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Global dairy prices continue to rise in wake of Middle East conflict

Source: Radio New Zealand

123RF

Supply pressure and buying interest saw dairy prices continue their climb at the latest Global Dairy Trade auction overnight.

The average price rose 5.7 percent overnight to US$4301 (NZ$7299) a tonne.

It was the fifth consecutive auction where prices have risen since the start of the year and followed a 3.6 percent rise at the previous one.

The New Zealand exchange’s head of dairy insights Cristina Alvarado said even though milk production has been high in the key global regions the volume on offer at the event was down.

She said Fonterra was the company with one of the biggest offerings, but New Zealand was now heading toward the end of its milking season.

“New Zealand’s milk production curve is now firmly in seasonal decline, and forward offer volumes through March to May indicate further easing,” she said.

“At the same time, growing domestic protein demand in the United States and new cheese capacity not yet operating at full utilisation are absorbing milk locally.”

She said with the tightness of product in the US demand was higher for certain products, particularly skim milk and butter.

“We’ve seen a pattern in this last year of more buying what you need rather than building large stocks.”

The important whole-milk powder price, which influences farmer payouts, rose 4.5 percent to US$3863 a tonne.

There were price gains across the board too with skim milk powder up 9.1 percent, along with butter up 6.1 percent, mozzarella 7.9 percent and cheddar 4.3 percent.

The regions which bought most of the product were North and South Asia, however, Alvarado said in terms of percentage buying there was an increase from those in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“With ongoing geopolitical tensions affecting Middle Eastern logistics and trade lanes, and in the absence of recent Algerian tenders in the region, it is notable that EMEA [Europe, the Middle East and Africa] participation strengthened rather than retreated.”

Alvarado said the Middle East was a “significant” and “growing” market for New Zealand – among our top three buyers.

“It’s definitely a key region and we would hope that despite everything going on and as we saw at the auction today they’re still buying product, even more so.”

While the conflict had brought “some logistics challenges”, she said it presented a competitive advantage for New Zealand in getting supply to its key buyers in Asia over other competitors in Europe.

Alvarado expected prices to remain steady with continued prices increases, though possibly at lesser rates.

“I don’t really see them dropping as there is a need for product and from our end we are heading towards the end of our season.”

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

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Light fitting sparks fire at Auckland Hospital

Source: Radio New Zealand

A fire in a building at Auckland Hospital has been extinguished on Wednesday morning.

Fire and Emergency said a light fitting on level six of a nine-storey building had caught fire, and was reported around 8.30am.

The fire was extinguished shortly before 9am and the floor was ventilated.

FENZ said there was no injuries.

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Government pushes back deadline for agencies’ project funding bids

Source: Radio New Zealand

It showed agencies such as in health, justice and education had faced a December deadline to make the case for their bids for this year’s Budget, but that had to be pushed back. RNZ

The government has been facing too much demand to fund infrastructure projects from agencies left with too little time to plan them, forcing it to push back a Budget 2026 deadline.

A newly-released Treasury report said significant trade-offs were still required.

It showed agencies such as in health, justice and education had faced a December deadline to make the case for their bids for this year’s Budget, but the deadline had to be pushed back.

“With agency capacity constraints being signalled in the QIR (quarterly investment report) for Budget 2026 we have extended this timeline to April 2026.”

The report on central government investments for the three months to September 2025 – the latest QIR available – said demand “significantly” exceeded available Budget allowances, though it blanked out the figure

That was also the case for the next four Budgets.

But because agencies had also spent only half what they expected in the quarter – $2.3 billion versus $4.7b forecast – the report held out hope that better planning could result in more investments that were “right-sized and deliverable”, reducing Budget bids.

A debate in Parliament on infrastructure was set for Wednesday.

This follows release of the country’s first National Infrastructure Plan last month that sparked a debate about building roads versus hospitals.

The QIR said there were “large differences between forecast and actual spend and reported delays once entering delivery”.

