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Acquisitions – Completion of TYCO New Zealand and Red Wolf Acquisitions

Source: Intelligent Monitoring Group Limited (“Intelligent Monitoring”, “IMG” or “the Company”) (ASX: IMB)

COMPLETION OF BLUESKY HOLDCO ACQUISITION

On 11 December 2025, Intelligent Monitoring Group announced it had entered into a binding agreement to acquire all shares in BlueSky Holdco Limited from Johnson Control Luxembourg European Finance S.a.r.l, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls International plc (Acquisition).  The Acquisition includes the purchase of Tyco NZ and Red Wolf Security, two of New Zealand's leading fire protection service and high-end security providers. The Acquisition adds more than 300 staff and 12 branch locations to the Company's portfolio, extending its footprint across New Zealand, now with more than 500 local staff.

IMG is pleased to advise that completion of the Acquisition will occur in New Zealand today. The purchase price is NZD45m plus customary adjustments for working capital and cash on hand, funded through the proceeds of an Acquisition Facility via the Company's NAB banking arrangements, and cash flow.

MANAGING DIRECTOR COMMENTS

At the time, Managing Director Dennison Hambling commented:

“This acquisition represents a highly strategic opportunity for IMG to materially expand its commercial footprint and service capability across New Zealand through the acquisition of two established, market-leading service providers with strong recurring revenue profiles, long-standing customer relationships and exposure to critical infrastructure markets.

The transaction significantly enhances IMG's scale and customer reach in New Zealand, while also providing a strong platform to support future organic growth initiatives, including the progressive expansion of IMG's Video Guard and advanced video monitoring solutions into the commercial market.

Given the businesses' historic alignment within the JCI ecosystem alongside ADT, IMG expects a low-risk integration process with minimal operational disruption. This acquisition is another significant, accretive step forward in building IMG into a serious industrial company with significant profitability, a strong balance sheet and material growth prospects across Australasia”.

About Intelligent Monitoring Group Limited

Intelligent Monitoring Group Limited (ASX: IMB) helps provide monitored security and IOT solutions that ensure the safety and protection of Australian businesses, homes, and individuals 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Company operates with the highest security accreditation from its two-significant monitoring centres.

For more information please visit: https://intelligentmonitoringgroup.com

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Budget 2026: Did the Government listen? – Hapai Te Hauora

Source: Hapai Te Hauora

Ahead of Budget 2026, Hāpai Te Hauora called for a budget that listens. A budget that responds to what communities have already been saying over the last year: that prevention matters, warm homes matter, safe sleep matters, and Māori-led solutions matter.
Following yesterday’s Budget announcement, Hāpai Te Hauora acknowledges some much needed investment into areas including frontline services and climate resilience. 
However, questions remain around whether long term prevention and Māori-led solutions are being invested in at the scale communities continue to call for. 
While we acknowledge the fiscal pressures facing Aotearoa New Zealand, we remain concerned that this Budget continues to focus more heavily on responding to crisis than preventing them in the first place. 
This government characterises this budget as responsible economic management. But it feels like tough fiscal austerity. 
Aggressive spending cuts in the name of rebuilding our economy while its people suffer hardship only redistributes who pays the price. 
Communities across Aotearoa continue to carry the weight of rising living costs, housing stress, stretched health systems and climate-related emergencies. 
In many cases, whānau and local communities are stepping in long before systems do.
Hāpai Te Hauora CEO Jacqui Harema says this Budget was an opportunity to invest earlier rather than continuing to respond once people are already at breaking point.
“Solutions already exist and communities across Aotearoa are leading them every day” says Harema.
“What's missing is a Budget that will back them.” Ahead of the Budget, Hāpai Te Hauora called for:
  • greater investment in safe sleep support and kaupapa Māori antenatal wānanga
  • healthier and warmer homes for whānau
  • Māori-led climate resilience and emergency preparedness
  • continued support for healthy school lunches
  • long-term investment in Māori-led community wellbeing initiatives
Hāpai Te Haupra also acknowledges the extension of funded postnatal stays for new māmā as a positive step, and an important opportunity to strengthen early support for whānau through things like safe sleep planning, breastfeeding support and kaupapa Māori antenatal education.
The continuation of healthy school lunches was also a positive to see, particluarly at a time when many whānau continue to face financial pressure and food insecurity. At the same time, there is still room to improve the quality, nutrition and portion sizes to better support growing tamariki and rangatahi.
However, while some progress was made, Budget 2026 still leaves significant questions around long-term prevention and Māori-led solutions.
We heard about investment in frontline services. But critical gaps remain. Without funding the preventative measures that keep people out of those services in the first place, what is being treated is symptoms, not causes. The Government has acknowledged pressures on our primary health system but has missed the mark once again in addressing the root causes driving that pressure. Prevention works. Ignoring it is short-sighted.
Aotearoa is experiencing the worst homelessness crisis in recent history, yet this Budget still falls short of the urgency needed by communities who are experiencing hardship on the ground. The numbers are alarming. At a time when more whānau are being pushed into insecure and unsafe housing, this Budget does not go far enough. The proposed social housing response may help in time, but it does not meet the urgency of the crisis facing communities right now.
“Budgets reflect priorities,” says Harema.
“If prevention, whānau wellbeing and Māori-led solutions are continually under-prioritised, communities feel that in very real ways.” “We cannot continue expecting whānau to carry the consequences of decisions that fail to invest early and support solutions communities are already leading.”
Hāpai Te Hauora remains committed to advocating for long-term investment in prevention, whānau wellbeing and Māori-led approaches that strengthen before crisis point. 
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Budget 2026 – Plunket funding coalition promise forgotten in Budget 26 – NZNO

Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

A coalition promise to “ensure Plunket is funded to do their job properly” was forgotten in Budget 26, NZNO says.
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO national delegate and Plunket nurse Hannah Cook says Budget 26 papers show the promise was an outstanding commitment between the National and NZ First parties from their 2023 coalition agreement.
“Most newborn babies get their best start in life with assistance from a Plunket nurse. We see about 80% of all newborn babies in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“However, I don’t think anyone would say Plunket has the funding it needs to do our job properly. Whānau Āwhina Plunket runs on the smell of an oily rag. In some parts of the country, local fundraising still supports our services.
“Plunket nurses are paid considerably less than our hospital-based colleagues. This was exacerbated by having our pay equity claim scrapped last year when we were just weeks away from submitting it.
“NZNO calls on the Coalition Government to keep its promise and fund Plunket properly. This would keep nurses from leaving Plunket for better paid hospital jobs and result in more of our pēpē being seen by a skilled and experienced Whānau Āwhina Plunket nurse,” Hannah Cook says. 
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Arts – Congratulations to the talented student writers awarded NZSA Youth Mentorships for 2026!

Source: NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc)

Four secondary school students selected for mentorships will each be matched with a professional writer/mentor in their genre, as part of the NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) 2026 Youth Mentorship Programme.

The young writers will hone their writing skills and develop their craft through the year, working on their chosen writing project. We congratulate them on their success.

2026 Youth Mentorships have been awarded to:

  • Dorothy Baricuatro – Trinity Catholic College (Ōtepoti | Dunedin)
  • Payton Blackburn – South Westland Area School (HariHari)
  • Meisha Rose Kitto – Dunstan High School (Clyde, Ōtākou | Otago)
  • Bleys Robertson – Mairehau High School ( Ōtautahi | Christchurch)

The judging panel of award-winning authors Convenor Cristina Schumacher and Ruby Porter, said: ‘This year’s panel encountered young writers with strong imaginative potential and thematic engagement, and the mentorship initiative will play an important role in nurturing and refining their emerging voices.’

Congratulations also to the highly commended student writers: Molly Marjoribanks from Michael Park School (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland), and Jacob Prewer from Cambridge High School (Kemureti | Cambridge)

The NZSA Youth Mentorship Programme was established in 2010 to foster and develop emerging writing talent around Aotearoa New Zealand with the support of established authors. NZSA Chief Executive Jenny Nagle says ” Over the last 30 years NZSA's mentor programmes have proven themselves to be a valuable development pipeline for emerging writers. Mentorship by a senior writer, one-on-one, provides a significant opportunity to develop their work and their future writing skill. We wish these writers well with their projects this year.”

Youth Mentorship is one of The New Zealand Society of Authors successful mentoring programmes for writers and is made possible with the support by Creative New Zealand.

For further information: www.authors.org.nz
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Budget 2026 overlooks struggling general practice sector – GenPro

Source: General Practice Owners Association (GenPro)

The General Practice Owners Association (GenPro) says Budget 2026 is a major missed opportunity to strengthen the front line of New Zealand’s healthcare system, with general practice ignored despite growing pressure on clinics, doctors and patients.

GenPro Chair Dr Angus Chambers said the Budget contained significant new health spending, but virtually none of it was directed toward supporting the country’s struggling network of general practices.

“Primary healthcare barely gets a mention in this Budget, and general practice is absent altogether,” Dr Chambers said.

“The Government talks about improving access to healthcare and reducing wait times, but none of that is possible without properly supporting the family doctors and practice teams who are the foundation of the health system.”

