Arts – Wellington Writers Walk brings te reo Māori sculpture to Wellington waterfront in time for Matariki

Source: New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ) Inc The sound of conch and pūkaea rang out across the Wellington waterfront on Thursday 25 June to welcome a group of writers, Te Wharewaka o Pōneke Trustees, representatives of local arts and literary organisations and friends and supporters of the Wellington … Read more

Road blocked by serious crash, Reefton

Source: New Zealand Police Emergency services are responding to a serious crash at the intersection of County Road and State Highway 69 in Reefton.  Initial indications are that a car collided with a tree, then with another car. One person is reported to be injured.  The road is blocked in both directions and traffic management…

Ogilvy unveils inaugural 2026 APAC Believability Index “The Power of Proof” study reveals hidden cost of lost belief

Source: Media Outreach 93% of APAC consumers quietly disengage when believability is lost New AI ‘Believability Agent’ predicts and prevents silent churn SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 2 July 2026 – Ogilvy today released its first APAC 2026 Believability Index: The Power of Proof – a comprehensive study examining how consumers across Asia-Pacific determine … Read more

New Administrator of Tokelau announced

Source: New Zealand Government Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointment of Andre van der Walt as the next Administrator of Tokelau. “2026 is significant year in the relationship between our countries, marking the centenary of New Zealand’s administration of Tokelau,” Mr Peters says. “The Administrator’s role is to support the Government of Tokelau…

Striding AI Announces Development of Next-Generation Robotic Foundation Systems for Physical AI Deployment

Source: Media Outreach BEIJING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 2 July 2026 – Striding AI today announced that it is developing a new generation of robotic foundation systems designed to accelerate the deployment of Physical AI in real-world environments. The company’s approach focuses on building the foundational technologies required for robots to perceive, reason, … Read more

Hide and seek: Police arrest burglar in house

Source: New Zealand Police Attribute to Senior Sergeant Nathan Snell, Wairoa Area Response Manager: Police have arrested an offender found hiding in a property following ongoing investigations into recent burglaries in Wairoa. Police attended reports of residential and commercial burglaries around the Wairoa area in June, with Police following lines of enquiry to narrow down…

Nationwide roll-out of oral language programme to ECEs

Source: New Zealand Government The Government is funding a major expansion of the New Zealand-developed ENRICH programme to help young children build the language skills they need, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. ENRICH will expand from 65 to 525 early childhood education services, supporting children aged 18 months to 5 to strengthen their language skills…

Swiss technology trial offers smarter way to reduce waste and protect Auckland’s harbours

Source: Auckland Council Innovative Swiss technology being trialled on Auckland’s North Shore could help reduce thousands of tonnes of sediment waste from going to landfill, while supporting healthier streams, estuaries and harbours. The Swiss-engineered mobile dewatering plant is being used in New Zealand for the first time at a stormwater pond in Wairau Valley. The…

Backing Kiwi veterans with support extension

Source: New Zealand Government A further 1300 Defence veterans will have their service to New Zealand recognised through health, rehabilitation and financial support for deployment-related conditions, Veterans Minister Chris Penk says. “These veterans undertook a wide range of maritime security activities, including the disruption of drug smuggling operations and the gathering of intelligence that contributed…

Paid car parking to continue at DOC sites

Source: NZ Department of Conservation Date:  02 July 2026 The decision follows a seven-month long paid parking “pilot” which tested the revenue raising scheme at three popular sites – Punakaiki, Franz Josef and Aoraki/Mount Cook.   Revenue from the scheme will be re-invested in New Zealand’s most urgent biodiversity, cultural heritage and visitor network projects. “This…

Gaza – After 1,000 Days of War, Gaza’s Children Dream of Home and a Better Future Despite the World’s Failure

Source: Save the Children After 1,000 days of war, children in Gaza said they had lost homes, schools and a sense of safety but not their hopes for the future with even the ongoing violence failing to stop them from dreaming of peace and careers to help them rebuild their communities. In emotive, personal testimonies, children … Read more

Appointments – RBNZ appoints Assistant Governor Financial Stability

Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) 2 July 2026 – Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Anna Breman has appointed Angus McGregor as Assistant Governor Financial Stability following an extensive recruitment process. Mr McGregor joined RBNZ in 2022 and has been Acting Assistant Governor Financial Stability since March 2025. Governor Anna Breman says Mr McGregor … Read more

