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A man uses a smartphone to take a photo of a beach. Photo: 123RF Youth travel businesses are hopeful to recover some of their losses this summer after one of their worst winters ever. One hostel industry advocate said occupancy levels collapsed across the motu in May and it has been a hard slog since then. But operators said green shoots were appearing for the summer ahead. Intrepid Travel New Zealand general manager Eve Lawrence said it was a cracker start to the year and then it went downhill. "Winter has been exceptionally soft. It's been probably the worst winter we've had on record for the last decade to be honest. The snow just hasn't arrived and the customers just haven't been booking for the winter so it's had quite a downturn this year," she said. Summer was looking quite str...

Photo: RNZ / Kate Green The owner of Pandoro Wellington has announced its closure after nearly three decades in business. A note in the store window from director Tony Beazley said it had just become too tough to keep its three bakeries open. "The economic downturn, customers working from home, the redundancies in the public sector, cycle lanes and the Wellington City Council are all contributors," it said. "A heartful thank you goes to my entire team over the year. To our customers thank you for your amazing support." Photo: RNZ / Kate Green Beazley told Stuff the economic downturn and mass redundancies had "absolutely gutted" business in the capital. "There was a day on The Terrace where 2500 people were made redundant one Friday, we sold a lot of cakes, but we didn't see anybod...

Jasper Thompson, middle right, shovels debris into a wheelbarrow as residents of Reavers Lane, Queenstown begin clearing up after heavy rains. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver The Queenstown Lakes District Council has filed charges against three companies over a slip in 2023 which forced the evacuation of homes, and left ten homes red-stickered. On 22 September the homes in Reavers Lane were hit by debris during torrential rain. In October the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) mayor Glyn Lewers said that Skyline Gondola had apologised, and said it believed debris from its worksite contributed to the flooding. Forty-one people had to be evacuated from their homes on the night, and later 10 homes were red-stickered and two yellow-stickered. On Friday the Queenstown Lakes District Council...

Photo: Getty Images Synlait's two biggest shareholders will be able to vote on a $218-million rescue package they are bankrolling at next week's special meeting. Market regulator RegCo dismissed a complaint brought by former chief executive and board member John Penno aiming to prevent the big two shareholders, A2 Milk and Bright Dairy, from voting on the bail-out package. In a statement, Synlait said the support of all shareholders remained essential to safeguard the future of Synlait, and all shareholders were encouraged to exercise their right to vote at the special meeting, schedule for 18 September. Penno brought the action, calling the bail out package a sweetheart deal for Bright Dairy and a2 Milk. The proposed package would give Synlait capital to paid down debt and refinance its...