North Canterbury News: March 14, 2024

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NEWS 18 North Canterbury News, March 14, 2024 Supportingmums and babies in Hurunui ByDAVID HILL, Local Democracy Reporter Supporting mums and babies in the Hurunui district is the realisation of a dream for aKaikōura social services provider. Te Tai oMarokura is now offering its Kahu Taurima (first 2000 days care) service to mothers, newborns and whānau in Hanmer Springs,Waiau, Rotherham, Culverden and Cheviot, and in Ward, south Marlborough. ‘‘It was the dream of our founder Miriama Kahu and it has always been a dream to offer the services to the entire takiwā (territory),’’ kaiāwhinaLisaKahu says. Te Tai oMarokura was founded 46 TheWidest MusicVariety Tune in nowtolisten on 104.9 forNorth Canterbury 103.7 forHanmerSprings andKaikoura Why Struggle?! Riser/Recliner Chairs •Large side pockets •Illuminatedhand controller •2Year Warranty Great Selection in Stock! Go from fully reclined to standing with •Multiple fabrics availableincertain models • Fully adjustable positioning just a push of a button! 113 Blenheim Rd, Christchurch |0800-666-222 www.moremobility.co.nz christchurch@moremobility.co.nz Open 9-5pm MondaytoFriday &Saturday9am-2pm years ago by Miriama Kahu with avision of supporting the health needs of all peopleliving within the Kaikōura takiwā . The agency offers arange of health and social services in Kaikōura and beyond through akaupapa Māori lens. It has been offering the Kahu Taurima service in Kaikōura for 24 years, supporting ‘‘māmā and pēpi’’ and whānau from pregnancy and for the first 2000 days. Funding was secured in October to operate as aWell Child Tamariki Ora provider in the northern part of the Hurunui district and in south Marlborough. Since then the Kahu Taurima team has grown from two to six staff and is advertising for nurses to meet agrowing demand. ‘‘It has been steadily growing since October and now we are getting referrals every week,’’ Mrs Kahu says. ‘‘We are really excited about how it has taken off and how it has been received in the pockets out in Cheviot, Waiau, Rotherham, Culverdenand Hanmer MASTER BUILDER LocaltoNorth Canterbury. CALLARTHUR027 2451601 arthur@robertsonbuilding.co.nz www.robertsonbuilding.co.nz BARNS/FARM BULDINGS•RIB RAFT FLOOR SYSTEM INSTALLATION PROJECTMANAGEMENT•ADDITIONS•NEW HOMES HOME MAINTENANCE•EQCREPAIRS•ALTERATIONS FREE QUOTES From just $1690 Blehheim Road More Mobility Splash N Dash Clarence Street 2021055 Supporting mums and bubs ... Te Tai oMarokura’s Kahu Taurima(first 2000 days care) team of Whānau Ora kaimahi (worker) Donna Solomon (left),Tamariki Ora nurse Helen Tindall, and kaiāwhina Lisa Kahu, Jamie Posa and Lani Prentice is now supporting mums and babies in the Hurunui district and south Marlborough. Missing is kaiāwhina Hurunui Sarah Cotton. PHOTO: SUPPLIED BY TE TAI OMAROKURA Springs. ‘‘Ithas been so heartening and for many of themwho have lived in the area for along time and have older children, this is the first time they have had a choice.’’ She said the agency did not see itself as competing against other service providers such as Plunket, but it was about offering whānau achoice. Hurunui Mayor Marie Black, aformer Plunket nurse, said she is impressed with the new service. ‘‘Every time Ihear of how the service is going, it feels likeitisreally driven by their heart for the job and aheart for the people and when you’ve got that everything else will fall into place. Te TaioMarokura’smain office is maraebased at Takahanga Marae, while clinical and support services are delivered from ahouse environment in Westend, Kaikōura. The agency is looking for ahouse in the Hurunui district as abase to support the growing service, Mrs Kahu says. Having a house environment ‘‘creates a comfortable atmosphere and it is a relaxing environment to have education sessions, clinics and drop ins’’. Te Tai o Marokura has had Whānau Ora navigators in the Hurunui district for five years, which supported the Covid response in localschools. The agency also offers mental health, and drug and alcohol services, and supports cancer screening services for women within the Kaikōura takiwā. LDR is local body journalism cofunded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Stadium request By DAVID HILL, Local Democracy Reporter Waimakariri’s council boss is not amused with abelated request to contribute to the runningcosts of Christchurch’s new stadium. Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger has formally written to his Waimakariri and Selwyn counterparts and to Environment Canterbury chairperson Peter Scott asking the three councils to ask if they would be willingtocontribute to the operating costs of Te Kaha, Christchurch Stadium. Waimakariri District Council chief executive Jeff Millward said the council would considerthe matter in the coming weeks. But any contribution would be subject to full consultation with ratepayers. ‘‘It has missed our consultation for the Long Term Plan,’’ Mr Millward said. ‘‘From the designs,itlooks like a fantastic facility, but we were never consultedand we haven’t been included in coming up with the design features.’’ There had been no consultation with neighbouring councils even though the councils actively participated in the Greater Christchurch Partnership and the Canterbury Mayoral Forum. The council’s draft 2024/34 Long Term Plan has already been adopted and is due to be released for consultation on Friday, March 15. No funding has been set aside for Te Kaha and it would need to be considered as part of the 2025/26 annual plan consultation process, Mr Millward said. It was unclear whether ratepayers would be asked for afixed charge, or whether it would be based on distance or on capital value. ‘‘We can’t go out to the community until we understand what that looks like,’’ Mr Millward said. He acknowledged Waimakariri ratepayers contributed to the Canterbury Museum, but that was subject to Government legislation, so any stadium contribution would likely be voluntary. In the letter, Mr Mauger acknowledged the Christchurch City Council had decided to build the stadium and would fund its construction. But he stressed the stadium would provide benefits to the wider region. A2019 report suggested Te Kaha’s operating costs were likely to exceed its income by $4.2 million ayear, which would cost Christchurch ratepayers an average of $144 ayear without outside support. But Mr Millward said Waimakariri ratepayers already paid an average of $100 ayear more in rates than Christchurch ratepayers. He said the Waimakariri District Council had completed its rebuild after the earthquakes and was still paying off its earthquake loan. Waimakariri has amuch smaller ratepayer base than Christchurch and has regional facilities of its own, including MainPower Stadium and MainPower Oval. ‘‘We also need to consider what our rates are in relation to Christchurch’s rates and we would need to put all of these things to our ratepayers to consider,’’ Mr Millward said. LDR is local body journalism cofunded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
TAXATION The North Canterbury News, March 14, 2024 Donations —the gift that keeps giving By STEPHEN MCFARLANE The dollar that keeps giving. It’s a great concept. We should focus first on our own financial situation —that we can feed and house ourselves. But we might then consider how to supportothersinthe community, perhaps through donations while we are alive, or abequest in our will. Community foundations are an option. Locally, that’s the Aoraki Foundation. Apoint of difference for community foundations is the ability to donate to them and the funds will stay local. My donation might be to one of its established funds, such as health, Age Concern or the general impact fund. If Ichoose to donate alarger sum, I can create my own endowment fund, perhaps to benefit disadvantaged children to play sports, provide maintenance dollars to community facilities, or benefit my favourite charities. My donation is invested. Income is distributed, but the capital is maintained, thus allowing ongoing distributions. My gift will still be distributing in 100 years. Indeed, there will be a point in time where the funds distributed will match, and then exceed, the original donation. That feels very impactful. The foundation model also works well for existing nonprofits with funds on hand, but not the investment expertise to manage them. By creating afund within acommunity foundation, they can continue to have input into distributions, while delegating the investment and administration. As such these funds are called donor advised; in that they are acollaboration. Additional funds can be donated by the community, to grow the fund further. The good news is that the New Zealand tax system supports and encourages donations by providing a tax credit of 33.33% of the