Latest news with #Gardyne
Scoop
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Step Up, Stand For Local Government : Candidate Nominations For The Local Government Elections Open This Week
Tuesday, 1 July 2025, 12:19 pm Press Release: Taupo District Council If you're passionate about your community and have ideas for how to make it even better, then now is the time to make your stand in the local government elections. These elections occur every three years and are your opportunity to represent your community and the district. The next local election will be held on 11 October. Taupō District Council chief executive Julie Gardyne says standing for local government is a great opportunity to make a difference for the communities you live in and love. 'Our council will be governed by the Mayor and 12 councillors. Councillors are elected to both represent the district and to be a voice for their wards to ensure all our communities are heard. 'Council's current vision is to be a district of connected communities who thrive and embrace opportunities. 'We are focused on providing opportunities to give our smaller communities a voice in what we do, while also attracting people to invest in our local economy. 'While we don't know exactly what lies ahead over the next three years, we do know it will be both challenging and rewarding as we focus on doing the essentials well, maintaining our current level of services and community facilities, and balancing our books. 'As a councillor, you'll be guiding our district through it all, and making sure we're sustainable for future generations,' says Mrs Gardyne. The Taupō District Council election will be for the mayor and 12 councillors as follows: Mayor at large One councillor for the Mangakino-Pouakani ward One councillor for the Taupō East Rural ward Seven councillors for the Taupō ward Two councillors for the Te Papamārerea Māori ward One councillor for the Tūrangi-Tongariro ward Before every election the chief executive provides an independent pre-election report that outlines the important issues and opportunities facing Council and the major projects underway or planned. It also sets out Council's financial position and seeks to promote public discussion about the issues across the district. The information is drawn from the Long-term Plan 2024- 34, Annual Reports and Annual Plan 2025-26 to create this report. All these documents are available at Nominations for the Mayor and councillors open on Friday 4 July and must be received no later than 12 noon on Friday 1 August. Candidates need two nominators that are enrolled in the ward for which they are standing. Detailed requirements are set out in the candidate handbook which is available with the nomination forms at Step up. Stand for local government. Maranga ake. Me tū ake, hei kanohi mō te Kaunihera ā rohe. © Scoop Media
Otago Daily Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Gardyne rejects accusation of ‘disrespectful' conduct
The chairman of a southern council group is unrepentant about his behaviour at a recent meeting, which was dubbed "disrespectful" by a council leader. Mataura catchment liaison committee chairman Hugh Gardyne has also rejected the use of "kia ora" in an email which reprimanded him for his actions. The committee Mr Gardyne oversees is one of eight in the region that support Environment Southland with local river work. In May, Mr Gardyne gave a blunt presentation to councillors alleging catchment management was in "a state of paralysis" under the watch of the council chief executive and communication was ineffective with the general manager in charge. He was shut down at the end of his talk when he mentioned an abatement notice — later revealed to be one issued by Environment Southland against itself. A letter from council chairman Nicol Horrell on May 28 warned Mr Gardyne about his behaviour, saying parts of his presentation were factually incorrect and disrespectful. "My intention is both to correct your understanding of the facts, and to inform you that councillors will not tolerate any criticism levelled at staff in public meetings, or disrespectful behaviour," Mr Horrell wrote. Mr Horrell said it was incorrect to suggest catchment work was in a state of paralysis and accused Mr Gardyne of not having all the facts. "I would be interested to know from where you are getting your information." The letter ended with a suggestion Mr Gardyne apologise to the chief executive and manager in question. But Mr Gardyne has defended his actions, saying his criticism was about questioning professional ability. "It doesn't, in my opinion, deserve a response or an apology." Mr Gardyne said he would speak at the council again in the future and the response from the general manager had been "great" following the presentation. Separately, he also took exception with the use of "kia ora" in the email sent by Mr Horrell which contained the reprimand. Mr Gardyne requested he instead be addressed with "hello" or "dear". Mr Horrell told Local Democracy Reporting it was common practice to use the te reo Māori greeting and he did not think its use would have been Mr Gardyne's biggest issue. "I would have thought that that's almost a wee bit racist," Mr Horrell said. In a letter back to Mr Horrell, Mr Gardyne doubled down on perceived issues with river management and questioned whether the chairman's concerns were shared by other members. Environment Southland oversees eight catchment liaison committees, which help the council develop annual maintenance programmes and budgets. Mr Gardyne has been involved with the Mataura group since the early 1990s.
