Food and fibre exports set to reach record $62b next year

Source: Radio New Zealand

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay. Nick Monro

Food and fibre exports are set to reach a record $62 billion next year, up from the $60.4b record set this year.

The data comes from the government’s latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report.

It showed meat and wool revenue was forecast to rise 7 percent, horticulture 5 percent, forestry 2 percent, and dairy 1 percent.

In a statement, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay said it was an outstanding result and showed New Zealand’s economy turning a corner.

“From meat and wool to kiwifruit and cherries, our producers are remarkable. The world wants New Zealand’s high-quality, sustainable, safe food and fibre,” McClay said.

“The sector is well positioned to capitalise on robust demand and strong prices, supported by good growing conditions and higher production in most areas.”

Food and fibre accounts for about 83 percent of New Zealand goods exports.

McClay said the government was helping by cutting red tape, driving higher producer returns, delivering tools and technology to tackle agricultural emissions, and investing in rural health.

“One in every seven people work in food and fibre – a successful sector means thriving communities, a growing economy and a prosperous New Zealand.”

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Rents taking 40 percent of average income

Source: Radio New Zealand

New data shows renters still have to spend about 40 percent of an average individual’s income on rent each month. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Rents might have eased but New Zealand renters still have to spend about 40 percent of an average individual’s income on rent each month, new data shows.

Property Knowledge has released a new report in conjunction with property managers Property Brokers, which tracks how rents compare to earnings around the country.

It shows while at a national level, renters spent 40 percent of their income on rent in August, Wellington is the cheapest region, at 34 percent, while Bay of Plenty renters are spending 47 percent.

In dollar terms, Otago and Auckland have the highest rents. Otago had the highest monthly average recorded over five years between January 2020 and August 2025, at $3033. But in August, Auckland had the highest, at $2817.

Average monthly earnings nationally were $6367 at the August snapshot, with Wellington ranked first at $7116 and the West Coast at the bottom with $5359. Wellington also had the highest over five years.

Professor Graham Squires, of Lincoln University, led the research and said the highest rent-to-income percentage recorded between January 2020 and August 2025 was 54 percent in Gisborne. The highest the national level reached was 45 percent.

Auckland renters spend an average 40 percent but the highest level recorded there was 46 percent.

Over the past year, a number of regions had a fall in the percentage of income required for rent. This was led by Gisborne, followed by Nelson Bays and Wellington, then Northland, Otago and Marlborough.

The biggest drop in dollar terms was in Wellington, down $225 a month over a year, and Nelson and Bays, down $130 a month. Southland rents increased $130.

On a national level, affordability did not change even as average rents dropped $22 a month.

“Wellington’s been struck quite hard, given public sector jobs have fallen away,” Squires said.

“There’s no hiding from that fact really… to see that coming through in the data is quite telling. As we track this index over time the rental changes in regions such as Wellington are going to be interesting to follow.”

Professor Graham Squires, of Lincoln University. Supplied

Wellington had a year-on-year fall in earnings of $37 a month. Canterbury was down $6. But Gisborne was up $667 and Southland $127.

“The story over the past year has been rents falling by and large,” Squires said.

“You can sort of see that in part following what’s happening with mainstream housing sales. Given that a third of the stock is rented out, that’s going to be a significant problem for those that rent out the properties – the landlords.

“You’re sort of seeing an ease in pressure for some tenants. We’re seeing that in Gisborne given incomes are increasing. But when we look at this data, what type of economies are in which regions? There’s been a very different economy to what Auckland is, to what Wellington is. You could argue Gisborne is a bit more based around the agricultural seasonal sort of stuff.”

He said while price growth and rental prices had tended to trend upwards over the longer term, the downturn and stagnant market had made some people wonder what might be next.

“It’s not going to be a rapid bounce back to what it was five years ago pre-Covid…. You could argue that markets are corrected but I don’t think once corrected they’re going to be on the same sort of trajectory they once were.”

Renters United president Luke Somervell said the data was interesting given the reports that it was a renter’s market “or a bonanza for renters at the moment”. “What we’re really seeing in this data is that renters aren’t getting bargain prices… we’re just seeing them going from paying over half their income in rent to a third… I don’t think renters are going to be breaking out the champagne any time soon.”

He said renters wanted more security. “We’ve seen some good things from this government in making it easier to build and it’s specifically related to the areas people want, like in central cities, by rapid transit lines and the rest of it… we definitely encourage that but we think we also need to make sure renters are getting looked after.”

