Wellington Phoenix women’s coach Bev Priestman says making the most of the home advantage is what they need to do if they want any chance of reaching the A-League Grand Final.

The Phoenix return to Porirua Park this week 2-1 down in the tie against Brisbane Roar.

She said they now need to make the most of being at home.

“We need to play our game on our pitch with our fans and mentally we have to be all-in, no regrets,” Priestman said on their return to Wellington.

She admits they got dragged into Brisbane’s game a bit last weekend and that can’t happen again.

“We play our game, do what we’ve done all season, keep a clean sheet and having a Pia Vlok back (up front) will be a boost to the side.”

Vlok started on the bench in the first leg as she recovered from an injury suffered during international duty.

Priestman said it is about going into this game with the right mentality.

“We can be defeated or we can stand up and be counted. I’d much rather it this way than having to get on a plane and go with a 1-nil goal margin down.

“If we show up with the right mentality then there is no reason why. We’ve seen much greater margins where teams come back in knock-out football so if we get that bit right then I think we can go on.”

Having to go on the attack is an attitude that sits well with Priestman and the style she’s tried to get her side playing this season.

“It’s now standing up and being counted, I’ll learn a lot about this team for next year in this game. We absolutely imagine a comeback.

“I’m excited, I’m not daunted, I know what we need to fix.”

A crowd of around 5000 is expected at Porirua Park on Sunday and Priestman said they need them.

“Imagine if we get to a grand final, that is absolutely within our reach.

Melbourne City lead Melbourne Victory 1-0 in the other semi-final.

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The Black Sticks women have finished fourth out of five teams at the Changzhou Invitational Tournament following a 1-0 loss to China A in the bronze medal match.

New Zealand end the tournament with two wins and four defeats, including a 7-0 defeat to Argentina in their penultimate game.

Both China A and the Black Sticks were keen to end their campaigns on a high and the first half was an even contest, with both sides creating opportunities.

Despite both teams pushing hard, the match remained locked at 0-0 at halftime.

Both teams continued to create chances in the third quarter, but China A found the breakthrough with a field goal.

The Black Sticks thought they had equalised through a penalty corner variation, only for the goal to be overturned following a review for dangerous play.

New Zealand tried desperately to find an equaliser, but China A held firm to seal the one goal victory.

A fourth place finish isn’t what the Black Sticks would have hoped for as they build towards the Nations Cup at home in June.

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Ten people have been issued firearms licences despite being disqualified from holding one because of criminal convictions, a review has revealed.

Police say the mistake, which related to licences issued between December 2020 and October 2025, is “regretted and should not have happened”.

In 2019, following the Christchurch terror attack, police introduced a Quality Assurance Investigations Framework (QAIF) to provide oversight of the decisions taken after a firearms licence had been issued.

Then in 2020, the amended Arms Act expanded the reasons a person may be disqualified from holding a firearms licence. This included that individuals convicted for specified offences such as serious violence or drug offences, were disqualified from holding firearms licences for 10 years.

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

A briefing to Minister of Police Mark Mitchell by police, in November, released to RNZ under the Official Information Act, revealed that in September last year the QAIF process identified a licence application had been accepted and processed despite the applicant having a conviction of a “disqualifying offence”.

“The licence was issued ten years after the applicant had been convicted but was 12 days short of the ten years from which the applicant had been granted parole. Technically this application should not have been accepted but given the proximity to completion of the ten-year period, the licence was issued.”

The Firearms Safety Authority (FSA) then looked at all firearms licence applications accepted and progressed between December 2020 and October 2025.

Of the 92,000 applications, 10 were incorrectly accepted and a licence issued while the applicant was disqualified.

“The offences that these 10 people were convicted of included cultivation of cannabis (four people), drug dealing (two people), multiple drug offences (one person), assault (one person), unlawful sexual connection (two people).”

Director of service delivery Matthew Boddy said in a statement to RNZ three of the people were now eligible to keep their licences because their convictions were more than 10 years old by the time the matter was identified.

