Nelson Weekly
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wednesday 31 october 2018
weird and wonderful parade
page 14
Amelia heads to world cup page 30
Page 18-19
Early electioneering at NCC? Kate Russell Reporter
kate@nelsonweekly.co.nz
Ructions are appearing around the Nelson City Council table with some being accused of using negative comments over council performance to grandstand for political purposes - despite the next election being a year away.
“It would seem, surprisingly at this early stage, that some councillors are entering into the election scene already,” acting Mayor Ian Barker told the Nelson Weekly. The comments come after the 2017/18 annual report was adopted last Thursday. Mel Courtney was one councillor who spoke negatively of the annual report, accusing the council
of “overpromising and underdelivering” in the area of infrastructure in particular, and saying up to 40 per cent of council’s targets had not been met. “I thought there had to be realistic point of view. You can’t say it’s a good performance. It was far from satisfactory, it really was. We can do better, we have to do better.”
However, Ian believes such comments are just signs of some early campaigning going on for the October 2019 election. He says the negativity at the meeting was “counterproductive to teamwork and collaboration”. “We’re nearly into November, what we are looking at is way back in the past. Rather than griping about what happened
they should be working positively - we are four months into the next year. “Councils can always do better. There’re always problems, you can never be perfect. I believe we have achieved a lot.” Mel, who is very active on social media, told the Weekly that
SEE PAGE 2
Historic boarding house lives on Jonty Dine The historic Rutherford Boarding House at Nelson College is set to reopen its doors today. Rutherford House ceased to exist as a boarding house in 2014, but thanks to extensive renovations it will once again be home to Nelson College students. Headmaster Gary O’Shea says boarding is part of what makes Nelson College so special. “Boarding is central to the culture, it’s not just a day school, it’s a massive community and gives us that special character that we want to take into the future.” Six years ago, the college’s boarding numbers were around 180, which meant three boarding houses wasn’t feasible. The board conducted an extensive review which brought forward several options including selling, bulldozing and walking away. “The decision was made to modernise the two heritage buildings in a multimillion-dollar project.”
SEE PAGE 3
RUTHERFORD HOUSE LIVES ON: Former Nelson College students Barry Knight and Iain Graham at the newly-revamped Rutherford Boarding House. Photo: Jonty Dine.
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