Latest news with #Akarana
RNZ News
17-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
The win-win solution for cash-strapped councils
Hauraki District Council's community development advisor Katie McLaren (left) and community advocacy officer Lyn Randall (right) at the Waihī Warm Up Party for Beach Hop. Photo: RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod One Waikato council has found a win-win solution for cash-strapped councils that still want to support community initiatives. For the last two years Hauraki District Council has employed a community advocacy officer to help clubs and volunteers access community funding from organisations such as Grassroots, Lions Foundation, and the Lotteries Commission. In the last few months alone, more than $400,000 worth of funding for community groups had been successfully secured this way. Lyn Randall said when a community group first got in touch with council, she sought to get a good understanding of what they wanted to achieve. "It's identifying their projects or their service that they want to provide and then trying to make sure that I can identify for them the opportunities that we've got in our Hauraki District. And then I just walk them through how that might look." She would help the group get the right documentation together and prepare a funding application, while encouraging them to be persistent if at first they did not succeed. An example was Paeroa Bowling Club. The club had worked closely with Randall and the council and recently succeeded in securing $5000 for renovations to their greens from Akarana, and $4036 from TAB for a set of bowls specifically for community use. Kevin Lockley had been club president for eight years, and said it had to look outwards to grow. "There's so much more expectation on councils from ratepayers now to ensure that the council, the elected bodies, are actually spending their money in the right places. So, from a club's perspective, they need to probably look more towards the community and just see the council as a conduit to helping them bring that outside money back into the club." He thought the council employing ana dvocate had paid dividends for the community. "Not only the application side of it, but she's also a conduit for speaking with other people and council that we may need to, she can go and talk to them and put us in touch with them, and that makes life a lot easier." Randall saw the job as an example of the council providing good customer service to community clubs, volunteers, and groups, which were the beating heart of the district. "It's usually that relief from them when they know that there's somebody there that they can contact for all the questions with regards to funding and they've got that support network there, that's a big thing for them." Local Government New Zealand did not immediately know how common this type of role was in councils. However, Hauraki mayor Toby Adams said he would recommend it to other councils. "Having a dedicated council community officer to support local groups in securing external funding helps maximise community outcomes without relying solely on council budgets. By attracting outside investment, this role effectively reduces the demand on ratepayer funding-particularly important at a time when council resources are already under pressure." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
15-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Liquor breaches cost new Welcome Bay Pool Hall pokie machines licence
Dhaliwal told the Bay of Plenty Times he reopened the bar as an alcohol-free pool hall two weeks ago. It had 12 full-sized pool tables and offered basic food such as chicken nuggets and hot chips. When it was a tavern, the business had 18 pokie machines, owned by Akarana Community Trust. An application was made to gambling sector regulator, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), to amend the gambling licence to allow the pool hall to continue operating pokies. Dhaliwal said he learned on Monday this was unsuccessful. For pubs and clubs to hold a licence, they must show that the venue's main use is something other than gambling. Dhaliwal said he did not intend to try to appeal the DIA's decision. He planned to open the pool hall once a week on a Thursday, and perhaps one other day, to help 'keep some income' coming in. 'We're just trying to save the business and the jobs of two staff working in the pool hall. There is considerable cost in closing down and winding up a business.' He said if the pool hall profits failed to meet the venue's operating costs, they may close the doors, sell off chattels and wind up the business. Vicki Scott, DIA's director of gambling regulatory services, said to hold a class 4 gambling licence, a venue must show that its main use is something suitable other than gambling. Without a liquor licence, the tavern 'could no longer meet that requirement'. Scott said the department was 'not satisfied' the proposed new venue met the requirements of the Gambling Act. 'Nor was it satisfied that the individuals involved in the gambling operation were suitable, given the breaches that led to the loss of the liquor licence.' She said the pokie machines had not been played for more than 28 days, meaning the licence was 'automatically surrendered'. This could not be appealed. 'Akarana Community Trust applied to DIA just two working days before the original 28-day deadline and were given an extra month's inactivity to allow us to make a full and fair assessment of its application.' A new licence application for the venue to operate gaming machines could be made 'at any time'. Akarana Community Trust spokesman Janu Singh said the trust 'never intended' to operate the original 18 gaming machines at the pool hall, but had proposed to keep two machines running during pool competitions. Singh said the DIA was concerned about the risk of minors having access to these machines and Akarana intended to address this by making the entire venue R18. Singh said the DIA had issued a 'proposed decision' 16 minutes before the licence was deemed to be surrendered. In his opinion: 'Akarana has had insufficient time to respond and address the department's concerns, and the right to host gaming machines at the venue is not lost. 'Having the ability to play a gaming machine in an alcohol-free environment should be seen as a positive, not a negative.' Problem Gambling Foundation spokeswoman Andree Froude said she had earlier raised concerns with DIA if the licensee was allowed to retain its gaming licence give breaches of alcohol host responsibilities. Froude said she was 'thrilled' by the DIA decision as it sent a clear message to all licensees.
