Coalgate - Glentunnel, Glentunnel

The Neighbourly Winter Garage Sale...

The Neighbourly Winter Garage Sale...

It's this Saturday, so get your goods listed before then to make some money.

590 days ago

The Must-Give Christmas Gift!

Christmas Box

Meeting an ever-increasing need in our communities, Christmas Box provides more than just food in a time of need, it also brings a reminder that there is a community of people who care.

We believe by alleviating some of the pressure that families feel at Christmas time through our food parcels, … View more
Meeting an ever-increasing need in our communities, Christmas Box provides more than just food in a time of need, it also brings a reminder that there is a community of people who care.

We believe by alleviating some of the pressure that families feel at Christmas time through our food parcels, it will create a lasting impact that goes beyond a treat at Christmas.

For only $40 you can donate a Christmas Box to a family in need, providing not just practical help, but much deserved hope too.
Donate now

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596 days ago

Poll: Should there be a parade for the Black Ferns?

Ashleigh from Neighbourly.co.nz

Our national women’s rugby team took out the Rugby World Cup on Saturday in a tense finale at Eden Park. The Black Ferns won the match by just three points taking home their sixth world title.

With public celebrations taking place following the All Blacks (men's) Rugby World Cup wins … View more
Our national women’s rugby team took out the Rugby World Cup on Saturday in a tense finale at Eden Park. The Black Ferns won the match by just three points taking home their sixth world title.

With public celebrations taking place following the All Blacks (men's) Rugby World Cup wins (2011 & 2015) as well as parades for the America's cup team, do you think similar celebration plans are needed for our winning Black Ferns women?

Should there be a parade for the Black Ferns?
  • 65.8% Absolutely, it's an event to be celebrated.
    65.8% Complete
  • 5.6% No, times are tough.
    5.6% Complete
  • 24.3% No need for a parade, but I'm still very proud of the Black Ferns.
    24.3% Complete
  • 4.2% I didn't know the Rugby World Cup was on?
    4.2% Complete
4366 votes
604 days ago

Cannot contact IRD or access returns and getting threatening letters

Kim from Oxford

Hey does anyone out there have any ideas on how to contact IRD. I have called their 0800 number and i just get a message saying they are too busy and to call back later or go online. Then it just hangs up on me, there’s no option to leave a message and no option to remain on hold.

I have been… View more
Hey does anyone out there have any ideas on how to contact IRD. I have called their 0800 number and i just get a message saying they are too busy and to call back later or go online. Then it just hangs up on me, there’s no option to leave a message and no option to remain on hold.

I have been online and requested they call me via myIRD as I need some assistance in filling out a return and correcting some gst returns someone else did for me and did wrong. However, 5 months after asking them to phone me and making it clear I could not do the return without someone calling me, still no one has called.

Now i cant even log in to ask them to call me, again. After I log in with ‘realme’ it asks me for a second secure authentication. I have no idea what the username/password for that is supposed to be as I have never set anything up for that and never been asked for it before. My existing realme login does not work for this, and there are no links on the page so that I can set one up (normally on a login oage you have links saying stuff like “forgot your password” or “reset your username/password”. There is nothing on this screen). The only options are to enter a user name and password and as I have no idea what they should be I cant. The only other option on the screen is to click cancel, which must logs me out of the whole thing and returns me to the main IRD login screen

So….
I cannot fill out my returns as the forms I was seeing on myIR, dont contain the fields I need, to put the figures into.
I cannot call them as their message just says they are too busy then hangs up on me.
I cannot get them to call me.
Now I cant even access myIR.

And I am getting letters with threatening subject lines (I cant actually read their contents as I cant log into myIR to read them)

Ive even tried emailing their general customer feedback email address and a survey email address I found (the only ird email addresses I can find which are not no-reply bounces) and no one has replied to those emails.

How can it be legal, for IRD to just threaten people and take their money? But not have a working phone number or any email addresses for anyone to contact them on. And not call people 5 months after the have asked them to (because they cannot do the returns till someone calls them to explain where to enter the return info into a form with only two vaguely/nonsensically, named fields), and then on top of all that, decide to just out of the blue, add in a second layer of authentication on their website, but have no information on how to set up a username and password to use for that second authentication, thereby making it impossible for anyone to login to myIR and even read their threatening emails, let alone do anything to resolve them?

I have a lot of business expenses I am unable to declare and very worried they will just take money out of my account based on my turnover and not my actual (significantly less) taxable income. Im just a sole charge contractor, and don't have the funds to pay thousands to an accountant just to get someone from ird to pick up the phone and call me.

