NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have launched an investigation after the discovery of a body at a worksite in Hawke’s Bay.

Officers were called to the property on Taihape Road in Omahu, near Hastings, at 9.10am on Tuesday – where cordons remain.

Police said it was unclear how the person came to be there, and how they died, and were treating the death as unexplained.

They said a scene examination and post-mortem would be carried out as they worked to identify the person and understand the circumstances surrounding their death.

Police said anyone with information could get in touch by calling Crime Stoppers or 105, quoting reference number 260203/9739.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New drone footage shows the stranded Black Cat Cruises catamaran submerged close to shore in a small rocky bay in Akaroa Harbour on Canterbury’s Banks Peninsula.

The boat ran aground in the Akaroa Marine Reserve on Saturday, resulting in the rescue of more than 40 passengers and crew and a Transport Accident Investigation Commission investigation.

Christchurch’s Geoff Mackley captured the footage near Nikau Palm Valley at the Akaroa heads.

The Canterbury Regional Council temporarily suspended recovery efforts because of bad weather.

Attempts to move the boat to deeper waters to protect its structural integrity were on Monday because the hull had settled firmly on a large rock.

The regional council’s on-scene commander, Emma Parr, said staff had made every effort to retrieve hazardous and loose material from the wreck, whilst monitoring its stability.

“We continue to work with the salvage team to oversee and guide alternative options for the most effective and timely recovery of Black Cat,” she said.

“Our focus remains on reducing environmental impacts and ensuring the safety of everyone involved.”

The boat was carrying 2240 litres of marine diesel fuel and around 120 litres of other oils in sealed containers and engines combined.

Retired Otago University professor and biologist Liz Slooten said nearby Hector’s dolphins could be exposed to diesel pollution if it was not cleaned up quickly.

“Diesel will get into their eyes, diesel and other oils that come out of the vessel,” she said.

“It will get into their lungs by inhaling the fumes, which tend to accumulate close to the water surface because it’s heavier than normal air. That’s exactly where these dolphins are breathing.

“When they eat contaminated fish, it will get into their digestive system.”

Parr said the council was monitoring any immediate affects on the environment or wildlife and that fuel had rapidly dispersed.

“We have not observed any immediate impacts on the environment or wildlife,” he said.

Research had been done on the effects of oil and diesel spills on dolphins and showed they led to a range of serious health effects, including lung disease and adrenal gland problems, Slooten said.

She called on authorities to be more proactive when responding to emergencies.

“It seems that each time something like this happens, basically everybody stands around going, ‘oh my goodness, what are we going to do now’. We need a plan up front, rather than waiting for a disaster to happen and then trying to figure out what to do about it. That is obviously not effective,” she said.

It is the second diesel spill near Banks Peninsula in just over two years after the Austro Carina fishing boat ran aground at Shell Bay in September 2023.

Slooten said the boat would cause further environmental problems if it broke up.

“Then you’ll get plastic and metal and goodness knows what other pollutants into the environment. The longer it’s left and the more it breaks up, the harder it’s going to be to clean up the mess,” she said.

In a statement posted to social media on Saturday, Black Cat Cruises said while some of the 38 passengers were shaken by the grounding, they commended the crew for their calm, efficient and reassuring manner during evacuation.

“This is first incident to occur in over 40 years of this nature and naturally safety is our number one priority and we are deeply saddened that this has occurred. We are very grateful for the support of local operators and boaties that assisted us during this incident.

“We are commencing an investigation into the incident and working with authorities on the matter.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Unemployment expected to remain steady at 5.3 pct – data due 4 Feb, 10.45 am.
• Labour market probably at the bottom, but improvement gradual.
• Prospect of some modest job growth.
• Wage growth to remain subdued, lagging inflation.
• Data not likely to change RBNZ rates on hold policy.

Unemployment looks set to linger around a near-decade high, but may show signs that the labour market downturn has ended.

Most major bank economists expect the unemployment rate to stay unchanged at 5.3 percent for the three months ended December, but with tentative signs of employment growth, and wage growth subdued.

ASB senior economist Mark Smith was among the more optimistic with a forecast unemployment rate easing to 5.2 percent, which would be the first decline in four years.

“We expect the data to confirm we have passed the turning point for the labour market.”

Other economists echoed the view that the labour market, the sector that lags recessions and recoveries, has at least touched the bottom.

“We do expect this Wednesday’s suite of … labour market data to show a general halting of deterioration as well as some more signs of improvement in the details,” BNZ senior economist Doug Steel said.

Labour market numbers can be something of a statistical lucky dip.

The unemployment rate can be moved by the size of the workforce, how many are participating, have gone training or stopped looking for work, irrespective of how many jobs may have been created.

ANZ senior economist Miles Workman said more people participating in the search for work, even if the jobs were not there, might still be a positive.

“While it would point to a more disinflationary labour market than the RBNZ anticipates, it would also add to the evidence that conditions are rounding a corner, with labour supply responding to improving job prospects.”

The jobs are coming

Partial labour market indicators in the recent months, such as job advertisement and filled jobs numbers, point to an increase in jobs matching the growth in the working age population.

“Employment is expected to register its strongest growth in around two years, although numbers are still more than 30,000 shy of late 2023 peaks,” ASB’s Smith said.

However, Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said overall improvement would be gradual with employers being wary of hiring.

“The September quarter saw a strong lift in hours per worker, and indeed that’s where we’d expect to see the initial response to an economic upturn – employers have scope to get more out of their existing workers, before resorting to new hiring.

