Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Politics – National MP’s tone-deaf attack on workers exposes who this Govt really serves – PSA

Source: PSA

A National MP has used tax cuts from 637 days ago to justify cutting workers’ pay in 2026 – a startling admission about how the National Party really treats essential workers.
At this morning’s Education and Workforce Select Committee hearing on the Employment Leave Bill, National’s Carl Bates accused the PSA of having “significantly over dramatised” the impact of the bill on workers, and demanded to know whether the union supported the Government’s 2024 tax cuts – as if a tax cut nearly two years ago justified legislating pay cuts for essential workers today.
“This is giving with one hand and taking with the other, and New Zealanders won’t be fooled by it,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“National was not upfront when it delivered its tax cuts in July 2024 that essential workers who do overtime and work anti-social hours would face cuts to their leave and pay less than two years later. If this was the plan all along, workers deserved to know.
“Is Carl Bates really saying it’s ok to disadvantage people now based on the tax cuts they got two years ago? This is Tory maths, rich coming from an accountant. It simply doesn’t add up.
“A tax cut is the Government taking less of what you earn. This bill is the Government legislating to pay you less when you take leave. They are completely different things, and it is insulting to suggest one cancels out the other.
“Bates pointed to one worker earning $140,000 and claimed they got $1,000 a year from the tax cuts. But that worker only earns $140,000 because they work overtime and anti-social hours doing essential work. This bill would significantly cut their pay.
“Is this now the position of the Prime Minister and the National Party – that workers have to offset the loss of leave payments against their tax cuts? Can workers expect other cuts to their take-home pay on the basis that they got a tax cut in 2024?
“This morning, the committee heard from care and support workers looking after people in their nineties, mental health nurses caring for young people in crisis, social workers protecting children, corrections officers keeping communities safe, meat inspectors underpinning a multi-billion dollar export industry, meteorologists whose forecasts keep pilots safe, and the very workers who make Parliament itself function.
“Every single one explained how this bill will cut their pay in a cost-of-living crisis.
“It’s a startling admission about how the National Party treats workers. In a cost-of-living crisis, people doing extra work to care for and protect New Zealanders cannot be forced to accept less pay for it.
“The PSA put workers in front of this committee so MPs could hear directly from the people affected. Instead of listening, Carl Bates lectured them. That tells you everything about who this Government really serves.
“The PSA strongly opposes this bill, which ignores the cost-of-living crisis the Government promised to fix, and will be campaigning hard against it.”
Background information
The Employment Leave Bill proposes to repeal the Holidays Act 2003 and replace it with a new framework. Under the bill, leave would accrue in hours rather than weeks, and additional/casual hours would receive a 12.5% Leave Compensation Payment instead of accruing leave entitlements. Workers who regularly work overtime, anti-social hours or are on-call would receive significantly less pay when they take leave.
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
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Tech – LogicMonitor defines the autonomous IT era with AI that sees, reasons, and acts

Source: LogicMonitor

Unified platform delivers complete visibility, contextual AI, and governed action across the digital environment

Sydney, Australia, April 29, 2026: LogicMonitor®, the AI-first platform for Autonomous IT, today announced a major expansion of its unified platform, strengthening the operational foundation for Autonomous IT in Australia, New Zealand, and globally.  

Enterprise systems now span infrastructure, cloud, SaaS, Internet dependencies, applications, and digital experience. They generate more signals than teams can interpret and move faster than manual response can match. Most organisations are still operating across fragmented tools, persistent blind spots, and AI that surfaces more noise than action. What is at stake is resilience, revenue, and customer trust.

Autonomous IT is the next operating model for enterprise systems. LogicMonitor is delivering it now.

Defining a new operating model for IT

For years, the industry has layered on more visibility. Monitoring became observability. Observability became AIOps. Each step helped teams see more, but the operating model itself didn't change.

Most systems still depend on humans to connect the dots, decide what matters, and take action across disconnected tools. As environments grow more complex, that model breaks down.

