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Update: Pahiatua homicide

Source: New Zealand Police

Police are continuing to search for a man wanted in relation to a Pahiatua woman’s death last month.

On the afternoon of 15 October, Karen Gilbert-Palmer, 74, was found deceased at her Arthur Street home by a friend who had been unable to contact her. A homicide investigation was launched, and 52-year-old Jeremy Robertson was identified as a suspect.

The victim’s vehicle was located in at the Blue and Green lakes lookout in Rotorua the following morning, and Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Thompson, Area Investigations Manager, says Police believe Robertson is likely still in that area.

“We have been making a lot of enquiries to locate Jeremy, and we are planning further Police activity in that area in the coming weeks.

“I want to thank the members of the public who came forward with information in the early days of the investigation, including the call that led us to the car within hours of it being parked up.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Thompson said work to find Robertson had not stopped.

“Our focus remains on seeing justice served for Mrs Gilbert-Palmer, and finding Jeremy is key to that.”

Anyone who sees Robertson should not approach him. Call 111 immediately and advise Police.

Non-urgent information can be passed to Police via 105. Please quote file number 251015/6286.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre. 

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Auckland man taken to hospital with serious injuries, police trying to find offender

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / REECE BAKER

A man has serious injuries after an incident in West Auckland’s Henderson.

In a statement, police said officers were called to Edsel Street, in the main town centre, at 2.40pm on Tuesday afternoon.

The man was found with injuries and has been taken to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition.

Police are in the area making inquiries and trying to locate the offender involved who left the scene, police said.

“Our inquiries are still in the early stages as to what has taken place this afternoon.

“Anyone with information can contact police on 105 using the reference number P064587277.”

Hato Hone St John said they sent one ambulance, one rapid response vehicle and one operations manager to the scene.

“One patient was assessed at the scene and transported to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition.”

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

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State Highway 1 Transmission Gully/Te Aranui o Te Rangihaeata to be closed to southbound traffic this weekend

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Roadworks and traffic plans have been revised, and it is confirmed that State Highway 1 Transmission Gully will be closed to southbound traffic this weekend.

The southbound closure will be in place from 10 am, Friday 28 November, until 4:30 am, Monday 1 December, weather permitting. There will also be a northbound lane closure on the motorway, which is expected to cause delays for northbound traffic.

Southbound traffic will need to detour via State Highway 59 while the closure is in place.

Mark Owen, Regional Manager Lower North Island/Top of the South, says people need to prepare for long queues and travel delays, and should try to avoid the peak congestion times expected on Sunday afternoon.

“Travel will be affected by these works, and also by Kāpiti Line bus replacements, as well as various events happening on the Kāpiti Coast.”

“These are major works on a key part of our state highway network. An impact on traffic is unavoidable, and it is essential that drivers are prepared for it,” Mr Owen says.

He says it is critical that people drive to the conditions and respect other road users.

“Merge like a zip and let other vehicles in at points where the motorway is reduced to a single lane, as this really helps the flow of traffic.”

We have identified problems, such as pinch points on the SH59 detour route, and we have taken steps to address them.”

“We will have extra staff on duty to manage traffic, and we will close off the SH59 Link Road, which we saw added to congestion for traffic trying to use the detour route,” Mr Owen says.

He acknowledges this is a busy time of the year but says it is the best time to get the repairs done.

“This must be done during the warmer summer weather. It cannot be done during winter, as the repairs would not work. We also want to get the drainage work completed so the motorway can be open to traffic during the busier Christmas/New Year holiday period.”

Mr Owen also warns there are other factors this weekend that will affect traffic that people must consider if they are travelling between Wellington and the Kāpiti Coast.

“There are Metlink bus replacements all day on Saturday and Sunday, and a number of events in Wellington city, and out of town.

“Think carefully about your travel plans this weekend. If possible, avoid travelling between Kāpiti and Wellington. At the very least, try to avoid busy periods like late afternoon and early evening on Saturday and Sunday,” Mr Owen says.

