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Hydro-lakes spill flushes didymo out
– Tuesday, 03 February 2009
A controlled flood has flushed much of the didymo in the Waitaki River out to sea but the reprieve may be short.
The invasive algae in the river's main channels has been washed away after a recent hydro-lakes spill.
The flood, initiated by power company Meridian Energy two weeks ago, came after a request from Fish and Game that water not needed for power generation be used to clean the braided river.
However, Fish and Game New Zealand warns didymo may return within months.
Environment Canterbury also took the opportunity to bulldoze a new path for the Waitaki at its mouth, where a shingle spit had developed, pushing the river north for 3.
Excess water from Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki and Lake Benmore was spilt down the river valley, with the river's mean flow of about 250 cubic metres a second (cumecs) almost quadrupling to 950 cumecs. .5 kilometres.
"Much, if not all, of the didymo has been cleared off the gravels.
More than a dozen mostly salmon anglers had reported that didymo had disappeared in the main channels and the river was much cleaner, he said.
"Some of the anglers are making comments it's `like the old days', they can cast 10 or 12 times without cleaning off their hook. Some of what has been washed away could still be hung up in quiet backwaters, but in more active channels it's largely cleared out. The cells are still there.
"Not every last scrap of it (didymo) will have gone though. We're not sure how long it will take could be a matter of weeks or months. We are still watching to see how and when it comes back.
"The biggest thing for us was the opening of the (river) mouth."
Environment Canterbury southern region duty flood controller Tony Henderson said the flushing flow had been a success.
"The reports we have had are that not a lot of vegetation was cleared out, except vegetation on the edge of the flow gorse and rubbish like that. It certainly has cleaned out the river."
Meridian spokeswoman Claire Shaw said the company had stopped spilling from the Waitaki hydro scheme late last week. The flow was constrained mainly to the central part of the river. There's a very, very dry forecast for this week. "We're back to normal.
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Wellington city council evicts truck protester
Friday, 30 January 2009
JOHN CROWLEY/
MOVING OUT: A policewoman lends a hand as Jennifer Graham removes belongings from her housetruck before the vehicle was towed away by wellington City Council. Last night Graham camped out on the street.
Jennifer Graham has lived in her truck in the same central Wellington parking space in Stout St since September even getting mail delivered there.
AWoman is living on the street after her illegally parked housetruck was seized by Wellington City Council.
The council has issued written warnings saying it is illegal to camp on a city street, but Ms Graham has refused to acknowledge the council as a legitimate authority. About $5000 of parking fines had been issued before the council instead tried moving her along. Three police officers, requested by the council, were on hand.
Yesterday the council had a towing company remove the housetruck and a 1957 Morris Minor called Annabel, which sat on an attached trailer.
A postie briefly interrupted her move to deliver a handful of mail.
Ms Graham was given two hours to remove her possessions including suitcases and cardboard boxes on to the Stout St pavement, where she remained last night, sitting on a cushion and covered by a tarpaulin.
Ms Graham refused to comment. Letters found their way to Ms Graham, despite being addressed to "Jennifer at concrete pole No 462" or "Jennifer in Stout St". "She has voluntarily decided to live on the streets. ."
She would be charged several hundred dollars in towing fees. Obviously, we couldn't leave her vehicles sitting there, so we organised for them to be taken away.
"We don't want Jennifer to live on the street.
Council citizen engagement director Wendy Walker said the situation was far from ideal. However, the central city is not the place for people to commandeer a number of parking spaces and set up semi-permanent camp. We are very concerned for her wellbeing. Accommodation with the council-funded Downtown Community Ministry was also refused."
Council offers to make the housetruck roadworthy and have it warranted and registered, as long as she stopped camping in a public place, had been rejected.
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Schools Plus plan fails value-for-money test
– Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Nearly $750,000 of government money spent developing a programme to help failing students may come to nothing, new figures show.
has obtained, under the Official Information Act, costings for the former government's controversial Schools Plus programme, which has been scrapped by the National-led Government. It spent a total of $321,805 on staff and overheads dedicated to the Schools Plus policy.
The figures show the Ministry of Education spent $172,000 on external contractors, including a communication consultant.
Schools Plus was a Labour plan to keep the 20 per cent of students who leave school without any qualification in some sort of training.
In total, the ministry spent nearly $750,000 on it.
