Six tertiary students have been awarded scholarships as part of efforts to support farmers and growers on-the-ground, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard have announced.

“This Government is backing the sector by supporting the next generation of on-farm advisers,” Mr McClay says.

“Our On Farm Support Science Scholarships are an important part of our efforts to ensure the sector can provide specialised on-the-ground expertise and advice for farmers and growers.

“The successful programme has already started producing the next generation of advisers with four of the inaugural 2024 recipients having secured roles.”

The 2026 scholarships went to students enrolled in agricultural science, commerce, or environmental sustainability degrees.

The recipients were Lincoln University students Cameron Brans, Jack Green, Eibhlin Lynch, and Fraser Wilson, Massey University student Ella Hogan, and University of Canterbury student Cecily Holland. Each will receive $5,000 for the year. They have an interest in dairy, sheep, beef, horticulture, and arable production.

“Recipients in the scholarship programme are also mentored by members of the Ministry for Primary Industries On Farm Support team, providing hugely beneficial experience and networking opportunities,” Mr Hoggard says.

“Farm advisers have a vital role to play in providing on-the-ground support to farmers and growers. These students are the future of the advisory sector and will help keep our food and fibre sector thriving.”

Note to editors:  
Biographies of the successful scholarship recipients can be found below.

Name: Cameron Brans
University: Lincoln University 
Degree: Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture)
Home region: Waipawa, Central Hawke’s Bay
Background: Cameron has an interest in sustainable meat and arable production and diversification on-farm. He’s seeking a career in an advisory role that combines scientific and business aspects of agriculture.

Name: Jack Green
University: Lincoln University
Degree: Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons)
Home region: Auckland
Background: Jack has been on an exchange at Cornell University (US) for a semester. His study in 2026 will focus on the growing complexity of data and software on New Zealand dairy farms. He’s seeking a career in agri-tech and farm consultancy.

Name: Fraser Wilson
University: Lincoln University 
Degree: Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture)
Home region: Gore, Southland
Background: Fraser was raised on a sheep and beef farm and is most interested in the sheep industry. He’s seeking a career in rural banking, agribusiness, and has a long-term goal of farm or agri-business ownership.

Name: Eibhlin Lynch
University: Lincoln University
Degree: Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons)
Home region: Whanganui
Background: Eibhlin was raised on a dairy, sheep and beef farm. She’s been on an exchange at University College Dublin in Ireland to learn how the country is tackling similar environmental challenges and consumer pressures within the agricultural sector. She’s seeking a career in farm advisory combining science and rural services.

Name: Ella Hogan
University: Massey University
Degree: Bachelor of Agricultural Science
Home region: Dannevirke
Background: Ella is passionate about supporting the sheep and beef sector through science-based advisory work. She is interested in connecting research and policy with practical farm management to help farmers build resilient, sustainable businesses.    

Name: Cecily Holland
University: University of Canterbury
Degree: Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Social and Environmental Sustainability
Home region: Wellington
Background: Cecily is interested in horticulture, regenerative agriculture, and helping growers adapt to climate change and improve soil health. She’s seeking a career to work as a sustainability consultant or adviser.

MIL OSI

White plastic appears to pose a particular hazard for penguins, new research from the University of Auckland has found.

University of Auckland research fellow Dr Ariel-Micaiah Heswall tested plastic colour preferences of king and gentoo penguins at Kelly Tarlton’s Sealife Aquarium in Auckland.
 
She found the 46 gentoo and 23 king penguins interacted far more often with white plastic than other colours, possibly because white reminds them of prey, eggshell or their own feathers.
 
Penguins are known to eat plastic bottlecaps, so red, blue, black and white caps were used in the experiment.
 
The seabirds chose white almost twice as often as black, and about 45 percent more often than red or blue.
 
White plastic could be a “sensory trap” for penguins, because it might lure them with a colour that appeals to their senses, but has harmful consequences when they eat it, says Heswall, from the University’s Faculty of Science and Centre for Climate, Biodiversity and Society – Ngā Ara Whetū.
 
Previous studies have found more white and clear plastics than other colours in the guts of seabirds in New Zealand and internationally.
 
Some scientists have suggested that’s because white and clear plastics make up the bulk of the millions of tonnes of plastic floating in the ocean.
 
However, Heswall’s new research shows penguins select white plastic, even when it’s not more plentiful than other colours.
 
A study she published in June last year showed white and clear plastics were most often found in the guts of 13 species of North Island seabirds.
 
Yellow and gold plastics were the next most commonly found inside the seabirds.
 
While red and green plastics were widespread on Auckland beaches, they were less often found in the seabirds’ guts.
 
Plastic was found inside all 19 of the Buller’s shearwaters they examined.
 
“It’s a big problem, but at least we’re beginning to understand it better,” says Heswall.
 
Putting a lid on the production of white and clear plastics could reduce the threat for many seabird species, she says.
 
The penguins showed least interest in the black bottlecaps and seldom pecked the blue ones.
 
“Generally, black plastic is least often found inside most species of seabirds internationally.
 
“There needs to be more research, but if manufacturers replaced white plastics with black, that could potentially make a big difference for seabirds,” Heswall says.
 
Globally, 28 percent of seabirds are classified as threatened and seven percent are critically endangered.
 
Eating plastic poses risks of starvation, as plastic can fill or obstruct the birds’ gut.
 
Sharp plastics can puncture the gut, but soft plastics, such as balloons, are more likely to result in immediate death for seabirds, Heswall says.
 
Microplastics can leach into seabirds’ blood streams, changing hormone balances and sometimes causing plasticosis, a disease marked by chronic inflammation and scarring in the digestive tract.
 
Heswall says the penguin experiments were carefully designed to avoid stressing the birds or posing a risk of plastic being swallowed.
 
Even though the penguins were free to move around the enclosure, some chose to interact with the plastic caps in all but three of the 41 trials.
 
Two or three times, the penguins responded to the bottlecaps with courting or reproductive behaviours, flapping their wings and bowing repeatedly.
 
“It was quite funny to watch.
 
“The penguins sometimes tried to rotate and turn a bottlecap, a behaviour they typically only display with their eggs.”
 
Having grown up in Brunei, Heswall only discovered the wonders of seabirds when she moved to New Zealand ten years ago.
 
“I had no idea of the diverse world of shearwaters and petrels, let alone that New Zealand was the seabird capital of the world.
 
“I fell in love with seabirds during my university studies,” says the 28-year-old.

MIL OSI

Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced four appointments to the Nursing Council of New Zealand, ensuring the Council continues to provide effective leadership across the sector.

The newly appointed members are: 

• Alex Gordon – Lay member
• Amanda Singleton – Lay member
• Helen Nielsen – Health practitioner member
• Dr Julia Hennessy – Health practitioner member

“The Nursing Council plays a vital role in protecting the health and safety of New Zealanders by ensuring nurses are competent and fit to practise.

“These members bring a mix of governance, senior health sector leadership, and clinical experience, and I thank each of the appointees for their commitment to patients,” Mr Brown says.

All terms of office commence today.

Biographies

• Alex Gordon has a background in health service management and leadership and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Hospice Waikato. Alex has more than 20 years of experience in health services management at both a strategic and operational level.
• Amanda Singleton is a professional director and independent consultant with a background in the electricity, water, and telecommunications sector. Amanda holds several current board and chair roles.
• Helen Nielsen is an experienced nurse and clinical tutor with over 40 years in the profession. Helen has a strong background in education through a range of academic roles.
• Dr Julia Hennessy is a health and education consultant with extensive governance and senior leadership experience across tertiary education, health, and mental health.

MIL OSI

New Zealand is facing a shortage in neurologists, despite advances in the life-saving treatments available.

A new study from the University of Otago in Wellington shows neurologists will struggle to keep up with the increase in demand for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.

Professor Anna Ranta from the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Medicine led the study, examining capacity, trends over time and future projections to assist with health sector planning. The findings have been published in the British specialist medical journal, BMJ Neurology Open.

Ranta said while the workforce had increased over the past 10 years, the number of neurologists per head of population in New Zealand ranked well below other high-income countries.

The study, supported by funding from the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists, found there were 83 neurologists working in New Zealand across the public and private sectors in 2024.

But not all of them worked full time – there were actually 67.3 full-time equivalents, including 8.3 full-time equivalent specialist paediatric neurologists.

That was one per 74,000 people. For comparison, the study noted, Australia had one neurologist per 41,000 people.

Ranta said a recent Australian workforce model estimated that to achieve best practice management requirements, one neurologist per 28,000 people would be required.

“If current training, recruitment, retention and practice patterns persist, projections indicate there will be a gradual worsening in the New Zealand neurology workforce over time.”

