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Source: Radio New Zealand

Chris Penk and Penny Simmonds have been promoted to Cabinet, as the prime minister reshuffles his ministerial lineup.

The reshuffle also sees first-term MPs Cameron Brewer and Mike Butterick made ministers outside Cabinet.

The changes were necessitated by the upcoming retirement of Judith Collins, as well as Dr Shane Reti’s decision to stand down at the election.

Collins’ defence, space, and GCSB and NZSIS portfolios have been given to Penk, Paul Goldsmith takes on responsibility for the public service and digitising government, and Chris Bishop picks up the attorney-general role.

Bishop’s position as Leader of the House has been given to Louise Upston.

Bishop, who was also National’s campaign chair, was widely tipped to lose some ministerial portfolios to ease his workload to free him up for the campaign. Instead, it is the role of campaign chair that he has had to relinquish, to Simeon Brown.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Bishop had a “massive workload” with housing, transport, infrastructure, RMA reform, and his new attorney-general role, and losing the campaign chair was a consequence of that.

Luxon said the two had a “very positive conversation” and he “absolutely” trusted Bishop.

“He’s key to our team, he’s a critical part of our senior leadership group,” he said.

Luxon denied it was anything to do with rumours Bishop was running the numbers against him last year.

“I think you’re really overthinking this,” Luxon said.

He said Brown was equally capable of chairing the campaign, as part of his “brains trust” which included Bishop, Upston, Goldsmith, and Finance Minister Nicola Willis.

Simmonds takes up Reti’s science, innovation, and technology portfolio, and his universities role has been disestablished to make Simmonds the minister for tertiary education.

She had previously been minister for vocational education, as well as environment. The latter has been given to Nicola Grigg, who remains outside Cabinet.

Goldsmith also becomes the new minister for Pacific Peoples, with Luxon admitting National did not have Pacific representation.

“I freely admit we don’t have a Pasifika person in our National Party team and in our Cabinet. That’s something that we’re working very hard on. As I’ve said to you before, we need to make sure we continue to work as we go to 2026 on the campaign on getting great candidates from the Pasifika world.”

Brewer, who has been chairing Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee (a weighty role which often leads to a ministerial promotion) has been made minister of commerce and consumer affairs and minister for small business and manufacturing, while Butterick will become minister for land information.

Luxon said he wanted to make a “super small business minister” role by giving Brewer the two roles, while Butterick was a “natural leader” of National’s rural MPs.

Brewer would also take over supermarket reforms, as the previous Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister Scott Simpson had a conflict which had led to Willis taking responsibility.

Other changes include Brown picking up the energy portfolio from Simon Watts, who in turn takes over Brown’s minister for Auckland role.

Luxon said the past few weeks had underlined how important energy security was, and so was giving the role to a “senior” minister.

He said he had not lost confidence in Watts.

Luxon acknowledged Collins and Reti’s departures.

“New Zealand is better for Judith and Shane deciding to enter public service and I am grateful to count them both as friends. On behalf of the government and the National Party, I wish them all the best for their futures outside Parliament.”

Matt Doocey remains in Cabinet, and has not picked up any portfolios other than his existing mental health role.

He had been the sole South Island representative in Cabinet, but that has now doubled with Simmonds’ addition.

The changes come into effect on Tuesday, 7 April.

Luxon had not reshuffled his lineup since January 2025, other than to promote Scott Simpson to a role outside Cabinet following Andrew Bayly’s resignation.

The reshuffle applies to National Party ministers only, meaning ACT’s Brooke van Velden will continue in her portfolios despite her decision to retire from Parliament at the election.

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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 Co-operative Bank has been penalised nearly $2.5 million by the High Court for overcharging its customers.

It comes after the bank admitted to the breaches last year after reaching a settlement with the Commerce Commission.

The commission said the bank overcharged just over 48,000 customers approximately $7.225 million, which has since been remediated.

The Co-operative Bank self-reported the breaches under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, and accepted the overcharging occurred after a series of compliance and process failures.

“Investing in compliance and rigourously auditing processes and controls is a crucial step towards avoiding an investigation, court action and a hefty penalty,” Commerce Commission director of credit Sarah Bartlett said.

The commission said the bank charged 12 “unreasonable fees” across its lending products involving its home and personal loans, with most being charged between June 2015 and November 2021.

In her judgement, Justice Victoria Heine noted the circumstances behind the breaches varied from fee to fee. However, they suggested “there was a fundamental failure within Co-operative at that time to appreciate what was needed to comply with the fees provisions”.

“I am satisfied that the penalty proposed is sufficient to contribute to deterring others from running the risk of non-compliance,” she said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Chris Penk and Penny Simmonds have been promoted to Cabinet, as the prime minister reshuffles his ministerial lineup.

The reshuffle also sees first-term MPs Cameron Brewer and Mike Butterick made ministers outside Cabinet.

The changes were necessitated by the upcoming retirement of Judith Collins, as well as Dr Shane Reti’s decision to stand down at the election.

Collins’ defence, space, and GCSB and NZSIS portfolios have been given to Penk, Paul Goldsmith takes on responsibility for the public service and digitising government, and Chris Bishop picks up the Attorney-General role.

Bishop’s position as Leader of the House has been given to Louise Upston.

