Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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How to cool your house down without turning on the heat pump

Source: Radio New Zealand

Feeling the heat? Keeping the air conditioning on full blast might feel tempting, but your bank account won’t thank you for it.

Luckily, ventilation experts Stephen McNeil and Dr Manfred Plagmann have a few tips on how to cool your house naturally – without the sky-high energy bill.

“The fundamental issue is really solar gain, it’s the sun coming in through your windows that’s the main reason your building’s getting too hot,” explains McNeil, a senior building scientist at the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ).

BRANZ ventilation experts Stephen McNeil and Dr Manfred Plagmann have a few tips on how to cool your house down this summer.

Supplied / Becky Collins

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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SH3 New Plymouth to Hāwera safety improvements project – construction complete

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

The roundabout and associated works at the State Highway 3 / Mangorei Road intersection are now complete, wrapping up construction on the SH3 New Plymouth to Hāwera safety improvements project.

Over the past two years, the project has introduced a range of safety upgrades designed to reduce the risk of serious crashes. These include 12 kilometres of wide centrelines and flexible median barriers, providing greater separation between opposing traffic and reducing head-on collision risk.

The final stage of works focused on the SH3 intersection with Mangorei Road, where a new roundabout has been constructed to improve safety and traffic flow. 

Crews have now resurfaced the full site from Burgess Hill and installed a wide centreline – marking the completion of the Mangorei works 3 months ahead of schedule. 

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi senior project manager, Calvin Rorke, says these improvements are part of NZTA’s commitment to creating a safer transport network across Taranaki.

“We’re really pleased to deliver these improvements for the Taranaki community. The wide centrelines, flexible median barriers, and the new roundabout will make a real difference in reducing the risk of serious crashes and helping everyone get home safely.” 

Nearby Mangorei School has been looking forward to the new roundabout in particular.

Principal Gary Poulgrain says safety at the intersection of Mangorei Road and SH3 has always been a big concern for the school community. 

“The new roundabout and other improvements give parents and whānau much more confidence when travelling to and from school. It’s great to see these changes making a real difference for local families.”

The works at the intersection also include a path to Burgess Hill for pedestrians and cyclists.

NZTA thanks the local community, road users, and stakeholders for their patience and support throughout the project. Together, these changes will help prevent deaths and serious injuries on this section of SH3.

About the wider project

SH3 between New Plymouth and Hāwera is considered a high risk rural road. In the five-year period from 2019 to 2023, there were 11 deaths and 47 serious injuries due to crashes on this section of the highway.

SH3 New Plymouth to Hāwera

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Man charged in relation to Waikaia fire

Source: New Zealand Police

Please attribute to Detective Sergeant Brian McKinney, Gore CIB:

A man has been charged in relation to a suspicious house fire in Waikaia last year.

Just after midnight on 21 February 2024, emergency services were called to the fire on Elswick Street.

Today, Police have charged a 35-year-old Dunedin man with arson.

He is due to appear in the Gore District Court on 17 December.

We’d like to thank the members of the public who provided information to Police throughout this investigation, to ensure the person responsible can be held accountable.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre 

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NZ Cricket boss Scott Weenink ‘fighting for his survival’ as T20 league debate gets ‘very ugly’

Source: Radio New Zealand

NZ Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink Photosport

New Zealand Cricket boss Scott Weenink is said to be “fighting for his survival” in his role, amid a political power struggle over the future shape of the domestic game – a dispute so fraught that senior figures have warned the board is no longer functioning cohesively.

NZ Cricket denies a formal process is underway to remove Weenink as chief executive, but RNZ understands the board has signalled his position has become untenable.

Sources have indicated he faces allegations of working to “actively undermine” a bid by a private consortium to establish a new T20 franchise competition. The proposal is supported by all six major associations – Northern Districts, Auckland, Central Districts, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago – and the NZ Cricket Players’ Association (NZCPA).

External pressure is understood to be mounting on the NZ Cricket board by its member organisations, who have become frustrated at what they see as delaying tactics by Weenink.

Weenink’s supporters say the chief executive is urging the sport’s leaders to take time to do their due diligence, but his pleas for a pause have “fallen on deaf ears”.

Several senior cricket figures say that a proposed T20 franchise league, backed by Indian investors and several prominent former Black Caps, has become a defining faultline in the sport.