She said the lack of resourcing meant only about one in five patients with chronic neurologic disease were regularly reviewed by a neurologist.

“We should expect about six times as many follow-up appointments as first specialist assessments,” she said. “However, Health NZ reports an overall ratio of 1:1 first assessments to follow ups.”

And not everyone who would benefit from seeing a neurologist was getting the opportunity to do so.

In May last year, RNZ reported a Palmerston North woman who rushed to the city’s hospital after suffering a seizure was surprised to find there was no neurologist on duty – instead, a general doctor took instructions from a specialist in Wellington.

The study noted New Zealand currently only had the capacity to train only four to five new neurologists a year, with neurology specialist training taking three years.

At the same time, the need for neurology services was increasing, as new and sometimes more complex treatments became available.

“Multiple sclerosis treatment options have become more complex, requiring more specialist input, and new Alzheimer’s treatments are on the horizon,” Ranta said.

“Rarer diseases, such as spinal muscular atrophy, now have treatment options, and there are many more treatments for neurogenetic diseases imminent.”

That also included reperfusion therapies for treating a stroke, which could enable doctors to clear blocked arteries and restore the blood flow to the brain quickly.

“There has also been an increase in tertiary hospitals routinely providing telemedicine or telephone expert decision making support to smaller hospitals and in the number of patients transferred for reperfusion therapy.”

Despite these advances, there had been minimal additional investment in the neurology workforce.

“New Zealand requires strong funding, recruitment and training initiatives if we want to be ready for the projected increase in neurological burden of disease now and over the next decade.”

Health New Zealand has been approached for comment.

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

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

The 10 newly-independent polytechnics have been kick-started with more than $325-million from their former owner, super-institute Te Pūkenga.

Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds said the organisations were recapitalised with sufficient funds to cover three months’ spending plus any ring-fenced funds they took with them when they were subsumed by Te Pūkenga, the NZ Institute of Skills and Technology.

“Some polytechnics had significant reserves going into Te Pūkenga, while others had significant debt. Each polytechnic received three months of operating expenditure, plus their original ring-fenced reserves (if applicable) plus any other restricted funds (if applicable),” she said.

Simmonds said five Industry Skills Boards had temporarily taken over seven work-based learning divisions of the mega-institute which were recapitalised with $62.7m.

She said the money would ensure financial viability and sustainability of training during the transition phase while the boards were temporarily accountable for work-based learning.

Simmonds said any remaining funds would be returned to the Crown after work-based learning moved to a tertiary education organisation such as a polytechnic or private training provider.

However, any previously agreed ring-fenced reserves would got to the tertiary education organisation.

Simmonds said the funding was arranged by Te Pūkenga and the Tertiary Education Commission.

Canterbury institute Ara received $80.8m, while the combined United/Manukau Institute of Technology received $52m, and Eastern Institute of Technology $34.5m.

The Open Polytechnic and Southern Institute of Technology each received more than $27m and Otago and Waikato more than $24m each.

Nelson-Marlborough received $22.6m, Toi Ohomai $20m, and Ucol $11m.

Among the former work-based learning divisions, Competenz received $20.9m, the Primary ITO $14m, EarnLearn $8.7m, Connexis and Careerforce more than $6m each, ServiceIQ $4m, and HITO $1.7m.

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

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

Is traffic already worse than normal or are Aucklanders just dealing with the usual shock of congestion as everyone returns to work and school?

The spike in Auckland traffic congestion is known as ‘March Madness’, but travel times are already picking up.

Director of transport advocacy website, Greater Auckland, Matt Lowrie told Nine to Noon travel times appeared to be normal.

“One of the things that happens is that we get lulled into a false sense of security of how easy it is when the traffic is low and during those school holidays.

“The numbers seem to suggest that it’s probably similar to last year … but it’s that we’ve often forgotten how bad it was at this time last year because even throughout after April when March Madness normally runs through to about Easter, it does drop off for sort of the rest of the year.

“We forget how bad it is at this time of year and I think that’s part of what is driving the experience that people are having is that we just forget that it’s super busy at this time of year and that creates a lot of pressure on all forms of transport.”

Lowrie said while they didn’t have road data yet, travel on public transport seemed to be about the same as last year.

However, he said indications were that roads were not at its peak yet, with far more congestion still to come in March.

“It’s the busiest period of the year on the roads and on public transport and it’s basically the highest level of transport demand that exists,” he said.

“There’s a number of factors behind it and that is things like kids going back to school, people who no longer have taken their holidays so they’re back at work and even things like sickness.”

There were fewer people sick at this time of year than perhaps in winter, Lowrie said.

“They tend to be more in the office more and then there’s also just, for example, university students, they’re about to go back shortly and they’re also at the start of the year,” he said.

“They’re quite keen to get into it and all excitement and before some of them start to sort of drop off or work their way around when their lectures are and what have you.

“It’s when most people are on the roads and on public transport and everything, travelling around to get to destinations.”

Lowrie said constant disruptions meant that trains were only operating at 60-65 percent of what it was prior to Covid.

He said it would take time for commuters to trust the network.

“City Rail Link will absolutely help that, and I think there will be a lot of people who decide to give it a go … it’s particularly from the west of Auckland where the travel times will be significantly lower as a result of the city rail.”

That’s where people will start to see some behaviour change and giving the trains a try, he said.

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

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

Police and the University of Otago will be monitoring student behaviour, with concerns about another year of out-of-control and dangerous behaviour during Orientation Week (O-Week).

It has prompted the university to start meeting with some of the larger, named flats to discuss expectations for the year and how to party safely.

By Sunday afternoon, Castle Street was quiet, but the signs of Saturday’s pre-O-Week ‘Flo-Week’ blow-out remained with shattered glass, bottles, boxes and rubbish lining the road.

Second year students Charlie, Hunter and Hugo hosted Saturday night’s Castle Street bash, saying hundreds of people attended.

Hunter said there was a bit of pressure to host, so the six flatmates pooled their money and paid a company for the gear and set up.

Charlie said they also had security and wristbands to control who could go inside.

Hugo said out-of-towners could be okay, but not when they got too rowdy.

Someone had smashed a bottle into a window because they thought they could, he said.

Hunter said people did not seem to understand that people lived in these flats.

They acknowledged the street was in a sad state, with Charlie saying the red rubbish bin was full in a day between the six flatmates and the glass bin might only last 30 minutes on a night out.

Charlie said the flat had met with university staff as part of the new initiative.

“It was actually real good, and they kind of just were like ‘we know what you’re here to do’. They’ve got it run pretty well.

“They know it’s not the tidiest place to live. No one’s living in the best conditions but we’re all choosing to be here and they told us they can give us more rubbish bins, talked about obviously getting on roofs with what happened last year, and couch fires and stuff.”

Second years Kyra and Pippi were excited for O-Week.

Police have called some of the behaviour “feral”, which Pippi reckoned was fair.

“I think it’s definitely feral. But I think that’s just how everyone wants it to be. People know that Flo-Week you kind of just like go all out for a couple of weeks. But then tame it out throughout the rest of the year,” Pippi said.

Since September, two young men have been critically injured from falls – including from the roof of a Castle Street flat.

Pippi said people liked the thrill of climbing on roofs.

“It definitely is dangerous and bad… but it is very common. You just see people on roofs at almost every house but I think people get a bit of a shock once they hear the bad stories about it. Like, we heard a pretty tragic story and so it’s honestly scared us all.”

Kyra was glad the university shared information about staying safe.

“It’s also really good that there’s like police around, controlling everyone… when it gets really rowdy and stuff, so it like makes people feel more safe.”

They both had friends down for Flo-Week, and said it was good to have visitors and others to meet as long as they did not trash the flats.

First years Amy and Ruby just moved into a uni hall, saying there has already been meetings about safety.

Amy was glad the university was proactive about it, saying it meant they felt more comfortable asking for help.

“I think it’s real cos they know exactly what we’re doing and I mean they help us do it safely rather than turn their heads the other way and pretend it’s not happening,”

Ruby was not surprised about the state of Castle Street, describing it as disgusting and filthy.

“I guess that’s just what Castle Street’s all about.”

University vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said they proactively told students about safe partying and how they were expected to behave. That included staying off roofs.

“We’re really clear that students need to stay off roofs. The tragic consequences of that are clear for everybody. We make that clear in all of our communications with students.”

He was pleased that flatmates from about 40 of the larger, named flats had met with the proctor as part of the new initiative, which he said made sure they were all on the same page.

The university did not support out-of-towners joining the frivolities as they could be difficult to manage, Robertson said.

“Many times they behave quite differently than students who know that Dunedin is their home.”

Flats were made aware this could be an issue and there was support for them if there were any issues, he said.

