoritative benchmarks. The Company has successively released and open-sourced the SenseNova-SI Spatial Intelligence Model. In a comprehensive evaluation incorporating several internationally recognized spatial intelligence benchmarks, SenseNova-SI delivered outstanding results, ranking first globally among peer models. In parallel, the open-source Kairos-SenseNova became the first embodied native world model to achieve integrated multimodal understanding, generation, and prediction. In December 2025, SenseTime also unveiled and open-sourced NEO, an fundamentally new native multimodal model architecture. NEO achieves state-of-the-art performance comparable to industry peers of a similar scale while requiring only one-tenth of the training data and computing power. Together, these breakthroughs redefined model training paradigms and inference efficiency, marking SenseTime’s entry into a new phase in its pursuit of deep multimodal integration

Leveraging the leading capabilities of its SenseNova multimodal large model, SenseTime has established a robust, scalable and replicable B2B business model. By applying a comprehensive framework that assesses task complexity and fault tolerance, the Company is able to unlock the closed-loop value of AI agents across strategic use cases, including office productivity, finance, marketing, and content generation. Its customer base spans a broad range of industries, encompassing automotive, smart devices, consumer goods, Internet services, embodied intelligence, financial services, education and healthcare.

Meanwhile, SenseTime has continued to make progress in developing a new generation of AI-native consumer applications. The Kapi product series has successfully built a user base numbering in the tens of millions, underscoring the strong growth potential of AI-native applications and demonstrating the Company’s ability to embed advanced AI technologies into everyday life.

SenseCore: Deeper coordination between computing infrastructure and model R&D unlocks international commercial potential

As the core technological pillar of its “Infrastructure – Model – Application” strategy, SenseCore achieved a significant transition in 2025, converting technological strengths to a fully developed industrial closed loop. During the year, it supported nearly one million model R&D tasks, effectively unlocking the full chain from underlying hardware to top-level applications, and from software stacks to model adaptation. Notably, the LightX2V World Model Inference System delivered breakthrough performance on domestic hardware, outperforming leading overseas chips.

SenseCore accelerated collaboration across China’s domestic technology ecosystem, positioning itself as a key chain master within industry. It partnered with more than a dozen chip makers, including Huawei Ascend, Hygon and Cambricon, to launch the SenseCore Computing Power Mall. SenseCore has since become a core partner of leading research institutes, Internet giants, pan-entertainment groups, embodied-intelligence robotics firms and large-model unicorns, and has also launched China’s first overseas Chinese-led computing cluster in Saudi Arabia.

As of the release of this result announcement, the total operational computing scale of SenseCore had reached 40,400 PetaFLOPS (FP16).

CV 2.0 records first‑ever net profit and positive cash flow; “X” Businesses gains strong recognition from external investors

SenseTime’s Computer Vision (CV; Visual AI) business is transitioning from a technology investment phase into a period of large-scale commercial returns. During the reporting period, CV 2.0 achieved profitability for the first time and generated positive cash flow for a second consecutive year, emerging as a key driver of the Company’s revenue growth and cash-flow improvement. SenseTime has maintained the leading position in China’s CV market for nine consecutive years. Internationally, clients across Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and the Middle East continued to repurchase CV products and services, while interest increased from clients in South America, Europe and other regions, forming a replicable, scalable “Chinnovation” model for global expansion.

In 2025, SenseTime firmly advanced its “1+X” strategy, establishing a highly efficient collaborative system in which the core platform (the Company) provides foundational capabilities, while ecosystem partners compete and scale within targeted verticals. This marked a strategic shift from standalone business expansion towards the multiplication of ecosystem-wide value. Ecosystem enterprises incubated by SenseTime made steady progress in financing during the year, attracting strong interest from external investors including Internet giants, leading venture capital firms and industrial funds. Notably, the edge AI chip and intelligent driving business successfully completed financing rounds and were subsequently spun off to operate independently.

Looking ahead to 2026, the Company believes it is well positioned to compete in the critical phase of the global AI industry. It will continue to deepen its native multimodal architecture, reinforcing its global leadership in the integration of native multimodal large models and spatial intelligence. Meanwhile, the Company plans to capitalize on opportunities in the merging agentic AI market, targeting rapid growth in both user scale and commercial value. The Company will also accelerate the adaptation of domestic Chinese chips, further reduce large-model inference costs, and enhance product competitiveness through superior cost-performance. Within its Visual AI business, it will leverage both domestic and international growth engines to drive large-scale expansion and establish a global benchmark for intelligent industries. In parallel, the Company will continue to advance its “1+X” strategy to capture incremental returns arising from the accelerating intelligent transformation of vertical industries.

Hashtag: #SenseTimeGroup

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand is an expensive country, Reserve Bank chief economist Paul Conway says, with many products priced well above the OECD average.

And some things – such as construction services, household utilities and some food items – are among the most expensive in the OECD.

Conway spoke to the National Financial Advisers Conference in Auckland on Wednesday.

He said inflation had been one of the most obvious economic disruptions over the past few years, particularly over the pandemic, when demand combined with a lack of supply sent inflation soaring at the sharpest rate in decades.

He said people were still asking why everything felt so expensive, even though inflation was much nearer the Reserve Bank’s targets than it had been.

Conway said, since the start of the pandemic, overall prices had risen by 26 percent and the price of some essentials had increased much more.

Wages rose 32 percent but that increase was probably not evenly felt – people who moved jobs were more likely to have received larger wage increases.

Conway said that for the past five years, one or more of a range of everyday household essentials that were hard to avoid had been increasing strongly in price at almost every point. “That included prices for council rates, construction services, some foods – including meat and butter, and insurance.

