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Federated Farmers win on not-for-profit tax change

Source: Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers is welcoming confirmation that controversial tax proposals impacting the not-for-profit sector won’t proceed without political oversight and legislative change.
“This is a significant win for Federated Farmers, which earlier this week called on the Revenue Minister to act quickly on these proposals,” national board member Richard McIntyre says.
“We’ve strongly opposed the change – calling it a fundamental shift in tax policy disguised as legal interpretation – and urged Simon Watts to rule it out.
“It’s a huge concern for the thousands of not-for-profits across New Zealand who rely on membership subscriptions to fund their work.”
An Inland Revenue draft interpretation of tax law would see not-for-profits taxed on their membership income for the first time.
But Revenue Minister Simon Watts yesterday told Federated Farmers he has taken the issue out of IRD’s hands and into the political realm, stating:
“I have heard concerns about how this would impact many not-for-profit organisations.
“When Inland Revenue revises its interpretation of tax law, the Government will consider the impacts and respond with a law change before any new interpretation comes into force.
“I have asked for advice on how the primary legislation could be amended to ensure there is a fair and practical outcome in this area.”
This follows weeks of sustained pressure from Federated Farmers.
“We were among the first to sound the alarm that the draft interpretation would overturn 20 years of settled tax treatment for mutual associations,” McIntyre says.
The proposal would have seen Federated Farmers – and around 9000 other not-for-profits, including unions, community groups, and political parties – taxed on membership fees.
“The Minister’s move to consider legislative change before any new interpretation takes effect provides clarity that changes won't be forced on the sector without public scrutiny,” McIntyre says.
Federated Farmers also acknowledges the support of other not-for-profits who helped push this issue up the political agenda.
“This is a textbook example of effective advocacy – early political pressure and commonsense reasoning ensured the Government took control before serious harm was done.” 
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NZCTU statement on Takutai Tarsh Kemp

Source: NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi

The union movement is sending its love and condolences to the whānau of MP for Tāmaki Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, following the shocking news of her passing.

“We are heartbroken for Takutai’s whānau, hapū and iwi, for the people of Tāmaki Makaurau, and for Te Pāti Māori at this sad time,” said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff.

“We deeply appreciate Takutai’s tireless dedication and service on behalf of her people, including as a staunch advocate for rangatahi and for some of the most marginalised whānau in Aotearoa.

“We acknowledge that as Te Pāti Māori’s spokesperson for Workers’ Rights, Takutai fought to ensure the rights of working people were upheld.  

“Takutai was a leader who had so much more to give, and will be missed dearly,” said Wagstaff.

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Disabilities and Poverty – New research shows poverty hitting intellectually disabled New Zealanders the hardest – IHC

Source: IHC

A new IHC report reveals that New Zealanders with an intellectual disability are twice as likely to live in hardship or severe hardship compared to the rest of the population.

IHC Advocate Shara Turner says the report, The Cost of Exclusion: Hardship and People with Intellectual Disability in New Zealand, shows this is a deep, systemic issue.

“The cost of disability is real and it’s falling entirely on individuals and families who are often excluded from work, transport and even food.

“It is not acceptable that people with intellectual disabilities can’t afford a healthy diet.

“It’s also unacceptable that this is not part of national conversations on poverty.

“We need to include intellectual disability in all poverty tracking and public reporting. We need to adjust income support to reflect the true cost of disability and to build joined-up systems that recognise the long-term, cross-sector disadvantage disabled people experience.”

The report shows that people with intellectual disability face significantly higher rates of hardship at every stage of life:

Hardship is twice as likely for people with an intellectual disability under 40 and almost three times as likely for those aged 40-64 compared to others
Severe hardship rates triple in middle age, even as they decline for the rest of the population
Nearly 50% of people with intellectual disability cannot pay an unavoidable bill within a month without borrowing (vs. 18% of others)
 They are over four times more likely to go without a meal with meat (or vegetarian protein equivalent) every second day
 They are almost three times more likely to cut back on fresh fruit and vegetables due to cost
Nearly 30% of children with intellectual disability can’t have fri

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Local News – Updated alcohol policy and keeping animals bylaw for Porirua

