Author: Press Room

By Giles Dexter of RNZ The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury. The Treasury’s 2025 Long Term Insights Briefing said debt had risen in recent decades, partly because responses to adverse shocks were not met by savings between those shocks. The higher debt meant less capacity to respond to future shocks, like natural hazards, weather-related risks and biosecurity risks. Treasury estimated the total cost of the pandemic was $66 billion over the 2020-26 financial years and about 20.4% of GDP. The IMF and OECD estimated it was…

The coroner says the employers of an Irish seasonal worker – killed when a digger touched with overhead powerlines – failed to brief workers on safety procedures ahead of the death.Sean Clear was electrocuted in February 2023 on Taurewa Station in the central North Island when an excavator being used to free a tractor and mower unit stuck in muddy conditions and came into contact with powerlines carrying 30,000 volts.In findings released on Thursday, coroner Mark Wilton said a WorkSafe investigation into the death had found Clear’s employer, NP & MA Coogan Partnership had breached Health and Safety obligations in…

Total KiwiSaver assets rose nearly $9 billion in the second quarter with strong market returns across most funds.Financial research company Morningstar, which tracked the data, said KiwiSaver assets hit $129.1b in the three months ended June.Aggressive and growth KiwiSaver funds continued to outperform others.”Over 10 years, the aggressive category average has given investors an annualised return of 8.6%, followed by growth (7.8%), balanced (6.4%), moderate (4.6%), and conservative (4.1%),” Morningstar director and report author Greg Bunkall said.Still, most KiwiSaver funds produced positive returns, with all default funds, apart from Fisher Funds, returning more than 4%.”However it is worth noting that…

An Auckland man has been jailed for nearly six years over more than $1.7 million worth of fraud related to Covid-19 relief schemes.Luke Daniel Rivers, also known as Mai Qu, pleaded guilty to 29 charges, including Wage Subsidy and Small Business Cashflow Scheme fraud and money laundering.He was sentenced to 5 years and 11 months imprisonment in the Auckland District Court.Rivers had made 28 wage subsidy applications on behalf of eight companies, with 12 of those applications being fraudulent. He received $906,818.40 in wage subsidy funds and tried unsuccessfully to get another $724,106.60.To support the applications, Rivers forged documents and…

A man has admitted his role in a nearly $4m Ponzi scheme that spanned seven years.Thomas Alexander Kokouri Tuira, known as Alex Tuira, and Aroha Awhinanui Tuira were charged in May 2023 by the Serious Fraud Office on 115 counts of obtaining by deception.The couple were scheduled to have their judge-alone trial in the High Court at Christchurch begin this week.On Thursday, Thomas Tuira appeared before Justice Jonathan Eaton and pleaded guilty to two representative charges. The remaining charges were dropped.His wife, Aroha Tuira, will have her trial continue on Monday.The charges state between May 2014 and May 2021 he…

ADVERTISEMENT When US President Donald Trump issued a warning on Tuesday about the trade deal he agreed with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland on 27 July, it was another German – former Chancellor Angela Merkel – who appeared to be on his mind. Despite being out of power for almost four years, the former German leader’s complex relationship with Donald Trump – marked at times by respect and dislike – appears to continue to exert influence over the US president. When quizzed on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ via phone Trump said of the trade deal that a…

The Conservation Department has offered a compromise over parking fees at Punakaiki’s Pancake Rocks, after strong objections from locals. Twelve free parks opposite the new Paparoa National Park Visitor Centre on SH6 were removed in June by NZTA Waka Kotahi, leaving DOC’s carpark as the only option for motorists. The pricing strategy released by DOC today for its paid parking trial starting next month, sets the fee at $5 an hour. But Punakaiki locals will be allowed to park free of charge for 20 minutes, giving them time to pick up a coffee or their mail. Buller and Grey residents…

By Russell Palmer of RNZ Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told the Queenstown Business Chamber the economy is not recovering, and more spending is needed to get the settings right. Hipkins and several of his MPs are in the town ahead of a caucus retreat in Christchurch this week, aiming to speak to South Island communities. In Thursday’s speech to the Queenstown Business Chamber, he said the government’s strategy for growth was not tackling the underlying economic problems. “While there are pockets of positivity around economic growth, overall the country is not in the economic shape that we need it…

Residents in the Taranaki town of Stratford are learning what it takes for animal control to act on dog attack reports, following a nocturnal mauling spree of backyard birds.Two dogs were impounded this week, after locals reported that two uncontrolled dogs have killed up to 50 neighbourhood hens and quails in the past month, and were spotted in the area by security camera footage.Lizzy and Daniel Waterson lost seven of their family pet chickens that were mauled or killed on July 28.”Last Tuesday morning, we woke up and I checked the cameras on the phone and I saw two dogs…

A man has been arrested after allegedly threatening a staff member at Masterton Police Station with a knife, putting the station into lockdown this morning.Wairarapa Area Commander Inspector Nicholas Thom said the man entered Masterton Police Station at 11.37am and “presented a knife” at the staff member on the front counter.”The staff member acted swiftly and immediately placed the station into lockdown.”Officers attempted to speak to the man but he continued to act in a “threatening way”, Thom said.”The altercation later moved outside the police station where staff continued to speak with the man.”The man was tasered and arrested at…