Category: Pandemic

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NZ-AU: CLINUVEL: advancing peptides for photomedicine and vitiligo care at AAD 2026

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-NZ-AU)

MELBOURNE, Australia, April 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CLINUVEL’s innovative photomedicine and vitiligo programs featured extensively at the recent American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting, the world’s largest gathering of dermatology professionals. Through the Company’s bespoke Pavilion of Photomedicine and conference sessions across five days, the development and commercialisation of CLINUVEL’s proprietary peptides in dermatology was presented to over 20,000 delegates.

Building on momentum from the 2025 AAD meeting, AAD 2026 saw CLINUVEL’s ambition translate into deeper engagement with the medical community, with the Pavilion now an established hub for meaningful scientific exchange and candid dialogues. The CLINUVEL team welcomed thousands of visitors, including many returning physicians eager to review the progress of the Company’s clinical programs.

New insights in vitiligo therapy

The 2026 meeting reflected a maturing dialogue regarding the standard of care and potential of new therapies for patients with vitiligo. While the recent focus in the field has been on immune-suppressing JAK inhibitors, clinicians are increasingly identifying the practical challenges of long-term treatment dependency and the prevalence of relapse upon cessation of treatment. This shift in treatment discourse highlights an increasing demand for therapies that prioritise sustained stability and patient safety over the long term.

CLINUVEL’s investigational approach offers a fundamentally different path. The Company’s ongoing Phase III vitiligo study (CUV105) is evaluating afamelanotide as a systemic therapy with adjunct narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy to stimulate repigmentation and stabilise the disease, rather than suppressing the body’s immune system. Afamelanotide, a linear peptide administered in a controlled-release injectable implant, is not currently approved for vitiligo anywhere in the world.

At the Global Vitiligo Foundation (GVF) Annual Symposium, Professor Antoine Bertolotti (University Hospital of La Réunion) presented patient case studies from CUV105, reporting repigmentation following 20 weeks of afamelanotide with adjunct NB-UVB. Crucially, the data showed that patients with darker skin types (Fitzpatrick skin types IV–VI) maintained their pigmentation up to the six month follow-up visit subsequent to withdrawal of therapy. Notably, even patients with active disease (i.e. where the condition is actively spreading) showed a response to therapy in these clinical cases.

Holistic patient care

While CLINUVEL’s primary clinical focus remains its rigorous path toward regulatory approval in vitiligo, the Company’s work at the Pavilion highlighted a holistic philosophy that extends beyond the clinic. Unlike standard models, CLINUVEL takes a long-term view of patient care by creating dedicated spaces for patients to share their experiences and advocate for improvements in clinical trial diversity and mental health support.

The three-day speaker program emphasised this commitment, featuring patients, physicians, and even healthcare partners coming together to exchange insights on topics ranging from fostering inclusivity when engaging with patient communities, to the regulatory and cultural differences in managing vitiligo in different parts of the world.

Technology and digital impact: creating a global buzz

The innovations showcased in Denver extended into the digital sphere, creating significant engagement across social media. CLINUVEL’s outreach efforts reached over 314,000 unique users, with daily wrap-up content generating thousands of interactions. This digital buzz mirrors the energy at the Pavilion, where the Company introduced its proprietary Vitiligo Visual Algorithm (VVA) – an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tool designed to objectively assess pigmentation using standardised clinical photographs, tracking an individual patient’s treatment progress over time. This tool is now being refined with the assistance of physicians, patients and researchers.

Social media highlights

  • @dermdsaid featured a walk-through of the Pavilion, highlighting CLINUVEL’s vitiligo program
  • @dr.kyla.md featured the Pavilion’s distinctive façade in a playful commentary on AAD’s unmissable exhibition spaces
  • @glow_and_happy’s reel heavily features CLINUVEL’s Pavilion of Photomedicine

Watch a wrap-up video of CLINUVEL’s time at AAD 2026.

Commentary

“Returning to the AAD for a second year has allowed us to witness a significant maturation in the clinical dialogue surrounding vitiligo,” said Dr Linda Teng, CLINUVEL’s Director of North American Operations. “Our engagement in Denver confirms a growing recognition among the medical community that the next frontier in vitiligo care must prioritise long-term physiological stability and safety beyond immune-suppression.

“The overwhelming response to the Pavilion this year validates our longstanding focus on melanocortin peptides and reinforces our mission to advance clinical programs that truly reflect the life-long needs of the patients we serve.”

About CLINUVEL PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED

CLINUVEL (ASX: CUV; ADR LEVEL 1: CLVLY; Börse Frankfurt: UR9) is a global specialty pharmaceutical group focused on developing and commercialising treatments for patients with genetic, metabolic, systemic, and life-threatening, acute disorders, as well as healthcare solutions for specialised populations. As pioneers in photomedicine and the family of melanocortin peptides, CLINUVEL’s research and development has led to innovative treatments for patient populations with a clinical need for systemic photoprotection, assisted DNA repair, repigmentation and acute or life-threatening conditions who lack alternatives.

CLINUVEL’s lead therapy, SCENESSE® (afamelanotide 16mg), is approved for commercial distribution in Europe, the USA, Israel, and Australia as the world’s first systemic photoprotective drug for the prevention of phototoxicity (anaphylactoid reactions and burns) in adult patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, CLINUVEL has operations in Europe, Singapore, and the USA. For more information, please go to https://www.clinuvel.com.

Head of Investor Relations
Mr Malcolm Bull, CLINUVEL PHARMACEUTICALS LTD

Investor Enquiries
https://www.clinuvel.com/investors/contact-us

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the current beliefs and expectations of CLINUVEL’s management. Statements may involve a number of known and unknown risks that could cause our future results, performance, or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks relating to: our ability to develop and commercialise pharmaceutical products; the COVID-19 pandemic and/or other world, regional or national events affecting the supply chain for a protracted period of time, including our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell biopharmaceutical products; competition for our products, especially SCENESSE® (afamelanotide 16mg), PRÉNUMBRA® or NEURACTHEL®; our ability to achieve expected safety and efficacy results in a timely manner through our innovative R&D efforts; the effectiveness of our patents and other protections for innovative products, particularly in view of national and regional variations in patent laws; our potential exposure to product liability claims to the extent not covered by insurance; increased government scrutiny in either Australia, the U.S., Europe, Israel, China and Japan of our agreements with third parties and suppliers; our exposure to currency fluctuations and restrictions as well as credit risks; the effects of reforms in healthcare regulation and pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement; that the Company may incur unexpected delays in the outsourced manufacturing of SCENESSE®, PRÉNUMBRA® or NEURACTHEL® which may lead to it being unable to supply its commercial markets and/or clinical trial programs; any failures to comply with any government payment system (i.e. Medicare) reporting and payment obligations; uncertainties surrounding the legislative and regulatory pathways for the registration and approval of biotechnology and consumer based products; decisions by regulatory authorities regarding approval of our products as well as their decisions regarding label claims; our ability to retain or attract key personnel and managerial talent; the impact of broader change within the pharmaceutical industry and related industries; potential changes to tax liabilities or legislation; environmental risks; and other factors that have been discussed in our 2023 Annual Report. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation, outside of those required under applicable laws or relevant listing rules of the Australian Securities Exchange, to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information on preliminary and uncertain forecasts and estimates is available on request, whereby it is stated that past performance is not an indicator of future performance.

Contact:

Tel: +61 3 9660 4900
Fax: +61 3 9660 4909
Email: mail@clinuvel.com
Australia (Head Office), Level 22, 535 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a63efa41-50f1-45f2-8ee5-0d54842edcaa

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/33cac11d-7021-45d7-a334-97b2ac9fa4a6

A video accompanying this announcement is available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3d0e4a67-5fc2-46d0-95b7-b34582a13539

– Published by The MIL Network

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/04/15/nz-au-clinuvel-advancing-peptides-for-photomedicine-and-vitiligo-care-at-aad-2026/

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Waikato community rallies to gift new home to healthcare worker after house fire

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Waikato community is coming together to support long-serving healthcare worker Billie Gillet-Kati, whose home was destroyed in a 2021 fire. Supplied / Te Kōhao Health / Tetoa Benioni

A Waikato community is rallying behind a Māori health worker who lost her home in a fire, with whānau, businesses and volunteers coming together to help deliver her a new whare.

Te Kōhao Health is gifting a repurposed house to long-serving kaimahi Billie Gillet-Kati, relocating it to her whenua in Waharoa in the coming weeks.

Managing director and health leader Lady Tureiti Moxon said the community effort reflected kaupapa Māori values in action.

“Supporting Billie in this practical way recognises her mana and reinforces the kaupapa Māori values that underpin all that she does,” she said.

“From clearing the property to moving and restoring the house, and the generosity of businesses and whānau, this is a story of aroha in action.

“It demonstrates the strength of community and the importance of recognising those who give everything for the wellbeing of others.”

Billie Gillet-Kati, who has worked for decades as a navigator with Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, says she has been humbled by the support and is looking forward to having a stable home for her whānau. Supplied / Te Kōhao Health

Gillet-Kati has spent decades working alongside whānau as a navigator for Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, including during the Covid-19 pandemic where she continued frontline mahi despite being considered medically vulnerable.

Her home was destroyed in a fire in January 2021.

At the time, she had been living in Matamata while renovating the Waharoa property. Her insurance policy required notification if she was away from the home for more than 90 days – something she said she was unaware of during lockdown restrictions.

She later declined the insurance payout due to the high costs associated with asbestos removal and cleaning.

In the years since, members of the local community have helped with recovery efforts, including clearing the damaged property.

Gillet-Kati said she was humbled by the tautoko (support) she had received.

“I feel surrounded by the prayers and awhi of my whānau and my Te Kōhao whānau,” she said.

“This home gives my family stability and a base to continue our mahi in the community.”

Te Kōhao Health is relocating and rebuilding the home for long-serving kaimahi Billie Gillet-Kati on her whenua in Waharoa. Supplied / Te Kōhao Health / Tetoa Benioni

A whare identified by Te Kōhao Health in Enderley will now be relocated about 45 minutes to her whenua, with contractors and volunteers working together to divide, transport and reassemble it.

Local businesses have also stepped in, contributing materials, labour and expertise to make the whare liveable.

Additional volunteers are helping with carpentry, painting, gardening and finishing work, with support continuing through each stage of the rebuild.

Gillet-Kati said she was humbled by the collective effort.

“I feel surrounded by the prayers and awhi of my whānau and my Te Kōhao whānau,” she said.

“This home gives my family stability and a base to continue our mahi in the community.”

She acknowledged the many people who had contributed to the project.

” I also want to acknowledge Margaret and Terry Troughton, Hayden Parker, Toby Flooring, BCD Engineering, and Watts Electrical. Their generosity and help have made all the difference.”

The effort has brought together local contractors, volunteers, whānau and businesses, who have contributed time, materials and expertise to prepare the whare for her return. Supplied / Te Kōhao Health

Moxon said the decision was made by the board to recognise the contributions of kaimahi who “quietly give everything” to serve their communities.

“Billie is one of those people. She has dedicated her life to others, and this is a way for us to give back with manaakitanga and aroha.”

Moxon said the goal was to ensure Gillet-Kati could return to her whenua.

“This is about restoring Billie’s ability to live on her own whenua so she can continue there as ahi kā.”

