Fire-destroyed New World employees find work at new supermarket
Photo:
RNZ/Marika Khabazi
Dozens of former workers at an
Auckland New World which was destroyed in a blaze
in July are back serving customers with a new supermarket opening.
Owner Matt Mullins moved up to Auckland from Otaki to run the new New World in Point Chevalier, with customers able to shop for the first time on Tuesday morning.
"Over 60 of the team from Vic Park have joined us and they've added tremendous value to our team."
He said the store's opening was pulled forward a few weeks after the fire.
"We were able to open a full six weeks ahead of schedule.
"The construction team did a great job, so the opening was pulled forward three weeks and then after the fire at Vic Park, another three weeks."
New World Victoria Park employed roughly 180 people who received their last paychecks at the beginning of this month.
RNZ previously reported that just over 100 affected staff had found work at other Foodstuffs supermarkets.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
14 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Future of Right to Repair Bill uncertain
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson says she's not giving up on her bill that would give consumers the right to get goods repaired. The Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill would compel manufacturers to make repair parts available locally to consumers to extend the lifetime of products and reduce waste. The legislation was sent to Select Committee after passing its first reading in February with support from Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Maori and New Zealand First. It appeared to have enough support to progress into law, but the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee has now recommended, by majority, that the bill not be passed. What the Consumer Guarantees (Right to Repair) Amendment Bill proposes: Davidson told RNZ New Zealand First appeared to have pulled its support for the legislation. "The reason we got it through first reading is because we had [support from] all of the opposition parties, plus New Zealand First, so we were able to get it to Select Committee, which was fantastic. "We heard from submitters, oral submissions, written submissions, overwhelming support for the bill. At the end of the select committee process, the bill was reported back, and, at least at this stage, the New Zealand First members have voted against progressing the bill." She said she would not give up on the bill, especially when she had adopted changes, like narrowing the goods covered to above $100 in value, at the suggestion of government members. "It's a little rough to have done all that deep work to make the bill better but the positive is we have now got incredible improvements that we know government members were in support of because they helped us make them. "So there is massive mandate there for the public to have what they've asked for, which is the right to repair their own goods. " New Zealand First has not responded to RNZ's requests for comment. The committee's report on the Right To Repair Bill notes opposition parties had "serious concerns" about the way the committee had conducted its work on the bill. "Opposition members participated in this work in the reasonable expectation that such engagement was aimed at building genuine cross-party agreement," the report said. "The result was otherwise. The committee spent significant time, and drew on the resources of Parliamentary Counsel and departmental advisors, to explore and draft changes to resolve the concerns of government members that they then ultimately chose not to support," the report states. "That decision is of course within their rights. But when extensive collaborative work is undertaken with the tacit implication that it might secure support, only for that support to be withheld, the effect is to undermine trust between members. "It also risks the perception that the process was used to keep the committee occupied rather than to improve the bill, at a cost to the public purse." The decision comes as the government rolls back a series of waste-reduction measures. The container-return scheme has been scrapped, plastic bans pared back, and product stewardship rules delayed. In December 2024, the government quietly cancelled several waste minimisation initiatives focused on recycling and kerbside food scraps composting. Four out of five planned policies will no longer go ahead, including mandatory kerbside composting and recycling for all urban areas. A planned national Circular Economy & Bioeconomy Strategy was also put on hold. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
44 minutes ago
- RNZ News
30 years of quality over quantity as a fine jeweller
James McCarty is a second-generation fine jeweller whose career spans from apprenticing on London's Bond Street to crafting bespoke heirlooms in his Auckland studio today. James trained in the UK over 30 years ago under the tutelage of master goldsmiths at one of the country's most revered fine jewellery houses-known informally as the "Savile Row of jewellers." His apprenticeship involved handmaking pieces for heritage firms like Garrard and Asprey and elite clients across the globe including the Sultan of Brunei, Sir Elton John, and the King of Oman. One of his early design challenges was a white gold bracelet made from 337 separate components, requiring 592 solder joins a feat in craftsmanship, and patience. He later completed advanced studies at London Guildhall University and Sir John Cass College, earning distinctions from the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and the British Jewellers Association. And today, in his small Auckland studio, he makes pieces that carry personal stories-engagement rings, family heirlooms, and designs that honour both tradition and individuality. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
44 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Leadership rumour laughed off as Willis and Sepuloni clash