“Police have obviously got a role to play there because ultimately what is facilitated and allowed comes down to what the police are prepared to put up with given that these are private residences where these parties are being held.”

A major step forward would be to take out the glass, and the university had submitted to the local Alcohol Plan for that to happen, he said.

More than 4000 first-year students were welcomed over the weekend.

The Otago University Students’ Association is hosting a range of events for O-Week, which kicked off on Monday. Association president Daniel Leamy said they would be safe, inclusive environments for all students.

“Student Support is also always open to assist students as needed, and will have the Are You OK teams on the ground at events,” he said.

“We must also be cognisant of a select few creating a bigger story for the masses. Most students have a great week.”

The association actively encouraged students to choose cans over glass and recycle responsibly, promoted registering parties in advance in partnership with Good One and actively participated in clean-up days as a signatory to the Sophia Charter, he said.

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

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

Science, Innovation and Technology and Universities Minister Dr Shane Reti will visit India this week to attend the flagship artificial intelligence (AI) Impact Summit, strengthening international AI partnerships and unlocking opportunities for New Zealand. The theme for the summit is ‘AI for People, Planet and Progress’.

“Attendance at this summit ensures New Zealand has a seat at the table, along with senior international Ministers and officials, to help shape global AI standards, while providing opportunities to strengthen international partnerships and drive economic growth,” Dr Reti says.

“As highlighted in the New Zealand AI Strategy, AI has enormous potential to lift productivity and grow our economy, with some estimates predicting that generative AI alone could add $76 billion, around 15 per cent of GDP, by 2038.

“Our government is focused on unlocking economic opportunity through AI adoption, while ensuring appropriate guardrails. That’s why we are investing up to $70 million over seven years to support innovative AI research and applications, develop world-class expertise, and sharpen New Zealand’s competitive edge.

“This visit is also a chance to strengthen our science, innovation and technology relationships and promote New Zealand as an outstanding destination for international education.

“India is a growing powerhouse in science and technology. While New Zealand already has strong links between universities and research organisations, there is significant potential for greater research collaboration between our two countries. 

“International education partnerships bring students and export earnings into New Zealand, while AI adoption will lift productivity, support higher incomes, and help drive economic growth.”

While in India, Dr Reti will attend the AI Impact summit, meet with science and education counterparts, engage with leading technology firms and undertake a range of education focused engagements. Dr Reti departs New Zealand on 14 February and returns on 21 February.

MIL OSI

First-Ever Attack-Defence Simulation Aligns with Real Corporate Needs Setting a New Benchmark for Local Cybersecurity Competitions

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

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 13 February 2026 – The ASEAN-UK Women in STEM scholarships are co-funded by the British Council and the UK Mission to ASEAN. 2026 marks the 5-year anniversary of the UK becoming an ASEAN dialogue partner. Aspiring women in STEM scholars from all 11 ASEAN Member States can apply for the scheme to study selected courses at our two partner universities in the UK, Cranfield University and Stirling University., The scholarships provide funding for one-year master’s degree courses at leading UK universities, with the objective of increasing opportunities for women in STEM, strengthening female leadership in science and innovation, and promoting a more diverse and gender-representative STEM sector.

For the 2026-27 academic year, scholars from Southeast Asia will study at Cranfield University and University of Stirling, institutions globally recognised for excellence in applied research and innovation.

Key subject areas available through the programme include:

• Aerospace dynamics
• Environmental engineering
• Data science and artificial intelligence
• Autism and neurodevelopment conditions research
• Heath psychology

Each scholarship is worth a minimum of £40,000, covering tuition fees, living stipends, travel and visa costs, health coverage fees and English language support. These life-changing scholarships provide access to world-leading science and research environments and platforms to connect with experts in STEM and the UK’s global alumni network.

Eleven scholarships are available to applicants from Southeast Asia.

The UK is globally recognised for its excellence in science and research, ranking second in the world for research output and impact. Scholars benefit from exposure to cutting-edge research environments, advanced infrastructure, and industry-aligned learning, equipping them with the skills and global perspectives essential for leadership roles in STEM fields.

Beyond academic study, the programme supports long-term career development through access to UK alumni networks, providing scholars with opportunities to build international connections, collaborate across borders, and continue contributing to innovation and knowledge exchange well beyond the duration of their studies.

The British Council’s Global Head of Enabling Research & Science, Dr Jen Bardsley, says:

“It’s fantastic to be able to run our Women in STEM scholarship programme again for the 2026-27 academic year. The programme represents lowering barriers to STEM careers for women and really creating a more inclusive and diverse set of voices in science, which we know leads to better science and improved outcomes for everyone.”

Leighton Ernsberger, British Council Regional Director Education for East Asia, says:

“The ASEAN-UK Women in STEM Scholarships reflect our shared commitment, with the UK Mission to ASEAN and our two partner universities, Cranfield University and the University of Stirling, to advance inclusive growth through education and research collaboration. By supporting talented women to access world-class UK expertise in priority STEM fields, we are investing not only in individual potential, but in the region’s future scientific leadership and innovation capacity. This year’s cohort is particularly special as the UK celebrates its fifth year as ASEAN’s newest Dialogue Partner.”

Applications for ASEAN-UK Women in STEM scholarships are open until late April 2026.

To see details of scholarships which are available please visit:
Brunei | Cambodia | Laos | Timor-Leste

Hashtag: #BritishCouncil

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

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

Vape stores within stores like dairies and petrol stations are allowing retailers to get around flavour restrictions, and a new study has found they’re far more common in low socio-economic areas.

The authors of this new research out of Massey University say it goes against efforts to limit the exposure of young people to vape products.

Regulations mean only specialised vape retailers (SVRs) are allowed to sell the full range of vape products and flavours – and a store can only qualify as an SVR if vaping products make up 70 percent of their sales.

Convenience stores, petrol stations and supermarkets, which don’t meet that bar, can only sell mint, menthol or tobacco flavoured vapes.

But by opening a vape shop as a store within a store, these retailers could stock the full range, and then market those products to their existing foot traffic – for example, someone who has popped in for a bottle of milk.

A new paper out of Massey University, titled “Scoping the vape retail environment and retailers’ responses to vape control measures in selected Auckland suburbs with different levels of socio-economic deprivation” by Robin van der Sanden, Chris Wilkins, Marta Rychert, Jude Ball, Janet Hoek, Penelope Truman, Geoff Kira, El-Shadan Tautolo, has analysed the locations of these vape shops.

Out of 160 specialist vape retailers in 14 Auckland suburbs, 44 percent were stores within stores, and they were concentrated in suburbs with higher socio-economic deprivation, and residential areas rather than commercial centres.

High-deprivation suburbs had a median of 8.5 store-within-a-store outlets, compared to just two in low-deprivation areas.

In addition, 56 percent of all speciality vape retailers were located within 300 metres of at least one educational institute – be that primary, secondary, or tertiary.

The Auckland CBD had the highest total number of specialist vape retailers at 43, while some low-deprivation suburbs like St Heliers had none.

‘Stores within stores undermined efforts to curb exposure to youth’ – researcher

Study author and public health researcher Dr Robin van der Sanden told RNZ:

“It really is about wanting to maintain access to what are essentially the most appealing vape products, and the products that sell the best and most widely, which really are your fruit flavours [and] your lolly flavours.”

Regulations needed to balance accessibility for people who wanted vapes to quit smoking, while limiting exposure to young people and non-smokers.

In June last year, the government introduced strict regulations banning disposable vapes and restricting visible marketing.

Moves to set up vape stores within liquor stores drew concern from alcohol harm prevention groups last year, while the vaping industry argued liquor store age restrictions would likely limit exposure to young people.

Van der Sanden said stores within stores undermined efforts to curb exposure to youth, particularly in areas already facing greater health inequities.

“Kids are popping in and out of the dairy to buy an ice cream after school and as a result, they are coming into contact with that vape retail environment, and they’re seeing people exiting that little vape store carrying quite a cool, brightly coloured looking vape package,” she said.

From a policy perspective, she said, changes to close this loophole could have “a really noticeable impact”.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello, whose portfolio vaping falls into, told RNZ specialist stores were not supposed to have products displayed outside them, nor were under-18s allowed in them.

“If they’re breaking those laws, that’s an enforcement issue and there has been a significant increase in enforcement capacity and activity over the last two years to back up these changes.”

“Overall, the latest statistics show that youth vaping is continuing to reduce, as are our smoking rates. However, we need a more coherent and sensible regulatory regime around tobacco and nicotine products to better address the harm from smoking and I’ll be interested to see this research and any suggestions.”

Vaping Industry Association also wants loophole addressed

The Vaping Industry Association (VIANZ) told RNZ they, too, thought the loophole needed to be addressed.

