A National Party policy to prevent judges discounting sexual offenders’ sentences due to good character is a solution for a non-existent problem, a defence lawyer says.

But a victims’ advocate said it would be a huge relief for survivors who currently have to listen to “completely irrelevant” testimony about their perpetrator being a good person.

National revealed yesterday that if elected, it would scrap good character assessments for sexual offending sentences, so judges can no longer consider it when handing down a punishment.

“The result will be tougher sentences,” said justice spokesperson – and current Justice Minister – Paul Goldsmith.

“It’s just not fair to the victim to sit there in a courtroom and see their offender get a lighter sentence because of the words of a former coach or a boss. That’s not right,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon added on Morning Report on Monday.

“We’re on the side of victims. We’re not on the side of offenders. And I’ll be really simple – no sex offender is a person of good character, period. I think all New Zealanders would agree with that.”

But Defence Lawyers’ Association co-founder Elizabeth Hall disagreed. She said judges considered a wide range of factors when they determined a sentence.

“Judges must take them into account, but that does not mean that a judge must afford a discount,” she said.

“Particularly in sexual offending cases, judges often don’t apply a good character discount, so I’m not sure that it’s going to make much difference at all in terms of either the type of sentencing or the length of sentence that will be imposed.”

The ability for judges to consider good character was important so people who had lived “blameless lives” and then made one mistake could be recognised for the contribution they had made to society, if the judge felt that was appropriate, she said.

Criminal lawyers were used to the justice system being “fodder for politicians to debate” in an election year, said Hall.

“It’s really pretending that there’s a problem and then offering what looks like might be a solution, that actually isn’t.”

But the government’s chief victims’ advisor Ruth Money said soon after National’s announcement she began receiving messages from sexual violence survivors “overwhelmed with joy”.

The current system was offensive for victims, she said.

“You’ve been sexually violated by someone, they’ve either been found guilty or they’ve plead guilty, and yet you have to hear at sentencing – quite irrelevant at times – letters and submissions about what a wonderful person they may be, which is not at all linked to the offending, let alone the fact that they have sexually violated you.”

Money had advised the government to scrap good character discounts for sexual offending, but said that should not apply across all crimes.

“You could accidentally drive, for example, and kill someone [but] you can’t accidentally sexually violate someone, so it is very different,” she said.

“That’s why the judge ultimately has the decision in their hands around sentencing for other crimes, because there may be that small number of cases where a good character reference is relevant, but it certainly isn’t for sexual violence.”

Money hoped the proposal would have bipartisan support.

Luxon was asked if the idea could be applied to other types of offending.

“We’re going to start with all sexual offending. I think there are legitimate instances where good character is appropriate if you think about a young person who makes a stupid decision with poor judgment,” he replied.

“But look, we’d be open to extending it and looking at it for other criminal offences as well.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/huge-relief-or-pretending-theres-a-problem-nationals-sexual-offenders-sentencing-policy/

Teachers say they are disappointed feedback fro the sector on replacing NCEA was not listened to.

The government on Saturday released further details about the new secondary school qualification framework, which was expected to begin replacing NCEA from 2028.

It would be replaced by the New Zealand Certificate of Education with more priority to be given to exams.

President of New Zealand Association for the Teaching of English, Pip Tinning, told Morning Report, the sector had been advocating to further strengthen NCEA rather than replace it.

“We were very aware that there were issues sitting within that qualification, however, it was working.”

But Education Minister Erica Stanford told Morning Report, under NCEA students were able to “game” the education system.

She said under NCEA students were getting too many credits from things like short barista courses or being able to paddle in water.

Tinning said the flexibility NCEA offered was one of its strengths.

There were issues with the structural makeup of NCEA, Stanford said.

“Chasing little tiny credits you can pick and choose between is a fundamental flaw in the system. The system is set up an and designed in a way that can be hugely gamed.”

Stanford said if a student was not getting the credits needed in English for example, the school could tell them to do a barista course to make up the credits.

“We have got a system that has been failing our kids… Let’s raise the bar and have aspiration for our kids.”

Stanford said there would be a “big announcement” on Monday afternoon about a pre-Budget investment in the education sector.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/teachers-raise-concerns-as-ncea-replacement-confimed/

Luke Metcalf’s long term future may not be with the Warriors, but his short-term future has just become very important.

In-favour halfback Tanah Boyd went down with a suspected season-ending knee injury in Sunday’s 42-12 win over the Broncos in Brisbane.

Boyd suffered a suspected ACL injury in the opening minutes of the Magic Round clash.

Metcalf, who last week signed to join the Dragons next year, wasn’t in the line-up so Te Maire Martin replaced Boyd.

Coach Andrew Webster will now have to figure out his best pairing in the halves and who will join stand-off Chanel Harris-Tavita.

“We’ve got really good depth in that position.”

Luke Hanson and Jett Cleary are other options to play in the halves.

