Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

A recent poll on whether New Zealanders want sanctions to be imposed on Israel, shows that of those who gave an opinion, 60% favour sanctions.

The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa commissioned survey gave a similar result to one commissioned by Justice for Palestine a year ago.

PSNA Co-Chair John Minto says the numbers show strong popular support for sanctions. The 60% overall rose to 68% for the 18 – 29 year category.

“The government is well out of step with public opinion and ignores this message at its peril.  There is popular support for sanctions against Israel.”

“People see that Israel is committing the worst atrocities of the 21^st century with impunity. It is starving a whole population.  It has destroyed just about every building in Gaza. It is assassinating journalists. It holds 7,000 Palestinian hostages in its jails without charge.  Its goal of occupying all of Gaza and ethnically cleansing its people into the Sudan desert, is all public knowledge.”

“Its depraved Prime Minister, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, is boasting that if Israel was really committing genocide, it could have killed everyone in Gaza in a single afternoon.”

“The poll shows New Zealand First supporters are most opposed to sanctions against Israel (59% of those who gave an opinion were opposed) so it’s little surprise Winston Peters is dragging the chain”

“National has contracted out foreign affairs to the most reactionary part of its coalition government and is tying all New Zealanders into supporting impunity for Israel for its genocide in Gaza.”

“This brings shame on every New Zealander. When once this country would have led the way speaking out for justice and human rights, Winston Peters has us tagging along with the US”

The poll also asked respondents if they favoured recognition of a Palestinian state.

“Very significantly, four percent more of them were for sanctions, than were for recognition. I presume they saw recognition as some sort of soft tokenism.”

“Our government can’t even manage that.”

Minto says immediate government moves are imperative.  He says New Zealand’s position has become the weakest in the western world, slipping to be on par with the United States.

“There’s a whole raft of sanction options; including immigration, diplomatic, trade, investment, cutting off military services, and technical cooperation.”

“The only thing the government has done is ban two Israeli cabinet ministers from entering our country, while our Foreign Minister still welcomes thousands of participants a year in the genocidal Israeli army to come here for rest and recreation.”

Minto says even sanctions have become a soft option with the escalating crisis.

“What is urgently needed is for countries to band together to use their armies to break the Gaza blockade and deliver food, water and medicine’.”

“This could be through a United Nations mandate such as through a “Uniting for Peace” Resolution (UN General Assembly resolution 377(V)) through an Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly. It has to happen somehow.”

“The four daily killing traps of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation are a deliberate disaster organised by the Israeli Defence Forces.  The aid parachute drops are a grossly inadequate farce”

“People in New Zealand can see this is happening.  None of it is a secret or complicated anymore. Winston Peters is looking like Neville Chamberlain after Munich in 1938. He is failing us on Gaza. If he can’t deliver sanctions now, National has to replace him”

John Minto

Co-Chair PSNA

ASB has reported a cash net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1,350 million for the 12 months to 30 June 2025, down 1% on the previous year. Statutory NPAT was $1,449 million, down 0.4%.

Home lending was up 7% on the prior period, while business and rural lending grew by 2%. Total customer deposits increased by 4% and ASB KiwiSaver funds under management grew by 12% to $18.8 billion.

Chief Executive Vittoria Shortt says the result shows ASB has strong momentum.

“More New Zealanders are choosing to do their banking with ASB across home, business and rural, and we are working hard to make their experience simpler, safer and better.

“While there is uncertainty in the global environment, lower inflation and falling borrowing costs have provided some respite for households and businesses and our exports have held up.

“We continue to support the New Zealand economy, and over the past five years ASB has grown business lending more than any other bank, with net business lending up $4.5 billion.”1

Operating expenses were up 10% to $1,424 million, largely reflecting the investment being made in the business and the impact of inflation.

Investing for the future

“We are investing in our business at greater rates to provide even better experiences for our customers and stronger support for New Zealand. This financial year we have made significant investments in our technology and systems, meeting regulatory requirements and spent more than $100 million on the prevention of cybercrime, financial crime, and fraud and scams. We have grown our ASB whānau, hiring an additional 768 people.

“We continue to champion open banking in New Zealand and leading fintechs are choosing to partner with us to deliver greater choice and improved security for Kiwi making online payments or sharing data. We were the first bank to support POLi, one of New Zealand’s largest online payments providers, to embrace open banking, and we are eager to partner with more fintechs. To reduce barriers to entry, we have extended our open banking fee waiver for fintechs until December 2026.”

Accelerating home ownership and the development of more houses  

“We are helping more New Zealanders into homes. Our new home loan customers are up almost 90% on last year, including 12,300 first-home buyers that we have supported onto the property ladder. More than 6,800 customers used their ASB KiwiSaver towards a house deposit.

