Far North news in brief: Northland councils skip water test comp; Save our Sheep
Scholarship applications
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) is calling for scholarship applications for the 2025 HortNZ Leadership Programme run in partnership with Rural Leaders. The initiative aims to equip emerging leaders in the sector with skills, tools and the confidence to lead change and innovation in horticulture. The programme, recently refreshed to reflect the changing demands of the sector, offers participants a practical, hands-on development experience. Applications are open now and close on Sunday, July 6. For more information and to apply, visit www.hortnz.co.nz
Most trusted charity
New Zealanders have voted Hato Hone St John as one of the Most Trusted Charities for 2025, in the Reader's Digest annual Trusted Brand Awards for the 12th time. Hato Hone St John chief executive Peter Bradley says the recognition is deeply moving and a reflection of the trust New Zealanders place in the organisation during life's most critical moments. 'Being named one of NZ's Most Trusted Charities is incredibly humbling. It's not something we take for granted – it's a powerful reminder of the responsibility we continue to carry after 140 years of St John being alongside NZ communities,' he said.
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Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
NZ Will Soon Have No Real Interisland Rail-ferry Link – Why Are We So Bad At Infrastructure Planning?
Another week, another Cook Strait ferry breakdown. As the winter maintenance season approaches and the Aratere prepares for its final months of service, New Zealand faces a self-imposed crisis. The government has spent NZ$507.3 million on cancelled iReX ferry plans, the country's fleet has an average age of 28 years, and the earliest New Zealanders can hope for promised replacements is 2029. The Marlborough Chamber of Commerce warns unreliable ferries already shake tourist confidence. Several more years of duct-tape solutions won't help. The recent pattern of breakdowns and cancellations has become so routine that New Zealand risks normalising what should be viewed as a national crisis: a serious infrastructure failure. It is also a textbook example of how short-term political cycles, coupled with chronic under-investment, create far more expensive problems than the ones they promise to solve. Cost blowouts While ministers claim to have spared taxpayers a $4 billion blowout on new ferries, Treasury papers show almost 80% of the cost escalation lay in seismic upgrades for wharves, not in the vessels themselves. Those land-side works will be required no matter what ferries the country eventually orders. Justifying the original contract cancellation, Finance Minister Nicola Willis quipped that iReX was a Ferrari when a Toyota Corolla would do. But the cost of finding a suitable Corolla is adding up fast. Annual maintenance costs are projected to nearly double to $65 million, just to keep the existing ageing ferries running. Additionally, $300 million had to be earmarked to cover fees for breaking the original ferry replacement contract. By retiring the Aratere this year – New Zealand's only rail-capable ferry – the government is also severing the interisland rail link for almost five years. KiwiRail will 'road-bridge' rail freight, an expensive workaround that involves loading train cars onto trucks, putting those trucks on ferries, then reversing the process at the other end. This will increase truck traffic, produce more emissions and add more wear to already strained infrastructure. Forcing more than $14 billion worth of annual freight from rail to road could also negatively affect New Zealand's climate change commitments. Freight moved by rail generates only about 25% of the CO per tonne-kilometre of the same load produced when hauled by truck. The cancelled hybrid ferries would have also cut emissions by 40%. Instead, New Zealand is locking in higher emissions for another half decade or longer. Unrealistic timelines The ferry saga reflects New Zealand's infrastructure problem in a nutshell. The country tends to underestimate costs, create unfeasible timelines, then shows dismay when projects blow up or limp home at double the price. Auckland exemplifies the pattern. The city has seen decades of cancelled harbour crossing proposals and a scrapped light rail project, with nothing to show but consultancy fees. When New Zealand does build –Transmission Gully, for example – the final bill bears little resemblance to initial quotes. The 27 kilometre motorway north of Wellington was nearly 50% over budget and took eight years to build – two years longer than promised. The systematic underestimation of costs reflects a flawed approach to infrastructure planning. Politicians need quick wins within three-year electoral cycles, while infrastructure projects take decades to deliver. Projects are approved based on lowball estimates, with the outcome inherited by another administration. This has crossed party lines and created a system that rewards short-term thinking and punishes long-term planning. Just consider the second crossing for Auckland Harbour. For 35 years, the government has commissioned study after study – from the 1988 tunnel plans to the 2010 business cases – each time backing away when the price tag appeared, or the government changed. The iReX cancellation marks the first time the government has actually signed contracts and then walked away. As with the second Auckland Harbour crossing, each delay has only made the inevitable solution more expensive. Other countries have, to a degree, addressed this problem. Infrastructure Australia, for example, provides independent cost assessments and long-term planning that transcends political cycles. New Zealand's Infrastructure Commission, established in 2019, lacks similar teeth and independence. Ultimately this isn't really about ferries. It's about how New Zealand consistently fails to deliver, on time and at cost, the infrastructure that keeps its economy moving.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Auckland housing supply improves, 100,000 homes built in seven years
