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From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Kumara will host new Westland mayor Helen Lash tonight, at the first of what is intended to be a round of community meetings across the far-flung district as the new council beds in.
The mayor, with councillor Riley Burden and possibly … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Kumara will host new Westland mayor Helen Lash tonight, at the first of what is intended to be a round of community meetings across the far-flung district as the new council beds in.
The mayor, with councillor Riley Burden and possibly councillor Jane Neale, will speak at the Kumara Memorial Hall, during a general meeting of the Kumara Residents' Trust at 7.30pm.
By-election candidates for the Northern Ward may also attend.
Lash said they would be seeking some "big picture" expectations including a sense of each community's aspirations and "the top five needs now".
"We need to know because they all factor into our future planning. Importantly, it could ensure a wide focus across the whole district and not solely Hokitika.
"I'm fully aware that each community in Westland is different," she said.
"I would like to see everybody working together... We don't want rift in communities, we want communities working together, otherwise it's a waste of energy."
It would be an opportunity for those who might feel disenfranchised to have a voice.
Lash said she aimed to get around the whole district in her first six months to get a handle on individual communities and to galvanise a programme of action for the new council.
Ensuring transparency and accountability was something she had particularly campaigned for.
It "might'' include looking at township development funding.
"There has to be an expectation that the funding that comes from council for those communities is (spent on) what it is meant to do.
"These are things that have to be addressed but we have to look at them and say, what does the community want?
"As well as putting funding into communities, we need to ensure these matters are tidied up and make sure that they work. These are things that I need to be bought up to notice with. There is quite a bit of this stuff out there that in my mind needs addressing."
Lash acknowledged the council in the past may have enabled certain representative groups to operate with a particular focus and the aim of the meetings was not just to talk to them, but to gauge the wider community, she said.
"It's been allowed down the years. We need to look back at what those committees were originally created for and to do. That's what I'm saying -- what are the needs?"
She would like to see agreements formalised between community associations and the council, "to work with them in the future in a positive direction".
"That involves transparency and communication and better involvement."
Lash said it would particularly benefit the councillors of each ward to be keyed in with their particular constituency.
"I am going to be going around with the respective councillors. I want to touch base with them all, I want to talk to them all about their expectations of council, as in the council business and services provided to the community."
* Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The West Coast Regional Council has spent over $370,000 on "specialised improvements" to a 1080 factory building it owns in Rolleston, on the edge of Christchurch.
The council kept secret its $1.9 million investment in the Pest Control … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The West Coast Regional Council has spent over $370,000 on "specialised improvements" to a 1080 factory building it owns in Rolleston, on the edge of Christchurch.
The council kept secret its $1.9 million investment in the Pest Control Research (PCR) Ltd factory, manufacturing 1080 poison baits, until it was exposed by the Greymouth Star in 2015. The investment sparked widespread controversy on the West Coast.
At the end of 2020 the council quit its shareholding in PCR, but retained ownership of the factory site, which it still leases to PCR.
A new valuation report for the council shows it advanced $374,783 for specialised improvements requested by PCR at the start of the current five-year lease in 2019. The lease ends in January 2025.
Towards the end of the last council triennium councillor Peter Ewen questioned if the council had actually seen any evidence of the improvements at the site, after the council put up the money.
That prompted chief executive Heather Mabin to commission an assessment from Colliers.
Ewen said on Wednesday he was reading the resulting report with interest.
The Colliers assessment is to be presented to the council’s Risk and Assurance Committee meeting on Friday.
PCR is located in the Izone Southern Business Hub, which also houses Westland Milk Products.
The council bought the bare section over a decade ago before starting development in 2014.
News broke in 2015 that the Selwyn District Council had granted resource consent for the site to be used to manufacture 1080 baits, sparking concern in Rolleston and controversy over the regional council's involvement.
The new valuation report details an office and warehouse building with an outdoor loading and parking area, costing $2.13m.
"Specialised improvements were completed to the building in 2019 at a cost of $374,783 which was funded by the landlord," the executive summary says.
PCR currently pays $110,610 a year, with a small increase recommended based on comparative current rentals in the area.
The regional council put $1.9 million into the venture in 2013, paying $1.3 million for the property and building, and $490,000 for a 49% shareholding.
