Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Manufacturing sector activity expanded in October thanks to higher new orders and improving demand.

The BNZ-Business NZ Performance of Manufacturing Index rose by 1.3 points to 51.4 in October, although it was still below its long-run average of 52.4.

A reading over 50 was regarded as expansion in the sector.

The survey showed a rise in new orders and production, but a further weakening of employment.

BNZ senior economist Doug Steel said the lift to 51.4 from September’s 50.1 was not large, but it had moved the right way.

He says Friday’s result was the fourth consecutive monthly expansion, something that had not happened for three years.

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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 co-founders of education technology platform Kami have been named EY entrepreneur of the year, with a fast growing global business expanding in more than 180 countries, except New Zealand.

Kami’s educational products is used by 70 million teachers and students around the world, including 90 percent of US classrooms.

Kami was co-founded in 2013 by chief executive Hengjie Wang and chief operating officer Alliv Samson, after developing their first interactive educational tool while still in university.

Samson said the company was still just getting started, with long-term plans to continue.

“We’re still scratching the surface,” Samson said. “There’s still a lot of classrooms out there that need help, including New Zealand.

“One of the biggest challenges that we see in Education NZ is we don’t have really good structure in ways on how we use technology in the classroom, and we can see how progressive the other countries are, but unfortunately, we’re really lacking here in New Zealand, and that’s something that we would love to see change.”

Wang said he would use the win to discuss the issue with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon who spoke about the importance of technology and entrpreneurship at the annual awards gala.

Kami will be competing with the other country winners at EY’s Global event to be held in Monaco, June 2026.

Category winners

• Alliv Samson and Hengjie Wang (Kami) Alliv Samson and Hengjie Wang, Kami
• Kate Gatfield-Jeffries (Moodi), Young Entrepreneur
• Chris Benham (The Village Goldsmith), Product Entrepreneur
• Taurus Taurima (Topline Contracting), Services Entrepreneur
• James Annabell (Egmont Honey), Master Entrepreneur

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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 Real Estate Authority is fielding a record number of complaints about real estate salespeople amid challenging housing market conditions.

The authority’s 2025 annual report noted a 35 percent increase in formal complaints in the year to June 30, to 487.

It said 9 percent of licensees subject to complaints had findings of misconduct or unsatisfactory conduct made against them.

The authority said complaints related to customer service, skill and care, disclosure and misleading advertising.

Poor communication was also a common theme.

But the authority said many did not raise issues that justified strong regulatory intervention.

Chief executive Belinda Moffat said the results indicated that most real estate licensees were maintaining high standards of professional conduct.

“REA is holding to account those who don’t.”

But she said the increase in consumer dissatisfaction needed to be a focus for the industry and said some cases raised complex and serious matters.

“Licensees are expected to maintain high standards and to have the skills to navigate challenging market conditions. Fairness, transparency, skill and care are critical expectations of the conduct regulatory system we oversee.”

She said the increase in complaints highlighted the complexity of the real estate transaction process.

The provision of quality information was important to support good decision-making, she said.

There are 15,692 people with active real estate licenses in New Zealand including 12,300 sales people, 1930 individual agents and 605 branch managers.

But that is almost three times the number of monthly residential property sales.

There were 6346 sales across the country in September, according to the Real Estate Institute.

“We were particularly pleased to see the 18 percent increase in branch managers this year given the important role they play as supervisors of salespeople,” Moffat said.

In 2023, there were 15,870 licences, down from 16,902 in September 2022.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s changing demographics in recent years is being reflected in the rising demand for Indian fashion.

The demand has been fuelled by a fast-growing Indian population, which has overtaken the Chinese community to become the country’s third-largest ethnicity, according to the 2023 Census.

Numbering almost 300,000, the Indian community loyally patronises specialist fashion outlets selling sarees, salwar kameez (top and trousers), Patiala suits, lehengas and kurtas throughout the country.

Outlets selling Indian footwear items such as mojaris, juttis and Kolhapuri chappals are also proving popular.

But non-Indian consumers are also bolstering the growing trade in ethnic garments, buying items as part of Indian festival celebrations, corporate events or Bollywood-themed parties.

Not surprisingly, most of the outlets selling Indian fashion and ethnic wear can be found in Auckland, where almost 60 percent of the country’s Indian community resides.

