Nearby
Green Bay, Lynfield, Mount Roskill, Laingholm, Kelston, Waterview, New Windsor, Glendene, Hillsborough, New Lynn, Avondale
Blockhouse Bay news is brought to you by the team at Western Leader
Recent posts
Thank you for using Neighbourly
Moving into William Sanders Village provided Graham and Karrin Byrnes with the perfect chance to give back to a community that was right on their doorstep, with beloved pet Maggie being the key to their success.
The couple heard about the St John therapy pets programme not long after moving into… View moreMoving into William Sanders Village provided Graham and Karrin Byrnes with the perfect chance to give back to a community that was right on their doorstep, with beloved pet Maggie being the key to their success.
The couple heard about the St John therapy pets programme not long after moving into Ryman Healthcare’s Devonport village in 2021, and now take Maggie to visit residents in the village care centre three times a week.
Click read more to read about Maggie's pawsome work.
The Police front door is now open a lot closer to central Auckland residents and visitors.
Today, the public counter at the Auckland Central Police Base on Federal Street was officially opened by acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers and Minister of Police Mark Mitchell.
It’s the first stage … View moreThe Police front door is now open a lot closer to central Auckland residents and visitors.
Today, the public counter at the Auckland Central Police Base on Federal Street was officially opened by acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers and Minister of Police Mark Mitchell.
It’s the first stage of an expanded presence at 210 Federal Street after it was announced late last year that Police will take on full occupancy.
“It’s fantastic to be able to open our doors with a public facing presence back in the heart of central Auckland once again,” acting Deputy Commissioner: Northern Region, Jill Rogers says.
“We know that the public feel safer when they see our staff and our buildings.
“This has been something the community have been keen to see happen, and Police have been working hard at increasing our presence in recent years.”
The public counter opened for service at the beginning of the week and replaces the previous counters at College Hill.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Rogers says Police will be able to deploy with ease across busy areas of the CBD.
This includes Te Waihorotiu Station, which is expected to be the country’s busiest train station when it opens.”
“We have seen the benefits since our Beat team moved to the site more than two years ago,” acting Deputy Commissioner Rogers says.
“For example, foot patrols are up 91 per cent in the city from July 2024 to April 2025, on the previous period.
“It’s clear to us that an expanded Police presence will make our overall 24/7 response in the city more effective.”
Construction is ongoing at the site with fit out work being completed on other floors in the building.
Auckland City District Headquarters will remain based at its current location on College Hill.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
===================
• Police have occupied two floors of 210 Federal Street since 2020
• Police took over full occupancy in July 2025
• The Beat Team has done 4,770 hours of foot patrolling (July 2024 – April 2025)
• More than 50 staff form part of the Beat Team
Police in Auckland’s CBD
====================
• 2 September 2019 – Frontline and front counter staff move to the Auckland City Hub, on College Hill.
• November 2022 – Auckland Central Beat team moves into a re-purposed floor at 210 Federal Street
• 25 November 2024 – Police announce agreement to take full occupancy of 210 Federal Street
• 14 July 2025 – the new front counter at Auckland City Police Base opens for service.
===================================================
Good news for fans of creative expression and kiwi excellence ... poet Selina Tusitala Marsh has been announced as the inaugural Commonwealth Poet Laureate!
Marsh says, "When we honour the artistry within our communities, whether it flows from Sāmoa, my mother's island, or New … View moreGood news for fans of creative expression and kiwi excellence ... poet Selina Tusitala Marsh has been announced as the inaugural Commonwealth Poet Laureate!
Marsh says, "When we honour the artistry within our communities, whether it flows from Sāmoa, my mother's island, or New Zealand, where I was born and grew up, we recognise the inherent dignity and worth of every person whose story deserves to be told."
Congratulations Selina, ka pai.
We hope this news brings a smile!
Government “choices” mean some of the families now receiving Family Boost payments for their early childhood education are among the 10% wealthiest in the country, an economist says.
A revamp to the Family Boost programme means those with household incomes up to $229,100 a year are now … View moreGovernment “choices” mean some of the families now receiving Family Boost payments for their early childhood education are among the 10% wealthiest in the country, an economist says.
A revamp to the Family Boost programme means those with household incomes up to $229,100 a year are now eligible for support with their childcare fees.
The available rebate is also increasing to 40% of fees paid, or a maximum of $1560 a quarter.
The change applies to fees paid in the September quarter, and from then on.
But Craig Renney, policy director of the Council of Trade Unions and an economist who was previously a senior economic adviser to then-Finance Minister Grant Robertson, said there were “choices” being made.
