Felix Walton, reporterA record number of people are making withdrawals from their KiwiSaver funds due to financial difficulties.Of the 6400 withdrawals made throughout December, more than half of them were for hardship.Withdrawals for anything other than retirement or a first home are only available in certain cases like after a medical emergency or sudden expense.But the number of early withdrawals has jumped significantly in the past year from 17,900 in 2022 to 29,530 in 2023.Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr said it was concerning but unsurprising given the circumstances."It reflects what we're hearing from customers, we're seeing the rapid rise in interest rates affecting households and we're also seeing the cost of living crisis continue to bite," he said."[It is] forcing households to reconsider their budgets."The number of financial hardship withdrawals was trending upwards month-on-month.The 3450 financial hardship withdrawals in December broke November's record of 3270, which broke October's record of 2800.Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson told Midday Report the trend was worrying."I think it's a really disturbing set of data... It's the first time, I think, that the hardship withdrawals have exceeded the home ownership withdrawals," she said."The home ownership withdrawals are a good thing, the hardship withdrawals are a bad thing."LISTEN ▶ "A really disturbing set of data" - Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson  :Māngere Budgeting Services Trust chief executive Lara Dolan said more and more clients were asking for help withdrawing from their KiwiSavers."People's incomes are quite low and they're unable to save for rainy day events," Dolan said."Medical events, a death in the family, they have to travel overseas for a funeral and they're just unable to borrow anymore so they use their KiwiSaver."Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson says hardship withdrawals exceeded the home ownership withdrawals. (file image) Photo: RNZ / Marika KhabaziAuckland Central Budgeting senior financial mentor Teresa White said the extreme storms earlier in the year caught people off guard too."Particularly people whose cars have been flooded, people who didn't have insurance for their vehicle, or people who didn't have contents insurance so they had to replace household items," White said."A lot of the grants that were available to them weren't enough to cover all the expenses."But by withdrawing from their KiwiSavers early, Dolan worried her clients were sacrificing their futures for the present.A financial hardship withdrawal should only be taken as an absolute last resort, she said."It's absolutely a huge concern, our financial mentors work with families to find other solutions. We can look at consolidating their debt, creating a household budget to fix that gap... [using KiwiSaver] is a last resort."White agreed."You might get a bit of money and it might help you out for a short period, but after a while you're back at the same place again," she said."In my mind that's a waste of your future savings."But Kiwibank's Jarrod Kerr said people should have the option to dip into their KiwiSavers when times were tough."In periods of high stress like this, I think it's helpful for people to be able to dip into it," he said."So long as when they get back to full health they start saving again."The high number of KiwiSaver withdrawals was a sign the Reserve Bank should lower interest rates, Kerr said."They've raised interest rates too high and it's having a severe impact on too many households."This story was originally published by RNZ

