Clutha District, Balclutha

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!

630 days ago

Save at your local Resene ColorShop!

Resene

Bring out the best in your home.

Get 20% off Resene premium paints, stains, wallpapers and accessories, on now at Resene ColorShops!

Hurry Resene sale ends Tuesday 11th April.
Shop online at shop.resene.co.nz or visit your local Resene ColorShop.
Learn More

Image
633 days ago

Gift a subscription and Receive Oriental Lily Bulbs Free!

NZ Gardener

Spoil the Mum in your life with a subscription to NZ’s favourite gardening magazine.

For only $79 get 12 issues of NZ Gardener PLUS 5 Oriental Lily Bulbs worth $17 RRP from NZ Bulbs. Since 1957, NZ Bulbs has been supplying top quality bulbs to New Zealand gardeners. This family-owned business… View more
Spoil the Mum in your life with a subscription to NZ’s favourite gardening magazine.

For only $79 get 12 issues of NZ Gardener PLUS 5 Oriental Lily Bulbs worth $17 RRP from NZ Bulbs. Since 1957, NZ Bulbs has been supplying top quality bulbs to New Zealand gardeners. This family-owned business has shipped hundreds of spring and summer flowering bulbs and tubers all over New Zealand from their base near Feilding.

Offer valid until 11:59pm 14 May 2023. For full terms and conditions click here.

Happy Mother’s Day
Find out more

Image
634 days ago

Floating flowers

The Team from Resene ColorShop Gore

Create art using Resene paint and your own breath.

Find out how to create your own with these easy step by step instructions.

Image
635 days ago

Chorus coming to Clinton

Chorus

Fibre is here so come in to see the team of Chorus experts for a chat when they're at the Clinton Community Centre on Wednesday the 5th of April from 2.30pm till 4pm.

If you’ve got questions about installation, improving your current internet connection or livening up equipment … View more
Fibre is here so come in to see the team of Chorus experts for a chat when they're at the Clinton Community Centre on Wednesday the 5th of April from 2.30pm till 4pm.

If you’ve got questions about installation, improving your current internet connection or livening up equipment they've already installed, they can help.

A fibre broadband service will provide you with a fast connection that you can rely on. The great news is it’s still free to get fibre installed for most homes.

For more information visit: www.chorus.co.nz/get-connected or call 0800 222 644
Find out more

Image
638 days ago

Poll: Should we scrap daylight saving?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

This Sunday we'll be putting our clocks back for the end of daylight saving. Despite the benefits of an extra hour of sun during daylight saving, these clock changes commonly bring disruptions to our households and sleep - some feel that it should be scrapped altogether. What do you think?

View more
This Sunday we'll be putting our clocks back for the end of daylight saving. Despite the benefits of an extra hour of sun during daylight saving, these clock changes commonly bring disruptions to our households and sleep - some feel that it should be scrapped altogether. What do you think?

Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the We Say You Say column of your local paper.

Image
Should we scrap daylight saving?
  • 32.5% Yes, scrap daylight savings
    32.5% Complete
  • 54.1% No, keep daylight savings
    54.1% Complete
  • 7% I don't mind either way
    7% Complete
  • 6.4% Keep daylight savings but change the dates
    6.4% Complete
6075 votes
641 days ago

Film studios and distillery in Central Otago get government support to become biggest in NZ

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Otago News

From reporter Debbie Jamieson:

A Cromwell whisky distillery and a Wānaka film studio proposal have been promised government support to help the region diversify beyond its reliance on tourism.

Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced a $2.9 million loan to help Scapegrace … View more
From reporter Debbie Jamieson:

A Cromwell whisky distillery and a Wānaka film studio proposal have been promised government support to help the region diversify beyond its reliance on tourism.

Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced a $2.9 million loan to help Scapegrace Distillery expand to help meet growing national and international demand.

The government will also underwrite $4.5m of the Silverlight Studios’ film studio project.

“I love what you guys are doing ... the whole aspiration for us is to support our regions to grow,” she said.

Scapegrace Distillery is a privately owned Central Otago business that produces whisky, gin and vodka, and aims to become New Zealand’s biggest distillery.

Founded by brothers-in-law Daniel McLaughlin and Mark Neal nine years ago, the company has more than 48 shareholders and exports to 35 markets.

