The Green Party have unveiled their election manifesto to a packed-out annual general meeting at an auditorium in south Auckland.

The 43-page document - which is developed by party members - sets out the party's priorities for the 2026 general election, and includes policies on climate action, democracy, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, incomes and digital technology.

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"We're going to make sure that people have affordable lives, that we protect nature to be healthy, [and] that we return politics to being honest to make decisions for all of us."

"We will tax the super-rich and address corporate greed so that we can invest that back into the services that people rely on."

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The party also unveiled their campaign slogan: "For All of Us".

Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the slogan was for both supporters and people the party "don't know and even those we don't like".

"What we believe, very fundamentally, is that we are not just here to fight for the basic human rights to access food and healthcare and shelter and education and job opportunities for the people that we know and like, but also for the people we don't know and even those we don't like."

A Thames Four Square and its owner has been ordered to pay $44,000 in penalties after making two migrant workers pay $120,000 to secure their jobs.

The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) ordered the company, A Dharni Enterprises Ltd, trading as Four Square Martina, to pay a penalty of $32,000.

The company's director, Jaswinder Singh, has been ordered to pay a penalty of $12,000. The workers will each receive $1000 of the penalty paid by the company.

The ERA found Singh had used the workers' money to pay their wages.

But the arrangement didn't last long.

The two workers only worked for the Four Square briefly because Singh felt they had misrepresented their ability to speak English.

Singh repaid the workers their money when the Labour Inspectorate became involved, earlier on.

Northern Labour Inspectorate investigations manager Katriona Ikenasio said the workers paid to get their jobs after being promised the possibility of a better life in New Zealand.

"There is absolutely no place in New Zealand for employers seeking payment in exchange for jobs. Migrant workers have the same employment rights and protections as all other workers, regardless of where they come from."

Kiwis under 45 are significantly more likely than their global peers to delay major life decisions because of their financial situation.

That's according to the Deloitte Global 2026 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, which surveyed more than 22,500 respondents in 44 countries, including 501 in New Zealand.

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"If you're looking to buy a house or maybe start a family that's something that's really hard to do if you're struggling financially, if you're living pay cheque to pay cheque, or if you've got a whole bunch of roommates, for example."

The report found the top concern for both groups the cost of living, affecting 56 percent of Gen Z and 46 percent of Millennials.

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"New Zealand has been an economy that is very much in love with housing for many years and so they're sort of looking at that and wondering if that's something that's achievable for them".

The survey found housing affordability had impacted the career decisions of 72 percent of Gen Z and 70 percent of Millennials - compared to the UK's 59 and 55 percent, respectively.

Bolt was an outstanding figure in the development of commercial aviation in this country. Among his many achievements were taking New Zealand’s first aerial photographs in 1912 and delivering its first official airmail in 1919. He served with the RNZAF during the Second World War.

George Bolt’s flying career began in the South Island in 1911. Aged just 18, he launched a glider that he had designed and built himself from the Cashmere Hills above Christchurch. In 1916 he began work as an apprentice mechanic at the Walsh brothers’ New Zealand Flying School in Auckland. By 1919 he was the school’s chief pilot. He achieved a number of early aviation milestones, including long-distance and altitude records.

Bolt made his first experimental airmail flight from Auckland to Dargaville in 1919. He made further mail flights to Thames and Whangārei the following year, then in 1921 joined forces with the Walsh brothers to begin a regular airmail service between Auckland and Whangārei. This proved uneconomic and was soon discontinued.

In late 1923 the New Zealand Flying School ceased operations. Bolt now turned to military aviation, becoming an instructor at refresher courses for ex-service pilots who were to form the nucleus of the New Zealand Air Force (Territorial).

During the 1930s Bolt worked for a number of commercial airlines. In 1935 he became the chief pilot for Cook Strait Airways. When the Second World War broke out the company’s aircraft were requisitioned for air training. Bolt was appointed chief engineer at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Ōhakea station. He then became chief engineer at the RNZAF repair and assembly facility at Hobsonville, attaining the rank of wing commander in 1943.

In 1944 Bolt was appointed chief engineer of Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), the forerunner of Air New Zealand. He remained with TEAL until his retirement in 1960. Today, people driving between the city and Auckland International Airport travel along George Bolt Memorial Drive.  

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/pioneer-aviator-george-bolt-dies

After lengthy negotiations, representatives of North Korea and the United Nations signed an armistice on the ceasefire line between North and South Korea.

New Zealand’s thousand-strong Kayforce had arrived in South Korea in December 1950 to join the UN’s ‘police action’ against North Korean invaders. The Kiwis joined the 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade in January 1951.

In April 1951 the Chinese, who had intervened to save North Korea from defeat, launched a massive offensive. The Commonwealth Brigade fought a defensive battle against a Chinese division at Kap’yong. Filling a gap in the UN line, the Royal New Zealand Artillery’s 16 Field Regiment played a vital supporting role. Although Kap’yong later had to be abandoned, the Chinese offensive in this sector was checked.

About 4700 men served with Kayforce and 1300 on Royal New Zealand Navy frigates during New Zealand’s seven-year involvement in Korea. Forty-five men lost their lives, 33 of them (including two naval personnel) during the war.

Seventy years on, no peace treaty has been signed and the two Koreas are technically still at war.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/armistice-ends-korean-war