Energy Minister on dwindling gas supply
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RNZ News
4 minutes ago
- RNZ News
A boom in businesses going bust
Dragonboat restaurant opened in the 1990s, and is now going into liquidation, owing at least 1.4 million dollars to creditors. Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin New Zealand is riding its highest wave of company liquidations in more than a decade, with thousands of businesses folding and countless livelihoods caught in the crossfire. Many more are holding on, but just. In the first half of this year alone, 1270 businesses have shut their doors - a 12 percent increase on this time year. It's now anticipated that the total number of liquidations for the year will surpass 2024's 10-year high, when 2500 companies folded. That was an increase of nearly 700 compared to 2023. The numbers have been soaring since the pandemic. Deloitte partner Rob Campbell, who specialises in business restructuring, turnaround and cost transformation, tells The Detail the country "is getting closer to the peak but there is still a bit to play out". "There is no sector that's immune, no business too big or too small to fail," he said. "And [the debt] can be as simple as a few thousand dollars through to several million dollars." Newsroom business reporter Alice Peacock told The Detail that construction and hospitality are the worst-affected industries. "Small businesses have been hit harder from what I have seen in liquidation lists ... I think that's because for that size of company, it's harder for them to recover those costs and move on financially. "Probably what we are seeing hit the headlines doesn't fully represent what's actually happening. "Hospitality businesses ... are consumer-facing, they are the company names that people know, so they're more likely to be reported on than the smaller, local, maybe family-run scaffolding companies or your local roofer." One of those hospitality businesses is Auckland's Dragonboat Restaurant, which announced this week that it is going into liquidation. Opened in the 1990s, it now owes at least 1.4 million dollars to creditors. And it's these sorts of debts that can leave suppliers and subcontractors chasing unpaid invoices, triggering further closures, Campbell said. And this domino effect can be devastating. "It also has flow-on impacts to affected suppliers; they're out of pocket, that impacts their own business," he said. "They might be going through a period of stress as well, and the last thing they need is to, one, lose a customer and also have that customer not pay them as well. "So it can have a bit of a spiral effect." The cost of living crisis, rising unemployment, high interest rates, and a lingering Covid-19 impact are behind the increase in businesses folding. "Some of this feels like it was playing out two or three years ago, and there is a real lag effect from when stress is first experienced by a business to when it may become ultimately insolvent," Campbell said. But he and Peacock believe there is hope on the horizon. "Businesses are closing down, but businesses are also opening up," Peacock said. "I was at a hospitality conference a couple of months back in Wellington, and there were some really amazing stories to come out of that. "No-one was trying to pretend that it hadn't been a tough few years but there was one lead speaker who mentioned the number of liquidations but then was also trying to debunk a perception about the industry that it was all doom and gloom... and pointed to numbers that show... company incorporations, so those cafe and restaurant businesses that are opening, have also risen. "I don't think anyone would say the economy is clearly in a recovery phase yet. But there definitely do seem to be signs that things are improving... people have been speaking of better times on the horizon." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
RNZ News
4 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Secondary teachers won't cancel strikes until government improves offer
PPTA president Chris Abercrombie speaks at a teachers strike in 2023. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver The secondary teachers' union says it will only cancel its planned strikes if the government improves its pay offer. But the minister responsible has made no indication it is likely to budge, urging teachers to ditch their "political stunt" and return to the bargaining table. Teachers will walk off the job next Wednesday following a one percent pay rise offer during collective bargaining , which the union said was the lowest in a generation. The Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) also warned of further strikes in September if the offer did not improve. President Chris Abercrombie said the decision to strike was not taken lightly, and he did not want it to come to that. "We're meeting with the ministry this Friday for bargaining, so we're really hopeful we might be able to alleviate all of this industrial action, if the ministry comes to the table. "We need to see some movement on all of our claims, at the moment the government has addressed basically none of them." But Education Minister Erica Stanford said the PPTA had not made any counter offer or clarified what it wanted, instead jumping to take "drastic" action after just six days of bargaining. "I'm really worried about the rolling strikes in September, it is so very close to final exams and the unions know that," she said. "And that's why it really bites that they're not at the bargaining table, bargaining in good faith. These students are being used as bargaining chips, it's not fair on those kids and it's not fair on parents." Stanford urged the union to call off the strikes and engage with the government in good faith. Secondary school teachers were paid an average of $100,000, but that was not high enough to attract and retain staff, Abercrombie said. "That is the pay rate, but we know we don't have subject specialist teachers in front of young people, and we're about to go through the biggest change package in curriculum and assessment in a generation. "If we want that to work, we need to have a workforce there to deliver that." The country was about 800 secondary school teachers short, he said. The government offered a one percent salary increase each year for three years. But the PPTA wants a four percent increase each year for three years, and another four percent in the first year "in recognition of the removal of pay equity", Abercrombie said. Teachers also receive annual stepped pay progression. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Kiwisaver provider Simplicity to build 600 long-term rental houses in Queenstown
Simplicity Living directors (from left) Shane Brealey, Anna Brealey, Sam Stubbs, and Andrew Lance on site at an earlier development in Auckland. Photo: Supplied Kiwisaver provider Simplicity is to spend hundreds of million dollars on building up to 600 long-term rental houses in Queenstown. It has bought a six-hectare site on Ladies Mile for the build-to-rent development aimed at answering the need for affordable housing in the central Otago town. The head of Simplicity, Sam Stubbs, said the development stacked up financially and socially, and was the sort of investment that Kiwisaver funds should be looking at . "This is another example of the sort of thing our Kiwisaver scheme can help make possible. We think it's a good long-term investment for our members and helps provide warm, dry homes for Kiwi families, in a region that urgently needs them." He said it was the first development outside of Auckland for its housing arm, Simplicity Living. "We've been looking around the country, and Queenstown is the obvious place, which needs good long-term rental options for people who work in the town -- nurses, teachers and cops some of whom are now commuting from Cromwell now." Stubbs said Simplicity had looked at expanding into Wellington and Christchurch, but was not convinced at the moment. He said the capital had infrastructure risks such as earthquakes and water, while the commercial return in Christchurch did not not stack up because an oversupply of properties has lowered returns. Location of the planned Simplicity housing development in Queenstown. Photo: Supplied / Simplicity Living Queenstown mayor Glyn Lewers said the development was "much-needed". "The addition of up to 600 new Build-to-Rent homes will be a game changer for our community, offering secure long-term rentals. "It's a tangible step forward in delivering [part] of the Joint Housing Action Plan - working with developers to facilitate and deliver diverse housing options." The development site is located near Remarkables Park, close to planned schools, shops, and transport links. The homes would be built primarily using concrete, brick, and local schist, with high thermal and acoustic ratings, solar panels, rainwater harvesting and common use facilities. The Shotover Bridge is a 10-minute walk away, and Queenstown Airport is just a five-minute drive away. Simplicity is currently building just under 900 homes in various parts of Auckland. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