It also said agencies were continuing to signal funding requirements for Budget 2026 that “significantly exceed available allowances, with $38.2 billion capital signalled over the next five Budgets.

“Significant trade-offs are still required”.

It did not go into details of any possible trade-offs.

Treasury is developing advice on the medium-term capital pipeline due this month.

The QIR said agencies had been expected to have a full-fledged business case or a fast-track single-stage business case done “before submitting a Budget bid in December to ensure robust value for money advice from the Treasury”.

It was pushed back to April to ensure the builds would proceed quickly after the Budget. Last year there was still a backlog of 15 becalmed projects funded in Budget 2024; however, that number had been cut to just three in this QIR.

“The September 2025 QIR tells us that agency projections for timely conversion are looking better than previous quarters.”

This “Budget conversion” – converting from funding, to building – is a marker of momentum.

“We also need to keep momentum and scrutinise whether agencies have done enough planning to ensure that what gets funded in Budget 2026 is investment-ready and starts delivery within the 2026-27 financial year.”

To do that, Treasury was working with bosses of capital-intensive agencies – such as Defence, Health NZ, NZTA – “to improve system approaches, including approaches for more timely conversion post-Budget.”

Part of the problem was underspending.

“Crown capital expenditure underspend of $2.4 billion tells us that agencies may be forecasting too optimistically, such that it does not match their capacity to deliver on everything that has been funded.”

Sometimes the reason was a policy shift, such as that cut Kainga Ora spending, or timing as at NZTA.

But underspending was a big enough worry that bosses of the big-spending agencies had met “to address significant discrepancies between forecasted and actual capital investment spend”, followed up by the Secretary to the Treasury writing to them to improve forecasting, and to their ministers.

Ten projects entered the ‘pipeline’ for planning in the quarter, including private provision of hospital carparking.

The QIR showed some projects as of last September were hitting ructions and delays:

Three had not yet signed contracts though they were funded a long time ago:

  • Waikeria prison expansion phase 2, expected to sign a contract in quarter to March 2026
  • Specialised Rehabilitation Centre at Manukau Health Park, funded in Budget 2022, expected to sign in June 2026.
  • A third project was blanked out.

Fifty-three investments were reporting delays last September, five of them with over a $50m budget that were more than a year delayed.

Delays included:

  • Kainga Ora’s Northcote project
  • Manukau health park, delayed two years
  • Christchurch Hospital Tower 3 delayed by nearly two years, due October 2026
  • Nelson Hospital inpatient block delayed 18 months
  • Wairarapa rail Upgrades, delayed by 15 months, due for completion March 2027.

Three projects racked up red warning alerts in their first ‘Gateway’ reviews that are meant to keep them on track, signalling “major risks and issues” and triggering Treasury and ministerial intervention:

  • Police’s Arms Transformation Programme for implementing legislative changes and improvements to the administration of the Arms Regulatory system
  • MSD’s Disability Support Services – High and Complex Framework
  • Nelson Hospital Redevelopment.

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Smokefree compliance efforts double

Source: New Zealand Government

Health agencies more than doubled the number of store visits and controlled purchase operations last year to curb illegal sales of cigarettes and vapes to minors, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today.

“In the 12 months ending 31 December, more than 4,500 controlled purchase operations (CPOs) were carried out across New Zealand – up from around 2,000 the previous year,” Ms Costello says. 

“Encouragingly, around 90 per cent of retailers were compliant with requirements, checking IDs and not selling to minors. However, a small number continue to break the rules.”

In the past year, 489 infringement fines were issued, compared to 198 issued the year before. The proportion of stores found to be non-compliant, about one in ten, has remained steady over the past two years. 

These stores are increasingly being issued infringement notices, each carrying a fine of up to $2,000, which can be issued without the need for court proceedings. 

“The boost in compliance activity has been supported by the recruitment of 18 additional Compliance Officers by Health NZ, most of them in the past year,” Ms Costello says.

“Efforts to reduce harm to young people from smoking and vaping were also further strengthened last year, with the passing of legislation significantly increasing penalties for non-compliance, banning disposable vapes and limiting how vaping products can be displayed in stores and online.

