
Change To Marlborough Library Opening Hours
Libraries Manager Glenn Webster said visitor numbers to Te Kahu o Waipuna had plateaued to a more sustainable level since the very high interest after the new facility opened, two years ago.
Fixed term staffing levels were introduced in December 2022 to facilitate the move to the new library with the operation now aligned to meet community demand. The change in operating hours will affect a small number of users.
Te Kahu o Waipuna's average visitor numbers per month is 24,754. Most people visit the library between the hours of 10am and 4pm with the highest average visitor usage between the hours of 11am and midday.
'The facility is a busy, vibrant place and our team work very hard to deliver a range of services to the community including the new meeting rooms and spaces which have been very well patronaged,' Mr Webster said.
'As a community hub the facility is used by visitors in many ways. Everyday Marlborough residents visit for the first time and are very complimentary of the space. They have often come looking for specific assistance – to see a Justice of the Peace, visit the exhibition at the Marlborough Art Gallery, get directions, help with a device, looking for a particular book or to attend a meeting or event.
'It has become a meeting place, workspace, exhibition and information space – somewhere warm and inviting to sit and wait, a place to feel included and part of the community,' he said.
For the year to 30 June 2025, visitor numbers to Te Kahu o Waipuna were 297,052. There were 406,217 items issued and 2,994 (5,509 hours) of room bookings made up of commercial, community and inhouse library bookings or use.

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Scoop
03-07-2025
- Scoop
Change To Marlborough Library Opening Hours
From Monday 21 July the Marlborough Library at Te Kahu o Waipuna in Blenheim will change its opening hours to close one hour earlier at 5pm Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday hours will not change. Libraries Manager Glenn Webster said visitor numbers to Te Kahu o Waipuna had plateaued to a more sustainable level since the very high interest after the new facility opened, two years ago. Fixed term staffing levels were introduced in December 2022 to facilitate the move to the new library with the operation now aligned to meet community demand. The change in operating hours will affect a small number of users. Te Kahu o Waipuna's average visitor numbers per month is 24,754. Most people visit the library between the hours of 10am and 4pm with the highest average visitor usage between the hours of 11am and midday. 'The facility is a busy, vibrant place and our team work very hard to deliver a range of services to the community including the new meeting rooms and spaces which have been very well patronaged,' Mr Webster said. 'As a community hub the facility is used by visitors in many ways. Everyday Marlborough residents visit for the first time and are very complimentary of the space. They have often come looking for specific assistance – to see a Justice of the Peace, visit the exhibition at the Marlborough Art Gallery, get directions, help with a device, looking for a particular book or to attend a meeting or event. 'It has become a meeting place, workspace, exhibition and information space – somewhere warm and inviting to sit and wait, a place to feel included and part of the community,' he said. For the year to 30 June 2025, visitor numbers to Te Kahu o Waipuna were 297,052. There were 406,217 items issued and 2,994 (5,509 hours) of room bookings made up of commercial, community and inhouse library bookings or use.


Otago Daily Times
04-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Warriors take collective approach to replace Barnett
New Zealand Warriors coach Andrew Webster was warned his players not to try filling the void left by injured co-captain Mitch Barnett alone. Barnett's season is over, after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the 36-30 win over South Sydney last weekend, leaving a giant void in the pack, as the Auckland side seek to build on a promising 9-3 start to their NRL season. In his third season at Mt Smart, the inspirational front-rower has taken his leadership to a new level, while fellow skipper James Fisher-Harris was sidelined with a pec (chest) injury. Now an automatic State of Origin selection for New South Wales, Barnett and Fisher-Harris formed a one-two punch that is probably one of the best front-row combinations in the competition, but Webster stressed no one player could be expected to step into his place. "You can't try and be Mitch, or say we've all got to do extra," he said. "Once you start doing that, you start failing at your job - everyone's just got to do their job better. "Whatever your job description is as a player, you have to make sure you improve at that, rather than trying to add workload or different stuff to your game. Everyone agrees with that. "If you try and be Mitch, it won't work out. Everyone's just got to be themselves and find their own way to improve." That blueprint already exists. When Fisher-Harris was missing, Webster moved Marata Niukore into the middle of the park and Leka Halasima off the bench. He's named Jackson Ford to start against Cronulla Sharks this week - as he did in the next game after Fisher-Harris' injury - but don't be surprised if that changes. Webster admitted his loss is a major blow, but also another test of the programme's 'next up' mentality. The Warriors have already endured injuries to marquee players like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, while continuing to juggle players through a depleted midfield. This one hits differently though, with the knowledge that Barnett will not be back this season. "There are mixed emotions," Webster admitted. "We want to celebrate Barney too, where he is in the game and what he's achieved for us at the club, playing Origin and for Australia, and finally getting in those circles that you want to be in as a player. "It's pretty heartbreaking, but Barney's been grateful for all the well-wishers he's got, particularly from his teammates and all around the world. "We're gutted, because he's such a good player, but there's optimism that somebody gets to stand up and take his spot and it's a challenge for the whole group." With scans confirming the extent of his injury, Barnett is now waiting for the injury to stabilise, before undergoing surgery. He has been around the team this week, as they prepare to take on the Sharks and now faces a different role than planned. "He was really good at training yesterday with his leadership stuff and talking to the boys about what they have to do next was very impressive," Webster said. "He's very frustrated and emotional about it, but sometimes life's not fair. We're all gutted for him, but he's a tough cookie, Mitch. "He's started that role already, mentoring and helping people. I think you'll find he initially needs to get his knee to the point where the operation can happen and we'll have to let him go for a little bit, then he'll start his rehab process and come back around the boys. "It's pretty raw at the moment, but we all know Mitch has a pretty good footy brain and loves mentoring people, so we'll just get a bit more of that, which is pleasing." Sometimes losing a key player can galvanise his teammates and elevate them to greater heights collectively. "He's been around the club and he's in good spirits," lock Erin Clark said. "We'll definitely miss his hard-nosed footy, his aggression and work ethic, but we're looking forward to the person who gets to step up and wear the jersey next to us. "No-one has to do anything more, maybe just do our job better, now that Barney's out. "He's definitely a smart footy player and, no doubt, he'll sit around with the coaches and help dissect other teams, and help us middles get better."

