Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

The owner and developer of the 187-metre 52-storey Seascape development near Auckland’s waterfront has been put into receivership.

Receivers Brendon Gibson and Neale Jackson of Calibre Partners said the immediate priority was to ensure Shundi Customs’s development continues to remain safe and secure.

Shundi has been unable to restart major construction works since it was ceased on-site in August 2024.

“We will work with the current contractor onsite (Icon Construction) to ensure the development remains safe and secure. Our focus will then move to assessing options that will see funds generated to repay creditors,” Gibson said.

“Seascape is a partially completed development. While we will move as quickly as possible to assess options, it may take some time considering the nature of the asset.”

The receivers will make further statements as the receivership progresses.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

KiwiSaver funds with exposure to oil and defence stocks might benefit from conflict in the Middle East in the short term, but providers are divided on whether to invest in them.

Oil prices have increased and stocks in companies that make weapons have also lifted.

Follow updates with RNZ’s blog

Over the past year, the share price of Lockheed Martin has lifted almost 50 percent.

It could mean investors and funds with exposure to those sectors record better returns in the short term than those who have taken an ethical stance against fossil fuels, or against investments in weapons.

“Defence stocks will outperform,” Koura founder Rupert Carlyon said.

“Not just because of this, we’ve got to think about the significant increase in defence spending across the globe over the last 12 or 24 months and what’s expected to continue. Particularly with Europe slowly increasing their defence spending towards 5 percent of GDP.”

He said he was not opposed to invest in companies that made weapons.

“The question we need to ask ourselves is why is it wrong to invest in defence stocks? The world is a pretty ugly place…. there are a lot of bad actors out there, right?

“Whether you’re concerned about Russia, China, North Korea, Iran… at the end of the day we need weapons. There’s no hiding the fact a world without weapons made in the West is a world controlled by people that we do not want controlling the world.

“We need to think really hard around our weapons exemptions – I understand we might not like cluster bombs, and other things that are deemed illegal. But the truth is we need defence contractors. We need weapons.”

But Berry said it was a decision that needed to be made by investors according to their own ethical viewpoint.

“It’s a very personal question. And for me personally, I don’t want my KiwiSaver – to the extent absolutely possible – I don’t want my KiwiSaver invested in profiting from war.”

He said investors in weapons companies could not discern whether they were supporting weapons used offensively or defensively.

“The question is, do you want a connection with conflict in your KiwiSaver?”

Companies like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamic, Northrop Grumman and RTX had generated strong returns in the last one, three and five years.

But investors should remember they were only 2 percent or 3 percent of the S&P500 index. Carlyon said the average KiwiSaver probably only had about 0.1 percent added to their return in the last year from defence stocks.

Oil versus lower carbon economy

Oil also posed questions investors had to grapple with.

“The question with oil is from an ethical perspective, it is problematic because we’re in a world that needs to transition to a lower carbon economy,” Berry said.

“If you look at oil companies, they have had strong performance for the last year. And while, although oil itself, West Texas Intermediate was up 5 percent overnight, but it’s actually slightly lower than it was three years ago.

“But oil companies have done well. Again …oil is about 3.5 percent of the S&P index. And so you compare that to technology at 33 percent, financials and banks at 13 percent, and healthcare at 10 percent.”

He said KiwiSaver was designed to be a long-term investment and in the past 10 years, oil and defence stocks had returned slightly less than the US market average. Technology stocks have been much stronger – recording such an increase that there have been fears of an AI bubble forming.

The founder of Mindful Money, Barry Coates said investors might react by thinking they should invest more in fossil fuels to make higher returns from supply disruptions.

“This temptation to go for short-term returns may override their ethical position to use their investment to support the energy transition. Others may choose to maintain their ethical principles, and recognise that oil price instability is more likely to result in a more rapid transition to renewable energy.”

He said it could be argued that the oil supply disruption and likely increase in the price of oil had already been taken into account in the forward prices of oil and share prices of some oil companies had already risen.

