Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Transporting New Zealand supports amendments to RUC legislation but not tolling legislation

Source: Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

National road freight association Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is cautiously supporting the Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill introduced to Parliament today, which makes changes to the Road User Charges Act 2012 to modernise the system in preparation for transitioning all vehicles to universal RUC.
However, Transporting New Zealand is concerned about other proposals in the Bill which will enable existing roads to be tolled, and the ability to prohibit heavy vehicles from using certain roads and force them onto toll roads or face a penalty.
Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive Dom Kalasih says the organisation supports moves to facilitate universal RUC. “These changes will enable greater use of technology and more flexible payment options, and also do away with the requirement to display a RUC label. This will help get our RUC system match-fit to enable tech businesses to offer low-cost products that could be rolled out to the petrol vehicle fleet in the future.”
No date has yet been set for the transition to universal RUC which Kalasih says is a significant undertaking, but essential to ensuring the transport system is sustainably funded.
Kalasih says Transporting New Zealand thinks we need to be much more cautious about other clauses in the Bill relating to tolling, particularly tolling existing roads.
“I accept that can bring forward raising the revenue to construct a new road but we’d like to see some constraints around that. Existing roads have already been paid for by road users through petrol tax and diesel Road User Charges for example, so if this approach was to progress we’d like to see that other options, like PPPs, have first been fully explored before tolling existing roads. We’d also need to have certainty that all the money that’s collected from roads is spent on roads.”
“Worse though, is a clause that could prohibit heavy vehicles from using alternative free routes, and force them onto tolled roads or else face a fine. That is fundamentally denying transport operators and drivers freedom of choice.” Kalasih said.
Kalasih says that while Transporting New Zealand will be fully supporting the clauses in the Bill relating to RUC, it will be making sure that the risk of unintended and perverse outcomes from the changes to road tolling are well thought through.
About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand
Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter-regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country.
Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4,700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion. 
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Greenpeace – Cook Islands seabed mining decision delayed following local opposition

Source: Greenpeace

Greenpeace says news a decision on whether seabed mining can occur in the Cook Islands will now be delayed until at least 2032, is evidence of the growing opposition to the destructive industry in the Pacific.
Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner Juressa Lee is calling the decision “a win for the moana and the Pacific Peoples and communities fighting this emerging threat that will risk their way of life”.
“Resistance to seabed mining in the Cook Islands is strong and persistent. We are pleased to see that the government is feeling the pressure and acknowledging that a five year exploration period is nothing more than tokenistic when it comes to understanding this industry’s impacts”, says Lee.
“There is no version of seabed mining that is sustainable or safe. Alongside our allies who want to protect the ocean for future generations, we will continue to say a loud and bold no to miners who want to strip the seafloor for their profit.”
The decision that companies wanting to mine in Cook Island waters will now have to apply for a five year extension to their exploration licences was announced today by the Seabed Minerals Authority, the government agency in charge of seabed mining in the Cook Islands. The current licenses expire in 2027.For years, multiple civil society groups in the Cook Islands have been raising the alarm about rushing into seabed mining.
Last month Cook Island activists confronted the Nautilus, a U.S funded deep sea mining exploration ship, as it returned to port in Rarotonga. Four protesters in kayaks met the ship, holding banners that read: “Don’t mine the moana.”In September 2024 civil society groups came together to peacefully demonstrate community opposition to deep sea mining, with 150 people paddling out into Avarua port and floating a giant banner reading “Protect our ocean”.Greenpeace is calling for a ban on deep sea mining.”The current Cook Islands government is pushing seabed mining but we know that many people oppose this emerging industry that risks irreversible damage to ocean life”, says Lee “We’ve already seen evidence from a test mining site in the Atlantic ocean that was mined in the 1970s and has never fully recovered.
“Pacific Peoples will not be sidelined or silenced by corporations and powerful countries that continue to try and impose this new form of extractive colonialism where it is not wanted. “Seabed mining is not welcome in the Cook Islands or the Pacific and we will resist .”
Seabed mining is an emerging extractive industry that has not yet started on a commercial scale anywhere in the world. Miners want to extract polymetallic nodules from the seafloor to extract metals.
Three companies – Moana Minerals Limited (a subsidiary of US company Ocean Minerals), Cobalt (CIC) Limited, and CIIC Seabed Resources Limited (a partnership between Cook Islands government and Belgian company GSR) – currently hold licenses for seabed mining exploration in the Cook Island waters.
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Local News – Election recount confirms result in Porirua City Council’s Māori ward