“Many Kiwi locked in short-term rates when interest rates were higher, which led to almost 50% of loans across the country maturing between January and June. To get ahead of this, we recruited 80 new home loan specialists and simplified our processes to speed up application approvals.

“We are working to increase Aotearoa’s housing supply and more than $288 million has been committed for the development of almost 700 new warm, dry and healthy homes through our Accelerated Housing Fund for social, affordable and Māori housing, which launched in November 2023. We continue to support lending on whenua Māori with several papakāinga housing projects underway.”

Backing business and the New Zealand economy to grow

“We are playing our part to help the country prosper with lending to the productive sector, linking food and fibre producers with trade advice and connections; and partnering with Māori business customers to contribute to their long-term intergenerational success.

“Since last July, we’ve extended more than $2 billion to new business lending customers, and cut our floating base rate by 2.25%.

“We continue to support our business customers to prepare for the future and manage risks related to ongoing uncertainty. This year we have launched innovative products and services to meet the needs of our customers such as our 0% ASB Smart Solar Loan, which helps to improve energy security and cost-savings for farmers, while also boosting regional resilience, and Our Every Hectare Matters programme to support farmers wanting to diversify their business.”

Building resilience for customers and communities

“We’ve made our digital banking experience easier, faster and safer, giving greater confidence to the more than 90% of our customers2 who bank with us digitally each month. Our customers have extra layers of protections against fraud and scams with ASB Caller Check, a verification tool to fight bank impersonation scams, and the industry-wide Confirmation of Payee service which gives reassurance when making payments.  

“We know the cost of living remains a top concern for many Kiwi, and we are helping our customers to manage their money and lift their financial position. This year, close to 570,000 New Zealanders used our digital tools for financial wellbeing. We see a real difference when customers take even small actions to improve their finances, such as automating payments to a savings account or using our Card Tracker feature to keep on top of subscriptions. Despite facing tough economic circumstances, our research shows young adults are taking actions to better their financial situation and are more likely than other age groups to do so.

“We encourage customers needing extra support to get in touch with us early as this means we may have more options available and can work together on solutions.

“As the country’s second largest KiwiSaver provider,3 we’re helping to set New Zealand up for the future by growing the retirement savings of nearly half a million Kiwi, who are benefiting from the strong returns and top-quartile performance of our multi-asset funds.”4

Partnering to accelerate progress for all New Zealanders

“Throughout our 178-year history, we have developed strong relationships and knowledge across the economy. When there is greater connectivity, we see the impact we can make.

“Banks are working alongside Government, industry and consumer groups to strengthen protections through the Anti-Scam Alliance. We see value in this type of joined up approach on other issues of national significance.

“We look forward to working with Government and other partners on the development of a national framework for climate adaptation and better sharing of insurance data between banks and insurers. In the meantime, we encourage homeowners to check their insurance is current and the sum insured is still adequate.”

¹ RBNZ data to 31 March 2025
² Individual customers who are active with ASB each month
³ Morningstar KiwiSaver Report, 30 June 2025 
⁴ Morningstar KiwiSaver Peer Group Funds Performance – one-year returns to 30 June 2025, net of fees, gross of tax.

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Summary of key financial information

There's a warning New Zealand is too slow in adopting Artificial Intelligence in the healthcare sector, with specialist doctors declaring a more rapid uptake would relieve pressure on the country's medical system.

Joel Freiberg, Co-Founder of Medow Health said new cutting edge technology which  operates silently in the background transcribing notes, drafting reports, and streamlining medical documentation, had the power to reduce waitlists.

The number of people waiting more than four months for elective procedures like hip, knee, or cataract surgeries increased by over 2,500 per cent in a 12 month period, according to government data.

“We're not trying to replace doctors, we're trying to help them. Manually producing medical reports is a time-consuming and complex process that requires extensive paperwork and hours of labour-intensive work,” Mr Freiberg.

Dr James Leong, a Wellington-based ophthalmologist with expertise in cataract surgery, medical retinal conditions and uveitis, admits the technology has allowed him to stay on top of his workload, see more patients and spend more time with his family.

“I see between 24 and 30 patients a day as well as surgery days across both private practice and the public health care system. While I have been used to taking notes my entire career, it is not always what is best for the patient and the rest of the team, because I have my own form of shorthand that no one else can decipher,” Dr Leong said.

“I understand the concerns that some have about the concept of artificial intelligence. But what this technology really does is free up my human intelligence for where it matters most: my clinical judgment, my focus on the patient in front of me, and complex decision-making. It handles the mechanics of taking notes, but it never replaces the essential human elements of care: empathy, experience, and nuance.