“Because households cannot easily avoid some of these costs, this has no doubt added to the sense of a ‘cost-of-living crisis’.”

Rates, insurance and gas had jumped particularly in recent years.

Tobacco products were among the most expensive in the OECD and milk, cheese, eggs and fruit prices were well above the average. Seafood, clothing, and meat were slightly below average.

“For services, the price of construction in New Zealand is the highest in the OECD and more than double the average. This is undoubtedly a handbrake on housing and infrastructure development here. In fact, the price of ‘capital formation’ – which covers machinery, equipment and construction – is 70 percent above average in New Zealand and also the highest in the OECD. The price of housing services and utilities in New Zealand is also assessed as being the most expensive in the OECD.”

He said low and stable inflation mattered for the cost of living but it was not the whole story.

Monetary policy – such as the official cash rate set by the Reserve Bank – could help to anchor prices but not make New Zealand affordable on its own. He acknowledged that inflation ended 2025 just above the Reserve Bank’s 1 percent to 3 percent target band and was likely to be more elevated because of the Middle East conflict.

He said what mattered for households was their purchasing power.

Before 2020, the purchasing power of wages in New Zealand was growing faster than the OECD average on the back of strong employment growth and favourable terms of trade.

“Today, while wage purchasing power is around average across all 38 OECD members countries, it is about 20 percent below the average of the more advanced OECD economies that we typically compare ourselves to.”

Productivity the key

For there to be continued sustained improvements in purchasing power, there would have to be more productivity, he said.

Real per capita income in New Zealand was below the OECD average, he noted. It had been about 80 percent of the average until the mid-2000s then increased to more than 95 percent by 2020.

“Since 2020, real income in New Zealand has fallen back to around 90 percent of the OECD average and the income gap vis-à-vis Australia has widened. Purchasing power, as measured by real income, has not kept pace with the rest of the OECD nor Australia since the beginning of the pandemic.”

Wages had declined less compared to the OECD average and were at best average, he said.

“Importantly, this is compared to all 38 current OECD member countries, which includes several emerging economies. Compared to the 30 OECD member countries in 2010, average incomes in New Zealand sit around 20 percent below the average.”

He said productivity growth would be the single most powerful determinant of higher real incomes and better purchasing power over the long run.

“New Zealand’s productivity performance leaves much to be desired and has lagged other OECD economies. Further, productivity growth in the New Zealand economy fell significantly following the global financial crisis and has been negative in the wake of the pandemic.

“While low and stable inflation is a key ingredient in lifting productivity and improving purchasing power, it is insufficient on its own. By anchoring prices, monetary policy creates the conditions for growth. But sustained gains in purchasing power require structural improvements in the economy.”

Measures to improve resilience

He said a more fragmented and unpredictable global economy would raise the stakes for ensuring New Zealand’s structural policies were resilient, adaptive and fit for purpose.

“We are in a new era of heightened geopolitical risk and persistent uncertainty, with the conflict in the Middle East a timely reminder of how quickly geopolitics can disrupt the global economy. At the same time, cross-country flows of trade, capital, and people are shifting, governments are becoming more interventionist, and the rules-based order that once underpinned global integration has weakened considerably.

“This is not a temporary shock that we can simply wait out. It’s a durable shift that makes the global economy more difficult and dangerous for small economies like New Zealand. We are more exposed to external shocks, fragile global supply chains, and shifts in global rules and norms over which we have little control.”

He said sustaining living standards would depend on structural policy settings that built resilience into the structure of the economy by encouraging flexibility, investment and adaption.

“A more resilient and flexible economy would mean monetary policy does not have to work as hard, or be as aggressive, to stabilise inflation as shocks wash through the economy.

“While monetary policy plays a critical role in responding to shocks, it cannot solve New Zealand’s ‘cost-of-living crisis’. Low and stable inflation underpins economic stability and is critical for sustained gains in purchasing power. But monetary policy does not create prosperity directly. It creates the conditions in which prosperity can endure.

“Improving the purchasing power of New Zealand households requires improved productivity. Productivity gains support stronger real wage growth, while competitive markets help keep price increases in check… stronger productivity raises the economy’s speed limit – allowing faster growth without inflation. A more resilient and flexible economy also means monetary policy doesn’t need to be as aggressive to keep inflation stable when shocks hit.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

MIL OSI

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 25 March 2026 – The Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce, successfully hosted “Thai Night Hong Kong 2026” on 18 March 2026 at the Ballroom, JW Marriott Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. The event aimed to foster business networking and promote collaboration between Thai entrepreneurs and international partners in the film and entertainment industry, with over 517 participants from across the global entertainment sector, including investors, content creators, and media representatives.

The event was graciously presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi, who continues to play a vital role in supporting and promoting Thailand’s film and entertainment industry on the global stage. The occasion also provided a valuable platform for Thai entrepreneurs to expand business opportunities and strengthen international partnerships.

Thai Night Hong Kong 2026 was held alongside the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) 2026, one of Asia’s leading marketplaces for film and television content. The event served as a platform to celebrate the achievements of Thailand’s entertainment industry while showcasing the capabilities of Thai content creators to global buyers, investors, and industry stakeholders.

This year’s event was presented under the theme “Reimagining Thailand”, highlighting Thailand as a comprehensive creative destination for film and entertainment production. The concept reflects the country’s strengths in skilled talent, diverse filming locations, internationally recognized production standards, and advanced post-production capabilities.

The atmosphere of the event was vibrant and dynamic, with participants from various countries engaging in discussions, exchanging insights, and exploring opportunities for co-production and investment within Thailand’s entertainment sector.

