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Fletcher Building can expect a significant financial hit, after revealing they put another $180 million aside for repairs.

Costs have blown out on two big projects- Auckland's International Convention Centre and the Wellington International Airport Car Park.

Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton says this cost blowout is putting a strain on Fletcher's balance.

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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has requested more money from the Government to cover the cost of their vault refurbishments.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explains that these underground vaults are quite old and need 'significant' repair.

"The Reserve Bank has warned the new Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, that it's going to need quite a bit of money to upgrade the vaults."

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Simplicity are calling for Fletcher Building's board and management to be scrutinised further.

Fletcher's stock has dropped following a multi-million dollar cost blowout on two big projects in Auckland and Wellington.

Managing director Sam Stubbs says they called for the chair's resignation two years ago- and action hasn't been taken.

"In those two years, the directors paid themselves $4 million in fees- and then they had the absolute cheek last year to ask for a 25 percent pay increase, which they were ultimately talked down from."

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The Government has unveiled their promised law and order crackdown.

Section 27 reports and Labour's prison reduction targets have been thrown on the scrap heap, and sentencing discounts have been capped at 40 percent.

ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper approves of taxpayer-funded 'cultural reports' being brought down.

"Doing away with the reports doesn't stop friends and family writing to the court or turning up at the courts- they can still do that. The offender can still have some sort of representation."

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In the US, a Michigan woman has become the first parent convicted of manslaughter over their child's shooting.

Ethan Crumbley is serving life in prison for killing four classmates in 2021.

Today his mother, Jennifer Crumbley, has been found guilty of negligence in letting her son have a gun, and ignoring warnings signs of his mental health.

US correspondent Dan Mitchinson says this case was the first to address who bears responsibility in a school shooting.

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Activist and iwi leader Mike Smith has won the right to sue the likes of Fonterra for their role in causing climate change, in a Supreme Court ruling delivered this morning.

He wants them to either stop polluting, or start bringing emissions down quickly.

Greenpeace Executive Director Russel Norman says it means Fonterra may have to pay for some of the harm they're causing.

"Climate pollution means more cyclones and more extreme weather events, that harms a lot of people. Currently they don't pay for that, but if this court case was successful- when it goes to court, then they'd have to pay."

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King Charles' cancer diagnosis is casting doubt on his future role.

The Palace reports he will continue official duties until further notice.

Sydney University Constitutional Law expert Anne Twomey says what duties he performs, remain within his control at this stage.

But she says if he becomes incapacitated, decisions will move to his spouse Queen Camilla, two Parliamentary officials and two people from the court.

"Amidst those five, if three of them decide that he's incapable of fulfilling his activities, he can have a regent. And then the regent can take over his powers."

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I'm pleasantly surprised - aren’t you? - by how things went at Waitangi this year.

There were no dildos, no mud, no manhandling, there were no ugly scenes and none of the stuff that many of us were probably expecting.

Given what’s happened in the past, and how much more tense it was predicted to be this year, because of the Government's Māori related policies.

Instead, things were handled exactly how they should always be handled, with conversation.

The people responsible for the policies fronted up like grown ups to explain themselves and listen, and the people who weren’t happy about those policies let it be known.

There were a couple of people who kinda let their teams down- Winston getting all het up wasn't that flash, Peeni Henare chose a bad turn of phrase, and Hone Harawira swearing like a school boy did him no favours.

But otherwise, it was mostly fine.

And I tell you what, it gives me some heart that we can actually get through this debate over the Treaty Principles Bill like adults.

That has been the thing that has worried a lot of people the most. That yes, we absolutely need to talk about this, and we almost certainly need to change some things here.

But getting to that point was what really worried me, because I thought things were going to be very ugly.

Well, we’ve just had a demonstration that we can do it. That we can debate and challenge ideas without resorting to the violence that we have been warned will inevitably come.

It doesn’t have to. If it didn’t happen at Waitangi, which is one of the most combustible political venues, then it doesn't have to happen

And hopefully, based on what we saw this week, it won't.

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There's concerns the unemployment rate will rise more.

Stats NZ released its labour market update for the December quarter today, with unemployment up to four percent.

3000 more people were unemployed than in the previous quarter, hitting 122,000.

Employers and Manufacturers Association Advocacy head, Alan McDonald, says many members called them about restructuring and redundancies in late 2023.

"That hasn't probably worked its way into those numbers yet, and that's what I think we'll see when the next quarter numbers come out for the start of this year."

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The Government has released a slew of law and order changes, in line with its 100-day plan.

Cultural reports have been scrapped, alongside Labour's targets to reduce prison populations by 30 percent.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says their target is to reduce the number of people victimised by violent crime.

"We're making it crystal clear to the whole system- we're on about public safety, not some arbitrary reduction in prison numbers. Which is important, the targets we set, the whole system- do matter."

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