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  • More “Enabling” Behaviour Urgently Needed To Support Equity For Women

    Source:

    Media Release

    “New Zealand women are being let down by systems and institutions that continue to disenfranchise them.” says National President of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ), Lisa Lawrence, who strongly believes there must be an urgent focus on creating equity which fosters equality, and supports everyone to reach their full potential.

    “There is so much work going on to enable women and gender minorities, but there is more to do.” says Lisa Lawrence (Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Ruapani).

    “The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Creating an Equal and Enabled World’ and that clearly resonates with us in Aotearoa New Zealand,” she says, “However the National Council of Women of New Zealand wants to see more and faster action.”

    NCWNZ says creating an environment where everyone has the same opportunity is absolutely key, and that should be supported by everyone. “We must work together, walking alongside those who face inequalities and who are unable to access opportunities because of barriers they face. By making an environment equitable, inequalities are addressed. Those in the disability sector especially know this mahi is hard but the positive outcomes are life changing.” says Lisa Lawrence.

    New Zealand women are being let down by systems and institutions that continue to disenfranchise them says NCWNZ.

    “There is work to be done around poverty, homelessness and low pay, all of which disproportionately affect women. It’s deeply disappointing but not surprising that 63% of the female prison population is Māori. This is a direct result of a lack of equality and a lack of enabling behaviour by institutions.” says Lisa Lawrence.

    However, there is a cause for celebration around the recent recognition of women at the New Zealander of the Year Awards. Dame Margaret Sparrow (Senior of the Year) is a champion of reproductive rights. Good Bitches Baking (Community of the Year) is literally a group of women set up to help others. Georgia Hale (Young New Zealander of the Year) already has a significant profile of work, helping others through charity drives and mentoring.

    “All of these women have been recognised for their service to the community, and they serve a range of different communities. All of these women are working to create a more equitable and therefore more equal and enabled world. But isn’t that what we should all be doing?”

    NCWNZ encourages people to get together and attend one of the many events around the country, or get together and watch the livestream of UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand and Zonta Club of Wellington’s International Women’s Day 2020 Breakfast from Parliament.

  • Abortion: 66% of NZers agree that a woman should have the right to choose

    Source:

    Abortion: 66% of NZers agree that a woman should have the right to choose

    New Zealand’s first Gender Attitudes Survey shows that 66% of New Zealanders agree that a woman should have the right to choose whether or not she has an abortion – while 14% disagreed.

    A further 15% of New Zealanders were neutral and 5% didn’t know.

    “We carried out this survey with Research New Zealand in late 2017 to get a snapshot of where we’re at in New Zealand on gender” says National Council of Women Chief Executive and Gender Equal NZ spokesperson Gill Greer.

    “So what we’re seeing is that two out of three New Zealanders support women being in control of their own decisions around abortion.”

    This is a true test of our national views on the issue, and supports the move to reform our out-dated laws. The comprehensive recent report by the Law Commission presents three legal models for treating abortion as a health issue.

    “All three models remove abortion from the Crimes Act, which is an absolute necessity if we are to achieve a truly gender equal New Zealand.”

    “Model A focuses most strongly on allowing pregnant people to be completely in control of their own decisions, lives and bodies – a basic right to which all New Zealanders should be entitled.”

    “It would also work to remove the stigma and discrimination that surrounds abortion in New Zealand, by treating this issue as we would any other health issue.”

    The National Council of Women, Gender Equal NZ’s lead organisation, supports the decriminalisation of abortion – and that abortion should be treated as a standard part of healthcare – safe, legal and accessible.

    “It’s also important to acknowledge that trans and gender diverse people can also become pregnant and need access to abortion or other reproductive health services. We support increased access to these health services for all people” says Gill.

    “It is time we recognised women, and all pregnant people’s, rights to autonomy, choice and freedom.”

    More information on ‘One is not like the others’ image 

    The attached image was created by Ashlee Metcalfe from Massey University in paper 222.258 Visual Communication Design Studio IIB Ihi Wehi: Rhetoric and Persuasion.

    The artwork was produced as a result of a partnership between Gender Equal NZ and Massey University.

  • Ignorance is not bliss – context is everything

    Source:

    Ignorance is not bliss – context is everything

    By Nina Herriman, Chief Storyteller

    When I was a kid, they told me girls can do anything, and I believed them.  I still do.  That career as a top gun fighter pilot?  Still on the cards.  Every time I score a try at touch rugby, part of me waits for that call from Steve Hansen.  (Narrator: Nina never scores a try at touch rugby.) Despite a lifetime of very honest feedback from my family on my musical abilities, I’m certain I could make it as a rock star .

