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Source: Radio New Zealand

Some households are facing new, higher water bills in the coming financial year as a shake-up to water services gets underway.

Councils are investing nearly $48 billion dollars over the next decade in an effort to upgrade old, failing infrastructure under the Local Water Done Well model.

New water entities in Waikato, Wellington and the Selwyn District are among the first to establish entities under the new system.

Water services, charges for ‘rapid’ growth in Waikato

Water charges were set to jump by $174 in Hamilton and Waikato district this coming financial year, and residents would pay a separate water charge to the new organisation from July.

But both areas had projected significant increases in charges beyond that, with Hamilton City Council forecasting bills would increase by 28 percent and Waikato District Council by 14 percent over the next decade.

Iawai is the region’s new water entity, which will deliver drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services from 1 July.

Its chief executive Peter Winder said the organisation had a major challenge in both renewing degrading water assets, and investing in infrastructure for the growing region.

The population of both Hamilton and Waikato district was set to increase by about 50,000 people in the next 10 years, Winder said.

“That is quite rapid – and will require significant investment in treatment plant capacity for both water and wastewater across the district.”

The organisation was proposing an extra growth charge on drinking water and wastewater supply for new builds of $500 in total – $200 per year for 25 years for drinking water, and $300 per year for 25 years for wastewater.

Winder said significant business investment in north Waikato could not proceed until water infrastructure in the area caught up.

Winder said years of under-investment in water treatment plants and pipes could no longer be ignored.

“Addressing that problem will require price increases, so there’s a squeeze coming across the whole of the country.”

‘Balancing act’: New water boss in the capital weighs failing assets with affordability

In Wellington, raw sewage was still being spewed into Cook Strait every day, about two and a half months’ on from the Moa Point disaster.

New Tiaki Wai chief executive Michael Brewster said weighing much-needed investment with affordability concerns was a tight “balancing act”.

He said it would take at least 10 years for renewals and upgrades to start working – when the city would see fewer leaks, pipe bursts and sewage spills.

“[It’s getting to the point where] You’re actually consistently investing enough so you’re maintaining the network, so you don’t have this issue we have right now which is, do we push it all down the road and wait for the next generation to pay, it’ll just get worse, how much can we afford to do now?”

Tiaki Wai had recently forecast bills increasing by about 14 percent for this coming financial year, and reaching about $6800 per year by 2036 for some households.

The Commerce Commission said it was scrutinising the entity’s financial model.

Brewster said improvements were possible, but when asked whether they could be done in an affordable way, he answered: “It depends on how to define affordable, affordable is in the eyes of the customers at the end of the day, so difficult for me to say what’s affordable being a new person. It’s certainly achievable if the money’s there, if the funds are there.”

Brewster said he led Tasmania through major drinking water problems from 2013 – under a large amalgamation of 29 council services into TasWater.

“At our peak I think we had 29 towns in Tasmania that couldn’t drink the water … either had to boil it or couldn’t drink it. So we addressed all of those over a two and a half year period.”

He had visited the main water treatment plants in the Wellington region, including Seaview and Porirua, which also faced significant issues and needed close attention.

Years of experience had shown him that people deeply cared about water services – when they did not work.

“Most of the time customers don’t sit out there and think about the water business – they’re usually ambivalent to the whole thing, but when you don’t get it right, immediate outrage.

“So understanding what those outrage points are and understanding your job as a water business is to be responsive, be there when they need them, to show them there’s a way forward and improvement journey.”

Bills set to increase 18 percent in Selwyn

In Selwyn, water bills were proposed to increase by 18 percent in the coming financial year as the new council-controlled organisation, Selwyn Water, took over.

For households receiving both drinking water and wastewater services, the expected annual increase was $280.

Mayor Lydia Gliddon said the 18 percent rise was a decrease on the 24 percent initially projected.

She said the council had strict expectations around affordability.

“Affordability is front of mind for us. It is front of mind in our statement of expectation to Selwyn Water. And we’re expecting them to be finding as much efficiency as they can so services remain affordable for our people.”

Gliddon said Selwyn was a growth district and investment would be high, and the “pain” would be ensuring “growth paid for growth”.

Selwyn Water chief executive Alex Cabrera said the company would release its full Water Services Strategy in May – and be consulting with the community then.

The immediate priority was ensuring water services were safe and reliable, Cabrera said.

“At the same time, we are building the foundations of a modern water utility and investing in infrastructure to support Selwyn’s growth, renew ageing assets, and strengthen resilience to future challenges such as climate change.”

Commerce Commission setting up water ‘league table’

Under Local Water Done Well, all councils must implement their water plans.

Legislation required councils to implement their Water Services Delivery Plans – including new service delivery arrangements, by 2028.

The Commerce Commission was regulating water organisations under the Local Water Done model, chair John Small said.

It was requiring new water companies to publicly report each year including on water costs, charges, and how well they responded to faults.

“It’ll be a bit like a league table in the sense that everyone will be able to look at this and say ‘how’s my company doing relative to others? Are they hopelessly inadequate, or are they one of the leaders of the pack.’”

He said the commission may have the ability to intervene in pricing, but that needed approval from government.

Small said the commission could only look at whether a company was over-charging relative to its costs, not whether bills were unaffordable.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The last remaining members of the government’s advisory group on retail crime have defended the unit’s work after Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith confirmed Tuesday it would wind up months earlier than planned.

Himanshu Parmar is the only remaining member of the Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime alongside chair Sunny Kaushal.

Parmar has spoken publicly for the first time since the resignations of Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young, Foodstuffs North Island senior manager Lindsay Rowles and Michael Hill national retail manager Michael Bell prompted Goldsmith to confirm the group would end its work in May, despite originally being set up for a two-year term through September.

On Wednesday, Goldsmith told Morning Report the group was created to provide ideas for the government to push back on crime, considering it to be a success as it had done what it was set up to do.

“Three out of the five [members] left for a variety of reasons over the summer, and I sort of had a choice about trying to reappoint three and keep it going for six months or make the pragmatic decision to wrap it up slightly early,” he said.

Goldsmith told Morning Report the group had three months to finish its work.

“I think that [Kaushal] has been very focused on delivering policy documents, which we were appointed for, and that’s what the focus should remain on, not people’s personal relationships with each other,” Parmar said, referring to reports of tension within the group.

Parmar is also a member of the Dairy and Business Owners Group that Kaushal had previously chaired.

Young had earlier told RNZ her relationship with Kaushal had become untenable, saying he was not the right person to chair the group, which had an “unpleasant environment”.

However, Parmar defended the resignations, saying he had been told that some members left due to employment choices.

“What has been explained to me is two of the members left because they’ve been promoted within their business or have got new jobs,” he said. “They’ve had to move on with their lives.”

Earlier this year, Goldsmith also defended the resignations.

He told RNZ that two of the resigning members were promoted into other positions, while one left, and this wasn’t the “crisis of the century”.

Kaushal also previously told RNZ the resignations reflected normal leadership movement in an organisation.

The advisory group has also faced criticism over its spending, which became a flashpoint following the resignations.

The group has been questioned over the cost of catered meetings held around the country and its inner-city Auckland office space, rented for $120,000 a year.

