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The Commerce Commission intends to file legal proceedings against Fletcher Building subsidiary Winstone Wallboards. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson The regulator is prosecuting a Fletcher Building subsidiary over rebates It says now discontinued customer rebates for wall boards were anti-competitive Fletcher Building says IT will "vigourously defend" the case The Commerce Commission intends to file legal proceedings against Fletcher Building subsidiary Winstone Wallboards following an investigation into the use of customer rebates. The commission considered Winstone Wallboards' use of the volume rebates, which were discontinued by the company in 2022, breached the Commerce Act. In a market statement, Fletcher said it would vigorously defend itself against the commission's charges,...

A mass wedding in Hong Kong. Photo: PETER PARKS/AFP Kylie Springford, owner of Cheers Party Hire in Whangarei, has noticed weddings have become smaller, and less frequent in recent years. "I bought Cheers five weeks before Covid hit. Although the business is doing way better than its previous numbers, definitely the number of weddings we do has decreased and got smaller as well." She said the closure of the Brynderwyn hills, the main route between Northland and Auckland, had been a factor, as had Covid lockdowns and the tougher economic environment. Bookings for the next season were looking better, she said, but weddings did not seem to be getting any bigger. Data from Stats NZ shows that the number of marriages happening has not fully recovered from the Covid hit. The 2022 and 2023 an...

Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King Retail sales fell in the June quarter, reflecting the pressure rising prices and high interest rates are putting on consumers' wallets. Stats NZ data shows retail sales, adjusted for inflation, were down 1.2 percent in the three months to June. The drop continues the downward trend seen for two years. Sales for electronic goods, motor vehicles, hospitality and clothing were down, while supermarket sales were up. Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said the data shows how challenging it has been for retailers. But she said with the Reserve Bank cutting the official cash rate and promising more cuts will follow there is hope the economy will pick up. "We are all hoping that last weeks OCR cut and the recent tax cuts will help kick start the economy and...

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus. Photo: Tomatoes NZ Biosecurity New Zealand has temporarily suspended all Australian tomato imports, to be reviewed in seven days, after the detection of tomato brown rugose fruit virus. The Ministry for Primary Industries had previously paused some Australian exports but was still allowing tomatoes in from Queensland, where the virus is not present, and was testing seeds which can also contain the virus. Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV) which effects affects tomatoes, capsicums, and chillies, has been found in two properties in South Australia. The virus causes spotting, discolouration and deformities, impacting the fruits market value - it has no impact on human health. Tomatoes NZ chairperson Barry O'Neil told RNZ greenhouse tomato growers were...

Photo: Derek Morrison Replacing sheep and beef farms with pine forests would reduce emissions and improve water quality, but it will come at a cost to local communities according to Federated Farmers. Rivers and lakes could be cleaned up with profits still generated for landowners by converting sheep and beef farms to pine trees, according to a new paper from the Our Land and Water science challenge. Federated Farmers meat and wool chair Toby Williams told Morning Report pine trees were an important part of the regional economy, as well as on-farm, but planting whole farms with pine trees could have flow-on impacts in regional towns. "The concerns we've got is the planting of whole sheep and beef farms detracts from those communities. It means you have less schools, you start to struggle...