Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: ASB

6 August 2026

ASB has today increased its fixed home loan rates by between 10-26 bps on its 6-month to three-year terms and has increased term deposit rates by 10-20 bps on its 6-month to two-year terms.

ASB’s Executive General Manager Personal Banking Adam Boyd says “We’re continuing to see volatility in wholesale interest rates, which have climbed over the past month. This has a direct bearing on the rates we offer on lending and deposits, in line with what is happening in markets around the world.”

“These changes mean we’re able to support savers with stronger term deposit rates. We’d also encourage any homeowners with questions about their lending to get in touch. It’s important to find the right structure for your circumstances and our team is ready to help you work through your options.”

Rate Table

Home Loan

Term	Current Rates	New Rates	Rate Change
6 Months	4.69%	4.79%	+10 bps
1 Year	4.75%	4.99%	+24 bps
18 Months	5.09%	5.35%	+26 bps
2 Years	5.25%	5.45%	+20 bps
3 Years	5.29%	5.45%	+16 bps
4 Years	5.49%	5.49%	N/C
5 Years	5.59%	5.59%	N/C

Term Deposit

Term	Current Rates	New Rates	Rate Change
1 Month	1.80%	1.80%	N/C
2 Months	2.00%	2.00%	N/C
3 Months	3.00%	3.00%	N/C
4 Months	3.00%	3.00%	N/C
5 Months	3.10%	3.10%	N/C
6 Months	3.45%	3.55%	+10 bps
9 Months	3.55%	3.70%	+15 bps
12 Months	3.90%	3.90%	N/C
18 Months	4.00%	4.15%	+15 bps
24 Months	4.00%	4.20%	+20 bps
36 Months	4.40%	4.40%	N/C
48 Months	4.60%	4.60%	N/C
60 Months	4.75%	4.75%	N/C

ASB has practical information for customers on the current interest rate environment available on its website as well as support to help customers take control of their financial wellbeing and achieve their goals at its Financial Wellbeing Hub.

Source: Consumer NZ

6 August 2026

New Zealanders are now more likely to name power bills as a financial concern than mortgage or rent payments, putting power costs second only to food and groceries.

“We have tracked consumer sentiment for more than five years, and this is the first time more people have told us they’re worried about power than about housing costs,” says Jon Duffy, Consumer chief executive. “Energy is now weighing on more households than ever before.”

New research from Consumer has also revealed over two-thirds of people are taking steps to use less energy at home this winter, predominantly because of cost.

“More than half of those trying to use less energy are delaying turning on the heating or wearing extra layers to avoid using power, which rings alarm bells for health and wellbeing across the motu,” says Duffy.

“More than half of New Zealanders say energy issues will influence their vote in the upcoming election.

“For too many New Zealand households, choosing between heating and eating is now a reality.”

The consumer case for electricity reform

Consumer’s newly released report, Power. At what cost? The consumer case for electricity reform (https://campaigns.consumer.org.nz/electricity-report#read-the-report), concludes that the electricity market is failing New Zealanders.

The report highlights that since 1999, when the market as we know it was formed, household power costs have risen by around 177%, nearly twice the rate of inflation. Almost one in five people have cut back on food or other essentials to pay their power bill this winter.

Drawing on the report’s findings, Consumer has developed a four-point plan to lower power bills.

Consumer’s four-point plan to lower power bills

• End the dominance of the big four power companies – ensure separation of generation (making power) and retail (selling power) so smaller power companies can compete, which should lead to lower prices and more choice for consumers.
• Make power prices reflect real costs – sort out the market so consumers stop paying high fossil fuel prices for cheaper renewable energy.
• Invest in more homegrown energy – so we have enough power for years with less rainfall and reduce our reliance on expensive coal and gas.
• Set a long-term plan together – develop a cross-party energy strategy to put affordable power ahead of politics and vested interests.

Consumer has launched a petition, which closes in two weeks, calling on 100,000 people to back its four-point plan to bring down power prices.

