Buller council interest intense
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Interest in the future of Westport and the Buller District is intense, with the West Coast Regional Council leading the country for candidates contesting any one seat in the October local body elections.
As nominations drew to a close it looked as though no-one would put their name forward for two seats in Buller.
However, a flood of last minute nominations saw 11 put up a hand and data released by Policy.nz, using their candidate comparison tool, shows the Buller seat has attracted the highest candidate interest for any single council ward in the country.
In Buller, the current sitting councillors Laura Coll-McLaughlin and John Hill are both stepping down after just three years.
Coll-McLaughlin, the youngest West Coast Regional councillor and one of just two women on the council, cited professional and family commitments but has not ruled out standing again in future.
Hill cited age and the need for younger members as a reason to step aside.
Both have previously mentioned the workload, which is expected to intensify in the next three years.
A raft of legislative reform affecting local government is ongoing, with more expected on top of significant infrastructure projects.
The regional council is also charged with ushering through the Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP), a combined one district plan to replace the existing Buller, Grey and Westland district plans.
Both existing councillors sit on the TTPP Committee and the plan is now at the submissions stage.
The Buller reps also had to shoulder more work following the Westport floods.
The council oversaw the joint business proposal for a co-funded protection scheme of more than $50m and it awaits a Government decision.
If approved it would take several years to implement.
Regional council chairman Allan Birchfield attributed the good number of candidates to concerns about the future of Westport, and the outcome of the proposed Kawatiri Business Case for future flood resilience in particular.
Whoever won the seat would have their work cut out to ensure a fair deal.
"The stopbanks -- that would be the reason," Birchfield said.
"In their term the flood protection work will either go ahead or not."
According to Policy.nz the other most contested seats nationally are the Banks Peninsula ward for the Christchurch City Council (seven for one seat), Christchurch's Riccarton Ward (seven for one seat), and Wellington's Paekawakawa/Southern general ward with 10 candidates for two seats (five candidates per seat).
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!