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Moving into a serviced apartment at Ryman means there’s less time spent cooking and cleaning, and more time for family and friends.
Feel safe and secure at a Ryman village, where beautiful gardens provide the backdrop for a host of on-site amenities.
We're looking for delicious rhubarb recipes to feature in NZ Gardener. Send your family's favourite ways to enjoy this crop to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz by August 31, 2024. Every published recipe wins a copy of the November issue of NZ Gardener.
Get 20% off Resene’s huge range of 10L paints, wood stains, primers and sealers.
Plus buy 1 60-80 mL testpot get 1 free on testpots. Visit your local Resene ColorShop or reseller and get started on your decorating project.
Choose from the widest range of Eco Choice approved paints all made … View moreGet 20% off Resene’s huge range of 10L paints, wood stains, primers and sealers.
Plus buy 1 60-80 mL testpot get 1 free on testpots. Visit your local Resene ColorShop or reseller and get started on your decorating project.
Choose from the widest range of Eco Choice approved paints all made right here in New Zealand.
We are still feeling the pinch and the weekly shop is no different. So we are after your cost-saving tips please, neighbours!
What’s the best way you've found to cut down on your grocery bill? Share below (and hear tips from others!)
To prevent further youth crime, the government has proposed stays at military-style camps for up to 12 months for young offenders. Do you think the camps will be successful in rehabilitating youth who commit crimes?
Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
Enjoy water-loving plants in any part of your garden with this easy-to-build water planter finished in Resene Waterborne Woodsman Pickled Bluewood. Find out how to create your own with these easy step by step instructions.
When we are stuck inside, it can be a time to get creative. And we think Neighbourly members are quite a creative bunch. So, let's fill the Neighbourly newsfeed with crafty creations from across the country.
Share a photo below of your craft projects, recent DIY, or your hobby. You may … View moreWhen we are stuck inside, it can be a time to get creative. And we think Neighbourly members are quite a creative bunch. So, let's fill the Neighbourly newsfeed with crafty creations from across the country.
Share a photo below of your craft projects, recent DIY, or your hobby. You may just inspire someone else!
Win one of three $5,000 grants to support your community’s love of dance!
Whether it’s pre-schoolers or seniors, Scottish dancing or salsa, kapa haka or Kathak, breakdance or ballet – if you’re encouraging people of all ages and abilities to keep moving through dance, we want to hear … View moreWin one of three $5,000 grants to support your community’s love of dance!
Whether it’s pre-schoolers or seniors, Scottish dancing or salsa, kapa haka or Kathak, breakdance or ballet – if you’re encouraging people of all ages and abilities to keep moving through dance, we want to hear from you!
Know someone who could use our support? Click read more to apply!
By local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
Westland mayor Helen Lash says her council is thrilled that funding has at last been released to protect valuable farms and homes on the south bank of the wild Waiho River at Franz Josef.
But she warns there won’t be a cent to spare for red tape or… View moreBy local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
Westland mayor Helen Lash says her council is thrilled that funding has at last been released to protect valuable farms and homes on the south bank of the wild Waiho River at Franz Josef.
But she warns there won’t be a cent to spare for red tape or paperwork.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced a grant of $6 million this week for the West Coast Regional Council to strengthen and extend the Waiho stop banks, leaving local ratepayers to find the remaining $4m for the job.
Lash said the grant would be welcomed by landowners waiting to see if the Government would come to their aid, while large chunks of the land disappeared with every flood.
“But it’s $2m shy of what the council thought it would get so they’re going to have to make every cent work to get the right result, and not waste any on more reports and consultants’ fees.”
The last Labour government spent $12.5m shoring up stop banks on the north bank of the Waiho to protect the tourist township but withheld another $8m originally promised for the south bank with its farms and lifestyle blocks.
It wanted to see a long- term plan, including retreat, for the community labelled “Disaster Central” by geologists, before spending more money,
The stony bed of the short river has risen 8m since the 1950s and now sits well above the level of the town.
That process is speeding up as the glacier retreats, releasing rocks and gravel to the flats below.
And to cap it off, Franz Josef is perched right on the Alpine Fault, which is due for its 300-yearly major rupture.