Contractors will be carrying out drainage works this weekend. The width of the southbound lanes will be excavated, meaning traffic cannot pass through these sites. It takes 24 hours for concrete to cure at the drainage sites. Traffic management must remain in place to protect the concrete, which is why drivers may see areas under traffic management but with no contractors on site.

Travel improvements and driver advice

There were a number of pinch points where congestion was particularly bad on the SH59 detour route, and improvements have been made to reduce the impact on drivers:

  • SH59 Link Road (the road between Mackays Crossing Interchange and Paekākāriki Interchange) will be closed during the closure. It means drivers will not have to give way to traffic coming from Link Road.
  • There will be more traffic controllers situated on the network to be able to respond to any incidents or issues on the network.
  • Traffic lights will be optimised to help reduce traffic congestion.
  • People should avoid travelling during busier times if possible. The busiest periods are expected to be between 4 pm and 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Delays of up to one hour are possible on Sunday afternoon. Drivers should travel earlier or later to avoid this if they can.
  • We have ensured there will be no roadworks on SH59. This will make travel on the detour more efficient.

Upcoming work

Work at the first site to undergo pavement reconstruction will run from Monday 1 December through until mid-December.

Drainage works during the day will  continue during the week. All works between Monday morning and Friday morning are under lane closures in both directions, so drivers can expect to see congestion at busy times in both the northbound and southbound directions on Transmission Gully.

Pavement reconstruction works are planned for southbound lanes just north of the SH58 interchange. This is a site where drainage works have recently been completed and, once the pavement reconstruction is complete this will mean this section of the road is complete.

For the northbound lanes, contractors will be working at just before SH58 interchange to complete the drainage works on the northbound side of the road.

Drivers can expect to see lane closures operating for the motorways northbound and southbound lanes 24/7 until mid-February – except between 15 December – 5 January, when the motorway will be fully open for holiday traffic.

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Christchurch chef Sumeer Thapa who sexually harassed teen colleagues sacked

Source: Radio New Zealand

Sumeer Thapa no longer works at Lazeez Mediterranean Grill. Google Maps

A Christchurch chef who sexually harassed four teenage workers has been fired, with his former boss saying he would’ve done so sooner had it not been for a “misunderstanding”.

Sumeer Thapa was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday to four months’ home detention after a jury found him guilty of seven counts of indecently assaulting four girls aged between 15 and 18 between 2021 and 2024.

Thapa was a chef at Lazeez Mediterranean Grill, where he continued to work since the employer first became aware of the investigation in December 2023.

RNZ contacted Lazeez Mediterranean Grill for comment after sentencing but the manager was unavailable.

On Wednesday, Lazeez Mediterranean Grill director Varun Kanda told RNZ Thapa was “no longer a part of the team” and his employment had been terminated, effective immediately.

“Our business has a strict zero-tolerance policy on harassment or bullying. When the issue was first (and only once) reported in December 2023, Thapa received a formal warning immediately.

“Shortly after this report the police were involved, and we co-operated fully with authorities throughout the investigation. At no point did we attempt to protect him.”

During sentencing, Judge Deidre Orchard was critical of the restaurant for continuing to employ Thapa, saying they needed a “wake-up call”. She also said the employer had provided a testimonial to the court.

Thapa was allowed to continue working at the restaurant while the case went through the court but Kanda said he warned him that he would lose his job if he was found guilty.

“He asked for the employment and since he was working here for long, he can follow the recipes and he knew the food so I gave him the employment. At that time I told him ‘if the case goes against you, I will no longer keep you in work’.”

Kanda said there was a “misunderstanding” about the conviction. He said he got a message from police about the convictions in September, but when he asked Thapa, he told him he could carry on with work until sentencing.

“He should of told me the right thing. If he had told me the right thing I would of fired him straight away,” Kanda said.

Kanda said his team received abuse on Tuesday.

“We deeply regret the incident and remain committed to the safety of our staff and customers. We are a small community-based business, and recent harassment calls following the article have caused concern.”

During sentencing, Judge Orchard said Thapa would make flirtatious and improper comments towards the teenagers, such as calling them “hot”, “sexy” and “baby”.

He told two of the girls he wanted to get drunk with them and would buy them alcohol, despite them being underage.