In addition, the event featured live performances by Thai entertainment industry players, demonstrating the creativity and production excellence of Thai content. These performances blended contemporary storytelling with cultural identity, leaving a strong impression on international attendees and reinforcing Thailand’s position as a compelling creative partner on the global stage.

The successful organization of Thai Night Hong Kong 2026 reflects growing international interest in Thailand’s entertainment industry and underscores its potential as a key player in the global content landscape. The event also served as an important platform for Thai entrepreneurs to expand their market reach and build sustainable partnerships with international stakeholders.

Hashtag: #DITP

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Source: Radio New Zealand

Industry groups and local government leaders are calling for the resurrection of a Buy Kiwi Made campaign as alarms sound over new job losses and factory closures.

McCain Foods announced on Tuesday it would close its Hastings processing plant weeks after Watties proposed cuts and closures in Hastings, Dunedin, Auckland and Christchurch.

Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Will Foley said the news came as shock, and he did not know how many people were affected.

But once factory workers and those across the supply chain were factored in, it would number in the hundreds, he said.

“If you think of all the contractors that grow the crops, harvest the crops, the trucking companies, the logistics of moving the crops from farm to factories and from there to our supermarkets, you’d be talking about hundreds and hundreds of people impacted. Specifically losing their jobs, perhaps not as many on day one, but the longer term impact we’ll be getting into the hundreds, if not a thousand across Hawke’s Bay.”

Vegetable growing had played a huge role in Hawke’s Bay, including being the home of Watties, which was founded in Hastings in 1934.

The mayor wanted to see a discussion at a national level about the closures and their causes.

“What can we do to address some of these issues and help out the businesses that are still there, because otherwise we’re just going to see this happen again and again.”

Energy and production costs and inflation would all have played a part in the decision, he said.

“A lot of companies and industries affected by Cyclone Gabrielle citied concerns back then about the cost of energy making them contemplate not rebuilding their businesses, as well as the cost of production and such high inflation across the board.”

Foley was keen to see more education and information about the importance of buying New Zealand-made, even if it meant paying a little extra.

“We’re not just losing the more expensive product, we’re losing the whole supply chain and employment and logistics and everything. We might not notice the change overnight, but we’ll notice it eventually as we lose more and more.

“Educating people around buying New Zealand-made and the benefits over and above just buying that product, what it gives to New Zealand Inc is definitely something that should be highlighted and be made more aware to the population after decisions like this,” he said.

The closure would hasten a move away from farming for some, especially those already considering retirement.

Others might consider converting to other types of farming, such as dairy, sheep and beef or apples, while others would look at subdividing for housing – though it would be better to keep productive land for food production, Foley said.

Current issues around fuel supply served as a stark reminder of supply chain vulnerabilities and food security challenges.

“It could be no different with food if similar things happen and supply chains get impacted and ships don’t arrive. We certainly need to try and preserve what we’ve got already and what we produce in this country.”

Buy NZ Made was first launched in the late 1980s with the slogan “Buy NZ Made & Keep Your Country Working”, though organised campaigns to encourage shoppers to buy local date back to the turn of last century.

The concept recieved a boost as part of the co-operation agreement between the Greens and Labour in 2005, after the Green Party negotiated $11.5 million towards a Buy Kiwi Made campaign, with former Green co-leader Rod Donald as spokesperson. After his death, Green MP Sue Bradford led the programme, which included a marketing push and increased use of New Zealand-made products in government procurement.

The National government suspended the programme in 2008 but BusinessNZ continued to run the parallel Buy NZ Made campaign.

Process Vegetables New Zealand chair David Hadfield said New Zealand consumers needed to buy locally grown produce.

“Otherwise they’re going to wake up one day and there won’t be any and then we’ll be relying on other countries to supply us and we don’t know when the next Covid or a bigger conflict will happen and the boats aren’t coming here with product on board.

“We’re learning in a pretty drastic way with fuel at the moment, aren’t we, about what happens when we have to bring it all in?”

While local products could be more expensive, the bulk of the profit was made after vegetables left the processor, he said.

“The grower is getting about 10 percent of what a packet of peas sells for.”

He wanted a closer look at supermarket margins – which differed by department – as well as the role of distribution centres.

“New Zealanders definitely need to be looking at buying New Zealand grown,” Hadfield said, and should pay close attention to labelling.

“Look at where it’s growing, not where it’s packaged, because there’s quite a bit of stuff coming into the country in bulk and then getting packaged to you,” he said.

It was impossible for New Zealanders to compete with countries where growers were subsidised or where pay and safety regulations were very low, Hadfield said.

The government also needed to investigate imported produce and whether there may be cases of dumping.

“I don’t know the government’s done anything through the Commerce Commission or anybody else to look at that.”

In early March, Watties proposed closing factories in Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch, and shutting down processing lines at one of its Hastings factories.

The move would see 350 workers made redundant, 220 suppliers affected and the end of Wattie’s frozen vegetables, Gregg’s coffee and other household names.

Submissions on the proposal close this week.

In September, Wattie’s reduced its Hawke’s Bay peach production, cutting the contracts of some suppliers in the face of what it claimed was dumping from cheaper markets.

An investigation later found Chinese company J&G International Co. Ltd had been dumping peaches, causing “material injury to the New Zealand industry”.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Media Outreach

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Allegations of bullying against one of the most senior staff at Corrections were raised more than a month ago.

RNZ earlier revealed Corrections commissioner of custodial services Leigh Marsh was facing an employment investigation in relation to allegations of bullying.

