Mahurangi Matters_Issue 457_19 June 2023

unveiled Mahi toi

A mahi toi (artwork) for the AraTūhono – Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway project was unveiled at a dawn ceremony last week. It forms part of a series of artworks along the road, which reflect the history and values of mana whenua in the area. The two elements are a four-metre carved pou whenua and a stainless steel pouākai giant extinct eagle. The po whenua was designed and crafted by Wyvern Rosieur (Ngāti Manuhiri), while the pouākai is the work of Nathan Hull. The artwork is a tribute to Reipae –Tohitohi o Reipae Dome Valley takes its name from the Tainui ancestress Reipae. Reipae and Reitū (her sister) travelled on the back of a large pouākai and rested in the area on their way to Whangarei.

The smaller carving at the foot of the pou reflects the lives lost on the old stretch of road. “Reipae is here to protect and guide the spirits of those who have passed away, and to comfort their loved ones,” Wyvern says. The artists who worked under Wyvern were Uenuku Hawira (Ngāti Amaru), Hokimai-Anahera and Rerekapua Rosieur (Ngāti Manuhiri) and John Antonovich (Ngāti Manuhiri). Special motorway feature starts on page 21.

Coverage of last week’s official opening at www.localmatters.co.nz

Council applies brakes to Mahurangi growth

Growth in Warkworth will be shunted back at least a decade if Auckland Council adopts a draft Future Development Strategy, which is out for public feedback until July 4.

The strategy revisits the time frames for live zoning large tracts of greenfield land around the town.

Council wants to delay development in

Warkworth, Wellsford and Algies Bay, Silverdale, Orewa and Dairy Flat until critical infrastructure can be provided.

It has also marked some future urban zoned land for further investigation due to infrastructure constraints, emissions reduction and natural hazards considerations.

Auckland Plan strategy and research general manager Jacques Victor says this

doesn’t mean that these areas cannot be developed in the future, but there needs to be a better understanding of the impacts on people and property.

“Future urban (greenfield) land is an important part of the council’s overall strategy for Auckland’s growth and making sure people have housing choices available,” Victor says.

One Mahurangi has described the plan as “a shambles” (see story page 3) and the developer of Warkworth south says council will have a legal battle on its hands if it tries to implement unnecessary delays (see story page 2).

With half a million more people expected to live in Auckland by 2058, council says

continued page 2

A

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Growth strategy

from page1

Re-setting the clock

its plan is to make sure homes, jobs and infrastructure are built in the right places, at the right time, while also building resilience to climate change and protecting the environment.

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Proposals include focusing growth in existing urban areas rather than growing more at the edges of the city, focusing development near local centres, avoiding further growth in areas which are exposed to significant risk of environmental hazards, and prioritising nature-based infrastructure that responds to the impacts of climate change.

One way that developers have got around the future urban zone time frames, outlined in the Auckland Unitary Plan, has been through private plan changes.

Both Stubbs Farm and Warkworth Ridge were approved this way and, according to Auckland Council, will not be affected by the draft Future Development Strategy. However, future private plan changes will face tougher rules if the draft strategy is adopted. Victor says while council has limited options to address these plan changes, the strategy proposes that priority areas for investment should be strictly followed. Once confirmed through council’s next 10-year Budget 2024-34, funded programmes should be adhered to.

“Changes to the Auckland Unitary Plan will be made to strengthen the statutory decision-making framework for private plan changes in future urban areas.”

Planning Environment and Parks Committee Councillor chair Richard Hills says the strategy looks at the big issues around growth that affect quality of life – such as where people choose to live and work, how they move around the city, resilience to natural hazards and growing in a way that both reduces emissions and adapts to climate change, to benefit future generations.

“We want to hear from Aucklanders on whether they think we have got this right.”

People can make a submission online through the Auckland Council website at: akhaveyoursay.nz/futureauckland

The strategy can be read with this story online at www.localmatters.co.nz

The following is a summary of proposed changes from the draft Future Development Strategy for specific future urban areas. Areas are not expected to be ready for development before the given date. Auckland Council says this is ed on updated information about when infrastructure needed to support the full build-out of the area is likely to be implemented.

Warkworth

• Warkworth north: not ready for development before 2035+ (previously 2018-2022).

• Warkworth west: not ready for development before 2040+ (previously 2018-2022).

• Warkworth South is broken down into three areas to provide more granular sequencing: South-central: not ready for development before 2040+ (previously 2028-2032)

South-east: not ready for development before 2045+ (previously 2028-2032)

South-west: not ready for development before 2045+ (previously 2028-2032) These areas (Warkworth South) are also recommended for further investigation due to transport infrastructure, urban

form, emissions reduction and natural hazards considerations.

• Warkworth north-east: not ready for development before 2045+ (previously 2033-2037). The area is also recommended for further investigation due to transport infrastructure, urban form, emissions reduction and natural hazards considerations.

Hatfields Beach

Proposed removal of Hatfields Beach 2 future urban area due to significant hazard constraints and settlement risks.

Wellsford

Wellsford future urban area: not ready for development before 2030+ (previously 2023-2027).

Algies Bay

Algies Bay future urban area: not ready for development before 2025+ (previously 2023-2027).

Strategy direction worries developer

One of the area’s largest proposed developments to the south of Warkworth may be a litmus test for the new strategy.

Classic Group has partnered with the New Zealand Super Fund to form the KA Waimanawa Limited Partnership to develop the land on the western side of SH1, around Valerie Close.

The Waimanawa private plan change, which would pave the way for 1600 new residential lots, parks, a retail/business centre, public transport hub and possibly a school, was submitted to Auckland Council in February.

Classic general manager Steve Cutfield says he is expecting the plan change to be notified in about six to eight weeks, possibly after the decision on the adoption of the strategy is made. Cutfield says there has been support in principle from council for the plan change, but he fears it could become a political hot potato.

“Like other developers across Auckland, we have spent millions of dollars on the purchase of land and processes on this project so far,” he says. “Warkworth has been earmarked for growth with roading

and wastewater upgrades, and our plan is in keeping with this.

“This wholesale change aimed at shrinking the urban limits for a growing city defies logic.”

The strategy proposes pushing the Warkworth south development out to 2040+ and 2045+, with part of the site recommended for further investigation due to transport, urban form, emissions/VKT (vehicle kilometres travelled) reduction and natural hazards issues. It says Warkworth south has moderate hazard constraints, including about 25 per cent of the future urban area being within the one per cent AEP flood plain, and small to moderate areas of the future urban area containing some risks of settlement, liquefaction and slope instability.

Cutfield says the development was planned without any financial contributions required by council and the design solutions addressing natural hazards were “above and beyond”.

He says Classic was not consulted before the strategy was released and would be making a submission with full legal weight behind it.

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Flood response information needs transparency

By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

Auckland Council’s investigation into flooding impacts has prompted calls from councillors for more transparency.

At the Planning, Environment and Parks committee on June 1, council staff said a formal report on the localised flooding impacts from the Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle was expected later this month.

The update prompted Cr Julie Fairey to ask for more upfront information for the public.

“The challenge here is that our traditional way of communicating amongst ourselves is not necessarily very transparent or accessible to the public,” she said.

“Not in a sneaky way but just in that we usually don’t put stuff out to the public until we have voted on a report.”

Fairey said there was information that could be given out, but it needed to be framed in a way that let the public know there was uncertainty around council’s position.

“We kind of need to trust the public to understand those messages.”

Chief of strategy Megan Tyler said it was a fair challenge and council’s recovery team was beginning discussions on how to be more open.

She said the team was exploring “how do we get some communication out there that doesn’t necessarily put things in concrete, but enables us to communicate with Aucklanders to know where we are heading”.

Cr Chris Darby said the report later this month needed to be a candid look at council practice.

“I just want some assurance that this is going to be a real warts and all look because I think it is going to probably reveal some

unsavoury truths about our own planning regime,” Darby said.

“We can’t shy away. I am not suggesting that your team would be covering anything up, but it just needs to reveal everything.”

Darby said one of the issues was that council’s compliance team was not addressing complaints unless they presented a health and safety risk.

“We are getting a lot of questions as to ‘why didn’t council do something about that concrete driveway or that impervious area that is greater than what is consented?’.”

“We are letting a lot go. How long have

First stage of Kaihu Valley Trail opens

The first stage of a new cycling and walking trail in the Kaipara district has been officially opened, a 30-kilometre route between Dargaville and Kaihu comprising two off-road trail sections currently linked by low-volume roads.

Once complete, the Kaihu Valley Trail will allow cyclists and walkers to wend their way through forest and farmland and along the Kaihu River, from Dargaville to Donnelly’s Crossing, a distance of some 45km. It will largely follow the historic rail line built in 1896 to service the kauri industry.

“This is an investment in the region,” said Northland MP Willow-Jean Prime, who joined Kaipara District Council deputy mayor Jonathan Larsen in cutting the ribbon at a June 10 ceremony hosted by Ahikiwi Marae in Kaihu.

we been doing nothing more than reactive monitoring?”

Tyler responded that if councillors’ risk tolerance had changed, there were serious implications.

“You need to understand the implications of that and the implications whether that’s on our people of Auckland, but also on this organisation – if you want to do that, that’s great, but we can’t resource the monitoring of that,” she said.

The investigative report is expected to come to the Planning, Environment and Parks Committee on June 29.

One Mahurangi: Strategy needs to reality check

One Mahurangi Business Association cochair Dave Stott has called the strategy a shambles.

The association has brought together a group of planners, engineers and community groups to prepare a submission.

“We want an approach that engages council agencies, developers, planners and the community in a collaborative and meaningful way, and that provides a planning strategy that is based on reality,” Stott says. “The strategy should meet community needs in terms of the provision of housing, infrastructure, commercial and social facilities.”

He believes council is trying to slow development because it can’t meet the time frames set out in in the Unitary Plan, and this is probably due to budget constraints

and the need to build climate resilience into existing infrastructure.

“Council is proposing that most developments be delayed until 2035 and beyond. At least two of those developments proposed for a later start are already underway – namely Warkworth Ridge and Stubbs Farm – and it is likely that the Waimanawa development in Warkworth South will get a private planning change granted by the Environment Court within the next 12 months.”

Stott says there are two fundamental problems.

The first is that there is still a strong market drive for many more houses. Developers respond to this need and although the Unitary Plan was reasonably well founded in terms of meeting need and

providing a framework for infrastructure installation, developers still drove the planning programme rather than council, through private plan changes from the Environmental Court. It is likely that these developments will continue despite council’s attempt to delay them.

“This will mean council planning, provision of infrastructure and the wishes of developers will be even more out of sync than under the Unitary Plan.”

He says the second problem is that development will occur without adequate infrastructure and with no logical sequence or timeframe.

“Poor coordination also means that many of the social and commercial imperatives are not being catered for. Examples of this would be the lack of progress on freeing

“It is good for locals and their wellbeing and also for visitors who come to the region, added Prime, who is also conservation minister. After Kaumātua Poihakena Panapa and Reverend Tuha Panapa blessed the trail, members of the local community joined iwi, the project team and dignitaries watching as 150 local cyclists crossed the new Ahikiwi Bridge, one of two on the trail, built with a $600,000 contribution from Waka Kotahi.

According to Larsen the district council also obtained funding through the government’s Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund, with ministers overseeing the Infrastructure Reference Group granting the council $4 million.

Larsen thanked local people, the marae along the route, the project team and cofunders who have worked with council to make the project a reality.

land for industrial development in the west, rendering existing industrial zones in the Morrison Drive area useless as the result of the proposed route of the inner Western Collector, reduction of future health facilities for the same reason and the nonsensical location of a new primary school on Woodcocks Road.”

Stott says the provision of infrastructure and haphazard planning also makes a mockery of council’s so called objectives to provide integrated multi-modal transport systems and commercial development close to home to minimise carbon emissions.

“The new school, for instance, is located where it will require most of the children to be transported to school by car, and lack of planning of industrial and commercial development will condemn our working community to commuting.”

Black Ferns champ recognised

Co-captain of the world champion Black Ferns Ruahei Demant was named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby in the King’s Birthday Honours list, the latest of a series of accolades for the former Mahurangi College student. Demant was raised in the Bay of Plenty before moving to the Warkworth area with her family, aged 11. By 2013, the touch rugby enthusiast was Mahurangi College head girl.

In 2018, she was selected for the Black Ferns –three years after her sister Kiritapu – and last year co-led the national team to the world title. World Rugby named her Women’s 15s player of the year for 2022.

Demant joined her fellow co-caption Kennedy Simon in being recognised in the Honours, and the team’s former coach Wayne Smith was knighted.

Sandspit-based Michael Absolum, one of the country’s most highly regarded education evaluators, was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education in the King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours.

Over more than 40 years, Absolum has worked as a teacher, lecturer, psychologist and Education Review Office reviewer. In 1999, he founded Evaluation Associates, a company helping educators to raise achievement and reduce outcome disparity for students.

Educator honoured Locals honoured by newly-minted Kin

His 2007 book Clarity in the Classroom has been described as the leading New Zealand text on assessment for learning.

“It feels weird, really,” Absolum said, commenting on his award. “I think awards are a good thing until you get one yourself and you think, ‘Me? Really?’ And then the texts and emails and messages flood in.”

An unexpected benefit was a reconnection with people he hadn’t seen in years – one of whom had been in his new entrant class. Another bonus was the fact his daughter, her husband and children were visiting on King’s Birthday Monday.

“They woke up, and I insisted that they

Commissioner recognised

King’s Birthday Honours recipients with links to the Mahurangi area include Kevin Prime (Ngāti Hine), a commissioner of the Environment Court since 2003. Prime has played a key role in the court’s marathon appeal hearing against the granting of resource consent for a regional megadump in the Dome Valley. The court is currently considering its decision.

Prime, of Motatau, is a farmer, forester and conservationist. He has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) recognising more than half a century’s service to Māori, the environment and health.

A member of the Waitangi Tribunal since 2021, the 79-year-old’s numerous previous awards and honours include that of Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, in 2016, for services to conservation and Māori.

read the Herald,” he laughed.

The honour came 11 years after Absolum’s wife and fellow education professional, Mary Chamberlain, became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Working with the Education Ministry’s Kāhui Ako education and training initiative, she has had considerable involvement with schools in the area.

Michael and Mary have lived in Sandspit for 10 years, but their association with the coastal settlement goes back decades, since he began visiting a long-standing resident in the mid-1970s. When his friend died aged 90, Michael became a trustee of his estate, and by then they had “become so attracted to the whole area that we decided to that we’d move up from urban Auckland”. Absolum said he and Mary were now “reasonably retired”, even as their thriving enterprise, Evaluation Associates, continues to support schools’ efforts to develop their assessment systems.

“We’ve been lucky enough and smart enough, I think, to see our company get to the size where it’s able to provide high-quality services to teachers and school leaders,” he said. “We’re very, very proud of that.”