He asked one of the teens whether she would be his Māori wife, and another to send him “hot pics”. He also asked whether one of the girls had sex with her boyfriend.

Thapa would also touch the women on their back, thighs and buttocks when he would move past them.

While Judge Orchard noted the touching was brief, she said on one or two occasions his hands would linger.

She said Thapa was not a good candidate for rehabilitation because he did not accept that he had done anything wrong.

“He needs to come to terms with the fact that his behaviour does amount to sexual harassment – not just the touching, but obviously the way he speaks to young female employees at all is totally unacceptable.

“He needs to adjust his behaviour because if he doesn’t, he will end up taking the consequences.”

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

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Official cash rate cut to 2.25 percent

Source: Radio New Zealand

Supplied / Reserve Bank

  • RBNZ delivers expected 25 basis point rate to 2.25 percent
  • It says patchy economic recovery justifies cut
  • RBNZ expects inflation to ease towards 2 pct target next year
  • Door left open for possible further cut
  • Monetary committee voted 5-1 for a cut against hold

The Reserve Bank has cut the official cash rate to its lowest level in three years to support economic recovery.

The central bank dropped the rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent, the lowest since June 2022.

The bank’s rate setting committee says the economic recovery is patchy and slow but inflation is expected to ease next year, allowing another reduction.

The cut was expected and brings the OCR to a three-year low.

The cut was another split decision, which may be the last in the current cycle.

The central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted five to one for a smaller cut after October’s outsized 50 point reduction.

But it noted it did not want a delay in getting inflation back into the target band mid-point, and there was “low tolerance” in the achieving that.

“The committee noted that a reduction in the OCR would help to underpin consumer and business confidence and lean against the risk that the economy recovers more slowly than needed to meet the inflation objective.”

It said inflation – which is at the top of the RBNZ’s 1-3 percent target band – was expected to ease back given the spare capacity in the economy.

“Risks to the inflation outlook are balanced. Greater caution on the part of households and businesses could slow the pace of New Zealand’s economic recovery.

“Alternatively, the recovery could be faster and stronger than expected if domestic demand proves more responsive to lower interest rates. “

Door ajar for more cuts

Most economists expect the RBNZ has now finished its rate cutting, which has seen the OCR slashed by more than 3 percentage points from 5.5 percent in just over a year, but generally agreed that the RBNZ would leave itself flexibility if the economy continues to struggle.

The MPC said it looked hard between a cut now and staying on hold.

“Leaving the OCR unchanged at this meeting would provide the optionality to lower the OCR in the future if required.”

But it did not close the door to further easing.

“Future moves in the OCR will depend on how the outlook for medium-term inflation and the economy evolves.”

The next decision is due on 18 February, when the new governor Anna Breman will have taken up her role.

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

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Regional councils demise: The plans, timeline and thorny issues

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Eveline Harvey

It’s billed as the biggest shake-up to councils in 30 years, but a lot of questions about how the government’s regional council “reset” will work and what will happen remain unanswered.

The government on Tuesday announced plans to replace regional councillors with boards made up of mayors and maybe some minister-appointed representatives.

The ministers argue local government has lost its social licence and change is needed – but current councillors and opposition parties are questioning whether the solution on offer is the right one.

Part of the problem, according to the government, is many people don’t even know what a regional council does.

So here’s what we know, and the thorny issues yet to be teased out.

Environment Canterbury’s headquarters in Christchurch. Supplied / ECan

What are regional councils anyway?

New Zealand has various kinds of councils, but the main three types are:

  • Regional councils (11 of these in NZ)
  • Territorial authorities (67)
  • Unitary authorities (6, including Auckland)

They have different roles and responsibilities.

Regional councils look after the environmental aspects of resource management including things like: flood protection, air quality, and pest control, as well as public transport planning and funding, civil defence, and bulk water supply and treatment.

Set up under the 1989 local government reforms, they cover large regions based primarily on water catchments or drainage basins.

These regions usually include cities, towns and rural areas which are in turn managed by local councils – the “territorial authorities” which include city councils and district councils.

