NZ Engine

Source: New Zealand Government

Today’s surprise economic result is great news for workers, families and businesses, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said today.
“Stats NZ reported today that the economy grew 0.8 per cent in the first three months of the year, twice the rate forecast by the Treasury and the Reserve Bank a short time ago. 
“This is the second consecutive quarter in which growth outstripped forecasters’ assumptions and confirms the economy was gaining momentum late last year and at the start of this year.
“Since then, global conflict has increased and new tariffs have been introduced, but New Zealanders should take heart that the country is back on track after six years of economic mismanagement that fuelled inflation, discouraged investment and ratcheted up prices.
“I know many households and businesses are still doing it tough but the steps the Government has taken to stop wasteful spending, grow the economy and provide more support to households are paying dividends. So are the efforts of the private sector.
“It is also pleasing to see that Gross Domestic Product per person grew by 0.5 per in the quarter, the highest rate since September 2022 and the second consecutive quarter of growth after eight quarters of negative or no growth.  
“Inflation is down, interest rates are down, and many families have a little more money in their pockets. 
“That money is flowing through to business tills aided by the steps the Government has taken to reduce red tape, incentivise investment and boost tourism, and the export records being set by New Zealand farmers and growers,” Nicola Willis says.     

Source: NZCTU

Data released by Stats NZ today shows that the economy grew on a quarterly basis by 0.8% but fell on an annual basis by 1.1% said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “This is positive data for the first quarter of this year, but the fact that the economy is about the same size it was in March 2023 tells you that essentially we have had almost zero economic growth (0.3%) over the past two years.”

“GDP per capita ($52,872) is now lower than it was in March 2022 ($53,100). It took another fall on an annual basis of 2.4%. There were falls in 11 of the 16 sectors of the economy annually – led by construction (-9.3%), wholesale trade (-3.6%) , and business services (-2%). Both goods producing industries and service industries saw contraction this year.”

“The data shows that workers incomes aren’t keeping up with profits. Stats NZ shows that compensation of employees rose 1.5% this quarter before inflation. Gross operating surplus and gross mixed incomes (a broad measure of profit) rose 2%. Employee compensation was revised down in the December quarter to -0.2%.”

“The lack of business confidence in the economy is present in the business investment data. Business investment fell this year. Non-residential building investment fell 2.9%. Transport equipment purchases fell 6%. Households are feeling it to, with purchase of durable goods being lower than they were in December 2023,” Renney said.

“This data shows us how far we fell over the past year in economic terms. The growth in GDP this quarter is welcome – but the economy is still smaller than at the election in real terms. With more recent data suggesting that the economy is struggling to grow, there is a real danger that we return to slow, no, or negative growth.”

“It’s time for the Government to realise that its economic growth plan isn’t working. There are 23,000 more people on Jobseekers this year. 48% of workers in New Zealand got a pay cut in real terms. Business and consumer confidence are at levels associated with recessions. One quarter of data shouldn’t blind the government of the need for change.” 

Source: New Zealand Government

A total of 180 overseas-trained doctors have expressed interest in a new Government-funded training programme aimed at boosting New Zealand’s primary care workforce, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
“New Zealand needs more doctors – particularly in primary and rural healthcare care settings – and this Government is taking action to make that happen,” Mr Brown says.
“That’s why we’ve launched a new two-year training programme to support up to 100 additional overseas-trained doctors across the country.”
Announced in March, the programme supports qualified international doctors to become registered in New Zealand, with a particular focus on those wanting to enter general practice roles – creating a clear pathway for doctors already in the country and ready to contribute to our health system.
“It makes no sense that overseas-trained doctors already living here, ready and willing to work in primary care, are held back simply due to a lack of supported clinical training opportunities. We are changing that.”
Applications for the programme closed on 31 May, with 184 expressions of interest received – well exceeding the number of places available. The first group of 10 overseas-trained doctors will begin in Waikato this July, with Health New Zealand currently working to match the remaining placement locations with district and primary care providers.
“This strong response shows the scale of untapped potential in New Zealand. These doctors are eager to work where they are most needed – and this Government is opening the door for them to do so.
“I’ve also requested advice from Health New Zealand on how to provide clear, structured pathways for doctors who have passed the NZREX to begin practising under limited scopes while they wait for a placement in general practice training.
“This is part of our broader plan to strengthen primary and rural healthcare and ensure New Zealanders get timely access to the care they need, no matter where they live,” Mr Brown says.

Source: New Zealand Government

New quarterly data shows the Government is on track to deliver on both law and order targets ahead of schedule, Minister for Children Karen Chhour and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith say.

“We’re determined to protect communities, reduce victimisation, and to encourage young people not to continue down the path of serious crime and incarceration,” Mrs Chhour says.