“I often summarise what I am seeing and discuss the condition, like I would if a medical student was in the room, so not only does the AI scribe pick it up but the patient likes it too because they get slightly more detailed information about their condition.

“I can see a patient and by the time they see my receptionist I can have their follow up letter in laymen's terms ready for them,” Dr Leong said.

Joel Freiberg adds “Specialists have been stuck using outdated reporting systems that pull their attention away from the patient. AI not only saves time but also improves the quality of patient interaction.”

“While this technology allows a single doctor to see two or three extra patients a day, scaled up across the health system, it has the potential to make a serious dent in specialist waitlists.

“When doctors get their time back, patients benefit,” he said.

There have been 250,000 specialist consultations in the last quarter alone across both New Zealand and Australia using the AI “co-pilot” Medow Health technology, the only AI tech tailored specific to each medical specialist's need available in New Zealand.

“With the AI assistant taking care of tedious administrative tasks, clinicians are reporting improved focus during consultations, additional time in their day and reduced work out of hours and week

The World Literacy Foundation announced today that Zayna Mansoor, a student at Epsom Girls Grammar School, is a Youth Ambassador for 2025. She will serve as a local advocate, aiming to increase education and community awareness about the importance of reading and writing and lift literacy rates in Auckland, her home country of Pakistan, and beyond.

Zayna will join a global group of 15- 26-year-olds from 90 countries striving to improve literacy outcomes for disadvantaged children who struggle to read.

Zayna, a 17-year-old young woman with an unwavering passion for becoming a WLF ambassador, shares, “I am deeply committed to literacy as a fundamental human right and believe in its transformative power…I am excited about the opportunity to receive training in leadership and advocacy, enabling me to amplify my efforts and contribute meaningfully to eradicating illiteracy.”

Zayna is committed to ensuring everyone can access literacy resources. She feels strongly about joining a global initiative recognizing education as a fundamental human right and actively working towards a future where everyone can access resources to reduce illiteracy.

To Zayna, being a Youth Ambassador provides an opportunity for her to grow her abilities to advocate for issues she cares about and change the world. “Through the World Literacy Foundation Youth Ambassador program, I aim to develop the leadership and advocacy skills necessary to champion literacy in my home country, Pakistan. In rural areas, particularly among indigenous and tribal communities, girls face significant barriers to education due to cultural misconceptions, early marriages, and limited access to schools. Ultimately, I aspire to be a catalyst for change, empowering women and girls in Pakistan to pursue education without fear of societal constraints. This program will serve as a stepping stone in my journey to becoming a leader who advocates for and implements sustainable educational reforms in underserved communities,” she states.  

Zayna is already a leader in her efforts to serve her community. As the co-head of the social media team for Chambeli, she promotes awareness for indigenous women’s rights through digital campaigns. She has also raised money for disabled children, worked on environmental initiatives, and done advocacy work.  

Driven to create tangible change and empower individuals, Zayna looks forward to working with the World Literacy Foundation with the goal of promoting the cause of literacy as much as she can, both in her local community and worldwide. 

About the World Literacy Foundation

The World Literacy Foundation, a leading international literacy nonprofit, aims to eradicate illiteracy by 2034. Currently, 770 million people worldwide can't read a single word, and a further 2 billion people struggle to read a sentence. In low-income homes, on average, 72% of children struggle to read. Illiteracy can have a lifelong social and economic impact on a young person, but with the collective efforts of organizations like the World Literacy Foundation, we can envision a future where these numbers are significantly reduced.

As a Youth Ambassador, Zayna can develop leadership skills and highlight literacy issues to the broader community.

Further information:
https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/

Source: NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi

The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is supporting the Pay Equity Coalition Aotearoa’s (PECA) urgent appeal to the United Nations to investigate the recent pay equity changes.

“Cancelling pay equity for more than 180,000 working women was a flagrant attack on their economic and political rights. It also breaches our international commitments to uphold women’s rights,” said NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges.

“PECA are right to call for action from the United Nations to ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand lives up to its reputation on the world stage. 

“Overnight our world-leading system was gutted without consultation or normal checks and balances. What remained in its place is a series of roadblocks, thresholds and obstacles masquerading as pay equity.

“We could once be proud on the world stage for making progress on ensuring women are paid what they're worth. It is shameful that our government has such low regard for women's rights.

“This Government refuses to listen. We must use every forum to pressure them to restore pay equity claims. In June I raised pay equity at the International Labour Organization conference, and support taking the fight to the UN,” said Ansell-Bridges.