Simmonds takes up Reti’s science, innovation, and technology portfolio, and his universities role has been disestablished to make Simmonds the minister for tertiary education.

She had previously been minister for vocational education, as well as environment. The latter has been given to Nicola Grigg, who remains outside Cabinet.

Brewer, who has been chairing Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee (a weighty role which often leads to a ministerial promotion) has been made minister of commerce and consumer affairs and minister for small business and manufacturing, while Butterick will become minister for Land Information.

Other changes include Simeon Brown picking up the energy portfolio from Simon Watts, who in turn takes over Brown’s minister for Auckland role.

Prime minister Christopher Luxon said the past few weeks had underline how important energy security was, and so was giving the role to a “senior” minister.

Luxon acknowledged Collins and Reti’s departures.

“New Zealand is better for Judith and Shane deciding to enter public service and I am grateful to count them both as friends. On behalf of the government and the National Party, I wish them all the best for their futures outside Parliament.”

The changes come into effect on Tuesday, 7 April.

Luxon had not reshuffled his lineup since January 2025, other than to promote Scott Simpson to a role outside Cabinet following Andrew Bayly’s resignation.

The reshuffle applies to National Party ministers only, meaning ACT’s Brooke van Velden will continue in her portfolios despite her decision to retire from Parliament at the election.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Media Outreach

Global Food Partners and Certified Humane® celebrated this milestone at a Cage-Free Meet in Vietnam, as companies accelerate cage-free sourcing and compliance

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

Source: Media Outreach

• Herbert Vongpusanachai takes on the role of Senior Vice President for Commercial for the region, effective April 1, 2026

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 2 April 2026 – DHL Express, the world’s leading international express service provider, has appointed Herbert Vongpusanachai as Senior Vice President, Commercial for Asia Pacific, effective April 1, 2026. Herbert, who currently serves as Managing Director for DHL Express Thailand & Indochina, will be based in Singapore for his new role.

Herbert brings more than two decades of leadership experience within DHL Express, having successfully helmed multiple key markets across the region. He first joined the company in 2003 as Managing Director for Thailand & Indochina, later taking on leadership of Singapore in 2008, followed by Hong Kong & Macau in 2016. Since returning to lead Thailand & Indochina in 2020, he has driven sustained year‑on‑year profitable growth, transforming the cluster into one of the region’s key engines of expansion.

“Herbert has an exceptional track record of delivering strong business results while nurturing highly engaged teams across diverse markets. His deep understanding of our customers, collaborative leadership style, and ability to unearth opportunities in complex environments make him the ideal leader to drive our commercial agenda for Asia Pacific. I am confident that under his guidance, we will continue to accelerate sustainable growth across the region,” said Ken Lee, CEO for Asia Pacific, DHL Express.

In his new regional role, Herbert will shape and accelerate the commercial strategy for DHL Express across Asia Pacific by working with other functions to assess new sectors, routes and trade lanes with high potential for growth. He will focus on deepening customer engagement and supporting their expansion, while driving sustainable volume growth and advancing the adoption of new technologies to enhance commercial execution across markets. With his extensive country expertise and people‑first leadership style, Herbert is well‑positioned to support both regional and country teams in raising commercial performance to new levels.

“Asia Pacific remains an important anchor in global trade as seen in the latest DHL Global Connectedness Report, and this indicates the unwavering role of logistics to facilitate the flow of goods. With the newly introduced Heavyweight Express solution, which enables customers to ship heavyweight shipments with speed, certainty and reliability, I look forward to working alongside our talented teams to contribute to shaping the next chapter of DHL Express’s commercial success,” said Herbert Vongpusanachai, Senior Vice President – Commercial for Asia Pacific, DHL Express.

The latest DHL Global Connectedness Report shows that the region remains a major anchor of global commerce, with multiple economies rising in global connectedness rankings and Southeast Asia firmly establishing itself as a fast‑growing trade corridor. This also mirrors one of DHL Group’s strategies to better support 20 markets globally to accelerate growth; eight of them rest in Asia Pacific – underscoring the region’s critical role in DHL’s global network. As trade flows diversify and intra‑Asia integration deepens, this leadership appointment further strengthens DHL Express’s position in Asia Pacific.

https://group.dhl.com/en.html
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dhlexpress/

Hashtag: #DHL

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

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

Source: Media Outreach

New model brings advanced agentic coding and refined reasoning to real-world deployment

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Employers might be being encouraged to let people work from home if they are struggling with fuel costs, but not everyone hopes they heed the message.

As fuel costs have risen in recent weeks, unions have called on organisations such as banks to be more flexible with staff wanting to skip the commute.

Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said that should be done carefully.

“This is an economic issue, not a health issue. The work from home edict [during Covid] came about because there were concerns that ongoing engagement and connection with people could cause harm to people’s lives.

“We’re not in that situation, this is quite a different situation. The economic situation would be worse if people don’t come into towns and cities across the country. If people stop coming into town they stop buying. Eighty-five percent of sales are done in person, in store, people in town. They’re walking past shop windows, they’re seeing items they might need.”

The increased prevalence of working from home through Covid has been credited with changing the makeup of some central business districts around the country.

Young previously told RNZ that she worried that foot traffic levels might never return to where they were, for some businesses.

