Source: Liggins Institute, University of Auckland (UoA)

The Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland has launched a $25 million fundraising campaign to accelerate a new generation of health breakthroughs, building on 25 years of research that has transformed the lives of millions of babies and families worldwide.

‘In our hands: A healthy start for a healthy life’ will support six ambitious ‘moonshots’: ensuring healthy beginnings for every family; delivering personalised nutrition for babies born too soon; giving every child a path to treatment; developing new “living medicines”; nurturing tomorrow’s clinician‑scientists; and building the digital future of healthcare.

The campaign launches with $12 million already committed by philanthropic supporters.

Liggins Institute director Professor Justin O’Sullivan says the campaign builds on a legacy of scientists, clinicians, patients, families, communities and donors working together.

Research pioneered by Professor Sir Graham (‘Mont’) Liggins and by researchers at the Institute has saved millions of babies. Landmark achievements include research that led to steroids being given to women at risk of preterm birth, boosting lung development in their babies, and the ‘sugar babies’ study, which showed that oral dextrose gel can reduce the risk of brain damage in newborns with dangerously low blood sugar.

“These and other developments have revolutionised pregnancy and neonatal care,” says O’Sullivan. “But this campaign is about taking discoveries further – from the laboratory to families and into clinical practice. The treatments we develop matter because they can change the course of a person’s life.”

One of the goals focuses on giving every family the best possible start. Each year, one in 13 babies in New Zealand is born prematurely, affecting around 4,500 whānau. The Liggins‑hosted Carosika Collaborative is working with clinicians nationwide to translate scientific discoveries into world‑leading care and reduce preterm birth rates.

For babies born too soon, the Institute aims to deliver personalised nutrition rather than a one‑size‑fits‑all approach. Researchers are developing non‑invasive biomarkers that could allow clinicians to understand in real time how an individual baby is growing and responding to nutrition. They are also pioneering breast‑milk‑derived cell therapies and investigating whether donor milk retains protective effects after pasteurisation.

Another moonshot aims to give children with genetic and rare diseases a path from diagnosis to treatment. The Institute’s rapid genetic diagnosis programme has achieved success rates of around 70 percent in critically ill children. In one case, identifying a rare mutation directly informed treatment and led to a successful bone‑marrow transplant that cured a child. The ambition now is to move from precision diagnosis to precision treatment, using genomic medicine, artificial intelligence and advanced laboratory science to identify the right therapy as quickly as possible.

The Institute is also developing a new generation of ‘living medicines’ that work with the body’s own biology. Research into the gut microbiome has identified bacteria associated with reduced metabolic syndrome, with researchers now working to develop these strains as probiotic treatments.

Another priority is investing in the people who will deliver future breakthroughs. The Clinical Research Internship Programme introduces medical students to research early in their training, creating a pipeline of clinician‑scientists who can identify important clinical questions and turn them into research.

The final goal looks further ahead, using artificial intelligence and advanced data science to transform healthcare. Researchers are developing AI‑powered digital twins that could allow clinicians to test “what if” scenarios before making real‑world decisions. The first platform will create a digital twin of Starship Children’s Hospital, allowing emergency teams to simulate crises such as earthquakes, pandemics and mass‑casualty events. Researchers are also exploring digital twins of children that combine physiological monitoring, AI and computational modelling to predict illness and guide personalised treatment.

O’Sullivan says the goals are deliberately ambitious.

“We have the opportunity to do something remarkable – to change what is possible for a premature baby, for a child waiting for a diagnosis or treatment, for a family wondering what the future holds, and ultimately, for generations of New Zealanders yet to be born.”

Philanthropic support will help researchers pursue high‑risk, high‑reward ideas, respond rapidly to emerging health challenges, generate evidence needed to secure major funding and translate discoveries into better care, he says.

For further information visit: Liggins Institute

RESEARCH GOALS IN A NUTSHELL

The campaign will drive six major ‘moonshots’ over the next quarter‑century:

• Healthy beginnings: reducing New Zealand’s preterm birth rate through nationwide clinical collaboration and research into climate‑related pregnancy risks.
• Personalised nutrition: developing real‑time biomarkers and breast milk‑derived therapies for babies born too soon.
• Pathways to treatment: expanding rapid genetic diagnosis and moving toward precision therapies for children with rare and complex diseases.
• Living medicines: advancing microbiome‑based treatments targeting metabolic disease.
• Clinician‑scientists: growing a pipeline of medical students trained to turn clinical problems into research breakthroughs.
• Digital healthcare: building AI‑powered digital twins of hospitals and children to simulate crises, predict illness and guide personalised care.

MIL OSI

Source: World Literacy Foundation

8 September | International Literacy Day

AUSTRALIA — 4 September 2026

International Literacy Day should be a celebration of progress. However, for millions of children worldwide, it serves as a painful reminder of the ongoing literacy challenges that threaten their futures. This year marks 60 years since UNESCO established this day, and the theme for 2026 is “Literacy for People, the Planet, and Prosperity.”

The World Literacy Foundation is urging governments, organisations, and individuals to acknowledge literacy as one of the most pressing social and economic challenges confronting communities worldwide.

Australia is not exempt from the global literacy crisis. This year’s NAPLAN results showed a decline in reading scores for students in Years 5, 7, and 9, while the gap in performance based on location remains largely unchanged. Approximately 70 per cent of students in major city schools meet or exceed the expected reading standard, in stark contrast to only 23 per cent of students in very remote schools.

“Literacy is not simply about learning to read; it is about unlocking opportunities, reducing poverty, and enabling children to reach their full potential. Yet millions of young people still lack access to books and literacy support,” World Literacy Foundation CEO Andrew Kay stated.

Research consistently highlights the extensive consequences of low literacy, which contribute to unemployment, diminished workforce participation, lower productivity, and heightened social disadvantage.

Among the key concerns:

• The 2026 NAPLAN results revealed a decline in reading scores for students in Years 5, 7, and 9, with approximately one in ten Australian students requiring additional support (ACARA).
• Around 70 per cent of students in major city schools in Australia read at or above the expected standard, compared to just 23 per cent in very remote schools (ACARA, NAPLAN 2026).
• Globally, 739 million adults are unable to read or write (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
• In low- and middle-income countries, 70 per cent of 10-year-olds cannot read and comprehend a simple written text, an increase from 57 per cent before the pandemic (World Bank, UNESCO, and UNICEF).
• As a result, today’s students are projected to lose a combined total of $21 trillion in lifetime earnings, which is equivalent to 17 per cent of global GDP (World Bank, UNESCO, and UNICEF).

To commemorate the occasion, the World Literacy Foundation has launched the initiative “One Book at a Time”, encouraging people worldwide to donate $10 to provide a book to a child who does not own one.

“Receiving a book of their own can have a life-changing impact for many children,” stated Mr Kay. “A single book can ignite a lifelong passion for reading.”

The Foundation aims to reach 500,000 children who currently do not have any books, allowing donors to select the region to which their books will be sent.

Learn more

worldliteracyfoundation.org/international-literacy-day

MIL OSI

Source: Kiwibank

3rd September, 2026

New Zealand’s economic recovery is slowly gaining ground, but not fast enough for many households and businesses.

Kiwibank’s latest Regional Score found economic conditions improved modestly across the country in 2026, but many regions remain some way from a meaningful rebound.

South Island economies continue to outperform the North. Queenstown topped the rankings with a 9 out of 10 “feels-like” score, followed by Southland and Otago (7) – while Taranaki (3) and Wellington (3.4) sat near the bottom of the table.

The report shows a persistent divide between the two islands, with the South Island recording an average regional score of 5.1 compared with 4.0 in the North Island.

Kiwibank Chief Economist, Jarrod Kerr, says the figures highlight a recovery that is gaining traction in some regions but remains frustratingly slow for many New Zealanders.

“The economy is improving, but it’s doing so at different speeds across the country. Tourism-heavy and agricultural regions in the South Island are leading the way, while many households and businesses in the North are still feeling the pressure of weak demand, higher costs and economic uncertainty.”

Tourism and agriculture continue to drive stronger performance in the South Island, particularly in Otago, Canterbury and Southland. Queenstown remains a standout performer, supported by strong visitor numbers, low unemployment and ongoing demand in the housing market.

At the same time, many North Island regions continue to face softer business conditions. Auckland’s economy remains subdued, while Wellington businesses report holding back investment decisions amid economic and political uncertainty.

The divergence is particularly evident in labour market data. North Island unemployment averages around 6%, compared with 3.7% across the South Island. Underutilisation, which includes both unemployed and underemployed workers, remains elevated nationally at 13.8%, with Northland recording one of the weakest outcomes.

Kerr says, “The labour market tells the story clearly. Many households are finding it difficult not just to secure work, but to secure enough hours and income. That’s especially true in parts of the North Island.”

Property markets also reflect the regional split. While national house prices have largely moved sideways over the past three years, Otago and Southland have outperformed. House prices in Auckland and Wellington remain well below their post-pandemic peaks.

Despite the subdued conditions, Kiwibank expects the recovery to strengthen through 2027. Lower interest rates, improving agricultural incomes and another strong tourism season are expected to support economic activity, particularly across regional New Zealand.

“The good news is that the foundations for stronger growth are in place and the direction of travel is positive. Tourism is rebounding, commodity prices remain supportive and lower borrowing costs should help lift activity over the coming year.

“While the recovery remains uneven, we expect economic momentum to strengthen and become more widely felt across New Zealand through 2027,” Kerr concludes.

Key findings

• Queenstown ranked as New Zealand’s strongest performer in 2026 with a “feels-like” score of 9 out of 10.
• Southland and Otago ranked second with a “feels-like” score of 7.
• Wellington (3.4) and Taranaki (3) were among the weakest-performing regions.
• The South Island’s average regional score was 5.1, compared with 4.0 in the North Island.
• North Island unemployment averaged 6%, compared with 3.7% in the South Island.
• National underutilisation remains elevated at 13.8%.
• Tourism, agriculture and manufacturing are outperforming, while construction, retail and discretionary services remain under pressure.

About Kiwibank’s Regional Score

Kiwibank’s Regional Score combines seven economic indicators across 13 regions, including population growth, retail sales, employment, unemployment, house prices, house sales and building consents. Scores are presented on a scale of 1 to 10. Scores for 2026 are based on an updated methodology and are not directly comparable with previous years.

MIL OSI

Source: University of Auckland (UoA)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2026

The Covid-19 vaccine could transform cancer treatment and significantly increase patient survival rates, says University of Auckland Professor John Fraser.

