Latest news with #DianeMcCarthy
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Rain Bombs Cast Cloud Over Matatā Housing Growth
Article – Diane McCarthy – Local Democracy Reporter Whakatne Mayor Victor Luca says building more homes within Matat now would be a mistake due to the potential damage from 'rain bombs' and worsening weather. Whakatāne Mayor Victor Luca says building more homes within Matatā now would be a mistake due to the potential damage from 'rain bombs' and worsening weather. Matatā is one of the areas named in the draft Eastern Bay Spatial Plan as a key growth area for housing, with infill housing of up to 700 homes and the potential for development of up to 800 homes eastward of Pollen Street over the next 30 years. At an infrastructure and planning committee meeting on Thursday, council learned that since August, Whakatāne District Council has spent more than $300,000 clearing sediment and debris from Matatā catchpits after it washed down from stream catchments due to localised 'rain bombs'. Most of the cost was incurred between between February and May due to several heavy rain events in the hills above the town during that period. Rain bombs are usually associated with burst of heavy rain that has potential to do damage. Luca said it would be a mistake to densify Matatā with what was going on there at the moment. 'Climate change is the elephant in the room and we seem to have consistently underestimated the effects. 'There's a micro-climate [in the Matatā catchment]. It's not totally predictable, but it looks like things are going to keep getting worse. 'These rain bombs that come – this is the second in 20 years but they don't have to be linear, there could be another one in a year or two. 'This has to be fixed and the people living there have to be given some comfort.' After the 2005 debris flow, the council placed sediment and debris catchpits in Matatā both at the Awatarariki Stream on the western side of the town and Waitepuru Stream on the north-eastern side of the town. A $70,000 annual maintenance budget is supposed to cover the cost of keeping these catchpits clear so that the town and lagoon do not suffer debris flooding events. Despite this, earlier this year a heavy rainfall event localised in the hills above Matatā saw sediment and debris overwhelm Moore's Bridge, which crosses the Awatarariki Stream, blocking State Highway 2 and entering properties on Pioneer Place. While some of the cost overrun for removing debris was covered from an emergency stormwater fund, $112,000 of unbudgeted spending needed to be approved which would likely come from an internal loan. This amount also included the repair of a blown out stormwater pipe in Murupara. Three waters manager Jim Finlay suggested this sediment and debris coming down the rivers could be mediated with rock weirs slowing the flow of the water, at an estimated cost to the council of $140,000. 'It's terrible that we're just sitting there waiting for this to happen and you have to clean up each time and if you don't you are possibly going to have flooding down the highway and through the town from both of those streams.' He likened it to 'someone having a party in your house every week and you've got to go and clean up the mess'. Councillor Gavin Dennis recently presented to the Bay of Plenty Regional Land Transport Committee about the Moores Bridge incident which resulted in a debris flood. He asked that the bridge be improved and that New Zealand Transport Agency and New Zealand Rail increase their maintenance on their State Highway 2 and railway bridges. Finlay said New Zealand Rail had since cleared out their culverts on the Awatarariki Stream and had further work planned for clearing culverts on the Waitepuru Stream.
Scoop
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Pekatahi Bridge No Longer On Replacement List
Article – Diane McCarthy – Local Democracy Reporter Local politicians are pushing for the replacement of the one-lane bridge which has become a cause of complaint from road users who are fed up with damage to their vehicles and frequent closures for maintenance. Despite having a road surface so bad it is accused of chewing up brand new tyres, a century-old-bridge south of Whakatāne has been dropped as an urgent replacement project. Exposed screws and broken seal over a wooden plank surface have become a regular feature of Pekatahi Bridge which links heavy traffic from East Coast industry with Tauranga Port. Local politicians are pushing for the replacement of the one-lane bridge which has become a cause of complaint from road users who are fed up with damage to their vehicles and frequent closures for maintenance. New Zealand Transport Agency – Waka Kotahi had previously had it scheduled for replacement within the next 10 years. But the agency now says, due to health of the bridge's sub-structure, and a detour that adds only 20 minutes, it is no longer on their end-of-life bridge register. Instead, design work is underway for a full deck replacement for the bridge, but even this improvement, expected to cost 12 percent of a full bridge replacement, is subject to funding not available in the next two years. Mayor Victor Luca addressed the issue at a meeting of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's regional transport committee last week as part of a presentation on his proposal for a second river crossing for Whakatāne. He said he had understood from conversations with former Waka Kotahi regional relationship manager David Spiers last year that the bridge had been on a schedule for replacement. This had since changed. The committee agreed to write a letter of support to the Minister of Transport for Dr Luca's second bridge proposal. Ōpōtiki Mayor David Moore also spoke in support of a new river crossing. 'Anything that goes over your bridge has often come from our district, and a lot of what comes through our district has come from Gisborne on the way over to the port [in Tauranga] … you suddenly take that all out and you've got a problem for the port and for this country. It's not just our two districts. It affects everyone. The agency's maintenance and operations regional manager Roger Brady said bridge replacements were prioritised according to the age and condition of the bridge and suitability for current traffic volumes and Pekatahi did not rate as highly as other similar bridges across New Zealand. Despite three-and-a-half days of closures just before Easter for regular maintenance, the current surface is still bumpy and uneven. The agency's Bay of Plenty system manager Sandra King said the closure was to remove and replace broken surface planks along the length of the bridge's deck. 