Category: LiveNews

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How to talk to your children about conflict and war

Source: Radio New Zealand

It can be hard to avoid news about the conflict and war around the world, especially with images and updates regularly topping the news and circulating online.

Brad Morgan is the director of Emerging Minds, an Australian organisation which develops mental health policy, interventions and programmes, and leads the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health.

“You see it on public transport. We see it in shops. You see it at home. Obviously, for some children, it’s also in their pockets or at school,” Morgan tells Nine to Noon.

Our children are increasingly exposed to updates about wars and conflicts from all around the world with the 24/7 accessibility to the news.

Unsplash / Getty Images

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/how-to-talk-to-your-children-about-conflict-and-war/

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Air NZ suspends earning guidance amid global jet fuel markets volatilty

Source: Radio New Zealand

Generic plane. Air New Zealand at Wellington airport. RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Air New Zealand has suspended its earning guidance amid what it calls unprecedented volatility in global jet fuel markets.

The airline expects a meaningful impact on its second half earnings.

After implementing initial fare changes, it says it may need to take further price action and adjust its network if the conflict leads to continued high jet fuel costs.

Air New Zealand shares had fallen nearly 8 percent on Monday.

Oil prices are up about 8 percent to US$99.90 a barrel, after climbing to a high of US$119.50 a barrel overnight, its biggest-ever absolute price jump in a single day.

Reuters reports that some jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the conflict putting pressure on carriers already having to reroute to avoid the Middle East conflict and cater to thousands of stranded passengers trying to leave the region.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/air-nz-suspends-earning-guidance-amid-global-jet-fuel-markets-volatilty/

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‘Grey washing’: SuperGold Card discounts skip entire regions

Source: Radio New Zealand

The SuperGold card was designed to help offset the high cost of living, which statistically hit NZ’s seniors harder than other groups. RNZ / Kim Baker-Wilson

SuperGold Card holders are finding it difficult to cash-in on weekly supermarket discounts with a mish-mash of locations, leaving some regions missing out entirely with patchy coverage in others.

Age Concern chief executive Kevin Lamb called it an example of “grey washing”.

For example, the SuperGold Card was accepted at grocery stores in most central business districts, but not in Gisborne, Marlborough Nelson, Tasman, West Coast districts nor the densely populated Auckland CBD, with a fast-growing resident senior population of more than 2000 people.

“It is portraying themselves as supporting older people, but doing what I would call the bare minimum in order to achieve that,” Lamb said.

“If you’re going to say that SuperGold Card gets a discount in our stores, why wouldn’t you do that for every store? Not just cherry pick a handful of stores around the country and have such a lack of consistency about where those stores are located.”

Monopoly concerns

Monopoly Watch analyst Tex Edwards said confusing or difficult to get information on the availability of SuperGold Card discounts at leading supermarkets was another example of unchecked monopolistic behaviour.

“What’s being exhibited here with the leverage of the senior gold cards, is a concept called geographic monopolisation in several regions of the country, where you don’t have any brand choice, you just have to go to the Woolworths, or you just have to go to the Foodstuffs banner of either New World or Pak’nSave and Four Square.”

Edwards singled out Wellington, where lobbyists worked on behalf of supermarket chains to maintain the duopoly.

He said it was not surprising that Wellington region had the best coverage of supermarkets offering the SuperGold Card discount in the country, with New World offering it at 100 percent of its stores, and 63 percent at Woolworths.

“The monopolies have these people called the lobbyists, and they run round Wellington and busy telling government officials that they’re doing everything right, and they’re being sensible citizens of New Zealand, and they’re doing all this good stuff, except competing on price and competing on any real initiative,” Edwards said.

Phone calls to New World stores resulted in conflicting information. Google Maps

Conflicting information

Co-op Foodstuffs, which supplied New World, said there was no comprehensive list of store locations offering the SuperGold Card discount as individual stores were privately owned and operated.

“The discount isn’t offered in our South Island stores. In the North Island, it’s up to individual store owners to decide whether to offer it, so there isn’t a single, comprehensive list of participating stores,” Foodstuffs said in a statement to RNZ.

But internet searches of New World stores offering SuperGold Card incorrectly indicated the card was widely accepted in South Island locations – which was not the case.

Likewise, telephone calls to New World stores also resulted in conflicting information, together with incomplete information online about the terms and conditions at stores honouring the card, such as minimum purchases.

New World’s online location finder did link to a standardised template for each store, but none of them contained information about SuperGold, though other services were mentioned.

Woolworths said it offered the discount in about a third of its stores broadly located nationwide, but that was also somewhat misleading as the discount was not evenly distributed throughout the country, with some regions seeing near 100 percent coverage, while others offered nothing at all.

A list of participating Woolworths stores on the SuperGold app was also out of date with four stores no longer operating.

Commerce Commission response

Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden said supermarkets were not obligated to offer a SuperGold discount at any of its stores, though they needed to deliver on their promises to do so.

“However, we would reiterate that any discounts offered need to be clear and accurate and should not mislead consumers.

“Supermarkets need to follow through where discounts are offered.

Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden

“Any exceptions to discounts, including eligible locations, need to be clearly communicated to avoid misleading consumers,” he said.

“We would encourage people to report a concern to the Commission if they think one of the laws we enforce has been breached.

“We are unable comment further without undertaking a more thorough assessment of the matter and, if warranted, through undertaking an investigation,” he said.

Just 23 percent of Woolworths stores in the Auckland region offered the discount Supplied / Woolworths

Woolworths response

Woolworths’ website indicates a third of its total 185 grocery stores offered the 5 percent discount on any given Tuesday, but just 23 percent of its Auckland region’s stores offered the discount, and not at any of the five stores located within a 20-minute walk of the Auckland CBD.

“Whilst we may not offer the discount in all Auckland CBD stores, we do offer it broadly across the country,” Woolworths director of retail Jason Stockill said.

However, a list of Woolworths stores that accepted the SuperGold card were not broadly located according to data available on supermarket websites, and many of its North Island stores were located near competing New World supermarkets that also offered SuperGold discounts.

“We are aware that some select competitor stores run a SuperGold discount programme. We are not aware of this being directly matched store to store by us or our competitors,” Stockill said.