Does anyone out there have any ideas on how to contact them?

Or maybe someone has been given a direct dial number for a real person at ird that they might be willing to share with me? (Your name will never be mentioned! Lol). I did have a number like that myself on my old phone but it died suddenly and the contact list couldn’t be retrieved from the dead ph the attempts to do so are a saga of their own).

So im really hoping someone out there might of an alternative contact method which is NOT any of the following methods I have tried which have failed:

The 0800 775 247 number (which is apparently always too short staffed for anyone to ever pick up the phone)
MyIR
The two emails address i could find which did not begin with “noreply@…”

Honestly do business not realise how bloody frustrating it is to receive an email that “requires your action” in some way, from an email address you cannot respond to!

Alternatively if you work at ird. Please call me on Monday 020 406 41485, and if i don’t answer because I am in a work meeting, please leave me a message with an actual number that is not 0800 775 247 that I can call you back on!

Ok rant over, but if anyone has an actual working number that i can call to speak to an actual real human being at ird, could you please share it with me? I don’t care what department, at least if a real person answers I can beg them to let me speak to a real person in the gst returns dept (or record the call as yet more evidence of the ridiculous impossibility of getting to speak to a real person at ird, if they wont put me thru).

At this rate maybe i could make up a youtube or other social media audio and video series entitled… ‘the long hunt for a real person at ird’, or something equally sarcastic…

At least till I cant afford internet after they withdraw all my savings to pay my horrifically inflated tax “assessment” that their combination of unusable systems and uncontactable departments has made impossible for me to file an actual return and expenses against!

Actually maybe thats what I could do next. Record every failed call to their 0800 number, till I have many hours worth, then post them on youtube or similar….till I set a Guinness record for the person who went to the most hours of effort to try and do her gst return, but still got penalised by ird because that was easier than actually calling her!
Despite how boring being on hold with IRD would be to listen to, I sort of feel at this stage, that getting my first million views on a long boring video of IRD hold music, and ‘sorry we are too busy, please call another day’ hangups, might happen faster than anyone real at IRD actually ever phoning me!

Seriously though

Does anyone know how i can actually get to speak to someone there? Or is the idea of real people at ird just a myth? How ridiculous is it that i have to take to social media because after 5 months of trying I don't have a way to communicate with a real person at IRD to find out how to fill in the gst return form !

Someone did call me about 5.5-6 months ago and told me now to fill out the gst return adjustment forms. Problem is the form and form fields they described to me and told me to enter the numbers into, do not actually exist on the gst return forms that were available to me when I was able to access myIR. They seemed to be describing an entirely different form that is not available to my myIR account.

591 days ago

Gift yourself and a loved one

Sunday Star-Times

Hey Neighbours!

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Between now and 31 December, purchase a 3-month subscription to Sunday Star-Times for a friend, loved one (or yourself), and you'll receive a gorgeous soy candle selection worth $49 from Linden Leaves absolutely free.

Use promo … View more
Hey Neighbours!

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Between now and 31 December, purchase a 3-month subscription to Sunday Star-Times for a friend, loved one (or yourself), and you'll receive a gorgeous soy candle selection worth $49 from Linden Leaves absolutely free.

Use promo code 'Christmas' at the checkout to redeem this unmissable deal!

The team at Sunday Star-Times
Subscribe now

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592 days ago

Help Kiwi kids this Christmas

Variety

Shockingly, 93% of Variety families live with food insecurity every day. Let’s make Christmas day different for them.

Mia and Jade love Christmas, but their parents are struggling financially. “Christmas time brings a lot of stress. I want to put a good meal on the table and give my kids a … View more
Shockingly, 93% of Variety families live with food insecurity every day. Let’s make Christmas day different for them.

Mia and Jade love Christmas, but their parents are struggling financially. “Christmas time brings a lot of stress. I want to put a good meal on the table and give my kids a good and exciting Christmas but with bills and rent, our credit card is already maxed out,” Jenna says.

Please donate today to provide grocery support for struggling families this Christmas.
Donate now

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593 days ago

Have your say on sports spaces in Selwyn

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

Selwyn residents are being asked to have their say on what sports, recreation and play spaces the district needs in the next decade.

The district council opened consultation this week on its Draft Sport, Active Recreation and Play, Spaces and Places Plan.

Residents have until Friday, December… View more
Selwyn residents are being asked to have their say on what sports, recreation and play spaces the district needs in the next decade.

