It’s a bleak rainy grey day in Greerton but that doesn’t stop Darren Skelsey from offering a beaming grin while holding out a tattooed hand.
The 51-year-old is used to the elements – he’s spent countless years braving them while living on Tauranga’s streets.
But all of that has changed.
It was 24 hours of retail madness that saw $69.7 million pass through New Zealand’s tills on Black Friday.
For context, that’s $1.5 million more than the crazy Boxing Day sales last year, 10 per cent more than Black Friday in 2017, and just about $15 for every man, woman and child in the country.
Couples earning up to $180,000 will be able to buy KiwiBuild homes, the government has announced. Housing Minister Phil Twyford has set out the maximum income cap restricting who will be allowed to buy a home under the programme.
Getting food parcels in tough times has been “a saviour” for a Tauranga woman.
A job loss as a result of her employer shutting up shop was all it took to create a loan repayment crisis for one woman Read More
A charity that supports needy children in the Bay says an increasing number of parents are struggling to cover back-to-school costs . Read More
More than 300 Bay of Plenty residents are receiving Government benefits because they are unable to work due to substance addiction. Read More
Tauranga Community Foodbank says a budgeting programme has helped cut the number of regular clients seeking help by 15 per cent.
Co-ordinator Nick Goodwin said the organisation had been working with Tauranga Budget Advice. Read More
Initiatives to give no an low interest loans to low income earners and get young people off benefits has been welcomed by the Tauranga Advisory Service. Read More
About 140 people are currently living without basic shelter within walking distances of one of the region’s most vulnerable schools, it was revealed at a community meeting last night. Read More