From their striking home overlooking the estuary, they enjoy a lifestyle featuring a fishing boat, membership of the Warkworth Golf Club and the Sandspit Residents and Ratepayers Association – and are friends of Heron’s Flight vineyard owner David Hoskins, “drinking the wine in great quantities”. Golf, fishing, wine – what a combination!

Environment Court commissioner and Northland farmer, forester and conservationist Kevin Prime.

Black Ferns co-captain and former Mahurangi College head girl Ruahei Demant.

Michael Absolum ONZM and his wife Mary Chamberlain MNZM.

Lubeck shepherds sexual harassment bill into law

The timeframe to raise a personal grievance for sexual harassment will soon increase from 90 days to 12 months, following the final passage through Parliament of the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill.

The bill was sponsored by Labour List MP Marja Lubeck, of Mahurangi.

Once it becomes law, all new employment agreements will need to specifically reference the 12 months within which an employee can raise a grievance. The rationale is to allow victims of sexual harassment more time to consider whether they want to bring a personal grievance. However, the law is not retrospective so will not impact existing agreements.

Lubeck says the bill was an example of collegial law-making, with bipartisan support across the house. This included Kaipara ki Mahurangi MP Chris Penk who congratulated Lubeck, and the original promoter of the bill, Dr Deborah Russell. At the third reading, Penk acknowledged

the courage of those who had come forward to seek the law change and anyone who in a workplace, or elsewhere, has suffered, at the hands of another person, sexual harassment or similar unacceptable behaviour.

“It goes without saying that such behaviour is unacceptable, and in addition to passing this specific law, the House condemns such behaviour in no uncertain terms,” he said.

Lubeck said many harrowing stories had surfaced during the bill’s progress into law.

“Coming forward to report sexual harassment can be difficult, and it is common for victims of sexual harassment to wait a long time before coming forward,” she said.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe at work, and it is important employees have time to consider what has occurred and feel safe to raise it with others.”

Lubeck previously successfully lobbied, through the Private Members Bill process, to end conversion therapy.

She is not contesting the October election and will give her valedictory speech in Parliament on August 15.

Money allocated to crime prevention

By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

Local Boards in Auckland will get an equal share of crime prevention funding, after Mayor Wayne Brown rejected a recommendation from staff.

A total of $2 million was given to Auckland Council by the Ministry of Social Development to invest in community safety initiatives. The Regulatory and Safety committee voted on May 30 on how to allocate the $2 million – $1 million to local boards and $1 million via council-affiliated Business Improvement Districts (BID). The split was put forward in a resolution by Mayor Brown, which countered council

staff advice that $1 million should be put into a contestable fund and $1 million to local boards using crime data to decide the distribution of funding.

Originally, staff suggested distributing 75 per cent of the $1 million based on crime data in local board areas and 25 per cent split evenly across all 21 local boards.

“Actually, think a bit deeper and see why crime is not as high in some areas that have spent money on prevention. Money on prevention works,” Brown said.

“Those BIDs that have spent their money on crime prevention are down the list for crime – Some of the areas are well down because they spend 40 per cent of their money on crime prevention.”

(full story online at www.localmatters.co.nz)

Local Matters welcomes Google partnership

Mahurangi Matters and Hibiscus Matters, published by Local Matters, are among a raft of national, regional and local news titles to join Google News Showcase – a programme paying publishers to curate content online.

Google New Zealand country director Caroline Rainsford says the programme shows Google’s ongoing commitment to New Zealand’s news industry.

“We’re so pleased to be continuing to bring a broad spectrum of Aotearoa’s publications to more audiences through Google News Showcase with digital natives such as Spinoff and Wanaka App to heritage mastheads from Stuff and Allied Press, through to truly local public interest journalism.

“Many of these titles have served their communities for decades, providing vital news and information to their regions. We’re pleased to reach these agreements to help support public interest journalism.”

Local Matters general manager Jannette Thompson says she is looking forward to Mahurangi Matters joining the Google Showcase line-up, which will give community news from the district a much wider audience.

“Community publishers work at the very coal face of information dissemination and through News Showcase we will reach more readers with news, events and stories from our neighbourhoods. In an era where national and international headlines often overshadow local affairs, community media ensures that the voices and issues of our communities are heard, recognised and addressed.”

Say

A health journey

Recently, I had a little friend hitch a ride with me for a while. Although I, like many my age, participated in a bowel cancer screening routine for several years, I was one of the 20% who tested negative, but was actually positive. The simple reason is that not all tumours bleed, or don’t bleed on the day of testing. My friend was confused and just wanted to keep growing. I welcomed him with kindness but also explained that he would need to move on voluntarily or be moved on for the greater good. I visited my GP and reported blood spotting and vague abdominal discomfort.

I was referred for colonoscopy with Waitemata District Health. Within a month I had the colonoscopy, was diagnosed with a malignant mass in the anterior bowel, was booked in for CT scan and MRI scan, and had had consultation with a nurse specialist and surgeon. After surgery five weeks from referral, and five days in Ward 8 North Shore Hospital,

I am convalescing at home with a followup plan for next five years. I received best possible histology report results. No chemo, no radiation, just scans. Some lessons:

1. Listen to your body, regardless of screening tests. Speak up if uncomfortable.

2. Trust that professionals are here to help. Totally.

3. There being no other evidence, rely only on good. The body, emotions and mental health will heal more quickly and stronger.

4. Avail yourself of the support and literature provided by your health professional. I had no questions that went unanswered.

5. Take it all one day at a time.

6. These words would not be complete unless I emphasise my heartfelt gratitude to the nursing and doctor staff, the caterers and phlebotomists, the social

Locals making conservation happen

Around 50 volunteers recently planted more than 3000 native plants on an ecologically important part of Tāwharanui Peninsula.

The Whitmore Road site had been identified as one of 15 ecologically important sites on the peninsula by a study commissioned by community conservation group Takatu LandCare (TLC).

The restoration of the site to its natural state is TLC’s first significant restoration project.

TLC spokesperson Jon Monk says conservation is a priority for many Rodney residents and he was thrilled with the turnout and volunteers’ dedication to the work.

“Volunteers make a tremendous contribution here and across New Zealand,” he says.

“Tāwharanui Peninsula has seen a flourishing of its native wildlife in the past decade and much of this success is down to the efforts of volunteers.”

The owners of the block have done extensive weed control work across their property and fenced the restoration block, Takatu LandCare volunteers prepared the site and Auckland Council funded the plants.

The next stage of the planting will be on July 16.

workers and fellow patients involved in my repair of Life. In all honesty, my only complaint was breakfast day two when my toast was too cold. Lol.

Peppered by police

Once again, I would like to applaud our brave persons in blue for their wise resource allocations.

With limited personnel available, it is vital the police only target the most important high-risk areas. Those without the wisdom of our local police force might naively assume that retail and property crime would be a priority. Others might think that road safety around our schools and early childhood education facilities would be prime candidates for policing efforts. No, far more important is ensuring the road adjacent to the pepper farm stays safe. That is surely why the new 60km/hr speed limit is being so carefully monitored. Sure, stuff getting stolen and squashed children are unfortunate events, but imagine if an accident stopped the capsicum delivery trucks getting through! The police must make the hard choices, well done!

And before any conspiracy nuts suggest it, no, I don’t think the government is in the pocket of Big Pepper. All speeding is wrong, but doing over 60kph on a straight rural road is particularly egregious. Particularly if it means my salad is less tasty.

S Gonzales, Ahuroa

Ticket winners

Congratulations to our two winners of a double pass each to the French Film Festival They were Jenny Skinner, of Sandspit, and Mary Brennan, of Snells Beach.

Bern Green, Matakana

Olivia Simpson and sons Alex (left) and Simon Morgan, both aged seven, take a break from planting.

Viewpoint

Greg Sayers, Rodney Councillor greg.sayers@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Debt dominates budget debate

Mayor Wayne Brown has passed his first Auckland Council budget. Included in it is good news confirming funding to fix the Hill Street intersection, along with more than doubling the money for maintaining the rural unsealed roading network.

To the Mayor’s credit, he has listened to the feedback from Aucklanders and restored funding to several services he had originally planned to cut – this includes funding the Citizen Advice Bureaux, along with funding the local boards so they can continue to support their communities.

At the heart of his budget was the plan to help fix Auckland by reducing council’s $12.3 billion debt – Auckland’s debt costs ratepayers $1.5 million per day in interest repayments.

To find money to pay off a chunk of this debt, the Mayor proposed to sell all of the council-owned shares held in the Auckland Airport. During the public feedback period, over 66 per cent of Rodney’s residents and ratepayers supported a full, or partial sale of the airport shares. Selling the shares would have paid off $2.2 billion of debt while simultaneously reducing interest repayments by over $100 million a year.

The counter argument put up against his proposal was that the dividend payments from those shares returned $40 million per year to Auckland Council. The Mayor argued that overall, ratepayers would be $60 million better off a year by saving $100 million a year in interest repayments

rather than earning $40 million a year from the shares.

However, when it came time to vote, the Mayor was politically outnumbered with the majority of councillors not agreeing to sell all of the shares. They, instead, did not want to sell any shares, and for council to borrow more, and to put up the rates. This was exactly what Wayne Brown was trying to avoid to keep his election promise to “fix Auckland”.

Eventually a compromise was reached through selling less than half the airport shares. This means both council’s debt and the interest cost repayments will not be significantly reduced. Taking on even more debt, and ballooning out Auckland Council’s debt even further, was not the prudent thing to do, the Mayor argued. Taking on more debt was just kicking the can down the road to fix Auckland.

In the debating chamber I fully supported the Mayor, aligning my vote with his. Taking on more debt has been an historical approach taken by previous mayors. Wayne Brown wanted to take a different approach by cutting costs and keeping rate increases under the rate of inflation.

Next year, the Mayor has signalled he will continue to take a hard line on cutting wasteful spending, to further empower the local boards’ decision-making abilities, and to bring council-controlled organisations under control, by focusing them on delivering for the people of Auckland.

More bus lanes in city streets

Visitors to the city can look forward to more bus and transit lanes and less parking along central Auckland streets as part of a new parking strategy aimed at cutting congestion.

Auckland Transport’s (AT) Room to Move will make it easier for everyone to move around the city, according to chief executive Dean Kimpton.

“Room to Move will enable AT to make quicker, cheaper, less disruptive changes on our major roads to address congestion as we move about our city, make bus services quicker and more reliable, and reduce Auckland’s transport emissions,” Mr Kimpton says.

“One of the biggest changes Aucklanders

will see from Room to Move is more bus and transit lanes along our most important roads.

“Aucklanders strongly support the principle of repurposing parking spaces on our busiest roads for bus and transit lanes, which will really help to keep people moving across the city,” he claims.

AT says the strategy has been updated to reflect how Aucklanders want roads and parking managed.

“We’ve all seen this year just how important it is for Auckland to have a resilient transport network where our more than 14,000 bus trips a day can run as reliably as possible and don’t get deadlocked in traffic even in moderate rain.”

New speed limit plan for schools and rural roads

Speed limits around all local schools and colleges will be reduced to 30km/h at least at drop-off and pick-up times if a new draft speed management plan for Auckland gets the go-ahead after public consultation next month.

Katoa, Ka Ora, which means all will survive, focuses on implementing safe speed limits around more than 350 Auckland schools, but it will also mean speed reductions on many more rural roads in the Rodney area if approved.

Rodney Local Board has long advocated for speed limit parity between urban and rural schools, so welcomed the proposal to implement variable limits that would bring all roads outside schools down to 30km/h at key times.

Deputy chair Louise Johnston, whose ward includes a primary school on the busy Dairy Flat Highway, has spearheaded calls to quash higher speed limits outside some rural schools and bring them into line with the rest of Auckland.

“We urgently need to roll out safe speeds outside of our rural schools,” she said. “We can’t have different standards between urban and rural schools. These are our most vulnerable road users and it is our job to protect children.

“Regardless of the reason for a vehicle

crash, the speed limit will determine the outcome. This is just physics and you can’t argue with science.”

The Katoa, Ka Ora three-year speed management plan aims to meet Waka Kotahi’s requirement for safe and appropriate speeds outside all schools by December 2027, though the draft proposals are still subject to public consultation in July and confirmed funding.

If adopted, the plan will also see speeds on many rural Rodney roads that are currently 100km/h reduced to 80, 60, 40 or even 30km/h.

These proposals are in response to local board or community requests, or are designed to “even out” areas where there are currently frequent changes in the speed limit. They will also be applied to roads that “already look and feel like a slower speed”, that have lots of walkers and cyclists, and on roads used as rat-runs, Auckland Transport (AT) said.

A spokesperson said Katora, Ka Ora was the latest in a series of speed plans and changes and it would complement speed limit changes that have already been made elsewhere in the district.

Although costs will not be finalised until after public consultation and will depend on the number of electronic signs, raised

speed tables, other signage, and so on required, AT said implementation of the plan could cost between $40 million and $70 million over three years.

“The previous speed management plan had a benefit-cost ratio of 9.4 – for every $1 invested, there was $9.40 given back to Aucklanders in terms of socio-economic savings,” the spokesperson said.

AT will apply for co-funding of 51% from Waka Kotahi and 49% will be funded by Auckland Council.

“We’ve already set safe speed limits for more than 3000 roads, or almost 40% of Auckland’s road network,” AT said.

“The evidence is clear that safe speeds save lives. Data from the first phase of speed limit changes in Auckland showed a 30% reduction in deaths and a 20% reduction in serious injuries in the 24 months after safer speeds were introduced in June, 2020. In comparison, across Auckland roads where speed limits were unchanged, road deaths increased by 9% in the same period.”

Rodney has the highest number of road deaths and serious injuries in Auckland.

Katoa, Ka Ora – Auckland’s draft speed management plan for 2024-27 will go out for public consultation in late July.

The draft speed limits implementation plan includes the following roads, in part or in full, for proposed speed cuts:

100km/h 80km/h

Mangawhai Road; Ocean View Road, Te Arai; Port Albert Road; Wharehine Road; Wellsford Valley Road; School Road and Silver Hill Road, Wellsford; Whakapirau Road, Te Hana; Wayby Valley Road; Waiteiti Road; Tomarata Valley Road; Whangaripo Valley Road; Woodcocks Road, Kaipara Flats

100km/h 60km/h

Lanes and unsealed roads in a number of rural areas, including west of SH16 north of Kaupapapapa; west of Wellsford; between Te Hana and the Kaipara Harbour; east of Te Hana; north east of Wellsford; south east of Wellsford; east of Wellsford; Tomarata; Te Arai; and Whangaripo

100 km/h 50km/h

Ahuroa Road; Wellsford Valley Road

100km/h 40km/h

Clague Road, Wellsford; Ogle Road, Mangakura; Cames Road, Mangawhai; Waiwhiu Road, Kraack Road, Conical Peak Road and Christine Place, The Dome; Golf Road and Valerie Close, Warkworth; Billing Road, Puhoi

100km/h 30km/h

Journeys End and Birds Beach Road, Tapora; Naumai Road, Tauhoa

50km/h 30km/h

Warkworth town centre; Matakana town centre

Rodney Local Board deputy chair Louise Johnston has long campaigned for lower speeds outside rural schools.