US scientists published a groundbreaking paper last year, showing patients with lung cancer or melanoma were almost twice as likely to survive for three years when they had the Covid mRNA vaccine within 100 days of taking cancer drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Now Fraser is testing whether that study is borne out in a New Zealand context.

He has just launched research looking at outcomes for melanoma patients who received immune checkpoint inhibitors and had the Covid vaccine between August 2021 and March 2022. During this period of the pandemic, 95 percent of New Zealanders received the Covid mRNA vaccine.

“There was such intense controversy around the Covid vaccine, despite it being highly effective, so it would be wonderful if something good could come out of that difficult period,” says Fraser.

Public funding has been available since 2016 for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) drugs for patients with metastatic and advanced melanoma in New Zealand.

Anonymised data about melanoma patients who received ICI but did not get the Covid vaccine will be compared with data for patients who received both. Results from the study are expected by the end of July next year.

ICI drugs work by activating the body’s immune system to fight cancer, while mRNA in vaccines guides cells to make proteins that trigger an immune response against disease.

Fraser, who specialises in immunology, says the mRNA molecules in the Covid vaccine are believed to sensitise the patient’s immune system, so it can better recognise tumours.

“I’m excited because the Covid vaccine wasn’t meant for treating cancer, it was meant for providing protection against the Covid virus.

“I’m interested in whether you can improve cancer survival even more by designing a different type of mRNA vaccine.

“Increasing the effectiveness might be as simple as administering the vaccine closer to the tumour, rather than in the arm muscle,” he says.

As soon as funding can be found, Fraser and his team plan to launch a clinical trial for people with lung cancer, testing a combination of the Covid mRNA vaccine and ICI drugs.

Māori have a 30 percent higher death rate from lung cancer than other New Zealanders, so they will have an important role in the trial, he says.

Currently, ICI only helps about 30 percent of patients with lung cancer or melanoma to survive for three years or more with no progression of their cancer.

If the clinical trial proves the vaccine improves survival rates for lung cancer patients, it could then be used to help people with other types of cancer, says Fraser.

“There’s new evidence emerging that mRNA helps the immune system fight many types of cancer, including cancers that wouldn’t usually be susceptible to immune checkpoint inhibitors.”

Fraser played a key role in establishing the New Zealand RNA Development Platform, because of the promise that harnessing RNA – or messenger ribonucleic acid – holds for developing new treatments for a range of health problems.

He is currently science advisor for the platform and is developing an mRNA vaccine against staphylococcus.

His interest in cancer immunotherapy stretches back to his postdoctoral research on T-cells in the 1980s at Harvard University. There he met Jim Allison, who was working in the same field and went on to win a Nobel Prize for discovering a new way to treat cancer – immune checkpoint inhibitors.

In 2015, Li Liangren Family Trust donated $10 million for cancer research at the University, and this fund provided $60,000 for Fraser’s study.

The research team includes Dr Laird Cameron, Dr Daisy Mak and Dr Gareth Rivalland from the University’s Department of Cancer Sciences, and University General Practice and Primary Healthcare researchers Dr Janine Paynter and Dr David Broderick.

MIL OSI

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

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

Source: Morningstar DBRS

August 23, 2026

DBRS, Inc. (Morningstar DBRS) confirmed New Zealand’s Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency – Issuer Ratings at AAA. At the same time, Morningstar DBRS confirmed New Zealand’s Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency – Issuer Ratings at R-1 (high). The trend on all credit ratings is Stable.

KEY CREDIT RATING CONSIDERATIONS

New Zealand’s AAA credit ratings are underpinned by the country’s fundamental strengths, including its effective policy frameworks, strong central bank credibility, and robust governing institutions. Although the public debt-to-GDP ratio has risen in recent years amid successive shocks, the debt burden remains moderate relative to other advanced economies. The government is pursuing a gradual fiscal consolidation strategy, and New Zealand benefits from a longstanding cross-party commitment to prudent fiscal management, thereby limiting election-related uncertainty around the consolidation path. New Zealand’s small and open economy is vulnerable to external shocks, but the country’s structural strengths, including a flexible exchange rate, provide substantial buffers.

The Stable trend reflects Morningstar DBRS’ expectation that New Zealand’s fundamental strengths will support an economic recovery over the next few years and that the government will make progress with its fiscal consolidation plan. The economy began to recover last year, supported by strong export commodity prices and accommodative monetary policy. The U.S.-Iran war temporarily dampened growth momentum early this year, as higher energy prices renewed inflationary pressures and weighed on domestic demand. In addition, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s (RBNZ) started to withdraw monetary stimulus, raising the OCR by 25 bps to 2.50% in July. Morningstar DBRS anticipates further hikes to bring inflation back to target, while spare capacity should also help contain underlying price pressures. The IMF expects the recovery to pick up in the second half of this year, with growth of 2.0% in 2026 and 2.7% in 2027, supported by strong primary exports and a recovery in domestic demand as the energy shock fades.

CREDIT RATING DRIVERS The credit ratings could be downgraded due to one or a combination of the following factors: (1) absence of fiscal consolidation over the medium term, or (2) a severe financial or external shock, leading to a prolonged deterioration in growth prospects.

CREDIT RATING RATIONALE

Gradual Fiscal Consolidation Underway, But Further Delays Remain a Risk

New Zealand’s fiscal deficit remains elevated following the pandemic and a period of subdued growth, but the government is pursuing a gradual, expenditure-led fiscal consolidation as the economy recovers. The government’s preferred fiscal measure OBEGALx (the operating balance before gains and losses excluding Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) revenue and expenses) is estimated to have widened to a 2.6% of GDP deficit in FY25-26, from 2.1% in FY24-25. This higher deficit reflects weak cyclical tax revenue, increased benefits and pension payments, and higher debt servicing costs. In general government terms, the IMF projects a fiscal deficit of 3.9% in 2026. Successive economic shocks have delayed the consolidation, but the government is also phasing the adjustment to avoid constraining the economic recovery. The government projects the deficit will modestly narrow to 2.4% in FY26-27, before declining more quickly and shifting to a small surplus in FY28-29. Expenditure restraint is expected to lead the fiscal improvement, with stronger growth and bracket creep also supporting revenues. Nevertheless, the backloaded nature of the adjustment leaves the consolidation path vulnerable to downside risks. Softer near-term growth, rising social spending, and higher borrowing costs could slow fiscal repair, while growing defence and demographic spending pressures may make sustained expenditure restraint increasingly difficult.

Amid higher fiscal deficits, government debt has increased. New Zealand’s general government gross debt-to-GDP ratio rose from 32% in 2019 to 55% in 2025. The IMF projects the debt ratio will peak at 58% in 2027 and 2028 and then marginally decline, reaching 55% in 2030. New Zealand’s debt ratio remains moderate compared to other advanced economies, and the projected downward trajectory would help strengthen the credit profile. Sustaining sufficient fiscal buffers will be important to preserve the government’s capacity to respond to future shocks without materially weakening debt dynamics or fiscal sustainability. The debt profile is also supported by New Zealand’s sizeable Crown assets in the form of state-owned enterprises, the Superannuation Fund, and the ACC’s investment fund. According to the IMF, New Zealand’s net debt ratio stood at 26% of GDP in 2025, one of the lowest among advanced economies. The interest cost-to-GDP ratio also remains low relative to peers, supported by New Zealand’s moderate debt burden and substantial public sector financial assets.

RBNZ Begins Withdrawing Monetary Stimulus Amid Renewed Inflation; Housing Market Remains Subdued

The RBNZ has started to withdraw monetary accommodation in response to renewed inflation pressures. Prior to the U.S.-Iran war, headline inflation was slightly above target, reflecting persistent administered and other non-tradables price pressures. However, higher petrol and diesel prices lifted annual headline inflation to 4.1% in the second quarter, compared with 2.9% excluding fuel. Headline inflation has likely peaked and should ease as the energy shock fades and the pass-through to other prices remains limited. In July, the RBNZ raised the OCR by 25 bps to 2.50% to limit second-round effects. The increase represents a withdrawal of stimulus, rather than a shift to restrictive policy. The RBNZ expects inflation to ease towards the 2% midpoint in mid-2027, with subdued demand and a soft labour market supporting disinflation.

New Zealand’s housing market remains subdued following the sharp post-pandemic correction. House prices surged during the pandemic due to strong demand, fiscal stimulus, and low interest rates, before tighter financing conditions sparked a sizeable correction in 2022 and 2023. House prices have since broadly stabilized and remain about 13% below the 2021 peak (to the fourth quarter of 2025). However, more recently, renewed softness has emerged as the prospect of higher borrowing costs, economic uncertainty, and weaker growth weigh on demand. Increased listings relative to subdued buyer demand are limiting upward price pressure, even as New Zealand continues to face a longer-term housing supply shortage.

Financial stability risks related to the housing market appear contained. Non-performing loans and mortgage arrears have declined from their recent peaks. While mortgage holders have recently refixed at lower rates, the RBNZ expects this trend to reverse, with borrowing refixing at higher rates on average by March 2027 as financial conditions tighten. Relatively short fixed-rate mortgages are prevalent in New Zealand, which accelerate the transmission of interest rate changes to households. Most mortgage borrowers appear well-positioned to manage higher mortgage payments. Even if loan losses were to rise, the banking sector has strong buffers to absorb increases. Banks are well-capitalized, profitable, and liquid, while macroprudential measures help contain riskier mortgage lending. Even under more adverse conditions, New Zealand’s financial system should remain sound, and banks’ robust balance sheets and profitability should continue to support lending to the private sector.

