AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for April 5, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

A consumer watchdog says diners encountering surcharges over Easter should make sure businesses are not blaming a non-existent public holiday.

Many hospitality businesses add surcharges on public holidays to cover the higher wage costs.

But Consumer NZ says only Good Friday and Easter Monday are statutory holidays, so any business adding a surcharge on Sunday cannot use that as an excuse.

Chief executive Jon Duffy told RNZ businesses simply needed to be honest about the reason for the additional charge.

“They can apply a surcharge if they want to, and customers – if they decide they don’t like that surcharge – can decide that they will take their custom elsewhere.

“The rules, as they exist under the Fair Trading Act, simply say that businesses can’t mislead you about the reason for that surcharge.”

Businesses could spread their holiday wage costs across the year instead of surcharging, Duffy said.

“It’s a practice that’s crept in and become more commonplace over the years. We see it in other areas, we see massively inconsistent surcharging when it comes to payments and EFTPOS terminals all over the country.”

Businesses also need to clearly disclose the surcharge in advance, not hidden behind the counter or on a note put back in the employee toilets.

People could complain to the Commerce Commission or report businesses misrepresenting surcharges to Consumer NZ, Duffy said.

He added that he was hoping the government would follow through with its proposal to ban paywave surcharges.

The government introduced legislation last year to ban in-store card surcharges, but the bill currently languishes on Parliament’s Order Paper, four months after the Finance and Expenditure Committee published its report.

ACT has now made it clear it would not support a blanket ban, as retailers would have to push up their prices to absorb the charges, but Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson insisted nothing had changed with the legislation, and he was pausing to do more work on the policy.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ultra-marathon open-water swimmer Jono Ridler has completed his record-breaking odyssey down the east coast of the North Island, calling New Zealanders to unite against bottom trawling, and been met by crowds of supporters.

Ridler began the almost 1400 kilometre slog in North Cape 90 days ago, on 5 January, and finished on Saturday afternoon at Whairepo Lagoon, on the Wellington waterfront.

The swim sets a new world record for the longest unassisted staged swim – wearing only togs, goggles and a swim cap, but no wetsuit.

Ridler partnered with marine conservation group LiveOcean, launching a petition against bottom trawling fishing, which has now been signed by more than 66,000 people.

• Minister defends bottom trawling, despite poll showing most NZers want it banned

His swim included swarms of jellyfish, battling sunburn and more than 120 rest stops between his swimming shifts and community stopovers, where he stopped to rest and raise awareness.

Ridler enters Whairepo Lagoon in Wellington, with crowds lining the way. RNZ/ Anya Fielding

Met by cheers from supporters at the waterfront as he strode up onto land, Ridler then prepared to walk to Parliament, to emphasise the calls for change directed at the government.

Finishing the journey was “an amazing day”, he told RNZ: “Just seeing everybody out on the boardwalk, all of the boats out today, the welcome coming into the lagoon here.

“It’s an incredible end to what has been an incredible adventure, and I’m still kind of pinching myself a little bit with some of the moments that I’ve been able to experience today.”

Jono Ridler (file photo) Jono Ridler / Instagram

The swim had been “really, really hard at times”, he said, and he was glad it was done, but it had been a special time as well.

“I think it takes a big ambition,” Ridler said of the project: “It takes some really good people to get behind you and support you”.

New Zealand stood out for allowing bottom trawling, Ridler said.

“[It’s] a destructive and indiscriminate method of fishing. We are currently the only country that is bottom trawling in the high seas of the South Pacific, which isn’t a good title to hold.

The campaign calls on the government to make changes, and “a quick transition away from bottom trawling, with the first priority being an end to bottom trawling on seamounts and other vital marine ecosystems”.

Ridler taking his first steps out of the water, to cheers from supporters. RNZ/ Anya Fielding

“We also bottom trawl on seamounts out in the deep sea. These are very fragile ecosystems and they take centuries to be able to recover. So people should care about it if they care about ocean health generally,” he said.

“And we’ve got 65,000 voices that agree with that and that have come behind us and signed our petition… We want to grow that as much as possible and change the way in which we take wild fish from the ocean. “

Bottom trawling was “a very entrenched practice in New Zealand fishing, but shutting it down was doable, Ridler said.

