Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Some of New Zealand’s least generous savings accounts are paying as little as 0.05 percent in interest.

A survey of bank rates showed the main banks have a number of products that offer very little return.

ASB’s Savings On Call account offers 0.1 percent.

ANZ has a Select account that pays 0.05 percent on balances over $5000 – there is a monthly account fee of $6 but that is waived if the monthly balance remains over $5000.

Westpac’s Simple Saver pays 0.05 percent – customers are sent “nudge” emails if they have higher balances to remind them of other options.

Co-Operative’s Smile On Call account pays 0.1 percent to balances over $4000.

Reserve Bank data shows the average rate across the market for unconditional savings accounts is just over 1 percent.

New Zealanders have almost $120 billion in savings accounts, a total that has increased over the past year.

Squirrel chief executive David Cunningham has previously said that people leaving money in low-paying accounts provide a lucrative income stream for the banks.

Banking expert at Massey University Claire Matthews said she had money in a Westpac Simple Saver account.

“I’ve just realised at the weekend how low the interest rate is. It changed substantially over 2025 as the OCR was cut and interest rates fell. I’m going to fix that shortly.”

Financial Markets Authority research showed across all age groups, people said that the highest interest rate was the most important factor in choosing a savings account.

But for those aged 65 to 74, the stability of the rate and how easy it was to access savings were equally important.

The FMA said the self-reported importance of finding a high interest rate peaked in midlife and declined thereafter as people began to attach more importance to other factors.

Lower-income earners also placed more importance on the ability to access savings than the rate they were getting.

The self-reported importance of a high interest rate increased with income, to a point, while the importance of access declined with income.

But Matthews said there could be a few reasons why people did not look for a better deal.

“Speaking personally, it is inertia – as far as I’m aware you can’t now open a Simple Saver with Westpac, so I don’t believe anyone would be actively choosing it. It’s possibly the same with similar accounts at other banks.

“So I think for most people it is likely to be historic, and they either haven’t looked at what interest rate they are receiving and the options available or they just haven’t worked up the energy to make a change.”

Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said people might like the security of knowing they could access their money easily.

“People are clearly sometimes willing to compromise returns for access.

“There’s a wider conversation – people often talk about the lazy tax and how there’s all these people who pay the lazy tax because they don’t move their bank account, they don’t move their power bill or don’t move their internet or whatever. In dollar terms I completely understand it, but as someone who’s also tried to adjust some of these settings myself – it can sometimes take so much time.”

He said it could sometimes take a lot of effort to make a change.

Olsen said he kept some money in an account he was aware paid little interest.

“It’s a pretty small amount and so it is one of those things that it’s pretty minimal given I keep that as a bit of as emergency fund if I have to up and do something right now it’s always available.

“But if you’ve got half your savings or something in it and you’re hoarding that to buy a house or whatever and it’s not getting any interest, what’s the point there?”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

WorkSafe says it will be looking into the organisations that had a duty of care for everyone at the Mt Maunganui holiday park, but for now the priority is on the recovery efforts.

Recovery work resumed at the site of the Mount Maunganui landslide on Monday, where six people remain missing following Thursday’s landslide.

The victims have been named as Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50, Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20, Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71, Susan Doreen Knowles, 71, Sharon Maccanico, 15 and Max Furse-Kee, 15.

A WorkSafe spokesperson told RNZ they were in the “very early stages” of assessing what their role may look like once the search and recovery phase was complete.

“We are currently bringing together a team of inspectors and will be working closely with New Zealand Police to determine next steps.

“We will be looking into the organisations that had a duty of care for everyone at the holiday park, and whether or not they were meeting their health and safety responsibilities.”

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

Currently, the focus needed to remain on the recovery efforts, the spokesperson said.

“When the time is right, our inspectors will begin engaging with witnesses and technical experts, and gathering evidence from a range of sources including the organisations involved in the operation of the holiday park and the scene.

“In the meantime, our local inspectors have also extended an offer of support to Emergency Management Bay of Plenty and other agencies to ensure that workers involved in the response are kept safe and healthy.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told Morning Report he supported Tauranga City Council’s decision to conduct a full, independent review into the landslide.

“There’s lots of concerns that people have about why they weren’t evacuated sooner. I think they are very legitimate, very good questions that need answers.”

He says the council, which is leading the review, was the right organisation to address those questions.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

An Auckland bakery has stopped selling a popular pie after Auckland Council said the horse meat used wasn’t cleared for human consumption.

Before Christmas, Pakuranga Bakery started selling lo’i hoosi pies and promoting them on their Instagram page.

Lo’i hoosi is a traditional Tongan dish and has horse meat as the main ingredient.

The horse pie proved extremely popular, drawing rave reviews on social media.