Webster said because of the bye and then the contract negotiations Metcalf wasn’t match ready and may not be available for next weekends game against the Dragons.

“We need to get him back doing reps because we don’t want to throw him back in and then he gets an injury, but he’ll be eligible for selection as soon as he is fit and done football.

“If he wasn’t important to us we would ask him to leave now and we don’t want him to, we want him to stay.

“He wants to stay, he wants to be a part of this, so he becomes important.”

Meanwhile, Boyd, who recently re-signed with the Warriors, was close to tears as he hobbled from the field.

“We’re not writing him off yet, but early indications say that it could be (ACL injury),” Webster said afterwards.

“It’s huge, we’ve had a great win here tonight and we’ve got one in there that doesn’t have clarity on his future. We really feel for him but fingers crossed hopefully it’s good news. It’s hard to get too excited when that happens.”

While Boyd was upbeat and supported his team-mates afterwards, Webster said it was obvious that he was hurting.

“You can see that he is emotional, upset.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/warriors-contemplate-their-next-move-at-halfback/

Is this the most beautiful commute in the world?

Maybe that is going too far but for the hundreds of cyclists who for the first time on Monday morning pedalled along the new Te Ara Tupua cycling and walking path between Ngauranga and Petone it might have seemed so.

The sun came up over the Hutt’s eastern hills around 7.30am as a plane was going overhead towards Lyall Bay, a ferry was making its way towards Somes Matui , the Waterloo-to-Wellington train was rattling past and the traffic was going at better-than-congealed pace along SH2 into town.

So far, so usual.

But the other transport link, the other commute, was far from usual.

“I’ve been actually dreaming of this,” said one rider as they prepared for their inaugural trip to work off of Petone Esplanade.

He rode off into the barest of southerlies and with the sun coming up over his shoulder.

The wind test for manual bikers versus electric, particularly into a stalwart northerly on a path further out from the lea of the hill, has yet to come.

The first 100m and the cyclist had already covered about $8m or so worth of track-building. The 4.1km trail came in at a $349m price-tag Transport Minister Chris Bishop had noted on opening day he wasn’t happy with.

That, and the lack of toilets halfway to Ngauranga, or at Ngauranga, might be the only quibbles.

Bishop who lives in Days Bay can now ride from his front door to Parliament and barely touch a road.

But until now commuter riders did not see it, focused tightly as they had been on their front wheels avoiding debris and staying well within the shoulder of the motorway.

Now they get to look up and out towards Baring Head. The logging trucks that had been on their right shoulders were now well away on the other side of Metlink’s Hutt Valley Line.

“Beautiful,” said one arriving atop the gentle slope of the bridge at the southern end the vaults the rail line. “Every day’s a happy day.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/cyclists-commute-at-sunrise-on-the-beautiful-te-ara-tupua/

The Fitch credit ratings agency is warning the introduction of local government rate caps could increase the risk of credit downgrades across the sector.

The government is planning to introduce legislation this year that will eventually limit council rate increases to 4 percent, from 2029.

Fitch reviews the credit ratings of 18 councils across New Zealand.

Paul Norris, senior director at Fitch Ratings, said they had generally held a positive view of the sector, given the flexibility councils have had to raise revenue.

He said it was early days and some councils may yet be able to get exemptions from rate caps.

However, he said overall he probably expected it to weigh on credit profiles across the sector.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/rates-caps-could-raise-risk-of-credit-downgrade-for-new-zealand-fitch-warns/

Pay transparency has moved from a nice-to-have to a business priority, even though the topic leaves people feeling uncomfortable about sharing.

A recent change to legislation makes it unlawful for employers to require employees to keep their pay and benefits confidential, which gave workers an opportunity to discover any pay gaps or inconsistencies in salary packages without fear of retaliation.

David Lacire, a senior director at recruitment firm Robert Walters, said the change was about improving clarity, consistency and confidence in how pay decisions were made, rather than publishing the details of everyone’s salary.

He said it was important for employees to understand the principles behind compensation, such as how roles were valued, how progression worked, and how pay was reviewed.

However, he said it would take a cultural shift before people start feeling comfortable talking about their pay around the water cooler, though younger workers may be more inclined to share.

For businesses, he said organisations that take a proactive, structured approach to pay transparency were in a better position to build trust, attract talent and defend their decisions with data.

Lacire said there was so much data available on pay rates, businesses had no where to hide.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/pay-packet-secrecy-a-thing-of-the-past/

The Fitch credit ratings agency is warning the introduction of local government rate caps could increase the risk of credit downgrades across the sector.

The government is planning to introduce legislation this year that will eventually limit council rate increases to 4 percent, from 2029.

Fitch reviews the credit ratings of 18 councils across New Zealand.

Paul Norris, senior director at Fitch Ratings, said they had generally held a positive view of the sector, given the flexibility councils have had to raise revenue.