'Crews repaired all significant surface plank breakages and made safe any protruding screws. Due to time restrictions and poor weather, re-surfacing of patches had to be deferred and the repair of planks was prioritised,' she said. A further one-day closure was planned for next Monday (May 19) to address any further broken or protruding screws, and depending on weather and temperatures, undertake chipseal surface patching. She said the bridge deck consisted of surfacing planks screwed into transverse beams, overlain by chipseal to help reduce friction. Ongoing maintenance work was needed for repairs and required full road closures. A concrete surface was out of the question as it would be too heavy. The next full closure was scheduled for the next school holiday period, or earlier depending on bridge surface condition. Whakatāne district councillor Nandor Tanczos said the district needed to be working together with other affected districts, businesses, landowners and other stakeholders to lobby Waka Kotahi for a replacement bridge. 'We need some way of pulling all the interested parties together and creating one unified voice,' he said. He described the state of the bridge's surface as 'horrendous'. 'I've heard of people getting their brand new tyres chewed up by the studs that are coming out of the surface. Its really frustrating. It's dangerous. 'This Government has sucked all of the money for regional roads and it's all being funneled into dealing with city congestion. That's left things like dealing with the Pekatahi Bridge high and dry. They're basically saying 'Whakatāne, suck it up'. He felt those calling for a second river crossing for the Whakatāne township should also join their voices to the cause. 'It needs two lanes, it needs a proper surface, for freight trucks as well as local traffic. It needs to be resilient for flooding, which we know is increasing because of climate change. 'Exactly where it goes, that can be decided. I understand that the cost of replacing Pekatahi is really high because it's got such a long span. There maybe better places to cross, but we need to have that crossing out of town because we want heavy traffic to be bypassing town. 'Collectively, we can be quite a strong voice. We need some ability to pull a coalition together and using the connections that we collectively have in Wellington.' East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick said the bridge was a critical piece of the roading infrastructure and many people had contacted her recently and sent photos showing the state of the road surface. 'I have had reports of trucking companies with repeated damage to tyres at $1200 each time.' She said over the past 10 years Waka Kotahi had spent $4.6 million on repairs and maintenance to the bridge. 'The lion's share of that in 2017-2018 when $3.6m was spent removing the train tracks and altering the surface. 'I think it is time the community has the conversation about what the roading priority should be.'
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
‘We Are Not An Airline'
Article – Diane McCarthy – Local Democracy Reporter Air Chathams has since withdrawn the request for the loan to buy the aircraft as circumstances had changed to allow them to keep a Saab340 that is currently leased to Tongas Lulutai Airlines for three months. Whakatāne District Council has agreed to waive airport fees for Air Chathams for the next six months but has said no to other forms of financial support the airline has requested. The council also voted to run an expressions of interest process with the aviation sector asking them to submit proposals for business-friendly Auckland and Wellington services. 'We are not an airline,' Mayor Victor Luca told the airline's owner and chief executive Craig Emeny and chief commercial officer Duane Emeny on Thursday. The Emenys had fronted up to a council meeting to field questions from elected members about their requests for financial support made at a public excluded workshop in early March, which it said it required to continue operating the Whakatāne to Auckland route. Air Chathams warned in April that it was considering withdrawing from the Whakatāne to Auckland route as it had lost more than $1 million on the flight leg since April 2023. Their request from the council included writing off a $350,000 five-year loan paid to the council as support to restart flights during Covid-19 restrictions, 12 months relief from paying landing fees with the option to extend if route viability is poor, entering into a 50/50 profit and loss share agreement and providing a loan to buy another Saab340 aircraft. Air Chathams has since withdrawn the request for the loan to buy the aircraft as circumstances had changed to allow them to keep a Saab340 that is currently leased to Tonga's Lulutai Airlines for three months. They had previously planned to sell the aircraft to a Canadian airline late last year to increase their business' liquidity, but the sale and purchase agreement had fallen through. They proposed that when the Tongan contract ended at the end of June the aircraft could be used to restore Whakatāne's business flights provided the council was prepared to support the airline. 'If we could work something out with council then we could bring back that dedicated aircraft.' Air Chathams had provided an alternative proposal to the chief executive and two councillors but this had not been formally provided to council or tabled for consideration. It was not made clear at the meeting what the new proposal involved. Duane Emeny said they believed the Saab340 could work in Whakatāne. 'We do truly believe that if we can partner with you properly and get this aircraft back on the schedule that people want, that five-to-10 years down the track you've got a thriving Eastern Bay of Plenty. You've got population growth, business growth, and you've got air connectivity to support that. I do think the Government is going to see the value in that very soon and it will benefit you.' Dr Luca said he didn't think anyone at the table wanted to see the district lose an airline. 