LogicMonitor's latest innovations are built for a different model. One where systems do not just report what is happening, but understand impact and trigger action within enterprise guardrails. Autonomous IT requires visibility, context, and action working together. LogicMonitor brings all three together in a single platform.

From systems that report to systems that respond

This shift is already taking shape across the platform. Organisations can now understand performance across the full digital environment, from infrastructure through the Internet to the end-user experience. Issues that once appeared as isolated symptoms can now be identified earlier and understood in the context of the services, dependencies, and user journeys they affect. Visibility is no longer trapped in disconnected layers. Blind spots begin to disappear.

This expanded visibility is strengthened by the deep integration of Catchpoint's digital experience and Internet performance capabilities into the platform. By connecting infrastructure telemetry with real user experience and Internet dependencies, LogicMonitor provides a more complete and actionable view of performance across the entire digital ecosystem.

At the same time, AI moves beyond summarising alerts to reasoning across telemetry, topology, and operational systems to explain what is actually happening, what matters most, and what teams should do next. Instead of surfacing more signals, it surfaces meaning. This allows teams to prioritise based on real impact and act with greater confidence.

When action is required, the platform can respond directly. Remediation workflows can be executed automatically and orchestrated across existing tools, with the governance, auditability, and control required for enterprise environments. What once required manual coordination across teams can now happen as part of the system itself.

All of this operates within a single platform, with one data model and one intelligence layer, enabling organisations to move beyond fragmented toolsets and toward one unified system for digital operations.

From vision to operational reality  

“Enterprise systems now move too fast and span too many dependencies for humans to remain the integration layer between disconnected tools,” said Garth Fort, Chief Product Officer at LogicMonitor. “LogicMonitor is turning observability into action with AI that understands context, works within guardrails, and helps enterprises operate with greater resilience, confidence, and control.”

For enterprises already operating at scale, that shift is becoming tangible.

“As our digital environment has grown more complex, the real challenge is understanding what matters and acting on it with speed and confidence,” said Jason Chan, AVP of Network, Collaboration & Observability Services at Merck. 

Chan added, “Fragmented and disconnected telemetry signals introduce friction, slow response, and increase operational risk. What teams like ours need now is a more intelligent, connected operating observability model, which brings context across infrastructure, applications, and digital experience together to enable faster, more decisive action. LogicMonitor is a key partner for us in delivering this goal. Their latest innovations reflect meaningful progress in that direction, helping reduce blind spots, improve prioritization, and strengthen operational resilience at scale.”

Built and proven at scale

These advances build on a platform already in use across thousands of enterprise environments. The platform processes more than two trillion metrics each day and supports organisations operating at global scale. Recognition from NVIDIA as one of the companies shaping the AI era underscores LogicMonitor's role in a broader shift toward AI-driven infrastructure operations.

Autonomous IT is no longer a concept. It is now an operational reality.

About LogicMonitor

LogicMonitor® is the AI-first platform for Autonomous IT, enabling enterprises to operate complex digital systems with greater resilience, efficiency, and confidence. By unifying visibility from user to code across infrastructure, cloud, Internet, and digital experience, LogicMonitor delivers the intelligence required to anticipate issues, eliminate blind spots, and take action automatically. Powered by Edwin AI, LogicMonitor helps IT and business leaders reduce operational toil, protect revenue, and accelerate innovation in an increasingly complex digital world.

 

For more information, visit www.logicmonitor.com

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Aviation Sector – Civil Aviation rules update work launched – CAA

Source: Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA)

Published date: 29 April 2026 – Acting Minister of Transport James Meager has announced details of the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) rules update programme which aims to modernise New Zealand’s civil aviation rules, increase alignment with international standards, and be more responsive to the aviation sector’s needs.

CAA is focused on strengthening safety and security, enabling innovation and driving efficiency and value into aviation and ensuring Civil Aviation Rules are fit for purpose is a fundamental part of CAA’s role and one of the focus areas of CAA’s strategy. Director of Civil Aviation Kane Patena acknowledged the significance of the programme and the approach the CAA will be taking alongside the Ministry of Transport.

