The SME Stream

The Prime Minister on a buoyant primary sector and how New Zealand’s Michelin-star-winning restaurants benefit tourism. Plus, the OCR, how heavy machinery rules affect farmers, and the Treasury Performance Improvement Review. And how is Police Minister Mark Mitchell doing after breaking his ribs at a charity rugby match?

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The International Monetary Fund is broadly happy with how the Government and Reserve Bank are steering the economy - but it's warned some changes need to take place.

The agency says the Government will need to hike taxes, as well as continue cutting spending, to get the country’s finances on a more sustainable path forward.

NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained how this could be implemented.

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2026 is halfway over, and experts have noticed which trends are leading investor conversations.

The chips and computer hardware sector has seen some growth thanks to the AI boom, but the Middle East conflict has continued to generate concerns.

Milford Asset Management's Jeremy Hutton explained further.

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The Finance Minister believes all signs are pointing to economic growth this year. 

The International Monetary Fund's recommending the country continue to hike taxes and make spending cuts. 

It predicts the economy will grow by 2% throughout this year, rising to 2.7% next year. 

Nicola Willis told Mike Hosking the IMF's quite optimistic about our growth this year, and she believes the economy's ready to bounce back. 

She says they see it starting to recover after a difficult few months, and all of the bank economists agree. 

The IMF's also broadly happy with the Government’s targeted response to the oil price shock. 

It believes the annual inflation rate will peak at 4% within the next few months thanks to high oil prices, before dropping back. 

Willis told Hosking inflation would've been a huge problem if the Government unfurled the money hose like a lot of people wanted. 

She says there was a lot of talk about cutting petrol tax, and giving people extra cash in their back pocket. 

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The ACT Party says it has killed three birds with one stone as new workplace legislation is passed. 

The bill reverses a number of changes in the 2015 Health and Safety at Work Act, and will shift focus to critical risks.  

It passed its third reading in Parliament yesterday, despite criticisms from New Zealand First.  

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke Van Velden told Mike Hosking it grows the economy, supports small businesses, and stops wasting money.  

However, the legislation will no longer be implemented in November – instead pushed back until April. 

Labour is also promising to repeal the legislation, if elected.  

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After building and selling EnableMe, Hannah McQueen is tackling another challenge through Age Brightly. She joins Paula Bennett to talk about wealth, purpose, business and why New Zealand needs to rethink ageing.

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The government currently spends about a billion dollars a fortnight on superannuation payments, it's a growing problem that we're running out of time to address. So who shouldn’t be counting on getting the pension in future?

Shamubeel Eaqub, Simplicity chief economist and head of policy, joins Nadine Higgins with some hot takes about the future of NZ's pension scheme and his thoughts on proposed changes to KiwiSaver.

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Could the AI frenzy end in a painful market correction? Liam Dann and Tamsyn Parker discuss the warnings and what it could mean for KiwiSaver. Plus, should the Reserve Bank should leave interest rates alone? And what does the falling New Zealand dollar mean for you?

The Economy of Everything is brought to you by CMC Markets. 

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ANZ's big cheese economist says New Zealand has a super problem - and here's how to fix it. 

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IAG's Bryce Davies on government responsibility and the role insurers. 

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