PM Edition: Top 10 Business Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for April 7, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

Note: The livestream with Finance Minister Nicola Willis starts at 1.30pm

Petrol and jet fuel stocks have risen, while there has been a slight decrease in diesel stocks.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s latest fuel stocks update showed that as at 11:59pm on Wednesday evening, there were 61.9 days of petrol, 51.5 days of diesel, and 50.1 days of jet fuel.

This is compared to 58.7 days of petrol, 52.2 days of diesel and 46.2 days of jet fuel, in the previous update.

MBIE said the update showed national fuel stocks were stable, with sufficient stock levels.

“Movements remain within expectations and show normal patterns,” the ministry said.

The update showed there were 27.2 days of petrol in-country, 17.5 days of diesel, and 25.5 days of jet fuel.

There were four ships on the water in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, containing 3.2 days of petrol, 8.2 days of diesel, and 1.2 days of jet fuel.

A further twelve ships were on-water outside the EEZ, with 31.5 days of petrol, 25.8 days of diesel, and 23.4 days of jet fuel.

The government told media it remained gravely concerned about the trajectory of the Middle East conflict and its impact on the global economy, which shows no signs of ending.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told media they hadn’t heard about any material problems from fuel importers, meaning the country could remain in phase one of its fuel crisis response.

The government is giving the latest update on fuel stocks, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of ending.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s reaction to close off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping has sent the global energy industry into turmoil.

New Zealand relies on imports of refined fuel, with no local refining capability.

The government has previously downplayed concerns of shortages, but has set up a National Fuel Plan with different levels of potential rationing should supplies begin to dry up.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is expected to take questions at Parliament from 1.30pm – watch it live here (refresh the page if the video player is not showing).

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Note: The livestream with Finance Minister Nicola Willis starts at 1.30pm

The government is set to give the latest update on fuel stocks, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of ending.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s reaction to close off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping has sent the global energy industry into turmoil.

New Zealand relies on imports of refined fuel, with no local refining capability.

The government has previously downplayed concerns of shortages, but has set up a National Fuel Plan with different levels of potential rationing should supplies begin to dry up.

Overall stocks were down at the last update, but still within normal variation, officials said.

The latest update is expected from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment at 1pm Monday.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is expected to take questions at Parliament from 1.30pm – watch it live here (refresh the page if the video player is not showing).

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fifty years ago, the trial of Bill Sutch on charges of breaching the Official Secrets Act rocked the nation. Historian Sarah Gaitanos says evidence that was withheld from court gives us an insight into his work as an alleged agent of the KGB. That evidence is published here for the first time.

Bill Sutch could be extremely persuasive. An influential and self-assured intellectual, he could give an impressive account of himself.

In his many books his accounts of his epic solo trek in 1932, around the Arctic Ocean, across the Soviet Union and over the mountains of Afghanistan into India became more extravagant with every telling. Publishers, readers, even his wife Shirley Smith, believed them. Decades after his death, Smith was shocked to discover that it was mostly a fantasy.

Sutch had spent only two weeks in Russia. But that trip – and those two weeks in Soviet Russia – was nevertheless the start of a true story that culminated in his arrest in 1974.

In February 1975, Dr Bill Sutch was tried under the Official Secrets Act. The Act dealt with what was loosely known as spying and wrongful disclosure of communication of official information for a purpose that prejudiced the safety or interests of the state. Sutch, it was said, had been using his position of influence close to the government to gather sensitive information and pass it on to the Soviet Union – an enemy of the state in the Cold War era.

Sutch had been a senior economist in the public service, head of the Department of Industries and Commerce until his forced retirement. Since then he had worked as a consultant. He was an influential public speaker and author with a devoted following.

Over five decades since his trial, accounts of the circumstances surrounding the case have diverged depending on who is telling the story. Those who hold that Bill Sutch was a patriot who would never have betrayed his country shrug off the evidence that he was a KGB agent and point to the lack of evidence of what he was actually doing for Soviet intelligence.

But two documents that NZSIS officers found in Sutch’s office safe do provide direct insight into his activities and relationship with the KGB.

