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RNZ News
22 minutes ago
- RNZ News
'Really, really well off people' needing help with problem debt
A new report by FinCap says the ongoing cost-of-living crisis has led to an increased debt burden for many people. Photo: RNZ Financial mentors say problem debt isn't only a problem for the lowest-paid New Zealanders, and action is needed to stop debt collectors "deliberately distressing" struggling people . FinCap, which represents the country's financial mentors, has released its latest Voices report, outlining data for 2024. It was to be presented at Parliament on Thursday morning. The report shows mentors are dealing with a growing number of clients, despite the number of people working in the field dropping. From 19,543 closed cases in 2021, there were 25,140 dealt with last year. The top reason that people were experiencing hardship was the cost of living, responsible for 29 percent of cases. FinCap said mentors had reported much more engagement with people who might previously have not needed assistance, including those in work and not receiving a benefit, and people with home loans . Ten percent of the mentors' clients were people who owned their own homes. That is up from 7.5 percent in 2021. The mentors reported an 88 percent increase in the number of people seeking help who earn more than $1000 a week in the past three years. One mentor who was not identified, but worked in a regional centre, said they had seen some "really, really well off people". "In their previous lives, [they] have been extremely well-off, had really, really good jobs. And then just one thing has unravelled and then slightly another thing and then ... Trying to negotiate our systems seems to have caught them out." People earning more than $1000 a week were spending a median 19.7 percent of their money on groceries, compared to 25 percent for people earning $250 to $499. One in eight closed cases resulted in a client taking money out of KiwiSaver. Car loans were 21 percent of all unique debts reported, at a median $10,230. People with a car loan reported expenses exceeding income by 10 percent, and those without a car loan by 6 percent. But the percentage by which expenses exceeded income had decreased for those with a loan, and risen for those without. "The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has led to an increased debt burden for many people. Many of the whānau financial mentors work alongside are resorting to KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals just to make ends meet or avoid further debt," FinCap's report said. FinCap says many consumers feel vulnerable, especially if they are not familiar with the laws governing the debt collection process. Photo: 123RF Chief executive Fleur Howard said "unreasonable" debt collection practices were making the experience worse. She said debt collectors did not have incentives to consider the impact of their actions on the people they were chasing for money. "The consumer protections financial mentors might use to challenge unreasonable debt collection conduct can be unclear or unactionable depending on which industry the debt originated from. "Debt collection issues can be overwhelming for many whānau who have multiple debts being chased. Interactions with debt collectors can be confrontational, intimidating, and stressful." Many consumers felt vulnerable, especially if they were not familiar with the laws governing the process. "They can feel there is no option but to pay unrealistic demands relative to their financial circumstances, despite this meaning they might not be able to afford food to eat." Howard said debt collectors were sometimes contacting people unreasonably frequently, calling at unreasonable hours, calling other family members or employers and applying unreasonable fees and interest. Sometimes people were being coerced into paying debt that had previously been written off. Howard said the rules on debt collector conduct should be tightened. She said it was still not even possible to tell who the country's debt collectors were. The line between legitimate behaviour and harassment needed to be more clearly defined. "Financial mentors tell us they are working with people who are being harassed and coerced by debt collectors at work, at home, and on social media. This can endanger people's employment and embarrass them in front of their communities," Howard said. She said it seemed deliberately distressing. "These tactics force people to agree to repay debts they may not be legally responsible for, and repayment plans they can't afford. This can send people into a spiral of missed repayments, and see small initial debts balloon in size. "There are debt collection agencies who act responsibly, but the lax legal framework creates a wild west situation, where some unscrupulous debt collectors act unethically. "The Financial Services Reforms Bills currently before Parliament and the government's planned review of the Fair Trading Act are important opportunities to fix the law around debt collection." The Green Party supported the call for action. "We support the calls to regulate debt collectors, including greedy behaviour by Buy Now Pay Later companies. We also agree that the government needs to address the core issue by lifting income levels so families can survive without falling into debt or poverty," said Green Party spokesperson for commerce and consumer affairs, Ricardo Menéndez March. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
22 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Will Auckland's Sky World ever be returned to its former glory?