“Financial analysts in the US have been far closer to the politics of launching bombing on Iran than NZ commentators or members of the public.

“Oil price rises are often temporary. For example, the price increases after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had a short blip on oil prices and oil and gas company share prices. Both measures soon resumed their pattern over the past decade, which has been to significantly under-perform the S&P500.

“The impacts may vary between individual companies in unpredictable ways. For example, with supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. These disruptions might affect different companies in different ways.”

Gold has also been pushed up by the uncertainty, which Berry said was a rational move to safe assets.

Overall, equity markets have largely taken the turmoil in their stride so far.

The Vix index, which measures volatility, was on Tuesday morning at about half the level it was when President Donald Trump announced tariffs in April last year.

Berry said what happened from here would depend on how long the war continued and whether there was a regime change in Iran.

“What happens in terms of disruption globally? How is oil and shipping distribution impacted globally and for how long? And you really need to answer those questions to know what the long-term impact is.”

He said KiwiSaver members should remember they were diversified across asset classes and countries and that would reduce risk.

“Get your risk profile right, focus on the long term, and think about values you want to take into account in your investing, particularly around weapons and whether you want to be profiting from war.”

Carlyon agreed the market response had so far been much more muted than had been feared.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Latest house sales data indicates there is a shortage of ultra-luxury housing to meet the requirements of high-net-worth immigrants.

Changes to the Active Investor Plus visa, which take effect next week, limit house-buying immigrants to homes priced over $5 million.

Data collected by sales portal realestate.co.nz indicates the tightest house supply constraints were emerging well above that level, with only 142 properties listed above $10m available nationwide.

International premium-grade homes priced more than $20m were scarce.

Realestate.co.nz chief executive Sarah Wood said the top end of New Zealand’s residential property market was relatively immature by global standards.

“The AIP visa programme effectively introduces a positive demand shock into this segment of the market overnight, however, the supply has not had a chance to grow organically over time. The result is significant pressure on the supply of houses valued in the tens of millions.”

Data supplied by Immigration NZ indicates nearly 590 people from 33 countries have so far applied for residency under the AIP visa programme.

Agents reported a growing segment of applicants who were only interested in property priced more than $20m, with demand outstripping supply by about five times.

Portal data indicated there had been 36,000 overseas-based searches for homes price over $5m over the past year, with North America and UK making up over a third (34 percent).

“The United States accounts for around a fifth (19 percent) of international $5 million-plus searches, followed by the United Kingdom at 9 percent and Canada at 4 percent. That profile reflects demand from established wealth markets rather than speculative traffic.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

There are calls for more support for green fuel alternatives as the Middle East conflict exposes New Zealand’s vulnerability to fuel supply chain shocks.

Auckland University economic modelling has found green hydrogen – hydrogen produced by renewables – could have some limited use in future for industries heavily reliant on gas and coal for production.

But cost and limited infrastucture remained major barriers, as did a lack of government policy.

“If we can use renewable electricity, wind, for example, or possibly geothermal as a source of electricity, then that is an attractive option,” Auckland University energy economist Professor Basil Sharp said.

“But until such time as the technology improves and we can get the costs down, it’s going to be somewhere out in the future.”

As the government pushes ahead with a liquified natural gas import facility and global LNG prices soared as a result of Qatar halting production, Sharp said more attention needed to be paid to New Zealand’s energy independence.

“There could be an unintended impact associated with promoting importation of LNG that could and I’m not saying it will, but it could have an impact on the rollout of our renewables.

“It could have an impact on the technology, such as the viability of green hydrogen going forward.”

Green hydrogen a bit player in road to net zero

The modelling found that at best, green hydrogen was capable of supplying about 12 percent of industrial process heat energy by 2050 .

Because it was so expensive to produce, green hydrogen needed the right conditions to be viable and was more attractive when carbon prices were higher, renewable electricity was cheaper, and hydrogen technology costs fell.

