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RNZ News
20 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Tauranga politicians remain outside the area, despite electoral boundary changes
Sam Uffindell is the MP for Tauranga, but lives with his family in Paengaroa, west of Te Puke. Photo: Supplied / Hagen Hopkins Both the both Tauranga mayor and local electorate MP live outside the area, and this will not change under the new electoral boundaries. But MP Sam Uffindell said living 20 minutes outside the electorate had not stopped him being able the serve his community. Boundary and name changes for the 2026 General Election were released by the Representation Commission last week . The Tauranga electorate - represented by Uffindell - expanded westward to the boundary with Coromandel, while losing Mt Maunganui to the renamed Mt Maunganui electorate, which is currently called Bay of Plenty and represented by Tom Rutherford. "We lose Mt Maunganui to the newly renamed electorate, but we are very fortunate to pick up the fantastic communities of Te Puna, Minden, and a big chunk of the Kaimais," said Uffindell about the changes. Other parts of the southern outskirts of Tauranga city move into the Rotorua electorate, currently represented by Todd McClay. RNZ approached Uffindell to see if the changes meant he was no longer living in the electorate - only to find out he never was. He lives with his family in Paengaroa, west of Te Puke. "I think the important thing for the people of Tauranga to know is that I can get there really quickly and if it means I have to leave a little bit earlier then that's exactly what I do," Uffindell said. Tauranga mayor Mahe Drysdale also lives outside of the area , about an hour away south-west of the city and near Cambridge. Drysdale had said he would move if elected but had not done so yet . Uffindell said he was always looking at properties within the electorate. "But it's a fine balance between family and schools and all of that," he said. Uffindell represented the National Party and said that every electoral cycle the party must reselect their candidate. He said he planned to stand for selection again. "I will seek selection later in the year to be the National Party candidate, and hopefully the good people of Tauranga elect me again to be their representative," he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
18-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Western Bay's Grocery Prices Often Higher Than Major Cities
Western Bay households are feeling the pinch at the checkout, with new data revealing food prices in the region often exceed those in bigger cities like Auckland and Wellington. A newly launched dashboard by Community Insights, a division of SociaLink Tūhono Pāpori, is helping shine a light on just how costly it is to fill a basic grocery trolley in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty. The Local Grocery Shop Dashboard tracks monthly supermarket prices for a standard list of 68 essential items — including breakfast staples, fresh produce, meat, dairy, pantry basics and hygiene products. SociaLink formally launched the platform on July 10 at The Kollective with attendees from a wide range of community organisations — including Under the Stars, TECT, Acorn Foundation, Mana Kai Mana Ora, COLAB (Te Puke), Workbridge, Gate Pā Community Centre, Katch Katikati, and Tui Āwhina (Matakana Island). To visualise the scale of a typical grocery shop, the full trolley of 68 items was physically displayed in The Kollective's kitchen — and then donated to a local foodbank. 'Our aim was to create transparency around food prices and how they're impacting whānau,' says Community Insights Manager, Liz Flaherty. 'Tauranga is now a sizable city, but the data shows that we are paying more here for groceries than in other cities.' The dashboard draws on consistent online price checks by a mystery shopper at seven supermarkets across Tauranga and the Western Bay: PAK'nSAVE Cameron Road, Woolworths Cameron Road, New World Gate Pā, Woolworths Te Puke, New World Te Puke, Woolworths Katikati, and PAK'nSAVE Pāpāmoa. All are located in areas with high deprivation scores, aligning with communities most likely to experience food insecurity. The list is based on a basic diet framework developed by the University of Otago, designed for a typical family of four — two adults and two children — with additional items added based on feedback from local food banks and budgeting services. Recently, the tool revealed some stark disparities: In March 2025, groceries in the Western Bay cost 7.9% more than in Tauranga — up from 6.1% just a year earlier. In the same month, PAK'nSAVE Cameron Road came in nearly $40 cheaper than the most expensive supermarket, Woolworths Katikati. Limited availability of low-cost 'home brand' products in satellite towns like Te Puke and Katikati often leaves consumers no choice but to buy more expensive substitutes. 'Even organisations like Tauranga Community Foodbank, Good Neighbour and The Daily, which makes school lunches in Te Puke, are struggling to source affordable food,' says Flaherty. 