Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

A fire involving a fuel tanker on the Peka Peka Expressway this morning has been contained to the cab of the vehicle and its tractor unit.

Assistant National Commander Bruce Stubbs says that firefighters reached the scene quickly and worked effectively to prevent the fire from spreading and igniting the fuel that the tanker was carrying. “It’s a really good save by our crews,” he says.

Firefighters are still at work dampening down the area and the Peka Peka Expressway remains closed.

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire trucks from multiple brigades are responding to a fuel tanker on fire on the Peka Peka Expressway just south of the Otaki River, on the Kapiti coast.

The first 111 call was received at 5.06am, and the cab of the tanker was well ablaze when the first crews arrived.

As at 6am there are 19 fire trucks, tankers and specialist vehicles at the scene or en route.

The tanker is in the north-bound lane. The Peka Peka expressway is closed from Otaki to Te Horo.

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has welcomed home the team of incident management specialists who have been supporting Canada’s wildfire response for the last five weeks.

Each of the five Fire and Emergency personnel has been working on different fires in British Columbia, filling roles as Divisional Supervisors, Logistics Section Chief, Safety Officer and Helicopter Coordinator. They have been working on extensive and complex fires as members of Canadian Incident Management Teams.

Our International Liaison Officer has been based in Winnipeg, supporting both New Zealand and Australian personnel in Canada.

The team departed for Canada on 6 August and formed the second contingent that Fire and Emergency has deployed to North America since mid July. The other two deployments have been supporting wildfire responses in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

Fire and Emergency’s National Commander, Megan Stiffler, says that Canada’s firefighting authorities have appreciated New Zealand’s assistance with their challenging wildfire season. There are around 600 active wildfires burning across several states with many still out of control.

“The people who have just returned from Canada have given of their best and we are very proud of the work they have done to protect communities in British Columbia. Each of them was selected for their competence and experience, as well as their ability to fit in to new teams.”

The third group to deploy to North America is working on fires in Utah and Washington State. The 57 firefighters and incident management specialists include personnel from the New Zealand Defence Force, Department of Conservation and the forestry industry as well as Fire and Emergency.

Megan Stiffler says that the experience gained in the three international deployments will enhance New Zealand’s own readiness for the coming fire season, which is forecast to be longer, drier, hotter and windier than normal in many parts of the country due to El Niño.

Source: IHC New Zealand

A striking image of a native Pīwakawaka with its tail perfectly fanned has won first place in IHC's 2026 Capture the moment photography competition. The annual competition celebrates the creativity and talent of photographers aged 13 and over with intellectual disability across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Capture the moment provides a platform for people with intellectual disability to share their unique perspectives and skills through photography and showcase the moments, people and places that matter most to them.

This year's overall winner, Beren Hughes received the $5,000 first prize for his photograph Pīwakawaka 'Fanning Out'.

Beren, a second-time winner from New Plymouth, said he spotted around seven Pīwakawaka flying around the tree catching insects and decided to challenge himself to capture one with its tail fully spread.

“I captured this almost perfect 'fan' while shooting a group of Fantails around this tree. This one sat still just long enough to capture,” Beren says. “It took me about 15 minutes to get the shot. I'm super proud of it.”

Second place and a prize of $3,000 went to Jade Laughton, of Kaitaia, for Cook My BBQ Steak Medium Please, a character-filled image of a dog waiting patiently for dinner on Great Barrier Island.

Jade's mother said the image was taken during a family barbecue at her son's home, where Jade spent the afternoon capturing a variety of spontaneous photographs.

“We knew when we saw the dog's tongue perfectly focused that it was a winning shot.”

Third place and $2,000 was awarded to Amelia Attwood, of Whangārei, for her moving photograph In Memory of My Mum.

“I took this photo at the rose gardens where I visit my mum,” Amelia said.

The competition's Youth Award, with a $1,500 prize, was won by Kai St John-Harris Spencer of Auckland, for She Rises Once Again, an evocative silhouette image taken at Te Henga (Bethells Beach) in Tāmaki Makaurau.

“The dusk sun coats a horse as the sun sets on the ocean's horizon,” Kai said. “The sun comes up the horizon, she gallops down the strait, stride strong, her glow radiates across the water, the wind echoes her name, she will be met by the moon, the horizon rises again.”

IHC Chief Executive Andrew Crisp said the quality of photography entered in the competition this year had been fantastic.

“The quality of photography and creativity that our community produces should be celebrated, and that’s why IHC loves this competition,” he said. “Creativity is a real strength for many people with intellectual disability and Capture the moment is an opportunity to highlight and reward those talents. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who entered.”

