MBIE calls construction a high-risk area for non-compliance, worker exploitation included. For firms employing migrants on the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), enforcement can reach past a fine to the right to hire from overseas at all. In February 2026, MBIE’s Labour Inspectorate and Immigration Compliance and Investigations teams visited 147 construction businesses in Auckland […]
The speed limit on State Highway 1 between Moerewa and Kawakawa went up from 80km/h to 100km/h in 2025. In October 2026 it went back to 80km/h, and both times a crew had to swap the signs. The Automobile Association’s Northland branch says the back-and-forth is confusing and costly. Tracey Rissetto, chair of the AA’s […]
The cowboy used to be the bloke with a cheap quote and no licence. These days he might be a stranger sitting inside your supplier’s email, a “top 10 builders” website run from offshore, or someone quoting your LBP number to a building inspector. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) received 4,673 incident reports in […]
Most of the danger around an excavator isn’t in the cab. WorkSafe’s excavation safety guideline says most excavator-related deaths involve a person working near the machine rather than the driver. That’s the spotter, the pipelayer and the labourer with the shovel. Here’s what that guideline and WorkSafe’s other guidance expect of civil and earthmoving crews […]
Plumbers signing off their own work. Granny flats going up without a building consent. A new planning system to replace the Resource Management Act. More homes are being consented than a year ago, build costs have started climbing again and interest rates have turned upward. Here’s what has changed so far in 2026, what’s still […]
Six of the 10 roles with the fastest-growing job ads on SEEK are in engineering, construction or the trades. Geotechnical engineers top the list, with job ad volume up 137.5%. SEEK compared job ad volumes on its site for June to August 2026 with the same three months of 2025. The figures measure growth in […]
Oliver Wooles from the Auckland region has been named the 2026 Master Builders CARTERS Apprentice of the Year. Lachy Hughes from the Taranaki & Whanganui region came second. Dokyun (DK) Kim from the Central & Upper South Island region came third. Nine regional champions reached the national final from a field of 95 apprentices. Each […]
Degree apprenticeships and access to student loans and allowances are among the changes proposed in a new Skills Group white paper. It calls for an overhaul of New Zealand’s apprenticeship system. The Future of Apprenticeships argues that after years of structural change to vocational education, attention now needs to shift. The paper says the question […]
New survey data shows cocaine use spreading as the price falls. Researchers say New Zealand is still in the “honeymoon” phase, and most people who use it have jobs. Cocaine has long been the drug New Zealanders read about happening somewhere else. The latest data says that’s changing, and that many of the people using […]
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