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This year’s election is one for the history books: it was the first since MMP was introduced in 1996 which resulted in a single party being able to govern without the aid of allies. What on Earth happened? In early 2020, the first Colmar Brunton poll of the year had National on 46% support, Labour on 41%, the Greens on 5%, New Zealand First on 3%, and ACT on 2%. Had those poll…

Mike Wilson, South Auckland Franchise Holder of Stroud Homes invites you to join him and his team at the official opening of their Pokeno Pukekohe Display Centre. Located at 245 King St in Central Pukekohe, there will be Free face painting, Balloons for the kids, a BBQ, the best coffee and the chance to win not only free garage carpet but also a Weber Q valued at over $1000!!* …

Guns have been around for an incredibly long time, and they started with the cannon. It has been reported that the first significant use of a cannon was at around 1350 AD, making it one of the oldest pieces of modern technology still in use. Imagine our delight, when we discovered that one of these remarkable, yet destructive devices was in permitted residence; under all the…

How does a perfectly barbecued scotch with fresh summer herbs topped with a zesty homemade labneh sound? Pretty great, right? This lighter dish is perfect for a hot summer’s day, or complete the meal with new potatoes or toasted sourdough and a crunchy green salad. Prep: 12 min. Cook: 8 mins. Serves 4–6. Ingredients Beef 2 x 350g Quality Mark scotch fillet steaks Olive oil for…

A recipe to spice up the traditional steaks on the barbecue this summer. Both salsas complement the beef beautifully, yet offer very different combinations of flavour. We suggest keeping a jar of these on hand over the barbecue season – our guess is you’ll be enjoying them on a range of meals! Prep: 1 hour. Cook: 6 mins. Serves 4–6 Ingredients Beef 800g Quality Mark eye fillet…

Port Waikato MP Andrew Bayly has issued a “massive and heartfelt thank you” to everyone who supported him at the 2020 General Election. Bayly says he feels honoured to have been elected as MP for the new electorate of Port Waikato and is looking forward to becoming part of its many communities. “This will be my third term as a National Party electorate MP and I’m humbled so many…

Perfect Air are your local heat pump specialists, and their name is indeed their aim. Originally formed in 1978 and co-owned by Mike Richards and Graeme Melville since 2011, the team at Perfect Air know that perfect is a big ask, but it is something every team member strives for in all aspects of their service every day. “If it heats, cools or brings in fresh air, we do it and…

Last week I was talking to someone who mentioned “Robbie of Auckland”, how much the city had changed, and not for the better. Robbie was in fact Sir Dove-Myer Robinson, Auckland’s oldest serving Mayor. I had the good fortune to serve with Robbie and several later Mayors during my 15 years as a City Councillor. I won a seat on the council in the 1970s when the council was still…

When you engage a highly skilled team like Team Jason and Luke to manage the process of selling or buying a home, you can rest assured that you will get the best results from your investment in them. Successful and experienced Rural and Lifestyle agents Jason Tabrum and Luke Jupp offer an exemplary service that ensures the whole process is managed effectively and without hassles.…

For Topher and I, 2020 has been a year covered in clouds with silver linings. If there wasn't a global pandemic, we would be somewhere in Malaysia right now, having spent the previous few months driving through the bustling streets of India. Instead, we were here in New Zealand waiting in anticipation for the borders to re-open so we can continue our global expedition. Although…

In part three of this fascinating story we reveal how legal documents sought by Titford in a bid to retain ownership of his land were refused, but were obtained under the Official Information Act by Ross Baker of the One New Zealand Foundation Inc. “I Still Own My Land,” Says Titford, “Give It Back!” The Manuwhetai area under claim amounted to only 110 acres, about 90 of which…

Franklin Arts Centre presents a significant solo exhibition by Pukekohe based artist Logan Moffat. The exhibition offers a selection of portrait paintings created over three years. The Portraits are intended to capture the essence of the time we live in. Moffat understands his practice as consciousness painting. “The paintings are a reaction to the environment I inhabit, in the…

Getting ready for Christmas in Papakura We are getting ready for Christmas here as it looms up next month! Rotary Santa Parade – Sunday 6th of December in Central Park at 3 pm in town Chilling in the Park – Sunday 6th of December in Central Park straight after the Santa Parade Come down to Central Park and listen to a few good bands, grab a coffee, Mr…

Low stock numbers of houses around the country are still driving high asking prices – despite it being a year on year increase in new listings over the last 4 months. Whilst Auckland is tipping over the $1m mark for the first time the regions are also showing dramatic growth with both Taranaki and the central North Island experiencing a 13-year high. Auckland asking price: …

2020 will certainly be remembered. It has been a year of great change and challenge for everyone, everywhere. For Roger Gill Mitsubishi, it is also the year that saw the culmination of years of dreams, plans and hard work resulting with the move into a brand new, state of the art building at the southern end of Manukau Road, Pukekohe. Phillip and Shelley Gill and the team…

I’ve always raised a questioning eyebrow grumble to votes each election that are allocated to fringe parties. Wondering what motivates an individual to commit its party vote to a party that doesn’t have a chance of getting past the 5% party threshold needed to achieve representation under our Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system. One could argue that there is always a chance…

This month we are observing the words of a man whose footprints across the pages of history are indelibly tattooed into the global psyche in such a manner as never before seen in modern history. That the world is still fascinated by this man’s life and compellingly by his death lies not so much within the allegory of the mythic hero being cut down in his prime on his quest for…

It was suggested that I do an additional short article 10 days out from the election with an appraisal of the economic policies being proposed by Labour and National. I’ve found this extraordinarily hard to do! That’s partly because of the difficulty of defining “economic policies”. Does the term include policy on reforming the Resource Management Act, or policy on oil and gas…

Under MMP we have two votes: 1. The Electorate vote – to represent the Port Waikato region. 2. The Party vote – for the Political Party of our choice. MMP (mixed-member proportional representation) was introduced in 1993 to replace FPP (first past the post) mainly because National and Labour shut out wider voter representation in Parliament. Votes for third parties were wasted.…

The entire process of selling and buying a house can be very demanding and if there is one thing better than having a highly skilled agent to assist you in your corner, it is having two! Successful and experienced Rural and Lifestyle agents Jason Tabrum and Luke Jupp offer just that. They have combined their complimentary skill sets and together offer an even better service. …