$30m government announcement for new sports science facility in Upper Hutt

By

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13 June 2025

A new sports science facility has been given $30m in government funding to get it off the ground. Grant Robertson, the Minister of Finance, announced that the NZCIS (New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport) would be receiving the government grant.

Robertson stated that the hub is designed to be a world-class contender where it will offer a range of different services for different sports. The facility is not only intended for elite and professional sports but also for academies and local sporting groups.

The New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport is a component of a wider project involving the Central Institute of Technology in Trentham. In addition, the grounds will allows house a high performance sports hub, a training facility for government agencies (in the likes of the Defence Force and Corrections), and an incubator for high tech industries.

The 17 hectare site is planning on including a 1,000 square metre gym, four outdoor sports fields, a 70 by 50 metre indoor sports field, several pools, an altitude studio and cryotherapy facilities. As the hub is also intended to collect data for sports science, there will be 3 on-site analysis rooms where athletes and their teams will be able to gather and evaluate performance data.

It is expected that the NZCIS will create over 240 jobs for the residents of Upper Hutt. In light of the announcement Baseball NZ, Wellington Phoenix and Wellington Rugby have already signed up for the facilities at the soon to be hub.

The funding for the NZCIS is part of a $3 bilion COVID-19 Recovery and Response Fund for the infrastructure sector. Grant Robertson announced this fund on the 1^st of July where recently Hutt Valley received $39m from the fund and Upper Hutt’s Maidstone Sportshub received $12m.

Smart ways to save money

By

Sophie Henley

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13 June 2025

When you are trying to save money every little bit can make a difference. The sooner you start the sooner you will hit your goals. Below are some smart ways in which you can save money in New Zealand.

Set goals

Many people fail at saving because they haven’t set a goal. If you aren’t trying to achieve something why are you doing it? Setting short and long term goals can help make a massive difference and get you motivated.

Short term goals such as a holiday, new car or TV are great ways to get you motivated. Your long term goals should be larger such as an emergency fund or a deposit for a house.

Automate your saving habits

An easy way to get your saving is to automate the whole process. Setting up an automatic payment makes it so easy that you don’t even have to think about it. Line up the auto payment with your pay cheque so that once you have money in your account, a small amount of it will be thrown into your savings fund.

To make things a bit clearer for yourself, consider changing the name of your savings account to your goal. For example if your saving up for that house deposit change it to: New House.

Pay bills on time

A somewhat obvious way to save money but should still be mentioned is paying your bills on time. A lot of companies will charge you extra late fees if you don’t pay on time. Additionally some may also give you a discount if you pay them earlier than the due date.

You will be amazed how much you can save by paying things on time or early. To get on top of your bills you can also set up automatic payments.

Issues found with two Auckland-Northland bridges

By

Amber Mobsby

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13 June 2025

Issues found with two Auckland-Northland bridges

Problems with the design of two new bridges under construction on the Auckland Northern Corridor have been discovered by the Transport Agency. The issues are said to be partly due to efforts to try to speed up construction after shutdowns meant the $700 million construction project was behind schedule. The design of the Rosedale Busway Bridge is currently under review, it’s believed that changes to its abutment pushed the bridge out of alignment. The changes were made in order to speed up the project.

Solutions to fix the issues are now being explored. In a separate review it was discovered that the beams on the Albany Busway Bridge were built with the incorrect pre-camber which are designed to take the weight of the concrete and traffic of the bridge. The way that the concrete was poured around the bridge was changes; checks of the design have confirmed that there are no quality issues with the bridge. It has been said that the costs have not risen for the project as a result of the reviews. The Auckland reviews come after other review of Bridges in Wellsford also made claims of design deficiencies. The reviews of the Wellsford bridges found that there may be potential safety issues but it was later shown that this would not be the case and that reworking of the bridges would not be required.

However following the findings on the Rosedale bridge reviewers are now looking into how they can avoid similar oversights and errors in the future to avoid problems from the beginning. Bridge engineers and oversight agencies in New Zealand are under pressure to ensure the safety of new construction after issues have popped up in recent years with road and bridge construction that could pose a threat to the safety of commuters.

New Zealand MPs properties revealed

By

Amber Mobsby

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13 June 2025

New data reveals that on average New Zealand MPs own at least four properties. Since the year of 2005, New Zealand members of parliament have been required to declare the returns they receive on all financial assets including domestic and international property, overseas expenses and any other avenues of interest.

Recent data shows that New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern owns the family home in Mt Albert, Auckland. Judith Collins, the National Leader, owns her family home in Auckland, a residential property in Nelson, a commercial property and a residential property in Wellington.

With so many different MPs in New Zealand below is a breakdown of some of the Labour Party and their properties in New Zealand.

