Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Cotality NZ

Thursday 6 August 2026

Interest rates, credit rules, and shifting buyer behaviour are inextricably entwined with the health of the housing market. In line with the recent slowdown in property sales activity, mortgage lending has lost significant momentum – with growth dipping near zero in May and June marking a nearly three-year low. Below, we break down 10 key trends currently shaping the market.

Interest-only (I-O) lending remains ‘under control’. At around 14% of new loans to owner-occupiers in June and 28% to investors (by value), I-O activity is running at its lowest levels for more than a decade. This could signal reduced willingness by banks to lend on this basis and/or reduced demand for it, but it also shows that people aren’t generally needing to look at I-O finance to assist with cashflow pressures.

Repayment problems are low. Another indicator showing that households are generally managing to keep up with their debt commitments is that only 0.6% of the value of outstanding loans is ‘non-performing’ (either 90+ days overdue or considered impaired by the bank, i.e. that they won’t recover at least some of the interest or principal). This is around half the level seen after the GFC.

Banks’ allowances for bad debts have eased downwards. As a proportion of all outstanding loans, RBNZ figures suggest an industry-wide bad debt provision worth about 0.21%, back down to late 2022 levels.

The loan to value ratio rules are not a major restraint right now. In June around 16% of lending to owner-occupiers was done at less than 20% deposit, well below the cap of 25% and even the banks’ potentially self-enforced threshold of 20%.

First home buyers continue to take full advantage of conditions. Even though we’re operating below the overall LVR caps, FHBs are still ploughing in, accounting for around 70% of all low-deposit/high LVR lending in June – or put another way 55% of all FHB loans are being done at less than 20% deposit (or greater than 80% LVR).

Investors may be nearing the limit for low-deposit finance. Nearly 5% of lending to investors in June was done below 30% deposit (>70% LVR), which is a lot less than owner-occupiers/FHBs, but still testing the speed limit for investors of 10% officially or, of more relevance, the banks’ own self-enforced limit of perhaps 5%.

Serviceability testing is a bigger factor than debt to income limits. Recently only around 10% of lending has been done at high DTIs (after exemptions, such as new-builds), well below the speed limit of 20%. In other words, anyone finding they can’t get a loan is probably being turned down because of banks’ own internal affordability assessments (e.g. could the borrower afford the loan at a theoretical rate of perhaps 7%) rather than the official credit rules themselves.

Loan choices are getting longer. In late 2024, less than 10% of new loans were being fixed beyond 12 months and that number was still less than 20% as recently as November 2025. But it’s jumped up to the mid-50%’s for the past five months (with the two-year rate very popular), as borrowers look to protect against any further interest rate increases in a world of higher inflation and heightened uncertainty. The shift longer will generally be applying to people re-fixing existing mortgages as they roll over too.

Existing borrowers are still shopping around. Meanwhile, given that 10% of current loans are floating and 30% are fixed but due to reprice within the next six months, there’s still quite a bit of flexibility to switch lenders – and often take an attractive cashback incentive. Aside from the switching/refi bonanza in December 2025 when all the banks offered 1.5% cash, June’s figure of $2.3bn remained the highest since July last year (and the fourth highest on record back to 2017).

NZ’s LVR is low but it’s concentrated. Recently the stock of outstanding mortgages went above $400bn for the first time, having only gone above $300bn as recently as December 2020. Compared with our estimate of the value of NZ’s housing stock (almost $1.7trn), mortgage debt is low – or ‘paper equity’ is high. But for the estimated one-third of households that carry all of that debt, the swings and roundabouts of mortgage rates and credit policy are more acute.

Looking ahead, with interest rates potentially coming under renewed upwards pressure in the next few months, overall new lending activity may remain in a slowdown. But at least repayment stresses are at a low base, and first home buyers look likely to remain a fruitful group for lenders. The constant need to retain existing borrowers as their fixed rates expire will be a focus, while simultaneously competing to win market share from rival banks.

