Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Air New Zealand has made further cuts to some regional flights, in what one mayor calls “disappointing news”.

The flag carrier last announced reductions earlier this month citing ongoing high costs for jet fuel.

On Thursday, Nelson mayor Nick Smith said a further 23 flights were being between his city and Auckland, 32 to and from Wellington, and 15 to and from Christchurch.

The cut flights are between 29 June and 26 July.

“This is the third time Nelson flights to and from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch have been axed temporarily since the war in Iran started and brings the total number of flights lost to 266 or about 12,000 seats,” Smith said .

He said the latest cuts reduced seat capacity for Auckland by 8.7 percent, Christchurch by 10.3 percent and Wellington by 15.2 percent over the four weeks.

“This is likely to affect seat availability and prices as well as reduce Air NZ’s ability to manage disruptions including weather-related delays and cancellations,” Smith said.

“This is disappointing news for Nelson. While it is understandable, with no concrete signs of de-escalation of the oil crisis in the Middle East, it will have an impact on the number of visitors to the region and make it more difficult for people travelling for work, to access healthcare and take holidays outside the region,” he added.

“The loss of flights will also have a negative effect on council’s finances as a 50 percent owner in Nelson Airport Ltd.”

Smith repeated earlier concerns about his region’s tourism.

“I continue to encourage Nelson people considering taking a holiday in the next couple of months to think about options locally such as Golden Bay, Abel Tasman or Nelson Lakes to help our local tourism sector.”

In Tauranga, which has also faced earlier cuts, Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford also highlighted new reductions.

“From 29 June to 26 July they will be removing 27 return flights on the Tauranga-Auckland route (mainly mid-morning and late night services Monday to Wednesday plus mid-day on Thursday), 12 return flights on the Tauranga-Wellington route (mid-day Monday to Friday), and 5 return flights on the Tauranga-Christchurch route,” he said.

“For context, there will still be 375 return flights scheduled to and from Tauranga during this period.”

Air New Zealand told RNZ that it had made a small number of schedule changes because of the ongoing impact of high fuel costs.

“These consolidations affect around 2 percent of passengers due to travel across this period,” the airline said.

“We’ve targeted the consolidations to minimise disruption and to ensure that the vast majority of impacted customers can still travel on the same day.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Reserve Bank’s influential rate-setting body is improving its transparency in a move that will see members’ voting decisions made public.

The changes were announced on Thursday after the Monetary Policy Committee and the Minister of Finance agreed to the updates.

The new charter will make it easier for Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members to publicly share their views, and when a vote takes place, their votes will be attributed.

Previously, in cases of a split decision, members’ votes were kept under wraps.

Reserve Bank governor Anna Breman, who has pushed for a more open central bank since starting the role in December 2025, said the updated charter would enhance transparency and support accountability.

“These changes make it easier for MPC members to communicate their individual views and brings us in line with some of the most transparent central banks in the world,” Dr Breman said.

The changes will be in effect for the May monetary policy statement.

The charter also reconfirmed that the decision-making process should focus on seeking consensus where possible.

The RBNZ said MPC members would be encouraged to communicate their views on economic outlook and monetary policy publicly.

It said as well as revealing members’ votes, the committee would attribute “material differences of view or judgement within the committee”, even if consensus were to be reached.

“Monetary policy transparency is important as it ensures that central banks remain accountable to the public and credible in their decisions,” Dr Breman said.

“This is part of a wider effort to increase transparency where the Reserve Bank has already introduced press conferences at Monetary Policy Reviews, moved to eight monetary policy meetings per year, and increased public outreach and external communications.”

The RBNZ said there would be a review of the charter in 12 months’ time.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Outgoing US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will stay on as a member of the central bank’s powerful rate setting board.

During his term, which ends next month, Powell has resisted huge pressure from US President Donald Trump to lower interest rates.

The Fed left its benchmark rate on hold on Thursday.

Powell was also subject to a criminal investigation into a Federal Reserve office rebuild. That investigation was seen by many commentators as an attack on the bank’s independence and prompted a joint letter of support for Powell from central bankers around the world.

The criminal investigation was dropped by prosecutors last week. However Powell noted at media conference on Thursday that the prosecutor involved had also said that they would not hesitate to reopen the case.

He said given that, he was going to stay on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy board.

“I’ve said that I will not leave the board until this investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality and I stand by that, I’m encouraged by recent developments and I am watching the remaining steps in this process carefully,” he said.

While Powell’s term as chair ends next month with Kevin Warsh set to take over, he can serve on the committee until 2028.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A supportive partner is among the most important factors helping women achieve leadership success in business.