Property Market – Property values feel the conflict pinch in June – Cotality

Source: Cotality New Zealand property values edged lower in June, likely reflecting the spillover impacts from Iran-related economic uncertainty and the mortgage rate rises previously seen. Cotality NZ’s latest Home Value Index (HVI) shows the national median value in June of $806,512 was down by -0.2% from the previous month, pushing the total drop over … Read more

Legislation – Government makes a dog’s breakfast of the Conservation consultation – Greenpeace

Source: Greenpeace Greenpeace Aotearoa says the Government has made an absolute “dog’s breakfast” of the Conservation Amendment Bill consultation and there remains no clarity as to what exact changes are being made to the contentious Bill. The Environment Committee today announced an extension to submissions on the Bill until 12pm (midday) on Monday 13 July 2026. … Read more

Economy – Interim Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the eleven months ended 31 May 2026 – NZ Treasury

Source: The Treasury The Interim Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the eleven months ended 31 May 2026 were released by the Treasury today. The May results are reported against forecasts based on the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU 2026), published on 28 May 2026, and the results for the same … Read more

Aviation – CAA sets direction and priorities with latest planning documents including new 2026-2027 safety and security focus areas

Source: Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) The Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Statement of Intent (SOI) and Statement of Performance Expectations (SPE), published on 1 July, set out what the organisation will deliver and how it will measure progress. Both documents can be downloaded from our corporate publications page. For the first time the SPE highlights CAA’s … Read more

New Appointments announced for Kordia and QV

Source: New Zealand Government Kordia Group Deputy Chair Ben Kepes will become Chair from today and two new directors have been appointed to the company’s Board, State Owned Enterprises Minister Simeon Brown says. Kordia provides critical communications infrastructure across New Zealand and Mr Kepes has strong leadership and governance expertise with extensive experience in technology…

Patients now the focus of the health system

Source: New Zealand Government Patients will be at the heart of New Zealand’s health system under legislation passed by Parliament today that strengthens accountability, reduces bureaucracy, and keeps the focus on delivering better healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Act makes it clear that the health system exists to…

Building the future of offshore renewable energy

Source: New Zealand Government New Zealand has opened its waters to offshore renewable energy, with Parliament today passing the Offshore Renewable Energy Bill, Energy Minister Simeon Brown. “New Zealand’s renewable electricity generation reached a record 96.4 per cent in the last three months of 2025 and offshore renewable energy has the potential to contribute to…

Education – From resettlement training to online learning: Open Polytechnic celebrates 80 years of helping New Zealand’s workforce

Source: Open Polytechnic Open Polytechnic turns 80 this year, celebrating its history of providing hundreds of thousands of Kiwis access to career-focussed, flexible distance learning wherever they live. “Since 1946 we have been helping learners from all over Aotearoa New Zealand change their lives through access to flexible distance learning,” says Open Polytechnic Chief Executive Sharon … Read more

NZ Minerals Council – Let reality rule

Source: New Zealand Minerals Council Advancing the Conservation Amendment Bill has become a contest that we hope reality wins, says New Zealand Minerals Council chief executive Josie Vidal. “What began as an overdue plan to modernise law to make it more workable for tourism, so that visitors could contribute to maintaining the conservation areas they use, … Read more

Appointments – The Co-operative Bank elects new director and reports annual results at AGM

Source: The Co-operative Bank The Co-operative Bank has reported its FY26 annual results and announced at its AGM last night that customer-shareholders had elected experienced financial services executive Nick Astwick to its Board. The customer-owned bank reported a profit before rebates and tax of $11.1 million and maintained a total capital ratio of 18.5%, the highest … Read more

Climate News – Earth Sciences New Zealand’s Seasonal Climate Outlook for July to September 2026

Source: Earth Sciences Highlights: El Niño conditions have now been confirmed in the tropical Pacific, according to Earth Sciences New Zealand criteria. The event remains in its early stages. * There is an 80% likelihood for El Niño to reach or exceed strong intensity during the July-September period; impacts on New Zealand’s weather are expected … Read more