42 articles
The Government will direct $5 million from the International Visitor Levy into one-off marketing and business events programmes for the 2026/27 year to accelerate tourism's return toward pre-pandemic levels.
The Government will remove nine health and life insurers from New Zealand's mandatory climate-related disclosures regime, reducing the total number of required reporting entities to 67.
The government will expand its AI Advisory Pilot to support 150 small businesses, up from 50, drawing on the initial $765,000 allocation from existing MBIE appropriations, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Cameron Brewer announced on 15 May 2026.
MBIE began public consultation on 9 June 2026 on a two-layer Winter Energy Reliability Obligation that shifts dry-year back-up responsibility to large electricity buyers and generators, while penalties for serious breaches rise from a $2 million cap to a maximum of $10 million, three times commercial gain or 10 per cent of turnover, whichever is greatest, effective 2027.
The Financial Markets Authority will assume regulatory responsibility for the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 from the Commerce Commission on 1 July 2026.
The Commerce Commission has released a draft decision proposing to cap interchange fees for commercial credit cards at 0.20 per cent for in-person transactions and 0.40 per cent for online transactions.
Pausing, cancelling and delaying infrastructure projects has cost New Zealand an estimated $11.835 billion over the past 25 years, according to a new report by economist Shamubeel Eaqub.
Mainfreight Limited achieved revenue of NZ$5.38 billion for the year ended 31 March 2026, up 2.8 percent, even as net profit fell 8.5 percent to NZ$251 million. Elevated fuel costs drove the margin compression and now feed directly into Reserve Bank of New Zealand inflation forecasts.
Monopoly Watch director Tex Edwards has accused large law firms of swamping parliamentary submissions on the Commerce (Commerce Commission Reform) Amendment Bill with lobbying.
New Zealand has more than 260 regulators, a new government report shows, exposing decades of overlap and complexity across central government, local councils and statutory bodies.
Ilaisaane Malupo, trading as Nane Easy Loan Finance Services NZ, was sentenced on 26 May 2026 in the Auckland District Court to 150 hours of community service, $15,000 restitution and a two-year lending ban.
Unison Networks has warned Napier City Council that its proposed shift to a capital-value transportation rate will raise electricity and telecommunications charges for Napier residents.
The Meat Industry Association has appointed Nick Beeby as chief executive effective 1 July 2026. Beeby succeeds Sirma Karapeeva and takes the role at a time when New Zealand red meat and fifth-quarter exports reached a record $11.7 billion in calendar 2025.
Inland Revenue is proposing to zero-rate GST on conference and convention attendance fees supplied to non-resident businesses. The move targets a 15 percent cost handicap that has deterred international organisers from choosing New Zealand.
The government announced a Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme on 25 May 2026 to support up to $1.2 billion in bank lending for businesses reducing natural gas use.
The Commerce Commission will release its final decision this week on the default price-quality path for New Zealand's gas pipeline businesses from October 2026, testing how much cost recovery the regulator allows network owners to accelerate as supply and demand decline.
Worldclear Limited, a small Hamilton company with fewer than a dozen staff, processed around NZ$500 million in international payments annually for clients later convicted of financial crimes.
Class action proceedings against overseas online gambling operators Bet365 and Super Group have hit a jurisdiction hurdle in the New Zealand High Court, with defendants arguing that any delays stem from suing foreign parties.
EROAD Limited swung to a $161.1 million net loss for the year ended 31 March 2026 after booking a $134.7 million non-cash impairment on its North American operations. The result marks a sharp reversal from the $1.4 million profit recorded in FY25 and underscores the risks of scaling a telematics platform into volatile international freight markets.
WorkSafe New Zealand charged WasteCo NZ Ltd on or around May 4 2026 with three alleged breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 following the May 2025 death of worker Lynda Marion Kelly at the Te Anau transfer station.
Business leaders report modest gains in financial positivity while overall sentiment stays near record lows, underscoring a diverging economy where export-oriented sectors gain ground and domestic-facing industries struggle under fuel-price pressures and pre-election uncertainty.