On Wednesday, Corrections chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot confirmed the concerns were raised on February 15.

“No other formal concerns have been raised about this individual, and they have not previously been subject to an employment investigation.”

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

After receiving the concerns, advice was sought from the human resources team and support was put in place for the staff member who raised the concerns, Lightfoot said.

“The decision was then taken to undertake a formal employment investigation.”

Lightfoot said it was important staff felt confident raising any concerns.

“And as an employer I have a duty of care to ensure the ongoing privacy and wellbeing of those involved.

“For these reasons, it would not be appropriate for us to provide further details about this employment matter at this time. I acknowledge the public interest in the conduct of our senior leaders and Corrections is committed to being transparent about the findings of this investigation at the appropriate time and in line with our obligations under the Official Information Act and Privacy Act.”

In response to questions about the inquiry into Marsh earlier this week Lightfoot told RNZ he expected “high standards of all our staff and take any allegations raised about their conduct extremely seriously”.

“Corrections can confirm that concerns have been raised about one senior leader that will be investigated by an external independent investigator.

“The concerns raised relate to alleged conduct around management processes and bullying within the employment relationship.”

The staff member who raised the concerns with Lightfoot was “being supported while this employment matter is ongoing”.

He also confirmed three operational deputy chief executives, including Marsh, would be undertaking six-month secondments into different DCE roles within Corrections.

“I had already been considering moving the operational DCEs into each other’s areas later this year. This is because I believe these secondments will allow each operational DCE to deepen their understanding of each other’s respective areas so we can continue building a coherent, cohesive organisation. Their employment agreements were developed to allow such secondments to take place.

“The decision to do this now was brought forward to ensure that a thorough and fair employment process for both parties in relation to the above complaint can be carried out.”

The secondment sees Marsh move to DCE of Pae Ora.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Thirteen education organisations representing thousands of teachers and principals have united to oppose the government’s school curriculum overhaul.

In a letter published on Wednesday organisations including teacher union the Educational Institute, the Principals’ Federation and several subject associations, said the proposed changes were not fit for purpose.

They said the curriculum framework and six draft curriculum documents were not fit for purpose, did not meet the Education Ministry’s own standards, “and represent a profound, unworkable narrowing of curriculum scope”.

“The pace of curriculum change is unreasonable, has layered multiple demands on schools and kura, and has created huge workloads on the sector,” they said.

“This will have significant negative impacts, including impacting on the recruitment and retention of teachers.”

Principals’ Federation president Jason Miles told RNZ primary schools had already introduced new maths and English curriculums, which made huge changes to the way schools taught the subjects, and work on the remaining six learning areas should stop.

“There is a lot wrong with the draft curriculum that has been presented for consultation. It’s devoid of anything to do with Te Tiriti. It is full of knowledge, rich objectives, over 1000 objectives from year zero to eight, they’re not coherent,” he said.

“It’s surface level teaching, it’s tick-charts, it’s knowledge-rich objectives which will be easily assessed. But what we are concerned about is the deeper, capabilities and competencies that are missing from these curriculum.”

Miles said the groups’ decision to make a joint statement was hugely significant.

“We’ve all slammed the direction, the pace, and the lack of genuine consultation, and the government’s rushed wholesale curriculum reform,” he said.

“We’re fundamentally saying that these curriculums cannot go ahead.”

Miles said he hoped the ministry and Education Minister Erica Stanford would listen, however he said the minister was choosing to talk with other people in the education sector.

NZEI Te Riu Roa president Ripeka Lessels told RNZ the minister and ministry had not listened to the organisations so far, but she hoped that would change.

Asked if there was middle ground between the groups’ philosophy of education and the approach favoured by the minister, Lessels said there was still room for talk.

“We clearly do believe that the [government’s] ideologies are in opposition to what we believe is good practice for education and for the classroom,” she said.

“We do believe that some of the things that we believe are driving this ideology are definitely not good for our country and not good for our children and we do believe that if we don’t stand up and have a conversation, then these ideologies may become something that the country has no choice but to take on board.”

Other signatories to the open letter included the Māori principals’ association Te Akatea, the Teacher Education Forum and associations representing teachers of subjects including social studies, physical education, and drama.

It’s not the first time different education organisations had united to oppose the government’s school sector changes.

Multiple principals associations last year published open letters urging the government to slow down its curriculum overhaul and 10 organisations including Catholic school principals and kindergartens spoke out against changes to teacher registration and disciplinary body the Teaching Council.

Principals and teachers spoken to by RNZ this year have warned that while some of the government’s English and maths changes were positive, it was trying to make too much change too fast.

Thirteen organisations signed the letter and the NZEI said others were considering it.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The minister responsible for fuel security says he has received proposals from import terminals to open up more diesel capacity, but any recommission of tanks would be a while off.

Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones said almost half of Marsden Point’s available storage was being used, and there had been a proposal to refurbish unused and empty tanks to boost diesel storage.

The tanks had been empty since the closure of the refinery in 2022, with Marsden Point now operating solely as an import and storage terminal for refined oil.

Jones said he had spoken to Rob Buchanan, the chief executive of Channel Infrastructure, which owned and operated Marsden Point.

“He said that there could be two tanks that could be repurposed, and he has sent through a proposal to us. However, because of the degradation since the closure of the refinery, it will take time,” Jones said.

“They have put forward a proposal to work, as I understand, with the Crown, to refurbish some storage tanks. Then the officials are working through, ‘do they think it’s a sensible thing to do and what it’s likely to cost the Crown and Channel if we were to work together?’”

