Wednesday, October 28

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With clinical services, strategies to prevent suicides should address social
10Sep By No Comments
Health

With clinical services, strategies to prevent suicides should address social

National strategies aimed at preventing suicide should include measures to address social issues to prevent people from reaching "crisis point," even as clinical services for those in crisis are critical, argue authors of a new six-paper series published in The Lancet Public Health journal.The international team of authors, including those from the Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, called for a change in the narrative around suicide -- to move away from presenting it as a purely mental health issue and acknowledge the impact of social risk factors, such as poverty, domestic violence, addictions and isolation.This was particularly relevant for India, which released the National Suicide Prevention Strategy in November 2022, and grounded most of its proposed solutions within the m...
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Mainfreight co-founder Bruce Plested on business, charity, tax … and clean toilets
10Sep By No Comments
Business

Mainfreight co-founder Bruce Plested on business, charity, tax … and clean toilets

Bruce Plested is the co-founder of Mainfreight and one of New Zealand's wealthiest people. He shares his philosophy on business, charity - and a little politics - as part of RNZ's new series, RICH: The meaning of wealth in Aotearoa. What's one sign of a bad workplace culture? For 82-year-old billionaire Bruce Plested, it's dirty toilets. Because a grubby loo isn't just poor hygiene, it's also a sign staff, no matter their role or status, are not taking pride in their workplace. Plested, the founder, largest shareholder and chairman of Mainfreight, puts great store in the state of his company's bathrooms. "Here, we clean the toilets in this big branch at lunch time so we're spick and span and you've got to have brushes and toilet paper and hooks to put your clothes on." It reflects the high...
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Winstone Pulp International mill closures will be ‘catastrophic’ for Central North Island communities – local leader
10Sep By No Comments
Business

Winstone Pulp International mill closures will be ‘catastrophic’ for Central North Island communities – local leader

Workers heading into the Winstone Pulp International meeting after the closure of two of its mills. Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook A community leader says the closure of two Central North Island mills will be "catastrophic" for local towns. Hundreds of people are set to lose their jobs after one of the Central North Island's biggest employers announced it will close down two of its mills - for good. In recent weeks, Winstone Pulp International had been meeting with energy company Mercury and government ministers to find a way to keep the Karioi and Tangiwai mills open. But the company made the call on Tuesday afternoon to close its two mills, blaming unsustainable spot energy prices. Mercury previously denied it was responsible for the closures, saying the prices were similar to those charged ...
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Orange juice shortage hitting nationwide
10Sep By No Comments
Business

Orange juice shortage hitting nationwide

Photo: 123rf Struggling to find your favourite chilled orange juice? You're not the only one. A combination of lower yields on the East Coast due to Cyclone Gabrielle damage and smaller yields from Brazil, the world's largest orange grower, have left supermarket chiller shelves bare of orange juice. Brazilian orchards have been hit by drought and disease and yields are down by at least a third. In July, industry group Citrus New Zealand said it didn't anticipate New Zealand's orange juice supplies would be impacted by the shortage of oranges from Brazil. But throughout August, supermarket chillers were left empty as local producers run dry of OJ. Distributor Better Drinks Company said its Charlie's brand orange juice has been affected by the global shortage, prompting inquiries from the ...
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India warns nurses against moving to New Zealand without genuine job offers
10Sep By No Comments
World News

India warns nurses against moving to New Zealand without genuine job offers

Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi The Indian High Commission in Wellington has warned nurses against coming to New Zealand unless they have a genuine job offer. "It has come to the notice of the High Commission of India that a number of Indian nurses are facing difficulties in securing jobs in New Zealand, even though they may have successfully completed the Competency Assessment Programme (CAP) and registration with New Zealand Nursing Council," the Indian diplomatic mission said in a statement on Monday. "[We] would like to advise the Indian nurses that they should not travel to New Zealand unless they have a genuine job offer. It is also advisable to get the genuineness of the employer checked by the High Commission by emailing at pol.wellington@mea.gov.in ." The Indian High Commission also...
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Funding agency credit rating still AA+ despite council downgrades
10Sep By No Comments
Business

