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Wellington house prices plummet

Average Wellington house values have plummeted nearly 25 per cent over three years, according to latest official valuations. Wellington City property owners will soon get their new ratings valuations which were recorded on September 1, 2024. On average compared to the 2021 valuations, the value of residential housing had decreased 24.4 percent with the average house value now sitting at $1,086,000.

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Economy

Why the economy is so hard hit

Last year was a tough year for the economy. So tough, in fact, that HSBC estimates it had the biggest drop in gross domestic product in the developed world and The Economist put us ahead of only Finland, Latvia, Turkey and Estonia on a measure that...

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Safety

South Island pool using AI to reducing drowning risks

A Canterbury swimming pool is using artificial intelligence technology to reduce the risk of drownings. The new drowning prevention system at Selwyn Aquatic Centre will use 27 cameras to track and analyse swimmer movements, alerting lifeguards to possible signs of a swimmer in trouble. Selwyn District Council said lifeguards would be alerted via waterproof smartwatch technology and dashboards in the lifeguard office, with the notifications showing which pool the incident was happening in and the location of the person.

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Business

Tariff war sparks interest rate warning

US President Donald Trump might not be putting tariffs on New Zealand imports to the United States, but New Zealanders may still feel the impact, economists say. Trump has introduced trade tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China and there is a warning it could mean interest rates stay higher in New Zealand than they might otherwise have. Council of Trade Unions economist and policy director Craig Renney said he still expected a 50 basis point cut at the next Reserve Bank monetary policy update. But he said the tariff move could have an impact beyond that.

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Welfare

More sanctions for those on benefits

The New Zealand government is introducing new sanctions for those on benefits, including taking five-hour weekly training courses. The announcement also said jobseekers would need to perform a minimum of three job-search activities every week for a month and report back to the Ministry of Social Development. The new sanctions would ensure there was “accountability in the welfare system”, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston said.

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Technology

Y2Q - the new Y2K threat

Y2Q is quickly emerging as the world’s next Y2K moment with potential to decrypt virtually every commonly used encrypted device from door locks to data. Y2K was recognised as an emerging problem in the mid-1990s, when it became necessary to upgrade legacy computer systems to allow for the four-digit turn of the millennium, thus preventing the year 2000 from being misread as 1900. This time around, Q stands for quantum computing, representing a mega upgrade on classical computers, using quantum mechanics to deliver huge advances in problem-solving abilities. The threat to common encryption systems was highlighted late last year when Google’s quantum computer Willow completed a calculation in five minutes that would take the world’s most powerful super computer 10 septillion years to calculate. For context one septillion is followed by 24 zeros or a trillion trillion. Commonly used encryption systems introduced nearly 50 years ago in 1977 are increasingly vulnerable.

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Health

Study links microplastics to cancer

We all know that microplastics are now ubiquitous in our environments, but we still don’t know their true impact on human health. A group of researchers from the University of Sydney – in conjunction with the University of California – recently published a major scientific review into how microplastic exposure can affect our health. The University of Sydney’s Dr Nicholas Chartres was the lead author and told RNZ’s Sunday Morning the study was the most rigourous to be established. ”It’s one of the largest but the most systematic.

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Israel

Israelis ‘very welcome to visit NZ’

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has called out a United States Senator for sharing what he says is “fake news” about the immigration requirements for Israelis visiting New Zealand. “It’s difficult to treat New Zealand as a normal ally within the American alliance system, when they denigrate and punish Israeli citizens for defending themselves and their country from Iranian-controlled terrorists,“ Texas Senator Ted Cruz posted on X.

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Education

School forced to buy hundreds of pies after free lunch delays

As students returned to school this week, the free lunch program also known as Ka Ora, Ka Ako, has faced significant issues, including delivery delays and poor communication from the provider. McAuley High School in Ōtāhuhu, one of those affected, believes the disruptions are unacceptable. Principal Jan Waelen expressed frustration over the late delivery of lunches, which arrived just before school ended, and the need to purchase food locally to feed the students.

RNZ

Space

Meteoroid causes sonic boom

South Islanders saw a fireball break through the atmosphere near Wanaka overnight with a loud sonic boom. The meteoroid became a fireball and raced above Queenstown around 11pm, before burning out over Southland. Fireballs Aotearoa, a group interested in meteorites, said a sonic boom was widely reported as the object came in overhead.

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Health

New Dunedin hospital scaled back

The Dunedin Hospital build turned into a “political football”, wasting time and money, a doctors’ union says. On Friday, the government confirmed the long-awaited hospital build would go ahead at the former Cadbury factory site. Health Minister Simeon Brown said the new $1.8 billion hospital would have 351 beds - 59 fewer than originally proposed - but with capacity to expand to 404 beds over time.

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Motoring

Pothole-filling blitz covers nearly all problem roads

Ninety-eight per cent of potholes on state highways have been repaired within 24 hours, according to figures released by the New Zealand Transport Agency. The figures exceed targets set by the government, which ordered NZTA to fix 95 percent of potholes within 24 hours in July. Transport Minister Chris Bishop said it showed the government’s pothole prevention plan was getting strong results.

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Accident

Five injured as bus crashes into pole

People who ran to help injured passengers after a bus crash in Wainuiomata say some had head injuries, including a child. Five people were reportedly hurt and about 50 homes lost power after the Wellington Metlink bus ran across a roundabout before hitting and partially knocking down a pole in Wainuiomata, a suburb of Lower Hutt.

RNZ

Health

Dunedin to get scaled-back hospital

The government has confirmed its replacement for the beleaguered Dunedin Hospital inpatient building will be downsized from the original proposal. While the number of inpatient beds will be reduced, health minister Simeon Brown, said there was capacity to expand. “The site will also be future-proofed so new beds and services will be able to be brought online when needed.“

RNZ

Government

Mining plan to boost exports, jobs

The New Zealand government has released its final mining strategy, including a list of minerals it believes are critical to the country. Gold and metallurgical coal have been added to the Critical Minerals List, which now covers a total of 37 minerals after a consultation period that started in September. The list, released alongside a strategy document, outlines the government’s plan to double mineral sector exports to $3 billion by 2035 – up from the previous target of $2 billion, thanks to revised export statistics from Stats NZ.

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Population

Will people be NZ’s No.1 export?

New Zealand risks becoming a “net exporter” of population in the next few months if current trends continue, economists are warning. In November, there were 12,800 migrant arrivals and 10,600 departures, for a net migration gain of 2200 people...

RNZ

Politics

Luxon tells MPs to ‘watch their rhetoric’

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has faced questions as the Green Party calls for him to speak out against ‘racist’ comments by Shane Jones and Winston Peters. New Zealand First MPs are refusing to back down from comments they made towards immigrant MPs in the House this week. MPs were debating the Prime Minister’s statement on Tuesday when Shane Jones yelled “send the Mexicans home” across the floor.

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Migration

Thousands eye digital nomad scheme

More than 8000 people looked at Immigration New Zealand’s webpage on working remotely on Wednesday – and 1500 more viewed its visitor visa and visa-waiver pages. MPs have quizzed officials on issues they fear will dog the digital nomad visa, including skyrocketing demand for temporary housing and travellers taking local jobs. The visa policy change means all overseas visitors, including tourists on visa waiver (ETAs), can now work in New Zealand for up to nine months. A parliamentary scrutiny committee examined the change with INZ staff and immigration minister Erica Stanford. She told the education and workforce committee it had attracted a massive amount of interest and coverage since Monday.

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