The Minister said that the Ministry of Health was now regularly reporting on this compliance work with quarterly updates available on its website: https://www.health.govt.nz/regulation-legislation/vaping-herbal-smoking-and-smokeless-tobacco/compliance-monitoring

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One decision that could cost women $200,000

Source: Radio New Zealand

The KiwiSaver gender gap narrowed from 17 percent in 2020 to 14 percent in 2025. File photo. RNZ / Hingyi Khong

Women are being told to take more risk with their KiwiSaver to help close the gap between their average balance and those of men.

Westpac said while the gender gap had narrowed from 17 percent in 2020 to 14 percent in 2025, men were contributing and saving more even though women live longer on average.

In the Westpac KiwiSaver funds, men had higher average balances in all age groups once people were over 18. The biggest gap was in the 30 to 39-year-old age group, where men had an average balance of $28,992 compared to $21,740 for women.

Westpac general manager of product, sustainability and marketing Sarah Hearn said part of the different was the gender pay gap and time out of the workforce. But women were also more likely to be in less risky funds.

Men had 37 percent of their total balances invested in growth and high-growth funds, compared to 32 percent for women, who hold more of their KiwiSaver in moderate or conservative funds.

Higher-risk funds should deliver higher returns over time.

Morningstar data shows that aggressive funds have returned an average 9.5 percent a year over 10 years compared to 4.2 percent for conservative.

Hearn said women taking a more defensive strategy early in life could miss out on tens of thousands of dollars over the decades.

Earlier, Westpac estimated that the gap in outcomes between someone in a conservative fund and someone in a growth fund over 30 years could be more than $225,000 for a median earner on a total 6 percent contribution.

“Historically women have made more conservative fund choices, but if they’re saving for the long term – at least 13 years – and are comfortable seeing larger up-and-down movements in their balance over time, I’d encourage them to consider what type of fund they’re in,” Hearn said.

She urged women to talk about their financial decisions. “We know men are really much more comfortable taking about numbers and money than women are… I think there’s a great opportunity where we could be talking more about our KiwiSaver balances, our returns, the types of funds we’re in and just having more conversations about money.”

She said people should check the type of KiwiSaver fund they were in and make sure it was right for them.

“Make sure it’s in line with your risk appetite and also the timeframe. I think that’s the most important thing. we know that balances can go up and down over time. There can be volatility, but this is the long haul. We’re all looking forward to retirement one day but in most cases it’s a couple of decades a way. It’s definitely the right time to take on a little bit more risk so that we can have our money working harder for us.”

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Person seriously hurt after being trapped between truck and skip in Wellington

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Marika Khabazi

A person has been seriously injured after getting trapped between a rubbish truck and what RNZ understands to be a skip bin in Wellington.

Emergency services were called to Maning Lane in the central city at 4.55am.

FENZ shift manager Jill Webley said crews extracted a trapped person and they were taken to hospital.

A police spokesperson said investigators would be in the area today working to determine what happened.

They said Worksafe had been advised.

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Samoan teenager adopted in ‘coerced’ migration, tribunal told

Source: Radio New Zealand

ASamoan teenager was adopted by a New Zealand resident in a ‘coerced relocation’. Unsplash / RNZ composite

A tribunal has been told a Samoan teenager was adopted by a New Zealand resident in a ‘coerced relocation’ which led to violence and her baby being taken into care.

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) was trying to have her deported for not revealing she was in a relationship when she arrived in 2022.

Allegations of child abuse, a lack of welfare safeguards and unsafe adoptions from countries which are not signatories to Hague Convention protocols prompted a partial ban on international adoptions last September.

The immigration and protection tribunal had two cases involving adopted Samoans last year.

In the latest, the immigration and protection tribunal overturned the woman’s deportation, saying she was blameless as a then 18-year-old schoolgirl for the circumstances of her adoption and failing to tell INZ about her relationship.