He expected to receive that advice from officials “sooner, rather than later”.

Jones had also spoken to the chief executive of the Port of Taranaki, who had told him there could be up to three days of storage there.

“But two thirds of the potential storage is owned by Methanex, so I’m in no hurry to chase Methanex out of New Zealand,” Jones said, adding Taranaki would also need some new infrastructure.

“I think Marsden Point are confident, if they can get some regulatory relief. Taranaki said they have to build a new bund, because the regulations have changed. So look, I think that if we’re going to do this, we need to strip away the regulations without creating a public nuisance, and also arrive at a point where we can, if not share the costs, work out how soon it can be done.”

Combined, Jones estimated it would add “several days” to diesel storage capacity, with costs going towards the refurbishment and then purchasing the diesel.

Those costs, Jones expected, would be shared between the Crown and Channel.

A spokesperson for Channel Infrastructure said Channel was aware of Jones’ comments, but it did not comment on discussions with any of its customers.

“Channel has identified some very preliminary options for significantly increasing diesel storage capacity at Marsden Point,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Channel had almost 300 million litres of fuel storage in service at Marsden Point, and an additional 350 million litres of tanks that “could be converted” to provide additional fuel storage if required.

“The government’s Fuel Security Study concluded that the best way to improve New Zealand’s resilience was to increase the in-country storage of fuels that are critical to keeping our economy moving, and Channel stands ready to put all efforts into safely assisting with additional fuel resiliency measures, should we be asked to provide them.”

Fuel importers were required by law to hold 28 days’ worth of petrol, 24 days of jet fuel, and 21 days of diesel.

From 2028, the minimum requirement for diesel would increase to 28 days, if the fuel importer had more than 10 percent of the market share.

In 2024, the government stopped work on procuring 70 million litres of reserve diesel stock, saying it carried significant capital cost and Cabinet would need a robust understanding of options and their impacts before making decisions.

The fuel would have been funded through the Petroleum or Engine Fuels Monitoring Levy.

Instead, the government decided to explore other options to increase the diesel reserves from 21 days to 28 by 2028, and commissioned the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment to study New Zealand’s fuel security requirements.

Under questioning from Labour’s energy spokesperson Megan Woods in the House on Tuesday, Jones said there was “no budget, no proposal that I could credibly take forward to my colleagues” on the reserve diesel stock.

New Zealand First has continued to blame Labour for the closure of the refinery in 2022, and has been attempting to tie the “degradation” of the storage capacity to the closure.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters went as far as to suggest the refinery was “deliberately shut down, with the government’s connivance”.

In 2021, Labour had the option of providing a loan or subsidy to keep the refinery open, but then-minister Woods said there was not a strong case.

“There does not appear to be a clear case for maintaining refinery operations for fuel resilience reasons, except to address an exceptional ‘no fuel imports’ scenario,” she wrote in a 2021 Cabinet paper.

“This is an unlikely scenario, but not entirely implausible, therefore I believe the option of maintaining refinery capacity warrants an active decision by government.”

In the House, Jones accused Woods of making an “active decision” to close the refinery.

“If you close down 700 million litres of storage, 70 million is a mere drop,” he said.

Labour has repeatedly said the closure was a business decision made by its private owners, not a government decision.

“At most, you’d be talking about five days of unprocessed crude oil, in addition to whatever we have in terms of processed fuel onshore. Five days in the grand scheme of what we’re dealing with at the moment isn’t very much,” said Labour leader Chris Hipkins.

“There are certainly other things the government could have done over the last two years to increase our resilience. Marsden Point would be right at the bottom of that list.”

During Question Time, Peters asked the prime minister if all the “anxiety” around supplementary reserves would be relevant if “they hadn’t shut down Marsden Point?”

“It was a critical piece of national infrastructure and that was a decision of a previous government,” Christopher Luxon responded.

Luxon was then made to withdraw the comment, after Hipkins raised a point of order to argue the previous government had made no such decision.

On Tuesday, Woods told RNZ she was supportive of proposals for more storage space.

“Absolutely, and I would hope the government’s looking at that right now,” she said.

But she accused the government of being “short sighted” for scrapping the 70 million litre strategic reserve plans, which were to be a “worst case scenario” to ensure critical services like fire engines, ambulances, and food distribution could keep running.

That would have been in place this year, Woods said, whereas the government’s increased requirement for 28 days of diesel holdings would not come into place until 2028.

“One of the reasons the government scrapped that strategic reserve and got rid of the request for proposals that was out there, they said it was cost. It’s several million dollars to build that facility, in terms of being able to hold it, but there was up to $100 million of built-up levy sitting in the Petrol Levy fund, essentially that had built up over Covid that we were proposing to use for that,” she said.

“Instead, the government has gone for an option where the fuel companies themselves will hold this additional diesel, which will cost motorists more for diesel at the pump, and it will be two years’ delay.”

ACT leader David Seymour has previously disagreed with Jones on the economics of keeping the Marsden Point refinery open.

But he saw the merits on using more of its storage capacity.

“The reality is it would probably be a levy on the fuels themselves. But if that was to be proposed, I think we would look at it very carefully on the costs and benefits. I think the world just changed, and we can see that having some more independence is probably not a bad bit of room to have.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The coalition has ditched a contentious aspect of fisheries legislation after a backlash from recreational fishers.

The Prime Minister stepped in and spoke with Minister in charge Shane Jones, and said he agreed to take out the sections of the Fisheries Amendment Bill that removes the minimum size limits.

Winston Peters also took to social media, saying New Zealand First agreed to remove the contentious clause, after feedback about the proposed catch size limit changes for commercial companies, and how that would affect a large number of ordinary Kiwis.