When the Waiho River Management Strategy came out last October, saying the south bank would eventually have to be abandoned to the river, property values there plummeted, destroying equity overnight.
Lash said the landowners had been "horribly mucked around" by the decision makers, and the uncertainty.
“You can’t do that to people’s lives. Every flood they go into stress mode. When you have no skin in the game you don’t get the gravity of it.”
River management is the Regional Council’s job, the mayor says, but the Westland District Council wants to be heavily involved in the stop bank project this time, to make sure ratepayers got the fullest possible benefit from the $6m.
“We want to be sure the community gets the best protection and maximum gain out of it and I’m sure that’s what the government wants to see as well.”
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones - in Greymouth this week for a meeting with civic leaders - said Lash was right about that.
“I have insisted that MBIE maximise the amount of dough that’s spent on practical delivery. We don’t need reams of reports from consultants - we need picks and shovels swinging to and fro, and delivery.”
The Franz Josef project, and others in Nelson approved for funding this week under the Government’s 'Before the Deluge' banner, were all bulldozer-ready, the minister said.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the pipeline from (contracting) firms saying they can’t keep their workforce on unless the money keeps flowing.
“The added virtue of these West Coast projects is that the damn things are consented so the mahi can take place as soon as possible.”
Long term, the fate of Franz Josef, the Waiho Flats and those who live and farm there would require decisions well above his paygrade, Shane Jones said.
“You are wrestling with Mother Nature there, and all hell could break loose with that river."
But it’s not a fight that should be conceded – at least, not yet, he said.
“The name of our party is New Zealand First, not Climate First. For as long as I’m around, we are going to spend money and work with communities to adapt - so we can generate the necessary solutions over a longer period of time."
A cynic would say that was only putting off the inevitable, he said.
“But I feel grossly uncomfortable chasing anyone out of where they are. I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the people on farms, being told they should leave.
“Who’s going to pay them to leave? Not Mother Nature."
16 & 17 August, 10am - 2pm
Our villages are open and you’re invited to explore them. Discover our living and care options, tour our show homes, and see the amenities on offer.
Come along and experience why New Zealanders have voted us most trusted brand, for the tenth time.
We look … View more16 & 17 August, 10am - 2pm
Our villages are open and you’re invited to explore them. Discover our living and care options, tour our show homes, and see the amenities on offer.
Come along and experience why New Zealanders have voted us most trusted brand, for the tenth time.
We look forward to seeing you.
Click read more to find a list of all our villages and dates for our open days.
Come along and enjoy a night of dancing or learn to dance a waltz, fox trot, rumba, tango, jive and lots more with the Greymouth Old Time & Sequence Dance, Holy Trinity Hall, 7.30 pm to 10 pm, 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month.
It might not be making quite so many headlines these days, but unfortunately, Covid is still here. If you’re 65 or over, taking care of yourself is just as important as ever.
The good news is, the Covid vaccine can help protect you from serious illness. It’s free, and recommended for you and… View moreIt might not be making quite so many headlines these days, but unfortunately, Covid is still here. If you’re 65 or over, taking care of yourself is just as important as ever.
The good news is, the Covid vaccine can help protect you from serious illness. It’s free, and recommended for you and many others as long as you haven’t had the vaccine, or Covid, in the last 6 months.
To book your vaccination, go to BookMyVaccine.nz or talk to your healthcare provider.
For only $15 a ticket, you could win this brand-new, fully furnished Jennian home located in the picturesque Cooks Beach, Coromandel.
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By local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
West Coast councils have done the right thing by pressing pause on environmental hearings for their new district plan, Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard says.
And a longer pause would be even better, he says.
Hearings were set to begin… View moreBy local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
West Coast councils have done the right thing by pressing pause on environmental hearings for their new district plan, Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard says.
And a longer pause would be even better, he says.
Hearings were set to begin later this month on the chapter of the proposed Te Tai o Poutini plan (TTPP) for the whole Coast, which deals with Significant Natural Areas.
But the TTPP committee of council and iwi representatives has told the hearings' commissioners they want to postpone the process until November.
By that time, they say, they should have a clearer idea of what changes the government is making to biodiversity rules.