Scoop
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Chair Refuses To Apologise, Rejects Use Of ‘Kia Ora' In Council Email
A chair of a southern council group is unrepentant about his behaviour at a recent meeting, which was dubbed "disrespectful" by a council leader. Mataura catchment liaison committee chair Hugh Gardyne has also rejected the use of 'kia ora' in an email reprimanding him for his actions. The committee Gardyne oversees is one of eight in the region that supports Environment Southland with local river work. In May, Gardyne gave a blunt presentation to councillors, alleging catchment management was in "a state of paralysis" under the watch of the council chief executive and that communication was ineffective with the general manager in charge. He was shut down at the end of his talk, when he mentioned an abatement notice later revealed to be one issued by Environment Southland against itself. A letter from Environment Southland chair Nicol Horrell on 28 May warned Gardyne of his behaviour, saying parts of his presentation were factually incorrect and disrespectful. "My intention is both to correct your understanding of the facts, and to inform you that councillors will not tolerate any criticism levelled at staff in public meetings or disrespectful behaviour," Horrell wrote. He added it was incorrect to suggest catchment work was in a state of paralysis and accused Gardyne of not having all the facts. "I would be interested to know from where you are getting your information." The letter ended with a suggestion that Gardyne apologise to the chief executive and manager in question, but Gardyne has defended his actions, saying his criticism was about questioning professional ability. "It doesn't, in my opinion, deserve a response or an apology." Gardyne said he would speak at council again in the future and the response from the general manager had been "great", following the presentation. Separately, he also took exception with the use of 'kia ora' in the email sent by Horrell, which delivered the reprimanding letter. Gardyne requested he instead be addressed with 'hello' or 'dear'. Horrell told Local Democracy Reporting using the te reo Māori greeting was commonplace and he didn't think its use would be Gardyne's biggest issue. "I would have thought that that's almost a wee bit racist." In a letter back to Horrell, Gardyne doubled down on perceived issues with river management and questioned whether the chair's concerns were shared by other members. Environment Southland oversees eight catchment liaison committees, which help the council develop annual maintenance programmes and budgets, as well as provide a local point of contact. Gardyne has been involved with the Mataura group since the early 1990s. Last month, the council said it was working to improve communication with its catchment committees.