Source: GlobalData

6 August 2026

Following the Reserve Bank of India’s decision on 05 August 2026 to keep the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% with a neutral stance;

Jaison Davis, Economic Research Analyst at GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform, provides his perspective:

“This is a deliberate pause, and the RBI can afford it. Inflation is set to rise in the near term. The RBI reads that rise as food- and fuel-led and temporary. A hold at 5.25% avoids tightening into an economy that is already absorbing an external demand shock. The neutral stance is the smart choice. It keeps the option to cut later if growth slows. It also avoids a signal that could unsettle the rupee or the bond market.

“GlobalData sees India’s real GDP growth at 6.66% in 2026 and 6.68% in 2027, and inflation at 4.77% in 2026 and 4.47% in 2027. Inflation stays above the RBI’s 4% target, but it is not out of control. Growth is still strong. That mix supports a steady rate rather than a cut.”

“The growth outlook is the harder call. The US tariff on Indian goods now stands at 18%. That is down from a peak of 50%, but it still weighs on exporters. Sectors such as textiles, gems and jewellery, leather and auto components are the most exposed. They make up more than half of India’s exports to the US. The RBI is keeping rate cuts in reserve until this drag becomes clearer.

“The external side also argues for caution. The rupee has been near record lows this year. It fell to 96.84 against the dollar in May. Foreign investors withdrew about $13.7 billion. Oil is another risk. GlobalData warned in March that the Gulf conflict could push oil toward $100 a barrel. Brent then peaked near $126, and it is firming again. A cut now would widen rate gaps and add pressure on the rupee. That would be a poor trade.

“From here, the main question is how long the pressure lasts. If inflation peaks in the third quarter as expected and growth cools, a cut could come in the second half of FY27. If food, fuel or the rupee spring a surprise, the hold will last longer. For businesses and borrowers, the message is simple. Plan for the repo rate to stay at 5.25% for now. Do not assume the next move is a cut.”

GlobalData is watching three triggers for follow-up analysis. The first is the US and Iran talks. A firm deal would calm the Strait of Hormuz and ease oil and inflation pressure. A breakdown would do the reverse. The second is US tariff policy on pharmaceuticals. The sector is exempt today. Taxing it would hit one of India’s strongest export lines. The third is AI adoption by India’s top IT firms. If it displaces entry-level jobs, weaker wages and spending could push the RBI toward a cut over time.

GlobalData Plc (LSE:DATA) operates an intelligence platform that empowers leaders to act decisively in a world of complexity and change. By uniting proprietary data, human expertise, and purpose-built AI into a single, connected platform, we help organizations see what is coming, move faster, and lead with confidence. Our solutions are used by over 5,000 organizations across the world’s largest industries, providing tailored intelligence that supports strategic planning, innovation, risk management, and sustainable growth.

Source: Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association

6 August 2026

The Royal New Zealand RSA is calling on the Government to provide greater, sustained funding for New Zealand Defence Force remuneration, saying investment in people must keep pace with New Zealand's defence ambitions.

The RNZRSA welcomes the additional funding provided for Defence pay through Budget 2026. However, the average 2.2 per cent pay increase announced on Friday is well below annual inflation of 4.1 per cent. For most serving personnel, the increase has therefore not kept pace with rising prices, leaving them worse off in real terms.

RNZRSA National President Tony Hill said the Government must adequately fund the NZDF to recruit, retain and properly remunerate the people needed to deliver its growing capability.

“Ships, aircraft and technology only become defence capability when there are enough trained and experienced people to operate and maintain them,” Mr Hill said.

“Military personnel step up and accept obligations well beyond those found in most workplaces, including postings, separation from family, irregular hours, injury or worse, and the liability to serve wherever New Zealand needs them. Their remuneration should properly reflect that commitment.”

The recent pay increase provided larger targeted increases for colonel-equivalent and brigadier-equivalent personnel, whose remuneration was assessed as being around 33 per cent below relevant market benchmarks. Mr Hill said addressing that gap may have been necessary to retain experienced senior leaders, but the outcome would understandably be difficult for junior personnel to accept.

