Source: Hutt City Council
Lower Hutt’s dedicated volunteers took centre stage last night at a special event recognising their invaluable contributions.
The 2025 Volunteer Awards brought together recipients of this year’s Civic Honours and Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards.
Mayor Campbell Barry said the evening was a chance to pause and shine a light on the years of service and selflessness the winners have given, often without ever expecting anything in return.
“These people have given their time, energy and heart to make life better for others.”
Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said the airport was proud to celebrate the outstanding work of community groups in Hutt City over the previous 12 months.
“These groups deserve recognition for the amazing and selfless work they do in the community,” he said.
“Congratulations to all finalists and winners, and best of luck for the Regional Community Awards finals later this year.”
Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards – Lower Hutt Winners:
- Art & Culture – Arohanui Strings+
- Education & Child/Youth Development – Tūhura Tech
- Health & Wellbeing – Fri
Events – WIPCE 2025 announces final line-up of keynote speakers as Auckland gets set to host thousands of Indigenous knowledge holders
Source: World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE)
The World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE) has announced its final line-up of Indigenous leaders and trailblazers who will take the stage at one of the world’s largest and most significant Indigenous education gatherings in Tāmaki Makaurau this November.
WIPCE is a global movement to honour, preserve, and advance Indigenous education. As it returns to Aotearoa for the first time in 20 years it will be hosted by Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makaurau – AUT, at Aotea Centre from 16-20 November, 2025.
WIPCE 2025 Co-Chair, Meihana Durie, notes the significance of Indigenous conversations taking place right now ahead of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples on 9 August.
“With just 100 days to go until WIPCE 2025, and as the world celebrates Indigenous peoples tomorrow, what better time to spotlight a global stage that exists to elevate Indigenous voices,” says Durie.
The 12 world renowned academic speakers who will ignite ideas and action around areas of significance to Indigenous self determination are:
Keynote Speakers
- Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith – Education Systems and Practices
- Ani Mikaere – Politics, Self-Determination and Decolonisation
- Eru Kapa-Kingi – Youth
- Mere Skerrett – Science and Technology
- Teina Rongo – Environment and Climate
- Jeffery Ansloos – Health and Wellbeing
- Katie Wolfe – Creative Arts and Media
- Leonie Pihama – Linguistic and Cultural Revitalisation
- Raniera Procter – Linguistic and Cultural Revitalisation.
Guest Speakers:
- Rosa Hibbert-Schooner
- Dr Jon Osorio
- Spero Manson.
The speakers will join thousands of Indigenous knowledge holders, educators, and leaders from across the globe at a near sold-out conference.
For those not attending the official activities but keen to get involved in the movement, the free Te Ao Pūtahi Festival is running alongside WIPCE 2025 in Aotea Square.
Durie, says the five-day Festival ensures the community gets a chance to join in celebrating indigeneity.
“WIPCE 2025 is for all to come and take part in one of the world's leading movements for Indigenous excellence in education. Te Ao Pūtahi Festival invites the wider public to experience the living culture and innovation of Indigenous peoples from all corners of the globe.”
Te Ao Pūtahi Festival will offer a vibrant and accessible experience for locals and manuhiri to share in Indigenous food stalls, artisan markets, cultural performances, hands-on creative workshops, and storytelling sessions that honour the mana and diversity of Indigenous cultures globally.
About WIPCE 2025
WIPCE is more than a conference every three years, it’s a global movement. Since its inception in 1987 WIPCE has united Indigenous educators, leaders and knowledge keepers in a shared vision – to honour, preserve and advance Indigenous education.
As WIPCE 2025 welcomes Indigenous peoples from across the world to the shores of Te Waitematā, it continues to bridge the gap between traditional knowledge and formal education – ensuring Indigenous wisdom is both honoured and integrated.
The WIPCE 2025 programme launch event will be held at AUT City Campus, from 6pm – 9.30pm on 21 August.
Union Appointments – Sandra Grey elected as new NZCTU President
Source: New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi has announced that its affiliate unions have elected Sandra Grey as the new NZCTU President.