It has also faced questions about value for money after it was revealed Kaushal invoiced more than $230,000 for work in its first 12 months.

Speaking on Wednesday, Kaushal also defended the group’s work, saying it operated within its $1.8 million annual budget, which was funded through the proceeds of crime fund.

“I’m not bothered by criticism,” he said. “My focus is on the difficult goal, which is fixing retail crime and making sure no one feels unsafe at work.

“We are funded by the money seized from the criminals and gangs, and we are spending their money to fix a problem [that] has been there for a long time.”

He said the group was operating well within its budget and was overseen by the Ministry of Justice finance team.

Kaushal also said that he is not shaken by criticism from the members within the group and is focused on delivering outcomes for the victims.

“I have no idea of her [Young’s] motivation,” he said.

“It’s well known that we had different views on some of the group’s recommendations … she’s representing the big retailers and I’m speaking on behalf of small to medium-sized enterprises across the country hit by retail crime.

“I have always appreciated her perspective.”

Parmar told RNZ the group’s spending was relatively small compared to the amount retailers had spent on security measures such as fog cannons and bollards during the previous government’s term.

“[Regarding] what money is being spent, I have no control in my capacity as a member of that group, just like the rest of the members, on how and where the money gets spent,” he said.

He said the Ministry of Justice had monitored the spending, and he was confident the minister was satisfied with how the money was being used.

Kaushal said the group had delivered five reports to the government, and those were eventually going to represent major reforms in the Crimes Act.

“This is going to create tougher consequences for criminals,” he said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Organisations representing small businesses have expressed concern about the early termination of the ministerial advisory group on retail crime announced by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith on Tuesday.

Created in September 2024 for a period of two years, the group has faced criticism from the Labour Party on spending.

Three out of the original five members have resigned in recent months, with Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young publicly questioning the leadership of chair Sunny Kaushal as she departed.

Goldsmith, who had earlier defended Kaushal’s leadership and the advisory group’s work, confirmed Tuesday the entity would wind up in May.

News of this development sparked concern among retailers that the advisory group wouldn’t have time to make any recommendations on ways to reduce youth crime before it disbanded.

After police arrested a 14-year-old on suspicion of stabbing a dairy owner in Christchurch in December, Kaushal told RNZ his team would start work on youth offences soon.

“We have delivered five reports so far to government proposing law changes – from shoplifting, to trespass, to citizens’ arrest and move-on orders,” Kaushal said, indicating the group’s next priority was youth offences.

“I can’t comment on specific measures at this time, but I am personally concerned about how we deal with parents who have created an environment that contributes to their children offending,” he said in December.

In a subsequent interview with the New Zealand Herald on Tuesday, Goldsmith didn’t suggest that youth crime was a priority.

“It’s been very successful in getting all the work done, and they’ve got a couple of issues that they’re going to wrap up before they finish, which is one on facial recognition and the other one on the security industry,” he said.

Goldsmith clarified that remark on Friday, saying the government was “particularly interested in advice around facial recognition and the security industry”.

“However, any additional advice the [ministerial advisory group] wishes to provide before it concludes its work is always welcome,” he said.

Nevertheless, retailers expressed concern that the group’s work on youth offences would be left unfinished.

Jaspreet Singh Kandhari, general secretary of the New Zealand Indian Business Association, said his organisation had made a submission to the group with suggestions to tackle violent youth crime.

“The disbanding of the ministerial advisory group following some members’ resignations raises concerns about the future direction of key elements within the framework under review,” Kandhari said.

“In particular, the proposed reforms relating to youth offending are crucial and provide a significant opportunity to enhance deterrence and community safety.

“We urge the justice minister to ensure the substantial work and progress already made are not lost, and meaningful steps are taken within the next three months, before the end of the electoral term, to advance youth offending law reforms.”

Dairy and Business Owners Group chairperson Ankit Bansal, the National Party’s Palmerston North candidate at this year’s general election, also called for “meaningful action” on youth crime.

“Retailers are expecting meaningful recommendations to address youth crime as we know that the young people are used by organised criminals to commit crimes on their behalf,” Bansal said.

“I am sure the advisory group is already working on and will be using the rest of their time to come up with potential solutions in this space of tackling violent youth crime in the retail sector.”

Jagjeet Singh Sidhu, secretary of community business organisation Little India, said the advisory group’s termination meant issues such as youth crime and youth education would be left unresolved.

“[That’s why] our organisation is not happy with the government shutting down the advisory group before it could complete its work, especially in the violent youth crime space,” Sidhu said.

“We had specifically put in our submission to amend the Sentencing Act 2002, Crime Justice Act 1985 and Oranga Tamaki Act 1989 to allow for the arrest, detention in remand custody and punishment of young offenders under the age of 16.”

Sidhu said the Indian community would like to see recommendations on the above before the advisory group was wound up in May.

Mark Scherer, general manager of the Sandringham Business Association, criticised the work done by the advisory group.

“We do not agree with many of the recommendations and have been dissatisfied with the overall deliverables from the advisory group,” Scherer said.

“We will be writing to them to express our concerns over this process and concrete steps going forward.”

Himanshu Parmar, who alongside Kaushal is one of the remaining members on the advisory group, said the pair would continue to work on youth crime through to the group’s termination and had sent a consultation document to retailers before Christmas.

He said many large and small retailers had already made submissions and the group was now waiting for its policy team to prepare an information pack for members to review and comment on.

Parmar said youth crime remained one of the most pressing issues that were typically raised by retailers.

“You ask any retailer, big or small,” he said. “They’ll tell you how a very small number of youth offenders are terrorising everyone. They’re seeing the same small cohorts committing repeated crime. If we don’t come up with good lawmaking in this space, it’s just going to keep repeating itself.”

When asked whether the advisory group would make submissions to the government on youth crime before its term ended in May, Parmar said the decision rested with the chair and ministers.

“I’m just a moving part of the group,” he said. “It’s up to the chair and the ministers to make sure it gets submitted and picked up.

“Anything we submit now can’t immediately become law. It’s a big process. There’s already stuff in front of select committees, including work we submitted earlier on trespass laws and shoplifting fines,” he said.

“But it’s my sincere hope that any policy work regarding youth crime is picked up by the current government and future governments, because it’s too important to ignore.”

Kaushal also said the group’s focus would shift to youth crime.

“We know youth crime is a priority for retailers, and we are working with ministers to complete our work programme before we wrap up in May,” he said.

“We would be happy to submit our report before May, as we are working closely with the minister.”

Kaushal dismissed criticism from some quarters that the advisory group had failed to deliver satisfactory results.

“I am very proud of the progress achieved and quality of the policy work produced,” he said.

“We have delivered faster than expected in terms of five high-quality reports [that] are major reform packages.

“These are strong, practical, evidence-based reports backing the government’s focus on law and order, and a zero-tolerance approach to retail crime.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Finance Minister has joined international counterparts in calling for a return to free and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Nicola Willis is currently in Washington DC for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, along with other finance ministers.

The finance ministers of United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Poland, and New Zealand have released a joint statement calling for a “swift and lasting” negotiated solution to the conflict.