“Senior leadership takes many years to develop and retain, but junior personnel are also essential to the capability of the NZDF,” Mr Hill said.

“It is difficult for them to see larger increases directed elsewhere while their own pay is going backwards against the cost of living.”

The targeted increases have taken an important step towards correcting the significant market imbalance affecting senior military leaders. The RNZRSA is now calling on the Government to turn its attention to improving remuneration for junior personnel, experienced non-commissioned officers and critical technical and specialist roles, where pay pressures risk undermining retention and adding to existing workforce gaps.

It is also asking the Government to ensure workforce planning sits alongside major capability investment, so new ships, aircraft, technology and infrastructure are matched by the people needed to operate and sustain them.

The RNZRSA is seeking greater transparency around remuneration decisions and market comparisons, action on pay compression, completion of wider reforms already identified by NZDF, and a review of accommodation assistance to ensure rising housing costs do not further disadvantage serving personnel.

“The Government has set a welcome ambition to build a stronger Defence Force. It must now properly fund the people required to deliver it,” Mr Hill said.

“A fairer and more sustainable remuneration system will strengthen recruitment, retention and readiness across the NZDF. Defence capability starts with its people.”

Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

Dozens of NZNO’s Total Care Health North Island members will hold a full withdrawal of labour strike on Friday 7 August from 8.30am to 4.30pm. The pickets take place in Hamilton, Auckland and Havelock North (Hawke's Bay).

Working under the ACC Nursing Services Contract for Total Care Health by Access, they provide essential care to patients with complex health needs and those requiring wound care under ACC criteria.

NZNO delegate and Total Care nurse, Krystal Lewis, says: “Our nurses are on the road up to seven days a week, travelling far and wide to assess, treat, support, and prevent clients from requiring hospital admission. They deliver highly skilled, compassionate care in people's homes, often in challenging and isolated environments.

“Despite the vital role we play in keeping people well and reducing pressure on hospitals, our value is not reflected by our employer. We remain the lowest-paid community nursing workforce, despite the complexity, responsibility, and flexibility our roles demand.”

Auckland

When: 10.30am – 11.30pm, Friday 7 August

Where: 24 Manukau Road, Epsom

Hamilton

When: 11.30am – 12 noon, Friday 7 August

Where: 133 Collingwood Street, Hamilton East

Havelock North

When: 11am – 12 noon, Friday 7 August

Where: 3 Martin Place, Havelock North

Source: Porirua City Council

Porirua City Council today voted to submit an amalgamation proposal based on a single unitary council, supported by strong community councils, but said a referendum should be included in the next steps.

The proposal was developed by councils in the Wellington region as part of Government’s Head Start process, as part of its Simplifying Local Government reforms.

At its meeting today, Porirua City Council added an amendment that a referendum should be held before the detailed design is submitted to Cabinet for decision.

The two-level model follows the principle that regional decisions would be made at unitary level, and local decisions by the community councils. It also includes mana whenua partnership arrangements at governance level, and Māori wards at both levels.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said her council believed this model would deliver the best outcomes for the city and the region.

“We support establishment of a single regional unitary council for the Wellington region, because it is the governance model best able to deliver long-term, affordable and sustainable services and outcomes for the communities, businesses and the environment of Porirua city and the wider region.

“The social, economic and environmental opportunities and challenges our city and region will face in the future (including the impacts of climate change), will require us to operate at an integrated, regional scale, and to strengthen the voice and participation of our local communities.”

The community councils would provide an important role in maintaining local voice and representation. Local service centres would be maintained in each community council area, with staff providing services out of these.

Importantly, submitting a proposal gave Porirua the opportunity to influence the shape of what happens next, Mayor Baker said.

“If we don’t submit a proposal, it essentially means the Government will decide our future through their backstop process and we have no influence. They might come up with a solution that doesn’t reflect our unique context, and local voice and representation could be lost.