Grey is the National Secretary, and a former president, of the Tertiary Education Union – Te Hautū Kahurangi. She has a long history in the tertiary education sector and served as the spokesperson for the Campaign for MMP.
“We are thrilled that Sandra has been elected as the incoming president of the Council of Trade Unions and look forward to the experience and energy that she will bring to the role,” said NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges.
“Following on from Richard Wagstaff’s 10 years of dedicated service as president and lifelong commitment to the trade union movement, Sandra is well placed to continue to grow the movement and campaign for working people’s rights.
“Sandra wants to build union power and ensure unions are seen and present in workplaces across the country. This work has never been more important,” said Ansell-Bridges.
“Life is too hard for working people and their families right now. Children are going hungry. People are living in their cars. Many workers have to take up multiple jobs just to make
Climate – Rain from tropical cyclones to increase under warmer climate
Source: Earth Sciences New Zealand
New high-resolution modelling predicts that rainfall from tropical cyclones will significantly increase under global warming. Earth Sciences New Zealand and the University of Waikato found that, under a high emissions scenario, extreme rainfall from cyclones could rise by up to 35% across the southwest Pacific, including for ex-tropical cyclones impacting Aotearoa New Zealand.
Researchers used the latest climate change projections released last year by Earth Sciences NZ (then NIWA) with the Ministry for the Environment. Study lead and climate scientist Dr Peter Gibson says they simulated more than 1,800 years of data from different climate models and levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
“We wanted to assess how the frequency and severity of tropical cyclones in the southwest Pacific may change by the end of the century. Under the full range of climate scenarios examined there was an increase in tropical cyclone rainfall. This was proportional to the rate of emissions, with the most pronounced rise in extreme rainfall occurring under the highest emissions.
“If that scenario plays out, we can expect around 30 – 35% more extreme rainfall during tropical cyclones than we experience today. Even under the best-case scenario, we will still see an increase proportional to the warming experienced.
Extreme windspeeds are also likely to increase, but not to the same extent.”
The more greenhouse gases that are emitted, the higher temperatures get, with a high emissions scenario representing around a 3°C increase by the end of the century. A warmer atmosphere holds more water, so when storms develop, they have access to more water vapour that can be released as heavier rainfall.
And while the model simulations didn't show an overall increase in the total number of cyclones by the end of the century, there is compelling evidence that the strongest (category 4 and above) will become more frequent.
“One or two ex-tropical cyclones typically effect New Zealand each year. However, it's the really big, much rarer events that cause the most damage. And the difference between a river flooding or not can often be small, so any increase in rainfall is significant and potentially very impactful.”
The February 2023 Cyclone Gabrielle, which at its peak reached category 3, and the Auckland Anniversary weekend event, resulted in total estimated costs of $14.5 billion, with the total insured losses for both events totalling $3.8 billion, with $1.8 billion from Cyclone Gabrielle claims, and $2 billion from the Auckland anniversary weekend event. Most the claims were because of widespread flooding.
Until now, most projections of tropical cyclones have relied on global climate models, which have a relatively low spatial resolution. This work refines those models to a regional scale that can zoom in closer and get a much more accurate picture.
“The eye of a cyclone is fairly compact, at only tens of kilometres across. Global climate models are coarse, with each pixel going down to around 100km, meaning they miss much of the crucial detail and small-scale physics of a storm. Our refined regional model goes down to around a 12km resolution, making it a state-of-the-art dataset for assessing ex-tropical cyclones that impact New Zealand.”
These findings, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, are consistent with other studies around the world, highlighting the potential for more intense tropical cyclones and heavier rainfall in the future, said Dr Gibson. This indicates increasing risks for vulnerable communities across the southwest Pacific and New Zealand.
“It's clear that if we reduce emissions, we reduce warming, and we mitigate the worst impacts of severe weather events. As computing capabilities improve, newer, high-resolution models will become available to create even more accurate and reliable long term climate projections of cyclones and their impacts. More research is being undertaken by Earth Sciences NZ into specific weather and climate hazards in the projections, to provide clarity on the future climate New Zealanders are likely to face in the decades to come.”