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/04/15/waikato-community-rallies-to-gift-new-home-to-healthcare-worker-after-house-fire/

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Hong Kong Residential Market Remains Resilient Despite Geopolitical Tensions, with Primary and Secondary Transactions Buoyant

Source: Media Outreach

Greater Central Grade A Office Rents Bottom Out, High Street Vacancies Continue to Fall

  • Residential Market: Market sentiment turned more positive after the Chinese New Year as purchasing power continued to be released. Strong primary market home sales also drove secondary market activity, with Q1 residential transaction numbers surging 53% y-o-y to more than 18,650 units. Home prices across different segments recorded growth, reflecting that buyer appetite has yet to be impacted by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
  • Grade A Office Market: Net absorption remained positive for the tenth consecutive quarter at 217,100 sq ft in Q1, mainly driven by leasing activity from the banking & finance sector. Greater Central rents have now bottomed out, strengthening by 5.5% q-o-q and supporting the city’s overall office rents to increase by 2.4% q-o-q.
  • Retail Market: Overall retail sales have continued to recover on the back of rising tourist arrivals. The average high street vacancy rate fell further to 4.2% in Q1, with tier-1 high streets in Causeway Bay and Central being fully occupied.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 14 April 2026 – Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield today held its Hong Kong Property Markets Q1 2026 Review and Outlook press conference. Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Hong Kong’s residential market continued to perform resiliently, with both primary and secondary market transactions recording sustained growth. Total residential transaction numbers in Q1 rose by 9% q-o-q and 53% y-o-y. In the Grade A office market, net absorption reached 217,000 sq ft in Q1, driven by leasing demand from the banking & finance sector. However, rental performance continued to diverge between core and non-core submarkets, and the recovery was chiefly led by core areas. As for the retail sector, total retail sales continued to recover gently, supporting a further drop in the overall high street vacancy rate in Q1. Hong Kong Island outperformed the overall market, with rents in Central and Causeway Bay rising by 1.1% and 0.8% q-o-q, respectively.

Grade A office leasing market: Tenth consecutive quarter of positive net absorption, Greater Central rents continue to pick up

Sentiment in Hong Kong’s Grade A office market remained positive in Q1 2026 on the back of sustained demand from the banking & finance and insurance sectors. The quarterly total new leased area reached 866,000 sq ft, with the banking & finance and insurance sectors accounting for more than 70%. Citywide net absorption fell q-o-q to record 217,100 sq ft but remained positive for the 10th consecutive quarter.

Greater Central and Greater Tsimshatsui rental levels continued to pick up in Q1, by 5.5% and 0.4% q-o-q, respectively, driving the overall rental level up by 2.4% q-o-q to mark two consecutive quarters of rental growth for the first-time since Q1 2019. However, average rents in non-core submarkets continued to soften, suggesting the overall rental recovery is chiefly led by core areas in a two-tier market. As no new projects were completed in Q1, the overall availability rate remained broadly stable at around 20.0%, edging down by 0.3 percentage points q-o-q.

John Siu, Managing Director, Hong Kong, Cushman & Wakefield,said, “Looking ahead, despite the recent stock market volatility, leasing demand from the banking & finance sector is expected to remain a key pillar this year, underpinned by expectations that Hong Kong will remain the leading global IPO market in 2026, with more than 400 companies in the listing pipeline up to the end of March. Geopolitical developments in the Middle East may also prompt investors to review asset deployment strategies and reallocate capital to Hong Kong, potentially supporting demand from banking & finance and wealth management-related occupiers. We have revised our 2026 rental forecast for Greater Central to +6% to +8%, from the previous range of +2% to +4%. In turn, the citywide Grade A office rent forecast is also revised to +1% to +3% y-o-y in 2026, compared with a previous forecast of ±1%.”

Retail leasing market: Retail sales demonstrate resilience with the overall high street vacancy rate falling further to a new post-pandemic low

The Hong Kong retail market continued to demonstrate resilience in Q1 2026, supported by improved tourist arrivals and sustained local consumption sentiment, enabling the city’s overall retail sales for the January to February 2026 period to pick up by 11.8% y-o-y to record HK$72.4billion. Among major retail categories, the Jewellery & Watches sector led the market recovery with a notable 27.8% y-o-y increase, followed by the Medicines & Cosmetics and Fashion & Accessories sectors at 8.3% and 6.6% y-o-y, respectively. This suggests the ongoing recovery and strengthening of tourist-oriented business sectors.

The overall high street vacancy rate continued to trend downwards, standing at 4.2% in Q1, marking a new low since the pandemic. Across core retail districts, Hong Kong Island outperformed Kowloon, with high street shops in Causeway Bay and Central within our basket fully leased during the quarter. The vacancy rate in Tsimshatsui also dropped further to 7.1% in Q1, while Mongkok remained stable at 6.1%.

As for high street retail rental levels, recovery was also led by Hong Kong Island, with Central and Causeway Bay recording q-o-q increases of 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively. Mongkok high street retail rents picked up by 0.6% q-o-q, while a more affordable, mass-market tenant mix prompted Tsim Sha Tsui rental levels to move down by 1.1% q-o-q (Chart 2). Regarding the F&B sector, high availability continued to weigh on rents across districts, with Causeway Bay, Central, Tsimshatsui and Mongkok all recording declines within 1% q-o-q.

John Siucommented, “Retail leasing sentiment across districts remained positive in the first quarter, particularly on Hong Kong Island side. We anticipate Central and Causeway Bay to lead the rental level recovery, given Causeway Bay has continued to attract young locals and tourists, while Central has been benefitting from relatively stable high-end local consumption. On Kowloon side, Tsimshatsui and Mongkok are expected to see gradual absorption of vacant spaces if landlords are willing to offer reasonable asking rents. Looking ahead, the city’s retail market is poised for a positive recovery in 2026, yet we anticipate a gradual rental recovery rather than a rapid rebound. Supporting factors, including the wealth effect from the housing price recovery, are set to lift local consumption sentiment. The ongoing mega-event campaign, coupled with a stronger renminbi, is also expected to draw a promising influx of tourists, supporting greater foot traffic and tourist spending on high streets. Nevertheless, given the shift in consumption patterns and the entry of more affordable brands into high streets, overall rents are unlikely to see a rapid rebound in the near term. We maintain our forecast of a 2% to 3% increase in overall high street retail rents for 1H 2026.”

Residential market: Market transactions remain active amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, supporting home price rises across market segments

The Hong Kong residential market continued to gain momentum in Q1, driven by strong sales of primary projects and more active participation from potential buyers in the secondary market who have expedited purchase decisions. The ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have yet to exert a significant impact on Hong Kong residential market activity. Since March last year, the monthly number of residential sales and purchases agreements has exceeded 5,000 for 13 consecutive months, with February 2026 reaching close to 6,700 units. Total residential transactions in Q1 recorded approximately 18,650 units, up 53% y-o-y and 9% q-o-q (Chart 3). Strong sales at new launches saw primary market transactions take a 30% share of total transactions in the quarter.

Edgar Lai, Senior Director, Valuation and Advisory Services, Hong Kong, Cushman & Wakefield, highlighted, “Strong market activity continued to support home prices to trend upward in Q1 2026. According to the Rating and Valuation Department, as at February, the overall residential price index picked up by 2.6% in the first two months of the year. Meanwhile, our Cushman & Wakefield mid-and-small size units price index shows that home prices rose by around 5% in March from the end-2025 level. At the same time, our tracking of popular housing estates demonstrates that prices across different market segments maintained upward momentum throughout the quarter. Prices at City One Shatin, representing the mass market, rose 5.6% q-o-q, while prices at Taikoo Shing, representing the mid-market, strengthened by 8.6% q-o-q. Residence Bel-Air, representing the luxury segment, recorded a notable 7.1% q-o-q rise. At the same time, underpinned by housing needs from incoming talent, the residential rental index continued to trend up to hit a new record high. Coupled with interest rates now remaining at relatively low levels, investors have been encouraged to enter the market, while renters and potential buyers are expediting home ownership decisions.”

Rosanna Tang, Executive Director, Head of Research, Hong Kong, Cushman & Wakefield, added, “The city’s housing market largely sustained the strong momentum carried over from late-2025, with both transaction numbers and prices continuing to climb in Q1. Despite recent Middle East geopolitical tensions, the overall residential market has continued to demonstrate resilience, with the number of residential sale and purchase agreements exceeding 6,000 cases in both February and March. Looking ahead, more capital is expected to flow into Hong Kong as a safe haven, helping to keep local interbank rates at relatively low levels and providing support to the housing market. Moreover, our Verbal Enquiry index has now risen for three consecutive months, reflecting sustained positive sentiment in the Hong Kong residential market. We anticipate full-year transaction numbers in 2026 to reach 65,000 to 70,000 units. As for the home prices forecast, if geopolitical tensions in the Middle East ease in the near term, the impact on the Hong Kong residential market is likely to be limited, and we would expect full-year home prices to rise in a range of 7% to 10%. However, if tensions further escalate, uncertainty may weigh on interest rates and buyer confidence, with annual price growth to moderate to around the 5% mark.”

Please click here to download photo and presentation deck

Caption: (From left to right) Rosanna Tang, Executive Director, Head of Research, Hong Kong, Cushman & Wakefield; John Siu, Managing Director, Head of Project and Occupier Services, Hong Kong, Cushman & Wakefield and Edgar Lai, Senior Director, Valuation and Advisory Services, Hong Kong, Cushman & Wakefield.

Hashtag: #CushmanWakefield

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

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/04/14/hong-kong-residential-market-remains-resilient-despite-geopolitical-tensions-with-primary-and-secondary-transactions-buoyant/

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Keeping children in classrooms and supporting schools through fuel challenges

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government’s priority is keeping schools open, students in classrooms and continuing to raise achievement as the country navigates fuel supply challenges, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

“The lockdowns during the pandemic were incredibly damaging to student engagement. We are committed to doing everything we can to not repeat that experience for families again,” Ms Stanford says.

“Schools will face a range of different challenges depending on their individual circumstances. I directed the Ministry of Education to contact every single school by the end of the week so we have a clear understanding of what those challenges are so we can respond. 

“We can then tailor solutions to schools in a highly targeted way so they remain open and children are in the classroom learning. Our focus is on minimising disruption, ensuring clear and frequent communication, and providing timely, targeted, temporary support where needed. 

“Specifically, I have directed officials to:

  • Build a clear national picture of fuel use and operational impacts across the education system.
  • Check in with the early learning sector this week to understand current awareness and preparedness and to inform planning.
  • Use real-time information to identify pressures early and respond quickly where support is needed.
  • Engage with suppliers to understand fuel impacts on essential services, such as school lunches, attendance services, and transport.
  • Develop and stress-test plans across a range of critical services, including the school bus network and Specialised School Transport Assistance, to help maintain access to education.
  • Work alongside the Rural Schools Association and wider sector groups to understand the specific challenges facing rural and remote communities.
  • Closely monitor fuel availability for schools that rely on diesel boilers, noting that only a small number of schools are affected, and work directly with those schools to identify what they need to ensure sites remain appropriately heated, including through the winter period.

“I want to thank schools, parents and communities for prioritising education during a difficult time. We are seeing minimal changes to attendance at this stage and will continue to keep a close eye on this.

“There has been a strong willingness to work together, between schools, families, providers, and communities, and that collaboration is making a difference. 

“Already, 56 percent of the schools contacted have started to plan or have already planned responses to any change in the fuel situation. Additionally, 58 percent have taken steps to explore how they can increase their fuel efficiency.

“I will have more to say on our response for education once we have concluded discussions with all schools. The Ministry will continue to work with wider government so that we are developing practical solutions that work for communities.”

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/04/02/keeping-children-in-classrooms-and-supporting-schools-through-fuel-challenges/

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Phuket Strengthens Appeal for UK Families as Secure International Residential Destination

Source: Media Outreach

Growing demand from British buyers, strengthened long-haul connectivity, and the continued evolution ofLaguna Phuket are reinforcing the appeal of Thailand’s largest island as a secure and globally connected place to live and invest.