McLaughlin said about 65% of its products are exported, but it was hoped that would increase to 80%.

The government loan would be used to help build a new distillery and temporary hospitality facility, creating 218 jobs during construction and 24 permanent roles once operational.

Ultimately, the Central Otago site will house four whisky barrel rooms, a world-class distillery and a full hospitality precinct with cellar door facilities, a bar and restaurant, and event spaces,

McLaughlin anticipated it would be completed in 2026 and would be New Zealand’s largest distillery, spanning 36 hectares of land and 4500m² of buildings.

Allan said the projected increase in capacity from 30,000 litres to 567,000 litres of product was a “game changer”.

“It’s an absolute privilege to stand alongside you as you embark on your new venture.”

Asked whether it was appropriate for taxpayers’ money to be used to support the alcohol industry, she said it was part of the food and beverage industry, an area identified for development in the region.

Speaking about the support for Silverlight Studios, Allan said the screen industry employed about 16,200 New Zealanders and contributed $3.3 billion to the economy every year.

It was a key component of Central Otago’s economic diversification initiatives, she said.

“Silverlight Studios will provide new opportunities for local talent to be at the forefront of an evolving industry in the region.”

Silverlight Studios chief executive Mike Wallis said concerns had been raised that the company’s $280m Wānaka plan, which includes 10 sound studios, was too much and too fast for the area.

The company had therefore “pivoted”, and will instead bring three fast-build modular sound stages to the site with auxiliary buildings.

The sound stages, which are fully sound-proofed and include lighting rigs, will come from Belgium and are already being used by the likes of Netflix and Amazon, Wallis said.

The government underwrite of $4.5m would provide confidence for investors in this stage of the project and enable the work to be completed in 12 to 14 months, he said.

“This gives them facilities with rain cover, and it’s big enough for an international large scale production, which is really our key market anyway, but also for the local market.”

The stages will be packed down and moved as the full studio development is completed.

It will ultimately include an 11ha artificial lake, film school, screening theatre, exhibition centre and up to 10 sound stages – making it the largest studio of its kind in New Zealand.

It will also include recreations of international film locations, including an Italian village, the canals and bridges of Venice, a generic seaside Hamptons-style village, blocks of New York City and a portion of New York’s Central Park.

638 days ago

Sam Whitelock Webinar

The Team from Neighbourhood Support New Zealand

Neighbourhood Support members across New Zealand are invited to attend a special wellbeing webinar, 'Building Strong Communities', with Farmstrong Ambassador, Sam Whitelock, at 7:30pm on Tuesday April 4th.

For more information and to register, head to www.neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz....… View more
Neighbourhood Support members across New Zealand are invited to attend a special wellbeing webinar, 'Building Strong Communities', with Farmstrong Ambassador, Sam Whitelock, at 7:30pm on Tuesday April 4th.

For more information and to register, head to www.neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz....

Please invite those on your street and in your neighbourhood who might be interested (it's not just for rural folk, although those of you in rural communities might be particularly interested).

Image
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

Image
641 days ago

Turning the tables

The Team from Resene ColorShop Gore

Restore antique furniture with Resene Aquaclear.

Find out how with these easy step by step instructions.

Image
642 days ago

Queenstown Lakes to face more leaky building claims after 13% rates rise

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Otago News

From reporter Debbie Jamieson:

Queenstown ratepayers are facing more leaky homes claims but none as large as those behind a proposed average 13.6% rate rise this year.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council – which covers Queenstown and Wānaka and surrounding areas – settled last year … View more
From reporter Debbie Jamieson:

Queenstown ratepayers are facing more leaky homes claims but none as large as those behind a proposed average 13.6% rate rise this year.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council – which covers Queenstown and Wānaka and surrounding areas – settled last year with the body corporate of the Oaks Shore apartments, which claimed $163 million for leaky building repairs.

The exact settlement figure was confidential, but the council was taking out a loan to pay the claim.

It was covering other claims also, including one for the neighbouring property Oaks Club Resort, thought to be about $50m.

The impact of the interest costs meant the claims contributed to nearly a third of the massive rates increase for the coming financial year, documents show.

