One downside of so called ‘objectivity’ is that it can turn the media into a simple megaphone for those in power – especially in situations where the media chooses to effectively abandon its role in evaluating the information it is being fed. The reportage on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a good case in point.
You could hardly find a process with bigger ramifications for this country – in terms of the alleged payoffs for our economy, and with regard to the potential cost in national sovereignty – that is receiving less in the way of critical evaluation. More>>
More/Less Coal: Consents Granted For Coal Mine At Mangatangi
A joint Waikato District Council and Waikato Regional Council hearings committee has approved the issuing of consents to a Fonterra subsidiary for an open cast coal mine at Mangatangi, 2.5 kilometres east of Mangatawhiri, in north Waikato. More>>
Disasterous Year: ICNZ Warns Country Must Adapt To Extreme Weather Events
The cost of insured damage from extreme weather events for 2013 is likely to be over $100 million, making it the most costly year from storms in New Zealand since 2004, according to the Insurance Council of New Zealand. More>>
Scoop Business: Christchurch Airport Targeting Excessive Profits - Regulator
Christchurch International Airport’s proposed prices over the next two decades are significantly higher than the Commerce Commissions’ view of what’s acceptable, and tougher disclosure requirements have had little impact on promoting price efficiency, the regulator says. More>>
Scoop Business: Xero Raises $180M Selling Shares At Premium To Matrix, Thiel
Xero, the cloud-based accounting company whose shares have more than doubled this year, raised $180 million selling shares to Matrix Capital Management, Peter Thiel-backed Valar Ventures and other investors to ensure it can keep bankrolling its expansion. More>>
Thermal Field Management: Geyser’s Revival Of International Significance
Revival of Papakura Geyser in Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa geothermal valley may be a world first, Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chief Executive Mary-Anne Macleod says. More>>
200 Jobs At Stake: Independent Fisheries To Consider Future Of Christchurch Plant
Intense competition from heavily discounted foreign-sourced product in its key markets has forced Christchurch-based fishing company Independent Fisheries Ltd to consider the future of its Woolston processing facilities. More>>
Scoop Business: SFO Confirms Probe Into Auckland Transport Procurement
The white-collar crime investigator executed a number of search warrants at several locations yesterday as it probes an unidentified number of individuals relating to “irregularities in the procurement of services,” it said in a statement. More>>
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Mighty River Power: $50 Million Share Buyback Programme
Mighty River Power has today announced that it will begin an on-market share buyback programme to purchase up to $50 million worth of shares as part of its capital management plans – reflecting the Board’s view that the purchase of its own shares is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. More>>
Starlight Festival: Viewing The Sun Through Solar Telescope
University of Canterbury experts will give the public an opportunity to view the sun using solar telescopes during the first New Zealand Starlight Festival at Tekapo this weekend... US astronaut Marsha Ivins, who has travelled almost 27 million miles in space and has orbited the Earth 990 times, will be a key speaker at the festival. More>>
Broadband Prices: Copper Tax Submissions Should Not Be Kept Secret
The Coalition for Fair Internet Pricing says all responses to the government’s Discussion Document on the Review of the Telecommunications Act 2001 should be made public on the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) website. More>>
World Week Ahead: Shutdown Impact Widens
Nobody has blinked yet in the US budget standoff and lawmakers seem further from rather than closer to reaching an accord, bolstering concern about another political hot potato—the need to raise the federal government’s debt ceiling to avoid default. More>>
Plans: New Look Telecom Offering Free 4g Upgrade From Mid November
Telecom New Zealand announced today that its 4G network will launch on 12 November in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch – and will be available to both prepaid and pay-monthly customers at no additional cost on Telecom’s current plans. More>>
Scoop Business: Fonterra Confirms Dispute With Danone, Denies Liability
Fonterra Cooperative Group said it is in talks with Danone after its recall of whey protein concentrate hurt sales of Karicare infant formula made by the French dairy company’s Nutricia unit. More>>
Scoop Business:
Banks Take $75M Quasi-Haircut On Solid Energy
Banks that lent unsustainable amounts of debt to state-owned coal miner Solid Energy are taking a $75 million “hair-cut”, dressed up as an issue of redeemable preference shares that may never be repaid. More>>
Net Gain: Revolutionary New NZ Sustainable Fishing Technology Unveiled
The technology known as ‘Precision Seafood Harvesting’ does away with traditional trawl nets and, instead, sees fish contained and swimming comfortably underwater inside a large flexible PVC liner where they can be sorted for the correct size and species before being brought on-board the fishing vessel. More>>