“Civil Aviation Rules have long-struggled to keep pace with a rapidly evolving aviation system and this programme provides an opportunity fix some of the most pressing issues and future-proof the Rules.”

“To do this we’re streamlining our approach to rule-making by collaborating more closely with the Ministry of Transport at each step and involving aviation participants and experts throughout in the process through technical advisory groups and consultation.”

The programme comprises 23 projects which were prioritised in terms of safety and security, international alignment, enabling innovation, modernising regulation, and supporting economic growth.

“These projects will have a huge impact for the aviation industry and for us as the regulator,” said Deputy Chief Executive Aviation Safety Oversight Catherine MacGowan.

“For example, we’re looking at reviews of rules for pilot training and licensing and general operating and flight rules, which are fundamental components of the rule framework.”

“Were also exploring how we can more easily recognise overseas approvals for aircraft maintenance providers and parts, which would reduce cost and time for airlines.”

Deputy Chief Executive for System, Strategy and Policy John Kay highlighted the important role of aviation participants and operators throughout the programme.

“This is a huge programme of work in a condensed period of time and CAA can’t make these changes in isolation – we’ll be engaging closely with the sector at every step and we’ll depend on everyone working together to inform the changes.”

The first rule updates from early ‘quick-win’ projects have already been delivered and the next tranche of projects has started in April. CAA will maintain an online hub of information on its website throughout the programme which will include detail and status updates for all projects, upcoming consultations, and outcomes of each project.

More information: Rules Update Programme: https://govt.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f87e4df3e4e99e9d7eb7b4c7e&id=4125a16b24&e=f0dc75bbf6

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Education – Historic MECA negotiations in polytechnic sector begin

Source: Tertiary Education Union

Negotiations between Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union (TEU) and Aotearoa New Zealand polytechnics for a multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) commence this May Day, Friday 1 May.
TEU members are seeking a two-year term, and real pay increases that are not absorbed or overtaken by the rising cost of living but allow members’ standard of living to actually improve. TEU also seeks a commitment to all pay rates being above the Living Wage.
Sharlene Nelson, a TEU bargaining team member and representative of NorthTec said, like all New Zealanders, polytechnic staff were feeling the pressure of rising costs.
“The ongoing fuel crisis has made paying the bills even harder. We’re going into our negotiations hopeful that our employer will see that to retain great staff they need to value us.”
Prior to the disestablishment of Te Pūkenga late last year, TEU polytechnic members had been employed under a single agreement with similar terms and conditions. This is the first time a MECA has been initiated in the sector, aiming to keep allied (non-teaching) and academic staff across the motu sitting under one agreement.
TEU bargaining team member and representative of Manukau Institute of Technology, Steve McCabe, says that the negotiation of a MECA is truly historic and important – and that it gives both staff and employers an opportunity to bargain efficiently, from a place of strength.
“We know that the polytechnic staff and polytechnics themselves have endured enormous change and stress under the dismantling of Te Pūkenga. Being able to bargain as a MECA gives our members a unified and strong base to negotiate from, but it also gives the institutions themselves a way to challenge the government’s continued underfunding of our sector.”
Mr McCabe said that staff and employers had a common goal – to create a sustainable and healthy polytechnic sector that serves the needs of students and communities across Aotearoa.
“We do this by properly valuing staff. We understand that different polytechnics may want to bargain alone, but we’re saying this will only make you weaker as an institution. A MECA works for staff and employers because different institutions are not pitting staff wages against each other.
“The polytechnic sector is crucial for students training in technical and commercial pathways, and for those studying in the regions. We are going into these negotiations with the strong intention to work together to create a strong vocational polytechnic sector for our staff and future students.” 
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Appointments – Fonterra announces interim leadership changes

Source: Fonterra
 
Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd has today announced interim changes to the leadership of its Global Ingredients business ahead of Richard Allen, current President Global Ingredients, stepping into Fonterra’s CEO role on 1st May 2026.

