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 […]

The cost of building a new house in New Zealand rose 1.7% in the September quarter, the fastest quarterly increase since late 2022. That’s the finding of Cotality’s Cordell Construction Cost Index (CCCI), released on 8 October. The quarterly rise picked up from increases of between 0.9% and 1.1% over the previous three quarters. Annual […]

How to judge the right moment to wind up, and who actually gets paid when you do. Most owners know the number before they say it out loud. There’s a point where a business stops being a going concern and starts being a hope, and the person closest to it is usually the last one […]

National Road Carriers has begun its 90th year representing New Zealand’s road freight industry, with a year of events and stories planned to mark the milestone. The anniversary programme started on 5 October 2026. From 29 owner-carriers to a national voice The association was founded in 1936 by 29 Auckland owner-carriers who wanted a united […]