One such outlet is Sona Sansar in the South Auckland neighbourhood of Papatoetoe, which is owned and operated by Harish Lodhia, who is also the honorary consul of Fiji in Auckland.

Naveen Talwar, manager of Sona Sansar, said he had witnessed a shift in consumer purchases as affordability in the Indian community increased.

“Increasingly we are seeing customers demanding designer sarees, and those are made from expensive silk. This is bound to happen as buying power of the community sees an uplift,” Talwar said.

“During the months of September and October, which coincides with Navratri and Diwali, demand for chaniya choli [designs] increases quite a bit.”

Chirag Ahuja, owner of fashion outlet Akarshan in South Auckland, moved to New Zealand from northern India in 2007.

“I have seen a sea change in customer demand over my time in New Zealand,” Ahuja said.

“We started modestly selling readymade suits. Then, as demand increased, we gradually grew,” he said.

“Today, we have the entire range of Indian ethnic wear, from Patiala suits to Kanjivaram sarees,” he said.

“We also sell imitation jewellery, which has proven quite popular with customers not wanting anything valuable but still desire a smart look.”

Nearby Ahuja’s shop is Batra’s Fashion Villa, a multiple outlet store selling everything from shoes and jewellery to leather materials and clothing.

“We have been in Papatoetoe for over two decades now. Apart from the usual stuff, we also have a bridal studio that gets quite busy during the wedding season,” said TS Batra, owner of the business.

“We import everything from various parts of India, as every region has its own distinctive taste. We get stuff from Mumbai, Surat, Delhi and, of course, Punjab.

“We also sell Indian palazzos and a Pakistani suit range. We even have ladies’ size 64, which is very difficult to find in any other shop here.

“I would say the main base of our shop is Fiji-Indian customers.”

Mahesh Kumar owns Roopdarshan outlets in the Auckland suburbs of Papatoetoe and Mt Roskill.

“Our family immigrated from Gujarat in India to Fiji, where we had a retail clothing business. Then I moved to Auckland in 1997,” Kumar said.

“Noticing there were no shops here selling Indian stuff, we started with a 60-square-metre space that was open only on weekends,” he said.

“Now with the growth in population and the subsequent demand, we have four stores.”

Kumar also expanded to Melbourne last year.

“Our most-selling items are sarees and salwar kameez,” Kumar said.

“Our low margins and huge variety have generated customer loyalty over the years, which I feel is the reason for our rapid expansion.”

Indian fashion outlets in Auckland also appeal to Indo-Fijian customers, as well as those in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities.

“Other ethnicities are slowly warming up to Indian ethnic wear in a testimony to the country’s multicultural nature,” Ahuja said.

“We see such customers shopping around for Indian clothes during Diwali and Eid, or when they get invited to Indian homes for dinners or celebrations.”

Indian ethnic items were also in demand for people attending corporate events or Bollywood-themed evenings, Kumar said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A hotel chain says they are seeing a steady increase in international visitors across the country.

Stats NZ figures show visitor arrivals from across the Tasman reached 1.48 million in the year ended September, up from 1.33m the year before.

Overall visitor arrivals were 3.43m for the year, an increase of 197,000 from the prior year. Aside from Australia, the biggest increases were from the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Sudima Hotels chief operation officer Les Morgan told Morning Report business had been good with winter meeting their expectations and good growth continuing.

“Australians especially but all markets are up, maybe with the exception of the Chinese which remains flat.”

The level of domestic activity was harder to measure, but New Zealand corporate clients tended to be travelling and attending conferences a bit more in the last quarter, he said.

But internationally conference numbers were down 12 percent which may be why tourism levels were not back to where they once were, he said.

Queenstown and Christchurch were performing well in terms of tourist numbers, he said.

“Christchurch is looking really good, I’ve recently come back from a sales mission in China and the interest in Christchurch is very strong, people are looking to extend stays there, Rotorua’s been solid – the exception is Auckland for reasons we all know, but the rest of the country is looking great.”

It was likely there would be days over the summer where places like Queenstown and Christchurch were at capacity, he said.

Auckland’s issues included the lack of major events, the fact that the domestic economy was still flat, “and from a hoteliers point of view there’s a huge increase in inventory” which made it tough, he said.

“I think the summer will probably see occupancy levels around the mid 70s [percent], so still plenty of capacity in Auckland.”

