AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for April 8, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Family First

New Zealand First has proposed a Definitions of Woman and Man Amendment Bill, a Private Member’s Bill drawn for debate in April 2026, aimed at formally defining “woman” as “an adult human biological female” and “man” as “an adult human biological male” within the Legislation Act 2019. Now we find out once and for all whether MPs can define Truth and biology – or whether they’re wokesters captured by ideology and fear.

Independent polling commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research last May (2025) found majority support for a Member’s Bill that would ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law according to biology.

The Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill will provide clarity and consistency in New Zealand law by defining “woman” as “an adult human biological female” and “man” as “an adult human biological male” in the Legislation Act 2019.

It will soon have its 1st reading.

52% of respondents said they support the proposed law and only 29% oppose it. (A further 19% were unsure).

Women net support was +4% with a further 27% unsure, but men were strongly in favour with net support +42%. Net support by age is +19% for under 40s, +22% for 40-59 year olds, and +26% for over 60s.

In terms of party vote, ACT voters were most supportive (72%) followed by NZ First (68%) and National (64%). Undecided voters were 54% in favour. Labour were 35% for and 44% against, Greens -15% net support and TPM -13%.

Family First have a history of advocating on the need to ensure the biological definition of a woman and man are defined in law according to biology…

“What is a woman?” 23,500+ Petition Presented to Parliament

A Family First petition calling for ‘woman’ to be defined as ‘an adult human female’ in all our laws, public policies and regulations and signed by more than 23,500 people was presented to Parliament in August 2024. It was received by then Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of NZ First Winston Peters and NZ First MP Tanya Unkovich.

Government Doesn’t Want To Define Woman

familyfirst.org.nz/government-doesnt-want-to-define-woman/

The Government’s response to a 23,532-strong petition asking for ‘woman’ to be clearly defined in all laws, public policies and regulations has been issued, and is being labelled as weak, confused, and shows both a clear lack of understanding around what a woman is and any desire to protect women in society.

“The sad irony is that the Minister for Women in her response refused to define what a woman is.  Alongside this, she is also clearly indicating the irrelevancy of her role because she will not actually stand up for the recognition and protection of women” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First.

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

The prime minister is reluctant to say whether there will be any further support for New Zealanders during the fuel crisis, but believes New Zealanders will “understand.”

Ministers will meet with major businesses later in the week to get their perspectives on what may be required, should fuel supply become disrupted further.

The government has so far temporarily boosted the in-work tax credit to $50 a week for around 143,000 lower-income families, while also expanding eligibility to a further 14,000 families, to receive the credit at a reduced rate.

It has also temporarily increased mileage rates by 30 percent for home and community support workers.

Over the last few weeks, the government has repeated that any support would be “timely, temporary, and targeted”.

On Monday, Christopher Luxon would not commit to expanding support, saying while it “will look” for support for those that are “most vulnerable,” the government could not afford to do “everything for everyone,” and that most New Zealanders would understand.

“We cannot alleviate the pressure for everybody, but we do have a framework around timely, targeted, temporary support, which I think most New Zealanders would understand and appreciate. And they also appreciate and understand that we have a job to do to protect their long-term interests and that of the economy too.”

Luxon said the support offered so far was about protecting the the most vulnerable, without driving up inflation.

“I have to protect the long-term future of New Zealanders as well, and actually making sure that we actually aren’t running up inflation and interest rates.”

The government is unlikely to take measures similar to Australia, and cut the fuel excise tax or road user charges for heavy vehicles.

While saying diesel was the “lifeblood” of the economy, and sectors like farming and construction relied on it, Luxon stopped short of saying whether there would be any support, but pointed to meetings the government was having and would be having with high diesel users.

“It is understandable that diesel users want relief from rising prices, and we are acutely aware of the pressure that all Kiwis are feeling. But seeking to alleviate that pressure for everyone would be unaffordable and irresponsible.”

One thing the government is likely to do is abandon plans to raise the fuel excise tax. A 12 cent increase is due to come in January, but the transport minister, finance minister, and prime minister are signalling it will be postponed, or dropped altogether.

Luxon said while legislation would need to be passed, Cabinet had not made a decision.

