Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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BusinessNZ – Six-month checkups prescribed for new procurement rules

Source: BusinessNZ

Recently announced changes around procurement have come into effect today, with an added measure to ensure the revised rules remain effective. BusinessNZ says the focus on outcomes is refreshing.
Director of Advocacy Catherine Beard says tracking the compliance and impact of recently announced changes to the government procurement process is a new, and logical, step in the process.
“Instead of doing things the way we’ve always done them, these changes are focused on desired outcomes – more Kiwi businesses being considered for government contracts, and greater benefits to New Zealand’s economy. 
“The news today that Officials will need to report every six months on the impact these changes have had will be a boost to business confidence.”
Beard says government spending and procurement can be a powerful economic lever.
“For a long time, BusinessNZ advocated for procurement rules that emphasise greater economic value to New Zealand, as well as the value provided over the lifetime of a contract, rather than a lowest-cost procurement model.
“Starting today, the economic benefit test should result in more kiwi bidders winning contracts, and will ensure international companies have considered the wider value they provide to New Zealand as part of the application process.
“If local companies can more easily participate in bigger contracts, either directly or via subcontracting to an international lead supplier, then we will be growing larger companies, employing more people, paying more tax and potentially having more products to export.”
The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.
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Arts and Funding – NZSA Mentor Programme 2026 – open for applications

Source: New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc)

For Writers! Apply now to be mentored by an experienced writer / industry expert and grow your writing practice.

The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) Mentor programme 2026 seeks applications from beginning or emerging writers, with commitment and potential, who are looking for professional development, a safe space to discuss their work, intellectual community, role models, accountability and substantive feedback.

An NZSA mentorship focuses on helping new and emerging writers, who will work closely with an experienced writer / industry expert as their mentor, to develop and work on skills and techniques that will sustain them throughout their future career. Working on a specific project, successful applicants have the opportunity to discuss ideas and problems, practical and editorial, and benefit from the experience and knowledge of an experienced writer / industry expert.

The NZSA seek to reflect and expand the depth and breadth of our sector and welcome applications from underrepresented / diverse writers working across a range of genres and writing disciplines, with two mentorships tagged to these emerging writers.

Applications for the 2026 programme are open to NZSA members (find out about membership here) and accepted from 1 December 2025 to 1 February 2026. Learn more about this programme.

The writers and creators who gained mentorships in 2025 polished and refined their skills under the mentorship of these talented professionals: Harriet Allan, Airini Beautrais, Michelle Elvy, Siobhan Harvey, Emma Hislop, Stephanie Johnson, Steph Matuku, James Norcliffe, Mikaela Nyman, Cristina Schumacher, Tina Shaw, Vanda Symon, and Geoff Walker.

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Appointments – Glen Kyne appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board

Source: Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Jane Meares and Glen Kyne have been reappointed and appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board by Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith.
“I wish to congratulate Jane on her reappointment to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, and welcome Glen into his new appointment.” said Secretary for Culture and Heritage, Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae.
“Jane’s reappointment ensures the Board retains her valuable legal skills, while Glen’s operational knowledge, strategic insights in the screen and media sector, and commercial acumen will be great assets to the Board.”
“Thank you to outgoing member David Wright for his contribution during his two terms on the New Zealand Film Commission Board.”
Jane Meares has been reappointed for a further term ending 30 November 2026. Glen Kyne has been appointed to the Board for a three-year term ending 31 October 2028.
Notes:
Jane Meares is a Commercial barrister based at Clifton Chambers in Wellington, specialising in public and commercial law. She acts for a range of government departments, Crown entities, non-governmental organisations and corporate clients. She is also the Chair of Land Information NZ’s External Advisory Board, Deputy Chair of the NZ Electoral Commission, Chair of the Financial Services Complaints Limited, a financial Ombudsman service, and the Chair of the Royal New Zealand Ballet Foundation.
Glen Kyne is a respected executive in the media and film sector with expertise in business transformation, managing extensive financial portfolios and commercial strategy. He was Senior Vice President and Head of Network at Warner Bros Discovery for Australia, New Zealand and Japan, Senior Vice President at Discovery ANZ, Chief Commercial Officer at MediaWorks NZ and Director at Bravo TV NZ and Discovery New Zealand.
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Health – Hāpai Te Hauora launches ‘Foundations for Safe Sleep’ to strengthen whānau-led SUDI prevention