    So with decades of feminism under my belt, you’d think I’d know all the theories and arguments.  Sadly not.  You can’t help but learn something about gender, race and class when you do an Arts degree, but as far as gender theory goes, there’s not a lot that I remember. Michel Foucault got way too much air time, Judith Butler knew her stuff, and that’s about it.

    My job is telling data stories about gender inequalities and I need to make sure those stories are grounded in context: in peoples lived experiences, intersectional feminist theory, and the theories and arguments about the particular areas of inequality.

    I am a Pākehā, able-bodied, cis-gendered, heterosexual woman who lives in an urban centre. As with everyone else, these words are useful constructs that tell you something about my identity, but they’re only part of who I am. Our data stories use aspects of people’s identities as descriptions because we need them to understand different communities’ experiences of inequality, but these are imperfect descriptions and that’s why it’s so important to understand the context.

    I keep going back to the importance of context when using data. It’s important for all data, but it’s particularly important for data about people.  Because if you don’t have a really good understanding of the context, you risk talking about people in ways that are at best, disrespectful, and, at worst, damaging.  Ignorance is most certainly not bliss.

    My eclectic knowledge isn’t going to cut it. So how do I address that ignorance?

    1. Read/Listen

    There’s lots of books and articles and reports to read, and lectures to go to or recorded panel discussions to view.  I’m slowly making my way through some of them, focusing on those people sharing lived experiences from the perspective on those groups with compounding negative outcomes due to discrimination, e.g. Māori, Pacific, Asian, migrant and refugee women, rural women, women with disabilities, queer, trans and gender diverse people.

    Here are a couple:

    1. Conversation

    We held a workshop with expert advisors on economic independence in late 2017. We received 33 nominations for this workshop, from 17 member organisations or stakeholders.  Those selected to participate represented a variety of community and advocacy groups, including unions campaigning on behalf of low-paid women workers, groups working with women in poverty and homeless women – as well as economists and analysts from Statistics NZ, Ministry for Women, the Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

    Ongoing conversations with these people have been important to the development of the Gender Dashboard, as well as with experts beyond this initial group of people. Our 200+ member organisations are an important avenue for these conversations.

    1. Accept that you’ll always be learning

    The reality is that understanding inequalities in society and the solutions to them is a process of continual learning and re-examination.  Fortunately, I love learning.  And I work and for an organisation with staff, individual members and member organisations who can help me learn (and tell me when I’ve got it wrong).

     

  • Expressions Of Interest – Chief Executive, National Council of Women New Zealand (NCWNZ)

    Source:

    Expressions Of Interest – Chief Executive, National Council of Women New Zealand (NCWNZ)

     Expressions of Interest for the position of Interim Chief Executive are being invited from interested parties who have previous Chief Executive or interim management experience in the NGO sector.

    A good understanding of intersectional feminism and gender equality and experience with media engagements is desired.

    Focus areas for the role include: Fundraising, current liabilities, review of the President/Chief Executive role and communications management, HR/office and contracts management. Salary is commensurate with the responsibilities of the role.

    Expressions of Interest must be forwarded to Vanisa Dhiru, President at: boardadmin@ncwnz.org.nz by 12noon on Thursday 11th October 2018, and include a current CV with cover letter outlining your interest in the role and your skills, attributes and relevant experience. This position is expected to commence shortly.

  • Lies, damned lies and statistics?  Telling accurate stories from data

    Source:

    Lies, damned lies and statistics?  Telling accurate stories from data

    By Nina Herriman, Chief Storyteller at the National Council of Women

    In my last blog, I briefly mentioned the importance of accurate stories and promised to talk about how we’re going use the Gender Dashboard to tell accurate stories about gender inequality.

    But first, let’s talk about why accuracy is about more than just testing that the numbers are right.  Much of this resonates with the things I learned in my history degree.  But I’ve resisted calling this post, “why you need an historian on your data science team”, because these are things that everyone working with and talking about data should know.

    1. The past matters

    The data that we have can tell us something about now.  Some good longitudinal data can tell us something about ten, twenty or, if we’re lucky, thirty years ago.  It can’t tell us about the impact of centuries of inequalities on people’s lives today, whether that be on the basis gender, ethnicity, disability or something else.

    1. There’s no such thing as the full story

    Whether you’re writing a history book or a data story, you’re making choices about which stories to tell and consequently which stories that you won’t tell.  This is partly driven by the information that you have available – and there are huge gaps in NZ data to inform our understanding of gender inequality.

