Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government’s support package for those struggling with the cost of fuel is simply not enough, an advocate for beneficiaries says, warning it could push people towards crime.

Almost 150,000 families with children will receive an extra $50 a week to help ease the pain from soaring petrol prices.

Speaking at a media conference earlier today, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the relief would come through a boost to the in-work tax credit – part of the Working for Families scheme – and it will kick in from April.

Another 14,000 families will qualify for a part payment as part of the government’s “targeted assistance”.

The increase is temporary and will last a year or until the price of 91 octane petrol drops below $3 a litre for four consecutive weeks.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the package struck the right balance and it was a “hard reality that we cannot alleviate the pressure of rising fuel costs for everyone”.

There is nothing for beneficiaries, superannuitants and those without children in the package, which will cost up to $373 million if it runs the full 12 months and is funded through new spending earmarked for the government’s May budget.

Willis noted the 1 April annual increases would provide a boost to benefits and superannuation payments, saying benefit rates remained “structurally higher” after increases under the previous government.

“We will be increasing main benefit rates on the 1st of April so a couple with children receiving jobseeker support receive an increase of nearly $20 a week.”

But Auckland Action Against Poverty co-chair Agnes Magele said that $20 a week would make little difference to those struggling to make ends meet.

“It’s a clear message to the people that the government really don’t care about the beneficiaries,” she said. “That extra $20, how can that be some sort of relief when people are still faced with food prices going up, now petrol prices are going up… that’s not going to make any difference at all.”

She said the fuel costs were forcing people into tough choices to survive.

“The cost of living doesn’t suddenly disappear just because someone isn’t in paid work.

“We had young ones coming in last week, and I’m being real when I say this – they’re looking at robbing the petrol station. And that’s the kind of effect that it has on the people on the ground.

“Normally the bills they have to choose from is either their rent, or their power, and they’re essential needs …. when people have to make a choice to sacrifice one of those that means the government’s not doing what they’re supposed to be doing in order to see that the people are thriving.”

She said the $50 boost was welcome for those who could receive it, but it would not go very far and was “a band-aid solution”.

Those on the benefit and looking for work would also struggle to get to appointments for training and interviews if fuel costs continued to rise, she said.

‘They can’t afford both transport and food’

Bonnie Robinson from the Salvation Army told Checkpoint while it was good news for those families who get that assistance, there would still be a lot of families who are struggling already to meet the basics who will not be getting anything.

She said that definitely included families who relied on a benefit who were already struggling.

“Eighty-five percent of the families who come to our food banks for food support are on benefits. So they are already struggling, the petrol price increase is going to make that harder and we are already seeing just in the last week or two, an increase in the number of people coming to a food bank for the first time.

“The petrol prices have pushed them over from coping to not coping and then needing to come for food support because they can’t afford both transport and food.”

Robinson said there was growing pressure on food parcel services as more people sought them out.

“We’re still delivering about 40 percent more food assistance than we did pre-Covid, it hasn’t dropped back to pre-Covid situation.”

She said when it came to tight budgets, food was the only area where they had wriggle room to cut back.

“And sometimes it gets trimmed to the point where people don’t have enough to eat.”

Whangārei Care Centre budget advisor Dianne Harris said her clients had not yet noticed a significant difference in fuel costs, but were very aware that it was happening.

“This extra $50 will help them, because it hasn’t hit yet”.

She told Checkpoint that the rise in food prices and the general cost of living was more of a concern at he moment, and her clients were becoming far more conscious of their budget than they ever had before.

“They are having to find watch they are doing more, they are having to think seriously about how many times they decide to go to the supermarket or go out.”

She was also concerned that people would get used to the extra $50, only to have it snatched away after a year.

“That’s when the struggle might happen again.”

Harris said there was an increase in the number of people using Afterpay and wanting to access their KiwiSaver funds, but stressed that this would not solve the problem.

“If a person has a minus in their budget but they are not paying any of their debts… the minus is still going to be there.”

The Greens had offered over the weekend to support National to introduce additional supports, including making public transport free, and other relief.

The government has maintained that supports during the fuel crisis must not increase debt levels, particularly after ratings agency Fitch downgraded New Zealand’s outlook from stable to negative.

Hipkins dismissed the Greens’ proposal as a “wishlist”, but said he would not be doing the same until he could see how much solutions might cost and how they would be delivered.

