Breakfast briefing: Escalations show off-ramp options fade
Their 1-5 curve is steeper at +23 bps (+3 bps) and the 3 mth-10yr curve is now at +70 bps (+2 bps). The Australian 10 year bond yield starts today at 5.03%, down -2 bps from yesterday. And the NZ Government 10 year bond rate starts today at 4.86%, down -4 bps. That all means our TWI-5 starts today down -30 bps at just on 61.9. The bitcoin price starts today at US$69,569 and down -1.4% from this time yesterday.
Source:Stuff
March 24, 2026 19:46 UTC
NZ Post apologises after 8000 undelivered items of mail found in Kaitāia
“We would like to assure customers this was an isolated issue, related to the actions of an individual who no longer works for NZ Post,” an NZ Post spokesperson said. He wondered how it had been possible for the mail to remain undiscovered for the past four years. His undelivered mail was a letter from Specsavers dated April 2022. People can pick their delayed mail up from the Kaitāia Box Lobby, on North Park Drive, using ID. “We encourage customers to use our letter as evidence with any organisation they may have been delayed in responding to, so they are able to take these exceptional circumstances into account,” NZ Post said.
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 24, 2026 19:06 UTC
Married at First Sight expert Mel Schilling dies from cancer
Instagram / @mel_schilling1Australia's Married at First Sight expert Mel Schilling has died of cancer, aged 54. She announced her terminal diagnosis in March, saying her cancer had spread to the left side of her brain. In a post on Instagram in March, Schilling said her oncology team told her "there's nothing further they can do". "To most of you, she was Mel Schilling — matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV. In honour of Schilling, her husband said: "live life to the full, love your people well, and try not to sweat the small stuff."
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 18:50 UTC
The Warehouse fined $230K over choking hazard toy
The Warehouse has issued a recall notice for the Roo Crew Take-Apart Vehicle, saying its small parts pose a choking hazard for children under three. Photo: The Warehouse / SuppliedThe Warehouse has been fined more than $200,000 for selling a toy that was a choking risk for children under three. The Commerce Commission said the "Roo Crew Take-Apart Vehicle Toys" were potentially dangerous because they contained multiple small parts and had failed several safety tests. "Multiple parts came off each variation of the toy, and they failed small parts testing." The Warehouse previously issued a voluntary recall notice for the toy.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 18:30 UTC
Beckenridge mystery: Plunge off cliff ruled murder-suicide
The disappearance came after Family Court proceedings between Ms Lu and Mr Beckenridge, which saw Mike placed in his mother’s care. The covert conversations continued until March 13 when Mr Beckenridge abducted Mike from his school. Photo: suppliedBorder alerts were immediately arranged in relation to Mr Beckenridge and there was already one in place for Mike. Mike Beckenridge. The coroner said it was indicative of a trial run by Mr Beckenridge followed by the final plunge.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:16 UTC
Drunk assaulted two women in Queenstown bar
Queenstown District Court. Photo: suppliedA man who tried to force his way into a toilet cubicle in a Queenstown bar told the women inside to "go back to your own country". Mikaele Tagicakiverata Railoa, 36, of Alexandra, then assaulted another woman when she tried to intervene. When a third woman tried to intervene, he grabbed her wrist and twisted and squeezed it with such force that she lost feeling in her arm. Railoa was sentenced in the Queenstown District Court on Monday on charges of male assaults female and resisting police.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:16 UTC
Emails give insight into desperation
By late February 2015, the 11-year-old’s emails to his stepfather intensified and provided an insight into their desperation. The pair were on the run in Mr Beckenridge’s Volkswagen, evading police for the next week, setting up camp near Curio Bay. The coroner concluded Mr Beckenridge and Mike must have been sitting on latched seatbelts, but the reason remained a mystery. The coroner acknowledged Mr Beckenridge’s past was "sufficiently mysterious and suggestive to provide fertile grounds for innuendo and speculation". Fiona Lu, mother of Mike Beckenridge, still believes her son is alive and will come back to her one day.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:10 UTC
Support buddy now needing help himself
Seventeen-year-old Rudi, one of 14 horses stabled by ESRDA at the Gore A&P Showgrounds and a key member of the ESRDA horse team, fell ill about two weeks ago. Assistant ESRDA coach Carol Dawson said the vet was called after Rudi developed a cough and became lethargic. Riding for the Disabled (ESRDA) horse Rudi and rider Evelyn Jones-Carran make their way around the paddock at the Gore A&P Showgrounds last week. "Rudi has been her support buddy. Ms Chalmers said the now-17-year-old had been coming to ESRDA since she was 7 and was sat her tallest and straightest while riding Rudi.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:10 UTC
Winning big to be harder with Lotto changes
