The SME Stream

Salesforce New Zealand country manager Richard Phillimore-Smith says the next phase of artificial intelligence will hinge on whether organisations can put trusted data, established workflows and people together to solve real business problems. Speaking to The Business of Tech at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, Phillimore-Smith said the event reflected an industry at a tu...

What if becoming a better leader isn't about adding more to your toolkit, but knowing what to let go of? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Heather Langton, Chief People Officer at Spark , to explore what leadership, HR, and human capability need to look like in a rapidly changing world. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across human resources, transformation, ta...

Let's start with the good news. The annual State of the Thriving Nation report prepared for the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum says workplace injury claims have fallen 28% over the past decade, and some of the biggest drops have come in the industries with the worst histories of harm, those like forestry and construction and the like. Although the report says rates of harm are still much...

New data shows insurance disputes have risen to record levels for the year ended 30 June 2026. The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme reported handling 3,977 cases during this time period, including 2,602 complaints - with dispute volumes increasing almost 190 percent over the past five years. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says much of this increase was dri...

High-profile leaders open letter to political parties, asking to consider private property investors in New Zealand See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

$584m traded on Friday versus a normal day in the low $100m region. Matt Goodson Salt Funds Management. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Workplace harm's costing the country billions of dollars a year.   A report from the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum has found workplace harm cost the country $5.5 billion in 2025.   Forum Chief Executive Francois Barton says that's made up of a mix of injuries, illness and deaths.  He told Ryan Bridge the industries with the highest rate of harm are the primary industries...

Modest 3.2 point lift to 86.3 in employment confidence in September quarter survey by Westpac and McDermot Miller. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Finance Minister believes the report on the Reserve Bank's performance during Covid affirms decisions made by the current Government.  An external review of Bank's Covid monetary policy during the pandemic finds it was right to cut the OCR early but was slow to react when the economy bounced back sooner than expected.  Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking the results show the importance o...

The Reserve Bank took too long to pull back on drastic Covid measures.   An independent probe's found the Monetary Policy Committee made the right call by slashing the OCR early in the pandemic, reducing the risk of a severe downturn.    But it didn't respond quickly enough to our recovery, leading to the spike in inflation.  ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith joined Ryan Bridge t...

Credit cards accounted for 71.1% of card transactions in August — their highest share in more than two decades. Does that reflect renewed confidence, the convenience of online spending, or are more New Zealanders relying on debt simply to make ends meet? Liam Dann and Tamsyn Parker examine what the figures reveal about household finances, how election uncertainty could slow the economic reco...

A damning report into the Reserve Bank’s actions during Covid, a backdown from Labour on landlord tax breaks, and a last look at the Government’s books before the election. That’s all ahead of the much-hyped release of a new book from Nicky Hager tonight. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenée Tibshraeny joins us to break it all down. Follow The Front Page on the iHear...

The Minister of Trade and Agriculture celebrates the ratification of the Indian FTA. Could it be, as the Prime Minister suggested, a free trade agreement that far exceeds expectations? And does he face a challenge from Andrew Hoggard for his agriculture portfolio? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins on his landlord tax deduction See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pulse of NZ Business Survey shows recovery continuing but it's uneven across sectors, regions and business sizes. Ben Crozier Forsyth Barr. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a belief we're underestimating how high interest rates will go.  ANZ has revised its forecast for the next six months, now predicting three hikes to the Official Cash Rate, bringing rates from 2.75% to 3.5%.  Independent Economics Commentator Tony Alexander told Mike Hosking they'll likely climb even higher, sitting somewhere between 4% and 4.5%.   He says the Reserve Bank p...

There's some defence of the Reserve Bank's pandemic response - after a new report was released. The independent report into its Covid monetary policy finds it began well, with swift OCR cuts, but was slow to respond when the economy bounced back. Former Reserve Bank economist Michael Reddell says most private sector forecasts were similar to the RBNZ's incorrect predictions.  He says that doe...

A tax expert believes Labour's changed stance on interest deductibility makes complete sense.  Labour's confirmed it won't change the current Government's rules allowing landlords to deduct 100% of interest in tax returns.   It had previously criticised the policy as a tax cut for landlords, but Chris Hipkins believes their proposed Capital Gains Tax will address the issue.  Deloitt...

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ANZ joins BNZ picking October's RBNZ meeting will be live, after GDP growth came in higher for the June quarter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fifty-one business leaders have signed an open letter from business think tank the New Zealand Initiative, urging political parties to drop interventionist policies.  It responds to campaign proposals to structurally reform the grocery sector.   National and New Zealand First propose splitting Foodstuffs.  Labour wants grocery brands split into separate retail and wholesale arms, an...

Over in Australia, the Reserve Bank is set to make their next announcement about the OCR in the coming days - and speculation indicates it will go up again. Australia's official cash rate is currently at 4.35 percent, but the RBA will be putting it up at least one more time this year, according to one expert. HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham outlined his predictions further. LISTEN ABOVE See omny...

Labour has finally seen the light on interest deductibility. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's unveiled plans for a new National Events Strategy.  It follows an independent review that found New Zealand's a strong events host, but lacks a coordinated, long-term approach.  The industry's backing the move, saying international competition for major events is getting tougher.  Business Events Industry Aotearoa CEO Lisa Hopkins told Mike Hosking we've missed out...

How can HR professionals stay relevant as AI changes the way work gets done? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Alex Howieson , a senior People & Culture leader with experience across aviation, banking, media, healthcare, consulting, governance, and complex workforce environments. Alex shares a clear view: HR should not simply be part of the AI conversation. It should...