1306 days ago

Honing In On Supermarkets

Michael from Trentham

During the last two years or so of the pandemic in NZ, the big winners commercially were supermarkets and banks.

Whilst business in general took a big hit and in many cases - a dive - supermarkets and banks thrived.

All this whilst the Government had to find huge loans and spend money earmarked for other projects and promises to help Kiwis get through the crisis.

So while I loathe banks I(mainly Australian) making so much dough and charging customers unnecessarily more than should be the case, I don't begrudge supermarkets in NZ profiting annually by a handsome amount. And yet I do say the line must be drawn on the approx 500 million annually the two supermarket franchises have made whilst some in NZ have been scrimping and failing to gather in enough money to buy groceries weekly and the Government is blamed for the rising cost of living and the rising inflation rate well past the hitherto three percent max per annum.

So the steps the Government are taking are the right ones and hopefully will further pave the way for additional competition from at least another supermarket player.

Supermarkets in NZ were given big wraps by people here on Neighbourly during the pandemic for being so stoic but did they really deserve all the praise? They didn't pay their staff extra for the extra dangers they faced and they made more profit than normal as people staying at home bought more products sold at supermarkets.

More messages from your neighbours

11 days ago

Advice please, declined house insurance cover

Jane from Pinehaven

Looking for advice please. Has anyone had any issues reinsuring their homes. Our current house insurance went up by 11.5%, so I decided to get another quote. At the end of a very long phone with Tower, they declined to insurance us, saying our property is a landslide risk. I'm on Wyndham Road in Pinehaven. While the house is up off the street, the house itself and backyard are on the flat part of our section. Now - in the interest of full disclosure - I'm going to have to tell our current insurer too. I've rung the Council to see if they've updated their hazards mapping - and they said the only update has been to the Pinehaven Overflow. Have lived in this house since 2003, and insurance has never been an issue till now. TIA

4 days ago

Today’s Mind-Bender is the Last of the Year! Can You Guess It Before Everyone Else? 🌟🎁🌲

The Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

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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