Twenty-three people have put their names forward for nine seats on the Northland Regional Council at October’s local body elections.
Dale Ofsoske, the council’s Electoral Officer, says nominations opened on Friday 04 July and officially closed at noon Friday, 01 August.
Mr Ofsoske says 23 people have been nominated for the regional council, however, due to only one nomination being received for the Mid North General Constituency the sole candidate, Geoff Crawford, would be declared elected unopposed.
This leaves 22 people contesting the remaining eight seats on council; six general seats and two Māori seats.
The nominees are (alphabetically by surname):
Bay of Islands-Whangaroa General Constituency (one vacancy):
Lane Ayr; Karl Barkley (Independent); Murray Hosking (Independent); Colin Toss Kitchen; Nyze Manuel; Jane Wright.
Coastal Central General Constituency (one vacancy):
Whangarei Central General Constituency (one vacancy):
Jack Craw (independent); Caroline Davis.
Mr Ofsoske says formal nomination results will be announced by public notice on Wednesday 06 August 2025.
Voting documents will be sent out from Tuesday 09 September 2025 and must be received by the Electoral Officer by noon on election day, Saturday 11 October 2025.
A much loved heritage stalwart is retiring after more than two decades serving her community.
Val Butcher, the postmistress of the historic Ophir Post Office, is leaving her old stamping ground after 26 years working in the iconic building which is cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
But although her days of serving the public behind the counter may be over, she won’t be going far.
“I’ll probably still loiter at the Post Office to catch up with people – and I’ve still got to write my monthly community newsletter,” she says.
With its distinctive schist finish, the Ophir Post Office is one of the most photographed buildings in the South Island, drawing visitors from around the country and the world. Built in 1886, it also happens to be Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest running post office.
History aside, however, it’s the people that make the place so special according to Val.
“The community is very caring, and the visitors that come from all over the world all bring something in the way of knowledge,” she says.
“It’s amazing how many people who have helped me learn the histories, or have passed on their stories of the place, or their own family history of the place.”
Although Val won’t miss getting up on cold winter mornings – “the mail must get through regardless” – she will miss the daily interactions with the community she loves.
“Things happen everyday that are enjoyable – it’s these moments that are so lovely that rub off on me; people celebrating birthdays or having a new grandchild. The Post Office is such a hub for this community that the news is often delivered here too, and that makes it so enjoyable,” she says.
“There have been sad things that happen as well – but the community rallies around when they do.”
Val almost fell into the role by accident after doing some relieving work for the previous post mistress. Val was the obvious replacement when she left.
“I was just here at the right time and the right place, and it was the right job for me,” she says.
“I feel it has given me a lot of confidence – and it got me out of bed each day!”
Highlights over the years have included being profiled in Shepherdess magazine, and of course celebrating her grandson Finn Butcher’s gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after he won the mens’ Kayak Cross event.
“People popped in to congratulate me all week,” she says.
Val believes the Post Office is a place that keeps the community together, and says the role has kept her connected with the community.
“I have never been lonely and have made so many fri
Slovenia has announced a total ban on caging hens by the end of 2028. The move follows Sweden’s announcement last month that is has officially ended the caging of hens without needing a legal ban, driven by overwhelming public opposition to animal cruelty.
SAFE’s Head of Campaigns, Jessica Chambers, says while these international shifts are worth celebrating, they highlight just how broken New Zealand’s animal welfare system has become.
“New Zealand’s Animal Welfare Act promises animals the right to express normal behaviours, yet over 1.2 million hens continue to suffer in dark, crowded cages, unable to move freely or spread their wings” says Chambers.
SAFE says hens will continue to languish in cages until the Government addresses its systemic failures and the outdated and compromised welfare codes allow the law to be undermined.
Public sentiment stands firmly on the side of hens. In 2023, more than 22,000 New Zealanders signed SAFE’s petition calling for a ban on cages. And in 2022, hundreds of veterinary professionals added their voices to an open letter urging the Government to end the use of cages – citing serious concerns for animal welfare.
“It’s indefensible. We have the knowledge, the law, and the public support to end this cruelty – yet the cages remain. That’s a failure of leadership.”
SAFE has sent a formal letter to the Minister for Animal Welfare, requesting an update on when the government will align hen farming practices with the Animal Welfare Act and implement a full ban on cages.
“Millions of hens have lived and died in cages while the Government turns a blind eye,” says Chambers.
“It’s time for decisive action. New Zealand must uphold its commitment to animal welfare and free hens from cages.”
Source: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga – Report by Niki Partsch
A river with rich connections to tangata whenua, and which nurtured the establishment of the city of Wellington, is part of a wāhi tūpuna newly listed by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
Kumutoto Pā was established at the mouth of the Kumutoto Awa (stream) when Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama, and Te Atiawa settled in the central Te Whanganui-a-Tara harbour in the early 1800s.
