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29 Apr 2025

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French Minister Valls wants all parties to 'take their responsibilities' ahead of third trip to New Caledonia
Manuel Valls, who is visiting New Caledonia for the third time in two months, has again called all sides to live up to their responsibilities.

Fallen tree creates rat bridge over Tarapuruhi Bushy Park's predator-proof fence
A fallen tree is thought to have provided a bridge over the sanctuary's predator-proof fence.

'Complicated' card surcharge fees need to be simplifed - Retail NZ
The Commerce Commission is reviewing card charges.

Cyclist seriously injured in early morning Hamilton crash
Traffic management around the crash scene is currently in place.

‘Footy doesn’t always love you back’: Chiefs lose All Black to nasty injury
The midfielder received plenty of support from All Blacks teammates after posting an x-ray of his broken collarbone.

Matariki drone show to return to Rotorua with stunning night sky display
The Matariki drone show will feature hundreds of drones this June.

Far North rest home Kauri Lodge breached Health and Disability Act over care of elderly woman
Kauri Lodge under fire from Health and Disability Aged Care Commissioner.

ACT drafts member's bill to remove banking climate disclosures
Mark Cameron says banks would still be free to report voluntarily if they wished.

Herald Hat-trick am sports quiz - Tuesday April 29
Can you get a hat-trick?

Black Caps: Ben Sears bucks Twenty20 trend with English County Cricket stint
After a record-setting end to the NZ summer, the fast bowler has headed north.

Indian Premier League’s 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi youngest to hit T20 ton as Rajasthan rule
Vaibhav Suryavanshi hit 100 off 35 balls at age 14, setting a new T20 record.

Child damages €50m Rothko painting in Dutch museum
It is not yet clear who will be held responsible for the cost of repairing Rothko's Grey, Orange on Maroon, No. 8.

Fire and Emergency urgently restarting work on plan to replace big-ladder trucks
One truck broke down in Auckland last week, stranding firefighters above scorching flames.

Ruapehu mayor launches independent investigation into $700,000 council overspend
Mayor Weston Kirton says it's too early to "talk about heads rolling".

Recycling plant fire prompts Auckland call for proper battery disposal
Last week's fire destroyed the Abilities Group recycling plant in Glenfield.

'Haves' outnumbered by 'have-nots', and it's getting worse
Half of New Zealanders are worrying at least weekly about money.

Is your power bill 'average'?
Power bills have gone up for lots of households this month, as new lines charges and other price changes filtered through.

Farmers take classrooms on digital field trips
Wyndham farmers Ben and Sarah Dooley share farm life with children around the country through the Farmer Time for Schools programme.

Far North students on mission to rid region of invasive moth plant with cash prizes
Cash prizes for Northlanders to remove pesky moth plants

Northland netball injuries cost ACC $1.8m - Silver Ferns coach backs injury prevention
Silver Ferns coach warns Northland's netball community over injury risk

Far North news in brief: Toilet trip warning; Northland on Monopoly board; port share increases and burglary inquiry
News snippets from the Far North.

Uh-oh. Temu just doubled prices because of Trump’s tariffs
As America apparently digs in for the long haul in a trade war with China, one of the most popular places on the web for cheap consumer goods is increasing its prices. With import taxes skyrocketing for US residents and the de minimus exemption set to disappear, Temu has raised prices on most of its items. Prices appear to have more than doubled for most items originating from China. De minimis exceptions are a rule that allows items imported to the US with a declared value of under $800 to be exempt from import taxes. This is what enables popular China-based marketplaces like Temu, Shein, and AliExpress to offer items at prices far lower than even companies like Amazon or Walmart. Though de minimis (literally “with trifles” in Latin) is a policy designed to avoid overincumbering taxation and customs on items that would be more expensive to track than the tax actually collected, US president Trump has declared an end to the de minimis exemptions in addition to incredibly onerous taxes on imports from China. De minimus is scheduled to be suspended on May 2nd, subjecting most items to the same 145 percent import taxes as other Chinese goods. “Due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs, our operating expenses have gone up,” says a message on Temu’s website. “To keep offering the product you love without compromising on quality, we will be making price adjustments starting April 25, 2025.” While the 145 percent tax rate does not automatically mean that, say, a $10 T-shirt costs $24.50, that’s generally how it plays out as both suppliers and retailers pass the cost on to consumers. CNBC observes prices on many items roughly equivalent to the tariff rate, more than doubling, and thus making Temu a far less enticing option than some of its US-based competitors. Not that simply buying from another site will help much. With a huge amount of goods sold to Americans still originating from China, including everything from clothing to food to electronics to car parts, experts are predicting widespread price increases and the obvious hammer-blow to Americans’ buying power. Consumers aren’t the only ones affected, as US-based companies reliant upon Chinese imports for their goods are already facing massively increased operating costs. Many have stopped offering sales to Americans. Some smaller companies, including PC manufacturers, are facing an existential crisis if tariffs on Chinese goods continue for an extended period of time. Some goods sold on Temu ship from US-based suppliers and are not immediately subject to import tariffs, labelled with a “local” tag. But since most of these items appear to be merely held in US warehouses in anticipation of being ordered, it seems probably that these prices will also rise once domestic supply runs out and new goods from China are imported.