“We were married, we were married, and that was part of his support” [Caitlyn] like her father,” Taylor said. Despite his protests against any legal responsibility towards the girl, Sydney had a close relationship with Caitlyn, according to Judge Manuel. “Although he [Sydney] was never appointed as legal guardian, he acted as her guardian and would have been her guardian as Miss [Taylor] died,” Judge Manuel said. Judge Manuel said in her decision that Sydney’s support for Caitlyn was significant and met all of the girl’s needs during those six years. Sydney said he was only providing support for the sake of his marriage, but Judge Manuel disagreed.

Suppressing fuel prices simply doesn’t fit the narrative of massive electric vehicle adoption (including subsidies of up to NZ$8,625 per vehicle intended to boost sales). But there are alternatives to price caps that won’t interfere with our climate goals. The problem with price capsThere are other, wider questions about the efficacy of price caps and their potential to achieve the opposite of what is intended. At around $50 a week, the average household fuel bill is less than 4% of total weekly spending. That will likely drop further if fuel prices stabilise while inflation continues to pressure mortgage rates and food costs.

Here's our summary of key economic events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news energised by some key American data. First up today, there has been a surprise improvement in the US CPI inflation rate. In Australia, consumer inflation expectations rose to 6% in November, up from 5.4% where they had been anchored for the prior two months. Rates out of China fell even faster. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at 69.5 and +30 bps higher than this time yesterday.

An American tourist has gone viral for precariously dangling his legs off the edge of a narrow ledge in Yosemite National Park, California. It is accompanied by the caption: “No Half Dome summit is complete without dangling your feet. Half Dome can be ascended in several ways, with about 50,000 adventurers following the 13km (one-way) summit trail each year. Half Dome combines Yosemite’s most iconic attraction and most prestigious hike, according to the local tourism bureau. In 2018, three people died while taking selfies in Yosemite National Park.

Tutor and fashion show director Christina Rhodes with fashion student Wiremu Robin. He has completed an NZ Diploma in Fashion, Level 5, Bachelor of Creative Practice Fashion, Level 6, and this year is taking on a Bachelor of Creative Fashion, Level 7. Wiremu Robin (second from left), top designer for his Bachelor Creative Practice Fashion, Level 6 course. "I decided to do the fashion course and have loved it. They might be shy when they start, but by the time they get to Level 7, they know their creative stuff."

Photo: Andrew WarnerCustomers and staff who were held hostage inside a Rotorua bank during an armed police incident this afternoon have now left the branch after a nervy hour of negotiations. Police said emergency services were called at about 3.55pm after a man entered the BNZ at the Rotorua Central Mall and took a group of people hostage. The cordons have since been removed but a scene guard will remain in place at the bank where the incident took place. The Rotorua Daily Post was told of a man who went into the bank and noticed a staff member looking stressed. The other shops were rolling down their doors and everyone seemed to be calmly leaving the mall.”She described the mall staff as “calm and professional” in the face of a terrifying situation.

The man stood in the dock alongside three guards as he pleaded guilty to one count of threatening to kill, two counts of supplying objectionable publications and six counts of possession of objectionable publications. …ok, but when it’s a non-muslim bloke threatening to kill the PM, we get a lot more lenient don’t we? the next day I won’t even remember sending them,” he told police in an interview played for jurors. I fear that we are going to do the same thing with these antivax Qanon fringe lumpenproletariat by over reacting. If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media.

The grand transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a green one is underway. It will involve a fundamental shift in the way we generate and use energy for various purposes. Instead of drilling and mining for fossil fuels, we’ll need to mineThis is a re-post from the CCL Blog ...

A glamorous young cop who starred in an official anti-theft video was allegedly caught stealing cash from a police station while being entrusted with a temporary promotion, a court has heard. Constable Brearna Kelsi Sloss was charged with 14 counts of theft after allegedly stealing $1,100 at Christchurch Central Police Station in New Zealand and faced Christchurch District Court last week. The video was made only months before Sloss allegedly stole money on several occasions from her workplace. It has since been deleted from police social media platformsThe video was made only months before Sloss allegedly stole money on several occasions from her workplace. Sloss was in an acting sergeant's role, working at the front counter of the station, at the time of the alleged theft, Stuff reported.

This week has been a big one for banking news, between Adrian Orr getting another 5 years in his current role as Reserve Bank Governor and following that up with a divisive internal review. However, NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann feels concerned about how politicised this series of events has become. Liam Dann expands that it's not very encouraging for the current opposition party to be this critical of the Reserve Bank, considering we're about to enter an election year. LISTEN ABOVE

Photo / ThinkstockThe number of children regularly attending school plummeted to a record low of 40 per cent in term 2 as Covid-19 ripped through the country. Record low levels of school attendance hit Māori and Pasifika in term 2 hardest with just 27 per cent and 26 per cent respectively attending school regularly (attending more than 90 per cent of the time). The latest Ministry of Education data showed overall 39.9 per cent of all students were attending school regularly in term 2. This was down from 57.7 per cent in term 2 2019 pre-Covid, 64.2 per cent in 2020 and 59.7 per cent in 2021. Chronic absence (attending 70 per cent or less of the term) increased to 13.8 per cent in term 2 - up from 7.3 per cent in the same term in 2019, pre-Covid.

The grand transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a green one is underway. It will involve a fundamental shift in the way we generate and use energy for various purposes. Instead of drilling and mining for fossil fuels, we’ll need to mineThis is a re-post from the CCL Blog ...

It follows reports an in-patient mental health unit at Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital may close its doors as it has about half the workers needed. Tupuna provides 24 hour care and support for people with mental health issues that require a longer stay in hospital than what its acute inpatient unit can provide. "And now we're learning that we've got a potential closure of much needed mental health beds in Canterbury. Doocey said the more existing mental health staff were stretched, the likelier they would burnout. "When I talk to people with mental health, it becomes apparent pretty quickly, that the biggest obstacle for New Zealanders getting timely access to mental health care is lack of workforce.

The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) is conceding that the current inflation pressures could have been lessened if it had tightened monetary policy earlier last year. However, it says while monetary policy decisions have been consistent with the economic data available at the time, "with the benefit of hindsight, it appears that monetary policy should have been tightened earlier in 2021". "Like the Reserve Bank, none of the other main forecasters in New Zealand foresaw the strong inflation increases that have occurred since early 2022. Reserve Bank Chief Economist Paul Conway says “the current heightened level of inflation could have been lessened at the margin by an earlier tightening in monetary policy in 2021. While RAFIMP covers the Monetary Policy Committee’s decisions on the Official Cash Rate (OCR), it also includes new Additional Monetary Policy (AMP) tools that were introduced during the pandemic.

Here's our summary of key economic events overnight that affect New Zealand, with news the sharp dive in crypto prices, especially bitcoin, has induced a risk-off tone in markets today. That is currently priced in at +60 bps, with their policy rate expected to top out at over 5% in mid 2023. The inventory-to-sales ratio remains elevated in the perspective to 2021 levels, but on a longer term perspective isn't unusual. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at 69.2 and -70 bps lower than this time yesterday. (Update: now down at US$16,705)The easiest place to stay up with event risk today is by following our Economic Calendar here ».