Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 - Tonight ` homes built on flood plains, one family's 20-year battle for answers. - I could sit in front 20 years' worth of a paper trail that's filled with broken promises and very muddy footprints. - Plus, how often are you checking your supermarket receipts? - If everybody's being overcharged $1 here, $2 there, that's a lot of money. - And hair removal treatment ` could you lose more than just unwanted hair? - That feels like it might have been my tattoo, because it's stinging quite a lot. - Tena koutou katoa. Welcome to the show. It's great to be back with you in 2023. It has been a challenging year so far for many, but we've also seen incredible examples of bravery and community spirit. - Mm, and sadly, we're having to get used to flooding being the new normal. But for the Reweti family in Whanganui, it's the old, old normal. - They have been cleaning up after floods for 20 years. There's been a lot of talk about fixes but very little action. Here's Gill. (RAIN PATTERS) - I've been lying in bed, and I've heard the rain at night, and I've woken up and panicked. - It's a feeling shared by so many right now from Northland to Greymouth,... - Rain just` Yeah, just makes it` It just stresses us all out. - ....and it's very real for Lisa Reweti here in Whanganui. - We could actually flood and lose everything. - Her family homes had four severe floods in 20 years and countless near misses. She's angry, because it's way back that the problem first surfaced. - I could sit in front of 20 years' worth of a paper trail that's basically filled with broken promises and very muddy footprints. - This Whanganui District Council report laid out the problem, and what can be done about it, back in 2003. I mean, they've talked about it. They've come here. They've looked at it. - Yep, they've stood outside, but even trying to engage with either the Whanganui District Council, Horizons or Waka Kotahi, nobody knows whose` whose responsibility is that. I keep getting pushed around. - So she's called on Fair Go. They know improving streamflow will reduce the risk of flooding. But a first step would be finding... - Someone with compassion, and someone that we can communicate with and feel that we are being heard. And then he arrived here in Whanganui... - Communicating is at the very core of who Lisa is. - My job is to work with the community, particularly with children, which I love. GOOFY VOICE: 'I'm going to put my hair in a man bun.' And he wound and wound and wound and wound. And he was like, 'Whoo-hoo, I look fine.' - She shares stories from the past. - Putiki. - Putiki. - Waranui. The creek needs cleaning out with a digger. - Now she wants to share her story of the present. - I was born and raised here. This is our family home. - Her grandfather built it; her parents now own it, and they don't want to lose it. - I'm tangata whenua, a person of the land, so I'm gonna stay here. - The house was built on a floodplain with a creek that flows through the garden. This was long before climate change became a hot topic, and flooding was blissfully rare. - We'd get flooded about maybe every 15 years. Now it's every five years. - In this room alone... - Three new beds, couple of new sofas. - And with every heavy downpour... - Really stressful, pitch black, pouring rain, water everywhere. - It's been bad for their elderly neighbours too ` in 2015, some needing to be carried to safety. And every time, the nights of chaos followed by days of exhausted cleaning up. - Shifting furniture out of the bedroom, shifting vehicles. But we're getting too old for that now. When it's a massive one, like the 2015 that did all of Whanganui, well, OK, we're probably going to expect to get flooded, but it's the ones in between and the near misses that's the problem. It's shocking, you know. And this goes on and on and on. - Watching the recent coverage of flooding elsewhere has put them even more on edge. - It's really, really triggering. - They're thanking their lucky stars they escaped the worst of the recent storms, but they know they could be next, because there's a build-up of sediment in the stream. - That's how much silt just sitting here at the moment. - Blockages in the culvert where water goes under the road... - This needs to be cleared out. - ...and unstable banks further upstream. - Repairing and planting and putting things back into a wetlands, that will actually help in the long term. - There's our property here. - So they don't get why, as far as they can see, this report's been left to gather dust. - Why go to all that expense to have that ` it would have cost a lot ` and just ignore it? - Nothing has been done. It's just so disappointing. - So we contacted both the councils, and they sent statements saying they were aware of the problem. They had empathy. They were committed to fixing it, and they were doing longer-term design and consultation. Now, we weren't that happy that they wouldn't actually talk to us, but we were happy about what happened when we were filming. - Kia ora, this is Lisa speaking. - It was the call she'd been waiting for. - ...next week and just come round and have a talk to you about where we are and what's happening. - Um, that sounds great. Thank you. - After 20 years ` a hui with the councils. - Yeah, that's to` that's progress. - Yeah. - Progress! - And it's needed. Look how the creek has gone from this to this in just a few hours of standard heavy rain. But at least now, there's excitement flowing too. - Oh