Wellsford Library turns 10

The Wellsford War Memorial Library/Te

Whare Pukapuka o Wakapirau: He Tohu

Whakamaharatanga Ki Ngā Pakanga will celebrate its 10th birthday with a fun day on July 1.

The celebration will start with a blessing by Te Uri o Hau at 10am, followed by live music, Pops Games and puzzles for all ages, displays by local groups and children’s activities. Wellsford Primary School will be running a fundraising sausage sizzle and cake stall.

When the library opened in Memorial Park, on Port Albert Road, in June 2013, it was the last major project put in motion by the former Rodney District Council and had been in the pipeline for a decade. It replaced the small brick building on

In brief

Community dinner date

Rodney Street, which is now a community hub, known as The Owl.

The new library was five times the size of the old library and to mark its opening, its collection was increased by more than onethird, including 1200 new adult books and 2000 children and teen books.

The modern build cost $3 million and featured underfloor heating, automatic windows and louvres to keep the building warm and dry, around 115 solar panels to power the lighting, and electric car charges in the parking area.

The first manager at the new facility was Jocelyn Koks, now retired, followed by Megan Livick. The current manager is Jamie Robertson.

The annual Wellsford Community Dinner fundraiser will be held at the town’s RSA on Saturday, July 1. Doors open at 6pm with a two-course dinner at 7pm, and there will be door and spot prizes, plus raffles. Money raised will go towards sending Wellsford School’s Quick Rip team to the AIMS Games in Tauranga in September, the Albertland Heritage Museum and Support Your Local Wellsford community funding. Tickets cost $50 per person and can be booked by emailing yourlocalwellsford2022@gmail.com

RSA planting day

The Warkworth RSA is organising a team to plant trees at the Atiu Creek Regional Park, west of Wellsford, on Sunday, July 23. The RSA has 500 trees to go into the ground, adjacent to the park’s camping ground where the RSA has planted over the last two years. The trees are small and will mainly be flaxes and cabbage trees to provide shelter from the prevailing westerly wind. A barbecue, refreshments and transport will be provided. For more information, contact RSA secretary/manager Chrissy Keith on 425 8568.

The Wellsford Library has served its community well over the past decade.

Mystery death under mason’s

The mysterious death of an Italian banker found hanging from a bridge in London more than 40 years ago will come under scrutiny in Warkworth on August 2.

Who Killed Roberto Calvi? is the title of a talk being given by Dr Mike Kearsley at the Rodney Freemasons Lodge at 12 Baxter Street at 8pm.

Known as God’s Banker due to his links with the Vatican, Calvi was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London in June 1982, his clothes weighed down with bricks and around US$13,000 in his wallet. He had been accused of stealing millions of dollars in the months before his death, which was originally thought to be suicide, but later judged to be murder, although despite several trials, no one has ever been

convicted of killing him.

Kearsley, an experienced and popular lecturer on the international Freemason circuit, promises an entertaining look at the life and death of Calvi, examining his links with the Vatican, the Mafia and Freemasonry and who might have wanted him dead.

Tickets include a light supper with drinks and cost $20 per person. There will also be a collection for Rodney Lodge charitable work in the Warkworth area and for DEBRA, an international charity for sufferers of Epidermolysis Bullosa, or fragile skin that blisters and tears easily. Seating is limited, so early registration is encouraged – email rodney.lodge@ freemasons.org.nz

Kaipara funds open space projects

Community groups in Kaipara who are involved in enhancing public open space are invited to apply for funding from Kaipara District Council’s Reserves Contributions Fund. Last year, council distributed just over $258,000 to eight groups including Kaiwaka Can ($136.000), Kaiwaka Sports Association ($1900), Mangawhai Tracks Trust ($16,500), Maungaturoto Residents Association ($1945), Mangawhai Activity Zone ($56,000) and Paparoa Progressive Inc ($19,250). The total pool of funds this year is $250,000. The objective is to help groups create, improve and re-prioritise how open spaces and reserves are used in their communities. Projects could include landscaping, equipment provision or developing walking tracks. All applicants must be legal not-for-profit entities and have a volunteer component to the project. Applications close on July 17. Info: Community and engagement advisor (funding) Jenny Rooney grants@kaipara.govt.nz

stitchwork

The Warkworth Embroiderers Guild is girding up for its biannual “Eye of the Needle” showcase, to present its members’ work to the community. Guild president Jennifer Kirker, pictured, says the event at the Rodney Freemasons Lodge in Baxter Street on July 28 and 29 will feature decorated and framed items, as well as sculptural 3D creations. Guest exhibitor is longstanding member Pat Vaissiere.

Who killed Roberto Calvi?

One of the works featuring in the Warkworth Embroiderers Guild showcase, created by member Shirley Pygott.

Embroiderers prepare to show

Norman William Golding Vale

The New Zealand fire service and the Puhoi Heritage Museum lost a champion with the death of 95-year-old Norman Golding on May 20. Golding was a firefighter for more than 40 years, retiring as an Auckland divisional officer in 1988, and was the museum’s patron.

Born in Christchurch, he was the son of a railway worker. The family moved from depot to depot including Helensville, Tauramanui and Hastings, but after his father was killed in a railway accident in Wairoa, they settled in Auckland. The story goes that in Helensville, the train firemen used to drop coal to Norman when they saw him near the tracks with his trolley; coal that was used on the home fire. He was a butcher’s delivery boy while still at school and then started as a plumber’s apprentice. However, during World War

II he put his age up to 16 and joined the NZ Air Force. He was in Darwin when it was bombed and also spent time aerial mapping the islands of the South Pacific. But it soon emerged that his real passion was the fire service and he joined the then Auckland Metropolitan Fire Board in 1947. In an interview given a few years ago, he said, “There was nothing better than hearing the alarm bells screaming, jumping out of bed and into my protective clothes, then sliding down a wooden pole and into a fire truck.”

In 1963, when he was on duty at the Central Fire Station, a fire broke out in the Farmers Trading Company in Hobson Street. While extinguishing the massive flames, he fell four storeys. He was rushed to hospital and took a long time to recover from his injuries. The fire took 20 hours to extinguish and 32

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firefighters were injured. Norman and his wife Norma lived in the married quarters at the Pitt Street station and raised their children there. On his days off he worked from time-to-time as a chimney sweep and piano mover, and while employed by Auckland City Council, he painted all the fire hydrants and the road markers pointing to them. However, his world came crashing down when Norma, the love of his life, was killed in a car crash. He took a sabbatical and joined the London Fire Department. One of the call-outs he remembered was to Buckingham Palace when the royal stables caught alight.

When he retired, Norman moved to Puhoi where he energetically and wholeheartedly embraced life in the community, serving on almost every committee, opening and closing the

church across the road each day, noticing what needed to be done and arranging working bees. He was also an enthusiastic member of the Bohemian Dance Group until mobility issues brought his dancing days to an end.

His storytelling was legendary and it was noted during his funeral service that although many of these stories seemed too incredible to be true, they often were. It was observed that almost any topic mentioned would bring out a story and he made friends whereever he went.

A Requiem Mass was held at St John the Evangelist Catholic Church, in Orewa, followed by a celebration of Norman’s life at the Puhoi Centennial Hall. He was the loved husband of the late Norma and the late Margaret, and father of Sue, Jeff and the late Robyn and Paul, and a special friend of Jenny Schollum.

2 February 1928 - 20 May 2023

Environment

Christine Rose christine.rose25@gmail.com

Better bus services

It’s felt like winter the last few days, so instead of riding my bike to work I have been getting a ride in a chauffeur-driven, high powered, stretch Mercedes Benz –otherwise known as a bus. There’s a bus stop just four kilometres from home, and the driver is so punctual he actually arrives five minutes early. It means we end up waiting at other stops to use up some of that gained time.

It’s dark, the bus is empty and the lights are off when I catch it. I read the morning news, look at the beautiful scenery, have a snooze. Sometimes I chat with other bus users. By the time I get to town, the bus is full, it is daylight and I walk the final stretch to work. It’s a relaxed, stress-free and pleasant way to start the day.

But Auckland Transport contracted bus services cop a lot of criticism – buses don’t turn up, they are cancelled or full. I’ve been stranded in the city by cancelled buses. That’s a lonely feeling when you live in Rodney and is a challenge to get home. People rightfully deserve to have confidence that their bus will get them where they need to go and in a timely manner.

Bus drivers are notoriously underpaid for a hard job done under pressure. My local bus services have gotten worse through the years, with fewer and less convenient stops, and little increase in frequency. The route is inefficient and tortuous, and off-peak it would take me over two hours to get into town. Riding my bike to work is quicker,

more direct and more convenient than the bus. It shouldn’t be that way.

Bus services were publicly owned utilities in New Zealand until the neo-liberal 1980s, when assets were corporatised, sold off, privatised and bought by offshore, profit-seeking interests. All Auckland bus services are now owned by overseas investment companies. They know a good investment when they see it – getting an AT bus contract is a licence to print money – a guaranteed income stream. Profits from fares, rates and taxes, paid to keep the inadequate network going, are taken overseas.

Public transport solves air pollution, climate change, fossil fuel dependency (especially when electrified), congestion, single occupancy vehicle travel, social isolation, the cost of living issues and, if operated properly, provides transportation! Good public transport advantages everyone, whether you use it or not, by freeing up extra capacity for non-bus users on the road. It’s a public good. Fares should not only be free but people should actually be paid to use them. The buses should be publicly owned and operated so that capacity and ridership are improved, drivers can be properly paid and services realise their full potential. It also stops all that money going offshore and being concentrated in the hands of the few. We need better bus services and bus systems for everyone’s benefit.

Puhoi marks 160th year

Residents of Puhoi, particularly those with a tie to Bohemian ancestors, will celebrate the settlement’s 160-year anniversary from June 29 to July 2.

The celebrations will include a Feastday Mass at St Peter and Paul’s Church at 11am on Thursday, June 29, followed by an anniversary lunch at the Puhoi Hall at midday.

There will be a dance in the Puhoi Hall on Saturday night, with music by Shane, and the Shazam Band.

The programme will conclude with Sunday Mass and the laying of the thanksgiving

wreath on July 2, starting at 11am.

Puhoi was founded by Captain Martin Krippner, from Staab in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. He encouraged fellow Bohemians to join him and, in 1863, 51 adults and 31 children sailed to New Zealand. These hardy pioneering families cleared the forest and probed the swamps for kauri gum, which was a precious commodity in those days. Many descendants of these families still live in Puhoi or the surrounding area. The Puhoi Museum has kept full records of the pioneers’ genealogy and achievements.

Visit us on Facebook for daily notices at www.facebook.com/Mahurangimatters/

Marja Lube ck

Restore Rodney East is a network of organisations passionate about protecting our waterways, native plants and animals. We aim to promote local environmental community groups, share information and inspire community members of all ages to become involved in conservation efforts.

Mahurangi West Pest

Mahurangi West Pest has a goal to eradicate pest animals from the Mahurangi West peninsula. The three main pest species are possums, mustelids and rodents, and with 973 traps and 346 bait stations registered on Trap NZ they are well established and always adding more to the trapping network. As well as pest animal species, highly invasive pest plants are targeted to prevent nasty weeds spreading into neighbouring properties and regional parks. These pest plants degrade native habitats by smothering native plants and killing them. Climbing asparagus, bushy asparagus, woolly nightshade and moth plant are just a few of the plant species targeted. If you are keen to be involved in this project, need or can offer help get in touch. Your skills, whatever they may be, can make a positive difference in this great little community.

www.mahurangiwestpest.wordpress.com

Email: nada.mahuwestpest@gmail.com

Or contact Gay Miers, Weed Control and Planting Programme Coordinator gay.miers@gmail.com

Takatu LandCare

Takatu LandCare (TLC) is a collective of community conservation groups, landowners, residents and volunteers. Our original mission was to create a buffer zone of trap lines protecting the Tāwharanui Open Sanctuary from possums rats and mustelids. This has now grown in scale covering the whole peninsula. TLC is now expanding its work. With the help of Auckland Council, TLC has identified 15 ecologically important sites on the peninsula. We are currently restoring one of these sites to its original state. It will be an important waypoint for birds travelling the peninsula, as well as reducing silt and nutrient runoff. Please join us at our next planting day on Sunday 16 July at 9am at the corner of Takatu and Whitmore roads. For more information contact Email: pestcontrol@takatulandcare.com or 022 364 7063

Restore Rodney East - Events Calendar

June 24 The Forest Bridge Trust - Learn about volunteering family fun drop in day for conservation at Matakana Hall.

July 1 Puhoi Pioneers Park Planting Day 9.30am

July 9 Snells Beach environmental volunteer morning 9am

Email: snellsshorelineconservation@gmail.com.

July 16 Takatu LandCare Planting Day 9am Corner of Takatu and Whitmore Roads Email: pestcontrol@takatulandcare.com

August 6 Tawharanui Regional Park Tree Planting Day 9.30am

August 13 Snells Beach environmental volunteer morning 9am

Email: snellsshorelineconservation@gmail.com

For more information or events - www.restorerodneyeast.org.nz

Health

Rachael Wilson, The Food Tree rachael@thefoodtree.co

Creating healthy body attitudes

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, many of us faced the pressures of popular diets like Atkins, South Beach and Jenny Craig. We were also influenced by supermodels like Kate Moss, who famously claimed that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”. This era also introduced the troubling trend of heroin chic – characterised by pale skin, dark circles underneath the eyes, emaciated features, androgyny and stringy hair – leaving a generation to grow up hating their own bodies.

Unfortunately, our children face an even harsher reality. With the rise of social media and its constant comparisons, the widespread use of filters, and the prevalence of airbrushed images, children are confronted with the even more daunting challenge of embracing their bodies against a toxic narrative that tells them daily they are not good enough. In order to raise children who like or even dare to love themselves just as they are, we must actively foster body-positive practices, change the narrative and teach them to challenge the world around them.

A New Zealand study in 2012, examining the health and wellbeing of secondary school students, found that three out of four young women (75%) were unhappy with their weight. Additionally, for young men, 10% were unhappy with their weight, and 42% were worried about gaining weight and had attempted to lose weight in the last month. Teenage girls in a recent study stated that they were more afraid of being fat than they were of nuclear war, cancer or losing both of their parents.

Personally, I have witnessed children as young as five with disordered eating and low body confidence in clinical settings. What can we do to help change these statistics for our own kids?

• Children learn more from our role modelling than what we say to them. Limit negative self-talk, especially in front of your kids. Try not to comment on people’s appearances, as congratulating someone on weight loss reinforces the idea that bigger bodies are bad and thin bodies are better.

• Teach kids to be critical of the images they are exposed to. Encourage discussions about media messages and challenge unrealistic beauty standards together.

• Fat isn’t bad, and it isn’t a bad word! We can’t determine anything about someone’s eating habits, exercise routines, or overall health based on their body size.