Jordan Dunn, Reporter'A scene from Mad Max', is how one surfer has described the chaos on Muriwai Beach, when vehicles are hooning around.The death of a young person has sparked calls for vehicles to be permanently banned from the beach on Auckland's west coast.Cars could go up to 60km/hr on parts of Muriwai Beach, which is packed with people on a hot summer day.However, on Monday there were none in sight because of the temporary ban, after the tragedy on 21 January 2024."They were down there, close to where we were," said Tim Sullivan. a regular fisher at the beach who saw yesterday's accident unfold, "just doing numerous doughnuts, just hooning up a storm"."The police were around yesterday, we saw them twice over the day to they were patrolling, but you can miss them easy enough because you see how far down the beach they are."Emergency services responding to a fatal incident at Muriwai Beach on 21 January 2024. Photo: SuppliedSullivan returned to the beach on Monday but was disappointed to find the vehicle entrance blocked and with a security guard on deck."It's ridiculous, it's just a knee-jerk reaction," he said."How many drownings have there been in the last six months? I think there's been about five at Muriwai Beach."Are you allowed to fish there? Do you swim there everyday? Everybody does exactly that."▶ ListenAuckland Council regional parks acting manager Scott De Silva accompanied Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara members to the site of the accident Monday where a rāhui was put in place."It's usually a reasonably standard process and we support mana whenua in that regard. They are supporting council in terms of the rāhui to make sure there is safety over the beach at this time."Jonathan Thevenard is a regular surfer at Muriwai wants to see more control over vehicles on the beach."It's like Mad Max up there sometimes. If you drive up the beach looking for a wave and then here comes all the tradies, so it's like 20 trucks all showing off to each other, I mean sooner or later there is going to be an accident."However, he said a permanent ban may not be so simple."It is awesome when you can drive your four-wheel drive up the beach and look for a wave and park up and go fishing."I think that's an important part of New Zealand culture as well so, it's also trying to find that balance."Call for vehicle ban on beachesBut some regulars of the beach said a ban on vehicles would not just improve people's safety, but drastically improve the beach's wildlife."Well any vehicle driving on a beach kills whatever's underneath it on the sand, so when you have complete saturation of vehicles you've killed everything along that strip of beach," said Graham Lowther, a regular visitor.He said the solution was obvious."There's only one option and that's a complete ban, turn it into a sanctuary, turn it into a national park. We're supposed to share this area with creatures not kill them."Photo: RNZ / Jordan DunnAuckland Council regional parks principal specialist Stephen Bell told Checkpoint the matter was being looked by police.He said several beaches across Auckland attracted "less than desirable" driver behaviour, including driving too close to other beach users, and unregistered and unwarranted vehicles."I'd call it dangerous driving in the in the least, certainly some have been reckless driving."As for a vehicle ban at Muriwai Beach, Bell said there were several access points, one was controlled by Auckland Council while others were by Auckland Transport."So collectively, if council and transport decided to impose or close vehicle access to the beach, yes they could."There were reports of vehicles driving up to 140km/hr, he said, when the speed limit was 30km/hr."Enforcement and a tighter set of rules, enforceable rules by central government looking at at control of beaches at a national level, consistently, rather than leaving it up to the councils on a case-by-case basis would be a good start."I would like government to ensure that the rules around driving on beaches had teeth and were enforceable much more simply than they are now."Council said there has been several similar incidents to yesterday's accident in recent years, including in 2015 when four people were killed.The rāhui is due to end on Thursday, 25 January, at midday.Auckland Council had closed Muriwai Beach to vehicles during the summer peak season from 29 December 2023 to 15 January 2024.This story was originally published by RNZ

Kaipara District Council (KDC) are asking for feedback on certain aspects of the Wood Street Revitalisation, namely the playground and car park areas behind Brewed As/Gringas.Submissions close this Friday 26th January, so there is not much time to reply.The key things to note in the concept design:The playground location has shifted, improving connectivity to the shopping area and joining up the car parking spaces for a better flow.This new configuration has allowed for an increase in car parks, including extra provisions for longer vehicles, dedicated parent, and accessible parking spaces.Two large loading zones at the back of the shops and in the old fire station site.Each of the workshop teams included public toilets but KDC has excluded them from this design due to budget constraints. The Mangawhai Business Committee believe any redevelopment of Wood St should include public toilets but the council needs to hear your feedback as the existing facilities are privately owned and are not enough to support the Wood St shopping/eating area.Providing your feedback is super simple on this council web pagehttps://kaipara.uq.nz/surveys/yg0qlkq35g_45fgm13g02jcjs0007p60t034t6lgjbl0kpjnyg791_5p5_kj

GOOD NEWS WARKWORTHBecause of [One Mahurangi Business Association] continued efforts going back 18+ months, we finally have our desired outcome of additional and clear signage at the Puhoi interchange on the new motorway. Hopefully, this will provide some relief to businesses in The Grange in particular. - Murray Chapman, One Mahurangi Manager

