All articles

The strength or success of anything in life is measured in numbers and the annual Repco Beach Hop in Whangamata is no exception. After 21 years it has become Australasia's largest event of its type catering for automotive fun and rock and roll music. With last year's Covid delayed event being held in November, it gave the Beach Hop crew only a few months between this year's event and last. Despite that, it went off without a hitch and as usual…

Last month, I wrote about the way in which radicals are working to reinterpret the meaning of the Treaty of Waitangi, often arguing that the Treaty of Waitangi (in English) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi (in te reo) are two quite different documents, and that there is no way that Maori chiefs would have surrendered sovereignty in 1840. Given the speeches made by Maori chiefs on 5 February 1840, and at the conference of chiefs at Kohimarama in 1860,…

When the current and returning members of the Waiuku Golf club gather to play at the Club’s 100th Year centennial celebration weekend in June, they will be thankful that the hazards they encounter are not hoof marks from cattle and sheep and fences around all the greens and gullies full of tea-tree and prickly blackberries as was the case in the early years of the course. Certainly not ideal for ball retrieval! The club has its origins as far…

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 Navigation Homes can help folks build their dream home on it, they just…

We all know people who seem to be constantly striving to better themselves. It can by physically whether it be in a gym, running longer or running faster, lifting heavier or loosing weight. Some people give up a vice, such as alcohol or sugar for a month or longer and there are any number of charities that offer monthly fundraising challenges that you can align yourself too. Some of these people we know take on unbelievably difficult…

Accepting the fact that April last year was our great lockdown, April was the strongest it has been for 5 years. Inventory levels continue to fall and whilst adjusted for the seasonal norm of the autumn/winter period they still continue to place still more pressure on the housing market. Low supply and high demand holds prices! · There have been less investors in the market for April but this could be as a result of the LVR restrictions which…

Papakura Streetfest – what a wonderful day! · Amazing turnout with over 5000 people coming through during the day. Over 45 community stalls, Sustainable Papakura Market Stalls, local entertainment and so much fun for the kids – and the adults too. · Check out some of the great photos that Poppa G took for us during the day: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=poppagspictures&set=a.3794199594042553 · New businesses in Papakura · And we…

Many of us spend our Saturday’s watching kid’s sports games, with family and friends lunching and catching up on the week’s events or engaged in activities slightly different to the Monday to Friday routine. Then there are those who challenge themselves and inspire others like Wenny Lubbers, Operations Manager at Versatile Pukekohe. On the 22nd of May, he was climbing the 328 metre Auckland Sky Tower dressed in his full fire fighters kit (which…

The building industry is booming. You will be familiar with the incredible growth in our region. As a result, builders, engineers, planners, consultants, and tradespeople are in strong demand and for those whose homes are being built, new pressures on supply and resource is starting to emerge. In this current climate, this pressure can be reduced if you build with a trusted and long established national group home builder. When building with…

The RBNZ laid out the path for policy, including OCR rate hikes from mid-2022. Interest rates, including mortgage rates, have bottomed (all going well). · We have pulled forward our forecast OCR hikes to commence from May’22. New Zealand’s monetary policy stance sticks out compared to the RBA, and most other central banks. · There is significant upside risk to Kiwi interest rates and the Kiwi dollar. We are wary of mortgage related fixing in…