Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd today advises that René Dedoncker has notified his resignation from his position as Managing Director Global Markets Consumer to take up a position outside of Fonterra.

René Dedoncker has been with the Co-op since 2005 and has held several global leadership positions during that time, including leading our Mainland Group business since March 2025.

Prior to this role, René was a member of the Fonterra Management Team as Managing Director Global Consumer and Foodservice.

René has also led Fonterra’s Australian business, including through its merger with Fonterra Brands New Zealand to form Fonterra Oceania, and has held global leadership roles within our Foodservice business.

René has a 6 month notice period and has indicated his willingness to continue leading Mainland Group through the completion of the divestment transaction and transition to Lactalis ownership.

CEO Miles Hurrell thanks René for his significant contribution to Fonterra, particularly through the process to divest Mainland Group, where René has continued to provide strong leadership and drive performance as we prepared the business for sale.

About Fonterra  

Fonterra is a co-operative owned and supplied by thousands of farming families across Aotearoa New Zealand. Through the spirit of co-operation and a can-do attitude, Fonterra’s farmers and employees share the goodness of our milk through innovative consumer, foodservice and ingredients brands. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re committed to leaving things in a better way than we found them. We are passionate about supporting our communities byDoing Good Together.  

Source: Cotality NZ

Property values across Aotearoa New Zealand dipped by a minor -0.1% in January, carrying over the broadly flat finish for 2025 into the first part of 2026.

Cotality NZ’s latest Home Value Index (HVI) also shows that the national median value in January of $802,617 was -1.0% lower than a year ago, and still down by 17.5% from the peak in early 2022 – which was $972,743.

Over the past 12 months, standalone houses have seen value falls of -0.7%, with -1.7% for townhouses, and -4.1% for apartments. However, the latter only accounts for 4% of the national dwelling stock.

Trends across the main centres remained patchy in January. Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (-0.3%) and Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington (-0.1%) both saw declines, with Kirikiriroa Hamilton and Ōtautahi Christchurch staying flat. Tauranga rose by 0.3% and Ōtepoti Dunedin by 0.4%.

Cotality NZ Chief Property Economist, Kelvin Davidson said that the housing market in 2026 has commenced with the same subdued patterns seen at the end of 2025.

“January’s muted result for property values at the national level was simply a continuation of the trends we saw throughout most of last year.”

“New borrowers and also existing mortgage holders will be feeling the benefits of lower interest rates and be more able to act in the market.”

“But there’s still a good stock of listings out there for buyers to choose from and a cautious attitude persists, especially as the recovering economy has yet to improve job security and employment levels.”

“The net result is that buyers aren’t in a rush to bid up prices, although vendors aren’t generally having to drop their expectations much either.”

“In an election year, it’s going to be fascinating to see how policies relating to the housing market evolve and to assess what they might mean for buyers and sellers.”

“The latest lift for inflation and talk about earlier OCR increases will no doubt have some households a bit on edge too.”

Index results for January 2026	Change in dwelling values
	Month	Quarter	Annual	From peak	Median value
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland	-0.3%	-1.0%	-2.7%	-23.4%	$1,042,041
Kirikiriroa Hamilton	0.0%	-0.3%	-1.4%	-12.6%	$710,524
Tauranga	0.3%	1.1%	1.6%	-14.9%	$931,499
Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington*	-0.1%	-0.5%	-1.6%	-25.5%	$784,547
Ōtautahi Christchurch	0.0%	0.5%	2.6%	-3.6%	$684,714
Ōtepoti Dunedin	0.4%	0.7%	0.1%	-10.5%	$620,128
Aotearoa New Zealand	-0.1%	-0.3%	-1.0%	-17.5%	$802,617

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland remains softer than many other parts of the country. While North Shore values edged slightly higher in January, Rodney and Papakura held steady. Other areas saw declines over the past month including Waitakere (-0.3%), Franklin (-0.4%), Manukau (-0.5%), and Auckland City (-0.6%).

“North Shore has been a little more resilient than other parts of the super-city, despite being down -17.9% from the peak, whereas other areas have dropped by more than 20% from their previous highs,” noted Mr Davidson.

“Manukau has been a key location for new townhouse developments in recent years, with that additional supply acting to subdue property values.”

“In Auckland City, the concentration of apartments has been a factor in its underperformance, as buyers for this property type remain cautious amidst a low inflow of new migration to NZ. Anecdotal concerns about build quality as well as body corporate insurance costs may also be putting off some would-be buyers.”

