Latest news with #DeonSwiggs
1News
10-07-2025
- General
- 1News
British ship found at Canterbury river after grounding 160 years ago
A British ship which ran aground in Canterbury 160 years ago has been unearthed at the mouth of the Ashley River on the outskirts of Christchurch. The trading ship, called the Thames, was built in 1826 and met its end while delivering telegraph poles to north Canterbury in 1865. The discovery of the ship began in 2023 when the remains were flagged by a Canterbury Regional Council park ranger and then as a coastal hazard by a Harbourmaster team. Canterbury Heritage Consultants was brought in to identify the ship, with principal archaeologist Nick Cable saying the style of timber and chopping sheathing were key clues. "Samples confirmed the timber was English oak and elm — classic British shipbuilding materials — so that really sealed the deal for us in confirming the wreck to be the Thames." ADVERTISEMENT An artist's impression of the Thames. (Source: Supplied) The ship was mostly salvaged after it ran aground, with timber being used for homes and its bell serving as a fire bell, but the remaining timbers were swallowed by sand for more than a century. Canterbury Regional Council deputy chairperson Deon Swiggs said the discovery offered a "rare and compelling glimpse" into the area's maritime past. "Conservation efforts are now underway to stabilise the exposed section, with plans to eventually display it publicly."
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
South Island Assembly could lobby Govt for 'a better deal'
A South Island Assembly formed to lobby central Government was one of the suggestions discussed at an Environment Canterbury workshop. The hastily convened talks on Wednesday followed suggestions that regional councils could be abolished as part of the Government's Resource Management Act reform. Councillors at the workshop discussed four models, including a Canterbury Assembly based on the Greater Manchester Council model. While there was limited support for a Canterbury Assembly, several councillors suggested forming a Te Waipounamu / South Island Assembly could be an effective way of lobbying Government for ''a better deal''. ''I don't think governance in Canterbury is mature enough in isolation, but I would be interested in a Te Waipounamu General Assembly,'' deputy chairperson Deon Swiggs said. ''We have a Minister for the South Island and he needs somebody to do the work for him.'' South Canterbury councillor Peter Scott said a Te Waipounamu Assembly, representing more than one million people, would have more clout to lobby Government. South Island mayors and councils have long raised concerns about the lack of support from central Government. For instance, the Canterbury region has around 13% of New Zealand's population and accounts for around 15% of vehicle kilometres travelled, but received just 5% of national transport funding. Other options considered included a combined council, a unitary council(s) and a regional environmental leadership body. A regional environmental leadership body, which would comprise a mix of appointed, elected and Mana Whenua representatives, attracted the most interest. North Canterbury councillor Grant Edge said it would require the least transition from the existing regional council structure and would support the move district plans to regional plans. Councillors Scott, John Sunckell and Iaean Cranwell said they had positive experiences with the transitional council from 2016-19, with the mix of appointed and elected councillors. Cr Genevieve Robinson raised concerns about the accountability of appointed councillors, but suggested having representatives from each of the 10 Papatipu Rūnanga and 10 elected members. Chairperson Craig Pauling said a combined council would be similar to the Canterbury Mayoral Forum, ''but with teeth'', comprising the region's mayors, a regionally elected chairperson and Mana Whenua representation. There was little support for unitary councils, with councillors expressing the need for more consideration of how these might work. Crs Swiggs and Scott said unitary councils in the top of the South Island and Auckland had struggled to fulfil their regional council functions. Turning the 10 existing councils into unitary councils would require some amalgamation, councillors said. While it was suggested a Greater Christchurch unitary council might be viable, suggestions of moving to North Canterbury, Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury councils could lose ''a wider Canterbury strategic voice. Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon questioned the timing of the debate. ''I understand why conversations about the structure of local government arise and if there's a genuine need for change, then let's have that discussion properly, with all the right partners around the table, including iwi, local councils, and our communities. ''But I would seriously question the timing of this debate, especially when councils across New Zealand are carrying the load on infrastructure, housing, and essential services all while managing major reforms and ongoing funding pressures.'' By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Scoop
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
South Island Assembly Mooted To Get Better Deals From Wellington
