Do 74,000 people really have to lose their jobs to save economy?   The Reserve Bank increased the official cash rate to 5.25% on Wednesday, a 50 basis point increase that was twice what economists had predicted. Many had thought weaker-than-expected local and international economic data would prompt the central bank to lift rates by only…

New Zealand achieves first ‘equal cabinet’… One step closer to gender equality in politics   Last year, the ‘Women’s Half Parliament’ was launched from the Jacinda Ardern cabinet   New Zealand’s Chris Hipkins cabinet has reached an ‘equal cabinet’ for the first time in history. It is another achievement following the achievement of a women’s…

Law change ensures sub-contractors are paid retention money when building companies collapse   Changes to the retention fund law for subcontractors   Subcontractors will receive better protection from construction companies that have gone bankrupt after the law is revised. Under the new law, companies holding retention funds for subcontractors must provide regular reports on the…

No more waiting for payments at weekends: Banks shift to seven-day processing   Banking 7-day conversion, payment processing possible even on weekends Previously, banks only processed payments on business days and not on weekends, but now they are switching to a 7-day payment processing system that includes weekends. Starting May 26th, dollar transactions between all…