 

	Change in dwelling values
	Month	Quarter	Annual	From peak	Median value
Rodney	0.0%	-0.4%	-1.6%	-20.7%	$1,215,160
Te Raki Paewhenua North Shore	0.1%	0.4%	-0.5%	-17.9%	$1,288,688
Waitakere	-0.3%	-0.8%	-1.8%	-24.7%	$917,731
Auckland City	-0.6%	-2.0%	-3.9%	-25.1%	$1,100,831
Manukau	-0.5%	-1.0%	-3.7%	-25.3%	$961,402
Papakura	0.0%	-0.5%	-2.4%	-23.8%	$804,540
Franklin	-0.4%	-1.3%	-3.1%	-22.9%	$916,642
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland	-0.3%	-1.0%	-2.7%	-23.4%	$1,042,041

Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington

The wider Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington area also started 2026 in a muted fashion, with Porirua seeing values down by -0.5%, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta Upper Hutt by -0.3%, and Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt falling -0.2%.

Wellington City itself was flat in January, but still down by -1.0% compared to the same month in 2025.

“Alongside Auckland, the wider Wellington area remains one of the key soft patches for NZ’s housing market. Economic uncertainty in an election year could mean this general trend could remain in play in the capital for much of 2026,” said Mr Davidson.

“Of course, would-be first home buyers won’t be complaining about flat to falling property values. They continue to be a strong presence around Wellington, accounting for a record 37% of purchases in 2025.”

	Change in dwelling values
	Month	Quarter	Annual	From peak	Median value
Kāpiti Coast	-0.1%	-0.4%	-4.0%	-23.2%	$778,399
Porirua	-0.5%	-1.5%	-2.1%	-24.1%	$753,764
Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta Upper Hutt	-0.3%	0.7%	-2.0%	-24.7%	$699,580
Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt	-0.2%	-1.1%	-2.5%	-27.0%	$666,222
Wellington City	0.0%	-0.2%	-1.0%	-25.2%	$878,702
Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington	-0.1%	-0.5%	-1.6%	-25.5%	$784,547

Regional results

Outside the main centres, Hawke’s Bay continues to lag a little, with Heretaunga Hastings and Ahuriri Napier both seeing values dip in January, alongside Whanganui. But many other areas either held steady or increased, with Waihōpai Invercargill up again (0.3%), as well as Te Papaioea Palmerston North and Tāhuna Queenstown.

Invercargill, Gore, Timaru, and Ashburton are the only parts of NZ where property values have surpassed their previous peaks.

“Some parts of Southland and Canterbury are rising a bit more than elsewhere due to property values being relatively low, and better affordability means buyers can arguably stretch a little more to secure the deal.”

“Meanwhile, most parts of the farming sector are currently faring well. This will be bolstering economic confidence in the provinces and supporting the housing market to some degree,” Mr Davidson added.

Avast Deepfake Guard runs on traditional lower and high-end Windows PCs, bringing advanced scam detection to millions of people across the globe

Auckland, Feb. 4, 2026 – Avast, a leader in digital security and privacy and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), today announced the full international availability of Avast Scam Guardian and Scam Guardian Pro on mobile devices, alongside the launch of Avast Deepfake Guard on Windows PCs, a new AI-powered feature designed to proactively analyse and detect malicious audio in video content. Together, these launches mark a significant expansion of the Avast scam protection ecosystem – extending coverage across mobile and PC, helping protect people wherever scams appear, from text messages to calls and video platforms.

Avast Deepfake Guard is designed to run on Windows PCs*, delivering powerful protection on today’s devices while shining on the latest generation of AI PCs from Intel and Qualcomm. By bringing AI-driven deepfake scam detection to devices people already own, Avast is expanding access to advanced protection at a time when scam deepfakes are becoming more convincing and widespread.

“Deepfakes are a serious threat, but they’re a symptom of a larger problem: deception,” said Leena Elias, Chief Product Officer at Gen. “AI-generated content on its own isn’t inherently harmful. The risk comes when scammers use it to create urgency, apply pressure, and take advantage of trust. That’s what Avast Deepfake Guard is built for: helping people understand when something may be manipulated and make safer decisions in the moment. By expanding Avast Scam Guardian globally on mobile, we’re empowering people worldwide to identify and avoid scam calls, texts and emails with confidence.”

As video becomes the default way people learn, communicate, and make decisions, scammers have followed the audience. In Q4 2025, across devices where the new Gen video scam detection was active, Gen Threat Labs detected 159,378 instances of unique deepfake scamsthat combined manipulated media with clear scam intent, showing how frequently they are being used for fraud. In New Zealand, fake tutorial scams, such as YouTube tutorials and step-by-step guides on other sites that claim to offer free downloads or software, surged by 152% in 4Q.

