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Fog at Wellington Airport (file photo). Photo: RNZ / Patrice Allen There will be less disruption to flights during bad weather after two new satellite dishes were switched on, the land information minister says. The two 11-metre satellite dishes are part of the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network - also known as SouthPAN - which improves GPS accuracy from five to 10 metres, down to less than a metre. Minister Chris Penk said while New Zealanders use GPS daily for all manner of tasks, one of the most noticeable changes will be less disruption to flights in poor weather conditions, with the service making it safer for planes to land when visibility is poor. "Only a few weeks ago winter weather conditions caused widespread flight cancellations, underscoring the need for modern digita...

Many Wellington businesses say they are in a "survive til 25" holding pattern. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller Sarah Chambers, owner of Wellington's Little Makos Swim School, might not normally think of her business as having anything to do with the government - but she has felt the impact of public sector job cuts. She has about 100 fewer children enrolled this year compared to last winter, and has had emails from people telling her that they are holding off due to job insecurity. There have also been more subtle signs that people might be affected. "A lot of people use their work email addresses to sort stuff for their kids. It's noticeable even if they haven't told me that they've gone from a .govt email address to a gmail. People who've emailed for four or five years from...