• Bodies come in all different shapes, sizes and colours. Nobody is better or worse based on ethnicity, gender, ability, or any other difference. We are all unique and bring value in our own way.

• Pay attention to what your child is exposed to on social media, books, TV and movies. Choose media that challenges and counteracts the toxic narrative rather than reinforcing it.

• Diets don’t work in the long term. They promote the idea that certain body sizes or shapes are more desirable, reinforcing societal beauty standards and creating pressure to conform. Focus on long-term positive health behaviours that let all foods have a place in our diets.

Novus Glass

After six years of providing mobileonly glass repair services in the Mahurangi area, Cody Lye opened the doors to a new workshop in mid-April, the latest venture for the proud owner-operator of the Novus Glass franchise in Warkworth.

He says the change has been “awesome”, giving him the opportunity to repair vehicles boasting the latest car safety features. As a mobile-only operator, he had been unable to accommodate the specialised equipment required in such cases. Business at the Glenmore Drive location has been brisk.

Lye has worked in the auto glass industry since 2013, when he began working for Novus in Whangarei following several years of odd jobs after finishing school. “I’ve enjoyed all the changes and challenges in the ever-changing auto glass industry

over the years.”

The most important thing for him in running his own franchise is servicing the community and creating jobs for the local people, he says.

Lye’s is one of more than 50 Novus Glass franchises in New Zealand, where the first opened in 1999, part of a global brand now in more than 40 countries worldwide.

The Northland-raised businessman lives in Waipu with his partner Chelsea and four-year-old son Grayson, but is looking forward to moving to Warkworth soon to be closer to work, and before Grayson starts school next year.

“We are looking forward to living in the Warkworth community,” he says, adding that he most enjoys “the community spirit and the love to support local”.

When not working, Lye enjoys spending time with his family, fishing and jiu-jitsu.

Cody Lye

Sweetappreciation with chocolatebrown

Congratulations to Kaipara Flats School principal Debbie Hamer, who is this week’s recipient of a gift basket from Chocolate

While the last few years have been hard on all principals, this year has been particularly hard for Debbie. She has had to manage covid protocol, strikes and Cyclone Gabrielle in one school term. Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed the school’s only playground and much-loved huts area, leaving no play area for the children. She has bounced back from every emergency and come up with solutions as best she can (the school has managed to get a few pieces of playground equipment, but with a new playground costing over $350,000 and no funding from the government to help replace it, it is a tough predicament to be in). Last week she had to organise an evacuation of the school due to flooding and she (and one other teacher) had to sleep at the school as they were stuck with no way of getting home. And then at the end of the week, the school alarm malfunctioned at 2am. She deserves a little sweet appreciation for being so positive and resilient in challenging times, and is a great leader for our young children.

Know someone who deserves a big “thank you” for their community spirit? Tell us and they will receive acknowledgement in Mahurangi Matters and an amazing hamper from Chocolate Brown, 6 Mill Lane, Warkworth. Send your nominations to editor@ localmatters.co.nz (subject line: Sweet Appreciation) or post to: Sweet Appreciation, Mahurangi Matters, 17 Neville Street, Warkworth. Kindly refrain from nominating members of your own family.

Art project takes flight

Birds of many different feathers will flock to the Mahurangi East Community Centre next month for a community art project. Members of the public of all ages are being invited to paint one of the 150 native bird cut-outs, which will eventually adorn six large pre-painted plywood panels. The project is being coordinated by local artists Shelly Gray and Desiree Alexandre, with funding from Creative Communities and support from the Mahurangi East Library, Warkworth Engraving and Resene. Gray hopes the project will raise awareness about the need to protect the environment

for native birds.

“We want people to have a fun art experience, but to also come away with a conservation message,” she says. Fact sheets about birds will be available.

When all the birds are painted, they will be affixed to the forest panels which will then be displayed at various locations around Mahurangi area.

Last year, Gray did a similar community project at Snells Beach, but focused on the sea.

The event is free and will run from 10am to 4pm, from July 3 to 5.

Leading printmakers’ work on show at Mangawhai gallery

A travelling exhibition of works by some of New Zealand’s leading printmakers opens at the Mangawhai Artists’ Gallery in Moir Street this coming Friday, June 23.

The Small Print features A4 prints by members of the Print Council of Aotearoa New Zealand and will open daily from 10am to 3pm until Sunday, July 2.

The exhibition will feature contemporary artworks that highlight the many and diverse methods of printmaking being used today, such as aquatint, woodcut, drypoint etching, intaglio and archival digital inkjet.

July 2 is also Mangawhai Artists Inc’s (MAI) annual meeting, which is being held at the Community Centre in Fagan Place at 3pm. The group is looking for new blood on the committee this year, as several current members are standing down.

“The committee shares a mixture of administrative and hands-on tasks to ensure

the smooth running of the organisation,” MAI chair Belinda Vernon says.

“Most revolve around activities in the gallery and workspace, including supporting exhibitors and encouraging tutors and classes. Others include organising the Art Trail, Kaipara Art Awards and supporting MAI members in other ways.”

Anyone interested in stepping up to join the committee should email Vernon at chair@mangawhaiartists.co.nz

Art lovers should note that the Mangawhai Artists’ Gallery will then be closed for the rest of July for maintenance, before it reopens on Friday, August 11 with a members’ exhibition, The Square Round. This is a new show where every artwork on display will either be square or round, and all must measure either 30cm x 30cm or 60cm x 60cm.

We go the extra mile to put a smile on your dial

Don’t forget to look at The Small Print.

Shelly Gray

Desiree Alexandre

TICKETS

• Members $25

• Non-Members $35 • Tertiary Students $10 Purchase Tickets Online at www.warkworthmusic.org.nz

MENZIES/ ENDRES DUO

Violin & Piano

These renowned soloists come together to present cornerstone works of the violin and piano repertoire featuring Beethoven’s ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata and Schubert’s Rondo Brillant and Schnittke Violin Sonata No. 2.

Saturday, 1 July 2023 at 4pm

Warkworth Town Hall

Masterful duo in Warkworth

COME SING WITH US

Kowhai Singers accompanied by guest artists sang to a full house at the Warkworth Town Hall at the recent Vivaldi Gloria Concert.

They are about to begin rehearsals for their September Concert. The theme will be “Songs of Love & Loss” and will feature a mix of both contemporary and classical tunes.

Kowhai Singers are a non auditioned community based

choir and welcome everyone who has a love of singing and performing.

Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings at the Warkworth Methodist Hall from 7.15pm to 9.15pm.

For more information contact : Marion 021 217 6834

Or visit our website: kowhaisingers.org.nz or have a look at our Facebook page.

Internationally acclaimed violinist and violist Mark Menzies and celebrated pianist Michael Endres bring their monumental programme to the Warkworth Town Hall on Saturday, July 1. Power and virtuosity define the fiery duo. As renowned soloists, Menzies and Endres come together to tackle cornerstone works of the violin and piano repertoire with fresh and thrilling interpretations. From their first performance together playing Beethoven’s Kreutzer sonata, the two shared an instant connection – a discovery that inevitably led to further collaboration and this ambitious programme, which will include Schubert’s Rondo Brilliant, Schnittke’s epic Violin Sonata No 2 and Salina Fisher’s Mono. The concert will close with Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No 9, Op 47.

“With the illustrious Kreutzer, Beethoven has both instruments playing daring, highly virtuosic, concerto style music,” the

concert promoter says. “Ultimately, the duo’s terrific level of skill and intensity are sure to keep concertgoers on the edge of their seat from beginning to end.”

Menzies has established an international reputation as a violist and violinist, pianist and conductor. He has been described in the Los Angeles Times as an “extraordinary musician” and a “riveting violinist”. German pianist Michael Endres performs worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician. He gained a Master’s degree at the Juilliard School in New York under Jacob Lateiner and studied with Peter Feuchtwanger in London. He has won prizes such as the Concours Geza Anda (Zurich) and First & Special Prizes at the International Schubert Competition (Germany) among others. He now lives in Rangiora.

The concert is presented by Warkworth Music, in conjunction with Chamber Music New Zealand, and starts at 4pm.

The Menzies/Endres collaboration has been thrilling audiences throughout NZ.

Cuisine

Lauraine Jacobs

www.laurainejacobs.co.nz/blog/

Simple seasonal dinners

We’re always in a hurry to get dinner out on the table for hungry appetites. Weekday meals seem to be the problem, as along with others, I always seem to enjoy cooking slightly more thoughtful and complicated food on the weekend. That’s the time to make complex soups, slow cooked casseroles and layered pasta dishes that need intricate preparation. But fast food for those busy worknights shouldn’t be just grab-and-gobble type food, which can become a real habit. Too often great flavours are lost in the rush to get dinner ready. Our pantries and refrigerators are often filled with odd bottles and jars of sauces and condiments that can elevate a simple stir fry or a steamed dinner with a jolt of extra flavour. Like most people, I have soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, black-bean sauce, sweet chilli sauce and numerous packets of spices and dried herbs just sitting there waiting to jazz up my food. Those sauces and ingredients, when added during the cooking process, add far more flavour than simply tossing a little over the finished pates at serving time. Good old Thai sweet chilli sauce is probably the most overused sauce ever sold in the supermarket.

It only takes an extra minute or two to sizzle a little ginger, garlic and some spice with a good splash of oil in the pan before adding vegetables or meat and fish. What a difference that will make to lift the dish. The other products that sit on the shelves that are really useful are ready prepared pestos – jars of intensively flavoured nut based sauces that can so easily be stirred through near the end of cooking time for a real wallop of flavour.

I confess that onions don’t sit well with me, but my husband adores anything in the allium family. So I have started making sweet and sour onions by the jarful, and a real dollop of that on top of his dinner makes him (and me) happy.

I have loads of broccoli in the garden to gather each night. It has been a family favourite vegetable, even to the point where we he had a cat, Mozart, who lived with us for 20 years and the only time he ever jumped on the kitchen bench was to steal broccoli, either raw or cooked! The trick to serving broccoli is to cook it so it’s tender but still a bright green colour. I like to steam it, even for a stir-fry like this week’s recipe, and then add it merely to reheat very quickly before serving. The other pantry staple often overlooked is packets of rice stick noodles, with a lovely soft texture that’s really appealing. They are also inexpensive. Try them, they’re so easy to use, but you could also use any other dried noodles on hand.

4 slices thin cut beef (schnitzel cut)

sliced into strips

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets

2 small carrots, peeled and cut into thin diagonals

2 tbsp olive or sunflower oil

2 bundles rice stick noodles

6cm piece of ginger, cut into matchsticks

For the onions:

2 red onions

4 tbsp honey

1 tsp whole allspice

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 cup red wine or cider vinegar

For a garnish: mint or parsley leaves

Make the onions first or well ahead of time by slicing them thinly. Put the vinegar in a pan with the honey, allspice and pepper and bring to a simmer. Add the sliced onions and simmer for 3 minutes. Allow to cool. Store in a jar. To marinate the beef, put the sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce and garlic together in a bowl and add the beef until you’re ready to cook it.

Meanwhile, steam the broccoli for 3 minutes until it softens but remains bright green. Keep aside. Put the olive oil in a large frying pan or wok and toss in the carrots over high heat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, scoop them out and keep aside. Bring a large pot of salted

water to the boil and add the rice noodles, cooking them for 4 minutes, strain, toss an extra tablespoon sesame oil through them and keep the warm. Add a little extra oil to the pan the carrots were cooked in (if needed) and return the pan to high heat. Add the ginger and some extra garlic and sizzle for a minute before adding the beef and tossing vigorously until it browns. Add any marinade, with the broccoli and carrots to reheat quickly. Finally add the cooked noodles with about ¼ cup boiling water to keep it all moist, and toss well. Serve on heated plates, garnished with some sweet and sour onions and a few mint sprigs. Serves 2, but can be doubled.

Taste of Brick Bay

Ginger beef and broccoli on rice noodles

Science

FRSNZ r.cooney@auckland.ac.nz

Affordable electric vehicles

The growing demand for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) is driven primarily by the need to address the looming threat of climate warming caused by fossil fuel emissions and the rise in the cost of petrol fuel. However, BEVs, even with Government rebates, have been viewed by many in the NZ population as being too expensive for most families. That reasonable perception may be about to change. A new generation of much cheaper BEVs is likely to encourage more in the NZ community to reconsider BEVs as an affordable family proposition. These latest developments are to be expected, given that electric vehicles are intrinsically simpler and have 100 times fewer moving parts than internal combustion vehicles. Hence, they last longer and have much lower maintenance costs. The high initial cost of BEVs was significantly due to the cost of development of the EV batteries and as this investment has paid off, the BEV cost itself has declined, including for the more expensive brands.

Over the past few years, we have seen the growth in the number of BEVs on New Zealand roads. This growing per capita trend with BEVs is even more advanced in Norway, Iceland, Sweden, California and Europe. The leading countries in terms of number of BEVs manufactured between 2018 and 2023 are China (13,000,000), Germany (4.4 million), USA (4.1 million) and Japan (1.5 million). China alone has hundreds of companies manufacturing BEVs. Aside from passenger BEVs, China is also leading the USA and Europe in the development of electric trucks, and this expected to continue through to 2030.

Of the largest Chinese companies, only BYD, Geely and Nio are sufficiently advanced at this stage to engage with the major USA, Korean and European brands. The latest partnership of Tesla (USA) and BYD (China) around new BYD blade battery technology is an icebreaker for the global sector. BYD has also had local success with the Atto 3 model, which was awarded New Zealand’s top Motoring Writers Car of the Year last year. In addition, BYD is also producing a new platform with models Ocean, Seagull, Dolphin and Seal featuring an 800-volt architecture. The BYD Seagull hatchback has been launched with a starting price in China of US$10,659, which attracted 10,000 orders in the first 24 hours. It is being described as the 2023 equivalent of the T Model Ford breakthrough in 1908. The automotive world is also poised waiting for the next move by the other leading China company, Geely, which already owns several famous brands including Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and others. On the highperformance end of the market, Yangwang has produced an electric supercar, the U9, which claims a two second time from zero to 100km/hr. India is also a rising power in electric vehicles and there are currently 10 electric cars on sale in India, with the BMW i7 being the most expensive and the MG Comet EV (range 230kms) being the cheapest at US$9760.

It is apparent that the highest emitting countries are accelerating into a new age of inexpensive non-carbon EV transportation. This will not entirely solve the climate crisis, but it is likely to play a very valuable and substantial role. Let us all hope that New Zealand will enthusiastically join in this switch to greener and cheaper car travel.

Emeritus Professor Ralph Cooney ONZM,

Impressive new motorway project opens at last

The journey from concept to completion was long and arduous for the Ara Tuhono – Puhoi to Warkworth motorway, but that was put to one side when the $877 million road was officially opened by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Friday, June 16.

Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency is promising that the new 18.5km motorway will deliver improved safety, reliability and resilience for motorists, tourism and freight. It is also expected to cut five to seven minutes off a trip from Warkworth to Auckland.

