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Cuba Street in 2024. Photo: Bella Craig Wellington businesses say high rents, expensive groceries and car parking costs have sucked life out of the CBD, leaving businesses struggling with few customers. Post-Covid-19 they say the vibe has been off, with the area feeling less safe and more people choosing to stay away. Cuba Street has been long-known as the lively heart of the Wellington CBD, bustling with locals and tourists visiting locally owned cafes, shops and bars. But Ainsley Robinson, manager of Olive - a café and restaurant on Cuba Street - told Checkpoint the street had changed, as it had been especially quiet the past few months, forcing the café to raise prices and cut staff hours. "I've been working here for the last couple of years and when I started it used to be busy, b...

Photo: Unsplash An Auckland hospitality entrepreneur hopes to flip the New Zealand culture of 'no tipping' at bars and restaurants. Luke Dallow told Morning Report a struggling economy means many hospitality spots are employing fewer waiters, so diners are getting slack service. With the cost of goods and rents increasing, something needs to change, he said. "And what is controllable is wages. My concept would be to reduce the menu price on the menu, then that would get more consumers into the restaurants or bars. "Now to top this up you would tip, encourage tipping." He said it would mean minimum wage plus tips for wait staff, though Dallow's maths could be a bit off. "Minimum wage is $24 or I think it's roughly around that at the moment, and a waitress or waiter could easily make $10 i...

A pedestrian bridge that links Auckland's Viaduct to a strip of waterfront restaurants is broken and stuck in the up position. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi A broken pedestrian bridge across Auckland's Wynyard Quarter is set to reopen in December. The Wynyard Crossing bridge, linking the city centre to businesses in the Wynyard Quarter, has been stuck upright since March. Its closure has caused difficulties for businesses, with foot traffic re-directed via a 15-minute detour. A passenger ferry and pontoon bridge had been a temporary solution. Eke Panuku, the Auckland council agency responsible for repairing the bridge, said the complexity of works meant it could not confirm an exact date for the bridge's re-opening, but it was expected to be in December. "As the project team get further t...

The SeaLink vehicle ferry to Waiheke Island. Photo: Supplied An Auckland ferry company will continue negotiations with workers on Friday to avoid strike action next week. Unionised employees of SeaLink, which operates freight and passenger ferries between Auckland, Waiheke and Great Barrier Islands, will strike from Tuesday over pay disparity in the industry. First Union organiser Justin Wallace said workers want wages and conditions to match that of Auckland Transport's ferries, which had a cash injection to increase pay for crew earlier this year. "SeaLink's workers are struggling with the absurd cost of living in Auckland, while going to work every day knowing that they are being underpaid compared to colleagues who do the same work as them on a different ferry provider." In a statem...

Photo: 123rf A Canadian energy company will be in the country next week for a close inspection of possible oil and gas investment in Taranaki region. Monumental Energy said it would work with the New Zealand Energy Corporation (NZEC), which it owns close to nine percent of, to look at new exploration and development projects. The company's director and founder, Maximilian Sali, said its strong links with NZEC made a closer look at New Zealand opportunities sensible. "It seemed only natural for us to take another step farther into oil and gas in this prolific basin in New Zealand and begin assessing opportunities for Monumental to generate its own revenue by partnering on certain assets and potentially bidding on new blocks with NZEC," he said in a statement to the Toronto Stock Exchange....