Both written in 1970, the first is a report with classified information on a Cabinet decision about Japanese fishing rights in the Pacific. It shows that Sutch, though no longer a public servant, had access to top level sensitive information. His report, apparently prepared for his KGB handler at the time, gave the Soviet Union an edge in their negotiations for fishing rights in New Zealand waters, potentially compromising the New Zealand Government’s efforts to police their relations with the USSR.

The second – the focus of this article – is a document made up of six short profiles of senior civil servants. It shows a different aspect of the role of a KGB agent.

Attorney General Sir Martyn Finlay, who had the responsibility of deciding whether the case should proceed to court, would later acknowledge that the profiles had ‘tipped the scales’ in his decision to prosecute Dr Sutch, adding that their ‘possible effects in one way or another’, had caused him the greatest anxiety.

This raises intriguing questions. The prosecution went to lengths to determine how to present them in the trial but in the event they were kept secret. The profiles remained classified until 2008 and have not been published until now.

Listen now to The Agency, a new podcast detailing the story of a Kiwi spy who was close to the Sutch case before spending six years in cover for the CIA

I came to the Bill Sutch story as the biographer of his wife (human rights campaigner and trailblazing lawyer) Shirley Smith. Sutch and Smith were married for over 30 years and after his death in 1975, she spent another 30 years defending his reputation. In private, she was more circumspect.

I examined her marriage, her responses to revelations about her husband that continued to emerge, her agonizing doubts and confusion, what she knew and didn’t know about his activities. She would say that her husband didn’t let the truth get in the way of a good story but decades after his death she was still discovering how far he had deceived her. Her discovery of letters Sutch sent to his mother revealed the simpler truth of his travels as a younger man.

She had been shocked, too, to learn of Sutch’s arrest on the night of 26 September, 1974 after agents picked him up on the way to a meeting with Dmitri Razgovorov, First Secretary of the USSR Embassy in Wellington.

The two had been observed meeting in obviously clandestine circumstances, following standard spy craft procedures known as ‘Moscow rules’.

After he was brought in, Detective Colin Lines urged Sutch to come clean and get ‘off the hook’ with the Russians. Sutch at one point asked what would happen to him if he did?

The primary purpose of the joint operation between Police and Security Service was to get Sutch’s cooperation, but Sutch refused to talk to anyone from the SIS and the police had not been sufficiently briefed as to how the matter would be hushed up. In return for his full co-operation, a full and frank account of his association with the Russians, Sutch was to be given immunity. He would have received the knighthood he longed for. His public reputation would have been left intact.

Not knowing this, Lines could only reply to Sutch that it would be a better outcome for him. Sutch considered this before replying that there was no hook.

This testimony, along with evidence of Security Service surveillance of Sutch’s clandestine meetings with Razgovorov, was presented in court.

Whether or not the jury would have returned a different verdict had the report on Japanese fishing rights and the profiles been presented as evidence, one cannot say. Sutch cut a frail figure in court and there was little desire to see him sent to jail. (He would die of liver cancer months later.) According to Smith, a juror told her that they wanted to acquit him and realised they didn’t have to give a reason.

While his acquittal did not end public debate, the profiles were kept out of the discussion until former Attorney General Sir Martyn Finlay was interviewed about them almost 20 years later. What exactly they contained was still not disclosed.

To recap, the profiles refer to a document found in a file labelled ‘Foreign Affairs’ in the safe in Sutch’s office. The document was headed ‘Memo for File’, dated 20 October 1970, and was made up of short pen portraits describing the personal experiences, aptitudes and ambitions of six civil servants, their interests and relationships with their wives.

In four of the six, their attitude towards the Soviet Union is indicated.

The subjects were Tom Larkin and Charles Craw of Foreign Affairs, Geoff Easterbrook-Smith, Geoff Datson and Harold Holden of Industries and Commerce, and Jack Lewin, Department of Statistics. Lewin was Sutch’s closest friend. None of these men were ever suspected of spying for the Soviet Union.

You can read the profiles at the bottom of this article, along with the accompanying SIS analysis.

The SIS analyst who examined the subject, written style, nature and scope of the comments concluded that they were written by a single author, a man with a ‘good working knowledge of Foreign Affairs and Industries and Commerce personnel, and of I & C departmental activities and postings reaching many years back.’