Still, the following table indicates the regions where Woolworths and New World’s SuperGold Card discounts are matched store-to-store:

  • Gisborne District: Woolworths 0 percent offers 0/1 stores – New World 0/0 stores 0 percent offers
  • West Coast: Woolworths 0 percent 0/1 – New World 0/3 0 percent offers in the South Island
  • Nelson: Woolworths 0 percent 0/6 – New World 0/2 0 percent offers in the South Island
  • Tasman: Woolworths 0 percent 0/1 stores – New World 0/1 stores 0 percent offers in the South Island
  • Taranaki: Woolworths 20 percent 1/5 stores – New World 60 percent 3/5 stores matched 0
  • Auckland: Woolworths 23 percent 14/ 62 stores – New World 61 percent 19/31 matched 11
  • Waikato: Woolworths 26 percent 5/19 stores – New World 44 percent 7/16 matched 3
  • Southland: Woolworths 33 percent 1/3 stores – New World 0/3 0 percent offers in the South Island
  • Hawke’s Bay: Woolworths 50 percent or 2 of 4 stores – New World 80 percent 4/5 matched 2
  • Otago: Woolworths 56 percent or 5 of 9 stores – New World 0/11 0 percent offers in the South Island
  • Manawatu-Wanganui: Woolworths 60 percent 6 of 10 stores – New World 36 percent 4/11 matched 3
  • Wellington: Woolworths 63 percent or 12 of 19 stores – New World 100 percent 21/21 matched 8
  • Marlborough: Woolworths 67 percent 2/3 stores – New World 0/2 0 percent offers in the South Island
  • Northland: Woolworths 71 percent 5/7 stores – New World 80 percent 4/5 matched 3
  • Bay of Plenty: Woolworths 83 percent 10/12 stores – New World 67 percent at 6/9 – matched 5
  • Canterbury: Woolworths 95 percent -19/20 stores – New World 0/20 0 percent offers in the South Island

Privately-owned Pak’nSave supermarkets do not offer a SuperGold Card discount, though some Four Square supermarkets do. Woolworths-owned Fresh Choice honoured the card at selected locations.

SuperGold Card discounts difficult to access

The SuperGold card was designed to help offset the high cost of living, which statistically hit New Zealand’s seniors harder than other groups.

Lamb said many of the SuperGold advertised on the app or website were beyond the reach of all but the most wealthy retirees.

“I think as well, it’s often the the interfaces are designed for those people who are extremely efficient at using online technology, and that doesn’t apply to a portion of the older population,” he said.

“There are still somewhere in the region of 20 to 25 percent of the older population who don’t have any access to any online resource.

“So creating an app or creating a website is meaningless for those people, and those people do tend to be the ones who are the most vulnerable.”

In any case, using the SuperGold Card App to figuring out which supermarkets did or did not offer the discount was impossible, with no sense as to the rationale behind the selection of stores.

Auckland CBD and other centres miss out

Stockill said Woolworths considered a number of factors when deciding which stores would be included the programme, including demand.

“We are always looking at options to provide additional value to our customers. We know the SuperGold discount program is very valued in the stores we offer it in and we would love to extend this to all stores,” Stockill said.

“However, the truth is that this programme is costly and whilst we would love to roll this out more broadly, we do need to carefully balance this expense with our ongoing investment into lower prices, services and shopping experiences for all our customers.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/grey-washing-supergold-card-discounts-skip-entire-regions/

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Kiwis in Tehran warned of toxic hazards following US-Israel strikes

Source: Radio New Zealand

A plume of smoke rises after a strike on the Iranian capital of Tehran on March 5, 2026. AFP / Atta Kenare

New Zealanders in Iran’s capital are being warned of toxic hazards.

SafeTravel is advising there is oil, smoke and soot across Tehran which is making conditions significantly more dangerous.

It said rain droplets will pull toxic chemicals from the smoke down to ground level.

“Staying indoors is your best protection – remain indoors at all times unless your safety is at immediate risk. Keep windows and doors closed, and seal any gaps with damp cloth or tape,” it said on social media.

“If it rains, treat it as a chemical hazard – do not go outdoors during rainfall and for two hours afterward. If rain contacts your skin, rinse immediately with cold running water. Do not rub, and do not use soap.”

SafeTravel said people should wait two hours after rain stops to go outside – and children should be kept off outdoor surfaces for 24 hours post rainfall.

“Avoid walking through or touching oily surfaces. If you must cross oil: cover feet entirely, remove footwear before re-entering home. If contact occurs, rinse with cold water only.

“Do not collect rainwater, or drink tap or well water if it smells or looks oily. Use sealed bottled water – boiling water will not make it safe.

“If you wear contact lenses, and are exposed to smoke, oil, or rain, remove them immediately. Keep them out until conditions clear.”

SafeTravel said the conditions can cause breathing issues, but hospitals are overwhelmed and people should only go for life-threatening symptoms.

“Masks work, and are recommended – N95/FFP2 masks give best protection from particles. Activated carbon masks help with both particles and vapours.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/kiwis-in-tehran-warned-of-toxic-hazards-following-us-israel-strikes/

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‘It is a ticking time bomb’: Drive to evict PNG settlement communities runs into problems

Source: Radio New Zealand

Shattered homes: community leaders at Paga Hill settlement discuss their response to police attempts to evict them. RNZ / Johnny Blades

A Papua New Guinean anthropologist has warned that a campaign by authorities to remove communities from informal settlements in Port Moresby will not solve growing social problems in PNG’s capital.

The government is determined to end the role of settlements as what Prime Minister James Marape decsribes as “breeding grounds for terror” as part of its law and order reforms, but recent evictions have run into problems.

Almost half of Port Moresby’s estimated population of around 500,000 live in settlements, often without legal title or access to basic services. Some of the settlements have become notorious as crime hotspots.

However, in late January, police moved into the settlement at 2-Mile, sparking clashes with residents that resulted in two deaths and numerous injuries.

Police then moved to evict another settlement at 4-Mile, but this met with a legal challenge which led to the National Court placing a stay order on the eviction.

While the campaign is essentially paused, Marape has said that his government would soon announce a permanent plan to replace unplanned settlements with properly titled residential allotments.

He also apologised to residents affected by the evictions, in recognition that many law-abiding and hard working families have made settlements their home over the years.

Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat

Urban drift

Previous attempts at evicting settlement communities did not exactly lay a template for the success of what authorities are trying to do in 2026.

In numerous cases, homes were destroyed or razed to the ground, people were left homeless and then simply moved to other areas of vacant land or ended up living with wantoks in other parts of Morebsy.

A PNG anthropologist who has done extensive work on settlements, Fiona Hukula, noted that settlements are long-established communities, stretching back decades.

“Essentially, people came to work in the towns and the cities, like in Port Moresby, and so where there was low cost housing, or where people weren’t able to afford housing, they started living in settlements, and some of the settlements on the outskirts, there’s stories that they made some kind of connection and deals with the local landowners.”

Dr Hukula said over the decades, migration to the towns and cities had grown significantly, but the available housing had not kept pace.

Water services at a settlement.

“People are just now coming into the city, really, to access better services, health and education. Some Papua New Guineans are coming to the city to escape various forms of conflict and violence.

“And this is now where we’ve seen just an influx of people coming into the city, and obviously there’s nowhere to live, and they live in settlements, and many of Moresby settlements are populated by families who have been there for several generations.”

‘Difficult thing I have to do’

Many of Moresby’s settlements are now populated by families who have been there for several generations. Removing people from these communities is a complex challenge.