Despite ongoing negotiations over ending the war, the United States has blockaded the Strait, completely halting economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea.

The ministers called for free and safe transit that mitigated impacts on growth, energy prices, and living standards, for the poorest and most vulnerable in particular.

“Renewed hostilities, a widening of the conflict or continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz would pose serious additional risks to global energy security, supply chains, and economic and financial stability. Even with a durable resolution of the conflict, impacts on growth, inflation and markets will persist,” their statement said.

Ministers also welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire, and called on all parties to implement it in full.

“The past weeks have brought unacceptable loss of life and significant disruption to the global economy and financial markets, and the ceasefire will be crucial to protecting civilian populations and the security of the region,” the ministers said.

They acknowledged that their balance sheets were restrained, and committed to “fiscally responsible and targeted” domestic responses.

The New Zealand government has repeatedly said that any support would be “timely, targeted, and temporary,” with the prime minister last week reluctant to say whether that support would be expanded.

Willis and her counterparts also reaffirmed their commitment to open and rules-based trade on energy products.

“We commit to avoiding, and call on all countries to avoid, protectionist actions, including unjustified export controls, stockpiling and other trade barriers in hydrocarbon and other supply chains affected by the crisis. We commit to promoting cooperation and integration to support regional and global stability,” they said.

“We will also continue reforms that strengthen resilience and accelerate long-term energy diversification, including through the clean energy transition and improved energy efficiency. We welcome any steps countries may take to achieve these objectives.”

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

Source: Media Outreach

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 16 April 2026 – Paymentology, the leading global issuer-processor, today announced its official entry into the Australian market, marking a significant milestone in its global expansion strategy.

With a proven track record of enabling banks, fintechs, and digital disruptors worldwide, Paymentology is bringing its advanced, cloud-native processing platform to support Australia’s rapidly evolving payments ecosystem.At the heart of Paymentology’s Australian launch is its local processing infrastructure, enabling seamless connectivity to domestic payment rails, real-time payment systems such as the New Payments Platform, and global card schemes. Paymentology is also working with Cuscal to support connectivity to Bank@Post (Australia Post’s banking service) and EFTPOS, further strengthening its local infrastructure and supporting domestic transactions in Australia. This integration enables access to banking services via the Australia Post network, helping clients deliver more accessible and convenient payment experiences while supporting ongoing innovation in the market.

Australia’s payments market is evolving rapidly, driven by digital adoption, embedded finance, and a new generation of fintechs and neobanks. With cash now making up less than 13% of retail transactions and mobile wallets accounting for around 45% of in-person payments, the market is well positioned for continued innovation and growth.

That momentum is also helping expand access to financial services. Across Australia and the wider region, fintechs and digital banks are increasingly serving SMEs, younger consumers, and other underserved segments. Paymentology enables them to build inclusive, accessible products that broaden financial participation.

Minh Ha Truong, Head of Growth APAC at Paymentology: “Australia is one of the most dynamic payments markets in the world, and a new generation of fintechs and embedded finance providers is redefining what customers expect from financial services. To succeed in that environment, they need infrastructure that won’t slow innovation down or limit growth. By combining global scale with local expertise, we’re helping businesses in Australia build, launch and scale with greater speed, flexibility and confidence.”

Paymentology’s expansion is further strengthened through its partnership with Constantinople, a modern banking platform designed to simplify the complexity of building and operating financial services. Together, the companies are enabling banks and fintechs to launch and scale card programmes with greater speed, flexibility, and operational efficiency, accelerating time-to-market while reducing the burden of legacy infrastructure.

Launching a payment product, however, is only the starting point. Paymentology is designed to sustain momentum beyond go-live, supporting clients as they scale, optimise, and expand into new markets. As a cloud-native issuer processor, it combines global reach with deep local expertise to help banks and fintechs build card programmes that perform consistently across geographies and deliver long-term, compounding value.

Hashtag: #Paymentology #Fintech

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

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Cabinet minister Shane Jones is putting pressure on fuel companies to share more information about their shipments, warning that the government could force them to do so via regulation if necessary.

The country’s fuel stocks have dropped in the past two updates, but officials said there was no need for alarm. The Taxpayers’ Union, however, called for more frequent updates and more comprehensive data.

Jones – who is associate energy minister – told RNZ the government relied on the oil companies to regularly provide high quality information and had the ability to regulate if that was not forthcoming.

“I’ve no doubt early next week, we will address this issue and update whether or not there’s further information that they can provide and any reluctance to provide it… we’ll move forward with alacrity.”

Officials would report on whether extra powers were needed to secure that information, Jones said.

“We have not been told to date that is absolutely necessary, but this is fair warning.”

The tone was much more strident than that of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon who told reporters on Wednesday that the government had had “very good engagement” with fuel importers from day one.

“They are sharing a lot of commercially sensitive information to us that’s giving us very good visibility over the picture,” Luxon said.

RNZ has sought a response from Z Energy, BP and Mobil. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has also been approached for comment.

Coping with ‘fuel fiasco’

Jones said his “zest” for more information was driven by rising levels of uncertainty in the business community.

He acknowledged the fuel companies were dealing with massive logistical changes and operating in a competitive market, but he said the fuel crisis trumped any “minor confidentiality matters”.

“The fuel companies are nervous that their confidentiality of what they’ve got on the water, the names of the ships, the quantities, may be compromised, but we’re in the midst of a fuel fiasco,” he said.

“The fuel companies have line of sight, and we want to get as much certainty as possible.”

Speaking to RNZ from Washington DC, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she was satisfied with the quality and frequency of information fuel companies were currently providing.

But she said the government stood “ready to regulate” if it became concerned that data was not being provided in a “timely and uniform way”.

“We’re asking for more information than they normally provide. They haven’t always been as fast in providing it as we would see in an ideal world. But there does appear to be goodwill and an understanding about why we need it. If they weren’t to provide it, then we would require them to, by law.”

Willis said the fuel importing companies had begun sharing “more granular data” about fuel consumption which would be critical if the country shifted up a level in the National Fuel Plan.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Businesses in a South Auckland suburb say they are sick of 18-wheeler commercial trucks blocking their access paths, doing roadside repairs and leaving oil on the streets.

They often park on berms, blind corners and block driveways.

Janine Allen from local business Mfi Engineering said she has had a gutsful.

“They’re all the way along and they’re truck and trailers. They’re obviously cartage companies and they’re not having to pay for any fees for parking.

“We’ve taken so many photos of them doing work on their trucks, they’ll have vans there and they’re doing welding on the side of the road, they’re up on the footpath.”

Allen said during the day the roadsides are like open-air mechanic workshops.

When it rains, she said engine oil and coolant left on the road is flushed down into the gutters.

“We have a very high environmental threshold in our yard and yet, these guys are able to do that out on the road and put it down through into the waterways.

“We have to pay thousands of dollars, we get inspected, we have to do all this to keep on the right side of the law and these guys are out there on the roadside just dumping it.”

Down the road, Ron Salter from Salters Cartage Limited said the trucks parking on the roadside is a safety risk for his business.

“Because of our big units, our 60-tonne units, we can’t physically get out without jack-knifing the truck, because they park on both sides of the road and just block us in.”