The author wrote familiarly about his subjects as if they were inferior to him. It was noted that Sutch’s background of employment, his general status and degree of influence over the years, fitted him for the part.

The profiles seemed to have been intended for a third person who had asked for information of this sort, the analyst concluded. The first five men were all dealt with in a similar way while the comments on Lewin were more specific.

The analyst wrote a hypothetical brief that the author might have been given:

Prepare brief notes on some of the more senior offices in Industries & Commerce and Foreign affairs Depts. known to you, who hold liberal left-wing political views. I attach a list of points to be covered in your consideration of the men. At the same time, include some comments on LEWIN with respect to his political views, his relationship to the NZ Labour Party and his family interests.

1 Age

2 present job/special expertise

3 Overseas postings

4 Experience and ability

5 Political views (general)

6 Political views during youth

7 Attitude to Soviet Union

8 Intelligence/intellectual ability

9 Interests/hobbies

10 Wife’s attitudes

11 Openness/talkativeness

12 Response to socials/dinners/parties

13 Vulnerabilities/weaknesses/ambitions

The analyst prepared this brief without reference to the Canadian Royal Commission Report of 27 June 1946 (the Gouzenko Report) which outlined criteria Soviet military intelligence used for recruiting agents, based on a document provided by GRU defector, Igor Gouzenko.

Subsequently the analyst studied that report and compared the similarities. He concluded that the ‘memo for file’ was written by Dr Sutch for a trained Russian Intelligence Officer seeking personality information on senior officers in the New Zealand Government Service, specifically in areas where they would expect to have access to classified information and to travel abroad on Government postings.

Crucially, this could then be used by the Soviets for recruitment.

The profiles offer the kind of information that enables an intelligence officer to assess a target: an individual’s likely career path, how to make a friendly approach based on mutual interest, vulnerabilities that might offer leverage, and so on.

The recruitment of foreign government officials is highly prized by intelligence agencies because it allows access not simply to information, but also to people elsewhere in the hierarchy. If the target is recruited in place and remains well placed, the connection can remain open and fruitful over many years.

Intelligence and defence officials are prime targets; after them, foreign affairs.

The profiles were therefore seen as significant supplementary evidence. The Crown Counsels, Solicitor General Richard Savage and Paul Neazor, decided early on to call an expert witness who could explain the methods and information targets of Soviet intelligence agencies. They considered calling a New Zealand intelligence officer to give such evidence, then decided it would be preferable to call an officer from another Service. They approached MI5 but the British were unhappy about one of their officers appearing in court in New Zealand.

Reverting to their original proposal, on 20 December, the prosecution gave preliminary notice of their intention to call additional evidence along with an officer of the New Zealand Service to explain it.

When Bungay showed the profiles to Sutch, he denied all knowledge of them and said they must have been a plant. Smith later told him that wouldn’t sound likely.

Sutch’s former sister-in-law Gladys Brown, who had been his typist in 1970, told police that she hadn’t typed them and didn’t know anything about them but according to an unsent letter to Martyn Finlay among Smith’s papers, Brown confirmed that they were typed on the office typewriter. An SIS search for the typewriter was unsuccessful. It left a question as to whether all of this would amount to evidence in the law.

The decision not to present the profiles in the trial surprised Finlay. He later asked for an explanation. Neazor wrote on 21 July 1975 that it was decided ‘there could be an argument about its probative value not sufficiently outweighing its prejudicial effect, and that it was not of sufficient value to the case as framed to warrant the diversion it would cause.’

The ‘diversion’ resonates with Finlay’s later comment about their ‘possible effects in one way or another’ that caused him such anxiety. They possibly had political repercussions in mind.

The report on the Japanese fishing rights was also not given in evidence. And at the last minute before the trial, the judge decided that cryptic entries from Sutch’s diaries that recorded times and places of clandestine meetings with his handler for years before 1974 were inadmissible because they predated the time-frame of the charge.

All this evidence was analysed by Chief Ombudsman Sir Guy Powles in his [https://www.nzsis.govt.nz/assets/NZSIS-Documents/News-supporting/SutchOmbudsmanReport.pdf

investigation of NZSIS after the Sutch trial], following allegations against them. He found the allegations were without foundation but noted that Sutch’s association with the Russians had lasted for a period of years before his meeting with Razgovorov on April 18, 1974.