Luka Forman, JournalistFor many people, plastic waste like chip packets, bread bags and thin plastic packaging get put in the too hard basket, i.e. the rubbish bin. It is estimated that thousands of tonnes of soft plastics are sent to landfill each year, so if it was an option to put them in with kerbside recycling would that get more people onboard?Right now, keen recyclers need to drop off their soft plastic stations at supermarkets or the Warehouse, otherwise it goes to the tip. While the number of people who do recycle their soft plastics is growing, Lyn Mayes from industry group the Packaging Forum admitted the current system would never be completely effective."If you've got a drop off system, you'll only ever get to about a third of your population... if you want to get those numbers up, you actually have to make it easy for people, and making it easy for people typically means a kerbside collection."▶ Listen to the full report Regular recycling plants were not currently set up to deal with soft plastics. However, other countries were trialling workarounds, like a separate bag for soft plastics which could be put in a regular recycling bin."In the UK... you put your soft plastics into this blue bag, you pop into the top of your recycling bin, and when it goes in the truck... it gets picked off and then they go off to be recycled as soft plastic," Mayes said.  The other issue was what the extra plastic would be used for. One of the companies hoping to solve that problem is Future Post, which turns recycled soft plastics into fence posts. Founder Jerome Winzlick said if soft plastics were to be collected kerbside he would need to upgrade his operation to process all the extra plastic. "It'd just mean us to work maybe 24/7 instead of 20/6, maybe build another factory if we had a bit of support." However, Winzlick believed Future Post would be able to keep up with extra quantities of plastic. There were plenty of farmers and vineyard owners keen to buy the posts, as they were relatively cheap and lasted longer than wood, he said.Auckland Council general manager waste solutions Parul Sood said she would be keeping a close eye on soft plastic recycling trials taking place overseas but had some reservations. "There is a level of discipline that would be required to actually put it in a bag, and not put them loose, so how do you make sure that happens? Also remember, when recycling goes into a truck it has some compaction, would those bags burst?"She thought a monetary incentive, similar to a container return scheme, could also help to keep more soft plastic out of landfill. "If you're adding money, value to the product, people then tend to do the right thing, so I think we need to think about how do we incentivise people to do the right thing to make that effort."Sood said she would like thank those who were putting in the extra effort to recycle."For the people who are doing a great job, well done and thank you so much."This story was originally published by RNZ 

Warkworth RegionMonday 22nd January - Cloudy periods with the chance of a shower. Southerlies turning westerly this afternoon. Very hot and muggy.Tuesday 23rd January - Cloud increasing, with occasional rain in the afternoon and evening. Fresh northwesterlies, turning southwesterly in the afternoon.Wednesday 24th - Cloud clearing and becoming fine in the evening. Fresh southwesterlies, easing in the evening.Thursday 25th - Fine. Fresh southerlies, easing.Friday 26th - Fine. Light winds.Saturday 27th - Partly cloudy with westerlies.Sunday 28th - A few showers with westerlies.Mangawhai RegionMonday 22nd January - Cloudy periods with the odd shower. Southwesterlies developing this morning, dying out this evening. Hot and muggy.Tuesday 23rd January - Partly cloudy, showers developing for a time in the afternoon and evening, some heavy. Fresh northwesterlies, turning southwesterly in the afternoon.Wednesday 24th - Cloudy. Southwesterlies, becoming fresh for a time in the afternoon and evening.Thursday 25th - Fine, but becoming cloudy. Southerlies, becoming fresh.Friday 26th - Showers. Easterlies.Saturday 27th - Partly cloudy with southwesterlies.Sunday 28th - Cloudy with westerlies.

Wage theft is common for retail staff and other industries, a workers' union says.It comes after revelations that thousands of Woolworths employees may have been underpaid over several years.A review in early 2022 found some had worked extra hours for free, Woolworths said."We've made contact with around 5000 former or current salaried store team members who worked for us between 2015-2022 and who had roles that could potentially have been impacted by this."As we're just starting this process, there isn't enough information available for us to determine exactly which team members or stores may have been impacted and to what extent."In some instances, staff had not been paid correctly for extra hours, or worked on days recorded as annual leave.First Union chief executive Bill Bradford said senior management deserved credit for their commitment to remediating these workers.But he said wage theft was rife."This is a problem when employers try and get workers to do extra work that they are not paid for, and that ranges through from being asked to report 15 minutes early and they're not getting paid for it or being asked to complete a job for another half an hour when they've clocked out."Bradford said migrant workers, whose visas were tied to one employer, were particularly vulnerable to exploitation.They were not always good at sticking up for their rights and did not want to "make a fuss" without having a permanent residency.This story was originally published by RNZ

