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Otago Daily Times
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Oamaru artist wows judges for second time
North Otago-based artist and furniture designer Tracey Vickers has wowed the judges again and placed as a finalist in the World of Wearable Arts Awards (Wow) for the second time. Described as "the Oscars for wearable art", Wow recently announced its 2025 competition finalists, with a total of 86 entries selected from 17 countries set to star in one of New Zealand's most spectacular arena shows hosted in Wellington from September 18 to October 5. The finalist's garments will be showcased to about 60,000 attendees. Herbert-based Vickers was also a finalist in 2023 with her entry Maiden of the Ferns. "It's quite surreal. I know what to expect this time round, whereas last time it was the unknown. "I'm very excited," she said. Vickers is the first North Otago artist to be a Wow finalist since 2003. Her entry for the 2025 Wow Show, RISE, was inspired by the beauty of the ocean's reefs and the plague of plastic pollution in the seas. Wow's head of competition Sarah Nathan said the judging process to select the finalists' garments, some of which are years in the making, was as difficult as ever. "This year the level of artistry, artisanal skills and the range of materials used by our finalists is simply phenomenal," Mrs Nathan said. The three recurring sections, Aotearoa, Avant-garde and Open, remained. The special section themes this year were Myths and Legends, Air and Neon — and the result was a riot of colour, quirk and curiosity, Mrs Nathan said. Although Vickers could not reveal details about her entry or the category it was in, she told the Oamaru Mail she used "purely soft plastics" that she collected, including over 100 milk bottles, that were transformed beyond their everyday appearance to design the piece. Vickers had her first idea for the creation at the end of 2023 and built on the success of her last Wow entry. "I learned so much from the last one ... I definitely feel like I improved on the construction this time, and by using a different design, I've learned more techniques and redeveloped the materials from my last work, and improved on them. Vickers said it was an "anxious" seven-week wait to find out if she had made it to the finals this year. Vickers, who has run her furniture restoration and upholstery business for six years, has a bachelor of design degree majoring in three-dimensional design, from Unitech, in Auckland. She took a "gap year" from Wow in 2024 as she said it was "all consuming". "I'm still consumed in it — it's still on my mind now to create another one," she said. The Herbert-based designer said she "chipped away" at her idea, and, like her last entry, had "multiple ideas" that evolved as she worked on the piece. She was happy that what she envisioned for her design "all came together at the end". The mother of Owen, 12, and Olivia, 9, juggled work and home life, working "late nights right up till the deadline" to finish her creation. Her 2023 entry took Vickers 500 hours. This year's piece "took even longer", although this time she had a little help. "It's been amazing working with my daughter Olivia. She was up in my studio helping me process some of the materials, so the kids see it the whole way through, which is quite cool. "I love to instil that work ethic in my kids, that if they really want to do something, they should go for it," she said. Vickers will be among other finalist designers who will attend the awards night in Wellington on September 19 when $200,000 worth of prizes will be announced.
Otago Daily Times
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
No go on Oamaru-Dunedin bus link
Hopes of Oamaru getting a direct bus service to Dunedin have been dashed for now, after the Otago Regional Council last week discarded proposals to establish a link. Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher had lobbied strongly for the regional council to provide a bus service to Oamaru during its recent annual plan submissions but said he recognised the challenges of funding it. "There's a lot of calls from other areas wanting to expand their services. For us, obviously, it's about starting a service and it's really difficult if the co-funder, (Waka Kotahi) NZTA, doesn't have the money there. "Fundamentally, that's the issue and it's something that the government has to address because it's causing issues not just with public transport, but with projects everywhere. "It would just be too expensive if ORC paid for the whole thing themselves without the co-funding. It would just be too costly on our ratepayers." Mr Kircher had also submitted to the regional council about providing a connecter service between central Oamaru and the North End. He told the Oamaru Mail that was a service that would need to be funded by ORC, not the district council. "Again, it would come at a cost and public transport doesn't cover its costs, unfortunately. So, there has to be some other money coming from somewhere and with all of the pressure on rates, that'd be a difficult thing for the [district] council to be able to underwrite. It is a regional council responsibility." Mr Kircher said he was meeting with regional council representatives and would be talking about what other opportunities there might be to "make something happen". ORC chairwoman Gretchen Robertson said the council remained committed to connecting Oamaru. "Some regional upgrades will not happen due to co-funding gaps but we're committed to finding ways to improve connectivity options for Ōamaru, Balclutha and Central Otago." "The transport planning team will be investigating the cost and viability