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ANZ boss Antonia Watson speaking on RNZ's interview show 30 with Guyon Espiner. Photo: RNZ ANZ boss Antonia Watson might have voiced her support for a capital gains tax (CGT) this week but the heads of New Zealand's other main banks have bowed out of the conversation. Speaking on RNZ's interview show 30 with Guyon Espiner, Watson said she believed taxing investment properties at the point of sale was fair. "People are investing in housing for the purpose of getting a capital gain on it. And if that's the purpose of it, why not have that as part of the tax take?" RNZ asked the chief executives of ASB, Westpac, BNZ and Kiwibank whether they agreed. None were willing to comment. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said he had been a long-standing proponent of a CGT. "For the point of ta...

Central Otago. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton Central Otago is creating a strategy to shape its economic future with hopes it may ease the pressures from rapid growth. A recent report suggested more growth was on the horizon with the population expected to climb from 26,000 last year to 37,000 by 2048. The population had grown roughly two-and-a-half times faster than the national average over the last five years, and tourism was also on the rise. Local mayor Tim Cadogan said growth was a good problem to have, but they were grappling with a housing shortage that was putting pressure on staffing and businesses. Short term rentals were eating up a lot of the housing stock as were holiday homes. Central Otago mayor Tim Cadogan. Photo: Supplied "The biggest failure I've got as mayor has bee...

Hotels are filled up and it's expected restaurants will be full this weekend, with lots on in the capital. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller Accommodation in Wellington is booked up this weekend due to a double whammy of the World of Wearable Arts and an All Blacks game - and it's a welcome boost, Hospitality New Zealand says. The hospitality sector has been hurting in recent years due to a number of factors, including Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis. But Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage told Midday Report that the events this weekend were already providing increased trade. "We've seen increasing footfall right through the city, not just from a hospitality point of view but into retail as well." The All Blacks play Australia at Sky Stadium on Wellington's wate...

Workers leave a surprise meeting where they were told they could lose their jobs. Photo: Tim Brown/RNZ Alliance Group has announced a proposal to close its Smithfield meatworks in Timaru. It told workers consultation would run until 11 October and a final decision was expected to be made by 18 October. If the closure went ahead, Alliance said wherever possible it would offer workers the opportunity to apply for re-deployment at the company's other plants. However it anticipated there would be a significant number of redundancies. Photo: Alliance/supplied The lamb processing season finished at the Smithfield plant on Wednesday. Venison processing was still running, but workers were told there were no shifts on Friday and to attend the meeting instead. Alliance chief executive Will...