Author: Press Room

Two new non-financial sanctions focused on job searches and upskilling launch today under the Government’s beneficiary traffic light scheme.The alternative sanctions, which would apply to some jobseekers, were added to the bill following feedback at the select committee stage.The new sanctions were:Report Job Search: a requirement to undertake and report on a minimum of three job-search activities every week for four weeks. This sanction supports increased accountability for beneficiaries who are meant to be looking for work.Upskilling: a requirement to attend and participate in one or more employment-related training courses or programmes for a minimum of five hours per week…

Hundreds of Portugese millipedes are invading homes along Wellington’s South Coast, prompting scientists to investigate ways to halt their spread.Locals in areas such as Ōwhiro Bay have reported finding the invertebrates in shoes, bags, and even their beds. The infestation has worsened recently, as some residents described the experience as mentally exhausting. Ecology student Dan Moskovitz said the removal of the millipedes could “really get on people’s mental health”.”You sweep them up, bin them, and the next day they’re back. If you crush them, they smell bad.”The Portugese millipede, a European native, had likely been in Wellington for around two…

New Zealand is unprepared for a demographic shift that will see the over-65 population almost double within 25 years, according to a researcher warning of looming crises in housing, healthcare and aged care.Speaking on Q+A earlier today, Helen Clark Foundation researcher Kali Mercier said the country faces a shortage of 12,000 aged care beds by 2032 — just seven years away.”We’re not really planning for that in terms of our infrastructure provision at all,” Mercier said when asked if New Zealand is ready for an ageing population.”The short answer is no, we’re not.”The strain on healthcare will be immense as…

Inflation is expected to hit a 15-month high, as strong food prices, rates, power and transport costs continue to squeeze household budgets.Consumer prices for the three months ended September are expected to have risen about 1.0%, pushing the annual rate to 3.0% from 2.7% in June.ANZ senior economist Miles Workman has a top-of-the-range forecast of a 1.1% quarterly rise and 3.1% annual rate, which he said would reflect familiar drivers.”The housing and household utilities group is expected to contribute… with local council rates and electricity adding… fruit and vegetables and meat a little stronger than usual seasonality would imply.”Smaller contributions…

New Zealand’s final voter turnout for the 2025 local elections has been confirmed at 39.42%, prompting renewed calls for urgent reform from Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ).The figure, which included 34,793 special votes, was boosted by a surge in election day voting with 185,078 ballots cast — accounting for 14.1% of all votes.LGNZ interim chief executive Scott Necklen said voting habits were shifting and the system needed to change to accommodate them.”We saw more people cast their ballots 10 days prior to election day, followed by a voting lull until election day itself — when almost 15% of all ballots…

Corazon Miller follows one family’s struggle to leave Gaza for New Zealand, and uncovers official documents indicating it might have been possible to evacuate more people trying to escape the conflict. The call came with two days’ notice on Ahmed Abusaleeq’s 26th birthday. His aunt Nima Alhaj, 54, and his 8-year-old brother Musa Abusaileek were being assisted out of Gaza, in a complex nighttime evacuation plan. They all knew embarking on a bus journey through an active conflict zone was no guarantee of safe passage, but it was the best chance they had of a life, outside of the occupied…

New Zealander Gary Cunningham was among the five journalists killed while reporting on the covert Indonesian invasion of Timor-Leste. Shannon Brincat reports on one of the most egregious examples of atrocities committed against war correspondents.On October 16, 1975, five journalists were killed in the remote Timorese town of Balibo. To this day, no one has been charged with their deaths.Known as the “Balibo Five”, the men were reporting on the covert Indonesian invasion of Timor-Leste. They were Greg Shackleton and Tony Stewart from Australia, Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters from the United Kingdom, and Gary Cunningham from New Zealand.From left:…

GrabOne’s recent slide into receivership is the latest in a series of shutdowns of Kiwi brands facing stiff competition from online rivals and better resourced overseas businesses.The deal website’s demise follows big names which have disappeared from our high streets, including Smiths City, Smith and Caughey’s and, earlier, kids’ clothing chain Pumpkin Patch.Looking back at Kiwi businesses that have died – watch on TVNZ+There have also been brands merged or renamed – ANZ and National Bank came together in 2012, and supermarket Foodtown rebranded as Countdown in the late 2000s, later to rebrand again as Woolworths.So are there common reasons…

Retailers are backing an ACT proposal to allow surcharges for credit card payments when customers have a free option available to them.ACT commerce and consumer affairs spokesperson Parmjeet Parmar has written to the chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee and the Commerce Minister proposing an amendment to the Retail Payment System Amendment Bill.The Government announced in July a ban on surcharges on card payments in-store, such as PayWave, from no later than May 2026.Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson told RNZ’s Morning Report this week he’s hoping to press on with the charges at pace, and is looking…

New Zealand needs to come to terms with the fact that rising house prices are not a good thing, a new report says.The research, conducted by Motu Research and Victoria University, shows that renters’ wellbeing has fallen as property prices have risen.Between 2005 and 2021, house prices rose 142%. They have since fallen, but are only about 15% from their peak.Motu Senior Fellow and Victoria University professor Arthur Grimes said the increase had deepened inequalities in New Zealanders’ wellbeing.”People who own their house outright, who don’t have a mortgage, to some extent they benefit a little bit from house prices…