New Zealand’s tech sector just dropped a pretty blunt message to Wellington: get on the same page, or get left behind.
In its 2026 election manifesto, Tech New Zealand is pushing for a bipartisan game plan to unlock what’s already a $24 billion slice of the economy. The warning is clear. Productivity is stalling, talent is heading offshore, and infrastructure isn’t keeping up.
The pitch? Treat tech like the backbone it already is. Not just apps and startups, but the engine behind everything from farming to healthcare.
There’s some practical meat in here too. Free AI training for all adults. More local investment to stop our best companies drifting overseas. Serious attention on cybersecurity, which is quietly draining $1.6 billion a year. And a big push on renewable energy to attract power-hungry industries like data centres and advanced manufacturing.
It’s not just about growth for growth’s sake. There’s a clear angle on inclusion and resilience. Better digital access for everyone. Smarter rules around gene editing to boost exports. Stronger global links so Kiwi tech can scale without leaving home.
The underlying message is simple. NZ has the foundation. What it lacks is alignment and urgency.

The US music industry hit a record $11.54 billion in wholesale revenue in 2025 — and for the first time since the early 1980s, vinyl crossed the $1 billion mark.
Nearly 47 million records sold last year, driven by Taylor Swift’s The Life Of A Showgirl and the reliably devoted K-pop economy. Nineteen consecutive years of growth, and wax is back in the conversation.
But streaming still owns the room. $9.47 billion, 82% of total revenue, 106 million paid subscribers. Convenience wins the daily listening battle, even if vinyl owns the emotional one.
For audiophiles, this is validation — people are paying for ritual, artwork, and sound you can hold. For everyone else, it’s simply choice. The industry is no longer digital-only or nostalgia-only. It’s both.
Zoom out further and music isn’t just culture — it’s a $200 billion contributor to the US economy. One of the strongest periods the industry has seen in decades.
We’re in a hybrid era. Stream during the week, spin records on the weekend. Vinyl builds the connection.
And together, they’re driving one of the strongest periods the music industry has seen in decades.

D-Link has announced the DUF-E01, a 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 4 docking station aimed at professionals and power users looking to turn a laptop into a full workstation with a single cable.
The dock delivers up to 40Gbps via Thunderbolt 4 and supports up to three displays, including 8K over DisplayPort and 4K via HDMI. It also provides 60W laptop charging, Gigabit Ethernet, SD and microSD card slots, and a full suite of ports for peripherals and audio.
Designed to simplify increasingly port-limited laptops, the DUF-E01 connects everything through one cable, with no drivers required on most modern systems. The aluminium chassis doubles as passive cooling, and a magnetic base allows flexible desk placement.

ChargeNet has secured $37.7 million in government-backed funding to supercharge its network, with plans to roll out more than 1,700 new charging points across Aotearoa by 2030. And they’re matching the investment themselves, so this isn’t half-hearted.
The big shift here isn’t just more chargers. It’s smarter ones. ChargeNet is doubling down on a mix of fast DC chargers for quick roadside top-ups and slower AC chargers in places you’re already parked for a while. Think malls, gyms, tourist spots. Plug in, go about your day, come back topped up.
That matters because not everyone has a garage or home charger. If EVs are going mainstream, public charging has to feel easy, not like a logistics puzzle.
This is the infrastructure piece NZ’s been missing. More chargers in more useful places means less range anxiety, more confidence, and a genuine push toward EVs becoming everyday transport, not early-adopter territory.

Otepoti studio Runaway Play has launched Hatch Dragons, and the cosy fantasy mobile game wasted no time making noise, climbing to No. 1 on the US Apple App Store within 24 hours and briefly sitting ahead of global heavyweights like Fortnite and Candy Crush.
That’s no small flex. The US is the biggest battleground in mobile gaming, and topping that chart, even briefly, is the kind of result studios dream about.
Hatch Dragons sounds very Runaway: charming, accessible, and built around a broad casual audience rather than the usual hardcore gamer chest-beating. Players team up with Liv the Elf to clear magical fog, hatch dragons, and rebuild a lost forest. Cute, yes. Also clearly effective.
This is more than a nice headline for local pride. It’s proof that a Kiwi studio can break through in the most competitive mobile market on earth with smart design, strong polish, and a game people actually want to spend time with.