Hoggard said it definitely makes sense to pause the process because change is under way.
“I would think by November the councils will have a much better idea as to the direction the government will be taking, so any work they do won’t be in vain."
By November the Freshwater and Other Matters Bill, which pauses the mapping of new Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) for three years, will have passed through Parliament and be enacted in law, Hoggard said.
And the councils will have been involved in consultation with the government about the nature of planned changes to the National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity.
The policy statement directs councils to map and protect Significant Natural Areas and has been hugely controversial on the West Coast where there are still many stands of native forest on private land.
Hoggard said consultation is getting under way.
"I would hope, come decision-time, the councils will have a clear idea of the government’s intentions.
“Ideally it would be good if they could hold off till the middle of next year, once all the changes are complete."
Buller mayor Jamie Cleine says that prospect is alarming.
“It would have cascading effects and costs for the ratepayers. We’d be working under two plans for a prolonged period – the proposed one and the old operative one.
“So when anyone applies for resource consent you have two lots of evidence, more expense, and lots of uncertainty.”
Hoggard said he planned to work with the West Coast councils to reach a pragmatic solution that would not waste ratepayers’ money.
Asked if the government would phase out the SNA classification entirely, Mr Hoggard said they wanted to redefine the criteria.
“We’ll review the entire NPSIB, what is ‘significant’; how SNAs are determined and some rules on how councils go about that ... it won’t what it looks like now.
“Rather than imposing a whole bunch of rules on landowners that take away property rights, how about we come up some carrot approaches rather than the stick, and … reward them for looking after that biodiversity.”
When Grey District identified its SNAs 15 years ago, many areas that qualified were put under QE11 Trust covenants by the owners, the Minister said.
“That shows to me farmers are happy to look after indigenous biodiversity on their land, and on the West Coast there is so much in the DOC estate, are two or three hectares on someone’s private land that significant?"
Deferring work on the plan till mid-2025 would buy time for councils to write rules in line with the government’s new direction, Hoggard said.
“Coast councils should ensure they come up with a plan that reflects how things will be, and is practical and sensible for farmers, ratepayers and landowners," the minister said.
Buller’s mayor is worried that further delays could also cost Buller $13 million, which was approved by the last government for roading and water services in Westport’s new growth area, up on Alma Rd.
“That’s contingent on rezoning (in the new plan) and the Government wants action on that by the end of the year or we lose the funding. So pausing the plan is a $13m problem for Buller," Cleine said.
Simply leaving out the Environmental Values chapter of the plan and forging on with the rest was not a practical solution either.
“The environmental rules are threaded through the whole plan - they apply in so many other sections, it makes no sense just to leave out that chapter."
In any case, the proposed plan gave Westland and Buller three years to start work on SNAs, so adopting it in its present form was not at odds with the government’s intentions, Cleine said.
“We could simply go ahead, get the thing operative and when the law changes, go back and do a Plan Change to accommodate it – which is something you have to do anyway to keep a plan current."
Hoggard said he hoped to find a way through the West Coast plan complexities that will work for everyone.
“I’ll have to check – all this stuff seems simple until I talk to lawyers and then everything gets much more complicated. But we will work with the councils to make sure we get a good outcome.”
Hi neighbours! Here are some product recalls from the past 2 weeks. Click on the title of these to bring up specific details of the recall.
Food:
Harvest Snaps brand Baked Pea Crisps
Raymons Mince Pies and Sausage Rolls
Kings Finest Small Batch Liqueur brand Advocaat
… View moreHi neighbours! Here are some product recalls from the past 2 weeks. Click on the title of these to bring up specific details of the recall.
Food:
Harvest Snaps brand Baked Pea Crisps
Raymons Mince Pies and Sausage Rolls
Kings Finest Small Batch Liqueur brand Advocaat
King brand Traditional Soup Mix Gluten Free Vegetable
Pavillion brand Beef and Gravy Pies
Henderson Dairy brand Farm Fresh Raw Milk (unpasteurised)
Products:
Serene S2068 Bathroom Heater.
Rylee and Cru Pyjama set
Avanti Bikes
Kale Airmove Fan
Ensure you check your household items to ensure you aren't consuming or using anything harmful.
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