He said it was early days and some councils may yet be able to get exemptions from rate caps.

However, he said overall he probably expected it to weigh on credit profiles across the sector.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/rates-caps-could-raise-risk-of-credit-downgrade-for-councils-fitch-warns/

This story discusses suicide.

Loaded weapons and a Nazi uniform were found by police at the home of a man who died following a police stand-off in Christchurch, an inquest has heard.

Artemiy Dubovskiy, who was known as Troy, is suspected of killing himself early on March 27, 2019.

His death came less than two weeks after the mosque terror attack that killed 51 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques, and at a time when the country was on high alert for the possibility of further attacks.

Coroner Heather McKenzie was examining the circumstances of Dubovskiy’s death during an inquest in Christchurch.

On Monday. counsel assisting the Coroner, Josh Shaw said police searched Dubovskiy’s home on March 26 after receiving information he was supportive of the mosque shootings.

Officers found a loaded semi-automatic rifle and pistol, a substantial quantity of ammunition and items carrying Nazi symbolism, including a SS uniform.

Shaw said there were fears of a wider terror network and the possibility of copycat attacks after people were shot at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on March 15, 2019.

“The terror alert was increased to high for the first time in our nation’s history, the first time it had been above low in our nation’s history,” he said.

“It was in that climate of heightened alert and risk that Mr Dubovskiy became a person of interest.

“Police received information that he had said to a family member that he was not going to prison, he would not be taken in and he may take his own life.”

A senior sergeant spotted a car linked to Dubovskiy late on March 26, 2019.

“This wasn’t a pursuit, I should say, but rather a following. It came to the point that the driver, who was Mr Dubovskiy, knew he was being followed,” Shaw said.

Dubovskiy pulled his Mitsubishi Pajero into a no-exit street in the Shirley/Burwood area.

More officers were called to the area and a stand-off ensued.

Shaw said Dubovskiy remained in his car and spoke to a police negotiator by phone.

“The immediate response from Mr Dubovskiy when he learns he was speaking to a police officer is he says it would be best for the police to kill him or take him out because he wasn’t going to jail,” he said.

“The response was that no-one had to get hurt, there was a way out.”

During the almost two-hour long phone call Dubovskiy and the negotiator discussed family, politics and the state of New Zealand.

Dubovskiy was also communicating with his family using a second phone.

The negotiator’s call to Dubovskiy cut out, possibly because Dubovskiy’s phone battery ran low.

Three further calls of a short duration were made but by 3am the calls were not connecting, Shaw said.

A Defence Force light vehicle moved near Dubovskiy’s Pajero.

He was seen to slump backwards and then forwards with tactical police officers then moving in.

“Tear gas is deployed into his vehicle, he is extracted from his vehicle by officers with the assistance of a police dog who has Mr Dubovskiy by the leg,” Shaw said.

Once he was removed from the car it was clear he was critically injured and his breathing was light and shallow.

A paramedic gave him medical attention and a second medic arrived by helicopter.

“Those efforts persist for as long as they can but it is apparent they are not successful and Mr Dubovskiy is declared dead at the scene sometime after 4am,” Shaw said.

The police response to information about Dubovskiy and the events that followed had to be taken in the context of the Christchurch terror attack, Shaw said.

But it also raised questions by the family about whether police took a heavy-handed approach culminating in Dubovskiy’s death and possibly leading to delays in his receiving medical treatment, he said.

Lawyer for police Pip Currie said Dubovskiy’s death “is not the outcome police wanted”.

A Dubovskiy family member, whose name was suppressed, said they were not aware of his terrorist sympathies and he was a helpful person who was always there for his family and friends.

“I never heard any plans from him about any terrorism or anything like that,” they said.

“I think he had a good chance to surrender that night. I feel like the family could have convinced him. We were shocked by the mosque shooting and as a family we donated money to them at the time.”

Police witnesses would be called at the inquest.

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz
• What’s Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254
• Healthline: 0800 611 116
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463
• Aoake te Rā bereaved by suicide service: or call 0800 000 053

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/loaded-weapons-and-a-nazi-uniform-found-at-christchurch-home-of-man-who-died-in-police-stand-off/

Winston Peters’ threat to nationalise a major Australian-owned bank would send a “bad signal” to potential foreign investors, a veteran economic analyst says.

Peters’ party NZ First said if re-elected in November it would merge BNZ and Kiwibank under state ownership. BNZ was sold by the state in 1992 and is owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), which has not indicated it is looking to sell the profitable subsidiary.

Peters on Monday morning said the price would likely be “$7.5 billion upwards”, and if its owner was not keen to sell, “they always face the prospect of nationalisation”.

“I blanched at that point,” Michael Reddell told Midday Report. Reddell has more than 30 years’ experience in economic analysis, including stints at the Reserve Bank, Treasury and the International Monetary Fund.