The winning images and other selected entries can be seen at IHC’s Capture the moment exhibition at FOTOFEST in Hastings from Monday 28 September to Thursday 22 October 2026.

The photos can also be seen online at IHC’s website, and can be voted on for the People's Choice Award.

Exhibition venue:

Hastings Art Centre (Arts Inc) 106 Russell Street South St Leonards Hastings 4156

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday: 9.30am to 4pm Saturday: 10am to 2pm Sunday: Closed

Prize winners

• First Place ($5,000) Beren Hughes – Pīwakawaka ‘Fanning Out’
• Second Place ($3,000) Jade Laughton – Cook My BBQ Steak Medium Please
• Third Place ($2,000) Amelia Attwood – In Memory of My Mum
• Youth Award ($1,500) Kai St John-Harris Spencer – She Rises Once Again

Source: deVere Group

September 8 2026

The yen is closing in on its strongest level this year, a move that demands every global investor revisit their portfolio given how far-reaching the impact of this currency swing could be, warns the CEO of financial advisory giant deVere Group.

The comments from Nigel Green come as the yen surged to 152.89 per dollar, its strongest level since February, having traded near 160 barely a week earlier.

Behind that jump is one of the biggest unwindings of borrowed money the currency markets have seen in decades, with a Bank of Japan meeting on September 18 adding fresh urgency to the swing.

He says: “Put simply, an enormous amount of money around the world has been borrowed cheaply in yen and pumped into other investments.

“Right now, that trade is unravelling fast, and when a trade this size unwinds, it shows up in ordinary portfolios around the world.”

For years, big investors have borrowed yen at rock-bottom cost and used the cash to buy higher-returning assets elsewhere, everything from US tech stocks to bonds in developing economies.

It has been one of the most popular trades in the world, worth an estimated 360 trillion yen, or around $2.35 trillion.

“The trouble starts when the yen itself rises. Those borrowed positions suddenly cost more to hold, and the investors behind them are forced to sell what they bought in order to pay the loan back,” explains the deVere CEO.

“This is not some abstract trading-desk story,” says Nigel Green.

“When investors have to sell in a hurry to cover a currency bet gone wrong, they sell whatever they hold, and that can mean stocks, bonds and funds that ordinary savers are invested in too, often through their pension or their workplace retirement plan.”

What makes this particular move unusual is that it was not triggered by a piece of economic news or a surprise decision from a central bank.

“It was set off by automatic sell orders built into trading systems, designed to fire once the currency hit certain levels.

“Moves like this tend to overshoot before they calm down, and this overshoot is where the real damage to portfolios often happens.”

The yen has also jumped nearly 5% this month against currencies popular with the same kind of borrowed-money trade, including the Mexican peso and the Turkish lira, showing how far the ripple effects reach beyond Japan.

“Anyone holding Japanese shares is looking at a mixed picture,” he notes

“Companies that sell heavily overseas, carmakers and electronics manufacturers among them, take a real hit because the money they earn abroad is worth less once it comes home, while businesses that sell mainly inside Japan or rely on imports can actually come out ahead.

“If you hold US shares or other investments that were quietly propped up by cheap yen borrowing, you can see sudden swings in value even though nothing about the company itself has changed,” says Nigel Green.

“And if your pension or investment portfolio is simply spread across different countries and currencies, this is a reminder that currency moves alone can add to or take away from your returns, regardless of how well the underlying investments are actually doing.”

Traders are now watching whether the yen breaks through 152 as the next marker in this unwinding, with markets pricing a 97% probability that Japan's central bank raises interest rates by a quarter point, to 1.25%, at this month's meeting.

“A break below 152 would likely push the yen even stronger and could deepen what is already one of the biggest currency stories of the year.

“Some analysts are already talking about the yen pushing into the mid-140s if this keeps accelerating.

“Investors have spent the summer focused on inflation and interest rates,” says Nigel Green.

“Right now, the currency market deserves just as much attention, and anyone who has not checked how exposed their portfolio is to the yen could be more at risk than they think.”

deVere Group is one of the world's largest independent advisors of specialist global financial solutions to international, local mass affluent, and high-net-worth clients. It has a network of offices around the world, more than 80,000 clients, and $14bn under advisement.

Source: BusinessNZ

The latest BusinessNZ Planning Forecast shows that New Zealand’s economy has regained its momentum, with solid growth forecast through to 2028.

BusinessNZ Chief Economist John Pask says despite an earlier dip, the economy is showing resilience across a range of indicators.

