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From local democracy reporter David Hill:
How to fund rural roads and make them resilient is an ongoing challenge for the Hurunui District Council.
The council maintains one of the largest roading networks per capita in the country with 1460km of local roads, excluding State Highways 1 and … View moreFrom local democracy reporter David Hill:
How to fund rural roads and make them resilient is an ongoing challenge for the Hurunui District Council.
The council maintains one of the largest roading networks per capita in the country with 1460km of local roads, excluding State Highways 1 and 7, with a relatively small ratepayer base.
The population is about 13,000, meaning there was about 112 metres of road per person.
Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said the roads were designed for an earlier time and were not equipped to cope with today’s heavier vehicles and more frequent rain events.
Roading was funded 52 percent from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s One Network Fund (ONF), but when there was a funding shortfall ratepayers were left to pick up the full cost.
The funding was largely for maintenance, though the council could apply for emergency funding after severe weather events.
‘‘Hurunui roads have been rated lowly in the ONF and historically we have had low maintenance costs due to being a dry weather district,’ Dobbie said.
‘‘But with more frequent weather events, our resilience is being impacted. Our network is not designed for those events, so it needs capital works rather than maintenance.’’
Mayor Marie Black said larger vehicles, such as stock trucks and milk tankers, provided economic value to the country, but the council did not always get the funding support it needed.
‘‘We are stuck in the bind of not being able to meet the needs and expectations of our community.’’
While the push was to low emission vehicles, Dobbie said those options did not work as well in rural areas due to the distance, the nature of the rural sector and vehicle design.
‘‘Small vehicles are designed for urban roads, so rural communities are pushed more to SUVs and four-wheel drives.’’
Incentives for moving to electric vehicles were introduced under the previous National government and Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey said it was time to rethink how roading was funded.
‘‘As we move to Net Zero (emissions) by 2050, we’ve got to make sure we maintain our roading network.
‘‘The whole thing needs to be looked at, including the settings around small councils with a low ratepayer base and high kilometres to fund.’’
A spokesperson for Transport Minister Michael Wood said the government had increased investment in low emission transport choices, including walking and cycling, public transport and electric vehicles, as well as infrastructure.
A total of $1.2 billion was forecast to be invested in Canterbury in the 2021–24 National Land Transport Programme.
A Waka Kotahi spokesperson said the agency was developing a Climate Change Adaptation Plan in the wake of climate change and increased severe weather events.
It hoped to release the plan by the end of the year, before developing a separate implementation plan.
■ Public interest journalism funded through New Zealand on Air.
Meeting an ever-increasing need in our communities, Christmas Box provides more than just food in a time of need, it also brings a reminder that there is a community of people who care.
We believe by alleviating some of the pressure that families feel at Christmas time through our food parcels, … View moreMeeting an ever-increasing need in our communities, Christmas Box provides more than just food in a time of need, it also brings a reminder that there is a community of people who care.
We believe by alleviating some of the pressure that families feel at Christmas time through our food parcels, it will create a lasting impact that goes beyond a treat at Christmas.
For only $40 you can donate a Christmas Box to a family in need, providing not just practical help, but much deserved hope too.
Our national women’s rugby team took out the Rugby World Cup on Saturday in a tense finale at Eden Park. The Black Ferns won the match by just three points taking home their sixth world title.
With public celebrations taking place following the All Blacks (men's) Rugby World Cup wins … View moreOur national women’s rugby team took out the Rugby World Cup on Saturday in a tense finale at Eden Park. The Black Ferns won the match by just three points taking home their sixth world title.
With public celebrations taking place following the All Blacks (men's) Rugby World Cup wins (2011 & 2015) as well as parades for the America's cup team, do you think similar celebration plans are needed for our winning Black Ferns women?
Hey does anyone out there have any ideas on how to contact IRD. I have called their 0800 number and i just get a message saying they are too busy and to call back later or go online. Then it just hangs up on me, there’s no option to leave a message and no option to remain on hold.
I have been… View moreHey does anyone out there have any ideas on how to contact IRD. I have called their 0800 number and i just get a message saying they are too busy and to call back later or go online. Then it just hangs up on me, there’s no option to leave a message and no option to remain on hold.
I have been online and requested they call me via myIRD as I need some assistance in filling out a return and correcting some gst returns someone else did for me and did wrong. However, 5 months after asking them to phone me and making it clear I could not do the return without someone calling me, still no one has called.
Now i cant even log in to ask them to call me, again. After I log in with ‘realme’ it asks me for a second secure authentication. I have no idea what the username/password for that is supposed to be as I have never set anything up for that and never been asked for it before. My existing realme login does not work for this, and there are no links on the page so that I can set one up (normally on a login oage you have links saying stuff like “forgot your password” or “reset your username/password”. There is nothing on this screen). The only options are to enter a user name and password and as I have no idea what they should be I cant. The only other option on the screen is to click cancel, which must logs me out of the whole thing and returns me to the main IRD login screen
So….
I cannot fill out my returns as the forms I was seeing on myIR, dont contain the fields I need, to put the figures into.
I cannot call them as their message just says they are too busy then hangs up on me.
I cannot get them to call me.
Now I cant even access myIR.
And I am getting letters with threatening subject lines (I cant actually read their contents as I cant log into myIR to read them)
Ive even tried emailing their general customer feedback email address and a survey email address I found (the only ird email addresses I can find which are not no-reply bounces) and no one has replied to those emails.
How can it be legal, for IRD to just threaten people and take their money? But not have a working phone number or any email addresses for anyone to contact them on. And not call people 5 months after the have asked them to (because they cannot do the returns till someone calls them to explain where to enter the return info into a form with only two vaguely/nonsensically, named fields), and then on top of all that, decide to just out of the blue, add in a second layer of authentication on their website, but have no information on how to set up a username and password to use for that second authentication, thereby making it impossible for anyone to login to myIR and even read their threatening emails, let alone do anything to resolve them?
I have a lot of business expenses I am unable to declare and very worried they will just take money out of my account based on my turnover and not my actual (significantly less) taxable income. Im just a sole charge contractor, and don't have the funds to pay thousands to an accountant just to get someone from ird to pick up the phone and call me.
Does anyone out there have any ideas on how to contact them?
Or maybe someone has been given a direct dial number for a real person at ird that they might be willing to share with me? (Your name will never be mentioned! Lol). I did have a number like that myself on my old phone but it died suddenly and the contact list couldn’t be retrieved from the dead ph the attempts to do so are a saga of their own).
So im really hoping someone out there might of an alternative contact method which is NOT any of the following methods I have tried which have failed:
The 0800 775 247 number (which is apparently always too short staffed for anyone to ever pick up the phone)
MyIR
The two emails address i could find which did not begin with “noreply@…”
Honestly do business not realise how bloody frustrating it is to receive an email that “requires your action” in some way, from an email address you cannot respond to!
Alternatively if you work at ird. Please call me on Monday 020 406 41485, and if i don’t answer because I am in a work meeting, please leave me a message with an actual number that is not 0800 775 247 that I can call you back on!
Ok rant over, but if anyone has an actual working number that i can call to speak to an actual real human being at ird, could you please share it with me? I don’t care what department, at least if a real person answers I can beg them to let me speak to a real person in the gst returns dept (or record the call as yet more evidence of the ridiculous impossibility of getting to speak to a real person at ird, if they wont put me thru).
At this rate maybe i could make up a youtube or other social media audio and video series entitled… ‘the long hunt for a real person at ird’, or something equally sarcastic…
At least till I cant afford internet after they withdraw all my savings to pay my horrifically inflated tax “assessment” that their combination of unusable systems and uncontactable departments has made impossible for me to file an actual return and expenses against!
Actually maybe thats what I could do next. Record every failed call to their 0800 number, till I have many hours worth, then post them on youtube or similar….till I set a Guinness record for the person who went to the most hours of effort to try and do her gst return, but still got penalised by ird because that was easier than actually calling her!
Despite how boring being on hold with IRD would be to listen to, I sort of feel at this stage, that getting my first million views on a long boring video of IRD hold music, and ‘sorry we are too busy, please call another day’ hangups, might happen faster than anyone real at IRD actually ever phoning me!