of connecting Oamaru to the existing Dunedin services, which currently terminate at Palmerston," she told the Oamaru Mail. "There are a range of ways to do this — through traditional public transport, or community-based transport services. "The investigative work the team will undertake will look at a range of options, including ones based on co-funding and ones not reliant on co-funding. Any decisions on funding additional services will be subject to future decisions through annual plans or long-term plans." Transport Minister Chris Bishop said public transport was funded from both public and private revenue sources, noting government funding for public transport in Otago has increased from $90 million to $125m. "Private share refers to the proportion of funding that comes from private sources, including fares paid by passengers, advertising on buses, bus stops, trains, train stations, as well as other commercial opportunities like renting or leasing commercial space," he said. "The Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024 (GPS 2024) sets the expectation that there will be increases in private share revenue to support the growing operational costs for public transport, as well as to reduce the burden on ratepayers and taxpayers. "Under the previous government the private share revenue dropped as low as 10%, meaning far more of the costs had to be covered by taxpayers and ratepayers. "To reach agreement on targets, NZTA asked PTAs (public transport authorities) to show they had considered methods appropriate to each region that did not drive adverse outcomes such as patronage decline. Actions considered include reviews of fare policy, regular fare increases and third-party revenue sources. As a result, targets for the next three years have now been agreed. "NZTA is committed to working with Public Transport Authorities to ensure a reliable and resilient public transport system for everyone. Increasing the private share of public transport expenditure can help contribute to this goal and I expect PTAs to continue working collaboratively with NZTA." ORC rates to increase 5.5% overall With the adoption of the annual plan, ORC rates will increase 5.5% overall in the year ahead. For most in the Waitaki district, it means regional rates will rise 1.72% to $263.93 a year. However, for Waitaki residents in the Palmerston area, the rate rise is more, up 6.18% to $381.33 a year. This is because Palmerston residents have an ORC-funded bus service to Dunedin. However, they will also have to pay increased fares for that bus. From late September, adult fares will rise from $2 to $2.50 (with a Bee card). Children will also have to pay, following another decision ORC councillors made last week, to reintroduce a $1.50 fare for 5 to 18-year-olds.
Otago Daily Times
28-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
No plans for new 5G towers, providers say
Opponents of controversial 5G telecommunications technology can relax slightly, after it was revealed none of the main mobile providers have plans to build new cell towers in Oamaru. The Oamaru Mail was recently contacted by a concerned Kakanui resident after they saw workers connected to a mobile infrastructure group, but all providers contacted by the Mail have stated they have no plans for new towers. National company FortySouth, which owns the cellular structure network operated by OneNZ, told the Mail it had no immediate plans for new 5G cell towers in Oamaru. A spokesperson for 2degrees also confirmed it had no plans for new 5G towers anywhere in the district. "We constantly review and prioritise our coverage investment based on customer needs and demand. "There are two 2degrees sites with 5G enabled in Oamaru, one central, one on the south edge. "We don't currently have plans for additional 5G sites, but we have plans to upgrade the RAN equipment at a couple of other nearby sites to provide enhanced 4G service." A spokesperson for Spark said it had recently upgraded one 5G cell site serving Kakanui and the surrounding area but was not planning to build new towers. "For Oamaru and North Otago, the 5G rollout is still in progress with some sites still to be upgraded — this means existing cell towers will have 5G technology added to them rather than new towers built." A spokesperson for the Waitaki District Council said the council had "no knowledge" of any providers with plans for 5G towers in Kakanui or anywhere else at the time. At present, councils have limited control on where 5G cell towers are erected if National Environmental Standards for Telecommunication Facilities (NESTF) are met, as the activity is classed as permitted. On private land, installation requires only the landowner's agreement, bypassing public notification completely. The NESTF, part of the Resource Management Act 1991 framework, allow companies to install low-impact telecommunications infrastructure, including 5G cell towers, as long as they adhere to local district plan rules. The government is consulting on changes to the national policy statement for infrastructure. "The current environmental standards around telecommunication facilities were drafted in 2016 and are now very out of date. "Changes to the standards will update rules around poles and other infrastructure and create a more efficient consenting environment," Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said. That consultation ended today. While not mentioning cell towers specifically, the consultation document states one of the intended results is to provide "greater certainty, particularly in growing cities, that infrastructure services can continue to be provided or as planned, and that housing and other development can also occur in a compatible way".