A new AUT JMAD report reveals AI is now baked into NZ newsrooms. It’s used to research stories, summarise documents, transcribe interviews, polish copy and, in some cases, write full articles.
NZME’s BusinessDesk uses AI to turn stock market releases into articles. Stuff lets AI draft single-source stories, with humans checking before publish. AI also helps decide what stories you see on homepages.
The upside? Faster coverage and more output. The risk? A lack of transparency. Many outlets don’t clearly say when AI is used, which could quietly chip away at trust. There’s also growing reliance on overseas AI platforms New Zealand media doesn’t control.
The report also flags a policy gap. Unlike Australia, New Zealand has no strong protections stopping big tech from using local news content to train AI for free. With an election coming in 2026, AI regulation still isn’t on the political radar.
Full transparency: Witchdoctor Wire sources & stories are human curated, written by AI and then edited by a human – cos we care.

In a world of pop-ups, prompts, and chatbots wedged into everything from spreadsheets to toasters, Mozilla just did something refreshingly radical: it gave users an actual choice. Starting with Firefox 148 (launching Feb 24), you’ll find a new AI Controls section in browser settings. Tucked inside? A “Block AI enhancements” master switch that shuts down all generative AI features—no more link previews, chatbots, or “smart” tab grouping unless you want them.
Mozilla’s move echoes a broader mood: users don’t mind AI, but they do mind being force-fed. Some just want to browse the web without a robot breathing over their shoulder. Mozilla’s not alone either. DuckDuckGo made its AI tools optional after a user vote. Vivaldi said no to AI entirely. Tuta nixed its AI copilot after 97% of users said “nah.” Even Microsoft is dialing things back.
Because in this AI land grab, the real power move isn’t adding more—it’s letting us say no.

From pixelated Nazis to hellspawn demons, id Software has been reshaping the first-person shooter for 35 years—and they’re not letting this milestone go quietly. The legendary Texan studio behind DOOM, Quake, Wolfenstein 3D and RAGE is celebrating its 35th anniversary in classic id style: heavy on the action, light on the fluff.
What’s on? A live anniversary stream (Feb 5, 12 noon NZT) with studio legends Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin, where you might just get fresh intel on 2026’s QuakeCon and more.
What’s in it for you? Up to 66.6% off id titles on Steam and PlayStation—yes, even DOOM: The Dark Ages. Xbox Game Pass users can still rip and tear through classics across the id lineup, and Evercade’s teasing a retro DOOM collection for the handheld crowd.
With Quake turning 30 and DOOM (2016) clocking 10 this year, 2026’s shaping up as a nostalgia-laced, BFG-packed celebration. Stay tuned.

Forget your usual Oscar bait — Auckland’s about to get a taste of Europe’s boldest, weirdest, and most wonderful cinema. For the first time ever, the Europa! Europa Film Festival lands in New Zealand, lighting up Bridgeway Cinemas from 19 Feb to 4 March 2026. With 23 films from 16 countries, this isn’t just another arthouse roundup — it’s a full-blown celebration of cinematic nerve, nuance and novelty.
What’s screening? The Testament of Ann Lee (Opening Night) – Amanda Seyfried goes full spiritual punk in this Venice-lauded musical epic; Magellan – Lav Diaz’s slow-burn voyage into the ethics of exploration; The Piano Accident – Influencer satire with broken keys and broken egos; Franz – Kafka gets kaleidoscopic; Primavera – Vivaldi, discipline, and lust collide in baroque Venice.  Add animated time-travel (Arco), Hungarian wedding chaos, and Simone Signoret’s scandalous love life, and you’ve got a lineup that’s equal parts heady and heartfelt.

Dust off your eyeliner and plug in the synths—The Human League are heading back to Aotearoa. Following their knockout 2024 shows, the Sheffield-born electro pioneers will hit Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in February 2027 with their Generations: The Greatest Hits Tour. Expect an all-killer-no-filler set packed with ’80s gold—‘Don’t You Want Me’, ‘Human’, ‘(Keep Feeling) Fascination’—plus other shimmering synth gems.
With original members Philip Oakey, Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley still front and centre, this tour is a rare chance to catch one of the genre’s true originals, live and in full technicolour. The Human League weren’t just chart-toppers—they helped invent the sound of modern pop.
Presale: Wed 4 Feb, 9am.  General Sale: Fri 6 Feb, 9am via Destroy All Lines.