If the claim was paid in a single year the rates increase would be “horrendous” and in the “hundreds of percents”, council finance manager Stewart Burns said during a council meeting on Thursday.

Councillor Esther Whitehead asked what assurances the council could provide that ratepayers would not face another increase due to leaky home claims.
Burns said the council was currently facing three or four claims, but none were on the scale of the two Oaks properties.

Properties caught in the leaky home legislation were built between 15 and 20 years ago.

Claims had to be made within 10 years of a property’s completion.

The council was reaching the end of that period, he said.

Council standards for building inspections and consents have improved in the last 20 years.
The building inspection and consent processes at the time of the construction of the affected buildings was also a contributing factor, he said.

“The standard we have to meet these days compared to 20 years ago is quite different, and we are audited regularly on those services.

“We certainly have got a lot of confidence that the way we operate now is appropriate.”

Draft annual plan documents show how increases in interest rates, depreciation expenses and record-high inflation have also contributed to the region’s rates increase.

To lessen the rates rise, the council is planning to defer $106.7m in projects, including a Wānaka water treatment plant, a new reservoir at Quail Rise, and a Queenstown water treatment plant at Two Mile.

Increases in some user fees such as building consents, animal registration, and sport and recreational services are also proposed.

The council is undertaking public consultation on the draft annual plan.

Image
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

Image
643 days ago

Find Your Safe Haven

Frances Hodgkins Retirement Village

Nothing is less predictable than the weather.

Ryman villages are designed to be safe havens, we prepare for adverse events, so you don’t have to. In an emergency, we’ll take care of everything, to ensure sure that you and those you treasure most have exactly what you need.

Rest assured, … View more
Nothing is less predictable than the weather.

Ryman villages are designed to be safe havens, we prepare for adverse events, so you don’t have to. In an emergency, we’ll take care of everything, to ensure sure that you and those you treasure most have exactly what you need.

Rest assured, you’re in safe hands.

Image
647 days ago

Buy more tickets today!

Heart Foundation

Increase your chances to win this brand-new, fully-furnished home located just north of Auckland in the stunning beachside town of Mangawhai.

Valued at over $1.4 million and built to perfection by Jennian homes, this brand-new home features three-bedrooms, two-bathrooms and boasts an open-plan … View more
Increase your chances to win this brand-new, fully-furnished home located just north of Auckland in the stunning beachside town of Mangawhai.

Valued at over $1.4 million and built to perfection by Jennian homes, this brand-new home features three-bedrooms, two-bathrooms and boasts an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area.

Make this property your permanent residence, a holiday home, a rental or even sell it. Tickets only $15 – get in quick and purchase more tickets today.
Find out more

Image
648 days ago

Nominate your household hero to WIN $350!

The Team from NZ Compare

Costs are high making 2023 a tough year already! Who's the hero doing the hard yards to keep things running in your household?
NZ Compare wants to pay $350 towards their Broadband and Power bill!

Nominate your household Hero by clicking the button below and be in to WIN $350!
Offer ENDS… View more
Costs are high making 2023 a tough year already! Who's the hero doing the hard yards to keep things running in your household?
NZ Compare wants to pay $350 towards their Broadband and Power bill!

Nominate your household Hero by clicking the button below and be in to WIN $350!
Offer ENDS 31st March 2023.

Need more ways to save money? Comparing your power and broadband bills is one way to see if you can save more or simply switch to something that better suits your needs. If you’re paying for it, make sure it works for you!

NZ Compare can help, CLICK HERE TO COMPARE!
Nominate your hero!

Image
652 days ago

Are class sizes too big these days?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Primary, secondary and kindergarten teachers are striking this week as they look for a pay offer that meets inflation at 7.2% and makes concessions around staffing issues - in particular, student to teacher ratios.

A ratio of 1 teacher for 23 students applies for year 11 students, however … View more
Primary, secondary and kindergarten teachers are striking this week as they look for a pay offer that meets inflation at 7.2% and makes concessions around staffing issues - in particular, student to teacher ratios.

A ratio of 1 teacher for 23 students applies for year 11 students, however support staff can be counted as teachers so the reality is that class sizes can be much higher.
What do you think are the ideal sizes for classrooms?

Type NFP alongside your comments if you don't wish these to be shared in the We Say You Say column of the local paper.

Top