The council kept the investment quiet for about a year, and when it was uncovered by the Greymouth Star it sparked a petition and angry protests by anti-1080 demonstrators.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
On Monday, 21 November, the Supreme Court ruled that preventing 16 and 17-year-olds from voting is 'unjustified age discrimination'.
The current age of voting is 18 in New Zealand and lobby group Make It 16 have been running a youth-led campaign advocating for the vote to be extended … View moreOn Monday, 21 November, the Supreme Court ruled that preventing 16 and 17-year-olds from voting is 'unjustified age discrimination'.
The current age of voting is 18 in New Zealand and lobby group Make It 16 have been running a youth-led campaign advocating for the vote to be extended to our 16 and 17-year-olds.
“This is history,” said Make It 16 co-director Caeden Tipler. “Today New Zealand’s highest court has confirmed that stopping young people from voting is a breach of our human rights...The government and Parliament cannot ignore such a clear legal and moral message. They must let us vote.”
Share your thoughts below - these may be published in the We Say You Say column of the local papers.
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Foundation work on the geologically complex site of the new $26m Experience Centre at Dolomite Point, Punakaiki, as seen on Tuesday, is almost at the stage where work can begin above ground.
Dolomite Point is a limestone karst headland on the … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Foundation work on the geologically complex site of the new $26m Experience Centre at Dolomite Point, Punakaiki, as seen on Tuesday, is almost at the stage where work can begin above ground.
Dolomite Point is a limestone karst headland on the West Coast, and home to pancake-shaped rock formations, blowholes and surge pools.
The anchor shaped building, started in May, will eventually house the Paparoa National Park Visitor Centre and other facilities for the Department of Conservation.
After months of ground and foundation work - including pile driving down to 16m - scaffolding up to 8m has been erected to encase the building's frame in plastic 'wrap'.
This will protect it from the extreme coastal elements as work notches up on the timber building.
The scaffold highest point is slightly above the height of the new building, with a metal frame for a lift to a mezzanine floor already installed at one end.
Dolomite Point is one of the most visited DOC sites in the region, growing from 213,000 in 2008 on the Pancake Rocks walkway, to 511,000 in 2018, placing significant pressure on dated infrastructure at the site.
A key aspect of the redevelopment, including wider redevelopment of visitor facilities such as parking, is the re-establishment of a cultural footprint in the area for Ngāti Waewae. The runanga will be gifted the new experience centre to own and operate.
It has been funded through the provincial growth fund.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
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Our national women’s rugby team took out the Rugby World Cup on Saturday in a tense finale at Eden Park. The Black Ferns won the match by just three points taking home their sixth world title.
With public celebrations taking place following the All Blacks (men's) Rugby World Cup wins … View moreOur national women’s rugby team took out the Rugby World Cup on Saturday in a tense finale at Eden Park. The Black Ferns won the match by just three points taking home their sixth world title.
With public celebrations taking place following the All Blacks (men's) Rugby World Cup wins (2011 & 2015) as well as parades for the America's cup team, do you think similar celebration plans are needed for our winning Black Ferns women?
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From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP) has drawn about 500 submissions.
Submissions opened on July 21 and formally closed on Friday after two extensions. Now the work begins.
The draft which will combine the West Coast's three district plans … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP) has drawn about 500 submissions.
Submissions opened on July 21 and formally closed on Friday after two extensions. Now the work begins.
The draft which will combine the West Coast's three district plans into one is acknowledged as a 'test case' for the Government's RMA reform.
Grey District Council district planner Michael McEnaney, who led the submission for the largest Coast council, said it had taken months for Grey alone, but the bigger process was only really beginning now submissions were in.
The draft had its "pros and cons" but a much bigger process to work through the submissions had to begin, McEnaney said.
"The hard part is starting, where everyone in the world gets to pull it apart and have their say."
They awaited with interest to see what "big players" like the Department of Conservation and Forest and Bird had to say.
"I think most people involved in the process are waiting with bated breath. The submissions now are going to shape where the plan is going to head. There's so much water under the bridge yet."
TTPP project manager Jo Armstrong said staff at the West Coast Regional Council had a big day yesterday counting and logging submissions into a format for summary.