It was in those scenarios researchers said hydrogen could play a complementary role in helping New Zealand reach net zero emissions, but electrification was still the key.

“Even if they are making very small contributions to our energy independence when the technology and and the costs come down, we need to be in a position, to take advantage of that and actually promote the utilisation of hydrogen in the economy,” said Sharp.

A new export for NZ?

One of the model’s co-authors and senior economics lecturer Le Wen said New Zealand was already well-placed to produce green hydrogen because 80 percent of our electricity was renewable.

Wen said that if the country invested in and scaled up green hydrogen production, the country could become a leader in genuinely low-emissions hydrogen.

“It may not solve everything on its own, but it could give the country a strong new export opportunity,” he said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A “very small dent” or black mark on a wall. A Raro spill on the carpet. A broken mop and bucket.

These are some of the issues that have divided landlords and tenants who have appeared before the Tenancy Tribunal in the past month, working out what is “wear and tear” and what counts as “damage” to a rental property.

Tenancy Services says fair wear and tear refers to the gradual deterioration of things that are used regularly by people living in a property. Tenants are not responsible for this provided they are using the property, or the chattels provided, normally.

But tenants are responsible for intentional or careless damage.

“An example of this would be where a stove element wears out from normal cooking. This is fair wear and tear. However, if the stove was being used to heat the kitchen and stopped working properly, this would not be considered normal use.”

It’s an issue that can cause a lot of consternation.

In one case heard last month, a landlord sought compensation for the $28.82 cost of replacing a mop and bucket, among more expensive items.

The adjudicator said the evidence did not prove the damage to the mop and bucket was more than normal wear and tear.

But in another, a tenant’s former partner spilled Raro on the carpet and the adjudicator was “satisfied that the damage was caused carelessly”.

Last month, a landlord who argued the walls had been damaged was told one area of damage looked to be a “very small dent or black mark” and fair wear and tear.

Another landlord was told that there was not enough evidence that the tenant caused damage by causing chips on a granite bench top or pin holes to her walls.

Cassie Metcalfe, of iRentProperty, said there was confusion among landlords and tenants about how the rules might apply.

“When we think of what’s reasonable, different people will have different interpretations of that.

“There’s a lot of things to consider. One is the number of occupants in the house, the length of the tenancy, the condition of things when the tenants first moved in. I think it takes all parties to apply a level of fairness and reasonableness to come to an agreement. There’s no clear cut line unfortunately.”

She said landlords should make sure their inspections were done to a good standard and records kept. Tenants should report issues.

“You want to make sure these are documented, photographed wherever possible. If there is wear and tear at the end of the tenancy this could end up going to the tribunal where the mediator or adjudicator is making a decision and they can rely on the evidence you have.”

Sarina Gibbon, director of Tenancy Advisory, agreed people entered tenancies with different expectations.

She said wear and tear could be thought of as “time doing its thing” while damage was “someone not doing their job”.

“When I reflect on talking to landlords and tenants it’s always that expectation if you’re on the landlord side of the equation that you expect the property to be left in a pristine condition – that the tenant should take extra care as if they own the property. Let’s be honest, we’ve all hired a car before, we know how we treat a hire car … it’s really about the relationship rather than nitpicking the little things.”

She said having a bit of room to move meant tenants and landlords had to engage with common sense and be pragmatic.

“In a way it is good that wear and tear is not strictly defined – I’m not convinced that it would serve the benefit of the sector to have it strictly defined but I understand that from a day to day it does create some frustration.

“When people are trying to nitpick a tenant for $30 damage I would say the problem isn’t the $30 problem, your biggest problem is that it is not a productive relationship.”

She said landlords were often caught out by betterment. They cannot expect to be put back into a position that is better than they were in before the damage occurred.

“The tribunal is consistently good at accounting for betterment when it is ordering compensation. If the tenant had damaged something the tribunal would say – let’s say we’re talking about carpet … the tribunal will account for the fact that it is 10-year-old carpet, you’re not going to get replacement value.

