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Midday Report Essentials for Wednesday 11 June 2025

Midday Report Essentials for Wednesday 11 June 2025

RNZ News11-06-2025
technology environment about 1 hour ago
In today's episode, the government is being warned there could be diplomatic retaliation from Israel after New Zealand joined with a number of other allies in imposing sanctions on two Israeli far-right ministers, a New Zealand vessel has pulled up six tonnes of protected stony coral in a single trawl, the four-laned, 11.5 kilometre Te Ahu a Tararanga - linking Manawatu and Tararua - has officially opened to traffic, and experts are warning women who use period tracking apps are a goldmine for advertisers, and information from them - in the wrong hands - could result in risks to job prospects, workplace monitoring, health insurance discrimination, cyberstalking, and limit access to abortion.
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MP Maureen Pugh pitches one-stop-shop for mining consents
MP Maureen Pugh pitches one-stop-shop for mining consents

RNZ News

time15 minutes ago

  • RNZ News

MP Maureen Pugh pitches one-stop-shop for mining consents

MP Maureen Pugh wants a local fast-track system to speed up consent processing times. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone West Coast Tasman MP Maureen Pugh has weighed into the campaign to improve waiting times for miners needing resource consents and other permits. Pugh has suggested a local "mini-version" of the government's fast-track system to speed up consent processing times. Resources Minister Shane Jones gave the West Coast Regional Council a strong serve last week, after it closed down a gold mine site that had waited 17-months for a consent. The council also faced criticised from Cr Brett Cummings, a gold miner himself, whose company had been left waiting six months for consent. Pugh says the Minister is justifiably frustrated at the holdups. "This has been going on for far too long. There are guys that have their mining permits and they're paying up to $20,000 a year to NZ Petroleum and Minerals for the right to mine but they can't even get onto the land because the council hasn't sorted their resource consent or DOC hasn't processed their concession." By comparison, a large-scale miner she knew was able to gain approval to mine in New South Wales in Australia within six weeks, she said. "He's got another one in New Guinea - that took twelve weeks," she said. "[He has] one application active in New Zealand and he's been waiting for two years and he still doesn't know how it's going to go. "The delays are not new but they've just got worse and worse, at a time when we desperately need to grow the economy. It's not how to do business well." In her former career as Westland mayor, Mrs Pugh said she had tried to speed up the bureaucracy by delegating district council land-use consents to the Regional Council to process. "I believe that what we need now is a local fast-track system. A mini-version of the government's one-stop-shop, with one office in the region where every agency involved in a mining application is co-located, and has a staffer. All of these permits should be happening concurrently." Pugh said she had proposed her idea to the Minister (Shane Jones) and he was interested in progressing it. "We've simply got to find a new way of doing this and we can't go on having consultants in the North Island dealing with alluvial goldmining consents down here. "They know nothing about the West Coast so of course they're risk averse about everything and their reports reflect that, and there's the constant for further information and they keep sending applications back and asking for more information, and every time their meters are ticking." The miners' continual outgoings were simply paying the wages of bureaucrats and not generating revenue, Pugh said. "It should all be happening concurrently - as it is you're paying to hold your mining license just in case you can overcome all the other. It's enough to make you tear your hair out." The Regional Council is looking at taking on more consents staff and this week began work on new resource consent templates which it says will simplify and speed up the process for alluvial gold miners. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

Finance Minister on tackling the cost of living crisis
Finance Minister on tackling the cost of living crisis

RNZ News

timean hour ago

  • RNZ News

Finance Minister on tackling the cost of living crisis

life and society economy 21 minutes ago The Prime Minister has promised to take action in the coming months to tackle the cost of living crisis. Christopher Luxon has acknowledged it is still tough out there for too many kiwis and the government's focus is on unlocking economic growth. According to Stats NZ the price of food has gone up 4.4% in the last year. Electricity is up almost 9% and gas is up more than 15%. As of March last year house insurance was up almost 25 % and contents insurance up about 28%. This week figures from Centrix showed almost half a million people are behind on debt repayments. Finance Minister Nicola Willis spoke to Lisa Owen.

Kiwis worried about arrest over student loan debt crackdowns
Kiwis worried about arrest over student loan debt crackdowns

RNZ News

timean hour ago

  • RNZ News

Kiwis worried about arrest over student loan debt crackdowns

law politics 42 minutes ago A former IRD prosecutor is calling for changes to the student loan system so that Kiwis living overseas aren't put off coming home because they're worried about being arrested at the border. In April, interest rates for overseas borrowers was lifted from 3.9% to 4.9% and the late payment interest rate for all borrowers to 8.9%. Tax barrister Dave Ananth says this is putting people off returning to New Zealand at a time we should be encouraging skilled people to come home. Bella Craig reports.

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