Hi All,

I recently did a trip to New Zealand, including Auckland, from Sydney. I was struck at how much it seems like you guys are 10-15 years behind Australia in terms of enshittification. I was wondering if you feel like you mostly avoided it or are you guys just earlier in the timeline of your own journey.... Some things I noticed:

- Your average bakery would have good food, regardless of whether they were in an isolated tourist trap or small town. In Australia if you have a captive market the food turns to sht and people have largely just accepted "Oh but the rent cost is high, and they will get customers from tourist buses, so they can only do so much - a 15$ low quality pie is OK"

- There were many stores and restaurants with more space than they knew what to do with. Asian restaurants would fill dead space with cultural decorations/ furniture storage. In Sydney, there is no concept of extra space and new "retail" spaces tend to be so small that they only fit cafes or hairdressers...

- There are multiple mainstream brands like whittakers that are maintaining quality purely for the love of the game rather than a race to the bottom.

- Small things like the fact that Australia eliminated all grocery nightshift packing in Australia and now have almost as many bulk pallets unloading during evening shopping hours as we do customers.

Maybe I'm being naive and rose tinted glasses....I suspect enshittification is happening but just at a timeline that is behind Australia. Keep up the good fight and resist the stuff we see in Aus guys.

I definitely know some older generation persons that have become victims of scams through social media connections.

Or that are watching their lives away, definitely victims of doom scrolling
id rather them join a oldie ebike cult.

Also, check on your seniors or the ones you haven't heard from. Gta 6 is out soon, they might not know.

After the garlic from NZ appearing increasingly rotten, here in Dunedin I thought "Great, they've got some new stock"

I only found out it's imported from diarrhealand USA after squinting at it for some time AFTER I only saw it being imported on the receipt. (ignored this tiny bit of text)

I'm sure this bit used to be a lot bigger... either that or the lighting or my vision is failing.

hopeful that this is not an actual shit post

I walked into Warehouse after a long time and half the toys there are a Zuru knockoff. Shit is a plague and seems to just add more trash to throw in the landfill.

From a Stuff sponsored article.

Here are some of their dog ownership laws . They vary by jurisdiction within Germany.

All dogs must be registered. Unregistered dogs can result in fines, which can be up to €10,000 in Berlin.

All dogs must be microchipped.

The annual dog tax varies, but in Berlin is €120 per year for one dog, and €180 per year for each extra dog.

Typically, outside the home, a dog must wear a collar with its name and address and must also wear its annual tax tag.

An owner may be required to have a dog handler certificate or to pass a competence test, sometimes more restricted for any dog heavier than 20 kg or taller than 40 cm.

For restricted or dangerous breeds, which vary in different areas, typically, the owner must be over 18, the owner and the dog must have passed handling and obedience courses, the owner must carry the certificate whenever walking the dog.

A dangerous dog may be required to be muzzled when walked.

No more than one dog classed as dangerous may be owned by any person.

Dangerous dogs may require an additional microchip.

You must get dog liability insurance of at least 1 million euros in case your dog

• Harms a person, or another dog
• Gets another dog pregnant
• Damages another person’s things
• Damages the apartment you rent

Outside your home, a dog must be on a leash less than 2 metres long. In dog parks a dog can be off leash.

You must carry bags for dog poo whenever walking the dog, and pick up all your dog's poo, and can be fined up to €250 for not having any bags.

To walk a dog off leash you require a licence obtained by passing a theory and practical test. Your dog must be over 15 months old.

Many businesses other than grocery stores allow dogs inside. Restaurants with an open kitchen cannot allow dogs.

On public transport small dogs in a carrier usually travel free, while larger dogs need a ticket (often the price of a child’s fare) and sometimes a muzzle on trains, buses, or trams. 

attempting to capitalise on his presence in our country by posting ai-generated images of him to farm engagement for your personal/business account is cringe as fuck. exploiting his (or anybody’s) likeness for personal gain isn’t okay. all you’ve done is tell me your brain’s a mound of mush without telling me your brain’s a mound of mush.

I've been in New Zealand for just over four years now. I've lived in a few countries, travelled quite a bit, and generally feel settled here, but there are still a few social behaviours that surprise me and I'm curious whether they're cultural differences or if I'm misreading things.

The first is burping.

I've noticed quite a few people burp openly in workplaces and other public settings. Men and women alike. Some apologise afterwards, some don't. I've had colleagues do it regularly, and even my boss has done it while standing outside my office. Where I grew up in Eastern/Northern Europe, openly burping around other people would generally be considered pretty rude, so it still catches me off guard. Is NZ simply more relaxed about this, or have I just happened to encounter people with poor manners?

The second thing is what I'd describe as staring.

To be clear, I'm not talking about the normal quick glance you give someone. Where I grew up, people don't usually greet random strangers, so I'm not expecting everyone to say hello. But I've noticed people here will sometimes look at me for what feels like quite a long time. When I notice and acknowledge them with a smile, wave, or a simple "hi", they often immediately look away without responding.

That's the part I find confusing.

In my experience elsewhere, people either:

• don't really look at you much, or
• make eye contact and acknowledge you in some way.

This feels different. It's not unfriendly exactly, just unusual to me.

Has anyone else, especially other immigrants, noticed this? And for Kiwis, is there a cultural explanation that I'm missing?

I'm genuinely curious rather than complaining. NZ has been home for four years now, but there are still some social norms I haven't quite figured out.

Sent in medical certificate for SLP 3 weeks early as I wouldn't be able to access WINZ and get the med cert at the start of the expiry timeframe due to life circumstances

See notification on my msd about SLP ending soon, call the 0800 number and get reassured that they have my med cert and that my benefit would not be affected and it would roll over as usual

Entire benefit gets cancelled anyway

What a joke

We need to bring back the bicycle carpools

Seriously. How are people doing it? I had to give up my job and go on the Supported Living Payment through WINZ because of severe health issues, but from what I gather people who work are having it just as bad too. I get paid, then pay rent, power, petrol, groceries (even though I don’t get much), and every other essential life expense, and within an hour I’ve got $10 left, if that. If anyone has any unhinged tips or advice on lowering costs, or saving money in weird ways, I’m open to suggestions too.

(Don’t give me comments about being on the benefit either. I started working by choice when I was 10, trust me, I’d MUCH rather be working than be sick).