PHUKET, THAILAND – Media OutReach Newswire – 31 March 2026 – Phuket’s transformation from world-renowned holiday destination into a fully established international residential hub is entering a new phase, supported by rising long-haul arrivals and improving access from the United Kingdom and Europe.

UK buyers represent one of the fastest-growing segments of Phuket’s European residential market, alongside France, Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia. The island’s year-round climate, quality of life, international schools, structured long-term residency pathways and expanding long-haul connectivity are key factors driving interest from British families and investors.

Thailand welcomed more than 35 million international visitors in 2025, underscoring global confidence in the country as a safe and accessible destination. Long-haul arrivals exceeded 11 million, rising 13% year-on-year and generating approximately 668 billion baht in tourism revenue. The Tourism Authority of Thailand continues to prioritise sustainable, high-value travel, targeting 14 million quality international visitors annually under a value-over-volume strategy.

International connectivity continues to strengthen. European flight capacity increased by more than 16% year-on-year and now stands approximately 5% above pre-pandemic levels. According to Immigration Bureau data, European arrivals reached approximately 7.8 million in 2025, up from 7.2 million in 2024. Direct services from London and Paris, alongside new Scandinavian routes, are reinforcing Phuket’s accessibility for UK travellers.

Improved access is translating into extended stays, remote working flexibility and lifestyle-driven property ownership. Increasingly, visitors are returning not only for holidays, but to explore long-term residency and residential investment opportunities.

Beyond its island setting and established hospitality sector, Phuket offers international-standard healthcare, leading international schools, yacht marinas, championship golf courses and reliable high-speed connectivity. The island combines year-round resort living with the infrastructure required for full-time residence and professional activity.

Industry research ranks Phuket among the world’s leading destinations for branded residences, alongside Dubai, Miami and New York. Foreign buyers account for more than 60% of condominium purchases, reflecting sustained international confidence in the market. Direct air links to more than 80 cities further support its global integration.

At the centre of this residential evolution is Laguna Phuket, developed by Banyan Group. Over 35 years, it has become one of Asia’s most established integrated resort and residential communities. Spanning more than 1,000 acres along Bang Tao Beach, Laguna Phuket includes six hotels, an award-winning golf course, RAVA beach club and more than 3,000 branded residences. Residents from over 70 nationalities call it home within a master-planned environment supported by on-site education and comprehensive lifestyle amenities.

With approximately 5,000 additional residences planned across Laguna Phuket and neighbouring Laguna Lakelands, Phuket’s long-term residential trajectory continues to strengthen.

Phuket today represents more than a holiday destination. It has matured into a secure, internationally connected residential market offering stability, accessibility and enduring value for globally-minded UK families.

Hashtag: #BanyanGroup

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

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/31/phuket-strengthens-appeal-for-uk-families-as-secure-international-residential-destination/

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Property Market – From boom to balance: NZ’s housing market six years on from lockdown – QV

Source: Quality Valuation (QV)

Six years on from the March 2020 lockdown, the story of New Zealand’s housing market has come full circle – from boom and gloom to a far more balanced and nuanced chapter today.

Our latest QV House Price Index, out now, shows national home values are now 21.6% higher than they were six years ago. However, growth has slowed significantly, with values reducing by just 0.4% over the past year, including a reduction of 0.1% over the three months to the end of March 2026.

On the six-year anniversary of NZ’s first lockdown, QV spokesperson Simon Petersen said the urgency that defined the market through 2020 and 2021 has long gone, replaced by much more cautious and measured decision-making these days.

“The past six years have really been a story of two extremes – incredibly rapid, unsustainable growth, followed by a sharp correction, and then a gradual return to normal,” he said.

“It’s now a much more stable and balanced housing market that’s behaving more like it used to, back before Covid-19. There’s less urgency, more negotiation, and a stronger focus on fundamentals like affordability and supply.

“The frenzy we saw through 2020 and 2021 may be long gone now, but values are still sitting above where they were before the pandemic for the most part, without adjusting for inflation.”

Across the main centres, Auckland’s average home value is still 9.6% higher than it was six years ago, despite modest declines of 3.8% in the past 12 months and 0.6% this quarter.

Christchurch continues to stand out, with the average home value now 55% above its March 2020 level. The city largely avoided the sharpest part of the downturn and has recorded modest growth of 3.1% over the past 12 months and 0.9% this quarter.

In contrast, Wellington’s average home value is now 0.2% less than it was at the end of March 2020. It has reduced by 5% in the past 12 months and by 0.8% this quarter.
 
“The higher-priced markets felt the boom and the correction more sharply,” Mr Petersen said. “But no part of the country was untouched. Regional and lifestyle areas also saw strong gains as buyers looked for more space and flexibility during the lockdown period.”

“While values remain higher than pre-pandemic levels, those gains are significantly smaller once inflation is taken into account,” he added.

Now, in 2026, the market looks markedly different from both the highs of 2020 and 2021 and the lows that followed. Growth has stabilised, activity levels are closer to longer-term averages, and differences between regions are being driven more by local conditions than a single national trend.

In practical terms, Mr Petersen said buyers are taking their time, vendors have adjusted their expectations to meet the market for the most part, and price movements are now much more modest as a result.

“The housing market of 2026 seems to be defined more by caution rather than urgency,” Mr Petersen said. “Buyers are more considered, vendors are more realistic, and overall activity is tracking closer to longer-term norms. Everything is more or less in balance right now.

“After several years of volatility, a more predictable housing market gives both buyers and sellers greater confidence and it reduces the risk of another sharp correction – even with ongoing global uncertainty still present,” Mr Petersen concluded.
Download a high resolution version of the latest QV value map here.
We’re trying something new with the timing of this month’s QV House Price Index. Please let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions.

Our regular nationwide report featuring the latest QV House Price Index figures will be available online at QV.co.nz on the morning of Thursday, 9 April 2026.

The QV HPI uses a rolling three month collection of sales data, based on sales agreement date. This has always been the case and ensures a large sample of sales data is used to measure value change over time. Having agent and non-agent sales included in the index provides a comprehensive measure of property value change over the longer term.

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/31/property-market-from-boom-to-balance-nzs-housing-market-six-years-on-from-lockdown-qv/

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Speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce – How can lessons from the COVID Response help navigate fuel shortages?

Source: New Zealand Government

How can lessons from the COVID Response help navigate fuel shortages?

Thank you, Matthew, and thank you all for being here this morning. 

I’d like to speak plainly to you about the event affecting every part of business right now. I’d like to cast it through another lens we try not to think about, let alone see the world through.

Current situation

There is no point pretending this conflict in Iran is abstract or somebody else’s problem. As soon as the waterway that carries around one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption is thrown into uncertainty it becomes real for an isolated island nation like ours. Insurance costs, supply chains, energy markets, all the bills businesses pay, and the prices families see at the pump are all affected. 

Right now we have sufficient fuel stocks in New Zealand and we are working hard across diplomatic, commercial, and industry channels to ensure that remains the case. 

Here are the facts:

Our national fuel stocks continue to be robust across petrol, diesel, and jet fuel.

Latest projections show that New Zealand has 59.3 days of petrol supply, 54.5 days of diesel supply, and 50.4 days of jet fuel supply available nationally. We have five ships expected to arrive in coming days and another ten ships a few weeks away. 

Last week we announced a fuel plan detailing the planning in place for if this situation worsens. Introducing restrictions on fuel use is NOT the plan, but it is better to have a plan you don’t use than get caught with no plan at all.

Plan A is to keep working with energy companies and foreign governments to ensure supply keeps up. The supply-side comes first. So far, the available days of supply has bounced around, and people have argued over which ships to count, but supply has stayed over six weeks’ worth for the last three weeks. Our first goal is to keep it that way.

If, and only if, there is a risk of running out, would we go to demand-side restrictions. 

Finer details of the plan are still being worked on. Government departments are talking to people in different industries every day to work out how the plan could work if it came to that. 

There are still details to come, we are continuing to work on it and will give updates as soon as possible.

However, for now, we have enough supply, and our aim is to use the supply side to keep it that way.

Five lessons from the COVID response

Nobody wants to relive COVID, but that period had many lessons if we want to learn them. We’d be mad to ignore a live experiment in politics and policy during a scary global situation.

I spent those years in opposition, but I half joked that I wanted to be the ‘leader of the proposition.’ During that time we didn’t just criticise the Government, as was our party’s constitutional role, we also put up a series of papers about how we’d do it better.

Today we face another event that is global, could be scary, and has already invoked a response from Government. What a time to dust off some of those reflections from that time.

Avoid the time trap

The first and most important lesson was not to let the situation warp time. During COVID the Government slowed down time. The daily press conferences made 24 hours seem like a year, and the first 24 minutes we spent waiting to hear the day’s figures felt like a month.

We forgot that New Zealand would outlive the pandemic, and our country would have a big future, but decisions made then would cast a long shadow on that future.

The fiscal situation was the most obvious time warp victim. The figures were eye watering. The Government borrowed a net $100 billion in the four years from June 2019 to June 2023.

That’s why the financial support announced to date is:

Targeted, at low-income working households with children
Timely, it can be done with existing tax credits rather than creating a new mechanism
Temporary, it will end in either a year or when regular petrol falls below $3, linking it to the problem
Funded, it comes from within the allowance announced in the December Budget Policy Statement, so it will require savings elsewhere instead of new spending

The time trap lesson also puts a stark lens on some of the other proposals being put about. We’re told we should cancel excise taxes or road user charges, cancel road projects, or enable online learning. 

These ideas would all have long tails of effects that we cannot ignore.

Balancing human needs
Do it with, not to the people
Remember we’re all human, all New Zealanders
Learn from the world, and don’t reinvent the wheel

Education points to the second COVID lesson. We need to keep all of New Zealanders’ goals in perspective. I am still astonished at how quickly education was glossed over.

In many ways, education is the only investment that matters. Thoughtful people can solve lots of problems. Unthinking people can cause lots of problems. How educated the population is will trump any other variable across a generation. But, in the COVID time trap we abandoned it.

Last week I was asked countless times whether I thought students should be learning from home because of the fuel crisis. I said of course not, because we cannot afford to put education back at the bottom of the totem pole after working so hard to get students back at school. And I wondered, as I was being asked that question, whether attendance had actually fallen significantly. It hadn’t. We know that because we’ve made daily attendance data available online.

In response to a crisis, you have to think about all human priorities and you have to follow the facts. That’s why education, for one thing, is not going to be sacrificed in the event this Government needs to move to demand-side rationing.

The third lesson was to work with, rather than against people.  The COVID response took on its own momentum. By the end of 2021, we’d been in a state of crisis management for 18 months. The then Prime Minister’s nearly belligerent refrain ‘if you want to do x, y, or z, get vaccinated,’ confirmed she had gone too far.

But vaccination was only the most infamous flashpoint. Many others felt the response was being done to rather than with them.

There was the school that had its Australian approved RAT tests confiscated, how dare they, take initiative?! 

There were the Auckland restaurants who were told one morning they could open for the America’s Cup that day. They had to explain that they were very grateful but to serve lunch they needed to roster staff and order food the night before, at least.

There were the hairdressers and event promoters who showed they could operate as safely as very similar industries, but found deaf ears and frustration.

That’s why the Government has been working double time behind the scenes to do two things: Keep fuel supply up and be ready to manage demand as a last resort.

There are extensive discussions with businesses of every sector about how those steps are or would be taken. Rather than jumping to the podium, we are quietly making plans we hope to never use.

