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As Christmas gift shopping moves increasingly online, scammers are ramping up their activity across the country.
Dunedin’s Investigation Support Unit is seeing more and more people fall victim to scams and other fraudulent activity, particularly on Facebook Marketplace.
There are a few ways… View moreAs Christmas gift shopping moves increasingly online, scammers are ramping up their activity across the country.
Dunedin’s Investigation Support Unit is seeing more and more people fall victim to scams and other fraudulent activity, particularly on Facebook Marketplace.
There are a few ways to avoid the scams and keep yourself safe doing online trades this holiday season, says Southern District Service Delivery Manager Senior Sergeant Dalton.
🔒 “A good first step when looking to purchase something on Marketplace is to check when the seller’s Facebook profile was created. If it’s very recent, there is a higher risk that they have just created this account for a one-off fake item.”
🔒 Another important step is to make sure the seller’s profile name and bank account name match up. “We’re seeing a lot of scammers claiming their bank account name is different because it belongs to their partner or family member - that’s a huge red flag."
🔒 “When you’re selling, never trust a screenshot anyone sends you showing that payment has been made. Check your own bank account to make sure a payment has gone through."
🔒 “Quite frankly, it’s best for all parties to agree to pay, or be paid, for items in cash and in-person. Ideally in a public place with CCTV coverage."
🔒 "If you’re buying a car, check Carjam.co.nz to see if it’s stolen or if there’s money owed on it.”
A reminder: Suspicious activity can be reported on 105
These blossoms made from Resene wallpaper left over after decorating will mean your décor will be blooming gorgeous, no matter the season. Find out how to create your own wallpaper flowers with these easy step by step instructions.
At Waterford, life feels wonderfully effortless. Enjoy modern apartment living, peaceful harbour views and a warm, welcoming community. With cafés, boardwalks and the ferry close by, everything you love is within easy reach. Discover a lifestyle that brings calm, connection and a real sense of … View moreAt Waterford, life feels wonderfully effortless. Enjoy modern apartment living, peaceful harbour views and a warm, welcoming community. With cafés, boardwalks and the ferry close by, everything you love is within easy reach. Discover a lifestyle that brings calm, connection and a real sense of home.
I’m looking for a house cleaner in Ponsonby, ideally not a cleaning company, but a single person who comes each week. References essential. Any suggestions please?
We’ve pulled together a few clever Christmas hacks thanks to Ryman resident, Sullen - simple ideas to save time and stress so you can enjoy more of the festive fun.
A few favourites:
- Hang tree lights vertically for an even glow
- Use reusable gift bags for quick, eco-friendly wrapping
- … View moreWe’ve pulled together a few clever Christmas hacks thanks to Ryman resident, Sullen - simple ideas to save time and stress so you can enjoy more of the festive fun.
A few favourites:
- Hang tree lights vertically for an even glow
- Use reusable gift bags for quick, eco-friendly wrapping
- Prep food ahead to keep Christmas Day relaxed
Click read more for the full list of tips.
At The Helier, retirement feels like a fresh beginning. Light-filled modern apartments, thoughtfully designed spaces and a warm, welcoming community create a place where you can live well and stay connected. Enjoy a lifestyle that feels easy, uplifting and entirely your own, right in the heart of … View moreAt The Helier, retirement feels like a fresh beginning. Light-filled modern apartments, thoughtfully designed spaces and a warm, welcoming community create a place where you can live well and stay connected. Enjoy a lifestyle that feels easy, uplifting and entirely your own, right in the heart of the Bays.
Make your house a home with TSB Living — proudly serving Auckland and all of New Zealand with affordable furniture, home décor, and lifestyle essentials. From comfy couches to stylish outdoor sets, we’ve got what you need to live beautifully for less. Join thousands of happy Kiwis who trust … View moreMake your house a home with TSB Living — proudly serving Auckland and all of New Zealand with affordable furniture, home décor, and lifestyle essentials. From comfy couches to stylish outdoor sets, we’ve got what you need to live beautifully for less. Join thousands of happy Kiwis who trust TSB Living for quality and value.
Discover something new for every room — delivered straight to your door!
I have a small online store selling various models of wireless ear buds. Perfect for those times when hands-free is the way to go. Driving, walking, Jogging, hiking, working out etc Check out my store and get your Christmas shopping sorted early!