“An eviction is not going to solve the problem, because people will just go and find somewhere else to stay (in Moresby), especially if they’re generational families who have lived in these settlements, who don’t necessarily have the ties back to their rural villages and their connections to their people in their village,” Dr Hukula said.

Adding to the complexities of the eviction drive are social connections forged in the National Capital District (NCD) over the years.

The head of the NCD Police Command Metropolitan Superintendent Warrick Simitab admitted that for him personally, leading the eviction exercises such as at 2-Mile had not been easy.

“It’s been difficult, because I grew up here. I grew up in NCD. For example in 2-Mile. Most of my classmates that I went to school together with, they live there. So for me personally, it’s a difficult thing that I have to do,” he told RNZ Pacific.

Papua New Guinea police RNZ / Johnny Blades

Simitab would not be drawn on when the evictions would start up again, saying things were paused while political leaders decide next steps.

Criminal hotspot

The local MP for Moresby South Justin Tkatchenko said the 2-Mile settlement had become a notorious criminal hotspot, and that the people of the city have had enough of it.

“Hold ups nearly every night and every day, women have been raped, attacked, citizens have been held up, cars stolen, injured, abused for nearly 20 years,” he said.

Things came to a head when police were shot at and those living in 2-Mile refused an ultimatum given by police to hand over the criminals, he explained.

Tkatchenko said the government was steadily working on resettling settlers with proper, legal allocations of land to live on.

“We have already allocated land and sub-divided that land for over 400 families in the 2-Mile Hill area and other areas. Some have already been resettled and moved, and others will follow suit,” the MP said.

Rainbow settlement in Port moresby, Papua New Guinea, where West Papuan refugees have squatted for years. RNZI / Johnny Blades

Dr Hukula acknowledged that crime linked to some settlements was an issue that the general population keenly wanted addressed.

But she said persisting with displacing communities from other settlements would not address the underlying cause of the problem.

“It is a ticking time bomb. It’s going to be like this, where there’s evictions and then people move. And the thing is that the cycle of violence continues, and that’s what we’re trying to address here, the crime.”

The anthropologist stressed that “not everybody in settlements are criminals”, saying the people who lived in settlements were often working people, “people who are doing the menial jobs in the offices, the office cleaners, the people who are drivers, all of these kinds of people also live in settlements, and so when they’re being kicked out, there are people who can’t go to work, children who can’t go to school”.

Dr Hukula has researched and written about how settlement communities have developed informal systems of settling disputes or addressing law and order problems such as through local komiti groups or village courts.

These provided a way in which the communities could maintain order and general respect between their people. But “because the settlements have just exploded now it’s not like necessarily everybody comes from the same area or the same province” she said, making it harder to maintain a social balance.

Looters run amok in shops amid a state of unrest in Port Moresby on 10 January, 2024. AFP / Andrew Kutan

In Dr Hukula’s view, “the village courts and the community leaders still play an extremely important role in being that bridge” between the authorities and the settlement community, and should be supported to play that role.

She said one of the other main things the government could do to help the situation was “to make sure that there’s affordable housing for all levels, all kinds of Papua New Guineans”.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/it-is-a-ticking-time-bomb-drive-to-evict-png-settlement-communities-runs-into-problems/

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How much fuel does NZ have – and what happens if we run out?

Source: Radio New Zealand

there were 49 days’ worth of petrol, 54 of diesel and 50 of jet fuel in New Zealand at the start of this month. File photo. RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

New Zealand could make its fuel supplies last about three to four weeks if supply was completely cut off.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) data shows that, on 1 March, there were 49 days’ worth of petrol, 54 of diesel and 50 of jet fuel in New Zealand.

But that total includes “stock on water” that has shipped but not yet arrived here. That is more than half the diesel stock, and 22 of 49 days’ supply of petrol.

War between the US, Israel and Iran has created significant disruptions to the price and supply of fuel and oil around the world, particularly due to the closure of the crucial supply route through the Strait of Hormuz.

Murat Ungor, economist at the University of Otago, said if fuel were completely cut off tomorrow, New Zealand could sustain itself for roughly a month, or just under, with the stocks on shore, assuming there was rationing and prioritisation for essential services.

Read more:

He said stock on water could still take some time to access and transport.

“New Zealand’s fuel supply position is structurally exposed in ways that deserve serious attention. Since the closure of the Marsden Point oil refinery on 31 March 2022, New Zealand has been entirely dependent on imported refined fuels,” he said.

“International transport was significantly disrupted in 2020 due to border closures implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Fuel use for both international aviation and international shipping has been recovering in the years since. Any sustained conflict involving Iran introduces an immediate risk to global oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20 percent of the world’s petroleum liquids transit daily.”

Kelly Eckhold, chief economist at Westpac, said there were two boats due to arrive at Marsden Point, near Whangarei, in 10 days. “What I’m not totally sure is if there are others that are also en route but it certainly looks like that’s the situation… there’s about 45 to 48 days’ of products available assuming the stock that’s on the water makes it here.”

He said at the time the new stock arrived, the country could be at around 17 or 18 days’ worth.

He said if supply was completely cut off, there would probably be a prioritisation process. “With ordinary car use there can be changes in the way that people use fuel. You can work from home… the thing with diesel is that it is used in the supply chain.

“The agricultural sector is a heavy user, the transport sector is a heavy user. They’re required to be able to do that otherwise you can’t even get goods to the supermarket. I would expect that if it really got that bad they would have some sort of prioritisation scheme in place to be able to keep things going.”

He said whether that was likely would depend on how the situation unfolded. “If things don’t resolve in a month or six weeks, it would strike me as a decent probability.”

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner told RNZ the disruption of oil around the world was becoming “pretty real”.

She said the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait had joined Iran in reducing output because they were not able to ship through the usual routes.

MBIE said the country’s fuel stocks were still “healthy” and fuel companies were not reporting issues with supply chains.

“New Zealand has a well defined, multi agency system for managing fuel supply disruptions,” a spokesperson said.

“In the event of disruption, the Fuel Sector Coordinating Entity-led by MBIE-works with NEMA, fuel companies and regional civil defence groups under the National Fuel Plan to maintain supply, prioritise essential services, and manage distribution.

“Should the situation escalate, the International Energy Agency (IEA) may intervene through collective actions like coordinating release of strategic oil reserves by their member states. This happened when Russia invaded Ukraine. The New Zealand Government has agreements with governments from the USA, United Kingdom and Japan to enable ticket contracts or stocks to be held in those countries count toward our emergency oil reserves.

