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Almost 70,000 New Zealanders said they worked 60 hours a week. File photo. Photo: 123RF It's time for New Zealanders to work fewer hours, one academic says - as the Census reveals we work less than we used to. Census data shows that New Zealanders work, on average, 37.2 hours per week. That is down from 38.1 hours in 2013, and roughly the same as the last census. But 297 people said they worked 168 hours a week - that is, every hour of the day. Work is defined as for pay, profit or payment in kind, or contributing directly the operation of a business, farm or professional practice operated by a relative, including a job or business that the person was temporarily absent from. In 2018, 273 people said they worked all the time, but in 2013 it was 474. There were a total of 2.6 million peo...

Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr was paid $804,802 in the 2024 year, down from $853,810 a year earlier. Photo: RNZ The Reserve Bank will pay its first dividend to the government in three years - in part because of the higher interest rates of the past year. The bank said in its most recent annual report that it would pay a $597 million dividend. The dividend is decided by determining the bank's "target capital level" the minimum amount of capital it needs to hold to cover financial risks. Money it makes in a year beyond that can be paid in a dividend. This year, the TCL was $4.1b. Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at Infometrics, said a higher official cash rate increased the bank's net interest income. When the OCR is higher, the bank charges borrowers more for their loans, but pays mor...