60 articles
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 is considering reinstating a payroll subsidy for small businesses as forecasts show tax debt reaching $10.5 billion. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand has proposed a two-pronged approach to curb the rise.
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.
Cabinet has agreed to new performance reporting requirements for funds administered by public service departments and other Executive branch entities. The rules aim to lift the quality of information on how public money delivers results.
The Government has finished recommissioning 93 million litres of additional diesel storage capacity at Marsden Point in Northland, using up to $21.6 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to create a nine-day national diesel buffer.
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 US Trade Representative has proposed 12.5 percent additional tariffs on all New Zealand goods, layered on the existing 10 percent blanket rate, because New Zealand has failed to ban imports of products made with forced labour.
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.
Amanda Malu, who became chief executive of Oranga Tamariki in February 2026, will direct an extra $184 million from Budget 2026 to handle reports of suspected harm and support high-needs children.
Budget 2026 allocates $57.7 million over four years to modernise Stats NZ’s Integrated Data Infrastructure after years of capacity shortfalls and outdated systems.
The Government committed $57.7 million over four years in Budget 2026 to upgrade the Integrated Data Infrastructure.
The Social Security (Mandatory Reviews) Amendment Bill received royal assent on 26 May 2025 and took effect immediately, authorising broader use of automated electronic systems for eligibility checks and payment decisions at the Ministry of Social Development.
ANZ Bank New Zealand will appeal a High Court decision that found it breached mortgage variation disclosure rules, exposing the bank to potential liability of up to $125 million across roughly 17,000 customers.
The first of two government-procured diesel shipments, loaded on 31 May 2026, is en route to Marsden Point and due to arrive 16-18 June, adding roughly nine days of dedicated buffer under direct Crown control.
Budget 2026 allocates $34.4 million over four years to expand maternity bed capacity and staffing, enabling up to three-day postnatal hospital stays for mothers and babies.
The 28 May 2026 Budget ends the fees-free tertiary policy at the close of 2026, delivering $1 billion in savings over four years while redirecting funds to vocational training and secondary education initiatives.
The government will raise the income-related rent contribution for social housing tenants from 25 per cent to 30 per cent of assessable income from 1 April 2027, delivering $387.5 million in operating savings over the forecast period.
Budget 2026 allocates $400 million over four years to an Incentives for Growth Fund that pays councils directly for each new home consented, with payments starting in April 2027.
The Government will raise the minimum income-related rent contribution for social housing tenants from 25 percent to 30 percent of income from 1 April 2027, delivering net fiscal savings while redirecting most proceeds into higher Accommodation Supplement rates.
Budget 2026 allocates more than $680 million in new capital spending for hospital upgrades and capacity expansion across New Zealand.
New Zealand consumers using generative AI tools for budgeting, investment picks and financial queries risk generic or inaccurate recommendations not tailored to local conditions.
Monopoly Watch director Tex Edwards has accused large law firms of swamping parliamentary submissions on the Commerce (Commerce Commission Reform) Amendment Bill with lobbying.
Wellington City Council has approved an average 5.8% rates increase for the 2026/27 year, the lowest since 2020 and below Auckland's 7.9% rise.
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.
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced Budget 2026 funding for the National Emergency Management Agency to modernise fragmented systems with a common operating picture and related tools.
Auckland councillors voted 14 to 7 on 26 May 2026 to approve Mayor Wayne Brown's 2026/27 annual budget, delivering an average 7.9 percent increase in residential rates.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has rejected Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick's claim that failed climate policies created a $1.4 billion hole in Emissions Trading Scheme auction revenue.
M.E. Jukes & Son Ltd, trading as Jukes Carriers, was ordered to pay a $420,000 fine, $140,000 in reparation and $10,000 in costs after a worker died in a waste shredder at its Gisborne premises.
Warnings from Fitch Ratings and S&P Global that a planned cap on local council rate increases could weaken their creditworthiness have exposed the degree to which New Zealand's local government system depends on endless rates hikes to sustain ballooning debt levels.
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.
New Zealand Police have received 43 public reports and around 320 submissions from duty holders under the Russia Sanctions Act, with only nine cases advancing to investigation and no confirmed breaches identified.
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.
New Zealand's Crown Minerals Act contains no provisions for naturally occurring hydrogen, leaving explorers without clear title at the exact moment domestic gas output has collapsed to levels that force expensive LNG imports from 2027.
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.
The High Court has ordered Australian crypto investor Daniel Klaus to pay $350,000 in penalties for breaching the Overseas Investment Act in a $4.5 million Hawke's Bay farmland purchase.
The Coalition Government will allocate $48 million in Budget 2026 for a Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme under which the Crown guarantees 80 percent of qualifying loans to encourage businesses to switch from natural gas to electricity or bioenergy.
New modelling shows charter schools cost taxpayers far less to establish than equivalent state schools, with savings ranging from $236,574 for a 100-student primary to $472,641 for a secondary.
Nvidia's record $81.6 billion first-quarter revenue has laid bare the substantial, often unappreciated exposure KiwiSaver investors carry to the AI chip leader through passive index trackers.
Auckland Council is finalising a 7.9 percent rates increase for the average residential property in the 2026/27 Annual Plan. The rise adds roughly $320 a year to bills and stems directly from $235 million in annual operating costs for the City Rail Link.
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.
Kotahi's 4,000 TEU of dairy, meat and horticulture cargo stranded by the Strait of Hormuz closure shows how New Zealand's geography converts geopolitical shocks into sustained higher costs for primary exporters.
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.
The Government will increase the minimum rent contribution for social housing tenants from 25 per cent to 30 per cent of income from April 2027, lifting weekly costs for around 84,000 households by an average of $31 while generating $387.5 million in operating savings over the forecast period.
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.
New Zealand spends about $20 billion a year on public infrastructure yet less than a quarter of major projects receive a formal cost-benefit analysis of the preferred option.
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.
The Ministry for Regulation now targets a permanent structure of 91 full-time staff, more than four times the headcount of the New Zealand Productivity Commission it replaced in 2024.
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.
Auckland’s City Rail Link will carry its first paying passengers in the third or fourth week of July 2026 after safety testing ends in early June.
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.
Labour finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds confirmed on 19 May 2026 that the party will not name the Crown assets to seed its proposed Future Fund until after the 7 November election.
The Treasury released its April 2026 titles of advice to Ministers on 19 May 2026. The list shows focused preparation for Monetary Policy Committee transparency changes and the government's response to the National Infrastructure Plan.
The government has yet to decide on a $7 million Crown equity investment that would let councils offer long-term loans for rooftop solar and other home upgrades.