The Women in Leadership: Insights to Impact 2026 report, led by researcher and leadership coach Dr Amanda Sterling, focuses on what helped women rise to leadership positions, rather than barriers to success.

“Leadership advancement cannot be separated from family dynamics,” Sterling said.

“Who you partner with, and how care and domestic responsibilities are shared has a profound impact on a woman’s ability to step into leadership.

“The choices made at home matter just as much as those made in the boardroom.

“What this research does is shift the conversation to solutions, to what is actually having the most positive impact, and where organisations should focus their effort.”

The survey of 410 women in leadership roles across the country ranks the top four factors driving women’s rise to leadership positions.

• Supportive managers cited by 48 percent of respondents
• Partner support – 36 percent
• Flexible work arrangements – 36 percent
• Leadership development programmes – 32 percent

Programmes for men lacking

“In New Zealand, we’d like to think we’re doing well with gender equity. But the numbers tell a different story,” Stirling said.

“Women still remain underrepresented in leadership roles, and the leadership norms this creates – who we see in leadership – have a powerful impact on women’s experiences.

“Men still hold the majority of leadership roles and decision-making power and they have the greatest ability to influence change, yet receive the least targeted support to do so.”

Sterling said one way to close the gap was to encourage more gender awareness programmes for men, with just 12 percent of organisations offering programmes focused on building inclusive leadership capability.

“This is a critical missed opportunity,” she said.

“Without greater awareness – and action – we’ll continue to see the same people privileged in leadership roles.”

She said work was needed to encourage men to take a more active role in caregiving at home.

“The next wave of gender equity is more men stepping in at home”.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

It was meant to be a year of recovery, but for many households, 2026 is shaping up to be another expensive exercise.

With disruption to fuel supplies putting pressure on prices, households may face increases from many angles.

Fuel

Oil prices remain volatile, shifting with news out of the Middle East.

Retail gas prices seem to have plateaued for now. Gaspy data shows that the average price of 91 is now $3.26 per litre, down 3.82 percent over the past 28 days. Diesel is at $3.29.

While it may be a relief to many that prices are not still pushing up, it’s still a much higher price than was paid in February.

Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the average family would buy 45 litres of petrol a week. That cost a peak of $157 in the week of April 10, which had dropped back to $147 according to Gaspy pricing.

But in February, it would have cost them about $114.

Stats NZ household living cost data this week showed petrol spending up 3.5 percent in the March quarter. Prices only started to rise at the end of that period so the latest increase will be more fully captured in the next update.

Eaqub said there would be an effect directly at the petrol pump for households, and then through further layers.

Some businesses were applying surcharges to cover higher fuel bills. Then there would be an impact on materials and goods and services. “There will be different phases of the shock. For example fertiliser prices won’t feed through to food prices for a while. It’ll take months.”

Food

Food prices are expected to rise through the rest of this year. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said earlier that the impact of fuel price rises was unlikely to show in official data until April or May’s were released.

His colleague Gareth Kiernan pointed out that fishing is heavily reliant on oil-based fuels, with 25 percent of its input costs required to cover the fuel bill.

“Some of the discussion around fertiliser suggests while prices have lifted substantially we might not see the full effects of that at the supermarket until next spring or summer when the growing season comes through here.”

He said it was an area where margins were smaller which could mean that there was less ability to absorb cost increases.

Kiernan said it was likely that people on lower incomes would be hardest hit.

“I think what we generally see during periods of higher inflation is that a lot of the time lower income households have less ability to be able to avoid it or substitute away or change their behaviour and obviously less wriggle room in their budgets as well… less savings from week to week. It does tend to hit disproportionately harder.”

Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said the rising price of food was likely to be the biggest pressure on households, outside fuel itself.

“Once you start looking six months down the track, there are some shorter-term impacts that will come through from higher transportation costs in food. But the thing that I’m particularly concerned about is that global food prices likely will rise quite significantly because there’s a shortage of fertilizer out there in the world.

“So that will reduce the supply of things like grains, which then has a knock-on effect of protein prices and that hits ordinary New Zealanders and higher dairy prices, higher meat prices, all of those sort of things.”

Senior Westpac economist Satish Ranchhod said it was likely to soften spending on hospitality and other luxuries. “Even when you see small increases in petrol prices, households will often say ‘well I filled up the car, I’m not going to get takeaways’. Now you’ve got a really large increase I think there’s a risk you see impacts in other discretionary spending areas as well.”

Power

Power prices are rising again, and are predicted to be up about 8 percent this year.

It’s something the Electricity Authority is looking into. It told RNZ this week that much of this year’s price increase has been driven by changes to the lines component of bills.

