Hibiscus Matters_Issue 349_12 June 2023

Kings Birthday honour for nurse ... p12 p9 p17 -24

Sports facilities eye up Hibiscus Coast locations

Surfing is not the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Dairy Flat, but that could be about to change.

Recently an ‘Auckland Surf Park Community’ proposed for a 43ha site in Dairy Flat began the process of seeking resource consent via the Government’s Covid-19 fast-track consenting method.

A 2.2ha state of the art Wavegarden surfing lagoon, wellness retreat, visitor accommodation and restaurant are proposed for the site, at 1350 Dairy Flat Highway, along with a data centre and 7ha solar farm – the aim is to use solar energy to operate the data centre, and capture heat from the data centre to warm the surfing lagoon.

A company to own and operate the data centre is already signed up.

International company Aventuur is behind the Wavegarden project and has indicated that it represents an investment of tens of millions of dollars, for the wave pool alone.

The project is supported by organisations such as Surf Lifesaving NZ and Surfing NZ, Water Safety NZ and Paralympics NZ, along with Kiwi professional surfer Paige Hareb.

Hareb, who has surfed at the Wavegarden in Melbourne, says the consistent waves enable surfers to improve their skills and have fun.

“A surf park in Auckland will provide a world-class training facility for surf

athletes,” she says.

However, the Surf Park’s most enthusiastic spokesperson is Sir John Kirwan, a lifelong surfer, former All Black and mental health advocate.

He says he has been investigating wave pools for a while and Aventuur is the third group that has approached him.

“I am confident they have what it takes to make this happen,” he says.

He says the company looked at around 30 Auckland sites before settling on the land in Dairy Flat.

Recent weather has affected many parts of Dairy Flat.

“We went out there during the floods and it

naturally flooded, which for us is a bonus,” he says. “Climate resilience is one box that had to be ticked. For me it needed to strongly support the six pillars of mental health, and be environmentally friendly too.” The Wavegarden, which prides itself on producing ‘perfect waves’, is a diamondshaped pool with a pier or footbridge running through the centre. The top end of the pier houses the machinery that pushes out waves through a series of levers encased in modules. The levers swing in one direction to push out a wave first on one side of the pool, then the other. The number of modules determines wave length and power. Kirwan says while an artificial wave will

A wave park like this, costing tens of millions, is proposed for Dairy Flat, supported by Sir John Kirwan.

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never replace the ocean, what is proposed is a high quality sports and community hub as well as a place to learn and hone your skills. The only Wavegardens in the southern hemisphere are in Melbourne and Brazil. The others are in Switzerland, England and South Korea. Aventuur is also doing one in Perth.

General manager: Jannette Thompson gm@localmatters.co.nz

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Angela Gallagher ph 022 029 1895 sellit@localmatters.co.nz

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Graphic design: Lorry McCarthy hibiscus@localmatters.co.nz

The consenting for the Dairy Flat Wavegarden could take the rest of this year, and a best guess is that the complex could open in late 2026. There will be engagement with the community on the proposal but the company cannot say when that will happen, at this point.

The Y wants Metro Park ‘Superhub’

A proposal by YMCA North to build a sport and recreation community ‘superhub’ at Metro Park in Millwater is being backed by the local board.

The ambitious plan is in the early stages, but was first discussed with local board chair Gary Brown last year.

The aim is to provide a range of core sport and recreation infrastructure, indoor courts, gym and studio spaces, sports club facilities and play spaces. There is potential for rock climbing and bouldering walls. In addition, community and commercial services (for example, health, hospitality, office space) are proposed.

The funding application states that rental of office, commercial and community spaces will diversify income streams to support the operation of core sport and recreation infrastructure.

“The multi-use flexible hub is a more financially sustainable model for the provision of sport and recreation infrastructure,” the application says. “Shared facilities such as bathrooms, changing rooms and clubrooms reduce operating costs for sports codes.”

In its funding application, YMCA North points out that the need for additional sport and recreation infrastructure has been identified in the region as the population grows.

Multi-use by a wide range of sports is a big focus for the concept, such as indoor basketball courts, with line markings for other codes such as futsal, volleyball and badminton.

The proposal suggests that the facility could serve more than 180,000 users annually.

At its meeting on May 23, the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board members voted to grant $7500 (conditional on the organisation receiving regional grant funding) to assist with a concept design for the project. Although this was considerably less than the $30,500 that the YMCA had requested, Brown says it showed the board’s support, which will be helpful when the association applies for other funding, including a regional grant from Auckland Council.

The application notes that the hub concept has been discussed with design and

construction company Apollo Projects. Brown says a partnership and co-investment approach, which the YMCA has suggested between itself and Council, is a way for the community to get the facilities it needs.

“What they are proposing requires a multi-million dollar investment,” Brown says. “It’s early days, but potentially Council could provide a very long term lease, and the YMCA would own the facilities. It could be great for our area and adjacent areas such as Milldale. I’m very excited about it.”

YMCA North chief executive, Julian Baldey, says at this stage the organisation is not going to comment “as it is only an idea and nothing has been discussed with key stakeholders”.

Feasibility studies were carried out in 2015 and 2018 regarding the possible creation of a Council owned multisport hub for Metro Park which identified a need, but the project languished. Currently, hockey, football, cricket and athletics clubs are based at the park, with other codes, including rugby, using the fields for overflow training and games.

Sarah Bentley M: 021 285 1898 sarah.bentley@harcourts.co.nz

Karl Martinovich AREINZ

M: 021 311 889 karl.martinovich@harcourts.co.nz

Wavepark Korea

Water strategy consultation ahead

By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter. Public Interest Journalism

through NZ On Air.

Auckland Council’s strategy for flood resilience and management is coming out for public consultation next month.

At the Governing Body meeting on May 23, Healthy Waters was given the green light to draft the Making Space for Water strategy consultation material.

Schools impacted by repeat flooding

Repeated flooding is causing major headaches for local schools – some have been flooded time and time again since early last year.

Although the Ministry of Education is working with schools to find solutions, for some on the Hibiscus Coast their location in low lying areas near waterways make that especially challenging in the face of climate change.

Ōrewa College principal Greg Pierce says a number of classrooms have been impacted by four weather events in the last 12 months, and the school closed because of health and safety concerns. He says one of the worst affected areas is the Arts & Events Centre. The building, which opened in 2009, is used by the community (as well as the college) for events and performances, and is a source of income. Its carpet tiles have had to be replaced three times and regibbing required as water came up through the drains and ran inside.

Pierce says the college had a small number of sandbags onsite but after the Anniversary weekend floods, Bunnings donated a trailer load, which are now deployed whenever heavy rain is forecast.

Even with those in place, the Arts & Events Centre flooded again in last month’s rain.

Pierce says engineers brought in by the Ministry are currently working to improve drainage at the college, in an effort to prevent significant flooding occurring again. “These are medium term solutions, such as extra drainage along one edge of the driveway,” he says. “We hope that will be completed by Term 4.”

He says although the college was located alongside the estuary, “perhaps unwisely, given hindsight”, there is no discussion around managed retreat. The college is in the final design stages of a new 12 classroom block which is needed because of substantial roll growth. The building is going to be on the main front field opposite the Arts and Events Centre.

Construction was due to start in Term 4. However, Pierce says there could be delays to this, as the Ministry reviews

Wentworth also flooded

spending to prioritise repairs and rebuilds.

The Ministry has established a National Flood Risk Management programme, which included a list of 103 schools nationwide assessed as likely to be at risk of flooding due to sea level rise.

Ōrewa College, along with Ōrewa Beach Primary and Whangaparāoa Primary are on this list.

Red Beach School is not on a flood plain, or near a waterway, and is therefore not on the Ministry’s flood prone areas list.

However it has flooded four times, starting in March last year. The problem, Principal Julie Hepburn says, is inadequate drains on Albert Hall Drive, where the school is located. The school has been flooded extensively when water sheets down from the road, entering buildings – in some cases the sheer force popped low lying windows in.

In various parts of the school, carpets and joinery were only just replaced before the next flood.

Hepburn says the Anniversary Day floods were particularly bad, and last month’s floods saw the school evacuated and closed.

“It’s a very real health and safety issue each time,” she says. “Coming off the road, it’s classed as ‘black water’, so everything has to be sanitised. “It is clear the drains are not coping – there has been a lot of infill housing and development in Red Beach and the existing infrastructure is inadequate,” she says.

She lodged a complaint with Auckland Council and says the responses so far make her angry. “Council does not seem to care, and appears unwilling to do anything about improving the drainage on the road,” she says. The school is working with the Ministry of Education and engineers on possible solutions, which Hepburn says are complex.

“We are doing our bit, keeping all the drains around the school clear and the Ministry of Education is supporting our efforts. Council needs to step forward too.”

The relatively newly built Wentworth College and nearby Primary (opened in 2003 and 2008 respectively) in Gulf Harbour had to be closed last month after severe flooding. Water quickly covered Wentworth College’s grounds and entered the school’s computer room and technology workshop. Students had to wade through ankle deep water to get to the bathrooms, and there were leaks in the gym. However, this was minor compared to Wentworth Primary, which was flooded throughout its original building. Remediation work is continuing. Wentworth did not wish to comment.

The strategy has nine initiatives including things like stream rehabilitation, community led flood resilience, culvert upgrades and overland flow path management.

Healthy Waters head of planning, Nick Vigar, said the strategy needs to have a strong community focus.

“There have been calls from the community generally for better preparedness for these events and so what we are proposing is a criticality-based approach where we go into at-risk flood catchments and have an increased maintenance regime,” Vigar said

He said some of the work would involve private property owners where council would need to balance “lowering risk for communities and intervening where needed”.

Mayor Wayne Brown said part of the strategy would be “preventing dumb stuff from happening”.

“Lots of people did not realise that the solid fences they put in were actually threatening their own houses,” Mayor Brown said. “The number of solid fences directly across or altering the overland flow paths was quite horrendous.”

He said the indicative cost of the strategy is likely to be in excess of $1 billion over six years which council was unable to bear alone.

Cr Chris Darby said a lot of the strategy appeared to be basic works that council should already be doing.

“Stream rehab focusing on high-risk streams, daylighting (turning piped streams back into waterways), and community engagement – they are all pretty basic,” Cr Darby said.

He said catchment management planning had been stopped under Healthy Waters Lifecycle Planning manager Craig Mcilroy. Mcilroy’s management and wanted to know why.

Mcilroy responded that the risk appetite for flooding had changed after recent events.

“We live in a real world where we have all been subject to financial constraints. I have advocated as eloquently as I can – arguing for larger budgets to do work,” Mcilroy said. “We probably underestimated the risk [of flooding]– which is why we are going through what I call a reprioritisation programme.”

The strategy is expected to give more detailed information on flood risks by specific areas which Mcilroy said would be available in the consultation material.

The consultation material will come back to the Governing Body for approval in June with consultation expected to run for a month from mid-July.

funded

Ōrewa College principal Greg Pierce says after four major floods, whenever rain is forecast, sandbags are deployed. Right, Red Beach Principal Julie Hepburn with one of several piles of carpet tiles to be dumped – the third time they have been replaced after flooding.

Sale of Auckland airport shares causes debate

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

On June 1, Mayor Wayne Brown released the latest draft of his Auckland Council budget proposal, pulling back on cuts to social services while maintaining the airport shares need to be sold.

Brown’s latest budget proposal features a permanent savings target of $70 million, increases rates to 6.7 percent and pulls back cuts to social and local board services. The budget proposal would reinstate all local board funding, all regional grants and a majority of regional service funding.

CCO’s savings targets have also been decreased in the latest proposal with the council groups spending cuts reduced from $125 million to $74 million.

Brown maintains that council’s 18.1 percent stake in Auckland Airport must be sold in order to pay down $2.2 billion in debt, reducing annual interest costs by $100 million.

“It makes absolutely no sense to retain those shares when we could realise the capital gains and wipe $2 billion of debt from the Council books for good. The savings from that are huge. If we don’t sell now, we will have to put rates up by double-digits and make bigger cuts,” Brown said.

If Brown is unable to sell the shares he said he would revisit deep cuts to services before increasing rates.

“Unfortunately, there are some councillors who for ideological reasons think we must retain a huge amount of shares in a single

company listed on the stock exchangewhatever the cost.”

Among the councillors who are opposed to a total sale is Albany Ward Cr John Watson who said he had mixed opinions on the budget.

“I support and commend the attempts to keep the rate increase to around the inflation rate. We know there’s a lot of people doing it tough out there,” Cr Watson said.

assets, and there’s not many assets left.”

Cr Watson said he supported a limited amount of divestment of the airport shares in order to buy time but large rate increases would be unavoidable unless the culture of excess was addressed.

Rodney Ward Cr Greg Sayers said he was supportive of the move to sell the shares but it was a temporary fix for council’s long term financial challenges.

“In my view the most responsible act we can do is to get rid of that risky and fluctuating cost which can only be achieved quickly by the sale of the shares,” Baker said.

Cr Baker said the three options council had were to raise rates higher than the rate of inflation, increase debt or sell the shares.

He disagreed that this was ‘a band-aid budget’ and said council had been using band-aid budgets for the past few years.

