People keen to stand for one of nine places on the Northland Regional Council at this year’s local body elections in October are being urged to get their nominations in as soon as possible.
Dale Ofsoske, the council’s Electoral Officer, says nominations opened on Friday 04 July and officially close at noon this Friday, 01 August.
However, Mr Ofsoske warns against leaving the lodgement of nomination papers to the last minute.
“Should a nomination paper be lodged on the morning nominations close, and be incorrectly completed or ineligible nominators are provided, there may be insufficient time to correct the situation and the nomination paper could be invalidated.”
Mr Ofsoske says anyone aged 18 and over can stand for election provided they’re a New Zealand citizen and enrolled on the Parliamentary electoral roll.
“You must also be nominated by two electors whose names appear on the electoral roll within the respective constituency that a candidate is standing for.”
Mr Ofsoske says in the regional council’s case seven councillors will be elected from seven general constituencies (one from each) and two councillors elected from a region-wide Māori constituency (Te Raki).
The general constituencies are Far North, Coastal Central, Coastal South, Kaipara, Mid North, Whangārei Central and Bay of Islands-Whangaroa.
Mr Ofsoske says candidates can complete their nominations using the online nominations portal atesp.electionservices.co.nz/lge2025/NRC. Alternatively printed nomination forms and a candidate handbook are available from any regional council office, by phoning (0800) 002 004, or by downloading fromwww.nrc.govt.nz/elections
Source: New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has said the union movement is appalled by the Government’s proposed electoral law changes, which include the removal of same-day enrolments.
“As the largest democratic organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand, the NZCTU is unequivocally opposed to electoral law changes that are designed to prevent people from participating in the democratic process,” said Wagstaff.
“The Prime Minister is ignoring his own Attorney-General who advised the changes are in breach of the Bill of Rights Act and may disenfranchise up to 100,000 people. She noted that young people, Māori, Asian and Pasifika communities, are likely to be worst affected.
“Luxon and his government are engaging in outright voter suppression as they probably think it will benefit their electoral prospects to prevent large sections of the public from voting in the first place, especially as the groups most affected are disproportionately negatively impacted by the Government’s policies.
“The system should be designed to make it as easy as possible for people to vote. Setting up barriers to political participation is a fundamental breach of human rights and has no place in our democracy,” said Wagstaff.
INCREASE IN BUS FARES ACROSS TE TAITOKERAU FROM 01 AUGUST
Bus fares will increase across Te Taitokerau from Friday (01 August). CityLink and SchoolLink services in Whangārei will increase by $1 per journey. BusLink fares on routes around the region will increase by 0.50c per journey.
Infants up to four years of age continue to travel free of charge and concessions for Community Service Card and Gold Card holders still apply. These concessions will also be available on the Bream Bay Link and Hikurangi Link for the first time from 01 August.
The increase is due to central government requiring regional councils to find increased funding to cover bus costs. Similar increases are happening across the country.
For more informationbuslink.co.nzor follow CityLink Whangārei on Facebook for all the latest updates.
Covering period of Monday 28 – Thursday 31 July – Severe Weather Warnings and Watches issued for heavy rain and strong winds – Potential upgrade to Red Heavy Rain Warning for southeast Tasman – Large northeast swells expected for the east coast of the upper North Island.
MetService has issued Severe Weather Warnings and Watches for heavy rain and strong wind, as a frontal system is set to move slowly over the motu tomorrow (Tuesday). Large northeast swells are also expected for the east coast of the upper North Island.
While the front arrives early on Tuesday and departs to our east Wednesday afternoon, it packs a punch while it crosses the country. Blustery northeasterly winds, widespread heavy rain and even the potential for downpours are all on the cards.
Orange Heavy Rain Warnings have been issued over the North Island for Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Plenty, Taranaki Maunga, and the Central North Island mountains. For the South Island, Orange Heavy Rain Warnings are in force for Tasman, Nelson, western Marlborough, the ranges of Westland, and the headwaters of the Otago lakes and rivers, and of the Canterbury lakes and rivers south of Arthurs Pass. Much of the central and upper North Island is covered by Watches for heavy rain and strong wind.
MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker advises to pay extra attention to “Tasman east and south of Motueka, excluding Nelson City District, where there is a high chance the Orange Warning will be upgraded to a Red Warning. Aside from Motueka township, this is the same region that was covered by a Red Warning back on 11 July.” There is also a moderate risk for inland parts of the Bay of Plenty to be upgraded to a Red Warning.
Swells of 3 to 4.5 metres are forecast on Tuesday for parts of the coast between the Bay of Islands and Whakatane.
“Northeast swell is expected to peak at 4 metres in the Bay of Islands on Tuesday morning, and at 4-4.5 metres at Great Mercury Island in the evening. Northerly swell is expected to peak at 4-4.5 metres at Whakatane around midnight,” states Bakker.
Along with the wind and rain, overnight temperatures are expected to rise. Much of the North Island will stay above 10°C on Tuesday night. Whakatane will be particularly notable, with its overnight minimum of 13°C only two degrees cooler than its recorded maximum temperature on Sunday.
Towards the end of the working week, a deep low to the east of Aotearoa New Zealand is forecast to direct a strong southerly flow onto the eastern North Island, while a second low is expected to move east past the far north.
“At this stage, the risk of Severe Weather from Thursday onwards is minimal, but MetService advises that people keep an eye on the forecast,” Bakker notes.
Young Wellingtonian Sean Hoffman is forging his own path in civil engineering, inspired by the journey of his mother, Michelle-herself a graduate of the New Zealand Diploma of Engineering (Civil) at Whitireia and WelTec. Their story is a testament to the power of family influence, hands-on learning, and the exceptional support provided by the Whitireia and WelTec teaching staff.
Michelle and Sean share more than a surname; both found their passion outside the classroom, preferring hands-on activities over textbooks from an early age. Their natural inclination for building and creating led them to careers in engineering.
Michelle’s journey began after she left school at year 12, completed a Diploma in Business, and spent several years as a stay-at-home mum before stepping into the world of civil engineering through an administrative role.
“Once the kids went to school and I had a bit of extra time, I decided to go back to work and got a receptionist role,” Michelle recalls. “I didn’t know much about the company or the industry initially, but I gradually progressed through different roles from reception to contract administrator and was learning more and more. It was at that point that I decided to upskill and found the New Zealand Diploma of Engineering (Civil) at Whitireia and WelTec.”
Balancing full-time work and part-time study, Michelle is now a qualified project manager. “I’m now working as a project manager and am really loving the variety. It means that I can be in the office or out on the site depending on what work needs to be done. It’s the best of both worlds,” Michelle says.
Sean, inspired by his mother’s determination and success, is now in his first year of the same diploma. Having worked with civil contracting companies since he was young, Sean initially resisted the idea of following in his mother’s footsteps, even spending a year at university in Otago. But the pull of Civil Engineering-and Michelle’s gentle encouragement-proved too strong to ignore.
“Mum says she always saw that I had the right kind of brain for Civil Engineering but I kind of pushed against the idea of going into the industry and decided to get out of Wellington and went to University in Otago for a year. I guess Mum was right though, and after that year I came back and decided to study Civil Engineering at Whitireia and WelTec and I am really enjoying it,” Sean admits. “The close-knit learning environments and supportive teaching staff have made a huge difference for my learning.”
He’s now thriving at Whitireia and WelTec, relishing the opportunity to apply classroom learning to real-world projects during his weekend job. “I have been working for different civil engineering firms on week
A bold new initiative is set to help transform the future of primary care in New Zealand. Today marks the official launch of Health Accelerator, an innovation hub dedicated to developing and deploying digital solutions that empower primary care and improve patient care.
Health Accelerator is a collaborative joint venture between four of New Zealand’s largest primary care organisations — Pegasus, Pinnacle, ProCare, and Tū Ora Compass Health — collectively representing more than 500 general practices and serving over 2 million patients across the country.
Bindi Norwell, Co-Chair at Health Accelerator says: “Our purpose is a simple but powerful one. We want to help drive innovation in primary care to improve clinical workflows, enhance patient experiences, and reduce the administrative burden on healthcare teams — so doctors, nurses, and practice staff can focus on what they do best: caring for their patients.
“This is about game changing innovation, increasing productivity and expanding innovation for primary care, particularly through leveraging AI and digital solutions,” says Norwell.
