All articles

An elderly neighbour dropped in to see me today seeking an explanation to an emailed marketing blurb she received from Countdown. The front page of the usual specials advertising was “Celebrate Matariki Maori New Year”. I explained to her the current Government had legislated a new public holiday” as a celebration of Matariki, the Maori New Year”. She wasn’t impressed, raising…

Last month we previewed the Hot Rods & Horsepower Show hosted by Pukekohe Hot Rod Club & Napa Auto Parts Dragway. This month we preview one of the cars which will be displayed at this fantastic show in August. Allow us to introduce the B&M/Brizio Project Car 1932 Ford Tudor direct from the USA and now owned by Ian & Iqbal Taylor of the Pukekohe Hot Rod Club. This car was built…

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…

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…

WELCOME TO OUR NEW BUSINESSES IN PAPAKURA Tasi Market on the Great South Road Rapid Facility on Porchester Road 24 new businesses have opened in Papakura this year! CHECK OUT OUR AMAZING MURALS AND CHORUS BOXES IN PAPAKURA Go to www.papakura.co.nz and on the home page – hit the tab saying Murals and Art. We have 24 murals now around Papakura from talented local artists…

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…

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…

Safety: the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger, risk, or injury. Everyday, we engage in behaviours to ensure we are kept safe from dangers, risk or injury in our everyday endeavors. We follow rules and adhere to policies like driving on one side of the road, stopping at red lights, refraining from drinking bottles of chlorine bleach. We educate our…

Mark Twain famously said, “it is easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled”. Whilst points of view can appear to be paradoxical, both right, sometimes this is illusory, and we need to go back to the basics. Real people live in three dimensions not two and so the solution to the illustration is to flip the number the right way up before interpreting…

New Zealanders are being left out of important decisions by the Labour Government, and National is launching a series of campaigns for Kiwis to ‘Demand the Debate’. The first campaign relates to the Government’s 2019 He Puapua report. Kiwis were never told about it at the time and it was never campaigned on by Labour. It has recently been considered by Cabinet and is being…

Members of three volunteer fire brigades – Tuakau, Pokeno, and Onewhero attended a benefit social night last Saturday (3 July 2021), in time for Matariki when we honour and remember loved ones who are no longer with us. The event was organised for the crews and whānau to acknowledge the impacts associated with the loss of loved ones and colleagues and to raise mental health…

While PCR is an incredibly useful tool for medical research, its use in diagnosing infectious diseases in humans has long been considered inappropriate, and scientifically ignorant. In this video, Dr Sam examines the science of PCR, and explains why this is the case.

The NZ medical authorities and mainstream media push their vaccine propaganda and continue to cry "misinformation" when serious concerns about the vaccine are raised. Some groups have declared the vaccine unfit for use in humans, but the authorities refuse to change their script...

In Australia, independent Members of Parliament are challenging the Government as to why off-label use of safe, low-cost medications such as ivermectin are being ignored, or even actively suppressed, despite numerous peer-reviewed clinical studies proving their effectiveness. In this video, MP Craig Kelly discusses a recent meta-analysis of 24 randomised controlled clinical…

Judith Collins is the MP for Papakura, leader of the National Party, and leader of the opposition in the 53rd Parliament of New Zealand. She sat down with elocal to discuss the current direction of the Government, and why New Zealand desparately needs a change. MJ: The country – from what I can see it’s going down the gurgler. JC: I must say, everything seems to be going…

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…

When 3 year old Cruz told his Mum in 2016 that he wanted to grow his hair until it touched the ground and then shave it all off and give it to the $2 shop, so they could make wigs for people with cancer, she could have been forgiven for thinking it was all just a pipe dream. Fast forward to June 2021 and the now 7 year old Cruz has done just that and fundraised over $2,000 in the…

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…

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…

Small to medium-sized businesses make a significant contribution to New Zealand’s economy, but many face the challenge of how to achieve greater productivity – and this doesn’t mean working longer hours. Improving New Zealand’s productivity has proved elusive for decades and unfortunately we now rank amongst the bottom 25 per cent of OECD countries. But what is productivity, and…