Latest news with #BayofPlentyTimes
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Tauranga teens debate social media age limit proposal for under-16s
The move comes after strong reaction when National MP Catherine Wedd's Social Media Age-Restricted Users Bill was introduced in May. It would put the onus on social media companies to verify users' ages. The Bay of Plenty Times spoke to seven Ōtūmoetai College students about the ideas. They said while raising the age limit could encourage younger generations to form a healthier relationship with social media, it could also create other problems. Dominik Bennett, 18, said kids today did not know a life outside of social media. He did not believe the social media ban would be successful in pushing them to socialise outside of digital spaces. 'They're already on their phones anyway. They're going to find other ways to entertain themselves outside of social media.' If the ban went ahead, Dominik said: 'People who are allowed to drive and only a couple of years away from voting will have never had an experience online.' He said teens needed to learn how to cope with online peer pressure on apps such as Instagram and he was worried waiting until 16 was leaving it too late. Dominik said when his parents grew up without social media, physical bullying was the means of harassment. 'Now the fight's moved online,' Dominik said. 'There will always be a fight. You can't stop bullying from happening.' He expressed concern the fight may become physical again if social media platforms were not available. But raising the age limit to 16 could mitigate the exposure to constant dopamine and the 'doom-scrolling effect'. He said his generation lost attention quickly because of the instant satisfaction of having everything on demand via social media. 'My sister can't watch a two-hour movie,' Dominik said. 'She goes on TikTok, finds the best bits, and keeps scrolling.' Lifting the age limit would help younger generations become more attentive, Dominik said. Ōtūmoetai College students Will Martin (left), 14, Maonga Te Ruku Gallagher Harrison, 15, Dominik Bennett, 18, Dayna Bennett, 18, Ashton Zhou, 16, Olivia Finau, 13, and Lucia Poff, 16. Photo / Bijou Johnson Dayna Bennett, 18, agreed and said late blooming could be a good thing. 'If we grow up without social media, then when we get to 16 it's like a new exciting thing, but you're not dependent on it. You're not reliant on it for your everyday source of dopamine,' she said. The transition period from 13 to 16 would be difficult for kids who already had social media, Dayna said. However, once it was in play, the ban could be beneficial to people who had never had it. Dayna said the ban may help students experience the benefits of social media, rather than wasting their time, becoming addicted, or depending on false connections. Instead of using social media, Dayna messages her closest friends via text. On the other hand, Olivia Finau, 13, said she used social media to stay in touch with long-distance friends and family – her cousin, for example, who owned an iPad, not a phone. Ōtūmoetai College students Dayna Bennett, Dominik Bennett, Will Martin, Olivia Finau, Lucia Poff, Ashton Zhou and Maonga Te Ruku Gallagher Harrison have shared their thoughts on a social media ban. Photo / Bijou Johnson Being under 16, Olivia wouldn't be able to communicate with her cousin if a social media restriction were in place. Will Martin, 14, said he used social media to 'connect with people I wouldn't usually see and learn about their experiences and their perspectives, which I feel like has broadened my learning'. Social media connected them, regardless of geographical restrictions. However, Lucia Poff, 16, said the ban was too late. 'People who are younger than 13 already have social media,' she said. 'People who are 9 years old are already addicted to their phones.' Maonga Te Ruku Gallagher Harrison, 15, expanded on Dominik's comments about bullying, saying he believed social media should be banned for 18-year-olds as well. He said rangatahi (young people) needed to wake up and realise the harmful consequences of social media on mental health. Ashton Zhou, 16, called social media a 'double-edged sword'. 'If we're taught to use things properly, if we're taught to separate ourselves from the screen, I think it can be used really well. 'Social media can't hurt you,' he said. 'You're using something that's inanimate, and the way you've used it may indirectly lead to not-so-great things happening. And unfortunately, that's something that we have to live with as people who are growing up around technology.' Ōtūmoetai College principal Russell Gordon supported the intent of the bill, saying as an educator he had seen social media misused and online drama spill into school life. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told the Herald in May that restricting access for under-16s would help protect kids from bullying, harmful content and social media addiction. – Bijou Johnson is an intern journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times.