“We immediately contacted the seven others, cancelling their licences, and ensured we received their physical licence cards. We required their firearms to be immediately transferred to lawful licence holders, and we verified this was done.

“Refunds were offered for the licence fee they had each paid and we apologised to them that a licence had been issued when they were ineligible. This error is regretted and should not have happened.”

Boddy said none of the licence holders came to the attention of police, or the firearms regulator, while holding incorrectly issued licences.

“Since this issue was identified, the Firearms Safety Authority have required all staff involved in the licensing process to undergo refresher training. Meanwhile, operational and policy documents have been updated with more explicit detail around identifying disqualifying offences.”

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An Auckland woman says it felt like ‘winning the lottery’ when she learned her partner has been granted a visa to be at the birth of their baby.

Shantelle Neyra and Gurjeet Singh were desperate to be reunited in time for their baby girl to be born in three weeks’ time.

They applied before Christmas for his visitor visa, but found they were still being asked for more documents four months later.

Neyra got the good news in a call from her lawyer, two days after RNZ asked Immigration New Zealand what was causing the hold-up.

“It had been like the darkness before the dawn,” she said. “I just was profusely crying, like just joy, but in relief and in disbelief, like it’s actually happened. I’m about to have a baby and he can be here to see his baby born.”

Singh is also stepdad to Neyra’s children, and has spent months video calling them as she went through pregnancy alone.

“I’m just so happy. He’s happy. He cried. His mother cried. We’re just all crying. The kids were crying. It’s just like, you know, I’d equate it to winning the lottery. Like for me, this is like winning the jackpot. It’s honestly the best feeling I could think of.”

They met online and have met up in India and Bali over the last two years. Their daughter, Mira, is due to be induced two weeks after he arrives.

Neyra said her children had also been waiting for news, asking ‘when’s Dad coming?’

“They call him dad, he acts like a father, he functions like a father, he’s talking to them daily. He’s interacting with them, with their schooling, with everything. He’s missed the whole pregnancy. He’s missed the ultrasounds. He’s missed being there to support me when I’m sick.”

The uncertainty about his visitor visa had taken its toll, she added.

“It has definitely been a difficult time, particularly with my pregnancy and being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The anxiety and high-risk nature of the pregnancy has been significantly impacted by the ongoing immigration situation.

“I understand the scrutiny that needs to be done in these instances, especially from particular countries. Like, that’s 100 per cent understandable, but there has to be some level of compassion when it comes to the evidence proving that we’ve had an ongoing relationship for a long time. We’ve known each other for a long time. We’ve met in person multiple times. We’ve been able to keep a long distance relationship going.”

Immigration New Zealand acknowledged how difficult the process could be.

“We appreciate that waiting on visa applications to be processed can be stressful, especially at this important and emotional time for the family,” said a spokeswoman. “It can take longer to assess a visa application based on the volume of applications we receive, whether we need more information or if it is complex.

“We have contacted the family’s representative, and the application has been approved.”

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The Coroner has ruled a man was acting in self-defence, during a fracas that left one person dead in Northland five years ago.

Trevor Ruatoto, 28, was taken to Bay of Islands hospital in July 2021 with injuries to his left arm and the side of head.

He was left with security at the entrance, unresponsive, before being flown to Auckland Hospital where he died an hour later.

A Coroner’s finding has revealed details of what happened to him, and why no one was charged following his violent death.

Coroner Rachael Schmidt-McCleave said Ruatoto had been living in Northland at the time with his partner and three children.

He had recently move back to live with his mother.

Ruatoto and two others had visited a property to smoke cannabis on the afternoon of 9 July before leaving.

The trio went and visited friends, travelling to an address on Te Tii Road between 2.30am and 3am on the next morning.

Coroner Schmidt-McCleave said police were unable to determine why the three men went to the Te Tii property, but suspected it was related to buying drugs, a debt owed or a planned confrontation with another man living at the address.