The industry largely supported the introduction of a bed tax in Auckland, he said.

“Hoteliers in the last few years we have come around and believe a bed tax is potentially the way forward but we’ve got some concerns about how that might be implemented.”

Morgan said for the first time in four or five years the industry was feeling very optimistic.

The tourism industry was hoping for a big improvement in the short to medium term with the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland and the economy slowly recovering but steadily, he said.

“I think the most pleasing thing is that, you know post GFC [global financial crisis] tourism really bounced back and kind of caught us by surprise, put all sorts of pressure on infrastructure and our communities and we’re not seeing that.

“I think the recovery’s is nice and slow and steady and we’re much more planned and you know I think that gives us a great deal of confidence that things are going to be great.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

author:susan_edmunds]

New Zealand’s Retirement Commissioner is calling for big changes to KiwiSaver to ensure the scheme does not leave anyone behind.

The commission has released its latest three-yearly report into the country’s retirement income systems.

It makes 12 recommendations to government, eight of which it says could be introduced quickly and at little cost.

More support for low-income earners

The report recommends targeting government contributions more squarely at lower-income earners.

They are the group most affected by the government’s recent decision to halve its annual contribution to KiwiSaver accounts.

Previously, people received 50c for every $1 they contributed up to $1042 a year, but that has been cut to 25c.

Commissioner Jane Wrightson said it meant that instead of government contributions forming up to 20 percent of a lower-income person’s KiwiSaver balance at retirement, they might now only form up to 11 percent.

She said the government contribution could be increased for low-income people to give support where it was most needed. That could be funded by phasing out the contribution for higher earners.

People earning up to $49,000 could receive 50c per $1 up to $1000 maximum contribution a year, people earning up to $58,000 could get 50c per $1 on a maximum of $500 contributed and people earning up to $67,000 could get 25c per $1 up to a $500 contribution.

“Although this approach would mean fewer people would receive the government KiwiSaver contribution, they would continue to receive support for their retirement through NZ Super, and through matched and increasing employer contributions to KiwiSaver.

“These actions are designed to improve adequacy, close savings gaps, and ensure the retirement income system remains fair, sustainable and trusted.”

More contributions for people on paid parental leave

Wrightson also called for the government to increase the amount it gives to people on paid parental leave, to $1000, and pay it regardless of whether the person themselves put money into KiwiSaver.

Since last year, the government has contributed 3 percent to KiwiSaver for paid parental leave recipients who make their own contribution of at least 3 percent.

Wrightson said of the 57,635 people who received paid parental leave in the most recent year, 12,390 contributed to KiwiSaver.

“This [$1000 payment] costs around $34 million, would be simple to administer, would help ensure high take-up, and directly addresses gaps in retirement saving. Implementation would require careful coordination with Inland Revenue and KiwiSaver providers.”

Contributions past 65

She said employer contributions should also be mandated for people over 65. At present, employers can stop contributing when their staff reach this age.

She said it should also be possible for people on temporary visas to join KiwiSaver and receive employer and government contributions.

“If we want people to stay here, migrants to stay here, it would be good to give them another incentive, wouldn’t it?”

Sidecar saving

The report resurrects an idea for a “sidecar” savings account to run alongside KiwiSaver to provide help in financial emergencies.

She said this could be an alternative to the big increase in hardship withdrawals seen recently.

People would save a set amount into a sidecar account, and money contributed beyond that would go into their KiwiSaver account as normal.

But any withdrawals would be limited to the sidecar.

“This approach has been trialled in the United Kingdom to reduce reliance on high-cost credit for unexpected expenses and hardship withdrawals from retirement savings. Financial shocks can derail retirement saving, and sidecars could help mitigate this risk by giving people access to funds without undermining their long-term goals.”

She said when someone had a sidecar fund alongside KiwiSaver, if they hit financial difficulty they could access a limited amount of money without digging into their main KiwiSaver savings.

“If we are watching a rise in hardship applications, which we are, there’s two issues.

“Number one, what kind of applications are these? And there isn’t enough data publicly available to know, so we want to encourage some work to be done around that, so we understand what the rise is about.

“If it’s sheer poverty, that’s one thing. If it’s for, I don’t know, overseas health treatments and the rest of it, that starts to get a slightly different and interesting texture. So we need to understand more about it.