Funding agency credit rating still AA+ despite council downgrades

Local Government Funding Agency's long term rating is steady despite downgrades to councils including Wellington and Hamilton City. Photo: Supplied/ Wellington City Council Falling credit ratings for councils has had no impact on the Local Government Funding Agency's capacity to borrow or lend money, the agency said. S&P Global Ratings has confirmed the agency's ratings are stable because of its dominant market position as a source of financing for councils. It kept the fund's long-term ratings at AA+ and raised its standalone credit profile, which excludes any support from central government, from AA- to AA+. But S&P has downgraded some councils, including Wellington and Hamilton City councils, because of weak financial positions and rising debt. LGFA is a 'super borrower', rai...
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Tonga Law Society members launch petition to remove Kingdom’s first openly gay chief justice
10Sep By No Comments
World News

Tonga Law Society members launch petition to remove Kingdom’s first openly gay chief justice

Malcolm Bishop KC Photo: LinkedIn / Malcolm Bishop KC A petition circulating in Tonga is calling for the newly appointed chief justice, Malcolm Bishop from Wales, to have his position revoked because he is openly gay. The petition was launched by members of Tonga's law society and a protest is also planned. Tonga Law Society president Lopeti Senituli has distanced himself from the petition. Senituli said the lawyers who kicked the petition into motion were acting independently and not in conjunction with Tonga Law Society. "That is not an official petition of the Tonga Law Soceity," he told RNZ Pacific on Monday. "It is a petition by members of the [Tonga] Law Society but it is not sanctioned by the Tonga Law Society executive council," he added. Senituli said he has not signed the peti...
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Hundreds of jobs lost as Winstone shuts mills
10Sep By No Comments
Business

Hundreds of jobs lost as Winstone shuts mills

Workers heading into the Winstone Pulp International meeting after the closure of two of its mills. Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook Hundreds are set to lose their jobs after one of the central North Island's biggest employers made the call to shut two of its mills. Winstone Pulp International chief executive Mike Ryan has confirmed the company will shut down because there were no options available to stay open. In a statement he blamed high wholesale power prices and low market prices for forestry products. "This was not a decision taken lightly. We gave due consideration to the feedback and alternatives put forward by staff and unions... "There were a number of good ideas put forward that would make incremental improvements to our operations, but not enough to offset the dual impacts of intern...
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Eight people on trial in Thailand over Red Bull heir’s alleged hit and run
10Sep By No Comments
World News

Eight people on trial in Thailand over Red Bull heir’s alleged hit and run

Interpol has issued an international red notice for Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya (pictured in 2012). Photo: Somchai Poomlard /Bangkok Post via AFP By Lauren Day, ABC South-East Asia correspondent There's a saying in Thailand: "Only the poor go to jail." And no case proves it like that of Red Bull heir Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya. In the early hours of 3 September, 2012, the then-27-year-old allegedly smashed his Ferrari into the back of a police officer's motorbike on a busy Bangkok road. The officer was flung from the bike, dragged almost 200 metres under the car and died at the scene. But by the time police arrived, Yoovidhya had already sped away. A trail of oil leaking from the sports car led investigators to his luxury home and medical tests reportedly taken in the hours after th...
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Small businesses ‘restrict sales to avoid GST’
10Sep By No Comments
Business

Small businesses ‘restrict sales to avoid GST’

Photo: 123RF Some small businesses are limiting their sales to avoid having the deal with GST, one accounting platform says - but a GST expert warns that any threshold change could lower it, rather than increase it. When a business or sole trader has turnover of $60,000 a year, it is required to register for GST. That means it needs to apply the 15 percent tax to sales and return the GST to Inland Revenue. A recent survey by Hnry showed that 36 percent of respondents purposely kept their turnover below $60,000 to avoid it. More than 40 percent said they "definitely or probably" lost business when they increased prices by 15 percent. Wellington personal trainer Carl Rein had told Hnry he could not absorb GST or pass it on to clients. "Increasing my rates by that much would impact my earni...
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