Shortly after they arrived, there was a fight between Ruatoto and a man at the property, Ash Rankin, the Coroner said.

Ruatoto was tackled by Rankin, sending him falling into a glass sliding door.

He was injured, and driven to hospital by the two men he had spent the previous afternoon with.

“Medical staff immediately attended to Mr Ruatoto as he did not have a pulse,” Schmidt-McCleave said.

“CPR was commenced and Mr Ruatoto was subsequently resuscitated, and air lifted to Auckland Hospital.”

Staff at Auckland Hospital performed CPR once again, but Ruatoto had suffered cardiac arrest and could not be revived.

He was pronounced dead just before 10am.

A post-mortem found the cause of his death was penetrating, sharp force injuries to the medial left arm near his elbow.

Methamphetamine and cannabis were also found in his blood.

Forensic pathologist Dr Charley Glenn concluded Ruatoto’s injuries were “very consistent with an accidental fall into a glass door”.

Police investigated Ruatoto’s death, determining Rankin was not criminally liable for what happened.

They said Rankin had acted in self-defence.

“Police found there was no evidence to suggest Mr Rankin intentionally acted to cause harm to Mr Ruatoto, or that the incident was premeditated,” the Coroner said.

“I am satisfied that the evidence before me establishes that Mr Ruatoto was involved in an altercation with Mr Rankin, which resulted in Mr Ruatoto accidentally falling through a glass sliding door and sustaining a fatal injury to his arm.”

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Split Enz and Crowded House member Neil Finn has bought a controversial Auckland pub, with plans to turn it into a wellness retreat.

Edinburgh Castle in Eden Terrace has a history of violent incidents, including the manslaughter of rising MMA fighter Fau Vake in 2021.

Stuff reported in 2023 the bar had surrendered its liquor license, but continued to operate poker machines and sell hotel rooms.

Neil Finn’s assistant confirmed to RNZ the musician had purchased Edinburgh Castle, which neighbours his existing Roundhead Studios.

Finn was on tour with Split Enz and was unavailable to comment himself.

His assistant said Finn planned to transform the venue into a wellness centre, but couldn’t comment further.

Restaurateur Chand Sahrawat, who runs The French Cafe directly across from Edinburgh Castle with her husband Sid, said they were excited by the news.

“The site has had its challenges over the years, so a concept centred on wellbeing, connection, and a more considered use of the space is a welcome change,” she told RNZ in a written statement.

“We see this as a great addition, something that will contribute positively to the energy, safety and overall appeal of the neighbourhood.”

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

A Dunedin bar could lose its liquor licence after a drunk patron was locked in at the end of the night and later taken to hospital.

Dropkicks was granted a temporary authority to sell alcohol in February, but the chief licensing inspector has since raised concerns about the way the venue was being managed including concerns of overcrowding and a lack of systems, training and staff.

The district licensing committee will consider whether to revoke the temporary on-licence authority held by Femme Enterprises Limited at a hearing on Tuesday.

A report said the patron, who was in a toilet stall, was locked in after staff failed to properly check the venue before leaving last month.

It was only when the person realised they were stuck and contacted friends who then called the police that they were found “extremely intoxicated” and transported to hospital.

Report author Kevin Mechen said the chief licensing inspector asked the committee to reconsider if the company should be allowed to sell alcohol.

“This is an unusual situation where the suitability of the holder of a temporary authority is questioned before the application for a substantive licence has been received,” he said.

No concerns were raised when the temporary authority was granted – covering from February 11 to May 11 – ahead of the University of Otago’s Orientation Week.

But that changed after the venue started operating with concerns including overcrowding, the lack of CCTV at the premises, poor communication between Femme Enterprises Limited and various council departments, and an association with an external event provider who advertised bar tab giveaways.

But Mechen said those concerns were overshadowed by the April 3 lock in.

He confirmed that the parties involved would have an opportunity to present their positions to the committee at Tuesday’s hearing.