Source: Porirua City Council

Updated rules on keeping animals and the sale and supply of alcohol in Porirua will be coming into force.
The Keeping of Animals Bylaw 2025 and Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) 2025 have been recently officially ratified by Mayor Anita Baker and Porirua City councillors, following on from consultation (December 2024 to this March) and deliberations and hearings in May.
The updated LAP aims to reduce alcohol-related harm in our city, particularly in some of Porirua’s most vulnerable communities, while balancing growth in the city and the hospitality industry’s needs. After input from the public, health officials, licensing inspectors and police, the policy will manage where and when alcohol can be sold and promotes responsible drinking. New LAP rules include:
  • off-licence premises like bottle stores, grocery stores and supermarkets can only sell alcohol between 9am-9pm
  • no new off-licences are allowed in vulnerable areas without very good reason (Porirua East, Titahi Bay, Elsdon, Takapūwāhia, Kenepuru and the city’s CBD)
  • all licences within 100 metres of a sensitive site, such as schools and drug/alcohol treatment centres, will need to do an impact assessment for a new licence or an application to renew.
The LAP comes into effect on 18 July, except changes to the off-licence hours, which will take effect on 5 January, 2026.
The Keeping of Animals Bylaw 2025, meanwhile, has updated rules to help prevent mess, noise and nuisance by domestic animals in Porirua.
It includes new rules for cats (requiring owners to desex, microchip and register their feline), stock, and poultry, as well as new rules for beekeepers.
Dogs are already governed by the Dog Control Bylaw.
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Local News – Decisions confirmed on water model and Porirua City budget

Source: Porirua City Council

Porirua City Council today officially adopted the Te Puna Kōrero committee recommendations made earlier this month around the city’s budget and rates, and the preferred water services delivery model.
The Annual Plan for the 2025/26 year was agreed, with an average rates increase of 6.39 per cent, significantly lower than previously budgeted.
When preparing the draft Annual Plan, the starting point for this year’s rates increases had hit 15 per cent, due to cost pressures.
Council acknowledged this wasn’t sustainable for households and businesses, so took a hard look at internal operations to find cost savings. This brought the new starting point for the average rates increase down to 6.75 per cent.
After public consultation on five options to further lower the increase, Council agreed to discontinue the Chamber of Commerce grant and increase Council’s building consent hourly rate.
They voted against increasing the paid parking hourly rate, putting up Cannons Creek Pool entry fees, and discontinuing the Event Investment Programme.
With these changes, the average rates increase for residential properties will be 6.39 per cent. For most properties, this equates to around $6 or $7 extra per week.
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said while nobody wanted to see rates go up, she was confident that the Council had done everything possible to keep increases as low as possible.
“We know the community is struggling, which is we have done a deep dive internally and made significant cuts, that got us to a lower number than planned. We could have done further cuts, but we listened to your feedback and were guided by that.”
Water Services preferred delivery model
Council also agreed to the committee recommendation of 5 June to jointly establish and co-own a new water organisation with Upper Hutt City Council, Hutt City Council, Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Mayor Baker said this was another milestone decision for Porirua as we continue to progress towards implementing the Local Water Done Well Policy.
“Public consultation undertaken in March and April strongly supported a jointly owned water organisation, and this decision today enables Porirua to continue working with our neighbouring Council towards the stand up of the water company in 2026.”
Council also agreed today to delegate Mayor Baker and Councillor Ross Leggett, as her alternate, (as the Council’s representative on the Advisory Oversight Group) the power to make decisions on two establishment activities.
This delegation will enable the next phases of work to continue during the new company’s establishment phase. It will remain in place until later in the year when a new shareholders committee will be set up and will take over the governance level decision making. 
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New Stats NZ email platform – add to your ‘safe sender’ list

New Stats NZ email platform – add to your ‘safe sender’ list

26 June 2025

We are moving to a new email platform soon and future emails with your Stats NZ release notifications will come from publishing@communications.stats.govt.nz 
 
Please add this address to your ‘approved/safe sender’ list to avoid missing your release notifications.  
 
Contact us at publishing@stats.govt.nz with any questions.

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BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES NAMES 50 GLOBAL FINALISTS IN 2025 MAYORS CHALLENGE Including Lower Hutt

Source: Bloomberg Philanthropies

Finalists from 33 countries will receive $50,000 and support to test breakthrough ideas for improving life in cities – In January 2026, 25 winning cities will receive $1 million each to bring their idea to life.

