2dollarsgetsya

SocietyJuly 11, 2021

Auckland’s best thing costs only $2

Senior writer
2dollarsgetsya

For the ideal affordable weekend escape, Alex Casey suggests a trip to Auckland’s coin-operated karaoke booth. 

Within the gleaming citadel of the fancy Newmarket mall, it’s easy to feel like you are stoned in an endless escape room. There’s a river on the roof, there’s a bridge in the sky, and it often feels like the only way to get out is to ask for so many free samples at Mecca that you get escorted out by security. We reviewed it when it opened and it did not go well. The very last time I was there, I got lost in a basement level at night and had to traverse a steep ramp not meant for humans, the saddest version of American Ninja Warrior ever captured on a security camera.

But the scary flash mall has a terrific not-so-secret secret: Coin Booth Karaoke. Not only does it make the whole mall a worthwhile visit, but is arguably the best thing you can do in Auckland with nothing but a $2 coin and a song in your heart. Right by the KFC, with its blazing neon sign and impossible-to-miss hot pink exterior, the space is rammed with private karaoke booths, all with their own charming illuminated “ON AIR” sign. You pay a handful of pennies to the nice person at the front desk, get assigned a booth and then all the world becomes your stage. 

When you travel through Coin Booth Karaoke, you are immediately surrounded by muffled versions of what is, truly, the absolute worst singing you’ve ever heard. Sometimes you can make out lyrics. A man belting “I’M A PAAAaaAAAaaYPHONE, TRYING TO CAAaaaAALLLLL HOME” at a volume that suggests he is actually trying to reach Adam Levine in his Montecito residence. A gaggle of high school gals giggling their way through ‘Anaconda’. What sounds like the same guy, again somehow, singing ‘Let It Go’. 

At Coin Booth Karaoke, everyone can hear you scream. But everyone’s screaming, so it’s OK. 

I know I just broke this rule but, generally, Coin Booth Karaoke patrons respect each other’s privacy. You might pass someone as they are leaving and exchange a small bashful nod, the kind usually reserved for when you catch eyes with someone in the mirror at the hairdressers when they have their hair slicked back, or enter the tragic air space of someone eating a muffin alone. It’s a look not of pity, but of a shared understanding. I understand you are doing this for yourself, not for me. You’re at a payphone, trying to call home, all of my change I spent on you. 

Inside your booth, which really only fits two people comfortably but can be rammed like a clown car if you are a teenager pooling funds, I’d suggest going straight to the digital library. There are classic laminated songbooks, sure, but last time I visited I was told that the song library is updated every day, rendering the books about as useful to you as a copy of The World According to Clarkson is to a charity shop. Instead, search with your heart open. You can afford to take a risk. It’s only you, your karaoke partner, and probably me listening outside. 

We’ve written about how to avoid karaoke mistakes before, but in Coin Booth Karaoke you can tear up the rulebook. You don’t have to know the whole song. You could, hypothetically, get three minutes into ‘Beauty and a Beat’, ready for Nicki’s grand entrance, and realise the only bit you actually know is “buns out, wie-ner”. You aren’t ruining it for a room of people, just your trusted partner who has seen you do much, much, much worse. You could choose ‘Blank Space’ and immediately crack the biggest high you’ve ever cracked. It’s fine. You’re safe here. 

What also makes Coin Booth Karaoke truly sing (ha ha ha) is the automated party lights that pop off time in perfect timing with your chosen song. During a recent sojourn which included marathon belter ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’, the coloured party lights dropped away to stark white fluorescence right in time with the “BABY BABY BAAAAABBBYYYY” and it was the single funniest and most vulnerable moment of my life to date. At 7.39 minutes long, it was also just enough time to forget that I was filming with my front camera on, so enjoy this.

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    You can see why, since it exploded across South Korea in 2018, coin-operated karaoke continues to be outrageously popular. Coin Booth Karaoke has another franchise in Chancery in the CBD, the preferred location of a cool 12-year-old who agreed to be interviewed about her obsession. “I like it because you can sing with a mic in front of a big screen,” she says. “You can sing however you want as well because it’s kind of private. And if you go with a group you can split [the cost].” Her songs of choice? ‘After School’ by Weeekly, ‘On the Ground’ by Rosé and ‘My First and Last’ by NCT Dream.

    The booths are thoroughly sanitised between every use, a reminder of what we’ve all been through to get to this dream-state of living where we can stop and sing ‘Welcome to the Black Parade’ on the way to buying a pair of tights at Farmers. Compared to the hectic and expensive carnival-themed bar in the same building, Coin Booth Karaoke has none of the same feeling of “forced fun”. It’s hilarious, it’s harmless, it’s joyful and every visit has lifted my mood more dramatically than any kind of new-fangled “fitness” or “therapy”. 