He said it was also important to note that things would be harder again for those earning less than the average.

“Minimum wage earners on average will get $3670 a month. For some people that’s going to mean more than two-thirds of their income on rent if you’re using the national average of $2500. Beneficiaries, I don’t know where to start. I think for a single parent with two kids it’s like $2000 a month in benefits and the national rent is $2500 so without other supplements they would be in trouble.”

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Inland Revenue liquidates nearly 900 companies in one year

Source: Radio New Zealand

Inland Revenue made applications to wind up more than 120 business in November. RNZ

Inland Revenue made applications to wind up more than 120 business in November, as it draws to the end of a year in which it moved to liquidate almost 900 businesses with tax owing.

Keaton Pronk, an insolvency practitioner at McDonald Vague, said the 167 winding up applications in November, including 127 from IRD, was the highest in six years. It included a group of 45 sushi companies.

For the year to November, Inland Revenue (IRD) applied to wind up just under 900 companies.

“In January they had advertised 100 which was massive compared to what they had done in previously Januaries.

“They always ramp up towards the end of the year but they’ve exceeded what they’ve done in the last five years quite easily.”

He said IRD had taken a soft approach through the Covid years but now significantly changed its approach.

“You look at the winding up applications they did over that time, sometimes they weren’t doing any in a month, they were just posting …then their debt is now blowing out to $9 billion and they’ve got a government sitting there saying we want that money so we can spend it, which is reasonable. They have bills that they need to pay.

“So IRD is now taking an approach where they need to try and go and collect that $9b.”

He said there was a new generation of business owners that had never dealt with a hard-line IRD.

“This is what they’ve done in the past…but you’ve got a bunch of your business owners that weren’t operating back then. So they don’t recall the IRD taking a tougher approach.

“Because their debt has blown out, they can’t allow it to continue to grow because there’s a reason we all pay taxes and everyone should be paying their fair share evenly and it’s IRD’s responsibility to go out there and collect that.”

He said he did not expect to see any let-up in 2026.

“It’s going to take at least until the middle of next year at a minimum. They are still going to be pushing hard.

“The debt is not specific to one industry or one business type – what we’re dealing with is very widespread and it’s taking a while to resolve. It’s not a quick recession, it’s gone on for a couple of years and every industry is affected.”

He said the work was paying off for IRD because it had a rate of return of about eight times what it spent on its recovery efforts.

Pronk said people should not be taken by surprise by the efforts.

“IRD certainly sends out a lot of correspondence to let them know that they’re in debt.

“It’s whether or not they’ve chosen to ignore it. I mean, some of the appointments that we see is just simply a case where they haven’t kept their registered office updated on the company’s office or the contact details with the IRD.

“It’s not just the IRD, it’s other creditors that have chased businesses and they’ll say, well, we never knew. And it’s your responsibility to keep your contact details for your registered office correct.

“The thing with IRD debt is it’s very hard to claim that you didn’t know you owed it if you’re paying staff and you’re not paying the PAYE, what do you think is going to happen here?”

Pronk said it was rare to see any liquidation where there was not a Covid loan or some other sort of IRD debt.

Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand spokesperson John Cuthbertson said he expected IRD’s debt to hit $10b soon.

“There’s still quite a bit of work to be done and a combination of old debt and new debt and they’re certainly taking a tougher stance on new debt as well.”

He said the IRD’s liquidation activity had stepped up by about 30 percent in the last year.

Liquidating companies did not give as much of a return as some other enforcement work, he said.

“They’ve said to us that they don’t get much return from that despite having preferential claims for both GST and PAYE, but overall it’s an important action for them to take in terms of overall integrity of the tax system and in reality… it’s really the last rites for zombie companies.

“Even though you’re seeing a lot of liquidations, they do see it as their last resort and it’s often because they can’t make contact with the taxpayer. So, the taxpayer will ignore all attempts by IR to contact them, you know, emails, in-person phone calls and eventually they just have no other option but to start the proceedings.”

He said there were hundreds of thousands of arrangements in place to pay tax by instalment.

“Ideally, they’ll want to get as much money as they can out of their overdue tax debt from a taxpayer but, in some cases, there’s just nothing to be had.”

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Christchurch-based investment firm investigated by FMA

Source: Radio New Zealand

The High Court in Christchurch has appointed PWC as interim liquidators. File photo. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is investigating a Christchurch-based investment corporation led by businessman Bernard Whimp.

