After an independent review, the federated farmers supports proposed changes to the Dam Safety Scheme, sharing that many low risk farm dams, will be removed from exposure to major observance costs.

According to the figure released by Statistics New Zealand, the amount of nights guests stayed in Otago during April has increased 1%, as compared to the same time last year. Hotels showed gain of 7% or 65,000 guest nights in April from a year earlier. Statistics New Zealand further added that Backpackers fell 5%or 22,000 and holiday parks were down 12,000 or 2%.

A Wellington woman was imprisoned for four years two months for plundering more than $2 million from her employer. The 53 year old Janine Mary Johansson was sentenced at the Wellington District Court. She had pleaded guilty to 63 fraud charges along with one charge of money laundering.

Direct Capital, a private equity investor, is now a minority shareholder in the Company Bayley Corp. Bayley Corp. is a leading New Zealand real estate Company and it controls the Bayleys chain. This has given a start to the expansion program of Bayley, which aims to develop the span and range of its major functions.

Comvita New Zealand Ltd. has opted for Auckland University for its scientific research in the future. Waikato University used to conduct the researches for Comvita.  Comvita is a listed Company for honey products. This switch by Comvita is led by an argument over a complicated research for the 'mystery molecule' key to Manuka honey. Manuka honey is biologically active.

The Government is planning to make a cut in the gift duty. The reason behind the move of the Government is that the revenue collected from the gift duty is less than the expenditure made in its collection. The scheme for collecting gift duties takes $435,000 of the Government and in returns; it only yields the collection of $1.5 million.