“I mean, as a country, we’re supposedly keen on encouraging foreign investment – perhaps New Zealand First not so much – but generally across the parties, across the economic advisers, we’ve said over the years that we’ve actually made it too hard for foreigners to invest here.

“If you go down a nationalisation route, even if you pay a fair price, it seems a pretty bad signal.”

Peters claimed Australia was in a recession, making this a good time for New Zealand to make an offer.

“Contrary to what the minister said, I mean, Australia is not in a recession at the moment,” Reddell said. “There’s no reason to suppose that NAB would be particularly interested in selling unless we paid an over-the-top price. And if we pay an over-the-top price, what’s in it for the taxpayer?”

Peters’ intention was for the new entity, which he dubbed the National Bank of New Zealand, to be commercially run and designed to compete more aggressively with the major Australian-owned banks operating in New Zealand.

Reddell noted that merging two of the five biggest banks in the country would mean fewer banks competing with each other.

“The argument, I suppose, would be that the motivation of a government entity was different than a private entity. But the way we set up [state-owned enterprises] in this country over multiple decades has been that we expect them to operate on a commercial basis. So you’d hope that this new bank would operate commercially successfully.

“The risk is that it wouldn’t, and the political imperatives would drive it. And what’s happened with too many government banks over the years is without the market discipline of being listed on the share market, they take bad credit risks and they end up coming a cropper and costing the taxpayer a lot when that bad stuff happens.”

Instead, Reddell said it should be easier for foreign firms to set up new banks in New Zealand.

“Those are the sort of people that we should be looking to get into the market – private entities taking risk for their shareholders, not getting the government back in the business of banking in some throwback to the 1970s.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, whose party National is in coalition with NZ First at present, dismissed the idea and said it would cost far more than Peters thinks.

“That would be $30 billion of more borrowing that we don’t have. And, you know, that sounds like a Labour or a Greens policy, frankly… that just doesn’t make sense, you know, to borrow more money to buy a private company for the government to own.”

Peters predicted any potential coalition partners after the votes were counted would “cave in” and go ahead with the plan.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/bank-nationalisation-threat-a-bad-signal-for-investors-analyst/

The government will spend $131 million on improving students’ reading, writing and maths in this year’s budget, the Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

Stanford made the pre-Budget announcement alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Boulcott School in Lower Hutt on Monday.

They revealed 12 initiatives as part of the government’s “generational reforms” in primary and intermediate school education.

The new maths intiatives included:

• Maths hubs to improve teacher confidence and capability
• Hands-on maths resources and games for all Year 0-8 classrooms
• 36 additional Maths intervention teachers
• A new times table and division check at Year 5

The new literacy initiatives included:

• New writing workbooks for Year 4 and 5
• A digital writing tool for all Year 6-8 students
• New “decodable” books for older learners in Year 3-10
• A 12-week structured literacy programme for those who are struggling
• A new Year 2 Literacy Check, covering reading, comprehension, writing, spelling and basic punctuation (joining the existing Year 2 Maths Check)
• Guidance for teachers to improve the teaching of literacy, with supporting videos and resources.

There would also be a new reading action plan called Read to Succeed – joining the Make it Count maths plan and Write it Right writing plan.

The initiatives would contribute to the government’s target of seeing 80 percent of Year 8 students achieving the expected curriculum level for their age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030, Stanford said.

“Parents will have more information at each step of their child’s journey about how they are doing at school and students will be better set up for success when they enter high school.”

Stanford said the investments would “level the playing field, reducing costs for schools and backing evidence-led reforms”.

There were early signs the government’s education reforms were already working, she said.

The latest Curriculum Insights and Progress Study looked at student achievement in late 2025 – three terms into previous reforms – and the results “surpassed expectations”, she said.

“A statistically significant improvement of 5 percent in writing and 6 percent in mathematics for Year 6 students between 2024 and 2025 interrupts New Zealand’s long-term decline in achievement between Year 4 and Year 8 and will better set these students up for success at high school.”

But the early improvement in some areas needed to translate to more consistent improvements over time, with more students achieving and fewer needing additional support, Stanford said.

She said the government is delivering on its promise to continue investment in education reforms.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/live-erica-stanford-announces-131m-budget-spend-on-reading-writing-and-maths-initiatives/

New Zealand First might want the government to buy back BNZ and meld it with Kiwibank to create a banking competitor to take on the Australian big banks – but there’s limited evidence that it would work.

NZ First leader Winston Peters said at the weekend that the decision to sell the bank in the 1990s was a disgrace.

The bank encountered problems in the 1980s when it expanded into corporate lending after market deregulation.

The Crown coughed up not once ($634 million) but twice ($720m, with the help of another investor) to save it, before it was eventually sold to National Australia Bank, which still owns it.