The Red Tape Tipline

We’re not only working with business and community to help solve problems we know about, we’re open to hearing new solutions altogether.

For all the briefings we get from officials – in fact I’d be at one right now if I wasn’t here – there will also be businesses on the frontline who are experiencing the strain firsthand and experiencing what is going on before a government department has figured it out.

If we’re learning lessons from our COVID approach, we might as well do the same from other countries. Taiwan implemented an approach during the COVID outbreak where they went ‘this is a tough time for everyone, since you’re the ones dealing with it every day, what do you need us to do to help?’. Through public feedback they were able to develop tools that improved their response, with apps that helped with contact tracing and collated data.

That’s why I’m also encouraging businesses to come directly to the Ministry for Regulation with areas we can relax regulations and support the response. 

In a disruption, every unnecessary delay matters. If there are rules, forms, approvals, or compliance requirements that make it harder to import, store, distribute, or use fuel efficiently, those issues should be identified now, not when the pressure is at its peak.

People can submit examples of regulations that could be reviewed, suspended, simplified, or better coordinated to support New Zealand’s fuel resilience via the red tape tipline.

This could include barriers affecting fuel transport, storage, distribution, local delivery, freight movements, business operations, or the ability of firms to adapt quickly to changing supply conditions.

The tipline has already fixed many things that matter to Kiwis, whether it’s allowing them to build sheds on their property, fixing scaffolding regulations and ending prohibition on medical conferences taking place.

Already there’s been more than 75 submissions, with some very interesting ideas. These are currently being analysed to see which amount to the most common-sense changes and will be able to have the most tangible impact on our response. I’ll have more to say on that soon. 

We are lucky to have democracy and due process. They give each person the dignity of being seen and heard. The COVID response was a lesson in what not to do. 

The closure of Parliament can be debated. Other countries closed more, our still functioned online at times, but there was something else I think we should worry about. 

People accepted the suspension of democracy and the rule of law so easily. When the Police Commissioner said the police would follow people around and perhaps ‘take them to our place’ without any actual law to enforce, people shrugged. When the Leader of the Opposition couldn’t get to Parliament, too many people including the media shrugged again. 

It’s essential that any possible restrictions on normal life are done clearly and transparently, with no short cuts on democracy or due process. That matters in a fuel crisis just as much as it did in COVID, because any move to ration demand or limit normal activity will touch millions of ordinary New Zealanders. If people are being asked to change how they live, they are entitled to know the rules, the reasons, and the legal basis for them.

Otherwise, you risk ignoring the fourth lesson, and people feel they haven’t been listened to. That’s when you get riots on the lawns of Parliament.  

New Zealanders during COVID could be forgiven for thinking we were the only country on earth. Everything had to be done our way, as if it was being done for the first time.

Those Aussie-approved thermometers being confiscated was a good example. Today we’ve already harmonised fuel standards with Australia, in stark contrast to that approach.

Like COVID, our isolation is a big factor in the current fuel situation. Then, we had several weeks’ notice as each variant crawled across the globe. Today, we’re tracing back ships coming to Marsden Point from Korean and Singaporean refineries, and then the ships going to those refineries. 

If we can see what’s coming, we can take time to prepare, and we can watch what others are doing to plan our own response. We should never be too proud to learn from another country. We’re pretty good, but we don’t have a monopoly on wisdom.

Why the response matters

We can’t let today’s crisis erode our country’s future. 

The latest Treasury figures put net core Crown debt at $191.4 billion. That alone is a reason to treat every new commitment seriously, because every dollar we borrow today is a dollar we lose the freedom to use tomorrow. 

Fiscal discipline is what stops the first shock being followed by a second one. It is what helps contain inflation pressure. It is what protects interest rates from staying higher for longer. And it is what means that if genuine hardship support becomes necessary, government can provide it without making everything else worse.

So, when we say do not take your eye off the fiscals, we are not changing the subject.

You can already hear the other instinct from the opposition. More spending. More intervention. More borrowed relief. More politics built around the appearance of action. That’s what would be happening if the other lot were in charge for this. 

With cool heads, we can respond to fuel shortages from the Iran war without committing the knee-jerk mistakes made during COVID.

It means understanding that our long-term future must not be eroded by short-term political theatrics. That is the approach we have to bring to this response.

We cannot prevent every external shock. But we can make sure New Zealand responds with fiscal discipline and common sense. That will be the evidence that we’ve learnt our lessons. 

Thank you.

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/31/speech-to-the-wellington-chamber-of-commerce-how-can-lessons-from-the-covid-response-help-navigate-fuel-shortages/

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Speech to Project Auckland

Source: New Zealand Government

Check against delivery

Kia ora, and thank you so much for inviting me here today. It is great to be with you all.

Can I start by thanking Fran O’Sullivan for her hard work in organising and supporting this annual event, and also NZME and the NZ Herald for sponsoring the event as always.

I would also like to acknowledge our Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, Councillor Richard Hills, and Councillor Andy Baker.

I also wish to acknowledge the opposition spokesperson for Auckland and Shanan Halbert. Lovely to see you here today.

And I want to acknowledge everyone in this room for the role you play in leading our great city. We are proud to be Aucklanders. We are proud of all this city has to offer, and we are all committed to making it a better place. That shared commitment mirrors our Government’s focus on fixing the basics and building the future of Auckland.

Conflict in Iran

Before I speak about the Government’s priorities, I want to acknowledge the global context we are all operating in. Everything has changed in the past four weeks with the conflict in Iran.

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow stretch of water between Iran and Oman, carries around 20 percent of the world’s daily oil supply, and the conflict in Iran is leading to significant disruption in global oil markets. Kiwis are feeling that right now at the pump.

Our Government is responding quickly and decisively with two key priorities. First, ensuring New Zealand has continued access to fuel supplies. Second, providing targeted support to those who need it most.

As Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed, we continue to have a stable fuel supply, with combined jet, petrol and diesel stocks equating to around 48.6 days of cover nationwide, meaning there is no need for immediate concern. But we are taking every action we can to shore up our position.

We have aligned our fuel standards with Australia to ensure we have access to more markets to purchase fuel products from. We are working with Australia and other nations to secure the supplies we need. And the Minister of Finance has today announced our Fuel Response Plan, which sets out clearly how we will act if we begin to face disruption in our supply chains.

There are four phases to this plan, of which we have already announced phases one and two in detail. For phases three and four, we will consult closely with industry and sector groups, as these phases would require additional restrictions. As the Minister of Finance has made clear, though, success means not having to move to phases three or four. Our focus remains on our priority: ensuring a secure fuel supply for New Zealanders.

Alongside this, we have announced targeted support for working families. We cannot control global oil markets or international conflicts, but we can soften the impact on working families who cannot easily avoid higher fuel costs. From 7 April, around 143,000 working families with children will receive an extra fifty dollars a week through a boost to the in-work tax credit. That targeted increase will be temporary, lasting for one year or until the price of 91 octane petrol drops below three dollars a litre for four consecutive weeks.

That is what responsible, temporary and targeted relief looks like.

Improvements in Auckland under National

Turning now to Auckland. While what is happening internationally will continue to occupy our attention, today is also an opportunity to take stock of the real progress this city has made over the past two years.

When National came into office, Auckland had been through an extraordinarily difficult stretch. The COVID-19 lockdowns had closed this city repeatedly, as the Royal Commission found, and we now know they went longer than the public health advice supported. The economic toll of those decisions fell hardest here. Businesses that had fought to survive were then hit by inflation peaking at over seven percent, mortgage repayments that had doubled for some families, and a cost-of-living squeeze felt right across the city. And if that was not enough, there were the ram raids. Retailers were boarding up their shopfronts, and a city that had, for a time, lost its footing.

That was the Auckland we inherited. And it is why the work of the past two years has been so focused on getting back to basics: restoring economic stability, restoring law and order, and restoring confidence in our public services.

And we have delivered:

We abolished the 11.5 cents per litre Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, putting money back in the pockets of Auckland households and businesses.
Our water reforms are saving Aucklanders hundreds of dollars on their water bills.
We have made meaningful Auckland governance changes to restore democratic decision-making.
We are progressing time-of-use schemes to improve flow across our motorways.
We’re negotiating a regional deal that gives Auckland a genuine partnership with central government.

The results speak for themselves. The NZIER Business Confidence survey shows the strongest equal result since 1994. The Consumer Sentiment Index has risen to 107, reflecting more optimism than pessimism for the first time in several years. Building activity is up, with a 13 percent increase in new dwellings consented in the year to January. Interest rates have come down meaningfully, which is real relief for homeowners and businesses alike. And the International Convention Centre is now open, already hosting 120 events over the year and generating international visitor spend that flows through the whole Auckland economy.

These are not small things. They are the product of a clear plan focused on fixing the basics and building the future.

Opportunities We Must Seize

With that foundation in place, the question now is: what do we do with it? Because Auckland’s best days are not behind us, they are ahead of us, and there are real opportunities in front of us that we must seize together.

The City Rail Link will open this year. It is the largest infrastructure project in New Zealand’s history, started under a National Government and delivered by a National Government. When it opens, it will transform how people move around Auckland, cut travel times, and unlock development opportunities along the rail corridor. But we need to make sure we capture the full benefit. That means using the planning tools available to us to ensure housing growth happens around the stations, with density in the right places and of the right kind. A rail network only delivers its full potential when the city grows intelligently around it, and we are working to make sure our planning settings support exactly that.

On transport more broadly, the CRL is just the beginning. We are progressing the next generation of projects that will define Auckland’s connectivity for decades to come: Mill Road, Northwestern Rapid Transit, and completing the Eastern Busway. 

On safety, the progress in our city centre has been real and measurable. Through our Housing First initiative, 188 people have been placed into housing by March, up from just 33 when the plan was announced in November. Crime victimisations have fallen from 1,010 in January 2024 to 638 in December 2025. A new Police Station in the CBD and officers increasingly on the beat are making a tangible difference. New move-on powers for Police will give them an important additional tool to address the antisocial behaviour that drives people away from our city centre. Our approach balances support with accountability: helping those who need housing and mental health services, while taking firm action against behaviour that makes people feel unsafe.

On health, waiting times skyrocketed following Labour’s decisions to remove the previous National Government’s health targets, and Health New Zealand was left managing $28 billion on a single Excel spreadsheet following the decisions to restructure our healthcare system in the middle of a pandemic. National has brought back the health targets, and we are seeing encouraging improvements across the board, with Kiwis spending less time in emergency departments, more children being fully immunised by the age of 24 months, and waitlists for elective surgeries and first specialist assessments coming down. 

There is still more work to do, however, our focus on fixing the basics is delivering results.

As part of this continued focus, today I am pleased to announce that Health New Zealand is issuing a Request for Proposal to identified landowners for land in Drury, to support the development of a future South Auckland hospital. This is the next concrete step towards a major new hospital health precinct for one of the fastest-growing parts of this country, and it is a step that has been a long time coming. South Auckland carries some of the highest health burdens in New Zealand, with elevated rates of infectious disease, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory conditions, and a population projected to grow by hundreds of thousands by 2050. Drury is the right location. It sits alongside our Roads of Regional Significance and planned public transport infrastructure, meaning patients, staff and visitors can actually get there. Securing the right site now means Health New Zealand can plan with confidence, and future investment goes to the right place, at the right scale.

Conclusion

When I look at the full picture, Auckland has real momentum behind it. Inflation is down. Interest rates are down. Business confidence is up. Crime is down. We are delivering in health and in education. The Convention Centre is open and the City Rail Link is coming. These are the results of a clear plan that is working, and we need to stick to it.