His report comes as the Government directs the council to allow buildings of at least 15 storeys near train stations close to the City Rail Link, and a wider intensification blueprint is being drawn up by the council. Blick said the median price for a house in Auckland was now about $1 million, or 7.5 times the median household income. In 2000, houses cost about five times the median household income. 'If we still had a multiple of five, the median house price would be $680,000, not $1m,' Blick said. New townhouses have been springing up across Auckland since the Auckland Unitary Plan came in. Photo / Michael Craig The report shows the housing boom 'hasn't happened by chance'. It was the result of more flexible planning rules in the Unitary Plan that came into effect in late 2016. What's more, Blick said, the vast majority of consented homes had been built. The practice of single homes being replaced with terraced housing or apartments on the same piece of land meant that about 89% of new homes were net additions to Auckland's housing stock. The shift towards terraced houses and apartments reflected budget constraints and people's preference for living closer to jobs, schools, public transport and other amenities. Council research into the projected supply and demand for housing over 30 years found the Unitary Plan had the capacity for 900,000 homes, of which 650,000 were commercially viable. A breakdown of the 100,000 new homes built over seven years showed numbers climbed from 10,200 in 2018 to a peak of 18,100 in 2023, driven by strong demand and falling interest rates. Blick said people took on more debt, money flooded into the housing market, pushing up prices, and developers built a lot more houses. Auckland Council chief economist Gary Blick says the focus should remain on building new houses close to town centres and major transport infrastructure. By 2021, he said, inflation got away, interest rates rose steeply and dampened people's demand and ability to take on debt. Consents eased to 14,000 last year, albeit still higher than pre-Unitary Plan levels. 'We do get fluctuations across the economic cycle… new homes took off like a rocket and then they cooled down a bit,' he said. Looking ahead, Blick said the focus should remain on building new houses close to town centres and major transport infrastructure, such as the City Rail Link, but he acknowledged some people wanted to live on the city fringes. The council and the Government have agreed on a new planning blueprint for the city, allowing greater housing density near major transport routes. The council has already signed off on more density in the central city and has until October 10 to finalise a plan across the wider city. As part of the negotiations, Housing Minister Chris Bishop has allowed the council to opt out of the previous Government's directive allowing three dwellings of up to three storeys on most sites in Auckland. Your first home should not be your dream home Natasha Thirani is close to buying her first home. Photo / Jason Dorday Natasha Thirani and her husband Vivek, both 32, are close to buying their first home. Mt Eden, where they rent an apartment, is a dream location, but it is too expensive for their budget of $850,000 for a townhouse with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage and a bit of outdoor space. They have been looking at properties at The Glade, a masterplanned community in Mt Wellington, but it's a little beyond their budget and has the added cost of body corporate fees. Natasha felt it was the best time to get into the housing market, with interest rates falling from 7% to about 4% and plenty of houses to choose from. However, the experience could be nerve-racking and there were many pros and cons, she said. Her advice for other first-time buyers was not to max out their home loan. 'If you're looking to buy your first car, you don't go for a Ferrari or a Porsche. It's the same when you are buying your first home. It is important you buy it as a first home and not a dream home,' she said. Asked if the Unitary Plan was doing a good job and about the Government's directive for greater intensification, Mayor Wayne Brown said the city's population was set to grow by more than 250,000 over the next decade, more than the population of Wellington City. 'I've heard from a heap of developers who're up for this growth and are prepared to deliver it. They've told us they're on board to provide it in the right places. 