He said those on the highest incomes, in the top 10% according to the Stats NZ Household Expenditure Survey, were benefiting the most from the change.
“If your household earns $60,000 a year, you can get up to an extra $2340 annually in new support. If your household earns three times that, $180,000 – you will get an extra $3440 annually. That’s 47% more. For exactly the same thing – having children in early childhood education.”
The difference was because the higher earners were previously not eligible at all.
Renney said data also showed higher-earning households tended to spend more on early childhood education anyway, which meant they would have larger fees to claim rebates on.
Most were already spending the money without the Government’s assistance, he said.
It could have been better used to help make early childhood education more affordable or accessible to low or middle-income earners, he said.
“Instead of having a 40% cap across the piece that could be claimed, you could have said for very-low-income households we’ll make it 50, 60 or 100%.
“Because this is a rebate scheme, those on low incomes don’t have the money to be able to afford it in the first place to then get the rebate.
“I’m not saying these families don’t need the money but I’m saying if you were making choices about where to spend, for a Government that’s focused on value for money – you may get better outcomes for your dollar if you were actually spending it on expanding ECE provision in low-income communities.”
Asked whether the adjustment would affect the number of families who could receive the full $250-a-fortnight relief that National campaigned on before the last election, as a combination of the Family Boost package and tax cuts, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said that data was not available.
“The National Party campaigned on a tax relief plan that included multiple elements – shifting tax brackets to compensate for inflation, expanding tax credits to reach more modest income earners, increasing Working for Families tax credits and introducing the FamilyBoost childcare tax credit.
“We delivered on these policies in our first Budget. We made clear that the impact of these policies would vary according to family circumstances and encouraged people to use our tax calculator so they could find out what it would mean for them.”
She said the $250 example was a family with a household income of $120,000 split across two earners spending at least $300 a week on childcare.
“We did not model how many families would match that scenario.
“Inland Revenue is not geared up to calculate how many people would have matched that scenario in the past 12 months or will match it in the coming years. This is because some elements of the tax plan are calculated on an individual basis while others, including FamilyBoost, are calculated according to household income. Inland Revenue does not routinely collect information on household incomes.”
She said about 60,000 families had received the full FamilyBoost payment they were entitled to.
With the scheme expansion, she said, about 16,000 more families would probably benefit.
“The amount of rebate they receive will vary according to the fees they pay and the income they earn each quarter. The maximum a family can now receive from FamilyBoost is $240, an increase on the $150 that National campaigned on.
“To receive that amount, a family would have to be spending at least $300 a week on childcare and have a combined family income of less than $140,000 a year. Inland Revenue does not calculate how many families find themselves in that circumstance.”
===================================================
New stats show food prices rose 4.6% in the year to June – the largest rate of increase since late 2023.
That was up from a 4.4% increase in the year to May, Stats NZ’s latest Selected Price Indexes show.
Rising prices for fruit and vegetables in June have added to already elevated pricing … View moreNew stats show food prices rose 4.6% in the year to June – the largest rate of increase since late 2023.
That was up from a 4.4% increase in the year to May, Stats NZ’s latest Selected Price Indexes show.
Rising prices for fruit and vegetables in June have added to already elevated pricing for dairy products to push costs higher.
Higher prices for the fruit and vegetables group and the grocery foods group drove the increase in food prices for June 2025, Stats NZ said.
They were up 5% and 0.8% respectively for the month.
“More expensive tomatoes, capsicum, and broccoli drove the increase for fruit and vegetables, while higher prices for boxed chocolates and eggs drove the increase for grocery foods,” Stats NZ said.
Meanwhile, dairy and meat prices remain elevated, reflecting strong export prices on global markets.
“Dairy products continue to drive the higher cost in food prices,” said prices and deflators spokeswoman Nicola Growden.
==============================
The average milk price was $4.57 for 2 litres, up 14.3% annually. Butter was $8.60 per 500g, up 46.5% annually, and cheese was $13.04 for a 1kg block, up 30% annually.
===============================
“Butter prices are nearly five dollars more expensive than 10 years ago, an increase of over 120%,” Growden said.
The increase in the meat, poultry, and fish group was driven by higher prices for beef steak and beef mince, up 22.3% and 15.6%, respectively.
“The average cost for 1kg of beef mince was $21.73 in June 2025, up from $18.80 a year ago,” Growden said.
The increase in food prices was higher than expected, said ASB senior economist Mark Smith.
Meanwhile, rental prices continue to moderate.
Rent prices increased 2.6% in the 12 months to June 2025, following a 2.8% rise in the year to May.
