User Profile

Pattrick Smellie

Pattrick Smellie is co-founder of BusinessDesk and has reported the New Zealand economy and business since 1983.

ACC levy cuts worth $50M a year to business

Cuts to the Accident Compensation Corp’s risk-related work levies will save New Zealand businesses about $50 million a year, while other levies will either not change or, in the case of risk-rated vehicle levies, will be discontinued.

6 hours ago

Pattrick Smellie

Business

Unfair business practices on borrowed time

Business owners who use unfair trading and contract terms in their dealings look likely to face a stiffer range of rules and penalties following a government review of unfair commercial practices.

6 hours ago

Pattrick Smellie

environment

Govt announces commercially focused $100M green investment fund

The government’s $100 million Green Investment Finance fund, launched today, will concentrate its efforts on decarbonisation investments outside renewable energy, Green Party co-leader James Shaw says.

Dec 05 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Business

Jones unamused by Westland Milk CFO

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones expressed his displeasure at comments by the chief financial officer of Westland Milk Products about the cooperative’s $9.9 million Provincial Growth Fund loan, saying it was “something of a surprise to me that the CFO was breaking wind”

Dec 04 2018

Pattrick Smellie

boardroom

Auckland port joins the hydrogen bandwagon

Ports of Auckland has joined a growing number of hydrogen production experiments as the fuel gains attention of industries seeking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions

Dec 04 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Business

Govt confirms petrol price inquiry

The government confirmed it is ordering an inaugural ‘market study’ into the retail fuel market, just as the price of petrol sinks back towards $2 a litre after a spike through September and October when oil prices were high and the New Zealand dollar was weak.

Dec 03 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Business

Huawei wants explanation of 5G block

Chinese telecommunications equipment provider Huawei says it has had no contact with New Zealand’s signals intelligence agency over its decision to stop Spark New Zealand using the company’s cellsite technology when it builds its 5G mobile network...

Nov 29 2018

Pattrick Smellie

environment

Labour concessions secure NZ First support for employment law changes

Labour has made two key concessions to employment law reforms to secure the support of coalition partner New Zealand First.

Nov 28 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Business

8 Rivers ‘clean energy’ project breaks cover to extol its ‘deep carbonisation’ potential

Backers of a claimed “clean energy” plant for Taranaki using natural gas to make electricity, hydrogen and fertiliser have broken cover after months of preparation to support an application for a Provincial Growth Fund loan of up to $20 million to test its feasibility.

Nov 26 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Infrastructure

Water regulation and funding reform on mid-2019 deadline

Proposals for major reforms to the funding of the so-called ‘three waters’ - drinking, waste, and stormwater - are on a timetable to go to Cabinet for discussion in June next year, with final decisions by the end of 2019, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today.

Nov 20 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Transport

Auckland-Hamilton commuter rail service on the cards for March 2020

A daily commuter rail service between Auckland and Hamilton is a step closer following the release of a New Zealand Transport Agency business plan outlining a service that could start in election year.

Nov 15 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Government

Govt raids PGF for $40M top-up to rural broadband roll-out

The government has effectively raided the $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund to top up the budget for the second phase of its rural broadband initiative, filling in mobile ‘black spots’ and ensuring broadband is available to marae that don’t have access now.

Nov 15 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Business

Regulation needed to support ‘green’ bonds

Urgent investment required to help meet climate change targets is more likely to happen if the government drops its hands-off approach to regulating so-called ‘green’ bonds, Auckland law firm Chapman Tripp says.

Nov 14 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Business

Fonterra: smaller, more focused, more profitable, says FCNZ

Fonterra has a rare opportunity to shed assets that aren’t performing, write down others to attract investment partners, and become a company more focused on value than volume, says First NZ Capital.

Nov 12 2018

Shereel Patel and Pattrick Smellie

Business

Opportunity for Fonterra

Nov 09 2018

Pattrick Smellie

News

KiwiBuild homesellers who break the rules can keep 70% of any capital gain

A KiwiBuild homebuyer who sells their house without permission from the government within three years of buying it will hand over to the state 30 percent of any capital gain they make on the sale, says Housing Minister Phil Twyford.

Nov 08 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Government

Govt to restore resource consent appeal rights

Environment Minister David Parker is promising to repeal Resource Management Act reforms that last year removed rights of appeal for certain types of resource consent. The changes should be introduced to Parliament early next year.

Nov 08 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Business

Xero operating cash-burn drops sharply

Cloud accounting software provider Xero has continued its relentless march towards cashflow break-even in its first half result. But the company isn’t yet talking about when it might achieve bottom-line profit.

Nov 08 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Business

Pushpay expects breakeven by year-end

Digital church collection plate operator Pushpay says it expects to break even for the first time in December this year and to post its first positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and currency adjustments in the year to March 31, 2019.

Nov 07 2018

Pattrick Smellie

Business

TAG Oil quits NZ, sells to Tamarind

Taranaki oil and gas producer TAG Oil is selling its New Zealand operations for US$30 million to Tamarind Resources, citing the less friendly environment for the oil and gas sector as one of its reasons for quitting the country.

Nov 07 2018

Pattrick Smellie and Gavin Evans