Seriously though
Does anyone know how i can actually get to speak to someone there? Or is the idea of real people at ird just a myth? How ridiculous is it that i have to take to social media because after 5 months of trying I don't have a way to communicate with a real person at IRD to find out how to fill in the gst return form !
Someone did call me about 5.5-6 months ago and told me now to fill out the gst return adjustment forms. Problem is the form and form fields they described to me and told me to enter the numbers into, do not actually exist on the gst return forms that were available to me when I was able to access myIR. They seemed to be describing an entirely different form that is not available to my myIR account.
Hey Neighbours!
Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Between now and 31 December, purchase a 3-month subscription to Sunday Star-Times for a friend, loved one (or yourself), and you'll receive a gorgeous soy candle selection worth $49 from Linden Leaves absolutely free.
Use promo … View moreHey Neighbours!
Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Between now and 31 December, purchase a 3-month subscription to Sunday Star-Times for a friend, loved one (or yourself), and you'll receive a gorgeous soy candle selection worth $49 from Linden Leaves absolutely free.
Use promo code 'Christmas' at the checkout to redeem this unmissable deal!
The team at Sunday Star-Times
Skate away! Turn an old skateboard into a handy clock with a little imagination and Resene paints.
Find out how to create your own.
From local democracy reporter David Hill:
An Employment Court ruling around teacher working hours could have major implications, North Canterbury schools say.
The New Zealand Post Primary Teachers’ Association successfully argued that a school is ‘‘not open for instruction’’ during … View moreFrom local democracy reporter David Hill:
An Employment Court ruling around teacher working hours could have major implications, North Canterbury schools say.
The New Zealand Post Primary Teachers’ Association successfully argued that a school is ‘‘not open for instruction’’ during weekends, public holidays, vacations and outside of 8.30am to 4.30pm on school days, in a recent Employment Court hearing in the North Island.
But principals said there needed to be flexibility in a teacher’s day to ensure work/life balance and being available for meeting with parents.
Rangiora High School board of trustees chairperson Simon Green was unaware of the ruling, but said it would be ‘‘disappointing’’ if it became binding.
The teaching day was structured from 9am to 3pm and then it was ‘‘flexible’’, Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney said.
To accommodate the Employment Court ruling, Kearney changed the start time for staff meetings from 8.20am to 8.30am, ‘‘but you can’t put rigidities around the end time’’.
Some teachers might choose to start earlier or to remain at school after 3pm, while others needed to go and pick up their children after school and took home marking to do later in the evening, he said.
Schools also relied on teachers being available to run cultural activities and coach sports teams outside of teaching hours.
‘‘Teachers are paid a salary and there is a flexibility built in, and it is about how we can best serve our students,’’ Kearney said.
Oxford Area School principal Mike Hart said the ruling was about fairness in recognising an eight hour working day as the accepted limit for teachers.
Collective agreements had a ‘‘call back’’ clause, which gave provision for attending evening meetings, such as those with parents, or for staff training during term breaks.
‘‘Employment law is the guiding document, but we have to remember there are 12 weeks in a calendar year where we don’t expect teachers to do an eight hour day,'' Hart said.
‘‘It is a choice, where teachers can work out what is best for their work/life balance.
‘‘Some may choose to work longer hours during term time and take a break, while others choose to work a consistent number of hours throughout the year.’’
Kaiapoi High School principal Jason Reid said many teachers worked long hours with burnout a major concern, particularly for new teachers.
He said his advice for new teachers was to ‘‘pace yourself’’ in the first two years.
‘‘The challenges of doing this job are incredibly complex and it will absorb as much time as you will throw into it.’’
■ Public interest journalism funded through New Zealand on Air.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has essential maintenance work to do on the single lane Hurunui River Bridge, starting Sunday night, November 20.
Drivers who use SH1 between Picton and Christchurch may need to build some extra time into their journeys over up to 15 nights of closure, Waka Kotahi… View moreWaka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has essential maintenance work to do on the single lane Hurunui River Bridge, starting Sunday night, November 20.