“That would see other regions moving ahead while ours is left behind.

“I’m proud that our council has stayed at the table and stayed open. Having our iwi at the table is a non-negotiable – they were here before us and they’ll be here after us.”

Proposals from around the country are due to be submitted to the Government in the coming days, and Cabinet will then determine which of them move forward to detailed design phase. If successful, next steps will include refining the preferred governance option, further financial analysis, community consultation and engagement, and transition planning.

Mayor Baker said the next stage was the most important, and working together was key.

“If our proposal is selected, we are committed to working in partnership with mana whenua, our communities, other councils and the Government in the detailed design phase of Head Start.”

Source: Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers says today’s announcement of new industry-led secondary school subjects is a major win for New Zealand's future farming workforce.

“Farming is so important for New Zealand’s economic success, but often we struggle to meet our workforce needs,” Federated Farmers spokesperson Richard Dawkins says.

“The way we farm is constantly evolving with new technology and improved practices.

“That’s why we need young people joining our sector with relevant and practical skills.

“The Government’s launch of new subjects is incredibly positive, as they’ll help us build our future workforce and capability in a way that truly works for the sector.”

Dawkins says this kind of practical, industry-led approach is exactly what the sector had in mind when Te Pūkenga was disestablished.

“The formation of Industry Skills Boards was a significant step forward in reshaping and modernising New Zealand’s vocational education and training system,” he says.

“This is a logical next step that will create a clear pathway for young people from school into further vocational education, and then directly into the workforce.”

Supporting young farmers is one of Federated Farmers’ policy priorities for the 2026 election.

“We called for the Government to support practical and industry-led vocational training, and empower rural schools to teach agriculture,” Dawkins says.

“We also asked for practical industry experience, work-based learning and apprenticeship pathways to be built into vocational education.

“Today’s announcement delivers on all three of those asks – so we’re considering that a major win for farmers, rural communities and Federated Farmers’ advocacy.”

Federated Farmers has two other specific policy priorities that would help support young Kiwi farmers:

• Review the Sharemilking Agreements Act.
• Include agricultural and horticultural science within the year 0-10 science curriculum.

“We’ll continue advocating for this current Government – or whoever forms the next Government – to make those two things happen.

“Our primary sector is world-leading, but we need to make it easier and more attractive for young people to build rewarding careers in farming.

“The future of our farms, our rural communities and New Zealand’s economy depend on it.”

Source: Porirua City Council

Nominations for Porirua City Council’s Onepoto General Ward closed at midday today with a by-election to be held in October.

Five candidates have put themselves forward for election. They are, in alphabetical order, Joanne Dow, Caroline Mareko, Zac Painting, Siobhan Samuel and Jess Te Huia. The by-election follows the sudden passing of Onepoto Ward Councillor Mike Duncan.

Porirua’s Deputy Electoral Officer, Jack Marshall, says it’s now up to voters in the Onepoto General Ward to cast their votes for who will represent them around the Council table. “Local government is in a time of great change. The new Councillor will take part in critical decisions for the future of our city,” he says.

“We’ll be providing more information for voters in the coming weeks, with profiles of all candidates available on the Council’s website next week.” People who live in the Onepoto General Ward and are on the General Electoral Roll are eligible to vote in the Onepoto General Ward By-election. You can find out which suburbs in Porirua are in the ward in the information for voters section on our website.

It’s a great time to check you’re enrolled to vote. If you enrol after today, you will need to cast a special vote in the by-election. We’ll have more details on where you can do this in the coming weeks. Voting papers will begin to be delivered from 14 September, and must be in the hands of the Electoral Officer by 12 noon on Friday 16 October.