“We recognise that there’s going to be elevated fuel prices for some time, and it just seems like stalling that or deferring that will be probably the wisest course of action,” he said, while acknowledging a deferral would cause challenges to the National Land Transport Fund.

“If there is a fall-off in revenue that’s being raised, the reality is we have to be straight with New Zealanders and say we might have to make some choices and trade-offs, and I think that’s OK to do that.”

Sectors such as farming, construction, and aviation have been warning of the impacts of the fuel crisis on their businesses.

Asked whether there would be support for businesses affected by the crisis, particularly any that were facing going under, Luxon said many businesses and households were doing it tough, but the government would not be spraying around money “in a cash bazooka.”

Ministers to meet with major businesses this week

Luxon said there had already been lots of industry engagement, and there would be more over the coming week.

The government had been talking to the aviation sector over jet fuel, as well as high diesel users, and the finance minister has spoken to banking chief executives with an expectation they “stand by” companies that may be high consumers of diesel in the short term.

Ministers would also be talking to the Major Companies Group (MCG), which RNZ understands will happen on Thursday.

The Major Companies Group is an advocacy group, under the BusinessNZ umbrella.

It represents over 170 companies, including the likes of Spark, Foodstuffs, Vector, Zespri, and Fonterra, as well as ports, airports, construction firms, fuel companies, and major banks and insurance companies.

“We don’t want to repeat the mistake where we happen to industry. We want to work with industry, because in many ways we see them being quite critical for actually solving some of the challenges we may incur should we get a fuel disruption in the future,” Luxon said.

“It’s just about making sure that we all have a common understanding of what’s required. We know it’s incredibly difficult, particularly for our diesel users, in particular. That means that many of them, frankly, are having to put fuel surcharges in place and pass those costs on to their customers.”

BusinessNZ’s chief executive Katherine Rich said the “situation update” between ministers and the MCG would provide an opportunity to ask questions and share direct business perspectives.

Rich said businesses wanted to see a level playing field when it came to timely and accurate information from the government.

“It has been positive to see early planning, strong consultation with relevant firms, clear phases, and a continued reliance on market settings and supply chain expertise before intervention. That discipline matters, particularly for business continuity and economic stability,” she said.

BusinessNZ’s fuel company members were working closely with suppliers, and Rich said they currently did not see it as a supply problem, but a price issue.

“Many have been reluctant to pass on higher costs in the short term, in the expectation that the situation may stabilise,” she said.

Under Phase Three of the government’s National Fuel Plan, critical transport services like road freight for supermarket and grocery supply chains sit in Band B of the priority bands.

Phases Three and Four are still under consultation, with the finance minister on Monday saying she would make further announcements in the next few weeks.

Rich suggested the fuel plan would be strengthened further if the food and grocery sector was elevated to the ‘life-supporting’ Band A, recognising its “critical role in maintaining continuity of supply for households.”

BusinessNZ’s director of advocacy Catherine Beard has also been seconded into the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment’s response team, which Rich said would “contribute real-time business insight and supply chain expertise” to ensure operational realities were well understood as decisions were made.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A former government statistician is sounding alarms about our ditching of the five-yearly census, saying we risk losing a rich seam of information.

It’s getting harder and harder to nail down the numbers when it comes to collecting statistics.

People are increasingly wary of filling out surveys, data is becoming politicised and the results are becoming harder to follow.

In the last several weeks, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has struggled to produce accurate figures on fuel shipments; the health ministry has had to sort out confusion over Covid death figures; and the chief holder of information, Stats NZ, has bungled the food price index.

“We certainly endeavour to make no mistakes,” says the Government Statistician, Colin Lynch.

“That’s the ambition – everything’s 100 percent correct – and you need to put that in context of 270-plus releases every year and hundreds of thousands of series.

“But for the food price index, we did get it wrong. I did what I think was right which was to be transparent about it. And it didn’t have any impact, nor would it have had any impact on the CPI or GDP or any other macro-indicators. I have a review underway so that we do completely understand what happened … and we actively learn [from] the error and what underlying causes we might need to change in our systems to make sure we don’t repeat that mistake.”

