Best of Business

It's hoped the supermarket industry’s pledges to reduce prices will help all of us at the checkout. Foodstuffs is taking an average 10 percent off more than 100 items in their stores from Monday, in a bid to ease rising costs for shoppers.  It comes after Countdown's recent announcement of a price freeze on many of their items.  Vegetables New Zealand Director John Murphy told Mike Hosking the dis...

Universities face work to get fully back into the international student market. The borders fully re-open from August - two months ahead of schedule. International students can also start the process to enter the country. Universities New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan says it's too late for students to come in for semester two - but puts New Zealand back in the market for next year. He says...

A thumbs down for the Government's new immigration settings. The new range of measures includes one visa for accredited employers and a green list of professions which will receive fast tracked processes. Immigration Lawyer Aaron Martin told Mike Hosking it won't be fair for those who aren't on that green list. He says there's still no path to residency for those who aren't on that green list, and...

A controversial new proposed mine on the West Coast has been given the green light. Westland Mineral Sands has been given consent to mine 500,000 tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate over seven years, from a site at Cape Foulwind. Minerals West Coast Manager Patrick Phelps told Mike Hosking this is good news for mining workers on the coast. He says it's expected to open up at least 40 jobs to start...

There’s a lot to unpack with Simon Henry and his attempt at an apology to Nadia Lim. I don’t know if two minutes on the radio will do justice to how much there is to unpack here, it may need a counsellor with a lot of time on their hands to help Simon get to the bottom of what on earth is going on with him, suffice to say, it’s embarrassing.  I mean why’d he even bother? Two lines, in a token emai...

When you're working from home anyway, how sick do you have to be to actually call in sick? The US and UK  have seen record low sickness absences as people worked from home, meaning we're trying to power through instead of resting like we normally would. Jason Ennor, CEO of My HR joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

News of a full border re-opening is being met with a warm welcome. Our newsroom understands Jacinda Ardern will announce an early border opening for July, three months ahead of schedule. It's also thought the Prime Minister will lay out new immigration settings, favouring high skilled workers. D&L Law Partner Pooja Sundar told Kate Hawkesby says the skill shortage isn't just being affected by peop...

Auckland Airport is spending $300 million on a transport hub and setting aside land for light rail near its international terminal. The company is also installing a $100m new smart baggage hall and system designed to transform luggage handling as part of a planned combined domestic and international terminal. Built to double height, the ground floor of the four-storey building will accommodate bus...

There are high hopes for the tourism sector ahead of looser border settings. Our newsroom understands the Prime Minister will announce today an acceleration in opening the country up to all-comers. It had been set for October, but that could now happen in July. RealNZ Chief Executive Stephen England-Hall told Mike Hosking he's optimistic but there will be challenges. He says the growth will largel...

The Government is expected to open the door to more highly skilled workers, but not to unskilled hospitality workers. Hospitality New Zealand Chief Executive Julie White told Mike Hosking that means many hospitality businesses will never recover from two years of Covid restrictions. “I’m hearing from our members more people are leaving than arriving, this is really going to put a handbrake on our...

A couple of good clues as to why we have such wastage of government spending and how the psychology behind it suggests it won't change under the current government. We have had the revelations so far this week over the millions for consultants on Three Waters, it’s $20 million and counting. The Zoom job fair that attracted next to no one yet cost a bit under a million to run with even the Minister...

The Government is expected to announce next week that a congestion charge is on the cards for Auckland's CBD in 2025. A Helen Clark Foundation report has found such a charge could cut congestion by 12 percent, but researchers say the process needs to be brought in fairly. The Infrastructure Commission released its first long-term strategy at the start of the month. They believe we need to ease con...

It has been revealed nearly fifty percent of our jobs were protected by the Government’s wage subsidies at some point last year. This resulted in less people losing their jobs during the pandemic and less businesses going under. But now, as wage subsidies are gone and businesses need to fend for themselves again, one economist says we could see a wave of "zombie" businesses closing. Shamubeel Eaqu...