In a statement, chairperson Jonathan Devery said the group supported the intent of regulations to reduce youth exposure, while maintaining access for adults seeking an alternative to smoking.

He said it was clear the store-within-a-store model had emerged as an unintended consequence of the current framework, “and we believe this loophole should be addressed to ensure the regulatory system operates as originally intended”.

Specialist vape retail should reflect genuine, standalone specialist premises with robust age-verification and compliance standards, not hybrid formats that blur the line with general retail, he said.

“We are committed to working constructively with regulators to strengthen the integrity of the specialist retail model while continuing to protect adult access to regulated, smoke-free alternatives.”

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

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

Students from a Taupō secondary school that lost a classroom block in a suspected arson will continue learning from home next week.

Roads around Taupō-nui-a-Tia College, on Spa Road, were closed for about four hours on Sunday while firefighters battled the blaze.

Since Monday the school’s 1200 students have been doing lessons online at home.

Principal Ben Claxton said demolition of the destroyed block began on Tuesday and was continuing – meaning students couldn’t yet return.

“The demolition was expected to take a while and for all sorts of health and safety reasons we’ve asked our students to remain home for the remainder of this week and next week, at this point.

“We’re going to review it on Wednesday.”

The destroyed classroom block had 11 teaching spaces, as well as housing the school’s health and counselling services.

Police have charged two youths with arson and they were due to appear in the Taupō Youth Court this week.

Claxton said he expected online learning to ramp up next week, and the school would communicate its expectations about that.

“Learning from home is a good option to have, but nothing beats face to face, so we are literally today starting to look at what we can do for the rest of the year.”

Some students and staff members were affected by what had happened and on Wednesday staff came together to share stories and plan for the future.

Although, Claxton said this week had been negotiated step by step, especially when the school was still in crisis mode.

In the short term some classes could be held in a nearby tertiary institution, which had volunteered its space. Claxton said that was getting finalised.

“The medium to long term is we’re hopeful of getting some form of relocatable-classroom situation onsite, to the number that we need.

“That’s all happening in the background with the ministry at the moment.”

Claxton said rebuilding projects could take time to plan and then begin.

A Ministry of Education spokesperson said it was exploring a range of temporary classroom options.

“The school continues to deliver online learning while the site is cleared and the best approach is determined.

“We understand the significant impact the fire has had on staff, students, and the wider community, and we are working with urgency to make sure any disruption to teaching and learning is minimised.”

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

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

Wellington councillors, national industry groups and drivers are sounding the alarm over immigration settings for bus drivers, warning of a looming shortage.

A residency pathway for bus drivers, brought in in 2022, requires English language to the level of a post-graduate international student, after two years on a working visa.

Drivers have been warning the test is too hard, more than 500 presented a petition to Parliament in January urging the rules to be relaxed.

According to the capital’s bus operator Metlink, the future of about 45 Wellington bus drivers is currently unclear as they try to stay in the country.

Bus drivers applying for residency must score 6.5 in IELTS, a standard international test, or exceed equivalent scores in four other English-language exams.

That’s the same level as many universities require for post-graduate international students.

In a council meeting today, Greater Wellington regional council public transport committee chair Ros Connelly said she’s worried the settings will force drivers to leave the country.

“It’s an extremely high level that involves not only english language understanding, but also comprehension of quite difficult concepts, so this is the problem that we are in, it was misjudged how difficult it would be to get drivers across that threshold.”

Paul Tawharu, senior manager operations at Metlink, told councillors operators were “extremely confident” there was no risk to service, that they had good domestic recruitment plans, and were training people through the system well.

Tauwharu said operators are setting up schools within bus depots to help teach English, and using New Zealand drivers on long-term sick leave to help with other drivers’ language skills.

Connelly said she feared a shortage in two years’ time, when visa extensions run out.

If drivers sit the residency test now, and fail it, they can apply for a visa to stay in New Zealand for two more years, she said.

But if they fail again they’ll be gone.

“I have ongoing concerns that this just kicking the can down the road for another two years and that at the end of that period, they won’t be able to stay in New Zealand and we’ll be back to the situation we were.”

New Zealand was in the grip of a significant driver shortage in 2022 and 2023 which caused regular bus cancellations and suspensions.

In Wellington, in 2022, 59 Metlink weekday bus services were suspended due to a lack of drivers.

The Bus and Coach Association chief executive, Delaney Myers, said no one wants to return to those days.

“In Wellington that got as bad as sometimes almost half of all peak morning services being cancelled or running late, it was incredibly frustrating.

“And our concern is that if we don’t take a long term approach to how we’re going to secure drivers going forward, then we may be in that situation again.”

Myers said no one anticipated the level of difficulty the bus driver residency pathway required, when it was announced in 2022.

She said skilled bus drivers don’t need academic level English to do a good job, and she wanted the government to lower the requirements.

Auckland bus driver Ryan Jay Carumba, who’s from the Phillipines, said he tried sitting the residency test and failed, and is now on a 2-year visa extension.

Carumba said the test was difficult, requiring him to write a 300-word essay in one part of it.

He thinks the level is too high for what the job needs.

“For sure it’s too much for us, personally we do not communicate a lot with passengers, we say good morning, hi, hello, and then if the passengers have some concerns with us they just talk to us, maybe a bit.”

Carumba said seven of his Filipino colleagues have recently left Ritchies, the company he works for, because they couldn’t meet the visa-level English requirements.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said she was not considering relaxing the language settings.

She said the pathway had been established under the previous government, and bus drivers had always known it required a higher level of English.

“There is an expectation in New Zealand that people who are staying have a certain level of English, and they need to work to get that.

“I would also say there are hundreds of bus drivers who have met the English standard, who have worked hard, and who have met that standard.”

Stanford said she wasn’t worried about another bus driver shortage, because there were many bus drivers from many parts of the world who will be able to meet the English language requirements.

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

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

[Keynote delivered at the New Zealand Economic Forum, 12 February 2026]

Tēnā koutou katoa, and good morning.

Thank you to Professor Jennifer Kerr and the University of Waikato Management School for hosting us. 

It is great to be here in the Waikato – a region that is building capability for the future, from innovation in agritech, to world-class events in the new BNZ Theatre, and soon to producing much-needed doctors and medical research through the new Medical School.

To my parliamentary colleagues, mayors, representatives of local government, members of the diplomatic corps, business leaders, economists, academics, students, and guests from across New Zealand – thank you for being here.

It is a privilege to open the 2026 New Zealand Economic Forum.

The theme of this year’s forum is Big Choices for a Small Nation. And there is one choice I want to be clear about at the outset.

We are fixing the basics and building the future by choosing smart investments that increase performance and decrease debt.

New Zealand does not grow by taxing more and investing less, and our Government is choosing a better course.

We grow by backing ambition, cutting red tape, and rewarding success.
That is the choice this Government is making.

We are meeting at a time when that choice matters.

The global environment is unsettled. Markets are volatile. Geopolitical risks are rising. Climate events are increasing. And the economic recovery has taken time, with real pressure on hardworking Kiwis.

In moments like this, it can be tempting to drift, or to reach for higher spending as an easy answer. But after the last Government more than doubled debt to 41.8 per cent of GDP, New Zealanders know the cost of that band-aid approach – it is simply not sustainable.

Small, open economies succeed by making deliberate choices.

History shows New Zealand’s biggest gains have come from disciplined decisions at home – managing the public finances responsibly, backing investment, staying open to the world, and building institutions that support long-term growth.

That is what this Government is focused on.

This morning I want to set out three things:

• how we are managing the public finances and restate the case for why fiscal credibility matters;
• how New Zealand is positioning itself in a more volatile global environment; and
• how we are strengthening the foundations of growth – by backing ownership, investment, and productivity through a wide-ranging reform agenda.

This is about backing New Zealanders with settings that reward effort.

When we make the right choices, there is no reason New Zealand cannot grow faster, lift incomes, and build resilience – not despite our size, but because of it.

1. Fiscal positioning and economic leadership

Let me begin with the fiscal context.

New Zealand has been through a long and difficult economic adjustment. The post-Covid period brought inflation that lingered too long, interest rates that hurt too many households, and a downturn that took time to unwind.

The most recent Treasury forecasts show the economy has begun to turn a corner. Growth strengthened through the second half of last year, unemployment is stabilising, and confidence is returning. Momentum is building – but sustaining it requires discipline and focus.

At the same time, the Crown’s balance sheet remains under pressure.

Core Crown expenses are still elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels. Debt-servicing costs are significantly higher than they were five years ago. Demographic pressures, particularly in health and superannuation, continue to intensify.

That context explains the fiscal strategy we are pursuing.

