Why Are Nearly Twice as Many Kiwis Sitting in Remand Cells for Traffic Offences?
The number of people held on remand for traffic and vehicle regulatory offences has nearly doubled in a single year, reaching levels not seen since 2009. Something fundamental has shifted in how New Zealand handles driving-related crime.
MFAT Released Five OIA Responses Last Week. Three Were Identical.
While households freeze spending on soaring bills, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade just published nine OIA responses. Five were duplicates. This is what government transparency looks like in 2025.
1.1 Million Kiwis Got ACC Payouts Last Year. That's One in Every Four Workers.
More than a million New Zealanders received accident compensation in 2024, a surge of 227,000 in just four years. The numbers reveal how many lives get derailed by injury in a single year.
Wellington's Grocery Bill Rose Just $226 This Year. That's the Slowest Climb Since 2020.
After four years of brutal increases, Wellington's food costs are finally stabilising. The 2024 rise was the smallest since the pandemic began, but families are still paying $3,000 more than they were in 2020.
What Happened to New Zealand's Young Workers in 2022?
Serious injuries to workers under 30 suddenly halved in 2022 and haven't bounced back. The data suggests a fundamental shift in who's working and how they're working. but the story behind it remains unexplained.
Youth Abduction and Harassment Charges Hit a 13-Year High
Police charged 1,245 young people with abduction, harassment and related offences last year. It's the highest figure since 2011, and more than double the numbers from just five years ago.
Where Does Your Tax Money Go? One Region Has Triple the Government Contracts of Another
New Zealand recorded 3,011 government tenders last year. But Auckland companies won nearly as many contracts, while entire regions fought over scraps. The procurement gap is bigger than you think.
Every Day, 270 Kiwis Turn 60. Most Have No Idea When They'll Stop Working.
New Zealand's 60-64 age group has grown by nearly 300,000 people in four years. That's an entire city entering the final stretch before retirement, and the data shows most are still working full-time.
Wellington's Grocery Bill Has Jumped $3,000 in Four Years
In 2020, the average Wellington household spent $12,357 on food. By 2024, that figure hit $15,246. That's an extra $2,889. or $240 a month. vanishing into the supermarket checkout.
New Zealand Just Had Its Safest Decade for Serious Injuries. Then 2020 Hit.
Between 2010 and 2019, serious non-fatal injuries flatlined at around 360,000 a year. Since 2020, they've jumped 11% to over 400,000. Something changed.
Courts Let 53,000 People Walk Without a Conviction Last Year
Discharge without conviction hit a 17-year high in 2024. That's 53,004 people who pleaded guilty or were found guilty, but left court with a clean record. The number has nearly doubled in four years.
Where Does Your Tax Money Go? 25,000 Tenders Say Mostly to Auckland and Canterbury.
Every government contract is supposed to be public. But when you look at where 25,000 tenders actually go, two regions dominate. and the pattern raises uncomfortable questions about fairness.
Who's Collecting Seven Million Superannuation Payments When New Zealand Has Five Million People?
Stats NZ records 7 million superannuation payments in 2024, but New Zealand's entire population is just over 5 million. The answer reveals how your retirement money actually moves through the system.
Rotorua's Food Price Index Just Halved Overnight. Here's What Actually Happened.
Between 2013 and 2014, Rotorua's food price index reading plummeted from 15,317 to 7,683. The drop isn't about cheaper groceries. It's about how Statistics New Zealand counts what we're actually buying.
Māori Workplace Injuries Dropped by Half After 2021. What Changed?
Serious workplace injuries among Māori workers fell from 74,934 in 2021 to 32,916 in 2024. That's a 56% drop in three years. The question nobody's asking: what actually worked?
Youth Abduction and Harassment Charges Just Hit a 13-Year High
Police charged young people with 1,245 abduction and harassment offences in 2024, the highest number since 2011. The jump happened fast: four years ago, the figure was less than two-thirds of that.
New Zealand Added 2 Million Taxpayers in Four Years. Where Did They All Come From?
The tax system just processed 32.7 million people in 2024, up from 30.4 million in 2020. That's not population growth. That's something else entirely.
