MIL Email Publisher (NZ)

Source: Kiwibank

3rd September, 2026

New Zealand's economic recovery is slowly gaining ground, but not fast enough for many households and businesses.

Kiwibank's latest Regional Score found economic conditions improved modestly across the country in 2026, but many regions remain some way from a meaningful rebound.

South Island economies continue to outperform the North. Queenstown topped the rankings with a 9 out of 10 “feels-like” score, followed by Southland and Otago (7) – while Taranaki (3) and Wellington (3.4) sat near the bottom of the table.

The report shows a persistent divide between the two islands, with the South Island recording an average regional score of 5.1 compared with 4.0 in the North Island.

Kiwibank Chief Economist, Jarrod Kerr, says the figures highlight a recovery that is gaining traction in some regions but remains frustratingly slow for many New Zealanders.

“The economy is improving, but it's doing so at different speeds across the country. Tourism-heavy and agricultural regions in the South Island are leading the way, while many households and businesses in the North are still feeling the pressure of weak demand, higher costs and economic uncertainty.”

Tourism and agriculture continue to drive stronger performance in the South Island, particularly in Otago, Canterbury and Southland. Queenstown remains a standout performer, supported by strong visitor numbers, low unemployment and ongoing demand in the housing market.

At the same time, many North Island regions continue to face softer business conditions. Auckland's economy remains subdued, while Wellington businesses report holding back investment decisions amid economic and political uncertainty.

The divergence is particularly evident in labour market data. North Island unemployment averages around 6%, compared with 3.7% across the South Island. Underutilisation, which includes both unemployed and underemployed workers, remains elevated nationally at 13.8%, with Northland recording one of the weakest outcomes.

Kerr says, “The labour market tells the story clearly. Many households are finding it difficult not just to secure work, but to secure enough hours and income. That's especially true in parts of the North Island.”

Property markets also reflect the regional split. While national house prices have largely moved sideways over the past three years, Otago and Southland have outperformed. House prices in Auckland and Wellington remain well below their post-pandemic peaks.

Despite the subdued conditions, Kiwibank expects the recovery to strengthen through 2027. Lower interest rates, improving agricultural incomes and another strong tourism season are expected to support economic activity, particularly across regional New Zealand.

“The good news is that the foundations for stronger growth are in place and the direction of travel is positive. Tourism is rebounding, commodity prices remain supportive and lower borrowing costs should help lift activity over the coming year.

“While the recovery remains uneven, we expect economic momentum to strengthen and become more widely felt across New Zealand through 2027,” Kerr concludes.

Key findings

• Queenstown ranked as New Zealand's strongest performer in 2026 with a “feels-like” score of 9 out of 10.
• Southland and Otago ranked second with a “feels-like” score of 7.
• Wellington (3.4) and Taranaki (3) were among the weakest-performing regions.
• The South Island's average regional score was 5.1, compared with 4.0 in the North Island.
• North Island unemployment averaged 6%, compared with 3.7% in the South Island.
• National underutilisation remains elevated at 13.8%.
• Tourism, agriculture and manufacturing are outperforming, while construction, retail and discretionary services remain under pressure.

About Kiwibank's Regional Score

Kiwibank's Regional Score combines seven economic indicators across 13 regions, including population growth, retail sales, employment, unemployment, house prices, house sales and building consents. Scores are presented on a scale of 1 to 10. Scores for 2026 are based on an updated methodology and are not directly comparable with previous years.

Source: BusinessNZ

BusinessNZ says New Zealand's economic recovery is gaining real traction – and the country now has a rare opening to put itself on a more competitive international footing for the capital, investment and skilled people every advanced economy is competing for.

Releasing its Election Priorities 2026, Building Tomorrow's Economy, BusinessNZ has set out the constructive measures it says the next Government should adopt to build on that momentum rather than let it slip away.

They include lower and more competitive tax rates, including corporate taxes, and the indexation of personal income tax thresholds.

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich said New Zealand has every reason to be optimistic about what comes next.