Source: Hapai Te Hauora

Hāpai Te Hauora is set to launch Foundations for Safe Sleep – a national milestone for SUDI prevention – at Te Oro in Glen Innes on Friday 5 December, 10am-12pm. The refreshed messaging has been informed using whānau insights and developed alongside clinicians, researchers, blending mātauranga Māori with evidence-based practice to strengthen consistency and trust in safe sleep messaging.
Every year, around 50 pēpi die from SUDI in Aotearoa. Māori babies are still the most affected, with rates far higher than for non-Māori. For more than a decade, the P.E.P.E. framework has provided a strong evidence base for safe sleep, but whānau told us it often felt clinical, disconnected, and not reflective of their real life.
In response, Hāpai worked alongside whānau through regional wānanga in Northland, Auckland, Tauranga and Gisborne to co-design messaging that feels practical, loving, and culturally grounded. The result is Foundations for Safe Sleep – four connected pillars that reflect real whānau life:
Face Up, Face Clear: Lay baby on their back with a clear face to protect their breathing. Sleeping them in their own bed like a wahakura, bassinet, or cot still keeps them close, but also safe.
Flat & Firm: Baby sleep safest on a flat, firm surface with firm sides made just for them. They don’t need pillows, toys, or loose blankets around them.
Free From Harm: Keep baby’s sleep space free. Free from smoke, vapes, alcohol, drugs, and harm and always handle baby with gentle hands. Free to breathe, free to flourish.
Partner & Family Support: safe sleep is a shared whānau responsibility and supporting māmā and pēpi to breastfeed adds protection against illness.
“Our aim was to create messaging that came from, and connected with whānau,” says Fay Selby-Law, National SUDI Lead. “It’s about practical care without fear or judgement. We want parents and caregivers to feel supported and confident, not shamed.”
The refreshed messaging takes a harm-reduction approach, less directive and recognising that support and information work better than prohibition.
“Safe sleep starts long before bedtime,” says Selby-Law, “It begins in pregnancy with knowledge for Mum and the whānau, connection, and shared responsibility, not just rules.”
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Privacy Act 2020 turns 5 – changes are needed

Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner

The introduction of the Privacy Act 2020 was a big step forward in protecting New Zealander’s privacy, but five years on (1 December), it needs further changes to respond to today’s needs,” Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says.
“The Privacy Act doesn’t provide sufficient incentives for many organisations to understand or meet even the most basic privacy requirements. This is one reason why my Office is getting record numbers of privacy complaints and increased breach notifications by agencies.”
“If New Zealand wants to be serious about privacy, then organisations need to be held accountable for their failings in handling personal information. That includes introducing significant fines, and real consequences. We see multimillion dollar penalties in Australia for organisations who fail to protect personal information, but in New Zealand there’s no civil penalty regime.
The New Zealand public also supports the need for Act reform. In our March 2025 privacy survey, three quarters of those surveyed said the Privacy Commissioner should have the power to:
– audit the privacy practices of agencies
– issue small infringement fines for a privacy breach, and
– ask the Courts to issue large fines for serious privacy breaches.
“Stronger penalties are a great start, but there are also other things that can be done to modernise the Privacy Act and strengthen privacy outcomes.”
In the European Union, people have the right to ask organisations to delete their personal data if certain conditions apply. Adding the ‘right to erasure’ to privacy rules here would provide New Zealanders with the right to ask organisations to delete their personal information in certain circumstances. This right would reduce the harm arising from privacy breaches through reducing the amount of personal information an agency is holding.
“We also need stronger protections for the significant privacy risks that arise from automated decision-making, which can cause problems such as inaccurate predictions, discrimination, unexplainable decisions, and a lack of accountability.
“Automated decision making is increasingly used to make decisions about people’s finances and allowances, which can really impact lives, and I think people should know why an automated decision is taken against them”, Mr Webster says.
The Commissioner is also suggesting that agencies need to be able to demonstrate how they meet their privacy requirements, such as the privacy management programmes recommended by the OECD.
“There’s been incredible technological change since 2020, and we need to keep up. Many other countries have modernised their privacy rules to capture the benefits and avoid the harms of new technologies and we need to do the same and make sure our privacy rules reflect the society we live in today.”
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Health – Labour’s GP-owned general practice incentive could open doors for long-term workforce growth

