North Canterbury News: February 08, 2024

6 North
OPINION
Canterbury News, February 8, 2024
Inthe Electoratewith
Matt Doocey
MPfor Waimakariri
Authorised by Matt Doocey MP, Parliament Buildings, Wellington.
Camera welcome
It is hard to believe we are already into
February, but it’s definitely nicetosee
the children back at school with their
friendsand settling back into their
weekly routines.
Like most parents Ihave loved
spending time with my kids over the
summer, but there comes atime when
the whole family is ready for them to get
back to the classroom with their peers.
Well done to all those fellow parents
who have juggled school holidays and
work commitments again over the
summer,and of course the best of luck to
school staff and teachers for the new
school year ahead.
It was great to start the yearwith the
news that the first CCTV camera has
been installed in the electorate
following my public campaign for
community­led CCTV last year.
This has been areal community effort
so well done to Kaiapoi resident Wendy
Tait for starting this projectand
overseeing the fundraising.
Wendy approached me for help after
her motorhome was stolen from outside
her house in Sovereign Palms, wanting
to do something positive following the
theft.
This is avery good start to the
campaign Iled last year to roll out
community­led CCTV across the
Waimakariri electorate, and Ilook
forward to seeingmore cameras
installed to improve security and help
preventcrime around the region.
With Parliament resuming last month
Icontinue to advocate strongly for
Waimakariri constituents while I am in
Wellington.
Iremain committed to representing
yourviews and am thankful to all of you
who have taken the time to call and
email with your concernsand opinions
do keep it up!
Of course, Ialsoremain privileged to
havebeen given some significant
Ministerial portfolios in Mental Health,
ACC, Tourismand Hospitality, and
Youth, along with associate roles in
Health and Transport.
It is an honour to have this opportunity
and Iintend to work hard both in
Wellington and Waimakariri for my
fourth term.
Over the weekend Iwas pleased to
attend the launch of Oxford resident
Wendy Gerritsens Ride 4Awareness.
Wendy came to see me last year to
highlight her struggles with getting an
accurate diagnosis of ovarian cancer,
and she has become astaunch advocate
for other women in her position.
Wendy has organisedthe ride through
the month of February, which is ovarian
cancer awarenessmonth, with the
intention of raisingawareness of the
illness, the symptoms and treatment,
through talkingtoasmanypeople as she
can along the way.
It was areal pleasure to bring in my
colleague, Christchurch MP Hamish
Campbell, to show support for Wendy as
she embarked on her mission. Well done
Wendy for having the tenacity to
organise suchalarge­scale eventand for
her bravery in going public with her own
cancer journey for the sake of helping
others. Iwish her all the very best for the
ride and look forward to hearing about it
on her return.
Focus on
Waimakariri
with Mayor Dan Gordon
Response heartening
As most of you know parts of our
District were devastatedbyfires
recently.
In particularthe people of Loburn,
some of whom lost their homes or
suffered significant damage to
property.
My heart goes out to these people,
many of whom Imet with on the day
and following the fire.
Recovering from something this
tragic will take time, support, and
resources.
Since the event, community
members have been rallying together
and there’s areal desire to pitch in
and help.
We have opened the Mayoral Relief
Fund to raisefunds for people
affected by the fires.
It has been wonderful to see
donations coming in fromcaring
people all over the district.
Donations can be made via internet
bankingtoaccount
01­0877­0129222­00. Please include
the words Loburn Fire in your
reference details.
Iwould like to thank the hundreds
of staffand volunteerfirefighters as
well as the helicopterpilots who
battled the blazes in Loburn and
Swannanoa.
Ihope this is the only significant
fire our brigadeshave to fight this
summer.
Thesefires are astrong reminder
that every household in arural area
should have an evacuation plan in
case of wildfire because in the
current conditions.
Fires move quickly and are very
challenging to put out.
Here is an excellent resource from
Fire and Emergency New Zealand to
help you start getting ready for a
wildfire —fireandemergency.nz/ ...