“None of those Councillors who oppose the sale of the shares, which is the biggest area of debate, have provided an alternative showing the exact figures as to how we will balance the budget even though we have been meeting weekly as a Governing Body to discuss the budget in extreme detail. That is disappointing.”

“The airport shares, $2.4 billion worth of asset which has appreciated markedly –they are the single biggest asset of council, they didn’t cost the council a single cent.”

He said the sale of such a significant asset needed a mandate from the public and Brown did not get the support needed during the budget consultation.

“Sixty two percent [of submitters] supported to either sell none or to sell partial – they don’t have a mandate.”

Cr Watson said there was a cycle of debt at council where the organisation would blowout costs and then sell off assets. He said the airport shares and the Ports of Auckland are the last two significant council assets.

“If we don’t confront the culture of excess that has developed over the last decade then we just repeat this cycle of more borrowing, selling off what remains of the

“What got me across the line was the commitment that the money [from the sale] would be used to pay down debt and not used for any operational expenditure,”

Cr Sayers said.

He said it was not financially prudent to hold on to the shares that cost $100 million a year in interest and generate up to $30 million.

“If there was ever a time for a rainy day fund that we need to capitalise, it’s now. We have got such a huge deficit made up of the Covid-19 recovery and the storm events compounding on that. This is a ‘band-aid fix’ budget and next year the Mayor must present his promised “how to fix Auckland” budget.”

Cr Andy Baker said $2 billion of debt was not currently being hedged, a practice which limits risk from financial fluctuations.

Frontline Council staff more likely to be cut

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

Auckland Council’s chief executive says staff cuts from the mayor’s budget proposal are more likely to fall on frontline workers than higher salary earners.

At the Governing Body meeting on May 23, chief executive Jim Stabback said council’s latest reduction of 160 full time employees would have long term savings benefits.

“We have been really diligent in our recruiting practices and not filling roles that have been becoming vacant, especially non-customer facing roles,” Stabback said. Cr Angela Dalton asked for an estimate of

salary for those that had lost their job at council so far.

“Maybe you could tell me if they were closer to the lowest earners?” Dalton asked.

Stabback said the salaries of those who had lost their jobs were mixed but council was more frequently replacing frontline workers.

He went on to say that the next round of job cuts, if Mayor Wayne Brown’s Annual Budget 2023/2024 proposal is approved, would more likely be lower salary earners.

“It is more than likely that the people who will be losing their jobs will be on the lower salary bands,” he said.

Cr Dalton asked whether those cuts could impact Māori and Pasifika workers at council more significantly but Stabback said it was still too early to tell the impacts

on different groups.

Cr Julie Fairey said the details in staff cuts would be important for councillors when making their decisions on the budget.

“We do have certain obligations in terms of being a rainbow tick employer and things like joining Age Friendly Cities,” Cr Fairey said.

She was also interested in knowing how many women and part time employers could be impacted in the budget proposal.

“I think a lot of our community are not expecting frontline cuts, they are expecting back- office cuts.”

Councillors were due to make their final budget decisions on June 8, after this paper went to print, and the budget is expected to be adopted by June 29.

Cr Chris Darby said the budget setting process was multifaceted, complex and challenging.

“Threatening rhetoric does not remotely contribute to successfully resolving our financial predicament,” he said.

At the Audit and Risk committee on June 2, Financial Strategy and Planning general manager Ross Tucker said no legal, tax or audit risks for the sale of the shares were apparent but stressed the uncertainty of the sale price.

“Share prices are inherently uncertain –there are no guarantees,” Tucker said. Councillors debated the budget proposal on June 8, after this paper went to print. Regarding the shares, the options before them were a partial or complete sale, or no sale at all. The budget is to be adopted by Council on June 29.

Have your say on growth

Auckland Council is asking for feedback on how Auckland should grow over the next 30 years, with public consultation now open until 4 July. The Council’s draft Future Development Strategy (HM May 29) recommends that most of Auckland’s future growth occurs in existing urban areas. It also proposes delaying or stopping development in specific greenfield areas (undeveloped land) that have previously been identified for future urban development, due to natural hazard risk, impacts on our ability to halve emissions and the high infrastructure costs associated with development. It also maps out the urban areas that are most constrained by natural hazards. Submissions opened on June 6 and close on July 4 at: akhaveyoursay.nz/ futureauckland

The airport shares, $2.4 billion worth of asset which has appreciated markedly – they are the single biggest asset of council John Watson

Wayne Walker, Hibiscus & Bays Councillor wayne.walker@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Challenging times

Recent storms have added to the budget pressure Council is under.

Like many households Council is also weathering higher interest costs and inflation; and in addition extra costs of damage to infrastructure and land from slips and water damage.

On the Coast there were many homes directly affected by flooding and slips. Both locally and elsewhere across the Albany Ward I have been out with stormwater experts bringing issues to their attention and understanding the complexity of the issues involved. Operational and maintenance attention has lifted with more regular cleaning of the catch pits in roads that block, stormwater inlet grills like those at Stanmore Bay and stream monitoring and maintenance. Bigger fixes involving piping and stream widening and sediment removal are under assessment everywhere.

Absolutely more information and transparency are required so people know what flooding may happen in advance of the type of storm events we’ve had.

On private properties especially in the vicinity of the coast and on sloping sites, it is more important than ever to pay close attention to surface water and drainage. Avoiding soakage on our clay soils is especially important; worse case are those locations with Northern Allochthon geology where slips can occur more frequently once water gets down to lubricate the mixture (this formation runs down much of the East Coast including the Hibiscus Coast).

As this issue goes to press the Council is

working on its budget. We have a number of options for this next financial year – but will have to address underlying structural issues like overspending, getting developers to pay for the true cost of growth and better sources of finance to better match our expenses – both operational and capital. Selling the Auckland Airport shares alone doesn’t solve the underlying problems – and there is certainly merit in having investments that might be termed a ‘rainy day fund’. Sorting this out will be part of the Long-Term Plan that is underway.

What the budgeting issues are highlighting is the need for Council and the Council Controlled Organisations like Auckland Transport, Auckland Unlimited (stadiums, zoo, art gallery, tourism, and so on), Watercare and Panuku (Auckland Development) to have better control of spending and revenue. Earlier this year councillors gained access for the first time to more detailed financial information – something I’ve been seeking for some time. We are now much better placed to effect more effective oversight to direct the chief executive and effectively the whole organisation.

As this year unfolds, we have more challenges ahead; upcoming increases in the City Rail Link, storm damage repairs and the recently announced buy outs of flood prone properties in a measure being driven by the government.

With all the issues I remain optimistic that Auckland, and especially the Hibiscus Coast, is a great place to live and that we will find ways to solve our financial problems and adapt to future weather and storm events.

A plaque in Edith Hopper Park in Manly will be repaired following a cry for help by a Hopper descendent on Facebook.

On May 29, Hayley Hopper-Doak asked whether anyone could repair damaged brickwork around the oak tree planted in memory of Edith in the park. The picket fence around the tree also needs repair. Hayley’s cousin, Shana Hopper-McCully, saw the post. Edith was Shana’s great grandmother. She is unsure how the plaque, which she says was installed in 1981 by her grandfather, Ian Hopper and his siblings, got into disrepair. Shana works for Hopper Developments and says when she notified the team about the post, two of the company’s building team members went to inspect it straight away. What can be done is being discussed, but repairs are now in safe hands and will be carried out by the Hopper family, Shana says.

YourOpinion

Contributions to this page are welcome but letters under 250 words are preferred. We reserve the right to abridge as necessary. Unabridged versions can be read at www.localmatters.co.nz/opinion Letters should be sent to terry@localmatters.co.nz or 21 Florence Ave, Ōrewa 0931. Note: We do not publish abusive or unsigned letters.

Sign clarity needed

It is good to see that Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is consulting on the incorporation of more Te Reo Māori in our road signage. However, from what I have seen so far on their website, I do have some concerns for road safety. While the increasing usage of Te Reo Māori is to be welcomed, we need to be mindful that road signs must be capable of being assimilated very quickly by all drivers. Our roads are driven by a huge number of drivers of diverse backgrounds, including the many millions of overseas visitors. The vast majority of all road users will not be sufficiently familiar with Te Reo Māori to enable them to quickly and safely assimilate road signage where the most prominent text is not in English. Waka Kotahi/ NZTA needs to liaise closely with MBIE and Tourism New Zealand, whose inputs should form a major part of their survey. It is vital that all tourists (and residents) be able to assimilate road signage quickly and safely. From a road safety perspective alone, I believe that English should be the more prominent language on road signage, but that it should also incorporate Te Reo Māori as the less prominent language, and in a different colour. I have no interest in the political discussion on this subject; my focus is purely on safety. My background is over 40 years’ experience at senior level internationally in maritime and aeronautical safety, where the International Maritime Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation regulations dictate that, for safety reasons, English is always the language that is to be used.

Brian Mullan, Silverdale (abridged)

Signs of confusion

The government’s intention to have all road signs in both te reo Māori and te reo Pākehā has made me wonder if places well known already by their Māori names eg, Ōrewa and Whangaparāoa, will then have a name in English too, to be consistent? If this is the intent, which of the two traditions will prevail for Ōrewa ( Land of Rewarewa Bush or Area Of Chief Rewa)?

Owen Hoskin, Ōrewa

Editor’s note: Waka Kotahi responded that it is guided by the NZ Geographic

Comments a drag

Board (NZGB) on the correct wording and presentation of place names. Hibiscus Matters then asked the question of the NZGB who bounced it back to Waka Kotahi, which it said should have the details about their bilingual signage proposal. So far we have not heard further from Waka Kotahi. At this stage it seems the signs are not designed to be a translation of a place name – so if the name that everyone knows a place by is, for example, Ōrewa, that is likely to be the only name on the sign as it is the same in te reo Maori as English. It is thought that only where the names are different will two names appear on the signs. But so far that level of detail is not available.

Strathmill like others

In your latest issue of Hibiscus Matters (HM May 29) there was a very interesting story regarding the Strathmill development at the end of West Hoe Rd. Out of interest, I took a drive to see exactly where this is. It appears that it is on a block of land that looks just like all the other land that has been developed in this area over the years. The complaints being made by the residents have all been rebutted by the developer. My suspicion is that despite living in not dissimilar subdivisions, the local residents are averse to semi-intense housing. Unless we want to give up major tracts of farmland between here and Warkworth, we have to build more intensive housing.

Stephen Doyle, Ōrewa

Endless earthworks?

I see there is another article in the last paper (HM May 29) about the proposed Strathmill subdivision below West Hoe Heights. The interesting thing here is I have never seen a single word from the developers about the actual adjustments to the land. They all bang on about the efforts to mitigate stormwater and improved traffic flow and it all sounds rather jolly but fail to mention the three years of diggers, scrapers, bulldozers and dust. I think three years is a pretty good estimate drawing on how long it took to do Arran Hills and the one opposite and the new one alongside etc. Three years of dawn to dusk, seven days a week seems to be about average and I don’t see why Strathmill would be any different. I would be interested to

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Visit us today and discover what makes Dil’s different.

actually hear from the developers how long these major earthworks will take and what impact there will be on the community.

Al Weeks, Ōrewa

Editor’s note Hibiscus Matters sought a response from Strathmill developer Shildon Ltd but no comment was received by the paper’s deadline.

No classics for library

The Ministry of Education recently admitted that a third of NZ 15-year-olds cannot read at a basic adult standard. So you’d have to wonder why an Ōrewa College librarian declined my offer of a pile of classic English and American literature, modern history books and fascinating biographies. Her reaction rather was to look at me as if I were offering her a box of nuclear waste, telling me ‘We have to be very careful these days’. Careful of what exactly? The box I proffered included Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, Mark Twain’s autobiographical Life on the Mississippi and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath – the Nobel Prize in Literature 1962 was awarded to John Steinbeck “for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception”. It did not include Hitler’s Mein Kampf or Nabokov’s Lolita, although Christopher Hitchens had read both and went on to become a formidable liberal essayist. Perhaps classics are no longer considered politically correct?

Andrew Westaway, Ōrewa (abridged)

Ōrewa College responds: Ōrewa College

Principal Greg Pierce says the school’s Head of English has since gratefully accepted these classics “where they will be most effectively used”. “There is no argument that less and less students are getting out books from the college library for leisure reading,” Pierce says.

Cat control please

Having lived in Australia, with a cat, where four out of the six states have strict cat control, I would like NZ to have the same control to save our decreasing native bird species. My neighbour has two cats and in the last five years, we no longer see finches, white eyes and other small birds. Cats have killed them all. They even kill our lovely

This is Pride Week (June 12-16) but there was nothing to be proud of as a Hibiscus Coast resident in light of a number of abusive comments aimed at an Auckland drag queen performer and comedian who is about to host an event here.

As his alter-ego Anita Wigl’it, Nick Kennedy-Hall will host a Drag Queen Bingo night at Paraoa next week.

While to many, this sounds like a bit of fun, others saw it as an opportunity to have a go from their keyboards at those who wear drag, trans people, gays or anyone who appears different from what they consider ‘the norm’.

