Government Opened 25,000 Tenders This Year — Here's Who Got the Work
Every year, billions in taxpayer money flows through procurement tenders. The regional breakdown shows exactly where government contracts are actually going — and which parts of the country are competing for them.
Something Changed in the Waikato This Year and 26 People Know It
Drug charges in the Waikato have nearly doubled in a single year — the sharpest regional spike in the country. While the rest of New Zealand's court system sees marginal shifts, one region is driving a prosecution surge nobody's talking about.
What Does Government Actually Spend Your Money On? These Six Numbers Tell the Story
New Zealand taxpayers funded over 12,000 government contracts this year. Construction dominated — but the real story is in the gaps between what we're building and what we're not.
Retail Crime Made Headlines This Week — But Theft Just Dropped 15%
While a retail crime group's expensive Symonds Street rental dominated the news, actual theft numbers tell a different story: New Zealand just recorded its steepest drop in theft offences in years.
Nearly 3,000 Kiwis Finished Court-Ordered Violence Programmes This Year
While politicians argue about whether the justice system is too soft or too punitive, 2,933 people completed non-violence programmes in 2024/2025. That's nearly 3,000 people the courts decided needed intervention — and got it.
One Christchurch Father Gets Referred — And That's Where the System Loses Him
While politicians debate retail crime, a quieter crisis is unfolding: 500 fewer people completed child safety programmes this year than last. Most who get referred never finish.
Is New Zealand Really Getting More Dangerous? The Numbers Say Otherwise.
While retail crime makes headlines and politicians demand crackdowns, total crime victimisations have fallen 12% over the past six months. Here's what the actual data shows about safety in New Zealand right now.
Cocaine Charges Have Quietly Tripled Since the Pandemic Began
While politicians debated cannabis and meth, cocaine prosecutions surged from 35 people in 2020 to 107 in 2025. The drug that once barely registered in New Zealand courts is now mainstream.
What Crime Is Doubling While Nobody's Watching?
Drug charges in Waitematā more than doubled in a single year, surging 114% while public debate focused elsewhere. The numbers reveal enforcement priorities shifting beneath the radar.
LSD Charges Exploded From Zero to 28 in a Single Year
New Zealand police charged 28 people with LSD offences in 2024/2025 — up from literally zero the year before. The sudden surge raises questions about enforcement priorities while other drug categories show wildly different trends.
3,800 Family Violence Referrals This Year — But Where Are They All Going?
Courts are ordering thousands of offenders into safety programmes. The Ministry of Justice tracks the referrals. What they don't track: how many actually show up.
Five Hundred Fewer Children Got Safety Assessments This Year
Court-ordered child safety assessments dropped by over 500 cases in 2024/2025. Fewer referrals might sound like progress — but for the kids who needed help and didn't get assessed, it's anything but.
A Quarter Fewer Kiwis Were Harmed or Endangered Last Period
Offences that harm or endanger people dropped 27% in the latest data. It's one of the steepest falls in a crime category that normally climbs. Here's the timeline that tells you what changed.
3,800 Kiwis Ordered Into Violence Programmes. Barely Half Will Finish.
Courts are referring more people than ever to adult safety programmes for family violence. But the completion rate tells a different story — one that suggests we're cycling offenders through a system that can't hold them.
Cannabis Charges Doubled This Year While Politicians Debated Decriminalisation
Cannabis prosecutions surged 108% in 2024/2025 — the same year MPs argued the law was already too relaxed. The enforcement spike nobody's talking about.
Drug Charges in Auckland Just Hit a Number We Haven't Seen in Years
While the country debates crime policy, drug prosecutions in Auckland have jumped 78% in a single year — reaching levels not seen since before the pandemic. This isn't a blip.
How Harm Offences Dropped 27% While Headlines Screamed About Crime
As politicians unveil infrastructure plans and retail crime dominates headlines, one category of offending has quietly collapsed to levels not seen in years. Here's the timeline nobody's talking about.
Five Hundred Fewer Kids Went Through Safety Assessments This Year
Nearly 500 fewer children completed safety assessments through family violence programmes in 2024/2025 — the steepest drop in years. Whether that's progress or a failing system depends on what's driving the numbers.
Violence Prevention Referrals Hit 3,800 — But Most Never Finish the Programme
While politicians debate retail crime and infrastructure, thousands of Kiwis are being referred to violence prevention programmes. The gap between referrals and completions tells a story nobody's talking about.
South Auckland Drug Charges Jumped 75% While the Rest of the Country Stayed Flat
The national conversation about drug crime misses the real story: enforcement has become wildly uneven across New Zealand. South Auckland alone drove nearly all the growth in 2024/2025.
Nearly 3,000 Kiwis Finished Court-Ordered Violence Programmes This Year. Now What?
The courts sent 2,933 people through non-violence programmes in 2024/2025. But completion doesn't mean rehabilitation — and nobody's tracking what happens next.