'When these support systems are stretched, it's a sign of deeper systemic pressure.' Attendees at the dashboard's launch shared sobering real-world stories that reinforced the data. One community worker noted that as budgets tighten, families are increasingly relying on cheaper, less nutritious staples, compromising long-term health. 'People will buy what they can afford — and that often means nutrition gets left behind.' Others spoke of local organisations driving all the way to Auckland to purchase in bulk from warehouses to find more affordable groceries. A concerned attendee asked, 'Why nationally are we paying more? And why are there variations between supermarket franchises when consumers would expect consistency?' One organisation keeping a close eye on the tool is the Te Puke Kai Resilience Group, who confirms long-held concerns about affordability. 'The dashboard is helpful and also highlights a deeper issue — our food system isn't working for so many whānau,' says Chrissi Robinson. A 2024 survey showed 45% of local households with children were running out of food, and Scott Nicholson notes how demand for The Hub's food support has jumped from 60% to over 80%. 'The gap between food prices and local incomes is stretching families thin. We need more community-led food options that offer an alternative to the big supermarket chains.' Beyond the stats, the dashboard is a powerful advocacy tool. It provides quarterly updates and lets users explore trends by item, supermarket, and location. Importantly, it highlights how pricing within the same supermarket chain can vary wildly depending on where you shop. SociaLink envisions the resource as a tool to empower residents and community organisations alike — and eventually, spark broader conversations with retailers and policymakers. 'We can map changes in prices each month and make these available to everyone' says Flaherty. 'Grocery prices are about more than just what's on the receipt — they reflect fairness, access, and the right to good kai for every family.' Community Insights invites the public to explore the FREE dashboard on: For feedback, questions, or more information, get in touch via communityinsights@ or call (07) 987 0920.
RNZ News
07-07-2025
- RNZ News
Rereamanu Ronaki-Wihapi named as murderer who twice ran down Taku Manu Paul in Te Puke
By Ric Stevens, Open Justice reporter of Rereamanu Ronaki-Wihapi was found guilty of murder for the death of his mother's partner, Taku Manu Paul, on Boxing Day 2022. Photo: NZ Herald / Belinda Feek A teenager who ran down his mother's partner with a car and killed him can now be named as Rereamanu Ronaki-Wihapi. Ronaki-Wihapi is serving a 17-year prison sentence for murdering Taku Manu Paul, with no prospect of parole for seven years. He was just 17 at the time and sitting next to his mother Ephron Ronaki, who was Paul's partner and arguing with him on the phone about missing Christmas money. Ronaki-Wihapi was sentenced in October last year but can only now be named and identified as Ronaki's son, after the release of a Court of Appeal decision. The ruling turned down his lawyer's attempt to win him permanent name suppression and quashed one of his two convictions. Ronaki-Wihapi and his mother went looking for Paul on Boxing Day 2022 because she believed her partner had taken $500, which had been a Christmas present to her. The teenager was driving because Ronaki was very drunk. They spotted Paul on a Te Puke street and, with his mother initially egging him on, Ronaki-Wihapi ran into Paul, then turned around and deliberately drove over him as he lay on the ground. In an unusual result which was due to a charging error, Ronaki-Wihapi received two different convictions for culpable homicide - one for murder and one for manslaughter - in relation to the same victim. The Court of Appeal has now quashed the manslaughter count, saying the two convictions cannot stand together. Ronaki-Wipahi, now 20, had no criminal history before the night he killed Paul. However, court documents say that he had a history of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. At trial, his defence counsel, Ron Mansfield KC, said he had been "a traumatised teen put in a situation of extreme stress". The trial was told that Ronaki told her son to "hit him, do it now, run him over" when they spotted Paul. The teenager hit Paul with the car twice, the first time on the left side with such force that Paul was thrown on to the windscreen before landing on the road. With chaos breaking out among the people in the vehicle, Ronaki-Wihapi then did a U-turn and aimed the Nissan Teana directly at Paul as he was lying on the road, driving over his chest, and away from the scene at speed. Ronaki-Wihapi said he was "in the moment" when he lined up on the prone man's head "and just boosted it", as his mother reached across and grabbed the steering wheel in an unsuccessful attempt to alter his course. Pathologists could not say for sure which of the two strikes, which could have been as little as 13 seconds apart, killed Paul. The whole incident, including