Author: Press Room

Property values in New Zealand grew 0.3% last month, according to CoreLogic, with further modest growth expected in 2025.The latest data comes from CoreLogic’s Home Value Index, with chief property economist Kelvin Davidson saying it is a further sign last year’s “mini downturn” has come to an end. Values declined cumulatively by 4.1% between March and September last year, followed by “modest movements” from October to January. “This month’s result marks the strongest rise since a 0.5% gain back in January last year,” CoreLogic said. The median national value was $807,164, down 16.9% from previous highs in 2021 and early…

A top government minister personally added a fossil fuel lobbyist to the shortlist of candidates to help govern the country’s main energy-saving agency.Simeon Brown then overrode official advice to appoint the lobbyist to the role.The former Energy Minister put John Carnegie on the board of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) in December, despite Carnegie not making the cut during interviews.Officials managing the recruitment process twice tried to exclude the fossil fuel lobbyist from the running, according to documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act — first after an initial screening, and a second time after Brown…

Thursday’s special summit was convened in reaction to Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to launch negotiations with Vladimir Putin. ADVERTISEMENTThe 27 leaders of the European Union are gathering in Brussels to discuss the future of Ukraine, a candidate country to join the bloc, amid Donald Trump’s maximalist demand that a deal to end Russia’s war be struck as soon as possible.It marks the first time that the heads of state and government meet in the same room since the American president held a 90-minute phone call with Vladimir Putin and decided to launch negotiations to end the three-year invasion. Trump’s growing…

Potential tariffs on New Zealand agricultural exports to the United States are concerning, the trade and investment minister says, but he is confident NZ’s trade is resilient and diverse enough to weather the worst.US president Donald Trump has signalled the US will impose tariffs on “external” agricultural products from 2 April.Todd McClay says New Zealand is “not sitting back waiting to see,” and the embassy in Washington DC was gathering as much information as it could and making the case to the US that New Zealand’s trade is well-balanced.”We buy and sell similar amounts to each other, it’s complementary. Predominantly,…

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council wants a $225 million water storage facility to be built on a small tributary of the Ngaruroro River.The council has announced it will share the cost of a feasibility study for the 27 million cubic metre project near Whanawhana.The cost of the study will be about $3.2 million and will be shared by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) and central Government, supported by a 2020 loan from the Provincial Growth Fund. The spend is budgeted for in HBRC’s long-term plan.It is HBRC’s latest attempt to provide water security in the region after it abandoned the failed…

Foreign Minister Winston Peters says Phil Goff’s position as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom is now “untenable” after remarks he made about Donald Trump, which he described as “deeply disappointing”.The one-time Labour leader and former senior minister was appointed to the high commission job in London in 2022 after he served two terms as Auckland mayor.Goff made the comments on Trump in a question he posed at a live-streamed Q&A event with Finland’s foreign minister Elina Valtonen, on Tuesday.He asked the speaker: “I was re-reading Churchill’s speech to the House of Commons in 1938 after the Munich Agreement, and…

Although one source of odours plaguing Ōpōtiki residents has been located and rectified, there are still complaints about a bad smell in the town.Bay of Plenty Regional Council regulatory compliance team leader Trudy Richards said an abatement notice had been issued to Whakatōhea Mussels (Opotiki) Limited for breaching its consent in relation to wastewater quality discharge limits.The notice required the mussel factory to cease exceeding the consented limits immediately.“This is an ongoing investigation however, and further enforcement action is possible,” Richards said.Since December 18 there had been 32 odour related complaints concerning the Ōpōtiki area, 25 of them during February.…

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake has jolted North Canterbury this morning.The quake hit at 6.45am, and was centred 35km west of Culverden at a depth of 5km.At the time of writing, 2421 people reported the shaking to GeoNet’s website, where it was described as “light”. “Well, that was a bit of a jolt,” one user on X said. “Definitely a jolt there,” said another. Those who reported the quake stretched from Christchurch to Hanmer Springs, and some near Greymouth. Two earthquakes strike near HaastTwo earthquakes struck near Haast an hour after the tremor in North Canterbury.The first quake was a 4.6…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr’s shock resignation has created an unwelcome distraction, one economist says, and more information is needed from the Reserve Bank board about exactly what has gone on. It was announced on Wednesday that Orr was stepping down. Deputy governor Christian Hawkesby will take over in an acting position until 31 March. Orr was first appointed in 2018, and reappointed March 2023. His second term was due to end in 2028. From April 1, Finance Minister Nicola Willis will appoint a temporary governor for up to six months. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen…

Land Information New Zealand was a no-show at a meeting to consider the future of a Taranaki daycare centre the government agency last week evicted from a building it had occupied for 44 years.The Waitara and District Community Childcare Centre now faces a race against time to find new premises for the more than 50 tamariki in its care before losing its licence.More than 100 people crammed into the North Taranaki Sports and Recreation Centre in Waitara — most wanting answers from Land Information New Zealand — or Linz — about the daycare’s sudden eviction.Gina Blackburn says LINZ no-show was…