NZ Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Civil contracting future ‘bright', PM Christopher Luxon tells Tauranga conference
'Another half a billion dollars worth of local government projects are also getting under way this year, including five projects here in Tauranga,' Luxon told the conference. He said the national infrastructure pipeline showed planned future projects across central and local government, and the private sector, totalling $207b. This was nearly $40,000 per person and $116,000 per household. 'For every $1b of infrastructure investment per year, that generates about 4500 jobs.' He said as work got under way on these projects, there would be 'real jobs and real opportunities' for thousands of Kiwis, and added momentum for economic recovery. 'We have turned the corner and the future for civil construction in New Zealand is bright.' Luxon said this was great news for the civil construction sector. 'We need the work to get done. We need action, we need shovels in the ground.' He did not give details of the five Tauranga projects when asked by the Bay of Plenty Times after his speech and said the Government would talk about these 'in due course'. He said a number of projects in Bay of Plenty were 'on the fast track'. Twelve Bay of Plenty projects have been listed to follow the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 process. Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford (left), Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Civil Contractors Conference. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell Luxon said growth problems had been challenging for Tauranga. 'It's a region that should do exceptionally well with a Government that wants to streamline the resource management process and get fast-track projects up and running.' Tauranga was a growing economic powerhouse for New Zealand. 'That growth needs to have quality, modern and reliable infrastructure around it as well.' Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced at the conference that half a billion dollars worth of local government projects will be under way this year, including five in Tauranga. Photos / Kaitlyn Morrell Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale addressed the conference and said Tauranga continued to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. He said a well-formed regional deal should be a game-changer, not just for the Bay of Plenty but as a model for others across the country. 'We are investing heavily to keep pace with growth.' He said the current long-term plan included $500m in annual capital expenditure for the next 10 years. Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale is looking forward to faster, more efficient consenting for projects. Photo / Alisha Evans 'A significant proportion of this is dedicated to horizontal infrastructure.' He was encouraged by the Government's work to reform the Resource Management Act (RMA). 'Faster, more efficient consenting is something we can all look forward to and it will help bring costs down.' Developments in the Bay of Plenty included the Takatimu North Link, SH29 Tauriko-Ōmanawa Bridge and Te Tumu new housing area in Pāpāmoa East. Drysdale said the SH29 project would unlock industrial land, enable4000 new homes in the medium-term and support about 3000 new jobs. 'Infrastructure is too expensive in this country and we need to find ways of delivering more for less.' Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) president David Howard said the past year in the infrastructure industry had not been easy. 'I feel it's been a bit of a triple-whammy with central government cutting costs, new regulations coming in and councils rethinking their funding.' He said he remained hopeful that CCNZ had worked hard to get in front of the right decision-makers to explain the industry's needs. 'It's not easy to get Government attention, but we've made progress.' Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.
Newsroom
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Newsroom
Our sports queen honoured by the King
Suzanne McFadden has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King's Birthday Honours for her services to sports journalism and women. In this Q&A, the founder of our LockerRoom section and passionate advocate for better participation, media coverage and recognition for women in sport, reflects on a 40-year labour of love. How hard was it starting out in the 80s as the only woman in the room in sports departments, press boxes and media conferences? Initially it was tough to get a foot in the door. I tried a couple of times, but naively I had no idea how difficult it was as a young female to get a start in sport, which was the only job I ever wanted. It wasn't until a defendant in a district court case I was covering threatened to kill me, that the Herald bosses finally agreed to transfer me from news to the sports department – just in time for the 1990 Commonwealth Games. I was there when gymnast Nikki Jenkins, then 14 years old, won gold on the vault, and her parents had been my PE teachers. I stayed working in sport for the Herald for 10 years – and I had incredible opportunities to cover events around the world, like the America's Cup. And even though I was the only woman in the department through that decade, it felt more like being part of a tight sports team. There was one time, though, at a sailing regatta, I was made to feel like the 'new girl' who'd only be there for 10 minutes… 30 years later… Did you get pigeon-holed into writing about women's sports? In my first job, at the Bay of Plenty Times, I was a general news reporter, but the sports editor, Kevin Savage, asked me to cover the local netball competition. I was not impressed – I'd only ever played 10 minutes of netball at school (fell over, grazed my knees on the asphalt, and never walked onto a netball court again). But he told me to write about the people more than the sport, and that's become my compass. Sir Terry McLean, who I was privileged to work alongside when I first started in sports journalism, once told me, 'The human story is the best story'. So