Consent for water take in Refreshment Place
I have been working with Greater Wellington Regional Councillor Paul Swain to learn more about what is happening with the resource consent in Refreshment Place and as a result I am backing his call for a review of the consent that was granted to the water bottling business there.
Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) administers resource consents for extracting water from the aquifer in the region and from those that have engaged with me so far, our community clearly has no appetite for consents being granted where copious amounts of water are extracted for export.
Apart from the serious environmental concerns, its just not right that there is a consent to extract nearly 180,000,000 litres a year from the aquifer and pay as little as a $349 annual consent fee.
Today, I have found out that the consent was granted in 2013 and after consulting iwi, one of whom said that they wanted the process to be publicly notified, GWRC felt differently. There seems to be anomalies regarding environmental effects in other parts of the decision that I am yet to get my head around so when I have answers I will update this post.
I believe GWRC should review all of the resource consents granted to extract water from Upper Hutt’s groundwater. This review should check whether allocation is too much, given the impact on water quality, recreation values, environmental impacts and any economic benefits to Upper Hutt.
Unfortunately we are hamstrung as a community because there is no avenue for us to manage the consent or charge, for example, a royalty per litre extracted and exported. Christchurch City Council are seeking support from the Government which, I believe, is necessary.
It’s time for a change and I am looking forward to a review, support from the Government and more protections for our water and communities.
I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please do comment below or contact me.
Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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36.6% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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63.4% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
Scam Alert: Bank cold calls
ASB is warning customers about reports of cold calls from scammers claiming to be from ASB. These scammers are trying to obtain personal information, including usernames, dates of birth, and verification codes sent to your mobile phone.
🛡️ The "Caller Check" Test
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and you’re unsure, just ask them for a Caller Check. You will then be able to verify the call through the app.
Remember, banks will:
❌ Never ask for your banking passwords, PINs, or verification codes
❌ Never need to know your full credit card number – especially the CVC
❌ Never ask you to download software or remotely access your device
❌ Never ask you to purchase gift cards or transfer funds.
If you have received a phone call and think your account has been compromised, call ASB on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or visit your local branch.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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