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Nelson shellfish slump ‘must end’
By HELEN MURDOCH – Saturday, 29 November 2008
Nelson Maori back a call for an urgent investigation into the disappearance of Tasman Bay's shellfish. .
Scallop and oyster fisheries had crashed in Tasman Bay.
Waitangi Tribunal director Darrin Sykes referred to an impending treaty breach during the presentation of a report into Te Tau Ihu O Te Waka A Maui (northern South Island) claims in Nelson.
The area had been off-limits to commercial scallop boats for two years, and recreational fishermen report scant hauls.
Nelson's Tiakina te Taiao chairman, Barney Thomas, said iwi would investigate the issue if the region's mayors did not take leadership.
The tribunal recommended the Crown and iwi investigate and find a solution to the threatened fisheries.
Tiakina te Taiao represents six upper South Island iwi.
Motueka-based Ngati Tama chairman Fred Te Miha could not pinpoint the cause of the problem, but insisted the solution lay in the hands of the community.
The health of Tasman Bay was vital for the community and the region, he said."
Cawthron Institute marine scientist Dr Paul Gillespie said the bay's filter-feeding oysters and scallops were dying in the turbulent fine silt covering the bay's floor.
"The people and the stakeholders, including iwi, have to get together and put their hands in their pockets and investigate what is happening.
Seabed disturbance by fishing killed the micro-algae that "glued" the silts together. The silt was the result of land development and years of commercial dredging and trawling.
Gillespie warned that Golden Bay's shellfish could face the same fate.
Gillespie warned that Golden Bay's shellfish could face the same fate.
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Another spring blast of wind and rain
By KATHERINE NEWTON Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Subtropical spring winds are forecast to whip through Wellington and the lower North Island this morning.
MetService is predicting northwesterly gusts of up to 130kmh around the hills and south coast of the capital, as well as exposed parts of the Wairarapa, this morning.
Wellington airport was open last night, with staff not expecting the weather to affect flights.
Winds could damage trees and power lines and make driving dangerous, MetService warned.
Heavy rain was expected last night in Nelson, the Marlborough Sounds and the lower North Island, moving up the country today to Mt Taranaki, Mt Ruapehu and eastern Bay of Plenty. Interislander ferry sailings were also on schedule, despite severe northerly gale warnings for Cook Strait. .
Up to 150 millimetres of rain has been forecast to fall on Mt Taranaki, while up to 100 millimetres was expected in the hill country around Mt Ruapehu. Winds should die down this afternoon and temperatures could fall later in the week as a southwesterly wind change moves on to the country.
The humid conditions should not last long.
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Hospital at fault in fatal bungle
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
A drug mix-up at Wanganui Hospital contributed to the death of a Canadian man visiting for his son's wedding, a coroner has found.
John Peter Taylor, 62, died in April 2006 – three weeks after he had been the best man at his son William's wedding in Wanganui.
Mr Taylor was admitted to Wanganui Hospital with heart and kidney problems five days before his death, but his health deteriorated after a nurse gave him another patient's medication.
His widow, Noreen, says she is still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her husband of 38 years – a generous father of four, with 13 grandchildren, who enjoyed dressing up as Santa and running Christmas fundraisers.
Mr Taylor died after being transferred to Wellington Hospital, three days after receiving the wrong medicine – time that Mrs Taylor said they spent planning his farewell.
The mistake "contributed to the irreversibility" of Mr Taylor's condition, Wellington coroner Ian Smith ruled in his inquest report, made public yesterday..
"He had two days to plan his funeral . I did everything he asked for," she said from Canada..
"Mr Taylor could have been considered for a pericardiectomy [heart operation] with a potentially good outcome," Wellington School of Medicine cardiologist Stewart Mann said.
An expert who reviewed the case said though it was debatable whether Mr Taylor should have been allowed to travel to New Zealand, it was possible he could have had life-saving surgery if his condition had improved."
The nurse concerned apologised for her mistake during the inquest, saying she continued to feel distressed and remorseful.
