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The Silver Shadow cruise ship in Taranaki during the last cruise season. Photo: Supplied Fewer cruise ships could visit New Zealand if border levies are increased at short notice as is planned, the sector says. The cruise industry said proposed changes to the border levy were being made with too little warning, and it could turn companies off visiting. Customs and the Ministry for Primary Industries have proposed the new border fees, to be effective from 1 December. Consultation opened mid-July with calls for public submissions closed on 9 August. Under the proposal, border levy rates reduce for all air travellers and for sea travellers who do not arrive by cruise ship. By contrast, arriving cruise ship travellers would face an 88 percent increase in customs fees, from $11.48 to $21.54....

RNZ's money correspondent Susan Edmunds. Photo: RNZ If you have a question you'd like answered, email susan.edmunds@rnz.co.nz I feel like I have heard the Reserve Bank saying it wants more unemployment, as part of its efforts to bring down inflation. It seems to be like a broken system if we need more people to be unemployed but then we slap them down when they are unemployed? You're right that the Reserve Bank has been trying to slow the economy to bring down inflation - it talked quite early on about engineering a recession. This week it indicated that the effect of monetary policy has probably been so strong that it's going to have sent us into another one, too. As part of that, unemployment rises. (The government last year removed the Reserve Bank's dual mandate which required it ...

Consumer NZ says it is concerned grocery shoppers are being asked to spot price discrepancies and put them right, when it is the retailers' responsibility. Kiwis may be losing tens of millions of dollars a year due to supermarket pricing errors, according to the Grocery Commission. It is planning to force the major players to publicise customer complaints saying it will create a commercial incentive for supermarkets to make fewer mistakes. The groceries sector was a $25 billion industry and had had years to perfect its system for charging, commissioner Pierre van Heerden told Morning Report. He wants supermarkets to give shoppers the item for free if they report they have been overcharged. Consumer NZ's head of research and advocacy Gemma Rasmussen said the commission should be monitoring ...