Ron Salter said it’s been going on for at least five years and so far, his drivers have already had a few close calls.

“Because we cart petrol, diesel and oil, that’s what we’re frightened of someone hitting the side of our trucks, taking our valves out and causing a massive spill.

“We can’t control it; it will go straight into the Manukau Harbour and could end up by the airport.”

No enforcement of rules

Auckland Council brought in the Vehicle Use and Parking Bylaw in July last year to help manage the parking of vehicles if they’re causing obstruction, safety risks and damage to the environment.

But Gary Holmes from the Wiri Business Association said there’s no enforcement of rules by Auckland Transport.

Instead, the businesses association’s been self-funding patrols, and they’ve recorded 7000 heavy truck incidents.

Holmes said some trucks have been causing problems for seven to eight months, but they’re able to do it because of what he sees as shortcomings with the bylaw.

“The frustrating part is that they are technically parked legally.”

The business association outlined its concerns to Parliament’s regulation review committee last month.

“[We] argued the fact that there’s a gap in the legislation because it’s causing issues.”

Another issue is when the trucks park overnight, they often don’t have legally required red-rear-lights causing a crash hazard.

The fine is $255, but Holmes said tickets have only been issued because his patrols are reporting offending trucks to AT.

“Often there could be 15 to 20 trucks each night.”

Calls for amendments to bylaw

The Wiri Business Association’s submission to Parliament’s regulation review committee asks Auckland Transport and Auckland Council to pass mandatory restrictions.

They want amendments to the bylaw and to the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004 so there’s stronger legislation that enforces parking and environmental rules in all industrial zones.

Auckland Transport told Checkpoint there has been an increase in the number of heavy trucks parked in Manurewa, Otara, Takanini, Manukau, Wiri, Papatoetoe and Papakura.

Since the bylaw came in last July, AT has issued 1572 fines for trucks parked without a rear facing light, including 281 fines in Wiri, where the business association is patrolling,

AT’s parking services manager John Strawbridge said it’s not an offence to park in an unrestricted road if a vehicle has a valid Certificate of Fitness and registration.

Fines are issued in cases where they’re illegally parked.

He said when AT acts on a complaint they find that in 90 percent of cases the truck has moved or is legally parked when officers arrive.

Strawbridge said that trucks aren’t allowed to do roadside repairs or work that damages the road, or creates an obstacle, nuisance, disruption or safety risk.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Transport has consulted on a set of proposals including one to clarify signage requirements in the rules for councils to enforce berm parking.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Business New Zealand is making what it says is a rare plea for business supports – in the form of below-market rate loans to help businesses shift away from gas.

The pitch comes on the back of a report by the group’s Energy Council, which has found up to 8 percent of GDP and about 264,000 jobs directly rely on businesses using gas, expanding out to up to $36 billion in GDP and up to 400,000 jobs indirectly.

The group’s director of advocacy Catherine Beard told RNZ that because gas fields had declined faster than expected, gas costs were going up.

“The reason it’s getting expensive is because there’s not enough of it. So if we actually free up a bit for those that you know can’t move for maybe 10 years, then we think the transition will go a lot better.

“It’s all sorts. It’s dairy, meat, food and beverage, product manufacturing, wood product manufacturing, textile, leather, clothing, footwear, cropping agriculture, but it’s also small businesses, from bakeries to breweries to dry cleaners, hot houses.

“It’s more of a central North Island problem because the South Island tends to be on bottled gas, and they’re not having the same cost increase. But, yeah, it’s right through the whole economy.”

The situation was created by the political decision to ban oil and gas while moving towards net zero, she said.

“The oil and gas ban certainly didn’t give anyone confidence to go out looking for more gas – so … a whole lot of businesses that are facing increased costs for gas which are pretty much threatening their survival.

“It’s not something that Business NZ would normally advocate for, you know – we’re not into calling for subsidies, but … we feel like this is a politically created problem and it’s not a normal market situation that you would kind of cut off access to a lower cost energy source before you had to.”

She said businesses faced a cost barrier in switching from gas to other energy sources, so interest-free or concessionary loans from the government could help.

“We need to have some sort of plan. Other countries do this, it’s very common. We seem to have just ended up in a very high cost energy situation, and it’s not really sustainable.

The $200 million the government set aside for co-investment in oil and gas exploration was unlikely to be used, she said, and could help fund the loans.

“We talked to the oil and gas companies as well and if there’s a case for them to invest, it normally stacks up on its own. And I’m not sure that it has removed the sovereign risk when you still have the opposition saying that they would continue with a ban of oil and gas if they get back in.

“That’s potentially money that is going to be sitting on the table and not used. So we would like them to do a pretty good, thorough investigation of what support is needed on the demand side.

“If I had a political legacy, I wouldn’t be happy to have have boosted energy supply and forgotten about the demand side – and there’s no point in having this energy in the future if there’s no one left to use it.”

RNZ has sought comment from Energy Minister Simeon Brown.

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

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Indian government has formally raised concerns with New Zealand authorities after Sikh religious processions in Tauranga and South Auckland have been disrupted by protesters linked to Destiny Church.

Two Nagar Kirtan processions – a Sikh religious tradition involving public processions with the singing of holy hymns to mark significant occasions such as the anniversaries of Sikh gurus – have been disrupted in recent months.

In a written reply to a question raised in India’s lower house of parliament, Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita said the matter had been taken up with the New Zealand government.

The Indian High Commission in Wellington was also in close contact with Sikh community leaders, Margherita said.

The response came after Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Punjab MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal asked for details about the incidents to be shared.

RNZ has approached the Indian High Commission for comment.

On 20 December, a procession organised by the Nanaksar Sikh Temple in the South Auckland suburb of Manurewa was interrupted by a rally organised by True Patriots.

Videos later posted by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki showed protesters approaching the Sikh group wearing shirts bearing slogans such as “Kiwis first”, “Keep NZ, NZ” and “True patriot”, alongside a large banner reading “This is New Zealand, not India”.

A separate Nagar Kirtan procession organised by Gurdwara Sikh Sangat in Tauranga was also disrupted on 11 January, despite the event having prior approval from the city council and police.

In January, Sikh leaders called for calm and dialogue following the disruptions.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that the Indian government had raised concerns about the events in Tauranga and Manurewa.

“New Zealand’s ethnic communities, including the Indian community, are a vital part of our diverse society, and we recognise and support their right to practice their religion,” the spokesperson said.

“We also recognise that New Zealanders enjoy freedom of expression, which includes the right to protest lawfully and peacefully.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Business New Zealand is making what it says is a rare plea for business supports – in the form of below-market rate loans to help businesses shift away from gas.

The pitch comes on the back of a report by the group’s Energy Council, which has found up to 8 percent of GDP and about 264,000 jobs directly rely on businesses using gas, expanding out to up to $36 billion in GDP and up to 400,000 jobs indirectly.

The group’s director of advocacy Catherine Beard told RNZ that because gas fields had declined faster than expected, gas costs were going up.

“The reason it’s getting expensive is because there’s not enough of it. So if we actually free up a bit for those that you know can’t move for maybe 10 years, then we think the transition will go a lot better.

