Further arrest in Kaea Karauria homicide investigation

October 9, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police

To be attributed to Detective Inspector Martin James:

As the investigation into the fatal stabbing of Kaea Karauria continues, Hawke’s Bay Police have today arrested another person.

A 17-year-old male was arrested in Napier this morning and has been charged with theft and demands with menace.

He is scheduled to appear in Napier Youth Court on 15 October.

This has been a complex investigation. Despite a number of arrests already, we are continuing to follow up on all information received, to ensure that all those involved – either directly or indirectly – are held to account.

We are very grateful to those people in our community who have done the right thing and provided information to help us bring justice for Kaea’s whānau.

Anyone with information who has not yet spoken to us is urged to call 105, or make a report online at 105.police.govt.nz, clicking “Update Report”.

Please quote the file number 250511/1317 in all reports.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre.

MIL OSI

Government spending falls as percentage of GDP

LiveNews Publisher

October 9, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

Today’s government financial statements for 2024/25 are the first to fully reflect decisions made by the current Government and show the progress being made in getting the country’s books back in order, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.

“These are actual numbers, not forecasts. They show that:

as a share of GDP, core Crown expenses fell from 33.1 per cent in 2023/24 to 32.5 per cent in 2024/25
net core Crown debt remained steady at 41.8 per cent of GDP, after rising every year for the previous five years
the headline operating balance measure, OBEGALx, remained steady at a deficit of 2.1% of GDP, coming in $900 million better than was forecast at the time of the Budget.

“This progress reflects the Government’s ongoing work to restore fiscal discipline with cumulative savings of around $44 billion being delivered over the Government’s first two Budgets.

“These savings enabled the Government to increase investment in health, education, police and defence at the same time as delivering tax relief and establishing Investment Boost.

“Fiscal discipline will continue with Budget forecasts showing government spending dropping to 30.9 per cent of GDP by 2028/29,” Nicola Willis says.

“The Government has resisted calls for sharper reductions in expenditure because international evidence is that reducing deficits is best done over the course of several years.

“In dollar terms Crown spending increased $2.7 billion in the just completed financial year. This compares with an increase of $11.4 billion the previous year.

“The increased expenditure in 2024/25 was driven by a $2.9 billion increase in superannuation and welfare costs that was partially offset by declines in other areas.”

The Government’s priorities for next year’s Budget will be set out in the Budget Policy Statement on 16 December. It will be released at the same time as the Treasury’s Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update.

MIL OSI

Ultrasound services now available on the Chatham Islands

LiveNews Publisher

October 9, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

Residents of the Chatham Islands now have access to permanent ultrasound services at the Chatham Islands Health Centre, marking a major step forward in rural healthcare delivery, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

“This is a significant milestone for the Chatham Islands community, improving access to both routine and emergency diagnostic care. It will also support visiting specialists, helping them deliver more comprehensive care during their time on the islands,” Mr Brown says.

“Until now, residents had to travel long distances to the mainland for basic diagnostic services. With this new technology, we’re improving access to early diagnosis and bringing care closer to home, while saving time and reducing costs for patients.

“The system enables routine scans for conditions such as gallstones, bladder issues, and deep vein thrombosis, performed by local staff with remote guidance from sonographers and doctors at Christchurch Hospital. This allows timely assessments and follow-up care without the disruption and expense of travel.

“In urgent cases, scan images are live streamed to Christchurch, allowing medical teams to confirm diagnoses and prepare for patient transfers. This ensures continuity of care and better treatment planning before the patient even arrives.”

A successful live trial was conducted yesterday with ICU and radiology teams in Christchurch in a simulated clinical environment. The service is expected to expand as staff gain training and experience, including some maternity scans.

“This initiative reflects our commitment to strengthening rural health services and ensuring all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality care, no matter where they live. It’s a great example of how technology and collaboration can transform healthcare delivery in remote communities,” Mr Brown says.

MIL OSI

Seventy-seven new officers hit the streets in a week

LiveNews Publisher

October 9, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers, members of the police executive and wing patron Former Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha – Te Arawa, Tainui, Mataatua, ONZM and QSM congratulated the 77 graduating constables from Wing 388 this morning.
Families and friends watched as the newly attested police officers marched out at Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua. The celebration acknowledged the successful completion of their initial 20-week training course at the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC).

