More than 100,000 New Zealanders can’t keep warm in their homes over winter as they struggle to afford heating and pay their power bills.
Which companies offer hardship discounts?
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Only a few power companies provide discounts for customers facing hardship, according to a survey conducted for this series by Common Grace.
Mercury said it excluded 135 households from the April 1 price increase and froze their prices. It supported about 2000 customers a month experiencing financial hardship. Globug, owned by Mercury, gave the same answer.
Contact has its “HandUp programme”, which it says gave individual payment options and discounted energy to customers in need. It said it also offered short-term energy credits for customers needing immediate relief, and full debt forgiveness to clear long-term, unmanageable debt.
“In 2024, this programme assisted 3500 households, and in the last year, almost $500k of support has been offered.”
Genesis, and now-defunct Frank, pointed to the Power Shout scheme, wherein 328,830 hours of free power were supplied to 4205 vulnerable customers.
Toast, a not-for-profit social retailer, has up to 300 customers who have been referred by its community partners specifically for discounted power.
“Toast provides them with all-year lower pricing than their previous retailer and also aims to discount their tariffs by 30% over winter months. They estimate these discounts will amount to $70,000 off standard Toast tariffs during winter 2025,” the company said.
The remaining companies that responded to the survey said they did not provide discounted power.
Meridian said, “In our experience, discounts are not the way to help people transition out of energy hardship.”
Meridian has its Energy Wellbeing Programme. It provides customers with budgeting support, in-home assessments and tailored support to make their homes healthier, easier and cheaper to heat.
“In some cases, this involves providing items like curtains, insulation, or heat pumps. With more than 2500 households already assisted, we have found this to be a far more sustainable solution.”
Pulse did not offer discounts for hardship: “Our priority is to keep electricity pricing as low as we can for all customers. This year, as an example, from 1 April we only flowed through changes in network services charges and did not change our energy rates.”
Nova said it did not offer discounts for hardship, preferring to work through its support teams.
Ecotricity did not offer discounted power, but was “committed to supporting customers in hardship by offering flexible payment options, working closely with them to manage arrears and connecting them with external support services where appropriate”.
Electric Kiwi pointed to its daily free hour of power. Pre-pay service Wise said it did not offer discounted power to people in hardship because that was difficult to define.
Switch Utilities said it did not offer hardship discounts because the issue was “wider than those in immediate hardship”.
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Charities turning away high numbers of volunteer applications
Charities are turning away people wanting to volunteer amidst a flood of interest they say is linked to the high rate of unemployment.
It comes as some businesses receive thousands of applications for paid roles and people look for experience anywhere they can.
The advocacy organisation Volunteering NZ has been tracking the trend. Spokesperson Margaret McLachlan said there has been a considerable rise in applications for volunteer roles across a range of charities.
Many application forms asks people to divulge if they are job hunters.
"Over the last year or so, they are seeing more people coming in who are saying they are in that category. They are looking for work but doing volunteering while that process is taking place."
"As unemployment increases and the cost of living, times are tougher for everybody."
At the same time, she said community organisations supporting social services were busier and needed more helpers.
McLachlan said depending on the organisation, they might want to do a police check, a reference check and an interview.
"In some cases it can be a process to go through and not always, and that can take some time.
"It's actually the same barriers that a person might find in finding a job, can also apply to volunteering. It's not always a easy option."
SPCA had 120 op shops and animal rescue centres across the country in which volunteers worked.
General manager of retail Cathy Crichton said they received about 1300 extra applications for volunteer roles, a 32 percent increase, from June to November 2025, compared to 2024.
"There's definitely a nudge forward which is very exciting and we're very grateful."
But it meant they were not accepting any more volunteers in some areas.
"Because the applications are up it's a unique scenario. But at this point in time, in smaller locations, we've actually got a hold in 19 locations in New Zealand where we are at capacity - and that's very rare and it's a very new trend."
Crichton said anyone seeking volunteer work should think creatively about what skills they can offer - it could be in administration or marketing.
"We'd love to welcome as many people as we could because the more hands on deck the more we can do and the more we can contribute to the community."
She said people were self-motivated to apply for volunteer work.
The unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent in the September quarter, meaning 160,000 people were jobless. The next quarterly figures are out in February.
"There's a willingness to give back and contribute to the community. Unemployment being high really does encourage people to engage with the workforce and get experience," Crichton said.
"It really is about staying connected with the community and meeting others."
She said they had also seen an increase in young people seeking volunteer work experience.
"It's a great opportunity to get work experience and a reference and there's an appeal there as an employer...I really do think it adds value to a CV."
Stats NZ data showed over half of New Zealanders, 53 percent, volunteered during March 2025 and of those, 27.6 percent volunteered through an organisation and 40.8 percent volunteered directly for another person.
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The best board games to play (and gift) this summer
Over the holiday period, the right game can make all the difference. So which board games should you try out – and which ones should you gift?
1. Sushi Go Party
This colourful, fast-paced game has great art, and a "menu" that can be changed depending on the number of players (up to eight) and their familiarity with the game.
Players win the game by creating the best combination of cards, depending on what's available, by rotating the cards from player to player like a sushi train. It's easy to learn and relatively cheap.
2. Wavelength
In this party game, teams have to try and guess the location of a hidden target on a spectrum, using a clue from one "psychic" team member. The ends of the spectrum reflect two binaries, such as hot–cold or optional–mandatory, and the target falls somewhere in between.
The closer the team gets to where the psychic thinks the target should go, the more points they score. Wavelength is one of those games where no matter if your team gets it right or wrong, you can expect people to give their two cents.
3. Mysterium and Mysterium Park
In these team games, players play mediums seeking the counsel of another player – a ghost – who gives them clues to important information about murders in the house, including the ghost’s own murder.
The ghost offers the other players tarot cards with abstract artwork with which they must attempt to discern the murder weapon, location and culprit.
4. The Quacks of Quedlinburg
This game sees players take the role of potion makers at the local fair, who must push their luck by drawing ingredients out of a bag to make the best potions without them blowing up in their face. It’s simple to teach and hilarious when someone else blows up their cauldron (although arguably less when it’s you).
5. Modern Art
This is one of the most celebrated games from board game designer luminary Reiner Knizia. Players are art dealers auctioning off beautiful paintings done by five professional artists. Players might even forget to play as they get caught up in simply admiring the pieces they are auctioning off.
Modern Art remains a fiendishly clever game that is easy to learn but hard to master.
6. Heat: Pedal to the Metal
This strategic racing game is based on 1960s Formula 1 racing. The base game boasts four tracks on two gorgeous boards, and lovely little cars that pass each other and risk spinning out around corners.
7. Nemesis
By far the most expensive (and complicated) game on this list, Nemesis can best be described as Alien: the board game.
Players have to move through a spaceship, discovering rooms and items as they go, taking care not to alert the horrific extraterrestrials that have managed to get onto the ship – represented by amazingly designed pieces. It’s a truly tense and fun experience for a full afternoon.
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Today’s Mind-Bender is the Last of the Year! Can You Guess It Before Everyone Else? 🌟🎁🌲
I dance in the sky with green and gold, a spectacle few are lucky to behold; I’m best seen in the south, a celestial sight—what am I, lighting up the New Zealand night?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm on the day!
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