NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

1 April is approaching – a day on which a host of rule changes take effect.

This year, some additional shifts can make a big difference to your bank balance, pay and retirement savings.

Here are some that you need to know about.

KiwiSaver contribution rates

From 1 April, the default contribution rate for KiwiSaver will lift from 3 percent to 3.5 percent for both employers and employees.

This will happen automatically, unless you have applied for a temporary reduction to stay at 3 percent. An ASB survey showed that 15 percent of recipients said they planned to do so.

KiwiSaver contributions for under 18s

People aged 16-17 will be paid employer contributions, as long as they are contributing themselves.

The government has made contributions to 16-17-year-old contributing KiwiSaver members since mid last year.

Benefit rates

Benefit rates will rise in line with inflation, which means a lift of 3.11 percent.

JobSeeker for a single person over 25 will increase from $361.32 to $372.55 a week, after tax.

Sole parent support lifts from $505.80 to $521.52.

Super rates

NZ Super increases from $1076 for a single person living alone per fortnight to $1110.30, based on changes in average wages, as well as general inflation.

Minimum wage

The minimum wage rate will increase from $23.50 an hour to $23.95. The training and starting-out minimum wages rise to $19.16 per hour, 80 percent of the adult minimum wage.

In-work tax credit

From 1 April, the in-work tax credit – part of the Working for Families scheme – will increase by $50 a week for those who qualify, as part of the government’s efforts to offset the impact of fuel price rises.

ACC earners’ levy

The ACC earners’ levy will increase from 1.67 percent to 1.75 percent per $100 earned for any pay runs after 1 April.

Residential solar

A new exemption takes effect from 1 April that means power generated by rooftop solar systems and sold back into the grid is exempt from tax. This also means customers cannot claim any tax deductions from cost of that activity.

BestStart payments

Families with babies born on or after 1 April will only receive BestStart payments, if their household income is low enough to make them eligible.

These are payments designed to support families in the early years of a child’s life.

The weekly payment of $77 will be reduced, when a household earns more than $79,000.

For children born before that date, the full Best Start payment is paid until they turn 1, no matter the household income.

Low-user tariff changes

The government will still phase out the low-user power scheme, which allowed households to pay a lower daily fixed charge and higher prices per kilowatt hour for the energy used.

There have ben concerns that the scheme is not well targeted and sometimes helps higher-income earners, while large low-income families pay comparatively more.

This phase-out process started in 2021. From 1 April, the maximum low-fixed charge will be $1.80 a day, up from $1.50 last year.

The regulations will be removed entirely from next April.

Power bills

1 April is often a day that power companies increase their prices. Lines charges are lifting, which help drive some of the rise.

Tax rules for digital nomads

People visiting New Zealand while working for themselves or for a foreign employer will have a new tax exemption. They can be in the country for up to nine months, before triggering the need to consider New Zealand tax residency issues.

Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker said that assumed they did not acquire a permanent place of abode while living here.

New options for calculating tax on employee share schemes

Unlisted companies that offer staff shares will receive new options deferring employees’ tax obligations until a later date.

This helps to avoid a situation where employees might end up with a tax liability, without the funds to pay it.

A new rule will also allow employers to pay tax on employee benefits through the fringe benefit tax regime, rather than PAYE.

Information sharing agreements

Inland Revenue will be able to share data with other government agencies under the direction of a ministerial agreement.

Walker said information-sharing agreements were already in place, but this could make the process faster.

Shared information could be for things like determining eligibility for government assistance, the investigation of crime or removing the financial benefit of crime, she said.

Crypto-asset reporting framework

Crypto asset service providers must collect and report information about their users.

Inland Revenue said that would mean reporting on things like exchanges between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies, exchanges between different crypto assets and transfers of relevant crypto assets.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Lower Hutt residents have been left feeling like “sitting ducks” as a proposed motorway threatens to cut through their neighbourhood.

A preferred route for the new four-lane route linking Lower Hutt and Porirua, has been approved by NZTA Waka Kotahi.

At peak times, the Petone to Granada road will shave off up to 23 minutes of travel time between Lower Hutt and Porirua.

The project, which is currently slated to cost more than $2 billion, is designed to better connect the Lower Hutt to State Highways 1 and 2, ease congestion and increase the road network’s resilience to accidents and natural disasters.

While some residents back the plan, it has left others feeling scared and angry, with claims it has already affected a house sale in the area.

Living in the project’s shadow

Lisa’s family have for 20 years lived in their century-old home on Hector Street in Petone.

They are among those the NZTA has sent a letter saying the Government may need to acquire their property.

She said she “felt a little bit angry, a little bit apprehensive” at the news.