“We are a small country with an extraordinary record of innovation, entrepreneurship and international success, and the numbers back up our optimism. Export earnings surpassing $100 billion for the first time shows what our businesses can do, even in difficult times. Our task now is to build the settings that turn this momentum into a sustained, internationally competitive economy,” Ms Rich said.

Among the reasons for optimism: New Zealand's economy grew nearly three times faster than Australia's in the first three months of 2026 – GDP up 0.8 per cent in the March quarter, against Australia's 0.3 per cent, according to Stats NZ and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

That gave New Zealand a window to compete with its trans-Tasman neighbour, and the rest of the world, if the next Government was prepared to seize it.

BusinessNZ's election priorities report is drawn from the expertise of BusinessNZ's economists, policy specialists and the experience of member businesses across the country.

The settings that will grow the economy

BusinessNZ chief economist John Pask said New Zealand is competing in an international market for capital, investment and skilled people – and the question is not whether recovery happens, but what kind of economy it builds.

“Capital is mobile. Highly skilled workers are mobile. Businesses considering where to establish their next operation, factory, data center or research facility have choices – and New Zealand cannot assume those choices will automatically favour us. But the current environment gives us a genuine opportunity to act, and we should grasp it,” Mr Pask said.

BusinessNZ's growth agenda centers on three levers:

• A more competitive corporate tax rate – New Zealand's 28 per cent rate sits well above the OECD average of 24.1 per cent. BusinessNZ is calling for a staged reduction, paired with continued reform of the Overseas Investment Act, to improve New Zealand's ability to attract and retain internationally mobile capital.
• A more competitive R&D rebate – New Zealand's R&D Tax Incentive, at 15 per cent, is internationally uncompetitive and business R&D spend (0.98 per cent of GDP) trails the OECD average (2 per cent) so significantly that, at current rates of progress, it would take roughly 75 years to close the gap. BusinessNZ wants the RDTI rate lifted to at least 25 per cent, with a higher rate of up to 50 per cent for firms partnering with local researchers.
• An energy strategy that delivers affordable, reliable and sustainable energy – with renewables already supplying 88.5 per cent of electricity generation in 2025, BusinessNZ wants an enduring National Energy Strategy that treats affordability, security and sustainability as a package, backed by clearer rules on natural gas, emerging fuels and long-term energy contracting.

Mr Pask said tax reform on its own will not transform New Zealand's prospects. “A low-tax economy can still be a high-cost economy if businesses face unnecessary regulatory barriers. The real question for every policy should be: does this make New Zealand a more attractive place to invest, work and create? Together, these measures send an important signal – New Zealand is open for investment, values enterprise, and rewards work and achievement.”

BusinessNZ also wants personal income tax thresholds indexed to inflation or wage growth to end “fiscal drag,” and a systematic review of outdated thresholds – including the $60,000 GST registration threshold, unchanged since 2009 and now well below Australia's AU$75,000 equivalent.

Staying the course on reform already under way

BusinessNZ says the single biggest risk to the recovery is not a lack of ideas but a lack of follow-through. The organisation is calling for continuity, not reinvention, across a reform programme already delivering results:

• Resource Management Act reform – the current consenting system costs major infrastructure projects an estimated $1.29 billion a year and now takes nearly twice as long as it did five years ago. BusinessNZ wants the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill enacted before this year's election, with independent analysis showing the new regime could lift GDP by 0.56 per cent a year by 2050 (worth up to $3.1 billion annually), deliver $13.3 billion in savings over 30 years, and remove roughly 45 per cent of current consent requirements – between 15,000 and 22,000 fewer consents on 2023/24 volumes.
• Education reform – BusinessNZ wants the current curriculum and qualifications overhaul, including the replacement of NCEA with new upper-secondary qualifications and the embedding of structured literacy and numeracy, fully resourced and given time to bed in, rather than restarted.
• The Ministry for Regulation – for the first time, the scale of New Zealand's regulatory system has been mapped, revealing complexity spread across more than 260 regulators. BusinessNZ wants the Ministry and the Regulatory Standards Act 2025 retained, resourced and reviewed on schedule, not unwound.
• Infrastructure – BusinessNZ is calling for a genuinely bipartisan approach to long-term infrastructure planning, with accountability across government agencies for delivering shared priorities, so investment decisions survive a change of government.
• Health and safety reform – current initiatives modernising health and safety regulation and reducing compliance burdens are backed as “positive steps” that should continue.
• Employment law modernisation – including the Employment Leave Act and related changes to minimum wage and holiday entitlement calculations – should proceed to reduce compliance complexity for salaried, incentive-based and variable-hours roles.