Other circumstantial evidence that came to public attention was the wealth Sutch had accumulated, exceeding anything he could have earned legitimately in his career as a public servant, a consultant or as an author (even if his claim that his book Poverty and Progress sold 100,000 copies was true).

Attempts to put a figure on Sutch’s wealth have been based on some of his properties and holdings in New Zealand but not overseas. Smith discovered only in the late 1980s that his estate included a property in the Bahamas. His various overseas funds that could not be known include those in his Swiss bank account.

Sutch’s attempt to hide his wealth was made public after his death when the New Zealand Gazette named him as an evader of taxes estimated at $47,241 between 1966 and 1974, the second highest for any individual among about 650. His undisclosed income during that period was estimated to be about $100,000.

The first evidence that the package Sutch gave Razgovorov in Holloway Road on the 26 September 1974 had reached the Soviet Embassy came from Moscow after the Cold War was over. In 1993, New Zealand journalist Geoff Chapple tracked down Alexei Makarov, who had been Chargé d’Affaires of the Soviet Embassy in Wellington in 1974.

Makarov decided that with the breakup of the USSR and its secret police he had nothing to fear from giving his account of the Sutch affair. He recalled the circumstances of how he received the package of KGB material that Sutch had given to Razgovorov.

Makarov tracked down Razgovorov, who was living in retirement in Moscow. Besides recalling his meeting with Sutch in Holloway Road and how he delivered the package to his driver, Razgovorov told Makarov that he had ‘inherited’ Sutch from the KGB officer he had replaced in Wellington.

In 2014, evidence emerged from the Mitrokhin Archive in Cambridge, England, that Dr Sutch had been recruited to the Soviet intelligence service in 1950.

The Mitrokhin Archive comprises notes of KGB foreign intelligence files hand-copied secretly by archivist Vasili Mitrokhin, who had spent most of his working life in the KGB foreign intelligence archives. Disillusioned by the Soviet system and sympathetic towards dissidents, his chance came to do something in 1972 when he was given the job of overseeing the transfer of KGB foreign intelligence archives to new headquarters.

Mitrokhin secretly wrote summaries of the files, smuggled them out of the building and hid them under the floor in his villa. Over the ten years it took to complete the transfer, he accumulated six trunks of material.

In 1992 Mitrokhin approached British MI6, who then arranged for him, his family and his archive to be brought to the United Kingdom. As copies of original documents, the files have no direct evidential value, but their value in terms of intelligence proved immense. They include the following short entry under a codename: ‘Maori’ – Englishman, born 1907, New Zealand citizen, doctor of philosophy, former high-level bureaucrat in government service, retired in 1965, recruited in 1950, contact with him via Drozhzhin.

The biographical detail fits Sutch exactly and an extensive search proved it fitted him uniquely. After establishing the identity, the significant information is ‘recruited in 1950’.

‘Recruited’ in Russian has a specific meaning in Soviet intelligence, signifying that the subject knows, is tasked and will respond. Mitrokhin later published a KGB dictionary in which he defined ‘agent recruitment’ as ‘the covert involvement as agents of individuals who have opportunities to carry out intelligence tasks at the present time or in the future’.

Transactions were formally recorded. From the moment a KGB agent was on the payroll, he was ‘on the hook’.

Mitrokhin’s entry was written in the early 1970s, before Sutch’s arrest and trial. Mitrokhin names Drozhzhin as Sutch’s contact, confirming Razgovorov’s claim that he had inherited Sutch from his predecessor.

Yuri Timofeyevich Drozhzhin, First Secretary at the USSR Legation and the leading Soviet Intelligence officer in Wellington before Razgovorov, was regarded as a master spy. The pen portraits were written by Sutch for him.

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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 sale of Synlait Milk’s North Island operations has been completed with the focus a back-to-basics approach, in order to return to a consistently, high quality production of infant formula.

The dairy company, majority owned by China’s Bright Dairy, planned to use the $283.1 million proceeds from the $307m sale to pay down debts and simplify its operations.

“This is an important turning point for Synlait. It will strengthen and simplify our business while giving us the space to drive our recovery forward with a focus on where Synlait was founded, in Canterbury,” chief executive Richard Wyeth said.