Source: BusinessNZ

BusinessNZ has welcomed elements of Labour’s Small Business Action Plan – A Fair Go, saying several measures reflect long-standing BusinessNZ positions, and says today’s announcement should prompt a wider, cross-party conversation about New Zealand’s outdated and unindexed tax settings, including the case for a lower company tax rate. BusinessNZ has also raised strong concerns about any move to narrow Investment Boost, warning it would come at the direct expense of the wider business investment that underpins New Zealand’s productivity.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the New Zealand economy, and any credible plan to ease their cash flow and compliance burden deserves a considered look,” BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich said. “There is real substance here, and some of it lines up with positions we’ve held for some time. But the detail – and what’s missing – matters just as much as the headline.”

GST registration threshold: overdue

“Raising the GST registration threshold is something BusinessNZ has already called for in our election priorities,” Ms Rich said. “It has sat at $60,000 since 2009 – 17 years without adjustment – and is now well below Australia’s equivalent of $75,000. We support this move and encourage all parties to adopt this policy.

BusinessNZ has previously put this case directly to Government. In 2023, BusinessNZ wrote in support of a small-business-led petition calling for the GST registration threshold to be raised, on the same grounds it is making today – that inflation has quietly eroded the threshold’s original intent.

The bigger issue: New Zealand doesn’t index its tax thresholds

Ms Rich said the GST threshold should not be looked at in isolation – it is a symptom of a much wider problem that BusinessNZ has consistently raised: New Zealand has no mechanism for automatically keeping tax thresholds in line with inflation.

“Income tax thresholds have not kept pace with inflation and Inland Revenue’s own advice to the Finance Minister estimated this fiscal drag has cost middle-income earners an extra $2 billion a year collectively, lifting the average tax rate by 1.65 percentage points above where it would otherwise sit.

“BusinessNZ’s long-standing position is that all tax thresholds, including income tax brackets and the GST registration threshold, should be indexed to inflation as a matter of course. That would stop the country lurching from one overdue correction to the next, and remove the temptation for any government to quietly bank the proceeds of bracket creep.”

Investment Boost: BusinessNZ welcomes threshold lift, but strongly opposes narrowing it to SMEs

BusinessNZ said it supports lifting the instant asset write-off threshold for small businesses – “that helps reduce tax compliance costs for SMEs, and we’ve supported measures like it for years,” Ms Rich said. But she said BusinessNZ would be strongly opposed to funding that change by scrapping or narrowing Investment Boost for larger businesses.

“Investment Boost is one of the most important productivity policies New Zealand has introduced in years, and BusinessNZ would be very opposed to seeing it curtailed,” Ms Rich said. “It currently applies to businesses of every size, with no value limit, and Treasury and Inland Revenue estimate it will lift New Zealand’s GDP by 1 percent, wages by 1.5 percent and the capital stock by 1.6 percent over the next 20 years – with around half of those gains expected in the first five years. The latest Inland Revenue survey data shows it is already working: 40 percent of firms that invested in new assets say it increased their investment spending over the past year, and nearly half of firms planning to invest over the next five years say it is positively influencing those plans.

“Investment Boost is forecast to cost around $6.6 billion through to 2029. Redirecting that broad-based incentive into a narrower scheme for businesses under $10 million turnover – to help fund a small-business package costed at $1.56 billion – would in effect strip billions of dollars out of the future investment New Zealand’s larger employers, exporters and manufacturers would otherwise have made.

“Larger businesses account for the bulk of New Zealand’s capital investment, and it is precisely that investment – in plant, technology and equipment – that lifts the productivity and wages of the whole economy, including the small businesses that supply and work for those larger firms,” she said.

“Our message is straightforward: support small business investment, absolutely – but not by taking a proven, broad-based productivity policy away from everyone else. Any replacement for Investment Boost must remain available to businesses of all sizes,” Ms Rich said.

Company tax rates need to be part of the conversation

Ms Rich said today’s announcement, welcome as parts of it are, sidesteps the tax setting BusinessNZ believes matters most for long-run growth: the headline company tax rate.

“BusinessNZ has long held the position that New Zealand’s 28 percent company tax rate is now well out of step with our peers and is holding back investment. Australia, the UK and Canada all sit at or below 25 to 26 percent. A staged reduction in the corporate rate, paired with continued reform of the Overseas Investment Act, would do more for New Zealand’s ability to attract and retain capital than any single small-business measure. We’d encourage every party to put a credible pathway on lowering the company tax rate back on the table this election,” she said.