“And secondly, particularly for those who are in poverty, giving a kind of mechanism to go in and out of a tiny amount of your KiwiSaver, the sidecar, is a much better way than having repeated applications for full withdrawal.”

Ban total remuneration packages

Wrightson also wants to ban total remuneration packages.

Someone who is paid via total remuneration receives a set salary package, from which both their own contribution and their employer contribution are paid – rather than a salary with the employer contribution on top.

The review said the legislation clearly stated that compulsory contributions needed to be paid on top of gross salary and wages except where parties agreed otherwise.

“The legislation also includes a provision, described as being for the avoidance of doubt, which explains that a duty of good faith applies when parties to an employment relationship bargain for terms and conditions relating to compulsory contributions and associated matters.”

The report said research showed about half of employers used a total remuneration approach for at least some employees and 25 percent used it for all employees.

“The removal of the incentive that is the employer contribution on top of salary or wages goes against the spirit of the scheme.”

Wrightson said many of the recommendations were about making KiwiSaver easier and fairer for everyone.

“Anybody in a secure, well-paid job has an employer contribution. Those who are self-employed don’t. Those who are low-income, those contributions are small. They’re the ones we’re suggesting we need to target.”

The report also called for improved reporting of balances, contributions and withdrawals to allow smarter policy setting, and a nationally consistent decumulation framework to help people manage their money in retirement.

Political agreement

But Wrightson said there ultimately needed to be long-term political accord across all the major parties to provide certainty for future retirees and encourage sound decision-making.

“The trouble with the approach to KiwiSaver in recent times is that it has been quite piecemeal. We just tinker. What we’re trying to suggest is that if we stopped tinkering and looked at all the issues collectively and combined them with issues around New Zealand Super, we will get much more robust and agreed mechanisms which will help New Zealanders better because it will be more secure. What we don’t want is a system that changes through each election.”

The report calls for a Parliamentary working group to set the strategic direction for a “10-year retirement income road map”, and group led by the Retirement Commission to implement it and ensure it addresses KiwiSaver, NZ Super and innovation.

“So when you start going into the NZ Super discussions, if you want to make a systemic change, like, I don’t know, means testing, put the age up, whichever one you want to go for… Firstly, you want to get a broader agreement around that and secondly, you want to understand how to mitigate the harms from that. And thirdly, what will that do to things like government contributions to KiwiSaver, employer contributions to KiwiSaver? These things are interlinked and need to be considered together, and the current system doesn’t easily allow that to happen.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington might have been knocked off the top spot for quality of life and beer might be expensive, but New Zealanders are getting relatively cheaper iPhones, data shows.

Deutsche Bank’s Mapping the World’s Prices report looks at the price of a range of items around the world, in US dollar terms.

It launched in 2012 and said there had been changes in that time.

Japan has slid in purchasing power parity terms, while New Zealand had moved up the rankings – up 20 points in just over 20 years, according to its calculations.

Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan said he thought that was essentially due to the country’s terms of trade.

“Prices for our exports have risen faster than the prices for our imports, meaning that the relative purchasing power of our production has been rising – even if our productivity growth has been poor. For reference, the terms of trade was a record high in June 2025, up 64 percent from June 2000.”

In the 2025 data, Luxembourg took the top spot for quality of life, replacing Zurich and Wellington. Wellington fell to 11th. Auckland was 17th out of 50.

Kiernan said it seemed to be because of mortgage costs. He said there were a number of one-off factors, such as temporarily cheaper public transport, that could have made Wellington look better in earlier years.

But he said much of the data seemed counter to the rhetoric about New Zealand being an expensive place to live. In most cases, New Zealand was in the bottom two-thirds of the rankings.

Switzerland had the highest salaries net of taxes, in US dollar terms.

Wellington was 29th out of 69 and Auckland 34th.

Auckland was top for an assessment of the climate, followed by São Paulo and Lisbon.

Wellington’s housing affordability notably improved this year. Auckland was 32nd most expensive of 69 in terms of price-per-square metre to buy a city centre apartment, and Wellington 44th. To rent a three-bedroom apartment in the city centre, Auckland was 39th and Wellington 44th.

Kiernan said the apartment comparison was useful from a standardisation point of view, to compare cities, but was not representative of the way most New Zealanders lived.