The BusinessNZ Election Priorities 2026 report will be available at BusinessNZ.org.nz once embargo lifts, 4am Thursday 3 September.

The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.

Source: Safer Boating Forum

Organisations tasked with keeping recreational craft users safe on the water are looking forward to support upcoming changes to lifejacket legislation which completed its third reading in Parliament this week.

This is an important step towards reducing preventable harm on the water. The Bill must now receive the Royal assent before it becomes law. Following this and once it comes into force, everyone on recreational craft six metres in length and under will need to wear a properly fitted lifejacket when the craft is underway.

Safer Boating Forum Chair Sharyn Forsyth acknowledges the work of the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee and says a clear national requirement for water users on these craft will strengthen one of the sector’s most important safety messages.

“This is a big step for recreational craft safety. The Forum’s members share one goal: helping people enjoy the water and come home safely,” she says.

“Tragically, on average, 17 people die each year in recreational craft incidents. Wearing a properly fitted lifejacket is a simple action that can make the difference when someone unexpectedly ends up in the water.

“I’d like to acknowledge and thank the sector for the significant effort invested over many years in helping make this positive change a reality,” says Ms Forsyth.

Coastguard responds to calls for help on the water year-round and knows how much rides on whether a lifejacket was worn.

Coastguard Tautiaki Moana, CEO Carl McOnie says the change will mean far more people have the chance of survival when something goes wrong on the water.

“Every year our volunteers see the heartbreak of preventable tragedies. A lifejacket keeps someone afloat and visible, and that is what gives our crews the chance to reach them alive, and bring them home to their loved ones,” McOnie says.

Water Safety New Zealand says drowning fatality data is undeniable. Lifejackets save lives on the water.

Water Safety NZ, Chief Executive Glen Scanlon says the change will support a lifejacket-wearing culture.

“A lifejacket cannot help if it is not being worn. This change, once confirmed, is an opportunity to make lifejacket wearing a normal part of every trip on small recreational craft,” Scanlon says.

The change will be administered by regulators; Maritime NZ, police and Harbourmasters.

One of the most diverse regions in the country is Canterbury, with lakes, rivers and coastal recreational spots.

Canterbury Deputy Harbourmaster, Gordon McKay says the change will make it easier for people to understand what is expected on the water.

“A clear national rule will support the work harbourmasters do in their communities to educate all recreational craft users and prevent harm. Simple actions like wearing a properly fitted lifejacket, understanding the conditions and knowing your limits can make all the difference,” Mr McKay says.

Maritime NZ Principal Advisor, Recreational Craft, Matt Wood says it is good to see the sector working together to support the change.

“We know this will assist in reducing harm on the water and we are working collaboratively with our safer boating partners to ensure everyone heading out knows what the new rule will be.

“We encourage people to prepare now. Check that everyone has the right size and type of lifejacket, that it fits properly and that it is in good condition. Wear it, carry two waterproof ways to call for help, and check the marine weather forecast.”

“We want everyone to enjoy their time on the water and come home safe,” Matt Wood says.

NOTE

The Safer Boating Forum is a national network of more than 30 organisations working together to reduce preventable harm on the water. Maritime NZ leads the Forum and will coordinate implementation communications with Forum members and co-regulators.

