Conservation Minister Nick Smith has ordered an independent financial review of the controversial Fiordland Experience monorail project, ahead of a final decision on whether to allow the project to proceed over DoC land in the Fiordland World Heritage area. Smith is due to deliver a decision early next year on the application by Riverstone Holdings, backed by Wanaka property developer …

The cost of labour in Christchurch is increasing, especially in the construction industry, driven by a tight labour market with low unemployment and strong demand due to the earthquake rebuild, according to the latest September quarter Canterbury Rebuild Report by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment. The mismatch between supply and demand saw salary and wages in the Canterbury …

The liquidators for the Ross Asset Management group of companies found to be a Ponzi scheme are in talks with three former investors over about $3.8 million of payments they received in the two years leading up to the group’s eventual collapse last year. PwC’s John Fisk and David Bridgman are looking at transactions they might be able to reverse …

Contact Energy, the second biggest listed power company on the New Zealand stockmarket, is looking at issuing a $225 million retail bond to help refinance $534 million of maturities coming next May. The Wellington-based company is considering an exchange offer to existing holdings of the 2009 bonds which mature on May 14, 2014, as well as a general offer to …

Veritas Investments, which bought the Mad Butcher franchisor business in March this year, will spend at least $3.4 million in cash and shares for a half-stake in the meat patty supplier for the local Burger King franchise. The Auckland-based firm will buy half of Kiwi Pacific Foods for $2.8 million in cash and $400,000 in shares at $1.38 apiece, with …

Gallagher Group, the privately held agricultural equipment firm, will exit its 12 percent stake in rival Tru-Test Corp as a condition of grabbing a value brand across the Tasman by buying Australian firm Country Electronics. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission won’t oppose Gallagher’s acquisition of Country Electronics, which trades as Thunderbird, after accepting the Hamilton-based group’s offer to divest …

Smiths City, the Christchurch-based retailer, boosted first-half profit 13 percent even as its revenue dipped in the face of a competitive retail environment. Net profit rose to $1.9 million, or 3.61 cents per share, in the six months ended Oct. 31, from $1.6 million, or 3.2 cents, a year earlier, the retailer said in a statement. Revenue slipped 1.1 percent …

New Zealand’s inbound migration remained elevated in November as new migrants kept arriving and fewer locals drifted across the Tasman. The country gained a seasonally adjusted net 2,800 new migrants in November, down from the 10-year high of 3,000 in October, according to Statistics New Zealand. On an actual basis, there was an inflow of 3,700, up from 1,700 a …

The Environmental Protection Authority is being accused of “breathtaking incompetence” for glitches and non-publication of some 18 documents relied on by the public in making submissions on the first application ever received for a seabed ironsands mining permit. The EPA this morning extended the deadline for submissions on the application by Wellington-based Trans-Tasman Resources, which is seeking permission to mine …

Meat cooperative Alliance Group’s talks about a potential takeover of rival South Island processor Blue Sky Meats have ended when Blue Sky withdrew after a failure to agree on key terms. Invercargill-based Blue Sky withdrew from the “respectful and amicable” talks early this month after being approached by Alliance a couple of months ago, Blue Sky chairman Graham Cooney said …