Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
Air New Zealand is gearing up for a bumper summer, adding more flights to its domestic schedule to deliver 180,000 extra seats between November 2017 and March 2018, compared with the same period last year. The extra flights will use the airline’s existing domestic fleet to meet traveller demand over the summer. Air New Zealand expects to sell up to a million seats for less than $100 over the same period. Key destinations to receive a boost include the busy Auckland and Queenstown route where there’ll be nearly 60,000 extra seats. The airline is planning to add an average of eight additional return services a week to and from the resort town. An average of six additional return Auckland-Christchurch services per week will deliver more than 40,000 extra seats on the route. Moving from two to three daily A320 jet services on the airline’s Auckland-Dunedin route on Tuesday and Thursday will see three jet services operate six days a week resulting in capacity on the route growing by 10% or 12,000 seats, and Auckland-Wellington will gain an extra 10,000 seats. There will also be significant seat capacity increases across Air New Zealand’s regional network as follows:
Air New Zealand’s Chief Revenue Officer, Cam Wallace, says the additional seat capacity is in response to growing customer demand. “We’re responding to growing customer demand with 180,000 more seats across our domestic ports this summer. Not only does this create more flight options for our customers, it means more of our lowest fares will be on offer. In fact we expect to sell up to a million seats for less than $100. “We are committed to operating a comprehensive schedule throughout New Zealand and have invested significantly in delivering a service which will benefit both visitors and locals over the summer months.” The additional flights are being progressively released for sale.
| An Air New Zealand release || July 31, 2017 |||
BusinessNZ today released its Election Manifesto.
Based on a survey of employers throughout New Zealand*, the Manifesto outlines seven priorities that business would like to see enacted after the 2017 General Election.
BusinessNZ Chief Executive Kirk Hope said businesses want a Government that will reduce taxes, fix problem legislation, and boost growth in the regions.
"Business wants to see a tax cut for all categories of taxpayer early in the first term of the new Government, and no new taxes of any kind."
Mr Hope said employers in many sectors were worried about being unable to fill job vacancies, and wanted action on skills.
"They are unhappy with the level of skills coming out of the education system and want those skill gaps fixed by education and, if necessary, immigration. They want employees with better technical skills to help to grow more innovative and sustainable businesses."
Local government and the Resource Management Act were also a key concern
"There's a strong view that the RMA is holding the country back - 95 percent of businesses surveyed want it fixed or gone."
Businesses were also concerned about local government investing rates money in council-controlled enterprises and non-essential spending, while failing to invest in infrastructure. 65 percent wanted local government to stick to core functions like providing infrastructure.
Kirk Hope said business wanted a Government that continued negotiating free trade agreements to reduce the tariff burden on New Zealand exporters. A large majority want trade agreements with the US, UK, EU and the new TPP-11.
"These seven priorities if enacted by a new Government would improve the environment for enterprise and help business to create jobs and prosperity in local communities all over New Zealand."
| A BusinessNZ Release || Jluy 31, 2017 |||
Passengers travelling out of major Australian airports should plan their airport arrival to be earlier than usual from today, to allow for increased security screening after police and counter-terrorism agencies foiled a plot at the weekend to “bring down” a plane, reportedly an Australian domestic flight.
Qantas now advises arriving at airports two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights.
Counter-terrorism squads, which launched armed raids on four Sydney properties on Saturday evening over an alleged “Islamic-inspired” plot to blow up an aircraft, arrested four men. Authorities first learned of the alleged plot on Wednesday and stepped up security at Sydney Airport on Thursday.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters yesterday (Sunday) that security-screening measures had been beefed up at all Australian airports – and passengers should arrive early.
“Travellers should arrive at terminals at least two hours before flights to allow ample time for screening.
“They should limit the amount of carry-on and checked baggage, as this will help to ensure that security screening is efficient.”
That’s from the Prime Minister.