Maritime NZ is publishing commencement information and practical guidance on its website: Maritime NZ lifejacket changes guidance

Source: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

ESCAP Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation

Bangkok, 2 September 2026

The arrival of artificial intelligence has reshaped the digital landscape of Asia and the Pacific with AI embedded in network, infrastructure and daily use, yet persistent gaps in speed, reliability and computing power risk leaving countries behind.

The convergence of AI, advanced networks, computing and data is transforming digital infrastructure from a system that simply carries information into one that can analyse information and support real-time decision-making. This could help countries tackle some of the region's most pressing challenges, from improving disaster response and public services to making transport, energy and other critical systems more efficient.

“Ensuring that AI-native network infrastructure benefits all economies of the region, rather than deepening existing inequalities, will require deliberate and coordinated policy action by Governments individually and through regional cooperation,” said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

ESCAP’s newly released Asia-Pacific Digital Transformation Report 2026 warns that the next digital divide may be more than access to the Internet. The region records an average Digital Transformation Index (DTI) score of 50.28, above the global average of 49.63, but it continues to face gaps in innovation capacity and institutional conditions. Digital development outcomes in high-income economies in the region are nearly four times higher than in low-income economies.

Highlighting the power of AI-enabled infrastructure, the report explains how tools like SatGPT can generate flood-prone maps from simple prompts to speed up emergency response. It also features best practices for leveraging AI and digital technologies across early warning systems.

The report was launched today at the opening of the ESCAP Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation. Over the course of 3 days, ministers and senior officials will deliberate on advancing digital inclusion and transformation as well as strengthening regional cooperation to bridge the digital divide through the action plan of the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway initiative 2027-2030.

The plan includes actions to enhance resilient and cross-border digital infrastructure, improve public services through emerging technologies, promote the sharing of innovative digital solutions and build secure and trusted data systems. It also calls for tailored support and knowledge-sharing to help countries and communities facing the greatest barriers benefit from new technologies.

For further information: ESCAP Committee event

Read the full report: Asia-Pacific Digital Transformation Report 2026

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is the most inclusive intergovernmental platform in the Asia-Pacific region. The Commission promotes cooperation among its member States and associate members in pursuit of solutions to sustainable development challenges. ESCAP is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations.

Source: Save the Children

One week after massive flooding swept through communities across Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, children are showing signs of psychological distress, Save the Children said, as families worry about their futures.

At least 1,000 people have been killed, with more than 3,900 people still missing[1], after flood waters created by the collapse of a mountain glacier rushed through valleys with a force that wiped entire villages off the map.

Save the Children staff spoke to children in Nuwakot district who said they are fearful and anxious after witnessing wide-ranging horrors including school buses full of friends washed away, their homes submerged and everything they hold dear carried away by the waters.

Neela-, 11, was preparing to go to school when the flood waters came rushing down and tore through her village and home on a rugged hill side.

She and her family escaped with only the clothes they were wearing. Her family home is no longer standing, while many of her relatives and neighbors are still missing.

Neela said:

“We lost everything including our home and our buffalos. My school is gone and many of my friends are still missing.”

Neela, who is staying in a temporary shelter where Save the Children has a presence and has provided her family with kits containing essential items including torches, blankets, soap and other personal hygiene items, said she is scared of future floods.

“I’m in no mood to talk and I’m scared to sleep incase there is another wall of water coming down,” she said.

Tara Chettry, Save the Children Nepal Country Director, said:

“The need for mental healthcare is growing. It’s been seven days since this horrific event happened and children and adults are still processing it, grappling with the enormity of what happened and questioning what it means for their future.

“Many are still separated from loved ones and are anxious to find family members. Others are worried about where they’re going to sleep at night, how they’ll rebuild their homes and how they will make a living.

“Recovery is not only about rebuilding homes and infrastructure. Children need support to process what they have been through. Helping them recover emotionally is essential to helping communities recover as a whole.”