"The inadvertent administration of a tablet of [the drug] contributed to the irreversibility of his decline but was not the fundamental cause."
Lorelle Taylor said her father-in-law's death just two weeks after their wedding had been "a terrible blow for the whole family.
William Taylor said: "We always knew it was negligence that killed Pop but now we have it in black and white."
Wanganui Hospital has since changed its procedures for administrating medication to patients – though Mr Taylor's death was not the sole reason for the changes.
"It was especially upsetting for Ma to be sent a huge bill for his hospital treatment, although that was withdrawn after ACC accepted the claim.
"The nurse knew immediately that she had made an error and given the medication to the wrong patient.
Whanganui District Health Board chief executive Julie Patterson said Mr Taylor's family had their "heartfelt sympathy"."
Since 2006, Wanganui Hospital has faced a paediatrics and obstetrics crisis that forced pregnant women to go to other hospitals, and a filing mistake that left hundreds of patients without hospital referrals – one of whom later died of cancer. She alerted her supervisor at once, and the patient's condition was closely monitored.
But Mrs Patterson said Mr Taylor's death was a case of "true human error" and even the best systems were fallible.
A Health and Disability Commission report into gynaecologist Roman Hasil – whose bungling of tube-tying operations led to six women becoming pregnant – found problems with the hospital's management.
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Rotten eggs stench lingers on Wellington fairway
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
A decade after Wellington's $149 million sewerage plant opened, a report confirms nasty gases smelling like dead bodies, decaying cabbage and rotten eggs are oozing from the site in warm weather.
A flurry of complaints is forcing remedial work to reduce the stench escaping from the Moa Pt Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The extended dry spell last summer led to complaints about nasty odours from the plant, typically from people living close toby on the south coast and from golfers at Miramar Golf Course. Seawater is rich with sulphates that create a good environment for nasty gases to be generated.
Reports commissioned by Capacity, part of Wellington City Council, have found that high levels of seawater in the sewerage system are the likely cause.
One of the most common gases is hydrogen sulphide, which produces the classic "Rotorua odour". The problem is potentially worse during hot months when compounds which cause odours can double in concentration.
Capacity operations manager Gary O'Meara said Wellington skyscrapers were a big contributor to the seawater."
The Moa Pt plant cost $149 million and was completed in 1998 after 20 years of public debate. "Most high-rise buildings, which have basements below the tidal level, have pumps to keep them dry and that does get into the wastewater system.
The report also says that "concrete in the biosolids storage tanks have undergone rapid deterioration due to acid attack after 10 years in service" and would become unserviceable in the close to future without remedial work.
A report by expert Keith Davis recommends that direct entry of seawater from basement pumps should be removed first and, in the long term, parts of the networkbe upgraded to reduce the amount of seawater entering through pipe joints and old pumping stations. .
He warns that the long-term detrimental effects of seawater in the network will have far-reaching financial effects on the community in the future. None of the odour complaints lodged this year saw the plant breach its resource consent conditions. None of the odour complaints lodged this year saw the plant breach its resource consent conditions
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Winds fan Raglan blaze
By REBECCA HARPER – Saturday, 08 November 2008
MARK TAYLOR/
HOT STUFF: Firefighters battle a scrub fire at Ngarunui Beach close to Raglan last night. .45pm and spread about one kilometre back towards the town as firefighters worked to stop it.
The fire, burning in toe toe and grass on an embankment above the beach, began about 4.
Northern fire communications shift manager Jaron Phillips said more than half a hectare of steep, almost cliff-like, terrain was on fire.
The fire did not threaten any buildings but efforts to control it were hampered by a combination of strong winds early in the evening, the steep terrain and gorse.
"The wind is not helping us at all," Mr Berryman said.
Hamilton deputy fire chief Martin Berryman said firefighters brought in from around the region had worked to control the fire that was closest to the surf club but it had spread back towards Raglan in the other direction, fanned by 30 knot winds.
The vehicles were parked in the Wainui reserve, closing vehicle access while they drew water from a close toby stream.