“The tribunal notes that no allegations of trafficking have been made in this case, but that there have been cases where young people from Samoa have been adopted at a similar age to the appellant and trafficked to New Zealand using the Family (Dependent Child) residence category as a vehicle.

“The tribunal has heard evidence in a number of cases from these young people about the exploitation they have experienced at the hands of their “adoptive parents” in New Zealand, including being subjected to forced labour.”

The associate justice minister Nicole McKee announced in September a temporary ban on international adoptions from certain countries, and said she would introduce a bill this year to create a longterm solution.

The tribunal said that move meant the woman’s situation would not happen again.

“[She] did not know she was being adopted,” it said in its hearing notes. “To any reasonable observer, the appellant was not [her adoptive mother’s] “dependent child”. [She] was a stranger with no relationship to the appellant and her brothers.

“It is unfortunate that immigration policy at the time allowed for the appellant’s “adoption” and her coerced relocation to New Zealand. There were clearly welfare concerns in the setting she was placed, given the later involvement of Oranga Tamariki.”

The woman was six months pregnant when she arrived and had a caesarean birth, but fled the house when she was subject to violence, leaving her baby behind. Her brother had also been assaulted and she showed a phone video she had filmed of the attack to a social worker.

Oranga Tamariki took him into care and sometime later the woman’s daughter was put into foster care for about five months. Mother and child have since been reunited.

In an earlier tribunal decision from March last year, a man who was adopted as a teen described being ‘exploited and frightened by his adoptive parents who treated him like a slave’.

His aunt and uncle adopted him and forced him to work long hours in their factory. “His uncle beat him severely, on one occasion, breaking his arm. He did not receive wages for his

work and was only given $20 a week. He was not allowed a phone and could not maintain contact with his parents in Samoa.”

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Government ‘talking to everybody’ over Kiwis caught up in Middle East war – Peters

Source: Radio New Zealand

Foriegn Affairs Minister Winston Peters RNZ / Mark Papalii

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says there are thousands of New Zealanders whose plans have been disrupted by the current war between the US and Israel and Iran.

All sorts of contingencies to help them were being looked at but it was a complex situation, he told Morning Report.

SafeTravel said on Wednesday United Arab Emirates had partially reopened its air space.

There were limited flights operating from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Follow updates with RNZ’s blog

It said there had so far been no official announcement on flights to Australia or New Zealand, but the NZ government were in contact with airline representatives to get urgent confirmation on the status of flights.

Spain and the United Kingdom have announced they are organising evacuation flights for their citizens while Australia has opened an emergency portal for its citizens.

Asked on Morning Report about possible evacuation flights for Kiwis Peters said the situation was “difficult”.

“We’re saying to people if you can get out, and if you are concerned, get out. If you can’t, then try and stay safe or stay inside where you are or make sure you have places that are safe most of the time.”

There were thousands of Kiwis in the region with not a great number registered on SafeTravel, he said.

Last time there was conflict in the Middle East a plane was sent, and within an hour of it landing “peace broke out” and noone got on the flight, Peters said.

“We’ve got all sorts of contingencies ready now – all aspects have been looked at. Obviously I’ve got to be confidential but Foreign Affairs is doing a superb job to do the maximum they can to help New Zealanders there.”

Peters said New Zealand was “talking to everybody” regarding Kiwis stranded by the conflict.

Regarding the negotiations that had been going on in Switzerland just before the weekend attacks, Peters said they had been “protracted” and that was why countries such as New Zealand could see the possibility of conflict and advised citizens to leave.

“We were saying that a long time before this war broke out.”

Not concerned about upsetting US

In an earlier statement, the government said New Zealand had consistently condemned Iran’s nuclear programme and its “destabilising activities” in the region and “acknowledged” the strikes.

Peters said he wasn’t worried about blowback from the United States if New Zealand expressed any criticism over the joint attacks with Israel on Iran.

Critics were commenting as if the current war was from a 1980s or 1990s setting.