Source: Porirua City Council

The District Court has advised that the recount of votes for the Parirua Māori Ward is now complete.
The recount has confirmed the outcome of the election and Kylie Wihapi has been declared elected.
The recount disallowed two special votes which had previously been allowed.
The recount was overseen by a Judge of the District Court, and scrutineers appointed by recount applicant Jess Te Huia. 
Following the Judge issuing their decision, the Electoral Officer has issued an amended declaration.
Based on the recount Kylie Wihapi received 934 votes, Jess Te Huia received 925 votes, Raniera Albert received 319 votes, and Rawinia Rimene received 208 votes.
Planning is now underway for the inaugural meeting and swearing in of the new council. 
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Property Valuations – New Plymouth land values fall more than homes in latest rating revaluation – QV

Source: Quotable Value (QV)

New Plymouth District property owners will soon receive a Notice of Rating Valuation in the post, containing an updated rating value for their property.
The new rating valuations have been prepared for 38,635 properties on behalf of New Plymouth District Council by Quotable Value (QV). They show the total rateable value for the district is now $36.9 billion, with the land value of those properties now $20.1 billion.
Rating valuations are usually carried out on all New Zealand properties every three years to help local councils set rates for the following three-year period. They reflect the likely selling price of a property (excluding chattels) at the effective revaluation date, which was 1 August 2025.
The value of residential housing in New Plymouth district has decreased on average by 2.4% since the previous effective revaluation date of 1 August 2022. The average home value is now $721,179, while the corresponding average land value has decreased by 10.2% to $395,666.
QV Senior Consultant and Registered Valuer Andrew Jaques said, “Residential values have held relatively firm over the past three years compared with the rest of the country.”
“Demand for vacant land has cooled off, with a significant rise in the cost of building impacting the market.” he said.
“The residential land market has seen values remain steady for well located properties however sloping sections are proving harder to sell. Vendors’ expectations are important – if the vendor is seeking an unrealistic price, sections will sit for extended periods of time.”
“The commercial market has been fairly static over the past few years. We are seeing a decline in retail leasing, particularly in the CBD. Office leasing appears to have picked back up, with sentiment shifting following consequences of COVID and working from home.”
“Overall, commercial properties have decreased in capital value by 1.1%, and industrial properties have increased by 2%,” Mr Jaques said.
Within the rural sectors, dairy farmland generally attracts stronger demand than pastoral land, yet both have seen a decrease in value over the past three years, with dairy farm properties seeing an average capital values decrease of 7.9% and pastoral land values down 8.3%. This reflects the nationwide downturn from the peak of late 2021 to early 2022. Horticultural land, by comparison, has remained relatively stable, with the average capital value (CV) down just 0.9% since the last rating revaluation.
The New Plymouth District lifestyle property market has also remained relatively stable, experiencing a slight average capital value (CV) decrease of 0.4%.
The effective rating revaluation date of 1 August 2025 has now passed, and any changes in the market since then will not be included in the new rating valuations. In many cases, this means a sale price achieved in the market today may differ from the new rating valuation set at 1 August 2025.
The updated rating valuations are independently audited by the Office of the Valuer-General and must meet rigorous quality standards before they are certified. They are not designed to be used as market valuations for raising finance with banks or as insurance valuations.
New rating values will be posted to property owners from 12 November 2025. If owners do not agree with their rating valuation, they have the right to object by 19 December 2025.
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Health – GenPro sponsors new primary health organisation that cuts red tape, improves patient care

Source: General Practice Owners Association (GenPro)

The General Practice Owners Association is sponsoring the establishment of a nationwide primary health organisation that will reduce bureaucracy so more funding can be allocated to front-line patient care.

Primary health organisations (PHOs) sit in the middle between Health New Zealand – which funds healthcare – and primary health care providers, such as general practices.
 
“GenPro is supporting the application for a new PHO that is firmly aligned with GenPro’s promotion of sustainable, high-quality and accessible primary practice for all New Zealanders,” says the Chair of GenPro, Dr Angus Chambers.
 