Depending on who you speak to, the competition has been positioned either as a “rebel league” that could jeopardise NZ Cricket’s existing commercial agreements and player development pathways, or as a necessary shake-up that would bring new investment and visibility to the domestic game, and help retain talent currently being lured to overseas T20 leagues.

The existing Super Smash competition could be superseded by a proposed new league Photosport

The division did not emerge overnight. A leaked email from former president Lesley Murdoch, sent to fellow directors in September and seen by RNZ, shows the board has been gridlocked for months.

Murdoch wrote that recent decisions had “promoted distrust and disunity”, and warned cricket “deserves a board that operates as one team, not a collection of individuals with competing agendas”.

There are fears the internal division has come at expense of NZ Cricket’s international reputation, leading board chair Diana Puketapu-Lyndon to take the extraordinary step of writing to the sport’s international body to dismiss claims of a “hostile takeover”.

Puketapu-Lyndon’s letter, which was also signed by the chairs of the six major associations, expressed deep concern about “the origin of any messaging that has the potential to undermine the reputation of cricket and cricket governance in New Zealand”.

It is understood moves are now under way to remove Weenink from his position.

A senior cricket figure told RNZ that Puketapu-Lyndon had met with Weenink and his legal representatives on at least three separate occasions in recent weeks.

“It has become very ugly, [Weenink] is basically fighting for his survival right now,” the source said.

However, NZ Cricket insists no employment process has begun. In response to questions over whether the board had initiated steps to axe Weenink, NZ Cricket public affairs manager Richard Boock replied: “No.”

He added the board still had confidence in Weenink’s leadership, although “it’s not something that’s been formally discussed”.

Outgoing board member Sarah Beaman, who decided not to stand for re-election at last week’s AGM, said she would be disappointed if the board were making moves to replace Weenink, describing him as “an absolutely brilliant CEO”.

NZ Cricket also played down any internal rifts over the proposed new league.

Boock said the organisation was “currently considering the merits of the NZ20 proposal”, along with other options, as part of broader work looking at the future of domestic T20 cricket in New Zealand.

Among the options being considered as part of ‘Project Bigger Smash’ is exploring ways to monetise the existing Super Smash competition, or entering New Zealand teams in Australia’s men’s and women’s Big Bash competitions – an option Weenink is said to favour.

“We’re united in running a fair process, using expert independent advice to determine the best option.”

Boock added the independent assessment was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.

Board dysfunction

While NZ Cricket is presenting a united front publicly, insiders fear the fractures on the board are becoming more entrenched.

Murdoch’s email to directors appears to speak, not only to philosophical disagreements over the future of the game, but to a deeper concern that board processes have become adversarial, rather than collaborative.

A significant portion of Murdoch’s message focused on the need for directors to declare potential conflicts of interest “openly and without hesitation”.

With commercial proposals circulating, and some board members holding roles in major associations or other sports entities, conflicts of interest have become an increasingly sensitive subject.

“Declaring and managing conflicts protects the reputations of everyone involved,” Murdoch wrote.

Murdoch, who finished her term as president this month, declined to comment on the concerns raised in her email, but in a statement said she had been in a “privileged position” over the past four years to attend meetings and witness the work that went on at all levels of the game.

“I have huge admiration for the massive workload, the initiatives and the outstanding care that Scott Weenink and his talented management team have given cricket and progressed it.”

NZ Cricket was asked for its response to Murdoch’s email and the issues it raises.

“We wouldn’t comment on someone’s private correspondence,” Boock said.

Asked if the board was comfortable with how conflicts of interest are managed, Boock responded: “Yes.”

Initially deeply divided over the consortium’s plans, more recently the bloc in favour of the private league has strengthened, after Beaman – a staunch supporter of Weenink’s – decided not to stand for re-election at last week’s AGM.

Beaman declined to go into the reasons for stepping aside, describing it as a “personal decision”.

“I don’t think it’s good form to talk about what has happened on a board,” she said. “For me, that’s not good practice.

“I’m more than happy to talk about how fantastic it has been working with such a great management team.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Analysis: NZ’s housing funk sows doubts on reliable investment strategy, drags on economy

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Lucy Craymer, Reuters

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner. ABC / Luke Bowden

Analysis – A dramatic boom-bust cycle in New Zealand’s housing market has left many Kiwis and investors scarred and an economy struggling to fire, turning what was once a trusted strategy for creating wealth into a period of unease and potentially smaller future returns.

