North Canterbury News: November 16, 2023

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2 The NEWS North Canterbury News, November 16, 2023 The dedicated, local team are here to help Managing Editor Robyn Bristow 027 312 1581 robyn.bristow@ncnews.co.nz Sales Manager DaynaBurton 027 312 0089 dayna.burton@ncnews.co.nz Reporters ShelleyTopp 027 404 6137 John Cosgrove 021 195 0284 Advertising Amanda Keys 027 536 6224 amanda.keys@ncnews.co.nz Jillian Dickie 022 024 3092 jillian.dickie@ncnews.co.nz Get in touch Phone:03313 2840 or 03 3148335 14 Ashley Street, Rangiora www.starnews.co.nz Editorial: info@ncnews.co.nz Advertising: sales@ncnews.co.nz Distribution:deliveries@alliedpress.co.nz WE NEED YOU! Deliverersrequired forthe North Canterbury News To South Island Distribution Manager P: 029 983 2293 E: mark.kelly@mainlanddistribution.co.nz Wellbeingonwheels ... TogetherHurunui facilitator Natalie Paterson (back, left), Hurunui District Mayor Marie Black (left), Ruth Edwards, Clinical Coordinator for Operations,North Canterbury Veterinary Clinics (third from right), and the vets from North Canterbury Veterinary Clinics. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Wellbeing delivered on farm While take out deliveriesmay not reach the farm, remote households in Hurunui now haveaccess to an innovative wellbeing delivery service that provides mentalhealth support to their doorsteps. Rural isolation brings many challenges. For Hurunui District Council’s Together Hurunui facilitator Natalie Paterson, connecting farmers to wellbeing support services has been one of the biggest. From this month, Slice of Wellbeing pizzastyle boxes,designed and packed by Together Hurunui, are being delivered on farm acrossHurunui by vets from all four North Canterbury VeterinaryClinics in Amberley, Cheviot, Culverden and Waikari. Instead of pepperoni and extra cheese, the packs contain amenu of mentalhealth support services, local wellbeing resources,Farmstrongs new LiveWell, Farm Well book of shared stories from farmers on what they do to keep well, and reminders to take abreak with amate. Ms Paterson acknowledgedthe Department of Internal Affairs for helping to fund the project. ‘‘It was about supporting those services that are already doing a fantastic job in our rural communities, such as Rural Support Trustand Farmstrong. ‘‘There’s areal need out there. ‘‘A local medical centre told us they were noticing increases in mentalhealth appointmentsduringthe milkprice drop, and they were hearingfrom young farmers battling financial pressures. ‘We knew there were many more farmers out there who weren’t coming in,’’ she says. Ms Paterson decided the answer was to take wellbeing to the farm, using the one person farmers see in good times and bad —their local vet. She approachedCulverden North Canterbury Veterinary Clinic with the idea of stockingthe practices utes with the packs to pass on to farmers when the team wentout rurally. North Canterbury Vets went astep further and distributedthe packs across all four clinics, as well as their sales team and Wellbeing Committee. Director and veterinarian Alistair Kenyon says as arural practice with strong roots in the community, North Canterbury Vet Clinics welcomed the opportunity to partner with Together Hurunui. ‘‘Slice of Wellbeing fits in well with our values and the duty of care we have within our farming and rural communities.’’ Hurunui Mayor Marie Black farms in the Hurunui with her husband and, as a former Plunket health worker, has an insight into the challengesand opportunitiesofliving rurally. ‘‘Any way that we can help to support our farmers with their wellbeing gets my endorsement. Rural communities like Hurunui are underresourced when it comes to mentalhealth services. ‘‘These packs are going out on farm to where they are needed as areal communityled, Hurunui solution’’. Farmstrong Delivery Specialist Krissy Cloutmanwelcomedthe creative way of taking wellbeing information to the farm. ‘‘Supporting farmers’ and growers’ wellbeing is ateam effort and Farmstrong was really pleased to jump on board to support council’s Slice of Wellbeing initiative. ‘‘The pizza box packaging is afun way to get the Farmstrong Live Well, Farm Well book and other wellbeing resources into the hands of those who need them right now. ‘‘It’s been an incredibly tough year for farmers and growers. Ensuring they are prioritising their wellbeing is really important. ‘‘Over 14,000 people reported in 2023 they credit improvements in their wellbeing to Farmstrong’s help and advice. Farmstrong takes apractical approach, showing people simple daily wellbeing habits and ways of thinking that farmers and growers say help them deal with life’s ups and downs.’’ Noel McGirr, chair of North Canterbury Rural Support Trust and a former rural vet himself, says getting the word out to farmers there are support networks who cater for their needs in harder times was very pertinent in the present challenging rural situation. ‘‘I applaud Together Hurunui and Natalie for this worthy initiative. Rural Support is here with confidential, independent, and free assistance to any farmer finding matters abit hard going at the moment.’’ Ms Paterson says 35 Slice of Wellbeing boxes are packed and loaded into the utes ready to go out. For aMeatlovers’ or Ultimate Vege delivery, however, you still have to leave the farm. Cycleways on hold in Waimak ByDAVID HILL, Local Democracy Reporter Three Waimakariricycle way projects are in limbo following the change in Government. Cycle ways in Rangiora, Kaiapoi and Woodend were included in the Government’s TransportChoices funding announced in December last year, with Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency set to fund 70 percent of the $5.8 million budget. The projects were to be funded through the Climate Emergency Response Fund. It is now on hold until the new Government is formed and Waka Kotahi receives a direction on transportpriorities. The WaimakaririDistrict Council has already approved detailed design for the Kaiapoi to Woodend and Woodend to Pegasus cycle ways, while detailed design was approved last week for athird cycle way in Southbrook, Rangiora. Developing the Rangioracycle way has had some challenges, with the council preferring aroute heading up Railway Road, along Torlesse and Coronation Streets, up Ellis Road and Country Lane, and on to South Belt. PAK’nSave and Foodstuffs South Island Ltd have raised concerns about the lack of visibility for truck drivers entering and exiting the supermarket on Railway Road. ‘‘There has been some discussions around the location of the cycle way behind PAK’nSave, but the council felt it was asafer option for the cycle path than Southbrook Road, where there are 26,000 vehicles passing each day,’’ Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon said. He said council staff would continue to consult with PAK’nSave, KiwiRail and other businesses as the project developed. Mr Gordon said if the funding was not made available in the next three months, the council would reconsider the cycle ways as part of next year’s 2024/34 Long Term Plan process. The proposed cycle ways came of the council’s walking and cycling network plan developed last year. ‘‘We are seeing growth in alternative modes of transportand people are coming out here to experience walking and cycling in our district, which is something we are keen to encourage. ‘‘Since the NorthernCorridor opened with the cycle way alongside it, we have seen alot more people cycling out to our district.’’ Public interest journalism funded through New Zealand on Air.
NEWS North Canterbury News, November 16, 2023 NCbusinesses feel confident By ROBYN BRISTOW North Canterbury businesses are feeling significantly more positive about the future than they were six months ago. That is the finding from the latest North Canterbury Business Opinion Survey released by Enterprise North Canterbury (ENC) last week. The survey, whichinvolved 58 businessowners from the Waimakariri and Hurunui districts and was conducted prior to the 2023 General Election, shows that business confidence is sitting at net +six percent, amarked increase from the net 52% reported in April last year. ENC Survey coordinator Miles Dalton says speaking to local businesses, there are two standout reasons for the increased confidence. ‘‘At the time of the survey, businesses were feeling that the election would bring in amore businessfriendly Government. ‘‘They were also feeling that we are approaching the end of the economic downturn and there is light at the end of the tunnel.’’ The local results are in stark contrast to the country as awhole, with arecent New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) survey showing national business confidence sitting at net 53%. Mr Dalton says despite the positive figures in the local survey, North Canterbury businesses are remaining cautious. ‘‘Local businesses are still doing it tough right now, with squeezed margins the most obvious sign of this. ‘‘Profitability remains tight in North 3 Canterbury, too, but businesses are confident of better profitability over the next six months.’’ The survey has also highlighted some growth, with net +13% of employers reporting increased staffing levels. Additionally, net +20% of employers report that it is now easier to find unskilled staff. However, finding skilled staff remains difficult. ‘‘As always, the survey is something of amixed bag, but the overall feeling from local businesses is one of positivity for the coming months.’’ The North Canterbury Business Opinion Survey is conducted by ENC every six months. The full October 2023 survey results can be viewed at enterprisenorthcanterbury.co.nz/ invest/surveysandreports. Valued plunket nurse retires By JOHN COSGROVE Plunket nurse Robyn Aitken says it’s not uncommon for young mothers to pull out their own Plunket Books displaying her signature on the pages, when she visits mums and babes. Ms Aitken is retiring after 37 years of dedicated service to Plunket New Zealand, all of it in the North Canterburyarea. She is proud to have made a positive difference in people's lives. ‘‘Being anew mum is not an easy job, for parents now life has become so much more complicated. ‘‘With Plunket, we can sit down with the mum or the whänau, and even if it’s just one small piece of information or advice that makes their journey easier, then it is awin for everyone.’’ Ms Aitken was born in a small village in New South Wales, Australia. Her family immigrated to Mid Canterbury and worked on dairy farms, before settling in Christchurch. She qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1976, working at Christchurch and Princess Margaret Hospitals specalising in acute medicine and paediatrics. She says the decision to become aPlunket Nurse came Looking ahead ... Retiring Plunket nurse Robyn Aitken is looking forward to more quality time with her grandchildren, including Lucas Aitken, aged 5. PHOTO: JOHN COSGROVE about when, as asingle mum bringing up three kids on her own at Waikari, she decided to retrain when her youngest child had started school. ‘‘I wanted to do something in my community.’’ In 1989, she spent four months in Wellington, learning all about child and family health. She says it was abig change for her, moving away from hospital work, but she wanted to work regular hours to be there for her children. ‘‘I have had so many wonderful opportunities for advancement in the Plunket service. ‘‘From leadership to professional development, training other nurses and later working in maternal and infant mental health.’’ She says over the years, the service has became more culturally aware and embraced diversity and equality. ‘‘I have loved working alongside young families in North Canterbury and I am now seeing my babies, babies,’’ she says. ‘‘It’s been aprivilege to be part of Plunket. Ibelieve we offer agood service that’s needed by young mothers.’’ Ms Aitken can recall many unpublishable stories about the funny situations the team she worked with, faced every day out in the community. One of those team members was Hurunui Mayor Marie Black. Mrs Black says Ms Aitken was her mentor when she started as ahealth care worker. ‘‘We’ve had so many fun adventures. Iloved working alongside her as we met the needs of the community as a team.’’ Ms Aitken says child care has been her passion, but now she needs to slow down. ‘‘I want to be more relaxed, and with my girlfriend go out and explore New Zealand.’’ She also wants to be there for her own grandchildren. IS YOUR LOG FIRE COMPLIANT? Come in and talk to us about replacing your non-compliant fire with aclean burning, ultra low emission model (ULEB) We stock most major brands Metro Ultra Wee Rad Fire and Flue Combo Only$2725 (does not include installation) We specialiseinarrangingfullinstallation, including council consent. Call us for afree, no-obligation quote 360 FlaxtonRoad,Rangiora Ph 03 313 5563 www.kingsmowersheating.co.nz TheWidest MusicVariety Tune in nowtolisten on 104.9 forNorth Canterbury 103.7 forHanmerSprings andKaikoura 2618331 Caring for North Canterbury Dr John Dehn Full Mole Checks using Dermoscopy Surgical Management and Aftercare Rangiora December 6, 13, 27 Comprehensive, Affordable, Convenient Ph 03 9204060 52 Pegasus MainStreet,Pegasus 7612 www.pegasusmedicalcentre.co.nz Southern Cross Affiliated Provider 2629077 For selected services 1890742 2624373
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