The number of people receiving residence visas to stay in New Zealand appears to be settling at just over 4000 a month. The latest migration figures from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment show 25,293 residence visas were approved in the first half of this year. In the first six months of 2024 the number of residence visas approved each month stayed within a fairly narrow band of between 4038 and 4497, suggesting current residence approvals are fairly consistent. Although the current rate of residence approvals has dropped back significantly form that level, it is still higher than pre-Covid levels by around a third, when about 3000 residence visa approvals a month was the norm. Of the 25,293 residence visas issued in the first half of this year, 13,560 (54%) were to principal applicants and 11,739 were to secondary applicants such as other family members.
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 24, 2024 09:12 UTC
An Auckland woman has been prosecuted by the SPCA after failing to meet her dog Nuggi's physical, health and behavioural needs which led to his death. "She said she exercised him by walking him or making him spend time on the property outside," the SPCA said. Westwood outlined that being a responsible dog owner means providing your pet with an appropriate diet and daily exercise, "which was clearly not the case here". After spending two months at the SPCA, Nuggi lost 8.9kg - around 16.5 per cent of his body weight. "Sadly, despite making progress with his weight loss, Nuggi died suddenly due to an acute haemorrhage from a ruptured mass on his liver.
Source:Stuff
July 24, 2024 07:38 UTC
The Wellington City Council is spending close to $600 million upgrading its social housing stock, but what historic deal sparked the move? And experts have said the Interislander ferries can last another five years - but can they? NZ Herald's Wellington issues reporter Georgina Campbell joined Nick Mills to talk through her stories of the week. LISTEN ABOVE
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 24, 2024 07:11 UTC
First published onPhoto: Stuff / The Post / Bruce MackayA Wellington road is set to have six pedestrian crossings in just under 2km. Around $55 million will be spent on upgrading Thorndon Quay, with the crossings coming as part of that deal, in a move set out by the Wellington City Council. The upgrades are part of the councils recycling of Let's Get Wellington Moving, which was dissolved earlier this year. Along a 1.7km stretch that passes Sky Stadium, commuters may have to stop up to six times, with all crossings having signals. Here's where all the crossings will be:Raised crossing at 87 Hutt Road.
Source:Stuff
July 24, 2024 06:29 UTC
Growing up in Greece, one of my most joyous childhood memories was the announcement that the school (and work) week would shrink from six days to five. Second, Greeks are known for appreciating work-life balance, and they already work more hours than other Europeans. The average Greek worker spends 39.8 hours per week on the job, compared to an average of only 36.1 hours across the European Union. And in a small open economy like Greece, higher wages and prices would have detrimental effects on international competitiveness. Given the current global tensions, the pendulum seems to be swinging in the direction of more work, whether it comes through a higher retirement age or a longer work week.
Source:Stuff
July 24, 2024 04:32 UTC
A New Zealand driver was left so shocked by a "speeding" campervan's near miss, he followed it to where it stopped, and spoke with the other driver. Romain Sacchettini was driving from Queenstown to Christchurch in February when a campervan overtook him on State Highway 8 near Twizel. The incident, which Sacchettini recorded on his dashcam, happened in the same area where three crashes took place in recent weeks. (Supplied/Stuff: Romain Sacchettini)Sacchettini said the overtaking campervan's near miss with an oncoming van came at the "worst time". After the incident, Sacchettini followed the campervan to a scenic stop and spoke to the driver, he said.
Source:Stuff
July 24, 2024 02:10 UTC
Inside the Rovers: On The RoadNapier City Rovers face almost 6000km of mini-van travel in their hunt for a spot in the National League. Last weekend, The Herald went on the road with them. Video / Neil Reid
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 24, 2024 01:17 UTC
Policymakers, urban planners, and resource managers are needing to make decisions with new threats in mind: more extreme weather events, heat, and sea level rise. O’Donnell led the initiative to predict Connecticut’s future sea level rise and translate the data into models for community planning – no simple task, since sea level rise is impossible to predict with 100% certainty. [embedded content]His mathematical analysis found that Connecticut’s potential sea level rise by the year 2050 could vary enormously. Ultimately, O’Donnell advocated for towns to plan for a 20-inch sea level rise by 2050. “We’ve been measuring this stuff [ocean mixing and sea level rise] and figuring out analysis techniques for years,” he says.