    For example, we will struggle to tell the story of trans women while data collection continues to be underpinned fail to recognise the fact that gender identity is not determined by the sex someone is assigned at birth.

    Stats NZ have indicated a commitment to moving toward more inclusive data collection, but to tell these stories we will need to rely on the small number of non-government studies that have been done and international data.

    It’s also about the story that you’re trying to tell.  We’re producing a gender dashboard so this of course means that we are looking at gender data.  But we need to make sure that we include other variables where we know there are inequalities to provide a more accurate story.

    3. The data can’t speak for itself

    It doesn’t matter if your data scientist has used the biggest computers and run the most sophisticated algorithms over all the data you can get your hands on, there’s still bias and there are still gaps in the data.  Someone (or some committee) chose which data to collect and the process for collection, which data to keep and for how long, someone probably cleaned that data and/or it contains errors, someone wrote the algorithm and someone decided which results to report and how to report them.

    https://xkcd.com/1838/

    1. Beware the outliers

    Remember that rollicking good book you read about the politics and intrigue of sixteenth century England?  That does not reflect the experience of most people who actually lived in sixteenth century England and their everyday lives.

    It’s the same with data, particularly data about people and social change.  Because as much as we’d quite like to change the world in a day, problems embedded in societal and institutional structures are hard and slow to change.  So if you see a huge change in your data, there’s a good chance there’s an error somewhere and you should go back and check your analysis.

    So, what’s the point then?  How do we tell accurate stories from this data?

    1. Tell multiple stories, even if they appear to be conflicting

    We tell stories from different perspectives about different groups of people who need different solutions. For example, there’s a narrative about more part-time work opportunities that allow people of all genders to have adequate resources or continue their career while fulfilling other responsibilities in their lives such as childcare and adult care.

    There’s also a narrative about policies that allow people who work part-time to move into full-time work or at least more hours if they want or need it.

    A third narrative may be about better pay and conditions for those who currently work part-time and wish to continue to do so.

    And a fourth may be about more equal sharing of unpaid work, that allows those not in the labour force to take on part-time work.

    1. Talk to the experts

    As an umbrella organisation with over 200 member organisations and a reach of over 450,000 people, the National Council of Women have a lot of expertise to draw upon in our work.  For each of our four key areas of inequality, we will have a group of expert advisors drawn from these people, as well as having conversations with experts beyond that group.

    1. Nothing about us without us

    Consultation with stakeholders who are working with, or representing, the most marginalised communities in New Zealand will be given a high priority. We will endeavour to talk to the groups whose stories we want to tell – particularly those groups with compounding negative outcomes due to discrimination, e.g. Māori, Pacific, Asian, migrant and refugee women, rural women, women with disabilities, queer, trans and gender diverse women – “nothing about us, without us”.

    1. Test

    Test that your infrastructure works, test that your numbers are right, test that your dashboard is easy to use, test that your website is easy to navigate, test that your stories resonate with your communities and stakeholders and test that your stories are useful!

    In my next blog I’m going to explain a little further about context. Contextualising data is a major aim of the Gender Dashboard – we need to be able to show users what the data means, how the data connects and contextualise it within a narrative arc. Stay tuned!

  • New Zealand Flag half-masting to mark the funeral of His Holiness Pope Francis – Saturday 26 April 2025

    Source: Ministry for Culture and Heritage

    At the request of the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Christopher Luxon, the New Zealand Flag is to be flown at half-mast on all Government and public buildings on Saturday 26 April 2025 to mark the funeral of His Holiness Pope Francis. The Flag should be returned to full mast at 5pm on Saturday 26 April 2025 (or close of building hours on that day).
    This instruction applies to all Government Departments, buildings and naval vessels which have flag poles and normally fly the New Zealand Flag.
    The flag is half-masted by first raising it to the top of the mast and then immediately lowering it slowly to the half-mast position. The half-mast position will depend on the size of the flag and the length of the flagpole. The flag must be lowered to a position recognisably “half-mast” to avoid the appearance of a flag which has accidentally fallen away from the top of the flagpole. As a guide, the flag should be more than its own depth from the top of the flagpole. At the end of the day, the flag should be raised again to the top of the flagpole before being fully lowered.