The investigation centred around Chance Voight Investment Corporation, as well as subsidiaries, persons and entities associated with Chance Voight Group.

The High Court in Christchurch has appointed PWC as interim liquidators at the request of the FMA.

The companies were associated with businessman Whimp.

The six companies were, Chance Voight Investment Corporation Limited ,Chance Voight Investment Partners Limited, CVI Securities Limited, CVI Financial Limited, CVI Partners Mortgage Fund Limited, CVI Partners Mortgage Income Fund Limited.

PWC was due to report back to the High Court in Christchurch by 26 January.

Whimp rose to prominence in the 2010s for making off-market offers to buy shares from investors at below their market value.

The then-Securities Commission took Whimp to court over what it termed the misleading “low ball” offers.

In 2014, the FMA tightened regulations around off-market offers, effectively stopping the practice.

The FMA said its investigation into Chance Voight was ongoing, and would not comment further due to suppression orders.

Last month, Chance Voight bought financial advice provider Patterson Wealth, but Patterson Wealth did not appear to be affected by the liquidation orders.

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NZ’s biggest bank lifts its home loan interest rates

Source: Radio New Zealand

ANZ says the increases in fixed rates are a response to recent rises in wholesale interest rates. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

ANZ has become the latest bank to lift home loan interest rates – as the Reserve Bank moves to push back on markets pricing in increases.

The country’s biggest bank said it was lifting its 18-month and two-year fixed home loan rates by 20 basis points.

Its three-, four- and five-year rates will rise by 30 basis points.

It will also cut its six-month rate by 10bps.

ANZ managing director for personal banking Grant Knuckey said the increases in fixed rates were a response to recent rises in wholesale interest rates.

“Since our last fixed rate reduction on October 17, wholesale interest rates have risen significantly, increasing by 33 to 77 basis points for terms 12 months and longer.”

Although the Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate at the last review, it made it clear it did not think another cut was likely.

Markets had previously almost completely priced in another cut to come, and had to reverse that position.

In a statement from the Reserve Bank, Governor Anna Breman pushed back against the market movements.

She said the forward path for the OCR published in the November MPS indicated a slight probability of another rate cut in the near term.

“However, if economic conditions evolve as expected the OCR is likely to remain at its current level of 2.25 per cent for some time.

“Financial market conditions have tightened since the November decision, beyond what is implied by our central projection for the OCR,” she said.

“As always, we are closely monitoring wholesale market interest rates and their effect on households and businesses.

“Ahead of our next OCR decision in February, we will continue to assess incoming data, financial conditions, and global developments, and implications for New Zealand’s economic outlook and our medium-term inflation objective.”

Breman reiterated that monetary policy was not on a preset course. “This is why the MPC meets seven times a year to assess the latest economic conditions and forecasts.”

Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said it was hard for borrowers to work out what to do.

“It creates great urgency just as people are preparing to knock of for the summer.”

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Services sector slump gives economic reality check

Source: Radio New Zealand

123RF

  • Services sector PSI slips to 46.9, worst reading since May
  • Sales, employment, deliveries fall, new orders move sideways
  • Proportion of negative comments falls for fourth consecutive month
  • Retail only bright spot

Services sector activity slowed further in November to its worst level in six months, putting a dampener on prospects for a solid new year recovery.

BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) for November fell by 1.5 points to 46.9.

A reading below 50 indicates the sector, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the economy, has been going backwards. It has not been in expansion since February 2024.

BusinessNZ chief executive Katherine Rich said the latest reading dashed immediate hopes for an improvement to wards expansion.

“Negative comments received show the services sector overwhelmingly citing the weak economic environment, including low consumer confidence, high living costs, inflation, interest rates, and reduced spending, as the main factors affecting recent activity.”

All five sub-indicators lost ground with the biggest contraction in activity/sales, followed by deliveries, and employment, while new orders/business hovered just below the no change mark.

BNZ senior economist Doug Steel said the PSI reading was a wake-up call.

“Combined with the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI), the composite activity indicator poses downside risk to even modest growth expectations for early next year”.

The one bright spot was the retail sector, which rose to its strongest November monthly figure since 2017.

“Some of this might reflect changing spending patterns associated with seasonal sales (Black Friday). In any case, growth is coming off a low base.”

“We will have to wait until the new year to assess December spending and see whether it can add more support to the PSI,” he added.