But Brad Olsen, chief executive at Infometrics, said consumer confidence more generally was likely to be more of a concern for retailers than whether people were working from home.

When people were at home, their spending tended to drift more to food-related items, he said. The pattern of spending could be affected, but the total amount would not be.

“I don’t think it’s a full and complete view that people only spend when they’re working in town and don’t spend otherwise.”

But he said the wider economic environment had more potential to dent total spending. “The wider impact of having to spend more on fuel, people are more worried about the economy, that will drive overall spending down. If we see spending activity drop it won’t be because people are working from home, it will be because people are paying more for fuel and worried about their financial lives.”

Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said it would make it harder for CBD retail. “But past experience suggested that there were flows of business to suburban shops and cafes when WFH was more prominent. I would expect the same dynamics again.”

‘Big hit coming through on households’ disposable income’

BNZ chief economist Mike Jones said it would add to all the other headwinds on spending at the moment.

“Chief among them is the big hit coming through on households’ disposable income from the fuel cost spike. Cuts are being made to discretionary spending already. But there’s also a potentially weaker labour market and reduced job security to contend with, broader cost of living pressures, and reduced tourism spending. It’s shaping up as a big hit and consumers are feeling it, as we saw from last week’s slump in consumer confidence.”

But Young said going back to isolating at home would not be a solution to an economic crisis.

“That creates another beast in itself and it multiplies the impact of the inflationary measures if we get to a place where people stop coming into town and they stop buying a coffee and they stop going into the stores to buy things. More businesses will close, which creates greater, you know, demise for the New Zealand economy.”

She said she had seen some positive economic data in the early months of this year and had been hoping that 2026 would be a time of recovery.

“Then of course in March we’ve been hit by this and it feels like another blow and we just can’t seem to get a break.”

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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 Commerce Commission is warning households that the price of power is set to increase about 5 percent.

Retailers have started notifying customers – citing maintenance and upgrades, higher wholesale prices, gas supply decline, and inflation.

In February, Consumer NZ warned that power prices could rise at least 5 percent this year saying that was a conservative estimate.

There was a 12 percent increase in power prices in 2025 and as of 1 April last year the amount lines companies could charge increased. The first step was predicted to be the biggest but there could still be changes year on year through to 2030.

While Commerce Commission chairperson Dr John Small believed the increase was justified, he acknowledged it came at a terrible time.

He also said the monopoly, as well as the generation and retailing component, played a part.

“We are satisfied that the price increases are actually needed,” Small told Morning Report.

“They need to manage very efficiently, but they do need to keep investing in the capacity that they need to provide reliable service.”

Small hoped that something like electricity suppliers being split into generators and retailers would happen.

“It’s really important for us, with our competition hat on, to make sure that something a little bit like this happens, so that the generators are not favouring their own retail arm when they’re selling electricity.”

In the mean time, he suggested using a price comparison tool to shop around.

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

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson says there will be no extension for the more than 3000 clubs, charities and other groups to re-register as Incorporated Societies by Easter Sunday.

Incorporated societies – including clubs, charities, unions and political parties – will be dissolved if they fail to submit a new constitution to the Companies Office by 5 April.

Moran Law special counsel Louisa Joblin specialises in not-for-profit law and has been working with incorporated societies to manage the change for years.

She said any who missed the deadline would see “an impact from day one”.

“These clubs and organisations and things – our whole not-for-profit sector – is a core part of what keeps our society trucking, really,” she said.

“We’ve heard from banks that they are basically turning off access for societies that have been removed.

“It’s those really practical things like not being able to access bank accounts, not being able to pay accounts, not being able to pay staff, not being able to pay rent – those things will immediately interfere with a society’s ability to do business.”

Societies that were dissolved could also lose their name, and would lose the ability to contract. Charities could also face being removed from the Charities Register, although that was a longer process and they might have time to negotiate.

Figures provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed as of Monday – with just five days remaining – 3302 incorporated societies were yet to re-register, about 15.5 percent of the more than 21,000 total.

Tracking of the trend suggested about 12 percent would still be non-compliant by the 5 April deadline.

Simpson told RNZ that was a success.

“To have about 85 percent of those entities having re-registered, I think it’s a pretty good effort,” he said. “I think that is a success.”

Based on a survey by Charities Services, he said about 430 intended to stop operating and about 640 planned to change to a different structure.

A further estimated 750 did not have a plan, and 750 more intended to re-register but were unlikely to be able to do so by the deadline.

Simpson said there would be no extensions.

“Easter Sunday will be with us in literally a few days time, in about five days. So no, I’m keen that we push on with it.

“We needed to put a deadline in place so it would act as a motivating factor … this is not a new or a sudden requirement, they’ve had the best part of three and a half years to get underway, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

Joblin said after the “horrifying” stats at the beginning of March showing about 8000 were yet to re-register, 3300 was reassuring but “still a really large number”.

She said dissolved societies that owned land or buildings they wanted to retain could place “quite a bit of demand on the courts to help navigate that”.

There was a backup option of applying to have the society restored on the register if they missed the deadline, but they must pay over $200 for the privilege – and still complete the process of submitting a constitution that complied with the new law.

Simpson said it was fairly straightforward.