Although it was finished years behind schedule and more than $170 million over budget, mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is no arguing that it is an impressive stretch of road.

Discussion about the motorway extension from Puhoi to Wellsford started back in 2010.

At the time, Auckland Councillor Mike Lee coined the phrase “the holiday highway”

much to the annoyance of fellow councillor and former Rodney Mayor Penny Webster. It was thought to be a not-so-subtle dig at the then Prime Minister John Key’s holiday home at Omaha Beach.

The motorway extension was strongly backed by the public, as well as Northland leaders, including the then Far North Mayor Wayne Brown, who said the extension was absolutely essential to the future growth of the north.

The project’s resource consenting process was fast-tracked through a Governmentappointed Board of Inquiry, rather than following the routine Environment Court hearing process.

About 50 properties had to be compulsorily purchased when the route was designated.

The first sod was turned in December 2016 when it was estimated that it would take five years to finish and cost $709.5 million. Both the pandemic and, more recently, weather disruptions caused delays

and added significant costs.

The new motorway has some impressive features. Some of the cuts are up to 70 metres deep, and nearly 10 million cubic metres of earth has been moved. This is one of the largest volumes of earth to be moved on a New Zealand roading project to date.

To minimise the impact on the local ecology, several mitigation measures were implemented. These include constructing fauna underpasses and fencing to protect native wildlife, replanting trees, and implementing erosion control measures. More than eight million work hours have been completed on the project to date and at peak construction, more than 800 workers were on site.

The road surface is made of Open Graded Porous Asphalt (OGPA), which NZTA says will reduce road noise and assist with water runoff, increasing resistance and making the road safer for motorists.

Many of the crashes on the existing state highway involve loss of control, driver fatigue and a generally poor roading environment. A divided motorway with a central median barrier, improved road surfacing and better geometry is expected to reduce crashes by 20 to 30 per cent, based on forecast traffic volumes in 2051. Key safety features include:

• a flexible safety barrier along the median

• fully-sealed medians and shoulders

• emergency truck stopping areas

• rockfall mesh barriers

In August last year, the government declined a Waka Kotahi request to toll the road, reflecting strong local opposition. The Puhoi to Warkworth motorway is the first stage of the Ara Tūhono project. The second stage will be the 20km Warkworth to Te Hana leg, which was initially due to start in 2016 at a cost of $670 million. No start for this section has been announced.

The Ōkahu & Pūhoi viadusts are both more then 300m long, with 104 sections of steel girders on both viaducts – each girder weighs around 50 tonnes.

Construction highlights overshadow construction delays

By Allan Barber allen@barberstrategic.co.nz

There are no prizes for guessing that the two biggest challenges of the motorway project were covid and the weather. The pandemic put the project on hold for long periods resulting in major delays to the finishing date and, more recently, the appalling run of bad weather caused further hold-ups.

NX2 project manager Robert Jones says the project never really recovered its momentum from the disruptions from covid, which affected the supply of labour as well as materials and equipment until completion. Absenteeism because of covid meant a significant number of the workforce did not return after multiple lockdowns.

Despite the unavoidably late completion of the project, Jones cites a number of highlights that he and his team can justifiably take pride in.

Most notable has been the environmental control and management of the huge volume of earthworks through very difficult terrain, which Auckland Council now

regards as a model for all similar projects. This involved managing the sediment runoff and the excavation and reuse of millions of cubic metres of soil and rock to cut and fill the road and embankments as motorway construction progressed.

Jones says constant earth movement made this a very challenging process.

He is also proud of the project’s safety record, which he believes was as good as or better than any in New Zealand, especially when taking into account the nature of the work and the size of the workforce, which numbered 800 at its peak. He also notes the project’s substantial contribution to the local community, which he estimates to be as much as $20 million, including use of local contractors and businesses such as Wharehine, Rhodes for Roads, Mason Contractors, Davco, fencing contractors and accommodation providers, plus the purchasing power of workers and their families. At one time there were 20 Spanish families living here, as well as around 50 New Zealand workforce rentals.

As the motorway neared completion, one of Jones’s main challenges was to negotiate NX2’s claims with Waka Kotahi (NZTA) for compensation for cost blowouts as a

breaking

result of the delays caused by covid and bad weather. For obvious reasons these are too sensitive to disclose.

Jones has had a long career in engineering and project management, including assignments in Africa, the West Indies, Southeast Asia, Mongolia, Indonesia and Australia before arriving in New Zealand in 2004. He is a Yorkshireman by birth, spending most of his earlier life in Huddersfield before leaving the UK 35 years ago. He lived for seven years in Perth,

where he was with Clough Engineering, and he joined Fulton Hogan when he came to NZ. He managed their local operations, which included project managing the construction of the Northern Gateway motorway, between 2004 and 2008.

In 2017, the joint venture between Fletcher Building and Spanish infrastructure company Acciona was awarded the contract to partner with the government in the construction of the Puhoi to Warkworth section of the Ara Tuhono motorway, originally scheduled to be completed in 2021.With his track record of delivering large projects, Jones was an obvious choice to take on the role.

Now he has finally been able to sign off on this project, he plans to take a welldeserved holiday with his wife Marion before possibly taking on some part-time consulting.

After several years living in Snells Beach, they now live on a lifestyle block in Matakana. When not building a motorway, Jones is heavily involved with various community groups, including the Camp Bentzon Trust on Kawau Island, the Mahurangi River Restoration Trust and as vice commodore of the Sandspit Yacht Club.

WHY SMART-DIG

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NX2 project manager Robert Jones.

Some key statistics

• Seven new bridges

• A seven kilometre culvert pipe system

• 10.5 million cubic metres of rock and soil cut

• One million trees and vegetation planted

• 100km speed limit

• 35,000 vehicles per day expected on the new motorway and existing SH1 by 2026

• 800-plus workers at the peak of construction.

• Cost $877.5 million

Who built the motorway

The motorway was built under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with partners Waka Kotahi/NZ Transport Agency and the Northern Express Group (NX2). NX2’s equity investors are the Accident Compensation Corporation and Public Infrastructure Partners II LP (managed by Morrison & Co PIP), ACCIONA Concesiones and Fletcher Building. While the NX2 is responsible for financing, designing, building, maintaining and operating the motorway for up to 25 years, the motorway will remain a public asset.

The 75-metre long Arawhiti Pua Ngahere viaduct passes through a mature kauri forest. A 450-tonne mobile crane was used to lift 39 beams in place, carefully manoeuvring them to avoid the nearby trees. This is the narrowest part of the entire road.

The missing Matakana link open at last

While the long-awaited opening of the motorway might be getting most of the attention, a road that’s arguably just as important to Mahurangi motorists was also blessed and opened at the same time. Te Honohono ki Tai Road, or the Matakana link road, provides a crucial link between Matakana Road and SH1, cutting out the unpopular Hill Street junction for a significant number of drivers.

While Auckland Transport (AT) and Waka Kotahi focus on its connection with the motorway, one of the biggest boons for those coming from Matakana, Leigh and Omaha will be the ability to nip down the 1.4km link road to get to sports at the showgrounds, hopefully ending the dreaded log-jam from Hill Street up to the roundabout.

The route to building the new four-lane road with footpaths either side and a cycle lane has not always been straightforward and without a lot of lobbying from

community groups, elected council and local board members, businesses, MPs and residents, it would not look like it does today.

Back in 2018, AT was planning to build just a two-lane road to start, claiming the extra lanes would not be needed until 2036, and the budget was slashed from $88 million to under $63 million. However, a concerted and lengthy campaign spearheaded by One Mahurangi business association resulted in the full four lanes going ahead, and the contract was awarded to a local business, Wharehine Construction.

During the build, the 60 staff and subcontractors have had to contend with more than their fair share of hiccups and hold-ups, including covid lockdowns, weather events, an alignment shift at the Warkworth end, and the addition of two unscheduled intersections to service new housing developments.

Wharehine construction manager Jared

McGee conceded it had been a challenging build at times, but he was happy with the finished road.

“It’s been a long project,” he said. “And it’s been good to be a local contractor, although sometimes the biggest problem is you care too much about the little things. I’ll for ever see little imperfections as I walk and ride along the road with my kids!”

McGee said the fact that they had been able to include user-friendly add-ons such as paths both sides of the road, a cycleway, roadside planting and rest areas with benches was gratifying.

“A lot of the roads we work on are so utilitarian, there’s no thought given to aesthetics or even having a simple rest area. There are three rest areas along the link and I like them,” he said. “As the housing comes on, they’ll be used more and more. The one by the roundabout has already got kids from Clayden Road coming down on their bikes and sitting down there.”

Efforts have been made to minimise harm to the environment, including extensive restoration planting and keeping tree loss to a minimum around the three-span bridge that crosses a stream.

“The original plan was to take an extra 20 metres of trees out on one side and 50 metres the other, but we narrowed our footprint as much as we could and halved the amount of native trees we had to take out,” McGee said.

Three wetlands and rain gardens have been included to filter stormwater and streetlights on the bridge, which is decorated with artwork designed by the Ngati Manuhiri Settlement Trust, are designed for longer life to reduce maintenance.

The road also includes a new occasional entrance into the showgrounds, infrastructure for six bus stops and extensive power ducting and water mains. It was funded with $30.5 million from AT and $31.7 million from Waka Kotahi.

Wharehine construction contract administrator Chrissy Beale and construction manager Jared McGee on the new bridge.

Te Honohono ki Tai Road facts and figures:

• More than 35,000 native plants and trees used in wetland, restoration and specimen planting

• 4,700 tonnes of concrete and 420 tonnes of reinforcing steel to construct bridge

• 2.6km of footpaths laid, using 4,500 m2 of concrete

• 1.35km cycleway, using 3,500 m2 of asphalt

• 175,000 m3 of earthworks, including 60,000 m3 cut to fill

• More than 20 km of underground cabling and ducting

3.8km of water mains

• Over 3km of stormwater lines

• 75% of Wharehine’s staff have worked on the project at various stages, peaking at 35 staff and 25 subcontractors on site at any one time

Award winning erosion control feature of motorway design

By Allan Barber allen@barberstrategic.co.nz

Environmental management has been an integral part of the Ara Tūhono – Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway project from the start.

The 18.5km route over steep hills and flat country, much of it unstable, is estimated to have produced up to 10 million cubic metres* of cut material including rock and soil, which was moved by a combination of blasting and earthmoving equipment.

Much of this material was reused to fill valleys and create the road alignment and modified landscape now visible.

Environmental manager Karsten Stevenson was involved from the beginning and saw it as essential to build a team with specialist

expertise and experience in erosion and sediment control, who would be able to communicate with the motorway construction engineers, supervisors and operators.

At the peak of the project, the team comprised the manager and four team members who developed and designed all the erosion and sediment control plans inhouse.

The plans had to be designed to cope with the constant threat of both engineered and natural soil movements. These were addressed by using an adaptive management approach, which involved taking water samples before, during and after each rain event to check the sediment concentration in the water being discharged from the work site. Regular tweaks to the methodology were made on

the basis of these results. There is a big difference between sediment runoff during construction, which was managed by chemically treated sediment retention ponds, and the runoff from the completed motorway, which is passed through planted wetland ponds before being discharged offsite.

One particular innovation was that the sediment retention ponds were built to have double the chemical treatment capacity so they could handle major storm events, as mandated by the resource consent conditions.

This environmental programme design won the International Erosion Control Association of Australasia Award in 2021. The team was asked to make a presentation by Zoom to the global IECA Conference

in the United States, which was a great accolade for the team’s work on very challenging terrain.

The team has also spent a lot of time testing the quality of the imported and in-situ topsoil to ensure the best landscape and planting outcomes. About 12ha of native vegetation was removed to make way for the new motorway, but to compensate, more than 150ha of native vegetation has been planted. This planting was undertaken in two stages with stage one plants providing a nursery for the stage two canopy species. The intention is that ultimately, this will replicate the natural forest ecosystems.

* If 10 million cubic metres of soil and rock were spread evenly over a flat area, it would cover about 200 hectares (equivalent to about 285 rugby fields).

The largest cut on the alignment is just before Perry Road with a 70m high rock face - 1.2 million cubic metres was removed from the cut. A total of 800,000 cubic metres of this was used as fill.

One of the projects largest tip sites was contoured and progressively grassed.

Big sucker keeps crews safe

Wellsford-based company Wharehine has taken delivery of its first Smart Dig hydroexcavator and vacuum truck, manufactured by Warkworth-based ITSS Engineering. At the recent handover, Wharehine managing director Rob Gibson welcomed the new machine, which he says takes the guess work out of where services such as power, gas, telephone and fibre optic cables, are located. He says there are so many services underground that it can be a “real nightmare” for contractors. The new trenchless excavator will ensure our teams remain safe, provide certainty and protection of clients’ assets, and ensure minimal disruption to road users.

“Also, having our own unit based in Rodney will mean we’ll be able to quickly respond to any emergency clean-up events on the state highways, helping to get the road open as quickly as possible,” Gibson says. The hydro excavator uses high pressure water to excavate around or locate services, then a vacuum removes the spoil created in the process and transports this offsite to

be recycled.

“We investigated several different build options from United States, Australia and around NZ, but in the end it was an easy decision to go with the Smart-Dig unit.

“To begin with, it is locally made and supported, and built for our environment and conditions.

“The machine has a well thought out design, large capacity and extra added features not on other international units.

“Being locally made from a 100 per cent NZ owned company was a massive plus for us, ensuring the dollars spent stayed in the local community and NZ.”

Smart-Dig is a partnership company between Rob Southey (Southeys Group) and Hugh Harvey (ITSS Engineering) and has been operating for 10 years.

ITSS’s workshop produces 90 per cent of the unit, with the rest being made or imported through other New Zealand companies. ITSS Engineering has a production line currently capable of building 12 to 15 units a year.

Our fleet includes excavators of varying sizes, bulldozers, graders, loaders and compacting rollers and our team of highly trained truck drivers and machine operators have been digging, levelling, land sculpting, moving dirt, rocks, rubble and spoil for years. We provide professional excavation, delivery and removal services to residential and commercial clients for earthworks projects such as driveways, house and shed sites, retaining walls, subdivisions, carparks and pavement rehabilitation and land sculpting.

Above from left, Wharehine transport manager Sam Dingemans, ITSS workshop and Smart-Dig manager Mark Harris, and Wharehine managing director Rob Gibson at the handover of the new rig. Fully loaded, the truck weighs 26 tonnes.

Fast,

reliable hose and

services for vehicles and machinery in the Agricultural, Industrial, Automotive, Marine and Transport industries

Still no start date for next motorway project

A start on a four lane motorway from Warkworth to the Mangawhai turnoff, just north of Te Hana, is still at least a decade away, according to Waka Kotahi regional manager (Auckland/Northland) system design Randhir Karma. The new 26km transport corridor will be completely separate from the existing state highway, and will travel west of the Dome Valley before crossing eastwards over SH1, near Wayby Valley Road, bypassing both Wellsford and Te Hana townships.