Speaking at a campaign event at the Trusts Arena in West Auckland, Peters said the new entity – to be known as “National Bank of New Zealand” – would be commercially run and designed to compete more aggressively with the major Australian-owned banks operating in New Zealand.

He estimated buying the bank would cost “$7.5 billion upwards”.

Government-owned Kiwibank has struggled to have an impact in the sector and has been described as a “one-armed boxer” hampered by a lack of capital.

University of Auckland emeritus professor Tim Hazledine said improving banking competition was a worthwhile goal but reducing the number of major brands was unlikely to achieve it.

“Rather than buying back the Bank of New Zealand and merging it with Kiwibank, the government should use its ownership of Kiwibank to position it as a ‘fighting brand’ and reduce interest rate margins,” he said.

“That could put pressure on the big four Australian-owned banks to follow suit.”

Sam Stubbs, founder of Simplicity, said purchasing BNZ would require a willing seller.

“There isn’t one there. That means the price is likely to be high which will limit the ability of the bank to offer cheaper mortgages and higher term deposits. Even if it did work and demand grew, the government of the day would need to spend more taxpayer money to expand, we need that money spent on hospitals.”

He said he could understand a desire to go back to the “good old days” of state-owned banks.

“But I suspect a better and much cheaper for the taxpayer way to achieve the same thing is for Kiwibank to be renamed the National Bank of NZ and listed with only NZ shareholders and let KiwiSaver funds provide the billions required to make it a serious, publicly owned bank.

“Public ownership does not have to mean government ownership. If only New Zealand investors can own shares a listed Kiwibank would be publicly owned, we would be selling the family silver to the family.”

Other sectors in which the government has a strong ownership stake include power – where it owns 51 percent of three of the country’s four major electricity gentailers – and airlines, where it owns 51 percent of Air New Zealand, have their own challenges.

The government bought back KiwiRail in July 2008.

University of Auckland senior finance lecturer Gertjan Verdickt said there was “ample” evidence that NZ First’s plan was not a good idea.

“I have an entire paper on the railway industry in the 1930s: we show that governments are more likely to give money to politically connected railways, not those in economic need.

“Interestingly enough, it doesn’t change profitability, you see employment growth down, but wages of current employees go up. In other words, it doesn’t help the railway, it helps employees, especially the c suite. Also, the chances of those railways going bankrupt actually goes up. So, all in all, bad idea.”

He said there had also been an international study looking at how government ownership and involvement in a banking system affected performance between 1989 and 2004.

“They uncover an interesting pattern of changing performance differences between state-owned and privately-owned banks around the Asian financial crisis. They find that state-owned banks operated less profitably, held less core capital, and had greater credit risk than privately-owned banks prior to 2001. Again – troubles in paradise.”

He said there was some evidence that consumers would benefit if a Government bought a bank. After a bailout, there were lower loan spreads, longer maturities for loans and less collateral held.

“Overall lending goes up but if you see which type of lending, it is politically driven. This to me doesn’t outweigh the risks.”

Kōura founder Rupert Carlyon said in the energy market, the companies had underinvested in generation to keep prices high.

“It is also telling that the government couldn’t put money into KiwiBank and then the private sector were unwilling to, due to its low profitability.

“Let’s figure out where the problems lie and then we can go from there. In my mind, really good regulation is needed and solves the problems.”

He said it would help to have good regulation requiring banks to minimise costs for customers, such as with an annual review of customers’ accounts to ensure they were set up efficiently, and an annual fee letter setting out what fees, interest payments and other relevant sources of revenue applied so customers could compare what they were paying to what they would be charged at other banks.

“Around small business lending and risk appetite, I am not sure there is a huge amount that can be done here – this is the one place where increased competition would be very helpful but we need to let banks set their own risk appetite. SME banking is the issue here. But the government owning BNZ and telling them to relax their credit criteria is not the answer either. Maybe the answer is that we need to instruct KiwiBank to focus primarily on SME banking and give up on corporate and retail banking.”

Kernel founder Dean Anderson also said there was no evidence.

“I think the commentary on government intervention and forced acquisitions raises serious concerns for investors and global relations. Maybe too much time in the Trump sphere.”

Sign up for Money with Susan Edmunds, a weekly newsletter covering all the things that affect how we make and spend money

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/would-buying-bnz-actually-help-new-zealanders/

America’s Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist Blair Tuke says the government should scrap its Fisheries legislation.

Tuke was speaking to the Primary Production select committee on behalf of the Live Ocean Foundation alongside ultramarathon swimmer Jono Ridler in response to the Fisheries Amendment Bill.

The bill makes changes to catch limits and the handling of on-boat monitoring footage with the aim of growing exports.

Several environmental groups have called for the bill to be stopped, while fishing companies say it helps modernise a system that has worked well for New Zealand for decades.

Tuke said New Zealand was responsible for the fourth-largest ocean space in the world, but the legislation would further entrench bottom trawling and fail to protect habitats – many of which could take centuries to recover.

