Northland news in brief: 21 new citizens honoured at Mangawhai
Twenty-one people from across the globe were welcomed as New Zealand citizens on Monday in the first ever Kaipara citizenship ceremony at the Mangawhai Golf Club venue. The ceremony was led by Kaipara District Council Mayor Craig Jepson, who reflected on the occasion's importance for both the new citizens and the township itself.
Quick arrest
A young man was arrested overnight on Monday after an alleged burglary at a Victoria St business in Dargaville, police say. The incident was reported about 10.30pm and police arrived quickly. The male was arrested shortly afterwards.
Bad business alert
Consumer NZ is calling on customers to nominate bad businesses for its Yeah, Nah Awards. The awards aim to put pressure on New Zealand's poor-performing brands, businesses and services, highlighting issues like shrinkflation, greenwashing and overpriced, underwhelming products. Public nominations are open until June 30 at tinyurl.com/nah2025 and 'winners' will be announced in November.
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RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Kaipara Council cuts water to some properties as water levels reach critical
The Kaipara District Council has cut water to some properties as Dargaville's dwindling water supply reaches critical levels. Multiple water main breaks had brought Dargaville's reservoirs below 10 percent capacity, prompting the council to shut off booster pumps at the treatment plant. That has reduced the water pressure at some properties, and cut the supply at others. A spokesperson for the Kaipara District Council explained the reservoirs could hold around three days worth of treated water, but the damaged lines meant more water was going out than in. They also confirmed the remaining water supply was safe to drink. Kaipara District Mayor Craig Jepson was hopeful the breaks could be repaired by the end of the day, allowing the water supply to start building again. "I think we'll get it solved today, hopefully we'll be able to update people later today on where we're at," he said. "We are also putting water tankers outside the council building in Dargaville so if people need water they can come and get water if we get to the point where we actually run out." Kaipara District Mayor Craig Jepson was hopeful the breaks could be repaired by the end of Friday. Photo: Supplied / Kaipara District Council Meanwhile, businesses on Dargaville's Victoria Street were suffering. "[It's impacting] hugely, we've done about a quarter of what we would normally do already," Sixty8 Cafe owner Alesha Thorn said. "We're a little bit nervous to prep and carry on because what if they do shut it off? There's a bit of uncertainty around and I'm not too sure how the rest of the day will go." She said it was confusing and frustrating for businesses like hers that relied on water. "There's not been much communication in the way of: should we be shut? Should we be going? Because when you're holding a food license you can't really conserve any more [water] than usual," she said. "We're kind of here twiddling our thumbs waiting for the odd coffee [order]." She said the district's infrastructure issues had put businesses in a difficult position. "It's not good enough and we'd like the council to put a little bit more maintenance into the systems because we're just constantly having problems up here... I think we've been let down a bit." A receptionist at Dargaville Intermediate noted each of the town's schools had back-up water supplies and would stay open. Dargaville High School said they were open as normal. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
4 days ago
- 1News
Are credit card rewards schemes worth it?
Credit card reward schemes are likely to be scaled back further as pressure goes on interchange fees, Consumer NZ says, but most aren't delivering value for many New Zealanders, anyway. On Tuesday, Kiwibank and Air New Zealand announced they were cutting ties and Kiwibank would no longer offer an Airpoints credit card. Kiwibank pointed to increasing regulation of interchange fees, which are the fees paid by the bank that processes a transaction to the card issuer. The Commerce Commission has already introduced new standards to reduce these fees, which led to a reduction in some credit card rewards in 2022. More reductions are expected to be announced soon, to come into force at the end of the year. ADVERTISEMENT Consumer NZ said its analysis showed that credit card reward schemes were only benefiting big spenders who used their cards frequently and paid off the balance in full every month. People would generally need to spend $25,000 on their cards over two years, and not pay interest on it, to make a rewards scheme worth the fees that the cards charged. "Low spenders, and those with interest-bearing debt, don't benefit from rewards and are effectively subsidising high spenders. We don't think this is fair so we have supported the regulation of interchange knowing this would likely result in card issuers scaling back rewards programmes, increasing card fees or cancelling schemes altogether," a spokesperson said. "Interchange regulation will also reduce the cost for merchants of accepting card payments. This should, in theory at least, result in lower card payment surcharges for consumers. Unfortunately there's no guarantee these savings will be passed on to consumers though so we have been calling for surcharge regulation for a number of years. The commission is expected to consult on this later in the year." Banking expert Claire Matthews, of Massey University, said it was to be expected that rewards schemes would be pared back as interchange fees reduced. "Although it does depend on the level at which they are capped and how that is split between the parties. However, those fees have been a key source of the revenue to fund the rewards so any reduction can be expected to be passed on."
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4 days ago
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Council Backs Joint Approach For Water Services
Press Release – Kaipara District Council Kaipara District Council Mayor Craig Jepson says collaborating with the other Northland councils is necessary. Kaipara District Council has completed its deliberations on the future delivery model for water services, following community consultation as part of the Government's Local Water Done Well (LWDW) legislation. After reviewing feedback from 66 submitters, including businesses, organisations, and individuals, elected members agreed to pursue a multi-council controlled organisation as its priority model for water and wastewater services. This approach also received the strongest support from the community, with 60% of submissions favouring a collaborative Northland-wide effort to deliver infrastructure, maintenance, and service delivery for waters. Alternative options considered included a shared service contract model with one or more councils, and an in-house business model. Kaipara District Council Mayor Craig Jepson says collaborating with the other Northland councils is necessary. 'Reliable water services are important for our communities, so we need to make smart choices that keep them as affordable as possible and running smoothly for the long haul,' said Mayor Jepson. 'We know the cost of delivering water services is going to increase but we need to be in a position where we not only maintain efficient and affordable services but still maintain our community input on how these are managed. Representatives of Kaipara District Council are working alongside elected representatives from other Northland councils through a Local Water Done Well Working Group, with the goal of further investigating collaborative opportunities for water service delivery. Kaipara District Council Chief Executive Jason Marris said the decision today means staff will be working to finalise the Water Services Delivery Plan within the legislative timeframes. 'We're working closely with our Northland counterparts to support the working group in shaping a path forward. The decision today provides a good step to achieve what our community has signalled.'
