Govt scores win for leaky schools
Surprise Fonterra payout
In a surprise move, Fonterra will make a forecast farmgate payout and dividend announcement on Monday morning. ASB economist Nathan Penny said the dairy giant had not told anyone but he had ‘‘wangled’’ the information out of them. Last year Fonterra waited until September before raising its payout forecast, which at present sits at $4.25 per kilogram of milksolids. Fonterra will also make an announcement on earnings per share and a global dairy market update. ‘‘At this juncture, we expect Fonterra to stick with its current milk price forecast of $4.25/kg, and we expect a similar forecast to the 2015-16 range of 45 to 55c per share,’’ Penny said.
Scammers branch out
Scammers posing as government officials are broadening their tactics trying to fleece Kiwis, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has warned. There have been numerous reports of scammers phoning people and trying to dupe them out of cash or personal information by claiming they were either owed a tax refund or under investigation for tax fraud by Inland Revenue. But the fraudsters had ‘‘diversified’’ their approach by sometimes claiming to be from Immigration NZ, and more recently, by specifically targeting minorities such as Fijians, Cook Islanders and Filipinos, MBIE’s consumer protection manager Mark Hollingsworth said.
Leafy greens shortage
Bad weather has affected leafy green growers, creating a shortage of kale, spinach and mesclun salad in New Zealand. Countdown spokesman James Walker said stock was down because bad weather over the past two weeks had affected the quality of supply but customers should see a full range of these products back in store mid-next week. Southern Fresh production manager Tim Hoyle said the rain had delayed replanting.
Building consents up
Residential building consents ‘‘bounced back with conviction’’ in June, hitting their highest annual total in 12 years. More than 29,000 new homes got the go-ahead in the year to June, an increase of 16 per cent, according to Statistics New Zealand. The previous high was in 2004 when there were more than 33,000 consents. Economists said the surge would be a relief to those worried that developers were holding off until after the release of an independent report into Auckland’s unitary plan.
Salmon recalled over listeria
A food recall currently under way is of particular concern to pregnant women. Packets of Prime Smoke smoked salmon slices 50g, smoked salmon shavings 100g and smoked salmon mixed pieces 500g are being recalled because they contain listeria. The affected products have use-by dates of August 25th and August 22nd. Batch codes are 18321507 and 17621207. Customers are being warned not to eat any affected salmon. A full refund is offered. The Ministry of Education has won a court victory that will enable it to take legal action against Carter Holt Harvey over leaky school buildings.
The ministry started legal proceedings on behalf of schools against Carter Holt Harvey and others, alleging they supplied defective building products – particularly a type of cladding called Shadowclad.
‘‘Today’s judgment is a major victory for New Zealand taxpayers
"This is good news for those pursuing claims against manufacturers and suppliers of allegedly defective cladding products and systems." Dan Parker, leaky-building specialist
as it upholds the entirety of the ministry’s position and awards legal costs,’’ said Education Minister Hekia Parata.
‘‘This is the largest product liability claim ever made in New Zealand. Action was taken to protect the Crown’s significant investment in education infrastructure, and to promote better building practices in the future.
‘‘It’s vital we do everything we can to ensure children learn in modern, comfortable environments that inspire them to succeed.’’
She said remedying the situation would be expected to cost more than $1.3 billion.
Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye said the plan was to proceed to trial but the ministry was still open to discuss a settlement with Carter Holt Harvey.
‘‘The ministry has already repaired school buildings at greatest risk of weather tightness failure and is now targeting buildings of medium to low risk.
‘‘We are five years through a significant programme that has involved fixing huge numbers of schools.’’
The Ministry of Education is the first government agency to lodge a major product liability claim.
It has already reached successful, out-of-court agreements with manufacturer James Hardie, and CSR Building Products. But Carter Holt Harvey has fought to have most of the claim struck out.
It said the cladding was only one component of the buildings and no damage or injury had materialised.
But the High Court declined to strike out the ministry’s claim.
Then the Court of Appeal largely agreed and now, in a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court dismissed Carter Holt’s appeal, and awarded costs of about $45,000 to the ministry.
This only clears the way for a compensation bid. That will require a new legal fight, unless settlement is reached.
But leaky-building specialist Dan Parker, from Parker & Associates, said it was positive for leakyhome owners.
‘‘This is good news for those pursuing claims against manufacturers and suppliers of allegedly defective cladding products and systems.’’