Solid Medium-Term Growth Prospects Despite External Vulnerabilities

New Zealand has a strong record of economic growth, with real GDP expanding by an average pace of 2.8% per year between 1990 and 2019. Structural reforms implemented in the 1980s and early 1990s transformed the Kiwi economy from a highly regulated and protected system into a more open and competitive economy. Rapid growth in China also supported the expansion through strong demand for New Zealand’s commodity exports and services, particularly tourism. Although growth is likely to moderate from the pace recorded over the past 30 years, medium-term growth prospects remain comparatively solid. The IMF estimates potential growth at 2.2%, above most advanced-economy peers. Comparatively weak labour productivity levels, however, continue to constrain the outlook. Additionally, New Zealand’s small, open economy remains vulnerable to external and environmental shocks, including commodity price volatility, tourism downturns, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

New Zealand has run current account deficits for decades, largely due to a negative income and transfer balance. The current account deficit peaked at 9.0% of GDP in 2022 as strong import demand, weak tourism, and deteriorating terms of trade widened the trade deficit. Since then, the current account deficit narrowed, reaching 3.7% of GDP in the first quarter of 2026 (on a rolling 4 quarter basis). The improvement reflects stronger external demand, improved terms of trade, and weak import demand, all of which have helped to bring the trade deficit close to balance. Morningstar DBRS expects the current account deficit to slightly widen this year due to higher energy-related import costs, before narrowing gradually over the medium term. New Zealand’s small and open economy in tandem with its persistent current account deficit makes it vulnerable to external shocks. However, exchange rate flexibility continues to help the Kiwi economy adjust to evolving global conditions. While New Zealand’s net international liability position remains elevated at 43% of GDP (at the end of the first quarter of 2026), it has improved in recent years, and balance sheet risks from currency volatility appear limited. These mitigating factors, together with substantial net errors and omissions in New Zealand’s balance of payments statistics, support Morningstar DBRS’ one-category adjustment to the ‘Balance of Payments’ building block assessment.

Strong Governing Institutions Underpin New Zealand’s AAA Credit Ratings

New Zealand’s robust institutions and stable political environment are fundamental strengths of the sovereign credit profile. New Zealand is a stable, parliamentary democracy with effective governing institutions. The political environment is characterized by strong rule of law, low levels of corruption, and high regulatory quality. For over 80 years, governments have formed around either the Labour or National Party, reflecting the stability of New Zealand’s party system. New Zealand’s proportional voting system commonly results in coalition governments, requiring cooperation among coalition partners to pass legislation.

General elections will be held in early November, with the incumbent centre-right National-led government seeking a second term. The National Party governs in coalition with ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First, holding a combined total of 67 out of 122 seats. Polling for the upcoming election remains tight between the two major parties, leaving support of smaller parties likely pivotal for the next government’s formation. Economic conditions, cost-of-living pressures, and fiscal management remain the key issues shaping the current political landscape.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS

There were no Environmental, Social, or Governance factors that had a significant or relevant effect on the credit analysis.

A description of how Morningstar DBRS considers ESG factors within the Morningstar DBRS analytical framework can be found in the Morningstar DBRS Criteria: Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors in Credit Ratings (July 20, 2026) https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/485522 [1].

For more information on the Rating Committee decision, please see the Scorecard Indicators and Building Block Assessments at https://dbrs.morningstar.com/research/487780 [2].

Notes: All figures are in New Zealand dollars unless otherwise noted. Public finance statistics reported on a general government basis unless specified.

MIL OSI

MIL OSI

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 June 2026 – WHC, the Belgium-based premium Omega-3 brand, today officially announced the launch of its flagship fish oil supplement, UnoCardio 1000, in Singapore, marking its strategic entry into the Southeast Asian market. This milestone expansion comes at a pivotal time, as Southeast Asia’s nutraceutical market enters a sophisticated new era driven by unprecedented post-pandemic health awareness. Within this landscape, Singapore—with its high disposable income and rigorous regulatory framework—stands as the premier strategic hub for top-tier international brands establishing their presence in the Asia-Pacific.

Singaporean Consumers Pivot to “Specialist” Brands

Despite industry growth, the supplement market faces increasing category fragmentation. Most traditional brands prioritize product line expansion to achieve mass reach. While this offers variety, it often struggles to maintain the R&D depth and extreme optimization required for individual components.

For Singapore’s “Smart Consumers” who prioritize “Health ROI,” high transparency has driven a preference for “Specialist Brands” with deep scientific expertise over generalists. These consumers demand uncompromising purity to ensure precise, effective nutritional outcomes. Amidst this consumer awakening, WHC, the premium Belgian Omega-3 specialist, officially enters Singapore. Diverging from traditional multi-line expansion, WHC has spent 26 years adhering to a philosophy of “Subtractive Focus”—concentrating all R&D resources on the ultimate purification of Omega-3 to deliver pure, cellular-level nutrition.

The Gold Standard of Omega-3: Why WHC Leads the Global Omega-3 Market

Founded by Jo Wyckmans, Europe’s “Father of Omega-3,” WHC leverages his deep expertise in co-developing the manufacturing infrastructure for pharmaceutical giant KD Pharma. Utilizing patented Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC) technology, WHC achieves an industry-leading Omega-3 concentration of over 95%. By combining sustainably sourced deep-sea fish with pharmaceutical-grade craftsmanship, WHC has become synonymous with high-performance cellular nutrition worldwide.

Four Core Competencies

To deliver tangible health returns, WHC establishes the ultimate ceiling for premium fish oil in Singapore through four key product benchmarks:

• Pharmaceutical-Grade 95% High Concentration : WHC fish oil sets a clear boundary against generic alternatives that offer only 30%-50% purity. This made in Europe, GMP-compliant High-concentration fish oil delivers clinical-grade efficacy directly to the cells.
• Joint R&D with KD Pharma: As a GOED member, WHC partners with pharmaceutical giant KD Pharma, utilizing Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (SFC) technology to pioneer a new era in high-purity extraction.
• Patented rTG Form & Certifications: Sourced from short-cycle small deep-sea fish to ensure purity, WHC uses the highly bioavailable rTG form, delivering a 4x higher absorption rate than standard oils. Efficacy and safety are guaranteed by IFOS 5-star and Labdoor top rankings.
• Localized Formulation Strategy : WHC addresses the chronic Vitamin D deficiency prevalent among Southeast Asian urban professionals due to air-conditioned offices. Its flagship UnoCardio 1000 combines high-purity Omega-3 with Vitamin D3, offering the perfect synergy for modern lifestyles.

Elevating Industry Standards

WHC’s entry into Singapore marks a definitive shift in Southeast Asia’s wellness market toward scientific transparency. As pharmaceutical-grade purity becomes the new benchmark, the regional industry’s focus is moving from marketing-driven tactics to genuine R&D depth, effectively raising the professional barrier to entry.

Hashtag: #WHC

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

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

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

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

MIL OSI

City’s first hospital to adopt Renewable Diesel Blend R33, reducing up to 30% lifecycle CO2e emissions

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

A New Zealand-based offshore trust firm managing more than $6.8 billion in assets is set to launch a North American export expansion programme as litigation risks drive US doctors to move wealth into Cook Islands and Nevis protection structures.

New US research shows almost 60 per cent of obstetricians and gynaecologists report being sued at least once during their careers. More than half of general surgeons had also faced a malpractice claim, highlighting the long-term litigation risks facing many American medical professionals. The study also found doctors’ risk of facing a malpractice claim increases over the course of their careers and varies significantly by specialty.

Matthew Smith, a lawyer and director of business development at Southpac Group, says many US professionals, business owners and specialists are seeking asset protection before any dispute arises, because malpractice claims, insurance limits, and an aggressive litigation culture can expose personal wealth built up over decades.

“Most clients are professionals or company owners looking to protect assets they have spent decades building,” Smith says.

“The US legal environment is far more aggressive than what we see in New Zealand.”

Smith says asset protection structures used by some doctors are typically part of a broader risk management and wealth preservation strategy, particularly where malpractice insurance policies contain payout caps that may not fully protect them if a claim escalates.

He says this makes offshore asset protection structures far more common in the US than in New Zealand.

Southpac’s new client numbers rose over 290 per cent between 2022 and 2025 as wealthy Americans became increasingly focused on legal risk, asset protection and geopolitical uncertainty following the pandemic.

Smith says their firm currently administers trusts established by clients from 51 countries, with the United States accounting for about 85 per cent of its client base. The UAE, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK are also among its largest markets.

Mike Arand, Southpac CEO, says the firm was the first trustee company licensed in the Cook Islands and has established more than 4,000 trusts over the past 40 years, with medical professionals now one of its fastest-growing client segments.

Arand says most clients have between US$2 million and US$10 million in assets and use offshore trusts as part of long-term wealth protection planning.

The Cook Islands became internationally known for asset protection trusts after introducing specialised legislation in the late 1980s designed to shield assets from future creditor claims, provided structures are established before legal action begins.

Arand says Southpac also uses Nevis, a Caribbean jurisdiction known for protective company legislation, as part of some client structures.

“For many clients, a Cook Islands trust may sit above a Nevis company, creating two layers of protection across separate jurisdictions,” Arand says.

He says their ability to operate across both the Cook Islands and Nevis is one of the firm’s points of difference in the international asset protection market.

Offshore trusts have long attracted controversy globally, but Arand says Southpac operates a comprehensive due diligence programme before taking on clients, including client verification, background checks, sanctions screening, politically exposed person checks and ongoing monitoring.

“Prospective clients can be declined outright where there are concerns around sanctions exposure, criminal activity, tax transparency or existing legal claims,” Arand says.

The Cook Islands was rated compliant or largely compliant across 38 of 40 compliance recommendations set by global standards body the Financial Action Task Force, in its latest international review, compared with New Zealand’s 34.

The financial services firm is now preparing for further expansion of its referrer network of attorneys, wealth advisers and other professional advisers across North America, including a series of meetings with specialist asset protection lawyers in Los Angeles, San Diego and Canada.

“There are thousands of lawyers across the US advising on domestic asset protection, but many still do not fully understand offshore structures,” Smith says.

“That represents a significant growth opportunity for us.”

The company currently employs 26 staff in New Zealand alongside teams in the Cook Islands, Nevis and the Philippines.

Arand says offshore trust administration has quietly become a significant professional services export industry, linking New Zealand, the Cook Islands and North America, with offshore financial services estimated to contribute about 8 per cent of the Cook Islands’ economy, making it one of the country’s largest industries outside tourism.

He says the firm expects North America to remain its primary growth market as more US professionals seek offshore asset protection structures traditionally associated with ultra-wealthy investors.

MIL OSI

The latest update of Cotality’s Mapping the Market interactive tool, which provides suburb-level property insights across the country, shows 56% of suburbs recorded either stable or rising standalone house values over the three months to June.

MIL OSI

New Zealand’s housing market is still largely treading water – but not everywhere is standing still.

Our latest QV House Price Index shows that the average home value increased by just 0.3% nationally in the three months to the end of May 2026, only marginally more than in our previous index.

The average Kiwi home is now worth $912,190, which is 0.2% less than the same time last year and 14.2% below the market’s previous peak in early 2022.

QV spokesperson Simon Petersen said these latest figures pointed to a housing market that remained broadly stable but increasingly patchy around the edges.

