Apr 12 - Banning new oil and gas exploration is a crude and unnecessary way to achieve emissions reduction goals and blights New Zealand’s entire energy sector, says the BusinessNZ Energy Council.

Apr 12 - New Zealand’s inflation targeting framework has evolved significantly over the past 30 years, Reserve Bank Assistant Governor and Head of Economics John McDermott said in a speech today.

Apr 12 - The government is seeking to head off criticism of its decision to stop granting offshore oil and gas exploration permits by talking up the potential for a major oil and gas find in the Barque prospect, off the Canterbury coast

Apr 12 -  BusinessNZ says banning new petroleum and gas exploration will have significant implications for New Zealand business.

Apr 12 -   New Zealand's only NZX-listed oil and gas explorer and producer says today's government announcements ending the issuance of offshore oil and gas exploration permits "will not have any immediate material impact" on its operations or earnings, but it will

Apr 12 - Lyttelton Port has today received a further notice of strike action for 26 April to 29 April by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) for approximately 11 Marine staff. Strike action by this small group will close the Port.

Apr 12 - The Taranaki region is taking charge of its future with the launch of the Tapuae Roa Action Plan last Friday April 6.

Apr 12 - WWF-New Zealand welcomes today's announcement by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern that the government will not issue any further block offers for offshore oil and gas exploration. While Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods releases a block offer for limited onshore oil exploration today, the government is announcing that it will progressively reduce new block offers for onshore oil exploration to zero.

In response, WWF-New Zealand CEO Livia Esterhazy said "This is a huge step forward for New Zealand, and a landmark moment in the transition to a clean energy economy.

"Modelling by University College London suggests that globally we need to leave about 80% of existing coal reserves, almost half of existing gas reserves and about a third of existing oilreserves un-burned to give us a reasonable chance of limiting warming to two degrees.

"This is the coal, oil and gas that has already been found and is already on the books. That is why the decision to stop opening more and more of Aotearoa's ocean territory to oil exploration is a big step towards unlocking a safe climate future.

"We hope that the New Zealand oil and gas industries will take today's announcements as a signal to use their technical skills, expertise, and resources to develop and deploy renewable energy technologies. That's the way of the future.

"What's more, today's announcement will be welcome news for New Zealand's critically endangered Māui dolphins. They live only off the west coast of the North Island, and over 30% of their habitat is already open for oil exploration. Seismic blasting for oil can both have physical impacts on dolphins and cause long-term behavioural changes.

"Today’s announcement is good news for our ocean life, for our children, and for their children."

| A WWF releae  |  ||  April 12, 2018   |||

Apr 11 - The Marketing Association warns New Zealand firms must be far more proactive about protecting customer data or risk an increasingly stringent regulatory regime

Continue to full article here   |  ||  April 11, 2018   |||

Apr 11 - The Cheese Barn, Hauraki Plains, could easily be mistaken for just another countryside café but that’s where you go to find New Zealand’s best cheese.