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There's still time to sign up for this month's great offer. Our subscribers pay less than retail buyers, and this month, new subscribers also get a $25 voucher for Awapuni Nurseries. Pick from their amazing range of plants, and have them delivered straight to your door with their … View moreThere's still time to sign up for this month's great offer. Our subscribers pay less than retail buyers, and this month, new subscribers also get a $25 voucher for Awapuni Nurseries. Pick from their amazing range of plants, and have them delivered straight to your door with their nationwide delivery. $25 voucher valid from Sept 1-25, 2022.
The chairperson of a body corporate claiming $163 million for leaky building repairs from the Queenstown Lakes District Council says they only want a fair outcome.
The council has said the Oaks Shore claim could result in each ratepayer having to pay $305 more in rates each year for 30 years.
… View moreThe chairperson of a body corporate claiming $163 million for leaky building repairs from the Queenstown Lakes District Council says they only want a fair outcome.
The council has said the Oaks Shore claim could result in each ratepayer having to pay $305 more in rates each year for 30 years.
Oaks Shore is an 84-unit apartment block developed by well-known Southland developer Ross Wensley and opened in 2005.
About 74 owners launched legal action against the council and parties including architects and structural engineers in 2015 when extensive water and structural issues were discovered – including to balconies, roofs, cladding and bathrooms.
Wensley – who was responsible for hundreds of new upmarket apartments in Queenstown before the global financial crisis hit in 2008 – could not be sued as six of his companies were placed in liquidation.
His daughter-in-law, Olivia Wensley, is a mayoral candidate for the Queenstown Lakes District this year.
The apartment owners were in a “horrific” situation, body corporate chairman Graeme Kruger said.
“All we want is our building to be fixed as it was meant to be in the first place.
“It’s broken owners’ hearts.”
A High Court hearing date had been set for February 2023, but he hoped the case would be resolved earlier through mediation.
Kruger said the owners of the apartments were mostly New Zealanders purchasing a holiday home or investment property.
“No matter what the outcome is we’re going to have to contribute to it.
“We just want natural justice and fairness for all parties.”
This month, the council made a submission to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) urging it to include risk, liability and insurance in the scope of its review of the building consent system.
The existing rule meant if one party was insolvent or had no insurance, other parties remained responsible.
The council was often the only party left to compensate homeowners when building defects arose.
Under the current system, the council had experienced an increase in the number of claims by property owners for weather tightness and other building defects, the submissions says.
In the 2021-22 year, the council spent about $40m defending and/or resolving claims, which led to a median $50 rate increase for every property.
The council was disproportionately exposed to claims due to its small ratepayer base and large number of developments, it says.
Between 2003 and 2006, Queenstown Lakes issued the highest proportion of new dwelling consents per ratepayer in New Zealand, with 31.7 new dwelling consents per 1000 residents – about four times the national average.
The next closest district was Thames-Coromandel, issuing 18.9 per 1000 residents.
If successful, the Oak Shores claim would be one of the largest single claims in New Zealand.
“This would increase rates by an average of 9.6% and would cost $305 per property every year for 30 years,” the council’s submission says.
That could result in a loss in borrowing capacity for the council and would mean less investment in community assets such as parks, libraries, performing arts and recreation facilities.
The submissions also urge MBIE to consider funding support for the council.
“It is council’s position that requiring ratepayers to pay compensation where defendants are missing is unjust,” it says.
Kruger said the interest of ratepayers needed to be protected.
“It’s unfortunate that around the country the last party standing is the council or building authority.”
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Want your garden to be the talk of your neighbourhood?
NZ Gardener has all the step-by-step DIY projects you’ll need to achieve just that. As well as incredible photography, spectacular garden stories, recipes and more. Subscribe before 26 September and you’ll receive a $25 gift voucher to … View moreWant your garden to be the talk of your neighbourhood?
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New Frames In Stock - All From $60.00 to $95.00
Lenses -
CLEAR (FROM): Single Vision $90.00. Bifocals $150.00 Progressives $290.00
TRANSITIONS (FROM): Single Vision $150.00. Bifocals $210.00 Progressives $350.00 (These lenses change from light to dark as you move from inside to outside)
Come and see us. Bring your Prescription in or we can get it for you from your chosen Optometrist.
T's & C's Apply
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… View moreFor delicious grass-raised beef New Zealand is the perfect combo.
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Kora is the Kiwi fuel payment card that saves you 10c a litre every day at Mobil and Waitomo.… View moreKora saves the day with 13c off a litre!
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With prices flying high, now’s the time to save more with 13 cents off every litre at Waitomo until 30th November. Apply today!