While GenPro is assisting the establishment of a new PHO, the new entity will be organisationally separated from GenPro. Independence will enable GenPro to continue to advocate without conflict of interest.
 
“GenPro is not and will not be a PHO. But we’d welcome a lean, cost-effective PHO for GenPro members that reduces the bureaucratic burden on the health system and facilitates greater funding for high-quality, sustainable, accessible, and equitable front-line patient care,” Chambers says.

“The current policy settings and existing PHO structures have a number of significant issues. These include conflicts of interest between patient care and commercial operations, bloated governance and management costs, a focus on accumulating reserves instead of funding front-line services, regional variations creating a postcode lottery, and trust issues. The new PHO will aim to address these challenges head on,” Chambers says, adding that the PHO application is subject to approval by Health New Zealand.

“We will be seeking expressions of interest very soon to gauge our membership’s appetite for this new venture,” Chambers says.

GenPro members are owners and providers of general practices and urgent care centres throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. For more information visit  www.genpro.org.nz

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Weather News – Rainy End to the Week, but Sunshine on the Way – MetService

Source: MetService

Covering period of Thursday 13th – Monday 17th November

–    Rain to end the workweek
–    Strong Wind Watch for Wellington and Wairarapa today (Thursday)
–    Sunny skies on Sunday
–    Warm nights early next week

It’s a rainy end to the workweek, with rain and showers for most.

A low-pressure centre currently over central New Zealand moves south through the day today (Thursday) and situated to the southeast by the end of the day. As it travels, it spreads rain to most regions – expect a damp day overall, with some areas seeing heavy downpours and strong winds.

A Strong Wind Watch is in place for southern parts of the North Island today until 2pm. Northwest winds may approach warning criteria with gust speeds reaching 90 km/h in exposed places; affected areas include Wairarapa and Wellington.

Rain is not the only thing to be mindful of in the north as some parts of the North Island has a moderate chance for thunderstorms, localized downpours and possible hail. This includes places like Auckland, Northland, inland Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and central North Island.

Today might not be ideal for those in the South Island, especially farmers, however, there’s welcomed news ahead.

MetService Meteorologist Oscar Shiviti says, “Although it’s a rain-filled day for Canterbury and Christchurch today (Thursday), the weather improves on Friday – just in time for Canterbury Anniversary Day”.

By Friday morning, most of the South Island will see the rain clear, except for the western ranges. The North Island will also get a short break from the wet weather before another rain band moves in from the west by late morning, lasting until the evening. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms are possible in the east – especially in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, and eastern Bay of Plenty – with the chance of downpours and hail.

Simultaneously, a rain-bearing front moves up the South Island by Friday afternoon, affecting the North Island from Saturday morning.

If you’re running in the Queenstown Marathon on Saturday, be ready for a soggy course – a rainy start to the day is expected.

 “Sunday is the pick of the weekend for all wanting to enjoy a sunny day outdoors as a ridge of high-pressure sweeps in from the Tasman Sea and thus sunnier skies with calm winds across the country,” adds Shiviti.

The sunshine continues into early next week, with warmer-than-usual temperatures expected both day and night – especially in the South Island and lower North Island.

As we edge closer to summer, MetService kicked off its Heat Alert trial on Wednesday 12 November.

Heat alerts are issued when unusually warm temperatures are expected for locations around the country. Heat alerts are not designed to capture your average hot summer day, but rather to highlight ‘top end’ heat situations.

The trial runs until the end of February 2026. Head to this page for more information, including handy tips on how stay safe in hot weather. https://metservice.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=63982abb40666393e6a63259d&id=99583d1819&e=852c839bf9

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Universities – Rethinking happiness in the hybrid workplace – UoA

Source: University of Auckland

Have you ever misinterpreted a colleague’s tone on a Teams chat? Or wondered what Mike meant by his face-without-a-mouth emoji in response to your carefully worded idea?

A new book by University of Auckland Business School Associate Professor Barbara Plester explores how communication, fun, humour and happiness are evolving in the age of hybrid work.

Hybrid Happiness: Fun and Freedom in Flexible Work investigates the social and emotional effects of flexible work. Based on prior research, Plester shows how hybrid models, when people divide their time between home and office, have altered workplace behaviours and made social aspects more crucial.

