Our Mayor wants to lock away the PIF fund so it cannot be used for the purpose it was saved - do you agree?
I too originally thought it was a good back-up and we were promised zero rates but then it exceeded NPDC debt by a considerable margin. Fact is however $250 million in early 2000's would now be 10x that so the longer we keep it the less it is worth. Appreciate it has off-set some rates but right through this whole period rates have continued to rise at an alarming rate and there is no sign of this trend reversing. By all means put aside say 100 million but the majority should be used to fix our broken pipes. In hindsight while ratepayers thought this was surplus money it was money that should have been spent on infrastructure at the time. The NPDC does not always know best but they like to blame the ratepayers. There are so many ways that this money can be spent to the lasting benefit of our community. Many of these were included in submissions to the NPDC 10 year LPT but so far have been ignored.
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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84.6% Yes
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14% No
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
Have you heard about Wild for Taranaki?
Do you know what they are doing in our community?
Their Vision is:
Taranaki biodiversity is restored to a state where it is visibly healthy and provides significant benefit to communities throughout the region.
Tō tatou taiao – Maranga Papatūānuku is our collective commitment to reach a state where Papatūānuku begins to flourish and rise.
This is a very powerful vision for Taranaki as a region and those working in this space fully embrace this Kaupapa.
If you look at their website the first thing you see is our Mounga in the background with:
Take Part
The natural world is our legacy. Every day, action is underway to restore, enhance and protect our unique biodiversity in Taranaki. Be part of making biodiversity thrive in the region, To do this you can go to their Action Hub and sign up to support a project, there are multiple ways that you can become involved, from the gifting of shovels or offering a place for planting of natives, to offering your unique skills and experience to as well as perhaps Organisation know how. By signing up to the action hub you can become part of the bigger picture and make you mahi count.
So why should you be bothered? Let’s start a short list, How about for our kids and grandkids or even great grandkids – and the future world they will be living in. Or perhaps for our community and our own wellbeing into the future, or for all the native plants and animals that make our world a better more beautiful place.
We can make a difference. We can see the difference the trapping efforts have made, bringing more birdsong into our backyards and species like kiwi and kokako being established into areas that they have disappeared from.
This is ongoing mahi and the more effort the more success and you could be part of making this happen by looking to join and supporting the mahi of organisations like Wild for Taranaki. This is the type of project / volunteering that you can be involved with as often as you wish, so no regular commitment is required if that would appeal to you. It is also a volunteering opportunity that you could possibly do with multiple generations and the bonus is that it is an outdoors.
The next event that volunteers are involved with is the Community Snorkel Day – Experiencing Marine Reserves – this is on November 23rd at 12 noon. If you think that you could support this, please make contact.
Where can you learn more? If you are interested to learn more about Wild for Taranaki and their projects, you can listen to:
Volly Voices live on Access Radio Taranaki 104.4fm on Sunday 3rd November at 2pm when Danielle and Victoria chat about what is happening at Wild for Taranaki and the projects that they have and how volunteers can become involved and how they support the community.
This can also be listened to on:
Spotify open.spotify.com...
Apple Podcast podcasts.apple.com...
Access Radio website www.accessradiotaranaki.com...
Volunteering New Plymouth website www.volunteeringnewplymouth.org.nz...
Who can you contact?
If you are curious to learn more about what is involved and or how you can get involved then contact Wendy (Monday to Thursday) at Volunteering New Plymouth on 06 758 8986, Ph/Text: 022 571 4228 or Email: admin@vnp.nz. to take the next step
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
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