Over several decades, this fishing village and centre of early flax trade grew into a city that would later become the nation's capital.
A wāhi tūpuna is defined as ‘a place important to Māori for its ancestral significance and associated cultural and traditional values’. The extent of the Kumutoto wāhi tūpuna is a diminutive portion of a significant Māori occupation.
The old mouth of the river was located approximately where Woodward Street and Lambton Quay now meet. Taranaki tūpuna including notable ancestors Wiremu Piti Pomare (Ngāti Mutunga), Ngātata-i-te-rangi, and Wiremu Tako Ngātata (Ngāti Te Whiti, Te Atiawa) lived in the Kumutoto papakāinga and surrounding areas.
The Kumutoto Pā gardens and cultivations were located near the source of the Kumutoto Awa on Pukehinau Ridge, in the area now occupied by Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn Park and the Wellington Botanic Garden.
The urupā (burial grounds) of the people of Kumutoto Pā, Pipitea Pā and other settlements was situated where the Bolton Street Cemetery is today.
Located within Kumutoto Forest in Wellington’s Town Belt, the newly listed Kumutoto Wāhi Tūpuna features the only section of the original Kumutoto Awa, an important waterway for the ancestors of Ngāti Mutunga and Te Atiawa that still flows its natural course.
The name Kumutoto is linked to traditional birthing practices, and the awa played a central role in Māori life during their early settlement of Wellington, a tangible living link connecting the gardens, urupā and papakāinga.
Nothing remains of the cultivations and village today, but the Kumutoto Forest is part of the City to Sea walkway and the newly recognised Kumutoto Wāhi Tūpuna is just a few steps from busy Salamanca Road into the meditative hush of water, trees and birdlife.
Read the wāhi tūpuna List report by Dr Dennis Ngawhare Kaiwhakatere Kaupapa Māori at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
The announced overhaul of New Zealand’s education system is a chance to ensure school leavers are better equipped for the modern workforce, says BusinessNZ.
Chief Executive Katherine Rich says NCEA is failing students.
“The current system of NCEA is not delivering what students, parents, teachers, or employers need. Change is necessary to ensure young people are better prepared for further education, training, and the world of work.
“Whether a school-leaver is heading on to university, an apprenticeship, or directly into work, the education system must offer transparent, reliable guidance to build confidence and inform whatever choice they’re making.”
A consultation document has been released by the Government today, seeking input on the future of education. Rich says BusinessNZ encourages businesses to participate in the transformation of the education system in New Zealand.
“This is an opportunity to strengthen the connection between schools, training providers, and industry. By working closer together, we can better support learners with real-world pathways, ensure relevant skills are being learned, and deliver long-term benefits for communities and the economy alike.”
Notes:
– Today’s education announcement was made at a BusinessNZ education breakfast event
The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central, Business Canterbury and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand is sending four more personnel to Canada to assist with the country’s wildfire response.
Fire and Emergency currently has 50 personnel fighting fires in the Manitoba province.
This deployment of four Incident Management Team (IMT) specialists will be heading to the Alberta province after a formal request for assistance was received by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
Fire and Emergency Deputy National Commander Steph Rotarangi says our specialist incident management personnel are well placed to provide much needed assistance.
“The conditions here at home mean we can currently continue support our Canadian counterparts as they battle wildfires across their country,” she says.
“It’s also an opportunity for our specialists to learn from the experience and utilise their skills in challenging conditions.
“Already more than six million hectares of land have burned during their wildfire season.
“It’s a long, hard slog for their crews and IMTs, so our team heading over will help provide relief and respite for the teams that have been battling these fires for a long time.”
The deployment consists of three taskforce leaders and one helicopter coordinator. They will link up with Australian specialists to form a larger IMT.
“I wish to thank them for answering the call and spending a significant period of time away from their loved ones who will be holding the fort at home,” Steph Rotarangi says.
“I would also like to thank the team already in Canada, who have been working incredibly hard and achieving great results over the past three weeks.”
Across Canada there are 747 active wildfires, with 64 of these in the Alberta province.
Notes:
The four IMT specialists leave for Edmonton on 5 August and will be deployed for approximately five weeks.
4 August 2025 – How businesses set prices for their goods and services is a key driver of inflation and how long it will last into the future.
To better understand the price-setting behaviour of firms, new research by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand looked at how well two kinds of measures of price-setting behaviour – from surveys and from models based on recent data – help explain actual inflation.
“When explaining and forecasting domestic or non-tradables inflation, modelled measures of price-setting behaviour perform better than survey-based measures,” the Analytical Note authors Ross Kendall and Marea Sing say.
Modelled measures that are more sensitive to recent inflation are better for forecasting domestic or non-tradable inflation than those that are not, the research found.