/when­wildfire­threatens/.
At council things are already in full
swing as we get ready to share with
residents the Long Term Plan.
Council met last week to discuss the
proposals and priorities before the
plan is finalised and goes out to you
all for feedback.
Consultation opens March 15, and
closes April 15.
While rate increases are inevitable
this year, our draft plan focuses only
on the essential projects and the
council aimed to keep increases as
low as possible.
All sectors in New Zealand have
been impacted by inflation and cost
increases, and councils are no
exception.
Iwill write more about the draft
Long Term Plan in my next column.
On Tuesday we celebrated Waitangi
Day.
Speaking at the Family event in
Kaiapoi, Iacknowledged that
Waitangi Day is aday of reflection
and acknowledgement of the huge
sacrifices made by many to bring us to
the point we are today.
So much has been achieved but so
much mahi is still yet to be done.
HurunuiDistrict wins Engagement Award
Positive community feedback has won
Hurunui District Council the Snap Send
Solve NZ Community Engagement Award
for the second consecutive year, and
third place in the Top 10 Councils Award.
The New Zealand Community
Engagement Award is presented to the
councilthat has the highestpercentage of
Snappers relative to their population,
with the highest speed tosolve rating.
Hurunui District Council achieved a
Snapper population percentage of 4
percent with an average star rating of
3.81 for speed to solve across 2023.
All councils across AotearoaNew
Zealand were considered.
As well as the Community Engagement
Award, HurunuiCouncil achieved third
place in the Top 10 Councils Award in
New Zealand, based on ratings from
users of the community app when they
provide an update on their experiences
in how their Snap was resolved.
These include overall experience with
the council, communication from
council, their satisfaction with the solve
and the speed of the solve.
The award is presented to the councils
that have the highest overall star rating
across New Zealand councils (minimum
365 reports), says Danny Gorog, Founder
and CEO of Snap Send Solve.
HurunuiDistrict Council CEO Hamish
Dobbie says the Snap Send Solve app
supports continual improvement of
levels of service as the council strives to
meet community needs.
‘‘It’s agreat endorsement of the work of
council officers in responding in atimely
manner to queries and working alongside
our communities to ensure the
community's assets are looked after, and
our infrastructure is resilient.
‘‘Whether it’s adamaged culvert,
graffiti on acommunity hall, aleaking
pipe or dumped rubbish, the community
are our eyes and ears,’’ Mr Dobbie says.
Mayor Marie Black says the district’s
communities have rated the council, and
it was fabulous to get this feedback from
them.
‘‘I am grateful to everyone who took the
time to report an issue, and responded to
give an update on their experience.