Notes
The latest climate projections for New Zealand, available on the Ministry for the Environment's website, provide detailed information for every 5-kilometre square across the country. They are based on refining the projections from six global climate models in the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Development of these updated, high-resolution climate projections involved huge supercomputing power. The dataset is now helping New Zealanders – including councils, companies and communities – to better understand their specific climate-related risks. In turn, this will improve decision-making for climate adaptation and support people to build resilience to extreme weather events
More research is being undertaken by Earth Sciences NZ into specific weather and climate hazards in the projections, to provide clarity on the future climate New Zealanders are likely to face in the decades to come.
Development of these updated, high-resolution climate projections involved huge supercomputing power. The dataset is now helping New Zealanders – including councils, companies and communities – to better understand their specific climate-related risks. In turn, this will improve decision-making for climate adaptation and support people to build resilience to extreme weather events
More research is being undertaken by Earth Sciences NZ into specific weather and climate hazards in the projections, to provide clarity on the future climate New Zealanders are likely to face in the decades to come.
Economic Insights – Te Ara Mokopuna – Treasury’s 2025 Long-term Insights Briefing published
Source: The Treasury
The Treasury has published its final 2025 Long-term Insights Briefing (LTIB), titled Te Ara Mokopuna, which explores the circumstances under which fiscal policy can be used to buffer the economy from shocks and cycles, and how to do so in a sustainable and effective way.
The briefing emphasises that monetary policy remains the primary tool for managing economic upturns and downturns. However, there may be circumstances in which fiscal policy has a role to play in responding to shocks and cycles, such as:
– Ensuring critical services and infrastructure are maintained or rebuilt.
– Addressing the distributional impacts of shocks on communities.
– Providing economic stabilisation when monetary policy has less room to move or is constrained by extremes (e.g., near-zero interest rates).
The briefing also underscores that when fiscal interventions are required, they should be timely, temporary and targeted, with clear exit strategies in place. The briefing provides an overview of effective and less effective tools, with lump-sum payments, wage subsidies, and targeted adjustments to benefits or fees seen as more effective; and tax changes, new infrastructure investments, and permanent public consumption increases due to timing and reversibility challenges as less effective.
Reflecting feedback from the consultation period, the LTIB notes that the involvement of other stakeholders, including private businesses, communities and local government is critical. Fiscal policy should not undermine the incentives for others to prepare for shocks.
“Feedback highlighted there may be an increasing frequency and complexity of shocks, particularly due to climate change, and the important roles of insurance and local authorities in responding to natural disasters,” Iain Rennie said.
“The Treasury agrees that maintaining the resilience of the private sector is important, and that responses to shocks requires the involvement of other stakeholders, including local government and private businesses, and encourages others to prepare for these events.”
Treasury Secretary Iain Rennie noted that the ability to use fiscal policy to respond to shocks highlighted the need for governments to keep debt at prudent levels.
“New Zealand’s economy is particularly vulnerable to ups and downs because of our small size, reliance on overseas markets, and high household debt.
“As a country, we need to have the capacity to respond to economic shocks when they occur. This will require successive governments to build a buffer – by setting sustainable medium-term fiscal intentions and running operating surpluses between shocks and downturns.
“Internationally we can see that governments tend to increase spending in a downturn or after a shock but fail to offset this with savings when times are good. This has also been the case in New Zealand, contributing to our rising level of public debt over time.
“The final 2025 Long-term Insights Briefing represents the Treasury's commitment to promoting fiscal sustainability and improving wellbeing for future generations of New Zealanders,” Iain Rennie said.
Te Ara Mokopuna reflects feedback received in a two-phase consultation process. The first phase (June-July 2024) sought input into the briefing’s scope, and the second phase (April-May 2025) focused on the draft briefing. This involved public submissions and targeted engagement including with macroeconomic and fiscal experts.
“I would like to thank everyone who made submissions and those who contributed during consultation on the briefing.
“The feedback has been valuable in helping to shape the final briefing. Contributions will also help to inform our future policy advice and development of the Treasury’s forthcoming stewardship reports,” Iain Rennie said.
