Feb 20, 2018 - Napier City Council will consult on the possible introduction of de-chlorinated water stations through the Long Term Plan process.
Worldly and Informed Content Powers Spectacular Growth of New Zealand Site.
Industry interest in the announcement that Napier-based business site MSCNewswire routinely achieved more than one million visits a month has prompted the site's proprietors to publish a confirming certificate (pictured) from iSystems, also of Napier, the hosts of the site.
Feb 20, 2018 : 1132: - The airline has cancelled all services into and out of Wellington from 2.45pm today through until midnight. This may have a flow on effect to other services.
Feb 20, 2018 - PM to Tonga, Samoa, Niue, and the Cook Islands. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the New Zealand government’s Pacific Mission will take place from 4-9 March and travel to Tonga, Samoa, Niue, and the Cook Islands.
Feb 20, 2018 - Police and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash departs today for the United States and Mexico to discuss mutual cooperation on law enforcement and economic issues.
Feb 20, 2018 - Ian Taylor, one of New Zealand’s most prominent tech experts, says New Zealand must celebrate it digital successes as one of the leading tech countries in the world. Taylor received a huge ovation at the international digital nations summit in Auckland today for his impassioned plea to all Kiwis to feel proud of the country’s digital and tech successes.
Feb 20, 2018 - The Ministry for Primary Industries has introduced new measures to reduce the risk of brown marmorated stink bugs arriving in vehicles and machinery from Japan. The changes will require all used vehicles (cars and trucks) to undergo inspection and cleaning at an MPI-approved facility in Japan prior to export.
Feb 20, 2018 - The Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards is delighted to announce an extended judging panel for its second annual awards. Following the 2017 inaugural awards, the organisers are calling for more entries for this year. Entries close on Friday 2 March 2018, with product to be judged at the Fresh Factory in Auckland on Wednesday 21 March 2018.
Co-organiser Kathie Bartley of Marvellous Marketing said they looked for learnings from last year’s event where more than 150 New Zealand’s top products were assessed. To streamline assessment, they are introducing specialist panels to judge each of the four major categories; paddock, dairy, water, earth. Products will again be scored out of 100 points with the best awarded Gold and Silver medals. All Gold medallists will be in the running to be the Champion for their category. The most outstanding product as assessed by the judges will be named Supreme Champion 2018.
In addition to this, there is a specialist team judging non-alcoholic drinks. Specialists will also judge the NZ Life & Leisure Spirt of New Zealand Award, FMCG Business Outstanding New Product, Label & Litho Outstanding Design and Marvellous Marketing Outstanding Drink.
The judging panel is led by Lauraine Jacobs, a well-known champion of New Zealand artisan food producers. Lauraine Jacobs is pleased to again be leading the search for New Zealand’s finest products and says: “The inaugural Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards judging last year introduced me to some really exciting products from clever food artisans, and smart larger food producers. These Awards have become a showcase to not only introduce the new, but to remind us of some of the consistently fine products and produce that display Kiwi ingenuity.”
“The judging panel are keen to see and taste the results of the consistent hard and admirable work of farmers and innovators who send wonderful foods to the local and international market. I’m really looking forward to seeing an even wider reach in the 2018 Awards.”
The Dairy Panel is Sam Mannering, chef and owner of Pah Homestead Café; Trudi Nelson, media personality and co-owner of Fresh, and Aaron Pooch, Marketing Manager for Tetra-Pak NZ. The Paddock and Water categories will be assessed by; Enzo Bettio, owner Vin Alto restaurant; Mat McLean, chef and owner Palate Restaurant in Hamilton and Kathy Paterson, contributor for Bite magazine and cook book author. The Earth Panel is led by Lucy Cory, contributor to NZ Life & Leisure and stuff.co.nz with Julie Moore, co-owner of Moore Wilson; Allyson Gofton, food writer and author and Coast ambassador; Tamara Rubanowski, FMCG editor; Pip Duncan of vegetables.co.nz, Roscoe Johnason of Ara Wines, a regular restaurant judge and Niki Bezzant, Editor at Large of Healthy Food Guide. Emily King will again judge the sustainability section. Judges from a wine show background, Cameron Douglas MS and Jane Boyle will be judging the Marvellous Marketing Outstanding Drink.
Roman Jewell co-founder of Fix and Fogg, which won the Fresh.co.nz Outstanding Producer Earth Crafted for its Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter and the People’s Choice Award says the awards are a great initiative for New Zealand producers. “The Awards are just one night, but winning has a much longer, wider reach. Getting our name out there in the producer community was incredible for the Fix and Fogg brand. The Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards brings together the food community. New Zealand is relatively small and we aren’t in a big industry and it was nice to get together. There is a true community aspect to it. It was a very big honour to take out the People’s Choice Award. It gives us credibility and shows the quality we aim to provide. That is so important to us – the commitment to quality and great ingredients.”
New Zealand producers harvesting, growing and making food which is available for sale are encouraged to enter the awards online at outstandingfoodproducer.nz by Friday 2 March 2018. All entries receive feedback from the judging panel and each entry receives a pass to a complimentary food marketing workshops being held in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.
| A Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards release || February 20, 2018 |||
Feb 20, 2018 - The appointment of a chief technology officer for New Zealand is critical for the future of the country if we hope to be a thriving digital nation by 2030, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says. He was speaking at the international Digital Nations Summit in Auckland today and reiterated that technology is going to drive the New Zealand economy in the future.
No longer just tough shells for your noggin, the humble bicycle helmet has recently been kitted out with turn signals, walkie talkies, blind spot detection systems and bone-conduction speakers. Now an Australian startup called Cyclevision has revealed the Edge, a helmet sporting front- and back-facing cameras to let riders watch for danger or record their adventures.