Business

Tory Whanau this week admitted that she was "feeling the crunch" and recently sold her car to help pay the bills. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone High interest rates and the rising cost of council rates and insurance are pushing many high-income earners into financial stress - even when they earn well into six figures. When Wellington mayor Tory Whanau said this week she had sold her car to help pay her bills, some questioned how she was under pressure when she earned $190,000 a year, and had previously won Lotto. But Angela Smart, customer service team lead at helpline MoneyTalks, said Whanau was far from alone. She said there had been a notable increase in higher-income people asking for help with their finances. She estimated 20 percent of clients were people who earned more than avera...

Photo: 123rf A consumer advocacy group is backing allegations against Jetstar, saying the law should make it mandatory for airlines to tell customers of their rights. The Commerce Commission is filing charges against Jetstar, saying it discouraged people from seeking compensation when flights were disrupted for reasons within its control in 2022 and 2023. Under the Civil Aviation Act, passengers affected by such disruptions are entitled to claim for costs incurred, such as accommodation, meals and alternative travel. Consumer New Zealand campaigns manager Jessica Walker said her organisation alerted the commission to the problem in 2022 after receiving numerous complaints. "Specifically with Jetstar, we were worried that it was not being upfront about its liability or perhaps throwing ca...

The former Harbour Quays building. Photo: RNZ / Phil Pennington The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by an engineering firm trying to block a council's legal move over an earthquake-ruined building. BNZ bank sued Wellington City Council for more than $100 million in 2019 over the Harbour Quays building, demolished after the 2016 Kaikōura quake. The council sought to also make engineers Beca liable, too, if it came to it. The Supreme Court's new ruling is the third and final failure for Beca. The award-winning Wellington headquarters of the bank, owned by CentrePort, stood empty for years after 2016, before being demolished; it had also suffered damage to internal services in the 2013 Seddon quake. BNZ had argued the council was negligent in granting the building consent, its inspec...

By Annemarie Quill of Viral Dubai chocolate', supplied by House of Chocolate. Photo: Stuff / House of Chocolate Willy Wonka himself couldn't go as viral as the Dubai chocolate bars that sell a thousand in minutes, and now the frenzy has reached New Zealand, with one seller having to open another kitchen to cope with demand. If you've been online in the last few months, you've likely been haunted by images and videos of a thick chocolate bar with a gooey filling, that people snap in half and eat while you drool on the keyboard. Dubbed the 'viral Dubai chocolate bar', the original was manufactured by a Dubai company called Fix, but came to global attention after a TikTok video of a women eating it in her car has been viewed more than 80 million times. Visitors to Bota...

Photo: Jessica Hopkins/RNZ Oji Fibre Solutions Penrose mill is permanently closing, the E tū union says. Union spokesperson Joe Gallagher said the mill's last day would be 18 December and at least 72 workers at the mill had been affected. Oji Fibre Solutions said it was considering closing its Penrose mill, partly due to high power prices. Up to 75 workers would be affected. Earlier this month, 230 workers at Winston Pulp International were told the sawmill and pulp mills near Ruapehu were both closing for good. About 30 workers attended a meeting at the Penrose milll on Wednesday morning. Work at the site was paused for 24 hours. The company's announcement pack given to workers, which RNZ has seen, said this was to give staff time to go home, digest the news, and talk to their families ...

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Fonterra is investing about $150 million to expand the cool store at its Whareroa site in Taranaki. The new cool store will be the size of three rugby fields, store around 26,000 tonnes of cheese, and increase the site's cool store capacity by around five thousand tonnes. The Whareroa site processes up to 12.5 million litres of milk per day and produces 30 percent of the co-op's cheese. Construction on the new cool store will begin next month and is expected to take three years to complete. Fonterra chief operating officer Anna Palairet said as is always the case when making investment decisions, the co-op carefully considers where to allocate capital to maximise value to farmer shareholders and unit holders over the long-term. "The new cool store is st...

A Synlait milk truck. Photo: Synlait/supplied Shareholders in embattled dairy company Synlait Milk have voted overwhelmingly to approve a range of measures to restore its finances and save the company. A special meeting has approved a $218 million issue of new shares to its two largest shareholders and a $450m finance package from a consortium of banks. The future of the debt-laden infant formula maker was hanging in the balance and needed shareholder approval to avoid the company likely going into insolvency. Chair George Adams said a 'no' vote would have sunk the company that "was worth saving", but saddled with debt totalling $565m. "To be clear, the board does not believe insolvency is the best option for Synlait or that creditors are paid and returns are delivered to shareholders,"...

Jetstar aplogised for errors made regarding compensation in 2022 and 2023. Photo: 123rf The Commerce Commission is filing charges against Jetstar for misleading consumers about compensation for flight delays and cancellations. The commission said under aviation law customers must be reimbursed when flights were disrupted for reasons within an airline's control, such as staffing and mechanical issues. Costs that may be reimbursed included meals, accommodation or replacement travel. The commission claims Jetstar discouraged consumers from seeking compensation and likely denied legitimate claims in 2022 and 2023. In a statement general manager Vanessa Horne said airlines should not mislead their customers. "The Commerce Commission expects large businesses to take their responsibilities und...

Photo: AFP Inland Revenue (IR) says it has paused sharing people's personal data with social media giants. RNZ revealed last week Inland Revenue shares the details of up to half-a-million taxpayers with Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn, several times a month for targeted advertising campaigns. The department is reviewing the practice after warnings that its hashing method does not protect personal data. "Inland Revenue has received a number of complaints since the story first ran," it said on Tuesday. "Our review into the use of hashing is ongoing and as part of that IR has paused the creation and uploading of new custom audience lists." This puts a block on its ability to run social media ad campaigns. It was also now working with the Privacy Commissioner's Office which "has contacted IR ...

Photo: Jessica Hopkins/RNZ Workers at the Oji paper recycling mill in Auckland will find out Wednesday whether they will keep their jobs. Oji Fibre Solutions said it was considering closing its Penrose mill, partly due to high power prices. Up to 75 workers would be affected. Earlier this month, 230 workers at Winston Pulp International were told the sawmill and pulp mills near Ruapehu were both closing for good. A meeting was due to start at 8am. E Tu union spokesperson Joe Gallagher told Morning Report the mood at the mill head of the meeting was "pretty sombre". "I think people are resigned to the fact that this morning they're going to be told there's a closure, that's yet to be confirmed." He said a combination of factors was behind the current situation, including power and gas p...