Health spending will rise by more than $3 billion under Budget 2026, including funding for cost increases, hospitals, ambulance services, Pharmac, cancer care and digital health initiatives.

However, there is no meaningful investment in the sustainability of general practice, despite rising demand, workforce shortages and increasing financial pressure on clinics across the country.

“This neglect will cost our country a lot more in the long run. Every day general practice is managing more complex patients, more chronic illness and more demand, while dealing with severe workforce shortages and rapidly increasing costs,” Dr Chambers says.

“General practice is the most cost-effective part of the health system. When patients can’t get timely access to a GP, they end up in emergency departments and hospitals, which puts even greater pressure on the wider system.”

The Government’s focus on increasing hospital treatments and emergency department capacity failed to recognise that many health issues could be prevented or managed earlier through better investment in community-based care.

“You cannot build a sustainable health system while neglecting the front door of healthcare,” he said.

“The Budget includes targets for 53,000 additional general practice enrolments, yet there is no direct investment to help practices absorb those patients or expand capacity. It simply does not add up.”

Dr Chambers said GenPro supported investment in areas such as child health, cancer care and ambulance services, but said long-term health improvements would remain out of reach unless primary care was properly funded.

“General practice is where prevention happens, where long-term conditions are managed, and where most New Zealanders first access healthcare,” he said.

“If the Government is serious about improving health outcomes and reducing pressure on hospitals, it must stop treating general practice as an afterthought.”

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Budget 2026 – Budget spend on school lunches short-sighted: Health Coalition Aotearoa

Source: Health Coalition Aotearoa

Many children will continue to struggle without permanent funding for Ka Ora, Ka Ako, the Healthy School Lunch Programme, says Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA).
Budget 2026 provides $212.4 million to extend the current school and ECE lunches programmes for another calendar year, which HCA says does not go far enough.
“The Child Poverty Report released as part of today’s Budget shows the number of kids living in material hardship is unchanged at 14.3 percent with no chance of meeting legislative targets,” says Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Professor Boyd Swinburn from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.
Health Coalition Aotearoa is calling for permanent funding for a ‘3.0 version’ of the programme, combining the best features of the original Ka Ora Ka Ako model and the current low-cost model.
Permanent funding enshrined in law would allow both local providers and children to thrive.
Health Coalition Aotearoa estimates that only about 40 percent of children living in food-insecure households are now receiving free school lunches and this needs to be increased urgently.
“It is good that the Healthy School Lunch programme has not been stopped because it is a powerful tool for improving food security, child nutrition and educational outcomes,” Swinburn says.
“Kicking the can down the road on permanent funding is bad news for schools and food providers. Not investing in the programme for the long-term means that the programme’s full potential cannot be realised.”
Some schools are keen to innovate by linking the lunch programme with the curriculum or local growers but this is stifled by the uncertainty created by year-by-year funding. Similarly, some efficiencies which could come from investing in upgraded equipment or regional industrial-scale composting will only come with long term programme certainty.
Professor Lisa Te Morenga (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Te Uri o Hua, Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa), Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair and professor of Māori health and nutrition at Massey University says that, while it is positive the Government is extending the school lunch programme, it is a mean and cynical offering.
“The lunches are so bad that tamariki say it’s embarrassing to be seen to be desperate enough to eat them,” Te Morenga says. “Yet, bad as they are, plenty of students are asking, in private, at the end of the school day, to take the leftovers home.
“I just wish this government would treat our tamariki with the dignity and care that they deserve. You don’t grow an economy by starving its future workers.”
The lunches need to be more nutritious, appealing and larger for growing children and teens, the co-chairs say.
Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA)
HCA is a coalition of health NGOs, professionals and academics with an unwavering commitment to reduce harm from tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy food and advance public health equity.
Together with its four expert panels – alcohol, tobacco, unhealthy food and public health infrastructure – HCA is a powerful collective voice for preventative health in Aotearoa. Find out about HCA: https://www.healthcoalition.org.nz/
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Employment indicators: April 2026 – Stats NZ information release

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Budget 2026 – Prostate Cancer Foundation disappointed by continued failure to fund screening pilot

Source:  Prostate Cancer Foundation

The Prostate Cancer Foundation says the Government’s failure to provide funding in Budget 2026 for a prostate cancer screening pilot is another missed opportunity to save Kiwi men’s lives.

Foundation President Danny Bedingfield said the organisation was disappointed that a relatively modest investment had again been overlooked despite years of advocacy and strong support from clinicians and health experts.

“We have now been talking to successive governments for more than three years about funding two regional pilots for the early detection screening of prostate cancer at an approximate cost of only $6.4 million over four years,” Mr Bedingfield said.