Passengers faced significant delays at major airports yesterday and used social media (as above, on Twitter) to let people know that queues were building up at airports around the country.
Qantas placed the following notice on its website yesterday:
Additional security screening at Australian Domestic and International Airports
The Australian Government has introduced additional aviation security measures at international and domestic terminals at Australia’s major airports.
Customers can expect to experience an increased level of security scrutiny at the airport so it may take a little longer than usual to get through the process:
There are no changes to what can and cannot be carried on-board the aircraft.
Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Virgin Australia and its budget subsidiary Tigerair Australia advised passengers similarly, adding that customers “should not be concerned about these precautionary measures”.
“As the measures place an additional burden on the screening system, it may take a little longer than usual to get through the process,” Virgin Australia said.
At Adelaide and Sydney airports, some passengers reported delays yesterday of up to 90 minutes before passing through security, with a major police presence at and around the airports.
Turnbull said the plot appeared to have been carefully planned and was probably not the work of a lone wolf but in the category of “quite elaborate conspiracies”.
He said none of the men arrested worked in the airport industry but police believed the plot aimed at the Australian aviation industry at a major airport.
Five properties in Surry Hills, Punchbowl, Wiley Park and Lakemba were raided on Saturday evening. Surry Hills, a diverse and – in parts – very fashionable inner-city suburb, was a surprise. The other suburbs, in south-western Sydney, have significant Muslim populations, giving rise to early suspicions that Saturday’s simultaneous raids were linked to Islamist extremism. This seems to have been confirmed.
“We believe it’s Islamic-inspired terrorism,” Australian federal police commissioner, Andrew Colvin, said. “Exactly what is behind this is something we need to investigate fully.”
ABC News said it had learned that police found materials and items “that could be used to make a homemade bomb” when they raided the house at Surry Hills.
| AneGlobal Media release written by Peter Needham || July 31, 2017 |||
The broadcaster said it understood that authorities believed the group planned to smuggle the device onto a plane and blow it up.
Australia’s national terrorism threat level remains at “probable’, unchanged since 2014.
Written by Peter Needham
The campaign to ban single-use plastic bags has been boosted by the big guns of environmental activism.
Greenpeace New Zealand is stepping up, having launched a video and petition calling on the Government to ban supermarket bags.
Getting plastic bags banned is a world-wide, 10-year strategic aim of the group and campaigns have been running internationally for 18 months. However Greenpeace NZ has decided it's only now that the time is right to push the issue.
"A lot of good work has taken place by local groups," says spokesperson Elena Di Palma. "It's time to add our weight to the argument."
Spiralling out of control
Greenpeace says New Zealanders use around 1.6 billion bags every year. "They're used for an average of only 12 minutes, yet each one can take a thousand years to degrade," says Di Palma. "New Zealand's plastic waste problem is quickly spiralling out of control."
Continue to read the full article here
| A Newsroom release with Alexia Russell || July 28, 2017 |||
Taranaki DailyNews reports that Taranaki's Amtec Engineering at Bell Block closed and made all of its staff redundant last week.
The downturn in the oil and gas industry has forced a Taranaki engineering company to shut up shop and lay off all of its staff.
On Friday employees at Amtec Engineering, Connett Rd East Bell Block, were called into a meeting and told they were all being made redundant.
The company's 44 staff were given a letter stating while the business' directors had hoped things would improve, it was closing the doors on the basis it was insolvent and was unable to continue trading.
Continue to read the full article here
| A Taranaki Daily News release || July 30, 2017 |||
Air New Zealand gears up for summer with more than 180,000 extra seats
BusinessNZ today released its Election Manifesto.