The district council opened consultation this week on its Draft Sport, Active Recreation and Play, Spaces and Places Plan.

Residents have until Friday, December 9 to share feedback on the provision of spaces and places to support sport, active recreation and play in Selwyn over the next 10 years.

"We have been working with local clubs, organisations and educators to help prepare the draft Plan, but wider community feedback will be key," council community services and facilities group manager Denise Kidd said.

“Sports and recreation are a big part of what makes Selwyn a great place to live. We’re seeing big growth in our sports clubs and in the use of our parks and sports facilities. We want to encourage that and make sure we’ve got what is needed to meet what the community wants now and into the future.”

Submissions will help the council build on what the sector has told it so far and allow for community views to be considered in the decision-making.

The council said it would review all feedback before approving the final plan.

For more information and to make a submission, visit selwyn.govt.nz/yoursay.

594 days ago

Home and property inspiration delivered to your inbox

Homed

What better way to while away a Friday afternoon and get your weekend DIY inspiration than drooling over the most beautiful house and garden content of the week?

|Homed newsletter| takes you inside gorgeous New Zealand homes, showcases the latest interior trends, provides project ideas, and … View more
What better way to while away a Friday afternoon and get your weekend DIY inspiration than drooling over the most beautiful house and garden content of the week?

|Homed newsletter| takes you inside gorgeous New Zealand homes, showcases the latest interior trends, provides project ideas, and more. Be inspired to dream big about your own space - and get on the path to making those dreams come true. Sign up for free here.
Sign up now

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D
599 days ago

Dacron

David from Ashburton District

This is the filling from used pillows, but is in a good clean condition(has always been inside pillow covers plus pillow slips) I am sure anyone making soft toys would find this useful, rather than throwing away, FREE TO GOOD HOME

Free

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599 days ago

What is the measure of a full life?

At Ryman, we believe the measure of a full life is one that gets richer with age. It’s rediscovering lost passions and plunging headfirst into new ones. It’s embracing new experiences right there on your doorstep. That’s why we’re creating communities that challenge the expectation of … View moreAt Ryman, we believe the measure of a full life is one that gets richer with age. It’s rediscovering lost passions and plunging headfirst into new ones. It’s embracing new experiences right there on your doorstep. That’s why we’re creating communities that challenge the expectation of aging, while bringing job and meaning to every moment.

We are honoured to present our latest brand campaign that explores our residents lives through their eyes. From the poignant moments of life in care, to our residents continuing to push the boundaries of what they want to achieve.
Learn More

599 days ago

food exchange/giveaway fresh duck eggs, vegetable scraps wanted.

Kim from Oxford

Howdy neighbours

I have a whole lot of pet and rescued ducks who are laying lots of yummy eggs. Unfortunately I am too busy with work and with general duck care to have the time right now to collect, grade, check, market and sell these eggs, so they are piling up until I get time to cook them … View more
Howdy neighbours

I have a whole lot of pet and rescued ducks who are laying lots of yummy eggs. Unfortunately I am too busy with work and with general duck care to have the time right now to collect, grade, check, market and sell these eggs, so they are piling up until I get time to cook them and feed back to the ducks or they go to waste.

Duck eggs can be used the same way you would use chicken eggs and are considered richer and more gourmet than chicken eggs. They are usually preferred by chefs for baking. And most people who are allergic to chicken eggs can eat duck eggs. They are larger than chicken eggs and due to a thicker shell usually keep longer. They are also used by a lot of people to create salted eggs (which apparently keep for a long time) or cultural delicacies such as century eggs.

This feels wasteful to me as they are a good nutritious form of food and we are in a situation right now where food is expensive.

I also have another problem which is that my ducks could so with some fresh vegetables or vegetable scraps, and since moving out to Oxford, I cannot find any vegetable markets nearby which offer scraps that I can feed to my ducks.

So I am hoping I can solve both these problems at once, by offering free nutritious duck eggs to anyone out there who has excess vegetables from their garden, or excess vegetable scraps to offer my ducks (and make their day) in return.

The ducks are laying around 2 dozen eggs a day, and they would love to swap them for the following types of vegetables and vegetable scraps:

Cauliflower and broccoli leaves (they will eat the cauli and broccoli too but they actually prefer the leaves)
Carrot tops and carrots (again I think they prefer the tops lol)
Cabbage in small amounts, lettuce in large amounts
Green peas in any amounts
Beetroot
Corn/sweet corn
Kale
Tomatoes
Strawberries grapes. Raspberries
Silverbeet
Pumpkin and pumpkin seeds
Cucumber, courgettes
Duck weed if anyone has any on their pond etc
Celery
Any of the above that has gone to seed is also fine
Probably other things that are not coming to mind right now, feel free to text and ask.