The top award winner for wing 388, Constable Hayden McNulty not only took the top honours, but was also awarded the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award.

The biggest takeaway from training in my opinion is the new connections I have made and pieces of advice I have taken from every other member of my wing.”

Constable McNulty starts his career in Counties Manukau.

The Leadership Award Winner, Constable Kate Kersten, addressed the wing after attestation. She’s thrilled with her success and heads to Southern District.

“My advice is jump into the deep end and get out of your comfort zone. Fully embrace all the challenges, you will grow so much as a person.”

Patron’s award winner Constable Chantal Willliams is heading to Central District after graduation.

“The lifelong friendships I made at college were one of my many highlights. They showed me that true strength comes from working together and supporting each other to be our best.”

Deployment:
The new constables will start their first day of duty in their Police districts on the week beginning Monday 20 October 2025 and will continue their training on the job as probationary constables.
Tāmaki Makaurau a total of 24 and broken down into the three districts: Auckland City 5, Waitematā 7, Counties Manukau 12, Waikato 7, Bay of Plenty 6, Eastern 1, Central 5, Wellington 8, Canterbury 7, Southern 15.

All Awards:
Minister’s Award recognising top recruit Constable Hayden McNulty posted to Counties Manukau District. Constable McNulty also receives the Physical Training and Defensive Tactics Award.

Commissioner’s Award for Leadership: Constable Kate Kersten posted to Southern District.

Patron’s Award for second top student: Constable Chantal Williams posted to Central District.

Firearms Award: Constable Nick Winter posted to Counties Manukau District.

Driver Training and Road Policing Award: Constable Alex King posted to Waikato District.

Demographics:
27.3 percent are female, 72.7 percent are male. New Zealand European make up 67.5 percent of the wing, with Māori 10.4 percent, Pasifika 2.6 percent, Asian 15.6 percent, LAAM 3.9 percent.

Wing Patron:
Retired Deputy Commissioner Wallace (Wally) Haumaha (Te Arawa and Ngāti Ngāraranui) has been an outstanding leader in Police across his 40 years of service and his long stewardship of Police’s Māori, Pacific & Ethnic Services. During this time, from 1984 to 2024, he was instrumental in leading a cultural shift in policing to respond to New Zealand’s increasingly ethnically diverse communities. Wally is held in high regard by Māori leaders nationwide, and by Pacific and Ethnic leaders, many of whom he brought together as advisors to the Commissioners of Police he worked under. Wally has been the architect of a model of policing that has allowed Police to think more creatively about the decisions they make when coming into contact with New Zealanders in the course of their duties. Wally played a leading role in developing Police strategies and in many high-profile events, such as the Foreshore and Seabed hikoi in 2004, and the responses to the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, 2019 terror attack, Whakaari/White Island tragedy, Ihumatao, COVID iwi checkpoints and the Parliament occupation. He responded to opportunities, within Police and alongside community leaders, to achieve social, health and economic benefits. A prime example was establishing alternative resolution pathways to justice via Te Pae Oranga, a programme that has provided excellent results to reduce demand on the criminal justice system.
Wally was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal in 1997 for service to the community and was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2017 for services to NZ Police and Māori, Pacific and ethnic communities. Since retiring, Wally has taken on a number of roles, with his latest role as Chair of the Te Arawa Lakes Trust.

END

Watch out for our Ten One story coming soon with more images and stories.
If you’re interested in joining police check out newcops.govt.nz

Issued by Police Media Centre

MIL OSI

Economy – NZ Treasury releases Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the Year Ended 30 June 2025

LiveNews Publisher

October 9, 2025

Source: New Zealand Treasury

Financial Statements Summary

This commentary should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements on pages 37 to 155. The Financial Statements of the Government received an unmodified auditor’s opinion for the year ended 30 June 2025.