Adrian Rurawhe (Labour, Te Tai Hauāuru) – 1 property, interest in 40 land blocks
Jenny Salesa (Labour, Manukau East) – 4 properties
Louisa Wall (Labour, Manurewa) – 3 properties
Angie Warren-Clark (Labour, List) – 3 properties
Meka Whaitiri (Labour, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti) – 2 properties, interest in 3 blocks of beneficiary land
Iain Lees-Galloway (Labour, Palmerston North) – 3 properties
Dr Liz Craig (Labour, List) – 2 properties, 1 conservation block
Willie Jackson (Labour, List) – 4 properties
Poto Williams (Labour, Christchurch East) – 2 properties
Dr Megan Woods (Labour, Wigram) – 2 properties
Jamie Strange (Labour, List) – 2 properties
Aupito William Sio (Labour, Māngere) – 2 properties
David Parker (Labour, List) – 1 property, 1 holiday house (both owned by trust)
Stuart Nash (Labour, Napier) – 2 properties
Nanaia Mahuta (Labour, Hauraki-Waikato) – 2 properties
Trevor Mallard (Labour, List) – 2 properties
Chris Hipkins (Labour, Rimutaka) – 2 properties
Marja Lubeck (Labour, List) – 2 properties
Jo Luxton (Labour, List) – 2 properties
Paul Eagle (Labour, Rongotai) – 2 properties
Dr David Clark (Labour, Dunedin North) – 2 properties
Tamati Coffey (Labour, Waiariki) – 2 properties
Raymond Huo (Labour, List) – 1 family home, 9 rental investment properties
Anahila Kanongata’a-Suisuiki (Labour, List) – 2 properties

Early warning system will save lives

By

Edward Welch

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13 June 2025

Visitors to the Whakaari/White Island during its violent eruption in December 2019 had no warning that it was going to erupt and spew acidic steam at them. The eruption caused the deaths of 21 people, with survivors experiencing serious injuries and burns. The eruption was the catalyst for the development of an early warning system designed to pick up patterns in seismic activity to help alert people when an eruption is imminent. If the system had been in place during the earlier eruption it would have given people sixteen hours to clear the area before the Volcano erupted.

There are a number of other Volcanos in New Zealand that also pose a similar eruption threat and early warning systems could help to save lives around the country. Early warning systems can elp to provide visitors and park manager with real time information about potential hazards and safety issues.

Whilst New Zealand has monitoring instruments and measures in place, they have not previously delivered real time information or made estimates on the likelihood of previous eruptions. New technologies continuously monitor data and use machine learning algorithms to read signals that show an imminent threat of eruption. Machine learning algorithms are also capable of learning from past experience so that they can better forecast future events.

The new early alert system for Whit Island will generate an alert if an eruption is more than 8.5% likely to occur which means there’s about a 1 in 12 chance of eruption – the new system had it been implemented for previous eruptions would have raised an alert for four of the last five big eruptions.

Similar early warning systems could help to ensure that visitors are protected but there may be a trade off in that people are kept away at times when an eruption does not occur, the technology will surely improve over time however.

Kiwi kids are suffering from preventable dental issues

By

Robert Barlow

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12 June 2025

Kiwi kids are suffering from preventable dental issues

Kids in New Zealand are experiencing issues with preventable tooth decay according to a nation-wide study which found that kids that didn’t have access to a fluoridated water supply were much more likely to experience severe tooth decay. The study analysed data from more than 275,000 children between 2011 and 2016 found that almost one in seven four year old children were suffering from preventable dental issues. Most were not receiving the dental care they needed and their baby teeth were decaying as a result, which affected adult teeth. The purpose of the study was to show the importance of fluoridation in community water supplies as it is the easiest and most cost effective way to protect the teeth of kids in New Zealand.

The rates of decay were highest for children in lower socio-economic areas or Maori and Pacific children although there were still high rates for children living in high income areas. Young children suffering from severe tooth decay and other dental issues often required general anaesthetic and experience chronic tooth pain and abscesses. Despite the country having national policy in place that says everyone should receive water fluoridation in New Zealand, only about half of the country receives it – children living in lower socio-economic areas are disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to dental health as a result because they do not receive fluoridation.

The research on children dental health issues was undertaken with the aim of encouraging the New Zealand government to take action on the issue to try and address the widespread and sever issues with dental health that many young children are experiencing – it will also hopefully help to push policies and bills on dental health in the country forward, some have been stalled in New Zealand since 2016.

Scientists find genetic record of earthquakes in organism’s DNA

By

Monica Striegel

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12 June 2025

Scientists find genetic record of earthquakes in organism’s DNA

In a paper that was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists have stated that the DNA of bull kelp that grows along the shore of the South Island of New Zealand, house a genetic record of earthquakes that occurred over 800 years ago. During this earthquake, the ocean floor rose which wiped out numerous inhabitants to make way for new genetic species.

The findings of the report suggest that comparing the genes of some organisms can reveal the damage that occurred to the environment all those years ago. New Zealand is one of the best places to gather this data as it lies atop a large nest of fault lines.