“This isn’t an insurance policy, this is about restoring the landlord back to the position the landlord would have been in if the damage had never occurred. I don’t think people go into the process expecting that they get betterment, they don’t consciously think about it because think they ‘I have to put in a new carpet so the tenant should pay for the carpet – what they don’t account for is the carpet had deteriorated for 10 years.”

NZ Property Investors Federation spokesman Matt Ball said that was a bigger problem.

“On the face of it, this seems like fair principle, however the practical application of it sometimes results in significant financial harm to the landlord. For example, you may have a perfectly good five-year-old dishwasher that has been fully depreciated, with a book value of zero. The tenant can literally destroy this appliance and the landlord cannot claim any compensation, even though the appliance may have had many years of useful service left.

“The reason for this unfairness is that depreciation isn’t a measure of the item’s actual value. Depreciation is an agreed way a business owner can offset the cost of assets against income over time. It is never a full recovery of the cost of the asset, so if the asset is damaged or destroyed, the landlord is left out of pocket. In the same way that insurance policies often have an agreed value for items covered, it would be good if the law was changed to allow the Tenancy Tribunal to set an agreed value for destroyed or damaged assets so that landlords aren’t financially disadvantaged when a tenant causes actual damage.”

He pointed to a case last year in which a landlord said insurance had covered a claim up to $15,000 for meth contamination but the cost had been $18,000 more.

The adjudicator said that after three years, things like linen, bedding, crockery and cutlery were deemed to have no value for tax purposes. The adjudicator said when things were taken out of the claim that had no residual value, there was $10,836 in damaged goods – below the insurer’s payout.

“What strikes me in this case is that the landlord is left worse off, even though, as the adjudicator states in their ruling, ‘the landlord should be returned to the position they would have been in had the tenant not breached their obligations, and should not be better or worse off’,” Ball said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Traditional property investment is losing ground to KiwiSaver and other managed funds as a preferred way to make money.

ASB’s latest Investor Confidence Survey for the fourth quarter ended in December (Q4) indicated owning your own home or having a property investment was no longer seen as providing the best returns among those surveyed.

Instead, KiwiSaver and managed funds emerged as the top two performers in the eyes of investors.

ASB senior economist Chris Tennent-Brown said the survey identified a shift in perceptions on what could deliver the strongest investment returns.

“Pretty amazing to see housing knocked off the perch,” he said.

“Despite all the global uncertainty, strong KiwiSaver and managed investment funds, those returns are flowing through to confidence in those products and outshining housing.”

The December (Q4) survey also indicated investor confidence rose 11 percent over the third quarter (Q3), with the lower North Island reporting the most significant rise with confidence rising to 10 percent in Q4, compared with 3 percent in Q3.

He said there had been a generational shift since the 1987 stock market crash saw large numbers of New Zealanders’ investments in shares.

“The generational divide is apparent with the over 60s holding steady in their belief that your own home is still the best investment, which is unsurprising.

“Gen Z on the other hand believe the best returns currently lie in investing in shares of publicly listed companies, signalling the rise of the DIY investor as an accessible path to growing your portfolio.”

Tennent-Brown said the survey underscored the importance of financial education and the evolving needs of investors.

“The under 30s have been leading the way in this shift in sentiment for some time, however this quarter’s findings show a change in sentiment among most other age groups.”

However, he said New Zealanders continued to be interested in buying homes to live in, as indicated in the increase in confidence in our Housing Confidence survey.

“I think it’s really interesting to see people hopefully separating housing as a way of putting a roof over your head, which of course is a big part of our security and aspiration in New Zealand, versus investment returns,” Tennent-Brown said.

“It just means perception of property as an investment is evolving.”

The ASB investor confidence survey had been tracking NZ market sentiment since 1997.

The latest survey was based on 672 online interviews in Q4 2025 with adults aged 18 years and older throughout New Zealand. A sample of this size had a maximum margin of error of 3.8 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. Fieldwork occurred between 1October – 16 December 2025.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Mortgage advice and finance firm Squirrel is to stop offering personal loans.