He says trust is at the centre of everything they do, and he’s very focused on it.

Lynch denies the department’s seven percent budget cut has affected the quality of information gathering or public distribution of statistics.

“We’re unapologetically focused on delivering value for money for New Zealanders,” he says.

While the head count has reduced in recent years (media estimates suggest by about 300 people) he’s confident they have the right people in the right roles in the right places.

Former government statistician Len Cook says Stats NZ’s website is “almost impenetrable for an ordinary person to use” and Lynch replies to that by saying it’s being rebuilt.

He says the world is increasingly complex and increasingly AI-led.

“My focus is ensuring New Zealanders and others can get access to that information in that world. So with that in mind we are rebuilding our website because what we’ve discovered, I’m sure like many others, is that more and more people are consuming our data through AI search or AI-related tools. We’re seeing less individual visitors to our website because we know that AI’s the main source of information, with AI searches.

“We will have a new website by early next year and we’re also looking that all our data tools that are on that website are up-to-date and AI-enabled.

“People will still be able to visit the website and get what they want directly, but we also need to make sure that when people put a search for GDP in AI they get high quality Statistics New Zealand official statistics.”

There’s a huge change coming with the way we collect those statistics – the traditional five-yearly, knock-on-every-door census is going. There’s an amendment bill going through Parliament now (it’s passed its first reading) that would get rid of it in favour of an administrative data-first approach.

Stats NZ has done a Regulatory Impact Statement on the change, including warnings that it would mean some reductions in data accuracy, detail and coverage, especially initially for groups such as disabled people, rainbow communities and small ethnic communities.

But it also points out that there’s growing public resistance to complete census forms, and rising costs – the 2023 census cost about $326 million dollars to carry out.

“What’s changing is the way we collect the census,” says Lynch.

From 2030, yearly surveys of about five percent of the population would be run alongside the collection of data from government departments, such as prison numbers from the Justice Department, welfare figures from WINZ, car registration numbers from NZTA, etc.

Lynch says it will mean richer data available for New Zealanders.

But Len Cook is raising alarm bells about the move, including that no independent expert has been asked for advice.

He’s sent a 10-page list of concerns to MPs and anyone who might be thinking about making a submission on the amendment bill. Among those concerns is that data will be of lower quality and leave gaps – including of society’s ‘invisible’ people, such as caregivers for relatives, new stay-at-home parents, the disabled, religious groups, small communities and Māori.

And he says we’re making the change in the midst of a population storm, when, for example, there’s a huge outflow of young New Zealanders. This has repercussions for the projected tax take, housing planning, education and much more. Cook worries that there will be turmoil if decisions are driven by political instincts rather than sound statistics.

New Zealand isn’t the only country making changes around the census but Cook says in many of them, there’s also been a move towards national ID cards to keep track of the population – something that New Zealanders aren’t keen on.

Also on today’s podcast we speak to two journalists who’ve had head-banging moments when it comes to obtaining official statistics, Newsroom’s Jonathan Milne and The Detail’s own Amanda Gillies.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Minister for Social Investment says her “enduring expectation” is that all government agencies comply with relevant procurement rules and policies.

It comes after RNZ revealed the Social Investment Agency (SIA) was commissioning an independent external review of its procurement practices for contracts over $100,000.

The announcement followed the resignation of the Agency’s Deputy Chief Executive Kylie Reiri in February while under investigation in relation to allegations of bullying and harassment.

It also followed the resignation of former SIA chief executive Andrew Coster who quit in December following a scathing Independent Police Conduct Authority report.

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

In response to questions from RNZ, a spokesperson for the Minister of Social Investment Nicola Willis said she had been advised by the SIA that it had made an “operational decision” to review its procurement practices.

“It is the Minister’s enduring expectation that all government agencies comply with relevant procurement rules and policies.

“The Minister can’t offer a view on the potential findings of this review as it is ongoing. She expects she will be briefed on any findings once the review has been completed.”

The review

The SIA confirmed to RNZ as part of an Official Information Act request on Thursday that they had commissioned an independent external review of its procurement practices for contracts valued over $100,000.