“Residential property values continue to hold steady for the most part across Aotearoa. There’s a steady supply of houses for sale and enough buyers to meet the market, but not nearly enough competition to drive prices upward in any major way,” he said.

“But we are still seeing stronger momentum in parts of the South Island – especially in and around Invercargill and Southland in general, where relative affordability and a strong local economy are helping to underpin demand.

“Queenstown also appears to be less affected by the same constraints as we’re seeing elsewhere. Its average home value is slowly but surely pushing closer to the $2m mark following four consecutive months of small but consistent growth.”

“There’s no rising tide lifting all boats. This is a patchwork market, with some centres slowly finding their feet again while others continue to tread water,” Mr Petersen added.

One of the clearest examples of that divergence can be seen in Christchurch, which has become the latest and largest main centre to regain the ground lost following the post-Covid downturn.

Our latest QV House Price Index shows the Garden City’s average home value increased by 1.6% to $808,601 in the May quarter. That figure is now 0.9% above its previous peak in early 2022.

It joins a short list of places that have either recovered or moved beyond their previous peaks, including Invercargill, Queenstown and Greymouth.

“Without accounting for inflation, Christchurch has now regained the ground it lost during the downturn in terms of average home value. It’s a stark contrast to our two other largest cities, Auckland and Wellington, where property values continue to lag,” Mr Petersen said.

“Part of Christchurch’s resilience comes down to affordability. It remains more than $100,000 cheaper to buy the average home there than in the capital city, and considerably cheaper than in Auckland.

“Christchurch has also benefited from a relatively balanced relationship between supply and demand, which helped it avoid some of the sharper swings seen elsewhere during both the boom and the subsequent downturn.”

By comparison, Auckland’s average home value was unchanged in the May quarter at $1,198,037, which is 22.3% below its previous peak.

Wellington, meanwhile, recorded a small amount of growth. Its average home value increased by 0.2% this quarter to $910,286, which is 27.6% below its previous peak.

“Auckland and Wellington experienced much sharper home value growth during the pandemic period. They also have a lot more lost ground to recover as a result. Both markets appear to be stable now, but neither is showing any sort of consistent momentum like we’re seeing in Christchurch.

“Barring a meaningful shift in market conditions, that’s likely to remain the case as we move into winter,” Mr Petersen concluded.
Download a high resolution version of the latest QV value map here.
Northland

Residential property values have been kept virtually motionless in Whangarei.

The city’s average home value remained static this quarter at $736,104. That figure is 0.3% lower than the same time last year.

In comparison, Far North District’s average home value is now 1.4% higher than the same time last year at $715,096. Kaipara’s average home value is currently $835,104, which is just 0.1% higher year on year.

Auckland

Home values stood firm across the wider Auckland region this quarter.

There was no movement up or down, with the average home value staying put at $1,198,037. That figure is 2.8% lower than the same time last year and 0.5% less than at the start of this calendar year.

However, there was some movement at the district level, with Rodney (0.3%), Auckland City (1.2%) and Franklin (0.3%) posting some modest average gains throughout the three months to the end of May.

North Shore City (-1.1%), Waitakere (-0.1%), Manukau (-1.1%) and Papakura (-0.5%) all recorded small reductions in average home value this quarter.

Local QV registered valuer Hugh Robson said Auckland’s housing market remained well supplied while buyers continued to take a careful and considered approach.

“There’s still a good supply of stock on the market and agents are reporting steady numbers through open homes,” he said. “However, that interest isn’t always translating into offers, with many buyers still taking their time and doing their homework before making a move.”

“First-home buyers continue to make up a large share of open-home attendees, particularly at the more affordable end of the market. Activity also remains steady in some central suburbs and inner-city locations, as well as in the $2m-plus bracket, where there continues to be demand for quality properties.”

He said investors were still active in the market, but many remained cautious given the possibility of future interest rate rises and ongoing concerns around finding good tenants.

“Despite that caution, larger sites are still being purchased for multi-unit development, and there continues to be a significant amount of new-build activity underway across the region.”

Bay of Plenty

Property values continue to slowly zig and zag across the wider Bay of Plenty region.

Rotorua (1.6%) and Tauranga (1.5%) recorded the most growth throughout the three months to the end of May 2026, with their average home values now sitting at $685,828 and $1,052,470 respectively.

Local QV registered valuer Damian Hall said there had been positive signs in Tauranga this autumn.

“Good quality stock is shifting quickly, and the first-home buyer market remains the most active. The more average stock is still taking longer to sell and, in some cases, retailing at a discount,” he said.

“Although the market has stabilised overall, some pockets are performing better than others. Mount Maunganui, for example, is still tightly held and demanding good prices, while Papamoa is very popular for younger families and semi-retired and retirees. Greerton and Gate Pa remain very active for entry level buyers.

“Growth areas of Papamoa and Tauriko have continued to move forward with building consent numbers on the rise again, with Mount Maunganui followed closely behind. Vendors appear to be more willing to meet the market with what appears to be a more happy medium between buyers and sellers.”

Across the wider region, Opotiki (-4.1%) was an outlier this quarter, with Whakatane (-1.3%), Kawerau (-1.4%) and Gisborne (-1.3%) all recording modest reductions in average home value.

Waikato

Home values remained largely subdued across the Waikato region over the three months to May, with market conditions continuing to vary by district.

In Hamilton, the average home value increased by 0.4% to $790,420, which is 0.2% less than the same time last year and 0.6% less than at the start of 2026. It more than reverses the 0.1% reduction we reported for the April quarter.

Across the wider region, stronger quarterly growth was recorded in the districts of Hauraki (4.6%), Waikato (2.5%), Matamata-Piako (1.8%) and Waipa (1.7%). Taupo (0.2%) also recorded a modest amount of growth.

By contrast, Thames-Coromandel District recorded a quarterly decline of 1.9%, which local QV registered valuer Marshall Wu said was “a reflection of the value volatility often associated with lower sales volumes”.

“While sales volumes have eased, the Waikato region continues to show resilience, with pricing momentum subdued and values showing limited upward pressure. First-home buyers remain active, supported by elevated stock levels and improved choice,” he said.

The districts of Waitomo (-1.5%), South Waikato (-1.3%) and Otorohanga (-1.3%) also recorded small quarterly declines, suggesting market momentum remains generally flat heading into winter 2026.

“Limited price growth is expected over the near term, as affordability constraints, elevated unemployment, higher council rates, cautious lending conditions and the possibility of OCR increases continue to keep overall market momentum subdued,” Mr Wu concluded.

Hawke’s Bay

Residential property values have eased downward in Napier and Hastings.

Our latest QV House Price Index shows that Napier’s average home value is now $751,171 – down 1% this quarter – and Hastings’ average home value is $765,768, which is 1.7% lower for the quarter.

The average homes in Napier and Hastings are now worth 1.2% and 0.4% less than the same time last year respectively.

Taranaki

Home value growth has remained mostly passive in Taranaki this quarter.

The average home value increased by just 0.1% to $719,490 in New Plymouth and reduced by 0.4% to $466,851 in South Taranaki.  

The exception was Stratford, where the average home value climbed 2.6% to $501,692.

Manawatu

Residential property values reduced by an average of 1.1% in Palmerston North this quarter.

The city’s average home value is now $630,955, which is 0.2% lower than the same time last year and 0.9% less than at the start of this calendar year.

Meanwhile, average home values are 1.3% lower across the wider region this quarter and 0.4% lower on average annually.  

Wellington

It was a mixed bag in the wider Wellington region this quarter, with residential property values gently rising in three districts and falling in two.

On the positive side of the ledger, Kapiti Coast (0.5%), Porirua (0.7%) and Wellington City (0.2%) all recorded modest gains in average home value throughout the three months to the end of May 2026.

Average home values diminished in Upper Hutt (-0.9%) and Hutt City (-2.6%) this quarter.

“The market has softened slightly, in response to the economic uncertainty caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and high stock levels as we head into the winter months,” said local QV registered valuer David Cornford.

“Buyers are taking a cautious approach with higher interest rates now expected, and weaker job security expectations following recent announcements of further cuts to the public service. This is having a dampening impact on the property market in Wellington with many buyers continuing to take a wait-and-see approach.”

“First-home buyers continued to be active with plenty of options available given the high number of properties on the market,” Mr Cornford added.

Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough

Residential property values continue to inch up and down across the top of the South Island without much conviction.

Nelson (0.1%) and Marlborough (0.8%) recorded modest quarterly increases, while Tasman District (-0.6%) recorded a modest quarterly reduction.

“Although the number of properties available for sale remains elevated, market sentiment is weak on the back of a sluggish economy and an expected rise in mortgage interest rates,” said QV Nelson/Marlborough manager Craig Russell.

“First-home buyers continue to dominate activity in the sub-$800,000 price bracket, while demand is relatively weak for mid and upper bracket properties. Overpriced properties tend to end up sitting for long periods on the market.”

West Coast

Home values have risen by an average of 4.4% this quarter across the West Coast region.

Of the three districts that make up the wider region, Buller District recorded the largest increase of 7.4% for the three-month period and an average value of $404,313. That figure is 5.2% higher than the same time last year.

Westland District recorded an increase for the three-month period of 6.9%, an average value of $524,464, and a 10.6% increase from 12 months ago.

Grey District recorded an increase for the three-month period of 1%, an average value of $470,079 and a 5.3% increase from the same time 12 months ago.

Local QV registered valuer Rod Thornton commented: “The index over the past year has tended to fluctuate somewhat, which to an extent could be expected in a market like the West Coast, where sales volumes tend to be lower and there is a wide mix of housing types, locations, price points and value drivers.

“However, over recent periods the index has been relatively stable, and we would characterise the market as being steady overall, albeit slower.”

Canterbury

Autumn brought slow but steady growth for much of the Canterbury region.

Our QV House Price Index for May 2026 shows residential property values increased this quarter in Christchurch, Waimakariri and Selwyn by averages of 1.6%, 0.3% and 0.6% respectively.

QV South Island professional services manager Michael Tohill described the local housing market as being “steady as she goes” as we now move into the winter months.
 
“Sales levels have remained steady with buyers and sellers conscious of the economic situation but confident enough to make a decision. These are desirable places to live and affordable by national standards, with positive net migration to the region,” he said.

“The townhouse market is starting to show more pressure, which is a supply situation rather than demand. There are a large number of properties for sale and a large number will be coming on stream later in the year.”

“We’re also seeing some price pressure for older townhouses versus new ones that have a better design element and fitout,” Mr Tohill added.

Meanwhile, residential property values have also risen across much of the wider Canterbury region.

