Citizens Advice Bureau Palmerston North

09/06/2026

03/06/2026

❄️🌡 If you are struggling to pay your power bill, you should contact your energy provider as soon as you can. Energy providers must follow consumer care obligations, which include working with you to keep your energy supply affordable. Your provider can work out a payment plan with you, so that your credit rating isn’t affected.

If you receive a benefit, are on a low income or have extra costs because you have a disability, you may be eligible for some financial assistance to help pay your power, gas and water bills.

You might also be able to save money on your power bills by switching to a different plan or provider or through things you can do at home to safely reduce your power consumption.

For more information, visit cab.org.nz/article/KB00000160

[Image description: A child sitting with a fan heater. Text reads “What can I do if I am having problems paying my power bill?”]

02/06/2026

We are excited to share the news that we won the Tier 4 Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand 2026 New Zealand for Purpose Reporting Awards. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

The Awards celebrate best practice in adopting accounting standards which provide greater transparency and consistency in reporting across the sector.

We are fortunate to have many skilled volunteers across a range of topics, in this case reporting. The readability, layout & tone of the winning report are due to Evelyn’s expertise. We thank her for her valuable contribution.

02/06/2026

Welcome to our new Volunteers - Sandra, Nikki, Jan and Susan, who have recently completed their training. Congratulations to you all.

29/05/2026

After only a handful of days since our petition went live, today we hit over 2,000 signatures from people who want Wellington City Council to reverse their harmful funding cut for our Wellington CABs. If you're one of those people - thank you so much! And keep the signatures coming in! Please sign and share if you haven't already. Help us send a message to the Council that they need to ensure this vital service for the people of Wellington is retained.

This funding cut does not make financial sense. Because the CAB service to the public is powered by volunteers, it is a very lean operation financially. A Price Waterhouse Coopers review of the service - that the Council itself commissioned a few years back - showed that there was a 139% return on investment for every dollar the Council contributed to Wellington CABs! This same Council-commissioned review recommended that CAB funding be non-contestable under a partnership relationship with Council. So, this funding cut should never have happened.

Send a message that the Council has made the wrong decision and needs to put it right:

https://our.actionstation.org.nz/p/CABWellington

28/05/2026

These cuts will hit hardest for: • people struggling with the rising cost of living; • workers facing redundancy or employment issues; • tenants dealing with housing insecurity; • migrants and former refugees; • disabled people, older people, and students; • whānau experiencing hardship...

24/05/2026

GROWING PUSH BACK ON FUNDING CUTS TO WELLINGTON CABs: Messages from Wellingtonians and people around the motu are flooding in to us, expressing their dismay at the decision taken yesterday by Wellington City Council to slash funding to our Wellington CABs by over half, putting their survival at risk. People are asking us what they can do to help reinstate Citizens Advice Bureau Wellington funding so that our CABs can continue providing their vital service to the people of Wellington. People are desperate to help.

We are incredibly heartened, and humbled, by your responses.

We will be coming back to you soon with opportunities and suggestions for things you can do to help us get back the funding our Wellington CABs need to continue the amazing work they do in the community – the money required for continuing to provide some physical spaces where people can come for in-person help, and for a handful of staff to provide the support that enables our 125 Wellington CAB volunteers to deliver a quality service to the community. Watch this space.

We are also really pleased that the media are recognising the significance of the decision that was made at the Wellington City Council Grants Committee meeting yesterday to continue with the cut to our Wellington CABs’ funding. Kerry Dalton, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Bureau NZ, was interviewed by Lisa Owen of RNZ's Checkpoint today. You can listen to the interview here:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/regional/595940/wellington-s-citizens-advice-bureau-devastated-by-council-funding-cut

Watch out for further coverage.