'But we are a public service institution and we're here to serve the public – all of the public … [Airlines are] a difficult business to make money in especially in provincial areas and I do think that, rather than us subsidising, it should be central government that comes to the party with its big checkbook. I think we need to do more along the lines of advocating to them.' The council was unanimous in rejecting the proposal of entering into a profit and loss share agreement or providing a loan to purchase a new aircraft. Some of the councillors said, while they would not support writing off the $350,000 loan made in 2020, they would support an option to convert the loan to shares as this was a clause written into the loan contract. Air Chatham has said that when the loan was initially provided it was never the intention of the council of the time for it to be repaid. It had simply been a quicker way of providing financial support for the airline than having them apply for a grant. Councillor Julie Jukes, who was part of the council at the time, partially corroborated this at Thursday's meeting. 'If I had to be honest, I don't think we did have any expectation that it was likely to actually be repaid. We needed to keep the airline going and it was hopeful that it would be able to be repaid, which was why it was set up as a loan.' Councillors voted no to writing off the loan but most indicated they would be willing to consider some other option such as converting it to shares. Councillors Tu O'Brien, Gavin Dennis and Ngapera Rangiaho were adamant that it needed to be repaid. 'It needs to be paid back. It's ratepayers' money, not ours. I would be happy for them to pay it off at $50,000 a year,' Mr Dennis said.
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
‘We Are Not An Airline'
Article – Diane McCarthy – Local Democracy Reporter Air Chathams has since withdrawn the request for the loan to buy the aircraft as circumstances had changed to allow them to keep a Saab340 that is currently leased to Tongas Lulutai Airlines for three months. Whakatāne District Council has agreed to waive airport fees for Air Chathams for the next six months but has said no to other forms of financial support the airline has requested. The council also voted to run an expressions of interest process with the aviation sector asking them to submit proposals for business-friendly Auckland and Wellington services. 'We are not an airline,' Mayor Victor Luca told the airline's owner and chief executive Craig Emeny and chief commercial officer Duane Emeny on Thursday. The Emenys had fronted up to a council meeting to field questions from elected members about their requests for financial support made at a public excluded workshop in early March, which it said it required to continue operating the Whakatāne to Auckland route. Air Chathams warned in April that it was considering withdrawing from the Whakatāne to Auckland route as it had lost more than $1 million on the flight leg since April 2023. Their request from the council included writing off a $350,000 five-year loan paid to the council as support to restart flights during Covid-19 restrictions, 12 months relief from paying landing fees with the option to extend if route viability is poor, entering into a 50/50 profit and loss share agreement and providing a loan to buy another Saab340 aircraft. Air Chathams has since withdrawn the request for the loan to buy the aircraft as circumstances had changed to allow them to keep a Saab340 that is currently leased to Tonga's Lulutai Airlines for three months. They had previously planned to sell the aircraft to a Canadian airline late last year to increase their business' liquidity, but the sale and purchase agreement had fallen through. They proposed that when the Tongan contract ended at the end of June the aircraft could be used to restore Whakatāne's business flights provided the council was prepared to support the airline. 'If we could work something out with council then we could bring back that dedicated aircraft.' Air Chathams had provided an alternative proposal to the chief executive and two councillors but this had not been formally provided to council or tabled for consideration. It was not made clear at the meeting what the new proposal involved. Duane Emeny said they believed the Saab340 could work in Whakatāne. 'We do truly believe that if we can partner with you properly and get this aircraft back on the schedule that people want, that five-to-10 years down the track you've got a thriving Eastern Bay of Plenty. You've got population growth, business growth, and you've got air connectivity to support that. I do think the Government is going to see the value in that very soon and it will benefit you.' Dr Luca said he didn't think anyone at the table wanted to see the district lose an airline. 'But we are a public service institution and we're here to serve the public – all of the public … [Airlines are] a difficult business to make money in especially in provincial areas and I do think that, rather than us subsidising, it should be central government that comes to the party with its big checkbook. I think we need to do more along the lines of advocating to them.' The council was unanimous in rejecting the proposal of entering into a profit and loss share agreement or providing a loan to purchase a new aircraft. Some of the councillors said, while they would not support writing off the $350,000 loan made in 2020, they would support an option to convert the loan to shares as this was a clause written into the loan contract. Air Chatham has said that when the loan was initially provided it was never the intention of the council of the time for it to be repaid. It had simply been a quicker way of providing financial support for the airline than having them apply for a grant. Councillor Julie Jukes, who was part of the council at the time, partially corroborated this at Thursday's meeting. 'If I had to be honest, I don't think we did have any expectation that it was likely to actually be repaid. We needed to keep the airline going and it was hopeful that it would be able to be repaid, which was why it was set up as a loan.' Councillors voted no to writing off the loan but most indicated they would be willing to consider some other option such as converting it to shares. Councillors Tu O'Brien, Gavin Dennis and Ngapera Rangiaho were adamant that it needed to be repaid. 'It needs to be paid back. It's ratepayers' money, not ours. I would be happy for them to pay it off at $50,000 a year,' Mr Dennis said.