  • VANUATU: Families find climate-smart ways to grow crops 18 months on from cyclone devastation

    Source: Save the Children

    Families in Vanuatu are adopting climate-smart agricultural techniques to improve food security, such as growing climate resistant crops, to prepare for future climate-driven disasters in the wake of devastating Tropical Cyclone Lola 18 months ago.
    Tropical Cyclone Lola was one of the most powerful off-season storms to strike the Pacific when it made landfall in October 2023 with wind speeds of up to 215 km/h, destroying homes, schools and plantations, claiming the lives of at least four people [2] and affecting about 91,000 people [1]. 
    Recovery efforts were made significantly more challenging when Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila was then hit by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in December last year, claiming 14 lives and destroying critical infrastructure.
    Madleen, 11, said when the cyclone hit, her family’s crops were destroyed, leaving them short of food. 
    “It destroyed the food crops. When we came outside, we saw the crops were destroyed. The banana tree was just bearing fruit and it was destroyed. And we didn’t have enough food. We were eating rice, but we were almost running short. We were not eating well, we ate just enough. I felt bad.”  
    After the cyclone, a shortage of nutritious food put children at risk of hunger as well as diseases like diarrhea, with typically an increase in the number of children hospitalised for diarrhea following cyclones, Save the Children said. 
    Vanuatu is already one of the most climate disaster-prone countries in the world, and scientists say tropical cyclones will become more extreme as the climate crisis worsens. This will disproportionately impact children due to food shortages, disruption to education and psychosocial trauma associated with experiencing disasters. 
    Save the Children, alongside Vanuatu’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries, and Biosecurity (MALFFB) and local partners, is supporting Madleen and her family through the Tropical Cyclone Lola Recovery Programme, which is helping improve food security and resilience in communities impacted by the cyclone. 
    As a part of the Recovery Programme, over 1,100 households have received climate-resistant [3] seeds from a seedbank. These seeds, for growing watermelon, papaya, Chinese cabbage, tomato, capsicum and cucumber, are proven to perform in Vanuatu’s changing climate, with tolerance to high rainfall, drought, pests and disease. Farmers are encouraged to preserve the seeds from crops and sell them back to the seed bank. 
    The programme is also training communities in other climate-smart agricultural techniques such as growing smaller fruit trees that are robust enough to withstand strong cyclone winds.
    Save the Children has also built a collapsible nursery for plants in Madleen’s community that can be taken down when a cyclone is predicted, so saplings and trees can be stored, protected and replanted after it passes.
    Save the Children Vanuatu Country Director, Polly Banks, said:
    “In just 18 months, people in Vanuatu have been deeply shaken by a devastating cyclone and a powerful earthquake.
    “Children have borne the brunt of this, with food taken off their plates, crops destroyed, homes and schools damaged and diseases on the rise. As the climate crisis accelerates, we must work with communities to strengthen their resilience, so children and their families are better equipped to face whatever comes next.
    “We’re working in partnership with the Government of Vanuatu and local partners to help communities build the skills and resources they need to support themselves when future cyclones and disasters strike.”
    Save the Children has been working in in Vanuatu for more than 40 years to make sure children are learning, protected from harm, and grow up healthy and strong.
    This project was also supported by the New Zealand Government’s Disaster Response Partnership programme.
    [3] Open-pollinated seeds (OP seeds) produce plants that can reproduce true to type, meaning farmers can save seeds from their harvest and plant them in the next season with similar results. OP varieties used and recommended by the Vanuatu Agriculture Research and Technical Centre are often locally adapted, meaning they’ve been trialed and selected for their performance in Vanuatu’s climate – including tolerance to high rainfall, drought, pests and diseases. These seeds have genetic diversity, allowing plants to better adapt to changing weather patterns.
    About Save the Children NZ:
    Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.
    Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and alleviating child poverty.

  • Real Estate – National market turning a corner as listings surge and buyer confidence builds

    Source: Raine & Horne

    Highlights

    • Raine & Horne recorded a significant rise in listings and buyer activity in March 2025 across the country, signalling a strong property market rebound aligned with national price growth trends.
    • Affordable prices, infrastructure investment, and coastal lifestyle appeal are driving renewed interest from both first-home buyers and investors, especially in Southland and Christchurch.
    • Falling interest rates and more realistic vendor expectations have created a sweet spot for buyers, with quality homes around $850,000 in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui drawing strong demand.

    Wellington, NZ (24 April 2025) The national property market is showing clear signs of recovery, with a significant uplift in listing activity and buyer engagement recorded by leading real estate network Raine & Horne.

    New data reveals that Raine & Horne listings rose by 49% in March 2025 compared to December 2024, while open for inspections jumped by 175% over the same period. The uptick aligns with national trends, with CoreLogic reporting a +0.5% increase in property values in March, building on a +0.4% lift in February.