New Zealand has traditionally relied on housing as an engine of growth, but the current shakeout in the property sector has been particularly telling on the economy, dragging it into contraction in three of the past five quarters.

Two and a half years of flat to falling house prices has basically just been a heavy wet blanket on top of the economy, said ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner.

The current gloom in the sector is rooted in more than a decade-long affordability crisis that came to a head during the pandemic, as house values soared around 40 percent to sky-high levels in an 18-month period through to November 2021, fuelled by sharply lower interest rates and government stimulus.

When the bubble burst, a combination of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and an increase in housing supply saw prices crumble by nearly 20 percent, and as much as 30 percent in some cities.

The collapse in house prices, which are still 15 percent below their peak in 2021, has brought much-needed relief for first-home buyers but has also raised questions about future returns as low net migration, rising unemployment and the government’s tight fiscal stance depress demand.

Satish Ranchhod, senior economist at Westpac, said the market dynamics have changed as the post-pandemic building boom increased the supply of homes, while slower population growth has kept inventory high.

It does mean quite a different supply and demand balance, said Ranchhod, tipping house prices to rise 5 percent in each of 2026 and 2027, a modest uptick in the context of recent sharp falls and compared with historic rates of growth.

New normal of modest resterns?

For a generation of New Zealanders, who have enjoyed average annual returns of roughly 7 percent in housing over the last three decades, the decline in prices for three consecutive years since 2021 is unprecedented.

In fact, property values dropped in only two of the years since 1990, making investment in housing a sure bet for Kiwis and a major driver of economic growth.

That certainty of steady capital gains has been eroded by several factors, not least by unemployment at a nine-year high and slow net migration growth even as the central bank has sharply reduced rates to a 3-1/2-year low since August last year.

Analysts note that with over half of New Zealand’s household wealth tied up in property, the downturn has had a chilling effect on consumption and the economy.

Kelvin Davidson, chief economist at Cotality, said that activity had started to pick up but this was off a low level, adding that a weak economy, an overhang of listings and concerns about employment continue to weigh.

You’d probably still call it a buyer’s market, said Davidson, predicting limited house price growth next year despite an improved outlook.

That view was underscored by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s latest forecasts released this week, with capital gains of 3.8 percent and 3.7 percent projected for next year and 2027, respectively.

While first home buyers have returned to the market, the number of houses available is higher than the historical average. Investors have also scaled back activity buyers of multiple homes are now 35.9 percent of the market, down from a recent high of 39.5 percent in 2021, according to data from Cotality.

The number of houses for sale in October was 33,588, up from 19,260 when the market peaked in November 2021, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, an organization representing the sector.

Tim Horsbrugh, a property investor with 13 rental tenancies, said a few years ago a group of investors he knew were flipping houses – the practice of buying a property at a low price and selling it for a profit after making improvements.

But not anymore, as the people that were doing it have lost money.

“Going for capital gains now is tough. Real tough,” he said. “And I don’t think people are going to be back into that market for a long, long time.”

Structural shift underway?

In an effort to shore up demand and revive the frail economy, the central bank has slashed its cash rate 325 basis points to 2.25 percent, having delivered the latest 25-basis-point cut on Wednesday. It has also eased some housing loan rules to lure back buyers.

The government campaigned on reducing house prices to improve affordability, yet the current property market downturn is putting a dampener on the economy.

Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank, said housing is by far the largest asset owned by New Zealanders, with two-thirds owning their own homes, and that means house price increases play a big part in sentiment.

If house prices are up, you know, 2 percent to 5 percent next year, then I’ll be saying that the economy will be climbing higher, because consumption will simply come back, Kerr said.

New Zealanders though may take some time to come to terms with a shift in the housing market.

“It’s too early to call a structural change in the housing market but there are some indications that might have happened,” said Paul Conway, chief economist at the RBNZ.

– Reuters

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Climber and American lawyer Kellam Conover died alongside guide on Mt Cook

Source: Radio New Zealand

Aoraki Mt Cook. FLORIAN BRILL

The climber who died on Aoraki Mt Cook alongside guide Thomas Vialletet was American lawyer Kellam Conover.