When First Up initially contacted Pakuranga Bakery last week, they said they were no longer selling the pie.

Veronica Lee-Thompson, Auckland Council manager of specialist operations, licensing and environmental health, revealed why. She told First Up that Council had received a complaint and sent inspectors to investigate.

“There were horse meat pies that were being sold and the horse meat was not from a registered supplier,” she said.

“But the operator was very cooperative and agreed to dispose of all the horse meat on site and any pies that contained any horse meat.”

Pakuranga Bakery manager Pho Bok said the bakery was buying the lo’i hoosi already prepared.

“We just bought the filing, because I just saw everyone do it and all the customers have been asking for it. We don’t know how to make it. We just went to buy the filing from a Tongan guy. He just prepared it for us and we just chucked it in a pie”

It’s perfectly legal to eat horse in New Zealand, but to sell it it for people to consume it must be processed according to New Zealand food safety regulations.

According to the Ministry of Primary industries there is only one meat processor registered to slaughter and process horse meat for human consumption in New Zealand.

“Illegal meat could contain bacteria because the animals were sick or potentially diseased, risk of cross-contamination if there’s unhygienic conditions during the processing, they might not be handling things correctly, Lee-Thompson said.

“It could be contaminated by chemicals.

“We just want to make sure it’s approved meat that’s in our food chain.”

There had been no reports of sickness from Pakuranga Bakery’s pies, Auckland Council said.

Bok said he believed the horse meat he used was legitimately sourced.

“I did ask them are they a registered business – they said yes. Is the horse meat legal to eat, and they said yes.”

Pakuranga Bakery is not under investigation, but New Zealand Food Safety is investigating the source of the horse meat.

Anyone found to have knowingly prepared or sold meat unfit for human consumption can face a fine of up to $100,000 or up to a year in prison.

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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 providers are expecting to see some members opt to keep their contribution level static, even as the default rate rises.

It was announced last year that the base contribution rate for KiwiSaver would lift from 3 percent to 4 percent by 2028.

The first stage of the increase, to 3.5 percent, takes effect from April 1.

But from 1 February, members can apply for a temporary rate reduction, which will keep their contributions at 3 percent this year.

Employers can then also match that reduced rate.

The temporary reduction can be stay in place for anywhere from three months to 12 months but people need to reapply to continue after that.

Dean Anderson, founder of Kernel, said he expected an increase in inquiries when the changes took effect in April.

“While the long-term benefits for retirement savings are clear – with analysis suggesting funds could last significantly longer in retirement – the immediate reality is a potential change in take-home pay for many.

“This is a particularly important concern for those on ‘total remuneration’ contracts, as they will see a double hit: their own contribution increasing and their employer’s increased contribution being deducted from their gross salary.

“I also strongly recommend that all employees, especially those working for smaller businesses that may not use automated payroll platforms, triple-check their payslips in April. Payroll adjustments for these new rates are mandatory, and manual errors are a real risk during this transition.”

A spokesperson for Generate said because people would ned to take action on the reduction through IRD, that might be where most of the impact was felt.

“We may get calls when people see their rate change and aren’t aware it was going to happen.”

Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said when changes happened automatically, they would often stick. “That’s the thing with auto-enrolment, you have to take action to opt out.”

Government modelling suggested the increase in contribution rates could make a material difference to a person’s retirement outcomes.

It said someone who had an income of $60,000 at 25, had two children, a year of parental leave and withdrew money at 30 for a house would end up with 26 percent more at retirement with the higher rate.

A high-income earner could end up with 28 percent more and a low income or part-time worker could end up with an additional 21 percent.

Both National and NZ First have pledged to push contribution rates higher if they are in Government again.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Popular Wellington café, Chocolate Fish, is set to close on Sunday.

Café owners John and Penny Pennington like to think of the Chocolate Fish Café, as somewhat of a Mirimar institution. Operating since 1997, it had been at its current site since 2009.

Located at Shelly Bay, John said part of the cafe’s attraction was that it had space for kids to run around, free parking and “pretty good” food.

This month the cafe looked a little different however, with price tags littering the room with everything from the chairs and tables to the cutlery on sale.

“Because we’ve been terminated and don’t have anything to sell, and of course we’ve got a bit of debt and that sort of thing, and nowhere to go, we decided, right, we’d turn January, our last month of trading, into a garage sale,” John said.

Penny said it was devastating to have to close.

John said the café had a big client-base that ranged from regular locals to tour groups and people who specifically come out to Shelly Bay to go to their cafe.

Penny said the café had been described as being a hub of the community.

“We love coming to work every day because it’s like coming and seeing your friends, your whanau, and it’s just wonderful.”

Why is the café closing?

The cafe site was brought by Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh in 2023.