“These measures, accompanied by the government’s long term Fuel Security Plan, provide a clear framework to respond effectively to both domestic and global fuel supply shocks.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/how-much-fuel-does-nz-have-and-what-happens-if-we-run-out/

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Government may offer asylum to Iranian female football players, Seymour says

Source: Radio New Zealand

Iranian players saluting for the national anthem after being reprimanded for not singing in an earlier match. AFP

The New Zealand government may offer asylum to Iranian female football players in Australia who are likely to face persecution if they return to their home country.

The ABC reported that five players are currently being protected by police in Queensland after evading their team handlers at their Gold Coast accommodation.

The players, Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi, refused to sing the national anthem before their opening match with South Korea at the Women’s Asian Cup earlier this month, the ABC said.

It said fears that the players would be targeted by the Iranian regime when they returned home have grown after Iranian state TV labelled them as “traitors,” the ABC said.

US President Donald Trump has urged Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to grant the whole team asylum.

In a post on his social media platform, Trump said: “Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed. Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won’t.”

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour. RNZ / Mark Papalii

On First Up, Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour was asked if Australia should grant the players asylum – or if New Zealand should offer it.

Seymour said the Australian government had to make that decision based on law and it didn’t help “for their cousins across the ditch to start lobbying advice at them”.

But Seymour said it was a humanitarian question.

“Any sort-of lay person would sit there and say ‘do they have a well-founded fear of persecution of they return to their home country?’ I think the common sense answer is that they do.

“Would a country like Australia, or New Zealand for that matter, want to help people in that situation? I think the answer is we would, so let’s let the Australian government work through that question according to law as they have to.

“But I think any person looking at it would come to a pretty obvious answer in their heart and mind.”

Seymour said New Zealand has done something similar for refugees/aslyum seekers in the past.

“Perhaps the New Zealand government will do something like that today.”

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/10/government-may-offer-asylum-to-iranian-female-football-players-seymour-says/

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The real price of Buy Now Pay Later

Source: Radio New Zealand

Buy Now Pay Later schemes including Afterpay are popular with consumers, with one million Kiwis using them. Screenshot

Financial watchdogs want the rules about Buy Now Pay Later schemes strengthened, saying the last tweak didn’t work.

It’s been described as both a lifeline, and a trap.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has been in New Zealand for about eight years. It’s still a relatively new product, but one million Kiwis use one of the four companies providing it.

However a new report from Consumer NZ and FinCap, with research done by Victoria University, has raised concerns about the damage BNPLs are doing to some borrowers.

The report says a regulatory tweak in the rules in 2024 did nothing to help prevent harm, and financial mentors report people are trying to break into their KiwiSaver schemes to pay their debt.

The report recommends tightening the rules further to get better protection for consumers.

Today on The Detail, we talk to Michael Saadat, the International Head of Policy at Block, Afterpay’s Australian parent company, who says it’s not necessary for the New Zealand government to bring in any additional regulation.

“We think the evidence and the data should really drive any consideration of whether new regulation is required, and the data clearly shows that additional regulation, when it exists for other credit products, hasn’t delivered better consumer outcomes.”

He says such extra regulation brings additional costs which ultimately have to be passed on to consumers, “but also, we don’t want a situation where for example it’s harder for Kiwis to get access to a product like Afterpay, and that means that they have to go and find alternatives which are much more expensive, much less safe … and we just don’t think that’s a great outcome.

“We think the current regulatory settings have struck the right balance.”

Saadat says the New Zealand regulations are a clear example of how you can balance consumer protections with the need to promote innovation and foster safer consumer products.

He says our credit data collection agency, Centrix, which Afterpay must provide reports to, says New Zealanders who use BNPL products are in a healthy position.

“Traditional credit products like personal loans, credit cards and mortgages actually remain the primary drivers of hardship for New Zealanders.”

Centrix data says that 97 percent of the New Zealand BNPL transactions over Black Friday and Cyber Monday were paid off before or on the dates payments were due.

“Which again tells you that consumers are using the product in the way it was meant to be used. They’re using it wisely, it’s helping them budget for their purchases, and they’re not getting into trouble.

“It really is becoming a really mainstream product that consumers are using to help manage their spending,” Saadat says.

Asked why the bad press and the call for more regulation, he says that “financial mentors are experiencing consumers at the coal face who are in financial difficulty”.

“They would see consumers who’ve gotten themselves into trouble with all sorts of different products that they might have taken up. That is something that informs their approach to these issues, but fundamentally when we’re thinking about what policy settings should be in place, we do need to look across all consumers and understand what the overall consumer experience is.”

The Consumer NZ/FinCap report has three recommendations for Buy Now Pay Later lending.

It wants affordability assessment requirements introduced; a rule that lenders can’t charge unreasonable late fees; and it wants other lending like phone handset deals and in-store payment schemes that have late fees included in credit law protections.

Report author Victoria Stace, a senior lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington whose research is in areas of consumer credit and financial protection, says because BNPL didn’t have an interest component, it was outside of credit rules until 2024, when it was brought within the CCCFA rules – although in a limited way.

“If it’s used well, and you pay off your instalments without defaulting, it can work out better [than credit cards] because it’s an interest-free arrangement,” she says.

However, financial mentors are saying that of the clients they’re seeing with money troubles, more people have BNPL debt as a proportion of their overall debt than before the 2024 regulatory fixes.

Stace also suspects that BNPL credit is being used to pay off other debt.

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/10/the-real-price-of-buy-now-pay-later/

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Road closed due to diesel spill, SH 29A, Tauranga

Source: New Zealand Police

State Highway 29A, by Oropi Road, is currently closed while a diesel spill is cleared.

Lanes in both directions are closed and traffic is being diverted.

Motorists are advised to take care on the surrounding roads, expect delays and seek an alternative route or delay travel if possible.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/road-closed-due-to-diesel-spill-sh-29a-tauranga/

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Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine return for White Ferns series against South Africa

Source: Radio New Zealand

Suzie Bates (R) and Sophie Devine (L) of New Zealand celebrate their win over Pakistan at the 2024 T20 World Cup in UAE. PHOTOSPORT

Former captain Sophie Devine along with veteran batter Suzie Bates return to the White Ferns squad for this month’s T20 series against South Africa.

Devine, Bates, Georgia Plimmer and Flora Devonshire were all unavailable for the current series against Zimbabwe which finishes on Wednesday.

Bates has recovered from a quad injury, Devonshire a broken finger and Plimmer a shoulder injury.

The five match series, which includes double headers with the Black Caps and Proteas, starts in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

Devine is set to make her return to the side for the first time since the World Cup in India in October, as the White Ferns continue their preparation to defend their title at the T20 World Cup in England later this year.

New Zealand is ranked fourth in T20 cricket with South Africa fifth.

Head Coach Ben Sawyer said the injection of Bates and Devine’s experience could only do good things for the team.

“Their quality on the field really does speak for itself but what they bring to the group culturally is really important for us as a team. I’m looking forward to having them mix in with some of the newer members of the squad.”

