The Bull Ring

𝔽𝕦𝕖𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤, 𝕤𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕡 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 - ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕖 ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝔸 𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕚𝕟 𝕕𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕡𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕝 𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕖𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕤 $𝟙𝟝 𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕒 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕦𝕞𝕡. T he Commerce Commission's  analysis of fuel monitoring data  shows retailers are quick to put prices up in response to increased costs, but slow when it comes to bringing prices down when oil prices fall or the exchange rate changes. Commissioner Bryan Chapple said motorists often pay more for petrol longer than they should. . . "We can see clear evidence showing that fuel companies maintain temporarily higher margins after a decrease in their costs, lasting up to two weeks - at great expense to Kiwi motorists. "Our findings suggest that petrol prices shoot up at the pump in response to increased costs, but there is a noticeable lag in retail prices being lowered in response to de...

𝔼𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕪 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕤 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝟛𝟘𝟘 𝕛𝕠𝕓𝕤 𝕄𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝟛𝟘𝟘 𝕛𝕠𝕓𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕘𝕠 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔼𝕟𝕧𝕚𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥, 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥 𝕔𝕦𝕥 𝕓𝕪 𝕟𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕪 𝕒 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕕. N ow that the government's Budget has been confirmed, more agencies are set to reveal how they plan to slash costs as directed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. On Wednesday, the ministry said it was proposing to cut 303 full-time jobs by July next year - reducing its headcount from 993 to 690. About 150 fixed-term contracts would end at the end of October. . . There would also be voluntary and proposed redundancies of permanent employees - and some will be delayed until the end of June next year. Forty-five people had already accepted voluntary redundancy after the call was put out in April. The ministry was inviting further expressions of interest througho...

  Northern rātā walks away with victory in Tree of the Year competition The tree is located in a farm paddock in Karamea. Photo: Supplied / Gareth Andrews A northern rātā (Metrosideros robusta), located near a cemetery in Karamea on the South Island's West Coast, has won the Tree of the Year award in a landslide victory. The tree, known affectionately as The Walking Tree, as it looks like it is walking across the paddock in high heels as well as having a resemblance to one of J R R Tolkien's sentient, tree-like Ents from Lord of the Rings , won 42 percent of the votes in the annual competition. Brad Cadwallader from the Arboricultural Association told Morning Report the tree captured the imagination of the New Zealand public. "It just strode out into the lead right from the very start." The Walking Tree, winner of the 2024 Tree of the Year award, is located near Karamea cemetery on the West Coast of the South Island. Ph...

ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥-𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕒𝕨 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥-𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕦𝕡 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕤𝕚𝕔𝕜 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕟 𝕦𝕡𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕕𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝔸𝕔𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 T he draft legislation will be released ahead of targeted consultation in September. Van Velden announced the move in a speech at the Pacific Economic Development Agency in Auckland. She said she had heard from businesses who were struggling to adjust to the previous government's decision to double sick leave entitlements from five to 10 days, which took effect in 2021. She said changes in the draft bill could include pro-rating sick leave "to better reflect how much an employee works". . . "Workplaces that rely on part-time workers are particularly vulnerable to unexpected staffing shortages," she said. This would mean...

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕞 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝'𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕣𝕦𝕘 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕖 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝’𝕤 𝕔𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕘𝕟 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝟙𝟛 𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕣𝕦𝕘𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝕚𝕟 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕚𝕕 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕖𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕪 𝕗𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟 𝔹𝕦𝕕𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟜 F inance Minister Tricola Willis has been forced to promise the government will eventually deliver on one of National’s campaign promises, after failing to deliver on Budget day. Willis said an announcement on funding for 13 new cancer drugs will be made shortly as she was not in a position to make one at last week’s budget, but one expert told Stuff’s daily news podcast,  Newsable , the list of medicines needs to urgently be revised. . . “That list of 13 is already three years out of date,” Professor Chris Jackson, from the University of Otago, told Newsable. https://t.co/D2KBssSl03 This week Luxon and Willis were fully exposed for their election lies tot...

𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝔹𝕦𝕕𝕘𝕖𝕥 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟜 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘: 'ℂ𝕒𝕥𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕙𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 ℕ𝕖𝕨 ℤ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕' 𝕃𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕣 ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤 ℍ𝕚𝕡𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕔𝕪 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣'𝕤 𝔹𝕦𝕕𝕘𝕖𝕥, 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕣 𝕂𝕚𝕨𝕚 ℍ𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕦𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕔 𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖. S peaking to reporters after visiting the Sustainability Trust, which offers the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme in the Wellington region, Hipkins called the Budget a "catastrophe for New Zealand as a whole". He pointed to  cuts made  to $127.5m over four years in cuts made to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, which administers the programme, through reversals of various new parts of the programme including funding for hot water heating, low-cost energy efficiencies, an LED lighting scheme, and an ou...

𝕋𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕒 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕤 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕨𝕒𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕩 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕝𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝟡𝟘𝟘𝟘 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕤 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕨𝕒𝕤𝕟'𝕥 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕤 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕕𝕦𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥'𝕤 𝕥𝕒𝕩 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕤. T icola Willis appeared on  TVNZ's  Q+A  on Sunday morning and was asked whether some households would be worse off under the changes, which were unveiled in Thursday's Budget. She admitted there were "two groups we have uncovered". . . "One we uncovered when we put together the tax calculator - that's about 200 people - and it's about the interaction between the Independent Earner Credit and the Working for Families Credit. We're working on a solution to that," Willis told  Q+A. "The second group of people is a ...