Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

The General Practice Owners Association (GenPro) welcomes government approval to establish a new Primary Health Organisation (PHO) that will reduce bureaucracy and direct more funding to front-line patient care.

Te Whatu Ora’s approval marks a significant milestone in the establishment of the new PHO, says  GenPro Chair Dr Angus Chambers.

“This approval reflects the strong work of the establishment board and the high level of interest from general practices across the country,” Dr Chambers says.

“Since the PHO was announced on November 13, we have had expressions of interest from 116 general practices representing about 833,000 enrolled patients. If all these practices proceed, the new PHO would become the largest in the country, covering around 16 percent of New Zealand’s total enrolled population,” Dr Chambers says.

The focus now shifts to supporting the successful establishment of the PHO, which is expected to begin operating on July 1 next year.

“Practices wishing to join the new PHO must provide six months’ notice to their current PHO by Wednesday, 31 December.”

Primary health organisations operate between Te Whatu Ora, which funds healthcare services, and primary healthcare providers such as general practices, playing a critical role in how care is delivered to patients.

GenPro is supporting the application because the proposed PHO aligns closely with its commitment to sustainable, high-quality, and accessible primary care for all New Zealanders.

The new PHO will be organisationally independent of GenPro, ensuring GenPro can continue its advocacy role without any conflict of interest.

GenPro represents the owners and providers of general practices and urgent care centres throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

“When the Prime Minister announced he would secure a free trade agreement (FTA) with India during the term of this government he scored another 'own goal'.

India, with whom New Zealand had spent many previous years in futile negotiations for a FTA, knew it could simply dictate the terms to a government desperate for a political trophy”, according to Auckland University Professor Emeritus of law Jane Kelsey, who closely follows India’s trade negotiations.

“Today’s announcement that a worthwhile deal has been sealed in just eight months and a handful of negotiating rounds, needs to be taken with a sack of salt”,

Kelsey notes that the government’s announcement comes with no means of verification.

“There is no public text and very little information has been released throughout the short negotiation. So, there is no way to independently assess the government’s claims. Nor do we know that India will actually see agreement this through to ratification and implementation.”

Given New Zealand’s relative insignificance, India’s Ministers and negotiators will have sought precedents they can press on countries of far greater significance, such as securing guaranteed access for its migrant workforce, while avoiding concessions that would set a bad precedent and create political problems, such as granting market access concessions for New Zealand’s dairy products that would antagonise its tens of millions of politically-active dairy farmers.  

In parallel, India has been more focused on other international priorities, including FTAs with the European Union, United Kingdom (UK) and Canada, and its pivotal role in the deeply troubled World Trade Organization.

The minimal outcomes of those negotiations put promises of tangible gains for New Zealand into perspective.

The UK and India, the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies, concluded a FTA in July 2025 after three and a half years and 15 rounds of negotiations. The UK’s own impact assessment predicts a derisory increase to its gross GDP of 0.13%, or £4.8 billion “in the long run”, with 0.06% or £45.1 billion for India.[1]

Professor Kelsey called for evidence-based public debate and engagement before any further negotiations are launched that sink scarce public resources into what have become little more than political notches on the government’s belt.

Jane Kelsey

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-india-free-trade-agreement-impact-assessment/impact-assessment-of-the-free-trade-agreement-between-the-uk-and-india-executive-summary-web-version

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) is again urging the government to uphold its long-standing policies and publicly take action against record Israeli settlement expansion.

It has just been reported that the Israeli cabinet has approved 19 more illegal settlements in the equally illegal Occupied West Bank. This decision will double the number of settlements in the West Bank since the current Israeli government came to power.

PSNA Co-Chair Maher Nazzal says past National-led governments have taken a strong rhetorical stance against such settlements.

“In 2016, the Key government co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which declared Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem ‘a flagrant violation of international law’,” Nazzal says. “Yet the number of settlers has doubled since then.”

“New Zealand, along with other equally silent Western bloc countries, is paving the way for more hatred and conflict — conflict that is likely to spill beyond the region — by continuing to ignore Israeli violations,” Nazzal says.

“Not only is Israel taking land for settlers, it is openly encouraging settler violence. There have been thousands of attacks on Palestinians — many of them lethal — especially during olive harvest season over the past two years.”

Nazzal says the government should also be reminded that Israel has violated the 10 October ceasefire in Gaza 738 times, directly killing more than 400 Palestinians during that period.

“Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently demanding that various countries ban marches and public statements in support of Palestine,” he says.

“It is long past time for governments to tell Netanyahu that it is his genocidal government that is driving hatred and conflict.”

Maher Nazzal
National Co-Chair PSNA

Consumer NZ shares its three top tips to arm bargain hunters with a winning strategy when they hit the shops this Boxing Day.  

