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RNZ News
2 minutes ago
- RNZ News
'Very dangerous': Waipiro marina rubber-stamped for fast track
Local iwi and hapū Ngāti Kuta, Patukeha and Ngāti Hine are against a fast-tracked Waipiro Marina Project. Photo: supplied / Jay Howell The Bay of Islands community is shocked that a fast-tracked marina proposal will progress to the next stage. The approval on Monday by Minister of Infrastructure Chris Bishop comes with no support from local iwi and hapū Ngāti Kuta, Patukeha, and Ngāti Hine. "We are deeply concerned and do not understand how the minister could disregard the united oppositon to this proposal from across the district," Kohu Hakaraia of Patukeha hapū said. Bishop has been approached for comment, however, Hakaraia said they "refute" the minister's previous statements that the marina is regionally or nationally significant. The proposed build of a commercial marina will offer berthage for 200-250 recreational boating vessels with 14 spaces for 50-metre superyachts. The cost of each berth depends on the vessel size - a 10-20m slot would cost between $80,000 - $640,000 while a 20-30m berth could be priced up to $1.2 million. A public boat ramp, a parking lot, fuelling services, and hospitality and retail venues would also be constructed on reclaimed seabed with sand dredging used during construction and for maintanence. It is estimated to bring an economic impact of $177.9 to $218.8 million in value-added GDP and generate just under 150 full time jobs in construction, operations, and boat maintenance over a 30-year period. The proposed plan for up to 250 boating vessels Photo: supplied Those opposing the Waipiro Marina Project have called for transparency and accountability from the two companies - Hopper Developments and Azuma Property - and hoped the decision would go back to a Resource Management Act process. "As hapū and community, we feel that our voices have not been adequately heard," Hakaraia said. Both companies did not respond to requests for comment. An online petition has rallied 14,600 signatures disagreeing with the use of fast-track legislation for the site and Far North Mayor Moko Tepania had also pledged to write a personal letter . There has also been a stern no from boaties. Russell Boating Club members voted at their AGM in June to oppose use of the Fast Track Approvals Act 2024 with regards to the Bay of Islands project. Life member and former commodore of the club Jay Howell said the area was a quiet, treasured destination for locals to "anchor up and enjoy getting away from the hustle and bustle of Russell and the western flank of the Bay of Islands". The proposed marina and boat ramp would overwhelm the waterways with boat traffic, he said. Plus, the Ōpua-Okiato Vehicle Ferry crossing already brought long lines of cars that worsened in the summertime, Howell said. "That ferry is going to get overwhelmed by traffic. There aren't any alternatives really. They can't add more ferries and more ferry capacity, they're already at capacity. "There's infrastructure issues that Fast-Track just overlooks all of that and allows somebody [who isn't local] to make a decision that it has big ramifications locally." Boating and tourism businesses in Ōpua and Paihia were already struggling, he noted, and the marina could take business away from existing commercial centres making businesses less economically viable. A low tide aerial shot of Waipiro Bay. Photo: supplied Environmental benefits stated in the application included the creation of new marine environments, and improved ability to monitor and manage international and domestic boats that could be carrying foreign invasive species, like seaweed pest exotic caulerpa. Howell was also a member of the Eastern Bay of Islands Preservation Society. He was concerned that the influx of a couple of hundred extra boats would cause further decline of the whale and dolphin populations - something he had noticed in the last 15 years of living there. "Private boats just follow them around and don't leave them alone, and the marina will just exacerbate that situation out here." In addition, scallop beds and mussels in the area had already been decimated due to overharvesting. Te Rāwhiti residents would lose one of their main pipi beds. "There's all these impacts that the human activities are having on the marine environment in the area, and the marina will certainly put a lot more burden on all of that," Howell said. Another member of the Preservation Society, Sandra Scowen, said the area should be protected from large-scale commercial development and preserved for future generations. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Cabinet paper leak suggests Minister Nicole McKee's U-turn on alcohol sales reform
