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NZ Herald
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Opinion: What social media travel posts reveal about each generation
Each generation has its own style when it comes to posting their travel experiences online. Does it mean anything? Photo / 123rf THE FACTS Comedian Eric Feldman went viral when he posted a video of still photos of himself dressed as a middle-aged woman holidaying in Rome. In the 40-second slideshow were awkward selfies, blurry pics, and the Beach Boys' soundtrack Kokomo. Feldman was imitating on Instagram the gawky sentimentalism of photos
RNZ News
20-05-2025
- RNZ News
Hospo industry hit by hoaxes as scammers target bars, cafes and restaurants
A scammer claiming they had been wrongly served onions has been noticed in Wellington. File photo. Photo: 123rf Fraudsters are targeting cafes, restaurants and bars, with at least two scams doing the rounds of the capital's dining scene, as well as some in Christchurch. Hospitality NZ spokesperson Sam McKinnon says one scam doing the rounds in the capital involves a man claiming to be a diner, whose partner had become severely ill after eating there. In several cases it was alleged the woman had gone into anaphylactic shock after eating onions which she was allergic to. Another cafe was asked for a refund by a man who said his companion had had food poisoning. The businesses realised it was the same person, after the scam was flagged up on a hospitality sector Facebook page, McKinnon said. It was "disappointing and frustrating" for the sector, particularly in the tough economic climate, he added. Fortune Favours venue manager Rachael Lee said she believed her bar was targeted by the same man earlier this month. "He was claiming he'd ordered food and his wife, who was allergic to onions, had been given onions, and due to the fact that they weren't New Zealand citizens they had been over-charged hospital bills and now it was on us to pay them. "We never want to have someone be over-charged, so we always try to check receipts and look through past transactions. But there was never any proof, just demanding money without providing any evidence." Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard other venues had been targeted by similar scams. She was aware of about 10 bars targeted by the onions scam and thought at least several of them fell for it, which could have been potentially costly, she added. "Some people have smelt a rat and said no, go away. But others have been called out and handed over the money." None of the stories matched, she said. "If I hadn't seen the [Facebook group] post that he had already hit other bars, we probably would have been scammed out of a lot of money." Maura Rigby - the co-owner and director of Beach Babylon and Little Beer Quarter - said both venues had been targeted by people running "the overcharging or double charging scam" at least twice in the past six months. Staff had been alerted to two attempts to get refunds based on fabricated credit card statements, she said. "We're talking about $200 to $300, not huge numbers, when you compare it to large scams like bank fraud. But for the hospitality industry, it's a nuisance and it's a significant amount of money." When the person making the claim was asked for extra evidence, "we found that the person just disappeared". The same thing had happened this year, although she was not sure if it was a different person, or group of people, she said. "They create Gmail accounts, with a normal sounding name and then a number at the end and sound, initially, quite legitimate. But then when we get persistent requests from them we smell a rat and when we can't match it up with transactions that actually occurred at our businesses and then then we know it bored. "We're a customer service industry, we want to please our customers and put any problems, anything not done right, as quickly as possible. "Initially we're always really receptive to hear if there was a mistake and we thoroughly investigate it. But now we'll just be asking for a little bit more information so that we can ensure that it actually matches up with transactions that happened at our businesses, rather than just people targeting us because we like to please our customers. "It's not a great time for us. I guess other people are doing it tough too, and that might be why there's a rise of scams like this. But we don't have the margins to withstand extra expenses like this at the moment." Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said it had been alerted to the scams by members in both Wellington and Christchurch. The association was sending out a notice to alert others who may not have heard about it, she added. Scams put additional stress on restaurants in challenging economic times. "Having to deal with this and figuring out what's genuine and what's not can be a bit of a minefield." It was important for companies dealing with these sorts of complaints to request a receipt, establish the details correctly, and have a clear refund and complaints policy, she said. "It is surprising how often people will claim to have been in a restaurant and eaten a certain dish, and then later on the owner will discover they definitely weren't here, as they didn't serve that dish that night. In some cases, we've seen people stating that they've consumed something that isn't even on the menu. It definitely pays to gather all the information." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Herald afternoon quiz: May 11
What was the first film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature? Photo / 123rf Can you score 10 out of 10? Test your general knowledge with the Herald 's afternoon quiz. Share your score with friends, family and colleagues, and find out who has the sharpest mind. Be sure to check back on for tomorrow's morning quiz.
