Two Catholic agencies have have welcomed more funding for emergency housing in the 2016 Budget. However they say little has been done to address the urgent need for more long-term secure and affordable housing. Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand Caritas says there is a noticeable lack of investment in building new homes. Of the announced $258 Read more
Last week, Te Puea Marae offered shelter to the homeless and now they have launched a support programme, Manaaki Tangata, for those looking for help. Marae board chair Hurimoana Dennis said they had approached the Ministry of Social development for financial aid but had yet to hear back. “It isn’t cheap but at the same time Read more
A Dunedin church minister, one of five people in court for illegally taking undersized paua, collapsed in the dock during sentencing. Tualagi Polaia, 51, was taken by ambulance to Dunedin Hospital with minor injuries after collapsing in the dock on Wednesday morning. Continue reading
St Patrick’s College in Kilbirnie, Wellington, was evacuated on Wednesday morning after a bomb threat was made via email. Rector Neal Swindells said the bomb threat was made about 9.30am. The school then contacted police and made the decision to send staff and students home. Police remained at the school for much of Wednesday, working with the Read more
The Christchurch City Council provided $130,000 to the Methodist Mission to underwrite the leases on private rentals for homeless people, who weren’t able to secure the rentals themselves. The Methodist mission has taken the lease on six houses. The tenants pay rent, but the mission has committed to the landlord to pay any missed rent, Read more
A multifaith celebration of Year of Mercy was held last week in Wellington. It was a joint initiative of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations and the Wellington Abrahamic Council of Jews, Christians and Muslims. The first part of the event was a panel presentation by three speakers. JoEllen Dukkor (Jewish), Sister Read more
The New Plymouth mayor, Andrew Judd, is inviting the nation to join him on a Peace Walk to Parihaka. The hikoi will run from his mayoral office to Parihaka 45 km away. It will take place on 17 June. Judd, who has been at the centre of a storm of controversy over race issues, hopes Read more
Fergus O’Connor’s beloved horses carried him to his final resting place, where he was welcomed, celebrated and farewelled. The Sts Peter and Paul Church in Appleby, near Nelson, was filled to capacity for Thursday’s mass. His move into purebred Clydesdale horses started when he purchased his first stallion in 1949 and began entering at the Read more
One Porirua school is turning the traditional parent interview on its head. Asking a parent to feel comfortable enough to ask hard questions of teachers, or understand all the information about their child, in just 10 minutes was not feasible any more, Holy Family School principal Chris Theobald said. That is why he is introducing a programme in which support worker Metua Tengaru Read more
The retiring Anglican bishop of Dunedin is questioning whether the dioceses can afford to have a full-time bishop. The Rt Rev Dr Kelvin Wright said some very careful thought needs to be given as to how to pay for episcopal ministry in the future. “Maybe some hard choices and some innovations may need to be Read more