At first glance, there’s no obvious connection between hydroponic gardening and three-dimensional printing. But for Barnard Theron, whose day job involves IT security for a large government department, his experimental 3D-printed garage hydroponic system represents the perfect marriage of his passion for good design, interest in new technologies and self-confessed control freak tendencies. It all started when Theron, who immigrated to New Zealand from South Africa in 2011, and his partner moved into their new Masterton home last March. The two-car garage which the previous owner had converted into a home office and hobby space had strong man cave possibilities – an important attraction for Barnard who is a classic DIYer as well as designer and builder of wooden furniture. Read more at stuff.co.nz

Video / NZ HeraldA small-town police officer has had his praises sung by a local resident after the cop assisted his 93-year-old father who’d had his savings drained by scammers. The elderly gentleman, a north Canterbury local, spent hours on the phone with the scammers as they stole $1700 from his accounts. His bank, ANZ, was reluctant to show any willingness to help restore his funds until a local cop drove the man to his bank branch and helped him explain his cause. This was all witnessed by the man’s son, Grant McLellan, who said his father was completely trusting that the scam was legitimate. According to McLellan, the bank teller told the man that Constable Power was known for his community efforts.

nzherald.co.nz published this video item, entitled “Taranaki water celebrates 20 years | Local Focus” – below is their description. In the early 1900s, when the Bonithon Petroleum Company struck not oil, but hot mineral water 1000m beneath the Earth’s surface, they abandoned the site and the water ran to waste. Today the precious PureOne water commodity is celebrating 20 years of clean drinking water. Full story: https://bit.ly/lf1569Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Subscribe and be notified of breaking news: https://goo.gl/LP45jXCheck out our playlists: https://goo.gl/Swd249Like NZ Herald on Facebook: https://goo.gl/tUC4oqFollow NZ Herald on Instagram: https://goo.gl/oLicXeFollow NZ Herald on Twitter: https://goo.gl/Wi6mbvnzherald.co.nz YouTube Channel

The new pedestrian crossing had to be dug up after several faults were found shortly after it was built. Photo / Alex BurtonThe new pedestrian crossing had to be dug up after several faults were found shortly after it was built. Photo / Alex BurtonAuckland Mayor Wayne Brown has blasted Auckland Transport (AT) for failing to pick up faults on a botched pedestrian crossing until after it was completed, leading to more disruption and inconvenience for locals. Brown was responding to a Herald story about a $346,000 raised pedestrian crossing on Williamson Ave in Grey Lynn being dug for repairs only months after it was built. Motorists faced delays while faults with the pedestrian crossing were repaired.

nzherald.co.nz published this video item, entitled “Residents upset after Foodstuffs cans new supermarket | Local Focus” – below is their description. “Our mayor said it was Flaxmere’s time but now Foodstuffs has said ‘no, it’s not’.” Full story: https://bit.ly/lf1568 Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Subscribe and be notified of breaking news: https://goo.gl/LP45jX Check out our playlists: https://goo.gl/Swd249 Like NZ Herald on Facebook: https://goo.gl/tUC4oq Follow NZ Herald on Instagram: https://goo.gl/oLicXe Follow NZ Herald on Twitter: https://goo.gl/Wi6mbv nzherald.co.nz YouTube ChannelGot a comment? Leave your thoughts in the comments section, below. Please note comments are moderated before publication.

Crusaders and All Blacks utility back Will Jordan will make his long-awaited return from the sidelines this weekend against the Force. He just got better and better and he chose this game after having a couple of really good training weeks and he’s prepared well. He wants to play; he’s a rugby player and he trains just as much as everyone else. Photo / PhotosportRobertson said Jordan’s ability and experience will be crucial for the Crusaders going forward. “We were moments away [from winning], with a bit of game understanding,” Robertson said about the 34-24 loss to the Chiefs.

A drug dealer has been rewarded for his rehabilitation efforts with a two-month discount from his sentence on appeal. Timothy Graham Moffatt, 46, was previously convicted of selling cannabis, possessing methamphetamine, unlawfully possessing a firearm (a cut-down bolt-action .22 rifle) and unlawfully possessing ammunition (40 .22 rounds). He was sentenced to 22 months’ jail in February, which he appealed in the High Court at Dunedin this week. “I just made a very bad choice when confronted with the drug on the day”. Crown prosecutor Richard Smith said that Moffatt had long-standing entrenched drug issues and although he had a difficult background, believed the original sentence was appropriate.