Police are urgently seeking to locate Lionel Pora-Hockley, who has multiple warrants for his arrest.Pora-Hockley is believed to be somewhere in the Auckland area.Any sightings of Pora-Hockley should be reported to Police via 111 immediately. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact Police on 105, quoting file number 231226/4776.Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Passenger numbers on Mangawhai’s free bus are up again, with more than 3,100 people climbing aboard so far this summer.Use of the bus has increased by 24% on the same period last year and a whopping 188% since the first summer run in 2019/2020.Community Engagement Advisor Gail Fotheringham says the increased use shows there is demand for alternative transport options in Mangawhai, with both visitors and locals.“I want to give a big shout out to all those who have hopped on the bus to get around town this summer,” says Gail. “The word from our wonderful drivers is that more visitors than ever are using the service, as well as locals, it’s great to see so many jumping on board.”The bus ran daily from 27 December until 14 January and is now running weekends only until 6 February, before taking a break until Easter weekend.“We’ve still got a few long weekends and fantastic community events to come this summer – take the stress out of parking and help ease congestion on our busy roads by jumping on the bus instead!”Give us your feedback on the summer bus service.Check the timetable and bus route.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advises of the following closures for motorway improvements. Work delayed by bad weather will be completed at the next available date, prior to Friday 19 January.Unless otherwise stated, closures start at 9pm and finish at 5am.NORTHERN MOTORWAY (SH1)Millwater northbound off-ramp, 19 January (approx. 10:30pm to 5:00am) Northbound lanes between Constellation Drive off-ramp and Oteha Valley Road on-ramp, 23 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Greville Road northbound on-ramp, 23 JanuaryConstellation Drive northbound on-ramp, 23 JanuarySouthbound lanes between Greville Road off-ramp and Constellation Drive on-ramp, 21 JanuaryGreville Road southbound on-ramp, 21 JanuaryShelly Beach Road southbound off-ramp, 21-25 JanuaryCENTRAL MOTORWAY JUNCTION (CMJ)Wellington Street northbound on-ramp, 22-24 January (approx. 7:00pm to 5:00am)SOUTHERN MOTORWAY (SH1)Khyber Pass Road southbound on-ramp, 22-24 JanuaryEllerslie-Panmure Highway southbound off-ramp, 23-24 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Ellerslie-Panmure Highway southbound on-ramp, 23-24 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Ellerslie-Panmure Highway northbound on-ramp, 23-24 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Southbound lanes between Mt Wellington Highway off-ramp and Princes Street on-ramp, 22 & 24 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Mt Wellington Highway southbound on-ramp, 22 & 24 JanuaryEast Tamaki Road northbound off-ramp, 23-24 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Northbound lanes between Great South Road off-ramp and East Tamaki Road on-ramp, 21 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Te Irirangi Drive northbound on-ramp, 21 JanuaryRedoubt Road northbound on-ramp, 21 JanuarySH1 southbound to SH20 northbound link, 25 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Redoubt Road southbound on-ramp, 25 JanuarySH1 northbound to SH20 northbound link, 25 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Drury northbound off-ramp, 26 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Drury southbound off-ramp, 27 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)NORTHWESTERN MOTORWAY (SH16)Great North Road westbound off-ramp, 24–25 January (approx. 9:00pm to 6:00am)UPPER HARBOUR MOTORWAY (SH18)Eastbound lanes between Albany Highway off-ramp and Paul Matthews Road, 22 JanuarySH18 eastbound to SH1 northbound link, 22-23 JanuaryAlbany Highway eastbound on-ramp, 22 JanuaryWestbound lanes between Squadron Drive off-ramp and Hobsonville Road on-ramp, 21-25 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Brigham Creek Road westbound on-ramp, 21-25 JanuarySH18 westbound to SH16 southbound link, 21-25 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)SOUTHWESTERN MOTORWAY (SH20)Northbound lanes between Hillsborough Road off-ramp and Maioro Street on-ramp, 22 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Dominion Road northbound on-ramp, 22 JanuaryHillsborough Road northbound on-ramp, 22 JanuaryNorthbound lanes between Neilson Street off-ramp and Hillsborough Road on-ramp, 21 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Neilson Street northbound on-ramp, 21 JanuaryMahunga Drive southbound off-ramp, 21 & 23 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Walmsley Road southbound off-ramp, 22-23 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Northbound lanes between Massey Road off-ramp and Rimu Road on-ramp, 23 JanuaryCoronation Road northbound on-ramp, 23 JanuarySH20 northbound to SH20A southbound link, 23 JanuaryMassey Road northbound on-ramp, 23 JanuaryMassey Road southbound off-ramp, 23 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Northbound lanes between Cavendish Drive off-ramp and Massey Road on-ramp, 24 January (approx. 9:30pm to 5:00am)Cavendish Drive northbound on-ramp, 24-25 JanuaryPuhinui Road northbound on-ramp, 24 January (approx. 8:30pm to 5:00am)Northbound lanes between Great South Road off-ramp and Puhinui Road on-ramp, 25 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Lambie Drive northbound on-ramp, 25 JanuarySouthbound lanes between Lambie Drive off-ramp and SH1 links, 21 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)Lambie Drive southbound on-ramp, 21 JanuarySH20 southbound to SH1 northbound link, 21 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)SH20 southbound to SH1 southbound link, 21 January (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)GEORGE BOLT MEMORIAL DRIVE (SH20A)Northbound lanes between Kirkbride Road off-ramp and Rimu Road on-ramp, 23 JanuarySH20A northbound to SH20 northbound link, 23 JanuaryKirkbride Road northbound on-ramp, 23 January

