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2 weeks ago | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen HallBay |Carmen Hall
A Tauranga iwi group says more help is needed to cope with addiction and mental health in the community. Carmen Hall from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Trust writes about the growing concerns and the “battle to get support”. More people with “severe” mental health issues and drug addictions are turning to social workers as overburdened specialised services struggle to cope, a Tauranga iwi service provider says.
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Feb 20, 2025 | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen HallBay |Carmen Hall
More than 100 people have completed a Ngāi Te Rangi driver's licence course. Photo / SuppliedContributed content: Carmen Hall is a communications adviser for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Trust and a former Bay of Plenty Times journalist. More than 100 people in the past year have gained a driver’s licence through a free iwi initiative designed to help whānau into employment, avoid traffic offences and, in some cases, jail.
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Feb 14, 2025 | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen Hall
Alan Calvert is discovering his Maori heritage at age 76. Contributed contentCarmen Hall is a communications advisor for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Trust and a former Bay of Plenty Times journalist. Alan Calvert only showed flickers of interest about his Māori heritage until, at age 76, he stepped on to a marae for the first time to revive that journey. Derek Whelan only found out he was Māori when his grandmother told them on her deathbed.
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Jan 5, 2025 | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen Hall
Contributed contentCarmen Hall is a communications advisor for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Trust and a former Bay of Plenty Times journalist. When Katarina Ngatai did a summer internship with a Tauranga iwi, she had no idea the move would change the trajectory of her life and career.
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Dec 30, 2024 | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen Hall
Contributed contentCarmen Hall is a communications adviser for Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi Trust and a former Bay of Plenty Times journalist. When Tauranga’s Puhirake Ihaka received a celebratory email to say he would be acknowledged in the 2025 New Year Honours list, he thought it was a “scam or joke”. “I was thinking, is this for real?”The Ngāi Te Rangi kaumātua and long-standing leader made some calls for confirmation before his worry turned into shock.
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Jul 24, 2024 | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen Hall
Alazae Hayes started out making soap, but now he is pursuing a career in the forestry industry. By his own admission, in high school Alazae Hayes was “doing dumb stuff and got into trouble”. Now the 21-year-old Rotorua forestry harvesting apprentice says he is “living the dream” driving big machines with clear goals in sight. Hayes started his career making soap until a free pruning and planting course with Rotomā No. 1 Incorporation provided the springboard into forestry.
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Jul 22, 2024 | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen Hall
The tide has turned for the kiwifruit industry as this season signalled its biggest harvest on record but some growers are struggling financially. Photo / NZMEMany kiwifruit growers are “suffering financially” and some say they are struggling to cover rising costs, with one describing the situation as tough. But most orchardists remain “generally positive” and a record crop of more than 197 million trays was produced this season.
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Jul 12, 2024 | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen Hall
A lot of Kiwis who come home from Australia do it for family reasons. Photo / 123rf Thousands of Kiwis have fled to Australia chasing better opportunities and higher wages. But what about those who have returned home to an economy in recession, soaring costs of living - and a market where job advertisements have fallen by 30 per cent and some roles that used to attract 30 applicants are getting 300. Carmen Hall reports.
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Jun 30, 2024 | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen Hall
The kiwifruit industry is 'booming', says NZKGI. Photo / NZMEKiwifruit SunGold licence prices down nearly 40% on last yearKiwifruit orchard values fall by hundreds of thousands of dollarsZespri completes record harvest of more than 197 million traysIndustry is ‘booming’, growers’ group saysMore corporates emerge as ‘cost and knowledge’ major challenges for young growers.
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Jun 25, 2024 | 
nzherald.co.nz | Carmen Hall
Horrendous, impossible and stuck. That is how middle-income Kiwis describe their plight as they battle hefty home loans, insurance costs and grocery bills. Bad mortgage debt has hit nearly $2 billion and KiwiSaver hardship withdraws have doubled as families struggle with higher living costs. Carmen Hall reports. “I lie awake at night worrying about money.”That’s how a working mum, who shared her story on the condition of anonymity, feels as her living costs soar.