“And I think on the other side of that, we’ll have a healthier ocean for it.”

Live Ocean founder Blair Tuke earlier told RNZ the feat, and Ridler’s dedication pushing himself to the limit, had resonated with New Zealanders, and the support for the project and the petition had been amazing.

The team planned to continue gathering signatures on the petition, and to present it to the government at the end of April.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology

23 seconds ago

The Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) has welcomed Cabinet’s approval of $10 million from the Government’s contingency fund to support the rebuild and improvement of its Hawke’s Bay Campus in Taradale following Cyclone Gabrielle.

Cabinet’s decision, announced yesterday, follows the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, which resulted in catastrophic flooding across the campus.

About 90 per cent of ground-floor buildings were inundated with floodwater and contaminated silt, damaging more than 500 teaching and support spaces and forcing widespread disruption to learning and operations.

Many buildings were unusable for months, with teaching delivered across temporary sites throughout Napier and Hastings while repairs progressed.

EIT has since worked to restore campus functionality, using limited insurance proceeds to carry out essential remediation and keep programmes running. While significant progress has been made, insurance funding has not been sufficient to fully meet long-term rebuild needs.

EIT Council Chair David Pearson said the Government’s decision was a turning point.

“This funding is a genuine game-changer for EIT. We have rebuilt as much as we could with the resources available, but there have been clear gaps that insurance simply will not be able to cover.

“This investment gives us certainty as we complete the next stage of our rebuild and plan for the future. I am delighted and deeply appreciative of the Government’s support.”

EIT acknowledged the support of Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Hon Penny Simmonds, along with local MPs, regional leaders, iwi partners and the wider community, who supported the institute through its recovery and return to independence following the disestablishment of Te Pūkenga.

Chief Executive Lucy Laitinen said the funding comes at a pivotal time as EIT moves forward as an independent institution.

“EIT is well and truly back in business. Our student enrolments are strong, our staff are energised by our independence, and we are reconnecting with local industry and our wider communities to ensure we are meeting their needs. This funding will help fill critical gaps in our rebuild and ensure our Taradale campus can continue to serve Hawke’s Bay for generations to come.”

She said the recovery reflects the commitment and resilience of staff, students and supporters across the region.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received through thick and thin from government, our local MPs, regional and civic leaders, iwi, industry partners and the community. We never stopped delivering for our learners, and this investment allows us to focus on rebuilding a campus that is resilient, fit for purpose, and aligned with Hawke’s Bay’s future skills needs.”

The funding will enable EIT to accelerate rebuilding work, improve campus infrastructure, and strengthen its long-term sustainability as Hawke’s Bay’s regional institute of technology.

MIL OSI

Source: New Zealand Government

Children and families are better protected and supported under the multi-agency model for responding to family violence incidents. 

Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour has welcomed a recent independent evaluation into responses to family violence incidents, which has shown the importance of support services working together to respond quickly after a family violence incident. 

It also highlighted reduced barriers to safety and staying alongside whānau longer enough to support lasting change as clear benefits to survivors from this approach. 

The model has been rolled out by government agencies, communities and iwi-led family violence sites in Auckland City, Rotorua, Tairāwhiti and Hawkes Bay. 

Minister Chhour says, “As a nation we have a tragic history of comparatively high levels of family violence. It is a great shame and one we cannot keep trying to address the same ways while expecting new results.

Fortunately, we are blessed with a lot of caring and empathic people in country. People in government and community support services who have dedicated their lives to helping and who are willing to try something new. 

A barrier I hear about from the community often is that these services are not connected, which can lead to gaps in the help they are provided and them needing to repeat and relive the most traumatic moments of their lives. 

The report shows that under this model people felt safer, feeling believed and supported, growing confidence and emotional regulation over time, and improved day-to-day stability that helps support healing.

Family violence affects children most of all, that is why children are such a key focus of this response. The report has highlighted greater routine and calm at home, better connection to health and therapeutic supports (where available), and stronger caregiver capability as tangible benefits of the multi-agency response model. 

The next step is increasing the communities covered and promoting government agencies to be more proactive in their measures to reduce barriers and improve support to families as they navigate these systems.

