Latest news with #Gabrielle
Newsroom
an hour ago
- Business
- Newsroom
Overseas investment changes will undo water bottling safeguard
Special conditions designed to safeguard New Zealand water from foreign-owned bottling operations will be stripped out of the overseas investment regime as part of changes being advanced by the coalition Government. Critics have also raised concerns about the removal of protections for offshore investments in forestry, citing the impact of forestry slash in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle and other weather events.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Hawke's Bay: New Puketapu Bridge's opening date set
It linked to Puketapu Rd and Dartmoor Rd - the two main routes servicing the farming areas of Patoka, Puketitiri, Puketapu and Rissington. Work began for the rebuild in June 2024. Completion was planned for late June to early July 2025, but was pushed back to August. Six piles at a depth of 41 metres were installed, and the bridge is said to be much larger than a typical bridge. Earlier, Hastings District Council had said the average road bridge pile in Hawke's Bay had a depth of 12 metres, and were 1.2 metres in diameter. Puketapu's piles are 1.8m in diameter. The bridge opening date had been dependent on pavement progress in winter. The Puketapu Hotel owner Mary Danielson inside the iconic pub in March 2023. Puketapu Hotel owner Mary Danielson said two words came to mind with the news a date was set - 'Whoop, whoop'. '(We) are just beside ourselves, so excited for our community and the south side to be back with us.' The family faced a rebuild themselves after the pub and restaurant in the centre of the village was badly flooded during Cyclone Gabrielle. The Danielsons, whose home was not damaged, helped distribute goods and donations during the flood recovery and managed to open their establishment months after the destruction to become a community hub. 'It means so much to our community for the business side... it's massive with the cycle trail, it's for everybody,' Danielson said. 'To join the south and north again is just amazing.' A date of August 23, 2025 has been set for the opening of the Puketapu Bridge. Photo / Michaela Gower Danielson said they were expecting more business at the Puketapu Hotel, including cyclists using the cycle trail. Work on the bridge currently includes preparation for asphalting, pavement works and surfacing of the approaches to the bridge. Tree removal for the viewing area/lookout, and balustrade works are also being undertaken. In December 2024, National Infrastructure Funding and Financing (formerly known as Crown Infrastructure Partners) said the estimated cost for the overall project was $26 million. HDC transportation manager Jag Pannu said work is anticipated to begin on the Rissington Bridge in September 2025, subject to the tender being awarded. The new structure is downstream of the existing temporary bridge, which will remain open to road users. Meanwhile, Pannu said Downer is continuing with work that has closed Waihau Rd from Price Cockburn Rd to Dartmoor Rd. This closure is enabling repairs to be completed at three slip sites along the road, as well as structural repairs to Horgan's Bridge. The work includes road realignments (retreats), drainage improvements, and road surface upgrades. In addition, Berketts Earthmovers Ltd are repairing two slip sites north of Horgans Bridge in a project that also involves road realignment and drainage improvements. Once the full road closure ends, work will continue under a priority give-way traffic system. Michaela Gower joined Hawke's Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke's Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Climate
- Scoop
Hawke's Bay Shares Cyclone Silt, Slash Lessons With Flood-hit Tasman
The head of the silt removal programme after Cyclone Gabrielle is drawing 'eerie' similarities with Nelson Tasman floods. The head of the $228 million silt removal programme after Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawke's Bay is drawing 'eerie' similarities with Nelson Tasman region, as the flood-hit areas look ahead to their own recovery. Communities across the top of the South Island were facing millions of dollars worth of damage to roading infrastructure, farmland and properties, following the two recent floods that struck the area within a two week period, from late June. Riverside properties in Tasman were grappling with woody debris, silt and waste strewn across their properties. Cyclone Gabrielle smashed Aotearoa in February 2023 with a force of heavy rain which caused flooding damaging infrastructure, properties and land on the North Island's East Coast. Twelve people died during the natural disaster. Large amounts of silt, forestry slash and waste were swept across the whenua, prompting councils across Hawke's Bay to set up an immediate regional taskforce to deal with the material. Taskforce lead Darren de Klerk said watching the news, there were similar scenes in Tasman as there were in Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti following the cyclone. 'It's quite an eerie similarity, I think when you look at some of the woody debris and some of the silt and mixed product that we had to deal with,' he said. 'Obviously, productive land is another similarity in the fact that a lot of the highly productive horticulture and viticulture land has been infected.' De Klerk said after an emergency, the early stages of recovery were usually shrouded in uncertainty. 'In the early days, anyone dealing with this will find it quite overwhelming,' he said. 'Firstly, it's just understanding the level of involvement that either Civil Defence or the council has in this recovery.' De Klerk said it broke Hawke's Bay up into six zones, triaged properties by severity, and then mapped out sorting and disposal sites, in efforts to 'chomp the elephant' one bit at a time. Since its beginning, the team moved more than 2.5 million cubic metres of silt across more than 1100 properties, returning around 7000 hectares of land to productivity. It cleared one million cubic metres of woody debris across the coastline and rivers, and sorted through 12,500 broken orchard and vineyard posts. He said in Hawke's Bay, councils had to 'take a leap' to support their communities, before the first round of government funding was announced several months after the event, in May 2023. 'Essentially, you don't have a rule book,' he said. 'From a community point of view, I can guarantee you the people behind the scenes are working as absolutely as hard as they possibly can to find solutions.' He said it was working with Tasman officials to share insights and avoid 're-inventing the wheel'. 'One of the biggest probably learning is just how you manage your contractor army,' de Klerk said. 'Having a standby list of contractors available, so you're not having to work through the procurement and contracting of suppliers in the heat of the recovery phase. 'My thoughts are with them and they'll be trying their absolute best.' De Klerk said the work must be methodical, and open communication with locals was vital. He was now working for the Hastings District Council on its ongoing water and roading infrastructure cyclone recovery.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Climate