The financial results of the Government in 2024/25 show that both total revenue and total expenses have grown since last year. However, as the growth in total revenue was slightly less than the growth in total expenses, the operating balance before gains and losses excluding ACC (OBEGALx) deficit of $9.3 billion was slightly higher than the OBEGALx deficit last year. When including the results of ACC, along with favourable valuation movements (primarily on financial instruments) the operating balance deficit was $4.4 billion, compared to an operating balance deficit of $8.4 billion last year. Net worth was $189.1 billion at 30 June 2025, $1.9 billion lower than last year, as the 2024/25 operating balance deficit described above, along with an increase to veterans’ disability entitlements, was partially offset by revaluation gains on physical assets.

In summary:

Total revenue at $169.8 billion in the 2024/25 year was $2.5 billion higher than in 2023/24 and $0.2 billion higher than expected at the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update 2025 (Budget 2025) forecast. These variances were due in part to higher tax revenue (page 8).
Total expenses at $183.5 billion in the 2024/25 year were $3.4 billion higher than in 2023/24 and $0.6 billion lower than expected at the Budget 2025 forecast. These variances were spread across several expenditure types (page 10).
The operating balance was a deficit of $4.4 billion. While expenses exceeded revenue by $13.7 billion (page 14), this was offset by net gains on financial and non-financial instruments of $8.9 billion.
The operating balance before gains and losses excluding ACC (OBEGALx) deficit of $9.3 billion was slightly higher than the deficit reported in the 2023/24 year (page 16), but $0.9 billion smaller than the deficit expected in the Budget 2025 forecast (page 27).
Net worth of $189.1 billion has decreased by $1.9 billion since the 2023/24 year (page 26) but was $6.0 billion higher than the level forecast at Budget 2025 (page 28).
Net core Crown debt at $182.2 billion increased by $6.7 billion since last year (page 19) but was $3.5 billion lower than the expected in the Budget 2025 forecast (page 28). As a share of GDP net core Crown debt remained unchanged since last year at 41.8% of GDP.

**Table 1** – Key financial results
Year ended 30 June	Actual2 2025 $ millions	Actual2 2024 $ millions	Variance		Forecast
					Budget 20253 2025 $ millions	Variance
						Variance
			$ millions	%		$ millions	%
Total revenue	169,811	167,347	2,464	1.5	169,651	160	0.1
Total expenses	183,502	180,061	3,441	1.9	184,112	(610)	(0.3)
Core Crown residual cash	(5,996)	(19,302)	13,306	68.9	(9,990)	3,994	40.0
Operating balance1	(4,400)	(8,365)	3,965	47.4	(5,493)	1,093	19.9
Total net worth	189,128	191,049	(1,921)	(1.0)	183,130	5,998	3.3
OBEGALx1	(9,306)	(8,773)	(533)	(6.1)	(10,175)	869	8.5
Net core Crown debt	182,171	175,464	6,707	3.8	185,644	(3,473)	(1.9)
% of GDP
Total revenue	38.9	39.8		(0.9)	39.0		(0.1)
Total expenses	42.1	42.9		(0.8)	42.3		(0.2)
Core Crown residual cash	(1.4)	(4.6)		3.2	(2.3)		0.9
Operating balance	(1.0)	(2.0)		1.0	(1.3)		0.3
Total net worth	43.4	45.5		(2.1)	42.1		1.3
OBEGALx	(2.1)	(2.1)		–	(2.3)		0.2
Net core Crown debt	41.8	41.8		–	42.7		(0.9)
Excluding minority interests. GDP is updated to reflect the most recently published numbers – refer to the historical time series on page 171 for nominal GDP figures (Source: Stats NZ). Using Budget 2025 forecast GDP for the year ending 30 June 2025 of $435,148 million (Source: The Treasury). Source: The Treasury

Overall, most key fiscal indicators are showing some signs of recovery…

Following a period of large deficits and debt rising sharply, many of the Government’s key fiscal indicators this year are showing signs of improvement. The year-on-year growth in total expenses was the lowest it has been since 2021. Consequently, total expenses as a percentage of GDP declined from 42.9% of GDP last year to 42.1% of GDP for 2024/25. The core Crown residual cash deficit, which broadly represents the cash shortfall to be funded by the Government, also reduced. The cash deficit was $6.0 billion for the 2024/25 year compared to a deficit of $19.3 billion last year. The smaller cash deficit meant that, in nominal terms, net core Crown debt did not increase as much as in recent years. Net core Crown debt has been increasing as a percentage of GDP since 2019/20, however, it remained unchanged since last year at 41.8% of GDP. Despite these signs of recovery, total expenses continue to exceed total revenues, meaning the OBEGALx deficit has widened slightly to $9.3 billion, although it remained stable as a percentage of GDP at around 2.1%.

