Vaping at high school drops after sensors installed
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
A Canterbury high school says vaping use has gone down significantly since vaping sensors were installed a year ago.
Rangiora High School installed sensors with cameras in toilet corridors in August last year in a bid to stamp out increasing problems with vaping and anti-social behaviour.
One year on, acting principal Remihana Emery said it is now ‘‘very rare’’ for the sensors to go off and there are fewer incidents of anti-social behaviour.
‘‘Kids will be kids and try what they try, we were no different.
‘‘It is really about informing our kids about the risks so they can make informed decisions.’’
Emery said the message seemed to be getting through, as most students now understood the risks.
‘‘But we can’t take our foot off the accelerator.’’
The sensors have cameras, which are triggered by the vapour to take a photo.
When students were caught, the school supported them and their parents to help them give up vaping.
Board of trustees presiding member Simon Green said the sensors were expensive, but he is pleased with the outcome.
‘‘The board is really supportive of the initiatives the leadership team is taking and we are pleased the students can now use the toilets for their intended purpose.’’
Rangiora High School has also been part of a pilot programme to use digital technology to help young people give up vaping.
Ignite Aotearoa and oVRcome have joined forces to pilot a virtual reality programme in four secondary schools, including Shirley Intermediate School (Christchurch), Wellington College and Tangaroa College (Auckland).
Young people are given access to clinical desensitisation therapy via a virtual reality headset linked to their smartphones.
Kaiapoi High School chose not to install vaping sensors, but principal Jason Reid said vaping use at school had decreased.
‘‘Since the beginning of the year our vaping stats have gone down to 10 percent of what there used to be.
‘‘A big part of that is being caught.’’
Reid said the school treated vaping as a public health issue and used restorative processes, working with the student and their parents.
‘‘When we have an open discussion around the table with parents they tend to be more honest.
‘‘After all, you don’t have to hide it - you’ve been caught.
‘‘There are still consequences, especially if they are repeat offenders, but the aim is to remove the harmful behaviour.’’
Reid said the focus was on supporting students to give up vaping.
There had been some push back from students who said they didn’t want to quit, but it had more to do with addiction, he said.
Vaping, like smoking, is banned in schools, but it is proving to be addictive, which leads to anxiety, increased impulses and irritation as students crave their next hit.
Not enough is known about the long term health impacts of vaping, Reid said.
Families could get support from their GP and their were resources on the Smokefree NZ website.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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Waimakariri district plan faces more delays amid changing rules
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Changing Government legislation is causing headaches for council staff, as Waimakariri’s new District Plan is set to be delayed again.
Waimakariri District Council development planning manager Matt Bacon said he was relieved when the last of the public hearings ended last week.
But with final council reports due on December 13, staff will have just two working days to present the final District Plan on December 17. A district plan helps to control and manage the development of the district or city.
‘‘We are working through what it looks like and we will update the council at its meeting on December 3,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘But we will likely seek another extension from the environment minister and the Resource Management Act (RMA) minister.’’
The council first notified its draft District Plan in September 2021, but within months legislation was introduced with new medium density residential housing standards (MDRS).
‘‘We needed to call for further submissions and we had to create a separate hearing panel to consider the plan variations to allow for the MDRS,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘We have tried to merge the process as much as possible, as well as looking at re-zoning and incorporating other new legislation.’’
When the draft plan was first notified there was no National Policy Statement (NPS) for Indigenous Biodiversity, but an NPS was introduced - and then replaced.
The Natural and Built Environment Act came into being last year and then repealed, and then there is the NPS on Urban Development and the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
The Government is now working on more RMA reforms and Environment Canterbury is working on the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement.
And then there is the Fast-Track Approvals Bill, which includes three proposed housing developments in Waimakariri - two of them outside of the future urban development areas identified in the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
All three housing developments in the Bill have been included in submissions to the District Plan, including a proposed 850-home development at Ohoka, near Rangiora, which is also subject to an Environment Court appeal.
‘‘We haven’t seen the detail, so whether it is the same proposals, we don’t know, but they are different processes so we have to just keep doing what we are doing, until we are told otherwise,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘It might just be a timing thing, but we just don’t know.’’
Bacon said delaying the District Plan until new legislation is in place is not an option.
‘‘We are looking at what we can control and having a watching brief, and we will look at transitional timings because we don’t always have to immediately change planning documents when new legislation comes in.’’
Planning manager Wendy Harris said navigating changing Government legislation is a normal part of council planning work.
‘‘If we waited we wouldn’t do anything and we would go nowhere.’’
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
The tiger who came to tea
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