“New Zealand's health tech sector is valued at $3.7 billion and experiencing an annual growth rate of 8%. Health Accelerator is designed to speed up healthcare innovation by pooling resources, insights, and expertise. Essentially, it’s about creating a smarter, and faster path to innovation,” continues Norwell.
Justine Thorpe, fellow Co-Chair at Health Accelerator adds: “We know there are innovative digital solutions that can help address many of the challenges our network of practices face. Through Health Accelerator, we’re partnering closely with practices, start-ups, researchers, and government agencies to identify real-world problems and co-design scalable solutions that can benefit the entire sector.
“The first innovation we rolled out across the country was robots, which are aimed at supporting cardiovascular disease risk assessments (CVDRA), ensuring all ACC funding is claimed by practices where applicable, and two inbox management assistants. These tools are already making a difference by reducing the time clinicians spend on administrative tasks. We have developed about 10 robots to date and plan to develop more.” continues Thorpe.
“We are now looking at what other opportunities it will be able to announce soon, with AI scribes likely to be high on the list,” concludes Thorpe.
Health Accelerator is also encouraging healthcare practices facing challenges that could be addressed through a digital innovation to reach out, so solutions can be co-designed with users of the solutions in mind. Equally, the company is actively seeking partnerships with healthcare providers, innovators, and organisations who share its vision for a more connected, patient-focused future.
About Pinnacle Incorporated Pinnacle Incorporated is a not-for-profit primary care network supporting over 85 general practices across the Te Manawa Taki region, including Waikato, Taranaki, Rotorua, Taupō-Tūrangi, Thames-Coromandel, and Tairāwhiti. Serving nearly half a million enrolled patients, Pinnacle is committed to delivering high-quality, equitable, and innovative primary healthcare. Through its operational arm, Pinnacle Midlands Health Network (MHN), the organisation provides funding, clinical support, and digital solutions to help general practices thrive and improve health outcomes for their communities.
About Pegasus Health Pegasus Health is a charitable organisation dedicated to improving health outcomes for the people of Waitaha Canterbury. We achieve this through innovative service design and delivery, collaboration with partners, and a commitment to continuous improvement. We lead and collaborate across the primary health care sector with a special focus on Te Waipounamu. We are dedicated to ensuring that all people have access to the primary health care they need, when they need it, closing the health equity gap. Pegasus is committed to overtly, purposefully, and strategically threading equity and Te Tiriti o Waitangi through all we do and how we operate.
About ProCare ProCare is a leading healthcare provider that aims to deliver the most progressive, pro-active and equitable health and wellbeing services in Aotearoa. We do this through our clinical support services, mental health and wellness services, virtual/tele health, mobile health, smoking cessation and by taking a population health and equity approach to our mahi. As New Zealand’s largest Primary Health Organisation, we represent a network of general practice teams and healthcare professionals who provide care to nearly 700,000 patients across Auckland. These practices serve the largest Pacific and South Asian populations enrolled in general practice and the largest Māori population in Tāmaki Makaurau. For more information go towww.procare.co.nz
About Tū Ora Compass Health Tū Ora Compass Health Primary Health Organisation is a not-for-profit enterprise supporting an enrolled population of over 347,000 patients, through a network of 58 General Practice across Wellington, Porirua, Kāpiti, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa. We also support with a range of clinical services, health promotion and population health initiatives funded through various contracts throughout the region.
“Farming families have been through some really tough years recently and that’s weighed heavily on our rural communities,” Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says.
“For the last few seasons, we’ve been farming with sky-high interest rates, rising on-farm costs, fluctuating incomes, and a web of red tape that felt near impossible to navigate.
“It’s great to see our July survey showing many farmers are feeling a whole lot more positive, thanks to better returns, lower interest rates, and easing inflation.
“We’ve also seen a Government that’s been willing to work with farmers and scrap some of the most unworkable, impractical rules that were killing the rural economy.”
Langford says lifting farmers’ confidence has been his number one focus since stepping into the role as president and he’s taken that responsibility seriously.
“We took a long hard look at what was concerning farmers the most back in 2023 and came out with 12 key policy changes for the next government to implement.
“We called it a ‘roadmap for restoring farmer confidence’ and we’ve been absolutely relentless in pursuing the changes we knew would make the biggest difference behind the farm gate.
“That list included fixing unworkable freshwater rules, getting RMA reform right, urgently reviewing our methane reduction targets, and rethinking the rules for carbon forestry.