Prompt payment: BusinessNZ does not support a mandated model

“Cash flow is the single biggest killer of small businesses, and it’s an objective BusinessNZ shares,” Ms Rich said. “But BusinessNZ has not supported a mandatory payment period along the lines proposed today.”

A mandatory approach was legislated through the Business Payments Practices Act 2023, which caused considerable concern among BusinessNZ’s larger members. That Act was subsequently repealed, with Government instead asking BusinessNZ to help design a voluntary Business Payments Code – work BusinessNZ has already carried out in detail with its membership.

“A single, economy-wide payment rule of around two weeks doesn’t account for how different sectors actually operate,” she said. “Government payment mechanisms are relatively uniform across departments by comparison; the private sector spans a much wider range of payment cycles, contract structures and sector norms, and a one-size-fits-all rule risks significant upheaval and compliance cost in sectors it wasn’t designed for.”

BusinessNZ also pointed to tools already delivering faster payment voluntarily. “E-invoicing has been established by Government and running for several years, and many large businesses have already adopted it as a way to pay small suppliers faster,” Ms Rich said. “It takes time for businesses to change internal systems to accommodate a new requirement, and legislating a blunt, universal rule ahead of that transition is a heavy-handed way to get there.”

“There is also no agreed definition of a ‘big business’ in this context,” she said. “Any threshold needs to be very carefully designed so it doesn’t inadvertently capture medium-sized enterprises that face exactly the same cash-flow pressures this policy is meant to relieve.”

“BusinessNZ will continue to engage constructively with all parties on small business and tax policy in the lead-up to the election. We’d welcome commitments from Government and other parties to properly index tax thresholds, to protect and build on Investment Boost rather than narrow it, and to put a lower company tax rate back on the agenda – not just fixes that arrive once the political pressure becomes convenient,” Ms Rich said.

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: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi

A three-day High Court hearing on the Government’s scrapping of pay equity for more than 150,000 New Zealand women has concluded in Wellington, with the Government facing accusations that its defence of last year's law changes does not withstand scrutiny under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.

The case was brought by the NZ Nurses Organisation, the Public Service Association, Post-Primary Teachers Association, Tertiary Education Union and the NZ Educational Institute. It asks the High Court to declare that the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 is inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. The Human Rights Commission joined the case as an intervener.

“This case goes to the heart of who this Government values and who it doesn't. For two years women in some of our most essential professions, nurses, midwives, teachers, care and support workers, have been waiting for the justice they were promised, only to have it taken away overnight, without warning, without consultation, and without a single minute of consideration by a Parliamentary select committee,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

The Crown has told the Court its changes were genuine, good faith law reform intended to make the pay equity system “more robust, workable and sustainable,” and denies any bad faith or discrimination.

Dr Rodney Harrison KC, representing the unions, told the Court the Government's account does not add up. If the changes were genuinely about building a better system, he said, there was no need to rush the law through under urgency, with no warning to affected women workers, no select committee process, and no regulatory impact statement, in breach of Parliament's own guidelines for good lawmaking.

The unions' submissions to the Court describe the changes as “in reality cost cutting, Budgetary window dressing and a deliberate assault on the rights of affected women dressed up as law reform.” The lawyers for the unions described the new regime to the Court as “dystopian” and “Kafkaesque.”

“Dr Harrison put it plainly to the Court: this move was cynical and opportunistic. Pay equity claims were cancelled and the money that had been earmarked for women was simply taken away,” Fitzsimons said.

“You don't need to hide genuine reform from the people it affects. You don't need urgency, no warning, and no select committee if you're confident the public would back what you're doing. The Government's own actions tell the real story here, not the explanation its lawyers are now offering the Court.

