Manukau Supa Centa set to be sold for $161m to Willis Bond's Property Income Fund
Wayne Silver, a Property Income Fund director, announced the plan to purchase the property.
Supa Centa was New Zealand's second biggest large-format retail centre and the most significant asset
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RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Two Labour bills pass into law
Labour MP Camilla Belich gives evidence to the Education and Workforce Select Committee about her own member's bill. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith A generous 'member's day' in Parliament has seen two Labour Party bills pass with full or part-government support, including a bill that looks to stop employers enforcing gag orders on workers talking about their salaries. New Zealand First, which opposed the Labour bill, took a swipe at its coalition partner for supporting legislation it said "torches contract law". NZ First MP Mark Patterson asked a National MP if he'd been "napping" when it was considered by the party. Every other Wednesday, Parliament debates bills put forward by backbench MPs from any party that are drawn from the members bill ballot. Camilla Belich's Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill would make pay gag clauses unenforceable , meaning employers could not take legal action if an employee does talk about pay. This legislation passed with support from opposition parties and National, while ACT and New Zealand First voted against it. Belich spoke first, indicating she had felt apprehensive because nothing was guaranteed in terms of support from other parties. But she said it was a "good day" when MPs could come together to support legislation even when they had different politics and a different vision for New Zealand. She referenced a study by the Human Rights Commission into the Pacific Pay Gap which she said had found pay secrecy was "really hampering the progress" of New Zealand workplaces, an idea she then became interested in leading to her members bill. "We cannot keep taking steps backward when it comes to equality and fairness. These are things that should be bipartisan." She said the bill implemented a small change, but said it was a small step forward for New Zealand, saying it would make workplaces fairer and more open. Speaking first on behalf of the National Party, Vanessa Weenink said she rose in "very strong support" of the bill, to a round of applause. She also acknowledged it was a small change, but called it a "fundamental change". "It will actually enable all employees to confidently discuss their pay and terms and conditions with anyone that they choose to, without fear that doing so may cause some encumbrance in their employment, that they might have some negative impact or repercussions as a result of doing that." She said that fear could lead to unease and mistrust, and could perpetuate inequality. Her National Party colleague Hamish Campbell emphasised the legislation did not force anyone to disclose anything. ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith ACT opposed the bill, with MP Parmjeet Parmar saying the legislation fell short of what Belich and others hoped it would do. She claimed the supporters believed it would fix pay discrimination and the gender pay gap, but Parmar said it would not "do anything of that sort". "This bill has no substance in it to make meaningful progress in that regard, and that is why the ACT party is not supporting this bill." She said any discussions about the gender pay gap and pay discrimination were "undeniably" important, adding "if this bill was doing anything in that regard we would have thrown full support behind this bill". Parmar said it was going to create problems at workplaces, rather than solve them. New Zealand First MP MP Mark Patterson. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone New Zealand First strongly opposed the bill, with MP Mark Patterson calling it an "abomination". He said it "torches contract law" and the party "will not put our name next to it". Patterson also questioned National's support for the issue. "We are surprised that National had, but they've obviously gone along with that on this occasion - hopefully this is not a trend in terms of flouting contract law." He asked whether there were no lawyers left in the National Party, asking James Meager directly if he'd been "napping" when it went through caucus. Patterson pointed to "unintended consequences" of the bill and people sharing their pay "willy nilly". He suggested there may be warranted reasons pay differentiation between employees, such as "performance, merit, experience". "It's not gender, necessarily, hopefully it should never be gender." Tracey McLellan's Evidence (Giving Evidence of Family Violence) Amendment Bill , which would extend the range of possible protections for those giving evidence of sexual assaults or family harm in the Family Court, also passed but with support from all parties. It would allow for those giving evidence to do so in alternative ways, rather than being required to in the same room as the alleged abuser for example. Many MPs highlighted the moment of unity, saying it was the best of parliament when it came together to make change for the better. McLellan spoke first and said the bill was about "safety, it's about dignity, and it's about justice". "It is about recognising that victims fo family violence should not be retraumatised by the very institution charged with protecting them." She said too many people, "most often women", had walked into the family court and found it to be a place of fear rather than refuge. "This bill takes an important step to change that." Tom Rutherford. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Tom Rutherford spoke on behalf of National, echoing McLellan's sentiments. He also spoke about the debate representing the "collegiality of parliament". "Everybody in this place wants to make New Zealand a better place, sometimes we disagree about how we get there, but sometimes we actually come together for the good of New Zealand." He said this bill reflected that parties could put political differences aside, recognise an issue and fix it. McLellan later told RNZ MPs were there to improve the lives of people. She acknowledged there wasn't always agreement on how that should be done, but "when you can provide the other parties that you're working with a good, sensible bill, it makes it pretty hard for them not to see the light and not to support it". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Retailers upbeat following OCR cut, but experts say next six months will be crucial