National's rival policy is Youth Guarantee, which proposes a universal education entitlement for all 16 and 17-year-olds. An education and training age of 17 was to be introduced in 2011 and lifted to 18 in 2014.
In a briefing to Education Minister Anne Tolley, the ministry said the Government needed to "choose over coming Budgets whether and how it accommodate increased participation by young people".
National believes its policy will cost $60 million, but the ministry would not release its own costings on it.
"If it is not possible to fund this growth in participation for young people through increased funding for the tertiary system, it will be necessary to consider reduced public investment in some other student groups," the briefing said.
The Treasury had identified Schools Plus and the possible expansion of vocational training as a risk factor.
"The figures show that we are adrift of things there and we need something to engage those 16 to 19-year-olds in education," Gall said.
Secondary Principals Association president Peter Gall said a clear Government policy to deal with failing students was vital. It's got to be properly resourced. "Whatever happens has got to be properly funded. . The sort of kids we're talking about are resource-hungry. "But you've got to look long-term and what does it cost if you don't do it."
Gall said "everything is up for grabs" under a new Government in tough economic times." He said he had no idea how much the Youth Guarantee would cost."
Former education minister Chris Carter, who presided over the Schools Plus policy, said: "To make Schools Plus work we had to have the sector on side because they were going to implement it.
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Tolley did not respond to questions
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Community throw open curtains for Year of the Ox
Monday, 26 January 2009
Almost 600 guests celebrated Chinese New Year on Saturday night as they ate a sumptuous Asian feast.
Today marks the official start of the Year of the Ox, in which people who are hard working, strong and honest are born. It brought together people from a range of Asian countries.
Head of the Chinese New Year feast steering committee, Thomas Lin, said the party was the biggest celebration of its kind held in Christchurch. .
"This party was not only for Chinese. We are all from the same family and we should share the happiness. We don't want to close the doors and celebrate ourselves.
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Lin said having members of Parliament and representatives of different cultural groups together to celebrate the New Year was like a "dream come true"
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Minister turns up heat on ID theft
Sunday, 25 January 2009
The justice minister has ordered an urgent report into the problem of people giving police false identities, after hearing of two women who contacted the Sunday Star-Times in a last-ditch bid to clear their names.
Simon Power is hoping to receive the report from officials today and says he will ensure he is briefed on the process of wiping fines and convictions for people falsely accused.
Holly Auld, from Drury, near Auckland, and Morwenna Reweti, from Taupo, are the women who prompted the report.
They came to the Star-Times after seeing a story we published on December 28, about how easy it is for people to give police false names. They contacted the newspaper separately but their fruitless, frustrating battles to clear their names and hundreds of dollars of fines are very similar.
A recent change to the Policing Act means police can now fingerprint even minor offenders without arrest, which they hope will help stop the use of false names. As long as a person provides a matching birthdate and full name, police do not need to see identification making it simple for family members in particular to dodge fines.
But Auld and Reweti, who both had their identities stolen, say there is still something very wrong with the system meant to help innocent parties clear their names. It says the courts rely on information passed on by police, so people must also follow up with police to ensure the fines are not refiled by the court.
The Ministry of Justice's Collection Unit said in a statement that people who believe they are the victims of identity fraud need to produce evidence of that, and file a Form 57, available from courts. The sister has apparently pretended to be Auld four times since, racking up seven fines totalling $2210 (Auld has not checked her demerit points).
Auld, 32, who lives with her young family on a dairy farm, has paperwork showing her older sister first gave police her name and birthdate in 1998..
Police have wiped some of the fines and Auld was sure the remaining $700 would be transferred to her sister in December, when the sister went to Papakura District Court and signed a statutory declaration: "Please put these fines under my name….."
But five days later the court's deputy registrar replied, declining the request as "the grounds specified were not sufficient". I was driving the vehicles."
Reweti, a 25 year-old receptionist, says her sister was pulled over on Christmas Day, 2007.
Auld says: "The thing that bothers me the most is thinking, what else can your name be used for? It worries me. But the fines and 35 demerit points were entered against Reweti's name. Police slapped the learner driver with fines for driving with passengers, speeding and not having a warrant of fitness. But she forgot to follow up with police and is still being asked to pay.
She was shocked when the fines arrived in the mail, and filed for a Form 57 to dispute them.
Police said they could not comment on these two cases as they did not have time to research them properly.