Feedback reflected the critical role of our institutional arrangements in delivering sustainable and effective fiscal policy, and also focused on lessons learned from recent fiscal responses to shocks and cycles, the respective roles of monetary and fiscal policy in responding to the business cycle, and the role of the Crown’s balance sheet, including public investments, in managing our exposure and preparedness to shocks.
A summary of the consultation feedback and changes made to the briefing as a result of this feedback can be found at Te Ara Mokopuna 2025 – Submissions.
A short version of Te Ara Mokopuna 2025 is also available.
The Treasury has two further stewardship reports due for publication which will build on the themes raised in the LTIB. The 2025 Long-term Fiscal Statement will consider long-term pressures on New Zealand’s fiscal position and the choices available to successive governments to return to a fiscally sustainable path. The Investment Statement will consider how governments’ management of the Crown balance sheet, including debt levels and investments, can support New Zealand’s living standards across generations. These are due to be published in the coming months.
Govt Cuts – Cuts to Health NZ team likely spells end to innovative student placement programme – PSA
Source: PSA
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora has proposed cutting a project team responsible for removing one of the key obstacles in growing New Zealand’s health workforce: finding student placements.
Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi national secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, says that they’re extremely disappointed to hear that Health NZ has decided to cut another essential group of staff.
“The Health NZ Workforce Development team, who have been tasked with growing New Zealand’s health workforce, is one of the latest groups to be put up for disestablishment at the agency,” she says.
One of the Workforce Development group’s major projects, developing a new digital tool to centralise opportunities for student placements, is also set to close, despite receiving high praise from educators brought in to test it.
“Student placements has been identified as a long-standing, critical obstacle in growing the number of skilled health workforce in New Zealand that our population needs, and that this project was set up as a direct result of feedback from the health and education sectors. This decision will make fixing our health workforce shortages even harder.
“The team has seen from its testing stage that this digital tool could make the whole placement process much more efficient for both educators and clinicians.”
Currently, education providers must manually contact health providers (such as hospitals) to organise places for their students. As a result, student placements – which are a requirement for dozens of qualifications – can be highly competitive.
On the other side, the general administration of placing students at placement providers is pushed to already over-stretched clinical staff.
“It’s pretty clear that this is a short-sighted development. The Government has committed to a whole new medical school, with a whole new cohort of students who will need placements.
“By cutting this team, you might save a few dollars now – but as the country’s population ages and the need for health services increases, we’ll pay dearly for the under-investment.”
AUT Head of Department for Perioperative Practice, Megan Richardson, says the tool has been transformative for her team, who used a pilot version of it to place student anaesthetic technicians at medical providers around the country.
“It has successfully facilitated placements across more than 40 hospitals in Aotearoa New Zealand, opening access to both public and private providers, and significantly reducing the administrative burden on both the health sector and my clinical coordination team at AUT,” she says.
“As the only national provider for the qualification for anaesthetic technicians, the tool has helped AUT secure more placements each semester, ensure equitable distribution and allowed us to focus on workforce development rather than coordination.
“The tool has been well received, and the support and training from the workforce development team has been instrumental in delivering a solution that works for us.”
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.
Weather News – Rainy end to the week, followed by frosty mornings for many – MetService
Source: MetService
Covering period of Thursday 7th – Sunday 10th August
- A departing high-pressure system clears the way for incoming cold fronts.
- Heavy Rain Watches are in effect for several areas across the South Island.
- Temperatures are expected to drop sharply over the weekend.
- Snow is likely across many of the country’s mountain ranges.
- Strong to gale-force winds and rough seas are forecast along the eastern coastline on Saturday.
Rain is expected in the far south today (Thursday), spreading to the upper South Island by evening with a few Heavy Rain Watches in place. This is brought about by a series of cold fronts.
The upper half of the North Island is also likely to see a few afternoon and evening showers today but expect more widespread rain on Friday as the front crosses the North Island. High pressure moves in after the rain, bringing colder temperatures and widespread frosts to end the weekend.
