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New Zealand’s housing market continued to lose momentum in April, with sales volumes falling for a fourth consecutive month as cautious buyer sentiment and rising interest rate expectations kept activity subdued.

Date: 20 May 2026 – Consumer NZ has revealed that not a single bank has qualified for its People’s Choice Award in 2026, due to widespread dissatisfaction with banking value, pricing and trust.

It’s the first time in 10 years that no bank has reached the customer satisfaction threshold for the award. New research by Consumer NZ shows 43% of customers think bank profits are unacceptable, with lower-income New Zealanders the most critical.

Consumer NZ CEO Jon Duffy says it’s disappointing no bank has managed to clear the bar. “Everyday banking hasn’t kept pace with what customers expect. Many customers don’t feel they’re getting fair value, especially when it comes to fees, interest rates and how banks respond when something goes wrong.”

Despite the low level of satisfaction in the survey, only 4% of New Zealanders switched banks in the past year. Duffy says the hassle involved with changing banks has been overstated, and he encourages New Zealanders who are dissatisfied to shop around for a better deal.

“It’s consumer behaviour that helps encourage competition and put pressure on banks to sharpen pricing, lift service and earn trust. By always keeping an eye out for the best deal and moving when you find a better one, New Zealanders will find they have more options and better leverage.”

Westpac came in at the bottom of the table, ranking lowest for responsible lending, value for money, timely responses, fees and charges, phone banking, branch banking, and the number of customers rating themselves “very satisfied”.

The research, based on a survey of 1,958 New Zealanders, also revealed Kiwibank trailed in the trust stakes at 70%, against a sector average of 75%.

“Open banking is here and, while it’s early days, it could lead to cheaper ways to make payments and more competition,” Duffy says. “But consumers won’t see that until it’s widely adopted.”

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.

New account types deliver age‑based content access and communication defaults designed for younger players

SAN MATEO, California – Starting today, New Zealand is one of the first countries globally where Roblox is rolling out new age-based accounts for under 16s.

The launch of Roblox Kids, for ages 5–8, and Roblox Select, for ages 9–15*, marks a significant change for the platform. The age-based account system automatically assigns players aged under 16, as determined through Roblox's global age-check technology or by a verified parent, to either a Roblox Kids or Roblox Select account. These accounts are matched to a dynamically updated catalogue containing thousands of select games.

The new Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts align content access, communication defaults, and parental controls with a player's age, fundamentally shifting how younger players experience Roblox and delivering greater peace of mind for parents.

This is a continuation of the work Roblox began in December last year, becoming the first large online gaming platform to require facial age checks to access chat. As of January 31, 60% of Roblox's daily active users in New Zealand, Australia and the Netherlands, where age checks first became mandatory in December last year, had completed an age check.**

As a part of these latest updates, Roblox will also be rolling out expanded parental controls on a platform used by millions each day, now giving parents increased oversight until their kids turn 16.

The changes going live from today bring age checks, account-level defaults, content ratings, ongoing moderation, and expanded parental controls together into a unified framework for younger players. At launch, age‑checked players under 16 retain access to the vast majority of their favourite games, while no changes apply to the experience for age-checked players aged 16 and over.

Alongside New Zealand, Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts will also begin rolling out in Australia, Indonesia, and the Netherlands from today, with the rest of the world to follow next month.

Australia-based father Denny Handlin, a member of Roblox's Global Parent Council, said: “New Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts are a big win for parents. The Parent Council has been discussing where parents could have more direct controls and Roblox is delivering with the launch of new, expanded parental tools in this update. Being able to approve games and customise the experience to fit our own children's needs lets them enjoy the magic of Roblox while we stay in the driver's seat. It's fantastic to see a platform taking the right steps to ensure our kids can play and learn with total confidence.”

Matt Kaufman, Chief Safety Officer at Roblox, said: “The rollout of Roblox Kids and Roblox Select in New Zealand is an important safety update for families, helping to ensure Kiwi children are set up with the most age‑appropriate games from the outset and giving parents greater control. It means added reassurance for New Zealand households.”

New Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts for children aged under 16

For Roblox Kids accounts for ages 5-8:

Access is limited to games with a Minimal or Mild content maturity label that have passed their three-step selection process (detailed below).
All communication is disabled by default.
The design includes a blue background across the app experience to indicate account type.

For Roblox Select accounts for ages 9–15:

Access is limited to games with content maturity labels up to and including Moderate that have passed their three-step selection process (detailed below).
Default communications settings remain unchanged for ages 9-15.

The design includes a distinct visual treatment to indicate account type.

Account Progression

Roblox's global age-based account system automatically progresses players as they age.