“It’s the same process that would have occurred had they done it before the 5th of April. It just means that for the period between the 5th of April and whenever they finally do re-register, they will have lost the benefits of incorporation.”

Joblin said the Companies Office had only communicated restoration would be an option in the past couple of weeks, but it was a “simpler, smoother” process than had been expected.

“Hopefully that will mean that for those that meant to continue operating, and they just haven’t been able to do it in time, there will be a relatively straightforward process.”

But some of the groups – which were typically volunteer-run – had found the process of writing a new constitution legally technical and difficult.

Simpson advised anyone facing dissolution to contact the Companies Office, which had information on what to do and been contacting incorporated societies to encourage re-registration.

She hoped the Office would provide more resources to explain the process, and said any incorporated societies likely to miss the deadline and unable to afford legal advice should access Community Law for help.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Chris Penk and Penny Simmonds have been promoted to Cabinet, as the prime minister reshuffles his ministerial lineup.

The reshuffle also sees first-term MPs Cameron Brewer and Mike Butterick made ministers outside Cabinet.

The changes were necessitated by the upcoming retirement of Judith Collins, as well as Dr Shane Reti’s decision to stand down at the election.

Collins’ defence, space, and GCSB and NZSIS portfolios have been given to Penk, Paul Goldsmith takes on responsibility for the public service and digitising government, and Chris Bishop picks up the attorney-general role.

Bishop’s position as Leader of the House has been given to Louise Upston.

Bishop, who was also National’s campaign chair, was widely tipped to lose some ministerial portfolios to ease his workload to free him up for the campaign. Instead, it is the role of campaign chair that he has had to relinquish, to Simeon Brown.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Bishop had a “massive workload” with housing, transport, infrastructure, RMA reform, and his new attorney-general role, and losing the campaign chair was a consequence of that.

Luxon said the two had a “very positive conversation” and he “absolutely” trusted Bishop.

“He’s key to our team, he’s a critical part of our senior leadership group,” he said.

Luxon denied it was anything to do with rumours Bishop was running the numbers against him last year.

“I think you’re really overthinking this,” Luxon said.

He said Brown was equally capable of chairing the campaign, as part of his “brains trust” which included Bishop, Upston, Goldsmith, and Finance Minister Nicola Willis.

Simmonds takes up Reti’s science, innovation, and technology portfolio, and his universities role has been disestablished to make Simmonds the minister for tertiary education.

She had previously been minister for vocational education, as well as environment. The latter has been given to Nicola Grigg, who remains outside Cabinet.

Goldsmith also becomes the new minister for Pacific Peoples, with Luxon admitting National did not have Pacific representation.

“I freely admit we don’t have a Pasifika person in our National Party team and in our Cabinet. That’s something that we’re working very hard on. As I’ve said to you before, we need to make sure we continue to work as we go to 2026 on the campaign on getting great candidates from the Pasifika world.”

Brewer, who has been chairing Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee (a weighty role which often leads to a ministerial promotion) has been made minister of commerce and consumer affairs and minister for small business and manufacturing, while Butterick will become minister for land information.

Luxon said he wanted to make a “super small business minister” role by giving Brewer the two roles, while Butterick was a “natural leader” of National’s rural MPs.

Brewer would also take over supermarket reforms, as the previous Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister Scott Simpson had a conflict which had led to Willis taking responsibility.

Other changes include Brown picking up the energy portfolio from Simon Watts, who in turn takes over Brown’s minister for Auckland role.

Luxon said the past few weeks had underlined how important energy security was, and so was giving the role to a “senior” minister.

He said he had not lost confidence in Watts.

Luxon acknowledged Collins and Reti’s departures.

“New Zealand is better for Judith and Shane deciding to enter public service and I am grateful to count them both as friends. On behalf of the government and the National Party, I wish them all the best for their futures outside Parliament.”

Matt Doocey remains in Cabinet, and has not picked up any portfolios other than his existing mental health role.

He had been the sole South Island representative in Cabinet, but that has now doubled with Simmonds’ addition.

The changes come into effect on Tuesday, 7 April.

Luxon had not reshuffled his lineup since January 2025, other than to promote Scott Simpson to a role outside Cabinet following Andrew Bayly’s resignation.

The reshuffle applies to National Party ministers only, meaning ACT’s Brooke van Velden will continue in her portfolios despite her decision to retire from Parliament at the election.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Chris Penk and Penny Simmonds have been promoted to Cabinet, as the prime minister reshuffles his ministerial lineup.

The reshuffle also sees first-term MPs Cameron Brewer and Mike Butterick made ministers outside Cabinet.

The changes were necessitated by the upcoming retirement of Judith Collins, as well as Dr Shane Reti’s decision to stand down at the election.

Collins’ defence, space, and GCSB and NZSIS portfolios have been given to Penk, Paul Goldsmith takes on responsibility for the public service and digitising government, and Chris Bishop picks up the Attorney-General role.

Bishop’s position as Leader of the House has been given to Louise Upston.

Simmonds takes up Reti’s science, innovation, and technology portfolio, and his universities role has been disestablished to make Simmonds the minister for tertiary education.

She had previously been minister for vocational education, as well as environment. The latter has been given to Nicola Grigg, who remains outside Cabinet.