YouTube accounts for the largest share of blocked deepfake-enabled scam videos on PCs, followed by Facebook and then X. Most deepfake scams also appear as part of normal viewing, not as downloads, attachments, or links, meaning they’re woven into everyday video consumption and hide in plain sight, making them harder to spot.

Avast Deepfake Guard works to detect these surreptitious scam deepfakes in real time, directly on the device for greater speed and privacy, and warns you before you fall victim.

Deepfake Guard is now included in Avast Premium Security and supports English language video analysis across major platforms including Facebook, DailyMotion, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, Vimeo, X, and YouTube.

For more information, visit https://www.avast.com

*Deepfake Guard is an opt-in download with manual detection for lower specification PCs running Windows 11, 8GB of RAM and 4 CPU cores. Traditional high-end PCs must run Windows 11 and have a minimum of 16GB of RAM and 6+ CPU cores on their processors.

Disclaimer

Avast Deepfake Guard functionality may vary depending on device type and system capabilities. The feature supports AI PCs powered by Intel? Core™ Ultra processors, and Qualcomm Snapdragon? X series chips where automated detection is enabled. On traditional high-end PCs, Deepfake Guard is available with automated detection disabled by default, but people may choose to enable it, acknowledging a minimal potential impact on system performance. On lower-end traditional PCs, Deepfake Guard is not installed by default; people may opt to install the feature, however automated detection is not recommended on these devices due to potential performance impacts.

About Avast

Avast is a leader in digital security and privacy, and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted consumer brands. Avast protects hundreds of millions of users from online threats, for Mobile, PC or Mac, and is top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Avast is a member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, No More Ransom and Internet Watch Foundation. Learn more at Avast.com.

Source: Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

More intense marine heatwaves as a result of climate change could lead to the mass loss of a sponge species found around Aotearoa New Zealand, a new study suggests.

The study found a temperature increase of just 1°C above previous marine heatwave peaks could cause the widespread death of Rowella lancifera, a sponge common in shallow waters around the coast. 

“We know marine heatwaves are already affecting sponge populations, but our latest research shows the effects could be much more severe as heatwaves intensify,” said Professor James Bell, a marine biologist at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and study co-author.

Marine heatwaves are increasing as the climate warms. In 2022, a marine heatwave was linked to the mass bleaching of more than 50 millionCymbastella lamellata sponges in Fiordland and caused almost half to die. 

“In previous marine heatwaves, most shallow-water sponge species actually survived. However, in our recent lab tests we found a 95 percent mortality rate when the Rowella lancifera sponge was exposed to slighty warmer temperatures than those recorded in 2022,” said Professor Bell.

The highest water temperature used in the lab tests was 21.5°C, just 1°C warmer than the top temperature recorded during the 2022 marine heatwave in Fiordland.

The study involved 96 Rowella lancifera sponge specimens. They were collected from sponge populations living at two different water depths so researchers could assess whether depth affected the animal’s response to rising temperatures.

“We saw the same strong stress response, regardless of the water depth at which the sponge had been living. Our results suggest we’re only a 1°C increase away from losing numerous populations of this sponge—and very likely other sponge species too,” said co-author Manon Broadribb, a PhD candidate at Te Herenga Waka.

Given the key role sponges play in the marine environment, the widespread loss of sponge populations would have major flow-on effects, she said.

“Sponges cover up to 70 percent of our rocky reefs, providing habitat for other species and recycling nutrients in the water column that support marine life. With marine heatwaves becoming more intense and occuring more often, there’s a very real risk we could see the mass loss of sponges with ecosystem-wide effects.”

Results of the study are published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/293/2064/20251103/480041/Differing-temperature-regimes-have-no-impact-on?searchresult=1

4 February 2026 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's latest thematic review on deposit takers' risk management practices stresses the need for continuous improvement to ensure risk management remains relevant, effective and aligned with good practice.

“Effective risk management enables deposit takers to identify and mitigate risks proactively, reducing the likelihood of failures and building resilience in the financial system. This makes risk management central to our mandate of protecting and promoting financial stability,” says Director of Financial System Assessment Kerry Watt.

The review found that risk management practices were largely proportionate to the deposit takers' size and complexity. While most entities are already investing in enhancing their risk management practices, the review found that more needs to be done to uplift capability to meet the Reserve Bank's expectations.