“It’s all sorts. It’s dairy, meat, food and beverage, product manufacturing, wood product manufacturing, textile, leather, clothing, footwear, cropping agriculture, but it’s also small businesses, from bakeries to breweries to dry cleaners, hot houses.

“It’s more of a central North Island problem because the South Island tends to be on bottled gas, and they’re not having the same cost increase. But, yeah, it’s right through the whole economy.”

The situation was created by the political decision to ban oil and gas while moving towards net zero, she said.

“The oil and gas ban certainly didn’t give anyone confidence to go out looking for more gas – so … a whole lot of businesses that are facing increased costs for gas which are pretty much threatening their survival.

“It’s not something that Business NZ would normally advocate for, you know – we’re not into calling for subsidies, but … we feel like this is a politically created problem and it’s not a normal market situation that you would kind of cut off access to a lower cost energy source before you had to.”

She said businesses faced a cost barrier in switching from gas to other energy sources, so interest-free or concessionary loans from the government could help.

“We need to have some sort of plan. Other countries do this, it’s very common. We seem to have just ended up in a very high cost energy situation, and it’s not really sustainable.

The $200 million the government set aside for co-investment in oil and gas exploration was unlikely to be used, she said, and could help fund the loans.

“We talked to the oil and gas companies as well and if there’s a case for them to invest, it normally stacks up on its own. And I’m not sure that it has removed the sovereign risk when you still have the opposition saying that they would continue with a ban of oil and gas if they get back in.

“That’s potentially money that is going to be sitting on the table and not used. So we would like them to do a pretty good, thorough investigation of what support is needed on the demand side.

“If I had a political legacy, I wouldn’t be happy to have have boosted energy supply and forgotten about the demand side – and there’s no point in having this energy in the future if there’s no one left to use it.”

RNZ has sought comment from Energy Minister Simeon Brown.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The prime minister says his government is “very interested” in rooftop solar, but has given no firm answers yet, amid calls from an energy alliance for the government to use next month’s budget to subsidise rooftop solar for households.

The Smart Energy Alliance told Nine to Noon the case for electrification has never been clearer, with the war in the Middle East, soaring fuel costs, and the shorter term case for importing liquefied natural gas now in doubt.

It was asking the government to help fund up to $6500 per solar set up and battery.

The alliance included Consumer NZ, the Green Building Council, Master Electricians, and the industry body for solar companies, SEANZ.

Asked about subsidising solar to bring down energy costs of households on Wednesday, Luxon said energy policy and energy security for his government was about having a combination of options, which he described as “and and and”.

“We’re very interested in rooftop solar, we’ve done a number of things to make it easier for people to do so, but again it’s about, we want a strategic coal reserve behind – we got 1.2 million tonnes there, because sorry we’re not going to have a dry year risk,” he said.

Asked about the calls from the Smart Energy Alliance, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said now was the time for New Zealand to be accelerating its acceleration to renewable energy.

“We’ve got an abundant supply of renewable energy in New Zealand, we should be harnessing that to lower the cost for New Zealand families. Solar is one of the things we should be increasing our emphasis on,” he said.

Asked if Labour would look at solar subsidies, Hipkins said “watch this space”.

“We will absolutely be focused on increasing installation of solar and batteries across New Zealand,” he said.

Hipkins said Labour had a policy on solar power in the last election, and would continue to have one at the upcoming election.

ACT’s energy spokesperson Simon Court said the party did not support solar subsidies.

“ACT believes that if solar stacks up, Kiwis are going to invest without handouts,” he said.

Court said they were more focused on looking at other regulatory barriers in the energy space.

“And installing the infrastructure that they need to make it work for their household and business, then we should be fixing that and looking at that through the RMA reform and local government reforms to make these things easier to do,” he said.

Meanwhile, Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick said it was a no brainer for the government to be subsidising the production of renewable energy right now, particularly when it was distributed – like rooftop solar.

Swarbrick said the Greens proposed a similar policy to what the Smart Energy Alliance was calling for in the 2023 election.

She said the case was strong then and was even stronger now.

New Zealand First has been approached for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Waitangi Tribunal has been told the draft school history curriculum is badly written and inaccurate.

It has also heard that the government should not have last year cut schools’ legal obligation to enact the Treaty of Waitangi.

The tribunal this week held an urgent inquiry into that decision and into curriculum changes following complaints by teacher union the Educational Institute and Northland iwi Ngāti Hine and hapū Te Kapotai.

They opposed last year’s surprise treaty decision and new school curriculums they said sidelined Māori knowledge and history and the Treaty.

Watson Ohia from Ngā Kura-ā-Iwi told the tribunal the 53 iwi schools had an agreement to work with the Education Ministry.

He said the curriculum changes and the Treaty law change broke that deal.

“Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the education system does not require perfection. It requires good faith. It requires the Crown to act as the partner it promised to be. To come to the table before decisions are made, not after,” he said.

Ohia said the government should stop all of its education reforms, including replacing the NCEA and rewriting the curriculum, and consult fully with Māori.

“Not a briefing, not a submission portal, a designed process. One that actually incorporates our philosophies, our frameworks, our ways of knowing into the design itself, ” he said.

“For too long the Crown has treated our knowledge, our language, our tikanga as a strand to be woven into a fabric it has already designed. Picked up when it suits, set aside when it doesn’t.”

The inquiry covered the government’s rewrite of the school curriculum to be more knowledge-focused.

History Teachers Association representative Jane Jarman told the tribunal the history curriculum was particularly bad.

She said it was full of distortion and obfuscation that would harm Māori students.

“If this curriculum is allowed to stand, Māori students who study at state schools will receive a Eurocentric education that invalidates their lived history including their status as mana whenua,” she said.

She said the curriculum was supposedly rewritten to restore balance, as per the National and ACT parties’ coalition agreement, but instead it was politicised.

“Are we restoring balance by reassuring everybody that it’s okay Pākehā did lots of really good things and we’re going to miss out lots of the bad things that they did,” she said.

“Just to give you some context for that, the section on the New Zealand Wars is seven lines. The section on the Liberal [government] era is a whole entire page. That’s not balance, that’s disproportionate.”

Jarman said the curriculum replaced the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum which was developed after a campaign by students from Otorohanga.

“This is not the curriculum that they asked for. It is not politically neutral, it is not balanced and it is certainly not world-leading,” Jarman said.

Education Ministry officials told the tribunal that despite the change to the Treaty obligation, schools still had to monitor and report on Māori children’s achievement.

They said the new curriculums set for the first time a mandatory minimum level of te reo Māori that schools must teach.

They acknowledged there was less consultation in the curriculum work because the government wanted to move quickly and did not want to co-design the curriculums with the sector.

The ministry’s head, Ellen MacGregor-Reid, said the government did not see the Treaty as an impediment to its education goals.

“The government’s position is that duty sits with the Crown rather than with school boards and the government is clear that the obligations for Te Tiriti remain and are important for education,” she said.

The hearing is scheduled to finish on Friday.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Cabinet minister Shane Jones is putting pressure on fuel companies to share more information about their shipments, warning that the government could force them to do so via regulation if necessary.