The 500 or so submissions reflected a good level of interest given the region's comparatively low population, she said.
"While we got lots of submissions, it doesn't mean it's a bad plan."
All submissions would be summarised into topic areas, and presented to the TTPP Committee to consider, by about January.
"It's a huge amount to process and then summarise."
A 'resubmissions' period would then be called for those who had already made formal submissions. This would give registered submitters the opportunity to "see the lie of the land" reflected in the submissions to the plan.
It was likely the TTPP Committee would convene pre-hearing meetings to bring together common topics from the submissions.
A formal hearing panel was expected to be convened in the second half of 2023.
Armstrong said she expected it would be over a year before the committee received any recommendations from the hearing panel.
McEnaney said the bulk of his time since July had been spent writing the submission for Grey.
"It's 800 and something pages and I must have read it cover to cover three times in the last three months."
It had also involved significant time coordinating in-house and other local experts to address particular areas in the plan, as well as work-shopping elected members in a democratic approach to a whole plan submission from Grey.
McEnaney said he could not give a page number, as it was across a spreadsheet, but the Grey District contribution was "massive".
There had been issues as parts of the TTPP had also evolved since submissions opened -- with the later chapter on sites and areas of significance to Māori throwing implications for earlier chapters such as rural and subdivision.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The West Coast Regional Council has agreed to a consent change to Taylorville Resource Park Ltd to allow coal tar and pitch to be disposed of at the existing landfill site.
The change allows construction of an additional lined asbestos cell.
… View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The West Coast Regional Council has agreed to a consent change to Taylorville Resource Park Ltd to allow coal tar and pitch to be disposed of at the existing landfill site.
The change allows construction of an additional lined asbestos cell.
Consents and compliance manager Colin Helem told the council's resource management committee meeting the coal tar and pitch was in common use for road making until the 1970s, "and does have the potential for leachate".
The cell to be constructed would provide containment of the material from leaching into ground water.
Councillor Peter Ewen asked if that meant bitumen could be dumped in a clean fill site, which Helem confirmed.
Councillor Peter Haddock clarified if the new dump was above the existing Greymouth water supply treatment site at Coal Creek, which Helem affirmed.
Meanwhile, the problem with river and stream beds on the West Coast continually building up with gravel and not being managed was also a discussion point.
Westreef Services had been granted a non-notified resource consent to disturb the dry bed of the Punakaiki River to remove gravel.
Councillor Brett Cummings wondered why this was allowed when water courses on the Barrytown Flats, for example, was far more urgent for gravel management, with "culverts overflowing".
"Why are we allowing gravel take from the Punakaiki River?"
Helem said council simply processed the requests before it.
"We don't have control over getting applicants going to rivers we want them to get gravel out of."
Cummings said believed those seeking gravel would "find their own way" to viable gravel sources if they received some direction.
Photo: The historic Broadcasting House in Greymouth is currently being demolished. With other major demolitions pending in the area and the need for safe disposal of demolition materials including asbestos, along with old coal tar bitumen, several sites including the one at Taylorville are being opened up. The 1930s Public Works era Broadcasting House was built after the 1929 Murchison Earthquake and has proved a substantial demolition challenge in the past 10 days.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Worry has been expressed at the West Coast Regional Council table about more pressure coming on to ratepayers due to the lack of income.
The matter was raised by councillor Peter Haddock, who referred to comments made by chief executive Heather … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Worry has been expressed at the West Coast Regional Council table about more pressure coming on to ratepayers due to the lack of income.
The matter was raised by councillor Peter Haddock, who referred to comments made by chief executive Heather Mabin at their inaugural meeting last month, where she informed councillors that the resource management committee had no assets to generate an income stream from.
Haddock said the council had its Vector Control Services business unit, which apparently earned up to $500,000 a year, based on previous reports and projections.
There were also the council quarries which had previously generated revenue from commercial sales.
Having that income in the next few years would be crucial given the council's commitments and "the impact on our ratepayers if not", he said.
"My concern is if we're losing the income streams, our ratepayers will have to foot the bill."
Mabin said she had been referring to infrastructure.
While VCS and the quarries did generate income, how those ventures were structured and contributed income to the council was under review.