my gosh! Real` A real person on the phone. - (CHUCKLES) - And I caught up with a real person on Zoom. It's a few days after Lisa's hui, which included this action-focused research group, Deep South Challenge. So it's fair that these people are concerned. - Absolutely. What climate change is doing is it is intensifying and producing more frequent extreme 'weather events'. - In Putiki, he says the councils have been working the Deep South on risk assessment. - At the same time, from the residents' point of view, they've still got a culvert and a drainage system that's inadequate. They still face the reality that the Whanganui awa could flood homes any time. - So on a wet and windy day, we asked Lisa how the hui went. - It's been fantastic, you know. So much has happened. It's actually blown our mind. - The culvert's already cleared. Just look at it flowing. Plus... - And then they're going to clear out the creek. - We have a riparian planting plan starting here in our garden. - And best of all, progress will be discussed in a meeting every three months. - Thank you so much. - Thank you. - It's amazing what one little push from the right people can do to change a whole situation that's been troubling lots of people for a very long time. - It should have happened 20 years ago; it's happening now. - So what about Waka Kotahi? It was responsible for redirecting the creek to allow for the state highway being built. Well, now it's told Fair Go it will clear the culvert every quarter rather than every year, promptly investigate the need for a bigger culvert and look at longer-term solutions, such as putting the creek back on its original course, which Lisa thinks is essential. - Prevention is better than being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. And there is work that needs to be done here that could prevent a tragedy. - There are bigger questions too, such as if there's a need for relocation. - If we don't deal with that now, we are going to encounter not only the frustration of residents, we're going to experience loss of life. This is` This is life-and-death stuff. - But right now, there's time for this whanau to take a breath. - The other night when the rain was coming down, it was the first time in a long time that I was actually able to go to sleep, and I didn't have that terrible anxiety. So that's really helped. - Awful, awful situation, but hopefully, hopefully, things are moving forward. Great work, Gill. Of course, the last thing people in flood-prone areas want to hear is that their houses should not have been built there in the first place. - That's right. But it's the first thing you need to hear if you're buying a house. Gill's rounded up some expert advice that might save you some serious grief. - So you want to buy a house? Well, no doubt you're used to prices being too high, but now there are warnings to watch out for land that's too low. This climate expert warns the recent storms will rock our already shaky property market even more. - We've already got a housing crisis as it is, and this event is going to reduce the supply of houses, certainly in the short to medium term. - You see, so much of our housing stock lies on flood plains. - For every one house that's at risk at the coast, we've got 10 houses in flood plains inland. - There are 55,000 on floodplains in Auckland alone. So what to consider? - Historically, we've looked at things like weather tightness and asbestos issues, but of course now we're gonna want to know if there's been some water ingress or flooding on the land. - You can find that out by getting a LIM report from the council. Make sure it's fully up to date, and make sure you read it, because that will tell you... - Where the storm drains are located. It will also show overland flow path areas. Having a building report and a building inspector on site is also really important. Visit the property during the downpour so you can see and track where the water is running. - And remember, the real estate agent has a legal obligation. - They have to identify potential issues and make potential buyers aware of those potential issues. - And if you're trying to sell... - If they have had an issue of flooding, they can, yes, disclose it, but then show what they've done to mediate and mitigate that. So show the engineering works that they've done, show how it's changed the risk to flooding going forward. - Because the risk is very real. - We've had a couple of billion-dollar events in the last month. We should expect to continue to see them at least once a year. - It needs to be on top of purchasers' minds. It's certainly something that we'll be advising more rigorously on going forward. - There's some big conversations coming up in the next wee while. E whai ake nei, coming up on Fair Go ` what to look out for at the supermarket checkout. - I saw that this was on special for 4.50, buy when I looked at my receipt, it said 5.99. - And what you need to know about tattoos and hair removal treatments. (LASER BEEPS) - Nau mai ano, welcome back. Now, with the eye-watering cost of living these days, you need a keen eye for a bargain. - Not just keen, really keen. In fact, you may just need super vision to spot some of the specials. - And as Garth discovered, you might want to keep your eyes on your receipts as well. - Has your weekly shop become a bit of an out-of-body experience? Is it just me, or is something shrinking, like your budget? As prices seem bigger and bigger, leaving you stretching for the savings. If you can get