The pair were roped together, climbing from Empress Hut to the summit when they fell from the mountain’s west ridge on Monday night.

Mountain guide Thomas Vialletet died on Aoraki Mt Cook. Supplied

Two other members of the climbing party who survived were flown from the mountain on Tuesday morning.

Conover was a Stanford Law School graduate who lived in Washington DC and worked for international law firm, King & Spalding.

Vialletet lived in Wānaka and was a married father-of-two, who co-owned the mountain and ski guide company Summit Explorers with his wife Danielle.

More than $90,000 dollars has been raised so far through a Givealittle page to support his wife and young children following his death.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Appointments to the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee

Source: New Zealand Government

Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced a series of appointments to the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee.

Tā Mark Solomon has been appointed permanent Chair, with Mr Tereki Stewart, Mr Te Ururoa Flavell, and Dr Jamie-Lee Rahiri appointed as members for three-year terms.

“These members are respected leaders with extensive experience advocating for the needs and aspirations of Māori whānau and communities,” Mr Brown says.

“The Committee provides Māori with a voice at the highest level of decision-making in the health system. It plays a vital role in improving Māori health outcomes and supporting the Government’s commitment to ensuring all New Zealanders, including Māori, have access to timely, quality healthcare.

“I look forward to working with the new members to drive results and deliver on the Government’s priorities and key focus areas.

“I also want to acknowledge the contributions of Parekawhia McLean, the outgoing Chair, who will continue to support improvements in Māori health outcomes through her role on the Health New Zealand Board.”

All terms of office will commence on 1 December 2025.

The Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) was established under the Healthy Futures Act. Its role is to advise the Minister on any matter related to Māori health that the Minister requests. Members are appointed by the Minister of Health after consulting with the Minister for Māori Development. 

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New Zealand and Estonia strengthen education ties

Source: New Zealand Government

Education Minister Erica Stanford welcomed Estonian Education and Research Minister Dr Kristina Kallas to New Zealand this week, providing an opportunity to learn from each other’s successes, lessons, and practices in delivering a world-leading education reform.

“Estonia consistently ranks among the top performers in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study,” Ms Stanford says.

“The opportunity to meet in New Zealand with Minister Kallas forms part of my work to engage with international experts and thought leaders, from high-performing education systems, to bring evidence-based best practice into every school and every classroom in New Zealand,” Ms Stanford says.

“I’m particularly interested in how Estonia achieves student success in reading, maths, and science, and how their high-performing education system achieves strong academic achievement with equity and access to digital technology.

“Minister Kallas was here to look at our education reforms, and made comments in the media that many other European countries are also looking closely at New Zealand is doing. She was also very supportive of New Zealand’s knowledge-rich curriculum, which she noted Estonia has had for many years.”

Minister Kallas and Minister Stanford also attended the Teaching and Learning Symposium, hosted by Auckland University of Technology, where Minister Kallas delivered an address on Estonia’s AI-Leap (TI-Hüpe) programme. 

The programme embeds AI literacy and training in higher cognitive processes into schools to help prepare learners for interacting and working with AI.

“AI presents an opportunity for New Zealanders and the Government is committed to helping Kiwis to harness it in their jobs and industries where appropriate. This includes new subjects we are introducing at the secondary level,” Ms Stanford says.

As part of the visit, Minister Kallas also visited schools in Auckland and Wellington to meet with students, school leaders, and senior officials from the Ministry of Education, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and the Education Review Office.  

Given our shared interest in strengthening collaboration between our countries in science and research, Minister Kallas also met the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor and with Universities New Zealand, including representatives of our universities on the Research Committee. 

“Our meetings have been very insightful and valuable – I acknowledge the outstanding work Minister Kallas and Estonia are doing in their education system.”

Notes to editor:

Estonia has a high-performing education system, recognised for combining high academic achievement with strong equity. It consistently ranks among the top performers in international assessments like the OECD’s latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study, particularly in reading, math, and science.

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Auckland swelters during hottest November day on record

Source: Radio New Zealand

MetService warns intermittent rain will add to the city’s humidity. RNZ/ Mohammad Alafeshat

MetService has confirmed Thursday is officially Auckland’s hottest November day since records began.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said, for the first time in the month of November in Auckland, temperatures had surpassed 26 degrees celsius at its recording station.