“When you’re on the hunt for the best possible deal, you need to watch out for those less-than-genuine bargains,” says Jessica Walker, campaigns manager at Consumer.

“You need a plan to shield you from the hype and protect you from buying a dud.”

1. Come up with a game plan

Boxing Day is another massive marketing opportunity for businesses to persuade shoppers to part with their dollars.  

To avoid a buy-now-regret-later situation, shoppers should separate their wants from their needs and set a budget before hitting the shops.

“Our advice is don’t buy something unless you really need or want it. While the pull of the last sale of 2025 could be strong, the first sale of 2026 is probably less than a week away,” says Walker.

“Keep in mind that the Consumer Guarantees Act does not allow shoppers to get a refund simply because they change their mind about a purchase.”  

2. Know the rules of the game

“No refunds” or “no exchanges on sale items” signs are likely to be misleading. If something you buy is faulty or not up to standard, the Consumer Guarantees Act gives you the right to a replacement or a refund.

You don’t need the original packaging to return a faulty item either.  

“If one of your boxing day purchases is faulty, the retailer must put things right. You don’t need the original packaging to return the product.”

Walker also urges shoppers to resist the pressure to fork out for extended warranties – you're already covered under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

If you’re shopping online, watch out for 'dark patterns', too. Consumer's research into digital designs that are intended to influence and manipulate online consumer behavior has found they waste our money and time. One-third of New Zealanders said they had spent more money than they intended because of a dark pattern.

“Don’t believe ‘only three left!’ claims, or countdown timers.  
 
These tactics play on our FOMO [fear of missing out] and effectively encourage us to spend more, and quickly.”  

3. Play the long game

“While sales can be exciting, we recommend waiting for the thing you really want to go down in price, rather than just choosing the product with the biggest saving on Boxing Day,” says Walker.

Consumer’s product tests frequently show that top price doesn’t always mean top quality.

“A big discount, doesn’t necessarily mean a good deal.”

Do your research to check whether the sale price really is better than the normal selling price – and check it’s not cheaper somewhere else. You can check the price options on priceme.co.nz and pricespy.co.nz. This is an easy way to see if the ‘sale’ price is a genuine bargain.

Finally, sweep your wallet and drawers for any unused gift cards before hitting the sales.

“One in five gift card holders end up with expired cards, and Consumer estimates over $10 million is wasted on unredeemed gift cards every year. So, if you have got credit on a gift card, we recommend you ‘use it or lose it’ this Boxing Day.”

About Consumer

Consumer NZ is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to championing and empowering consumers in Aotearoa. Consumer NZ has a reputation for being fair, impartial and providing comprehensive consumer information and advice.

Despite plans to suppress Palestine support protests throughout most of the western world, Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa says it will continue to hold regular rallies and marches against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. 

PSNA co-chair John Minto says the movement will continue to organise consumer boycotts and demand government sanctions on Israel.”

“This is a genocidal, apartheid regime.  We will not be cowed by the butchers in Tel Aviv who perversely claim it’s the protests which are causing a rise in anti-semitism.” 

“Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, is the person most responsible for rising anti-semitism across the world.  He claims to be acting on behalf of Jews everywhere.”

“This is bare-faced anti-semitism from Netanyahu himself.  Jews are not responsible for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, nor for its apartheid policies.“

“Nor are they responsible for Israel’s ethnic cleansing in the Occupied West Bank and Occupied East Jerusalem, which is on the largest scale since the Nakba in 1948.”

“Every week, hundreds of thousands of Jews across the world march side by side with Palestinians and human rights activists to demand an end to Israel’s genocide and to impose accountability on Netanyahu’s regime,” Minto says.

“The rise of anti-semitism, so horrifically expressed in the attack on Bondi Beach last week, is a direct result of Israel’s ongoing mass killing and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza and the abject failure of western governments to hold Israel accountable.”

Minto says PSNA is appalled at the complete silence from the government since the so-called ‘Trump Plan Ceasefire’ came into effect.

“Our government has spoken out loudly and clearly over the Bondi massacre, as we would expect.”

“But the government has effectively joined Trump to declare that Palestine issues are all solved and so New Zealand can ignore, or even endorse Israeli killing and occupation, to enhance its relations with Israel and the US.”

“We’ve heard nothing from Foreign Minister Peters or Prime Minister Luxon over UN reports of 379 Palestinians killed by Israel since the ‘ceasefire’ was agreed two months ago”

“Because Israel still limits food access, every day, more United Nations reports come in of hunger, babies dying from the cold, and at least 100,000 still facing starvation.”

“Most of those killed in Gaza were women and children with another “Bondi-level” death toll every day – all marked with deathly silence from our government.“

“The only thing the New Zealand government has done, is to change its decades-long regular vote in the United Nations, to allow Israel’s unquestioned illegal occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights to continue.”

“All the more reason for us to continue to protest.”

John Minto

Co-Chair PSNA