It had followed a rocky few years at Shelly Bay, with a planned controversial housing development spearheaded by the Wellington company which was later scrapped, and a fire which gutted the iconic Sawtooth building and forced the Chocolate Fish to relocate for months due to asbestos risk.

John said they thought they had won the Lotto when Sire Peter and Dame Fran purchased it.

“Everything was tracking so positively for us being able to continue on,” Penny said.

“To have that suddenly wiped out, that’s been a very bitter pill. We’re more than a café, we’re a bit of an institution,” John added.

WingNut PM, the property arm of Jackson and Walsh’s WingNut Group, told the Penningtons at the end of September it was terminating the lease. The pair initially publicly criticised the pair for the decision, but later walked the comments back.

At the time, WingNut PM told RNZ the owners had been aware the original Submarine Barracks required “substantial remedial work”, including replacing the roof, restoring its historic frontage, interior renovations, applying a new coat of paint to the exterior, and temporarily closing the parking area for tar-sealing.

The spokesperson said they had been in discussions with the Penningtons for the past year about its pending closure.

WingNut PM declined RNZ’s request for comment on this story.

Not likely to be another Chocolate Fish

The Penningtons explored other options, but a site as big as theirs was hard to come by. So far they had not found another space like it, although Penny said they would keep looking.

“I don’t see a Chocolate Fish to this degree ever happening again, sadly – it’s a huge space.”

Chocolate Fish Café closed its kitchen in late December, and John said it some ways it was now a relief to fully close.

“The menu has been quite small, and people trying to come out for that last fish sandwich have been disappointed.”

Coupled with poor summer weather, he said it had been “a little bit depressing”.

Their final message to their customers: “We’ve loved having you.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Got questions? RNZ has a new podcast, No Stupid Questions, with Susan Edmunds.

We’d love to hear more of your questions about money and the economy. You can send through written questions, like these ones, but – even better – you can drop us a voice memo to our email questions@rnz.co.nz

I have a question that has always bothered me, and I’m yet to get a satisfactory answer. Why do we pay tax on our pension when it is coming from the tax that we have already paid? I was always of the understanding that you can’t be taxed twice. After all, isn’t that double dipping?

There are two parts to my answer.

The first is that I think a lot of people have the idea that they paid tax into a pool through their working lives, from which they will be paid the pension when they retire.

That isn’t the case – pensions are paid by people who are paying tax now, as part of general government expenditure.

The second part of it basically comes down to why we pay tax on benefits at all.

Tax is paid on all income earned in New Zealand, even when it is money that comes from the government.

Although it’s essential an administrative exercise for benefits, the money you receive is calculated a gross payment and then the tax you pay is determined according to your individual situation and the current rules.

In the case of NZ Super, if you’re working and claiming the benefit, for example, you could end up with a higher marginal tax rate on your pension because your overall income is higher.

There are some people who are argue that it should be a taxfree grant but that’s potentially a separate conversation!

How do I check how much is in my KiwiSaver? And how can I increase the amount of contributions from my pay? Does my company have to match that amount to what I increase to?

You can check your KiwiSaver balance any time through your KiwiSaver provider. Most have an online platform to do this, or you could give them a call to find out what options are available. If you don’t know who your provider is, Inland Revenue can tell you.

You can change your contribution rate through IRD’s myIR system, by contacting your KiwiSaver provider or by giving your employer notice.

Your employer usually only needs to match your contribution at the default rate (currently 3 percent but slowly increasing to 4 percent by 2028). So if you contribute more than that, they might not need to. Some employers are willing to match higher amounts, though.

Can you please advise if there is a ceiling on how much you can get before the pension would be affected? ie… if a family member were to put into our bank $1000 per week would this affect the pension?

No there’s no ceiling. Other amounts could mean you can’t access things like the accommodation supplement, and you could end up on a higher marginal tax rate depending on where the money is coming from but there is no income test for KiwiSaver.

What if I retire aboard a yacht, with no residence in country with reciprocal agreements?

If you are going to be overseas for more than six months, you need to apply to MSD if you want to keep your pension going.

You will need to do this at least six weeks before you leave New Zealand. If you haven’t notified MSD and you are away more than six months, they may ask for the sum to be returned.

What you can get if you are eligible for New Zealand Superannuation but living overseas depends on the country that you’re going to live in. Some countries like Australia have reciprocal agreements with New Zealand which means that applications for New Zealand Superannuation can be made while you are resident in that country and NZ residence can count for pension eligibility in the agreement country.

MSD advises that if you’re going to a country that doesn’t have a reciprocal agreement with New Zealand, you might be able to get your pension. The amount you receive would depend on the number of months you’ve lived in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65.

