Online Safety Bill: New Zealand is moving to restrict social media for under-16s and require platforms to verify users’ ages and assess child-safety risks, with experts warning bans may be “large-scale experiments” and that young people can find workarounds. Cybercrime & Scams: Vertech says AI is making phishing and scams harder to spot as scammers produce polished text, audio, images and video at scale. Fraud Crackdown: Inland Revenue stopped a coordinated tax fraud scheme, halting $4.015m in bogus expense claims and shutting down nearly 3,000 fraudulent amended returns. Energy & Markets: Genesis Energy’s net profit halved to $85m, though underlying earnings rose and it lifted its dividend, while Meridian also signalled below-inflation power price increases. Property & Housing: Mayors including Auckland’s Wayne Brown and others want the Government to pause greenfield fast-tracked housing and remove rural developments from the Fast-Track Approvals Act. Local Economy: Precinct Properties targets 50% office pre-commitment for Auckland Downtown Carpark towers, and Rotorua Airport lodged consent steps for a long-planned business park. Child Poverty: The Child Poverty Action Group launched a manifesto urging parties to act as hardship is rising and the country is off track to meet its child-poverty targets. International: MFAT is aware of a New Zealander’s death in Bangladesh, and New Zealanders are among those reported missing after Nepal-Tibet flash floods.