The law firm that hosted Environment Minister Amy Adams’s launch of a government discussion paper on reform to the Resource Management Act has praised the initiatives, saying they are not before time. “This is by any analysis a substantial reform package, not a tune up,” said John Hassan, a resource management partner at Chapman Tripp. “It targets all parts of …

New Zealand’s banking system is at risk from property prices overheating if the country’s exports stop being worth so much or the kiwi dollar falls out of bed, says the international credit rating agency, Standard & Poor’s. S&P issued a report on the New Zealand banking sector saying “significant risk remains of a sharp correction in property prices.” The rating …

The Financial Markets Authority says improving levels of transparency on New Zealand’s stock exchange is one of four major areas it will keep tabs on this year as the government’s partial privatisation programme steps up a gear. New Zealand’s securities watchdog was unimpressed by “poor administrative practices by substantial shareholders, directors and officers, resulting in delays in notifying the market …