even if I was assigned to women's sport, it was okay, because I was weaving the stories of interesting and often outstanding people into the match reports. Have you ever had a woman boss? Who are your female mentors? I've never had a female boss in sports reporting, but some of the best editors I've worked with in my freelancing career have been women. The wonderful Carroll du Chateau at Canvas taught me how to craft a feature story and was an incredible mentor. Michelle Crawshaw always trusted me with fascinating assignments. And my cousin Fiona Rotherham, then editor of Unlimited magazine, made business stories relatable and human. Among the women I look up to today is Shirley Hooper – vice president of World Netball and heavily involved in artistic swimming in New Zealand – and also a cousin. Storytelling runs in our McClean genes. Speaking of, my parents were both great mentors – Dad gave my sister and I our love of watching sport, and Mum taught me how to write. Ashley Stanley and Suzanne McFadden at Eden Park. Photo: Paul Enticott How much has it changed in sports journalism for young women? I honestly don't think the dial has moved enough. It's just as hard to get a job in a sports newsroom now as it was back in 1986. There are some excellent female sports reporters right now – Dana Johannsen at RNZ is a multiple-time sports journalist of the year; the TVNZ sports team has a strong female representation, including the super-talented Jordan Oppert. Yet we're still the minority, and the only way that's going to change is with more female sports editors. Something I've been really proud we've been able to do through LockerRoom is introducing more female voices to sports writing, and giving two women – Ashley Stanley and Merryn Anderson – scholarships to work at Newsroom. Through these wāhine, I discovered I love mentoring. What's your approach when setting out to interview someone? Great question! For a LockerRoom long read (you know all my stories are long!) I research, but not to the point where I think I know everything about the person. There needs to be that element of curiosity, where I want to learn more for the readers, so I can share something new. And I never call it an interview – it's always a chat. And there's no such thing as a stupid question. Suzanne McFadden first wrote about the late Sir Peter Blake's America's Cup red socks superstition. What stories do you look back on with most pride? What makes you happiest about stories you find and publish? During the 1995 America's Cup in San Diego, I wrote a story about Team New Zealand's superstitions on Black Magic – Sir Russell Coutts always the last man on the boat, and Sir Peter Blake wearing his lucky red socks. The rest is history. I've loved telling stories about women that show how resilient they are, and how much more they have to do to be successful. Sportswomen who've returned to the top as mums, especially in the 'From Here to Maternity' series in LockerRoom. What makes me happiest about publishing stories? When one person tells you they read it, and it helped them through something they were facing. Like the RED-S stories we've told over the years. If you can make a difference in one person's life, it's a win. Your RED-S stories opened a lot of people's eyes. How'd that story come about? American athlete Mary Cain broke her silence on the mistreatment she received while she was training under the all-male support team at the Nike Oregon Project, and how the win-at-all-costs mentality had made her ill. She had all the symptoms of RED-S, a syndrome I hadn't really heard of, but it turned out there were Kiwi athletes who weren't fuelling their bodies to match the energy they were expending. The more we wrote about RED-S, the more athletes came forward with their own health battles. Hopefully, we've helped some young women spot the signs in time. Are women in sport getting a fair crack now at representation, competition, professionalism, payment, crowd support, media? Look, the three World Cups hosted by New Zealand in 2022 and '23 were phenomenal for women's sport here – they opened so many eyes to just how entertaining and enthralling women's sport is. The media coverage of women's sport spiked to 28 percent – higher than I ever expected to see in my career. But things have slipped away since then – it's as though we need the big events, like the Olympics, to remind the public how talented our female athletes are. Covid hasn't helped the situation – if there's a funding cut, it's most likely the women's programme in a sport will be the first to feel it. Pay equity in some sports is still a pipe dream, and there aren't enough women's coaches at the top level of most sports. There's still so much work to do. But LockerRoom has had amazing readership, as recently as the past fortnight, which highlights that people still want to read interesting stories about women in sport. McFadden with the great Black Fern Portia Wickliffe Woodman. Photo: Supplied Who would you most want to spend time with, write about – for LockerRoom or for a book? That's a tough question! Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Emma Twigg and Sophie Devine immediately come to mind. Writing a book is hard yakka though, and I don't think I'll be rushing back into one. But the two books I've written, Striking Gold and Honey, are two of my proudest achievements (alongside my two sons, and two grandsons, obviously). And, what was your first thought when Government House sent you word of your MNZM nomination? It was a Friday, I think, and I wasn't feeling 100 percent, so I'd just had a nap. I woke up to an email from Government House and I immediately panicked. I thought it must be a long weekend, and this email was the media list of honour recipients, and I'd quickly have to prepare a LockerRoom story for Monday! Then I opened it, read it, and read it again and bawled my eyes out. A recognition like this is 'ginormous', as my four-year-old grandson would say. I feel incredibly proud, humbled, and grateful to everyone who's guided me along this crazy path, and all who've come with me. And that includes you, Tim. Thank you.