Karma says that while there are funds available for early property purchases, Waka Kotahi has not yet allocated any construction funding for the project.

“As a start on the project is still at least a decade away, no decision has been made on the contract model for the project either,” Karma says.

Auckland Council granted resource consents for earthworks, vegetation removal, structures and associated temporary works around watercourses and wetlands, diversion of streams and ground water, discharge to air, and stormwater management including the on-going stormwater discharge from the road surface, subject to conditions, in March 2021.

Year-long handover for old SH1

As the new motorway finally opens and grabs everybody’s attention with its super-smooth surface and dramatic hill cuttings, what happens to the old State Highway 1 between Puhoi and Warkworth?

Not much is the answer, at least for a year or so, although a new name will be on the cards quite soon.

The road stays in the ownership of Waka Kotahi for another year, until June 30, 2024, when it will be handed over to Auckland Transport (AT). A spokesperson said the two roading entities would work together during this time, the process for which is known as revocation.

“During the intervening period, Waka Kotahi and AT will continue to work through the various aspects associated with the transition of maintenance and operation responsibilities to AT,” the spokesperson said. This process will result in the road becoming a ‘local road’.

“Throughout this period, Waka Kotahi will continue to maintain the road so that it is handed over to AT in a

manner that is fit-for-purpose as a local road.”

As for what the old SH1 will be called, for the time being it will be just that – old State Highway 1 – until Auckland Council, AT and Rodney Local Board can agree and leagally formalise a new name.

“Ultimately, the portion of road between McKinney Road and Johnstones Hill Tunnels will be renamed,” AT said. “Options are being considered and will be put forward to the local board to agree the new name. Consultation with property owners and mana whenua regarding the agreed name change will be undertaken by AT.”

The road within Warkworth already has three road names – Auckland Road, Brown Road and Great North Road –which AT said would be retained.

AT added that there were no plans to alter the road layout or speed limits for the coming year, but could not comment on whether there would or could be any speed limit changes once it takes over the road from July next year.

Key components of the project include a four lane dual carriageway, three interchanges, 850-metre twin bore tunnels under Kraack Road, a viaduct over the existing SH1 and Hoteo River, a bridge over Maeneene Stream, a series of cut and fills across the project area and changes to local roads.

The appeal periods for resource consents and Notice of Requirement have closed, and a small number of appeals have been filed.

Karma says discussions are continuing with the one remaining submitter in an effort to resolve the remaining appeal.

“Once the Environment Court process has concluded, Waka Kotahi will provide further information on the outcome of this process.”

About 1348 hectares will be affected by the new motorway, involving 205 land parcels (including local roads).

Waka Kotahi says the new road will provide a safe and resilient link connecting Northland communities and economy to the rest of New Zealand.

If delivered in a single stage, it will take five to seven years to complete.

The old road will stay part of the Waka Kotahi network for another year.

Puhoi resident takes planning complaints to

“Utterly unacceptable” is how Puhoi resident Cornelius Dirven has described recent correspondence with Auckland Council’s planning department. He has referred his complaint to the Ombudsman after planners not only delayed his resource consent application, but expected him to pay additional costs for the delay.

Dirven owns just over 50 hectares on Ahuroa Road, west of the Puhoi village. He has subdivided four two-to-three hectare sections over the past four years and recently applied to subdivide a further two sections.

He says the application was straightforward and should have been processed within the 20-day timeframe.

“But the application, along with personal information, was referred to a consulting firm of planners without my knowledge or consent,” he says.

“After 18 days, they contacted me and said they needed another 20 days to

Ombudsman

process the application and that there would be additional charges. I had already paid $4000 when the application was submitted.”

In an exchange of emails, a council planner described Dirven’s insistence that the application be processed on time and for the $4000 fee as “unpleasant and abusive”.

The email went on to say, “I must highlight that the tone and content of your communication falls far below the reasonable standard we expect from our customers. While we accept you may wish to disagree with the opinion of the processing planner, there is no excuse for our staff, or consultants, being abused by the public for doing their job.”

Dirven says he went back through his emails and could not find “a single rude word” to justify the claim that he had been unpleasant or abusive.

“I simply made it clear that I was not happy at the delays, which looked to me like incompetence.”

Vector powers up to meet district growth

Plans by Vector to upgrade the network in the Mahurangi area can’t happen soon enough, if last week’s blackouts across much of the district are a taste of things to come.

Vector says last week’s power cuts were the result of fallen lines, but security of supply to the area has been identified as an issue.

At a Warkworth Area Liaison Group meeting this month, Vector network performance general manager Richard Pearce said that recent transmission planning reports from Transpower had identified that the Wellsford grid exit point (GXP) was nearing capacity and options to increase supply were being investigated.

The Wellsford Planning Area, which covers from Puhoi to Mangawhai coast to coast, including Kawau Island, is the most northern in Vector’s network. The area is supplied by the Wellsford GXP. The power comes south from Wellsford

via two 33,000 volt (33kV) power lines, which were constructed in 1964 and are about 22 km long (route length). Access to the circuits can prove difficult as the lines traverse complex terrain and multiple privately owned properties.

Due to demand growth – the number of individual power connections is forecast to grow from 16,000 to 25,000 over the next 30 years – the Wellsford to Warkworth circuits are expected to soon reach capacity at peak winter evening demand. To address this constraint, Vector has been installing underground cable ducts along SH1, between Wellsford and Warkworth.

Pearce says the project is nearly completed, with only the stretch between Goatley Road and the Matakana link road remaining before the cables can be commissioned.

Vector owns three existing zone substations at Wellsford, Warkworth and Snells Beach, with a fourth zone substation at Omaha due to be commissioned later this year.

The sub-transmission network operates at 33kV and distribution at 11kV.

The 33kV overhead sub-transmission lines are primarily on private land, with some on rough or heavily vegetated terrain.

The medium-term area plan is to establish a new zone substation to the west of Warkworth, and in the longer term, another just north of Warkworth. The northern site will initially be supplied at 33kV, but with the ultimate objective of being supplied at 110kV.

The SH1 cable ducts are also designed for 110kV cables.

Snells Beach and Warkworth are expected to exceed transformer capacity next year and in 2027, respectively. Vector believes peak demand can be managed by battery storage systems in the short term. The constraints will be resolved by constructing a new zone substation on Sandspit Road in 2025 and at Warkworth south in 2029,

and the redistribution of the load between a group of five substations.

The distribution network in this planning area covers a very large rural area that contains the longest 11kV rural overhead distribution circuits within Vector’s network. The long feeders are susceptible to outages, resulting in poor reliability, and poor power quality. To address these issues, Vector plans to use both network and nonwires solutions.

In addition, a 1.149 MW/1.254 MWh battery energy storage system has been installed at Tapora to provide improved quality of supply to the Tapora Peninsula, an emerging avocado growing area currently supplied by a long spur feeder.

A new voltage regulator has been installed in Te Arai to improve power quality and a recently-commissioned zone substation in Kaukapakapa has provided significant feeder backup capacity on the Kaipara Flats feeders.

The containers at the substation opposite Warkworth Golf Course house diesel-powered generators able to produce 4.5 megawatts. This is a temporary set-up until the new supply lines from Wellsford are connected.

A new 33kV cable has been installed along State Highway 1 from Wellsford to Warkworth to build resilience into the supply network.

David Stott, Co-chair https://onemahurangi.co.nz

OneMahurangi Growth challenges

One Mahurangi had an interesting meeting with Mayor Wayne Brown recently. Brown seemed impressed with the collaborative approach adopted by the association and other community groups in our region, so

The situation is in a mess and there is an urgent need for council, and its various agencies, such as Auckland Transport and Watercare, developers and the community to collaborate to create rational development plans for the future that incorporate balanced housing, and commercial and industrial development with the provision of infrastructure in a timely and cost-effective way. One Mahurangi is coordinating a detailed response to these draft proposals involving planners, engineers, developers and community groups calling for rational planning processes and effective community engagement.

school, more cost-effective upgrading of unsealed roads, road safety measures in the town centre, and public transport/on demand transport services for Warkworth and environs, and the redesign of the Sharp Road/Matakana Road intersection.

09 425 8207 M: 021 931 889 W:

The second issue involves the lodgement by the Supporting Growth Alliance (SGA)

Much of the work is unseen, but there are a number of people within both the association and the wider community, such as Roger Williams, of the Warkworth Area Liaison Group, who are putting in huge numbers of hours to address these issues. For that, One Mahurangi says a big thank you to everyone involved. It reflects the great community that we have in Warkworth.

Māori immersion school expansion

The Māori immersion school in Oruawharo is planning a move to Kaiwaka, reflecting a growing interest in te reo Māori and tikanga Māori education.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngaringaomatariki caters for students in Years 1 to 8 and is the only full immersion school between Whangarei and Auckland. There are currently 48 students on the roll.

Principal Reno Skipper started at the school 15 years ago, when there were just 17 students. He says the move to Kaiwaka will raise the profile of the school, as well as making it more accessible to a wider catchment. While the school’s current location next to the Oruawharo Marae, on the shores of the Kaipara Harbour, is idyllic in many ways, being at the end of an unsealed, potholed road has its disadvantages.

On the day that Mahurangi Matters visited the school, a teacher travelling from Wellsford was involved in a collision on the road which, fortunately, did not result in any serious injury.

“The road puts a lot of people off,” Skipper says. “The new school will provide us with an opportunity to grow. People will be able to see us and hear us.”

The new school will be built on 4.6ha in Tawa Road in Kaiwaka and a Notice of Requirement for designation has been lodged with Kaipara District Council. The Ministry of Education says the project is in the early planning stages and building is likely to start in 2025. The new school will cater for years 0-13 and puna reo [early childhood education].

Northern deputy secretary Isabel Evans says the ministry will work with the kura [school] through the planning phase to determine the initial roll and year levels.

Principal Skipper says that currently, families with children at Oruawharo face tough decisions when their eldest child finishes Year 8.

The only full immersion options for college students are in Auckland. They can either uplift their families and move, bus their children to Auckland or forego the full immersion system and enrol at Otamatea High School or Rodney College, where the whanau connections are not the same.

Casey Wikiriwhi has two children attending Hoani Waititi in Glen Eden and two at Oruawharo. Her husband, who is a teacher, stays with the children in Auckland during the week.

“We get together on weekends, but it is not ideal,” she says.

“For most of the parents at Oruawharo, te reo is not their first language so we feel a strong commitment to providing this education for our children.”

She hopes the new Kaiwaka school will open soon so both her two younger children will be able to finish their schooling locally.

“That would be amazing.”

Skipper says alongside normal school subjects, Oruawharo focuses on developing an educational appreciation for the hapū and iwi roles and responsibilities. This is reflected in the total commitment of parents to ensure their children participate in an education programme that promotes and teaches te reo Māori and tikanga Māori.

Not all students are te reo speakers when they enrol and

not all students are Māori.

“Only four per cent of the population of Kaipara are te reo speakers so this school is about the survival of the language,” Skipper says. “With language comes a sense of belonging and a understanding of your responsibilities to look after your language, your culture and your environment. When you know who you are then you can contribute positively to your community and your country.”

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngaringaomatariki was named after one of seven significant ancestral pā in the area.

Waitangi Manukau and Teramaroa Karena, who are in Years 6 and 7.

Principal Reno Skipper with his children – Kura, 3, and Hineaio, seven months.

Subdivision adjacent to industrial area turned down

Plans to develop a 72-lot subdivision on land south-west of Woodcocks Road in Warkworth have been turned down due to its proximity to the neighbouring industrial area.

A panel of independent commissioners led by Richard Blakey said the development off Mason Heights would also constitute “premature urbanisation” of the land that had the potential to cause serious traffic and transport issues in the area.

Woodcocks Property, a subsidiary of Kervus Property Group, had wanted to carry out the subdivision in six stages, with lots ranging in size from 403 square metres up to 1080 square metres, plus one light industrial/commercial lot of more than 6177 square metres.

Kervus managing director Greg Barclay said he and his family had long-standing links with Warkworth and he wanted to create affordable and desirable housing for first-home or last-home buyers in the area. However, there were considerable objections to the plans, mainly from companies with businesses in the light industrial-zoned area that adjoins the Mason Heights land and Rodney Local Board.

ITSS Engineering owner Hugh Harvey said the application should be refused because of the “reverse sensitivity” effects it would have on existing industrial activities – that is, people moving into the new subdivision would complain about noise and disturbance from industries already operating in the area, and prevent any expansion or extension to such activity. He said ITSS had already expanded its own activities since the application had first been put forward.

Bevan Morrison of Gumfield Properties also voiced concerns with respect to reverse sensitivity and the potential impact it

would have on light industrial operations from his site, which had taken some time to find.

He said there was already a shortage of land for light industry in Warkworth and an excess of residential development, and added that the applicant’s noise modelling was inadequate for what future residents of the new subdivision would actually experience.

Rodney Local Board deputy chair Louise Johnston said this was another example of out-of-sequence development for Future Urban-zoned land without necessary infrastructure, and Auckland Council did not have the funding to provide this, public transport and walking and cycling connections.

“It is important that greenfield development is correctly sequenced, and development does not occur in a haphazard way,” she said.

Johnston also raised possible issues with future flooding and stormwater run-off, and echoed concerns over the development’s position right next to an industrial estate.

In their refusal to grant consent, the hearing commissioners said the development would result in “actual and potential adverse reverse sensitivity effects on activities within the adjacent light industrial-zoned land that will likely be more than minor” and said it was contrary to the objectives and policies of the Future Urban zone.

“It represents premature urbanisation of the land in a manner that has the potential to compromise the efficient and effective operation of the local and wider transport network, as well as giving rise to aforementioned reverse sensitivity effects,” Blakey said in the panel decision.

mahu Church & Community Centre

Building Update:

Stage 1 of the Mahurangi Presbyterian Church and Community Centre is expected to be completed in September.

The past two weeks have welcomed the installation of the ceilings throughout the centre. Grids for the suspended ceilings were installed throughout the office and café/ kitchen areas and these were fitted with ceiling panels. Acoustic panels have been fitted in between the purlins of the higher ceilings through the entrance lobby, function area and chapel.

All the gib fixing has been completed and Zane Ashton, Preferred Plasters, has completed the majority of the gib stopping so these areas are now ready for painting. The builders are well underway with the installation of doors throughout the complex and are also fitting architraves and skirtings.

Painting of the gib stopped areas has commenced. A month ago, four church volunteers –all fit and over 75 years of age –applied a sealer coat over the gib to get it ready for painting. Coast to Coast Painters Ltd are contracted to complete the interior painting and their team is hoping to have the painting in the office and meeting rooms completed within two to three weeks.

Flooring Xtra Ltd has been contracted to install the flooring finishes and is currently working on the floor-to-ceiling wall vinyl in the ablution block. The kitchen and café have been measured for benches and cabinets which will arrive within the month.

