MIL Email Publisher (NZ)

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa is calling on the NZ Symphony Orchestra conductor, Gemma New to cancel her engagement with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra next January.

PSNA Co-Chair John Minto says New should know that going to conduct the IPO can only be seen as endorsement of Israeli genocide in Gaza.

“The ISO plays concerts with Israeli soldiers in full uniform and puts them on YouTube.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLjucRUyd4Y

“These soldiers are in a military which is conducting mass starvation and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.  There is no scope for neutrality, or nonsense slogans like ‘keep politics out of art.”

Minto says PSNA has written to New, but has received no reply.

“We’ve supplied her with details on the Israeli atrocities, even though she would have to be living under a rock to claim she doesn’t know about them.”

“But we have to give her the benefit of the doubt at the moment that she is not aware of the plea from Palestinian civil society for a Boycott, Divest and Sanction campaign against collaboration with Israel in all its forms.”

“Some leading artists, such as Kneecap, Lowkey and Roger Waters, are not only boycotting Israel, but they are actively campaigning to have governments sanction Israel, as the only effective means to achieve peace and justice for the Palestinian people.”

“No amounts of pleading, setting red lines or even recognition of Palestine are going to stop the Israeli war machine,” Minto says.

“We’ve noticed that some New on-line schedules don’t feature her Tel Aviv and Haifa performances.  That might mean she has cancelled, or to be less charitable, she is trying to keep her engagements secret. However she is still listed to perform here ”

“We’d love to hear from her, that she’s taken the principled action which Lorde took in 2017, and refused to play Tel Aviv.”

“If not, she, and by extension the NZ Symphony Orchestra, will always be forever tainted by supporting the worst atrocity of the 21^st Century.”

John Minto

Co-Chair PSNA

Covering period of Thu 04 – Mon 08 September – West-northwest breezes and passing cloud for the final two days of Zespri AIMS games in Tauranga
Auckland starts off wet on Saturday but come kick off there’s just a risk of brief rain with chilly southwest winds
Father’s Day is a bit of a mixed bag; some rain spreads up the country with southwesterly winds
A blood moon is due in the western sky around 6am on Monday morning

MetService has issued a number of Severe Weather Forecasts for strong northwest winds and heavy rain as an active frontal system moves up the country while the working week winds down.

The most likely severe weather is about the Canterbury High Country and headwaters with Orange Warnings for northwest winds and heavy rain, but there’s several Watches for Heavy Rain and Strong winds around the country.

The heavy rain has kicked off for the west coast of the South Island today (Thursday) with a few thunderstorms making it on land around Fiordland and southern Westland. Western areas are most at risk of rain today but as we head into Friday the wet weather extends northward with Wellington seeing passing showers through the day and the main frontal rain band arriving at night.

Thunderstorms are forecast to mostly remain around southern and western parts of the South Island, however, some may sneak across the alps into the likes of Queenstown Lakes. The thunderstorms bring risk of hail, blustery winds and potential snow down to around 400m.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris warns, “Much of the North Island will wake up to rain on Saturday but it will be tending drier as the front keeps on trucking away to the northeast. There’s not much reprieve though – a cool southwest change moves onto Southland Saturday evening and zips up the country. It might be breakfast in bed rather than a round of golf for Dad on Sunday.”

Northwest winds make for some warm temperatures in eastern areas today and tomorrow. These highs are short lived as the southwest winds remind us that spring is a time of yoyoing temperatures. Christchurch is going for 18°C on Friday and 11°C on Saturday.

A brief ridge of high pressure is forecast across the country on Monday morning so there’s a good chance for many to spot the blood moon.
 

Understanding MetService Severe Weather Warning System

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings (Localised Red Warning) – take cover now:

This warning is a red warning for a localised area.
When extremely severe weather is occurring or will do within the hour.
Severe thunderstorms have the ability to have significant impacts for an area indicated in the warning.
In the event of a Severe Thunderstorm Red Warning: Act now!