Associate Justice Minister, ACT's Nicole McKee, is reforming the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone A leaked Cabinet paper shows the government was planning to restrict the hours bottle stores and supermarkets could sell alcohol but then backed away to focus on reforms more friendly to the alcohol industry. The Associate Justice Minister - ACT's Nicole McKee - is reforming the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act and had said that part of her focus would be reducing alcohol harm, which currently costs the country $9.1 billion a year. But documents leaked to RNZ, including a draft Cabinet paper, suggest the minister is now switching the focus of her reforms to making business easier for the alcohol industry. The documents show McKee initially proposed to change off-licence sale hours, from the current 7am to 11pm, to only allow alcohol sales between 9am and 9pm. The draft Cabinet paper says restricting opening hours could have had a major impact on violent crime - preventing 2400 "violent victimisations" each year. But that move has now been axed. A Ministry of Justice email, also leaked to RNZ, shows justice officials "were directed by Minister McKee to proceed with speed to lodge a revised Cabinet paper" to go before a Cabinet committee on 13 August. "The focus of the paper had changed during negotiations - it is now on reducing regulatory burden with some of the harm reduction measures no longer included - e.g. reducing maximum default trading hours." McKee told RNZ it was regrettable her draft Cabinet paper was leaked. "I won't be discussing a few cherry-picked parts of a draft paper through the media before I've even had an opportunity to discuss the issue with my Cabinet colleagues," she said in a statement to RNZ. "I am extremely disappointed that a draft Cabinet paper has been shared with media. This undermines the integrity of the public service and erodes New Zealanders' trust in public servants." The draft Cabinet paper says restricting opening hours could have had a major impact on violent crime. Photo: RNZ The leaks show that in an early version of her Cabinet paper, McKee proposed to restrict bottle store opening hours to between 9am and 9pm in a bid to reduce violent crime. "I am focused on hazardous drinking which can lead to violent crime. Evidence shows a strong correlation between later opening hours for off-licenses and violent crime," the Cabinet paper originally said. "Ministry of Justice analysis indicates that bringing forward the closing hour to 9pm could see up to 2400 fewer violent victimisations annually." The paper said restricting opening hours would reduce sales revenue for off-licences, as about 20 percent of sales were made between 8pm and 11pm and about 2 percent before 9am. The paper originally said the impacts on business had been "weighed carefully" against the benefits of reducing violent crime. But the leaks show this was changed in a later version. "I am not proposing any changes to the maximum trading hours for license holders," McKee wrote in the updated paper, noting Auckland and Christchurch had already set a 9pm closing time under their Local Alcohol Policies. "I consider that this is sufficient to manage concerns around license hours." McKee would not be interviewed by RNZ, but confirmed her reforms would now focus on making it easier for businesses in the alcohol industry. "My focus is on reducing red tape restricting businesses and New Zealanders who play by the rules. The law Labour left us with is a mess," she said. The draft Cabinet paper obtained by RNZ shows McKee is now proposing to make it easier for clubs and bars to serve alcohol outside normal trading hours when screening major sport or cultural events. McKee's Cabinet paper also proposes giving the alcohol industry more power when faced with objections to liquor licenses. The paper says changes in 2023 allowed any person or group to oppose a liquor license but that McKee wants to overturn this so objections only come from the community impacted. "To better balance community voice and impacts on business I seek agreement to only allow objections to licensing applications by people or groups and organisations in the same territorial authority as the premises." There are also moves to protect businesses impacted by changes to a council's Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) - where communities determine when and how alcohol is sold. "To protect existing businesses if a LAP is adopted or amended I also seek agreement to prevent a DLC (District Licensing Committee) from declining a renewal application if the license would be inconsistent with the relevant LAP." The changes would also give applicants for a liquor license a right of reply to objections received in DLC hearings. Andrew Galloway. Photo: supplied Andrew Galloway, executive director of Alcohol Healthwatch, funded by the Ministry of Health, said reducing trading hours for bottlestores and supermarkets would have had a major impact on reducing alcohol harm. "Off-licences sell over 80 percent of alcohol in Aotearoa and these off-licenses are over-concentrated in the most deprived areas. Restricting off-license supply of alcohol would be especially important in reducing alcohol-related harm." Galloway said that when he became aware the government was looking at restricting off-license trading hours he said to his team "we should prepare for a U-turn" once industry lobbying swung into action. "We will continue to miss every meaningful opportunity to reduce or prevent alcohol harm in New Zealand if we continue to allow unbridled access to power for harmful commodity industries." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Spinoff
2 minutes ago
- The Spinoff
Who wants to be the next mayor of Hamilton?