“A year ago we set a target of reducing the number of children and young people with serious and persistent offending behaviour by 15 per cent by 2029. 

“A 13 per cent reduction in the most recent quarter shows we are hot on the heels of achieving our goal.  

“We’ve trialled bold new responses to this long-standing issue and have ensured agencies work in greater collaboration with each other.

“Proactive data-driven regional responses have also helped. It has truly been a team effort. 

“Budget 2025 saw further investment in multiple complementary ways to address recidivism amongst young people, including future iterations of the military-style academies and the Youth Serious Offender declaration.

“We continue to want better for, and from, these young people. This is a strong start, but we’re committed to sustained and meaningful success for our communities.”

“This success comes off the back of the Government tracking ahead of its violent crime reduction target,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“Our Government has wasted no time overhauling a culture of excuses left behind by the last administration. Victims are our priority, and we’ve returned them to the heart of the justice system.

“The latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey shows that for the year to February, there were 157,000 victims of violent crime. This is 28,000 fewer victims than the baseline set in October 2023. Specifically, there were 12,000 fewer victims in Auckland and 5,000 fewer in Canterbury.

“There is a lot more work to do, but these results are a good early sign we are heading in the right direction.

“We’ve provided police and the courts with extra tools to go after gangs, brought back a revised three strikes sentencing regime, restored real consequences for crime by limiting sentence discounts, and scrapped Section 27 reports.

“We do, however, expect the data to remain volatile, and there’s still more work to do to continue driving these numbers down.”

Updated Government Target data is available here.

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

While O Mahurangi – Penlink is still scheduled for completion in 2028, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) had planned to open some sections of the road earlier near Stillwater and Ara Wēiti. However, a major slip at the project’s largest fill site has now delayed construction of these sections. While NZTA is still working to understand the full scheduling impacts, the project will now open as a single completed corridor.

Cracking in the ground which was first identified in December last year required all activity in the area to pause while it could be assessed. Extensive testing and monitoring showed a deep layer under the surface (deep shear plane layer) was significantly weaker than experienced on other similar sites on the project where earthworks had been undertaken. 

Due to the slips continued movement, emergency works were declared in March to allow remediation works to be undertaken sooner. This minimises the risk of the slip damaging existing assets and private property.   

Regional Manager Transport Services Stephen Collett acknowledges that this delay will be frustrating to residents of Stillwater and Ara Wēiti, as well as all road users that wanted to use the road to access State Highway 1 earlier.  

“As the project uses a cut fill balance approach for earthworks, the material at this location is unable to be stored elsewhere until we can implement a solution. Until the solution can be implemented, earthworks are unable to continue at the previous pace along the alignment.  

“Despite the delay, O Mahurangi remains on track to open in line with the Wēiti River bridge, giving people the complete benefit of the project from day one. This will ensure a seamless and more connected journey to and from State Highway 1” says Mr Collett. 

While remediation works are completed, construction has continued at pace in other areas of the site, including: 

• the placement of beams and deck for the future overbridge at State Highway 1 are in place
• the ramps from State Highway 1 are starting to be formed
• future alignment along Duck Creek Road has had beams placed, decks poured and barriers installed. Next the team will dig out the earth from under the bridge to build the future State Highway 19
• the western side abutment of the Wēiti River bridge is completed and the two land-based piers are at their final height. An additional two in river piers are currently being constructed.
• landscaping along the alignment has begun
• approximately 600,000 cubic meters of earth has been moved (about 250 Olympic sized swimming pools). 

Once complete, O Mahurangi – Penlink will unlock long term benefits for the Auckland region, providing a more resilient network to get people where they need to be faster, supporting economic growth and connecting people to new housing developments.  

Source: New Zealand Government

Health Minister Simeon Brown today officially opened the new Athlae Lyon Day Stay Unit at Starship Children’s Hospital, marking a major milestone in the ongoing redevelopment of New Zealand’s largest children’s hospital.
“Starship plays a critical role in caring for our most vulnerable children, not just from Auckland but from right across New Zealand. It provides lifesaving care and specialist services that families depend on during some of the most challenging times they will face,” Mr Brown says.
“This new, purpose-built medical day stay unit is a significant step toward delivering the modern, fit-for-purpose health services that children and their families deserve. 
“It offers a dedicated, child-friendly space for procedures that don’t require an overnight stay – such as infusions, allergy testing, medical reviews for chronic conditions, and sleep studies. The bright, welcoming environment is designed to support a positive experience for both patients and their families.”
The new unit replaces a much smaller area that accommodated just three procedure chairs, nearly tripling capacity to six chairs along with two flexible rooms that can be used for sleep studies or as isolation spaces when infection control is required.
“Shifting appropriate procedures to this new day stay unit will help hospital teams work more efficiently, allowing more children to receive timely care with fewer delays caused by inpatient bed shortages – leading to shorter wait times and improved access to essential treatments for children and their families.
“At the same time, freeing up inpatient beds will ensure those requiring acute or planned overnight care have access to the space they need – enabling the hospital to use its capacity more effectively, improving care for all patients.
“I know that hospital visits can be stressful for children and their families. This new unit is designed with their wellbeing in mind, helping to ease that stress through a more supportive environment, and providing smarter, more efficient care – ensuring every child receives the right treatment, at the right time,” Mr Brown says.