your hands on a bargain, can you hold on to those savings at the checkout, or are you being overcharged? For instance ` look at this price tag. Seems clear, but is this special not so special after all? - I kept finding all these things that there were overcharged. - Rachel's been overcharged for these and these. and these. Spotted it, checked it, got it sorted. These ` no deal. Why? - I saw that was on special for 4.50, but when I looked at my receipt, it said 5.99. - Hang on, Rachel, I wanna hear this. I could actually use some inflation right about now. That's better. Rachel, what happened at the supermarket? - I'd bought it on the wrong days. If you looked carefully at the tag, the yellow tag, you could see that there was ` in very, very small print that no one would even think of looking at, and you'd need glasses to see ` there's a date there at the bottom. I'd bought the product on the 6th, and it wasn't going on special till the 7th. - Rachel asked what anyone would ` - 'Why's the tag there,' and she said, 'Oh, we always do that. 'We put the tags out on a Sunday for Monday.' - Is that misleading? - Well, I said it was misleading. Countdown says, 'Sorry, and thanks for bringing that up.' - 'The date range on the bottom of our ticket 'is mainly for our team members' reference 'so they can check how long the ticket should be on the shelf for. 'It is not our policy to put promotional tickets up 'before promotion starts. 'And our standard procedures are designed 'to make sure this doesn't happen.' - It's rolling out electronic labels to reduce human error, but those didn't help Murray. He thought he'd paid extra for his chai latte mix. Countdown says it had been on the wrong shelf. Jane spotted this overcharging on cat food. That's poor form, at least New World fixed quickly. And what about this ` sharp-eyed shopper Rebecca says the scales were understating the weight. We checked it out, and yep, Countdown says those scales near the bin are just indicative. The checkout scales are checked weekly. It's tested again. Both are accurate, so prices should be right If it's happening here, it might also be happening at your local supermarket. So what does the law say? Is it on the side of the little guy? Does the supermarket have to stick with the shelf price? - If it's showing one price on the shelf, and then they're trying to charge you another price, that is a misrepresentation. - Law professor Alex Sims has good news and bad news. - Legally, they don't have to sell it to you at that price. - Yep, by law, that shelf price is just a suggestion. But if it's misled you... - There is a misrepresentation there. It doesn't matter whether it was deliberate or an accident. - So Rachel's not-so-special soap special? - So hang on, I thought I was paying one price, but it's a different price. So, really, I need my money back. - So how much would trigger you at the till to challenge the bill? - Ooh. Maybe just a couple of dollars. - At least be over $2, $3. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) - Like, yeah, five, 10. Not so much. - 10 bucks and up. - Probably more than... 10 or 20. - If everybody's paying over, charge $1 here, $2 there, that's` that's a lot of money. - And that's what spurred Rachel to reach us, though even she lets the odd overcharge slide. - You've got to queue up again, and then you've got to talk to them, and then they have a look at it. It's almost like you're the person in the wrong when in fact they are. - If you discover you were charged more than the shelf price, on the first item, Countdown says it will refund the price paid, and the customer may keep the product free of charge. It'll also refund the difference if you bought multiple items. As for legal consequences, well, in 2020, Pak'nSave Mangere copped a $78,000 fine after pleading guilty to six breaches of the Fair Trading Act. That's the first prosecution the Commerce Commission has run against a supermarket in 15 years, though it has issued a formal warning to another, once in that time. - So you need to make them pay. - Alex Sims reckons setting a bounty would help. - When someone does find that there's an error that the supermarket could be required to pay 10 times the cost of that good. - Now, that's a great deal. But wait, there's more ` if the supermarket refused, she'd like to see the Commerce Commission able to fine it and split the proceeds. - Out of that $1000, first person that complains gets $400. - Sounds crazy, but that's how they do it in New York City. Companies making deliveries that park up and leave the engine running can be fined for fouling the air. The first person to report them gets a cut of the fine ` 130 bucks. Snitches get riches. It's an idea, and not one the government's considering as it works on the new law which will regulate the grocery industry, meaning it's mostly still up to you ` buyer beware. So watch that fine print in the aisles, stay alert at the checkout and speak up politely if you need to. Hey, can I just check that price, please? - You know, the challenge here is not the checking of your receipts, it's remembering what the price was meant to be in the first place. - Is life just not hard enough? Anyway, e whai ake nei, coming up ` an unexpected risk of hair removal. Yowzers. - It was very red and, like, raised. (PHONE RINGS) (CHAIR CREAKS) Hey Greg! Sorry, I've been flat out all morning. - Kia ora ano, welcome back. Now, tattoos ` you either love 'em or you hate 'em. And if you love them, well, then you'd want them to last. - And