What’s gone rightWhat’s gone right is that inflation has proved easier to subdue than expected, and not only inflation in the price of goods, many of which are made overseas. The annual rate of inflation might climb from 3.6% in April to 3.8% or even 4% in May. Westpac expects no change, meaning a monthly inflation rate of zero. The annual inflation rate is expected to climb because prices fell a year earlier in May 2023, not because they climbed in May 2024. Lower inflation, and a tax cutIf the inflation rate does keep sinking when the official quarterly figures are released next month, it’ll be doubly good news for stretched households.

New Zealand's leading digital and print media company, Stuff Group, has appointed WeThinkMedia as its exclusive advertising sales representative in Australia. Stuff Group is the publisher of the country's largest digital news site, stuff.co.nz, national titles The Post and Sunday Star-Times, regional and community titles, social site Neighbourly, and magazines, all underpinned by video and audio platforms. Stuff Group recently agreed to a new collaboration model with MediaWorks, New Zealand’s only Outdoor and Radio media business. “These innovative new partnerships together with the enormous scale Stuff Group delivers 24/7 across channels has created a unique offering in the New Zealand market, with all of the deep insights into Kiwi consumer behaviour that these partnerships can offer," Stuff Group Brand Connections Managing Director, Matt Headland, said. "Our experienced media team can share a whole-of-market view and provide comprehensive insights and recommendations to advertisers about opportunities in the Kiwi market, with the streamlined ease of one point of contact," she added.

The president of a New Zealand fishing club says he's "broken" after the bodies of three missing fishermen were found on the shore of Māhia in Hawke's Bay. Police said on Wednesday morning that while formal identification was under way, the bodies were thought to be of the trio who were reported missing on Monday. Elwood Higgins, thought to be one of the three fishermen who were reported missing on Monday. It had been a whirlwind wait since the men went missing on Monday, he said. "That was just a miracle and we thought heck this is awesome, hopefully they can find the third one," he said.

- Several expert reports were prepared about Dickason’s mental health and personal circumstances which the judge will consider. - Dickason’s lawyer argued a mental health unit was the appropriate place for her. The South African doctor convicted of murdering her three young daughters has been sentenced to serve 18 years in a mental health unit in Hillmorton Hospital. Dickason is facing life in prison, with Justice Mander to determine a minimum non-parole period, and where she will serve her time. Justice Mander had ordered a number of detailed reports from psychiatric experts to help him reach an appropriate sentencing decision for Dickason.

Photo / Warner Bros. Photo / Warner Bros. Photo / Warner Bros. Photo / Warner Bros. In five years’ time, there will be a new MAFS expert and his name will be Piripi John Aiken Clarke.

Nationally, the widely-watched Conference Board survey of consumer sentiment dipped in June from May, but not as much as expected. Separately there was a US Treasury 2 year bond auction earlier today and it was strongly supported, delivering a median yield of 4.66%. The latest South Korean consumer sentiment survey rose in June to its highest level since March. Australian consumer sentiment is mired in low territory, according the June update of the Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey. Despite the improvement, consumer sentiment remains below its March level and still firmly in deeply pessimistic territory.

Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-KingWondering why you've had a tax bill? Inland Revenue is in the process of sending out bills to those taxpayers who have underpaid tax in the most recent tax year. Since 2019, the tax department has been running automated tax returns when it has all the information on a taxpayer's income to do so. This may be what happened to someone who wrote in about their experience of a tax bill while on the supported living allowance. I have money in my KiwiSaver fund which I cannot access until I am 65, which I think is where the incorrect tax rate was calculated."

I think we can all see the Nats stuffed up the 13 cancer drugs announcement on so many levels. They should never have promised specific drugs, that's Pharmac's job. And then, it's never really a good look if you finally get dragged to delivering on your promise because of public outrage. We have just had the single biggest injection of cash into Pharmac ever, we've had more cancer drugs than ever promised to be delivered in one go. So in the end, I'm weirdly grateful for National stuffing this up, because we’ve ended up funding 54 new drugs we didn't have funded a couple of days ago.