Although these comments were in the minority, they became increasingly vitriolic and even violent. Seeing this led to Paraoa considering putting on extra security on the night.

One comment, by local board member Jake Law, drew a parallel with bullying in our schools which is also about targeting difference.

Hibiscus Matters was asked whether by helping to promote the event with a story, it was part “of the agenda”. If that’s the agenda of being open and nonjudgmental about the wide spectrum of people who colour our world, then guilty as charged.

For those who still struggle with that acceptance I suggest you take a chance in Pride Week to ask yourselves what you have to fear if you simply live and let live.

turtle doves and ring neck doves. Cats in those Australian states have to be kept inside and it has caused no problems at all for the owners. Cats should be registered, the same as pet dogs and if cats are not chipped, desexed or kept under control inside, owners, after a warning, should have to pay a fine. The fine needs to be at least $500 for the first breach, to be effective, and double thereafter. The funds could be used to catch and control feral cats. New Zealand has one of the highest cat population and once fed up with them, cats are often abandoned. This must stop. Dogs kill sheep and cattle and get shot if caught. NZ controls them with registration and strict control laws. Cats kill bats and our beautiful birds. Once extinct, we cannot revive those species. It will be a terrible loss to our country as birds also control pests that could destroy our agricultural economy.

Margaretha Western, Ōrewa

continued from p6

Over the top sum

Does anyone else agree that $185,380 was a totally over the top sum for ratepayers to fork out for the report into Council’s Civil Defence response (HM May 29)? I am a humble nurse, and it would take me more than two years to earn that sum, not four weeks! Yes, the report was needed but I think even half that money would have been questionable. I thought this Mayor was all about financial restraint but this goes to show how skewed the system is when it hands out that kind of cash while underpaying so many in our health and teaching workforces.

Mary Lloyd, Gulf Harbour

Police special delivery

A quick-thinking Police officer helped a couple get to hospital for the arrival of their first child, despite gridlock traffic nearly forcing a motorway birth. The modest Constable Shaw (who does not want his first name published) was returning to Ōrewa Station via the Northern Motorway on Thursday, May 25 when he saw a car pulled over in the emergency stopping lane. Constable Shaw says he had just finished his shift when he noticed the car with its hazards on.“I went and spoke to the driver to make sure everything was ok,” he says. “There was a woman in the backseat, clearly in labour.”Traffic was extremely heavy and Gaurav Patil and his wife, Shraddha had missed the turn off to the North Shore Birthing Unit; both were understandably distressed.Constable Shaw offered to escort them to the hospital but after a couple of kilometres he pulled over and told them to hop into his patrol car so he could transport them to the birthing unit under lights and siren.“Traffic was ridiculous,” Constable Shaw says. “I walked them up

Gaurav Patil, his wife, Shraddha and baby Aarav. The couple are grateful that an off duty police officer came to their aid.

to the birthing suite and left. It was quite cool – hopefully it made a difference to them and meant she could deliver safely –not on the side of the motorway.” Patil says his wife had gone into labour at 4am on Thursday and by the time they decided to drive to the hospital, around 2pm, she was in a lot of pain. “It was very tense moment,” he says. “I missed the exit for some reason and unfortunately the motorway was jampacked. I started sweating and called 111. The next minute, Constable Shaw stopped for us.” The couple welcomed their baby boy, Aarav, at 7.30am on Friday, May 26, weighing a healthy 3.38kg. “I didn’t get much time to thank him,” Patil says. “I cannot express how relieved we were to see him. “The way Constable Shaw helped us was amazing.”

Congratulations to Glenda Wallis of Manly who won a double pass to the Drag Queen Bingo night at Paraoa on June 21. Thanks to all who entered.

CCTV coming to Coast streets

CCTV cameras are being introduced on local streets in an effort to increase the level of security in and around our town centres.

Last month the local board allocated a total of $20,000, divided between the areas’ two local community patrols, for stage one of the CCTV rollout.

However, the involvement of the community patrols– a group of volunteers who patrol local areas and report back to Police – is limited to just obtaining the funds.

Hibiscus Coast Community Patrol leader Sandra Sweetman says her organisation, which is a charitable trust that works closely with Police, knows that Police are keen to have CCTV, and Police recommend where the cameras should be placed.

When it comes to the details of how the money is spent, she says the patrols are guided by local board chair Gary Brown.

Brown has been liaising between the community patrol, Police and Safer Cities, an organisation whose work includes consulting on CCTV set ups.

Brown says he suggested that the community patrols apply for the funding to get the CCTV coverage underway with a plan produced by Safer Cities.

He says the cameras introduced initially will be licence plate recognition cameras – three in Ōrewa and three in Whangaparāoa. In Ōrewa, they will be located in Centreway

Road, Grand Drive and Hatfields Beach. In Whangaparāoa town centre they are looking at putting them near Coast Plaza and the intersection of Whangaparāoa Road and Red Beach Road.

This is stage one, with two further stages (additional cameras) to come – as yet unfunded.

The applications for the initial funding stated that the cameras “will operate 24/7 with real time image information stored for a period so that authorities can review it at any time to assist them in investigations as needed”.

However, Waitemata North Area Commander, Inspector Matt Laurenson, says the VGRID Safer Cities platform (which connects the cameras with Police) provides live CCTV footage only and is not stored by Police, or by Safer Cities.

The office of the Privacy Commissioner is clear that putting up a CCTV or surveillance camera can get a strong reaction from the public. Its survey in 2020 found that 41 percent of people over 18 years old were concerned about the use of surveillance cameras.

However, Scott Bain of Safer Cities says there are no privacy issues with licence plate recognition cameras, which focus on stolen plates, or “plates of interest” – as opposed to those with facial recognition technology.

Cameras funded by the Silverdale Area Business Association, and some installed by individual businesses, have been in operation in the town centre for several years.

Former Watercare CEO joins AT board

Ex-Watercare chief executive Raveen Jaduram has returned to the Auckland Council fold as one of two new directors of Auckland Transport (AT).

Jaduram resigned from Watercare in 2020 as the Auckland region was dealing with its worst drought in decades. At the time, he was council’s highest paid executive, with a salary of $775,000.

Jaduram has worked extensively in the water industry and is currently on the boards of the NZ Infrastructure Commission, Hynds Limited and the Institute of Public Works Engineers Australasia.

Local board dishes out grants

How tight things are in local government, when it comes to grants to community groups, came into focus when the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board allocated funds at its May 23 meeting. Each decision was tough for members to make, with limited funds available and many organisations requesting a lot more than the local board could give. Successful local grants in this round include:

Local Grants Round 2: Youth in Transition Charitable Trust, $8000 towards the cost of counsellors and therapists; Gutter Kitties, $3000 towards desexing and microchipping project July-December 2023; Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust, $1000 towards facility hire at Estuary Arts Centre and other costs; Hibiscus Men’s Shed, $2093 towards installation of fire protection equipment; Harbour Hospice Trust, $1000 towards costs of a fundraiser; Coast Community Trust $2300 to support Meals & More project; Coast Youth Community Trust, $3500 towards Coast Mentoring programme; Estuary Arts Charitable Trust, $2000 towards marketing and other exhibition costs; Friends of Okura Bush, $4000 towards predator control plan; Susannah Law, $1000 towards installation of Silverdale Pioneer mural, Sept-Oct 2023; Grant Wilson/Red Beach Squash Club, $3500 towards court repair work; Whangaparāoa Hub Community Trust, $5000 towards Christmas event costs; Red Beach Surf Club, $4000 towards surf sport equipment; Business Whangaparāoa, $2680 towards costs of Fun Family Days events June to December 2023; Hibiscus Coast Grandparents Parenting Grandchildren, $3500 towards coordinator wages; Hibiscus Coast branch of NZ Society of Genealogists, $1000 towards laptop purchase; Hibiscus Coast Softball Club, $2000 towards trophies.

The second new AT director is Henare Clarke, who has worked in roading and rail construction, maintenance and infrastructure management for more than 40 years, including roles with Higgins, KiwiRail and Downer. Clarke has also held board roles on the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery Alliance after the Kaikoura earthquake, as well as several not-for-profit organisations. Selection panel chair Councillor Chris Fletcher said the appointments brought “commercial nous, a customer-first ethos, and first-hand understanding of the delivery and management of our transport assets”.

Facilities Grants Round One: Ōrewa Theatre Trust, $7000 towards motorized truss; YMCA North Inc, $7500 towards concept design for multi-use sport hub at Metro Park (see story this issue); Estuary Arts Charitable Trust, $20,000 towards upgrade of Studio 3; Silverdale & Districts Historical Society, $8000 towards re-piling two buildings; Stillwater Boating Club, $17,000 towards expanding existing trailer parking; Hockey Hibiscus Trust, $5000 towards safety fencing; Silverdale Tennis Club, $10,000 towards fence repair; Whangaparāoa Community Patrol, $10,000 towards planning, consultation and installation of cameras for Whangaparāoa and Hibiscus Coast Community Patrol $10,000 towards installation of CCTV cameras July2022December 2023 (see story this issue).

The new Firearms Registry is coming

New Zealand will have a firearms registry from 24 June 2023. If you’re a firearms licence holder, you’ll be required to provide information about your firearms or arms items from this date.

The Registry will help us make New Zealand safer. It will give licence holders more confidence when buying or selling firearms, as the Registry will let you know if you’re dealing

with a current licence holder and if the firearm has been reported stolen.

The Registry is one of the ways we’re strengthening how we manage firearms in New Zealand. With responsible firearms licence holders doing the right thing and filling in the Registry, it will help keep track of legally owned firearms and help prevent their transfer to those who use them for criminal purposes.

You have 5 years until 24 June 2028 to register your firearms. However there are some circumstances where you are required to provide information for the Registry in a shorter time frame. These are referred to in the Arms Amendment Regulations as ‘activating circumstances’. It’s up to you to keep your information up to date. You can find information on these timeframes at: firearmssafetyauthority.govt.nz/registry

Examples of activating circumstances

Non-prohibited firearms including Specially Dangerous Airguns (PCPs)

Restricted weapons

Pistols

Major parts

Prohibited firearms and magazines

Pistol carbine conversion kits

Registry goes live on 24 June 2023

You can register your firearms or arms items on our website at any time. Just click on MyFirearms, the private and secure portal that houses the Registry. Otherwise our Registry and Services team will be available by phone to help during business hours.

If you’re subject to any compliance or enforcement action under the Arms Act

There will be no charge for registering your firearms.

• Type (rifle, shotgun etc)

• Make

• Model

• Action

• Calibre/gauge

• If it has a non-detachable magazine (and, if so, its capacity)

• Identifying marking (serial number)

• A photograph of the firearm (if requested)

Silverdale BID to get a cool half million

Until now, Destination Ōrewa has been the biggest Business Improvement District (BID) in the local board area.

However, the newly formed Silverdale BID will have significantly more funds coming in from its targeted rate.

BIDs charge a levy/targeted rate to all businesses within their areas. This is collected by Auckland Council, and any increase in the rate must be approved by the local board and Council.

The rate funds DOB activities that support its businesses, including promotional activities, events, networking and lobbying

on a range of issues.

The Silverdale BID officially became an entity after it was approved by the local board at its May 23 meeting.

Its first targeted rate, to be struck on July 1, will bring in $500,000 to the organisation in 2023/24, compared with $290,681 for Destination Ōrewa Beach.

Silverdale’s rate is made up of a flat rate of $400 plus GST per rateable (business) property.

Silverdale Business general manager, Tasha Gummer, and her team are excited to get

The value of cash debated

When Silverdale café Sierra went cashless recently, it caused a stir – along with interest as to whether this may be a growing trend.

Consumer NZ says a business can refuse to accept payment in cash – however they should be upfront about it to prevent any awkward situation from arising. Sierra is doing that with a prominent sign.

Silverdale Business general manager Tasha Gummer says reasons why a business may choose this course of action include avoiding having cash around, which is potentially open to theft.

Using digital payments also allows businesses to streamline operations and avoid the hassle of managing cash, she says. But she says there is still a strong demand for cash transactions, especially among certain groups like the elderly. So, businesses that refuse cash may lose customers who want to pay with cash.

Local café owners say one bonus for cash is the cost of Paywave, which puts prices up for customers. There is also an underlying concern that moving entirely to digital

More local power

started. She says the operations team is yet to be confirmed and the committee is being formulated for July 1.

The BID covers Silverdale’s industrial and retail areas, which includes a very broad range of businesses.

Surveys by Silverdale Business showed that some key areas local businesses are concerned about are security, marketing and promotion, advocacy over infrastructure and policy issues and improving connectivity.

“Our priority is to deliver our business plan over the next 12 months,” Gummer says.

Voices for Freedom’s poster promoting the continued use of cash is on display at a number of local businesses, while one café in Silverdale recently took the step of refusing to accept cash.

transactions leaves businesses vulnerable should there be problems with the technology, such as in a Civil Defence emergency.

“It’s hard to predict what the future holds. While some businesses see the benefits

of going cashless, others understand the importance of accommodating different customer preferences. Ultimately, it depends on market dynamics and what customers demand,” Gummer says.

