NOTEWORTHY

WOEFUL FUNDING

New rules in the latest draft National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity can’t be implemented without a comprehensive and well-resourced financial support package, say Federated Farmers. Chris Allen says the policy’s chances of success are undermined by woeful funding. In the 2022 Budget only $20 million of the $150m needed over the next four years was allocated. Allen was a member of the cross-sector Biodiversity Collaborative Group that made recommendations to the government.

PASIFIKA SCRIBE

Wellington writer Tamara Tulitua has been appointed the 2022 Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence at Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters. Tamara traces her lineage through the villages of Lefaga on her mother’s side, and Sapapāli’i, Vailima, and Tanugamanono on her father’s side. She intends to use the residency to work on a collection mixing prose and poetry to explore the experiences of tama’ita’i Samoa (Samoan women) in diasporic settings. NAME SHAME

Ngāti Toa has requested that Calliope Park in Cannons Creek be renamed, as the name is culturally offensive to mana whenua. In the 1920s Te Rauparaha, Ngāti Toa’s paramount chief, was arrested and held captive without charge on board the HMS Calliope (a 26-gun frigate) for over 18 months. The former Calliope Crescent has already been renamed Matahourua Crescent, after the twin-hulled waka Kupe was sailing when he discovered Aotearoa. GRANT THREE WISHES

Three up-and-coming Māori businesses have been selected as recipients of grants from the Kāpiti Coast District Council and Te Whakaminenga o Kāpiti’s 2021/22 Māori Economic Development Fund. Two of the grants will go to health and wellness organisations: Hā Pai Wellness, a holistic health collective, and Te Rongoā Rerehua, a developer of rongoā Māori products. The third grant will go towards the building of Te Hāhi, an art residence and workspace at Hori Gallery Ltd – Te Whare Toi o Hori in Ōtaki.

Juno Gin Distillery tour

GET A TASTE OF TARANAKI

Black Sands Pizzeria, Ōakura

MAKE IT PRETTY

Lower Hutt residents have given feedback on how they would prefer the Government’s requirement for territorial authorities to enable higher and denser housing to be implemented. A requirement that developers make public areas more attractive was sought by 82% of the respondents, and there was strong support for the introduction of minimum standards for landscaping. Views were mixed on whether Boulcott, Lowry Bay, and Woburn should remain zoned as low-density areas. Lower Hutt City Council is now considering the feedback for inclusion in a proposed District Plan change, which will be open for formal submissions in August.

BEEP BEEP

Hutt City Council has signed off an Integrated Transport Strategy setting out the city’s vision and direction for transport developments. "Residents have consistently raised transport as one of their biggest concerns in our city,” says Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry. “While we know the strategy won’t fix our transport challenges overnight, we now have a guide for our strategic transport decisions and investments that will lead to a more efficient, resilient, and safer transport network in Lower Hutt.” ON THE RISE

The Takutai Kāpiti Coastal Advisory Panel, set up to represent the Kāpiti Coast community, will help the Kāpiti Coast District Council find ways of adapting to coastal erosion due to climate change. “Everyone is affected, as we all pay when council has to repair, replace, or relocate community infrastructure like accessways, roads, pipes, and parks as climate change brings more extreme and frequent storms and rising seas,” says Kāpiti Coast District Council coastal manager Lyndsey Craig. A public information session on coastal hazards will be held on 23 July, at the Ocean Road community centre, Paraparaumu Beach. LYDIA’S LEGACY

Family and friends of the late Professor Lydia Wevers ONZM have created the Lydia Wevers Scholarship in New Zealand Studies. Born in the Netherlands, Wevers moved with her family to Masterton as a child. She became an internationally renowned literary historian, critic, teacher, writer, and scholar, specialising in New Zealand studies. Wevers was director of the VUW, Stout Research Centre, for New Zealand Studies from 2001 to 2017. Recipients of the $33,000 annual scholarship will have access to work space and support in Victoria University's Stout Centre.

Shining Peak Brewery

You’ll be spoiled for choice in Taranaki when it comes to filling your puku, with an abundance of cafés, restaurants, bars, and eateries right around the maunga. Taranaki is a foodie’s haven, with paddock-to-plate style menus, hearty gastronomic dishes, and locally-made produce regularly featured. Take in beachfront views at Black Sands Pizzeria, do a tour of the Juno Gin distillery, or visit Shining Peak brewery for craft brews and refined bites. Nau mai haere mai, it’s time to experience Taranaki – a place like no other.

taranaki.co.nz/visit