They went on to say this:"Our working assumption is that after pent-up demand dynamics have played out, net migration will settle at an annual net inflow of around 40k in 2023. Come the December quarter 2022, however and high migration alongside moderating consents saw New Zealand record its first quarterly deficit in net housing supply since closing the border. "And while this was a relatively small deficit (around 1600 dwellings), the Q1 read is not going to be pretty," the ANZ economists say. "And if net migration proves persistent at higher levels than we assume, we could easily be looking at a housing deficit of 20-30k by this time next year." Migration is something the people who already live here don't seem to ever get a say on.

Left to right: Alice Renouf, Hazel Georgantis, Didi Chapman and Nico Chapman. It was her first time skydiving, and it came about after her friend Didi Chapman made good on an earlier promise. After Georgantis turned 85, Chapman suggested the pair tried out the extreme sport for her next landmark birthday. So when Chapman handed her an envelope at her birthday party, Georgantis said she knew what was inside. Chapman said Georgantis is a role model, both for her son Nico and herself, in showing what’s possible in older age.

The "massive surge" NZ is experiencing in net migration is helping alleviate the country's "excess demand" for workers, BNZ economists say. "Rather than underlying demand for staff unexpectedly increasing, per se, businesses are simply being able to fill vacant positions with the inflow of migrants. Only time will tell just how big that excess demand was/is but with net migration inflows continuing to accelerate we do know the pressure to find staff is already moderating." Toplis said while recession avoidance would be a “nice” thing, how “nice” it is will depend on the relative supply and demand impulses associated with the increase in net migration. "For us, the strongest message from today’s [labour market] data, and much of the other data we are currently witnessing, is that the Reserve Bank will not be easing any time soon.

nzherald.co.nz published this video item, entitled “Another atmospheric river, PM Hipkins ‘blindsided’ & Akl school saying ‘stay away’ | nzherald.co.nz” – below is their description. Atmospheric river threatens more slips and flooding, Chris Hipkins left in the dark over Labour minister’s shock defection and the future of MasterChef decided after judge’s sudden death in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Full story: https://bit.ly/3NCvCezSubscribe and be notified of breaking news: https://goo.gl/LP45jXCheck out our playlists: https://goo.gl/Swd249Like NZ Herald on Facebook: https://goo.gl/tUC4oqFollow NZ Herald on Instagram: https://goo.gl/oLicXeFollow NZ Herald on Twitter: https://goo.gl/Wi6mbvnzherald.co.nz YouTube Channel

It is like the league has completely forgotten the Nuggets beat the Tuatara in last year’s final. Reuben Te Rangi, Jarrad Weeks, Rob Loe and Cam Gliddon are all averaging more than 17 points per game. His clash with Rob Loe promises to be a good watch. "A lot of the action runs around Rob Loe. Auckland Tuatara: Rob Loe, Jarrad Weeks, Charlie Dalton, Reuben Te Rangi, Cameron Gliddon, Thomas Beatie, Nicholas Barrow, Chris McIntosh, Reuben Fitzgerald, William Leger.

Worldwide public cloud spending heading for US$600 billionWorldwide public cloud spending on track for US$600 Billion this yearIf you found yourself wondering why the cloud hyperscalers have chosen this moment to build in New Zealand, the answer lies in Gartner’s latest cloud forecast. The analyst firm expects worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services to grow 21.7 per cent this year. Gartner’s forecasts the spend to hit US$597.3 billion, that’s $600 billion bar a rounding error. Google Cloud makes its first profitGoogle’s cloud business reported revenue of US$7.4 billion for the quarter that end on March 31. Worldwide public cloud spending heading for US$600 billion was first posted at billbennett.co.nz.

PHOTO: NZDF/SUPPLIEDThe New Zealand Defence Force has quietly disposed of $29 million worth of air defence missiles which were never used or brought into service. As a result, the New Zealand Army no longer has any dedicated air defence capabilities. An Official Information Act (OIA) request made by the Otago Daily Times reveals Mistral short range air defence missiles were removed from New Zealand service more than a decade ago. The OIA response, attributed to Air Commodore AJ Woods, of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF), said New Zealand initially bought 12 launchers and 24 missiles in 1997. In total, the system cost about $29 million and was never deployed operationally or live-fired on a regular basis.

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 10:15 am, May 3rd, 2023 - 106 commentsCategories: labour, Maori Issues, maori party, Maori seats - Tags:Meka Whaitiri has quit Labour and confirmed that she will stand for the Maori Party in this year’s election. She intends to stay on as an MP and sit with the Maori Party. This is quite a coup by the Maori Party. My sense is that over the past few years Labour relations with the Maori Party have improved significantly. In possibly related news it is rumoured that former Labour MP Louisa Wall will stand for the Maori Party in Manurewa.