The construction industry is ageing more quickly than new people coming on board. The Government's Apprenticeship Boost scheme, which supports trades training programmes, will now run until the end of next year. The funding goes towards trades training programmes, and will support an additional 24,000 apprentices. Construction Industry Council Chair Graham Burke told Kate Hawkesby it's a good star...

The Government’s Covid-19 policies are being blamed for creating an international visa backlog.  Over the past two years there’s been a surge in overseas investors wanting to live here.  However, Immigration New Zealand is struggling to keep up with the demand – seeing people withdraw from the wait-list.  Malcolm Pacific Immigration Chief Executive David Cooper told Mike Hosking visa policies duri...

The Government could make its apprenticeship boost scheme permanent. $230 million will be put towards the scheme, which will now run until the end of next year. The funding goes towards trades training programmes, and will support an additional 24,000 apprentices. Education Minister Chris Hipkins told Mike Hosking locking the scheme in long term is a possibility. “I think it’s absolutely justifiab...

The Government looks set to announce a range of climate initiatives and plans this month ahead of the Budget. That might mean companies may have to check their own climate goals as well. The first step of this will be on Monday when James Shaw will lay out how the Emission Reduction Plan has been created. Business commentator Rod Oram joined Heather du Plessis-Allan. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.co...

We’re a couple of weeks away from this year’s Budget and people are starting to come out with wish lists for Finance Minister Grant Robertson. An MYOB survey found business and consumers alike think the Government needs to focus on relieving the effects of rising costs. Consumers are after a permanent reduction in petrol taxes and more action on housing affordability and SMEs are predominantly aft...

Queenstown businesses have reached a new level of worker shortage. There are now more job vacancies than ratepayers in Queenstown and hospitality venues are paying unqualified staff up to $27 an hour. And even with more money on offer, they're struggling to get locals to fill the slots in time for international visitors. Queenstown Chamber of Commerce CEO Ruth Stokes joined Heather du Plessis-Alla...

KiwiSaver provider Milford Asset Management will try to engage with DGL Group instead of excluding the company. Company CEO Simon Henry made offensive comments about My Food Bag's Nadia Lim. Other Kiwi Saver providers Kiwi Wealth and Simplicity have added the company to their exclusion list. Milford Asset Management's Frances Sweetman told Heather du Plessis-Allan their sustainability policy is to...

Competition may be the driving force behind Countdown's decision to drive down costs. From Monday, the supermarket chain will freeze prices on 500 essential over the winter months in response to the cost of living. It includes a wide variety of staples - from tinned tomatoes, to butter, sugar, flour and more. Nite n' Day general manager Matthew Lane told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's likely a resu...

Another of these strange made up claims this week masquerading as a report that suggests the solving of a problem, or perceived problem, can only happen if we changed the way we did things. A group called Mind the Gap likes the idea of forcing companies to publish their wages on a gender basis thus embarrassing them in paying more to women. The claim is, if we did this, we could increase females'...

The backlash against racist and sexist criticism of  Nadia Lim continues. Chemicals company CEO Simon Henry described Lim as a piece of "Eurasian fluff" -  and suggested her appearance could explain why his company had outperformed My Food Bag on the NZX and ASX. Lim responded on social media last night - saying Henry's comments are 'so damaging'. Shareholders' Association Chief Executive Oliver M...

If you struggle in the kitchen, then there could be a solution for you just around the corner. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have designed a robot chef that can taste food at different stages of the process and give guidance on how much seasoning to use. Leader of the project Grzegorz Sochaki joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How would you feel about investing your KiwiSaver in Bitcoin? A KiwiSaver scheme is launching the world's second carbon neutral cryptocurrency fund. Koura is launching new specialty funds that will invest in Bitcoin and offset carbon emissions through purchasing carbon offsets. Founder and managing director of Koura Rupert Carlyon joined Kate Hawkesby. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for...