New York, NY – (June 25, 2025) – Bloomberg Philanthropies today announced the 50 finalists of its latest Mayors Challenge, a competition to spur local government innovation that improves lives in cities around the world. The sixth Challenge elevates municipalities that have proposed the boldest ideas to bolster essential municipal services.

From Boise to Belfast, Ansan to Addis Ababa, Toronto to Taipei, the 50 finalists, selected from more than 630 applications, hail from 33 countries and represent over 80 million residents. Their ideas aim to increase public transit ridership, lower household energy costs, expand urban green space, speed service response, strengthen sanitation, improve youth safety, safeguard water supply, and more.

Each finalist city will receive $50,000 to prototype their idea. They will also participate in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Ideas Camp in July to hone and test their concepts with feedback from experts and fellow peers. In January 2026, the 25 city halls with the most promising ideas will each be awarded $1 million and operational assistance to bring their proposals to life.

“Local government is where people meet policy—and where government improves lives and builds trust,” said James Anderson, who leads the Government Innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “That’s why municipal innovation isn’t about grand gestures—it’s about solving hard problems under pressure, often with imperfect tools and finite resources. These Mayors Challenge finalists stand out because they’re not just thinking creatively—they’re designing solutions that reckon with the complexity of implementation and the urgency of their residents’ needs. Their proposals reflect a new standard for public sector achievement: ambitious, yes, but also grounded, disciplined, and ripe for real impact.”

The 630 ideas submitted to the Mayors Challenge reflect some of the greatest public service challenges facing cities today—as well as the creativity that animates local governments across the globe. A third of U.S. and Canada applicants, for example, devised solutions addressing housing and shelter. Nearly half of the applicants from Africa proposed upgrades to waste collection and management. One out of five applicants from the Asia-Pacific region focused on cleaner water, air, and infrastructure, and 22 percent of European applicants sought ways to reduce poverty or enhance social inclusion.

The 50 finalist ideas were selected for their originality, potential for impact, and credible vision for delivery. Artificial intelligence was featured in the plans of a number of finalists, including South Bend, Indiana, which envisioned a cutting-edge 311 system that anticipates complaints for non-emergency issues, such as potholes, allowing officials to address problems before a resident report. More analog innovations also rose to the top: In Yonkers, New York, city officials proposed a powerful new hyper-local civic brigade to help older neighbors age happily and healthfully in place.

The 50 finalist cities are:

  • Abha, Saudi Arabia
  • Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • Ansan, South Korea
  • As-Salt, Jordan
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Beaverton, U.S
  • Beira, Mozambique
  • Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Benin City, Nigeria
  • Boise, U.S.
  • Boston, U.S.
  • Budapest, Hungary
  • Cap-Haïtien, Haiti
  • Cape Town, South Africa
  • Cartagena, Colombia
  • Cauayan, Philippines
  • Choma, Zambia
  • Cuenca, Ecuador
  • Detroit, U.S.
  • Fez, Morocco
  • Fukuoka, Japan
  • Ghaziabad, India
  • Ghent, Belgium
  • Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, India
  • Helsinki, Finland
  • Honolulu, U.S.
  • Kanifing, Gambia
  • Kyiv, Ukraine
  • Lafayette, U.S.
  • Lower Hutt, New Zealand
  • Maceió, Brazil
  • Marseille, France
  • Medellín, Colombia
  • Mexico City, Mexico
  • Naga, Philippines
  • Ndola, Zambia
  • Netanya, Israel
  • Nouakchott, Mauritania
  • Pasig, Philippines
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • San Francisco, U.S.
  • Seattle, U.S.
  • Seoul, South Korea
  • Sialkot, Pakistan
  • South Bend, U.S.
  • Surabaya, Indonesia
  • Taipei, Taiwan
  • Toronto, Canada
  • Turku, Finland
  • Yonkers, U.S.

In this round of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge, more funding will be distributed and more cities will be assisted than in the previous five Challenges which each selected between five to 15 winners. 

“Local government and mayors’ offices are the beating heart of innovation and change in our urban environments,” said Professor Lesley Lokko OBE, Founder and Chair of the African Futures Institute and 2025 Mayors Challenge advisory committee member. “It has been an honour to join Bloomberg Philanthropies' advisory committee for the organization’s sixth Mayors Challenge, an initiative dedicated to empowering and supporting city makers around the world. I look forward to working with these 50 finalists as they advance in this extraordinary competition—strengthening their ideas which each represent the inventiveness citizens everywhere should expect from their governments—and the future of what municipal delivery has the power and potential to be.”

