Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
Dec 19, 2017 - The High Court has rejected NZME and Fairfax New Zealand's attempt to overturn a Commerce Commission ruling against a proposed merger of the country's dominant newspaper publishers and upheld the regulator's right to rely on the shrinking number of voices in the market.
Justice Robert Dobson and lay member Professor Martin Richardson yesterday dismissed the appeal, finding the regulator was entitled to place significant weight on the loss of media plurality if the merger went ahead, a key point of contention raised by the publishers. The court issued a media release today summarising the decision with the full judgment to follow once commercially sensitive information has been redacted.
The statement includes a comment from Justice Dobson on the issue of plurality, saying "we consider it is appropriate to attribute material importance to maintaining medial plurality" and that the risk of losing a wider voice "is clearly a meaningful one, and if it occurred, it would have major ramifications for the quality of New Zealand democracy."
The media companies appealed the decision at a hearing in October, claiming the regulator took too narrow a view in deciding a merger would create a monopoly and that the unquantified detriments were substantially outweighed by the net gains of a tie-up.
The court found the merger would restrict competition in four of the six markets tested, being the reader markets for online national news and Sunday newspapers, and in both the readers' and advertisers' markets for community newspapers in the North Island. It didn't uphold the commission's view that the advertisers' markets for Sunday newspapers faced reduced competition and dismissed the prospect of a paywall being introduced.
The court indicated the commission was entitled to costs.
NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said he was disappointed with the decision and that the company is reviewing the judgment, including the option to appeal.
Source: (BusinessDesk) and ShareChat || December 19, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - The coalition Government has 29 new fiscal time-bombs waiting to go off according to the half-yearly economic and fiscal update, National Party Finance Spokesperson Steven Joyce says. “Treasury has identified an unprecedented number of new fiscal risks that are caused by the arrival of the new Government,” Mr Joyce says.
“These cover a huge range of election commitments that are yet to be included in the Government accounts.
“Major policies like the Provincial Growth Fund, extra DOC funding, their justice policies, their primary health care policy, new rail links in Auckland and Wellington, and the effect on government of increasing the minimum wage, are all not included in the accounts in this update.
“Bearing in mind that the threshold for Treasury to note a specific risk is $100 million, across the 29 new risks that’s billions of extra spending that isn’t quantified so far.
“The Government’s allowances for new spending are already very tight because of their pre-election health and education commitments, and their distaste for PPPs to fund infrastructure.
“They haven’t even included an estimate for the America’s Cup - despite the urgency of that decision.
“The new Government may have convinced themselves they will be fiscally responsible but they clearly haven’t yet convinced the Treasury.
“Despite assurances that the coalition Government’s policy programme would be fully costed and released before Christmas, the HYEFU only contained policy items in the 100 day plan. It’s clear that the public has only been given a small taste of the new Government’s spending appetite in the half-year update.
“As Grant Robertson has become fond of saying, this update is truly just a starting point.”
| A national Party release || December 19, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - The Minister for Trade and Export Growth needs to put New Zealand exporters ahead of coalition politics and get the TPP deal done, National Party Trade Spokesperson Todd McClay says. “The Trade Minister’s statement following last week’s WTO Ministerial Conference reveals more for what it doesn’t say and demonstrates rising trade tensions within the Government.
“Today’s statement was completely silent on the TPP, showing that Labour are starting to bow to pressure from their junior Coalition partner - New Zealand First.
“New Zealand First, Labour and the Greens have all previously voted against TPP legislation. The revised TPP very closely mirrors the original agreement signed in Auckland last year and includes an investor-state dispute mechanism, a provision that the Greens and New Zealand First have previously protested against.
“It is clear that New Zealand First’s ongoing opposition to the TPP is jeopardising the process.
“The lack of information or progress on this is especially concerning given that all of the TPP Ministers attended the WTO conference.
“National has guaranteed its parliamentary support for a revised TPP. The Government must make this agreement its number one trade priority.