‘‘This is agreat tool so Iurge more
people to utilise it.’’
This
Week
Sun
Fishing
Guide
Moon
Wind
Swell
Pegasus Bay
Tide Chart
3
2
RANGIORA OCEANWATCH
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Feb 8 Feb 9 Feb 10 Feb 11 Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 14
Rise 6:39am
Rise 6:40am
Rise 6:41am
Rise 6:43am
Rise 6:44am
Rise 6:46am
Rise 6:47am
Set 8:47pm
Set 8:45pm
Set 8:44pm
Set 8:43pm
Set 8:41pm
Set 8:40pm
Set 8:38pm
Fair
Best 11:51am
Best 12:23am
Best 1:23am
Best 2:21am
Best 3:15am
Best 4:06am
Best 4:56am
Times
Good
Good
Times 12:53pm
Times 1:53pm
Ok
Times 2:48pm
Ok
Times 3:40pm
Ok
Times 4:31pm
Ok
Times 5:20pm
Rise 3:34am
Rise 4:53am
Rise 6:17am
Rise 7:42am
Rise 9:04am
Rise10:24am
Rise11:42am
Set 8:00pm
Set 8:40pm
Set 9:12pm
Set 9:39pm
Set10:03pm
Set10:25pm
Set10:48pm
Moderate Sturning Gentle Sbecoming Gentle Sbecoming Moderate Sturning Gentle Sbecoming
Gentle E Gentle SW becoming
SE
moderate E
moderate SE
SE
fresh E
strengthening
moderate SE
E0.8 mturning
SE 0.9 m SE1.1 m E1.3 m E 1.1 m E0.8 m E 0.7 m
S
3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9
1
0
Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows
Waimakariri 3:45am 2.4 10:02am 0.6 4:38am 2.5 10:55am 0.5 5:31am 2.6 11:48am 0.4 6:24am 2.6 12:09am 0.4 7:18am 2.6 1:03am 0.3 8:13am 2.6 1:57am 0.3 9:09am 2.6 2:52am 0.3
Mouth
4:04pm 2.3 10:17pm 0.5 4:57pm 2.4 11:13pm 0.4 5:52pm 2.4
6:48pm 2.5 12:41pm 0.4 7:44pm 2.5 1:34pm 0.3 8:41pm 2.6 2:28pm 0.3 9:38pm 2.5 3:23pm 0.4
Amberley 3:45am 2.4 10:02am 0.6 4:38am 2.5 10:55am 0.5 5:31am 2.6 11:48am 0.4 6:24am 2.6 12:09am 0.4 7:18am 2.6 1:03am 0.3 8:13am 2.6 1:57am 0.3 9:09am 2.6 2:52am 0.3
Beach
4:04pm 2.3 10:17pm 0.5 4:57pm 2.4 11:13pm 0.4 5:52pm 2.4
6:48pm 2.5 12:41pm 0.4 7:44pm 2.5 1:34pm 0.3 8:41pm 2.6 2:28pm 0.3 9:38pm 2.5 3:23pm 0.4
3:54am 2.4 10:11am 0.6 4:47am 2.5 11:04am 0.5 5:40am 2.6 11:57am 0.4 6:33am 2.6 12:18am 0.4 7:27am 2.6 1:12am 0.3 8:22am 2.6 2:06am 0.3 9:18am 2.6 3:01am 0.3
Motunau 4:13pm 2.3 10:26pm 0.5 5:06pm 2.4 11:22pm 0.4 6:01pm 2.4
6:57pm 2.5 12:50pm 0.4 7:53pm 2.5 1:43pm 0.3 8:50pm 2.6 2:37pm 0.3 9:47pm 2.5 3:32pm 0.4
3:56am 2.4 10:13am 0.6 4:49am 2.5 11:06am 0.5 5:42am 2.6 11:59am 0.4 6:35am 2.6 12:20am 0.4 7:29am 2.6 1:14am 0.3 8:24am 2.6 2:08am 0.3 9:20am 2.6 3:03am 0.3
Gore Bay 4:15pm 2.3 10:28pm 0.5 5:08pm 2.4 11:24pm 0.4 6:03pm 2.4
6:59pm 2.5 12:52pm 0.4 7:55pm 2.5 1:45pm 0.3 8:52pm 2.6 2:39pm 0.3 9:49pm 2.5 3:34pm 0.4
3:47am 1.7 10:06am 0.3 4:40am 1.7 10:58am 0.2 5:33am 1.8 11:51am 0.2 6:28am 1.8 12:06am 0.1 7:23am 1.8 1:03am 0.1 8:20am 1.8 2:00am 0.1 9:18am 1.8 2:58am 0.1
Kaikoura 4:07pm 1.5 10:15pm 0.2 5:01pm 1.6 11:10pm 0.2 5:56pm 1.6
6:52pm 1.7 12:45pm 0.1 7:49pm 1.7 1:41pm 0.1 8:46pm 1.7 2:37pm 0.1 9:43pm 1.7 3:34pm 0.1
*Not for navigational purposes. Wind and swell are based on apoint off Gore Bay. Maori Fishing Guide by Bill Hohepa. www.ofu.co.nz www.tidespy.com Graphic supplied by OceanFun Publishing Ltd.
RANGIORA