Players automatically transition from Roblox Kids to Roblox Select accounts when they reach age 9.
Players automatically transition from Roblox Select to standard Roblox accounts when they reach age 16.

Players who have completed an age check on Roblox will be assigned to the account type appropriate for their age. For players in New Zealand who have not done so, there will be a transition period to give players time to complete the process. During this period, players who have self-declared their age as eight or younger will only have access to games in the Roblox Kids catalogue, while players who have self-declared their age as nine or older will have access only to games in the Roblox Select catalogue.

Players who have not completed an age check cannot chat on Roblox, regardless of their age.

Continuous Evaluation Process for Dynamic Game Selection

As always, all content uploaded to Roblox goes through their existing moderation systems, including AI asset scanning, ongoing user report review, and multimodal moderation that evaluates scenes in real time for potential policy violations.

For content made available to players under 16, they apply an additional continuous process that dynamically selects games. This process includes developer verification, extended content evaluation and rating, and additional limits on content more suited to older audiences.

Evaluation Criteria

Content is automatically included in Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts once games are evaluated using additional criteria that include:

Developer Verification: Creators must complete ID verification, enable two-step verification, and pay a one-time refundable publishing fee of 1000 Robux per game or maintain an active Roblox Plus or Premium subscription for two consecutive months.
Real-Time Evaluation: Roblox analyses how players age 16 and older interact with new games and monitor user reports to assess suitability for younger players.
Content Maturity Rating and Default Exclusions: Roblox assigns an appropriate content maturity label (Minimal, Mild, or Moderate) for each game. By default, Roblox Kids and Roblox Select accounts do not include games that feature sensitive issues, social hangouts, or free-form drawing games.

Future Ratings Framework Integration

Later this year, Roblox will start transitioning to the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC) framework, the globally recognised standard method for assigning content ratings for digital games and apps, helping families better identify age-appropriate content.

Extending Parental Controls

Roblox is also extending their parental controls, which allow parents to manage content ratings, communications settings, and screen-time and spending limits. These tools also transparently show parents which games their child is spending their time in and who their friends are. Under this update, parents gain one new control and retain access to certain controls until a child turns 16.

Extending Granular Game Blocking: Parents can block specific individual games through age 15.
Extending Chat Management: Parents can manage direct chat settings through age 15.
New Granular Game Approval: Parents can now approve access to specific games that are not otherwise available under the child's default account type.

This structure is designed to give parents more precise control over the games and friends their child interacts with.

Together, these updates are part of the company's ongoing work to build age-appropriate experiences for all players, apply safety-by-default protections for younger players, and give parents more visibility and control over how their children use Roblox.

As part of Roblox's work to become the world's healthiest platform for players of all ages, they continually invest in safety by design and empower creativity through technology innovation. The products are thoughtfully designed to cultivate creation, connection, and collaborative play, rather than passive consumption.

*The exact ages, games, and features associated with these accounts vary by region. Ages are based on age checks; parents can correct a child's age if necessary.

About Roblox

Roblox is an immersive gaming and creation platform that offers people millions of ways to be together, inviting its community to explore, create, and share endless unique games. Roblox's vision is to reimagine the way people come together—in a world that's safe, civil, and optimistic. To achieve this vision, Roblox is building an innovative company that, together with the community, has the ability to strengthen the social fabric and support economic growth for people around the world. For more about Roblox, please visit corp.Roblox.com.

Roblox and the Roblox logo are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of Roblox Corporation in the United States and other countries. © 2026 Roblox Corporation. All rights reserved.

As the only university that's an official nominator in New Zealand, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington is privileged to announce its choice of nominees for the The Earthshot Prize.

The six local climate solutions nominated for the multimillion-dollar funding represent the very best of Kiwi innovation, and the power of people coming together to tackle global environmental challenges.

They include bale wrap made from jute, packaging made from mushrooms, and interior design panels made from recycled plastic. Collective efforts are helping to clean the ocean from plastic pollution, to support farming be more sustainable, and to grow kelp forests.

Andrew Wilks, Manutaki—Director, Sustainability at Victoria University of Wellington, says, “As a sustainability thought leader in New Zealand, Vic Uni is charged as an official nominator in a global network of 361 nominators for The Earthshot Prize.

“There were remarkable applications again this year, but Vic Uni is excited to elevate these six New Zealand solutions to the world stage through The Earthshot Prize because every single one has the power to change the world. They're affordable, immediately scalable, and could create true global transformation.”

Mr Wilks says the prize is awarded to projects that highlight human ingenuity, drive change, and inspire collective action.