“The review is intended to provide assurance that procurement activity complies with the Government Rules of Sourcing and is appropriate for the scale and complexity of the agency’s work. This review is ongoing.

“While the review is underway, SIA continues to apply contract and work management practices to ensure that procurements support delivery of the agency’s work programme and provide value for money.

“This includes ongoing oversight of supplier performance and alignment of contracted work to evolving agency priorities.”

As the review had not been completed, SIA was not in a position to confirm whether any procurement activity breached the Government Rules of Sourcing, required an exception to those rules, or whether proper procurement processes were followed in all cases during the period in question.

RNZ also asked for a copy of all briefings, correspondence and reports in relation to investigations into Reiri.

“SIA has identified 63 documents within scope of your request. These documents relate to employment‑related processes and the internal consideration of allegations, including terms of reference, correspondence, and one email relating to alleged financial and procurement matters.

“The documents concern sensitive employment and internal matters and contain personal information. It is necessary for SIA to be able to manage employment issues and assess allegations effectively, including by enabling staff and other parties to communicate freely and candidly in the course of such processes.”

SIA provided a table setting out all contracts with a value of over $100,000 that were initiated or maintained during the relevant period.

“Ten of these contracts related to work within the scope of the Deputy Chief Executive – Strategy and Performance and/or the Deputy Chief Executive – Technology, Transformation and Enabling Services roles.

“While this includes all contracts within those functional areas, not all of the contracts listed involved work commissioned or directed by the former Deputy Chief Executive.”

The OIA said that while Reiri held “certain budget delegations”, responsibility for budgets “ultimately rested with the former Chief Executive”.

Lawyers acting for Reiri earlier told RNZ in response to questions that she was not aware of any allegations relating to financial and procurement irregularities concerning herself or any other person.

“To the extent there are any allegations of this nature, these are false and denied.”

In an earlier OIA released to RNZ, the SIA confirmed there had been two employment investigations over the last 12 months.

“I am also able to confirm that there has been one investigation in response to four formal reports of bullying and harassment. In the interest of privacy, we cannot provide a breakdown as to what each allegation was concerning.”

RNZ understands the investigation, which is ongoing, relates to Reiri.

“As a responsible employer, SIA takes these matters seriously and all complaints are investigated and followed through to the end. We have robust policies and procedures to manage disclosure of any allegations including protected disclosures (speak safe) and bullying and harassment policies, which provide informal and formal options for staff to raise concerns of serious wrongdoing and bullying and harassment.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A government funding loan of 18 million dollars for a controversial dam in Central Hawke’s Bay has its opponents vowing to halt the project yet again.

The Tukituiki Water Security Project, formerly known as the Ruataniwha Dam, was scuppered in 2017 by the Supreme Court, when it deemed a land swap unlawful.

But under the government’s fast track legislation it could go ahead, which would make it the largest dam built since the Clyde was constructed over 30 years ago.

The Associate Minister for Regional Development, Mark Patterson, visited a Central Hawke’s Bay orchard on Tuesday to announce new funding for the project.

“Giving you the fiscal firepower, giving you the tools with the fast-track legislation to blow through the barriers we’ve seen in the past with this project.

“Hawke’s Bay – the ball is now in your court,” he told the crowd of local leaders, farmers and growers.

Tukituki Water Security Project chair Mike Petersen is thrilled. He said by 2040 the region could be 25 million cubic metres short of water.

“This is a region that is running out of water and we shouldn’t sugarcoat it. It’s desperately needed – we know we have to our water efficiency measures.. recycling.. and all the other tools at our disposal to make sure we do have wise water use.

“But we also need to make sure we capture some of that water that is flowing out to sea in peak flow periods and utilise it smartly,” he said.

That’s what Craigmore Sustainables is planning to do; it’s invested in the dam’s feasibility study.

Viticulture business manager Emma Taylor told RNZ its large apple and grape growing operation needs water security because its water consent expires in nine years with no certainty of it being renewed.

“So this development here cost $19 million to put in place. The land was purchased in 1999 and the development finished last year. That’s a lot of investment and with no security past 2035 that’s actually quite a lot of risk,” she said.

However, not everyone is welcoming the dam funding. Opponents Wise Water Use have been campaigning against it for years.

