Business

Hundreds of workers have lost work and many face layoffs, due to factory close downs, blamed on high energy prices. Photo: AFP/ PhotoAlto - James Hardy The human cost of the energy crisis is beginning to mount, with hundreds of workers facing permanent closures or temporary shutdowns at pulp and paper mills in a number of communities. The blame is being pointed squarely at wholesale electricity prices, which have risen sharply from an average of about $100 per megawatt hour in September 2021, up to about $700 earlier this week. A shift electrician at Oji Fibre Solutions in Penrose, Maurice Upton said its 75 staff returned from a scheduled maintenance shutdown to a bleak announcement. "At start-up we got a letter saying they had some news for us, there was a proposal they wanted to make ...

Foodstuffs owns the Four Square; New World, PAK'nSAVE, LiquorLand, and Gilmours stores. (file image) Photo: 123RF Foodstuffs says it is a challenge to keep prices steady at the moment, with increasing costs for things such as power. Wholesale power prices have made news in recent weeks because they have increased rapidly. Since September 2021, wholesale prices have risen from about $100 per megawatt hour (MWh) to an average of about $700 per MWh this week. Electric Kiwi last month stopped taking new customers because of the high prices. Some major users of power, such as supermarket chains, are also exposed to the wholesale market via contracts for their electricity supply, which will reset higher as they come up for renewal. Winstone Pulp International (WPI) paused work for 14 days at ...

The Hauraki Gulf. Photo: Raewyn Peart The Hauraki Gulf has been valued at $5 billion a year. A report from the NZ Institute of Economic Research, commissioned by Auckland Council's Hauraki Gulf Forum, estimated the financial impact of invasive caulerpa seaweed. Most of that $5 billion price tag comes from recreation, valued at $2.49 billion, and shipping, valued at $1.34 billion. Economists also estimated the gulf provided $526 million in property value to nearby homes. But the report stated caulerpa could cause $109 million in damage to fishing activities and $45 million in damage to biodiversity. "I love our harbour, and I hate wasting money," Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said in a statement. "I'm a boatie before I'm mayor, and I have already put a heap of advocacy into cleaning up this...

Would you pay $7 for a standard coffee? New Zealand's coffee sector is under pressure as volatile bean prices collide with a weaker New Zealand dollar, increased freight costs and higher costs of doing business. One roaster says if coffee prices had kept up with the increase in cafe costs, a flat white would now be selling for $7, not the more like $5 that most cafes price them at. Stats NZ data shows the cost of an average takeaway coffee has risen from $2.89 in June of 2006 to $3.72 in June of 2016 and $4.79 in June this year. In Wellington this week, a trim flat white with an extra shot cost $6.30 at Swimsuit. A medium flat white from French83 in Federal St, Auckland, cost $6, a regular trim flat white from Bleached in New Plymouth $4.40 and an Americano from Moore Wilson in Wellington ...

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly A former Auckland Council building inspector has pleaded guilty to bribery and corruption charges in the form of cash and renovations on his home address. Nicholas Bright admitted to 21 charges of corruption and bribery of an official in the Manukau District Court, with sentencing scheduled for 20 November. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) filed charges against Bright and a director of a construction company in March, who still faced 23 charges of corruption and bribery of an official. The director of the construction company, who has name suppression, has entered not guilty pleas, with a court hearing set down for 25 October. SFO director Karen Chang said bribery and corruption involving public officials was an area of focus, particularly where health an...

Photo: 123rf Employers are being urged to ensure staff promoted into management roles have the training and support needed to do their job. A survey by recruitment firm Robert Walters of more than 2000 white collar professionals found 44 percent of managers do not have the appropriate training to do their job. It also found more than 200 workers were required to assume unofficial management responsibilities, including mentoring and supervising, without any official announcement, job title modification, or increase in compensation.  "This trend appears to be more prominent in recent times due to businesses being forced to reduce headcount, and thrusting subject matter experts into management roles to fill gaps," Robert Walters Australia and New Zealand chief executive Shay Peters said. He...

Chief executive Gareth Edgecombe said weakness in New Zealand consumer activity and lower apple volumes drove business losses. Photo: Supplied Produce exporter T&G Global has reported another loss, with its half-year earnings down as its orchards continue to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle. Key numbers for the six months ended June compared with a year ago: Reported net loss $21.4m vs $17.7m loss. Revenue $820m vs $765.3m. Operating loss $2.6m vs $11.6m loss. T&G Global's reported net loss was 21 percent more than its loss for the same period last year. The loss includes a tax expense of $10.4 million due to government tax changes. Chief executive Gareth Edgecombe said weakness in New Zealand consumer activity and lower apple volumes drove business losses, but the outlook was m...

Photo: Work and Income A beneficiary who claimed Covid support for businesses that were not active is among three people who have been in court recently due to fraud-related pandemic payments, Inland Revenue says. Auckland woman Kesalina Hakaraia was sentenced to six months' community detention. She told IR in April 2020 that she was self-employed and had been since 2019. In May 2020, she filled out an income tax return for the 2020 income year, which included her benefit income, nearly $6000 in self-employed earnings and $25,000 in expenses, resulting in an income tax refund of $2528.43. On 14 June 2020, she amended her auto-calculated income tax return for the 2019 income year, claiming that she had earned $9800 and had incurred expenses of $22,800. This increased her tax refund by $17...

Photo: Supplied There is very little public trust left in Foodstuffs North Island after being fined for using land covenants to block its rivals, a grocery advocacy chair says. The company was fined $3.25 million in the Wellington High Court for deliberately using covenants on land to hinder rivals after the practice came to light in a Commerce Commission market study in 2022. Grocery Action Group chair Suzanne Chetwin told Morning Report t the practice effectively prevented competitors from being able to set up in small towns and cities around the North Island. "This is where Foodstuffs would buy up land that could potentially be used by a competitor and they would put covenants on this land that would prevent them being able to be used as supermarkets. "Some of those covenants were o...

A US company is aiming to bring new camera technology to New Zealand buses, to help keep other vehicles out of bus lanes and bus stops. (File photo) Photo: Stuff / Ricky Wilson A US company that puts AI-enabled cameras on the front of buses to try to stop cars from blocking bus stops has entered the New Zealand market. Hayden AI has teamed up with Japanese owned NEC New Zealand. Their aim extends to policing bus and cycle lanes, and double-parking, "to improve road safety in New Zealand and Australia", a company statement said. NEC already has public transport contracts providing passenger information for buses in Canterbury, and signed a similar one worth up to $16.5m for Wellington last year Hayden AI claimed its system had sped up buses on monitored routes in New York, where it was i...