Te Awamutu News | October 6, 2022

Mayoral rivals cry foul

By Mary Anne Gill

Sitting councillors have had ‘exclusive’ access for eight weeks to a ratepayer satisfaction survey which produced a negative result for Waipā District Council.

Two of the four mayoral candidates have told The News that may have muddied the local body elections for them with one saying it was “serious” if there were any efforts to skew residents’ access to information.

Councillors saw a draft of the report at a public-excluded workshop on August 9, just over a month before voting in the elections started.

The first anyone else knew came in a press release last Wednesday – sent out 90 minutes after this paper went to press.

That timing ensured any analysis and candidate comment produced in print by The News would not be seen by readers until today. That is significant because voting for the election, which opened on September 16, closes on Saturday.

Bernard Westerbaan and Chris Woodhams - standing for mayor against incumbents councillor Susan O’Regan and mayor Jim Mylchreest - say withholding the annual Residents’ Perception Survey until last week has potentially marred the election process.

Staff say they held the report back because they wanted to benchmark Waipā’s performance against other councils. They include neighbours Waikato and South Waikato district councils.

Waikato has yet to release its results while South Waikato is reviewing its ongoing involvement in the survey.

Waipā ended up mid-table in a group comprising three city councils, including commissioner-run Tauranga, and 13 district councils.

Westerbaan complained to chief electoral officer Warwick Lampp saying the results should have been attached to chief executive

furnishers murray hunt

Home Décor, Bedding, Furniture, Gi�ware and lots more.

Garry Dyet’s pre-election report.

“If the information was well known beforehand and released late on purpose I would consider this to be illegal and the election process has been influenced,” he said.

Westerbaan said he had been told to take it up with Dyet.

Woodhams said the timing of the release was “strange.”

“Clearly the people of the Waipa district are not very satisfied with the direction, engagement or leadership of the councillors and, as someone who has campaigned on these issues, the validation may have proved useful.”

Mylchreest said councillors only received the information last week – referring to the final report – and there was “no withholding” of the information.

O’Regan said she had no oversight or control of the report’s timing.

The survey showed Pirongia residents were the least satisfied with council’s performance. Pirongia-Kakepuku ward candidate Corilin Steel, who is challenging incumbents Clare St Pierre and Bruce Thomas, said she agreed with survey responders who said the township had been ignored by council.

Staff received the first draft of the report in late June which it shared with councillors in

August.

The benchmarking report arrived at council on September 13 and councillors saw it the next day.

It went into the agenda for the Audit and Risk committee held on September 30 and councillors saw it at their last meeting on September 27, but not as part of the meeting agenda.

The news release which council maintains it “proactively released” was sent on Wednesday September 28 at 1.49pm. No other media seem to have noticed the release.

• Read the survey results at teawamutunews.nz

Pirongia: residents say it’s the town the council forgot.

Photo: Benjamin Wilson.

Getting ready for Christmas

By Benjamin Wilson

Te Awamutu’s Operation

Christmas Hampers is in a much better position than it was last year, but volunteers have a lot of work to do.

“It is going a lot better this year, but we are feverishly trying to catch up on everything now,” said constable Ryan Fleming.

The community initiative is a collaboration between police, CommSafe, and other Waipā organisations. They support families in need be providing them with Christmas hampers.

“Chasing bad guys and stuff is fun, but it is actually quite rewarding to do something

really nice like this for a change,” said Fleming.

Last year, the operation was hampered by Covid, and grocery vouchers were given out instead of the traditional hampers.

With the Covid restrictions now relaxed, the organisation is more prepared for this year’s holiday season.

It is also registered as not-forprofit, and has a dedicated bank account for donations.

Fleming said they gave out more than 300 hampers in 2020, “but that was a real stretch.”

“There were a lot of nominations that came in from the public for people who didn’t necessarily have a need for them,” he said. The organisation has a much more modest target of 200 hampers this year.

“What we want to do now is go around with the different agencies, like police, Kainga Aroha, Oranga Tamariki, Work and Income, and hopefully between our agencies we can work out where the real need is,” he said.

“We want to concentrate more

on Christmas treat food, like Christmas puddings, chocolates, the stuff that kids are really going to like.”

Fleming said in other years they were able to provide families with frozen chickens, packets of gravy, roasting vegetables, and instruction books on how to cook a roast.

“That was the thing I was the most proud of, I am a bit of a roast fan and it is something that we take for granted… I would love to replicate that,” he said.

In late October and parts of November, volunteers, on the march with a police car, will tour Te Awamutu collecting donations for the appeal.

I often struggle to find topics for me to write about for this column. I try to keep them to relevant and topical to what I see on a regular basis while at work.

One topic I frequently write about is the need to call 111. That is simply because, so often, I see instances where people decide to call someone else and not police.

This week we had an incident where a member of the public witnessed an assault. The member of the public decided to call

Commsafe (Neighbourhood Support) instead of 111. I received a phone call immediately from Commsafe to let me know of the assault.

Unfortunately I was out of town assisting at a search warrant. I told Commsafe to ring 111 to organise police to attend. The lengthy process this all took meant there was a delay in police being able to attend.

The other issue is that the witness who had eyes on the incident was not the 111 caller, a third party was. All our information

At

was second hand. This means we lose valuable information as to what is happening, and puts the attending Police staff at risk because they have less information in which to make their own risk assessments.

I cannot labour this point enough. There is no point reporting anything to someone else. Ring 111. It’s that simple. Three simple numbers we all learned in school.

More than 300 Christmas hampers were given out in

“…it is actually quite rewarding to do something really nice like this for a change” - Ryan Fleming.

Briefs…

Submission mount

Waipā council received 81 submissions on a government-mandated plan to fast-track housing density in Waipā neighbourhoods. Of those submissions, most appear to be against proposals that will see housing changes in Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Kihikihi. During the submission process, residents said they were worried about issues that might affect their property, such as sunlight, privacy and views. And there was concern about the potential for neighbours to build up to three houses, three storeys high, without their permission or resource consent.

Roses return

Te Awamutu’s annual rose show is to return in November, having been a victim of Covid. It will run on November 25 and 26.

Council fined

Hamilton City Council has been fined $76,500 for discharging wastewater –enough to half fill an Olympic size swimming pool – into the environment in October 2020. The council was prosecuted by the Waikato Regional Council which has stayed silent on what action it will take after being alerted last year by The News – and closing down - a huge unauthorised quarry on the banks of the Waikato River in Waipā.

Pedestrian upgrade

Work on a pedestrian upgrade in Te Kuiti will result in the intersection of State Highways 3 and 30 bring closed tonight and tomorrow and on Monday or Tuesday next week. The crossing will ease access to Te Tokanganuia-Noho marae. Detours will be in place.

Last check

There was a marked rise in the number of votes counted in the Waipā local body election this week. The 9000 total votes was close to the admittedly low figure at the same time in 2019.

New council faces $8.5m headache

By Mary Anne Gill

Waipā District Council has negligence claims totalling $8.5 million contained in an Annual Report newly elected councillors will have to approve in their first weeks in office.

The court proceedings against the council are revealed in the unaudited Annual Report tabled at last week’s Audit and Risk committee meeting in Cambridge.

The report also showed chief executive Garry Dyet’s salary went up $32,293 to $329,627. He also received Kiwi Saver contributions and a vehicle for a total package of $359,210.

The largest of the negligence claims at $5 million is by Erinic Investments Ltd – a Cambridge company owned by Sir Patrick and Justine Lady Hogan.

Erinic initiated proceedings two years ago in the High Court against the council and four other defendants alleging the council was negligent in issuing building consents, inspecting the building work and issuing Code Compliance Certificates for a commercial building the company owns in Te Awamutu.

The second claim involves a ratepayer in Kihikihi which dates to 2001 when the council completed stormwater system work in the town.

The action before the High Court in Hamilton says council has been negligent, breached its statutory duty and created a nuisance in relation to a private drain on the plaintiffs’ property in Kihikihi. They are seeking more than $2.5 million in damages, interest and costs.

The most recent claim of $1 million lodged in the High Court earlier this year alleges council was negligent in undertaking inspections and issuing a code compliance certificate in respect of a dwelling in Ngāhinapōuri.

The audit of Waipā’s Annual Report would normally have started last month but the Office of the Auditor General has extended it out due to resourcing difficulties.

WE SAY…

A financial overview was missing from the document tabled at the committee meeting, but a more detailed look shows council’s revenue for the financial year ended June 30 was $132.5 million, including $68.75 million in rates.

Council achieved an operating surplus of $29.4m year against a budget of $39.8m, mostly due to timing of contributions from developers, while borrowings at year-end of $149.5 million were $93.4 million lower than budget, again due to timing issues.

Dyet’s salary package is $359,210 - up $22,103 on the previous year - that just over 34 per cent of Waipā’s 339 employees get less than $60,000 a year..

Mayor Jim Mylchreest received $135,500, up from $132,149 while deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk got $43,985, $650 more than the previous year.

The highest paid councillors were Andrew Brown, Marcus Gower, Susan O’Regan and Grahame Webber, who all chaired committees and received $40,601. All other councillors received $33,834 except Elwyn Andree-Wiltens who resigned in April after a series of articles by The News about her conflict of interest in a Maungatautari quarry. She got $27,658.

Seventy four staff received more than $100,000 a year – up from 55 the previous year – while two are in the $220,000-$339,999 remuneration band.

Council’s total wage bill was $26.3 million, up from $24.2 million the previous year. The council had 279 full timers and 37 full time equivalents – a total of 339 employees - employed on June 30.

Just over 57 per cent – 194 staff - received less than $80,000 a year – with 116 of them earning less than $60,000.

A total of $55,000 in severance payments –likely due to council’s Covid mandates’ edict –were made to employees, compared to none the previous year.

Council’s total assets at year’s end were $2.053 billion – mostly in property, plant and equipment - up from $1.968 billion the previous year.

The council budgeted to get $160.6 million from asset sales to fund its Long Term Plan projects but only banked $83.87 million with an $850,000 acquisition – probably the old Bunnings building in Te Awamutu – accounting for part of the shortfall.

Top half success

Why we don’t…and won’t vote

Local body politics isn’t sexy. It doesn’t have the presence of a Winston Peters, the charisma of a Jacinda Ardern, and local body “political editors” on TV news at six breathlessly reporting on the latest from city hall.

The elections are run by two companies which wield enormous power once every three years, taking control of council communications with the media when it comes to election issues.

The elections are not click bait material – which is why the elections in Waipā get little more than a passing glance from the country’s biggest media companies.

Of course, elsewhere Tim Shadbolt will get a nod, and there will be laments about poor nomination numbers and woeful voter turnouts. This week national media woke up to news that protesters were sabotaging candidate meetings in Wellington. The media hadn’t attended the meetings, this was all second-hand news.

In Waipā, following our dogged reporting, a councillor resigned in disgrace over a conflict of interest about an illegal quarry and another councillor made a public apology over comments he made about land for a third bridge.

Similarly, as far as Waipā election

coverage goes, The News has been something of a lone voice in the wilderness during the election campaign.

Just as media apathy and the click bait mentality have contributed to the increasing lack of interest in how we are governed locally, so has central government.

Its blinkered approach to advertising and refusal to place any adverts in genuine community newspapers is nothing short of disgraceful. But then, the government has committed to pay $55 million of taxpayer money to national media organisations to cover news we bring you free of

charge.

On Saturday night we will have new councils. Writers who will struggle to name who was standing on their patch will cry crocodile tears over the appalling voter turnouts.

In three years – given the comments made by the Prime Minister this week – we will be talking about moving to online voting. We should have made the move long ago.

But if the Voices for Freedom movement achieves its goal getting supporters – some might say smuggling - onto councils around the country, perhaps there will be a lot more interest in 2025.

Celebrating Life - Your Way

Devon Howells, pictured in action during a match against Leamington, was part of a Te Awamutu hockey team which achieved its goal of finishing in the top half of the Waikato Hockey Association’s 2022 Rural Schools Tournament in Hamilton last week. See story page 11.

Ngā Roto – ‘death by a thousand cuts’

By Benjamin Wilson

A field day has left farmers enthusiastic for their part to play in the recovery of Lake Ngā Roto’s water quality.

“I think there was a lot of enthusiasm for getting the message out there… the more we do now, the better it will be further down the track,” said New Zealand Landcare Trust (NZLT) Waikato regional coordinator, Nardene Berry.

Berry said the field day had a specific focus on the recovery of Lake Ngā Roto, Waipā’s largest peat lake.

“The farmers that were there, most of them had done this kind of work already, so we were singing to the choir. The people that were not there were the ones who had not done anything.”

Ngā Roto is hypereutrophic - overloaded with nutrients - and suffered a devastating algae bloom which resulted in the death of birds and thousands of fish at the start of the year

Berry said the lake’s poor water quality is the result of incremental changes to its surrounding environment.

and can be doing, to help reduce the amount of nutrients entering the lake, Berry said.

They include the use of Farm Environment Plans (FEPs), not grazing wet pastures in the winter, and planting up watercourses or drains to help provide shading and reduce the temperature of the water going into the lake.

Some the work is already being carried out through the Living Waters Manga-oTama Ōhaupō Peat Lakes to Waipā River Connection project, a collaboration between NZLT, councils, Fonterra, iwi, and farmers, that aims to improve the water quality of Nga Roto and other Waipā peat lakes.

“I think everybody left feeling really energised about that,” said Berry. “The farmers that were there, most of them had done this kind of work already, so we were singing to the choir. The people that were not there were the ones who had not done anything.”

Despite a strong interest in improving the lake’s water quality, it is unlikely to get better anytime soon.

“Making changes to the land use around the lake will help but it won’t change the lake’s water quality straight away, it will take a good number of years,” said Berry.

Farmers, lake scientists, ecologists, iwi, and rural professionals gathered at Lake Ngā Roto for the NCLT field day on September 22.

They celebrated the work that has been done to help improve the quality of Waipā’s peat lakes, as well as what must be done.

“It is a death by a thousand cuts… so many incremental things have happened over the years which have made it worse. Now, we have to do thousands of little things to make it better, and everybody needs to do this together,” she said.

There are many things that farmers are,

Data from other peat lakes which have benefitted from similar work was presented during the field day

“It is going to take more than what we can do right now… but that is no reason for us not to do anything.”

Corridor gets a boost

The Maungatautari to Pirongia ecological corridor has been awarded $4900 in the latest round of grants from Waikato Regional Council’s Small Scale Community Initiatives Fund.

The money will be invested in predator control.

The council gave 44 pest animal and plant control projects a $150,000.

The fund was set up to help communities and individual landowners carry out ecological enhancement through pest animal and plant control.

This year it received 99 applications seeking a total of $345,484.

Successful applications ranged from $324 for pest animal control by an individual landowner in Thames to $5,000 to Pukawa Wildlife Management Trust

Letters…

Waste follow

to expand its possum and rat trapping network around the Pukawa settlement on the southwestern shore of Lake Taupo.

Natural Heritage biodiversity officer Andrew Thomas said preference is given to applications that seek to look after the region’s special natural areas.

“The fund helps volunteer groups and landowners with the costs of materials required to undertake pest management. Being able to support them financially to buy the tools can make a real difference in trying to keep on top of pests.

“In this funding round we are helping with the purchase of a range of traps for rats, stoats, possums and herbicide for pest plant control.”

He aid it was heartening

to see how much ecological enhancement was being carried out by individuals and groups across the region.

“We have people who are just starting to do predator or pest plant control on their properties to projects that have been operating for over 50 years.”

The fund is replenished through the uniform annual general charge rate and $150,000 is made available every year. Applications can be made for up to $5000, and the funding round falls in June.

The regional council also recently granted $54,000 from its Environmental Initiatives Fund to six community groups working to enhance and/or benefit the environment or provide environmental education.

I was very pleased to see your article on the tour of Raglan’s Xtreme zero waste facilities that Don’t Burn Waipa organised. However, I want to point out to Chris Woodhams, who is quoted saying it’s embarrassing we don’t have a similar facility here, that we do in fact have such a facility; the Te Awamutu Recycling Centre on Daphne Street. We go there often and the staff do an incredible job of sorting through what people chuck away to sell on. Many a bargain can be found and I urge everyone to visit.

Obviously they could use more funding so they can expand and create more awareness. I’m sure there is much more that can be saved from landfill. If the candidate would like to know more about this he can look up the excellent Waste Minimisation Act 2008 that states that all districts must have a waste minimisation plan which is funded by the waste disposal levy that citizens pay when they dump rubbish.

Niko Leyden Wharepapa South

Department of Conservation freshwater science advisor Katie Collins spoke about the importance of Farm Environment Plans. Photo: Nardene Berry.

Mayoral hopefuls back funding

By Mary Anne Gill

Maungatautari has a secure funding future if responses from candidates for both Waikato Regional and Waipā District councils are an indication.

Funding should continue to protect the Sacred Mountain so future generations can enjoy it, all except James Parlane and Clyde Graf said in response to our last candidates’ survey.

Mayoral candidate Jim Mylchreest, a former chief executive at Maungatautari, admitted to a bit of bias.

“We have a duty to ensure that there are no more extinctions of treasured taonga that are so much a part of our national identity, as a result of human activity or inactivity.

“The preservation of this unique biodiversity is a pure public good that requires equitable funding from the whole community through rates or taxes.”

And fellow mayoral candidate Susan O’Regan said she hoped the council’s annual contribution would not have to be reduced.

“The trust faces challenges in securing alternative funding and generating income. It is important to remember that Waipā has an obligation to maintain the reserve which sits inside the fence.

“This nationally significant project is home to an extensive number of endangered species and

as such is extremely precious to not only our district but to the country as a whole.”

Mayoral candidate Chris Woodhams said Maungatautari was a credit to the district.

“To the extent that further support is required, we should certainly consider this along with other high priority funding requirements.”

Parlane, who is standing for both the district council and community board and described himself as a whistle blower, said the council needed to stop putting any money into Maungatautari, Fieldays, Sport Waikato, Local Government NZ and any other “sacred cows.”

The council is responsible for the

co-governance and management of the Maungatautari Scenic Reserve under the Reserves Act.

The sanctuary for native wildlife and plants, such as kiwi, kokako, tuatara and more, has a range of walking and hiking tracks. Located 30 minutes south of Cambridge, the reserve plan covers the 2500ha of scenic reserve contained within Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari’s 47km pest-proof fence.

Waipā spends about $500,000 in operating costs on maintaining sites like Rotopiko, Mangakaware, Maungatauri and Ngāroto.

Earlier this year, the regional council granted Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust $1.476

million over four years for its predator control project and pays $350,000 a year towards its operations.

Regional council candidate Barry Quayle said Maungatautari was the ultimate theatre in Waikato.

“I believe it is a much better asset; natural theatre than what Hamilton is endeavouring to build in the city. it will last, and deservedly so, a century and more,” he said while becoming more important than Zealandia in Wellington.

The regional and district councils both had to continue contributing to Maungatautari, he said.

“It will increasingly pay off with students in the Waipā benefiting and learning about biodiversity,

sustainability and environment.”

Regional candidate Judy Sherriff said as a local farmer, she had seen the benefits from Maungatautari on her farm with more bird life flying from Maungatautari to Pureora and visiting her on the way.

“Maungatautari is truly a taonga and we all need to enhance and protect the mauri and mana of Maungatautari.”

Incumbent regional councillor Stu Kneebone said if the regional and district council funding ended, all the hard work would be lost.

“The maunga acts as a kōhanga to a range of threatened species that are then translocated to other places throughout the region and across New Zealand, so the benefits are not limited to Waipā.

“In addition, Waipā receives many threatened species from other parts of New Zealand that it would not otherwise receive if we didn’t invest in the maunga the way we currently do.”

Prominent anti-1080 campaigner Clyde Graf, the final of four candidates standing in Waipā-King Country for the regional council, said Maungatautari was to have been self-funding by now.

“If ratepayers continue to fund the project, then I think the Waikato community should have free access. They most certainly shouldn’t be paying twice each time they visit the mountain.” • Read other responses www. teawamutunews.nz

An aerial view of the sacred mountain, Maungatautari.

Famous last words…

We asked candidates what change they would drive in Waipā if they were elected and to sum up anything else. Plus, we asked what they thought Waipā council does best and what needs to be improved on.

Responses have been edited to a maximum of 100 words.

Elise Badger (Cambridge Community Board)

Petition council to bring the build of a new library for Cambridge forward in the long term plan and secure funding for a state of the art library that adds vibrancy to the CBD and meets diverse needs of the community.

Improve pedestrian and bike access to rural schools. Support initiatives that support youth to flourish.

I think Waipā staff work hard to ensure our district is the best it can be. My interactions with staff have always been positive and I believe it has the best interests of this region and its people in their work and decisions.

Krystie Brickland (Cambridge Community Board)

Partner with Sport Waikato to help them roll out a more active Waipā to encourage our youth and adults to be more active.

I also love the concept of communal fruit trees and planting more of these, so we can do better by supporting those that can’t afford fresh fruit and veges, we are also teaching our children the importance of growing our own food.

Staff have done well to keep projects moving forward during Covid times, but now it is time for face to face conversations. To be out in the community more, have more community days and events.

Andrew Brown (Te Awamutu-Kihikihi)

I have no specific agenda.

Staff genuinely put Waipā and its residents at the forefront of their thinking and actions. Council staff have a focus on continual improvement which is a great culture for any organisation to have.

Lou Brown (Te Awamutu-Kihikihi)

Continue to hold rates fees and charges as close to the projections in Waipā plans and control expenditure. Everyone needs to consider the effects of inflation and interest rates on council operations, rates, fees and charges.

Council and staff work hard to produce the best outcomes for our community under the constraints of central Government legislation. Communication is the biggest problem especially when central Government policies are announced, and submission periods are often only a few weeks. Public are often unaware of effects of policy until it placed into legislation. Local media are the main source of information and communication.

Philip Coles (Cambridge)

I use every opportunity that comes my way to promote our town and community. I’m committed to enhance the opportunity for business community to grow while enhancing our residential.

Our council overall are amazing, in fact our council that includes staff are highly respected nationally,

I see and hear this when attending regional and national events. I believe with the climate created from the pandemic and the climate we are currently entering we are in a better position than most and of course there can be improvements, but we need be grateful.

Jo Davies-Colley (Cambridge Community Board)

I am not seeking re-election to the board to advance any specific agenda, but to represent the great town of Cambridge and be an advocate for its community groups. If it’s an issue for the community, it’s an issue for the community board.

After working with councillors and staff for three years, I can say the people who make the decisions and carry out the work in Cambridge care deeply about our community. Council staff have excellent systems in place to serve our community and they have done a great job navigating through the pandemic and the challenges it brought.

Bernie Fynn (Te Awamutu-Kihikihi)

Change the focus on population growth, through promoting inward migration. This council and Hamilton and Waikato district want a transport system around this area, and their obsession with cycle trails/lanes, shows they are falling for this climate change rubbish and want vehicles off the roads. They bought land at Karāpiro for $5 million for a cycle trail, this is where our rates go.

Roger Gordon (Cambridge)

The transportation network for Cambridge is an area where we need to put more effort and I am looking forward to being part of that. I would like to see less discussion in public excluded sessions. I believe in transparency in local government even if it is sometimes difficult. I would like to see a greater role for the Cambridge Community Board in adding more localism to decision making about matters that affect Cambridge.

I believe we have a very good council operation and there is a good relationship between the councillors and the management team.

Marcus Gower (Te Awamutu-Kihikihi)

More services for youth, re-engaging with our young people and make them a valued part of the decision-making process. Engage with our local arts communities and beautifying our buildings and town spaces.

It’s been a really trying few years for everyone at council, people are trying their best in difficult circumstances.

We need to improve working with our local community to support people in need more. It’s been really hard to employ staff in these times too.

Norris Hall (Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Board)

More parking, particularly in Te Awamutu, bearing in mind the new subdivisions springing up and the pressure by vehicle users placed on parking facilities. Also, more provision of disabled car parks would be advantageous. Footpaths and pedestrian crossings in the main central business/retail districts be made more user friendly. With the Council

purchasing the old Bunnings building space could be set aside for an art gallery.

Staff do very well, theirs is not always an easy job, especially when unpopular decisions have had to be made. The library staff excel themselves in both centres.More counter staff in both service centres.

Alana Mackay (Cambridge Community Board)

Stronger connections between the council, community boards, and community. I think that we can work together more collaboratively. Engaging with the community in a collaborative and meaningful way so people feel that they have input and ownership of decisions. The last three years have been challenging with the limitations Covid-19 placed on face-to-face consultation opportunities and I look forward a return to more of these.

Council and staff have done a great job to deliver a high level of service, provide and maintain infrastructure and assets, and manage finances to achieve a mix of essentials and the nice to have.

Sue Milner (Cambridge Community Board)

A new library. Our library is one of our most important and used community buildings and is far too small. Our community and the library staff deserve a better building sooner rather than later.

We have wonderful staff members who do a great job for our residents. The library staff, the parks and garden staff are probably the most visible, but there are other teams which do a great job for Waipā. It has been great to see council staff at the Saturday market talking to locals about dogs and other issues. Long may this type of communication continue.

Mike Montgomerie (Maungatautari)

My drive would be for continuous improvement, effective and accountable leadership, engaged communities and a council which is responsive to the needs of those communities.

I think both council and staff have done a good job. They have been happy to engage and have answered our questions openly. There have been some controversial initiatives (for example Streets for People) and some lessons learnt about community consultation (for example the Hamilton Road cycleway). We need to continue driving community engagement. The community boards have a role to play and should be more effectively utilised to provide an avenue for local advocacy.

Andrew Myers (Maungatautari - Community Board)

I’m not standing for change; I’m standing to continue to lift Waipā’s attributes as a fantastic place to live work and play. I have a strong interest in urban growth and the effects of this. Also, I have interest in the structure of governance proposed under the likes of Three Waters.

Overall, I believe the operation is well run. Rather than the staff, it’s the councillors who adopt the strategy - this is where some of the onus needs to be focused. Reminding the council that red tape and lengthy decision making processes are detrimental to people getting things done.

Portrait artist’s deeper look

By Viv Posselt

Through all the freewheeling, travelling days of her life, artist Deborah ‘Debsi’ Gillespie stayed true to her core objective –to capture the essence, or inner spirit, of those whose portraits she paints.

Judging from her work on Britain’s Queen Mother, now hanging amid other works she is exhibiting at Te Awamutu Library, nailing the likeness isn’t a problem. That pastels work is like a photographic image.

Also on the exhibition are portraits of family members and paintings depicting the aura and ‘spirit’ of gemstones, done primarily in pastels and oils.

“From the time I was 15, I’ve wanted to paint portraits. But more than that, I wanted to capture the spirit of the people I painted,” she said. “I can’t remember a time when I didn’t feel compelled to use colour to portray the energy of a person… I call them inner spirit portraits.”

The London-born artist, who inherited creative genes from both her parents, has a fine arts degree from the UK’s University of Reading, where she specialised in the ‘feeling effects of colour’.

She has travelled through Europe aboard the back of a boyfriend’s motorbike, been an au pair in America, a cook aboard Onassis-sized superyachts in Greece, and an art teacher of teens in Qatar. She also dabbled in Sufism, the mystic religious practice with its roots in the Islamic world.

Debsi came to New Zealand in 1986, and after living in the Hibiscus Coast and Whangarei, settled with her husband in Te Awamutu

FAITH IN WAIPĀ

Being truly hospitable

By Christine Bryant, Lay Minister, St John’s

At long last New Zealand’s borders are fully open.

What a relief to be able to reconnect with family and friends, to travel and discover new places. From the start there have been crowded flights both into and out of New Zealand. Literally thousands have passed through Immigration.

Not all of them are tourists, here for the skiing in Queenstown or to take in the main sights of our country. Many arrivals will be returning New Zealanders, home after spending years working overseas. The New Zealand they come back to is a different country from the one they left.

It will be a dramatic change in lifestyle as they come to terms with a new place to live, finding accommodation, new schools for their children and the challenges of new jobs. Other arrivals may well be people coming to work in essential sectors: agriculture, health or education. Or they could be refugees. New Zealand has recently increased its quota and will also take up to 400 Ukrainians who are eligible to join family in NZ.

New Zealanders have a reputation for being friendly, but I wonder whether we are truly hospitable. Whatever their status when they arrive, New Zealand can be overwhelmingly different. Some articles recently in the papers have told us of some immigrants’ experiences. Firstly, there is the realisation of how isolated New Zealand is. In practical terms, it means an impossibly expensive airfare to go back “home”, wherever that is.

What’s happening to the dollar?

By Peter Nicholl

The Kiwi dollar has been in the news over the last few days for all the wrong reasons.

It has been falling sharply and this has caused concerns about its impacts on future inflation and therefore on interest rates.

People are right to be concerned. But the first thing to work out is whether the Kiwi dollar has, like all other currencies in the world, been hit by the tidal wave of positive sentiment for the US dollar or whether it is sinking faster than most other currencies.

Against the US dollar it has fallen by about 16 per cent this year. That’s a lot. It has also fallen by about nine per cent against the Australian dollar. It has been falling against the yen too over the last few months. So, while it is the strength of the US dollar that has caused most of the recent weakening in the Kiwi dollar, we have not been a strong performer against other currencies.

sharp upward movement in the Bank of England’s base interest rate. Instead, the Governor of the Bank of England has said that he ‘won’t hesitate to raise interest rates to get inflation back to their 2% target’. But he didn’t raise their interest rate when the Fed raised theirs by 0.75%. He didn’t raise the interest rate when the UK Government announced a huge tax cut. He didn’t raise the interest rate when this move led to market turmoil that forced the Bank of England to intervene in the bond market. So he has already ‘hesitated’ several times.

Which brings me to what the RBNZ should be doing given the recent fall in the value of the Kiwi dollar. They should have already made a further upward move in the OCR. The New Zealand OCR is now below the Fed’s official interest rate. That is a guaranteed way to shift the exchange rate in favour of the US dollar.

nine years ago. She established her home studio, from where she teaches and does commissioned portraits. She also exhibits when the opportunity arises.

More recently, Debsi added another string to her bow, having written and illustrated three children’s books, using watercolours for the first time. The first one has already been published, while books two and three are almost ready to go.

There are two main reasons for the recent rapid increase in the value of the US dollar - the amount of political and economic uncertainty in the world and secondly, the US Federal Reserve has recognised that US has an inflation problem and got serious about doing something about it. Two weeks ago they raised their benchmark interest rate by 0.75%. Market participants and commentators had got into the habit of thinking a move of 0.5 per cent was the maximum a Central Bank would do at a time. So the Fed’s larger increase took most people by surprise and got everybody’s attention.

The UK Government’s extraordinary ham-handed fiscal moves have increased the attention that global financial markets are going to be paying to country’s fiscal policies in year ahead. Prudence will be rewarded and profligacy penalised in the foreign exchange market. New Zealand’s politicians will need to recognise this and be careful what they promise as the election campaign gets under way.

The dramas in the world’s foreign exchange markets are just beginning.

Secondly, there is shock at the at basic costs of living - housing, food, transport - all much more expensive than in many other countries. Thirdly, for non-English speakers, there are language difficulties. Basic communication and bureaucracy can be a nightmare.

The late writer and broadcaster Jane Belfield summed it up well in a poem she wrote called Refugee.

Jesus told a parable about a rich man who wanted to give a feast. He invited family and friends - people he knew and liked - but they all turned him down, too busy to attend. So, the rich man went out into the streets and country roads and invited everyone, all those he didn’t know and wouldn’t normally mix with. They accepted his invitation, glad to share in the rich man’s celebration. The point Jesus was making is that true hospitality is shown when we invite strangers to share a meal, when we spend time with them and make them feel at home.

Returning New Zealanders or new residents from other countries - it matters little. They enrich our country by their varied experiences and cultures and broaden our outlook, making us more tolerant.

As Jesus showed in the story about separating the sheep from the goats, it is a blessing for us when we give the hungry something to eat, the thirsty something to drink, clothe those who have little and give shelter to the homeless. Let us show true hospitality to new arrivals in our town.

How should other countries respond to this strong move by the US Fed? The new Conservative government in the UK gave everybody a textbook lesson on how not to respond. With UK inflation already higher than in the US, they announced some of the largest tax cuts in UK history. This really spooked the financial markets. The Bank of England moved quickly to buy a lot of UK government bonds. They had to do so for financial stability reasons, especially in their pension industry. But it has injected a whole lot more liquidity into the UK financial markets which is the last thing they needed at this time. It will add to downward pressure on the pound and upward pressure on inflation. The move should have been accompanied by a

As the big Central Banks finally get serious about the inflation problem that they themselves had a big role in creating, the process of adjustment will not be smooth. New Zealand policy-makers can’t afford to take risks.

Waipā District seems to be a long way from these global issues but even here they will have an impact. Waipā DC has said that over the next decade their debt levels are forecast to rise steadily as investment in infrastructure and community facilities continues.

Debt is going to become more expensive as interest rates rise and those higher rates are likely to stay around for longer than most people had been expecting until recently.

The word driving policy-makers in this uncertain environment should be caution.

AGE OF REASON

A time to vote…

By Peter Carr

It was an interesting weekend down in Wellington where local body elections are in full swing. Three serious candidates for mayor (one currently the incumbent). Sound familiar?

In Wellington the local news describes them all as neck to neck all nodding at each other’s comments during the group presentations. As though they are all on the same wavelength with the current mayor broadcasting his huge achievements (naturally), a local MP who swore he would never stand for mayor (a clear porky statement) and a new female entrant - with a strong Greens background - aiming to remove intra-council bickering using her experience (?) in coalition negotiations with NZ First and Labour. And there is a clear split among the three as to support or otherwise for Three Waters.

So, our three local worthies battled it out last week at Lauriston Park at a forum that I had the honour to chair.

The meat of the debate has already been well covered by this paper’s Mary Anne Gill. But for me the twice declared role as an ‘evangelist’ by Chris Woodhams smacked too close to the Far Right and a self-appointed Bishop in Auckland.

By the time you read this there will only be 48 hours to the voting deadline. So, no hope of the would-be council sages persuading you of their worth.

But it is still time to take the voting strength up past the 40 per cent - a target in itself which is pitiful. Whatever you think of applicants who make promises that they cannot keep they have put in long hours and money to put their pitch. The very least they deserve is a responsive and interested voter reaction to ensure everyone gets the (local) government they deserve.

Evangelical bravado, bumbling councillor apologies and a new Māori ward are all in the mix this time.

Back in Wellington the accent is heavy on the four Ps - parks, pools, pipes and potholes. But also important is the Waipa council’s recently announced ‘gift’ of a large tract of land to the nearby expanding city.

But no mention of a quid-pro-quo as there will be a marked reduction in Waipa DC revenues. So just how much were you all consulted prior to the agreement?

We asked columnist Peter Nicholl to discuss the ramifications of the fall in value of our dollar.

Deborah ‘Debsi’ Gillespie with some of her works.

Public gets a say in waste plan

By Benjamin Wilson

Global Contracting Solution’s (GCS) waste to energy proposal must face the court of public opinion before it is progressed.

Waipā District Council made the decision for the company’s resource consent application to be notified last week, meaning that the public will be invited to submit views.

In their resource consent application, which was submitted last December, GCS sought to

build a waste to energy plant at 401 Racecourse Road, Te Awamutu.

The proposed plant would incinerate 150,000 tonnes of waste annually and produce 15 megawatts of power.

When GCS submitted their resource consent application, they asked for their consent to be nonnotified.

They told The News that this was because 401 Racecourse Road was already an industrially zoned area, and their proposal would

have a marginal impact on any neighbouring residents.

But environmental groups and residents argue that being able to have their say on the proposal is critical.

“They’re basically saying the effects are so minor of burning 160,000 tonnes of rubbish every year, that actually we are not even going to bother to notify the nextdoor neighbours,” Regeneration Not Incineration coordinator Valerie Morse told a workshop discussing the issue soon after the

application was made.

The waste to energy plant would also produce more carbon dioxide than the amount of waste it incinerates – potentially more than 150,000 tonnes a year.

Because of the air emissions it would produce, GCS’ proposal is also being evaluated by the Waikato Regional Council, who have not yet decided on whether GCS’ regional consent application will be notified or not.

The News spoke to GCS in September, before the district

council notified their resource consent.

“We have put our best foot forward; it is now up to them to judge. It is trusting that they can hopefully not be swayed by a loud minority, who have a place in the waste scheme of things, to take a broad enough view of the waste environment to see that we do have a part to play,” said project director Adam Fletcher.

Waipā District Council do not yet have a date for when submissions can be made on GCS’ proposal.

Old tools,new homes

By Benjamin Wilson

Antique tools collected by Te Awamutu’s Menz Shed are going on sale.

“In lots of cases some antique tools have quite a value, not probably for us, but somebody might want to pick them up and sell them for more, but we are not in that business,” said Menz Shed committee member, Richard Cato.

Cato said Menz Shed has helped members of the community to “downsize” by collecting tools that aren’t wanted anymore.

“They might go into a retirement village, they might move off a farm into town, and in the past accumulated a lot of tools and

things, and all of a sudden think ‘hell, what are we going to do with all of this… so they ring the Menz Shed to see if they want any tools, or if they can dispose of them. We will go in and help them tidy up,” he said.

Over time the shed collects an excess of tools such as saws, planes, chisels, and socket sets, but amongst it “there is always a lot of antique tools, which are probably superseded today, but still have a value for somebody,” said Cato.

They will be selling these excess tools at a garage sale on Saturday.

Cato said the funds raised from the sale will go back into Menz Shed, to help them maintain their tools and machinery.

Connexu outlines Covid recovery

A push to “reconnect and recover” from Covid impacts is being championed by support group Connexu.

Connexu works with adults who have an intellectual, physical, or sensory disability and people living with neurological conditions.

Reconnecting disabled people within the community is the mission of a new project created by Connexu which has won $13,000 funding from Waipā District Council’s Waipā Recovery Fund.

The organisation has also won funding from Te Whatu

Ora – Health New Zealand, to create and fill the role of a Covid response assistant responsible for creating care packages for disabled individuals and those who support them.

Scott MacKay has been appointed to the position.

The Hauora Project will partner with business and charitable organisations to provide whole of life education to better support the Waipā disabled community to reconnect, and enable them to key skills should there be periods of isolation in the future, Connexu group manager

Organisational, Wellbeing and Quality Laura Etz says.

“It is time for us to reconnect and recover in an educational manner from the impacts of Covid-19 and the effect that it has had on the disabled people in our community.

“This funding from the district council will enable us to run the Hauora Project from the beginning of 2023 for any disabled person in our community, as well as utilise as many community facilities as possible to ensure that connection goes as far as possible.”

The Waipā Recovery

M a y o r

Fund supports projects, programmes, activities and services provided by notfor-profit community groups and businesses to help communities recover from the impacts of Covid.

Events will carry just $2 entry fee.

“Through partnership with local business, we see this project having a positive effect in disabled people recovering socially following Covid-19, as well as having a positive impact for providers and business within the Waipā district,” Etz said.

The project provides several workshops in areas

which support the disabled community to develop safety frameworks and social networks which supports whole person wellbeing.

Locations such as community halls, the Te Awamutu Events Centre and local businesses are all integral venues for the project.

Educational events will be run every month for a year based on life skills and wellbeing, while enabling individuals to meet people.

Topics will include fire and home security safety, social network and cyber safety, sexual and personal

Scott MacKay

safety, animal ownership; gardening lessons, environmental safety and winter wellbeing.

A digital illustration of the proposed waste to energy plant.

The last post, or not…

By Mary Anne Gill

The minister responsible for putting the brakes on online voting for local body elections six years ago says the digital option still comes with risk.

Taupō MP Louise Upston, part of whose electorate takes in Waipā, says the benefits of it are no clearer today than they were when she was Associate Minister of Local Government in 2016.

Her comments come as most Waipā candidates struggled to recall the last time they posted any letters. Some say they post fewer than 10 letters a year and a couple had not posted a letter in years.

All knew where the nearest mailbox was though.

Lower voter turnout has resulted in calls for online voting. Even Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was

“very worried” about the turnout and was surprised posting back papers were still an option when it was not the way people tended to engage.

She said it was time for local government to look at changing it to ensure better turnouts.

Eight councils were poised to trial online voting in 2016 but Upston announced earlier in that year that concerns about security and vote integrity meant it was too early for the trial.

Upston said then online voting could be trialled at future elections, but she told The News this week other options could include physical polling places, a designated polling day or more collection options.

“Local elections are incredibly important, particularly with the raft of reforms going through such

Art premiere

Enrich Group trustee Maree Haddon shows off artist Deshan Walallavita’s lighthouse artwork. Artists from the Enrich Plus supported Art House programme had the opportunity to present their work to the community at a Spring Art Gallery viewing in the organisation’s Te Awamutu premises last week. The new art gallery is now open for public viewing after more than 40 people attended a premiere. The opportunity to view and purchase artwork produced by people in the disability community resulted in 12 pieces selling on the night for $1160. Forty percent of the takings were donated to the Te Awamutu Riding for the Disabled.

DOCTOR LAWN covers all aspects of lawn care from initial laying of instant turf and sowing new lawns, irrigation installation & maintenance, through to rejuvenating sick, stressed and run down lawns into green, weed free lawns you can be proud of.

as Three Waters and the future of local government. The decisions councils make effect everyone, and they should be representative,” she said.

“Online voting is only one proposal and that comes with risk, the benefits of it are no clearer today than they were.”

“We must make it as easy as possible for people to have their voices heard while not compromising the integrity or accessibility of the electoral system.”

Upston laid the blame on a poor turnout to the Labour government which she said had “constantly undermined local government by cutting out core services and engaging in deceptive advertising campaigns laying the blame for issues like poor water quality at their feet.”

Greater consistency in the way local elections were

run along with options like standardising the voter format and considering who runs the elections –local councils or Electoral Commission.

“There is still time for people to cast a vote and I encourage people to have their say,” said Upston.

Several candidates disagreed with Upston’s views about online voting.

Mike Montgomerie said rural entities he was involved with – Dairy NZ, FMG, Fonterra, Balance Agrinutrients etc – all use electronic voting.

“You receive an email with a pin and password, go to the website and vote. Those elections probably do not carry the same kind of fraud or hacking appeal or risk.”

Community board candidate Jo Davies-Colley said going online would see a higher participation rate

and better engagement while colleague Alana MacKay said postal voting was “no longer the way to go.”

Incumbent mayor Jim Mylchreest said he favoured a mix of electronic and postal voting but put the blame back on electors.

“People do need to take some responsibility to take part in the democratic system.”

Sue Milner wants to see a return to the time when polling days were a community event which invariably ended up as a neighbourhood evening as votes were announced.

Roger Gordon said The News could not be blamed as it helped raise awareness with news articles, features and advertising.

“I wonder if it is the lack of any opposing positions by candidates. Four of the Cambridge candidates have

Louise Upston

worked together for the past three years on many common issues. Perhaps it is time to move to electronic voting.”

Veteran Lou Brown, like Upston, blamed central government.

“Local government has inherited a tarnished image with the claims made over Three Waters, local government reforms, the current lack of basic state highway maintenance, and the current Urban Intensification Act all having a negative impact on local body elections.”

Where parochialism has ‘no room’

By Mary Anne Gill

The local body elections are an opportunity for voters to elect people without narrow or limited views and who have the vision to consider the big picture, says a candidate for Waikato Regional Council.

The News asked candidates standing for Waipā District and Waikato Regional councils how they would ensure parochial views did not frustrate progress.

Judy Sherriff, who is standing in the regional council’s Waipā-King Country constituency was very clear where her views lay - there is no room for parochial views at council tables.

Her opponents Barry Quayle and Stu Kneebone made similar statements.

Quayle said projects like a third bridge for Cambridge, an issue seen as “parochial”, would have to go through a “fairly clinical” business case process.

Kneebone said councillors were not elected to make decisions by referendum but were obligated to make informed decisions on the back of sound and credible information.

Clyde Graf, the fourth candidate, said he supported the rights of everyone to be heard but if the majority of community members supported a project, “then I’m keen to be a champion.”

There was a clear divide in Waipā district. Most candidates standing for community boards said it would be their role to be parochial for their communities.

“Representing their community shouldn’t be seen as negative – it’s what they’re there for,” said David Slone.

Don Sanders said sometimes “parochial views” are the only way to get some progress.

Jo Davies-Colley said community board members focus on local issues.

“So, for a Cambridge representative, this would involve advocating for a third bridge if this was the general consensus of the Cambridge community.

Similarly, Te Ara Wai could be a focus for the Te Awamutu Community Board.”

Jill Taylor said community boards had

a major role in ensuring the views and opinions of residents were paramount while Delwyn Smith said council needed to do the best for all people and have a very clear definition of the outcomes measured against any project.

Mike Pettit, in reference to a third bridge in Cambridge, said he hoped residents could look past the political grandstanding. “It doesn’t make the process go faster.”

Marcus Gower said it was very easy to keep parochialism off the table by “having a mix of people from across the district with the right skill set involved so you have a range of different views.”

Mayoral candidate Chris Woodhams said it was easy for any person to have a limited scope or outlook on any topic which is why community input for every major project should be sought.

“Having any group who is too narrowly focused, unchecked on a matter, leads to problems. In significant projects we need to build wider groups of engaged community, and open communications to ensure council actually listens to feedback.”

Incumbent mayor Jim Mylchreest said councillors swear on oath they would act in the best interest of the district “even though they may be elected from a specific ward.”

“The community benefits from its existing scale and it is important to maintain a balance across the district. It’s often not possible to duplicate all services at the same time but over time this balances out and everyone benefits from a strong district.”

Mayoral candidate Susan O’Regan said decisions at council were made on a district-wide benefit basis.

“There is no room for parochial thinking. Those who indulge in this approach, in my experience, are regularly reminded by others that we take an oath as councillors to make decision for the betterment of the whole of Waipā not just a specific town or area.”

Current deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk said elected members needed to have vision, good business acumen with a good dose of common sense to ensure healthy progress continued.

Raceway plans revealed

By Mary Anne Gill

The century-old Cambridge Raceway is to undergo a significant multi-million dollar facelift.

Details were revealed exclusively to The News today by chair Graham Bowen and chief executive Dave Branch and come a fortnight after Waipā District Council announced its plans for a 27ha super sports hub in the town’s northern town belt.

The Raceway stand, built for $750,000 and opened in July 1976, will get a new roof to go over the existing rotting scallop roof and the interior upgraded to include rentable event and shared office spaces plus a gymnasium.

Construction will soon start on a new multi-purposed enclosed stable complex for race night horses and the 140 horses that train on the site. Two new social membership options will launch on

Melbourne Cup Day next month. Plans for a residential subdivision are also in the mix.

So well was the stand built that it comfortably passes today’s modern earthquake standards, said Bowen

“We’ve been working on this for some time. We did the strategy work and then the master plan in 2020,” said Branch.

“There’s been plenty of racing clubs who have gone the opposite of what we’re doing and got themselves in debt. So, this is pretty exciting,” said Bowen.

Branch said the club needed to maximise the existing footprint, improve vehicle flow and diversify revenue streams.

“We want to look after our racing community,” said Branch.

“We want to become a leading harness racing complex and also a first-choice events, business and community hub in the Waikato region.”

The venue updates will enable Cambridge Raceway to host regular entertainment and sports events, conferences and private functions in addition to premiere race meetings.

While Covid presented challenges for the club, race meetings could continue because it is the only main centre which has horses training on site.

Cambridge Raceway, while third in size behind Alexandra Park in Auckland and Addington in Christchurch, is the busiest racetrack in the country with 27 harness and 52 greyhound meetings a year.

It is the home of harness and greyhound racing in the Waikato and now incorporates the old Morrinsville, Bay of Plenty, Te Awamutu and Hamilton harness racing clubs.

It was established as Cambridge Trotting Club in October 1919.

The first meeting was held in January 1921, at what was then the Waikato Central A & P Association Showgrounds, with seven events and stakes of £600.

Entry fees were two shillings and sixpence for motor cars and one shilling for horse drawn vehicles. The first totaliser meeting was held in 1925.

During the Depression in the 1930s, the club held six meetings in an 18-month period when other clubs abandoned their race permits.

The track was taken over under the Military Harvesting policy in 1939 and was used for the next seven years as a military camp with close to 1000 officers and men accommodated.

In 1962, the new five furlong (1000m) track was used for the first time and the following year the domain land became freehold and champion pacer Cardigan Bay

equalled the New Zealand mile record.

Racing went under lights for the first time in January 1965 with a record 9000 people in attendance.

Alf Walsh’s mobile gate innovation made its debut later that year and 10 years later, patrons farewelled the legendary pacer Young Quinn, usually driven by Cambridge driver Charlie Hunter, before the horse headed off to the USA where it competed successfully.

Greyhounds made their debut in August 1987 and in 1999, champion pacer Christian Cullen scored back to back wins in the Flying Mile and Cambridge Supporters Classic.

Five years ago, the club was rebranded Cambridge Raceway and the following year a new winning post erected.

The Raceway celebrated it centenary with a 1920s themed event in January 2019.

Hockey players take on the region

By Steph Bell-Jenkins

A Te Awamutu Junior Hockey team competed at Waikato Hockey Association’s 2022 Rural Schools Tournament in Hamilton last Wednesday and finished fifth out of 16 teams.

The tournament was open to Waikato schools outside Hamilton and was held at Gallagher Hockey Centre.

“We were extremely pleased because the kids set their own target to be in the top half,” said parent coach Kim Howells.

The team was made up of students from Pokuru School, St Patrick’s School, Puahue School and home school.

“There are two year 5 and 6 hockey teams who play with Te Awamutu Junior Hockey and I chose the more experienced players from those two teams to form this tournament side,” Kim said.

“They’re all very competitive players so it gave them a really good opportunity to play some new teams and pit themselves against others of similar ability.

“The other really good thing is when you have six games in a day it’s a really good chance for them to actually learn and see the changes between games, so they grow a lot and get to try new things.”

Kim said she was extremely proud of her team’s effort.

“They played their hearts out and did really well, it was heaps of fun,” she said.

Artist’s impression: A view of how The Raceway will look post developments with rentable shared office space on the top floor.

Cambridge Raceway chair Graham Bowen and chief executive Dave Branch (right) today reveal plans for the redevelopment of Cambridge Raceway.

Te Awamutu Junior Hockey player Cooper Watkins (centre) takes on Leamington School’s

Jade Stamp (left) and Johnny Ward.

The

LTNFATLALKSHTTEEOV

PUKMWTBPMCWSAAZTIR SREOARUOAEIPMIASRU PEAKLAHARXSARRKTAA AHAEVSKTLAIROAMNGP

RRLAATRONNOADMAUNE KDAAYERLIYMCAAYOOH SIVXMIWISVZUJTOMTU PASOWDPMLMATKNNJVJ LUREMESAANTISANADW KATMAIKQTHGNASEHSA WWNRUEREIRFUOSTEAM ACTIVE ANTISANA ASHES ASKJA COTOPAXI CRATER DORMANT ELGON ERUPT ETNA FLAMES FUJI

HEAT HEKLA KATMAI KAZBEK KENYA KRAKATOA LAHAR LAKE LAVA MAUNAKEA MAYON MOUNT ST

HELENS NGAURUHOE PARACUTIN PELEE RUAPEHU SANTA MARIA SEMERU SMOKE SOUFRIERE SPARKS STEAM STROMBOLI

TAAL TAMBORA TEIDE TOLIMA TONGARIRO TREMOR VENT VESUVIUS

Diet Recipe Book

By Sarah Di Lorenzo

are just starting

even

will help keep

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SARAH DI LORENZO is a qualified clinical nutritionist with over 20 years’ experience in the wellness industry, who is dedicated to overhauling the health of her clients. As well as running a successful clinic in Sydney’s inner city, Sarah is a regular public speaker and media nutritionist, well-known due to her appearances on Channel 7’s Sunrise and Weekend Sunrise. A single mother of three, Sarah is also an avid exerciser and firmly believes in the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Kitchen capers

In many ways, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between school holidays and lockdown. But to keep spirits up during the hols, encourage the kids to enjoy some simple fun playing chef in the kitchen.

The following recipes don’t require much cooking so they are suitable for kids of all ages. It’s throw together food.

However, give a little guidance, if required.

• First, make sure hands are washed in hot soapy water and dried thoroughly.

• Read the recipe first and place all the ingredients required on the bench so they are within easy reach. This also helps ensure that all the ingredients are used.

• Use consistent measurements in each recipe. That is, use metric measuring spoons and cups — not a mix of everyday spoons or imperial and metric measures.

• Spoon dry ingredients into a measuring cup then carefully level off to the required amount without compacting the mixture. The exception to this rule is brown sugar. Normally this is pressed into a cup or spoon.

• When measuring liquid, place the measuring cup on a flat surface then fill to the required level.

• Ensure knives are sharpened as it’s easier for fingers to be cut with a blunt knife as more pressure is required to cut through food.

• Clean up as you go!

CHOCOLATE HOKEY POKEY ICE CREAM SLICE

You can use plain hokey pokey, if preferred — either purchased or home-made. Before using baking paper, crumple it, then flatten. It’s easier to line pans when it’s crumpled. Choose oblong biscuits, if possible, as these fit the tray more easily.

2 teaspoons powdered gelatine

2 tablespoons cold water

250g malt biscuits or similar 300g chocolate hokey pokey clusters or hokey pokey crunch chocolate 600ml cream

2 tablespoons icing sugar

395g can sweetened condensed milk

Place the gelatine in a small bowl and add the water. Stand

for 5 minutes for the gelatine to swell. Place in the microwave for 10 seconds to dissolve. Cool.

Meanwhile, line a 35cm x 25cm x 4cm slice tray with baking paper.

Cover the base evenly with the biscuits. If using round biscuits, crush these first and sprinkle evenly over the base.

Roughly chop the hokey pokey pieces.

Whip the cream and icing sugar together until stiff. Fold in the cooled but still liquid gelatine and the condensed milk. Fold in half the chopped hokey pokey. Pour evenly over the base and smooth the top.

Sprinkle evenly with the remaining hokey pokey pieces. Freeze until solid. Using a large, heavy, sharp knife, cut into bars or squares and serve. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer. Makes about 16.

SMOKED CHICKEN SPRING ROLLS WITH HOISIN DIP

To julienne, means to slice into very thin batons. 200g skinned and boned smoked chicken 12-14 round rice paper wrappers

3 cups finely shredded crunchy lettuce 1/2 red capsicum, seeded and very thinly sliced 24 each: mint leaves, coriander sprigs

3 spring onions, thinly sliced Hoisin Dip: 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons lemon juice Julienne the chicken. Have all the other ingredients — prepared — on hand.

Place 1 sheet of rice paper in a shallow dish of warm water, until just softened. Place on a chopping board.

Place a little lettuce and 3 slices of the capsicum on one edge of the wrapper. Add 2 mint leaves and 2 coriander sprigs, some spring onion and a little chicken. Fold in the sides and roll up, enclosing the filling. Place on a platter and cover with a damp paper towel.

Repeat until all the rolls are prepared.

Combine the ingredients for the dip and serve with the rolls. Serves 4 as a light meal.

BLISS BITES

Fresh dates could replace the prunes.

20 pitted prunes

3/4 cup each: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch salt

Optional: 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Place the prunes in a food processor and whizz until well chopped. Add the seeds and pulse until chopped. Add the coconut, cinnamon and salt and pulse to combine. Remove from the food processor. Stir in the mini chocolate chips, if using.

Line a tray with baking paper. Take heaped tablespoons (30g) of the mixture and roll into balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. Makes 12.

Chocolate Hokey Pokey ice cream slice

Smoked chicken spring rolls with Hoisin dip

HOUSE WASHING

Ron picks a runaway

By Barry Lichter

When Del Shannon finally scored for his long suffering owners at Cambridge on Thursday night, 94-year-old Ron Otto was with them, celebrating in the winner’s circle.

Otto was promised a night at the trots by his helpers at the Oakdale rest home in Cambridge if he got himself mobile again.

When he walked to the dining room by himself, the outing was on.

“The two girls who got me walking took me to the trots and we had a great night,” Otto said. “I even tipped them into a winner.”

Watching Del Shannon trotting in his preliminary, Otto said he was taken by the beautiful way he was put together and his long stride. The money went on.

Otto has no previous connection to harness racing but his family was involved in thoroughbreds.

He said he was treated like royalty all night by the Cambridge committee and jumped, well not quite jumped, at the chance to join the photo ceremony in his wheelchair, when members of the Runaway Syndicate greeted their often perplexing charge.

It’s not that Del Shannon, or Yogi as he is affectionately known, lacks ability.

Being by world champion sire Muscle Hill out of trainer Nicky Chilcott’s nine-race winner Hot Chocolate Tart, he was bound to have something under the bonnet.

But with it came a mischievous streak. Chilcott once spent a day repairing fences after he went on runaway spree charging from one paddock to another.

Then Yogi kept going lame for no apparent reason and it was only through scintigraphy that Chilcott discovered he’d fractured a shoulder.

Locked up in a box for four months then another two more months in a tiny yard, Yogi missed his entire two-year-old season.

When Yogi finally got to the races he showed immediate ability, winning at his second start before being put aside to strengthen in late January.

But when he came back into work the loveable horse who always wanted a pat had gone missing. “He was awful, he couldn’t trot, and he was always sulking. If you walked past him he’d go to the back of his box.

“We did a vet check and they couldn’t find anything wrong. I didn’t know what else to do so I gave him two to three weeks in the paddock.

“He came back a different horse, happy and back to being the old Yogi.”

On Thursday last week, told not to expect too much in his first race for nine months, Yogi’s owners thought his three deep marker run might see him run into the minor money in Woodlands Stud Supporting Our Future Trot.

But, as Chilcott said, just a week after racking up her 500th training win, “when things are going your way, they’re going your way.”

“He won easily, which didn’t really surprise me as he was the best horse in the field. He’s a lovely horse with really good manners - not much stresses him out - and he’ll continue to improve.

Thursday was the first time the Runaway Syndicate had been on course to cheer home their hero - his maiden win came when Covid restrictions prevented owners from attending.

So the fresh-up win was a great thrill for Pete and Di McDermott, Noel and Jan Burnside, Rex and Jan Hooton, Christine and Graeme Gillanders, Roger Carroll, Judy Bowen, Steve and Karen Hollander, Kelvin and Cherry Neville, Jo Turan and Nes Turan, along with co-owners and breeders Lyn Chilcott and Grant and Di Beckett.

Ron Otto

Del Shannon wins at Cambridge Raceway on Thursday night.

Photo: Chanelle Lawson

Vacancy Caregiver (Casual and Part Time)

MAUNGATAUTARI ECOLOGICAL ISLAND TRUST

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

VACANCY

In the heart of Te Awamutu, Freeman Court makes

living

for

have one vacant position to start as soon as possible.

In the heart of Te Awamutu, Freeman Court makes independent living affordable and a little easier for older people. We have two vacant positions to start as soon as possible. COVID-19 vaccination required.

• Caregiver (part time) - 20 Hrs

Notice is hereby given that the Trust’s Annual General Meeting is to be held on Tuesday 18th October 2022 in the Te Manawa o Matariki Room, Don Rowlands Centre, Lake Karapiro commencing at 6.00pm. Attendees are invited to join the Trustees for supper at the conclusion of the meeting. Note the Karapiro Dam is currently closed. Please plan alternative routes. Enquiries to Visitor Centre on 07 870 5180 or email secretary@maungatrust.org

casual position. Rostered shifts covering 24 hours and seven days a week

• Casual Caregiver

For more information, please feel free to contact Tricia Ball (residential manager) at tricia.ball@habitat.org.nz or call 07 871 5260.

GarageSale

more information, please feel free to contact Tricia Ball (residential manager) at tricia.ball@habitat.org.nz or call 07 871 5260.

COULD CARTERS CAMBRIDGE BE YOUR NEW WORK-FAMILY?

We are looking for a physically t person to continue the serious mahi my awesome team do to keep our local tradies happy.

you enjoy working in a hands-on role where you will do it once and do it right, this could be the opportunity

have been looking for. It’s a bonus, if you have forklift experience that is F-endorsed, however the opportunity to be trained to do this is available too - if you have a full and clean NZ drivers licence.

Enjoy variety on the job as you pick orders, load and unload deliveries, serve customers, put stock away and keep the yard clean and tidy whilst learning our extensive product range!

return, we o er:

top hourly rate

A 7.5% Bene ts Plan which includes Superannuation, Southern Cross Medical Insurance not to mention a voluntary savings scheme

interested,

Vic

local Carters

WE ARE HIRING!

Manager