“The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and heightened geopolitical tensions elsewhere continue to have an impact, but New Zealand's economy has fared better than expected with annual growth nearing three percent by 2028.”

Pask says while uncertainty surrounding the upcoming general election has made investors more cautious, it hasn't materially affected investment behaviour yet.

“Businesses are conscious of the risks both at home and abroad, but for the most part are getting on with business. Confidence is holding up, credit activity is increasing and both the Performance of Manufacturing Index and Performance of Services Index have returned to expansion.”

Sectoral performance is also improving. Agriculture remains the standout performer, supported by strong international commodity prices, while manufacturing, construction, tourism and services are showing signs of recovery.

Pask says growth is becoming more broadly based.

“Manufacturing has strengthened considerably and tourism is moving beyond its post-Covid recovery into a genuine growth phase. New Zealand’s substantial infrastructure pipeline should also create opportunities for domestic and international investment over the coming years.”

Inflation remains a concern, particularly given elevated fuel prices and other persistent cost pressures. However, inflation expectations have eased and headline inflation is forecast to move back within the Reserve Bank’s target band during 2027.

Pask says while the near-term direction is encouraging, sustained growth will depend on New Zealand addressing deeper structural and long-term challenges.

“Our three-year electoral cycle can encourage short-term thinking and policy reversals, our ageing population has major implications for how retirement incomes and healthcare will be delivered and funded, and an increasingly complex geopolitical environment leaves New Zealand exposed to decisions made by major international players such as the United States and China.

“How we respond to these issues now will determine whether we can secure stronger, sustained growth over the long term.”

The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index (ECI) is a measure of some of NZ’s key economic indicators. It sits at 13 for the September 2026 quarter, up 13 points on the previous quarter, and up 10 points on a year ago. An ECI reading above 0 indicates that economic conditions are generally improving overall; below 0 means economic conditions are generally declining.

The full Planning Forecast for the September 2026 quarter is available now at BusinessNZ.

Notes to editors:

• The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast is a quarterly assessment of New Zealand’s economic outlook, drawing on more than 30 economic indicators and forecasts from major banks. It includes the BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index (ECI), which tracks changes in economic growth, monetary conditions, business and consumer activity, and the labour market. A reading above zero indicates improving conditions, while a reading below zero signals an overall decline.
• The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) and Performance of Services Index (PSI) are monthly surveys providing an early indication of activity across New Zealand’s manufacturing and services sectors. A reading above 50 indicates the sector is generally expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The further an index is from 50, the stronger the expansion or contraction.
• The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.

Source: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

MSF warns that reduced funding is collapsing an already fragile health system, overwhelming remaining hospitals.

8 September 2026 – Amidst a brutal ongoing war and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, people in Sudan face reduced access to healthcare as facilities across the country close their doors as the impact of broad and historic international aid funding cuts by governments begins to take hold.

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warns that this withdrawal of support from an already chronically underfunded crisis is cutting off lifesaving care and pushing the few remaining hospitals to breaking point. As world leaders gather at the UN General Assembly, governments and institutional donors must protect funding for essential health services in Sudan and provide flexible transitional financing where facilities are at risk of closure.

With aid organisations pulling out, local clinics are left without the funds or medicines needed to function. For patients, this means enduring long, dangerous journeys just to receive treatment. As they seek help wherever they can, the few hospitals still operational are absorbing the overflow: between January and April 2026, admissions in MSF supported facilities in Zalingei and Rokero in Central Darfur jumped by 22.5 per cent compared to the same time last year. The situation has deteriorated even further as in May alone 45 general healthcare centres in Central Darfur stopped receiving support as the organisation that had been providing resources lacked funding.

“War is driving Sudan's needs; funding cuts are shrinking the response,” says Muhammad Ibrahim, MSF Head of Mission in Sudan. “MSF's work in Sudan is privately funded. But when funding disappears from other health services, clinics close, patients have fewer places to go, and pressure shifts to the facilities that remain, including ours.”

“Donors must protect essential health services and provide sustained, flexible funding to organisations that depend on it,” says Ibrahim.

In Tanedba camp, in Gedaref state, home to 18,400 refugees, the sudden departure of a humanitarian organisation in June resulted in the camp's maternity and surgical wards closing. Pregnant women who need C-sections now face three-hour journeys to the nearest city. MSF has stepped in to run the emergency room there through the end of 2026.

In 2021, around 35 aid organisations were working in and around Um Rakuba camp in Gedaref state. Today, fewer than 10 remain. The camp now hosts around 17,000 refugees, mostly women and children.