Spokesperson Trevor Le Lievre is gobsmacked.

“We down in Central Hawke’s Bay haven’t even got bridges repaired from Cyclone Gabrielle and yet this government are prepared to pour another $18 million into this zombie project – they’ve really misread the room on this,” said Le Lievre.

But the minister disagrees, and isn’t expecting any criticism over the spending.

“Hawke’s Bay is prone to dry… there’s huge potential here with 22,000 hectares potentially being brought into much higher value land uses.

“This is a wise investment. This is not spending, this is investment,” said Patterson.

“We’ll stop it again”

Greenpeace is also outraged, saying it is ‘Government-subsidised environmental destruction’.

“Luxon has just given millions of dollars in taxpayer money to an illegal dirty dairy dam which will flood precious conservation land.

“The Government is funding this ‘zombie project’ before it’s even got permission to proceed under the fast-track. But we’ve stopped this dam before, and we’ll stop it again,” said freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe.

Although none of this is deterring Mike Petersen.

“We understand everyone has a view, and everyone should have a view. We are perfectly happy to sit down and have a discussion about that,” he said.

Petersen said he’e been talking to young people in the region who are planning for their futures.

“They’re all saying to me – ‘this thing needs to happen’.

“We need to make sure this region is future proofed, and water security has to be at the heart of that,” said Petersen.

Local mayor Will Foley told RNZ it is good news for the regional economy – especially with high fuel prices and the closure of McCain’s vegetable processing plant.

“I see it as giving us some certainty – that’s what we’ve been lacking particularly in the past month. We’ve obviously had some things go against us, and I think as a district and region we just need some certainty going forward,” he said.

Until the feasibility study is completed at the end of the year, there is no detail on what the dam will cost and how it will be funded. If it does proceed then water could be available from 2037.

Wise Water Use is worried the build cost of the dam will blow out, and hit taxpayers and ratepayers in the pocket.

“Just look at the Waimea dam, which blew its budget by almost threefold from a budgeted $78 million to $211 million.

“The company wanting to build Ruataniwha has hired the same CE, Mike Scott, to oversee their project. It now looks like Waimea was a dress rehearsal for Ruataniwha,” said Le Lievre.

With the new $18m loan from the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund, the next phase of work will include detailed engineering and design, financing and commercial work, with a final investment decision expected in 2028.

Petersen said he is under no illusion about the significance of the project proposal, and while water storage is not new to New Zealand, it is new to Hawke’s Bay.

“This will be a game changer for our region, improving water security and the environment, supporting livelihoods, creating jobs and acting as a catalyst for long-term prosperity in Hawke’s Bay.

“With that much at stake, we are committed to doing this work carefully, honestly, and in partnership,” he said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government’s new newest ministers have been sworn in at Government House in Wellington.

Both first term National MPs, Cameron Brewer and Mike Butterick were made ministers outside of Cabinet.

Brewer, the MP for Upper Harbour, has been made minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs and minister for Small Business and Manufacturing, as well as an associate Immigration minister.

He was most recently chairing the Finance and Expenditure committee, sometimes seen as a proving ground for potential future ministers.

This term, he had also been a member of the Justice committee, and the deputy chair of the Governance and Administration committee.

Butterick, meanwhile, has become minister for Land Information and associate Agriculture.

The Wairarapa MP spent some time as deputy chair of the Environment committee, was a member of the Education committee, and was most recently a member of the Primary Production committee.

Brewer and Butterick’s move into the Executive was part of last week’s reshuffle, which was prompted by the retirements of Judith Collins and Dr Shane Reti.

With Chris Penk and Penny Simmonds moving into Cabinet, it opened up two spots for ministers outside Cabinet.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government is lending $18 million to a controversial dam project in Central Hawke’s Bay.

The Tukituki Water Security Project, formerly the Ruataniwha Dam, is currently undergoing a $6.8m pre-construction feasibility study funded by businesses, water uses and the government.

The new $18 million loan is from the government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund, and will be spent on the next phase of work running through to 2027.

It includes detailed engineering and design, and financing and commercial work with a final investment decision expected in 2028.