It is great that so many leaders in these communities and agencies have agreed to work together, but we need to make this a commitment that outlives their times in these roles so families can be safer for decades to come,” says Min Chhour.

The independent review was undertaken by Ihi Research and Wellbeing Economics NZ. 

You can find a copy of the Multi-Agency Responses: Outcomes Evaluation report here: Outcomes evaluation of multi-agency responses | The Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention 

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

By AFP teams in Tehran, Jerusalem, Washington, Beirut, Dubai and Sanaa

Iran deployed troops and offered a bounty as it launched a hunt for a US pilot whose jet Iranian media said had been downed by the Islamic republic’s air defence systems Friday (all times local).

US Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for military operations in the Middle East, did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on the first such report in the war engulfing the region.

The war started more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.

“Military forces have launched a search operation to find the American fighter pilot who was hit earlier today,” Iran’s Fars news agency said.

“Dear and honourable people of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, if you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and bonus,” said an Iranian television reporter on the official local channel.

The report of the downed jet came as fresh strikes hit Israel, Iran and Gulf countries. Large blasts rocked northern Tehran Friday afternoon, an AFP journalist said. It was not immediately clear what was hit.

Earlier, Israel’s military reported a new missile salvo from Iran, activating its air defences.

Strikes by all sides have increasingly targeted economic and industrial sites, raising fears of wider disruption to global energy supplies and deepening the conflict’s impact beyond the battlefield.

The Iranian fire came as Trump said the US military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!” on his Truth Social platform, after the United States struck Iran’s tallest bridge.

About 70 percent of Iran’s steel production capacity, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday, after Iran’s two largest steel plants earlier this week said they were forced out of action by several waves of US and Israeli air attacks.

Ex-FM urges peace deal

Writing in the US journal Foreign Affairs, Iran’s former top diplomat said that Tehran should make a deal with the United States to end the war by offering to curb its nuclear programme and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief.

Tehran could “declare victory and make a deal that both ends this conflict and prevents the next one,” wrote Mohammad Javad Zarif, foreign minister from 2013 to 2021.

Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the war began, where in peace time one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passes through. As a result, fuel prices have skyrocketed worldwide.

Of the few ships that have managed to cross, most have had links to Iran, with sixty percent of commodity-bearing ships crossing the strait either coming from Iran or heading there, an AFP analysis of maritime data showed.

In the first known transit by a major European shipping group since 1 March, the Maltese-flagged Kribi, belonging to the French maritime transport group CMA CGM, crossed the strait to exit the Gulf on Thursday, according Marine Traffic data analysed by AFP.

Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari warned that in response to Trump’s threats to attack infrastructure, Iran would increase its own attacks on energy sites in the region.

A drone attack on a refinery owned by Kuwait’s national oil company on Friday sparked fires at several of its units, state media said.

Later, an Iranian attack damaged a power and desalination complex, Kuwait’s water and electricity ministry said.

In Abu Dhabi, a gas complex shut after a fire broke out, following an attack that resulted in “falling debris” upon interception, the government media office said.

Trump wants bigger defence budget

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Friday it had struck more than 3500 targets across Lebanon in the month since fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

It added that it would attack two bridges in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region “in order to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment”.

Lebanon’s health ministry said on Thursday that 1345 people had been killed and 4040 wounded since the start of the war, including 1129 men, 91 women and 125 children.

The ministry said the toll also included 53 healthcare workers.

Hezbollah has so far not announced its losses.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said a blast hit one of its positions and wounded three peacekeepers, the third such incident in a week.

A UNIFIL spokesperson said the origin of the explosion was unknown.

The war’s economic impact is rippling far beyond the Middle East, as energy and oil costs surge.

Analysts said Trump’s recent address to the nation failed to provide clarity on an exit strategy from the war.

Meanwhile, the White House on Friday sent a spending proposal to lawmakers calling for a massive hike to the US defence budget.

It remains to be seen what Congress will ultimately approve, but US media reported the $1.5 billion budget request — a 42 percent hike — would be the largest year-on-year increase in Pentagon spending since World War II.

As energy costs skyrocket worldwide, Egypt has ordered shops, restaurants and shopping malls to close from 9:00 pm on weekdays.