New Zealand’s Georgia Plimmer bats DJ Mills / PHOTOSPORT

Sawyer expressed his excitement at having Plimmer available again.

“Her role at the top of the order is a key one and it’ll be great to have her back as we continue to build toward that World Cup later in the year.”

The squad features 15 players, with Auckland Hearts’ Bree Illing and Otago Sparks’ Polly Inglis making way for Devonshire and Canterbury Magicians’ Lea Tahuhu after the first two T20Is.

White Ferns T20 Squad v South Africa

Melie Kerr (C) – Wellington Blaze

Suzie Bates – Otago Sparks

Sophie Devine – Wellington Blaze

Flora Devonshire** – Central Hinds

Izzy Gaze – Auckland Hearts

Maddy Green – Auckland Hearts

Brooke Halliday – Auckland Hearts

Bree Illing* – Auckland Hearts

Polly Inglis* – Otago Sparks

Jess Kerr – Wellington Blaze

Rosemary Mair – Central Hinds

Nensi Patel – Northern Brave

Georgia Plimmer – Wellington Blaze

Izzy Sharp – Canterbury Magicians

Lea Tahuhu** – Canterbury Magicians

*first two T20s only

**last three T20s only

Schedule

Sunday 15 March, 1st T20I’s, Bay Oval

Tuesday 17 March, 2nd T20I’s, Seddon Park

Friday 20 March, 3rd T20I’s,Eden Park

Sunday 22 March, 4th T20I’s, Hnry Stadium (Wgtn)

Wednesday 25 March, 5th T20I’s, Hagley Oval

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/10/suzie-bates-sophie-devine-return-for-white-ferns-series-against-south-africa/

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NZTA picks cheaper but less effective option to fix SH2 through Waioweka Gorge

Source: Radio New Zealand

A slip on State Highway 2 through the Waioweka Gorge in January. Supplied/NZTA

The Transport Agency (NZTA) has picked a cheaper but less effective option to fix the highway through Waioweka Gorge north of Gisborne that leaves a greater likelihood of closures than a costlier “full” fix.

A newly released business case shows the recommended option would cut closures by 53 percent while a full fix would cut them by 70 percent.

But it would still deliver 83 percent fewer days closed, a 7.5 percent cut in deaths and serious injuries, and halve the cost of freight detours.

State Highway 2 through the 48km-long gorge was still being repaired and only partially open weeks after 40 slips shut it during January’s storms.

It was regularly out of action, costing the economy at least $8 million a day.

In the May 2024 business case – the latest there was – the NZTA board actually “endorsed” the full fix of 83 sites because that would make funding it a bit more certain.

But it instead recommended fixing 58 out of the 83 sites of rockfalls, slips and erosion on what it called a “lifeline route” – those 58 most likely to cut the road.

The other 25 less risky sites to fix would be “separately funded” and not start till 2029.

It suggested this was the quickest path.

“There is urgency to address as many sites as possible quickly and it is recommended that TREC [the project] deliver funding tranches 1 and 2 now,” the report said, “with funding of lower consequence … sites delivered through future operations and maintenance programmes or future capital works programmes.”

The difference in cost was put at $36-43m in 2023 dollars. A much cheaper third option was discarded.

State Highway 2 through the 48km-long gorge is only partially open weeks after 40 slips shut it during January’s storms. Supplied/NZTA

The agency told RNZ it was now reviewing all the sites to see if the report or the costs needed updating.

However, it also said last month that the 2024 business case was “complete and does not need any further work. So it can be utilitised without delay, subject to funding availability”.

The gorge was the country’s only stretch of highway to be rated in the worst at-risk category by a 2020 assessment.

The draft business case was begun in 2022 but storms delivering more damage kept on catching up on it.

“This 2022 business case was substantially complete, including engagement activities and inclusion of iwi in the business case process, but it was not yet submitted for approval at the time Cyclone Gabrielle hit.”

Some locals, saying Tairāwhiti had been suffering too long and too often, had called for the government to look at alternative routes north to Ōpōtiki but it said the clean-up had to come first.

The highway was closed for over three weeks after January’s storms and was on stop-go signals at times during the day and still shut at night as roadworks carry on.

The report said the board endorsed a full fix to ensure that if extra funding came available in future, it could be released for it.

The full fix was to “ensure a resilient level of service for this lifeline route”.

The estimated total costs were put at between $130m and $153m for the recommended option; and between $166m and $196m for the full fix.

The business case cautioned about leaving any risky sites ultimately unfixed.

“If lower risk sites remain unfunded there is potential these sites will deteriorate further and reduce the long-term resilience outcomes of the … investment.

“Without proactive interventions the demand for emergency funding and repairs on SH2 through Waioweka Gorge will continue.”

Of the 25 “maybe” fixes, 13 were of level three risks and 12 of level one and two. Four and five are the worst.

“Confirming full tranche 1 funding and obtaining additional tranche 2&3 funding will remain a high priority for the TREC team.”

The Transport Rebuild East Coast Alliance, or TREC, was set up to rebuild roads after Gabrielle in February 2023.

The business case had envisaged starting in 2024 on 32 projects in tranche one, then tranche two through to 2029, but was overtaken by events.

The full fix had a higher cost-benefit ratio of 1.3 versus 1.2 for what was recommended ($1.20 value back to the wider economy for each dollar spent).

Eight key risks were led off by three “high” ones: That costs would rise, the quake hazard from the Koranga Fault and how sensitive the area was to local iwi and hapu.

“Please note that future investment in the corridor is subject to funding approval,” NZTA told RNZ.

TIMELINE

  • 2020 – Waioweka Gorge is officially rated NZ’s riskiest highway
  • 2021 – Waka Kotahi preparing a business case for gorge highway
  • 2022 – Business case mostly complete
  • 2022-24 – Eight extreme weather events
  • 2023 – In February, Cyclone Gabrielle damages road
  • Later that year Transport Rebuild East Coast (TREC) is set up to rebuild
  • 2024 – Business case completed in May
  • 2025 – June and September rain closes road
  • Five repair projects begin after September
  • 2026 – 40 slips shut the highway in January
  • By March 2026 it is stop-go past roadworks during the day, closed at night
  • Business case is done but unfunded

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/nzta-picks-cheaper-but-less-effective-option-to-fix-sh2-through-waioweka-gorge/

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Our Changing World: Iwi-led conservation in the Kaimai Mamuku ranges

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mohi Korohina at Killarney Lakes. RNZ

Follow Our Changing World on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

It was during the Covid-19 pandemic and Mohi Korohina was working in Australia when he got the call. It was his grandfather – ‘no good staying in Aussie’, he said, ‘Come home. There’s a job here and you can help our people.’

Returning to reconnect with whenua and whānau, Mohi became team leader for Ngāti Hinerangi’s new conservation project – Wairere Mahi.