Brewer, who has been chairing Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee (a weighty role which often leads to a ministerial promotion) has been made minister of commerce and consumer affairs and minister for small business and manufacturing, while Butterick will become minister for Land Information.

Other changes include Simeon Brown picking up the energy portfolio from Simon Watts, who in turn takes over Brown’s minister for Auckland role.

Prime minister Christopher Luxon said the past few weeks had underline how important energy security was, and so was giving the role to a “senior” minister.

Luxon acknowledged Collins and Reti’s departures.

“New Zealand is better for Judith and Shane deciding to enter public service and I am grateful to count them both as friends. On behalf of the government and the National Party, I wish them all the best for their futures outside Parliament.”

The changes come into effect on Tuesday, 7 April.

Luxon had not reshuffled his lineup since January 2025, other than to promote Scott Simpson to a role outside Cabinet following Andrew Bayly’s resignation.

The reshuffle applies to National Party ministers only, meaning ACT’s Brooke van Velden will continue in her portfolios despite her decision to retire from Parliament at the election.

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

Source: New Zealand Government

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced a refreshed ministerial lineup to continue fixing the basics and protecting New Zealand’s future.

“New Zealanders are facing economic challenges brought on by conflict in the Middle East and its effect on fuel supply across the world,” says Christopher Luxon.

“Having a strong ministerial team with real-world experience to deliver our response is crucial. Today’s reshuffle reflects that and brings in new talent.

“Having successfully delivered significant reforms from outside Cabinet, Chris Penk will now join Cabinet, picking up the Defence, GCSB and NZSIS, and Space portfolios. Chris’ time in the NZDF leaves him well placed to lead the work our Government has done in raising the status and capability of our armed forces.

“Penny Simmonds also joins Cabinet with responsibility for Tertiary Education and Science, Innovation and Technology. Penny has successfully delivered reforms to the vocational education sector, also from outside Cabinet, and will bring her extensive governance experience to her new portfolios.

“The past few weeks have underlined how important energy security is and as such I will be elevating the Energy portfolio to senior minister Simeon Brown.

“Chris Bishop becomes Attorney-General and Paul Goldsmith takes responsibility for the Public Service and Digitising Government, and Pacific Peoples portfolios.

“Louise Upston will become Leader of the House and Simon Watts will be Minister for Auckland.

“Nicola Grigg becomes Minister for the Environment and Scott Simpson becomes Minister of Statistics and Deputy Leader of the House. 

“Joining as a Minister outside Cabinet, Cameron Brewer becomes Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Small Business and Manufacturing, and Associate Minister of Immigration. Mike Butterick becomes Minister for Land Information and Associate Minister of Agriculture.

“Finally, I acknowledge the public service of Judith Collins and Shane Reti who, between them, have dedicated almost 40 years to representing their communities in Parliament.

“Judith was first elected in 2002 and since then, has held numerous different ministerial portfolios and served as Leader of the Opposition. This term, she has delivered the Defence Capability Plan, advanced New Zealand’s space industry and modernised of our public service.

“In Shane’s 12 years in Parliament, he has served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition and has delivered key reforms as a minister, including improving the commerciality of our science sector to boost incomes and create jobs. He has also played a key role in projects that will benefit New Zealanders for generations, like the third medical school and expanded cancer screening.  

“I would also like to acknowledge the staff who have supported Judith and Shane throughout their time here.

“New Zealand is better for Judith and Shane deciding to enter public service and I am grateful to count them both as friends. On behalf of the Government and the National Party, I wish them all the best for their futures outside Parliament.”

These changes will come into effect on Tuesday 7 April.

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand has joined Australia, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom in expressing “deep concern” about an Israeli bill expanding the death penalty for Palestinians.

Winston Peters posted on social media on Wednesday night, indicating New Zealand had joined the other nations, and emphasising the country’s opposition “for decades” to the death penalty “in all circumstances”.

It comes as the Green Party tried on Wednesday to move a motion in Parliament on the issue, but failed to get the support of all parties.

The ACT party told RNZ it did not support the motion being put without notice, and noted the Minister of Foreign Affairs was responsible for expressing New Zealand’s position on international issues.

Earlier this week, the Israeli parliament finalised a controversial bill that would effectively expand the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism and nationalistic murders.

The bill stipulated that residents in the West Bank who killed an Israeli “with the intent to negate the existence of the State of Israel” would be sentenced to death.

The Foreign Ministers of Australia, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom released a joint statementexpressing their “deep concern” about the bill, saying it would “significantly expand the possibilities to impose the death penalty in Israel”.

“We are particularly worried about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill. The adoption of this bill would risk undermining Israel’s commitments with regards to democratic principles.

“The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring effect. This is why we oppose the death penalty, whatever the circumstances around the world. The rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental value that unites us.”

The statement also urged the Israeli decision makers to “abandon these plans”.

The Green party wanted to highlight the issue in parliament, and sought support from across the House to move a motion without notice.

Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick told reporters on Wednesday afternoon convention stipulated motions without notice needed prior agreement from all parties.

“This stops spurious motions going up and clogging the time of our parliament.”

The motion read that the “New Zealand House of Representatives expresses deep concern about Israel’s new legislation which extends the use of the death penalty against Palestinians living under unlawful occupation; shares the concerns of Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy about the “de facto discriminatory character’ of the legislation; and calls on the Israeli Government to reverse this legislation”.