“Auckland Airport reached 26.2 degrees this afternoon, which has broken its November maximum record temperature, sitting at 25.9 degrees.”

Ferris said MetService’s temperature records for the Auckland region began on 31 December 1965.

He said many parts of the country had experienced warm weather on Thursday, some exceeding 30 degrees.

“With record or near-record temperatures turning up in parts of the country, it’s not too surprising to see Auckland actually get up there as well, because a lot of these temperatures are being driven by very warm, humid air being dragged down from the north,” Ferris said.

“Auckland being closer to there, they are going to be feeling those effects and people have probably been wondering why it felt so swampy, so humid the last couple of days.

“It is that warm, humid air being dragged down, and it does look to hang around, as we make our way through the rest of this week and into next week.

“There will be some intermittent rain as well, so it is just going to make it feel a little bit more humid.”

Ferris said sea-surface temperatures to the northwest were already above average and similar windflows would likely make its way to New Zealand in the coming weeks.

“These warm, humid days could be something we see a little bit more of, as we head through December.

“Won’t be warm every day, though. You know, December is a little bit of a copout, when it comes to summer.

“There probably will be some cooler southerly air, but I think holding onto these days and thinking that they will be more of them as we make our way through December is probably not a bad idea.”

Ferris said warm, humid air did provide a good amount of low-level moisture, which could turn into afternoon showers and potentially thunderstorms.

“Conditions in the upper atmosphere aren’t always ripe for that kind of stuff, so people will need to be keeping up with the forecast to see if those showers are going to be turning up in the afternoon.

“You might think it’s a lovely day, it’s warm, let’s get out the barbecue for the evening and that could just be when some of those showers turn up.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Making global trade easier for NZ businesses

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government is clearing the path for Kiwi exporters by reducing trade barriers affecting approximately $600 million worth of exports so businesses can compete, grow, and create jobs, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis and Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay announced today in Auckland.

“Non-Tariff Barriers, such as complex labelling rules, certification costs, or quotas, slow growth. Reducing these barriers returns significant value to exporters, supports the 1 in 4 Kiwi jobs tied to trade, and puts more money into the back pockets of thousands of hard-working New Zealanders,” Nicola Willis says. 

“Market access, predictable trade rules and investment certainty are all crucial to business confidence and growing a strong economy. We’re seeing that confidence build with the latest ANZ Business Outlook at an 11 year high. Firms are reporting stronger recent performance and improving employment outlooks. This is the kind of momentum we want to back with practical action.”

Key examples of actions to free up trade in the last year include: 

  • Unlocking access to China’s $200 million cosmetics and skincare market, removing a long-standing regulatory barrier and opening new channels for New Zealand exporters.
  • Signing and implementing a deer velvet arrangement with China providing market growth worth $64.5 million in the year to December 2024.
  • Working with New Zealand exporters and Mexican authorities to facilitate the flow of New Zealand good through its ports.
  • Expanding access for New Zealand dairy products and blueberries to Korea worth $5 to $10 million, and $5 million, respectively.

“Today’s update to the Going for Growth Global Trade and Investment Pillar sets out the next steps to support business, drive export growth, expand market access and attract investment – to give our exporters the certainty and footing they need to scale globally,” Nicola Willis says.

Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay says, we’re backing Kiwi exporters with practical action – removing barriers to trade and opening doors to new partners. Every NTB resolved moves us closer to our goal of doubling the value of exports in 10 years.

Since coming to government, we have concluded, signed and entered into force the NZ–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, finished negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, launched Free Trade Agreement negotiations with India and completed 17 trade missions, unlocking more than $2 billion in potential export value.

“Exports have exceeded $100 billion for the first time in our history, with food and fibre contributing a record $60 billion,” Mr McClay says.

Driven by strong growth into the EU and UK, total export value increased more than 10 per cent to $21.7 billion in the June quarter compared to the same period last year, taking total exports for the year ending June 2025 to $108.8 billion, up $98.4 million on the previous year.

“New Zealand is a trading nation and when our exporters do well, New Zealand does well. It is only through strong trade relationships and market access that we can support jobs, lift incomes and fund the public services New Zealanders rely on,” Mr McClay says.