Editorial

There had been question marks revolving around Christopher Luxon’s style of leadership. Would he be like the CEO — which he was — answerable to a board and shareholders, or would he adopt a similar stance of former political leaders, who...

There’s no question economic conditions are tough, but we need to keep them in historical perspective. We shouldn’t let an undue sense of doom and gloom make things worse than they need to be. Next week, we’ll see how much damage the recession...

Sport is tumultuous by nature and often knee-jerk reactions dominate the headlines. In the case of the Crusaders’ faltering start to the Super Rugby Pacific season under new head coach Rob Penney, the criticism has been swift and loud. Yet, amidst...

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has returned from a successful first overseas trade expedition to face some domestic challenges. Luxon’s tour last week took him to three Southeast Asian countries — Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines —...

The naysayers who bemoan our politicians travelling around the world on the taxpayer dollar should consider the upshots of those trips. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon leading a business delegation to Singapore, Trade Minister Todd McClay plying...

Inflation isn’t down on the canvas yet. But it is on the ropes. News this week that annual inflation dipped to 4 percent in the first quarter (from 4.7 percent), was welcome — although, as economists have pointed out, there were some worrying...

Picture the scene: a capital city with pedestrianised streets, bustling shops, affordable housing sprinkled through inner laneways while a mega underground tunnel diverts noisy traffic away. It’s hard to deny the appeal of such a major...

The Government announced on Monday that it will introduce a pet bond with the goal of making it easier for people in New Zealand to find rental accommodation for themselves and their furry friends. Housing Minister Chris Bishop and his dog...

Some weekends are best forgotten as they seem to hold nothing positive and as far as the news cycle is concerned, the past one was a classic bleak weekend. A vicious stabbing spree in a Sydney mall kept many people glued to their televisions from...

Everyone has moved on from the 2023 election result, apart from the Labour Party it seems. The coalition Government has not only laid out its programme for its first 100 days in office, knocking off each point, it has also put up a 36-point...

When Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono started promoting a member’s bill that could lead to the reversal of a decades-old law many regard as a historic wrong against Samoans, people expected it to fall at the first hurdle — the first reading in...

As New Zealand faces more competition than ever for global tourists, Australian visitors have never been so attractive. For an industry that was at times the country’s biggest earner of foreign exchange before the pandemic, recovery in spending to...

A mismatch between housing supply and demand has seen escalating rental costs and registrations for social housing in recent years, with major impacts on household budgets and whānau wellbeing in Tairāwhiti. The following housing indicators in the...

Six months have now passed since the deadly attack by Hamas that prompted the latest Middle East war, and Israel is facing pressure on a number of fronts to end or adjust its military response. The greatest of these is from key ally the United...

More people are receiving JobSeeker Support payments in Tairāwhiti but our unemployment rate remains at 4.5 percent — the same as in 2022 — there was a smidgen of employment growth last year, and our young people are more likely to be in...

The Infometrics economic monitor for the region that is commissioned by Trust Tairāwhiti contains useful insights on economic, labour market, housing and social indicators. The December 2023 quarterly monitor was released last week, with the...