Source: New Zealand Government

Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that the Ministry of Education are now consulting on changing, merging, or removing approximately three-quarters of the Early Childhood Education (ECE) licensing criteria. 
“Earlier this year the ECE Sector Review instigated 15 changes to modernise and simplify regulations,” Mr Seymour says. 
“The changes to the ECE regulations show the power of a sector review. The Ministry for Regulation went in and listened to the people who actually run, work at, and use early childhood education. They found people encircled by multiple regulators enforcing out of date rules, and proposed solutions. 
“The biggest complaint arises from the calcified, high stakes licencing criteria – 98 of them – that can each have a centre shut down with little to no notice. We are consulting on changing, merging, or removing approximately three-quarters of them. 
“Some of the proposals being consulted on include more digital information distribution, more clarity, and Removing duplication of regulations that are covered by other authorities.
New licensing criteria will be gazetted by the end of September. Consultation on changes to these is open until 24 July. You can have your say here: Have your say – Ministry of Education.
“By the end of next year ECE providers will be governed by a regulatory system which ensures regulations are focused on what matters – providing safe, high-quality care and education as the changes are rolled out over the coming year,” Mr Seymour says.
“ECE providers will no longer be burdened with 98 separate licensing criteria, many of which were arbitrary or outdated. 
“By mid next year, graduated enforcement tools will be used to respond to breaches of the remaining licensing criteria. The only enforcement tools previously available were too blunt a tool for managing minor breaches and allowing early intervention. There will no longer be high-stakes open-or-shut rules that create anxiety and strained relationships for regulators and centre operators alike.”
Graduated enforcement will give the regulator a range of enforcement measures. They will be able to respond proportionately to breaches, changing the sector’s culture from a punitive approach to promoting quality.
“The changes to the licensing criteria represents a major shakeup of the sector’s outdated system. Consultation will make the new licensing criteria great for children, parents and ECE service providers,” Mr Seymour says.
“There is huge demand for ECEs from families across New Zealand, however numbers show supply isn’t keeping up. That is why we are committed to making changes which will allow the industry to expand and provide more high-quality services for families and their children. 
“In the meantime, recent amendments to the pay parity opt-in scheme aim to provide some relief to ECE services.
“In a high-cost economy, regulation isn’t neutral. It’s a tax on growth. Every completed review makes it easier to do business, access services, and innovate in New Zealand. The ECE review is the first of many examples of what smarter regulation looks like in action.”

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government is progressing a bold work programme to increase productivity and efficiency through comprehensively reforming New Zealand’s land transport rules, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.

“Land transport rules set out how different sectors of the transport industry must operate. They impact all road users – from the suburban mum or dad who has to get a Warrant of Fitness every year no matter how new or well-maintained their car, to the truckies who’ve been loaded up with compliance costs due to rules long since made redundant through advances in technology,” says Mr Bishop. 

“Right now the rules system is overly cumbersome to update and creates a substantial administrative burden for New Zealand businesses trying their best to operate safely, legally and efficiently. 

“The rules are full of nonsensical or outdated requirements. For example, the Road User Rule doesn’t currently permit e-scooters to use cycle lanes or young children to ride their bikes on the footpath. Several rules require hard copy letters to be posted instead of sending emails, which last year alone resulted in 14 million hard copy letters, reminders, and labels being posted at a cost to the taxpayer of $16.8 million. While some of these letters will still need to be printed and posted, the rules reform programme will make it possible for many of these services to be modernised.

“Earlier this year, I started work to update one of the land transport rules by consulting on proposals to reduce how often private motorhomes and vintage cars and motorcycles need to renew their Warrant of Fitness (WOF) or Certificate of Fitness (COF). 

“Now we’re taking that same common-sense approach to other transport rules through a comprehensive programme of work to reform and update them, with most decisions expected to be made over the next 18 months.”