Talk of lower interest rates has retailers feeling more positive about the economy. Photo: Yiting Lin / RNZ Shopkeepers might have high hopes for an economic turnaround and better sales, but the data indicates otherwise. Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said Wednesday's cut to the official cash rate was unlikely to see shoppers flooding retail stores just yet. The Reserve Bank cut its cash rate by 25 basis points to a three-year low of 3 percent, and left the door open for further reductions . Young said the group's latest quarterly report from April to June, showed 62 percent of retailers did not meet their sales targets. But she said talk of lower interest rates had them feeling more positive about the economy. "Businesses are optimistic that we are through the worst of it, but their trading levels aren't showing that they are. Optimism is based on emotion and trading sales figures are based on fact." She said the next six months would be crucial for businesses facing closure and hoped to see the Reserve Bank deliver on more aggressive cuts. Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young. Photo: Supplied Previous OCR drops have not delivered the hoped-for economic boost, she said. "We're not seeing growth, we're not seeing many green shoots, we're seeing businesses that are still being challenged. Businesses closing, laying off staff, doing restructures. We know a lot of retailers are still trading at a loss. "It's a really difficult economic environment. Consumer confidence needs to be higher in order for retail to survive." Young said there was always a lag between rate changes and spending habits, and right now, people were focused on paying for the essentials. Meanwhile, Kelvin Davidson, chief property economist at Cotality was not expecting any big changes in the housing market following the lowered OCR . He said despite significant falls in the rate over the past year, the housing market had remained flat. "The influence of low mortgage rates is already out there, yet the housing market isn't really responding. "I think what were seeing on the other side of the ledger is restraint from the weak economy and weak labour market, people have lost jobs and even if you've kept the job there's that spillover impact on confidence." Davidson said until there was a shift in the economy and employment rates, the housing market was unlikely to change, and he expected it would remain subdued for the next 6-9 months. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- RNZ News
New scheme aims to cut out supermarkets, source local produce
A new scheme aims to cut out supermarkets and get fruit and vegetables grown next door or down the road onto people's plates. A group of agencies in Wellington is working to produce direct from local growers and create an online platform where shoppers can bypass big mark-ups and eat seasonally too. The process starts at lush urban farm Kaicyle, tucked down a side street in inner-city Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Silverbeet, celery, baby carrots and spring onions line the garden surrounded by the industrial warehouses and carparks of Newtown. "It's winter so it's slow season but we grow all sorts of different things, but we try to grow things that people want," co-manager Ellie Clayton told Checkpoint. "At the moment we've got heaps of silverbeet, and just a great, cheap staple for people." The farm is one of several in the Wellington region participating in the pilot, co-ordinated by Wesley Community Action, Kaibosh food rescue and Health NZ - which aims to put local produce on people's plates at an affordable price. Growers in Kāpiti and Horowhenua are also part of the scheme. "It's great for local growers because it means we can just harvest what's needed and what's been ordered, and then we can get this really great fresh Kai that we are harvesting on a Thursday morning, and people can pick it up on the Thursday morning, and cook it for Thursday dinner," Clayton said. Co-manager Ellie Clayton. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Kaibosh Food Rescue Wellington city operations manager Luke Campbell said his team were "the wheels" of the operation. Drivers from food-rescue charity pick up the orders as part of their regular routes and deliver them to packing hubs around Wellington, the Wairarapa and the Kāpiti Coast. "We've got a mission of zero food poverty and zero food waste, and so anyway we can help facilitate that, that's what we do. "So connecting food, with the people that need it. Nobody wants to grow food or sell food or be part of food and see it go in the bin." Kaibosh Food Rescue Wellington city operations manager Luke Campbell. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Ten minutes away, volunteers are busy filling boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables. Wesley Community Action's co-ops co-ordinator Cory Hope was rummaging through some of the days offerings. "These are daikon radishes, so this is something we try to introduce because they actually grow really well, they're really healthy, and they're really versatile. "You can cook them, you can have them raw, I like to make a pickle out of them. [We've got] your classic kiwi fruit from up north, kūmara from up north as well." Hope said the social agency already had a co-op scheme which provided $15 boxes of produce to participants, and about six tonnes of produce was delivered to 1100 families each week. The new pilot - jointly organised by Wesley Community Action and Health NZ - allows shoppers to hop online, on a platform called Coshop, and buy what they want. Wesley Community Action's co-ops co-ordinator Cory Hope. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Local growers set their own prices, but Hope said the boxes run cheaper than the supermarkets with packing done by volunteers, and distribution done by the food rescue. "Most of the mahi is done by our fantastic volunteers, and we only charge a levy to cover administrative and freight costs. "That's it, there's no profit involved at all. So generally we run about 15 - 25 percent cheaper than the supermarkets," Hope said. According to Ministry of Health data from 2023-2024, one in four children live in households where food has run out often or sometimes. One in two Pacific and one in three Māori children were living in households where food ran out sometimes. 26 percent of children lived in households where they often or sometimes ate less because of lack of money. Hope said regional food resilience needed a boost - but it was hard for local growers to build a market channel for their goods, and currently difficult for people to access local produce at an affordable price. "They have an income, you might have a job, but it's tricky to make ends meet each week. So buying affordable access to fresh healthy kai, hopefully that will leave a few more dollars in people's pockets to spend on bills or something else." The pilot finishes at the end of August, but Hope said the goal was for the model to be replicated and expanded throughout the city. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