    Angus Raine, Executive Chairman of Raine & Horne, said the renewed momentum reflects improving market sentiment, buoyed by earlier interest rate cuts and increased brand awareness.

    “We’re pleased to see the property upturn beginning to take shape. The effects of OCR reductions always take time to filter through fully, but we’re starting to see confidence return,” Mr Raine said.

    “While demand remains patchy across some regional and metropolitan areas, that’s to be expected in a recovering economy. The encouraging consensus is that residential property values are likely to rise by around 5% nationally this year, fuelled by more affordable finance and steady buyer demand.”

    The return of investors is a big plus for Southland real estate

    On the ground, Raine & Horne Southland Franchise Owner Sheree Williams confirmed that market activity is building strongly.

    “Things are really starting to gain momentum here. Southland always moves to the beat of its own drum, and in the past few weeks we’ve definitely seen a noticeable upswing,” Mrs Williams said.

    “There are more buyers actively looking, and importantly, we’re also seeing a strong return of investors to the market.”

    Recent interest rate cuts are having an impact. “First-home buyers have remained a constant presence, but now investors are coming back with renewed confidence,” Mrs Williams said.

    For instance, Mrs Williams noted that a solid three-bedroom home at 586 Tay Street, Hawthorndale[i], is generating strong interest from both investors and first-home buyers. “With the potential to earn approximately $500 per week in rent, it’s a smart option for savvy investors,” she said.

    “However, it’s not all about investors. In many cases, first-home buyers are coming out ahead,” Mrs Williams added. “They’re more informed than ever, they know how to prepare financially, what steps to take, and how to position themselves competitively. So when it comes to going up against investors, they’re holding their own more than ever before.”

    As for what’s attracting buyers to Southland, Mrs Williams said: “It’s definitely our affordability, hands down.

    “Southland remains one of the most affordable regions in the country, which is a huge drawcard. But it’s not just the price point, there’s a lot happening here.

    “We’ve got exciting new infrastructure projects underway that are drawing interest from outside the region. Combined with strong local employment across key industries such as healthcare, agriculture, and education, and an unbeatable lifestyle, it’s giving people real confidence to make the move and invest in Southland.”

    Christchurch attracts buyers chasing coastal lifestyle and “bang for buck”

    In Christchurch, Nick McIsaac-Luke, Franchise Owner at Raine & Horne Parklands, New Brighton, Shirley, Burwood, and Marshland, said the local property market has remained relatively steady. “We’ve seen a bit of a dip over the past couple of years, but right now, things are looking pretty solid,” he said.

    Commenting on what’s driving demand, Mr McIsaac-Luke added, “I’m seeing more people from the North Island realising how good it is down here. Even people from the lower South Island are making the move. Everyone’s cottoning on to the fact you can get wicked bang for buck in Christchurch — you can live by the beach for under a million.”

    To illustrate, Mr McIsaac-Luke and business partner Tina Lawson recently sold a stunning and spacious four-bedroom house at 1 Iti Place, Parklands. “This is a fantastic house that sold within four and a half weeks for $975,000.

    Mr McIsaac-Luke said Parklands is proving especially popular with lifestyle seekers. “It’s probably one of the top spots right now for people wanting that laid-back lifestyle. We’re right on the edge of the forest, and the beach is just five minutes away — seven at a push.

    “In Auckland or Wellington, this would literally be a $1.8 million house — maybe more,” Mr McIsaac-Luke said. “We’re seeing buyers from those cities thinking, ‘We’re sitting on a $2 million home — let’s sell up, move to Christchurch, get relocated by our employer or work remotely, buy a million-dollar mansion, and still have money left in the bank or buying a rental or two on the side.’”

    Confidence returns to Bay of Plenty as rates fall and vendors meet the market

    In the Bay of Plenty region, Paul Billinghurst, Principal of Raine & Horne Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, Katikati, Waihi Beach, and Waihi, said there’s been a clear uplift in market activity over the past six months.

    “People have been more open to transacting. Buyers have responded well since the Reserve Bank began cutting the official cash rate (OCR) and are less spooked by high interest rates,” Mr Billinghurst said.

    “The commentary suggesting prices have bottomed out has also encouraged buyers to act. They see it as a buyers’ market and are coming in confidently.”

    On the flip side, Mr Billinghurst stated that many vendors have moved on from waiting for post-COVID price peaks to return and are now more prepared to meet the market.

