Latest news with #TheAshburtonCourier
Otago Daily Times
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Petition to four-lane SH1 grows
The petition aims to get State Highway 1 north of Ashburton turned into four lanes. PHOTO: FILE A petition calling on the Government to reconsider four-laning State Highway 1 between Rolleston and Ashburton had over 465 signatures as of Thursday. The number of people signing the online petition is slowly growing since it was started on by Christchurch woman Rachel Gillard-Tew two weeks ago. A similar petition was launched seven years ago by former Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon. Meanwhile, public opinion as voiced on The Ashburton Courier Facebook page shows many believe the road is in a poor state and installing four lanes would improve it. However, some said there were more pressing priorities, such as getting a second bridge for Rakaia, or spending the hundreds of millions required not on roading but on hospitals and passenger rail. ''Let's get the Southerner cranking first,'' said one commenter. ''Nice to have on our wish list but more pressing issues to deal with at the moment. Keep it on the list for the foreseeable future though. In the meantime a couple of extra passing bays would be great,'' said another. ''Our hospitals are more in need of this money at present and the government are putting a lot of money into a new ferry which is needed,'' said another. Minister for the South Island James Meager recently said the Government needed ''to do the work'' to see how a four-laning project would stack up, but his focus at this stage was on getting Ashburton's second bridge constructed.
Otago Daily Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Apple venture taking off on dairy farm paddocks
Coastal dairy farm paddocks in Canterbury are being transformed into a high-production horticultural venture. Pendarves is about to become a lot busier as 250ha of apples will be supported by infrastructure on site, including accommodation for 100 staff. Named Tōrea Orchard and referred to colloquially by workers as ''the hort resort'', the orchard will be supported by accommodation for a further 200 seasonal staff off-site, to be built in Ashburton or Rakaia. It's a development that will see millions injected into the Mid Canterbury economy. Conversion is going ahead at pace, despite recent rain and lots of mud. Up to 125 workers on site daily include permanent and overseas staff on the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. Trellis, involving steel frames and thousands of kilometres of wire, and irrigation, is being installed prior to planting of the first trees on Monday. There will be 900,000 trees in two stages, producing 116 million premium export Rockit and Joli apples per year. Tōrea Orchard is the first large scale Joli planting in New Zealand. Owned by the NZ Super Fund and managed by FarmRight, the orchard will become a significant employer – about 85 full-time equivalent permanents, about 450 for picking over seven weeks, about 150 for pruning. The first picking season will be 2028. Among the first permanent workers is Matt Bentley of Ashburton. The orchard manager began in February. From a cropping background, Bentley said he was enjoying the role, especially staff training and hiring. ''People management is what I love. I think that's what's going to be the best for me, growing people alongside the crop.'' FarmRight managers at Tōrea Orchard are just as excited as orchard manager Matt Bentley about the project. Meeting The Ashburton Courier on site last week were chief operating officer Gavin Tayles, general manager pip fruit Red Martin and general manager NZ Super Fund rural portfolio Ed Tapp. The trio said Bentley was an example of how staff did not need to have a background in horticulture for the many roles on offer. ''It will be a new opportunity for people to get into the industry, and we will teach them what to do,'' Tapp said. Martin said Mid Canterbury's cold winters would be perfect for producing crisp and juicy apples. 'Winter chill condenses the bloom and gives a good fruit set,'' he said. Tayles said the development would inject millions into Mid Canterbury's economy. In about four years, the annual spend on employment would be up to 40 times that of a dairy farm. ''The development will create employment opportunities and flow-on benefits for community groups, churches and sports teams,'' Tayles said. Increased traffic on surrounding rural roads would be minimised with bus and van transport provided for seasonal workers from the off-site accommodation in Ashburton or Rakaia. The off-site accommodation would be for picking and pruning staff brought into the area, likely under the RSE scheme. ''We will be looking to create synergies with other local seasonal workforces to help extend periods of work for people.''
Otago Daily Times
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
High standard for photo competition
Members of the Ashburton Photographic Society submitted a wide range of quality pics for their recent photojournalism competition. But one member came out on top in both the print and digital sections. Nel Davison's Runaway Sheep won the print section while her Competing at National Jet Ski Champs shot won the digital award. Her photos were among the two top honours images chosen in each section. The remaining honours winners were Paul Allen in print for his photo Helicopter Fighting Fire Behind Houses and Jo Naylor in digital for her photo Penned Up Before the Bell. The competition was judged by The Ashburton Courier senior reporter Susan Sandys. Sandys said it was a challenge as the standard was high. "For the honours images, and many of the others, the photographers have no doubt worked hard to be in the right place at the right time, to be able to capture just the image they were looking for," Sandys said. Davison said she captured Runaway Sheep when she was taking photos at the Ashburton A&P show last year. Her jet-skiing photo showed Ollie Morris competing at the national competitions on Lake Hood earlier this year. Said Davison: "I'm always trying to achieve high-quality photos." Naylor captured her rural scene when she came across dog trials on a trip to Tekapo. "It was really cool watching them. I guess I just like the colours and the barren landscape." Allen captured his firefighting scene while visiting Wellington for a funeral about three years ago. He saw smoke and quickly went to a vantage point where he could get a good photo. "I knew where to go, I used to live in the area," he said.