- Scoop
Hawke's Bay Shares Cyclone Silt, Slash Lessons With Flood-hit Tasman
The head of the $228 million silt removal programme after Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawke's Bay is drawing "eerie" similarities with Nelson Tasman region, as the flood-hit areas look ahead to their own recovery. Communities across the top of the South Island were facing millions of dollars worth of damage to roading infrastructure, farmland and properties, following the two recent floods that struck the area within a two week period, from late June. Riverside properties in Tasman were grappling with woody debris, silt and waste strewn across their properties. Cyclone Gabrielle smashed Aotearoa in February 2023 with a force of heavy rain which caused flooding damaging infrastructure, properties and land on the North Island's East Coast. Twelve people died during the natural disaster. Large amounts of silt, forestry slash and waste were swept across the whenua, prompting councils across Hawke's Bay to set up an immediate regional taskforce to deal with the material. Taskforce lead Darren de Klerk said watching the news, there were similar scenes in Tasman as there were in Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti following the cyclone. "It's quite an eerie similarity, I think when you look at some of the woody debris and some of the silt and mixed product that we had to deal with," he said. "Obviously, productive land is another similarity in the fact that a lot of the highly productive horticulture and viticulture land has been infected." De Klerk said after an emergency, the early stages of recovery were usually shrouded in uncertainty. "In the early days, anyone dealing with this will find it quite overwhelming," he said. "Firstly, it's just understanding the level of involvement that either Civil Defence or the council has in this recovery." De Klerk said it broke Hawke's Bay up into six zones, triaged properties by severity, and then mapped out sorting and disposal sites, in efforts to "chomp the elephant" one bit at a time. Since its beginning, the team moved more than 2.5 million cubic metres of silt across more than 1100 properties, returning around 7000 hectares of land to productivity. It cleared one million cubic metres of woody debris across the coastline and rivers, and sorted through 12,500 broken orchard and vineyard posts. He said in Hawke's Bay, councils had to "take a leap" to support their communities, before the first round of government funding was announced several months after the event, in May 2023. "Essentially, you don't have a rule book," he said. "From a community point of view, I can guarantee you the people behind the scenes are working as absolutely as hard as they possibly can to find solutions." He said it was working with Tasman officials to share insights and avoid "re-inventing the wheel". "One of the biggest probably learning is just how you manage your contractor army," de Klerk said. "Having a standby list of contractors available, so you're not having to work through the procurement and contracting of suppliers in the heat of the recovery phase. "My thoughts are with them and they'll be trying their absolute best." De Klerk said the work must be methodical, and open communication with locals was vital. He was now working for the Hastings District Council on its ongoing water and roading infrastructure cyclone recovery.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Climate
- NZ Herald
Cyclone recovery: Hawke's Bay shares insights with flood-hit Tasman
Thick silt and upended tractors lie at the front of Pheasant Farm, Esk Valley, in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / RNZ / Jemima Huston Twelve people died during the natural disaster. Large amounts of silt, forestry slash and waste were swept across the whenua, prompting councils across Hawke's Bay to set up an immediate regional taskforce to deal with the material. Shane Fell says the floodwater left more than 500 tonnes of silt on the property. Photo / RNZ Taskforce lead Darren de Klerk said watching the news, there were similar scenes in Tasman as there were in Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti following the cyclone. 'It's quite an eerie similarity, I think when you look at some of the woody debris and some of the silt and mixed product that we had to deal with,' he said. 'Obviously, productive land is another similarity in the fact that a lot of the highly productive horticulture and viticulture land has been infected.' De Klerk said after an emergency, the early stages of recovery were usually shrouded in uncertainty. 'In the early days, anyone dealing with this will find it quite overwhelming,' he said. 'Firstly, it's just understanding the level of involvement that either Civil Defence or the council has in this recovery.' De Klerk said it broke Hawke's Bay up into six zones, triaged properties by severity, and then mapped out sorting and disposal sites, in efforts to 'chomp the elephant' one bit at a time. Since its beginning, the team moved more than 2.5 million cubic metres of silt across more than 1100 properties, returning around 7000ha of land to productivity. It cleared one million cubic metres of woody debris across the coastline and rivers, and sorted through 12,500 broken orchard and vineyard posts. He said in Hawke's Bay, councils had to 'take a leap' to support their communities, before the first round of Government funding was announced several months after the event, in May 2023. 'Essentially, you don't have a rule book,' he said. 'From a community point of view, I can guarantee you the people behind the scenes are working as absolutely as hard as they possibly can to find solutions.' Tasman properties face thick silt and debris, echoing Hawke's Bay cyclone mess. Photo / RNZ / Samuel Rillstone He said it was working with Tasman officials to share insights and avoid 're-inventing the wheel'. 'One of the biggest probably learning is just how you manage your contractor army,' de Klerk said. 'Having a standby list of contractors available, so you're not having to work through the procurement and contracting of suppliers in the heat of the recovery phase. 'My thoughts are with them and they'll be trying their absolute best.' De Klerk said the work must be methodical, and open communication with locals was vital. He was now working for the Hastings District Council on its ongoing water and roading infrastructure cyclone recovery. - RNZ