Our objectives are clear and worth restating:

• to return the operating balance to surplus by 2028/29;
• to place net core Crown debt on a downward track toward 40 per cent of GDP; and
• to rebuild fiscal resilience so future governments have options when the next shock inevitably arrives.

Those are not arbitrary numbers. They reflect the hard-won credibility New Zealand has built internationally over decades. They underpin our sovereign credit ratings. They protect households from higher interest rates. And they preserve room for governments to respond when crises occur.

They are targets easily forgotten by politicians who wish to spend more in election campaigns. But if we forget those targets, New Zealand’s economic strength will be impugned. And my view here is that fiscal credibility is not ideological. It is practical – and it is essential.

That is why Budget 2026’s operating allowance is $2.4 billion per annum. This is a ceiling, not a floor. Every dollar must be justified. Every new initiative must come with a clear case for value.

Over the past two years, this Government has made decisions delivering around $11 billion a year in savings and revenue measures. Those decisions were not easy. But they have stabilised the public finances, protected frontline services, and enabled investment in long-term growth.

That approach of delivering savings will be continuing in this budget and every future budget I deliver. Fiscal discipline is not the end goal. It is, in fact, the foundation for everything else we wish to achieve, because without it, everything else – growth, investment, resilience – becomes harder.

2. New Zealand’s position in a volatile world

We are making these choices in a world that is more uncertain than at any point in recent decades.

Geopolitical competition is sharper. Supply chains are more fragile. Energy markets remain volatile. And technological change – from artificial intelligence to advanced manufacturing – is accelerating faster than policy systems typically adapt.

Yet New Zealand’s position in this environment is stronger than we sometimes allow ourselves to believe.

We are politically stable in an unstable world. We have strong institutions, high-quality regulation, low corruption, and an independent central bank. 

We produce food, fibre and energy the world genuinely needs. And we continue to generate globally competitive firms across agritech, software, advanced manufacturing and aerospace.

Our challenge is not a lack of potential.

It is whether our policy settings organise that potential, or suppress it through uncertainty, cost, and delay.

Much of what matters for New Zealand’s prosperity remains within our control: predictable policy, efficient infrastructure, credible fiscal management, secure energy supply, and settings that reward ownership and investment.

Resilience is not just about surviving shocks. It is about having the capacity to adapt, recover, and sustain growth.

3. Ownership, investment and productivity: backing growth

This global context brings us directly to the choices we are making at home to back growth 

For decades, New Zealand’s productivity growth has lagged behind comparable economies, and the consequences are clear, lower wages, less fiscal headroom for investment in public services, from medicines through to classrooms, fewer globally scaled firms, and in my view, too much reliance on population growth and house price growth rather than genuine productivity gains. 

And so, the task that our Government faces is not simply to repair the basics which were damaged post Covid, but to build foundations in our economy that allow us to address these long-standing productivity challenges. 

Our Going for Growth agenda, which I published at last year’s forum, is grounded in a simple proposition: productivity responds to incentives. Productivity is not resolved through one silver bullet, but ongoing, substantive, systemic reform.

When people are confident, they own assets, invest in capital, and earn a return without those settings being constantly reopened, they invest more – and they invest earlier.

That is why this Government is explicitly backing ownership, investment, and productivity-enhancing settings.

Not through subsidies or short-term stimulus.

But through durable policy settings that reward productive activity.

The Investment Boost tax policy introduced in Budget 2025 was designed to do just that – change investment behaviour in favour of more capital intensity in our firms. 

And it would have been easy to say at the last budget, we can’t afford a productivity-enhancing tax measure at this point, because that will require us to make difficult savings elsewhere. But the choice we made is that we can’t afford not to. We can’t afford to keep waiting to make productivity enhancing changes to our tax system. 

And so, Investment Boost is not about rewarding investment that would have happened anyway. It is about tipping decisions – bringing investment forward, increasing scale, and anchoring capital in New Zealand.

And we are already seeing that happen.

Early evidence from Inland Revenue shows that among firms that invested recently, 40 per cent say Investment Boost increased their investment spending over the past year, including 11 per cent reporting a significant increase directly because of the policy.

Looking ahead, the impact is even clearer. Nearly half – 49 per cent – of firms intending to invest over the next five years say Investment Boost is positively influencing those plans, with 14 per cent anticipating a large increase in investment as a result.

What matters is not just that businesses are investing more, but how they are investing.

More than half of firms report adjusting the timing, scale and type of investment. Projects are being brought forward. Capital is being prioritised into productivity-enhancing assets. And businesses are choosing to own capital rather than lease it.

We can see that on the ground.

Dunedin-based United Machinists has brought forward investment in robotics and automation, rather than phasing it over several years.

Foot Science International has accelerated investment in automation and renewable energy infrastructure.

Christchurch-based Vynco is investing in advanced manufacturing equipment that will lift efficiency and expand capacity.

These are not abstract policy effects.

They are real businesses making real decisions – earlier, larger, and more productively – because the incentives have changed.

That matters, because capital deepening is how productivity rises. And productivity growth is how wages grow sustainably over time.

But there is a broader issue that needs to be confronted.

Investment Boost only works in the longer term if businesses believe it will endure.

Firms do not invest in long-lived capital – plant, machinery, buildings – if they think the rules may change after the next election.

So, my question to Mr Hipkins is straightforward.

Will they commit to retaining Investment Boost as a permanent fixture of our tax settings to unlock growth or will it be sacrificed to fund higher spending and new taxes?

This Government’s position is clear.

We back ownership.

We back investment.

And we back productivity-enhancing tax settings.

Policy stability, long-term reform and the growth opportunity

I want to make a broader point about policy stability, because this is where long-term growth is won or lost.

Business investment decisions depend on confidence: confidence in the regulatory environment, confidence in the tax system, and confidence that major settings will not be reopened or rewritten after every election.

There is strong evidence, here and overseas, that uncertainty around tax policy has a chilling effect on investment. When businesses hear ongoing debate about capital gains taxes, wealth taxes, inheritance taxes, or new taxes on investment and savings, they delay decisions, reduce scale, or take capital elsewhere.

That uncertainty is not theoretical. It has been lived.

This Government is taking a different approach.

We are committed to stability where stability supports growth. Not because change is never needed, but because constant churn comes at a real economic cost.

Good economic policy is not about novelty or relitigating the same arguments every three years.

It is about credibility, consistency, and giving people the confidence to invest, train, and build for the long term.

That principle runs through our broader reform programme.

If we step back, the question is not just what grows the economy this year, but what kind of economy New Zealand becomes over the next 10 to 20 years.

We have emerging sectors with enormous potential. From agritech and advanced manufacturing to digital services, biotech, clean energy and critical minerals. Unlocking that potential requires more than one-off incentives. It requires long-term settings that endure across economic cycles.

That is why we are backing reforms that strengthen both the economic and human foundations of growth.

Our reform agenda is not Band Aid solutions or quick fixes, but systemic changes, from competition reform to procurement reform to real transformation of the public sector and its delivery of services, digitising public services, enabling housing growth through investing in new funding and financing tools in competitive land markets, infrastructure funding and financing and planning. 

This real reform doesn’t happen overnight, but it is essential, and in too many cases, overturned. Today, I want to focus on just three key areas where that reform agenda is significant. 

The first is education. Here we are lifting performance by fixing the basics, because productivity ultimately depends on skills.

That is why we are:

• refocusing the system on core skills
• strengthening curriculum clarity
• investing in structured literacy and numeracy,
• and beginning the work to replace NCEA with a more credible, coherent qualification

These reforms are essential to give New Zealanders the skills to succeed, and give employers confidence in the workforce they are investing in. And no one will argue with the fact that achievement of those who are undergoing structured literacy has increased significantly. 

According to our studies that doesn’t just mean that productivity growth, or GDP, will be increased in the next quarter, but that achieving better skills for our students is essential to our 20-year productivity goals. 

The second area where we are strengthening ownership and long-term savings is through our policy to increase KiwiSaver contributions over time. 

As Finance Minister, we made that commitment in last year’s Budget, and KiwiSaver default contributions will now increase half a per cent from this year and rise again in two years. 

As National Party’s finance spokesperson, I’ve been proud to announce our policy of increasing KiwiSaver contributions beyond that over time – lifting domestic capital, strengthening household resilience, and supporting investment in New Zealand businesses.

And the third area is our reforms to the planning system, because growth cannot happen if building is blocked.

Replacing the Resource Management Act is one of the most important economic reforms underway. The two new Bills Chris Bishop has put forward fundamentally rebalance the system by:

• reducing unnecessary delay
• clarifying decision-making pathways
• improving certainty for investors
• enabling nationally significant infrastructure to proceed, and making growth easier rather than harder

If we are serious about lifting productivity, we cannot continue with a system that makes it harder to build than to object.