“It is time for the Labour Government to step up and deliver for New Zealanders. They are at risk of squandering the opportunity to secure a fairer deal for kiwi exporters because of coalition politics.”
| A National party release || December 18, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - New Zealand’s education system for providing trained tech graduates is insufficient and the country is over reliant on importing advanced digital skills, a leading Kiwi tech expert says. NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says while the geo-political situation is currently working to New Zealand’s advantage - making it attractive for digital talent to consider a role in New Zealand - it will be risky to continue to rely on immigration for the bulk of the talent pool. He was commenting today about key insights from the digital skills report released by the New Zealand Digital Skills Forum, which is a collaborative group of leading tech industry and government agencies working together to address digital skills shortages. The report is designed to help government, industries and tertiary institutions tweak their systems to meet the substantial tech demand.
Muller says every advanced economy is facing similar demand for digital skills and global competition means that if it isn’t already, it will become a financial drain on our businesses to rely too heavily on immigration for digital skills. “Consequently, we should lift efforts to increase the number and type of students throughout New Zealand that are learning advanced digital skills. Overall numbers need to increase, as do the number of females, Maori and Pacific youth,” he says. “We must also ensure that as we work to increase numbers, they are learning digital skills that are in demand. Analysis of which skills are in demand and short to medium term forecasted needs should be completed on a regular basis to inform the education system. “The critical question is: are we producing the right students? With the demand for software developers so high, if most domestic students are not gaining these skills then this will create a noticeable skills shortage. “Immigration is critical for the development of the New Zealand digital skills profile. Not only does it help to fill the gap between the digital jobs created and the locally educated digital workers, it also provides valuable access to unique skills, experiences and diversity. “Alongside the direct to employment immigration pathway, the international education pathway also provides an excellent opportunity. Last year there were 4,248 international tech students studying in New Zealand, which accounted for just under 30 percent of all tech students. “As global demand keeps building for digital talent, New Zealand will still need to compete internationally and import people. However, in the long term, we need to better balance our reliance on immigration and develop additional pathways to increase the flow of local skills into the market. “Not all tech employees have tertiary qualifications, or even need them. The range of possible digital technology roles across the economy is vast, as are the variety of pathways into tech roles.” To better prepare students for a digital world, the Ministry of Education is from next year introducing a new digital technologies curriculum for students from year one to year thirteen. The ministry aims to have all schools teaching digital technologies across all year groups by 2020. Currently, there are only a small number of students learning computer sciences or information technology at secondary school and this needs to change, and change fast, Muller says.
| A MakeLemonade release || December 19, 2017 |||
Dec 18, 2017 - The Government is making it easier for people to understand and apply best practice when designing and constructing buildings. By launching a new building system search engine and sponsoring five commonly used building standards and a handbook, we hope to see improved compliance with the Building Code, and even more importantly, safer homes and buildings, says Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa.
“The online search engine, Building CodeHub helps people locate the latest building rules and guidance information for designing and constructing buildings,” says Ms Salesa. “It’s the definitive source of up-to-date rules and guidance from a range of sources.”
“New Zealand’s building regulator the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), has sponsored some of the most commonly-used standards, making them freely available to all users,” says Ms Salesa.
“We anticipate that providing free access to these standards, will make it easier for consumers to understand the building code requirements and apply best practice methods when undertaking home building projects.”
The sponsored standards and handbook, which can be accessed from the Standards New Zealand website, are:
“MBIE will continue to make the building system more accessible with further enhancements to Building CodeHub and considering ways to improve access to more design and construction building standards,” says Ms Salesa.
https://codehub.building.govt.nz/
https://www.standards.govt.nz/
| A Beehive release || December 18, 2017 |||
Dec 18, 2017 - The boss of New Zealand’s census is confident Stats NZ's IT system is up to the job. But internal emails from October paint a shambolic picture of the $121 million project, with contractors pulled in to fix bugs in a key system, delays to crucial testing and blown budgets for individual projects. David Williams reports.
On October 20, a day after Winston Peters announced New Zealand First would form a government with Labour, the head of New Zealand’s 2018 census, Denise McGregor, emailed her staff the management team’s newly drafted list of cultural principles.