Minister of Finance Nicola Willis. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone You can listen live to RNZ's political panel on Morning Report at 8am every Wednesday. Analysis - Finance Minister Nicola Willis' seven interruptions in 30 seconds is a targeted attack on Labour's rumoured capital gains tax policy reminiscent of Sir John Key's "show me the money" moment. But the strategy this early is not the slam dunk Key's jibe - less than a month before the 2011 election - was hailed as by columnists. Speaking on Morning Report' s political panel, opposite Labour's deputy Carmel Sepuloni, Willis interrupted her opponent to ask - six times - how Labour would pay for its promises, with a distinct seventh interruption half way through for good measure. Labour's promises at this point are, however, only promises to reveal policy at some point including a tax policy before the end of the year, which could explain how other promises would be paid for. This takes some sting out of the Finance Minister's criticism, but also leaves Labour without an effective way to combat it. The panel started with host Ingrid Hipkiss asking about Willis' recent trip to London. "If we're really quiet, Carmel, do you think we'll be able to hear the gentle whispers coming that we may be speaking with New Zealand's next prime minister?" she said, referring to a social media post by a former gossip columnist Willis had laughed off the previous day as coming from "an exuberant fan". Sepuloni was quick to emphasise the rumour of division, saying "the conversations around rolling the leadership really ramped up" during the London trip last week, Labour Party Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni and Labour Leader Chris Hipkins. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Willis again laughed the suggestion off, saying a leadership spill was "not on the cards" and suggesting that while plenty were quick to criticise, "every now and then, there's a fan who's just as exuberant in the other direction, and that's all there is to it". She said the trip had been "fantastic" and allowed her to speak lenders the government was borrowing from, and "they can see that we're a sensible government, doing the right things to manage the public finances, they back our plan". Sepuloni said Willis needed to recognise "much of that debt has actually been built up under her watch". "They decided to give out tax cuts that they were told were unaffordable and give tax breaks to places like landlords, 2.9 billion to landlords, tax breaks to the tobacco industry. I think New Zealanders are questioning the priorities of this government." Hipkiss asked Sepuloni the inevitable question about what Labour would do, leading to the following exchange with Sepuloni talking over Willis' interjections: Sepuloni: Our priority would certainly be on what I've mentioned already. We need support Willis : How would you pay for it? Is the question. Sepuloni : need suport for New Zealanders to get into work.... Willis : How would you pay for it? Sepuloni : Well, we certainly wouldn't be giving tax breaks.... Willis : How would you pay for it? Sepuloni : ... value of 2.9b ... Willis : so you wouldn't give tax relief to people struggling. Sepuloni : to landlords, our focus would be on work ... Willis : how would you pay for it Sepuloni : ... and jobs. We wouldn't have been pausing and ... Willis : How would you pay for it? Sepuloni : ... and ending up with 18,000 fewer jobs in the ... Willis : How are you going to pay for it? Sepuloni : ....construction industry. It's about choices Nicola, and your government have made choices that are completely out of step with what New Zealanders want. Willis : Okay so she gave a long answer, and this is exactly Labor's problem. They want to promise everyone everything, and they will not front up with how they want to pay for it, because the way they want to pay for it is putting new taxes on an economy that is already struggling. The discussion soon veered back to the coalition's approach, with Willis again highlighting the crackdown on local councils' spending and the government's "concerns" about keeping food prices under control. "The last government attempted some reforms in that area. It's pretty clear they're not delivering enough. So we are working hard on what the next steps are," she said. Sepuloni came in with an interjection of her own - Labour's frequent refrain that the government has been unable to find a single family receiving the maximum $250 a fortnight from the FamilyBoost scheme. Willis had to rework the scheme after it was revealed to be less effective than expected . "This was a government that promised thousands of families $250 extra a fortnight through their FamilyBoost scheme and now they can't identify one family who have received it," Sepuloni said. "I am just going to correct a factual error there," Willis said, "because there are more than 60,000 families that have received a cheque - money into their bank account." "Everyone who has applied has received their full entitlement, and actually now there's a human reality to that I saw at Parliament a couple of weeks ago, an Uber driver, he stopped me, he said 'I want a photo with you, because that family boost money has made such a difference to my family'." It was unclear what "error" Willis was referring to: many families are receiving some funding but no evidence has been forthcoming of any families being eligible for the maximum amount under National's tax policy from the last election. "I'm glad you had another exuberant fan," Hipkiss observed, "let's move on to teachers and correcting factual errors". Public Service Minister Judith Collins corrected herself on Tuesday after claiming last week striking teachers were earning an annual salary of "about $140,000", far more than what most would earn . "It's actually really disappointing that we've got a government who have been pointing the finger at our teachers and blaming them for going on strike when actually this is off the back of them having their pay equity claims pulled, and now what we're seeing is that they've been offered a 1 percent [annual] increase," Sepuloni said. "We're just saying 'look (secondary teachers' union) PPTA, represent your workforce fairly, come and do your job which is negotiate with us, let's strike a deal," Willis replied. "We value teachers very, very much. They are going to be the key to us lifting educational achievement in our schools. They're going to be the key to getting a replacement to NCEA working and we want to negotiate with them to get a fair deal." Collins last week billed the strikes - taking place today - as a "political stunt". On Tuesday she said it was a case of mixing her messages up a bit.
