10 October 2025 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua has today published Competition Assessment Guidelines that outline how we take competition into account when developing prudential policy.

Director Prudential Policy Jess Rowe says the guidelines are designed to support policy teams in identifying and assessing competition impacts early in the policy development process.

“Competition is already a key principle we take into account when making policy decisions. These guidelines provide a clear framework for how and when competition should be considered,” Ms Rowe says.

“Thinking about competition early in the process helps us to explore or consider alternative ways of achieving regulatory objectives while also promoting better outcomes for competition.”

The Competition Assessment Guidelines for Prudential Policy set out key concepts that underpin competition analysis, helping ensure our decisions support a sound and efficient financial system.

Competition Assessment Guidelines for Prudential Policy: https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=44b874876b&e=f3c68946f8

The publication of the Competition Assessment Guidelines for Prudential Policy responds to recommendations from the Commerce Commission's market study into personal banking services, and aligns with the Minister of Finance's December 2024 letter of expectations, which called on RBNZ to develop a competition assessment framework for prudential policy.

“I'd like to thank our Commerce Commission peers for their insights and suggestions as we worked to develop these guidelines,” says Ms Rowe.

Deposit Takers Act 2023

The Competition Assessment Guidelines for Prudential Policy will be of particular use as we work to complete a multi-year programme to introduce the Deposit Takers Act 2023 (DTA). The DTA modernises New Zealand's regulatory framework for deposit takers. It aims to help ensure the safety and soundness of deposit takers and support a stable financial system that New Zealanders can trust.

DTA standards will be issued by 31 May 2027 and come into effect on 1 December 2028.

Deposit Takers Act – Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua: https://govt.us20.list-manage.com/track/click?u=bd316aa7ee4f5679c56377819&id=cdfb5ec8ef&e=f3c68946f8

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

PSNA is cautiously welcoming the Gaza ceasefire and proposed exchange of hostages between Israel and Hamas. 

At least 7,000 Palestinians are being held in detention without trial by Israel and about 20 Israeli soldiers are held by Hamas.

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa Co-chair, Maher Nazzal says the deal is a reprieve from Israel’s genocidal attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.

“It’s been two years of mass bombing and starvation.  It’s the worst atrocity of the 21^st century.”

“The real tragedy is that the main elements of this ceasefire deal were already agreed to nine months ago in January.  Israel was forced to let Palestinians return to Gaza City, and lower the intensity of its attacks.”

“Within a few weeks, the Israelis scuttled the agreement, shut off all food and intensified their attacks and are now ethnically re-cleansing Gaza City.”

“Expulsion is still the Israeli government’s aim.  Netanyahu must be disappointed that Trump is no longer advocating for removal of Palestinians from Gaza, but Netanyahu usually gets his way with Trump in the end.”

Nazal says PSNA especially notes the Hamas acceptance statement calls on countries supporting the deal – New Zealand included – to make sure Israel abides by the few specific conditions imposed on Israel in the agreement.

 “Israel has broken every peace deal it has ever signed on Palestine, right from occupying more than half of what was allocated by the United Nations as a Palestinian state in 1948.”

“In the 1993 Oslo peace deal, which the US also brokered, there was meant to be a Palestinian state within five years.  Israel made sure this never happened.”

“This time, there is no mention of the Occupied West Bank.  Nothing about return of refugees.  There is no commitment in the Trump deal for a Palestinian state, for Winston Peters to eventually recognise. There’s just a vague pathway with no timelines and it’s all conditional on Israeli approval,” Nazzal says. 

“So we have a message for Winston Peters, who is demanding PSNA and other protesters applaud the Trump deal as ‘case solved’.”

“Ceasefire or not, our campaign to isolate the apartheid state of Israel will continue to grow until all Palestinians are liberated.” 

Maher Nazzal

Co-Chair

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa

Eugene Bareman, Chair of the Walk Without Fear Trust, has criticised “out of touch” politicians and a constrained judiciary regarding the sentencing of coward punch killer Daytona Thompson at the New Plymouth District Court on Tuesday.

Bareman was present on the court steps as the family of the victim, Daniel Nganeko, expressed outrage over the four-year, two-month sentence. He called for politicians to fast-track proposed coward punch legislation and reform the Sentencing Act of 2002.

“A sentence of four years and two months is ridiculous for a recidivist violent offender with multiple aggravating factors, especially when the judge's hands are tied by existing legal precedents. The system also allows multiple discounts from the starting sentencing point of seven years.

“What’s more distressing is that the judge in this case clearly wanted to impose a longer sentence but had to acknowledge that he was unable to do so due to existing legal precedents.”

Justice Paul Radich stated that there was no provocation in the offence and noted that Thompson had used considerable force in his attack.

He condemned Thompson for making a video of the dying 37-year-old, during which Thompson was heard saying, “Come around here, n*****, I’m not a kidder… I just knocked him the f*** out.” The judge described the video as cruel, callous, and a further indignity to Daniel.

Justice Radich said he could not have regard to community desire for a more severe sentence in circumstances, or contemplative legislation change.

“I must apply the law as it stands.”

He took a starting point of seven years’ imprisonment, before giving credit for Thompson’s guilty plea, his youth, the effect his imprisonment will have on his child, and background factors.