VCS would be brought to the next meeting of the council's Risk and Assurance Committee.
"There has been a request by council to revisit how we allocate overheads because it was evident that this particular unit was not allocated overheads as for the rest of the council," Mabin said.
The findings of that review would be "very enlightening" in terms of future viability.
The quarry operations review was started earlier in the year.
"I was incorrect in that I didn't reference the quarries," Mabin said of her earlier comments.
Councillor Frank Dooley requested a background paper on the quarry income by the next meeting.
Not having made a decision on the sale of rock was one thing, but the use of council quarried rock for public infrastructure projects needed to have the value of that rock built into the capital expenditure tally for those projects, Dooley said.
Mabin said the rock for projects was capitalised but it was “just how it was accounted for” that was being worked through.
Three areas needed to be addressed in any future report, he said: income streams, the allocation of overheads, and the internal movement of quarry rock.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A nearly $300,000 resilience project to ensure the West Coast is strategically connected in the event of a full-scale civil defence emergency is ramping up.
West Coast Emergency Management group manager Claire Brown told the West Coast Emergency … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
A nearly $300,000 resilience project to ensure the West Coast is strategically connected in the event of a full-scale civil defence emergency is ramping up.
West Coast Emergency Management group manager Claire Brown told the West Coast Emergency Management Joint Committee this week substantial work has progressed around the fuel aspect of the wider resilience project, which also aims to set up an alternative communication project.
The project was funded by NEMA earlier in the year.
Brown said they were at the stage of developing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with up to 30 of the region's fuel stations to ensure their strategic role in any future event.
This included ensuring petrol stations had access to a back up power supply "and an understanding of Civil Defence and its role".
This was to enable the utilisation of critical fuel supplies in an emergency.
Brown said the intended memorandum was a "unique" cross-sector arrangement, the first of its kind in the country.
It would include ensuring fuel stations had the appropriate wiring in place in order to hook up to portable generators for power supply, or had accessed provision through the resilience fund for a generator.
"I think we have identified this as a key issue for us accessing fuel."
However, that was only one element of the broader project, which has a two year rollout, Brown said.
More broadly, a South Island group had been initiated to collaborate in the design of a high frequency radio network.
Meanwhile, the West Coast councils' chief executives group had endorsed progression of two funding proposal topics for next year's NEMA funding round.
These were a 'kit me' household preparedness web based resource, as part of a national rollout, and alternate emergency operations centre/emergency control centre emergency equipment cache - with early discussion with the region's runanga regarding the location of emergency equipment at marae.
This was due to be submitted by early next year.
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From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The draft Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP) has drawn over 300 public submissions so far.
Submissions close at 5pm on Friday.
The draft plan -- which combines the Grey, Westland and Buller district plans - was publicly notified in July.
… View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The draft Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP) has drawn over 300 public submissions so far.
Submissions close at 5pm on Friday.
The draft plan -- which combines the Grey, Westland and Buller district plans - was publicly notified in July.
Hearings are expected to be under way by mid-2023.
Plan committee chairperson Rex Williams said the level of submissions was as expected and indicated "a good level of interest".
Planning staff had also fielded a lot of calls from the public. The impact of the plan on individual properties was one thing people had clarified in discussions with staff.
"Submissions range across everything really," Williams said.
Half appeared to be around property zoning and the remainder reflected questions on other zoning aspects of the draft.
For some, the TTPP had been an introduction to the planning process.
He said there had been "one or two mistakes" in the mapping and there was opportunity through the plan committee's own submission to flag anything that needed clarifying.
"Obviously we're leaning over backwards to resolve anything like that."
Williams said some late submissions would be accepted "in exceptional circumstances".
While the deadline for submissions is tomorrow - after already being extended twice - late submissions could be accepted for up to a week later "however they have to be late for a reason".
Exceptional circumstances would include delays because people had been out of the country, had not received the mailout notification, or involved timing issues for community organisations wishing to make a collective submission, he said.
Drafting of the new plan began in 2019 after the Local Government Commission directed the West Coast Regional Council to oversee the process of combining the three plans.
The TTPP Committee was formed as a result of that and is made up of representatives of the four councils and West Coast iwi.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
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