Source: Royal NZ College of General Practitioners

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) is welcoming today’s announcement outlining how the Labour Party intend to support doctors to see more patients, specifically the “Family Doctor Loan Scheme” proposal that acknowledges the vital role that GPs and GP-owned general practices play across the health sector.
Throughout this year there has been an increased focus on the value of general practice and the wider primary care sector, along with a suite of changes that will have a positive impact on the workforce. The overarching goal across the political spectrum is to ensure patients have timely access to their GP when they need it. However, achieving these goals is dependent on training more GPs and to do this there needs to be a continued and targeted focus on showing the specialisation of general practice as a rewarding and attractive career.
The “Family Doctor Loan Scheme” would provide financial incentives, in the form of low-interest loans, for GPs to buy into an existing general practice or establish a new practice.
College President Dr Luke Bradford says, “GP owners undertake a huge amount of discretionary work in service to their communities and alongside their clinical care including, leadership and governance, the ongoing operational aspects of running a practice, and helping to maintain a pipeline and route into ownership for our younger doctors. Having acknowledgement of this work is gratifying and will go a long way to attracting more doctors into this profession.
“General practice is a phenomenal career. This step, if it comes into effect, would remove barriers and encourage more doctors into leadership roles while also allowing us to compete with other medical specialities for trainees.”
This policy proposal recognises that the increasing corporatisation of general practice in Aotearoa New Zealand does not have patients’ best interests at the centre of its decision-making, instead favouring profits over service.
“By changing the narrative and showcasing general practice ownership as a positive and more achievable option, our current and future GPs would have the opportunity to combine leadership and continuity of care, and it would also help create a more sustainable general practice workforce,” says Dr Bradford. 
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Health – GenPro welcomes renewed political focus on strengthening primary health care

Source: General Practice Owners Association (GenPro)

The General Practice Owners Association (GenPro) welcomes the renewed political attention on the critical role of general practice in improving health outcomes for New Zealanders.

“While GenPro is politically neutral, and does not endorse party policies, we welcome fresh ideas intended to support general practice—the foundation of an effective, efficient, and equitable health system,” said Dr Angus Chambers, Chair of GenPro.

The Labour Party announced today that, if elected, it would support general practitioners to buy into existing clinics or establish new ones. Under the proposal, GPs would have access to no- or low-interest loans aimed at reducing financial barriers to practice ownership.

“This policy links to what we’ve been saying for a long time: New Zealand faces a critical shortage of general practitioners and other clinicians,” Dr Chambers says. “It also addresses the growing threat to patients as individual general practices struggle to compete with large corporate businesses.”
 
He warned that the rapid expansion of corporate ownership is reshaping the sector.
 
“If the current trend continues, patients risk facing the same challenges we’re seeing in supermarkets or banking, where a handful of corporates dominate the market. That’s an oligopoly —and it’s not in the best interests of communities,” Chambers says.  
 
“Financially enabling GPs to become practice owners strengthens the workforce, supports continuity of care, and ensures clinics remain community-based small businesses capable of responding to local needs. GenPro supports any policy that helps rebuild capacity in primary care.”

Increasing opportunities for GP ownership, he added, will help stabilise the workforce and promote the sustainability of clinics across urban, rural, and high-needs communities, Chambers says.

GenPro also noted Labour’s commitment to reviewing telehealth settings to prevent perverse incentives that draw clinicians away from in-person care and toward online-only models.

“These commitments recognise that general practice – and the face-to-face care that it provides to communities – is not just another part of the health system. It is the part that keeps people well and relieves pressure on hospitals,” Dr Chambers said.

“We welcome this renewed political focus and look forward to working with all parties to ensure policies are designed and implemented in ways that truly strengthen community-based care.”

Dr Angus Chambers
Chair, GenPro

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Concern Raised Over Extension of NZDF Liaison Officer Deployment to Israel – PFNZ

Source: Palestine Forum of New Zealand
The Palestine Forum of New Zealand expresses deep concern at the Government’s decision to extend the deployment of a New Zealand Defence Force liaison officer to Israel for a further eight weeks. At a time when Israel stands before the International Court of Justice facing credible charges of genocide, New Zealand must ensure that none of its actions contribute—directly or indirectly—to the machinery of oppression, occupation, or military aggression.
The Government states that the officer’s role is to “provide informed advice” through the U.S.-led Civil Military Coordination Centre. However, the continued embedding of NZDF personnel within structures aligned with Israel’s military operations risks undermining New Zealand’s longstanding commitment to international law, human rights, and an independent foreign policy grounded in peace.
New Zealand must not allow itself to become complicit, even symbolically, in actions that support or legitimise the ongoing atrocities in Gaza. Instead, our nation should align with the global majority demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access, and accountability for war crimes and violations of the Genocide Convention.
We call on the New Zealand Government to:
1. Immediately end the NZDF liaison deployment to Israel.
2. Uphold New Zealand’s obligations under international law, including the duty to prevent genocide.
3. Adopt a principled and independent foreign policy, free from pressure by states that continue to arm and support Israel’s military actions.
4. Stand unequivocally with the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom, dignity, and self-determination.
New Zealand must choose the path of justice. Anything less is a betrayal of the values we claim to uphold.

Palestine Forum of New Zealand

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Aotearoa Marks International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Source: Palestine Forum of New Zealand

The Palestine Forum of New Zealand joins millions around the world today in marking 29 November – the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a day designated by the United Nations to reaffirm the global community’s commitment to justice, human rights, and the long-denied right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

This day serves as a reminder that the question of Palestine remains unresolved after decades of occupation, dispossession, and systemic violations of international law. As the International Court of Justice, human rights organisations, and global civil society continue to highlight the grave realities faced by Palestinians, the need for principled international solidarity has never been more urgent.

