Royal Oak, Auckland

Have you got your tickets yet?

Have you got your tickets yet?

For just $15, you could win a fully furnished home in Clarks Beach, Auckland worth over $1 million. Buy your tickets today!

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639 days ago

Dehumidifier X 2

Uniba from Onehunga

Good working condition, just been in storage and collecting dust. Make a reasonable offer and have it.

Negotiable

639 days ago

FUN HO and TONKA TOYS. VINTAGE BOTTLES

Ross from Mount Roskill

Pick up and viewing Wesley mt roskill. Please give Ross a call on 096294288

Price: $40

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639 days ago

Toilet training for baby

Uniba from Onehunga

Just used for a month, neat and clean as well as sanitized

Price: $10

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639 days ago

We want your opinion Auckland...

Auckland Light Rail

Hey Auckland - we're bringing our amazing, fantastic, incredible, superb, world class city status, closer.

Our great city deserves great public transport. If you want reliable, frequent and hassle free travel around the city that gets you where you're going faster, have your say on … View more
Hey Auckland - we're bringing our amazing, fantastic, incredible, superb, world class city status, closer.

Our great city deserves great public transport. If you want reliable, frequent and hassle free travel around the city that gets you where you're going faster, have your say on the Auckland Light Rail Project today.
Share your views

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640 days ago

Student loan borrower arrested at NZ border for overdue repayments, IRD says a ‘last resort’

Brian from Mount Roskill

Details released to the Weekend Herald under the Official Information Act show the latest arrest happened last year.
Use of the hardline power is rare - there was only one arrest in 2022 - and has continued despite Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ past reservations about the policy.
There were no … View more
Details released to the Weekend Herald under the Official Information Act show the latest arrest happened last year.
Use of the hardline power is rare - there was only one arrest in 2022 - and has continued despite Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ past reservations about the policy.
There were no arrests in 2021, and two in 2020.
New Zealand’s borders shut in March 2020 in an effort to keep out Covid-19, with a Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) system subsequently brought in. Borders reopened in phases last year.
The arrest policy was introduced under National in March 2014.
The first arrest happened in January 2016, when Cook Islander Ngatokotoru Puna was stopped as he tried to leave New Zealand.
Puna’s $40,000 loan had ballooned to about $130,000. He said collection letters went to the wrong address, and had to repay thousands before authorities agreed to him returning home.
There have now been a total of 11 border arrests.
Inland Revenue is responsible for chasing up overdue student loan debt, and its commissioner applies for the arrest warrants.
The department told the Weekend Herald that arresting someone at the border as they try to leave New Zealand is a “last resort after all other avenues to secure payment have been exhausted”.
“Inland Revenue will always try to work with our customers directly before pursuing legal action. There are relief options available to help manage repayments for those who are in a position of hardship.”
The amounts of overdue repayments at the time of arrest (not the loan balance) ranged from $15,000 to $90,000. Those arrested were aged from 30 to 55.
All those arrested either paid or reached a repayment agreement.
Inland Revenue declined to say how many overseas-based borrowers were having their travel movements monitored for possible arrest, reasoning “release of this information could adversely affect the integrity of the tax system”.
People with overdue repayments were sent statements and notices, Inland Revenue said, “including information on the range of possible collection actions”.
“We also increase attempts to contact overseas-based borrowers when we know they are in New Zealand and encourage them to contact us to sort out their student loan debt before they leave.”
More than 77,000 overseas student loan borrowers have overdue repayments. The average amount outstanding is $24,135.
New Zealand-based borrowers are largely salary and wage earners, who have deductions made through PAYE. Only 5 per cent of borrowers in Aotearoa have overdue repayments, compared with 75 per cent of overseas-based borrowers.
Student unions have criticised the border arrest policy as draconian and likely to make overseas Kiwis “student-loan refugees” - unable to return home for weddings, funerals or other important events.
The Green Party is also opposed to the policy, but Labour is happy with it - Education Minister Jan Tinetti confirmed to the Weekend Herald “there are no plans to review the policy, change it or end its use”.
“My officials advise me only a small number of the most non-compliant borrowers are affected by this policy, and it is used as a last resort,” Tinetti said.
“It’s also worth mentioning that hardship provisions are available to those who cannot afford to pay, which means this sanction will only apply to those who could pay but refuse to do so.”
In 2018 Hipkins, then education minister, expressed concerns about the threat of arrest, telling Newshub it “sometimes exacerbates the situation, because it means those people never come home - sometimes you’re better to get them home then into an arrangement where they can start making payments”.
That same year, Labour introduced a flagship policy to pay for the first year of tertiary education. It was to be expanded to cover the first three years, but this was suspended in 2020, largely due to the impact of Covid-19 and the need to reprioritise spending.
Border arrests
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Eleven people have now been arrested at the border because of overdue student loan debt
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2022: 1 arrest
2021: 0 arrests
2020: 2 arrests
2019: 2 arrests
2018: 2 arrests
2017: 1 arrest
2016: 3 arrests
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www.nzherald.co.nz...
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640 days ago

Get a free gift when you subscribe to NZ House & Garden!

NZ House & Garden Tours

Save up to $69 with an NZ House & Garden subscription. Subscribe today to get NZ’s favourite lifestyle magazine delivered straight to your home every month, plus you’ll receive ManukaRx’s Pro-Aging Skin Oil worth $44.95 absolutely free!

