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By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Just two options have been proposed to manage the "dangerous" threat posed by the flood-prone Waiho River to the wider Franz Josef community.
In a heated community meeting at Franz Josef on Wednesday, the West Coast Regional Council … View moreBy local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Just two options have been proposed to manage the "dangerous" threat posed by the flood-prone Waiho River to the wider Franz Josef community.
In a heated community meeting at Franz Josef on Wednesday, the West Coast Regional Council suggested two options: do nothing or sacrifice the southern stopbanks.
For years the community has been waiting for answers on what would be done about what one official described as potentially the "most dangerous flood plain in the country".
The Waiho River has been changing its course and rising due to sediment build up, putting rural properties and Franz Josef at risk.
Anger was palpable at times among a crowd of 50 on Wednesday, with one man walking out while graphically expressing his frustration.
"We have had no meeting for four years and it's a lack of respect for us," Waiho Flat land owner Sonia Pettigrew said.
"There's media here now, and our land values are plummeting."
South side farmer Graham Berry said it was "ridiculous" affected landowners were not involved in the process to decide on a strategy.
Berry said it was "galling" it had come to this, as officials had suggested three years ago to move State Highway 6 within five years, with promises about Waiho Flat plans.
"F... you. I'm not going to take this any more ... That plan was meant to be there with action within five years.
"We know the risk," Berry said.
Council chief executive Darryl Lew said "this is the country's new Esk Valley". "This is probably the most dangerous flood plain in the country right now."
He said his biggest concern was the risk to people.
The Waiho River burst its banks in 2019, flooding the rural Waiho Flat community and causing stress over its future.
"We've got to come together as a community with the councils and make an approach to Government. We can't do this ourselves," Lew said.
Council chairperson Peter Haddock acknowledged and apologised for the level of grievances, saying they were trying to get to the bottom of it.
Until six months ago, Haddock said he wanted to "hold the line," believing the rate of sedimentation and the existing stopbank alignment on both sides would give them years before action was needed.
However, he said he changed his mind after hearing new expert evidence and it would be doing the community "an injustice" to let it lie.
"How long has Franz left? Maybe 20 years. If we let the banks go on the south side, maybe three times longer," Haddock said.
"The community has to decide whether to hope like hell or plan things. I understand this is people's lives, this is people's properties. It's a horrendous thing."
He said central Government had to come to the party.
"I believe it would be a very brave government to turn down a plan … I urge you to try and think seriously about this and look at the options. I don't think the Government can walk away from a river that powerful."
Both local MPs, Damien O'Connor and Maureen Pugh, sent apologies for not attending the meeting.
A technical explanation at the meeting, led by river engineers and hyrdrologists, emphasised the preferred option to secure the township on the Waiho north bank, for the medium term, and systematically remove the southern stopbanks starting in about five years.
This has been suggested previously.
The community were asked last night to come back within weeks with their views and council has promised another meeting to talk things through.
Lew said he had spoken with both major parties and officials, and he knew they needed a united community voice to get government help.
"We want to stand with you."
It would require a deal of the size and scale as that seen in the North Island after Cyclone Gabrielle.
Almost $9 million from the original Waiho River protection package, set three years ago, was still set aside.
But it would not be released until they had a clear business plan from both councils and Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio.
Lew proposed the previously allocated money be used to assess how to begin a buyout assessment, as well as plan the progressive staged retreat.
But he said a lot needed to be done to achieve that, including getting the Government to cough up more money - expected to be hundreds of millions of dollars.
River engineer Matt Gardner, who has been modelling the aggradation rate in the Waiho bed for years, illustrated the effect of doing nothing with the constricted river.
There was a risk of "catastrophic failure" of the stopbanks on both sides in a natural event.
The Alpine Fault risk was also significant in that.
In the next 10 years, it was predicted the river bed would be 3m higher if nothing was done, or 1m higher if the south stopbanks were let go.
As it was, the river bed was already higher than the Franz Josef township on the north side, behind the existing stopbanks.
Under the 10-year plan, the southern stopbanks would be removed in a staged approach - after assets like moving State Highway 6 had been worked through and funded.
Lew, who has a river hydrology background, said within a month of arriving in June, he saw the river rapidly move into the Tatare catchment, to the north.
"The bed levels [are] rising at a rate never before seen in the river."
He assessed the state of the existing stopbank system and became really concerned about "catastrophic failure", he said.
On top of that, there was the frequency and magnitude of floods in the river.
"We need a plan here, and unfortunately we haven't had a plan."
October 14th is the last day for voting in the General Election 2023. And while there are some policies that are nice to have, there are other issues that are imperative to us. Where do your priorities lie this election? From the options below, choose what is swaying your vote the most.
Type … View moreOctober 14th is the last day for voting in the General Election 2023. And while there are some policies that are nice to have, there are other issues that are imperative to us. Where do your priorities lie this election? From the options below, choose what is swaying your vote the most.
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the Conversations column of your local paper.
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In the lead-up to the 2023 general election, The Press is profiling local electoral races. Here’s what you need to know about the candidates running to be West Coast-Tasman’s MP. (By reporter Joanne Naish)
The Labour Party won the West Coast-Tasman electorate party vote in 2020 for the first… View moreIn the lead-up to the 2023 general election, The Press is profiling local electoral races. Here’s what you need to know about the candidates running to be West Coast-Tasman’s MP. (By reporter Joanne Naish)
The Labour Party won the West Coast-Tasman electorate party vote in 2020 for the first time since 2005.
It is a blue-voting heartland, but its long-standing MP is a Labour stalwart.
The West Coast-Tasman electorate seat has been held by Labour’s Damien O’Connor since 1996, apart from the interjection of National’s Chris Auchinvole from 2008 to 2011. The seat has never been held by a woman.