Red Warnings are about taking immediate action:

When extremely severe weather is imminent or is occurring
Issued when an event is expected to be among the worst that we get – it will have significant impact and it is possible that a lot of people will be affected
In the event of a Red Warning: Act now!

Orange Warnings are about taking action:

When severe weather is imminent or is occurring
Typically issued 1 – 3 days in advance of potential severe weather
In the event of an Orange Warning: Take action.

Thunderstorm Watch means thunderstorms are possible, be alert and consider action

Show the area that thunderstorms are most likely to occur during the validity period.
Although thunderstorms are often localised, the whole area is on watch as it is difficult to know exactly where the severe thunderstorm will occur within the mapped area.
During a thunderstorm Watch: Stay alert and take action if necessary.

Watches are about being alert:

When severe weather is possible, but not sufficiently imminent or certain for a warning to be issued
Typically issued 1 – 3 days in advance of potential severe weather.
During a Watch: Stay alert

Outlooks are about looking ahead:

To provide advanced information on possible future Watches and/or Warnings
Issued routinely once or twice a day
Recommendation: Plan.

Property values in Aotearoa New Zealand edged down by -0.2% in August, the fifth monthly fall in a row, according to Cotality NZ’s latest hedonic Home Value Index (HVI).

National values have dropped by -0.6% so far in 2025, with the modest gains seen late last year and early this year now negated.
The nationwide median now stands at $809,113, still -17.2% down compared to the January 2022 peak, and also the lowest level since August 2023.

Cotality NZ Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson said the August result was yet another reminder that market conditions remained soft over Winter.

“Given the continued economic weakness, further increases in unemployment, and subdued confidence, it’s no surprise that property values are treading water. While the downturn after the post-COVID boom has now petered out, steadier growth has yet to materialise.”

“That said, what might be discouraging for property owners and sellers is beneficial for those buyers on the other side of the coin.”

“In particular, we’re seeing continued strength from first home buyers, and a rising market share for mortgaged multiple property owners too.”

“That includes the cliched ‘Mum and Dad’ investors who are no doubt enjoying lower mortgage rates and reduced top-ups on their rental properties.”

“The psychology and mindset around house prices can change quickly, and we’ve seen that before. But right now, caution is the dominant theme, and with unemployment not expected to be at its peak just yet, it’s unlikely that many people will be rushing out to bid up house prices aggressively over the rest of 2025.”

Across the main centres, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland was down by -0.5% in August, with Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington and Kirikiriroa Hamilton both seeing a more modest -0.1% fall. Tauranga was unchanged, with Ōtautahi Christchurch up by +0.2% and Ōtepoti Dunedin recording a +0.4% lift.

Index results for August 2025	Change in dwelling values
	Month	Quarter	Annual	From peak	Median value
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland	-0.5%	-1.8%	-1.0%	-22.5%	$1,047,698
Kirikiriroa Hamilton	-0.1%	-0.3%	2.0%	-11.1%	$753,454
Tauranga	0.0%	0.5%	1.0%	-16.3%	$912,627
Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington*	-0.1%	-0.5%	-2.6%	-25.0%	$796,918
Ōtautahi Christchurch	0.2%	0.5%	3.3%	-4.1%	$705,704
Ōtepoti Dunedin	0.4%	-0.1%	-0.1%	-11.2%	$602,829
Aotearoa New Zealand	-0.2%	-0.9%	-0.1%	-17.2%	$809,113

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s property values have certainly endured a testing Winter, with falls across the board in August, the third month out of the past four in which this has occurred (only July missed the cut, with only Rodney just holding steady).

August’s falls were fairly uniform across the sub-markets, ranging between -0.4% and -0.6% in Auckland City, Manukau, Papakura, North Shore, and Waitakare, with Franklin and Rodney a little weaker still.

Over a broader three-month period, the falls range from -1.5% to -2.0%, although Rodney’s has been a touch smaller at -1.3%. Each sub-market also still sits around -20% to -25% below the previous peak.