Forecasters have warned that additional rainfall could hamper recovery efforts in some affected areas [2], raising concerns among displaced families still living in temporary accommodation while heavy rainfall on country roads has brought fresh challenges including slowed down aid delivery to some of the more cut off and rural areas.

Parents affected by the floods are also facing significant challenges. Many have lost livelihoods and household possessions, increasing financial pressures that could further affect their children's emotional well-being.

Bijay-, 33, a father of three at one temporary shelter in Nuwakot district, said he used to own a shop but his shop and their home was washed away. He’s anxious about how he’ll support the family.

“I cannot buy anything,” said Bijay.

Save the Children is on the ground in the affected areas in Nuwakot district and we have set up two child friendly spaces in Nuwakot with the aim of setting up a third in Rasawa district 120 km (75 miles) north of the capital Kathmandu.

These are spaces where children can play, do some sports and regain some sense of normality. Save the Children has also assigned psychosocial counsellors at the child friendly spaces to support children with their mental health and psychosocial needs.

At least 65,000 people, need immediate Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) support while about 22,000 people, including children, need protection support and at least 19 schools have been damaged in the flood affected areas.[3]

Save the Children has recently established a field office in Nuwakot district to ensure timely support to children and affected communities.

Save the Children has worked in Nepal since 1976. The organisation runs programmes spanning child protection, child rights governance, education, climate change, gender equality, health and nutrition and child poverty.

New Zealanders wanting to donate to Save the Children's response in Nepal can do so here: https://nepal-flood.savethechildren.org.nz/.

References

[1] Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

[2] https://www.dhm.gov.np/

[3] UN OCHA flash update

Source: Pacific Islands Climate Action Network

Full report: UNEP report

[KOROR, 2 September 2026] – The Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) has warned that the projected overshoot of the 1.5°C global warming threshold must not become an excuse for weaker climate ambition. A major new UNEP report released today finds that global warming is now set to cross 1.5°C within the next few years. Even under an optimistic scenario, peak warming reaches around 1.8°C, while current policies point to significantly higher temperatures. UNEP warns there are no safe outcomes above 1.5°C, with Small Island Developing States facing escalating risks from sea-level rise, ecosystem loss, extreme weather and possible partial or complete submersion.

The report lands as Pacific leaders meet in Palau for the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, where climate resilience, regional security and development are central to discussions.

Dr Rufino Varea, Director of the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network said:

“For the Pacific, overshoot is not a line on a graph. Every fraction of a degree carries consequences for our reefs, our food and water, our economies, our homes and ultimately our ability to remain on our islands. We have fought for 1.5°C because the science has always told us what lies beyond it, and this report makes those consequences even clearer.”

“We cannot allow the inevitability of crossing 1.5°C to become an excuse for accepting a hotter world. Overshoot may now be unavoidable, but how high temperatures rise and how long they remain there are still determined by the choices governments make today. Every fraction of a degree we prevent matters. Every year we shorten overshoot matters. For Pacific peoples, those choices will be measured in what we are still able to save.”

UNEP identifies an “overshoot, peak and decline” pathway as the best remaining option to limit how high temperatures rise and how long they remain above 1.5°C. The report makes clear that the most effective action available now is rapid and sustained emissions reductions, alongside stronger adaptation and resilience. While technologies may form part of future responses, they cannot substitute for cutting emissions at source today.

The report also places equity and justice at the centre of the response, saying countries with greater historical responsibility and capability must act the hardest and fastest.

Dr Sindra Sharma, International Policy Lead at the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network said:

“Crossing 1.5°C does not make 1.5°C irrelevant. It makes the responsibility to act even greater. The International Court of Justice has affirmed 1.5°C as the agreed primary temperature goal under the Paris Agreement, and UNEP is clear that this benchmark continues to guide states’ obligations even in an overshoot world.”

“The science of overshoot cannot become political cover for continued fossil fuel expansion or weaker climate targets. Nor can governments gamble our future on technologies that may or may not deliver at the scale required to bring temperatures back down. States must act to limit any exceedance of 1.5C. That means deep and sustained emissions reductions now, stronger NDCs, an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels, and climate finance at a scale that enables vulnerable countries to adapt while protecting development gains.”