“Our hospital in Um Rakuba is now the only lifeline left for both refugees and the local Sudanese community,” says Fabrizio Locuratolo, MSF Humanitarian Affairs Manager. “But the cuts here go well beyond healthcare. Food rations are shrinking and protection programmes are being dismantled, pulling away the last safety nets and leaving refugees completely exposed.”

After the US government announced the closure of USAID in 2025, the grants to many organisations funded to work in Sudan ended in June this year. Although the US government continues to be the largest donor to Sudan, providing funding to OCHA and other organisations, many of the existing healthcare providers have been unable to find alternative funding to continue providing services, with health facilities closing in Sudan as a result.

Just as health providers faced the impending removal of US support, many European governments also reduced their assistance to people in Sudan. European and multilateral aid budgets are also shrinking globally. OECD[1] preliminary data show that aid from EU institutions fell by 13.8 per cent in 2025, while several major European donors also reduced their overall aid spending. Globally, humanitarian aid fell by 35.8 per cent. These figures do not represent equivalent cuts to Sudan, where some European donors have maintained or increased their support. But they point to a sharply contracting international funding environment. In Sudan, that wider squeeze is compounding an already severe health crisis, as specific funding withdrawals and programme closures reduce access to healthcare.

“Closing a clinic does not remove a single patient. It just sends them to the next facility,” says Sebastián Traficante, MSF emergency coordinator in Darfur. “After a longer and more expensive journey, patients often arrive in a much more serious condition, and the hospital may already be full. MSF can reinforce some services, but we cannot absorb every closure.”

In Central Darfur's Hamidiya displacement camp, a health centre that previously provided maternity, paediatric, and mental health care is now operating at sharply reduced capacity after an international aid organisation ended its support. Daily patient visits have dropped from 200 to barely 40, and vaccinations have stopped. The fall was not a sign that people had become healthier. They had stopped making the journey to a centre that could no longer treat them. A labourer in Darfur earns roughly US$1[2], a day. The US$2 transport fare to reach a working clinic therefore costs about two days' wages, leaving residents to choose between healthcare and food. “That money could buy food instead,” a patient told MSF. “If there is no food, there can be no health.”

Despite the presence of around 50 NGOs in Tawila, critical gaps persist for up to 600,000 displaced people. MSF runs the only 200-bed hospital in the area and is the only organisation capable of mounting a large-scale epidemic response. Malaria and malnutrition cases are already rising despite limited rainfall, ahead of the peak of the rainy season – and we expect numbers to increase as the rain intensifies. In August, our teams admitted 191 severely malnourished children under five to our inpatient feeding centre, and nearly 22 per cent also tested positive for malaria.

These closures are happening during a large-scale, severely underfunded humanitarian crisis. The UN reports that 825,000 children under five are expected to suffer severe acute malnutrition and 19.5 million people faced crisis-level hunger earlier this year, meaning families either do not have enough food to eat or can only meet basic food needs by resorting to measures such as selling the assets they depend on to survive. Yet the UN's $2.87 billion response plan is barely 41 per cent funded, and 37 per cent of Sudan's health facilities are estimated to be completely out of service.[3]

[1] OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

[2] https://logcluster.org/sites/default/files/public/2026-03/market-monitor-sudan-report-february-2026.pdf

[3] According to the World Health Organization

MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. Every year more than 120 Australians and New Zealanders go on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières working as: doctors, midwives, psychologists, laboratory technicians, human resource/finance coordinators, pharmacists, mental health specialists and logisticians. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au.

Source: Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers is cautiously welcoming the National Party’s campaign promise to reset International Visitor Levy spending – but says the devil will be in the detail.

“New Zealand is desperately in need of further investment to support conservation and tourism work,” Federated Farmers conservation spokesperson Richard Dawkins says.

“The International Visitor Levy (IVL) is a great mechanism to help fund some of those initiatives but there hasn’t always been full transparency about where that money goes.

“Agriculture is New Zealand’s largest export earner, and tourism is number two, but we still have serious issues with weeds, pests, and underfunded regional infrastructure.

“That’s why Federated Farmers has been so vocal in questioning whether IVL funding is actually getting where it needs to go, or if it’s just being used to offset baseline funding.”

In its list of policy priorities for the 2026 General Election, Federated Farmers has called for 100% of IVL funding to be spent on tourism and conservation projects.

The organisation says it’s a sleight of hand for IVL funding to be reallocated to offset or replace existing Crown baseline funding to maintain current services.

“We’ve seen some great use of the IVL in the last few months that will really help control wilding pines and pests like deer – but that hasn’t always been the case,” Dawkins says.