Warkworth RegionFriday 19th January - Cloudy periods. Isolated showers, more frequent from afternoon. Northeasterlies. Very hot.Saturday 20th January - Partly cloudy. Chance of a shower. Northeasterlies.Sunday 21st January - Periods of rain, possibly heavy, easing late. Fresh southeasterlies developing, turning lighter southwesterly later.Mangawhai RegionFriday 19th January - Cloudy periods with the odd shower, becoming frequent for a time this afternoon. Northeasterlies. Hot.Saturday 20th January - Mostly cloudy, with a few showers developing in the evening. Easterlies.Sunday 21st January - Rain, possibly heavy, clearing late. Southeasterlies becoming strong early, easing in the afternoon.

The wait for a supermarket in Snells Beach has gotten shorter, with Foodstuffs finalising plans to lease a section of the former Warehouse building on Mahurangi East Road. The signing of the paperwork was scheduled for December. If all goes according to plan, building owner Denis Horner anticipates seeing a Four Square supermarket operating from the site around December this year, with redevelopment set to start in the first quarter.The new supermarket's retail section is expected to occupy 800 square meters, Discussions are underway regarding the future use of the remaining space. The Four Square will revitalise the shopping centre and bring the retail section of Snells Beach alive again. The eagerly awaited supermarket is expected to have a catchment of about 7000 people, addressing a pressing need in the community.Speculation about the opening of a supermarket in Snells Beach has been circulating since a small Four Square, closed around three years ago.Four Square’s owners are locals, and their goal is clear; announcing on social media that they aim to provide a supermarket that offers fair value in every aisle, conveniently located for residents.Over the next couple of months, Four Square will undergo design development, promising something "pretty awesome" for the community. The management looks forward to sharing the exciting details of what residents can expect in the upcoming year.To ensure that the supermarket aligns with the preferences of the community, a feedback loop will be established to capture all product wants and needs. The community is invited to participate actively in shaping the offerings. Watch this space for further updates.

ASB Wellsford branch will close its door on the 29th of February 2024. An email was recently sent out to their customers advising of the eminent closure. Many locals have taken to social media community pages to vent their frustration and voice their displeasure.Many voicing concerns for the elderly who still use mostly cash and aren’t as tech savvy with online banking. It means a loss of another local business and jobs.It will be interesting to see if further small community bank branches also close soon.

The police say charges have been laid over shoplifting allegations that they describe as "subject to ongoing public interest".Former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman resigned from Parliament yesterday amid accusations of shoplifting on three occasions. Police visited her home today as they investigated shoplifting allegations against her.Police did not name the 43-year-old woman who has been summonsed to appear in the Auckland District Court on two charges of shoplifting.These charges relate to incidents at a Ponsonby retailer that allegedly occurred on 21 and 23 December 2023.The woman is expected to appear in the Auckland District Court on 1 February 2024.Police say their investigation is continuing.This story was originally published by RNZ