A Timaru Family Spending $296 a Week on Groceries Used to Spend $240
The rest of the South Island just crossed $15,380 a year in food costs. That's $56 more every week than four years ago, and the climb isn't slowing down.
Older Workers Are Getting Hurt at Work Half as Often as Four Years Ago
Fatal and serious injuries among 55-59 year olds have dropped 54% since 2020, hitting their lowest level in two decades. Yet almost nobody's talking about one of New Zealand's quietest workplace safety wins.
Youth Court Homicide Orders Just Hit 246. Four Years Ago There Were 72.
In 2022, New Zealand Youth Courts dealt with 72 homicide-related orders. Two years later, that number hit 246. the highest in 27 years. This isn't a gradual climb. Something changed.
2.6 Million Kiwis Are 60-64. Most Will Work Until the Day They Turn 65.
There are now 2.6 million New Zealanders aged 60-64, up from 2.3 million just four years ago. This is the cohort racing toward superannuation, and the numbers tell a story about who can afford to stop working early and who can't.
A Small Town's $15,380 Grocery Bill Shows How Inflation Never Really Left
While cities debate cost-of-living pressures, rural South Island households are quietly spending more on food than ever. The Rest of South Island region hit $15,380 in annual grocery costs in 2024, up from $12,464 just four years earlier.
Young Workers Are Three Times Safer Than They Were Four Years Ago
Fatal and serious injuries among 15-29 year olds have plummeted from 29,790 in 2021 to 10,848 in 2024. The question isn't just what changed - it's whether we can keep it this way.
5,610 Community Sentences Last Year Had No Data on What Crime Was Committed
The justice system is tracking community sentences, but in 2024, it couldn't tell you what crime led to more than 5,600 of them. That's 18 times higher than five years ago.
Nearly Three Million Kiwis Hit Their Peak Earning Years. Most Won't See It Coming.
The 40-44 age bracket just crossed 2.9 million people for the first time. That's 300,000 more than four years ago, all reaching the years when careers either take off or plateau for good.
South Island Grocery Bills Climbed $2,800 in Four Years Without Anyone Noticing
While everyone watched Auckland's cost-of-living crisis unfold, South Island households quietly watched their annual grocery spend jump from $12,509 to $15,305. That's an extra $54 a week, every week, since 2020.
Māori Workplace Injuries Fell 56% in Two Years. Then They Stayed Down.
Between 2021 and 2022, serious workplace injuries among Māori workers plummeted from nearly 75,000 to 34,000. Three years later, that number hasn't bounced back. Something fundamental changed.
Bay of Plenty Just Convicted Fewer People Than Any Year Since 1987
While crime dominates headlines, Bay of Plenty courts convicted 233,068 people in 2024. the lowest in 37 years. That's 13,660 fewer convictions than in 2020, despite a growing population.
New Zealand's Wage Bill Took 24 Years to Double. Then It Did It Again in Four.
It took until 2015 for the country's total wage bill to reach $11 billion. By 2024, it hit $22.5 billion. The acceleration tells a story about immigration, inflation, and a labour market that changed faster than anyone expected.
Timaru's Food Price Data Just Dropped by Half. That's Not Good News.
Between 2013 and 2014, Timaru's food price index fell from 15,445 to 7,836. But this isn't a tale of cheaper groceries. It's a warning sign about how we measure the cost of living.
Why Are Young New Zealanders 60% Safer at Work Than They Were Four Years Ago?
Between 2020 and 2024, serious injuries among under-30s at work dropped from 39,297 to 15,957. That's 23,340 fewer young people hurt on the job. What's driving the sharpest safety improvement in two decades?
Robbery Charges Dropped 28% in One Year. Nobody's Talking About It.
New Zealand charged 9,039 people with robbery offences in 2024, down from 12,687 the year before. It's the lowest figure in two decades, but you wouldn't know it from the headlines.
Student Allowances Disappeared for 150,000 Young Kiwis in Three Years
Between 2021 and 2024, the number of students receiving allowances collapsed by a quarter. That's 150,000 fewer young people getting government support to study. the sharpest drop in two decades.
