Poll: Who would you vote for as New Zealander of the year?
The New Zealander of the the Year finalists are Dr Siouxsie Wiles, Farid Ahmed and Ranjna Patel.
The awards honour extraordinary Kiwis who inspire, give hope and lead.
Wiles is a microbiologist and science communicator from Auckland.
When Covid-19 first hit New Zealand, Dr Siouxsie Wiles rose to the challenge, said Miriama Kamo, Te Koruru – patron of the awards.
"... she's stood tall to speak to hundreds of millions globally," Kamo said.
"Her work helped us all to see beyond the fear and complexity of the pandemic, to understand not only what was happening, but also how we could, and can continue to, collectively respond."
Ahmed is the Muslim community leader who became an icon of forgiveness following the March 15 terror attacks in Christchurch.
After losing his wife in the attacks, Ahmed demonstratred how faith and love could
provide a pathway to navigate deep grief.
Awarded an international peace prize for his ongoing work, he published Husna's Story in March last year, donating all royalties to St John Ambulance.
The third finalist, Ranjna Patel, is the Tamaki Health director and a domestic violence social entrepreneur.
When Patel was asked to offer guidance around family violence in in the south Asian community, she identified a crucial missing step in family violence intervention – engaging offenders in their own rehabilitation.
In 2014, she established the first Gandhi Nivas home for perpetrators in Otahuhu, providing innovative early intervention and prevention services for Kiwi men.
A study undertaken by Massey University looked at men five years before entering Gandhi Nivas and after, and found 60% of men did not re-offend.
The annual Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards are in their 12th year.
The six winners will be announced in Auckland on March 31.
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65.7% Dr Siouxsie Wiles
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17.6% Ranjna Patel
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16.7% Farid Ahmed
Christmas Eve busiest shopping day of the year with more than 500,000 sales
Busiest shopping day of the year
Peak time 12 noon-1 pm - 563,303 transactions
Per second peak - 167 transactions
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Number of sales beats Black Friday, but lowest Christmas Eve in six years
Christmas Eve has been the busiest shopping day of the year with 9,745 sales a minute at its peak.
Payments company Worldline says noon to 1pm saw 563,303 sales recorded on its network, down by about 7 percent on a year ago.
The company's network covers about three-quarters of the electronic terminals in operation.
Worldline did not have a dollar value for spending, but the peak number of transactions was the lowest for the past six years and well shy of the record 679,436 in 2019, before the pandemic.
Earlier this month it noted rising sales in the first three weeks of the month, but they remained 1.3 percent lower than 2024, with most parts of the country trailing the previous year's spending.
Official data from Stats NZ to the end of November showed a small rise in spending on the previous month, to 1.6 percent higher for the year.
Retail spending has been subdued as households have remained cautious because of high prices and a slow benefit from lower interest rates, and as well as concerns about the soft labour market.
However, recent surveys have shown improving consumer sentiment with ANZ bank's monthly report showing confidence at its highest level in four years.
Boxing Day is traditionally the country's favourite shopping day, but with Black Friday spending also softer this year the amount going through retailers' terminals may also be down on a year ago.
Adding a dampener to consumer spending may be the recent rises in longer term fixed mortgage rates because of higher wholesale rates.
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Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!
Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?
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79.1% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
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20.9% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD
The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’
If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.
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