RNZ News
07-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Drug checking services see rise in Kiwis taking steroids
Users are buying substances online through websites and on social media. Photo: 123rf Cocaine, MDMA or weed all might be the types of drugs that spring to mind when people think about people getting their substances checked. But steroids and other performance or image enhancing drugs - known as PIEDs - are becoming more common in drug checking clinics. KnowYourStuff and the New Zealand Needle Exchange programme say the amount of people bringing in steroids and similar drugs has jumped in the past two years. Users are buying substances online through websites and on social media and Netsafe said it's a growing problem and is now on their radar. Casey Spearin from drug checking service KnowYourStuff said more and more people are bringing in performance and image enhancing drugs to be tested. "It's still not a huge quantity compared to the other substances that we've tested, but we've been seeing more and more of these. I would assume that's partially due to the availability to get these substances online, such as through the dark web," Spearin said. She said they're mostly seeing anabolic steroids and substances such as SARMS (Selective androgen receptor modulators), which have been mostly bought online or off social media. But people are concerned the drugs may not actually be what they ordered. "We've certainly been fielding a lot of emails over the last year with people saying, hey, can I bring my steroids, can I bring my SARMS in for testing?" She said. "I think there's an element [that] people are more aware that it is possible to test these types of substances and that it's possible that they are being adulterated or substituted for different things when they're purchased." She said pressures from social media around body image could be influencing people to try out these kinds of drugs. "It's not hard to imagine the pressures around image that come with social media these days will be causing people to try out these substances," Spearin said. "We know social media is a place where people share a lot of information about these drugs. We know people purchase a lot of [these] drugs on social media as well." Jason George, the national harm reduction lead for the Drug Injecting Services Canterbury, said they've also seen an increase in the amount of performance enhancing drugs coming through. He said the use of steroids and SARMS has been steadily on the rise. "It fits in the 5th most injected drugs, after methamphetamine, methadone, ritalin, methylphenidate and morphine." He said they'd like to see more funding for harm reduction strategies such as a specific clinic for people taking performance enhancing drugs - based on an NHS clinic set up in Edinburgh. "What we'd really like to be able to offer is a dedicated performance and enhancing drug clinic because when people take these drugs, they should really be monitoring their blood work, to understand how the drugs are affecting their bodies." Matt Walley, a nutritionist and personal trainer from Christchurch, said there is misinformation around the use of PIED's on social media. "They'll sort of be talking and [they'll say] there's kind of like an ideal look I want to go for can I show you on my phone? And I'm thinking, OK, is it going to be Hugh Jackman or Dwayne Johnson, do you want to be huge, or do you want to be shredded?" Walley said. "You just know it's not realistic. Like they're looking at these guys who are as enhanced as hell and you just know they're never going to get there." Chief Safety Officer at Netsafe Sean Lyons said the marketing of the use performance and enhancing drugs by influencers online is on their radar. "Aside from the kind of impact emotionally on young people, I think anybody who is marketing, or their marketing is reaching young people, people purchasing goods that are probably controlled substances to some degree in within the country, it's something that we're certainly aware of and would have some concern over." He said although some websites selling PIED's may appear to be New Zealand based, just because they end with doesn't mean they're based in the country. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Overhaul of equal pay legislation is halting progress, Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner says
The government says settlements had cost the Crown $1.78 billion dollars a year. Photo: 123rf The Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner says she has serious concerns about the proposed overhaul of equal pay law . The government is planning to limit the scope of pay equity claims and raise the threshold of proof, making it harder to prove a job has been historically undervalued. It said settlements had cost the Crown $1.78 billion dollars a year. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Gail Pacheco said any savings for the government would come from the pockets of women working in jobs that were undervalued. Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Gail Pacheco. Photo: Supplied "It's also concerning that the government is putting a stop to progress made to current claims that thousands of individuals have contributed to in good faith. "Their hard work deserves to be respected, not undone," she said. This included current claims from teachers, residential support workers, psychologists, education advisors, vet nurses, service managers and administration and clerical workers. "As Kiwis we believe in giving everyone a fair go. That includes making sure people working in jobs dominated by women are paid fairly and valued for their work." Professor Pacheco said making these changes under urgency didn't allow for appropriate consultation with affected groups, and that the changes conflicted with government obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, such as taking proactive steps to address pay disparities and promote equitable outcomes for Māori. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