Wairere Mahi

The Wairere Falls carpark at the base of the Kaimai Mamuku ranges is just a short drive out of Matamata. The walk to the waterfall viewing platform is normally a busy one. The falls, which can be seen from the road, are a spectacular sight even at a distance. But the track has been closed since July 2025 due to safety concerns.

Wairere Falls is a special place to Ngāti Hinerangi and neighbouring iwi. A pathway beside the waterfall was once a vital connection between Waikato and Tauranga iwi, who traded harakeke (flax) for kaimoana (seafood). Part of the Wairere Scenic Reserve was returned to Ngāti Hinerangi in their 2021 Treaty of Waitangi settlement, and it’s here that Wairere Mahi began their pest trapping work.

First though, was the R & D, says Mohi. He was previously a farmer and some members of the team had hunting backgrounds but the skills of trapping and using locator technology to stay safe in the bush were new, he says.

A 40 hectares area at the base of the falls was the testing ground. Once those trap lines were established, the team set their sights on a larger area at the top of the ranges.

The original plan was to move up and trap across the top of the falls but the mountain and hut locations dictated a change of plan, says Mohi. “We came up with a new plan that we would go over to Te Tuhi and put in a thousand hectares over there.”

The Wairere Falls scenic reserve RNZ / Claire Concannon

Alongside this trapping work, Mohi is running a project to restore two small nearby lakes in an area also returned to the iwi. The goal is to remove the weeds and replant natives, with a focus on those plants important for rongoā Māori, says Mohi. “My personal idea for this area is that it becomes a hub for healing, that we can bring our kaumatua, that we can bring our aunties and our uncles out here.”

But ambitious goals need long-term resourcing. The Killarney Lakes project is currently being supported in-part by Matariki Forests who own the forestry surrounding the lakes, Wai Connections funding administered through GoEco, and support from umbrella organisation Manaaki Kaimai Mamuku Trust. Some of this is only short term.

Funding for Wairere Mahi originally came from the iwi capability fund, a pot of Jobs for Nature money, set aside for hapū and iwi to build capability in the conservation space. At the height of the trapping project it employed nine workers. Now it’s just Mohi.

The future of nature funding?

It’s not an unusual tale for a Jobs for Nature-funded project. This pandemic-era $1.2 billion fund ran from July 2020 to the end of June 2025.

While many projects finished once the money dried up, some have managed to source funding from elsewhere to continue and Manaaki Kaimai Mamuku Trust chief executive Louise Saunders hopes that will be their future too.

The co-governed charitable trust was set up in 2019, built on the back of 10 years of community concern about the state of the Kaimai Mamuku ranges. When Jobs for Nature came on the scene, the trust was allocated $19.4 million from the iwi capability portion to work with iwi and hapū throughout the area to develop business cases for their own individual projects, and subsequently support them.

At the height of the funding there were 12 projects. Now there are eight. They are spread across the Kaimai Mamuku ranges, across different ecosystems, and with each iwi or hapū having their own goals – pest animal control, weed removal, native planting and monitoring certain taonga species. The trust’s support is specific to whatever the project needs, whether that is help with budgeting, report writing, health and safety systems or different technical aspects.

“You name it, we’ve done it,” says Louise, “because each project entity is independent… it’s its own individual entity. And by building their capability, we’re building their resilience for the long term as an organisation.”

The trust has enough money to keep the lights on until the last quarter of this year, and is applying to local council and philanthropic funds for the next few years. But looking to the future, Louise sees an opportunity in enabling businesses to contribute to nature funding.

“Whether [it’s] because they want to support a local project or because they have a brand image or reputational reason…or because they need to be reporting on the nature risk or nature impact… or because there are trade restrictions… There’s all sorts of reasons why businesses are considering what their position on nature is right now.”

In June 2025, the government announced it was investigating the expansion of a voluntary nature credit market by supporting nine pilot projects across New Zealand and Manaaki Kaimai Mamuku Trust is involved in one of them. Boffa Miskell is working with the trust to see if they can adapt an international framework for use in New Zealand landscapes.

With an umbrella organisation supporting eight projects, and each project team with their own goals and methods, working across varied land types and tenures, there’s a lot going on. But Louise sees the complexity of their system as an advantage for the pilot. “If it’s going to fail, it’s going to fail here. But if we succeed, then it makes the market accessible to anybody wanting to participate.”

Listen to the episode to learn more. And sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/our-changing-world-iwi-led-conservation-in-the-kaimai-mamuku-ranges/

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Ministry of Social Development apologises for broken data system

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King

Months’ worth of social housing and benefit data haven’t been published because of a broken system, and there’s no fix in sight.

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) usually provides monthly updates, including information like the number of people in emergency and social housing, and how big the waitlist is, tracking changes over time.

Those have not been published since November, and the quarterly update due in December was also missing.

MSD has reported “high level” benefit data – the number of people on various benefits – as at December, but its usual monthly benefit reporting was affected too.

“The delay is related to our Information Analysis Platform, which is the tool we use to collate benefit and some housing data,” MSD insights general manager Fleur McLaren said.

She could not say when the information would be published.

“The system is ageing and requires manual fixes,” she said.

“Because of the age of the system, undertaking a fix has taken longer than we had first anticipated.”

McLaren apologised for the delay.

The problem did not affect the ministry’s internal data collection or reporting capability – that is, the data does exist – but it could not be publicised because that required additional checks, the ministry said.

MSD is in the midst of a 10-year, $2 billion overhaul of its 30-year-old IT systems that are so clunky they hold up benefits.

In 2024, it was reported that nearly one in four beneficiaries could be receiving the wrong level of support due in part to staff having to navigate multiple frontline IT systems.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/ministry-of-social-development-apologises-for-broken-data-system/

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Advocacy group calls for National Fuel Security Plan to be activated in face of global shortages

Source: Radio New Zealand

An advocacy group wants more action from the government in the face of global fuel shortages. RNZ

A broad coalition dedicated to assessing and responding to risks arising from climate change and economic insecurity wants more action from the government in the face of what could be “massive economic disruption” caused by global fuel shortages.

New Zealand has been too slow to understand the nature of the crisis, Wise Response Society chair Nathan Surendran said, as the group called for more transparency from the government and the activation of the National Fuel Security Plan.

New Zealanders queued for petrol over the weekend as crude oil prices topped US$115 a barrel, the highest level since 2022.

Waitomo Group chief executive Simon Parham said demand at the company’s petrol stations went up 15 to 20 percent over the past week.

He said there was 20 days’ stock in the country and cargo was arriving by ship every other day.

Air Chathams chief executive Duane Emeny said the rising cost of oil was costing the small airline around $140,000 extra a month in fuel.

Emeny told Checkpoint the airline may have to cut flights should the price of jet fuel remain so high, and he wanted the government to look at ways to soften the blow on airlines.

Freight companies warned escalating costs would be passed on to “every product that arrives on shelves” as some operators halted operations and others added war and fuel surcharges.