Mr Davidson added: “The stock of available listings around Tāmaki Makaurau has begun to drift downwards, but it’s starting from a high level, and the latest property value figures re-emphasise that it’s still a buyer’s market in our largest city. For example, the Cotality Buyer Classification figures show that first home buyers and mortgaged multiple property owners are enjoying conditions at present and taking a high or rising share of purchasing activity.”

Region	Change in dwelling values
	Month	Quarter	Annual	From peak	Median value
Rodney	-0.8%	-1.3%	-0.3%	-20.4%	$1,203,878
Te Raki Paewhenua North Shore	-0.5%	-2.0%	-0.5%	-19.8%	$1,244,915
Waitakere	-0.6%	-1.9%	-0.5%	-24.7%	$910,699
Auckland City	-0.4%	-1.9%	-1.4%	-22.9%	$1,133,308
Manukau	-0.4%	-1.6%	-1.2%	-23.7%	$981,517
Papakura	-0.4%	-1.5%	-1.1%	-23.6%	$816,698
Franklin	-0.7%	-1.6%	-0.3%	-21.8%	$943,717
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland	-0.5%	-1.8%	-1.0%	-22.5%	$1,047,698

Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington

August was also subdued across the wider Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington area, with Kāpiti Coast and Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta Upper Hutt both down by -0.6%, and Porirua slipping -0.3% lower. Wellington City itself was flat, but it has still dropped by -3.4% over the past 12 months.

The falls from peak remain significant across the region too, ranging from around -22% in Kāpiti Coast and Porirua, to more than -25% in Wellington City and Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt.

“Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington’s previous sharp downturn in property values has petered out, but the remnants of that phase haven’t disappeared altogether. Indeed, although the rate of decline has been much slower, Wellington City itself has still fallen further in the past 12 months, with lingering employment uncertainty a continued challenge,” Mr Davidson noted.

Region	Change in dwelling values
	Month	Quarter	Annual	From peak	Median value
Kāpiti Coast	-0.6%	-2.0%	-1.0%	-22.1%	$796,431
Porirua	-0.3%	-0.2%	0.1%	-22.1%	$774,438
Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta Upper Hutt	-0.6%	-0.7%	-3.3%	-24.8%	$702,555
Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt	-0.1%	-1.2%	-1.6%	-25.6%	$691,827
Wellington City	0.0%	-0.3%	-3.4%	-25.3%	$881,820
Te-Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington	-0.1%	-0.5%	-2.6%	-25.0%	$796,918

Regional results

The tentative evidence that a touch more economic resilience in provincial areas was also supporting property values continued from July and into August, with Whakatū Nelson, Waihōpai Invercargill, and Ngāmotu New Plymouth all rising by at least +0.5%.

That said, there’s still patchiness from month to month, with Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Gisborne, Heretaunga Hastings, and Ahuriri Napier all down by -0.5% or more.

“We shouldn’t get carried away with any flow-on effects from NZ’s two-speed economy into provincial property outperformance, not least because some of the regions have their own challenges in terms of losing young people overseas during this current phase of strong migrant departures.”
“That said, the longer the primary sector continues to grow strongly, the more cash will find its way into our regional towns and cities, giving property values some key support.”

Region	Change in dwelling values
	Month	Quarter	Annual	From peak	Median value
Ahuriri Napier	-0.6%	-1.1%	2.0%	-18.9%	$698,486
Te Papaioea Palmerston North	0.4%	0.0%	-0.7%	-18.9%	$606,886
Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Gisborne	-0.5%	-2.5%	-2.8%	-18.7%	$583,402
Whangārei	-0.2%	-0.7%	2.5%	-18.3%	$715,484
Heretaunga Hastings	-0.6%	-0.7%	1.7%	-18.2%	$725,905
Whanganui	-0.3%	-1.3%	-0.9%	-13.4%	$480,620
Whakatū Nelson	0.5%	-0.8%	-1.1%	-13.2%	$712,283
Rotorua	0.1%	-0.5%	1.0%	-12.3%	$640,650
Tāhuna Queenstown	0.4%	-0.2%	-1.3%	-6.2%	$1,680,803
Ngāmotu New Plymouth	0.6%	-0.2%	2.5%	-6.0%	$697,630
Waihōpai Invercargill	0.5%	1.2%	4.2%	–	$488,023