She went to the NZTA’s community information sessions to learn more.

But as the project is still in the early planning stages with many details to be confirmed, she has been unable to get as clear answers as she wants.

Lisa said her family were left feeling like “sitting ducks” as they wait for further developments.

“But what if we want to move or what if we want to do other things?”

She worries about the options that will be available to her family amidst the uncertainty.

“Obviously, they were like, we’ll offer compensation and stuff like that, but it’s not always guaranteed that compensation will be enough to buy the same value of house in a different area.”

She understands the need for the road.

“I think the commute is awful. The road is being built [with] good intentions.”

But Lisa wonders if building the road is the right choice given the cost of living and fuel crisis, and the impact on the environment,

Her ecological concerns have been echoed by many residents who question why the road’s design had been chosen over other options when it has the “greatest impact” on the environment according to the project’s investment case.

The route curves around Percy reserve and below the Korokoro hills before potentially cutting through Gilberd Bush Reserve and Seton Nossiter Park to reach Grenada.

Officials chose the design as it was less steep and provided the best value for money.

NZTA is currently conducting ecological surveys and geological investigations.

One property owner, who RNZ has agreed not to name, said the project was already affecting him.

After putting his house for sale, a neighbour called his estate agent to let him know the street would be next to the off-ramp for the proposed road.

“So received kind of a slightly disappointing e-mail from the agent saying, ‘obviously this sort of complicates the sale’,” he said.

The buyers who had been interested in his house pulled out because of this.

“It just puts us in a really awkward situation due to the uncertainty.”

He renovated the property for months and is now unsure whether he’ll be able to recoup the costs on top of the estate agent and photographer fees to prepare for the sale.

“I was disappointed that NZTA were not more proactive in engaging with the community.

“They’re focused more on the people who are directly impacted, but there was no communication with those who are kind of adjacent.”

He is concerned that his status as an “adjacent” – someone whose house will not be acquired but who will be impacted by the project – might limit his right to compensation and how much his feedback on the project will be considered.

Michelle Stronach-Marsh is a resident of Riddlers’ Crescent, a street filled with historic homes which was originally in the path of the road.

She’s glad the path has changed but remains deeply worried about the road’s impact on the wider community.

“We have a lovely community of vibrant people from all walks of life and we’re able to walk everywhere. And I think for me it would see what is a tight-knit community being pulled apart for a road.

“I just can’t understand why we would just keep building roads when we should be looking at making our community more resilient through other means.”

A vital piece of infrastructure

Those in favour of the road argue that major infrastructure project will inevitably affect some some residents – but the benefits to the wider community outweigh these costs.

Mike Fisher, the former chair of the Petone community board, wants to see the project go ahead. “It’s a key missing piece in the region’s roading network.”

He is hopeful that if the project is submitted for fast track approval it will speed up the delivery of much-needed infrastructure.

“We’ve talked about it for years and years and years and it just keeps getting put off, but it’s not going to get any cheaper.

“So, I think it’s very timely and let’s get going – let’s get the bulldozers out.”

NZTA says it working to inform residents

NZTA said in a statement that it recognised that people living near a planned project might experience impacts from the construction and operation of a new road.

“Our direct, one‑to‑one engagement is focused on landowners whose properties may be required for a project, as these owners have specific legal rights and processes that apply to them.

“At the early stages of planning, that group is typically limited to properties within a proposed alignment where land may need to be acquired.

It said it was getting information out to the community, including those whose properties would be end up being adjacent to the potential motorway.

“While these properties are not classed as ‘directly affected’ for land acquisition purposes, they are not ignored.

“NZTA keeps the wider community informed through updates on project websites, newsletters, community information sessions and dedicated project inboxes, and we respond to the enquiries that we receive.”

Chris Bishop, who is the MP for Hutt South, spoke to RNZ but only in his capacity as Minister of Transport.

He said the “potential for disruption to residents and businesses from infrastructure projects large or small is always front of mind for delivery organisations”.

“Whilst this preferred option [for the Petone to Grenada Road] does not remove all the impacts on residents, it does reduce them appropriately in a cost effective and efficient manner.

“At the referral stage [of a Fast Track application], comments will be invited from various people including relevant local authorities. Through these comments, the Minister for Infrastructure, as decision maker, can gain a good understanding of the project, including from a local perspective, helping to inform the minister’s decision-making on a referral application.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

There is escalating support for dental care to be absorbed by New Zealand’s public health system and to be made free for adults, new research shows.

More than 1000 New Zealanders took part in a recent Talbot Mills Research survey, commissioned by advocacy group Dental For All.

Participants were asked whether they supported dental care being brought into the public healthcare system.

