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We’ve all spent a lot of time at home last year, so many of us are in the same boat when it comes to our high power bills! GULP!
More Kiwis are now working from home, if that's you then it's time to check if you’re on the right power plan. SWITCH, SAVE and SMILE this Summer!
… View moreWe’ve all spent a lot of time at home last year, so many of us are in the same boat when it comes to our high power bills! GULP!
More Kiwis are now working from home, if that's you then it's time to check if you’re on the right power plan. SWITCH, SAVE and SMILE this Summer!
Compare with our help and find the right power plan for your household! It’s easy as!
Visit Power Compare to get yourself a better deal. Our service is free, we’re Kiwis helping Kiwis compare what’s out there across Power, Broadband and Money.
Being Realistic !
🎧 We are enjoying the audiobook "Will" - Will Smith's autobiography at the moment so let's share some pearls of wisdom from this highly successful person.
🤩 It's OK to have crazy, outrageous dreams. Who's to say you cannot achieve them? You … View moreBeing Realistic !
🎧 We are enjoying the audiobook "Will" - Will Smith's autobiography at the moment so let's share some pearls of wisdom from this highly successful person.
🤩 It's OK to have crazy, outrageous dreams. Who's to say you cannot achieve them? You don't know if you don't try. The best life you can live is the one true to you. Some believe it's selfish. It's more selfish to live a "realistic" life that our friends & family approve of because we are denying ourselves & the world of the amazing results our true purpose is for...
Our February Seniors newsletter is out now. In this issue we announce our Age friendly fund successful recipients, shine a light on the those nominated for the New Years Honours for Services to Seniors and much more. Check it out here: mailchi.mp...
Kia ora Aotearoa. Stuff has just finished their annual Summer Snaps competition and we’re thrilled to announce that you'll be the judge of the People and Communities photograph category.
The entries in this category have been shortlisted and we now have five brilliantly captured … View moreKia ora Aotearoa. Stuff has just finished their annual Summer Snaps competition and we’re thrilled to announce that you'll be the judge of the People and Communities photograph category.
The entries in this category have been shortlisted and we now have five brilliantly captured photographs to battle it out. There's a camera up for grabs for our talented photographers, and it's up to you to choose who takes the crown...and the Canon EOS!
Cast your vote in the poll below before 12pm, 11 February.
Peri-urban areas can be described as the landscape interface between town and country or the rural-urban transition zone where urban and rural areas mix.
The probability of wildfire is driven by the amount and dryness of fuel, ambient weather and ignitions. Dry weather exacerbates wildfire risk… View morePeri-urban areas can be described as the landscape interface between town and country or the rural-urban transition zone where urban and rural areas mix.
The probability of wildfire is driven by the amount and dryness of fuel, ambient weather and ignitions. Dry weather exacerbates wildfire risk in this zone and could significantly impact your property! With one of New Zealand’s hottest and driest summers, discover your property’s fire risk and what you can do to reduce it.
We can produce personalised reports for any house on the planet!
Click here to get your property report: https://property-climate-risk-report.co.nz/
Queenstown Airport and the Hotel St Moritz Queentsown have been linked to a suspected Omicron case.
Anyone who was at Queenstown Airport on Saturday, January 22 between 2.15pm and 3pm or at the Hotel St Moritz on Saturday between midday and 12pm must self-monitor for Covid-19 symptoms for 10 days … View moreQueenstown Airport and the Hotel St Moritz Queentsown have been linked to a suspected Omicron case.
Anyone who was at Queenstown Airport on Saturday, January 22 between 2.15pm and 3pm or at the Hotel St Moritz on Saturday between midday and 12pm must self-monitor for Covid-19 symptoms for 10 days after these times, the Ministry of Health advised.
If symptoms develop, they should get a test and stay at home until they get a negative test result.
The new traffic light framework started on December 3, allowing more freedoms for fully vaccinated people. The Ministry of Health would not be publishing all low-risk locations of interest in red areas under the new Covid protection framework.
See the full list of locations of interest here.
Purchase a six month subscription to the Sunday Star-Times for $102 and get a free $100 Interflora e-voucher. Terms and conditions apply.
A scathing report has slammed an inpatient unit at Dunedin's Wakari Hospital that housed male and female patients together, including some who posed a serious risk to others.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier's report on Ward 10A noted the12-bed medium-secure facility was not fit for … View moreA scathing report has slammed an inpatient unit at Dunedin's Wakari Hospital that housed male and female patients together, including some who posed a serious risk to others.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier's report on Ward 10A noted the12-bed medium-secure facility was not fit for purpose, was in critical need for an upgrade, and was creating a “volatile environment”.
He noted the ward housed people of both sexes with intellectual disabilities and/or mental health issues.
That dynamic was compounded by some on the ward with criminal convictions, who posed a serious risk to others.
“That mixture should not happen. It is not accepted as acceptable practice ... you just don't do it," he said.
Boshier said he had never before seen a “mixture of what I would call criminal forensic and civilians who are there simply because they are unfortunately – and sadly mentally – unwell”. “I just don’t think it is fair.”
Staff told Boshier's inspectors that due to the complexity of the ward's patient mix and its layout, it applied restrictive practices to all patients, irrespective of their legal status or risk.
“I consider it unacceptable that non-forensic patients are subjected to restrictive practices simply due to being accommodated with forensic patients,” Boshier wrote in the 52-page report.
The report noted several patients had been in the ward long-term, including one who had spent 5316 days there.
The environment was described by a staff member as a “disgrace”, and Boshier believed staff and patient safety was compromised.
