Author: Press Room

Food prices have increased 3.5% in the 12 months to March, according to Stats NZ figures released today. The increase follows a 2.4% increase in the 12 months to February 2025. Grocery food, up 5.1%, and meat, poultry and fish, up 5.3%, contributed the most to the increase in food prices. Infometrics principal economist Brad Olsen said the reason for the prices being driven up is the global demand for dairy and meat. “Of course, that’s good for New Zealand farmers but at the same time it is costing Kiwi consumers more.”However, partially offsetting the increase was lower prices for fruit and vegetables,…

Iceland’s Stance on Counter-TariffsADVERTISEMENTIceland’s Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir spoke with Euronews, reaffirming her government’s decision to refrain from imposing counter-tariffs on the United States in response to the escalating trade tensions. Frostadóttir made it clear that Iceland would not engage in a trade war, emphasizing her commitment to free trade despite the pressure from rising tariffs. “We are not going to respond with our own tariffs. We believe in free trade. We’re a small economy,” she exclaimed. “Hopefully we’ll see these tariffs go down.” Concerns Over Escalating Trade TensionsThe Trump administration has announced a 90-day pause on the tariffs he’d imposed on…

KiwiRail has been fined $63,000 after an incident where the Te Huia Hamilton to Auckland train failed to obey a red signal and risked collision with another passenger train in Auckland in 2023.The train, which was carrying 94 passengers at the time of the incident, passed a red light and continued into an area where two tracks converged, and an Auckland train had right-of-way.An investigation by the Transport Accident Investigations Commission found the train damaged a set of points – moveable sections of track that transferred trains from one line to another – and came to a stop over the…

New regulations cracking down on the prolonged tethering of dogs is expected to be finalised by year-end, the Government has announced this afternoon.Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard said the change will give animal welfare inspectors the tools to intervene quickly when dogs are suffering harm from being tied up for long periods. The SPCA has welcomed the move, calling it a “major milestone”.Hoggard said he had “been hearing a lot from members of the public” who want to see action taken” on the issue of dog chaining.”Most dog owners in New Zealand treat their animals well and these regulations will…

A company that once operated a popular South Dunedin tavern has been liquidated, leaving behind more than $100,000 of remaining debt. Akuhata Ltd was put into liquidation in February last year, with Trevor and Emma Laing appointed liquidators. The company was incorporated in November 2020 for the purpose of purchasing a tavern operation from a leased premises in Dunedin, The Kensington Tavern, the liquidator’s first report said. The business was placed on the market in 2023 and an agreement for sale was entered into and settled on in January last year. Payments to secured creditors were made from the sale…

Five years after Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and hauled to jail in handcuffs, the former movie mogul returns to a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday (local time) for a new trial covering the very same allegations — plus one that hasn’t been tried before.It isn’t double jeopardy, but rather a legal redo after a New York appeals court overturned the landmark #MeToo verdict a year ago.The state’s Court of Appeals threw out Weinstein’s convictions and 23-year prison sentence and ordered a new trial after finding that the original one was tilted by “egregious” judicial rulings and prejudicial testimony.Jury selection could…

Tomato crops are thriving in Reporoa, powered by what Aucklanders are throwing in their green bins.Auckland’s food scraps collection and a clever process called anaerobic digestion are helping to cut landfill waste, reduce emissions, and reuse organic material as energy and fertiliser.Unknowingly fuelling this transformation are families in Auckland, such as Ōtara resident TyraTheir food scraps – and those of thousands of Auckland households – are collected weekly and transported to Ecogas, a processing facility in Reporoa, in the Rotorua Lakes district.Food scraps are broken down without oxygen to generate renewable energy, liquid fertiliser, and soon, carbon dioxide to enhance…

ADVERTISEMENTFrance’s strong resistance to the Mercosur agreement is beginning to crack in response to concerns over potential restrictions on EU exports to the US.“Existing and future trade agreements between the EU and other economies (JEFTA [the free trade agreement with Japan], CETA [the free trade agreement with Canada], the free trade agreement Mercosur‑UE) could further cushion tariff shocks linked to US trade policy,” Bank of France’s Governor, François Villeroy de Galhau, said in his annual letter to French President Emmanuel Macron on 9 April.In December the European Commission concluded a political agreement with the Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and…

Thousands of senior medical doctors have voted to go on strike for 24 hours over pay at the beginning of next month in a move the Health Minister has called “deeply disappointing” and “failing patients”.The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists union said its 5500 members would go on strike on May 1.Executive director Sarah Dalton said the planned 24-hour strike was “huge”.In the last round of pay negotiations in 2023, members took took two strikes – one for two hours, one for four hours.”A 24 hour strike is unprecedented, but we’re really stuck,” she said.Dalton said the union’s collective agreement…

Kiwibank has joined ANZ this week in cutting its interest rates ahead of quarterly inflation statistics being released on Thursday.The change — due in effect tomorrow — comes after the Reserve Bank reduced the Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points last week.Kiwibank’s standard six-month fixed rate would drop 16 basis points to 6.39%. Its special six-month fixed rate would also drop by 16 basis points to 5.49%.The bank’s one-year standard fixed rate would go down 20 basis points to 5.89%. The special one-year fixed rate would also drop 20 basis points to 4.99%.The rest of Kiwibank’s fixed home loan…