Dozens participated in a protest in the Pakistani city of Lahore, calling on the government to reverse fuel price hikes.

“The government, overnight, has dropped a ‘petrol bomb’ on its people,” Naveed Ahmed, a 39-year-old protestor, told AFP.

– AFP

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Source: New Zealand Government

The Government is backing a shift in science spending to areas that will have the greatest national impact, with a stronger focus on advanced technology, says Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti. 

“The Government is setting a clear direction for smarter investment. This marks a turning point as we fix the basics of the science system, build the future for New Zealand research and our scientists, and position ourselves more like other small, advanced economies.”

The Prime Minister’s Science, Innovation and Technology Advisory Council’s report on Priorities for Science Funding identifies four priority areas for future government investment: 

 ·         Primary industries and the bioeconomy 

·         Technology for prosperity 

·         Environmental sustainability and resilience 

·         Healthy people and a thriving society 

Speaking at the report’s launch, Dr Reti says: “A central focus of the report is advanced technology, where increased investment has transformative potential. The council recommends boosting investment in advanced technologies by $122 million per year, by reallocating funding over the next three years. 

“While New Zealand invests strongly in areas such as agriculture and environmental science, we invest less in advanced technologies compared with similar countries. Investment in advanced technology is already delivering real results – boosting farm productivity, reducing environmental impacts, and enabling smarter, data-driven decisions that improve health, resilience and sustainability across New Zealand. 

“By reallocating public funding, we can increase support for advanced technologies where capability is still developing but strategic need is growing. This shift will boost productivity across all sectors. It will also help build a future‑ready science workforce and strengthen our international competitiveness. Any changes to the funding system will be phased and carefully managed over time to provide stability, maintain continuity for researchers, and minimise disruption. 

“The Council’s report marks a key milestone in the most significant reset of our science, innovation and technology system in more than 30 years. The Government will embed its recommendations in the Science Investment Plan that Research Funding New Zealand will use to make allocation decision,” says Dr Reti. 

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government has corrected a figure after being called out for overstating improvements in school attendance.

A member of the public complained to RNZ that two National Party advertisements claimed 150,000 more children attended school regularly in term four last year than at the same time in 2022.

They said Education Ministry roll figures indicated that was an over-statement.

When RNZ examined the figures it found the change between 2022 and 2025 was about 135,000 students – 15,000 short of the number claimed by the government.

But there were also a lot more children at school in the final term of 2025 than in the same term in 2022, and even if the rate of regular attendance had remained unchanged the number of regular attenders would have increased by about 65,000 students.

That meant only about 70,000 students could be attributed to improvements in attendance.

The National Party told RNZ it sourced its figures from an announcement by Associate Education Minister David Seymour in January.

That announcement said the number of regular attenders improved by “about 150,000” children between term four 2022 and term four 2025.

RNZ asked the National Party if it would correct the ad and received a response from Seymour’s office saying the figure “was based on an error” and had been corrected.

There was keen interest in attendance figures.

Regular attendance, measured as children attending more than 90 percent of the time, reached all-time lows in 2022 with schools blaming the effect of covid lockdowns in previous years and on a particularly bad run of winter illnesses.

The government had overhauled the attendance system and set a goal of 80 percent of pupils being regular attenders by 2030.

For the record, here’s our working:

In term four of 2022 there were 329,499 regular attenders and in term four 2025 there were 464,498, an increase of 134,999.

But there were more students overall in 2025 than in 2022 – just 676,384 in the final term of 2022 and 810,652 in the same term of 2025.

If the rate of regular attendance in term four last year was the same as in 2022 (48.7 percent), there would have been 394,788 regular attenders, an increase of 65,288 due solely to the overall increase in the number of students.

That meant only 69,710 of the increase in the number of regular attenders could be attributed to the rate of regular attendance improving to 57.3 percent.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government has committed millions of dollars in extra spending to support polytechnic courses in Northland and on the South Island’s West Coast for the next five years.

Figures provided by Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds showed how the government would address concerns about the financial viability of polytechnic provision in both regions.

Simmonds announced earlier this week that the West Coast’s Tai Poutini would leave super-institute Te Pūkenga at the start of next year to become a campus of the Open Polytechnic, while NorthTec would become a stand-alone institute but within a federation model aimed at saving costs.