Otago Daily Times
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Mayoral candidate wants ticket to stand with him
A Waitaki district mayoral candidate hopes a candidate information night will be the push needed for like-minded residents to take the leap into local politics and join his campaign. Confirmed candidate David Wilson does not just want to be elected mayor of Waitaki. He says he wants a whole new majority of councillors too. "The mayor can't do it alone," he proclaimed in a full-page advertisement in the Oamaru Mail, last month. He is seeking candidates who share his desire for change in Waitaki District Council to join his electoral 'ticket'. "The search is going well," Mr Wilson said before next Tuesday's candidate information night. He is talking to six potential council candidates and hopes a group of "reform candidates" to stand for most of the 10 council seats will emerge before the nomination closing deadline of August 1. "It does no good for one or two councillors to be a lonely voice against bureaucratic errors. A determined majority has to set the policy, set the spending priorities, and demand follow-through. "Candidates won't agree on everything, and that's OK, but we need a strong council majority that has a completely new attitude towards rates, spending priorities, secrecy and the way to make Waitaki grow." Mr Wilson said councillors need to be setting policy not just "rubber-stamps". One of the biggest obstacles for the new council would be popular indifference, he said. "Many local residents have contacted me saying they do not believe local government can make a difference. "I do not subscribe to this theory. The council matters, and must be a community enabler and partner in key economic revitalisation initiatives." All potential mayoral, council, regional council, community board and Oamaru Licensing Trust candidates can attend the Waitaki District Council-run information briefing evening next Tuesday. Outgoing mayor Gary Kircher also encouraged people to attend. "It's an opportunity for people thinking of standing, to find out more about what is required, ranging from the commitment to the workload and responsibilities. "Hopefully, it will help bust some myths, and for some, be a reality check. While doing that, it's also about how to be effective in council and navigating the bureaucracy that is an inevitable part of being a highly regulated organisation." The event will be held at the Oamaru Opera House from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. It will involve an introduction from Waitaki District Council chief executive Alex Parmley, a presentation from Elections NZ about becoming a candidate, and representatives from Otago Regional Council, Waitaki District Council and the Oamaru Licensing Trust to answer questions about becoming an elected representative. Nominations for the upcoming 2025 Local Government Elections. open on July 4.
Otago Daily Times
08-06-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Little dairy intensification since changes: papers
If dairy effluent discharge permits are used as a proxy for dairy farms in Canterbury authorised prior to January 1 this year, the numbers of new conversions and dairy farm expansions are less than 1%. In the same week the government released consultation papers on changes to freshwater regulations, statistics show there has been little dairy intensification throughout Glenavy and South Canterbury over the five months since the previous government's regulations ended. The National Environmental Standards for Freshwater temporary agricultural intensification regulations controlling the conversion of land to dairy farmland expired on January 1 this year. Since then, the government introduced restrictions on plan changes that would have given effect to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020, meaning consent was no longer needed for a change in land use to dairying. Responding to questions from the Oamaru Mail, Environment Canterbury (ECan) regulatory implementation general manager Paul Hulse said while the council no longer processed applications for "dairy conversions", since January 1, four consents had been granted to discharge dairy effluent on farms that were not previously operating as dairy farms. "If dairy effluent discharge permits are used as a proxy for dairy farms in Canterbury authorised prior to January 1, 2025, the numbers of new conversions and dairy farm expansions are less than 1%," he said. However, the council still recognised a problem in farming contributing to declining water health in the area. "As a regulator, our role is to manage the region's natural resources sustainably. "We need to follow the consenting process set by the RMA and the direction of our own plans established through public consultation. "Our science work gives us a picture of the kinds of plans, regulations and restrictions we need to put in place. "These in turn tell us the kind of consent conditions, compliance and land management work that is required," Mr Hulse said. "Our plans and regulations are shaped by long-term trends. "Currently, our science is telling us that nitrate concentrations are high and getting worse in some parts of Waitaha/Canterbury. "We know that intensive farming is contributing to this. "This is vital information for guiding our on-the-ground action now and setting new regulations." A replacement National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management now under consultation gives new national directions on managing water quality, but a spokesperson for Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard confirmed to the Oamaru Mail that the freshwater package did not include anything to replace the expired intensification regulations. "So consenting requirements for dairy conversions or dairy extensions will continue be managed by regional councils," the spokesperson said.