Broadcaster Stacey Morrison faces a hectic week, with the “Matariki baby” juggling whānau, her June 25 birthday, and co-hosting the national Māori New Year coverage from her own haukāinga (home territory). Morrison spoke to Stuff ahead of the official Mānawatia a Matariki 2024 broadcast from Treble Cone in Wānaka, a significant event for home iwi Ngāi Tahu. Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei. “Those aspirations and dreams of our ancestors are being embodied in this generation.”Stuff will livestream the broadcast from 6am on June 28.

Photo: RNZ/Marika KhabaziMedia company Stuff is closing the last of its Northland community newspapers with immediate effect. All three weekly newspapers have been edited from Auckland since 2018, when the company's remaining Northland staff were laid off. The only other surviving newspapers in Northland are the biweekly, Kaitāia-based Northland Age, also owned by NZME, and the Dargaville-based weekly Kaipara Lifestyler, which is independently owned. That had resulted in the launch of new mastheads the acquisition of others, including The Wairarapa Times-Age; the merger of some community newspapers; and the closure of titles such as The Whangārei Leader and The Northern News. The spokesperson said Stuff had "a strong Northland audience of people choosing to consume their news digitally".

Data from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment shows a big surge in the number of older migrants gaining New Zealand residency over the last two years, with particularly strong growth in the number aged 65 and over getting residence visas in the last 12 months. They then surged strongly over 2022/23, hitting 8538 in the 12 months to May 2023, then dropped back to 6285 in the 12 months to May 2024. But there has been a big shift towards more older migrants aged 65 and over gaining residence visas in the last 12 months. Of the 8538 aged 50-plus who gained residence in the year to May 2023, 7023 (82%) were aged 50-59, while just 621 (7%) were aged 65 and older. However in the year to May 2024, the number of residence visas approved for people aged 65 and over jumped to 2223, which was 35% of all residence visas approved for people aged 50 and above.

PHOTO: RNZMedia company Stuff is closing the last of its Northland community newspapers with immediate effect. All three weekly papers have been edited from Auckland since 2018, when the company's remaining Northland staff were laid off. The only other surviving newspapers in Northland are the biweekly, Kaitāia-based Northland Age, also owned by NZME, and the Dargaville-based weekly Kaipara Lifestyler, which is independently owned. The spokesperson said Stuff had "a strong Northland audience of people choosing to consume their news digitally". It was run from the Bay Chronicle office in Kerikeri until Christmas 2018, when Stuff laid off all remaining Northern News, Bay Chronicle and Whangārei Leader staff, though the company continued to publish all three papers.

Warm messages of congratulations are coming in for finalists in the prestigious YouTube NZ Marketing Awards 2024, whose names were announced yesterday afternoon. Blunt, Goodman Fielder, My Food Bag, Pak’nSave, Restaurant Brands – KFC NZ and Woolworths Group are the finalists in this category. And from new sponsor TRA: “Congratulations to all finalists and a special note of congratulations to Brand of the Year finalists. ‘Outstanding’ entriesThis year, YouTube NZ Marketing Awards judging is led by Michael Friedberg, CEO of SwayTech. The NZ Marketing Awards have been celebrating excellence in the industry for 33 years.

Photo: Supplied / LDRInvercargill's deputy mayor has seemingly changed his rationale for why he requested the mayor to step aside from public speaking engagements. On Friday, deputy Tom Campbell put forward a motion at an extraordinary council meeting strongly recommending mayor Nobby Clark delegate all public engagements moving forward. One way to provide that protection was to delegate all public engagements to either the deputy mayor or another councillor, he said. Photo: ODT / SuppliedServing in his first term as a councillor, Campbell was a former Tiwai Point aluminium smelter general manager who entered the chambers under Clark's 'Let's Go Invercargill' ticket. On Friday, all four voted against councillor Ian Pottinger's failed motion requesting the mayor step down.

Last week Northland had a power pylon simply fall down on a still day. The main state highway SH1 through the Mangamuka’s to the Far North has been out of operation for two years. Northland has had no shortage of outstanding civic leaders, with Moko Tepania, its first-ever Maori Mayor, advocating powerfully through the media since the 2023 floods. There’s no doubt there are valiant and honourable people working and leading really hard in difficult circumstances to improve Northland. It is not just the shame of successive governments, but of investors, banks, politicians, the media, and frankly of us all.