The country’s fuel stocks have dropped in the past two updates, but officials said there was no need for alarm. The Taxpayers’ Union, however, called for more frequent updates and more comprehensive data.

Jones – who is associate energy minister – told RNZ the government relied on the oil companies to regularly provide high quality information and had the ability to regulate if that was not forthcoming.

“I’ve no doubt early next week, we will address this issue and update whether or not there’s further information that they can provide and any reluctance to provide it… we’ll move forward with alacrity.”

Officials would report on whether extra powers were needed to secure that information, Jones said.

“We have not been told to date that is absolutely necessary, but this is fair warning.”

The tone was much more strident than that of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon who told reporters on Wednesday that the government had had “very good engagement” with fuel importers from day one.

“They are sharing a lot of commercially sensitive information to us that’s giving us very good visibility over the picture,” Luxon said.

RNZ has sought a response from Z Energy, BP and Mobil. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has also been approached for comment.

Coping with ‘fuel fiasco’

Jones said his “zest” for more information was driven by rising levels of uncertainty in the business community.

He acknowledged the fuel companies were dealing with massive logistical changes and operating in a competitive market, but he said the fuel crisis trumped any “minor confidentiality matters”.

“The fuel companies are nervous that their confidentiality of what they’ve got on the water, the names of the ships, the quantities, may be compromised, but we’re in the midst of a fuel fiasco,” he said.

“The fuel companies have line of sight, and we want to get as much certainty as possible.”

Speaking to RNZ from Washington DC, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she was satisfied with the quality and frequency of information fuel companies were currently providing.

But she said the government stood “ready to regulate” if it became concerned that data was not being provided in a “timely and uniform way”.

“We’re asking for more information than they normally provide. They haven’t always been as fast in providing it as we would see in an ideal world. But there does appear to be goodwill and an understanding about why we need it. If they weren’t to provide it, then we would require them to, by law.”

Willis said the fuel importing companies had begun sharing “more granular data” about fuel consumption which would be critical if the country shifted up a level in the National Fuel Plan.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The ACT Party would ban unelected appointees on local council committees from having voting rights within 100 days if elected, leader David Seymour says.

“If you’re voting on council decisions, you should be accountable to the people paying the bills. That means facing free and frequent elections,” he has told a town hall meeting in New Plymouth.

The party this week lodged a member’s bill under the name of MP Cameron Luxton, who had campaigned since 2025 on amending the law to ban unelected appointees on council committees from having voting rights.

With his amendment so far not prioritised by coalition partners National and New Zealand First, Seymour said if the member’s bill was not drawn, the party would make it an election commitment to pass it within 100 days.

“When we first raised this issue in September last year, the Local Government Minister told us he had other priorities. But ACT says democracy is fundamental and urgent,” Seymour said.

The issue has come to a head in the Far North, where ACT-aligned councillor Davina Smolders has been at odds with the mayor Moko Tepania over having iwi representatives on the council’s Te Kuaka Māori Strategic Relationships Committee.

The council voted on Wednesday morning to expand the committee to include two representatives of the Northland iwi chairs forum and eight hapū representatives, alongside six elected councillors including Smolders.

She spoke on Duncan Garner’s podcast last week, where the host said he believed the proposed committee makeup was undemocratic and illegal – though Tepania later confirmed it was within the law.

Tepania said the furore had taken him by surprise, given Māori liaison committees were nothing new.

He told LDR it was “a mechanism that allows us to meet our statutory obligations under the Local Government Act, which is to ensure that we include Māori participation in our decision-making”.

More than 100 people gathered outside the council chambers ahead of the vote, many carrying flags and home-made banners in a show of support for Tepania.

ACT had claimed in its Monday newsletter the council was “stacking its various committees with iwi representatives who can vote, diluting the power of those elected and creating a new political order”.

“ACT Local Councillor Davina Smolders is a New Zealand hero. She has stood alone asking hard questions of the Far North District Council, and so far got the Minister for Local Government to ‘engage’ with the Council (with a little help from ACT).”

Smoulders previously faced council code of conduct proceedings after she publicly congratulated Tepania, claiming he had been selected as the Labour Party’s candidate for Northland in the upcoming general election.

Tepania later confirmed he would be staying on as mayor, and would not be standing as an MP. He is expected not to seek re-election as mayor in 2028.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Analysis – Labour says it would be at least investigating following Australia’s lead on the fuel crisis if it were in power, but the circumstances in each country are quite different.

Regardless of whether the government could or should be doing more, it is important to understand the different circumstances and how that affects the response.

Hipkins’ criticisms

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said if he was in power he would be seeking advice on responses already enacted in other countries.

The government should be considering support for diesel users, he said, as well as support for foodbanks and the most vulnerable families; and in the long term, support to keep other families from reaching that point.

He was careful, however, to avoid pitching those solutions as election policy.

“We don’t have access to that advice right at the moment, but were we in government that is the sort of advice that we would be asking for,” he said.

Later in the day, following Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s media conference on the latest fuel supplies data, Hipkins issued a press release criticising the government for failing to explain the details of fuel rationing that would kick in under higher phases of the national fuel plan.

With a subject line saying the government was “asleep at the wheel”, he said New Zealanders “deserve to know what the plan is, but two months into this conflict, there isn’t one”.

“This is the second update in a week showing New Zealand’s supply of petrol, diesel, and jet fuel have all gone down. Most alarming, there’s now less than three weeks of diesel in the country, which is critical for the economy,” he said.

“Dealing with the fuel crisis should be this Government’s top priority. Instead, they’re sitting back and hoping for the best. Hope is not a plan, and it won’t keep fuel flowing for households and businesses.

“Other countries are already acting decisively. In Australia, they’re pulling out all the stops. Our government needs to step up.”

Australia’s approach

Australia’s Labor government has taken far more extreme measures in response to the fuel crisis than New Zealand has to date.

However, it should be noted Australia also started with a worse supply problem, and a stronger economy – making those interventions more affordable and more urgent.

Australia is at the second point of escalation in its four-point fuel plan, with reports of hundreds of service stations running out of at least one type of fuel every day since late March, and at least six fuel shipments having been deferred or cancelled.

The federal government has already dipped into its emergency national reserve, releasing about five days worth of diesel.

The situation is bad enough that Western Australia has also purchased its own strategic reserve of 4 million litres of diesel owned by the state to address the acute fuel shortages there – though the state’s opposition leader has warned that would last just six hours.

The federal government has also halved fuel excise for three months, reducing tax on fuel by 26.3 cents per litre, while states have also pitched in – shaving off an extra 5.7 cents.

That makes fuel cheaper for consumers and can curb inflationary pressure, but the cheaper prices also mean they are less incentivised to try to save on fuel than they would be otherwise.

Another support measure in Australia is a three-month elimination of Road-User Charges (RUCs) for heavy vehicles.

In New Zealand, diesel vehicles, EVs and hybrids all pay RUCs per kilometre and according to weight. Petrol vehicles are taxed at the pump through excise, but diesel is not.

With diesel costs traditionally being lower than petrol costs, this seemed fair – but the fuel crisis has led to diesel prices overtaking those for petrol.