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The 3G shutdown in NZ is starting. Here’s what you need to know

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s 3G network will shut down soon. Are you ready? 123rf

Explainer – It is nearly the end of the year. Do you know where your 3G is?

The 3G mobile network that once kicked off the explosion in smartphones across New Zealand started to shut down this past weekend.

It is meant to allow full transition and spectrum space for the faster newer-generation 4G and 5G networks.

All three main mobile operators – Spark, 2degrees and One NZ – are shutting down their 3G networks and upgrading their sites to either 4G or 5G.

The shutdown was originally flagged to be “by Christmas,” but will extend slightly into 2026.

Telecommunications experts are now giving one last set of warnings for people to check their devices for compatibility.

Most people will not notice a difference as 3G fades out, but people with older phones – or certain wired devices like home security systems – need to pay attention, says Telecommunications Forum chief executive Paul Brislen.

What is 3G, anyway?

The 3G network brought us the world of the internet in our pockets, allowing real mobile internet access and the start of streaming audio and low-resolution audio. It was revolutionary at the time it started to first roll out in New Zealand around 2005, but technology has moved on quickly.

“It was introduced way back when the iPhones first launched,” Brislen told Morning Report.

“So it’s getting quite long in the tooth now, it’s very old, it doesn’t do what everybody wants it to do, and all around the world, networks are switching it off this year.”

Older phones may need to be replaced. 123RF

Spark has said that less than 2 percent of its total network data traffic runs on 3G, while 3G voice calling has dropped 85 percent since 2019.

Pretty much everyone is actually still using the 3G network right now at certain times, but soon 4G or 5G will entirely take its place.

“It’s like closing a road, people still use it until the road’s gone,” Brislen said.

“The phones we all have, even the 4G and 5G phones, will use 3G networks when they find them. It’s simply the way the phones operate. They look for the nearest strongest signal that is compatible with their chip set.”

So when is this happening?

It has already started. 2degrees has said it would begin shutting down its 3G network starting on 14 December.

One NZ’s schedule, announced last week, begins with Dunedin shutting down starting 20 January and will end with Auckland and Wellington in mid-March.

One NZ has announced a rolling shutdown of the 3G and 2G networks. Supplied / One NZ

Spark said it will shut down all its 3G on 31 March.

Part of the reason for the adjusted timeline instead of shutting off at year’s end is the famed Kiwi “long summer.”

“Over the Christmas break because of increased demand for services and reduced staff in the office you have a period of time where we won’t make any dramatic changes to the network,” Brislen said.

“I think they’re all coming to the conclusion that in fact, switching off 3G while people are away at the beach is probably not a good idea.”

A free text number has been set up for people to check their phone’s status as 3G networks shut down. Supplied

Hang on, how do I know if my phone will work?

If you have got an older model phone – or perhaps one that was parallel imported or not bought in New Zealand – you should check to make sure the 3G shutdown won’t affect it.

The quickest way to do that is to free-text ‘3G’ to 550, which will let you know if your device can use 4G. If it says you can not, you will need to investigate further.

A free text will let people know how their phone is set up for the 3G shutdown. Supplied

That service is “absolutely free, you don’t need to worry about paying for it, and you can do it as often as you like,” Brislen said.

“And I recommend doing it on other peoples’ phones too, if you’ve got elderly relatives or people who aren’t so familiar with technology, just do that on their phone.”

While you may use your phone more for texting, YouTube and TikTok, it is also critical to make sure you can still use emergency 111 voice calling, experts have said.

There may be some changes to network coverage with the switch but fine-tuning it will be ongoing, Brislen said.

“We don’t expect to see any material reduction in coverage overall after our 3G network is switched off,” One NZ has said on its website. “There may be changes to coverage at a limited number of specific locations due to propagation differences of the technologies.”

My phone says it’s 4G, what’s the problem?

Well, it might not actually fully be 4G for all functions, so it will pay to double-check.

Some phones are not set up to use the VoLTE network that uses 4G for voice calls, or they might not be loaded with NZ carrier VoLTE settings.

The problem has been particularly noted in some phones purchased overseas or from parallel importers.

Some of those phones rely on 3G just for voice calls, and 4G for the data functions.

“The ones that worry me are the ones who have a 4G phone that uses 3G for voice and they may not actually check their device,” Brislen said.

“They’ll just look at it and say, ‘Oh look I can see 4G in the corner, my phone is fine,’ and that’s not necessarily the case.”

5G is the latest iteration of cellular technology. 123RF

What are the Gs anyway?