Raglan firefighters had the support of nine appliances and tankers and their crews brought in from the central Hamilton, Pukete, Te Akau, Ngaruawahia, Te Awamutu and Pirongia stations.
Mr Berryman said it was too early to say what might have caused the fire.
A helicopter with a monsoon bucket was drafted in from Thames last night to help bring the fire under control.
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Te Anau water drama ends well
Monday, 27 October 2008
Police have praised the actions of boaties whose fast response saved eight people clinging to a sinking boat on Lake Te Anau.
Sergeant Tod Hollebon, of Te Anau, said the boat got into trouble close to the entrance to South Arm about 5pm on Saturday when a strong southerly wind was building up a chop on the lake.
Rescuer Trevor Miller, of Balclutha, who had two teenaged boys and an adult aboard his boat, had been fishing close to South Arm when the weather worsened and he decided to make a run for shore.
"We were quite safe but their boat was quite a bit smaller than ours," Miller said. As they headed in, he noticed a smaller boat also making for shore in the rough waters. I've always been safety conscious and I hope someone would have done the same for me. "I slowed down a bit to keep with them and told the boys to keep an eye on their boat."
He watched as the boat started to sink, stern first. "It was a bit worrying, especially when you see kids in the water," he said.
Five children and three adults were clinging to the submerged hull by the time Miller got back to them. Miller then ferried the group back to shore where a St John officer treated them.
Ski ropes were used to pull those in the water aboard before another boat arrived and pulled the last child and adult from the water.
The 4.
"I just did what anyone else would have done," Miller said.9m fibreglass cabin boat with three adults and five children aboard was struck by two large waves and sank stern-first, leaving only the bow above water.9m fibreglass cabin boat with three adults and five children aboard was struck by two large waves and sank stern-first, leaving only the bow above water. . Hollebon said the children were wearing lifejackets but the adults were not.
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Court rules beating footage should be seen
Monday, 29 September 2008
The Auckland High Court has ordered that a videotape of a prisoner being beaten and pepper-sprayed in a police cell should be seen by the public.
More than eight hours of footage was filmed at the Whakatane police station where Rawiri Falwasser, 20, was badly injured while in custody on Labour Day in 2006.
The policemen convinced the trial judge to prevent television stations from showing those images to the public.
In June the closed-circuit television tapes of the incident were played to a Tauranga District Court jury that acquitted Sergeant Keith Parsons, 51, Sergeant Earle Busby, 46, Senior Constable Bruce Laing, 53, and Constable John Mills, 39, of nine charges of assaulting Mr Falwasser.
Both broadcasters showed footage from the tapes today and TV3 reported that the High Court decreed the trial decision not to release the tapes was "wrong in every way".
TVNZ and TV3 sought the release of the tapes because not releasing the them would "inevitably lead to a view that the jury got it wrong and lead to public questioning of the verdict".
He is bashed in the head with a baton, leaving him bleeding.
It said the perspex walls of Mr Falwasser's cell at the Whakatane police station gave a clear view of what happened to him.
The tape also shows Mr Falwasser being sprayed repeatedly with pepper spray through vents in the cell, at one point he tries to block the vents with clothing and at another he drops to the ground.
Police said they were using reasonable force, Mr Falwasser said he feared for his life.
But Police Association president Greg O'Connor said the public would only get half the story.
M r Falwasser's mother said despite the verdict she was pleased the tape had finally been made public.
Mr O'Connor said the release would result in trial by media.
"The problem is there's no sound on the tape so the public will not hear the entreaties, they will not be told that Mr Falwasser's brother, that a medical professional, that a mental health professional, had attempted to obtain his co-operation before this happened," Mr O'Connor said. However, seen segmented and edited it will be the enemy, not only of the officers but of police and the justice system in New Zealand.
"These officers thought the video was their friend in this situation, and it was — when seen in its entirety.
Crown prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch earlier told the court the public interest in the case was wider than just the verdict: "It related to how a person was treated in custody."
But the High Court today ruled the reputation and rights of police officers were outweighed by the public's right to see the evidence that led a jury to acquit them."