The 2.6% increase is the lowest lift for rent prices since October 2011, when they rose 2.5%, Stats NZ said.
On a monthly basis, rents were flat, rising just 0.1%.
ASB’s Smith is forecasting it to land at an annual rate of 2.8% and rising above 3% in the third quarter.
That would be above the Reserve Bank’s target range of 1-3%. Elevated inflation concerns prompted the RBNZ to pause its cycle of interest rate cuts last week.
But Smith noted that there were good reasons to expect inflation to move lower by the end of the year and into 2026.
Reduced demand due to weak economic conditions should be disinflationary forces for the service sector and other non-tradable parts of the economy.
“We expect a further 25bp OCR cut in August but acknowledge that weak activity data and the downward skew to global risks could see a sub 3% OCR emerge by year-end,” he said.
But this outlook was not without risk, Smith said.
There was a possibility that the uptick in inflation proved to be more persistent than transitory, “providing an unwelcome lift to inflation expectations that central banks have worked arduously to re-anchor post-Covid”.
==================================================
Buy any red testpot 60 mL from your local Resene owned ColorShop between 17 -31 July 2025 and Resene will donate $1 to Cure Kids.
The more red testpots you buy, the more will be donated!
This quick and customisable project is ideal for those without a sturdy tree to hang a swing from, and it’s sure to bring joy to your little ones. Find out how to make and stain your own in your favourite Resene Woodsman wood stain finish with these easy step by step instructions.
Kia ora neighbours
We all wind down differently at the end of the day. Some of us drift off to the sound of soft rain, calming music, or a bit of white noise. Others? We need total silence and darkness to truly switch off.
How about you — do you need sound to soothe, or stillness to reset?
… View moreKia ora neighbours
We all wind down differently at the end of the day. Some of us drift off to the sound of soft rain, calming music, or a bit of white noise. Others? We need total silence and darkness to truly switch off.
How about you — do you need sound to soothe, or stillness to reset?
Vote below and feel free to share what works for you. Your go-to bedtime trick might help someone else in the neighbourhood get a better night’s rest too
Last year, the Commerce Commission announced it had agreed to increase revenue limits to facilitate the maintenance and improvement of the electricity network.
Consumer NZ have revealed their latest annual energy survey, and found that 11% of consumers have had to cut back on their heating, and … View moreLast year, the Commerce Commission announced it had agreed to increase revenue limits to facilitate the maintenance and improvement of the electricity network.
Consumer NZ have revealed their latest annual energy survey, and found that 11% of consumers have had to cut back on their heating, and 20% of people have been struggling to pay their power bill in the past year.
How does your region compare? You can view and compare how the average monthly household use, charges, and bills vary regionally here.
We want to know: Is your household paying more for electricity this year?
Do you have any advice for your community on what changes you have found most effective in keeping costs down in your home or office? Share below!
Premium care is just meters away from our village. Join our caring community, where passion thrives. Trust Terrace Kennedy House for exceptional care and meaningful connections.
In good working order and near new condition. Text Michael on 0220498546 if interested.
After four years of operating New Zealand's newest interregional public transport rail service - originally running only two trips during weekdays - Te Huia will now be travelling seven days per week between Frankton in Hamilton and the Strand in central Auckland!
From Sunday 27 July, new … View moreAfter four years of operating New Zealand's newest interregional public transport rail service - originally running only two trips during weekdays - Te Huia will now be travelling seven days per week between Frankton in Hamilton and the Strand in central Auckland!
From Sunday 27 July, new trip times include a 2:45pm Northbound service to Auckland, and a 6:15pm Southbound service to Hamilton on Sundays.
These exciting service improvements bring Te Huia up to a massive 30 trips per week - that's a total weekly travel distance of over 4,020km! 🤯
With massive thanks to our friends at Kiwirail and Auckland Transport, Te Huia can now access the Auckland Rail Network on Sundays, which we hope will continue to increase travel opportunities and connectivity between the Waikato region and Auckland City.
=====================================================
At the rate I'm going I will need years to fill my booklet …
Hi everyone i am currently considering getting a new bed possibly bed suite if the bank account allows, however I need to get rid of my current mattress aswell if I do happen to get a new bed. Does anybody know how I can get rid of it please and thanks ..
Dear fellow neighbors. My current power company is Power Shop. I left my last power company, FLICK Electric but finding PS too, complicated, and time consuming. Can ANYONE, suggest and help, please. Many thx inadvance. Live in Avondale gazzaaknz@gmail.com or PM 0220357635 Cheers to ALL ALBIE
© Neighbourly 2025
Loading…