'We don't want growth just anywhere, but we certainly still need more of it. It will be focused where we have invested the most because that's what makes sense,' the mayor said. Blick said there were trade-offs with the Government's directive for greater housing density, saying change could be difficult at times, but the city must be mindful of housing becoming less affordable over time, especially for younger people. There is a shift towards townhouses and apartments, and living close to transport and other amenities, says Gary Blick. Auckland's long-running housing crisis appears to have turned a corner on the supply side with the city's largest real estate company, Barfoot & Thompson, reporting a glut of 6083 unsold homes at the end of May this year, nearly double the figure of 3013 in May 2016. Managing director Peter Thompson said in April this year: 'Buyer choice remains at an all-time high… through a combination of new builds reaching the market and existing properties.' A survey of real estate agents by economist Tony Alexander this year found that FOMO (fear of missing out) has been replaced with FOOP (fear of overpaying), and that buyers were conscious of house prices falling after they purchased. Derek Handley is the founder of Aera, a company specialising in helping first-home buyers from start to finish, including financial advice, mortgage brokerage and finding a newly built home. He said right now, there was a lot of housing available in Auckland, and he could take a young couple and show them five houses across five neighbourhoods in an afternoon. Auckland did not have a housing crisis, said Handley, it had a mindset crisis where people thought they couldn't afford a home. He said a couple, aged about 30, could combine their KiwiSaver balances for a deposit on a new townhouse, costing between $600,000 and $650,000. 'It's a hell of a lot more achievable than what people have been telling themselves over the last X number of years, and it may have something to do with there are so many more brand new homes available,' Handley said. Auckland councillor Richard Hills says many people, especially younger people, find themselves locked out of buying a house. Photo / Dean Purcell Councillor Richard Hills, who chairs the policy and planning committee, said it was great to see progress on the housing front over the past eight years, with many new homes closer to transport and jobs, and options for people at different stages of their lives. Hills said this did not mean all the housing issues were fixed. There was an increase in homelessness across the city, rents were still too expensive for some, and many people, especially younger people, were finding themselves locked out of the dream of purchasing a home as the median house price was about 7.5 times the median household income, far more than 20 or 30 years ago. Hills said data showed Auckland needed at least 300,000 homes for future residents over the next 30 years, and the sensible place was close to transport corridors and hubs such as rail stations. 'Aucklanders have invested in projects like the City Rail Link, so it makes sense for more people to have good access to it,' Hills said. The final word goes to Blick: 'Auckland's housing story isn't perfect, but it is a tale of improvement.' Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Qantas cyber attack: Culprits and motive unknown
A major Australian airline will soon be able to tell the six million customers whose data was stolen by cyber criminals exactly what type of personal information was harvested. In an update on Friday, Qantas also said the group believed responsible for the incident remained unclear and that it had not received a ransom request. The hack, revealed earlier this week, occurred on a third-party system used by a call centre working for Qantas. Sensitive data such as credit card details, personal financial information, passport details and Qantas Frequent Flyer accounts were not exposed. But millions of customers did have names, dates of birth, and email addresses stolen. ADVERTISEMENT Asked by 1News whether any New Zealanders were affected, the airline would only say the "majority" of affected customers were in Australia. Qantas next week will contact customers individually to tell them exactly what type of personal data was "contained in the system" or compromised. "I want to apologise again for the uncertainty this has caused," chief executive Vanessa Hudson said in a statement. "We're committed to keeping our affected customers informed with regular updates as our investigation progresses." Qantas, which continues to work with the government authorities to investigate the incident, reaffirmed that there has been no further threat in the system and that it remains secure. Multiple cyber experts believe the group responsible for the attack is called Scattered Spider, a cabal of young cyber criminals living in the US and the UK. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation recently warned that the group was targeting the airline sector by impersonating legitimate users to bypass multi-factor authentication and access systems. ADVERTISEMENT Airlines such as America's Hawaiian Airlines and Westjet have faced cyber attacks in the past fortnight. Qantas has rolled out additional security measures to counteract any more potential threats and increase detection. These include more security measures for frequent flyer accounts by introducing "additional identification" for account changes. "We are treating this incredibly seriously and have implemented additional security measures to further strengthen our systems," Hudson said. "Our customers can be assured that we have the right expertise and resources dedicated to resolving this matter thoroughly and effectively." Qantas also warned scammers are already impersonating the airline in the wake of the attack and told customers to be vigilant. The airline will never contact customers requesting passwords, booking reference details or sensitive login information. ADVERTISEMENT "If customers do receive any suspicious emails, text messages or calls from someone purporting to be Qantas you can report this via our dedicated support line, Scamwatch, or contact local authorities," it said. In the wake of the hack, Qantas has received more than 5000 customer enquiries. Meanwhile, legal experts suggest the incident could lead to a class action against Qantas, after compensation claims were made against Optus and Medibank after major breaches in 2022.