The proposed project would see a dam built on the Makaroro River, a tributary of the Tukituki River, and the flooding of 22 hectares of conservation land. The dam would be about 83m high in the Makaroro River and create a reservoir of approximately 93 million cubic metres, about seven kilometres long, and with a surface area of approximately 372 hectares.

The Ruataniwha plan was scuppered in 2017 by the Supreme Court, when it deemed a land swap unlawful.

But that could be overridden by the government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill.

Opponents of the dam launched a campaign in 2025 to stop the project, calling the rebranded project “the same pig, but with lipstick on”.

Tukituki Water Security Project chair Mike Petersen previously told RNZ the cost of the new project would not be known until a feasibility study was carried out.

A 2016 Regional Council report indicated the construction cost of the Ruataniwha dam could be $333m, with possible investment cost to farmers an additional $556m* taking it to more than $900m.

Associate Minister for Regional Development Mark Patterson is announcing the new funding loan in Central Hawke’s Bay this morning.

Petersen said the case for water storage in Hawke’s Bay was both urgent and well-evidenced.

“This announcement moves us from asking whether this project is feasible, to answering whether it is viable,” he said.

Petersen noted that the Hawke’s Bay Regional Water Assessment report found that even with significant improvements in water use, efficiency and conservation, by 2040 the region could experience a shortfall between demand and supply of freshwater of nearly 25 million cubic metres.

“Water storage is not a silver bullet when it comes to solving water security, however it must be part of the solution alongside other water efficiency measures. Without improved resilience, our environment, our communities and our economy will all suffer,” he said.

The group plans to lodge its Fast Track application mid-2026, which will include a land exchange with the Department of Conservation, which Petersen said will “both enlarge the area of conservation land and improve ecological values”.

The reservoir would release about 20 million cubic metres with an irrigation footprint of approximately 20,000 to 30,000 hectares.

New NZIER modelling shows the project could increase annual regional GDP by up to $693 million, and up to $452 million a year in additional household spending across the region.

Petersen said it was estimated the dam project will support 200 to 300 jobs during construction, and more than 1800 new permanent jobs once operational.

*The project was slated to get water to the farm gate, with farmers needing to invest in installing additional infrastructure.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government is lending $18 million to a controversial dam project in Central Hawke’s Bay.

The Tukituki Water Security Project, formerly the Ruataniwha Dam, is currently undergoing a $6.8m pre-construction feasibility study funded by businesses, water uses and the government.

The new $18 million loan is from the government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund, and will be spent on the next phase of work running through to 2027.

It includes detailed engineering and design, and financing and commercial work with a final investment decision expected in 2028.

The proposed project would see a dam built on the Makaroro River, a tributary of the Tukituki River, and the flooding of 22 hectares of conservation land. The dam would be about 83m high in the Makaroro River and create a reservoir of approximately 93 million cubic metres, about seven kilometres long, and with a surface area of approximately 372 hectares.

The Ruataniwha plan was scuppered in 2017 by the Supreme Court, when it deemed a land swap unlawful.

But that could be overridden by the government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill.

Opponents of the dam launched a campaign in 2025 to stop the project, calling the rebranded project “the same pig, but with lipstick on”.

Tukituki Water Security Project chair Mike Petersen previously told RNZ the cost of the new project would not be known until a feasibility study was carried out.

A 2016 Regional Council report indicated the construction cost of the Ruataniwha dam could be $333m, with possible investment cost to farmers an additional $556m* taking it to more than $900m.

Associate Minister for Regional Development Mark Patterson is announcing the new funding loan in Central Hawke’s Bay this morning.

Petersen said the case for water storage in Hawke’s Bay was both urgent and well-evidenced.

“This announcement moves us from asking whether this project is feasible, to answering whether it is viable,” he said.

Petersen noted that the Hawke’s Bay Regional Water Assessment report found that even with significant improvements in water use, efficiency and conservation, by 2040 the region could experience a shortfall between demand and supply of freshwater of nearly 25 million cubic metres.

“Water storage is not a silver bullet when it comes to solving water security, however it must be part of the solution alongside other water efficiency measures. Without improved resilience, our environment, our communities and our economy will all suffer,” he said.