Wellington had the 14th highest disposable income after rents for a scenario with two people working and renting a three-bedroom apartment. Auckland was middle of the pack.

Auckland’s salary net of taxes was up 13.6 percent in five years in US dollar terms, the data showed, and Wellington’s up 21.2 percent.

Both cities were in the 50 percent least expensive for monthly utilities but were 20th and 21st of the most expensive cities to buy groceries.

Switzerland topped the table on that measure, and a number of United States cities, as well as Sydney and Melbourne, ranked ahead of New Zealand.

New Zealand was expensive to buy cigarettes, just behind Australia. China was the cheapest place. Wellington was the fourth most expensive city in the world in which to buy a bottle of domestic beer, and Auckland 15th.

Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said that because excise taxes are high compared to many other parts of the world.

He said there should generally not be much difference between New Zealand cities beyond housing and petrol.

New Zealand was the eighth cheapest place to buy an iPhone. Seoul was the cheapest city, the report said, because competition with Samsung pushed prices down. Auckland was 24th cheapest out of 69 for a cappuccino and Wellington was seven points behind.

Auckland was 18th most expensive out of 69 cities to buy a summer dress in a chain store and 36th equal for a McDonalds meal.

Auckland ranked fourth most expensive for public transport.

Kiernan said movements in the exchange rate could significantly skew how New Zealand performed in international comparisons.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

If you have asked for a car insurance quote recently, you may have been asked your gender.

You might have wondered why it matters.

In a test by RNZ, a 42-year-old woman with a 2020 RAV4, parked in a Maunu, Whangārei garage, who has a clean driving history and no recent insurance claims was quoted $59.65 a fortnight for comprehensive car insurance with AMI.

The same scenario, except selecting “male” for the gender, was $58.99.

State quoted $58.70 for a woman and $58.06 for a man. Someone who said they were non-binary received the same quote as the woman.

AA quoted $53.83 a fortnight for a man and $53.87 for a woman.

Consumer NZ insurance specialist Rebecca Styles said the organisation’s most recent car insurance survey showed women were charged more by some insurers when they were middle-aged or older.

But when drivers were younger, men were charged more.

Comparison site Quashed said for a 22-year-old woman, insurance of $40,000 with a $1000 excess on that hybrid RAV4 would cost at least $169.64 a month for the cheapest option.

A man the same age would pay at least $185.98.

Chief executive Justin Lim said the premium for young male drivers ranged from 2 percent to 17 percent more.

It was especially the case for utes and trucks, he said, where young men could have to pay up to 24 percent more.

Styles said to provide car insurance quotes on the basis of gender felt a bit old-fashioned.

“With increased individualised pricing of insurance, you’d think it would be more about the risk factors for particular individuals rather than gender.”

Jeremy Holmes, from actuarial firm MJW, said if there was evidence that something affected the risk to insurers, they would price it in.

“In a reasonably free and open market, the price will tend toward that which is implied by the risk.

“As an example, say Insurer A charges the same price for everyone regardless of risk. They would set the price so that, in aggregate, it’s enough to cover their claims. Then along comes Insurer B who differentiates the price. Insurer B charges less for lower-risk people.

“What will happen is that all the low-risk people will shift to Insurer B and Insurer A will be left with people who, on average, are higher-risk. So Insurer A will need to increase prices which will exacerbate the issue.”

He said the different prices for genders indicated there was a perceived difference in risk.

“This is known as anti-selection. The way to combat anti-selection is to charge prices that reflect risk. If we operate in a market where people are free to move between insurers then the insurers will need to price according to risk.

“In saying that, there is something of a ‘social license’ whereby insurers can generally only use a factor to differentiate the price if society accepts that it is a reasonable thing to do.

“Historically, most people have accepted that different genders present different risks and this has been a common rating factor for motor insurers. Although that view has gradually been changing. The EU implemented some rules back in 2012 to prohibit differential insurance pricing by gender.”

Claire Matthews, a banking expert at Massey University, said it was becoming more challenging for insurers.

“It is likely there would only be limited data available on accident rates for the broader definitions of gender now used to allow statistical justification for gender-based premium differences, which has been used in the past. I think that’s why some insurers will have stopped using it, and others probably have given it only limited thought.”

A spokesperson for AA Insurance said it considered factors such as driving history, location, vehicle type and gender to ensure an accurate reflection of the risk it was taking on.