And we are making strategic investments in human capital that will strengthen our workforce and our economy for decades. That includes expanding medical education right here with the University of Waikato Medical School.

From 2028, the Waikato Medical School will train an additional 120 doctors each year, focused on primary care and community health, helping reduce reliance on overseas workforce and improving access to timely care for families, especially in rural and provincial areas. 

This is a long-term investment in people – building the pipeline of doctors we need, creating new jobs, and strengthening the health workforce across this region and the country. And significantly, is occurring not just with Government funding, but with the contribution of the university and philanthropy as well.

We are also already seeing what disciplined reform can deliver.

A year into Kāinga Ora’s Turnaround Plan, performance is improving while debt is being brought under control. When this Government came into office, Kāinga Ora’s debt had grown from $2.3 billion to $16.5 billion, with forecasts showing it heading toward almost $25 billion. Clear direction and tighter discipline have changed that trajectory. Operating costs have been cut by $211 million in a single year, and peak debt has been reduced by $9.5 billion, now expected to top out much lower.

Importantly, this has occurred while outcomes have improved. Build costs are falling, renewals are accelerating, rent arrears are down by nearly 3000 households, and tenancy satisfaction has risen to 87 percent. It is a practical example of what happens when government focuses on accountability, value for money, and delivery – lifting performance, while reducing debt.

Taken together, these reforms share a common purpose.

They back ownership.

They reward investment.

They lift productivity.

And they provide the policy consistency New Zealand needs to grow with confidence over the long term.

That is what economic leadership looks like, and it is the platform on which sustainable growth is built.

Closing reflection

Let me finish where I began – with choices.

New Zealand’s future will be shaped by whether we back the people who invest, build, and create opportunity, or burden them with uncertainty and cost.

This Government has made its choice.

We are backing ownership.

We are backing investment.

We are backing productivity.

We are fixing the basics and building the future.

Others may argue for higher taxes and more spending.

But every one of those choices comes with a price – and that price is paid by hard working Kiwis.

If we make disciplined choices grounded in the simple belief: that New Zealand succeeds when people have confidence in the future, clear rules to operate within, and the freedom to invest and grow.

Then New Zealand’s future is not something to be cautious about, 

It is something to be confident in — and something to build. 

Thank you.

MIL OSI

Accelerating AI Integration into Educational Settings to Enhance Learning and Teaching Effectiveness

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

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 11 February 2026 – Centre of Advanced Power and Autonomous Systems (APAS), under the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), made its first-ever appearance at the Asia Photonics Expo (APE 2026)—Asia’s leading platform for photonics technology innovation—held in Singapore from 4 to 6 February. During the exhibition, APAS showcased its advanced automotive photonics R&D achievements to photonics experts and enterprises in the field from across Asia and around the world. Featured innovations included an Automotive-grade MEMS Drive OIS Actuator and an Augmented Reality Head-up Display for Commercial Vehicles.

Meanwhile, APAS organised the “Go Global to Southeast Asia: Singapore Photonics and Emerging Industries Delegation“, leading representatives from Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland enterprises to participate in APE 2026 as well as a series of site visits and exchange activities. This initiative aimed to present Hong Kong’s comprehensive R&D and industrial strengths in photonics and emerging sectors to the international community. It also sought to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in understanding market dynamics and technological trends in Singapore’s photonics and emerging industries, facilitate cross-regional business networking, and support enterprises in expanding into Southeast Asian and global markets.

Mr Yonghai DU, Chief Innovation Officer of HKPC and General Manager of APAS, said, “The ’15th Five-Year Plan’ Recommendations emphasise fostering emerging industries and accelerating the development of industrial clusters in strategic emerging fields such as new energy and new materials. Over the years, HKPC has been committed to helping enterprises turn R&D outcomes into competitive market application solutions. APAS focuses on R&D in various technological fields, including green transportation, smart mobility, intelligent systems and emerging applications. By collaborating with industry, academia and research institutions, APAS transforms R&D outcomes into commercially viable products and solutions, thereby enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness in the fields of new energy vehicles and intelligent driving”.

“Photonics plays an irreplaceable role in data acquisition, transmission and processing, and is therefore critical to the field of intelligent driving. This is APAS’s first participation in the APE, together with the organisation of a delegation to Southeast Asia, aims to lay a more solid foundation for the long-term development of automotive photonics technologies, while supporting businesses in expanding into photonics and emerging industries markets in Southeast Asia”.

First Debut in APE 2026 to Deepen International Photonics Industry Connections
Photonics technologies are widely applied across various sectors, including communications, information technology, healthcare, industrial manufacturing and energy. Held in Singapore, APE 2026 is one of the most influential events in the photonics industry in Asia. It brought together research institutions, technology companies and industry leaders from around the world to showcase cutting-edge technologies and innovative application scenarios across the entire photonics value chain. As a leading R&D institution in new energy and intelligent driving, APAS made its debut at APE 2026, leveraging its R&D strengths to contribute to technological collaboration and application innovation within the photonics industry. It not only helps Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland enterprises build bridges to the global photonics industry and expand market opportunities, but also supports Hong Kong’s active integration into the international photonics ecosystem, further promoting cross-regional technology exchange and industrial collaboration.

As a member of the HKSAR Government’s “Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global”, HKPC also shared its comprehensive “GoGlobal” services with exhibition participants during the event. These services include smart manufacturing, technology research and assessment, international standards and testing, professional services, training and study missions, as well as funding schemes—highlighting Hong Kong’s unique advantages in supporting enterprises’ global expansion. Ms Teresa POON, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore, visited the APAS booth to learn about the latest automotive photonics technologies and R&D achievements in Hong Kong, and to exchange views on the city’s strengths in the photonics industry.

In addition, Dr Rick MO, Head of Business Development and Commercialisation and Head of Emerging Applications of APAS, was invited to deliver a keynote speech on the impact of 2D material semiconductor innovations on the future development of smart mobility and high-end manufacturing. The APAS team has been deeply involved in the field of third-generation semiconductors for many years. Its development of silicon carbide-based systems and controllers have significantly improved the energy efficiency and driving range of new energy vehicles. Looking ahead, the team will explore the replacement of traditional chip electronic signals with optical signals, further advancing the application and development of related technologies.

Advancing Automotive Photonics R&D to Support Smart Mobility and Smart City Development
During APE 2026, APAS set up a dedicated exhibition zone to showcase its latest automotive photonics solutions in support of smart mobility and smart city development. The exhibits included:

• Automotive-grade MEMS Drive OIS Actuator: The technology is designed to stabilise imager sensor shifts in Full HD dash cameras. It effectively reduces image shake caused by road vibrations or cornering, significantly enhancing image stability and clarity. When combined with object detection and recognition capabilities, the dash camera prototype can continuously deliver clear images and reliable driving records, even in busy urban areas, on winding roads or in tunnels, and in adverse weather conditions. This helps to improve overall road safety.
• Augmented Reality Head-up Display for Commercial Vehicles: By combining virtual images with the real-world view, key driving information such as navigation routes, vehicle speed and safety alerts, is projected directly onto the windshield. This allows drivers to access critical information without having to divert their gaze, thereby enhancing driving focus and safety. The solution can also be optimised for the practical operating scenarios of commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks.

Promoting International R&D Exchange and Exploring Southeast Asian Market Opportunities
In addition to participating in APE 2026, the “Go Global to Southeast Asia: Singapore Photonics and Emerging Industries Delegation” arranged visits for enterprise representatives to several world-class universities and research institutions in Singapore, including Nanyang Technological University, the National University of Singapore, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research. These visits provided in-depth insights into the latest R&D and technology commercialisation cases in areas such as quantum photonics, smart sensing, semiconductors and emerging applications, enabling participants to better grasp market trends and collaboration opportunities in photonics and emerging industries.

Through this series of visits and exchanges, HKPC and APAS played a bridging role in showcasing Hong Kong’s R&D capabilities and industrial strengths in photonics and smart mobility to the global community, supporting SMEs in capturing opportunities in the Southeast Asian market, and promoting the long-term development of the photonics and smart mobility industries.

Hashtag: #HKPC #APAS

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

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

Otago University is urging students to “stay off roofs” after a young man was critically injured falling from a building at the Dunedin campus.

The man was in Dunedin Hospital, after being found by campus staff shortly after midnight on Wednesday.

Police said the injured man was not a student at the university.

The Otago Daily Times reported the young man fell from the Centre for Innovation building near the intersection of Cumberland and Saint David streets.

In a statement, university vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said staff acted quickly and alerted emergency services after finding the man.

“Staff are continuing to work closely with police and providing assistance where possible. As this is a police investigation, we are unable to provide further details about the incident,” he said.

