House prices have increased 19.8 percent year-on-year with the median now at $725,000. The Real Estate Institute’s (REINZ) House Price Index, which measures the changing value of property in the market also hit a new high, gaining 13.5 percent to 3248. Auckland’s median house price hit the $1 million mark for the first time, up […]

Momentum to increase the parliamentary term to four years seems to be growing, an election law expert says after a new poll. Conducted by Research New Zealand, the survey of 1000 people showed 61 percent support moving from a three year term to a four-year term. About 25 percent were against it, and the rest […]

The new Health Minister is promising to fast track reforms of the health sector within the next 18 months to two years. Andrew Little made his comments to the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists’ annual conference in Wellington this morning. Little told the crowd of up to about 200 people New Zealand has a complex […]

The Commerce Commission is investigating a cryptocurrency multi-level marketing scheme, known as Lion’s Share. It encourages people to pay hundreds of dollars to join the scheme in the hopes of being rewarded in cryptocurrencies from each new person they signed-up. A special counsel at law firm Bell Gully, Campbell Pentney, said in his opinion Lion’s […]

New Zealand citizens and residents say the government’s solution to reuniting them with their overseas partners has led to unexpected, unfair and dangerous consequences. Some are crying foul over a two-tier system allowing border exemptions to partners from richer visa-waiver countries. Those left out of the exemptions say they are resorting to flying into Covid-19 […]

Polytechs are trying to make more space available as record numbers sign up for apprenticeships. The number of people signing up for apprenticeships has doubled to 17,000 after the government in June made them fees free for the next two-and-a-half years. Taumaloto Tiatia has always wanted to be a plumber but feeling family pressure to […]

An organisation supporting workers from the Pacific Islands wants employers to ensure staff are well looked after as the seasonal worker scheme starts up again. The government will bring in 2000 Recognised Seasonal Employer, or RSE, workers into the country to help with harvests. Growers must pay isolation facility costs for each worker and also […]

First it was roaming horses. Now Ōpōtiki has its own wandering emu, who on Sunday could be seen dodging cars, kids on bikes and local law enforcement. The unusual escapade did not last long as police swooped to the rescue, escorting the bird back to its Union St paddock in the small Eastern Bay of […]

The government has offered help to the under-pressure horticultural sector by allowing 2000 Recognised Seasonal Employer, or RSE, workers in to help pick fruit and vegetables this summer. Growers had complained that without these workers, some produce would rot unpicked. The government has however imposed strict conditions. The workers would have to be paid the […]

The ASB bank’s latest housing confidence survey for the three months to October shows a net 12 percent of people thought it was a good time to buy a house, a 9 point drop on the previous quarter. It found that nearly half of respondents thought house prices would rise over the next 12 months, […]