Once the painting and flooring are finished, JG Wech Plumbers and Drainlayers will return for the final plumbing fitoff. They have already installed a chilled water drinking fountain - the Auckland Dental Association contributed funding towards this and it will be greatly appreciated by those using the gymnasium.

Davco Electrical has consistently been wiring each area of the complex - the latest development has seen lights fitted in the gymnasium, function area, chapel and auditorium. For several months Ice Fire Protection have been working on the installation of the alarm and sprinkler systems and there are now 680 sprinklers throughout the building! Air Zone has installed a fresh air ventilation system.

The persistent wet weather has caused many delays for Mason Contractors Ltd as they work towards installing the stormwater systems and preparing the grounds for footpaths, patios and carparks. The first concrete pour is scheduled for this week – this is for footpaths and the patios areas in front of the three sets of bifold doors that open out from function area and chapel thus creating an ideal level-entry indoor-outdoor flow for church services, sports and social functions.

A

Call: 022 352 2017 Email: hello@tinyliving.co.nz Web: www.tinyliving.co.nz

Project Manager Kevin Pyle asks everyone to pray for fine weather as there is a lot of groundwork, carparks and landscaping to be completed.

This project is still requiring community funding support to achieve the goal of being debt free for the first two stages. If you would like to make a donation, our bank account is, MPC Capital Fundraising 12-3105-0003156-02. For a tax receipt please email reception@mahu.org.nz

Photos, Jonathon Lane

honours coastal pair take architecture East and west

Quality not quantity was the order of the day for local contenders at this month’s Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects’ Auckland Architecture Awards, with just two homes winning prizes this year – Swallow Point House and Tawharanui Pavilion.

Past competitions have seen at least half a dozen different new buildings from the area win awards, but while numbers were down in 2023, the quality of the local winners was exceptional. Both homes are rural, low-profile and on the coast – one right on the Kaipara Harbour, the other overlooking Kawau Bay – and they have been designed deliberately to sit well within their natural surroundings.

Overall, there were a total of 57 winning designs in 12 categories at the awards, including 29 homes of every shape and style, from those with a tiny budget and footprint to others that were epic in both scale and cost.

The awards jury convener, Sloan Architects’ founder Patrick Sloan, said the calibre of work this year was high, even though many of the projects had been designed and delivered during the trying times of covid.

“These projects stand as testament to the determination and commitment of the architects, their clients, the consultants and the contractors in bringing these buildings to life,” he said.

“Great design outcomes often come from a light touch, as opposed to too much design, and we saw this in so many of the projects we reviewed.”

The 12 categories were: Commercial Architecture, Education, Enduring Architecture, Heritage, Hospitality, Housing, Housing – Alterations and Additions, Housing – Multi Unit, Interior Architecture, Planning & Urban Design, Public Architecture, and Small Projects, plus 11 Resene Colour Award winners.

Designed by architects for an architect and his family, Swallow Point House is a large, but low-profile home that sits on the edge of the Kaipara Harbour.

Tucked into a hillside within a stone’s throw of the extraordinary giant sculptures of Gibbs Farm, the home consists of a series of seven connected pavilions linked by halls, passageways and courtyards that provide living and bedroom zones with privacy and seclusion, as well as incredible sea views and

connection with the natural surroundings. Judges praised a design approach that pursued simplicity over complexity and a finished property that blended seamlessly with the landscape.

“Significant in many ways, this project is also measured and sensitive,” they commented. “It talks to the architect’s deep appreciation of landscape, identity and a sensibility that effortlessly responds to context.”

Swallow Point House –Noel Lane Architects and Rowe Baetens Architecture, in association.

Photos, Simon Devitt

Tawharanui Pavilion –Wendy Shacklock Architects

Overlooking Kawau Bay from the south west side of the Tawharanui Peninsula, this rural retreat manages to incorporate dramatic geometric rooflines without impinging on its natural surroundings. There are two buildings set into a hillside, the main house and guest quarters, the overall design for which was inspired by a visit to Sri Lanka.

Judges said they were a finely crafted duo of buildings and praised the “carefully considered” rooflines, which are clearly visible when entering the property from a driveway above the site.

“Simplicity and complexity combine in this rural home, where the folded roof plane hovers above a sequence of internal rooms contained by three-quarter-height walls,” they said.

“The subtle, muted tones of natural-finish timber and board-form concrete to the interior sit quietly as a backdrop to longrange views out to sea.”

Photos, David Straight

Performance shines light on mental health issues

The complex issues of mental wellbeing, suicide prevention and aftercare when someone has taken their life will be addressed in a theatre show/seminar at the Warkworth Town Hall on June 28.

Shot Bro – Confessions Of A Depressed Bullet will be presented by Rob Mokaraka, an actor/writer who had a public mental and spiritual breakdown in Point Chevalier, Auckland in 2009. In his own words, he says he provoked the police to shoot him dead on the street, outside his house. He ignored the warning from police and took another step, which resulted in him being shot in the chest at close range. After multiple surgeries, multiple court cases and multiple therapies, he created a tool for healing and educating communities and organisations.

“We need to illuminate this problem, because it grows in the shadows and the silence. We need to put heaps of aroha and

light on it so we can educate ourselves,” he says.

The Warkworth event is free and is being hosted by the Healing Through Arts Trust. It is billed as being suitable for all ages, mental health practitioners, counsellors and community groups.

A trust spokesperson says that the performance will showcase Mokaraka’s personal experience on how to handle depression while creating awareness regarding suicide prevention.

“He uses humour and love to give participants tools to normalise and cope during these crazy, unsettling times,” she says.

Children can attend with a parent or caregiver.

People are asked to RSVPs to htatrust@ gmail.com by Monday June 26. Koha welcome.

Rob Mokaraka’s show/seminar draws on his own experiences with mental health to help others.

Art classics framed with flying colours

Anthony Grant is having fun with framing. After a lifetime of collecting a vast and wildly eclectic selection of art, the Auckland barrister is turning his creative attention to how some of his world class paintings and prints can be displayed to pack more punch at Sculptureum, his sculpture garden, gallery and restaurant at Omaha Flats.

An ideal solution, he believes, is to add a vivid blast of colour to an artwork’s frame, mat board or both, and with the help of his regular picture framer, Stu Robb at Sgraffito in Remuera, has been pursuing this approach with characteristic gusto. Instead of plain black frames on a white mat board, many Sculptureum gallery exhibits are now sporting brightly coloured surrounds that echo colours used in the work.

Grant began his reframing project with a classic ‘comic book’ image by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein – actually a signed bag from the Guggenheim Museum – and a photo of the artist that is displayed below it.

He felt the images needed a bit of a ‘pop’, which is just what they got when warm coral red mat boards replaced the original white.

Grant has gone on to use the same technique with a collection of classic Andy Warhol prints, several Picasso posters, two more large-scale Lichtensteins and a print of the final abstract self-portrait by Henri Matisse, The Sorrows of the King, which sports a half blue, half yellow mat.

“Framing changes the relationship with the image,” Grant says. “This form of art can be magnified by framing. The novelty of colour … does that magnify or harm the

Anthony Grant with his Orange Prince.

image? To me, it enhances it. I’ve had a whole lot of fun with this.”

It’s not just the colour framing of one of Grant’s Warhol prints that is making it stand out at the moment, however. Orange Prince, one image in a series of 16 Warhol made of the singer in 1984, was the subject of a controversial US Supreme Court decision this month, when justices ruled the portrait was an infringement of copyright.

Warhol’s Prince series was made after Vanity Fair commissioned him to make an image of the singer using Goldsmith’s photo, for which they paid a one-off licensing fee at the time. The photographer did not know about the 15 additional works Warhol made, however, until Orange Prince was used on the cover of a commemorative magazine after the singer’s death in 2016.

Grant says the Supreme Court decision is a controversial one, affecting the way artists can modify another person’s work.

“Warhol modified photographs of Marilyn Monroe and others and turned them into some of the most expensive artworks of all time,” he says. “This assessment shows no understanding of the transformative powers that Warhol had with portraiture.”

Grant is not worried by the decision himself, however, and says he will continue

to display his limited edition Orange Prince print in the Sculptureum galleries, not least because the Supreme Court expressed no opinion on the “creation, display or sale” of the Prince series works.

“I shall be putting a descriptor panel alongside it shortly to show the photograph from which it was derived, so that people can make their own assessment of whether Warhol made fair use of the photo, and so that they can see that the Warhol work is far superior to the photograph from which it was derived,” he says. “I think it will fulfil an educational function.”

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Auckland Transport berated over state of rural roads

The Landowners and Contractors Association is the latest group to take Auckland Transport (AT) to task over the state of the district’s rural roads.

In a letter to AT chief executive Dean Kimpton, association chair Brian Mason says the extreme weather events this year have highlighted the poor allocation and management of resources.

“We see nothing other than the misuse of resources in return for the constant and ever increasing rate demands placed on us by Auckland Council,” the letter said. “In my view, our roads, from Helensville to south Mangawhai, have never been in such a state of neglect.”

As an example, Mason described his own road – Pakiri Block Road, which he said had been impassable after recent weather events.

“Culverts have been purposely blocked by the council grader, resulting in large gabion-sized rocks washing across the road, closing it to all but heavy vehicles, the school bus and the milk tanker.

“Underslips into the Poutawa Stream further endanger the drivers and occupants of these vehicles. On two recent occasions, local farmers and an experienced local earthmoving contractor have taken turns opening the road to the public. We are all maintaining our own farm races and laneways, so are well-versed in required actions. We use cost-effective solutions

and build a road to discharge stormwater adequately. Hence, our dismay to see the contrary occurring under the instructions of AT.”

Mason said AT needed to properly plan, instruct and inspect the works being undertaken before signing any job off. “We see such wasteful use of resources, labour and machinery. On the Pakiri Block Road there was a generous dressing of quality metal applied, only to be either washed off the carriageway or down into the neighbouring paddock.

“A little further towards Tomarata School, there is considerable but not extraordinary runoff towards the road, which was always channelled into a water table. Over the last two years, the grader has pushed banks of dirt/mud into the existing drain resulting in damming.

“Stormwater now washes across the road causing ruts and channels. On inspection of the installed culvert, even during a flood, no water was near to flowing through it. In fact, rodents had taken to nesting in the pipe!”

The letter described rural roads where culverts were blocked, paddock entrances washed away, roads narrowed to a dangerous width and where motorists risked their lives dodging potholes.

Mason called on AT to take action on the maintenance of rural roads and employ better accountability from contractors.

Good turnout at slip field day

By Allan Barber allen@barberstrategic.co.nz

More than 60 farmers and landowners gathered at the Ahuroa Hall for a wellorganised series of presentations to provide advice and support for remediating land affected by recent weather events, particularly the Anniversary Weekend storms.

Beef + Lamb NZ’s extension manager for the northern North Island, Katrina Stead, organised the programme, which was designed to advise on planning for shortterm recovery and long-term resilience.

On the panel of five speakers was John Ballinger, from Northland Regional Council, talking about the adverse effects of different soil types and sediment flows; Duncan Kervall, a soil scientist from Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR), who spoke about planting the right sort of trees to minimise erosion and withstand extreme weather events; Mark Forsyth, NZ Forest Service adviser, on the nuts and bolts of the Emissions Trading Scheme; and soil experts Dr Ants Roberts, from Ravensdown, and Murray Lane, from Ballance. Auckland Council was not represented at the meeting, apart from Rodney Local Board member Tim Holdgate, but Stead conceded she and her colleagues who put the event together had not specifically invited anyone from the organisation, though CCO Watercare was aware of it. The first two speakers highlighted the challenges of keeping soil on the hills and slowing the sediment train with sandstone and mudstone shifting in different directions on Kaipara’s highly erodible land mass of 135,000 hectares, of which 45% is pasture. There are 8000km of waterways and 4000 properties all feeding into the Kaipara Harbour. Thousands of tonnes of sediment finds its way into the harbour annually, which has enormous implications for its health and fish populations. The best ways to manage these two issues are judicious tree planting, abiding by the mantra ‘right tree, right place, right purpose’, and the creation of wetlands. Several trials are under way in Northland to find the ideal combination of tree species and space between plantings for highly erodible soils, which are also found across the Rodney district. No one tree can do all the jobs required, but 95% of Northland plantings are radiata which experience, since Cyclone Bola in 1988, has proven to have an extremely unstable root system. Poplars have been one of the alternatives which have achieved landslip damage reduction with a relatively small loss of pasture, but unfortunately the clone originally selected is unsuitable for steeper areas or riparian planting because of a small root system and heavy overhanging branches. As a result, two major

government incentivised tree types have caused more landscape damage, instead of solving the problem they were intended to, at least on highly vulnerable land. KMR provides grants and works with landowners to develop a sediment reduction plan for each farm. It will pay half the costs with the other half being contributed, either in cash or in kind, by the landowner. The organisation, which is funded by central and local government, is currently working with 500 farmers and already has 400 sediment reduction plans in place. It is working closely in tandem with Northland and Auckland councils, Fonterra and Beef + Lamb NZ to ensure duplication is avoided.

The last two speakers discussed the topic of revegetation, the effect of slips on pasture productivity, the use of technology to map the farm before and after major storms to assist decision-making, and sowing seed by heli-cropping, which leaves the topsoil undisturbed.

Streamland Suffolk stud co-owner Sue Meszaros was particularly impressed by the practical nature of these last two presentations on soil recovery and revegetation, while also praising the work of the Rural Support Trust and Forest Bridge Trust in helping with fencing and slash clearance.

Ahuroa farmer Glen Ashton finishes cattle on a combined total of 344 hectares on which he has also planted 250,000 trees. His farms suffered substantial damage to fences, tracks and crossings from the landslips and he is focusing on fixing the most critical issues first.

He thought the field day was informative, but considered the advice on tree planting ignored the fact that water must find its way down the hill and eventually into the harbour, so planting to block creeks only causes problems for properties further uphill. On his farm, he had at least one slump where a whole hillside had shifted two metres sideways. He made the point these weather events and their damage to the landscape were not a new phenomenon. His positive attitude was typical of the field day attendees who were interested in what the presenters had to say and keen to get on with the job of recovery.

Excellence award for youth

A Wellsford student took out the top award at a week-long Blue Light Life Skills camp at Whenuapai air base last month.

Jackson Lindsay, 17, was one of 27 young people from North Rodney to South Taranaki who took part in the the course, and he was the clear winner of the Excellence award.

The Life Skills camps run several times a year and are run by the NZ Defence Force Youth Development Unit for students aged 14 to 17. The programme focuses on leadership training, practical skills and building self-confidence, with activities including drill, sports, cooking, team building, leaderless tasks, basic first aid, a high ropes course, an escape room and a visit to a Hercules aircraft.

North Rodney Blue Light community youth coordinator Shane Gould said Lindsay’s success was the highlight of a terrific camp, which saw all the participants

achieve 13 Level 1 and Level 2 NCEA credits.