“I had never encountered that degree of directness by staff before ... I’ve not seen a facility operated in this way in all the inspection reports that we’ve done,” Boshier said.
He cited the case as another example of how the Ministry of Health had failed in its responsibility to ensure that investment in facilities met the needs of the community.
Boshier also highlighted issues with seclusion and restraint inside 10A, including a patient who was barricaded in their room and another who had a N95 face mask placed on them while being restrained, to stop them from spitting.
The ombudsman's report noted some positive aspects of the ward, including patients being able to lock their bedroom and bathroom doors.
The Southern District Health Board (DHB) said it understood the “need to address the co-habitation of forensic patients with non-forensic patients in Ward 10a, the restrictive practices placed upon non-forensic patients living in this environment and the gender separation of service users”.
Another report on Ward 6C, a12-bed secure mental health/psychogeriatric ward for older persons, noted that patients' access to fresh air and sunlight was also restricted.
One patient said they had been outside twice in the five weeks they had been there.
Inspectors made unannounced site visits at the sites between March and June last year, under the Crimes of Torture Act 1989.
Health Minister Andrew Little said he was yet to read the report, but was aware of it.
The Government committed funding, back in 2019, to build and improve mental health facilities, he said.
In June, just 6 per cent of the $438.3 million allocated to new mental health facilities had been spent.
Little said the new Dunedin Hospital, which was due to be completed in 2028, should also improve mental healthcare in the region.
This easy DIY project finished in Resene Waterborne Woodsman Pickled Bluewood provides a roosting and resting site for a rare and threatened native bat.
Find out how to create your own.
A bank used half the profit from the sale of a Dunedin rental to pay down a mortgage on a couple's home – without consulting them.
“We never planned to be landlords,” Mike Bennett said of the couple's decision to sell their Forbury property before Christmas.
Bennett and his wife, … View moreA bank used half the profit from the sale of a Dunedin rental to pay down a mortgage on a couple's home – without consulting them.
“We never planned to be landlords,” Mike Bennett said of the couple's decision to sell their Forbury property before Christmas.
Bennett and his wife, Claire, had planned to use some of the $300,000 profit, after the mortgage had been settled, to renovate the home they lived in.
But days after the sale was completed, the couple received news from the bank that would change their plans.
Because of their change in circumstances – Bennett had changed jobs while his partner was completing a master’s degree – the bank advised it was effectively taking “a chunk of the proceeds”, Bennett said. Continue reading here.
The Motatapu run and bike event in Queenstown has been cancelled for the second time in two years due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Event organisers “went down every avenue” but pulled the pin on the March event on Wednesday .
Organisers were “incredibly sad and disappointed” to cancel the … View moreThe Motatapu run and bike event in Queenstown has been cancelled for the second time in two years due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Event organisers “went down every avenue” but pulled the pin on the March event on Wednesday .
Organisers were “incredibly sad and disappointed” to cancel the event, they said in an email to participants.
“We have been doing our due diligence since the country moved to the Covid-19 protection framework red setting to try and deliver an event, which is not only safe but adheres to the government guidelines.
“We really went down every avenue to give you the opportunity to get out into our stunning high-country stations... But unfortunately, this is just not possible within the government protocols.”
The event attracts nearly 4000 competitors and this year had a new cycle track on exclusive country around the back of Queenstown’s Coronet Peak.
Organisers tried several strategies to fit within the level red regulations, but said they could not make it safe enough for athletes.
“We have been working through scenarios including, pods of 100, large holding areas at the start, separate registration areas, separated waves, a two-day format, starting far earlier than normal and finishing in the late evening.
“Also, the sheer volume of competitors we have moving through the courses makes it impossible to prevent convergence of 100 person pods and the potential spread of Covid-19 amongst our athletes.”
The event did not qualify for the government event Insurance scheme, which was set up for events of more than 5000 paid competitors.
The event is set to take place in March next year. Competitors can use this year’s entry for the following year or choose a refund of only 60 per cent.
With the approach of Waitangi Day holiday on Monday, we have put together some of our Kiwi Treasures to celebrate.
Our shop will close Sunday and Monday to observe the holiday.
Hi everyone,
Hokitika has been named the most welcoming town in NZ in Booking.com's 10th annual Traveller Review Awards.
Would be keen to hear from those who live there or who have visited whether they think the town really is exceptionally friendly. What makes it a welcoming place, or … View moreHi everyone,
Hokitika has been named the most welcoming town in NZ in Booking.com's 10th annual Traveller Review Awards.
Would be keen to hear from those who live there or who have visited whether they think the town really is exceptionally friendly. What makes it a welcoming place, or otherwise? Were there any cafes, restaurants, shops or other places you received a particularly warm welcome?
Lake Tekapo and Oamaru came in second and third place respectively, followed by Cambridge, Picton, Invercargill, Martinborough, Kerikeri and Palmerston North. Would also love to hear from you if you have thoughts on these places. Please include 'NFP' (not for publication) in your comment if you don't want it to appear in a travel article.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts?
World Read Aloud Day is about celebrating the power of reading aloud. It encourages children and adults to grab a book, find an audience, and read aloud!
The best way to celebrate World Read Aloud Day is to read a book to someone. Whether it's one person or 100 people, sharing a story with … View moreWorld Read Aloud Day is about celebrating the power of reading aloud. It encourages children and adults to grab a book, find an audience, and read aloud!
The best way to celebrate World Read Aloud Day is to read a book to someone. Whether it's one person or 100 people, sharing a story with your own voice is what the day is all about.
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