Changes coming for Lotto will make it less likely people will win the big prize — but more likely they will collect a small one. This reduces the chances of winning Powerball from about one in 38.4 million to about one in 53.7 million for every line on a ticket. Lotto will also add a "division 8" prize, raise the starting Powerball jackpot from $4 million to $5m and increase the maximum jackpot from $50m to $60m. We expect its introduction will lift the total number of weekly Powerball winners by 30%, from about 47,000 winners to 62,000 winners on average." But what you’re selling when you’re selling a Lotto ticket is you’re selling hope.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:08 UTC
Flu jab lowers heart attack risk: doctor
A patient receives an influenza vaccination in the build-up to the winter season. Photo: Getty ImagesMost people think of the annual influenza vaccination as a way to prevent an unpleasant week of fever, head colds, coughing, aches and pains. "This process can destabilise plaques, triggering rupture and clot formation, leading to a heart attack or stroke," he said. Despite the potential benefits of the influenza vaccination, coverage remained relatively low, he said. "Increasing uptake of the influenza vaccination, particularly among groups at higher cardiovascular risk, represents an important opportunity to improve health outcomes ..." he said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:08 UTC
RWNZ just as important in digital age
PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUERural Women New Zealand remains relevant today as people need ways to connect in person in a digital age, a daughter of the organisation’s co-founder says. About 60 people attended a high tea to celebrate the centennial of RWNZ in Otago at an event in Waikouaiti last week. The division was launched to improve support systems for their fellow rural women. The people at the centennial high tea at the East Otago Events Centre was Dr Preston’s youngest daughter, Flora Smith, 89, of Christchurch. RWNZ was still needed, as people could communicate in a digital world, rather than face-to-face, and still be isolated.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:03 UTC
Farmers not considering rescuing Watties
Rising fuel prices are adding to costs for arable farmers. Photos: Getty ImagesArable farmers labouring under low grain returns and high fuel prices have ruled out a rescue bid for Wattie’s frozen pea and vegetable factory in Christchurch. Federated Farmers Arable chairman David Birkett said that was unlikely to be repeated, as it would make more sense for one of the remaining processors to fill the gap. Arable farmers did not have any spare cash to invest in a co-operative approach. The flow-on effect could come from sheep farmers re-pasturing less and needing less ryegrass seed from arable farmers.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:02 UTC
Bus use, revenue increases
While Orbus patronage in Queenstown continues to increase, numbers have fallen in Dunedin. Latest figures released by Otago Regional Council (ORC) show for the first half of the current financial year — from July to December 2025 — passenger numbers in Queenstown rose by 6%, to 1,031,075. However, ORC transport portfolio co-lead Councillor Matt Hollyer, of Queenstown, said the council was not concerned at the slight drop, given the city had experienced three consecutive years of record patronage. Along with increased patronage in the Wakatipu, fare revenue increased by 19%, to $1,847,171, while in Dunedin fare revenue grew by 11% to $2,200,106. Cr Hollyer said given the increasing cost of fuel — 91 petrol in Queenstown yesterday cost as much as $3.429 per litre — the council expected patronage to grow.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:02 UTC
Rural health push can do more: study
Rural health professional programmes are successfully getting more doctors into rural medical practices, but research has found the programmes need to be expanded if New Zealand’s rural doctor shortage is to be addressed. In a world-first study, University of Otago researchers have analysed what factors increase the likelihood of medical graduates choosing careers in rural medicine. They found being of rural origin, being older than 25 when entering medical school, and participating in an extended rural medical school placement, such as Otago’s Rural Medical Immersion Programme (RMIP), were independent predictors of entering rural practice. "More medical students need opportunities to be exposed to rural medicine, as we’ve found those working in rural practice come from all walks of life." She said the study also found students of urban origin, and those with no rural career intentions at the start of medical school, still made up more than half of the early career rural medical workforce.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 15:54 UTC
Kiwi merino marketer in total brand makeover
PHOTOS: ZENTERAThe New Zealand Merino Company has changed its name to Zentera in a major rebrand. NZM began 30 years ago by merino farmers as an industry organisation and has developed into a sales, marketing and innovation company for merino, halfbred and strong wool. He said this had been based on a data-driven approach as part of a three-year strategic reset to become the worlds leading wool company. Zentera Wool Company chief executive Angus Street is confident the name change for the industry body previously known as The New Zealand Merino Company will be positive for merino farmers. Wānaka-based merino activewear business Mons Royale New Zealand approved of the change as the largest buyer of merino wool by a New Zealand company.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 15:54 UTC