We also need to work in genuine partnership with Auckland Council to deliver on these objectives. We have devolved decision-making to the Council in a number of areas, and that makes sense. But this is not an Auckland versus Wellington thing. The majority of Cabinet Ministers come from Auckland. We live here, we shop here, we sit in the same traffic as everyone else in this room. Ministers are constantly engaging with the Mayor and the Council. We are not here to serve Auckland Council. We are here to deliver for Aucklanders.

Yes, we are living in challenging times. The conflict in Iran is a reminder that we cannot always control what arrives on our doorstep. But what we can control is how prepared we are, how resilient we are, and how well we have set Auckland up to seize the opportunities ahead of it.

Auckland’s best days lie ahead of us. The plan is working. Let’s continue to fix the basics and build the future.

Thank you very much.

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/28/speech-to-project-auckland-2/

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Workers First calls on finance sector to act on fuel crisis and support workers

Source: Workers First Union

Workers First – the union for finance workers – has written to financial institutions across Aotearoa, calling on them to support their staff amid rising petrol costs and warning that workers are spending an increasing proportion of their wages simply travelling to and from work.
Callum Francis, Workers First National Organiser for Finance, is asking institutions to suspend any attendance requirements, to offer improved working-from-home arrangements where possible, and to subsidise transport costs for staff required to be onsite.
Petrol prices in Auckland surged as much as 24 cents in a single weekend recently, with 91-grade fuel hitting a near four-year high. Industry forecasts suggest prices could reach $4 per litre, representing a near 50% increase in fuel costs for many workers.
“Finance workers offer care and consideration to customers every single day,” said Mr Francis.
“We’re asking their employers to offer them the same. This is no longer a nice-to-have – it is becoming a necessity.”
Nick(*), a union member who works at a major financial institution, said that support from employers to work from home would be practical during an unprecedented economic crisis.
“We already do over half of our work from home anyway, and it would show good faith and care for us during a tough time for everyone,” he said.
“Colleagues sometimes have no option but to drive an hour or more into work but aren’t eligible for the Government support, and this would offer a sense of relief to our families.”
“This is a national emergency and we’re all supposed to help out – so why should workers be the ones taking the hit? Employers should do this for our country as well as their staff.”
Mr Francis drew a parallel with the Covid-19 pandemic, during which many financial institutions rapidly adapted their operations to support staff working from home, or if absolutely necessary, attending workplaces.
“Businesses showed during Covid that they could act quickly and pragmatically when workers needed them to. We’re asking for that same approach now,” said Mr Francis.
“Billion-dollar institutions like banks and insurance providers can and should provide relief and convenience to their workers whenever it’s possible – especially during a crisis.”
Workers First Union is seeking meetings with financial institutions and expects responses in the coming weeks.
(*)Name changed due to employer restrictions on public speech.

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/26/workers-first-calls-on-finance-sector-to-act-on-fuel-crisis-and-support-workers/

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Fuel-crisis package is paper-thin

Source: NZCTU

The Government’s proposed support package for families in a fuel crisis is woefully inadequate, says NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Sandra Grey.

“Some families will get limited relief from this package. But the Government is doing nothing for families who don’t receive the in-work tax credit. They are doing nothing for pensioners. They are doing nothing to make this country more energy secure.

“92% of households won’t get anything from this package. New Zealanders already doing it tough – pensioners, welfare recipients, single people – won’t see any relief. It won’t help those working in rural communities who are facing huge price increases.

“Industries across the country are under pressure from rising fuel costs. We are already in a cost-of-living crisis, and now fuel prices risk flowing through to the price of food and other essentials. And yet the Government is choosing to provide minimum relief while Kiwi families are struggling.

“During the global financial crisis and the pandemic, the Government worked with working people and their unions on solutions to the nation’s problems. Now is the time for Government to talk with unions about what real, long-term solutions might look like,” said Grey.

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/24/fuel-crisis-package-is-paper-thin/

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Defence News – Emotional return to Tokelau for Royal New Zealand Navy sailor

Source: New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF)

Returning to her spiritual home of Tokelau was a profound experience for Petty Officer Christina Sola, who visited the island while on deployment with the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) during the recent Operation Calypso in the South West Pacific.

New Zealand-born, but of Tokelauan, Samoan and New Zealand European descent, Petty Officer Sola reconnected with whānau when HMNZS Canterbury arrived in Tokelau.

Incorporated in the operation was the celebration of the centenary of New Zealand’s administration of Tokelau and on board the ship for the occasion was New Zealand Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro.

“To step ashore alongside my shipmates, and on this occasion in the presence of the Governor‑General Dame Cindy Kiro, was an immense honour and a moment of profound personal and cultural significance,” Petty Officer Sola said.

“Tokelau is my tūrangawaewae – a place where I feel grounded spiritually, mentally and physically. It is sacred and treasured land, richly woven with history, culture and tradition. Each time I arrive, it instantly feels like home.”

Petty Officer Sola’s Tokelauan family hails from Fakaofo atoll. Her husband Penehe, also of Tokelauan descent, comes from the atolls of Nukunonu and Atafu. They have four children and she credits her husband’s unwavering support for being able to continue doing the job she loves in the Navy.

The communications warfare specialist enlisted in 2008 and has worked across a wide range of operational and leadership roles supporting New Zealand’s defence and security efforts, both at home and around the world.

She last visited Tokelau in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Petty Officer Sola said the situation was entirely different then and the stakes couldn’t have been higher.

“Canterbury was tasked to deliver routine cyclone season support and essential supplies. This included new freshwater tanks, solar equipment, generator maintenance, and most importantly, Covid-19 vaccination supplies.

“Tokelau had no recorded cases of Covid-19 at the time and there was a very real possibility that, if we were not careful, we could have been the ones to introduce the virus to a population of fewer than 1,500 people.

“I was incredibly grateful that our deployable teams completed the mission without any incident and I was still able to see my family, while not touching one another to keep the strict two-metre distancing policy in place.”

This recent arrival was very different from the last, with loved ones from both her own and her husband’s family welcoming her across the three Tokelauan atolls.

“These are moments I will cherish forever. I will always acknowledge the sacrifices they have made – and continue to make – so that our families around the world can pursue opportunities and lives abroad, including those of us living and serving in Aotearoa, New Zealand.”

Petty Officer Sola’s career has seen her sail from the sub-Antarctic to the Pacific, across to Asia and over to the United States.

As part of the Navy’s extensive operation to the South-West Pacific and alongside the Tokelau centenary visit, HMNZS Canterbury crew facilitated an upgrade of critical tsunami and volcano monitoring equipment on Raoul Island, and conducted a successful search and rescue operation near Tonga.  

With New Zealand Army and Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel aboard, the military sealift vessel covered 4580 nautical miles, without the ship needing to take on additional food or fuel over 23 days.  

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/23/defence-news-emotional-return-to-tokelau-for-royal-new-zealand-navy-sailor/

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University students facing the ‘toughest time’ in years as costs increase

Source: Radio New Zealand

Victoria University of Wellington Students Association president Aidan Donoghue displays empty boxes at the association’s foodbank. SUPPLIED

Student association leaders warn more students are struggling to make ends meet and rising prices will make the problem worse.

Victoria University’s student association says its food bank shelves are being cleaned out every week, AUT’s association says international students are especially hard hit, and Lincoln University’s association says demand for financial assistance has remained high since the pandemic began in 2020.

Their comments accompanied the launch of a study that found a marked increase in student hardship across several universities in the past five years.

The report by an Otago University student during an internship with the Green Party said there had been sustained growth in the use of foodbanks and hardship grants at several universities since 2019.

It said numbers were highest during the height of the pandemic in 2020, but remained above pre-pandemic levels last year.

The report said international students, single parents and female students were more likely to seek help for food insecurity.

It said the the number of students using a foodbank at AUT jumped from about 100 in 2020 to more than 1800 last year, about three-quarters of them foreign students.

At Victoria University, the student association’s spending on its food bank jumped from about $7000 in 2019 to more than $13,000 last year.

The report said Otago University Students Association provided about 250 food bags in 2019 and nearly 700 last year.

The three associations awarded on average $20,000 each in hardship grants last year, less than at the height of the pandemic but about double the figure in 2019.

The report’s author Anika Texley said the students’ associations collected different data about student hardship, but the overall picture was of growing demand for help.

“They’re struggling to meet their needs and their most basic needs. So things like rent tend to be prioritized over groceries,” she said.

Texley said students were struggling with rising expenses across the board.

“It’s not just groceries, it’s also bills, rising utility, rent is going up, and it’s consistently going up. So it’s an ongoing issue,” she said.

Texley completed her report while working as an intern for Green Party MP Francisco Hernandez.

He said students had been struggling for years and the report showed that the situation had worsened.

“And sadly, things are only going to get worse with the war ongoing in Iran. The cost of everything, gas, energy, groceries, rents, will spike up even further,” he said.

Hernandez said all students should be eligible for an allowance, rather than having to borrow for living costs through the student loan system.

The cupboard is bare

Victoria University of Wellington Students Association president Aidan Donoghue said its foodbank cupboards had been cleared out by hungry students.

“This Monday we had an order to completely fill out that food bank and it’s completely gone already,” he said.

“We’ve seen an increase of us having to order from roughly once every fortnight to once every week to now twice a week.”

Donoghue said the association received about $10,000 a year from the university to stock the foodbank and it would need double that sum to keep up with demand.

He said the fund ran out before the end of the year in 2025 and this year it has cut back on non-food items.

“We’ve had to cut all of our non-food expenditure. We’ve really just had to keep it to the basics of rice, pasta, food in cans,” he said.

“There’s no more toilet paper, there’s no more toothpaste, there’s no more deodorant, because all that costs far too much, and we need to stretch the food bank as far as it will go.”

Donoghue said about 100 students a week were visiting the food bank and many more students were struggling to pay their bills.

“Students are facing the toughest time they’ve had in years when it comes to just meeting the basics of rent, power, public transport,” he said.

He said students could receive up to $320 for living costs from the student loan scheme or as a student allowance if they qualified but needed roughly a further $100-200 to make ends meet.

AUT student association president James Portegys told RNZ students were coming every day for food vouchers or food bank packs and rising prices were making the situation worse.

“Obviously, the prices were already high, and now they’re increasing, so it’s quite a few students are now struggling,” he said.

Portegys said last year some students stopped coming to university because they could not afford the bus fare and the association successfully campaigned for discounted fares for students.

“We heard evidence of students choosing between paying rent, eating, or coming to campus. And what are you going to do? You’re going to choose to pay your rent and eat food,” he said.

Lincoln University students association president Zara Weissenstein told RNZ

“We had a huge increase in all of our financial assistance fund applications during COVID-19, of course and that consistently stayed quite high,” she said.

Weissenstein said the university ran a food bank and the association had noted an increase in students attending events with free food.

“Food is a really big thing because that’s often the first thing that students won’t prioritise because you have to prioritise your general expenses first, so your rent and your utilities that happen every month,” she said.

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LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/20/university-students-facing-the-toughest-time-in-years-as-costs-increase/

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Employment Trends and Research – Benefits in use: popular vs untapped

Source: Robert Half

Benefits with the highest usage, according to New Zealand hiring managers: Working from home/hybrid options (41%), flexible work arrangements (32%), and (un)paid sabbaticals/leave of absence (26%).

Benefits with the lowest usage: Mental health resources/employee assistance (38%), working from home/hybrid working options (30%), and (un)paid sabbaticals/leave of absence (26%).

Benefits that are not offered by employers: Childcare allowances (91%), in-house/onsite childcare (87%), and remote working option (beyond working from home) (69%).