Aotearoa’s Role and Responsibility

As a nation that upholds Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stands for justice, equality, and Indigenous rights, Aotearoa New Zealand has a moral and legal responsibility to ensure its policies reflect these values.
This includes:

Supporting all international mechanisms aimed at ending grave breaches of humanitarian and human rights law.

Opposing complicity in war crimes, including military, intelligence, or diplomatic cooperation with states under investigation for genocide or apartheid.

Amplifying Palestinian voices and recognising the shared struggles of Indigenous peoples worldwide.

Standing with the Palestinian People

The Palestine Forum of New Zealand honours the resilience, courage, and dignity of Palestinians everywhere—those living under occupation, those under siege, those in exile, and those in the diaspora who continue to advocate for peace grounded in justice.

We acknowledge the growing public support across Aotearoa for Palestinian human rights, reflected in community actions, cultural initiatives, academic work, and grassroots organising from Kaitaia to Invercargill.

Call to Action

On this International Day of Solidarity, we call on:

The New Zealand Government to align its foreign policy with international law and its obligations under the Genocide Convention.

Communities, organisations, and unions to continue advocating for Palestinian rights through peaceful action, education, and public engagement.

Media outlets to uphold accuracy and fairness when reporting on Palestine and to include Palestinian perspectives historically excluded from mainstream coverage.

Maher Nazzal
President
Palestine Forum of New Zealand

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Save the Children – NZ-funded project to boost Cambodian horticulture and improve the lives of children and families

Source: Save the Children

A new NZD$12 million multi-year project aimed at increasing household incomes, reducing child labour, and ensuring communities across Cambodia are better off through innovative horticultural practices was announced yesterday afternoon (local time) at an event attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Winston Peters in Phnom Penh.
The Growing Transformative Horticulture (GROWTH) project is funded by the New Zealand Government and Kiwi donors and will be implemented by Save the Children in Cambodia alongside technical partner iDE Cambodia. The project aims to create healthier, more resilient households by increasing farmer incomes, improving nutrition, and creating safer environments for children across Cambodia’s Koh Kong, Kampot, Siem Reap, and Banteay Meanchey provinces.
Over the next five years (2025-2030), the programme will reach 8,000 farming households, 40,000 people and strengthen 700 local institutions and enterprises, with more than 165,000 people set to benefit indirectly.
By transforming Cambodia’s horticulture sector through inclusive, climate-resilient market development, GROWTH aims to ensure that improved livelihoods translate directly into better outcomes for children – supporting families to keep children in school, reduce economic-driven risks, and ensure safer labour practices.
“Children thrive when families are resilient,” Save the Children Cambodia Country Director Reaksmey Hong says.
“By boosting incomes, expanding access to safe farming practices, and embedding child protection and nutrition into agricultural work, GROWTH ensures that economic development leads to real improvements in children’s lives.”
The project builds on the learnings from previous climate-smart agricultural resilience and market linkage programmes funded by the New Zealand Government.
Today’s event – marking the official announcement of the partnership – was attended by Minister Peters, alongside Cambodian government officials, Save the Children Cambodia Country Director Reaksmey Hong and iDE Country Director Kevin Robbins.
New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt Honourable Winston Peters, said, “New Zealand proudly supports the GROWTH project in Cambodia. The project aims to enhance the horticulture sector, which is vital as a driver of rural prosperity, and builds on over 20 years of agricultural collaboration.”
The programme places strong emphasis on gender equality, disability inclusion and safe community environments. By addressing the systemic barriers that prevent women, youth, people with disabilities and marginalised groups from participating in markets, GROWTH helps households build protective, stable conditions for children.
“GROWTH represents a new generation of agricultural programming – one that not only strengthens markets, but also strengthens families,” says iDE Cambodia Country Director Kevin Robbins.
“Better incomes, climate resilience and inclusive market opportunities create the foundation for safer, healthier futures for children in Cambodia.”
The event was held Saturday 28 November local time. 
About Save the Children
Save the Children works in more than 110 countries around the world, working to create irreversible positive change for and with children. Our vision is a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation. Areas of work include humanitarian and emergency response, child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and alleviating child poverty.
About iDE
iDE powers entrepreneurs and builds inclusive market ecosystems to help low income and marginalized communities thrive on their own terms. Our SHE team leads gender-sensitive entrepreneurship programs across sectors to support women's economic empowerment and fuel local economies. We work in 11 countries across the themes of agriculture and food systems, climate change and resilience, gender equality, and WASH.