Immigration Minister, Kris Faafoi, is considering extending visas for overseas workers for the third time to help the wine industry with next year’s harvest. This would be the third time the visas would be extended and it could push their expiry date into next year. During the wine industry’s downtime, overseas vineyard workers who stayed […]

Millions of Japanese commuters will soon be sipping on Kiwi tea, featured in the fourth busiest railway station in the world. Waikato tea plantation, Zealong, has successfully signed a deal with West Japan Railway Company to establish a “luxurious” tea and cheesecake store in the Osaka Train Station. Zealong Tea Estate CEO, Gigi Crawford, said […]

New research has found that one in five Kiwis are operating a “side hustle” or secondary business as a way to make money outside their usual occupation. The survey, conducted by Omnibus for Noel Leeming, found that while many Kiwis are embracing their entrepreneurial spirit to start a side hustle, many still restricted by a […]

A government-backed finance scheme will see businesses able to borrow up to $5 million, an increase from $500,000. The loan increase will boost interest and is designed to encourage business lending. Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, announced alongside the increase in loan amount, the terms of the loan would also be extended from three to five […]

OceanaGold is proposing a mine expansion in small mining town, Waihi. However, not all Waihi residents are in favour of the expansion. Local, Reg Turner, is against the proposal for a number of reasons. “I know underneath the pit is real hard rock, so there’s going to be heavy ground shaking going on,” he says. […]

Small New Zealand towns are welcoming new businesses seeking cheaper rent, more space and the support of a local community. As ‘working from home’ evolves into a normal part of business operations, people are now looking to shift out of the main cities, in search of better work-life balance and lower costs. Shared office spaces […]

There is growing uncertainty surrounding the scheme which provides vital labour to the wine industry. With the ongoing tightened border controls, wine industry contractors are concerned they may not have enough overseas workers. The Recognised Seasonal Worker (RSE) scheme allows workers from the Pacific to come to New Zealand and work in the viticulture and […]

The average house price in New Zealand has continued to rise as the total number of homes available for sale has fallen. In July, houses for sale dropped by 11 percent on the same month last year, according to Realestate.co.nz, while the average national asking price increased by 3.9 percent to $756,250. “Despite speculation around […]

New Zealand Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, is positive that the New Zealand economy will “balance out” in recovery after the impacts of Covid-19. “The government’s wage subsidy hasn’t been taken up to the extent that we thought it may have been,” Robertson told TVNZ1’s Q+A today. The wage subsidy supported 1.7 million New Zealanders as […]

The Credit rating company, S&P Global predicts that the adverse economic effects of Codid19 on the New Zealand economy would be far less than for most other countries. It is believed that the long-term cost to New Zealand’s real GDP would be an estimated 2.7 per cent – less than the cost of the Global […]