The former All Black Byron Kelleher is to appear in court in France charged with domestic violence according to French newspaper Le Parisien.The newspaper says Kelleher's former partner alleges the violence goes back several years after the couple had a son in 2015.They met in 2010 while Kelleher was playing in Toulouse.Le Parisien reports Kelleher's former partner says he became "became verbally and physically violent".Kelleher then returned to live in New Zealand but in February 2022 Kelleher and his son reconnected, leading to Kelleher returning to France and France and resuming his relationship with the woman."About a month after his return to France, Mr Kelleher's violence resumed," the victim said in a statement."He regularly consumes alcohol and in large quantities. For no valid reason, he repeatedly insults me, pushes me, pins me against the wall, punches me and strangles me."Kelleher, who played 57 tests for the All Blacks between 1999-2007, denies the allegations, claiming there had been "no violence" and that he had "not touched her".This story was originally published by RNZ

Owners of light electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids will have to pay road user charges from 1 April, the government has announced.Transport Minister Simeon Brown said the vehicles would no longer be exempt in the interests of "fairness and equity".The change would ensure all vehicle owners contributed to the upkeep and maintenance of the country's roading network, irrespective of the kind of car they drove."Petrol tax and distance-based RUC [road user charges] are paid by road users to contribute to the costs of maintaining our roads, but EVs and plug-in hybrids have been exempted from RUC," he said."Transitioning EVs and plug-in hybrids to RUC is the first step in delivering on the National-ACT coalition commitment to bring all vehicles into the RUC system."Transport Minister Simeon Brown Photo: Nick Monro / RNZOwners of plug-in hybrids that were powered by electricity and petrol have had to pay petrol tax, but not to the same level as petrol equivalent vehicles, Brown said."To ensure that plug-in hybrids avoid paying twice through both fuel excise duty and RUCs, these vehicles will pay a reduced rate RUC."RNZ has reported the government expects problems ahead over introducing road user charges for EVs.A May 2023 Waka Kotahi document released to RNZ under the Official Information Act forecast "an increase of non-compliance and debt for customers entering the RUC system"."Current resources are set up to manage the existing RUC system," it said. "There will not be enough resource to cope with the increase in education, engagement and enforcement needed."The government intends passing legislation to cover the reduced rate for plug-in hybrids before the start date.The last National government had exempted EVs from paying road user charges to encourage their uptake, however, it was always intended the exemption would end when EVs hit around 2 percent of the light vehicle fleet and that point had been reached, Brown said."With the increasing uptake of EVs and plug-in hybrids being brought into the RUC system, this means that these vehicles will now be contributing towards the maintenance and upkeep of our roading system like all other road users and will support the government's priority of building and maintaining our roading network."Owners of light EVs and plug-in hybrids will need to buy a RUC licence from 1 April. There will be a two-month transition period to allow time for people to get registered in the RUC system without being penalised for unpaid charges.The New Zealand Transport Agency / Waka Kotahi will get in touch with EV and plug-in hybrid owners about the change and what it will mean for them.The details:Owners of light EVs will pay $76 per 1000km, in line with equivalent diesel-powered vehiclesOwners of plug-in hybrid vehicles will pay a reduced rate of $53 per 1000km so that they are not double taxed when paying fuel excise duty. The partial rate of $53 per 1000km assumes that on average, a plug-in hybrid will consume petrol at a rate of just under 3 litres per 100kmEvery EV and plug-in hybrid owner will receive a letter before 1 April that will explain the RUC process. The first time an EV owner buys their RUC licence they need to give their odometer readingWhenever a warrant of fitness is carried out, a vehicle's odometer will be reviewed. If the odometer exceeds the RUCs purchased by the vehicle's owner, they will be invoiced for any difference

Green MP Golriz Ghahraman is stepping down from Parliament after being accused of shoplifting on three separate occasions.In a statement, Ghahraman said stress relating to her work had led her to "act in ways that are completely out of character. I am not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them"."The mental health professional I see says my recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma," she said.She said she had fallen short of the high standards expected of elected representatives, and apologised."I have let down a lot of people and I am very sorry," the statement said. "It's not a behaviour I can explain because it's not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation, I understand I'm not well."The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a Member of Parliament and to focus on my recovery and to find other ways to work for positive change in the world."Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw, in a separate statement, said Ghahraman had been the leading voice in Parliament for human rights, truly independent foreign policy, and electoral reform for six years, but "it is clear to us that Ms Ghahraman is in a state of extreme distress"."She has taken responsibility and apologised. We support the decision she has made to resign."We are deeply sorry to see Ms Ghahraman leave under these circumstances and we wish her all the best for the future."They said she had worked tirelessly on behalf of her communities."Nothing detracts from that work and we know she will continue to support those communities in future. We cannot comment on the details of allegations while police investigations are continuing."Ghahraman also thanked Scotties Boutique "for the kindness and empathy they have shown me", and asked for space and privacy so she could get better.The allegations involved Auckland clothing retailer Scotties Boutique and Wellington clothing store Cre8iveworx.Police confirmed they were investigating reports of an incident on 23 December. Police repeatedly refused to comment on any second alleged incident.Last week, the Greens announced Ghahraman had stood down from all her portfolio responsibilities.More to come...This story was originally published by RNZ