A South Island Assembly formed to lobby central Government was one of the more eye catching suggestions under discussion by Environment Canterbury today. The hastily convened talks follow suggestions that regional councils could be abolished as part of the Government's Resource Management Act reform. Councillors at the workshop discussed four models including a Canterbury Assembly, based on the Greater Manchester Council model. While there was limited support for a Canterbury Assembly, several councillors suggested forming a Te Waipounamu / South Island Assembly could be an effective way of lobbying Government for ''a better deal''. ''I don't think governance in Canterbury is mature enough in isolation, but I would be interested in a Te Waipounamu General Assembly,'' deputy chairperson Deon Swiggs said. ''We have a Minister for the South Island and he needs somebody to do the work for him.'' South Canterbury councillor Peter Scott said a Te Waipounamu Assembly, representing more than one million people, would have more clout to lobby Government. South Island mayors and councils have long raised concerns about the lack of support from central Government. For instance, the Canterbury region has around 13 percent of New Zealand's population and accounts for around 15% of vehicle kilometres travelled, but received just 5% of national transport funding. Other options considered included a combined council, a unitary council(s) and a regional environmental leadership body. A regional environmental leadership body, which would comprise a mix of appointed, elected and Mana Whenua representatives, attracted the most interest. North Canterbury councillor Grant Edge said it would require the least transition from the existing regional council structure and would support the move district plans to regional plans. Councillors Scott, John Sunckell and Iaean Cranwell said they had positive experiences with the transitional council from 2016-19, with the mix of appointed and elected councillors. Cr Genevieve Robinson raised concerns about the accountability of appointed councillors, but suggested having representatives from each of the 10 Papatipu Rūnanga and 10 elected members. Chairperson Craig Pauling said a combined council would be similar to the Canterbury Mayoral Forum, ''but with teeth'', comprising the region's mayors, a regionally elected chairperson and Mana Whenua representation. There was little support for unitary councils, with councillors expressing the need for more consideration of how these might work. Crs Swiggs and Scott said unitary councils in the top of the South Island and Auckland had struggled to fulfil their regional council functions. Turning the 10 existing councils into unitary councils would require some amalgamation, councillors said. While it was suggested a Greater Christchurch unitary council might be viable, suggestions of moving to North Canterbury, Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury councils could lose ''a wider Canterbury strategic voice. Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon questioned the timing of the debate. ''I understand why conversations about the structure of local government arise and if there's a genuine need for change, then let's have that discussion properly, with all the right partners around the table, including iwi, local councils, and our communities. ''But I would seriously question the timing of this debate, especially when councils across New Zealand are carrying the load on infrastructure, housing, and essential services all while managing major reforms and ongoing funding pressures.''
The Spinoff
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Spinoff
Ghost bus: why is Motu Move taking so long to arrive in Canterbury?
The new public transport payments were supposed to be operating in Canterbury already. What's happened? Last year, people in Canterbury were expecting a subtle, but useful, change to how they use public transport: the advent of the Motu Move system, which would allow Cantabrians to tag on to the bus with their debit card. Going region by region, the plan was for Motu Move to replace existing ticketing and public transport cards, concluding in Otago at the end of 2026. With one system in the whole country, the same card could be used for taking the train in Auckland, the ferry in Wellington and the bus in Christchurch. Though only one card would be required (and contactless debit cards could be used to tag on too) the pricing of public transport would still go to each individual council. But although Motu Move was supposed to be operating in Canterbury by mid-2025, with an earlier rollout in Timaru and Temuka, Cantabrians are still scanning their Metro cards. The only sign of it, so far, is Christchurch's route 29 bus – supposed to be an initial pilot before the broader system was implemented. Running since December, a NZTA spokesperson said that 27,000 trips on the 29 route have been paid for with debit and credit cards – 35% of adult fares on that route. 'The pilot has proven that the base contactless payments components of the system work and that more customers than expected have been keen to adopt the new payment options,' NZTA said. However, the broader system is well behind schedule. A re-confirmed plan for delivery in Canterbury, then the rest of the regions, is expected in August, NZTA said. The National Ticketing System governance board is also conducting a review to identify problems with implementation; a report will be delivered at the end of July. Deon Swiggs, the Environment Canterbury deputy chair and holder of the transport portfolio, says that the delay has been 'frustrating'. 'NZTA have to communicate with us,' he said, noting the communication has improved in recent weeks. 