Property market outlook
Looking ahead, Mr Davidson noted: “It wouldn’t be a surprise if the final few months of the year remain consistent with the ‘conflicting forces’ theme that we’ve been reiterating throughout 2025. That is, the support from lower mortgage rates, but the headwinds of a weak economy and elevated levels of listings on the market.”

“That said, property sales volumes have basically ‘normalised’ and should rise further in 2026 as the lagged effects of lower mortgage rates continue to flow through – with more existing borrowers repricing their loans down to current interest rates. Those interest rates themselves may also drop further as the Reserve Bank pushes through more official cash rate cuts.”

“Housing affordability also looks a bit more comfortable now, and the unemployment rate is projected to start easing downwards gently in the first few months of next year too, with the stock of listings also potentially drifting lower.”

“Adding all of this together, property values may be poised to rise a little more clearly in 2026. But a fresh boom doesn’t look likely, especially given the debt to income ratio rules and Government measures to ramp up housing supply,” Davidson concluded.
For more property news and insights, visit www.cotality.com/nz/insights.

Notes:

The Cotality Hedonic Home Value Index (HVI) is calculated using a hedonic regression methodology that addresses the issue of compositional bias associated with median price and other measures. In simple terms, the index is calculated using recent sales data combined with information about the attributes of individual properties such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, land area and geographical context of the dwelling. By separating each property into its various formational and locational attributes, observed sales values for each property can be distinguished between those attributed to the property’s attributes and those resulting from changes in the underlying residential property market. Additionally, by understanding the value associated with each attribute of a given property, this methodology can be used to estimate the value of dwellings with known characteristics for which there is no recent sales price by observing the characteristics and sales prices of other dwellings which have recently transacted. It then follows that changes in the market value of the entire residential property stock can be accurately.

What happens when a national park or conservation area is created next to a business that emits toxic substances into the environment?

A new study, co-authored by University of Auckland researcher Dr Marty Pham, shows that while companies near protected areas slash their toxic emissions, they do so by cutting jobs and production rather than cleaning up their act through investing in pollution reduction.

The research paper, ‘The real effects of protecting biodiversity’, is the first of its kind to investigate how protected areas (designated places aimed at conserving biodiversity and ecosystems) influence the operations of nearby businesses.

“Our findings show a sharp decline in firms’ toxic emissions, suggesting that these businesses react to heightened regulatory and public scrutiny and adjust their polluting activities accordingly,” says Dr Pham.

Using data from 1990 to 2021, the researchers examined 18,341 industrial facilities that generate toxic emissions across the United States, spanning industries including mining, manufacturing, forestry and agriculture.

To track the effect of conservation zones on companies, the researchers developed a novel ‘Corporate Biodiversity Exposure’ (CBE) measure. This identifies facilities located near newly designated protected areas and quantifies the ecological, regulatory, and reputational implications that follow.

“Our findings reveal a significant association between higher CBE metrics and reduced on-site toxic chemical emissions into the air, ground, and water”, says Pham. “This highlights the localised impact of protected areas.”

The study also points out that being near protected areas is associated with significant declines in sales, productivity, and workforce size for affected establishments. However, there’s no evidence of increased investment in abatement technologies.

Pham says this suggests firms respond to biodiversity conservation pressures by scaling down production, possibly through relocating or outsourcing their production, rather than adopting new environmental innovations.

These localised disruptions have broader financial consequences at the parent-company level, according to the study, which shows that reduced economic activity at affected establishments contributes to firm-wide declines in profitability and stock market valuation.