Elisa Giusti, Fonterra’s Executive Vice President Global Ingredients Growth based in Chicago, will assume the role of President Global Ingredients Growth. Fonterra’s Ingredients risk, pricing and optimisation, innovation, science and technology, and R&D functions will shift reporting line to Elisa.
Gaby Amade, Fonterra’s President Middle East, Africa, Europe & SEA for Global Ingredients based in Dubai, will assume the role of President Global Ingredients Sales and Operations. Fonterra’s Ingredients teams in Greater China, Americas, Oceania and North Asia will shift reporting line to Gaby.
Both Elisa and Gaby will join Fonterra’s Management Team. These interim changes will remain in place until the permanent structure is confirmed.
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Policy – Ageing not the crisis – lack of planning is, says aged care sector

Source: Aged Care Association

The Aged Care Association says a new report from the Koi Tū Centre for Informed Futures, highlighted in today’s New Zealand Herald, points to a challenge the sector has been raising for years but fails to reflect that the consequences are already being felt.
The report, People, Place and Prosperity: The Case for a Population Strategy, co-authored by Peter Gluckman and Paul Spoonley, warns of the impact of an ageing population, a shrinking workforce, and increasing regional pressure.
“Politicians talk about future risk. Our members are dealing with it today,” says ACA Chief Executive Tracey Martin.
“An ageing population is entirely predictable. What is not acceptable is the failure to plan for it and that failure is now showing up in some of the most vulnerable communities in the country.”
The report highlights risk to regional New Zealand from a growing elderly population and declining workforce ratios. The Association says those risks are no longer theoretical.
“In places like Wairoa and Reefton, we are already seeing what happens when aged care services cannot be sustained. Once those services are lost, communities don’t just lose beds, they lose the ability for their people to age and receive care close to home.”
The consequences are increasingly stark.
“We now have examples of older New Zealanders being moved hundreds of kilometres from their families – including cases where people requiring dementia care have been transferred from Dunedin to Nelson because that was the closest available placement.”
“That is not a system under pressure. That is a system that is failing to deliver on its most basic responsibility.”
The ACA says successive governments have known this demographic shift was coming yet have continued to rely on a funding model that assumes the sector will absorb growing demand without the investment required to sustain it.
“We keep hearing about strategies, reports, and future planning. But without immediate action on funding, workforce, and infrastructure, those conversations mean very little to the families already living this reality.”
First 100 days: What must happen now
In an election year, the Association is calling on all political parties to commit to immediate action within their first 100 days in government:
– Establish a funded aged care infrastructure pipeline to ensure beds are built where they are needed, particularly in regional New Zealand
– Reset the funding model to reflect the true cost of delivering care, including dementia and high-acuity services
– Deliver a workforce plan that aligns immigration, training, and pay settings with projected demand
– Provide immediate stabilisation support to prevent further closures in vulnerable communities
“This is no longer a question of whether we can afford to invest in aged care – it is a question of whether we are prepared to accept a system where access depends on where you live.”
“Aged care is health care. If we would not accept this level of access failure in our hospitals, we should not accept it for older New Zealanders.”
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Banking – ASB makes changes to home loan and term deposit rates

Source: ASB

ASB has today increased its fixed home loan rates across 12-month to 4-year terms by between 6 and 16 basis points, and it’s 5-year term by 20 basis points. To support savers, ASB has also lifted term deposit rates by between 5 and 20 basis points across 12-month to 4-year terms.

ASB’s Executive General Manager Personal Banking Adam Boyd says “Global financial markets have been volatile, and ongoing geopolitical tensions have driven sustained increases in wholesale interest rates. These rates underpin lending and deposit pricing in New Zealand and reflect broader trends across international markets as economies navigate the current outlook.”

