https://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2017-11/beehive-red-og_0.png 22,400 fewer children experiencing material hardship 45,400 fewer children in low income households on after-housing costs measure After-housing costs target achieved a year ahead of schedule Government action has seen child poverty reduce against all nine official measures compared to the baseline year, Prime Minister and Minister for Child Poverty Reduction Jacinda Ardern said. New figures released by Stats NZ today show across the board improvements in child poverty rates, with some statistically significant changes over the two years since official measures were put in place. “Reducing the number of children living in poverty is a key priority for the Government and it’s pleasing to see our actions having a real impact on children’s lives,” Jacinda Ardern said. “Our Families Package changes have decreased the number of children living in poverty by tens of thousands. “Today’s numbers demonstrate our actions to reduce child poverty are making a real difference ...

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https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/27569/eight_col_eight_col_baby2.jpg?1487102165 Analysis – The latest child poverty figures are set to be released this morning – but they will not show the impact of the economic fallout from Covid-19 on struggling families. Photo: 123.rf The numbers for the year to June come from Stats NZ’s household economic survey – which had to stop collecting information when the country went into lockdown last March. Even if progress was being made to reduce child poverty at that point, the government’s already been warned it could be undone by the pandemic. When Jacinda Ardern came to power in 2017, she made lifting thousands of children out of poverty one of the key priorities of her prime ministership. Child poverty reduction targets were set in law and initiatives including the Families Package, the Winter Energy Payment and the Best Start payment were rolled out, along with some changes to the welfare system and the ...

https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/114210/eight_col_85756870_l.jpg?1606932558 Calls are mounting for the government to step in and lobby shipping lines over the rising cost of freight. Photo: AFP The Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Federation (CBAFF) said firms are being charged “detention fees” for failing to return empty shipping containers on time, despite there being no room for them at storage facilities. Typically, freight forwarders hire containers from shipping companies and are required to return them or ‘dehire’ them to a storage facility by an agreed time. However, surging consumer demand and delays at ports means there is a surplus of containers, with no available room for them to be dropped off. “Some shipping lines, irrespective of a company’s ability to dehire containers, are continuing to charge detention for businesses keeping their containers longer than they have been contracted for,” CBAFF chief executive Rosemarie Dawson said. She said in one instance, one of its members was ...

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https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news/236031/eight_col_cafe.jpg?1594542065 From today, New Zealand businesses can apply for the government’s latest Covid-19 support package. Photo: 123RF Announced in December, the Resurgence Support Payment was introduced to boost businesses when there is an increase in alert levels. Any business that has suffered a 30 percent drop in revenue for seven days is eligible for the payments. Under the scheme, each eligible business will receive $1500 plus $400 per employee up to a total of 50 full-time employees, and totalling a maximum of $21,500 per business. Finance Minister Grant Robertson says given the disruption businesses have faced during the latest Covid-19 outbreak, he’s confident the scheme will be helpful. “When we go up alert levels there are fixed costs that businesses incur. It might be a hospitality business that has to reorganise itself to be able to serve people at their tables and separate people out. Or it might be a ...

https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/90064/eight_col_bonds.jpg?1571790011 Financial services company Heartland Group has come through the pandemic with increased business, margins and profit. Photo: 123RF Its half year profit for the six months ended December was $44.1 million compared with $39.9m the year before. The company said the economy had performed better than expected through Covid-19 and that was reflected in its results. “Heartland’s loan portfolios showed resilience to the effects of the pandemic as the industries and demographics most affected by Covid-19 are not materially represented in Heartland’s core lending or customer base.” Heartland specialises in online consumer and business finance, reverse mortgages, as well as having a stake in the Harmoney finance group. A feature of the half year was a fall in the amount of bad and doubtful debts, with the additional $9.6m set aside at the start of the year not needed. The amount of lending rose nearly 3 percent to $4.7 ...

https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/105336/eight_col_copper.jpg?1594327545 Telecom lines company Chorus has seen a dip in profit with earnings dented by copper customers moving to fibre networks. Photo: Chorus Its net profit for the six months to December was down by about a quarter on the previous period to $24 million, with a marginal drop in revenue to $473m compared with $483m a year ago. The fall was a reflection of Chorus’ old copper line customers moving to fibre supplied by other providers, some of them in areas not serviced by Chorus’ fibre network. Chorus chief executive Jean Baptiste Rousselot said it was a solid performance in an unusual period with the company seeing a slight lift in fibre uptake, with 62,000 connections added over the period. “While strong housing growth is fuelling increased demand for fibre installations, Covid-19’s effect on net migration into the country has softened demand on overall broadband connections.” Broadband connections fell ...