Over four full-immersion weeks, she spent time in two businesses, observing, collecting data, and interviewing workers at all levels.

Her first study was within a technology company she calls ‘Gecko’, and the second was conducted in a food manufacturing organisation (code-named Firefly). This research underpins much of the book.

“I took a grounded theory approach to my research; I didn’t start with any specific hypothesis of what I would find, rather I let the findings emerge organically as the study progressed,” she says.

“This is how my research on fun and humour developed into a book about happiness, because participants conflated these ideas and constantly linked them.”

Hybrid Happiness captures both the freedom and the frustrations of hybrid work. One chapter, The Emotional Landscape of Hybrid Work, explores how flexibility can also bring tension and anxiety, and how reading and comprehending message chats, emoticons, and GIFs has become a challenge for workers.

“Reading others’ emotions online is complex and raises questions about emotional regulation and emotional labour,” Plester writes.

“As emotions are increasingly expressed through technological channels, new forms of language such as emojis or pictograms are often used to illustrate feelings and as a substitute for in-person emotional cues. Pictorial language builds liveliness into textual conversations and can indicate fun, play and humour — but it can easily be misconstrued and misread.”

Another chapter, Tech-Powered Freedom, investigates trust, surveillance and the blurring of boundaries between home and office.

Working in a hybrid model implies trust in workers, and Plester says all her research participants reinforced this point.

The benefits of feeling trusted at work usually flow on to positive work behaviours and improved job performance, she writes, pointing to an interview during her time at the food manufacturing organisation, Firefly, where one worker emphasised the importance of trust in hybrid working and her increased productivity when working from home:
“I prefer working from home because I'm more productive there. I do feel stress when I'm around people, as much as I love them… but I prefer to be away from a crowd… it's just about trust …trust. If you don't trust your employee, why employ them?”

Another chapter, Psychological Safety in Hybrid Fun, highlights why feeling safe to participate in workplace events — or to opt out — is essential to genuine workplace enjoyment. Examples detail the experience of employees, some of whom struggled with 'forced fun' in their workplaces.

The notion of forced fun, where workers feel compelled to join fun activities even if they don’t enjoy them, may seem harmless, innocuous, and even positive, but Plester says earlier research shows that contrived ‘fun’ can cause distress, cynicism, loss of dignity and a feeling of being patronised by management.

She ultimately argues that safety, fun, play, and connection are vital elements of productive collaboration in hybrid workplaces.

Her research shows ‘hybrid happiness’ can’t be forced, but can thrive in environments that value and foster trust, empathy, and adaptability.

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World Kindness Day and Palestine – NZPF

Source: Palestine Forum of New Zealand (NZPF)

World Kindness Day, observed every year on 13 November, is a global reminder that kindness is a universal language, one that transcends borders, politics, and differences. It calls on individuals and nations to act with compassion, empathy, and humanity. In a world often divided by conflict and injustice, this day carries deep meaning, and nowhere is its message more urgent than in Palestine.

For decades, the Palestinian people have endured occupation, displacement, and suffering. Yet despite unimaginable hardship, their resilience and generosity continue to inspire. Acts of kindness in Palestine are not just gestures of goodwill; they are acts of survival and resistance. From families sharing their last piece of bread with neighbours, to communities rebuilding together after destruction, kindness remains the heartbeat of Palestinian life.

World Kindness Day invites the global community to reflect on what kindness truly means, not merely as individual acts, but as collective moral courage. To stand with Palestine, to speak out against injustice, and to extend solidarity to those who suffer are all forms of profound kindness. It is kindness in action, the kind that restores dignity, hope, and humanity.

This year, as we mark World Kindness Day, let us remember that kindness is not silence in the face of oppression. True kindness demands that we care for all people, especially those whose voices are silenced. Let our compassion for Palestine be more than words; let it be action, empathy, and unwavering support for justice and peace.

