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Hundreds of mill workers near Ohakune farewelled their workplace for the final time today, as Winstone Pulp International closed the doors on 45 years of operations. Two-hundred and thirty workers from Winstone Pulp International lost their jobs when the mill confirmed last month that it'd close because of low pulp and timber prices and the soaring cost of wholesale power. The move is expected to decimate the local towns of Raetihi and Ohakune who rely on the two mill sites for employment as it's the largest source of work in the rural area. But for many it's more than just a job, with a number of employees having worked there for decades. "A lot of guys been coming here a long time and this was their life," said mill electrician Daniel Abernathy. He's worked at the mill for 11 years. "It'...

Photo: 123rf Westpac New Zealand are apologising for an error, which caused online banking customers to receive a Westpac One notification from "123456789012345678901234567890" with the message "123456789012345678901234567890123456789" between 4 and 4.30pm on Thursday. In a Facebook post, Westpac said customers had received a string of numbers instead of a message, which had been published to its Westpac One messaging service. Photo: Supplied / Westpac New Zealand One person RNZ spoke to said they were also unable to login to their account. However, all services were operational, according to the Westpac status page, and no incidents had been reported by 5pm. There have been more than 1000 reports of Westpac outages across New Zealand, according to Downdetector, a site which monit...

By Antje Fiedler and Benjamin Fath* of Many businesses are doing it tough - squeezed between rising costs and increasingly frugal customers. Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook Opinion - With rising costs and drops in consumer spending, small businesses have been struggling lately. Continuous economic pressure is causing significant stress and burnout among small business owners, while confidence continues to decline. Data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment shows company liquidations are up 40 percent in the first eight months of 2024, compared to 2023. Construction, retail and hospitality have been hit hard due to rising costs and declining spending. The economic climate has been compared with the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC). But ...

More than 100,000 houses were empty in the latest census. Photo: MINT IMAGES More than 100,000 houses were empty in the latest census - and not just because their normal inhabitants were away. But commentators say only a small portion of them are likely to be true 'ghost houses'. In total, the census recorded 111,666 dwellings that were empty. Another 113,499 had their residents away when the Census was conducted. In 2018, 97,842 were empty. Brad Olsen, chief executive at Infometrics, said houses could be empty for a number of reasons - including being a holiday home, being under renovation or having been recently constructed and not moved into yet. He said, overall, 10.8 percent of total dwellings were unoccupied in the census, up from 10.2 percent in 2018 and 10.6 percent in 2013. In ...

Photo: befunky.com Health New Zealand's financial position has continued to worsen, according to its latest quarterly report. However, wait times are showing some improvement. For the year to June, the deficit (from preliminary unaudited results) has now blown out to $934 million - a dramatic downgrade from the $299m surplus forecast in quarter three. Chief executive Margie Apa said the gloomier outlook was partly due to one-off factors including write-offs to surplus Covid-19 stock, Holidays Act remediation, cuts to Hauora Māori funding, unbudgeted staffing costs and "higher outsourcing across all employment groups". Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone "We are committed to resetting Health NZ to ensure that every hour and every dollar we put into ou...

By Georgie Hewson, ABC Sofia Qistine (left) said she was surprised about how expensive the cookies were. Photo: Supplied/ Sofia Qistine For Sydney foodies with a sweet tooth, the chance to try treats from a famous cookie brand only sold in the US was too good to pass up. So, a pop-up store selling the cookies advertised on TikTok in Bondi over the weekend was met with long lines down the block. Many had high expectations for the treats, which were being sold for $AU17.50 ($NZ19.40) each. But soon, social media was flooded with complaints about the quality of the cookies and their high price. Then an even-more confusing story emerged: The pop-up was not approved or run by the US brand Crumbl, and the organisers has gone to unusual lengths to bring the product to Australia. It was the ...