If you ask an Aucklander about Sky World Indoor Entertainment, once known as the Metro Centre, chances are they'll have a story to tell about getting lost inside the labyrinth-like interior, loitering outside Burger King or celebrating a birthday at the long-gone Planet Hollywood. But over the last decade the Queen St building has slowly decayed with numerous businesses shutting up shop and foot-traffic dropping dramatically. In 2017, RNZ reported the building remained open without a warrant of fitness for more than a year despite a "high risk" to public safety. Auckland Council confirmed the building does now have a valid warrant of fitness through to 24 August. The building spent two years on the market and as of October 2024, the owner of the building James Kwak from JNJ Holdings, said there were plans for redevelopment. Inside the maze-like structure of Sky World. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ Kwak has owned the building since 2011 when he paid $37 million for it. In 2026 the City Rail Link (CRL) is set to open with a stop called Te Waihorotiu Station just 50 metres from the building - it is expected to be the busiest station , catering for up to 54,000 passengers per hour. While it could be an opportunity for Sky World to attract more customers, remaining tenants inside the building said they had been "left in the dark" about any refurbishment plans. Most of the stores inside Sky World are empty, and the international food court has been demolished, leaving Event Cinemas, Metro Lanes, Game On arcade and Odyssey Sensory Maze. A Jack's Fried Chicken has opened within the past year. A false wall covers up what was once the entrance to the international food court. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ A worker at GameOn said they had "no idea" what was going on in terms of the building being renovated or sold. "I don't know… I would love it to be developed or sold. When I first heard about it I was looking forward to that." The food court now being empty and closed off by false walls, stopped people being able to walk through a large section of the building, the worker said, making it uninviting for customers. The worker said the building, and most of Auckland's mid-town , had taken a big hit during the Covid-19 pandemic and this was when many remaining tenants made the decision to leave. An interior entrance to GameOn arcade. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ "I had a big walk-through mid-town the other day, it's a bit sad. Our building is one of the worst ones." The arcade had been a tenant at Sky World in some form, since 1999, the year the building, then Force Entertainment Centre, first opened. The worker said they had been on level two, until 2018 when they moved to the upper basement. "It's not been a great experience [recently] the building was badly hurt by Covid, and it hasn't refilled." The food court has been removed. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ The arcade was lucky to have survived, and the worker said he believed this was only due to them having an entrance to the store from Queen St. He said he believed if the building could only be accessed from inside the complex, it would not still be in business. "I would like to see it in its former glory - the council, everyone, wants to see this part of town fixed." The manager of Odyssey Sensory Maze, which is hidden down in the basement of Sky World, said they had also been kept in the dark about renovations. The state of the building and their positioning in the basement did impact business, she said. "Customers often get lost trying to find us or leave bad reviews online because of the state of the building, which is something we can't control, it's not ideal. "Things look messy and dirty - for me, it would be nice to have some more life in it." Rubbish and debris tossed into the corners of Auckland's Sky World building. Photo: MELANIE EARLEY / RNZ Former tenant of Sky World, Brad Jacobs, the director of Coffee Club, said the final straw for many tenants was the cost of rent during the pandemic. "We used to trade well there, it was a good store prior to 2020, but when things got tough during the lockdowns we could not reach any fair rental agreement - we tried very hard, we begged even." But Jacobs said there was no support offered by the landlord. Coffee Club exited the building in March 2021, and Jacobs said by that stage most of the other food places had already closed. "The whole thing was ridiculous, bizarre, I still don't know what the landlord was trying to achieve. "By then we could see the writing on the wall - the city was falling apart, and it was not the place to be." The entrance to Sky World is down a series of steps next to Aotea Square. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ For Sky World to thrive again, Jacobs believed it would need a clear vision. "Everyone has a story about that building, I remember I used to hang around the Borders bookstore and go to the movies, but the design is past its used by date now. "It will be sad if it just sits like that for another ten years." Speaking to people passing through Sky World on a week day, one woman said she still visited to watch a movie or go bowling. She remembered the food court was thriving when she was a child and hoped the complex could be rebuilt in some way. "It's quite sad seeing it so empty." Bumping into another person is now a rarity at Sky World. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ Another passer-by said he had been involved with the opening of Planet Hollywood, an international movie-themed restaurant chain, when the complex was built. He remembered actor Robin Williams came down for the opening and the premier of his movie Bicentennial Man at the IMAX cinema which caused a serious buzz. "It just deteriorated over the years … it's an awkward building to get around. It's confusing with the sky ways going in every which way, it's hard to find which level you're exactly on. "I just use it to cross through to the other side now." Another woman passing by described it as a "ghost town", while another queried whether it was closed altogether. One of the three architects behind the design of the building agreed it was past its used by date. What the exterior of Sky World looked like in the early 2000s. Photo: ASHLEY ALLEN / SUPPLIED Ashley Allen said he had been inspired by the film Blade Runner when he designed the building 25 years ago with Jamie Simpkin and Peter Diprose. "The brief was to create a space that becomes a dynamic escape from city living and working life. The intention was this building would be without doubt memorable and the hub for entertainment for all in Auckland City. "I have a sadness that the generation of children who enjoyed this space now as adults see its demise due to minimal maintenance, minimal refurbishments or any new innovations". He said the building was designed to be maze-like, to give people a sense of escapism and make it feel as though they had entered another world. "I wanted people to get lost and discover things within the building. I liked the playfulness of it, the rocket lift, the bridges almost to nowhere." Bookstore Borders was inside Sky World until 2012. Photo: ASHLEY ALLEN / SUPPLIED The building had gone down hill dramatically, Allen said, and every building needed to be refurbished and re-energised throughout its life. "You need to put money into it. Successful buildings need to be constantly refreshed and it's so unfortunate the owner seems to not want to spend any money on it - it's very sad." An entertainment centre needed to be refreshed every four to five years, Allen said, as technology moved on. "Entertainment is not a static approach - what's needed to entertain a 12-year-old today is not the same as what was needed 15 years ago." He did not believe it would take much to make the building successful again, but it would need someone to agree to spend the money. The exterior of Sky World as it stands today. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ "It needs a new owner; it needs to be refurbished to get good tenants back in there or it needs to be demolished and rebuild with higher density." Allen said he did not want to see the building demolished, but he found it hard to see it in its current state. "It feels like someone is abusing your child - I'd do anything I possibly could to help the current owner out or help a new one fix it. "I just want someone to refurbish it. I'm keen for Auckland to have an entertainment hub again. All it takes is one person to start refurbishing and then people will join in." Heart of the City's Viv Beck would not comment directly on the state of Sky World, but said in general, next year's opening of the CRL would be great for the mid-town area. There are numerous empty buildings in Auckland's CBD. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ "It's certainly an opportunity… it has been challenging for businesses operating there with the ongoing construction." Beck said they were thinking about how to bring people back to the area, and she was optimistic about the long-term. "I see next year as a milestone. I think the concept of an entertainment centre is still relevant, but it needs to be an immersive experience with new technology. The concept is something that people still want." Attempts by RNZ to reach the owner of the building James Kwak or his company JNJ Holidings have been unsuccessful. You can still catch a movie inside Sky World. Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ The number listed on a 2022 renovation plan belonged to a man who said he had "no idea" why his number was listed. Voice messages left for numbers which were listed for lease enquiries on signs inside the building went unanswered, as did emails to Kwak and his company. A number listed as accounts on the company's office led to a man who said he had not worked at the company for two years and he requested RNZ "stop calling". The building's manager Tristan Kim, confirmed to RNZ the email had been received and said he would get back in touch with RNZ about whether there were any renovations underway. "I'm at a restaurant with my son - I'll call you back." By time of publication, he had not responded. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Coalition parties call for opposition not to re-ban oil and gas exploration