The increases have not been felt evenly around the country, and some lower-income areas, such as the Far North, have had bigger bill increases than the main centres.

“It’ll be middle and lower income households that will be hit harder,” Eckhold said. “They tend to spend more of their discretionary income on necessities. It’s the cost of those necessities, thinking about food in particular, energy costs – these are the things that are rising relatively steeply.”

Interest rates

Interest rates had their biggest fall since data began over the year to March, Stats NZ said this week. Burt they are already picking up again, and most bank economists now expect that the Reserve Bank may have to push up the official cash rate in the coming months. Most expect a July start, but some have said May is not impossible.

From a low of about 4.5 percent, the two-year special home loan rate at the main banks has lifted to more than 5.2 percent in many cases.

The drop in interest rates significantly reduced pressure on higher-spending households in the year to March because they tend to spend more of their spending on interest costs than lower-income households. But the continued pressure on essentials is likely to mean that lower-spending households, who are generally also lower-income, are facing higher inflation than the average for now.

“The big thing to watch is how the Reserve Bank is going to respond to this pickup in inflation pressures because, obviously, that will be important for borrowing costs,” Ranchhod said.

“And it’s not an easy one for them to respond to because those higher oil prices, it is going to be a drag on activity. But it’s pushing up inflation at the same time.

“They’ve got to balance those concerns. Even though they’re conscious that, hey, if you raise interest rates, it could have a dampening impact on economic activity and on the labour market, the past couple of years have shown just how corrosive high inflation can be and it can have a really long-lasting impact. I think it’ll be tough for them to keep looking through that if the shock continues for a long time.”

And other things

AUT professor John Tookey earlier warned that construction costs could increase sharply because of the disruption.

Eckhold said he expected some categories of construction costs could increase in price quite a lot.

“A lot of it’s imported, a lot of it’s reliant on things like plastics and stuff like that, for example, PVC piping… And there’s a lot of anecdotes, both in New Zealand and globally, that those prices have had to adjust quite quickly.”

Kiernan said that was likely to mean higher council rates than otherwise in future.

“If you had another significant lift in infrastructure costs, for example, then, you know, that’s going to place more pressure on local government rates again.”

Eaqub said that wasn’t the extent of the plastic problems.

He said the price of condoms was increasing. “They use a particular grade of silicone which relies on very high-grade plastics.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Small business sales continued their upward momentum at the start of the year, but there is uncertainty about whether it can continue amid the economic fallout from the Iran war.

Accounting software firm Xero’s Small Business Insights showed average small business sales rose in the March quarter, up 3.9 percent from the same period a year ago.

It followed an identical rise in the December quarter.

“In the March quarter we saw encouraging signs that discretionary spending was returning,” Xero country manager Bridget Snelling said.

“Strong results in retail and hospitality – with hospitality recording its best quarter in nearly three years – suggest households were becoming a little more willing to spend on non‑essentials,” Snelling said.

The improving sales conditions also meant jobs growth, with Xero recording small business jobs rising 1.1 percent from a year ago, led by agriculture and manufacturing, while wages rose 2.2 percent.

Retail trade sales were up more than 5 percent, while Xero said hospitality recorded its best quarter in nearly three years, up 4 percent from a year ago.

Construction sales rose for the third consecutive quarter, up 4 percent, after two years of consistent losses.

Snelling said the improvement was consistent with the impact of last year’s interest rate cuts beginning to flow through to consumer behaviour.

“Of course, we need to consider the broader macroeconomic backdrop: we are yet to see the most significant impacts of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and how this impacts the cost of living in New Zealand,” she said.

“Rising fuel prices put pressure on both sides of the ledger – they lift costs for businesses while also weighing on consumer spending.”

Snelling said it was “encouraging” to see small businesses in a stronger position to absorb the shocks after five consecutive quarters of improving sales and confidence.

Regionally, there were more signs of the so-called two-speed economy, where the South Island continued to outperform the North.

Xero said Canterbury and Otago led sales growth, up 6.5 and 5.8 percent respectively. The same two regions also led jobs growth, up 4.4 and 2.6 percent respectively.

Auckland and Wellington recorded marginally fewer jobs than a year ago, down 0.7 and 0.5 percent respectively.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

With many of us already dealing with power price rises, and fears of more hikes as winter hits, here are some simple ways to help you cut down the bill.

Give your house the best chance of holding on to heat

A good way to make your house cheaper to heat is to help it hold on to the warmth a bit longer.

Consumer NZ recommends checking for draughts by taking a candle and tracing the edges of your windows and doors. “When the smoke starts going sideways you’ve found a draught. Window sealant tape is a cheap way to keep in the heat.”

