Author: Press Room

Auckland Airport is lowering its price planned increases after the Commerce Commission said it was overcharging by nearly $200 million.The competition regulator has published its final report on the airport’s next price-setting period, concluding its forecast revenue was excessive and targeted returns were too high.It said the airport was targeting excess profit of $190m and its charges were too high, with businesses and consumers likely to end up carrying much of the cost-burden.The commission said excess profit represented a targeted return of 8.73% from priced aeronautical activities – such as aircraft landing and passenger terminal charges – compared to the…

The living wage will be increased to $28.95 per hour from September, a $1.15 increase from the current $27.80. The announcement comes as the minimum wage gets a meagre $0.35 boost to $23.50 starting this Tuesday, 1 April. The living wage is set by Living Wage Aotearoa NZ, a coalition of unions and other groups without any connection to the government. Many government contracts use the living wage – though the current government has proposed removing that requirement. The new living wage would ensure employees at one of the 342 accredited Living Wage Employers make at least $5.45 an hour more than…

Four guns were located inside a guitar case after an armed call out in Auckland yesterday.Police received a report of a person in possession of what appeared to be a firearm outside a property in Kitemoana St, Ōrākei at around 2.10pm.Auckland City East Area Prevention Manager Inspector Rachel Dolheguy said police arrived and located the firearms inside a vehicle parked at the address.She said an armed approach was made but that all parties were cooperative with police.”A search of the vehicle located a guitar case with four firearms inside, including two pistols, one shotgun and one rifle.”Dolheguy said taking the…

The Reserve Bank is reassessing how much capital banks need to hold in reserve amid criticism its policy is too tough and costly.Board chair Neil Quigley told the Finance and Expenditure Committee inquiry into banking that an evidence-based review of capital requirements will be undertaken by international experts with a report expected by the end of this year.He said the review will take time, and cannot be rushed.”We cannot just decide next week we’re going to do something different,” he said, adding the current requirements took two years to set.Finance Minister Nicola Willis said higher capital requirements increased the cost…

The minister for workplace relations says she is looking to cut health and safety red tape for low-risk businesses and create a hotline to enable reporting of overzealous road cone use. Brooke van Velden spoke of the plan at this week’s post-Cabinet press conference with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. She said Cabinet had agreed to narrow the focus of the Health and Safety at Work Act to risks that could cause death, serious injury or illness in small enterprises. Van Velden said small, low-risk businesses were unsure of what risks to focus on and had been struggling to meets the…

Rail Minister Winston Peters has revealed two new Cook Strait ferries will enter service in 2029 with rail decks and the capacity for 40 wagons. Cabinet agreed on the package earlier today, which Peters announced ahead of the Prime Minister’s post-Cabinet media conference later this afternoon. Peters said the package would be cheaper than the previous government’s plan with a “minimum viable and maximum reuse approach for the port infrastructure”. He said the contracts to build the ships themselves will be fully locked down by the end of the year. The Rail Minister said: “Our solution will be markedly cheaper…

The Greens are demanding the Prime Minister step in over Winston Peters’ statements, saying they have led to “immense” numbers of death threats against Green MP Benjamin Doyle.Peters in a social media post on Saturday said the media needed to start asking serious questions about one of Doyle’s social media accounts, “BibleBeltBussy – what the name really means and the posts – some of which have apparently been deleted”.The term “Bussy” is used by members of rainbow communities and refers to a man’s anus.”If it were any MP from a government party the media would’ve already headlined it. The silence…

The new Interislander ferries being delivered in 2029 will be about 200m long, 28m wide, and will have rail decks, Minister for Rail Winston Peters says. He says the marine infrastructure in Picton requires replacement, so it will be replaced, while the Wellington infrastructure “has life left in it” and will be modified and re-used. A timeline shows a shipyard will be selected for the build, with the government to sign off on contracts by the end of the year. Multi-party infrastructure works will also be scoped costed and begin by the end of year. Ferry Holdings, the Schedule 4…

A central North Island iwi has received an apology from the Crown for bringing “discord, death and division” to its people.Ngāti Hāua signed a deed of settlement with the Crown at Ngāpūwaiwaha Marae in Taumarunui on Saturday, after eight years of negotiations over redress for historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.The settlement Te Pua o te Riri Kore includes an agreed historical account and redress.’The Crown is deeply ashamed’ Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith delivered an apology to some 400 people at the marae, for Crown actions he said had caused harm and prejudiced Ngāti Hāua for over a…

A man has appeared in the Wellington District Court facing charges of indecency on public buses in Wellington.Earlier this month, police investigated complaints that a man on the Metlink bus network had acted in a sexually inappropriate manner, particularly towards women travelling alone.A 27-year-old was subsequently charged with two counts of committing an indecent act.In court on Monday, he was remanded on bail.The man was not allowed to enter Metlink’s buses and was granted interim name suppression.He would next appear on April 22.rnz.co.nz