At the end of last month, Mayor Wayne Brown and Councillors considered how the proposed $20 million Storm Response Fund might be allocated to improve Auckland’s ability to prepare for and respond to future storms. In a press release, the Mayor indicated that Council’s priorities include strengthening Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) and specific Civil Defence Centre locations, supporting storm resilient communities, funding community-led planning and preparedness, proactive monitoring and maintenance of the flood network, and accelerated adaptation planning. Part of the fund will be tagged for proactive maintenance, such as clearing catchpits and streams. The Mayor said he was impressed by community-led responses during the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle. In Puhoi, local residents led by the fire chief cleaned-up the entire town. “Their cando attitude and coordinated efforts make me confident that Local Boards can take charge in an emergency, and that more decision-making powers and resources should sit closer to communities,” he said. “We are looking at funding the community response, and stationing containers with emergency provisions at more Civil Defence Centres and marae across the region. We are hyper-conscious of the recommendations of the Bush Report, and we committed to doing things differently. He said while Council’s storm response will still be centrally coordinated by AEM, it won’t be top-down anymore. “We will work closely with Local Boards to develop and progress these concepts.” Council’s Healthy Waters (stormwater) team is working on an early flood warning system. They’ve identified 300 flooding ‘hotspots’ and will look at installing cameras integrated in the Watercare control room which is monitored 24/7.

A life less ordinary

Two Bedroom light-filled apartments from $995k

The apartments have two bathrooms, high ceilings, lots of glass, large and spacious balconies, and undercover parking.

Some remaining two-bedroom villas are also available from $1.125m

The Botanic is the Hibiscus Coast’s newest, resort-style retirement village, designed to offer a great lifestyle surrounded by nature and world class facilities.

Active 81-year-old honoured for a lifetime of nursing

From a tender age, Sue Reardon knew she wanted to be a nurse. As a little girl, she recalls bandaging her brother and giving him “medicines made of weeds.”

“It’s a wonder I didn’t kill him,” the sparklyeyed 81-year-old Manly resident told the paper last week, recalling a 61-year career in nursing capped when she was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for services to nursing, in the recent King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours.

Sue was among the last group with honours named for the late Queen Elizabeth. From next year the medal will be named for King Charles III.

Laundromat Co.

The smell of fresh, clean laundry and the soft whirr of machines makes the Laundromat Co in Ōrewa a surprisingly restful place.

The business is owned by Ilana and Jacques Richter, who moved to NZ from South Africa just before the first lockdown in 2020. Ilana says lockdown provided time for her family, which includes two young children, to find their feet.

Now living in Red Beach, the couple, who have finance, sales and marketing experience, were looking to start their own business.

It was Ilana’s love of laundry that provided the catalyst for Laundromat Co.

“I love laundry!” she says. “I’m one of those people not keen on cooking or housework, but my family’s laundry never fell behind.”

Their dog Newton also provided input – the Laundromat Co has a machine set aside for pet bedding.

The laundromat has been open since March, and everything is squeaky clean and state of the art, including a cashless system, with money loaded on a card to operate the machines.

Ilana, who is the onsite manager, has found a wide variety of customers using the service.

As well as a 20 percent discount for seniors, there is a drop off service popular with working families and older people who can no longer drive. Delivery is free to many local areas.

Ilana is also happy to advise on stain removal and soak things for customers if need be.

The large machines are a big drawcard, making blankets and other large items easy to wash.

Convenience is at the top of most people’s reasons for using a laundromat, Ilana says.

“You can do a week’s laundry here in an hour, using one big machine and a dryer,” she says.

Helping people to change their lives has been a highlight

Sue – “never Susan, because I was called that when I was naughty” – said she was especially pleased to be in that group: In 1962, she was one year into her nursing training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London when the Queen visited, and winning the QSM provided a perfect bookend for her career. Sue was also glad to be honoured in the year the venerable St Barts marks its 900th anniversary. After helping to deliver more than 60 babies in England, she moved to Canada in 1967 and four years later, to New Zealand. She has worked in various Auckland practices, a hospice in Takapuna, and since 2010, at Manly Medical Centre, where she introduced diabetes self-management education, leading weekly clinics helping patients to self-manage their condition.

“I’ve had a passion for diabetes for a long time,” she said, noting that 280,000 New Zealanders are affected, with diet and lack of exercise key factors. Sue will be giving a talk to staff at the medical centre this month to pass on her diabetes management knowledge. “Helping people to change their lives” has been a highlight of her career, she said. After retiring last year, Sue continues to work 12 hours a week as a healthcare assistant. Meanwhile she lives a full life, with an exercise regimen that would be envied by someone half her age – gym, dancing lessons, and a walking group whose outings end with coffee and “something naughty.”

Ilana Richter

Sue Reardon QSM at home in Whangaparāoa.

Youth Voice

Caitlin Watson, caitewatson@gmail.com

Good sports

We are officially into winter, which means the winter sports are in full swing!

For parents, you get the delight of braving the wind and rain on the sidelines, and for young people, you get the joy of getting into the game!

There’s no doubt that sport on the Coast and across New Zealand makes up a big part of who we are and how we spend our weekends. In fact, research from Sport NZ shows that being physically active creates happier, healthier people, better connected communities and a stronger New Zealand. That’s a win for everyone! Furthermore, sport is a great teacher, one of the greatest lessons I have learnt over the years from being in the game is sportsmanship. Growing up on the Coast, I enjoyed playing a range of sports for school and local clubs, and certainly giving it my best shot on the court or field.

Whilst I loved playing sport, I wasn’t the kid to get the Player of the Year award at prizegiving. As my friends celebrated their great accolades and top achievements, I found my parents creating space on a trophy shelf for sportsmanship awards – my Hibiscus Coast Netball Year 8 Sportsmanship trophy still features to this day!

However, at the time I thought it was more of a sign of failure, I didn’t reach the top in sport so instead I got a well done for beingnice-on-the-court award!

However, over the years, I have come to realise that good sportsmanship is everything. I’ve watched opponents smash their tennis racquets, fights break out on

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Ramping up to Road Opening

The moment we have all been waiting for is soon upon us.

court and referees verbally abused. None of which is pleasant to watch or experience. So, what do a lot of these outbursts stem from? They stem from our culture’s obsession with winning as the primary purpose and source of pride from sport. Which makes me wonder, what would happen if our focus shifted a bit more from winning at all costs, to sportsmanship superseding winning and individual glory? Of course, this isn’t undermining the importance of striving to do your best and seeking to win – and I’m not just asking the question to increase the value of my sportsmanship trophy shelf! Sport can be a training ground for life – it helps build character and teaches us to support one other, to encourage and cheer people on, whether they are on our team or the opposition. It teaches us to have a positive attitude through all circumstances. We learn to be respectful; to the ref, opponents, coaches and not to trash talk people. Finally, we learn emotional regulation when it gets heated, and how to exercise self-control.

The reality is, in life we’re going to win and lose at different things. We’re going to be faced with conflicts and challenges. However, if we can learn to win with humility, and persevere with dignity, then we, alongside everyone around us, will be better for it.

So, next time you head to the Metro Park football fields, Stanmore Bay Leisure Centre or the Manly netball court, remember it’s fun to win, but also let’s invest in a culture of good sportsmanship.

This makes for a stronger, positive sporting community, and ultimately, sets everyone up for a win in life!

The Ara-Tūhono - Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway will open before the end of June. The project started over six years ago, with the sod turning on 3 November 2016. It has been a long road with many unprecedented hurdles, but what a road it is. This new piece of infrastructure is magnificent, resilient and safe. I can’t wait for the community and travelling public to enjoy the benefits of the new road.

Ahead of the road opening there are a few important things I would like to share around post opening construction works, motorway operation, and my departure from the project. After the new motorway opens to traffic, there will be ongoing work for a number of months to fully complete the project. This includes work on the Pūhoi on and off-ramps, slip repairs, seasonal planting/landscaping, and final clean up of works areas; including removal of machinery and equipment, and tidying up the land no longer required for the motorway operation and returning it to its original condition. The remaining work will largely take place away from the main motorway and have minimal or no impact on the road users. The most significant work that needs to take place is the Pūhoi on and off-ramp closures. These works can’t be completed until the motorway opens and are necessary to complete the construction of the ramps, which were opened in 2021 for temporary use so that the team could construct the new motorway and connect it to the existing Johnstones Hill Tunnels.

Pūhoi southbound on-ramp

The Pūhoi southbound on-ramp will close immediately after the new road opens, 24/7, for approximately four weeks.

Pūhoi residents, residents south of Moir Hill Road, and southbound traffic from ‘old SH1’ will not be able to access the southbound on-ramp during the construction period and motorists travelling south from Pūhoi will be detoured via the free route on Hibiscus Coast Highway while we complete this work.

Pūhoi northbound off-ramp

The Pūhoi northbound off-ramp will close at night immediately after the new road opens, from 9pm to 5am daily, for approximately two weeks.

Pūhoi residents and travelling public will not be able to exit at the northbound off-ramp during this time and will need to take the free route via Hibiscus Coast Highway, exiting SH1 from Grand Drive, Orewa.

Some of the work on both ramps is highly weather dependent and can’t be done in the rain or if the ground temperature is too cold, which affects the laying of asphalt. As we are now approaching the winter months it is likely there will be nights where we can’t work. The team have allowed for some contingency, however if there is significant rain or cold weather during these dates, the work will need to be pushed out to the next fine night. To keep up to date with the closures, please check the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner before heading out https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/

We fully appreciate this will be inconvenient especially for those living in these areas. We would like to thank the community for their patience, while we complete the last major step required to provide access to the new motorway and smoother ride for journeys to and from Pūhoi.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say goodbye and adios. I joined the project back in April 2018 and at that time it was anticipated that I would be around for a couple of years, however, along came COVID-19. It is now time for me to hand over the reins to a successor – Mike Elliot, who will take over as Project Director to close out these final stages. I wish him all the best.

So, please enjoy this new piece of infrastructure that has been a labour of love for me and the project team. We are proud of what has been achieved.

Thank you all for your patience and interactions with us over the years.

Nga mihi

Robert Jones – Project Director

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Systems are doing it for themselves

The unstoppable development of artificial intelligence (AI) is as big a change as the invention of writing or the printing press, and it is up to society to ensure it is used for good, not harm, a global expert told a Warkworth meeting last month.

Auckland University’s Professor Michael Witbrock told the University of the Third Age science and climate group that the world – and people’s roles within it – were going to become dramatically different, as everything in life became more automated and AI continued to gain pace.

“People used to think AI was what we programme machines to do, but now machines can programme themselves some of the time, and computers can now do things humans can’t do,” he said.

“The new definition of AI is everything we can train a computer to do, which happens to include things like painting, making photographs without a camera, writing talks, correcting grammar, and the next stage of AI will be everything that a computer will be able to teach itself to do, whether from interacting with people or with other machines.”

Witbrock gave the example of an image that recently won a major photographic competition without the judges realizing it was AI-generated.

“That was a bit of a surprise, the ability computers have gained to manipulate

images in a very subtle way. Ten years ago, we thought AI would be doing boring tasks, but it’s actually really good at being creative.”

He said the capacity, speed and power of computers these days was exposing the human brain’s limitations.

“At a rough calculation, by around 2050 at the current rate of progress, the single fastest computer in the world will have more aggregate computational capacity than the brains of all the humans,” he said.

“I’m talking to you at about the same speed as a modem from 1978 – 100 bits a second. In 1986, modems were up to 4800 bits per second, so that’s the same as 48 of us speaking all at once.

“Now, a single optical fibre can carry more traffic than if every single human being was speaking at once.”

He said human brains simply couldn’t network fast enough to understand complicated things such as molecular biology, but because modern computers could, AI had the potential to do great things in the field of problem solving.

“I think we’re at the point with AI and biology that we were in 1984 with electronics – there is going to be very, very rapid progress and I would be surprised if in 30 years’ time, there were any diseases that threatened humans. Diseases are not going to win,” Witbrock claimed.

“If people are afraid of AI, that’s one thing

to remember. There are things that it doesn’t look like we can do without AI and that will be vastly aided by it, and biology is an important one.”

He said we were not far from the point where teaching and medical practice could be improved, legal contracts could be checked and entire corporations administered using AI.

“It will be surprising if it doesn’t happen by the end of the century and it’s looking like it will happen sooner than that,” he said. However, he conceded that a degree of caution and rigour was needed, at least until systems could be developed that could perform effective moral reasoning.

“We are working on solving those problems, and they will help us to make sure these systems are working in ways that are good for humans,” he said.

“Things with AI can be the best they’ve ever been, but only if we face what’s coming and push it in that direction.

“All parts of society have a very powerful role to play in addressing times of great change and, I hope, take full advantage of this change and work out how to handle the quite significant disruption that major change brings about.”

Members of the audience voiced concerns over a number of aspects of AI, not least its role in wars and electoral manipulation. However, Witbrock was reluctant to lay

yourself and it doesn’t mind that you’re taunting it … yet.”

full blame with AI.

