When the recent Master Builders Auckland and Coromandel awards were announced, Wenny Lubbers owner of Versatile Builders Pukekohe had every reason to be pleased. Not only did every entry that he showcased come away with an award, but his entry in the New Home $450,000 to $600,000 category won the team a coveted Gold Award for a high-quality personalized build that was completed…

Auckland born Monique Laloli spends her workdays editing the photos of high-end real estate in New York City; with many of these homes belonging to the rich and famous. She has worked on many properties including a 1930’s Long Island estate that once belonged to the Vanderbilts and Whitneys. Decorated with an amazing degree of opulence, the asking price was $27 million. Earlier…

Symbolising new beginnings and transition, Christchurch’s ‘Cardboard’ Cathedral has stood as a unique and stunning structure since its creation in 2013 following Christchurch’s devastating earthquake in 2011. Christchurch’s original cathedral was a slow process that was on and off for years due to funding until its completion in 1905. It was built by Jamieson and Sons, renowned…

Students are expected to pay FULL, UNSUBSIDISED FEES for the sub-par education that they have received online. That's upwards of $9,000 for pdf slides and pre-recorded videos. WE WANT CHANGE! The University of Auckland claims that most of the fees paid by students go towards laboratories, campus expenses, recreational centre use and other practical overhead costs. All of which…

Petition to eradicate ‘Aotearoa’ from official use Lobby group Hobson’s Pledge is pushing for the name “Aotearoa” to be removed from official use until a binding referendum is held to decide whether or not to proceed with changing the name of New Zealand. Hobson’s Pledge spokespersons Casey Costello and Don Brash launched a petition today calling on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern…

Please look after yourself and your family and keep an eye out for your neighbours. You can contact me at andrew@baylymp.co.nz if you need a hand.

We all knew another Level 4 Covid 19 lockdown was coming across New Zealand and each lock down brings out new or past hobbies to help pass the time. No matter how much the news told us it was coming, I guess it was always a matter of time as the whole world seems to be going through similar madness from a Covid perspective as well as racial, political and climate change topics.…

This year’s Counties Cycle Classic will for the first time include a high speed criterium race at the Pukekohe Motorsport V8 track on Sunday 10 October 2021. Run by the Rotary Club of Pukekohe, it will be the Classic’s fifth outing which is now run entirely on the iconic racetrack. The Criterium kicks off at 9.15am before the main races get underway at 10.30. The Crit is a…

Located in the Bay of Plenty region, Rotorua is a city on the Southern shores of Lake Rotorua which it takes its name. As a city that was built in the 1880’s, Rotorua is unusual in that is was neither a port, nor a farming community and has always been a town built for tourists who visited the lakes. As such, tourism still remains a huge part of Rotorua’s economy both…

The Nenet people of Northern Russia are nomadic reindeer herders that have lived in the Siberian Arctic since the 12th century. Through a yearly migration of over a thousand kilometres, these families move herds of up to 7,000 reindeer at a time. It is debated whether it is the reindeer that lead the people or vice versa. In such a challenging environment where temperatures…

This year's stories were ‘flash fiction’, 300 words in length, and beginning with “I remember”. “The Blossoming of Minerva Stout” Local Prize, Winner: Wendy Craig, Pukekohe I remember what Mother always said. ‘There’s nothing like a funeral, Min, to make you think about your own life.’ I’ve been reminiscing a lot these last few weeks. It was on the Monday after dinner that Rol…

Every builder has their own strengths and reasons for why you should build with them. So how do you know which builder will give you the end result in the way you want it? Initially when trying to decide, most people think to ask for more information around these 8 commonly asked questions: 1. Timing of build 2. Communication throughout 3. Testimonials 4. Design features 5.…

Its most definitely winter, and there is nothing better than the warm, inviting hot glow of a wood burner or fire. Those lucky enough to have this as a form of heating however know that there is nothing worse than being lumped with badly dried, poor quality wood. Carlos Ter Huurne, owner of Ignition Firewood, a Drury-based firewood supplier hears the same story over and over…

Everyone knows someone who has a story about a disastrous build experience. Council delays, contractors that just don’t turn up, building companies that stretch resources and ultimately hand over dates pushed out months further than expected. How then when you making what is arguably the biggest decision you will make in a lifetime do you make sure you are choosing a company that…

Smith and Son’s Pukekohe franchise holders Melissa and Lane Vandenbrink are well known as the masters of home transformation having won numerous industry awards and they can now add the prestigious ‘Renovation of the Year Award.’ The annual award is presented to the renovation that ‘best meets and surpasses the brief whilst showcasing the best features in a renovation’ and the…

The current housing boom is over-represented in media stories on a daily basis, but Navigation Homes Pukekohe Franchise owners Nathan Hall and Ryan Keegan believe that the people in the greater Pukekohe area have one massive advantage when it comes to building their dream home and that is the availability of quality land to build on. “We have land available, lots of it, and…

A longstanding historic landmark built over 170 years ago with the hands of over 1000 men with a unique interior of both Maori and European design but also a sad history stands the Rangiatea Church in Otaki on the Kapiti Coast. Formally one of New Zealand’s oldest Maori Anglican churches, Rangiatea church was originally built in 1851 under the leadership of Chief Te Rauparaha and…

War is a barbaric evil stain on our past, but it happened, and the stories live on in its survivors and we owe it to them to retell and remember so that we never endure such suffering again. The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of…

In my late teens I spent time hunting in the bush around lake Waikaremoana. Off the forest tracks, I stood in places that I was sure no man had ever stood. In unspoiled bush, there is a sense of peace and quietness so tangible, that people often catch themselves speaking in whispers, just as they would entering an ancient church. It seems like the presence of God hangs in the air…

Dr Sam will take you back to December 2019 and highlight some of the key concepts that have been used to FUEL this crisis.