Total revenue at $169.8 billion has increased by $2.5 billion compared to last year, with just under half of the increase coming from tax revenue. While growth in the economy has provided some lift to tax revenue, the impact was offset slightly by policy decisions reducing tax revenue, such as income tax threshold changes introduced from 31 July 2024. Most of the remainder of the increase in total revenue came from higher sales of goods and services revenue, driven by the higher wholesale prices on electricity.

Total expenses at $183.5 billion were $3.4 billion more than last year. The year-on-year movement in expenses predominately relates to the impact of indexation on most main benefit types, which are generally indexed to wage growth or inflation. Demographic changes associated with an ageing population has also driven the increase in New Zealand superannuation expenses. Offsetting these increases were decreases in some expense types relating to one-off expenditure in the 2023/24 year, such as impairments.

With the increase in total revenue and total expenses of similar amounts, the OBEGALx deficit of $9.3 billion remained broadly in line with the deficit recorded last year. In addition, the net gains from the valuation on financial and non-financial instruments were $4.2 billion more than last year. While returns on the Government’s investment portfolio were slightly weaker, this was more than offset by the lower losses on the valuation of ACC’s outstanding claims liability and the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) liability. Higher net gains during the year have resulted in the operating balance deficit of $4.4 billion being $4.0 billion stronger than the result last year.

The Government’s net worth was $189.1 billion, a reduction of $1.9 billion from prior year as the operating balance deficit reported in the 2024/25 year and the increase to the veterans’ disability entitlements were not fully offset by net revaluation gains on physical assets. The revaluation gains were largely due to upward valuations of state highways and electricity generation assets.

Net core Crown debt was $182.2 billion, an increase of $6.7 billion since last year. The increase predominantly reflects the additional funding requirement to cover the cash shortfall in the year, which is illustrated by the residual cash deficit of $6.0 billion. As a share of the economy, net core Crown debt has remained unchanged since last year at 41.8% of GDP.

…and were favourable against the forecasts at Budget 2025.

While most of the key fiscal indicators came in favourable to forecast, total revenue was in line with forecast at $169.8 billion. Despite tax revenue coming in $0.9 billion higher than expected, this was largely offset by lower than forecast revenue from the NZ ETS. The variance in tax revenue was mostly due to strength in corporate tax, on the back of stronger-than-expected provisional tax revenue and stronger investment returns impacting Portfolio Investment Entities (PIE) revenue. The weaker NZ ETS revenue was owing to fewer NZ ETS units being surrendered for emissions obligations than had been assumed in the forecasts.

Total expenses were lower than forecast by $0.6 billion with the variance predominantly driven by Crown entities, particularly in the transport and health sectors (discussed further on page 27). Overall net gains were slightly lower than forecast owing to net losses on non-financial instruments which were $0.2 billion larger than expected. As a result of the variances discussed above, both the OBEGALx deficit and the operating balance deficit were favourable to the forecast at Budget 2025, by $0.9 billion and $1.1 billion respectively.

The residual cash deficit was $4.0 billion smaller than forecast, which broadly mirrors the operating variances described above which impact cash, along with capital cashflows which were $1.6 billion lower-than-expected. This lower than forecast cash deficit flowed through to net core Crown debt, which was $3.5 billion lower than forecast at 30 June 2025.

The results are compared against the 2023/24 year and the forecasts for the 2024/25 year at the Budget 2025 published in May 2025. A comparison of the results against the forecasts for the 2024/25 year at the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update 2024 are discussed in Note 3: Explanation of Major Variances against Budget 2024 Forecasts.

MIL OSI

THE Ranking – University of Vienna among the top 100 for the first time

MIL OSI

October 9, 2025

Source: Media Outreach

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Newsaktuell – 9 October 2025 – The University of Vienna ranks 95th in this year’s THE World University Rankings, making it the first Austrian university to be listed among the top 100 universities worldwide. It excelled in the categories of research, internationalisation, teaching, and industry engagement, despite increasing global competition.