“For more than a decade, Bloomberg Philanthropies has provided unprecedented support to drive local government innovation in cities across the country and around the world,” said Admiral Michael G. Mullen, President & CEO of MGM Consulting and 2025 Mayors Challenge advisory committee member. “The organization’s sixth Mayors Challenge will invest in the future of urban delivery from the ground floor of communities—and I am thrilled to join its advisory committee and work with these finalist cities on accelerating their ideas – from safeguarding water supply to carving out community spaces to integrating AI to improve student routes, and more.”

The new Mayors Challenge builds on more than 10 years of work led by Bloomberg Philanthropies to discover, nurture, and drive innovation in cities. The awards to date across five previous rounds of competition have provided 38 winning cities with funding and technical assistance to realize their ideas for addressing civic issues. By supporting the replication of the most successful winning ideas, Bloomberg Philanthropies has expanded the impact of the Mayors Challenge to 337 other cities globally, reaching over 100 million residents around the world.

“Bloomberg Philanthropies has provided invaluable support for cities to develop and implement innovative solutions that improve the lives of residents in ways they can feel,” said Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit, Michigan. “Detroit is honored to be among the 50 municipalities selected from over 630 applications for the organization’s Mayors Challenge. As a finalist, we will work with renowned experts and peers to advance our proposal to create a powerful, single entry that connects currently scattered information – such as inspection dates, taxes, and utilities – on all 400,000 Detroit properties to revolutionize how owners can access this vital information, as well as how our city plans and provides its most essential services.”

“Seoul is honored to be selected as one of the 50 finalists for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge competition,” said Mayor Oh Se-hoon of Seoul, South Korea. “As a finalist, we will further our proposal to launch powerful educational campaigns and new support systems that will protect youth safety and prevent online child exploitation through the development of an AI-based mobile app that detects risks and alerts parents – while working alongside other cities to set a new standard for the future of urban policy.”

“City halls deliver the most fundamental public services—from reliable public transport to affordable housing, clean water, sustainable environments, emergency response, and more,” said Mayor Gergely Karácsony of Budapest, Hungary. “Recognizing their potential and reach, the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge rewards and equips those with the most inventive ideas to lead transformations of the essential programs their communities rely on. We are honored that Budapest is one of the 50 finalists selected to further our idea to build a city-run food processing plant that can turn surplus fruits and vegetables from local markets into nutritious meals for schools and senior homes.”

“It is an honor to be selected as a finalist for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge,” said Mayor Sunita Dayal of Ghaziabad, India. “As we pursue our idea to improve our environment alongside bolstering our workforce – converting organic waste into white rooftop paint and compost to cool homes, green parks, and lower emissions while providing new job opportunities – we have a unique opportunity to incubate innovation that will move our communities forward.” 

“Thank you to Bloomberg Philanthropies for seeing our vision to improve the quality of life for seniors across our city,” said Mayor Mike Spano of Yonkers, New York. “We are honored to be among 50 finalists selected for the prestigious global Mayors Challenge competition. As a finalist, we will look to create a fully sustainable model for community engagement – marshaling public and private partners as well as residents and students – coupled with innovative technology and tools to enable many more to age safely and gracefully in place.” 

With the expansion of the Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange, future Mayors Challenge-winning ideas and other locally led solutions supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies will have new potential to scale—serving as models and catalysts for how governments solve problems across the globe. 

To learn more about the 50 finalist proposals, visit mayorschallenge.bloomberg.org

About Bloomberg Philanthropies:
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3.7 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org,

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Books – House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk

Source: The Text Publishing Company, Australia.

An extraordinary novel from Nobel Prize-winner Olga Tokarczuk, the renowned Polish author of Flights and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead – 'Darkly humorous, deadly serious, and with a quirky cast of characters that will stay with you forever, this is definitely not to be missed.'  

Dua Lipa on Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

A woman settles in a remote Polish village. It has few inhabitants now, but it teems with the stories of its living and its dead. There's the drunk Marek Marek, who discovers that he shares his body with a bird, and Franz Frost, whose nightmares come to him from a newly discovered planet. There's the man whose death—with one leg on the Polish side, one on the Czech—was an international incident. And there are the Germans who still haunt a region that not long ago they called their own. From the founding of the town to the lives of its saints, these shards piece together not only a history but a cosmology.