1News
03-06-2025
- 1News
Foodstuffs successfully trials facial recognition — but concerns remain
A trial of live facial recognition technology in supermarkets has been determined successful, although not without concerns. Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster said in a statement released this morning that the trial run by Foodstuffs North Island complied with the Privacy Act. However, he warned improvements would be needed before it could be used permanently or expanded to more stores. The commissioner launched an inquiry to understand the privacy impact of facial recognition technology, check its compliance with the Privacy Act to look at whether it was effectivel for reducing serious retail crime compared to less privacy-intrusive options. The trial, which ran from across 25 supermarkets from February 8 to September 7, scanned 225,972,004 faces. There were 1742 alerts, of which 1208 were confirmed matches. General counsel for Foodstuffs North Island Julian Benefield said the trial demonstrated that facial recognition could help reduce harm while respecting peoples privacy. ADVERTISEMENT "Our trial prevented more than 100 serious harm incidents, including assaults, with a 16% reduction in harm being demonstrated," Benefield said. The inquiry found the level of privacy intrusion was high because every visitors' face was collected but Foodstuff's "privacy safeguards used in the trial reduced it to an acceptable level", the privacy commissioner said. The main privacy safeguards Foodstuff put into place during the trial were: Images that did not result in a positive match were deleted immediately The system only identified people who had engaged in seriously harmful behaviour Staff were not permitted to add images of children or young people under 18, or people thought to be vulnerable There was no sharing of watchlist information between stores The threshold that triggered an racial recognition alert was raised from 90% to 92.5% likelihood of the images matching Match alerts were verified by two trained staff Access to the system and information was restricted to trained authorised staff only Images collected were not permitted to be used for training data purposes Systems were reviewed and improved during the trial where misidentifications or errors occurred. 'Many' privacy concerns Webster said the trial showed that the technology was effective at reducing harmful behaviour but "it has also shown that there are many things that need to be taken into account". Any business considering using the technology needed to ensure it was appropriately set up to comply with the law to avoid "significant privacy concerns" which were "particularly critical" when people needed to access essential services such as supermarkets. ADVERTISEMENT This included "the unnecessary or unfair collection of people's information, misidentification, technical bias which can reinforce existing inequities and human bias, or the ability to be used for surveillance". Webster said that because the facial recognition software was developed overseas, it had not been tested on the New Zealand population and could not be confident that there were no technical bias issues, including potential negative impacts on Māori and Pacific peoples. Improvements to facial recognition, such as ongoing reviews of the technology and updated system settings, would need to be made before it could be used permanently or expanded to more stores Webster said. Benefield said that "keeping our teams and customers safe is our top priority". "We welcome the feedback on areas for improvement and will carefully consider their recommendations, including the need to monitor accuracy, before we make any decisions about future permanent use." "The trial findings will help other businesses to ask the right questions about whether facial recognition technology is necessary and appropriate for them and to understand what they would need to do to set facial recognition technology up and run it in a privacy-protective way." Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy. (Source: 1News) ADVERTISEMENT 'Extensive measures' to manage the risks — Consumer Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said it was pleasing to see the Privacy Commissioner's inquiry acknowledge many concerns raised on behalf of consumers who have had their information collected as part of this deployment. "We will be reading the inquiry report with interest in the coming days, particularly the strength of the evidence put forward to convince the regulator that the technology has prevented in-store harm events before they occurred." The organisation emphasised the finding that the use of live facial recognition technology would be justifiable only if privacy risks were successfully managed. "We note the extensive measures Foodstuffs has needed to put in place to satisfy the Office of the Privacy Commissioner that it can manage the significant privacy risks the technology poses. "Businesses without Foodstuff's scale and financial resources may struggle to satisfy the requirements of the Privacy Act in the same way and should take expert advice before proceeding."