Auckland, 18 March 2026 – New Zealand workplaces are operating in a two-speed benefits economy, where the same benefits can be widely embraced in some organisations but remain underused or out of reach in others.

The newly released 2026 Robert Half Salary Guide shows lifestyle benefits such as working from home/hybrid options, flexible work arrangements and leaves of absence appear on both the highest-usage and lowest-usage lists, highlighting a growing divide between employees who can readily access these benefits and those who cannot use them in practice.

At the same time, many employers have limited offerings of “non-traditional” yet increasingly valued benefits, such as childcare support, life insurance, and remote working.

Which benefits employees prioritise most

When it comes to the perks and benefits employees use, there’s a strong preference for ones that support flexibility and lifestyle, reflecting shifting workplace priorities shaped by post-pandemic expectations and evolving employee needs.

Top 8 benefits used the most by staff include:

Working from home/hybrid options (41%)
Flexible work arrangements (32%)
(Un)paid sabbaticals/leave of absence (26%)
Flexible benefits program (23%)
Extended parental leave (22%)
Fundraising days (20%)
Travel allowance (20%)
(Paid) internal or external training (19%).

The well-intended but rarely used perks

Hybrid working and flexible arrangements may be the most utilised benefits among Kiwi workers; however, around a quarter (30% and 24% respectively) of employees aren’t accessing these options. The same goes for (un)paid sabbaticals/leave of absence, which is on the highest usage list (26%) and the lowest (26%).

This split suggests that while some employers have successfully embedded flexible benefits into day-to-day working life, others may offer them only to certain roles, apply tighter eligibility rules, or see lower uptake because employees do not feel able to use them.

The perks and benefits that are used the least by staff include:

Mental health resources/Employee assistance (38%)
Working from home/hybrid options (30%)
(Un)paid sabbaticals/Leave of absence (26%)
Fundraising days (26%)
Flexible work arrangements (24%)
In-office physical activities (24%)
Flexible benefits program (22%)
Travel allowance (22%).

“Employees are placing greater value on benefits that give them more flexibility and better support their wellbeing,” says Megan Alexander, Managing Director at Robert Half. “The perks used most are those that provide practical, lasting support for work-life balance, reflecting a clear shift towards benefits many employees now see as essential rather than optional extras.”

“The fact that benefits like hybrid working and flexible arrangements appear on both the most-used and least-used lists shows there is a clear divide in how these benefits are experienced across workplaces. In some organisations, they are a normal part of working life, while in others, they are limited by role type, eligibility or workplace culture. As employers rethink their total rewards strategies, it is not just about offering benefits, but making sure employees can genuinely access and use them.”

The benefits still missing from most workplaces

Despite growing expectations for more holistic support in the workplace, many employers offer a relatively narrow range of “non-traditional” benefits, particularly those that support families.

Here are the perks and benefits not offered by employers:

Childcare allowances (91%)
In-house/onsite childcare (87%)
Remote working option (beyond working from home) (69%)
Life insurance (separate from superannuation) (56%)
Tuition assistance or reimbursement (55%)
Secondment (53%)
Extended parental leave (48%)
Home office equipment allowance (37%).

“Although childcare support is still not commonly offered, organisations that provide family-oriented benefits are in a good position to differentiate themselves, enhance their employer reputation, and foster a more inclusive environment for working parents. As workforce expectations shift, a comprehensive benefits package that also includes family-friendly and lifestyle offerings provides a unique competitive edge in attracting and retaining a diverse range of talent,” concludes Alexander.

Notes

About the research

The study is developed by Robert Half and was conducted online in October 2025 by an independent research company of 250 finance, accounting, and IT and technology hiring managers. Respondents are drawn from a sample of SMEs as well as large private, publicly-listed, and public sector organisations across New Zealand. This survey is part of the international workplace survey, a questionnaire about job trends, talent management, and trends in the workplace.

About Robert Half

Robert Half is the global, specialised talent solutions provider that helps employers find their next great hire and jobseekers uncover their next opportunity. Robert Half offers both contract and permanent placement services, and is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm.  Robert Half New Zealand has an office in Auckland and the South Island. More information on roberthalf.com/nz.

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/employment-trends-and-research-benefits-in-use-popular-vs-untapped/

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Moving health decisions closer to home

Source: New Zealand Government

From 1 July, decision-making within Health New Zealand will shift closer to patients, communities, and hospitals, ensuring decisions are made in the right place at the right time so Kiwis get better access to care, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

Local authority: Health New Zealand regions and districts will receive delegated decision making over workforce decisions, budgets, and service delivery.
National focus: Health New Zealand will retain responsibility for strategy, standards, and system-wide planning.
Easier hiring: Hospitals will be able to recruit and deploy staff without central sign-off, reducing response times when demand rises.

“The message from frontline doctors and nurses has been clear: healthcare works best when decisions are made by those who understand their communities and work directly with patients.

“The previous Government’s decision to restructure the health system in the middle of a pandemic shifted decision-making away from the frontline – away from the doctors and nurses delivering care, and away from the patients they serve. Wait times ballooned and service delivery declined.

“The result was a system that became too centralised, with too many decisions made by head office that should have been made much closer to the bedside. These changes, which ensure a nationally planned, locally and regionally delivered health system, will come into effect on 1 July.

“Regions and districts will have clearer authority over workforce, resources, and service delivery, while national leadership focuses on strategy, standards, and system planning.

“This is the most significant structural change our Government is making to improve how the health system operates. It is not a return to the District Health Board model, but it will reduce bureaucracy and give hospitals greater authority to make decisions that ensure delivery of the health targets within their budgets, in a way that reflects the needs of their communities.

Mr Brown says the changes are designed to ensure healthcare services delivered in communities directly improve the lives of patients.

“Health New Zealand’s regions and districts will be responsible for delivering the health targets in their areas, with delegated budgets, the ability to deploy staff where they are needed, and the flexibility to respond faster when demand rises – helping reduce wait times and improve access to care for New Zealanders.

“Putting patients at the centre of the system means decisions about services and resources are made as close as possible to those receiving care. These changes will deliver a health system that is more responsive, efficient, and focused on getting patients the care they need.

“Our Government is focused on fixing the basics of our healthcare system while building for the future. These changes support that priority and will ensure a healthcare system focused on putting patients first in every decision.”

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/17/moving-health-decisions-closer-to-home/

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Leaked papers show ‘extreme risk’ around Health NZ decentralisation

Source: Radio New Zealand

Health NZ faces the “extreme risk” of not having enough of the workers it needs to push through the government’s order to decentralise rapidly. Unsplash / RNZ

Papers show that Health New Zealand faces the “extreme risk” of not having enough of the workers it needs to push through the government’s order to decentralise rapidly.

Health Minister Simeon Brown last November ordered the agency to “rapidly devolve decision-making to its four regions and 20 districts” to improve healthcare.

A new devolution committee has been set up and last month was presented a report assessing the “current state” across the board.

RNZ has seen papers from the report.

“People capability is an extreme risk,” it said.

“Workforce has the lowest capability rating identified across regions and their districts with critical resourcing gaps.”

The “most common” gaps were around staff to handle infrastructure, procurement, health and safety, planning, finance and analysis.

Brown had pushed for speed, but the assessment said there was “a feeling that basics need to be in place first”.

“The transition back to a devolved model too quickly may remove the current controls and undermine the effective oversights that have been put in place.”

That included around finances, it said.

Health NZ told RNZ on Monday it was working to address the workforce gaps and capability issues identified.

The papers showed gaps in devolution resources in areas where the centralised agency in the last two years cut jobs and accepted hundreds of voluntary redundancies.

“The highly centralised organisation structure has led to a loss of experience” in making organisational, operational and strategic decisions in districts, the assessment said.

Even at national senior leadership level there were big gaps – “all interim apart from one role”.

Health Minister Simeon Brown. RNZ / Mark Papalii

‘As quickly as possible’

The government two years ago castigated Health NZ for loose financial controls, sacked its board and under a reset the new commissioner Lester Levy embarked on a $2 billion savings plan.

The goverment then embarked on rolling back large parts of the centralisation reforms of 2022.

“We want a nationally and regionally planned system, but one that has strong clinical input and buy-in at the hospital level,” said Brown last November.

He gave HNZ a New Year’s Eve deadline to come up with a devolution policy in his letter of expectations.

“This reinforces my expectation that regional accountability, production planning, and local decision-making is embedded as quickly as possible,” his letter said.

“Local districts and regions should be empowered to manage within their allocated budgets, including hiring decisions.”

On Monday a spokesperson for Brown said the government had had to stabilise and turn around a system Labour had restructured during a pandemic “without a plan”.

It “cannot simply be switched off” and must still deliver more care to more patients, faster, and a key to that was moving health decisions closer to communities, they said in a statement.

The report – the second one done on devolution by consultants Deloitte – offered a glimpse of how devolution had been going.

The senior doctors’ union, the ASMS, in principle supported devolution but warned against districts having to take on more responsibility without the resources.

“The chatter that we’re picking up from around our regular set of meetings with the districts is a massive concern that this is just pushing responsibility onto districts without any realistic means of achieving what needs to be done in terms of providing health care,” said executive director Sarah Dalton.

ASMS executive director Sarah Dalton. LANCE LAWSON PHOTOGRAPHY / Supplied

‘Carefully managing the transition’

The assessment said some areas like in strategy and finance showed progress.

But it varied alot. What it called ‘People and Culture’ would be hugely impacted by devolution and was rated the worst, with ‘low’ assessments across all six measures; it was especially weak in the South Island and central North Island from Taranaki to Bay of Plenty.

“Regional and district finance and operational capacity remain concentrated at national level and many local teams are under-resourced in financial management,” it said.

The solution? “Build capability across the organisation.” The districts had lost key roles, now they needed them back.

A chart showed 12 categories – such as budgeting, analysis and auditing – and rated nine of them as less than fully effective. Three were only partially effective – the second-to-lowest rating – including HNZ’s savings programme and its internal audit programme.

Among the other gaps was technology. Key devolution changes were predicated on AI that was not yet in place, and so manual “workarounds” persisted.

Health NZ executive national director of strategy performance improvement Jess Smaling said the current state assessment report was to support “carefully managing the transition back to frontline decision making”.

It came only after HNZ had addressed the first priority of fixing the financial crisis and improved performance, she said in a statement.

“We are committed to ensuring our districts are ready, able and most of all supported, to have more autonomy over their clinical decisions and operational budgets.”

‘Not driven by … cost savings’

Health system commentator Ian Powell had long called for devolution but said that required the right capabilities.

“And we’ve lost that through short-sighted restructuring.”

He did not see signs in the assessment that the topdown command culture was being overhauled. “That’s the missing bit.

“Overwhelmingly on the management side of Te Whatau Ora, both regionally and nationally, there’s a high level of job insecurity, and that is a terrible environment to actually to have to work in, and it guarantees a destabilised organisation.”

Health system commentator Ian Powell had long called for devolution but said that required the right capabilities. Supplied

Health NZ Te Whatu Ora subsumed all 20 of the old district health boards – DHBs – almost four years ago. Its establishment cost tens of millions of dollars including large sums in consultant fees.

Brown in his letter of expectations to the board chair late last year said it was “clear to me that Health NZ is too centralised”.

“Too many decisions are made by people who are removed from the problems that frontline clinicians are trying to solve.

“While the final devolved structure may result in a smaller national office than in recent years,

this change is not driven by restructuring or cost savings.”

The driver instead was to embed local clinicians in budgeting and planning services, and set up straight lines of accountability everywhere, Brown said.