Nearly 3,000 Kiwis Finished Violence Prevention Programmes This Year — While Crime Dominates Headlines
As politicians debate retail crime and court conduct, the justice system quietly processed 2,933 people through non-violence programmes in 2024/2025. It's the intervention work that never makes the news.
Crime in New Zealand Just Had Its Quietest Six Months in Years
While politicians argue about law and order, the actual crime numbers tell a different story. Total victimisations have dropped 12% — and November was the safest month since before the pandemic.
Why Are Thousands More Kiwi Workers Waking Up Unable to Feel Their Hands?
While dramatic workplace accidents dominate headlines, compression syndrome — the slow injury from repetitive work — has quietly surged to its highest level in 15 years. Nearly 10,000 workers claimed for nerve damage in 2024.
Rest of South Island's Food Bills Climbed 23% in Five Years — But Inflation Ate Half
Between 2019 and 2024, the region's food price index rose from $12,464 to $15,380. That looks dramatic — until you remember inflation ran at 20-25% over the same period.
New Zealand Just Lost Over a Million Jobs in a Single Year
While KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals spike, employment data reveals the scale of what's driving them: 1.08 million fewer jobs across the country in 2025. It's the sharpest contraction in employment on record.
Why Are Youth Court Orders for Sexual Assault Down 28% While Headlines Scream Crisis?
Youth court orders for sexual assault offences dropped to 351 in 2024 — the lowest in five years. It's the opposite of what the news cycle suggests is happening.
Fatal Workplace Injuries Among 90+ Workers Fell by 57% in a Single Year
While headlines focus on youth motocross deaths, ACC data reveals a dramatic shift: fatal and serious workplace injuries among New Zealand's oldest workers have plummeted from nearly 30,000 in 2021 to just over 12,000 in 2024.
Provinces Aren't Cheaper Anymore: Rest of NZ Food Bills Up 22% Since 2020
KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals are spiking nationwide — and food price data shows why even provincial New Zealand can't escape the squeeze. The regions outside main centres saw grocery costs jump 22% in four years.
More Than 2,000 Kiwi Businesses Are Closing Every Single Week
While KiwiSaver managers report surging hardship withdrawals, a quieter crisis is unfolding: business deaths hit a 24-year high in 2025. Behind each closure is someone's retirement fund, mortgage, and future.
Youth Crime Panic Ignores the Numbers: Cases Tried as Adults Up 111% Since 2019
As Christchurch reels from another fatal shooting, politicians demand tougher youth justice. But the data shows we're already trying far more young people as adults than before COVID — and it hasn't stopped the headlines.
From 59,000 Deaths to 312: What Really Happened to Workplace Fatalities
Fatal workplace injuries dropped from nearly 60,000 deaths in 2020 to just 312 last year. The story of that collapse isn't what you think — and it matters when news like this week's Christchurch shooting makes headlines.
Why Did Timaru's Food Prices Just Fall Off a Cliff in 2014?
While KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals spike nationwide, historical data from Timaru reveals something strange: food price readings that halved overnight in 2014. The story behind the numbers shows why not all data drops are good news.
A Whole Category of Income Has Quietly Vanished from New Zealand
While KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals spike, there's another economic shift nobody's talking about: income classified as 'not elsewhere included' has collapsed 61% since 2019. Here's what disappeared.
Youth Traffic Offences Have Halved in a Year — But You'd Never Know It
While headlines focus on motocross fatalities and serious youth crime, Youth Court data shows traffic and vehicle offences have plummeted from 321 to 189 in a single year — the lowest in over a decade.
Late-Career Workers Are Getting Safer Jobs — Or Leaving Dangerous Ones
Fatal and serious injuries among 55-59 year olds have halved since 2020, hitting the lowest point in two decades. As headlines focus on youth safety, older workers are quietly exiting New Zealand's most dangerous workplaces.
Rotorua's Food Price Data Just Vanished — And Nobody's Talking About It
While KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals spike nationwide, Rotorua's food price index dropped from 15,317 to 7,683 in a single year. The numbers suggest something fundamentally changed in how this data was recorded.
One in Every Forty Kiwis Now Gets ACC Payments — A Record That Reveals More Than Injuries
ACC payouts have hit 1.1 million New Zealanders — double the level from two decades ago. But the story isn't just about workplace accidents. It's about what happens when the safety net becomes the economy.
Youth Courts Ordered 84 Kids Into Rehab Last Year — Down From 159 in 2018
While the coroner investigates youth motocross deaths and politicians demand tougher responses to youth crime, the number of kids ordered into education and rehab programmes has plummeted by 47% since 2018.
Why Are 33,000 Māori Workers Getting Seriously Injured Every Year?
Behind this week's Christchurch shooting and youth motocross deaths lies a broader pattern: Māori workers suffer serious injuries at rates that dwarf population share. The numbers reveal a workplace safety crisis hiding in plain sight.