Electric vehicles had been exempt for several years to encourage uptake, but were brought into the RUC scheme so all drivers would be contributing to transport costs. The government plans to eventually scrap petrol excise entirely in favour of universal RUCs, but that may take a while.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has ruled out either cutting excise taxes or broad reductions or exemptions for RUCs, saying these did not fit the government’s self-imposed criteria for any supports during the crisis of being targeted, timely and temporary – a recommendation that came from reviews in the wake of the Covid-19 response.

She said those approaches were likely to benefit those on higher incomes more.

However, the government does appear likely to match the moves taken by the state of South Australia to allow heavy vehicles to carry more.

After the government consulted on interventions suggested by the public and industry, the Ministry of Regulation is looking at regulatory changes it can make – and Luxon on Wednesday confirmed that would include “common-sense things like allowing heavy vehicles to carry heavier loads”.

Two Australian states have also offered free public transport, another measure both Labour and the Greens have urged the government to look into – but which has also been rejected as untargeted.

Calls from the Greens to invest in better, more effective bus networks have also gone so far unheeded.

To date, support measures have largely been restricted to a $50-a-week boost to the in-work tax credit, and a 30 percent increase to mileage rates for home and community support workers.

However, more than half of families in material harship will not benefit from the tax credit, and support workers have complained the mileage rate increase is “almost like a joke”.

The Budget on 28 May could include some kind of relief, but even before the Iran conflict Willis was warning there would be “no splashing the cash”.

With the measures it has taken already eating into the operating allowance, there will be little room left for new spending.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Organisations representing small businesses have expressed concern about the early termination of the ministerial advisory group on retail crime announced by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith on Tuesday.

Created in September 2024 for a period of two years, the group has faced criticism from the Labour Party on spending.

Three out of the original five members have resigned in recent months, with Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young publicly questioning the leadership of chair Sunny Kaushal as she departed.

Goldsmith, who had earlier defended Kaushal’s leadership and the advisory group’s work, confirmed Tuesday the entity would wind up in May.

News of this development sparked concern among retailers that the advisory group wouldn’t have time to make any recommendations on ways to reduce youth crime before it disbanded.

After police arrested a 14-year-old on suspicion of stabbing a dairy owner in Christchurch in December, Kaushal told RNZ his team would start work on youth offences soon.

“We have delivered five reports so far to government proposing law changes – from shoplifting, to trespass, to citizens’ arrest and move-on orders,” Kaushal said, indicating the group’s next priority was youth offences.

“I can’t comment on specific measures at this time, but I am personally concerned about how we deal with parents who have created an environment that contributes to their children offending,” he said in December.

In a subsequent interview with the New Zealand Herald on Tuesday, Goldsmith didn’t suggest that youth crime was a priority.

“It’s been very successful in getting all the work done, and they’ve got a couple of issues that they’re going to wrap up before they finish, which is one on facial recognition and the other one on the security industry,” he said.

Goldsmith clarified that remark on Friday, saying the government was “particularly interested in advice around facial recognition and the security industry”.

“However, any additional advice the [ministerial advisory group] wishes to provide before it concludes its work is always welcome,” he said.

Nevertheless, retailers expressed concern that the group’s work on youth offences would be left unfinished.

Jaspreet Singh Kandhari, general secretary of the New Zealand Indian Business Association, said his organisation had made a submission to the group with suggestions to tackle violent youth crime.

“The disbanding of the ministerial advisory group following some members’ resignations raises concerns about the future direction of key elements within the framework under review,” Kandhari said.

“In particular, the proposed reforms relating to youth offending are crucial and provide a significant opportunity to enhance deterrence and community safety.

“We urge the justice minister to ensure the substantial work and progress already made are not lost, and meaningful steps are taken within the next three months, before the end of the electoral term, to advance youth offending law reforms.”

Dairy and Business Owners Group chairperson Ankit Bansal, the National Party’s Palmerston North candidate at this year’s general election, also called for “meaningful action” on youth crime.

“Retailers are expecting meaningful recommendations to address youth crime as we know that the young people are used by organised criminals to commit crimes on their behalf,” Bansal said.

“I am sure the advisory group is already working on and will be using the rest of their time to come up with potential solutions in this space of tackling violent youth crime in the retail sector.”

Jagjeet Singh Sidhu, secretary of community business organisation Little India, said the advisory group’s termination meant issues such as youth crime and youth education would be left unresolved.

“[That’s why] our organisation is not happy with the government shutting down the advisory group before it could complete its work, especially in the violent youth crime space,” Sidhu said.

“We had specifically put in our submission to amend the Sentencing Act 2002, Crime Justice Act 1985 and Oranga Tamaki Act 1989 to allow for the arrest, detention in remand custody and punishment of young offenders under the age of 16.”

Sidhu said the Indian community would like to see recommendations on the above before the advisory group was wound up in May.

Mark Scherer, general manager of the Sandringham Business Association, criticised the work done by the advisory group.

“We do not agree with many of the recommendations and have been dissatisfied with the overall deliverables from the advisory group,” Scherer said.

“We will be writing to them to express our concerns over this process and concrete steps going forward.”

Himanshu Parmar, who alongside Kaushal is one of the remaining members on the advisory group, said the pair would continue to work on youth crime through to the group’s termination and had sent a consultation document to retailers before Christmas.

He said many large and small retailers had already made submissions and the group was now waiting for its policy team to prepare an information pack for members to review and comment on.

Parmar said youth crime remained one of the most pressing issues that were typically raised by retailers.

“You ask any retailer, big or small,” he said. “They’ll tell you how a very small number of youth offenders are terrorising everyone. They’re seeing the same small cohorts committing repeated crime. If we don’t come up with good lawmaking in this space, it’s just going to keep repeating itself.”

When asked whether the advisory group would make submissions to the government on youth crime before its term ended in May, Parmar said the decision rested with the chair and ministers.

“I’m just a moving part of the group,” he said. “It’s up to the chair and the ministers to make sure it gets submitted and picked up.

“Anything we submit now can’t immediately become law. It’s a big process. There’s already stuff in front of select committees, including work we submitted earlier on trespass laws and shoplifting fines,” he said.

“But it’s my sincere hope that any policy work regarding youth crime is picked up by the current government and future governments, because it’s too important to ignore.”

Kaushal also said the group’s focus would shift to youth crime.

“We know youth crime is a priority for retailers, and we are working with ministers to complete our work programme before we wrap up in May,” he said.

“We would be happy to submit our report before May, as we are working closely with the minister.”

Kaushal dismissed criticism from some quarters that the advisory group had failed to deliver satisfactory results.

“I am very proud of the progress achieved and quality of the policy work produced,” he said.

“We have delivered faster than expected in terms of five high-quality reports [that] are major reform packages.

“These are strong, practical, evidence-based reports backing the government’s focus on law and order, and a zero-tolerance approach to retail crime.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The fuel price crisis “is no longer a short-term situation” for airlines while the government is promising to hold oil companies accountable.

The Board of Airline Representatives chief executive Cath O’Brien told Morning Report that New Zealand does not have a supply problem, it has a price problem as uncertainty in the Middle East continues to spike all fuel costs and disruptions to air travel.