She said the Open Polytechnic would receive $2 million next year for its take-over of Tai Poutini, and a further $1m a year from 2028-31 to support its operations on the coast.

“This funding is intended to offset the high costs of delivery in a region with low learner demand and to ensure that essential workforce training remains available on the West Coast,” Simmonds said.

“As a condition of this funding, the Open Polytechnic must retain physical operations in the region.”

Simmonds said the polytechnic would also receive $3.1m this year and at least $2m next year from the Strategically Important Provision Fund for maintaining courses in areas where they were needed but might not be viable.

NorthTec would also receive money from the same fund – $3.6m this year, $2.75m in 2027 and a further $1.3 million per year from 2028-2031.

“While NorthTec has faced viability challenges in the past, significant progress has been made over the last year to strengthen its financial position and establish a pathway to sustainability,” Simmonds said.

She said the institute would receive $4.7m in ring-fenced reserves it had when it became part of Te Pūkenga, a further $4.5m for property consolidation, and “in-principle investment” of $34.7m for a new tertiary hub in central Whangārei, subject to a business case.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Analysis: Christopher Luxon’s Cabinet reshuffle made two things very clear on Thursday.

Firstly, that the Prime Minister doesn’t trust one of his most competent ministers enough to leave him in charge of his party’s election campaign.

And secondly, he’s become aware New Zealand First and Act are doing a better job of winning over the rural vote.

Those two realisations resulted in Chris Bishop being unceremoniously dumped as campaign chair just seven months out from the election, and first-term MP – the relatively unknown Wairarapa farmer Mike Butterick – being thrust into a ministerial role.

Luxon seemed surprised that his ditching Bishop for Simeon Brown as campaign chair would be a talking point.

Asked for the rationale he pointed to the “workload” Bishop was under.

While Bishop is one of the busiest ministers in Cabinet, that was also the case when he was given the role of campaign chair in the first place.

When RNZ asked Luxon who was busier, Bishop or Brown, the prime minister’s workload rationale crumbled when he declared they were both busy.

He’s right, while Bishop is in charge of housing, transport, RMA reform and infrastructure, Brown has the thankless job of being Health Minister and now has energy – one of the biggest issues in town – on his plate.

It’s a nonsense to say Brown has more time for campaign chair, but Luxon is hardly going to say he’s moving Bishop aside because he’s sceptical of how supportive the Hutt South MP is of his leadership.

Bishop has had a demotion target on his back ever since rumours swirled at the end of last year that he was considering making a move for the leadership.

It was his former staffer, friend, and ministerial colleague James Meager speculated to have been doing the numbers for him, and as a result has suffered a similar fate to Bishop and been overlooked for a move into Cabinet.

Brown is a political animal and is a good alternative pick for campaign chair, especially when you pair it with his energy portfolio that is bound to be a big election issue.

National was able to form a government in 2023 under Bishop, so the pressure is on Brown to pull off the same result.

That’s no easy ask when the party is polling around 29-31 percent and with a leader who has favourability wallowing in the negatives.

As for the meteoric rise of Butterick, that was the ministerial promotion nobody saw coming.

Butterick is a farmer through and through, he calls a spade a spade, and talks to everyday New Zealanders in a way many ministers could only dream of.

New Zealand First and Act have been steadily working away on the rural vote in recent years and National has clearly clocked it needs to up its presence in that regard.

Luxon will be hoping by giving an MP like Butterick a public profile as a minister outside of Cabinet it will show the farming community he’s taking their vote seriously.

One of the other surprising Luxon calls on Thursday was the decision to promote Penny Simmonds into Cabinet.

This is the same minister who was stripped of the Disability Issues portfolio in January 2024 after bungling funding changes in the first five months in the job.

Simmonds does hail from the South Island and with Cabinet short on representation from that part of the country it’s possible it went a long way toward her promotion.

Any reshuffle leaves MPs a mixture of disappointed, surprised, and elated – and don’t forget the ministerial staffers waiting to find out if they still have a job.

The long Easter weekend will provide time for wounds to be licked and celebrations to be had – the last minute passing of public holiday alcohol laws couldn’t have come at a better time.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand