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From reporter Joanne Naish
West Coast Regional Council chairperson Allan Birchfield stormed out of a meeting after being removed from his role in a near-unanimous vote by his fellow councillors amid allegations of a “toxic environment”.
Birchfield has been on leave from the council since … View moreFrom reporter Joanne Naish
West Coast Regional Council chairperson Allan Birchfield stormed out of a meeting after being removed from his role in a near-unanimous vote by his fellow councillors amid allegations of a “toxic environment”.
Birchfield has been on leave from the council since December, which at the time was explained as being due to health reasons.
All six other councillors signed a letter requesting him to be removed as chairperson at an extraordinary meeting held on Tuesday.
When it came to the actual vote, only Brett Cummings voted for Birchfield to remain.
Read the full story here.
This Sunday we'll be putting our clocks back for the end of daylight saving. Despite the benefits of an extra hour of sun during daylight saving, these clock changes commonly bring disruptions to our households and sleep - some feel that it should be scrapped altogether. What do you think?
… View moreThis Sunday we'll be putting our clocks back for the end of daylight saving. Despite the benefits of an extra hour of sun during daylight saving, these clock changes commonly bring disruptions to our households and sleep - some feel that it should be scrapped altogether. What do you think?
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the We Say You Say column of your local paper.
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Tomorrow is D-day for West Coast Regional Council chairperson Allan Birchfield as all six of his fellow councillors move to sack him from the role.
An under siege Birchfield has been on leave from the council in December, returning only this week… View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Tomorrow is D-day for West Coast Regional Council chairperson Allan Birchfield as all six of his fellow councillors move to sack him from the role.
An under siege Birchfield has been on leave from the council in December, returning only this week to an extraordinary meeting that seeks to remove him from the chair. The regional council chair is selected around the council table, not at large.
His leave of absence at the time was explained as being due to health reasons.
The formal process to have him replaced as chair was initiated on March 3, signed by every other councillor. It was not publicly disclosed until minutes before the council meeting on March 14. Birchfield did not know about the move until contacted by Local Democracy Reporting.
He did reveal however that council members had previously leaned on him to resign as chairperson.
"There had been some discussion -- they tried to talk me into standing down but I said no," Birchfield said at the time.
However he said he was "definitely not standing down" and the move to remove him was "not clear cut".
On Monday, acting chairperson Peter Haddock said the meeting tomorrow was going ahead as scheduled.
As far as he was aware Birchfield's position had not changed, "unfortunately".
"We haven't heard a word from anyone."
Chief executive Heather Mabin said the matter was for the elected council to oversee.
As of Monday she assumed nothing had changed from the formal motion she had received on March 3 to call an extraordinary meeting to remove Birchfield.
"Any decision that was made on the matter has been done in isolation of the executive and the CEO," Mabin said.
"This is a conversation that the councillors have had themselves. We will respect whatever the outcome is."
However, she said she believed Birchfield had been a significant contributor to the West Coast in his role.
"Allan has contributed incredibly towards this community, and that needs to be acknowledged."
Birchfield's leave of absence followed a turbulent period at the regional council.
This pre-dated his re-election as chairman for a second term following the local body elections last October.
An accusation of conflict of interest emerged almost immediately after the elections about the relationship of Birchfield's company Birchfield Minerals Ltd to the council-owned business unit VCS Ltd.
This was to do with a deal brokered eight years ago by VCS Ltd on behalf of Birchfield Minerals to reconsent and sell Birchfield's Grey Valley gold dredge.
The $157,025 cost of that borne by VCS - and only to be repaid when the dredge eventually sold - has remained on the council balance sheet ever since. It was first highlighted in a Greymouth Star investigation several years ago and then re-emerged after the last elections.
Neighbourhood Support members across New Zealand are invited to attend a special wellbeing webinar, 'Building Strong Communities', with Farmstrong Ambassador, Sam Whitelock, at 7:30pm on Tuesday April 4th.
For more information and to register, head to www.neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz....… View moreNeighbourhood Support members across New Zealand are invited to attend a special wellbeing webinar, 'Building Strong Communities', with Farmstrong Ambassador, Sam Whitelock, at 7:30pm on Tuesday April 4th.
For more information and to register, head to www.neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz....
Please invite those on your street and in your neighbourhood who might be interested (it's not just for rural folk, although those of you in rural communities might be particularly interested).
Anyone got for sale December 2022 and January 2023 National Geographic Magazines ( NOT NZ Geographic I need the USA ones)
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Check out the never before seen deals on clothing in our massive winter sale. Genuine direct to you deals.
Every online purchase between now and 31st March is an entry to the comp. Buy once or go mad and make a number or purchases - every one of them is a chance to win. Get clicking and good … View moreCheck out the never before seen deals on clothing in our massive winter sale. Genuine direct to you deals.
Every online purchase between now and 31st March is an entry to the comp. Buy once or go mad and make a number or purchases - every one of them is a chance to win. Get clicking and good luck!!
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Waiho Flat dairy farms at Franz Josef "dodged a bullet" after flooding on Monday again threatened a historic rubbish dump.
The Waiho (Waiau) River floodwaters appeared to threaten the stopbank that protects the buried dump, just below … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Waiho Flat dairy farms at Franz Josef "dodged a bullet" after flooding on Monday again threatened a historic rubbish dump.
The Waiho (Waiau) River floodwaters appeared to threaten the stopbank that protects the buried dump, just below Canavans Knob, but then turned away, Waiho Flat farmer of 50 years Richard Molloy said.
Nerves were jangled on Monday when the rapidly rising river looked to be on the verge of breaking through - as it almost did last year.
During a 70mm downpour in about 90 minutes, the raging river shifted course straight towards the bank.
"We were only a hair's breadth away from the same situation," Molloy said.
It was only averted by chance - "it's nothing to do with proactiveness".
West Coast Regional Council acting infrastructure manager Colin Munn said he was made aware of concerns last Friday and the council arranged for a local contractor to inspect the stopbank.
"He thought it was fine ... I guess it's a matter of judgment."
Engineering staff were again visiting the site today, Munn said.
Further north at Harihari, Wanganui River farmers mopping up from their second flood in a fortnight were again critical of the regional council's role in the delay in repairing the impaired stopbank.
Work to divert the river started last Thursday but heavy rain that night saw the river break out above the new diversion, and thwarted the short term repair.
"What our aim has been is to get some rock to the site to ensure we don't lose any more of that stopbank," Munn said.
Rock cartage began on Friday and restarted on Sunday, but contractors "got chased out" by the rising river levels.
"It's an interesting place to be in terms of the ability of schemes to withstand all these events repeatedly, and people's expectations that you can fix it overnight."
He said the council just needed some breathing space.
"The best thing for me is if someone turns the tap off."
Riverbeds constricted for a long time by flood protection banks were continuing to aggrade with gravel build-up, Munn said.
Discussions about the broader issues facing the Wanganui River scheme were ongoing, but the council had to balance the immediate risk for affected residents.
"The factors have changed around it and it's making it more challenging to manage the status quo, but at the moment we're just trying to make sure we get control of it."
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The West Coast Regional Council intends to add automatic rain monitoring equipment on the Wanganui River near Harihari after a series of damaging floods.
The fallout over a flood that swamped two dairy farms 12 days ago, was hot at the council … View moreFrom local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The West Coast Regional Council intends to add automatic rain monitoring equipment on the Wanganui River near Harihari after a series of damaging floods.
The fallout over a flood that swamped two dairy farms 12 days ago, was hot at the council meeting last week.
That was because the council had had a month of dry weather and low river flows to repair a hole in the northern bank protection scheme that was blown out in the previous flood, at Waitangi Weekend.
Councillors were briefed in-committee on a new protection plan for the Wanganui River last week, with a scheme to be presented at the rating district AGM next month.
Meanwhile, during the last flood the council was relying on hydrological data it receives from a site inland from Whataroa, about 35km to the south of Hari Hari, to anticipate and monitor river flows in the Wanganui.
The council currently does not have monitoring equipment on the Wanganui River.
Hydrology and engineering staff travel from Greymouth to watch it in an extreme rain storm - as they do for the Waiho (Waiau) at Franz Josef and other large rivers throughout the West Coast.
Council chief executive Heather Mabin said work for new river monitoring sites was ongoing and it was currently formulating "a wish list" but that would depend on funding.
The overnight heavy spell of rain in the Wanganui River headwaters 12 days ago sent "a half-flood" down the river, widening and doubling a 100m hole in the protection bank on the true right that had opened up in early February.
Wanganui Rating District spokesperson and councillor Andy Campbell, one of two affected farmers on the true right of the Wanganui, reported 90mm of rain the night of the flood.
He told the meeting he believed most of the rain that swelled the river was "backcountry heavy rain".
The rain monitor site further south and inland of Whataroa had about 130mm.
Mabin said she understood a new gauge on the Wanganui might be a Civil Defence initiative but the council was also working on a plan to expand its hydrological monitoring work.
Following the meeting Mabin said the Wanganui was "at the top of the list".
It was part of work council began when it put in for about $200,000 of 'shovel ready' Government money for new Buller River monitoring and associated preliminary work around the flood defences for Westport township.
"It's actually a piece of work we've already started."
She was unsure of the history of monitoring at the Wanganui and the previous decision making around installing equipment there. However, she had asked the relevant council departments to look at potential costs from within the current budgets to broaden the work.
River monitoring data was "a key piece of information" not only for the council but the affected communities.
She noted the Wanganui River was a strong case but she would not be drawn on other potential sites.
At this stage the cost per site was yet to emerge but aside from the equipment, having safe access to particular sites was likely to be a significant factor. This included vehicle or walking track access and the practical logistics of physically getting down to particular monitoring sites, Mabin said.
"Often, what I'm hearing, it's the access ways."
Another significant factor was having the connectivity to relay information back from the sites - a significant challenge with no cellphone coverage to remote sites on the West Coast.
"The cellphone coverage is key unless we can tap into some other system."
Our 2023 Local Business Hero Awards nomination phase closes on Sunday. Neighbours - you only have a few more days to nominate a favourite local business to give them a chance to win an incredible $10,000 package.
Show your support for your local today by nominating them to be this year's … View moreOur 2023 Local Business Hero Awards nomination phase closes on Sunday. Neighbours - you only have a few more days to nominate a favourite local business to give them a chance to win an incredible $10,000 package.
Show your support for your local today by nominating them to be this year's Prospa Local Business Hero!
Nothing is less predictable than the weather.
Ryman villages are designed to be safe havens, we prepare for adverse events, so you don’t have to. In an emergency, we’ll take care of everything, to ensure sure that you and those you treasure most have exactly what you need.
Rest assured, … View moreNothing is less predictable than the weather.
Ryman villages are designed to be safe havens, we prepare for adverse events, so you don’t have to. In an emergency, we’ll take care of everything, to ensure sure that you and those you treasure most have exactly what you need.
Rest assured, you’re in safe hands.
This outlines what Christchurch City Council plans to spend on projects and day-to-day services in the next year and how we'll pay for it.
Find out more and have your say by Monday 10 April.
A provocative and breath-taking wakeup call told through video and live music.
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