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Looking down from the top of Queenstown’s Cecil Peak, drinking gin infused with thyme plucked from bushes in Arrowtown, Stu Clark admits to feeling proud of his award-winning drink.
Clark and his mate Hamish Bourke were working as builders in Arrowtown when they one day got “yarning” about… View moreLooking down from the top of Queenstown’s Cecil Peak, drinking gin infused with thyme plucked from bushes in Arrowtown, Stu Clark admits to feeling proud of his award-winning drink.
Clark and his mate Hamish Bourke were working as builders in Arrowtown when they one day got “yarning” about how good it’d be to own their own gin distillery, a dream not uncommon for the Kiwi bloke.
In 2018, the mates had been doing some building work on Clark’s shed, which wasinitially intended to be a workshop, but became a distillery where the friends now make their Rifters Gin.
By 2020, the pair had bagged a gold medal at the San Fran Spirit Awards, followed by a silver the year after.
They have also won medals at the London and New Zealand Spirits competitions.
“We just got on really well and both love gin and wanted to try this thing. We haven’t balanced [the books] out yet, but it is about going for it. We are proud of what we’ve done so far,” Clark says.
Rifters are makers of small-batch premium gin, which uses botanicals and local herbs like thyme, mānuka honey, coriander and mint.
They started trialling recipes for their mates and after loads of good feedback, Clark says they “gave it a crack”.
The men are passionate about bringing people back to their region after a tough couple of years for hospitality during the pandemic.
Clark says lockdowns and low visitor numbers to the region affected sales, but numbers are on the way back up with the help of local tourism.
On Saturday, the company took two competition winners from Mt Maunganui up to Cecil Peak in a helicopter to taste their gin at height.
They wanted to showcase the area that initially inspired them to make gin.
Clark says the dream is to one day open up a public distillery allowing people to visit and have a taste of what their region has to offer, and perhaps link up more with tourism operators like they did over the weekend.
The inspiration behind the name “Rifters” and their bottles, comes from Arrowtown’s gold mining history, he says.
A visit to the local museum showed a connection between Arrowtown's gold mining history and gin, a drop the foragers made for themselves while panning for gold 150 years ago.
“Our bottle is a representation of this Arrowtown history and the land that surrounds us, coloured to match the lakes and rivers that flow through Central Otago,” Clark says.
"The mountains, lakes and rivers that surround us have captured our imagination for years. They provide the purest ingredients used to make our gin.”
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Generally Famous is Stuff's new podcast in which Simon Bridges finds out what makes his generally famous - but always interesting - guests tick.
So far, Simon's had Olympian Eric Murray and digital entrepreneur Lucy Blakiston in the hot seat. And there's … View moreGenerally Famous is Stuff's new podcast in which Simon Bridges finds out what makes his generally famous - but always interesting - guests tick.
So far, Simon's had Olympian Eric Murray and digital entrepreneur Lucy Blakiston in the hot seat. And there's more exciting guests to come each Wednesday.
From reporter Hamish McNeilly:
A small Dunedin school with links to a saint is set to close amid falling student numbers.
Bishop of Dunedin Michael Dooley confirmed St Joseph’s School, in Port Chalmers, would close on January 27 next year.
The school, which began in 1882, had a roll of … View moreFrom reporter Hamish McNeilly:
A small Dunedin school with links to a saint is set to close amid falling student numbers.
Bishop of Dunedin Michael Dooley confirmed St Joseph’s School, in Port Chalmers, would close on January 27 next year.
The school, which began in 1882, had a roll of seven children in 2021, down from 16 in 2017.
The closure comes after a consultation process, which was initiated last year and approved by the associate minister of education.
“I acknowledge that the uncertainty around closure has been challenging for the pupils, staff, board, families, parish and wider community of St Joseph’s Port Chalmers,” Dooley said in a statement to the school community.
“I thank you for your patience and understanding as we have worked through the process with the added complication of the Covid crisis adding to the extended time frame.”
Dooley acknowledged the staff who had worked at the school over its 140 years, including Mother Mary MacKillop, who “left a lasting contribution to the charisma of the school when she was head teacher in the early years”.
MacKillop was recognised as a saint – Australia’s first – by Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in 2010, and is known as Saint Mary MacKillop, or St Mary of the Cross.
MacKillop arrived in Dunedin in 1898 and was the first head of the refurbished St Joseph’s, which was previously called St Mary’s School.
With the impending closure, Dooley said: “It is important that we document and celebrate the many achievements of the school as the final chapter in its history draws to an end.
“I am committed to supporting the community at this challenging time and working with them to explore options for the future use of the facilities.
In 2019 the property had a capital valuation of $905,000.
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