There's a wide-open race to lead the city of the future. With incumbent mayor Paula Southgate headed for the door, it's anyone's game for the Hamilton mayoralty. Nominations for the race are now closed and 12 candidates are in the running. Tim Macindoe Yes, that is Tim Macindoe as in the former parliamentarian for the National Party circa 2008 to 2020 as MP for Hamilton East, who has represented the city council's East ward since February 2024. Despite being a ward representative himself, Macindoe is keen to scrap the ward system and keep a smaller council, and in the face of $1.25b in council debt, he's campaigning on the promise of balancing the council's books by putting a halt on the 'nice-to-haves' and fostering a 'customer-focused' mindset within council to keep investors and developers keen on the Tron. Clearly, Macindoe has skin in the game, but it also can't hurt his chances to have been one of the lobbyists who held the government to its promise to open a third medical school at the University of Waikato. Maria Huata This current Hamilton Māori ward representative has worn plenty of hats in her career: educator, broadcaster, translator, consultant, iwi representative, councillor and … mayor? Her campaign is largely focused on community wellbeing, telling a public forum in late July that she would address safety concerns in the city by tackling poverty, would like to establish something akin to the city's former youth council to give rangatahi a voice, and called for social housing to be designed alongside disadvantaged communities. Her broadcasting background also shines through in her hopes to revitalise the city's arts and culture offerings. Sarah Thomson A current two-term councillor and former lawyer, who once took the minister for climate change to court over the government's emission reduction goals, and kinda won but also kinda didn't. Her current work to date with the council has seen major growth in the city's natural vegetation by growing more trees and restoring local gullies, and she chairs the strategic growth and district plan committee. If elected mayor, Thomson wants to reduce the council's costs while still funding community wellbeing via City Safe and venues such as parks and pools, secure funding for a central community hub, and pressure central government to support the city's community services. Rachel Karalus A centrist and former chief executive of K'uate Pasifika Trust, and another 'back to basics' candidate who's got a 'head for detail, heart for Hamilton' – though she reckons she could balance community and commercial needs pretty well. Much like the prime minister, Karalus is keen on going for growth, with plans to reduce debt and support infrastructure projects while also prioritising environmental and social projects, and a push for the council and city to advance its technology. Rudi Du Plooy Known in some circles as 'Bokke Bo', this colourful conservative candidate has stood in a few local elections in his time and has yet to make it onto the council table. If he did, Du Plooy would like to see the city become more seniors-friendly, and would scrap IAWAI – the council-controlled organisation looking after water services across the city and Waikato district – and the city's proposed water metres, and instead investigate chlorine-free water system options and offer rates rebates for rainfall harvesters. Du Plooy is known to be pretty anti-vax (if that appeals to you, he's got a lot of content on Facebook you should check out), and once made it into the news for celebrating South Africa's Day of the Vow. Lily Carrington The youngest in the race and a representative for the Animal Justice Party. Carrington also ran for the mayoralty in 2022, with the goals of funding desexing programmes for animals and local shelters, and supporting the call for an independent commissioner for animals. Not much intel on what she'd do for the city's transport, infrastructure or economy, but at least your pet will have a voice. Dave Taylor A 'thought-leadership consultant' and Green-adjacent candidate with a storied background in writing and publishing, hailing from Hamilton West (where he is also running as ward representative). As a mayor, he wants to uplift Kirikiriroa's cultural and creative communities to boost the city's identity and tourism, would prioritise investments in long-term infrastructure and green, blue and urban spaces, and wants to keep the city's Māori ward. He says his parents named him after a very handsome paediatrician. Jack Gielen This is not Gielen's first rodeo in the local elections, and it may not be his last, having stood in every Hamilton mayoral election since 2010. He is a longtime candidate, pastor of the Church of Zion, singer of dittys and founder of the NZ Suicide Prevention Trust, a role which got him into hot water he was caught stalking funerals and providing dodgy advice with no qualifications. In the 2022 local elections, Gielen told the Herald he'd like to be the father of the city, would support car-free days to encourage public transport, and would keep a 24-7 open-office policy to hear his constituent's woes. He also reckons he's got a good grasp on housing affordability and climate change. Roma Tupaea-Warren Founder of the single-issue New Zealand Constitution Party, which called for the creation of a written constitution for Aotearoa, and is also no longer a political party. We're not sure what Tupaea-Warren would bring to Hamilton as mayor, but hopefully he'll get it in writing soon. Roger Stratford A man who stands for the 'common sense folk', and who has already lost an election to Macindoe, having failed to become the East ward representative in the 2024 byelection. Stratford reckons he's the one candidate with enough guts to stand up to Christopher Luxon, and due to the city's high population of South Africans, would issue an executive order to make Afrikaans an official language immediately upon becoming mayor (which is not something a mayor can do). Guy Wayne Temoni-Syme Husband of Tania Temoni-Syme, who ran unsuccessfully in the East ward byelection with the promises of freezing rates and repairing potholes. Mr Temoni-Syme hasn't yet announced what he'd offer to the city, but you could assume he's doing it out of love. John McDonald Perhaps some larger journalistic failings at play here, but it is unclear who John McDonald actually is, and what he's going to do about the Tron. Let's hope it's good.