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Only half of New Zealand workers reported getting a pay rise last year, but some people are more likely to get them than others, new Seek data shows.

The recruitment site said the industries that were most likely to get a pay rise in the past 12 months were industrial, where 57 percent of people received a pay rise, professional services, at 53 percent, and technology, at 52 percent.

Seek country manager Rob Clark said pay rises in the professional sector were often driven by performance and benchmarking metrics.

“You’ve often got supply and demand challenges and they are quite highly skilled roles so you typically get movement in regard to salary when those factors are in play.

“Then you’ve also got industrial and that’s probably because we’ve seen a bit of a surge in terms of demand for some roles in that space.”

The most common way for people to have received a pay rise in the past 12 months was staying with the same company and experiencing a company-wide pay increase.

Just under a quarter of those who received a pay increase with the same company had some sort of performance-based rise.

While half of all respondents said they had a pay rise, 73 percent received 5 percent or less. Fewer than half of people were happy with their current salary but two-thirds were not confident asking for a pay rise.

Company-wide pay rises were most common in the public sector, and retail, hospitality and sports.

They were less common in construction and technology. Seek said performance-based pay increases were more common in these industries, with 46 percent of workers in both sectors receiving performance-based rises.

Only 5 percent of people who had a pay rise had received one because they moved to a new company but they were more likely to have a bigger pay increase. People moving to a new employer were three times more likely to have an increase of more than 10 percent than those who stayed put.

Clark said it was likely to remain a tricky time for those navigating pay conversations.

“If you’d asked a month or two ago you’d probably be a little more confident because we were sort of on an up, and consumer and business confidence was improving. I think that’s come to a head in the last month or so.

“I think a cautionary approach is the likely way forward for a lot of organisations. Having said that, taking a longer-term view is often useful if you can.

“We know that pay increases have a big influence on staff engagement, performance, retention, et cetera. It’s a tricky balance because I guess the big question everyone’s asking is just how long will this last, and how quickly can we sort of get back on our recovery?”

In order, the generations most likely to have received a pay rise in the past 12 months were millennials, at 54 percent, Gen Z at 48 percent and Gen X at 45 percent.

Millennials were most likely to have requested a pay rise but both they and Gen Z were much less comfortable about doing so than Gen X.

Clark said it was probably a reflection of them being earlier in their careers.

“[Millennials] are asking. We think that’s probably a function of being possibly the most financially constrained… first mortgage, kids… that cohort is definitely trying to get on the front foot an have the conversation.

“A lot of what we uncover in this piece of research is it’s really important to have the conversation, even if the outcome isn’t necessarily what you’re looking for. It benefits both the employee and the employer if they’re just having a conversation about salary, because it could provide great context for the employee as to why they’re making those decisions…employees obviously want to be heard and have their say.

“On the other hand… the moment employees most need relief is often at the same time as employers can least afford it. And, you know, you might argue we’re heading into something akin to that at the moment.”

He said people could make use of benchmarking tools to see how their pay compared to others.

That could give them confidence to ask for more money. They could also consider what non-financial benefits they would value.

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New Zealand has passed the “tipping point” where most people buying solar panels will save more money than they spend on them, researchers say, but more could be done to unlock households’ ability to make use of solar power.

Josh Ellison, research lead for Rewiring Aotearoa, said the country was one of the first where the electrification of homes and vehicles could deliver cost-of-living savings and reductions in emissions at the same time.

He said the tipping point was probably passed about three years ago but has now been crossed for battery storage systems, too.

It was helped by solar installation costs reducing and power prices increasing.

“It does depend on how much electricity the household consumers.

“A household consuming a lot of electricity, and especially a lot of electricity during the daytime – a household working from home for example, will be likely to save more…

“There will likely still be some households in more shady areas that are rarely using any electricity during the day where it might be harder to stack up. Although with today’s solar prices I would say that probably even those households might stack up.”