Source:Stuff
July 24, 2024 00:09 UTC
We don’t add low equity premiums or low equity fees in addition to the ‘standard’ rate card. There are two common ways for a low equity customer to increase their equity. We will periodically review your low equity margin against your LVR to ensure it is still applicable to your facility. We may change your low equity margin to a lower margin in accordance with our low equity margin bands or remove the low equity margin entirely if it no longer applies based on your LVR. BNZA low equity interest rate premium will apply to all loans with less than 20% equity (more than 80% loan-to-value ratio).
Source:Stuff
July 23, 2024 23:46 UTC
Source: City of CanterburyA Canterbury man has been found guilty of an environmental crime offence in his absence and fined a total of £2,714. Mark Lees, 39, of Old Park Avenue, Canterbury, failed to attend the first hearing at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on 13 March this year. The case was then relisted for Tuesday 16 July at Margate Magistrates’ Court, which Lees also failed to attend. Investigations carried out by the city council’s environmental crime officers connected the flytip to Lees. It is an offence to fail to produce documents to local authority officers in the course of their investigations into environmental offences.
Source:Stuff
July 23, 2024 23:24 UTC
Foley’s Insights on Hibernian’s PerformanceBill Foley, the American owner of Bournemouth, believes that Hibernian’s prospects could significantly improve if the club’s management opts to heed the advice from his Black Knight consortium. Black Knight’s Broader AmbitionsFoley’s consortium, known as Black Knight, is also involved with other teams, including Ligue 1 side Lorient, which faced relegation last season, and Auckland FC in New Zealand. In response to the situation, Foley remarked, “I am absolutely looking out for them,” when asked about Hibernian’s reaction after the weekend’s loss. I believe they will listen to our input now.”Goals for ProgressionFoley also shared insights about their relationship with Lorient, stating, “We have a very good relationship with Lorient. That will be our competitive edge, and we will be able to develop a really good team.”
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 23, 2024 12:39 UTC
Written By: notices and features - Date published: 5:30 pm, July 23rd, 2024 - 22 commentsCategories: Daily review - Tags:Daily review is also your post. This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Don’t forget to be kind to each other …Share this: FacebookLinkedInRedditPinterestMastodonTwitterPrintEmail
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 23, 2024 10:53 UTC
On learning an underappreciated but vitally important skill. It has been almost a decade since I was called on to help dig my first grave. By my count I’m up to six now, but it could possibly be more. I was 19 years old and in my second year at ...
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 23, 2024 01:59 UTC
A teen involved in a service station armed robbery has received a flurry of discounts that has reduced his sentence by 65 per cent. Judge Denise Clark took a start point of four years and 10 months’ prison, but Rueben’s counsel Sacha Nepe successfully convinced her not to send the teen to prison. Judge Clark got to an end jail term of eight months’ prison. He pushed for a five-year jail starting point and accepted while home detention could be an option, community detention would be “wholly inadequate”. She suggested the judge couple community detention with an intensive supervision sentence.
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 22, 2024 22:11 UTC
Reti said Health NZ has been exceeding its budget by as much as $130 million a month for the past five months, despite a 6.2% increase in funding included in the May budget. Health is the Crown’s second largest area of spending with a near $30 billion budget in the 2024 fiscal year, making it equal to 17.5% of all government spending. The Commissioner will have to find $1.4 billion of savings from the agency to keep it within the budget set in May this year. Labour leader Chris Hipkins and health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the agency was only exceeding its budget because it had been underfunded. A cabinet paper said the incoming government was aware of performance issues within Health NZ but the first significant monthly budget overrun was reported in March this year.
Source:New Zealand Herald
July 22, 2024 21:49 UTC