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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Mid Canterbury will have two MPs in Wellington, but only one with an office in Ashburton
New Rangitata MP-elect James Meager is planning to spread his time across the electorate’s two main centres when he is not in Wellington.
Former Rangitata… View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Mid Canterbury will have two MPs in Wellington, but only one with an office in Ashburton
New Rangitata MP-elect James Meager is planning to spread his time across the electorate’s two main centres when he is not in Wellington.
Former Rangitata MP Jo Luxton is set to return to Parliament on the Labour Party list but will not keep her two offices or two electorate staff.
Previously, as a list MP Luxton had put a case forward for funding for an office “because we hadn’t had any Labour representation down here for many years".
It will not be the case this time.
“The budget is quite substantially less as a list MP and being in opposition," she said.
“The funds just really aren’t there to have it.
“I would have dearly loved to have maintained the offices and my team.”
As the electorate MP, Meager will take care of constituent work, but Luxton said she will remain a strong advocate for the electorate.
“I will continue to be a part of and involved in the community, attending events and meetings.”
The Speaker’s Directions 2023 has set the amounts of funding for each member for the next three years, divided into staff, non-staff (rent/expenses), and general sub-allocations.
it shows that in year 1, Meager is eligible for a total of $363,990 while Luxton is eligible for $241,342.
Her Ashburton office was formerly occupied by National MP Andrew Falloon, and Luxton said she had reached out to Meager about the potential opportunity to take over the office.
Meager is still awaiting the official confirmation of the election, which has been delayed due to requests for recounts in three electorates. He has confirmed plans to have an office in both Ashburton and Timaru.
“It's important to have a presence in both major towns in our electorate,” Meager said.
“I will be splitting my recess/non-Wellington time as evenly between Mid and South Canterbury as I can.
“We haven't even been formally confirmed as MPs yet, so decisions on leases are still likely to be a few weeks away.”
He is looking at options for locations, and taking into consideration Parliament’s requirements around things like accessibility and security.
“There’s a Parliamentary process to go through but I’m hoping to open offices before the end of the year.
“I will have a limited Parliamentary budget to set up a new office, and will always be cautious about the use of taxpayer funds.”
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
A short, sharp downpour flooded Ashburton businesses, ruined 200 library books and caused sewage to overflow.
Up to 30mm of rain fell in 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon, causing havoc for local businesses and surface flooding on some Ashburton … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
A short, sharp downpour flooded Ashburton businesses, ruined 200 library books and caused sewage to overflow.
Up to 30mm of rain fell in 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon, causing havoc for local businesses and surface flooding on some Ashburton streets.
Ashburton Public Library manager Jill Watson said it was the worst flooding in the building she had seen in her 48 years of working there.
However, she hoped it would be the last.
The library is set to close on November 26 to start its shift to the new Te Whare Whakatere, Ashburton Library and Civic Centre, which is set to open on December 18.
Council people and facilities general manager Sarah Mosley said that at least 200 books would not make the trip after being damaged by the leaky roof.
It made for a different kind of hum at the library on Monday.
“We have dehumidifiers working flat out to dry out wet carpet tiles,” Mosley said.
The old library, which opened in 1967, wasn’t alone in suffering from the storm's rapid downpour.
Across town at the River Crossing retail precinct, which opened just over a year ago, the Kmart had to close after water began leaking near the entrance.
“The guttering got overwhelmed and it flooded into the building,” Tricroft general manager Tony Gilbert said.
“That amount of water in a short space of time, it got overwhelmed.
“The fact there were so many other buildings with similar issues shows that it was quite a volume of water.”
Formosa Restaurant's roof leak was so damaging the business remained closed on Monday for repairs.
Nearby Cleavers Corner Gastro Pub had the surface flooding breach its doors requiring a clean-up to open on Sunday, and around the corner, the F45 gym was completely flooded and remained closed on Monday.
Several roads resembled rivers from the deluge on Saturday.
Ashburton resident Margaret Anderson said it “was like a river with water flowing along the road" at the intersection of SH1/West St and SH77/Moore St.
Surface flooding led to raw sewerage flowing along William Str.
Council infrastructure and open space general manager Neil McCann said the problem occurred where council contractors were putting in new wastewater pipes.
“The site was inundated with stormwater that infiltrated the wastewater system and caused an overflow.
“The site has been cleaned up and disinfected by the contractor.
“Events like these have no impact on council’s drinking water network in Ashburton, and tap water remains safe to drink.”
The roading and stormwater networks have been checked and there was no major damage to report, he said.
“We had a few isolated spots where water pooled, as you would expect with a sudden heavy downpour.”
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Recycling habits are improving but can still get better in the Ashburton District.
Deputy mayor Liz McMillan said there were still plenty of yellow bins “in bin jail” in Methven, and questioned whether the situation required another round of … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Recycling habits are improving but can still get better in the Ashburton District.
Deputy mayor Liz McMillan said there were still plenty of yellow bins “in bin jail” in Methven, and questioned whether the situation required another round of education for the community as to what could be recycled.
Infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said the number of bin confiscations had halved in the district and issues in Methven were a seasonal anomaly.
During the ski season there was a much higher number of bins not collected and removed, he said.
“Ashburton District’s recycling behaviour is currently holding quite steady.”
The council introduced kerbside monitoring in 2020, with numbers showing a gradual improvement.
The current watch list has 211 on a first strike pullback - when a bin is not collected and a tag is placed on the bin to explain why.