He said even houses that were not facing north now found solar paid off.

“Not every home will be in the sunshine but most New Zealand homes will. And for the average sunlight in New Zealand on a household, buying a solar system, including making the repayments for the system at the moment will save about $1000 per year net or create about $1000 of profit per year. And so, we’re now at that point where if households were able to finance solar in the same way that energy companies are allowed to build their assets and put it onto consumer bills, then most homes in New Zealand could have $1000 a year lower bills today.”

He said energy companies installing poles and wires could finance them over 50 years.

“They get to amortise that asset cost and then apply it to your bill and increase your bill based on the cost of the asset. If you were allowed to do the same thing with solar today, it would create about $1000 a year in net savings.”

He said it was cheaper to put solar on houses than build solar farms but only about 20 percent of households had access to green loans from banks to do so, because they often require sufficient equity in a house and for the homeowner to have an active mortgage.

Just under 84,000 customers now have solar power, up from 20,000 in 2018.

The largest number by zone are in the upper North Island, followed by the central North Island and then the upper South Island.

Ellison said even areas like Dunedin and Stewart Island were past the tipping point.

“They are a lot lower than the average in New Zealand, central Otago has some of the highest generation…. but the difference is actually not that large. We see similar savings across the country.”

Tim Sparks, Electricity Authority general manager of networks and systems change said there were a number of changes in progress that could boost household returns from solar power.

“We’re interested in enabling new technologies and we’re updating a bunch of industry rules so we can make better use of rooftop solar generation that’s being generated in communities.”

From next week, lines companies will be required to have a default export limit for people putting power back into the network of 10 kilowatts.

“That means people can basically put more solar power into the network than they could before.

“A lot of lines companies in the past have had much lower limits down at five kilowatts. And so, in some cases people were pushing up against that limit.”

He said the authority was also requiring distributors to pay rebates when power was supplied by household and small business customers in peak times.

That took effect on April 1, although electricity retailers reported different plans for how that would be handled.

Sparks said retailers would have different strategies but it was expected that they would use the rebates to compete.

He said the authority was also looking at ways to make the application process easier for people investing in solar panels. It is also reviewing rules around plug-in solar.

In some other countries “balcony solar”, where panels are plugged in and sit on an apartment balcony, for example, can be a popular solution.

“It’s big in Germany and it’s especially useful for people who rent or have an apartment. So, we’re looking at what rules might need to be changed or updated to enable plug-in solar here.”

Powerswitch general manager Paul Fuge said the economics of solar would usually stack up well if a house got good sun.

He said a recent survey showed 48 percent of households said they had considered installing solar. That was up from 42 percent in 2022.

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Just days after they were rounded up off the North Island’s central plateau, Kaimanawa horses are in training for their new homes and are warming up to human contact.

Every year a muster takes place to keep the number of wild horses, on Defence Force land near Waiouru, in check.

This year 58 are being rehomed from two musters late last month, and further homes are now being sought ahead of another muster next month.

Horses ‘engaged and connecting’

Kaimanawa Legacy Foundation founding board member Kelly Wilson has 16 of the 58 horses at her Taupō property.

Tuesday is their eighth day of training since they were rounded up in April’s musters.

“Fourteen of those have initiated first contact [with humans],” Wilson said.

“Several of them are already following us and crossing obstacles at liberty… They’re engaged and they’re connecting with us.

“Several have been touched and all across the country trainers have halted and leaded, and they are wearing rugs and having their first baths.”

This was a good sign ahead of June’s muster, which would focus on the same area of the central plateau.

The horses were high quality, with a good temperament, Wilson said.

“Quite a few of them will be here long term, because they’re either for myself or the trainers that base themselves here.

“Then 11 will move on to their clients. Their clients will come for a week of training at the end of May and then at the conclusion of that training they’ll take them home with them.”

The foundation and the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses Welfare Society are also trying to find homes for horses rounded up in June. It’s hoped another 91 horses can be moved into new homes.

