Minister acknowledges road funding hasn’t been good enough
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
New Associate Minister of Local Government Kieran McAnulty admits we’re now “seeing the impacts’’ of roading funding cuts in Mid Canterbury.
The Wairarapa-based McAnulty, who also has emergency management, racing and transport in his ministerial and associate minister portfolio, let his roading feelings known while in Mid Canterbury on Tuesday.
He knew roading was a hot topic, as it was in any other region, but especially in Ashburton and wider Canterbury.
“It’s an issue facing many rural councils in that they have a large geographical area, a lot of roads and a small population from which to fund it,” said McAnulty, who is completing a tour of all 55 rural and provincial councils.
Ashburton was stop number 41 for the Labour MP.
He had closed-door discussions with the Ashburton District Council in which he said they covered a lot of issues from emergency management, the future of local government, three waters, roading and transport, and the proposed second bridge.
But roading maintenance and funding was top of mind, with McAnulty admitting councils had been left in the lurch from a period of underfunding and it wasn’t good enough.
As a small roading financial booster, he said there was an additional almost $15 million of funding heading the Ashburton District’s way in the next three years to help.
He was also pleased to see progress being made with Ashburton’s proposed second urban bridge.
“The proposal is pretty strong,” said McAnulty, who knows the district well as his parents lived in Fairton for eight years.
“We know that from a resilience point of view, the recent weather event put that at the forefront of everybody’s mind.”
He was also aware of Environment Canterbury’s plea for $150m of Government funding over the next 10 years for nationwide flood protection funding. While that wasn’t something that has come across his desk, it is linked to work he has in progress.
“There is a need for a consideration around longer-term funding of flood protection,’’ he said.
“If you can invest in flood protection, it lessens the impact when there is a severe weather event. And we are kidding ourselves if we don’t recognise that these weather events aren’t going to become more frequent and severe.”
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.4% Summer
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36.1% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.
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