“In the context of a multi-billion-dollar health budget, this is a drop in the bucket for the Government, but a kick in the guts for Kiwi men and their families.

“And it goes against what ordinary Kiwis want. Independent polling of 1,000 eligible voters found that 84% of New Zealanders support the development of a prostate cancer screening programme. This strong level of support cuts across gender, age, region, and political affiliation.

“The Government continues to say it is committed to improving cancer outcomes, yet once again prostate cancer has been left behind. Everyone acknowledges that the earlier cancer is detected, the better the clinical outcomes and the better the survival rates.”

Mr Bedingfield said the Foundation was struggling to understand why prostate cancer screening continued to face delays when more than 4,000 New Zealand men are diagnosed with the disease every year and more than 700 die from it annually.

“These are fathers, husbands, brothers, sons, workmates and friends. Their lives matter, he says. “We have two simple questions for the Government — why does cancer specific to men continue to be overlooked, and what exactly is the barrier to finally getting a prostate cancer screening pilot underway?”

Mr Bedingfield said the case for action was overwhelming. “The clinical support is there, the need is there, and the cost is modest. What appears to be missing is the political will to act.

“If funding a pilot programme is considered a bridge too far for Health Minister Simeon Brown, then we urge the Minister to direct officials to urgently identify other practical measures that could reduce the toll prostate cancer is taking on New Zealand families.

“We cannot continue talking about improving cancer outcomes while ignoring the cancer that kills more than 700 Kiwi men every year.”

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India’s top agribusiness professionals put boots on the ground in New Zealand

Source: Asia New Zealand Foundation

Ten entrepreneurs and business leaders from India's agribusiness sector are coming to New Zealand to share knowledge, explore opportunities and build foundations for future collaboration. They will be in New Zealand as part of the Foundation’s New Zealand India Entrepreneurship Initiative (NZIEI).
From June 4-11, the Asia New Zealand Foundation will host the delegates, connecting them with businesses in Waikato, Auckland, and Tauranga, and bringing them to the country's largest agricultural show, Fieldays, on Friday, June 12.
One of the delegates, Pulkit Mittal, Vice President – Growth Office at (TAFE) Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, leads one of India’s largest agricultural machinery companies. He applied to join the programme to better understand how New Zealand has built globally respected agricultural systems.
“I'm particularly looking forward to engaging with agribusiness leaders and exploring how emerging technologies in areas like farm data systems, livestock intelligence, and mechanisation can create meaningful collaboration opportunities between New Zealand and India.”
With the recent signing of the Free Trade Agreement, this delegation presents a timely opportunity for India and New Zealand to deepen agribusiness connections.
“The Free Trade Agreement between India and New Zealand is a fantastic opportunity, but ultimately it is people who make business happen,” Asia New Zealand Foundation director of business Tim McCready says.
“Fieldays puts them in front of the right people in one place, while also showcasing New Zealand as a globally competitive player in agriculture. Over the course of the week, they will be meeting with New Zealand businesses that have as much to learn from them as they do from us.”
The programme's impact is already proving tangible. Indian fruit supplier Rohan Ursal attended last year's inaugural delegation and has since introduced a new variety of New Zealand apple, the Rouge, to the Indian market.
Ursal is also importing Royal Gala through his company, Purandar Highlands Farmers Producer Company Ltd.
“This year, we have people connecting with us – new suppliers and small growers from New Zealand trying to seek new markets or seek new buyers like us in India,” Ursal says.
He credits both the FTA signing and the commercial traction of the Rouge for generating new inbound interest.
“In the next five years, I think we will see very good growth in this sector.”
He says the next step is developing a deeper understanding of how each market operates – something he expects will take time but sees being on the ground in each country as an essential part of this process.
Asia New Zealand Foundation chief executive Suzannah Jessep says “the programme reflects the Foundation's belief that lasting commercial relationships are built when people understand each other, trust each other, and stay connected over time.”
“By bringing India’s future agribusiness leaders to New Zealand, onto our farms, alongside our growers and innovators, we are helping to build intergenerational partnerships, and we’re creating a cohort of young leaders in India who not only understand New Zealand but who will champion the New Zealand relationship when they get home.”
Meet the delegation:
– Pulkit Mittal – Vice President, Growth Office, (TAFE) Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd.
– Nimit Singh – Founder, Madhumakhiwala
– Prabhat Kumar – Co-founder, SumArth
– Swapnil Jadhav – Founder & CEO, Map My Crop
– Himani Padalia – Director, Farmbridge Consulting LLP
– Rohit Bajaj – CEO, Modish TractorAurkisan Pvt. Ltd.
– Bhushan Yalmar – Founder & CEO, Zorro QC (Renzu QC Services LLP)
– Vikas Mishra – Business Director – India, Evergreen Innovation Platform
– Subhajit Sinha – Founder & CEO, 4CLIMATE
– Amrita Mukherjee Ganguli – Product Manager, Arogyam Medisoft Solution Pvt. Ltd
About the New Zealand India Entrepreneurship Initiative (NZIEI): The Asia New Zealand Foundation NZIEI programme is an initiative established to facilitate trade and build networks and connections between entrepreneurs and business leaders in India and New Zealand. This will be the second year of this programme.
This programme is modelled on the successful ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative (YBLI) , which, since its launch in 2011, has brought over 159 business leaders and entrepreneurs from across ASEAN to New Zealand, while 81 New Zealand business leaders and entrepreneurs have travelled to Southeast Asia.
About the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono : Established in 1994, the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono is one of New Zealand’s leading authorities on Asia. Its mission is to equip New Zealanders to excel in Asia, by providing experiences and insights to build knowledge, skills and confidence. The Foundation’s activities cover more than 20 countries in Asia and are delivered through eight core programmes: arts, business, entrepreneurship, leadership, media, research, Track II diplomacy and sports. 
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Budget 2026 doesn’t move the dial on child poverty rates – CPAG