Magele said that was not good enough.

“They need to step up a little bit more. I think that they’ve been a little bit weak and not pushing back,” she 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

Changes coming for Lotto will make it less likely that people will win the big prize – but more likely they’ll collect a small one.

In what it calls its first “matrix change” in 19 years, Lotto will increase the number of Powerballs in its draw machine from 10 to 14.

This reduces the chances of winning Powerball from about 1 in 38.4 million to about 1 in 53.7 million for every line on a ticket.

Lotto will also add a “division eight” prize, raise the starting Powerball jackpot from $4 million to $5m, and increase the maximum jackpot from $50m to $60m.

Lotto chief executive Jason Delamore said the jackpot would be more likely to roll over to the next draw, which would deliver larger prizes when people won, while prizes in all other divisions would also be increased as part of the changes.

“The new Powerball division eight is a gamechanger. We expect its introduction will lift the total number of weekly Powerball winners by 30 percent, from about 47,000 winners to 62,000 winners on average.”

The changes to Powerball take effect in the second half of 2026.

He said lotteries around the world regularly refreshed their games in response to changes in population, customer expectations, inflation and other factors.

“Powerball had just eight balls when we launched in 2001. The jackpot started at $1 million and topped out at $15 million.

“We’ve made tweaks to the game in 2007, 2010, 2015 and 2017, so the current gap since the last update has been longer than usual.

“The changes we’re announcing today are our most exciting yet, with more chances to win and bigger prizes, including the new starting jackpot of $5 million, up from $4 million today.

“We’re really happy that we’ve managed to retain what people love about Powerball, while making a few refinements along the way.

“Furthermore, the price to play the game will remain unchanged.”

Massey University marketing expert Bodo Lang said he did not think the move would hurt ticket sales.

“Why do people play Lotto? The superficial surface answer is because they want to win money and maybe stop working. But what you’re selling when you’re selling a Lotto ticket is you’re selling hope.

“And if that hope is sustained by the new scheme I think it could totally work.”

Koura KiwiSaver founder Rupert Carlyon said people needed to be clear that Lotto was a type of gambling – not an investment.

“We know that people with lower financial security are more likely to buy Lotto tickets as they are looking for a way out of their current situation. People are already prioritising Lotto tickets over feeding their kids and these changes will only make it worse.”

He said many people realised they did not need to win a huge jackpot. “Even though that would be lifechanging, I think a lot of people would be really happy with something in the hundreds of thousands because it would probably make a large dent in their mortgage.”

Delamore said evolving Powerball was a key part of the organisation’s future strategy as it approaches its 40th birthday next year.

“Lotto NZ is owned by all New Zealanders and all of our profits – totalling more than $6.7 billion since 1987 – go to the Lottery Grants Board for distribution to the community.

“This change to Powerball will help support consistent and predictable returns back to a wide range of causes, including grassroots sports, cultural groups and health organisations.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Golden Bay locals are continuing to campaign against a proposed gold mine, fearing it will harm the region’s famed Te Waikoropupū Springs.

Australian mining company Siren Gold hopes to extract billions of dollars worth of gold at Sams Creek in the Upper Tākaka Valley. Exploration drilling which began in 2022, is continuing while the application for a mining permit is assessed.

Environmental advocate Timothy Firkin said two activists locked themselves to the main drilling rig at Sams Creek for about 12 hours during the weekend.

They were joined by other Golden Bay residents who remained concerned about the potential impact of the mine on the environment and the lack of engagement with the community, Firkin said.

“We feel there’s no social licence and that Siren Gold is pushing ahead without any genuine community consent,” he said.

“These are the clearest waters in the Southern Hemisphere, some of the clearest water ever measured on earth and the headwaters of the Tākaka Valley feed the Arthur Marble Aquifer that runs into Te Waikoropupū Springs and, beyond that, that water services everyone in the community.”

The group were concerned about the suitability of the site for a mine given the combination of high rainfall and seismic risk, Firkin said.

They were also worried about the management of toxic waste, arsenic-laden rock and the likely use of cyanide for extraction, he said.

The actions of activists at the weekend were a bid to disrupt the exploration drilling and came after two years of campaiging against the proposed mine, he said.