They can’t eat the following or any other vegetables which have been contaminated with any significant amount of these vegetables as they are toxic to ducks.

Beans (toxic to ducks unless cooked which I just don’t have time to be doing right now)
Onions (toxic)
Egg plant (toxic)
Avocados

Alternatively if any food banks are willing to collect from View Hill, Oxford please get in touch.

Please text me on 020 406 41485 if interested. Pickup from view hill Oxford, or can maybe meet you in Oxford or Rangiora when I am going to either if you are happy to meet up at short notice.

If there is anyone else who has an excess of some type of food they wish to exchange, even if it is not what I need or you don’t need duck eggs, pls post a comment on this post, maybe we can do a three way exchange or someone else might have something useful or a need. It would be good to have a forum to exchange excess food with summer coming up. I know a lot of people will end up with more of certain vegetables in the vegetable garden than they need, and it seems silly for food to be wasted when we can maybe all help each other out.

Also if there is anyone out there who is just genuinely struggling at the moment with the constantly skyrocketing food costs who would find some eggs helpful for their own fridge, get in touch with me as I have plenty.

Admin: I put this under free stuff as it was closer to that than buy or sell and there is no exchange option, I hope that is not breaching any terms.

Free

601 days ago

Can you help Paint it Orange?

Resene

Hey Neighbours, did you know that Arthritis affects more than 700,000 New Zealanders and is a leading cause of disability?

This month you could help Arthritis New Zealand by purchasing a testpot of your favourite orange.

Buy any orange Resene testpot 60 ml at your local Resene owned ColorShop… View more
Hey Neighbours, did you know that Arthritis affects more than 700,000 New Zealanders and is a leading cause of disability?

This month you could help Arthritis New Zealand by purchasing a testpot of your favourite orange.

Buy any orange Resene testpot 60 ml at your local Resene owned ColorShop in November 2021 and Resene will donate $1 to Arthritis NZ! The more orange testpots you buy, the more will be donated.
Find out more

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603 days ago

Win a brand-new home!

Heart Foundation

For only $15 a ticket, you can win a brand-new home in Whitianga valued at over $1.2 million. Built to perfection by Jennian Homes, this three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is spacious, open-planned and comes fully-furnished!

Make it your permanent residence, a holiday home, a rental or sell it … View more
For only $15 a ticket, you can win a brand-new home in Whitianga valued at over $1.2 million. Built to perfection by Jennian Homes, this three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is spacious, open-planned and comes fully-furnished!

Make it your permanent residence, a holiday home, a rental or sell it – it could be all yours for only $15! Be in to win by purchasing a ticket today.
Find out more

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603 days ago

Know a deserving neighbour?

Ashleigh from Neighbourly.co.nz

Every week, locals are being nominated for a Nice Neighbour Award and we think there's likely someone in your life who is worthy.
Whether it's someone who has been there in a time of need, has helped your family, or who regularly volunteers their time in their community - we'd love… View more
Every week, locals are being nominated for a Nice Neighbour Award and we think there's likely someone in your life who is worthy.
Whether it's someone who has been there in a time of need, has helped your family, or who regularly volunteers their time in their community - we'd love to hear about them.

If your neighbour is picked as this week's Nice Neighbour, you’ll both receive a $25 Prezzy® card plus your special neighbour will feature in community newspapers around New Zealand as an inspiration to us all.

Let us know who should be recognised for their good deeds by nominating now.

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606 days ago

shed poles

Ruby from Oxford

4 treated poles 4.8M x170mil C3
$500 for 4
Very straight. Pick up Oxford

Negotiable

612 days ago

Poll: When it comes to mowing the street berm, do you take care of the neighbour's too?

Colleen from Neighbourly.co.nz

There's a fine line between being helpful and minding your own business.

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When it comes to mowing the street berm, do you take care of the neighbour's too?
  • 41% Of course! It's the neighbourly thing to do.
    41% Complete
  • 22% I'd consider it, but probably wouldn't without checking first.
    22% Complete
  • 13.1% No way, I can barely get my own done as it is.
    13.1% Complete
  • 20.8% I don't have a berm so it's not an option to consider.
    20.8% Complete
  • 3.1% People mow berms?
    3.1% Complete
490 votes
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