Wilson said cost-of-living pressures and the Iran war put a dampener on interest ahead of the April musters, but there were positive signs ahead of the next one.

“The degree of stress isn’t there as much. From the initial announcing of the rehoming in June, there has been more interest than I would have expected – definitely more interest than what we were getting for the April muster.

“Hopefully we can get a decent number of horses out of the mountains.”

‘Not like mustering cattle’

In the April musters, 97 mares were also given doses of a contraceptive vaccine, first trailed in 2022. More of these will be given in the June muster.

Department of Conservation project lead Sarah Tunnicliffe said the musters involved intricate work.

“It’s quite an operation to see and be part of because there’s lots of moving parts,” she said.

“We usually have three helicopters that are mustering the horses from out in the ranges.

“It’s not like mustering cattle. You can’t put them in one big herd and bring them all in together. They come in in dribs and drabs.”

The horses were directed to yards.

“Once they’re in the yards, then it’s the stockmen’s responsibility to push them through the yards, allowing the stockmen and the vet to draft them up into their age and sex group.”

From there some are loaded on to transport so they can begin training, while others are given the contraceptive vaccine.

Herd size manageable – DOC

The horses trace their origin back to the 1870s.

DOC says they would ideally number about 300, to maintain their genetic diversity and minimise the effect on sensitive ecosystems.

But that was more of a “magic” figure and the herd’s current size was manageable, Tunnicliffe said.

“[It’s] about 520, so we’re above what we aim for, but this year, with the double muster we’ve just done and then another muster coming up in June, we’re trying to get those numbers back down to a more sustainable level.

“Plus, we’re using immunocontraception as a tool to do that.”

That would happen armed with new knowledge.

“There’s been new studies come out which have shown that you can give the vaccine in a short turnaround, so that’s why we’re able to give the horses that have had their first dose just last week their second dose in June, which is really helpful.”

Wilson said the horses were perfect for rehoming.

“They’re better trained than most domestic horses of the same age, so they are catching in a paddock. They travel on trucks and floats.

“They’ll drive half an hour to the National Equestrian Centre and go for a two-hour adventure through the forest and the water jumps and crossing obstacles.

“They walk and drop beside the shoulder and they’re just really well-rounded, brave, confident horses that genuinely like people.”

There was originally some doubt about this year’s musters due to funding concerns.

Each muster cost between $80,000 and $130,000.

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Are you on track for a tax refund this year?

Inland Revenue now sends automatic tax assessments to people whose only income is salary, wages or investment income that is already taxed.

The department will start issuing income tax assessments from the last weekend in May and will continue into June and July.

People who spot information that is incorrect can ask for the details to be changed.

Who gets a bill?

Even if you’ve been earning income in a straightforward way, you could end up with a bill or a refund.

That can happen when your income has changed during the year, such as if you went to a new job or had some time off work between jobs.

Sometimes it can happen if income is not taxed correctly, or if you received credits that your income should not have meant you were entitled to, such as the independent earner tax credit.

IRD will write off tax to pay if it’s less than $50.

If you get a bill you will have until February 7 next year to pay it.

What if you’re due a refund?

If you have paid too much tax, Inland Revenue will pay your refund into the bank account it has on file for you.

This happens as the assessments are processed so it does not necessarily occur at the same time for everyone.

If you already have debt to Inland Revenue, you could find that the refund is used to pay that down.

How many people discover they’ve paid the wrong amount of tax?

Inland Revenue said in 2025, 3.63 million customers received end-of-year tax assessments automatically. Of those, 2.37 million received refunds and 342,00 had tax to pay.

Deloitte tax partner Robyn Walker said the assessment process was quite straightforward now.

But she said it would be important for people to consider whether they had other income that they should have included in their returns.

Inland Revenue has been warning that people who have made money on cryptocurrencies may have tax to pay on that.