But the papers the committee looked at last month indicated that districts might struggle with budgeting.

“Staff churn and the absence of robust costing systems and processes has created knowledge gaps, making it difficult to form an accurate bottom-up budget based on cost of services delivered, paticulary in H&SS [Hospital and Specialist Services].”

It talked about reducing some of the risks by adopting a devolution “timeframe” that allowed regions and districts to get critical activities in place to take on more autonomy.

‘Trade-offs and risks’

It sounded other notes of caution, too.

“While there is a desire to accelerate the devolution process, HNZ recognises that there are trade-offs and risks involved,” said Deloitte’s assessment.

This could lead to “lack of control, poor decision-making, duplication of effort, inconsistent reporting and accountability gaps”.

The solution was good planning.

But this appeared a long way off.

“The desired end state has not yet been clearly defined, including the [transition] from a national to a regional structure,” it said.

The “scope, sequence and pace” of devolution all needed defining.

Dalton said while 2022’s centralisation had caused “chaos” by distancing clinicians from decisionmaking, devolution had to be resourced and the minister would be wise to taihoa.

“I mean, it really does smack of trying to come up with what looks like some quick wins in an election year, and that’s no way to run a health system.”

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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/2026/03/17/leaked-papers-show-extreme-risk-around-health-nz-decentralisation/

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Outgoing MP Peeni Henare on being Māori, a politician, and why he’s walking away from the Labour Party

Source: Radio New Zealand

Peeni Henare stands in Matangireia at Parliament. RNZ / Lillian Hanly

Outgoing Labour MP Peeni Henare says he is ready to “see the back of this place”, as he prepares to leave both Parliament and the party who gave him an “opportunity” after 12 years.

“You can only try your best, and I believe I’ve done that,” he said in a sitdown interview with RNZ during his final week as a Labour MP, revealing the most difficult times for him were balancing “being Māori” and “being a politician”.

Henare said he had “mixed emotions” during his last days in Parliament, and said it was the “human connections” in the place that made him feel sad this week.

He had connections across the House, enjoying good relationships with members from all parties, saying that was a testament to how he conducted himself politically, “that’s always been my style”.

He also had connections with the security guards, earlier this week he thanked them for leaving kina in his fridge.

“I’ve had a lot of people from all different walks of life, inside and outside of Parliament, talking about how sad they are to see me leave politics, some even hope that I might change my mind,” he said.

Asked whether anyone in the Labour leadership had asked him to change his mind, he responded: “There’s always conversations with the Labour leadership, but my mind’s pretty made up”.

Peeni Henare is congratulated after his valedictory speech. RNZ / Lillian Hanly

The resignation

Henare’s shock resignation was announced at Waitangi, after he confirmed he was not contesting the Tāmaki Makaurau seat.

Following a messy media briefing with Labour leader Chris Hipkins, Henare announced he was calling time on his 12-year Parliamentary career, citing exhaustion and a desire to spend more time focusing on his family and future.

Hipkins, who initially refused to answer questions about the resignation, denied the announcement had been bungled, but it did not stop questions being asked about the circumstances.

At the time, New Zealand First Deputy leader Shane Jones, and a relation of Henare’s, expressed his surprise at the retirement.

He said he wanted to find out what had happened and that the “kumara vine” would inform him.

Ahead of Henare’s valedictory on Wednesday, Jones said he no longer wanted to speculate.

“That was a word said at Waitangi, and the god of wind has blown those words long way into the distance,” Jones said.

Asked if he thought Labour regretted letting Henare go, he said Henare was not the first Māori that Labour “forced out”, having left the party himself in 2014.

New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones expressed surprise when he heard of Henare’s retirement. RNZ / Mark Papalii

‘Maybe I should have been more of a Māori’ – Henare

In Henare’s maiden speech in 2014, he referred to Dr Pita Sharples of Te Pāti Māori, who had not been re-elected, saying “I have taken up the paddle of the vessel that you left behind”.

Asked about this, Henare said he believed every Māori had a bit of Te Pāti Māori in them. He described marching in the Foreshore and Seabed hīkoi in 2004, and more recently the Toitū te Tiriti hīkoi.

“I’m Māori to the core, but I make no bones about it – Labour gave me an opportunity, and one that I was fortunate to have.”

Surprising too perhaps given his family had been tied to the National Party.

“I ultimately chose Labour, and have worked hard for 12 years with them.”

He has held multiple ministerial portfolios, such as ACC, Civil Defence, Whānau Ora, Defence, Forestry, Tourism, Veterans and Youth Development, as well as various roles in opposition.

He was also the only Labour MP to be sent to the Privileges Committee as part of the haka Te Pāti Māori started in the house over the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill.

He was most proud of securing a significant boost of funding for Whānau Ora. In his valedictory speech on Wednesday, he described the establishment of the Māori Health Authority as a “crowning moment”.

Asked if he had any regrets from his time in Parliament, he referred to the Covid-19 pandemic response and questioned whether he had made the right decision at times.

“It was hurtful at that time, those decisions around burial and tikanga Māori and things like that were always quite difficult.”

Another “particularly challenging time” was Ihumātao he said, when he had to “dance on the head of a pin, if you like, as a politician and as a Māori”.

“I walked away from there thinking, maybe I should have been more of a Māori.”

On walking that fine line within the Labour party, he acknowledged it was challenging, however, the feeling of isolation or inability to express “your Māoritanga to its fullest” was a challenge for any Māori MP.

But because of the roles he had held in the past, and also the burden of his whakapapa (ancestry), it meant he would question “is Peeni the Māori today, or is he the politician?”

He did have fond memories of times when he was well supported in the Labour party and able to “progress kaupapa”, so it was a “bit of give and take”.

Peeni Henare (L), then Labour MP for Tamaki Makaurau, listens to speeches at Ihumātao in 2022. RNZ

The Māori vote

Last election, Labour lost six out of the seven Māori seats. He said there was strategising taking place to win them back.

“No doubt about it, we’ve got work to do” he said, on winning the Māori vote.

“My message is always the same for Māori in the Labour Party, don’t rebuild for the election.

“Rebuild with a view towards securing the Māori vote for the next 10 to 20 years.”

He said Willie Jackson, co-chair of the Māori caucus, did a good job of talking about Labour’s key areas of focus this year (jobs, health, homes), while also listening to what Māori wanted to see from a potential Labour government, “he’s a political animal”.

“But be under no illusion, the 2026 election is going to be a tough one.”

Asked whether the turmoil Te Pāti Māori faced last year was the reason Labour was in with a chance in the Māori seats this year, Henare said that was part of it.

He reflected on his success in 2014 being partly because the “tide was going out on Te Pāti Māori” because of their association with the National Party.

Peeni Henare stands in Matangireia at Parliament. RNZ / Lillian Hanly

‘My time was done’ – Henare

Last year, Henare lost for a second time to Te Pāti Māori in a by-election for the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate seat.

He had been honest about how bruising the loss was, and there were questions about whether he would run for the seat again.

He said there were ongoing conversations about how he was feeling and his career, and ultimately the party asked him to consider it all.

“There comes a time where you should call your time on your career and allow others to push the kaupapa forward.

“I decided my time was done.”

He described personal reasons, such as his family, for the decisions, but also that no one’s time in politics was infinite.

Hipkins was asked by RNZ on Tuesday this week whether he had any regrets that Henare was leaving. He said he was “very fond of Peeni”.

“I’m always sad to see any of my colleagues go, and I’ll be sad to see him go.”

Asked if the Labour leadership told Henare there was not a place for him, Hipkins maintained what he had said all along, that it was “Peeni’s decision”.

Chris Hipkins (R) and Peeni Henare, pictured in 2023. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

What’s next?

He had his eyes set on putting his experience, knowledge, connections and talent to work for his iwi, Ngāpuhi.

“Continuing to progress the kaupapa of my people and the wellbeing and interests of my people – that’s a calling that’s always been there for me.”

That could potentially take the form of being a negotiator for the Ngāpuhi treaty settlement, “Without being presumptuous – I think there’s an opportunity.”

On whether the Treaty Negotiation Minister had approached him, Henare said there had been nothing official, “he knows my number, when I leave this place – feel free to give me a call”.

Minister Paul Goldsmith told RNZ he would “have a chat” with Henare.

“I’ve got big challenge to find a way through to a settlement with Ngāpuhi, and I’ve got good Crown negotiators, but there may be a role somewhere in there for Peeni, he’s a real leader.”

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LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/12/outgoing-mp-peeni-henare-on-being-maori-a-politician-and-why-hes-walking-away-from-the-labour-party/

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Beneficiary numbers soar to 12-year high despite government’s reduction promise

Source: Radio New Zealand

Social development minister Louise Upston. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Beneficiary numbers have soared to a 12-year high, under a government that promised a reduction.

They were the highest both by volume and percentage of the working-age population since at least the 2013 welfare reforms.

Social development minister Louise Upston said in 2024 – less than three months after taking office – that the government was taking action to “curb the surge in welfare dependency” that ocurred under the former Labour government.

But the most recent Ministry of Social Development data revealed that was yet to take hold.

As of December last year, 427,236 people – about the population of Christchurch – were receiving a main benefit.

That was 13.2 percent of the working-age population, the highest recorded since at least 2013, when reforms replaced multiple benefits with three main benefits: Jobseeker, Sole Parent Support and Supported Living Payment.

More than half of beneficiaries – 223,512 people, or 6.9 percent of the working age population – were on the Jobseeker benefit. That was also a record.

Soon after taking power the government set a target of 50,000 fewer people on the Jobseeker benefit by 2030.

So far, there had been an 18 percent jump: from 190,000 in December 2023 to 223,500 in December last year.

The 18 to 24-year-old age group on the Jobseeker benefit had grown the most in that period, rising 32 percent.

Minister blames former Labour government

Upston said the numbers were a result of the coalition inheriting “difficult economic conditions and a tough labour market” from the former Labour government.

“Unemployment has been rising since 2021 and is always one of the last things to improve after a recession,” she said.

“We know there is more work to do to grow the economy, fix the basics and build a welfare system focused on getting more people into work.”

More than 83,500 people came off a main benefit and found work last year, she said.

The government’s initiatives to curb benefit numbers included the traffic light system which was working well to ensure jobseekers were fulfilling their obligations, she said.

In Parliament on Wednesday, Labour’s Willie Jackson grilled Upston about rising Jobseeker numbers.

Upston said Labour’s increased spending during the Covid-19 pandemic drove up inflation, leading to higher unemployment.

“That’s why the forecast has always been due to get worse before it gets better,” she said.

Labour’s social development and employment spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon needed to take responsibility.

“It’s been more than two years since National took office, their excuses are getting old and shows just how out of touch they are,” she said.

“Christopher Luxon promised to fix the cost of living. He hasn’t just failed – he’s made it worse.”

Labour’s social development and employment spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. VNP / Phil Smith

High unemployment driving benefit dependency, but set to improve – economist

The rise was largely driven by a weak labour market, said Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen said.

“There has been a larger proportional increase in Jobseeker support benefit requirements compared to all other benefits on average,” he said.

The government had options to intervene but they were not all politically or socially palatable, Olsen said.

That included clamping down access to benefits.

Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

“Which could well reduce the overall numbers, but would likely leave a number of New Zealanders out in the cold and facing very challenging circumstances at a time when we know that the number of jobs being advertised in the economy are still 25 percent lower than pre-pandemic and the unemployment rate is at a 10-year high.”

The government could also try to create jobs but that was expensive and could lead to higher inflation, said Olsen.

“The government doesn’t have a lot of spare money to all of a sudden magic up a whole bunch of jobs there in the short term without generating other economic challenges in other areas.