Ashburton (2.3%) and Hurunui (2.2%) recorded the most growth throughout the three months to the end of May 2026, with their average home values now sitting at $609,109 and $663,580 respectively.

The only deficit was in Timaru, where the average home value reduced by 0.6% to $539,159.

Otago

Residential property values have mostly gone in one direction this quarter in Otago.

The QV House Price Index for May 2026 shows that Waitaki (-0.8%) and Clutha (-2.7%) recorded the only average deficits this quarter.

Central Otago saw the largest average increase – up 4.4% to $924,522 – with Queenstown (1.2%) a distant second. The latter’s average home value is now just $58,268 short of the $2m mark.

In Dunedin, the average home value increased by 1% to $658,597 this quarter. That figure is now 2.9% higher than the same time last year and 9.3% lower than its previous peak in late 2021.

Southland

Home value growth has remained mostly positive again in the Southland region this quarter.

Southland District and Invercargill recorded small reductions during the month of May, but their average home values remain 0.4% and 1.7% higher for the quarter respectively.

At $546,484, Invercargill’s average home value is now 7.8% higher than the same time last year and 2.9% higher than the start of 2026.

You can check value changes over time in your region with QV’s interactive map on www.qv.co.nz/price-index/
 

The QV HPI uses a rolling three month collection of sales data, based on sales agreement date. This has always been the case and ensures a large sample of sales data is used to measure value change over time. Having agent and non-agent sales included in the index provides a comprehensive measure of property value change over the longer term.

MIL OSI

Robert Walters Taiwan’s 15th anniversary report Reveals Structural Shift in the Local Talent Market

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

Source: eXp New Zealand

The latest research from eXp New Zealand has found that almost a quarter of homes currently listed for sale across New Zealand have seen an asking price reduction within the last 28 days, as sellers continue to adjust expectations in a slower-moving market environment.

The research by eXp New Zealand analysed current for-sale listings across the New Zealand market, looking at the proportion of homes that have seen a price adjustment over the last 28 days.

Across New Zealand as a whole, 23.4% of homes currently listed for sale have seen an asking price reduction within the last month.

Wellington has seen the highest proportion of price-adjusted listings, with 33.9% of homes on the market seeing a reduction in asking price over the last 28 days.

Gisborne ranks second at 28.2%, followed by the Bay of Plenty at 27.5%, Hawke’s Bay at 27.3%, and Canterbury at 25.6%.

Even Auckland, New Zealand’s largest housing market, has seen 24.0% of listings reduced in price, whilst Otago (23.4%) and Waikato (23.1%) also sit above the national average.

The figures suggest that many sellers are still pricing homes based on expectations formed during the post-pandemic property boom, despite current market conditions being notably slower and more balanced in favour of buyers.

As a result, homes entering the market at overly ambitious price points are increasingly requiring reductions later in the sales process in order to generate renewed buyer interest.

Head of eXp New Zealand, Matt Jones, commented:

“One of the biggest mistakes sellers can make in the current market is relying too heavily on historic pricing expectations rather than current buyer behaviour.

During the pandemic boom there was an expectation that strong offers would come quickly and competition between buyers would naturally push prices higher, but today’s market conditions are very different.

Buyers have far more choice, they’re more cautious, and they’re much more value conscious, particularly given wider economic pressures and affordability considerations.

That means local expertise is absolutely vital when it comes to pricing a home correctly from day one. A broad understanding of national trends is important, but understanding exactly what buyers are willing to pay within a specific suburb or market at a specific moment is even more critical.

When a property is overpriced at launch it can often sit on the market for longer than expected, which ultimately weakens negotiating power and makes a price reduction almost inevitable further down the line in order to reignite interest.”

Data tables and sources

• Data sourced from Realestate.co.nz listings data collected on 30th March 2026.
• Analysis based on the proportion of active for-sale listings showing an asking price reduction within the previous 28 days.

MIL OSI

Annual consumers price inflation was 3.1 percent in the March quarter. The Middle East conflict is increasing near-term inflation and weakening economic activity. Inflation is expected to peak at 4.3 percent in the September quarter and to return to the 2 percent target mid-point in mid-2027. Currently, core inflation, wage growth, and medium- to long-term inflation expectations remain consistent with inflation returning to the 2-percent target mid-point over the medium term.

The global economic backdrop remains uncertain. Supply chain disruptions, higher prices for petrochemicals, and a more fragmented global trading environment are impacting the outlook. Growth will vary across countries, reflecting differences in energy intensity, fiscal support, and exposure to AI investment. On balance, New Zealand’s trading partners are expected to see weaker growth and higher inflation.

Domestically, business contacts and surveys indicate weaker confidence and spending. For some firms, rising costs are squeezing profit margins and curbing investment and hiring intentions. Consumer confidence has fallen sharply, and the housing market remains weak. Economic conditions continue to differ across regions and sectors, with high commodity prices supporting incomes in regional New Zealand.

The outlook for medium-term inflation pressures is also uncertain. These could remain elevated if households and businesses expect higher costs in future and build those expectations into price- and wage-setting decisions today. However, weak demand and elevated unemployment will dampen medium-term inflation pressures.

The Committee remains focused on ensuring that increased costs do not lead to elevated inflation over the medium term, while avoiding unnecessary economic volatility. On balance, the OCR will most likely need to increase sooner and by more than envisaged in the February Monetary Policy Statement. The pace of OCR increases will depend on the relative influence of persistent wage- and price-setting behaviour versus weaker economic activity on medium-term inflation pressures.

Summary record of meeting – May 2026

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is weakening economic activity and increasing near-term inflation. The Committee remains focused on ensuring that higher costs do not lead to elevated inflation over the medium term, while avoiding unnecessary economic volatility. A prolonged period of weak economic growth and elevated unemployment is expected to dampen medium-term inflationary effects. The Committee judges that the balance of risks is to the upside for inflation and to the downside for growth.

Conflict in the Middle East is disrupting global supply chains

The Middle East conflict has severely disrupted the supply of oil, gas and other petroleum products transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. The decline in oil supply has so far been mitigated through inventory drawdowns, rerouting, increased production elsewhere, and demand adjustment in some countries. This helped contain oil price increases over April and May, despite no resolution to the conflict. Nevertheless, prices for petroleum products have increased substantially since the conflict began, increasing prices for fuel and other petrochemical-intensive inputs such as plastics and fertilisers.

The Committee noted that the outlook for energy prices depends on how the conflict evolves, the extent of damage to energy infrastructure in the Middle East, and the speed with which global supply chains adjust. Members noted that these events will encourage firms to permanently reconfigure their supply chains to reduce exposure to the region. Along with stronger global demand for renewable energy, this may place further upward pressure on global energy prices in the near term.

Pricing in oil futures markets is consistent with a resolution to the conflict over coming months and shipping resuming through the Strait of Hormuz. However, given damage to energy infrastructure and the need to rebuild inventories, oil prices are expected to remain elevated over the medium term.

Trading partner inflation is increasing

The Committee noted that higher energy prices have increased headline inflation in many of New Zealand’s trading partners in recent months. Trading partner inflation is expected to increase further as the direct and indirect effects of higher costs emerge. Members noted that the pass-through of higher costs to near-term inflation will vary across economies, depending on factors such as energy intensity, price controls, subsidies, or tax changes. Differences in current economic conditions, including the degree of capacity pressure, will influence the extent of medium-term inflation pressures across trading partners.

The Middle East conflict poses downside risks to global economic activity. High-frequency indicators suggest that higher petrochemical prices are weighing on sentiment and real incomes in many economies. The impact is expected to be largest for economies with greater reliance on imported energy and energy-intensive manufacturing, including many of New Zealand’s Asian trading partners. In some cases, these headwinds may be partly offset by continued strong demand for artificial intelligence exports and fiscal support.

The New Zealand economy was recovering prior to the conflict

The Committee noted New Zealand was in the early stages of an economic recovery. GDP growth of 0.2 percent in the December 2025 quarter was lower than expected, but timely indicators suggest the economy continued to expand in the March 2026 quarter. For example, strength in retail spending broadened across industries and businesses reported increasing capacity constraints, consistent with the economic recovery gaining momentum.

There has been significant spare capacity in the New Zealand economy for some time. This is reflected in a range of indicators, with the output gap estimated to be -1.3 percent of potential output in the March 2026 quarter, broadly in line with the estimate in February.

The labour market was stabilising, with employment growing modestly and annual wage inflation remaining at 2 percent in the March 2026 quarter. Net migration has increased materially since late 2025. Unemployment remains elevated, indicative of spare capacity in the labour market.

Annual headline inflation remained at 3.1 percent in the March 2026 quarter, which was higher than expected in the February Statement largely due to fuel price increases over March. Underlying inflation has continued to gradually ease, with measures of core inflation declining on average to 2.3 percent.

Near-term inflation is expected to increase and economic growth to weaken

First round direct and indirect effects from higher petrochemical prices will increase inflation this year. Direct effects, through higher fuel prices for businesses, are expected to occur slightly faster than the indirect effects of higher prices of petrochemical-intensive inputs. Intelligence from business engagements indicates that some firms have implemented temporary fuel surcharges, although the extent of this varies across sectors. Some businesses are absorbing cost increases into margins given weak demand, while others are embedding higher costs into price changes.

The Committee noted elevated uncertainty around its near-term inflation forecast. The forecast incorporates current oil futures pricing, which assumes Dubai oil prices fall to USD96 by the end of the year. Annual headline inflation is expected to increase to a peak of 4.3 percent by the September 2026 quarter and to return to the target mid-point in mid-2027. While shorter-term inflation expectations have increased, medium- to longer-term expectations remain close to 2 percent.

Near-term economic activity is likely to be weaker than assumed in the February Statement because of the Middle East conflict. Higher fuel prices are increasing costs, lowering profit margins for many businesses, and reducing real incomes and household purchasing power. High frequency data, including electronic card transactions and measures of business and consumer confidence, are pointing to weak demand in the near term. With weaker consumption and investment, annual GDP growth in 2026 is now expected to be 0.9 percentage points lower than assumed in the February Statement. These forecasts indicate a slower economic recovery in the near term, with the pace of economic growth increasing by the end of the year.

Financial conditions have tightened

Market expectations for central bank policy rates have increased, both domestically and abroad. The Committee discussed how differences in economic starting points, fiscal and structural policy responses to higher fuel prices, and reliance on imported energy will influence the monetary policy response required to contain medium-term inflation across countries.