“For most products, gender is not a factor. However, for car insurance, our claims data shows that gender combined with age is a strong predictor of risk, so it is included when calculating motor premiums.”

Vero said in 2023 it would no longer capture a person’s gender for car insurance.

IAG, which operates the AMI and State brands, said its car insurance pricing was based on a number of factors, including a customer’s age, where they lived, the make and model of their vehicle, their gender, as well as the sum insured of the vehicle.

“We use our claims data to see how different factors affect the cost and frequency of claims and this helps us set premiums that reflect the level of risk.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Almost 15 years after 29 men were killed in the explosions at Pike River mine, new research shows New Zealand’s health and safety record remains poor, with workers here more likely to die than in Australia or the United Kingdom.

Research by the Public Health Communication Centre identified persistent issues – including weak enforcement, inadequate fines and poor understanding of legal duties among employers and political leaders.

Dr Christopher Peace, the lead author of the research, said while there were changes following the 2010 mining disaster, things were now sliding backwards and there had been no substantive change in the number of work related deaths in the last 15 years.

New Zealand’s workplace fatality rate was now twice as bad as Australia’s and four times as bad as the United Kingdom’s.

“Quite honestly, for a country that thinks it cares about people, for a country that thinks it’s pretty good, I’m afraid we’re doing disgracefully.”

He said it also came at a significant cost – more than $5.4 billion in the last year was spent on compensation, re-training and addressing the psychological harm to family, friends and workmates.

The findings come as the government shifts its work health and safety regulator’s priorities from enforcement to advice, saying it will address concerns about underfunding and a culture of fear.

Peace said the Pike River disaster revealed inadequate legislation and that directors were not doing enough to meet health and safety requirements, or being held to account for those failings.

He said the subsequent Health and Safety at Work Act that was introduced in 2015 was based on the United Kingdom’s legislation, but the outcomes there were better because the law was applied sternly and consistently in workplaces.

“In New Zealand, we’ve gone almost in the opposite direction, we’ve lost the people with experience in WorkSafe, we’ve hired a whole lot of new inspectors, hoping that they will do something in an advisory way that will turn the tide but that isn’t how it works, sometimes you have to be an enforcer.

“Being an advisor really doesn’t get people to understand they’re dealing with risk to people, risks of killing them, seriously injuring them, maybe leaving people incapacitated for the rest of their lives.

Anna Osborne, whose husband Milton died at Pike River, said she was shocked but not surprised there had been little change in the rate of workplace fatalities since then.

“We lobbied the government for stronger health and safety rules and regulations in the workplace, but to find that they’re being watered down at the moment by the government, it just makes me sick to think that another Pike River could actually happen again.”

She wants to see health and safety regulations strengthened.

“I’d really like to see heavier penalties, to be honest, like corporate manslaughter, fines that are way higher than what they are now because you look at Australia and they’re doing so much better than what New Zealand is.”

She and Sonya Rockhouse, whose son Ben died in the mine, are meeting the Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden in Wellington next week, on the 15th anniversary of the Pike River disaster.

“Hopefully get her to understand that this is not a joke, if your husband or your son or anybody doesn’t return home from work in New Zealand, it’s just not acceptable, people should be able to go to work and come home after their day is done.”

Van Velden said too many people die at work and she has proposed reforms she said would help businesses better manage critical risks.

“The government wants [businesses] to focus on the direct results of the actions they are taking on the ground and identifying which actions could cause death and serious injury, spending less time ticking the box, and more time focusing on critical risk.”

She said a decade after the Health and Safety at Work legislation was introduced, there had been no significant reduction in workplace fatalities and she was confident the proposed changes would result in fewer workplace deaths.

“The whole law and the purpose behind it is that there will be more information given to businesses upfront, there will be [more] inspectors than we have ever had under this government, going out to businesses and letting them know what it is they should be doing right and for prosecutions, we will be focusing on genuine areas of negligence.”

Nigel Hampton KC, who represented some of the Pike families, said he was worried the nation had forgetten the lessons from the disaster, and that another health and safety calamity was inevitable.

“We saw what de-escalation of the regulator looked like in Pike, there was no rigidity of a regulator at all, and indeed it was almost non-existent on the Pike River site.