“If you agree it’s time for change, sign our petition (https://campaigns.consumer.org.nz/end-high-power-prices-now) and tell the government you back our four-point plan,” says Duffy.

Source: U.S. Department of State

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

August 5, 2026

The Department of State, in close coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and in partnership with the governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and other countries in the region, is continuing to mount a rapid and comprehensive response to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC. While the trajectory of the outbreak in the DRC remains concerning, the United States commends Uganda for swift and decisive action to respond to the outbreak and limit the spread of Ebola.

Today, the Department is announcing that, working with Congress, it intends to provide an additional $242 million in funding for immediate Ebola response and preparedness efforts in the region and humanitarian assistance related to the outbreak. This additional funding is aligned with the U.S. government’s commitment at the G7 Leader’s Summit on June 16 to provide up to an additional $500 million on Ebola response efforts. The Department of State’s assistance announcements to combat the outbreak have now exceeded $512 million in direct assistance, enabling implementing organizations to expand the ongoing response in Africa. This is in addition to $350 million for critical humanitarian assistance in the DRC, South Sudan, and Uganda, as part of our $1.8 billion in assistance to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced on May 14.

The United States continues to be the largest financial contributor to the Ebola response. This additional funding will enable the United States to continue work with governments, private sector partners, and humanitarian implementers to mount a robust and comprehensive response. The United States continues to call on other donors to dedicate resources toward tackling this Ebola outbreak.

Protecting Americans

The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens. The Department of State continues to operate our dedicated, 24/7 consular call center in order to maintain constant communication with affected U.S. citizens by providing real-time security updates and critical health information.

The Department of State is assisting U.S. citizens who are currently or were recently in the DRC or are otherwise impacted by travel restrictions. This includes providing financial assistance loans to support U.S. citizens who need to change their travel plans and secure temporary lodging in a country outside the DRC before returning to the United States. U.S. citizens affected by the “Do Not Board” restrictions may contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or the Department of State, to request information and/or financial assistance. Loan recipients repay the funds after returning to the United States.

Our Travel Advisory for the DRC, as well as those for Uganda and South Sudan, remains at Level 4 – Do Not Travel. Americans should not travel for any reason to these countries. The Department of State continues to work closely with the CDC, the lead federal agency for this response, to mobilize our global resources in support of this outbreak response, while putting the protection of Americans and preventing Ebola from reaching the American homeland first.

Supporting the Regional Response

Today, the Department is announcing that, working with Congress, it intends to provide an additional $242 million in funding for Ebola response and preparedness efforts in the DRC and Uganda as well as humanitarian assistance related to the outbreak. Through more than $512 million announced by the Department of State, implementing organizations are conducting critical Ebola response and preparedness efforts focused on surveillance and detection, isolation and treatment, border and point-of-entry screening, strengthening health clinics in affected areas, and engaging communities to address misinformation and garner trust in Ebola response activities to help combat further spread.

To date, State Department funding has:

• Supported 8.6 million health screenings across affected and at-risk countries;
• Reached more than one million people with risk communication messaging;
• Supported more than 180 health facilities in Ebola-affected areas and contributed to the direct operation of 12 specialized facilities in DRC to isolate and treat Ebola patients;
• Procured and distributed nearly 300 metric tons of critical supplies, including personal protective equipment and other critical commodities for water, sanitation, and hygiene and infection prevention and control; and
• Strengthened diagnostic capacity at 11 operational laboratories across the region.

Additional information about Ebola response, preparedness, and humanitarian efforts supported by the Department can be found on its Ebola Response Updates page.

Source: New Zealand Drug Foundation Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri

6 August 2026

The NZ Drug Foundation is pleased to see a focus on early intervention to reduce drug harm in the Government’s new mental health and wellbeing strategy , released today.

“It’s great to see drug harm and addiction feature prominently in this strategy and to have a very clear focus on early intervention,” Executive Director Sarah Helm says.

“Previous plans haven’t had a strong focus on drug issues and have been less explicit about stopping harm before it happens, so this change in emphasis is good to see.”