She said airlines that fly to New Zealand are very committed to the market, but hard decisions will have to be made where route profitability is unsuccessful, or if demand drops away.

“This is certainly no longer a short term situation,” O’Brien said. “We are starting to see this fuel price as something that is going to be quite elevated for quite a long time.”

On Wednesday the latest government update showed that fuel supplies in New Zealand dropped by three or four days across each type but remained stable.

O’Brien said cutting routes was “among the last things” that the airlines wanted to do but difficult decisions would have to be made as this was now an ongoing issue.

“Airlines could reduce services, frequencies, they could hypothetically come off routes. I don’t really see that I think airlines will do all they can to actually stay connected to New Zealand, that’s really what we’re in the business of.”

At the end of last month, a Jetstar NZ spokesperson said 12 percent of scheduled services had been impacted, including some services between Auckland and Christchurch as well as Auckland and Wellington, and some international flights between Auckland and Sydney and Auckland and Brisbane.

Air New Zealand also earlier said that it would cancel around 1100 flights from early March through until early May, but that most passengers would be moved to flights on the same day.

On Tuesday ABC reported Quantas also announced it will cut domestic flights due to higher fuel costs and the uncertainty of the Middle East war, with as much as AU$800 million (NZ$966m) in extra fuel costs.

O’Brien said it was difficult to predict what ticket prices were going to be in the future as it was also difficult to predict the costs of Jet fuel.

“I think it is reasonable to say that we’ve already seen some price increase in ticketing, and it is likely that we will see more of the same.”

She said airlines are coming into the period where they are planning their routes for 2027 and will be doing this in the knowledge that fuel prices are potentially going to be 100 percent higher.

O’Brien had worked through the Covid period as well and said the current fuel crisis presents one or two main issues, whereas Covid had multiple.

“In New Zealand we do not have a supply problem for jet fuel we have availability of supply here and out into the future months, but we do have a price problem for fuels not just jet fuel.

And I think that is the problem that we are going to have to manage is the price issue.”

‘Continuous price problem’- Shane Jones

Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones told Morning Report that the main issue was with the cost of fuel and it was going to be a “continuous price problem”.

The latest fuel stock figures – accurate to midday Sunday – showed 56.3 total days of petrol, 45.4 days of diesel, and 47.0 days of jet fuel either in country or expected to arrive in the next three weeks.

That was down from the 59.7 days of petrol, 49.1 days of diesel and 50.7 days of jet fuel reported on Monday – which was also a decrease.

Jones said that in 2024, oil companies pledged New Zealand would not suffer any major crisis because of an absence of fuel and the government would hold them accountable.

“If they do not obey and maintain the law, the punitive fiscal costs on them are enormous.”

He said the government had put money forward for additional storage capacity which will come online at Marsden Point in about four or five weeks at the end of May.

“So it’s really important for the credibility of these major players, one of them is an Australian listed company, Ampol, that they abide by their word, because the public has a great deal of trust invested in the system.”

He said while the issue was mainly with the cost of fuel, the government had explored the options for the Crown to work with the import companies and bring “more molecules” to New Zealand.

Jones said the government was working closely with Australian advisers and politicians and the Prime Minister has been in “regular contact” with leaders in Singapore as part of the fuel response.

He believed the government was doing all they can.

“I do genuinely believe that we’ve left no stone unturned… And I’ve seen no information that would cause me to believe that the actions of the fuel companies means that they are failing their statutory test.”

Prime Minister Chris Luxon said on Wednesday that fuel importers were continuing to report “no material issues with future orders or future shipments”, and the government had reassurances about orders to the end of May, as well as planned orders through to end of June.

“We are staying at phase 1 of the national fuel response plan, but the ceasefire is fragile and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, so the risks to New Zealand’s fuel security is still elevated.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The last remaining members of the government’s advisory group on retail crime have defended the unit’s work after Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith confirmed Tuesday it would wind up months earlier than planned.

Himanshu Parmar is the only remaining member of the Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime alongside chair Sunny Kaushal.

Parmar has spoken publicly for the first time since the resignations of Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young, Foodstuffs North Island senior manager Lindsay Rowles and Michael Hill national retail manager Michael Bell prompted Goldsmith to confirm the group would end its work in May, despite originally being set up for a two-year term through September.

On Wednesday, Goldsmith told Morning Report the group was created to provide ideas for the government to push back on crime, considering it to be a success as it had done what it was set up to do.

“Three out of the five [members] left for a variety of reasons over the summer, and I sort of had a choice about trying to reappoint three and keep it going for six months or make the pragmatic decision to wrap it up slightly early,” he said.

Goldsmith told Morning Report the group had three months to finish its work.

“I think that [Kaushal] has been very focused on delivering policy documents, which we were appointed for, and that’s what the focus should remain on, not people’s personal relationships with each other,” Parmar said, referring to reports of tension within the group.

Parmar is also a member of the Dairy and Business Owners Group that Kaushal had previously chaired.

Young had earlier told RNZ her relationship with Kaushal had become untenable, saying he was not the right person to chair the group, which had an “unpleasant environment”.

However, Parmar defended the resignations, saying he had been told that some members left due to employment choices.

“What has been explained to me is two of the members left because they’ve been promoted within their business or have got new jobs,” he said. “They’ve had to move on with their lives.”

Earlier this year, Goldsmith also defended the resignations.

He told RNZ that two of the resigning members were promoted into other positions, while one left, and this wasn’t the “crisis of the century”.

Kaushal also previously told RNZ the resignations reflected normal leadership movement in an organisation.

The advisory group has also faced criticism over its spending, which became a flashpoint following the resignations.

The group has been questioned over the cost of catered meetings held around the country and its inner-city Auckland office space, rented for $120,000 a year.

It has also faced questions about value for money after it was revealed Kaushal invoiced more than $230,000 for work in its first 12 months.

Speaking on Wednesday, Kaushal also defended the group’s work, saying it operated within its $1.8 million annual budget, which was funded through the proceeds of crime fund.

“I’m not bothered by criticism,” he said. “My focus is on the difficult goal, which is fixing retail crime and making sure no one feels unsafe at work.

“We are funded by the money seized from the criminals and gangs, and we are spending their money to fix a problem [that] has been there for a long time.”

He said the group was operating well within its budget and was overseen by the Ministry of Justice finance team.

Kaushal also said that he is not shaken by criticism from the members within the group and is focused on delivering outcomes for the victims.

“I have no idea of her [Young’s] motivation,” he said.

“It’s well known that we had different views on some of the group’s recommendations … she’s representing the big retailers and I’m speaking on behalf of small to medium-sized enterprises across the country hit by retail crime.

“I have always appreciated her perspective.”

Parmar told RNZ the group’s spending was relatively small compared to the amount retailers had spent on security measures such as fog cannons and bollards during the previous government’s term.

“[Regarding] what money is being spent, I have no control in my capacity as a member of that group, just like the rest of the members, on how and where the money gets spent,” he said.

He said the Ministry of Justice had monitored the spending, and he was confident the minister was satisfied with how the money was being used.

Kaushal said the group had delivered five reports to the government, and those were eventually going to represent major reforms in the Crimes Act.

“This is going to create tougher consequences for criminals,” he said.

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