Bankers' Association: New Lending Limits Begin
Under the Reserve Bank’s new rules, banks must limit new residential mortgage lending with loan-to-value ratios (LVR) over 80% to no more than 10% of the dollar value of their new housing lending flows. More>>
Copper Broadband Pricing: Review Finds Covec Conservative On Chorus Transfers
An independent peer review says Covec’s estimate of the amount Chorus stands to gain from the government proposed changes to copper pricing is “conservative in all scenarios”. More>>
GNS: New Report Updates NZ’s Exposure To Tsunami
A new report on New Zealand’s tsunami hazards shows some parts of our coast are exposed to greater tsunami hazard than previously thought, while the hazard in other coastal regions is the same or even less. More>>
Brokers Keen: Strong Demand Ahead Of Meridian Offer Opening
The Meridian share offer is off to a strong start, with close to half of the offer already pre-committed to New Zealand retail investors ahead of the offer opening tomorrow, Finance Minister Bill English and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall say. More>>
Digitl: Telecom NZ Wi-Fi Move Disrupts Mobile Data Market
Turning phone boxes into Wi-Fi hotspots is a smart disruptive move by Telecom NZ. It gives the company something to offer customers that rivals can't easily match. It also stops phone boxes - useful in emergencies - from becoming white elephants. More>>
Introduced Species: Southland To Host First Release Of Dung Beetles
It is estimated that animal dung covers 700,000ha of pastoral land in New Zealand. Dung beetles use the faeces of animals for food and reproduction, eventually breaking it down into a sawdust-like material. More>>
Balance Of Trade: Large Deficit In Goods Traded For August
The balance of traded goods for August 2013 was a deficit of $1.2 billion, Statistics New Zealand said today. This is the largest deficit for any August month and is 47 percent larger than the deficit for August 2012. August months normally have trade deficits, and have been in deficit since 1991. More>>
Christchurch: First Post-Quake Property Revaluation For City
The Christchurch City Council is undertaking its first post-quake revaluation of more than 160,000 city properties. The earthquakes delayed a city-wide revaluation scheduled for 2010 and the Government gave the Council permission to continue basing rates on 2007 property valuations. More>>
Scoop Business: Telecom Backs Setting Copper Prices Until 2020
Telecom Corp, the country’s biggest telecommunications company, is backing government moves to set the price for access to Chorus’ ageing copper network until 2020 to protect the national roll-out of fibre lines, though it warns against getting too far away from the underlying costs of the service. More>>
Up 0.2% In June Quarter: Drought Slows Economic Growth
"The drought early this year influenced falls in agriculture and manufacturing this quarter, but this was balanced by strong growth in the service industries," acting national accounts manager Steffi Schuster said. More>>
Swings: NZ Current Account Deficit Widens In 2Q On Drought Effects
New Zealand’s current account deficit came in at a seasonally adjusted $2.2 billion for the three months to June 30, reflecting the impact on agricultural exports of the late summer drought. More>>
Levy Cuts Proposed: ACC Begins Consultation
ACC is asking Kiwis to have their say, as part of its annual levy consultation process, which starts today. This is when ACC makes public its proposed levy rates, and any other proposed changes to levies, for the 2014/15 financial year. More>>
Indicators: NZ Services Sector Activity Slows
New Zealands services sector, which accounts for almost two-thirds of the economy, slowed in August as dwindling activity in the South Island dragged on the national figure. More>>
Scoop Business: RBNZ Keeps OCR At 2.5%, Signals Steeper Rates Hike In 2014
Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler kept the official cash rate at 2.5 percent, and signalled expected rate hikes next year will likely be steeper than previously anticipated as the housing market and construction sector continue to gather momentum. More>>
“Beyond Convention": 100% Pure NZ Enters New Phase
Tourism New Zealand is now marketing the country as more than just a holiday choice but also a world-class business events destination. More>>
Farm Farming: Fonterra Announces Second Farm Hub In China
Fonterra today announced its second farming hub in China will be located at Ying County, Shanxi Province and that it is looking to secure strategic partners in the development. More>>
Force Of Hobbit: International Recognition For Park Road And Weta Digital
Work completed in Wellington at Park Road Post Production and visual effects studio Weta Digital has been recognised in two international screen industry technical award events. More>>
Scoop Business: Property Values Accelerate On Limited Big City Supply
Rising New Zealand property values accelerated last month as the lack of listings in Canterbury and Auckland continue to overheat the market, prompting the Reserve Bank to impose low-equity home lending restrictions from next month. More>>
Fell Off The Back Of A Truck: MPI To Work With Farmers On Blackgrass Biosecurity Response