As an example, the Greater Wellington Regional Council handles the regional council responsibilities for the Kāpiti Coast, Porirua, Wellington City, Lower and Upper Hutt, South Wairarapa, Carterton, Masterton and part of the Tararua district – each of which have their own city or district council.

The territorial authorities are responsible for meeting residents’ needs by providing services, including roads, water services, waste and recycling collection, parks and libraries, and administering public safety bylaws.

The third category – unitary authorities – basically combine the responsibilities for territorial and regional councils so the area just has one council.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts, left, and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop at Tuesday’s announcement. RNZ/Mark Papalii

So what’s the government doing?

The proposal revealed on Tuesday by RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Local Government Minister Simon Watts is a two-step process.

The first step is abolishing the elected regional councillors and having the mayors of the territorial authorities in each region taking over their responsibilities as a new group, given the memorable name “Combined Territories Boards”.

There would be 11 of these boards, to match the current regional boundaries, and the government has also suggested its own representatives could be installed on the boards to provide greater oversight from the Crown.

It should be noted that at this stage the broader regional council infrastructure including staff, contracts, and asset ownership would remain unchanged, it’s just the elected councillors who would be replaced by the CTBs.

The second step is to task these boards with developing a strategy (Regional Reorganisation Plan) for how to reorganise council responsibilities in the long term.

The plans could conceivably decide to continue on with the CTBs, or they could come up with something new including amalgamating some territorial authorities, or they could set up regional agencies to take over planning for things like public transport – which often makes sense to plan at a wider regional level.

The plans would need to meet certain criteria set by the government including:

  • Big picture fit: the plan supports national priorities like housing, infrastructure and business competition
  • Short and long term affordability: a financially responsible arrangement to manage rates increases and support them to manage assets well
  • Better services: reorganising local services so they work better and cost less
  • Clear leadership: the plan sets out who does what and who is responsible across councils
  • Local voice: decisions happen at the right local level, and the plan provides fair and effective representation of communities
  • Treaty arrangements: all Treaty of Waitangi settlement commitments including for rivers are managed in accordance with the settlements
  • Realistic: includes details for how to put the plan into action, for example with a step-by-step timeline for establishing a new regional roading agency or setting out how council staff might be restructured

Consultation on the plans will be mandatory, including with local communities, iwi and hapū, and other stakeholders.

Once developed, the plans would go to the Local Government Minister for signoff and the restructuring would take effect.

Chris Bishop at the media briefing. RNZ/Mark Papalii

At that point, the wider regional council infrastructure could be broken up into different unitary authorities, or the territorial authorities may find it simpler to combine into one region-wide unitary authority.

Bishop said the government had an “open mind” about how the councils would be reorganised, but with the changes brought through the RMA reforms “people will see the attraction of unitary authorities”. He said it would be fair to say the reforms would work best, democratically, if it ended up with more unitary authorities.

“With my Wellington MP hat on … the feedback I get from Wellington councils and mayors and actually frankly Wellington regional ratepayers that having Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt and Porirua and Wellington City is pretty nuts – so if this proposal goes ahead Wellington will get the chance to do what they have not done for quite a long time and seize the opportunity for growth.”

More information about how it could work is available from the Department of Internal Affairs and in the discussion document.

Timeframes

The ministers’ announcement at 5pm was also pitched as the launch of public consultation on their proposal, although for now DIA’s consultation page only said a survey would be published soon and to check back later for further updates.

Consultation closes on Friday, 20 February 2026.

The ministers said they aimed to have legislation drafted based on that consultation in mid-2026, and passed by mid-2027 – which would be after next year’s election.

Bishop would not guarantee the current councillors – elected just last month – would necessarily see out their full term.

Presuming the new government continues on with the proposed changes, the legislation would set up the CTBs, which would have two years from when they were established to produce the Regional Reorganisation Plan.

Complications: Votes and boundaries …

The proposal sounds simple on the surface, but there’s some things which make it all a bit more complicated.

One thing the discussion document seeks further feedback on is how much power each mayor would have on the board, the problem being that it’s difficult to find a solution that’s fair for everyone.