Has the CDC admitted there is a problem with the PCR? What is everyone dying from? What is the Delta variant? What about Covid antibodies?

Last Month the electricity in various parts of the North Island was deliberately turned off on Monday evening 9 August. The finger-pointing and blame-game started early the next morning and has been the topic of conversation and media attention for the past week. It is not over yet and nor should it be. The official investigations are under-way. My August elocal article talked…

Is all water created equal? Dr Sam explores the benefits and harms of water and what you should do to optimise your health.

It’s thought that it was Mark Twain who said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” It’s become a commonplace phrase for describing the persuasive power of numbers, especially statistics, when used to strengthen someone’s argument or point of view. As National’s spokesperson for statistics, I can vouch for the important role that statistics play in…

Banking risk is not often talked about or discussed in mainstream media and this in part is a man-aged form of media spin designed to ensure the public that all is OK in the world of banking. Whenever a banking CEO or Treasury Minister faces the media the narrative is very predictable in that promotion of certainty in the banking sector is a given. No one wants to undermine faith…

The troubles of the world as we know it, are now a constant in our life at present, with Covid and its new variant Delta sweeping the world, which will never be the same again. Gone are the things we have taken for granted all our lives, like getting on an aircraft and flying wherever we wish in the world to new and hereto unknown adventures! Now, I for one have a distinctly…

Once again, I feel compelled to write about house prices. Why? Because it is the most important cause of social distress in New Zealand today, and that by a large margin. There would still be social problems if house prices were half their present level, but they would be vastly more manageable – child poverty would be much reduced, mental health would be better, there would…

I received another reminder from my Government to book my Pfizer mRNA shot

A Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there from the Papakura Business Association and we hope you have a fantastic day. NEW BUSINESSES IN PAPAKURA: We welcome i-Fix Computing who have opened up in East Street and Martial Fitness who have opened up in East Street as well. We have had 26 new businesses open up in Papakura since the beginning of the year. WWW.PAPAKURA.CO.NZ …

With all the changes wrought by Covid, many people who lost their old jobs are looking towards setting up a small business and contract their services to established businesses. Most importantly you need to do it right from the start, otherwise a year down the track you could be in trouble with Inland Revenue. We are happy to talk to you about how best to set up your new…

The numbers of inquiries about property listings have surged over the course of this lockdown and signalling a big increase in interest. It has been stronger this level 4 lockdown than in the level 4 lockdown of last year and despite being in level 4 neither buyer nor sellers have been deterred. Confidence has remained in the market, and many people are more optimistic this time…

So, here we are back in lockdowns. Different levels for Auckland to the rest of the country and different rules for the levels. Families and businesses are at breaking points and frustration a plenty about the situation. Swiftly introduced emergency powers in 2020 continue to give the Prime Minister and the Director General of Health immense autocratic authority that raises…

Whilst the official cash rate remains unchanged at least for now there are predications that the expected increase forecasted for the end of 2022 may have to be bought forward. This is a tricky balancing act for the RBNZ, in trying to pre-empt a rise in inflation without pushing up the exchange rate too much (and hence dampening exports). This directly affects the housing…

When Daily Blog editor, Martyn Bradbury, says Labour’s lucky the country’s currently distracted by the Covid-19 Delta Variant, he’s right. Were New Zealand safe and out of Lockdown, it would be in the midst of a dangerously divisive row about Oranga Tamariki, the Judiciary, Race, and the Rule of Law. Given that the matters at the heart of this controversy are sub judice (i.e.…

The Prime Minister’s politics — including her stance towards the Mongrel Mob and the Taliban — can be baffling. Graham Adams reckons answers lie in her past as a Mormon. Whether it is from politeness or a lack of curiosity, it is rare for journalists or commentators to dwell on Jacinda Ardern’s religious history and how it might have shaped her politics. When the Prime Minister…

Our group, New Zealand Doctors Speaking Out with Science (NZDSOS), has now received reports of four deaths within two weeks occurring in New Zealand teens after Comirnaty injection. Since covid-19 is of almost no risk to this group, this information demands scrutiny. An eighteen-year-old collapsed on the 9th of September while walking with her father two weeks after her first…

Small business owners need help urgently so that they can survive this Covid-19 lockdown and any future lockdowns so that they can continue to play a significant role in New Zealand’s economy as well as providing employment all over the country, National’s Shadow Treasurer Andrew Bayly says. “I am hearing from small business owners and representative organisations everyday about…

First I want to thank everyone in Auckland who is coping with another week in lockdown. Auckland is doing the hard yards to keep everyone else in New Zealand COVID-19 Delta free. This week we should think of the parents, teachers, principals and students who are struggling through another week of lockdown in Auckland. I am also very aware of the huge pressure on all the business…