New Zealand First's Shane Jones has been leading the effort to get the ban repealed. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Coalition parties are calling for the opposition not to re-ban oil and gas exploration in the hope more political consensus will bolster the industry - but those pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears. The legislation scrapping the 2018 ban passed through Parliament on Thursday night with Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori pledging to restore it if they win power - a stance that could yet keep oil companies from investing in exploring for new wells. The repeal fulfils election promises from both National and ACT, though New Zealand First's Shane Jones has been leading the effort. Jones stood alongside Jacinda Ardern in 2018 to announce the ban. But in a media statement after the bill passed his boss Winston Peters rubbished as "flimsy" official reports suggesting the cost of the ban could be up to about $8 billion, and said using less fossil fuels would lower emissions. Jones in a statement on Thursday however said the ban was "ill-fated" and "has exacerbated shortages in our domestic gas supply by obliterating new investment in the exploration and development needed to meet our future gas needs". "New Zealanders are bearing the brunt of this constrained gas supply, and energy security concerns are impacting investor sentiment ... we are seeing businesses in the regions closing as a result with Kiwis losing their jobs, and we're importing hundreds of tonnes of Indonesian coal to meet peak energy demand. "This legislation is just one of many actions we are taking to get the right settings in place to resuscitate sector confidence, shore up energy supply and protect electricity affordability." He was absent from Parliament on Thursday, leaving the main government speech to the National Party's Simon Watts - the minister for Energy and Climate Change. Watts said the opposition's argument that reversing the ban would not yield new gas for a decade was "a distraction". "The immediate signal that this bill sends to investors is critical now. It encourages immediate investment in long-term exploration and in maximising production from our existing fields, which can deliver benefits far sooner. "New Zealand is committed to a clean-energy transition and meeting our emissions targets. We have committed to deliver net zero by 2050, including by doubling renewable electricity, and removing consenting barriers. Natural gas remains critical to our energy security. Without gas, we would need to either rely on more coal, which results in around twice the carbon dioxide emissions than natural gas, or face energy insecurity and higher prices." His Labour Party counterpart Megan Woods, however, said the evidence showed record investment in existing fields after 2018. "For this government to claim that it had a chilling effect on investment is simply wrong. What we had was those offshore oil and gas operators looking for every last bit they could eke out of the existing fields and it is not there. "Then we had Shane Jones saying that this will open up opportunities off the East Coast of the South Island. Well, news flash: billions of dollars have been spent looking for that particular El Dorado ... this government is going to give $200 million to offshore companies to go and have a look again where they've already decided there are not commercial finds available." She pointed to official analysis showing reversing the ban would add 14.2 million tonnes of emissions, and "a bit that should have been redacted from the regulatory impact statement" showing it could affect trade. "Let me read from that: 'Legally privileged: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade assessed that reversing the 2018 ban would likely be inconsistent with the obligations in several of New Zealand's free-trade agreements' - so farmers need to be worried, our access to the EU and the UK are being put at risk." Green Party spokesperson for just transitions Steve Abel was also sceptical the oil industry could be attracted back. He was part of the Oil-Free Seas Flotilla in 2011 that harried Petrobras' surveying ship for 42 days, welcomed to the area by a 500-strong haka "said by Te Whānau-a-Apanui, the iwi greeting us, to be the biggest haka since James Cook had arrived in that part of the country - I'm hoping we were more worthy of it than he was", he said. He listed off a series of oil companies that exited New Zealand before the ban came into place: Exxon Mobil abandoning its southern oil and gas hunt in November 2010 after three years, Petrobras in December 2012, Texan driller Anadarko exiting its permit on the North Island's west coast in May 2014, Statoil quitting its Northland permit in October 2016, and Shell selling its remaining assets to OMV in March 2018. He said the ban was the "final nail in the coffin of an industry that was already declaring its own demise in this country, because they came, they prospected, they found nothing, and they found nothing but overwhelming public opposition from the people of this country". Echelon Resources - the company formerly known as New Zealand Oil and Gas, last month told RNZ the best wells are typically drilled first , so new drilling will be more difficult and expensive. Its managing director Andrew Jeffries said other countries had more political consensus, making New Zealand an even more unattractive option for investment. ACT Party MP Simon Court said the repeal would restore certainty, credibility and confidence, but called on Labour not to re-impose the ban if it won power. "Today marks the end of an era - a really bad one. It marks the end of a six-year reign of economic vandalism and energy illiteracy by the previous New Zealand Labour government. "Even the Honourable Shane Jones said at the time - bless his soul - that ending oil and gas exploration 'is the only scenario'. When he stood at that podium, I was shocked, but I'm pleased that minister has come to his senses - but profoundly disappointed that the Labour Party still has not." His leader David Seymour said it was "very possible that they won't find the gas, but the impediment to people getting cheaper energy should not be our own government, and that's why I say if New Zealand First can change their mind then Labour should be able to do that too".