Helm says she is particularly happy to see harm reduction approaches highlighted as a priority in the plan.

The strategy and accompanying implementation plan will form the backbone of the health system’s approach to mental health, wellbeing, and addiction for the next decade.

Helm is also positive about the plan’s shift towards a partnership approach to commissioning to improve certainty and long-term funding sustainability for providers in the sector.

“So many critical parts of our harm reduction and addictions sector survive on uncertain, short-term contracts, so a shift towards more reliable and sustainable funding is important,” says Helm.

“There are also a range of other positive measures announced as part of the Implementation Plan, such as an Addiction Prevalence Survey, and increased tailored support for specific populations with additional needs, such disabled people and the Deaf community.

The plan also progresses the previously announced Action Plan to Prevent and Reduce Substance Harm , which includes many initiatives the the Drug Foundation and wider harm reduction sector have long called for, including a peer follow-up service for people discharged from hospital after an overdose, improving access to overdose reversal medication and overdose prevention training, and investing in community-based mutual aid and peer-led services.

Source: Exercise New Zealand

5 August 2026

“We already know physical inactivity is costing our country billions of dollars every year and placing enormous pressure on our health system.”

“The question is no longer whether we have a problem, it's what we're prepared to do about it.”

“We need action, not awareness.”

“These recommendations aren't about politics, they're about better health, lower healthcare costs, stronger communities and a more productive economy”

Exercise New Zealand has released the country's first comprehensive White Paper on physical activity, calling on all political parties to unite behind practical reforms that will improve New Zealanders' health while reducing pressure on the health system and economy. This first-of-its-kind national White Paper outlines practical reforms to improve health, reduce costs and increase productivity, with evidenced based data.

The White Paper comes as New Zealand continues to face declining physical activity levels, with fewer than half of adults meeting recommended activity guidelines. Physical inactivity now costs the public health system more than $600 million every year, while wider productivity losses exceed $2.3 billion annually.

Rather than focusing on raising awareness, the White Paper argues that New Zealanders already understand the benefits of exercise. The challenge is creating policies that make it easier for people to be active throughout their lives.

The paper proposes four practical, low-cost policy recommendations that can be implemented using existing infrastructure and workforce capability:

• Make registration of exercise professionals mandatory through REPs.
• Integrate registered exercise professionals into ACC rehabilitation pathways.
• Remove Fringe Benefit Tax on employer-supported physical activity.
• Introduce one hour of quality physical activity every school day.

Exercise New Zealand Chief Executive Richard Beddie says the White Paper is intended to move the national conversation beyond identifying the problem.

“This is the first White Paper in New Zealand focused entirely on physical activity and prevention. We already know physical inactivity is costing our country billions of dollars every year and placing enormous pressure on our health system. The question is no longer whether we have a problem, it's what we're prepared to do about it.”

Beddie says the recommendations are deliberately practical, affordable and achievable.

“We need action, not awareness. New Zealanders already know exercise is good for them. What we need now are policies that make being active easier, support prevention, and recognise exercise as an essential part of improving our nation's health.”

Exercise New Zealand is calling on all political parties to support the recommendations ahead of the 2026 General Election, saying physical activity should be treated as a long-term national investment rather than a partisan issue.

“These recommendations aren't about politics, they're about better health, lower healthcare costs, stronger communities and a more productive economy. We encourage every political party to consider how they can support these practical reforms.”

The White Paper concludes that New Zealand cannot continue treating its way out of a prevention problem, and that modest policy changes now will deliver significant long-term health and economic benefits.

Source: Dr Alvina Edwards and Wiki Martin

Kaitorete Spit is ancestral whenua. It carries the whakapapa of Wairewa and Taumutu, the footprints of our tūpuna, and a responsibility we hold today on their behalf. That responsibility does not end at the boundary of a runway or a launch pad. It extends to what is actually done on that land, who benefits from it, and who is harmed by it.