Auckland's Food Costs Rose $200 Last Year. They Rose $2,900 the Year Before.
The pace of food price increases in Auckland just slowed dramatically. After years of brutal acceleration, 2024 saw the smallest year-on-year jump in recent memory. But nobody's feeling relief.
Young Workers Had Their Safest Year Since Records Began
In 2024, just 10,848 workers aged 15-29 suffered serious injuries on the job. That's down 63% from 2021 and the lowest number in 24 years of data. Something fundamental has shifted in how New Zealand protects its youngest workers.
53,000 Kiwis Avoided Conviction Last Year. That Number Just Doubled in Four Years.
Discharge without conviction was once reserved for exceptional cases. Now judges are granting it to 53,000 people a year. and nobody's explaining why the floodgates opened in 2020.
New Zealand's Wage Economy Lost Two Years, Then Found Them Again
Kiwi workers earned less in 2021 than they did in 2020. Two years of growth vanished overnight. It took until 2023 just to get back to where we were.
What If Your Grocery Bill Never Stopped Growing?
For households across the Rest of North Island, that's not a hypothetical. Their annual food costs have climbed every single year since 2020, adding $2,828 in just four years.
New Zealand's Oldest Workers Are Getting Hurt Half as Often as Five Years Ago
Serious injuries among workers aged 90 and over have plummeted from 28,491 in 2020 to 12,225 in 2024. The question nobody's asking: what changed, and why aren't we applying it everywhere else?
Youth Court Homicide Orders Doubled in a Year. Then Doubled Again.
Courts ordered youth on 246 homicide-related charges in 2024. Four years ago, that number was 159. Two years ago, it was 72. This isn't a trend. It's a collapse.
130,000 Fewer Students Got Allowances Last Year Than in 2021
Student allowances have dropped by a quarter in just three years. That's 130,000 young Kiwis who used to qualify but don't anymore. The reasons why tell a bigger story about who gets to study.
Timaru's Grocery Data Just Fell Off a Cliff and Nobody's Talking About It
In 2013, Timaru residents spent $15,445 on food. One year later, that figure collapsed to $7,836. Something fundamental broke in how Statistics NZ counts grocery spending in this city.
312 Families Got the Worst Phone Call This Year. That's Six Every Week.
Fatal workplace injuries dropped to their lowest level in decades, but that still means more than six New Zealanders die at work every single week. The numbers are down. The grief is not.
Robbery Remand Numbers Just Fell to Their Lowest Point in Two Decades
After hitting a 20-year high in 2023, the number of people held on remand for robbery offences crashed by nearly a third in a single year. Here's what changed.
New Zealand Took 20 Years to Add Its First Million Taxpayers. Then Four Years to Add the Next.
In 2000, 2.7 million Kiwis earned taxable income. By 2020, it was 3.8 million. Then something changed. By 2024, we'd hit 4.1 million. The gap between those two surges tells you everything about where New Zealand's economy has been. and where it's going.
What Does $80 Extra a Year Actually Buy You at the Supermarket?
Rest of North Island grocery bills climbed just $81 in 2024, the slowest rise in four years. But five years of accumulated increases mean families are still spending $2,828 more than they did in 2020.
New Zealand Spent 20 Years Getting Workplaces Safer. Then We Gave It All Back in Four.
Serious workplace injuries dropped steadily from 2000 to 2020, falling by 70,000. Since then, they've surged by 38,000. We're now back to injury levels we haven't seen since 2014.
Why Are Police Dropping a Third More Charges Than They Did Four Years Ago?
Police withdrew 378,165 charges last year, the highest number in 14 years. That's 66,000 more dropped charges than in 2020. Something fundamental changed in how New Zealand prosecutes crime.
How Many Times Can You Collect Superannuation in Your Lifetime?
The government paid out seven million superannuation payments last year. That's 1.4 payments for every person in New Zealand. The numbers reveal something strange about how we count the retired.
South Island Groceries Just Hit $15,305 a Year. That's $1,275 a Month.
Five years ago, South Islanders spent $12,509 on groceries. Now it's $15,305. That's an extra $2,796 a year. more than most households saved during the pandemic.