A simple model of giving each mayor one vote means smaller rural populations would have a lot more power, proportionally, through their mayor than those representing big cities. Then again, giving each mayor a number of votes based purely on population would tilt things in the other direction – basically giving the city mayors all the power.

The government’s solution is to primarily use a population-based vote approach, but have the Local Government Commission apportion more votes to smaller districts to balance it out a bit. This would either be left entirely up to the commission or the government would provide it with a set of criteria based on the feedback from the public consultation.

For resource management decisions, a majority of both the population-weighted votes and a majority of board members would be needed, as a way of providing an extra backstop.

The discussion document sets out that Crown Commissioners could also be brought in to “ensure that the national interest is considered in regional decision-making”.

They could either replace regional councillors (instead of having the CTBs), or could be brought in as additional members of the CTBs – with a range of options for how much power they could wield:

  • Observer only: non-voting
  • Veto power: able to stop decisions where they think it’s necessary in the interests of New Zealand as a whole
  • Majority vote: Crown Commissioners hold more than 50 percent of the weighted votes, with the rest distributed among mayors

The document did not give an option for giving the commissioners a minority vote.

Another difficulty is that some territorial authorities are split across multiple regions, for example Taupō District is mostly covered by Waikato Regional Council, but also has areas in Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, and an apparently unpopulated sliver of Manawatū-Whanganui.

The government says it doesn’t want to change regional or district boundaries, so the discussion document presents two options:

  • Having smaller isolated areas “adopted” into a neighbouring region, with the district mayor given additional voting power in line with the additional population. For example, the roughly 150 people of Taupō district who are in the Bay of Plenty region would be ‘adopted’ by a nearby mayor who gets extra votes on their behalf. The community is not currently expected to be able to vote on which mayor would represent them, but the government is considering that as an option.
  • Having districts with isolated populations represented on all CTBs. For example, the Taupō communities would have a share of the votes on three different regional CTBs based on the population within each region. It’s possible a local ward councillor might represent Taupō district residents in Bay of Plenty, instead of the mayor.

The government proposes to either decide these on a case-by-case basis by the Local Government Commission, or based on some population threshold set by the government.

Hang on, why is all this happening?

The ministers give two main reasons for making these changes: that the coming RMA reforms will shake up regional responsibilities anyway and it makes sense to change local government at the same time; and that the status quo setup of councils simply isn’t fit for purpose anymore.

They argue the two layers of council (regional vs territorial) means costly duplication of services and that each can disagree over how things should be done, slowing down progress.

Shifting to one layer would be expected, Bishop says, to save ratepayers money by putting “downward pressure” on rates increases – stopping them from rising as quickly – and the discussion document says it will make decisions “much more coordinated”.

Bishop on Tuesday pointed to turnout at the recent local government elections as evidence local government as a whole “has lost the social licence, and that New Zealanders have lost faith in local government”.

But while warnings were sounded about low turnout ahead of the recent elections concluding last month, a bump on the last day meant the final turnout at 39.4 percent ended up close to the previous election in 2022.

Voting rates have been falling over the past three decades, but the rate is close to that of the UK, and higher than in the US.

Another reason for the government to step in is cost: council rates have been rising significantly in recent years and the government wants to be seen to be tackling the cost of living.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon last August led the charge on calling for councils to tighten their belts and stop wasteful spending on “fantasies” – a message that seemed at odds with his previous anti-Three Waters campaign promising localism and devolution.

Some councils pointed out the government had continued to place additional demands on them without providing the funding to do so; that laws prevented councils seeking new funding in ways that did not rely on rates; that the rising cost of water services were forcing councils to prioritise spending on that; and that councils’ share of total taxation through rates was about 10 percent compared to central government’s 90 percent.

Reasons not to do it?

Opposition parties seem to agree something should be done to change the structure of local government in New Zealand – but warn the government’s approach could remove expertise and community voice.

They argue it is undemocratic to remove the elected councillors – particularly if Crown Commissioners reporting to government ministers end up with the power – and that it removes environmental protections the regional councils were set up to oversee.