“Everything’s changed dramatically. …It’s the most uncertain world since the Second World War.”

Legal experts would decide but in some situations such as the US-Israel attacks it became “a reprisal or retaliation” and the genesis to the current conflict was the earlier actions of Iran.

People had to understand countries were dealing with a group of “religious fanatics” in Iran. Their Arabic neighbours didn’t support Iran because it had been supporting various forms of terrorism for decades.

Critics had “rushed to judgement” over the legality of the US-Israel attacks, however, they had no answers to the way Iran was acting.

While critics referred to rules-based order, Iran had not been observing this and it had been exporting “continual chaos overseas”.

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Ardern on list as Ockham Book Awards finalists revealed

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern’s book, A Different Kind of Power, has made the shortlist of the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Ardern’s memoir is one of four finalists announced on Wednesday in the awards’ general non-fiction category.

The Ockham Awards shortlist includes writers across fiction, poetry, history, botany, art and te ao Māori.

Natural history writer Naomi Arnold is a finalist for her book, Northbound: Four Seasons of Solitude on Te Araroa.

Naomi Arnold

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Auckland mayor objects to ‘expensive’ housing plan request

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. RNZ/Marika Khabazi

Auckland Council has less than two weeks to respond to a letter from the government wanting the council to outline its plan for housing intensification.

But mayor Wayne Brown says the council is already spending millions on the project and the request is too costly.

In February, Minister for Housing and RMA Reform Chris Bishop announced that Cabinet agreed to reduce the city’s minimum housing capacity requirement from 2.08 million to 1.6 million.

In a letter to Brown dated 24 February, Bishop asked for an outline of the approach the mayor intended to take to review the plan, and of what areas or suburbs may be affected by the change.

Brown refused. “We’ve spent $10 million on Plan Change 78, and by Christmas we’d blown another $3 million on Plan Change 120, as well as having 50 staff reading 10,000 submissions… so this is expensive,” he told a planning committee meeting on Tuesday.

“Preparing maps requires investing significant time and money. It’s not as simple as pushing a button. In this organisation you’re lucky to get a lift by pushing a button. We’ll be telling the government what Aucklanders want, not the other way around.

“What’s important is for Auckland to lead the process from here, not producing maps to see if some ministers worried about their jobs might like them.”

A spokesperson from Chris Bishop’s office later clarified to RNZ that the minister had never asked Brown for a map.

Brown was adament that Auckland Council would not invest any more resources.

“I’m reluctant to commission a hell of a lot of expenditure, which may not meet an unknown criteria from an unknown number of Cabinet Ministers. Most of them don’t live in Auckland.

“That’s just stupid. I’m not going to do that. I’m the mayor of Auckland. If they want to be the mayor of Auckland, have a crack at me.”

Bishop asked Brown to respond to the letter by 17 March.

Councillor Shane Henderson agrees with the mayor’s approach saying the council should not provide an outline until feedback from the public had been considered, and accused the government of “political desperation in an election year”.

Councillor Sarah Paterson-Hamlin was concerned Aucklanders would have to be consulted again.

“I’m really conscious that we asked a lot of Aucklanders,” she said.

“We asked them for feedback on a really complicated thing over Christmas and they came to the party, 10,000 submissions is a lot for a process like that. I don’t know how we can go back out in good faith, and how we communicate to those 10,000-plus people that they will be heard.”

However, deputy mayor Desley Simpson did not understand why it would be too difficult.

“Respectfully it does seem pretty obvious, for me, for a layman, surely if you just up-zoned along the major transport corridors and around the stations added the city centre you’d get a number.

“Why can’t you just tell us straight away what those suburbs would look like going up and the suburbs that would look like going down? That seems like, from a layman, quite a logical thing to ask.”

Auckland Council chief of strategy Megan Tyler responded that it would be too time-consuming.

“It’s not simple. If it was a button, I would happily show you the button. You can press the button yourself. There isn’t one.”

Auckland Council will meet again on 10 March, where Bishop’s letter will be on the agenda.

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