Taranaki Engineering company lays off all its staff
Seized phosphate shipment 'a tender situation'
Appeal for former A&G Price staff nets 40 job offers in 40 minutes
Tesla model 3 has landed - and it doesn't cost much more than a normal car
Fonterra is exporting into 36 of 54 African countries and aims to expand its footprint
JOB VACCANCIES
Ξ WECA organised meeting August 3 to assist A&G Price workers. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In a world-first refurbishment program to be undertaken in Brisbane, the agreement will see the purchase of 10 ex-U.S. military Black Hawks, to be imported into Australia early next year. The Black Hawks will be brought up to ‘as new’ condition and repurposed specifically for aerial firebombing operations during future bushfire seasons around Australia and New Zealand and for year-round emergency services and disaster relief work.
The aircraft will be refurbished and maintained in Brisbane by Sikorsky. This initiative sees Kaan Air Australia and StarFlight Australia partner to usher in a new era in Australian emergency services and disaster relief aviation.
This agreement with Sikorsky Australia will be a boost for local aviation jobs, potentially creating more than 50 pilot and technical jobs in the long term, including apprenticeships.
John Skeen, chief executive officer of Kaan Air Australia and StarFlight Australia, welcomed the new agreement and said the deal would assist emergency services in filling a significant gap within Australia’s firefighting and disaster relief resources.
Continue to read full article here
| A Vertical release || July 29, 2017 |||
The Waikato Engineering Careers Association is co-ordinating a meeting of employers at the GBD (Grahamstown Bar & Diner) in Thames, on Thursday, August 3, at 11am. All former A&G Price workers are invited to attend. Can you help? Then contact WECAThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
WECA: 31 July 2017:
It was an all-New Zealand affair in Orange County, California today as Zespri officially opened its regional office to manage growing sales across Northern, Central and Southern America.
Zespri Chief Executive Lain Jager says Zespri is growing strongly across North America with most of this growth coming from the new gold variety Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, which is proving hugely popular.
“The New Zealand kiwifruit industry is on track to more than double sales to $4.5 billion by 2025 and an important part of this growth will come from developing markets like North America, as well growing sales in our more established markets. Zespri is relaunching the kiwifruit category in the United States and the wider Americas region to attract new consumers and grow sales,” says Mr Jager.
Kiwifruit in the US is an underdeveloped category at number 21 in the overall fruit bowl compared to ranking in the top 10 for most European and Asian countries. However sales of all kiwifruit in the US – Zespri and other brands – are growing well above general fruit sales.
Zespri SunGold sales volumes in North America have grown over 100 percent over the past two years and are projected to hit nearly US$50 million in 2018/19, as consumers respond to the delicious tropical sweet flavour. At present, around 40 percent of SunGold sales are through Asian-American retail outlets, as these communities are more familiar with Zespri Kiwifruit. However the new variety appeals to mainstream American consumers too, with exciting growth through mainstream customers.
Mr Jager explains that retailers’ needs are changing and Zespri is working with distributors to meet those needs. “By appointing market development managers, we’ve been able to work with key retailers to build meaningful programmes to expand our distribution across the country and returned more value to our retail partners and New Zealand growers,” says Mr Jager.
Zespri is increasing its marketing investment to introduce more people to the great taste of Zespri Kiwifruit with an integrated PR, digital and social media campaign which includes in-store geotargeted mobile advertising, along with new eye-catching retail packaging.
Mr Jager explains Zespri is growing its offshore presence to deliver increased sales around the world, officially opening an office in Dubai earlier this year to service the regions of the Middle East, India and Africa. “More than half of our 450+ staff are based offshore now, with offices in 21 countries delivering sales and marketing programmes in 59 countries around the world this season,” says Mr Jager.
A Maori cultural delegation officially opened the new office at an event with senior Zespri executives, Ambassador Tim Groser and Mayor of Newport Beach Kevin Muldoon, with karakia/prayers and waiata/songs to bless the new whakairo/carving commissioned for the office. Carver James Tapiata has made several other carvings for Zespri offices in New Zealand and around the world and he created this work Te Puawaitanga (The Flowering) for the new office. Around 10 people will be based in the office.
| A Zespri release || July 28, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
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