“We encourage any homeowners feeling uncertain about their position to get in touch. There is real value in talking through your options and ensuring your lending structure is working for your circumstances.”


Rate Table 

Home Loan  

Current Rates 

New Rates 

Rate Change 

6 Months 

4.49% 

4.49% 

N/C 

1 Year 

4.59% 

4.65% 

+ 6 bps  

18 Months 

4.85% 

4.95% 

+ 10 bps

2 Years 

5.09% 

5.25% 

+ 16 bps 

3 Years 

5.39% 

5.49% 

+ 10 bps 

4 Years 

5.55% 

5.69% 

+ 14 bps

5 Years  

5.69% 

5.89 % 

+ 20 bps

  

Term Deposit  

Current Rates 

New Rates 

Rate Change 

1 Month 

1.80% 

1.80% 

N/C 

2 Months 

2.00% 

2.00% 

N/C 

3 Months 

2.85% 

2.85% 

N/C 

  

4 Months 

3.00% 

3.00% 

N/C 

5 Months 

3.10% 

3.10% 

N/C 

6 Months 

3.45% 

3.45% 

N/C 

9 Months 

3.55% 

3.55% 

N/C 

12 Months 

3.70% 

3.75% 

+ 5 bps 

18 Months 

3.80% 

4.00% 

+ 20 bps 

24 Months  

4.05% 

4.15% 

+ 10 bps 

36 Months  

4.50% 

4.50% 

N/C 

48 Months  

4.60% 

4.70% 

+ 10 bps 

60 Months  

5.00% 

5.00% 

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. 

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PSA – Police pause on mental health withdrawal must be start of wider backdown

Source: PSA
A decision by Police to pause the fourth stage of their withdrawal from mental health support is a welcome but damning admission that this reckless programme has failed workers and patients from the start.
This final fourth phase of the Mental Health Change Programme would have seen Police only required to wait with people in distress at emergency departments for 15 minutes and removed their obligation to do welfare checks when there is no risk of criminality, life, or safety.
“It should never have come to this. We warned Police, Health NZ, and the Government repeatedly that withdrawing support would put workers and patients in danger. They ignored those warnings and people got hurt,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi Public Service Association.
“A PSA survey found 91 per cent of mental health workers said these changes would increase safety risks. The workers were right. The Government, Police, and Health NZ are now admitting they got it wrong.
“The pause is driven by the fact that there is no good data on how long Police officers wait with people in distress, that’s simply not good enough. A lack of data tells you everything about how irresponsible this programme has been from day one. Every mental health worker needs and deserves Police support when they seek it.
“Mental health workers are already stretched to breaking point and it’s completely unrealistic to expect them to manage dangerous situations alone. “We’ve already seen what happens. Last year a mental health worker in Auckland rang Police three times in 90 minutes and no help ever arrived. That’s why we complained to the Independent Police Complaints Authority (IPCA) last November. 
“The response from the IPCA was very telling, they admitted they would not investigate Police withdrawal from mental health as they did not have the resources to do so.
“A pause is not enough. The whole programme must be shelved, Police support reinstated, and Health NZ must step up and properly resource and protect its mental health workforce.
“Every mental health worker should be safe at work and be able to get support from the Police when they deem it necessary.”
Previous PSA statements:
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
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$500m+ to be invested in new South Island industrial expansion

Source: Impact pR

Over $500m will be invested in expanding the South Island’s food, manufacturing and construction supply chain infrastructure over the next five years.

The investment in Christchurch’s Hornby Quadrant comes as the precinct is integrated into a new $5.5 billion, 860-hectare regional manufacturing and export logistics network designed to connect Canterbury with the country’s largest inland port and the largest industrial development, which are planned for Otago and Southland.

The move is set to create hundreds of new jobs and comes as Christchurch faces a commercial land shortage, which has seen prices double to almost $500 per square metre over the past five years – a trend experts say will constrain future large-scale investment in the region.