if your ink is sentimental, you certainly don't want to lose it by mistake. Here's Alistair with a cautionary tale. (BEYONCE'S 'SUMMER RENAISSANCE') - Personal trainer Bronte is a full-time physio student, so making her time and money stretch is essential. Same goes for her personal grooming. - I always waxed, and then when I came to university, I kind of had to toss up the pricing. - Laser hair removal was cheaper in the long run. - And obviously it's permanent, so it's a lot less hassle, one less thing to think about. - That is until a session last August at Laser Clinics in Takapuna. The clinic's policy is to ask clients whether they have any tattoos before treatment. Bronte's had hers for a couple of years. - It's a wave into a mountain. And so I'm from Taranaki, so that's like home for me. - The therapist doing her treatment knew she had a tattoo. - She could see it, so she covered it with her fingers. And then as I rolled over, she then went down, like, the inside of my leg and obviously had forgotten about it, cos she didn't cover it. - Her tattoo had been lasered over. - I think it was a little bit in shock. I was like, 'That feels like it might have been my tattoo, cos it's stinging quite a lot.' - The damage might not look obvious, but we asked an expert what the dangers are. - It could potentially remove the tattoo, but not in the way it's designed to be removed. So they might be left with a scar or maybe, like, a white mark. And in some cases, it'll just traumatise the tattoo, but the ink will still be there underneath the skin. - Ruth explains how lasers work. - If we're to use the laser hair removal on skin, it's only treating the skin; nothing happens to the skin's surface. It's looking for the hair under the skin. However, when there's a tattoo there, what happens is the light is attracted to the dark target. And so that's where it becomes a safety issue. - Ruth says tattoos should always be covered. - It would be safer to put a white sticker or even a white towel over it, because it's more opaque, and the light won't go through it. - Laser Clinics says its policy is to cover the tattoo with a cloth. But Bronte's wasn't covered, and she says that usually... - They would just cover it with their fingers. - After her session... - It was very red and, like, raised, and you could see, like, a whole, kind of, circle where it obviously had been lasered over. - So what can you do to protect yourself? - If they feel that they've been unfairly treated or unprofessionally cared for, they can actually lodge a complaint through HDC, which is the Health and Disability Commissioner. - In fact, in 2021, someone did complain to the HDC about a treatment they received from Laser Clinics Takapuna. She received burns to her face during a hair removal session and needed medical attention. But Laser Clinics New Zealand says ` Following the 2021 incident, the HDC's recommendations included further training for the therapist involved and longer breaks for all clinic therapists to help prevent stress. 'Laser Clinics has taken on board the feedback provided 'by the Health and Disability Commissioner to ensure the event in 2021 doesn't happen again,' which is interesting because Bronte noticed her therapist was under pressure. - During my appointment, I'd been talking to her, and she said that she doesn't usually work at that clinic, and she was just covering because they were short staffed. - The person holding the laser, the laser user, is the person that has the last call on safety and whether the settings are correct and whether the skin type is correct. - In Bronte's case, Laser Clinics offered to cover the cost to repair her tattoo. They found an artist that quoted $50 for the job. - And I said, 'Oh, I'd really just appreciate it if I could get it done by my original one, 'because she said to me that she was fine to fix it up.' - Bronte's artist could fix it for $150. Because it's a fine-line tattoo, she wanted it fixed properly. - Fine-line is such an art, and, like, you have to be quite delicate and quite intricate with it. The ink can bleed, and then it will, like, not be fine-line. - Laser Clinics wasn't budging. - They basically said, 'You can either go to this tattoo artist, or we can give you $50 cash, 'and you can go to your original tattoo artist. All I'm really asking for is that $100 so I can go to my original artist. Like, I just really don't think that's too much to ask for, and` especially when it's their mistake. - Plus, Bronte's paid over $1000 at this clinic for treatments. But when Fair Go got in touch and put the heat on, they had a change of heart. And Laser Clinics has offered to pay the full $150 to repair. - Yeah. I'm so stoked. It's such a great outcome. I can finally go and get it fixed by the original artist. - Alistair, great result and something to watch out for. Did not know that. Now, that was our first show of the year done and dusted. Tick. - Yes, but we will see you next week when we're taking the new member of the Fair Go family on the road. - Yeah, give Garth a wave if you see him. And a lot of room as well. - (CHUCKLES) - Meanwhile, though, you can still contact us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. Our webpage is tvnz.co.nz. You can email us at fairgo@tvnz.co.nz or after 46 years, you're very welcome to write to us ` PO box 3819, Auckland 1140. - Thank you for joining us. If you're cleaning up around the country, our thoughts are with you. Remember, hopefully sunnier days are ahead. Take care and po marie.