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Wednesday <strong>October</strong> <strong>11</strong> <strong>2017</strong><br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
BAY HARBOUR<br />
PAGE <strong>11</strong><br />
Boat safety week a timely reminder<br />
Lyttelton-based<br />
navigational safety officer<br />
Gary Manch writes about<br />
Safer Boating Week which<br />
starts on Friday<br />
AS I am writing, I can see the<br />
odd pleasure boat out in the<br />
harbour making the most of the<br />
lovely day. It’s great to see people<br />
out there using our amazing<br />
coast for recreation.<br />
With Labour weekend not far<br />
away, the start of the boating<br />
season is here, and hopefully<br />
the weather will be kinder to us<br />
this season than last. To coincide<br />
with the start of the season,<br />
Maritime New Zealand is running<br />
its nationwide Safer Boating<br />
Week from Friday to <strong>October</strong> 20.<br />
I want to highlight the week for<br />
two reasons.<br />
National MP<br />
Nuk Korako<br />
writes about<br />
his plans now<br />
that he has<br />
been returned<br />
to Parliament<br />
WITH THE final election<br />
results now announced and my<br />
place back in Parliament as the<br />
National List MP based in the<br />
Port Hills confirmed, it’s time<br />
to look ahead to my priorities<br />
for the next three years. I<br />
will continue to maintain an<br />
office here in the Port Hills<br />
and be available to assist with<br />
constituent cases and concerns.<br />
But there are also some<br />
specific issues where I think I<br />
can make a difference in the<br />
Port Hills, particularly within<br />
the environmental area.<br />
In my last column, I talked<br />
about the set up of Te Tapuwae<br />
o Rakau Trust, which is<br />
now working on developing<br />
a structured approach to<br />
replanting the Port Hills. I<br />
believe leading the set up of<br />
this trust is one of the most<br />
important contributions I<br />
First, it’s a timely reminder<br />
to get you thinking about your<br />
preparation for the upcoming<br />
boating season. That means<br />
making sure your vessel has<br />
been serviced, making sure all<br />
the safety equipment is still in<br />
good working order, and making<br />
sure you have two forms of communication<br />
ready to take out on<br />
the water. It also means checking<br />
that lifejackets are the right size<br />
and, in the case of inflatable<br />
ones, checking the cylinders are<br />
working and manually blowing<br />
the lifejacket up, and leaving it<br />
overnight to check there are no<br />
leaks.<br />
Second, it’s a good time to<br />
make sure you know the boating<br />
rules for where you are going to<br />
be. In Canterbury, for example,<br />
you must have an identifying<br />
have been able to make to our<br />
electorate, and I look forward to<br />
seeing the work the trust does<br />
and assisting where I can.<br />
Another area of real<br />
environmental importance here<br />
in the Port Hills electorate is<br />
the Heathcote River and Ihutai<br />
Estuary. This is something I<br />
was involved with even before<br />
becoming an MP, in my role as<br />
chairman of Te Ihutai Trust.<br />
One of the greatest<br />
community initiatives we have<br />
in our electorate is the annual<br />
Mother of All Clean Ups, and<br />
I’ve always enjoyed getting in<br />
and helping to clean up the<br />
name or number on both sides<br />
of your boat. Check out our<br />
Navigation Safety Bylaw 2016<br />
(item 20) for full details on<br />
identification. It’s available at<br />
Korako’s environmental focus<br />
UNSIGHTLY:<br />
About 720<br />
volunteers,<br />
including<br />
Environment<br />
Canterbury<br />
councillor<br />
Cynthia Roberts,<br />
helped with the<br />
annual Mother<br />
of All Clean Ups<br />
this year.<br />
rubbish which pollutes the<br />
waterway and its banks.<br />
It’s a privilege to live in close<br />
proximity to such a beautiful<br />
landmark as the Heathcote<br />
River. But winding through<br />
residential areas carries risks for<br />
water quality. There are many<br />
issues around silt, chemicals<br />
and run-off from metal building<br />
products ending up in the river.<br />
These are issues that will require<br />
ongoing attention from local<br />
authorities and from central<br />
Government. I am committed<br />
to using my position to leave a<br />
better and cleaner environment<br />
here in the Port Hills.<br />
ecan.govt.nz/harbourmastersoffice/recreational-boating<br />
or<br />
contact us if you’re unsure.<br />
That’s it from me this week.<br />
Remember that if you have any<br />
Thanks for voting<br />
Labour MP<br />
Ruth Dyson<br />
is humbled<br />
to have been<br />
re-elected<br />
to represent<br />
the Port Hills<br />
electorate<br />
I SPOKE to a Mt Pleasant<br />
woman who is in her 90s during<br />
the week.<br />
“This has been the most exciting<br />
election since I was a young<br />
girl,” she said.<br />
And it certainly has been<br />
exciting.<br />
The final make-up of the<br />
Government won’t be known<br />
for a little while but we can be<br />
satisfied the MMP system will<br />
deliver us a Government of our<br />
choosing, given that the party<br />
vote determines how many MPs<br />
each party ends up having.<br />
I have been re-elected to<br />
represent the constituents of<br />
Port Hills in Parliament and I<br />
feel humbled at the support I<br />
received and want to express<br />
my thanks to each and every<br />
one of you – not just those that<br />
supported my re-election, but<br />
questions or queries, I am always<br />
available to help at gary.manch@<br />
ecan.govt.nz. Be safe out there<br />
and respect each other on the<br />
water.<br />
everyone who participated in<br />
our democratic process.<br />
Some countries don’t have the<br />
right for citizens to vote and we<br />
really should appreciate it more<br />
than many do.<br />
We should make it as easy as<br />
possible for people to vote and<br />
I do hope that the technology<br />
develops soon so that people<br />
will have confidence in online<br />
voting.<br />
The advance voting was<br />
certainly popular this year and<br />
is a step in the right direction of<br />
making voting more accessible.<br />
There are many issues that<br />
need support and attention in<br />
our electorate and I give you my<br />
commitment that I will continue<br />
to work hard for you, listen to<br />
what locals are saying and get<br />
things done for the benefit of our<br />
communities.<br />
We can face our challenges<br />
together and get through difficult<br />
times as we have shown in<br />
the past. But we’re not there yet.<br />
There is still much to do before<br />
we can truly say that we are on<br />
the road to recovery.<br />
But we know we can do it<br />
together.<br />
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