the two impacts, was over within a minute and 14 seconds. Ronaki-Wihapi was charged with murder separately for each impact. At a jury trial, he was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter for the first hit, and guilty of murder for the second strike. He was sentenced to 17 years' imprisonment with no parole for seven years on the murder charge, and a lesser concurrent sentence for manslaughter. His mother was sent to prison for four years and three months after being convicted of manslaughter for her part in Paul's death. She was also convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice by claiming she had been the driver. Mansfield appealed Ronaki-Wihapi's murder conviction to the Court of Appeal, along with the High Court's refusal to grant his young client permanent name suppression. Before hearing the matter, the Court of Appeal advised him that it believed Ronaki-Wihapi could not be convicted twice of a culpable homicide relating to the same victim. Ephron Ronaki (centre) was sentenced to four years and three months for manslaughter of her part in the death of her partner, Taku Manu Paul. Photo: NZ Herald / Belinda Feek In its decision, it held that Ronaki-Wihapi should have either faced a single charge to cover both impacts, or two charges laid in the alternative. "The short point is that there was a charging error in this case," the Court of Appeal justices said. "Mr Ronaki-Wihapi should not have faced two cumulative charges of murder for the death of Mr Paul. "He should either have faced a single charge, particularised in a way that alleged that it was satisfied either by the first impact or alternatively by the second impact, or two charges of murder advanced in the alternative," the appeal court decision said. "The verdicts of manslaughter and murder cannot stand together." The appeal court determined that as the jury found Paul was still alive at the moment of the second impact, the manslaughter conviction should not stand in relation to the first hit. The murder conviction, which related to the second impact, was upheld. The Court of Appeal decision also said the threshold that an offender would suffer "extreme hardship" if his identity was published was not met in relation to name suppression. There was no presumption in favour of suppression outside the Youth Court, youth was not a particularly relevant factor in this case, and any effect on Ronaki-Wihapi's future employment prospects would be a consequence of the conviction, not the publication of his name. There was also a high public interest in identifying those convicted of murder, the Court of Appeal said. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
RNZ News
04-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Bay of Plenty crash victim later found dead at home
Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER A man has been found dead in Bay of Plenty after being involved in a crash last night. Police were called to an address in Te Puke on Wednesday morning after a man's body was found. It was later discovered that he was involved in a crash on No 3 Road in Te Puke on Tuesday night. A police investigation into the circumstances of the crash and the death is underway. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
03-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Thieves target Bay of Plenty orchards for scrap metal
Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles Sheet metal from outbuildings and copperwires from frost fans are among some of the things being targeted by thieves for scrap metal amidst an increase on orchard thefts in Bay of Plenty. Te Puke police sergeant Mike Owens said since January they'd had close to 40 such burglaries, adding those were just the ones reported to police. "Items that get targeted are farm vehicles, equipment, tools, diesel from frost fans, other machinery, trailers, solar panels and of course the frost fans also have batteries attached to them as well." He said it was an unfortunately common experience for growers and farmers during the busy harvest season, when many might be travelling between sites or have additional people on-farm. Taking preventative measures was key to deterring these kind of thefts, he said. Things like storing equipment securely away or out of view. "Generally good locks, good security makes it more difficult. "Farmers and orchardists being lovely rural people will tend to leave keys in their vehicle or sheds and equipment unlocked." Owens said some frost fans had been rigged up with sensor lights and alarms which acted as a good deterrence. "I've seen footage where that has immediately deterred, obviously an alarms come one deterred the thief, and off they've gone again." Police recently executed search warrants and recovered a large number of items which they were in the process of returning to their owners. Owens said it was important for growers and farmers to report these kinds of incidents to police. He said it was also helpful to make note of any identifying features of items which might be targeted which might help with recovery efforts.