Upgrading your curtains can also help. Consumer said it was more important that they fit snugly against the windowframe than the material they were made from.

The Electricity Authority said most New Zealand homes were built before wall insulation was required, and adding this could be a cost-effective way to improve the warmth of your house.

If you can cope with how it looks, even sticking bubble wrap on your windows can be effective.

Change to LED lightbulbs

A switch to LED lightbulbs can significantly reduce the cost of lighting your home.

The authority said only about 30 percent of the power used by incandescent bulbs turned into useful light. An LED would give a similar level of light to a 100 watt incandescent bulb but only use 8 to 12 watts.

LED light bulbs do cost more upfront but should pay themselves off relatively quickly. They cost about $1 or $2 a year to use, compared to $10 to $35 for an incandescent bulb.

Maximise your heat pump

Heat pumps can be an efficient way to heat a room.

It’s usually recommended to set the temperature between 18 and 22 – a comfortable indoor temperature that requires less energy than a high heat. Clean your filters if you haven’t done so this year and turn it off when you’re not using it.

Heat pumps usually have a dry mode to dehumidify a room but Consumer NZ said its testing showed that a dehumidifier used in tandem with a heat pump on heating mode would give the best results.

Don’t dry clothes inside

How you dry your clothes can save power.

The Electricity Authority said drying clothes would add up to five litres of moisture to the air of a house, which meant it would require more power to heat.

It said it could be more cost-effective in some cases to run a dryer for a short time to get your clothes dry.

Consumer estimates a vented condenser dryer costs 50c per load and a heat pump dryer 25c. Your dryer should obviously be vented outside or have a tank to collect the moisture.

Time of use plans

If you’re able to switch when you use your power, you may be able to save money with a time of use plan. These offer lower power prices at off-peak times in return for higher rates during peak periods.

If you can set your washing machine to run after you go to bed, or set your spa pool to heat in off-peak times, you might notice a saving.

It has been estimated that people who are careful can save up to 20 percent with a time-of-use plan. Large retailers are required to be offering these by July 1.

If you’re struggling you may be able to ask your power company to smooth your bills out through the year so you pay a bit more in summer in return for a bit less in winter.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Cycle advocates are calling on the government to implement widespread cycling infrastructure to protect New Zealanders from the global energy crisis.

An open letter with 470 signatures – lead by Cycle Action Network and Bike Auckland – is urging Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Finance Minister Nicola Willis, and Transport Minister Chris Bishop to support road controlling authorities to make changes to enable travel without the use of a car.

The letter said the conflict in the Middle East meant the country was facing the “very real possibility” of fuel shortages within weeks or months.

“There is confirmation that up to 40% of fossil fuel infrastructure in the Middle East is damaged or destroyed, taking up to three years for repair. Responsible decision making means taking steps now that will protect New Zealanders in the event of a crisis,” it said.

The letter was calling for greater use of pop-up bike lanes, the acceleration of existing active transport projects and a pause on the ‘Roads of National Significance’ (RONS) programme.

Co-chair of Bike Auckland Karen Hormann said the government must empower local road controlling authorities to act before the situation worsened.

“The government has no mandate to pass on fuel crisis costs to Kiwis while simultaneously blocking infrastructure that would provide a cheaper way to get around. We need safe, separated, and attractive conditions for active travel now,” Hormann said.

The group was also calling for a return to lower speed limits in urban areas and to cap speeds limits at 80 km/h outside cities.

Cycling Action Network spokesperson Patrick Morgan said the tools for car-free travel were already sitting in the nation’s garages.

“Aotearoa is fortunate to have a fleet of over two million practical, fossil-fuel-free vehicles, bicycles and scooters, already distributed across the country. Ready to keep people moving and save households money, helping to lower the financial burden of fuel for where travel by car is still unavoidable. But to unlock this potential, the government must make the streets safe enough for people to actually use them,” Morgan said.

He said spending billions on new roads that increased dependency on imported oil was “foolhardy in the current climate”.

“We are encouraged by signs that the government may review the cost-benefit of some RONS projects. That investment must be used more effectively to resolve our dependence on overseas fossil fuels and keep Aotearoa moving,” Morgan said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Legislation that aims to make transferring money overseas cheaper has passed its first reading, with support from all parties other than National.

New Zealanders currently pay more for transfers than those in Australia, the UK and the United States, with banks charging more in hidden fees.

The member’s bill from Labour’s Arena Williams would require transparency about fees, and require banks to have fair conduct policies.

The National Party said there is no need for the bill, because other reforms are making progress on opening up the financial system.