Federated Farmers is working with the Ministry for Primary Industries, and other stakeholders to ensure that blackgrass is not established in New Zealand, following the news of a potential blackgrass incursion in mid-Canterbury. More>>
Environment And Conservation: Exclusion Devices Required After Sea Lion Deaths
Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith and Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy are requiring that all fishing vessels in the Southern Blue Whiting fishery around the Campbell Islands use Sea Lion Exclusion Devices after 16 New Zealand Sea Lion fatalities in the past three weeks. More>>
Housing: No Govt Advice On LVR Impacts Until A Month Too Late
The Government didn’t consider the impact of LVR lending limits on first home buyers until a month after it had signed off an agreement giving the Reserve Bank the power to implement LVRs, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford. More>>
Convention Centre Deal Continues: SkyCity Buys TVNZ Land For $10.6 Mln
SkyCity Entertainment Group has agreed to buy prime real estate from state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand for $10.6 million as part of its $402 million international convention centre in downtown Auckland. More>>
Digitl: 4G Spectrum Auction Set With Competition In Mind
New Zealand’s 4G spectrum auction will see nine lots of 5 MHz paired sold each with a reserve price of $22 million. The auction appears to be structured to encourage mobile competition... More>>
#Winning: New Zealand 'More Competitive' Than Australia
New Zealand has outperformed Australia on the latest Global Competitiveness Index for the first time, according to an annual report compiled by the World Economic Forum. More>>
Rockforte: Guilty Plea In Gisborne Finance Company Investigation
Former director of Rockforte Finance Limited, Colin Mark Simpson has entered guilty pleas in the Gisborne High Court to nine counts of fraud laid by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). More>>
Auckland: Council Rejects Port Reclaimation Plan
Auckland Council has rejected plans by Ports of Auckland to expand its operations further into the Waitemata harbour. More>>
Henry Hughes: Landmark Patent Legislation Passed By Parliament
Legislation which will have a profound effect on New Zealand’s patent law completed its passage through Parliament last night. The Patents Bill passed its third and final reading by 117 votes to 4. More>>
Scoop Business: MightyRiver Profit Jumps, Beating Prospectus, As Sales Fall
MightyRiverPower posted a gain in full-year profit of almost 70 percent, beating its prospectus forecast in what is a credibility test for a company whose shares have languished since their listing in May. More>>
The Westport Story Told By Scoop: Right Of Reply From Coal Action Network
Climate change is changing the way the world does business, right now. It doesn’t matter what you personally might consider to be the urgency, the transition to a low-carbon world is well under way, and is driving investment and job creation all around the world... More>>
Price Of Cheese: Fonterra Hikes Forecast 2014 Farmgate Milk Price
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited today lifted its Forecast Farmgate Milk Price for the FY14 season by 30 cents to $7.80 per kgMS. More>>
Greens: Reserve Bank Missed Opportunities For Lower Interest Rates
Reserve Bank board papers released to the Green Party show the Reserve Bank has consistently assumed inflation would remain around the mid-point of its target band yet actual inflation has been lower meaning the Bank had additional scope to cut the Official Cash Rate. More>>
Crude Oil & Helicopters: NZ Posts Biggest Trade Deficit In 10 Months As Imports Jump
New Zealand recorded its biggest trade deficit in 10 months in July, driven by a jump in imports of crude oil and helicopters while exports fell. More>>
EPMU: Air NZ Proposes To Cut 180 Engineering Jobs
Air New Zealand has told staff it intends to close its wide body aircraft heavy maintenance facility in Auckland by July 2014 at a cost of 180 aircraft engineering jobs. More>>
3D Printing: No-Itch Cast For Broken Bones Wins James Dyson Award
A lightweight and no-itch cast for broken bones has won the New Zealand leg of the thirteenth annual James Dyson Award, a global product design competition that celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers. More>>
Scoop Business: Fonterra Reveals Another Chinese Hiccup
Fonterra Cooperative Group, beset by food standards issues after the bacteria that can cause botulism was found in its supply chain, had another stumble in China in May when 42 tonnes of milk powder were held up over elevated nitrate levels. More>>
Scoop Business: Net Loss Of Migrants To Aussie Declines But Visits Soar
The seasonally adjusted net loss of 1,200 migrants to Australia in July was the smallest since November 2009 and was down from a high of 3,500 in July 2012, Statistics New Zealand said. More>>
Scoop Business: RBNZ’s Wheeler Imposes Low Equity Lending Limits From Oct. 1
Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler will impose restrictions on the amount of low equity home lending private banks can write from October, in a bid to cool rampant housing markets in Auckland and Christchurch, and reducing the need for rate hikes against the backdrop of an overvalued currency. More>>
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