National took the party vote in every election since 2005 until Labour captured 20,521 party votes against National’s 10,934 in 2020. Labour gained 10.2 percentage points on its party vote share in 2017.
It is the second largest electorate by land area, stretching from Jackson Bay in the south to Farewell Spit in the north and as far east as the Southern Alps.
It adopted the traditionally blue-leaning settlement of Brightwater from Nelson to meet the population quota after the 2020 boundary review.
There are nine candidates standing for the electorate seat this year, including Jackie Farrelly (New Zealand First), Steve Richards (Greens), Kelly Lilley (ACT), Sue Grey (Outdoors and Freedom Party), and Richard Osmaston (Money Free Party). Sebastian Marinkovich is standing for New Zealand Loyal but is not on the party list after it only registered two of its candidates. Former Minerals West Coast manager and Westland District councillor Patrick Phelps is standing as an independent.
O’Connor took 48.5%, or 42,827, of the votes in 2020, 6208 more than National candidate Maureen Pugh, who is currently 26th on the National Party list.
Pugh, a farmer and former Westland mayor from Turiwhate, was the lowest ranking MP (number 19) to make it in on her party’s list in 2020. She previously described herself as a yo-yo MP since she narrowly missed entering Parliament on the list in the 2014 election, but came in after the resignation of Tim Groser in 2015. She again missed the cut on the list in 2017, but took a list seat after Bill English resigned in 2018.
O’Connor, a farmer from Westport, was first elected to Parliament in 1993 and holds ministerial portfolios in agriculture, biosecurity, land information, and trade and export growth, and is associate transport minister.
The electorate’s main population centres are Motueka, Westport, and Greymouth. It also includes the towns of Haast, Hokitika, Murchison, St Arnaud, Wakefield, Brightwater, and Tākaka. The electorate contains over half of New Zealand’s national parks.
Its 52,737 voters are mostly employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing industry (15.8%), followed by manufacturing (10.3%), and accommodation and food services (9.8%)
Over nine in 10 people in West Coast-Tasman are European (91.6%), the highest share among general electorates, and almost one-fifth (17.8%) use coal to heat their home.
Two West Coast hotels reopened this week after closing down in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The historic Lake Mahinapua Hotel, made famous by the Mainland Cheese advertisements, opened to the public again on Sunday for the first time since the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.… View moreTwo West Coast hotels reopened this week after closing down in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The historic Lake Mahinapua Hotel, made famous by the Mainland Cheese advertisements, opened to the public again on Sunday for the first time since the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020.
According to data from MarketView, international visitor spending surpassed pre-Covid levels on the West Coast for the month of August.
Scenic Group also reopened its Heartland Glacier Country hotel in Fox Glacier on Sunday. It has now reopened all four of its hotels in Franz Josef and Fox Glacier which were mothballed during the pandemic.
Read the full story from reporter Joanne Naish here (subscription required).
Design doesn’t end at the bathroom door. It’s a great place to create some cool storage space in your independent living apartment. If you’re not a fan of various bottles littering the floor, try a shower stool. Plus, it’s a great place to sit while washing or to shave your legs.
Ladder… View moreDesign doesn’t end at the bathroom door. It’s a great place to create some cool storage space in your independent living apartment. If you’re not a fan of various bottles littering the floor, try a shower stool. Plus, it’s a great place to sit while washing or to shave your legs.
Ladder shelves are very affordable and take up minimal room. They’re perfect for rolled towels and accessories that can live on the bottom shelves with more important products on the top.
Utilise the back of the bathroom door to hide towels, swimsuits and bathrobes by using some hanging hooks.
Click for more clever apartment storage ideas.
We've loving our Rugby World Cup fans sharing their photos on Neighbourly and bringing the spirit!
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Hi there,
I'm writing a story on what's it like to live with a loud voice. Are you someone who gets high-pitched whenever you are excited? Does your family constantly nag you to dial down your voice? Or are you someone who's annoyed by your loved ones' loud talking?
If you… View moreHi there,
I'm writing a story on what's it like to live with a loud voice. Are you someone who gets high-pitched whenever you are excited? Does your family constantly nag you to dial down your voice? Or are you someone who's annoyed by your loved ones' loud talking?
If you can relate to any such scenario, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or you can email me at sanda.arambepola@stuff.co.nz
Please put 'NFP' (not for publication) in your comment if you don't want it or your name to appear in the article.
Thank you for taking the time to share your stories.
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It's a controversial topic that can cause arguments for bed companions as well as staunch bedding enthusiasts.
Some people sleep beneath a top sheet, while others have said goodbye to 'hospital corners' and just use a duvet. Let's see how kiwis are sleeping these days, share … View moreIt's a controversial topic that can cause arguments for bed companions as well as staunch bedding enthusiasts.
Some people sleep beneath a top sheet, while others have said goodbye to 'hospital corners' and just use a duvet. Let's see how kiwis are sleeping these days, share your vote and your reasons below!
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the Conversations column of your local paper.
Lower speeds can saves lives and prevent serious injury. Reducing the speed vehicles travel makes a major difference in a crash. People make mistakes on our roads, and those mistakes shouldn’t cost our neighbours, whānau or pets their lives.
We're asking for … View moreLower speeds can saves lives and prevent serious injury. Reducing the speed vehicles travel makes a major difference in a crash. People make mistakes on our roads, and those mistakes shouldn’t cost our neighbours, whānau or pets their lives.
We're asking for feedback on a Draft Safer Speed Plan which sets out a three-year implementation plan and 10-year vision for safe speed areas in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula.
To read the plan and give feedback by 25 October visit our website.
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