“The very best national qualities are clear in our successful New Zealand nominees. There's the No. 8 wire ingenuity that's led to developing alternatives to plastic or reusing it by Critical, Mushroom Material, and KiwiEconet. Meanwhile, the power of the Kiwi working bee is evident in the community-building work of AgriZeroNZ, Mountains to Sea Wellington Trust, and Sea Cleaners.”

Our six New Zealand nominees for the Earthshot Prize 2026 are:

AgriZeroNZ: The public-private partnership AgriZeroNZ invests to accelerate the development and deployment of tools for farmers to reduce agricultural emissions while staying profitable and productive. Half-owned by the New Zealand government and half-owned by major agribusinesses and banks, it's driving solutions for pasture-based farms that can be scaled globally.

Critical.: Critical. is a Māori-led clean-tech company transforming hard-to-recycle plastic waste into near carbon-neutral circular building materials called Cleanstone. Made in Aotearoa from 100 percent reclaimed plastic waste, Cleanstone replaces short-life interior materials that typically end up in landfill after only a few years. Critical. is now developing compact microfactories designed to help communities around the world transform local waste into high-value materials, jobs, and circular economic opportunity through regenerative manufacturing.

KiwiEconet: This Southland invention of 100 percent natural and organic jute fibre netting, KiwiEconet, replaces the plastic wrap used for baling hay and silage. It is eco-friendly, biodegradable and edible by livestock, with nutritional benefits.

Mountains to Sea Wellington Trust: The Love Rimurimu project, led by the Mountains to Sea Wellington Trust, is restoring declining kelp forests in Wellington Harbour through science, community action, and Indigenous partnership. It also empowers communities with hands on education and open source knowledge sharing.

Mushroom Material: A fully biodegradable alternative to expanded polystyrene on which the packaging industry relies is Mushroom Material. The innovation lies in mycelium-based pellets, designed to integrate seamlessly with existing moulding equipment, making the switch to a sustainable solution a truly viable option.

Sea Cleaners: Sea Cleaners operates a fleet of purpose-built vessels intercepting plastic pollution at the final point before it disperses beyond recovery, removing millions of litres of waste from waterways each year. Now expanding into the Pacific, it is building an island-led clean-up network that combines on-water recovery, data, and circular recycling to stop plastic pollution at scale.

The Sustainable Business Network encouraged applications for nominations from its Next List—the innovators, entrepreneurs, projects, and organisations who were finalists in its Sustainable Business Awards. Mushroom Material and Critical are successful nominees from these recommendations.

James Griffin, General Manager at Sustainable Business Network, says, “What's exciting about these nominations is that they show world-class sustainable innovation is already emerging in Aotearoa New Zealand—not as distant ideas, but as practical, scalable solutions solving real problems right now. We're thrilled to see Critical and Mushroom Material nominated for the world's most prestigious environmental award. Both were selected because they're on our Next list, which exists to help elevate the innovators building tomorrow's economy today.”

About the Earthshot Prize

Every year in the 2020s, The Earthshot Prize Trust, led by Prince William, will award £1 million ($1.9 million) each to five environmental solutions. The global search identifies the most ambitious and inspiring solutions to the planet's greatest environmental challenges across five goals or 'Earthshots': 'Protect and Restore Nature', 'Clean our Air', 'Revive our Oceans', 'Build a Waste-Free World,' and 'Fix our Climate'.

In 2023, one of Victoria University of Wellington's nominees, Sea Forest Ltd, made the highly-competitive global shortlist to be one of the fifteen finalists for The Earthshot Prize. This year's finalists will be announced in September, and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in Mumbai in November.

Housing confidence has softened this quarter as interest rate expectations have shifted sharply higher, with most households now expecting rates to rise.

House price expectations have eased but remain positive, with more people now expecting prices to stay flat rather than fall.

Buying sentiment eased only slightly, supported by plentiful housing supply despite rising living costs and softer confidence.

Confidence in New Zealand’s housing market has eased this quarter, as higher interest rate expectations and global uncertainty weigh on house price sentiment, even as buying conditions remain relatively positive.

In ASB’s latest Housing Confidence Survey, house price expectations fell in the three months to April, with a net 19% of respondents expecting prices to rise over the next 12 months, down from net 30% in the previous survey.

Buying sentiment also eased slightly to a net 20%, though it remains relatively strong compared to recent years.

What’s driving the shift?

ASB Senior Economist Kim Mundy says global developments, particularly the fuel crisis linked to conflict in the Middle East, has shifted the outlook for inflation and interest rates.

“House price expectations have eased as rising fuel costs and inflation concerns flow through to higher interest rate expectations,” Kim says.

This shift in interest rate expectations is flowing through to broader housing sentiment, weighing on house price expectations while elevated housing supply continues to support buying conditions.