Slow wage growth to please RBNZ for now

Wage growth is expected to remain subdued and steady around four-year lows of 2 percent.

“Labour cost growth is expected to remain modest, with the balance of power still tilted towards employers,” ASB’s Smith said.

He said emerging signs of skilled labour shortages, a stronger labour market and growing wage demands would eventually weigh on the Reserve Bank’s official cash rate outlook (OCR).

“Reducing labour market slack suggests the need to normalise OCR settings. We expect a 25 basis point hike in December and a 3.0 percent OCR endpoint, but note the risks are pointing to a larger and more frontloaded pace of OCR hikes.”

The RBNZ is expected to hold the cash rate steady at 3.25 percent for most of this year.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The electricity market regulator will launch a new power bill comparison website next month, in a bid to ensure the industry better serves consumers.

It is one of many changes being made after a spike in electricity prices last year led to a government review of the market.

In 2024, a spot price shock saw households and businesses face increases of between 10 and 15 percent on their power bills, which was a factor in the shutdown of several industrial businesses across the country.

Electricity Authority chief executive Sarah Gillies said a new power comparison website would be launched next month with the authority also considering rules to simplify bills so that they were easier for consumers to understand.

It also wanted to see more companies offering plans with lower prices during off-peak hours and electricity regulators sharing power use data, so consumers could automate their electricity use if they wanted to.

“Last year we made a decision that we needed to see the large retailers offering time-of-use plans, there was a sense that some were doing it, but not everybody … so that’s a requirement for everybody over a certain size to do that from July this year.”

In January, the government announced the retail electricity sector as the next industry to be considered under the Customer and Product Data Act.

Known as open electricity, it would simplify the ability to compare the electricity needs of a household or small businesses against every power plan on the market.

Last year, the government established a Consumer Data Right – a legal framework to let people access, share, and manage certain data, like transaction history, with trusted third parties through secure digital systems – with the hope of creating greater choice, convenience, and innovation.

Gillies said the authority was working with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on a framework that detailed what information should be shared, and how.

“Data is absolutely critical … and the bottom line is it belongs to consumers, it’s about them.”

Previously, power companies had been reluctant to release data, despite it belonging to the consumer.

Gillies said the Power Build comparison website was due to be launched next month, replacing the Power Switch in a bid to help consumers ensure they are getting the best deal. It had been built using two years’ worth of data from 30,000 households and would no longer be funded by power companies being charged a fee every time a consumer switched, she said.

“You can either use your own power bill or you can answer some questions about your household and how you use your power and those two options will give you some choices.”

She said there would be information to help people understand time of use pricing, an electricity tariff structure where rates vary based on the time of consumption, charging higher prices during “peak demand” hours and lower prices during “off-peak” times.

The government is still working through potential legislation as a result of reforms in the industry.

Gillies said 35 rule changes had been made in the last two years, which showed a “constant strengthening” of the rules that govern the system.

“We have this incredible privilege to write the rules of the electricity industry, secondary legislation,” Gillies said.

The maximum penalty for a breach of the rules is currently $2 million, with a proposal to increase it to $10m or three times the commercial gain or 10 percent of a company’s turnover.

“That’s quite important because that’s much more akin to the kinds of penalties that you see with the FMA and the Commerce Commission.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland’s mayor says the government’s proposed legislation to cap rates rises is “ridiculous” and “nonsense”.

The government wants councils to limit annual rates increases and is seeking feedback on a rates cap.

At Tuesday’s full Auckland Council meeting, Wayne Brown put on a cap saying ‘RATES’ in a self-described move to mock the proposal.

He said the rates cap plan was a “fascinating piece of nonsense from Wellington”.

“I shall put my rates cap on while we mock this piece of ridiculous legislation,” Brown told the Council meeting.

“And I have a can of baked beans here which represents the amount of saving [over] a month that ratepayers will get, as a result of this fine work.”

The council opposes the cap on the grounds it is not an effective tool to provide affordability and would result in more debt.

“Auckland ratepayers are unlikely to achieve the savings estimated by central government of $2.79 a month for each household, or the cost of a can of baked beans as noted by some commentators,” council’s manager of financial strategy and modelling violet bird said in a report.

“This assessment from the government excluded Auckland Council from its calculations due to the council’s ‘moderate rates forecast’ and size.”

Ratepayers ‘fed up’, Luxon says

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon previously said ratepayers were “fed up”.

“They’re tired of having to prudently manage their own budgets while rates continue to go up, only to see their local council fail to demonstrate the same fiscal discipline.”

He said the government was not considering allowing councils to raise revenue through a levy on tourists, like a bed tax.

“We want councils to be focused on the money that they’ve got and make sure they’re doing a much better job of managing it. Some councils are doing a really good job, some councils are doing a very very poor job.”

Consultation on the changes opened immediately, and was set to close in February 2026 with the legislation expecting to be passed by the end of that year.

In December, the government announced it wanted councils to limit rates rises and more detail was released later that month, leaving councils a short runway to prepare a response.

The rates rise cap would likely start with minimum increases of two percent and a maximum of four percent, with the cap taking effect from 1 January 2027.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fog is causing disruption at Wellington Airport, with more than 40 flights affected on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the airport said 48 flights had been cancelled.

According to the airport’s website, on Tuesday afternoon flights leaving for Christchurch, Napier and Dunedin were among those cancelled, along with flights arriving from Christchurch, Brisbane and Hamilton.

Passengers are advised to check directly with their airlines for the latest information on their travel plans.

MetService is forecasting rain for Wellington with strong southerlies on Tuesday evening.

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