On Friday, conditions remain unsettled across the South Island, while rain is expected to develop in more areas of the North Island throughout the day. Persistent rainfall over the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers, as well as in the Tasman region, has prompted MetService to issue Heavy Rain Watches, effective from 4pm Thursday to 3am Friday for Canterbury, and from 11pm Thursday to 5am Friday for Tasman. Rainfall in these areas may reach warning criteria.
As the fronts move across the country, snow may fall to 800 metres in the ranges of the North Island, and as low as 500 metres across the Canterbury High Country and Southern Lakes, delivering a fresh layer of snow for the ski fields. Some Southern Alpine passes have Road Snowfall Warnings in force for Friday morning, but more may be required as we head further into the weekend.
MetService meteorologist Kgolofelo Dube says, “Some relief is on the way Saturday, with clearer skies expected in western regions as another high-pressure system moves in. However, this new system will also bring a significant drop in temperatures, with widespread frosts returning across much of the country.”
While settled weather is expected to round out the weekend for many, a few showers may linger in the eastern North Island, driven by cooler southerly winds. Alongside these southerlies, strong to gale-force winds and rough seas are forecast to affect the eastern coastline. MetService will continue monitoring the evolving situation and provide updates to warnings and watches as needed.
Please keep up to date with the most current information from MetService at https://www.metservice.com/
Federated Farmers – Big rural turnouts should ring police alarm bells
Source: Federated Farmers
NZ Police should have heard loud and clear at two public meetings last night that rural families and businesses are deeply concerned about proposed staffing changes, Bex Green says.
The Federated Farmers North Canterbury president says the turnout of more than 500 people at the Culverden meeting alone should ring alarm bells for Canterbury Police District Commander Tony Hill.
Superintendent Hill told the meeting one of the reasons behind the proposal to reduce staff at a number of rural stations, and close the Arthur’s Pass station, was a relatively low level of crime reported from those areas.
“That’s where we’re misaligned on this,” Green says.
“It was very clear last night from audience comments that it’s all the preventative, behind-the-scenes work done by the officers who live and work in our communities that heads off so much offending.
“That sort of work isn’t always logged – but it’s extremely effective.
“Our local cops know every single detail about our community; they know the people, who their children are, who to contact if there’s something amiss.”
Green says police offered assurances over new rural liaison officer roles and roading officers, and that the Rangiora police hub is not that far away.
“But those officers won’t know all that crucial work that our local officers do.
“The rural people who spoke up last night with such passion made it very clear how vital they think that local police presence is for them.”
Federated Farmers also organised a second public meeting at Leeston, also held last night.
Local farmer and Federated Farmers national dairy chair Karl Dean thought the turnout of more than 50 residents was a clear signal of local concern given there had only been 48 hours’ notice.
Like Bex Green, he gives credit to Canterbury police leaders for fronting up, but says residents were critical this was the first they’d heard about proposed changes in a review process that started 18 months ago.
“I understand they’ve got to work things through with their staff affected, but when were local residents going to be clued in? It all seems to have been so hush-hush.
“They said last night they were waiting for people to ask for meetings with them but if you don’t know a change is being considered, how do you know to ask for a meeting?” Dean says.
There was also frustration over the lack of detail on the role of proposed new rural liaison officers (RLOs), Dean says.
“It seemed they hadn’t decided the hours of these RLOs and the scope of their work, but we heard if there was a call-out, and they were closest, they’d still be activated.
“So, what’s the difference between that and having the police staff we have at our local stations as now?”
Dean says if Rolleston needs more police, then numbers there should be boosted – but not at the expense of rural coverage.
“The likes of Lincoln and Leeston are growing towns as well. They deserve an increased police presence – not a lower one.”
Police patrol cars driving through rural towns from time to time isn’t the same as having officers stationed there who know the community intimately, Dean says.
“Police assured us last night that these are only proposals and not final decisions, which might have settled the concerns of some people.
“But it certainly didn’t take away the angst of everyone in that room.”
EPA seeks to ban chlorthal-dimethyl weedkiller
Source: Environmental Protection Authority
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is proposing to ban weedkiller containing chlorthal-dimethyl (DCPA) during a reassessment of the chemical.
