Hurunui Council confident in systems should outbreak occur
From local democracy reporter Adam Burns:
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The Hurunui District Council has introduced a vaccine mandate for its facilities, despite it not recording vaccination details for its 187 employees and volunteers.
However, the council said its employees would be required to show their My Vaccine Pass, alongside members of the public, to access council facilities.
The council was previously not enforcing vaccine requirements at its facilities, nor for its 187 employees, contractors and volunteers, but it had been in talks with employees over an internal vaccination policy since last month.
The country's shift into the red setting of the Covid-19 Traffic Light System framework forced the hand of council bosses last week.
“It’s about everyone’s protection, we need to keep our staff healthy so they can help keep the community healthy," chief executive Hamish Dobbie said.
Dobbie said council had responded to ensure essential services could continue to be delivered "should widespread community transmission become an issue".
“Our teams will see changes within their own operations, but as far as the people of Hurunui are concerned, things will carry on as normal.”
When asked if any employees and contractors had been affected by the restrictions, Dobbie said most employees were required to spend more time working remotely.
"In addition to the requirement for vaccine passports, essential service teams have implemented their planned split into non-contact bubbles, the main office has been reconfigured to decrease occupation and maximise distancing.
"We continue to monitor the information provided about community transmission to ascertain whether there are other steps that we can take to further minimise the impact of Omicron on our staff and the services we deliver."
It was revealed last week the Christchurch City Council had let go of 13 staff due to their vaccination status.
Poll: Should we ditch daylight saving? 🕰️
First introduced in New Zealand in 1927 with the passing of the Summer Time Act, it's what we know as 'Daylight Saving' and this year it ends on the first Sunday in April.
While we do get to sleep in this time around, some people would like to scrap the clock tinkering for good.
And why? Some evidence suggests the time changes are bad for our health as they mess with sleep patterns leading to short-term fatigue and affecting mood. Meanwhile the hour change is frustrating for farmers and a nightmare for getting the littlies to sleep. But what's your take?
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41% Yes - get rid of the clock changes
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57.2% No, I enjoy it
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1.8% Other - I'll share below
Poll: 🪰 Should the city invest money into researching the new Bypass Plan, or should we prioritise fixing the existing infrastructure?
As reported in the Press, the debate over the Bromley odour continues. Recently, a Bypass Plan has been proposed as a potential solution - this involves pumping sewage into the sea. However, official technical, scientific, and environmental reports on this plan and how it may impact the Canterbury region aren't finished yet.
Before we get the final word from the consultants, we want to know what the community thinks about the allocation of rates and resources.
We want to know: Should the city invest money into researching the new Bypass Plan, or should we prioritise fixing and upgrading the existing infrastructure?
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7.8% Research the Bypass
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84.4% Fix Existing Infrastructure
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7.8% Undecided/Need more info
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