The “g” stands for generation, and the first generation of cellular system technology that was introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s was called “1G.” It’s the basic framework for how cellular networks first originated but its primary use was making voice mobile.

2G began the transition from analog to digital in the 1990s, and the very first rough uses of mobile data. By the way, what’s left of the 2G network is also being shut down in New Zealand along with 3G. One of the things that may impact is older GPS trackers, one company has said.

But 3G, introduced in the early 2000s, is when the networks shifted more from voice to data and what we think of as smartphones today.

4G in the 2010s kicked things up another notch to allow perpetual connectivity, fast downloads, video streaming and mobile gaming, while 5G – the latest generation – began rolling out around 2019 and brought even faster speeds and response times.

Is there a 6G? Not yet, but research into it is well underway and it could be here by the 2030s.

Still unclear? Here’s some resources you can use:

Does all this mean I have to buy a new phone?

“For some people you will have to buy a new device,” Brislen said.

“They’re in the minority though, because natural attrition has generally weeded most of those devices out.”

While some worry that they might be talked into spending thousands on a new device, Brislen said the Telecommunications Forum had not heard of any such conduct and most retailers had plenty of options available.

“I haven’t had any complaints from anybody about being upsold.

“I think the cheapest 4G handset I’ve seen is about $60 so you don’t need the latest top of the range whatever the new iPhone is.”

It’s also not just your phones

It is also important to consider evaluating any other devices you have that might still use 3G such as medical alarms, vehicle trackers, tablets and security systems.

Earlier this year RNZ highlighted the case of a Christchurch woman who was told that if she wants her automatic gate to keep working, she would have to spend almost $1000 to get it upgraded.

Are people actually paying attention?

The campaign to let people know about the shutdown has been going on all year.

Brislen said Commerce Commission research showed that 85 percent of New Zealanders were aware of the shutdown.

For many, the big switch might be a non-event.

“Ninety-nine percent of people will not notice the actual shut-off,” he said. “It’s not as if your phone will go ‘beep beep beep’ and suddenly look different.”

Still, not everyone may have gotten the message.

Telcos and other agencies have been working together to deliver a unified response – and a lot of that is in reaction to Australia’s own 3G networks shutdown last year, which was widely considered a bit of a disaster. Government ministers and telecoms squabbled over how messaging was delivered and how much notice was given to customers.

New Zealand has learned from that, Brislen said.

“No other country had quite the same level of angst that the Australian shutdown generated.

“Largely it was an awareness problem, not a technical problem.”

It is probably inevitable there will be some complaints and issues reported as the 3G shutdown begins, but Brislen said he hopes steady communications will alleviate a lot of that.

“The whole idea of the project is to take everybody on the journey,” he said.

While 3G won’t vanish entirely for a few more months, it’s “better you get your phone and your devices sorted out this side of Christmas until waiting after”.

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ASB agrees to $6.7 million penalty for anti-money laundering, countering financing terrorism rule breaches

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Marika Khabazi

The Reserve Bank has filed legal action against ASB Bank for breaches of the anti-money laundering rules over the past five years, and agreed on a multi-million dollar penalty.

The central bank said ASB admitted to seven breaches of the anti-money laundering and countering financing terrorism rules (AML/CFT), including not having an appropriate due diligence process for checking the background of customers, not doing the necessary checks on customers, not advising authorities about suspicious activity, and not ending business links as required.

ASB and the RBNZ agreed on a penalty of $6.7 million, although the final amount will be set by the High Court.

The RBNZ’s acting Assistant Governor of Financial Stability, Angus McGregor, said the legal action was an important reminder to industry that serious non-compliance was unacceptable.

“The AML/CFT Act has been in place for well over a decade now and the Reserve Bank expects banks to have the systems and resources in place to be fully compliant with these requirements.

“Non-compliance with account monitoring and reporting requirements denies New Zealand law enforcement and intelligence agencies access to crucial time-sensitive information that is needed to detect and deter criminal activity,” he said.

McGregor said there was no suggestion that ASB had been involved in money laundering.

ASB apologises for ‘shortcomings’

ASB chief executive Vittoria Shortt said it accepted that banks had an important role in helping to detect financial crime.

“Our transaction monitoring and customer due diligence systems and processes had shortcomings, and we did not act fast enough to resolve these. We didn’t get this right and I apologise for that.”