Labour and Te Pāti Māori both told RNZ they supported the motion.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said his party would firmly support a motion in the House to condemn Israel’s use of the death penalty against Palestianians.

“It clearly discriminates against Palestinians – a point underscored by the fact that the law does not apply to Israeli extremists who commit similar crimes. There are major issues with the process including that it removes the right to an appeal. By condemning Israel, we would stand alongside the United Nations, EU and the UK.”

Te Pāti Māori told RNZ it supported the motion, and queried why other parties had not.

“This law further embeds discrimination into Israel’s justice system by allowing Palestinians to be sentenced to death while others are not subject to the same punishment for similar acts,” a spokesperson for the party said.

“It sits within the context of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, and the backdrop of Israel and the United States’ illegal invasion of Iran and Lebanon.”

National and New Zealand First did not respond to queries but the ACT party told RNZ it did not support the motion being put without notice.

A spokesperson for the party said it noted the Minister of Foreign Affairs was responsible for expressing New Zealand’s position on international issues, and “ACT supports that approach over symbolic motions in the House”.

“If the House passed a motion every time a country passed a law of concern, we would spend more time talking about other countries’ legislation than our own.

“All MPs have the right to put a motion on notice under Standing Orders.”

In response, Swarbrick said it was “deeply disappointing” and acknowledged the point was “symbolism”.

“I can point to many different examples when the ACT Party, for example, has put forward very similar motions, evidently for the very purpose of that same symbolism, which in turn means something on the international stage.

“It felt particularly pertinent for our country to take a stand against the perpetuation of abuse of human rights with the Israeli parliament passing the ability to effectively murder, to slaughter Palestinian hostages and prisoners.”

She said a motion on notice did not have the status of being read out in Parliament and having the backing of every single parliamentary party.

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

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

The fuel crisis has left a feeling of anxiety among Māori communities who do not know how much fuel is in their rohe, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.

Ngarewa-Packer, the party’s energy spokesperson, sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Mata host Mihingarangi Forbes and said while tikanga-led covid-19 responses proved Māori were resilient, planning a response for the fuel crisis was difficult without the most up to date information.

She said that was particularly evident in her rohe of Te Tai Hauāuru.

“We have large rural communities that don’t have public transport. We have pockets of hauora, pockets of main hospitals where whānau have to travel to for treatment to even see GPs.

“We have whānau that have to transport their tamariki to kura because there aren’t buses available. Day to day living here is extremely reliant on the ability to mobilise…. at the same time, we have a large proportion of our community, especially that have been wanting to transition away from fossils, who have been fighting seabed mining for years and have been pushing for alternative solutions in our infrastructure – they’re not seeing the alternative solutions coming.”

Ngarewa-Packer sent a letter to the government requesting a cross-party committee on energy security and cost of living mitigation – a letter she said was ignored.

“A couple of days after, MBIE reached out and the Prime Minister’s Office reached out to give us a brief on what it is that they know we’re doing, but, of course, it’s not in real time,” she said.

“Even the data that we get on the supply of fuel… Monday’s data was from Wednesday midnight [and] yesterday’s data was from Sunday so it was lip service.”

She said the committee would have been a chance for the government to put aside their political differences and come up with proactive and pre-emptive responses to the crisis.

“What’s really concerning is that this is a government that hasn’t had a great relationship with Māori, with our communities, and has created some real harm.

“What it would look like is an inclusive response and that’s what we’re really pushing for and just get over each other’s politics and actually think about our communities that are going to be hurt the most.”

Ngarewa-Packer said whānau in the region should begin their rationing fuel on their own.

“We should be applying our own manāki, our own rangatiratanga and mana motuhake in how we do this.

“I’m seeing it already, our kura and our sports are using vans to pick up everyone. I’m seeing some of our local iwi are now set up ability to work in different pods and offices within their own communities so they don’t need to travel. I’m seeing thinking and planning being done to be able to identify vulnerable people, including our kaumātua, to be able to get their groceries and things.

“That’s really easing in and understanding it and starting that community thinking. When you live collectively and you think collectively, you plan differently. I don’t think the government is doing that.”

The full interview is available on the RNZ website and on Youtube.

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

Source: New Zealand Government

Rule changes freeing up high country farmers to make the most of their land will unlock economic opportunities, support job creation and strengthen regional economies, Land Information Minister Chris Penk and South Island Minister James Meager say.  

“Farmers in the high country make a significant contribution to New Zealand’s primary industries, but they’re telling us they want to do more and regulatory barriers are holding them back,” Land Information Minister Chris Penk says. 

“That’s why the Government will introduce a Bill to Parliament that will give Crown pastoral land leaseholders more flexibility to expand their businesses and diversify their income. 

“Changes to the Crown Pastoral Land Act and Land Act will allow a wider range of complementary activities on Crown pastoral land alongside pastoral farming, including growing crops and horticulture, running small farm shops, hospitality ventures, and renewable energy projects. 

“Modelling suggests these changes could significantly lift the value of Crown pastoral land, with returns per hectare rising from around $80 for pastoral farming to about $2,000 for horticulture such as cherries, and up to $18,500 for solar projects in some cases. 