“For a country surrounded by the moana, when it comes to ocean stewardship we are not leading – in fact, if it was sport, I would say we don’t even rank.”

Ridler said that while the bill did not specifically promote bottom trawling, the amendments “in aggregate prioritise short-term, bulk harvesting over broader ecosystem impacts”.

“It prioritises economic gain and bulk harvesting, including bottom trawling, while reducing safeguards to protect the environment. This increases the pressure on at-risk species and vulnerable habitats.”

He said their second concern was a weakening of environmental safeguards.

Fishing company opposes public access to boat footage

Moana New Zealand general manager Mark Ngata said New Zealand’s largest Māori-owned seafood company would be open to having an independent officer of Parliament review boat footage, but it should not be made public.

He said the company had begun using on-boat cameras eight years before it became mandatory, and having the ministry check footage was “more than sufficient”.

“We have always had the view of transparency, but also collecting information, otherwise you can’t make good decisions on what’s happening out there … it’s very important to maintain the privacy of our fishermen.

“We believe that having an organisation like the ministry out there that’s that watchdog, if you like, we think that’s more than sufficient.”

When questioned by New Zealand First’s Mark Patterson about whether an independent officer of Parliament could do that job instead, he said “trust comes from working together and solving problems … something like that could be considered”.

Overall, he said the bill was an important step for modernising fisheries management, improving responsiveness, efficiency, and certainty.

“We consider the bill to be a natural evolution of the quota management system reflecting advances in monitoring, reporting, and data availability.”

Canterbury council fears for biodiversity

Speaking for Canterbury Regional Council, councillor Genevieve Robinson said it had “serious concerns” that the proposed law risked undermining the council’s ability to meet its obligations to protect biodiversity and threatened species.

“Canterbury has the largest coastal marine area jurisdiction of any regional council in this country. More than 40 percent of our jurisdiction is coastal marine area, and that includes nationally significant ecosystems.”

“Several aspects of this bill move fisheries management away from ecosystem-based management. In particular, the council is concerned about the narrowing of the total allowable catch considerations, the reduced transparency around the onboard cameras, and the increased flexibility around annual catch entitlement carrying forward.”

She said catch limits should be set on an ecosystem-wide basis, and footage from fishing boats should be publicly accessible.

“This bill should not weaken its ecosystem safeguards, reduce transparency, or undermine our own regional councils’ ability to protect under the New Zealand coastal policy statement.”

A flotilla of crafts, from fishing boats and yachts to kayaks and stand up paddle boards, surrounding a floating ‘ban bottom trawling’ banner at Mission Bay in Auckland, New Zealand in a show of opposition to bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf marine park (file image).

Greenpeace

Speaking for Greenpeace, Ellie Hooper said the current balance of protection versus profit for New Zealand’s waters was “drastically off kilter” and extractive industry had been prioritised.

“It’s extremely clear that this bill, if it was passed, would take ocean policy in this country further in that wrong direction, prioritising extraction and removing the very few environmental checks and balances that exist in the Fisheries Act to stop further decline.”

She said the bill was “rotten and must be rejected in its entirety”.

“The idea that the minister would be able to disregard the environmental principles currently in the act as if fishing happens in a vacuum and doesn’t have an impact on other species or habitats is kind of non-sensical to us.”

She said they opposed the introduction of five-year catch limits, shortened judicial review timeframes, and exemptions for fishing camera footage from the Official Information Act.

“We note the issues with privacy from the industry, but there is surely a way that we can rectify this with blurring all the releases of segments of footage. This industry does have a large impact on the ocean environment, and locking up that footage from public view is not going to rebuild trust in the commercial sector’s activities.”

“Having a fine that could potentially be five times higher for somebody releasing evidence of environmental damage versus someone who actually did that damage in the first place, we think is pretty egregious.”

Young Ocean Explorers

Steve Hathaway from marine educational charity Young Ocean Explorers said the waters around New Zealand once had abundant crayfish, snapper and other stocks – but things have changed.

“Our goal is to ensure we have a thriving ocean for future generations, and we’re on the coalface with Kiwi kids. We’ve personally given presentations to over 150,000 kids around Aotearoa and we’re hearing regularly that this generation of kids are really concerned about the planet and the ocean they’re inheriting.

“Most of New Zealand is actually ocean, about 93 percent of it, and it’s thought over 80 percent of our natives live there … a very old friend of mine told me that he wouldn’t stop to have a fish at 90-Mile Beach until he saw the ocean was pink, where he knew there’s enough snapper that he would get a good feed. These days are long gone.

“I’ve seen crayfish and scallops in abundance, and something we thought would never run out. They should be our God-given right as Kiwis to harvest, but now our Northlands were not allowed to take either of them, as numbers are so diminished. How has it been so poorly managed that it’s got to this place?”