NZ Herald
25-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
On The Up: The Matua Bar in Tauranga thrives after removing pokies
They say the move has created a new vibe and atmosphere, and has been positive for the Warrington St business and the community. 'So many people say to us, 'It's warm, it's family-friendly, the food's great, with no bright lights and no annoying noise of the machines going off, ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching','' Fletcher told the Bay of Plenty Times. 'We get a lot of visitors from England who often tell us this is what English corner pubs used to be like. This is a nice, homely, friendly pub, it's a calm, relaxed place for all ages with nice, tidy bathrooms.' Hazelwood was the bar's duty manager for about five years before he and Fletcher bought the business two and a half years ago. He said The Matua Bar had nine pokies when they took over. They cut the pokies to seven before removing them all at the end of June last year. Customers applauded the move, but not everyone was convinced. 'Some people told us, 'You're going to go under' if we removed the pokies, but that certainly hasn't been the case at all. ' Hazelwood said there had been no negative financial impact. 'We've done better from having the extra dining space, and the food side of the business has also done better, plus our customers are more comfortable not having to put up with the noise of the machines. 'It's absolutely been the right decision. It's been good for our business and good for our community.' Fletcher said there were lots of rules and regulations around pokie machines, and new gaming rules meant they had to check on everybody using them every 15 minutes. Keeping track of people going in and out of the gaming area was 'quite a mission', especially ensuring no children entered the area. 'It was weird having part of your business you're not allowed to advertise or promote. It's like having a dirty little secret, really, and the machines are in the back room with the door closed,' she said. 'I said right off to Jeff, if we buy this place, there is going to be a wider range of non-alcoholic drinks, and we need to encourage more women to come in because it was a very male-oriented pub.' The Matua Bar now has live music twice a week, including a Wednesday night jam session with a resident band, and customers can join in. There was a regular jazz afternoon with Trevor Braunias and a special guest on the first Sunday of each month, plus quiz nights. There is also a chef. A Bellevue resident, who asked not to be named, said he had been a regular customer for 10 years, because of the 'great food', the great vibe, and to socialise with friends. Removing the pokies was like 'lifting a dark cloud' that hung over the bar, and he supported the owners' decision. 'There is definitely a stigma around this type of gambling, and operating a bar with pokies machines under the current gambling regulations has become quite challenging.' Tauranga City Council alcohol licensing team leader Sam Kemp said the owner of the pokie machines removed from Matua Bar was granted consent to move them to another venue. 'However, the new premises owner decided not to take the machines and the gaming licence was lost.' Problem Gambling Foundation advocacy and public health director Andree Froude said it was great to hear of venues replacing pokie machines with other activities and creating more family-friendly spaces. Advertise with NZME. 'We love hearing these stories. It's good for the venue and good for the community. Pokies are the most harmful form of gambling in NZ and designed to be addictive. It's great to see numbers coming down.' Department of Internal Affairs director of gambling regulatory services Vicki Scott said The Matua Bar's gambling licence was one of 109 surrendered nationwide last year. 'Often, surrenders were because a venue changed ownership or shut down briefly before being reopened, many were granted a new licence.' She said there were 32 gaming machine venues in Tauranga operating 445 pokie machines. People using them lost a total of $37.6m last year, compared to 34 venue and 468 machines in 2023, with $39.8m lost. Nationwide, there were 13,855 machines operating out of 968 venues. with more than $1.023b lost last year, down from $1.055b in 2023.
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Centenarian Shirley Smith reflects on a century of life and world events
She spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times ahead of her birthday, sharing the most important piece of advice for life she had learned in her years: 'Meet the day as best as you can.' Smith was born on May 23, 1925, in Lower Hutt. She lived in Napier during the 1930s and sailed to England in 1948, spending six long weeks aboard the steamship Mataroa. She returned to Lower Hutt 18 months later and has lived in Tauranga with her family for nearly 60 years. 'I enjoy reminiscing about the past,' she said. Her first job was as an office clerk at Colonial Mutual Life Insurance Company. She also did office work at Railways Road Services in Wellington before heading to the UK. 'I used to clip the tickets for road services and rail services,' she said. 'I worked at Paddington Station, and the hygiene – there wasn't any, it was terrible." She wanted to be a pharmacist, but female pharmacists were unheard of at the time. She began nursing training in maternity and public health at Wellington Hospital at the age of 28. 'I did that for a few years, and I visited people, because they had no Plunket, of course. 'So I had to go around and weigh babies to make sure they were all right.' Asked for the most memorable world events of her lifetime, she quipped: 'I've just got to oil my brains. 'I remember when the first female pilot arrived in New Zealand,' she said, referring to Rotorua-born Jean Batten, who set several aviation records, including the first solo flight from England to New Zealand. She recalled Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953 and the death of Princess Diana in 1997. 'I was very interested in the royal family.' She also recalled the Challenger space shuttle explosion of 1986, which killed its seven crew members, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. 'I remember that, it blew up in the sky, and there was a woman in the shuttle.' Smith had five children, including a set of twins; 14 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. She married Robert Smith in 1960, the father of her children. He died in 1980. Her youngest daughter, Brenda-Joy Newman, shared some of the many hobbies her mother had throughout her 100 years. 'Mum used to play tennis, she used to do lots of knitting, she was a singer and would be involved with theatre. Newman said her mother 'loved to entertain with her lovely voice'. 'She's been on the stage singing and was involved in her later life with the Skittle band.' 'They used to go around lots of places and perform, and even performed at the jazz festival one year.'