The Committee noted that financial conditions in New Zealand have tightened through higher wholesale interest rates passing through to higher fixed-term mortgage rates and, to a lesser extent, term deposit rates. The average interest rate on outstanding mortgages declined to 4.9 percent in March but is expected to increase to 5.3 percent over the next 12 months.

Global financial market volatility increased materially in March because of the Middle East conflict but declined following the ceasefire in early April. Global risk appetite has subsequently improved, in part due to strong upward revisions to earnings growth among US technology firms pushing up global equity prices. There has been some volatility in the trade-weighted New Zealand dollar exchange rate, but it is currently little changed since the start of the year.

The Committee was also briefed on financial system stability and agreed this poses no material trade-off to meeting its inflation objective.

The Committee discussed risks to the inflation outlook

Members noted uncertainty around the scale and duration of the global economic consequences of the Middle East conflict and how the shock will propagate through the New Zealand economy and influence medium-term inflation pressures.

The Committee discussed the risk of higher near-term inflation feeding through to medium-term inflation. Members noted that firms’ price-setting behaviour could be more persistent because of generally elevated inflation since the pandemic and the cost-push nature of the current shock. This would lead to stronger second-round inflation effects than currently assumed. This risk is accentuated by low profit margins for some businesses given weak activity and higher costs, limiting the degree to which they can absorb further cost increases. Wage pressures could also arise from labour shortages in some sectors and regions. However, if the recent increase in net migration continues, this would help to offset this risk.

Members noted that spare capacity in the domestic economy and weaker global demand could constrain firms’ ability to pass on higher costs by more than assumed in the central projection. Lower spending by households in response to lower real income growth, persistently elevated unemployment, a weak housing market, and reduced resilience due to repeated shocks collectively pose downside risks to domestic economic activity. However, economic activity could recover faster than assumed if a resolution to the Middle East conflict leads to lower domestic fuel prices.

The Committee discussed risks to the global growth outlook. To the downside, members noted that high and increasing global government debt ratios, alongside greater geopolitical fragmentation, could push up long-term bond yields, tightening financial conditions and weighing on global growth. The Committee also noted that earnings expectations and valuations in US equity markets remain elevated and that if revenues from AI products fail to meet expectations, this could lead to a shock that would pose downside risks to global growth.

To the upside, members agreed that demand for New Zealand’s exports could remain stronger than expected if our Asian trading partners continue to benefit from strong manufacturing investment. Greater investment from large technology firms, alongside stronger investment in economic and military security, may also continue to provide a tailwind to the global economy through stronger economic activity in Asia, Europe and the US.

The Committee noted the three alternative scenarios in the May Statement. These informed the trade-offs influencing the Committee’s discussions and decisions. The scenarios represent just three of many plausible paths for the domestic economy and inflation. In practice, monetary policy decisions depend on a broad range of factors, including prevailing economic conditions, the outlook for medium-term inflation pressure, and the Committee’s secondary objectives of avoiding unnecessary instability in the economy while having regard to financial system stability.

The Committee voted to leave the OCR unchanged at 2.25 percent

The Committee emphasised that it remains focused on ensuring core inflation, wage growth and medium- and long-term inflation expectations remain consistent with inflation at 2 percent over the medium term. It discussed the monetary conditions required to achieve the medium-term inflation mandate. Members noted that financial conditions have tightened materially this year, helping to guard against the risk of second-round price effects.

All Committee members agreed that the central projection for the OCR was appropriate and a good reflection of the trade-offs currently faced. However, members differed in their preferred timing for the initial increase in the OCR.

Three members (Anna Breman, Karen Silk, Paul Conway) judged that holding the OCR at 2.25 percent was appropriate at this meeting. These members emphasised that core inflation and wage growth remain contained and medium- and long-term inflation expectations remain around 2 percent. Indicators of economic activity have deteriorated, in some cases more quickly than anticipated. Tighter financial conditions and economic uncertainty are already weighing on household and business sentiment, which is reducing consumption and investment. Spare capacity in the economy is likely to dampen second-round inflationary pressure.

With inflation pressures increasing in coming months, these members agreed that OCR increases would be required to ensure inflation returns to target over the medium term. These members noted the wide range of estimates for the neutral interest rate, making it difficult to assess the extent to which current monetary conditions are accommodative. They emphasised that the timing of OCR increases should depend on the evolving data, the outlook, and the balance of risks. Close attention needs to be paid to global developments, supply chain normalisation, core inflation, wage dynamics, and inflation expectations. These data, as well high-frequency indicators, will clarify whether stronger second-round inflation effects are emerging.

Three members (Carl Hansen, Hayley Gourley, Prasanna Gai) preferred to increase the OCR by 25 basis points, to 2.5 percent at this meeting. These members emphasised that, given the breadth of critical inputs that have been impacted by the conflict, first round indirect price increases could become more broad-based, feeding through to a greater risk of second round price increases. These members noted that 2-year inflation expectations have risen across a range of surveys. Firms may reset prices based on a shared belief about the persistence of the shock and prices would remain elevated even if the shock were to fade. In addition, should domestic fuel prices decline faster than expected it may lead to stronger demand as confidence responds more quickly. These members noted that monetary conditions remained accommodative. Further, inflation in New Zealand’s trading partners could increase faster than expected due to both the Middle East conflict constraining supply and AI-related spending boosting demand.

These members judged that removing stimulus now, while observing domestic economic developments, would help reduce medium-term inflation risks. Moving earlier was viewed as preferable, given upward pressure on neutral rates and that it may also limit the overall magnitude of the increase in the OCR and the negative impact on output. One member (Carl Hansen) emphasised that raising the OCR at this meeting would also create optionality for further monetary policy tightening in July.

All Committee members agreed that increasing the OCR at upcoming meetings would likely be necessary to ensure higher near-term inflation does not feed through to higher medium-term inflation. The Committee judges that this is a proportionate response to bring inflation to target in a reasonable timeframe without creating unnecessary volatility in output. The pace of OCR increases will depend on the relative influence of persistent wage- and price-setting behaviour versus weaker economic activity on medium-term inflation pressures.

On Wednesday 27 May, three Committee members (Anna Breman, Karen Silk, Paul Conway) voted to leave the OCR on hold and three members (Carl Hansen, Hayley Gourley, Prasanna Gai) voted for a 25-basis point increase. In this instance, the chairperson has a casting vote, meaning the OCR remains on hold at 2.25 percent. The Committee remains focussed on bringing medium-term inflation back to target and expect that OCR increases will be required this year.

Attendees:
MPC members: Anna Breman (chairperson), Carl Hansen, Hayley Gourley, Karen Silk, Paul Conway, Prasanna Gai
Treasury Observer: James Beard
MPC Secretary: Elliot Jones

MIL OSI

Tourists arrivals were the highest they’d been this March since before Covid-19, but as the fuel crisis continues tourism may take a hit.

Fuel prices have soared this year due to the conflict in the Middle East, making travel, both domestic and international, more expensive, but visitor arrivals in March totalled nearly 360,000 up nearly 15 percent from March 2025.

Stats NZ numbers showed overseas visitor arrivals hit 3.51 million in the year ended December 2025, up 6 percent from the prior year.

Tour operator Paul Button, general manager of Rotorua Canopy Tours and the Million Dollar Cruise in Queenstown, told Morning Report, there’d been a bit of a hit just recently through April going into May.

He said Rotorua had seen domestic support, but lower numbers from Australia and the United States which were usually two of the biggest markets.

Extreme inflation had also been a challenge recently, he said, noting it had been a tough six or so years.

“The challenge I guess for us, people are the products and we really gotta look after them.

“Last year we had a really good year… really excited for the future, but now it’s just more learning, more challenges.

He said the Million Dollar Cruise on Queenstown’s Lake Wakitipu had been 90 percent up in 2025.

Despite the fuel crisis, Button wasn’t too worried about the impact on tourism as he said many markets, including the Chinese market, saw Aotearoa as a safe place to go and so did many other markets.

“We’re seen as a safe destination to come to with all the chaos. Is a selling point, we’re seen as a really safe destination to visit.”

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

Immigration advisers say residency rules are driving an unprecedented surge in the number of foreign students paying $30,000-50,000 a year to study masters degrees.

Education Ministry figures showed 14,840 full-time equivalent international students were enrolled in masters programmes last year, enough to outnumber domestic masters students (10,830) for the first time.

Last year’s figure was 48 percent higher than 2024, two-and-a-half times the previous high of 5705 full-time equivalents in 2020 and well above 2022’s Covid-driven low of 2820.

Nearly all the enrolments came from Asia, especially China (4465) and India (4235), and most (9535) were in universities, with a further 2125 in polytechnics and 3175 in private institutions.

The total was also close to the 16,100 full-time equivalent international students enrolled in bachelors degrees.

Immigration advisers contacted by RNZ said work and residence rules were behind the increase.

Immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont said the rules would become even more favourable for masters graduates in August.

“The view out there now is that, by doing a master’s degree in New Zealand, you can get all of the points that you need to apply for residency,” he said. “The only thing that’s then going to be required is a skilled job after graduating to enable the students to then apply for residency and that’s what’s really driving the demand in these master’s degree courses.”

McClymont said the looming August rule changes had shifted students’ interest away from qualifications in skill-shortage areas and towards any masters degree at all.

“There was a particular interest in things like early childhood teaching and healthcare workers, and those sorts of qualifications, because there were pathways to residency,” he said. “Now that they’re going to have the potential of getting maximum points simply by having any masters degree, then really people are just looking for the cheapest and easiest masters degrees that they can do, so that they can get the postgrad work visa, then look for a skilled job.”

University of Waikato had 555 international EFTS in masters’ programmes in 2019 and 1700 last year. Vice-chancellor Neil Quigley said the “very substantial increase” was the result of a deliberate strategy.

“Pre the pandemic, so up to 2019, most of our international students were in undergraduate programmes, but even by then, we’d seen international demand shifting more towards the masters degrees, so we used the pandemic to bring on a new range of masters programmes that were aimed at the international market,” he said.

Professor Quigley said most courses were focused on pathways to employment, such as digital business and cyber-security.

He said the growth in masters enrolments at Waikato appeared to have levelled off this year, but international undergraduate enrolments were rising, particularly from China.

Quigley said work and residence rights affected international demand for masters courses, but domestic students were also increasingly interested in postgraduate courses.

Recent international masters graduates Alka Chaurasia told RNZ residence and work rights did not drive her decision to study there last year.