“If someone is in an auto-calc process, they do still need to stop and think about whether that is the correct process and whether they actually have income from sources which don’t have tax withheld at source. That would also capture people like landlords or self-employed people and anyone who has started a side hustle in the last year.”

If you think you need to go through a more detailed process, you may need to request a tax return.

Watch out for scammers

Scammers sometimes take advantage of this time of year, pretending to be the tax department.

Inland Revenue says it will only ask people to log in to their myIR account from ird.govt.nz

It will also not put the dollar amount of a refund in an email or text message and will not as for your credit card or debit card details to pay.

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Analysis – Christopher Luxon will leave Singapore on Tuesday evening reassured fuel will continue to flow to New Zealand shores, but painfully aware of the trouble brewing on the horizon.

There was a stark warning from his counterpart, Lawrence Wong, at the prime ministers’ joint press conference on Monday.

Singapore’s refineries have adjusted and adapted to the new world of limited supply through the Strait of Hormuz, but Wong was clear that even when it reopens it could be another six months of pain before things correct themselves.

Wong outlined that not only has infrastructure been destroyed in the Middle East, which will slow up any reboot once freedom of navigation resumes, but ships will want assurances that they’re safe from drones and any potential attacks.

That assurance won’t happen overnight, and it could take time for shipping companies to test the waters and perhaps even wait to see others be guinea pig first, before venturing into the Strait themselves.

Wong says his base case is that supply coming through the Strait of Hormuz “remains limited for quite a prolonged period of time, at least to the end of the year, perhaps even beyond”.

Luxon has also shifted his tone recently, upping the rhetoric about how New Zealanders must be feeling about the ongoing fuel crisis, while also trying to reassure people there’s nothing to worry about.

In Singapore that language escalated to a comment that New Zealanders watching the news are “seeing the world literally on fire”.

“You’re seeing it in the conflict, and you’re seeing the rules-based system that we used to uphold being sort of upended, and that comes with huge amounts of anxiety and worry and concern.”

The new intelligence Luxon and his fuel and finance minister Nicola Willis collected in Singapore from the big five energy companies was that although the feedstock they’re getting is different and requires adaption at their refineries, they’re still able to meet “the needs of all their customers”.

The assurance Luxon and Willis received was that things will get bumpier over time but there’s no risk to supply currently and into the next few months.

Willis added that she was impressed by how “front of mind” New Zealand is for these Singapore-based refineries.

“Exxon Mobil was very conscious they’re supplying fuel that helps our transport system operate, helps our economy operate, and they’re very conscious of the agreement between our two governments.”

That agreement on essential supplies continuing to flow during times of crisis was officially signed by the trade ministers on Monday.

It’s a world-first and already other countries are looking to the deal as an opportunity to secure some of their own guarantees.

Luxon’s sense is that other southeast Asian nations will probably be first cabs off the rank for something similar, which both New Zealand and Singapore are very open to.

Wong says he welcomes other countries joining what is a new and innovative approach to trade.

“If they’re able to meet the same standards then it will start to expand a network of trusted partners who can provide similar assurances to one another.”

Luxon added to that saying, “if you can meet the standard and are prepared to back each other, have each other’s backs in the way that we’ve modelled that out, we would welcome that as well”.

It’s a new world order of sorts – small trading nations taking the inward-looking approach of some bigger economies and flipping it to say, keeping the doors open can provide more security rather than less.

And while together Singapore and New Zealand’s population of about 11 million has nothing on the likes of India, with a population of close to 1.5 billion, the little guys are making a splash in the world.

It was just last week that Trade Minister Todd McClay and many of the travelling business delegation were in New Delhi putting the ink on a free trade agreement that many thought was a pipedream just a few years ago.

The Middle East conflict has no real end point in sight and economies the world over are feeling the consequences of that.

The shining light at the end of the tunnel could end up being the trade agreements and business connections playing out in the background of a punishing and enduring fuel crisis.

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

A senior police officer is facing an employment investigation relating to a complaint that was laid nearly a year ago.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said he has previously expressed concerns about matters involving employees taking too long to investigate and set an expectation that employment matters be resolved within 60 days.