The group plans to lodge its Fast Track application mid-2026, which will include a land exchange with the Department of Conservation, which Petersen said will “both enlarge the area of conservation land and improve ecological values”.

The reservoir would release about 20 million cubic metres with an irrigation footprint of approximately 20,000 to 30,000 hectares.

New NZIER modelling shows the project could increase annual regional GDP by up to $693 million, and up to $452 million a year in additional household spending across the region.

Petersen said it was estimated the dam project will support 200 to 300 jobs during construction, and more than 1800 new permanent jobs once operational.

*The project was slated to get water to the farm gate, with farmers needing to invest in installing additional infrastructure.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

‘Deeply regrettable’

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Schools that use diesel for heating are locking up their fuel tanks and preparing for big bills when they return from the April holidays.

They were expecting the Education Ministry would help cover the extra cost if the fuel crisis kept prices high, but no details had been confirmed or made public.

Meanwhile, some schools reported teachers and parents car-pooling to keep costs down.

At the South Island’s biggest secondary school, Burnside High, the principal, Scott Haines, said most of the school was heated by diesel boilers and the price of diesel would have a direct but manageable effect on the school’s budget.

“We burnt 77,000 litres of diesel last year at Burnside High School to heat the campus. So the quantum is large,” he said.

Haines said Burnside last year spent $108,900 on diesel and one of the first steps the school took in response to the fuel crisis was to improve security around its 10,000-litre diesel tank.

“Now it’s locked in a cage with external lighting and CCTV infrastructure on it,” he said.

Haines said Burnside purchased diesel through an all-of-government contract so the price was relatively good and the Education Ministry was working on a fuel-support allowance for schools with diesel boilers.

“Anything they can give us there will help offset the additional payments the school’s making but beyond that, frankly, it’s just a cost of doing business, isn’t it?” he said.

“It simply means that our heat, light, water component, that budget line is going to blow out pretty handsomely. But in the scheme of things, in terms of the wider school budget … it’s not a huge figure.”

Haines said fuel prices did not appear to be affecting student attendance but there appeared to be more bicycles in the school’s bike-stands and some teachers were car-pooling.

At another Christchurch school, Addington Te Kura Taumata, principal Donna Bilas said about half the school relied on a diesel boiler for heating.

Bilas said it normally cost $2500-3000 to fill the school’s diesel tank and she expected that bill would be a lot higher this year.

“Normally our diesel use, we do two to maybe three fills in the winter months so we’re looking at being well over budget in terms of what we get from the ministry for heating, lighting, and water,” she said.

Bilas said the school already had a full tank of diesel, but if prices remained high it would have to cut back on other parts of its property spending to cover the increased cost.

However, she said the ministry was collecting information from schools about last year’s spending on diesel and she hoped that was a strong indication it would provide some funding support.

Bilas said the school had not noticed any effects of the fuel crisis, but it was considering allowing teachers to stay home if they had release time and had taken stock of the number of pupils who were driven to school.

Oropi School principal and president of the Rural Schools Association, Andrew King, said schools in rural areas were probably seeing more impact from the fuel crisis than urban schools.

He said teachers were car-pooling as were parents who were not confident about putting their five-year-olds on school bus services.

“The parents like to bring them to school and don’t have them on the bus straight away until they’re a bit older and so we’re seeing families come together to look at carpooling instead of one family driving up the road,” he said.

King said schools were providing the ministry with examples of increased costs due to the fuel crisis and hoped it would result in financial help.

“Hopefully down the track there might be some relief and support for schools so that they don’t need to cut back,” he said.

“Rural schools are always already cutting back on many things because of additional costs.”

Education Minister Erica Stanford said the government was still taking stock of the situation and planning for each phase of its fuel response plan.

“All schools are being contacted so that we can understand their needs and provide timely, targeted, temporary support. We are also exploring potential scenarios and a range of options, should the need arise,” she said.

The Education Ministry said a small number of schools used diesel boilers.

It said the information gathered from schools would inform its planning and decision-making.

“Any support provided will be considered carefully to make sure it is tailored, targeted, and responsive to circumstances on the ground, with the ability to adjust our response as circumstances change,” it said.

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