“As the economic productivity of this Crown-owned land increases, so too does the return for Kiwi taxpayers over time, through higher-value lease arrangements that bring in revenue for the Government, supporting investment in public services and infrastructure.” 

South Island Minister James Meager says with 1.2 million hectares of Crown pastoral land in the South Island, stretching from Marlborough to Southland, most of it currently used for pastoral farming, the scale of the opportunity is significant.

“Adding activities like horticulture and beekeeping alongside traditional farming, along with selling fresh produce on site, gives farmers more ways to earn from their land and grow their operations. 

“Encouraging hospitality ventures, tourism and hunting also attracts visitors to the region, benefiting the wider local business community as people spend in shops, eat at restaurants, and stay in nearby accommodation. 

“We know this land and its environment are deeply valued in the South Island, and these changes make the rules clearer, simpler, and more workable for farmers, while maintaining strong protections for the high country’s environment and ensuring pastoral farming remains the primary land use.” 

Mr Penk says the Bill will also reduce unnecessary administrative burden and give farmers greater certainty by clearly setting out which day-to-day activities, such as fertilising land or repairing farm buildings, can be carried out without approval and which require formal consent.  

“The Bill also establishes a pathway for removing land from the Crown pastoral estate in exceptional cases where using it for a different purpose would deliver significant benefits for New Zealand. 

“These changes will make it easier for leaseholders to run modern, productive businesses while protecting the unique South Island high country for future generations,” Mr Penk says. 

Note to editors: 

• The public can provide feedback on the Crown Land Legislation Amendment Bill through the Select Committee process. 

MIL OSI

Source: New Zealand Government

New Zealand and the Cook Islands have signed a Defence & Security Declaration in Rarotonga today, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.

“New Zealand and the Cook Islands have a special constitutional relationship which has endured for six decades,” Mr Peters says. 

“Today’s Declaration is about setting a course together for the future.

“The strategic environment we face is more complex and contested today than at any other point since New Zealand and the Cook Islands formed our free association relationship in 1965. 

“In that context, it’s vital that New Zealand and the Cook Islands are clear, with one another and third parties, about the nature of our special relationship and our responsibilities to one another in the defence and security domains. 

“This Declaration outlines a set of important political commitments that the Cook Islands and New Zealand have made to one another which provide clarity on key aspects of our special constitutional relationship.

“It’s no secret that our two governments have had a series of serious disagreements since late 2024,” Mr Peters says. 

“As we debated how to get past these disagreements, it became clear that one of their root causes was the lack of a shared understanding about the requirements of our special constitutional relationship – especially as it pertained to defence and security matters and the extent of the consultation required between us.

“This Declaration resolves this former ambiguity and provides clarity to both Governments so that we can move forward focused on the future, not the past.”

The Declaration adds to the other important expressions of the New Zealand-Cook Islands relationship: the Cook Islands Constitution, the exchange of letters between Prime Ministers Norman Kirk and Albert Henry in 1973, the Letters Patent of 1983 and the Joint Centenary Declaration of 2001.

New Zealand’s paused financial support to the Cook Islands will be restored following today’s Declaration signing, Mr Peters says. 

“We earlier took a difficult decision to pause parts of New Zealand’s funding to the Cook Islands Government because there was no shared understanding of the nature of our special constitutional relationship. Now that we have come to a mutually satisfactory understanding of the underpinnings of our partnership, we are pleased to normalise all aspects of our relationship – including New Zealand’s financial support. 

“Throughout the past two years, New Zealand has never wavered from our steadfast commitment to the Cook Islands people and their strong attachment to the free association relationship between our two countries. 

“We are pleased to now have a shared certainty about the contours of that relationship, and we are grateful to Prime Minister Brown and his government for the constructive way they approached the negotiation of this Declaration.

“New Zealand and the Cook Islands people benefit from our special constitutional relationship. We look forward now to further enhancing the broad range of cooperation between New Zealand and the Cook Islands, as well as navigating together the complex strategic environment and the many shared challenges we face,” Mr Peters says.

The political commitments made in the Declaration are summarised below. The Declaration’s full text can be found here.

Declaration summary

The Cook Islands-New Zealand Defence and Security Declaration contains a series of commitments. 

The political commitments made by the Cook Islands to New Zealand in the Declaration are as follows: 

• To uphold the fundamental values upon which New Zealand citizenship is based (clause 2).
• To discharge its foreign policy and diplomatic relationships subject to the constitutional limits of free association (clause 5).
• To uphold the defence and security interests of New Zealand, the Cook Islands and the Realm as a whole (clause 6).
• To continue to permit the New Zealand Defence Force access to the Cook Islands’ territory (including EEZ) to fulfil its mandate and uphold shared security commitments (clause 9).
• To consult with New Zealand in good faith on matters of defence and security that may affect New Zealand’s interests and constitutional responsibilities (clause 10), including maintaining regular structured dialogue and providing information to New Zealand on defence or security matters upon its request and to the fullest extent possible (clause 13).
• To engage with New Zealand on any requests for defence and security before engagement with other partners (clause 14).

