Forget the reports, time for bulldozers say politicians
By local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
Westland mayor Helen Lash says her council is thrilled that funding has at last been released to protect valuable farms and homes on the south bank of the wild Waiho River at Franz Josef.
But she warns there won’t be a cent to spare for red tape or paperwork.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones announced a grant of $6 million this week for the West Coast Regional Council to strengthen and extend the Waiho stop banks, leaving local ratepayers to find the remaining $4m for the job.
Lash said the grant would be welcomed by landowners waiting to see if the Government would come to their aid, while large chunks of the land disappeared with every flood.
“But it’s $2m shy of what the council thought it would get so they’re going to have to make every cent work to get the right result, and not waste any on more reports and consultants’ fees.”
The last Labour government spent $12.5m shoring up stop banks on the north bank of the Waiho to protect the tourist township but withheld another $8m originally promised for the south bank with its farms and lifestyle blocks.
It wanted to see a long- term plan, including retreat, for the community labelled “Disaster Central” by geologists, before spending more money,
The stony bed of the short river has risen 8m since the 1950s and now sits well above the level of the town.
That process is speeding up as the glacier retreats, releasing rocks and gravel to the flats below.
And to cap it off, Franz Josef is perched right on the Alpine Fault, which is due for its 300-yearly major rupture.
When the Waiho River Management Strategy came out last October, saying the south bank would eventually have to be abandoned to the river, property values there plummeted, destroying equity overnight.
Lash said the landowners had been "horribly mucked around" by the decision makers, and the uncertainty.
“You can’t do that to people’s lives. Every flood they go into stress mode. When you have no skin in the game you don’t get the gravity of it.”
River management is the Regional Council’s job, the mayor says, but the Westland District Council wants to be heavily involved in the stop bank project this time, to make sure ratepayers got the fullest possible benefit from the $6m.
“We want to be sure the community gets the best protection and maximum gain out of it and I’m sure that’s what the government wants to see as well.”
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones - in Greymouth this week for a meeting with civic leaders - said Lash was right about that.
“I have insisted that MBIE maximise the amount of dough that’s spent on practical delivery. We don’t need reams of reports from consultants - we need picks and shovels swinging to and fro, and delivery.”
The Franz Josef project, and others in Nelson approved for funding this week under the Government’s 'Before the Deluge' banner, were all bulldozer-ready, the minister said.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in the pipeline from (contracting) firms saying they can’t keep their workforce on unless the money keeps flowing.
“The added virtue of these West Coast projects is that the damn things are consented so the mahi can take place as soon as possible.”
Long term, the fate of Franz Josef, the Waiho Flats and those who live and farm there would require decisions well above his paygrade, Shane Jones said.
“You are wrestling with Mother Nature there, and all hell could break loose with that river."
But it’s not a fight that should be conceded – at least, not yet, he said.
“The name of our party is New Zealand First, not Climate First. For as long as I’m around, we are going to spend money and work with communities to adapt - so we can generate the necessary solutions over a longer period of time."
A cynic would say that was only putting off the inevitable, he said.
“But I feel grossly uncomfortable chasing anyone out of where they are. I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the people on farms, being told they should leave.
“Who’s going to pay them to leave? Not Mother Nature."
Kalle
"Sports and travelling run in the family, and that's kind of what's led me to come to New Zealand."
"I grew up in a small town in Finland. My dad was involved with sports all his life, he was a shot putter, discus thrower, powerlifter, we traveled quite a bit when I was a kid. He never mentioned much of the rugby days. He just said he broke both of his shin bones playing rugby, so he said, ‘never play the sport, It's crazy.’
I started playing when I was 18. I played my first cap for the Finnish national team in 2014, we won the Finnish championship with my club. Rugby is not a big thing in Finland.
I moved here to play rugby in 2017. The club that wanted me to come over was Methven Rugby Club. They got me here and they were like, ‘what do you do for work? I’d just finished chef school in Finland. ‘We'll get you a job at Mount Hutt as a chef, you can do that while you play rugby with us.’ I said, ‘Perfect. Yeah, I'm in’.
I've always loved food. My mum was an amazing cook, and still is. When I was studying tourism I worked in some hotels in Finland, and I saw how the chef's worked. I just loved the kitchen vibe and I was like, Yeah, that’d be something I'd love to do.
I've had more of a culinary journey In New Zealand than in Finland. I started at Mount Hutt, after that I worked at The Dubliner in Methven. I worked as a senior pizza chef at Sal’s for maybe six months then worked as chef de partie at Cellar Door. At Eliza's Manor, I worked myself up to a junior sous chef. Then the opportunity came to work my first head chef job at Moon Under Water.
We're privileged to have a busy atmosphere, we can try new things and get a bit creative. There are no TV’s, just come here with your family or with your mates, play board games, to socialise.
I really want to drive the local food and ingredients through the menu. We don't mind spending more for quality ingredients as long as it's supporting New Zealand businesses. We just love to use local. And it's pub food, but I feel like it's elevated.
I play club rugby here for the Christchurch Football Club, the oldest club in New Zealand and I still play regularly for the Finnish national team, whenever they can fly me over to play."
- Kalle
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
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Have your say on Canterbury’s public transport
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Canterbury residents are being encouraged to have their say on public transport in the region.
Environment Canterbury has released its draft public transport plan and is seeking submissions.
The draft plan outlines a vision for public transport in the region and notes key priorities such as improving the environment, growing patronage, accessibility, innovation and technology, and affordability.
‘‘Public transport takes many forms with communities across our region,’’ councillor Peter Scott said.
‘‘With limited funding available, we need to make sure we make the best decisions to deliver a public transport network that is integrated with urban development, innovative and meets the needs of new and existing customers.
‘‘Effective public transport is the lifeline that connects us to work, school, recreation and our friends and family, so it is important we get this right.’’
The Canterbury’s population is growing and by 2050, it is projected 700,000 people will be living in Greater Christchurch.
The draft plan covers public transport for the region, which includes the Metro service (Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri), MyWay by Metro in Timaru, Total Mobility and Community Vehicle Trusts.
It was developed in partnership with local councils and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
Environment Canterbury has been planning to step up its public transport efforts by increasing the frequency of existing services and introducing mass rapid transport in Greater Christchurch.
But these plans have been stalled by a lack of public transport funding in the Government’s 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.
A proposal to allow people to travel with domestic pets is also included in the draft plan.
Having pets on buses has been successfully trial in other parts of New Zealand, councillor Joe Davies said.
‘‘We’re keen to understand what controls are needed for our bus users in Greater Christchurch and Timaru to be comfortable with pets on public transport.
It is proposed to allow adult passengers to bring a single pet on board, as long it is in an approved carrier at off-peak times, weekdays between 9am and 3pm or after 6pm, and during weekends.
Another proposal would loosen those restrictions in future to allow for leashed and muzzled dogs and increasing the limit to two pets per passenger.
‘‘We want to gauge how people feel about these proposals. Now is the time to have your say,’’ Davies said.
Submissions close on Thursday, October 24.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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