New Zealand banks channel only 18 per cent of lending to businesses excluding agriculture, well below the 30 per cent share recorded in Australia at the same point.
The government's abrupt scrapping of a long-term energy strategy in April 2026 has left New Zealand businesses facing fresh uncertainty, as gas reserves continue their sharp decline and short-term fixes dominate policy.
No New Zealand bank has met Consumer NZ's threshold for its People's Choice award for customer satisfaction in 2026, the first time this has occurred in ten years.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced on 19 May 2026 that the Ministry for Primary Industries has published the terms of reference for the statutory review of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001.
Australia's replacement of the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount with a 30 per cent minimum rate on real gains from 1 July 2027 has made New Zealand the lighter-tax option for company founders across the Tasman.
A NZ$2.08 million share purchase agreement between New Zealand businessman George Kerr and Vadim Perelman collapsed into five years of litigation after the parties disagreed on settlement mechanics. The English Commercial Court has now ordered specific performance of the deal.
The Financial Markets Authority has abandoned the term 'integrated financial products' in its latest guidance on sustainability disclosures.
Australia now sources 50 to 60 per cent of its tobacco from illicit suppliers. New Zealand has kept the same figure between 5 and 10 per cent under a different regulatory path.
New Zealand recorded 358900 international visitor arrivals in March 2026, up 15 percent on the prior year, according to Stats NZ data. Airlines have responded with targeted capacity cuts rather than wholesale reductions while fuel prices remain elevated after the late February Middle East conflict.
Gentrack Group Limited reported recurring revenue of $85.3 million for the six months ended 31 March 2026, up 12 percent, even as statutory net profit fell 29 percent to $5.1 million due to two delayed utilities deals.
One NZ experienced a partial mobile network outage across the country starting shortly after 12:30pm on Monday 18 May 2026, leaving customers unable to reliably make or receive calls.
New Zealand's services sector remained in contraction in April 2026. The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index rose 2.7 points to 48.9 from a revised 46.2 in March.
New Zealand food prices stayed flat in April 2026, rising just 2.6 per cent over the year — the softest annual pace since February 2025 — according to Stats NZ data that highlights how government-mandated shifts continue to drive up household costs.
New Zealand's four largest retail banks have joined Visa's Agentic Ready programme and can now handle AI-driven agent-initiated payments using existing tokenisation and risk controls.
Transpower's draft 2026 Security of Supply Assessment warns of a potential energy security gap by 2031 unless the record 1,100 MW commissioning pipeline of generation, batteries and upgrades is accelerated into the 2030s. PowerHub's $149 monthly EcoWave battery subscription offers households a private-sector way to capture low wholesale prices while buffering spikes, providing a market test of…
New Zealand hospitality operators face mounting energy bills from a renewable-heavy grid undermined by policy choices that have left prices volatile and rising. Free advice from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority offers one path forward, yet businesses would do better to act on market signals rather than rely on another taxpayer-funded program.
Air New Zealand's NZ$4 billion in available aircraft equity and NZ$1.3 billion liquidity buffer position the carrier to absorb a projected NZ$340-390 million pre-tax loss for the year ending June 2026 without seeking a capital raise or government support, Forsyth Barr analysts concluded after the 14 May trading update.
The Wellington International Airport Southern Seawall Renewal project received fast-track approval on 15 May 2026, becoming the 22nd project approved under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024.
The seasonally adjusted BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index dropped to 50.5 in April 2026 from 53.2 in March, marking the weakest expansion in months as fuel costs surge.
Magazine publishers and the printing industry have formally asked the Commerce Commission to investigate NZ Post's Publication Post pricing, citing a 584% increase since 2014 that far outpaces inflation and threatens print titles.
Lyttelton Port Company will eliminate 14 container terminal roles after the Maritime Union of New Zealand decided against a Supreme Court appeal.