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
‘We Are Not An Airline'
Article – Diane McCarthy – Local Democracy Reporter Whakatāne District Council has agreed to waive airport fees for Air Chathams for the next six months but has said no to other forms of financial support the airline has requested. The council also voted to run an expressions of interest process with the aviation sector asking them to submit proposals for business-friendly Auckland and Wellington services. 'We are not an airline,' Mayor Victor Luca told the airline's owner and chief executive Craig Emeny and chief commercial officer Duane Emeny on Thursday. The Emenys had fronted up to a council meeting to field questions from elected members about their requests for financial support made at a public excluded workshop in early March, which it said it required to continue operating the Whakatāne to Auckland route. Air Chathams warned in April that it was considering withdrawing from the Whakatāne to Auckland route as it had lost more than $1 million on the flight leg since April 2023. Their request from the council included writing off a $350,000 five-year loan paid to the council as support to restart flights during Covid-19 restrictions, 12 months relief from paying landing fees with the option to extend if route viability is poor, entering into a 50/50 profit and loss share agreement and providing a loan to buy another Saab340 aircraft. Air Chathams has since withdrawn the request for the loan to buy the aircraft as circumstances had changed to allow them to keep a Saab340 that is currently leased to Tonga's Lulutai Airlines for three months. They had previously planned to sell the aircraft to a Canadian airline late last year to increase their business' liquidity, but the sale and purchase agreement had fallen through. They proposed that when the Tongan contract ended at the end of June the aircraft could be used to restore Whakatāne's business flights provided the council was prepared to support the airline. 'If we could work something out with council then we could bring back that dedicated aircraft.' Air Chathams had provided an alternative proposal to the chief executive and two councillors but this had not been formally provided to council or tabled for consideration. It was not made clear at the meeting what the new proposal involved. Duane Emeny said they believed the Saab340 could work in Whakatāne. 'We do truly believe that if we can partner with you properly and get this aircraft back on the schedule that people want, that five-to-10 years down the track you've got a thriving Eastern Bay of Plenty. You've got population growth, business growth, and you've got air connectivity to support that. I do think the Government is going to see the value in that very soon and it will benefit you.' Dr Luca said he didn't think anyone at the table wanted to see the district lose an airline. 'But we are a public service institution and we're here to serve the public – all of the public … [Airlines are] a difficult business to make money in especially in provincial areas and I do think that, rather than us subsidising, it should be central government that comes to the party with its big checkbook. I think we need to do more along the lines of advocating to them.' The council was unanimous in rejecting the proposal of entering into a profit and loss share agreement or providing a loan to purchase a new aircraft. Some of the councillors said, while they would not support writing off the $350,000 loan made in 2020, they would support an option to convert the loan to shares as this was a clause written into the loan contract. Air Chatham has said that when the loan was initially provided it was never the intention of the council of the time for it to be repaid. It had simply been a quicker way of providing financial support for the airline than having them apply for a grant. Councillor Julie Jukes, who was part of the council at the time, partially corroborated this at Thursday's meeting. 'If I had to be honest, I don't think we did have any expectation that it was likely to actually be repaid. We needed to keep the airline going and it was hopeful that it would be able to be repaid, which was why it was set up as a loan.' Councillors voted no to writing off the loan but most indicated they would be willing to consider some other option such as converting it to shares. Councillors Tu O'Brien, Gavin Dennis and Ngapera Rangiaho were adamant that it needed to be repaid. 'It needs to be paid back. It's ratepayers' money, not ours. I would be happy for them to pay it off at $50,000 a year,' Mr Dennis said.