In return, New Zealand has committed to the Cook Islands that it will: 

• Remain the primary defence and security partner for the Cook Islands and provide defence and security capacity and capability building (clause 7).
• Uplift Defence engagement and uphold the responsibility of the New Zealand Defence Force for the Cook Islands (clause 8).
• Consult with the Cook Islands in good faith on matters of defence and security that may affect the Cook Islands’ interests (clause 10), including maintaining regular structured dialogue and providing information to the Cook Islands on defence or security matters upon its request and to the fullest extent possible. (clause 13).

Both New Zealand and the Cook Islands have committed not to enter into activities, agreements or arrangements with other partners that would undermine the commitments set out in the Declaration

MIL OSI

Source: New Zealand Government

Reporting released today shows the Government’s efforts to reduce youth offending and improve school attendance are making a positive difference in the lives of young Kiwis.

Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says the Annual Report on the Child and Youth Strategy and the Child Poverty Related Indicators presented in Parliament this morning provides important insights, including:

offending rates for all children and young people have improved from 2023/24 and are significantly improved from 2019/20
substantiated findings of child abuse and neglect have reduced between 2023/24 and 2024/2025
regular school attendance is improving for all learners aged 6 to 16 years old
most parents had access to maternity care and have been coping well with parenting
the number of children living in food insecure households decreased between 2023/24 and 2024/2025.

It’s the second Annual Report on the Child and Youth Strategy and the Child Poverty Related Indicators set by the Government in 2024. Findings show many children and young people are continuing to thrive across a range of outcomes. 

However challenges also remain, with 14.3 per cent of children experiencing material hardship in 2024/25, and an increase in the number of children in households receiving a main benefit over the last year. 

“These figures reflect the challenges of continuing tough economic circumstances, which we are tackling head-on,” Minister Upston says. 

“We’re focused on practical solutions, including breaking cycles of welfare dependency, creating more jobs, and improving outcomes in areas such as education, health, housing and law and order to help keep children out of material hardship in the long term.

“Through the Child and Youth Strategy we’re delivering a coordinated cross-government approach to improve outcomes for children and young people. Our work continues to be informed by our social investment approach to ensure we base investment decisions on research, data, and evidence of impact.

This year’s report also includes updates on key actions to make further progress, including to:

reduce child material hardship through programmes such as the Healthy School Lunches, Early Childhood Education Food, Food Secure Communities and Building Financial Capability
improve school attendance and educational achievement through the Attendance Action Plan and the Lifting Achievement work programme, and
contribute to reducing potentially avoidable hospitalisations through programmes such as Kahu Taurima, the Healthy Homes initiative and the immunisation work programme.

“We’re also continuing to work with and support those outside of government who work directly with children, young people and their families, whānau and communities to give young Kiwis a good start in life,” Louise Upston says. 

The Strategy and 2024/25 Annual Report documents are available on the Ministry of Social Development website.

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand has not joined in the latest international call for responsible use of AI by the military, but has been taking part in the UN talks about autonomous weapons.

AI has been used in unprecedented ways in the war in Iran, for instance in drawing up hit lists and targeting missiles, according to overseas media reports.

Forbes has called it “the first AI war”.

Australia, Canada and the UK were among this country’s Five Eyes group partners that endorsed the non-binding call issued by the third summit on “responsible artificial intelligence in the military domain”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said no one was sent to the summit in Spain in February, unlike the second summit in 2024 when the NZDF had someone there.

“Although we observe when resourcing allows, New Zealand is a not a member of REAIM,” MFAT said.

The US endorsed an earlier call from the 2024 summit of REAIM, a European government initiative.

The summits have been trying to nut out a blueprint for armies using AI but there remains no international law or legally-binding treaty that bans the use of lethal autonomous weapons.

Their calls to action have been described as “modest”.

The latest call said military AI “can and should” contribute to peace and security, for instance, by reducing exposure of military personnel and civilians to danger, and helping decisions to be faster and better.

But its risks had to be corralled within frameworks of international humanitarian and human rights law, it said.

In March, NZ permanent mission staff in Geneva took part in the UN talks on lethal autonomous weapons, MFAT said.

These revolved around work by a group of government experts on the conditions where autonomous weapons could be developed and used legally.

The March talks referred to a new report by a leading Swedish thinktank that said militaries must change their AI weapons buying practices to build into them political commitments to responsible use.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in the US the Pentagon had previously stressed that its flagship Replicator initiative – to build fleets of thousands of drones focused in the Indo-Pacific – was based on policies for ethical use of AI.

But it added, “the tension between acquisition speed and thorough legal, safety and ethical review remains unresolved in public documentation.”

More recently, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has hit the accelerator on emerging tech development, while at the same time deriding “stupid rules of engagement” aimed at reducing mistakes and civilian casualties.

The Stockholm study said militaries seeking speed were turning to commercial AI solutions rather than the traditional approach of ordering what they need, custom-made. This was leading to the fielding of “minimum viable capabilities” often without a whole lot of pre-testing.

“States may even knowingly accept governance trade-offs under acute security or operational pressures,” it said.

The commercial, minimum viable approach has been gathering pace at the New Zealand Defence Force in the last year.

The study said governments should invest in evaluation mechanisms for military AI, and strengthen that by clear thinking in the military about what they want the AI they buy to do, backed up with solid ways to assure commercial suppliers’ tech was set to meet political obligations.

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