“There has been a sharp turnaround in interest rate expectations, with most households now believing mortgage rates have already bottomed and more expecting rates to rise over the coming year.”

Over the three months to April, a net 48% of respondents now expect interest rates to increase over the next 12 months, marking a significant shift compared to one year ago where net 48% of respondents were expecting interest rates to fall.

What it means for the housing market

Most respondents still expect stability rather than a downturn, with many expecting house prices to remain flat over the coming year.

Regional differences remain evident, with Auckland recording the largest fall in house price expectations, suggesting Auckland may be more sensitive to higher mortgage rates or fuel costs.

By contrast, Canterbury has remained relatively resilient, with house price expectations holding up and market conditions tightening, though respondents now perceive it is a less favourable time to buy in the region.

Kim says housing supply continues to play an important role in supporting buying sentiment.

“While higher interest rates and the rising cost of living pressures are expected to weigh on demand, abundant housing supply is continuing to support buyer interest, giving purchasers more choice, flexibility and time to make decisions.”

What’s next?

Expectations of higher inflation and interest rates are likely to dampen/ weigh on housing demand in the near term, particularly as cost‑of‑living pressures persist.

ASB Economists expect inflation to lift above 4% in 2026, with interest rates also likely to rise over the second half of this year.

“With interest rates likely to rise from here, we expect to see households willing to lock in mortgage rates and for housing market activity to remain relatively subdued in the near term,” Kim says.

The latest ASB Housing Confidence Survey, along with other recent ASB reports covering a range of commentary, can be accessed at the ASB Economic Insights page: https://www.asb.co.nz/documents/economic-insights.html
 
Note: net percent is calculated as the percentage of “yes” or “up responses minus the percentage of “no” or “down responses. The ASB Housing Confidence Survey has been conducted quarterly since July 1996. Respondents are asked about their expectations for house prices and interest rates over the next 12 months, and whether it is a good time to buy a property.

Queenstown, New Zealand (19 May 2026) Electrify Queenstown 2026 has wrapped after three days of energy, ideas and action, drawing more than 1,000 attendees through the doors.

The award-winning event, now in its third year, brought together leading politicians, business leaders, energy experts, community organisations, and residents, to explore how electrification can help build a more resilient, affordable and future-focused region and Aotearoa.

Queenstown Lakes District Mayor John Glover says the event reinforces both the opportunity ahead and the need for stronger regional and national energy planning.

“We have regional land transport plans, so why don't we have regional energy plans? We need to be looking at where investment will make the biggest difference, whether that is network upgrades, community batteries, building code changes or local generation.

“Queenstown can help drive that change. The expertise in this room over the past three days has been extraordinary, and these are the conversations that can help shape what needs to happen next.”

Day Three focused on practical business advice, with sessions covering power bill savings, Queenstown's pathway to a better energy system, EV technology, confidence in the electricity system, electric transport futures and new operating models for business.

The programme included contributions from Rewiring Aotearoa, Aurora Energy, NordEast, the Rental Car Association, EECA, Transpower, ChargeNet, Southern Infrastructure, Vessev, Naut and Farmlands Flex.

Mayor Glover says Electrify Queenstown has direct value for local government and residents.

“What comes out of events like this is knowledge that can help councils make better decisions and save ratepayers money.”

Hundreds of people also moved through the free public How-To Hub and Power Playground across the event at Queenstown Events Centre, engaging with more than 30 exhibitors, while scores of attendees joined sold-out home tours and electric experiences showcasing solar, batteries, EVs, regenerative tourism and energy-efficient design in action.

The event also featured a major political leaders' debate on Monday, alongside keynote presentations, panels and practical workshops covering transport, energy infrastructure, home electrification, tourism resilience and business innovation.

Richard Fletcher, Chief Executive of Principal Sponsor Aurora Energy, says: “Much has changed since last year, but our shared goal remains – transitioning Queenstown to clean, efficient energy as a model for New Zealand.

“Aurora Energy's role is clear: enabling that transition at the lowest cost to customers. That means weighing network and non-network solutions equally to maintain a safe, secure supply and getting pricing right.

“Cost-reflective pricing should reward consumers who reduce network costs while remaining fair for everyone.

“We're committed to evidence-based, policy-backed, and transparent decision-making. The challenge is real, but so is our commitment to the shared vision – and to the partnerships that will get us there.”

Electrify Queenstown 2026 was supported by Principal Sponsor Aurora Energy, alongside Air New Zealand, TomTom Productions, NordEast Vehicle Distributors, Queenstown Catering, Ara Ake, Transpower, Westpac New Zealand and Queenstown Lakes District Council.

Electrify Queenstown will return in May 2027.