The sold assets included the Pōkeno manufacturing facility and associated inventory, as well as leasehold Auckland sites, including assets held at the blending and canning facility on Richard Pearse Drive and the leased warehouse facility on Jerry Green Street.

The company’s balance sheet had been hit by costs associated with the recent manufacturing challenges, which saw it report a first half net loss of $80.6m for the period ended January 2026.

Of the sale proceeds, $200m would be used to repay Synlait’s bank facilities, leaving its balance sheet in a strong operational position.

However, Wyeth said there was more work to do.

He said his focus was on achieving steady, high quality output, without exception.

“So we’re looking to simplify the business. We’re looking to stabilise the business. Then we can scale from there,” Wyeth said.

“Making advanced nutritional infant formula is relatively complex, and when it goes well, you get really good results.

“If it doesn’t go well that product goes straight to stockfeed as opposed to a high value product. That’s why that focus on operational performance is so important.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Petrol and jet fuel stocks have risen, while there has been a slight decrease in diesel stocks.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s latest fuel stocks update showed that as at 11:59pm on Wednesday evening, there were 61.9 days of petrol, 51.5 days of diesel, and 50.1 days of jet fuel.

This is compared to 58.7 days of petrol, 52.2 days of diesel and 46.2 days of jet fuel, in the previous update.

MBIE said the update showed national fuel stocks were stable, with sufficient stock levels.

“Movements remain within expectations and show normal patterns,” the ministry said.

The update showed there were 27.2 days of petrol in-country, 17.5 days of diesel, and 25.5 days of jet fuel.

There were four ships on the water in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, containing 3.2 days of petrol, 8.2 days of diesel, and 1.2 days of jet fuel.

A further twelve ships were on-water outside the EEZ, with 31.5 days of petrol, 25.8 days of diesel, and 23.4 days of jet fuel.

The government told media it remained gravely concerned about the trajectory of the Middle East conflict and its impact on the global economy, which shows no signs of ending.

Willis speaks to media

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told media the government hadn’t heard about any material problems from fuel importers, meaning the country could remain in phase one of its fuel crisis response.

“We’re continuing to work very closely with fuel importers on a daily basis to check with them whether they’re seeing any disruption to orders they already have, or to future orders. They continue to report that ships are leaving normally, that orders are being fulfilled and that they’re not having challenges,” she said.

Willis said fuel importing companies had given assurances that orders were not being cancelled or diverted to other countries.

“These are long standing customer relationships that they have with these businesses, and those businesses are seeking to be reliable. However, it is the case that we are anticipating there could be a scenario where those refinery companies are no longer able to fulfil orders, and they declare what’s called force majeure, they cancel a contract at short notice,” Willis said.

“It’s preparing for that potential eventuality that has prompted us to put the fuel response plan in place, and it’s why we are taking rapid measures to get increased amounts of fuel into the country so that we have more of a buffer should that occur.”

As the update is backward-looking, it does not include what the potential impacts of Easter weekend may have been on stocks.

Willis said there had been evidence of a big increase in demand in part of March, which had since calmed down as people first stocked up and then moved to other measures like car-pooling and public transport.

She had heard “a range of different anecdotes” about Easter usage, but not enough to have data to put to.

“In terms of what people have seen over Easter, I’m sure it is the case that some families have unfortunately put off road trips, chosen to stay close to home because of the price of fuel. And I will be looking at that data as soon as we have it, to understand how this Easter looks compared to last Easter,” she said.

“One of the areas that the fuel importing companies have agreed to cooperate with us more closely on in future is sharing that demand data, because obviously, if we were to move to a phase two, we’d want to know whether any restraint measures were having material impact. So having that data and monitoring it is going to be very useful for our work going forward.”

While it was unlikely the government would pause petrol taxes or road user charges, Willis said it was “very unlikely” the government would go ahead with a planned 12 cent per litre increase to fuel taxes next January.

While no formal decision had been made, the government would need to legislate in order to cancel the planned tax increase. Willis said it would mean the government had less revenue for road maintenance and construction, but it was conscious that New Zealanders could ill-afford an increase at this time.