“I don’t think there’s any evidence whatsoever that AI has accelerated the cause of war or made them more dangerous,” he said. “There’s a community of concern around killer robots, making robots that can execute military decisions. It’s a serious question, but I’m not sure how much difference AI really makes. We’re in a world with nuclear weapons; it’s already too dangerous, we shouldn’t be doing it.”

He claimed Donald Trump became popular without AI and Cambridge Analytica’s personal data misuse had not been determinative, but did concede it was an area for concern.

“There are dangers,” he said. “This is a very powerful technology and it can be used to produce materials that are very convincing.”

Green scene

John Stewart, SOSSI info@sossi.org.nz

A night listening for kiwi

There has been some interesting recent comment in the press regarding the treatment of a young kiwi hatched at Miami Zoo where visitors could pay $25 for an opportunity to ‘pet’ and feed worms to the chick, all under bright fluorescent lighting.

Zoo staff have apologised and stopped the activity, but it was surprising that a modern-day zoo should be so ignorant or unconcerned about appropriate behaviour for the welfare of their animals.

Apart from the welcome ceremony on their release into the park, in 2017, when the audience had a chance to see and touch the kiwi under closely controlled conditions, I’m happy to report that the little spotted kiwi (kiwi pukupuku) in Shakespear Regional Park suffer no such indignities.

However, their continuing presence in the park is regularly monitored and I recently volunteered to be part of the team.

The first task for our survey organiser was to circulate an online poll for who would be available on the chosen nights. Ideally, we would choose a dark sky with little or no moon and a dry, not too windy night. Date chosen, about 16 of us arrived at the ranger’s office at 5.30pm for a briefing and allocation to one of the eight monitoring sites spread around the park and neighbouring Defence Land.

In place by 6pm, we settled down to listen and record. Male kiwi make short highpitched whistles, often repeating them 10

to 20 times in quick succession. The female calls are similar, but lower pitched. Our job was to record the sex, time, direction, and distance of all the calls we could hear over a two-hour period.

Some lucky observers had plenty of kiwi calling but on my two survey nights we only had four calls per night and some of them were probably of one bird moving around a bit.

It wasn’t completely quiet though. While there are not many kiwi in the park, there do seem to be lots of ruru, which were noisily calling for at least the first hour. They have three commonly heard calls rendered as ‘morepork’, ‘creee’ and a yelping ‘EE-yo’. Only the ‘creee’ call is anything like a kiwi and they usually only repeat a few times so there was little chance of confusion.

Pukeko, ducks, gulls and spur-winged plover also call at night, but they sound completely different from kiwi.

Our first night’s survey was cut short by noise, but it was from a military helicopter on a night-time exercise which unfortunately took place immediately above a couple of the listening sites. Kiwi calls are very loud and can be heard at distances over 400 metres, but they cannot compete with helicopters.

And that’s as close as any of us got to the kiwi – no handling, feeding or lights - apart from the helicopter’s searchlight!

Changes to Auckland’s water and wastewater charges

We’d like to let you know that the amount you pay for water and wastewater services will change from 1 July 2023.

The price rises are necessary to ensure you continue to receive safe and reliable water and wastewater services.

All of the money we receive from our customers goes into operating, maintaining and expanding our infrastructure. We do not set out to make a profit or to pay a dividend to our shareholder, Auckland Council.

New charges

Domestic customers

Water

Volumetric charge:

Increases from $1.825 to $1.998 per 1,000 litres.

Wastewater

If you have a water meter:

• The fixed charge per meter will increase from $264 to $289 per year.

• The volumetric charge will increase from $3.174 to $3.476 per 1,000 litres of wastewater discharged.

If you do not have a metered water supply but are connected to the wastewater network:

• The fixed charge will increase from $811 to $888 per year.

Commercial customers

Water

Volumetric charge:

Increases from $1.825 to $1.998 ($1.587 to $1.737 excluding GST) per 1,000 litres.

Wastewater

Fixed and volumetric wastewater charges will increase by an average of 9.5 per cent. The actual price changes will depend on your selected pricing plan.

You can view the pricing plans at www.watercare.co.nz and search for ‘pricing plans’.

The infrastructure growth charge is a one-off fee paid by any customer requiring a new connection or by commercial customers increasing a property’s demand for water or wastewater services. This will increase from $14,903 to $16,095 excluding GST for metropolitan customers. For information on changes to our range of non-metropolitan IGCs, visit www.watercare.co.nz and search for ‘IGC’.

The cost for a paper copy bill will change from $1.20 to $1.50 to cover the increase in postage charges.

New water meter charges have been adjusted to reflect the change from mechanical meters to smart meters.

All prices are inclusive of GST, unless otherwise stated, and are effective from 1 July 2023

Our charges are part of our customer contract, which will be updated with the new pricing plan on 1 July 2023. To find out more about these charges, visit our website www.watercare.co.nz (Manage account > Our charges).

www.watercare.co.nz

(7) 62 Useless (6) 63 Collarbone (8) 66 Napkin (9) 68 Detective (6) 69 Unoccupied (6) 73 Chairman’s hammer (5)

74 Unsolicited advertising matter in letterbox (4,4)

76 In advance (10)

81 Custodian of a collection (7)

82 Lady ____, naked horse rider (6)

83 Blackboard sticks (6)

84 Ditch around castle (4)

85 Make happy (7)

86 Watchful for danger, attack (2,3,5)

87 File of documents (7)

DOWN

1 Subject (5)

2 Three-sided figure (8)

3 Mutual (6)

4 Jester (5)

5 Gain by effort (4)

6 Hug (7)

7 Split (6)

8 Paddled boat (5)

10 Show the way (4)

11 Of the heart (7)

12 Alcoholic drink (6)

17 Iteration (10)

18 Frighten (5)

22 Gigantic beast (8)

23 Hold-up (5)

24 Strong liquor (7)

26 Fat (4)

28 Tuneful (7)

29 Soak up (6)

30 Not observed

feature. winteractive

Muddy good fun to be had at community plantings

Winter is the best time for planting, and all over the Hibiscus Coast, environmental groups are leading community volunteers as they put native trees and shrubs into the ground. At Shakespear Regional Park, this year’s effort will go into planting the hill above Waterfall Gully carpark, which Open Sanctuary senior ranger Matt Maitland says will provide a native bush link between the gully and regenerating sites on the neighbouring Defence Force land. There are a total of 14,000 young plants to go in, most of which were grown at the Open Sanctuary nursery at Shakespear – the rest come from Auckland Botanic Gardens. The dates for the Shakespear Regional Park community plantings are June 18 and July 16 with more to be done on August 20 if needed. The planting starts at 10am (follow the flags onsite). Volunteers are

asked to pre-register at Eventbrite – Matt says this is so that they have an idea of how many sausages to put on at the free sizzle which happens after every planting.

Community planting events are also being run by Restore Hibiscus & Bays. The first is on June 18 at Ōtanerua Reserve, Hatfields Beach.

Deborah Colson, Restore Hibiscus & Bays Ecological Restoration advisor says last winter, volunteers planted 250 native trees in the grassy area at the front of this reserve to extend the bush while retaining a small grassed area for picnics.

Auckland Council has designated the reserve as a Significant Ecological Area and it features diverse native plant species, along with birds that include tūi, fantails (pīwakawaka), grey warblers and ruru (morepork).

“This year, we will be infilling last year’s planting site with around 50 more trees, plus planting around 500 native grasses

alongside the stream which borders much of the reserve,” Deborah says. “This streamside/riparian planting will help to stabilise the bank while providing more native habitat, including for native fish.”

On June 25, Restore Hibiscus & Bays turns its attention to plantings in Amorino Park, in Red Beach.

Last winter the community planted about 600 native trees in the park, gradually replacing grass with an extension to native bush. This year there are another 60 plants to go in.

Deborah says a year of wet soil proved too much for some plants, so these are to infill gaps and replace those that died.

Maygrove Esplanade Reserve, in Ōrewa, is the site of the other local Restore Hibiscus & Bays community planting day, on July 1.

Last year more than 1000 native plants went in alongside the estuary and volunteers

Have a fling with spring!

The community helps plant thousands of native plants at Shakespear Regional Park every year.

will be adding a further 600 low-growing riparian (water’s edge) native plants to create more native habitat.

Riparian planting also helps to stabilise banks and prevent sediment run-off into the estuary.

This planting site is looked after on a regular basis by the U3A Hibiscus Coast Eco Volunteers group and other keen locals. Details on all these community plantings are in What’s On.

Winter will soon be over and the stunning New Zealand landscapes will be glowing with fresh growth and bird song! Flights, transport, sightseeing, meals and more are all carefully built into your itinerary so you truly enjoy your break away.

S.I. HIGH COUNTRY & GARDENS

25 - 31 Oct | 7 days / 6 nights

Twin share $4,890pp

Single $5,490

Join

Spring is in the air and the blossoms are calling! We’re in for 5-days of beautiful gardens, delicious food, fun festivities, and wonderful Waikato hospitality! In addition to the festival, we visit some amazing properties and people and conclude with a fun and informative jet boat ride on the ‘Mighty Waikato’ river!

Join us and experience both the TranzAlpine & Coastal Pacific Railways on this 6-day South Island break away. As well as two world class rail journeys, we take in the cultural sites of Nelson, the rugged West Coast, Christchurch’s hotspots and the sunny town of Blenheim with its delicious wine & olive oil production.

as we uncover the rustic beauty of NZ’s unique high country. Scree-scarred mountain ranges for as far as the eye can see, vast landscapes, wide river valleys, hidden waterfalls and tussock slopes. Unique working stations combined with a spring fiesta of the Hurunui Garden Festival and Hanmer’s Fete.

Seemore Tours offer group guided travel to mature travellers. To view a full itinerary, or to learn more contact: nikki@seemoretours.co.nz | P: 0800 733 667 | seemoretours.co.nz

GREAT BARRIER ISLAND, AOTEA 26 - 29 Nov | 4 days / 3 nights

Twin share $2,450pp

Single $2,750

Prepare to be amazed when you set out on a 40 minute flight to Great Barrier, Aotea. You’ll be dazzled by the night sky, meet some friendly locals and be blown away by the scenery! With an option to fly in two days earlier, you can join the island’s annual garden tour and experience the hidden native flora and bird-life.

homeAskaboutourfree drop-offpick-upand service!**someconditionsapply.

Restore Hibiscus & Bays volunteer planters at work on last year.

Our VIKING Expert is here to assist YOU!

Kiri Martin, our Director and Cruise Master here at YOU Travel Orewa, has returned from a fabulous Viking Ocean cruise from Barcelona to Rome. She has also experienced River cruising with Viking in France. As our resident expert, this is what she has to say about Viking!

“Vikinghasexceededmyexpectations,theirattentiontodetailissecondto none,IwouldabsolutelyrecommendthemforbothOcean&Rivercruising!”

Malta, Morocco & The Med Grand European Tour Antarctic Explorer

The unique interactive, dress up fun that is the Rocky Horror Picture Show comes to the Hibiscus Coast Community RSA this month.

The worldwide cult hit of the 1970s was created by Kiwi Richard O’Brien, who also played the role of Riff Raff.

It is 50 years since the movie was released, and that, says Nikki Wales, is a great excuse to put on a costume and have some fun.

Checkout supervisor Nicky has organised the event at the RSA. She long ago lost count of the number of times she has seen the show, either performed live or on the big screen.

“It came out when I was 17 and living in Sydney,” she says. “My son was little, so

I didn’t go to a lot of screenings then, but I did have it on VHS.”

The RSA event includes showing the film on a big screen, and a chance to get into the Rocky Horror spirit and dress up. Interacting with the film will be encouraged, with goodie bags provided that contain suitable props. There will be a chance to do the Time Warp again.

“Fans love the music, and it’s got a lot of quirky humour,” Nikki says. “Who doesn’t love a chance to dress up and have a laugh?”

The Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Celebration is on at the Hibiscus Coast Community RSA on Sunday, June 18, 3pm-5pm. More details, see What’s On.

From left, Nikki with the statue of Rocky Horror creator Richard O’Brien in Hamilton. Nikki (in red wig) dresses as Magenta for Rocky Horror Picture Show events – and talks her friends into taking part, she says. Nikki’s friend Rob Arnett at the RSA as Rocky Horror star, cross dressing mad scientist Frank-N-Furter.

Whanga Coast Ballers in action.

Quiz raises funds for basketball dream

A group of local Whangaparāoa College teens are working towards a once-in-a-lifetime trip to San Francisco to train with world-leading basketball coaches and management. Their fundraising to make the trip possible is well underway. Along with basketball

shooting marathons and beach clean-ups (HM April 3), the team from Whanga Coast Ballers are hosting a Quiz Night, at Parāoa Brewing Co.

The family event, on Sunday, June 25, will be hosted by the amazing team from Believe it or Not Quizzes. It will feature

Puhoi’s rich history celebrated

raffles and a silent auction with thousands of dollars’ worth of prizes, donated by generous businesses all over Whangaparāoa Peninsula, and a first prize of a $500 Parāoa bar tab, sponsored by Complete Electrical 24/7. Book a table on Eventfinda (look for Whanga Coast Ballers Quiz Night).