He said New Zealand needed an ambitious goal for the future of its oceans.

‘Minor updates and modernisations’ – Fishing company

Fishing company Solander Group’s managing director Paul Hufflett said many of the other submitters were making “a lot of noise” and talking “off subject”.

“What we’re dealing with is effectively an update to a piece of legislation that has served New Zealand incredibly well for the better part of 30 years,” he said.

“Really we’re just talking about some relatively minor updates and modernisations of a robust piece of legislation that’s put New Zealand in an excellent position to go forward for another 30 years.”

He said they supported the minister having the power to make five-year Total Allowable Catch decisions, supported excluding boat footage from the OIA, opposed the 20-day time limit on judicial review, opposed the introduction of alternative deem values for inshore and deep water bycatch, and strongly supported allowing fish to be returned to sea.

Ngāti Porou settlement body was not consulted

Whangaokena ki Onepoto Takutai Kaitiaki Trust spokesperson Keryn Goldsmith said the trust was not consulted over the bill.

She said the Crown was obliged to engage with them on any Fisheries legislation that affects regulations in the area under their settlement.

“We’re not opposed to the fisheries reform, rather our submission supports improvements to the fisheries system, provided those changes operate consistently with the statutory and deed-based recognition arrangements already provided and agreed between Ngāti Porou and the Crown.”

She said the Ngā Rohe Moana o Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Porou Act and the deed to amend the deed of agreement 2017 were binding on the Crown.

“They establish a bespoke framework that must be taken into account whenever fisheries decisions or decision making affects our Rohe Moana. Those obligations apply throughout the legislative development, not just at implementation, and they are not displaced by generic public consultation processes.

“As drafted, the bill would reduce scrutiny. It would compress participation time frames, concentrates discretion with decision makers, and limits accountability. Considered together, these changes risk narrowing the practical space in which hapū are able to exercise their authority and responsibilities that parliament has already recognised from a kaitiaki perspective.”

She said the Crown’s obligation was to engage with Ngāti Porou hapū on any amendment to fisheries legislation that affected the recognition and fisheries mechanisms.

“That consultation did not occur prior to the introduction of this bill. This is not merely a procedural irregularity, it is a breach of statutory and deed-based obligations owed to Ngāti Porou hapū. The Crown cannot meet those obligations by treating Hapu as one voice among many in a generic public submission process.”

Goldsmith said they did not oppose the reforms, but they must proceed in a way that honours existing commitments.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/olympian-blair-tuke-calls-on-government-to-scrap-fisheries-legislation/

The government will spend $131 million on improving students’ reading, writing and maths in this year’s budget, the Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

Stanford made the pre-Budget announcement alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Boulcott School in Lower Hutt on Monday.

Another 12 initiatives as part of primary and intermediate school education reforms would boost achievement and close the equity gap, Stanford said.

“[Children] will see more resources in their hands, more tutoring catch ups, more time with intervention teachers, and more help with a teacher at the front of the class who knows how to teach maths, reading and writing best practice.”

The new maths initiatives included:

• Maths hubs to improve teacher confidence and capability
• Hands-on maths resources and games for all Year 0-8 classrooms
• 36 additional Maths intervention teachers
• A new times table and division check at Year 5

The new literacy initiatives included:

• New writing workbooks for Year 4 and 5
• A digital writing tool for all Year 6-8 students
• New “decodable” books for older learners in Year 3-10
• A 12-week structured literacy programme for those who are struggling
• A new Year 2 Literacy Check, covering reading, comprehension, writing, spelling and basic punctuation (joining the existing Year 2 Maths Check)
• Guidance for teachers to improve the teaching of literacy, with supporting videos and resources.

There would also be a new reading action plan called Read to Succeed – joining the Make it Count maths plan and Write it Right writing plan.

Asked whether teachers would be overloaded with so many extra workbooks, Stanford said she had been asking schools what would make the biggest difference.

“This is coming directly from the sector themselves, and we are delivering it,” she said.

“Nothing is compulsory, but at least we’re making it free of charge.”

The initiatives would contribute to the government’s target of seeing 80 percent of Year 8 students achieving the expected curriculum level for their age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030, Stanford said.

“Parents will have more information at each step of their child’s journey about how they are doing at school and students will be better set up for success when they enter high school.”

Very early signs reforms are working – minister

Stanford said fresh data released on Monday showed “very early signs” of success with last year’s maths and literacy curriculum changes.

“No one is claiming mission accomplished just yet,” she said.

“But these early results give us optimism and confidence that our reforms are moving in the right direction.”

Stanford said the investments would “level the playing field, reducing costs for schools and backing evidence-led reforms”.

There were early signs the government’s education reforms were already working, she said.

The latest Curriculum Insights and Progress Study looked at student achievement in late 2025 – three terms into previous reforms – and the results “surpassed expectations”, she said.

