Lobbyists: wage rises challenging
Lobbyists: wage rises challenging
Some employers in Otago and Southland have told business lobbyists the current Government is changing employment legislation too quickly for them to keep up with.
Jacob McSweeny
Coronavirus has caused slowdown for City Forests
Coronavirus has caused slowdown for City Forests
About 40 people working for City Forests have had work reduced as a result of the slowdown of getting logs into China, where the effects of the novel coronavirus are still being felt.
No longer going with the grain
No longer going with the grain
One of Dunedin’s oldest manufacturing companies has a new chief executive. As Stuart Hammer leaves after 20 years at the helm at Harraways, Henry Hawkins arrives. Jacob McSweeny talks with both...
Furniture shipments delayed from China
Furniture shipments delayed from China
A major furniture retail and wholesale company in Dunedin says its orders from China are being delayed as a result of the Covid-19 shutdown there.
Property management company charged illegal fees
Property management company charged illegal fees
An Invercargill property management company had no idea it was breaking tenancy law when it charged prospective tenants a $10 credit check fee.
Lighting shop happy with new location
Lighting shop happy with new location
Lighting Direct store manager Kevin Roberts shifts stock at the company’s new Dunedin shop in Crawford St.
Payout offer for operator’s seasonal staff
Payout offer for operator’s seasonal staff
Tourism company Real Journeys has offered voluntary redundancy to all its seasonal staff in Milford Sound due to fewer bookings after the coronavirus outbreak and recent flooding in Fiordland.
Engineering business closure comes as shock
Engineering business closure comes as shock
Valley Crates and Engineering staff were left in shock and on the brink of unemployment when liquidators turned up to close the business last Tuesday.
Bookings down during Octagon trial
Bookings down during Octagon trial
Sophie Barker sits on two sides of the Octagon closure debate; on one hand she is a councillor, on the other she helps run a tourism business that has had a distinct downturn in bookings.
Manufacturing down
Manufacturing down
Manufacturing in Otago and Southland declined in January.
How has the Octagon been transformed?
How has the Octagon been transformed?
What can we conclude from the "Octagon Experience" so far? Jacob McSweeny spoke with three key players: the shops, the council and the visitors.
Budget advisers help KiwiSavers
Budget advisers help KiwiSavers
A Dunedin budget adviser says he is seeing about 200 people a year in the city who apply to take money out of their KiwiSaver accounts to ease financial hardship.
Slow China market challenge for OML
Slow China market challenge for OML
Just one month after resuming production following a compliance problem, Oamaru Meats Ltd (OML) is now hindered by ‘‘congestion’’ slowing products getting into China in the wake of the novel...
Port workers in isolation after contacts
Port workers in isolation after contacts
Three workers at Port Otago have put themselves into voluntary confinement after coming into contact with family members who had recently visited China, where the majority of people suffering from...
Businesses counting flood costs
Businesses counting flood costs
Gore and its surrounding areas are in flood recovery mode and one business says it has lodged an insurance claim likely to pass $1 million.
Pilots trained in NZ in demand
Pilots trained in NZ in demand
Mainland Aviation College continues to produce talented pilots every year, helping meet a forecast shortage of more than 250,000 people to fly planes in the Asia-Pacific region.
Govt to help with returning crayfish to ocean
Govt to help with returning crayfish to ocean
The Government has offered relief to crayfish exporters and fishermen not able to get stock into China by allowing them to return some of the fish back to the sea.
Houseprices in Dunedin rise 20.8%
Houseprices in Dunedin rise 20.8%
Dunedin's house values are up by more than 20% on last year, which is more than double the increase in any other main centre, according to new figures.
Former GCSB staffer assists clients with cyber security
Former GCSB staffer assists clients with cyber security
Internet security guru Nick Baty recently swapped Wellington for Dunedin. Jacob McSweeny talks to him about the change from leading the defence of Government IT systems to helping local businesses.
Crayfish backlog builds, fishers fear not filling quotas
Crayfish backlog builds, fishers fear not filling quotas
A decision is needed about what to do with up to 80 tonnes of live crayfish that has been caught and cannot be sent to its intended destination of China, New Zealand’s biggest exporter of the product says.