“We’ve invited them to community talks, we’ve asked for direct engagement. They’ve answered none of our questions and said that they would wait until after the mining licence was granted to engage with community,” Firkin said.

“We feel that area of the Kahurangi National Park was cut out solely for prospecting and we feel that place alone is worth protecting. Sam’s Creek is one of the most beautiful waterways I have ever set foot on and that whole area around there … I would be so heartbroken if there was a giant open cast mine in the entranceway to the Kahurangi National Park.”

The group wanted to engage with Siren Gold and voice their concerns but did not hold out much hope, he said.

Community group mounts legal challenge

Environmental advocacy group Save Our Springs last year applied for judicial review of government decisions linked to the controversial proposal.

The application was filed against Siren Gold and its subsidiary Sams Creek Gold along with Resources Minister Shane Jones and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment chief executive Nic Blakeley.

It sought declarations the exploration permit expired in March 2021 and the mining permit application should not have been accepted because it was lodged after the exploration permit’s expiry or because it did not include required information under the Crown Minerals Regulations 2007.

Siren Gold chief executive Zane Padman said the company had filed a statement of defence and a hearing date had been set for September.

The occupation over the weekend had a negligible impact on its exploration work, he said.

“I am more concerned for the safety of all involved. Entering work sites, climbing unharnessed on operating equipment and on buildings and flying drones where helicopters are operating is simply dangerous,” Padman said.

“The irony here is that the solutions to the concerns these members of the community hold are best informed by the results of the drilling.”

The company was willing to engage with people who were reasonable in their behaviour and were prepared to work with Siren Gold to identify responses to issues they hold, he said.

Exploration drilling was ongoing at the site as the company awaited the result of its mining permit application, he said.

“The mining permit is simply a procedural step that provides the holder with exclusivity to extract a specific resource from a specific location but does not give authority to activate mining,” he said.

“Any mine development is years away and any activity is required to undertake RMA consent processes for permissible activities, land owner approval, safety procedures and environmental standards to be met and community engagement including with iwi.”

Siren Gold said, in a recent update to the Australian Securities Exchange, it was part way through drilling 20 holes as part of its exploration work.

Its current estimate was that more than 800,000 ounces of gold could be mined at Sams Creek with a yield of about 2.8 grams of gold per tonne.

Drilling was expected to be completed by April with an updated mineral resource estimate to be completed after that.

MBIE minerals and offshore renewable energy national manager petroleum John Buick-Constable said the Sams Creek Gold mining permit application was still being assessed.

“There are no statutory timeframes for assessing or deciding a permit application. Each permit application brings its own complexities and there also may be times when more information is required to progress an application,” he said.

The average targeted timeframe for processing a tier one minerals mining permit was 240 working days.

The company’s existing exploration permit remained in force while its mining permit was being assessed, Buick-Constable 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

Wellington Airport has installed new runway safety zones with energy absorbing blocks at the end of each runway.

It said the engineered materials arresting system (EMAS), would provide additional safety in the unlikely event an aircraft accidentally overran the runway during take-off or landing.

It also effectively extended the usable length of the runway, providing a landing distance increase of 143m and a take-off distance increase of 37m.

Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said it had been hard work, which was done mainly between 1am and 6am each night to avoid impacting flights.

He said the most complicated part of all, occurred on Monday overnight, with the final changeover involving about 80 people.

“All of our line markings had to be updated in one go, for which we used 15 line marking trucks – pretty much every crew available in the lower North Island.

“We planned and rehearsed the sequence of everything to the minute to ensure we were all set for flights to begin on the new settings from 6am this morning.”

The new runway dimensions would mean the airport was now capable of handling widebody aircraft non-stop from major hubs in Asia and North America, Clarke said, along with enabling full passenger loads on outbound services to destinations which had previously been out of reach.

But, new services were not being announced at this stage, Clarke said, however, Wellington was the largest market in Australasia that did not have a direct connection to Asia.

“The turbulence currently felt by the travel industry will settle in time and we can all look forward to celebrating the arrival of long-haul flights to the capital when the time is right.”

Each EMAS bed was about 55 by 90 metres and made up of more than 3000 individual blocks which were made in the United States and shipped to Wellington in 2025.

Preparation on the project began in April 2025, and was completed a week ahead of schedule and within the $35m budget, Clarke said.

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