“And we have to ask the justice question at the heart of this report – who is being asked to carry the cost of overshoot? Pacific countries did not create this crisis, yet our options are closing around us, climate finance is not reaching communities to flexibly adapt to and respond to the harms of a warming world. We are being asked to contemplate consequences that reach all the way to habitability. Overshoot has a message, to those delaying action — it is telling us we are disposable.”

UNEP’s legal analysis also reinforces that overshoot does not erase existing obligations. The report says the 1.5°C benchmark continues to guide states even if warming exceeds it, and that growing climate risks increase the level of action expected from governments.

PICAN said the report should sharpen, not weaken, Pacific demands for deep emissions cuts, a transition away from fossil fuels, adequate climate finance and stronger support for adaptation and loss and damage.

About PICAN

PICAN is a regional alliance of 290+ non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, social movements and not-for-profit organisations from the Pacific Islands region working on various aspects of climate change, disaster risk and response and sustainable development.

Source: Greenpeace Aotearoa

A UN report has revealed that the world is set to exceed 1.5 degrees of global temperature increase, as Greenpeace condemns the New Zealand Government for pouring fuel on the escalating climate crisis.

The report finds that even under the most optimistic scenario, global temperatures are expected to peak at around 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels before declining. Other scenarios see temperatures rising even further.

Greenpeace spokesperson Gen Toop says the findings make the Coalition Government’s track record on climate policy utterly indefensible.

“This report shows that all governments must act immediately to limit the time earth spends above 1.5°C and bring warming back below that level as quickly as possible.”

“At precisely the moment governments should be slamming the brakes on fossil fuels and intensive livestock farming, the Coalition Government has put its foot on the accelerator and is driving us off a cliff.”

“It has spent its time in power tearing apart climate protections, and expanding the very industries driving the crisis.”

The report warns that above 1.5°C, climate impacts will intensify with every additional fraction of a degree and every year spent above the threshold. These include increasingly severe extreme weather, ecosystem loss, rising seas threatening Small Island Developing States and low-lying coastal cities, alongside escalating damage to human health, food and water security, infrastructure and economies.

“People are already paying for the climate crisis with their lives,” says Toop.

“We have just seen the devastating consequences of a warming world in Nepal and China following last week’s catastrophic glacial flood.

“Every fraction of a degree matters. Every tonne of coal, oil and gas kept in the ground matters. Every industrial livestock farm conversion prevented matters.

“And against this latest scientific backdrop, every decision this Government has made to increase climate pollution becomes even more indefensible.”

Since taking office, the Coalition Government has reversed the ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration, enabled a swathe of new dairy conversions in Canterbury, weakened New Zealand’s climate targets, pursued a new LNG import terminal and committed hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.

Greenpeace says these are not isolated decisions, but a clear pattern of the Government taking New Zealand backwards on climate action.

Source: Prostate Cancer Foundation New Zealand

2 September 2026

The Prostate Cancer Foundation says the expansion of free cervical screening reinforces the value of early detection in saving lives.

The Foundation is urging Ministers to apply the same evidence-led approach to prostate cancer through a proposed $6.4 million four-year pilot screening programme for Prostate Cancer.

“The Government's decision to fund free cervical screening is a positive step for women's health and reflects the importance of finding cancer early, when treatment is most effective,” says Foundation President Danny Bedingfield.

“We wholeheartedly support that investment. Screening programmes save lives, improve outcomes for patients and families, and deliver significant long-term benefits for the health system.

“The same evidence-based logic should now be applied to prostate cancer.”

The pilot would focus on Tairāwhiti and Waitematā, helping identify the most effective approaches to early detection, engagement with at-risk men and the use of modern diagnostic technologies.

“The Government has expanded breast and bowel screening, launched a lung cancer pilot and made cervical screening free for all women. We welcome these decisions.