Thirty-nine are on a second strike and 74 have had a third strike and been confiscated.
“Having 74 confiscated [indicates] that things are improving as we were closer to 150 at one stage," McCann said.
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Illegal dumping continues to hit ratepayers in the pocket, with volunteers sending a message to the culprits: "Don't be a tosser."
Ashburton District Council paid $13,000 to clean up illegal dumping in 2022-23, and from June to … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Illegal dumping continues to hit ratepayers in the pocket, with volunteers sending a message to the culprits: "Don't be a tosser."
Ashburton District Council paid $13,000 to clean up illegal dumping in 2022-23, and from June to September the bill has tallied $1700, infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said.
“The first three months are trending slightly lower than usual. Annually the cost usually falls somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000."
The cost of disposal and council staff investigation time is not included in the price.
One offender was found and issued a fine of $400, he said.
The cost for the council did not take into account the work of Litter-Free Ashburton, McCann said.
The local volunteering group did monthly litter pickups around Ashburton, and most of what they picked up was illegally dumped material, McCann said.
The volunteers, a group of about 16 mostly retired people, meet on the second Thursday of every month and target trouble spots around Ashburton.
Litter-Free Ashburton spokesperson Bev Skates said the group usually collected about 20 bags of rubbish, ranging from common household rubbish to the bedding, tyres, pallets, carpet, furniture and other large items.
“People are just too lazy to go to the dump,” Skates said.
Once the litter is bagged and piled up at a location, the council organises its collection.
The council supplied hi-vis vests and tools to help the group, Skates said, and it also cut back tree branches to reduce illegal dumping.
One of the worst hit areas was North Park Reserve, the strip of land along State Highway 1 at the northern end of town, Skates said.
Rubbish was found all along the stretch of the highway from people throwing items out of their vehicles on their way out of town, she said.
“We don’t want tossers.”
Rather than adding more rubbish bins, people needed to use the available one and have some social responsibility, she said.
A recent council report highlighted that illegal dumping is prevalent around Melrose Rd, which leads to the Ashburton/Hakatere River, and Alford Forest Rd on the western edge of Ashburton.
Elizabeth Ave is the trouble spot in Rakaia, with illegal dumping occurring at the edge of town near the Rakaia Domain.
Methven had no reports of illegal dumping in September, but the report stated there had been an increase in dumping at the Methven recycling facility.
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By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Glow in the Park will move to a bigger venue from next year, raising concerns it will come with a heftier price tag.
The decision was made on Tuesday to shift the free admission light festival from the Tinwald Domain to the Ashburton Domain from … View moreBy local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Glow in the Park will move to a bigger venue from next year, raising concerns it will come with a heftier price tag.
The decision was made on Tuesday to shift the free admission light festival from the Tinwald Domain to the Ashburton Domain from 2024.
But that move could come with a $100,000 price tag.
The move was aimed at allowing the event to expand, and alleviating the congestion issues created by its popularity.
More than 17,000 attended across two nights this year, with the third night rained off. That was a 70% increase in attendance, which caused gridlock traffic in town.
The cost was also a key talking point around shifting the Ashburton District Council-run event.
In her report to council, events advisor Sarah Davidson said the event required funding well over the council’s budget of $15,000 to be successful.
The event cost a minimum of $60,000 and could “go as high as $100,000 depending on the design and offering of the event”.
The original event was funded by EA Networks to celebrate its centenary, but the council was left to foot the bill this year. It was helped by local business sponsorship funding of $47,000.
As admission is free, mayor Neil Brown and councillor Tony Todd supported the possibility of creating a temporary car parking area in the domain.
The carpark could charge a fee to create revenue while also encouraging more people to walk, Brown said.
Councillor Russell Ellis suggested going a step further by introducing an admission fee for the council’s “flagship event”.
“[If] this event is going to cost over $100,000 to run, maybe there needs to be an admission fee. It doesn’t have to be high.
“How you then police that in the domain becomes very difficult as well.”
Councillor Richard Wilson wanted it made clear it was not a free event.
“We call it a free event but it’s paid for by the ratepayers.
“To put it in context, the grading of the district's shingle roads costs $377,000 a year and we could end up spending $100,000 on this.”
Wilson and councillors Phill Hooper and Rob Mackle opposed the event's move, believing it should remain in Tinwald.
The first Glow event planned for 2021 was to be held at the Ashburton Domain but was cancelled due to covid restrictions.
The event was held in 2022 at the Tinwald Domain as it offered easier control of entry points to ensure compliance with covid rules, which were eased before the event.
Deputy mayor Liz McMillan said it was time to move to a bigger venue due to the growing attendance.
Councillor Carolyn Cameron said the move to central Ashburton would provide more walking opportunities for Glow-goers.
“The traffic presumably would be more manageable in town even though the car parking may be more difficult to get.
“I’m sure people will be tolerant of streets clogged up for a few hours a day.”
Councillor Lynette Lovett suggested putting on buses to ease the congestion.
Chief executive Hamish Riach said a bus service could be an option, but it could “need an entire fleet” to take the pressure off.
“We have been very mindful of the costs for this event.
“Putting on buses requires cost and you have got 17,000 [people]. Even a big bus carrying 40 people has to make an awful lot of trips to make a difference.”
Ashburton Domain celebrates 160 years next year and the event would be held at King's Birthday weekend. This factor was also considered in the move.
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