Business

More than 600 people are employed at Alliance Group's Smithfield meatworks during the peak season. (File image) Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Hundreds of Canterbury meatworkers are anxiously waiting to find out if their jobs are safe. Staff employed at at Alliance Group's Smithfield meatworks in Timaru have been called to a surprise meeting at 11am Friday. The company will not say what it is about. Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen said the plant employed more than 600 people at peak season, and workers were going into the meeting with a lot of questions. "There's a lot of concern for those workers that are affected. There's been rumours for some time now around possible changes, potential closure, so I guess one thing that is positive is that affected parties will have that confirmed in one way or...

Founder of Untouched World Peri Drysdale standing next to the company's Rubbish Socks which took home the circular business innovation award. Photo: Davina Zimmer The fashion industry says it cannot fix the massive problems it is facing alone, but getting the ear of the government is proving tricky. Half a tonne of unwanted clothes dumped in the middle of a fashion event in Auckland this week is the brutal symbol of the crisis hanging over the industry. More brutal is the fact that this half-tonne is sent to landfills in New Zealand every five minutes. The pile was on display at the annual Circular Fashion Awards, run by the non-profit clothing and textiles collective Mindful Fashion. It aims to highlight the environmental damage caused by fast fashion and show off the work of designer...

Photo: RNZ Tapping into your home's equity to fund your retirement might not be popular with children hoping for an inheritance - but it could be a way for some retirees to supplement their pension by as much as 50 percent, the Retirement Commission says. Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission commissioned Motu Research to look at home equity release schemes provide value for money and how they might provide a suitable form of retirement income for some people. The research showed that for about 25 percent of older households who have low retirement income and savings, but high levels of equity in their home, equity release products could be a better option than turning to personal loans or credit cards. In 2021, the average net worth of retiree households was $1.143 million, of which h...

Photo: nito500/123RF Auckland property developer and investor Du Val Group owes close to $240 million to creditors and investors, as its statutory managers reveal the extent of its financial obligations. The group was placed into statutory management last month, as authorities became increasingly concerned about its "significant liabilities", not long after it was placed into interim receivership by the High Court. In their first report, statutory managers John Fisk, Stephen White and Lara Bennett of PwC, said $196.4m was owed to creditors, including $18.1m to unsecured creditors, $170.7m to secured creditors and $7.6m to preferential creditors. PwC said a further $41.2m was owed to investors. Of the preferential creditors, total employee claims were at $83,000, and Inland Revenue claims...

File image. Photo: 123RF Staff at Alliance Group's Smithfield meatworks in Timaru have been called to a meeting on Friday. Alliance Group chief executive Willie Wiese says the company has requested Smithfield employees attend the meeting. He says it is inappropriate to comment further. Alliance is one of the biggest employers in the Timaru District and employs around 500 staff during its peak season. Hundreds of people work at its Smithfield plant - processing sheep and deer. Alliance is the country's only entirely farmer-owned red meat co-operative. It is owned by around 4500 farmer shareholders and exports to more than 65 countries. Source link

Wide shot of the debating chamber Photo: VNP / Phil Smith ANZ's boss says it's time for a tax on property gains - but also that it'll take someone "politically extremely courageous". The bank's chief executive, Antonia Watson, told RNZ's 30' with Guyon Espiner on Wednesday "the time has arrived for a capital gains tax". She's the latest voice in a now growing chorus of influential New Zealanders calling for a capital gains or wealth tax. But the matter has always been politically unpalatable, and Watson admitted it would need someone "politically extremely courageous". So is that likely? Here's what the political parties say: Labour pondering policy - 'we're in a different space' Labour campaigned on a capital gains tax as part of a suite of major changes at the 2014 election but was so...

Photo: The small and medium businesses that survived the pandemic by slashing costs are in a much stronger financial position when they come up for sale. Sales firm Link Business Brokers said it was seeing profitable, quality businesses on the market this year. NZ development manager Steven Matthews said some companies that did not adapt to the tough economic conditions will have closed. But he said those that got their finances in order have become better businesses. "At that particular time, it wasn't a case of just filing the sales file, it wasn't that easy. So, the best thing they could do is actually focus on costs and actually running a more efficient, cost-effective business," Matthews said. "Just going line by line in an OpEx (operating expense), right from accountancy fees, rig...

The pressure is on for people looking to rent in Queenstown. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Tenants looking for a new place to live face less competition at the moment - and that may be because of the drop in immigration. Trade Me said on Thursday that asking rent prices had stabilised in August after two months of declines. The median weekly rent across the country was $640 and prices were 3.2 percent higher than in August 2023. The number of available rental listings was up 38 percent, compared to a year earlier. But demand was down 13 percent compared to July and 36 percent compared to 2023. "We've seen a step change in market dynamics this year with increasing supply coming at the same time as reducing demand," said Trade Me Property's customer director Gavin Lloyd. "While we've seen a...

New Zealand has signed a free-trade deal with the United Arab Emirates - the fastest agreement the country has ever struck. The deal lifts duties on 98.5 percent of New Zealand's exports immediately on entry into force, rising to 99 percent within three years. Aotearoa exports amount to more than $1 billion across the dairy, red meat, industrial products, horticulture and tourism sectors. Trade Minister Todd McClay announced the deal with his UAE counterpart Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Wellington on Thursday morning. He said the UAE was one of New Zealand's most important trading partners in the Gulf region and today's deal would boost Kiwi exports and strengthen supply chains. "This will create new opportunities for New Zealand businesses in the dy...

MusicWorks left the Hobson St building in February 2023. Photo: Melanie Earley For nearly 60 years, one of New Zealand's largest music stores sat in Auckland's CBD, adorned with brightly coloured paintings of microphones, guitars and saxophones. But for months now, the old store has been in a state of partial demolition with only part of the storefront remaining among a pile of wood, concrete and an ever-growing pile of rubbish. Wooden boards and a metal fence surround the site covered in various tags and graffiti and a Barfoot and Thompson for sale or lease sign is displayed front and centre on the only remaining piece of the storefront. MusicWorks moved out of the site in February 2023 into a new store on Mt Eden's Dominion Rd, and since then the future of the site on one of the city'...