In other words, businesses are more likely to change their prices based on the inflation they experienced recently, rather than the inflation they experienced several years ago. Recent inflation also has more influence on price setting behaviour than expectations of future inflation.
However, the various measures of price-setting behaviour are not significantly different from each other and it is best to consider all measures when explaining and forecasting inflation. This is especially true as price-setting behaviour can change over time.
This research can help the Monetary Policy Committee make judgements about the inflation outlook and where to set the Official Cash Rate.
“These judgements about price-setting behaviour are particularly important following episodes of high or low inflation, as they influence how persistent the effects of these periods will be and how quickly inflation is likely to return to the 2% target midpoint,” the Note says.
Price-setting behaviour describes how firms dynamically adjust their prices based on past and expected future inflation. Price-setting behaviour plays a key role in the inflation process, in particular, influencing how persistent inflation t
Source: Charles Hyland, Chair, Soil & Health Association of New Zealand
Aotearoa New Zealand – Consumers have just lost a fundamental right to informed choice about the food they're eating, says the Soil & Health Association.
New Zealand Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard and his eight Australian state counterparts have approved a decision to allow genetically engineered food ingredients to enter unlabelled into the food chain of both countries.
“This is an alarming and unscientific move that removes our right to know what's in our food,” says Charles Hyland, chair of the Soil & Health Association.
“New Zealanders want to know what they're eating, and be able to avoid things they don't want.”
“Allowing unlabelled GE ingredients that have no novel DNA ignores the fact that changes can and do occur as a result of all types of genetic engineering – whether it introduces novel DNA or not.”
Gene edited cattle in the USA were heralded as a success and claimed to have no novel DNA. However it was then found that bacterial DNA had been introduced, conferring antibiotic resistance, and the cattle were withdrawn from the market.
Similar situations could happen with food that supposedly has no novel DNA.
Our knowledge of the risks to health from GE foods is still very limited, and there is very little long-term independent research to draw from.
“What happens if there is a health issue from GE food? How could we pinpoint it to that GE food? If it's unlabelled, authorities won't be able to trace it or issue a food recall.”
The onus will now be on consumers to ask retailers and food companies whether there are any GE ingredients in their food.
“The best ways to avoid GE food ingredients are to eat organic food, grow your own, favour whole foods and avoid ultra-processed foods.”
FURTHER INFORMATION: Soil & Health's submission to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 10 September 2024
The Zero Waste Network is expanding to become Zero Waste Aotearoa so we can better achieve our goal of building a waste free future together.
Our updated name reflects the evolving scope of our work. We've gone from being a small group of committed people twenty years ago, to a nationwide network of 130+ member organisations employing thousands, to today when we are increasing our own business and project capability and advancing high-level advocacy work locally, nationally and internationally.
“We are acutely aware that Aotearoa NZ is falling behind other similar countries in dealing with our waste. It's time to catch up. Across the globe, innovative waste reduction solutions are being put in place that are having immediate, dramatic and beneficial impacts on large waste streams. Our organisation will be creating and pushing for the kind of solutions that are wanted and needed,” said General Manager Dorte Wray.
“Globally, there is a strong movement among business, industry and government towards circular economic models that design out waste and pollution and keep valuable resources in use. Zero waste models offer significant community economic benefits, climate solutions and environmental protections.”
“One small example of the kind of solutions we want is the container return scheme. In Tasmania, 20 million containers have been returned just three months after it launched – that's an average of 220,000 containers every day as the community gets behind the initiative.”
“We believe that there is a fantastic opportunity to become a zero waste nation with the right leadership in place to drive the necessary change. We must have the right settings to achieve the outcomes we want. We have a whole world of good examples and ideas to draw upon, alongside brilliant indigenous solutions that are specific and appropriate for this land.”
“Our member organisations are delivering amazing benefits in communities up and down the country every day from Kaitaia to Invercargill. We are building community resilience, economic opportunities, dignified employment and environmental care. We can have a zero waste Aotearoa with beneficial outcomes for all.”
Join us for our annual hui in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland where we will celebrate 25 years of building a waste free future together. Tickets are still available for a fantastic three-day event, visit https://hui.zerowaste.co.nz/ for further information.
Stand-alone houses lead annual rise in home consents – media release
1 August 2025
There were 33,979 new homes consented in Aotearoa New Zealand in the year ended June 2025, up 1.0 percent compared with the year ended June 2024, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
“This is the first time in two years that we have recorded annual growth in the number of new homes consented,” economic indicators spokesperson Michelle Feyen said.
The lift was largely due to a 6.3 percent rise in stand-alone house consents, reaching 15,858.
In contrast, consents for multi-unit homes fell 3.2 percent to 18,121 in the year ended June 2025.
Multi-unit homes include townhouses, apartments, retirement village units, and flats.
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