“A statistically significant improvement of 5 percent in writing and 6 percent in mathematics for Year 6 students between 2024 and 2025 interrupts New Zealand’s long-term decline in achievement between Year 4 and Year 8 and will better set these students up for success at high school.”

The minister credited teachers for that improvement.

Achievement in other areas and year groups was flat, which is what the government expected as the new curriculum was bedded in, Stanford said.

She expected to see “accelerated progress” over time.

The package would be funded from a mixture of new and reprioritised money, but Stanford would not reveal further details before the Budget.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/watch-erica-stanford-announces-131m-budget-spend-on-reading-writing-and-maths-initiatives/

Last year’s weak economic conditions coincided with a 35 percent drop in the value of capital investments, along with a 10 percent drop in the number of transactions the year earlier.

NZ Private Capital Monitor indicates there were 276 transactions last year, with $2.5 billion in combined investments and divestments across private equity and venture capital transactions, compared with $3.77b in 2024.

The decrease was driven by a drop in the size and number of large private equity activity deals, with three deals totalling $541m in 2025, compared with three deals totalling $1.66b in 2024.

Total weighted investment activity accounted for about 71 percent of 2025’s total transactions to $1.78b, which represented a 35 percent on 2024’s $2.77 total invested. Divestments fell 27 percent to $723.6m.

Despite the drop, there was an increase in the size and number of mid-market investment activity, as well as a record level of venture capital investment.

“If you look at the trend, particularly you look at the venture capital trend that’s been on a steady progressive increase over the last decade, that’s a very positive trend in the mid market, that market has been steady and continues to grow as well,” NZ Private Capital executive director Colin McKinnon said.

“So the trend is positive, we’re doing good work, we’re growing good companies, and they’re internationally relevant companies that we’re growing, it’s a lot to be positive about.”

The total number of mid-market transactions rose 85 percent to 50, with a total value of $549m, compared with $519m in 2024.

There was a record level of venture and early stage investment activity totalling $687m, which was 17 percent up on 2024’s $587.6m. Most of the investment was focused on IT/software and technology companies.

The findings were based on the transactions of NZ Private Capital Market participants, which included international and domestic fund managers, law, accounting and banking professionals, institutional investors, business angels and government agencies.

“The outlook for the next six months remains neutral as a result of current global macroeconomic factors, with levels of optimism increasing in future years,” McKinnon said.

“Recent global geopolitical events were not reflected in survey responses. However, this activity will undoubtedly have an ongoing impact on financial market risk in the near to medium term, the extent to which is yet to be seen.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/private-capital-investment-remains-resilient-in-the-face-of-uncertainty/

GPs are calling for more funding and more accurate ways of allocating it, to ensure practices aren’t losing money.

The government has recently announced a new method of determining the level of funding GPs qualify for to provide care for their patients.

Some practices will have higher numbers of patients with complex needs than others.

But GenPro, the association for general practice owners, has called for all political parties to consider investing more in primary healthcare, ahead of the election later this year.

They want a minimum increase in general practice funding of 30 percent over three years, and an increase in investment in primary care from the current six percent of total health funding up to 14, in-line with international WHO/OECD benchmarks.

The goal is to improve patient access, reduce hospital pressure, support the healthcare workforce, and restore financial sustainability to general practice.

Currently, chair Dr Angus Chambers explained, the main sources of income for GPs came from the government, called capitation funding, which flowed from the government, through Health NZ, then Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) and into GPs.

The amount they received annually per person was determined by HNZ, and calculated using estimates of how much care someone would need based on age and sex, with the shortfall topped up by patient fees.

But from July 1, the government will add more specific age bands, multimorbidity (when people have two or more chronic conditions), rurality (how close people are to urban areas) and socioeconomic deprivation to the equation.

Chambers said he understood there were 1024 variables possible under the reweighting. “You might be rural, but not deprived, you might be female, and this age.” Health NZ was in charge of determining a person’s need based on those.

Ethnicity would not be included, which Chambers said was “problematic”.

“Ethnicity is related to need in our system at the moment, unfortunately,” he said. “That would be something I would urge them to reconsider.”

These days, patients were costing more on average to treat – more services were being pushed out of hospitals onto GPs, there were more treatments and tests available to people, and the population was ageing, making its needs more complex, Chambers explained.

“The current system that’s used tends to under-estimate the cost pressures,” he said.

A report prepared by Sapere in 2022 estimated GP practices made a cumulative loss of $137 million each year, or 7.6 percent.

That left patients shouldering higher costs, Chambers said.

Receiving more money per patient would mean GPs could afford to spend more time with complex cases.

“For too long, general practice has been expected to absorb rising costs and growing patient demand without adequate investment,” Chambers said. “If we want affordable, accessible healthcare for New Zealanders, we must strengthen the frontline of the system.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/18/gps-calling-for-more-funding-and-better-allocation/