“This excellent ranking result is the outcome of a long-term strategic focus on positioning the University of Vienna as a leading international university,” says Rector Sebastian Schütze. “The ranking result reflects our excellence in teaching and research across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and life sciences. It also provides a welcome boost to our international orientation and recruitment efforts.”

Continuous upward trend – improvement by 70 places since 2018

The University of Vienna has improved its ranking every year since 2018, despite increasing competition. While it was still ranked #165 among 1,103 universities in 2018, it is now ranked #95 among 2,191 universities worldwide in 2025. In just seven years, it has thus been able to improve by 70 positions.

University of Vienna scores particularly well in terms of international orientation

The University of Vienna achieves particularly good results in terms of international orientation (e.g. proportion of international researchers, students and publications) and research quality (e.g. number of highly cited journals).

Hashtag: #UniversityofVienna

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

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

New Zealand welcomes Middle East peace deal

LiveNews Publisher

October 9, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

New Zealand welcomes the announcement of the first phase of the US-led peace deal between Israel and Hamas, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.

“Over the past two years, both Israelis and Palestinians have suffered immensely,” Mr Peters says. “Today is a positive first step in bringing that suffering to an end.”

“We commend the efforts of the parties involved in the negotiations, including the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye.

“We said in New York two weeks ago that countries with leverage over the situation needed to step up and show leadership. We commend them for doing just that.

“We have long called for the release of all the hostages and for a ceasefire, so that the immense suffering can end. The parties must now deliver on their promises. Hamas needs to release all of the hostages and Israel must withdraw their troops to the agreed-upon line.

“This is an essential first step towards achieving lasting peace. We urge Israel and Hamas to continue working towards a complete resolution.

“There has been a lot of protest in New Zealand over the past two years relating to the situation in Gaza. We look forward to all those protestors, and their political allies in Parliament, joining the Government today in applauding the deal that has been struck,” Mr Peters says.

MIL OSI

Strengthened system protects children from harm

LiveNews Publisher

October 9, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government is strengthening the children’s system to protect against and better respond to child harm.

Multiple agencies have been working on a response to the 14 recommendations of the Dame Karen Poutasi Review since 2022, but until now not all findings had been accepted.

“Today, I’m pleased to announce the Government has accepted all the review’s recommendations and is committing to an approach focused on the safety of children,” Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says.

“This decision marks a clear line that child safety comes first. Every child in New Zealand deserves to feel safe and secure.

“It’s clear from the Poutasi Review, as well as previous children’s system reviews, that multiple layers of government systems and processes needed to be improved to put children first.

“The level of child abuse in New Zealand is unacceptable and the system to prevent it is overly complicated. We must do better for all our children.”

Child and Youth Ministers will oversee implementation of an integrated Government response, ensuring:

children are safer, with a focus on supporting children whose sole parent is incarcerated
the children’s system has a consistent approach to sharing information on, reporting on, and responding to suspected abuse.
ensuring information is shared where there are safety and wellbeing concerns. The Privacy Commissioner will work alongside agencies on this aspect
a particular focus on children whose sole parent is remanded in custody or sentenced to a term of imprisonment, to ensure they are visible throughout the system and their needs are being met.

“The Government’s response to two recommendations has already been completed, while others are underway. Today’s announcement sets out a direction of travel for implementing all recommendations effectively.

“The Government also welcomes and accepts the work the Independent Children’s Monitor will do in monitoring this implementation.

“Given the complexities and scale of the changes required, Cabinet has agreed to a staged approach. This includes:

ensuring information is shared where there are safety and wellbeing concerns. The Privacy Commissioner will work alongside agencies on this aspect
a particular focus on children whose sole parent is remanded in custody or sentenced to a term of imprisonment, to ensure they are visible throughout the system and their needs are being met.

“Work will start on the design of a mandatory reporting regime, with a staged approach to maximise child safety while mitigating risk,” Louise Upston says.

“This will begin with mandatory training for designated workforces to ensure people working in the system clearly know how to identify and report child abuse while also sequencing further action to build system capacity.

“We know Government agencies need the right settings in place to work effectively with families and whānau, schools, iwi/Māori and wider communities to intervene when children are suffering.