Mr Hugo, is a boy with an adventurous heart who loves to see what’s going on everywhere. He actively seeks out a lap to cuddle into and will sit and have his belly rubbed for as long as a person will rub his belly for him.Hugo was born in November, is crate trained and well socialised, he is fostered in Beach Haven with his 3 siblings (Hector, Hester and Heidi) as well as 3 larger older dogs. Are you the family for Hugo?To apply to adopt Hugo or if you’d like to help foster a puppy, please head over to http://www.savinghope.co.nz for more information.Miss Heidi, is a very fun active little girl. She is always running and looking for something to do on her own, or with anyone that is around. Heidi loves a splash in her paddling pool (as you can see from the post splash photo grin below) and she is always up for a cuddle. Heidi will happily climb up on a person's knee when she is tired. Heidi was born in November, is crate trained and well socialised, she loves other dogs and is fostered in Beach Haven with her 3 siblings (Hector, Hester and Hugo) as well as 3 larger older dogs. Are you the family for Heidi?To apply to adopt Heidi or if you’d like to help foster a puppy, please head over to http://www.savinghope.co.nz for more information.

Jordan Dunn, ReporterA public transport advocacy group is questioning Auckland Transport's priorities after it announced it would hike its fares.From next month, trips on AT's buses, trains, and ferries will be up to 40 cents more expensive, with the council agency saying the cost of living is hitting it, too.The Public Transport Users Association called the change a step away from the goal of encouraging Aucklanders out of their cars.In the announcement on Monday, Auckland Transport said every ride would increase by an average 6.2 percent in price.It estimated bus, train and ferry trips would be between $0.06 and $0.40 more expensive, with longer trips seeing the smallest increase.The announcement came just days after the government confirmed it was scrapping the Auckland Light Rail project.Public Transport Users Association president Niall Robertson said it would be just another cost added to the pile."We're feeling this in the supermarket, we're feeling this in our rents and our rates at home, and now we're feeling it on public transport - this is just adding insult to injury."He said the hike of up to 40 cents for every bus, train and ferry trip would have the opposite effect of what should be Auckland Transport's goal."We should be actually aspiring to make public transport in Auckland as cheap as we possibly can to attract as many people as we possibly can to use it." Robertson insisted the expected outcome was fairly obvious."The public will probably react in the way they usually react and that is to ... use public transport less and use other forms of transport more."Auckland Transport director of public transport Stacey van der Putten said it was a decision the agency could not hold off any longer."I mean everything's obviously experienced inflation over the last few years," she said, "public transport's no different.""We've tried really hard to keep that down to the customer, but, of course, we do need to make sure that the fares are recovering a percentage of the transport cost - and it is a marginal percentage at that."A 9 percent fare rise had been floated by AT's management, but they settled for the 6.2 percent increase, van der Putten said.She believed the relatively small increase was unlikely to deter anyone from using public transport."We do obviously want to encourage people to use public transport."A big part of keeping public transport sustainable was ensuring every user paid their fare, van der Putten said.Commuters on Queen Street on Monday had a mixed reaction and for some, public transport was their only option."Forty cents is fine," said one woman while waiting for the bus, "I don't love it but it's okay.""I will keep using it but it gets to the point where it's almost cheaper to drive," said another.One man said he could use a gold card, so was less affected by the change, but was aware of how often they were changing."Well someone needs a closer look in my opinion," he said, "it's quite expensive public transport.""I still need to go to work, it doesn't change much for me," said a young man.Auckland Transport said fare hikes happened nearly every year to keep up with rising costs, with 2022 one of the few exceptions.It said a review of its fare structure was underway, and its findings would be released in the coming months.This story was originally published by RNZ