“Be kind, for whenever kindness becomes part of something, it beautifies it.” — Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Palestine Forum of New Zealand

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New Zealand needs Privacy Act modernisation

Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner

The increasing number of privacy complaints, and privacy breach notifications, received by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner shows New Zealanders’ increased concerns about privacy are fast becoming reality, the Privacy Commissioner says.
“Privacy complaints in our 2024/25 Annual Report are up 21% from 2023/24, which was also a record year. The number of serious privacy breaches notified by organisations rose 43% this year.
“New Zealanders are saying they’re more concerned about their individual privacy and personal information and it’s easy to see why. People are right to worry, as more needs to be done to improve New Zealanders' privacy,” Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says.
Our 2025 Privacy Survey showed that:
  • 66% of those surveyed agreed that protecting personal privacy is a major concern.
  • 67% are concerned about the privacy of children.
  • 62% are concerned about government agencies or businesses using AI to make decisions about them, using their personal information.
  • 82% agree they want more control and choice over the collection and use of their personal information.
“The reputational damage and financial costs associated with privacy breaches, and not protecting or respecting individuals’ personal information, should provide a spur to encouraging organisations to do privacy well, but my Office also understands people need help to understand how to do that.
This year, we’ve written guidance on a range of subjects for different audiences, including on children’s privacy and use of biometric technology, we hosted a series of webinars during Privacy Week which saw over 8,000 New Zealanders take part, and we have continued to advocate for modernisation of New Zealand’s Privacy Act.
“The Privacy Act currently provides insufficient incentives for many organisations to understand or meet even the most basic privacy requirements. For example, a growing number of organisations do not establish policies and practices to effectively manage the privacy impacts of their activities. Other countries have modernised their privacy regimes beyond our own to capture the benefits and avoid the harm of new technologies.
“We continue to recommend amendments to the Act that would modernise it and strengthen privacy outcomes. Our 2025 Survey also showed strong support for strengthening the Privacy Commissioner’s powers under the Act.”
The amendments include:
1. Empowering New Zealanders to better protect themselves with new rights, such as a ‘right to erasure’, that would provide individuals with the right to ask agencies to delete their personal information.
2. Adding strong incentives for agencies to take privacy seriously through establishing a new and significantly stronger penalty regime.
3. Requiring agencies to be able to demonstrate how they meet their privacy requirements, in similar ways to the privacy management programmes recommended by the OECD.
4. Providing New Zealanders with stronger protections for automated decision making.
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Banking – The Co-operative Bank is the only bank to pass on full OCR cuts to floating mortgages

Source: The Co-operative Bank

The Co-operative Bank has demonstrated market leading action by passing on the full Official Cash Rate (OCR) reductions to its floating home loan customers during this cycle of rate reductions, reinforcing its commitment to a fair deal.
Since the Reserve Bank began reductions to the Official Cash Rate 15 months ago, it has dropped by 3%, from 5.5% to 2.5%. In response, The Co-operative Bank has reduced its floating home loan rate by 3.1%, making it the only bank in New Zealand to have passed on the full benefit of OCR cuts to floating rate customers.
The Co-operative Bank is encouraging New Zealanders to consider their options to get the best deal now, as well as select a Bank that values fairness and delivers the service that people should expect from a bank.
When compared to all banks in the New Zealand home loan market, The Co-operative Bank’s floating home loan rate of 5.3% is the lowest variable rate available to all customers. Floating rates offer customers flexibility and the potential for lower interest costs if mortgage rates continue to fall.
Mark Wilkshire, Chief Executive of The Co-operative Bank, said “With the bank’s floating volumes almost doubling in the last year, we’re pleased to offer both great value and flexibility through our market leading rate”.
“As a customer-owned bank, The Co-operative Bank puts customers first in pricing decisions. We estimate that New Zealanders could be paying more than $100m per annum extra due to the amount of floating rate cuts held back by the Big Four Australian banks,” he said.
“With another OCR review due at the end of November, it will be interesting to see how other banks respond in what remains a delicately poised economic recovery,” Wilkshire said.
Table: Floating Home Loan interest rate deductions in this rate cycle – since 31 July 2024
About The Co-operative Bank
We are a New Zealand Co-operative 100% owned by our customers. We are the only bank that shares its profits directly with customers in the form of rebates when we make sufficient profit. Since 2013, we’ve shared over $24 million with customers.
Customers have voted us the winners of Consumer People's Choice Award for four years running, making us the recipients for nine out of the last ten years. We are also proud members of the B Corp movement which recognises businesses that meet better standards of social and environmental performance.