“We are one team, not a series of projects,” was the first of 11 principles inspired by a speech from legendary rugby sevens coach Gordon Tietjens. Others included “when things go wrong we collectively fix without blame”, “share the load” and “escalate early”. In a sign of the sweat being expended on Stats NZ’s momentous project, the bigwigs vowed to lead by example by having time off to “ensure we are fit for the job” and “getting out” at lunchtime.
Optimism turned to grim realism, however, in the “IT update” section of McGregor’s email, which focused on the crucial Salesforce system, used to manage field staff work. “The Salesforce issue continues to provide challenges for resolution and is impacting the delivery of the overall programme,” McGregor’s email said. “There are a number of priority one work packages blocked from completion, and a backlog of testing is starting to build.”
Salesforce testing had improved, she said. The full file of 2.1 million records – all street addresses in New Zealand – had loaded and “a number” of errors were being investigated.
Lurching from success to doom
Two hours later, McGregor wrote an unvarnished assessment to Stats NZ deputy chief executive Teresa Dickinson. The “good news”, she said via email, was that 2 million records loaded. However, 103,000 records failed and performance issues
Continue here to read the full article by David williams on Newsroom
Dec 18, 2017 - T&G Global chief executive Alastair Hulbert has resigned after four years in charge of the fruit marketer. The Auckland-based company has called in long-term BayWa collaborator Thomas Bargetzi to act as interim CEO while it looks for a new boss, T&G said in a statement.
Chair Klaus Lutz acknowledged Hulbert's "significant contribution" to the wider group during his tenure. Hulbert was promoted to chief executive in 2013, having run the company on a temporary basis with then-chief financial officer Harald Hamster-Egerer after former head Geoff Hipkins departed suddenly amid media reports of a breakdown in his working relationship with senior management.
The NZ Herald reported how Hulbert had been T&G's head of international markets before his promotion after nine years running export subsidiary Delica Global. His departure comes a day after former deputy chair John Anderson's formal retirement from T&G's board.
| Source: FreshPlaza || December 15, 2017 |||
Dec 15, 2017 - A multimillion dollar project to double the size of the terminal at Napier Airport is ready for take-off, with the lead construction contract going to Auckland-based Arrow International.
Arrow, which has previously carried out construction projects at other New Zealand airports, will begin stage 1 construction of the $14m expansion and redevelopment early in the new year.
Speaking at Napier Airport yesterday, Hawke's Bay Airport acting chief executive Jeanette Yule said Arrow International had a strong local track record completing construction projects, including with ABB in Napier.
"They have put together a great team of local sub-contractors for this project and we have every confidence that the new look terminal will be fully operational by the last quarter of 2019."
| Continue here to read full article on Hawkes Bay Today || December 15, 2017 |||
Dec 15 , 2017 - New Zealand's labour force is projected to keep growing, driven by an increasing population and people working into older ages, Stats NZ said today. The labour force includes both employed and unemployed people.
Currently 2.6 million people are in the labour force. The new projections indicate a total labour force of around 3.0 million in 2030 and 3.5 million in 2068.
People aged 65 years and over (65+) will make up an increasing share of the labour force. In 1991, just 1 percent of the labour force was aged 65+. Currently the 65+ share is 6 percent; this is projected to increase to 9 percent in the late 2020s.
“The labour force will grow into the future, but at a slowing rate, reflecting what is happening with our population," population statistics senior manager Peter Dolan said.
“We are also seeing more people aged 50 and over in the labour force.”
The participation rate for people in their 50s is 85 percent in 2017. This will increase to 88 percent in 2038 and 89 percent in 2068. For people in their 60s, the participation rate is currently 59 percent, but this will rise to 64 percent in 2038 and 67 percent in 2068.
"In the long term, slower population growth and our increasingly older age structure will slow labour force growth, providing the age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation remains the same," Mr Dolan said.
Source: StatsNZ follow here for graphs || December 15, 2017 |||
Dec 15, 2017 - Mr Renner is also President of Business Central, representing businesses in the lower North Island and upper South Island. He replaces outgoing BusinessNZ President Tony Sewell of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (CECC).
New Vice-Presidents are Andrew Hunt of the Employers & Manufacturers' Association (EMA) and Andrew Leys of the Otago Southland Employers' Association (OSEA).
| A BusinessNZ release || December 15, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
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