“We cleared all backlogs of transaction monitoring alerts by February 2024. We have uplifted, and continue to uplift, our processes to improve our AML-CFT capability, including expanding our teams and investing in technology,” Shortt said.

Other financial groups to be hit for AML/CFT breaches in recent years include the Christchurch casino, Sky City Entertainment, TSB Bank, several smaller financial services firms, while Westpac has been warned.

Supervision of the AML/CFT laws is currently splintered between the RBNZ, the Financial Markets Authority, and the Department of Internal Affairs, which will become the sole supervisor next year.

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Spike in complaints accusing lawyers of incompetence

Source: Radio New Zealand

A judge talking with lawyers to make a decision in the court room. 123rf.com

The Law Society is investigating how it can handle complaints faster after a spike in the past year.

The society’s annual report showed 1,366 complaints had been referred to its Standards Committee in the year to June – up 11 percent on the year before.

Most related to accusations of incompetence and negligence.

Law Society chief executive Katie Rusbatch told Midday Report the increase was partly due to more lawyers entering the profession, but people were also more aware of their rights.

“There’s a number of factors at play here and it’s difficulty to pinpoint anything exactly. Lawyers deal with contentious issues and sometimes, due to that, people can be unhappy with the outcomes,” she said.

“There has been about a 10 percent increase in lawyers in the last five years. The trends we are seeing are also consistent with trends legal regulators are seeing overseas as well.

“We’ve also done more work as well, as a Law Society, in terms of making the complaints process more accessible. Sometimes when you do see increased trends in number of complaints this also means that people have more awareness of the complaints process.”

There had been 566 complaints about negligence or incompetence, up from 511 on the year before.

That was a broad category, Rusbatch said.

“It can range really to what we would consider more minor matters – sometimes if there’s concerns about delays, issues with communication that sort of thing.

“What we we have seen that is consistent is the number of complaints where we take no further action still sits at over 80 percent year-on-year.”

The report said it took nine months to conclude complaints on average. The Law Society was working to improve that figure.

“We are doing a lot of work in this area in terms of regulatory reform,” Rusbatch said.

“There was an independent review that we commissioned that came out in 2023. Legislative reform has been recommended in this area. It’s not a current priority for the government. There are some changes tracking through parliament which will allow the Law Society to administratively triage complaints more easily.

“At the same time we’re looking at our complaint system, particularly looking at our ability to resolve complaints up front and to support better early resolution.”

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Porirua cafe famous for Island-inspired pies to close

Source: Radio New Zealand

On social media Pepe’s Cafe owners said rising costs and demands of balancing hospitality industry pressures against family life were forcing them to step back from the business. RNZ / Bill Hickman

A much loved Porirua cafe and catering company – famous for hearty Island-inspired pies with fillings from creamed pāua to boiled brisket Povi Masima – is closing its doors at the end of the week.

On social media, Pepe’s Cafe in Porirua said rising costs and the demands of balancing hospitality industry pressures against family life were forcing its owners to step back from the business.

“We opened as a new business right as Aotearoa entered one of the toughest economic downturns in decades.

“Food costs rose and rose, and the only business solution was to increase prices. But that went against our heart. We opened to serve our people and to keep our food accessible, not exclusive.

“Maybe that makes us bad businesspeople on paper, but raising our prices beyond what our community could afford didn’t sit right with us,” the post said.

Pepe’s Cafe in Porirua. RNZ / Bill Hickman

The cafe thanked families, staff, customers and local business initiatives for their support.

“To the local businesses and supporters who encouraged us, guided us, and cheered us on – thank you. A special thank you to Porirua City Council for the opportunities you opened for us, to the Pacific Business Network for your guidance and support, and to the media outlets who blessed us with features and stories that helped share our journey.

“To our family and friends: thank you for lifting us during our hardest seasons and believing in this dream from day one,” the post said.

Daniel Macaulay works at NZWindows nearby and says he loves their creamy chicken pie. RNZ / Bill Hickman

Customers and friends flooded the post’s comments with messages of support and raves for the cafe’s distinctive food.

“Thank u for all the delicious kai you have given us. My faves will always be your creamy mushroom fries, the creamy chicken pie & of course your famous Lu’au Burger. Wishing u guys all the best for the future, ” wrote Renee Paul.

Dallas Paul included a picture of his favourite flavour the cafe’s boil up pie “I’m going to miss it, I need bereavement leave!!” he wrote.

“Another Porirua gem gone but never forgotten” said Tesa Lee.

The cafe will have its last business day on 21 December.

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