“When I started doing the research, I realised that New Zealand has got a very strong reputation for education,” she said. “It offers a multi-cultural environment so, for me, it looked like a good balance of quality education, natural beauty and quality of life.”

Education New Zealand acting chief executive Linda Sissons said three factors contributed to the growth in masters enrolments – a general shift globally toward postgraduate study, the relatively short-duration of masters courses, and the stability of New Zealand’s post-study work rights and residency rules compared with other countries.

“We’re finding, with global research, that prospective students are increasingly prioritising the return on investment for international education, the labour market relevance and flexibility, and a Masters degree is at a high enough level and it’s a brief enough that it can be seen as as leading to employment.”

Dr Sissons said more postgraduate students were good for tertiary institutions and good for the economy, although she sounded a note of caution.

“Masters programmes are relatively short, so enrolments turn over more quickly and can be sensitive to market changes,” she said.

“There’s a there’s an upside and a downside, but I think, in terms of New Zealand being seen as a focus for people who want higher level qualifications and ones that have a good quality reputation, it’s a very positive trend.”

Sissons said PhD enrolments also increased to an all-time high of 4120 full-time students, compared to 3630 domestic PhD students last year.

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

Explainer – The weather is getting colder and the sneezes are getting louder – which means it’s influenza season.

This year’s season has seen warnings it might be more severe thanks to the H3N2 Subclade K or “super-k” flu strain, which saw flu season in places like the UK ending up particularly brutal this year.

“It is difficult to predict the severity of this year’s influenza season in New Zealand, but we do know that vaccination is the most effective means to reduce hospitalisations and severe outcomes from influenza,” said Dr Joan Ingram, medical advisor for the Immunisation Advisory Centre at the University of Auckland.

There has been a disruption of normal seasonal respiratory virus patterns following the Covid-19 pandemic, University of Otago Professor and Head of Department of Paediatrics and Child Health Peter McIntyre recently told RNZ.

“Covid is with us all year round, although more so in the winter, and the way that flu strains work during the year has changed a bit from the predictable winter peak with not much going on in the rest of the year to a lot more unpredictability with late and early seasons.”

The flu vaccine campaign is now underway – here’s what you need to know about it and how ‘super-k’ factors into it.

Why do we need a new vaccine every year?

Influenza changes a little bit every year, and vaccines are modified each year to match prevailing new strains.

“Everyone from 6 months of age, who is eligible for a funded vaccine and those who can afford a flu vaccine if not already funded, should have one,” Ingram said.

More than 1 million influenza vaccines are administered in New Zealand each year.

Typically around 500 people die each year from the flu, Health New Zealand said.

“For those at higher risk of complications from the flu, which is anyone over the age of 65, and particularly those over the age of 75 or 80, then it’s a very good idea to get in right now with your flu vaccine,” McIntyre said.

This year’s goal is to vaccinate 75 percent of the population over 65 years old.

“It would be wonderful if our flu vaccine uptake was higher,” Ingram said.

“All people 65 years and over are eligible for funded flu vaccine, but last year only around 60 percent had one – so cost is not the only barrier.”

New Zealand’s flu season usually runs from May to October, and the immunisation programme runs from 1 April to 31 December.

In both 2024 and 2025, flu cases saw a later than usual peak towards the end of August, the Immunisation Advisory Centre said.

This year’s funded vaccine is Influvac Tetra, which is free for those who meet certain conditions (see below).

There are also three unfunded flu vaccines available – Flucelvax, Fluzone and Fluad. More on those in a minute.

How do you book a flu shot?

You can make an appointment through Book My Vaccine or by ringing 0800 28 29 26 from 8.30am to 5pm Monday through Friday.

You can also contact your GP for a vaccination, and most pharmacies will also be offering the vaccine – check with your local.

Who gets it for free?

The flu vaccine is free for those who are at the highest risk of getting very sick. This includes:

• people aged 65 years and over
• people aged 6 months and over who have a long-term medical condition like diabetes, asthma or a heart condition
• pregnant people
• children aged 4 years and under who have been hospitalised for respiratory illness, or have a history of significant respiratory illness
• people with mental health conditions, including schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder
• people who are currently accessing secondary or tertiary mental health and addiction services

Anyone who doesn’t fit into those categories will likely have to pay.

So how much does it cost?

The price for the vaccine is variable, but a check of multiple pharmacies showed it typically runs between $25 to $40 for the funded vaccine Influvac Tetra.

The three unfunded vaccines will cost more – ask your provider for details.

What happens when I get the jab?

You’ll typically be asked to wait for 15 minutes after getting the vaccine to ensure there’s no adverse reactions.

Vaccines can cause mild reactions, like a slight fever or pain where the needle went in.

Serious allergic reactions are rare and should be closely monitored at vaccination sites. They can also be reported online to the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring, CARM.

For those concerned about vaccines, the Health New Zealand flu kit notes that “The flu vaccine has been around for many decades and has a great safety record. The vaccine does not contain live influenza viruses and cannot cause influenza.”

The vaccine doesn’t guarantee you’ll never catch the flu, but it does substantially lower the risk of serious illness or hospitalisation, health authorities say.

The government research organisation PHF Science said that in 2025, those vaccinated had about a 69 percent lower chance of being infected than those unvaccinated.

For now, you’re going to have to just grit your teeth and deal with the needle, but nasal spray flu vaccines are in development and may come here in the near future.

What is this ‘super-k’ influenza strain and why is it a worry?

Subclade K or H3N2 Subclade K is a strain of influenza that “has spread earlier and faster than typical seasonal influenza,” Australia’s science agency CSIRO said.

While it’s led to a more severe flu season in parts of the world, vaccines still work against it.

And New Zealand is fortunate, as vaccines have been changed for our part of the world to better deal with super-k.

“It is expected that all the flu vaccines in use in New Zealand this winter will provide protection against the K variant,” Ingram said.

“One of the strains in each vaccine is expected to provide protection against the K variant and was not included in the northern hemisphere vaccines – so we should have better protection.”

“It’s a good deal better than what they had in the Northern Hemisphere so hopefully that’s going to help us,” McIntyre said.

The super-k is not a new virus, but has undergone mutations in one of its key proteins that affect how it behaves and spreads. CSIRO said “the current best evidence suggests subclade K does not cause more severe disease.”

When it hit the UK last December, it led to record hospitalisations. The NHS’s national medical director called it a “worst-case scenario for this time of year.”

It has already arrived in this part of the world, McIntyre said.

“It turned up actually early in both Australia and New Zealand at the end of last year which was the reason why there was more flu around than would usually be the case in October and November.”

What other flu vaccines are there?

Pharmac funds the Influvac Tetra vaccine for those eligible, but three other flu vaccines are also offered at extra cost. Each is manufactured in a slightly different way.

“Influvac Tetra (funded vaccine) and Fluzone are very similar,” Ingram said, with Influvac containing an extra strain but not one that makes a “meaningful difference” to effectiveness against current strains.

Flucelvax, on the other hand, is a cell-based vaccine using cultured mammalian cells rather than the other, egg-based vaccines that are created in embryonated chicken eggs.

That “can be more effective than egg-based flu vaccines,” Ingram said. “The difference in benefit varies from season to season.”

“Over multiple seasons, Flucelvax was 8 percent more effective than egg-based vaccines. In one Northern Hemisphere season, it reached almost 20 percent more effectiveness in children and adults aged under 65 years.”

The fourth vaccine, Fluad, is free for adults over 65 in Australia, but not in New Zealand, even though McIntyre said there is evidence it’s even more effective for the elderly.

Here, Fluad is only approved for adults over age 50.

“As the name suggests it’s got this added bit in it, which is a thing called an adjuvant, which basically helps kick the immune system along to produce a stronger response,” McIntyre said.

Fluad “provides the greatest additional benefit for older adults aged 75 years and over, and those with multiple health problems,” Ingram said.

As it’s not funded, it will typically run around $50 to get Fluad, McIntyre said.

“In New Zealand, unfortunately, if you want that vaccine … you’ll have to pay for it.”

McIntrye said there are “good arguments” in favour of funding it for over 65s.

Should more vaccines be free?

Cost and access are still factors keeping flu vaccine takeup from being higher.

Ingram said on behalf of the Immunisation Advisory Centre that “we do wish that the flu vaccine was funded for all children under 5 and that older adults could have a funded enhanced vaccine.”

Last year, only 5 percent of children had a flu vaccine despite around 20 percent being eligible for a free vaccine because of health conditions.

“Funding it for all children would improve uptake and reduce sickness, hospitalisations, complications, antibiotic use and transmission in families and communities,” Ingram said.

If you’re making a flu vaccine appointment, it’s worth considering getting other vaccines done too, she said.

“When getting a flu vaccine, it is sensible to also have a dose of the updated Covid-19 vaccine if you are older or have health conditions that will increase your risk of severe Covid-19.”

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

Analysis – Nicola Willis has put her money where her mouth is and reduced her Budget’s operating allowance for a third year running.

For years, the Finance Minister has been relentless in her criticism of the previous minister, Grant Robertson, and his extensive operating allowances – $5.9 billion in 2022 and $4.8b in 2023 – promising to rein in spending and prioritise fiscal discipline.

In her first Budget in 2024 she told reporters in the lock-up that she was “weaning off the addiction to spending” that Robertson had created over six years of a Labour government.

At that year’s Budget, an operating allowance of $3.5b had been forecast, which was ultimately reduced by $300 million to $3.2b.

Last year the slashing was even more aggressive when a forecast $2.4b allowance was chopped in half by her pre-Budget speech to just $1.3b – a reduction of $1.1b.

And on Wednesday the Prime Minister delivered the news for her, telling a Business NZ audience in Auckland that the forecast $2.4b allowance had been nudged down by $300m to $2.1b.

Those operating allowances are tight, but critics will find it difficult to describe them as austerity, especially with the likes of the Taxpayers’ Union arguing the number should be closer to zero.

Singing from that same songsheet traditionally is the ACT Party. When leader David Seymour was asked at Parliament on Wednesday whether he would have liked the cuts to go further, he said his aim would have been a “less than zero” Budget.

“Speaking as the ACT leader, yeah, I think we need to be a lot tougher on reducing the deficit and reducing government spending, but also speaking as the Deputy Prime Minister, I’m proud to be part of this government and I know that we wouldn’t have made the level of savings we have [without ACT].”

Seymour said the savings had ACT’s fingerprints all over them and his ministers were the ones at the Cabinet table putting pressure on the coalition to make “careful use of taxpayer money”.

