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Auckland had a median house price of $1,200,000 in March 2022 — a 6.7% increase year-on-year although there is evidence that this is starting to slow. Buyers continue to struggle with accessing finance and are awaiting further changes to the CCCFA to be implemented due the 1st of June. Banks will hopefully be able to get on the same page about the implementation of the rules. If…

This year marks the 100th year of Poppy day, and we tell you all about how it came about in our series This month in history this month and while the reason for the poppy day drifts further back into history each year, one thing is for certain. War impacts immensely on thousands of lives, displaces whole communities, and leaves scars deep in nations for many years. New…

This year the RSA marks 100 years of the Poppy Appeal. First held on the day before Anzac Day in 1922, the familiar red poppy continues to serve as a symbol of remembrance, while the appeal raises critical funds used to support the welfare of New Zealand’s veterans. This year’s Poppy Campaign runs throughout the month of April with the street appeal, known as Poppy Day, being…

Wayne and Sharon Snellgrove are a busy family orientated couple with a wealth of customer care and construction industry expertise, who have recently embarked on an exciting new venture. As proud new owners of the South Auckland A1 Homes franchise, they have made it their goal to ensure that every one of their clients has the most enjoyable experience possible when it comes to…

Amendments made late last year to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA) have had a significant impact on the average Kiwi who wants to apply for a credit card, obtain finance or get a mortgage – and the announcement of minor tweaks made in March by the Commerce Minister won’t lead to any real change. In 2019, Parliament voted to amend the CCCFA with the goal of…

For only the second time since Rotary has been associated with Hospice Golf, the annual Golf game had to be postponed from the scheduled date, and this time it was due to the weather. Sunday the 13th of February was a shocking day; high winds which made the Pukekohe Golf Course too dangerous to play. And so finally the event was held on Friday March 4th. Originally set down for…

Honour the Maunga says it is “over the moon” at yesterday’s judicial decision, which has put a halt to Tūpuna Maunga Authority’s plans to rid Auckland’s volcanic cones (maunga) of exotic trees without first consulting the public. In all, the ratepayer funded co-governance body plans to rid the city’s maunga of around 2500 non-native trees, so this decision has implications for…

Walking into Magazine Designer Clothing you’re greeted with a gorgeous array of colours, beautiful predominantly New Zealand made clothing, exquisite accessories, and most importantly fabulous friendly staff. The store thrives on helping their customers find the perfect style, no matter their size, age, or occasion their shopping for. When they say they have something for every…

Kerry Brocas is a familiar face around Pukekohe especially in both the motoring and business space. As the winner of the 2018 New Zealand Sprint Car title, Brocas has enjoyed a long and successful speedway career and has combined his love of the sport with his motoring experience to be the director of Pukekohe Honda from 2006 through to 2019. Honda then set out to move into…

What a summer it was huh? Get jabbed for summer was the catch cry and by February we were flicked into a RED light setting as per the government Covid mandates. This setting based around the Omicron variant has played havoc with event promoters and clubs for all forms of sports and activities. The world of hot rodding has been no different with a summer full of constant…

Not many months after the 2020 election freed the Labour Party from the constraints which New Zealand First had placed on them between 2017 and 2020, the Government admitted to commissioning the most radical plan for over-turning New Zealand’s constitution since the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840. It was called He Puapua, and I have written about its quite extraordinary…

It’s that time again when the ‘love them or hate them’ fruit is in abundance, whether you like to eat them straight off the tree, in desserts or cakes, or just want others to take them away, the Feijoa is a big part of every kiwi’s Autumn. The feijoa was collected in southern Brazil by a German explorer Freidrich Sellow in 1815 and introduced to Europe by French botanist and…

Nz’s First Poppy Day One Hundred Years Ago, on April 24th 1922, New Zealand held its first Poppy Day. It followed an international effort led by French woman, Madame Guérin who was a well-known touring lecturer and fundraiser, who split her time between living in the USA and France during the First World War. She was a director of the “American and French Children’s League”,…

In part the inclination might be explained by the tendency to place greater prominence on the present than the past but it typically the past that conditions the present in business or personal relationships and particularly in global politics. As to how Putin regards the Ukraine is somewhat by the way because the attitude with regard to Iraq over eight years from 2003 was…

An alternative title might have been: “The Ukraine adjusted 90 years from the 1930s” but the good thing about political forecasts is that they are a bit like the weather; one is either right or wrong and the most in error one can be is wrong. However one may be wrong in regard to a conclusion but not in terms of motive or effects. The curtailing of NATO expansion is one (obvious)…

Did you know that in Papakura we have … • Sushi places • Cafes • Bakeries • Barber Shops • Gyms and the Rec Centre • Health places including Physio, Doctors, Foot Clinic, Massage Salons, Lab tests, Family Planning, Medicine clinics, Chiropractic, Hand clinic and more. • Dental Clinics • Accountancy Firms • Banks and Instant Finance and NZ Home Loans • Finance Companies…

Rising interest rates and tighter bank lending have combined to take the heat out of the market in the first two months of the year and the long-anticipated return to a more stable pricing environment is starting to occur. Due to low stock levels the rural and lifestyle markets in Auckland experienced a quieter trading month in comparison to 2021. The February sales numbers and…

I like the above car analogy. The author is unknown, but it reportedly first appeared in print in 1998 uttered by a US youth football coach whose team had had a bad season. It is pretty self-explanatory when driving and can be applied to most of life’s situations. Simply put, it means that where you’re headed is much more important than what you left behind. The past is the…

Lady Deborah Chambers is a New Zealand Queen's Counsel specialising in relationship property and trusts law. The emergency legislation in response to Covid-19 giving our Government the right to control our freedom of movement is no longer demonstrably justified in removing the fundamental rights to which New Zealanders are entitled. The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990…

Ministry of Health figures show that boosted individuals are now more vulnerable to Covid infection and hospitalisation than the unvaccinated A video summary released 2nd April 2022 by Grant Dixon shows through a series of graphs how the effects of boosters have worn off rapidly in New Zealand, especially since the BA2 variant started circulating. …