Another brilliant 'constellation novel' in the mode of her International Booker Prize–winning Flights, House of Day, House of Night reminds us that the story of any place, no matter how humble, is boundless.

Praise for Olga Tokarczuk

'The Empusium is an emphatic triumph—a feast of culture, both literary and popular, highbrow and low, that shows Tokarczuk writing at the peak of her powers and enjoying every moment of it…I was in thrall to this from the first page.' Sydney Morning Herald

'The pleasures of Tokarczuk's prose are in the neat little tricks of noticing, veering into the supernatural and strange.' Saturday Paper

'Boy this is so good. This is so good.' ABC Radio National The Bookshelf

Olga Tokarczuk is the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature and the International Booker Prize, among many other honours. She is the author of more than a dozen works of fiction, two collections of essays, and a children's book; her work has been translated into more than fifty languages.

Antonia Lloyd-Jones has translated works by many of Poland's leading contemporary novelists and reportage authors, as well as crime fiction, poetry and children's books. Her translation of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by 2018 Nobel Prize laureate Olga Tokarczuk was shortlisted for the 2019 Man Booker International prize. For ten years she was a mentor for the Emerging Translators' Mentorship Programme, and is a former co-chair of the UK Translators Association.

AVAILABLE: 16 SEP 2025 Fiction Paperback, 304pp AU $34.99 / NZ $40.00 ISBN 9781923058675

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Advocacy – Southland Momentum Grows: Environment Southland Considers Action on Illegal Israeli Settlements after Invercargill Declines – PSNAA

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) Invercargill

Environment Southland agreed today (Wednesday 25th) to commission a staff report considering a procurement policy change to exclude companies involved in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

The step follows a request by local residents and members of Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. It places Environment Southland on a growing list of local councils responding to New Zealand's co-sponsorship of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which declared the settlements a “flagrant violation under international law” and a “major obstacle” to peace.

“New Zealand helped write this in 2016,” said the speakers. “We can't promote it abroad and ignore it at home. This is a strong first step to ensure ratepayer money doesn't fund human rights abuses.”

The decision comes just a day after Invercargill City Council narrowly rejected the same change — a 6–6 vote decided by Nobby Clark — despite staff advice to the contrary. Speakers say Invercargill's position is out of step with national policy and public demand. “Councils are simply being asked to align with what NZ agreed to years ago. This isn't about ranking suffering, it's about acting where there's black and white legal clarity and political mandate.”

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice confirmed Israel's 57-year occupation breaches international law on apartheid and racial segregation. Countries including New Zealand voted that states “ensure they do not render aid or assistance” to it.

The group also expressed concern that unlike at Dunedin's recent vote, where councilors heard from supporting voices including local Palestinians and Israelis during the public forum, today saw those refused by the chair.

“This is a narrow step – excluding companies listed by the highest authority on human rights, the UNHRC” said the group, “Since the current Israeli government came to power, the building of settlements and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has rocketed. International law protects all of us.”

Other councils — including Christchurch City, Nelson City, and Environment Canterbury — have already taken action, and a formal vote on adopting the policy is expected following the staff report. PSNA says the window is still open: “Southland still has an opportunity to lead — and to stand on the right side of history.”

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) Invercargill

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Analysis – A good time to get that extra bedroom? – Cotality

Source: Kelvin Davidson, Cotality NZ Chief Property Economist

The cost to ‘trade up’ to a larger home remains significant across the country, but recent market movements suggest now may be a more favourable time for aspiring upgraders.

It’s never been cheap to move up the so-called property ladder – such as buying a house with more bedrooms – and even after some falls lately, the ‘trade-up premium’ is still $100,000 or (significantly) more across the country. However, past experience suggests that a flat/soft property market can be a good opportunity to trade up, and of course mortgage rates are currently down, while there’s plenty of choice out there for buyers too. ‘Movers’ remain a group to keep an eye on in the coming months.

One way to measure the potential costs facing a homeowner looking to ‘trade up’ is to look at the difference in median values between three-bedroom and four-bedroom houses – this equates to the extra debt and/or equity that needs to be found.

Now, it’s not a perfect measure; some people might see trading up as getting the same-sized house that’s newer or in a ‘better’ suburb. However, getting extra space would certainly be how many households view a trade-up.

How has the trade-up premium changed lately?

Using the Cotality Market Tr