Willis told RNZ on Wednesday that if it weren’t for the fuel crisis her operating allowance reduction would be larger and more in tune with the cuts seen last year.

“It is the case that without the fuel crisis, yes, we may have been able to have an even tighter allowance, but my view is that we have achieved a great deal by reducing our forecast operating allowance, ensuring that we’re building up buffers for the future, keeping New Zealand financially secure.”

The buffers are needed more than ever given the increasingly volatile world countries are operating in, where in the space of a few weeks a US-Israel attack on Iran can shoot petrol prices at the pump in New Zealand beyond $3 a litre.

That’s required unexpected support packages that are already chewing up some of the operating allowance put aside for this year’s Budget to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

While the operating allowance restraint speaks direct to Willis’ narrative over the past two-and-a-half years, this year’s Budget is accommodating a $2.2b increase on what was forecast for capital expenditure – up from $3.5b to $5.7b.

Christopher Luxon addressed that increase, saying “the recent crisis has acted as a timely reminder that significant levels of capital investment will be required in the coming years”.

But he also signalled it didn’t reflect a “permanently higher rate of borrowing” and that in the years ahead a balance would be found between saving and borrowing.

Seymour also defended the increased capital spend saying it was to deal with “things that are yet to be announced, that I think are significant and timely investment”, adding that in later years in the fiscal cycle the capital expenditure would reduce.

While Budgets are drastically impacted by global and national events and disasters – think the Christchurch earthquakes, the Covid-19 pandemic, or the ongoing fuel crisis – they’re also shaped by individual government’s political decisions.

Willis will be commended by many for slashing the operating allowances at each of her Budgets to date, but remains open to criticism from other quarters about both what the coalition cut and continues to prioritise spending on.

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

Staff at Wellington Hospital say they could do with a hundred more beds, but the year-old High Dependency Unit has gone some way to easing the bottleneck.

The unit has 12 beds for people too sick for the ward, but too well for intensive care.

On this particular Tuesday, nurse manager Stephen James takes us past the family room, staff office, sleuce room, and a desk behind which a number of screens show patients’ vitals in real-time, making it easy for staff to monitor every patient from a central location.

The rooms are light and airy, with windows – unlike intensive care – and it is mostly quiet, aside from the steady beep of machines and the sound of nurses discussing medication at the foot of a patient’s bed.

Many of the processes mirror those used in the ICU, including paper charting.

“This is where we’re not electronic,” James said. “The transition of the technology is still so expensive we’re just not ready to make that yet.”

The staff monitoring patients are looking for trends – someone getting worse will head back to ICU, or if they are getting better, to a ward.

That meant patients were able to recover somewhere a bit quieter, while still being monitored closely, and beds on wards and ICU were freed up, improving patient flow through the hospital.

“Sometimes we would be forced to push patients to the ward sooner than we were happy to,” he said. “And we have statistics and data that we analyse where we see patients bounce back from the ward. So if we transferred somebody in the middle of the night, it’s not great to come in the morning and see that they’re needing to come back.”

James explained planned surgeries would be cancelled if acute patients demanded the bed space, so making more beds available for the sickest patients meant planned surgeries went ahead more often.

But when it came to beds, they could always use more.

“I think you would say we need another 100 beds in every hospital, and that we would fill them. And it’s because there’s so much we can do for people.”

While work was underway at a national level to understand how care in the home could add capacity to the system, the sickest people still needed to be in hospital.

“We’re very much in the middle of it all in the acute setting, so we can be a bottleneck,” he said.

The unit was built following the Covid pandemic, at a cost of $17.3 million, financed through annual hospital depreciation funding.

It was part of a government push in 2024 to bolster the country’s preparedness in the event of another pandemic.

“We were very underdone internationally in our critical-beds-per-100,000-population, and we’ve made great strides in the last several years to improve that, which these 12 beds are part of,” James said.

Winter illness, too, increased demand every year.

Health minister Simeon Brown announced a winter funding boost of $25m earlier this year to increase capacity and staffing nationwide.

Dr Paul Young, intensive care specialist and co-clinical leader in the ICU, said it would not increase the HDU’s numbers, as the unit was at or near capacity year-round.

He said the ICU had 24 beds, and along with the 12 in the HDU, the units required a combined staff of between 250 and 300 nurses, 14 intensive care specialists, and 28 registrars.

Another four were being added to the ICU currently.

“The entire hospital doesn’t have enough beds, and beds need to have people in them,” Young said.

But winter would likely increase the acuity of the patients.

“We’ll probably basically stay as busy as we are now, just looking after slightly different people.”

Variability was a hallmark of the job. On this particular day, Dr Young would work his shift and then remain on-call overnight, treating anyone from trauma patients, to those recovering from major surgery or with acute medical conditions.

“Intensive care medicine is the triangle you get if you chop the top off all the other triangles and make a new triangle,” Young said. “The kind of things that we see from day-to-day are really varied.”

The one thing they had in common was that they were among the sickest people in the hospital – and for them, having one of those 12 beds could make all the difference.

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

As part of the Government’s work to grow the international education sector, new funding for a dedicated support function will help build sector capability and support schools to attract and manage international students, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

“Through the Govenrment’s Going for Growth plan, we are focused on doubling the sector’s value to $7.2 billion by 2034. We are already well on our way with enrolments growing 11 percent in 2025,” Ms Stanford says.

“As part of that, we’re helping to ensure that schools have the resources they need. Today’s commitment will see specialist support provided by a tendered organisation with deep knowledge and experience in school-based international education.

“This will support schools with marketing, resourcing, finding homestays, and with resources to understand their obligations to ensure student wellbeing and safety.

“The sector has already made strong progress in 2025, with school enrolments continuing to recover toward pre-pandemic levels. This investment will help schools build on that momentum and grow their international programmes with confidence.”

Ms Stanford says that all schools who choose to participate will be able to benefit this from this support, including those that not yet enrolling international students.

“International education is a large contributor to New Zealand’s economy. Enabling schools to support more international students will allow this economic growth to continue in a way that is high quality and sustainable.”

The tender will be available on the Government Electronic Tender Service (GETS) by the end of June 2026.

MIL OSI

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has promised “careful” immigration policy and signalled more capital spending than expected in an annual pre-Budget speech,

Speaking about the need for social cohesion, Luxon highlighted his own electorate of Botany as “more diverse than most”, saying many of Chinese, Korean, Malaysian and Indian New Zealanders were being “unfairly and unreasonably vilified”.

He said during the Covid-19 pandemic, ministers had “too often prioritised their own political interests over the interest of the public”, and the media “determined to flatter New Zealand’s relative performance, also failed”.

“Since then, failed immigration policies in Europe and North America have also stoked a politics of division online. Despite prudent policies and the natural advantages of geography, immigration now seems to be an emerging political issue in New Zealand, too,” he said, in what could be seen as a swipe at New Zealand First’s criticisms of the India free trade deal.

He pointed to the government’s moves to tighten immigration law and said National would be watching closely.

“And you should expect to see careful policy on immigration from National as we get closer to the election … when it comes to immigration, when faced with a choice between social stability and your bottom line, I will choose the former every single time.”

Pointing to the United States “now focusing more exclusively on its own view of its own interests – America first”, and Russia having made “its brutal intentions clear in Europe” and China “expanding its influence”, Luxon painted a now-familiar picture of an erosion of the international rule of law.

“When you turn on the news at night and see alliances straining, trade wars flaring and the rules being rewritten by the powerful, it is only natural to feel as though the ground is shifting beneath you,” he said, before offering an optimistic observation.

“We have faced similar challenges before, and we have overcome them.”

He hearkened back to world wars, giving a message of hope in an increasingly volatile world.

“The outcome was not inevitable. It was not guaranteed. People were frightened, and they were right to be frightened,” he said. “They didn’t just win a war. They built the peace that followed.”

Also addressing a need for cooperation with like-minded partners on defence and trade, he also drew attention to the need for energy independence.

“On too many occasions, private capital, eager to bolster domestic energy production, has been pushed to the sidelines by overzealous planners and politicians in recent years,” he said.

“The reality is that when faced with energy shock after energy shock, it’s very hard to justify backing the skink over the solar farm.”

He pointed to the government’s responses to the fuel crisis, while noting “more action is required”.

That could be delivered through changes to Budget allowances – with less operational spending at $2.1b, down from $2.4b; but more capital spending at $5.7b.

“The recent crisis has acted as a timely reminder that significant levels of capital investment will be required in the coming years,” Luxon said.

“That doesn’t reflect a permanently higher rate of borrowing – we’ll need to get the balance right in the years ahead, as we rebuild our fiscal buffers … The truth is that as a country we don’t save nearly enough, and rely too much on money borrowed from overseas to support our lifestyles. That must change.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will deliver her third Budget on 28 May in what are constrained fiscal times.

The conflict in Iran and the global fuel crisis it has triggered required a certain level of re-forecasting and reprioritising of the Budget in recent months.

There were no pre-Budget announcements expected in Christopher Luxon’s speech to a Business NZ audience on Wednesday, though some are due to trickle out from other ministers in the coming days.

The only policy announced to date is the scrapping of the third year of fees-free tertiary study.

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

The rising cost of fuel appears to keeping more drivers off the road, with light traffic down 1.7 percent last month, though still up on the year earlier by 2.4 percent.

The latest ANZ Truckometer shows the heavy traffic index – a real-time measure of economic activity – was holding up a bit better with a drop of 1.2 percent in April over March, but was still trending higher with a 2.6 percent year-on-year rise.

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said the light traffic index tends to be a predictor of economic activity six months ahead, though the fuel crisis had created some uncertainty about the outlook.

“Higher fuel prices is bad for activity more generally. It’s not just about driving less, it’s about people shopping less as well,” she said.

“We can certainly see that in our card spending pack, and we’ve also seen a sharp drop in business and consumer confidence. So it’s obviously going to reduce driving, but it’s reducing broader economic activity as well,” she said.

Zollner said the heavy traffic was still holding up quite well, with support from the agriculture, construction and manufacturing sectors.

However, she said the activity could be a sign of some stockpiling of critical goods, as businesses may be concerned about the potential for supply chain disruptions, as seen during the Covid pandemic.

“There’s a lot of talk about how this isn’t just fuel, it’s plastics and other chemical inputs as well.

“So maybe there’s a bit of front loading going on, but the anecdote would certainly suggest that the economy is taking quite a hit in terms of activity. So it wouldn’t be surprising to see that start to turn-up in the heavy data. But for now, it’s holding up.”

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