Cars in a queue for petrol at Tasman Fuels in Epsom, on Sunday 8 March 2026. RNZ / Luka Forman

Surendran said it was clear the conflict would go on far longer than United States President Donald Trump indicated, but even if it ended swiftly, structural damage to refineries and oil facilities across six countries meant delays would last months, not weeks.

“New Zealand imports every drop of refined fuel we use, and the countries we buy it from are running out of the crude oil they need to make it. Eighty-one percent of our refined fuel comes from South Korea and Singapore – both countries have companies declaring force majeure, which means they legally cannot deliver what we’re contracted to buy, so the pipeline of fuel coming into New Zealand is breaking down.”

Beyond the two to three weeks of fuel in tanks in the country and the floating reserve of ships en route, supply was uncertain as refineries New Zealand bought from cut production and countries restricted exports to protect their own supply, he said.

This meant the preferential buy options on international oil markets New Zealand relied on may not be able to be redeemed.

“New Zealand is at the end of some very long supply chains and is more vulnerable than most to supply shocks of this kind.”

Other countries across the region, including Thailand, Myanmar and India, had already taken concrete action, including rationing and implementing oil contingency plans, while in Australia some distributors were rationing deliveries to retailers.

In the absence of a formal rationing framework, price rationing kicked in.

“The worst form of rationing is the one that happens by default – price spikes, panic buying, emptying out petrol stations and the people who can least afford it go without.”

New Zealand faced massive economic upheaval if it did not proactively manage the crisis, given the country’s export and import sectors relied on the timely supply of fuel, as did the productive sector including freight, agriculture, construction and fisheries.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is chairing a new economic security ministerial oversight group to focus on fuel and supply chains. RNZ / Mark Papalii

The last time the government bought in measures to restrict fuel use was in the 1970s in response to disruption caused by the Arab-Israeli war and the Iranian revolution.

This time, the one-fifth of global fuel supply that would travel through the Strait of Hormuz had been affected, and that proportion could grow.

“The 1970s fuel crises were a few percentage point drops in fuel supply and that nearly tanked economies globally. This is several times larger in terms of the impact, and there’s no obvious endpoint to the conflict.”

The situation or one similar was predictable given resource depletion and the limits to growth, and should be considered as part of a future where fuel supply was more expensive, less secure, and less reliable.

The country faced some difficult conversations, but Surendran said New Zealand’s number 8 wire mentality would help in coming to grips with the challenge.

“We can adapt, we will adapt. The sooner we get moving on that adaptation, the better.”

On Monday, the Prime Minister announced the establishment of a new economic security ministerial oversight group – chaired by the Finance Minister – to focus on fuel and supply chains.

Christopher Luxon said New Zealand was well-placed to ride the wave of the latest shock.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/advocacy-group-calls-for-national-fuel-security-plan-to-be-activated-in-face-of-global-shortages/

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Human trials about to take place on universal flu vaccine

Source: Radio New Zealand

File photo. CDC

If you get a regular flu vaccine, you may be well aware that it protects against the most prevalent strains. But because influenza viruses evolve rapidly, the flu vaccine is updated annually to provide protection against new strains.

A universal flu vaccine looks to change that, providing protection against all strains of the flu – past, present, and future.

It’s a step closer to becoming a reality, with the first human trials about to take place for Centivax’s universal vaccine Centiflu 01 in Australia.

US-based immunoengineer and founder of Centivax, Dr Jacob Glanville, who is leading the trials, told RNZ’s First Up Centiflu 01 was designed to solve the problem that flu vaccines have.

“This is a single vaccine that you don’t need to change, and it focuses the immune response on parts of flu viruses that never change. So, we are expecting the efficacy, the proportion of people who take the vaccine and then don’t get sick, to be much higher than current flu shots,” he said.

Dr Glanville said the vaccine’s animal trials showed the immune response was better than the commercial vaccines, which he said are 10-60 percent effective.

“Your immune system has basically a limited budget of antibodies and T-cells that it chooses to respond randomly, normally against a virus,” he said.

“We are just adjusting that budget to make it entirely focused on the best parts of the virus to focus on.”

Dr Glanville said that while a normal flu shot doesn’t work against future viruses, hence the need for annual shots, his company’s vaccine continued to provide protection from viruses 15 years later.

“You don’t know where flu is going to mutate, except you know it’s not going to mutate on these spots that haven’t changed in thousands of years,” he said.

“… That’s sort of the big transition here. It’s making flu shots into like a normal vaccine. One that you take, and then it provides anticipatory future protection for years to come.”

Phase one of trials in Australia is the first step in a broader programme that will enrol roughly 300 healthy volunteers in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Phase two of the trials would commence next year, and phase three in 2028, Dr Glanville said.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/human-trials-about-to-take-place-on-universal-flu-vaccine/

Posted on

Greymouth operation, rāhui

Source: New Zealand Police

Attributable to Senior Sergeant Mark Kirkwood, West Coast Search and Rescue:

The search for a person reportedly swept out to sea in Greymouth is set to continue today.

Search efforts yesterday included aerial searches of the shoreline between Charleston and Ross, and were hampered by rough sea conditions.

At this stage, the person is yet to be located.

Enquiries to identify the person, and whether the kayak is linked to them, remain ongoing.

A rāhui is in place along the coastline, between Charleston and Ross until further notice.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/greymouth-operation-rahui/

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Shoes on or off inside? What are the rules?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Across Aotearoa, our indoor shoe etiquette is shaped by culture, faith, upbringing and our own ideas about cleanliness.

Guna Magesan, president of the Hindu Council, says that even if a host tells his whānau shoes are fine inside, they’ll usually remove them anyway. For him, it’s about respect, cultural values, discipline and cleanliness.

It’s a habit of daily life which he says most Hindus, especially those from rural or traditional backgrounds, have become accustomed to, he told RNZ in an email. Even while living abroad, it’s become a tradition passed down through generations, he says.

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/10/shoes-on-or-off-inside-what-are-the-rules/

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Corey Peters sixth in Super-G at Winter Games

Source: Radio New Zealand

Corey Peters at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics. © Photosport 2026 Jeff Crowe / Photosport

New Zealand paralympian Corey Peters has finished sixth in the men’s Super-G sitting at the Paralympic Winter Games in Italy.

Competing in soft snow conditions, Peters produced a solid run to record 1:15.42, but ultimately the Beijing 2022 silver medallist finished short of a podium repeat.

The 42-year-old finished fifth in the downhill earlier in the programme.

Jeroen Kampschreur of the Netherlands bounced back from the disappointment of registering a DNF in the downhill to take gold in a time of 1:13.08.

Defending champion Jesper Pedersen of Norway, who claimed gold in the downhill two days earlier, took silver in 1:13.80, with Andrew Kurka of the USA clinching bronze a further 0.15 seconds adrift.