    Mr Billinghurst said, “Vendors are recognising the heady days of 2021 are long past, as are the prices being achieved back then.

    “If owners are selling and buying in the same market, they are more willing to accept a lower market price on their current property and pay a lower market price for their new one to be able to move forward.”

    In Tauranga and Mount Maunganui, Mr Billinghurst said that quality properties around $850,00 were in the sweet spot for many buyers.

    “We have a lot of first home buyers really active, up to $850,000, who are snapping up quality properties in Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.

    Outside of any geopolitical risks, such as potential US tariffs, Mr Billinghurst believes the Bay of Plenty market is poised for a strong finish to 2025.

    “We’re on track for a really solid and stable market over the final three quarters of the year,” he said. “It’s shaping up to be a return to more normal conditions.”

  • Book launch – ‘Excellence in Care: A Guide for Managers and Nurses’ by Gillian Robinson-Gibb

    Source: Nazareth Care

    Endorsed by Honourable Tracey Martin, CEO of the Aged Care Association NZ, “Excellence in Care: A Guide for Managers and Nurses (2025)” is authored by Gillian Robinson-Gibb.

    With 30 years of background managing and nursing in Aged Care, Gillian is also the Founder of Healthcare Compliance Solutions Ltd, Registered Nurse, and Auditor.

    This new and well sought-after resource aims to support excellence in care and provide guidance for those new to aged care or new to management roles.  

    This event is a celebration of aged care!  The audience will include key members of New Zealand’s aged care, healthcare and community sector and this event will provide a unique opportunity to hear from current and aspiring leaders about the art of leading in this growing sector. It will also provide an excellent networking opportunity, where you can mingle with colleagues from across the sector.

    This will be a catered event. An allocation of 4 tickets per media organisation are available. To confirm your attendance, please register using the Trybooking link below:

    https://www.trybooking.com/nz/WRI

    Event details:

    Date:                  May 6th, 2025
    Time:                 1pm
    Venue:              Nazareth Care, 220 Brougham St, Christchurch
    RSVP by:          May 1st, 2025.

  • Banking Ombudsman Scheme backs banks’ stronger consumer protections from scams

    Source: Banking Ombudsman Scheme

    23 April 2025 – The Banking Ombudsman Scheme has welcomed today’s announcement by banks that they will crack down on scams.
    Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden said the scheme had been calling for stronger consumer protections from scams for some time.
    “We see first-hand the emotional and financial cost of scams. Beyond the monetary impact, victims endure the distress of being deceived, leading to a loss of confidence to operate online.
    “Consumers are doing more and more online, making it increasingly vital they have a safe digital environment in which to make payments and transfer money.
    “We’re pleased the confirmation of payee system is now in place. It’s an obvious way to fight back against scammers.”
    Ms Sladden also welcomed other initiatives such as greater sharing of intelligence, improved fraud detection systems and warnings for high-risk transactions.
    “These initiatives will all help in the fight against the scourge of scams. However, for scam prevention measures to be truly successful, more cross-sector collaboration is needed.
    “New Zealand will not be able to defeat scammers unless all relevant government and non-government organisations work in concert. Scammers will continue to exploit vulnerabilities in the eco-system, so any counter-measures must be equally broad in scope.”
    She said the Government, relevant agencies such as the police and the National Cyber Security Centre, banks, telecommunications companies and digital platforms must work together to make scam prevention stronger at every level.
    “We also welcome the updated Code of Banking Practice. It is a step forward. The updated Code now provides a basis for banks to compensate customers for scam losses for both authorised and unauthorised payment scams.”
    Ms Sladden said the scheme believed the introduction of comprehensive, mandatory codes of practice for banks, telecommunication companies and digital platforms governing their responsibilities in preventing scams and the scope of their liability in the event of scam losses was long overdue.
    “Enforceable standards will help lift the bar on preventing scams. Such standards will provide clarity for consumers and industry, which will help deliver effective resolution.
    “We look forward to increased collaboration with banks, consumer groups, regulators and government agencies to prevent scams.”
    The scheme received 949 scam cases in the 2023-24 financial year. The average loss for escalated scam cases (disputes) was $80,000 – up from $57,000 the previous year.
    About the scheme
    The Banking Ombudsman Scheme is a free and independent dispute resolution service. We look into complaints by customers about their banks. Sometimes we make formal decisions, but often we facilitate outcomes agreeable to the customer and the bank before that. We also help in other ways, such as offering information and guidance on banking matters. We put the customer at the heart of what we do.