“A regulator has to be at a distance, it’s got to be objective and it’s got to be prepared to take enforcement action, including prosecutions, if needs be.”

He said the move away from enforcement was concerning, and prescriptive regulation was not about ticking boxes.

“It is ensuring that the health and safety protocols within a particular business are up to scratch and are being applied, and if they’re not being applied, then enforcement notices made by the regulator and then if that fails, then prosecutions are taken.”

Pike families are now waiting for police to reveal whether they plan to lay any criminal charges as a result of the mens’ deaths, with a decision is expected before Christmas.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A short-lived Lower Hutt night market has Hutt South MP Chris Bishop crying bureaucracy gone mad.

But the council said it must ensure the market meets safety and compliance measures and that people are not put at risk.

After launching at the end of September, the hugely popular Queensgate Night Market has been canned after just four weeks.

‘Busy, but not in a good way’

Content creator Katy Pakinga made sure to arrive early for Queensgate Night Market’s debut Saturday night, and said it was immediately clear things were not running smoothly.

“There were still food trucks coming in 45 minutes before the night market was supposed to start.

“Having run markets myself, I was doubtful they had enough time to set up the food.”

She said it felt like “the whole of Wellington” had turned out for the market, with queues for certain trucks snaking around the block.

“There were way too many people, way too many cars, traffic – it was busy, but not in a good way.”

Drew Kohing, owner of Mao & Co foodtruck – which specialises in Chinese street food catering – said they had been excited about the market, but on opening night found themselves on the back foot.

“We didn’t know where to enter, which car park, it was quite chaotic. We were just parked in the street all in a line.

“It was supposed to open at 5pm and at 4pm we were still waiting to get inside and we were starting to panic, because it takes us an hour to set up before we can start serving food.”

He said a spot was found, and almost instantly a queue formed.

Kohing said in his nine years on the truck and attending thousands of events – like Martinborough Fair – he had never seen anything like it.

“We know there’s thousands of people but it’s all very calm, and everyone’s walking around and there’s space.

“This was sort of like, just being squashed in somewhere. Everyone was so excited, but it was chaotic as well.”

He said the pace was relentless, selling out of everything, with order numbers on par with Newtown Festival.

According to Pakinga, despite the long queues, the vibes were high.

“I think everybody realised they were all in it together, so all the customers and shoppers were equally annoyed with having to wait, but there was a bit of camaraderie.

“Like, ‘How long have you waited? Oh, I’ve waited longer’. So people were just dealing with it.”

She said the crowds thinned slightly over the following weeks.

Lower Hutt local Rewa said she did not have the patience for the queues, so ditched the markets for McDonalds, but noted the range of stalls, selling everything from clothes, to trinkets, Dubai-type desserts and plenty of food.

“It’s definitely a great idea for the Hutt, brings people out on a Saturday night to enjoy food, otherwise there’s not much on.”

She said it was a shame it had ended.

Boom and bust

The end came swiftly after the launch, with a post on the organiser’s social media page announcing the Labour weekend market would be postponed due to “unexpected compliance issues”.

Two weeks later, another post confirmed it was canned for the rest of the year.

Organiser Victoria Yao – who is also behind the Auckland Night Market – declined to comment.

Hutt City Council (HCC) said the markets were on hold until safety and compliance matters had been addressed – something Hutt South MP and National minister Chris Bishop called a “load of utter nonsense”.

He said it was a spur of the moment reaction to the news, but maintained the pause reeked of redtape.

“I thought, ‘This is nuts, you know, seriously?’

“Traffic management plans, and site plans, and health and safety violations, I mean all that stuff’s important up ’till a point, but seriously, it’s just a market in an empty car park … it’s not actually rocket science.”

Bishop said while people have to be kept safe, his message to the council was to take a pragmatic view.

HCC economy and development director Jon Kingsbury said the council recognised the markets positive contribution to the city and said it was working with Queensgate to ensure it could return.

A mall spokesperson said the pause was in response to feedback and safety was a top priority.

“Queensgate Shopping Centre follows strict health and safety procedures before any event or activity is approved, which included its thorough assessment of the recent Night Markets. The event was very well received and attracted strong community attendance.”

Both Kohing and Pakinga were hopeful the Queensgate Night Market would make a comeback.

Yao would not say when that might be in 2026, but offered RNZ a tour when it did.

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