With Christmas fast approaching and trees beginning to twinkle in homes across New Zealand, we’re on the hunt for NZ’s Most Loved Christmas Tree!
Whether it’s bursting with colour, elegantly minimal, or filled with sentimental touches from years past, we want to see how Kiwis are spreading… View moreWith Christmas fast approaching and trees beginning to twinkle in homes across New Zealand, we’re on the hunt for NZ’s Most Loved Christmas Tree!
Whether it’s bursting with colour, elegantly minimal, or filled with sentimental touches from years past, we want to see how Kiwis are spreading Christmas magic this season.
And now for the showstopper... 🌟
One tree will rise above them all, capturing the most public votes and the title of NZ’s Most Loved Christmas Tree 2025, along with the iPhone 17 Pro in Cosmic Orange, this year’s ultimate Christmas prize. 🎁🎄
To spread the cheer even further, four lucky trees will be chosen as Santa’s Lucky Trees, each receiving a $200 Space General Gift Voucher, the perfect way to add extra sparkle this season. 🎅🎁
Need a tree first? Explore our beautiful range here and start your Christmas magic!
📅 Public voting opens: 10 November 2025
⏳ Entries close: 17 December 2025
🎄 Winners unwrapped before Christmas — so strike a pose and share your festive masterpiece!
Police are working to locate Robin Dion Leslie Martin, who has a warrant for his arrest and is wanted by Police.
Robin, 52, is wanted in relation to a number of dishonestly offences and is known to frequent the wider Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions.
It’s believed he is actively … View morePolice are working to locate Robin Dion Leslie Martin, who has a warrant for his arrest and is wanted by Police.
Robin, 52, is wanted in relation to a number of dishonestly offences and is known to frequent the wider Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions.
It’s believed he is actively avoiding Police.
If you have seen Robin or have any information that may assist in locating him, please update us online now or call 105.
Please use the reference number 251002/1842.
Alternatively information can be provided anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
You might be surprised. Scammers are getting slicker, sneakier, and a whole lot more convincing, and they’re targeting everyone from students to grandparents.
Before you brush it off with “I’d never fall for that,” give your scam radar a quick tune-up! Test yourself with Netsafe’s fun … View moreYou might be surprised. Scammers are getting slicker, sneakier, and a whole lot more convincing, and they’re targeting everyone from students to grandparents.
Before you brush it off with “I’d never fall for that,” give your scam radar a quick tune-up! Test yourself with Netsafe’s fun new Scam Spotting Quiz or try our online module for even more skill-building.
Scams can catch anyone — even the careful ones.
Keep your wits (and your wallet) about you!
I agree with Christine Fletcher we all need to submit to council and have our say, it's too much.
THE FACTS
Plan Change 120 is contentious, with concerns about Auckland Council’s approach to increasing housing density.
Christine Fletcher and Troy Churton argue the plan’s two-million … View moreI agree with Christine Fletcher we all need to submit to council and have our say, it's too much.
THE FACTS
Plan Change 120 is contentious, with concerns about Auckland Council’s approach to increasing housing density.
Christine Fletcher and Troy Churton argue the plan’s two-million house target is excessive and lacks evidence.
They urge submissions by December 19, emphasising the need for evidence-based, staged development.
Plan Change 120 is one of the most contentious plans ever proposed by Auckland Council.
Every Aucklander wanting quality intensification of our city needs to go to the “Have your say” page of the council’s website and submit on PC120 before December 19. Here’s why.
While we support intensification along our rail corridors (this has been anticipated since Britomart was planned), with PC120, the Government has flexed its muscles too far with its legislative requirements for Auckland.
Christchurch pushed back on its Medium Density Residential requirements, eventually agreeing with the Government on a 30-year high growth capacity with a 20% buffer. This is the equivalent of 65,000 additional houses, a big departure from what was originally proposed.
For an alternative view, read this: Why Auckland needs to grow – Chris Bishop
Yet Auckland – with no evidence that a projection of two million houses was needed – conceded to the minister’s requirement that this was the golden number that had to be met or exceeded.
Auckland Council’s plan change response is a capitulation to the Government. Every planner we’ve met has said: “It’s a rushed job.” Yes, we had to fast-track a plan change enabling natural hazard controls to be implemented, but our council did not challenge the Government’s blanket approach, the way Christchurch’s did.