Ahead of Otago University’s O-week celebrations, the university was outlining the importance of safe decision-making.

“With students returning to the city, we strongly encourage everyone to look out for one another, make safe choices and seek help early if they have concerns. Our Campus Watch staff are available 24/7 to assist students in the North Dunedin community,” Robertson said.

Campus Watch staff had begun door-knocking flats in North Dunedin, Robertson said.

“We provide practical information on personal safety, property security, safe behaviour in two-storey flats, avoiding climbing on roofs, waste and recycling requirements and other matters important to a safe start to the year.

“I cannot stress enough about the importance of staying off roofs. The tragic outcomes of that are well-known and we do not want anyone, or their friends and whānau to have to experience that.”

Otago University student and age-grade rugby representative Jayden Broome was still recovering from a critical brain injury, after falling from the roof of a two-storey Dunedin flat in September last year.

The 19-year-old spent four months in hospital and was unable to eat for 115 days following the fall, The Southland Tribune reported last week.

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

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

There is concern that some behaviour at Dunedin’s annual ‘Flo’ and ‘O’ weeks is out of control and highly dangerous, with students clambering onto roofs.

A young man was critically injured on Wednesday after falling about 10 metres from an Otago University building, with a wine bottle found on a ledge.

While he was not a student, police were calling for others to avoid rising similar injuries – which were becoming more common.

“Unfortunately, it seems to be becoming more and more prevalent,” senior sergeant Craig Dinnissen told Checkpoint.

“Flo Week never used to be a thing. It has become more of a thing in the last couple of years and the climbing on roofs has been around since the Hyde Street unmanaged events, which just leads to absolute significant risk and injury when it does go wrong.”

Dinnissen said police had engaged with numerous people to get off roofs and passed their details onto their university for further discussion.

He suggested that students had too much time to get into trouble, with classes yet to start.

“There’s absolutely nothing to do with university … there’s no classes, nothing at all,” Dinnissen said.

It is seven nights of various street parties, excessive drinking and just some poor behaviour and poor decision making, he said.

He said it was the first time away from home for many students, and with nothing else to do, evenings could often get “feral”, with illicit substances also a factor.

Dinnissen said wastewater testing indicated that this time of year was “high use”, with police resources stretched to ensure the safety of everyone.

“It takes a huge amount of time from us, from normal court policing,” he said.

Out of towners joining the parties was another factor.

“We have people travelling all the way from Auckland to come down to partake in the festivities here, both Flo and O Week,” Dinnissen said.

“Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, university students, people from all around the area as well.”

Dinnissen said while police could generally handle local students, people that come from outside the region often had no respect for the environment and the situation they put themselves in.

Without putting an end to the parties, he called for a “significant culture change” and for students to embrace social responsibility.

“These are supposed to be new young adults that are going to lead us into the future,” he said.

“We can’t really hold their hand in that sense, to realise that things are getting out of hand.”

Dinnissen said the last thing police ever wanted to do was to knock on somebody’s door and say your daughter or your son was in hospital.

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

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

MIL OSI

Labour is getting closer to confirming support for the India Free Trade agreement, but says the full text has raised more questions that need answering.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Trade Minister Todd McClay announced the agreement three days before Christmas, touting wins for several industries.

During the announcement, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters revealed he would not be supporting the deal, saying it gave away too much – particularly on immigration – for too little, including dairy.

The divide between the coalition parties means National and ACT will need support from at least one opposition party to get legislation as part of the deal through Parliament.

McClay later revealed NZ First had [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/585343/nz-first-pulled-support-for-india-fta-before-it-was-secured-todd-mcclay-reveals expressed its disagreement before the announcement.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins on Tuesday said the party expected to write to the prime minister by the end of the week setting out conditions for Labour’s support.

“Just got to do a little bit of wordsmithing on that,” he said. “We clearly have some concerns about the potential exploitation of migrant workers, where we think the government is not doing enough, and we’re going to set out things that we want to see the government doing in that area. And I’ll set the rest of it out in due course.

“The government will need to do something that they have not yet done, which is that they’ll need to sit down and have a conversation with us rather than saying ‘this is the agreement that we have signed, you should just support it’.”

Coalition members had previously been relying on summaries provided by officials, as is usual.

Hipkins and Peters both confirmed their teams had received copies of the full text of the agreement in recent days, with Hipkins indicating that had added complications.

“We’ve got more questions now than we might have had based on the information the government gave us when they announced the deal,” he said.

He said US President Donald Trump’s tariffs had opened the path to securing the deal.

“Everything changed in India as a result of recent developments around Trump, a lot of countries suddenly got access to negotiate trade agreements that they had been really struggling to get,” he said.

He said New Zealand had come out of the process “with a deal that isn’t as good as other countries have been able to secure”.

Rather than blame the negotiators, he pointed the finger at Luxon’s public commitment to secure a deal before the 2026 election.

“Ultimately, those negotiators work within the parameters set by the government. Christopher Luxon tied their hands behind their back. When he said that he was going to secure a deal before the election come hell or high water, that immediately made their job a lot harder.”

He again expressed frustration at the process.

“They could have spoken to us through these negotiations so that we would have been fully familiar with what it is that they were signing us up to. They chose not to do that.”

McClay said the deal was being “legally scrubbed and verified”, and once that was complete “it’ll be available to not only all parties, it’ll be available to the public”.

He said he was happy to keep answering Labour’s questions.

“There is nothing pressing over the next few weeks. But I think the business committee would like to know their position soon.”

He was asked if he regretted not approaching Labour earlier, given he knew NZ First’s stance.

“We have absolutely no regrets at all in doing a trade deal with one of the most populous countries of the world, and probably the best trade deal that India has done with anybody so far. It more than levels the playing field for Kiwi exporters,” McClay said.

He could not remember Labour ever having approached National for support on the EU trade deal, he said – and rejected the idea that was because Labour had a majority, so did not need National’s support.

“In essence I think they probably did, because they didn’t put it … into law when they were a government.”

Student migration stoush

Confusion has continued to surround aspects of the deal relating to student migration.

Documents released by the government point to a handful of provisions for migration:

• 1667 three-year work visas a year, capped at 5000 total visas at any one time. Focused on priority roles on the Green List like doctors, nurses, teachers, ICT and engineering jobs, specialised health services, traditional medicine practitioners, music teachers, chefs and yoga instructors
• Up to 1000 places on New Zealand’s Working Holiday Scheme (ages 18-30)
• Codifies the right for Indian students to work up to 20 hours a week (within the current policy of up to 25 hours)
• Post-Study Work Visas: 2-year for Bachelors students graduating from a NZ institution, 3-year for STEM bachelors and masters, 4-year for PhD students

A document released by the Indian government claimed the FTA would also remove numerical caps on Indian students, but no such cap exists.

International Students seeking visas need funds to be a student, and need to have been accepted to a place at a university or other learning institution, naturally limiting the number of students who can arrive.

Rules were also changed in 2022 to limit international students learning below degree level from working. It meant such students could only work in-demand sectors related to their study, based on the Green List.

While the text of the deal is still secret, McClay and Luxon have both maintained it makes no changes to the government’s ability to impose a cap at a later date.

“No, the New Zealand government, going forward, can make its own independent decisions about what it wants to do with respect to export education, what it wants to do with respect to visas, and any government can make changes to that,” Luxon said.

ACT leader David Seymour agreed.

“And I don’t believe that it’s significant if there was for the simple reason that we have never had a cap … when you restrict the quality and the price of the courses, that changes the quality of the people coming, so you can control it that way,” he said.

Peters claimed something different, however.

“There is a cap now, but the cap is controlled by the country of origin, and the parents of origin paying for the export education. This has changed, and that’s why it’s dramatically different. Our economy will be paying for the export education. So it’s not truly export education,” he said.

Hipkins said he was “still working my way through that”.

“There is conflicting advice coming from the government on that, particularly if you look at their public statements … once we understand what the government is signing us up for, then we’ll set out, set out our views on principle.”

He said Peters’ claims about the deal did not seem to line up with the official advice.

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

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

More university students are getting into financial trouble because they are being bombarded by sports betting companies, the Problem Gambling Foundation says.

Stories were emerging of flats of students gambling rent money and student allowances on sporting fixtures.

PGF Services, also known as the Problem Gambling Foundation, was launching a campaign and claimed gambling was becoming increasingly embedded in sport, with young men being increasingly targeted and exposed to betting promotions.

Health promoters from the foundation would be visiting university campuses around the country during O-week.

Director of Advocacy and Public Health Andree Froude told First Up young people were being lured in before they began their tertiary studies.

“We’ve even heard of school students on a bus in uniform talking about the bets they were going to place on sports teams. We’ve heard stories of them openly gambling on their laptops when they’re walking between classes at university,” she said.