“Children’s workers care deeply and already have child safety as their highest priority. This is about adding levers and creating overlapping safety nets to ensure no child is invisible when help is needed.”

Agencies will now undertake further work, including detailed policy analysis and service design. Cabinet is expected to consider further decisions before the end of the year.

MIL OSI

Media – NEW HOMEGROWN SERIES BLUE MURDER MOTEL IN PRODUCTION

LiveNews Publisher

October 9, 2025

Source: The Public Good

Michala Banas and Brett Tucker reunite to lead an all-star cast in new eight-part crime series for TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+

Filming is underway on the new eight-part crime drama Blue Murder Motel for TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+.

Shot on location around greater Auckland, Blue Murder Motel sees multi-award-winning actress Michala Banas reunite with McLeod’s Daughters co-star Brett Tucker.

Banas and Tucker lead an all-star cast as married police detectives Vanessa and Peter Coleman, who are hanging up their badges and taking early retirement from the Australian police force. Their next chapter, investing in their dream – a 13-room motel in a sunny, oceanside New Zealand town. But only one week into their new adventure, paradise takes an unexpected turn when a body is discovered in Unit 3.

Banas is celebrated for her work across television, film and theatre and has built a reputation for versatility, strength in drama and comedy, and a willingness to take on challenging roles. She is widely recognised for her role as Kate Manfredi in McLeod’s Daughters and Amber Wheeler in Upper Middle Bogan and has appeared in a variety of well known series including Nowhere Boys, Winners & Losers, Bad Mothers and Halifax: Retribution. Banas has most recently appeared in A Remarkable Place to Die, and alongside Liam Neeson in feature film Ice Road Vengeance.

“This project has such a great energy, with an incredible cast and crew. We’ve created a really lovely family unit here on set. Reuniting with Brett on this show has been loads of fun. Because of our longstanding friendship off screen, we have a great chemistry and trust with one another as actors, so that makes the work all the more special” comments Banas.

Tucker, also an acclaimed actor with an international career spanning television, film, and theatre, is best known to audiences for his roles in McLeod’s Daughters, Troppo, and The Saddle Club. Tucker has also established himself over the past 14 years in the U.S. with standout performances in Mistresses, Station 19, Castle, and Netflix series The Residence.

“The writing is clever and full of surprises, and filming in New Zealand has been an amazing experience. Filming again with Michala has been a highlight. We’ve always had a great connection, and it’s exciting to explore that again in such a different story,” Tucker comments.

Joining Banas and Tucker on screen are well-known New Zealand actors Jayden Daniels (Tangata Pai, Head High, Shortland Street), Stephanie Tauevihi (Shortland Street, The Panthers, Agent Anna) and Jaime McDermott (My Life Is Murder, Head High, Shortland Street) , as well as an array of guest cast whose performances help create this unique world, and bring additional depth and star power to the show.

Created by award-winning New Zealand writer Kate McDermott and producer Steven Zanoški, Blue Murder Motel is produced by leading drama makers Great Southern Television and will be distributed globally by About Premium Content (France).

Executive Producers for Great Southern, Kathleen Anderson and Philip Smith, say: “It’s an absolute privilege to be working with Michala Banas and Brett Tucker on Blue Murder Motel. They’re very popular amongst the cast and crew and their onscreen chemistry is unmissable”.

Emmanuelle Guilbart and Laurent Boissel, Joint CEOs and Joint Founders of APC say: “We are proud to partner with Great Southern and TVNZ for the first time and thrilled to participate in the financing of this brilliant project. We are confident that Blue Murder Motel perfectly fits the current international market’s growing appetite for glossy, warm and funny light crime series.”

It is being made with the support of NZ On Air and the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate.

Blue Murder Motel will be available to audiences in New Zealand on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ in 2026.

“We are thrilled to see another outstanding local drama series moving into production, featuring such a stellar cast and being filmed right here in our own backyard,” says Brent McAnulty, Acting Chief News and Content Officer at TVNZ.

“The continued investment in New Zealand storytelling enriches TVNZ’s line-up of local content, and we are proud to showcase the talent and stories that resonate so strongly with our audiences.”