It has stopped accepting new loan appliations and from Monday would not invest in the personal loan investment class.

It said its portfolio would run down naturally as borrowers repaid their loans.

Chief executive David Cunningham said Squirrel started its peer-to-peer lending journey with personal loans.

But over time, almost all of the business had become secured residential mortgages.

“The personal loans portfolio is tiny – $4 million – versus other lending approaching $450 million. Fractionalisation of mortgages via peer-to-peer remains at the core.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A weak labour market has meant that many people have had small pay rises – or none at all – over the past year.

Seventy percent of workers received a pay rise of less than the rate of inflation last year, the CTU says, and 44 percent did not get a pay rise at all.

But some people received significant pay bumps, if data from Seek is anything to go by.

It said, based on the average advertised salary between September and December 2024 and the same period last year, handlers in manufacturing, transport and logistics had the biggest increase, at 15.5 percent to an average $58,240.

Systems engineers had a 12.8 percent increase, to $118,608. Educators, a wider group than teachers, had a 12 percent increase to an average $72,010.

Both maintenance technicians and process operators lifted more than 1 percent. Property managers were up 10.8 percent and planners 9.6 percent.

Health improvement practitioners, medical technologists, marketing specialists, ICT support analysts, manufacturing, transport and logistics planners, GPs and catering assistants also recorded increases more than twice the rate of inflation.

GPs had the highest overall pay of the roles listed, at an average $220,935.

Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said the growth in roles like catering and kitchen assistants was prompted by the ongoing recovery of tourism.

“The tourism growth in 2025, alongside growth in exports, also likely supported faster advertised salary growth in the manufacturing, transport and logistics industry, with roles like handler and process operator experiencing notable salary growth.

“The healthcare a medical industry saw demand grow steadily in 2025, recovering from its post-Covid low in December 2024. Alongside an increasing share of older Kiwis, who will drive an increase in the demand for healthcare, this saw some relatively quick advertised salary growth for roles like health improvement practitioner.”

Seek said there had been 20.1 percent growth in the number of job ads for construction year-on-year in January and 16.5 percent in industrial roles.

BNZ chief economist Mike Jones said the salary growth in the areas highlighted could be due to a mismatch between the skills required and those available among jobseekers.

“Firms are already reporting more difficulty finding skilled labour, which feels a touch early given the economic recovery is only just getting going.

“It’s clear the labour market overall remains weak, with wage growth likely to remain suppressed for a while yet. But there are clearly some skill mismatches out there putting some upward pressure on wages in certain parts. This seems to be more a story about limited labour supply – in part driven by several years of low net migration – than a sudden jump in labour demand.”

Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said he regularly heard stories from businesses who found it hard to access specialised skills.

“Aggregate surveys indicate that while unskilled labour is widely available, skilled labour is tightening a little. Ongoing inward migration from foreigners points to that unmet demand.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Parents are not being put off by the tens of thousands it can cost to send their kids to private schools.

Government data shows that private, or independent, schools are growing at a much faster rate overall than their public school counterparts.

Between 2020 and 2025, ACG Parnell College grew its roll by 42 percent, from 1343 to 1908.

ACG Sunderland grew by 72 percent, from 496 to 853. ACG Strathallan grew 40 percent from 892 to 1245.

Scots College lifted 33 percent, Whitby Collegiate 143 percent, St Kentigern College 10 percent, St Cuthbert’s 14 percent and Diocesan School for Girls 12 percent.

Some public schools grew quickly over the same period too – Rolleston College added 94 percent to its roll and Rangitoto College 26 percent. Ormiston Junior College grew 135 percent.

But overall, independent or private schools grew roughly five times faster than public schools – they added 12.8 percent over the 2020 to 2025 period, compared to 2.6 percent for public schools.

One mother, who did not want to be identified, said she chose Huanui College, a private school in Northland for her child because it seemed to be the best quality of the school options available to her.