RNZ can reveal a complaint about the senior police officer was made last year. It’s understood the complaint is from a female staff member and does not involve allegations of sexual misconduct or criminal offending.

A spokesperson for the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) confirmed to RNZ it was overseeing the case, which was received on 15 May 2025.

“As stated, we have oversight of the matter which is still being progressed by Police.”

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

A police spokesperson confirmed an employment investigation into the senior police officer was under way.

“While the case remains under internal investigation, with oversight from the IPCA, it is not appropriate to provide further details or comment at this time.”

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers told RNZ in a statement he was not aware of the details relating to the senior staffer.

However, he said that last year he set an expectation that employment matters should be resolved within 60 days and criminal matters involving staff slightly longer.

“While some issues might require a longer time frame, it should still be completed as promptly as possible.

“As far as I am aware NZ Police has not set timeliness targets for this in the past, but I was concerned many of the matters we deal with were taking too long, and unnecessarily so. That has a significant impact on all of those involved.”

Chambers said a timeliness target set a “clear expectation”.

“The Police Executive have been monitoring overall employment and criminal investigation timeliness.

“We have made progress on this overall. I have set this as a priority because we needed to be doing better than we have been.”

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

Next week’s budget will contain cutbacks to the concessional treatment of electric vehicles (EVs) that will save the government $1.7 billion over the budget period.

Announcing the changes to the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) exemption for EVs, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the new rules would encourage manufacturers to offer EVs to the Australian market that were more affordable and cheaper to run.

The phased-in reductions will move to a permanent 25% discount of FBT for these cars. They won’t affect existing leases.

Under the changes:

• in phase one, the existing discount will continue until the end of March next year. Under this discount there is no fringe benefit tax on eligible EVs.

• in the second phase, between April 1 2027 and April 1 2029, the full FBT discount will apply only for EVs costing up to $75,000. During this phase, vehicles costing more than $75,000 but below the luxury car tax threshold will receive a 25% discount on their payable FBT.

• from April 1 2029, all EVs below the luxury tax threshold will receive the 25% discount on FBT.

Eligible vehicles will continue to be exempt from import tariffs.

Chalmers and Bowen said in a statement: “The electric car market has rapidly matured since we came to government, and these changes will ensure our tax settings are still suitable”.

In March nearly 23% of new cars were electric or plug-in hybrids. This was up from less than 2% in May 2022. The ministers said the strongest uptake of the EV tax cut was happening primarily outside the inner cities.

They said the tax changes had been informed by the Electric Car Discount Review, released on Tuesday.

This review was required under legislation.

Chalmers on Monday said the budget “will begin a year of ambitious reform,” after last year’s election “began a year of delivery”.

“The budget will be calibrated for the conditions, but it will also still be consistent with our ambitions.”

Chalmers said that final elements of the budget “are still landing with a bit over a week to go”.

There were also very substantial elements already announced, including on defence, urgent care clinics, hospitals, aged care, the NDIS, the fuel tax cuts and other policies.

The treasurer said there were some major pressures on the budget coming from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, indexation, natural disasters and higher yields on debt.

He said in some years, revenue would be down because of slower growth and a higher exchange rate. In other years revenue would be up a bit less than had been speculated.

The budget would see a big emphasis on “budget sustainability, and that does mean more savings”. This would be “our most responsible budget yet.

“There will be more savings, there will be more spending restraint, we will save more than we spend and we will bank the upward revisions to revenue as well.”

“There will be more dollars in savings than dollars in revenue upgrades.

“There will also be more dollars in savings than dollars in tax reform.

“The point that I’m making there is that savings and spending restraint is doing a lot of the heavy lifting” in this budget.

– ref. Next week’s budget to reduce electric vehicle FBT concession – https://theconversation.com/next-weeks-budget-to-reduce-electric-vehicle-fbt-concession-282062