“It was a good run with minimal mistakes, but I just didn’t attack it like the podium guys did and I got a little wide on some turns where I could have tightened the line a bit more,” Peters said afterwards.

“The conditions again were really soft and I could feel through some of the turns that the ski was wanting to break away in that sugary, slushy snow.”

Peters, who is competing at his fourth Paralympic Winter Games, turns his attention to the Men’s Giant Slalom Sitting – his final event at Milano Cortina 2026 – which takes place on Friday 13 March.

“The downhill and Super-G are my favourite events but coming off a podium finish at my last World Cup in Veysonnaz, Switzerland before the Games, a medal is not off the cards. It’s just a matter of going out there, enjoying the moment and skiing as hard as I can.”

Peters claimed men’s giant slalom silver on his Paralympic Winter Games debut in Sochi 2014. He added downhill bronze at PyeongChang 2018 before winning downhill gold and super-G silver at Beijing 2022.

Adam Hall opens his games with the men’s giant slalom standing on Friday.

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The price of instant gratification

Source: Radio New Zealand

Buy Now Pay Later schemes including Afterpay are popular with consumers, with one million Kiwis using them. Screenshot

Financial watchdogs want the rules about Buy Now Pay Later schemes strengthened, saying the last tweak didn’t work.

It’s been described as both a lifeline, and a trap.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) has been in New Zealand for about eight years. It’s still a relatively new product, but one million Kiwis use one of the four companies providing it.

However a new report from Consumer NZ and FinCap, with research done by Victoria University, has raised concerns about the damage BNPLs are doing to some borrowers.

The report says a regulatory tweak in the rules in 2024 did nothing to help prevent harm, and financial mentors report people are trying to break into their KiwiSaver schemes to pay their debt.

The report recommends tightening the rules further to get better protection for consumers.

Today on The Detail, we talk to Michael Saadat, the International Head of Policy at Block, Afterpay’s Australian parent company, who says it’s not necessary for the New Zealand government to bring in any additional regulation.

“We think the evidence and the data should really drive any consideration of whether new regulation is required, and the data clearly shows that additional regulation, when it exists for other credit products, hasn’t delivered better consumer outcomes.”

He says such extra regulation brings additional costs which ultimately have to be passed on to consumers, “but also, we don’t want a situation where for example it’s harder for Kiwis to get access to a product like Afterpay, and that means that they have to go and find alternatives which are much more expensive, much less safe … and we just don’t think that’s a great outcome.

“We think the current regulatory settings have struck the right balance.”

Saadat says the New Zealand regulations are a clear example of how you can balance consumer protections with the need to promote innovation and foster safer consumer products.

He says our credit data collection agency, Centrix, which Afterpay must provide reports to, says New Zealanders who use BNPL products are in a healthy position.

“Traditional credit products like personal loans, credit cards and mortgages actually remain the primary drivers of hardship for New Zealanders.”

Centrix data says that 97 percent of the New Zealand BNPL transactions over Black Friday and Cyber Monday were paid off before or on the dates payments were due.

“Which again tells you that consumers are using the product in the way it was meant to be used. They’re using it wisely, it’s helping them budget for their purchases, and they’re not getting into trouble.

“It really is becoming a really mainstream product that consumers are using to help manage their spending,” Saadat says.

Asked why the bad press and the call for more regulation, he says that “financial mentors are experiencing consumers at the coal face who are in financial difficulty”.

“They would see consumers who’ve gotten themselves into trouble with all sorts of different products that they might have taken up. That is something that informs their approach to these issues, but fundamentally when we’re thinking about what policy settings should be in place, we do need to look across all consumers and understand what the overall consumer experience is.”

The Consumer NZ/FinCap report has three recommendations for Buy Now Pay Later lending.

It wants affordability assessment requirements introduced; a rule that lenders can’t charge unreasonable late fees; and it wants other lending like phone handset deals and in-store payment schemes that have late fees included in credit law protections.

Report author Victoria Stace, a senior lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington whose research is in areas of consumer credit and financial protection, says because BNPL didn’t have an interest component, it was outside of credit rules until 2024, when it was brought within the CCCFA rules – although in a limited way.

“If it’s used well, and you pay off your instalments without defaulting, it can work out better [than credit cards] because it’s an interest-free arrangement,” she says.

However, financial mentors are saying that of the clients they’re seeing with money troubles, more people have BNPL debt as a proportion of their overall debt than before the 2024 regulatory fixes.

Stace also suspects that BNPL credit is being used to pay off other debt.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/10/the-price-of-instant-gratification/

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War on the wallet: Iran conflict a ‘worst of worlds’ scenario

Source: Radio New Zealand

Motorists drive past a plume of smoke rising from a reported Iranian strike in the industrial district of Doha, 1 March 2026. MAHMUD HAMS / AFP

A worst of worlds scenario for consumers is how one economist is describing the dual effects of the Middle East conflict on both inflation and economic growth.

The war and the resulting supply worries are pushing up global oil prices, with Brent Crude climbing above US$100 a barrel on Monday, to reach its highest level since 2022.

The ensuing price jumps at the petrol pump will not only affect people’s wallets directly, they are expected to flow right through the wider economy.

“Petrol prices are a key input to so many businesses, and so as their costs rise, that’s likely to push up costs on the other side as well,” BNZ head of research Stephen Toplis said.

“And that’s not even taking into consideration the increased cost of doing business, like insurance costs rising, and the fact that you may not be able to use freight routes that you previously used.”

The deflation flipside

Toplis said with the fuel price increases acting like a tax on people’s income, the less money they have to spend elsewhere, which tends to mute economic growth, creating a deflationary effect.

“The Reserve Bank’s got this awful challenge of trying to be very aware of the immediate inflationary challenges versus the deflationary challenges further on down the track,” he said.

“But given we’ve already got rising inflation expectations, given that prices will pick up, given that annual inflation might remain at 3 percent or more for a little while, then there’s certainly going to be, I think, in the immediate future, more pressure on the central bank to bring forward its rate hikes without getting too carried away about things.”

Based on current data, September is BNZ’s pick for a hike in the Official Cash Rate (OCR).

The conflict’s effects are frustrating for New Zealand, said Toplis, because it has been a long climb out of a dark economic hole for the country.

“The recovery was fragile and any shock of any description is highly unwelcome at the moment and certainly one of this size couldn’t have come at a worse possible time,” Topliss said.

Markets match the Mid East turmoil

After a muted greeting to the start of the conflict in which markets took a “wait and see” approach, the ongoing conflict saw Australasian markets crash on Monday.

The New Zealand share market had its worst session since April 2025, meanwhile Australian and Asian markets also plummeted.

The benchmark NZX50 dropped 3.1 percent or 421 points, with across the board falls in shares as investors worry about the potential economic fallout from higher oil prices.

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

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