No sign of war’s end

The government is giving the latest update on fuel stocks, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of ending.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s reaction to close off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping has sent the global energy industry into turmoil.

New Zealand relies on imports of refined fuel, with no local refining capability.

The government has previously downplayed concerns of shortages, but has set up a National Fuel Plan with different levels of potential rationing should supplies begin to dry up.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Petrol and jet fuel stocks have risen, while there has been a slight decrease in diesel stocks.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s latest fuel stocks update showed that as at 11:59pm on Wednesday evening, there were 61.9 days of petrol, 51.5 days of diesel, and 50.1 days of jet fuel.

This is compared to 58.7 days of petrol, 52.2 days of diesel and 46.2 days of jet fuel, in the previous update.

MBIE said the update showed national fuel stocks were stable, with sufficient stock levels.

“Movements remain within expectations and show normal patterns,” the ministry said.

The update showed there were 27.2 days of petrol in-country, 17.5 days of diesel, and 25.5 days of jet fuel.

There were four ships on the water in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone, containing 3.2 days of petrol, 8.2 days of diesel, and 1.2 days of jet fuel.

A further twelve ships were on-water outside the EEZ, with 31.5 days of petrol, 25.8 days of diesel, and 23.4 days of jet fuel.

The government told media it remained gravely concerned about the trajectory of the Middle East conflict and its impact on the global economy, which shows no signs of ending.

Willis speaks to media

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told media the government hadn’t heard about any material problems from fuel importers, meaning the country could remain in phase one of its fuel crisis response.

“We’re continuing to work very closely with fuel importers on a daily basis to check with them whether they’re seeing any disruption to orders they already have, or to future orders. They continue to report that ships are leaving normally, that orders are being fulfilled and that they’re not having challenges,” she said.

Willis said fuel importing companies had given assurances that orders were not being cancelled or diverted to other countries.

“These are long standing customer relationships that they have with these businesses, and those businesses are seeking to be reliable. However, it is the case that we are anticipating there could be a scenario where those refinery companies are no longer able to fulfil orders, and they declare what’s called force majeure, they cancel a contract at short notice,” Willis said.

“It’s preparing for that potential eventuality that has prompted us to put the fuel response plan in place, and it’s why we are taking rapid measures to get increased amounts of fuel into the country so that we have more of a buffer should that occur.”

As the update is backward-looking, it does not include what the potential impacts of Easter weekend may have been on stocks.

Willis said there had been evidence of a big increase in demand in part of March, which had since calmed down as people first stocked up and then moved to other measures like car-pooling and public transport.

She had heard “a range of different anecdotes” about Easter usage, but not enough to have data to put to.

“In terms of what people have seen over Easter, I’m sure it is the case that some families have unfortunately put off road trips, chosen to stay close to home because of the price of fuel. And I will be looking at that data as soon as we have it, to understand how this Easter looks compared to last Easter,” she said.

“One of the areas that the fuel importing companies have agreed to cooperate with us more closely on in future is sharing that demand data, because obviously, if we were to move to a phase two, we’d want to know whether any restraint measures were having material impact. So having that data and monitoring it is going to be very useful for our work going forward.”

While it was unlikely the government would pause petrol taxes or road user charges, Willis said it was “very unlikely” the government would go ahead with a planned 12 cent per litre increase to fuel taxes next January.

While no formal decision had been made, the government would need to legislate in order to cancel the planned tax increase. Willis said it would mean the government had less revenue for road maintenance and construction, but it was conscious that New Zealanders could ill-afford an increase at this time.

No sign of war’s end

The government is giving the latest update on fuel stocks, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of ending.

Fuel prices have skyrocketed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s reaction to close off the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping has sent the global energy industry into turmoil.

New Zealand relies on imports of refined fuel, with no local refining capability.

The government has previously downplayed concerns of shortages, but has set up a National Fuel Plan with different levels of potential rationing should supplies begin to dry up.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A finance manager who was assaulted with a taser and repeatedly punched in the head during a prolonged attack while at work has appealed for ongoing ACC compensation.

The man, whose name is suppressed, was working at a car dealership in 2020 when two people barged into his office, one assaulting him with a taser, while the other punched him in the head 15-20 times. He was pushed into a corner, hurting his lower back.

According to a recent decision, the following day, he lodged an ACC claim describing his injuries as, “Got hit on the left side of the face and head, taser used, hurt lower back.”

ACC accepted the claim for post-concussion syndrome, contusion of the eye, and a lumbar sprain.

The decision says the man continued to report symptoms, including ongoing concussion and constant discomfort in his back, which he rated as “8.5 out of 10.″

In December 2020, the man returned to work on a limited basis but continued to struggle, particularly with concentration. He worked limited hours during early 2021.

At that time, he told a psychiatrist that during the attack, which he thought may have been racially motivated, he was going to die.

Later that year, ACC approved cover for other PTSD, adding to his existing cover for PTSD and depression.

The man continued to experience difficulties, and in 2022, a GP certified him as only able to work for eight hours a week, noting that he still had significant back pain.

In March the following year, an occupational physician noted the man continued to complain of left lower back pain, flashbacks, nightmares, and difficulty sleeping.

She told the man he was capable of sedentary light work and suggested he could return to the job he had at the time of the attack.

Four months later, the decision says, ACC decided there was no reason the man couldn’t work and declined further weekly compensation on the basis that his injury was not preventing him from working.

The man applied for a review of that decision.

In January 2024, following the review, ACC’s decision was quashed, and the man’s weekly compensation resumed, and he didn’t return to work.

ACC was also directed to obtain an up-to-date medical case review for the man’s mental injuries, and he was referred to another occupational specialist.

In July 2024, a GP provided a medical certificate that added a diagnosis of lumbar disc prolapse with radiculopathy, where a disc presses on the spinal nerve in the lower back, causing back and leg pain.

According to the decision, ACC began investigating that claim.

In September 2024, based on a physiotherapist’s report that the man’s back pain couldn’t be linked to the accident, the claim was declined.

The man then filed a review application against the decision.

Following further medical investigations, his application for review was dismissed on the basis that the evidence showed the 2020 assault was unlikely to have caused the disc prolapse injury.

In October last year, the man’s case was reviewed by ACC’s clinical advisory panel, comprising orthopaedic surgeons and physiotherapists.

It found the man presented with non-specific low back pain following the accident event and was given ACC cover for a “lumbar sprain”.

“The described mechanism of injury, involving an assault with tasering and blows to the head, would not be expected to result in significant injury to the lumbar spine.

“There is no indication of direct impact, torsional load or axial compression to the lower back that would typically be associated with a lumbar disc injury,” the group found.

It went on to say it did not consider the subsequent evidence to support that his back pain was a significant cause of incapacity and the need for rehabilitation.

It also found that most of the low-level back pain the man experienced since the accident was mainly on the left.

And the group found there was no evidence of leg pain or radicular-type symptoms until August 2021, about one year after the accident.

The man went on to appeal ACC’s decision to decline his cover for the lumbar disc prolapse with radiculopathy in the District Court.

In its decision issued late last month, the District Court dismissed the man’s appeal, finding that, having weighed up all the medical evidence, the man hadn’t established, on the balance of probabilities, that the personal injury he suffered in 2020 caused his lumbar disc prolapse condition with radiculopathy.

“This Court extends its sympathy to the appellant for having endured an undeserved and horrible experience in August 2020 and for the physical and mental health challenges that he has encountered over a number of years.

“However, this Court has to decide his appeal according to the law and weight of the relevant evidence,” the decision said.

* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

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

Source: Media Outreach

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 April 2026 – MyRepublic today announced the launch of MyRepublic Email Guard, a managed email security solution purpose-built to protect Singapore’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) against phishing, malware, business email compromise, and other email-borne cyber threats. The launch is part of MyRepublic’s broader mission to ensure that Singapore’s SME community, the backbone of the local economy, is not left behind in an increasingly hostile cyber landscape.

Singapore’s SMEs account for 99% of all enterprises and employ nearly 70% of the local workforce, yet many remain chronically underserved in enterprise-grade cybersecurity. Email continues to be one of the most exploited attack vectors, with threat actors increasingly targeting resource-constrained businesses that lack the dedicated IT security teams of larger organisations. MyRepublic Email Guard is designed to close this protection gap, delivering a simple, effective, and locally supported solution that levels the playing field for SMEs without adding operational complexity.

Powered by Check Point, advanced email threat protection technology, MyRepublic Email Guard helps businesses detect and block malicious emails before they reach users’ inboxes. The solution is designed to support businesses using popular email platforms such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, giving customers an additional layer of protection against modern threats.

“Singapore’s SMEs are the heartbeat of our economy, and protecting them from cyber threats is not just a business imperative. It is a national one,” said Lawrence Chan, Managing Director & Chief AI Officer, MyRepublic. “Far too many local businesses remain exposed simply because they cannot access or afford the cybersecurity tools available to larger enterprises. With MyRepublic Email Guard, we are changing that. We bring enterprise-grade protection to businesses that have long been underserved, backed by the local expertise and support they deserve.”

MyRepublic Email Guard combines advanced security technology with managed service support, allowing businesses to benefit from a more streamlined approach to email protection. The service is positioned as an all-in-one offering that includes deployment, ongoing management, and local support, helping customers reduce the burden on internal teams while improving cyber resilience.

“Enterprise-grade cybersecurity has been out of reach for the SMEs that need it most. That has to change,” said Imran Nazi, Head of ICT, MyRepublic. “MyRepublic Email Guard is built specifically for Singapore’s SMEs, where it is designed to be affordable, easy to adopt, and supported by a team that understands the local business environment. We want every SME in Singapore to have access to the same level of protection that large enterprises take for granted, because a safer SME ecosystem means a stronger Singapore.”

The launch of MyRepublic Email Guard marks a significant step in MyRepublic’s commitment to building a more cyber-resilient Singapore. Aligned with national efforts to strengthen digital security across all business segments, MyRepublic is focused on ensuring that SMEs, often the most targeted yet least protected segment, are equipped to defend themselves. By combining world-class technology from Check Point with localised managed service delivery, MyRepublic is bridging the cybersecurity gap for businesses that have historically been underserved.

MyRepublic Email Guard is now available for businesses in Singapore.

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Source: Media Outreach

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 April 2026 – SPEED (Sistem Perolehan Elektronik Dinamik), developed and operated by CDC International Sdn Bhd (CDCi), has won three industry awards in recognition of its contribution to digital procurement and enterprise software. The platform received two honours at the Malaysia National Business Awards 2026 and one at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2026, all presented by Asian Business Review. The awards were for Excellence Award – Computer Software, Initiative Award – Digital Transformation Consulting and Enterprise Software – Government Organisation.

The awards reflect SPEED’s growing role in helping government and institutional organisations modernise procurement through more structured and transparent digital systems, in line with the MADANI agenda’s emphasis on integrity, accountability and good governance. Its adoption by organisations such as FAMA, RISDA, MARA and PERKESO further underscores the platform’s growing relevance across diverse public sector and institutional settings.

SPEED is a digital procurement ecosystem comprising SPEED Procurement, SPEED eWorks and integrated Supplier Management capabilities. Designed to support end-to-end procurement processes within a structured and auditable environment, the platform helps strengthen oversight, supports audit readiness and addresses longstanding procurement challenges such as fragmented systems, manual workflows and limited visibility across supplier engagement.

Through a centralised approach, SPEED enables organisations to manage sourcing, evaluation, contract administration and reporting in a more systematic manner. Its implementation across agencies and institutional bodies has contributed to stronger compliance, improved process efficiency and more consistent governance through standardised workflows and consolidated data management.

The ecosystem further supports wider supplier participation through structured onboarding and profiling, helping to create a fairer and more transparent procurement environment.

Chief Executive Officer of CDC International, Putri Nurul Ida Yahya, said the recognition reflected the growing importance of digital procurement in strengthening governance across organisations.

“SPEED was built to help organisations manage procurement with greater clarity, discipline and accountability. As procurement requirements continue to evolve, our priority is to ensure the platform remains practical, consistent and responsive to those needs,” she said.

She added that CDCi would continue strengthening the platform to meet a wider range of institutional procurement requirements.

These recognitions mark another milestone for SPEED as CDCi continues expanding its role in digital procurement across institutional and public sector environments.

For more information, please visit speed2u.my or contact helpdesk@speed2u.my or +603 7885 4111.

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– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.