The legislation is currently before Parliament and Peters said the party is now looking to review the issue of catch size limit during the select committee process.

“We believe in democracy, and the most important part of democracy is listening to the people. We are doing that,” said Peters.

Luxon said on social media he shared Kiwis’ concerns on the impacts to juvenile fish stocks.

“I know Kiwis still have some concerns, which is why we want the fishing community to submit to the Select Committee process on this Bill,” wrote Luxon.

The change comes following comments by Jones – also deputy leader of New Zealand First – saying on Monday critics of his Fisheries Amendment Bill were “a range of noisy voices”.

Peters said on Wednesday he spoke with Jones on the matter and “we decided to review this part of the legislation and use the select committee to remove this clause”.

The bill has been welcomed by the commercial sector but condemned by recreational fishing groups.

The current recreational size limit for snapper is between 25cm and 30cm depending on location, while the commercial size limit is 25cm.

Minimum size limits are imposed to ensure fish can reach sexual maturity before being caught.

Jones argued on Monday that allowing the commercial sector to land and sell undersize fish would prevent wastage.

Currently commercial fishers must dump undersize fish dead or alive, and it doesn’t count against their quota.

“The new provision is that if you catch them, you pay for them,” Jones said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Families of those killed in the Pike River Mine disaster fear the government’s proposed health and safety law changes will remove worker protections and risk another tragedy.

Sonya Rockhouse, who lost her 21-year-old son Ben, and Anna Osborne, who lost her husband Milt, told the Education and Workforce Select Committee on Wednesday they wanted health and safety laws strengthened.

A methane-fuelled explosion ripped through the Pike River coal mine in the rugged Paparoa Range on the South Island’s West Coast on 19 November 2010, killing 29 workers.

The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament last month and the government said it was intended to reduce death and injury rates while also cutting compliance costs by focusing on the most serious critical risks and reducing confusion.

But critics said the changes could weaken worker protections and result in more workplace injuries.

Osborne said her husband’s death was preventable, it was not bad luck or an act of God.

“He was killed by a company that put its profit ahead of his life and the lives of 28 others, and that was allowed to happen by years of people, sitting in the same seats you are now, weakening the health and safety laws and regulations again and again,” she told the committee.

“This should never have happened and the travesty of justice that followed is a blight on New Zealand’s soul.”

‘This bill takes that away’

Workplace health and safety laws were strengthened in 2014 after the mining disaster, which had kept workplace deaths and injury rates at bay despite the population of the country growing larger, she said.

“People could be confident in speaking up and employers began to feel they needed to listen,” she said, of the 2014 changes.

But that was still not enough and Osborne and Rockhouse wanted to a corporate manslaughter charge introduced in New Zealand law.

“Milt always looked out for his people – he was a volunteer fireman, a local councillor – I have always thought that among all the bad that came from Pike he would have taken some heart in the fact his death helped keep others safe even just by a little bit,” Osborne said.

“This bill takes that away. It takes it away from every person at work in New Zealand and it takes it from the memory and the legacy of Milt and all the men he is lying with in that shithole of a mine.”

The pair made the submission on behalf of Stand With Pike outlining their concerns with the proposals in the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill.

Rockhouse said Ben was a intelligent, articulate, gentle boy who believed people were good.

“I don’t know what he would have made of how hard we’ve had to fight for truth that should have been ours by right. We should never have had to fight, protest and campaign for justice, accountability or truth,” she said.

“I don’t even know what to think of this right now, of the fact that we are having to come here again to tell people yet again about the consequences of taking people’s rights to health and safety from them.”

Osborne and Rockhouse met with Workplace Safety Minister Brooke van Velden at Parliament last November on the 15th anniversary of the disaster.

The minister, who admitted she had not read the Royal Commission’s report on the Pike River Coal Mine Tragedy, and did not support the introduction of a corporate manslaughter charge, instead preferred to focus on “upfront guidance” for businesses.

Rockhouse said everyone had the right to go to work in the morning and come home safely.

“It feels like the authors of this Bill have failed to learn from history, they have wilfully ignored it and it makes me sick and angry”, Rockhouse said.

“To wind back health and safety despite the price our men and us – their families – have paid, despite the fact that all of New Zealand has seen that cost? Shameful does not even begin to describe it.”

‘Absolute conflict of interest’

Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March asked the pair about their concerns with the law change.

Rockhouse said both her sons – Dan was one of just two survivors from the disaster – told her if they tried to raise issues around health and safety, no matter how big or small, they were told to “just shut the F up and get on with your job, basically that was the mentality”.

Several miners told her they had been worried about an explosion at the mine and the chief executive had said, “if you don’t like it there’s the door, leave, you’re not in Australia now”, she said.

“It’s very hard in that context to think the CEO would have identified the appropriate critical risks under the financial pressure they were under.”

Osborne said methane levels in the mine peaked over 19 times in the two weeks before the explosion.

“Those 19 times the men should have been out of the mine and, until that mine re-ventilated, they should not have been allowed to work but [Peter] Whittle and the managers there wanted production to happen,” she said.

“It was almost like they were playing a game of Russian roulette – production over safety.”

Stand With Pike advisor Rob Egan said the Bill assumed the workplace health and safety regulator could police and provide guidance and consultation to employers.

“That’s exactly what happened at Pike River … it is an absolute conflict of interest,” he said.

Earlier this year police said they were nearing the final stages of the criminal investigation into the disaster.

Detective superintendent Darryl Sweeney said the investigation was legally complex and police had been working with the Wellington crown solicitor for more than 18 months.

Further investigation was still needed and an update was likely to be several months away, he said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Erica Stanford is being accused of using government resources to distribute party political videos, but her office says it was simply “human error”.

On Tuesday morning, the Education Minister emailed school principals about the government’s new SMART assessment tool from her ministerial account.

“From today, SMART is available for schools and kura to prepare for the first assessment window,” the email read.

“I’m sharing this email for you to pass on to your teachers, along with the short video below which shows how SMART will support teaching and learning in practice.”

The email included an explanation of the tool, as well as a link to a video she said “focuses on what SMART will mean in the classroom, and how it can support teaching and learning.”

The video, which has since been removed, was uploaded to the NZ National Party YouTube page.

RNZ has seen comments by education staff in response to the email and video, expressing disappointment and criticising the use of a party platform to distribute information about a Ministry initiative.

Another response from a principal directly to the Minister indicated they would not be sharing the video due to it being hosted by the @NZNats page and requested that in future materials be shared through the appropriate channels.

Labour’s education spokesperson Ginny Andersen told RNZ it was “completely inappropriate” for a Minister to use Ministry of Education contact lists and government resources to distribute National Party videos.

“Erica Stanford should know better than this by now.”

A spokesperson for Stanford said the video was posted in “human error” and had been taken down.

Her office planned to send a new email on Wednesday with the correct link.

In response to Labour’s criticism, the spokesperson said: “This was a ministerial video for teachers that was simply uploaded to the wrong channel and has been rectified.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

People who are not eligible for the government’s fuel relief package – including beneficiaries or those living in rural communities with no children – say it is a “kick in the guts”.

The government announced on Tuesday that more than 140,000 working families with children will get an extra $50 a week to help counter rising fuel prices, with another 14,000 families qualifying for a part payment.

The government said the payment will target those struggling the most, but people living by themselves, without children, receiving the pension and living rurally feel as though they have been squeezed out.

A Christchurch single mother – who works part-time and receives a benefit – said she was left with just $93 for food after her bills were paid and her petrol tank was filled up.

“That doesn’t even take into account if someone needs a pair of shoes, or the car breaks down. $93 is all that is left over, with this increase in petrol.”

Sarah* said the $50 boost would have made a big difference to her family.

“It means that you’re constantly having to mentally juggle what choices you can make and what you can afford. Everything has to be calculated because it is so expensive.

“You end up eating the same thing over and over and having to make a batch of bolognese and that just goes for a whole week.

“My poor daughter has to moan and groan because there’s hardly any food for lunch boxes.”

In the past three weeks, Sarah has had no choice but to go to her local food bank, twice.

“We don’t buy takeaways at all, so there’s no stopping for an ice-cream on the way home, obviously the ability to buy clothes is non-existent.

“I had to buy my daughter a pair of sports shoes on Sunday, that money had come out of the power and internet that’s due, so I have to find that somewhere which is probably going to come out of food.”

A mum living in rural Mid-Canterbury, who did not want to be named, said she has to drive more than 100 kilometres each way to get to work, costing her $180 per tank of petrol.

But because she and her partner’s combined income added up to $130,000, they were just over the threshold to get the $50 boost.

“We’ve cut the shopping bill, luckily we have a decent amount of land, so we grow our own fruit and vegetables.

“But there will be more of a focus on growing as much of a winter crop as we can, although we are an alpine village so we get a lot of snow, so that cuts down on what we can grow.”

A woman living in rural Otago – who also did not want to be named – receives the pension and works part time, alongside caring for her elderly mother.

She has to drive 20 kilometres into town often to take her mother to her GP appointments, but it meant she would have to cut down on other things to be able to afford petrol for the week.

“It will be like blankets and jerseys and going to bed early, rather than having the heating on, but here down south it does get pretty cold in winter.”

Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston was asked on Tuesday at Parliament about the assistance beneficiaries can access if they were struggling with fuel costs.

“One of the requirements at the moment is that they are fulfilling their obligations and if they have challenges meeting, for example, fuel costs, there is assistance available through MSD.

“I would always expect them to be talking to their case manager and to MSD about any challenges they face.”

But Sarah said it felt like a kick in the guts that the government had not taken single people and retirees into account.

“I just thought that was so offensive and a kick in the guts to block out, especially single parents who do work part-time, as non-working Kiwis.

“What’s the problem in supporting a parent to be a good parent? Is that not a form of work? I think to be excluded from that bracket was just so uncaring and humiliating.

“It feels like the sentiment is that being on a benefit is a choice, when it’s not a choice.”

The temporary $50 top up is being delivered through a boost in the in-work tax credit starting from April.

It is set to last a year or until the price of 91 octane petrol drops below $3 a litre for four consecutive weeks.

*Name changed to protect identity

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) has warned it will not have enough government funding to cover all domestic enrolments next year – the third consecutive year funding was expected to fall short of demand for tertiary education.

The warning came in the commission’s guidance to institutions applying for government funding in 2027.

“Investment planning for 2027 is taking place in a very challenging fiscal environment. We expect demand to remain strong and available funding to be unlikely to match it. Trade-offs will be required and most providers will see reduced investment,” it said.

It said the commission would base its funding decisions on factors including evidence of improvements in student pass rates, financial performance, and institutions’ contribution to the network of tertiary courses provided around the country.

The commission also warned some institutes could lose some, or even all, funding.

“We expect to actively disinvest where these requirements are not met,” it said.

“In exceptional circumstances we may disinvest from all [of] your provision.”

Last year, the commission said it had enough funding for 99 percent of expected enrolments in 2025 and in 2026 and would use its reserves to provide funding for up to 102 percent of forecast enrolments this year.

However, 2025’s domestic enrolments exceeded forecasts and the commission said it was still calculating the result for that year.

“The final 2025 position across the entire tertiary sector is still being processed as we work through the annual wash up process over the next couple of months,” it said.

The commission said the government’s Budget could affect the outlook for this year.

“Unfunded learner numbers for 2026 will not be able to be forecast until after Budget ’26 decisions are taken and TEC receives it first data return on enrolments,” it said.

“The signalling in the plan guidance document reflects the current situation where the government is operating in a very tight fiscal environment and where economic conditions, the job market and demographics are driving enrolment growth. The sector needs to be prepared that not all programmes they wish to deliver can be fully funded with the focus being on supporting programmes in priority areas.”

The guidance also cautioned against rapid growth in foreign enrolments.

“Providers need to ensure growth in international education is sustainable, and that the quality of education and educational experience for international students and domestic learners is maintained or enhanced,” it said.

“This will support New Zealand’s reputation as a competitive global provider of high-quality education… Any potential negative impacts, such as on placement capacity, need to be carefully managed.”

Universities New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan said historically governments had funded all enrolments because they did not want students to be turned away from courses.

“The government has funded the forecast numbers, the problem is actual numbers keep exceeding forecast,” he said.

Whelan said institutions could cope with small numbers of unfunded students, but not with large numbers and the effect varied depending on what proportion of a student’s education was covered by government subisdies.

In some subjects, the split was 50/50 between student fees and government subsidies, in others it was more like 33/67.

Whelan said as a result some institutions were refusing unfunded enrolments.

“Certainly I’m hearing, even though it’s quite early, that is happening in some places where universities are discouraging enrolments because they are unfunded places… And in other places, of course, universities are simply saying, yep, we can take on a smallish number of unfunded places.”

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The local government minister has called Wellington’s mayor for an explanation of the huge water bills that residents are facing – and are forecast to hit almost $7000 a year by the end of the decade.

Wellington’s new water entity Tiaki Wai is a council-controlled organisation taking over Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua City Councils water assets from July.

It announced this morning that residents will face an average nearly 15 percent hike in water charges this coming financial year – from $2100 to $2400.

Those bills may rise by nearly a quarter the following year – and keep increasing – to reach an estimated $6800 per year for water services by 2036 as the water entity tries to fix old, failing infrastructure.

Local government minister Simon Watts said those costs were higher than he was expecting.

“I’m concerned for Wellington ratepayers again, you know we’ve got a long string of issues in this area.”

Watts said the plan that Tiaki Wai presented to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and the water regulator last year did not forecast such high costs.

He said he phoned Wellington’s Mayor Andrew Little about this today.

“I outlined to him that we received a plan from you which outlined a profile of cost increases, and as a result the entity has now published a price which is not in the plan, which is much higher, I need to understand, and have an explanation around that.”

A Tiaki Wai spokesperson said the Water Services Delivery plan it presented in August last year was based on the best available information at the time, and the organisation will continue to review its costs as investment plans develop.

Little said Tiaki Wai was responsible for what it sent to DIA last year, and he did not control or veto the organisation’s decisions under the new system.

He said he shared the minister’s concerns about bills, but the government campaigned on this model under its Local Water Done Well policy.

He said he will be scrutinising Tiaki Wai’s performance and pricing closely.

“If the increases follow the path that Tiaki Wai are saying, then people are going to expect high quality, that leaks are repaired quickly, also that they can contact their water company, at any time of the day.”

He wanted the Commerce Commission to be granted the power to intervene if water entity’s bills became unreasonable.

Watts did not confirm if the Commerce Commission would have the power to step in over sky-rocketing bills, but said he had called in the commission in this instance to work with Tiaki Wai and the councils over the projected prices.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said bills reaching nearly $7000 a year in a decade were horrendous, and could drive people away from the region.

“At those sort of prices, who’s going to be living here? I can’t pay $6000 in water, and $6000 in rates… we have to do something.”

She said while she supported the establishment of the water entity, and understood the scale of the work at hand, water charges still needed to be affordable.

Wellingtonians divided over jump in bills

Some Wellingtonians RNZ spoke to were worried about the charges due to cost of living pressures, while others said the region’s assets had to be fixed.

Dale said she did not look forward to the future knowing those charges lay ahead.

“That sounds pretty crap. I’m 28, so the way it will be, by the time I am 38, that doesn’t sound like I’ll be living a great life.”

But another resident Daniel Freese said the city had ignored failing assets for too long.

“I think it has to happen, I think we’re paying for under-investment over many years, and although it’s not good news, we just need to suck it up and pay for it.

“If we don’t pay now, we’re going have to pay later, and it’s going to be more.”

Resident Tom Arkell said he was keen to see water meters brought in for the city.

“I’d like to think we could bring in some pay-per-use water monitors, that we can actually incentivise people to use less water, and to track, and therefore they could pay within what they’re comfortable, rather than getting a fixed bill no matter how much water you use.”

Tiaki Wai is considering water meters, and the organisation expects they will take up to seven years to roll out across Wellington, and cost $590 million in total.

Peet yesterday told reporters the dire state of the region’s infrastructure could no longer be ignored after decades of under-investment.

“We know we’ve got a lot of leaks, we know we’ve got compliance issues with wastewater, and we all know that stormwater continues to be a significant challenge for many cities – but Wellington in particular.”

Peet said fixing the failed Moa Point plant – which has been spewing raw sewage into the sea for nearly six weeks – will be a top priority.

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