The end of this month, June 29, is the 160th anniversary of Puhoi Village being settled by the Bohemians from Europe, and activities are planned to mark the occasion. They include a lunch on June 29 at Puhoi Hall, catering for 140 people, and a St Peter and Paul’s Feastday Mass at the church. On Saturday, July 1 there will be a dance featuring Shane and the Shazam Band at Puhoi Hall and the following day a thanksgiving wreath will be laid at Puhoi church. Info and tickets: email puhoibohemianmuseum@gmail.com or phone 027 211 0316. Puhoi has a rich history. The first Bohemian immigrants arrived there on June 29, 1863, settling there under the terms of the 1858 Auckland Waste Lands Act. The Puhoi River provided the only means of access at that time. Bridge building and road forming in the area from 1869, improved communications between the settlement and nearby areas. From 1871 to 1876 was a period of considerable growth in the township, including the establishment of a hotel. A post office was established by 1870 with a telephone installed in 1884 linking Puhoi with Waiwera. The Puhoi Road Board first met in 1873, and the first general store opened for business in 1876 along with a Hotel-Boarding House and Store opened by Vincent and John Schischka.

Coast netball teams

Young netballers began the season at the Hibiscus Coast Netball Centre in Edith Hopper Park, Manly, last month. The number of teams playing at the centre this season are similar to last year – a total of 61 teams from local schools, in Years 3-6. Pictured are a Year 5 and 6 Whangaparāoa School team playing Ōrewa Beach.

Mid-winter magic in Ōrewa

Christmas is coming to the Coast twice this year – starting with Ōrewa’s first midwinter Christmas market early next month. Festive winter family entertainment, including live music, food trucks, a snow machine, and Kea Skates roller skating, is happening along with a range of arts and crafts stalls. There is even expected to be a rare and unseasonal visit from Santa Claus himself! The market will be on in Ōrewa Square on Friday, July 7, from 4pm-8pm.

Best Bakes

Mechan van der Westhuizen theflourqueennz@gmail.com

Caramelised apple peach crumble

A great dessert to enjoy with the whole whanau this mid-winter Christmas. Yields: 8

Crumble:

1 cup plain flour

1 cup rolled oats

2 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

¾ cup soft brown sugar

150g butter (melted)

Filling:

4 big apples (peeled and diced)

1 can peach slices (drained)

¾ cup soft brown sugar

1tbsp molasses

60g butter

1 vanilla bean (or 1tsp vanilla bean paste)

1tbsp lemon juice

1tbsp corn starch

1tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 180° Celsius. Grease and line a baking (tart) dish – mine is 25cm. Prepare the crumb by mixing all the dry ingredients together. Melt the butter in the microwave, then add it to the dry ingredients. This will form a nice soft crumble. Scoop half of the mixture into the tart dish pressing down firmly to create a crust like based. Set it aside.

Now start making the filling. Blanch the apples in hot water. Put the sugar into a saucepan, and slowly melt it over medium heat. Before the sugar completely melts, add the molasses, butter and vanilla bean and give it a good swirl.

Add the drained apples and peaches and let the mixture simmer few a few minutes. Then add the lemon juice, corn starch, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. Cook for about 5min then remove from the heat. Scrape the filling on top of the dry ingredients. Spread it out evenly. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb on top.

Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown in colour. Serve hot with custard, vanilla ice-cream, fresh cream or yoghurt.

Field fun for league juniors

Sports fields and courts have been busy as winter sports are in full swing.

Hibiscus Coast Raiders recently hosted a round that saw six of its 10 junior teams play at home.

Raiders chair, Seth Gleeson, says the day was pretty even when it came to wins and losses for the junior players and as always, there was good support from the sidelines.

He says the tricky part is getting players to transition from age 13, as league loses players to rugby at that age, in part because of the relative size of the opposition.

He says the club is working on introducing some weight restricted grade league in an attempt to retain more players.

For the juniors – the youngest players aged under eight years – it is all about having fun, as demonstrated at those home games on Saturday, May 27.

This year there are three girls’ junior teams that include players from Northland – U14, U16 and U18. This builds on last year’s successful U14 team, which won their final.

“Next year we may be able to bring some Northland boys teams down as well,” Seth says.

Young league players at Raiders’ fields in Stanmore Bay on May 27. U8 v Glenora Photos, Roger Reid

U9 v Northcote

U9 v Northcote

U11 v Marist

Green Thumbs

Dr Lynsey Ellis, Ōrewa Community Garden lynseymellis@gmail.com

Plenty to do in winter garden

As the evening and early morning temperatures start to drop, things are slowing down in the garden. Despite things taking longer to grow, there is still lots of opportunity to get out into the garden in the winter. Here are some tasks you may want to do at this time of year:

• Cover your delicate plants from the harsher winter conditions. Use a covering such as frost cloths to protect tender plants and mulch to protect soil from the wind – especially with the huge rains we have been experiencing lately.

• Sow some winter veg seeds: In the greenhouse, or as I do, on a sunny window sill – growing them on a windowsill makes it easier to keep them watered and tended during a busy week.

• If you want to direct sow in the garden, try carrots, garlic, onions, beetroot, and turnips. These will grow well during the winter and give you a good crop in early spring.

• Choose cool hardy plants: plant crops that do better in the cooler temperature such as kale, broccoli, carrots, onions, cabbage, or Brussels sprouts and why not add a bit of colour with pansies, calendula, polyanthus, hellebores (also shade tolerant), snap dragons or camelias to brighten up your garden and provide food for the bees?

• Prune deciduous trees while they are dormant, you will see they are dormant as most of the leaves will have fallen. Prune off any dead, diseased, or crossing branches. Aim to prune no more than a third of the tree – this will allow airflow and the tree to flourish in the spring with new growth. It is important to find out whether your tree fruits on new, or second-year, wood before pruning.

• Carry on composting through winter. Collect fallen leaves to make leaf mold, or add to the compost along with food scraps, garden

waste, shredded newspaper, and cardboard. Turn your compost regularly and add some garden lime to keep the pH balanced and maintain a healthy compost ready for topdressing your beds in the spring.

• Take stock and clean: clean your greenhouse, potting bench, pots, and tools to ensure diseases don’t spread and things are clean and ready for the next season. Cover any soil not being used with mulch or cardboard.

• Plan ahead: map out your planting wish list for the coming season and source seeds ready for spring sowing. Remember winter gardening is not only for your garden, but also for your wellbeing. Fresh air, physical activity, and connection with nature are all good for your health. So as the nights draw in, make time to get out in the winter daytime.

If you want to connect with some local community gardeners, come along to the Ōrewa Community Garden on a Wednesday or Saturday morning at 9am to share and learn new tips and tricks and get some inspiration this winter.

HAVING FUN AT ONE OF THE RSA’S FAMILY DAYS IS THE SHORT ANSWER

Check out what’s happening for yourself! One of the best options on the Coast whether you’re two or 102. Great entertainment, great food, great prices – singers, bands, kids’ days, Sunday roasts and a range of activities from line dancing to snooker, karaoke to the Rocky Horror show. Throw out those myths about the RSA. We are charity driven, looking after the welfare of those who need support by bringing low-cost or free entertainment and fun for everyone in our community. Joining is as cheap as chips (but doesn’t taste as good as those made by our chef) JOIN IN JUNE AND GET THE MONTH FREE.

Local teenage band The People recently placed 5th out of 22 entries at the first ever Armageddon talent quest. Armageddon was held June 3-5 in Auckland. The band say it was a fantastic event showcasing some incredible talent. Each act had a 10 minute slot to shine on stage in front of an audience. The People played a collection of three songs and the judges were obviously impressed. The band plays at local venues – watch out for their next gigs at Paraoa and Archers in Whangaparāoa.

Pest free project considers next big step

A study is underway that could see local pest control taken to the next level.

Jenny Hanwell of Forest & Bird has managed the Pest Free Hibiscus Coast project for close to four years carrying on the work started by Pauline Smith, former chair of Hibiscus Coast Forest & Bird.

Hanwell says bird counts, and the use of tracking tunnels and trail cameras, show that the work done by volunteers and backyard trappers to control pests such as rats, stoats and possums has been working. “The data shows we’re getting on top of possums on the peninsula in particular,” Hanwell says. “Now it’s time to look at the future – how to get the best results, and make best use of volunteer time and available funding.”

Recently Pest Free Hibiscus Coast commissioned Wildlife Management International to conduct a study that could shine a light on the way forward.

The study looks at the social, ecological and geographic elements of the area and assesses whether elimination of pests would be possible, which species and areas to target, how to do that, and the cost.

The study team has met with representatives of Auckland Council, the local board, Department of Conservation, open sanctuary rangers and conservation groups such as Friends of Okura Bush. Pest Free volunteers have also shared their

views, aspirations and potential roles in the next steps, Hanwell says.

She says a session at Whangaparāoa Library for the wider community also got a great response.

An online questionnaire is planned.

The Wildlife Management report is due to be completed at the end of July but Hanwell says initial indications are that

possum elimination in this area is doable. “Working towards that would require a long lead in period, including community consultation, as well as more traps, resources and funding,” Hanwell says.

“We will have to consider the next steps once we get the report. So far, a lot of people we’ve discussed it with at the various sessions are very excited about the possibilities.”

Predator control devices looked after by Pest Free Hibiscus Coast. Traps are in red, bait stations in green.

Pest Free Progress

• Hibiscus Coast Forest and Bird put its first trapline in Karaka Cove, kickstarting what was then known as the Pest Free Peninsula project, in January, 2014. • Pest Free Hibiscus Coast and its volunteers currently work with Council on pest control in 95 Council parks and reserves as well as large private blocks – this involves 2000 traps and bait stations. • Coast residents are currently trapping at home in over 1600 backyards and this number is steadily rising.

Initial indications are that possum elimination in this area is doable.

Wheels in motion for better wheels

Lia Bell has been fundraising for two years, including selling handmade cards, but her dream of owning an all-terrain wheelchair still looks a long way off.

The 47-year-old has a form of cerebral palsy which is increasingly debilitating, and causes chronic pain, despite numerous surgeries on her legs.

Standing and walking is extremely difficult and so she says she is grateful for the basic wheelchair that enables her to get out of the house.

However, any journeys from Lia’s Arkles Bay home are limited to flat areas.

Her husband and teenage son provide a lot of support, but being more independent is a key goal for Lia. She dreams of being able to afford an Omeo all terrain wheelchair, based on Segway technology, which she says cost around $23,000.

Such a chair could take her up hills and even onto the beach.

“Why not dream big?” she says. “The beach is right there, but frustratingly out of reach. I know this is a ‘want’, not a need –there are a lot of people with more serious needs – so I am striving myself to earn it.”

Lia says she didn’t think she had an artistic bone in her body, but when a friend taught her to make intricate paper cards, she discovered she had a knack, and became hooked.

“It’s also time consuming, which is good because I spend a lot of time sitting at home and now there’s something to do,” she says.

Each card takes an hour or more to make and she has 70 different designs. Next month, on July 7, she will have a stall at the mid-winter Christmas market in Ōrewa. So far, she has raised just under $6000. Lia sells her cards on her Facebook page bellcraftcards, and at local fashion store Mainstreet in Ōrewa.

Lia is grateful for the standard issue wheelchair she currently uses, but it has big limitations, unlike the Omeo, which is based on Segway technology.

Lia would love to be able to access Arkles Bay beach, near her home, independently.

Plants

are medicine, says Silverdale based homeopath Ngahere (Tricia Curtis).

Workshop focuses on Maori health perspective

Learning how to extract health benefits from native plants is the subject of a workshop at Whangaparāoa library. The workshop, and another one being held at Ōrewa library, promote Hauora mo te Hapori or Health for the Community from a traditional Māori wellness perspective. Ngahere, who is leading the workshop, says the first step is knowing your plants. She trained as a classical homeopath and has worked in this area for more than 30 years. She has been based at Te Herenga Waka o Ōrewa community marae in Silverdale for around 12 years and Maori medicine is a big part of her work. The workshop will include making kawakawa balm and trying various tonics made of native plants such as kumarahou and kohekohe. “I’ll be talking about native plants, and weeds, and what they can be used for, as well as some of the philosophy behind traditional Maori wellness,” Ngahere says. She the Maori wellness approach is a holistic one, where plants are whanau (family) – you have a relationship with them. The workshop at Whangaparāoa Library is on Monday, June 19 from 1.30pm-3pm. Ōrewa Library is presenting Four seasons of Health and Wellness by Lee-Anne, on Thursday, June 29, 11am-12.30pm. This will celebrate holistic Māori health in three areas – Hinengaro (mind), Tinana (body) and Wairua or (spirit). Booking is essential as spaces are limited – call into the library to find out more.

Record breaker heads to world champs

Mitch Joynt of Milldale says he was not particularly competitive before he had his right leg amputated below the knee following a wood chipper accident. He was 18 at the time and working as an arborist.

He says having such a major accident as a

teenager gave him time to rehabilitate and recover.

It wasn’t long before he began thinking about proving himself in competitive sport. After initially trying rowing, and representing NZ in a World Cup as a snowboarder, he discovered a talent for sprinting six years ago and hasn’t looked back.

When not working as a full time truck driver, he trains hard, wearing a state of the art running blade, and works out in his home gym.