The Land Transport Rules Reform Programme includes seven streams of work:

1. Reducing the frequency of vintage vehicle and motorhome WOF and COF inspections, as previously announced.
   1. Considering additional safety requirements for vehicle imports including a possible phased introduction.
   2. Reviewing WOF/COF frequency and inspection requirements for light vehicles.
   3. Simplifying heavy vehicle driver licencing, weight thresholds, and freight permitting to improve efficiency and productivity for the freight sector.
   4. Enabling digital driver licences and, digital alternatives to WOF/COF/rego stickers, allowing NZTA to electronically collect, store and send regulatory notices, enabling online theory tests, and simplifying identification requirements for NZTA customers.
   5. Improving lane use and use of traffic control devices, and minor system improvements, which will include enabling e-scooters in cycle lanes and children to ride bikes on footpaths, minimum overtaking gaps when passing cyclists, horses etc, and requiring vehicles to give way to buses exiting bus stops.
   6. Overhauling the vehicle regulatory system to make it more efficient, effective and adaptable, including simplifying and refocusing import requirements and streamlining recognition of overseas standards.

“The work delivers on commitments in the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport and the Road Safety Objectives document to review the vehicle regulatory system to improve safety, reduce regulatory burden, and ensure our domestic rules are fit for purpose, investigate our warrant of fitness system to more effectively and efficiently target risk, and investigate new safety requirements for vehicles entering the fleet”, says Mr Bishop.

“The programme includes some longer-term pieces of work that will not be complete within the 18 months, such as overhauling the vehicle regulatory system to reduce complexity and better align with other jurisdictions’ requirements. Another longer-term piece of work will be reviewing the Vehicle Dimension and Mass rule because requirements have not kept up with changes in the international automotive industry.

“Our Government wants to remove pointless inefficiencies – things that we do simply because we’ve always done it that way. It’s not good enough to force New Zealand businesses to comply with outdated rules simply because it’s too hard to update them. Removing or updating rules that are no longer relevant and that have little real benefit will mean we can focus on driving our economy forward.”

Notes to Editor: 

A fact sheet laying out the Land Transport Rules Reform Programme is attached. 

Public Consultation:

Public consultation will begin in October 2025 on:

• Additional safety requirements for imports
• Changes to WOF and COF inspection requirements and frequency for light vehicles, and
• Changes to freight permitting requirements.

This is expected to be followed by consultation in early 2026 on:

• Possible changes to licence weight thresholds
• Enabling a digital driver licence, digital documents, and e-servicing
• Improving lane use and use of traffic control devices.

Initial consultation on overhauling the vehicle regulatory system is planned for mid-2026.

Source: New Zealand Government

A $750,000 investment into Iwi and community led biodiversity protection at Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park will benefit the environment and sustainable tourism, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says.

“We’re backing much-needed protection for one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most unique conservation parks and southern-most kauri habitats through work to eradicate destructive wild goats, contributing to a healthier and scenic visitor experience near Tauranga,” Mr Potaka says.

“Browsing animals, like wild goats affect forest regeneration significantly, and are considered a potential spreader of kauri dieback through soil they carry. 

“This funding from the International Visitor Levy will enable contractors and Iwi/hapū professional pest animal control teams developed through the Kaimai Mamaku Restoration Project to carry out ground and aerial hunting over three years.

“We must protect the precious flora and fauna at this park. The park marks the northern limit of plants such as kāmahi, red and silver beech, and the southern limit of kauri, making the forest precious and unique for its diverse ecosystem. It is also home to various native species, including kōkako, pekapeka, and Hochstetter’s frog, kākā, kiwi, and kārearea.”

Mr Potaka says that in addition to conserving nature, the investment delivers tourism, recreation and economic benefits for the area.

“It’s a natural gateway between Auckland and Rotorua and has many tracks including family friendly walks, significant heritage sites, huts, camping, hunting and mountain biking.

“This work will also mean that visitors will be able experience the lush, thriving ecosystems that they expect to see in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“From the gold mining history of Karangahake Gorge in the north, down almost to tourism-hotspot Rotorua in the south, Kaimai Mamaku is steeped in history and culture. 

“It’s a great place for people to get outdoors, with over 360 kilometres of walking tracks and numerous hunting opportunities, and I encourage people to get to the park to enjoy the unique, beautiful nature that Aotearoa New Zealand is so loved for.”

Note to editor

The funding comes from the 2024/25 biodiversity portion of the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy. Priorities for these investments are focused on restoring unique wildlife and supporting thriving landscapes in National Parks and visitor sites. 

Source: Press Release Service

Headline: Recycling Week 2025: Identify Opportunities and Lead the Change

Recycling Week 2025 (20–26 October) is New Zealand’s largest waste minimisation and recycling education campaign. This year’s theme, “Identify Opportunities,” empowers businesses, schools, and councils to reduce waste, improve recycling habits, and take action toward a more sustainable New Zealand. Free resources available for all registered participants.

The post Recycling Week 2025: Identify Opportunities and Lead the Change first appeared on PR.co.nz.