'We need to know what's happening so we can communicate it to our residents.' The initial plan was to roll out Motu Move in Timaru and Temuka early this year. Timaru has on-demand shuttle buses, and there's a bus route from the South Canterbury centre to Temuka. Both towns have on-demand transport services. 'It's a smaller and more confined system [than Greater Christchurch] – a good test to iron out the kinks,' Swiggs said. One reason that Canterbury had been selected as the first area to deploy the Motu Move upgrade was that its current ticketing system with a Metro transport card is up for renewal. 'We were operating on the assumption that Motu Move would take over Metro in Christchurch,' Swiggs said. Until the council receives an updated timeline, it's not clear how much it should invest to keep Metro running in the meantime. The benefits of the Motu Move system are clear. Elliot Weir, an Otago Regional councillor, uses their Bee Card frequently. Outside of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, the Bee cards are operated by all other regional councils with public transport services, meaning Weir was able to tag onto the bus as normal when they visited Hamilton recently. This could make it even easier for visitors to a region to use public transport, rather than needing to borrow a car or use rideshare services. 'Queenstown has a bus that goes to the airport – it's always packed,' Weir pointed out. The Motu Move system will also mean users can tag on with digital credit cards, and top their card up on their phone. 'I've been known to forget my wallet – it's super handy if you can still tag on with your phone or watch,' Weir said. Swiggs has appreciated using his Google Wallet to take the 29 bus. As Motu Move rolls out, most councils will stop accepting cash fares. 'It's more efficient to tag on than for drivers to manually count cash,' Swiggs said. 'If it costs an extra five or 10 seconds at every stop, and there are 50 stops on a route, that adds up to nearly 10 minutes – we know that reliability is the first thing users want from a public transport system.' Environment Canterbury plans to work with the City Mission and Housing First Christchurch to get their clients up to speed on the digital system; low income people are often those who depend on cash. When implemented, the ticketing system will also gather better data about which routes are being used – ideally helping transport planners to ensure their services respond to where people want to go. Motu Move does represent a major technical challenge. But other countries have conquered the 'pay with your debit card' challenge years ago: Singapore, Sydney and the Netherlands all have this option available. 'It's really simple to just have one card,' Swiggs says. 'It's been en route for a long time.' Debit card tag-on is already available in Auckland (which will eventually also be integrated into Motu Move), and on Wellington's airport bus. But Cantabrians will have to wait months even just to find out when Motu Move might arrive for them.
Otago Daily Times
09-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
New public transport ticketing system delayed again
Fresh delays have hit the roll-out of the national public transport ticketing system. The 'Motu Move' project will replace all transit cards used on buses, trains and ferries around New Zealand with a single national card. Transport users will also be able to use contactless cards and other devices to tag on and off. The first phase was due to be rolled out in Timaru and Temuka by mid-2025, but that has been delayed, with no revised date offered by NZTA. Environment Canterbury councillor Deon Swiggs said another delay was "definitely frustrating" as it was a promising project. "The principle of it is going to be absolutely fantastic ... you just tap on with your phone, tap off with your phone and it's seamless, it should be very easy the same way you use your public transport right across the country," he told Morning Report . "We've got ferries in Canterbury, we've got trains in Wellington and buses anywhere in the country. So, it is really frustrating. It's an exciting project, but it's delayed." Swiggs said there had been some challenges with the functionality. He said his understanding was that the base functionality was working fine, but it was the extra functionality that had been causing some of the issues. "Imagine you've got so many different pricing structures across the country, that's one of the issues from what I understand. They're having an issue trying to roll out," he said. "But let's see what we can do in Canterbury to roll it out because we've been promising our communities this for nearly two or three years. "I know the programme's been in the woodworks for about seven years. "Let's get it out there." Swiggs said it was really up to the technology provider behind the project to get it across the finish line. "They need to deliver a product that is robust enough for us to be able to roll out. The base functionality, from what I understand, is pretty robust. It is working." He said a trial was already under way for the region's airport bus and hoped other features will be rolled out soon. Swiggs said those involved in the project needed to be on the same page. "I just think there needs to be better communication going on between all the parties involved so that we can get a really clear line of communication, know what's going on (and) tell people this is what's happening and get this thing off the ground."