The best thing to do in this case will be to get in touch with MSD well before you leave to find out how the rules apply to your case.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Dairy giant Fonterra expects to complete the sale of its consumer business in the first quarter of this year.

The $4.2 billion sale of Mainland Group to France’s Lactalis remains subject to numerous regulatory approvals, with Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board the most recent to green-light the acquisition.

The co-operative will hold a special meeting for shareholders on 19 February to approve a proposed capital return of $2 per share, equivalent to around $3.2b once the sale is complete.

Farmer shareholders overwhelmingly approved the sale of Mainland Group in October, which includes well-known brands like Anchor, Mainland and Kāpiti.

The capital return required at least 75 percent approval of the votes cast at the upcoming special meeting.

“As previously indicated, the payment should be tax-free, although it is recommended that shareholders and unit holders obtain independent tax advice on the effect of the capital return based on their individual circumstances,” the co-op said.

Fonterra said the separation of the consumer brands was also progressing well.

“Holding the shareholder vote on the capital return in February will enable Fonterra to return capital to shareholders and unit holders as soon as possible after the transaction is complete,” it 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

Stats NZ data shows annual inflation was at 3.1 percent in the three months ended December, following a 3 percent increase in the September quarter.

That means headline inflation is now above the Reserve Bank’s 1-3 percent target band.

More to come…

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Severe weather across Northland, the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel and Tairāwhiti Gisborne is likely to mean delays for insurers, the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman is warning.

Ombudsman Karen Stevens said consumers should be prepared for delays because insurers will have a high number of claims to process.

“Contacting insurers online is the quickest way to make a claim, helping people avoid long phone queues, which are common after major weather events,” she said.

“Insurers will prioritise the most urgent cases first, such as those with unlivable homes or those in vulnerable situations.”

She said delays often resulted from the volume of claims, limited access for assessors and the need for specialist trades.

Stevens said insurers could call on lessons they had gleaned from the 2023 floods and Cyclone Gabrielle.

“Under the Fair Insurance Code, insurers must give clear information about claim progress, usually with updates every 20 business days or at another agreed interval,” she said.

She said insurers would usually prioritise the most urgent cases.

Meanwhile, banks have offered assistance to those affected.

ASB is offering customers support such as deferring loan repayments for up to three months, emergency credit card limit increases and solutions for businesses, including access to working capital up to $100,000.

BNZ is offering similar support, including access to temporary overdrafts and the ability to review home lending facilities on a case-by-case basis.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Acrobats, juggling and flying trapeze artists will fill Christchurch’s CBD for the next ten days as the World Buskers Festival returns to town.

From circus acts to street theatre and comedy, performers from 12 countries would converge on the city’s streets for the 33rd year of the festival.

Festival co-director Drew James said the annual event on Otautahi’s Summer calendar always brought in crowds, and about 100,000 attendees were expected over the ten days.

“All of these buskers are fantastic entertainers, they’re world class. We were just looking for variety, we’d really like to highlight and showcase a whole range of different acts. There’s something for everybody in that programme,” he said.

While most events were free and along the street, ticketed events included circus cabaret, dance, drag, comedy, and theatre.

Co-director Pitsch Leiser said the line-up of more than 100 artists included comedians from Switzerland and the UK and acrobats from Argentina and Canada.

“We’ve got about 15 buskers that are street theatre buskers then we have a whole range of busking shows that range from kapa haka to theatre shows happening on the busking stages in the CBD,” he said.

“It’s essentially accessible to everyone because it happens in the streets but we do encourage people to come and bring some cash and tip the hat and support the artists because that’s what they do for a living”.

The glittering Canadian duo The Silver Starlets were performing their aerial acrobatic show at the Buskers Festival for the first time.

Molly Keczan said their busking act began with setting up a 20-foot high aerial acrobatic rig.

“It looks much like a big swing set, but much safer. We perform aerial acrobatic acts off it of. A lot of the time when people find out we perform on the street they ask if we use a net, and we do, except I hang from it,” she said.

“We’re on our 11th year now as a show we started in 2015. It’s always been a big goal and dream of ours to get down to Christchurch because it’s a very world renowned festival.”

The festival was also collaborating with Gap Filler for “Eight Days of Play”, which was a series of interactive games for the public ranging from rock painting and chalk art storytelling to hobby horse racing.

Gap Filler urban play co-ordinator Kate Finnerty said she loved how the festival was all about people engaging in play right in the city centre.

“We need brightness, colour and play in our lives. The Buskers Festival just sums up everything I think a city should be,” she said.

“Most people can kind of remember back to a time when they were surprised or delighted by something on the street. When the Buskers Festival happens it’s around every corner.”

The festival runs from January 23 until February 1.

The full timetable of events can be found on the festival’s website.

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