Police said they could not comment on these two cases as they did not have time to research them properly. They could not say how long it usually took for a person to clear their name. .
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Police hunting escaped Hamilton prisoners
By CLIO FRANCIS – Monday, 19 January 2009
Escaped Manawatu prisoner still on the run
Descriptions of the prisoners
Police have named three prisoners still at large aftera brazen escape from a police van in Hamilton today.
Inspector Rob Lindsay said the trio, who were all remand prisoners, had broken out ofthe police van while at traffic lights.
They had been on their way to Waikeria Prison, he said.
All three are described as Maori, between 168-170cm tall and of thin to medium build.
The men are Thomas Te Rangi, 19, Darren William Snowden, 22, and Richard Thomas Joseph also known as Richard Midwood, 30.20am.
Mr Lindsay said men had escaped the van at the lights on Ohaupo Road at the intersection with Urlich Avenue around 10.
"From there it appears they’ve made their way into a bushy gully off Pine Avenue, at the time there were three other inmates in the rear compartment with these men who opted to remain in the vehicle," he said. .
Waikato police have established cordons around the Melville area, and an extra police dog and handler had arrived from Rotorua to assist with the search operation.
Police dogs were currently searching various properties, and residents were advised to stay indoors, said Mr Lindsay.
They were not in a position to reveal the details of the escape for security reasons, he said.
The escaped prisoners:
Thomas Te Rangi , 19, aka Steely Terangi, a male Maori of medium build, 170cm tall last seen wearing a grey sweatshirt.
"As in any of these situations we advise the public to be cautious and not approach the men, if you see anything suspicious phone 111 immediately," he said.
Darren William Snowden , 22, a male Maori of medium build 168cm tall with long braided hair wearing dark pants and a dark grey T-shirt with an orange/red WS on it.
Darren William Snowden , 22, a male Maori of medium build 168cm tall with long braided hair wearing dark pants and a dark grey T-shirt with an orange/red WS on it.
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Millions unclaimed in holiday Lotto prizes
Friday, 02 January 2009
Crumpledyellow tickets potentially worth millions of dollars could be sitting in the back pockets of unsuspecting holidaymakers.
NZ Lotteries is urging people to take time out from celebrating the festive season to check their Lotto tickets, because more than $5 million in prizes remains unclaimed from Saturday's draw.2 million Powerball bonanza won at Waipukurau Paper Plus. .
"With so many Kiwis out enjoying their holidays, people may not even be aware that they have got a little yellow piece of paper worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars sitting in their pocket," said NZ Lotteries chief executive Todd McLeay. Rumours abound in the small town, but nobody has yet put their hand up for the cash."
Other unclaimed prizes include $500,000 towards a bach, won at Whitcoulls Taupo, and one Lotto first division prize of $235,588 won at Pak 'N Save Rotorua. "We encourage everyone to head to their nearest store and get their tickets checked they may find that 2009 is about to start with a bigger bang than they were expecting.
"The bubbles are chilling at our Wellington office just waiting for our lucky winners to come forward," Mr McLeay said.
Six cars, two four-wheel-drives and two boats are also still ownerless after Lotto's Holiday 100 promotion.
Saturday's first division prizes from tickets bought at Jaques Four Square in Kaiwaka, Fresh Choice Greymouth, Westside Superette in Waitakere and Take Note Paeroa have been claimed.
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Placemakers cancels contracts over substandard timber
By MICHAEL FOX – Monday, 08 December 2008
LATEST: Building materials supplier Placemakers has cut off some of itscontractors after finding substandard timber had been used for building homes.
Around 20 percent of the frames and trusses sold by Placemakers to contractors in Auckland were made from unsafe timber that should not be used for load bearing – a scandal that could affect up to 1500 homes.
Placemakers chief executive David Edwards told Newstalk ZB the substandard timber had been marked with a red dash which the suppliers had been rubbing off.
Certified Builders Association spokesperson Derek Baxter said there had been nine affected homes identified by inspectors since Wednesday.
The company was going through its records and contacting individual homeowners to ensure there were no serious faults with the homes built using the substandard timber.
Building inspectors would now be taking greater care when going over homes and any other faults were more likely to be picked up.
It was thought only two suppliers had been identified so far, he said.
"It definitely will be that inspectors will be much more cautious and rightly so," he said.
The faulty timber could lead to sagging ceilings and cracked gib, with windows and doors potentially sticking, but there was no danger of the homes collapsing, he said. .
Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey said the scam was thought to have been going for at least two years and had the potential to be as big an issue as the leaky homes saga.
Mr Baxter said the penalties imposed on the dodgy suppliers would be set by the Commerce Commission and based on the overall impact of the scandal, which was not yet known.
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Building and construction minister Maurice Williamson ordered an investigation after the Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association raised concerns last week
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Experts expect big rise in drownings
and Wednesday, 03 December 2008
A water safety group is predicting a big jump in drownings after new research showing young people's swimming skills have plummeted to "crisis" levels.
Water Safety New Zealand said the findings reflected a decision by many poorer schools to ditch learn-to-swim classes because of changes to the curriculum and new funding priorities.
The numbers would continue to soar if the Government failed to act.
New Zealand already had one of the highest drowning rates in the developed world, averaging 114 a year, WSNZ general manager Matt Claridge said.
Coroners figures released in October show drowning was the third most common type of "violent or unnatural" death in the year to June, behind suicides and road deaths. WSNZ wanted learning to swim to be made compulsory in all New Zealand schools.
Its predictions factored in population growth and Kiwis' love affair with water-based recreation activities.
But WSNZ predicted drownings would hit 150 annually in the next year and that more than 180 people would drown annually by 2030 because children were not learning how to swim.
WSNZ had commissioned research company Nielsen to investigate the swimming skills of school pupils after a similar study in 2001.
"Learn-to-swim lessons were [once] an integral component of the education delivered through the school system, but this is no longer the case," Mr Claridge said. This decline can be directly attributed to inadequate opportunitiesto develop this fundamental skill.
"The findings revealed the ability of our young people to swim and survive is deteriorating and has reached a crisis level.
"Sadly, there is a direct correlation between socio-economic status and access to learn-to-swim opportunities and it's just not good enough." Parents could no longer expect their children's schools to teach them water skills, particularly at low-decile schools serving poorer communities, he said."
Education Ministry senior manager Mary Chamberlain said aquatic skills were an essential part of the health curriculum.
"The Government and its ministries need to consider the priority and level of resources provided to schools in this area.
Others could use operations funding to pay for entry to community pools. About three-quarters of schools were funded by the ministry to maintain swimming pools.
Helping children understand water safety and gain aquatics skills was the responsibility of schools, parents and communities, she said.
All students were expected to have had opportunities to learn basic aquatic skills by the end of year six.
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Kapiti Coasters can go whistle for kettle compo
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Kapiti Coast residents will not receive compensation for damaged kettles and hot-water cylinder elements despite a report confirming that council bore water is the likely cause.
Kapiti Coast District Council commissioned the report to investigate complaints that water from its borefield, used to supplement Raumati, Paraparaumu and Waikanae's main supply during summer droughts, was burning out the heating elements of electric jugs and hot-water cylinders.
The Opus International report found that water cylinder element failures were "most probably" caused by overheating from a buildup of calcium carbonate.
But council group manager Gary Simpson said that, based on legal advice, "the council does not propose to compensate residents for damage to domestic heating elements allegedly caused by the change from river to bore water".
"The increased scale-forming tendency of the bore water is likely to be the main cause," it said..
Opus had "alluded to the difficulty of proof . .
"The water is older and chemically harder . in relation to age, service and condition of elements which failed", Mr Simpson said…"
The bore water was safe to drink and would be required for an average of up to four weeks each year for years to come. the quality that causes some electrical heating elements to fail earlier than if water is supplied from the river.
A Waikanae electrician said he had replaced hundreds of copper and nickel-plated hot-water cylinder elements in the past two summers.
A Waikanae electrician said he had replaced hundreds of copper and nickel-plated hot-water cylinder elements in the past two summers. "Stainless steel elements were blowing just two days after installation."
Another electrician had also received triple the number of callouts.
Some residents want the council to subsidise element replacements, water purifiers and rainwater tanks as another hot summer looms."
More resistant alloy elements cost about $20 more each, he said.
"We have been advised we are not liable for compensation but will inform the public more about when we are going on to the bores.
Kapiti Mayor Jenny Rowan said the council was examining at possible dam and reservoir sites to provide a long-term supplementary water supply but, in the meantime, the borefield was needed.
It recommended that residents use vinegar to decalcify elements and leave kettles empty between use."
The council would keep a log of electrical failure complaints.