Mitch says mainly he competes against himself, because sprinting is all about times. He currently holds the Oceania records in

Charity golf tournament ‘a great day off work’

Two Coast accountants, Jason Tudor and Brodie Hunt, are making a name for themselves, having won or placed second in three recent charity golf tournaments. Although neither are members of a golf club, and Brodie only recently started getting a handicap again, the pair enter the tournaments to support various good causes, and “for a day off work”.

Their success surprised them. Jason, 50, says his sport is stand up paddleboarding, although before a tournament he goes to

a driving range or maybe does a practice round.

Brodie, 40, played golf a lot when he was younger and in the last 12 months he has played a bit more.

Players are put in teams with people you may not have met before, and Brody and Jason also play some charity tournaments with Jason’s son, Troy.

“Because you play as a team, you don’t have to be brilliant yourself,” Jason says. “What it comes down to is we work well together

Open Day

Friday 23 June, 10am-2pm

Framed by 16 hectares of lush gardens, with a range of fantastic facilities and close to every amenity, life in this fabulous community is like a coastal escape every day of the year. Take a tour at our Open Day, treat yourself to light refreshments and discover relaxed retirement living in Red Beach.

For the life you want to live Call Kerensa on 09 421 9723

kerensag@metlifecare.co.nz 101 Red Beach Road, Red Beach

the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m events. Next month the 28-year-old is off to Paris to compete in the World Champs and he still has around $5000 to raise to make the trip possible.

Donations can be made here: https://givealittle. co.nz/.../mitch-joynt-to-world-champs

– particularly when putting, and knowing the lines we want to hit.”

“Turn up and have a good putting day is key,” says Brodie. Both encourage anyone to take part in charity golf events, regardless of their skill level.

“The majority are novices, and adjustments are made for those with handicaps so it’s a level playing field,” Jason says.

Winners of Milford Rotary Club’s recent golfing tournament, Coast charity golfers left, Brodie Hunt and Jason Tudor.

FEATURES AND FACILITIES

A range of independent living options or serviced apartments

Shared lounge spaces, café and resident-run bar

Easy walk to local shops, public transport and medical facilities

Serviced Apartments from $350,000^

^ Price is for an Occupation Right Agreement secured by a first ranking mortgage in favour of the statutory supervisor on behalf of the residents. Price valid for 30 days from time of printing. Stock availability subject to change. Car park not included in price. Note: Visitors must be feeling well to enter a Metlifecare site. Mask-wearing within a village is optional. For full Metlifecare COVID-19 guidelines, please refer to our website metlifecare.co.nz

Mitch was out in front in the 100m and 200m finals at this year’s National Track And Field Championships, held in Wellington. He broke his own NZ record in the 200m. Photos, Alisha Lovrich

Health

David Cooper, physiotherapist david@kineticsrehab.co.nz

Journaling for health

The start of winter is upon us as May rolls into June – though admittedly it feels like we have already had enough rain to last us a lifetime. All that aside this is the season for evenings spent rugged up on the couch. Before you reach for that smartphone though, hear me out.

The human brain makes up a mere 2 percent of our body mass, and yet it consumes over 20 percent of our energy demands simply to keep our body systems functioning! Keeping the brain healthy has been proven possible with a raft of activities such as reading, chess, Sudoku, crossword puzzles and more. Another activity increasingly showing up in the cognitive function literature is the art of journaling. This is a habit that I personally adopted around seven years ago when first going into business ownership. My journaling is perhaps better described as ‘rambling’ as I use simple, plain lined A4 books void of dates, days or in fact any other detail. Along with the date that I write in the top right corner, the most common two headlines on any given page are “Thoughts” and “Headspace”. Each journal of roughly 100 pages will last around two months, with the date ranges for each book written on the inside cover. Once completed it will be carried around along with its replacement for a week or two before joining the growing collection on the bookshelf at home.

Some of the personal benefits noticed include improved decision making, improved sleep and being able to process and work

through challenges with less stress. I found myself able to better reflect on situations while writing by hand; often with tangents, arrows and diagrams thrown into the mix. For this reason an iPad or phone-based journal wouldn’t work for me, though I am aware there are some tech options out there. I have found that when facing a similar challenge to one encountered in the past, I am able to find the exact journal and page where I had written about it with almost photographic precision. Given I can hardly remember where my keys are on any given day (as my wife can attest to), this is rather surprising.

The research however shows why this is not a surprise. Journaling has been shown to improve memory, reduce stress, improve recovery from injury or trauma and create long term reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression.

For some the habit takes a while to develop and may need a daily almost ritualistic approach. Others, such as myself, are more free-spirited, sporadic and random. Every entry certainly doesn’t need to start with “Dear Diary” but regardless of which approach is taken, I would highly recommend this to people of all ages and stages. Get writing people!

My journaling is better described as ‘rambling’ – A4 books void of dates, days or in fact any other detail

A drowning shapes surf club’s history

This month, Red Beach Surf Club will mark 70 years of serving the community, patrolling both Red Beach and Pakiri Beach.

Life member Ross Malyon says the formation of the club came about through a drowning at nearby Ōrewa Beach.

In the summer of 1953, Toby Mitchell, on holiday in Pinewoods Motor Camp at Red Beach, witnessed the fatality from his bach on a hilltop overlooking the Ōrewa estuary. He felt that if surf lifesavers had been on hand at Red Beach they might have been able to reach the drowning person with less

difficulty than the rescuers experienced. He discussed his ideas on forming a club at Red Beach with Allan Gardner, the chairman of the Auckland Surf Life Saving Association at the time.

Mitchell, along with Red Beach residents and holidaymakers interested in safety at their beach, banded together to progress the idea of establishing a surf club.

During Easter of 1953, they invited Auckland Surf Life Saving Association officials to meet with them and discuss forming a club.

On Sunday, May 31, 1953, the officials

were again invited to attend a meeting of Red Beach residents on the community green in Pinewoods Motor Park – this time to add another name to the list of Auckland surf clubs. Mitchell was elected as the club’s

Something to celebrate

first president.

With an initial membership of around 25, the new club’s teams trained through the winter of 1953 to become qualified lifeguards for the following summer.

Red Beach Surf Club’s 70th celebration at the beachfront clubrooms is on Sunday, June 25, from 2pm to 6pm. The afternoon will begin with a ‘mix n’ mingle’, followed by formalities with two guest speakers, a short presentation celebrating the club’s history, and the viewing of memorabilia throughout the club. Every effort has been made to contact past members, and registration is a requirement for admission. Registrations already received span all seven decades. The event will be a forerunner to the club’s Diamond Jubilee in 2028.

The original Red Beach clubrooms were opened in 1959. The redeveloped clubrooms opened in 2018. Photos, courtesy Ross Malyon

Long road back for footy captain

Fact Box

After what she has been through, Stacey Martin says she will never take playing football for granted again.

The Hibiscus Coast women’s captain ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her knee while training in 2020 and it took her 12 months to recover and get back to playing the game she loves. She vividly remembers the feeling of her first training reuniting with her team-mates. “I have never been happier,” says the 27-year-old who grew up in Stanmore Bay. I had missed it so much.”

In November 2020, Martin was selected for the Northern Lights to play in the National League and during training at Glenfield she went down in a heap with no one around her.

“I went to tackle someone, and turned to run away with the ball and collapsed to the

ground,” she says. “I knew straight away I had done my ACL. I was lying on my side and it hit me that I was going to be out for a long time.”

The next morning her worst fears were confirmed when she was assessed by a physiotherapist and underwent X-rays and an MRI scan.

The former Whangaparāoa College student had ruptured the trifecta of knee ligaments –ACL, PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), and MCL (medial collateral ligament) – and a month later she had reconstruction surgery. During her recovery, Martin damaged her meniscus (knee cartilage) and had to have a second surgery.

Martin remembers the pain of having to learn how to walk again.

“I had to start everything again,” she says.

“Even running or kicking the ball for the

first time, you feel so uncoordinated. Do I even remember how to do this?”

It was a hugely challenging period, and she was unable to work in her role as a nurse for eight weeks.

Unfortunately, Martin was not alone. Four other players in her team also had ACL reconstructions in recent times. One of them had the same injury on both legs. “I reassured them of the process they were going through and helped them with the mental struggles. I was there to talk if they needed me. It’s a lonely process coming back from this injury.”

Martin has introduced the team to strength training programmes and activation routines as well as completing the 11 plus warm-up before every training and game. The warm up is a key component of the NZ Football Performance and Prevention programme.

• In 2022, ACC accepted nearly 40,000 claims for football-related injuries. • The greatest increase is in females aged 15-19 years, with the incidence increasing by 120 percent between 2009 and 2019. • To help prevent these injuries, ACC partners with NZ Football to deliver the NZF Performance and Prevention programme.

“It’s so important, especially for the young ones. It’s their routine now and it will set them up. When our team comes to training, they know exactly what to do,” Martin says.

After winning the league and the Carol Waller Cup, in 2022, this season the Hibiscus Coast women are competing with the best in the northern region in the women’s NRFL premier league. Martin says it has been a step up.

“Over the years we’ve seen young players grow up on the Coast and then leave for bigger clubs – which is something that I did – but it’s nice to know the youth in this area have something to look up to and aim for.”

Stacey Martin back in action for Hibiscus Coast following her recovery from rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee. Photo, Shane Wenzlick/Phototek.

Sherry, 17 Repetition, 18 Scare, 22 Behemoth, 23 Delay, 24 Spirits, 26 Lard, 28 Melodic, 29 Absorb, 30 Unseen, 31 Hernia, 33 Debut, 35 Above, 36 Spit, 37 Fall, 43 Apollo, 44 Issue, 46 Lard, 47 Wetsuit, 48 Outwit, 49 Ample, 50 Drenched, 51 Deceit, 52 Ringleader, 53 Norm, 54 Lookout, 59 Agave, 60 East, 64 Venus, 65 Macaroni, 67 Emerald, 68 Sultana, 70 Manual, 71 Pariah,

Welding/Repairs for W.O.F & C.O.F, Rust Repairs, Accident Repairs, Insurance Repairs, Cars, Vans, Buses, Campers, Trucks, Trailers, Old/New – All Welcome.

DOUGLAS ACCOUNTING

For all your accounting requirements

• Monthly and end of year accounts and tax returns.

• Business planning and advice

• Personal Tax Returns

• ACC Coverplus Xtra

• Cashbooks, Xero & MYOB

• GST, PAYE, FBT

• Agent with IRD PO Box 308 001, Manly Whangaparaoa 0952 Phone: 09 424 4684 Mobile: 021 912 184

Fax: 09 424 4688 greg@douglasconsulting.co.nz www.douglasconsulting.co.nz

DELIVERERS

To: Stanmore Bay • Matakatia Milldale• Orewa Heights

Hibiscus Matters is a fortnightly paper, pays good rates. ph Rosemary 021 0300 263 or email name, contact details & age to: hmdelivery@localmatters.co.nz

WANTED TO BUY

TO BUY, RECORDS/LP’S 09 428 1587 txt 0210 258 3437

HOME & MAINTENANCE

ALARMS SECURITY AND FIRE, MONITORING, CCTV, servicing & installation, all brands 027 553 3032 www.tdssecurity.co.nz

BOBCAT & DIGGER HIRE 4.5 tonne each Ph/Txt Mark 021 492 939.

CN BUILDERS Decks, Fences. Quality work at a reasonable price. For FREE quote & design if needed. Ph/txt Craig 022 182 2543

DRAINLAYERS

For your drainage requirements. Certified drain layers. All Round Drainage Ltd: Ph/txt 0274 890 851 email jeff@ardnz.com

HANDYMAN

Odd jobs, gardening, painting & water blasting. Phone Nev 021 399 226.

CARPET LAYING, CARPET RE-STRETCH, VINYL LAYING, CARPET REPAIRS

Over 30 years’ experience. Contact Dexter 027 4956 436

HOUSE WASHING - SOFT WASH / LOW PRESSURE / CHEMICAL WASH Also Window Cleaning / Gutter Clearing Careful service, reasonable rates. Phone 021 057 9743

PUMP DOCTOR WATER PUMP & FILTER SERVICES. New installs for all your water pump requirements. Ph 0274 430 654.

ARKLES BAY PAINTERS/DECORATORS In the area for the area. Shane 021 0813 8481. CARPET CLEANING, repairs and installation. Dwayne 0274 997 929. PEST CONTROL, Flies, spiders, cockroaches, ants, rodents, wasps. Competitive prices. Ph 426 2253.

APPLIANCE REPAIRS

A SMART REPAIR Service for F&P smartdrive washers, F&P/Simpson dryers. Prompt service ph 021 168 7349.

DVDS & VIDEOS

VIDEOS TRANSFERRED to DVD/hard drive. Phone or text Te Totara Video 021 777 385.

SERVICES

FURNITURE REMOVALS

exp Owner Operator 30 years. Single Items to Flat/House lots. Silverdale Based. Ph Gavin 0274 973 867

PROFESSIONAL MASSAGE

Based in little Manly. Massage for relaxation and wellbeing using essential oils. Targeted deep tissue & stress relief massage. Can do reflexology as well. 26 years exp. Phone 0204 116 7992.

