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ACC's motor vehicle fund, work fund, and earners' account are in line for levy rises. Photo: 123rf The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has revealed a nearly $1 billion hole in revenue will need to be covered when levies are raised next year. ACC says it will need to collect $4.7 billion in levies in the 2025/26 financial year, to fund support for about 930,000 claims on three levy schemes - the motor vehicle fund, the work fund, and the earners' account. In the 2022/23 financial year, ACC brought in just under $3.8 billion in levies from those accounts, and it didn't cover the claims being made. It has signalled levies will need to take a significant jump over coming years in order to cover increasing costs, likely by up to about 20 percent. Consultation is beginning on proposed...

By Anne Gibson of The vast new Kmart store is due to open in 2026. It will be in Maki Place off Maki Street, across from Costco Wholesale. Photo: Supplied / Kmart Low-price Australasian retail chain Kmart has announced it will open its largest New Zealand store. An outlet spanning more than half a hectare is to be built in Auckland's northwest at Westgate. That will be almost directly opposite the American-owned Costco Wholesale, in a street yet to be created: Maki Place, off the Maki Street thoroughfare. Kmart Australia and New Zealand chief executive John Gualtieri said the new store would be the 28th in this country where the business employs about 2400 staff. "This is testament to the strong traction the Kmart brand has amongst New Zealand consumers, particularl...

National Fieldays Society CEO Peter Nation at Fieldays in Waikato in June 2024. Photo: RNZ/Monique Steele The chief executive of the organisation behind the southern hemisphere's largest agricultural event, Peter Nation, is stepping down from the helm later this year. Nation has worked in and around the New Zealand National Fieldays Society for nearly 30 years, before being appointed to chief executive in 2016. The society owned iconic agricultural event Fieldays and operated the Mystery Creek Events Centre near Hamilton in Waikato. "As CEO I have been given many opportunities both in New Zealand and across the world, attending and speaking at conferences and events, hosting important international delegations, promoting agriculture and food producers, while ensuring we grow New Zealand...

Photo: RNZ The ongoing economic downturn has again hit the profit of retailer Briscoe Group, despite record sales for the first half. Key numbers for the six months ended July compared with a year ago: Net profit $33.2m vs $42.7m Revenue $372m vs $369.2m Interim dividend 12.5 cents per share maintained from the previous year The homeware and sports gear retailer's net profit dropped more than 22 percent compared to the same period last year. Managing director Rod Duke said like all retailers, the company is dealing with profit margin pressure with consumer spending down, but his team has done well to produce a growth in sales. "Optimising gross profit while maximising sales is a constant focus for the team and they have done a terrific job this half in enhancing the promotional events ...

It took 'massive self belief' for Carmen Vicelich to walk away from a senior corporate role and start her own businesses. She reflects on how she did it as part of RNZ's new series, RICH: The meaning of wealth in Aotearoa. Twenty-three years ago, in a glitzy auditorium in central Auckland, 450 of the country's top political, business and academic minds came together for the "Catching the Knowledge Wave" Conference. Critics scoffed that it was just a "talk fest". The goal was certainly ambitious: Plan how New Zealand could transform its economy from one predominantly based on agricultural exports to one driven by technology and knowledge. A blueprint from the conference called for greater focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, research and development. That conference has lately been talked...