The New Zealand government's accounts were unexpectedly in surplus in the first three months of the 2017 financial year, with the provisional tax take from companies tracking ahead of forecast. The operating balance before gains and losses was a surplus of $222 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, turning around a deficit of $545 million a year earlier, and ahead of the projected $503 million shortfall in the May budget projections. That was largely due to the 6.7 percent increase in taxation to $17.34 billion, which was $523 million ahead of expectations due to a higher than expected…

Chorus has today encouraged customers to find out as much as possible about the wide range of broadband choices available to them before making decisions about their connections. Chorus has given this advice in response to Spark’s announcement yesterday that it will trial aggressively moving its customers to either fibre or its own wireless broadband service in the Waikato. The company says there are many more good choices for customers than just those two options with one provider. “Of course we encourage as many customers as possible to get onto fibre wherever it is available, as it is unquestionably the…

Labour Market Statistics: September 2016 quarter – The unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent in the September 2016 quarter (from a revised 5.0 percent in the previous quarter), Statistics New Zealand said today. This is the lowest unemployment rate since the December 2008 quarter. There were 3,000 fewer people unemployed than in the June 2016 quarter and 10,000 fewer over the year. “The number of people employed in New Zealand was up 35,000, or 1.4 percent, in the September 2016 quarter,” labour and income statistics manager Mark Gordon said. “This strong growth in employment, coupled with fewer unemployed people, pushed…

Cubic Defence New Zealand ranked six among ‘Ten Companies to Watch’ by Technology Investment Network SAN DIEGO – November 1, 2016 – Cubic Global Defense (CGD), a business unit of Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB), today announced that Cubic Defence New Zealand (CDNZ) was named one of ‘Ten Companies to Watch’ with the largest revenue growth in 2016 by Technology Investment Network (TIN), the publisher of the TIN100 Report in New Zealand. The TIN100 Report tracks the performance of New Zealand’s 200 largest technology exporters in the fields of high-tech manufacturing, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and biotechnology. The TIN100 ‘Ten…

A new book examining the disruptive technologies that will transform the insurance industry predicts constant, real-time changes to risk premiums and the disappearance of the car insurance industry by 2030. Dr Michael Naylor, a senior lecturer in insurance at the Massey Business School, has undertaken a meta-analysis of how a range of technologies will change the industry in the coming decade. His report, ‘A Perfect Storm in Insurance: How to Survive the Looming Waves of Disruptive Technology’ aims to help insurers prepare for a very different future. “Insurers need to change their view of their business as a provider of…

The sale of Solid Energy coal mines to a consortium and two private companies shows the government was wrong to sell the state coal miner, says New Zealand First. “It’s heartening that New Zealand interests have bought some of the mines, although the consortium involving New Zealand company Talley’s is two-thirds overseas owned, says State-Owned Enterprises Spokesperson Richard Prosser. “The loss of profits overseas is not easy to take when the government could have held on instead of rushing in to put Solid Energy on the market given the price of high-grade coking coal for steel production has doubled in…

KOOKABURRA has made several changes to the way it makes its traditional red cricket balls in the wake of last summer’s Test debacle at the WACA Ground. The balls had to be regularly changed throughout the match after players complained they were going soft, with one new ball abandoned after just six overs. Former Australia captain Mark Taylor described one of the offending balls as a “bean bag’’ after a close-up inspection. The latest balls will be used in the First Test between Australia and South Africa starting at the WACA Ground on Thursday. Kookaburra Group spokesman Shannon Gill said…

Eleven MITO apprentices and graduates recently competed in the automotive technology and automotive refinishing categories at the National WorldSkills competition at Wintec. They joined 56 regional competition finalists from across the country who showcased their respective skills in 14 industry categories. Each competitor completed a specific project over two days, replicating problems and tasks that they would encounter in their daily jobs. MITO would like to congratulate the following competitors: Cameron Bone from Fleet Street Panel Beaters, North Shore - Silver in Automotive RefinishingLogan Candy from the New Zealand Defence Force - Gold in Automotive TechnologyJeff Sutton from CLAAS Harvest…

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is pleased to announce James Hay has been appointed as its new Chief Executive. He will take up the role in mid-January. “James has an impressive background spanning the energy, transport and public sectors, working with infrastructure and energy businesses, and with community-facing organisations,” says EECA Chair Tom Campbell. “This is an excellent fit for EECA, which is a government agency known for its expertise in working across all sectors of the economy.” As Network General Manager – Motorways for Roads and Maritime Services, James is currently overseeing the AUD$16.8 billion Westconnex motorway…

Moving manufacturing operations back home is in full swing in the US and UK, and is starting to happen here, as Alan Johnson reports on Australian Manufacturers Monthly. WITH the Australian dollar now firmly ensconced around the 75c level against the US greenback, more and more manufacturers are seriously looking at moving their manufacturing operations back to Australia. The move will counter decades of off-shoring, which to date has faced no substantial market-based challenge within Australia. The trend of “off-shoring” – sending work overseas – hit manufacturing across the developed world decades ago, and in most cases it was inevitable,…

Most industries and regions have more businesses and staff than last year, with growth led by the construction industry, Statistics New Zealand said today. Mining is the only industry to go against the trend. The latest business demography statistics showed 515,000 enterprises in total in New Zealand at February 2016, up 1.6 percent from the previous year. Those businesses employed 2.1 million paid staff, up 2.4 percent in the same period. For the fourth year in a row, more businesses are starting up than shutting down. “Increases in business and employee counts over the year to February 2016 – employee…