We support the Tāwhaki partnership between Wairewa, Te Taumutu Rūnanga, and the Crown insofar as it develops civilian technologies and services, aviation research, scientific innovation, and opportunities that build our people's future without costing others. But we are not willing to stand by while that partnership drifts, launch by launch, into becoming a node in someone else's war machine.

That is not a hypothetical concern. It is the lived experience of whānau at Māhia.

What happened at Māhia

Rocket Lab initially told iwi at Māhia that its work would be civilian, satellites for peaceful purposes, nothing more. That assurance did not hold. Rocket Lab has since taken on significant investment from, and contracts with, United States defence-related companies, and a growing share of its activity is now defence-related. Among its customers is Black Sky Technology, whose satellite imagery Rocket Lab has helped launch from Māhia. Black Sky's high-resolution imagery has been supplied to a range of clients, including Israel, and reporting indicates that imagery of this kind has been used to support military targeting in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians, among them thousands of children, have been killed.

Local hapū at Māhia say plainly that they were betrayed. They were told one thing and given another. The land was offered for peace and, in part, used for war.

We will not let that happen again at Kaitorete, and we will not let it happen to us.

Why this matters now

Global rivalry between the United States and China is intensifying across the Pacific, and Tāwhaki itself is now being spoken of publicly in exactly those terms, as a site pivoting toward “defence demands, both domestically and internationally,” courting NATO's interest through STARLIFT, and positioning itself for the Pentagon's push to rapidly replace satellites lost in a war in orbit. This is not a distant, abstract shift. It is happening at the pace of press releases and ministerial briefings, while the people whose whenua is at stake are told about it after the fact, if at all.

We believe that Wairewa Rūnanga does not want to be caught up in taking sides in superpower conflicts that could kill thousands, if not millions, of innocent people. We do not want to support, host, or in any way become part of anyone's killing machine, American, Chinese, or anyone else's. We seek to be peacemakers, not warmakers. That is not a slogan. It is a position with consequences, and we are prepared to hold it.

What we are asking for

We are not asking Wairewa Rūnanga to reject Tāwhaki, or to reject growth, science, or partnership. We are asking that the line be drawn now, in writing, before it is drawn for us by others: a contractor, a minister, a boardroom in another country. Civilian purpose is welcome on Kaitorete. War is not.

Attempts to get clarity on this issue through Official Information Act requests with the Crown have not been successful, hence this motion that will be moved at the Wairewa Rūnanga meeting at the end of this month:

Motion

“That Wairewa Rūnanga welcomes the Tāwhaki partnership between Te Taumutu Rūnanga and the Crown for the development of civilian technologies and services at the Tāwhaki Aerospace Centre on the ancestral whenua of Kaitorete but opposes any activity on our ancestral land that directly or indirectly contributes to war or defence-related activities.”

Explanatory notes to go with the Motion:

1. Rivalry between the United States and China is increasing in the South Pacific. Our rūnanga does not want to be caught up in taking sides in superpower conflicts that could kill thousands, if not millions, of innocent people. Wairewa Rūnanga does not want to support or become part of anyone's killing machine.
2. Wairewa Rūnanga seeks to be peacemakers, not warmakers.
3. Wairewa Rūnanga does not want our ancestral land to be used for developments that support war, as is occurring on the ancestral lands of local hapū at Māhia in Te Tai Rāwhiti. Rocket Lab initially told iwi that it was not interested in defence-related activities and would launch rockets carrying satellites exclusively for civilian purposes. Rocket Lab has since attracted significant investment from, and contracts with, United States defence-related companies, and much of its work is now defence-related. For example, Rocket Lab has launched satellites for Black Sky Technology from Māhia. Black Sky provides high-resolution satellite imagery to a range of customers, including Israel. It has been reported that such imagery has been used to support military targeting in Gaza, where the conflict has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, including many thousands of children.
4. Local hapū say they have been betrayed by Rocket Lab. We refuse to be betrayed by the Crown in a similar way on the ancestral whenua of Kaitorete.

Dr Alvina Edwards and Wiki Martin are registered members of Wairewa Rūnanga.