“But with more than 4,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and more than 750 deaths annually, it's fair to ask: how about one for the blokes, Minister?

“A four-year pilot would lay the groundwork for an eventual national screening programme which would save lives and reduce the heavy toll of the most commonly diagnosed cancer in New Zealand men.”

Source: Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers is urging the Government to keep moving forward with promised KiwiSaver amendment legislation before the House rises for the election.

“These changes are long overdue and will make such a meaningful difference for young farmers across the country,” Federated Farmers dairy chair Karl Dean says.

“It’s great to see progress with the KiwiSaver (First Home or Farm) Amendment Bill being added to the Order Paper this week – but the Government needs to go further.

“Farmers don’t want to see these important changes stall now. The legislation needs to have its first reading before the House rises so it can progress to Select Committee.”

The Bill would allow farm staff and others living in service tenancies like rural teachers and country cops to use their KiwiSaver to buy a house without immediately moving in.

Federated Farmers felt this change was so important the organisation included it in their list of 12 policy priorities for this term of Parliament.

“The Government said they were going to make these changes, and we plan to hold them to that promise on behalf of our members,” Dean says.

“It’s been an incredibly busy term of reforms for the coalition and House time is at a premium as the election looms, but this would only take 40-minutes to progress.

“We urge the Government to make this a priority and to progress these important changes to Select Committee – and for the Opposition to support it.”

KiwiSaver changes are not just for the benefit of young farmers and farm workers, but anyone who lives in a service tenancy as part of their employment.

This includes military personnel, rural teachers, country cops, and tourism staff.

Dean says the Bill will allow them to use their savings to purchase a house – a withdrawal right available to anyone else to help get them on the property ladder.

The Bill also allows first-time farm buyers to use their KiwiSaver towards a farm bought through a company, trust or partnership they majority own and control.

“Current rules only allow it if the farm is in the buyer's own name. That’s an impractical technicality that needs to be changed,” Dean says.

“It’s been clearly signalled that changes are on the way, but progress has been slow. Young farmers have been waiting to secure their long-term financial futures.

“They’ve been incredibly patient, but they shouldn’t have to wait any longer. That’s why we’re really urging the Government to make these changes a reality.”

Source: Cotality

Wednesday 2 September 2026 – Commentary by Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson

Today’s decision to raise the official cash rate by 0.25% to 2.75% was in line with expectations, reflecting the ongoing need to bring inflation back down to the 1-3% target band but also hints from the Monetary Policy Committee that the economy will be strong enough to absorb the hit. Fixed mortgage rates may not react too much in the near term.

Looking beneath the surface, the economy certainly isn’t racing away, but there have been a few more encouraging signs recently. In addition, while inflation hasn’t perhaps spiked as much as might have been feared given the scale of fuel price increases (and a weaker exchange rate), it’s still too high, and the risk of second-round price effects hasn’t disappeared yet. This all tends to justify a measured or cautious approach to further monetary policy tightening.

Indeed, today’s decision from the Committee was unanimous and the associated commentary pointed to further OCR rises to come. But reading between the lines, the tone suggested that the next rise may not necessarily be on 28th October if the incoming data between now and then has a softer flavour.

For the housing market, there’s nothing much here to alter the broad expectation for a further sideways trend in both sales volumes and property values. The mood amongst buyers and sellers certainly remains fairly cautious, and those with mortgages will be wary of the recent interest rate increases on popular terms such as the two-year fix.

That being said, although floating rates may well shift higher to some extent after today’s OCR rise, it’s arguably already been priced in to prevailing fixed rates, so they might not show too much movement in the coming days. Of course, looking out over the next few months, there still seems a greater likelihood of higher mortgage rates rather than flat (or down).

The resilience of employment (even though greater labour supply is lifting the unemployment rate) will tend to offset the housing effects of higher interest rates to a degree. But the looming election is another key factor at the moment, especially for property investors as they wait any indications from the opposition about interest deductibility.