Source: Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG)

For yet another year, Treasury’s child poverty forecasting shows no movement toward hitting the 2028 goal of halving child poverty in accordance with the Child Poverty Reduction Act 2018.
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) says taken as a whole, Budget 2026 doesn’t meaningfully shift the dial on child poverty.
Forecasts
Of the three child poverty measures that Treasury models, only one is set to hit the 2027 target. The rest will miss, and all are miles away from the 2028 targets.
It is important to note that the 2027 targets were set by Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston in 2024 as part of the Government’s Child and Youth Strategy.
This was a target the Government set because it “wants to make the target achievable” ( Figure 2), yet even after it’s lowered the bar, it’s still failing to clear it.
Fuel support
The temporary $50 increase to the In-Work Tax Credit will provide welcome relief for many working families. However, CPAG remains deeply concerned that children in families receiving income support continue to be excluded from this assistance through the discriminatory design of the Working for Families system.
With unemployment forecast to rise to 5.5 percent in mid-2026, more families are likely to experience periods out of paid work due to broader economic conditions, not personal choice. In that context, maintaining a two-tier system of support for children becomes even more difficult to justify.
A child’s access to food, housing, and essentials should not depend on their parents’ employment status. If the Government recognises that rising living costs require additional support for children in working families, it is hard to understand why that support should also be extended to children in households receiving income support.
Housing
The Government’s flagship “housing support fairness” package effectively asks some of the lowest-income families in the country – those in public housing – to pay more of their income in rent in order to fund modest increases in support for private renters. While reducing inequities between housing support systems is a legitimate policy aspiration, it should not come at the expense of households already struggling to meet basic needs.
The increase in Income-Related Rent from 25 to 30 percent of income represents a direct reduction in disposable income for many low-income families in public housing. About 84,000 households will see rents increase by around $31 a week on average. For households already facing impossible choices between food, power, transport, and school costs, this matters.
At the same time, the Government is reducing access to Temporary Additional Support (TAS), one of the few mechanisms available to families facing acute hardship. Cutting the maximum TAS rate sends the wrong message during a cost-of-living crisis and risks deepening material deprivation for children.
General initiatives
More broadly, the Budget continues a pattern of relying on foodbanks, food hubs, and charity-based responses as core pillars of social support. While community providers do extraordinary work, food insecurity is ultimately a systems issue in a country that feeds 40 million people globally a year. Children need incomes that are adequate and secure, not ongoing dependence on emergency food assistance.
Community resilience is not a long-term solution to child poverty, it is a temporary band-aid, and the longer the Government leaves the band-aid as the only solution, the less effective it will be.
The continuation of school lunch programmes and investment in social housing are positive steps, but they are mitigations of hardship, not solutions to poverty.
There are also serious concerns about the impact on the public services and community infrastructure children and whānau rely on. Behind every frontline service are the policy, administration and coordination roles that keep income support, housing assistance, public health and community services functioning effectively. Reducing state capacity can mean longer waits, weaker support systems, and greater barriers for families already under pressure.
Child poverty is the result of policy choices. Ending it requires a sustained commitment to income adequacy, affordable housing, and an unconditional approach to supporting children. Budget 2026 contains few short-term relief measures, but it falls well short of the transformational change needed to ensure every child in Aotearoa can thrive.