Thompson’s previous violent offending was not considered an aggravating factor in his sentence due to his earlier discharge without conviction.

In addition to the custodial sentence, Thompson was issued his first strike warning.

Bareman criticised the slow pace of legislative change regarding coward punch offences. “The Coward Punch Amendment Bill was introduced in September 2018 and was rejected by the previous government. Seven years later, people are still dying, and killers receive pathetically short sentences, revictimising families and prioritising the rights of violent offenders over victims, failing to keep communities safe.”

Video games affirmed as a source of connection, stress relief and mental stimulation in one of the largest consumer surveys ever conducted of more than 24,000 video game players in 21 countries across six continents.

Sydney, October 9, 2025 – The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA), in partnership with video game trade associations in Canada, Europe, South Korea and the US, recently released the 2025 Global Power of Play report. The report reveals the universal social and emotional benefits of video games, confirmed by both peer-reviewed academic research and a survey of 24,216 active (weekly) players (age 16+) in 21 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom and the United States of America (U.S).

“As one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the world, video games are a source of fun and entertainment for billions of players around the world. What the 2025 Global Power of Play report confirms, however, is that video games are much more than that,” said Ron Curry, CEO of IGEA.

“Combined with academic research and one of the largest consumer surveys ever conducted of video game players, the 2025 Global Power of Play Report confirms that games are more than just a source of fun and entertainment for billions of players around the world. In fact, playing video games brings immense value to the lives of global citizens, providing borderless avenues for connection, improving health and mental wellbeing and providing an important role in education.”

Globally, players agree on the positive social, emotional and mental benefits of game play:

• Having fun is the top reason people around the world say they play video games (66%), with stress relief (58%) and keeping minds sharp (45%) making up the top three reasons for playing. The top three reasons Australians say they play video games are to have fun (67%), for stress relief (59%) and to keep their mind sharp (50%).

·        Seventy-seven percent of players globally say video games help them feel less stressed, 70% report reduced anxiety and 64% credit video games with easing loneliness by connecting them to others. Australians feel similarly, reporting games helps them feel less stressed (75%), less anxious (67%) and less lonely (56%).

·        Players worldwide agree that video games provide mental stimulation (81%), provide stress relief (80%) and create accessible experiences for people with different abilities (78%). Australian players are again like their global counterparts, ranking mental stimulation (82%), stress relief (81%) and creating experience for people with different abilities (76%).

Players around the world turn to games for broader skill development: 

·        Players agree that video games help improve creativity (77%), problem-solving (76%) and teamwork and collaboration skills (74%). Adaptability (72%), critical thinking (71%) and communication skills (67%) also rank high. In Australia the top three skills players believe are improved by playing video games are problem solving (80%), critical thinking (78%) and cognitive skills (72%).

·        Half of all players worldwide say playing video games has directly bolstered their professional education through technical or behavioral skills, and 43% report that games have influenced their career or educational path. In Australia, 39% say video games have positively impacted their careers.

·        Over half (54%) of global players feel that sports video games have sharpened their real‐world abilities in that same sport; 38% of Australians agree.

Video games are not only a popular vehicle for lasting connections with children, family members and friends, but also are an avenue to forge new relationships:

·        Nearly two-thirds (62%) of players worldwide agree that video games create spaces for positive connections with others. 

·        Across the world, younger players (ages 16-35) use games to make and build relationships, with 67% saying they have met a good friend, spouse or significant other through video games. Nearly three in four (73%) of that same age group say video games help them feel less isolated and lonely by connecting them to other people.

·        More than half of players globally (55%) say that video games positively impact their relationships with their children, and 68% play with their children in-person at least monthly. 43% of Australian players say games positively impact their relationship with their children.

Profile of the global video game player (age 16+): 

·        The global video game player is 41 years old on average and is about just as likely to be male (51%) as female (48%). 

·        There are several countries where significantly more women than men play video games, including Brazil (57% to 43%) and South Africa (58% to 41%). In Australia it is 51% female to 48% male.

·        Globally, the majority (55%) of players play on mobile devices. Action and puzzle games are the top two favored genres in 20 of the 21 countries surveyed.

Access the complete 2025 Global Power of Play report at www.igea.net

About the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA)

IGEA (Interactive Games & Entertainment Association) is the peak industry association representing the voice of Australian and New Zealand companies in the computer and video games industry.  IGEA supports the games industry's business and public policy interests through advocacy, research and education programs. For more information, please visit www.igea.net          

The Power of Play Report Methodology

The global survey was conducted by AudienceNet*, gathering 24,216 responses across 21 countries on six continents: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. Participants were aged 16-65+, and all qualified as active gamers, defined as playing video games for at least one hour per week via console, PC/laptop, tablet, mobile, or VR. Quotas and screening criteria ensured a minimum of 1,000 active gamers per country. All respondents were recruited via professionally accredited consumer research panels.

*AudienceNet is a fully-accredited global consumer research company, currently conducting nationally representative research in 52 countries. As a Market Research Society (MRS) Company Partner, AudienceNet is bound by the MRS Code of Conduct, as well as GDPR in relation to the collection and handling of consumer research data.