We are calling for submissions on the proposal during a public consultation from 7 August to 6 October 2025.
Chlorthal-dimethyl is a herbicide used to control wireweed on vegetable crops before the vegetables emerge from the soil.
In 2024, the EPA imposed restrictions on the chemical due to significant concerns about its effects on foetal development. This followed an emergency suspension order issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
“We analysed the toxicological studies, and these confirmed the potentially harmful effects of chlorthal-dimethyl,” says Dr Shaun Presow, Acting Hazardous Substances Applications Manager.
“Evidence indicates that chlorthal-dimethyl presents risk primarily to pregnant bystanders, or pregnant workers who work with chlorthal-dimethyl, or those who enter treated fields after the substance has been applied.”
For anyone pregnant and exposed to the chemical, the endocrine effects could harm the development of the foetus and lead to significant impacts on offspring. These effects range from low birth weight to irreversible and life-long impacts, such as impaired brain development and motor skills.
“Even the strictest application controls, such as wearing respirators and gloves during spraying, will not sufficiently protect pregnant workers.
“Our research of the data also showed that there is a risk of chlorthal-dimethyl contaminating groundwater regardless of controls put in place,” says Dr Presow.
Independent economic research found that the agricultural use of chlorthal-dimethyl was already fairly low. Information from chemical suppliers showed that about two-thirds of New Zealand growers have turned to using alternative products that are readily available and cheaper.
Among products containing chlorthal-dimethyl, Chlor-Back 75 WG is the only one currently registered under the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act. Dacthal and Deramot Xtra products have been de-registered since the temporary restrictions were imposed.
The chemical is now banned in Australia, Canada, the European Union and the United States.
The Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 requires an extensive review and risk assessment before revoking substance approvals,” says Dr Presow.
“We have now reviewed the use of this substance and the risks and mitigations in detail. We believe the human health and environmental risks outweigh the benefits of continued use.
“If revoked, all herbicide approvals containing chlorthal-dimethyl as an active ingredient would no longer be approved under the HSNO Act and banned for import and manufacture in New Zealand.”
The ban would come into effect immediately, and we would then propose a six-month period for disposal of existing stock.
Submissions close on Monday, 6 October 2025.
We are seeking feedback on health and environment impacts, the economic impact if banned, and from Māori on potential benefits or concerns.
BusinessNZ – Product labelling review welcomed
Source: BusinessNZ
BusinessNZ welcomes today’s announcement by the Ministers for Regulation and Commerce and Consumer Affairs of a long-overdue review of New Zealand’s product labelling system.
BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich says the move has the potential to reduce unnecessary compliance costs for business and expand product choice for consumers.
“For years, businesses have raised concerns about the fragmented, outdated and overly prescriptive nature of current labelling rules, many of which are unique to New Zealand. These rules create cost and complexity without delivering additional benefit to consumers.
“Many imported products must be repackaged specifically for the New Zealand market. Others never make it to our shelves at all because the cost of bespoke production runs for our small population is simply uneconomic. That means fewer choices for Kiwi consumers.
“We hope the review’s Terms of Reference will be ambitious and wide-ranging. Labelling is not just about what’s printed on a sticker – it’s about the entire packaging system. Bespoke New Zealand-only requirements, such as mandatory pack sizes or unique wording, often force manufacturers into inefficient short production runs that raise per-unit costs and restrict market entry.
“Businesses frequently cite excessive requirements for physical labels that lead to cluttered, unreadable packaging – while the current system offers little support for digital solutions like QR codes or digital product passports.
“A review is timely. Other countries are modernising their systems to enhance traceability, sustainability, and access to product information. New Zealand should not fall behind.”
BusinessNZ supports moves to:
– Further align with key trading partners like Australia
– Increase mutual recognition of trusted international labelling standards and systems
– Enable digital labelling options where appropriate
– Streamline regulation and reduce agency duplication
– Make the system more responsive to technology and change
“We look forward to contributing to this important review. Getting it right means better outcomes for consumers, exporters, small businesses, and the wider economy,” Mrs Rich said.
The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central, Business Canterbury and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.