Otago Daily Times
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Catchment chair refuses to apologise; rejects use of ‘kia ora'
Hugh Gardyne is the chair of the Mataura Catchment Liaison Committee, which helps Environment Southland with river management. Photo: Supplied A chair of a Southern council group is unrepentant about his behaviour at a recent meeting which was dubbed "disrespectful" by the council boss. Mataura Catchment Liaison Committee chair Hugh Gardyne has also rejected the use of "kia ora" in an email which reprimanded him for his actions. The committee Gardyne oversees is one of eight in the region which supports Environment Southland with local river work. In May, Gardyne gave a blunt presentation to councillors alleging catchment management was in "a state of paralysis" under the watch of the council chief executive, and that communication was ineffective with the general manager in charge. He was shut down at the end of his talk when he mentioned an abatement notice — later revealed to be one issued by Environment Southland against itself. A letter from council chair Nicol Horrell on 28 May warned Gardyne of his behaviour, saying parts of his presentation were factually incorrect and disrespectful. "My intention is both to correct your understanding of the facts, and to inform you that councillors will not tolerate any criticism levelled at staff in public meetings, or disrespectful behaviour," Horrell wrote. Horrell added that it was incorrect to suggest catchment work was in a state of paralysis and accused Gardyne of not having all the facts. "I would be interested to know from where you are getting your information." The letter ended with a suggestion that Gardyne apologise to the chief executive and manager in question. But Gardyne has defended his actions, saying his criticism was about questioning professional ability. "It doesn't, in my opinion, deserve a response or an apology." Gardyne said he would speak at council again in the future and the response from the general manager had been "great" following the presentation. Separately, he also took exception with the use of "kia ora" in the email sent by Horrell which delivered the reprimanding letter. Gardyne requested he instead be addressed with "hello" or "dear". Horrell told Local Democracy Reporting it was common practice to use the te reo Māori greeting and didn't think its use would have been Gardyne's biggest issue. "I would have thought that that's almost a wee bit racist." In a letter back to Horrell, Gardyne doubled down on perceived issues with river management and questioned whether the chair's concerns were shared by other members. Environment Southland oversees eight catchment liaison committees which help the council develop annual maintenance programs and budgets, as well as provide a local point of contact. Gardyne has been involved with the Mataura group since the early 1990s. The council said last month it was working to improve communication with its catchment committees. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
The Herald Scotland
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish firm purchases ‘renowned' floating oil platform
Amplus announced the selection of Astican Shipyard in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to undertake a major multi-million-pound work scope in preparation for the redeployment of 'one of the offshore industry's most iconic Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) units'. The Petrojarl I - most recently in operation offshore Brazil - will undergo a "critical reactivation and readiness programme" at the Spanish facility. As the "most frequently redeployed FPSO in the industry, the vessel continues to attract strong market interest thanks to its renowned operational flexibility and proven performance". The vessel from above. (Image: Amplus) Amplus Energy said it has now completed formal closure on the purchase of the Petrojarl I. Amplus also welcomed the new lay-up team from strategic partner Offshore, who are now supporting safe and efficient operations during the vessel's reactivation. Earlier this year, Amplus announced its agreement to acquire the Petrojarl I from Altera Infrastructure, marking a significant milestone in the company's evolution and introducing a unique, high-value asset into its portfolio. Steve Gardyne, managing director at Amplus, said: 'The addition of Petrojarl is a transformational step for Amplus. It takes us beyond our established position as a provider of field development floating solutions into direct asset ownership, a move that significantly enhances our strategic capabilities and strengthens our ability to meet growing client demand. 'As we prepare for the vessel's next chapter, Astican Shipyard offers the services and expertise needed to support a complex, fast-paced mobilisation. We're pleased to be working together on this important phase, and we're focused on ensuring a safe, efficient turnaround that gets the unit back in the field quickly.' Amplus is in active discussions with several field owners and operators regarding the Petrojarl I's next deployment. The FPSO is well-suited for early production system applications, extended well tests, and standalone marginal field developments. Mr Gardyne also said: 'We have strategic plans to expand our owned fleet, with the ambition to become the redeployment vessel contractor of choice. There's a clear market opportunity for a trusted, entrepreneurial FPSO contractor operating at the flexible, niche end of the spectrum - offering fit-for-purpose units at highly competitive rates, backed by a leadership team with deep operator experience and supported by a scalable and aligned network of subcontractors.' From prisons to property: 'Success is building your own ladder' Monday Interview Duncan Ure is the founder of The Portfolio Brokers, which specialises in the sale of tenanted property portfolios, and is also part of Compass Estates Group, a growing agency covering the whole of Scotland. Compass Estates is headquartered in West Lothian and Mr Ure lives and works in Castle Douglas covering residential property sales locally in Dumfries & Galloway. Through The Portfolio Brokers he helps landlords maximise their returns with a tailored off-market approach. MONEY HQ 💷 What is the seven year rule in Inheritance Tax for UK? This article appears as part of the Money HQ newsletter.