In findings released on Monday, 83 percent of participants said they supported the move.

Twelve percent opposed the move and 5 percent were unsure.

The report said the move was endorsed across the political spectrum, including 88 percent of Labour-voting participants supporting the move, alongside 78 percent of National-voting counterparts.

There was a similar level of support among other political allegiances (NZ First and Greens 82 percent, ACT 85 percent, Te Pāti Māori 80 percent).

Women (87 percent) were more likely to support a move than men (79 percent), the report said.

Dental for All campaigner Hana Pilkinton-Ching said the poll showed growing public momentum behind plugging the gap in the healthcare system that leaves out dental care.

“Dental is carved out of our public healthcare system because some dentists lobbied in 1938 to keep dental out,” she said.

“But more and more people in New Zealand recognise that our mouths are part of our bodies, oral health is health, and it makes no sense for our healthcare system to keep excluding dental.”

Dental care is free for children and teenagers under 18, but it is largely privatised for adults.

Essential dental care was subsidised for people on a low income or benefit. through Work and Income.

Ministry of Social Development data shows that in the March quarter of last year, just less than 30,000 dental grants were issued, worth a total of $22.2 million.

The survey also asked participants whether dental care should be free for adults, with 80 percent supportive and 15 percent opposed.

This included Labour voters 87 percent, Greens 85 percent, NZ First 81 percent, ACT 79 percent, National 76 percent and Te Pāti Māori 72 percent.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists’ policy research director Harriet Wild said a 2023 poll showed that 74 percent of people supported free dental care.

“This poll shows public support continues to build to bring dental into our public healthcare system,” she said.

“It makes human sense, it makes economic sense, and this polling confirms that the move would be an incredibly popular one among the wider voting public.”

A Frank Advice report released in late-2024 showed keeping dental out of the public healthcare system was costing the country $2.5 billion in lost productivity each year and $3.1b each year in reduced quality of life.

Dental for All was due to release a cost plan for an integrated oral health service for children and adults next month.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The latest gauge of the country’s fuel supplies will be released on Monday, and farmers will be among those taking a keen interest.

The figures available now – showing what fuel there is and the ships on their way with more – were released on Thursday and show up until Sunday 22 March.

They revealed 24.5 days of petrol in the country, with another 24.2 on the way.

There was 20.1 days of jet fuel with 33.3 days on the way, and 18.1 days of diesel with 28.3 days on the way.

It was the diesel stocks that farmers said they would be keeping an eye on.

Federated Farmers spokesman David Birkett said up to 95 percent of farming machinery used the fuel.

“I guess what we’re looking for is at least maintaining that level, if we can hold it at those sorts of levels that would be really good to see,” he told RNZ.

“But the likelihood that it will reduce a little but more is probably quite significant as well.”

Birkett said there was a challenge in making sure land workers used only the diesel they need.

He said farmers were already limiting their use of diesel, both because of how much it costs and to conserve it.

“Even on the farm there are some activities that can be delayed or put back so it’s about making sure essential work is being done in these types of circumstances,” he said.

“It [diesel] does the heavy lifting essentially, all our transportation combines and tractors and trucks so it really is the backbone of the New Zealand economy these days.

Birkett said it was prudent for farmers to save what diesel they could early.

“Saving a few litres here and there now might make us in a better position than a months time or even two months time when things potentially good be better or they could be tighter, so it’s a bit like anything, a bit of savings earlier can quite often put you in a better position later,” Birkett said.

One grape harvester who was part-way through the harvest told RNZ last week that their supplier had already signalled tightening supplies.

They were grappling with staggering price rises the likes of which had never been seen before, he 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

A councillor for the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert is asking the council’s chief executive to investigate, after an out-of-control party of teens left several injured.

Teenagers ran for their lives, when trouble broke out on Phyllis Street on Friday night.

Two people were hurt, after a vehicle drove toward partygoers, while another two were injured in wider disorder.

Neighbours said the home was listed on short-stay accommodation sites and had been used for parties before.

One neighbour said locals had raised the problem with local MPs and other authorities, but nothing had changed.

Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward councillor and former Auckland Mayor Christine Fletcher told RNZ the unrest could not happen again.

“It’s completely unacceptable,” she said. “While, at the moment, the matter sits with police, we have to – within council – look at those areas for which we’re responsible,” she said.

“Infringements, noise infringements, whether it’s the sale of alcohol… we need to actually do a check to see what complaints have been lodged over this past year, because we cannot see a repeat of that just terrible behaviour.”

Fletcher said the incident was significant and had to be taken seriously.

“Let’s leave it with police at the moment, but know that there will be an investigation going on behind the scenes.”

