Wellington City Council ran out of time to consult on new trading laws, leaving some retailers angry they won’t be allowed to open this year. Retail NZ spokesman Greg Harford said the delay meant both retailers and visitors would miss out. Continue reading
New Zealand
Charities deregister over ‘jolly complicated’ rules
Thursday, March 2nd, 2017Funding consultant Thea Mickell said dozens of charities had told her they could not afford the increased cost of meeting the reporting requirement of New Zealand’s Charities Committee “One of the groups we work with, their annual audit fee would’ve been $3000 to $4000 and this year it leapt up to $9000.” Ms Mickell said Read more
Pahiatua couple’s life-long service to Marriage Encounter
Monday, February 27th, 2017
Since the late 1970s David and Bronwyn Lea have been active in the Marriage Encounter movement. They became co-ordinators for the Pacific in 1995. And then came the call to lead the global programme. Between 2005 and 2010 they travelled the world encouraging individual countries to promote and develop Marriage Encounter. And during that time Read more
New school hall rises in place of burned down church
Monday, February 27th, 2017
St Philomena’s church which was burned down in 2014 has been replaced with a new school hall form St Pius X primary school. The new Philomena Hall was built over the last four months and can hold around 300 people. Principal Anna Wormald said the school was lucky to have the facility available, after three Read more
Bishop is not a CEO. Parishes are not just local branches of the diocese
Monday, February 27th, 2017
Why is the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch worrying about how to fund rebuilding the Cathedral? After all the public land records show Diocese has $320 million “empire” of cash and properties. Why not, for example sell the Church of the Good Shepherd in Tekapo to help fund the rebuild? But a diocese, Anglican or Catholic, Read more
Day of Prayer and Penance for victims of violence and abuse
Monday, February 27th, 2017A Day of Prayer and Penance is to take place on the Friday after Ash Wednesday, 3 March 2017 The Holy Father recently invited Bishops Conferences around the world to establish a Day of Prayer and Penance for victims and survivors of sexual abuse. This was in response to a proposal put forward by the Read more
Easter Sunday trading gets green light
Monday, February 27th, 2017Easter Sunday trading in Rotorua has been given the green light allowing businesses to legally trade in the district from Easter this year. The Rotorua Lakes Council passed its Easter Sunday Shop Trading Policy by a majority vote this morning and has become the first region in New Zealand to take advantage of changes to Read more
Catholic bishops on bicultural path
Monday, February 27th, 2017The Maori advisor to the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference says Maori have a vital role to play in the church’s future, particularly in reaching out to young people and migrants. Catholics are the largest denomination in New Zealand with nearly half a million members, almost 70,000 of whom are Maori. Deacon Danny Karatea-Goddard says Read more
Many Charities overwhelmed by new reporting standards
Thursday, February 23rd, 2017
Many charities, particularly smaller ones, are being stressed and overwhelmed by the reporting standards introduced in 2015 says a charity law specialist Sue Barker. Last year an audit of about 1000 charities over six months by the Department of Internal Affairs has found only 59 percent have complied. In a RNZ report last year Barker Read more
US based Kiwi Christian rock band changes focus to pre-schoolers
Thursday, February 23rd, 2017
New Zealanders Steve King and Mike Millard performing are Christian music for children in the USA. They are the stars of a series for pre-schoolers called TuneTime Steve and Mike are the only remaining members of The Lads, a Christian rock band that started in New Zaland in 1993. They played at Christian music festivals Read more