With over 150 hectares of industrial land, Hornby Quadrant is one of the largest industrial business parks in New Zealand. Despite only half of the precinct being built out, the development acts as a distribution hub for a significant proportion of the South Island’s consumer food products and building materials.

A newly created 30-hectare fourth stage of the development will see national property and construction firm Calder Stewart support Mainland Group (formerly part of Fonterra’s consumer brands business), United Steel and other large-scale operators in establishing manufacturing and distribution facilities to expand the region's supply chain. The fourth stage of Hornby Quadrant will have a completed value of over half a billion dollars once fully developed.

In addition to developing and owning the land, the company utilises its vertically integrated property, construction and manufacturing business units to convert the greenfield sites into projects for tenants and owner-occupiers.

The entire precinct will be valued at over $3 billion once complete and is already home to major FMCG and distribution firms including; Foodstuffs South Island’s distribution centre, six Fletcher Building subsidiaries, Sleepyhead, Penske, OJI Fibre Solutions, My Food Bag and Dairyworks, which distributes around 80% of the country’s cheese through its chilled warehouse.

The development is the last remaining land area in Christchurch where 40,000 sqm-plus facilities can be designed and developed for occupiers, with both purchase and lease options available. Industry experts believe the lack of land supply will deter businesses looking to consolidate their distribution centres to achieve greater economies of scale.

Once fully developed, Hornby Quadrant is expected to employ thousands of people across various industries with the potential to generate 70MW of renewable energy via rooftop solar, enough to power 9,350 homes.

Ben Stewart, Calder Stewart’s director of property, says that despite Canterbury’s seemingly abundant land, much of it is unzoned, lacks essential infrastructure, or is too far from key transport links, making it unsuitable for large-scale development.

He says the growing use of automated warehousing technologies is creating a trend toward greater consolidation among industrial operators which allows businesses to centralise operations, reduce overhead costs and improve supply chain efficiency by leveraging larger, more advanced facilities.

“We know that rapid advancements in automated search and retrieval technologies are incentivising companies to look for locations that can support the establishment of much larger and intensified operations.

“At the same time, Christchurch is facing a land supply constraint similar to Auckland. While we have the ability to expand westward, much of the available land is not zoned or serviced, limiting options for businesses needing large industrial footprints,” he says.

Stewart says to help address this issue, the company has spent nearly two decades progressively rezoning rural land in Hornby.

He says zoning certainty and infrastructure investment are crucial to ensuring Christchurch remains a competitive destination for logistics, manufacturing and distribution businesses.

“Hornby Quadrant offers large contiguous land parcels, providing businesses with the flexibility to consolidate or expand depending on their operational requirement.

“There are limited options readily available for occupiers wanting to follow the current trend of consolidation and this shortage has the potential to limit economic growth, drive up land prices even further, and force businesses to look outside Christchurch for suitable locations.

“Without well-planned industrial developments, companies requiring large-scale facilities may struggle to expand or consolidate operations, which could impact supply chain efficiency and job creation in the region,” he says.

Sam Stewart, Calder Stewart director, says they are seeing growing interest from global brands that recognise Christchurch as New Zealand’s second largest industrial area and as a distribution gateway to the South Island. He says these businesses want connectivity, workforce availability and certainty around zoning.

“Given its proximity to the port, airport, and major motorways, the development has attracted strong interest from both local and international firms.

“Our ability to provide large, well-located industrial sites and design-build solutions gives businesses long-term security in an increasingly competitive market.

“We are in discussions with key international freight and distribution companies interested in establishing or expanding their South Island presence. Most of these businesses are household names, and having an operational presence in Christchurch is crucial for their wider business strategy.

“With approximately 80 hectares of land remaining, our projections show Hornby Quadrant will be fully developed within the next decade.

“As New Zealand’s largest industrial landowner and developer, we are committed to ensuring Hornby Quadrant remains a high-quality, well-planned industrial precinct which supports sustainable economic growth and employment for decades to come,” he says.

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Employment indicators: March 2026 – Stats NZ information release