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2184 days ago

Newlands Volunteer Fire Station

Margaret from Paparangi

I was one of the attendees of last nights meeting regarding the Newlands Fire Station - great to see a good 'turn out' but it could certainly have been better. The only one of the 'panel' on stage that didn't come across as a total imbecile was the only lady - her first name was Brenda but I didn't catch her second. It was interesting to know that the question over the Newlands Volunteer Fire Station was first mooted in 1993, again in 2007 and of course again in 2019 when the WCC has decided it wants to build a toilet? Go figure! What the hell has been happening since 1993 and now? Brenda said 3 options were mooted - a) Close & dis-establish Newlands VFB, b) Build elsewhere in Newlands or c) the preferred option by the Fire Service - join with Johnsonville. By the way how the hell are they going to build an extension to the J/ville fire station to accommodate the Newlands Fire Engine? It reeks of total stupidity similar to Peter Gilberds idea that he was going to widen Batchelor Street to accommodate the extra cars parked there due to the intensive infill housing in Batchelor/Atkinson Streets! Brenda also asked what is the forecast growth in the Newlands area - the Fire Service could only come up with historical growth forecasts and what they learned from their 'models' - perhaps they should wake up and get with the current trends which indicate Newlands is growing faster than anyone imagined possible!

More messages from your neighbours
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
  • 14.6% Critical thinking
    14.6% Complete
  • 30% Resilience and adaptability
    30% Complete
  • 2.7% Other - I will share below!
    2.7% Complete
554 votes
1 day 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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9 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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