Drivers who use SH1 between Picton and Christchurch may need to build some extra time into their journeys over up to 15 nights of closure, Waka Kotahi says.
The work on the bridge’s deck and joints will close the bridge for up to 50 minutes at a time, 7pm to 6am. The schedule is Sunday to Thursday, weather dependent, from November 20 to Thursday night, December 8, with 10-minute openings at the top of each hour.
The bridge is between Greta Valley and Cheviot on SH1, North Canterbury and is the key route for freight and the inter-island ferries.
“People who are using the route overnight to make the Picton Ferry may need to factor in delays of up to 50 minutes in their schedules,” Waka Kotahi network manager Jessica McFarlane says.
Emergency vehicles will be accommodated at all times.
The Hurunui River Bridge is south of Cheviot on SH1, north of Greta Valley.
Shockingly, 93% of Variety families live with food insecurity every day. Let’s make Christmas day different for them.
Mia and Jade love Christmas, but their parents are struggling financially. “Christmas time brings a lot of stress. I want to put a good meal on the table and give my kids a … View moreShockingly, 93% of Variety families live with food insecurity every day. Let’s make Christmas day different for them.
Mia and Jade love Christmas, but their parents are struggling financially. “Christmas time brings a lot of stress. I want to put a good meal on the table and give my kids a good and exciting Christmas but with bills and rent, our credit card is already maxed out,” Jenna says.
Please donate today to provide grocery support for struggling families this Christmas.
Fundraising Movie Night for the Cancer Society North Canterbury.
Come and enjoy a fabulous evening, a heartfelt film, raffles & auction.
Tickets $25.00 includes film and small gift on arrival. Can be purchase online at: events.humanitix.com... or at the Centre, 143 Percival Street, Rangiora,… View moreFundraising Movie Night for the Cancer Society North Canterbury.
Come and enjoy a fabulous evening, a heartfelt film, raffles & auction.
Tickets $25.00 includes film and small gift on arrival. Can be purchase online at: events.humanitix.com... or at the Centre, 143 Percival Street, Rangiora, eftpos available.
We'd love to see you there and greatly appreciate our community's support.
Wednesday 16 November, 5.45pm, Rangiora Town Hall Cinemas
Tickets $25.00 includes film and small gift on arrival. Doors open 5.00pm. Christmas gifts, raffles and auction on the night.
Get your friends together, glam it up and come for a entertaining night out!
Tickets available from the … View moreWednesday 16 November, 5.45pm, Rangiora Town Hall Cinemas
Tickets $25.00 includes film and small gift on arrival. Doors open 5.00pm. Christmas gifts, raffles and auction on the night.
Get your friends together, glam it up and come for a entertaining night out!
Tickets available from the following locations:
Cancer Society North Canterbury, 143 Percival Street, Rangiora, Phone: 0800 226 695. Eftpos available.
Online: events.humanitix.com...
Contact Tiff on tiffany.wafer@cancercwc.org.nz or 021-139 4909 for more information.
What better way to while away a Friday afternoon and get your weekend DIY inspiration than drooling over the most beautiful house and garden content of the week?
|Homed newsletter| takes you inside gorgeous New Zealand homes, showcases the latest interior trends, provides project ideas, and … View moreWhat better way to while away a Friday afternoon and get your weekend DIY inspiration than drooling over the most beautiful house and garden content of the week?
|Homed newsletter| takes you inside gorgeous New Zealand homes, showcases the latest interior trends, provides project ideas, and more. Be inspired to dream big about your own space - and get on the path to making those dreams come true. Sign up for free here.
Hello neighbours,
I’ve decided to fundraise for the SPCA, and I need to fundraise $800 dollars to sky dive. Any amount would be very very appreciated, I don’t see the money it goes directly to the SPCA and the link is below for donations.
jumptotherescue.spca.nz...
Thank you for … View moreHello neighbours,
I’ve decided to fundraise for the SPCA, and I need to fundraise $800 dollars to sky dive. Any amount would be very very appreciated, I don’t see the money it goes directly to the SPCA and the link is below for donations.
jumptotherescue.spca.nz...
Thank you for reading, Angela.
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