Kai's Education hires US growth officer after $2.3m capital raise
Fuller will oversee global sales, partnerships and market expansion strategies to scale
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RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Listen: Sepuloni and Willis clash over cost of living on Morning Report's political panel
Carmel Sepuloni and Nicola Willis go head-to-head on Morning Report's weekly political panel. Photo: RNZ You can listen live to RNZ's political panel on Morning Report at 8am every Wednesday. Labour is accusing the government of failing to take real action on the cost of living, but the Finance Minister says the opposition has no plan. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Labour's Carmel Sepuloni joined Morning Report 's new political panel on Wednesday. Willis, who has just returned from a trip to London and New York, said lenders overseas saw New Zealand as "a good bet". The government has kept its AA+ credit rating, with ratings agency Fitch praising both National and Labour's emphasis on fiscal responsibility . Willis' said the reason that mattered to "the squeezed middle" was that if they downgraded New Zealand's credit rating, credit cards and mortgages would cost more while the government would need to pay more to service the national debt. "And remember we're spending enough to service our debt to pay around six Waterview Tunnels every year into the future ....so it's important the government gets that under control," she said. Sepuloni responded that much of the debt, some of which ballooned during the Covid era, had arisen under the current government who had gone ahead with tax cuts and tax breaks for landlords and the tobacco industry. There did not seem to be any "real action" on the cost of living, she said. Labour would not be pausing infrastrucuture projects either. Willis said Labour would not front up on how its plans would be paid for and she believed it would mean extra taxation. On Tuesday she accused Labour of "fiscal innumeracy" and a reckless approach to spending. Government action on the cost of living included sending a clear message to Local Government New Zealand on the need to rein in rates rises. High export prices for the likes of butter and meat were being reflected at the supermarket till while the government was also working hard on trying to get more competition in the supermarket sector. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Electricity Authority announces more moves to boost competition
Photo: 123RF The big four electricity producers are to be required to offer power on the wholesale market to independent retailers to level the playing field and improve competition. Sector regulator, the Electricity Authority, said it would make changes to come into effect by the middle of next year, to restore confidence in the wholesale market. The four major generator-retailers - Contact, Genesis, Mercury, and Meridian - control about 80 percent of generation and have been accused of controlling power supplies to maximise prices to their own advantage. Authority chair Anna Kominik said confidence was needed to sustain retail competition and affordable power prices. "We are concerned that aspects of the wholesale market may be eroding the confidence required for independent players to compete, and we are acting to address these concerns." The Authority has proposed three measures: The measures aim to make sure that independent retailers have access to what are called "shaped-hedging" contracts - a form of insurance to allow hedging against price spikes when demand surges or supplies are short. The issue of providing such hedges was an issue for the Commerce Commission when it considered the takeover of Manawa Energy by Contact earlier this year. The changes have been developed by the Energy Competition Task Force, established in August last year in response to the winter power crisis. The new non-discrimination rule will be consulted on later this year. Commerce Commission Chair and Task Force member John Small said the aim was to promote competition in the sector. "Combined they increase transparency for market participants transacting with the gentailers and improve access to the wholesale electricity contracts they need." The planned 'interventions' are the latest moves by sector regulators to loosen the grip of the big four on the electricity market. Small said the new measures would also give new players and investors the confidence to enter the market and encourage the development of innovative new products and services. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Mortgage rate of 3.99% - but there's a catch
Photo: Unsplash/ Artful Homes First-home buyers are being offered a home loan rate of 3.99 percent - which one adviser is describing as "cashback on steroids". SBS is advertising the rate for first-home buyers for a limited time. Its chief executive Mark McLean said SBS lent money to 1479 first-home buyers last year and they saved $156 a fortnight compared to the big banks. At present, SBS is offering a 4.79 percent one-year rate to the wider market, in line with that of the big four banks. First-home buyers with SBS also get contributions to insurance. David Cunningham, chief executive at Squirrel, said first-home buyer offers were not unusual. The Co-Operative bank is offering 1 percent cashback to first-time buyers, up to $15,000. He said the banks were aiming to attract customers and build long-term relationships. "They're not necessarily making a lot of money... It's a bit like cash back on steroids." He said it was possible borrowers could ask other banks what they could do to compete with the SBS rate. "My gut feeling is you're unlikely to get 3.99 percent from the others but the cashback might be bigger, banks might be willing to negotiate on that." Glen McLeod, head of Link Advisory, said SBS had been offering similar, short-term deals for some time and other banks were not inclined to try to match it. "It gives people a way in, that's great... it's their hook. You can't argue with that if it's saving people money."
