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Port Taranaki is in talks with its staff following the announcement from Methanex. Photo: Supplied / Port Taranaki The announcement of 70 potential job losses at Methanex's plant in Taranaki is sending shock waves through the region, with Port Taranaki already in talks with its staff about reconfiguring its business. Methanex, which uses gas to produce methanol for export, said policy settings had not been conducive to securing sustainable gas supply for its business since 2018. About 300 people work at Methanex's Motunui plant, but when a deal to sell its gas supply to electricity generators Genesis and Contact Energy ends later this year that number could take a hit. The Canadian-based multinational has told staff that rather than firing up two production plants it wanted to scale bac...

Many are needing to turn to second jobs to pay the bills. Photo: 123RF From police officers to IT workers, people are picking up second jobs to make ends meet. As part of Checkpoint's series Crunching the Numbers, we're drilling into the detail of people's finances and this week, we've spoken to people with full-time jobs who are burning out because they're having to find side hustles to stay financially afloat. Avinash Kaur Dhaliwal works for an IT company in Auckland and on top of her full-time job, she became a marriage celebrant to help pay for extra expenses. She said the money from her second job goes towards everyday needs like groceries, petrol and public transport costs, as half price fares have now ended in Auckland. "Nowadays we've reduced our expenses so much, before we us...

Photo: 123RF Inflation pressures are showing more signs of easing, but consumers still look reluctant to spend to any extent. A slew of Stats NZ data showed food prices rose 0.2 percent in August on July, but the annual rate eased to 0.4 percent. Higher prices for eating out, takeaways, and groceries were the main drivers behind the annual gain of 3.6 percent, while fruit and vegetable prices fell 12.2 percent . Among groceries olive oil, butter and chocolate were notable price rises. "The average price of a 250g block of chocolate has increased 20 percent since this time last year," consumer prices manager James Mitchell said. World olive oil supplies and prices have been affected by bad weather in Europe, while chocolate prices have surged on the back of disease, drought, and reduced s...