“Sound risk management requires forward looking and adaptive practices underpinned by strong governance and risk culture. This enables firms to effectively manage known and emerging risks in a changing economic environment,” says Mr Watt.

All deposit takers are expected to consider the findings and recommendations outlined in the report and take appropriate actions. The Reserve Bank will be following up with firms on how they compare with the findings from the review as part of ongoing supervisory monitoring.

The review focused on three fundamental pillars of sound risk management: the Risk Management Framework, governance and oversight, and the risk management function. It covered nine deposit takers of varying sizes and business models, with the objective of strengthening sector capability by sharing good practices and identifying areas for improvement.

Insights from this review will inform the Reserve Bank's upcoming guidance supporting the risk management standard under the Deposit Takers Act 2023.

The next thematic review will focus on risk management in the general insurance sector.

More information

Thematic review on risk management:
https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=d88a57ea39&e=f3c68946f8

• 98% of Kiwi employers report difficulty identifying standout candidates in today's job market.
• 93% say they've seen an increase in overqualified applicants in the past year.
• Automated screening tools missing strong candidates (37%), high volume of applications (36%), and assessing AI-generated CVs (36%) are the biggest challenges for employers to identify standout candidates.
• Employers say strong interpersonal or soft skills (34%), clear communication in application material (31%), and demonstrated, relevant experience tailored to the role (31%) are key to rising above the crowd.

Auckland, 4 February 2026 – A surge in job applications is offering employers more choice on paper, but in reality, standout talent is getting harder to find. New independent research by specialised recruiter Robert Half reveals that 98% of Kiwi employers face challenges in distinguishing exceptional talent in the current competitive hiring market.

With today's latest unemployment rate sitting at 5.4%1 and Seek job ad applications up 19.6%2 YoY, the employment market appears to be softening, yet competition for top roles remains high.

Why more applications don't always mean stronger candidates

A surge in job applications, driven in part by economic caution and shifting career priorities, has brought with it an unexpected challenge. In the past 12 months, 93% of employers have seen a rise in candidates applying for roles they are overqualified for.

Technology hiring managers (96%) have seen the highest number of overqualified applicants, compared to 90% in finance and accounting.

“We're seeing a growing number of professionals applying for roles beneath their experience level, particularly in sectors like technology and finance. While it might seem like a bonus to hire someone overqualified, it can be a double-edged sword. If the position doesn't fully leverage their skillset, it may lead to disengagement, lower morale and, ultimately, higher turnover,” says Ronil Singh, Director at Robert Half.

What's getting in the way of standout candidates

When asked about the biggest obstacles to identifying top applicants, employers cited several key issues:

Independent survey commissioned by Robert Half among 250 employers in New Zealand. 

Here's what gets noticed by employers 

In a competitive jobs market, the top qualities that help candidates cut through the volume, according to hiring managers: 

• 34% say strong interpersonal or soft skills 

• 31% say demonstrated, relevant experience tailored to the role 

• 31% say clear and concise communication in CV and cover letter 

• 30% say demonstrated understanding of the company or industry 

• 29% say professional presentation and attention to detail 

• 28% say referrals or internal recommendations 

• 26% say evidence of adaptability or problem-solving skills 

• 26% say strong alignment with company values or culture 

“Hiring managers are contending with an influx of applications, and many are finding it challenging to identify the right fit for their open roles. With advances in technology prone to error, along with uniform formatting and templated language driven by the rise of AI-generated content, distinguishing candidates and accurately assessing their true skills and suitability has become increasingly difficult. 

“With high application volumes and AI-generated content flooding recruitment pipelines, employers are placing greater emphasis on proven role-specific experience and soft skills, which are almost equally as important in today's market. Candidates who clearly articulate these qualities are more likely to stand out in an otherwise crowded and uniform talent pool,” concludes Singh.

¹ Stats NZ, Labour market statistics: December 2025 quarter 

² SEEK Job Ad Postings – 12-months to Nov 2025 (vs 12-months to Nov 2024) 

Notes

About the research 

The study is developed by Robert Half and was conducted online in October 2025 by an independent research company of 250 finance, accounting, and IT and technology hiring managers. Respondents are drawn from a sample of SMEs as well as large private, publicly-listed, and public sector organisations across New Zealand. This survey is part of the international workplace survey, a questionnaire about job trends, talent management, and trends in the workplace.  

About Robert Half 

Robert Half is the global, specialised talent solutions provider that helps employers find their next great hire and jobseekers uncover their next opportunity. Robert Half offers both contract and permanent placement services, and is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm.  Robert Half New Zealand has an office in Auckland. More information on roberthalf.com/nz.