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2151 days ago

'Essential services' - liquour or fruits and vegetables?

Dr Naseem from Pinehill

I refer to the NZ Herald article below:

www.nzherald.co.nz...

Could someone please explain to me how or in what way liquor is considered ‘essential services’ or even ‘dairies’ compared to shops that sell fruits and vegetables like say Fruit World?

If shops like Fruit World were open in our neighbourhoods, we would not need to go to our local Park and Save or other supermarkets as frequently. Fruits and vegetables are perishable goods and cannot be stored for long, unlike liquor or canned food or toilet rolls. So we need to get them relatively more frequently.


Further, fruits and vegetables help build up our immunity. Sugar does not. And as a side note, liquor does not help reduce domestic violence incidences either. It sometimes fuels them! And in some cases, it serves as an 'excuse' for some to excuse themselves from incorrigible behaviour, like this fellow who must have had sustained intoxication to actually post this video of himself doing what he did:


www.nzherald.co.nz...

How do we convince the government that shops selling fruits and vegetables should be allowed to open? It better not be that we need (yet another) petition to get this done! Who do we write to?

Naseem
Associate Professor, Massey University

More messages from your neighbours
3 hours ago

Some Choice News!

Kia pai from Sharing the Good Stuff

DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.

Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.

For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.

Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?

We hope this brings a smile!

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5 days ago

Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑

Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.

We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?

Want to read more? The Press has you covered!

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🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
  • 52.7% Human-centred experience and communication
    52.7% Complete
  • 14.7% Critical thinking
    14.7% Complete
  • 29.8% Resilience and adaptability
    29.8% Complete
  • 2.7% Other - I will share below!
    2.7% Complete
550 votes
18 hours ago

Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!

William Hansby Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.

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