“This was the second course of the year, with three other Wellsford students attending one in January,” he said. The Life Skills camps are just one example of a wide range of sports and activities that North Rodney Blue Light organises for schools and communities throughout the region. While their parents might only remember the organisation for its Blue Light discos, local young people these days are more likely to be trying out kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, fishing, air rifle shooting, archery or mountain biking.

Blue Light also runs activity camps, one of the most recent being with Mangawhai Beach School students at Lake Taupo in April, and it can tailor activities to suit individual schools and groups.

Gould said that while activities developed

to suit changing times, one thing remained constant – “my jokes are still the same, 28 years later.”

He said North Rodney Blue Light had provided activities for 800 youths so far this year.

“Research has shown activity-based education is an ideal vehicle to develop

young people. Taking young people away from the distractions of everyday life has proven to be extremely effective in teaching them ways to improve and manage their lives moving forward.”

Info and enquiries: Contact Shane Gould on 0274 587485 or email bluelight_ wellsford@xtra.co.nz

North Rodney Blue Light runs a wide range of outdoor activities for young people aged from eight to 17.

NZDF Youth Development Unit commanding officer Lt Col Adam Gordon, who lives at Snells Beach, awarding Wellsford’s Jackson Lindsay with his Excellence Award at Whenuapai last month.

Animals

Stephen McAulay, CEO and head vet, Wellsford Vet Clinic https://wellsfordvet.com/

Footrot fixes

Footrot in ruminants is an infection of interdigital tissue between their toes. Warm wet weather is a key predisposing condition and frequently occurs in cattle after walking across metal roads. Hard stones of the right size can become stuck between the claws and result in damage of the skin. This breaks down one of the key immune defences of the body and bacteria can then infect the underlying soft tissue. The claws of ruminants are considered to be equivalent to the middle and ring fingers of people, and the dew claws being the index and little fingers. The wall of the hooves is like the nails and the sole of the foot is similar to the soft red tissue immediately under the nails joining the pad of the fingers. Ruminants have the same three joints as our fingers – the fetlock joints are the knuckles; the pastern joint is the next joint down and finally the coffin joint which is “buried” below the top level of the hoof wall. The web between ruminant claws is slightly lower down, just below the pastern or middle joint of our fingers. It is this web between the toes which becomes damaged and infected in footrot.

Footrot has a strong genetic predisposition and, hence, was more of an issue when my grandfather was a kid as opposed to currently on sheep farms within New Zealand. Good farms culled their flocks aggressively and selected animals with good leg and feet traits for their future breeding stock. Some of the more recently

introduced, new or exotic breeds, which may not have had wet environmental conditions and footrot challenge in their original environments, have higher rates of infection compared to animals which have been in New Zealand for generations.

The bacteria which cause footrot are very susceptible to procaine penicillin G and milder or early cases can be managed with 10% zinc sulphate foot baths and some topical footrot sprays. The length of time required to be standing in the foot bath is considered to be from two minutes for mild infections to 30 minutes for worse infections. As a kid, my brother had a small flock of angora goats and I can remember the weekly round-up and 30 minute footbaths which I helped him with when I was at primary school. Trimming the claws of sheep and goats can also help reduce the frequency of foot infections and was another monthly chore I helped my brother with.

Online videos are a modern resource for understanding what footrot infections are and instructions on foot trimming and foot baths. Should you require additional help with “fixing” your animals feet, then talk to your local veterinarian. To be able to dispense antibiotics for footrot, your animals need to be examined on your farm and animals are under immediate care of a veterinarian.

Lego Club

The Wellsford Library Lego Club meets in the library every Friday, from 2pm to 4.30pm. The club is open to all ages; everyone welcome.

Thanks

Mahurangi College Rugby has thanked Findex for its ongoing support. For the third year, the company has supplied the 1st XV players with a personalised kit bag. The bags were presented to new 2023 players by Findex representative Alex Paul this month.

Golf

The Bream Bay Classic 54-hole gross strokeplay will be held at the Waipu Golf Club on July 8 and 9. The three divisions are Open, Masters (40+) and Ladies. Entries close at 5pm on July 3. Info: https://www.waipugolfclub.org.nz/upcoming-events?ComeFromCat=2128

Badminton – Snells Beach

A warm invitation to new players to join us where the emphasis is on fun. We meet at the Snells Beach Community Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday with a 9am start. Welcome to those who are keen to learn or improve. Spare racquets are available. Phone Barry 027 425 5612 or Lynne 021 735 767

Indoor bowls

Tomarata Indoor Bowls meet at the Tomarata Hall, Mangawhai Rd,Tomarata on Wednesdays at 7pm. New members welcome. Info: Eryl 09 431 4965

Snells Beach Indoor Bowls meet at the Mahurangi East Community Centre, Hamatana Rd, on Mondays at 12.30pm, beginners welcome. Info: Pam 425 6405

AUCTIONS

of an Era” Clearing Sale

Students take 40 hour challenge

Mahurangi College teaching assistant

Louise Graham had four students doing 40 acts of kindness as part of the World Vision 40 Hour challenge recently. They have made pizzas for the teaching assistants in the Senco department, thank you cards for their whanau teachers, helped neighbours, made physical education bags for students who didn’t have them and goody bags for the homeless. “They enjoyed thinking up new ways of being kind to others, a valuable life lesson in itself.” Graham says. Two more of her students did the 40 hours of fasting, as per the original 40 hour challenge, which began in 1975. “I remember doing that myself, when I

was at school.”

Proceeds from the 40 hour challenge this year will go towards safe water projects that improve health and create employment. Graham says it is not too late to donate by sponsoring the Mahurangi students.

“If you can spare even as little as $5, you will be helping the push to bring clean and safe water to villages around the globe. Just $18 will give a child three months of emergency safe water and $32 can get a one month purifying kit for a family.”

For more details, see https:// my.worldvision.org.nz/ and search for the Mahurangi College Students Fundraising page.

Helping at the Presbyterian foodbank were, from left, Morgen, Grace and Jamie.

Marine Stop public investment in bottom trawlers

Recently, Fisheries New Zealand presented a draft Fisheries Industry Transformation Plan, claiming this would revolutionise commercial fishing in New Zealand. Unfortunately, the plan is not transformational, it’s the opposite, and risks cementing the status quo for the next 30 years. This flies in the face of increasing public opposition to ongoing trawling and damage to the seabed. While the plan outlines a range of changes, there are no proposals to transition away from destructive bulk harvesting methods like bottom trawling, scallop dredging and Danish seining in our coastal waters. Achieving meaningful transformation starts by addressing real issues, not by glossing over the environmental impacts of industrial fishing. What’s more, the plan authors have the gall to put their hand out for tens of millions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars to build new, larger fishing vessels. The current proposal is just another form of subsidy-grabbing, with a cloak of greenwashing to help it slide past us with minimal fanfare. This leads us to ask the question – after 36 years fishing under the Quota Management System, why has the industry failed to generate enough income or equity to revitalise its own fleet?

Internationally, the New Zealand government has been scathing of fishing subsidies. Phil Goff, the Minister of Trade (at the time of this quote), said it eloquently, “To stop overfishing we need countries to stop paying subsidies that encourage more people to fish even when it is not economic.”

The economic outcome of this Industry Transformation Plan is stark – large (publicly funded) industrial fishing boats exporting their catch to generate profits for their shareholders. Say goodbye to the quintessential family-run business or buying fish from your local store.

Transformation starts with transitioning away from destructive fishing methods and through means such as a buy-back of quota allocated to bulk-harvest species, the quota can then be leased to small-scale fishers. Small-scale fishing enables people to make a living locally. Lee Fish is a prime example of success, supporting the local community for the past 60 years. They are one of the few seafood companies that has rejected bulk harvesting in favour of providing fresh, sustainably caught seafood to New Zealanders via supermarkets.

The fish they catch and sell around the North Island are caught by long-lining, enabling fishers to select the best fish for market while having a lower environmental impact. Plus, they are contributing to the regional economy – all while supporting the fishers who can make a living in their backyard. Just imagine companies like Lee returning to coastal towns around the country.

The Quota Management System has allowed the commercial industry to trash the marine environment. Public subsidies to upgrade their fleet is not a solution. Instead, we need a serious commitment to change behaviours to use more selective fishing techniques and treat the ocean as a gift, which we want to pass down to future next generations.

Sam Woolford, LegaSea Project Lead sam@legasea.co.nz

What’s on

for a full list of upcoming events

June

19 Low Vision Support Group, Summerset Falls Village, Warkworth, 1.30pm. All welcome. Info: enquiries@mcdonaldadams.co.nz

22-24 Freaky Friday, Mahurangi College production, 6.30pm and a matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm

24 Volunteer Open Day, Matakana Hall, 10am-1pm. A Forest Bridge Trust event to celebrate National Volunteer Week. All welcome to come along and see how you can be involved in your community.

25 Leigh Mid-Winter Swim, Matheson Bay, 10.30am. Hot soup and coffee available.

28 Shot Bro, Warkworth Town Hall, RSVPs to htatrust@gmail.com by Monday, June 26 (see story p36)

30 Movie Magic, a Matakanata Choir concert at Matakana Hall, 7.30pm; tickets $20 adults, gold coin children

29–July 2 Puhoi 160th celebrations, includes a lunch, dance and church service. Info and tickets puhoibohemianmuseum@gmail.com or ph 027 211 0316 (see story p13)

July

1 Wellsford Library’s 10th anniversary fun day celebration, from 10am (see story p )

1 Menzies/Endres Duo presented by Warkworth Music in partnership with Chamber Music New Zealand, Warkworth Town Hall, 4-6pm (see story p9)

1 Wellsford Community Dinner, Wellsford RSA, from 6pm. Spot prices, auction and two course dinner; raising money for Wellsford School. Albertland Museum and Support Your LocalWellsford. Tickets $50. Book at: yourlocalwellsford2022@ gmail.com or phone 021 022 2762 (see brief p9)

2 Movie Magic, a Matakanata Choir concert, Warkworth Town Hall, 2.30pm; tickets $20 adults, gold coin children

2 Tawharanui Planting Day, 9am-1pm. Meet at the Woolshed; tools, gloves and lunch provided

3-5 Let’s Paint Birds community art project, Mahurangi East Community Hall, 10am-4pm (see story p17)

5 Warkworth Liaison Group meeting, downstairs meeting room at Warkworth RSA, Mill Lane, 7pm

The joy and passion for living and learning

Reach Forward Early Learning Centre is all about the joy and passion for living and learning!

Situated at 11 Falls Street, Warkworth, Reach Forward is a well known and loved part of the community.

Operating since January 2019, Reach Forward remains true to its core educational beliefs. The team strive to set a high standard of care and education as they help children to see learning as a process with distinct components they can practice; help children use reference materials to support their learning and then help children to represent their ideas with multiple materials; challenge children to go a step further in their intellectual thinking; encourage children to grow in Godly knowledge, understanding and wisdom; tap into, draw on and build upon children’s love for song, music, drama, drawing, movement and the natural world; and help children learn ways to effectively communicate through speech, reading, writing, numbers and creative expression. The well-rounded educational curriculum ensures that children receive the best possible start in life. With literacy being the core component children participate daily in music, rhyme, stories, creative activities, and nature to ensure they have plenty of opportunities to experience language, social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. There are three learning spaces for different age groups of children. In the under two area babies and toddlers are made to feel secure by a well-developed routine and caring and experienced staff. The under two area has an excellent child-adult ratio and the small class ensures that each child is given the care and attention needed to thrive. Our two, three and four year old rooms are vibrant spaces with beautiful and orderly arrangements and displays designed to optimise children’s learning. Linda Ward, the owner and Louette van Deventer, the centre manager, have many years’ experience in opening and managing childcare centres, and continue to be delighted with the Warkworth community.

To book your guided tour please give Louette a phone call on 09 283 3433 and as spaces are limited it is a good idea to get on the waiting list as soon as possible. To find out more please visit our Facebook site: Reach Forward Early Learning Centre Warkworth or the website www.reachforward.co.nz

Rodney netballer secures place

in national squad

Rodney College Year 12 student Isbe Kuinikoro (Ngāpuhi) has won a place in the Aotearoa Māori Netball Secondary Schools squad.

The team will compete in the Pacific Rim Tournament in Hawaii in September and Kuinikoro was the only Te Tai Tokerau player to make the final cut. However, her inclusion was nearly stymied by injury.

Two trial events were held – the National Tournament in New Plymouth at Easter and a Trials Camp in Wellington last month.

Kuinikoro, who plays goal defence (GD) and wing defence (WD), fractured her right hand and couldn’t play in New Plymouth.

“Luckily I was spotted during training so was invited to the trials in Wellington,” she says.

Trialists had the opportunity to engage in fundamental movement and positional specific skill sessions with specialist coaches across the day followed by match play. Head coach Ngarama Milner-Olsen is excited about the potential and direction Māori Netball is moving towards.

“We want all our kōhine who are part of this kaupapa to walk away with a positive experience and with something to work towards,” she says. “It is important that we continue to support and track our kōhine who didn’t make the squad, as this is equally important.”

From an organisational perspective, national netball manager Ashleigh-Kate Araroa-Waerea was pleased with how Māori Netball was tracking.

“We are still in a rebuilding phase with players having had limited opportunities since 2019,” she says. “This cohort of players has missed out on two years of national tournament and opportunities to engage in development programmes due to covid but the talent is there and the potential is strong.”

The squad will re-group over Matariki weekend next month.

Kuinikoro says she doesn’t know what her netball future will be, but her long-term aim is to become a sports physiotherapist.

She currently plays for Waipu in the Whangarei competition on Friday nights and for Rodney in the North Harbour comp on Saturday mornings.

She says Pip Smythe, of Mangawhai, who coached her in Year 8, had had a big influence on her netball.

Right, Isbe Kuinikoro is off to Hawaii to compete in the Pacific Rim tournament in September.

Busy start to season at Warkworth

Junior soccer is off to a flying start at Warkworth Football Club this season, with well over 250 youngsters aged from four to 17 signing up to play every Saturday.

Mornings start with First Kicks and Fun Football, when 150 four to eight-year-olds take to the field at Shoesmith Domain for a hour of warm-ups, training and team play. Co-ordinator Richard Jones says numbers have almost doubled from last year.

“It’s a lot of kids to control,” he says. “But thankfully I’ve got a good group of volunteers and coaches to help me out. “We have 12 teams and the pitch size varies according to age, and we have player of the day for each team at the end.”

After that, the older grade teams from Under 9 up to Under 15 take over the fields to play teams from around north Auckland in their Northern Regional Football divisions. This year, there are more than 100 players taking part, Jones said.

New sponsorship from Bedford Homes had meant that players had been provided with their own team hoodie to take home this year.

He said Warkworth was making a big effort to make visiting teams feel welcome this season, with teams providing plates of food for after-match get-togethers. Elemento Café also has a coffee truck at Shoesmith every week and there is a sausage sizzle as well.

Although registration has closed for the junior grades, Jones says anyone with younger children is welcome to bring them along on a Saturday morning to see what goes on and maybe have a go.

Info: admin@warkworthfc.org