Achieve healthy and ageless skin with the … View more
Save up to $69 with an NZ House & Garden subscription. Subscribe today to get NZ’s favourite lifestyle magazine delivered straight to your home every month, plus you’ll receive ManukaRx’s Pro-Aging Skin Oil worth $44.95 absolutely free!

Achieve healthy and ageless skin with the Pro-Aging Skin Oil. This face oil features the powerful essential oil blend of East Cape mānuka oil and rosehip oil. Offer is valid until 16 April 2023. Offer applies for 1-year and 2-year subscriptions only. For full T&Cs click here.
Find out more

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644 days ago

Moving house sale - March 26 @8am

Cheng from Royal Oak

We are moving overseas and everything has to go!
30a Beckenham Ave, Royal Oak
March 26 @8am

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642 days ago

Panel beater

Susan from Onehunga

Can you please recommend a panel beater to fix rust on car?
Thank you

641 days ago

Secondary and area school teachers around the country will strike again next week in a bid for better pay and working conditions.

Brian from Mount Roskill

The PPTA said members voted overwhelmingly in favour of more industrial action, including a one-day national strike next Wednesday, in support of their collective agreement negotiations.
In the second week of next term, they will put in place a plan to roster different year levels of students home… View more
The PPTA said members voted overwhelmingly in favour of more industrial action, including a one-day national strike next Wednesday, in support of their collective agreement negotiations.
In the second week of next term, they will put in place a plan to roster different year levels of students home on various days for four weeks.
On top of that, in the third week of Term 2, rolling strikes will be held where teachers will strike on different days in different regions starting at one end of the motu and finishing at the other.
Also from the first day of the next school term, PPTA Te Wehengarua members will not attend meetings outside school hours.
Members will also continue to refuse to give up their scheduled planning and marking time to relieve for absent teachers or positions that are vacant.
This follows the country’s largest-ever teachers’ strike last week where an estimated 50,000 kindergarten, primary, secondary and area school teachers, along with primary and area school principals took to the streets in protest.
”PPTA Te Wehengarua members have shown they are serious about getting a new collective agreement with salaries and conditions that will stem the worsening secondary teacher shortage throughout the motu,” said Chris Abercrombie, acting president of PPTA Te Wehengarua.
“Teachers would much prefer to be teaching in a settled environment this year, rather than taking extensive industrial action.
“However, we cannot stand by when the future of secondary education is at stake.”
Abercrombie said the PPTA wanted a commitment from the Government that students would have specialist teachers for every subject as well as pay and conditions that will keep teachers in the profession and attract new teachers.
The PPTA and Ministry of Education had been in mediation over the last week and were meeting again today.
Abercrombie said if the executive believed there was a genuine pathway to an agreement that members would vote for, they would consider calling off the strikes.
The Government has offered a $4000 pay rise for each teacher this year followed by about another $2000 next year.
The PPTA said that equates to an increase of 4.4 per cent this year and 2.1 per cent next year. Taking into account the time the current collective agreement has been expired and inflation, the offer came to a 10 per cent pay cut in real terms, the union said.
Secondary teachers are also calling for more guidance staff to work with the increasing number of students with mental health issues and controls on their workload.
They were offered about a third of the guidance staff required and a working group to look at their workload after the agreement was signed.
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www.nzherald.co.nz...
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641 days ago

Turning the tables

The Team from Resene ColorShop Onehunga

Restore antique furniture with Resene Aquaclear.

Find out how with these easy step by step instructions.

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641 days ago

Discover a career for life

Citycare Water

We deliver water to over 1.2 million Kiwis across the country, and we’re looking for great people to join our team and help provide safe water for your community. We provide meaningful work, and long-lasting careers. We hiring now for drainlayers, water servicepeople, operations roles, labourers … View moreWe deliver water to over 1.2 million Kiwis across the country, and we’re looking for great people to join our team and help provide safe water for your community. We provide meaningful work, and long-lasting careers. We hiring now for drainlayers, water servicepeople, operations roles, labourers and more!

- Get qualified at work
- Progress your career
- Join a friendly, diverse and supportive team
- Care for your local environment and waterways
Find out more

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642 days ago

Hp elite x2 2 in 1 tablet

Kaleem from Mount Roskill

Hp m5
8gb ram
256gb ssd
Win 10 pro installed
Good battery

1x usb-c
1x usb b port… View more
Hp m5
8gb ram
256gb ssd
Win 10 pro installed
Good battery

1x usb-c
1x usb b port
Working well

No charger

$280

Contact me on 021965499

Negotiable

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642 days ago

Plants in jugs for sale

Karen from Mount Eden

Plants available for sale.
Picture doesn’t do them justice.
Pick up at the Central Flea Market this Sunday.
Internet deposit or cash.

Negotiable

S
642 days ago

GINGER CAT

Stephanie from Mangere Bridge

Has anyone lost their ginger cat? There's a little body lying outside 10 Miro Road, Mangere Bridge.

642 days ago

Last chance to nominate!

Prospa

Our 2023 Local Business Hero Awards nomination phase closes on Sunday. Neighbours - you only have a few more days to nominate a favourite local business to give them a chance to win an incredible $10,000 package.

Show your support for your local today by nominating them to be this year's … View more
Our 2023 Local Business Hero Awards nomination phase closes on Sunday. Neighbours - you only have a few more days to nominate a favourite local business to give them a chance to win an incredible $10,000 package.

Show your support for your local today by nominating them to be this year's Prospa Local Business Hero!
Nominate now

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