Researchers started pondering what happens to the kelp in the ocean when a massive earthquake his four years ago. It caused a fault near the town of Kaikoura to extend nearly 2 metres out of the water. Jon Waters, who is a professor of Zoology at the University of Otago, along with his colleagues were some of those researchers who first began to ask the question.

Kelp that was pushed above the surface of the water died pretty quickly, but with real estate in the ecosystem below, new organisms were able to flourish. Due to the nature of how kelp grows, it lines the ocean floor and gives very little room for newcomers to move into the neighbourhood.

According to the data gathered from the organisms there was an earthquake similar to the one 6 years ago, 800 years ago. It happened off the coastline near Dunedin where researchers took samples from the kelp that spanned over 60 miles. While the kelp looked identical to the others, the DNA gathered indicates that they are entirely different from each other due to the destruction that happened all those years ago.

NZ business confidence overtakes Australia

By

Sophie Henley

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12 June 2025

NZ business confidence overtakes Australia

Researchers have found that Kiwi’s have more confidence in the future of their companies than Australian’s do in their own which has prompted experts to warn Australian businesses that an exodus of important talent could be on the horizon as Australian workers and out talent pool from other countries look to opportunities in New Zealand instead.

The studies showed that confidence in Australian businesses has stagnated amongst business leaders whilst the confidence of New Zealand business leaders has grown considerably. A survey found that confidence amongst Kiwi business leaders jumped by 69% over just ten months with many of them feeling that their businesses were growing and had positive futures ahead. The Australian respondents to the survey however felt that their businesses were shrinking and had decreased confidence in the future of their businesses. Many of them had negative projections of the future of their businesses compared to the much more positive projections of their New Zealand counterparts. It was said that New Zealanders had much more confidence in the futures of their businesses and this optimism was likely to be a self-fulfilling prophecy with New Zealand businesses likely to perform better simply because they were more likely to take steps to improve their businesses with a more positive outlook in place.

The higher level of confidence and optimism in New Zealand businesses is very likely to attract Australians overseas as they seek to get away from shrinking businesses and less positive work environments. Experts have said that Australian business leaders will need to be careful to send the right messages and signals to employees to ensure that confidence rises and to ensure that they avoid losing talent to New Zealand companies. Australian businesses will need to ensure that they make employees feel good about the future of their businesses.

New Zealand’s way of working

By

Cornelia Smith

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12 June 2025

Planning to work in New Zealand? It’s important to understand the work style of the country and how the workplace operates. Every country is different when it comes to how they like to work, so how do you fit in successfully in the workplace in New Zealand.

One of the first things to know is that employers in New Zealand value a positive attitude in the workplace, they’ll be looking for employees who are excited to contribute their own ideas and feedback in the workplace. New Zealand is known for being a country of pioneers and problem solvers. For a small country, New Zealand is often well ahead and always looking for new ideas and ways to do things.

One thing to expect from working in New Zealand is that you will likely work in much small organisations, many of New Zealand’s business have less than fourteen employees and are much smaller than businesses in countries like the United States.

In New Zealand companies with less than 20 employees are responsible for around 40% of the economic output of the country. The much smaller businesses means that New Zealand has a very unique working life compared to other countries. Employees often have more direct access to the leaders of their business which means they can have more of an ability to influence things in the organisation. There are also often less organisation layers to worry about, which means that employees have a larger and more important role to play in the business. Workers in smaller business often find that they are asked to specialise less in one small area and take on a greater variety of tasks. New Zealand is an excellent place for people to start out as it offers hands on opportunities to workers.

Things your mortgage broker wishes you knew in New Zealand

By

Sophie Henley

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12 June 2025

With many people eager to take advantage of low interest rates, first-home buyers are flooding to mortgage brokers. However even with banks giving more leeway to buyers, not all applications are created equally. Below are some key points that your broker wishes you knew before buying your first home in New Zealand.

Avoiding short term debt

Being in the industry for many years, a lot of mortgage brokers have identified short term debt being a big factor that affects people buying their first home. Many people take out short term debt without any idea what it means for them in the future until it becomes a problem when they try to buy a house.

Newer generations have short term debt more accessible to them and even with a good income; it can become a problem when you are trying to apply.

Expect your spending habits to be scrutinised

A lot of the time people have no idea what they are spending on a weekly or monthly basis. Mortgage brokers will ask you what your budget is and not knowing can make the whole process a lot harder. People who do not have a budget set up will typically try to borrow more than they can manage.

If you have a solid idea of your income plus your budget, you and your broker will then have reasonable expectations of what you will be able to borrow.

Understand what you earn

It may sound silly, but it is important that you understand how much you earn each pay period. This point kind of ties in with the last as if you have a budget in place you and your broker will understand how much money you are putting towards your housing costs each period and work out a home loan that will best suit you.

Set goals

Automate your saving habits

Pay bills on time

Avoiding short term debt

Expect your spending habits to be scrutinised

Understand what you earn

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