“It seems almost like a rite of passage that when they turn 18 they put the Betcha app on their phones.”

There had been examples of students watching games during classes to see if students had been successful with their bets, Froude said.

“Gambling in flats, one person might place the bet but others might be watching and egging them on. There’s a peer pressure element there,” she said.

“Losing rent money, gambling away student allowances. Unfortunately, we’ve heard it all.”

Parents, who were often unaware of the seriousness of the problem, were urged to have conversations with their adult children before they left for university.

“It’s really easy for them to get hooked into it. Once they do become addicted, it can become problematic really quickly,” she said.

Froude said tougher restrictions needed to be introduced on largely unregulated gambling advertising.

“[Students] are being bombarded with ads.

“We would like to see gambling advertising banned but there certainly needs to be much tougher restrictions,” she said.

“They’re being offered inducements to open accounts. There’s ‘live play betting’ which is really harmful as well. There’s things that can be done to protect students and it needs to happen.”

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour told First Up whilst he had some sympathy for his former employer PGF Services, “personal responsibility” also needed to be underlined.

“We’re talking about university students who are receiving a huge amount of taxpayer money, on the basis that they’re smart and have a future that we should invest in as taxpayers,” he said.

“Casting them as victims incapable of making better choices doesn’t help either.”

Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden was due to introduce gambling legislation to the house this week, Seymour said.

The law would seek to block overseas websites and license a restricted number of online gambling sites, including regulations on advertising.

“[Students] can make choices too. They should know about gambling and that the house always wins. If it didn’t the house would no longer be in business and they wouldn’t be gambling with them.”

Seymour said that although addiction should not be taken lightly, it was not impossible to overcome.

“It almost sounded as though [university students] are completely hapless victims. That’s not how I see New Zealanders.”

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

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

A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says. 

“This partnership is about building high-value capability in New Zealand and strengthening our economy for the future,” Dr Reti says.

“By combining our research expertise with the UAE’s strengths in engineering and autonomous technologies, we will develop new tools to better understand and predict how climate change in Antarctica affects our weather, oceans and coastal communities. 

“The collaboration supports our Antarctic research goals while strengthening New Zealand’s advanced engineering and autonomous systems capability – technologies that can boost productivity and resilience across key industries. 

“It will also provide better insight into Antarctic climate change to help businesses and decision‑makers plan for the future. 

“The systems developed, from high-resolution climate modelling to long-range autonomous underwater vehicles, will have applications across marine industries, environmental monitoring and aerospace.

“That means new commercial opportunities, high-value jobs, and stronger national capability in the technologies that will power our future economy.”

The partnership will initially support two Antarctic Science Platform projects focused on improving sea-ice forecasting and deploying advanced autonomous systems to better understand ice shelf melt and ocean circulation.

New Zealand will invest $1 million in the projects, following a Memorandum of Arrangement between Khalifa University and Antarctica New Zealand.

The Antarctic Science Platform will run a targeted contestable process to identify New Zealand research teams to join the collaboration, with proposals assessed on scientific excellence and their potential to build capability for both countries.

Notes to editors:

The partnership will initially support two projects delivered through the Antarctic Science Platform. These projects will focus on:

• Storm dynamics influence on sea ice formation: Improved forecasting tools will enhance operational planning and build New Zealand’s capability in predictive environmental modelling, integrating high resolution modelling with new observation techniques will improve understanding of how storm dynamics influence sea ice formation.
• Tracking changes to ice shelve using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs): Long-range AUVs and other remote technology will be developed and deployed to measure heat content and water mass exchange on the continental ice shelf. Designed to operate in extreme conditions, these systems will expand New Zealand’s capability in remote sensing technologies while helping fill key data gaps related to iceshelf melt and ocean circulation.

In May 2025, the Government announced an investment of $49 million over the next seven years to support the Antarctic Science Platform. Collaboration between New Zealand and the UAE’s relevant Antarctic institutions through this Platform supports the Government’s work to accelerate long-term economic growth driven by innovation. 

It also complements recently announced collaborations with international partners including Japan, Singapore, Australia and the United States across advanced materials, space science, health technologies and climate research supported by the MBIE-administered Catalyst Fund. 

MIL OSI

New Zealand Rental Report, January 2026 – Capital city takes charge with record number of new rental properties listed.

Wellington hits record high with 965 properties listed for rent in January
Scarfies had less choice with 32.9% fewer new rental listings in Otago than January 2025
National average rent falls to $634/week, down 2.0% year-on-year

Students moving to the capital for the start of the academic year are spoilt for choice when it comes to finding a rental property. In January, Wellington reached a record high of 965 properties listed for rent, a whopping 54.2% more rental listings than the same time last year.

However, students heading south face a much tighter rental market.

Otago’s new rental listings were down 32.9% year-on-year, with just 139 properties listed for rent this January, compared to 207 in January 2025.

Meanwhile, Canterbury offered students more choice with 892 new rental listings in January 2026, an increase of 16.9% on same time last year.

Vanessa Williams, spokesperson for realestate.co.nz says, the data shows just how important timing and location are for student renters.

“For students heading back to campus, where you study has a big impact on your rental experience. Wellington renters are spoilt for choice this year, while those moving to Otago will need to be organised and act quickly in a far more competitive market. It’s very much a tale of two cities.”

A little more left in the pocket as average weekly rents fall

Students in Wellington may also find they have more in their bank accounts – average weekly rents have fallen 8.9% year-on-year to $659/week, although this remains above the national average rental price of $634/week.

Renters in Auckland are also paying above the national average rent, with the average rent in the City of Sails at $686/week, down just 1.8% on January 2025.

The average weekly rent has fallen in Otago (down 4.1% year-on-year to $519/week in January 2026) and stayed flat in Waikato (down 0.3% year-on-year to $556/week). Canterbury is the only university region to record an increase in average weekly rental prices in January, up 1.2% to $584/week.

Williams says these year-on-year declines suggest landlords in some regions are having to be more competitive on price, particularly where supply has lifted.

 “We’re seeing rental markets behave very differently across the country. For student renters, these figures underline how local supply conditions shape affordability. More choice gives renters leverage, but in markets where supply hasn’t lifted, prices remain resilient.”

Which regions are seeing a rise in rental stock?

National rental stock increased 9.8% in January 2026, with 7,830 rental properties available compared to 7,129 properties in January 2025.

Hawke’s Bay recorded the greatest year-on-year increase in stock levels, up 115.8% compared to January 2025 to 123 properties. Wairarapa also recorded a significant increase in stock levels, up 97.3% year-on-year to 73 properties, while Gisborne recorded the third highest year-on-year increase in stock levels in January 2026, up 56.4% year-on-year to 61 properties.

Williams says the lift in rental stock nationally is an encouraging sign of activity in the market.

“Overall, this is a rental market offering very different experiences depending on where renters are studying or relocating. For those who have flexibility around location, there are real opportunities emerging, but in tighter markets, preparation and speed remain key. Understanding local conditions has never been more important.”

About realestate.co.nz | New Zealand’s Best Small Workplace (2025)

We’ve been helping people buy, sell, or rent property since 1996. Established before Google, realestate.co.nz is New Zealand’s longest-standing property website and the official website of the real estate industry. In 2025, realestate.co.nz was crowned Best Small/Micro Workplace in New Zealand by Great Place to Work.

Dedicated only to property, our mission is to empower people with a property search tool they can use to find the life they want to live. With residential, lifestyle, rural and commercial property listings, realestate.co.nz is the place to start for those looking to buy or sell property.    

Glossary of terms:  Average asking price (AAP) is neither a valuation nor the sale price. It is an indication of current market sentiment. Statistically, asking prices tend to correlate closely with the sales prices recorded in future months when those properties are sold. As it looks at different data, average asking prices may differ from recorded sales data released simultaneously.  

New listings are a record of all the new residential dwellings listed for sale on realestate.co.nz for the relevant calendar month. The site reflects 97% of all properties listed through licensed real estate agents and major developers in New Zealand. This description gives a representative view of the New Zealand property market.  

Stock is the total number of residential dwellings that are for sale on realestate.co.nz on the penultimate day of the month.  

Rate of sale is a measure of how long it would take, theoretically, to sell the current stock at current average rates of sale if no new properties were to be listed for sale. It provides a measure of the rate of turnover in the market.  

Seasonal adjustment is a method realestate.co.nz uses to represent better the core underlying trend of the property market in New Zealand. This is done using methodology from the New Zealand Institute of

Economic Research.  

Truncated mean is the method realestate.co.nz uses to supply statistically relevant asking prices. The top and bottom 10% of listings in each area are removed before the average is calculated to prevent exceptional listings from providing false impressions.

MIL OSI