“Every one of those cancelled claims was a group of women whose work is undervalued because of their sex, they were banned from raising claims or told to start again from scratch under a harder test, designed by the same Government that cancelled them,” Fitzsimons said.

“We've told the Court this was never about building a better pay equity system. It was all about finding $12.8 billion in savings, and women workers were left to pay for it.”

A declaration of inconsistency would not itself change the law, but it would trigger a formal process: the declaration must go to a select committee for consideration, which reports back to Parliament with any recommendations. The Government must then respond to that report, and a parliamentary debate must be held within six days of the Government's response being presented.

Justice Radich told the Court he would deal with the issue expeditiously.

“Whatever the outcome, this case has forced the Government to defend, in open court, a decision it never had to defend to the women affected by it. We look forward to the Court's decision, and we won't stop fighting for pay equity until it's achieved.

“Come the election in November we will certainly be reminding voters that this act was done in bad faith, lacked any evidence-based justification and hard-working women paid a price for the Government’s unprincipled decision,” Fitzsimons said.

ENDS

Background: Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025

The Act discontinued all 33 pay equity claims that were underway when it passed, affecting workforces including Plunket nurses, hospice workers, health care assistants, community midwives, teachers and care and support workers. It also stripped the right to review from pay equity settlements already agreed and imposed a ten year stand down before claims can be raised again.

Previous statements

18 August 2025 Five unions to take Government to court over pay equity

Human Rights Commission intervention a boost for landmark pay equity legal case

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.

Source: Employers and Manufacturers Association

The EMA (Employers and Manufacturers Association) has welcomed the government's announcement of nine new industry-led secondary school subjects, saying the move will help better connect classroom learning with the skills, careers and workforce needs of the future.

From 2029, Year 12 and 13 students will be able to study subjects including Next-Gen Manufacturing, Applied Intelligent Systems, Construction and Built Environment, Engineering Technology, Food and Fibre Systems and Tourism, with programmes developed in partnership with industry.

EMA Head of Professional Services Nick Sheppard said the announcement represented a significant shift in how New Zealand prepares young people for employment, training and further study.

“For many years, employers, schools, tertiary providers and communities have been calling for stronger connections between education and the world of work. This announcement is a major step in the right direction.”

“These new learning pathways will help young people better understand the exciting career opportunities available to them while gaining skills that are relevant to employers and the future workforce.”

Sheppard, who serves on the Industry Advisory Group for the Engineering and Manufacturing Industry Skills Board, said the reforms recognise that industry must play a central role in preparing the next generation of workers.

“One of the most encouraging aspects of this initiative is that industry is being invited to help shape what students learn. Businesses understand the skills, technologies and capabilities that will be needed in the years ahead, and their input will help ensure these subjects remain innovative, engaging and future-focused.”

The EMA believes the new subjects will help expose more young people to career pathways they may never previously have considered, while giving employers an opportunity to strengthen connections with local schools and future talent.

“This creates a real opportunity for employers to become involved in developing New Zealand's future workforce. The door has been opened and now it is important that industry steps through it.”

Sheppard said the EMA would encourage its members to engage with the development of the new subjects and support ongoing collaboration between business, schools, tertiary providers and Industry Skills Boards.

“Success will depend on genuine partnership. Curriculum design is only the beginning. As technologies evolve and industries change, business will need to remain actively involved to help ensure these pathways continue to prepare young people for the jobs of the future, not the jobs of the past.”

Sheppard said the reforms had the potential to elevate industry-connected learning to a new level within the secondary school system.

“New Zealand has seen many successful vocational and career-focused initiatives over the years, but these new subjects have the potential to embed industry-connected learning more deeply within mainstream secondary education and give it the same status as traditional academic pathways.”

He added that businesses were seeking a stable, long-term approach to skills development that would give schools, learners and employers the confidence to invest in future workforce capability.

“After a period of significant change across the skills and vocational education system, businesses are looking for consistency and long-term commitment. If we get that, these new subjects can play an important role in building the skilled workforce New Zealand needs to grow and prosper.”