“The Government has really listened to farmers, got stuck in making some much-needed changes, and they’ve essentially ticked 11 of those 12 policy priorities off the list.”
The Farm Confidence survey found farmer perceptions of current economic conditions have risen to their highest level in almost a decade.
A net 33% of respondents believe conditions are currently good, a dramatic turnaround from the record low of -66% just a year ago, and up from 2% in January this year.
Meanwhile, current farm profitability has reached its highest level ever recorded in the survey, with a net 65% of farmers feeling confident about profitability – up 12 points since January.
Langford says it’s important to note that not all farmers are feeling positive, with arable farmers in particular continuing to face significant headwinds and challenges.
“Many arable farmers aren’t even breaking even, and let’s not forget the farmers in Nelson Tasman who are facing a very long recovery after the recent flooding.”
The survey found that while confidence in current conditions is high, the forward-looking indicators have started to soften.
A net 6% of farmers expect economic conditions to improve over the next 12 months – still in positive territory, but well down from 23% in January.
Future profitability expectations are also softer, sitting at a net 18%, down from 31% earlier this year.
The dairy sector led the decline, with expectations dropping 32 points, likely due to concerns about poorer milk prices, while meat and wool remains most upbeat.
“There's still plenty of uncertainty on the horizon,” Langford says.
“Commodity price volatility, arable sector struggles, and global market jitters are making farmers a bit more cautious about what’s coming.”
Despite global uncertainty, farmers remain focused on strengthening their financial footing, with 43% planning to reduce debt in the next 12 months, almost double from a year ago.
“Farmers are using the breathing room from lower interest rates and improved profitability to pay down debt and build resilience. That’s smart business,” Langford says.
The survey also found hiring challenges have eased slightly, with a net 14% of farmers reporting difficulty recruiting staff in the past six months – the most favourable result since 2012.
“Immigration settings have improved and that’s helping farmers get the skilled and motivated people we need,” Langford says.
The results show rural mental health has been continuously improving too, moving from a net 52% negative in January 2023, to net 26% positive in July 2025.
When asked about their biggest concerns, regulation and compliance costs remain the number one concern, followed by climate change policy and the Emissions Trading Scheme in second, and local government and rates in third.
In terms of what they want from central government, farmers are calling for a focus on fiscal policy, regulation and compliance costs, and the economy and business environment.
“This survey really highlights the progress we’ve made in just 12 months,” Langford says.
“Arable growers are still doing it tough, but there’s a noticeable lift in confidence across the board. That’s something that needs to be celebrated and built upon.
“Federated Farmers are getting some real traction now, but we’ve got to keep the foot down to make sure farmer confidence keeps climbing and the economy keeps growing.”
I Am Hope joins forces with Seventh Wonder for a nationwide partnership
Australian singer-songwriter Bloom, one of the country’s most powerful vocalists, is bringing her acclaimed show Seventh Wonder Performs Fleetwood Mac to New Zealand this September — and this time, it’s for a cause close to home.
Teaming up with mental health charity I Am Hope, the tour will raise funds and awareness for Gumboot Friday, the charity’s free youth counselling programme. Donation points will be available at all shows, with fundraising also happening online via Givealittle.
“We're proud to be backing this tour — and even prouder of the heart behind it,” says Mike King, founder of I Am Hope. “Bloom isn’t just one of the best voices you’ll hear live — she’s someone who truly understands the power of using your platform for good. She’s showing up for our young people in a way that’s real, generous, and community-led. We hope Kiwis support her the same way she’s supporting us.”
Best known for her powerhouse tributes to Adele, Stevie Nicks and Amy Winehouse, Bloom has sold out theatres across Australia and earned the praise of Mick Fleetwood himself, who called her performance “spooky good.” Behind the music, Bloom uses her platform for good — having raised more than $30,000 for Parkinson’s disease and shining a light on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
“As an artist, I’ve seen how music can heal—and teaming up with I Am Hope lets us turn that connection into real support for young people who need it most.” Bloom, front woman of Seventh Wonder.
Managed by Dennis Dunstan, former co-manager of Fleetwood Mac, Bloom will perform a six-stop NZ tour with her band, Seventh Wonder, from 12–20 September. A special guest appearance from Mike King is also on the cards, with final show details to be announced soon.