While Treaty of Waitangi settlements will continue to be honoured, the government is also doing away with Māori constituencies and other regional constituencies – potentially erasing those protected minority voices from the democratic process.

The question of unexpected costs from setting up the boards and restructuring things also remains unanswered, though the ministers are confident it will keep overall costs down in the long run.

Finally, another consideration is that the problem of the structure of local government has been looked at before, several times – most recently and comprehensively with the Future of Local Government review commissioned under the previous Labour government.

Rather than building on that work, the coalition essentially binned that review on coming into office.

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

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Pahīatua homicide: Police continue hunt for Jeremy Robertson six weeks after mother’s death

Source: Radio New Zealand

Jeremy Robertson. Supplied/ NZ Police

Six weeks after a woman was killed in Pahīatua, police are continuing to search for her son who is wanted in connection with her death.

Karen Gilbert-Palmer, 74, was found dead at a home in Arthur Street on 15 October by a friend who had been unable to contact her.

A homicide investigation then began, and her son Jeremy Robertson was identified by police as a suspect.

Gilbert-Palmer’s car was found at the Blue and Green Lakes lookout in Rotorua the following morning. However, six weeks on, Robertson remains missing.

On Wednesday, Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Thompson told RNZ police believe Robertson is likely still in that area.

“We have been making a lot of enquiries to locate Jeremy, and we are planning further police activity in that area in the coming weeks.

“I want to thank the members of the public who came forward with information in the early days of the investigation, including the call that led us to the car within hours of it being parked up.”

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

Thompson said work to find Robertson had not stopped.

“Our focus remains on seeing justice served for Mrs Gilbert-Palmer, and finding Jeremy is key to that.”

Jeremy Robertson had been driving a red Mitsubishi ASX, registration QGU91, police said. Supplied/ NZ Police

Mother’s concerns

RNZ earlier revealed Robertson, who is believed to have had a history with mental health services, was planning to leave the home on the day she died and take a bus to Rotorua.

Gilbert-Palmer’s niece, Barbara Evans, earlier told RNZ her aunty, who she called Narnie, would regularly message her talking about her son and his mental health.

Evans, who was adopted at birth, reconnected with Gilbert-Palmer and her grandparents about 30 years ago.

Evans said it appeared Robertson’s behaviour was “escalating” in the weeks before Gilbert-Palmer’s death.

Evans shared a series of messages she exchanged with Gilbert-Palmer.

On 8 October, a week before she died, Gilbert-Palmer messaged Evans and said “I tell u wat, he was better when he was on the drugs and vape, more chilled out. More aggressive now. [sic]”

She said her son was “dead against drugs now”.

The following day, Gilbert-Palmer said her son “has been nice for one day, now back to wat [sic] he was”.

In another message she wrote Robertson “can be so nasty at times”.

Gilbert-Palmer said she wished her niece didn’t live so far away so she could go and spend a few days with her.

Later that evening she messaged that he had “settled down”.

Then, on 12 October, Gilbert-Palmer told Evans that her son was going to Rotorua by bus on 15 October.

“He decided on hus [sic] own, to much stuff going on down here, having a go at people verbally.”

Gibert-Palmer said she would “fill in” her niece once Robertson was gone. It was the last time Evans heard from her.

In September, Gilbert-Palmer told her niece he was back home living with her as there was “nowhere for him to go”.

He’d previously stayed in Feilding but was “rude” to people there and “out does his stay”, she said.

Evans said she was “absolutely devastated” when she heard her aunty was dead.

“I was going down on the Monday after he’d left. I was intending to go down and spend some time with her.”

She wanted to know what involvement mental health services had with Robertson.

Police say anyone who sees Robertson should not approach him. Call 111 immediately and advise police.

Non-urgent information can be passed to police via 105. Please quote file number 251015/6286.

Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

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

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Positive Reserve Bank outlook heartening

Source: New Zealand Government

Kiwi families and businesses will be heartened by the Reserve Bank’s positive outlook for 2026 on the back of another reduction in the Official Cash Rate, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. 

As expected, the Reserve Bank today reduced the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 2.25 per cent, the ninth reduction since rates peaked at 5.5 per cent in July 2024. 