    Plus, for just 1/14th of the average brunch price, or 1/570,000th of the average house price, you’re not going to find anything, anywhere, any time, for much better value in Auckland. 

    Keep going!
    liquor bottles
    Source: Pixabay

    SocietyJuly 9, 2021

    Liquor licences approved for Auckland bottle stores that had broken labour laws

    Guest writer
    liquor bottles
    Source: Pixabay

    Auckland Council’s inspectors are being asked to take worker exploitation more seriously after liquor licences were approved for bottle store owners who had been found to be breaching employment laws.

    “It’s modern slavery – straight out.“

    Communities Against Alcohol Harm’s Grant Hewison isn’t mincing his words, following news of another South Auckland liquor store being caught out for employment law breaches.

    Clevedon Road Liquor store owner Satnam Singh Jador has been fined $20,000 and ordered to repay $97,361.66 to four employees for a range of breaches, including not paying the minimum wage for all the hours staff were working. The Labour Inspectorate noted this case had all the hallmarks of exploitation, due to the workers needing the job to retain their visa status.

    The Employment Relations Authority ruling is the second in South Auckland this year. Super Liquor Papatoetoe was ordered to pay close to $50,000 for exploiting a migrant worker in February, while over the last 18 months, Thirsty Liquor East Tamaki was fined $1000 and Thirsty Liquor Wickman Way in Māngere was fined $2000, both for failing to comply with employment laws.

    Communities Against Alcohol Harm regularly opposes liquor licence applications across South Auckland and Hewison says a number of liquor store applications, including for the Papatoetoe and Wickman Way stores, have been approved despite the stores breaching employment law.

    He says Auckland Council’s licensing inspectors need to treat worker exploitation more seriously by checking if bottle store owners have been complying with employment law.

    “In the case of the stores in Papatoetoe and Māngere, the licensing inspectors did not report any issues about the employment law breaches, although Labour Inspectorate investigations were underway,” he says.

    “If someone is working exorbitant hours, not being paid fairly and being exploited, then that’s modern day slavery in my book.

    “And given there’s been so much published on how rampant employment law concerns are with bottle stores – you would have thought there would be questions asked of liquor licence applicants about whether there were any negative reports about them from the Labour Inspectorate.”

    Members of Communities Against Alcohol Harm protesting outside a liquor store in Ōtara. (Photo: Justin Latif)

    Auckland councillor Fa’anana Efeso Collins, who represents the Manukau ward, agrees that employment law breaches should be factored into licensing decisions.   

    “If people working for liquor store owners are feeling unsafe, then someone has to step in on their behalf, especially if these owners are being exploitative,” he says. “This is definitely something we have to look at. 

    “The Sale of Liquor Act is supposed to allow the community to have more say, so fuller information should be available, to give the community a much clearer picture of the type of retailer that they are.”

    Auckland University associate professor Christina Stringer, an expert in modern day slavery, says the issue is widespread in New Zealand. She knows of numerous cases where employees have been required to work “very long, excessive hours” without breaks, often by themselves, while being monitored by cameras.

    As was the case at the Clevedon Liquor store, employers are often keeping two sets of records, with one set designed to look like they are operating legally, while a second set shows employees’ actual working hours, Stringer says.

    In some instances employers are requiring their staff to pay part of their wages back, with threats of having their visas revoked used as a means of control. 

    She says Auckland Council needs to work more closely with the Labour Inspectorate teams inside the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to curb these practices.

    “Many migrants are sold the dream that working in a liquor store is the pathway to residency,” she says. “The Labour Inspectorate is the key agency. But central government can’t do this alone. Everyone has a part to play.”

    From left; Grant Hewison, Fa’anana Efeso Collins and Associate Professor Christina Stringer. (Photo: Justin Latif)

    In a written response Auckland Council’s principal specialist alcohol licensing manager, Rob Abbott, said council cannot “cancel alcohol licences” of stores found to be exploiting workers, as such decisions are the responsibility of the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.

    “However, council alcohol licensing inspectors can apply to the authority to cancel an alcohol licence where there is evidence a licensee is breaching employment laws that warrants cancellation.

    “We also have the ability to consider an applicant’s history as an employer and take this into account when deciding whether to support or oppose the granting, or renewal, of a licence application.”

    MBIE says it only shares its labour inspection findings with local authorities’ licensing inspectors “if asked”, but it says recently instituted measures, such as creating a visa for migrants to switch to when they leave exploitative situations, and a dedicated helpline to report bad employers, should make it easier to combat these practices.

    “These offences are a case of blatant disregard for minimum employment standards,” says Loua Ward, of Auckland’s Labour Inspectorate.

    “We continue to see workers in the liquor industry who are not receiving a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. [But] cases of worker exploitation in New Zealand will not be tolerated.”

    Society