Latest news with #DunedinLandSearchandRescue
Otago Daily Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Festival seeks charity partners
Organisers of November's Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival are calling for local charities to apply for the potentially lucrative position of festival charity partner. The festival appoints charity partners each year, giving charities the chance to participate in the two-day festival, set this year for November 7 and 8. At the end of each festival, attendees can choose to either have the remaining credit on their wristband refunded or donate it to a festival charity, a useful fundraising opportunity. Otago University Students Association marketing and communications manager Ingrid Roding said the festival was cashless and used RFID payment technology in its wristbands, with participants loading credit on to the wristbands to buy items. "So, the festival is a great opportunity for the chosen charities, who are able to collect wristbands with unused credit at the end of the festival," she said. In 2024, Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival charity partners Otago Youth Wellness Trust, Dunedin Land Search and Rescue, and Ōtepoti-Dunedin Whānau Refuge were able to raise a total of $28,000. "Not only do they get to fundraise, the festival is also a great opportunity for charities to educate the public and raise awareness." Applications for charities are available now at and close at 5pm on July 16. To be eligible, you must be a registered charity or charitable trust and be based in Dunedin or have a local branch that will benefit directly. Charity partners must be able to provide volunteers on both days of the event to assist in wristband collection.
Otago Daily Times
24-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Govt invests $76.7m in search and rescue
Associate Minister of Transport James Meager announces $76.7 million of funding for 12 search and rescue organisations at Coastguard's Dunedin base yesterday. He is flanked by Dunedin Coastguard president Blair Olsen (left), Dunedin Land Search and Rescue chairman Ben Mulvey and local search and rescue workers. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY More than $70 million in government search and rescue investment will help organisations continue to save lives, Dunedin groups say. At the Dunedin Coastguard building yesterday, Associate Minister of Transport James Meager announced a further $76.7m in funding for New Zealand Search and Rescue, over three years and shared across 12 organisations, including Land Search and Rescue ($30.1m), Coastguard NZ ($11.3m) and the New Zealand Aviation Federation ($542,000). Mr Meager said the funding was an investment in safety and efficiency for search and rescue teams. "Alongside the clear benefits for New Zealanders' health and safety while they get out and explore, this package highlights the government's commitment to helping grow our economy by supporting a safe and secure recreational aviation system," he said. "Fundamentally, it's my hope that announcements like these will help everyone to keep safe when they're outdoors, whether that's on the land, in the water or in the air." The funding was based on excise payments from recreational boats and aircraft users. Dunedin Coastguard president Blair Olsen said the funding would help provide personal protective equipment such as immersion suits or emergency position-indicating radio beacons. "Anything that helps a volunteer go out on to the water, keep them safe and bring the people back to shore safely as well." Dunedin LandSAR chairman Ben Mulvey said the funding would allow standardised equipment for groups across the country. "Previously, equipment had been funded individually, and as a volunteer, there's other demands in your life between time and money that allow the ability to volunteer. "Having this equipment funded is one less barrier to entry for our volunteers." LandSAR chief development and project officer Johnny Franklin said the funding demonstrated the government's confidence and trust in the organisation and its volunteers. "And our ability to continue to deliver the professional level [of] services to the missing, injured and lost, not only today, but more importantly, into the future."