The bill passed with the support of all other parties, and goes to select committee.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Some of Auckland’s most experienced tailors believe the industry is ageing out, despite a good level of demand for work.

Serena Tan’s lunchtime on Monday had not been quiet.

She first spoke with Virginia, who brought in her daughter’s bridesmaid dress for hemming.

Tan had to be frank, gently explaining that the hem might need to take more fabric than Virginia had hoped.

Soon after, Tash arrived with an Anine Bing blazer in need of patching.

Tan asked after her child and later told me she had watched Tash grow from a high school student into a mother.

Now 60, Tan was among a group of tailors worried their trade was quietly ageing out.

Statistics back her concern. The median age for tailors and dressmakers rose from 48.3 in 2013, to 51 in 2023.

Born and trained as a seamstress in Malaysia, Tan first came to New Zealand on holiday in 1990, and stayed after getting a job in Wellington’s fashion industry.

In 1998, she opened Serena’s Dressmaking and Alterations in Auckland’s Mt Albert.

Tan said mastering the craft takes years, and fears the lack of younger workers will leave a gap that’s hard to fill.

“We are using the scissors for cutting, and the hairdresser also use the scissors for cutting. And then you cut the hair make a mistake, doesn’t matter. Few months later, the hair will grow or you can wear a hat. But this one (tailoring), when you’re cutting, you have to throw it away if you make a mistake.”

Behind her spacious storefront was Tan’s workshop, where seven machines crowded the space alongside fabrics and trims.

Her oldest machine had been with her for 35 years and was still stitching perfectly.

But while her machines endured, Tan was preparing to retire in a few years.

Finding a successor could prove difficult, so she came up with a plan.

“These several years, I’m feel very, very busy and tired. I hope if I retire, somebody can continue my business. If they know the basics of sewing, they come, I will teach them (tailoring).”

She was not alone in her concerns.

Merai Tailors had been in the suburb of Onehunga for over 30 years.

Now sitting behind the sewing machine was 70-year-old Mahesh Contractor, who took over the business from his older brother 15 years ago.

Contractor comes from generations of tailors, but he was the last in his family to carry on the trade.

“I like to carry on with the business. I’m fit for it and this is my medicine as well, it keeps me mentally and physically fit.”

He said while the economy had not been in its best shape for the past few years, demand for his skills was still high due to online shopping and op shopping.

“It’s very, very risky (to buy online) because different countries have different size (system). And new things are getting more expensive now, so people are buying from the op shop, lots of people bringing (clothes) from op shop (where they paid) for $1.50 – $2, so sometimes I’m confused, how much I’m going to charge.”

He said the trade was inexpensive to set up and encouraged young people to consider it.

“It is a profitable business. I will carry on if I’m fit.”

Government data suggested the trade could grow.

In the 2018 census, 684 people indicated they were dressmakers or tailors, growing from the 552 in 2013.

Jessica Jay was part of a small group choosing to enter the industry.

Six years ago, the then 26-year-old decided repairing garments was where her heart was.

“I love clothing and textiles, I love sewing and I love fashion, but I found it really hard to reconcile that interest and passion and skill set with just how many clothes already exist. And I was really interested in repairs of clothing, looking at different ways that you can keep garments in circulation for longer.”

Jay graduated from fashion school in 2016 and wasn’t sure why more of her peers hadn’t pursued repair and tailoring.

Now 31, she said the work offered her a decent amount of financial stability and work, life balance.

“I can imagine doing this well into old age because you can always improve your skills with sewing and alterations. Every garment that I see is a new problem-solving challenge.”

New Settlers Family and Community Trust was also helping to bring new hands into the trade.

A year ago, the trust set up the Sewing Repair Cafe, with a mission to help refugees build skills that could be used towards future employment.

On a Saturday session in Mt Eden, three workers made their way through a pile of garments.

Thirty-nine-year-old Rahila Roshan was hemming a shirt.

Before coming to New Zealand, she had been a biology teacher in her home country Afghanistan.

That career path was now out of reach due to language barriers, but sewing had opened another door.

“I love sewing, I like making dresses and attending repair cafes.”

While she had experience making clothes for her family, she said alterations required a different skillset.

“Making is easy, but fixing is very hard.”

Shukria Rezia, 42, worked on a dress. It needed expansion on the waist, and a new zip.

She estimated such a repair would typically cost about $40, but at the community workshop, payment was not mandatory.

Donations were encouraged to support the Trust, but on that Saturday morning, despite a steady stream of people dropping off items, few contributions came through.

But the trio was not too upset.

“Anything free is good, free is better,” they laughed.

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