Any radical re-zoning to achieve intensification must be evidence-based. What evidence is there that Auckland requires a capacity of two million homes over 100 years or needs that enshrined now, and if so, shouldn’t there be staging and sequencing to ensure both physical and social infrastructure are in place?
A far more reasonable target for zoning would be to allow for or anticipate 1.2-1.4 million houses in the medium term, with a potential for more to be added in the future.
Developers are not unreasonably constrained from building apartments close to train stations under the Auckland Unitary Plan right now. Take the new Simplicity high-rise development beside Greenlane train station or the Ockham high-rise development adjacent to Grafton station by way of example.
Further, contrary to political “nice speak” by Bishop, Mayor Wayne Brown and the council communications team, a two-million capacity “built into zoning” now does not create choices. Nor does it prevent poor outcomes. The timeframes for development are just too long to offer assurances. Those in leadership will be dead and buried before foreseeable unintended consequences arise from this plan.
Take the blanketing of much of the city with higher-rise buildings and intensity regardless of its built character. Under the new plan, “residual” residential areas – those outside walkable catchments and town centres – have mostly Mixed House Urban (MHU, three storeys permitted) and token Mixed Housing Suburban (two storeys), zoning blanketed like Caulerpa over them. It’s a modelling trick based on the idea that three storeys delivers greater floor area and more potential units per site, and it’s only because our planners are bending backwards to meet an irrational two-million threshold.
Government assumptions that large-scale development of apartment buildings is a feasible way to provide for affordable housing are unsubstantiated.
Not every site will suit, nor will a developer want three storeys on a site or 15 storeys on a site within 800m of a train station. The indiscriminate, blanket MHU zoning in residual residential areas means we will see sporadic three-storey buildings amongst existing villas or one- and two-storey houses, with some sites filled with far more than three units and some perhaps with three or less: net result, an incohesive tossed salad.
So, minister, rejecting the medium density rules of the last plan and replacing them with far worse does not deliver Auckland “what it asked for”.
Recognising the outcry of supporting Labour’s 2021 housing enabling bill and the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) that eventuated under PC78, National then campaigned on the basis that it would make the MDRS “optional”. National did not disclose that it planned to require any replacement to Plan Change 78 to provide for the same excessive number of dwellings in any proposed replacement.
The current operative plan, the Auckland Unitary Plan, provides for approximately 900,000 new dwellings, including significant provision for terraced housing and apartment buildings on main traffic corridors.
Many developers and interest groups agree that the real constraint is infrastructure, not opportunity. If a first-home buyer wants to try to purchase a unit near a train station or a bus route, the Auckland Unitary Plan enables that sort of development to happen now.
Watercare Services Ltd, for instance, lacks working capital to build new infrastructure, which will only be paid for by developers when it has been completed – a complete disincentive to development anyway. The infrastructure constraint is not satisfactorily dealt with either under Plan Change 120.
Technical reports from planning staff outline the significant departures PC120 represents from previous plans. Bishop and his Government need to have the leadership to concede that fast-tracking a two-million, capacity-based plan change is the wrong approach to enabling quality, affordable housing for the generations to come.
Each desirable major city in the world has its own special appeal, which is carefully conserved by governments in harmony with provision for density. With PC120, we’re failing to even recognise our own appeal, let alone conserve it.
We urge you to make a submission by December 19. It is a busy time and the plan is complex, but you need only make a brief submission now to ensure you are part of the process moving forward. Some residents associations have templates to assist and the council has a Friends of Submitter service you may access.
Get ready to jingle all the bargains! Crackerjack’s Christmas range is bursting with sweet treats, chocolates, fun pressies, toys for the little ones (and furry friends!), plus festive décor, accessories, stocking stuffers and Secret Santa winners!
Whether you’re looking for gifting inspo … View moreGet ready to jingle all the bargains! Crackerjack’s Christmas range is bursting with sweet treats, chocolates, fun pressies, toys for the little ones (and furry friends!), plus festive décor, accessories, stocking stuffers and Secret Santa winners!
Whether you’re looking for gifting inspo or filling the trolley with bargains this festive season, you’ll find it all in store and online at Crackerjack.
Hi
my bike was stolen last Thursday 27/11 at 7.30am outside 14 Allen Road grey lynn. If anyone sees this either for sale or being ridden can they please send me a text 021328112
Many thanks
Suse
www.facebook.com... its a new group but looks good, check it out.
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