GREAT SOUTHERN STUDIOS
Great Southern Studios is a passionate and creative production house based in Auckland, New Zealand, with a commitment to making elevated drama that reaches audiences around the world. Its recent scripted projects include Friends Like Her (Warner Bros. Discovery), n00b (Warner Bros. Discovery), Spinal Destination (Sky), and One Lane Bridge (TVNZ, AMC). Great Southern is also renowned for its social-impact factual programmes, including The Restaurant that Makes Mistakes (TVNZ), The Casketeers (TVNZ, Netflix), Coast New Zealand (TVNZ) and Coast Australia (Foxtel, BBC). Great Southern Studios is owned by writer and producer Philip Smith, winner of the 2018 NZ Television Award for Best Script: Drama and co-creator of One Lane Bridgewhich was named Best Drama Series at the 2020 NZ Television Awards.

ABOUT PREMIUM CONTENT (APC)
APC Studios is headed by experienced principals, joint-CEO & Founders Emmanuelle Guilbart and Laurent Boissel and is a global boutique producer and distributor of high-end international scripted television. APC Studio’s distribution arm About Premium Content (APC) has become one of the leading and most respected global companies in the field of international sales of TV series, with a strong focus on high-end drama. Since its creation in 2014, APC has built a curated slate of English-language and local-language fiction from a range of global producers all over the world including hit drama Keeping Faith(BBC/S4C), Man in Room 301, Deadwind (YLE), Shadow Lines (Elisa Viihde), Pandore (RTBF), Gloria (TF1), Gigantes (Movistar), The Unusual Suspects(SBS Australia), A Very Secret Service (Arte) and Valkyrien (NRK).

Created in 2020, APC Studios’ production arm APC UK recently produced two seasons of Obituary for Hulu and RTE in co-production with Magamedia, Wolffor the BBC in co-production with Hartswood Films and two series of The Light in the Hall with Long Story TV and Triongl for S4C, Channel 4 and AMC+.

TVNZ
TVNZ has been a cornerstone of Aotearoa’s media landscape since 1960 and is recognised as New Zealand’s largest network. Its portfolio includes TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2, TVNZ DUKE, and TVNZ+, the online hub for leading local and international content.

Content sits at the core of TVNZ’s operations. The network delivers a diverse and compelling schedule that caters to all New Zealanders, combining a strong commitment to local programming with a carefully curated selection of international titles.

Each TVNZ platform and channel has a distinct identity, yet their collective strength lies in their ability to work together to reach mass audiences nationwide. TVNZ engages millions of viewers every day and offers a broad range of advertising solutions designed to meet the needs of businesses across Aotearoa.

MIL OSI

Buy NZ Made – Procurement changes a significant breakthrough for Kiwi businesses

LiveNews Publisher

October 9, 2025

Source: Buy NZ Made

Buy NZ Made welcomes the Government’s announcement introducing a new Economic Benefit to New Zealand test in public procurement – a long-awaited move to ensure taxpayer dollars go back into creating value, jobs, and stronger local supply chains.

Executive Director Dane Ambler says the change represents a decisive shift from lowest-cost tendering toward long-term national value.

“Government contracts are worth more than $50 billion a year. Even a small share redirected toward New Zealand producers and service providers has a massive ripple effect – supporting regional economies, skills development, and innovation,” Ambler says.

“For decades, Kiwi businesses have been asking for a fairer shot at supplying government. This new economic benefit test is a strong signal that buying local matters.”

Under the new rules, agencies must consider the economic benefit to New Zealand in every procurement. The framework applies to all goods, services, and refurbishment contracts over $100,000, and construction contracts over $9 million.

Ambler says the changes align directly with Buy NZ Made and BusinessNZ’s long-standing advocacy.

“This is about ensuring the money we already spend as a country works harder for New Zealand. When local firms win contracts, that spend circulates through wages, apprenticeships, and community investment – instead of leaving the country.”

Buy NZ Made is encouraging businesses to get ready by quantifying their local impact – including local employment, regional sourcing, sustainability practices, and supply-chain resilience – so they can showcase measurable economic benefit in tender responses.

“This is the time for Kiwi manufacturers, service providers, and suppliers to step forward. Government buyers want to work with you – but you need to tell your economic story clearly.”

MIL OSI

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