“So at the moment, our expectation would more be that the government will look to try and reduce the number of beneficiaries over time as the labour market improves, and we do expect that will happen over the next couple of years.”

Although unemployment was high, there had also been a 0.5 percent expansion in the number of jobs which was the largest in about two and a half years, he said.

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LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/12/beneficiary-numbers-soar-to-12-year-high-despite-governments-reduction-promise/

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NZ-AU: SFIO closes $5-M series of global distribution partnerships for premium beverages and New Zealand Manuka honey

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-NZ-AU)

NEW YORK, Dec. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Global asset management company Starfleet Innotech, Inc. (OTC: SFIO-Smokefree Innotec, Inc.) entered into a partnership last month with food ingredients supplier Annapolis Co., Ltd., granting SFIO distribution rights over a suite of products under their premium beverage solutions brand LongBeach. This is the latest in a series of agreements the asset company has signed, following a similar arrangement with SFIO’s New Zealand-based subsidiary Gorgeous Coffee Co. Altogether, these partnerships are projected to launch SFIO towards their $100 million revenue target by the end of 2022.

With this latest partnership, Thailand’s leading premium ingredients supplier for beverages and bakeries, Annapolis Co., Ltd. will see its LongBeach brand premium purees, syrups, sauces, powders, and teas sold across SFIO’s sprawling food service network in Australia and New Zealand.

According to the latest data from Statista, despite the ongoing pandemic, Australia and New Zealand’s cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services together present a roughly $36 billion market, which is expected to grow steadily over the next few years. Beginning January 2022, SFIO will be the sole distributor of LongBeach products across these two markets’ thriving food service industries. The company expects this deal alone to bring in up to $5 million in additional revenue for SFIO’s food and beverage division.

Earlier this year, SFIO established a global expansion roadmap for their fully-owned subsidiary Gorgeous Coffee Co. that would see New Zealand Manuka honey and a premium health brand of 5-in-1 Instant Coffee reaching US shelves as early as next year.

New Zealand’s Manuka honey, considered the best in the world, is a highly valued, energy-boosting superfood boasting a distinct earthy flavor and health benefits such as antioxidants, probiotics, and antibacterial support. The honey is graded according to a global potency scale called the Unique Manuka Factor, or UMF. Coming January 2022, SFIO will be distributing Manuka honey variants including UMF 5+, UMF 10+, UMF 15+, and UMF 20+.

Revenues from this arrangement are expected to reach $1 million by the end of 2022. Samples of the Manuka honey products have already been shipped to the United States and parts of the United Arab Emirates, with SFIO currently working on sending more to other countries across Asia.

Similarly, Gorgeous Coffee Co.’s 5-in-1 Instant Coffee will be exported across the United States, Australia, and Asia, including the United Arab Emirates. The product is a healthful mix of premium Arabica coffee, Manuka honey, barley grass, non-dairy MCT creamer, and Stevia. In addition to the benefits of Manuka honey, the instant coffee mix claims to aid in digestion, reduce inflammation, and boost immunity thanks to its barley components. Followers of the popular keto diet will also appreciate the instant coffee’s MCT creamer, an easy-to-digest alternative to traditional dairy.

The instant coffee product is expected to bring in at least $2 million in additional revenue for SFIO. Samples have already been sent to potential partners in the United States.

These partnerships play into the asset management company’s long-term ecosystem strategy, which prioritizes high-value synergies across its growing portfolio of companies. Leveraging the expanding footprint of its food and beverage businesses, including flagship franchise business Epiphany Cafe, these products will be rapidly stocking shelves across the globe as early as the first quarter of next year.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Craymond Yeong, PR & Marketing Specialist
Epiphany Café
Phone: (+64) 21 0833 2966
Email: info@sfio.co.nz

About Starfleet Innotech, Inc.
Starfleet Innotech, Inc. (OTC: SFIO-Smokefree Innotec, Inc.) is an asset management company focused on innovation through disruptive collaborations across its three key industries: Food and Beverage (F&B), Real Estate, and Technology. With a strong presence across New Zealand, Australia, and the Philippines, as well as a roadmap for further global expansion, SFIO makes strategic investments in high-growth businesses, building synergies across its diverse portfolio to provide maximum shareholder value. Guided by tradition, driven by innovation, and enabled by collaboration — SFIO is on a hyper-growth path to build a thriving business ecosystem, with plans to uplist onto a major stock exchange in the near future.

About Annapolis Co., Ltd.
Annapolis Company Limited and Food Gravity Company Limited (Annapolis Co., Ltd.) is Thailand’s leading premium ingredients supplier for beverages and bakeries. With two in-house brands, LongBeach Syrup and KAWAMI Premium Tea, their products can be found across major East and Southeast Asian markets.

– Published by The MIL Network

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/11/nz-au-sfio-closes-5-m-series-of-global-distribution-partnerships-for-premium-beverages-and-new-zealand-manuka-honey/

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COVID-19 Inquiry released

Source: New Zealand Government

The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 has been released today, delivering an independent account of the pandemic response and its lasting impact on New Zealanders, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

“New Zealanders lived through one of the most significant global public health and economic events. They made real sacrifices, and this report is an important step in understanding the impact of the decisions that were made and how we can learn from them,” Mr Brown says.

Key findings from the Royal Commission include:

  • Restrictions were initially balanced, then went too far: COVID-19 restrictions were initially balanced and appropriate but extended beyond what public health advice recommended as the response continued.
  • Economic warnings were not heeded: Treasury advised from the outset that pandemic spending should be timely, temporary, and targeted. The $60 billion COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund spanned 821 programmes, around half of which were unrelated to the pandemic. The Commission found that many investments, including shovel-ready projects, did not meet those tests. The spending that followed drove up house prices and the cost of living for New Zealanders.
  • Public debt has left New Zealand exposed: The Royal Commission has made it clear that the debt accumulated during the pandemic has left New Zealand with less flexibility to respond to future economic shocks, and that prudent fiscal management is required to rebuild those economic buffers.
  • Opportunities to do better were missed: Many opportunities to improve economic decision-making were missed throughout the response, with high-level data failing to capture what was happening on the ground for ordinary New Zealanders.
  • Auckland’s lockdown went longer than advice recommended: Auckland was kept in lockdown and separated from the rest of the country for longer than what officials advised was necessary. A former Minister has since acknowledged that the public health benefits of lockdowns did not emphatically outweigh the costs by the end of 2021, despite Auckland and parts of Northland and Waikato being kept in lockdown.
  • Vaccine mandate advice for under-18s was not made sufficiently clear: Former Ministers were informed of advice against applying a two-dose vaccine mandates to 12-17 year olds due to myocarditis risks. The two-dose vaccine mandate remained, which did not align with this advice.

“New Zealanders supported the initial 2020 response. Communities came together and made sacrifices, and it protected New Zealanders’ lives. But the Commission has also found that restrictions continued longer than public health advice recommended, and that the economic costs were not given sufficient weight alongside the health response.

“New Zealanders remember what that period felt like – not being able to visit loved ones in hospital, struggling to get home from overseas, and keeping children home from school for months.

“Aucklanders experienced this more than most, spending more than six months in lockdown, the longest lockdown of any region in the country, separated from family and missing some of life’s most important moments.

“The report also found that the cost of living pressures New Zealanders are still feeling today – and the ongoing lack of social cohesion for some – are part of that story.

“New Zealanders made enormous sacrifices and placed enormous trust in their government. We owe it to them to understand what happened and learn from it.”

The Government is carefully reviewing the Commission’s findings and expects to outline its response to the recommendations by July, ensuring any future decisions balance the health and economic needs of all New Zealanders.

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/10/covid-19-inquiry-released/

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2026 Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award Nomination opens until April 30

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 5 March 2026 – Organized by the Hong Kong Women Professionals & Entrepreneurs Association (HKWPEA), the latest “Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award” (OWA) opens for nomination.

HKWPEA members, 2026 Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award Organising Committee members and past awardees

The first OWA dates back to 1999, 3 years after HKWPEA was inaugurated, and has been running at a few years’ interval since. The 2026 OWA is the 9th to be organized to recognize outstanding Hong Kong women professionals and entrepreneurs, to celebrate excellence, spotlight role models and to showcase the continuous contribution made by women in the current age and New Economy.

The press conference was hosted by HKWPEA represented by office bearers including Ms. Julianne Doe, President; Partner of Hui Doe & Sum Law Firm LLP; Ms. Jennifer Tan, Chairperson, Organizing Committee of 2026 OWA; Senior Advisor of Ant Digital Technologies – International Business and Partner of 01F Group; Ms. Marina Wong, JP, Chartered President; Ms. Helen Kan, Immediate Past President, HKWPEA; Ms. Sandra Mak, Director, Ms. Angel Hon, Director, and Ms. Agnes Koon, Director, HKWPEA.

Ms. Jennifer Tan, Chairperson, Organizing Committee of 2026 OWA, said: “Coming out of the challenging pandemic years, we found ourselves faced with global economic uncertainties and severe geopolitical issues calling for strong leadership and audacity to innovate and advance. Against this backdrop, we find it even more meaningful to celebrate outstanding women professionals and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong and thank them for their tireless contributions to society. Their accomplishments are leading lights for the younger generation. By highlighting their success, we encourage future leaders to chase their dreams and pursue sustainable initiatives to benefit communities and mankind.”

Nomination for the 2026 OWA recognising achievements in professions and business categories begins today until April 30, 2026. Six awardees will be selected by an eminent judging panel. The nomination form can be downloaded from HKWPEA website: https://www.hkwpea.org/

47 outstanding women have been selected in the past 8 OWA events. A few past OWA awardees were present at the press conference for a brief fire-side chat at the media conference. They are Dr. Eliza Yi Wah HO FOK, Winner, 2021 OWA, Chairman of the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation; Prof. Helen MENG, Winner, 2017 OWA, Patrick Huen Wing Ming Professor of Systems Engineering & Engineering Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Dr. Rebecca LEE, Winner, 1999 OWA, Founder of Polar Museum Foundation. While sharing their key to success, they also encourage women from different fields to come forward and join the award scheme.

Ms. Marina Wong, Founding President of HKWPEA, announced the 2026 OWA Judging Panel composition:

  • Mr. Benjamin HUNG Pi Cheng, BBS, JP, President, International for Standard Chartered (Head Judge)
  • Ms. Agnes CHAN Sui Kuen, BBS, Chairman, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
  • Ms. Teresa KO Yuk Yin, BBS, JP, Former Senior Partner, Hong Kong and China Chairman, Freshfields
  • Hon. Jeffrey LAM Kin Fung, GBM, GBS, JP, Member of the Executive Council
  • Professor Charles NG Wang Wai, PhD, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  • Dr. Rosanna WONG Yick Ming, DBE, JP, Senior Advisor, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

Independent Advisor:

Professor Andrew CHAN Chi-fai, SBS, JP, Emeritus Professor, Department of Marketing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School

Since the inception in 1999, the award has achieved recognition in selecting women who provide outstanding examples to business leaders, peers and youth alike, in their high standard of integrity and ethical values. HKWPEA was established in 1996 as a non-profit organization by a group of local women professionals and entrepreneurs. They have come together to develop a strong support network, to create practical and innovative learning and business opportunities for themselves and for others, to promote high professional standards, and to respond to consultations of the HKSAR Government on various policy issues.

HKWPEA website: https://www.hkwpea.org/

Special thanks to Hong Kong Economic Times, our Media Partner

Hashtag: #HKWPEA

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

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

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/05/2026-outstanding-women-professionals-and-entrepreneurs-award-nomination-opens-until-april-30/