RECORDING STUDIO Vocals to backing tracks, original projects, vocal training & vocal PA hire. Ph Skimp 021 115 5233.

PERSONAL

RECENTLY WIDOWED SENIOR SEEKING genuine companionship with a lady living within North Shore area. Please contact me with some background & photo. Thanks Martin email startingagainasone@gmail.com

DEATH NOTICE

RADDON, BARBARA

Passed away peacefully on April 5, 2023 aged 88 years.

Dearly beloved wife of the late Bill, and mother of Mark and Julie. Loved Mother-in-law of Linda and Michael, and Gran of Andy and wife Jess. Loving Great Gran to Louis and Billy. Gone too soon and will live on in our hearts forever. Thanks to the staff at William Sanders Hospital Unit for their care. A private family memorial was held at Hamilton Park Cemetery.

60’s UP MOVEMENT, HIBISCUS COASTMeetings are held 3rd Wednesday of every month, 10am at the RSA in Viponds Road, Whangaparāoa. Outings 1st Wednesday of month. Ph Gloria 027 386 2339

DO YOU HAVE ANY OLD CAR OR BOAT BATTERIES SITTING IN YOUR GARAGE, THAT YOU NO LONGER WANT? The Orewa Lions collect all old batteries and ALL the money received for them goes into the Child Mobility Foundation fund. This is a fabulous cause to support. If you would like to see more information regarding this, then go to this url, and you wll be staggered at just what a difference can be made. www. lionsclubs.org.nz/Clubs/Activities/ChildMobility So if you want to get rid of those old car or boat batteries or any batteries (but not the small AAA batteries) then please call Martin (09) 410 2363 or Laurie (09) 426 3122. If we do not answer, leave a message and we will get back to you very quickly.

HEARTBEATS HEART SUPPORT GROUP Meetings 1st Tuesday of every month, 10am-11.30am, Hibiscus Coast Community House (behind Estuary Arts Centre). Guest speakers. Ph Trent 0220 606 199 HIBISCUS COAST GARDEN CLUB

MISSING CAT – DAIRY FLAT

Molly, a 13 year old dark tortoiseshell has been seen in this immediate area multiple times in recent weeks. Molly is very timid and shy of humans. She will be hiding and coming out to find food. She is an indoor cat and will be finding it difficult living rough in this weather. Your help to find her will be much appreciated! If anyone has any information please contact Deborah 021 116 2287.

HAIRDRESSING

9.30am, Monday June 19. Manly Bowling Club, 56 Laurence St. $3 entry. Mini Flower/Vege show, Good speaker, Trading Table and Raffle. Contact Zelma 424 4112. IF YOUR HOME IS UNHAPPY BECAUSE SOMEONE DRINKS TOO MUCH We can help you. Al-Anon and Alateen for families and friends of problem drinkers. Al-Anon Family Groups 0508 425 266 www.alanon.org.nz

THE HIBISCUS COAST ORCHID SOCIETY meets 2nd Sunday of the month at 1pm - now meeting at the Masonic Hall, 103 Centreway Rd, Orewa Everybody welcome. Contact Judy 0274 757 708.

Listings start from just $150+GST for 12 months. List your business at: www.localmatters.co.nz/add-listing/?listing_type=gd_businesses For more info contact Leigh: 022 096 8517 or Angela: 022 029 1895

CAN’T MAKE IT TO A HAIR SALON? No problem I can come to you. Qualified Hairstylist providing cutting and blow wave services. Please phone Julie 021 112 8015

THE HIBISCUS COAST RSA are looking for donations of family friendly games (for All ages) - Board games, Card games, games like Twister, Connect 4, Guess who, Bananagrams, Pick up sticks, etc. If you have any games that are in good condition, and have all their pieces, please contact Moninne on 424 9026, email: moninne@ hbcrsa.org.nz or, drop off during our opening hours at 43a Vipond Road.

SUICIDE BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT – EMPATHY GROUP meets monthly at Ōrewa, Last Monday of each month. Hibiscus Community House, 214 Hibiscus Coast Highway, Ōrewa, Western Reserve, 7pm-9pm. All welcome. Info Susan 021 884 162 or PM FB: Empathy support group.

What’s on ...

To list events, email: online@localmatters.co.nz

7-July 2 Ukraine: A War Diary of Lives exhibition and fundraiser, Estuary Arts Centre, Western Reserve, Ōrewa. Photos, art, stories, plus an art auction, workshop and Ukranian cuisine.

10–18 Simply the Best music revue, Centrestage Theatre, Centreway Road, Ōrewa, Foyer revue featuring the music of Lady Gaga, Meatloaf, Backstreet Boys, Pat Benatar and more. Nine performers and live band. Tickets $35, includes a platter of food on each table and the bar is open. Book: phone Centrestage, 09 426 7282 or www.centrestagetheatre.co.nz/box-office

14 Believe it or Not Quiz Night, Northern Union, 23 Wainui Rd, Silverdale, 6.30pm-9pm. Fundraiser for Ōrewa Sea Scouts going to Jamboree. Spot prizes, raffles, bar open. $20pp, tables of six. Book your table, by emailing Ōrewaseascoutsfundraising@gmail.com All welcome.

17 Foxtail Rumble, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, Vipond Road, Whangaparāoa, 7pm-10.30pm. Entry $8 non-members, $5 members.

18 Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Celebration, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Rd, Stanmore Bay, 3pm-5pm. Let’s do the Time Warp again! Entry $10. Door sales available. (see story p19)

18

JP Entertainment, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Road, Stanmore Bay, 4pm-7pm. Free entry.

18 Planting day, Otanerua Reserve, 19-21 Otanerua Road, Hatfields Beach, 10am-1pm. Hosted by Restore Hibiscus & Bays. Meet at the reserve entrance. Bring/wear: gardening gloves, study shoes/boots, water bottle, snacks, sunblock, raincoat, mosquito repellent, long sleeves, long pants and a spade if you have one. Info: email deborah@restorehb.org.nz or phone 028 414 2505. FB: https://fb.me/e/Zk7XX74M (see story p17)

18 Community planting day, Shakespear Regional Park, starts 10am. Park at Army Bay carpark and follow signs. Register at Eventbrite. (see story p17)

19 Maori wellness workshop, Whangaparāoa Library, 1.30pm-3pm. Bookings essential – call or drop into the library for more information. (see story p25)

21 Drag Queen Bingo with Anita Wigl’it, Parāoa Brewing Co., 719A Whangaparāoa Road, 7pm–8:30pm

21 Sharón Blow, Hibiscus Coast Community RSA, 43A Vipond Road, Stanmore Bay, 6:30pm-8:30pm. Free entry.

23 Daniel Champagne, Ōrewa Community Centre, 7pm See the young Australian virtuoso described as ‘the finest guitar player of this generation’ play before his world tour! Tickets from Eventbrite, $30.

24 Diabetes Self-Management Education, Hibiscus Coast Community House, Western Reserve, Ōrewa, 9am-3.30pm. Free information day for people with Type 2 Diabetes. Bring a family member or friend for support. Refreshments provided. Registration essential. Contact Margot McDonald on DSME@ comprehensivecare.co.nz

24 ABBA Heaven tribute act, Parāoa Brewing Co., 719A Whangaparāoa Road, 8.30pm. Tickets from Eventfinda.

24 Superhero Disco, Party Kingdom, 16 Karepiro Drive, Whangaparāoa, 4pm6pm. Entry by gold coin donation to Manly Volunteer Fire Brigade. Spot prizes, emergency services displays and more. All welcome.

25 Community planting day, Amorino Park, 32-36 Amorino Drive, Red Beach, 10am-12pm. Hosted by Restore Hibiscus & Bays. Access the park via the walkway between 32-36 Amorino Drive. Bring/wear: gardening gloves, water bottle, raincoat, sunblock, sturdy shoes/boots and a spade if you have one. Info: email: deborah@restorehb.org.nz or call 028 414 2505. Facebook https://fb.me/e/1boQuQfWf (see story p17)

25 Hoedown at the Ranch, Hibiscus Coast RSA, Vipond Road, Whangaparāoa, 4pm-7pm. Free event open to everyone and promises an evening of country karaoke, Line Dancing and country music from DJ Going Bananas. Restaurant opens 5pm. Throw on the cowboy or cowgirl hat, jeans and checked shirt and kick up your boots big time. Info: Alan Reeves 0272 448 714.

25 Believe it or Not Quiz Night, Paraoa Brewing Co, 719A Whangaparāoa Road, 3pm-8pm. Raising funds for Whanga Coast Ballers’ trip to San Francisco. Quizzes, raffles and a silent auction with prizes donated by local businesses. Book a table on Eventfinda (look for Whanga Coast Ballers Quiz Night). (see story p20)

25 Wenderholm Regional Planting Day, 37 Schischka Rd, Waiwera, 10am-1pm. Follow the signs within the park to the meeting point. Wear good enclosed boots or shoes, and bring along friends and family. Bring favourite spade and gloves, or borrow from the tools available. Free tickets Eventbrite. All welcome.

28 Protect Yourself from Scammers, Whangaparāoa Library, 10.30am. Learn how to protect yourself from online scammers. Join librarian and IT expert Phil, as he explains various online scams and how to keep yourself safe from them. RSVP: WhangaparāoaLibraryEvents@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

29 Ōrewa Library presents Four seasons of Health and Wellness by LeeAnne, 11am-12.30pm. Celebrating holistic Māori health. Booking is essential as spaces are limited – call into the library to find out more. (see story p??)

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 www.localmatters.co.nz/whats-on/ for a full list of upcoming events

Pharmacy Talk

with Tania Adams

Sore Throat?

Not sure if your Sore Throat is viral or bacterial?

You can have a FREE sore throat consultation at Unichem Manly Pharmacy. Did you know that 8 out of 10 sore throats in adults are because of a virus that can’t be treated with antibiotics?

Antibiotics are important medicines that are used to treat serious bacterial infections and when used correctly,they save lives. Unfortunately, they are often taken when they aren’t needed and are frequently being overused to treat simple illnesses including sore throats. In fact, over the last 10 years, antibiotic use in New Zealand has dramatically increased.

Overuse of antibiotics is contributing to a rapid rise in antibiotic resistance. This basically means, the more we use antibiotics, the more opportunities we give the bacteria to adapt and fight back against them. If overuse of antibiotics continues, they’ll be less effective in treating diseases in the future when we really need them.

To help this problem, Unichem Manly Pharmacy is providing a quick, free consultation service with testing for people with sore throats.* This is great news if you aren’t sure if your sore throat is bacterial or viral and whether you need to visit your doctor for antibiotics.

Treating a Sore Throat

Depending on how bad you throat hurts, you can find different options to help:

Betadine throat gargle kills most bacteria and viruses implicated in sore throats within 30 seconds and therefore may help if you have an infected sore throat. This gargle is best used the moment you feel a sore throat coming on to treat and relieve your symptoms.

Throat lozenges are a great way to help with pain symptoms in your throat. There are a selection of formulations. Lozenges containing an anti-inflammatory medication will help to relieve inflammation and pain. Some lozenges also contain an anaesthetic to numb the pain of a sore throat which can be helpful when you sore throat is causing you a lot of pain.

Sore throat sprays are designed to deliver the medicine to the back of your throat and make it easier to apply the medicine a little deeper down your throat.

Taking paracetamol or ibuprofen can help with the pain of a sore throat and also ease other aches and pains.

The old lemon and honey warm drink trick never seems to fail me. Hot soups and warm drinks can have a soothing effect. Similarly, frozen food, such as ice blocks can numb that pain.

You can try increasing your body’s immune defences naturally. Research shows that echinacea, zinc and vitamin C and D all have some contribution toward helping to boost your immune system to fight against viruses such as colds and flus.

Be sure to see our pharmacist or your doctor if you have: a sore throat lasting more than a few days

• difficulty swallowing

• enlarged tonsils or tonsils have pus on them

• a high temperature above 39C

•

• swelling in your neck

negative

Pharmacist at Unichem Manly

Inkersole trophy stays with Raiders Masters

The Rodney Rams Masters came up against a slightly younger Hibiscus Coast Raiders Masters team on Sunday May 28 when the two sides met in the Ray Inkersole Memorial Trophy clash.

The Raiders, who took the trophy last year, proved too strong on the day.

Spokesperson Roger Reid said overall, the game was pretty even.

“The Raiders have a few younger players this year and I think that may have been the difference. They just had a bit more stamina.”

Scores aren’t kept in Masters games, but for the sake of deciding

who would win the trophy, tries were counted, with the Raiders finishing three tries to one.

Inkersole was a former Rodney Rams chair and the trophy recognises the fact that when Masters first started, Rams and Raiders played as a combined team under the name the Ram Raiders.

Later this year, Masters of Rugby League New Zealand will celebrate its 30th Anniversary International Tournament for both women’s and men’s masters grades.

The tournament will be held at Cornwall Park from October 14 to 21, with local teams expected to take part.

Raiders Masters’ team and Rodney Rams Masters both committed 100 percent effort to their Inkersole trophy match. Photos, Roger Reid.