amount donated, if it’s to an approved organisation (noting you can only claim up to the amount of your taxable income during the tax year). The IRD maintains alist of which organisations qualify. The Aoraki Foundation, as an example, is on that list. Donating $100 qualifies for a$33.33 tax credit, meaning my donation has only cost me $66.67. Ican maximise the outcome by then donating my $33.33 credit as well. I claim anew credit and so on. How do you claim your credit? The IRD has the details on its website and tries to make it as easy as possible. If you have amyIR account then you submit your receipts and the IRD will do the rest. For those who haven’t yet caught up on the technology, the IRD still has form IR526, which you attach your receipts to and mail to them. Online providers such as Supergenerous are another option. They will complete the process for you, including the ability to regift 19 your tax credit. Ican make direct donations, but the New Zealand tax system also supports payroll giving —donations directly from our pay. For every dollar donated, the 33.33 cent tax credit reduces the amount of PAYE paid. Supergenerous suggests there is $1 billion dollars of donations waiting to be claimed. Even if the real number is a fraction of that, the potential for tax credits to be claimed and regifted to community organisations is significant. If you have missed filing claims for donations, the IRD allows you to go back up to four years. You have to wait until the end of atax year (March 31) to claim your tax credit for the prior 12 months. If you have any current donations in mind, making them before March 31, 2024 is agood idea. Stephen McFarlane can be found at Timaru financial planning firm Central Wealth Ltd. The opinions expressed are his own. (From Allied Press files.) Beware of sophisticated scams Scams are becoming more sophisticated these days. At first glance scam emails, text messages, social media pages and phone calls may appear legitimate. But don’t be fooled. There has been an increase in emails and text messages from scammers pretending to be Inland Revenue. Be on the lookout. Even if it looks convincing, don'tclick on links or give out your bank details. Remember IRD does not put refund amounts, or links directly to myIR in its emails or texts. Scam emails may come from an email address or include links that are wrong, but look like IRD’s, For example: ird.co.nz, ird.qovt.nz or ird.gov.nz. The correct web address is ird.govt.nz and emails will come from alerts@ironline. ird.govt.nz or communications@myir. ird.govt.nz. To check alink, use your mouse to hover over it. The address will appear in abox or at the bottom of your screen. Make sure the link is correct before clicking on it. For more information about the latest scams and what to look out for, visit ird. govt.nz/managingmytax/scams/latestscams. Beware of scammers ... Be on the look out and don’t click links or give out bank details. PHOTO: FILE. GETTY IMAGES GST-sharingpossible Councils have welcomed the Infrastructure Ministers comments the Government is considering sharing GST with councils. The comments come following extensive advocacy by Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) to ensure councils have arange of funding levers to meet the growing needs of communities. Councils' share of overall tax revenue has remained at 2percent of GDP for the last 50 years, despite ‘‘everincreasing responsibilities’’, says LGNZs President Sam Broughton. ‘‘That is not sustainable.’’ ‘‘Councils acknowledge the need for more housing in New Zealand, and we play an important role in delivering the critical infrastructure that supports those new homes,’’ he says. ‘‘Currently housing growth just adds cost to councils. ‘‘New tools like GST sharing on new builds would incentivise councils to provide much needed housing capacity.’’ Mr Broughton says continuing to rely so heavily on household and business rates is not asustainable Sam Broughton funding approach for local government. ‘‘LGNZ will continue to work with the Government on atoolbox approach to addressing funding and financing challenges. ‘‘Sharing of GST on new builds acknowledges the key role local government plays to deliver the infrastructure needed as our regions grow, and will be an important piece of the funding puzzle.’’ LGNZ looked forward to progressing the conversation with the Government. 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