“The levy raised around $230 million last year, but unfortunately only $90 million of that funding was used for its intended purpose of funding new discretionary initiatives.

“Just $55 million dollars was invested in new conservation projects and $35 million in tourism. The remaining $140 million was used to replace existing Crown spending.

“That’s simply not good enough when we have significant conservation challenges with wilding pines and an out-of-control pest problem that urgently needs more funding.”

Federated Farmers is now seeking assurances from the National Party that the $100 million annual allocation for conservation will be new funding.

“If that’s new funding from the IVL on top of the Department of Conversation’s existing spend, that will be a game changer for farmers and conservationists,” Dawkins says.

“But if it’s just going to be used to offset existing spending or patch over reductions in baseline funding, it will make absolutely no difference for farmers or the environment.”

Federated Farmers has written to the National Party’s conservation spokesperson Tama Potaka seeking further clarification of the policy.

Source: Woolworths New Zealand

Woolworths New Zealand is recalling Woolworths branded Multi Grain 500g cereal sold at Woolworths stores with the Best Before date of 30/04/2027.

This recall is due to the potential presence of foreign matter (blue plastic).

Any customer who has bought these products should not eat them, and is asked to return the product to their nearest store for a full refund.

There have been no reports of illness or injury, however anyone who has consumed any of these products and has any concerns about their health, should seek medical advice.

Woolworths takes food safety very seriously and we apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused by this recall.

No other products are impacted by this recall.

Customers can call Woolworths’ Customer Care team for more information on 0800 40 40 40.

Source: Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission

Te Hiringa Mahara welcomes the findings and Government response to the independent review of mental health and addiction telehealth services.

“Telehealth services are an essential part of the full continuum of services that support young people and adults so we are pleased to see such a swift response to the recommendations in the review,” says Te Hiringa Mahara Chief Executive, Karen Orsborn.

“The Minister for Mental Health and Health New Zealand have moved quickly to introduce a raft of changes. This will make an immediate difference to people seeking support and their whānau. We know that the three providers delivering telehealth services will welcome the changes and are committed to building up their services.

“Ensuring highly effective telehealth services are available to people is a cornerstone of a well-functioning continuum of services for people to draw on when it’s most needed.

“There is a lot of work to do to implement the 16 recommendations, and we look forward to seeing concrete plans being put in place to ensure more people can access timely support.

“These services have increasingly become a gateway for people needing to access crisis or specialist services with more than 50 per cent of people accessing crisis services through telehealth services. Of significant concern is the finding that around 50% of people calling these lines do not get through, and many people experience long wait times.

“All three providers are under real pressure to meet the burgeoning demand for telehealth services and respond to a broader range of needs. While all providers are working hard to respond to the increasing number and complexity of callers, the review found that too many people who reach out to mental health and addiction telehealth services are not getting through they have not been designed or funded sufficiently well to do this.

“Telehealth services must have consistent processes for identifying high-risk situations, escalating care and ensuring people are supported beyond the initial contact. We support the findings of the Telehealth Review, for not only services to meet increasing demand and needs, but also for telehealth services to ensure better connection and collaboration across services and with other parts of the mental health and addiction system.

“The endorsement of a pilot to initiate follow-up calls to evaluate the outcome for callers will help inform future developments.

“The Review has set out clear recommendations that Te Hiringa Mahara fully supports.

“We are particularly pleased to see the focus on young people’s telehealth services and the challenge they face responding to demands. Many young callers present with complex and urgent needs. We agree wholeheartedly with the Review’s recommendations that young people need to have different service models that are developed with their input to more effectively meet needs.

“Through Te Hiringa Mahara’s independent monitoring of crisis services in 2025, we found that these services are hard to navigate, fragmented and patchy, which is why we have consistently called for a nationally cohesive crisis response system that includes nationwide access to 24/7 phone-based crisis support.

“As work implementing the recommendations gets underway, we will be paying particular attention to responsiveness of services to the communities that use them. This means delivering services that are culturally appropriate for Māori, Pacific peoples and other priority populations.”

“We will continue to monitor crisis responses as when people are in crisis, they need to be able to rely on an effective mental health response that can respond and escalate as needed. In 2025 we made recommendations to HealthNZ and are monitoring implementation to ensure we see the improvements that are needed,” says Ms Orsborn.

Notes:

See Te Hiringa Mahara's report defining what is needed to ensure services recognise and respond appropriately: Urupare mōrearea: Crisis responses monitoring report | Te Hiringa Mahara-Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission