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

Source: New Zealand First

An Uncertain World

We are living through the most challenging international environment that New Zealand has faced in the past 80 years. Navigating chaotic conditions such as these requires experience. 

And experience has never mattered more.

This is not a time for performative posturing and senseless virtue signalling. It’s a time for cool heads, rational judgements about what is possible, and an active diplomacy that listens, learns, and adapts to the chances when they present themselves.

That’s what we’ve done in the last three years.

It has been in stark contrast to the vacuum that was left by the Labour government in the preceding three years.

The chasm that was left in our international relationships was immense when we came into government, and the position Labour left New Zealand in, in the midst of such an unstable world and economically precarious position was potentially devastating. 

The world is in a troubled state, the worst we can remember. And yet, having returned last week from the Pacific Islands Forum, we are hopeful, because our discussions were gripped by how our friends, like us, see opportunity amidst so much turmoil.

We haven’t needed lectures from others to act; no, we’ve been seizing chances to advance New Zealand’s economic and security relationships with energy ever since this term began. Our 80 plus overseas trips have not been to collect passport stamps, but to enhance existing agreements, or create new ones, whether in our region, the Pacific, or in Asia, South America, Europe and the Nordics.

In country after country, we have learned first-hand that they want to do more with us, they too see opportunity, and our job is to make the most of them.

That said, do not underestimate just how disruptive the geo-strategic environment is. It’s a hugely complex and challenging period we are facing. This places an enormous premium on experience, and through experience, good judgements that protect New Zealand’s vital interests.

We take the world as it is, not as some cloistered varsity lecturer or woke leftie wants it to be. The record shows that we have exercised sound judgement when it has mattered most. 

With experience comes prudence, and with diplomacy comes opportunity, and that is why we are guardedly optimistic that New Zealand will emerge from the serious global disruptions in a strong position to exploit every opportunity that we create or that comes our way.                

The State of the Economy

As for the state of the economy, well we all know the economy isn’t where it should be.  We all know that, without having to be told because kiwis are struggling sometimes working two, even three jobs, just to make ends meet.

New Zealand First unlike the rest, has constantly said that it will take time to turn our economy around. 

We have been open – and when other parties at the last election said that they could fix it within three years – we said that was a mistake. We knew the damage done to the economy by the previous Labour government couldn’t be undone in three years.  We know it can be fixed – but it will take time.  And we need to communicate that to New Zealanders, to ensure kiwis understand the challenge, and join us on the pathway to economic and social recovery.  

We are making positive movements as an economy in such uncertain times. But we can, and must, do better.

Inflation is on the rise again, not nearly as bad as under Labour, but it is on the rise.

Interest rates are on the rise again, not nearly as bad as under Labour, but on the rise.

Our slow economic recovery has been set back by events in the Middle East.  And yet, stability in the middle east is likely to be restored more quickly than New Zealand’s economic return to recovery.

And that’s because, our government inherited a disaster of massive overborrowing, and spending not on production, not on wealth creation, not on employment, and not on exports, but purely on consumption. 

And we’re paying a massive price for that now.

We just had the COVID Inquiry showing the previous Labour government borrowed sixty billion dollars to deal with COVID, and yet they spent thirty billion of it on something else. 

That is half of the sixty billion wasn’t spent on COVID.  And you’re sitting in this audience and the mainstream media here today, and none of them have told you what the thirty billion was wasted on.

We have turned the economy around – there is growth, but not as much as we need. 

The current economic climate and the realities of our situation just shows the sad thing about New Zealand over the past fifty years. 

We went from being in the top three in the world to a non-competing economy.

Back then we had strong growth of over five percent a year, every year, and MPs who understood nationalism, who understood the national interest.

And then we had the neoliberal experiment of Labour’s Roger Douglas and then National’s Ruth Richardson and the rest has been a massive disaster.

We became the victim of a totally unfettered free market – straight out of the neoliberal economic Milton Freidman textbook.

The left and right, Labour then National, went on to sell our assets, privatise our country, open our borders to mass immigration, open our society to every wild-west simpleton ideology – an ideology that has been proven over the past forty years to be an abject failure and purveyor of misery and struggle.

Only one party leader and one party – New Zealand First – has never subscribed to that ideology. 

New Zealand First began because we opposed that ideology.

We have always believed in economic nationalism – where we own our country’s assets, where we have targeted government intervention, where we give a hand up in times of need, where our country gives capitalism a human face.

Paris Accord

There have been a number of things that occurred over the past week when we have been overseas that need addressing.

Last week the Prime Minister said that the Paris Accord obligations were a ‘non-negotiable bottom line’. If that’s true, up to $22 billion of our hard-earned taxpayers’ money is going offshore.

It’s just common sense that instead of draining our money offshore, into foreign economies, we invest it looking after our own environment. 

And New Zealand First is the only party that believes that.

We need to look at the illogical state of what the Paris Accord actually means. Around sixty percent of the worlds CO2 emissions come from four countries – China, United States, Russia, and India. New Zealand’s emissions amount to only around 0.17%.

Why are we making a rod for our own backs, punishing our farmers and our taxpayers and our economy, when China or the US could sneeze and produce more CO2 overnight than we do in a year? 

Here is what a lot of people don’t know.  China built more than 50 large coal powered power plants just last year – that’s one a week. And what did the NZ Labour Party do? Ban coal. Closed Marsden Point. 

What are the Greens doing? Screaming blue-murder that the world is going to end because New Zealand isn’t cutting our emissions enough.  These MPs are on another planet.

The former longest serving Labour Party PM in the UK, Tony Blair, made a similar statement to New Zealand First’s about what the world needs to do on the Paris Accord. The world is catching on and we are going to get left behind in crippling debt and a swamp of regulations on our productive sector if we remain signed up to the Paris Agreement.

We are in the Heartland of agriculture today, the Waikato, and we need to stop this nonsense.

New Zealand First is saying we need to get out of the Paris Accord altogether.

Willie Jackson Co-Governance / Māori Apprenticeships

Willie Jackson again last week became the gift that just keeps on giving.

He continues to reveal with a megaphone all of the things that Labour are planning to do if they get back to power.

On Q&A last week he was asked if Labour was going to bring back co-governance. 

Willie said “apparently co-governance scares people, so we might give it a new name”. 

Whatever new name he wants to give it, it will still be: 

Separatist. 

Racist. 

Apartheid.

Co-governance is the destruction of our democracy. That’s why New Zealand Fists opposes it. 

Because we believe in one people, one flag, one country, one law for all.

He is announcing out loud what Labour are planning to do – reverting to type and going straight back to dividing this country by race.

They are on a patronising separatist race to the bottom along with the Greens, Te Pati Māori, and Opportunity Party. 

Labour also announced separatist funding for apprenticeships to ensure young people get the skills and training they need to get a job.

But there is one catch – this policy only applies to Māori. 

Why funding just for Māori who are struggling? Why not all struggling kiwis?

Our vision and values as a country should be based on need not race – the sooner we get rid of separatist thinking and work together as one people the sooner we will have a better future together as one people.

Janet Dickson

Last week the real estate agent Janet Dickson lost her licence for refusing to take a compulsory cultural tikanga and te Tiriti course..

This tikanga course has no relevance to Janet Dickson’s real estate job.  

No one should lose their job for refusing to take a tikanga course that has no relevance to what their job is. 

This course add-on does not help one real Māori obtain accommodation.

This is woke political and cultural correctness gone mad. 

Māori Party Destructive Bottom Lines

And last week, the Labour Party’s coalition partner, the Māori Party, released a tax policy – they called a “bottom line”. 

They want to introduce a wealth tax, a massive corporate tax, a stamp duty, a property speculation tax, and an offshore speculation tax.

New Zealand needs to become more productive and encourage New Zealanders to start businesses that employ people, rebuild industry, and make us wealthy again.

The Māori Party instead think the way to grow employers is by soaring business tax rate, making us uncompetitive with other countries in attracting investment.

This is both a jobs killer and a business killer.

And here’s the rub.

These wealth taxes don’t apply to Māori.

This is a policy for the taxpayer funded Māori elite, by the taxpayer funded Māori elite, from the taxpayer funded Māori elite.

We are the only party that has never done a deal with the separatist Māori Party and we never will.

What is worse, is the Māori Party are now actively campaigning against people giving their party vote to the Māori Party.

They are wanting to manipulate the Māori vote by telling people to party vote for some other party on the left.

This is after giving everyone a lecture for decades on the importance of an independent Māori vote, and why other Māori MPs are not Māori enough.

All they have done is treat Māori with disdain, turn up to parliament once a month, and do a haka now and again in the House.

And who wants to sit with them at Cabinet with their extremist views? The Labour Party.

Opportunity Party’s Communist Consultants

Another party the Labour Party wants to work with is the shiny new Opportunity Party.

The Opportunity Party wants homeowners to pay 1.75% of your home’s land value every year, that’s on top of your local rates.

Now you will have to pay an annual rent to the government.

And when the leader of the Opportunity Party was asked how an old couple could afford a $20k land tax bill every year, she said “they will have to downsize their house to afford it”.

This is blisteringly ignorant. But it gets worse.

Because, the $20k per annum from an old couple on the pension is not going to infrastructure, health, education, fuel or food prices.

It will be used for a Universal Basic Income of $19,400 every year, for everyone, for life, even if they are not working. 

Opportunity Party calls this ‘fairness’. 

New Zealand First calls it ‘communism’.

The question is, what are you as the voter, going to call it?

The Opportunity Party also wants to raise the youth court age to twenty-five years old – however, when they were questioned on that, they quickly deleted the 25 year court age from their website and then said they haven’t figured out the new court age yet.

And their constitution has the unelected board having the power to veto any caucus decision. 

Their ‘redistribution of wealth’ and bludging tax policy doesn’t stack up.

And born in Fiji and immigrated to New Zealand, she says the country’s name should be called “Aotearoa New Zealand”.

And who wants to sit with them in Cabinet? The Labour Party.

Green Party Debt Machine

The Greens want an $88 billion debt increase, and have a new policy bribe to give $2.4 billion to Marae – without any oversight or audit of taxpayers’ money.

If you’re a Māori, tell us honestly, what does that reflect about what the Greens think of you?

This is inverse racism of the worst sort. They think they can use a bribe to get your vote. This doesn’t reflect respect for you, but sheer contempt for who you are.

The Greens care more about a geopolitical war happening ten thousand miles away that they know nothing about, than what is happening in their own country.

The are obsessed with race, gender, pronouns, and protests, performative politics, virtue signalling, and woke cancel culture, and they have completely lost sight of what their party once stood for.

English Language

The Green Party MP Tamatha Paul said in parliament that English was a ‘bastard language’. 

She should have been booted out of parliament for using that word for a start.

We are proud of our country’s history and our foundation English language – which is now an official language thanks to New Zealand First. 

Two days ago a Bog-Irish Band called “Kneecap” backed Tamatha Paul’s comments stating that the English language was a ‘colonisers’ bastard language’.

We are not going to sit by and be lectured by some bunch of low IQ weasels who have no idea about history, and even less of an idea about the woke cultural madness they foolishly promote – that goes for the hopeless TikTok politicians like Tamatha Paul too. 

The fact is the Greens are no longer worried about the environment like Rod Donald and Jeanette Fitzsimons once were – they have turned into a bunch of weirdo globalists who like to sanctimoniously lecture people – while wearing costumes from some other country.

And who wants to sit at the Cabinet table with them? The Labour Party.

Old Labour Is Gone

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the stark truth. The Labour Party that you once knew, perhaps even supported, is no more.

That party is gone. All of these polices and parties they are willing to support are proof of that.

Can you imagine Helen Clark or Michael Cullen, or Bob Tizard or Peter Frazer signing up to this?

These are people who believe in a separatist society, and who want to borrow, tax, and spend – but have zero economic credentials, or even vision, to deliver growth.

Chris Hipkins and Labour are willing to work with parties like Opportunity, Greens, and the Māori Party because Labour care more about the number of seats that will give them power, rather than the danger of who it is they will share power with.

Ladies and gentlemen, part of New Zealand First’s mission is to keep these dangerous lefties out of power.

The Choice On The Right

This year we have been packing the halls around the country with ordinary hardworking kiwi battlers who see the only party talking common sense.

They all see what makes New Zealand First different from every other party.

We are the only socially conservative party.

We are the only nationalist party.

We are the only patriotic party – a word that is now so often criticised. We stand proud to be patriots of New Zealand. 

What’s most important, is that we are the only party that can counter-balance the present spectrum of extremists in parliament.

And we have the vitally experienced team and the bold policies to back it up. 

New Zealand First is not just running in another election this year, we are running to save our country economically and socially from extremists.

Some Announced Bold Policies

We have announced a policy to break up the power companies’ monopoly, and drive power prices down.

We have announced a policy to split the supermarket duopoly, and drive food prices down.

We have announced a policy to re-establish a competitive New Zealand owned state bank, to drive banking charges down.

We have announced a policy to return mining royalties, created in the regions, back to the regions.

We have announced establishing a proper transparent inquiry into those who were injured by the Covid 19 vaccine – so we can find out exactly what happened, who was responsible, and publicly hold them to account.

Above all, on Covid 19, we want to hold to account those politicians who were told not to give the second vaccine to 12-17 year olds, withheld that advice from parents and 311,000 young people, wrongly, got the second vaccine.

If this was a transparent democracy then how could Hipkins and Verrall still be in politics today.

We announced our KiwiSaver policy with automatic $1000 sign-up at birth. It means the day a baby is born it gets $1000 in its account to start saving.

We have announced our policy is to establish a $100 billion Future Fund that will invest in a thirty-year infrastructure plan for our country. 

And we have announced a policy to ensure that by 2029 only citizens are allowed to vote in our country. We are going to fix one of the loosest electoral laws in the world.

We have announced a policy to have a referendum on the continued existence of the Māori Seats.

And to be independent from events like in the Strait of Hormuz, we announced a policy to invest $1billion to start exploring our gas and oil reserves in our deep-sea basins so we can own and export our own oil and gas.

And we announced the ‘Kiwi Kids Grant’ that will support New Zealand citizens raising their first three children, through the first three years of their lives – $5000 per child for each of the three years.

And while all the other parties argue about spending and taxation, New Zealand First is different.

We are talking about doubling our economy by 2050. Which is the only way we are going to be able to pay for the things that New Zealanders need.

Value of Citizenship

New Zealand needs to start viewing our citizenship as most other countries around the world do – as a privilege that comes with special and unique rights. 

This does not take away from migrants the ability to move here and help build our country, from showing total commitment and patriotism for New Zealand by becoming a citizen. 

We have massively allowed so many of our standards to drop.

Even the most basic of privileges and rights in any country like voting has in our country become more like an expectation for anyone, rather than a unique right for New Zealanders.

Ladies and gentlemen, why do so many ‘apologetic globalists’ act shocked and dismayed that a political party is wanting to ensure that citizenship actually mean something? 

There is a difference in this election. Kiwis are looking at what parties are offering as their values and principles in these uncertain times.

Campaign Announcement: Citizen Only Super

In recent years, some commentators have questioned the affordability of NZ Super.

Our NZ Superannuation scheme was designed to look after our seniors in their retirement.

Kiwis who left school sometimes at the age of fifteen or sixteen, worked two, sometimes three jobs, for forty or fifty years of their lives paying taxes – sometimes through the highest tax periods in our country’s history.

They deserve to be looked after in their retirement.

With our growing older population and the increasing costs of super on taxpayers, how is it fair that the tax burden of supporting seniors now goes to paying for the full retirement of someone who has migrated to our country and only lived and paid taxes for sometimes less than half of the time compared to those who have worked their whole lives here?

We are a fair society, and we should always strive to maintain that – it is what makes our country unique.

When NZ Super was established in 1977, it was not in the context of the immigration levels we currently have. 

Over just the past twenty years, New Zealand has had a total net migration of around 650,000 people into our country, at an average of over 30,000 each year.

That means more people than the population of Christchurch have moved to New Zealand in the past twenty years.

And with that 650,000 migrants that has come with it a percentage tax burden just for NZ Super which is a ticking timebomb.

Under current settings, you don’t have to be a New Zealand citizen to gain full access to NZ Super payments.

In fact, you don’t even have to be a permanent resident. You only need to have a resident visa.

How have we come to a point of having no value or meaning of being a New Zealand Citizen?

Currently, someone who has lived in New Zealand for just twenty years, and only need to be in the country for five years after the age of fifty, can be eligible for full super payments. 

That means they only have to be in New Zealand for one year out of every three after the age of fifty, and they can get the same full amount as someone who has worked their entire life paying taxes since they were fifteen years old.

How is that fair?

As the old saying goes – “generous to a fault”.

The annual superannuation bill for older migrants has hit a billion dollars.

In December 2025, the Crown paid $2 million a week to over 42,000 super annuitants who became resident in New Zealand aged 50 or older.

Annually, the total works out at over $1 billion.

That sum has more than doubled in the past 10 years – from  $500 million in 2015, to $1 billion last year.

New Zealand First believes we need to instil some meaning and value back into being a Kiwi, and back into being a New Zealand Citizen.

Today we are announcing a campaign policy that only New Zealand citizens will be eligible for New Zealand Super.

This policy will have a grace period to take effect within the next three years.

If you want to get NZSuper then you need to sign up, be proud enough of New Zealand, and show full commitment to our country and become a citizen – our taxpayers should no longer continue to be used as a bottomless pit by some migrants to our country.

This is about economic fairness, and it is about putting New Zealanders first.

NZFirst Party of Conservatism, Patriotism, Nationalism

We signed a coalition agreement to govern with stability and experience three years ago – and we have kept our word. 

New Zealand First brings what is too often missing in politics – experience and common sense.

New Zealand First brings a commitment to New Zealand industry, to manufacturing, to jobs right here for our own people.

New Zealand First brings commonsense to immigration policy – where we allow in people that we need, not people who need us.

We believe in infrastructure before population growth, not afterwards, and infrastructure focused on fixing what’s broken, not flash upgrades and vanity projects.

New Zealand First brings traditional kiwi conservative values – where hard work should be rewarded, where job security and home ownership underpins a stable family life. 

We want a country where young people aren’t worried about their family’s future, or where they see better opportunities overseas.

We are the party of social conservatism, patriotism, and nationalism. Those values are what it means to be a Kiwi – and New Zealand First is proud to not only stand by those values, but to fight for them.

We must be focussed on what New Zealanders gave us a mandate to do – turning this country around with policies and values that will give our country a better future – driving down the cost of living, cost of food, cost of power, cost of fuel, and turning this economy around – and doing it all with stability and experience.

We in 2023 inherited an economic nightmare. But not enough government members of parliament understood that. 

This pivotal election voters want to hear a clear and unified message – that we are going to win, and take New Zealand back to being a leading economy again. 

Challenging the Status Quo

The greatest threat to this blind ideology, to social elitism, and to the status quo, is New Zealand First.

And the country we are defending is called New Zealand – it’s in our party’s name.

We fight for the hardworking blue-collar Kiwi battler, who just wants the chance to help build a country they are proud of.

In this election, we have a rare chance to change the shape of parliament for the better, and in doing so, to reshape our country the way you want it.

We are asking you to make a choice with our future generations in mind.

Take back control from the Wellington bubble.

Take back control from those who choose to be CV politicians, where they are here one day, “no more gas in the tank”, and are gone the next – taking with them a rolodex of international jobs, speaking circuits, or book tours, looking back over their shoulder at New Zealand’s decline – which they caused. 

New Zealand First, from our launch thirty-three years ago, has been battling that elitist status quo. No one can deny that. On issue after issue that needed public exposure, the rest remain silent. When others wouldn’t raise a finger, we have raised the roof.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, we are all here because we love our country, and we are proud of it.

True democracy is a rare flower in the history of humanity.

Down thousands of years living in democracy with freedom is a historical rarity. 

We have inherited a free country that our forebears fought and died for, and it’s our job to preserve it.

But only if we are proud of what we have inherited can we come together and move forward to shape the vision of our country’s future.

We live in a country that, at its core, traditional New Zealand values once saw us amongst the world’s leaders – hard work, fair pay, valuing our citizenship, building a sense of community, and knowing who we are as kiwis.

We must remember, New Zealand is the beneficiary of Western values, democracy, and the rule of law. And the advancement and enhancement of those principles have only occurred in those societies that have united together as one people – and who celebrate their nationhood instead of perpetuating division.

There is a lot of uncertainty around the world and at home, but we must keep hope alive that, with hard work and perseverance, tomorrow will be better.

New Zealand First is nationalist, patriotic, and socially conservative – values that we fight for. 

It hasn’t been easy – but things in life worth doing never are.  

We must never forget that challenge.

We must never stop believing in New Zealand.

That is our vision and that is our mission.

To protect, to save, and to restore New Zealand’s place at the top of the world.

By putting New Zealand and New Zealanders first.

We are asking you to join us – and Party Vote New Zealand First.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/09/06/winston-peters/

Source: New Zealand Government

Good afternoon, and firstly can I say how pleased I am to be here with you all. My thanks to Ankit and the team at Master Builders for your ongoing leadership and contribution to New Zealand’s building sector, and for this exceptional event.

It’s a real pleasure to be here with so many industry leaders, and I am grateful for the opportunity having recently taken on the Building and Construction portfolio.

It’s a portfolio I’m thrilled to have responsibility for and look forward to meeting and hearing from many of you in the room today as we continue our important work.

Construction plays a central role in New Zealand’s economic success, something everyone in this room will appreciate. It is one of our largest industries, contributing close to 8 per cent of GDP and employing about one in ten New Zealand workers.

You deliver the homes people live in, the infrastructure communities rely on, and the commercial buildings that support businesses and workers. 

Given that significance I would like to impart my sincere commitment to maintaining and building on momentum when it comes to the portfolio work programme.

My objective is to make building and construction more affordable in New Zealand by fixing the basics through removing unnecessary and unworkable compliance and restrictions and build the future of the sector through meaningful reform that simplifies what, where and who builds.

My objective is an affordable, growing and resilient sector.

And green shoots are emerging, with many parts of New Zealand seeing increased building activity and improving confidence.

The work we are doing will further address the challenges you face and I’m keen to keep hearing industry perspective on what would add to the building sector’s stability and resilience. 

As recovery gathers pace, the task for government is to ensure the building system supports growth rather than holds it back. Achieving that will require coordination across government, councils, and the wider construction sector.

One area where the Government can continue make a real difference is by reducing unnecessary complexity in the building system.

For too long, builders, developers and homeowners have had to navigate processes that are overly complex, inconsistent, and time-consuming.

We have already implemented several reforms to address this including removing consent requirements for granny flats, making it easier to use high quality overseas certified building products, and a year ago set inspection targets for building consent authorities. 

The latest monitoring report was encouraging, showing a strong response across Building Consent Authorities; 62 of the 64 BCAs reporting wait time data met the target in the June quarter 2026, with 97.8 percent of around 87,000 inspections completed within three working days, mostly on the same day.   

This means fewer delays during construction, helping lower holding costs and get people into their homes sooner.

Our goal is for a building system that is faster, fairer, and more effective, while continuing to maintain the standards New Zealanders rightly expect.

That is why I am very pleased to announce that from this coming Monday, 7 September, the plumbers and drainlayers self-certification scheme will be open for business.

From Monday, certifying plumbers and drainlayers will be able to apply for an endorsement to be able to self-certify that their own work complies with a building consent without needing a building consent authority to additionally inspect the work.

This will save professionals and homeowners time and money. There will no longer be an excuse for jobs being delayed while enduring long waits for inspections of straightforward plumbing and drainlaying work.

It will also free up building consent authorities to focus on inspections where they’re needed and help reduce the time you need to wait for an inspection to be carried out.

I’d like to acknowledge the significant input from industry in helping to make the scheme fit-for-purpose. This scheme is going to make a real difference in making the consenting system more effective and efficient.

You can also have your say as we progress the Building Amendment Bill, with submissions open until November.

The Bill will deliver the most significant building system reforms in 20 years, with the express purpose of improving regulation and supporting New Zealand industry to grow and deliver the homes and buildings we need.

It introduces a move to proportionate liability, and away from the current joint and several liability rule which acts as a handbrake to the building system by driving risk-averse behaviour – because parties with deeper pockets can end up paying for defects well beyond their share of responsibility.

Too often, parties make decisions based on managing liability exposure rather than managing risk effectively, adding cost and delays.

Proportionate liability will create a fairer and more balanced framework by ensuring parties are responsible only for their contribution to a building defect.

Alongside these changes, the Bill strengthens consumer protection and accountability across the sector through mandatory home warranties and professional indemnity insurance requirements for designers, architects, and engineers.

Together, these measures recognise that a more efficient system must also be a trusted system.

Homeowners will have greater confidence that there are protections in place if something goes wrong, while clear insurance and warranty requirements will help strengthen accountability throughout the building process.

The role of trusted builders who stand behind their work will become even more important in maintaining consumer confidence and supporting a well-functioning building system. That is something organisations such as Master Builders have long contributed to and will play a key role in going forward. 

The Bill also addresses another issue I regularly hear about from industry: inconsistency in the consenting system.

With 69 BCAs around the country, builders can face different interpretations of similar requirements depending on where they are working. That creates frustration, delay, and unnecessary cost, and a problem I’m sure many in the room are familiar with.

The Bill removes barriers to building consent authorities consolidating functions, sharing resources, and delivering services more efficiently. 

This supports a more consistent and streamlined consenting experience while retaining valuable local knowledge and expertise.

As you’ll be well aware, housing delivery depends on more than building consents alone.

As Minister for both Building and Construction and Local Government, I see an opportunity for stronger alignment of reforms across these portfolios.

Greater collaboration between councils, increased use of shared services, more consistent practices, and better digital systems all have the potential to lift performance across the consenting system.

In May this year, the Government announced the Incentives for Growth Fund, a major investment to support councils that enable housing and urban growth.

A more enabling and efficient planning system will complement our building and consenting reforms and help support housing and infrastructure delivery.

The current planning system can be complex, costly, and difficult for applicants to navigate.

New legislation will provide a more transparent, efficient, and user-focused framework that enables development while continuing to appropriately manage environmental effects.

Just as importantly, the sector needs certainty. 

A credible long-term pipeline of public infrastructure and development activity gives firms greater confidence to invest in people, apprentices, equipment, and technology.

The more confidence businesses have about future demand, the more willing they are to build capability for the future.

A re-elected National government will also make it easier to build shops, offices and other commercial buildings by formalising producer statements in the Building Act. Where statements from qualified experts meet prescribed requirements, Building Consent Authorities will be required to accept them as evidence that work complies with the Building Code.

National will also designate a specialist Building Consent Authority for large and complex commercial projects. This will provide developers with a single, nationally consistent consenting pathway, reduce dependency on specialist expertise within individual councils, and free up local authorities to focus on residential and standard consents.

These changes will help get major projects moving faster, reduce unnecessary costs, and support economic growth.

A strong pipeline is also critical to workforce development.

I recognise that workforce capacity remains a key challenge for the sector. Meeting future demand will depend not only on attracting and training more skilled workers, but also on improving productivity and adopting new ways of working. 

Alongside industry efforts, the Government is supporting apprenticeships through the tertiary education portfolio and strengthening vocational education and training pathways.

With the right reforms, a strong pipeline of work and continued innovation, I am confident the sector can play a leading role in driving economic growth and delivering the homes and infrastructure New Zealand needs.

Thank you.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/09/06/speech-constructive-2026/

Source: Media Outreach

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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

Source: New Zealand Government

More people in communities hardest hit by meth are now getting faster access to treatment and recovery support, with new services rolled out across the country, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says.

“We are clear that drugs destroy lives and put enormous pressure on families and communities. That is why we announced a $30.6 million health-led plan for areas experiencing some of the greatest harm,” Mr Doocey says.

“The package includes new and expanded treatment and recovery services, more frontline workers, peer and family support, screening and early intervention, and drug prevention programmes.

“Since announcing the package last year, new and expanded services have started being rolled out in Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Wairoa and Invercargill.

“In Kaitaia, Te Hiku Hauora has established Te Puarangi, a new drug harm reduction service providing community-based treatment and support.

“People in Kaitaia and Kaikohe can also access new peer-led recovery support, while navigation services are helping people in Kaitaia and Wairoa connect with treatment and other community support.

“In Invercargill, Ngā Kete Mātauranga Pounamu has expanded its intensive treatment services and workforce, giving more people access to methamphetamine-related support.

“Screening and brief intervention for alcohol and other drugs has also started at Kaitaia Hospital, helping identify people earlier and connect them with support.

“We have also extended the Tūturu school-based prevention programme into Northland, Rotorua and Tairāwhiti, helping young people understand the risks of drugs.

“An additional 10.6 full-time workers have now been employed as part of the frontline response, alongside increased access to peer support, recovery groups and counselling for families.

“Family Drug Support is also receiving increased funding to provide more free counselling and support nationwide for families affected by meth.

“There is only the start. Clinical treatment services planned for Kaikohe and Wairoa are expected to be in place in the coming months, with further peer support, treatment and family services also being established in Rotorua, Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay.

“Six of the seven additional screening and brief intervention services are also expected to be operational in the next couple of months.

“This is about fixing the basics and building the future so people can get faster access to addiction support, get help earlier, and have the support they need to stay on track in recovery.”

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/09/03/faster-access-to-addiction-support-now-available/

MIL OSI

Source: Media Outreach

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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

Source: Media Outreach

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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

Source: Media Outreach

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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

MIL OSI

Source: Media Outreach

• New and expanded facilities include DHL Supply Chain’s upcoming Pharma Hub 2, DHL Global Forwarding’s Singapore Coldchain Hub, and a dedicated GDP-compliant (Good Distribution Practice-compliant) healthcare space at DHL Express’ South Asia Hub
• The investments position Singapore as a regional hub for temperature-sensitive and high-value healthcare supply chain

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 4 September 2026 – Following the opening of its Pharma Hub last year, DHL Group is further strengthening its Life Sciences and Healthcare (LSHC) capabilities in Singapore through a series of investments that enhance its DHL Health Logistics network and expand its capacity to transport, store and distribute pharmaceuticals, medical devices, clinical trial materials and other healthcare products across Asia Pacific. The investments focus on three pillars: infrastructure, specialist expertise, and strategic partnerships. Together, they help maintain product integrity throughout the healthcare supply chain.

Asia Pacific’s pharmaceutical logistics market is projected to grow from US$163 billion in 2025 to nearly US$239 billion by 2031, driven by rising demand for biologics, vaccines and other temperature-sensitive products that require specialized storage and transportation. As healthcare supply chains become increasingly complex, manufacturers are looking for logistics partners, who can protect product integrity and meet stringent regulatory requirements.

To accede to that demand, DHL is putting new infrastructure across its Express, Global Forwarding and Supply Chain businesses, while continuing to grow its healthcare expertise and build closer ties across the broader logistics ecosystem.

The investments also build on DHL Group’s broader commitment to LSHC and the continued expansion of DHL Health Logistics including the €500 million earmarked for Asia Pacific as part of €2 billion global investment in the sector announced in 2025. The program covers infrastructure and technology across storage, order fulfilment, distribution, global transportation and last-mile delivery.

Infrastructure: Singapore Coldchain Hub, Pharma Hub 2, and dedicated GDP-compliant space at South Asia Hub

DHL Global Forwarding is strengthening Singapore’s role in regional healthcare trade through the DHL Singapore Coldchain Hub, a dedicated healthcare logistics facility that will form part of DHL’s broader Health Logistics Air Freight Network connecting key pharmaceutical and life sciences markets worldwide. By combining global air connectivity with specialized healthcare handling capabilities, the network helps customers move sensitive pharmaceutical and life sciences shipments with greater reliability, visibility and temperature integrity across critical healthcare trade lanes. Together with a pharmaceutical corridor initiative being developed with ecosystem partners, the investment will help create more seamless, compliant and resilient healthcare supply chains across Asia Pacific and key healthcare trade lanes.

Located within Changi’s 24/7 Free Trade Zone at Changi Nexus One, the S$22 million (€15 million) facility will provide 3,047 sqm of GDP-aligned temperature-controlled infrastructure for high-value, time- and temperature-sensitive healthcare cargo, including pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and biologics. With dedicated 2°C to 8°C and 15°C to 25°C handling environments, the facility is designed to support an unbroken cold chain from aircraft to a DHL facility and onward to customers’ warehouses, minimizing temperature excursions and reducing the need for supplementary temperature-control measures and packaging while preserving product integrity throughout transit. The facility is slated for launch in late 2027.

“In healthcare logistics, precision is non-negotiable. A temperature excursion of just a few degrees can compromise the integrity of high-value medicines, biologics and other critical healthcare products. That is why building an end-to-end, unbroken cold chain is essential. Beyond protecting products, it gives healthcare companies the confidence that life-saving therapies can move safely, compliantly, and reliably across increasingly complex global supply chains. By combining specialized infrastructure, direct airside connectivity and dedicated temperature-controlled handling solutions, our new Singapore Coldchain Hub will help minimize product exposure throughout the shipment journey and give customers greater assurance that their products will arrive in the right condition, at the right time, to the patients who depend on them,” added Praveen Gregory, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

DHL Supply Chain is building on the success of the Pharma Hub first launched in Singapore last year with a second pharma hub to further expand its healthcare logistics footprint in the country. The new $S7 million (€5 million) facility will provide additional controlled ambient storage capacity for pharmaceutical and medical device customers, supporting services such as warehousing, distribution, kitting and value-added healthcare logistics operations.

Spanning over 8,000 sqm, the facility is designed as a 100 percent temperature-controlled ambient facility operating at temperatures between 15°C and 25°C with humidity control below 60 percent. The facility will accommodate approximately 7,680 pallet positions and incorporate GDP-compliant and GMP-aligned (Good Manufacturing Practice-aligned) infrastructure, including dedicated redressing rooms to support specialized healthcare logistics requirements. With both pharma hubs, DHL Supply Chain’s total pharmaceutical logistics footprint in Singapore will amount to approximately 16,000 sqm and accommodate around 12,000 pallet positions. It is expected to begin operations by the first half of 2027.

“Capacity on its own isn’t the goal. It’s what that capacity allows our customers to do,” said Eunis Hew, Managing Director, DHL Supply Chain Singapore. “Pharma Hub 2 builds on the strong foundation we have established with Pharma Hub, giving our customers additional room to grow while maintaining the quality and compliance standards their products require. As healthcare supply chains become more sophisticated, purpose-built infrastructure becomes increasingly important.”

DHL Express has installed a GDP-compliant handling and storage space of around 20 sqm at its South Asia Hub at Changi Airport. The controlled ambient room with a temperature range of 15°C to 25 °C allows temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical shipments to move securely through one of the region’s most important air logistics gateways. This also marks the first GDP-compliant healthcare logistics space within a DHL Express facility globally.

GDP-compliant processes help ensure that medicines are handled under appropriate conditions, remain traceable and maintain their quality throughout the distribution journey.

“When it comes to healthcare shipments, every handoff matters,” said Christopher Ong, Managing Director, DHL Express Singapore. “By expanding GDP-compliant handling and storage capabilities within our South Asia Hub, we’re helping customers reduce risk during transit and maintain the integrity of temperature-sensitive products throughout their journey. That reliability is critical especially when those shipments support clinical trials, hospital treatments and patient care.”

People: Building expertise in teams

Infrastructure is only one part of healthcare logistics. DHL is also investing in specialized healthcare logistics expertise across its operations to help ensure temperature-sensitive and regulated products are handled consistently at every stage of the journey. Teams across Express, Global Forwarding and Supply Chain receive ongoing training in areas such as temperature-controlled handling, GDP requirements, quality management and regulatory compliance, supported by DHL’s Certified Life Sciences Specialist program. These programs keep employees up to date with evolving industry standards and equip them with the knowledge needed to support increasingly complex healthcare supply chains.

The company is also growing its pool of healthcare logistics specialists, such as pharmacists, combining operational expertise and industry knowledge to support increasingly stringent supply chain requirements.

Ecosystem and partners: Building stronger healthcare supply chains

DHL is working closely with airlines, airport partners, healthcare manufacturers and logistics providers to strengthen the broader healthcare logistics ecosystem.

One example is DHL Express’ latest partnership with Life Science Incubator (LSI), a life sciences innovation ecosystem partner. Through the collaboration, DHL will give start-ups, SMEs, researchers and healthcare innovators access to specialized logistics capabilities at LSI’s incubator and conduct workshops and training programs covering international trade, supply chain management and cross-border regulatory requirements. By bringing logistics expertise closer to where innovation takes place, DHL aims to help emerging healthcare businesses scale more effectively and navigate global supply chains.

Together with Changi Airport Group (CAG), DHL Global Forwarding is enhancing healthcare trade lanes across Asia Pacific to support the safe and reliable movement of pharmaceuticals, vaccines and other temperature-sensitive products through Singapore. By combining Changi Airport’s extensive global connectivity and airside access with DHL’s global healthcare logistics expertise, dedicated cold-chain capabilities, and expanding Health Logistics network, the Singapore Coldchain Hub collaboration aims to give customers greater consistency, visibility, and confidence across their supply chains.

Collectively, these investments position Singapore as an increasingly important gateway for healthcare and life sciences supply chains in Asia Pacific. Leveraging its specialized infrastructure, skilled teams and strong industry partnerships, DHL is helping customers navigate growing supply chain complexity while maintaining the integrity of critical healthcare products.

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