“It is clear previous reductions in the OCR are flowing through into stronger economic activity,” Nicola Willis says.

“The bank is forecasting falling inflation and rising growth. Its forecasts support the widespread consensus that the economy is strengthening.

“For many households, lower interest rates mean more choice.

“Reserve Bank data shows that 80 per cent of mortgage lending has come up for renewal since the bank began reducing the OCR in August last year. 

“That means more money in Kiwi pockets. In addition, thousands of Kiwis are taking the opportunity presented by lower rates to buy their first homes. 

“In the 12 months to September, 23,600 households bought their first home, the most since 2021. 

“New Zealanders have had a tough few years, but things are looking up.” 

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Global-first new Civil Aviation rule to slash red tape

Source: New Zealand Government

A global-first advanced aviation rule will slash red-tape and enable innovators to quickly bring new ideas to market, Space Minister Judith Collins and Associate Transport Minister James Meager say.

“As part of our world-class regulatory system, we’ve introduced a new rule allowing regulatory sandboxes – controlled environments where technology can be tested freely and safely,” Ms Collins says. 

“Researchers and businesses can now rapidly develop products without needing approval for small changes from the Civil Aviation Authority. This will provide clearer pathways for the sector to test, trial, and grow, while ensuring strong safeguards remain in place.

“The change will directly benefit Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre, which was granted permanent Special Use Airspace earlier this year, alongside $5.85 million in operational funding. 

“The advanced aviation sector is no longer emerging. It is here, and it is central to New Zealand’s economic and high-tech future. Our approach will attract global interest from those keen to take advantage of a safe and responsive regulatory environment.”

Associate Transport Minister James Meager has also confirmed updates to current drone rules, which also reflect New Zealand’s commitment to growth and innovation, while balancing safety with efficiency.

“These changes cut through red tape, reduce paperwork and make it much clearer when drones and other aviation technologies can be used and when they can’t. 

“More specifically, they clarify that drones can be used for low-risk work like surveying and mapping without certification, and they provide clarity and certainty for technical and higher-risk activities like agricultural spraying and top dressing.

“This is about backing our farmers and rural communities by reducing unnecessary regulatory burden, being clear about what’s allowed, and making sure new technology can be put to work safely and quickly.”

The rules come into effect on 22 December 2025.

Notes to Editor:

Summary of Rule Changes:

Parts 101 and 102 (Existing Rules):

  • Uncrewed aircraft are regulated through two rule parts: Part 101, which provides prescriptive rules that capture lower-risk operations in aircraft under 25kg, and Part 102, which is a risk-based certification framework that regulates complex and higher-risk operations.
  • Most drone users in New Zealand operate under Part 101. A certificate is not required to operate under Part 101, and no approval from the CAA is needed.
  • Some technical details have been transferred out of Part 101 and into a new Transport Instrument. This will make updates to regulation faster and more responsive to technology and sector growth.
  • Some activities that previously required approval under Part 102 have now been transferred to Part 101, including some night operations and beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights in enclosed spaces.

  • Part 101 now explicitly prohibits agricultural spraying, topdressing, and vertebrate toxic agent application. These have never been allowed under Part 101, but the rule change makes this clear. Surveying and mapping can still be conducted under Part 101. 

Part 107 (New Rule):

  • Allows approved research organisations to rapidly develop and test emerging aviation technologies within pre-defined areas.
  • Removes regulatory burden on participants by no longer requiring regulatory approval every time an iteration is made, unless the operation changes substantially.
  • Is technology agnostic, allowing for research and development on all aviation systems and ancillary systems.
Posted on

First banks move after OCR cut

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Reserve Bank has cut the official cash rate to its lowest level in three years. RNZ

Just minutes after the Reserve Bank revealed it would cut the official cash rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent, advertised home loan rates started to drop.

The Co-Operative Bank said it was dropping its floating home loan rate by 31 basis points, more than the Reserve Bank reduction, to 4.99 percent.

Chief executive Mark Wilkshire said it “affirms our commitment to competitive interest rates”.

– more to come

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