One likely contributor to these financial pressures, says Pham, is increased regulatory oversight.

“While protected areas don't directly impose land-use constraints on neighbouring establishments, they trigger more frequent environmental inspections, strengthen compliance requirements and attract greater public scrutiny, increasing enforcement risks and operational costs.”

With biodiversity in crisis worldwide, many countries are expanding protected natural areas, compelling businesses and investors to adapt their strategies.

This shift is particularly relevant to the United Nations’ 30-by-30 target, which aims to protect 30 percent of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030, reshaping the interface between conservation policy and corporate operations.

In Aotearoa New Zealand around 30 percent of the total land area is protected in some way, and Pham says the study highlights the need for policymakers here and overseas to strike a balance between achieving ecological goals and managing their associated economic impacts.

“We need to promote effective conservation planning and transparency in corporate biodiversity disclosures.”

While around 200 of New Zealand's largest companies and biggest emitters are required to provide climate-related disclosures, there are currently no specific mandatory biodiversity disclosure requirements, something Pham says is worth considering.

“Transparency is so valuable in this area; understanding how companies are operating and responding to biodiversity conservation measures helps governments create policies that support both the environment and businesses.”

In light of their findings, Pham and his co-authors say companies should integrate biodiversity risk assessments into their operational and location decisions. They also say investors need to recognise the regulatory risks stemming from proximity to protected areas, given the significant cashflow implications highlighted by their analysis.

The study, The Real Effects of Protecting Biodiversity, is under consideration for publication in the Review of Finance and is authored by Amir Akbari (DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Canada), Lilian Ng (Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada), Marty Pham (Business School, University of Auckland), and Jing Yu (the University of Sydney, Australia).

Consumer NZ's latest retailer survey has found the five shops with the most satisfied customers – and those falling short.

The stores with the most satisfied customers and winners of Consumer NZ’s People’s Choice award were:

100% Home Appliances – in the large whiteware + appliances category and small appliances category

• PB Tech – in the home tech category and mobile tech category
• Stihl Shop – in the hardware category
• Mitre 10 – in the hardware category
• Macpac – in the sports and outdoors category.

Consumer NZ digital journalist Kate Harvey said Stihl Shop and Macpac got the highest satisfaction ratings across the survey. Both received ratings of 94%.

“Stihl Shop rated particularly high for its customer service and staff members’ product knowledge,” Harvey said.

“Macpac beat its competitors – Kathmandu, Torpedo7 and Rebel – in all the categories we ask about, including perceived value and range of products available.”

Mitre 10 was beaten by Stihl Shop in the hardware category but still had an excellent result.

100% Home Appliances has dominated both the large and small appliance categories for 11 years, so it was no surprise to see it back at the top again.

“100% Home Appliances’ satisfaction score was well above the next highest scoring store in both the large and small appliance categories. Smiths City, which has just entered voluntary administration, rated second in the large appliance category and Briscoes has second spot for small appliances,” said Harvey.

PB Tech shone in the home tech and mobile tech categories.

“PB Tech’s customers particularly rate it for its prices and range,” Harvey said.

The shops that got the lowest ratings in the survey were:

• Rebel Sport – in the sports and outdoors category

“Rebel’s customers gave especially low scores for customer service and staff’s product knowledge,” said Harvey.

• One NZ and Spark stores – in the mobile tech category

“Both One NZ and Spark got low scores for value for money and their range of products,” said Harvey.

• The Warehouse – in the home tech category

“Only 63% of those who had bought home technology such as TVs and game consoles at The Warehouse were very satisfied with the experience,” said Harvey.

• OPSM – in the eyewear category

“People had a better shopping experience at Specsavers but those who shopped at an independent optometrist had the best experience,” said Harvey.

More than 3,200 Consumer NZ members and supporters detailed the purchases they’d made over the past year when they undertook this survey in June and July.