She was not happy with the school she was in zone for and did not like the idea of moving elsewhere just for two years before moving on.

“This option was a one stop shop and didn’t require change again potentially if we were happy with it. I felt the option of continuity was good and gave us a taster to see whether it would be right for high school.”

She said small class sizes were a bonus and it was a small school so teachers were able to get to know kids well. “Downsides are bus cost and annual fees… but also it’s not a match for all kids in my view.”

She said she was not necessarily a fan of private schools in general but the area was more limited in terms of the options available.

“I think the biggest thing you get there which is an advantage is the networking.”

Helen Hurst, hautū (leader) of operations and integration at the Ministry of Education, agreed the independent sector was growing.

She said independent student numbers had grown from 27,600 in 2010 to 33,000 in 2024.

“This growth is supported by a 2025 Budget boost of $15.7 million over four years, which raises the subsidy for independent schools by 11 percent, from $41.6 million to $46.1 million per year, to accommodate rising enrolments and inflation.”

Independent Schools of New Zealand chief executive Guy Pascoe said there was regional variation in demand. “In Auckland I think over 6 percent of students go to independent schools but across the country it averages around 4 percent. “

He said some parents were making “really big” financial sacrifices to send their children to the school of their choice. “Fees are definitely a challenge for many families.”

The fees could vary a lot. ACG Parnell College charges $30,000 a year for Year 7 to Year 10, and slightly more for older students.

King’s College charges $33,422 a year for Years 11 to 13. Whitby Collegiate charges $23,815 a year.

“Schools do everything they can to keep their fees as affordable as possible but the cost of education is going up and up and up. With limited government funding, schools really are forced to increase their fees. That’s something that schools worry about that tipping point, when does it become too expensive?”

He said there was a range of reasons why parents chose a private school.

“It might be small class sizes or high academic outcomes, it could be that the school has a particular curriculum or educational philosophy that aligns with what the family is looking for.

“There might be a focus on service or co-curricular activity or it could be faith-based. We have some schools that deliver programmes specifically for children with high learning needs like dyslexia or high anxiety and that kind of thing as well.”

He said, if the students who were in the independent sector shifted to public schools, the cost would be “astronomical” for the government.

“At the same time, parents who send their children to independent schools are paying GST on those fees. And that GST is about twice as much as what the sector receives in funding from the government, so the government is actually in the fiscal beneficiary of the independent school sector,

“Independent school rolls are increasing, so independent schools are increasingly taking that burden of delivering an education to students. And we absolutely feel there’s more room for the government to recognise that.”

He said the recent increase in funding was the first in 15 years, even for inflation. “Our concern now is to make sure that we don’t start falling behind again because until we had that very modest increase there had been nothing. Schools at the moment are funded under a fixed appropriation, which means, the more students in the system, then the per student funding goes down.”

Associate Professor Naomi Ingram from the University of Otago College of Education said the increase in enrolments was a result of policy shifts to encourage “market-style competition” in education.

“It is also fuelled by parental anxiety about wanting ‘the very best’ for their children.

“New Zealand must tread carefully because we have a different context from the UK or Australia. We already have a significant achievement gap between students who perform at the highest levels and those at the lower end, and that gap is larger than in many comparable OECD countries (e.g., see PISA). Importantly, it is linked to socioeconomic status. Educational inequality in New Zealand is not random. It reflects broader structural inequities.

“Expanding the private and charter sector risks deepening this divide. Private schools are typically able to spend more on staffing, facilities, and enrichment, and operate outside key elements of the national curriculum framework. When public funding flows into parallel systems, it can dilute the collective strength of our public schools and concentrate advantage among families who already have greater access to resources.

“New Zealand’s public education system is one of our national strengths. It is staffed by highly qualified teachers and has been underpinned by a national curriculum designed to provide equitable opportunities for all learners. Rather than fragmenting the system, we should be investing in strengthening it.”

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