Fletcher said she had been contacted by two residents with young families, wondering what on earth had happened.

“We’re not living in a warzone and we do not need to see this type of behaviour. We need to get to the bottom of it and understand how this has been allowed to happen.”

Local Anna McKessar earlier told RNZ she was putting her children to bed just before 10pm, when a group of screaming teens came running towards her home.

“I was really worried about the young people that I could see, and whether they were trying to get away and whether they were safe.”

She said a few hundred people were gathered there, before violence spilt out onto the road.

“They shouldn’t have been having this ruckus party,” she said.

Another Phyllis Street resident, who did not want to be named, said she was woken by the sounds of the “violent” altercation.

“There was so many people out there screaming and shouting at each other, and they were kicking the gates and fences of random houses down Phyllis Street. It sounded like people were getting really hurt.”

Police said they wanted to hear from anyone with footage from the event or who had not yet spoken with them.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

There has been a U-turn on the most controversial part of the sweeping new Fisheries Bill, but keeping undersized catches wasn’t the only fishhook in the legislation.

It was the great catch that wasn’t.

Fisheries Minister Shane Jones was forced to throw his controversial fishing clause back into the sea last week, following protests and backlash – now his “once-in-a-generation” overhaul of New Zealand’s fishing rules is set Shane to be scrutinised in parliament with its first reading.

The government is proposing sweeping changes to the Fisheries Act, aimed at making the industry more efficient, more profitable, and quicker to respond to changes in fish stocks.

But after pressure from environmental groups and recreational fishers, Fisheries Minister Jones pulled back on his contentious plan to scrap most minimum size limits for commercial fishers, effectively allowing them to land and sell baby fish, including snapper and tarakihi.

He was initially unapologetic about the plan, but after advice from his leader and the prime minister – it’s up for debate who gave it first – he pulled a late pivot last week, and the clause is gone.

“It’s quite a big development really,” says RNZ producer and reporter Ross McNaughton, who has covered the many twists and turns of the bill.

“I think it [the bill] definitely does have the potential to bite the Matua on the bum, because it is riling up a lot of people.”

Today, The Detail looks at the “complex, dense” bill, which is shaping up to be a hot political topic in an election year.

“It’s so hard to sum up because it’s such a big bill,” McNaughton says. “There is the setting of catch limits now for up to five years, there are restrictions on cameras and the fines, and even the restrictions on whether or not people can challenge these in court.

“So, there is just so much in there, it’s such a massive bill, and very hard to pin down in a headline. I guess you could say it’s very very murky waters.”

The Fisheries Minister insists the changes will cut red tape and unlock growth in a billion-dollar export sector.

But critics say it risks doing the opposite – weakening environmental protections and handing more power to big fishing interests.

Concerns are also mounting around transparency, with the proposed tweaks to on-board camera rules raising alarms about public oversight.

Recreational fishers and environmental groups warn the reforms could put pressure on already-stretched fish stocks – and limit access for everyday kiwis.

But then supporters argue the current system is outdated and slow – and say smarter, more responsive rules are long overdue.

The bill is expected to face intense scrutiny as it heads through Parliament, with the future of New Zealand’s fisheries hanging in the balance.

“The timing isn’t great, given this is an election year, and this is starting to gather a lot of political heat,” McNaughton says.

“It’s an incredibly complex issue, with passionate people on either side.”

At its core, the debate cuts to a familiar tension in New Zealand: how to protect a loved finite natural resource while supporting an industry that’s vital to regional economies.

The government maintains the reforms are about modernising an outdated system – making it more efficient, more responsive, and much better aligned with real-world fishing practices.

Now, as the bill edges closer to its next stage, many in this ocean-loving country will be watching closely.

“It is intrinsically New Zealand,” says McNaughton. “And that’s why it’s such a hot topic”.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

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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 Zealand First has revealed former Buller mayor Jamie Cleine will stand for the party in the West Coast-Tasman electorate, in November’s general election.

Cleine lost the mayoralty in the October local elections after six years in the job, during which he led work on a plan to relocate Westport over decades, in the face of climate change.

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He has been a dairy and livestock farmer for 26 years.

The candidate announcement comes alongside a policy announcement NZ First wants half of the royalties from mining returned to the region it was mined from, through targeted investment, including in local infrastructure and housing.

This would come alongside revised rules for where mining can occur, longer-term mining permits, and investment in geological surveying technology.

Meanwhile, they would also curb the ability of the Department of Conservation to intervene by prioritising protection for areas of high conservation only, and “streamlining” timeframes for the agency, with the proviso of ensuring protection for “genuinely endangered species”.

This would be achieved through changes to the Conservation and Wildlife Acts.

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